Outside of the usual interruptions, everything seemed fine. He tried to assure himself that nothing was out of the ordinary. Could his plan go through without a hitch? It seemed unlikely with the goings on as of late, but there was a chance that Lady Luck would smile down on him.
M16: Declaration
"Aya-chan?" Aya felt a prickling sensation crawl along her spine as she noticed that Nagi was up and waiting for her. He was sitting at the table where they wrapped flowers with his hands clasped in front of him. Aya urged herself to remain calm as she closed the door to the Koneko behind her.
"Nagi," she said in greeting. Nagi's eyes followed her as she started across the room.
"Where have you been, Aya?" Nagi asked and Aya stopped. "I needed you today."
"You…needed me?" Aya asked. She shifted the bag and tried to look him in the eye. "I'm sorry I wasn't here. What happened?"
"Omi…Omi got this strange idea into his head that he's somehow allowed to use the computer in your room."
"He did that?" Aya asked. Nagi nodded slowly.
"It's too bad that he did, but luckily for us, Aya, he was only just able to hack into it when I found him."
"Where…where is he now?"
"I want you to tell me where you were first, Aya. It would have helped if you were here to help me discipline him. Sakura was kind enough to lend a hand in your absence, though." Aya swallowed hard. "Well, Aya? Where were you?"
"Shopping."
"Shopping?" Nagi's eyes fell to the bag.
"We…don't have enough for four people here…"Aya said, lifting the grocery bag she held. "I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to go shopping to get things off of my mind and to…make sure we had enough to feed you two for today." Nagi stood up from the table, smiling at her with his hands held out.
"Well, now, that was thoughtful of you," he said as he approached. He hugged her. Aya closed her eyes and repressed a shudder.
"What…do you want for breakfast?" she asked.
"Well, let's see what you've bought." Aya nodded and brought the bag over to the table.
"How are the others?" she asked, concerned for Omi.
"I left Omi to shower, and Sakura-chan is making sure he doesn't do anything else dissatisfactory."
"Did you guys sleep well?"
"Well enough." Nagi sifted through the bag. "Waffle mix? This will do fine. Omi loves to make waffles. Hm… Sausage is good, too. Aya, can Omi make breakfast today instead?"
"Sure," Aya said. Nagi grabbed the bag and went towards the stairs. Aya followed him up to the apartments.
They wound up in the kitchen. Omi was at the table with a steaming cup of tea and a towel over his head. Sakura was still fixing the others' cups. She turned to them and smiled very faintly. Omi kept his eyes averted.
"Omi-chan," Nagi said. He dumped the bag onto the table and hugged Omi around the shoulders. Omi stiffened and didn't move. Nagi kissed him on the cheek. "Omi, will you cook today?" Omi nodded, hiding his face behind his hair and the towel.
"Mochiron, Nagi…" he said in a wavering voice. "I would love to." Nagi let him go slowly. Omi started to stand, but Nagi forced him to remain sitting by holding him down by his shoulders.
"Before you get started, Omi…" he said, "…there is the matter of what transpired this morning."
"I'm sorry, Nagi…" Omi said. "I…I won't do it again, I promise you."
"It's not enough that you snuck away from me to go find Aya, but you even tried to use her belongings. It hurts me deeply that you were so eager to leave my side, Omi. What was it that you wanted from Aya? What was it that you had to sneak away from me and into her room to get?" Omi shook his head.
"It wasn't…"
"Look at me when I'm talking to you, Omi." Omi raised his face slowly to Nagi. He looked as if he was trying hard not to cry. "I won't forgive you if you lie to me."
"I wasn't there for anything, Nagi, I swear." Nagi grabbed Omi by the front of his hair and tilted his head back with so much force, the chair rocked.
"I warned you," Nagi said calmly. Aya had been watching from the table, she and Sakura both too afraid to do anything. But they both became alarmed when the braid Aya had put her hair in to before she went to sleep at the Weiß house snaked quickly around her neck. She grabbed for it, but not before it wound tightly enough to completely cut off her air supply. Choking in panic, Aya slumped against the table and tried to pull her hair away. It only wound tighter. Sakura reached up to help her; Nagi shot her a glare that stilled her.
