Title: zero sum: fools rush in
Rating: PG for a few curse words
Pairing: None.
Musical Academy + Koichi, Ikuta Toma.
Summary: A Fighter only has one Sacrifice and a Sacrifice one Fighter - unless things go wrong.
Warnings: Loveless verse. It's pretty kimoi if you think about it too closely. Prior knowledge of the series is pretty important but
diamondsjack has a summary
here.
Notes: Shared verse with
diamondsjack. Bits are
here and
here.
"What retards," Yara muttered, watching the newly bonded boundless fawn over each other with a distinctly jaundiced eye. They'd entered together, him and Takizawa, both young and at least one of them unforgivably stupid - the jury was still out on which - excited, newly found Fighters and now... Well.
Well.
Tsubasa smiled shyly up at his Fighter and Yara almost gagged.
"I'm not going to be so sickening when I find my Sacrifice," Yara sniffed disdainfully.
Yone leaned over and laughed in his face.
-
It hadn't been a picture-book perfect friendship from the start.
(It was still far from picture-book now, Yara would insist with disparaging eyes towards Yone's face. Yone would only smile, wide-eyed and benevolent.)
They'd been put in the same class, Yara Tomoyuki and Yonehana Tsuyoshi, despite being found almost a year apart, and alphabetical order had them sitting side by side. Slightly too close, by Yara's estimation, but school was school, even in a secret institution for special kids.
Special magical, that was, not special special and- Hn.
"Yara," he'd said, holding his hand out imperiously to be shaken. Bowing was so passé.
"Yonehana," the other had grinned, glancing down curiously at the outstretched hand. "You know what happens if you accidentally touch someone, right?"
"What?"
"Bonded for life," Yonehana had said, blithely confident and reached out.
Yara snatched his hand back.
It took three weeks and several very long and carefully worded talks about the nature of Fighters ("Fighters can't bond with other Fighters.") and Sacrifices ("There's only one Sacrifice out there for you and I promise you, it's not Yonehana-kun.") and a very unrepentant apology before Yara had even been willing to sit next to Yone.
(And even after that, he'd been careful to not even brush shoulders. After all, one couldn't be too cautious about these things. Not when it came to Yonehana Tsuyoshi.
When they'd accidentally knocked fingers in a shoujo mangaesque situation with a dropped pencil, the lack of doom had almost been a disappointment.)
-
"What're we even here for?" Yara asked impatiently as he pushed through the semi crowded bleachers - sometimes stepping on top of younger students unlucky enough to be in his way and small enough to be steamrolled - to a better vantage point.
"Oh, you're not interested in seeing this match at all," Yone laughed at him. "Peerless. I've heard they're not bad."
"They're just some rookie team," Yara said dismissively. "Haven't even graduated yet." He sat down and fussed about for a moment. Yone handed him a bag of popcorn.
"You haven't even found your-"
"That's besides the point," Yara scowled and craned his neck for a better view of the currently empty arena. He tossed a piece of popcorn at the giant blocking his view. "Down in front."
"Sorry, sorry," the friendly giant said and fumbled with his flag, almost hitting his companion on the head. He turned around and smiled sheepishly at them.
"Sorry about your face," Yara growled beneath his breath.
Yone patted him on the shoulder. "Ignore Yara. Too much anger for his short ass self, so he's perpetually a bit wound up."
"Die," Yara said sincerely.
"I'm Yonehana," Yone said with his best smile and smiled just a smidgen wider when the giant flinched away.
"Akiyama."
Akiyama's companion raised his hand nervously, biting at his lip. Yone pointed at him. "You, next."
"Machida Shingo. I'm um. I'll be depending on you?"
"He's very undependable," Yara muttered and Yone gave him a coquettish smirk, eyes rolled upwards. Machida squeaked.
"Single serve one-cup pot, kettle," Yone said complacently then, before Yara could kill him with righteous indignation, "Oh look, the match is starting."
