Part 11

It took a moment for the German's words to register with Omi. When they did, he pulled back and stared at the older man in horror. "Wh-what did you say?" he asked in Japanese.

Nagi had pulled back as well, though he hadn't released his hold on his Master. The redhead was looking at them both uncomprehendingly, then turned a beseeching look on Crawford.

The American sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "This is going to be very complicated," he said in English. "Omi, Nagi... This isn't the Schuldig you know. His name is Lukas, and he has no idea who any of you are."

Omi stared at the precognitive as if he'd lost his mind. "How could he not... he has amnesia?" he finished, that being the only possible explanation he could think of for what Crawford had said.

"Oi, somebody mind translating for the rest of us?" Ken asked plaintively in Japanese. "What the fuck is going on?"

"When I have a clue, I'll let you know," Omi replied tensely. He was looking back and forth between Crawford and... and Lukas now, and he didn't like the expression on either of their faces. Most of all, though, he was worried about Nagi. The telekinetic had never been strong at the best of times, and he'd been through a hell of a lot in the past few days.

The youngest member of Schwartz looked like he'd been struck by a live electrical current. "You... you don't know who I AM?" he said, his voice breaking on the last word. Omi stepped forward again immediately, putting a hand on his friend and sometime lover's shoulder.

"Nagi," he started, but the telekinetic shrugged him off violently, releasing the telepath and backing away, shaking his head.

"No. No, I don't believe it! It c-can't be t-true..." his words were cut off by a gasp, and he turned a horrible sickly grey colour, his hand rising to his chest and his eyes going wide.

Crawford and Omi moved at the same moment, catching the boy between them as he fell. "Shit," Omi swore helplessly. "Oh gods, please tell me his heart hasn't stopped again..."

"No, he'll be all right," Crawford assured him, though Omi rather thought the precognitive's voice held an unusual note of worry in it. The American looked up and around at everyone who was standing there staring at the three of them in shock. "We need to get out of here and regroup," he said in English, then repeated himself in Japanese. "Full explanations can wait until we're inside and Nagi has been properly looked after."

To Omi's surprise, it was Aya who first nodded and stepped back, gesturing at the door with his sheathed katana. "Your apartment has been breached, and I imagine it's crawling with police by now," he said in his gruff way. "The Koneko will do as a meeting place - at least it's familiar to Nagi."

"The less stress he has to deal with right now, the better," Youji agreed, and Ken nodded. Something that had been tight in Crawford's expression relaxed slightly.

"Thank you," he said to them formally, standing and cradling Nagi in his arms. The telekinetic was either asleep or unconscious - Omi was willing to bet on the latter - and his breathing was not particularly steady. He looked like hell.

"We should all fit in the cars," Omi said, not bothering to repeat himself in English. He couldn't imagine why Schuldig would suddenly be unable to understand Japanese - amnesia didn't cause you to lose your knowledge of things like languages that you knew fluently. But even if that was the case, he wasn't sure he was really ready to deal with a Schuldig that didn't recognize him just yet.

"But I think it would be best for Nagi not to be in the same vehicle as Sch.... as Lukas," he amended, flinching slightly as he said it. "Just in case he wakes."

Crawford looked pained for a moment, then nodded. "I'll stay with Lukas," he said, and there was something in his voice Omi would almost have called possessiveness if it had been anyone but Crawford. "He... needs someone to translate for him," the American added, almost defensively.

"I'll take Nagi," Youji said quietly, stepping forward and taking the small boy from Crawford's arms. Nagi was small for his age and thinner than was healthy, because of the amount of energy his powers stole from his body. Omi knew from experience that the younger boy hardly weighed anything at all.

Somehow they got themselves sorted out after that, and Omi fretted all the way back to the Koneko, not liking the way Nagi looked or sounded. But Crawford had said the boy would be all right, he reminded himself sternly. Now that the anti-psychic was dead, the precognitive's powers should have been functioning normally.

His living room was tiny, and it was a tight squeeze to get everyone inside it. It would have made more sense to talk in the mission room, but Omi didn't want to get too far from the bedroom where he'd laid Nagi down to rest. If the boy woke alone... well, he'd already gone to several drastic extremes in the last few days. There was nothing to keep him from doing something else just as drastic.

He took the time to do a quick bandaging job on the bullet wound in his shoulder - thankfully the bullet had gone through cleanly and putting pressure bandages on the entry and exit wounds was enough to stop the blood, at least for the moment. He rigged a sling, then returned from his bedroom to find Aya, Ken and Youji arrayed along one wall, watching the two psychics who were seated on the couch. A glance told Omi that the two were in deep trance - nothing short of an earthquake was likely to bring them out of it. He looked back at his teammates. "What are they doing?"

