Okay guys; time for another happy installment. I've certainly kept you all waiting long enough. I've been trying to take a bit more time for editing so that those appalling mistakes don't keep showing up and making me ashamed I have a degree in English literature.

Thanks again to all those of you that reviewed. I'm so glad you liked the story! Or like it so far anyways. Let me know if you have questions, comments, or suggestions!  Hopefully this will keep things moving right along. There aren't any notes that I can think of for this chapter, but if you have any questions or want to chat about daily life in Japan, feel free to drop me a line! And the other ALT (JET) who reviewed—where are you staying! I thought I was the only gaijin in Japan who liked Weiss….:) Lemme know, maybe we can get together!

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"The autumn wind

Through the opening of a sliding

door—

A piercing voice"

Matsuo Basho

Edo Chapter 6B

A small folded fan slid gracefully from beneath a long black satin sleeve as Omi gently slid the reed curtain over his carriage window aside. He peered out of it discreetly from within the depths of the carriage. As the Fujiyama Inn came into view, he scowled in disapproval. It didn't look like the sort of place with any kind of amenities that would be of good use for one such as himself, and he found himself mentally cursing Yohji for finding this ninja and then taking off to do other things. Why was it always his job to look after Yohji? Normally Omi would not have minded, but this job was an unwelcome interruption from other more important things that Omi had been observing and researching, and he didn't know how long he was going to be here.

Of course, Yohji was off visiting with Reiji Takatori again, which was his primary job, but still, Omi considered it a moot point. Just because Yohji was busy didn't mean that Omi had to stand in for him. He wondered, briefly, if Manx couldn't have gotten someone else to play babysitter to the two men residing here. He'd been rather miffed by her insistence that he was the only one capable, let alone that Persia-sama himself had selected him for the job, giving him no choice in the matter. As much as Omi loved his father and put himself into his father's cause, there were times he couldn't help but feel as if he got stuck doing a great deal of 'dirty work' for the man. There were plenty of other agents for the job; who were not involved in things nearly as important as Omi was involved in.

Although despite himself, he reluctantly admitted that he was curious to see the two if Persia was so interested in them. Yohji had said that the ninja had gone against all four of Schwartz by himself and survived. That in and of itself was rather amazing. If it was true, then Persia had every reason to want to keep tabs on these young men. And, he admitted a bit grudgingly to himself, to want Omi to keep an eye on them instead of a lower agent. If they were as important as they seemed then Kritiker was doubtless going to be handling this situation delicately. Something else for Omi to be looking forward to. He hoped their efforts paid off at least.

There was also, of course, the fact that Ken was the soul survivor of a ninja village that had openly continued to pledge loyalty to the Emperor, even fifty years after the Shogunate had wrested complete power. Kouichirou Kouga had been nothing if not loyal and helpful to Persia's cause, and even Omi had felt the grief when the news of the village's utter destruction had reached the palace. The Kouichirou clan had adamantly defended the Emperor's forces during the battle with the Shogunate, and remained loyal afterwards. At the price of their lives. One more ally Kritiker no longer could rely on. More decent human beings lost to greed and corruption.

Omi knew of course, that Persia, as the Emperor, felt responsible for this destruction in his inability to prevent it, and by default, Manx felt the same guilt. As the head set of eyes and ears for the Emperor in the underground world, she should have been able to hinder such a plan. But hindering such a plan had meant the loss of Yohji, their carefully and painstakingly cultivated internal spy that had only recently gained complete ease in Reiji's presence. Either decision would have cost Kritiker heavily. In the end there hadn't been a choice. Reiji had attacked too soon and too secretly for anything to be done. By the time Yohji had learned of the betrayal that would assure the clan could be ambushed, it had been too late. What Kritker had thought would be a vicious battle turned out to be a brutal massacre. The guilt had fallen upon them all heavily. It still remained with them, pushing Kritiker to work harder; move faster, before something so horrible happened again.

Manx hadn't said as much to him when Yohji had initially delivered the news, but she had told Omi about it quietly later on, before he met with his father; the Emperor. Omi was careful to heed Manx's advice and treaded carefully in his father's presence, accepting every order and plan without protest or question. A gentle gaze upon his departure had spoken of the Emperor's gratefulness. Only outside did he confront Manx about the order. But she had remained unwavering and so he had accepted with little resistance. If this really was so important, then they would need all the allies they could get.

