Disclaimer: I don't own them, but I do own Calico. And Youji and Ran own eachother, respectively. ^_^ The song Karma Police is by radiohead, and I was listening to it while I got this shindig started, so thus the title.

Blah, the mediaminer link didn't show up gomen ne. At the end of this shindig I'm going to go back and fix all my verb changes to STAY IN ONE TENSE. Yar. x_X;

Karma Police: Chapter 5: The River that Forgets

::Ran's POV::

Yohji settles back on the couch in a lazy sprawl, while Omi bombards him with all sorts of questions -- the answers to most of which are "no," much to his disappointment. I'm unpacking the food Omi brought when the door opens; much to all of our surprise, and in step two women. Yohji's eyes, angled down from his sprawl on the ground, suddenly light up in recognition.

"I know those legs...Manx!"

He cheers with a grin, and I restrain my annoyance, replacing it with a bemused smile. He's really starting to remember more than he thinks. Manx shoots an angry glare at Omi, which is echoed by Birman.

"Persia...with all due respects, you shouldn't be here."

"I appreciate your concern, ladies, but your suggestions are not necessary. I wished to see an old friend."

Omi says, and somehow, I can tell he's tired. The boy's grown up a bit on me, in the past few months; although I suppose it's not much of a surprise -- I left Persia's section of Kritiker when Yohji lost his memory to get away from the memories, which is why Calico delivers missions to me now. Less killing, more espionage. I can't say that I'm unhappy with the change although I miss my comrades. Birman and Manx both frown, before the redheaded woman retreats back outside and comes in with several bags. Birman's smile is something of a smirk.

"Then we're staying too, sir."

Well shit. I guess this means Yohji and I won't be having any more fun tonight. Omi decides the proposition is fair and inclines his head in agreement, and as I watch him I realize there's something not quite right about his expression. A sort of loneliness. That's when it occurs to me that I haven't been the only one alone all this time -- Ken left Kritiker completely, and he had always been Omi's best friend. In our own ways, Yohji and I both left our youngest kitten to fend for himself.

::Yohji's POV::

Ah, Redheads. My favorite by far. And Manx's legs are nice, although I've never liked the socks. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks they're great though; as she and Birman tend to gravitate fairly close to eachother. Interesting. The only thing that has me convinced that Ran hasn't made me completely gay is the idea of the two of them...

However, I'm knocked out of those thoughts when Omi asks me another question. I realize with a bit of embarassment that I haven't been paying attention and glance over at Omi...Persia. It doesn't seem right to call him that.

"You're not Persia."

I point out suddenly. "Persia had wider shoulders." I accuse. Omi shoots me his first genuine smile of the evening.

"You're right. I'm Bombay."

This statement makes Manx halt in the hallway as she heads to deposit her suitcase in one of the rooms, before she heads on.

"Abyssinian, Balinese, Bombay..."

I murmur. There's something not quite right yet. Omi frowns thoughtfully, a somewhat sad curve to innocent lips, a loneliness in his eyes.

"And Siberian." He says. But before I have the chance to ponder that idea, Ran interrupts.

"Dinner's ready."

::Ran's POV::

I eat dinner in relative silence, listening to my old teammates talk amongst eachother, hiding a smile at Yohji's attempts to flirt with Manx, which seem to annoy Birman. Omi participates happily in the chatter, apparently glad that around us he can let up on his role as a manager and just be himself, and my thoughts wander again to the chibi. Taking over for Persia means he must have accepted himself finally as Takatori Mamoru, although I know he will always insist having his friends call him Omi. Oddly enough I am the opposite; almost everyone calls me Aya, and only she and Yohji are privledged enough to know me as Ran. If you could consider it a privledge. Anyway, Omi's handling more responsibility than ever, and his decision to allow Ken to leave Kritiker must have been hard. Yes, our little kitten has grown up.

When they are all finished I move to gather the dishes, but Omi stops me.

"Ne, Aya-kun. I didn't come here just to see you two."

I sigh. "I know."

Birman coughs loudly, interrupting Yohji's latest lame pick-up line. "Let's go into the living room." She suggests. "We'll discuss this in there."

So we file in. Omi brings a chair from the kitchen table for himself to sit in, Yohji sits on the couch and pulls me down next to him, an arm slung lazily behind my shoulders much to my satisfaction and annoyance; Manx takes a seat in our other chair and Birman perches on its armrest. Cats, indeed.

"It was never my intention to involve either of you after we brought back Yohji," apologizes Omi, "But Kreiger has moved faster than we expected because of Yuki Midori's death. They're certainly up to something."

Yohji sighs. "What exactly does Kreiger do that's so bad?"

"Well," Omi begins, "They're doing medical experimentation; as of late we're concerned about their use of --"

I cut him off. It suddenly seems so clear. "A brainwashing drug."

"Hai, Aya-kun." Omi says, although he seems puzzled. "How did you know?"

"It seems obvious to me," I explain. "Yohji 'fell' for Yuki Midori with surprising speed; and his relationships with women are typically not long term. What happened with her was highly uncharacteristic." I murmur, silently adding 'and he forgot me' at the end of that sentence as something Yohji probably wouldn't do. "Not to mention his memory seems to be surpressed, not completely lost. When he comes in contact with familiar items and people he regains it with surprising speed, uncharacteristic of someone with true Amnesia."

The others are staring at me like I've just spoken more words than ever before in my life. Oh wait. I probably did. Hn.

