Wonder what they're doing, Omi Tsukiyono thought in his
mind of his friends. In times like these, he couldn't help daydreaming or
thinking. In fact, he felt like he had become a philosopher lately due to the
amount of thinking he had been doing. With practically no one to share stories
with, he often found himself talking to another personality inside of him.
He
saw rich, royal blue, in harmony with the forceful black. Minuscule taints of
gold and pale he glimpsed. He felt freezing glass even though it was supposedly
warm. The wind brought him sensations of tears. He smelled nothing. Nothing.
More than anything, he felt emptiness. It was so empty that it filled his heart
like an overflowed sink flooding to the floors beneath. Do they even
understand?
"Someone is out late tonight," a
voice said behind him.
Omi turned around. He was in the middle of staring
straight ahead to the great dark when the voice greeted him. He knew that voice
somewhere. Indeed, when he saw the owner of the voice, he assured himself that
he knew it all right. The voice belonged to Nagi Naoe, his ex-nemesis
counterpart in the group Schwarz. The saying "fighting like cats and dogs"
didn't apply to Weib and
Schwarz. Cats and dogs, if they grew up together since childhood, could be
friends in the end. Weib and
Schwarz, no matter what, would never be friends.
However, Omi and Nagi had never been too hateful towards
each other. In fact, Omi and Nagi had become quite friendly to each other since
they found out that they were in the same school. Omi's level was higher
though; he was already on the last year of school while Nagi was a year below
him. They didn't talk much to each other, especially because they had their own
circle of friends, but when they passed each other in the hall or corridor or
the school gate, they would say hello or smile a little to each other. Now that
Weib and Schwarz didn't exist any
longer, they could stop the enmity as they wanted.
"Nagi." That was all Omi felt like saying.
Nagi, whose height and features were not much different
from Omi's except for hair color, approached him. He was cool, calm and
collected as usual. Omi's eyes followed him as he came nearer and nearer to the
railings of the bridge on his side. He stopped next to him, leaning forward on
the fence. Omi did the same. At the same time, they both folded their arms and
rested them on the barrier.
"What are you doing here?" Nagi asked. Him starting the
conversation was a great surprise to Omi. He thought Nagi was too quiet for his
own good.
"I needed fresh air," Omi answered. "You?"
"The same."
"What's your problem?"
"You wouldn't be interested."
"Aren't you supposed to be studying right now? Don't you
have a test on Monday?"
"How did you know?" Omi asked Nagi.
"I was sick on Wednesday and couldn't do the mathematics
test in Mr. Fukuyama's class. He told me to catch up on it on Monday, with your
class. He said your class had a test too. This way, he could watch over me
while he's watching your class." He sighed. "I suggest you go home and study so
that you would get good marks."
"I don't care about good marks. As long as I can pass the
class, I am happy enough," Omi said.
Nagi tittered. "That's the first time I heard about
someone from class 3-A who isn't so ambitious that he would commit suicide on
the first sight of B on their exam papers."
Omi remembered the case in their school that happened a
month ago. His classmate, Mina, committed suicide just because she was afraid
to face her parents after getting a B- for English. She was a top student and
the best in the class. When she died, everyone guessed that she was highly
frustrated because of the pressure the teachers and her parents put on her to
be the best. This was the case, actually, and Omi couldn't help feeling sorry
for her. A few days afterwards, another student from his class threatened to
jump out of the window if ever he had a B mark for physics. Since then, Omi
decided that it was stupid and didn't force himself too hard on grades. He just
wanted to pass and get into the university. That was all.
"I am not like them," Omi said.
"Of course you are not like them," Nagi sighed. "You and I
are different. We are too mature, know too much of life, to be thinking of
silly things such as suicide."
Nagi was right. Omi and Nagi had grown up beyond their
age. Their concerns were not about having crushes on classmates or about being
angered by their parents or teachers. They were concerned about assassinations
and weapons and blood. They had seen and felt enough deaths of their more loved
ones so that the death of a classmate wouldn't matter that much compared to the
previous ones. Other things seemed little compared to what they had
experienced.
But a little voice in Omi's heart was forcing him to think
of something else. Was it better this way, knowing everything and feeling the
hurt of it, or was it better another way, oblivious of everything and be
completely ignorant of life? Was it better to know and be saddened of all the
deaths around you or was it better to die yourself so that you could make a new
start as another human being, completely innocent and ignorant of all the
revolting things life had to offer even though it matured you? What was better?
Suddenly Omi wanted to know. He asked the question to the
person nearest to him. "Nagi, don't you think it would be better if we just die
and make a brand new start as another person who is immature and completely
ignorant of all the disgusting things in life so that we couldn't be hurt?"
Startled, Nagi turned to face Omi. "What? You think that
way?"
