Ch 5.

Lost

Waya was in bed, quietly curled onto one side as he fingered the picture Hikaru had found yesterday. With a gentle finger he traced the faces of the people there… 1…2…3… He had lost all three of them. He had lost Ken first. The older brother he'd always looked up to, always loved and been jealous of. He hadn't lost him in the accident like he'd first said. In actuality his parents had disowned Ken after they had found that their 'son' was drugged during one of his soccer games. Waya had lost him then and there. The light in his brother's eyes had died that day and Waya had never seen him after that. And though his parents did everything in their power to keep him from even thinking about his older brother, they could not hide the article telling of Ken's death in that freak accident.

Waya turned to his other side. On that day he'd been out to his study group and when he'd tried to leave it, Isumi had come running in. The older and quieter boy had forgotten all of his manners and just gone straight to him. He'd wanted to make sure his friend had been ok… but Waya hadn't read the newspaper yet. He hadn't known yet. Hadn't…yet. Waya's hand turned into a fist and he brought it to his forehead.

He didn't want to remember the rest.

He really did not want to.

With a heavy sigh, Waya let the picture fall from his fingers. He would have to find a new place to hide it. He pushed aside his covers and got out of bed. Staying in bed had never fixed anything unless you were a) sleep deprived or b) had a hangover. Since it was neither of those cases for him, he needed to get up.

Maybe Isumi had written to him now… or maybe he'd left a message on his phone.

"And maybe, just maybe… you might find yourself a life." Waya muttered sourly at himself. Silently he padded towards the kitchen in a defiant attempt to show himself that he could live without the other man. He didn't need anyone at all and that yes, he did indeed have a life of his own thank you very much.

…

Omi was not in bed though he wished he could be. Instead he was opening the store or trying to in any case. Omi had to admit that he wasn't quite all there. His mind was still stuck on the fact that Waya, Yoshitaka was Ken's little brother. Never once had Ken mentioned his family. Never.

To have seen that picture… Omi shook his head.

What was he supposed to do? Should he tell Ken? Should he keep it to himself? Should he even continue seeing Waya? Should he tell Kritiker? God… what a mess.

Omi gave a little groan. He knew intellectually that he should just tell Manx the situation. Have her check it out and provide proper security around Waya while she tested Ken's mental stability. And if she said that Ken was stable enough to know about it then and only then could he tell his friend about having met his little brother. He sighed. Even if he knew that was what he should do, it didn't make it any easier to do it. Omi almost felt like he was betraying the other man somehow. Going behind his back. And he knew he would feel the same way if he continued seeing Waya while he kept Ken in the dark. Yet at the thought of not seeing Waya, Omi's stomach cramped up and his heart gave a slight tug. The younger boy was in pain and looked as if he needed a friend.

And Omi needed that friendship just as much.

Why did things always have to be so complicated?

Aya regarded Omi as he did his share at opening the store. The boy had come home looking more withdrawn then he was used to seeing. Was the boy coming down with something? Possible… possible but… Aya had this nagging feeling that that wasn't it. He started suddenly, his violet eyes turning downwards to look at the cash register. The annoying machine had just beeped at him!

"Omi…" Aya hissed. "What is wrong with this thing now?" Blue eyes blinked at him. Before the eighteen year old could come up with an explanation for why the technology was not working right this time! The boy dropped the broom where he stood and then made his way to Aya's side. He looked at the machine for a minute, eyebrows furrowing in slight concentration. Then a smile made its way onto his lips as Omi saw what was wrong.

"It just needs new paper for the receipts Aya-kun." Without needing to be asked, Omi's deft hands quickly got that small task done. Aya was grateful. "There you go. Should be fine now."

"Thank you Omi." His tone was less aggravated and the look in his eyes softened further as Omi beamed one of his smiles at him. Maybe Omi was fine and he was just overreacting? Maybe. Aya bit off a sigh and went back to what he had been trying to do before the technology had turned against him.

