I'm a sappy author. I'm not good at writing villians. I hate it when evil things happen; it always makes my stomach hurt whether I'm reading or writing. However, I have to face my fears. This story may start to get a little...dark. There will be some strange twists and lots of cliffhangers. Yeah... Please don't hate me.

One never knows the power of their words until it is too late. Past utterances, time passes and life goes on, but for some, everything seems to cease. For one, life halted. For one, time completely stopped. A new chapter of fate was written and he would soon learn the power of rejection.

M10: Appearance

Omi sat face up in his bed thinking. Lately, things had been looking up for him. The best thing was that he got to talk to Yohji about his feelings. The also best thing was that he and Ken had become closer after having attended Ken's ceremony together. Another best thing was that Aya was really opening up to him. The bestest thing was that Schwarz, with the exception of Nagi, hadn't bothered them since that night by the bridge. But, the best bestest thing? Well, that was a little beagle puppy named Pomme De Terre.

Pomme was frisky, friendly and absolutely adored Omi. He was small and brown and white with dark brown spots here and there. He had cute floppy ears, a nice soft coat and beady little eyes. He was currently balanced on Omi's stomach and was sniffing at him and panting with excitement. Omi rubbed him on the underside of his snout and sniffed back at him.

There was a knock on the door, and Omi knew from listening that it was Ken. Pomme leapt to the floor and slid as he tried to get his footing. The shiny vinyl tile wasn't the best surface for a playful dog to walk on. Omi got up and opened the door.

"Hey, Ken," he said. Pomme was already at Ken's feet sniffing with excitement. Ken reached down and petted him.

"Hey, little fella."

"Come in, Ken," Omi said, stepping back for Ken to come inside the room. "What's the matter? Can't sleep?"

"Haven't tried." Ken walked in and closed the door. "How about you?" he asked. Omi shrugged.

"I'm not in the mood," he said. "Pomme-chan and I are having too much fun, isn't that right?" Pomme was wagging his tail excitedly. Ken nodded.

"Can we talk, Omi?"

"Sure." Ken went over to Omi's computer and wheeled the chair towards the bed. Omi sat on his bed and turned to face him. "What's on your mind?" As Ken sat, Pomme got on his hind legs and put his palms on Ken's knees. Ken picked him up and sat him on his lap partly within his arms.

"I'm a little scared, Omi," Ken said.

"Of what? The spiders?" Ken chuckled a little. They did have a problem with spiders, and Ken had been heard more than once screaming at their presence and begging Aya to kill them for him. Of all the insects in existence, Ken only feared spiders. Omi had no idea why they freaked Ken out so much, but that was just how it was.

"No…not the spiders…" Ken said.

"Of what, then, Ken-kun."

"Of life itself…" Omi nodded and watched Ken closely. Ken stroked Pomme along his back and Pomme panted as he looked around the room.

"I don't think that you should be scared, Ken," Omi said. "You're one of the strongest people I know. You can protect yourself."

"I know…" Ken said. "But have you ever thought about what…lies ahead of us if we don't start accepting missions."

"We want missions," Omi said. "It's just that we haven't finished our last one yet. Once we do that, then things will be back to normal."

"I still worry. What's left for us in the world if we really did stop taking missions?"

"We could still be together," Omi said. "Definitely. It's not just the label of Weiß that binds us now. I mean…all this time we've been friends and we used to run the flower shop together and everything. I think that…even if you guys wanted to quit Weiß, we could still be friends and hang out just like we do now. I don't mind it here. It's nice and quiet here. And with Schwarz out of the picture, we won't be in any danger."

"So…you'd just want to go on living together like this?"

"You guys are…all I remember, Ken. Sometimes…I'm scared of life, too. I…can't imagine what life would be like for me without you guys. I mean…Growing up at headquarters was so miserable. I was so happy to be able to move into the apartments with you guys and work with you. I…I always stop myself from thinking about life without you."

"What about when you get older?" Ken asked. "Won't you want to move on and do other things…?"

"Like what?"

"Like…all the things people do. Get married and have children. Buy a house, things like that." Omi made a disagreeable face.

"Nuh-uh," he said. "I don't want to do those things. You do, Ken?"

"Some day." Omi became sad, but it was something he had to face. He couldn't keep Ken and Aya and Yohji the way he could keep Pomme. He didn't own them; they could do what they wanted. After Weiß, they could do what they wanted, whether or not it involved Omi. And if they moved on, that meant that Omi would have to move on, too. Omi chewed on his lower lip. Ken looked around the room, his eyes falling on Omi's computer. "Will he let you get on the internet?" he asked. After Aya had caught Omi talking with Nagi, he'd stripped him of his internet privileges, but after Aya and Omi became best friends, Aya lifted the restriction. Omi nodded at Ken.

