The next morning began as it normally did for Soubi and Ritsuka. They woke up together and Soubi made a light breakfast while Ritsuka gathered his things and got dressed for school. Over the years the duo had become so in sync that every morning Ritsuka sauntered into the kitchen just as Soubi was placing two perfectly loaded plates on the kitchen table. They both then sat down together and enjoyed their breakfast over small talk before it was time for Ritsuka to head off to school. Once that time had come, Ritsuka stood gracefully from the table before walking over to the front door, with Soubi close behind, to pick up his school bag. With his bag in hand, Ritsuka then turned to his Sentouki who slyly caught his lips in a quick but tender kiss.

"See you later Soubi."

"So long. Have a good day at school and say hello to Yuiko and Yayoi for me." Ritsuka then gave the blonde a warm smile.

"I will." The boy then made his way happily out the door while Soubi waited until the boy was out of sight to close it behind him.

Ritsuka made sure to walk calmly with a cheerful smile until he was a few blocks away from Soubi's apartment. Once he was sure he was well out of sight, he made a left at the stop sign at the nearest cross street. He then continued the rest of his walk at a determined pace with a stern expression until he arrived at a small cafe just a few blocks away from his school. He then calmly sat down at one of the small metal tables on the patio of the cafe and raised his hand to signal the small blonde waitress that was standing a few feet away. She was quick to notice him and happily walked to his table.

"Good morning. How are you doing today?"

"Fine thank you."

"Great! So what can i get for you today? Same as usual?"

"Yes please."

"Alright, one cup of peppermint tea coming up."

"Thank you."

The girl then walked away, leaving Ritsuka alone at the table once again. Once she had left, Ritsuka reached into his backpack and pulled out his small laptop and flipped it open. He then began typing fervently on the key board sending barely audible clicks through the quiet morning air. As he typed his eyes scanned the screen over and over again never letting them leave it once. He carried on this way until his concentration was broken by the small waitress when she walked up to the table with a steaming glass in hand.

"Here you are sir." The sound of the girl's voice was just enough to drag the boy's eyes from the screen to look at her with a small smile.

"Thank you."

"Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"Not right now thanks."

"Alright then. Just let me know if you need anything."

"I will."

With that, the girl happily bounced away from the table and back inside the small cafe. Ritsuka then took a small sip of his tea before setting it down and locking his focus directly back onto the screen in front of him.

"Psst...Saiyuri..." A tall brunette waitress called to her small blonde co-worker as she made her back inside from the small boys table. Upon hearing her friends voice, the blonde made her way over to the hostess station where the girl was standing.

"What's up Noriko?"

"I was just wondering about that boy." This caused the blonde to glance over her shoulder to see the boy sitting at his table focused on whatever he was doing.

"Yeah, what about him?" The brunette then leaned in closer to talk softly to the blonde.

"Well what's his deal? He has been coming in here every morning for the past two weeks now and he also orders just one tea and sits on that laptop."

"I don't know...I'm not nosey like you Noriko." The brunette then gave a small giggle.

"Well it's just kind of weird you know? Unless...he likes you." The caused the small blonde's mouth to gape open and she lightly pushed her friend that was now giggling at her.

"Shut up! He does not! He comes in even on days when I don't work; the other waitresses told me so."

"Fine fine. I'm just saying it's weird is all."

Meanwhile...

"Youji and Natsuo here."

"What's your status report?"

"Target is skipping school again. Same pattern for two weeks now. Leaves home, comes to the cafe and sits on his laptop, sometimes all day, sometimes until after lunch period at the middle school."

"I see..."

"What are our orders?"

"You have been watching long enough...it's time to move forward. You have the all clear to move in. Report back when you are done."

"Understood."

"Good."

*click*

The red head quickly closed his small cell phone before looking over to his partner with a sly grin.

"We got the all clear."

"Thank god! It's about time. Let's go!"

"Calm down Youji. We can't just rush over there; this is still a delicate operation."

"Yeah yeah I know."

The mysterious duo then slyly made their way out of the small cluster of trees and bushes that lay across the street from the small cafe. Once out of hiding, they made their way across the small street and made a calm approach to the small table and the young boy perched there. Ritsuka however was so lost in what he was doing that he didn't even notice the duo walk up until the blue haired boy spoke.

"Hey, whatcha doing on here anyway?" The boy then leaned his head over the top of the laptop to try and catch a glimpse of what was on the screen. This caused Ritsuka to snap out of his work and quickly slam his laptop closed.

"None of your business! Who are you guys anyway?"

"Never mind who we are. We want to know more about you...Ritsuka." This caused Ritsuka's eyes to grow wide in a mixture of fear and confusion.

"H-how do you know my name? What do you want?"

"Well we know a lot more about you then your name."

"What are you talking about?!"

These two strange boys had Ritsuka so distracted that he didn't even notice the blonde waitress walk up behind him until she spoke in a timid voice.

"Hello, is there anything I can get for your friends?" This intrusion was none too welcome and the red head quickly shot her a fiery glare before speaking in an eerie whisper.

"Soul possession...fly away little bird...fly away and we won't have to clip your wings." Ritsuka then watched on in confusion as the girl slowly and silently turned and walked away with a blank expression.

"You're a battle pair! You shouldn't go around assaulting innocent people like that!" With the girl now gone thanks to his Sentouki, the blue haired boy turned his attention back to Ritsuka.

"Very observant and we will do what we please."

"So you wanna fight, is that it?"

"Not at all...quite the contrary actually."

"What do you mean?" Youji then leaned in close to the boy to almost whisper to him.

"We want to help you Aoyagi Ritsuka." The boy then pulled back to look the now very confused and frightened Ritsuka in the eyes.

"I-I don't need help with anything..." This caused the red head to finally speak up in his Sacrifices place.

"Oh but you see...we know that you do."

"You don't know anything!"

"Really?" Natsuo then looked to his Sacrifice with a small grin before looking back to Ritsuka with the same grin. "We know why you have been skipping school. We know why you come here every day...and we already know what you are searching for on that little computer there." This made Ritsuka's stomach churn and it was all he could do to keep his composure.

"Y-you...don't know any of that...you can't..."

"But we do Ritsuka...you want to know why your name hasn't appeared yet. You want to know if you could ever be Soubi's true Sacrifice...and that is only the tip of the iceberg of the things you want to know. But you haven't been able to find the answers have you?" Ritsuka was now in a state of complete shock that these two complete strangers knew so much about him. This shock sent his mind into auto pilot and all he could think of to do was to go along with this eerie conversation.

"N-no...I haven't." The blue haired boy then cut back in to address the frightened boy.

"Well you won't find them on that computer...but we know someone who can give you all the answers you could ever want, and then some." This caused Ritsuka's ears to stand at attention and he quickly became completely focused.

"You do?!"

"Yes we do. And we can take you to her." This seemed all too good to be to true to the now not so naive Ritsuka and he took a short moment to process all the information he had just heard.

"You can?"

"Yup!"

"What's the catch? There must be a price." This caused the duo to laugh slightly at the boy.

"There is no price. Information is free...if you know where to find it. All you have to do...is come with us."

Ritsuka then averted his gaze to the ground and did his best to try and slow his racing heart and calm his heavy breathing. He racked his brain trying to determine if this was real or a dream. He had been searching so long for the answers to the questions that kept him up every night and now here he was with the chance to attain what he desired so badly. After another short moment of deep thought, Ritsuka slowly rose from his chair while tucking his laptop back into its bag and laying a few bills on the cafe table.

"Alright...let's go."

TBC