Youji knew very well that he shouldn't be out walking in the cool evening air. His leg reminded him every time he took a step, but he ignored it with sheer willpower. He knew very well that he should have stayed to at least eat something. His stomach, for its part, made sure he didn't forget that.
But here he was, walking down the road towards the centrum, not heading to any particular place. Just away. He needed a break. Some space. Some solitude. Maybe he could get his thoughts straight after a healthy dose off cool air.
Yeah, or maybe not.
He grimaced. Something told him there was no simple solution for this. He couldn't just pull one string and untangle the whole mess in his head. Youji drew the coat more closely around him; the night was certainly chilly. He was not going to catch a cold on top of all this, that would mean even more fussing from Omi! The boy was honestly concerned of him, and he had no intention to seem ungrateful. But after Omi's confession... how was he supposed to think of what to do when the very centre of the storm buzzed around him all the time?
Centre of the storm, indeed, Youji thought, and a little shiver ran down his spine.
Storm in one sweet package... Gahd, what AM I thinking?
He rubbed his temple, frustrated.
Omi is like my little brother... we all take care of him.... try to, at least. Of course, he ends up taking care of US most of the time...
Youji pondered it over as he kept walking, kept telling himself that Omi really was his 'otouto', cheery little friend who backed them up during the missions and stole the hearts of both young and old in the flower shop with his sweet, innocent demeanor. But everytime he thought he had made things clear to himself, Omi's voice came back to him. 'You', the boy had said so sadly, looking at Youji with those eyes which didn't belong to a boy at all.
The look of the killer, they may say... but I'd say it's more like the look of someone who has seen the darkest side of life and lived.
Youji stopped as he recognized the place he had unconsciously wandered to. A few steps away towered the skyscraper wherein his new found friends lived. He had been here a lot lately; no wonder he had ended up here. Feeling a sudden need to talk to someone, he grabbed his mobile and called Sakaki.
"Hai", came Sakaki's sleepy voice.
"Hey, lazybones, you already sleeping?" Youji tried to call back his casual tone, succeeding pretty well.
"Nah, I jus' took a little nap and... hey man, where've ya been? You didn't come to Ichigo last night as we planned!"
"I was in an accident, can ya imagine that", Youji lied.
He had to make up some kind of an explanation for his leg injury.
"No shit! Are ya okay?" Sakaki inquired, sounding more surprised than worried.
"Yeah, fine. Leg's giving me hell, though. Uh, listen, I'm in the neighborhood, so how about I drop you a visit?"
Sakaki hesitated.
"Well, otherwise I'd say sure, but uh, now's really not the time..."
Youji smiled tiredly; under some other circumstances he would've grinned like a tomcat.
"Oh, gomen nasai. Say hello to Yusuko from me."
He could almost see Sakaki's sloppy smile.
"Sure thing. Look, I'll call you later, okay?"
"Yeah, bye."
Youji stared at his mobile for a few moments. Sakaki was out. But the others didn't live too far away, so he started to walk towards the neighboring buildings.
Youji fished a cigarette from his pocket and lit up; he really needed a smoke. Everytime he let his mind wander, it immediately found its way to a certain blond-haired boy. Irritated and tired, Youji blew a cloud of smoke to the cold air, looking at the sky above him. It was a clear and dark night, the stars shining brightly from the velvet blue sky. Muttering a curse, he hastened his steps.
The other Weiss finished the dinner in comfortable silence. Nobody felt the need to talk, and they were very hungry. At least, Aya and Ken were. Omi played with his food absent-mindedly, dropping one of his chopsticks every now and then. Ken glanced at him from time to time, not knowing what to say to start the conversation. Silence felt safe and comfortable as a cover stretched over all the matters lying between the people present. He wasn't sure he wanted to break it.
Eventually, he did anyway.
"Omi, do you have any idea when Youji is coming back?" he asked as he cleaned the table, reaching for the casual tone.
Omi gave him an uneasy glance, and even Aya raised his eyes from his plate.
"I just thought, if he won't be back for some time, I can just as well put the rest of the food to the fridge. No use keeping it warm for him if..."
Babbling alert! Ken's mind screamed at him, and he awkwardly stopped in the middle of the sentence.
Omi shrugged, managing one of his genki smiles.
"No idea. You know how he is, Ken-kun."
"But you two seemed to have a chat a moment ago?" Ken raised his eyebrows. "I just thought, maybe he would've told you..."
Omi shook his head.
"No. It was - it was nothing important. Just something about the last mission and stuff."
"Speaking about missions", Aya raised his voice, "Manx contacted me earlier today. It seems my worries about the car which followed us weren't for nothing. We have an important witness to silence."
