My gosh I don't say it enough but I truly appreciate every review! I'm nervous about posting this chap not because of the content, but because I have to work on the next few chapters a lot more before posting them.

Disclaimer: I don't own Loveless, but many aspects mentioned are mine.

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Chap 21: "Reality is fantastic"

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One warm afternoon ten days later, Ritsuka and Annabelle sat on a blanket atop grass at the park. Soubi went to purchase ice cream for his sacrifice from the vendor nearby.

Hugging his legs Ritsuka had a familiar notion pass through his mind as like ones hadthroughout the day. Running his fingers between chartreuse blades of grass he verbalized his thoughts "I wonder when I'll die". Annabelle looked at her friend with empathy in her gaze; that question was very familiar to her.

"I'll tell you something I've been thinking Ritsuka, the fact that we're both still here- alive even after all that has happened to us is proof that we're supposed to survive." She laid her head on his shoulder and red feline ear tickled across his neck.

When Soubi returned, he paused a moment to fix his expression to a more gentle, cheerful one before handing a white-topped cone to Ritsuka. Annabelle sat up and gave him space to eat.

Ritsuka looked at the frozen treat, recalling that terrible nightmare. After a few seconds he ate the ice cream.

Soubi stood against a nearby tree downwind to smoke. In the months since the foreign problem came he had been going through as much as two packs a day.

Annabelle noticed Ritsuka he stared at the cone awfully intently then raced to finish the ice cream for some reason. "Whatcha thinking about?" she asked in a light tone, hoping to cheer him from the suddenly brought on unhappiness, such a tactic occasionally worked.

He did not look toward her "Hm? Nothing" He shivered from the terrifying memory then licking the last of the ice cream from the cone barely two minutes after receiving it stood and softly mentioned "I'm going to wash my hands".

Annabelle watched after him, hopeful that he would talk to her about what was the matter so she could help him. When Ritsuka was sad, it made her sad.

Soubi also watched Ritsuka walk away wishing he was alone with his sacrifice and could make everything better. He hoped the ice cream would cheer him up but such was not the case, it seemed to cause him more pain.

"Agatsuma Soubi!" a young man called from his left. Uninterested in any person besides Ritsuka he turned reluctantly and calmly said "I don't have time for you, please leave". "Hah fat chance! We want what we came here for- to test out the great Agatsuma Soubi", his partner commented, folded his arms.

Annabelle looked at them. Two high school boys with no ears, brown eyes and dark-chocolate brown hair wearing jeans and patterned tee shirts. They were different people from the time when another aggressive pair came looking for Soubi and knew who he was by face and by name.

What in the world is going on? Is Soubi a drug dealer or something, they did say to "test out the great Agatsuma Soubi". It would make sense of a lot of things...

Soubi saw that they wouldn't let up; at least the park was not crowded today. Departing from his, "I'll do fine on my own". He wouldn't tell the girl, and would not have Ritsuka harmed

Confused and worried Annabelle watched the three head into the woods. She rushed to alert Ritsuka. They met halfway across the park, "What's the matter Annabelle? Where's Soubi?"

Panting she replied "These two guys came, they knew his name and Soubi said he'd "do fine on his own"..." Ritsuka turned red with fury. "Idiot Soubi!" he clenched his fists. "Which way did they go?" Annabelle pointed to the woods, and Ritsuka hastened in that direction. She rushed after him, worried he might be hurt if he tried to step in.

Deep in the woods out of direct sight on any of the typically traveled paths, the two fighters clashed. The ground shook as Soubi sent a Yew Pine tree upon the sacrifice; his fighter's shield didn't protect him sufficiently, and Soubi smiled.

Ritsuka and Annabelle stumbled as the ground shook. "What the hell was that?" Ritsuka did not respond; he knew exactly what was happening, and ran faster.

Please be okay Soubi…

Several paces further, he stopped and caught his breath before shouting to the blonde before him "Soubi what are you doing?!"

Turning, "Ritsuka" he breathed. Chains were around his body, as well as upon the other sacrifice.

"Is that your Sacrifice, Loveless right?" he asked, "I thought you said it was okay for you to go it alone, but he looked pissed".