::Yohji's POV::

Ran's explanation does make excellent sense; that I would so easily fall for someone like Yuki Midori -- who was, at best, mediocre in bed -- instead of remembering my team and most importantly, Ran. Still, I can't help but fall into contemplative silence and reflect upon what happened, a quiet, melancholy ache. I took vows with Midori that I never got to take with Asuka, that society won't allow me to take with Ran, and she betrayed them. For whatever reason, drug or otherwise, she turned her back on the idea of love in general. What sort of woman would do that? And if I was drugged, then she prevented me from remembering Ran completely, another betrayal. Somehow now I don't feel nearly as guilty for her death. Ran elbows me in his own quiet way and I tune back into the conversation. Omi is talking.

"--so that's why I'd like to check Yohji's blood, because it's possible we may be able to administer a drug to counter the damage done."

Manx nods at this pearl of wisdom. "If Yohji has been given the drug, then the test-antidote Kritiker is developing will help him be able to resume active duty. Then the tw--"

She is interrupted by Omi. "Three." He corrects, and there is authority in his voice that makes that seem like it is final. "Three of us."

Birman and Manx sigh simultaneously. "The three of you can attack Kreiger's board of executives and destroy their lab."

Ran's face is a thoughtful frown, I can tell he's not thrilled about having to go on a mission. In truth, neither am I. Although I don't know who the hell Siberian is, I do know that Weiss had four members. And three does not equal four.

"Omi," I murmur, shooting him my best charming smile. "I'll give you a blood sample to test but I'd really like to have the night to think this over. Would you mind?"

"Not at all." Omi says, and I feel relieved. I can get some answers from Ran.

"It's getting late." Birman says, restoring a professional atmosphere. "If you insist on having some rest then we should all retire for the evening."

And this I can certainly agree to.

::Ran's POV::

Omi goes to bed in his old room while Birman and Manx take up residence in what used to be Ken's. I guess Birman didn't want to sleep with Manx in the room that used to be Yohji's. Crazy women. Yohji followed me in silence back to our room, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Tell me about this Aya thing."

And so I start at the beginning, and wind up to Aya's release from the hospital. She's in college now, but it's still expensive. I couldn't keep killing in her name; another reason for my transfer to Calico's sector -- Kritiker now pays her tuition instead of the expensive hospital bills. For a brother who left high school to pursue revenge, it is the best I can do. I've never told her what I do completely; she thinks I am a spy for the Japanese government and that is good enough. When I finish, Yohji runs a hand along my cheek with a sympathetic smile.

"Ran."

He murmurs, bringing his lips to mine with a gentleness that we lacked before. I smile against his lips as our tongues begin a slow, exploratory dance, but when his hands sink towards my pants, I have to pull away. With Manx and Birman next door and Omi across the hall we simply can't, and I tell him that. Yohji smirks at me, heading to the bathroom adjacent to the room we share, turning the shower on.

"Then I guess you'll have to settle for showering with me instead." The blond informs me with that damn smirk, and I am all too happy to indulge him.

((A/N: I am not in the mood to write a lemon. We now proceed to the next morning.))

::KEN'S POV (this is the first and only time this fic will be from Ken's POV)::

I lean against a tree watching my kids practice; of the fifteen that make up the little team, fourteen are here, running drills against our goalie. They're good little kids and they have a lot of heart. Most will quit before high school, but there's one who loves the game like I do. He's not here today, but I'm sure he has a good reason.

"Hidaka-san! Hidaka-san!"

A young woman runs up to me and I recognize her as Ichiro's mother, figuring that she's come to explain his absence. I'm sure he's ill or some other good excuse, so I'm not sure why she's gone out of the way.

"Hidaka-san, I tried to contact you earlier; but there was an accident. Ichiro was in the hospital and he head a head injury."

I listen further, learning that the boy's woken with amnesia, and she breaks down into sobs. "The doctors gave him an expirimental drug to help him -- but he doesn't remember anything, Hidaka-san! You have to come see him!"

I numbly agree, trying to picture Ichiro in a hospital bed. Besides the fact that he loves soccer and has a lot of heart, the kid's got blue eyes; and I have a weakness for blue eyes. It hurts to think of him in a hospital bed. When practice is dismissed I ride the motorcycle over to the hospital, picking up a newspaper. Headlining the front cover is news that some company with a name I can't pronounce is about to get the drug they've developed to help people with severe head injuries recover, Lethe. I'm escorted into the room and I hand the scared little boy there a soccer ball.

"What is this?" He asks, normally bright blue eyes dulled. I'm seeing Ichiro and thinking of Omi. "Who are you?"

"Get well soon, Ichiro." I answer weakly, heading back out to the hallway to find the nearest phone. I have two calls to make, the first to his mother.

"Ah, Takada-san. What was the name of the drug they gave Ichiro?"

"Lethe," She replies, "Why?"

But I have already hung up; making the second call to someone I thought I would never see or speak to again. My best friend, who unselfishly let me return to a normal life. Persia.

Persia...the boy with the bright, innocent blue eyes; who has the courage to fight the bastards who do this to other boys with innocent blue eyes...Do not be confused, friends, Hidaka Ken is a coward. In more ways than one.

A/N: I am happy with this chapter..for once. In explanation, Lethe is the river of forgetfullness in the underworld in Greek Mythology, thus the title. I would also like to mention that amusingly enough, the title of the next chapter comes from a level of Halo. XD -glaube. Guys, you've been really kind and extremely patient. Thank you so much. I am very honored.

(ne, and if you haven't, go see the Last Samurai. T_T Thank you, that is all. ^^)