Dlbn: Hello everyone, and welcome back! We're not updating at the last second again, yay!

Nbld: If we missed another day, I'd hit something.

Dlbn: Agreed.

Nbld: Well, now that no hitting shall commence, let's get to the Review Corner! Thank you to Sycocat2 and Yoitemichaelis for reviewing! Pie for you both!

Sycocat2: That it can. Apparently when he's lonely, Nisei turns into the nicest guy on the planet.

Yoitemichaelis: Hehe I try ^^" That's Seimei for you. Manipulating anyone and everyone he can get his hands on. Especially his fighter ;) Er…former Fighter at this point XD

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anything in it. It all belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing in this category!

000

Thoughtless was a huge pain in the ass. That was the only thought that had run through Nisei's mind all day. She'd spent a majority of the time lounging around and complaining about how bored she was because of the lack of electricity. When he had offered her a handheld game system to play with to keep herself occupied, she stated she wasn't a 'gamer' and didn't want to bother. He didn't really care because it meant he would save battery until his next trip to Starbucks to charge it. Her whining and complaining had resulted in him almost throwing the Menorah at her head, but settling for leaving the apartment instead to venture out into the city. He had brought his game systems, cell phone, laptop, and chargers all in his laptop bag so he could try Starbucks and see if he could charge his stuff. He was really in the mood for coffee and a donut. He didn't have much to eat at home except his terribly made latkes and premade foods that he couldn't heat up. Mostly everything in the fridge and freezer had expired without the electricity to keep the appliances running. Luckily, he had taught himself how to make his own mini cooker that didn't require electricity for the frozen meals. Unluckily, he was still hungry.

His stomach growled as he took quick, long steps down the sidewalk in the frigid cold to get to his destination. If there were no open spots at Starbucks, he'd have to try the library. It was the middle of the day, so students were out and about, most likely using up Starbucks' tables and electricity to hang with friends and do homework or watch cat videos on the internet. He never did understand why a bunch of nekos kept cats as pets or found them interesting, but he didn't really care all that much.

Not watching where he was going, having been lost in his thoughts, Nisei bumped into someone taller then him. He heard a male voice call out and fell backwards onto the snow in surprise.

"Oof!" He complained. Rubbing his backside with one hand, he checked his laptop to make sure it was alright before moving onto the game systems. Once he knew they were fine, he glared up at the person he had walked into.

"Are you alright?" A green haired male that bared striking resemblance to Chouma wondered. He offered Nisei his left hand. "Sorry, I shouldn't be standing in the middle of the sidewalk like that." He smiled before pressing his cell phone back to his ear. "Akira, I'll call you back in a little bit. I love you too."
He snapped his phone shut at the same time that Nisei took the offered hand and pulled himself up to stand.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He brushed snow off of himself. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going…hey…aren't you Agatsuma's friend?"

He knew the guy looked familiar! He had knocked him unconscious with a spell at the Academy before Yurio and Hideo, Bloodless, carted him off to hold as prisoner.

"You know Sou-chan?" The male blinked. He looked down a little at the shorter Nisei and his eyes popped open in surprise. "I remember you…from that school, right?"

"Yeah, you're right." Nisei folded his arms. "I'll get going. I don't want to cause trouble. I'm trying to escape from it."

"Something wrong?" The male took a step back. "I don't mean to intrude."

"Just a very annoying house guest who knew I didn't have electricity prior to moving in with me, and now takes up space on my couch complaining all day that she's bored." Nisei snorted. "I need to charge my stuff, anyway."

"No electricity? Something happen?"

"Nothing you need to worry about…" Nisei unfolded his arms and fiddled with the Dreidel in his pocket.

Chouma had gotten bored earlier in the day and tried to flush it, amongst other things that were not meant for a toilet, to see what would happen. At least he had the running water in the apartment so he could use the bathroom and bathe.

"You…seem different then the last time I saw you." The male informed toying with a piercing in his left ear. He sure had a lot of them. "Like less cocky…"

"Yeah, I've been told that." Nisei rubbed the back of his neck. "I need to get going."

"Alright." The male blinked. "Um…I know this might sound weird but…er…my boyfriend and I were going to make a big dinner tonight…would you like to join us?"

Nisei took a step back. "Why?" Was this some type of scheme for revenge or something?

"You just look like you could use a friend."

Nisei blinked. Was this guy for real? Did he not remember what Nisei did to him?

"Uh, I guess…" He stated. "But I have to be home by sundown. It's Hanukah, and I have something to do tonight…Menorah lighting and stuff…"

"Hanukah?" The male wondered. "You're Jewish? Awesome. Akira can drive you home by sundown."

"Sure…?"

Wait, why was he trusting this guy? He was Chouma's twin, for god's sake!

"Good, let's go." He grinned. "Oh, and I'm Kio, by the way. Kaido Kio." He bowed.

"Akame Nisei."

"Nice to meet you, Akame-kun."

"Please, just Nisei." It was bad enough his sensei called him that.

"Okay. Then Kio-chan, or Kio, is fine with me."

"Sure." Nisei shoved his hands in his pockets and trailed after the male.

Was his need for companionship that great that he'd go off with strangers that he had injured and led to the kidnapping of? Never feeling more pathetic, Nisei sighed and kept walking behind the male he hardly knew, to go to a place he had never been before.

