The Scars Remind Us

This chapter focuses a little more on Omi for some reason. Will get back to Ken soon, though! ^_^

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Contorting in the darkness, two bodies and souls as one. There is none other in the tiny confines of this new universe. Foreign arms and legs melt together, thin, nimble fingers twirl through stray locks of sweaty hair.

These are things of reality, moments in which two halves finally become whole and the gap of flesh has finally been breached. Inside one another, ignoring the pain to cradle indescribable pleasure, there is nothing to hold back, no masks to conceal the primal truths that fabricate existence.

No regrets. Sticky flesh addicted to the touch of another, all the curves and subtleties finally appreciated in all their significant beauty. This is the most perfect moment in all that has been and will ever be. Tongues greet one another as lovers, and all obstacles are removed.

Pulsing veins, beating hearts... coordinating with one another until finally they compose a single omnipotent beat that shakes the very gates of heaven and hell. No other thoughts to separate, no lingering fears to draw the two halves apart.

All they have, all they have ever known transforms into a brilliant flash of white as reality is blown away in a single act. The pain and pleasure slowly subside. The body at peace curls into the other, and for a little while longer... there is nothing else.

But is love always over in the morning?

~~~~~~

Ken awoke first, blinking into the morning sun like a newborn child. He wiped a bead of drool from his chin, which would have been more embarrassing if anyone had seen it, and stretched out his arms. The sheets were so soft, and the sunlight stealing into the room made everything seem to glow. He felt simply relieved to wake up. While he didn\'t have that dream with creepy little Alice in it, Take had been appearing in all of his dreams... not to mention that he still saw his face every time he closed his eyes too long or stepped in the shower. The only thing keeping him sane right now was the red head laying beside him... naked, the sheets kicked down to the bottom of the bed. Ken felt himself blushing.

But the thought did not linger for long. He sat up, gingerly. He had to get up, had to run down the hall... just like every morning, he had to make his bathroom run before he did anything else. But this morning, instead of dragging himself in the kitchen for breakfast, he figured he\'d come back to sleep in a little more, or at least lay in bed with his eyes closed for a while.

On his return, Ken walked into the room to find Ran sitting upright, his hair mussed, his pale skin brilliant in the sunlight. He smiled shyly toward the nude redhead. \"What are you doing up?\"

\"The alarm clock went off while you were going to the bathroom, didn\'t you hear?\"

\"No, I guess I just missed it. How\'d you know I was going to the bathroom?\"

Ran smiled, lightly. \"It\'s not your day for kitchen duty, and you always go to the bathroom when you wake up.\"

\"I didn\'t know you were so observant.\"

Ran motioned for the brunette to come back to the bed. Ken complied, though very slowly, and sat next to the older boy, who then slipped an arm around him. \"You make me feel silly when you sleep with those pajamas on, like maybe I should, too.\"

Ken blushed. \"No, it\'s okay, I like your body. You don\'t need to cover it up.\"

\"Then why were you wearing yours all night? Still shy?\"

Ken looked away. \"Maybe a little, but I\'m more embarrassed than anything.\"

\"Embarrassed about what? A nice even tan? Athletic legs? Chiseled abs? A nice tight ass?\"

The younger boy\'s face flooded red. He wasn\'t really used to being complimented on anything. \"Legs, yeah. And my arms, too.\"

There was a certain strain in Ran\'s brow. \"Why?\"

Ken looked down at the floor. \"My scars look horrible. I was looking at them in the mirror and... and I just can\'t take it. What\'s the point? I won\'t be able to get a good job or coach the soccer team... I can\'t even wear short sleeved shirts or shorts anymore.\"

\"Quit it. It won\'t be that bad. You\'ve been through hundreds of times worse. They\'re not going to keep you from being a coach just because of a few scars. You\'ll be fine. Stop thinking about it and come here.\"

The older boy took him in, almost fiercely, and he simply collapsed into warm ivory arms. Ran was so strong, so much more than most people gave him credit for. Ran was definitely right about one thing, though. It did feel ridiculous embracing like this when one of them was completely clothed and the other completely bare. Ran had already seen him naked so there wasn\'t really a rational excuse to be wearing stupid looking pajamas around him all the time.

\"Ran, can we just lay here for a little while?\"

\"I was just thinking the same thing.\"

\"Should I, uh... take my clothes off?\"

Ran suppressed a smile. \"If you want to.\"

\"Okay.\" Ken started to unbutton his shirt as Ran crawled under the soft flannel sheets. Soon enough, the younger boy had stripped and shyly slipped under the sheets beside his love. Ran was nothing but pleased by the soft pink across Ken\'s cheeks. He found that whole shy routine strangely sexy, especially when Ken got to blushing, which didn\'t seem to take much on either of their parts. Ran slipped his hands down onto Ken’s hips and pulled him closer. Take it slow... but there was no harm in touching...

Ken nuzzled his face into Ran’s neck, carefully placing a single kiss on the underside of his sharp jawbone. In return Ran softly brushed the inner skin of Ken’s thigh, teasing the nerves he knew to be overly sensitive. His fingers inched across the skin, finally finding a resting place on the perfect curves of Ken’s hips. He wanted to go further, sliding his hands back, getting hold of a nice handful of flesh and giving it a good squeeze, but the last thing he wanted to do was bring back startling images of rape. He’d never been raped, himself, but he knew it could be traumatizing, so he wasn’t going to take any chances.

A warm shiver much like an electric shock passed through Ken’s body. He hadn\'t been touched like this in a long time. The pleasure of even the simplest of Ran’s actions was almost orgasmic alone. He wasn’t sure if anyone else had ever gotten him this hot and bothered before. Not to mention this... hard...

Oops...

Ran, feeling the sudden change against his thigh, brushed a thumb over the tip of Ken’s erection, just to tease him a little longer before actually doing something about it.

