Ritsuka longed to reach out and take the thread in his fingers, to touch it, to see if it really was strong. Ritsuka contemplates what Midori told him at Septimal Moon, about the strings that bind a fighter and sacrifice together. Oneshot.

Oh look, I wrote a Loveless fic! Sorry if some of the facts aren't right. I bought a copy of Loveless volume 7, read it, and had to hand it over to one of my friends (I bought it for her). So, I didn't have a reference. Sorry if some of the facts aren't totally on target! It still makes sense without having read volume 7, I think, but it's better to have read it so all the references to it can be understood.

Disclaimer: I do not own Loveless!

Spoiler Alert: Spoilers for Loveless volumes 7 and (maybe) 8 (It was a rumour I heard on the internet courtesy of wikipedia (which I don't own either))

The Thread that Binds Them

Ritsuka sighed heavily as Shinonome-sensei spoke to the class about the same thing she'd been talking about for the last fifty minutes; Ritsuka hadn't heard a word of it. Every since he, Soubi and Kio had returned from Gora and Septimal Moon, he hadn't paid any attention to much else. This trip – the one that was supposed to enlighten him– had only left Ritsuka feeling more confused and lost than ever before.

After Soubi and Nisei had fought, Nisei had nearly won, but had obviously let Soubi win for reasons unbeknownst to Ritsuka. Ritsu-sensei was dead, presumably killed by… him. After Nisei had fled after… his sacrifice… Ritsuka and Soubi had found Kio and helped him recover from whatever had happened to him. They had managed to convince him that he had only fallen asleep and had dreamed the rest. The three had left so fast that Ritsuka hadn't been able to speak with Ai or Midori again.

Soubi had obviously written off Ritsuka's withdrawn behaviour as a result of the realization that… Ritsu-sensei's murderer… was still alive. What was perplexing Ritsuka even more, though, was that the subject of… Nisei's sacrifice… wasn't what was bothering him the most. Instead, it was what Midori had said about the strings that bound a sacrifice and fighter unit of the same name together.

Ritsuka concentrated and willed himself to be able to see the string that was connected to him and to someone else. It wasn't connected to Soubi, whose own string was broken; Ritsuka had checked almost as soon as he could think straight after returning from Septimal Moon. When Soubi had asked what he was looking at, Ritsuka had lied through his teeth. He still hadn't told Soubi that he knew about the strings, and that he looked at his own string almost every day.

The string that bound him to Loveless's fighter unit was almost as thin as a thread in a sewing machine, and probably as weak. It sparkled faintly, presumably because of the late afternoon light that was hitting it. Ritsuka wondered if it sparkled not because of the light, but because there was still hope that the two parts of Loveless would be united.

At this point part of his brain (or was it his heart? – he couldn't tell) started to tell him that Soubi was his only fighter, his only protector.

Ritsuka longed to reach out and take the thread in his fingers, to touch it, to see if it really was strong, or if it was as weak as he suspected it would be. The fingers of his left hand (his head was leaning on and being supported by his right) twitched almost involuntarily. Almost.

Another part of Ritsuka came to life and started to nag him about how he could just check and see who Loveless's fighter was; that he would go right back to Soubi after.

Ritsuka raised his left hand and forearm from his desk and just looked at it, still pondering whether or not to touch the sparkling thread. If he touched it, it would be like admitting that Soubi wasn't his fighter and that they had no connection other than… Soubi's first master. But that's not true. He lo… he cares about you. That was the first part of him talking again. Ritsuka wanted to agree with that statement, but he remembered that Soubi had been ordered to care about him.

Ritsuka let his arm fall to his side and he looked down at the thread again; it was connected to his heart and circled his body a few times. It rested on his left leg and then fell towards the floor. It still shone. Ritsuka's fingers were centimetres away from it, and they itched to touch it. He absently wondered if it would be coarse or soft and why it would be that way. He wondered what decided the thread's properties.

The school's bell rang and Shinonome-sensei said goodbye to them all. Yuiko, who was sitting beside Ritsuka, and Yayoi, who was behind her, rose from their chairs and gathered up their things.

"Are you coming Ritsuka-kun?" Yuiko asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Yayoi-kun and I thought we could go to 7/11 or something." She looked at him, a smile on her face. Yayoi stood behind her, looking at Ritsuka like one would look at a rival. Ritsuka sighed; he wasn't concentrating enough to see the thread anymore.

"Go without me, Yuiko, Yayoi-kun. Enjoy yourselves." Ritsuka smiled a small smile. Yuiko looked a little disheartened, but Yayoi decided to tell her a joke. As the two walked out of the room, Yuiko laughed and Yayoi smiled victoriously. Ritsuka finished gathering up his things and left the classroom. He walked down the hallway and out of the school and onto the sidewalk.

It was a lazy day and Ritsuka had nothing that he had to do that afternoon. So, he concentrated once again and looked at the thread once more. It sparkled with the same strength as before, and Ritsuka wanted to touch it again. As before, the thread circled around him and then trailed off to his left, never once touching the ground. Ritsuka imagined that it was because the person on the other end of the thread was holding it up.

