Chapter 2 – That was just the beginning.
Regular POV
Ritsuka woke up in a hospital, with Soubi asleep at the edge of his bed. He looked around but stopped when a pain shot through his neck and back. He felt something in his hand and brought it up to his face. It was a piece of paper. He opened it and read what it said on the inside.
This was just the beginning Ritsuka.
Things will get much worse from here.
Of course you have Soubi, but if you ever need any help, just call us.
-Phone number-
~ Limitless~
'Limitless… must be the name of the pair that saved me last night.' Ritsuka thought.
He sat the paper on the bed side table and sighed.
"…I guess…maybe I could call them to get an explanation…" he reasoned with himself. He reached to the table picking up the paper and his phone. He punched the number into the key pad and hit dial. The tone rang several times and he started to grow impatient.
[At the girls' school]
"So then can anyone answer the question on the board?" the teacher asked the class.
BZZZZ, BZZZZZ, BZZZZ
The class started to chatter and a blonde girl blushed and fumbled with her phone.
"Miss Shirokaze" the teacher said annoyed.
"Uh- Um, s-sorry teach, it…it's my little sister." She lied. Everyone knew her little sister, Sierra was constantly ill; therefore she could take calls if it was her.
"All right, step into the hall." The teacher replied.
"Hai, Domo arigatou Sayaka-sensei" the girl replied.
The girl stepped into the hall and closed the door, she didn't know the number, but had a hunch as to who it was. She answered it.
"Hello, Shirokaze Einriette speaking, may I ask who is calling?" the girl [I call her Ein] said into the phone.
"…This is Aoyagi Ritsuka…" Ritsuka replied.
"Oh!" Ein recalled, "Right, right, sorry, is something wrong?" she asked.
She hadn't said that he couldn't call her just to chat or something, but she just figured he wouldn't want to.
"…No…I just want an explanation as to what happened last night…" he replied.
Last night? Is he serious? Ein thought.
"Um…listen kid that fight wasn't last night, it was 4 days ago, you've been out for a while I guess huh?"
Ritsuka couldn't believe his ears.
4….4 days…just how bad had I been hurt after all? He thought.
"You still there kid?" Ein called into the phone.
"Uh…yea…and would you quit calling me kid, I'm in Junior high" he said irritated.
"Oh sorry, didn't know you were that old. I'm a junior high student too" Ein informed him.
Ritsuka was impressed that she was a Jr. High student but was so…developed…
He blushed at the thought and noticed Soubi stir. He lowered his voice and couldn't help but ask her:
"Do you go to Seiya Junior High?" [A/N: Just made up the name, hope its ok]
Ein paused for a while, so long that Ritsuka thought maybe they had been disconnected.
"Hello?" He asked. "Oh, um…sorry, yea…that's…that's the school I attend…" Ein replied.
Ritsuka was shocked that he had been right. "Wow…" he replied.
"What?" Ein inquired.
"Well it's just…that's the school I attend too" Ritsuka said quietly.
"Oh, well at least I can keep a better eye on you then, I had heard that a first year had gotten put into the hospital, but I really didn't try to piece it together" Ein exclaimed lightly.
"Hmm…" was his only reply.
"Well then, after school I'll come and see you, till then try and rest up" Ein said lovingly, which to an extent made Ritsuka blush. "All right….bye" he said, and with an affirmative "Mhm" from Ein he hung up. He programmed her number into his phone and sat them both onto the table. He decided to take her advice and laid his head onto his pillow to rest.
[Back at Ein's school]
Ein sighed when Ritsuka had hung up and she did the same with her phone as well, noticing that class time was almost over.
At least it got me out of math. She thought.
Even though she was an straight A student and could get into any school she wanted, not that this wasn't a good school, it was an S ranked school, but her father had thought she'd choose something more…rich and luxurious. After all she was rich and her lifestyle was luxurious, a little too much for her sake. That's why she had chosen a school based on academics, and not one based on how much money it could get out of the parents pockets.
