Well, I actually have work to do now. Perfect time to start what may become another long haul fic!

If I get any lines wrong I'm sorry, please don't nit-pick, you all know the ones I mean *^_~* I've taken massive liberties and made a hell of a lot of stuff up - but it's A FIC! If you complain, I'll set Mecha-Roshi on you.

(But don’t worry, you'll be OK 'cos he's SO SMALL.)

Disclaimer: The world may break and carpets may be crimson red, but Weiss will never be mine. ESSCGATFOD is half mine, but that's a few millennia away from publication, so it doesn't really have any relevance here.

By Felflowne "Oh my God I'm at Uni" aka Espion

'Hey kid, your dad said he wouldn't pay…you weren't worth it.'

The man's face twisted into a grin at the young boy's frightened expression.

'Th-That's not true!'

'Hey, whatever, just telling it like it is.'

The boy screamed, hugging his arms to his body.

It couldn't be true, it couldn't! His father wouldn't leave him here… He was supposed to love and take care of his children. They were lying, they had to be lying!

Tears ran freely down his already damp cheeks, only causing his abductors to laugh all the harder.

But his father didn't appear.

'C'mon, he's no use to us anymore, and I don't make idle threats.' The men advanced.

The boy was too terrified even to scream. His breath stuck in his throat and his heart pounded. He couldn't get away. He closed his eyes, too exhausted with fear and misery to keep them open any longer.

'What the-!'

He opened his eyes sharply. The lights had gone out. He felt someone grab his arm, and tried to pull away, but they were too strong. He whimpered in terror, then felt his bonds slip loose.

Lost in confusion, the boy felt the person take his hand and pull him towards the door.

No, it wasn't his father. This man, because it was a man, was slimmer, although he did look a little bit similar to his father…

Then they were outside. The boy gasped as cold air scraped his lungs, and had to stop, his breath rasping loudly. The man slid his arms around him and began to run with him.

This man wasn't his father, he was a stranger. When then, did he feel so familiar? He felt sleepy. The man slowed to a walk, then carefully passed the boy to someone else before climbing into the car.

The boy was already asleep, worn out by fear and the running. Shuichi reached out and the other man handed the boy back to him. He ran his hand gently over the sleeping child's slightly matted blonde hair, noting with a frown a small cut on his cheek.

'What're you gonna do, Shuichi?'

Behind them, almost masked by the sound of the car's engine, came the noise of the warehouse exploding.

Shuichi ignored it.

'I can't keep him,' he said finally, 'but I'll make sure he's taken care of.'

'I can't believe Reiji. That was inhuman.'

Shuichi didn't reply, merely kept stroking the boy's head soothingly.

His companion looked at him sympathetically.

'Did you hear about what Bagheera suggested?'

'Yes, I did.'

'What d'you think?'

'I think it would make me feel like a monster, sentencing the child to that kind of life.'

'Nevertheless. Bagheera's orders come from on high. You know that.'

The hand that was attempting to tease the knots out of the boy's hair stopped moving.

'Orders?'

'Yes.'

Shuichi looked down at the child snuggled against him. His mouth tightened into a thin line. Then he reached down and slipped his arms around the boy's slumbering form, pulling him up and hugging him.

'I'm sorry, son, there is no way on Earth you deserve this,' he whispered into the boy's ear. He stirred a little, then nodded off immediately.

His companion looked tactfully out of the car window, away from the little family. Then his gaze was drawn back. Shuichi spoke.

'Very well,' he said.

**

Seagulls wheeled across the sky, tiny black silhouettes against the sunset. There was no one else on the coastal path at all, even though it wasn't late.

The sky was tinged vibrant yellow and red. It was beautiful, but Omi didn't care, his mind was on other things. A recent mission stuck in his mind.

But this one, the most recent. Weiss had been called in to rid Tokyo of some child abductors. They'd been too late to save the first lot of children, who'd been found dead and mutilated. Only one boy had escaped that, only to be kidnapped again.

In the end, they'd done it. Omi had fired the final shot that ended the mission. Shota was safe and with his family again.

The words of Shota's mother came back to him. She said that in the short space of time Shota had been at home between escaping and being abducted again.

'Put it all behind me…'

Omi sighed. This was useless. His mind was an impenetrable fortress. No matter how hard he tried, he could only coax out a few vague images. A tall man, holding his hand. Three men, advancing on him.

'What a screw-up I am,' Omi thought, 'how did I get into this mess?'

Sighing, he pushed away from the railing. He'd spoken to Manx in the lull during the last mission. One thing he did know for sure was that it hadn't been his father who'd rescued him that night. It had been Persia, but why?

Manx was not forthcoming with answers, even when, to his infinite shame, he'd broken down in front of her. She wasn't cold, she'd stroked his head gently as he sat crouched on the pavement, his whole being gripped with a grief he had no name for.

He began to walk towards home.

'It's home to me because I was a foundling,' he thought, 'I'm Weiss through and through, more than any of the others. I was brought up by Kritiker, after my father left me for dead…'

He walked on, letting out a small sigh. It wasn't all bad, he reasoned. He'd had some good times at the Koneko, with his teammates. One thing they never ever did, however, was talk about how they'd ended up there. For his part, Omi guessed that Aya had some deep-seated reason. It burned through in his gaze whenever he looked at you. Ken or Yohji though… No, Omi didn't have a clue. And they, in their turn, knew nothing about him.

He wondered how they'd react to knowing he'd been instructed in basic marksmanship and combat since he was nine years old.

Did he regret it? Well, to be frank, no. He despised killing, that was true, but the people Weiss were sent to remove were people who'd done awful, terrible things…

'So we do terrible things to them… eye for an eye…' Omi muttered to himself. He rounded a corner and the Koneko came into view.

Why had Persia rescued him? Maybe Persia had been in Weiss then. He'd thought about that before. He cast his mind back to his early years at Kritiker for a brief moment.

**

'Omi-kun! How're you doing?' Omi looked up. He only knew this man as Persia, but he liked him a lot.

'Fine thank you, Persia-san,' he replied, smiling at the man. He blinked as a sad expression crossed the man's face.

'How are you getting on with your classes?'

'Everyone's so nice to me,' Omi said, another smile lighting up his face, 'they tell me I'm very good.'

'That's great.'

'Err…Persia, is it true that when I grow up, I'll have to kill bad people?'

Shuichi looked at the boy levelly.

'Don't you want to?'

'I thought killing was bad. Those men were going to kill me, and you stopped them.'

Shuichi looked hard at the boy.

'There is a big difference between killing a defenceless child and killing a man who has committed foul crimes.'

'But what if he was really sorry and promised not to do it again?'

'Omi,' Persia knelt down beside him, 'Kritiker spends a lot of time investigating these people. We don't send you out on a whim.'

Omi bowed. It was very cute.

'I understand,' he said, 'and yes, I want to help. In any way I can.'

'That's good, never lose sight of what you want,' Persia said, straightening. He began to walk away.

'Hey, Persia-san!' He turned. Omi shrugged his shoulders and the hidden blades in his jacket sleeves dropped into his hands. He held them up.

'I'm not so defenceless now,' he said.

Persia stared.

Omi laughed a little.

'I've been practising. Last time I tried that they got stuck in my T-shirt and I had to hold real still while some people cut my T-shirt off. Otherwise, they said, I'd've got skewered.'

Persia blinked.

'And you kept practising, after that?'

'Well, sure, otherwise I wouldn't've got any better!'

Omi smiled again. Persia stepped back to him and laid one hand on his head.

'Good work, Omi,' he said fondly.

**

Omi kept walking. Yes, Persia had always been nice to him. He'd almost thought of him as the father he'd never had, one that cared about him.

He put his hand on the door of the shop. The shutters were down. He must've been out later than he thought.

Hmm… How was he going to get in? He knocked tentatively, although he knew that everyone was probably downstairs.

'I can see this becoming a highly embarrassing mountaineering exercise,' he thought, looking up at his window above the shop.

Just as he thought this, a voice came from within.

'Omi, is that you?'

'Yeah,' he called back.

