Although this is the sequel to Warmth, a Weiss Kreuz fanfiction, I placed this story under Hikaru no Go because the story would hopefully be focusing more on those characters. Though it is a sequel… there is no need, I repeat! No need to read Warmth.

I know that in the manga and anime series of Hikaru no Go, Waya's parents are alive and doing very well. I'm not sure if Waya even has any siblings but in this story he does and his parents are dead. Uhm… author scratches head. There's nothing really more for me to add except that I hope all readers enjoy the story, also I WARN readers that there are OVA SPOILERS for Weiss Kreuz and SPOILERS for all of the anime of Hikaru no Go.

Hope you enjoy!!!

Disclaimer: I own neither the Weiss Kreuz characters nor the Hikaru no Go characters I just love borrowing them from time to time.

Ch.1

Time and Ties That Bind

                Waya snorted, bored out of his mind and trying desperately to get his mind off of Isumi. The guy had left the country for god's sake. He couldn't pout forever and mourn the fact that his best friend had left him without bothering to give him a real good bye. He ran a hand in his messy brown hair and slumped into the chair next to his desk. Oh who the hell was he kidding? He was more than just pouting… he was depressed and Isumi wasn't just his best friend. He snorted again and let his chin rest on his hand as his elbow was propped up on the desk. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the reflection of his brown eyes staring at him from the black computer screen.

 Everyone else thought they were though… even Shindo… especially Shindo. The boy was oblivious to everything unless it concerned Touya Akira and the game Go… but then again Shindo's obsession with Go was closely tied with Touya Akira's name so… Waya gave a soft dry chuckle. With one finger on the hand that wasn't supporting the dead weight of his head, he turned his computer on. He heard the soft whirring of the mechanical device waking itself up and starting to process the various commands that had been inscribed its very making. After a few minutes that seemed a bit drawn out in the silence of Waya's little apartment, the computer screen flashed its 'welcome sign and won't you please wait a minute before doing anything as we set up your personal data…' Waya lifted his head and straightened his arm, loosening the muscles that had tightened while being in the prior position. He made a slight face as one of those muscles protested at the sudden movement. But his attention on it lessened quite fast as he focused instead on the fact that the computer was finally ready to work. Deftly he typed in the password needed to get the internet connection. The modem dialed away and it was only a few seconds before the little box faded into the background and the assigned homepage came on the screen. He typed in the web address of the page he wanted to go check, with little hope that he would actually Sai's name reappear in the Internet Go world… but still… it wouldn't hurt to check.

                His brown eyes skimmed the lines of name and he sighed, leaning back in his chair with another additional thing to be disappointed about. He bit his bottom lip before shaking his head. Enough was enough… even if Sai wasn't there… Zelda was now on. And hey! He was a professional Go player now. The little thought brought a small tight smile on his face. It was better than nothing… it was better then nothing. He clicked on a random person's name, challenging them to a game hoping that it would make him lose the sense of time that was slowly drawing this day out as long as possible.

…

                On the other side of town, Omi frowned, his blue eyes skimming the computer screen as he looked at the challenge someone had just sent him. Zelda? Zelda… he tried to remember if he'd seen a game played by this person before but he gave up trying to remember and just clicked enter, accepting the challenge. It was his day off… his homework for tomorrow had been completed a little over an hour ago and it was Yoji's and Aya's turn to take care of the shop. He had no want or need right now to work there as physically tired as he was. He had tried to take a nap but had found, much to his dismay, that his mind would not let him be at all. It just kept nagging at him about everything and nothing. A frown crossed his features but before long it disappeared as he was caught in the game.

                Ken took some of the steps two at a time, clutching with slightly shaking hands a bag that had a small gift hidden in its depth.  He wished his heart could still for a moment as he continued to make his way up to see Omi and that his face could stop turning a red color that matched Aya's freaking hair. He also wished very strongly that… that… He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them wide. He wanted things to be ok again. Things could be so awkward at times between him and Omi… ever since that day. He shook his head, making his brown hair fall into his face and away again. Something had changed… something that he didn't know how to deal with quite yet. All he knew was that the change was responsible for the small warmth that now resided in his chest next to his heart. And that it was that warmth that continued to keep him away from a darkness that threatened to engulf him at times. But this change was also responsible for the awkwardness that resided between them when no one else was around. Or more specifically the awkwardness that resided between them when they were actually thinking about what was happening between them and no one was around… His hands tightened further. It was just so complicated.  He was there… should he knock? Should he…? He banished thoughts from his head as he concentrated on just finding the right words this time.

