Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Karma Police ❯ Reunion Tour ( Chapter 6 )

I lied, guys, Ken's POV and Omi's POV will be used more than I thought. Don't worry, Aya and Youji will remain the focus of the ficlet ^_^;;

Karma Police: Chapter 6: Reunion Tour

::Omi's POV::

It's nice to know some things never change. For example, Youji still thinks that having sex in the shower covers up how loudly he moans when he and Aya screw. While I'm glad that the two of them are back together and apparently happy, their happiness only serves to remind me how alone I am; and I spent much of last night lying awake even after the others have finished their extracurriculars. I got up earlier than Aya this morning and have sat at the kitchen table nursing a warm cup of coffee ever since; I'm sure if Yotan got up this early he'd still tease me for looking like a kid, but he doesn't realize how far that is from the truth.

Aya knows. Aya understands how alone I am. He felt the same way when he let Youji go.

With the three of us together again it's hard for me not to think of Ken and wish that he was here, but I try to push thoughts of the brunette away. He asked to go; said he needed to get out, and I let him. Asking him to stay for my sake would have been selfish, so I let him go. I've gone to watch him practice soccer with the kids he coaches now on occassion, usually on my lunch break; parking at the edge of the park -- close enough to see him and be near him without actually being detected. He's never seen me, I know a reminder of the past would upset Ken deeply, especially when he's made such an excellent start in his attempt to move on and leave Weiss behind. Every now and then though, he'll get this look in his eye and glance over his shoulder towards the flowershop and smile. It is a smile that breaks my heart.

I am shaken from such thoughts by the sound of a phone ringing and it occurs to me that it's my phone. Odd. Very odd indeed. Not many people know that I'm out of the office. I pick it up and answer cautiously.

"Omi?"

Holy shit. It's Ken. I barely manage to gulp out an affirmative, yes, I'm Omi.

"I want back in." He says, and my world tumbles.

Should I let him turn his back on the happiness he's found to return to a life that was obviously destroying him?

"It's my choice." Ken says and I realize I've vocalized my thoughts. Crap. He sounds so serious, so grim, so dark; nothing like the Ken-kun I love and remember. Tired, even.

"You can't protect me from everything, chibi."

He's right. I can't.

::Aya's POV::

I wake from dreams of sex in the shower, the water dripping down Youji's beautiful golden skin, plastering his hair to his face, adding so much allure to an already perfect form; and can't help but smile. Whatever happens, I'm glad he's back. I lean over, laying a soft kiss against his collarbone before getting out of bed, pulling on some lose black pants and a plain t-shirt as I head down to the kitchen to make some coffee. Omi's already there, his fingers nervously playing along the rim of the cup. He looks pensive, and I head to the coffee maker to fix myself a cup and sit down at the table silently. Omi glances up at me, teeth worrying his bottom lip.

"Ken's coming back."

He says finally and I nod.

"Good."

He doesn't look convinced, but I am. Ken and Youji were always good friends; I know the brunette can help round out the missing parts of Youji's memory. But more than that, Omi needs him, and the little brat has been too selfish to admit it over all these years. Manx and Birman are the next to rouse, and I watch them in barely veiled amusement -- Birman's got something of a satisfied smile and Manx's disheveled hair is pulled back into a messy ponytail. It seems my assumptions about the two of them were on target. We decide to let Youji sleep as the four of us discuss details about Kreiger, or rather, they talk, and I listen while calmly sipping my coffee.

"I don't think we're going to learn anything just stuck here at Villa White." Omi says, and I resist the urge to scowl at the boy because I have a feeling that he's going to send us back to Tokyo. Damn. I was looking forward to a lot of idle days filled with Youji reteaching me all the wonderful ways to stay in bed on lazy afternoons...

"Don't you think it's dangerous to go back to Tokyo?" Manx has asked. "Kreiger is going to be on the lookout for Youji; especially now that he's back in our hands. They really had wanted him to stay with Midori and become attached." Right, Manx. We all need to stay here enjoying a lovely, lovely vacation.

"Youji is Weiss." Omi says firmly, not giving up, and I can tell by his stubborn pout that the rest of us are pretty much doomed. "It's not like he hasn't dealt with danger before." Well that irritates me. Sure, Youji's been in dangerous situations, but he doesn't remember any of them, so his experience isn't doing him a whole lot of good.

"You'll be putting him in a dangerous situation if we resume our jobs undercover at the Koneko and reinstate Weiss." I murmur. Part of this is because I like my job the way it is now, with little killing, but most of it is for Youji. He never liked being a killer. None of us did. I would love to protect him from ever feeling that guilt ever again. "He doesn't remember anything, Omi."

"He remembers you. And he's remembering more and more each day. If we discover Lethe in his system then we can administer the antidote and he'll have all of his memories back." Omi points out and I scowl.

"Why would he want those memories back?"

