Tomorrow's Destiny: Chaper Six

by Ami-chan

Locating Siberian had been surprisingly easy. The idiots who had had him locked away has left a paper trail several kilometers wide making him easy enough to find. He wasn't concerned about the details or why he had been placed there since Mamoru had only asked him to find them. He had found the information, of course, but it was their job to scan through it, not his. Besides, he still had two more of them to locate.

Balinese was something of a mystery since he had been missing for far longer than the other two. It would definitely be difficult to track him, but it was certain that he would have had to have been hospitalized after the explosion, at least according to what Mamoru had previously told him. There was no way he could have completely escaped the blast. He was currently running a check on all the hospitals in the area as he doubted Aya would have taken him very far as he had been. At least, he wouldn't have taken him far if he had valued his life and apparently he did.

It didn't take him long to turn up some add records from the local hospitals. Unregistered patients, amnesia patients that had no identification records. He narrowed his search to within a few days of the explosion.

Then he nodded to himself.

"Name: Unknown Injuries: Severe head trauma, 2nd degree burns, cracked ribs Description: Patient can recall no memories prior to the accident, cannot recall name, occupation, family or friends. Complete memory loss."

He checked further entries on this unknown patient that tracked his rate of improvement and discovered that he eventually choose the name "Takashi" and that he had recently gotten married to -

"Asuka?" His eyes widened faintly. Hadn't she been an assassin in Shireient along with Tot? She had been killed though, he was certain of that! Maybe this was someone else, then. Right, that had to be it.

Nagi frowned and stared at the name some more before making up his mind and running a background check on her, as well. It said she was a nurse at the hospital that Balinese been taken to and that she had helped rehibilitate him during his stay there. Typical story of nurse helping patient, patient and nurse falling in love, and the two getting married. Sort of. The nurse had, apparently, suffered a similar memory loss some time before and also could not recall her own past. She had been admitted to the ICU of another hospital around the time that Shirient had been "destroyed". She had so admired the work of the nurses who had assisted her that she went into training to become a nurse herself.

Meaning it was the same Asuka. And she was now married to Balinese.

Well, wouldn't Omi be interested in this information! Who would have thought she would have survived that? And if she had survived, then had the others?

He searched for amensia patients. There were not that many cases and most were fairly quickly identified by family or friends. Assassins would generally not have been recognized so he threw those results out fairly quickly. Soon he was forced to give up on that search for lack of leads and ended up back at the hosptial that Asuka currently worked at and that Balinese had been admitted to.

Randomly he put in a search for patients whose names were unknown, hoping to find something of interest. Had anyone else in that explosion at the school survived? As he was scanning through the list of unknown patients he tripped over something accidently. It was a recent case. Very recent, in fact. That wasn't what caught his attention, however. It was the description of the individual.

Hair color: red

What were the chances that a red-haired patient's name would be unknown? He focused on that individual immediately. Knife wound, it said. Loss of blood. The attacker was unknown and it said that it could have been a possible suicide attempt, though they rather doubted that. He had been found by some Good Samaritain who had become concerned when they saw him collasped against a mail box and had called the hospital quickly. An ambulance had been dispatched and it listed the time it had left and the time that it had arrived back. Patient had been in critical condition, but had soon been stabalized.

Also in the report they noted that the unknown individual had had many previous wounds, among them injuries caused by gun shots, knives, and possibly a sword or two as well. This was mentioned with some suspicion. All this had taken place only a few days ago, which meant it was likely this person was still in the area. The patient had apparently left without bothering to check himself out. A very Abyssinian like trait, he decided. The final indication: when asked his name he had called himself "Aya" (the doctor could not recall the given name because he had not written it down).

He compiled the information on Balinese and Asuka as well as on Abyssinian, including everything that seemed to be relvant or that might be of interest to Omi. Then he sent the report onto Omi and sat back for a moment, simply staring at the computer, lost in thought. The starting place, most obviously, was the hospital. If it was Abyssinian, then he was still injured, but he doubted that that would stop him for very long. The red- headed assassin had a very one track mind when it came to, well, anything, and he doubted that this would be the acception.

So, perhaps, his first stop should be the target's residence. He sat up again and called up Abyssinian and Siberian's last mission target and all the details of that. They had lost track of both of them during that time, he knew, and their mission had been left undone. The hospital report on Abyssinian had been fairly vague but he gleaned from the report that it had been a fairly serious injury and that the patient would not have been released at the time when he had left.

He frowned slightly, wondering if he should check to see the locations of the safe houses in the area, just in case. Technically, Omi had not given him access to those files, but technicalities could be overlooked easily enough. Omi had, after all, asked him to find them and if that included needing a little bit of extra information then he was sure he wouldn't complain too much about it.

Being an experienced hacker himself, Omi's computer system was extremely well guarded, but not so well guarded that someone who was a hacker, plus knew the basics of how Omi's mind worked (more or less) couldn't get in. He found the files, with a title that was completely irrelevant to anything and that most people would have overlooked, but exactly what he would have expected Omi to call them. A quick check showed three locations in the area.

Fine then. He had a plan. Now it was only a matter of time. It would probably be wise to call him and update him on the situation, but he figured that since he had already sent him an update that that should be enough. If he discovered anything else, then he could call. This was, after all, extremely important to him and he was certain that he would only want to report if he had found some solid evidence. Even if it would be nice just to hear his voice.

