'Here you go.'
The middle-aged woman handed the young man at least half a dozen pillules of various sizes, shapes and colours.
'Sarah told me that you weren't feeling too upbeat this morning, so I've given you an extra one of these,' the woman continued, indicating a small, round pill.
The boy shrugged and reached for his water. He never raised any objections to taking his medication.
Sure enough, as soon as he swallowed them all, he felt his early morning gloom lift - albeit due to the artificial actions of anti-depressants. He looked up at the elderly nurse.
'Thank you.'
'That's all right sweetie, you're going with Sarah to see the horses today, isn't that right?'
The boy nodded, and his glass slipped out of his fingers and smashed on the linoleum floor. He glanced at the mess, then at his fingers, numbly. He tried to clench and unclench his fist, and would have been alarmed at the strange delay between thought and action, had he not ingested all those drugs barely two minutes ago.
He got up, feeling oddly lost in his own skin, and nodded again, as a way of restarting the conversation, the thread of which he'd completely lost.
The nurse, whose name was Anna, took no notice of the mess he'd made, but simply chattered on, 'Sarah'll just help you clean them today. You can't ride them yet, you're still all wobbly.'
He was. He could barely stand. He thought vaguely that he had felt much steadier on his feet earlier, but that thought was shoved aside by a thought which surfaced so suddenly that he had to voice it straight away.
'Why am I here?'
The nurse froze.
'You know you shouldn't ask questions like that, sweetie,' she said, rather breathlessly, 'you know they can bring on your headaches.'
'Yes,' said the boy, placated. This was indeed true. He turned to leave, but Anna caught his arm.
'Wait here, sweetie. Sarah'll come and find you. We don't want you escaping, now do we? Hahaha!' She giggled distractedly and steered him into a seat.
He sank into it.
'No,' he replied, 'that would be a nuisance.'
Anna went very still. His choice of words had to be a coincidence. Had he overheard her talking about him to another member of the staff earlier? She hadn't seen him around. He could be a right nuisance, and she had voiced this opinion to her colleague.
He kept doing this. He'd surprise everyone by suddenly coming out with a seemingly coherent train of thought.
'Indeed it would,' she said primly, 'so stay here, sweetie, Sarah'll be along in a minute.'
The boy stayed.
This place was pleasant enough, in its own way. He guessed he should enjoy life here, but he didn't.
He didn't like feeling so detached, like he did now. It couldn't be due to the drugs - Anna had told him straight from day one that the pills were simply to cure his headaches.
His headaches had been well known throughout the centre. When he'd first had one, his screams had woken most of the staff and patients in his section. It had taken a few more night time awakenings before Anna, the senior nurse, had started him on his first type of medication.
He was glad that she'd done that. The pain was like nothing on earth.
He took more medication now.
The only side effect he noticed was that he no longer seemed able to remember things, and once before, to his (momentary) alarm, he'd been unable to remember his own name. Anna assured him that it would come back to him, but none of the nurses called patients by name, and she had almost seemed pleased at this turn.
He also couldn't remember why he was here, or where 'here' was.
He soon learned that attempting to remember things lost to him in this way triggered his headaches, so, somewhat sadly, he'd resigned himself to the fact that he would exist here, nameless, forever.
'Hi,' called a voice, and he looked up.
Sarah was waving at him. She was only around thirty, the youngest of the staff, with the exception of the girl on reception. He wondered briefly how old he was. Could he be as old as Sarah?
The boy stood up unsurely and reached for her hand to steady himself. She offered it, then hugged him briefly.
'And how are you today?'
He thought.
'Dizzy,' he said. Sarah looked alarmed. He wondered why.
'Too much,' she muttered, but the boy overheard.
'Anna's very kind to let me have my medicine,' he said, 'without it I'd be much worse.'
Sarah said nothing.
They walked, exiting the main building and entering a small wood. Sarah opened a gate and let them both into a paddock, where six long faces gazed at them over wooden half-doors.
One good thing, the boy reflected, about being here, is Sarah.
He really liked Sarah. She never patronised him, or called him 'Sweetie', and out of all the nurses, she alone seemed to understand him. She would sometimes enter into arguments with senior staff on his account.
The other good things were the animals. He reached out to pat one of the horses, whose name was Lily.
Before...
Had there even been a 'before'? Just how long had he been here? What had he been before...
The thought trailed off into some remote inaccessible part of his brain. He was grateful. There had been a time when thoughts such as those would've started off one of the mind-splitting headaches, which had brought him such unwelcome fame.
Pat, pat.
Why was he patting this animal? What was it called?
Lily, a horse, oh yes. Oh hello, someone was talking to him.
'...llo? Hello? Knock knock?'
He smiled.
'Sorry, I was lost for a second,' and then he laughed. It sounded odd.
Together, he and Sarah brushed Lily all over until her dark brown coat shone.
He ran his hand over it, appreciating the silkiness of it.
'Yeah, we've done well,' said Sarah, picking up his train of thought and grinning.
He smiled. Sarah turned away and picked up Lily's lead rein, guiding her back into her stable.
The boy wandered towards the gate, lost in thought.
Then he saw it.
In the thick woods to the left, he saw something moving, and, as he squinted, he could make out the shape of a person.
It was a man. A tall man with dark hair, getting hopelessly caught in the brambles and thorns.
What was he trying to do?