'Just a sec,' the voice replied, 'Aya wouldn't let me leave the shutters up. I told him you weren't back, but he said I'd have to sit and wait for you…there you go…'

The heavy metal shutters began to rise. Omi didn't wait for them to open all the way, but ducked under.

'Thanks,' he said, turning. Ken was now turning the handle the other way to bring the shutters back down again.

He glanced around and saw a reading book lying on the table, next to a mug.

'Did you really wait here for me?' He asked. Ken scratched his head in an embarrassed kind of way.

'Well, yeah, I didn't want you to be stuck out there.'

'Oh I'd've got in,' Omi said, but catching sight of Ken's face, added hurriedly, 'but thank you very much, Ken-kun!'

'Don't worry 'bout it,' Ken said, collecting his things from the table. Omi watched him walk towards the back of the shop.

Ken turned and grinned.

'C'mon, we've all been waiting for you to get back so we can eat.'

'You didn't have to wait,' Omi said quietly, but Ken just laughed.

'Of course we did. Dinner's not complete without all four of us. P.S. Could you walk a little quicker? I'm starving.'

Omi smiled at him.

'Yeah, I'm coming,' he said, and followed his friend into the kitchen.

**

'Omi, you're kind of quiet, is there something wrong?'

Omi looked up at Aya, who had spoken.

'No, I'm all right, thanks Aya-kun,' he said, looking back at his food.

Aya dropped it, and Omi was grateful. He poked his chopsticks idly into his bowl. It was good. Aya had cooked tonight, he could tell. Yohji's cooking was downright awful, and although Ken's tasted all right, he'd never got the hang of presentation.

He finished it and thanked Aya, then got up.

'I have homework,' he explained,' thanks for waiting for me guys.'

Ken didn't look up and Yohji wasn't finished eating, but Aya nodded, and Omi got up and left the room.

He began to climb the stairs to his room.

He knew he was the kid here. Would it always be like that? He didn't mind, it was kind of nice to be fussed over. Even Aya fussed over him, in a way. Yohji always kept an eye open for him whenever he was around. Ken was different 'though. Omi guessed that it was down to the slight difference in their ages. Ken didn't fuss over him like a child, he looked out for him like an older brother.

Like before, when he'd stayed up in the shop alone for what must have been going on for an hour, just so he'd be there to let him in. He smiled. Yeah, Ken was the closest thing he'd ever had to a big brother.

He let another private smile pass over his face as he walked into his room.

**

'So OK, we're taking the kid in, but we can't call him Mamoru Takatori, now can we?'

'Of course not, it'll need to be changed, and soon, before he starts asking.'

'You reckon he'll forget his own name?'

'No, but he won't remember it being changed in later life if we do it now.'

'Yeah, we'd better do it quick then.'

'You go find Shuichi, then.'

'What, why?'

The second man rolled his eyes.

'Because it's his kid, dumbass, don't you think he'd like a say?'

'Oh yeah, right.'

The first man scurried off.

**

Shuichi hadn't moved from where he'd sat down as soon as he'd got inside. The child was on his lap, as he had been in the car. He'd been sat here like this for nearly half an hour now.

He ran his hand absent-mindedly over the young boy's delicate features.

Yes, it hurt. It hurt knowing that this was probably the last time he'd ever get to hold his son like this. It hurt knowing that although he'd see him often, the boy could never, ever know who his father was.

He would, Shuichi knew, have vague recollections of his brother, the man who'd occupied his place as the boy's father for the first few years of his life.

Why hadn't he paid the ransom? Had he known? He couldn't have known, could he? And even if he had, what reason was that to put the boy in danger? It was, after all, not his fault. His hold tightened slightly.

Reiji was his enemy. Reiji was the enemy of Kritiker. But he'd never seen it to be within Reiji's capacity to send a helpless child to his death. He'd underestimated him.

Footsteps shook him out of his thoughts. He looked up.

'Shuichi, you've got to come right away.'

He got up slowly and began to follow the man, his son still asleep in his arms.

**

'So, what d'you reckon?'

Shuichi looked around the room.

'You're leaving it to me?' he asked.

Bagheera nodded. The rest of the men present looked at each other.

Shuichi looked at the slumbering child and said quietly, 'Omi.'

'Omi?' Bagheera enquired. Shuichi nodded.

'It's the name that Kikuno…that she would have wanted…'

There was a tactful silence.

'Very well,' said Bagheera finally, 'Omi it is, Omi Tsukiyono, any complaints?'

There were none. The committee left one by one. Bagheera walked over to Shuichi and laid a hand on his arm.

'I'm sorry, Shuichi, it's rough.'

'Life's rough,' Shuichi replied.

'The word from the top floor is that you're getting promoted.'

'What to?' Shuichi asked, but he already knew the answer.

'Persia,' Bagheera said, 'they want you in charge of the Weiss.'

'There's no Weiss right now.'

'We're working on it,' Bagheera said, 'we have one.'

'I see.'

Shuichi looked at the child. He would grow up to be a murderer.

Bagheera turned to leave, but before the door was shut, a voice called back, 'and get some rest, you look beat.'

'I will, thanks Bagheera.'

He heard the woman sigh as she pulled the door to.

'Good luck Persia,' she muttered, 'you're going to need it.'

In Shuichi's arms the boy finally stirred. He blinked a few times at the man who was holding him. His face screwed up in sleepy confusion.

'Daddy?'

'No,' said Shuichi, and felt the word rip at his heart, 'my name is Persia.'

**

Omi spread his schoolwork over his desk. He knew, and had always known, that Omi Tsukiyono wasn't his real name. It was a name Kritiker had given to him. He remembered the confusion that had struck him when everyone had started calling him Omi. It'd been odd. He hadn't really minded, 'though, and had adapted quickly, but had wondered why they'd changed it. They were grown-ups, they knew best - that was how he'd explained it back then.

'Adults don't always know best…' he thought, looking idly at the work in front of him. Was he grown up yet? He knew he was 17 years old, not technically an adult. He thought about how he'd changed from the little boy who'd run happily up and down the corridors at Kritiker, looking for Persia or Bagheera-san.

Yes, that boy had been an innocent, trained by Kritiker to be a ruthless killer, the killer that was thinking these thoughts now.

He sighed. Why was he so thoughtful all of a sudden? Sure, he'd had a screwed up past, but it had been a happy one for most of his early years. He'd enjoyed living inside Kritiker. Everyone had looked out for him there…

He was a happy person. It was a trait of his personality, which, to anyone who knew about his past, seemed completely illogical. He was kind and easy to embarrass - Yohji had found this out quite early - but when it came to evil, he was utterly ruthless, and never forgave.

He sighed and stretched, noticing how long his shadow was on the wall. He was growing faster than he thought. He knew he wasn't done growing yet, but it always seemed to surprise him, because, in his mind, he'd already been an adult for several years. He let his arms fall by his sides.

No, it was no good, this work wasn't getting done tonight. He felt dull and depressed. Who was his father? Why hadn't he paid his ransom? If it was because he didn't love him, then why not? Weren't fathers supposed to love their children…?

The thought seemed to ring a bell in some distant corner of his memory. He stared at his hands in his lap.

'Omi?'

Omi jumped so far he nearly fell off his chair.

'Geez! Sorry!' Ken pulled him back so he was fully on his chair.

Omi blinked at his teammate. Why was he here?

'Sorry, are you working?' Ken asked, motioning towards the paper on Omi's desk. Omi shook his head.

'Can't concentrate.' Ken nodded.

'Well, uh, the reason I came to see you is that there's that Austin Powers movie on, I wondered if you wanted to watch it with me. It's on the TV, I mean.'

Omi looked at him, then at the paper on his desk.

'Didn't Aya or Yohji want to watch it?' He asked, expecting to hear that Aya had no time for a comedy film and that Yohji was out.

'I didn't ask them,' Ken said.

'You didn't?'

'No, I wanted to watch it with you. Are you coming?'

A pleasant feeling seemed to blot out the dull mood he'd previously been in. Omi stood up.

'Sure!'

**

'Omi?'

The boy looked up, and then smiled slightly.

'Hello Bagheera-san.'

'Hello.'

She leant against the doorframe of his room.

'They working you hard?' she asked, gesturing to the books on his table.

