Dlbn: Well, as everyone probably expected, we didn't update before Halloween ended. I woke up sick on Halloween and didn't feel up to finishing writing, let alone posting.

Nbld: But, it's Día de los Muertos today (the last day) so its appropriate to post the ending of a Halloween story on the unofficial end of the Halloween season.

Dlbn: My family started decorating with Christmas yesterday. Tomorrow I hope to start putting away Halloween decorations and decorating with fall/Thanksgiving things instead.

Nbld: But for now, let's get onto the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat for reviewing! Candy for you!

Promocat: Seimei thinks he knows everything and has everything planned out to a T, but he doesn't. things will come and bite him in the backside eventually. Most likely courtesy of Ritsuka himself. Seimei's probably gotten bored with Septimal Moon and all that by this point, since he's been at it so long. Without Ritsuka, he can't progress, and Ritsuka won't help him. The irony.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, Hostile, and a few other OCs. Everything canon to Loveless belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this.

Dedication: Today, we update with a heavy heart. Another reason I couldn't post yesterday wasn't just that I was sick and Urgent care took like four hours to get through (just a virus, I'm fine). Unfortunately, we had to put my eldest dog, Missy, to sleep. She was starting to have seizures (vet said since she has no history, its likely she had a brain tumor that hadn't been detected because seizures are normally the first sign) and just wasn't doing good starting the day before Halloween and ending tomorrow. Her glucose was super low, and she wasn't responding to any of the treatment. Though it hurt, I didn't want her to suffer by making her live out the rest of her days that way. My son and other dog keep looking for her, Luke keeps asking for her. We bury her tomorrow. RIP Missy. There will never be another doggy like you. You were the kindest, sweetest, gentlest puppy ever. Except when your sister tried to hump you. Then you weren't having any of it. I miss you already, Missy. I'm glad they let me be there with you in your last moments. I'd hate myself if I let you die alone, at least you're with my parents and Rosie (a dog we had to put to sleep a couple years ago) now. I love you, Missy. Until we meet again. /3

Dedication 2: I found out yesterday when I messaged my cousin to let her know about Missy that her step-mother, Cathy, passed away from throat cancer Halloween night. I didn't know her well, but she babysat for me a few times and had me over for family gathering when I'm not even blood related to any of them (my cousin is the niece of my aunt I lived with growing up, who wasn't my biological aunt, but my mom's ex/girlfriend). She and my cousin were so close that my cousin called her mom instead of her biological mother. I'm sure it's hard on her and her brother and all the kids, too. You were a great woman, Cathy. RIP. Say hello to the rest of the family for me /3

000

It took about half an hour after the last call from the last call from Septimal Moon members for the entire group to reach the library. Nana was still missing when Kunugi and Mirai arrived and found Ritsuka and the others gathered around some records on a table near the center of the library.

"Odd to see you in person for once, Rit-chan." Kunugi greeted.

The neko's ears pressed flat against his head. "I could say the same about you, you know." He informed.

"True, you could." Kunugi smirked.

"Enough games." Mikado scolded the two. "Any word on where Nana is?"

A door creaked somewhere, and Nana emerged from the floor, typing on her laptop with one hand and holding onto it with the others.

"I'm here." She announced.

"What an unorthodox entry…" Mikado muttered.

Nana flushed. "Sorry, I had to check something. Quickest route here, anyway."

"That was quick?" Nagisa looked at her watch. "Took you a little over an hour to get here…"

"I had a few things to check out on the way, for my own piece of mind."

"Your nightmare's still bothering you, hm?" Ritsu wondered, flipping through some more entries in the book in front of him.

"Hm." Nana didn't confirm nor deny it. "You've gathered us all here for a reason, Ritsu. What is it?"

"We all had nightmares last night that had lasting effects in the morning." Ritsu informed, looking up from the book to address the group like the leader he was supposed to be.

Ritsuka felt slightly awed by the fact the entirety of Septimal Moon was together for the first time since he was unofficially inducted a month or so ago. Minus Soubi, that was. Not that Tokino or Mirai counted since they were Fighters, and neither would Soubi, but he was the only Fighter not present. The elder members' Fighters were all deceased for one reason or another. Mirai was the only one from their group that had survived, even considering that Ritsu's Fighter had survived the battles years ago but died in a car accident when Soubi was just a child. Knowing that the others were suffering from the same issue he was, he felt like he was part of the group for the first time. He didn't come to most meetings because of the distance but did sometimes participate via call or Skype message. No one mentioned how his absences often coincided with Kunugi's.

"And you think it's connected?" Nagisa wondered.

Ritsu nodded. "It's too coincidental to not be connected in some way or form, even if it's only slight."

