Title: FORGOTTEN

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I wish I would e.t.c. e.t.c.

Rating: PG so far, I think.

Spoilers: Yes, I think so.

Warnings: shounen ai, probably late YAOI. Who knows, maybe even rated NC-17. And I'm the author.

Pairing: Youji/Aya

Summary : Aya looses his memory in a crucial point, as the whole team finds itself in danger. And without a man to lead them. How will they cope?

Author's Notes : as I said, it's an old story that I restarted, since decency demanded it of me. It is high time for me to try and finish it. I will do my best to retain the air and stick close to the characters. Hope you will like it.

C&C : always welcome

Archive : ask, I'm most likely to say yes, if you want it

Thanks : Daughter of Night, my wonderful beta, who keeps nagging me to finish each story. Thanks :)

Youji found himself in the living room with the wire in his hands, ready to spring into action at any sign of danger. And there was danger there in the presence of three men, all armed, standing over the unconscious form of their leader.

Before he had a real chance to act however, two shots rang out, as a dart flew by his shoulder. The men fell under Manx's feet, when Omi came out from the shadows of the corridor.

"Looks like I made it just in time."

"Who were they?"

"You failed on your mission."

"I personally killed the man, Manx. He was dead, when I was leaving."

"That may be, but they apparently found themselves a replacement who ordered them to track you down. So you're all going underground for a time."

Track them down. It meant that it was not really their fault, rather someone at Kritiker screwed up in covering their tracks. So Manx came to get them out before something happened. And she arrived too late.

"We're taking Ran," Youji said, immediately ready for an argument, but there was none.

"He's endangered, just like you are. Try waking him and them leave." She handed Omi a piece of paper with their new address.

"We're movin'?"

"Yeah." Youji looked at the address, "Get your things. I'll get Aya." The blonde did not notice how, in the mission mode, he switched to calling their leader by his previous name.

He kneeled next to the unconscious man and turned the assassin onto his back. The redhead was breathing in a slow, steady pace, like he was sleeping. Running his long fingers through the luscious mass of crimson hair, Youji found a slight bump.

"Aya? Ugh…Ran? Ran?" he took care to shake his friend delicately, "Ran?"

That moment, when the violet eyes opened, Youji stopped breathing. Wide, deep and dark violet orbs were completely unguarded. It was not even like when Ran was looking at them. Each raw emotion was clear: pain, confusion, trace of fear, a slight pleasure.

"Youji?"

"Yeah."

The violet eyes blinked rapidly a few times, before focusing on the playboy.

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"Not really, no."

"Well, I think you got KO'ed."

"Oh." This simple statement was the last they heard from Aya, since the violet eyes glazed again, as the assassin slipped into unconsciousness.

"Youji-kun, how is Ran-kun?" Omi, apparently, had no problems with switching to thinking of their friend as 'Ran'. He stood at the bottom of the stairs, a bag in hand. The PI would let his hand be cut off, if the boy did not have his laptop there.

"Completely out of it. I'm afraid it was one too many blows to his head."

"So…what do we do?"

"Carry him, I guess. But first…" Youji got up and upon finding the desired item, threw it at Ken. "Start up the engine and make sure we have gas. I'll get Ay…Ran and some of our things."

The moment Ken turned, Youji was already on the stairs, going up two at once.

Inside his room, the blonde took hold of the few necessary amenities and a memento that held meaning only to him. Then two steps led him to the room across the hall for Ran's things.

They made it to the hideout after a while, with no incident occurring. Yet, they were careful, made sure no one followed.

The place was not as dingy as some of Kritiker's other safe houses. Really, as hideaways went, this one was fairly pleasant. Located in the basement of an old building, it was inconspicuous, had three emergency exits and even some furniture, beside the usual mattresses.

Youji carried Ran in himself, dismissing Ken, when he offered help.

"We've got two rooms, Youji-kun." Omi dutifully reported and the blonde had to wonder why. Ran was unconscious and he himself would make a very poor leader. "How are we splitting?"