Omi smiled.

'Not really, it's not difficult.'

Bagheera picked up one of his textbooks and began to leaf through it, then she said, 'is the room OK?'

'Yeah, it's great,' Omi said enthusiastically, but then he pretended to look pained, 'but a little too close to school for me.'

Bagheera laughed a little. Omi was being tutored in one of the rooms down the corridor.

'No excuse for being late, you mean?' she said lightly, handing the sixteen-year-old his book back.

Omi smiled at her. She knew he'd never once been late.

Bagheera turned to leave, then added, almost as an afterthought, 'Omi, come and see me after school finishes tomorrow, OK? I'll be in my office.'

'OK Bagheera-san,' the teenager replied.

**

Omi laughed, and Ken looked at him.

'What is it?'

'I was just thinking. 'Shagedelic' is a really strange word.'

'I think that's the point.' Ken laughed. He handed Omi the bowl of popcorn and Omi took a handful, thanking him.

They settled back down again.

'This is so nice,' Omi thought, 'it's like we're normal. Two normal friends watching a movie…'

He chewed his popcorn absently. The film was funny, and it was possibly the silliest thing he'd ever seen. He laughed at it, and saw Ken turn to look at him out of the corner of his eye. He turned to face him.

'What?'

'Oh…nothing really,' Ken said lightly, 'I was just thinking how it's great to hear you laugh again. You've been kinda down lately.'

'I have?' Omi didn't think anyone would have noticed.

'Well, I thought you weren't quite yourself…all quiet and stuff…' Ken wasn't good at this kind of conversation.

'Say Omi,' he said quietly, his attention no longer on the film, 'how'd you ever get caught up in all this?'

Omi froze mid-thought. Ken had just broken their most important implicit rule.

He looked at him, but Ken had looked away again.

'It just doesn't seem to add up…' he said quietly.

'Oh well,' said Omi, 'you don't know anything.'

Privately he was thinking the same thing Ken had just said, only about him. Why was he here? He was very sociable and friendly, and he loved kids. How on Earth had he ended up here?

Ken sighed. He could tell that Omi was not going to talk to him.

'No, I guess I don't,' he said.

Omi looked at Ken for a while. He really didn't understand the way he felt when he was around. He'd suddenly get this crazy urge to tell him everything, but it would be gone a second later. What would Ken think of him?

He didn't want to burden anyone with that, he decided. It wasn't because he didn't like or trust Ken, because he did, totally… He just didn't want to bring him down with his sob story. His past was his past, and it was just that, the past. It had no relevance to the present. No one needed to know. Yes, that made sense.

But, he countered, would it help him to tell someone about it? It was bothering him, after all.

No, he fired back, that was selfish. He made his decision.

'Ken-kun, I'll admit… I've been thinking about…y'know… my childhood …recently.'

Ken looked at him.

'Really? Is it bothering you?'

Omi thought. Was it? No, not as such. It was other thoughts, in addition to that. He had a father somewhere who cared nothing for him, even to the point of abandoning him to be killed. That was the main thing. And he couldn't help wondering…

'I just… can't help wondering what would've happened if things had been different.'

'Mmm?'

'Well, y'know…If I'd been born elsewhere…If someone else…'

He stopped abruptly. 'No specifics!'

'Well…I dunno about that, Omi,' Ken said slowly, 'but I guess that would mean we would've never met.'

'I guess,' Omi said quietly.

Neither said anything for a while. The film was ignored.

'I can't even begin to guess what you went through, Omi,' Ken said gently, 'but isn't it worth something, because we're a team - You, Aya, Yohji and me?'

'Yes,' Omi decided. He looked over to where the other assassin was sitting, looking quite subdued, an unusual look for him. He moved over to him and hugged him.

'Hey!' Ken retorted, but laid an arm over Omi's back as the smaller boy nestled close to him.

'I'm glad I know you,' Omi said, very quietly, 'I guess it was worth it.'

Ken didn't know how to answer that. He hugged his friend tighter.

'One day…' Omi said, '…I'll tell you everything. I promise.'

'Omi, you don't have to…'

But he was silenced by Omi placing a hand gently over his mouth and looking up at him.

'No Ken, that's a promise.'

'O-OK… Then I promise I'll tell you about me someday as well.'

'Only if you want to,' was his reply.

Omi felt calm and peaceful. Here, he felt safe. It didn't matter anymore that his family hadn't wanted him. It didn't matter that every few weeks, he was sent out to kill people by shooting them between the eyes. All that seemed very far away.

He found his thoughts drifting back to a topic he'd been thinking about earlier. In his mind he was an adult, but physically, he was still growing. This could mean that his thoughts were sometimes very confused.

Like right now. He looked up at the older boy he was lying against, and his face suddenly seemed to warm up. He looked away again. What was he thinking?

'Omi?' He had to look up again. Ken was looking at him quizzically.

'Uh?'

'Are you comfy there?'

'Uh…yeah, actually,' Omi said, his face heating up again, and for a moment he found his gaze locked with his friend's. Ken expression was confused, but soft.

Then everything went crazy.

Omi's eyes widened as Ken leant towards him and kissed him gently. Then he let his eyes fall shut.

Omi's brain simply shut down. No thoughts could enter his head. The only thing he could concentrate on was how good this felt. He began to respond shyly, wrapping his arms tighter around the other boy. This must have encouraged Ken, because Omi was shocked slightly to find himself being laid backwards.

He didn't have any time to think, however, because Ken's lips were on his again, harder this time. Omi whimpered in pleasure.

He almost cried out when Ken began to kiss his neck, and began squirming around. He'd never felt like this before, never!

Then, suddenly Ken pulled back.

'Oh my God, Omi, I'm so, so sorry! Shit!'

Then it hit Omi with a crash as well. Oh no! What had they done?!

He sat up slowly, his lips buzzing slightly. He put his face in his hands.

'It wasn't just you,' he said numbly, 'it was my fault too…'

'I'm sorry, I really am. Shit, Omi, I dunno what I was thinking!'

'You weren't thinking,' Omi said dully, 'I know I wasn't.'

Ken nodded miserably.

'Look,' Omi said, 'let's just forget about it.'

Ken looked at him incredulously. 'You what!? You think I can forget that?'

'Why not? I can,' Omi said, and Ken looked away and wouldn't meet his gaze.

It was all right. Ken didn't know that he was lying through his teeth. He wouldn't be able to forget either. His heart was still beating overtime. In those few seconds, he'd been in heaven. He'd been safe, protected and loved. And he was telling Ken to forget. This was Bombay speaking to Ken now, and sometimes Omi really hated the bastard.

**

He knocked on the door.

'Come in, Omi,' came Bagheera's voice. He opened the door. Bagheera was sat at her desk. On the other side of the desk sat a man on a chair. He had bandages around both his hands, and one around his head. Trying not to stare, Omi sat in the other chair. Bagheera looked up at him.

'Good day at school?' she asked. He nodded, aware that the man was looking at him curiously.

'Let me introduce you,' Bagheera said, business-like. 'Omi, this is Ken Hidaka. Ken, Omi Tsukiyono.'

The man nodded at him, and Omi tried to smile, but this strange man had unsettled him.

'You two are going to be working together,' Bagheera continued. Omi looked at her suddenly, and she caught his eye, and nodded.

'Yes, it's started now.' Omi looked down. It had started? He'd tried to push the thought of this day out of his mind. He'd never thought it would actually come. He glanced at the man, Hidaka. His eyes looked dead and cold. Omi shuddered slightly. He was scared of this guy - how could he ever work with him?

'Well, now I've introduced you two, I'll leave the rest to you, Omi. Could you show Ken where he'll be staying? He has the key.'

Omi nodded obediently. Bagheera looked at him politely.

'Oh!' he cried, jumping to his feet. She meant now. 'Yes, Bagheera-san.' He bowed briefly, then looked towards the strange man, who had stood up as well, rather stiffly.

'Um…d'you wanna follow me?' he asked the man tentatively. He nodded and began to walk after Omi as Omi made for the door.

'See you later,' Bagheera said.

Out in the corridor, Omi turned towards his new co-worker.

'Uhh…does your key have a number on it or something?'