"On the phone, you said you didn't think Ritsuka was affected." Kunugi stated.

"I thought it was something in the air. Maybe something from the chemical labs." Nana stated. "But you and Mirai don't live on campus like the rest of us, so I don't know how you would have been effected if that were true."

"I had a nightmare." Ritsuka announced.

They all turned to stare at him.

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

"You didn't ask me."

Kunugi chuckled while Mirai giggled. Mikado shook her head at the snickering trio.

"How mature of you all." She stated. "I expect it out of Aoyagi, but you two should know better at your age."

"Hey!" Ritsuka protested, face flushing. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You're youngest." Nagisa pointed out, poking Ritsuka on the nose.

Ritsuka batted her hand away. It wasn't funny when Yoji tried to do that either.

"Anyway." Ritsu sighed in exacerbation. His colleagues-friends?-were so immature, it was pathetic. "So that makes all of us having a nightmare. Something has obvious hit us that's not just in the air."

"Unless it's something that affected us all when we were here together." Mikado pointed out.

"That's pretty rare." Ritsuka piped up, scratching the back of his neck. "I mean, I can't be here because of school."

"And me because of work." Kunugi added.

"Don't lie, you're just avoiding us." Nagisa teased.

"Damn, she's seen right through me. Whatever shall I do, Rai?" Asitai threw himself over his fiancé's shoulder.

Mirai didn't seem to know how to reply with the others around, whether he was supposed to be formal because he was a Fighter or informal because he was a friend.

"The task at hand." Ritsu interrupted the childish act. "It seemed a little too convenient for me. I've been looking into former Units from the school that may have been able to cast such a spell, but…"

"Nightmare." Mikado interrupted.

"Yes, that's what we're discussing; very good." Nagisa rolled her eyes.

"No, that's their name." Mikado rolled her golden irises. "Tokino and I were tasked with studying this Unit a few years back. Regrettably, we were unable to track them down."

"Why were you studying them?" Ritsuka wondered, ears twitching.

"It was suspected that a few of their spells were used in your brother's previous…operations as seat Six." Mikado said. "A few Unit suicides were suspicious, which got our attention in the first place. Every one of them had at least one form of connection with Seimei. It was investigating this that started rousing our suspicions about your brother. The deaths stopped after five or six, when Seimei realized I was searching; no doubt. As a member of Septimal Moon, he had access to all our computer and paper files. Clearly, that has proven to stab us in the back a few times…"

"It's not a system we can afford to screw around with." Ritsu shook his head. "A system of checks and balances."

"I found a few records to be fudged by Seimei upon original entry or overridden and changed to falsify information otherwise after he'd already submitted it." Nana adjusted her glasses.

"Probably Nisei…Soubi's not a computer person…"

"He's more of a brooding artist type, if I had to guess, myself." Kunugi tapped a finger to his lips.

"Once again, we're getting off topic." Ritsu objected.

"It feels like that happens a lot at these meetings…" Ritsuka muttered, looking away when Ritsu glared at him.

"He isn't wrong." Nagisa pointed out.

"Most of the derailments are by you two, so you would know, Nagisa." Asitai nodded between her and Ritsu.

"Listen, you…"

"Enough." Ritsu rubbed his temples. "Nana, look up the Unit Nightmare, would you? It will take me forever by hand."

"Hai."

"What's the last known activity of the Unit?"

"Nothing since they stopped years ago." Mikado shrugged one shoulder. "I had thought one of their schemes had finally caught up to them, or Seimei had tied up a few lose ends."

"What do we know of them?"

"One of each gender, Fighter is likely the female. I've never seen them in action, and everything they do is agreed on, not an order and a follow like a typical Unit." Mikado stated. "I'd interacted with them once before everything started happening. They are almost robotic in tone; everything about them feels perfectly choreographed down to the last syllable, last hair on their heads. Sometimes they speak in synch, as well. If you've ever seen The Shining, you've basically seen them."

"They make Yoji and Natsuo sound tame." Ritsuka offered, prompting laughter.

Nagisa's cheeks huffed out, but it looked like she was just trying not to laugh and wasn't really mad at the young neko.

"So, they're creepy as hell, we don't know who's in charge, they may have worked for Seimei at one point, and are now off the grid." Asitai ticked off facts on his fingers. "Not much information. What would make them suddenly target Septimal Moon like this?"

"Someone asked them to do it." Tokino spoke up finally. "It's believed they do work underground and form contracts with people, like assassins, often for money. We'd seen some financial activity on Seimei's end that was a cause for concern."

"All conjecture, nothing we have proof of yet." Mikado argued. "It's a valid point, Tokino, but without facts, we're grasping for clues in the dark."