The boy looked over to Sarah, but she was still in the stable.
He looked back and the man was gone. As if he'd never been there.
He rubbed his eyes. Hallucinations? This was bad. Or perhaps not. He decided that there was only one way to see whether or not his drugs were causing these strange things to happen to him.
He'd just stop taking them.
Sarah rejoined him.
'Ready?'
'Uh huh,' he confirmed. They walked back to the centre.
**The next day came. The boy got out of bed earlier than anyone else. He stood up and looked around his room.
His vision was clear.
He tried a few experimental steps.
No dizziness.
He clenched his fist. It responded as quick as a flash.
They'd lied to him.
**'No way. You're doing it next time!'
'Not a chance. Look at the state of you! Didn't you follow the directions?'
'Yeah, and I ended up in a bloody jungle! Look at my arm!'
'Are you sure you took that left?'
'Left?! You said right!!'
'Ah. Did I? That might be where the problem arose. Eh, sorry.'
**The boy looked down at the pills in his hand.
Lies.
He tossed them into his mouth and took a gulp of water.
Anna trotted off, satisfied, and humming.
As soon as she'd turned the corner and was out of sight, he spat the pills out from where he'd kept them under his tongue. He then used the rest of the water to rinse his mouth. He wandered into the bathroom and spat it out, proceeding to brush his teeth.
When he'd finished, he looked up at the mirror above the sink, but avoided thinking about the young man who looked back at him. Ceasing to take his medication would mean that there was no longer any protection available to him against his painful attacks.
Stepping out of the bathroom. He looked left, then right. Then, as calmly as he could, he began walking towards the exit.
**'Promise me this is the last time?'
'Huh?'
'Just do it. This isn't good for you, Ken.'
He didn't reply.
'You need to move on.'
'All right,' Ken replied, 'I promise you. This is the last one. If he's not here. He's gone.'
Yohji didn't know what to say. He concentrated on the road.
This was hard.
He remembered when Ken had finally admitted to him, him, that he had deeper feelings for the youngest member of their team.
**Ken squirmed on his chair.
Yohji took a pull on his cigarette.
'So how long's this been goin' on?'
'Umm...' Ken laced his fingers together and unlaced them, unconsciously, 'a few months.'
'Does he have any idea?'
'N-No... not as far as I know.'
That's not necessarily very far, thought Yohji, exhaling a cloud of smoke.
'What do I do, Yohji?' Ken asked quietly, rubbing his forehead with the rough palm of his hand, 'what would you do?'
'Tricky,' said Yohji sincerely, 'but I'd talk to him.'
Ken's face twisted fearfully.
'I can't! I'm useless! I won't even be able to get any words out!'
'You spoke to him this morning.'
'Yeah, well I didn't know what I do now... er... then.'
'Talk to him,' Yohji said firmly.
Ken nodded glumly.
And then Omi walked in, his bag swinging to and fro because of the heavy books inside. He lost balance, but mercifully he fell into an armchair. He collapsed with exhaustion, letting his arms dangle and his head loll back, his eyes tight shut.
'Oh man,' he breathed.
Yohji glanced at Ken, who was determinedly staring at the ground, before getting up and stretching his long arms up over his head.
'Geez, Omi's back. Must be around four, then. Time for a nap.'
'Later,' said Ken, catching his teammate's eye just as he shut the door behind him.
Omi was still flopped in his chair, eyes shut.
No. He couldn't do it today. Tomorrow, he'd do it tomorrow. Ken got up and reached for the same door Yohji had just left by.
'Ken?'
Omi was sitting up, looking at him.
'Mmm?' Ken replied, turning. Gosh what a nice day it is today... keep those thoughts distracted...
Omi flicked up his legs so they were crossed beneath him and ran a hand across his face absently.
'Erm... can I talk to you for a minute?'
'Sure,' Ken said, 'er... yeah, actually I wanted to talk to you too.' Oh great! Now you HAVE to. Moron.
'You did? Oh... well... great... one conversation instead of two, freeing up valuable life for eating chocolate,' said Omi, but without any of his usual spark. It sounded as though he was reciting the words.
There was a pause.
'Um...you wanna go first?' said Omi, blinking at him.
'N-Not really,' stuttered Ken, his hand still on the door handle, gripping it tightly. You can't do it, can you?
'Ken? What is it? Tell me.'
Ken didn't answer, and kept his face turned towards the door. Worried, Omi slipped out of his chair and grabbed Ken's arm just above his elbow, making him jump.
'Ken!'
'It's YOU!' Oh shit, here we go...
Omi froze. Ken turned to face him.
'I-I can't control how I feel about you any more... When I'm near you... I have to try so hard...'
The words just kept coming.
'But it's forbidden! It's wrong! Omi, I'm so sorry, you don't deserve this! Just please... Please...'
Ken grabbed Omi and hugged him tightly, before moving his head so he could whisper to him.
'Please don't hate me...'
Omi didn't know how long they stayed like that, but eventually he found his body was responding again. Hesitantly, he lifted his own arms and wrapped them around Ken, trying to reassure him.
Slowly they leant apart. Ken fixed him with a stare.
'Well?' he said.
The younger boy knew what he meant. Ken had just laid bare his soul to him. Omi was going to have to respond to that.
What could he possibly say? What gesture could possibly equal what his friend had just done?
He smiled. Of course.
Ken looked at him. He was smiling, was that good, or... Oh.
