PART I

"Yohji no baka!" Ken Hidaka said crossly as he easily caught the flying botanical things with his hands. "Do you know how long it took me to arrive at that kind of arrangement?"

Yohji smiled lazily, his hands automatically going up to his mouth to draw the cigarette from it. He gave out a satisfied exhale and watched the smoke waft around him. He then gently brushed his chin-length hair giving the annoyed Ken a slight wink.

"Hey, you're a soccer pro so I have faith in your catching abilities."

"Ch!" Ken managed to say before handing the flowers to Omi, the youngest of the four.

"Good catch Ken-kun." Omi said grinning from ear to ear. "Address?"

"Here." Came the curt voice of Aya Fujimiya emerging from the greenhouse. He wordlessly handed Omi a piece of paper then went back to whatever he's doing while Omi waved goodbye to see to the delivery.

Ken gave a sigh as he once again settled himself with arranging. So far things are back to normal, no…. things were always normal. The never-ending cycle of being florists by day and assassins by night continuously flowed even after the death of Reiji Takatori. He gave another sigh as he reflected everything about him.

Aya, well, Aya is still Aya; cold, distant, indifferent and emotionless. Even after Aya-chan has recovered, he is still sporting the same old cold front. He wished that he would eventually turn into a new leaf. Now he is beginning to bore the hell out of him.

And then there is Yohji. Yohji Kudou, the happy-go-lucky playboy of the bunch. He claims that no woman could resist his infinite charm but in actuality Manx was able to shrug him off. But then he couldn't help but accept that Yohji has this unexplainable something that draws women to him. Now he wished that he would start to change more like Aya and Aya more like him just to spice everything up.

Then comes Omi Tsukiyono, CCG (certified computer genius) and his best buddy. Yohji oftentimes refers him to be the certified computer geek when irritated by the smart aleck youth. Ken just had to laugh everytime the two engage in their never-ending vocal battle, with Yohji of course always losing. There is just no way Yohji could beat Omi when it comes to teasing, except of course when it comes to girls and puberty. Omi tends to shy away from those things.

And he, well he hates to admit it, he is still the same. The same old Ken, whom loves soccer, loves to play with kids and loves to dwell in misery. People say that he is too naïve and trusting, which oftentimes makes him miserable. But on the contrary, even with all the evilness around him, he still believes that there is good in everybody. Oh crap, there he goes again!

He was about to tie the last ribbon up when suddenly the chimes by the doorway tinkled their sweet sounds signaling for a customer. The three men looked up but only to find a redheaded vixen walking inside the flower shop, a smile on her face.

"Hi, babe." Yohji greeted upon seeing Persia's messenger. "Anything for us today?"

"Another mission?" Aya asked, the first two words he had actually uttered for the day.

Manx gave out saucy laugh as she studied the three pairs of eyes staring at her with expectation. She sat down by the chair, elegantly crossing her legs. Yohji momentarily stopped as he eyed the graceful movement with appreciation.

"It was so nice seeing you too." She drawled with sarcasm. "Why is it that everytime I come here, the words hi and hello are always forgotten?"

"I said hi babe." Yohji reminded. Manx shrugged him off with a wave of her hand.

"Whatever." She replied. "Where's the little one?" she added looking around for Omi.

"Here!"

The four looked up only to find Omi's cheerful face before their serious ones. He walked towards the bunch, a single rose in his hand.

"Oh hi Manx!" He greeted. Then he handed her the white rose. "For you."

"Thank you, Omittchi." She said taking the rose her face alight with pleasure. "You really are his son." She silently thought contemplating about the sweet gesture.

"So what brings you here?" He asked as he began donning on his apron.

"We need to talk." She said standing up and walking towards the door. "All of you to the HQ." She added stepping outside.

The four exchanged confused looks before deciding to follow her.

==========

"So you are saying that our latest mission is to baby-sit some juvenile delinquent from the Southeast?" Yohji impatiently cut in.

Manx eyed him darkly.

"Let me finish first." She said crossly. Then she cleared her throat. "Basically yes and no."

"Are…" Ken began, the confusion evident in his voice. Now he is beginning to hate the feeling of being in the dark inside this dark basement where the four florists of the Koneko Sume Ie are changed into the four assassins of Weib Kreuz.

"His name is Alex Castillo, Crasher agent, Southeast Branch." She replied. "Around seventeen years old and clearly in need of help."

"Great! A young guy to boot." Yohji muttered, depressed at the thought of having a boy and not a girl.

"Yohji-kun wants older men." Chimed Omi. He quickly ducked as a pillow came flying at him.

"What does a Crasher agent have to do with Wieb?" Aya asked seriously.

"Where exactly in the Southeast?" Ken added.

"Philippines." Manx replied looking at Ken. "Alex is one of the five members in the Southeast Branch. They were investigating a drug and prostitution ring operating in the Philippines with some Japanese organization."

"And- " Omi encouraged.

"Apparently something went wrong. The whole Crasher was annihilated with only Alex the surviving member." She replied. "With the PhilJap Org. hot on his trail, Persia arranged for him to work secretly here with Weib."

"So you are saying that we have to two missions?" Ken asked as a matter of factly.

"Well, yes but it would really double up the pay." She said looking meaningfully at Aya. "So are we all in?"

"I'm in." Aya replied quietly.

"Me too." Ken said, his sense of justice burning inside of him more than ever.

"Me three." Omi called out since Ken was in. And besides another injustice is around, he really hated that.

"Yohji?" Manx asked looking at him. He gave a defeated sigh.

"Oh, crap!" He cried out throwing his hands in exasperation. "Whatever babe."

"Good." She replied. "Tomorrow morning you will meet this unfortunate guy. Now Persia and I expect that you give him the proper attention a visitor is expected to have and- "

"Whatever." Yohji said lazily, waving his hand in the air.

"Why would Persia do something as unusual as something like that?" Came Omi's voice uncertainly. "It makes me wonder though."

"Well, all I know is that it has something to do with Persia's personal affair." Manx replied standing up and preparing to leave. "Now I expect to see him here tomorrow, 1500 sharp." She added leaving the four men contemplating about their latest mission.