He blushed. "yes, my Queen." He bowed his head as if he had been reprimanded.

"But…let's say for now that it is true…" Ritsuka started.

"As I said, Aoyagi, its hypothesis. Talking about the what if's is a waste of time." Mikado objected.

"Just hear me out." Ritsuka replied. "All scientific truths are formed by testing hypothesis, right?"

Nagisa nodded. "That's right." As resident scientist, she was probably best to ask.

"I suppose…go on."

Ritsuka didn't really like how it felt like she was giving him permission to help, but he bit back the annoyance to focus on the end goal.

"Suppose they did do this, and it is because they were hired…by who…? And why all of us? Someone with a grudge."

"Your brother is the first on the list of suspects, as always." Nagisa offered.

Ritsuka nodded. "I wouldn't put it past my brother to do something like this. But I'm Septimal Moon. He wouldn't hurt me…"

"Does he know you're in this?" Mikado cocked an eyebrow.

"I'd have to think he knew somehow. I mean, he has Akame spying on me. Sometimes I can feel him nearby, other times I see him or found spy cameras in my old house." He was thrown out by his mother a year before and now lived with Soubi's best friend Kio and his fiancé, Akira. "He's not an idiot. If he hasn't found out by now, I'd be surprised." He folded his arms over his chest. "I wouldn't necessarily rule him out, but it's something to think about. Who else out there hates Septimal Moon enough to hurt us like this?"

Silence reigned between the group as they considered Ritsuka's words.

"I've got it." Nana informed. "There's no more information than what Gomon-chan already told us. They've been inactive since the early 2000's, around the time Seimei died. If they had been under his employ, he may have cast them aside, and they went under someone else until he died."

"Seimei's not above throwing others under the bus to save himself." Mikado said. "Even in my nightmare, that was a common factor concerning him and Akame. He'll throw Akame to the wolves if it means he gets to survive. I figure it would be the same for Agatsuma, but he wasn't featured."

"He was in mine." Ritsuka piped up.

"And mine." Ritsu cleared his throat.

The others just stared until Kunugi broke into a small smile and laughed awkwardly.

"You two are more alike than you care to admit." He informed.

"Who was the focus of yours, then…?" Ritsu wondered.

"Well…er…Mirai, honestly…" Kunugi cleared his throat. "Mikado? Nagisa?"

"My sister…" Nagisa fiddled with the hem of her dress awkwardly, as if just saying that was bringing up flashbacks.

"Beloved, naturally." Mikado shrugged one shoulder.

"The school." Nana added in.

"The things we care most about." Ritsuka stated. "I mean, Nagisa-sensei and her sister and Tai and Rai makes sense. So, does Seven and school, when you think about it. And…me with Soubi…"

Ritsu didn't need to hear Ritsuka say it to know that the boy was thinking about his dream as well.

"He killed me." Ritsu said finally. "Seimei made an appearance; it was an order. Of course, Soubi-kun defied it and put me into a coma in the end instead…"

"My mother killed me." Ritsuka informed. "Soubi made everyone forget and then killed himself…"

"Seimei's crew attacked the school, faked some security footage and voices using a Unit called Voiceless and then killed me…"

"The day my sister drowned…I was there this time, and she said horrible things about me…I…I couldn't save her…" Nagisa looked away, biting her lip as if to hide her shame.

"A nurse blabbed about Mirai to his parents and they fought with me against a judge to take him off life support…the dream ended before I knew whether or not he woke up." Asitai sunk into his Fighter's arms as Mirai hugged him tightly.

"We were going to finally execute Beloved…I got to say to him everything I ever wanted to say, got to cut him deep…" Mikado looked to Ritsuka. "Then you and Agatsuma showed up and stopped us…needless to say…"

"Is…that why you asked me what I did? If I'd ever stop you from executing my brother."

She looked away, not wanting to answer the obvious question.

"Seems Nightmare decided to feed off our worst fears." Nana tapped her finger on her chin. "Used the people closest to us to tap into our deepest fears and use them against us. It sounds like something an ally of Seimei would do, honestly."

"If that's what Seimei can get done from a distance…" Ritsuka spoke slowly. "Then nowhere we go is safe…"

The others exchanged looks. Ritsuka had a point. If Seimei could hurt them all at once like this, from a distance and without any of them knowing they'd been cursed, then there was nowhere any of them could hide from Beloved's wrath. In the end, they were more vulnerable to Seimei then he ever would be to them.

