Dlbn: So I forgot I had posted this and had no chance to update on Halloween because I was out all night and then my boyfriend stayed over and yeah.

Nbld: But since the results of the US election were made official today, I guess a horror-esque fic is the perfect thing to update. Not a fan of Trump, but to each their own. Anyway, time for the Review Corner. Thank you to Promocat for reviewing! Leftover unopened Halloween candy and Halloween cupcakes for you!

Promocat: In the anime, Seimei is really dead and not alive for some reason. It doesn't make sense but they made it before the series could be finished (or continued), so I'm sticking to that universe to create the horror aspect. It wouldn't surprise me if Seimei somehow came back to see Ritsuka while dead. It's the creepy kind of crap he'd pull ;)

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING but plot. Everything else belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing in this category.

000

The following Saturday, Ritsuka roamed around the Winter Carnival with his camera to take photos for the newspaper. They'd been happy to have him help, even if he unable to join the club because of his prior commitments on club days. The last two periods of classes had been canceled for the festival. The Carnival was decorated nicely by Yuiko and other students from the fifth through seventh grade classes. There were light blue and white snowflakes everywhere, each booth was adorned with the blue garland and white snowflakes or the reverse, and streamers of the same colors hung from the ceilings. There was even a spot for kids to take pictures with their friends, but he wasn't on that duty, thankfully. He liked taking pictures of people, but he was sure the girls from his class would have made it more difficult than not for him if he'd done that. Soubi was roaming around somewhere with his friend Kio, but Ritsuka had warned him to keep a distance as much as possible so no one would find anything odd about the adults being there with a child that looked nothing like either of them. They could say they were there to support family, but Ritsuka wasn't an ideal candidate for that lie. The Zero twins that Soubi had taken in after he defeated them were roaming around, too, but Ritsuka wasn't sure where. He just hoped the little troublemakers kept their distance. He aimed his camera at the bake sale booth where a tall brunette girl was helping a man and his young child pick out treats. With a click of his camera, he turned away and bumped into someone,

"Oh, sorry," He apologized, looking up.

Staring at him was his own brother again. The ravenette didn't know whether to scream in fear or sigh in irritation. Within the last week, he'd seen Seimei and other strange things less and less, but to bump into the apparition was something different. Wait a minute, Seimei was dead. How did Ritsuka walk into a solid Seimei? The preteen turned on his heel and rushed off as quickly as he could to get away. It seemed like no one had noticed anything wrong, and no one really seemed to notice his hurried pace either. A hand grabbed his wrist gently and he was pulled back into the shadows of the gym.

"Ritsuka, what's wrong?" Soubi wondered. "Are you alright?"

"I saw Seimei." Ritsuka shuddered. "I bumped into him. How do I bump into a figment of my imagination, Soubi?"

"Are you certain you saw him?"

"I don't think I could mistake anyone else for my brother."

"I still say you just have an overactive imagination kicked into hyper drive from that nightmare you had." Kio spoke up from Soubi's side, munching on a lollipop. "I wouldn't worry too much about it, Ritsuka-kun."

"Just Ritsuka is fine…"

Kio gave him a soft smile. Ritsuka wasn't all that fond of the greenette, but he was Soubi's best friend, so he was okay.

"I'm sure it was nothing, Ritsuka. Did you apologize? Perhaps it was someone else and…"

"It was someone else and because of the nightmare, I saw Seimei for whatever reason." Ritsuka sighed. "I apologized and rushed off, but I probably looked like an idiot standing there staring at them."

"They probably apologized, too." Kio shrugged.

"I guess…"

"Don't worry so much. Try to go and have fun."

"Alright…" Ritsuka rushed off before anyone could see.

