Dlbn: I'm back with a multi-chapter Christmas fic!
Nbld: The theme is not Christmas, but it's a fic we wrote specifically for Christmas time. You know, touchy feely crap and such.
Dlbn: Shut up. Anyway throughout this there will be some spoilers as far as our fic "Careless" goes, but it's nothing too major that would ruin the ending. Only the status of Septimal Moon members and their Fighters will be revealed here, I made sure of that, and we all pretty much know that most of them aren't around.
Nbld: We'll post in the author notes of each chapter if parts of Careless will be spoiled. But it will be minor details only.
Dlbn: Happy reading! This also means that I will be getting back to Careless soon. Now that the semester is almost over I'll have more time to write and more energy to draw inspiration.
Disclaimer: I do not own Loveless or any canon characters (such as Ritsu, Nana, Nagisa, etc.). I however do own their Fighters, certain members that aren't canon yet, and certain personalities of characters such as Aoyagi Aidien and Kunugi Asitai. All canon pieces belong to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing in this category.
000
"This is your Fighter. Shenai Mirai. He's two years younger than you." Principal Minami Shigeru informed ten-year-old Kunugi Asitai. "Play nice, now."
The door to the Principal's office slammed shut. Asitai blinked at the younger brunette sitting on the stool in front of him. An eight-year-old seemed just a little out of place at the Academy, considering all of Asitai's companions at school were either his age or older. He wasn't even aware an eight-year-old could attend the Academy. Bright blue eyes blinked at the redhead in confusion, as if he didn't know what to say to him. Asitai felt his fire-red neko ears twitch and perk up.
"Hey there." He greeted, grinning. "I'm Asitai."
"Mirai." The brunette stood and bowed. "Nice to meet you."
Though he was two years younger they were about the same height when standing. Asitai felt a little short now.
"You too." Asitai repeated the action. "So you go to school here? You're a little young."
"I skipped a grade." Mirai flushed pink.
Asitai felt something tug at his heart. This boy was his Fighter. His destined other half. And he was pretty cute when eh blushed. Asitai shook off the feeling.
"Well, congratulations." He grinned. "So you're a first year here?"
Mirai nodded. "You'd be a second year, right?"
Asitai nodded. "Indeed, I am."
Mirai smiled a little. "Sorry, I'm not exactly certain what to talk about."
"Yeah, neither am I. Which is new for me. I'm normally a talker." Asitai laughed.
Mirai's smile grew a little and he laughed as well. "Lucky me, since I'm not."
Asitai was awoken from his slumber by the sound of his assistant slamming a pile of paperwork onto his desk. The doctor startled and ran a hair through his fire-red hair. His assistant had her fist clenched and resting on her left hip as she stared at the awakening Doctor. He grinned sheepishly up at her.
"Morning." He greeted.
"Morning?" She snorted. "It's six at night, Doctor. Maybe you should go home and get some rest."
"I'm fine." Asitai ran a hand down his face. "Just took a little breather."
"You were snoring, and the wet spot on that paper you were laying on tells me you were drooling."
Asitai looked down and nervously laughed as he brushed at the wet patch on the paper.
"I guess I have been working late the past few days…"
"Everyone else went home around five."
"Oh…so not so long ago." Asitai smiled. "Good."
She rolled her eyes. "Either way, you're not going to be of any use to anyone tomorrow if you're half asleep because you didn't know when to go home."
"I know. I just…"
"You can work more tomorrow. Maybe you should go visit your favorite patient in 405 and then go home, hm?"
That patient was none other this his Fighter and boyfriend, Shenai Mirai.
"Yeah…maybe I should…do that…" Asitai stood. "Alright." He slammed a fist into his open palm. "I'll go see how he's doing, run some vitals, and then head on home."
"That's the spirit." She grinned. "Until tomorrow, Doctor."
"Yeah, tomorrow." He nodded.
Hanging up his lab coat on the back of the door, Asitai switched into his leather jacket before leaving the office.
The few nurses he passed expressed their surprise at seeing him and bid him goodnight as he made his way to the elevators. Almost robotically, he pressed the button to all the elevator, stepped in once it arrived and opened, and pressed the button for the fourth floor. He leaned against the back wall of the elevator, hands gripping the railing to steady himself as he closed his eyes. He really hated this part. Seeing his beloved attached to tubes and monitors while he stood by helplessly, unable to do anything other than monitor him and study up on ways to try and bring him out of his coma. The fact that it was spell induced and could probably only be reversed by a spell or the caster dying-the caster had already died, so there went that idea-weighed heavy on him as he researched the normal ways to do what he needed. There were a few surgeries he could try, but he didn't want to risk compromising the younger Fighter's already ailing health. He hadn't gotten sick since he'd been in an isolation chamber since he got there. When Asitai was sick and couldn't go in, he'd stand at the window; watching desperately for any sign of life. There never was any.
"Kicked out!? What do you mean kicked out?!" An outraged Asitai slammed his fourteen-year-old hands on the headmaster's desk in front of him.
Mirai stood behind him, hands clasped behind his back, remaining silent as the two Sacrifices argued it out.
"School policy." Principal Minami informed calmly. "Losing seventy percent of your battles within a school year is grounds for expulsion. I let you two slide a little bit, but now that you have an eighty percent loss rate, there's nothing more I can do to keep you here." He folded his hands on the desk in front of him. "You'll both have until the end of the week to pack your stuff and inform your families that you will be leaving."
"You can't be serious." Asitai growled. "So we're having an off year. Big deal! Since we were paired, we've had a ninety percent success rate!"
"Which has gone down significantly due to this year. I don't know what the issue is, but it's clear you're slacking here in your studies."
