Sorry that this chapter has taken so long, my head has been in the clouds.

Omi was scrubbing at the kitchen table with a damp cloth. It didn't seem to be shifting. He rubbed his forehead and wondered whether there was a market for a book of cleaning tips for assassins. He'd certainly pay money for something like that … on the other hand, Aya-kun was the only one who really got bent out of shape about the place being in a mess, so maybe Omi should just tell him to clean up his own bloodstains. The boy chuckled slightly to himself. Somehow, he didn't think that would go down too well.

Giving up on the errant stain for the moment, Omi started to investigate the contents of the fridge. Tension made him hungry. He made a face at the nearly empty fridge; apparently no-one had been shopping for a few days. Selecting an apple and half a sandwich, (and who did keep putting half eaten sandwiches back in the fridge anyway?) he sat down at the kitchen table.

This had not been a good evening. Well, it had started out good – that had been a great movie, and Ken and Yojhi seeing it with him, had really made him happy. If only Aya-kun had come too. Everything was better when they were all together in Omi's opinion. But Yojhi had been insistent that Aya not be invited. Maybe Yojhi had already been angry with Aya? No, that didn't seem right somehow. Yojhi hadn't been angry till they got home. But he'd been angry before he learnt about Seven.

Omi didn't think, somehow, that he would ever understand the thing between Yojhi and Aya. If he or Ken had even scratched Yojhi's beloved car, then they almost certainly wouldn't remain alive for long. (He shuddered, remembering the time when he had spilt ice-cream on one of the seats.) Aya got Seven blown up, and walked away without a scratch. Well, Omi thought with a sigh, none that weren't there before anyway. But Yojhi was angry and Aya-kun was . . . well, Aya was Aya, and that was difficult enough to live with. Somehow, Omi suspected that life in the Koneko no Sumu Ie was going to be unbearable for the foreseeable future.

His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Looking up, he saw Ken with a decidedly relieved expression on his face. That couldn't be good. Ken had been supposed to be checking on Aya-kun, and that should have taken longer…

"How is he?" Omi asked, as Ken flung himself onto a chair, swinging it back precariously.

Ken shrugged, apparently eyeing the remains of Omi's sandwich. "Don't know. He didn't answer."

Omi frowned. "And that doesn't worry you?" He was fairly certain that he knew why.

"Well, I mean, uh… I didn't want to disturb him." Yep. Aya was scary. "Why don't you go. Aya won't mind if it's you." Omi wasn't so sure about that.

"You lost the coin toss, it's your turn." he snapped.

"But, Omi…" Ken whined. Omi could feel his will weakening. He always found it hard to resist Ken. "Aya likes you better."

"Ken…" Omi started, but Ken interrupted.

"And I'll do all your deliveries for a month, and make you coffee every morning…"

Omi wondered when checking on Aya had become such a chore. Weren't they supposed to be a team, to look after each other? Just because Aya-kun was … difficult didn't mean that he wasn't one of them. "I'll go." he said quietly.

Ken shut his mouth. As Omi stood up and headed for the stairs, he saw Ken reach over and grab the remains of the sandwich.

Omi swallowed nervously, and rapped on Aya's door. "Aya-kun. It's Omi. May I come in?" No answer. "If you don't say anything, I'm going to come in anyway." he called.

The door swung open. Aya was standing there, wearing his orange sweater. Omi did his best to ignore the fact that the older assassin looked angry and pushed past him into the room. "Good evening Aya-kun. Where are you injured."

Aya's eyes narrowed. Omi felt even more nervous. "Leave. Now."

Omi shook his head, with what he hoped was his normal cheery demeanor. "Nope, not going to happen." He looked Aya up and down. There was a darker red staining his hair, his eyes were somewhat unfoccused and his arm was folded across his ribcage. Great. He returned Aya's glare with one of his own. "Don't move." he said coldly, then ran to the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit. He wasn't altogether surprised to see that the door was closed when he returned. God, Aya-kun could be so childish sometimes. Slightly annoyed, he kicked the door open, pleased when it slammed against the wall. Aya was lying on his bed.

"Sit up and take your sweater off so I can see your injuries."

"I'm not hurt." Omi closed his eyes. God grant him patience.

"Aya-kun," he started "Let me treat your injuries right now, or I'll call Persia and get you suspended for the next month."

Inwardly he winced at the expression on Aya's face. He felt like such a traitor, especially, when Aya didn't say anything but started to pull his sweater over his head.

There was a nasty-looking gash on Aya's side, and a whole lot of bruising. Omi caught his breath. They'd all been hurt worse than this in the past, but Aya trying to cope on his own made the situation sort of scary. If it hadn't been that they'd seen the blood downstairs, they might never have known that Aya was hurt. Omi couldn't help wonder if Aya had successfully hid injuries in the past. He pulled some cotton wool and disinfectant out of the bag, and started to clean Aya's side.

Feeling uncomfortable with the silence, Omi asked casually "So who was your target, anyway."

"Yamaguchi Jiyuu. He is..was… the head of a medical corporation responsible for releasing untested drugs onto the population. There were deaths." Aya's voice sounded distant. Omi wondered if the disinfectant was hurting him.

"I take it everything went ok?" he asked thoughtlessly, wondering if the target had been killed. Aya looked up at him, and he could feel his cheeks flushing. "I meant, apart from the rocket launcher of course. Sorry."

He was so embarrassed that he almost missed it when Aya quietly answered. "Yes. I killed him."

"Good. I mean…good." He moved his hand suddenly and felt Aya tense beneath him. "Sorry, Aya-kun."

"Don't worry about it." Aya gasped.

Omi pulled out the bandages and began to bind Aya's chest. For a while there was silence. Omi concentrated on getting the bandages to sit just so. He had to do this far too often, for all of them. Sometimes, very rarely, he wished that they were just florists, that they didn't have their more dangerous night time job.

Finished, he began cleaning the cut on Aya's head. He bit his lip. It seemed fairly deep. This was obviously where most of the blood had come from.

"Omi, do you think that Yojhi is very upset?" Startled, Omi considered the unexpected question. He didn't quite know what to say. Yojhi had seemed angry, but somehow, he didn't think that he should tell Aya that."

"I don't know." he stalled, "he really loved that car."

Aya seemed to be studying his boots. "Yes. He did."

"I'm sure he won't blame you." Omi offered, feeling sorry for his friend.

"He should." Aya said, in a tone that brooked no contradictions. Omi sighed. Somehow, he was sure that his two elders would have to work this out for themselves.

Omi finished putting a plaster on the cut. That should keep it safe from infection. Now to check if Aya-kun had a concussion. "How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked.

"Three." Aya answered. Omi looked at his hand. Sure enough, he was holding up three fingers. But Aya hadn't looked up.

"Aya-kun?"

"You always hold up three fingers, Omi."

Damn. He'd never noticed that before. OK, what was another way to check for concussion…aha! He grabbed a book off the shelf above Aya's head and opened it at random. "Read that out loud." he snapped.

Aya frowned at him, and looked down at the book, but seemed to be unable to focus on it.

"You have a concussion, Aya-kun." Omi said.

"I know." came the answer. Sometimes Omi wondered why he bothered.

"Right, you're coming downstairs. We need to keep you awake." The scowl that came his way was one of Aya's better efforts.

Well, that's that for now. Please let me know what you think. I'm planning another Weiss story at the moment, that will be rather more action oriented. It is also noteworthy that it will contain the line "Would I hurt God more if I was naked?" Watch this space.