Ritsuka awoke the next morning to the sounds of soft clanking and the intoxicating smell of bacon, all sweeping into the bedroom from the kitchen just down the hall. He sat up in bed with a smile, putting the mishap of the night before completely out of his mind, and let out a long yawn. He then promptly crawled out of Soubi's large downy bed and made his way out of the bedroom, down the hall and into the kitchen. The faint sound of Ritsuka's small footsteps caused Soubi to glance over his shoulder to give the boy a warm smile which he returned happily.

"Good morning Ritsuka."

"Morning Soubi."

"Breakfast is just about ready. Have a seat."

"Ok."

Ritsuka did as he was told and pulled out one of the small wooden chairs from the kitchen table and sat down just as Soubi placed a plate in front of him, filled with an omelet and bacon.

"Wow, thanks Soubi." The tall blonde then placed a gentle kiss on the top of the boy's head, causing one of his ears to twitch slightly.

"It's my pleasure."

Soubi then sat down at the table with a plate of his own and slyly gazed of the frames of his glasses as his partner wholeheartedly enjoyed his breakfast. A short time passed in silence as the two ate their food until Ritsuka was finished and Soubi rested his fork on the table to address the boy.

"So, are you ready to go back to school today?" Ritsuka's smile quickly vanished at this question and he turned his gaze towards his feet as he spoke in a soft voice.

"Not really..." Soubi felt slightly guilty at the fact that he simply couldn't help but to grin at just how cute the boy looked when he was pouting.

"Well you knew you were going to have to go back eventually."

"I know...i still just don't really know how I can face everyone after what happened. And what if it happens again? I still have no idea how to really control it." Ritsuka then finally looked up from the floor to see Soubi looking at him with a comforting smile that actually made him feel a little better.

"All you can do is your best Ritsuka. Just try to keep calm and keep control of your emotions to keep it from happening again. Now as far as what to tell them, I've written a letter to the school administration about the incident."

"Y-you did?"

"Yes. I tried to keep it vague but I let them know that you were having trouble at home with your mother and hadn't been sleeping well for some time, so after being sleep deprived and malnourished you suffered an intense anxiety attack that caused you to act that way. I also informed them that the situation has been resolved and to contact me if they have any questions or if you ever need anything. I left a copy of the letter in your backpack to give your teacher as well." Ritsuka couldn't help but to blush at the amount of care Soubi had put into resolving the situation and he finally returned the blonde's smile.

"Thank you Soubi...thank you so much."

"No need to thank me, it's my job as your Sentouki to take care of you in all facets of life. That being said, if the worst does happen and you can't control him, just excuse yourself from class and call me immediately and I'll come and get you."

"Ok."

"Good; now go and get dressed and I'll drive you to school."

"Alright Soubi."

Ritsuka then slid his chair form the table and made his way back into the bedroom to get dressed, leaving Soubi to clean up in the kitchen as he waited. It wasn't long before the boy reappeared in the kitchen fully dressed in his tight black jeans and the light blue jacket that he has become so attached to.

"I'm ready Soubi." The blonde then sauntered over to the boy, taking his face delicately in his large hands and placing a quick yet passionate kiss on his soft lips.

"Let's get going then."

Ritsuka did his best to quickly regain his composer enough to follow Soubi to the front door and grab his small messenger bag from one of the coat hooks at the door. Once he was ready, Ritsuka looked up at his Sentouki with a smile before following him out the front door and into his small black sports car.

The ride to school was short and quiet as Ritsuka remained lost in his thoughts and worries of the seemingly long day to come; all the while Soubi was consumed with his own worry for his small fragile partner. It seemed like far too soon before the car was pulling to a stop in front of the large iron gates of the school building. As soon as the car came to a complete stop, Ritsuka took a deep nervous breath before looking to the blonde for comfort. Soubi picked up on this immediately and leaned in to place a gentle reassuring kiss on the boy's forehead before giving him a warm smile.

"Don't worry Ritsuka...everything will be fine, I promise." Ritsuka did his best to push through the anxiety and find a smile.

"Thanks Soubi..." Ritsuka then very begrudgingly opened the car door and stepped out onto the pavement. He then turned back towards the car to give Soubi one last terrified glance.

