Disclaimer:I do not own Digimon, nor do I own anything to do with 'Loveless'. I just write. A lot.

Balance

Chapter 20: First and Final Duel

Once upon a time, there was a clever young man who was hopelessly in love with a beautiful girl.

They met their first year of middle school. He was popular, intelligent, the top of the class in both looks and skill. She was withdrawn, distant and just unique enough to catch his eye. They were a match made in heaven, though no one could see it but the two of them. He kept her happy. She kept him sane. Through hell or high water, the two of them knew one truth more than any other: all they needed was one another.

Which was why his world fell apart the day that fate decided to take her away.

( - )

The power that rushed through Takuya the moment he heard his Name was unlike anything he'd ever felt. It was as though someone had turned on a fire hose in his soul, the raw energy inside of him bursting out in a steady stream of pure strength. It took him about five minutes to wrap his head around the feeling and get his breathing under control enough that he could actually harness said power.

Zero gave him three.

"Rip,"Osamu commanded, without so much as raising the tone of his voice. "Tear. Cut. Slice. Bind."

Takuya jerked a bit as his energy was suddenly yanked forward, caught in the fury of his opponent's spells. He stumbled, sucking in a harsh breath as his mind scrambled for the defensive words that Kouji had drilled into him. His mind was completely blank.

Just before his energy was sucked in entirely, another force stepped in, one whose power radiated and pulsed along with his own. Izumi.

"Shield, protect!" she snapped, her every word bristling with power. Instantly, the blending of their energies leapt to life and jumped up in front of them, cutting off the enemies' attack completely. "Block and hold! Lock and defend!"

The two warring bolts of energy fought for a few long, painful moments until they finally canceled each other out. Takuya swallowed, feeling the ghost of something heavy and tight around his neck, but, when he ran his fingers along his pulse, there was nothing there. "Izumi…"

"Just relax," Izumi soothed, turning back to smile at him. Her cute, tipped ears perked a bit on the breeze to accompany her grin. "Don't worry, Takuya. I've had a lot of practice with this. Just keep standing strong and I'll protect you, I promise."

Takuya stared at her, unable to make a sound. Zero attacked again, but Izumi was too fast, bouncing in with a counter-attack this time that reflected their power right back at them. They went back and forth so quickly that it made Takuya's head spin. Amongst his muddled thoughts, a single realization made itself clear, as burning and white-hot as a bullet to the chest.

I'm the Sacrifice here…

"North wind, catch!" Izumi barked, throwing both of her hands straight out in front of her. The fireball-like attack was caught by a circular curve of wind, held at bay only inches from the tips of her fingers. "South wind, return! South wind, burst!"

A great wind, with the force of a hurricane, burst from the nothing just behind Takuya and flung the captured fireball back to Zero's side of the field. It was followed by an equally violent tongue of wind that struck the ball dead center, exploding it into a rain of smoke, fire and debris.

"Deflect," Osamu commanded, and an invisible shield easily defended them from the flaming onslaught. He pushed his glasses up his nose with a cold smirk. "Already got your mantra started, Princess? Very good. It's nice to see you're taking this seriously."

Izumi sniffed, tossing a stray lock of hair back over her shoulder. "And you're not?"

"Of course not. This is just a game," Osamu said coldly, and that was the only warning he gave before the next command. "Spirit of Shadows, shatter their defense!"

At once, Osamu and Alice's shadows burst to life, leaping off the floor and at Destined like starved beasts finally free from their cages. Their hands grew into monstrously sharp claws, which they brought down on their victims like knives, ready to carve them straight down to the bone.

Takuya stepped back on instinct, but Izumi grabbed his arm before he could go too far. "North wind, block! West wind, defend! East wind, fortify!"

Her living winds, colored by the swirling energies building up around them, dove into the fray and blocked the shadows with a wall of pure energy. Izumi took advantage of the two forces struggling with one another meet her partner's eye. "Takuya, listen. I need you to focus, okay? Just watch me and focus."

"Right…right, okay," Takuya muttered, feeling more than a little pathetic. He planted his feet, the way that Kouji had taught him – but that was for a Fighter, what if a Sacrifice was supposed to stand another way? He'd never seen Kouichi take a fighting stance, he'd always just stood there, watching over Kouji's every move. So maybe that's what he needed to do, just watch Izumi's back and let that beautiful, wonderful girl go up against these monsters all by herself while he just stood here and did nothing…

"Takuya! Focus!"