At that time, Omi tried to get up from the table. Nagi pulled him back by his hair and swiftly smacked him. Omi toppled over the chair and onto the floor. Aya turned from them and hurried to the dish drain. Her body numbing from lack of oxygen, she struggled to grab a knife from the utensil cup. She tightly gripped the handle and brought it up to cut her hair. Nagi came up quickly behind her and pushed her. The knife cut across her jaw and she let it go. Her heart was beating rapidly against her chest; her lungs were starting to burn. She turned around and saw Nagi glaring at her.
"Na…gi…" she gasped, her voice hoarse. Lightheaded, she fell back against the sink and then sunk to the floor.
"Nagi, please, she's turning blue!" Sakura exclaimed "Nagi!"
"Nagi, don't take it out on Aya!" Omi said. Aya looked up at Nagi, her eyesight blurring. She couldn't feel her finger tips; she could no longer grasp the braid. "Nagi!" Omi's voice was faint, as if he was far away. Nagi was still staring at her and Aya stared back. She stared until she could no longer focus on staring. Her mouth was open; her body was trying desperately to retrieve some air. She was shaking; her eyes were lidding. Something warm was oozing down her mouth and chin. Spots were dancing. There was a loud clanging in her head. The last thing she remembered was that it was all vaguely familiar to her. Somehow, she had a lingering sense that she had experienced this once before.
Ken's Hospital Room
When Ken came to, he was in a hospital room laid up in bed with an IV sticking from his arm and bandages about his body. He blinked down at himself, then up at the door. Yohji was standing there in his own clothes giving him the peace sign.
"Yo." Ken smiled and tried to lift himself, but he felt dizzy. "Hey hey, easy," Yohji said, hurrying over to him.
"Yohji…" Ken said, taking his hand as he stopped near his bed. "I'm glad you're okay. Why…am I so nauseous?"
"It's the anesthesia," Yohji said. "They had to put you under to get some icky things out of you." Ken nodded, blinking his eyes consciously.
"How come you're not laid up, Yohji?" Ken asked. Yohji chuckled.
"Would you rather I be?" he asked.
"No, no…" Ken said. "But you, uh… You got blowed up, too," he said. Yohji leaned on the metal railing of the bed and made a peculiar face.
"Neither of us got "blowed up" thanks to you, Ken," he said. "We really could've ate it tonight if you hadn't heard the ticking."
"Ticking, huh?"
"Yeah. Do you remember?" Ken looked up at the acoustical tile above him.
"No," he said.
"You don't?"
"No." Yohji stood up and squeezed his hand.
"You're not going to pull an Omi on us, are you, Ken?" he asked.
"Pull…an Omi?"
"You've got amnesia…" Yohji moaned. "Ken, please don't do this. Tell me you remember at least something that happened tonight." Ken smirked at him and then chuckled.
"Oh, I remember now…" he said and Yohji sighed his relief. "I'm in some trouble."
"Why do you say that?" Yohji asked.
"Which do you think is worse, Yohji…?" Ken said. "Nearly being molested by your worst enemy, nearly getting blown up and winding up in the hospital or being responsible for having Aya's car blown up…" Ken shook his head and looked helpless. "I need a new job."
"I think we all do at this rate," Yohji said. "But on the bright side, I think I managed to do your molester in. The news said they found a body and I can only think of one person that can be."
"Knock knock, may I come in?" a lighthearted voice asked from the door. Yohji blocked Ken's view of the door, but he recognized the voice.
"Eriko-san?" Ken asked.
"The very one," Eriko said. Ken got his first good look at the Good Samaritan who had been kind enough to ride with him to the hospital. He smiled at her. She was a homely looking woman probably in her late 30's with dark brown eyes and hair. She was dressed a house gown covered in a house coat that was passable for wearing out of doors. Ken let her take his other hand. She smiled at him and Yohji.