Omi leant upwards and kissed him.
So stunned was he that he took a few moments to register what was happening before he responded.
Omi was kissing him! His soft lips moved passionately over Ken's in a way that pulled a groan from the older boy.
He twisted them around so that Omi's back was against the wall, and pressed their bodies together.
Omi's breath caught in his throat as their tongues rubbed together.
When the kiss ended, Omi laid his head against Ken's chest and listened to his heart, which was beating very fast.
'Omi... are you sure?' Ken said, finally.
'Very,' said Omi firmly, reaching out and taking Ken's hand.
The next time Yohji had seen them had been that evening, when he went down to the lower room to watch TV. As he came down the stairs he could only see Ken sitting on the sofa. He turned as Yohji approached, and smiled.
'Hey.'
'Hey.' Where was Omi? Oh, there he was.
Omi was sat on the floor on front of the sofa, directly in front of Ken, with his back against Ken's legs. He looked up and grinned at Yohji.
Yohji sat down next to them, noticing how Ken's hand was stroking the back of Omi's neck.
Ah, success.
He watched to the end of the programme, then got up.
'Well guys, don't wait up, cos I got one hot date tonight,' he winked, and continued, 'now you know what the nap was for - gotta keep my strength up.'
To his delight, Omi blushed. He turned and left the room, whistling.
They heard the door close.
Omi reached up and covered the hand that was caressing his neck with his own, and sighed.
Ken slid down to join him on the floor, and Omi snuggled against him.
'Do you... do you really think this can work?' said Ken slowly.
'You already know the answer to that,' said Omi quietly.
'I do?'
Omi lifted his head and touched their lips together, then drew apart and looked and Ken challengingly.
He smiled.
'You're right,' he said, leaning forward and kissing Omi again.
**Ken wiped his hand across the soaking window and made a little porthole, which would soon mist over again.
Oh no, it hadn't been that simple, had it? After Esszet had been dispatched, they'd thought that Weiss was no more.
Then Omi had gone missing.
And it had felt like he felt now, like his heart was being crushed.
They'd found him again, forced to take his father's place as Persia, but he was different. Colder, more detached.
A different person.
Not the boy Ken had fallen in love with.
Ken never stopped believing that he was still there, however.
The last time any of them had seen him, he was being forcibly placed in an unmarked van. It was strange.
**'What are you doing?!'
Ken ran forward but was restrained.
'The councillor is unwell, we're taking him to hospital.'
The boy they were man-handling suddenly twisted around and their eyes met. Tears filled Mamoru Takatori's eyes and ran down his face.
'Ken!' he cried, and the one word shook Ken's battered heart.
'Ken! I never stopped loving you! Never! Don't let them do this! Ken, help me! Ken, I love you!'
The doors slammed shut.
'I see what they're on about,' muttered one of the men, 'he is crazy.'
**Those last words Omi had spoken to him were why he was here now.
**Ken watched the van drive away, helplessly.
'I'll get you back, Omi,' he whispered to no one, 'and then we'll be together again.'
**Over the past few months, he and Yohji had searched tirelessly for their friend. They'd searched prisons, hospitals, hospices, and now they were searching mental institutes.
Ken knew that Yohji was tiring. He wanted to bury the past and live among those of the present. But Yohji knew that if Ken believed there was hope, he would never stop searching, and he didn't want him to do it alone. But now, he'd promised to stop. Did that mean he'd lost all hope?
**The boy reached the woods that surrounded the centre without incident, but then he heard footfalls coming nearer.
Paralysed, he watched as a nurse walked out of the paddock and towards the centre.
She stopped, and looked up.
'What are you doing out here?' she asked.
It was Sarah.
Could he trust her?
'Sarah,' he said, 'please don't tell anyone.'
Her eyes widened.
'You ran away?!'
He nodded. She looked scared.
'Please?'
'I-I don't know.'
'Sarah!' he cried, 'they've been lying to me! Look, see how much better I am, how much I can move, think, talk!'
'How did you get so much better?' she asked timidly.
He looked at her.
'I stopped taking the drugs.'
She gasped.
'But then, you've got no protection against...'
'Yes, I know... But it's worth it! I don't feel dozy or stupid anymore!'
Suddenly they both heard raised voices coming from the centre.
'They're onto you,' whispered Sarah, her kind face full of fear.
'Just say you haven't seen me.'
'But...!'
'Promise me! Please!'
'I... I promise... but where will you go? Wait, don't go anywhere. Stay in these woods for a while. I'll arrange something to get you out of here.'
'All right.'
'Get going!' she cried fearfully.
The boy ran off, picked a suitable tree and climbed it like a cat.
Sarah took a few deep breaths and began to walk back towards the centre. She was met at the doorway by Anna and a couple of orderlies.
'Sarah? Did you see that boy come this way?'
'No, I didn't,' said Sarah truthfully. She'd met him at the paddock.
'He must be in the woods.'
She addressed this to the two orderlies.
'Split up and search for him.'
'Ma'am.'
'We can't have patients running loose in the woods,' laughed Anna, as the men began their search, 'the locals would complain!'
'Yes,' said Sarah, 'but he never seemed dangerous or unstable to me.'
'That is precisely why I am the senior nurse and you are not. You develop a sort of second sight in this job. The poor boy's unhinged. This is the best place for him.'
'I see.'