                He opened the door in one swift movement and paused in mid step as his eyes caught and saw the image of Omi, concentrating at the computer screen, a small smile on his face. At the sound of the door opening, Omi looked towards him, his smile getting larger as if in welcome.

                "Hey Ken-kun." The younger boy greeted softly. "How was today's practice?" Ken let the flow of words go past him as he allowed Omi's gentle presence fill him with calmness. He felt his grip on the bag loosen and made his way towards the chair. It would never cease to amaze him the effect that Omi had on him. He kneeled on the eighteen year old's right side, looking at the screen to see what exactly his friend was up to. Omi followed his gaze and blushed slightly. "…it's a game of Go." He explained. "I can finish it though if you…" Ken shook his head, cutting the words short. "Are you sure?" He nodded and rested his head slightly on Omi's side. The touch startled Omi who looked back down before smiling again. "Tired?" He asked, before his blue eyes focused back on the game that to Ken was just white and black circles randomly placed on a board. Ken nodded and gave a soft sigh. He heard and felt Omi move, the eighteen year old leaning closer to the computer as he clicked away at something and then the hand let go of the mouse, coming to play with Ken's brown strands of hair in a soothing manner. "You never answered my first questions…" Omi muttered, his voice sounding slightly off.

                "Huh? Oh… uh practice… it went good." He answered before chuckling a bit. "The kids were good. Hyper as usual." He glanced up in time to see Omi's smile before the boy's eyes narrowed. Omi's hand left, the warmth leaving as well as it went back to the mouse, looking for a move. Ken made a noise and Omi laughed at him after realizing what had caused him to make that noise.

                "Go on the other side then… spoiled cat." He muttered, blushing slightly at the mention of that other day that seemed not so long ago…and yet months had passed since then. Winter had long passed away leaving room for spring to make everything come to life again. Ken moved as he had been told to do and let his head rest on Omi's thigh. The free hand, as had been promised silently, came down, running through the strands of hair softly. They stayed like that for a few minutes, each basking gently in a closeness that was not supposed to be taking place. It was a closeness that neither understood but neither could deny the need that they felt for some random moments in time like this. It helped them remember the whys they were still here in a world of darkness and hatred… the whys to what kept them fighting the darkness… the whys to how they could keep fighting knowing that it meant for each of them a life of seclusion and solitude… it helped them live. Live… Omi's blue eyes unfocused slightly, the computer screen blurring.

                A black Go chip was placed in an unexpected corner, the movement on the screen bringing Omi back to the present, pushing away certain fears and memories. He scanned the board and gave a little sigh. Defeated so soon into a game… whoever this Zelda character was… he/she was a good player. He sighed and clicked on part of the screen that brought up a box so he could claim defeat and see where exactly he had made weak moves. He clicked away again and felt Ken sigh, his warm breath passing by him and giving him a slight chill. A smile tugged at his lip, knowing without needing to look down that Ken was probably minutes away from falling asleep, his head in Omi's lap. To test this, Omi stilled his left hand, knowing that if Ken was still awake enough to formulate coherent thoughts and process the fact that Omi had stopped… there would be silent complaints. Such as Ken moving his head until he found Omi's hand again which is what happened and Omi stifled a chuckle which granted him a pleading puppy eyed look from Ken's green eyes to be locked on his blue ones.

                "I just wanted to see if you were still awake." Omi muttered softly in explanation. Ken pouted and nestled back into the comfortable position he had been. "I lost the game so once Zelda tells me what I've done wrong… You can tell me what's wrong." His left hand went back to scratching Ken's head softly and Ken nodded without really letting the words register. It just felt nice to be able to relax.  "…he's a pro… I just played a pro…" Omi shook his head and clicked off the internet, having finished going over the game he had just played with a… pro? He felt silly getting excited over something so inconsequential but still… he had just played a pro Go player… and not just that… this Zelda guy said he had made some good moves. Ken looked at him, trying to keep the movement to a minimum so as to not have Omi stop his gentle ministrations. Omi waved off the question that stayed in the green eyes as they looked at him and instead looked at Ken curiously. "So… I'm done."

