Dlbn: Guess who's back from the dead, bitches!
Nbld: That's right. Inspiration. *tumble weed rolls by* Tough crowd…
Dlbn: Anyway things have been crazy since we last updated. Between raising my now 8 month old son (9 months tomorrow), school, my aunt being in and out of the hospital and requiring almost constant care until she gets back on her feet, work, and other random crap, I've been so busy I haven't been able to update *hides*
Nbld: While she's in hiding, I'll get to the review Corner! Thank you to I-Love-Trunks1 and Lola for reviewing! Green eggs and ham for you both!
I-Love-Trunks1: I do too. He just keeps getting the short stick in life. More coming right up!
Lola: Thank you! It's going to be a long road to get her to be with him, honestly ^^" but I'll work it in bit by bit in as many chapters as I can without it getting annoying. Thanks! She's the fun one to write for though my favorites are definitely Mirai and Asitai.
Disclaimer: I own nothing canon! That all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make no money off of writing in this category. I only own Iyani, Katashi, Hibiki, Siren, Aido, Gomon, Asitai, Mirai, Kofai, Miya, Aidien, Tarahan, Nagisa's mentioned sister, assorted faculty members.
Note: Hey, everyone. Forgot to mention, but I have up a companion fic for this one called Calmless. It's got some spoilers in it but I did what I could to keep them to a minimum. If you've read any of my other Loveless stories, some of those spoilers came up in there too. It's mostly about Asitai and Mirai's relationship; from their first meeting to present day. Check it out if you want. Or wait until this is finally over to spare any spoilers. Onward, ho!
000
With everyone on the same page, it would take at least a couple weeks to form an almost guaranteed to succeed plan of attack. Separating fighters and Sacrifices or catching them when they were apart was the main idea they planned on sticking with. But deciding who would go after who was the issue. Obviously, Ritsu and Iyani would go after his father alone, but the others could team up or go separate and deal with different Sacrifices and then wait for the Fighters to end their own lives. The idea that the Fighters could come for revenge was discussed between most of the group on depth on the way back from Kaido's home. Sacrifices were easy to take down, since there wasn't all that much they could do on their own without their Fighter present. But Septimal Moon was made of the best Units there were, which meant that Fighters would be tricky to handle.
Saturday afternoon, the entire group of renegade Units sat in the rather cramped living room of Ritsu and Iyani's apartment in Tokyo. It had taken some of them longer to get there due to distance, but by two PM, they had all gathered for their discussion. Nana had shown them her holographic scenarios and the others seemed interested, even if a few didn't seem to buy it. Asitai sat on Mirai's lap, nervously shifting around every five or ten minutes. He twirled a piece of long red hair around his right index finger.
"If your thing there is right, we have a fairly good chance of winning." He informed. "But what if it's wrong?"
"Then we'll have to regroup and figure out a new plan of attack." Nana offered.
"We wouldn't have much time. If one attack fails, the one who was attacked may warn the others." Siren informed, her voice as robotic as it had been the day they had met. "And the idea of taking down Sacrifices and waiting on Fighters to do what they're taught to do goes down the drain. Once there's a warning, they won't separate easily."
"So we come up with another plan alongside this one. If the original fails, we switch right over without a hitch and continue on." Otorai offered her. "We should have a plan B before we begin this anyway."
"We have plenty of time to think about it." Nagisa said. "I don't know when you guys want to do this," she looked at Careless and Timeless, "but we should take our time and plan it out. It's not like they have any idea what we're up to. I doubt Septimal Moon bothered to put anyone under surveillance or anything like that. We're just a bunch of harmless losers to them anyway." She scowled.
Out of the group, only Nagisa was really a purely harmless one. With her deceased sister being her Fighter, it wasn't like she could use Word Spell and fight on her own. She'd need a blank Fighter assigned to her, but there was no way that Septimal Moon would do that-if they had any blanks around, that is-since she was expelled. For the most part, she was the least dangerous, and the greatest liability. Someone would have to be with her at all times to defend her. What a hassle. Maybe bringing her in this early in the game wasn't such a good idea after all.