He snapped his head up and the winds, which had been flickering from existence in his distraction, were suddenly solid again. The shadows they were holding back had multiplied and were sill clawing at the barrier savagely, crowing and cawing like a flock of wild birds, eager to get to their prey.

Kouji was the one who had yelled, and he continued to shout from the sidelines, just barely loud enough to be heard over the rushing wind and squawking shadows. "You need to focus, dammit, don't let your mind wander! If you're not thinking about her, she'll never be able to keep this up! You've got the power here, but if you don't give it to her it'll never get used!"

"Takuya-kun, listen," Kouichi broke in, softer than his brother and yet, somehow, easier to understand. "Don't even think about the fight, or the stakes, or Zero. Just focus on Izumi. Think about her, and nothing else, and you'll be able to support her no matter what happens."

"Okay, okay…I'll try…"

Takuya narrowed his eyes until Izumi was the only thing he could see, narrowing his mind until she was the only thing occupying his thoughts. He thought about her smell, her smile, her voice, how beautiful she'd been the moment they'd met. Something powerful surged in his heart and brought a smile to his face. That power rippled across the connection they had forged like the shock wave after an explosion, carrying its strength straight from his heart to Izumi's without so much as a second thought.

Izumi's eyes shown and a matching grin stretched across her lips just moments before the next command burst forth. "South wind, attack!"

From behind, the South Wind – in the form of a luminous green fairy the size of a small dog – dove into the battle and slammed into the barrier formed by her fellow Winds. It broke through with ease and tore through the shadows like they were made of crepe paper, scattering their essence in all directions. With a high-pitched note of triumph, it dove for Alice, only to be blocked with barely the twitch of Osamu's hand.

The constructs vanished as the energy that had created them dispersed in all directions. When the battle had cleared, Zero remained untouched. But, then again, so did Destined.

Izumi turned back and smiled at Takuya, the same way she had smiled at him in the ice cream shop. "That's more like it. You're getting the hang of this pretty fast."

Takuya blushed and laughed. "Auw, you really think so?"

"Feh," Osamu sniffed and spat off to one side. "You got lucky."

In response, Takuya stuck out his tongue and pulled down the lid of his left eye. Osamu's eye twitched a bit behind his glasses.

"Concentrate, Zero," the Headmaster admonished from behind. "Don't let their immaturity get to you."

"Yes, sir," Osamu muttered, shoving his glasses back up his nose.

Takuya frowned. Alice still stood just behind Osamu, between him and the Principal, but she hadn't said a word since they entered the room. In fact, her expression had not changed from the moment the battle started – she just continued to stare at him, her pale blue eyes glassy and distant as though she were lost in a dream. Her stillness was unsettling, especially as the pale green light of the monitors danced across her skin.

"You see it, too?"

Kouichi's voice was soft, too soft to carry to Zero's side of the field. Takuya frowned and nodded, muttering a soft, "Yeah. There's something weird about her. She's not moving."

"It's more than that," Kouichi hissed, and Takuya got the distinct feeling that he was speaking Sacrifice-to-Sacrifice, rather than just as friends. "There's nothing coming from her but pure power. I can't sense any emotion from her at all – it's all coming from Osamu and disappearing into her. It's like a black hole. Like she's already dead…"

"We're long past dead…"

"What the hell are you whispering about?" Osamu snapped. "You gonna give up or what?"

"You wish," Kouji chimed in, popping up to grab Kouichi protectively by the arm and give Osamu a particularly rude hand gesture. "Nii-san's just giving him a couple of tips on how to kick your ass."

Osamu's scowl deepened and he flexed his hands restlessly. "Once this is over, I am going to enjoy torturing you both."

"I already told you, no one's laying a hand on them," Takuya insisted, slipping back into the battle stance. Power blossomed up from inside him and ran along their connection to Izumi, spreading out from their union in all directions. "We're not going down, and we're all going to get out of here, I promise you that. Time for round two!"

( - )

In their first year of high school, the beautiful girl fell ill.

