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\"Damnit!\" Ken dropped the receiver back into the cradle and ran a hand through his hair. He never had been able to do anything right. Now he was in trouble with Takatori Mamoru just for passing on information to him. And the way he’d been dumped still hurt like hell. All in all, he felt angry and frustrated.

Schuldig sat quietly, watching him. \"I take it that didn’t go down too well.\"

\"He’s gonna get back to me about your deal. It’s the fact that Yohji’s with Aya that’s got him spitting tacks. He thinks Aya will bring Yohji’s memory back.\" Ken suddenly realised he was saying too much to someone who had not yet been cleared by his leader. \"Oh hell!\"

Schuldig smirked at him, though in amusement rather than malice. \"You might be a good assassin, Hidaka, but you’d make a lousy spy. You’re too open for your own good.\"

\"Yeah, yeah, I know.\" He had brought Schuldig to his hotel room rather than take up the man’s offer of going to his apartment. He could always change hotels if Mamoru refused to deal with Schuldig while the telepath would find it harder to move apartments. Who said he couldn’t think things through? But it was true, he never had been good at the undercover work they’d had to do. Aya or Yohji had usually taken that on as every emotion showed on Ken’s face and his temper tended to snap when seeing injustices done before his very eyes.

\"You’re deep in thought, there.\"

Ken started and grinned. \"You mean you weren’t following them right along with me?\"

Schuldig gave him a leisurely bird. \"Not everything you think about interests me. But I don’t know if Kudoh will regain all his memories.\"

\"I thought amnesia was usually a temporary condition?\"

\"I thought amnesia was usually a temporary condition?\"

\"Yes, if caused by head trauma. It can last anything from a few seconds to a few months. Then the memories usually start to return except those pertaining to the actual trauma.\"

\"So in a few months, Yohji should be able to remember everything except the building collapsing on him?\"

\"No. If the building collapse had been the only cause, Kudoh would be suffering from retrograde amnesia and would probably have recovered everything by now. But that wasn’t the only cause.\"

Ken stared. What the hell did Schuldig know? \"What did cause it?\"

\"I’m not entirely sure, but if I’m right, Kudoh’s brain was tampered with.\"

This was just getting too spooky for words. But, if it were true, how much did Mamoru know?

Schuldig seemed to have been following his thoughts this time as he nodded. \"Ask yourself this question, Hidaka. If Takatori Mamoru thought Kudoh was going to recover, why did he present him with a fake identity and a way out of the profession? If you’re allowed to contact Fujimiya, tell him to check out the files. He’s almost as good a hacker as Nagi or Takatori himself. He should be able to find out how much Kritiker knows.\"

\"Wait a minute! How do you know that Om….Mamoru set up a fake identity for Yohji?\"

\"Nagi and I still stay in touch from time to time. And Nagi was the messenger at the hospital. Wasn’t very happy about it either.\"

\"So Yohji’s never gonna remember?\"

\"It’s not that bad. What you have to remember about both Essett and Rosenkreuz is that they have no use for emotions, except in twisting them to suit their own purposes. I believe that the tampering was done by tapping into Kudoh’s emotions and using them against him. Now the interesting thing about Kudoh is that his strongest emotions were hidden even from himself. In other words, those were not used against him.\"

\"You’re talking about Aya, aren’t you?\"

\"Very good, Hidaka, very, very good! You’re not nearly as dumb as I thought you were.\"

Ken reddened slightly at the insult then shrugged. He’d known that Aya and Yohji were lovers. It had become especially obvious during those months in the trailer. And when Aya had been so badly wounded by Shion, Yohji had been desperate to save him at any cost. \"There were signs.\"

\"But both of them refused to face the fact that it had gone deeper than convenience at a guess.\"

Ken nodded absently, his mind still going over that last, dreadful mission and the things that had been said. \"It started to fall apart when Yohji and I were sent to Europe. Yohji actually slept with the target. She was an Essett agent and he started asking if she might be right and us wrong. When we went back to Japan he was seeing the ghost of his lost partner everywhere. That’s when he started going really crazy.\"