"It just popped in my mind," Omi confessed.
Nagi returned his gaze back to the watery sight in front
of them and thought about it. The thinking alone needed 10 minutes. Finding the
way to express his opinions for Omi's thought took another 3. So some 13
minutes later, he spoke again. "I think… you have a point. Maybe… it's better."
That was all Omi needed for an answer. He just needed
assurance. He shifted his gaze up to the sky above. He wanted to count stars
now while considering the chances of him becoming innocent again. He wasn't
much of a genius in math compared to Kotaro, another classmate, but he surely
knew the result of his calculations. It was nil.
As if to cheer him up, suddenly he saw a falling star.
"Hey, look!" he exclaimed excitedly.
"What?" Nagi replied.
"Over there! Look!!! A falling star!!! Look at the way it
shoots down!!! WOW! I thought I'd never see one!"
Nagi became as excited as Omi was. Chirping, the younger
boy said, "Quick, make a wish! It'll come true!!!"
"Really? I didn't know that before."
"I heard it somewhere… in a movie, I think. Come on, let's
wish!!!"
Both of them closed their eyes almost simultaneously, shut
them tight and while their hands were gripping the railings, they voiced their
wish inside their head and hearts.
I wish for innocence.
After that they opened their eyes in an instant and saw
that the falling star had disappeared. Omi and Nagi stared at each other,
looking dazed of what they had just done. Suddenly, they laughed.
"Fun, huh?" Nagi said, chuckling.
"Yeah!"
Nagi's face turned serious but when he looked back at Omi,
he had this playful smile on his face. "Which do you prefer? Making wishes with
a genie like Aladdin or like that, the way we had just done it?"
Omi tilted his head to the side and thought of an answer.
He finally said, "I like the one with the genie better. I can have three and
they will come true in an instant."
Nagi debated him. "But don't you think genies can be
unreliable? Shooting stars are more trustworthy!"
"Genies do tend to joke but… seriously, it's more
convenient if we get a good genie!" Omi said.
"I suppose," Nagi gave in.
Their conversation was interrupted by the appearance of
two pretty women walking together towards them. One of them was a redhead and
the other was a dark brunette. They were both sensual in different ways. Either
way, they were familiar faces to Omi and Nagi.
"Omi, Nagi, this is very late! What are you two doing
here?" the redhead asked in surprise. This was Manx, an agent whose job was as
a liaison officer for Weib and
their ex-boss, the late Persia. Since the activities for Weib had been discontinued, she worked independently, taking
cases that were only of her interest from the agency Kritiker.
"You can't be sick. Go home, warm yourselves up and take
care! A mission is coming up next week and we don't want you to be sick," the
dark brunette said. This was Birman, of course. She, too, was a liaison officer
for Weib, connecting them to
Kritiker who employed them after Persia's death. She was still doing that up
until Weib's activities were
discontinued.
"What? A mission?" Omi asked. Now that he hadn't been on a
mission for a long time, the thought of having to search and destroy or hunt
and kill churned his stomach extremely.
Nagi answered for him. "We are assigned to work together
next week."
If the news about Youji having a baby didn't surprise him
enough, this surely did. He snapped his head and turned to look at the youngest
member of Schwarz. "What?"
Manx and Birman exchanged looks. They both understood that
Omi hadn't known anything about this. Manx turned to Birman and asked, "Should
I explain or would you take the honor of doing that?" Her partner's reply was a
shrug. She looked more nervous than Manx.
"Omi," Manx said softly, "We never got to tell you before
so now it's time you know. Schwarz works for Kritiker now. Brad Crawford and
Nagi Naoe, the only two members of Schwarz left after that last fight, had
joined us. Since Ran and Ken are… well, they have their own new lives now… so
Youji and you will have new partners. They are, of course, Brad and Nagi."
If Omi was surprised before, he was shocked and staggered
now. He was to team up with Schwarz? He was supposed to do a mission? Ken and
Ran were not going to come back until they had to be replaced by Schwarz? What
kind of life was this? What kind of God was up there? Why did he receive fate
like this?
Seeing the change of expression in Omi's face from
wide-eyed to pale and cold, Manx and Birman became more tensed and nervous.
Nagi kept his cool but it could be easily seen that he was actually tensing his
muscles. Omi stared at the other three people around him and took a step
backwards.
"Omi…" Birman called.
Gulping, Omi asked them, "So… Ken and Ran are not coming
back?"
Manx and Birman once again exchanged looks. This time it
was Birman who answered him. "They gave in their resignation requests this
morning. We were about to…"
Manx quickly said, "They plan to tell you tomorrow morning
after Kritiker had approved of their resignations. Omi, you must understand…"
Omi stared at them in disbelief for a while before he
finally ran away, first taking backwards steps and finally turning around
completely, backing away from the Kritiker agents and Nagi. Manx and Birman
simultaneously shouted his name but he didn't care. He just kept running and
running until he didn't have to see them anymore.
