Second Story! I'm so happy I got the first chappy done! Hopefully, I didn't make everyone be too OOC, and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Loveless, though I would wish to. Especially Ritsuka-kun.^^

Ritsuka: You're creepy.

RJules: Now you sound like someone else I know... =_="

Ritsuka: :P

Chapter 1: The Wish

It had been near to three months since that battle, since the day Seimei had lowered his bruised, bloody face and acknowledged defeat. Ritsuka had never thought he'd be forced to see such an expression from his older brother. Never. Not from Seimei. But there it had been. Subdued, broken, nearly blank.

"That expression doesn't belong there. Not on Seimei. His face wasn't meant for surrender," Ritsuka whispered into the cold winter air. He watched as the mist that had been his words floated silently away from his lips, then dissolved. Crossing his fingers in his coat pocket, he closed his eyes and wished as hard as he could that all the worries he harbored in his chest would disappear just as traceless as breaths on the wind. That he would never have to see his older brother beat again... And that his mother would accept him, with or without memory.

He opened his eyes and gave a sheepish laugh, shaking his head. "Too much bad Yuiko influence," he joked, mentally kicking himself for hoping his wishes might come true. "Extremely unlikely." Giving himself an inward shake, Ritsuka opened the front door of his house and stepped inside, leaving fanciful thoughts outside, where they were lost in the howls of the wind.

"Ritsuka?" Misaki's head poked out from the kitchen. "Is that you?"

"Yes, Mother." Ritsuka sighed. She sounded so hopeful still, each time. It hurt to say it, but there was no point in not telling her, so he did. "My memory hasn't returned. I'm still the same."

"Oh" her face fell, disappointment showing in every feature. Since Seimei had returned, her reactions had become much less violent, the worst being the stinging slap Ritsuka had received just yesterday. She never gave up, though, day after day expecting "the real Ritsuka" to come back to her.

His heart ached for her, sometimes he wished he could become who he used to be. But it can't happen. Wishes don't come true.. right?


Meanwhile...
The pink-haired cat-girl leaned over a workbook, her pencil poised above the paper, her brow furrowed in thought. A boy beside her sat cross-legged, watching as she tossed a lock of hair behind her shoulder absently. Turning back to his own homework, Yayoi sighed quietly. Why was fate so variable?

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh!" He jumped at Yuiko's sudden scream. Yayoi turned to stare as Yuiko smacked her face into her book. "Aww, why's English so hard.." she groaned pitifully.

"It's not so bad," Yayoi returned to studying. "I think it's actually simpler in some ways than Japanese."

"Urghh.. You're no help." Yuiko sat up, exasperated. He glanced over at her, realizing she wanted assistance.

"What're you working on?"

"Compound words." a sigh. "They don't have any certain pattern to them."

Yayoi closed his eyes and exhaled. This would take some time. I'll tell her, I will, he promised himself. Right now just wasn't the time for it. He hoped it would be soon. He wished.


Seimei gazed in the direction of what he used to, and once again, called home. After spending most of this day idly, he itched for something to happen. He wasn't used to the silence. But the shame of losing in a spell battle was worse, in a way. When had Soubi gotten this strong? Or was this Ritsuka's power?

His eyes rested upon the slight figure at the door. When had Ritsuka grown up so much?

It was time to return. There was a lot for them to catch up on. Before he started toward home, his eyelids fluttered, closed, then open again. Seimei didn't believe in wishes. He would make things right himself. The sting of shame was far too little to crush Beloved.


So this was where the battle would take place. Natsuo chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully.

"Wonder who it'll be this time." his sacrifice grinned.

"It's weird actually, that they didn't reveal their identity, don't you think?" came the distracted answer. Nearby, wind rustled trees' leaves noisily. Natsuo glanced up, searching for the invisible current disturbing the stillness of the park. Another breeze passed over his arm, trailing gently over his skin. Shivering, he rubbed away the chills he couldn't feel, for once uneasy about his and Youji's numbness to pain and temperature.

Nightfall crouched nearby, waiting to come out of hiding and blind the world. The moon hovered in the icy sky. Its light was dim - just a butterfly-in-the-stomach-exciting kind of glow, like in the spooky movies Youji insisted on watching. By now, the constant howl of the wind had grown into something nerve-wracking.

Youji snorted. "Not any weirder than all the other stuff we've met up with."

"You included?" Natsuo stifled a laugh with his hand. Youji's expression was priceless. "You're a picture."

Youji opened and closed his mouth, mock-glaring. "Whatever. Whoever they are, we'll win. After all, we're Zero." Once he'd recomposed himself, he looked confident.