Going to the hospital turned up nothing, as he had assumed. Still, it never hurt to check. Next it was a matter of locating the target's residence, which was not at all difficult. Once there he noticed the absoulte quiet of the place and was immediately suspicious and on the alert. What he found as he wandered around was only bodies. The work of a well trained assassin. No sloppy job here, nothing but the best. He checked on the target and found him, like the guards, was equally disposed of. He cleared the premesis quickly.

Several blocks away he paused and placed a call on his cell phone. It took him longer than usual to answer, which wasn't surprising considering that it was nearly three AM. At least that meant he had gotten some sleep tonight.

"Nag - ?"

"The target was eliminated."

He heard a rustling sound on the other end and could almost see Omi sitting up abruptly, his eyes widening in that oh-so expressive way of his as he switched the phone to his other ear. "What?"

"I checked. The target was eliminated. Abyssinian is around here somewhere and I'm going to find him."

"Balin - ?"

"I sent you information on him, as well. Shall I bring them both back?"

There was a hesitation and he knew the delimia that he faced. "Not if they don't want to come back. Just find them. As for Abyssinian, is he - he is hurt?" That was the only explanation for his disappearance.

"Yes. Knife wound. I don't have all the details, but he was apparently well enough to complete a mission."

A snort from the other end. "He would complete a mission even if he wasn't well enough to do so."

He nodded in agreement, even though he knew Omi wouldn't be able to see it. "I will update you as soon as I find out more."

"Thank you." Nagi was about to hang up when he heard a very soft, "I miss you." He bowed his head, closing his eyes.

"I'll be back soon." He couldn't bring himself to say that he missed him, too. Omi understood, though. He broke the connection and turned his attention to the location of the first safe house.

Tomorrow's Destiny: Chapter Seven

"When did you remember?" They had established a sort of peace between them; Youji had gotten him some tea and made a late night snack - Aya couldn't seem to remember the last time he had eaten, so that was quite welcome - and was once more seated near him.

Youji laughed lightly which caused Aya to glare at him in annoyance. "Remember? I never forgot you!"

"What?" No matter how many times he re-evaluated the words, he couldn't make sense of them. Complete memory loss was complete memory loss. Right? "You forgot everything. How could you have possibly remembered me?"

"I have no idea." He shrugged and reclined back in his chair. "I never really told anyone because it was my own little memory. I just kept seeing a tall man with red-hair who wielded a sword like a master. After a while I recalled your name and eventually your real name, but I couldn't remember anything else so I thought that maybe I had created you in my mind because what person alive could be like that?"

He wasn't sure if he could be offended by that or not. He choose to sip his tea and wait to see in what direction he was headed. It better be a good one, otherwise, injury or no injury, he was kicking him out!

Youji's eyes became reflective for a moment and he smiled fondly at some private thought. "Dream Aya."

Had he been a less refined individual he might have spit out his tea, which most likely would have soaked Youji. That, however, was not something he would do. He swallowed his mouthful of tea and leveled him with a cool glare. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, that's what I was calling you because I thought you were a dream. I thought you were some fantasy that I had created in order to help me - I dunno, in order to help me cope with my problems, I guess."

Carefully he set his cup down so that he didn't do something drastic like drop it or throw in against the wall. Maybe Youji had been more affected by that head injury than they had thought and maybe he had completely lost his mind. The more he considered it, the more likely it seemed. After all, anyone who could believe that they had created an Aya/Ran-like figure to help them cope definitely had something wrong with their brain. Not that that wasn't somehow flattering, but he was certainly not like some guardian angel and he had no delusions of that. Unlike Youji. Or Takeshi. Whatever he was going by these days.

"So I was your Guardian Aya?"

It was several moments before Youji recovered from his hysterical laughing fit. Aya was not amused. "Oh, that's a good one! My Guardian Aya! But, yes, I suppose that's what I thought you were. Then I saw you again and I knew it couldn't be a dream! Then I remembered holding your sword and suddenly it all came back to me and it all made sense."

It did? Youji must have seen the faint wrinkling of Aya's brow because his smile widened in amusement. "You always looked out for all of us, for our well-being and the last thing you did was to save my life, to save me from a fate worse than death. For that reason my subconscious mind could not forget you even though all my other past memories had abandoned me."

A shiver crept through Aya. The warm feeling that burned in him threatened to overwhelm him. That was the nicest thing anyone had said about him in a very, very long time. "Youji." He shook his head, refusing to get too emotional. "What now?"

"After this, you mean?" His sigh was rather defeated. "I don't know. You're right that I do have Asuka now, but she doesn't remember everything that happened between us before this like I do. I - I don't know if I should tell her or not. In the end it might only upset her and it's not like she can do anything about that now."

"Maybe you should let her decide that."

Youji raised an eyebrow at him. "You weren't going to give me that choice, if I recall correctly."

"You were unhappy with your life and you wanted to quit. I don't think there is any danger of Asuka wanting to re-join Shireient now that she somehow broke their control over her."

He nodded marginally at that. "So you think there is a 'danger' of me rejoining Weiss?"