Heart still pounding Ritsuka charged at his fighter. To Soubi's surprise he did not yell or hit him, but stepped in front of him. "Go ahead Soubi" he commanded coolly. He knew by now that to show other teams they were not a co-operational pair might send up a red flag for others to come after them.

Soubi felt renewed as he pressed his lips to Ritsuka's. Stepping aside he did as ordered, sending three dozen stones circling overhead then down upon the other sacrifice who cried out. Angrily the other fighter sent a mountain of rocks at Ritsuka. Soubi's shield held strong, but some got through and hit his sacrifice.

Catching up at last Annabelle's eyes widened when the attack hit her friend, and the odd glow of what she did not know was a shield in front of him. Frightened she thought, What are they doing? Why isn't Soubi murdering those guys for hurting Ritsuka?...

She was too shocked to speak.

Ritsuka staggered but soon stood upright and responded to his partner's unspoken concern "I'm okay Soubi".

Fixing his glasses he sent a final attack "Rooted in place, return to the ground". Thick roots shot up pulling the sacrifice's limbs, and he fell hard to the ground "Ahhhhh!" A moment later the chains unlatched from him and Ritsuka.

The other fighter carefully lifted his sacrifice into his arms. "Your victory. Agatsuma-sempai, you are terrifying as legends say" he bowed then walked away.

As Ritsuka turned around to face Soubi, he caught sight of his American friend, eyes growing wide he whispered "Annabelle". Soubi spun around.

How did I not sense her?...

Annabelle's feet were planted and she didn't know if she could move. She didn't know what to do or what to say. Holding both arms across her stomach she swallowed and stared at her black-hurt friend.

Holy shit…

Ritsuka stepped toward her but staggered, breathing sharply.

Soubi offered his arm "Ritsuka we must go to my apartment and treat your injuries". He turned and commanded with a viciousglare "Girl you will accompany us".

She nodded and followed, unsure what might happen if she said no.

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Soubi helped Ritsuka sit on the couch. "Your shirt is too torn to patch", his sacrifice nodded seeing a box cutter in his hand. Soubi sliced perfectly straight lines across the sleeves and down the front, then cloth fell and he proceeded to clean the red wounds over lighter scars and healing bruises.

Annabelle sat across the room with her back against the wall. Hands trembling she, mutely stared at the carpet.

Minutes later Soubi dabbed at his sacrifice's ribs with a cool cloth and wrapping a bandage around his torso, mentioning "Three of your ribs are boozed, but not broken". Ritsuka grimaced as he placed an ice pack against the bandage.

"I-" he gulped when sapphire eyes held his, then nervously "Did I do a good job?" The question attached to that was known to both- Was I as good as Seimei?

Without a moment's hesitation, "You are a strong sacrifice" Soubi replied.

Not looking at Annabelle, Soubi asked "What would you like to do about her?"

Looking from her to him Ritsuka replied "W-I'm… not sure". He couldn't think clearly, it was such an oddness mixing these two halves of his life. Somehow he never thought any of his friends would find out.

She'd had it, "Stop talking about me like I'm a criminal or some little kid who walked in on their parents having sex. What you can do is explain to me what the fuck is going on!" Breathing hard, her hands wouldn't stop shaking.

My best friend is nursing wounds from some weird science-fiction fight, and no one's told me anything!…

Ritsuka felt he owed her an explanation, "There's this… otherworld that I found out about when I first met Soubi". It felt right explaining to her. Soubi didn't stop him so he continued "People are in teams with one fighter and one sacrifice…"

Sacrifice? Is it like a ritual sacrifice thing, or what?...

The thought of Ritsuka being offered up as a sacrifice, and vivid memory of him being hurt by a "fighter" was unbearable. Great anxiety filled her as she listened to his elucidation.

"And they have Spell Battles with other teams, the fighter says a spell that sends an attack at the other sacrifice..." Telling someone this way filled him with a mixture of excitement and trepidation that some otherworldly punishment would leak through the walls and strangle the life from their lungs. He looked around, but nothing was changed.

"Seimei was "Beloved" and Soubi was… his fighter. Seimei ordered Soubi to be my fighter when he died" he looked away and continued "In each team both people have one special name. My name is Loveless- one without love."