The red-haired sentouki shrugged, masking his nervousness. "I guess." The snap of a twig put him on alert.

"Really. We'll win for sure. Trust me, we'll crush them to dust!" The other grinned evilly.

"Lovely." Natsuo said under his breath, turning to face the direction where the other team was approaching.

He stopped, wide-eyed.

Two girls stepped out of the deeper shadows and stood in plain sight, bathed in the sickly light of one of the park's lamps.

"What-" began Youji, turning, before he caught sight of them.

". . . . ." Zero stared... at Zero.

"We're here." Kouya stated, as if they hadn't noticed.

"Did we make you wait long?" Yamato smirked.

Natuo's blood froze. He wished to the earliest appearing stars that all this wasn't real.


She listened as Ritsuka entered his room, heard his sigh. Her worried sigh echoed his. The knife she held paused over a carrot and trembled. For the millionth time Misaki wondered if she really was wrong. Maybe he really is my Ritsuka, just changed and grown up. He can't be, can he? A tear of frustration ran down her cheek. Impatiently, she brushed it away, silently offering up a desperate prayer for the answer to everything.

Her face lit up at the sound of the front door. Seimei was home, he could make it all better. With a much lighter heart, Misaki hurried to greet her elder son.


Yuiko nibbled her pencil, perplexed. She'd come to Yayoi's house to study, but he really wasn't helpful. And these compound words! Was there any formula to them at all? Some were self-explanatory, like raindrop or bathtub, while others made no sense at all. One would think that if you combine the words "butter" and "fly," you'd get something about bata and hae, but would you guess what - it actually meant chōchō! Could English get any more ridiculous?

She rubbed her forehead, feeling cranky. Sigh. It hadn't been long since she'd confessed to liking Ritsuka.. and been rejected. Since then, she'd turned to Yayoi for comfort, but.. Yuiko sighed again, laying her head onto her workbook. He's been behaving different lately. Maybe he's growing up.. She watched him from the corner of her eye. Something's strange. He's so serious now.

Checking to make sure he wasn't watching, she closed her eyes, crossed all her fingers - including her thumbs - placed her chin on her palms for luck, fingertips brushing her throat, and made a wish. I wish Yayoi would become his usual friendly self... I wish I wouldn't feel sad... and I wish for Ritsuka-kun to be happy. She opened her eyes and smiled. Three was a lucky number - Yuiko always made her wishes in threes.

The last rays of the sun glinting through the window suddenly seemed more friendly, warm, and hopeful.

Yayoi faced her. "Yuiko-sa-"

"Nooooooooooooo!" Yuiko slapped her hands over her ears.

"Eh?" Yayoi stared blankly.

"Don't say it! I told you not to. Don't say it!"

"But.. you don't even know what I'm going to say."

"Aahhh, why can I still hear you!"

"... Your.. um.. your cat ears.."

"What? What about my cat ears?" Yuiko looked at him curiously.

"They're uncovered."

"Ack!" Embarrassed, she scrambled to cover them, ending up with her elbows over her human-like ears, hands atop her head. Why, why, WHY does he always call me Yuiko-san? Aw, trust Yayoi to stiffen things up!

Hearing Yayoi's muffled groan of exasperation, she smiled slightly and thought, But I wished. So maybe it'll be alright after all. The first star winked at her cheerfully from the darkening sky.


As the brush flew over the canvas, it left a streak of red behind it, then softened the edges, making it blend gently with the rest of the surrounding colors. A minute later it had been turned into a pinkish shade, darker here, lighter there, but fitting perfectly where it was.

Kio stepped back to study his work of art. "Hm.." He shifted his glasses, then nodded, pleased with the effect. According to his watch, he'd have just enough time to finish up before heading off to college. Just as he readied himself to do so, however, his cellphone began ringing, breaking the stillness in the room.

Plucking the lollipop from his mouth, he placed his paints nearby, rummaged in his pocket, and grabbed the cell out.

"Moshi-moshi" he said impatiently.

"Kio?"

"Hai, Sou-chan?" Kio brightened at the sound of his friend's voice.

"Where's Zero?" right down to business. Kio hated that tone.

"Which zero?" Hearing silence on the other line, he sighed. "I don't know where the brats are. Sheesh. They stick around me, not the other way around. Normally."

Silence again.

"What do you want, Soubi?" Kio snapped, annoyed.

"I'm thinking."

He rolled his eyes. "Go ahead, then, take your time. It's not like you're wasting mine."

"They're not picking up their cellphones. That's all."

"You sound like a worried parent" Kio teased. "They didn't pick up, so what?"

"Never mind. I guess they changed their minds." Soubi sounded puzzled.