"That is one of the possibilities," Aya returned. If he did return that would be both good and bad. Good because Aya liked Youji - though he steadfastly refused to admit this outloud - and because together they made a great team. Bad, however, because Aya liked Youji a little too much and in the end it would only cause him more heart ache. He had said goodbye to Youji; he didn't want to have to do that again.

~~~~~~~

"Ken-kun!"

He stumbled backwards as his friend regressed back to childhood moments and flung himself at him exuberantly. He couldn't resist ruffling his hair. "Hey there, Omi! How have you been doing?" Then he paused. "Or, um, Mamoru?"

The younger man smiled brightly up at him as he stepped back, allowing him to breathe once more. "Omi is fine." Then he blinked. "Which answers both questions, really."

Ken tilted his face up into the light and caught sight of the dark circles under his eyes and the generally tired look he carried. "Looks like you haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately. What's up?"

"Little" Omi developed fangs. "What's up?? You've been MISSING!! And Aya- kun, and Youji and I was so worried!"

"Whoa, whoa! Don't get angry at me for something that was out of my control." His own expression suddenly turned gloomy at the mention of Aya. If he hadn't been stupid enough to want to leave Aya all alone on that mission then none of it ever would have happened. So, it hadn't been completely out of his control, but why tell Omi that?

Omi didn't miss his sadden expression, which made him brighten once more. "But it's all okay now!" He turned and retreated into his office, counted to three, and suddenly Ken was at his side once more. "Oh, you didn't hear?" he asked innocently.

"Hear what? And you know I didn't! Rex said that Aya was missing and that's all I heard!" Hope! There was always hope!

Before Ken's eyes got any wider or before he spontaniously combusted Omi decided to tell him the wonderful news. "Here, look!" He called up the information Nagi had sent him and showed him the files. He smiled as Ken eagerly took it all in.

"Has he confirmed yet that it's him?"

Omi frowned. "Don't you mean 'them'?"

There was a long pause and Ken turned back to the report and skimed through once more. "Oh, yeah. Them." Opps. "Wait a minute! Asuka!? Wasn't that - ?"

"Yep." The weight of the world once more came crashing down on his shoulder and he sighed deeply. "Youji probably won't come back, but there is always the possibilty that he has since regained his memories. If he hasn't then we won't be the ones to destroy his happy life."

"So when is Aya coming back?" Eager as a puppy, tail wagging.

He shrugged. "Honestly? I don't know. He hasn't quite been located yet, but don't worry, he will be. His target was eliminated and I have excellent sources that say it was most likely done by Aya."

The puppy got kicked. "Oh." But they were sure it was him and he would be back soon. Yes, that was definitely good! "Well, then, how about we do something fun, just you and me?" He would have plenty of time with Aya later, he would make certain of that!

"Like what?" Omi's eyes took on a rather suspicious look.

"I dunno. How about like old times? Let's go kill someone!"

Regressing once more, Omi rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Ken!"

"Okay, maybe not. Um, how about practicing some soccer moves?"

Omi's eyes narrowed. "You know I'm not good at soccer."

"Well, how about, um, Playstation games? And pizza?"

"I think that's possible." Omi had the urge to hug his friend once more and suppressed it for a moment before attaching himself to Ken's arm. Sometimes it was okay to be childish, he decided. Especially after all that he had been through lately. It was good to have one of his friends back, at least.

Tomorrow's Destiny: Chapter Eight

Well, process of elimination. This was the last safe house so he was either here or he was dead and he was offically giving up! An image of Omi's sad face fluttered into his mind; he sighed. Okay, so he wouldn't give up that easily but he would have to find more leads otherwise there wasn't anywhere else that he knew of to check.

At first glance the safe house looked dark and silent, but looks could be decieving, as he well knew. It didn't take all that long to break into the house; all he had to do was think "unlock" and the door did. Having telekinetic abilties did come in handy quite often. Still, he opened the door cautiously, just in case, but this one seemed as empty as the others. Two steps inside the door and he halted, hearing the soft mumuring of voices, voices that although were not extremely familiar to him were still familiar. But, two voices? Siberian had most likely been retrieved by Rex by now, but he certainly would not have ended up here.

He stepped into the doorway silently, but his presence shadowing the room made two trained assassins come alive instantly, ready for action. One of them winced in pain; both looked at him in shock, wondering if he were friend or foe.

"Balinese." He stared at him in mild surprise, having not expected to see him here. "Abyssinian."

"Nagi," Abyssinian acknowledged, his eyes narrowing slightly. Nagi recalled that the last time he had seen him he had wanted to cleve him in half with his sword - which really wasn't possible for him to do, though he had been welcome to try - and found himself assumed at the thought. The red-head did not even look capable of holding the weight of a sword at the moment and besides he had no intention of threatening them. Omi had told him that he needed to learn how to smile so that people weren't so intimidated by him, but he was sure that if he smiled he would only frighten people more.

"Omi sent me," he told them simply, not bothering to use his codename of Persia as he also had a tendency not to use his true name of Mamoru; Omi sounded nicer to his own ears, which was a bit obsurd, but it was not something he felt compelled to change.

They continued to stare at him as if he would suddenly turn into a cobra and try to bite them. Part of him was amused by their display while the rest of him was rather annoyed. How could he possibly talk to them if they thought he was suddenly going to change into some sort of monster and try to eat them? Frightened prey had a tendency not to listen to anything the predator said.

"What do you want?"

Obviously it wouldn't do any good to talk to them since they seemed unable to trust him and that was just as well. He dialed the familiar number on his phone.

"Nagi??" He winced faintly; Omi's voice had risen an octave and he could hear background noise that sounded distinctly like some sort of game. At least he was doing something other than sitting in the dark in front of his computer and worrying over what had happened to his friends. Most likely he had Siberian to thank for that, a thought which made him just ever so slightly jealous of the easy friendship between his lover and his used-to- be fellow assassin. "Did you find him? What happened?"

"I found them both," he reported as they glared at him. "They are bascially intact." He gave them a once over and decided Abyssinian would live. "Will you send Rex or shall I bring them back?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line and he waited patiently. "Ask them if they want to come back before you do anything. If they are together then I assume that Balinese remembers everything again?"

"That would most likely be correct." After all, he hadn't bothered to ask, but it did make sense.

There was another silence, then a sigh. "Nagi, be nice to them." He could almost see Omi's exasperated expression. "Well, at least don't scare them, okay?"

"I don't know how sucessful that will be, but I will attempt to do as you say." He hung up and focused his attention back on the annoyed looking assassins.

"Well?"

Nagi stared at Abyssinian, his expression typically blank. "He is glad you are alive and wishes to know if you and Balinese will be returning with me. He does not want to force either of you to return."

