There was a long silence. Too stunned to say a thing, Soubi just stared at the man in front of him. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it.

The man- Yuki Motasha- was about Seimei's size. He had black hair that stopped about half an inch from the bottom of his shoulder blades. His virginity traits (his ears and tail) were gone, and the well toned muscles (though it was hard to see it because of his long blue coat) were there, but not overly impersonating. A little more than Soubi had. His face had sharp features, with piercing gold eyes, and-...Wait. What? Gold eyes?

Soubi looked again to make sure. 'Oh. My. God.' His mouth dropped a bit with the realization. Now he could place the man. He had trained with Soubi under their sensei. How could he have forgotten. Yuki had been his partner in all those years he had trained. This man knew his every weakness, strength, and ability as well as Soubi himself did.

Soubi could not say the same about knowing Yuki's. He had never bothered to care. He had worked with him and they had both relied on each other during their fights, but he had never truly seen a reason to know what he did, just as long as it got done right and they won. But Yuki was not the same, he knew.

Where Soubi was all about strength and was all out there, Yuki was about mental power and timid; always watching and observing others. He was always quiet, yet very strong (his only similarity to Soubi). That was why their sensei put them together on a team- complete opposites; best of both worlds. They had been unbeatable: the ultimate killing machines. But when it was time for them to leave, Yuki stayed behind, for more training. It was unheard of, but he was accepted none the less. He -Soubi was sure- stayed to work on the things he didn't have. But whether he had accomplished that, Soubi didn't know. But what he did know was that he didn't really want to find out.

This man was the only other half of their legendary pair. They had matched each other in power and strength when still training. And now? He didn't know. They both had grown in the six years apart. But Yuki just radiated power. It seemed to flow out of and around him like and aura. Black and deadly. Yes..., Yuki certainly had changed over their time apart.

The silence was broken by a very scared, very intimidated stutter. "W-w-what do y-you mean? S-Soubi, what does h-he mean by 'We are loveless'?" Yes, he was most certainly afraid of the stranger.

Soubi just looked at Ritsuka for a moment before he answered. "He means to say that he is your fighter, Ritsuka, and that you are his sacrifice"

Silence again.

Ritsuka just stared in shock, gaping at the man. 'His fighter? No, his fighter was Soubi. It would always be Soubi.' Then, he remembered something. 'That's right. Soubi wasn't his fighter. Soubi was Seimei's. Never mine.'

He looked up at the intimidating man, seeing him looking down at him. No, not looking. Staring. He saw something acute to desire flicker threw his eyes. (He, of course, only knew what it was because Soubi had always given him the same look so many times.) Ritsuka looked at the stranger, just looking at him. 'He's quite attractive.' Ritsuka thought. 'I bet those muscles would feel great rapped around me. And those eyes, there beautiful. His lips. There just so-' Ritsuka jumped at his own thoughts. 'What was that?'

Soubi answered his unspoken question. "Fighters and sacrifices are drawn to each other, Ritsuka. They are mentally and sexually drawn. That is so they are compatible and can work together. The stronger the team the stronger the pull. That is only because they are needed to be more united." Then Soubi couldn't help but think, 'Thank god me and Yuki weren't a sacrifice/fighter team.' He shuddered inwardly. Yuki had always made him sick, they were never compatible. Then again, they were both fighters.

Ritsuka made the connection and shuddered under Yuki's intense gaze. But he forced himself to look away and look at Soubi. "But...your my fighter Soubi..."

At that Yuki's head shot up and he glared at the other man menacingly. "He was never your fighter." His tone was cold, dead, but it still managed to send shivers down Ritsuka's spine. "Now, Soubi-" he sneered the name, "- fight me!"

Just as Soubi was about to accept Ritsuka cut in. "No! What are you doing? You can't fight without the extra power of a sacrifice!" He stepped out from behind Yuki. "I won't let you. Your not allowed to!"

Soubi was quiet. He knew that he no longer should be doing what Ritsuka told him to do, but he couldn't stop. He nodded and stepped back.

Ritsuka took a breath of relief and started to walk over to Soubi when a hand grabbed his upper left arm, effectively stopping him. But only because a jolt was sent threw him, starting from the place the hand touched and then spreading, awaking every nerve in his body. Ritsuka froze. His eyes followed the hand up into the arm, farther up and into the face of his fighter who had froze up too. One look into his eyes confirmed that he too had felt the jolt.

What shocked Ritsuka was that he had just admitted that this stranger this, Yuki Motasha, was his fighter.

Soubi again answered his question. "The first touch between destined fighters and sacrifices. It won't be long now."

Ritsuka, who was still frozen in the same spot, staring into the man's eyes asked, "What won't be long?"

But even before his sentence was finished, it happened. He saw Yuki flinch but otherwise didn't move.

Ritsuka was confused until he felt something moist sink threw his jacket onto his skin. He looked at where Yuki's hand still held his arm and saw red, rolling from his arm, under his sleeves. It was blood. Ritsuka's eyes widened and he pulled away, just to pull Yuki's arm into his hands. He rolled the sleeves up until they reached the crease of his elbow.

There, on Yuki's right wrist, was the carving of a butterfly into his flesh. And under the wings, in small letters was the word: Loveless.