The clatter of the stadium fell silent as the two teams were led out. Akiyama hoisted his flag up and started waving it enthusiastically. Yara twitched.
"Battle systems engage," one of the teams called out. They looked almost comically mismatched, one towering over the other but with matching manic grins. They knocked fists and called out in unison, "We are reckless, one and the same, no care will stop us."
Peerless' Sacrifice's hugely worried eyes could probably be seen from the top row of the bleachers. The Fighter stepped forward, one shoulder protectively in front of his partner: "We, who share the same name, accept your challenge. Peerless, we stand alone. None can match us. Battle systems expand."
"Tsuyoshi-kun~" Akiyama cooed and Yara reflexively smacked him.
Then reeled back like he'd been smacked in the face himself.
"Oh fuck no," Yara breathed. He scrabbled at the sleeve of his shirt, pushing it up.
"... no?" Machida repeated, turning around with an inquisitive noise.
"Fuck no," Yara hissed. Akiyama didn't say anything at all, rubbing his wrist. Text encircled it, solid black letters like a cuff. Heedless. Yara turned his arm over, the letters on his forearm running down his inner wrist. They'd have crossed were the names on the same person.
heedless, without care or concern. we fight with all we have.
"Oh," Akiyama said finally, surprisingly soft.
"The hell do you mean-" Yara said, voice steadily rising and Yone, in the face of the improbable, could only laugh.
-
The fight had gone on, of course, even when Yara had been throwing a hissy fit and Akiyama patiently taking his blows. Machida had been torn between worry and watching the battle until Yone had made an executive decision and pushed Akiyama to swap seats.
"I can't watch," Machida moaned, staring intently at the battle between his fingers.
"It's that or listening to brainless pair," Yone pointed out, ignoring Yara and Akiyama very hard.
"I'm watching," Machida said promptly. He reluctantly lowered his hands from his face- only to raise them again as reckless called out another spell.
sound to sound, we speak with more voices than our own; words are power and power binds - restrict
Machida gasped and clutched at Yone's bare arm, digging his fingers in.
what will not be heard will not be believed; a song to drown out your own. we cannot be bound
Yone blinked. He looked down at Machida, whose grip was so strong that his knuckles were turning white, then a little higher. He smiled and raised his free hand, tracing around his bicep - groundless.
the same name, same fate; beyond your destiny, beyond your grasp. obstruct us no longer - obliterate.
groundless, never to be held down.
The arena was obscured by a flash of light, only the barest hazy outlines could be seen from the stands. Slowly, the mismatched figures of reckless crumpled to the ground. Peerless didn't move, standing several feet separated.
Machida let go of Yone's arm apologetically but flashed a bright smile. "That was exciting, wasn't it?"
"Mm," Yone agreed with a faint grin.
"But I think I'm getting a stomach ulcer from all the stress," Machida said, rubbing his stomach absently.
"Something like that, yeah."
-
Several hours later, at the shrill shriek in the dorm's communal male showers, Yonehana lingered outside with a wry grin playing on his mouth.
"You called?" he asked casually when Machida came dashing out, shirt on backwards and pants almost falling off.
"That wasn't a stomach ulcer!"
"Well," Yone said mildly. "No," and laughed until he couldn't stand straight.
*
"They're doing some sort of weird mentoring program," Yara reported, melting all over his desk in an elaborate show of boredom. "Said it'll give us battle ready experience or something."
"Eloquent," Yone snorted.
"Bite me," Yara said, making a rude gesture.
"Yara..." Akiyama said.
"You too."
Machida made huge eyes at Yara. "What else did you hear?"
"I shook down boundless since apparently, the headmaster's favorites get told ahead of time," Yara scowled. "Said each bonded pair will be officially partnered with one of the older Fighters or Sacrifices, two of us to one of them. I don't see why. We've already been bonded for over a year."
"I hope we get Koichi-san," Machida said dreamily. Yone laughed and patted him on the shoulder.
"Either of peerless," Akiyama added with a slightly scarier happy face. "They sort of come together anyway."