The man paused, then pulled it out of his pocket. He glanced at it.

'It says 475,' he said, and to Omi's surprise his voice wasn't rough or harsh, like he'd expected, but actually quite pleasant…and…if he wasn't mistaken, this guy wasn't that much older than he was.

He began to walk. The man's room was quite near to his. They walked in silence. Omi was curious as to why he was hurt, and why he was here, but bit his tongue. Something told him that those kinds of questions would be the very worst kinds to ask.

As they rounded a corner, Omi spotted Persia walking towards them.

'Hello, Persia-san,' he called out. The man turned and smiled. He always did when he saw Omi.

'Hello, Omi, who's this?'

'I'm Ken Hidaka,' the man said quietly, and Persia nodded.

'Good to make your acquaintance, Ken. My name's Persia, although Omi may have given that away. I'm your co-ordinator.'

Omi blinked. He hadn't known that. Ken just nodded.

'Won't be long now, my friends,' Persia said, beginning to walk away.

**

Omi sat in his room, his head in his hands. It was over. The main mission, the one that had ended Weiss, was over. Reiji Takatori was dead. Aya had killed him himself.

Aya…

Omi's heart clenched painfully, remembering the look of hatred Aya had shot him that night he'd gone up to his room to ask him about the Takatoris.

Oh yes, he'd found out a lot about himself in the last few months. He'd discovered that not only were his family alive and well, they were also the people Weiss and Kritiker were hell-bent on bringing down - The Takatori family.

And Persia! He'd been Reiji Takatori's brother! That hadn't gone down well with Aya, although, Omi suspected, his better side had won through in the end. Now, Persia was dead. He may have been his uncle, but to Omi, it felt like losing his father. He'd lost his father in two senses.

And this was it. This was his pinnacle of existence. His entire life so far had carried him to this moment. He'd lost everyone. Kritiker had been devastated.

But no… he hadn't lost everyone, right…? He still had… no. He didn't have anyone. The other members of Weiss were away and finally doing what they'd always wanted to do, or so he assumed. They were free. At the end, because this was the end, it had to be, they were free of Weiss. Killing Takatori had set them free.

It had trapped him.

He would go to school, forget killing, be unable to do anything about the evil he would always be able to spot in the world. He would be helpless.

He had nothing he wanted to do, nowhere to go. The others had had lives before Weiss, but not him. His life had been Kritiker and Weiss. He had no solid memories of another life before that.

He looked around his room. He hadn't seen this room in nearly two years. It was his room back at Kritiker. The building was empty and dark. The electricity supply had been cut off. The building was condemned.

Omi was in despair. He couldn't see any way out of the pain that would now plague him for every day of his life. Nothing could help him now. He reached inside his coat and withdrew a single dart, turning it over in his hands.

He turned the dart around so the point was facing him and lifted it up.

Then the door opened.

'I thought you'd be here. Room 470, right?'

*****

'Bloody hell!'

'Huh?'

Several heads poked out of the little rooms lining the corridor to see what had happened. A man was standing over several shards of broken ceramic with a murderous look on his face. Oddly, though, he was still holding a piece recognisable as a handle.

Liquid around his ankles steamed, and he stepped back swiftly.

Several giggles were heard emanating from rooms. This man was not popular in the orphanage.

The man glared briefly at the little group of children who had just passed him before his mug had cracked and exploded in his hand. They avoided his gaze, all except one, who turned briefly, and smiled, his deep blue eyes flashing conspiratorially. Then he too turned away and kept walking.

**

'Funny stuff seems to happen when that kid's around, doesn't it Ken?' said a fair-haired little girl who was trying to plait all the hair on her only toy, a longhaired toy rabbit.

Ken looked up.

'Which one?'

'The really, really small one with the spooky eyes,' said the girl with the casual cruelty of youth, her fingers fumbling.

Ken thought. He'd never seen anything like that, and said so.

'I think he's scary,' continued the girl, whose name was Midori, 'the grown-ups think so too. I've seen how they look at him on Adoption day.'

Ken's heart suddenly went out to this boy, whoever he was. He couldn't possibly be as 'spooky' as Midori was making out.

'Yeah, well, we haven't been adopted either, so does that make us 'spooky'?' he said sharply, annoyed at the girl for her judging attitude.

'I'm not spooky! Don't be mean!' Midori snatched her rabbit up and stalked away, leaving Ken alone on the floor of the room he shared with her and eight other children.

'She's so annoying,' came a voice from a bed above Ken. He looked up. Toji's head poked out. 'Girls are so mean.'

Ken thought.

'D'you know who she was talking about?'

'Yeah, sure. He is really little, that's true, but he's not scary. He's really clever.'

Ken suddenly tired of the topic.

'It's nearly playtime, d'you wanna play with me?'

'Sure, Ken! I'll get Fujii and Tatsuya too, then we can have two teams!'

Ken grinned. They always played football in playtime. It was the only game all four of them knew.

**

'Ken! C'mon, you're spacing out!' Yohji's hand waving up and down in front of his face snapped Ken back to reality. He jumped.

'Geez, Yohji, what is it already?'

'We're closing, baka. Y'know, the thing we do everyday when the day is over?'

Ken made a face as he turned. He reached for a pot and slid it onto a high shelf, thinking as he did so that being tall was very useful.

He looked around. Aya was taking the last few purchases and orders. Yohji was sweeping. Woah, Kodak moment, Yohji doing some work. Omi wasn't on shut down tonight. He himself was tidying.

The last customers left the shop. Aya locked the till and stretched, yawning.

'Quiet tonight,' Yohji commented, sweeping petals and stems into a dustpan.

'Mmm.' Ken agreed, then spotted Aya beginning to pull down the heavy shutters.

'Hey, Aya! Omi's still out!'

'I did ask him to be in by eight,' Aya muttered, but stopped lowering the shutters for a second, before continuing.

'We can't leave the shutters open,' he said finally, and stepped back. Ken glared at him briefly.

'You could always wait here for him to come back, Ken,' said Yohji mockingly, 'if you're so concerned.'

'Omi's all grown up, Ken,' Aya said quietly, 'he'll be okay.'

'If you say so,' Ken relented, and followed the other two downstairs.

**

'Ken, you're too fast!' Fujii whined as Ken ran ahead of him. Ken just grinned at him, and slowed a little so he had a chance.

His friend whooped and deftly stole the ball from him. Fujii was good, but he just wasn't a fast runner.

The whistle blew for the end of playtime, and the children trudged back inside. Some of them, including Toji, Fujii, Ken and Tatsuya, were very muddy.

Their dorm mother clucked in exasperation.

'Must you enjoy your playtime quite so much?' she sighed, looking at the boys' dirty clothes.

They knew, however, that she was nice really. She brought them chocolate sometimes.

That night, when everyone was tucked up in bed and the lights were out, Ken had nearly fallen asleep when a voice called to him.

'Ken?'

'Wha…?' he rolled over.

It was Tatsuya, in the bed opposite. His eyes were open, although he was lying down.

'What d'you reckon happens to kids who never get adopted?'

Ken blinked.

'Err…I don't know. I kinda assumed everyone gets adopted eventually.'

'But what if no one wants you?' The younger boy sounded close to tears.

'Are you worried no one'll want you?' he asked softly.

He heard a sob from the other bed, 'Uh huh.'

Ken slipped out of bed and padded over to his friend's bed, then reached forward and took his hand. Tatsuya turned his damp face towards him.

'You don’t need to worry,' said Ken sincerely, 'really you don't. There are people out there for you.'

'What about you?'

Ken stopped, thinking.

'Yeah, I guess I'll have a place to go too.'

'Th-Thanks Ken…'

'It's all right. Go to sleep Tatsuya, 'kay?'

''Kay. G'night Ken.'

'Night, Tatsuya.'

Ken walked back to his bed and clambered back into it. He heard Tatsuya's sniffs trail off, to be replaced by regular breathing. He was asleep. Ken rolled over, and joined him.

**

Ken flicked the switch on the kettle and opened cupboards, looking for coffee. When he found it he took it down and put it on the table.