"They're too prideful to think anyone would do to them what they did to the Septimal Moon that existed before them." Aido informed. "That's their biggest weakness."
"Don't they realize how many people don't like them? Outside of us, anyway." Aidien stated. "Plenty of people at the Academy complained about them while I was there."
"Same here." Nagisa added.
"So we know they're prideful, arrogant fools. That's clear." Otorai began. "That doesn't necessarily assist us unless they were to know what we were planning. They wouldn't see the need to stick together if it's just a bunch of kids who flunked out."
"Or were forced out by another Unit setting them up for failure." Kofai snorted.
"What was that?" Miya wondered, glaring at Aidien's Fighter.
"You heard me." She glared.
"Enough." Gomon and Aidien ordered at once.
The Fighters seemed to back down from one another, but they still glared.
"Our apologies." Gomon offered.
"She started it." Aidien nudged his own Fighter.
"It's not like I wasn't telling the truth." She rolled her eyes.
The four of them quietly bickered back and forth. Mirai shook his head and whispered something against Asitai's neck, making the redhead chuckle behind his hand.
"This is going to be a disaster." Katashi whispered to Careless, Nagisa, and Nana. "Are we certain these are the people we want helping us? Four of them can't be in the same room for five minutes without the respective Fighters causing trouble."
"This is the best we have." Iyani whispered back to him. "They need to be slapped in line, I agree. Put your foot down, Ritsu."
"Me? These are their uncontrollable Fighters. Not mine." He informed. "I'll talk with Gomon and Aidien separately."
"Without their Fighters." Nagisa offered. "I'm five seconds away from smacking whichever one is closest to me or opens their mouth next."
"Agreed." Nana grit her teeth. "They make it hard to concentrate. Something has to be done."
Siren cleared her throat, making the entire room shut down into silence and look at her.
"All this arguing between you two isn't going to be helping anything. After their, neither of you have to have anything to do with one another again." She offered. "So put aside the disagreements and just relax until this is all over. Then go your separate ways."
"As long as I'm Gomon's fighter, and he's friends with Aoyagi, she's going to be around me." Miya huffed, blowing hair out of her eyes. "I'll try to be civil for the good of the group, but I don't make any promises."
"God help me; the day comes when I agree with her." Kofai sighed. "With those two being friends for who knows whatever stupid reason, we're stuck around one another. And you're forgetting we'll all be a part of Septimal Moon because of our Sacrifices being a part of it, so we'll have no choice here."
"Either way, just stop arguing." Iyani ordered. "You two fight worse than my parents did when they found out I got kicked out of Seven Voices."
"Pardon the interruption." Gomon offered, fiddling with the sleeve of his coat. "It won't happen again. Miya?"
"Yeah, I'll behave."
"Kofai will too." Aidien glared at her.
She returned the glare, unfazed by her upset Sacrifice's words or actions. "Fine."
"While we're talking about keeping fighting to a minimum, what are we going to do about your hacker, Gomon?" Nana asked, folding his arms over her chest. "He and I want to strangle one another."
"I still can't believe you involved him in this." Miya's nose crinkled. "He makes my skin crawl."
"That makes two of us." Nana offered with a nod.
Miya's tail twitched happily.
"I'll tell him to back down and stop being a pest." Gomon offered. "I understand how abrasive he can be."
"You can say that again." Aidien huffed. "I almost decked him the last time you left us alone together in your house…"
Gomon smirked, but Aidien seemed oblivious to the action. It was like he enjoyed his friend's suffering for some reason. Some friend he was.
"I almost stabbed him with a fork." Nana offered.
"You're proud of that?" Aido wondered.
"Wait until you meet him." Nagisa giggled. "You'll want to stab him with a fork, too."