"Call me if you need anything at all Ritsuka."

"I will..."

"Try your best to have a good day."

"I'll try."

The small boy then closed the door and watched with a frown as the car slowly pulled away and disappeared from sight. He then took one last deep breath as the bell rang to signal the students to head to their classrooms before finally making his way through the gate and into the ivy laced building.

As Ritsuka walked the halls with his gaze fixated on the floor, he could feel the icy stares from the students around him and all he wanted to do in that moment was run and hide. He fought through the fear and shame as best he could until he finally found himself in front of the door to his homeroom class. After one last deep breath he slowly opened the door and immediately felt the gaze of every student turn towards him as the whole room went quiet. He swallowed hard as he rustled through his bag to find his letter before walking up to Mrs. Shinonme's desk and handing to her without a word. The young woman was silent for a moment, as she was slightly surprised by the boy's unannounced return, until she finally put on her normal nervous smiling face.

"Welcome back Ritsuka. I hope you are feeling better."

"Thank you Sensei, I am." His teachers smile was actually making him feel a little better but his stomach quickly sank as he heard the whispers begin to fill the room.

"I can't believe he came back..."

"I was sure he would transfer schools..."

"What a freak..."

"No wonder he doesn't have any friends..." Each remark struck Ritsuka like a knife and a burning rage was quickly building inside of him. His rage was forgotten however upon hearing a familiar voice in his head.

"Don't listen to these losers...i'll give them a piece of my mind...just let me out!"

This sent Ritsuka in a panic and he quickly tried his best to remain calm. He stood with his back to other students for a short moment as he thought of what to do next. He then finally decided that he had to do something, so he calmed his racing heart and turned to face the class with a bow.

"I would like to sincerely apologize for what happened. I know that it was wrong and that I said some very hurtful things. I didn't mean any of the things I said. I hope you will all forgive me and not treat me any different."

The entire class was slightly surprised by the out of character apology from the boy and Ritsuka happily accepted their stunned silence before making his way to his desk without another word. He took his normal seat next to his busty pink haired friend who was already looking at him as if she would explode with questions at any moment. Once everyone was seated, Mrs. Shinonme let out a nervous laugh before beginning class as usual.

"Ok class, let's all open our books to where we left off yesterday."

Ritsuka opened his textbook with a grimace as he opened it to a random, not caring much if it was the right one or not. As soon as their teacher began speaking, Yuiko leaned over to whisper to Ritsuka.

"Hey Ritsuka…" Ritsuka wasn't entirely sure if he was quite ready to deal with his chipper friend just yet, but deep down he knew she was just worried; so he took a deep breath before answering.

"Yes?" Despite his mood, Ritsuka couldn't help but to smile slightly when the girl's eyes lit up just at his reply.

"A-are you feeling better?"

"I am; and I'm so sorry for all the nasty things I said to you and Yayoi. I hope you will forgive me." This caused a deep blush to cover the girl's cheeks.

"Oh it's fine! Of course I forgive you Ritsuka!" The boy gave a warm smile at this, feeling genuinely relieved that Yuiko was forgave him and he only hoped everyone else would do so just as easily.

"So have I missed anything important?"

"No, not really. Just the usual, we are even on the same chapter in our history books."

"Great."

The two then each turned back to their textbooks and followed along with their teacher while scribbling notes on paper. Class continued as normal for about an hour until Ritsuka noticed that Yuiko was looking at the clock every few minutes with a curious expression. After a few more minutes of this Ritsuka finally decided to ask about her strange behavior.

"Hey Yuiko."

"Yes?"

"Why do you keep looking at the clock like that?" The girl's face then quickly changed to an embarrassed smile.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you, we got some new students while you were gone."

"What's that got to do with the clock?"

"Well they are late every day but they are usually here by now. I've become friends with them so I'm just worried about them."

"Well who-"

Ritsuka was cut off when the door to the classroom abruptly flew open with a slam against the wall the wall. The whole classroom jumped slightly but quickly relaxed once the students entered the room and Mrs. Shinonme turned from the board to scold them. Ritsuka couldn't his eyes when he saw just who had entered the room hand in hand.