Surprisingly, Yara didn't argue, even when Yone prodded him on the shoulder in case of a sudden, inexplicable and amazingly silent death. "... That wouldn't be too bad," he grumbled instead. "They have flair."
Peerless were the top team in the Academy, rumoured to be trained for Greater Things, though not even Yara's most invasive digging into the rumour mills had managed to turn up what these things were.
"Flair," Yone repeated. Yara swatted at him.
"Hi?" A voice interrupted and a very familiar - from far away - head poked in through the doorway. "Is this groundless and heedless?" An exceptionally skinny body followed.
"Koichi-san!" Machida squeaked and rushed to his feet, chair clattering on the floor.
Koichi smiled with general congenial confusion. "Have we met...?"
"KOICHI-SAN!" Akiyama bellowed and rushed towards the diminutive school idol.
"Too close!" Koichi flailed and ducked out again.
Yone grinned. "There is a god."
"And he's a sadist," Yara muttered and beat his head against the desk.
-
"Tsuyoshi was meant to be here too," Koichi explained with a lot of general arm-waving indicating where his missing partner would have stood. "But he was busy, so it's just me today."
"That's okay," Machida said adoringly. Yone coughed.
"So ummmmmmm," Koichi said, looking at them. They looked back, an ungainly misfit bunch in every sense of the words. "... Show me what you've got?"
Yara rolled his eyes.
-
"Battle systems engage," Yone said with a reckless grin at Machida. He held out his hand and Machida clasped it, locking forearms. "We are groundless, one name, one will. We can't be held down."
Yara snorted. "We accept this battle." He held up a fist to tap against Akiyama's and they spoke in unison, "Heedless, no care nor concern. Together we fight with everything we have. Battle systems expand."
"Koichi-san's watching," Yone grinned at Machida, letting go and pushing Machida gently behind him. "Gotta show him our best, right?"
"Right," Machida said, thinly determined.
"Koichi-kun~" Akiyama cooed, clearly not paying attention. Yara twitched and hit him.
"If you wipe out on the very first hit, he's not going to be impressed," Yara said irritably. "And I'm not going to get to show off."
"Ooh," Yone grinned. "Endurance battle, Yaraemon?"
rend. Yara said in return. destroy. rip. everlasting.
style without substance. Yone laughed. return, reflect.
Yara staggered slightly as the returned attacked scorched over him but tossed his hair back with a cocky tilt of his hip. "Bring it."
burn. flame like flowers, bloom; devour.
divert! Yara didn't need to turn to see Akiyama stagger slightly but hold strong. dance, dodge, your attacks will not stick.
"Yone," Machida said, peering over his shoulder. "Akki's endurance... Concentrate on defense. He'll burn himself out before you do."
"Don't look down on me," Yara grinned wolfishly. paper-thin vainglory, your defences will not hold. tear, rip. rend.
distorted mirrors still hold truth. reflect, return. Yone said with his best shit-eating grin. lies that bind hold.
The attack, flame red and hot, shot past Yara's defences - divert! stop! - and slammed into Akiyama, making him stagger. Chains, long and heavy wrapped around his wrist, a manacle covering their name.
"Mm," Koichi said softly, from where he was perched a safe distance away. "Stop."
"Yone!"
"Yara!"
The two orders came almost simultaneously and Koichi blinked, slightly startled. "I've um. Seen enough," he said. "For now, anyway."
"We did ourselves proud, right?" Machida whispered, using Yone as a support.
"Showed him what groundless is all about," Yone agreed fondly.
"Fire flowers?" Yara snerked. He was pointedly ignoring Akiyama's arm slung around his shoulders, otherwise he'd be obliged to shrug it off.
"Good match," Akiyama said slightly more diplomatically.
"I'm impressed," Koichi said lightly and flailed back when two hugely besotted faces turned towards him. "Um. Though there are a few things I want to talk to you guys about..."
At the end of the half hour long tongue lashing, even Yara looked at Koichi with more than grudging respect and no little hero worship.