After joining the crowds of people, he resumed a normal walking speed and took a close up shot of the background they were using for pictures while no one was there. All he had to do was keep reminding himself that Seimei was dead and wasn't there, and he'd be okay. After all, if he really needed him, Soubi was there. The thought was comforting as the ravenette sat down on a bench to look through the photos he'd taken. It was a new memory card Soubi had gotten him for the occasion, so he wouldn't accidentally submit photos of himself and Soubi or the few that Yoji and Natsuo had stolen his camera and taken of themselves. He wasn't entirely surprised by anything in his shorts, other than a few blurry ones he deleted the second they popped up. He almost screamed when the last photo, the one of the empty backdrop, popped up on screen with only pieces of it showing around a huge shot of his brother's face, as if Seimei had placed his face right up against the camera. Ritsuka stood on shaky legs and slowly made his way back to where Soubi and Kio were. The greenette was still munching on a lollipop, but he didn't spot Soubi.

"Where'd he go?" He wondered.

"Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"That's because I did." Ritsuka showed him the photo.

"Very funny."

"Huh?"

Ritsuka looked again to find the shot of just the backdrop again; no creepy Seimei in the way.

"I swear it was right…I guess I am hallucinating…"

"I think you just need some proper sleep and some proper nutrition."

"But…"

"Don't wear yourself down taking photos here. You probably have enough by now. Rest."

"But…"

"He's right." Yoji offered from behind him. "You're acting like a total nut job."

"A complete fool." Natsuo agreed.

Ritsuka turned just in time to hear them cry out from being slapped by Soubi.

"Behave." He stated.

They both glared as they rubbed their heads, though Ritsuka knew neither could actually feel pain.

"I think you did well for tonight, Ritsuka." Soubi offered. "Why don't we go home, hm?"

"I can't leave early. They'll know something is up." He nodded at the trio of girls that bullied Yuiko.

Luckily they weren't looking in his direction, but he knew it was them. Soubi nodded, understanding.

"I'm sure the newspaper and your Sensei won't mind if you go home early because you don't feel good." Soubi offered. "You need proper rest."

"And to eat something." Kio stated. "You're so thin. When's the last time you had a home cooked meal?"

"…I can't remember…"

Yoji and Natsuo snickered, earning a slap from Soubi for each of them again. Kio frowned.

"That's not good." He commented.

"I know."

"Let's get going." Soubi stated. "You should go without us, Ritsuka."

"No. If Yoji and Natsuo leave with you, it will just look like I left with friends."

"I'm not ready to leave yet." Yoji all but whined. "Sorry, Ritsuka, but I want a cookie."

"You had six." Soubi stated.

"Before we got here." Added Kio.

"I want another."

"Go get your cookie." Ritsuka sighed. "I could use a drink, anyway…"

"Sweet." Yoji grabbed him and Natsuo and pulled them off towards the bake sale.

Ritsuka sighed as he was drug through the crowd of students, teachers, families, and other guests. At least he had Yoji and Natsuo to keep him company; kids his own age who knew about word spell.

"Hey, guys?" He asked.

"What?" Natsuo wondered, stopping from wrestling with trying to pry off Yoji's hand.

"What's happening to me…do you think it could be spell related…?"

"Hm, it wouldn't surprise me." Natsuo shook his head. "From what I gather, there's a lot of people after you. How many have you fought again?"

"Um…Breathless twice, Sleepless once, the female Zero once…and Soubi fought you guys once since being my Fighter if that counts. And the female Zeroes once, too."

"Yeah, since both of us Zeroes were sent to find you. The girls only came because Soubi kicked our asses." Yoji huffed.

"If it's a spell, it should wear off at some point. Most spells aren't permanent. Just the death causing ones."

"I'd die if this was some spell that makes you go crazy before it kills you." Yoji commented.

He let them go and they ceased talking about spells while they got their snacks. Once they were done, they walked away together. Yoji munched happily on a chocolate covered cookie while Ritsuka gingery tested the heat of the apple cider with his tongue. He didn't trust Yoji when he said it 'wasn't hot' since he knew not being able to feel pain meant he couldn't feel hot or cold either. It was a comfortable drinking temperature, so he took a sip.