"I will be returning. He will not."

He watched silently as Balinese's narrowed eyes focused on something either than him and was rather inclined to agree; he had lived most of his life hating being pushed around by other people and disliking orders except when they were necessary for survival. When other people tried to make his decisions for him it irked him to no end. People that irked Nagi tended not to live very long lives. That was probably why he got along so well with Omi; nothing he did could ever seem to upset him, no matter how ridiculous it was. Omi was just so - so, well, he hesitated to say "sweet" or even "innocent" because he was not exactly either of those things, but perhaps compassionate or kind would be adaquate words to describe him.

"Excuse me?" Balinese asked, sounding highly offended. "I /won't/ be returning? Since when?"

Abyssinian glared at him in typical Evil Aya mode, but the effect was ruined when he swayed suddenly on his feet. In a moment Balinese had caught his arm to keep him from falling and sat him back down in a nearby chair, practically ignoring Nagi, not that he particularly minded that. Despite the fact that it seemed to happen often, Nagi did not like to be glared at and people staring at him also made him rather uncomfortable. Concealing shadows were much more comfortable, or a darkened room with only a computer screen's light to see by; Omi shared his opinions on that but was forced to smile in the spotlight because of who he was and he often heard him complain about that. It was good to hear his complaints, though because it made him feel human and it had been a long time since he had felt truly human.

"You are not needed anymore." The red-head's voice was firm and cold despite his physical limitations. "You can go back to the life you were living and I will return back to my own life. That's all there is to it."

Obviously Balinese did not see things his way at all. "With you, in your current state, you want me to leave you alone with him? With Nagi? I'm supposed to entrust your life to his hands? I don't think so!" Had Balinese always been so emotional? He wasn't entirely sure.

"Even if you don't trust him it doesn't really matter because Omi does and I don't believe that he would ever willingly endanger anyone if if wasn't necessary." Nagi definitely agreed with him on that point. Omi's kind heart ached everytime he had to send anyone at all into harm's way and the guilt he felt for every injury and every casulalty was deep and painful to see.

"Aya, it's NAGI! Remember? Schwartz? They tried to kill us many, many times? Even if he didn't exactly attack us the last time doesn't mean that he won't try something now." That he did not agree with. He generally did not randomly attack people and the record should state that in most cases he was acting on orders or he happened to be defending himself or his friends against the current enemy of the day.

"If you had the sense you were born with you would have realized that had he wanted us dead we would already be dead quite a long time ago." There was a definite growl in Abyssinian's now and had he the strength he most likely would have tried to strangle and/or smack the other man.

"How do you know that he isn't trying to trick us?"

"Youji, listen to yourself, for once!" Definite frustration event in his voice now, which was rather unusual for the assassin, but that could probably be chalked up to the pain he was experiencing from his injury.

"But it's Nagi!"

Nagi felt the urge to clear his throat or wave his hand in the air as a reminder to them that he did still exist and he was still standing in the same room as they were, well within hearing range. It wasn't worth it, though, and it really wasn't all that important, anyway. Let them deal with it. He was going to see if there was anything in the kitchen to eat because, contary to popular belief, he did, indeed, have to consume food in order to survive.

He sighed as he got himself a glass of water. Their raised voices could he heard quite clearly from the kitchen. He might not like them, but they were still Omi's friends and the two of them even seemed to enjoy arguing with each other, if he were any judge of things. Perhaps things had been a little too intense before he arrived and this was their way of bringing things back to the familiar.

In a way their arguing reminded him a bit of Brad and Schuldig and part of him almost missed them and their constant bickering. Of course, they bickered in a rather civilized fashion, at least most of the time. And the usual conclussion of their arguments ended up in sex. He did NOT miss having to worry about turning a corner and seeing the two of them going at it in the hall or in the kitchen or on HIS deck. No, he did not miss that at all.

Tomorrow's Destiny: Chapter Nine

After Omi had lunged for his cell phone, which he had set on a nearby table, Ken partly listened as he finished the game they had been playing and then turned it off so that he could hear Omi's half of the conversation. He heard the word "they" and assumed he was discussing Aya and Youji with whomever he had sent to retrieve them. That's when the name "Nagi" popped out of the conversation to smack him in the face. NAGI was helping OMI?!! Since when? He had barely been civil the last time he had seen them!

Omi sighed as he put his phone down once more. Thoughts of the former members of Shwartz fled his mind as he saw his friend begin to tremble. "Omi? Hey, what's wrong?" Gods, he hoped nothing had happened to Aya! Oh, and Youji, he supposed.

Omi's thoughts were rather far away and for a moment he allowed himself self-reflection, or perhaps a self-examinaiton.

Takatori Mamoru had been forced to the back of his consciousness and with him went all his cold, unemotional masks, leaving behind the frightened, confused boy, Omi. He might have been concerned if he were with anyone else other than one of his friends that knew him best as Omi because with anyone else he needed to be a Takatori. It hurt to be Omi because he felt pain more strongly, but it hurt equally much to be Mamoru, it was just that he had to pretend it didn't.

Arms wrapped around him and he leaned willingly into his friend as a few tears escaped his eyes. He wasn't sure why he was crying; he should have been overjoyed. He was overjoyed! It had been too uncertain for so long and he had done the one thing that he had never wanted to do: give his friends the freedom, the choice to leave. Saying it was one thing, but what if they did choose to move on and he lost them forever? What then? Would Takatori Mamoru consume him completely and would he, Omi, be lost forever to the cold destiny he had been forced into?

"Ken-kun." His voice was harsh with the few tears he had shed. "What if they don't come back? I want to see them so much, but what if they don't want to come?"

"Of course they'll come back, Omi! They will at least come back to see you because we both know they adore you as much as I do! How could they possibly stay away?" He smiled as he managed to wring a startled laugh from the shorter man. "Then we'll be all together again, if only for a short while."

"I hope you're right."

He smiled absently. "I am, don't worry." He would see Aya again, he knew it, and part of him even wanted to see Youji again, too. "Um, so, Omi, what is Nagi doing looking for Aya and Youji?"

Omi tensed suddenly and pulled away from him slightly. "How did you - ?" He frowned, then shook his head. "I must have said his name. Well, afterwards Nagi didn't really have anywhere to go, you know? Shwartz disbanded and I offered to let him stay here, with me."

"With you?" Ken wondering if this was going in the direction that he thought it was going. Sometimes Omi was entirely too trusting.

"Yes." He hadn't decided if he wanted to tell them or not, but since he had brought it up, he decided to be perfectly honest. After all, he didn't want to keep it a secret from everyone - from the press, yes, from his friends, definitely not! "Nagi and I are lovers."

