AN: Well, here we are with the second chapter of the revision, which I'm pretty sure you'll be glad to see will be quite different from the original version in how this chapter turns out.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the anime and games that feature in this fic.

Chapter 2: Separation and Meeting

Nagi Naoe, a thin Japanese youth with short black hair and wearing a white suit, who was also the youngest member of the assassin group Schwarz, followed his leader as well as his teacher Brad Crawford, a black haired man of American descent who was also wearing a white suit and tinted glasses, down a staircase that led to the island's docks, where a boat was waiting for them. They could both see the oncoming devastation behind them and increased their speed, not wanting to get caught in it.

Schwarz had completed their objective of eliminating their former employers Eszet, a large and powerful occult organization that was lead by three old, but powerful psychics. Those three had been trying to use their powers to resurrect some sort of entity and incarnate it into the comatose body of a girl named Aya Fujimiya because despite her coma, she had not aged a day since the coma had started, which made her the perfect candidate for the body of the one they were summoning. Unfortunately for them, Schwarz had other plans and had switched that girl with another girl named Sakura Tomoe, who bore a striking resemblance with the former, and was also someone they had been manipulating against Aya Fujimiya's older brother, who she was close to. By the time the only surviving member of Eszet had seen the truth, it was too late and he too soon met his end, at the hands of Farfarello.

Things started to go wrong soon after though, as Weiss, an assassin group that Schwarz seemed to frequently end up in conflict with due to the fact that these assassins targeted the sort of people that Schwarz usually worked with or for such as corrupt officials, rich psychopaths, murderers, and other sorts. The main reason for this particular conflict was because the leader of Weiss was none other than Ran Fujimiya, Aya Fujimiya's older brother, and he and the rest of his team were prepared to fight them to get her back.

The battle was actually going their way until Sakura managed to get to Aya and was able to get her away with the help of one of Weiss' supporters, a woman known only as Manx. Soon after the whole entire building and the island it had been built on began to collapse and both groups got scattered; Nagi managed to locate Crawford and the two of them were making their escape together, their other two companions, Schuldig and Farfarello were likely doing the same.

"Do you think that those four from Weiss will survive?" Nagi asked Crawford as they continued to their flight down some stairs.

"I doubt it," Crawford answered. "But then again, they may have a planned way of escape like we do, so they might survive."

"Either way is fine with me," Nagi said grimly. "If they do survive, I'll kill them the next time I see them. If not…well, I'm not complaining. That bunch all deserve to die for killing her."

The American assassin smirked back at Nagi in reply, which the young psychic took to be one of approval. What Nagi did not know was that it was a smirk of self- satisfaction.

(I was afraid that Schuldig's manipulative powers wouldn't have any effect on Nagi, but it seems they have a lasting effect so far.) Crawford thought to himself. (So it appears that I worried for nothing. Nagi still doesn't know that it was our Farfarello that killed the girl, and not Weiss, and hopefully he never will. Regretful that we had to deceive Nagi, but he is a member of Schwarz that is too valuable for us to lose.)

Crawford's thoughts were interrupted as a series of images flashed through his mind as a result of his precognitive abilities. If he had had more time, Crawford would have felt surprise at the suddenness in which this vision had come to him as they usually came to him several minutes in advance. However, he knew he did not have the time and quickly turned his head to the side to his student.

"Nagi!" He shouted in warning. "Look out! Move to your-!"

But the warning came too late.

Nagi screamed in pain as a large chunk of debris struck his left shoulder. Looking up, he briefly stopped where he was and quickly used his telekinetic powers to shield himself from anymore falling debris. Unfortunately, this action proved to be a mistake as the floor suddenly collapsed under him. Crawford quickly extended his hand towards Nagi to try and pull the boy to safety, but his hand missed and only grasped air. Nagi fell and landed on the floor below on his back, the sounds of the collapsing building drowning out the sound of his landing.

He lay there spread eagled for a few minutes before regaining consciousness, and when he did his body was afire with pain as he tried unsuccessfully to get up. Nagi looked up and saw Crawford was looking down at him through the hole that he had just fallen through and was making a move to get down to him. He could see that Crawford was calling out to him, but the man's voice was drowned out by the crumbling of the building. Wanting to save Crawford the time of helping him up as Nagi realized they could not afford to waste any more time, the young psychic closed his eyes and focused on his telekinetic powers to lift himself up. As he did this, the floor that he had landed on suddenly collapsed underneath him and Nagi fell again, but this time open water awaited him several feet below.