"Youji! Natsuo! How many times have I told you, you can't just simply show up to class whenever you feel like it!" The blue haired boy was quick to retort with an annoyed tone.

"Oh calm down already. We were busy with more important things."

"Your educations are what's most important, now take your seats."

"Yeah yeah." The duo then walked towards their empty desks that were situated at the very back of the classroom. The red head then suddenly stopped upon seeing Ritsuka in his seat with his mouth slightly agape in shock.

"Ritsuka!" Youji's eyes then snapped open wide as both boys immediately wrapped their arms around him simultaneous. Once the boy's released him, Ritsuka was finally able to recover from the shock enough to speak.

"WHAT?!" The blue haired boy's expression then quickly shifted to a much more serious one.

"We are students here now…" The boy then leaned down to whisper in Ritsuka's ear. "…but don't think for a second that we were assigned here for a social visit Loveless." The Zero boy's then both gave a small chuckle before finally finding their seats.

Ritsuka then turned his gaze back down to his textbook as his mind raced with questions as to why the Zeroes were in class with him. His heart rate began to quicken and he could feel his body temperature rise in anxiety.

"Ritsuka…I've taken a look through your memories…I think this is bad."

Ritsuka's eyes shot open in surprise at the mere fact that Riku not only spoke to him in such a serious tone but that he seemed to be offering genuine advice. He then shot up from his desk with his hand raised.

"Sensei, may I use the restroom please?" The outburst took the woman by surprise but she replied quickly.

"O-of course."

"Thank you."

Ritsuka then bolted from the room without another word and made his was quickly to the bathroom. Once inside the small room he made sure it was completely empty before locking the door and walking nervously over to the mirror.

"Why do you think this is bad?" Ritsuka remained silent for a moment until his alter ego replied in a calm serious tone inside his head.

"Well from what I can tell from just your memories those two are no good."

"They are hard to read…they have done horrible things and they work for that awful at the Seven Moons Academy but…they have also helped Soubi and I a lot. They even stayed with Soubi for a while."

"I know. Still…they said they were assigned. So we know that they are here on academy orders…but why?" Ritsuka then took a deep breath before thinking very hard on whether what he was about to ask was a good idea or not.

"What do you think I should do?" He then almost immediately regretted his words just as Riku chuckled.

"Fight them of course."

"I can't do that. I am at school and Soubi isn't even here."

"Well call him dummy."

"No. I don't want to interrupt class. I'll text him and tell him to meet me here after school and I will figure it out then."

"Fine, if you say so."

"I do."

Ritsuka then pulled his small cellphone out of his pocket and quickly typed out the message before sending it and putting the phone back in his pocket. He then took a short moment to regain his composure before making his way back to class. Once he arrived back at the classroom, he opened the door and quietly slipped back inside before taking his seat.

The rest of the day seemed to drag on at a painful pace and Ritsuka spent most of it worrying about the Zeroes. Youji and Natsuo on the other hand, carried on as if everything was perfectly normal, only confusing Ritsuka further. After what felt like years, the final school rang through the halls and students began to pour into the hallways. Ritsuka had made sure to have his bag packed before the bell so he was the first out of the door far ahead of Youji and Natsuo. He ran as fast as he could until he had made to the large iron gates where Soubi was already waiting.

"Hello Ritsuka." The small boy tried to catch his breath as fast as he could but Soubi's slightly serious expression showed that he already knew something was going on.

"S-Soubi…w-we have to get away from here now!" This caused worry to show plainly in the blonde's face as he wrapped his long arms around the boy.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Ritsuka quickly struggled free from his grasp to reply.

"It's them, they're here." Before Soubi could reply he shot a fiery gaze just over Ritsuka's shoulder just as the short blue haired boy approached them with his partner in hand.

"Hey there Beloved; Long time no see." Soubi then pulled Ritsuka gently so that he was safely behind him when he replied with a sour tone.

"That is not my name. That name was never mine…you will address me as Loveless."

"Well the name doesn't really matter to us, only our assignment matters at the moment…well, that and having fun."

"And what is your assignment exactly?"

"That's classified. Let's just say…search and rescue."

TBC