A caustic and bitter turn had been taken and it seemed like no way out. However, hope was not lost. There is always light at the end of even the darkest tunnel.

M14: Repugnance

Omi had meant to sleep through the night, but as soon as he felt someone near him, he awakened. He remained just as he was, pretending to still be asleep. He could hear clothes rustling. Nagi was undressing. Omi wanted to curl into himself, but he didn't. He continued to feign unconsciousness. Nagi walked across the room to the dresser and Omi heard more clothes being moved around. Then, the footsteps approached the bed. Nagi kneeled next to his back and placed his hands on his shoulder.

"Are you unable to sleep?" he asked. How did he know Omi was awake? Omi wasn't about to get him angry over pretending further, so he acknowledged him by turning on his back to look at him.

"I was asleep until you came in," he admitted. Nagi ran his fingers along his face very gently.

"I'm glad that you're awake now, Omi…" Nagi said. "This way, we can be together without me feeling as if I'm intruding on you." Omi tensed. He wasn't serious, was he? How un-intrusive did he think kidnapping was? For crying out loud…

"You hurt me," Omi said, sitting up. "And you hurt Pomme, too."

"I didn't do anything to Pomme that a mother wouldn't do to her own puppy," Nagi said. How delirious was Nagi, to think a mother choked her own puppies that way? "Now, don't be upset, my love. We're here together now…you and I…" Nagi let his hand fall to Omi's lap and he squeezed his inner thigh. Omi didn't feel well. He was tired and his muscles were sore. Pomme was going without him after having been hurt and all that Nagi could think about was…God knows what was on his mind.

Omi put his hands to his face and started to cry. Nagi pulled away from him. Then suddenly, he got up from the bed. He backed away a few steps; what was he up to? Would he let Omi express his frustrations in peace? Omi heard him come nearer. He grabbed one of Omi's wrists and wrenched it forcefully from his face. Omi gasped in pain and reached to stop him. Nagi let him go. Not a second later, a sharp pain shot through his thigh down to his toes and he cried out.

"Nagi…?" he gasped.

"Will you stop?" Nagi asked. Omi saw it and heard it. There was an electric blue light and a dim, humming noise coming from Nagi's hand.

"Nagi…" Omi sniffed. "What are you—?" Nagi shocked him again. Omi groaned and squirmed away from him, but that only served to corner him in as Nagi inched closer.

"Don't cry, my love. I used to vent through tears, too. But I learned that…tears are only a nuisance. So I won't have you showing this sort of weakness to me. If you cry…" Nagi raised the stun gun, "…I'll just have to make you strong enough to withstand pain…like I am able to…" He motioned his hand forward and Omi cringed.

"Don't!" he pleaded. "I'll stop… Nagi. I'll stop."

"Will you?"

"Yes, Nagi, please. Just put that thing away." Nagi sat back and turned it off. Omi watched as he walked towards where he'd gotten it from. There was no way that that was normal. Stun guns had chargers, but even when charged, they ran out of juice quickly. Had he had the gun charging since he'd last been at the shop? Why would he need to? Had he planned to use it on one of the girls? Or just on Omi?

Omi was frightened and he had to use the bathroom, but he was afraid to let Nagi know. He would probably turn it against him somehow and Omi didn't want to deal with that. He didn't want to be shocked again. Nagi returned to the bed and quickly enveloped Omi in his arms. Omi's nausea was returning; he didn't want to deal with Nagi's advances. But he had pulled a stun gun on him when all he did was cry. What would he do if he threw up? Nagi kissed him lightly on the chin.

"You're shaking…" he whispered. "Did I use too much power, Omi, dear? Well…" He stroked Omi's hair slowly. "That's just going to have to do until you learn to be strong, love." He chuckled playfully and kissed Omi with force on the cheek. "Why don't we just sleep now? It's probably best that you get adjusted to your new home." Omi nodded. If he could just survive the night, he would be able to figure a way out in the morning. Surely Aya or Sakura had something in the apartments that he could use to tell his friends where he was. Omi settled nervously next to Nagi, who clamped him tightly in his arms. Every time Omi moved, Nagi gripped him and raised his head as if to make sure he wasn't trying to leave. Omi stilled himself and waited for Nagi to doze off before he even tried to.

Weiß House

"Aya…?" Aya-chan was standing at the kitchen sink rinsing off two cups for coffee and Ran was standing at the doorway watching her.

"Nagi won't hurt him…" Aya said as she approached the coffee maker. "You can relax, Ran…"

"It's not that…" Ran said, approaching her. "What is that…in your ear?" Aya reached up and touched along her hearing aid.

"Oh, that…?" she asked. "After the incident with Eszett, I was hospitalized again for monitoring."

"Yes, I know," Ran said. Of course he would know of her whereabouts. Aya began to pour them some coffee.

"As it turns out…my senses…started to fail me and I had to go through some rehabilitation. It was unnatural for me to have come out of my coma the way I had, and the doctors said that I should expect for even more functions to fail. I still don't understand why. All I know is that…I have to make-do in life only being able to see and touch things 100." Aya turned to him with a mug. "Those were the only two senses that have not been affected by my coma." Ran didn't want coffee, but he took the mug anyway. He stared at his sister as she took her cup to the table. She was taller now, and still slender. Her hair was several inches longer and her features were starting to sharpen. He walked over to her and sat across from her, right by the window. Aya blew gently on her coffee and took a brief sip. Just that little bit seemed to relax her. She looked up at Ran and smiled.

"It's strong," she said. "Even though I can't taste it or smell it…I can still tell that it's strong…"

"I…I am really angry right now…" Ran said, gripping his cup. "But I'm still glad. You're alive…you're walking around and talking to me. You have a strong will and you're still such an intelligent young woman…" He looked into the coffee cup. "You could have died, Aya…" he muttered. "You could have… I could have lost you forever."