He did not even have to weight his options. The answer was simple and immediate.

"You go on with Kenken. And keep weapons near. I'll take care of Ran."

Youji could quite vividly remember an incident, when he had tried to wake Aya up one night, when the man was having a nightmare. Before he really understood what was going on, he was on his back on the floor with a knife at his throat and Aya looming over him with a cold, if not fully aware gaze. Only after a moment did he let go climbing off the blonde, so strongly were these habits imprinted in his brain.

And he knew he should not subject his younger friends to that. Aya was not fully in control then and he would most probably be in even less control now.

Omi nodded and turned to enter one of the rooms, setting himself up, but Ken remained in place, watching Youji, watching the way he held Ran in his arms. Then the brunette smiled a little, as if he suddenly figured something out and followed the youngest hunter.

The tall blonde shifted Ran's weight in his arms and walked into the other room. There was one big bed and even a brief inspection showed that it was the ONLY bed.

He smiled a little.

Oh, well. It's not like I don't enjoy the feeling of someone's skin and warmth beside me.

Undressing Ran didn't take much, as the man was still in his pajama bottoms and only with his coat over the slim, bare chest. Besides, Youji had quite a lot of experience in changing clothes, especially in taking them off someone.

Still, caution advised he keep the watch on his wrist and the coats and bag nearby. Just in case.

Wandering into the main room, that served the purpose of kitchen, living room and hallway as well, he caught a glimpse of Ken and Omi lodging together in their room on the second bed.

"Omi?"

"Yes, Youji-kun?"

"Have you set the alarm?"

"Yes, Youji-kun."

"'Kay. Good night you two."

Youji woke up with a nice, warm feeling. After taking the time to analyze the feeling, the blonde assassin realized the source of said feeling was external.

Opening one eye to take a peek at the situation forced him to open both of them in shock. Aya was sprawled on the bed, half on Youji, an arm flung over the man's chest. He was speechless.

In his whole life, there had been no more stunning even than this, than his bastard leader cuddled up with…Youji himself. But then the blonde caught himself. It was not Aya, not really. This was Ran, who had been using him as life-sized teddy bear and it was not like he did not like the feeling. On the contrary. The blonde was afraid he liked it just a little bit too much.

Before the man had the chance to analyze the emotions a bit further, his companion stirred, a sure sign of waking up. Violet eyes slowly opened and Ran looked at Youji from his position on the man's chest.

"Hi." The blonde smiled widely.

"Um…." Ran's complexion changed to rival the shade of his hair and, to his great regret, the man moved from his spot to sit up on the bed. Dressed just in boxers, he sat there blinking slowly and taking in his surroundings.

"What happened?" he looked around the room once more, "And where are we?" a delicate hand rubbed his sleep ridden face, "Last thing I remember is two men in the living room and then…well, that's it."

"You were KO'ed. I'm surprised your head doesn't hurt."

"Actually, now that you mention it, it does."

"Anyway, it wasn't safe to stay there, so we moved here."

Ran nodded, taking in the sparse information, that Youji was able to provide him with. There was hesitation in his moves, though. It cleared, when he looked at the blonde with sharp, violet eyes that analyzed everything even now.

"Did…"the redhead apparently made up his mind about something, "did it have anything to do with your work?"

The other assassin finally sat up himself, sighing heavily as he did so. His friend looked serious, concerned, if a little afraid. Afraid he might not like the answer. And Youji did not quite know what to do at the moment. They had not the chance to truly talk about it, Ken, Omi and himself, about what to tell Ran. Everything had been too peaceful to worry at first and then happening too fast for anyone's liking. He could not tell Ran the truth, not the whole truth anyway, maybe he would never be able to. Maybe he would never have to. But right then he had to say something to the man, who looked at him with expecting, inquiring violet eyes.

Okay, Youji, now get yourself out of this mess.