"Yeah," he said. "Aya trusts me now. We're the best of friends now." Ken smirked at him.

"Yeah, I've noticed. You're tagging along with him a lot lately."

"I'm not tagging along," Omi said defensively. "We're hanging out together."

"Oh, I see…" Ken looked down at Pomme. He looked like he was trying to get to sleep. Omi reached and took him from Ken. The tiny beagle barely moved as Omi placed him in the dog bed at his feet. Listlessly, Pomme looked between them as if he wanted to stay awake, but his eyes were dropping. Omi rubbed his head and he seemed to fall asleep in that instant. Omi chuckled at him.

"That was fast," Ken said. "He was just up with us."

"He's had a long day. We ran around the block and sang and danced together today. They say beagles have to get out a lot."

"Omi?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you sing and dance with a dog?" Omi smiled and shrugged.

"That's just how it was. Little Pomme was dancing and making noises to the music. We had a lot of fun."

"I'm glad, Omi." Omi looked at him.

"About what?"

"That you're happy and smiling again." Omi poked himself in the cheek and grinned. Ken chuckled at him. "I think my friend has a crush on you…" he said. Omi's smile faded and he leaned in closer to him.

"Is it the one that kept asking me all those questions? Araki-kun?" Ken nodded. Omi waved his hand. "He doesn't have a crush on me."

"How do you know?"

"I just know." Ken scratched his temple.

"I don't know… He's always talking and asking about you lately." Omi pulled his legs under him.

"We talked at the ceremony. He didn't seem interested in me like that," Omi said. "And besides…I don't know. He's not my type."

"You…have a type?" Ken asked. He twisted his lips in question. "What…like that Nagi guy?"

"No," Omi said. "Let's just say that Nagi was my friend. I like…I don't know. Tall guys." Ken nodded. "Do you think I'm strange?"

"Why would I think you're strange…?" Ken asked.

"I don't know… Maybe it's because I likes guys…"

"I know guys that like guys," Ken said. "It's cool, I guess." Omi picked at his cuticles.

"It feels weird."

"What does?"

"Liking guys. Maybe…it's better to just find a woman and have children with her, but…I don't know. Girls make really good friends, but…I don't know. They're like…I don't know. It feels weird."

"Liking girls feels weird, too," Ken said. "It's just how it is, I guess." Omi bit at the skin flaking away from his nail.

"Do you have any friends that are girls?" he asked. Ken shook his head.

"No, not really."

"Well, how about a girlfriend?"

"I think if I had a girlfriend, you guys would know."

"Don't you ever get lonely, Ken-kun?" Ken nodded.

"Sure, but…it's not so bad that I feel like I have to run out and find someone right this instant. If I want to hang out, I'll ask you guys or the fellas at work." Omi nodded.

"Maybe you should still think about getting a pet. I haven't felt lonely or scared since I got this little guy." Pomme was completely conked out by that time. Omi smiled at him. "I love him. I think he loves me, too."

"Sure he does. You're his best pal now, after all. You bathe him and pet him and talk to him and dance with him. Feed him and take him for his walks. He probably loves you to death, Oms." Omi looked at Ken quickly.

"You haven't called me that in a long time," he said, chuckling a little. "What is that anyway?"

"What's a Ken-Ken?" Ken asked.

"You…" Omi said.

"Well, then, ditto," Ken said. Omi wanted to laugh, but he yawned instead. He was starting to feel tired just sitting there. "Ready for bed, now?" Ken asked. Omi nodded through his yawn.

"Don't know why…" he said as he exhaled. "All of a sudden I got sleepy." Ken stood and stretched.

"All right," he said. "Bedtime for me, then, too." Omi watched him return the chair to the desk.

Clank!

Omi and Ken jumped a little at the unexpected sound at the window, Omi hitting his head as he did. Ken looked over to him as he rubbed his head.

"Itai…" he said.

"You okay?" Omi nodded.

"Uh-huh. What was that?" Ken shook his head.

"I don't know… It came from outside." Omi got up and moved silently towards the window. He pushed the TV stand over and away from in front of the window. He pulled up the shades, unlocked the window, and then opened it. He lifted the screen and looked out.

"What on earth…?" he murmured. Ken went over to him. The window opening was too small for them both to fit through so Ken leaned over him. It was impossible to see much through the darkness.

"What is it?" Ken asked.

"Nothing… I think."

"Let me look." Omi moved so that Ken could take a look. "That's odd," he said, but then he noticed the tree branches swaying near the house. "It's probably just a branch or something." Ken came back into the room and closed the window.

"Probably," Omi said. He took off the shirt to his pajamas to sleep in his white t-shirt. "I'm going to bed now," he said. He crossed the room to his bed and sat down.