000

The reception he got about his impromptu visit to strangers' apartment got less then positive reception from Mimuro. Nisei ignored his calls to force him to go back to texting. The Fearless sacrifice had resorted to writing in all caps or using multiple exclamation marks in anger, claiming he wouldn't be able to shoot over to Nisei's rescue if his new hosts decided to turn against him. Reminding him that he couldn't fight his way out on his own anymore hit a nerve and Nisei gave him a less then polite text saying to back off and leave him alone for the night. He'd received three calls and fourteen apologizing text messages, but they all went ignored by the raven haired fighter. Dinner with the two males had ended about an hour ago, but they kept him entertained with tea and cookies. Kio kept a lollipop in his mouth the entire time, except when eating or taking a drink. Nisei shuttered to think of how many cavities the twin had hiding in his mouth. Probably as many cavities as piercings.

"So, correct me if I'm wrong, but you said you met before?" Akira wondered, taking a sip form his tea.

"Yeah, I uh…I work for Seimei." Nisei shrugged, stirring his cup of tea lazily with a spoon.

"You mean Rit-chan's brother?" Kio asked. "I thought he died."

"You mean Ritsuka? Yeah, that's Seimei's brother, and no, he's alive. Faked his death." Nisei took a sip of tea as though it was no big deal.

"That…somehow doesn't surprise me." Kio muttered. "He always was a pretty shady bastard…"

"I'm probably shadier then he is. Or at least, I was…"

Kio smiled softly. "Let's change topics, eh?" He offered. "You're in high school, right?"

"Yeah, I'm a Junior."

"Only a year to go."

"For me. My boyfriend's graduating in the Spring. It's going to suck without him. I don't have friends." Nisei looked away and grabbed a scone to shove into his mouth and keep himself quiet.

"I'm sorry…" Kio grinned. "Well, you can count Akira and me as friends too, now, right, Akira?"

The yellow-orange haired male smiled softly. "Yeah, you can." He stated. "I know we're a couple random strangers and college students that you hardly know, but…"

"I interact with random strangers on a daily basis to do shit for Seimei and cover his conniving backside whenever he messes up." Nisei snorted, mouth full. He swallowed. "I think I can handle it."

Kio grinned. "Good to know."

Nisei sighed. He'd revealed more about himself to these two lovebirds then anyone else knew about him, well, except for Mimuro. He was the only person who knew Nisei completely; inside and out. Why in the world would he do that? Yeah, they were nice. But he knew from experience that 'nice' people could turn very not nice at the snap of his fingers.

"Something wrong?" Kio wondered.

"No, just a long day…" Nisei looked out the window.

Snow was lightly beginning to fall outside. He groaned. "It's snowing." He complained.

"Don't like snow?"

"I have no electricity and no heat. I'm going to freeze my ass off tonight…" He sighed. "Oh well. Can't live the life of luxury all the time, right?"

"Do you want to spend the night here?" Akira wondered.

"That's kind of you to offer, but unfortunately I have a very destructive house guest that has nothing to entertain herself with and tried to flush my Dreidel, menorah, candles, homework, a text book, and PSP down the toilet this morning to 'see what would happen'. I'm afraid she may have torn up the place while I've been gone."

"Why do you let her stay there?"

"Seimei."

He didn't need to explain further, it seemed, because Kio nodded in understanding.

"I'll bring you home, then. You said sundown, right?" Akira wondered. "It's dark out, so you're late…"

Nisei shrugged. "It's not a rule that I have to light the candles at sundown, I just want to be home by sundown. Sorry if it's too much to ask, I'll…"

"No, no, it's fine." Akira smiled softly. "Your boyfriend is probably worried about you. I saw you angry texting earlier."

"You mean typing fast?" Nisei wondered, standing as the fiancés-he'd learned that from the ring on Kio's finger-did. "I'm a hacker. Speed typing is kind of my thing."

"Could you hack the school and change my grades?" Kio laughed. "Just kidding."

Nisei rolled his eyes. For being the twin brother of a sociopathic, homicidal, psycho, Kio was actually a pretty nice, thoughtful guy. If his sister's name was 'Thoughtless', then his should have been 'Thoughtful'.

000

After assuring Mimuro that he was alright upon returning home and listening to the blonde give him countless apologies, Nisei flopped down on the couch where Chouma had fallen asleep with a book open over her slender legs. He had removed the book and covered her so she wouldn't freeze as he pulled his jacket tight around him.

"Mm…Nisei?" She stirred. "Where have you been?"

"I had dinner with your twin." Nisei snorted. "I walked into him and the guy invited me over for dinner with him and his fiancé."

"Fiancé?" Chouma was awake now. "He's engaged? Is she cute? Wait, you wouldn't know, that's right." She snuggled under the blanket he had put on her.

"Your brother's fiancé is a cute guy indeed. They're both so nice I think I got more cavities then your brother does…so many lollipops…"

She chuckled. "He's like me, then." She stretched, her feet poking out from under the blanket.

Nisei looked away.

"Well, now that you're home and not dead…" She looked over the back of the couch. "Don't you have a candle to light?"

"Yeah…"
"Come on, I'll watch this time." She stood and offered her a hand with perfectly manicured fingernails.

Nisei blinked but took her hand anyway. Not unlike her brother, her hand was soft and warm; despite the chill settling over the apartment. The male smiled softly but hid it as she smirked.

"I'm not as heartless as you think, Akame."

"Just thoughtless."

"Precisely."

Nisei laughed and pulled his hand back. The psychotic Septimal Moon member followed him into the kitchen, gigging.

"Nice to see you in a good mood for once, Akame. You're always so moody."

"As are you."

"And Seimei."

"A slave to the name."

A hushed silence fell over them as Nisei retrieved everything he'd need to light the Menorah again. For once, Chouma didn't scoff or make any snide comments as Nisei completed his holiday tradition. She was definitely the opposite of her brother. But in those moments under the dim candlelight, Nisei could see the similarities a little bit clearer.

Perhaps being alone on Hanukah wasn't okay with him after all.