"That fast?" Ken asked and he received a nod. "Wow…"

"So…" Omi nudged Ken's head up and off his lap. "If practice went so well this afternoon… why were you so tense when you first came in?" Ken blinked and blushed. 'Damn!' He thought a bit savagely. He should have known that Omi would pick up on that but... He made a face and turned to look behind him where he had dropped the bag. Omi followed to where Ken looked at and felt one of his eyebrows arch up in surprise. What could possibly be in the bag that had made the brunette walk in the room like he was a robot? Ken looked back at him and Omi was further surprised by the blush that the twenty year old now had on his face.

"Uhm… Nothing's wrong with me. I just-" Ken reached behind him and shoved the bag in Omi's direction. This was so not how he had wanted to do this! Omi blinked, looking at the bag that was now in his lap. "It's just a stupid gift that I wanted to give you. You know… to thank you for… well… you know." Omi didn't quite know actually… he could venture a guess but at the moment he wouldn't even have dared since he could only look at Ken stuttering and blink in confusion. What was going on? "I mean… it's to thank you for being… with me… and helping me. Anyway… enjoy and uhm… I'll be around somewhere…shit!" Ken was on his feet and reaching for the door but Omi caught his hand and pulled him back.

"Where are you going?" He asked. "I haven't even opened it or thanked you for this." Omi pointed out slowly. Ken waved his free hand about as if to say no matter. "Please stay with me?" The younger of two pleaded, tugging at the arm one last time. The brunette heaved a sigh, the tension in his body leaving him as he stopped trying to leave the room.

"All right…" Ken made his way to the bed, bringing Omi with him without really realizing that the eighteen year old still held onto his hand. After making himself comfortable, Omi gave Ken a side ways glance, wondering if it was safe to actually let go of the hand. He'd never seen Ken acting like this before. He bit his lip to keep from commenting and decided that he would open the gift with one hand. While this was going on, Ken was focusing on his feet… on the floor… anywhere but Omi. He heard the rustling of the paper being jostled and then ripped with a small sound of apology coming from Omi and then a soft intake of air. Still he didn't look up until Omi was hugging him hard, his face burying itself in his shirt. "…Omi?"

"…arigato Ken… arigato." His voice was slightly muffled but Ken heard the words clearly. He smiled, his arms coming around the younger man's slight frame… his hand finally freed and the tension inside his chest loosened as relief came crashing in.

…

                It was hours later that the night saw the younger of the Weiss assassins sitting alone on his bed in Indian style. He held the gift softly in his hands, his blue eyes filled with tears as they threatened to roll down his cheeks. He hugged the small teddy bear to his chest and a ghost of a smile filed onto his face.

Only Ken-kun would think of giving him something so adorable and priceless at the same time for the memories that had come back to him from the happier days of his childhood. Only Ken-kun…

He shook his head and gave a crooked smile before having one hand of his come up and wipe away at those more daring tears that had managed to escape from his eyes. He sniffled softly and gave a sigh.

This gift gave him no answers though.

What… where were they going with this? His large blue eyes moved away from the gift, coming to focus to the outside world that rested in deep slumber outside his window. Where could they go with this?

He closed his eyes briefly.

A little bit of warmth between two assassins…

A fine line that if crossed even if only a little could mean the difference between life and death. And what if they had already gone beyond that… what the lines that weren't meant to be crossed had been?

Omi's breath caught in his throat as someone knocked softly on his door. Before he could even try to formulate a reply, the door opened slightly, enough for Yoji to slip his head in.

                "Yo bishonen, Manx…" He paused as he caught sight of what was in Omi's arms. An eyebrow was arched but other than that and the pause, Yoji made no further comment. "…Manx is here."