**The boy pressed his back against the rough bark of the tree and gripped hard, trying to calm his heart rate. He'd climbed high enough to avoid being easily detected. He reasoned that it must be around August, as there were still lots of leaves on the tree, although some were yellowing.
Had he been here a month? Two? Maybe even longer? Oh no...
He gripped his head tightly as it began to throb.
Not now...
**'Now, what we have here is a landmark commonly known as a front gate, Ken, and this is where you should have ended up last time.'
'Hey, shut up,' said Ken good-naturedly.
Yohji pulled through the wrought iron gates at a respectable speed, before halting in a parking space.
The driver got out, and began to trudge through the gravel towards the main building. He stopped when he noticed Ken wasn't following.
'Helloooo? This is your chauffeur speaking. We have now arrived at our destination.' He stuck his head in through an open window. 'You coming?'
'Yeah, I guess.' Ken looked up. 'It's the last one, Yohji.'
All Yohji could do was nod.
**Up in the tree, he jammed his fingers into his mouth and bit on them, muffling his scream to a whimper. Thinking was difficult through the pain, but one thought floated up.
'Can't get... caught...'
Tears leaked unnoticed from his eyes, as did blood from his fingers. After what seemed like years, the pain dulled to an uncomfortable buzz, before stopping altogether.
**'What the heck is goin' on here?' Yohji looked around in astonishment at the crowd of people hacking at the bushes around him. A flustered looking old woman strode up to them.
'Can I help you?'
Yohji indicated the melee with his thumb.
'You lose your keys?' he asked with a grin as he watched the group shredding the foliage.
'No, no. It's nothing.'
Yohji decided to let it go.
'We've come looking for a young man, name of Mamoru Takatori,' Yohji said, his eyes still on the chaos behind the woman.
He let Ken listen to what the woman said next, as his eyes were suddenly drawn to one person in the crowd, a youngish woman. Not primarily because she was pretty (although she was, quite,) but because she was the only member of the group who didn't seem overly worried about their task. She went through the motions of searching, but not with the same kind of frenzy as the others.
'Whatever's going on,' the Inner Detective said, 'you can bet your life she knows something useful... something the others don't know...'
'I'm sorry,' the woman said kindly, 'but all the patients who come here have been prescribed complete isolation for reasons of health. Even if the young man in question had been admitted here, I'm powerless to help you.'
'So he's been admitted here?' Ken stepped forward. The woman blinked at him. Behind her, the woman Yohji had just been watching looked up and over in their direction.
'Who, dear?' The elderly lady smiled.
'Mamoru Takatori!'
Yohji watched the far-off woman's face, but it contained no clues.
'I'm sorry, dear, it's not in my power to divulge any information about any of our patients,' she said sweetly.
'So the people here are locked away, effectively?' Yohji rolled his eyes. 'Ken, Ken, Ken, you are so predictable.'
'Yes,' said the woman, straightening slightly, 'and with good reason. This is where the dangerous sociopaths and schizophrenics come. They're kept here for the safety of themselves and others.'
'C'mon Ken,' said Yohji gently, 'we're not getting any answers.'
'But...'
Yohji told hold of his arm, but his eyes were sympathetic. He understood. This was the last one. Ken didn't want to give up. It was his last chance. Yohji, however, had a good feeling about his mystery woman.
As soon as he'd pulled Ken far enough away, he released him. Ken rounded on him.
'Yohji!'
'Listen, you see that woman standing over there?'
'Yohji...' Ken's voice was dangerous.
'I'm serious. Let's see if we can get a word with her.'
**Sarah could breathe freely again when the last of the search party had retreated. She knew, however, that they would be back again once Anna had worked out a strategy. Rubbing her forehead fretfully, she turned toward the main entrance.
'Hang on a sec,' a male voice said.
Sarah looked up the arm that had grabbed hold of hers and beheld a tall fair-haired man with short blonde hair and very green eyes.
'Wh-What can I do for you?' she asked. 'This was the man who was talking to the chief...'
'No, No, you misunderstand. We just wanna ask you a few questions.'
'We?'
Sarah spied the other person a second later. A slightly shorter man leaning against a tree, his expression sullen and downcast.
'I'll try and help,' she said truthfully.
'See, the thing is,' Yohji said lightly, 'you didn't seem all too bothered in finding what they were all frantically looking for.'
'I was,' Sarah murmured, but she knew he knew the truth.
'What were they so worked up about anyway?' Yohji said, drawling slightly, reaching into his pocket for his packet of cigarettes. God, he needed his hat, he wasn't a full detective without it.
'I'm not supposed to say,' Sarah said quietly, but Yohji laughed softly.
'Oh come on, beautiful, we're in a loony bin, I'd put money on it being an escaped loony.'
'They're not a loony!' Sarah snapped, then cursed herself. Yohji, however, didn't seem to notice. He fumbled with his lighter for a moment, then slipped it back into his pocket.
'Look,' she said testily, 'I guess you're here looking for someone. We get people doing that from time to time. Look, if someone you loved is in here, you don't want to see them again, trust me.'
Ken shuffled his feet restlessly. How long was Yohji going to play with this poor woman?
'Even if they're 'not a loony'?'
The woman looked trapped.
'Look,' said Yohji, slinging an arm casually around the woman's shoulder's in a brotherly way, 'if someone's stuck in here who isn't crazy, isn't that wrong?'