"Crawford said something about 'implanting Japanese' into Schu," Youji muttered, shrugging. Of the four of them he was the most relaxed at the moment, but that wasn't saying much. Omi knew his lover well enough to see the subtle signs of tension in the older man's body. Youji was not pleased about the situation, he was just hiding his nervousness better than Ken or Aya.

"I don't get it," Ken said, running a hand through his dark hair. "Schuldig already speaks fluent Japanese. What's the deal?"

"I suspect we need Crawford to tell us that, Ken-kun," Omi replied grimly. "And trust me, I intend to get as complete an answer from him as is humanly possible!" That made Ken crack a grin - they were all familiar with Omi's sometimes painfully intensive mission debriefing procedures. When the Weiss leader wanted to know something, there was very little that would stop him from discovering the answer.

A quiet sigh from the other side of the room told him that the two Schwartz members had come out of trance. Crawford looked exhausted, with a pinched, pained expression around his eyes and mouth. The German - Omi found it difficult to think of him as Lukas - was blinking like he was dazed and trying to sort through an overload of information. Which, actually, he probably was.

"I didn't know you were a telepath," Omi said to Crawford, by way of an opening gambit. It was as good a place to start as any.

"Only a minor one," the American replied, his voice weary. "Compared to... Lukas, I might as well not even be rated with the ability." Omi found it vaguely comforting that Crawford was also hesitating over Schuldig's new name. "I can only speak to other telepaths, and even then my range is limited. The only reason I could give Lukas the language is because of my familiarity with his mind."

That made Omi raise an eyebrow. "I don't suppose you'd care to explain exactly what happened, and why he doesn't remember us?" he asked in a deceptively mild voice. He glanced at the telepath. "You don't remember us, right?"

"Not a clue," the German replied in hesitant Japanese, shaking his head. "Never seen any of you before in my life, except Brad."

'Brad'... that made Omi blink in surprise. Schuldig had once told him that Schwartz's leader had forbidden him to ever call him by first name, yet at the moment Crawford didn't seem in any way displeased by hearing his name from the telepath.

"Sit, all of you," Crawford said with some irritation. "We've both already got migraines, we don't need to be craning our necks to look up at you. We're not going to attack you. At the moment, we owe you our lives."

Slowly, Weiss took seats in various places around the room. Youji slung himself across one chair, Omi took the other, and Aya seated himself on the wide windowsill, which had a cushion for just that purpose. There was room for one more person on the couch beside the two psychics, but Ken took one look at them and shook his head, dropping gracefully to sit at the floor by his lover's feet instead.

"Now, explain," Omi said, letting his voice get a little cold. "I want every detail - I think you owe ME that much, if not the rest of us."

Crawford took a deep breath, and seemed to be gathering himself. "I don't know how much you - any of you - know about Schuldig's past, so I'm going to start at the beginning. When I found him here in Tokyo several years ago, he was... in a very nasty situation, with no control over his powers whatsoever." Omi saw the German give Crawford a very surprised look at that piece of information, and filed the expression away as one more piece of this whole puzzle.

"I took him in, trained him, introduced him to Estet, and made him my teammate," the precognitive continued, staring at a fixed point on the wall rather than looking at any of them. "He had amnesia then - he didn't remember anything prior to a few months before I found him. I tried several times to find a way around it, but every time I tried to formulate a plan, I'd receive a vision of..." he paused, and grimaced. "Well. Let's just say, the results would have been unpleasant, though there were several variations on the theme. There was something that had happened to him, something his mind was hiding from, and which he simply could not face without losing control of himself and his abilities completely."

Omi winced at the very thought. He had some idea of just how powerful a telepath Schuldig was, and he'd seen the utter destruction wrought when Nagi had lost control of his emotions and his powers. He didn't think the results of a telepathic outburst would be any less destructive than a telekinetic one, especially in a city with as crowded a population as Tokyo. Crawford nodded at him, seeing the expression.

"I finally gave up," Crawford picked up the thread of the story again. "That was about the same time that we picked up Nagi as an addition to our team, and we began to form a stable, powerful trio. Schuldig knew from my reaction upon meeting him that I knew something of his past, but he told me flatly that he didn't want to know any of it. Given the visions I'd had, I thought that was for the best."

The wheels had been turning in Omi's head during all this, and he thought he was starting to form an idea of what might have happened. Before he could say anything, however, Youji jumped in. "His name was Lukas before he forgot everything, wasn't it?" the former P.I. asked shrewdly. "So, what... he's been regressed?"

"The telepath who captured us was a former instructor of the psychic Institute that trained us as teenagers," Crawford replied grimly. "Somehow he managed to 'flip' Lukas' amnesia, so that he now remembers everything PRIOR to the event he's blocked, but has completely forgotten everything that came after. And I do mean completely," he added, eyes narrow. "That's why I had to imprint Japanese on him. Even though he knew it fluently enough to be able to think in the language, he now doesn't remember a single word of it, except for what I just gave him."