"Three out of four," Yone laughed.
Yara ducked his head so his hair fell in his face. "Shut up."
-
They sat together at mealtimes - or rather, Koichi sat with his year-mates and over the week, heedless and groundless had casually infiltrated. Koichi had only laughed and upon discovering Machida's bottomless pit of an appetite, taken to using him to offload food.
("Koichi-kun's leftovers!" Machida had rhapsodised, almost rolling on the table with glee.
Yara had frowned. "If we accidentally lose him falling through a storm drain grate, it's your fault," he'd warned direly. "Like he's not too skinny already.")
Tsuyoshi didn't sit with them.
Machida had been surprised and Akiyama disappointed but Tsuyoshi always sat on the table behind as opposed to with them. Back to back, half a metre apart, no one walked between peerless and Yara would walk the long way round to his seat instead.
"Shouldn't pairs...?" Akiyama hedged sincerely one day, after observing their strange behavior.
"Hm?" Koichi said.
"Well, Tsuyoshi-san..."
"He's over there," Koichi said helpfully, indicating over his shoulder.
"Shouldn't you be too?" Yara interrupted before his partner could embarrass their name anymore.
"Eh?" Koichi asked, twitching an ear inquisitively. "I like it over here? It's where my lunch is?"
"Like you actually eat it anyway," Yara snorted. (Nagase, sitting on Koichi's other side, just laughed and put another chicken skewer on Koichi's plate. Koichi screwed up his nose and returned it.)
"You don't want to eat lunch with me?"
"No!" Machida flailed in distress, waving his chopsticks. "I want to sit with you all the time, Koichi-san."
"Me too," Akiyama chimed in loudly. "But don't you want to sit with Tsuyoshi-san too?"
Koichi blinked curiously at them. "What for?"
"He's your bond pair," Akiyama explained carefully. "And if your bond is strong, then-"
"Oh," Koichi said brightly. "It's not like we're friends or anything." He waved a dismissive hand. "It's fine like this."
"But your bond!" Akiyama protested, shocked. Machida widened his eyes, hugely distressed.
"No, no." Koichi's ears perked up happily. "It's fine."
"Perhaps," Tsuyoshi drawled, turning around and pinning a frozen Akiyama with a look. "You'd like a demonstration?"
-
sever thin ties by the bonds of true devotion. obliterate.
It had been slaughter.
First heedless and then groundless, barely an attack each and they'd been down for the count. Tsuyoshi hadn't even broken a sweat, Koichi standing calmly unruffled and unconcerned behind him. He'd mouthed along to all the spells, his voice not loud enough for an audible harmony but lending his power all the same.
Tsuyoshi hadn't bothered waiting for their opponents to wake up. He'd left with one last look and a brush of his fingers against Koichi's back, high across his shoulders where their name was inscribed, and left Koichi to handle the rest.
Koichi only smiled and sat down next to Akiyama's prone form, entirely too practical to try shifting them, and amused himself poking them in the face until some semblance of consciousness appeared.
"So," he said brightly, ruffling Machida's ears affectionately. "What have we learned today?"
"Never piss off Domoto Tsuyoshi," Yara muttered. Yone laughed weakly.
"True," Koichi admitted chirpily without missing a beat. "What else?"
Akiyama shuffled shamefaced. "Never ever piss off Domoto Tsuyoshi?"
"You learn slow," Koichi said disapprovingly. "And why is it a bad idea?"
"Because he can kick our collective asses from here to Okinawa?" Yone volunteered wryly.
"Probably just to Osaka on his own. Maybe Nagasaki." Koichi looked at them and smiled. "We'll have a rematch every week until you figure it out."
Machida almost fainted again.
*
"Be on the look out for rogue pairs and do not, under any circumstances, try to approach them." Mary looked grimly out at the assembled student body, flicking through a stack of papers. "We have some of our best graduated teams looking and if anyone tries to play hero, we will be very displeased."