~~~~

“We found her!” Omi exclaimed, his face glowing brightly as he entered the kitchen where Yohji stood, propped up against a single crutch making himself a cup of coffee.

“Oh, that’s good.” Yohji shot a glare at the brunette closely following Omi’s tracks. “Then that little prankster can get the hell out of here.”

Omi turned toward Nagi, eyes wide in confusion. “Prankster?”

“Just what is it you’re accusing me of?” Nagi gazed placidly at the older man. “I don’t recall doing anything out of line.”

“Then what about this?” Yohji pointed at the fridge, where a magnet was holding up a half-singed piece of paper.

Nagi approached the fridge without any apparent caution, and took the note off the door. “To get the fox from his hole, the hunter is prepared to use smoke... I didn’t write this.”

“Then who did? I didn’t!”

Omi stepped forward. “Nagi couldn’t have done it! All night he was...” Omi stopped, a sudden blush seeming to choke off the words. “...in my room... meditating.”

~~~~

Kase

Keiko

Take

Where is the line, dividing? Ken closed his eyes and let the cool morning air brush against his face. He covered his eyes with his hand. It had started the same way it started with Keiko. But this time he’d managed to escape... no... he’d just run away. It wouldn’t have turned out the same way, he knew that. But at that time it failed to cross his mind. He didn’t want to recreate those things. He didn’t want Alice to be right. He didn’t want to hurt the one he loved...

But it seems it was too late for that. He just couldn’t do anything right. Not even fall in love.

Ken looked up at the sky, wishing that the clouds would part so he could see the sun. But he knew it wouldn’t come. The sun never seemed to come out when he wanted it to. Maybe Ran could find someone better, someone more suited for him. He sighed. He should have just accepted a long time ago that they weren\'t meant to be. But now he had taken Ran down with him, and that would be his burden to bear. Already his shoulders were starting to feel heavy.

When the rain came, he welcomed it, though only a few minutes passed before he was sopping wet and shivering to the bone. He didn’t feel like he deserved anything better.

Without warning, something in the air changed. He ignored it at first, passing it off as a mistake, as he was still too miserable to think straight. But when the smell grew stronger, even became dominant through the rain, he began to take notice. It smelled like fire. He glanced around, looking for a clue as to where the fire was... his head locked. The flame was coming from their own house! It was almost directly behind him, engulfing almost the entire wall to his left.

Ken picked himself and headed inside. If nothing else, he had to warn the others and get them the hell out of there. He threw open the front door, immediately slammed with the strangling cloud of smoke that engulfed the hallway. He coughed and tried to walk lower, below the level of the smoke if it was at all possible.