"And I'd give a lot to know how the fuck he managed it, too, the bastard," Lukas added with venom. "He MUST have planted a tag on me when I was a kid, learning from him. There's no other way he should have been able to get that deep in my head, shields or no shields."

Omi had an odd expression on his face as he listened to the German speak. It was more than just the slow and awkward Japanese - there was something about the way he spoke, about the way he held himself, even about his expression, that was indefinably different. He'd have found it easier to believe that this man was Schuldig's long lost twin brother than Schuldig himself. The differences were subtle, but they were there.

Resolutely, he decided to treat Lukas as exactly that - Schuldig's twin brother, not his beloved Gebieter. Except that there was one small complication that prevented that from being the easy solution. "All right," he said, proud that his voice stayed level. "Lost skills are relearnable, and I'm sure Crawford is glad that you remember your friendship with him. But we can't leave things like this."

"Why not?" Lukas asked, shaking his head. "I mean, okay, so I'm gonna have to get to know all you people again. What's so bad about that? People live with amnesia all the time, and they get on with their lives."

Omi's lips thinned. "You'll get no arguments from me on that subject," he said tersely, earning himself a snort from either Ken or Aya, he wasn't sure. It had come from their direction, anyway. "But most amnesiacs don't have someone relying on them the way that Nagi relies on you. For you not to remember him is... unacceptable."

He saw the way Crawford's expression shut down abruptly, and his eyes narrowed slightly. You don't like that at all, do you, he thought to himself, careful to keep the thought at a level where the telepath wouldn't be able to pick it up casually. Nagi is your responsibility almost as much as he's Schuldig's... why does any mention of his dependence on Schuldig make you shut down like that?

Lukas was looking between him and Crawford uncomprehendingly. "I still don't get it. What's the big deal? What is this kid to me, anyway? I mean, I'm not like, his FATHER or something, am I?"

"Not quite," Crawford replied, his lips curling in a humourless smile. "It's far more complicated than that, and you're not going to like this at all, Lukas."

Before he could get any further, there was a shuffle at the doorway. With a sinking feeling, Omi knew what it was even before Nagi spoke. "Gebieter?" the pet murmured, dark blue eyes huge and liquid with unshed tears. His gaze was fixed on the telepath, as it generally was if his Master was in the room.

Omi was on his feet before he knew what he was doing. Inwardly he was cursing Nagi's uncanny ability to walk in on a conversation at the worst possible moment - he wouldn't have believed the telekinetic would even be capable of sitting up at the moment, let alone walking! Outwardly, however, he kept his voice calm and soothing. "Liebe, you need to..."

His voice caught on the words, however, as he got a look a Lukas' horrified expression. The telepath had gone as pale and wide-eyed as Nagi, and was staring at the telekinetic like the boy was some kind of deadly disease. "WHAT did he just call me?" he demanded, his voice shaking. "Brad, please tell me that was some fucked up Japanese word you didn't teach me that only sounds like German..."

Crawford was looking pained again, and had laid a restraining - comforting? - hand on the German's shoulder. "I'd have chosen a better way to break this to you, but yes, he said what you think he did," he told Lukas as Omi and Youji both moved forward to support Nagi, who looked like he was thinking about fainting again. "You are Nagi's Master, in a Dominant/submissive sense, and that's why it's very bad that you don't remember him."

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Lukas blurted out, switching back to English in his agitation. Omi almost wished he'd reverted to German instead - he wouldn't have been able to understand what was being said then, but neither would Nagi. The telekinetic huddled into Omi and Youji as Lukas continued, "There is NO fucking WAY! Not only would I absolutely never sleep with a fucking KID, but you could not torture me enough to force me into doing that to anybody!"

The telepath's voice was rising hysterically with each word, though Crawford was now obviously trying to calm him, without much success. Aya and Ken were watching wide-eyed from the sidelines, while Omi and Youji did their best to shelter a whimpering Nagi from something that surely had to be the pet's worst nightmares come true.

Crawford met Omi's eyes, and jerked his head at the hallway. Omi nodded. "Youji, get Liebechen out of here," he said softly, fighting to keep his voice level. "Try to calm him down. Aya-kun, Ken-kun... you go with them." He saw protest in both of their eyes, and shook his head once, firmly. "NO buts," he ordered, in the coldest voice either had ever heard him use.

Aya looked like he was still thinking about arguing, but Ken saw something in Omi's face that made him stand and tug at his lover's hand, forcing the redhead to his feet. "This is none of our business," Ken murmured, though from the expression on his face he wanted to stay every bit as much as Aya. "Let them sort it out." After a moment he was successful in urging the swordsman into the hall towards Omi's bedroom.

