Wow! It has been WAY too long since I've updated my most favorite work! I can't apologize enough for that! But I'm here now and the show must go on! Thank you to all my loyal readers, from the bottom of my heart, for putting up with me and hangin in there! I'm really back into the swing of things now, so I'll be updating far more! Thank you all again!

-Shuichi77

"Wh-what?!"

Ritsuka surely should have known better than to really think that he would be allowed to hold onto such bliss for very long, but still he was shocked and terrified of what Riku could of meant. The fear and anticipation violently yanked him from his relaxed and sleepy state, and pulled him up into a seat on the bed. Soubi had by know gotten far more used to these internal interactions, so at least didn't question him just yet, and instead sat up beside him and rubbed his back to preemptively try to soothe him.

"Uh…yeah. Don't know how serious is it yet, but uh…I kind of stopped existing for a second there. At least I think that's what happened."

"What doesn't that even mean Riku?!"

"Hey! I don't know, ok?! One second, I was here just enjoying the show, next thing I know, its suddenly all over. I lost a huge chunk of time and I can't seem to remember any of it. Just time after he start to fin-"

"Shut up! I don't need a recap! Focus!"

"Fine! Geez…but yeah, I don't know. It was weird. I feel fine now…but now I'm not sure if I really am. Just thought I'd let you know."

Ritsuka's heart and mind raced as he listened and tried to just figure out what all this could mean, but he was soon snapped from his slight daze when Soubi gave him a very gentle little shake to try and get his attention.

"Ritsuka…what is it?" Ritsuka sighed heavily to that and leaned against his lover for support.

"Riku thinks something is wrong, He says that he blacked out for a while…or stopped existing he says. But he doesn't know exactly what happened." Soubi was surprised to find that he was actually a little alarmed by the sudden news. He had very begrudgingly come to be at least a little fond of the invader in his partner's mind and body, so now to hear that he may be in some sort of danger was a bit troubling.

"I see. Well…that does seem worrisome. Sadly, though…I'm not entirely sure what we can do about it now. We can't exactly go back to the academy to ask for help. The only other person who may be of any help at all would possibly be ."

"Gross! No way! I fucking hate that woman! Don't make me go back there!" Ritsuka huffed in frustration to both the option itself and his alters response.

"Well it's not like we have a whole lot of other options Riku. It's not my fault that you can't keep your mouth shut when she is around. Unless you really want to go back and ask Nagisa before she dissects us."

"Ugh…you're a damn brat. You know that?"

"Yeah, I've been told. Thanks."

Ritsuka was already overly frustrated with this new situation, so flopped back down on to his back on the bed with a long sigh and groan of distress. Soubi quickly followed suit, but gently gathered the boy into his arms to be rested against his chest so he could hold him close.

"Try not to worry Ritsuka. I'm sure we can find a way to figure this out. If he really won't go to see …then maybe I can ask Youji and Natsuo. Or even Yamato and Kouya. Surely someone can at least give us some theories."

"Maybe. Maybe we can try all of them. I want to try and figure it out if we can…so the more insight the better."

"I think that is wise. I can call Youji and Natsuo first thing in the morning and set up a meeting. If you wish, you can go meet with them while I go meet with Kouya and Yamato. Then we can go to the doctor last."

"No way! I'm sick of those two! Make Soubi go to see them! We can take the girls. I like them. They are at least sane now that they don't associate with that crazy bitch at the academy." Ritsuka sighed once more at first, but it didn't take him long to come around to that idea. Truth be told, he was always fond of the female pair of Zeroes. He related to them on an odd level and had been incredibly inspired when they decided to die as Zero and live their lives for themselves.

"Yeah, Riku is right Soubi. We want to go meet with Kouya and Yamato. I still have their number, and it's been a while since I've seen them anyway. I wouldn't mind catching up."

"If that's what you want, that's fine with me."

"It is. Thank you Soubi."

"Of course." Soubi then smiled as he leaned down to place a very sweet and delicate kiss on the boy's lips, just to try and get him back to a more relaxed place.

"Now then…Try to get some sleep. Seems like we are going to need it."

"Yeah. I…I really love you Soubi."

"And I love you."

Once the plan was set, the lovers were finally able to drift off to sleep in a tense sort of fragile calm. They slept hard throughout the night after having such an intense couple of days, and once again the morning came far too quickly it seemed. The sun soon peaked in the sky and set brilliant rays pouring in through the blinds of the large bedroom, stirring them both from their rare moment of peace. They both eventually rose and made their respective calls as they enjoyed a small breakfast and got dressed and ready for what was sure to be a long and trying day. Soubi had spoken to Youji and decided to meet at a secluded park, while Ritsuka spoke to Yamato and opted for a more normal meeting place, a small café just around the corner. They each then shared in a few more tender kisses and warn embraces before setting out to their separate destinations.

