Omi was walking along the shoreline, unaware of most everything around him. He was contemplating the waves, and the sheer size and strength of the ocean before him, and paused to sit, staring at the starlit waters.

-It's so... large.- He mused. -So strong. People die here, and sometimes it comes onto land and kills people there, too. I wonder what it would be like to be dead. Would it hurt? Would it be better afterwards? I wonder what would happen if I were dead... The waves are so peaceful, just crashing and receding, and crashing, and receding... Always straining for land, but never quite making it... Almost like... almost like myself. Always straining for something unattainable, but always falling back. I wonder, would any one miss me if I just walked in, and never walked out again?-

----

Schuldig couldn't sleep, and found himself walking along th darkened stretch of sand. The moon was full, and the stars were bright, and the sand gleamed white under his bare feet. The soft repetitive roars of the water as it struggled to climb out of the ocean bed soothed him, and he relaxed, letting his mind be soothed by the peacefulness. This part of the beach was far enough away from people that there was only a distant hum against his shields, and when compared with the utter, desolate lack of humanity this late, he almost could have imagined that he was the only one on earth. The illusion was shattered with a soft mental voice, familiar, and close. It brushed up against his shields, and stuck there, and he looked around, wondering where it had come from.

-Would anyone miss me? If I just walked in, and never walked out again?- The tone in the voice disturbed him. Weiss were not exactly friends with Schwarz, but neither were they enemies. They had more of a ... friendly rivalry. Since Estet had mostly gone down with that museum - oh, sure, they were starting to rebuild, but they weren't as organized, or as deadly - Schwarz had considered themselves free agents, and Weiss, happy to let go of the disabling fights, agreed that they wouldn't cross professionally unless they had to. They'd served up to Crawford's purpose for them, helping to take down Estet, and the precognitive saw no reason to continue to endanger Schwarz's lives. They were powerful, but they weren't invincible, and there was always that minute chance. So, he'd befriended the two leaders - Bombay and Abyssinian, or was it Omi and Ran? - and worked out a deal of sorts with them.

Both teams were happier that way, although Schuldig had never given thought to how upsetting fighting the 'good guys' had always been. Sure, he wanted to rule the world, or at least see it decay into chaos, as much as the next bad guy, but they'd been fighting Weiss for so long, that they'd felt like friends long before Crawford's brilliant idea. This just made it official on both sides.

It wasn't unusual for Omi and Nagi to set study dates together, and Farfarello and Ken often went to counseling with eachother. New medication, and therapy had Farfarello able to function as a semi-normal human being, although the blood-lust and grudge against God was still burning strong within his heart.

Somehow, though, Schuldig just wasn't satisfied with it. He always waited for something more, and it was driving him up a wall trying to figure out what it was. Recognizing the voice on the beach that night worried him, because it meant that Omi was considering killing himself. He reached out with his mind, and touched the younger assassin.

Eh...? Omittchi? he sent out a mental 'finger', trying to figure out where he was.

-Schudlig?- Omi sounded surprised to hear him. -What are you doing here?-

I come here when my head gets too full of thoughts. The waves help to clear my head. Now, wanna tell me why you're thinking of killing yourself?

"You heard that, huh?"

Schuldig came up short, realizing he was nearly about to step on the younger man.

"Why?"

"Well, since Estet fell...Nothing's been the same. I have no purpose. No where to go. Nothing to do. No one to live for."

"Don't I count?" Schuldig sat down next to him, wondering if he should be amused or hurt by the tone in Omi's voice.

"You're hardly a friend, Schuldig," Omi pointed out, gazing out upon the starlit sea.

"I -understand- you." Schuldig said quietly.

"Only because you can read my thoughts." Omi replied, almost smiling.

"True that. But its still the same end result, isn't it?" He grinned at the little blonde, and reached over and ruffled his hair. Omi swatted his hands away, scowling.

"I like my hair the way it is, thank you very much," he stated. "I don't need to look like I stuck my head in a blender, then put gel in it and hung upside down for a few days."

Schuldig scowled back. "I don't put gel in my hair," he said. "Besides it's not my fault. Farfarello decided he liked my hair a little too much one day, and cut it. This happens naturally." Omi scoffed, but didn't say anything else on the matter. Schuldig let them sit in silence for a while, and then stood up. Omi glanced at him, but didn't say anything. "Well, kid, what'll I have to do with you?" he wondered.

Omi frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. Schuldig grinned.

"Well, I can't just leave you here by yourself. You might try and walk into the water. Can't have that, Nagi'd be out one tutor. So, that leaves one thing. What am I gonna do with you?" As he stood there, waiting for Omi to answer, it occurred to him. "I know. You give me tonight and tomorrow, and I'll convince you that you've still got something worth living for. What do you say?"

Omi blinked, clearly not expecting that, but nodded. "Sure," he agreed. "What do you have in mind?"

----

Omi laughed quietly. "I've never eaten ice cream at midnight before," he said. Schuldig winked.

"Anything worth doing is worth doing twice, right?" he asked. Omi ignored him, but his thoughts were happier, also. "What now?" Omi asked finally. "You've got twenty four hours... What are you going to do with them?"

Schuldig looked around, trying to think of what else would be open at this time of night, that would be fun. "Hmm.. I know," he said, settling on something, and smirked.

------------

AN: Well, the first version of this sucked kupo nuts, but then recently, I've realized that a lot of my fanfics need some severe overhauling. This was just the one I happened to settle on. Why didn't you people tell me that my stories sucked? Oh well. Eventually, I'll work around to rewriting them all. I need to finish this one, first, since I've decided it will be the first to be revamped. Chapter two is still the same, sucky, short piece of crap, but I won't let it stay that way for long.
WK