He ignored the little internal jibe and picked up the now-boiled kettle. When he'd made his coffee, he picked up a book from the little shelf behind the kitchen door and looked at it.

Huh, some no-brainer whodunnit. It would do. He walked back up into the shop and turned the lights on. He shivered slightly. It was getting a bit cold. He hoped Omi would get back soon. He didn’t know whether or not he'd taken a jacket.

Oh shut it, brain, Ken thought, settling into a chair and beginning his wait.

**

'Come on in, Ken.'

The eleven-year old stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him.

The manager (because kids never knew what else to call him) was sat behind his desk. Ken gulped. He hoped that he hadn't found out about that window that he'd broken last week…

'Sit down.'

He did. The manager leaned forward over the desk, his head resting on his clasped hands.

'How's your game, Ken?' he asked.

'Damn, this is about the window…' Ken thought.

'It's fine… erm, Sir? I'm really sorry about the window…'

The man looked puzzled.

'Which window?'

Ken looked at him in surprise.

'Th-The one next to the kitchen…'

'Oh that.' The man smiled, 'never mind about that, it's all insured.'

'OK.' Ken assumed that 'insured' meant 'fixed'.

'No, the reason I asked you is that I've just had a very interesting offer from this gentleman, concerning you.'

Ken looked up sharply. He hadn't noticed the other man in the room. The man walked forward. He was much younger than the manager. Ken guessed he was about twenty.

'Nice to meet you, Ken,' he said pleasantly, 'my name is Kurigawa, and I work at the Sports College.'

'Err…hello,' Ken said, reaching out unsurely and taking the hand that was offered to him.

'Kurigawa-san coaches football at the College,' Manager said.

'Oh,' said Ken, looking at the man differently. He smiled.

'Can I have a chat with Ken-kun?' Kurigawa asked the Manager. He nodded.

'Take as long as you like.'

Ken followed Kurigawa out of the room, still not sure exactly what was happening.

**

He was, Ken knew, an idiot. He didn't like coffee.

He looked at his mug in distaste, but sipped at it anyway, because the air was cold. He flicked the book open. God, he was bored already, but the idea of going back downstairs didn't even enter his head. He needed to make sure Omi could get in OK.

Turning pages absently, he found his mind wandering off the plot and back in time to when he'd been around twelve. He smiled at the memory. A visitor had come to the orphanage. Ken couldn't recall his name, but he'd offered Ken something truly amazing, a ticket out of the place.

Ken remembered looking at the man in a puzzled way, just before he'd explained what a scholarship was.

He'd passed the scholarship, and had left the orphanage to go and board at the college. He was the last of his friends to leave.

Life at the college had been great. His coach liked him, and he in turn was enthusiastic and cheerful, turning up to every practice, even when it was raining and everyone else was moaning.

The coach had put him in goal experimentally one day, and he'd found that it was what he was best at, so when he was selected for the team, that was the position he was assigned.

Ken laid back, the book and coffee forgotten.

Yeah, life had been great. He'd been on the road to success, working his way up from a non-start orphan to international level goalkeeper. Then he'd been spotted by a talent scout after a school match, who made him an offer he couldn't believe.

He'd thanked his coach wholeheartedly, who'd replied that he would really miss him, but he wished him every success.

Ken suddenly snapped back to reality.

'But that didn't happen…' he sighed. No point in moping about and reliving the past. He may have been a top-class footballer at one time, but now he was nothing but a murderer. He picked up his coffee cup and drank it all, pushing the depressing thoughts out of his mind, and replacing them with other thoughts.

He smiled a little. Yeah, he had something good here too. A little family who all looked out for each other. Like he was looking out for Omi.

He'd always looked out for younger kids, even back at the orphanage, he suddenly remembered, but before he could continue that thought, a slight tapping on the metal shutters shook him fully awake.

He got up and walked over to the door, listening. He heard a soft sigh, and said, 'Omi, is that you?'

'Yeah,' he heard Omi's voice reply.

'Just a sec,' he called, turning the handle and grumbling about Aya. As soon as he shutters were about halfway up, he saw Omi's head and shoulders appear as he ducked under the barrier. Checking he was all the way inside, Ken began to turn the handle the other way.

'Thanks,' he heard Omi say. He saw him straighten up out of the corner of his eye and look around the empty shop.

Ken stood up straight again, and saw that Omi was looking at him. His blue eyes were questioning.

'Did you really wait here for me?' he asked in a surprised voice.

'Well, yeah, I didn't want you to be stuck out there.' Ken went for honesty.

The younger boy shrugged dismissively.

'Oh I'd've got in,' he said, and Ken's face fell.

He was about to apologise, when he saw Omi was looking at him again, a hint of a smile on his face.

'But thank you very much, Ken-kun!'

Ken's inner nagging voice fell silent. That had made it all worthwhile.

'Don't worry 'bout it,' he told Omi, picking up his mug and book. He walked towards the door, then turned and grinned at his friend.

'C'mon, we've all been waiting for you to get back so we can eat.'

This seemed to rouse Omi from the thoughtful silence he'd fallen into.

'You didn't have to wait,' he said, but Ken laughed dismissively.

'Of course we did,' he said sincerely, 'Dinner's not complete without all four of us. P.S. Could you walk a little faster? I'm starving.'

He said this just to try and get Omi to smile again. Sure enough, he did.

'Yeah, I'm coming,' he said, and the two of them walked into the kitchen.

**

'That was great, Ken! Just keep playing like that and we're going through for sure!'

Ken grinned at the coach. He knew they were doing well. He'd saved enough in the first half to make his job easier in the upcoming second half. He began to walk towards the changing rooms to chat to his teammates, when a man dashed to his side out of a passing group of substitutes.

'Ken! You were great out there! Way to go!'

Ken smiled.

'Thanks Kase. Shame about you not getting to play.'

'Yeah well,' the man said quietly, 'my day'll come.'

He seemed to shake himself.

'Hey, Ken, man, you look thirsty, have a drink.'

'Oh great, thanks Kase.'

**

Ken heard Aya enquiring as to whether Omi was all right over dinner, but, as he suspected, Omi responded in the positive.

'There's definitely something up with him…' he thought absently. He heard Omi get up and excuse himself, and thank them for waiting.

Ken suddenly felt helplessly embarrassed, and he didn't know why. He didn't look up as Omi left the room.

Ken got up and excused himself a few minutes after Omi had left. He thanked Aya as well, because he'd cooked. He wondered briefly how Omi had known that without asking.

He flopped down on the sofa in the downstairs room, flicking through the TV guide. There was nothing on, really, except a comedy film in about half an hour. An idea formed in his head. He put the guide back down and got up.

**

'Oh, just what is he thinking!?'

The commentator's disbelieving voice filled everyone's ears. That was the third time that the goalie hadn't even attempted to stop a shot. He just stood, staring straight ahead and trembling slightly.

The next shot caught him on the leg, but rebounded in anyway. He slumped to the ground, his vision blurring.

Ken attempted to get up, but his muscles weren't listening to him. He lay, helplessly, on the ground.

The match ended. They'd been hammered, and it was his fault. Ken struggled to stand. A defender from his team ran over to him. Ken thought hard… His name was… it was…

'Ken! Ken! It's me Tito! Look at me, man!'

But Ken couldn't lift his head. Tito yelled for a paramedic as the press began to close in.

**

'Did you hear? Some footballer in the J-League tested positive for drugs! He's gonna be chucked out for sure!'

It was in loads of papers. Ken couldn't step outside without being plagued. It didn't matter that Kase and Tito believed him. The fact was that in the eyes of everyone else, he was guilty.

He knew he'd be kicked out. The team couldn't survive with him still in the ranks. As he'd been collecting his stuff, he'd looked up and seen Tito in the doorway. The look on his face was murderous.

'I just hope they catch the bastard that did this to you, Ken,' he said. Ken nodded, and reached out a hand. Tito took it, and they shook.

'Good luck, Tito, and thanks,' Ken said, dully.

'Good luck, Ken,' Tito said.

**

Ken took the stairs two at a time. He poked his head around Omi's door. The boy was just sitting on his chair, looking vacantly at his hands, which were clasped in his lap.

'Omi?'