(So this is it.) Nagi thought resignedly as he fell, knowing full well that he could not use his powers to keep himself afloat in mid air due to his injuries, and he was already feeling tired from the battle with Weiss just moments ago. (So this is how it ends for me...Well, it's not so bad now…at least I'll finally be reunited with you, Tot.)

The last thing Nagi felt was his body hitting the water before darkness overtook him and he lost consciousness.

"No…damn it!" Crawford cursed angrily as he looked down the hole that Nagi had fallen through.

(I can't believe this is happening…) Crawford thought to himself as he forced himself to calm down. He could not believe that he had just lost his student so suddenly and so easily. (Of all times for a vision to occur at the last minute…Still, it doesn't look like Nagi is dead; that telepathic link Schuldig has shared amongst the four of us so we can know whether one of us has died has not ended. Still, I'd best talk with Schuldig just to be sure…)

The precognitive assassin turned and ran down the rest of the staircase towards the docks, where he hoped his other two teammates were.

When Crawford got to the docks, he found his two teammates waiting for him as expected. The first one was a German man with long orange hair wearing a white bandana and sunglasses over his forehead and a black suit shirt and white pants, and the other was a an Irish man with short white hair and pale skin that was covered with multiple scars on his face and body, wearing a tight blue vest and dark jeans, an eyepatch over his left eye, and earings.

The German looked over at Crawford with a laid back look on his face.

"Well, you're a little late, boss." He commented and then noticed that his leader was alone. "Where's Nagi? Wasn't he with you?"

"I'm afraid we got separated…" Crawford replied.

"He isn't dead is he?" The Irish man asked.

"No, I can tell from our link that the kid is still alive, Farfarello." The German answered. "He's alive, but conscious is a different story so unfortunately I can't tell where exactly he is."

"I see…" Crawford paused to think for a moment before turning back to his German partner. "How long should the link last so you can locate him, Schuldig?"

"It should last for a few days, more than enough time for us to find him." Schuldig paused and looked back at the crumbling remains of the building they had just left. "Still boss, are you sure things will work out with Nagi? I mean, that's quite a bit to swim through…"

"I've trained Nagi well enough that he should be able to make it through something like this." Crawford replied with a confident smile. "While there can be no question that he was injured, I'm sure Nagi knows to use those safe houses that used to belong to the Takatori family just in case. Those places should have the necessary medical supplies that he can use for self treatment until we locate him or he contacts us. Now let's get going, the sooner we get this mission wrapped up, the sooner we can begin our search."

"Hmph, so after this our next course of action is to go around looking for a lost member." Farfarello grumbled. "There's no fun to be had in that…"

"Hey, why not look on the bright side, my friend?" Schuldig suggested casually. "Maybe Nagi will be picked up by someone and you'll have to take out a witness."

"Heh, we can only hope." Farfarello smirked a bit at that idea.

With that, the three assassins got into their docked boat and it sped off into the night.

Riku Hanabishi, now dressed in a light dark blue jacket over a white T-shirt and dark jeans, was taking a walk along a beach outside the American base at Okinawa. He'd completed the report for the mission that he had just done during the flight back to FOXHOUND headquarters and shortly after submitting the report, took the next flight back to Japan as none of his friends in FOXHOUND were there at the moment. As a result, he got the nice long sleep that he was hoping for on the flight back home. In fact he'd slept through most of the flight.

When he had arrived at the Okinawa base, by which time it was the late evening in Japan, Riku was told that he'd have to wait a few hours as the plane that was to take him to the mainland was being refueled and was also having a maintenance inspection done on it. The young ninja was alright with waiting, and had called home to say that he would be a little late.

After grabbing some dinner at a nearby ramen stand that the soldiers at the base had recommended, Riku had decided to kill some more time by taking a walk and the beach seemed like it would be a pleasant enough place for that. It was a rather cool night with a nice breeze and the moon's reflection on the seawater made for a rather pleasant view.

