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The next morning Hoshi and Tomo came running into Schuldig's room. "Schuldig! Schuldig wake up!" they cried. They ran over to the bed and climbed on, each on one side of him. They shook him. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"
Schuldig grumbled. "I'm up, I'm up! Stop yelling!" He rolled over, and sat up. "What's wrong?"
"Omi's gone!" They both said at once.
"We went to wake him up for breakfast, and he wasn't in bed. And the bed hasn't even been slept in."
"And the night clothes Nagi gave him were still on the bed."
Schuldig scrambled out of the bed, and practically sprinted into Omi's room. The sheet was missing, but otherwise, the bed was made. The clothes were indeed still on the bed. "What the hell! DAMN IT."
In the closet, Omi woke up to the swearing, and went white as a sheet. /I'm in trouble... I'm going to be hit... I knew this was too good to last.../ Terrified, he opened the door to the closet, and huddled near the wall. "I'm sorry.." he whispered. "i won't do it again.."
The twins turned and looked at Omi. They blinked. "...what were you doing in the closet?" Hoshi asked going over to him.
Nagi peeked into the room to see what all the camotion was about. He blinked at Schuldig and the twins then looked over at Omi.
"Sleeping," Omi said, his voice trembling. "I'm sorry..." he said again.
Schuldig knelt down beside him, and he flinched. "It's alright, Nagi. You're not going to get into trouble for that. I was just worried. I was afraid you'd run out on us. The room is yours. You can sleep here, in the bed. It's yours, too."
Nagi frowned and looked at Omi. He wondered if Omi was really that scared to be without a master. "...breakfast will be done shortly." He said before leaving the room. The twins stood next to Schuldig looking at Omi. They glanced at eachother before kneeling down next to Omi and wrapping their arms around them.
"We thought you ran away." Hoshi said.
"Yeah, we came in to get you and you weren't here. So we thought you were gone, and that you didn't like us." Tomo said leaning against him slightly. Hoshi nodded.
Omi watched Nagi leave, and felt like a kicked puppy. He put his arms around the twins, unsure of what else to do. "I'm sorry... I'm not.. I've never... I've never had a bed before... It felt wrong... to be there... The... closet felt more like the room I used to have, even though its a little bit bigger." Nagi he had labeled as the 'master' even thought it really appeared to be Schuldig. Yesterday Nagi had been smiling and happy, but today, Omi's sleeping in the closet seemed to upset him. Upsetting ones Master was Wrong, and Omi felt terrible. Standing up, Omi put his eyes on the floor, and started walking towards the door. Schuldig stopped him by wrapping his arms around him and pulling him into a hug.
"None of us are mad. We were worried." he assured him. Omi nodded, and Schuldig put him back down. Omi continued on his trek to the kitchen. Once there, he slid into one of the chairs, pulled his knees up to his chest, and hid his face.
Nagi glanced at him and smiled a little. "how are you feeling this morning?" He asked as he flipped the french toast and turned the bacon. "Are you hungry?"
Omi nodded slightly. "yes..." he said, his voice sounding small.
Nagi frowned and turned the temp down on the stove so the food wouldn't burn before going over to Omi. He leaned down and looked at him.
"...are you okay? You look sad. Did you think we were mad at you for sleeping in the closet?"
Omi started trembling. "Sch..Schuldig sounded so mad! And you... you..." He paled, jerking away suddenly, and ended up falling off the chair. "I'm sorry!"
"Hey, hey! Calm down." Nagi said and went over kneeling next to him. "It's alright. No one is mad at you." Nagi said and pulled Omi into a hug as a reflex, trying to calm Omi down. "I promise, no one is mad at you okay? Besides, you sleeping in the closet is better then where I slept for the first month that I was here. I used to sleep in the workshop on a pile of old part because I couldn't sleep in my bed."
Omi clung to him, nodding. "Why...not...?"
"Because, I'd been in the junk yard for so long sleeping in a real bed just didn't feel right. I think Schuldig was about ready to take me up to my bed and tie me there until I fell asleep in the bed." Nagi said smiling a little. "It just took time to get used to having a bed."
Omi smiled a little at the imagery, but it faded quickly. "Were you displeased with me?" he asked, the one question in his memory banks that he hated. He'd asked it twice before, and twice gotten 'yes.' Omi pulled away a little, as his stomach grumbled. He blushed, and put his hand over it, like covering it would hide the embarrassing noises.
Nagi shook his head.