"Hopefully its nothing like that." Natsuo picked up the conversation from where they left off. "I'd offer to ask Sensei for you, but she hasn't contacted us since we lost, and she hasn't called us back either."

"I called her fifteen times in an hour yesterday. No answer, no callbacks."

"No wonder she won't call." Natsuo rolled his good eye. "I wouldn't call either if you pestered me fifteen times in an hour."

"Shut up, Natsuo."

"Make me."

"I'm your Sacrifice. I can do that."

"Damn."

Ritsuka couldn't help but laugh with Yoji. Though their spell world was anything but normal, having friends to joke around with about it made it better.

000

Soubi led Ritsuka down the hallways of the school to get a book form his locker and use the bathroom. Yoji, Natsuo, and Kio kept a bit of a distance as they followed. The elder of those three seemed wary about getting caught, but Yoji and Natsuo couldn't care less as they loudly commented on things they saw or didn't see in the classrooms they passed. Ritsuka spun the combination to his school locker as Soubi leaned on the bank of them next to it.

"815." Yoji commented. "I'll have to remember that if I ever want to prank you."

Soubi glared, making the mint haired neko hide behind Natsuo slightly. Natsuo glared back, but even Kio could tell that his bravado was false. Soubi had nearly killed the two by lowering the temperature. Even Ritsuka knew that they were afraid he could kill them for real fi they pissed off him-or Ritsuka-enough.

"I'll have to remember to get my locker changed, then." Ritsuka pointed out.

Natsuo laughed, earning a smack form his Sacrifice. He glared and smacked him back. The two began repeatedly slapping one another back and forth as Kio slinked away to stand with Soubi.

"Those two need mental help." He stated.

"If you met who raised them, you'd understand why."

"You know this Sensei of theirs, Soubi?"

"Sagan Nagisa." Soubi nodded. "She's a nurse at the school I attended."

"Aw, it's hard to imagine a little Soubi in school." Kio pinched his cheek. "All cute and innocent with your ears and tail."

Soubi smacked his hand away. "Zip it, Kio."

"Someone's touchy."

"I lost my ears when I was fourteen, Kio. I don't wish to talk about it."

Kio frowned. "Oh…sorry…"

The blonde shrugged as Ritsuka slammed his locker shut.

"Where did you go to school, Soubi?" Ritsuka wondered.

"Out in Gora."

"We go there now." Natsuo stated, brushing away a smack from Yoji. "Well, we did until this one got us kicked out."

"Hey, you had a hand in that, too! Who knew sensei could be so testy when you undo the screws on their chairs." Yoji stated.

"You're impossible." Kio groaned. "How do you put up with this, Soubi?"

"Consider it community service."

"What a weird community."

"You can say that again." Ritsuka nodded.

"Alright, you got your book. Can we go to the bathrooms now so we can go?" Yoji wondered. "I'm bored."

"Sorry you're not entertained." Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "You could have left without us."

"Yeah, and let you walk out of here with Soubi and Kio and have every cop in the city after them for being perverts? Not gonna happen."

"So you do care about us, then?" Kio teased.

"No, of course I don't." Yoji folded his arms and looked away. "I don't care at all. Just we'd hear it from Sensei later."

"If she bothered to call you back." Soubi pointed out.

Ritsuka laughed, taking the blonde by the hand to go to the bathroom. He chose the one that had been locked when he tried it the first time the other day. If the other had Seimei in it, he didn't want anything to do with it.

"I'll be right out." Ritsuka stated. "Don't follow me, hentai."

Soubi smirked. "Wouldn't dream of it, Ritsuka."

"I wouldn't buy that if I were you, Ritsuka." Natsuo offered.

"I don't."

The preteen disappeared into the bathroom. He checked the mirror and every stall until he was certain no one and nothing was there that shouldn't have been. The last thing he needed was another Seimei hallucination while the school as full of people that could hear him scream. It was one thing for Soubi to hear it. It was another for strangers, or even the twins and Kio. Why had the other artist come again? He had no loyalty to Ritsuka to do so. Well, it was Soubi, so maybe that was it. Yoji and Natsuo just wanted to try and cause hell, probably.