It began first with fainting spells, then fevers and vomiting and all other forms of horrible things. She began attending school less and less and visiting doctors more and more. Soon, she became too weak to leave her own bed, and was confined to a small, lonely room in a small, lonely hospital. Her disease was unlike anything that place had ever seen before, and no one alive knew of a cure.

So she suffered, but she did not do it alone. Through it all, the young man who loved her so remained by her side. He visited her every day, sometimes with beautiful gifts and sometimes with only words of devotion and love. He held her hand and brushed her hair and promised her the world if only, only she would remain by his side. The beautiful girl who loved her young man so dearly wanted nothing more than to grant his wish and remain with him until the end of days.

But love alone was not enough to make fate askew its course, and the beautiful girl died.

The poor young man was left as only a hollow shell of his former self. So distraught was he that he decided to end his own life in order to be with her once more. So he stepped in front of a speeding bus, and that should have been the end of them both.

Except that it wasn't.

( - )

Before either side could speak so much as another word, a resounding crack echoed through the room, quickly followed by another. The door buckled slightly inward, beginning to splinter along the center. From the other side, another crash echoed as a heavy foot pounded against the stubborn wooden frame, a familiar voice pushing its way through the cracks. "Kanbara!"

Takuya twisted around. "Akiyama?"

The Headmaster snarled, rising from his chair. "Insolent little traitors…!"

There was another crack as Ryo slammed into the door again, throwing all of his weight into his shoulder. The crack along the middle of the wood grew larger, and the doorframe cracked around the weak metal hinges.

"Ignore them!" shouted the Principal to Zero, slamming his hands onto his desk. "Just finish this, now!"

"Yes, sir," Osamu said, the only warning before his next command. "Ground, rise up!"

The wooden floor shattered as a spike of earth shot up under Destined's feet. Takuya suddenly found himself air borne on the force of the sudden earthquake, the force of the blow throwing the air from his lungs. Izumi yelped as she was thrown towards the ceiling, twisting around in mid-air to shout, "North wind, take flight!"

Her North wind, the pink-colored personification, swept in from behind and caught Takuya in a bubble of air. He sucked in a gasping breath, scrambling for the pieces of his mind. "Woah…"

Izumi. He had to concentrate on Izumi. She was sliding down the wind's back just in front of him, supported by the same billowing cushion of air. Her hair danced around her like a living being and it was beautiful, no, she was beautiful, beautiful and fierce as a lioness as the spell burst from her lips…

"Shatter, earth! Mountains, contain the wind!"

Osamu spoke not a sound, but his command was felt across the battlefield with instant, deafening clarity. With a deafening boom, the pillars of ground exploded, sending a storm of rocks and boulders in all directions. The North Wind screeched as its body was pieced, shattered and finally dispelled altogether, its protective bubble vanishing in a split second of violence. And then, Takuya was falling, falling like a stone, like the stones that were falling all around them, under him, over him, on top of him, oh god…

"Takuya! ? Takuya!"

He was conscious again and immediately choked on the air that hadn't quite made it into his lungs. He was alive, he was conscious and, yes, yes, the connection was still there, he'd only been out for a moment, just a split second, the battle was still on…

"Takuya-kun, get up!" Kouichi shouted. "Don't just lay there, get up!"

Takuya rolled to the side and tried to obey, but found that he couldn't move his arms. They were pinned to his sides within the confines of thick, stubborn cloth; a straightjacket. He jerked to his knees, struggling uselessly with his bound arms, and shouted in frustration, "Oh, what the hell?"

This time, it was Izumi's voice that broke through. She was shouting from the other side of the short, rocky wall that was the result of Zero's last, unspoken attack. "Takuya, tell me you're all right, please!"

"I'm fine!" he shouted back, but his words were cut off by Osamu's snicker.

Takuya couldn't see Izumi now, but he could still see Zero, smirking at him from the top of an earthen platform that was just wide enough for the two of them and the Principal's desk. "Don't lie to the girl, Kanbara. You're on the downward spiral now and you know it."

A last surviving monitor from the now-shattered banks sparked and flickered, causing his glasses to flash. Izumi shouted, "Defense!" and the sound of energy shattering against her insubstantial shield could be heard from the other side.