He arrived at the park. It was a long run from the bridge
to the park but he managed to do it. Catching his breath, Omi dropped himself
to the grass below. It was nighttime so there was less oxygen from the trees
around him. He felt suffocated, which was more caused by grief and anger. He
wanted to cry but he couldn't find the tears. He wanted to scream but couldn't
find the voice. He wanted to die but the angels hadn't come to pick him up yet.
Instead he was forced to be Angel of Death once again…
"Mission… damn mission. I am not going to do it!"
"Then how will you live?" a voice asked him.
Omi cursed. Enough surprises already for him that night!
When he turned to see who it was, he finally wasn't surprised anymore. It was
Nagi. Omi just stared at him for a while before turning his face away. He could
hear Nagi sigh.
"I know how you feel, Omi," Nagi said.
"What are you talking about?" his counterpart retorted
harshly.
"I know you are disappointed. Ken and Ran had the freedom
to leave. They have already their new lives and you feel like they are
abandoning you, leaving you behind. You want to be like them. You want to have
a new life. You want to start over like they did but you can't because you
don't know how and if you do you still would have to find another job that pays
you equally well so that you can also live. You think life is tough and you
envy Ken and Ran, perhaps even Youji, for enjoying their lives."
Omi was quiet. He didn't reply so Nagi continued, "If
there is someone else who understands what you feel then it is me. I am young,
like you, even younger. It hit me, struck me, that my job is an assassin. How
did you think I feel when Schuldig and Farfarello died? I wanted to die with
them. When I see Crawford living his new life the way Ken and Ran did, I also
wanted to be like him. But I can't… because I am still young. We don't have
their options. We are young but we are also old. Our jobs turned us this way.
We didn't and still don't have any options."
This was it for Omi. He stood up and bellowed, "Then why
the hell can't we have an option?! Why is it, just because of our ages, we
can't have a choice? Why must we grow up before our time?! Why did we have to
kill?! Why do we have to be the ones to assassinate people again?! Why
can't we leave this world of murders?"
Nagi wasn't intimidated by Omi's tone. He replied simply,
"The answer I am also looking for."
Omi shook his head and started to back away again. As he left,
he said, "Dying would have been better."
------------------------
White. It wasn't the sky. Flat. It wasn't the earth. Cold.
It wasn't the wind. Wet. It wasn't the water. Guilty. Anxious. Forlorn.
Youji woke up with a start. His heart was racing. His body
was sweating all over. His head was aching. It took some minutes from him to
realize that he was still in his room. He was going crazy. All because of that
nightmare he had.
It had been a great labyrinth, the one in his dream. He
was running. He was trying to find Ran, Ken and Omi but he found none of them.
At one cul-de-sac, he saw Shizuka and her original fiancé. They were
holding a baby and looked at Youji with a sneering look. Youji quickly ran
away. A dark shadow followed him as he ran. The shadow caught him. He tripped
and fell into an endless hole. He hit the ground hard and when he woke up he
was in a pool of blood. Floating on it was another baby. He knew it was his. He
reached for it but was too late because then the both of them sunk.
Youji wiped his face with his hands and kicked open the
covers. He took his towel and some pieces of clothing to the bathroom. As he
passed the corridor on his way, he saw that the room that was Omi's had an open
door. Youji peeked inside. There was no one inside. The bed covers were still
neat. Youji began to wonder if Omi returned or not since he walked out on him
yesterday.
Youji began to worry now. Yesterday's fight with Omi was
unnecessary but they had done it anyway. After Omi left, Youji was eaten by
guilt. He shouldn't have lost his temper in an argument with Omi. He just had a
bad day and he had taken out all his emotions to innocent Omi, the one who
didn't know anything and the one who was very lonely. Of course he had noticed
how Omi felt. He knew he was lonely. Who wouldn't be when he lived at the
Koneko shop alone without company most of the time? Sure, he was also at school
most of the time but Youji knew Omi ate dinner alone, woke up alone and went to
bed alone. If it had been someone else, not Omi, he or she might have already
committed suicide because of the loneliness. Thankfully, this was Omi. Omi was
strong.
Or was he? Youji was beginning to doubt it. He hadn't
really checked up on Omi lately. He was cheerful when he greeted him yesterday
but was he really as happy as he appeared to be? Who knew? Youji wanted to know
because he cared for Omi.