Despite the loyalty of some, his father had become little more than a figure head with no authority to stop anything the Shogunate wanted to do. He was also unable to stop the corruption spreading like disease among the new government, and so had begun to do so quietly, using the underground as his army instead of trying to confront the evil in broad daylight. So far, this seemed to be a wise decision. In fact, up until the destruction of the village, things had been progressing quickly and rather well. Without the aid of the Kouichirou clan now, however, things were looking rather bleak. Omi did not blame his father for what had happened, although Persia blamed himself. And Omi was willing to bet the remaining ninja didn't either. In fact, Omi was willing to bet that once the ninja discovered it was the Emperor that his clan had pledged loyalty to that wanted to employ him, he would be more than happy to oblige. It was just a matter of getting to the point in which the Emperor could make the offer.

With another self-suffering sigh, the youth slid out as the carriage rumbled to a halt, his informal, three crested kimono floating gracefully behind him. He had chosen to dress somewhat informally so as to keep people at their ease. He resisted the urge to rub his sore bottom in public as a servant brought in his baggage and carried it up to the room that Omi had ordered in advance. He followed the young man up eagerly, mind suddenly only full of thoughts of a bath and then bed. It was late in the evening, and he had been traveling quite a distance from an estate far on the outskirts of the city. Omi was looking forward to a soak in the ofuro and then a nice long sleep before he had to deal with the ronin and ninja currently in residence down the hall.

OOOO

He was dressed in the Inn's yuukata and happily on his way to the bath, already dreaming of a nice long soak, when the sounds of someone grunting and struggling in pain reached his ears. Omi immediately flattened himself against the wall, muscles tense and ready for attack, one hand on the handle of his wakezashi. He crept towards the top of the stairs and peered over the edge cautiously. He relaxed immediatley. A man with red hair and pale skin matching the description of the ronin was struggling to get a man with brown hair and darker skin that matched the description of the ninja towards the stair well. The man's yuukata hung slightly open and the sight of bruised and marred skin stood to confirm Omi's suspicion. Not even at the Inn for twenty minutes and already he'd found them. And he had so wanted a bath and some sleep first.

He felt his irritation fade as he watched them, however. The brunette was trying to help his red-haired comrade get him to the stairs, but he appeared to be exhausted and in a good amount of pain to do much good. The ronin beside him looked both frustrated and exasperated, all mixed-in with a healthy amount of concern. Omi found it humorous that he kept glaring over his shoulder to make sure no one was coming. There was no way he could not help them. Especially since not doing so would be passing up an excellent opportunity to engage them. Tying the sash around his yuukata more securely and leaving his small ofuro bag at the top of the stairs, he went to do just that; his lips curving into a wide, friendly smile.

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Ran had had to practically carry Ken back. As it turned out, the price of relaxation had been a weakened, boneless Ken. A Ken that Ran could not bring fully awake, no matter how hard he tried. And so he had carefully wrapped the man in his yuukata, and had done his best to get Ken back to bed without jarring him too badly. Ken staggered against him, tripping frequently, while mumbling and groaning. Ran wanted to be angry at him; angry that he'd gone through all that trouble for getting Ken a nice hot bath only to have to deal with an over-exhausted Ken , but he couldn't be. He knew it wasn't Ken's fault that he couldn't function. It had been a struggle just to get down to the bath and then into the water. Ken was probably worn out and doing the best he could. Ran couldn't have denied the young man the pleasure of a bath after all of the hell he'd been going through. Even if it meant struggling to get Ken back to bed.

"Here. Let me help you." a youthful voice called softly. Ran was so surprised at the voice he nearly dropped Ken as his head snapped up to see who the hell had dared to interrupt them. He found himself staring at a young man dressed in the inn's yuukata staring at him with large blue eyes standing at the bottom of the stairs. The forthcoming insult in his throat was suddenly no longer forthcoming as he caught sight of the friendly, open face, and he found himself feeling as if he could trust the stranger, against his better judgment. And the thought of struggling with Ken's full weight up all those stairs made him weary. What could a little help hurt?