He heard the bathroom door open and shut while he used the facilities, but he didn't hear anyone walking in. Maybe one of the twins had tried to come in and scare him but were stopped by Soubi. He heard the sink water run and a squeaking noise that sounded like someone was wiping their finger against glass. He froze. Okay, Natsuo knew word spell. Maybe he used magic to hide the sound of him walking in so he could spook him. That sounded like something either one of the boys would have done. Ritsuka sighed and zipped up his jeans. He unlocked and pushed the stall door open. There was no water running, though he hadn't heard it being shut off. However, there was fog on all the mirrors as if hot water had run for a long time. Scrawled across the mirrors in the fog was a message;

I'm still with you, Ritsuka. Turn around.

He didn't even want to risk doing so, afraid of what he'd find. He bolted to the door to find it locked. He pounded on the door.

"H-Hey!" He called. "Let me out! I'm done in here!"

"Did you lock yourself in?" Yoji teased. "Come on, Ritsuka, you're not that dumb!"

"It doesn't lock from inside, Yoji!"

Why hadn't he thought of that the other day when he decided this one was locked because they were cleaning it? Now he was really spooked.

"Soubi! Get me out! Please!"

He heard the handle jiggle, but the door didn't open.

"I think it's stuck." The blonde said. "Stand back, Ritsuka. I'll get it open."

Ritsuka heard the toilets flush and the faucets turn on one by one from the furthest one up to the closest one. He held his breath as something tapped on his shoulder and breathed on the back of his neck. Against his better judgement, he slowly turned his head to see what it was. Seimei was once again behind him; just staring and grinning at him. He didn't make a sound or any movement other than to cock his head to the side in curiosity, as if he was confused as to why his brother was so afraid of him. Ritsuka just stared back at him, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest and the scream that threatened to spill out of his lips.

"Release." Soubi stated from the other side of the door.

The handle jiggled and the door opened. Ritsuka wasted no time in pulling from Seimei and rushing out of the bathroom. He didn't stop until he was across from it, hands leaning on the windowsill as he panted.

"That wasn't funny!" He scolded, glaring at his friends.

"What are you looking at us for?" Yoji wondered. "We didn't do anything."

"I heard the door open. There's no one else here but the four of you, and I know Soubi isn't dumb enough to do that!"

"Ritsuka, the door never opened." Kio informed. "We've been standing here waiting the entire time…"

Ritsuka paled. "So…you guys didn't lock me in and leave a creepy message on the mirrors…?"

"Creepy message on the mirrors…?" Kio went into the bathroom with the others hot on his heels to look. "There's nothing there, Ritsuka!"

"What?" Ritsuka stood next to Soubi in the opened doorway. Sure enough, the windows were clear and Seimei was no longer standing there staring at him. "But that's impossible! I saw…I heard…!" His shoulders dropped.

"But…he was there…Seimei…"

"Ritsuka, there is no Seimei."

"I know what I saw!" Ritsuka cried in frustration, tugging at his hair. "Seimei was right there! I saw him, I heard him! Damn it, I felt him touch me!"

"Your mind is playing tricks on you, Ritsuka." Kio assured him. "No one came in, and there's nothing here. I promise you."

"But…!"

"Lame." Yoji complained, scuffing his toe. "I was hoping something interesting would happen tonight, but the most interesting thing that's happened is Ritsuka opening locker 815."

"I swear I'm changing my locker Monday." Ritsuka commented.

"Ritsuka, it's alright." Soubi knelt, tipping the boy's chin up with his left hand. "Like Kio said, all you need is a good meal and some decent sleep, alright?"

"Okay…"

There was no use in arguing. They weren't going to believe him anyway.

"Seimei was there…" He added as they all began to walk away.

"You saw him again?" Natsuo wondered. "I think you need your head examined."

"I'd say the same about you two." Kio smacked him.

Natsuo slapped him back on the shoulder, huffing.