A shiver that had absolutely nothing to do with rogue murderous pairs and everything to do with the man sitting silently at the back of the stage rippled through the audience.
"That is all," Mary announced and left the podium.
"What do you think that's about?" Akiyama asked curiously, shuffling behind Yara.
"Crazy psychopathic bond pairs on a killing spree?" Yara arched an eyebrow.
Machida squeaked. "No one mentioned killing!"
"Why else would they be issuing warnings if it's just a few bruises?" Yara said grimly.
Yone reached over and patted Machida on the arm. "Think: if we see them, we'll die; if we hunt them out, we'll die, so we should just sit in the Academy and eat cake."
"I like cake," Machida agreed cautiously. Yara rolled his eyes.
"Oh look," Akiyama said hastily before Yara could say the words he was absolutely dying to. "Isn't that Koichi-kun over there?"
Koichi-kun was hard to miss, given he was being tackled enthusiastically by reckless' Fighter. Tsuyoshi determinedly ignored him off to the side.
"KOICHI-KUNNNN," Akiyama bellowed and led the charge over, Machida trotting obligingly behind.
"Your voice is too loud!" Koichi flailed and ducked around Nagase's shoulder.
"Koichi-kun~" Machida echoed sadly. Yone grinned and Yara, far less benign, kicked Akiyama in the ass.
"Don't be afraid," Akiyama cooed, entirely unfazed.
"Because he looks so terrified," Yone deadpanned watching Koichi cling laughing to Nagase's arm.
"We'll protect you," Machida promised with hugely sincere eyes.
Yara didn't bother saying anything at all. Yone had no such restraint. "Because we can do so much."
"It's the thought that counts, isn't it?" Machida said brightly and Yara rolled his eyes.
"Like any of you've ever thought."
Koichi just laughed.
-
"Well, the way I figure it," Akiyama said thoughtfully as the four of them were walking home. Koichi had been kidnapped ("But he's ours," Machida had said indignantly) by a Nagase. "We can be like decoys as Koichi runs to safety."
"Kamikaze is not my style," Yara scowled.
A pause. "Yes it is," Machida blinked. "Koichi-kun keeps telling you off for it."
"That's besides the point," Yara said and Yone smirked.
"Is it? Anyway, Maachin and I turn here. We'll see you tomorrow."
Yara waved distractedly and turned back to Akiyama. "Besides," he said. "It's not like Koichi-kun can't take care of himself and several small armies."
"But he doesn't have to if he has us," Akiyama said starry eyed.
"Why are you still alive?"
"To be Koichi-kun's loyal protector?"
"Better yet," Yara muttered. "Why haven't I killed you yet?"
Neither of them noticed the three figures watching them in the distance.
-
battle systems engage. we are lawless, above petty rules. we answer to no council.
"Yara," Akiyama said urgently. "We need to-"
battle accepted, Yara said instead. we are heedless, fighting with all we have
"Yara!"
-
"There's three of them," Akiyama said quickly. "So we don't know how they work."
"Relax," Yara said, crouching down ready to spring into action. "You're big enough for two. Do us proud."
"I'm sorry, Kou-chan," Akiyama whimpered pitifully.
-
rage, the three called out in perfect harmony. elements seen unseen, whirl to rising.
It began small, a ruffling of the fallen leaves on the path.
"Defend," Akiyama ordered, watching the three boys - a little younger than them. One smiled.
your spells cannot touch us. shield.
The wind grew, blowing Yara's hair into his eyes. He swiped at it ineffectually. chains that bind hold.
deflect, one of the boys said and the spell, glowing light, bounced harmlessly off the swirl of wind surrounding them. Faster and faster, picking up the autumn leaves until it was an almost opaque barrier, red and gold and brown. cut.
Another gust and the barrier whirled away, roiling towards heedless faster than Yara could defend. Akiyama shouted a wordless warning but it was on them before the sound faded, brown, gold and red that spread across the concrete path.
-
"We forfeit," Akiyama gasped. His right arm dangled useless by his side, broken in three places, and will more than anything else kept him upright. Blood ran down his face, one eye swollen almost closed.