"I'm glad to see that you've woken up," she said. "Everyone was worried about you."
"Everyone?" Ken asked.
"Oh, the whole team," Eriko said. "You were probably so startled that you didn't recognize Jun. He's the older brother of Yutaka, one of the children on your team."
"Oh, Yamada-chan," Ken said, remembering who she was talking about. He was a snaggletooth tot who putted about the field with energy and drive unmatched by his somewhat older teammates. "So you're his mother?"
"Yes. I'm always so busy with work that I'm unable to get to and from the gym when Yutaka needs a ride, so Jun takes him."
"Yeah…" Ken said. "I know…I remember now."
"I'm glad. Yutaka is at a friend's, but they wanted to see you so Jun is on his way with them now." Ken smiled, and then felt a little concerned.
"Is it too early for them to be up?" he asked.
"Too early?" Eriko shook her head. "Visiting starts at 7 and its 7:10 now."
"Really?" Ken sat up quickly. He looked at Yohji. "Aya already knows, doesn't he?" he asked, dread settling over him. Yohji smirked at him.
"Yeah, he know," Yohji said. "But I wouldn't worry so much if I were you."
"Why not?"
"He was more worried about us than anything else. We can start giving him credit now."
"That's just because he doesn't know what happened to the car."
"Ken, it's all over the news. Everybody knows it went up in flames." Ken still looked apprehensive, but he laid back down because he was tired.
"Well, what are we going to do about Omi?"
"Who's this magical we?" Yohji asked. "The only thing you're going to do is catch some much needed shut eye, Ken."
"I just slept all night," Ken said. "And I'm worried about him."
"I talked with Aya. He hooked up with Aya-chan and she tells him that Omi's going to be all right." Ken had a million questions pop up from the short amount of information Yohji had given him, but he didn't want to go into a deep discussion about it with Eriko there. He looked over to her. She seemed interested in what they were talking about so Ken doubly decided not to say anything else. A few moments passed, then Eriko squeezed his hand.
"Are you hungry, Ken?" she asked. Ken nodded.
"Actually, I am," he said.
"I'll go talk to the nurse and see what they can do," she said. She turned and left the room.
"So…what will you and Aya do?" Ken asked.
"I'm going to meet with him back at the house soon," Yohji said. "Aya had wanted to go get Omi a few hours ago, but I called him and ruined all his plans. He had to let Aya-chan go back to the house to reduce suspicion on Nagi's part and so now, we've got to rescue all three of them."
"It sounds like so much trouble…" Ken said. "And what about that Crawford guy, what's he up to?"
"We don't know," Yohji said. "But I'm fairly certain that we only have him and Nagi on our hands now." Ken nodded.
"So, will I stay here, or are they going to transport me?"
"There are Kritiker agents stationed here and at Schwarz's hideout," Yohji said. "Aya-chan's keeping an eye on Nagi, so you're safe from him. We'll let you know once we hear from Crawford."
"Good," Ken said. He blinked heavily and sighed. "I want to know what you guys plan to do about Nagi, too. Keep me posted, Yohji."
"I will. Do you want me to wait until Yamada gets back?"
"Could you?" Ken said. Then he thought about what she had said earlier. Did all the kids on the team know by now? "It's nice to know that they're worried about me…" Ken said quietly. "But it's probably not a good idea to let the kids near me, though." Yohji ruffled his hair.
"Don't worry," he said. "You're in good hands. I wouldn't be leaving you unless I was 100 percent positive about that, Ken." Ken smiled faintly.
"I don't think I've ever been this exhausted," he said.
"Well, you've never had to go under before," Yohji said. "Let the drugs do their work. I'd rather be drowsy than in pain." Ken nodded and felt excused. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. He felt Yohji's hand brush back his bangs.
"I'll be back later, Ken," he whispered. Ken nodded and dozed off. What seemed like seconds later, the nurse was shaking him gently.
"Hidaka-san," she was saying. "Hidaka-san, it's breakfast time."
