I have returned! And I am so ready to get this story moving again. Sorry for the hold up, for those of you who really wanted to know what was going on with Omi...

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There was no alarm clock in Aya's room, but he woke up early without it. He meant to take up a position on the couch, to catch Yoji's lover as she left the house. He'd have evidence then, and Yoji would work early shifts for it. It would also save Omi from having to open the shop for a while. That boy did not look well.

It was a long time before any movement at all occurred in the quiet hall, but at last Aya heard a door open and shut, and footsteps creep cautiously on the floor. Finally; he'd waited a long time since he woke. Aya sat still and silent as a shadow, not wanting to frighten his target too quickly. Wait for the footsteps to reach the door… wait… wait…

But the sound went exactly the opposite direction, and Aya frowned in frustration and confusion. The refrigerator door opened, and he stood up sharply to see who in the hell was in the kitchen this early. The action shocked a small blonde, who innocently dropped the entire ice tray with a crash. Omi had jumped three feet in the air when Aya entered the kitchen. About to apologize, the frown on Aya's face deepened when he saw the gash on the boy's lips, and he changed his mind.

" Hurt yourself?" His voice was cooler than the ice melting on the floor, ice that Omi was scrabbling to pick up with visibly shaking hands. He looked up a moment at the question, then bent down to his task as another ice cube vibrated from his hand back to the floor.

" No! Well, yes… I hit my lip on the wall in my sleep…" the blonde muttered. Aya's eyes narrowed, but he knelt down to help put the cubes back in the tray, which was still sitting on the floor. There was a miniature lake on the tile, and Omi made for the mop in the closet. Aya's hand moved like lightning to grab his wrist. There was no way he was going to let the sick boy work when he should be resting. But Omi let out a small cry, and Aya let go of the wrist faster than when he'd reached for it.

" Omi, you're freezing!" There was no mistaking the shock in the older man's voice, no matter how calm it seemed. He put his hand to Omi's forehead, feeling there a creeping chill as well. His own brow furrowed in concern as he examined the younger blonde. Omi's eyes were glassy and a little bloodshot. He should have a fever, but instead of burning up it seemed he was freezing to death.

The blonde slowly reached for Aya's own wrist. He took it off of his forehead, and just held it there before him, as if in shock. He didn't blink as he stared at Aya's hand, and he was getting paler, which made the redhead not a little anxious about the boy's health. Suddenly they widened, and he wobbled a bit on his feet. He let go and tried to walk back to his room. Aya watched him unsteadily move toward the hall… to collapse into the arms of an unsuspecting Ken, walking out of the bathroom.

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" He's not going with us on this mission." Omi was back in bed, Ken having carried the limp body to his room with a comment on how cold he felt. Yoji had taken all the blankets from his room and Aya's to cover the sleeping boy. All three of them were adamant against Omi's insistence that he go on the assignment too.

" He's sick! Why does he keep getting out of bed?" Ken shook his head, extending and contracting his fingers in his gloves, getting them fit correctly. Yoji was sitting on the couch already. For such a well-kept man, he took relatively little time preparing himself for anything. Ken had asked him once before how he managed it.

" It's a talent, Ken." Yoji had said with a wink. " You do it so often it all comes naturally, and you don't have to think about it anymore." Well, whatever the reason, Yoji was the one who had to check on Omi this time, since he was the first one ready. This time there was no complaint.

Yoji lightly knocked, not wanting to give the poor chibi a headache if he didn't have to. There was no reply from inside, but he quietly opened the door anyway. He was supposed to check on him, after all, not keep him under room arrest. A movement from under the mountain of blankets eventually led to the appearance of a head at the foot of the bed. Omi's hair was dripping with sweat, and a little color had returned to his face, but his eyes were still strange, and he looked tired.

"Congratulations, you're a boy." Yoji smirked at the blush that flew across the boy's cheeks before he quickly retreated back underneath the mountain. He drew up a chair to the bed, and poked at the pile. A mumble escaped from the thick layers, and Yoji had to lean close and ask Omi to repeat what he said before he made it out.

"I said I'm going too." The boy's head emerged again, this time followed by damp shoulders. Yoji raised an eyebrow; Omi was fully dressed to go. He shook his head though, and stood up. Omi sensed what he was about to say, because he came out from the blankets even more. Yoji spoke before the younger blonde could say anything, however.

" Omi… do you have any idea what you look like? By all rights we could put you in a hospital. But you know how Manx is…" Yoji put his hand up and pointed at Omi when he tied to sit up and follow the older man to the door. " You, my chibi, are far too sick to go. You can go the next one, no big deal. We have plenty of missions."