Ken came into the room, yawning and scratching the back of his head tiredly. He blinked tiredly at the two that had already been up for several hours and tried to mumble something that sounded almost like a good morning. He yawned again midway through the greeting though which made Omi give a soft laugh. And that was good because Aya had missed the first look that had come onto Omi's face before it had given way to amusement when Ken had first made his way down. If he had seen it, all of his worries concerning the younger man would have multiplied. Instead the redhead watched the soccer player try and exchange morning greetings once again with Omi. It was with slight amusement and affection that he did.

"Good morning Ken-kun. Did you sleep well?" Ken nodded at the question, a smile making its way onto his tired face. "Soccer practice with the kids?" Omi asked. Again the brunet nodded, his smile growing. "When are you going?"

"Now." Ken answered after giving the clock on the wall the briefest of glances.

"Have fun!" The youngest Weiss member called out cheerfully, going back to his chore now that the morning ritual was over. Ken reached out and ruffled the blond hair on the younger boy's head before making his way to the door. This caused Omi to sputter and move away, a slight glare dancing in those wide blue eyes that wasn't quite convincing with the large smile and clear affection that resided on the face. Ken chuckled at the look, clearly showing his amusement while Aya hid his by going back to the work he'd previously been doing.

Ken paused as he reached the door and looked back over his shoulder towards Omi who had once again gone to sweeping.

"Ne Omi?" The boy stilled his movements at the sound of his name being called out so hesitantly. Aya looked up as well, sensing a sudden tension fill the room. He frowned. What the hell? Ken looked slightly nervous, eyes glancing from Aya's form to Omi's. The redhead scowled in confusion.

"Yep?"

"If nothing comes up, wanna go see a movie tonight? And you too Aya!" The last bit was added a bit half hazardly and Aya nearly snorted. "There's that new fantasy one that came out that looked good and…" The man was surprised by two things, one that Ken was asking and two that the brunet had even bothered extending the invitation to him when it was obvious that he had planned on asking Omi only. Violet eyes looked at the younger man in question and found that Omi was blushing slightly. More confusion. What was going on?

"Sure Ken-kun. That'd be great." After Omi answered, Aya was suddenly fixed by two questioning glances.

"I'll pass." He answered succinctly. "Thank you."

"Oh ok. Well see you guys later than."

"Bye Ken-kun."

The day passed quietly, questions that had been silently asked had not been answered. Some solutions had been forced upon some while others hid from them. And as night came and blanketed everything in inky darkness, relief was only found by few.

Hours fled through time and more days were survived through several ups and downs.

Waya held his own against the go pro. Of course he lost, but his mental state remained unruffled by the experience. His amber eyes had hardened during the sustained absence of Isumi. Yet those who truly knew him would see those eyes soften when in the presence of only two people—Hikaru and Omi. He was with them this afternoon actually. He'd finished a tutoring game with some other students he'd gotten in the past few days, due to Morishita-sensei's thoughtfulness, and made his way past both of the boy's schools. Hikaru had looked surprised but had smiled that cheeky grin he was getting to know so well and had waved frantically. As if Waya would have missed spotting the boy in a crowd. He'd hidden his amusement by placing a mock frown on his face and stuffing his hands deep in his pocket. Hikaru had ignored that though and had made his way to Waya's side after calling a few goodbye's over his shoulder.

"How'd school go?" Hikaru waved the question aside to ask the one that had been burning within him all day.

"How'd your first Dan game go?" Waya answered by giving the victory sign, the frown melting off his face and a smile replacing it. While going over the game they walked to Omi's school, finding it to their surprise that it was not that far from Hikaru's. The older boy had been leaning against his motorbike, helmet resting on his thigh as he chatted animatedly with some class mates. Seeing Omi with his friends had made the two younger boys pause in their steps. A girl with bright eyes and a cheerful smile had placed a hand on Omi's shoulder and pointed Waya and Hikaru out. The wide blue eyes that followed the girl's movement stopped on the two slender forms that were looking at him cautiously.