"Izumi?!"

"I'm all right!"

"You guys really got something good going, I'll give you that," Osamu continued, as though he were talking about the principal's taste in décor. "You've been together all of five minutes and you actually brought us to this. But there's no turning back now. You can't even protect yourselves. Not against this."

A crackle of electricity shot across the field, through the rocks and slammed into Takuya like a javelin. He gagged and pulled at the thick leather collar that appeared around his throat, bound so tightly that he couldn't even squeeze his fingers between it and the skin of his neck.

"Takuya?!" Izumi called again, but he still couldn't see her. Zero had cut them off, separated them, and they couldn't even predict what attacks would come next. The School was just playing with them now, now that there was no way to defend, no way to win.

No, no, no!

They couldn't just give up now, not after they'd come this far! Takuya's fingers continued to twitch against the collar, searching for a grip, for any slight sign of leeway. He couldn't give up, they couldn't give up, there was too much riding on this. Their lives, their friends' lives, their families, their safety, everything was riding on this. They couldn't lose, not to them, not now, no matter how hopeless it seemed, there had to be a way to win, they just had to find it…

"Dammit, Takuya, snap out of it!"

Kouji's shout startled Takuya out of his thoughts just as Fearless finally broke through the office door. While Ryo hurried to check on the twins (who were just fine, all things considered), Ruki stopped just outside the door and analyzed the situation in an instant.

"Kanbara," she called, in the same even, unshakable, Sacrificial tone that Kouichi had used before. "Get yourself together. You can still win this."

Takuya straightened, his cat-ears perking in Ruki's direction on instinct even though he knew they couldn't hear a word she said. His hands slowly slipped away from the collar and motioned to her to continue, but keep it low, fast and discrete.

"Zero isn't invincible, he's deluded," Ruki insisted, following his wordless instructions so well that her lips barely seemed to move. "His confidence is a product of that delusion. Break that, and you'll break their bond, and that will be the end of it."

"I thought I told you brats to quit whispering!"

Osamu sent another blast of energy through the wall. Izumi yelped and tried to stop it – "Defend!" – but the wordless spell was too quick for her. Takuya's collar tightened and he choked again as it dug into his skin.

"Takuya…!"

"I'm fine!" he coughed, cutting off Kouichi in mid-cry. His voice strangled a bit by the pressure on his vocal cords, but it didn't muffle the determination. "I told you, I'm getting us all out of here, and I will! Even if it kills me!"

"This is getting tiresome," muttered the Headmaster with a yawn, lounging across his desk like a bored lion overseeing his pride's latest hunt. "Just finish it now, would you please? No reason to keep them dangling."

Osamu looked a bit disappointed, but masked it well behind the glare of his glasses. "As you wish, sir."

The world around them slowed to a half, a quarter, an eighth of its normal speed. Takuya's heart, pounding in his ear, slowed its rhythm until he could count the seconds between each beat. Two seconds. Five. Ten.

The moment of truth was coming. This was it. They couldn't lose now. They couldn't.

There had to be a way.

( - )

Despite his best efforts, the young man survived.

He lay in a bed not unlike the one his love had been confined to for so very long before her untimely death, unable to move or speak or even breath without the assistance of a machine. A merciful god might have granted him unconsciousness and oblivion, but the poor young man received not even that mercy. He was left alone to become lost, day after day, in the memories of his beautiful girl and his own fervent wishes to be at her side once more.

And then, one day, he received an unexpected visitor.

The visitor knew of the young man's tragic plight, and he sympathized in a way that no one ever had. He offered the young man a deal, one that reunite him with his beloved. He promised the young man that they would be together forever, that not even death would be able to separate them. There was only one condition: total obedience.

When the young man agreed, the visitor removed the machine that had been keeping him alive and killed him without a second thought.

Later, the visitor woke him, and young man found himself in a new world. He found that, in this world, there was no pain, no sorrow, no feeling at all. And there was his beautiful girl, though she was as cold and unfeeling and alien as this new world. But she was there, and she was as beautiful as ever.

And the visitor said to him, you see, I have returned your love to you, now give me your end of our bargain, and the young man who was so deeply in love swore his eternal loyalty to him without a second thought.