Ken and Ran also cared for Omi but in the end they left
anyway. Youji wanted to strangle his ex-teammates for leaving like that but he
knew he couldn't complain. He was about to leave as well… the only thing
holding him back was his concern for Omi. He didn't want Omi to be alone,
especially when he was still officially attached to Kritiker. Omi couldn't and
shouldn't go to a mission alone… what more now they were teamed up with Brad
Crawford and Nagi Naoe from Schwarz. Youji had to be there, to protect Omi.
He knew Omi hated to be protected because to Omi it meant
that they were considering him a child. But the truth was, he was still a
child. He was only 16. He was so young, yet forced to be old beyond his time.
Youji pitied him secretly. At least he had his childhood peacefully and teenage
life in a fun way. But Omi? He didn't have any of them.
Youji shook his head away from thoughts of Omi. He really
shouldn't get sentimental about this. If he did, he would start prying Omi when
he saw him later and Omi would take it as Youji minding too much of his
business. He switched to other thoughts. Unfortunately, the other thought was
not a happy one either. He thought of Shizuka and the baby.
He knew perfectly well that the baby wasn't his. When he
went to bed with a woman, he was always protected. He might be a lecher but he
was responsible. Being an assassin and not being responsible at the same time
was a dangerous thing. So he decided a long time ago that responsibility should
be one of his priorities. But he also pitied Shizuka. That poor girl was going
to meet trouble from her parents. She was still young… but engaged. Her family
and the guy's family both were from respectable old names. If they found out
Shizuka was with child… Youji didn't know what they were going to do about it.
Maybe it would've been nice to have a baby too. Maybe…
Youji did plan to become a father but he didn't know how. He hadn't even met
the woman of his dreams. There was Manx, of course, but that redhead was
unreachable… ever. It was just as impossible as him being a father. What would
he teach his son? The use of thin wired strings? Highly unlikely.
Youji entered the bathroom and quickly took a bath. It was
a record. He finished the bath in less than 10 minutes. After that, he quickly
went downstairs to check on Omi. He had an idea of where the kid was. He must
be in the backroom. Last night he must have been carried away in one of his
computing activities that he fell asleep there.
He began to worry again when there was no one in front of
the computer. The room was so quiet that it gave him the creeps. But then he
suddenly saw a pile of light-colored clothing on the couch there. Furrowing his
eyebrows, Youji walked towards the sofa to see whose it was. When he finally
got a close look he recognized the clothes immediately as to being Omi's. Youji
stared at it, blinking. What were Omi's clothes doing there without Omi inside
it?
A thought crossed Youji's mind that made him blink even
more. What if… Omi had taken off his clothes during an intercourse with a
woman? An image of Omi making love with a woman appeared in his head. Youji
shrieked and then shook his head violently. No way!
Finally, he was able to get rid of that crazy thought. He
began to collect Omi's clothes off from the sofa. Perhaps a bit of Ran's
influence had got into him. He was disgruntled to see clothes spread untidily
on the sofa. When he was about to pick up Omi's clothes, however, he felt
something heavy keeping it down. Youji tugged on it and when he did, suddenly a
loud cry broke.
"What the…?"
Youji dumped the rest of the outfit he was holding on his
hand to the floor and dug into the T-shirt. To his utter shock, there was…
"OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!"
-------------------------
Ken, Birman and Manx arrived at the same time. They didn't
waste time on greetings and headed straight to the backroom. They also entered
the room together, jamming the doorway. Ken backed off and let the two women
enter first before he did. When they were already in the room together, their
eyes widened and stared in awe as they saw Youji sitting on the sofa… holding a
baby in his arms and singing a lullaby.
Youji turned his head just in time to see their astonished
expressions. His face brightened instantaneously. "You're here!!!" He had
frantically called each and every one of them to come after he found the baby.
"Youji! What is that?" Ken asked.
"You stupid fool! Of course it's a baby!" Youji snapped.
"Don't just stand there and look at me as if I am crazy… help me put this baby
back to sleep! He's been crying and slobbering all over me!"
Ken immediately approached Youji and glanced at the baby.
Ken gasped when he saw the baby. He was most familiar – round face, cuddly
cheeks, pouty lips, soft blondish hair and big blue eyes… it was…
"OMI?!?!?!?" Ken practically screamed. The baby started
crying again and Youji saw it fit to hit Ken on the shoulder.
Finally Manx and Birman made a move. Incredulous they drew
near Youji, Ken and the so-called baby Omi. They hated to admit it but the baby
was incredibly alike to Omi. They just knew it was he! Omi! Who could mistake
those big blue eyes and the shapely lips? They were just so "Omi".
Manx's head started spinning. She had to sit down. She
knew this was Omi but she didn't want to believe it. She had taken a liking to
Omi instantly the moment she met him and he had always been her favorite Weiss
member because he was just so kind and gentle, unlike the older ones in the
group. She had great sympathy for him because of his unhappy past. She saw him
more as a younger brother than an associate. Last night when Omi looked so
miserable after she told him about the mission she had wanted to run to him and
hug him tightly in her arms to show him that she cared a lot about him and that
she understood how he felt. But now… where had the old Omi gone?