~~~~~~~

When the sounds of aruging and died down he wandered back into the living room area, with his bowl of ramen noodles in his hand, chopsticks in the other. He had discovered instant ramen packages in the cupboards and that had sounded good to him. Well, who was he trying to kid? Food, any food, had sounded good at that point. He should stop getting so involved in following leads that he forgot to eat; it annoyed Omi to no end, but he did the same thing, so he shouldn't complain.

"Are you done?" He asked between a mouthful of noodles. He was eager - though he tried not to show it - to get back to check on Omi despite the fact that they had spoken on the phone not long before.

Abyssinian looked extremely ticked off, but he was leaning heavily against Balinese in spite of that. The other looked merely annoyed, with a determined edge. Ah, so they were both going, then. It was obvious to him that Abyssinian did want him to go, yet for his own reasons had been trying to push him away to no avail.

"Shall we go, then?" Two more mouthfuls and all the ramen was gone, the bowl thrown carelessly into the sink.

Balinese nodded in agreement and dragged himself to his feet, keeping one hand on Abyssinian in case he should start to topple over again. The red- head began to struggle to stand - which seemed like a hopeless battle - but then Balinese was leaning over him, picking him up as if he were a small child. Abyssinian snarled in anger and started to fight him, but a sharp pain in his side made him curl in on himself instead.

"The car's not far," he informed Balinese as he opened the front door for them to pass through. He glance backwards and all the lights were turned off and the door locked up tight. With a thought he opened the back door of the black car with tinted windows; it was one of Omi's favorites, but he had insisted he take it. Omi had tried to give it to him, once, and he had refused, knowing he had nothing of any real value to give to him in return, yet he realized he used the car a lot more than he ever did so it was practically his anyway.

Ignoring his use of telekinestics, Balinese settled Abyssinian into the back seat, before suddenly stopping to glance back at him. Part of him had expected that there would be a driver to go along with the car, but the car was empty. "You're old enough to drive?" (1)

Nagi choose not to answer that question and started for the driver's seat.

"Maybe you should let me drive."

He stopped and stared at him cooly. No one else would drive Omi's car, but him. He didn't say that, though. Instead, logically, he asked, "Would you rather I look after Abyssinian?"