For the first time Ritsuka let himself wonder what the Loveless fighter was like. Was it a girl or a boy? Did it go to school? Was it popular? Smart? Athletic? What was its favourite subject? Did it have friends? Did it know about its sacrifice?

Ritsuka shook his head, turned to his left, and started walking down the sidewalk. He tried to move his thoughts from Loveless's fighter, and started wondering about other things. He subconsciously turned another corner.

Ritsuka realized that Soubi hadn't been standing on the sidewalk to see him after school. Ritsuka didn't like when Soubi stalked him, but his presence there every day had meant something to him.

It had meant that somebody actually cared for him, the second part of him said. Ritsuka blushed a light pink when he realized that.

Ritsuka found himself wondering if the Loveless fighter would love its sacrifice, but the thought fluttered out of his head as soon as it had come. He wondered what would happen if he were to follow the thread.

You could see who it is and go right back to Soubi, no harm done, one of the voices inside his head quipped.

You know that there would be no going back once you found out who Loveless's fighter is, a new voice said quietly, but with resolve. Ritsuka knew that this voice was telling the truth.

He was in the park now; the park where he and Soubi had gone when they had first met. Where he had received his first kiss (from an adult man no less). He blushed even more at that thought. Then, he noticed something.

The entire time, he had been following the string that bound him to his fighter unit, and the entire time, it had begun to sparkle the slightest bit stronger than when he had been at school. Ritsuka put it to the sun once more.

He followed the thread– there was no use denying it now – to a set of benches. It went further, but Ritsuka forced himself to stop. His fighter unit was probably with Septimal Moon anyways. If not, it was probably with… his… brother. With Seimei: Nisei's sacrifice, Ritsu's murderer, Soubi's master, and Ritsuka's beloved brother.

Seimei's dead. He wouldn't lie to you, the first two voices told him in Unison.

He lied, and he wanted to hurt you, said the third voice.

He's DEAD!

"He's not!" Ritsuka whispered softly. He'd admitted it. Seimei was alive; there was no denying it now. Soubi had lied, and Ritsuka had been blind to the truth. It was all clear now. It hurt, but the truth always hurts.

Another truth had accompanied this epiphany: Soubi wasn't Ritsuka's real fighter. He'd been ordered to love and to protect Ritsuka by Seimei, who was a murderer.

Surprisingly, there were no tears at all. No feeling of emptiness. Just a feeling of… almost weightlessness; as if pounds of uncertainty and lies had been shed.

Ritsuka turned his attention back to the thread and noticed with a start that it was somewhat thicker, if only by a miniscule amount. The string that bound him to someone else was stronger because he had accepted that the person on the other end was his fighter, and not Soubi. It was very intriguing to Ritsuka.

He surprisingly felt no emotions as his gaze slid over the thread once more, with seemingly new eyes. These eyes knew who was attached to the end of the thread; not just Loveless's fighter unit – Ritsuka's fighter unit. These eyes knew that the thread sparkled not with the light of the sun, but with something unfathomable in the twelve-year-old's mind. These eyes knew many things that the ones that had been scrutinizing the thread moments ago did not. Ritsuka's fingers grazed the thread, and he felt an almost electrical charge shoot up his arm.

It was soft, he thought.

Ritsuka looked up from the thread and noticed a solitary figure sitting at the bench in front of him, and two benches to his left. Usually, when people came here, they came with other people.

The other person got up and slowly walked in Ritsuka's general direction, its head bowed as it looked intently at something in its hands.

Ritsuka smiled softly at this new figure, whether it could see it or not. The person looked up, and its vibrant blue eyes met Ritsuka's own. It came to a stop.

Ritsuka quickly looked away, down at the thread that lay across the fingers of his left hand, and followed its path for a second. For once, all the parts of him had stopped nagging him; all were completely mystified by what Ritsuka was seeing.

Ritsuka looked up and smiled softly again, and his eyes met the blue ones again. The eyes' owner returned the soft smile to Ritsuka.

Ritsuka closed his hand over the thread; the thread that led to the stranger before him; the thread that bound them together for eternity.

-Le fin-

So, did it completely suck? Or was it good? Was it dry? It was hard with out Loveless volume 7 to use as a reference -cough-youknowwhoyouare-cough- ;-P

Hey, what color are Rit-chan's eyes anyways? Can you touch these threads? What did Midori say about them in Volume 7? Anybody know?

I know, Ritsuka's kind of insane what with all these voices in his head…. :-)

Please read and review! –puppy dog eyes –

PS: Loveless volume 8 is out in February in Japan! We can't be too far behind! After Volume 7's gigantic cliffie, this one should be good.

PPS: Kio better not be dead. If he is, I will… cry?

PPPS: What ever happened with Hitomi-sensei? I thought she was going to confront Rit-chan's mom (whose name excapes me. I want to say Mizuki, or Matsuri. Wait a second… they're both from Naruto. Damn. I like Matsuri anyways. Gaara-sensei has a nice ring to it, don't you think? 8D I'm off topic now…)?

So, anyways, review pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?

Arigato!

-RRTW