Ritsuka had decided to walk since the café was so close and the weather was nice, which brought him some well needed quiet time. It was only a short ten minutes or so before he made it to the café and was shown to a seat by a friendly waitress. He settled in and just sort of absentmindedly browsed the menu despite having already ordered a tea, and it was luckily only a few minutes before he heard a peppy and bubbly voice call to him from the entrance.

"Oh! Ritsuka! We're here!" The tall busty blonde called as she waved fervently, her shorter counterpart simply following along calmly as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Ritsuka smiled as he stood to meet them and was suddenly wrapped up in a tight hug.

"H-Heh….hey."

"It's so good to see you! I thought for sure you hated us! I was so happy when you called! And oh my god you've lost your ears! I knew that Soubi had it in him! That perv!" Yamato chirped teasingly as Kouya quietly slipped into a seat, still being more reserved than her Sacrifice.

"Yes. It's nice to see you Ritsuka." Kouya finally chimed in.

"I'ts good to see you both too. I never hated you guys. We were just on opposite sides at the time. No hard feelings." Yamato finally let the boy go and moved into a seat right beside Kouya, while Ritsuka sat back into his own with a bit of a blush to his cheeks from the mention of his ears, which he deliberately didn't respond to.

"Well that's good to hear. So then! You said over the phone you needed help with something? We will do the very best we can to help if possible." Ritsuka nodded gently as he took a deep breath or two to try and calm down to prepare for what was likely to be an odd conversation.

"Right. Well…it's kind of a long story but I'll try to sum it up as best I can."

"Ok Ritsuka. Just do your best."

"Well, it all started a couple weeks ago when I was…uh…I found out that my personality fractured somehow. So now I have this sort of alter ego type person. His name is Riku and I can hear him talk to me in my head all the time, which I know sounds crazy, but he can take over my body too, and sometimes its forced and I can't do anything about it. My therapist said, and he confirmed, that he is like the part of me that I always try to suppress, my honest and selfish side that I've denied all my life. Se he has just been sort of helping me be a bit more true to myself, even when its against my will. So, while I was dealing with that, we ran into Youji and Natsuo and we had to fight them. Soubi used the substitution spell and I couldn't get back to my body for a while. So Soubi took me to the academy for help. Well that went very badly and we all almost died trying to escape from Nagisa and Ritsu. Then Soubi and I…uhm…well I lost my ears…and now Riku thinks he stopped existing for a while and we can't figure out of that's case or why and how it's happening. So, we need help." He rambled on as calmly as he could, but still came off a bit flustered. Kouya and Yamato both looked rather shocked by the time he was done speaking, and were stunned in silence for a long moment before Yamato finally spoke up once more.

"Heh…I knew you loved me Ritsuka."

"W-well…that is definitely all unexpected. I'm not sure how much help we can be…but we can try. What exactly do you want help with."

"We just need help trying to figure out what is happening to Riku. Or where to even start. Maybe if you can tell me if it could be related to spell battles or not? He has taken over for me once before and that when I got stuck out of my body. And then at the academy…he was able to use a spell." That last part made Kouya quickly perk up with an eerie sort of seriousness.

"He was? Do you know exactly what spell he was able to use? When he battled in your place, was he the Sacrifice."

"Yes, he was the Sacrifice when he fought, just like me. But, back at the academy, he used the name control spell. He used it on Ritsu."

"On Ritsu?!" Kouya blurted out in a rare show of more intense emotion, causing Yamato to also get uncharacteristically serious.

"Damn right! I fucking hate that guy!"

"That…that shouldn't be possible Ritsuka. It's extremely rare for a Sacrifice to be able to perform a spell at all…but it's almost impossible for even a Sentouki to be able to pull off that spell on someone like Ritsu. If controlling that man was that easy, we would have done it a long time ago. There has to be something else going on here." Ritsuka was admittedly a bit worried to the sound of all of that, but forced himself to stay brave.

"Psh…they shouldn't underestimate me."

"Oh…well then I don't know how he was able to do it. But maybe we can figure it out. Soubi is off right now trying to figure it out too." He replied more softly. Kouya however, got even more coldly serious, which only made him worry further.

"Ritsuka…is he meeting with Youji and Natsuo now? Alone?"

"Y-yes…why?"

"That's not good."

"What?! Why?!"

"Think about it. They still work for Nagisa. And well…Soubi knows full well that Riku shouldn't have been able to pull off what he did. All three of them know it. So, they all know that something else is going on. Ritsu has been training and grooming Soubi since he was a child…" Ritsuka's went wide as he listened to such absurd things, heart pounding wildly with distress.

"Calm down Ritsuka! They don't know Soubi like we do. There's no way he is still loyal to that creep."

"S-stop it! Don't say things like that Kouya!" He blurted out in a slight panic. Yamato finally stepped back in with a small sigh and equally serious expression.

"Ritsuka…I know this is hard to hear…but you can't trust them. You can't trust any of them."

TBC