Dlbn: Hello everyone. Sorry for the long hiatus. September is a really hard month for me emotionally (aunt's birthday, her passing, my cousin's wedding I wasn't invited to because my cousin's fiancé hates me but now they've broken up so joke's on him) so I haven't had time or energy to do anything. Plus I had my implant in my arm changed out so my left arm was kind of useless for a while and I was bummed about it.

Nbld: But we're back with a vengeance and ready to roll again. Review Corner! Thank you to The DarkCat and Promocat for reviewing chapter 26 and a bunch of guests for reviewing chapter one! Candy for you all!

The DarkCat: Hope your first day was okay outside of the stress! And that the days since have been less stressful. I miss college lol Seimei will say anything to win Ritsuka over, unfortunately, so there's no way to tell whether or not he's sincere. Thanks! I can't see Flightless working on their own to come up with all this (I guess you'd refer to it as the bigger picture, bigger plan). It just means there's a bigger threat out there than anyone was thinking of to begin with. One of your roommates saw Loveless? Sweet! Not enough people know about it unfortunately. When I called the bookstore to reserve my copy and the employee knew Loveless and had a small discussion with me about it, I squealed when I got off the phone and was glad my coworkers weren't there to see ^^" Mimuro is one of my favorite side characters. He gets too little credit.

Promocat: Zero wears how they feel/think on the edge of their sleeve; what you see is what you get. So he always knows when they're just messing with him, unlike with Septimal Moon and Seimei where he never really knows. It's a nice break, like dealing with Yuiko and Yayoi, since they're also both open and honest people.

Guests: I can't really tell what you're all saying, but I think you're saying very nice. Thank you for the reviews!

Disclaimer: Loveless is owned by Yun Kouga. I'm just a fangirl who owns all the manga, three copies of the anime (original Japanese only release, and Vocal Collection release with both Japanese and English audio), and some swag, and cosplays both Ritsuka and Yoji. I do own the non-canon OC characters, though. I make NO money off writing this.

Dedication: The 13th was my aunt's birthday and 21st was the two year anniversary of her passing, the day I lost my last living parent. Though you never knew of my passion for writing fanfics (though you did ask a lot what the hell I was writing all the time), this chapter is for you, Moo.

Dedication 2: I didn't get to post around your birthdays, but happy late birthday to my godsons Tucker and Jaiyden, and nephew Gabe. Had a ton of fun with my god-boys and their mom (my best friend) for their joint party earlier in the month. Gabe we have yet to celebrate because of reasons. So for now, though you'll likely never read this, this is my gift to all three of you.

000

Ritsuka looked over the list with Soubi later that night. The English paragraph, which Soubi translated for him, was just an offer of comradery from his brother and an apology from Chouma for leaving without saying goodbye. It wasn't important, so they'd gone right to looking through the list.

"Space…" Ritsuka struck them off the list. "Eliminated a month ago by Moonless herself…Callous…"

"A possibility." Soubi informed. "Their attacks cut deep, and their personalities themselves leave a lot to be desired."

Ritsuka circled the name. "Hollow…where the hell do some of these names come from?"

"I don't know, but circle them. I think I went to school with the Sacrifice…"

He nodded. "That's the end of page two." He turned the page. "We have over a dozen chosen already, and there's still more to go." He groaned.

Soubi took the packet. "Let me go through a few on my own and give you a break; you need it."

"Thank you." Ritsuka rubbed his eyes. "I hope this isn't pointless. After all, what if its someone not on the list?"

"Anyone you can think of?"

"The point of being underground is to stay hidden. Why would Seimei give me a list unless he's certain these are people that won't be involved and is just wasting my time?" Ritsuka mused aloud, walking around to pace and get feelings back into his legs. "Or he's just having us eliminate his rivals?"

"There's no one that rivals your brother in terms of strength, nor charisma. He could make enemies out of Septimal Moon's allies if he really tried to." Soubi informed. "And as far as getting rid of his rivals goes, he could do it himself."

"But place the blame on us." Ritsuka paused. "I hate to admit it, but I'm a little concerned he's involved in this somehow…how would he think someone was in charge of these people unless he knew? Hacking into our information is one thing, but making inferences from what we have alone…"

"I doubt he's involved. He has his pawns, yes, but I doubt he'd do anything that would bring him into the light that easily…like leaving a victim's body at your school."

"He did it before…he can do it again."

Soubi nodded, crossing off a few names and circling another two. "Some of these are old enemies Septimal Moon already checked out when this all began. Others are ones we looked into years ago when Seimei was an Executioner, but they're too far away to be of any trouble now."

Ritsuka nodded. "I think we've got a decent enough list. Zero won't report to Moonless about the list, and we're following the same rules."

"We don't need her causing trouble with Seimei's allies and ruining our temporary peace with him."

"My thoughts exactly." Ritsuka confirmed. "I guess we should start tracking people down tomorrow…"

"You're out at noon, no?"

"Saturday's a half day, yes." Ritsuka confirmed. "Pick Zero and I up. We'll split the list in two and go hunting."

"As you wish."

"You'd better get going…I don't want mom to come home and freak out." Ritsuka looked at the clock. "She'll be home in a half hour."

"Can I leave through the front door, or shall I exit via the balcony again?"

"It seems weird to break tradition and make you use a door."

Soubi chuckled. "I suppose so." He kissed the neko on the forehead. "Try not to stay up too late. You'll need your energy if you plan on hunting after class. Might be an all-day affair."

"Don't remind me." Ritsuka complained. "I'm just going to take a bath and go to bed."

"And I don't get to join you? Shame."