"No, I just hadn't realized how bad you probably had it. But I do understand why you were in the closet."
Omi nodded. "it was... bad...I suppose..." he said. "I never had anything to compare it to. My first master was kinder, but he never treated me well... My second master... he hit me sometimes. Especially if I did something bad."
"It's alright. Human's think that just becuase we wern't BORN then we have no feelings."
Omi nodded. "When...will breakfast be done...?" he asked.
"It's just about done now." Nagi said and stood up, he took Omi's hand and helped him up as well. He smiled at him. "After breakfast we can go shopping and get you some new things, okay?"
Omi looked a little nervous about that prospect, but nodded anyway, and returned to his seat.
Nagi gave Omi another quick hug.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to things around here, I promise." He said and went back over to finish cooking the food. The twins came bouncing in.
"Is food done yet Nagi?" Hoshi asked. "Yeah! We're starving!" Tomo said giggling as he climbed into the seat next to Omi, and Hoshi took the seat on the other side.
Omi looked a little pale, but didn't run away. He was beginning to like the twins' enthusiasm.
Schuldig stopped in the doorway. "Now isn't this just homey?" he asked, teasing Nagi. "Where's Kal and Lok?"
"Still upstairs I think. I was just about to call them down." Nagi said as he put the rest of the food on plates and put them on the table. "help your selves." He said before going to call Loki and Kali down to eat.
Kali was on her way down, dragging Loki behind her. "We're coming, don't shout!" she said, irritably.
Omi took some food, and ate it, smiling.
Hoshi and Tomo waited for Omi to get something to eat before they practicly attacked the plate, going for the same piece. Hoshi glared at Tomo.
"This one's mine! Get your own." He said taking it away from Tomo. Tomo gapped at him and reached across Omi to get the piece back off Hoshi's plate. Hoshi was about to stab it with his fork when it was swiped out from under him. Hoshi was about to throw the butter at Tomo when Nagi came back in.
"Hoshi!" He snapped making Hoshi freeze, butter ready to be thrown.
Omi was ducked down between them, almost under the table, and was trembling. /Is he going to get mad at me for not stopping them/ he wondered.
Schuldig came in, took one look at the scene at the table, and doubled over laughing.
Nagi went over and took the butter from Hoshi and put it back on the table before sitting him right in the chair.
"You two know better then to get into food fights." Nagi snapped getting slightly irritated with the twins. He glanced at Omi and sighed. "You don't have to hide, I'm not mad at you." He said.
Omi nodded. "I know," He said quietly, sitting up as straight as he could while still cowering down.
Schuldig was still laughing sporadically as Loki and Kali sat down. "What's so funny?" Loki asked, looking around. Omi looked like a dog that was being yelled at. /Did Omi do something/ he wondered. /Nah. More like the twins. I don't think Omi COULD do anything wrong.../
He shared his thoughts with Schuldig and Nagi via a private comm-system that all androids shared, though few ever used.
/Yes, the twins were going to start a food fight./ Nagi said as he sat down and dished himself up. The twins were sitting back in their chairs pouting as they ate.
Omi finished his food, and sat there, looking around discreetly. Schuldig watched him, but didn't say anything.
Nagi finished his breakfast and picked up the dishes. "Omi, can you come with me please? I'm going to get you some cloths to ware while we're shopping. You can't go out in thouse rags." Nagi said smiling a little at him.
Omi looked down at his clothes, and nodded. /They're only borrowed.../ he rationalized, and stood up.
Nagi smiled more and took his hand leading him from the room. He brought Omi upstairs to his room and went over to the closet. He looked through his clothes before he came out with a sweater and a pair of jeans.
"Try those on."
Omi stripped off the remains of his clothes, and pulled Nagi's clothing on over his head, and then sat down to tug the jeans up. They were almost exactly the same size, and the clothes fit perfectly. Omi felt his arms and legs. The material was strange; nothing like the loose cotton he had worn all his life.
Nagi picked up the remains of Omi's old 'clothes' and threw them away. He looked back at Omi when the other boy was done changing.
"Those look good on you." Nagi said and glanced at Omi's feet. "..you're going to need shoes too." He said. "I have an extra pair of those downstairs too."
"O..okay..." he said, not sure what to do about what Nagi had said about how the clothes looked on him. They were clothing. Was it supposed to look good or bad?
Nagi went back over to his closet and started looking through it again. He pulled out two jackets, one for him, and one for Omi. Before he got his own clothes.