"Oh my God… this is really Omi," Birman said. Her voice
was shaking. She too had started to feel dizzy and queasy.
"How did this happen?" Ken asked. "Where did the chibi Omi
come from?"
Youji snorted. "Chibi? This is not a chibi! This is a baby.
Geez!"
Ken turned to Manx and Birman. "He wasn't a victim of a
Masafumi Takatori wannabe, was he? Might he have been transformed into becoming
a baby?" Ken asked them suspiciously.
"They haven't even gone to the mission yet!!!" Birman
said.
Manx couldn't stand it. "OMI!!! What happened to my
Omi?!?!??!"
"Your Omi? Since when did you own him?" Youji protested.
"Omi is mine! Ours! Weiss'! Not yours!"
Manx retorted. "Hah! How can you even say that? You
haven't been around for him! He was lonely! He needed company! But you were
always in that club of yours while you know he was alone without no one to talk
to!!!"
"Well, have you had the initiative to take care of him
while none of us was around?! NO! You haven't been there for him either!" Youji
said angrily.
"Stop, stop! Don't fight! We have to do something about
this! We have to return Omi to become the way he is!!!" Ken said. He paused and
then corrected himself. "The way he was. Past tense. Hmm… I am confused.
Should I be using present or past tense?"
"Ken, be quiet, will you?" Birman said. "Who cares about
grammar right now? Omi is a very important member of Weiss. We need him to
accomplish difficult missions. We can't afford losing him or having him turn
into a baby! We have to find out why he is like this!"
"Wait, wait… we're not even sure that this is Omi!" Youji
said. "Maybe this is someone else…"
Everyone stared at him with a look that said "oh, please,
are you that stupid?" Manx voiced it straight away. "Oh, please, are you that
stupid, Kudou? This is most definitely Omi!"
Suddenly there was a tug on Youji's shirt, loosening the
top button. The baby had called for attention. He smiled at Youji all of a
sudden and then said in a babyish voice, "Papa…"
Silence. Youji was the first one to break it. "Did… he…
just… call… me… papa?"
Ken, blinking, replied, "Affirmative."
They all stared each other. Youji looked terrified, Manx
and Birman were throwing the looks that said "oh, so sweet" and Ken was still
blinking. There was silence again as they then turned to look at baby Omi. This
baby was now sucking his thumb while the other hand was playing with Youji's
shirt. Youji had the urge to shudder now. He couldn't believe his friend Omi
was like this and had just said the "p" word. How… unbelievable!
This time the silence was broken by the ringing of the
mobile phone. It was Manx's. She took it and shoved it to Birman while her
attention was already back to Omi. Birman frowned and pouted but she answered
the phone anyway. She moved away to speak without disturbing the baby while Ken
and Manx were already starting to cuddle baby Omi. At first Youji was annoyed
but then he told himself that… "Cool! Now I can practice being a father for
free!"
-----------------------------
It smelled so sweet. Like babies. Babies and stars. Babies
and magic. Babies and life.
Brad Crawford stomped his feet on the floor, impatient. He
grunted. Youji put down the newspaper he was reading and gave his new partner a
sharp look. "You better keep your voice down, preppy. I am not going to be the
one to put them to sleep," Youji said lowly.
This time Brad did snort. He said, "I can't wait forever.
When the hell are those women going to come and tell us the result of the
investigation?!"
Youji snickered and put on a smart-ass face. He said,
"Patience is virtue. Besides, Crawford, I didn't know you had a thing for
Birman. You've become awfully close to her since she started helping you take
care of Nagi because Manx was dominating Omi. Tsk, tsk. Good choice, Craw. I do
can call you 'Craw', can't I? Actually, I prefer Manx although Birman is
also very, very beautiful. She's too mellow for my taste. But you just
really go for her, don't you? Blushing in front of her when she touched your hand
while changing Nagi's–"
Brad's eyes became like near slits. He hissed, "If only I
didn't need a friend in misery, Kudou, I would have mashed your head and
mouth."
Youji calmly said. "Temper, temper… your "son" shouldn't
hear it." Before Brad could retort, Youji said, "Speaking of him, don't you
think you should force him to eat a little bit more? He's so skinny. Even Omi
weighs more than he does. Yet Nagi is supposedly taller than he does!"