The boy jumped in fright and half fell off his chair. Ken ran forward and grabbed his arm.

'Geez! Sorry!' He pulled him back onto his chair.

Omi just stared at him.

'Sorry,' said Ken, feeling awkward, 'are you working?'

The other boy shook his head.

'Can't concentrate,' he muttered.

Ken nodded. It fit.

'Well, uh, the reason I came to see you is that there's that Austin Powers movie on, I wondered if you wanted to watch it with me. It's on the TV, I mean.'

Great, his ability to construct sentences appeared to have failed him. Omi didn't seem to notice, however, and just glanced at the work on his desk.

Ken's heart sank.

'Didn't Aya or Yohji want to watch it?' Omi said finally. That was definitely a hint, Ken thought.

'I didn’t ask them,' he said truthfully.

'You didn't?' Omi seemed astonished.

'No, I wanted to watch it with you,' Ken said, feeling braver, 'Are you coming?'

Omi stood up and his mood appeared to lighten. He even smiled.

'Sure!' he said.

**

'Ken! Ken! Listen to me! I've found out who did it!' Ken spun around and looked hard at the other man, whose face was determined.

'Seriously?'

'Yeah! We just have to meet some people here!' Kase waved a piece of paper in front of Ken's nose. He snatched it out of the air skilfully and read it.

'A warehouse?' he asked doubtfully. Kase nodded.

'C'mon, Ken, it's worth it. We can finally find out who did this to you!'

Ken nodded slowly.

'I guess I'll see you there,' he said.

**

'Kase?' Ken looked around.

'I'm over here.' Ken walked over to his friend, who was looking around too.

'They didn’t show,' Ken said dully.

'No! They will, let's just wait a little…'

'Kase!' Ken yelped in horror as the man who'd been standing on a crate behind his friend brought down the bar he was holding on Kase's head.

He himself was grabbed from behind and thrown to his face. He groaned and tried to get up, only to see Kase being dragged away by a group of men. There was a strong smell of petrol, and Ken saw one of the men had a can in his hand.

'Ken!' Kase cried in terror.

One of the men reached in his pocket and drew out something. Ken struggled to get up, but then the man threw it. It was a lighter. The petrol all around him ignited instantly.

'KASE!' He screamed.

**

Ken and Omi sat watching the film in a companionable silence. Ken smiled to see Omi laughing again. He really hadn't been himself lately.

Omi turned towards him.

'What?' he asked. He must have seen Ken watching him.

'Oh… nothing really,' Ken replied, as lightly as he could, 'I was just thinking how it's great to hear you laugh again. You've been kinda down lately.'

'I have?'

But Ken carried on, 'well, I thought you weren't quite yourself… all quiet and stuff…' He stopped. God he sucked at this sort of thing.

There was a short silence, then a nagging question popped into his head.

'Say Omi, how'd you ever get caught up in all this?'

He kept his head down.

'It just doesn't seem to add up…'

And to him, it didn't. He was here because he was a screw up, and this was the only path available to him after his fall. But Omi was young, for him, the opportunities were endless…weren't they?

'Oh well,' he heard Omi say, 'you don't know anything.'

Ken let out a sigh. Omi had put up barriers with an almost audible clang.

'No, I guess I don't,' he said, resignedly.

He could see Omi looking at him out of the corner of his eye, but resolved not to meet his gaze. Then Omi spoke.

'Ken-kun, I'll admit… I've been thinking about…y'know… my childhood …recently.'

Ken looked up. He had?

'Really? Is it bothering you?' He said quietly.

'I just… can't help wondering what would've happened if things had been different.' Omi said softly.

But all Ken said was, 'Mmm?'

'Well, y'know…' Omi continued, 'If I'd been born elsewhere…If someone else…'

He seemed to force himself to stop. Ken wondered why.

'Well…I dunno about that, Omi,' Ken said.

He thought.

'But I guess that would mean we would've never met.'

Ken's thoughts shocked him.

'I guess,' Omi said quietly.

They sat in silence for a while, ignoring the film.

'I can't even begin to guess what you went through, Omi,' Ken found himself saying, 'but isn't it worth something, because we're a team - You, Aya, Yohji and me?'

Omi didn't answer for a bit, and Ken began to feel depressed. God, how could this boy keep doing that to him?

He was shocked a second later as he felt Omi's arms wrap around him.

'Hey!' he cried, startled, but couldn't help but lay an arm over his friend as he lay against him.

'I'm glad I know you.'

Omi's voice was very quiet.

'I guess it was worth it.'

Lost as to how to answer, Ken just hugged Omi a bit tighter.

'One day…' Omi said suddenly, '…I'll tell you everything. I promise.'

Ken blinked. That was a very big promise. He felt slightly awed.

'Omi, you don't have to…' he said weakly, but he felt Omi's hand on his mouth, silencing him. He looked down into Omi's blue eyes.

'No Ken, that's a promise.'

'O-OK… Then I promise I'll tell you about me someday as well.'

Ken shut his eyes. Now what had he done? He would have to keep the promise, but he didn't want Omi's pity.

'Only if you want to,' Omi replied.

Ken saw Omi look up at him briefly, then away again. It was so nice to be so close to him like this…

He realised, with an odd jerk, that his feelings for his younger friend had moved beyond brotherly affection. He wanted to protect him… Keep him safe from all the shit in their lives. He reached out to touch his head, but stopped himself. Omi didn't notice. He seemed to be avoiding his gaze.

'Omi?' he said, trying to keep his voice level. The other boy looked up a tad reluctantly, and Ken noticed there was a slight pinkness to his cheeks.

'Uh?' he replied coherently.

But Ken's voice wouldn't say what he wanted it to, and instead came out with, 'Are you comfy there?'

And then he couldn't look away. Ken found that Omi's blue eyes had captured him.

He lowered his head and brushed his lips against his friend's in a soft kiss. He felt Omi jump in surprise, but then begin to respond.

He felt Omi's lips on his, kissing him back, and felt his arms tighten around his neck.

'Omi…'

This was bliss. Omi responded to him like no one else had before. When Ken gently pushed him down and kissed him a little more firmly, he heard the other boy whimper in pleasure, encouraging him. He nuzzled his jaw and began to gently kiss the soft skin of Omi's neck.

He heard the other boy swallow a yelp and felt him start to move against him, his arms coming around him and pulling him closer.

And then…

He pulled away, although it nearly broke his heart to do so.

'Oh my God, Omi, I'm so, so sorry! Shit!' There was really nothing else he could say.

He watched shock register on Omi's face as well as he sat back up again. Ken watched in self-hatred as Omi put his face in his hands.

'It wasn't just you,' Omi said without feeling, 'it was my fault too…'

'I'm sorry,' Ken gasped, 'I really am. Shit, Omi, I dunno what I was thinking!'

'You weren't thinking,' Omi said dully, 'I know I wasn't.'

Ken could only nod miserably.

'Look,' he heard Omi say, 'let's just forget about it.'

Ken looked at him in amazement.

'You what!? You think I can forget that?'

**

'Ken Hidaka?'

'Who's there?' he cried, his voice hoarse from shouting.

A woman stepped forward. Her dark hair was loose over her shoulders. She wore a smart trouser suit.

Ken had been alone for at least two days. No one used this warehouse anymore. He'd tried moving, but his hands throbbed unbearably whenever he did, and his head hurt.

She held out her hand and helped him to his knees.

'Can you make it outside?' she asked, 'there's a car waiting.'

'Who are you?' Ken asked. Maybe, he reasoned, he had finally gone crazy.

'I'm Bagheera,' the woman said, and began to help him to walk.

He thought.

'Like…the panther from the Jungle Book?' he asked. He had gone crazy.

'Yes, that's right,' the woman said. She hadn't been lying. A black car stood waiting outside.

Previous bad experiences made Ken stop.

'What d'you want?' He asked harshly.

'First of all, we want to get your injuries treated, then, we'll offer you a job.'

'A job? How did you find me?'

'Let's just say, you're special.'

Ken made no further protests as he was placed in the car.

**

'How's that?'

Ken flexed his hand. The bandages stayed put.

'Good thanks.' He said. The nurse began to wrap one around his head.