"We study just as hard as the rest of the units here, and practice almost twice as much!" Asitai wasn't going to let this go without a fight. "Just give us until the end of the semester to recover."
The Principal shook his head. "Shenai, you understand, do you not?"
"Yes, sir…" Mirai muttered. "Sorry, Tai…"
"Rai, you can't possibly agree with him!"
Asitai turned on his heel, more surprised at his Fighter then angry. He'd never been able to get angry at Mirai. He wondered why that was.
"Its policy…Septimal Moon adheres very strictly to their policies." Mirai swallowed an almost visible lump in his twelve-year-old throat.
"Indeed we do." The Principal nodded. "I'm glad you understand. Kunugi, please, take your Fighter and vacate my office. You may want to start packing. The end of the week will be here before you know it." He unfolded his hands to grab some papers and tap them on the desk to even them out. "We'll be in contact."
Asitai huffed. "You'll be sorry." He threatened, looking over his shoulder at the Principal. "We'll get stronger and prove to you that you made a mistake in kicking us out so early."
The Principal nodded. "If you say so, son. I won't argue any further. Please vacate my office."
Asitai growled and stormed off, grabbing Mirai by the left wrist and whisking him out of the office. He kicked the door shut with an annoyed grunt.
"I'm sorry." Mirai muttered, embarrassed. "I shouldn't have agreed with him, but…"
"It's okay." Asitai sighed. "I would have too if I were in your position." He jammed his hands into his pockets letting go of his Fighter. "Come on, let's go."
Mirai shrugged and followed his Sacrifice down the empty halls.
"Tai?"
"Hai, Rai?" He giggled at how it rhymed, making Mirai smile a little.
"What do we do now?"
"We pack and tell our parents to come get us. Weren't you listening?"
"That's not what I meant…"
Asitai paused in the hall. "I…don't know…"
"We'll be separated…I don't…I don't want to…"
"I don't either." Asitai hugged his Fighter. "But we'll have to deal with whatever happens to us."
Mirai froze in his embrace for a moment before hugging him. His Sacrifice was always pretty touchy-feely, so he shouldn't have been surprised.
"I guess…"
"Besides, we're destined for one another. They can't keep us apart forever." He winked at his Fighter.
Mirai laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Tai."
Asitai cleared his throat and let go of the younger male. "So, yeah, we'll be alright."
"Yeah, I know we will be." Mirai nodded.
Asitai started down the hall, but Mirai grabbed his wrist to stop him. Their dorm rooms weren't near one another, and he didn't want to separate already.
"What is it?"
"Can I help you? I don't…I don't want to be alone just yet…"
Asitai nodded. "Sure."
"Um…Tai…?"
"Hai, Rai?"
Mirai sighed and pulled the slightly taller Sacrifice to him.
"Mirai…?" Confusion danced in Asitai's eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't tell me you think that getting kicked out is your fault because we're a unit and…"
"I don't think that." Mirai cleared his throat, that adorable little blush covering his features again.
"Then what are you sorry for?"
"Um…this…"
Mirai put a hand on the back of his Sacrifice's neck and pulled him down. Asitai flushed as his eyes widened. Mirai's lips gently pressed against his own. The stunned Sacrifice slowly relaxed into the other male. Mirai pulled away, blushing bright red.
"I…um…s-sorry…Asitai…" Mirai muttered.
He pulled form his Sacrifice and darted off towards his own dorm room. Asitai stood in the hall staring after him with his fingertips gracing his lower lip the bell rang after the brunette vanished around the corner. Beside himself and ignoring the looks from the other students, Asitai smiled.
Asitai grinned as he relieved the memory of his-their-first kiss. Who would have ever guessed that only a few years later they'd be a couple, not just a unit? The elevator doors opened and he stepped out onto the fourth floor. This was the walk he dreaded most. The trip down the hallway, turning right into a corridor, and walking towards the ICU. He'd have to dress in a protective sheet to make sure any germs on him didn't get into his lover's room. He would have to wear that anti-containment helmet on his head that looked even stupider on a person than it did hanging on a wall. But he never wore it. After all, whenever Mirai awoke, he didn't want to scare the poor guy. He'd always been a little fragile, back at the academy. Though he certainly didn't show that side of him to anyone other than Asitai when they'd be alone in their dorms studying together or playing video games.
Asitai took a deep breath as he slipped on the yellow protective sheet and a pair of sterile gloves. This was dreadful, having to see his Mirai in this condition. But he wasn't going to let it frighten him away. He knew it was a longshot that he'd ever wake up from his spell-induced coma, but a man could dream, couldn't he? He worked nonstop around the clock to try and wake him up, even studying hard enough to become a top neurosurgeon. While he had other cases to work on, almost all of his free time was spent on trying to find a way to awaken his Fighter. Nagisa always told him he was a fool, Gomon told him to give up, and Ritsu called him a hopeless idiot. But this was his fighter, his best friend, the love of his life. There was no way he was just going to give up and let them pull the plug. So when he stopped coming to Septimal Moon meetings, the others only half understood. The newest member, a twelve-year-old named Ritsuka-son of Aidien, a former member of their team. He'd never been a part of Septimal Mon, but he'd help taken down the generation of Septimal Moon before this one, led by Ritsu's father-was the only one who seemed to understand, or at least try to. After all, he had lost his Fighter Soubi a while ago; a man who he was in love with, as he had admitted to Asitai in a hushed whisper once. Soubi wasn't dead, just had run off with Ritsuka's brother; former Septimal Moon member Seimei. That whole thing was a mess.
Asitai slipped his card into the card reader by the door. It beeped and blinked green as the double doors ominously opened into the ward.
