Disclaimer: I so want to own Soubi and Ritsuka, yet I can't. Too bad for me since they belong to Yun Koga.

A/N: Long author's note at the very end. This is the last chapter, guys. (.(sighs).)

Yakusoku
Chapter 50: Only A Game

"Doctor Ritsu, this baby's breathing has become erratic. Wouldn't this worry his mother?" a nurse asks.

Doctor Ritsu: a tall, silver-haired man with piercing blue eyes. He was quite young, but luck gave way and at the age of twenty-five he's become one of the top in the medical field. He was given the responsibility of overseeing all the babies being born inside the hospital known as Aokuya Hospital. This brought anew something quite sinister.

At night . . .

A baby wailed.

"Sshhhhhh, this will only sting for a bit. I'll be seeing you again in years to come, my precious."

Precious.

This was baby Nana. Unbeknownst to her parents, she has become a prime target for Ritsu, and she was the first. Others accompanied her soon after, feeding the greedy doctor to make his dreams realized. It was only a matter of time.

Years zoomed by.

In total more than a hundred babies have been named, each one not particularly named upon their appearance or personality. Only a select few chosen to rise to the top were given such treatment. As in a game one would build up these select few characters and make them outshine the rest. This was where jealousy settled in and the forefront of a powerful group develops.

Precious. Wicked. Echo. Beloved. Faithless. Sacred. Restless.

Nana. Nagisa. Masao. Soubi. Miro. Yuzuna. Bako.

These were the chosen seven. As babies Ritsu wasn't sure which babies he was picking to make into the most powerful. Random selection was what he did for the majority chosen - only Nana and Soubi were chosen with great care. He didn't know of the reason, but a baby boy and girl he made sure to look for the best of the best among all the newborns.

By the time all of the children began their third year in elementary school, Ritsu made sure to pay a visit to his special seven children. Almost like a doting parent he paid attention to the child he liked best and Nana was his choice. One could say she was his pride and joy.

It also only seems natural to take several steps back and cover hidden ground.

In Ritsu's past he was a boy of vivid imagination, and he was teased by many children his age for his outrageous blunderings. During playtime he always messed everything up for everyone else - this was the main reason the teasing began in the first place. The person he found solace in was his Aunty, whom his mother and everyone else in the Minami family distrusted and distanced themselves from. She was the one to build his imagination; he took it to a new level as he grew older and older.

. . . By the time he was in high school Ritsu was a gifted student. He excelled in almost every subject - what he liked best was art, where he was allowed to let his mind roam free. However, that fascination did not last long, since a game club popped up in the school one day. Here, it was left to one's imagination as well when it came to videogame designs and plot - Ritsu liked it very much.

When he graduated from high school he was going to major in computer design/technology to further his gaming interest, but his parents disapproved. So instead, he went for the medical field (like so many Japanese people tend to do at first). (A/N: I have no idea if this is true. Forgive me for diving into something I know nothing about!) As it turned out he actually enjoyed working with people, so it came to be when he began working at Aokuya Hospital.

On his first day he was given meager tasks, but it took only a day for several doctors to realize his talent and he was promoted several times within one year. An amazing feat for someone as young as he was. His forte were babies. His mind went wild with excitement and a game of its own formed inside his head. This was how it came about for the markings on the newborns. He used some sort of chemical that marked the skin and remained invisible, unless he rubbed his special magic water to reveal the unseen scar. No one knows what its made of and he wasn't willing to tell. In any case, no one knew he was conducting such cruel experiments on infants much too helpless to defend themselves.

Going back to the time when the selected children were in their third year in elementary school, Ritsu ran into Agatsuma Soubi at a random park. It was pure coincidence.

"Ah! I remember you!" the playful blonde cried.

"So do I," Ritsu replies.

"You're Mr. Minami! I saw you in my classroom two months ago! How are you doing now?"

"Was my company enjoyable then?"

"Yes, it was! Please do come again!"

"Maybe I will . . ."

There was no explaining this battle that raged within Ritsu's mind. Nana was his favorite, but he couldn't use her in such a way. Since Soubi was his other especially chosen child he decided to use him instead. As a result . . . In the later years . . . Soubi became a slave to a merciless man who turned a game into a reality.

"Learning not to feel can be a deadly weapon, understand?" Soubi nodded. "So when I whip you so, you must not cry out no matter how painful it may be, understand?"

"I understand."

"Leave no remorse nor convictions. You must cleanse yourself and only then can you become completely immune."