'It's nothing to do with me.' The woman looked away.
Yohji looked like he was about to say something else, when an ear-splitting smash rent the air. They all turned to see a large white van embedded in the side of a low slung car. It had reversed too quickly. The driver climbed out, rubbing his neck and cursing, then caught sight of the mangled car and swore and swore and swore.
'I guess,' said Ken quietly, amused by Yohji's look of absolute horror, 'that we're here for the night.'
*The raindrops plopped unsympathetically through the meagre shelter the tree offered onto the boy hidden in its branches. He was hungry and he was cold, but he couldn't get down, in case they found him.
He sneezed, and then coughed.
Sighing, he let his hair loose from the band he'd always held it back with. It was damp, and so didn't spread out over his shoulders the way it normally did, but with a slight shake of his head it covered his back.
It was he supposed, unusual for a guy to have such long hair. He smiled. He looked like a girl unless you looked closely. He'd just never bothered cutting it, and let it be.
**'Where are you going, Sarah?'
Yohji opened one eye and saw the young woman he'd spoken to earlier, kitted out with a coat and boots, with her hand on the door handle.
'Anna! You startled me.'
'I'm watching the door in case the little bugger comes back,' said the senior nurse in a crotchety tone, 'but that's not the point. Answer me, where are you going, Sarah?'
'For a walk.'
Yohji's gaze slipped to the senior nurse, Anna. She had suddenly become all smiles.
'Not in this weather, dear, it's pouring! There's a storm in the air, I'd say.'
'Exactly,' said Sarah, doing some quick thinking, 'I'm going to check on the horses.'
Thanking God she'd left them there earlier; she withdrew the tack room keys from her coat pocket as evidence.
Anna did not reply to this, and gave only a curt nod to show she'd heard.
Sarah slipped out in the rain. Yohji closed his eyes again, and struggled to get comfy on the floor. Next to him, Ken was sleeping soundly. Oh yeah, he hated being too comfortable, didn't he? Bastard.
**Sarah wrapped her coat tighter around her as the rain lashed over her.
She stopped in the middle of the wood, her heart in her mouth. Forests were frightening in the dark.
'Are you here? It's Sarah,' she called as loudly as she dared.
At first she could hear nothing but the rain and the creaking of the trees, until she became aware of a weak voice calling.
'I'm here.'
She followed it to the base of a tree and looked up.
'Is this the right one?' she asked in a lower tone.
'Yes,' replied the same voice, 'hold on.'
The branches shook a little as the boy descended. His limbs trembled involuntarily.
'They'll be out again tomorrow looking for you,' she said flatly. He nodded.
'I know.'
Her worried gaze ran over his pale arms and red nose and ears. She didn't notice the blood on his hands. Suddenly, she had an idea.
'Here,' she said briskly, shedding her coat, 'take this.'
He did so, dumbly.
'B-But, you've got to walk back!'
'And you're gonna be up there all night, take it!'
He bowed slightly, as much as one can when they're crouched in a tree. 'Thank you. For everything.'
She turned to leave.
'Sarah?'
She stopped.
'D'you know my name?'
She sighed.
'No.' She said softly. 'Goodnight.'
**'Christopher!'
A heavy-set man of about forty turned in response to the hail.
Yohji groaned. Was he destined to have no sleep this night?
'Ma'am,' the man rumbled in response.
'I want Sarah followed from now on.'
Yohji blinked.
'Ma'am?'
'She's hiding something. As soon as she leads us to whatever it is, she'll be out of here, but until then, keep an eye on her, right?'
'You don't think she'll lead us to...?'
'Hush!' snapped Anna. 'Also, make sure she doesn't get suspicious.'
'Right you are, ma'am,' said the orderly, before walking away.
**Next morning, Yohji was awoken by Ken poking him. He seemed about to say something when Yohji suddenly remembered.
'Save it,' he chuckled, 'I learnt loads last night.'
**'So that woman... They reckon she's hiding this escaped loony?'
'From what I could gather. They're certainly very suspicious of her. They're having her followed.'
'D'you think it could be...?' Ken let the question hang.
Yohji groaned inwardly. The odds were astronomical, and frankly, he wasn't confident.
'There's only one way to find out,' was what he said, not catching Ken's eye.
**'There she is.' Ken looked up as the woman, Sarah, walked cautiously into the lobby. The only other person there was an old man opposite reading a huge newspaper that blocked her from view. Ken and Yohji were just out of view at the top of some stairs.
Sarah slipped out the door. Ken went to move, but Yohji caught his arm. The 'old man' had folded his paper, revealing himself as Christopher. He whistled, and three other men emerged from various posts. Together, they followed the woman.
Ken and Yohji waited for a minute, then did likewise.
**Sarah trudged swiftly through the mud, clutching at the sandwich in her pocket. She knew it wasn't a good idea to go and visit him in the daytime, but he must be starving by now.
Suddenly she stopped dead. She could've sworn she heard footfalls behind her, but now all was silent save for the sounds of nature. She hurried on.
Her shadowers drew closer.
**She stopped after a while. Yes, it was around here somewhere. She was about to call when another voice rang out.
'Where are you off to?'
She turned.
Christopher was standing a few paces back with a small group of men. She closed her eyes. She'd been so stupid!
Nonchalantly she took a few steps towards them so as to mask where she'd just been standing, and replied, 'Oh just for a wander.'