                "Mission?" Omi asked, ignoring the blush that suddenly painted his cheeks. He was glad that the darkness hid the redness and placed the small teddy bear beside him. Yoji shrugged, opening the door further and allowing the hallway light to filter into Omi's room.

                "She didn't say." Yoji muttered before turning away and heading for the kitchen instead of the basement doubling Omi's surprise.

                "W-where are you going?" Yoji didn't bother to look back as he replied.

                "She only wanted to see you bishonen."

That statement did nothing to help the younger man. Sighing again though for a completely different reason, Omi headed down to the basement wondering what was so wrong that Manx felt the need to come and see him privately. Once in the room, the redhead gave a sigh. The woman looked tired.

                "What is it Manx-san?" No need for any pointless greeting or other formalities. They just needed to get to the point. The woman stared at him for a moment and then waved a hand at him in motion for him to sit down.

                "Just needed to check up on you guys… see how the kittens are doing." She muttered almost carelessly but the way she worded her mutterings made Omi's eyes widen before they held a spark of understanding. So this was what it was all about. "How is Siberian? Abyssinian and Balinese? Have they all recovered? How are their working skills? On the field and out of it? I have already questioned Momoe-san." Her voice was sharp. Not bothering to mull over the why she had felt she needed to be here personally to receive this report, Bombay launched in his answer, hoping to give nothing that he didn't want to give away to Manx.

                Ever since that one mission where they'd needed to kill each other off so to speak to find the traitor in Kritiker, Manx had been keener on being up to date on how they were doing… especially for Siberian's case. It seemed it wasn't just Omi who had seen that flash of insanity glint in his eyes as Siberian got caught up in their deaths, or that gleam of … he didn't quite know what to name it… that emotion that had been in those darker than usual eyes when he had clawed that traitor out of his life. Perhaps it was sick pleasure? He wanted to shake his head, scream at Manx to get out. That they just needed more time. That he needed more time. Because… because… He was sure he could help Ken out of that… He knew he could. Ken…ken-kun…

In the kitchen, Yoji leaned on one of the counters, giving the rest of the room's occupants a measuring look. After a minute or two of doing just that, he removed the sunglasses and cocked his head to the side. Ken didn't even notice as he continued to frown at the table, apparently trying to hold his temper and nerves in check. Aya on the other hand, glared at the elder Weiss member with suspicion. The silence though continued for a moment before finally, Yoji broke it.

                "So… this is new." He started. "Never had personalized meetings with Manx before." Ken's hands clenched into fists.

                "I wonder why she just wants Omi…" The brunette spoke. "I mean… nothing had gone wrong and… we've never had solo missions before." The mere thought of the younger blond having a solo mission made his insides freeze. Aya's eyes narrowed.

                "Baka." He huffed. "There is no such thing." There was another silence, one that stretched as it enveloped all three men. Yoji gave up trying to find answers for questions he couldn't even place into words. Instead he decided it was high time to share what he had thought was the cutest mental image he have ever seen in the longest time.

                "I never knew Omi had a teddy bear before. Think one of the fan girls gave it to him as a present?"  Before Yoji could continue that train of thought or ponder why Ken was suddenly a shade of deep red, Omi's slightly annoyed voice called out from behind him.

                "Manx wants to see all of us in turn… Yoji you can go next."

…

Back onto the other side of town, another person was wide awake.

                 Waya stuffed his hand deep in his pockets, biting his lower lip in an endless fight to keep frustrated tears go away. His steps became longer as he sped up-- hoping that he could outrun whatever was plaguing him. He huffed a sigh as he reached the destination his mind had made up for him even though his heart wanted something else. Shindo's house. He looked at it with a sudden sense of loss. What exactly was he doing here? Why was he here?

                He shut his eyes and waiting until the prickling sensation dulled before opening them again. The house was still there, along with many questions that he did not have the answer to. There was a light at the window.

                The game that he had long sought out to chase certain thoughts and emotions away had been drawn to a close ours ago and Waya had found himself at a loss. There had been nothing to do, no one to turn to… and nothing to say. He had tried playing other people… hoping that a player on the net would catch his interest and would be someone worth playing for but in the end, his heart hadn't been into it. And when the sun had finally hidden his face and let the darkness come in, Waya hadn't been able to keep the loneliness from eating at him. For it was loneliness that was plaguing him.