"Look his eyes are opening!" a young voice near his head rang out. Ken opened his eyes further and caught the eager gaze of Yamada Yutaka.
"Yu-chan?" he asked. He looked at the foot of the bed. Another of the children on his team, Araki Genjimaru was leaning on the bed bouncing on his heels. He was the goalie and the younger brother of Araki Hideki. This meant that Araki probably knew, too and that meant that now, the whole team of which he was a member probably all knew too and they, coupled with the large number of children he coached equaled way too many people knowing. Ken cursed a little on the inside, but Genji and Yutaka didn't let him wallow in self-admonishment for long. Now Yutaka was bouncing and they both proceeded to tell Ken about how worried everyone was and how they were happy that he opened his eyes. Ken let the nurse help him sit up and then she put the breakfast tray across his lap. Ken thanked her and when she left his side, Genji hurried over to where she'd been.
"So, are you feeling better, Ken-san?" he asked.
"I think I'd feel a little better once I get some food in my stomach," Ken said. Genji nodded and raised a hand.
"Mama says breakfast is the most important meal in the day!" he said righteously. Ken chuckled at him.
"Well my mama says if you eat bad stuff, it can be bad for you," Yutaka said with just as much conviction.
"Well, the hospital doesn't feed its patients bad stuff," Ken said, nodding at the two of them. "So this is going to be an important meal for me."
"Yay!" Yutaka said and he started clapping. Genji noticed him, and got happy and clapped too. Ken chuckled at them again. Then Araki poked his head into the room with Yamamoto and two other members of their team, nicknamed Taka and Shi,crowded behind him in the hall. Ken raised an eyebrow as they all came casually into the room.
"Just in time," Araki said as he approached the bed. He held up a full plastic bag that smelled like maple heaven. "You eat that crud and you'll croak for sure." He pointed at Ken's toast, eggs and bowl of mushy oatmeal.
"Sheesh, you'd think they were feeding a kid with the portions they give you…" Yamamoto said. "And it looks like shit."
"Don't curse in front of the kids," Ken said, shifting his pillow along his back. "You know how hospitals are." Araki sat at the middle of the bed and opened the plastic bag, then the brown bag inside of it. Ken mouth flooded with moisture as Araki passed him a few breakfast sandwiches and then a few hash browns. Taka closed the door partway, and then pulled the curtain in front of the bed partway.
"Good idea, Taka-kun," Yamamoto said. "It's only a matter of time before they realize two plus four equals too many visitors."
"Please," Araki said. "The nurses are all googily eyed over Ken, they aren't going to trip if he's got a bunch of hot pals, too." Araki chuckled and smacked Ken's arm. Ken winced in pain, but was too excited about the thought of eating to complain.
"So, how are you, Ken?" Yamamoto asked. "We heard you got blowed up."
"Nah, almost," Ken said. "I'm in pretty good shape, considering."
"Yeah, we were afraid you'd be burnt up," Araki said. "It's good that you're all right. Eat up, okay?"
"Sure thing," Ken said. His mouth felt icky, but again, he was too hungry to care. He wolfed down the first sandwich and listened to the guys going on and on about how everyone figured Ken was doing. Apparently, a lot of them thought he'd at least lost a limb or was horribly burned. Ken started to wonder if those people would be glad to see that he was pretty much okay.
When the nurse came back, she forced them all to leave and scolded them for feeding Ken "disgusting crap." Ken was disappointed that they had to go, but cheered up when the nurse took his tray away, fixed his sheets, fluffed his pillow and upped his medication. He flipped on the TV, turned the volume down and let its drone lull him back to sleep. As he closed his eyes, he heard a peculiar song playing in his head.
Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah… The voices were soft. Feminine.
His eyes clenched tightly; he was too tired to open them though he wanted to. He knew from the moment he heard those opening notes exactly what he was hearing and he feared for what it meant for him.
Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah…
Ah-ah-ah, keep thinkin' 'bout his angeleyes…
Keep thinkin'…
Thank you for reading and please review,
kaj