"Nagi! We're ready to leave!" The twins yelled from downstairs. Nagi rolled his eyes.
"Those two are so impatient sometimes."
Omi smiled. "They're... anxious. Excited," he said. He looked down at the jacket Nagi had handed him. "What's this for?"
Downstairs, Loki rolled his eyes, too. "He's getting Omi ready. He's not going to come flying down the stairs just because the two of you are ready to go,"
"We know he's getting Omi ready." Hoshi said.
"They're just taking to long." Tomo said with a huff.
"It's to keep you warm when we go out side." he said. Once Omi took it Nagi poked the corner of Omi's mouth. "I like it when you smile. You look so much better when you do."
Omi frowned, puzzled. "I do? It's just a smile." He put the jacket on after a few minutes fighting with it, and nodded. It did feel warmer already.
Loki sighed. "You two are unpleasable. They've only been up there for a few minutes."
"We are not!" Hoshi said pouting. Tomo went over and hugged Loki's arm.
"Are you going to come to the store with us?" Tomo asked looking up at him with wide eyes.
Loki nodded. "I'm not leaving poor Omi and Nagi alone with the two of you." he said, ruffling Tomo's hair. He smiled at Hoshi. "And you are too."
Hoshi stuck his tongue out at Loki before heading upstairs to get Nagi and Omi. Tomo smiled and leaned against Loki.
Loki put an arm around him, waiting.
Omi was coming out of the room when he bumped into Hoshi. "Oooof." He blinked. "I'm sorry!"
Hoshi yelped when he fell back. He shook his head and looked up at Omi and smiled. '
"It's okay" He said and bounced up. "I was coming to get you two, because you're taking so long!" He said mainly to Nagi who came up behind Omi.
Omi kept his eyes lowered. "I'm sorry... It was my fault," he said again.
Nagi frowned and then glared at Hoshi before looking back at Omi.
"It's not your fault Omi. Hoshi is just impatent." He said. Hoshi frowned as he looked at Omi, he hadn't ment to make him feel bad. Hoshi and Tomo had never had to deal with someone like Omi before. They had come here almost a year after Nagi had, and by then Nagi was much better then he had been.
"I'm sorry Omi. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. Nagi's right it's not your fault." Hoshi said before turning and bouncing back downstairs.
Omi still felt as though he'd done something wrong, and trudged down the stairs after him, expecting to be hit for being slow at any moment. Loki raised a hand to wave at Nagi, and Omi flinched.
Schuldig came in and frowned. "You okay, kiddo?" he asked Omi. Omi nodded. "Fine." he whispered. Schuldig looked to Nagi. "What happened?"
"Hoshi was being impatent again and came to tell me and Omi to hurry up." Nagi said. Hoshi yelped when Nagi glared at him again. The blond haired boy ducked behind Schuldig.
/I'm sorry Schu...I didn't mean to make Omi feel bad, I really didn't./ Hoshi said as he staid behind Schuldig.
-It's alright. That's just the way Omi is. You're going to have to teach him that he's not going to get into trouble here, and that no ones going to hit him...- Schuldig said gently, and hugged Omi. "You're fine." he said.
Omi nodded. "Okay," he said, relaxing.
Hoshi peeked out from behind Schuldig and smiled a little at Omi. Tomo frowned as he watched them.
Omi smiled back at him, a little shyly. Loki glanced at Tomo. "What's wrong?"
Tomo loked up at Loki before looking back at Omi. "...loki...how come Omi seem's so scared to do stuff? And why dosn't he want new clothes?" He asked softly so that Omi wouldn't hear him.
Loki pulled Tomo off to the side. "Omi was a slave before," he said just as quietly. "People ordered him around, and hit him really hard when he didn't do something the way they wanted. Because he was a slave, they thought they were better than he was, and only let him have nasty food, and a small room for sleeping in. They never let him have new things like clothes, or toys, or books, or anything. The clothes he came in wearing, the rags?" he made it sound like a question, making sure that Tomo knew what he was talking about. "Those are the same clothes he's had for years."
Tomo frowned. "Those rags were his clothes? How come people do that Loki? How come they treat us diffrently?"
"Yeah, those rags were his clothes. ..." Loki sighed. "They treat us like that because we're not born from humans... We're created in labs, and factories..." He said.
"...I know we're not human...b...but...it's still not fair! They creat us to be as human as possible, I think they're just jealous of us becuase we look better then they do." Tomo huffed his cheeks puffing out slightly.