"How much time do we have on this mission?" Ken furrowed his brows, leaning against the sink.
Aya rested his jaw on his hand.
"Considering that our target may well know where our base is, I'd vote for immediate action."
"But Youji-kun is in no shape to go to a mission!" Omi shook his head vigorously.
Aya turned his indifferent eyes to him.
"Exactly why I think Ken's question was very justified. We have a target who knows us from our looks, and Youji is in no shape to fight. I'd feel a lot more secure if he was safe and sound in his room."
"We can't afford to chase after him AND the target", Ken nodded.
"Don't forget, the target may well be chasing him", Aya pointed out.
"Sou da!" Ken exclaimed, his eyes turning huge. "Damn, what are we gonna do?"
Omi stood up, almost knocking over his chair, and ran off.
"Chotto, Omi!" Ken called.
The youngest Weiss hopped in his shoes and snatched his jacket.
"I'll bring Youji-kun back!" he breathed, and was about to dash out of the door when Aya grabbed his shoulder.
The redhead's eyes were very serious.
"No. There's no sense in splitting our team any further. Either we all go, or no one goes."
The determination in Omi's eyes wavered, and the boy looked down as he felt tears burning to escape down his cheeks. His voice sounded unsure when he spoke, heavy with emotion.
"Gomen Aya-kun, but I am going to do this."
A hint of surprisement appeared on Aya's face and he eased his hold on Omi's shoulder.
"You think you know where Youji is?"
"No, I have no idea."
Omi gave him a hasty look and scrambled out of the door before the older Weiss could stop him.
"Gomen!"
"Omi!" Aya called after the boy, but in vain.
He cursed under his breath and jammed his fist to the wall.
"Damn, what's got into him? Omi-kun no baka, running off like that!" Ken frowned, looking after his younger teammate, whose running form was already almost swallowed by the dark night.
Aya sighed and walked past Ken to the living room.
"He sure is acting strangely... I wonder if that girl really has something to do with it..." Ken mused aloud as he turned to follow him.
"What?" Aya snapped.
"Oh, never mind", Ken shook his head, "it was probably just Youji's usual teasing."
Aya slumped down on their sofa, leaning his elbows on his knees and resting his forehead on his hand.
"Running out into the night seems to be a trend nowadays", Ken muttered as he put the rest of the dishes in the sink; someone would wash them later, but he wasn't going to do it.
"Sheesh, maybe I should run after Omi now."
Aya turned his eyes to him. "Don't even think about it", he warned.
Ken tilted his head and couldn't help the small smile crawling on his face.
"But then you could run after me, and we'd all run around Tokyo after each other while our target trashed our base, robbed the national bank and left the country."
"Where do you get those ideas?" Aya scowled, irritated.
Ken laughed at his miffed-looking teammate. Sometimes Aya could be so childish. And he said Ken was naïve!
"Hey, I don't think they're going to die out there. Chill out."
He sat on the sofa next to the scowling Aya.
"There's nothing you can do, so don't sweat it. Youji isn't stupid, he knows when to keep a low profile. And Omi is not an easy boy to catch, he's quicker than the lightning if need be."
"Would you shut up for one minute?" Aya snapped harshly.
Ken backed away a little, his eyes getting a hurt look.
"Okay", he almost whispered, making himself really small in his corner of the sofa.
Damn, if he only knew how much it can hurt when he snaps at me like that! But of course, he has no clue.
An uneasy silence followed. Aya rubbed his temples, his head hurting. Ken tried to find the strength to get up and go upstairs. After fidgeting for about five minutes, he finally got around to do it.
"I'm gonna, uh, go to sleep. If they come back... oh well, you know what to do better than I."
"Gomen", Aya said, more to the carpet on the floor than to Ken.
The soccer player blinked in surprise. Aya was really a pro in these short, surprising declarations.
"For what?" Ken laughed, amazed how naturally the smile returned to his face.
"It was pointless to snap at you. It's not your fault. I'm just very tired." Aya's tone was as indifferent as usual.
Ken nodded, biting his lip.
"I understand. Maybe you should go to sleep, too. You look like you might need it."
Aya just shook his head slowly. Ken sighed and looked at Aya over the stairway railing.
Sometimes you can be a baka too, Aya.
Youji felt a little bit better after downing one drink with his old buddy Daisuke, the bartender of Ichigo. He was glad he had decided to visit the place. The only throwback was that the alcohol really only heightened his tiredness. He suppressed a yawn as he closed the door behind him and wondered where to go. The thought of going back to Ko-neko made him scowl.
No way.
He started to walk down the shadowy street, going where his feet would take him.