After a few minutes of walking, Riku finally found a nice spot to stop and sit down for a while and admire the view.

(You know this would make a pretty good meditation.) Riku thought to himself as he looked out at the scenery. (It's too bad there isn't enough time to see how that would go…it wouldn't be good if I ended up falling asleep while the plane is waiting for me.)

Riku was about to lie back and relax for a little bit, when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Far down to his right, there was someone lying on the shore and from the looks of it, this person had somehow been washed ashore. Riku might not have seen whoever this was if it hadn't been for the fact that this person was wearing at least a white shirt and pants.

The ninja decided to investigate just in case as this person may have been in an accident and if hurt, might need to get to a hospital.

A close inspection soon revealed that the person was a young skinny boy with short black hair who looked to be only two years younger than he was and he was wearing a white suit that did look sort of fancy. The boy looked like he had been in the water for a while, but hadn't drowned as he was breathing, though the breathing seemed to be a little strained.

"I guess he was in an accident of some kind since he looks hurt." Riku commented as he gave the boy a light nudge to try to wake him and was rewarded with a light groan. A few minutes later, the boy's eyes started to open.

"Alright, you're awake, now…" Riku began, but was interrupted as the boy's eyes suddenly seemed to snap open and he suddenly leaped to his feet, giving the ninja quite the surprise.

"Whoa there, kid, take it easy now I'm here to help." Riku said, figuring he must have startled the kid when he woke him. "I'm not sure how you got in the water, but it looks like you ended up hurt quite a bit when that happened."

Nagi Naoe did not need to be told that as he had already felt pain enough lance through his body when he had gotten up like that. At the moment he could feel it throughout most of his body, but his left shoulder was what was hurting the most.

Riku blinked and then noticed the kid reach for his left shoulder and then noticed that some blood was starting to leak into the white cloth of his left sleeve.

"Sheesh you really are hurt there…" Riku commented. "Well, don't worry, I'll get you to a doctor right away…"

"Who are you?" Nagi asked, carefully studying this guy who might be his rescuer to see if he was actually being genuine in wanting to help him.

"Oh me?" Riku replied as he took out his cell phone. "I'm Riku, and I just happened to be passing through before going home."

"You live here in Okinawa?" Nagi asked.

"Oh no, I'm just waiting for my ride that's all and figured a walk would help kill time." Riku then gave a reassuring smile. "Good thing that I did that."

"Yeah…" Nagi relaxed a bit now. This boy, Riku, wasn't coming off as an enemy or someone who would try to rob or harm him. Nagi could sense there was something behind what he had just said, but it didn't seem to be anything that significant enough to make him suspicious.

(Maybe he was meeting a girl or something…) Nagi thought. (Well, I'd better get going before he starts asking too many questions. I wouldn't want to have to kill someone who actually decided to help me. Good Samaritans are rare enough these days…)

"Excuse me, Riku-san, was it?" Nagi spoke, interrupting Riku before he could dial a number into his phone. "Sorry, but I can take care of this myself."

"Here now, with that in jury of yours…" Riku began but never finished as suddenly Nagi made gesture at him and that was followed by a sudden and powerful blow to his head that knocked him down onto the ground, unconscious.

"Sorry about that." Nagi said, meaning it and then quickly took off Riku's jacket. He then tore off the right sleeve of it before taking off his shirt so as to use the sleeve as a bandage for his wounded shoulder. The young psychic winced a bit as he had to use his powers to tie the bandage since his whole body ached to the point that standing was painful, but even doing this stung a bit, especially with the seawater getting into his wound.

After he finished bandaging himself and getting his shirt back on, Nagi used his powers to fold Riku's jacket and lay it beside him. He then took out his wallet and then took out a 10,000 yen bill and put it in the unconscious ninja's hand. A little much for a jacket, but it was a good enough way of saying 'thank you'.

Carrying his currently soaked white jacket as he wouldn't dare leave it behind as possible evidence, Nagi Naoe walked off into the night.

"Sir, sir, wake up!" A male voice, followed by some rough shaking, called, causing Riku's eyes to open. Standing over him was one of the soldiers from the American base as the ninja recognized the uniform.