"Aa. That would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much." he replied formally. The young man nodded and reached out towards Ken gently. Ran stopped him.

"Be careful with that shoulder. It's wounded." he remarked blandly. It was less of a request and more of a threat. He was not going to have Ken wounded further by some random do-gooder's idiocy.

Omi found the action amusing and a little endearing. He simply nodded, and wrapped an arm around the injured man's waist instead. Ran's relief was visible as he felt Ken's weight on him lessening. Ken, however, started in surprise at the feeling of another pair of hands and swiveled his head around clumsily to pin Omi with a somewhat confused gaze.

"Who're you?" the statement was slurred from exhaustion, and Omi smiled empathetically.

"I'm Omi." he said simply. Ken shrugged, with great difficulty, and Omi was a bit surprised at the open trust the young man was giving him.

"I'm Ken. Thanks for helping. I was pretty sure I was gon' havta sleep on the floor down here." he replied easily. On Ken's other side, Ran stiffened, and muttered under his breath about Ken being an idiot. Gods, was he trying to get himself found?

"Heard that." Ken grumbled, swaying unsteadily as they took the first step. The group plunged into silence for a moment while everyone put their concentration into getting Ken up the stairs with as little pain and incident as possible. Omi was considering in his head whether or not he should inform them that he knew Yohji. On the one hand, it might spike their distrust, but on the other hand, if Yohji came around and they saw Omi talking to him in the inn without explanation, things might be bad for him that way too. He reached a conclusion at the same time that they reached the top of the stairs. Ken was panting rather heavily and grimacing. Ran had stopped their party's movement momentarily so the brunette could pull himself together.

"You poor soul. What happened to you?" Omi murmured compassionately. Ran cut in before Ken could say anything. They still hadn't discussed that blabbing Ken's circumstances to the world might be a bad idea.

"He had a run in with some thugs." he replied crisply. Ken snorted but said nothing.

"Oh how terrible for you! I can't believe people would be so cruel!" The emotion in Omi's words was not faked, even if his actions were practiced. He was thinking of Reiji and the things he'd done to Ken so readily. He was thinking of the destruction of lives devoted to justice. He was thinking of the pain Ken must be living every day after what had happened to him. Really, seeing Ken close up only made Omi's passion for his father's cause and his hatred for Takatori deepen.

"Yeah. Bastards." Ken growled with feeling. His body tensed in anger.

"What goes around comes around." Ran replied quietly, almost in Ken's ear. It was an odd sort of comfort; a promise of revenge, and it made Ken's temper ease to hear it.

"You'd better believe it." he replied grimly, although he relaxed all the same. Omi chimed in mentally. Giving Ken the chance at revenge was the least Kritiker could do, he felt. Although how Ran felt about having competition for such a task was a mystery. But Ran said nothing. He seemed neither angry nor delighted. Only relieved as they approached his room door. Ran struggled to look at Omi from beneath Ken's arm.

" Thank you for all your help." he said simply.

"Yeah. Dunno if we woulda' made it without you." Ken drawled sleepily. Omi chuckled as Ran stiffened again, wanting to bite out that they would have done just fine but not wanting to insult Omi's assistance. He settled for giving Ken a scowl that the brunette remained oblivious to.

"Can I help you get him into the room? It might make it easier on the two of you." Omi pressed. Before Ran could reply, Ken's sleepy voice cut in.

"If y' don't mind, that might be good I think…" he trailed off. He looked already as if he were asleep on his feet. His eyes weren't even open anymore, although he was smiling the smallest of smiles. No doubt trying to be polite. Ran was looking exasperated again. How the hell was he supposed to keep Ken safe if the man went about blabbing his name to everyone and trusting complete strangers? He narrowed his eyes at Omi when he heard the light chuckle. Omi ducked his head.

"Sorry." he murmured. Ran would have shrugged heatedly if he wasn't weighed down by a now-dozing Ken. He failed to see anything humorous about this situation. And anyways, his main concern was getting Ken into bed before the man managed to collapse all three of them.