000

Seimei angrily drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair he was sitting in. Nisei was out with Mimuro doing god knows what, Chouma had gone out shopping on her own, and Yurio had some family reunion he had dragged Hideo too, so he could pretend to have a normal life. He'd left with short hair, much to Seimei's surprise. He'd always known the Fighter to have long, ivory-pink hair, not short pink hair like Ritsuka's one little friend.

The phone clicked.

"Nightmare." The woman's monotone voice greeted when she answered finally.

"It's Beloved." Seimei responded.

"Oh…we already completed the spell…did he forget to tell you…?"

"No. I know you did."

"Then why the call? No refunds."

"Chouma and I were affected as well." Seimei snarled. "Why. We're not Septimal Moon."

"…Third's seat in Septimal Moon has not been claimed by a successor…neither has yours…"

"We're still considered Septimal moon until our seats are reclaimed, even though they are vacant…you have got to be kidding me."

"Sorry." She didn't sound it.

"Then…my brother hasn't taken my seat…"

"Yet."

"Yet?"

"Our Nightmares, Seimei, are not random happenstance." The boy interrupted the conversation. "They take your worst fears and bring them to life. They show you a glimpse of what has been or what will be, what could be…"

"So, anything I saw could be falsified information based on my own fears…and anything could be what is going to happen…there's no way of knowing which."

"We're not fortune tellers, Beloved." They spoke as one. "You decide your own future, in the end."

"Hm…"

"Is that all you have to complain about?" The boy asked.

"We have other clients to tend to." The girl added.

"Are we through here?"

"We are…"

They hung up before he could say anything more. Seimei resisted the urge to throw the phone across the room. How dare they use loopholes to affect his group when he'd specifically asked for current Septimal Moon members to be affected? And to leave him hanging with that information was like a new form of torture. He had to know if Ritsuka would become a part of Septimal Moon or not. His innocent little brother didn't need to be mixed up in this nonsense.

The front door opened and closed. He heard shoes getting kicked off into the corner and smirked. Just who he was waiting for. Soubi appeared around the corner, eyes downcast and hair obscuring his face.

"Seimei…I'm back." He stood up straight to look his master in the eyes. "I'm sorry for the delay, I…"

"Can it." Seimei held up a hand. "I need to know what you know."

"What I know?"

"Of my brother…do you know anything?"

"You have ordered me to not contact Aoyagi Ritsuka under any circumstances." Soubi answered. "I do not have any information regarding him for you, because I am not allowed to communicate with him."

"A simple no would have sufficed." Seimei stood. "What are you hiding, Soubi?"

"I'm not hiding anything, Seimei. I could not lie to you…"

Seimei stalked closer. "What of those treacherous bastards that make up Septimal Moon?" He wondered. "You and Ritsu were close growing up, if I recall."

"I hate Minami…" Soubi answered. "I would rather cut off my own tongue then speak with him ever again."

"I see…" Seimei paused. "So, you saw no one in Gora, then?"

"Just a few people at the graveyard, but no one that wasn't a Civilian." Soubi shook his head.

"Hm…" Seimei stared slightly up at the blonde, who held his head high to try and show that he wasn't going to balk and admit to lying. "I suppose that's the most I'll get from you." He stated. "I need to know about Ritsuka…"

"What do you need to know that Nisei and Faceless have not been able to obtain?"

"His position regarding Septimal Moon."

"Before I left with you, he was adamant about never becoming one of them. He considers them as much of an enemy as you do." Soubi shook his head. "To him, they took away his Seimei. He'll never forgive them for that."

"Who knows if that's changed. They're cunning, they make you believe things you probably didn't want to believe in the first place…"

"I believe Ritsuka is too strong willed to fall for those kinds of games."

"What of Loveless?"

"I…don't think I understand?" Soubi cocked an eyebrow. "Loveless is Ritsuka…?"

"I…need to have Faceless do some more digging at Omori for that one…" Seimei thought to himself as he backed off the blond and began to pace. "Which parts were will be…which were could be…was any of it…? Perhaps they were just trying to get into my head…no, no one is foolish enough to mess with me like that…"

Soubi just stared, wondering if his master was falling further into insanity than he had already fallen. A slow, lazy smile crossed Seimei's features.

"I think we need to have a chat with Ritsu…"

"We?"

Seimei nodded. "Yes…that could work…" He paused. "Soubi, I want to see Minami. I need to keep him away from my brother. Maybe he'll let something slip if I try…and Soubi…?"

"Hai?"

"This is an order."

"Hai, Seimei?" He expected nothing less.

"We are going to go and see Minami…if he doesn't agree to leave my brother alone…" When he looked up at Soubi, the dark, murderous look in his eyes made the blonde's skin crawl and a visible shiver creep up his spine. "I order you to kill him."