"Wow so not a video game hmm I think I need to leave" she managed to stand and turn fast. Soubi locked the door then leaned on it, not removing his eyes from her.

No escape…

She stepped into the center of the room and looked around. "Sheesh I'm losing my mind… Spell battles seriously? Fighters and Sacrifices… I really can't believe this, but hey I've got to after what I saw today". Watching her pace Ritsuka rose though in pain and nervously cautioned, "You can't tell anybody".

"Would you like me to use a spell to erase her memory of this Ritsuka?"

Doe-eyed she backed away shouting "What the hell are you saying? Don't even think about it, you're not taking my memories!"

Also shocked by the offer Ritsuka looked at his fighter "Soubi no, don't ever…" he turned "Please Annabelle you can't tell anyone. None of our friends know".

"No one else knows? What about Kio? What about your brothers Natsuo and Youji?"

"Kio will not know" was all Soubi said. Ritsuka could tell he wouldn't delve into it, so he did. "As for Natsuo and Youji they are not technically his brothers, besides they're also a team, but not the same kind… it's all so confusing, I've been living with it for almost a year and still don't understand".

Annabelle walked in circles "I think I lost my mind somewhere near my house, maybe if I retrace my steps I could pick it up and pretend this was all my messed up imagination".

She fell silent and again sat against the wall farthest from the two. No one spoke for a long while, then "Annabelle-"

"I'm not going to tell anyone Ritsuka, in fact I'd… rather act like I don't know about it" she replied calmly though lines on her face showed she remained riddled with anxiety.

What the hell is going on?!… Soubi has powers and fights against other "fighters", and Natsuo and Youji also have powers... maybe that's what they really meant by saying they feel no pain, maybe that's their power. I need to ask them about this…

As soon as Zero came in Soubi told them to bring Annabelle home. If he was left alone with her tonight he might act rashly and suffer greatly for his actions.

"Oh now we're allowed to take her home?" Natsuo sarcastically questioned. Hiding his emotions Soubi replied "She witnessed a spell battle". The boys looked at each other with matching expressions of amazement. Laughing Youji commented "You of all the fighters in the world let a regular person watch a battle?" Soubi replied slowly "It was not my intention". Sensing his ferocious temperament was no great feat the two said "Alright, come on A". She complied and they walked out.

Along the way they enlightened her as to why Zero, the younger one, was the best team, revealing as she guessed- that they literally could not feel pain, but noting that it was not necessarily a good thing. "A flaw of the Zero series,Soubi called it during our first battle". They told her about the "military school" they attended and their "parents".

"So you really fought Soubi, not just sparred, and Ritsuka said he's not really your brother" "Not by blood at least, and we didn't meet until a few months before you came from the U.S, but he does help us out like a big brother". His partner shoved him "Oh now don't be so soft with this big bwother Soubi talk". He pushed back "You know it's true".

Still feeling like she lost her sanity, "I need to sit down, I feel like I'm going to faint or throw up" "Or both" "Wouldn't that be gross" the boys commented. "Shut up guys please, I really can't deal with all this at once". "If you found out and Soubi didn't off you-" Youji mentioned, "Yet" his partner confirmed, "Wouldn't you like to learn all about the world of Teams while you have the chance?" he finished.

She didn't shiver at the mention of Soubi killing her since she found out; he always seemed like that kind of man. With all she faced tonight, she did want to learn everything. "You're right, lemme have it all. First what's with the Fighter and Sacrifice stuff? I thought of ritual offerings, but it doesn't seem like that". Natsuo linked arms with Youji, "It's not like that at all" Green-eyes concurred"Definitely not" Thinking for a moment Natsuo made a side-glance at his sacrifice "Well only a little". Youji nodded and looked at A, "Only a little, but not like you're thinking". "Fighter and Sacrifice are bound by their true name" he explained. "For life" Natsuo added with a loving gaze at his partner.

The walk home that evening took much longer than usual as the boys explained much of the rules and ways of teams. She was quiet as a mouse when sneaking in through her bedroom window.

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End of chap 21

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Not the end of course, but holy crap we're close. Please please please be patient, there's a lot to work on to perfect the final few chapters.

Hope you liked this chap, and please review.