"Oh man. How can he sleep like this!" Omi asked in shock. Ran managed to slide the door open before he turned his head to regard Ken, who was, in fact, asleep now. He sighed heavily but said nothing, only shaking his head.

"You would too if you were in his condition." he replied simply, grateful Ken had accepted Omi's help as they pulled the young man through the entry way, up over the step, and over towards his bed. Ran was relieved to see fresh, crisp linens and a new pillow awaiting them. And another futon for himself. He was suddenly very grateful for Ken's moment of insight.

Omi left Ken with Ran and kneeled to turn down the bed. Ran gently stripped Ken from the yuukata, and Omi politely kept his eyes averted from the nude form, even though he badly wanted to see the depth of the wounds himself. He turned and reached up to help Ran lower Ken's weight to the futon as gently as possible. Ken mumbled incoherently and then sighed in absolute bliss as his skin hit fresh, clean sheets. He smiled slightly and nuzzled the pillow unconsciously. Omi chuckled at the sight.

"Looks like someone's happy to be in bed." he said softly.

"Hn. Thank the Gods. It's where he should have stayed in the first place." Ran grunted. He was going over Ken's body gently and carefully, rubbing salve into wounds and bruises. It would soil the linens, but he didn't care at the moment. Ran turned him onto his belly to allow the wound on his back some time to breathe after all the irritation they'd caused it going up and down the stairs. For now, bandages would stay off. He was running out of fresh ones anyway at this point. Satisfied that no extra damage had been done during the course of their excursion, he reached down to pull the blankets up over the brunette's body. Ken started snoring softly the instant the warmth of the blankets surrounded him, and Ran smiled. He hadn't heard Ken snore before, and took it as a very good sign.

"Ahh, the sleep of the just." Omi said fondly, shaking his head and turning his gaze slowly from Ken to Ran. Ran turned a scrutinizing gaze on him, but Omi bore himself up under it unflinchingly. After several long moments, Ran reached whatever conclusion he'd wanted to reach and he nodded again at Omi.

"Thank you again. It was very kind of you to help strangers." he said softly. Omi felt the slight verbal prod in the word 'strangers' and let a light blush cover his cheeks.

"Actually, um….I'm a friend of Yohji's. He told me about running into Ken and then about leaving him here. I figured that he was being irresponsible about it, so since I was staying here I thought I'd make sure everything was ok. I'm glad it is. And I'm glad I could help." he replied softly, looking at Ken's happily snoring form as he spoke.

Ran's initial anger and suspicion at hearing that Omi was a friend of Yohji's faded when it became apparent that the young man obviously sported the same opinion of Yohji that Ran did. He snorted.

"I wasn't impressed with his methods of care-giving and so relieved him of the responsibility. " he replied dryly. Omi chuckled softly. If he remembered the fight Yohji had described, 'relieved' was an understatement. Playing the part that had unexpectedly found him in what could be considered to be Ran's er…patient graces, Omi nodded.

"I'm glad you did. I think it was for the best." he replied. Ran nodded shortly but said nothing further, and Omi took that as his cue to leave. He rose slowly.

"Well… er…actually I don't think I caught your name…" he remarked politely. Ran snorted but didn't comment.

"Call me Ran. " he said quietly. Omi offered him a friendly smile.

"Well, Ran-san, if you need anymore help, I'm staying right down the hall for the week. Feel free to knock. It's the door all the way at the end." Ran nodded. "I'll show myself out. Hope everything goes well for Ken. " so saying, Omi slid into his slippers and out into the hall. Scooping up his onsen bag, he walked down the stairs quietly, in a better mood than when he'd arrived. It was always much easier being involved with decent people. It always made Omi much happier and more sympathetic. Poor Ken had really taken a beating. Omi couldn't imagine. And he forced himself not to as he let himself into the ofuro. He was going to have a nice, long bath, and then go straight to bed.

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Saa, how was that? I hope it was ok.

I've just got tickets to a Dir en Grey concert:squee: I never thought when I started avidly listening to their music that I would EVER find myself not only in Japan, but going to one of their concerts! Wai! I'm so excited! (And admittedly terrified of getting pummeled by fangirls….and boys…)

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