That morning Youji found Omi as a baby, Brad also found Nagi
as a baby. He freaked out, the way Youji did and since he didn't know who else
to rant to, he called Manx, since he worked for Kritiker now and didn't know
who else to speak to. Birman answered the phone and Brad just fired away his
frantic speech about Nagi becoming a baby. Of course, everyone had been
surprised. What a coincidence that Omi and Nagi both became babies at the same
time. Since they were both important figures in the Kritiker organization, Manx
and Birman decided to investigate the case. On the meantime, Youji and Brad
were given a change of mission – instead of hunt and kill, this time was put to
bed the babies, bathe them and many more.
Youji had laughed off Brad's face when he finally met the
American face to face after such a long time. He had wondered what the
atmosphere would be like when he met Brad. He didn't know it was going to be so
funny! Brad looked exactly like him when he first found out about Omi – the
"pooped" expression.
Since then Youji and Brad decided to move in to one house.
Nagi and Omi were not exactly newborn babies. They were around a year old, more
or less, which meant it was time to be whiny, reckless, restless, demanding and
spoilt. They needed a lot of attention and could only be done if two adults
worked hand in hand to look after them. Youji and Brad couldn't care less,
actually, but Manx and Birman threatened them. If they didn't take care of the
two boys, the two women were going to have their heads. They were dead serious.
Since Youji had the hots for Manx and Brad had even bigger hots for Birman,
they complied. Because of this they became even closer and familiar with Omi
and Nagi. Those babies were actually angels when they weren't crying or
fighting.
Omi and Nagi called Youji and Brad "papa". The "papas" had
to introduce Omi and Nagi all over again when the two babies met. They didn't
know each other. Nagi had been shy; he clung to Brad and fiercely holding on
this his shirt, not wanting to look at Omi, when he and Brad came to live in
what used to be Weiss' headquarter. Omi, too, had held on to Youji and refused
to shake hands. Only after their respective "fathers" gave them a stern look
did they shake hands. After that, though, they became inseparable. Wherever and
whenever there was Omi, there was always Nagi. It seemed that the boys were
meant to be friends. They were much alike and they just clicked like that.
At night, Omi and Nagi insisted that they sleep with their
"fathers". Youji and Brad had to make extra spaces on their beds for Omi and
Nagi to sleep in. They both had gained certain nightmares from it. Nagi peed on
Brad's sheets for a couple of times while Omi's feet were much too active in
his sleep that he kicked a certain precious part of Youji's body a few times
during the past few nights. Not mentioning the noise they made when they woke
up.
Youji and Brad couldn't continue their petty argument
because then the people they had been waiting for all day long entered the
room. Manx and Birman, the beautiful dynamic duo, had appeared, each holding a
file of papers on their hands. Youji and Brad didn't greet them but looked up
to them expectantly.
Manx sighed. She dropped the file on the table. "Nothing.
The result of the investigation is zero. No one knows why they're like this and
no one seemed to have done any crimes against them that made them like this. We
have a dead end." Youji reached for the files.
Birman continued for her partner, "No physicians or
scientists can do anything about it! We've asked probably 30 doctors and
experts on genetics and the likes but no one can explain this phenomenon and no
one can cure them AT ALL! We can never save them!"
Manx and Birman looked to be on the edge of tears. Youji
and Brad looked at each other, confused, not knowing of what to do (well, they
had an idea of holding the women in their arms to ease off the frustration but
they might get death glares then). They were used to of the babies now so they
had no problem with it. Surprisingly they didn't feel too disappointed. Sure
they missed the teenage Nagi and Omi but they didn't mind having the chibi ones
around. They were reluctant at first but they wouldn't trade for the world the
moments when they would hear the kids call them "papa" or when they snuggled up
to them to sleep at night or when they looked for them whenever there was
trouble or when they stared at them with those innocent blue eyes.
Youji was the first one to realize it. He smiled and then
looked up at the others. "Manx, Birman," Youji said, "I think this is time we
have to let go."
Brad sighed. He had just come to the same realization. "I
never thought I would be saying this but I think Kudou is right. I think it's
quite fair that Nagi and Omi turned into babies. They deserved nothing less."
Birman turned to look at him. "Why?"
Brad cracked a smile. That was one of the rare smiles he
gave to people. Brad said calmly, "Nagi had a terrible past. His childhood was
a nightmare and he didn't live happily or normally as a teenager. Maybe this is
a gift, from whoever is up there, to give him a second chance."
Youji nodded. "Now Omi and Nagi can enjoy life normally as
a child. There will be people who love them and they can do whatever they want
without any worries! Isn't that perfect? Even for us, it's perfect!"
Manx shook her head. "They still can't grow up normally!
If we are going to let them have a normal life, we are going to have to find
them decent parents, who can provide good education and who love them very much
and who would not suffer them!"
Brad stared at her indignantly. "I am decent, I can
provide good education, I love them very much and I would not suffer them!"