Balinese got in the back and Nagi calmly took the wheel of the car.

~~~~~

"Nagi??" They were talking about the same fridgid, ice-cold eyed demon, weren't they? Admittedly he had saved Aya, of which he was extremely grateful, but sweet little Omi and the human icesicle? Lovers? That was unexpected, to say the least.

A soft, gentle smile played across Omi's lips as he sank down into the welcoming arms of a plush chair. "Hai, Ken-kun. Nagi. And I do love him." He treasured their quiet moments together in which neither of them needed words and they could simply curl up like two cats seeking each other's warmth. Nagi was a rare individual and he loved him all the more for that.

"Love? Omi, does he even know how to love?" If he could help it, he never wanted to see Omi hurt for any reason and if he had fallen for that boy with his dark soul and deadened eyes then wouldn't the inevitable ending be heart break?

"Of coure he does." There was adoration in his brilliant eyes that Ken had to admire and hate at the same time because he himself could not relate to it. He still doubted Omi's optimism for his lover's ability to feel any emotion, let alone love, but he would not be the one to burst his bubble. Nagi would probably do that well enough without him.

Tomorrow's Destiny: Chapter Ten

It was so late at night that it was actually early morning, but Nagi didn't actually consider it morning yet because he had yet to sleep. Omi kept telling him that it didn't matter when you fell asleep because morning was morning, yet he didn't believe that it could be morning, no matter what time it was, if you hadn't slept at all. Differing logic, he supposed and both were interesting and valid concepts, but he would prefer to use his own.

They got into the Takatori estate with no problems; the guards recognized him and even if they hadn't, they would have known the car. Abyssinian and Balinese were glared at a bit and watched with a wary eye, but were generally passed over as harmless. Nagi almost cracked a smile as he realized that one of the guards turned his nose up at Abyssinian, thinking he was drunk rather than injured. A drunk Aby - rather, a drunk Ran would be an interesting sight, indeed.

He paused mentally. Omi usually called him "Aya". He would have questioned that logic, being a false name he had used, but "Omi" was also a false name of sorts and he still perfered to use that. Were Aya and Ran separate people as Omi and Mamoru were? That too was an interesting thought to ponder, but he doubted he would ever been on friendly enough terms with Ran/Aya to ask him.

The guards in the hall nodded at him as he passed, knowing him all too well. Bal - no, code names weren't needed here - Youji noticed this, despite the fact that he was supporting more than half of Aya's weight. Aya had threated to dismember him as soon as he was well if he carried him inside the mansion and Youji had decided not to take it as an idle threat.

As they neared Omi's private rooms, he reached into his pocket to pull out the keys to the door. Youji's eyes narrowed at him in surprise. Yes, he could have opened the door with a thought if he wanted to, but he had startled Omi one day that way. Omi had jumped and tripped over a chair and the resulting bruises had not been pretty, making him never wish to repeat that again. He had looked up at him with those wide eyes of his and laughed through the pain, "Nagi, make some /noise/ next time!" he had said. So he did.

Not that it made a difference this time. They found Omi and Ken on the couch, both of them sound asleep. Ken was slumped against one of the couch's armrests, his head tilted back, Omi's head pillowed in his lap. The front room itself was a disaster, as if two teenaged boys had attacked and destroyed it and had a lot of fun doing it, too. He doubted he would have been as shocked by its appearance if that was how it normally looked, but he knew for a fact it was generally spotless. Of course, he realized that it was spotless because he - not Omi - was a neatfreak, but that was beside the point.

He gestured Aya and Youji towards another couch where they both collapsed wearily; the sound of Aya hissing in pain at the jolt caused Ken to stir in his sleep. He offered to get drinks for either of the completely awake assassins, but they merely shook their heads in refusual. So, he went and got two glasses of water - one for himself and one for Omi; he was always thirsty when he woke up. A bit of telekinesis tidied up the video games - where had those come from? - and sent the pizza box and popcorn into the trash. That would have to do for now.

Ken was awake when he returned and he felt the slightest tinge of annoyance at the way he casually petted Omi's sleeping head. He set Omi's glass on the coffee table and took one of the arms chairs that was nearer to Omi and Ken than the other two. Now, he supposed, he understood why he had insisted on having so many couches and chairs about; part of him must have been wanting to have all of his friends there with him again and he couldn't blame him for that.

"You shouldn't have gone after him like that," Ken was saying quietly, but with an edge of anger and fear in his voice.

Aya looked like he had the desire to roll his eyes. "It was necessary. It's over with, anyway, and there is no sense in discussing it further."

"It was stupid," Youji put in, nodding toward Ken. When Aya glared at him in pure hatred, he shrugged helplessly. "Hey, I was there, I saw it! He fainted on him, Ken. You should have seen it."

"You fainted?" Ken's voice raised a bit, then he looked down at Omi to make sure he was still asleep before continuting in a softer voice, "What were you thinking, going out there like that?"

Nagi felt sorry for Aya; he looked extremely harassed at the moment, wishing Youji would stop encouraging Ken in his "mother hen" mode. "I did not faint!"

The other two exchanged glances, Ken's questioning, Youji's amused. Nagi sipped at his glass of water. "What would you call it, then?"

There was a lengthy silence, then finally, "I passed out. I did /not/ faint."

With a sigh Nagi's eyes fell back onto his sleeping lover's form, feeling distinctly ignored and neglected. It only took a little bit of his power to reach out and "touch" his face. The reaction was instantious; Omi jolted up, lost his balance, and landed heavily on the floor, growling, "Nagi!"

He looked absoutely adorable with that pout on his face. The glass of water floated into his hands and Omi took a few gulps before glaring at him again.

Youji was glancing between both of them, a suspicious gleam in his eyes. "What did he do?" he wanted to know.

Omi sniffed, managing to look highly offended. "He touched me."

"What?"

"Well, it's hard to explain - "

"Telekenesis," Nagi put in.

