Happy Thanksgiving! Here's Chapter 7!

Closed eyes revealed a summery scene, sakura petals falling as gently and as plentifully as snow. Night was falling, but their beauty did not fade. The scene before him was and would forever be engraved in his heart.

M7: Unison

Omi was sitting on the bed with his chin on his knees. He was hugging himself tightly and he was crying. He had come in about ten minutes ago saying that he wanted to talk, but he hadn't said a single word since. Aya was more than worried, but he was afraid to get too close to Omi. He would never forgive himself for raising his hand to Omi, and the memory of it was still fresh in his mind.

Omi lifted his head and sniffed, facing Aya's window. Aya folded his arms tighter against his chest as he leaned against the door waiting for Omi to start talking. Aya knew that he'd forgiven him for having hurt him, but just as Omi still regretted having hurt Ken, Aya still held regret. At least Omi had an excuse. Aya had no reason to have lashed out at Omi as he did.

Omi was certainly weak and vulnerable now. He was tired often, and moody. At times, he barely knew what thoughts were his own. Aya wished there was something he could do for Omi, but he couldn't do it through Omi. As if Omi had been bitten by a vampire, the only thing for Aya to do was to take down the head vampire. The only thing left for him was to kill Schuldig and end Weiß' suffering.

Omi's sniffling brought him from his thoughts. Aya took in a deep breath. He was glad that Omi was home and was okay. He had thought earlier that he was sneaking out, but he was glad to see him in his pajamas. He had probably gotten something to eat from the kitchen. He wasn't thinking of leaving Weiß, Aya assured himself. Some kid couldn't come between them and disrupt their bond. Until he decided to approach his little sister, Aya, these three were the only family he had and he wasn't going to lose them to Schwarz.

Omi lowered his legs and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He looked over to Aya. He looked like a child who'd lost his puppy and just discovered it wasn't ever coming back. Aya's arms tightened again as he straightened out his body on the door. Maybe Omi would find it easier to talk if Aya was closer.

Aya walked over to the bed and sat down on the other end of it. Omi was watching him expectantly; did he think that Aya was going to be the one to talk first? Aya lifted his face towards the ceiling. There were things he wanted to discuss with Omi. They were alone now, and supposed to be talking. But Omi was the one who came to Aya, so then, should Aya let him lead in conversation when he was ready? Omi's tears had subsided, but his lips were pouting and he was picking at the cuticles of his thumbs with his pointer fingers.

"Omi?" Omi looked at him quickly.

"Yes, Aya?"

"What…did you want to talk about?" Omi's fingers stopped moving. He raised one hand and chewed on his thumbnail.

"Will you tell me…about what happened that day?" he asked. Aya's eyes narrowed. Why was he bringing that up again? Was he trying to get Aya on the defensive for some reason?

"Why?" Aya asked. "Haven't you convinced yourself that I betrayed you and let you fall into the hands of Schwarz?" Omi's eyes saddened. Aya wouldn't take back his assessment. Omi had been throwing it in his face so much that he was irritable beyond words about it.

"No, Aya… I haven't. I had this dream…and in my dream you saved me." Omi proceeded to tell Aya what he had told Yohji in the same detail. Aya's defensive demeanor melted away as he realized that what Omi was recounting was not just a dream. It was a memory, the exact memory of the day they'd lost him. Omi was giving him what he needed desperately. Verification. Validation. Forgiveness. Aya's hands were clenched tightly. He stared at Omi, thankful that he knew, thankful that he could remember. Aya had been so afraid that Omi would never remember and would never believe him when he told him he'd tried to save him.

"Omi…" he murmured. "I…I don't know what to say…"

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to…" Omi said. "I…was really out of line when I tried to make you out to be the bad guy…" Omi pushed his hair back and kept his hands behind his head. "I…never had a dream like that one before…" Omi said. "I mean…I had started crying in my dream… It's because…it felt so real. It felt as if…I'd really lived through that with you and I was so sorry. It wasn't anything like my other dreams."

"Your other dreams?" Aya asked. Omi nodded.

"Yeah…" he said and he looked sullen. "In my other dreams…everything doesn't seem right. I mean…sometimes you have a dream and it means nothing to you, or it scares you or it makes you think about stuff, but these dreams… Something just doesn't seem right."

"I don't understand."

"I don't feel like…they are my dreams. I feel like…somehow when I'm sleeping, I'm dreaming someone else's dreams." Aya didn't know what that felt like. He turned to Omi slightly, wanting more of an explanation.

"What happens, exactly?"

"All these weird things… They feel like memories and experiences that I never went through, but it's me that's going through them…" Omi shook his head.

"You mean…your experiences with Schwarz."

"I don't know."

"How could you not know?"

"Well, I mean… It's not like I can see any faces or anything…" Omi said. "It's like…I'm doing stuff around the factory and everything else is sort of blurry. When people talk to me, their voices are slowed and muffled… Nothing seems right…and I wake up feeling sluggish and lost. That's…why I don't sleep much anymore. I don't want to have those dreams anymore." Aya reached up and touched his shoulder.

"You mentioned a factory? What does that mean to you?" Omi looked ahead as if he was concentrating very hard on something.

"The factory…is where I work in my dreams."

"What do you do?"