Loki laughed, attracting Omi and Schuldig's attention. "I'm sure that's true." Loki agreed.
Tomo smiled a little. Hoshi frowned. "What are you laughing about?" He asked Loki.
"Your brother," he said. "Better get out to the car, or else we'll leave you here."
Omi went outside, and looked around. He knew it was cold out, because it was almost snowing. But he wasn't cold. His hands and face were, but because of the shoes, and the warm clothes, the rest of him wasn't. /If I'd had clothes like these when I ran away, I wouldn't be so sick now.../ he thought.
Nagi came out behind him, Hoshi and Tomo ran out past them and started fighting over the front seat.
Omi watched them fighting. Loki came out, and claimed it for himself, ending the fight.
"HEY! NOT FAIR!" Hoshi called and tried to pull Loki out of the front seat. Tomo just pouted and climbed in the backseat.
Loki locked the door, and put his seatbelt on. "You two keep Omi company in the back," he said. Omi took the hint, and climbed into the back, looking around. He glanced over the seat, and saw the trunk space - the place where he usually rode - and shivered.
Hoshi sighed and climbed in next to Omi, while Tomo sat on the other side of him.
Nagi sighed and looked at Schuldig. "Are you going to come with us?" Nagi asked wondering if he would have to drive or not. Nagi had learned how to drive when he was only five. One of his masters had requested that Nagi get the information installed becuase his master was an old man, and couldn't drive that well any more. So when Nagi had to, he could drive.
Schuldig shook his head. "Nope. I'm gonna stay here and work out that bug I found on the mainframe hard drive. Take good care of Omi. We just got him." He winked. Omi looked at Nagi. "You can drive?" he asked, awed.
"Alright, we'll be back later tonight." He said and made sure he had notes for each of them from their 'master' saying they could buy things. Nagi got in the car and glanced at Omi.
"Yeah, I've been able to drive since I was about five. I had a master that was in his 60's, and didn't want to drive any more." Nagi said and hit a button so the seat was adjusted so he could see out the window. "Alright, where do you guys want to go next, and if you two say the toy store you'll stay here." Nagi said to Hoshi and Tomo who both were about to say something.
Omi blinked. "Five?" he asked, tilting his head. "What's... five?" He knew it was a number. It came between 4 and 6. His masters had used him for keeping things like bills and other numbers straight, so he was excellent with them, but he didn't understand what Nagi was talking about. Five inches? Five feet? How could someone be a number? After a few moments silence, he spoke up again. "A toy store?"
"five years old, and you don't know what a toystore is?" Nagi asked frowning.
Omi mentally calculated that out, and nodded. "I see," he said quietly. "How old are you now?" He asked, then glanced up and saw the frown. Afraid that he'd upset Nagi again, he lowered his eyes, and shook his head. "No... I don't. I've never seen one."
"See Nagi! Now we have to go!" Hoshi said and Nagi rolled his eyes.
"No, WE don't have to go. You two can go with Loki and get some ice cream while I show Omi all the stores. I think the best place to go would be the mall." He said and started the car before looking back at Omi. He reached back and grabbed his hand squeezing gently. "And I'm not mad at you. And the answer to your question is, i'm seventeen. At least I think I am, I don't know if I lost a year or two while I was in the junk pile. But I'm around seventeen."
Omi nodded, and smiled. It was getting easier to do that, and he knew that he wouldn't get into trouble here. Now if only he could convince himself that it was TRUE, he'd be going strong. "I don't know how old I am," he said. "At all." He knew that he'd been created to look around 12, but he'd grown and matured since then. Slower than humans, because his masters liked the way he looked. He briefly wondered why Nagi had held his hand like that. "The mall?"
"Yeah, it's a giant building that has lots of stores, and places to eat." Tomo said. Nagi smiled and turned back around before pulling out of the driveway and heading to the mall, while Hoshi and Tomo explained WHAT a mall was.
Omi listened to them, wondering what it would be like. In the front seat, Loki thought of something, and opened a connection between him and Nagi. -Nagi... Omi's never been to a mall before. How's he going to react to all those people?-
Nagi blinked. -I hadn't thought of that...-
-I didn't think so- Loki said. -I'll take the twins around, and get them some clothes. I know what they need. You can deal with whatever mess Omi turns into once we get there.-
-gee, thanks.- Nagi said but smiled.