"Even if you joined me, its not like you'd do anything about it." His tail puffed in annoyance.

Soubi chuckled. "One day, kitten. I promise."

"You keep saying that, but…you know what? I'm not going to even debate this." Ritsuka shook his head. "Just…make good on your promise one day…would you…?"

"I always keep my promises to you." Soubi held his face in his hands. "Sukidayo."

"Sukidayo."

The blond leaned in closer and pressed their lips together, eliciting a contented sigh to slip from Ritsuka's lips. The neko grabbed him by the biceps and pulled him closer. Soubi let him go.

"I'll see you tomorrow, my love."

"Yeah…tomorrow…"

Head still a little dizzy, Ritsuka let the elder go and walked him to the balcony. Soubi unlocked the doors and opened them, letting cool air waft over the room. Ritsuka shivered slightly, making Soubi pull him in for a hug and a kiss on the temple.

"Lock up after I leave."

"I always do." Ritsuka confirmed.

Soubi pecked him on the nose before walking to the end of the balcony and flipping over the railing, latching onto the lattice below. Ritsuka leaned over the balcony and watched him go. At the bottom, Soubi gave a little wave as he walked, lighting up a cigarette for the walk home. It took some time for the blond to learn not to smoke in or around the house, but he'd finally started getting the idea when Ritsuka said his mother had smelled it but chalked it up to a neighbor. Ritsuka sighed, watching until he couldn't see the other anymore. Lights from a car started coming down the road, so he ducked back inside and locked up, pushing his curtains to cover the doorway. He stretched, leaving for the bathroom. He heard the front door open and rushed into the bathroom. He was about to start running the bath when someone knocked on the door.

"Ritsuka?" His mother greeted. "Is that you?"

He gulped. "Y-Yes, mother." He responded. "I was just going to bathe before bed…"

"Okay…" She paused. "See me downstairs when you're done…"

"O-Okay…"

Great. What did she have planned for him now? Running his bath, Ritsuka couldn't help but run a thousand scenarios through his mind. He stripped slowly, catching sight of his name in the mirror. He froze, running his fingers over the slightly raised skin. He always hated his name, but how it was so elegantly written on his side, like a henna in beautiful English script, made it seem less of a hassle. Loveless. He knew, without a doubt, that whoever designed these names, was some kind of a prankster. After all, with Soubi around, he'd never be Loveless. Not even once.

000

His mother was sipping from a cup of steaming liquid when he got to the kitchen. Dried off from head to toe and wearing his favorite blue striped pajamas, Ritsuka froze in the doorway at the sight of the somewhat normal scene. Normal wasn't something this family was used to anymore, not since he lost his memories and then Seimei 'died' all those years ago. His mother looked up from the cup, staring at him with eyes that were actually focused for once. He could vividly remember the madness in her eyes when she'd attack him for eating the wrong thing or doing something he wouldn't have done before his memory loss. Now that some of his memories were back and he was falling into line with his name again, she'd backed off and started seeing him as who he was before. He was thankful for that and wished he could take credit, but he couldn't help but think it was the medicines constantly shoved down her throat that finally did the trick after so long. She still had times where she'd go into psychotic fits and attack him, but now that her old high school friends were back in the picture, she'd calmed down a little.

"Sit." She ordered.

He did as told so she wouldn't lose her temper. She was like a radio station set on scan; unpredictable and changing right in the middle of a song when you'd least expect it.

"I have friends coming tomorrow night…" She began.

Okay, so she probably just wanted him out of the house.

"I need this house clean…stay at a friend's for the night if you want…but I don't want to see you around while they're here, understood?"

"Yes, mother." He nodded his agreement. "What time do I need to be gone by?"

"Just don't come home after school if you can help it…or at least don't make it a long stop if you do…get your overnight stuff or something and then get out."

"Yes, mother."

Didn't her friends know she had kids? Or was she that worried that seeing his face would make her go into attack mode while they were around? Either way, at least she was giving him warning instead of just losing it when he got home and her friends were there.

"If you stay at your boyfriend's, you better come home with your ears…understood…?"

"Yes, m…wait, what?" Ritsuka blinked in surprise. "You…you knew…?"

"What kind of mother doesn't know about her son's romantic involvements…?" She glared at him. "I can't say I approve of someone so much…older…but that's not my problem. You get burned in the end, that's on you."

Gee, how caring.

"Y-Yes, mother…"

"I'm not going to go to the police…but if those don't come back with you," she pointed at his ears, "I will."

"He'd never do anything like that to me." Trust me, I've begged him to. Multiple times. "I'll come back with my ears; I promise."

He could see anger popping into her when he argued, but she fought it back, cringing and tilting her head to the side.

"Good." She stood. "Oh, and your father filed for divorce."

She left, leaving Ritsuka to stare at her in disbelief. Who ended a conversation like that? Not that he couldn't have seen that coming a mile away, since he'd seen his father with the woman he'd left for a few times and they seemed pretty happy. He was pretty sure she had a ring on her finger, but it might have just been his imagination. He waited until he heard his mother's door slam shut. He could hear her crying as he walked past the room to the stairs. He knew he should try and comfort her, but that would more likely only send her into a fit he'd have to deal with and leave him with bruises to have to explain to his friends tomorrow. He wasn't about to put up with that headache. He locked his bedroom door and flopped onto the bed. So his mother knew about Soubi. He wasn't sure whether it was comforting knowing he wouldn't have to sneak around with him so much, or frightening that his mother knew more about him than he thought. As he drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help wonder what else she'd figured out about him that she wasn't telling.