Birman chuckled. "Crawford, you are dreaming! You
want to be a parent for Nagi?"
"Why not?" Brad challenged.
"I also refuse to give Omi to another parent!" Youji said
too.
Manx rolled her eyes. "You guys are missing the point!
They need to grow up in a good environment! They need a father, a mother, pets,
brothers and sisters… school! Not assassins!"
Youji tossed an envelope to Manx. "There. That's my resignation
letter. I am quitting. I am going to raise Omi."
"I'll make one soon enough," Brad prompted.
Manx and Birman stared at them in amazement. Before they
could say anything, two loud voices preceded the entrance of two tiny beings
inside the room. Omi and Nagi came running; hurling themselves towards Manx and
Birman. The two of them were alert enough to snatch them before they bump
themselves on the women's legs and fell back. Manx grabbed Omi and Birman
grabbed Nagi.
"Youji, you would never be able to raise this kid alone!"
Manx said to Youji but her eyes were gazing lovingly at Omi, who had reached up
to touch Manx's cheeks.
"Crawford, you're never ever going to succeed raising this
kid alone," Birman at the same time told Brad but her eyes were also
affectionately on Nagi's while the kid snuggled in her arms.
"You're going to have to find a babysitter while you work
to provide for them! You are going to have to forget about flirting with too
many women and sleeping at their homes! You need to spend a lot of time with
them!" Manx said. Omi was now kissing Manx's cheeks.
"They will be curious asking about their mothers. They
will want to have dogs and cats. They will want to go here and there! They need
to eat! Can you cook? Not really, right?" Birman said with a hint of laugher.
Nagi was tickling her softly.
Stopping Manx and Birman from their speech, the two boys
suddenly whispered, "Mama?"
-------------------------------
Life is beautiful. That's all there is to it. All they
see, all they hear, all they smell, all they sense is life. No differences.
Just life.
"Omittchi!!! WAIT!!!" Nagi screamed with all his might to
stop his friend (and, practically, brother) from running too fast ahead of him.
"Ah, Nagi-kun! Hurry! Hurry!" Omi excitedly said, slowing
down but not stopping.
Two big hands suddenly lifted them off the grounds and
throw them into the air. Then a stern voice said, "Boys, how many times do I
have to tell you not to run so fast?! Omi, your foot still hurt!"
Omi pouted at his uncle. "Sorry, uncle Brad."
"But we are okay, Papa," Nagi said.
Brad sighed. He couldn't be angry for too long to these
two brats. Their big eyes and pouts always managed to undo him. He said, "Fine
but no more running. Go to mama and have your lunch now." He put them back to
the ground. The two boys scurried off to their mothers. "NO RUNNING!!!"
Birman had the lunch ready for the boys. She, or any of
them parents, would have never even imagined of doing this… ever. If she were
still an agent for Kritiker, she wouldn't believe the fact that right now she
was sitting under a tree, on a picnic mat, preparing lunch for two kids, one of
them her son, and two men, one of them her husband, and she was wearing a
floral purple dress. It was unbelievable. She also wouldn't believe that her
friend Manx was leaning on a man who was her husband, while having a
conversation about their son! And she was wearing a white dress… also with
floral motives! Life was just too weird.
"What's for lunch, mama?" Nagi asked as he finally got
there in front of Birman. Without waiting for an answer, he took a large piece
of shortcake and stuffed it in his mouth. Omi came by and did the same thing.
"Slowly! Slowly! Oh, Nagi, look what you did to your new
T-shirt! Watch out! Omi!!! The cream!!!" Too late, it fell on Omi's lap. The
two boys ignored Birman's ranting and enjoyed the cake quietly. Brad came. He
chuckled when he saw the panicked look on his wife's face. Birman snapped at
him. Brad looked away and grunted when Birman pulled him down to help her clean
up the mess. "You should've been here to help with the kids!"
"Always blaming it on me, huh?" Brad retorted as he
grabbed Nagi and cleaned the mess on his T-shirt. He nudged her and whispered
in her ear, "You should be grateful, darling. If I were still an assassin, you
wouldn't see me doing anything like this in a million years. But for you,
darling, I will do everything. I'll blush if you want me to. Well, as long as
you do the things you do last night in our bed."
Birman blushed cherry red. She, too, didn't expect Brad to
be such an affectionate man. Trued, the highly reformed assassin and ex-enemy
had courted her nicely before they decided to get married and raise Nagi
together. Up until now, she was still amazed by the display of affection from
him. She couldn't believe she fell for him either.
"Come here, Omi," Birman called. Omi obediently came to
his aunt and let her clean him up.
Manx and Youji didn't notice any of this happening. Manx
was saying, "I don't think sending him to England will be good. I mean, how
many computer degrees do they have in the universities there? I suggest we send
him to the US. Brad can teach the both of them English. They are already
learning. They need good universities!"