"Well, yeah. Our work can be dangerous sometimes and that's why we do have enemies. They must have found out where we live and probably came…"

"To kill us," Ran finished quietly, but did not look away like Youji thought he would. No, the man was looking directly at him, into his eyes, searching for something yet again. These moments reminded him painfully of Aya, who never avoided someone else's gaze.

Whatever he found must have satisfied him, the blonde decided, as Ran's shoulders relaxed slightly.

The door burst open then and Ken ventured in, choosing to ignore or not noticing the thick atmosphere, the tension between Youji and Ran.

The first time I'm actually grateful to Ken for interrupting.

"Hi, guys. I'm going out for something to eat. Want anything specific?"

"Coffee, Kenken, a lot of coffee."

"And you, Ran?" Ken apparently did not miss Aya much either. Or it was just Youji, who had trouble seeing this new face of their leader.

"Some tea, please. As for food…I guess you know better than I do, what I used to eat." He smiled sheepishly. Ken, smiling back, nodded and left.

"We should probably dress." Youji said, before his friend could bring back their conversation. He rummaged in their bag, as Ran watched him silently all the time, from his spot on the bed. Those amethyst eyes left Youji's back only when the door to the bathroom closed behind the man.

Under the warm spray of water, Youji wondered about Ran, about what he should do and tell the other man. It was not simple, though. It seemed nothing was, these days. He could not very well simply tell Ran:

Remember how you asked about Manx? Well, she's our employer. What do we do? We're assassins, yeah, hired killers, only we're supposed to be doing this for justice and all that shit. And your katana? It's your weapon of choice, more deadly than a gun in no few hands. You kill with it. Why? I don't know. I think it's for money, but I'm not sure. You're usually a pretty cold bastard. And you often make the main kill too. Did I mention you're also the leader? No? Oh, sorry…

Like that would go well. No, no, not in a fuckin' million years.

He knew it would hurt Ran, confuse and shock him, kill the reborn innocence he seemed to have, that Youji had not experienced in so long. And he would rather hurt himself, than see that purity destroyed. Even if it was temporary, even if it was not real.

They said, that shock therapy is good for people suffering from temporary amnesia. Maybe so, but did he really want Aya to make a glorious return? Did he really?

On one side, no, he did not. Barely after two days of knowing Ran, Youji was in love with…his personality, with the quiet and hidden warmth he had, with the soft voice, friendly looks and honest smile.

Still…Aya. Aya with his cold beauty, touch-me-not attitude, confidence and cool demeanor, was part of the family. A pillar, that all of them were looking to in search of support, something unchanging, at one point or another. They could always trust him to be that for them. Aya had been a person who had never failed them, not really, and saved them more times than Youji cared to count.

Okay, so he was willing to admit it. He missed Aya. He missed the cold bastard, whose interaction with Youji constricted to an occasional glare.

And he hated it, this attachment to Aya.

Well, technically I am attached to Kenken and Omitchi too, but this, damn him, this is different.

When he came back to their room, Youji did not meet Ran's eyes. He could not lie to the man and he did not know whether the truth was truly the best solution. This seemed like a no-win situation.

Yet, he realized as he glanced at the man, that this had been a mistake. The frown on that porcelain face showed this clearly. Ran was no idiot, just like Aya had not been. He had to suspect there was more to their job, than Youji was willing to tell him.

Ran wondered.

What exactly did they do? What was it that made people come to kill them? And what happened when he was knocked out? The reason for their being here made perfect sense, but what had happened?

"Youji?"

"Yeah?"

Is it me, or does he hesitate? Is he afraid? Why? Of what?

"Do you know how long we will stay here?"

"No really, no. We'll have to wait for the sign that everything is fine."

Ran only nodded again, watching the blonde brushing his wet hair. Finally, he got up himself to rummage in the bag and then went into the bathroom himself, locking the door in an automatic condition.

When he was finished, Ken was already back with the food, so the four of them gathered in the kitchen/dining area.