"It's that dream. He was there, too."

"Why don't you tell me again what happened with Seimei in the dream?" Soubi wondered.

"You were there…you started fading away…and at the last minute…you turned into him…"

Soubi was clearly taken back by that. He blinked in confusion. "I became Seimei, hm?"

"Well, you know full well that Ritsuka doubts it when you tell him you loved him, because it was Seimei who said you had to." Yoji pointed out. "So I'm not surprised. He doesn't know if he's talking to you or his brother through you half the time."

"That was insightful, Yoji…" Kio pointed out.

"Yeah, it happens sometimes. People are always surprised."

"Because you're usually such an airhead!" Natsuo laughed, earning him a tackle from his Sacrifice.

"Should we separate them…?" Kio asked, looking at the twins wrestling on the ground.

"If they care, they'll see we're gone and start following." Soubi stated. "Is Yoji right, Ritsuka? You don't trust that my feelings for you are genuine?"

"I'm still confused how you're managing to be in love with a twelve-year-old." Kio stated. "No offense, Ritsuka, but Soubi-chan…he's a kid."

"Seimei said he had to when he died." Ritsuka avoided answering the blonde's question.

"There's another relationship I don't understand. Soubi and Seimei."

"Seimei and I were never in a relationship, Kio."

"It would be slightly less disturbing if you were." Kio rolled his eyes. "At least he's closer in age to you, even if he's a complete ass. Sorry, Ritsuka."

"It's okay…" Ritsuka shrugged.

No one really talked ill of Seimei, but considering how Soubi's neck had bene carved by the guy, according to Soubi, Ritsuka wasn't surprised that people like Kio could dislike his brother.

000

Later that night, Soubi had convinced Kio to go home so Ritsuka could feel comfortable staying the night with him and the boys. Ritsuka hadn't known what to think when he called his mother for permission to stay with friends and she'd happily agreed. He was probably in for a beating when he got home. But what else was new, really? Yoji and Natsuo shared a cot in the living room, but Soubi had insisted it was alright for Ritsuka to share a bed with him. After all, he'd slept in Ritsuka's bed often over the past few days. The clock read four am while Ritsuka lay on his back with his arms under his head and stared up at the ceiling in thought. He'd slept a couple hours thanks to his stomach being full for once from Kio's cooking, but another nightmare that he could barely remember woke him up again. At least he'd only woke up sweaty and out of breath instead of screaming. Soubi hadn't noticed anything and was still sleeping facing the wall. That had been three hours ago. He hadn't been able to sleep since, although he'd used the bathroom at least twice without somehow waking up Soubi by getting out of bed. The man slept like a damn rock.

Ritsuka sighed and made himself get out of bed again. This time he made his way to the kitchen for a drink. His mouth was dry. He poured a glass of milk using the moonlight in the window as a guide so he could see in the otherwise pitch black room. After putting the milk away and shutting the door, he nearly jumped out of his skin as he spotted Seimei standing where the refrigerator door had been a moment ago.

"Damn it." He complained, grabbing at his chest. "What the hell, Seimei? Go on, leave me alone." He waved his brother off with his other hand, feeling horror creep up his spine as his hand brushed through his brother's translucent form. He almost knocked the glass of milk off the table as he rushed back to the bedroom. He was okay. This wasn't real. That was just a hallucination caused by a lack of sleep. He just had to get back to Soubi and he'd be okay; it would go away. It always went away when Soubi was next to him. Always. Tonight wouldn't be any different. He grabbed the handle to the bedroom door and tried to open it, but crashed into it as it was locked. He groaned and tried again, hitting the door with his shoulder. How had it locked? Soubi was asleep, and if he wasn't, he would have seen that Ritsuka wasn't there and left the door unlocked so he could get back in. It was like the bathroom incident all over again. He pounded on the door.

"Soubi!" He called the Fighter. "Damn it, Soubi, let me in! Please! Let me in!" No response. "Release! Release! Oh, god, let me in!"