That left Omi facing off against Crawford and Lukas, who was still more than half hysterical. Omi moved forward until he was close enough for them to see the utter coldness in his eyes. Then he punched Lukas, hard, in the stomach. If Crawford saw it coming, he made no move to stop it.

"What the fuck was that for?" Lukas demanded when he finally managed to stop retching and get his breath back.

"For being a fucking insensitive asshole," Omi replied, voice frozen and eyes flashing. "You're a fucking telepath, and I know you're enough of an empath to read someone projecting as strongly as Nagi was. You utter bastard, did it even occur to you to look for yourself to see what he feels for you?"

"I don't care what the fuck he feels for me," Lukas insisted wildly. "He's BROKEN, I didn't even have to look to know that much. How... how could I DO that to someone?"

Omi snarled, and reached out to grab the telepath by the collar. He often surprised people with just how much strength he had in his arms; he looked small and weak, but it took a lot of force to draw a bow or cock a crossbow. He used it now, yanking Lukas towards him easily though he only used one hand. "Do I seem particularly broken to you?" he demanded. "Newsflash, bastard, I'm your other sub. YOU didn't break Nagi, a whole lot of other people did. You were putting him back together, one tiny piece at a time. At least," he released the man back onto the couch and stepped away. "You WERE fixing him, until you went and broke him again with that little display. Even if we manage to get him to accept Youji as an alternate Master now, after THAT, I don't know if we'll ever be able to fix him."

Crawford had been watching the scene in bemusement. "I must admit, you don't seem particularly submissive at all, let alone broken," he observed, quirking an eyebrow. Omi glanced at him.

"When I'm wearing my collar, I'm submissive, and I get to relax and unwind. When I'm not, I'm the leader of one of the best assassin teams in Tokyo, so no, I'm not particularly submissive then." His mission outfit's shirt's neck was low enough that there was no doubt about whether he was or wasn't wearing his collar at the moment. "For me it's a choice, not a lifestyle. For Nagi, it's something he doesn't know how to survive without."

Lukas was rubbing the back of his neck, where his collar had bit into him when Omi yanked him forward. He wouldn't meet Omi's eyes. "I can't," he said, and something about the quiet, almost desperate tone in his voice made Omi back off and re-examine the situation. "I can't do it. I don't care how much he needs it or how good I was for him, I CAN'T, do you understand?"

Omi looked at the older man speculatively, and deep in his green eyes he saw a spark of fear and self-loathing. Something told him that no amount of pushing was going to make Lukas accept this situation and take his place as Nagi's Master.

"That's why we need to fix this," he replied, his voice no longer angry. "We can't leave things this way. I'm not sure Nagi can survive without you, even if we can convince him to take Youji as a Master. He loves you, really, truly loves you. You're the centre of his universe, and losing you would shatter him. HAS shattered him," he corrected himself grimly.

"It may not be possible to reverse the effect," Crawford warned him. "I'm not strong enough to do it, and I doubt Lukas could do it himself. The only one we know for sure can do it is Emannuel, and I doubt we'll be able to convince him to undo his handiwork, even assuming we can catch him."

"And that doesn't bother you nearly as much as it ought to, does it?" Omi retorted, and had the satisfaction of seeing Crawford flinch. "What's in this for you, Crawford? I may not be a psychic, but even I can see that you've got some stake in keeping him Lukas instead of Schuldig. What is it?"

Crawford's mouth thinned, and for a moment Omi thought he wasn't going to answer. Then he laughed, a bitter sound full of years of pain and suffering. It made Omi's eyes widen, and he actually took a step back. "I love him," the American replied simply. "I always have. I waited years for him, only to return to find that he had no memory of me. I've done everything I could, all this time, to make him as happy as possible - even lowered myself to tormenting Nagi so that he would 'rescue' him and cement that relationship." He looked Omi straight in the eyes, with more expression on his face that Omi had ever seen the older man display. "Now I have him back, and he loves me again. Forgive me if I find myself reluctant to return to solitude and torment, regardless of the cost to Nagi."

Omi stared at him, and wondered what he would have done in Crawford's place. If it had been Youji... would he have had the strength to give him up to another, to suffer endlessly in silence, just to see Youji happy? Given the chance to have Youji after all that, would he have been able to pass it up, even if it meant that, say, Ken would be shattered by the loss?

He didn't know the answer - or maybe he was just afraid to admit what the answer really was.

|Part 1| |Part 2| |Part 3| |Part 4| |Part 5| |Part 6| |Part 7| |Part 8| |Part 9| |Part 10| |Part 11| |Part 12| |Part 13| |Part 14|

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