Title: Everyone Should Have a Name
Author/pseudonym: NemKess
Fandom: Weiss Kreuz
Pairing: Ran/Omi (only in the vaguest since)
Rating: PG
Status: Complete
E-mail address for feedback:: [email protected]

Disclaimers: Aya and Omi belong to me? I could only wish. Nope, not mine.

Summary: A young assassin meets a girl and her older brother and comes away with a new outlook on life.
Warnings: if you're mind is completely set that way, you might find just a very mild hint of shonen ai. Otherwise, no real warnings for this.

~*~*~

The assassin shifted nervously from one foot to the other.

Dammit Persia, hurry up! he thought.

The sun shone brightly down onto his face and a breeze was blowing through the urban neighborhood where he stood waiting on his boss. Just down the street, he could see children running around a small playground. Three doors down from where his position, an old man washed his car. Across the street, a couple were bringing groceries in from their station wagon.

The young man was not used to such exposure and he was decidedly unhappy about it.

He fully intended to give his boss, Persia, a piece of his mind once the old man had finished up his business.

Uncomfortably aware that he was standing in full view of the entire neighborhood, he pulled his hat down lower over his honey colored hair and pushed up his sunglasses before tucking his hands into his jacket pockets.

"Are you lost?"

Turning, he instinctively settled into a defensive posture before it registered that the girl who'd approached him was no threat. Dark hair, black with an almost purple sheen to it, fell in twin braids and big cerulean eyes gazed at him in honest appraisal. This, he knew, was a true child. Someone who couldn't hurt a fly, and wouldn't for the simple reason that it would never cross her mind to do so.

"No." He winced at his abrupt tone, but shrugged it off philosophically. It wasn't often that he needed to speak to anyone except Persia and Manx. And neither of them expected him to be civil. He tried again, with minute success. "I'm waiting on someone."

The little girl, who was actually probably a year or two older than he, beamed at him. "Someone visiting my house?"

His own blue eyes followed her pointing finger up to the house that Persia had entered. "Yes."

"Cool! Do you wanna play with me until they're done?" She gave him no chance to answer, merely grabbed his hand and began pulling him off towards the park.

Stifling the urge to pull away, he followed quietly. The park was no more exposed than the sidewalk had been and he could still see the house. Persia wouldn't mind and for some odd reason, the assassin felt reluctant to hurt this innocent's feelings by denying her request. Not that he knew much about 'playing', but he'd always been a quick study.

"Aya-chan!"

They were just inside the play area when the girl stopped abruptly and turned around, looking sheepish. "Uh-oh. I'm in trouble."

The assassin also turned to see a boy, fourteen or so he judged, running towards them from the house. His vivid red hair shone like a beacon in the sunlight, bringing thoughts of blood to the boy's mind.

When the older boy caught up with them, he immediately started berating the girl. "What has Otousan and Okaasan told you about going off on your own? It's not safe. If you want to come to the park, you have to tell one of us so that we can come with you."

"But, aniki! I wasn't alone! See," she quickly held up the assassins hand to show that she had indeed brought someone with her.

Deep purple eyes were suddenly scrutinizing him and he had to force himself not to glare. If Persia had business with these children's parents, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to upset them.

"And what's your friend's name, Aya-chan?" Though the question was directed at the girl, the amethyst eyes never left his own.

"Err.. well... I forgot to ask, Aniki."

Now both sets of eyes were on him and the assassin fought the urge to disappear. People weren't even supposed to know he existed, let alone have a chance to catalogue him so well. Not that he thought either children were a threat, but still... It was the principle of the matter.

"What is your name?"

He swallowed and stared wide eyed. No one had asked him that in years. He couldn't even remember the last time someone besides Persia or Manx had spoken to him long enough to require something to call him. "My name?"

The girl beamed happily nodding, but the boy's eyes narrowed. "You know, what do people call you?"

He shifted from one foot to the other again, before shrugging. "I don't have a name."

The twin frowns sent in his direction were too much and he quickly moved to leave them and go back to his solitary post in front of the house.

Surprisingly strong fingers grabbing his wrist stopped him. "Everyone should have a name. Otherwise no one could ever talk to us."

The assassin rolled his eyes at the skewed logic. He'd managed to survive quite nicely without anything more than a code name for years now, but he was hardly going to tell them that. He preferred it that way, actually.

The hand moved from his wrist to clasp his own fingers in what he recognized as a handshake. He'd never had a need to shake hands with anyone, but he'd seen it often enough.

"My name is Ran, and the munchkin who was pulling you around is my sister Aya-chan."

He dropped his head in a stiff imitation of an abbreviated bow.

"Are you sure you don't have a name?"

Quirking one golden brow, he nodded. "Quite sure."

The bigger boy looked him up and down for a second before seeming to come to a conclusion. "You don't have to go, you know. You can stay and play with Aya-chan and I."