He turned to Yoji and Natsuo, who hadn't stirred. He spotted Seimei out of the corner of his eye in the kitchen doorway; just staring. He was getting closer. Ritsuka rushed to the sleeping boys, surprised they weren't waking up.

"Yoji! Natsuo! Wake up!" He shook them both. "Zero! Zero!"

Neither of them stirred. It was like there was a sleeping spell cast over the entire house; a spell that didn't affect Ritsuka. If Kio were here, he probably would have been caught in it, too.

"Come on, someone! Anyone! Wake up! Seimei!"

He felt a cool hand on his shoulder and screamed as he dropped to the floor and scuttled away. Seimei was standing right behind where he'd been kneeling, arm out stretched as if his hand was still sitting on his shoulder. He was still staring, his mouth closed and his expression blank. Ritsuka couldn't make out what he was thinking, or what he was saying, if it were anything.

I'm not here to hurt you. He stated. If you die here, you die for real.

"Die here…?"

Of course! The other nightmare! He'd been told by Soubi who had not yet turned into Seimei that if he died in that dream, he'd die in the real world as well. It wasn't an ordinary dream, he'd said before, right? All he had to do was wake up. He pinched himself and gave himself a slap upside the head.

"Wake up!" He scolded himself. "Damn it, Aoyagi Ritsuka, wake up!"

He hit a fist against his head, but it was soon grabbed by Seimei's ghostly hand.

You'll hurt yourself. Are you not happy to see me…Ritsuka?

"No, no I'm not! The last time I saw you in a dream, you killed everyone and went up in flames, only to come back when I forced Soubi away!" Ritsuka complained. "Just leave me alone, Seimei! Leave me alone!"

He felt the room heat up as he shouted like he had in the last dream when he'd finally got fed up with the nonsense of that world. Seimei took a step back, covering his eyes with his arm as fire sparked in his eyes. Fire spewed out from the floor and wrapped around the room, shortly covering it in flames. Yoji and Natsuo and their cot were gone, but Soubi appeared; tied to a chair.

"Soubi!" He called, rushing to the blonde and tugging at the ropes.

Flames licked closer as he struggled with the knots, wishing he had a knife. If he didn't get him out, Soubi would be gone just like Seimei!

Who do you wish to save, Ritsuka? Me…or him…?

He looked over to see Seimei staring at him blankly still, but tied to a chair with flames licking up at his feet.

"You can't die here!" He scolded. "You're not real! You're gone! I don't have Seimei anymore! I have Soubi!"

He tugged at the ropes, feeling smoke invade his lungs and make it harder for him to breathe. Still, he struggled.

"Soubi, wake up! Come on!" He complained, tugging. "Use a spell! Free yourself! Come on, Soubi, you're stronger than this!" He tugged on the ropes and pushed on the chair. "Soubi! Come on, I trust you! I trust you're going to get out of this! Just wake up!"

"Ritsuka?" Soubi wondered, head lifting slightly.

A brilliant white light filled the room. Soon the fire was gone. Ritsuka turned to see that Seimei and his chair were gone as well. Only Soubi remained there with him, standing next to him and offering the boy a hand to stand up.

"That was a good spell, Ritsuka." He complimented the boy. "I knew you had the power inside of you to free me…"

"I can't use spells…only a Fighter can use spells…" Ritsuka hugged him around the middle. "Is it all over, Soubi? Is he gone?"

Soubi nodded. "You just have to do one thing now, Ritsuka…"

"What's that…?"

"Wake up."

Ritsuka's eyes shot open and he sat up in bed panting, groaning in pain when his head hit something hard.

"Hey, he's awake." Yoji observed, rubbing at his forehead.

"What…?" Ritsuka looked around. "Who?"

Soubi sat at his side on his knees, watching him with a look of fear in his eyes that Ritsuka never wanted to see again. Yoji was still kneeling over him, which made since that he'd banged their heads together when he shot up. Natsuo stood near the door with his phone in his hand.