"Because they're mine." Youji says from the doorway, leaning against it with a lazy grin. He hasn't bothered with putting a shirt on and I would love to let my hands roam all over his flat abdomen, but to the other three sitting at this table, I am Aya. Calm. Ice.

Only to Youji am I ever Ran. Fire. Passion. Still, it bothers me that he would want such painful memories back when he has a tiny chance to be blissfully happy without them, with me. "I'm going for a walk." I say flatly, and head for the door.

::Youji's POV::

Silly, stubborn Ran. I watch him head for the door and shoot Omi a reassuring smile, followed by my most charming grin to both of the ladies. "Excuse me, ladies...and gent."

Ran can walk pretty fast when he wants to and I do my best to catch up to him in a hurry, grabbing his arm and turning him to face me.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." I say, and his scowl deepens into the familiar expression of irritation. I wait for him to speak because somehow I know that eventually he will explain himself, attempt to justify his somewhat childish behavior by proving that there was in fact a rational thought process behind it.

"I don't understand why you'd want to remember it." Ran murmurs finally, tense stance relaxing, and I know I've won him back over. "So much guilt and blood and pain."

I smile at him, and it's not a mask of a smile, but a real one. "Because I want to see why whatever I felt for you...whatever I still feel for you...was strong enough to overcome all of those things. I want to see how it held us together."

He seems satisfied with that answer so I lean down for a soft kiss, warm and gentle, when another voice interrupts us.

"OI! GET A ROOM!"

Ran stiffens and pulls away, turning to glare at the brunette for the interruption.

"Hidaka." He growls. "Shut up and get your ass inside."

Hidaka, eh? Apparently our merry troupe is now complete. The brunette looks like he wants to ask me a few things -- and I'm tired of answering that I only remember the basic concepts right now, so I'm pleased when he shoots Ran an irritated glance and heads inside. I turn to follow him inside, but Ran catches my arm.

"No." He says quietly, and I turn to question him and am silenced with another kiss.

::Omi's POV::

The door opens and I glance up, expecting to greet Youji or Aya, and instead, Ken steps inside. Our eyes meet, and then Ken looks away, almost as if ashamed. Well, I would be, too, if I had just made the choice to return to a life of killing.

"You can take the room across from Aya and Youji." I explain. It's next to Birman and Manx and diagonally across the hall from me. It hurts to talk to him so formally, but I don't know what to say. A younger Omi would have charged at Ken, hugged him, and exclaimed, 'Ken-kun! I'm so glad you're back!' But that Omi died with my real father, lost in a maze between two names: Omi...Mamoru. Bombay and Persia. I never really know which person I'm supposed to be, and Ken, strong, athletic, handsome Ken, would never want anyone like that.

He nods and heads down the hall, and I wait until he's out of earshot.

"Welcome back, Ken-kun."

::Ken's POV::

I step inside the door and face Omi's inquisitive eyes. Apparently he was not expecting me so soon, and was probably waiting for Aya or Youji to come back inside. He's taller, and looks a little less like a kid than the last time I saw him. This makes it easier to think about him; when he was younger and Weiss still really existed, Omi looked innocent and acted innocent, a striking paradox to his life as an assassin. Now he's older, and seems less naive, and I wonder if that maturity comes with his position as Persia. I realize a few seconds late that we're staring at eachother like idiots, and can't help but notice that the child-like roundness has faded from his face; but the big blue eyes are still there, beautiful as always. He's grown up to be quite an attractive young...

What am I thinking? This is Omi. I am Ken. Ken is a clutz and an idiot, Omi's intelligent and agile. It would never work.

The greetings of old friends are forgone and he tells me where I'm sleeping, and I feel an odd lump in my throat as I head back to put my things away. Hidaka Ken is the master of fucking things up, and I can't help but curse myself for ruining our friendship when I left.

When I get back to my room I put my things away with machine-like movements even Aya would envy, going through the motions before sitting on the edge of my bed to think. I left Weiss for my own selfish interests, because I couldn't handle the guilt anymore. Or at least I said I couldn't. But I wonder..

Omi bears the guilt of being a Takatori.

Aya bears the guilt of tainting his sister's name with the souls he's killed.

Youji bears the guilt of killing Asuka.

Really...was Kase too much to bear? I didn't stop to think of any of them, and turned my back on Omi at a time when he was struggling to justify his concept of himself with the darkness of his family. With Youji gone, Aya had no reason to stay -- I took the opportunity and ran; and I left my best friend completely alone. Now I'm back, but not to fight for him -- to fight for a kid who looks like him. Something about that isn't quite right, and I can come to only one conclusion.

Hidaka Ken is an ass.

::Ran's POV::

I keep Youji from going inside because I know that Omi and Ken will manage to completely screw things up and have an awkward moment, and I'm just selfish and smug enough to want to avoid that. Besides, he's got such lovely lips and is so talented with them, that it seems a waste to let them go unused.