"What are the chances he could turn on us?" Asitai wondered. "I mean, give our information to Septimal Moon and warn them?"
"He doesn't know the majority of the situation." Gomon offered. "He's only been asked to retrieve information for me. He doesn't know who or where it's coming from. He just knows I need it and to give it to me. I'm paying him a hefty sum for this. He doesn't work for free."
"Because no job in their right mind would hire him." Miya retorted.
"Besides, he doesn't know what Septimal Moon is."
Siren scoffed. "How could he not know?"
"Well…he's a civilian."
That made the others break into an uproar. Most of the comments were disbelief that Gomon would involve a civilian, and the rest were directed at Ritsu for allowing it. The silverette adjusted his glasses with one finger as his tail and ears twitched in annoyance.
"Can I have your attention?" He wondered, trying to be heard over the mass of voices that were filling the room and certain to disturb the neighbors, had they not gone out an hour before and had yet to return.
Iyani sighed and picked up her science textbook form the coffee table. She slammed it as hard as she could; gathering the others' attention and shocking a couple of them into stunned silence.
"Way to get the job done." Mirai commented.
"Your floor, Ritsu." She leaned back and put her feet up.
"I'm surprised you didn't break the glass. Feet off." He brushed her feet off the table, knocking the book to the floor in the process.
"Nice going." She reached to grab it.
"Now that I have your attention, allow me to explain." Ritsu stated. "Having a civilian involved seems rather…unorthodox…I agree. I wasn't even certain on it in the beginning. But at this point, we need all the help we can get. If Nana and Katashi are out in the field with us, she won't be able to get on a computer in case of an emergency until it's too late. For that reason, we need someone else. We can't trust many people in our world; we know that for a fact. If we were to go to a Spell World hacker, there's no guarantee that they won't let what's going on slip back to Septimal Moon and ruin our plans. If we fail this, we can consider ourselves enemy number one and have to either go into hiding somehow, or be hunted down like dogs in the street until we're eliminated. And, let's face it, none of us can stand a chance against the powerful units of Septimal Moon. Hell, we can barely hold our own against our peers. Akame is only involved to the minimum. If we need someone to hack into a building and cut of the electricity so we can move in without being detected by sensors or cameras, and Nana can't because she's occupied with getting in like we are, we can resort to asking him. We're not going to tell him anything about what we're planning or what Septimal Moon is. He's doing the bare minimum to relieve some of the stress and strain off of Nana's shoulders."
"Not that I need help." She countered, standing and pulling down her shorts a little. "I can handle all this on my own, but taking a laptop and other equipment into the field would put us at risk. If it were to fall into the wrong hands, we're done for."
"Exactly my point." Ritsu nodded. "However, if anyone has an issue with him being a part of this as little as he is for reasons other than the fact that he's a total creep, please speak up and we'll try to find an alternative route."
There was a bit of silence in the room as the other Units shared looks between the Sacrifices and Fighters, and then with the other units.
"Logical reasoning." Siren was first to speak. "I see no issue."
"But," Mirai began, "the first sign of trouble from him or caused by him, and he's out of here."
The others murmured in agreement. Ritsu grinned, happy that his little team was beginning to listen to him and trust what he was saying to be truthful and logical. If…when they were to succeed, it would be the benefit of the group as the new Septimal Moon to have a leader they believed in, and a team that could work together.
000
After everyone had left, Ritsu lay sideways on the couch, staring at the ceiling. Iyani was making a snack in the kitchen or the two of them, so he was alone with his thoughts. He heard her humming to herself as she worked and groaned lowly, pulling on his left ear. The day had been stressful enough without Copeless and Dayless fighting with one another. At least the Fighters had agreed to put their differences aside for now, and the Sacrifices were good enough friends that it didn't bother them. He wondered what exactly had happened between the Sacrifices to get their Fighters to despise one another so much. Whatever it was, Gomon and Aidien didn't seem bothered by it. If anything, it only helped their friendship grow now that they had something new to talk about; how annoying the feud between their Fighters were. Ritsu's father had always looked down on female Fighters, including Iyani, for being emotional and petty. What he didn't realize was male fighters, and even both gender Sacrifices, were the same way. Gomon and Aidien didn't seem to show it, but Ritsu had a feeling that it was bothering them and they likely wished the girls would get along and be friends.