"Waya! Shindo!" Omi's grin was infectious and the feeling of unease in the two younger boys evaporated at once. "Hey! How are you? How was your game, Waya? And how was school, Shindo?" Omi asked all at once when the two had come close enough. The girl who had yet to remove her hands laughed and Waya smiled. Omi was always like that they'd found. Hikaru and him exchanged a look before Hikaru shook his head, apparently refusing to go first.

"Game went well. Won by two moku!"

"Congrats!" Blue eyes looked at Hikaru who squirmed underneath their friendly gaze.

"School was boring." Hikaru sighed. "I can't wait until I can stop going."

"Hm…" Omi shook his head. "What are you guys gonna be up to?"

"Better question. Do you have work?" Waya asked, hoping the answer would be no. He wanted to hang out with his two friends and just relax for a bit. He wanted to keep the slight pain of still having not heard from Isumi at bay. Omi shook his head.

"I don't actually."

"Mou… Omi!" The girl pouted, tired of being ignored. "Aren't you going to introduce us?" Omi blushed, suddenly realizing that his attention had been completely focused on the younger boys.

"Sorry Akane." He apologized sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "This is Waya, Yoshitaka and Shindo, Hikaru." He nodded to each in turn. "This is Akane, Shuichi, and Shinji." The girl smiled politely while the two other boys waved lazily. "Waya is teaching me how to play go properly." Shinji straightened at the mention of go and looked at the two go players suddenly.

"Oh wow… that Waya! And Shindo…" the eighteen year old looked speechless suddenly. "Wow. Congrats on becoming pros this year." The two younger boys thanked him and it was another couple of minutes before the three friends could politely leave. When they did though, Omi sighed in relief. At the questioning looks he received, he shrugged.

"They're nice but…" The thought trailed off as he continued to push the motorbike, following the two.

"Class friends, then." Waya muttered. He'd had his share of that type of friends. People who were nice to talk to and hang out with at some times but…not anything more than that. Omi's blue eyes caught his and he nodded.

"So what did you guys want to do?" Omi asked. Hikaru bit his lip at the question, making it obvious that there was something he did want to do but wouldn't say it. Waya saw that and smiled.

"Get sushi!" He crowed. "Cause I won and Shindo promised he'd treat me, isn't that right?" Hikaru stuck his tongue out and glared.

"I didn't forget!" The younger boy exclaimed.

"Ah…and after the sushi?" Omi asked quietly, pacifying the two. He'd been around them long enough now to know that the 'sushi-ramen' conversations of any time almost always ended up in shouting matches. Friendly, of course. Still it never stopped them from getting very loud and scaring innocent bystanders.

"Hmmm…" Waya shook his head and shrugged. "Anything's fine with me."

"Movie!" Hikaru spat out after a moment of silence. "There's a new one out." Omi smiled. He thought he could guess which one Hikaru was referring too. Like the one he'd seen a couple nights ago with Ken. The younger go player stated the name of the movie as Waya questioned him.

"Oh yeah…I heard it was supposed to be really good."

"It is." Omi confirmed. Two sets of eyes looked at him.

"You've seen it?" Hikaru sighed. "I guess it's a no then…" He looked disappointed.

"I don't mind seeing it again." Omi said gently. "It would be fun." Loud cheers made him and Waya laugh together.

Further away, unnoticed by the three there were those whose eyes followed their every movement. Had been for days now. One pair of eyes were caring and worried. They followed Waya's path mainly. Wondering the implications of the young man's presence in the life of one of her hunters. But the other set, the hard green eyes...those stared at the three. He even sometimes stared at the other who followed them, amused. A cynical smile painted a cruel line on the hardened face as the eyes focused finally on Omi."Oh kitten…you always did paint a pretty picture." The words were said softly. "Enjoy this while it lasts. The wind of change is starting to blow. Brad has foreseen it."

To be continued...

A/N-It's been awhile. I'm sorry. I have no excuse.  I can only hope you'll forgive me and enjoy the new chapter. Also, I am NOT giving up on this story! I will continue working on it whenever I can. I have a future scene already written up and everything. Just need to get to that point in the story.