\"Well, from what little I know, Kudoh is suffering from a form of post-hypnotic amnesia. This is both good and bad news. Which do you want first?\"

Ken chuckled, though with little mirth. \"Let’s get the bad news out of the way first.\"

\"Balinese will never get all of it back. Some of it is gone forever. The good news is that it’s the memories that were used against him that probably won’t be recovered. So, he shouldn’t be insane if he remembers.\"

Ken decided at that point that Mamoru, or whoever the hell he thought he was now, would be crazy to turn down Schuldig’s offer of a deal. The man was useful to have around, too useful to let go of.

* * * * * * *

\"Why was I so confused if I had you for a lover?\" It didn’t make any sense to Yohji at all. The man in the hospital bed was absolutely stunning. Well, the odd pinkish-brown hair was all wrong; it should be a rich blood red. But the delicate features of his face and those incredibly beautiful eyes were just mind-blowing. Yohji was fairly certain that if they had been lovers, no matter how seldom, he would have been the happiest man on earth.

\"There were other issues.\" Aya’s deep voice was hesitant, as he obviously thought through his responses.

\"Such as?\" Yohji was not going to give up on this. He wanted his life back, good and bad. The long-suffering sigh was a fair indication that he was getting through to Aya. He waited, hopeful that his question would be answered. Instead the bastard completely changed the subject.

\"Can you do me a favour? You did make the offer, so I wondered…..\"

Yohji’s first reaction was one of anger. Why should he do the man any favours when Aya was refusing to tell him anything useful? He sat back in the chair and dug his hands in his pockets. \"Fuck you.\"

There was a faint smile in response to that. \"It would mean you knowing my real name, all of my real name.\" The offer was made grudgingly and with an irritated sigh but it was one that Yohji could not refuse.

\"What do you want?\"

\"I need you to go to my hotel and get me some clean clothes so I can leave here tomorrow. You’re the only person I can ask.\"

\"And you’re checked in at the hotel under a name other than Suzuki Ran.\" Aya nodded. \"What name?\"

\"Fu….Fujimiya.\" It was said hesitantly.

Yohji’s whole world seemed to tilt slightly to the left and he gasped. Fujimiya Aya, Abyssinian. And he, he had been Balinese. He stared at Aya.

\"Code names.\"

\"Pardon?\"

\"We had code names. You were Abyssinian, I was Balinese. What was that all about?\"

\"I’m checked in at the Red Roof Inn on West Thirty-second Street.\" Aya continued as if he hadn’t even heard the question. Then he turned those impossibly lovely eyes on Yohji, their violet depths full of pain. \"Weiss.\"

Weiss. The word had been said in no more than a whisper, but it rang a whole clarion call of bells in Yohji’s mind. He would need time to process the information his brain was finally beginning to retrieve. \"When do you want your clothes?\"

\"If you could manage to get them here by tomorrow morning…\"

\"Are you sure you’re up to leaving the hospital?\"

\"Yohji.\" Oh yes. He remembered that Arctic tone.

\"Okay, I’ll bring your damned clothes, on one condition. That you tell me everything that I can’t figure out for myself. If you won’t, then you can explain to the hospital why you gave them a false name. Or stay here and rot.\"

\"Okay. But not here. Bring the clothes and I’ll tell you what I can.\"

Yohji knew that was all he would get out of the man for now. He still wasn’t sure how he knew just how far he could push Aya, but something was telling him that this was it. He nodded his agreement and stood up. \"You got a key card or something?\"

Aya nodded and reached into the drawer in the stand by his bed. He produced a card and handed it over. \"Room number six one two, on the sixth floor.\"

\"Then we talk.\" Yohji was adamant on that point and was pleased to see Aya nod even if it was reluctantly.