Christopher shook his head.
'Sorry, not good enough,' he replied.
*'Stop!' hissed Ken. He and Yohji ducked out of sight and watched.
*Up in his tree, the boy was awake in an instant. He peered through the leaves. Sarah! The men from the centre! Oh no!
His first feeling was fear, then doubt. Had Sarah betrayed him? No, he decided, she looked scared.
'I'm sorry to hear that,' he heard her say coldly, 'but that is in fact what I was doing. Now if you'll just excuse me...'
He saw her make to walk past them, but one of the men at the back grabbed her as she passed and twisted her round roughly.
'Hey!' Her yelp of pain and surprise rang out.
'I'm sorry miss,' said Christopher, 'but you're not going anywhere until you tell us why you were really out here.'
'Let me go! How dare you!' shrieked Sarah, struggling fruitlessly.
It was then that the boy felt a new emotion, anger. How dare they hurt her! She couldn't fight back! But what could he do?
He glanced around and his gaze settled on a branch just above him.
'Oh well, I don't have anything else,' he thought.
**'Yohji,' Ken whispered, 'we've got to do something!'
'Yeah,' Yohji agreed, 'ready, after three. One... Two... Thr...?'
He trailed off as the man would been holding Sarah staggered back a bit, clutching at one of his eyes.
'What the hell is it?' cried Christopher, then he spotted the conker lying on the ground, its green spiky case split by the impact with the man's face.
'What...?' He managed to say before another one caught him on the back of the neck.
He turned, to try and see where they were coming from, but just then, conkers began to rain down so sharply that it was impossible to stay where they were.
**'How odd,' thought the boy, 'I'm a really good shot...What a good time to find that out.'
He knew though, that throwing plants at the men would not deter them for long. He needed to move. Over the past day, he'd crept out of his tree when he could and explored the forest. He knew a place to hide. He needed to take Sarah, too.
**'Would you look at that?' said Yohji in amazement, They hadn't moved.
Ken looked at him.
'That's not gonna get them to go right away, look, they're already coming back.'
It was true. But Yohji had an idea to stop that dead in its tracks. He withdrew his gun from its pouch and pointed it at the sky.
The men who had been returning froze at the sound of the gun discharging. They looked at each other, and decided that they'd come back later.
**Yohji watched in satisfaction.
'Never fails. Shall we?'
Sarah spun around fearfully as the two men appeared.
'You again!' Yohji grinned.
'You want to tell us what's happening now? Seeing as I just saved your ass.'
'The shot... it was you? But why...?'
'I guess I'm just a gentleman,' Yohji said. Behind him, Ken rolled his eyes.
**The boy in the tree leant forward a little further. What was going on?
'Don't worry.'
The voice was familiar.
'We won't let them get you.'
'Y-You?'
Sarah sounded completely lost. He clambered further still.
That man! He knew him! Oh no! Pink elephants, pink elephants!
He repeated this to himself to ward off any further pain. He couldn't think about that. But, he reasoned, if he knew this man, could he trust him? He had no clue, (because he wasn't allowing himself to think about it) whether this man had been a friend of his or not.
He decided that there would be no better time to move from his tree, however.
'Sarah?' he called.
**On the ground, Sarah froze, and watched as her saviours' gazes drifted upwards towards the sound. She shut her eyes.
'Who's up there?' called Yohji in a friendly tone.
'Wait a minute,' was his only reply.
Ken and Yohji glanced at one another, then at Sarah, whose expression was one of fear and confusion.
A few moments, passed, then some branches parted further up the tree.
**The boy climbed down quickly and carefully. He was still wearing Sarah's coat, and his hair was wet and knotty due to the rain, making him look less than presentable.
Ken and Yohji stared.
'Sooo,' said Yohji slowly, 'you're this escaped loony they're all so worried about.'
A girl? Ken'll be gutted.
'That's right,' the girl replied, 'I'm on the run, so to speak. Thank you for helping to drive them away.'
'Anytime, can't stand bullies,' Yohji said lightly.
'Sarah,' the girl said, looking at the nurse, 'I found a cave yesterday. I'm going to move to there, what will you do?'
'I'll have to leave,' Sarah said, 'I can't see me walking back to my job after all this.'
The girl hung her head, her long knotted hair falling forward.
'I'm so sorry.'
'Don't be ridiculous!' she exclaimed, then reached out her hand to the girl. She took it.
'Take care, little one,' she said, and began to walk away.
When she was out of sight, the girl turned towards the two assassins.
'So, what's your name, kid?' Yohji asked, and was surprised to see the girl jump violently.
'SHUT UP!'
'Huh!' They both took a step back as the girl slumped to the ground kneading her forehead.
'I-I'm sorry. I don't know my name, and if I try to think about it, I get these terrible headaches... really bad. Please don't talk about it.'
'Hey, I'm sorry too,' said Yohji, reaching down to help her to her feet. She looked up at him and smiled gratefully, and it was then that he noticed.
'Hey! You're...!'
The girl looked at him in amazement, and Ken looked up from the conkers he'd been idly collecting.
'I'm what?' He heard the girl say.
Yohji laughed.
'You're not a girl, are you?'
'Huh?'
'Sorry,' Yohji laughed again, 'I thought you were a girl.'
'Ha! Everyone thinks that, don't worry! It's the hair!' The boy laughed too, standing up.