He was lucky that he and Iyani had managed to hit it off from the moment they met in his father's office as kids and were still loyal to one another today. The brief kiss they'd shared in his room the other day played again in his mind and he flushed, tail twitching at his side in annoyance at himself. It had happened, it was over, and they'd moved on from it. From the start, they'd been a Unit, best friends. But never once were they anything more, nor had either of them hinted that they had wanted to be more. She hadn't seemed annoyed or put off by the kiss like she had been when Agatsuma had the nerve to kiss her knuckles. The thought made something in Ritsu's mind flare like some kind of deep seated jealousy. Why jealousy? She hated Agatsuma as much as he did; one of the only two girls in the school that hadn't fallen for his charms. The thought made him smirk. They were so much alike that their perceptions of other people even matched one another. Clearly they had a pretty tight bond and neither were ever going to toss the other aside or look for something better and move on. So why was he so worried about Agatsuma flirting with her, or that something simple like that kiss when they'd agreed to take down Septimal Moon? Nothing was going to get in the way of them being friends, right?
Iyani returned from the kitchen with a tray of little sandwiches and sat them on the coffee table. "Eat up, Ritsu." She ordered, taking a bite of one. "You're going to need it after a long day of dealing with the fools we were stupid enough to align ourselves with."
"At least we're all on the same page as far as plans and Akame goes." Ritsu sat up and took a sandwich.
"Yeah, I guess, but I just hope Kofai and Miya can keep it shut long enough for us to finish our plans and enact them."
"They seemed sincere in their agreement to stop it when Siren intervened."
"Thank god." Iyani chuckled. "I don't know what it is about that girl, but clearly she's figured out how to use her words to manipulate people. You mentioned how, at her apartment, we all started adjusting our way of speaking to match hers?"
"Yeah, and now a few words from her just shut them right up."
"Did you ask her about it at the apartment?"
"She didn't say much. Just that she knows how to use her words to manipulate people, but it's not a spell of any kind. I don't know, there's just something off about her."
"How so?"
"She speaks almost robotically and, I don't know if you noticed, doesn't seem to be overly affected by the cold."
"Yeah, open toed heels, a tank top, and a skirt aren't really Fall clothing. Then again, Nana almost exclusively wears shorts."
"Because she's used to being in the computer lab or surrounded by computers and dealing with the heat they give off."
"Makes sense. I don't know, she's just odd."
"Nagisa seems to be fascinated by her."
"I feel like once we take over, she's going to be the scientist of the group."
"Most likely." Ritsu shrugged. "She did mention once that it's her best subject."
"Yeah, I think I remember that."
Silence reigned as they continued their snack.
"Hey, Iyani?" Ritsu finally asked.
"Hai?"
"Do you think things will always be this way?"
"What do you mean?"
"You and me, being so close; being so comfortable with one another?"
"If you think I'm going anywhere, you're not just Careless, you're a damned fool." Iyani laughed at him.
"Yeah, I'm not going anywhere either, but I mean…"
"Look, we're always going to be a Unit, always going to be friends; always going to be two halves of the same whole." She stated. "The only way that will change is if you get bored of me and toss me aside…"
"I'd never get bored of you." He interrupted.
"Or if one of us, or both of us, die out there fighting to take over Septimal Moon. In which case, I'm pretty sure we'll cause some hell in whatever afterlife we're sent to after this; if there is one. I'm not much for religion." She waved it off. "Why are you thinking this way now?"