"Morning, Ran-kun!" Omi somehow managed to be as chirpy as ever, Youji dully noticed.

"Morning, Omi."

"I didn't exactly know what to get you, so you have sandwiches. This one's ham and cheese, this one egg paste and this…damn, I don't remember what's in this one."

"Don't worry about it." Ran managed a weak smile.

They ate in silence, only rarely throwing in a comment, asking for salt or a teasing question. It was cheerful, almost normal, like when they had been stationed at the shop. Yet, the atmosphere disappeared right after they finished, as if inducted just by the factor of food on their table.

Ran took the silence heavy in the air as his clue and retreated to Youji's and his room with a brief comment about checking what exactly the blonde had packed for him.

"Tell us if there's anything you need!" Youji said to his retreating back. Apparently there were still certain habits of Aya's that Ran kept. Allowing his teammates to talk to his back must have been one of those.

"So…what now?" the blonde was once again the first to break the silence.

"Stay low I guess. I brought some books and magazines."

"Manx?"

"She should be here around…now." Omi checked his watch and sure enough, there was a knock on their door.

Ken got up, on the group consensus that since he was the best, beside Aya, at hand to hand combat, he should be in the first line in case it was an unexpected guest, rather than someone they needed to see.

The redhead moved into their makeshift apartment without so much as hello, all business. Ken rolled his eyes behind her back and Youji had to smirk at that from the shadows he positioned himself in.

"Where's Balinese?"

"Here." He stepped out from the small niche. Manx merely raised an eyebrow.

Well, hello to you too.

"You still cannot go back to the shop, it's still unsafe, while we're tracking the organization again."

"And?"

"Did you take more than just leadership from Aya?"

Youji shrugged. Perhaps he was starting to see the appeal of behaving like an asshole from time to time. Being nice to everyone and at every turn was overrated.

"Speaking of whom," the woman's lips thinned at his nonchalant response, "How is he?"

"The same. A little more scared of the situation though."

"He still doesn't remember then."

"No."

"That's no good. Make him remember, Balinese. We need him and you need him. Right now Abyssinian is not only useless, but a hindrance as well." The blonde understood well the threat behind those words. Kritiker did not need broken tools. "If we are to make a move soon, we will need Aya capable of operating fully."

"I know."

Manx nodded. She left after a few minutes of quietly conferring with Omi and throwing Youji inconspicuous glances.

"So….what now?"

"Wait? Again?" Youji rubbed his face. He would really have preferred for Aya to suddenly make a grand comeback and allow him to feel useless and lazy again instead of the responsible older member of their team. "And talk to Ran," he added as an afterthought, though the blonde was not happy about the prospect.

They all knew it would be his task and neither of the younger Weiss envied it. Ran was quickly becoming their friend, with his warm and friendly, if shy attitude towards people. What he was about to learn could very well shatter that innocence he carried, that lured Youji to him. There had been nothing like it in him or, as far as he knew, in Aya for years now.

Now this delicate, fragile creature was to find out he was a highly trained assassin, just like the three other man he lived and daily worked with.

"When are you going to do this, Youji-kun?"

"The faster the better I guess." He got up and muttered under his breath, "Clean wounds heal the fastest."

"What did Manx want?" they heard the voice from the door and noticed Ran entering the room. His steps were noiseless, even on the creaking floor.

"How do you know she was here, Ran-kun?" Omi looked at their ex-leader in interest.

"I heard her."

Youji paled then. So did the others.

"What did she want then?" the question was repeated in a neutral, curious tone.

"To check up on us. And to warn us, that we may not be entirely safe even here."

The hypnotic violet eyes, the blonde playboy noticed as he found himself on the receiving end of a glare, had lost nothing of their piercing strength. Ran nodded then, just once, but the stiffness of his moves showed clearly, that he did not believe them.

"Ran…" Youji sighed heavily.

hope you enjoyed it. Review if you did! I live on reviews and coffee!