She opened the class room door and re-entered, purposefully passing her partner and Sacrifice, Subaru Yagami, and letting her skirt flit a little. Noticing his blush, she nodded at a job well done and took her seat in the middle desk of the far row, next to the windows.
She had always loved sitting by the windows, they reminded her of how her mother would read stories to her sitting by the window when she was little. Her mother had died when she was 10 and Sierra had been 6 years old.
It pained her because Sierra was slowly forgetting their mother, and every time Ein wore her hair a certain way, she could see the pain in her father's eyes, because that had been the way her mother had kept it. Bundled up in a bun, putting the rest of it in a long plait, because of that, most of the time she left her hair down, simply letting it cascade down her shoulders.
It had been much longer, down to her thighs at one point, and her father had been sad that she had cut it. But after a battle a few months ago, when part of her hair had gotten in her way and Subaru had gotten injured because of the delay of her spell, she had decided to cut it short. It was at her elbows now, and even though some girls argued that it was still considered long, it felt short to her.
"Shirokaze!" Sayaka-sensei yelled.
Ein's head shot up and she felt the teacher tap her head with a book.
"Pay attention" she said.
"Hai, sensei" She answered.
School ended quicker than she thought it would and when the bell rang she made a mad dash for the door. She raced out of the school and through the gates, towards the hospital.
She was caught by the crossing traffic however and stopped to catch her breath.
"Eiiiiiiin!" someone was calling her. She turned to see Subaru running up behind her, out of breath. "W-when…did…you…..learn….to run…..so…darn…fast…?" he asked her, also trying to catch his breath.
"S-sorry, I t-told…Ritsuka that….we….would….come over…" she replied.
"Wha...why?" Subaru asked her.
"He wants to know about what really happened the other night" she answered. "He knows doesn't he?" he asked; confused.
"Well, he knows what happened but he doesn't know why." Ein explained.
Subaru nodded in approval and while waiting for the light to change, he spotted someone familiar. A green haired boy and a red headed boy in the Seiya Jr. High uniform caught his eye. The pins on their jackets meant that they were first years, but he couldn't believe he hadn't seen them around before.
Youji…Natsuo…what are they doing here? I thought they went missing after they lost to Soubi… Subaru thought.
He nudged Ein with his elbow and looked their way, her gaze following.
"Eh, Youji, Natsuo!" she called to them. They both looked over at them with surprised gazes.
"Ah, Ein-chan, Subaru-chan, long time no see" Youji replied.
"Sup you two" Natsuo called.
"Yea, it has been a long time." She said.
"Yea…" Natsuo replied. "So what happened with you two anyways?" Subaru asked.
Natsuo and Youji explained what had happened to them and that they were no longer working for Nagisa-sensei. They told them how they were Ritsuka's friends now and that they were on the way to the hospital to see him. The four of them agreed on going to see Ritsuka together, and hastily made their way to the hospital when the light finally changed.
When they arrived at the hospital, Einriette and Subaru already knew the way to Ritsuka's room so they headed there without a word from the nurse. Natsuo was looking around and he noticed something. "Ah." He said, and stopped walking.
The others noticed that he had stopped and they turned.
"What's wrong Natsuo?" Youji called.
Natsuo was silent and glancing back and forth between Ein and Subaru.
"Natsuo?" Ein was getting worried.
"Ne, Youji doesn't something seem di~fferent about them?" Natsuo snickered.
Ein and Subaru each raised an eyebrow. Youji looked closely and his ears perked and his tail started swaying back and forth happily.
"Oooooh I see now" Youji purred.
"What?" Ein asked impatiently.
"You. Lost. Your. Ears." He stated. Immediately the words processed in Ein's mind and a flashback of the night she let Subaru take her ears and she took his, ran threw her mind. She blushed profusely and turned on her heel, walking to Ritsuka's room without another word. The others followed in suit, Subaru's cheeks were lightly dashed pink but he scoffed it off. Youji and Natsuo were content with themselves. Ein knocked on his door lightly, hoping she wouldn't wake him if he was resting, but hoping that Soubi was a wake instead. He had slept too, after crying over Ritsuka's injuries so much. [A/N: italicized for now is kind of a flash back]
When Soubi had arrived home two days before, and found nothing changed about the residence, no food had been eaten, nothing was different, and the note was still on the counter. But more importantly, Ritsuka wasn't there, that late at night and Ritsuka wasn't there. Now this had him worried. He checked the machine's messages and found the one Subaru had left for him.