He'd been broken. His friendly attitude had disappeared and he simply did what he was told. He'd said that to the nurse because that was what she wanted to hear.

The nurse vanished out of a side door, and Bagheera entered.

'How d'you feel?'

He felt he owed this woman the truth.

'Like shit, inside and out.'

'You've had a crap time,' she said sympathetically, 'and right now you probably want answers, and I'm quite willing to answer any questions, but first, let me tell you a little about what we want from you.'

So Ken sat and listened for a good fifteen minutes while Bagheera spoke. When she was done, he said, 'and why d'you think I'd be good for this job?'

She smiled at him shrewdly.

'Well, you want to do it, don't you?' she said, 'that's a start.'

Ken opened his mouth to contradict her, then shut it again. She was right, he did want to do it. He wanted to be able to do something about all the scum in the world. But killing people…

'Yeah,' he said, 'I want to do it.'

'Good,' she said, 'of course, you won't be alone, and you'll be instructed, but you're already fit, so that won’t be a problem. Here's your key.'

Ken nodded and took it. He felt like his life was going on and dragging him with it. He sighed and looked at the ground. Yeah, whatever they wanted was fine. He'd stopped caring ages ago.

To his surprise, there was a tap on the door. He looked towards it. Bagheera, who seemed to have been expecting it, sat down behind the desk and merely said, 'Come in, Omi.'

'Good day at school?' she asked. The boy nodded, and Ken looked up at him.

'Let me introduce you,' Bagheera said, 'Omi, this is Ken Hidaka. Ken, Omi Tsukiyono.'

Ken nodded to the boy, unsure of what to say, and the boy looked like he was trying to smile, but it didn't quite come out right.

'You two are going to be working together,' Bagheera continued. Ken saw the boy look up at her suddenly, and she must have seen it, because she proceeded to speak just to him, and nodded and said, 'Yes, it's started now.'

Ken wondered what she meant by that. The boy, Omi, seemed to understand, but he didn't appear to like what he understood.

'Well, now I've introduced you two, I'll leave the rest to you, Omi. Could you show Ken where he'll be staying? He has the key.'

Ken watched as the boy nodded, then jumped to his feet.

'Oh!' he cried, although Ken couldn't see why, 'Yes, Bagheera-san.' He bowed. His voice was light and pleasant.

Ken stood up as well, his burns complaining at him. He saw the boy looking at him apprehensively.

'Um…d'you wanna follow me?' he asked. Ken nodded and followed him out of the room.

'See you later,' Bagheera called after them.

Outside, Omi turned towards Ken and mumbled, 'Uhh…does your key have a number on it or something?'

Ken hesitated, then reached in his pocket and pulled it out. He read the number on it.

'It says 475,' he said.

They began to walk. Omi had made no answer to his reply, and he was beginning to get uneasy.

Then Omi's voice jerked him out of his depressed thinking.

'Hello, Persia-san,' he called out. A man further down the corridor turned and smiled.

'Hello, Omi, who's this?' He said. His voice was deeper, but a bit like Omi's, Ken realised.

'I'm Ken Hidaka,' he said politely, the man called Persia nodded.

'Good to make your acquaintance, Ken,' he said, 'My name's Persia, although Omi may have given that away. I'm your co-ordinator.'

Ken nodded.

'Won't be long now, my friends,' Persia said, beginning to walk away.

**

'Here you go,' Omi said, again attempting to smile, but failing. Ken walked into the room, slightly sad. He was willing to bet that Omi had a really nice smile.

'Thanks, Omi,' he said, and the other boy just stared at him, then appeared to shake himself and laughed a bit.

'Sorry,' he said, 'I'm not used to new people.'

'Omi…are you scared of me?'

The boy laughed a little, but it was weak.

'No, of course not.'

'Good,' Ken said, 'because, y'know, I'm not at all scary, really.'

'You've got to go here tomorrow,' Omi said, seemingly desperate to change the subject, 'combat training. I'll come and get you.'

He didn't sound like he was looking forward to it. He handed Ken a piece of paper. Then he turned.

'I'll see you tomorrow, I guess,' he said, before shutting the door. Ken heard his footsteps carry him away at a run, and sighed.

He stretched. What a weird day, and the following weeks were going to be even weirder. He let his arms fall by his sides, yawning.

**

'Sheesh!'

Even with his quick reflexes, Ken always had a hell of a time trying to keep up with Omi. He jumped back. The kid was so damn quick. He grinned. He had him this time 'though. As Omi brought his arm around, Ken grabbed it and flipped the kid on his back, winding him. Immediately he felt bad, and let go, but Omi was up in a flash, and then it was he who was on his back, groaning. Omi sat on him.

'Yield!' Ken gasped, and Omi got off. Ken brushed himself down.

'You're too damn fast,' he said, but he smiled. Omi looked at him. Ken hadn't complimented him before.

'I've got a head start on you,' he said offhandedly. Ken's ears pricked.

'How much?' he asked nonchalantly, but Omi shot him a tiny glare, and he knew why. He wasn't supposed to ask that kind of question.

Omi began to walk away. The practice was over. Ken suddenly called to him.

'Omi? Why don't you like me?' The boy turned, and to his astonishment, he looked embarrassed.

'I do like you,' he said quietly.

'You do?' Ken was confused. He'd always acted with indifference or fear before, but the fear had evaporated when Omi'd found out he could beat Ken at almost anything.

'Yeah,' said the boy. Ken didn't know what to say. He shuffled his feet.

'Hey, Ken,' the boy said, making him jump, 'd'you want another match?'

'OK,' Ken said, 'but I thought the idea was that we were supposed to learn to fight together.'

'That comes later,' said Omi, surprising Ken with his confident tone and how much he appeared to know.

'Oh, all right,' Ken said, then he grinned. 'I'm gonna win this time, you just wait!'

Omi smirked.

'Yeah, right,' he said. Ken hadn't won yet.

But this time was different. Ken was truly paying attention. He watched Omi closely and figured out exactly what he was going to do next. Omi found this infuriating.

'Grr…' He mumbled, as Ken dodged again. Then grabbed at his wrist and twisted it up behind his back… and didn't let go.

Omi was shocked. Ken wasn't going to let go… and if he didn't, then he'd have to yield or his wrist would snap.

'Yield,' he muttered. Ken let him untwist his arm, but kept hold of his arm.

'Sorry, Omi,' he said, 'but I had to win, just once. Are you OK?'

'Of course I am,' Omi muttered, wondering why Ken hadn't let go of his arm yet. He did so now, and with the same hand, fluffed Omi's hair teasingly. Omi blinked, then, without any input from his brain, a big smile appeared on his face.

Ken smiled back. He'd been right, it was nice.

'Good match, Ken-kun,' Omi said pleasantly. Ken blinked.

'Thanks, Omi-kun,' he replied, and Omi suddenly felt very happy. He was going to enjoy being friends with Ken.

**

'Omi's getting on well with the new kid, isn't he?'

Ken stopped. He didn't feel he should walk around the corner into a conversation about him. He began to walk silently back the way he'd just come.

'Yes,' he heard Persia's voice reply, 'he's really friendly, isn't he? Takes after his mother…'

Ken stopped walking and listened.

'Really? Was Kikuno friendly?'

Persia laughed sadly, 'Oh yes, she was an angel. Reiji didn't deserve her, and neither did I…'

Ken froze.

'D'you regret it, Shuichi?' he heard the other voice ask. He recognised it as Bagheera.

'Not for a second,' Persia said firmly, 'It's like Kikuno's still here, in a way…'

'But Omi can never ever know who you are…' Bagheera's voice was sad.

'That's best. He's a smart kid. He'll figure out who his family are eventually, but hopefully he'll think that… well, you know, is his father. He can never know the truth.'

Ken swallowed. Omi could never know that his father had been by his side all along.

Ken knew nothing of Omi's past, but now he knew quite a lot about his family. He felt heavy, as though responsibility had settled on his shoulders. He couldn't tell Omi, ever. This would be really difficult. He and Omi were getting on brilliantly now.

After the first few stilted weeks, it was like they'd known each other their whole lives. Ken had never had a best friend, but in Omi he thought he'd found one. He hoped they'd still know each other years from now.