-I thought you'd like that.- Loki said, and his eyes flicked back to look at Omi. The former slave was gaping out the window, the sheer velocity of the car a little too much. He rolled his eyes. -Nagi, you've got your work cut out for you.- he said, then switched it over to Omi. -Hey, Kid.- he said, imitating Schulig's easy manner. Omi looked at him. -...yes?- he asked.
-The mall is going to be very scary for you. I know it was for me, the first time. There are a LOT of people there, and a lot of stores. It's HUGE. I don't want you to freak out. Make Nagi proud that you acted well at the mall.- He said. Omi nodded. -I will. I won't fail Nagi.-
A few minutes longer and Nagi pulled into the mall parking lot. They spent at least fifteen minutes looking for a parkingspot. But as soon as the car was parked Tomo and Hoshi darted out of the car and were bouncing around waiting for the others to get out.
Nagi looked back at Omi. "Okay Omi, once we're inside, I don't want you to leave my side okay? The last thing I want to do is lose you in the mall. Trust me, no one listens at the customer service when a 'slave' is looking for another 'slave'. If there are any stores that you see that you want to go into, let me know okay? And don't be scared to tell me where you want to go."
Omi tore his eyes away from staring around wide-eyed to nod. "Understood," he said quietly. Loki hopped out, and raced the twins inside. Omi crawled out of the car, and latched onto Nagi's arm, terrified, although he was trying not to be. Loki's words bounced around in his mind. /Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Make Nagi proud of me. Don't freak out./
Nagi held Omi's hand and let him stay latched onto his arm. He ignored the looks that people gave them as they walked past going into the mall. He glanced ahead and saw Hoshi and Tomo practicly pulling Loki along. He frowned when he saw lady stop and pet Hoshi and Tomo's head. She was about to offer them some candy when she noticed the barcoad on Hoshi's shoulder and backed away like she had seen a ghost.
Hoshi's cheeks puffed out in anger. "yeah, well we hate you too lady!" He shouted after her. Nagi rolled his eyes.
"No class Hoshi, no class at all." He looked at Omi stopping just outside the door to the mall. "Are you ready for this omi?"
Omi nodded. /It's just a building... just a building... just a building.../
Nagi opened the doors and led Omi inside. Tomo and Hoshi pulled Loki in through one of the other doors. Nagi stopped them before they could run off. "Here are the notes, and some money for each of you." He said and smiled. "Have fun, and you two, don't drive Loki crazy."
"We won't!" The called and continued dragging Loki along. Nagi smiled, he was glad that Loki had offered to take the twins around, now all his attention could be on Omi incase the other boy freaked out.
Loki allowed himself to be dragged around by the hyperactive kids. Only a few years their senior physically, Loki's mind was much older, and he loved to be around them and remember.
Omi stopped inside the doorway, and stared. Nothing in his life could have prepared him for this, and it shook him right down to his core.
Nagi continued to hold Omi's hand as he looked at him.
"You okay?" Nagi asked. He glanced around quickly, there wern't that many people around yet, but they were still only by the entrance. And the sound of people could be heard talking and walking throughout the mall.
Omi nodded jerkily. "I'm fine,"
"Do you want to wait here for a few mintues so you can get a little used to this place before we go where there are more people?"
This time he shook his head. "no. Go, now..." He said, and took a few steps forwards. /Just a building.. .make Nagi proud... just a building.../
Nagi nodded and slowly led Omi forward out to the slightly busier part of the mall.
Every instinct drilled into Omi's brain screamed at him to get away, that there were too many people there, that he was going to get the beating of his life for daring to come to something like this. But he stepped forward with Nagi calmly, keeping everything bottled up inside.
Nagi moved at a steady pace, but still slow enough to get Omi used to so many people. He looked around and saw a clothing store, that didn't seem to have to many people in it. So he led Omi there first.
Omi was a hairs breadth away from dashing from the mall and never looking back. As Nagi led him towards the store, the feeling grew in intensity.
Nagi brought him into the store and then looked at him. "Omi, are you okay? If you don't want to do this, let me know and I'll take you somewhere else, to a smaller store outside the mall to get clothes."
"I'm fine," Omi insisted, then flushed. /Liar. He's going to hit you sooo hard/ his mind told him.
"Alright. If you want to leave at any time, please tell me okay? I don't want to force you to do something you're not ready for, and I know this many people around can be stressful." he said and gave Omi a small hug.