\"Then we talk.\"

* * * * * * *

The doctor’s expression told Aya that she wasn’t exactly happy to see the neat pile of clothes by his bed but, having examined him, she professed herself happy enough with his condition to discharge him. \"You are a remarkably quick healer, Mr Suzuki. But don’t push things over the next few days. You’ve had a very lucky escape.\"

\"Don’t worry, doctor, I’ll make sure he rests up.\" Aya almost snarled at the irritating, smug cheerfulness of Yohji’s tone. It was a wonder he wasn’t trying to flirt with the damned woman.

And that immediately made him remember his promised talk with Kudoh. Obviously seeing him and then asking his questions had unlocked some of his missing memories. How long would it be before Asuka, Neu and the others came back to haunt him? He sighed quietly before he realised the doctor was giving Yohji instructions on his convalescence. Time to put the woman straight.

\"I’ll be taking care of myself.\" Two pairs of eyes turned incredulous gazes on him before Kudoh and the doctor resumed their conversation as if he hadn’t even spoken. Aya’s fists clenched in frustration. \"I said….\"

\"Out of the question,\" the doctor said with finality. \"You need to take things much easier than you realise. Mr Kudoh has offered you his assistance and I suggest you either accept it or you stay here.\" God, how he hated that woman.

Finally done with her instructions to Yohji, the doctor left them to it. Aya glared at Yohji and began hauling himself out of the bed. Damnit, he was as weak as a kitten. Yohji took an involuntary step forward, only to come to a halt when Aya shot him a glare. \"I can do this myself.\" His head spun and the floor tilted dangerously but still he struggled, his will stronger than his body.

Suddenly, Yohji was there, supporting him as he struggled to stay on his feet. \"Sit down before you fall down.\"

\"I said I can manage.\"

\"Sure you can. Damnit, Aya, if you really want out of here, let me help you.\"

Reluctantly, Aya allowed himself to be eased into a sitting position on the bed. The world stopped spinning so wildly, at least.

Yohji removed the hospital gown, causing him to blush and lower his eyes and glare at the floor. He just knew that, if he looked up, he would see that insufferable smirk on Yohji’s lips.

\"Can you lift your arms a bit?\" Yohji’s voice sounded serious enough so Aya risked a quick glance. He was standing a little to the side, holding a silver-grey cashmere sweater in his hands, no sign of a smirk on his face. Aya hned softly and obediently raised his arms. Yohji slipped the soft material over his head and gently eased his arms into the sleeves.

\"Thank you.\" The words were reluctant but Aya had the sense to realise that he needed the help. Yohji didn’t respond, merely handed him his briefs. Aya shook his head slightly. This was so humiliating. \"Could you ease them up as far as my knees. I don’t think I can bend that far as yet.\"

Yohji nodded and squatted down to ease the black, silky briefs over Aya’s feet and draw them up his calves. Then, he turned his back as Aya painfully got them the rest of the way up his legs and over his hips. By the time he was finished he had broken into a sweat and was gasping for breath.

Yohji repeated the procedure with his pants but this time he supported Aya as he stood up to pull them up and fasten them.

\"Well, your coat should be a breeze after all that. Why were your credit cards and other ID at the hotel, by the way?\"

\"I’d only gone out for a walk. I just needed to think.\"

Yohji nodded. In times past, Aya would have assumed that Yohji knew his old habit of walking the streets when trying to clear his head. Now he didn’t know how much the man remembered.

\"So. Where are we going for this talk? Your hotel room, or mine?\"

\"With how weak I feel, I suppose mine would be the obvious choice.\"

Yohji shrugged. \"Okay. I guess your katana will have to wait then.\"

Aya stared at him in shock. That was the something of his that Yohji had? \"You’ve been carrying it around with you?\"

\"What else was I supposed to do? Until two days ago, I didn’t even know who’s it was and I wasn’t about to leave it in Japan for my ‘benefactor’ to find.\"

\"Hn. It can wait.\"

\"Shall we go?\" Yohji held Aya’s coat for him to ease into. It took most of his strength and he didn’t argue the strong hand that supported him as they left the room.