So the young man and his beautiful doll remained, if not lived, ever after in their new world, under the watchful direction of their kindly visitor.

( - )

Something jumped on the barest edge of Takuya's consciousness, in the same instant that time suddenly snapped back into its proper pace. Like a rubber band breaking under the strain of an extended stretch, the endlessly long seconds shattered, throwing them back into the spur of the moment, intensified and expanded by the rush of raw adrenaline.

Osamu's eyes flew open, and that was the only warning they got before the rock wall between Takuya and Izumi burst like a row of water balloons. The gravel remains flew in all directions, the force of the blow throwing Destined into the air. On the sidelines, Fearless and Balance dove out of the way, covering their heads and one another to protect from the splatter.

Twisting around in mid-air, Izumi shouted commands to her Winds, which swept in like butterflies through a hurricane to catch them, right them and set them back on their feet. Through it all, Osamu remained poised at the edge of his platform, conducting the action without a single spoken sound, confidence oozing from his every pore. The Headmaster sat just beyond, grinning his cold, selfish grin from just over his servant's shoulder.

And Alice...

Alice was still standing there between them, wordless, boundless and still. Not a hair on her head was out of place, nor a strand of her dress disturbed. Even the muscles on her face remained exactly as they had been at the beginning. She never even blinked.

The final pieces of the puzzle in Takuya's mind dropped into place. The words fell out of his mouth before he could stop them. "She's a doll."

His voice cut through the storm like a razor blade and, though they carried no physical power and had no trace of a spell on their syllables, they stopped Osamu's magic in its tracks. Like the parting of the red sea, they split the rocks in two directions, leaving them to fall on either side of the battle without a scratch on either side.

Takuya could see his partner again, and he sighed thankfully. Izumi grinned broadly and hurried to his side, checking worriedly on the conjured straightjacket. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"What did you just say?"

Osamu's voice was tense like a snake about to strike. He stood on the edge of his platform, which seemed much closer now than it had before, as though he was about to dive off the edge. His body was incredibly still, and he was gazing at Destined dangerously over the top of his glasses.

Takuya couldn't help himself. His opponent's dramatics just brought out his inner class clown. "I said 'I'm fine.' You don't seem too happy for me."

"Cut the crap, you little punk!" Osamu snapped, eyes blazing. "What. Did you just say. About Alice?"

"I just told the truth: she's a doll."

"Shut up!"

"Hey, you asked me!" Takuya retorted. "And you know it's true! You feel it too, don't you? You know her better than anyone! You've got to know that she's not really there. Maybe that's her body, or a part of her, or something, but it's not really her!"

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up!"

"Osamu."

Alice's voice broke through, as crystal clear and cold as a mountain spring in February. Her blue eyes reflected the same intensity, but only for a few split seconds. "They're lying. Don't let them distract you."

Osamu relaxed, soothed by her words, but Takuya caught sight of the glimmer of doubt behind his lenses. It bolstered his confidence, pushing extra power into his next words. "Who's lying? If you really didn't believe what I'm saying, you wouldn't be freaking out over this. You're just in denial."

"What the fuck do you know, kid?" Osamu demanded, shoving his glasses back up his nose. "You don't know us. You don't know anything about us, what we've been through together!"

"Together? For gods' sakes, look at her! Half of the time, it's like she's not even there! She only ever responds or moves or talks when you're thinking about her doing it! When was the last time she did something that surprised you, huh?"

Osamu hissed, the sound growling primal and dangerous low in his throat. "I'm not surprised when I'm with her. We know each other too well, we can read each other's thoughts. I know everything about her, everything."

"And that's exactly why she can't be real."

Osamu's guard dropped for a split second of surprise, giving Izumi the chance she needed for a surprise attack. "East Wind, strike!"

The personification burst into existence to answer her call once more, diving at Zero with all the speed and precision of a falcon pursuing its prey. Osamu jumped back and shouted a defensive word, but there was no power to them – they died as soon as they left his lips.

Silver chains, as strong as tempered steel and as beautiful as hand-crafted jewelry, wrapped themselves around Alice's arms. They trailed from shoulder to wrist on each arm, pulling and tightening until they were bound to her chest like a mummy. Her face never changed. She never made a sound.