He kept walking, trying to forget what he'd just heard, his hand running absently over the plumage of the bronze eagle that stood in the corner of the corridor as he passed.

**

It was too dark, but Ken knew that if the lights were on, the eagle would be blazing brightly. It was always kept pristine. He kept walking. He didn't know why, but it seemed to make sense. He was looking for Omi, so he would start at the beginning, where they'd met nearly two years ago. He walked the dark corridors, listening.

He was really worried. Omi had simply disappeared in the aftermath of the Reiji Takatori mission. Ken had had his dream job for a little while, but realised that it just didn't mean anything to him without his best friend.

He thought guiltily about the strange moment they'd had in the downstairs room. Nobody, male or female, had ever felt so right, so good, in his arms and against his lips. He would give anything to feel Omi that way again.

For now, 'though, he'd settle for finding him.

He wracked his memory…it had been room…470. He walked over to it and opened the door.

**

His heart soared as he recognised the figure sat on the bed, and said, as jauntily as he could, 'thought you'd be here. Room 470, right?'

Omi jumped and dropped what he'd been holding. Ken saw the dart roll away into a corner. He looked at Omi in disbelief.

'No…' he said hoarsely, '…you weren't…'

Omi looked away, his heart beating painfully. How had Ken found him? What had led him to open the door at that very moment?

His thoughts were interrupted by Ken grabbing his shoulders and slamming him against the wall. He gasped.

'You listen to me Omi, OK? There is NO WAY you're backing out now! Not after everything you've been through! You hear me? The Omi I know would never be so cowardly! Got that?'

Omi was too stunned to move. Ken felt his anger drain away. It was OK. He'd got here in time. Omi was OK. Everything was… Everything was OK… He let go of Omi's shoulders.

Omi looked at him in the darkness. If Ken hadn't come through the door just then, he would have done it. The muscles in his arms had been ready. There had been nothing stopping him.

He stopped that thought… and he what?

'I love him…' He blinked, then realised it was true. It all made sense. It made sense how amazing it had felt when Ken had kissed him before…It made sense why he loved being around him…

Omi came back to reality with a start. Ken had sat down next to him on his bed, and had laid his head back against the wall.

'Omi, you scared the shit out of me,' he said quietly. His hand was near Omi's and Omi could feel it trembling.

He thought. How would he have felt if the situation had been opposite? If Ken had… He suddenly found his throat had tightened. He gasped slightly. If just imagining it was affecting him like this…how must Ken have felt…?

'I'm sorry, Ken-kun,' he whispered. Ken sighed, but his voice wasn't steady as he spoke again.

'Just promise me you'll never do anything so damn stupid ever again.'

'I promise,' Omi said, and that put him in mind of another promise he'd made. He turned and nuzzled at Ken's arm until it was over him, and snuggled close to him.

'You know I promised you I'd tell you everything someday,' he said, before Ken could react, 'well, I want to do it now.'

'OK,' Ken said.

So Omi told him everything. He told him about his kidnapping, about how Persia had rescued him, about how he'd lived inside Kritiker for nearly ten years, learning to be a Weiss at the same time as learning how to do algebra.

Ken listened, his heart twisting as he heard Omi talk about Persia. Could he tell him now…?

'Omi,' he said gently, when the boy had finished, 'I can't tell you this in any way that won't hurt you, but I think you deserve to know.'

Omi's face turned upwards to look at him.

'What is it, Ken-kun?' he asked softly.

'It's…your father.'

'What about him?' Omi said tightly. Ken sighed, and hugged Omi closer to him.

'Reiji Takatori wasn't your father, Omi.'

'He wasn't? Then who was?'

'Shuichi Takatori.'

Omi was silent, but Ken could feel him shaking.

'Then who was my mother?'

Ken swallowed.

'Kikuno Takatori,' he said, 'Reiji's wife.'

Omi's heart was beating in his ears.

No, Ken was lying, it couldn't be true…but it made sense. Why Persia had rescued him, why he always smiled when he saw him. The sad expressions that used to cross his face when he looked at him…presumably because Omi reminded him of Kikuno. His father had loved him! And he'd been there all the time!

Omi groaned and his hands tightened on Ken's shirt, then he began to sob. Ken hugged him tightly, willing all the pain to go away, but knowing that it never truly would.

Omi didn't remember how long he sat crying. What eventually stopped him was Ken's hand on his face lifting it gently. Omi blinked, his eyes sticky. The other boy's face was sad.

'I guess I made a promise too, huh?' Something in his voice made Omi not want to hear his story. He knew that making Ken relive it would only cause pain.

'Ken-kun,' he whispered, 'really, you don’t have to…'

'No, I want to tell you,' Ken said thickly, 'I've never wanted to tell anyone else.'

Omi swallowed. Then he reached up and put one hand on Ken's face, turning it towards him. He moved so he was sat in front of Ken and Ken's arms were around his waist, then he leant forward and kissed him tenderly.

'I love you,' he whispered, then laid his head on his chest.

He felt Ken rest his head on his own, and felt his arms tighten around him.

Slowly, Ken's story came out. Omi heard about how he was an orphan, with only a vague recollection of his mother. Ken told him about his scholarship, going to Sports College, and then finally getting chosen for a Premiership team. Omi was very quiet. He'd had no idea.

Then Ken told him about the thrown match and the set-up in the warehouse. He gasped.

'Wasn't Kase the name of one of our secondary objectives?'

'Yes,' Ken said. Omi reached up and stroked his face gently.

'Go on,' he said.

There wasn't much more to tell. Ken told him about Bagheera finding him and his burns being treated. Omi thought back. So that was what the bandages had been for.

'Were you really badly burned?' Ken nodded.

'Most of it was out of sight, 'though,' he said, 'and it's all healed now.'

Neither of them said anything for a while, then Omi said, 'We're a couple of screw-ups, aren't we?'

Ken nodded forlornly, but suddenly his brain shouted at him.

'Hello! Yes, hello, this is your brain. Just wanted to point out that Omi is sitting on you, and a few minutes ago he kissed you and said that he loved you. For God's sake stop feeling sorry for yourself! That will be all.'

'Omi?' he said, 'I love you too.'

Omi looked up, and grinned, although his face was still damp, and strands of hair were still stuck to his cheeks.

'Then kiss me, idiot,' he laughed. Ken was only too happy to oblige. He let his hand slip under Omi's T-shirt and Omi broke away from him with a gasp.

'Oh!' He cried, and Ken, greatly encouraged, rid him of the garment. He let both his hands wander over Omi's beautiful body, jumping slightly when Omi gasped, 'Oh yes, just like that… Oh Ken…'

And then Omi's lips were on his again, insistent and passionate. Ken responded, groaning slightly. He co-operated as Omi tried to remove his shirt, then slid his arms around his love, pulling him closer so their skin was touching, Omi could make out, even in the dark, the angry scars across Ken's chest and sides. Tears pricked in his eyes, but his mind was taken off that by Ken's lips finding his again.

Omi gasped, then pulled away slightly and started to nip and kiss Ken's neck and shoulder, remembering how good it had felt when Ken had done that to him months ago.

Ken jumped as Omi nipped him.

'Ow!' he thought, 'but then again…mmm…'

He tangled his hands in Omi's slightly damp hair before running his hands all the way down the boy's spine. Omi arched back, mewling.

'Ah!' But Ken drew his hand back up, pausing with it on the back of Omi's head, then pulling him forward to kiss him slowly and lovingly.

They broke apart.

'I love you so much,' Omi said softly, one hand caressing Ken's face, 'I guess all that shitty stuff was destiny.'

'Well, I don’t care what it was,' Ken chuckled, 'as long as I get to have you at the end of it all.'

Omi snuggled against him.

'We can't stay here,' Ken pointed out, 'there's no heating, it'll be worse than being outside. I've got a place. We can go there.'

Omi nodded, and reached for his T-shirt, pulling it on. Ken did likewise. Then he got up.

'C'mon,' he said gently, 'this place is in the past now.'

Omi nodded. He was right. Kritiker was his past, but Ken was here right now. He took the hand that was offered to him, and together, they walked out of the room.