"Excuse me, can I help you two?" The clurk asked, his eyes were narrowed as he looked the boys over.
Omi simply trembled. He'd been about to assure Nagi that he was fine, that he could handle it - he HAD to handle it - when the man interrupted. /If I'm not afraid, then Nagi will be proud of me.../
"We are looking for new clothes for my friend here." Nagi said and nodded towards Omi. The clerk looked Omi over eyes narrowed even more.
"Sorry, can't help you. Besides, don't you know how to read? We don't sell slaves clothing here." The man said and turned to go back to his job.
"Oh, well that's good. Because we're not slaves." Nagi said and smiled. The man stopped and turned back towards them. "Well, we're not. We may have been bought, but our master says that we are not slaves, we are his family and he treats us as such. So, if you sell clothes for PEOPLE, then you have exactly what we're looking for." Nagi said and then looked at Omi. "Do you see anything you like?"
Omi drew back when the man got hostile. Usually a look like that preceded a very hard, long beating, and it was all he could do not to drop down to the ground and beg not to be hit. At Nagi's query, he gave a perfunctory look around. There were clothes. What was he supposed to like? Finding no answer to that, he turned to the next best thing. What would make Nagi happy? He wandered a few feet away, looking a shirt.
Nagi watched Omi, and kept sending glances to the clerk to make sure that he wasn't going to do anything. When Nagi was sure that they weren't going to be kicked out, or that the clerk wasn't going to call sacurity and have them thrown out of the mall, Nagi started looking around as well. He looked at the shirts that Omi was looking at and smiled before he went over and looked at some pants for himself.
Omi gave a tentative smile back. /He smiled... because I was looking at the shirts... / Omi realized. /It was good.../ He chose one, and took it to Nagi. "This...will fit," he said quietly.
Nagi gave him another smile.
"See any thing else you like? You can get more then one shirt of you want. Or a pair of pants, then we'll go look at other stores."
Omi chose another shirt just like it, and a pair of jeans. He'd stopped thinking of them as 'things he would wear', and had been considering them as 'things that will make Nagi smile.'
Nagi took the clothes and went over to pay for them. The clerk was still glaring at him and wasn't making any move to ring them up.
"What is with you? We're buying clothes, I thought all stores loved to sell things, everyone's money is as good as the next person's." Nagi sanpped. The clerk didn't say anything to him. "Look, here is the note from my master giving me AND my friend permision to buy things, here is his credit card."
"Hn, a bad mouth slave like you probably forged the note, and stole the credit card from poor old man." Nagi took a deep breath to keep himself calm. Getting angry and putting his hand threw the counter wouldn't help things.
"Are you going to ring up the clothes or not?" Nagi asked.
"Not."
"Alright then." Nagi smirked. "You're loss." Nagi said and turned to Omi. "Come on Omi, let's go call master Schuldig and let him know that the store won't let us buy things."
Omi nodded. He'd encountered this before; he was painfully familiar with THIS. "Oh..okay..." he said. It still stung.
Nagi took Omi's hand and was about to leave the store.
"Wait!" The clerk said. "Schuldig is your master?" He asked eyes wide. Nagi looked back at him.
"Yes, he is our master." Nagi said. "Let me guess, you've heard of him?"
"Who HASN'T? He was the guy who stopped the slaves from trying to take over a few years ago. He invented that chip that lets you control all your slaves' thoughts right?" Nagi smiled and nodded. Schuldig had created something like that. But it didn't control the slaves. It made it so that if they were being beaten or something, all they had to do was think 'no pain' and they wouldn't feel anything. He made it so that less and less slaves were destroyed.
Omi looked at him, wide-eyed. When the clerk looked back at him, he lowered his eyes, and ducked his head.
After they paid, Omi carried the bags out of the store. A woman stopped him. "Schuldig has no slaves." she said. "He IS a slave." Omi looked like a started rabbit. She smiled. "Don't worry. I'm sympathetic to the slaves cause. I won't bare your secrets." She moved on. No one else had seen them, or heard the conversation. Omi sank down to the ground as a movie let out and dozens of people wandered past. He held the bag close, and huddled near a tree growing from a hole in the flooring. 'Ngi..' he whispered hoarsely, realizing that Nagi was nowhere to be seen. His earlier words came back, unbidden. "Okay Omi, once we're inside, I don't want you to leave my side okay? The last thing I want to do is lose you in the mall." Omi started panicking as he realized he'd been 'lost in the mall.' He was terrified, not just that there were people there, but that he was alone, and Nagi was going to be furious. Whimpering, he curled up tighter. No one paid him any mind; he was just a slave, after all.