For some it looked as if Soubi was closest to Ritsu in the teenager years, but the case really was not so. Nana was his favorite and in secret he'd dote his attention on her - the only time he spends with Soubi was when he was training him to become something he fanaticized. Outwardly, in public Soubi was always with Ritsu, but in private Nana was with him. No sexual acts were done, yet their bond was quite strong simply by being near one another. In some instances Nana did throw herself at Ritsu, but he never did once touch her like a man and woman would when in love or in the heat of the moment. She remained untouched; a perfect pure character.

The seven of them are with Ritsu now, yet their marks were revealed when they first entered middle school. Nana wasn't the first to know but Nagisa. Ritsu ran across her first and he didn't reveal her name until his precious one was there to see. Thereafter, one by one, the others began sprouting from here and there until a school was formed. The school Ritsu used was an abandoned school with no ownership to anyone and he wasted many a effort to recreate the perfect setting.

Every character needed a place to call home; a place to return to again and again . . .

--

Matching game. Start.

"You each are paired with someone special, and with your combined names you are destined to be with that person. Spell battles are much stronger when you are with your partner than when you fight alone," Ritsu explained. "Miro and Nana have found their partners first. The rest of you will have to try hard and look for your fated one."

"I believe I've found mine," Soubi spoke, surprising everyone present. "He's a high school student. Though I haven't seen his name yet I am sure it is him."

"Eh? You have a look saying you are certain. Bring him here one of these days and we shall find out."

--

Spell battles. Does such a thing exist? Of course not - all the marked children were hypnotized upon meeting Ritsu during their third year in elementary school. The hypnotic effect stays with them and makes them believe magic is possible. The damage they think they receive or attack with is all in the mind.

--

"Why tell us now? Why end your stupid game at such a critical moment?" Nagisa asked.

"Why, you ask? This game has become boring, because my pawns are no longer obeying me. You've all completely ruined the game. Seimei and Isoshi were the start of this uprising and you all are the ending of it, uprooting me to the core. It is impossible for my game to continue."

"You're a sick bastard! People have died from this game of yours! Masao is gone! How can you be so calm in knowing you've killed someone?"

"Yuzuna, what in the world are you saying? It was not by my hand he has fallen from. Nagisa is responsible." Nagisa bowed her head in shame and guilt - she was the one to send his head rolling across the floor. Yuzuna saw it, so why is she stating it is Ritsu's fault? "I have no crime to repent for."

"Ruining our lives is your crime. Our youth being robbed by you; our free will and individual thoughts being stolen and used. We were nothing more than toys. Seimei and Isoshi did the right thing . . . Getting rid of your magic water was what was best to do. Perhaps they realized all of this before any of us. They did not die in vain."

"How encouraging you must sound. It doesn't help the fact that they will never walk on this earth again. Dying is an option, but they could have taken alternative paths - every game has several routes to take, you know? Seimei obviously did it for retribution. Isoshi's must have been a much more subtle reason, but his does not matter."

So he knew the reason of their deaths? Was he acting when he questioned me about the magic water? Did he simply want me to tell me where it was hidden if I actually knew?

Ritsuka and Soubi remain tightlipped about the situation. First and foremost the boy should have something to say. Soubi, too, having been treated horribly in his younger days should say something too. Yet, why keep silent?

"Release Hokori and Nana."

"I won't leave him," Nana retorted. "I am staying beside him of my own free will. You have no right in telling him to release me, when he isn't holding me down by force."

"Where's Yamato and Kouya?" Nagisa questioned.

"You bring them up all of a sudden. Interesting." Ritsu smiled a wide smile, eyes gleaming with laughter. "I've released them long ago without your knowledge. Did you know they said you were the worse? I watched them walk away with a nasty aftertaste lingering behind their backs. How hypocritical of you to say I am doing wrong from right. In regards to you, you've also enslaved people and used them. Why would they follow you?"

"Because . . ." Nagisa looked to Yuzuna and no one else. ". . . because . . . I don't have a reason."

"Freeze! Put your hands in the air!"

Police. Man after man after man filed into the small office, all of them holding guns. Everyone raised their hands into the air - Ritsu was handcuffed; Nagisa was handcuffed; Nana was handcuffed. Ritsuka and Hokori were escorted out while the rest were watched carefully as they marched outside.

"Are you two all right?" a policeman asked. Hokori nodded. Ritsuka didn't do or say anything in response. "What's your name, kid?" The policeman was referring to Ritsuka.

"Aoyagi Ritsuka."

"Ritsuka, are you all right? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

"No, I'm okay."

"That's good."

"They're innocent. Please don't arrest them - they're all innocent except her, her and him." It was wrong of Ritsuka to point at Nagisa as well, but in actual fact she really did murder someone. Even if it was someone he did not like, Masao wouldn't be justified if his murderer wasn't locked behind bars. As for Nana she was an accomplice for Ritsu's crimes, and she wouldn't leave his side.