'I message, October 26th, 10: 38 p.m.' the machine rang out.
'Agatsuma-san, this is Yagami Subaru, from the Seven Voices Academy. You may or may not remember me, but I'm quite sure you remember my partner, Shirokaze Einriette. We were following a group of rogue fighters last night and coincidently, they were after Aoyagi-kun. They battered him some, quite harshly; we were late arriving because we were misled by someone else, purposefully. When we arrived at the scene, Ein declared a battle, but they declined by someone else's order. Aoyagi-kun was hurt very badly, so we have brought him to the nearest hospital, the doctor is fixing him up now. …Ein didn't want me to tell you this…but ever since we arrived Aoyagi-kun has been having nightmares…he's been crying in his sleep and calling out your name…I just thought it would be better if you knew. I presume we'll see you soon; we shall stay for the night as he has no one to watch him, but we must leave in the morning. Please hurry.' 'End messages'
Soubi couldn't believe his ears, as soon as he came in; he was back out the door again and shut it with a loud slam. He got in his car and headed for the hospital nearest to Ritsuka's old home. He called Kio and told him what happened. "What!" Kio yelled into the receptor.
"Ritsuka has been hurt very badly, but apparently he was rescued by some people, will you call Youji and Natsuo to tell them what happened?" he asked on the verge of tears.
"Sure, and Sou-chan?" Kio asked. "What?" "Ritsuka will be okay." He finished.
"…the people who hurt him better hope for their lives that he makes it out ok." Soubi told him.
"Don't do anything too reckless" Kio said into the receiver before he hung up.
When Soubi arrived at the hospital, he immediately rushed to Ritsuka's room. He ran straight there, despite protests form doctors and nurses. When he finally got to Ritsuka's room, he saw that Ritsuka was asleep. He sighed that he had seen him again, but when the doctor informed him on exactly how badly Ritsuka had been beaten, he started to cry. The doctor said he could stay since he was his only family, but to let Ritsuka rest. He silently wept, and prayed that Ritsuka would be okay.
Ein looked in the room and saw that Ritsuka was sleeping soundly, but that Soubi was awake and Kio was there as well. Youji and Natsuo were being impatient, and walked straight into the room, leaving the door wide open and Ein standing there like an idiot.
"How is he?" Youji asked Soubi.
"…They said he'll be okay after he gets rest." He replied.
Ein didn't know what to say. Instead she motioned Subaru in and closed the door. Eventually Soubi and Ritsuka had told Kio about fighters and such, so it's not like seeing someone use strange powers freaked him out anymore. Ein walked over to Ritsuka and sat down in a seat close to him. She activated her spell system and cast an iron healing spell. Kio didn't really know enough to be worried, but this had Soubi on edge.
"He will heal faster this way, I used this when we saved him, had I not…he probably wouldn't have survived." She said, sensing his tense aura.
"…Thank you then" he replied.
"Sure, now then you understand why I'm here correct?" Ein asked him.
"…Ritsuka wanted you to come here, to explain why those people were after him" he said.
"Indeed, it seems as though that someone has taken an interest in fighters and sacrifices. Sacrifices to be more exact, last month Subaru was attacked as well, he wasn't beaten as badly because I was there to help fight them off, but we managed to track them to a specific computer. We hacked their list of known sacrifices, and…Ritsuka was the next one on the list. Unfortunately, we were too late to entirely save him." Ein explained.
"That doesn't make any sense" Kio said.
"It does rather." Youji said. "Mhm" Natsuo agreed.
"Let me explain." Subaru said. "When Soubi was assigned to Seimei, it was all a mistake. He should have really been Loveless' fighter, but Seimei didn't want that. So he took Soubi away, and marked him, so no one could really use him, including Ritsuka, but apparently fate still has its ways of interfering with plans" he explained.