Squealing with delight, the girl jumped up and wrapped her arms around her brother's neck. "Arigatou, aniki!" Then she dropped back down and grabbed the assassin's hand, pulling him towards the swing set. "You'll push me and Naneshi(1), won't you Aniki!?"

The newly appointed Naneshi wasn't sure whether to be offended or not. In the end, he decided that it wasn't worth correcting. The girl could hardly call him by his code name, after all.

Ran frowned at his sister but didn't correct her either as he followed them.

At the swing set, the assassin was a bit at a loss. He couldn't remember having ever been on such a contraption and wasn't sure how he was supposed to go about it. After a moment, he followed Aya-Chan's example and sat gingerly into the small seat. It curved around his butt and up his hips and he shifted uncomfortably.

Hands wrapped around his own, forcing him to grip the chains that held the seat. "You have to hang on or you could get hurt." He chanced a glance up into the amethyst eyes before nodding his understanding. The older boy smiled at him. "Don't worry, I won't push you too high."

"H-hai."

Squaring his shoulders, he tensed his body and gripped the chains even tighter. Quite suddenly, the swing began to move and he almost slipped. Years of training to keep his balance even in the most precarious of positions served him well though and he was quickly able to adjust his seat.

The red-head moved away from him and pushed Aya-chan.

He watched closely and noticed that the girl also used her own legs to keep her going after Ran had stopped and moved away again.

Frowning, he tried to mimic the motion. It wasn't as easy as she'd made it look but after a moment or two, he got it down fairly easily.

"Do you want to go higher?" After looking to make sure the question was directed at him, he nodded and braced himself.

The older boy continued helping both of the swingers, darting back and forth between them with a skill borne of years of doing this sort of thing.

The assassin's hat blew off and he closed his eyes, enjoying the rare freedom of the moment. The wind caused by the swinging motion ruffled through his hair and for a moment, he felt like he was flying.

Unconsciously, he let go of the chains and spread his arms out as if they were wings.

The delicious sensation of freedom, of flying, lasted only as long as it took for the swing to head the other direction. Then he was toppling backwards.

"Watch out!" He collided with warm flesh and strong arms wrapped around him from behind as Ran tried to catch him and break his fall. They sat there for a moment, each trying to catch their breath, before he twisted his neck around to check on the boy he'd landed on.

"Are you okay?"

Ran smiled at him, even as they untangled their limbs and stood up. "Yeah. And you? You're okay, right?"

The corners of his mouth twitched in an unfamiliar move as he nodded. "Hai."

"Naneshi! You're smiling!" He looked down, startled as Aya-chan hugged him. The smile quickly dropped off his lips.

"Don't," The pale, slender fingers of Ran's hand came up to push softly at his lips. "You should smile more. It suits you better than a serious face."

"R-really?"

"Hai."

Before he could respond, he heard a door close and turned to see Persia getting into his sedan. "I have to go."

"Bye!" The siblings called out as he scrambled away from them, making a beeline for his boss's car.

He hopped in the passenger seat and buckled in.

"What were you doing, Bombay?" Persia asked, seeming only mildly interested.

Bombay shrugged. "Nothing important."

He watched the playground and his two 'playmates' in the review mirror until they disappeared.

"Persia?"

"Hai?"

"Give me a name."

He could feel the surprised brown gaze that focused on him briefly before turning back to the road. "Why now? You've never wanted a name before."

The assassin leaned his head against the glass, and switched his gaze from the road behind them to his own face. He frowned, then smiled faintly. He furrowed his brow for a moment before repeating the frown, smile process again. Ran was right, he decided. The smile did seem to suit his face more, it looked familiar, even if it didn't feel so. Had he smiled a great deal before he'd become an assassin?

He couldn't remember that far back.

"Everyone should have a name," he repeated Ran's words softly.

Persia was looking at him again, presumably trying to gauge the seriousness of his request, so he turned his new smile on his boss. That seemed to startle the man as well. He could tell he was thinking about it.

"Did you have a particular name in mind?"

Bombay considered for a second before shrugging. "Not really. Would..... Would you pick something?"

The dark sedan pulled off the road and big slightly calloused hands gripped his chin gently. He submitted to having his face turned this way and that before Persia smiled at him.

"Omi. Tsukiyono Omi."

~*~*~Author's Notes~*~*~

I've always liked the idea that maybe Persia gave Omi his new name. It just seems like something that might be the only real father/son thing that they have. I imagine that all of my future WK fics (there are 2 'in progress' at the moment) will reference back to this if the subject of how Omi got his name comes up. It's like.. a permanent history piece for all my Omi fics. ^_^ Also, I'm a rabid Ran/Omi fan, so don't expect me to put either of them with anyone else in the aforementioned fics... Just so that you're warned. Thanks! NemKess

1)Naneshi- This might not be the correct spelling. It's what they called Trowa in GW: The Endless Waltz, in the memory flashbacks. It means 'No Name'. I don't think it's very polite, but kids tend to be very simple and don't often catch nuances like that.