Youji shook his head. "Manx, babe, they haven't even
started kindergarten!!!"
"But there's no problem in looking ahead of time!" Manx
said stubbornly.
Youji quieted her with a kiss. Manx was silenced all
right. She loved his kisses too much. Smiling, Youji said, "Take it easy, will
you? Didn't we agree that we would never force anything to Omi? He's still a
kid. Let him enjoy it. He's going to find out his own interests when he grows
up. We'll help him then. But now, we're just going to let them have fun!"
Brad heard what Youji said. He said, "Good point, Kudou.
You've become smarter since you became daddy."
"Shut up, Crawford!" Youji replied. They had become good
friends, of course, but those jibes could not be stopped. Manx and Birman
preferred not to say anything about this.
Nagi called for them, demanding attention again. "Papa!"
"Yeah?"
"Omi and I want to fly like birds. How do we make
ourselves fly?"
"Humans don't fly, Nagi," Brad said cautiously. "We don't
have wings like birds."
Omi and Nagi looked disappointed but not for long. They
grabbed another food to eat, much to Birman's dislike because they were messing
the food again. Youji asked Brad if Nagi had showed any signs that he was a telekinetic
or not. Brad shook his head and muttered, "Thank God." He was sensitive about
Nagi's powers. He didn't want anyone to find out about Nagi's powers. He was
afraid anyone would take him away and make use of his power for evil. Brad
still had his oracle powers although he couldn't be bothered to sharpen it like
he used to. So far as he knew, it wasn't going to happen.
"By the way, Youji, I saw our savings book yesterday and I
found out that you've put in a lot of money in it. You didn't, by any chance,
rob a bank or anything, did you?" Manx asked rather suspiciously.
Youji stared at his wife huffily. "Manx! How could you?"
"Just wondering…"
Youji did have a lot of money. He was earning a lot from
being the owner of a famous club. In fact, he was opening up some branches in
other cities as well. Since his friend decided to get married and live abroad,
he sold the club to Youji and Youji gained a lot of profits from it. Of course
he was not as rich as the calculative Brad whose stocks were everywhere in the
markets in the world but he earned more than enough for the three of them.
"Well, just in case… we have to be ready for everything.
If someone kidnaps him, we're going to pay the ransom," Youji said. He wasn't
going to let Omi suffer again just because the father wouldn't pay the ransom
to release him. Youji then said dryly and jokingly at the same time, "Then
again, with the way he plays football, copying Ken and all, I wouldn't be
surprised if Omi injures himself. We'd need a lot of money to cover the
hospital bills."
"Youji!"
Birman suddenly chuckled. "Oh, Nagi! You look like a bunny
with that cream on your nose!"
Manx finally paid attention to her son. She was surprised
to see Omi eating the cake chaotically. She pulled Omi to her lap and then told
Youji to grab the spare clothes they brought for him. Whenever he was near his
parents, Omi turned all spoilt. He wanted them to pamper him so it was no
surprise when he asked Manx and Youji to feed him the soup. Nagi started
whining about the same thing to Birman and Brad.
"Okay, open your mouth," Manx instructed his son. Omi
obediently opened his mouth to receive the food inside him.
"Ewww, veggies… I don't like them!" Nagi's excalamation
was heard.
At the same time, Omi caught sight of a chocolate bar,
hidden behind the thermos. He suddenly closed his mouth, surprising Manx, and
shoved away the spoon. The soup's bowl came tumbling down from Manx's hand and
wetted her dress. Youji was already glaring at Omi who was now reaching down
for the chocolate bar. Nagi saw what his best friend was trying to get and he
too reached for it. On the process, he tripped his hand on a plate of onigiri,
clashing it with the other plates, sending food to different directions.
Chocolates. It smelled of chocolate. Sweet and warm. No
matter how deformed.
The chocolate bar was caught but when the two kids turned
around to smile at their parents, the four adults had "that" look. The smiles
were gone. The two kids exchanged looks. They nodded in unison and in an instant
ran away, screaming and giggling with chocolate bars on their little hands.
"OMI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"NAGI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Oh, damn."
"Hmph. Babies."
Thus the chase to capture the scoundrels began.
--------------------------
Safely tucked under the blankets, they would never know
that the stars were falling down like rain outside in the sky. They were saying
hello to their babies, asking if there were any other wishes they could
granted, just as they had granted their wish to be innocent. Deep inside, in
the most remote and forgotten places of the heart and mind, the babies knew
they were children of the stars.
----FINE----
Author's Note:
Thank for those who took time to read. This is my first
Weiss Kreuz fanfics. I appreciate comments and suggestions! GRAZIE!