A short cab ride later they were in Aya’s room at the Red Roof Inn. He collapsed, thankfully onto the queen-sized bed and glanced up at Yohji. He sighed. \"I suppose you want that talk now.\"

\"Hell, yeah. Looking forward to it.\" Yohji sat down in the room’s only chair.

\"What exactly have you remembered?\"

\"All the stuff I told you last night. That you have a sister, that you killed some middle-aged man on a burning rooftop with that sword and that we slept together on at least one occasion. There was something vague about us fighting as well, but I couldn’t make that out too well. Then, when you told me your real name I remembered Abyssinian and Balinese.\"

\"And when I mentioned Weiss?\"

\"Oh yeah. That was a real eye-opener. We were a group of four although the other code names haven’t returned as yet, and we were… vigilantes?\"

Aya sighed. \"We thought of it as justice, but yes, we were assassins. That was what I didn’t want you to remember.\"

Yohji shook his head, his eyes serious. \"That bit doesn’t really bother me as much as it should. What bothers me is you and this ‘benefactor’ trying to keep it from me. Why would you do that?\"

\"Because it was making you so unhappy. When we had that fight that you mentioned, you told me you wanted to forget, that you wanted a new life, a rebirth. When I saw you again I tried to honour that wish. You were tired, Yohji, sad and tired. We all were, but you were taking it hardest.\"

\"Who is this mysterious man who can pull strings enough to provide me with a new identity. You knew his lackey, so you must know him.\"

\"We both do. He was one of the four members of Weiss. You knew him as Tsukiyono Omi, although that’s not the name he goes by now.\" No, now Omi was just another damned Takatori.

Yohji ran a hand through hair that was beginning to grow out again, beginning to lose the obviously false yellow tint. \"Omitchi? He’s become…..wait a minute. Wasn’t he related to the man you killed in some way?\"

\"Yes.\"

Yohji stood up and wandered over to the complimentary coffee maker in the corner of the room. \"May I?\"

Aya nodded, the ghost of a smile on his lips. \"It’s not very good coffee.\"

\"As long as its caffeine, I’ll manage. So Omi now has a lot of power? How’s he doing with it?\"

\"I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him for some months.\" Just as well, really. \"Do you remember the fourth member?\"

\"Kenken? Sure. Well, I can see a face, at least.\" Yohji’s hands were still busy with the coffee maker but he glanced over his shoulder with a grin on his face. \"Sports nut?\"

Aya nodded. \"Soccer. He went to prison rather than kill again.\"

Yohji retrieved his coffee from the reluctant machine and sat back down with it. He shook his head. \"This is so frustrating. I’m getting tiny snippets and the occasional name but its like having odd pieces of a jigsaw. I can’t make out the whole picture. You’re the biggest chunk I have. I still want to know why I was unhappy if I had you.\"

Aya was saved from answering that rather awkward question by his cell-phone ringing. He reached for it and hit the answer button.

\"Aya? Thank fuck for that! Where are you?\"

\"Ken? I could ask you the same question.\"

\"Never mind that now. Is Yohji with you?\"

Aya frowned. \"Yes, why?\"

\"Shit! Mamoru is not a happy bunny about that. And then he heard you’d gone missing and became unbearable.\"

\"I was in a hospital. Some kid stabbed me in the gut. And tell Takatori Junior that Yohji saved my life!\" A sudden exclamation came from across the room. Yohji was staring at him, his eyes wide.

\"He wants to know if Yohji remembers anything.\"

\"Yes.\"

\"Oh fuck. He’s gonna give me real earache now! Maybe you should contact him instead.\"
Aya grimaced. \"Not unless I absolutely have to.\"

\"Listen, Aya, have you got access to a computer?\"

\"Yes, why?\"

\"It might be an idea to see how much Kritiker has on Yohji’s files. I’ve been told his mind was tampered with.\"

\"I suspected it might have been. If you want to know if Takatori knows, then yes, of course. Why else go to the trouble of a new identity?\"

There was a pained silence from the other end. Ken was digesting that news rather badly. \"Shit.\" A sigh. \"I thought I knew him, you know?\"

\"I know.\" There was nothing else that Aya could say to that.