"Uuuhhnnn…" Riku groaned as he sat up, his head hurting like he had bumped it against something. He then noticed hr was holding some paper in his hand and that his jacket was lying neatly folded on the ground next to him, except it was missing its right sleeve. Only then did he realize what had happened just before he was out.

"I remember now!" Riku leaped to his feet, surprising the soldier and looked around. "How did he do that? That kid, that invisible hammer…how?"

"Um, sir, is everything alright?" The soldier asked, not entirely sure what to make of what Riku was saying, causing the young ninja to pause as he noticed the soldier's presence.

"Oh, sorry about that." Riku said, rubbing his head with a bit of embarrassment. "Anyway…uh, how long have I been out?"

"I believe it was for a few hours, sir." The soldier answered. "When you didn't come back we went out looking for you and I found you here."

"Well, thank you for that, and I suppose I should tell the pilot I'm sorry for keeping him waiting like that." Riku said with a nod of thanks.

"Just curious, but could you tell me what exactly happened to you, sir?" The soldier asked.

"Oh…well, I had a bit of an accident and ended up getting this hit to my head and a torn jacket." Riku answered. Which was basically true; one of Riku's faults, if it could be called that, was that he was not a particularly good liar so he had to make up for it by saying one thing and meaning something else. The only reason he was keeping what happened with that boy he met a secret was mainly because he didn't want to trouble anyone with looking around for a kid who hadn't really done anything wrong, it wasn't like that invisible strike had really done anything to hurt Riku seriously, it had just knocked him out and gave him a headache upon waking up, and he had been generous, actually very generous, enough to pay for the torn jacket as Riku had noticed the paper in hand was a 10,000 yen bill. "Anyway, we should probably get going…"

Still, Riku could not help but think back on what had knocked him out as he and the soldier headed back to the base. He knew what that invisible strike had been.

(I've sparred with Greg enough to know psychokinesis when I see it.) Riku thought to himself. (I wonder…will that kid and I ever cross paths again?)

After a couple of hours, Riku had gotten back to the mainland and was now taking a bus back home. He had the seat back and was about to get some more sleep when he noticed something outside the window.

As the bus passed by, Riku saw a red haired woman and two girls, who looked so alike they could be twins, standing off on a cliff near the water and appeared to be watching the coming dawn.

(Well, at least I'm not the only one up at this hour.) Riku thought as the bus went on. (Though I could have sworn there was a small island over in the direction those three are looking…Oh well, I'm probably just mixing things up…)

With that the young ninja drifted off to sleep.

"So this is the place…" Nagi said as he emerged from the trail that he had been following.

It was already early morning by now, and in the hours that had passed since he had left that boy, Riku, on the beach, Nagi had wasted no time in getting to the nearest Takatori safe house. He had managed to sneak aboard a ferry that took him to the mainland, during which he was able to rest for a while. After that, he had been able to get a taxi driver who was willing to not ask any questions if he was paid enough to drop him off near where the safe house was located. Nagi could have contacted Crawford from a payphone, but he wasn't taking any chances in case he was being followed. As a result he had taken the long way to the safe house so as to shake off any potential pursuers.

On the one hand, he was relieved that the place was deserted, but on the other hand he was not happy about where he had to stay to rest before contacting his comrades from Schwarz. It was only a couple of miles where Schriendt's base had been; where they had kept Masafumi Takatori's body. Too close to where he had lost her…

Gritting his teeth in frustration Nagi pushed aside the painful memories. This was another thing he would have to somehow get through over time, like the painful memories of his childhood, though to be honest with himself, having to deal with the memory of the only person he had truly cared for dying in his arms was many times more painful than even the worst ones of his past.

These thoughts, plus the fact that he'd covered so much distance on foot despite his injuries, were starting to take their toll on the young psychic and make him weary. Walking a few more steps, the young psychic finally ended up stumbling and leaning against a tree near the entrance. Slumping back against it, Nagi could feel sleep overtaking him as his head turned so he could face a large field of flowers.

"Nagi-kun?" A familiar voice called out to him, and Nagi thought he could see a very familiar and much missed figure in the field coming towards him as he drifted off into slumber.

AN: Alright, chapter 2 is ready now let's move on to chapter 3. Keep your fingers crossed that this doesn't take too long to finish folks.