She was like a faithful dog.

Soubi, Yuzuna, Nagisa, Nana, Takara, Hokori, Miro, Bako, Seimei, Isoshi, and Masao, perhaps were all accomplices . . . But some may be forgiven.

--

After the uproar of several incidents and arrests having died down, life was going back to being normal again. At least as normal as any day could get for Ritsuka . . .

"Thank you, Ritsuka." Hokori took one of the boy's hands in her own. "The microchip has been removed from my neck. My parents have accepted me back into the family, and guess what? I have a baby sister. Ayami - she's really adorable. "

Ritsuka blushed. "I-I didn't do anything!"

"You did. Don't fail to realize that, okay? I need to go now - take care of yourself."

--

"Really! So that's what's happened, huh? Why didn't you tell me sooner, Ritsuka?" Yuiko was on the verge of tears. "I thought you hated me after saying what you did back then!"

"I don't hate you . . . I never said I did."

"But you told me to lea--"

"Ahahahahahahaa, Yuiko, listen," Yayoi threw Ritsuka a nasty glare when Yuiko wasn't looking, "he wasn't trying to push you away on purpose. He had issues he couldn't deal with if you were around him, that's all. He missed so many days of school because of it, too."

"Oh. . . . I see. That makes sense."

"Yeah? I think so, too!"

I can't believe I'm covering for him . . .!

"Yayoi."

"What, Takara?"

"Mom's waiting for us outside, so hurry up!"

"I know! Stop rushing! And Ritsuka . . ."

"Hm?"

"She's too shy to tell you herself . . . But she wanted me to tell you thanks for her. She appreciates all you've done."

"Huh? What are you two talking about?" Yuiko looked from one boy to the next. "Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"It's a thing of the past. Don't worry about it, Yuiko." Ritsuka sweat dropped when Yuiko became even more curious.

--

"I should have listened to you sooner, Yuzuna." Nagisa was being closely monitored and was housed behind glass. She's in prison so it seems, being seated in an area where people from outside were allowed to see them. "If I did Masao would still be alive. He's probably cursing me right about now."

"I'll say that it was wrong of you to kill him - you deserve to spend time in jail, but when you do come out I promise to become your friend. If everyone else abandons you I promise to there beside you if you allow it."

Nagisa smiled. "Thanks. Those are very comforting words. Do visit me often because it's so dreary and quiet here. I know no one."

"You'll make friends . . . Everyone does. And in time I hope you can help Nana recover. She'll be needing you."

--

"Yo."

"Stop following me. The whole Sacrifice and Fighter thing was a farce . . . You can leave me alone now."

"I want to be with you - is that wrong?"

Stupid! Saying stuff like that . . .

"Anyway, how did the police know where to find us?"

"Changing the subject now, are we?" Ritsuka shrugged. "I called them before we went to the school. Give me a reward for my good deed."

"Reward?"

"A kiss, of course."

"N-no!"

"Even a small peck will do."

"I said no!"

Seimei, if you were alive and well, I wonder . . .

. . . Would you be with him now instead of me?

THE END

A/N: Wow (.( Eyes become watery).) I can't believe I actually finished this! There are so many chapters and ideas kept popping inside my head that I thought it was never going to end! I am happy an end has come! For all of those who have read it to chapter fifty, I'd like to thank you. And for those who've reviewed I'd like to say thank you very much! I appreciate all the warm and cold comments. Hehe. This has been a long journey for me and a long read for many of you. As well as this story has done I am glad. I never thought it'd turn out this way. My heart is beating so fast right now . . . I must be feeling overwhelmed!

I know, I know. For the Kio fans out there I purposely did not mention him at the end (or in this chapter), because I felt he didn't need to make an appearance. Shout at me all you want, but what's done has been done. I am sorry if some of you are disappointed with me. I really am.

Getting to the point though . . . I felt I didn't cover everything as neatly and cleanly as possible. Maybe I could have done better - I'm sure of it. In some parts when I felt I couldn't go on, I simply thought of the reviews and the aspects of what my readers may think if I wrote it a certain way. This has always driven me forward. I am grateful.

In my (possible) future Loveless fics, I hope to pour out my heart and let you readers enjoy it. Again, thank you for reading and reviewing. With much love and good feelings I want to say goodbye, and we'll surely meet again!

Ritsuka: About time . . .

LadyYuina: Don't whine.

Ritsuka: Thanks, though.

LadyYuina: Eh? Thanks for what?

Ritsuka: For writing a great story starring me and only me.

LadyYuina: Cheh. You wish . . .(So full of himself, isn't he? Little brat).