\"Listen, I’ve got to go. This call is costing a fortune. Where the hell are you?\"

\"My hotel in New York. You?\"

\"London. Playing hunt the Yohji. I found Schuldig instead.\" Ken cut the connection at that point leaving Aya staring at his phone in disbelief. Schuldig? I thought he was dead.

\"Takatori.\" Yohji’s voice was thoughtful. \"The name of the man on the roof and Omi’s real name, right?\"

Aya nodded, wondering what was coming next.

\"Explains the power bit. What was that about the identity he gave me?\"

\"Ken’s just figured out that Takatori Mamoru - Omi - knew more about your amnesia than he let on.\"

Yohji shrugged. \"It’s coming back, bit by tiny fucking bit, but it’s coming.\"

\"Chances are that it won’t all come back.\"

\"Why the hell not?\"

Aya winced slightly at the anger in Yohji’s voice. Time to see exactly how much Omi did know. \"Can you do something for me? In the closet, on top of my suitcase, there’s a laptop. Could you get it for me, please. I think it’s time we both found out exactly what happened to you.\"

Yohji got the requested laptop but frowned slightly. \"We know what happened to me. I had some sort of head wound and lost my memory.\"

Aya shook his head as he set the machine up. \"There’s more to it than that. Head trauma amnesiacs start remembering things long before this. Some of your memory was deliberately wiped.\"

* * * * * * *

Nagi opened the door without using his power and lifted the tray of refreshments from the table to his right. Mamoru’s political meeting seemed to be going well but he wasn’t sure how his lover would take the news that Hidaka had just reported to him. It seemed to Nagi that, if Kudoh could retrieve some of his memory, it would keep the man a lot safer than setting up a new identity and providing him with an unwanted wife and job would.

He set the tray down and poured drinks for those present before quietly leaving the room and returning to his desk. He sat there, staring at the wall, while he thought things through.

If Schu wanted to cut a deal that meant there was trouble brewing and he no longer felt safe alone. Now, more than ever, Nagi found himself missing Crawford’s talent. It was like being blind not having the pre cog’s visions to rely on. But something nasty was stirring, he was sure of it.

He must have been thinking for quite a long time as he felt Mamoru’s hands on his shoulders. That meant they were alone.

\"Any news?\"

Nagi sighed. \"There is good news and bad. The good is that Fujimiya is safe and at his hotel, the bad is that Kudoh is with him and regaining his memory.\"

\"Did Ken-kun say how Yohji-kun was?\"

\"Not in so many words but he did ask me to tell you that Fujimiya seems okay with it so far. Does that mean something?\" He watched as some of the tension seeped out of Mamoru.

\"I think so. I think it means that he hasn’t remembered Asuka. I’ve made a decision about Schuldig. I’m prepared to make a deal with him. There’s something bigger than Yohji’s memory going on and we need to know what it is.\"

Nagi nodded. You, too? Whatever this is has to be momentous for a mundane to feel it. \"I think you’re right.\"

* * * * * * *

He groaned in agony, his head filled with pain and blinding white light. It would have been more merciful if they’d killed him rather than suppressing his talent in this way.

There was the vague sound of somebody’s footsteps approaching and then a low laugh. \"You weren’t so damned clever this time, were you? Don’t worry, Herr Crawford, once we’ve retrieved our experiment, the telepath and the telekinetic and reprogrammed the four of you, you won’t feel anymore pain.\"

He knew the voice only too well. Hans Dietmeiller also known as The Mind Bender. Essett and Rosenkreuz agents had another name for him. They called him the Brain Butcher.

The footsteps retreated and he was left alone again. All he could do was hope. Schu, please, don’t do anything stupid. He grinned to himself, not sure if he was finally succumbing to insanity. There was no point in repeating that thought over and over again. Schuldig couldn’t hear him anymore.