"I'll check up on them." Kio offered.

"Thanks" Soubi hung up.

Kio stared at the phone. "Well, that's a first." He laughed. "Sou-chan's worried about someone other than Ritsuka - who would've thought." Sending a longing look in the direction of the painting, he stuck the chupa back into his mouth and set off toward the boys' room. Oh well, I'll finish later. Hopefully.


The dark melted away as a long-haired boy swayed on his feet, then fell to the ground. All was quiet - even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

"NOOOOOOOO! YOUJI!" Natsuo's scream broke the silence as he knelt over his once more unmoving sacrifice. "What did you do to him? You said you couldn't activate that spell anymore!" Wrapping his arms around Youji's torso, he managed to pull him partially onto his lap. He sobbed inconsolably, crystal teardrops falling onto aquamarine hair. Embracing the lifeless body of his partner.

"We can't" Yamato shrugged indifferently. "You fought weakly. It was your own fault this time."

"Yamato. We're finished here." her fighter called to her, walking away. Spinning on her heel, Yamato turned and skipped quietly after Kouya's retreating back, blond hair streaming behind her.

Soon, the only sounds Natsuo could hear were that of his own ragged breaths, the rasp of his throat after crying hard. His lips trembled and each inhale felt like a battle. He wiped at the tears still streaming down his face. "Y-Youji" The sentouki's voice caught for a moment. He swallowed. "Youji.. you're not really dead. You.. you're just knocked out, right?"
. . . . . silence followed.

Natsuo buried his face in the motionless boy's long hair. "I'm going to miss you." he whispered. I know how the stormy sky feels. He shuddered, then collapsed, weeping bitterly.

*Flashback*

"Wait, isn't that..?" Youji stared in disbelief, his countenance mirroring Natsuo's.

"We are Zero." a sinister grin appeared on the blond girl's face as the other continued, "We declare a spell battle. System expand."

Youji gripped Natsuo's arm. "Accept." he said, looking determined. Natsuo nodded.

"We accept. System expand."

The darkness that was their battleground them, blacker than midnight.

Natsuo held up a hand. "First, before we start - why are you back?"

"And how." Youji nodded "We thought you were dead." Natsuo gripped his hand and squeezed it in agreement.

"Huh. You would think that, would you." came Yamato's condescending remark. The boys ignored her, waiting for Kouya to give them a sensible reply. Kouya blinked owlishly through her glasses, taking a moment to respond.

"We weren't dead. Close to it, when Nagisa-sensei found us. She was at her wits end, trying to nurse us back to health. She managed, barely, and decided to keep us a secret - at least, until she could get me a new.. sacrifice." Kouya flinched slightly here.

"As it turns out," Yamato caught up the story, "that was unnecessary. My fighting name reappeared where it used to be, s-"

"Don't offer to show us." Youji interrupted warily.

Yamato glared. "I was going to say, 'so she let me stay'" The boys snickered. Her glare became something dangerous.

"As to why we're here," the dark-haired fighter jumped in, "we have unfinished business with the two of you. There doesn't need to be two Zero teams. From now on there will be only one - you, or us."

"Don't worry, it's a fair fight this time." Yamato commented. "We can no longer activate that spell we used last time."

"So it wouldn't be a fair fight if you still could." Natsuo clarified.

Yamato shrugged, her smile back, malicious as ever.

"Okay, chat's over." Youji announced. He grinned at the redhead. "Time to crush them to dust. You go first."

*End flashback*

Natsuo had held back. Now he wondered why. Why hadn't he sent the most powerful attacks he could? He was a failure as a fighter. He'd never feared anything before, ever. Why now?

Now, as he huddled over his dead best friend, more than anything, he wished he could undo everything. Or just die. Anything but this, please. Choking back more unshed tears, he lifted his head.

Suddenly, something flew into his face, knocking him to the ground. As he sprawled onto his back, he yelped, then everything went black. He welcomed the darkness. Anything but the pain. Anything. His last wish was that he hadn't let Youji down.

I'm sorry, Youji.


What a difficult chapter! I had such a hard time writing this... wow. But, amazingly, I now have it up! Awesome.

Thanks so much to the upward glance for reviewing on my first story! Also, thanks to all my wonderful friends who told me "Your story is great! You should write more!" You know who you are. I love you. Also, thank you to those who favorited Are Black Cats Evil. That's so encouraging!
And thanks to my silly, awesome family, who put up with my crazy imagination. Especially, Sushi-sensei, for helping my imagination to grow, and for being my partner in so many things!

I hoped you, the reader, enjoyed this chapter! Please review, and tell me if I should continue writing this fanfic! *chu*