"Should I still call someone?" He asked.

"No, no, there's no need." Soubi sighed in relief. "Ritsuka, are you alright?"

"I…I think so…"

"You were screaming and thrashing around." Yoji stated. "For god's sake, you even woke Natsuo and me. I bet the neighbors three eight down heard you!"

"There's only three floors here, Yoji." Natsuo pointed out.

"Shut up, you know what I meant!"

"I had a nightmare…" Ritsuka commented.

"I know." Soubi nodded. "I couldn't wake you. Natsuo tried spells, but nothing worked. It was like you were caught in a dream…"

"A horrible one."

"Was Seimei there?"

"Yeah…but he's gone now…"

"Are you certain?"

"Only one way to be certain."

Ritsuka got up and out of bed even though his legs were shaking. The bed squeaked as both Yoji and Soubi scrambled off to follow him. he went in the bathroom and shut the door before turning the lights on. He waited a few minutes and tried the handle. The door opened with ease. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary in there with him either. Soubi and boys were standing on the other side waiting for him.

"I'm okay now…" Ritsuka smiled gently.

"Good." Yoji slugged his shoulder. "Don't scare Soubi and Natsuo like that again, alright? Sheesh, how rude."

He stalked off towards bed.

"What he means is he's glad you're okay. We both are." Natsuo gave him a smile before going to join his partner back in bed.

Soubi offered his hand. "How did you escape it…?" He wondered.

Ritsuka took the hand offered to him and followed the blonde back to bed. "You…you were both tied to chairs and the room was on fire…I tried to free you, but you wouldn't wake up and I couldn't undo the knots…" He spoke. "But…I kept calling to you, trying to wake you up…and when I said I trusted you…you woke up and the fire went away. It took Seimei, I think, because he was gone, too. You said he was, anyway, and told me to wake up. The next thing I remember is my head hitting something hard. Yoji's head, I guess."

"I always thought he was hard headed. Now we know for sure." Soubi commented.

A pillow sailed past them. Ritsuka let go of Soubi's hand and grabbed it. He went back to the twins' bed and slammed it as hard as he could onto Yoji.

"Hey!" Yoji complained.

"It's only a pillow, and you can't feel pain anyway." Ritsuka's tail swayed. "Don't throw shit at my boyfriend."

Even Natsuo sat up quickly at that. The twins watched in disbelief as Ritsuka walked away. He leaned on the door frame and stuck his tongue out at them over his shoulder before going back inside. With a confused smile, a blushing Soubi followed him inside and shut the door; locking it behind him.

000

The following night, Yoji and Natsuo had come home with Ritsuka in case his mother got fussy and started something with him, claiming they were friends from school. She hadn't said much, but smiled at them and shuffled off to the kitchen. Ritsuka could hear her rummaging for things to cook with as he and the twins passed the kitchen to go to the stairs. He led them to his room, where he found Soubi patiently waiting on the balcony. The ravenette opened the balcony.

"I hope we didn't keep you waiting." He greeted.

"Not at all." Soubi leaned down and kissed him gently, an action the ravenette gently responded to for a second before pulling away.

"I still can't believe Ritsuka used the 'b' word." Yoji commented, sitting on the floor by his bed.

"Me neither, but it was a long time coming," Natsuo stated. 'I mean, you've seen how they are together."

"Yeah, holding hands and being affectionate and shit. How has no one hauled you off to prison yet, Soubi?"

"I guess luck is on my side." Soubi sat on the bed, pulling Ritsuka onto his lap.

"I'm pretty convinced Kio somehow pays everyone off to ignore it." Ritsuka added.

"Hey, Ritsuka? Where'd you get that jar over there?" Natsuo pointed to his bookshelf at the foot of his bed. "I like the color."

"What would you need a jar for?" Yoji asked.

"So I can write down things that I don't hate about you and put in there so I can read when you piss me off again."

"You mean tomorrow?" Ritsuka joked.

"Hey!" Natsuo complained.

They laughed.