"Okay, Omi," Ken said, walking over to the door. "We can talk about other things soon, okay?" Omi nodded.

"Yeah." Omi laid down and pulled the sheets over his shoulder. "Good night."

"Sweet dreams." Ken flipped out the light and left. Omi reached down and stroked Pomme gently.

"Night, Pomme-chan…" he murmured. He closed his eyes and fell asleep that way.

Creak. Creak. Creak. Omi frowned and curled up under the covers a little more. What was that noise? He turned over onto his back and faced the sloping ceiling. Everything was dark and his exhaustion made it hard to move and think about things. The creaking noise stopped, but then Omi heard Pomme shuffling in his bed.

"Pomme-chan?"

"Omi?" a new voice asked. Startled, Omi lifted from the bed quickly and hit his head on the sloped ceiling again.

"Ite'!" he whispered sharply and he felt the depression of the bed near him.

"Careful, Omi," the voice reassured, and Omi felt arms around him.

"Na—Nagi?" Omi asked carefully. Nagi nodded.

"It's me, Omi…" Omi swallowed hard and felt his heartbeat quicken.

"What…what are you doing here, Nagi?" he asked. Nagi pulled back slowly and stroked Omi's hair. Omi's eyebrows lowered.

"I want you to come away with me, Omi…" Nagi said quietly. Omi shook his head, backing up a little.

"Nagi…"

"Will you? Schuldig and Crawford…everyday, they make me so crazy, Omi… Please, tell me you'll come with me."

"I told you before I can't do that, Nagi… I can't leave."

"Why? Omi, it's okay. You don't have to worry. You and I, we'll be all right. We don't have to do this dirty work anymore; it can just be me and you."

"But…I'm happy here, Nagi. How…how did you get in here? How did you know how to find me?" Nagi didn't respond right away.

"I followed you…home that day…"

"Nagi…"

"Omi…?"

"Nagi, I don't know what happened in the past, but right now I know I'm a member of Weiß. It's my duty to hunt you."

"You wouldn't…" Nagi said. He took Omi's hands in his. "You wouldn't. You're supposed to come away with me, Omi. You're supposed to be with me."

"Nagi…" Omi said, shaking his head. He hadn't the slightest clue what Nagi could be thinking. "Nagi, I can't do something like that. I know that we used to be friends, but—"

"We weren't just friends," Nagi said. His hold on Omi tightened. "We weren't. You and I…are supposed to be together, Omi. You told me you wanted to go away with me." Omi pulled his hands away from Nagi.

"I don't know what happened, Nagi," he said with great irritancy. "But if you don't stop and get out of here, I'll have to hunt you." Nagi stood up from the bed.

"You…really don't remember…?" he asked, disbelieving. "You just…forgot about me? I waited all this time… I came all this way… And you're just sitting there feigning ignorance, telling me you're going to hunt me. Like I'm some kind of dog." Pomme barked from down below and Omi saw Nagi look down at him. Omi felt like something bad was going to happen. He quickly reached down to pick up Pomme, but as he grasped the small puppy, he felt him slip from his hands.

"Nagi…?" Omi gasped. Pomme made a noise of discomfort. The light flicked on and Nagi stood before him, tightly gripping Pomme by the back of the neck. "Stop it!" Omi went to attack him when he felt an immense pressure hold him down on the bed.

"Do you remember?" Nagi asked, tightening his grip.

"Nagi, don't!"

"I'll crush him," Nagi said, shaking Pomme like he was a doll. "I'll crush him, Omi. Do you remember what you promised me?"

"Nagi…please." Nagi squeezed harder and Pomme yelped in pain. Omi fought harder against the pressure that was holding him down and was almost able to stand. Then Nagi scowled at him and the pressure against Omi was so great, it forced the air from his lungs.

"I'm sick of people walking over me," Nagi said. "All of my life, I've had to deal with it. I exist. I matter, Omi. You promised me that you would never hurt me, Omi!"

"I remember," Omi gasped, lying for the sake of living. The pressure eased slightly and he gasped in air.

"Do you?" Nagi asked, sounding as if he didn't believe him.

"People…picked on you when you were younger…" Omi said. "And it hurt you… I…I was sad and I didn't want you to hurt anymore." The pressure eased and Nagi loosened his grip on Pomme. "I don't want you to be mad. When I was with you…I had forgotten about Weiß but that doesn't mean that I don't like those guys…"

"So then…you'll come away with me, Omi?" Nagi asked. Omi could breathe but Pomme looked in distress. Omi took in a sharp breath and nodded. Nagi relaxed, bent and set Pomme on the floor. He walked the few steps over to Omi and cupped his chin in his hand. He leaned close to him and kissed him softly on the side of the lips. Omi felt tears gather in his eyes.

"Come with me, Omi."

Please review,

kaj