"Akki!" Yara didn't have enough energy to snap. "We can't-"
"We forfeit," Akiyama repeated, more forcefully. "It's not worth it, not this."
"We'll lose our name."
"We can stand to lose a lot more than that."
One of the three tapped his foot impatiently, though the boy in the middle held back his companion with a command - Ryohei. Ryuichi. Hold. - "Do you forfeit or not?"
"We forfeit," Akiyama repeated. Three times. Three times made it true, in all legend. There was a phantom itch around his wrist.
"Too bad," one said. "Killing you would have-"
"Ryohei," the leader said primly. "We'll go. Live or die, it's out of our hands now."
The three of them, standing close, moved back a few steps and the wind picked up again, swirling around them and kicking up the leaves. Yara flinched but it died down just as suddenly and the three, as quickly as they'd appeared, were gone.
"OH MY GOD," a shrill scream came from further up the path and there was a furious clacking of heels as an office lady came hurtling down towards them. "Are you kids okay? What happened?"
Does it look like we're okay? Yara tried to say but the darkness edging around his vision made a sudden rush and he gave up, letting it overtake him.
-
It was three weeks before they were released from hospital. Three weeks and the worst of their bruises had faded to light purples and sickly yellow, their cuts healed to only paper thin scars that could only be felt, not seen.
Long enough that their names had all but faded, the letters only a trace on their skins. A suicide cut and a manacle, they'd laughed, so long ago. Unlucky omens, Yara had grumped and Akiyama, always positive, had said that they'd make them lucky. Together.
So much for that.
Groundless had visited, of course. Even Koichi, dragging his reluctant partner along had been there more often than not until the one night they'd failed to show up, then come back with bruises and broken bones, Koichi's right arm bound in a cast and Tsuyoshi hovering over him with more naked concern than they'd ever seen before.
They'd refused to talk about it but rumour on campus was there was one less rogue pair to worry about.
Three long weeks where everything had changed.
-
"Drinking," Yonehana said, herding Yara towards the door. "You've been growing mushrooms for so long they might be permanent."
"We're under-aged," Yara grumbled.
"Like that's ever stopped you before, Yaraemon," Yone grinned and pushed him - maybe a touch gentler than he would have before - out of the room and locked it behind him, pocketing Yara's keys. Machida had been given the task of Akiyama, armed with the knowledge that Koichi would be making an appearance.
"You'll be okay," Yone said but Yara couldn't find it in himself to believe it.
-
"Don't cry, Yaracchi," Yone said, patting Yara uncomfortably on the back and discretely passing Machida Yara's glass. Machida took it with a panicked look and slipped it to Koichi, who shrugged and drank it.
Tsuyoshi, there under great duress, took it out of his hands and knocked it back in one shot.
"Don't tell me what to do," Yara raged, not even close to tears. He'd finished almost three bottles of beer, two more than his usual limit. "And you!" He pointed an accusing finger in the general direction of the large blur that was probably Akiyama. "You can't tell me what to do either, now."
Akiyama didn't reply, draped heavily over the table and staring miserable into a glass. Machida leaned companionably against his shoulder and Koichi poured him drinks, splashing all over the table with his only functional arm.
"You..." Yara continued, seeming to run out of steam. He waved his hands around in frustration. "Well, what the hell can we do now?"
"Keep going?" Yone said practically. "Gotta keep moving forward."
"... we try to live a normal life?" Akiyama didn't look up but shrugged helplessly, dislodging Machida.
"I don't want to live a normal life," Yara hissed angrily. He reached for his glass, and Machida guiltily pushed his own into Yara's hand with an apologetic look at Yone. "I wasn't made for some boring, unmemorable life, not after all this."
"It's not the end," Yone said in lieu of anything meaningful to say. Koichi offered him the bottle sympathetically.
"What do you know?" Yara spat. "You still have your partner."