"So you're saying that Soubi actually is Ritsuka's fighter?" Natsuo inquired.
"Precisely, but Seimei wanted Ritsuka for himself, therefore the meaning of stealing Soubi away from anyone." Ein told them.
"That's whack."
Every one looked to Ritsuka; he had woken up during their conversation.
"Well, it's not like it's not reversible." Subaru implied. Ein opened her mouth and started to yell at him, but instead she just walked over to him dragged him into the hall and then started to yell at him.
"You know that I'm not allowed to cast that spell for a specific reason! Plus Soubi would never agree to it and you know it!" Ein yelled at him.
"Well it wouldn't hurt to try now would it?" he said. "…I suppose…if he would agree to it…" she agreed. "Well let's try again shall we?" he smirked. "…Don't look at me like that, you know I hate to use…unauthorized spells…" She replied. "Ahaha, right, unauthorized." He joked.
"You know what I mean, those spells call for… awkward measures!" the blonde yelled tensely.
"Right, right, you know Ritsuka doesn't have ears right?" Subaru inquired to her. "…"
"What, no reply from the queen of comebacks?", "I'm shocked" he said, bemused.
"…Oh shut it, just for that I'm not making Chocolate Croissants for you tonight." She said teasingly. "What!" he yelled, very loudly, so loud a nurse down the hall had to "Ssshhh" him.
"You know I can't live without your sweets!" He told her, acting like a little child.
Ein giggled she motioned for him to follow her back inside. Once they returned, they had both come to a decision. Ein looked at Ritsuka.
"Since the…erm…connection…between both you and Soubi has been…" she paused for the right word. "Consummated" Subaru finished. Most of the people in the room, excluding Soubi and Kio, blushed. "Thank you for your choice of words Subaru." Ein said sarcastically.
"No problem" he said smirking. "Anyways, the connection has been restored so that makes this 100 times easier." Ein progressed. "How so?" Ritsuka asked. "Well since you two have uhm…c-connected…then that means the link between you is visible. And it also means that if I cast a spell, with both of your permissions of coarse, that I can cancel out Seimei's spell and return Soubi's mark to the way it should have been." She explained happily.
"'The way it should have been', you mean so it says 'Loveless' and not 'Beloved'?" Ritsuka asked tensely. "Yes that's what it means." Subaru told. "…If Soubi is willing…then I guess we can…" he said; blushing. "…" Soubi was silent, he was obviously thinking of the mark he had as beloved, he loved Ritsuka, but he was a little scared to change it, for fear of changing himself.
"All right" Soubi answered after some consideration. "OK, well then, can you guys step into the hall for a moment?" Einriette asked Kio, Youji, and Natsuo. "Sure" said Kio and the Zero's followed in pursuit. Subaru set up the barrier and Ein activated her magic.
"Wind of might guide my powers, lead these two to their correct hour.
Do not allow the name to split, May they become one and in doing so ignite the force in their souls. Dispel the one that is for naught and light the way with the name for sought!"
Ein said the spell's transformation line and both Soubi and Ritsuka started to glow green.
"Beloved is Loveless!"
Both Soubi and Ritsuka shouted as they were instructed.
There was a giant flash of blue light and everything went back to normal. But Ritsuka clutched his shoulder and doubled over, with a grimace look on his face.
Soubi said, "Ritsuka, are you all right, did something go wro-", but froze and clutched his neck and shoulder as well. When the pain faded they both looked up and Soubi unwrapped the bandages around his neck. Everyone was shocked that the name 'Beloved' and all the markings on his neck were gone. Nothing was there at all. Ritsuka leaned up and rubbed his shoulder, it was sore no longer, but he felt like something was there. Without any thought, he unbuttoned his shirt and took it off, earning an earnest blush from Ein. To which Subaru glared at her, but she paid no mind. Ritsuka couldn't believe it. His mark was actually there, on his shoulder, in pretty cursive letters, Loveless.
Well? What did you think? R+R please! The next chappy will be up as soon as possible! ^w^