"I know…" Aya said. "I thought about that every day in rehab. I'm all right. Being a little hard of hearing is not such a big deal. And Sakura-chan… Sakura-chan is my nose for me."

"She can't be involved with them, too."

"Oh, no…" Aya said, shaking her head. "Sakura…knows a lot about you all from her experiences, but she's not working for Kritiker, so don't worry Ran-chan." Ran rubbed his eyebrow and lowered his head. "You're worrying," Aya said.

"It's hard not to worry…" Ran said. He looked up at his little sister. She reminded him of their father. Ran rubbed his hand along his chin. Aya gave a heavy sigh.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"This is…just too much to take in one night, Aya…" Ran said. He picked up the coffee and gulped some down. The warm liquid settled quickly in his stomach and he felt his shoulders relax. "Ken…and Yohji should be back soon. Then we can plan on how to go get Omi and Sakura." Aya nodded.

"It would be best if I stayed with her while you all get Omi," Aya said. Ran's eyebrows pinched.

"No," he said. "I…I can only wish now that you'd brought Sakura here with you. Omi can protect himself somewhat against Nagi, but Sakura would be completely helpless. You…you would be in danger."

"How do you expect to be able to get close to Nagi without me?" Aya said. "This is a delicate operation, we can't just rush things now."

"What are you saying, Aya? You know how I feel about this situation. You can't think that I'm going to let you stay involved."

"The decision is not up to you."

"You've done what you could thus far, Aya," Ran said. "The point is to take down Schwarz from the inside and then our job is to assassinate them. You've done what you can regarding Nagi, Aya, and I doubt he'll live to see the sun rise. There's no need for you to go."

"Kri…" Aya swallowed hard. "Kritiker has these…special cells that they can…um…contain criminals with special powers in…" she said. "So…when…when it all boils down, Ran-chan…I don't think you'll have to shed blood." Ran closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.

"Aya…there's so much in life that…you probably don't understand," he said. "But we can't let these men walk away from this in any stretch of the phrase." Aya tugged her shawl across her body.

"Hm…" she said. Ran sat back and folded his arms.

"When all of this is over… Perhaps we should just…stop all of this already," he said. "But these men…these men that I work with…they aren't… They can't see themselves as anything else. They will never see themselves as worth more than the killers they hunt and Aya… Aya, your brother is the same way."

"And what of repentance?" Aya murmured.

"Do you think that Schwarz could repent for their sins, Aya?" Ran's voice was heavy. Aya looked to her brother. He was frowning intensely, his brows furrowed in deep thought. He shook his head. "If there is no forgiveness for this sin…then we must bear the weight of our digressions." Aya pushed the chair back and stood. She walked over to the entrance of the living room and leaned against the frame facing away from Ran.

"I love you…" she said quietly. "Do you know that?" Ran watched her as she stood there, wondering what she was feeling.

"I do." Aya raised a hand to her face and was still and quiet for a very long time. Ran drank his coffee, trying to calm his nerves. He wanted to hug her and tell her everything was all right. However, nothing was all right at the moment. Nothing would be all right until after the men of Schwarz were dead. He rubbed his temple and thought about what he could say or do to make Aya stop crying.

Everyone was always crying around him. It was him that had made her cry. It was him that had made Omi cry the last time they'd had a serious talk. He laid his fingers flat on the table and studied them, and he thought about sakura petals raining down on him. He closed his eyes. He wanted her to stop crying. He couldn't hear it, but he could sense it. Hugging her would probably only make her cry harder. Then what could he do? The petals were falling heavier now; his shoulders sunk in relaxation. Then he realized what he needed to do. He needed to do the same thing he'd done with Omi. He had to tell her what it was that she needed to hear most.

Ran stood up from the table and approached her. She lowered her hand and turned her face towards his bedroom as if she didn't want him to find out that she was crying. But he already knew. Ran set his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back into his arms. He wrapped them around her and held her tightly. He rocked her and closed his eyes tight.

"You are my baby sister," he told her, "and you are the dearest thing in this world to me. I love you, Aya, with all of my heart and nothing will ever change the love I have for you. I miss them….just as much as you, Aya. I want to see them again, just the same as you. If you truly believe that I can repent, then I will do everything in my power to atone for my sins." Aya's body was shaking. Ran let her go and she turned and hugged him tightly, her face buried in his chest. And she cried. Harsh, intense sobs. Her hold on Ran never wavered, so he clung to her with as much force.

After a short while, they retreated to the living room. Aya had dried her eyes, but she still sat sniffling and tightly clenching her hands. Ran sat with his elbows on his knees with his hands clasped also. His chin rested on his fingers and he watched Aya intently. She went to the kitchen and made herself a fresh cup of coffee. When she returned, she sat back and relaxed. Ran kept an eye on her as she finished her coffee, not knowing why he felt that if he looked away from her, she would disappear from him.

Another hour passed with no word from anyone. Aya's eyes were drooping and she was fighting to stay awake. Ran stood and called Ken and Yohji. Neither of them answered. Concerned, he let the receiver down and turned to his sister. She was falling asleep sitting up. He walked over to her and gently shook her shoulder. She gave a shudder and a gasp and Ran couldn't help but smile at her.

"Aya, I think it's best if you try and get some sleep," he said. "Okay?" Aya made a pained face; she wanted to argue, but she knew she had no ground. Ran helped her up from the couch and walked her to his room. He opened the door, and heard rustling from near the foot of his bed.

"What's that?" Aya gasped, grabbing onto him quickly.

"Omi…" Ran said sheepishly. "I forgot to feed him."

Thanks for reading and please review,

kaj