Yone started guiltily and, beneath the cover of the table, reached over to tap fists with Machida, a physical reminder that he was still there.
"Wel-" Koichi said and squeaked to a stop, making a muffled sound of pain.
Next to him, Tsuyoshi smiled blandly. "Have another drink, Koichi-san."
Koichi sadly accepted another full glass and proceeded to spill a quarter of it down his front.
"It won't be so bad," Akiyama said, sounding stronger. More determined and he looked up from his glass, straightening his shoulders. "I. There's my girlfriend. You know her. She, well, we were talking about how after graduation, maybe... It'd be good to try a normal life." He knocked back the rest of his drink and gave them a wavering smile. "You'd come, right?"
"Idiot," Yara growled and Yone prepared to tackle him before he said something unforgivably Yara-like. "Of course we would. It's not like you'd have any friends otherwise."
Yone stood down off high alert, smirk firmly hidden.
"We're all going," Yara continued, very drunk. "Because I'm not going to suffer alone even as the best man."
Yone coughed into his shoulder, waving a concerned Machida away. Tsuyoshi, all hope lost, started drinking straight from the bottle.
"Yaracchi~" Akiyama boomed, shiny eyed, and lunged across the table much to the great distress of everyone involved and Yara's high, panicked shrieking.
-
"Yone! Yara's gone missing - his bike's gone and no one's seen him for three days and Akki hasn't seen him and I think he's going to do something stupid."
"On the plus side, he wouldn't kill himself so much as everyone else and he's not that big."
"!!!"
"Relax, Maachin. He's probably gone off to sulk somewhere."
"But-"
"He'll be back. He left his hairspray behind."
-
Fighters were found first. Fighters were almost always found first and taken to the Academy, like calling to like, except in the rare cases that they weren't. The grounds were full of students both paired and unpaired, the ones that had been around since small and the ones old enough to know better that came anyway.
The Academy had its famed pairs, known by everyone from the youngest student to eldest teacher. The current top, peerless, the unbeatable legends, flawless, and one quickly rising in the gossip ranks for reasons not entirely combat unrelated: senseless.
Yamashita Tomohisa and Akanishi Jin, openly nicknamed brainless pair by the student body and secretly by the professors.
Akanishi had been found last, a Fighter who'd irrationally been able to avoid detection, but they'd bonded from the very first moment - name written across the curve of a hip, across the lower back. Pin, they'd called themselves and Yamashita had left his practice partner of years behind.
Ikuta Toma. He'd disappeared from the Academy for a week.
Only a few people had noticed.
-
"Cheer up, Maachin," Yone said, punching Machida on the shoulder. "Yara will be back sometime."
"But he's been gone for over a week," Machida wailed, distraught. He accepted the pudding Yone handed him with a nod of thanks.
"Let's go watch the exhibition match," Yone said encouragingly. "Koichi-san is going to go see it too, since Mary-san's meant to be revealing something special."
"Koichi-kun~" Machida said adoringly, through a mouthful of pudding. "Do you know what it is?"
"No," Yone said patiently. "Which is why it's a big reveal."
"Oh," Machida said brightly. "Let's go meet Koichi-kun, then."
-
"Thank you all for coming," Mary announced over the PA system. "I've been working on this project for a long time and I am pleased to present to you all-" she paused here dramatically, as if waiting for an audience reaction. No one obliged. "- the Zero Project."
With the characteristic flair of the Academy, a spotlight lit up on the previously darkened arena. Two figures, one distinctly familiar, the other more of a stranger.
"Faithless."
They raised their arms and crossed wrists - left and right, their inner arms showing a line of fine script running down the wrist.
we are faithless. we hold nothing sacred.
naming chart: (Sacrifice/Fighter)
boundless - Tsubasa/Takki
peerless - Koichi/Tsuyoshi
reckless - Taichi/Nagase
groundless - Machida/Yonehana
heedless - Akiyama/Yara
lawless - w-inds.
brainless senseless - Yamapi/Jin
zero: faithless - Ikuta Toma/Yara