"I don't know…it's blurry. I work with my hands… I think with a computer, but sometimes, I'm positive it's not a computer. Sometimes, I just make really odd motions." Omi raised his arms and starting moving his hands one as if he was storing something and the other as if he was stamping something. "I feel like I'm on a production line in a factory. Everything is sort of sterile and metallic and dark." Omi lowered his hands slowly. "But last night…that was the first time I had a dream and felt like I was really there. I felt like…I was really with you and in the water… I felt real fear and sadness…"

"This…is good, Omi. It may mean that you are regaining more and more of yourself… I think…it's best to keep you here, where they won't be able to affect you. The least contact you have with them, the better it is for you."

"I…I understand…" Omi said. Aya watched him carefully. Why did he look so defeated? Did it hurt him to hear that he wouldn't be able to have contact with his captors? Aya turned to him further, pushing Omi back slightly by the shoulder so that he would turn to Aya, also.

"What is it?" he asked. "You sound down about that."

"No, I'm not," Omi said, and he was clearly lying. Aya tried to keep his eyes from narrowing, but he couldn't help it. He absolutely hated being lied to.

"You're…still thinking about meeting him, aren't you…?" he asked. Omi's hesitation to answer was all Aya needed. Aya stood up and paced the room. Omi watched him, and he looked to be preparing himself mentally for a scolding. Aya wouldn't scold him. He had lost his temper the last time he'd done that, so he wouldn't take that route again. He stopped by his window and stared out into the darkness of the night. There was only so much he could do to protect Omi. Only so much he could protect him from. Omi had to decide for himself what he wanted. He had to make the conscious decision to keep away from Schwarz so that he could have a fighting chance at staving off their evil influences. If not, he would continue to knowingly and willingly put himself and the members Weiß in danger.

Aya gently stroked the petals of the nearest flowers and tried to calm his nerves. He thought through carefully how he would tell Omi how he felt about the situation. Even with the bad influences, Omi had still maintained his intelligence. He would understand if Aya told him, and he would make a decision one way or the other.

"O—"

"I've always admired you, Aya…" Omi said quietly. He was crying again; Aya could tell from the sound of his voice. Aya stiffened and waited for what Omi would say. "I've always admired you… From the first time I met you, you were always…so interesting to me. I didn't care how much you scowled and snapped at us, I didn't care about any of that. Because…once I had my first mission with you, I knew that we were friends and that we would always be friends. You have to know that…all this crap that's happened… It wasn't me, Aya… I would never hurt you and you would never hurt me. I would never hurt Ken… Oh…God… Even when I see that in my dreams I can just hear myself screaming at myself to stop… It's…so terrible… Your body moves on its own accord and there's nothing you can do… It's the most terrible feeling I've ever had…"

"Then you realize what you have to do…" Aya said, starting cautiously. Omi was reawakening now. Rediscovering himself. He was on a rocky edge, teetering; trying to decide to plunge into self realization, or to fall back into the safety of the false security Schwarz had given him. Pushing him too soon would do more harm than good. "You realize that even if you and Nagi are genuine friends, Schuldig will interfere and cause you pain."

"Oh…God…" Omi started crying, but his sobs were muffled. Aya closed his eyes. He was so fed up with Omi crying. He cried too much. He cried too much for one person, it wasn't healthy. All the stresses in his life. All the heartache and pain. It wouldn't end for Omi. Aya couldn't end it for Omi. He could never cheer Omi up completely, no matter what he did. No matter how much he wanted to. He never wanted Omi to have to cry again. He never wanted him to feel so lost and helpless that he could do nothing but cry.

Aya lifted from the window and turned to Omi. Omi had his face buried in his hands and he was wailing. Aya walked over to him and kneeled in front of him. He forced his hands from his face and followed it when Omi tried to look away. Omi squirmed, but Aya held him in place. He looked at him with the calmest, most sympathetic expression he could muster. He found it wasn't so hard. The sight of Omi falling apart that way had already invoked those feelings in him.

"Omi, look at me…" he said. "Look at me, Omi. It's okay." Omi sniffed heavily and looked down at Aya, his face puffy, wet and red. His lips were pouting and quivering and he was trying hard to stop his tears from flowing. "I can be…" Aya swallowed hard and loosened his grip. His voice. Why was it breaking? "I can be Nagi for you, Omi… I can be…your best friend. You don't have to look elsewhere. Let me be the shoulder for you to cry on, Omi…" Omi was staring at him, partly in disbelief and partly in hesitant appreciation. Aya accepted it. He wasn't the type to say or do these things. But somehow, it felt natural. He wasn't lying, and he wanted Omi to understand that. He squeezed Omi's hands and nodded, hoping Omi could see his sincerity.

"Aya-kun…" Omi gasped.

"I'm going to be here for you." Aya said.

"Aya-kun!" Omi came forward off of the bed and into Aya's arms after letting free his hands. Aya clasped his arms around him and patted him on the back. Omi was crying again; Aya would let him. He would let him cry until he couldn't anymore. He would let him cry until it was no longer part of his everyday. Omi rested of all his weight into Aya and Aya held him easily. One day, someday soon, all would be right in the house of Weiß, Aya was sure of it. Once Schwarz was rid of, and once Omi was freed. Everything would be all right.

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kaj