Nagi looked around and saw another store that he thought Omi would like to go into, but when he turned to ask him he didn't see him. His eyes went wide and he looked around quckly. "Omi?" He called. But there was no answer. /Oh no..not good, not good/ He thought and started looking around more. He backtracked his steps wondering if Omi had gotten sidetracked by something. "Omi! Where are you!" He called.
Omi heard Nagi's voice. The crowds were thinning out now, but he still couldn't see him. He was afraid that if he raised his voice, one of the people would hit him. /But ... Nagi's raising his voice.../ part of his mind argued. /Nagi's more confident than you are/ he reasoned. /He's been okay with this for a long time. Remember how he handled that man in the store/
He caught a glimpse of Nagi's hair, and had started moving towards him when a man blocked his view. Lowering his eyes, he was about to step around him, but the man grabbed his arm, and yanked his chin up. Omi let his eyes slip over the mans face, gasping with recognition. "Cr..Crawford!" His old master.
"What is trash like you doing in the mall!" he demanded. "You should be in a dumpster somewhere where you belong!" He looked down at the bag Omi was holding, and sneered. "Where did you get that? Did you steal it?" He noticed the clothes Omi was wearing. "I bet you stole those, too, you little thief!" he growled. Omi was shaking so hard his teeth were chattering.
"n..no!" he said. Crawford's eyes widened then narrowed, and he hit him. Omi spun around a few times before hitting the floor. He scrambled away. "Yo..you're not...my master!" he stammered. "L..leave me...alone!"
Crawford took a step forward, causing Omi to move even farther away. At the last second, he cursed. "Come one, Ken. We're leaving." A brown haired slave scurried after him. "Yes, Master," He said demurely. Omi lay on the floor, waiting for his heart to stop attempting to leap out of his chest.
Nagi had made his way through the crowed and saw Omi be hit to the floor. He watched the man start to walk off and growled. He knew he was only a slave and had no say in what people did, and if anyone was going to get in trouble it would be him. But that man had just hurt Omi, and Nagi wasn't going to let him get away with that. Nagi picked up the first thing he saw, wich happened to be a cup of orange soda someone had left sitting on a bench by the tree, and threw it at Crawford, hitting him in the back of the head, and staining the white suit he was wearing.
Ken and Omi's eyes widened. Crawford turned, slowly. Gossip ran rampant through the people watching, and a space was cleared around Nagi. Omi scrambled up off the floor, and threw himself at Nagi.
"What did you do that for!" he hissed, in a state of utter panic. "He's going to KILL YOU!" Crawford began to advance on them, slowly. Omi ducked behind Nagi at first. Crawford smirked.
"So this is where you've been all this time," Crawford drawled. Omi ducked down so that he was huddled on the floor at Nagi's feet. Crawford raised his hand, about to strike Nagi, when Omi made a quick decision, and stood up, placing himself between his old Master and his new friend.
"D..don't... h-hurt...h...hi...him..." he stammered quietly, refusing to meet Crawford's eyes. Crawford glowered at him for a moment, and then shrugged out of his jacket. "Come on, Ken. I have no time for Trash," he said, condescendingly, and they left.
Omi dropped to his knees, trembling. Half of the crowd gathered began to applaud. The other half stalked off, worried that their slaves would get ideas.
"Hn, the only trash I see here is you!" Nagi yelled after him before kneeling next to Omi and pulling him into a hug. "Are you okay Omi?" He asked softly hoping that that man hadn't hurt Omi.
Omi nodded shakily. "I'm fine..." he whispered. "A..are... you alright?"
Nagi blinked.
"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. Pissed off at that guy though. Who WAS that?"
"My...my old master..." Omi said quietly. He was still shaking like a leaf in a hurricane, but his heart had slowed down to its original rhythm. Loki's order, 'don't freak out, and make Nagi proud' was still fresh in his circuits, and he took a deep breath. "Nagi... Can we ... continue ...?" he asked, starting to pull himself together.
Nagi frowned a little.
"Are you sure? We'll only continue if you want too." He said softly. "I'm sure it can throw you for a loop running into an old master."
"I'm sure." Omi said, wondering if he was. "I want to continue on. I.." he trailed off, feeling his determination wavering. What if Nagi didn't want to go on? What if Nagi was trying to dissuade him, because he just wanted to go hom? "I mean... I only... If you want to..." he finished, his eyes on the floor.