~~~~~~

Omi grabbed Nagi’s hand, fiercely, pulling him any direction he could. He couldn’t tell where he was going, anymore, the smoke was too thick and his mind too muddled. Nagi’s fingers tightened in his own, and the two pushed up against the wall, trying to feel their way to an escape. “Nagi! Where’s Yohji? Did you see him?”

“I can’t see at all, hold on!” Nagi released the blonde’s hand, and for a moment, Omi felt completely lost.

Nagi put his hands together, concentrating on a single point. His eyes were burning... his lungs... he thrust his hands apart and the smoke was forced away, leaving them in a clear circle of air. Omi gulped a few breaths of air before glancing from side to side, frantically searching for his lost companion. “It’s no use! The smoke’s too thick! I can’t see him!”

Nagi grabbed hold of Omi’s arm. “I can, follow me, I’ll clear the smoke in our path.”

Their passage was very slow, but Omi was grateful for the breathing space the brunette boy created. It did not take long to locate Yohji. Yohji was in fair shape when they found him, a facemask pushed up against his mouth and nose. It obviously hadn’t done much, though, as he was coughing hard when Omi started to help him up.

Yohji gagged a few more times before he finally gathered the breath to speak. “I... called the fire department...”

“That’s great...” Omi smiled, though no one seemed to notice. “Let’s get outside so we can breathe easy.”

When they reached the outside, Ran was already there, inspecting the scene. The three boys hurried over to him, feeling immeasurably better when they realized one of their companions was all right. Ran pointed a stern look toward them, counting heads.

“Where’s Ken? I thought he was already outside.”

“He must be inside, looking for us.” Omi’s mind began to swim. There was no other explanation for Ken’s absence. If there was one thing he knew for sure about Ken, it was his habit of putting everyone else before himself.

“I’ll find him!” Ran darted back into the billowing smoke without a moment’s waste. Omi didn’t even have time to stop him. Unconsciously, he wrapped his fingers around Nagi’s and squeezed.

Ran covered his face with his arm. He couldn’t see a damn thing in the rising smoke. He could barely see his own hand in front of his face. He dropped down to his hands and knees and started to crawl, hoping he could breathe just a little longer down below. The first place he would check was right down the hallway. Odds are, Ken hadn\'t made it to any of the rooms yet. Not in this thick smoke.

Sure enough, Ken was hunched over in the hallway, coughing his lungs out. Much longer and he surely would have passed out.

“Ken! Over here, we’ve got to get out!”

“O...kay...” Ken weakly started to crawl toward Ran’s disembodied voice, though he couldn’t open his eyes or breathe.

Ran met Ken halfway, and before he even started heading back, he knew Ken wasn’t going to make it all the way out without passing out. He gathered the boy up in his arms. “Ken... hold your breath for just a second, I’m planning on running. The fire hasn’t spread here, yet. There’s no debris to block our escape.”

“Why do I always have to be the damsel in distress, Ran? How come I can’t save you for once?”