I still wish he would choose to leave Weiss behind, but a small part of me is glad that he's staying. I won't be alone anymore. Even with Aya-chan back, I was alone -- I had no other training for any other types of work, and she went to college. Talk about a kitty in a corner. After a moment we break off the kiss and head inside. Omi's still at the table, looking pensive and upset.

"Something wrong, Chibi?" Youji asks, reaching out to ruffle Omi's hair the way he would have done months ago. Omi's reflexes are faster than he's used to though, and the kid catches his wrist.

"Don't." Omi says quietly. "I'm not a child anymore. I want everyone in the living room in ten minutes for mission planning."

I nod, and he goes to his room to change.

::Youji's POV::

Damn, that kid's faster than I remembered. Ran watches him retreat back to his room, and then heads to the living room, glancing at me in what I recognize to be a silent request for me to join him. Ran's glances have always been able to tell me everything, I realize, although at first he hated it. I can tell now that he's worried about the kid, and decide to use this chance to get some more information about my fellow assassins. Ran takes a seat on the sofa and I watch him -- the way he sits always amuses me -- whereas Ken, Omi, and I tended to flop wherever and whenever we wanted, Ran has always folded himself into a chair with a certain noble grace. Anyway, he doesn't sit prim and proper for long because I stretch out next to him, resting my head on his knee, and out of habit his slender fingers weave through my hair. This is nice.

"What's wrong with the kid?" I ask.

"He and Hidaka were good friends." Explains Ran as I feel my eyes drifting shut from the gentle pressure of his fingers on my scalp. "Ken left Weiss after me; and it was an awkward split. I'm sure Omi just misses his best friend and that neither one of them are sure how to rebuild their friendship."

Well, you'd never guess it from his silent exterior, but Ran is damn intuitive. And sometimes...he talks!

The others file in later, and Omi begins to describe his plan.

"We're going to resume operations at the Koneko. Once we decide where the Kreiger executives are we'll pair up for stakeouts this week and probably complete the mission by next weekend. Manx and Birman will continue to retrieve information on Kreiger and Lethe as well as work with Youji for a possible antidote, if the bloodtests reveal he received the drug. If we go back today we can start the first stakeout tonight. Aya and I will go, followed by Ken and Youji."

::Ken's POV::

These aren't the standard pairs. Usually I work with Omi and Aya and Youji go together. The kid's avoiding me, not that I blame him, especially after that awkward moment in the kitchen. Aya voices my thought though.

"Why not stick with the standard pairs. Balinese and I will go together tonight and you and Ken can resume operations tomorrow once he's gotten back in the swing of things."

Omi knows that Aya has seen through him. "With all due respect, Abyssinian, I think your relationship with Balinese may impair your judgement."

"I assure you, Bombay, that will not be a problem. And in this case, before Balinese recovers completely, he is safest with me."

Omi hesitates. "It's Persia, Abyssinian."

"Not in Weiss." I say quietly. Omi's eyes narrow on me, and I think he mistakes my interruption for a challenge. I shoot him a weak smile. "In Weiss Ken and Omi used to be really good friends; and Bombay didn't mind working with klutzy old Siberian."

A little of that sparkle comes back to his blue eyes for just a moment, and he squanders it back down just as quickly. "I don't mind, Ken." He says quietly, and Youji shoots us all one of his benevolent grins.

"Good!" He cheers. "It's settled then."

Lazy bastard. Probably thinks he'll get to makeout with Abyssinian for the whole of the stakeout.

"Why don't we go first?" I ask quietly. "It'll give Manx and Birman a day to see about that antidote. I'd rather give Youji more time to recover, and if I can get my hands on these bastards.."

I stop myself from saying that they'll pay, but I know the others seem to recognize that I've got something personal invested in this. Ichiro looked up to me like an older brother, and an older brother wouldn't let such an outrage pass if he could help it.

I'll probably never tell Omi about little Ichiro; and how it was his eyes, Omi's eyes, that really drew me back...

::Ran's POV::

A few hours later we're all back at the Koneko, and I make Youji put his stuff in his room instead of mine because I think the familiarity of it may help his memory. Omi and Ken will go on the first stakeout of Kreiger's pharmaceutical distributing center in a couple hours, and I can't help but hope that they find something of use. The sooner these Kreiger bastards are out of the way, the sooner we can all try to go back to relatively normal lives.

I'm glad Ken spoke up in our meeting earlier, because even though I hope it won't be, this first stakeout is likely to be fruitless, and they could use the time alone to sort out and patch together the old friendship. I stretch out on my old bed, and wonder at how it feels so strange to be back in the Koneko, and yet somehow, completely right.

A/N: I hate this chapter. Thank you, that is all. Sorry for the long wait. -glaube