"You don't understand; I have to go on this mission." The boy was already struggling to free himself from the tangling mass of cloth. " I need to go." He was standing now, looking up at the taller man. Yoji was shocked, unsure if it was the fact that Omi kept trying to work while so sick or if it was the force behind his words that stunned him.

"Yoji, please. I can't not go. I can't. Please. I have to carry out this assignment too." Omi was begging now, feverish eyes gleaming strangely in supplication. His hair stuck to his face, and even his clothes were damp and wrinkled. Yoji took one of Omi's hands in his. He wasn't icy anymore, but still colder than he should be, and his skin was clammy from the sweat. Yoji shook his head again.

" I'm sorry, but you're in no condition for that kind of work. If you're going anywhere, it's to the shower. Go to bed, Omi. You really need sleep." Yoji said kindly, hoping Omi would listen this time. How could the kid be so adamant? Couldn't he just sit still and let himself heal? Yoji turned to leave, but quick movement caught his eye. With one movement he stepped in the way of the door and let loose the wire from his watch. It was more impulse and self-defense than anything else, but it surprised him nonetheless.

" Omi, what is so important about this mission?" Omi had almost tried to attack the older man, just to get out the door? He couldn't move now, bound up in the shining cords, but he was trying.

" The guards…" Omi managed to say.

" We can take care of them ourselves, don't worry. I'll keep them all safe for you." Yoji laughed, but apparently it wasn't amusing to the chibi struggling in front of him. The younger blonde simply stared ahead, his eyes blazing with a fever he didn't have. Omi wouldn't say another word, and continued against the cords silently.

" Damn." Yoji whispered to himself, bending down to help the boy. They weren't even tight. Omi's struggles lessened with the loosening of his bonds, and when he was totally released, he took a shaky step toward the door, as though wearied by his efforts of only minutes ago. Yoji put out an arm to stop him, and was worried by how little resistance he met. Omi's eyes were closing by themselves, and Yoji steered him to the bed before he could collapse to the floor.

Omi, apparently resigned to his fate, climbed into bed again with a sigh, the expanse of blankets tucked all the way to his chin. Feeling a little better now that the patient was cooperating, Yoji edged out of the room, slowly. It didn't hurt to be careful. He shut the door softly behind him.

" See ya, Omitchi." There was a muffled groan from inside, and that made Yoji feel better. Frighteningly sick or not, he could still get a reaction from little Omi. If that ceased, then he knew something was seriously wrong.

He met the others in the living room, and he must have had a look on his face, because Aya's usual glare darkened. Ken, who had been watching soccer on the TV, turned around when he saw Aya, with a question on his face. His eyes widened when he saw Yoji, and he rushed to him.

"Yoji, you look pale! You're not getting sick too?" Ken put a hand to Yoji's face, and the man stole a glance in Aya's direction, watching for any changes in his expression. Or how about any expression at all… But so far the redhead didn't know about Yoji and Ken, and he payed no attention to the brunette asking Yoji all sorts of medically pointless questions.

" How many fingers do you see?" Ken waved his gloved hand in front of the older man's face. Yoji made a grab for the thing; if the soccer player wasn't careful, he'd poke his lover's eyes out with those things.

" Three, if you would hold them still. Now…Ken…Ken! I'm fine, look. I'm not dying, let me go." Yoji heard the sound of the car starting. He pushed the hand away from his forehead and ran toward the garage. Ken shrugged with a sigh and a look at the ceiling and followed.

" We need to make this quick, guys. Omi's not well." Yoji said as he took his place in the passenger's seat next to Aya, who refused to let anyone else drive his car. Ken poked his head between the seats.

" Thank you Captain Obvious."

" No, I mean it." Yoji proceeded to tell the other two about what had happened in Omi's room. At the end of his story, Ken sat back with one of those expressions that meant he was thinking hard enough to make his head blow up. Aya, true to his nature, said nothing and did nothing except drive.

" He actually attacked you? That's weird." Ken put in after a moment. " He's never hurt anyone before…well, there was that gun thing with Hirofumi, but that was different. He didn't actually do anything."

"He's always been a restless patient. He hates being sick." Yoji pointed out to him.

" Remember when me and Omi got the flu last year, and he kept trying to take care of me? I had to lock the door to keep him away!" Ken laughed in the backseat.

" And he could barely walk on his…own…" Yoji let the sentence die off. Omi and Ken again… he was not liking the pattern of things. Ken belonged to him; he was not going to let anyone take him away. The soccer player had said there was no one but him…but then…

" I studied the files. There is nothing special about the guards; Ken can deal with them easily. So why is Omi so worried about them…" Aya spoke suddenly, making Yoji jump.

" What would make him need to come with us so badly that he would try and force his way past…?" The question was thrown out into the dark, and no one knew the answer. No one except Omi, but he wasn't talking about it.