Ran almost smiled. “Save your breath, Ken.”

~~~~~~

When the helicopter arrived, Yohji\'s hopes suddenly soared. He started to wave his hands back and forth, signaling frantically. Acknowledging his presence, the pilot waved in return and the chopper started to land some fifty feet away. Yohji would have attempted to run up to the aircraft, but the wind from the propellers was still formidable. The five men stood shoulder to shoulder, eyes locked on the helicopter. Suddenly, the engine went dead. Yohji leading the way, they began to approach the helicopter.

The first man to emerge from the helicopter was dark haired, with a black suit and glasses. He flashed his glasses toward them, the glare from the fire brilliant like a shock. The boys stopped in their tracks.

Before they knew what had hit them, Schuldig and Farfarello flanked them, a knife drawn in each of their hands. Yohji quickly disarmed the redhead with his wire, but not fast enough. As soon as his arm pulled back the German had gotten into close quarters and was ready to strike a blow. Farfarello headed straight for Ken, his vision not wavering for a second. However, Ran, who had salvaged Schuldig’s fallen dagger, intercepted the Irishman.

Metal scraped against metal, their muscles both unwilling to give in to the other.

Nagi pulled on Omi’s hand, harshly. Omi turned, struck when he saw a look of utter terror etched across Prodigy’s usually placid face. He had to listen now. Nagi was never this frightened, never to the point where he could be broken down and dissected like this. He felt a shiver creep up his spine. When Nagi instructed him to run, he obliged.

Brad made a beeline for the two youngest boys, but was stopped by a crude punch attack from Ken. Brad caught Ken’s fist, effortlessly, much as Ken had expected. This man knew exactly when and where Ken was going to attack. No matter his tactics, he couldn’t outwit this foe. Ken knew he was clearly outmatched, but either way, if Omi and Nagi had time to escape, he’d take whatever beating the psychic was planning to dish out.

With a single flick, Yohji wrapped the furthest end of his wire around the German’s wrist. Schuldig grimaced for only a moment. His fingers snapping outward, Schuldig took hold of the wire and tightened his grasp around it. Yohji simply pulled in return, hoping that cutting the redhead would discourage him, or at least give him a second to formulate a better plan... or at best cut off the foreigner’s hand. A small amount of blood began to drip down the wire.

Suddenly Schuldig dropped to the ground, baseball sliding Yohji\'s feet right out from under him. There was no time to react before Yohji realized he had lost both control of the match... and his opponent in general.

Schuldig succeeded where Brad had failed, and before long, Nagi and Omi were both crammed into the helicopter, the other two members of Schwarz instinctively pulling out and following the redhead’s lead.

~~~~~~

Brad’s glare was hard as stone from across the room when Nagi finally dared glance his direction. His hands were drawn together, fumbling with one another almost violently. He felt the center of his stomach ball up. Schuldig was pacing back and forth behind him, though he didn’t seem as angry as Oracle.

“So, explain to me again, just why you decided to run from us?”

Nagi refused to meet the American’s gaze. “I told you, I was looking for someone. What is it of your business anyway?”

“As a member of Schwarz, everything you say and do is our business.” Brad’s head tilted slightly and his eyes were lost in the glare of his glasses.

“I quit Schwarz. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore.”

“You can’t mean that...” Schuldig smiled, shrugging his shoulders casually. “This is the only place your gifts won’t be frowned upon or feared.”

“I don’t care. I don’t need to use my abilities anymore. I’m done being a freak, no matter what you say.”

“You can’t just walk away, Nagi.” Brad folded his hands under his chin. “People are fickle, and at the first sign of anything odd, they’ll turn their backs on you. You know that. Remember who you were when you first joined us? This is for your own good.”

Nagi paused, looking down at the floor. “I know you’re right. But I don’t know.”

“By the way—“ Schuldig cut in, “why were you with Weiss? Something you need to tell us?”

“The boy we captured was helping me find the person I was looking for.” Nagi looked up calmly, catching Schuldig’s eyes.

From the corner of Nagi’s eyes, Farfarello entered the room, for some reason taken in by the conversation he seemed to be eavesdropping on. “We should take advantage of the situation. Besides, who says we can’t have a little fun with him. More than when we hurt ourselves, God hates the torture of others.”

Brad seemed to contemplate for a second. “Maybe he’s right. We could get some useful information about Weiss from him, just to be on the safe side. Farfarello, would you—“

“No!” Nagi stood up. “Let me do it. It’s my fault he’s here.”

“Very well.” Brad stood up. “You don’t seem to be hiding anything. But know that if you try to help him escape, he’ll be shot on sight. And as for you—“ A devilish smile crossed his thin lips and he turned, walking out the door.

Schuldig and Farfarello began to follow, but the German turned momentarily. “Oh, one more thing, kid... Glad to see you’re okay.”

~~~~

Omi was filled with hope when Nagi entered the room. He stood up from the hard concrete and greeted the boy with a warm smile. “Nagi, you’re—“

“No. You’re staying right here. I was instructed to torture you to get information on Weiss.”

“Tell me the—“

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Don’t interrupt me!” Nagi’s expression did not falter. “Now, down on your knees, I don’t want to hear another word out of you unless it’s an answer!”

Omi blinked repeatedly. “You’re not actually going to torture me, are you?”

Nagi did not hesitate before answering. “That’s the plan, Tsukiono.”

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New work schedule is crazy. I haven’t had much time to write at all! Things should be settling down soon, though...