'We'd better get going then,' Yohji said, rubbing his head.
Suddenly the boy's expression turned pained.
'Can't you stay for a bit and talk to me?'
'Well... er...'
Ken looked over.
'It's not like we can go anywhere anyway,' he reminded Yohji dully.
**Around an hour later, Ken and the strange mental patient were sat in the little cave he'd found. Yohji had finally decided to get his ass in gear and do something about fixing his car.
'So...' Ken began, feeling he ought to say something, 'why'd you break out?'
The boy looked at his hands, and Ken noted to his alarm that the joints were bloodstained.
'They had me so drugged up I couldn't walk or think properly. I had to get out.'
'Why were you in there?' Ken asked.
'I don't know,' the boy said simply.
'You don't remember?'
'Not a thing.' He said sadly.
'And... these headaches,' Ken started, and the boy picked up for him.
'Oh, those, yeah, I got those whenever I tried to remember anything about my past. The nurses said it was some kind of protection my mind had set up, keeping me out.'
Ken was about to say something else when he noticed the boy staring at him from under his unkempt fringe.
'What?' he said edgily. The boy looked away.
'Sorry,' he said miserably, 'you just seem... very familiar to me, somehow.'
Ken looked at him sharply.
'It couldn't be...Omi?'
Moving quickly, he reached out and lifted the boy's scraggly hair away from his face, causing him to jump in surprise.
'Wh-What are you...?' he began, then shuddered and fell silent as Ken drew a hand gently down his cheek.
Inside his battered brain, thoughts whirled around like crazy.
'That feels so... nice... and familiar...did I...? Did we...? Is he...?'
'No!' he cried, feeling the familiar horror keep up on him.
'I'm sorry!' Ken cried, snatching his hand back, but the boy didn't seem to hear him. He watched in alarm as the boy shook violently, then attempted to muffle a cry by chewing on his fingers, but these were already mangled from what Ken now realised was a prior occurrence. He yelped and took them out.
He sat powerless as the boy grabbed his head and screamed.
'AAARGH! MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE GOD!
After what seemed like forever, the boy's twisted expression slackened and he blinked slowly, black spots winking before his eyes. He turned slowly to look at the other man.
'It's...never been that bad before...' he said quietly, 'that must mean that I...'
'Don't think about it!' Ken advised hurriedly. The boy stopped mid-sentence and nodded.
He sharply slapped the cold rock of the floor, making Ken jump.
'But it sucks! Why can't I know who I am? I want to know! Tell me!'
Ken was too stunned to do anything, although he could tell that the last demand was not aimed at him.
The boy looked sadly at his companion. Without thinking too long on it in fear of another attack, he remembered that moment where he'd traced a hand down his face and it'd felt so familiar...
'Maybe we were lovers...'
Horrified at this thought, he blushed furiously, looking at his feet. Then he had an idea. He leant forwards so he was on all fours, and began crawling closer to the other boy.
Ken was being very quiet. Had he really found Omi? Was this what he'd been reduced to? Suddenly he realised the boy in question was a lot closer to him than he had been a few minutes ago.
The boy stared up at him, his blue eyes running over the older man's features.
Involuntarily, Ken found his hand brushing the wild hair away from the boy's face, so he could see it better.
Before he could say anything, however, the boy spoke.
'My head hurts so much,' he said quietly, 'and... you know before... when you touched me, it made me feel better. Can you make me feel better now?'
'I'll try,' Ken relented. Immediately the boy snuggled up against him in exactly the same way Omi had used to.
Ken's mind was reeling. It couldn't be. It couldn't be! He found his arms twining instinctively around the boy.
'This feels so nice,' thought the boy blissfully, sighing as arms tightened around him. He leant back to look at the other boy's face again. To his amazement, he looked sad.
Ken was sad. He felt like a traitor. This could not be Omi, not after all this time. And here he (Ken) was, arms wrapped around an escaped mental patient he'd befriended, just because he'd asked him to.
He jumped as the boy touched his face gently.
'Don't be sad,' he said gently. His face fell. 'At least you know who you are...'
Ken watched in surprise as the boy's face registered a look of shock, which faded slowly.
'What is it?' he asked, aware that the boy still had his hand on his face.
'You! You're...'
He looked afraid, and Ken knew why, but this was important.
'I'm what?' he said urgently, looking hard at the other boy, who now looked tearful.
'I don't know how!' the boy said breathlessly, 'but my brain just told me a name...'
'What name?'
The boy looked at him.
'It sounded like Hideki, just out of nowhere.'
Ken's face fell.
'No, that's not my name,' he said heavily.
'Oh, I'm sorry.'
'Don't be sorry,' Ken said, trying to smile, 'it's not your fault.'
'But I was so sure...' the boy mumbled, laying his head against Ken in defeat, 'just in that moment, I was so definite... It's not your surname, is it? No... Hideki's a first name, isn't it... sorry...'
'It... does sound a little bit similar to my surname,' Ken said, but he felt like he was clutching at straws again.
'D'you think...that if instead of running away and shutting off my thoughts whenever I get the pain, I just keep thinking, it'll go away? D'you think I can break through it?'
The boy sounded desperate. Ken hugged him a little.
'I'm not a doctor,' he said levelly, 'and is it worth it?'
'Yes!'
'Well then, give it a shot if you want to... just be careful, alright?'
The boy looked up at him, his eyes softening.