                He just needed someone to be there.

                His amber eyes continued to stare at the one window that was still lit until it became blurry. Should he even bother to hope that it was Shindo's?

It had been so easy to hide from the loneliness during the day… why should it be so different now that it was dark? The end of his lips tugged at him until a dry little smile played over his face.

Why was it so different?

He wanted to laugh. He knew why it was so different.

Because he had never been alone in the darkness since his parents had died. Isumi had seen to that. And now…

Now Isumi was gone. And he hadn't even bothered to say goodbye. The pain that had been pushed back and hidden during the day suddenly boiled out, and the tears that ran down his cheeks did nothing to comfort him. Hands coming to hide his face, Waya turned away from the house, from the lit window and started to walk back to his empty apartment.

If the person he had counted on the most, had trusted the most, had loved… was not here for him like he had promised, he doubted a simple friend would.

                The window opened and a bang bleached boy's head poked out of it.

                "Waya? Is that you?"

Then again, no one in their fucking right mind would ever use the word simple to describe Shindo, Waya thought in a slight haze as he felt his body stop on its own accord and turn to face the house once more. He nodded, not quite sure that Shindo would even be able to see the movement in the darkness but not able to trust his voice in answering such a simple question. The head disappeared and in no time the door to the front house opened, Shindo running out with a look of profound worry etched onto it.

                "What's wrong?" The younger boy asked. Waya shrugged, feeling stupider by the minute that he had gotten Shindo involved. The last thing he wanted was to worry the kid…

                "I feel like shit." He finally muttered out and gave Shindo his usual smile. It was the closest thing to the truth that he felt like stating. "Wanna grab some sushi?" Confusion wrote itself over the worry that was still lingering on Shindo's face. Then the younger boy snorted, looking to his side as if someone right there had said something stupid. If he hadn't been so used to Shindo's eccentricities and the fact that he was feeling so drained, Waya would have been seriously weirded out but as it was… the familiar scene made him feel better.

                "Sushi? Waya… do you even have any idea what time it is? It's cold out here! Come on." And with that, the shorter of the two pushed Waya inside a warm house and into a lit room, where he no longer had to be alone anymore.

                It was only an hour after that Waya was asleep under a somewhat strange array of blankets that had been quickly thrown on the ground to make something that was supposed to resemble a bed. Hikaru had grumbled a bit while making it, since the older boy had refused to let him wake up his mother to do it for them. Now though as he watched his friend and other pro player, he felt a bit thankful that they hadn't awakened his mother. He rolled his eyes at the thought of the questions she probably would have asked and shook his head. His mother was impossible! He loved her, there was no doubt about that… but jeez could she be annoying! Hikaru went to snuggle into his own covers.

                "Ne Sai…" He whispered as he made himself more comfortable. "You think he's ok?" The tall ghost cast his redheaded friend a gentle look before nodding and giving his pupil and friend a comforting smile.

                'I think so Hikaru.'

That answer made Hikaru smile and he gave a little relieved sigh. Before he could close his eyes though and embrace the darkness that blessed sleep would offer him, Hikaru turned to the ghost once more.

                "Good thing you kept me up so late with another game of go and your incessant nagging." He stifled a yawn. "Thanks for letting me know he was there." Sai smiled but said nothing this time, only allowing himself to sit with his back leaning against the wall and close his eyes as well. "Goodnight Sai."

                'Goodnight Hikaru.' Sai thought a bit sadly as he was sucked back into his own worries of time running out on him.

A/N- This story idea actually came about because one of my friends wanted me to write a Hikaru no Go fic but I told her I really couldn't cause I was too used to writing about Weiss Kreuz so while we were walking back to the dorm, we tried to see possible connections between the two series so that I could make a cross over. Since then I've gotten over my fear of writing Hikaru no Go fics (though I don't know if that's a good or bad thing yet) but I never forgot this story idea. And it's a fun story so…

I hope all of you have enjoyed the first chapter. Let me know either way!!!