The Principal, sensing that he was losing control of the situation, stood and slammed his hands against his desk, sending his paperwork flying in all directions. "Zero! Focus!"

"Just listen to that blowhard," Takuya said with a snort, as though he would have been laughing had the situation not been so completely inappropriate for that kind of thing. "He thinks he can order you around, but the only person with the right to make you do anything is Alice. She's the Sacrifice, she's the one sticking her neck out here. You owe it to her!"

"Osamu."

The Fighter in question stiffened, shoulders twisting and contracting into painful knots. Alice was speaking to him again, her voice as cool and crisp and unreal as a bucket of ice water that remained crystal-clear in spite of the ice and the cold. "They're lying. Don't let them distract you. Focus, Osamu. They're lying. Don't let them –"

"Stop it!"

Osamu turned on his heel, lurching back at his partner to grab her with all the desperation of a stranded animal. Her shoulders were tiny in comparison to his hands, the chains on her arms jangling with each shake. "Stop it, Alice! Prove them wrong! Show them that they're wrong!"

"South Wind, burst!"

Izumi's attack shattered through what little defense Osamu's instincts managed to muster, exploding the moment it made contact. More silver chains burst to life, starting with an immaculate, gleaming collar and twining around her waist. They looped also around Osamu's arms, binding him to her as literally as he had been figurative. But still, he wouldn't let her go.

"Alice, please," he begged. "Tell me they're wrong."

"They're wrong," she said obediently.

Osamu looked like he was about to scream. He wrenched his eyes from her as though it physically hurt him, looking to the Headmaster. "You said you brought her back!"

"I did," hissed the Principal. "She's right there."

"North Wind, bind!"

The silver chains wound their way up Alice's legs, binding them together and toppling her over into Osamu's arms. Zero's Fighter held her against his chest as though cradling a precious china doll, still staring at the Principal with wide eyes.

"But is it really her?"

"Yes!" cried the Principal, his voice tinged with the panic that could only come from watching his entire world and all of his best laid plans crumbled out from under him. "Just as I promised! It's really her!"

"But why can't I feel her?"

"We don't feel anything," said Alice from his arms. There wasn't a tinge of emotion in her voice, not even the barest hint of love. "We are Zero."

Osamu closed his eyes then and lowered his head in defeat. He took a few deep breaths, his shoulders heaving and shaking with each one. A small, demented smile slid over his face. "Yeah. That's right, isn't it? We're Zeroes. We don't feel…anything…"

"West Wind, Attack!"

This time, Osamu faced it head-on, like an old man facing the sea.

"Keep it coming, you stupid witch!" he raged, demented smile still firmly in place. "You can't beat us! You'll never beat us! We feel no pain, no fear! We feel nothing!"

"I think he's lost it," muttered Kouji from the sidelines. "Whatever they're going on about, it must have been bugging him for a long time."

Kouichi nodded, gripping his brother's hand. "I feel sorry for him."

"Yeah," Takuya said slowly, a bit unnerved by how quickly the situation had spun first into his control, then out of it. It hadn't occurred to him just how easy it could be to shatter someone's carefully-constructed denial, nor the consequences that could come from doing so. "Izumi…"

"I know," Izumi said, in the same tone as the nurse who tells little Timmy that old Spot has to be put down. "I'll make it quick."

She planted her feet, pushing the roots of her stance deep into the ground, and took in a deep breath. Energy was sucked into her like smoke into a vacuum cleaner, leaving Takuya a bit light-headed and unsteady on his feet. The twins appeared just as he lost his balance, breaking into the battle field for a split moment to steady him by the arms.

"All winds, together!" commanded Izumi, her voice deep and strong as the center of a storm. "Four points, unite! Enemy, be vanquished!"

The four personifications burst into existence as one, looping around and around the battle area a few times before flying directly up from the four compass points. They united at the top of the dome, forming, for however brief a time, a perfect compass rose. Then they united into one grand being – like an angel, a true warrior, as beautiful and fierce as an eagle – which dove at Zero with a furious battle cry.

The Principal shouted in fear and dove under his desk. Osamu clung onto Alice, his stiff, unresponsive, unfeeling Alice, as though she were the last thing in his world. The only thing in his world.

And then it was over.

To be concluded…