'Alright, I will... Ken-kun...'
Ken stared at him.
'What did you just...?' he began in amazement, but a horrified expression had swept over the boy's face and he clutched Ken's shirt as pain swept through his entire body.
'Ah! AH!! It hurts! Oh...' his voice trailed off but he didn't stop shaking.
Ken held him as tightly as he could.
'Just hang in there...' he whispered. The boy knew his NAME! His heart was wrenched with confusion still, but there was a chance...
'I'm thinking,' said the boy through gritted teeth, 'about you, and how nice you holding me feels, and your name... and the other guy who was with you....'
'Steady...' Ken stroked the boy's head, but he could do nothing to ease his pain.
'Just keep... doing that,' the boy whimpered through his agony, 'and I can think about... that as well...'
Ken complied, caressing his neck and willing for his pain to end.
Then, as soon as it had begun, it appeared to stop. The boy's head rested on his chest. His shoulders were stooped.
Then he looked up.
'Ken...' he said softly, wiping tear from his eyes, 'I did it...'
'And what did you...?' Ken began, but he was cut off as Omi caught him by surprise and kissed him, just like he had right at the beginning.
This kiss was very different, though. Ken felt blood pounding in his ears as Omi kissed him deeply and feverishly, hungrily duelling with his tongue and caressing the back of his neck with his hand.
'Omi...'
Ken lost control. He pushed forward suddenly and Omi found himself on his back, with Ken's hand behind his head so he didn't crack it on the floor. The next moment their mouths met again as Ken leant forward over Omi pushing up the bottom of his T-shirt.
'Ken!' Omi cried out as he felt his lover's hand on his chest.
'Omi... I can't believe I've found you at last,' Ken muttered, his thinking hazy through the mist of passion that had engulfed them.
After around ten minutes of deep kissing and touching, Ken pulled Omi into his arms and rested back against the wall. Omi sighed happily and snuggled against him.
'I love you,' he said quietly, 'and I never ever stopped.'
'I know,' Ken said, nuzzling his hair, 'I know.'
**'Hello there, beautiful!'
Sarah sighed. This man was becoming a pain.
'Yes?' she said sweetly from the bench she'd been sat on for the last hour or so.
'You've been sitting there an awful long time,' Yohji observed, 'want a ride back to Tokyo?' He indicated the hire car behind him.
She looked at him, open-mouthed.
'Serious?'
'As can be,' he replied, grinning. 'It's a four-seater, so we've got one seat begging.'
Her eyes widened.
'You're taking the boy?' she asked, amazed. Yohji smiled.
'His name is Omi,' he said softly, 'and yes, we're taking him.'
'Omi...' Sarah said quietly, 'yes, it suits him.'
**Yohji poked his head into the cave. Ken looked up sharply.
'You two coming?' he enquired jovially.
Ken laughed.
'You knew, didn't you, you sly old bugger.'
Yohji winked, 'No, you're just real slow, Hidaka, c'mon, we're off.'
Omi turned to look at him.
'Yohji,' he cried and launched himself forward, glomping the older man well and truly.
'Oof,' said Yohji.
**A little later, Yohji was driving the hire car (which handled well, but wasn't as good as his currently pancake-shaped former car) and humming along to the radio. He glanced over at Sarah, sat opposite him in the passenger's seat, then in his rear view mirror and smiled.
Ken and Omi were asleep, arms around each other, and Ken had his hand buried in Omi 's long hair.
He chuckled and returned his gaze to the road. Sarah looked behind her at the sleeping couple as well.
'I'm happy for them,' she said, smiling, 'when Omi first arrived, he made a hell of a fuss.'
Her face fell.
'They were so harsh, prescribed him so many drugs that he changed completely. I don't even know if he remembered how long he'd been here.'
'Well, he's all right now,' said Yohji, 'I don't think Ken'll be letting him out of his sight from now on, especially as they have some catching up to do.'
'How did they come to be together? Workmates?'
'Teammates, yeah,' Yohji replied, 'I had to kick start the dozy idiot into saying something, 'though.'
'Ken?'
'Got it.'
They drove on for a while in silence.
**Ken reached out and knotted his fingers through Omi's, pulling him into an embrace.
'Ken!' Omi laughed, but sighed as Ken ran his other hand though Omi's newly cropped hair.
'I love you,' Ken murmured against his lips, before kissing him soundly, turning his younger lover to jelly in his arms.
From across the shop, Sarah watched, her hands resting on her apron.
'Have they always been like that?' she asked Yohji.
'What, sickening? Yep.'
'No...' Sarah laughed, 'so affectionate and loving, or is it just since Omi came back?'
'No, they've always been like that,' Yohji said with a smile, 'I know it's cheesy, but they're soulmates.'
'I wonder how Ken managed to hold on for so long without him,' Sarah said, watching as the two people they were watching retreated into the greenhouse and out of view.
'I don't think Ken could've held on much longer,' said Yohji truthfully.
Sarah did not reply at once, but then said, 'Life has a way of sorting itself out, I've often thought about this. It's lucky really. Love is sought out and protected, Evil is hunted down and destroyed. That's how we can all keep on living. That's how they found each other again.'
Yohji thought.
'Well, I guess she's right. I'm on first name terms with some of the guys known to hunt down and destroy evil, and we did find Omi on the very last stop...'
'I guess you're right,' he said.
The End