Omi rolled his eyes. "Okay, not that hard to explain. It's kind of odd though, like being touched by something that isn't there, like a ghost or something." Then he blinked and came alive suddenly. "YOUJI!! AYA!!!" He was suddenly hugging Youji and looking over Aya to make sure that he was intact.

It was impossible not to smile just a bit - a very tiny bit - at his lover's enthusiasm; he had managed to catch the glass before it had shattered against the floor or spilled a drop, and that was the important thing. He couldn't recall the amount of dishware he had saved from destruction when Omi suddenly had an inspiration thought or remembered an appointment he had to go to at the last minute.

For a moment they chatted happily about this and that - Aya was definitely seeing a doctor tomorrow, a personal Takatori physician, at that - whether he wanted to or not, they wanted to hear more about what they had been up to, and other random nonsense. Then Omi stopped and glanced back at Nagi, who was watching him fondly. A smile broke out across his face and Nagi found himself enveloped by warm arms and throughly kissed. "I almost forgot to thank you! No one else could have done such a through job."

He stared at Omi. Did he even realize that he had kissed him in front of his friend?? Besides that, he was certain there were plenty of other people who could have done the job just as well as he had. Perhaps they wouldn't have been as discrete, but they would have been able to accomplish the set goals.

"You and Nagi, huh?" Youji asked, with a slight raise of an eyebrow. He had already suspected as much.

Omi smiled brightly. "Isn't he adorable?"

Nagi's eyes widened and he desperately hoped he wasn't blushing as he turned his head away. He didn't know these people and Omi was telling them that he was adorable?? Warning, system meltdown!

"As long as you are happy," Aya told him in all seriousness, before his gleaming eyes turned full-force onto Nagi. "But if you hurt him - "

"I'll let you kill me," he finished. Nagi saw a flash of approval in his eyes and he relaxed marginally.

Omi made a tsking noise. "You two are too serious! Honestly, we are supposed to be bonding, not making death threats!"

Nagi blinked, exchanging a glance with Aya. "Same thing."

"You and Aya are too much alike!" he exclaimed in exasperation, much to the others' surprise.

Tomorrow's Destiny: Chapter Eleven

Ken had to grudgingly admit that Nagi was pretty useful, after all, who else could make breakfast without ever moving an inch? Not to mention the room looked a lot cleaner than it had when they had fallen asleep and he was sure that was Nagi's touch as well. Besides, if he could make Omi smile like that, like he used to when he was really and completely happy, then he was okay in his book. He had even bonded on some strange and obscure level with Aya, which was always an accomplishment.

Now, Youji was the one that was starting to annoy him. He was being entirely TOO cuddly with Aya, even taking into account that Aya's eyes kept drifting in and out of focus and he wasn't entirely stable. That couldn't possibly mean anything, though. Youji was married now, right? Of course, he had gotten married when he had had no prior memories of his past and that could certainly effect things now, couldn't it? That could even make a marriage null and void, right?

"Damn it." Dark eyes glanced up at him, a blank stare that communicated so much. He wondered if Nagi had any psychic ablities, too. No, couldn't have. Anyone that gifted would have to be genetically enhanced and as far as he knew Nagi was naturally talented and nothing more.

"Ken-kun?" He turned his attention to Omi, who was watching him questioningly. "Did you want anything else to eat?"

He shook his head. He wanted to suggest that Aya should get some rest, but he knew that he would be annoyed at such a request even if he needed it. It turned out that he didn't have to, however. Omi mentioned nearby rooms where Aya and Youji could crash since they had been awake all night; he looked meaningfully at Nagi, as well, but he merely shook his head. Apparently sleep was not a priority for him.

Over the next few days as Aya recovered, Ken was able to upsurp Youji's position as "Aya's little helper" and even managed to coax a smile or two out of the generally stoic red-head. In fact, Aya kept insisting that Youji should go back to Asuka, but he refused until he was certain that he would be fine. To that Aya would growl something about being okay, but it was never enough to satisfy Youji. Omi was happy to have them all around again, despite the arguing that took place between the two older men.

It became clear that Nagi was invaluable to Omi, not only in matters of business, but domestic matters, as well. He was a quiet shadow, not intrusive, but needed. Nagi had a tendency not to speak frequently if there were others around, yet Omi was able to read him well enough with a glance - how, Ken had no idea since the guy's expression never seemed to change! He had stumbled upon Omi and Nagi in an actual conversation, though, and discovered that yes, he could say more than three words in a row. As soon as he had seen him he had fallen silent again. Perhaps he wasn't so much a cold individual as he was shy.

Finally the day came when Youji decided to depart, not wanting to worry Asuka any farther than he had already. Ken was overjoyed, while Aya seemed rather upset, but only after Youji had gone. He took it upon himself to try to comfort Aya. Or, to attempt this difficult task, at any rate. No one ever really knew what Aya was thinking so it made it hard to determine what would make him feel better. Then again, who would know about that better than someone exactly like that?

"Nagi!"

The dark haired young man stopped, a question in his eyes.

"Um, there was something I wanted to ask you about, you know, since you understand Aya on some level and that maybe - um, well - " Gods, he was talking gibberish, but how was one supposed to talk to someone who just STARED at you?

"He loves Youji." Nagi stated, much to Ken's shock. Not that he should have been entirely shocked about that and yet how could he have known when he refused to show any hint of what was on his mind. "And you love Aya."

Ken looked away. He didn't feel as bad about Nagi being able to read him because that didn't necessarily mean that he had been completely obvious. "So, what should I do?"

"You won't know how he feels about you unless you ask. Youji cares for Aya, definitely, but it may or may not be a physical love." When Ken had finally backed away slowly and headed in the direction of Aya's room, Nagi continued down the hall, only to pause as a figure stepped from around the corner.

"You are evil." A smile was playing on Omi's lips. "In a good way. He has always been so afraid of what he would think that he never told him and even now when I know he wanted to - "

"He'll be fine."

He nodded in agreement. "I hope so."