"Actually, I don't remember ever having a jar, let alone that one. Maybe mother put it here?"

"Why would she put a jar in the bedroom of a kid she claims isn't hers?" Yoji wondered. "Soubi, did you leave some of your paints here or something?"

"Of course not." Soubi stated. "My paints are as precious to me as Ritsuka's camera is to him."

"I thought you were going to say they're as precious to you as Ritsuka is and I was going to have to hit you for it."

Soubi glared. "You wouldn't dare."

Ritsuka wiggled off his lap as they bickered back and forth. He grabbed the jar off the shelf and handed it to Natsuo.

"Why is it heavy?" He complained.

"Let's open it and look."

Natsuo pulled the lid off before Ritsuka could say anything. There was a finite blue powder inside filling up the jar, but that was it.

"What the hell is this?" Natsuo rubbed some of it between his fingers. "Hey, Soubi? Do you know what this gunk is?"

Soubi took the jar and examined it. "It's devil's atropa ayahacusa." He stated.

"It's what's what-a, what-a?" Natsuo wondered.

"A powerful hallucinogenic powder." Soubi stated. "If burned, inhaling the smoke can cause hallucinations and delusions of varying types."

"So…someone tried to poison me…?" Ritsuka paled.

"I'm not so certain." Soubi shook his head. "But hallucinating your dead brother and an open door feeling locked could certainly be explained by this powder. Someone probably burned it while you slept and caused your nightmare."

"I fell asleep at my therapist's office and had that nightmare." Ritsuka shook his head. "I don't think she'd try to poison me…do you?"

"I doubt it." Soubi stated. "It was here, which means you were probably affected some time before that. It's probably not even connected to the nightmare; just the more recent things."

"So he wasn't losing it just because he couldn't tell if you really loved him or not?" Yoji sighed. "Great, something else interesting ends up boring."

"Kind of makes me miss Gora." Natsuo offered.

"Yeah, all kinds of interesting things happened there."

"Things you two caused, no doubt." Soubi stated.

"I'm not saying a word without a lawyer." Natsuo huffed.

"This powder is typically found in the west." Soubi returned to the previous subject. "But I suppose one could get it off the black market."

"Okay, so the powder was burned and the smoke made Ritsuka hallucinate a few days later when it set in." Natsuo offered. "At least me know what caused the hallucinations in the first place. But why of Seimei?"

"My brother is the biggest mystery of my life…" Ritsuka explained. "I thought I knew him, but…"

"Well, that answers that. We know the how and we know the why for those visions." Yoji offered, waving his hand. "Does that mean everything can go back to normal?"

"There's just one thing…" Ritsuka started.

"What is it?" Soubi asked.

"I know you wouldn't hurt me, Soubi. Mother won't come to my room since she's convinced I'm not her Ritsuka and being in here hurts. Plus, I don't know how she'd get this stuff. And you guys didn't know where I lived until now…and none of my friends do, and I don't think anyone has been sent to my house directly by Septimal Moon…so they probably don't know where I live."

"Even I didn't know, but I did find your school."

"Stalker." Yoji commented.

"Entirely a coincidence. I just happened to be around one day when Ritsuka and a friend were discussing it."

"Stalker." Natsuo confirmed.

"Anyway,Ritsu claims he and Septimal Moon never sent Breathless, but I don't believe a word that man says. Seven likely sent Sleepless, since that note was for you to meet her in that game. Nagisa sent both sets of Zeroes." Soubi offered.

"Sheesh, Ritsu must really want to talk to you." Yoji pointed out, nudging Ritsuka.

"If I have my way, he never will." Soubi promised.

"Well, that's great, but something is still bugging me…"

"What is it, Ritsuka?" Soubi cocked an eyebrow.

Ritsuka swallowed hard. "How did it even get in here and get burned without my mother noticing someone in the house?"

000

*End note: Devil's Atropa Ayahacusa is NOT a real drug. It's a mixture of names for three different drugs that can cause hallucinations. Don't bother looking for it ;)