Nagi blinked and lifted Omi's eyes to make him look at him. "...are you only staying here, because I want to stay here?"
Omi shook his head. "no..."
"I'm... I'm staying...Because... I want to..." Omi said. "Because... I don't... want to be...afraid..." His voice slowly got softer until he finished with a whisper.
Nagi smiled and gave him a hug before standing up.
"I'm proud of you, it takes a lot to face your fears. Especially when it goes against what people have programmed into you."
Omi breathed a sigh of relief. /Mission accomplished/ he thought. Nagi was proud. Those words made him happier than he'd ever been before.
Nagi took Omi's hand and pulled him to his feet. "Where would you like to go next?"
"Where...else is there to go?"
From the other side, Loki was doubled over laughing. "Did you SEE that?" he asked the twins. "Omi and Nagi showed him! Omi did SUCH a good job." He straightened. "If you don't tell on me, I can take you to the toy store while we wait," he said, winking.
The twins smiled and nodded.
"YAY! Toy store!"
"well, there are a lot more stores in the mall. We've just been to one. Do you see any that look intresting to you?"
Omi looked around. He didn't really have any interests that he could name. He liked to keep his master happy, because when his master was happy, he was happy. Nagi and Schuldig now qualified as his masters... what would make them happiest, he wondered. He looked around the mall again, and shrugged. "You pick something..."
Nagi 'hmm'ed as he looked around.
"Why don't we go buy you some new shoes?" He sugested.
Omi looked around once more, then glanced at his feet. "Okay." he said. He bottled his first responce up inside him - 'If it is your wish, Master,' because he didn't think that Nagi would like to hear that.
Nagi took his hand making sure not to loose track of Omi this time and headed to the shoe store. The lady in there had been a lot kinder then the clerk in the last store. She helped Omi find a pair of shoes in his size. SHe also found him a pair of snow shoes, that she gave him for free. All in all, she treated Omi as if he were a human.
Omi smiled at her politely, and told her in a faintly accented voice that he didn't speak japanese very well, easily accounting for his silence. He accepted her help gratefully, and when they were through, he gave her a wider, happier smile than the one he'd first given.
She smiled back at him and petted his head.
"Have a good day boys." She said as Nagi smiled at her and left the store. He took a couple bags from Omi so he wouldn't have to carry them all.
Omi's shaking had started up again, although for a very different reason. /Cold.../ he thought, looking around at the other stores. He saw a pet store, and practically hauled Nagi into it.
Nagi smiled as Omi led him into the pet store. He didn't really care for pets, but he was happy that Omi had chosen a place to go.
Omi was entranced by the small animals, and birds. He laughed slightly as a puppy leapt up against the cage, barking. Smiling, the man behind the counter came over to them. "Can I help you?" Omi's smile faded, and he mutely shook his head. The man's smile widened. "Would you like to pet one of them?" he asked. Omi's eyes widened, and the man took a docile puppy out of the cage, and let Omi sit with it in the play-pen. Omi laughed again as it licked his face. After a few minutes, he brought it back out, and bowed deeply to the man. "Thank you," he said, smiling. He took Nagi's hand, and led him back out of the pet store. He turned around and the man made the puppy wave good bye, before putting it back into its kennel, and going to help some other customers. Omi laughed again.
Nagi smiled when he heard Omi laugh. It was the first time he had seen Omi so happy. "Omi, if I leave you alone for a few moments, will you bealright?" Nagi asked. "I need to go do something really quick, and I'll be right back."
Omi paled for a moment, remembering the chain of events not too long ago that lead to his run-in with his old master. It was just a moment, though, and he nodded, and sat down at a bench situated nearby.
Nagi smiled and went off dissapearing into the crowd. He found a slightly quieter place and took out his cellphone to call Schuldig. He wanted to get Omi a pet, but he needed to ask Schuldig first. He was sure that he wouldn't like it to much if they came home with an unexpected small animal. Nagi dialed the home phone.
Schuldig picked up the phone, only just remembering to turn down the music as he did so. "Yo." he said. He knew it would be Nagi or Loki. No one else knew the number. Shaking his long shock of orange hair out of his eyes, he surveyed his handiwork. The house had been getting to him lately, and he was cleaning and rearranging.
"Schu. Can we get a pet?" Nagi asked getting strait to the point.