~~~~~

Asuka froze when she saw him standing in the door way, then she was throwing herself at him, tears streaming down her face. All Youji could do was hold her close and try to sooth her as she said over and over again how worried she had been, how she had thought he was never coming back, how she thought that he had left her forever. When her words ran out, he managed to tell her, "I would never leave you. Our destiny seems to be tied to one another and we will just keep meeting over again, no matter what happens to us."

She pulled away from him, confusion wrinkling her brow over her tear- stained cheeks and puffy red eyes. "The way you say that makes it sound like it has happened before. What aren't you telling me?"

A deep breath. "As you heard Aya say, my real name is Youji and I want us to get married again offically, with that name on the wedding certificiate. And there's something else I have to tell you, as well."

"About what?"

"About you. I didn't know if I should at first, but it was something Aya said that convinced me that I should. You see - "

~~~~~

"Aya?"

The red-head blinked up from the book he was reading. Who would have ever thought that Aya liked reading Shakespeare? That was something else to file away in the back of his mind for later use.

"There's something I wanted to tell you, and please don't hate me for this, but I - I really like you. Not like as a friend, but of course I do like you as a friend, but, you know, as more than a friend?" Gods, rambling again! What was with him today?

Aya simply stared at him for a moment, then he quietly shut the book he was holding and placed it in his lap. He did not like the expression on his face. "Ken, we've known each other for a long time, but I - "

"I know how you feel about Youji," he interupted before he could say it. "I also have the feeling that he will never feel the same about you, no matter what happens and I know you realize that, too. I don't want a definite answer now. In fact, I think it's better if you don't give me any answer at the moment. I just want you to think about it, to think about us and whatever you finally decide, I'll accept, no matter what." Had that made any sense at all? He couldn't tell by the unreadable mask Aya had set in place.

Finally, he nodded in agreement. "Fair enough." He went back to reading and Ken slipped back out the way he had come, wondering what, if anything, would come of it. He had watched him for so long and he could continue to do that if that's what it took.

~~~ Some time Later ~~~

"White hunters of the dark, hunt down the future of these black beasts!"

Rex turned off the screen and turned around to face the room full of trained assassins. "Well? It's a mission for all of you, will you accept it?"

Ken slipped on one of his gloves and flexed his claws. It had been too long since he'd seen a bit of action and a mission of this magnitude was certainly going to be fun. "I'm in!" He sent a glance toward Aya, smiling at the softness evident in his eyes when he looked back at him.

"Yes," Aya said simply.

Leaning against the back of the couch, Youji nodded, as well. "Definitely. It sounds like a mission worthy of our skills." He glanced toward the newest, fourth member of Weiss, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, someone has to make sure the rest of you stay in line, so I can't possibly refuse."

Rex smiled and backed away. "All right then, get to it. Persia will be contacting you with more information later."

"So, what are we going to do first?"

"Are you that eager to spill some blood, Asuka?"

She grinned at him. "No, but I'm eager to see they get what they deserve. I've been out of this for a while, but I assure you my skills are still sharp."

Youji kissed her lightly on the cheek; Ken noticed that Aya neither noted nor cared about that action anymore and was glad of it. "That's the Asuka I remember. Let's get out there and show them how real assassins work."

She readily agreed. The other two didn't care as long as they were all together.

~~~~

"Good job, 'Persia'."

Omi gazed up at Nagi for a moment from his desk, watching as he crossed the room toward him. "Do you think they will be okay?"

"Omi, they are assassins, you never know what will happen and I don't have the ability to predict the future. However, they are extremely well trained and dedicated, so we can safely assume that they will be fine."

"So I should stop worrying, huh?"

He nodded. "They'll protect each other."

"And you'll protect me?"

"Exactly."

~~The End~