"Well..it's just…it seems from what I've been hearing that Gomon and Aidien's fighters were pretty okay with one another until they all ended up getting kicked out. I wonder what happened between them to change that. Aidien and Gomon don't seem to be too affected. It's like they've always been friends and whatever happened never actually happened."
"I don't know, maybe it was just the girls that had a falling out and the Sacrifices just had nothing to do with it."
"You mean like one stole a boyfriend from the other or some petty shit like that?"
"Or maybe one cheated off another one in an exam and they both got into trouble or something petty like that. Who knows? It's not really our business until they tell anyone, but it seems like Kofai blames Dayless for getting her and Aidien kicked out of the Academy."
"Clearly their Sacrifices don't seem to think so."
"Well Gomon wouldn't have a problem with it if it were true, to be honest, but Aidien's as dumb as a bag of rocks. He seems to be oblivious to anything."
"Maybe he just doesn't want to believe that it's true."
"Who knows. But seriously, Ritsu, they're opposing Fighters. We're a Fighter and Sacrifice bonded by the same name." She stated. "Whatever happened to them, if anything similar were to ever happen to us, it wouldn't tear us apart. We're stronger than that, and you know it."
"Yeah, good point…sorry, I don't know what I was thinking."
"It's alright." She stated. "But…it's something more, too, isn't it?"
"What makes you say that?"
"I can feel what you're feeling and I can read you like a book, Ritsu. Don't play dumb; it doesn't suit you."
He flushed. "I was just thinking about a few things, that's all."
"Like what?"
"Well…do you remember the day we agreed to go after Septimal Moon and take over?"
"Yeah. It's the stupidest thing we've ever done. How could I just forget it?" She laughed a little.
"Heh, yeah, good point."
"But that's not what you're referring to, is it?"
"No…"
"Then what?" She flushed a little but it quickly went away as if she'd decided she didn't care and willed it away herself.
"Um…before…when we were talking about whose fault it is that we got kicked out? And…um…"
"When you kissed me?"
"Yeah…"
"And?"
"And for some strange reason you didn't come into my room and beat the living shit out of me."
"Your point? I didn't see the need to slap you for that."
He flushed. "Well…erm…it was okay with you, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, I didn't mind." She shrugged. "Though, to be honest, your surprised me by doing so. Never thought you'd grow the balls to do it."
He choked on his sandwich, coughing as he forced a swig of Pepsi down his throat. He hit on his chest with a closed fist until he was certain his airway was clear again.
"What?" He wondered.
"What do you mean 'what'? I'm not stupid, Ritsu, and I'm pretty sure even Agatsuma's figured that out." She snorted. "And that's saying something, since he still hasn't figured out that I want to cut his thing off."
"Figured out what?"
His ears went flat. What the hell did Agatsuma know that he didn't? Nothing, that was for sure. Especially where it concerned himself and Iyani.
"That you like me, you fool."
"I do not." He scoffed.
"Oh, come on. You don't just kiss someone with that much passion and not be into them."
"Says the one who thought when I said we could do it, that I meant losing our ears." Ritsu rolled his eyes.
She blushed. "Jerk."
"You're the one that said it, smart one."
"Shut up." She ordered, grabbing the now empty tray to take to the kitchen as the tea kettle went off.
"Iyani?" He asked as she stood.
"What?"
"If I did…and I'm not saying I do…would you…um what would you think…?"
"About us being a thing?" She wondered.
"About me having feelings for you…that's why I'm worried about things changing between us. I mean, if you knew and it bothered you, things might not be the same again."
She rolled her eyes. "For someone who can be so smart, you're quite an idiot, Minami Ritsu." She informed, turning to go to the kitchen. "I didn't exactly force you away either time you kissed me, now, did I…?"
Mouth open, he watched her disappear into the kitchen. As the tea kettle stopped whistling, he flopped face first into the couch, groaning. Damn that perceptive girl and her illogical hold over him.