〉Ritsuka lives with his older brother, mother, and father. While their mother is abusive, Seimei (who's only 5 years older than Ritsuka) is able to calm her, making Seimei a refuge for Ritsuka. He even tells Ritsuka to run to his side when she wants to hit him. In this time, their mother relies heavily on Seimei in spite of his young age.

Also, while in school, Ritsuka was in the photography club.

〉At the age of 10, Ritsuka gets sudden amnesia, and his personality changes. While he'd originally been a very popular student who struggled with academics, he became the equivalent of a straight-A student who was very withdrawn. The case for this has never been revealed and is unknown in canon.

〉Seimei tells Ritsuka his real name, which is Beloved. A week later, Seimie's body is found in the classroom, burnt beyond recognition. To further mess with his head, the body was placed in Ritsuka's seat in the elementary school even though Seimei was in high school. Dental records confirm his identity.

〉Ritsuka transfers from a private school to a new school.

〉Ritsuka shows up, alone, for his first day at Yanojounan Elementary School and is assigned to Class 3 in Grade 6. They mention his lack of a parental figure with him, but Ritsuka assured them it's okay. In the class itself, the girls seem stricken with his appearance. Here he meets Hawatari Yuiko, who gets a very big crush on him. However, his first thoughts aren't initially kind: she has big boobs and seems dumb. He asks to share her book, to which she agrees, but barely answers her questions. In fact, Ritsuka is cruel and says he hates stupid girls who let themselves be used. After that, he's not the most popular boy in class.

〉Seimie has recently died. His mother is being abusive when not being neglectful. We see how depressed Ritsuka is during this time when he's looking out a window and wonders if life will end soon. He also mentions that even chewing is a chore so he prefers soft foods.

〉After school, Ritsuka plans to head to the District's Public library since the school library isn't very impressive. Yuiko expresses a desire to go, too. Her 'friends' ask her to stay behind and pack their things and get angry when she says she's going with Ritsuka instead. When Shinome Hitomi stops him, Ritsuka plays nice and says things are going great. After she leaves, Yuiko mentions that it was odd seeing him be so different, almost as if he has a split personality. Due to having lost his memory and the change in personality that came from it, Ritsuka is triggered and runs off, demanding she not follow him.

〉Outside, Soubi Agatsuma, our other main character, grabs his arm. Ritsuka tries to shake him off, but he says he came for Ritsuka since Ritsuka never called. As he continues to struggle, Soubi tells him he's a Fighter, and that he thought Seimei would've mentioned him. Forgetting all lessons of stranger danger, Ritsuka really does seem to become a different person, going from this person to this person. Perking up, he happily asks Soubi to make memories with him and grabs Soubi. After dragging them to the park, he asks people to take photos of them (he ends up with 50) with the promise to print them out later. After suffering amnesia, Ritsuka's terrified of forgetting again so he wants to document as many things as possible. He also worries that others will forget him, likely because he thinks he means so little to the people he still has in his life. He also says it's fine since he'll have these memories and while memories with just anyone won't do, these are memories with a friend of Seimei's.

〉Ritsuka mentions surprise that Seimei had an adult friend (Soubi has no ears or tail), but Soubi promises not to do anything to him. Right before kissing him, which earns Ritsuka's anger, but Soubi mentions it's just a kiss and requests Ritsuka's power. Then he mentions another couple is nearby and they've clashed. Ritsuka's confused, but Soubi continues by saying he loves him and will do anything for him. None of it makes sense, but here we're introduced to the world of Fighters and Sacrifices.

〉Soubi tears off the bandages that cover his neck, revealing the name 'Beloved' carved into his flesh. The two other boys — Breathless, the sacrifice of which is Midori and the fighter Ai — are disgusted because Soubi is meant to be Beloved's fighter. However, Ritsuka's real name is Loveless, and he's meant to have his own fighter. Even if one of them die, a fighter or sacrifice should never work with another fighter or sacrifice, making Soubi a 'disgrace'. Ritsuka doesn't understand anything, especially why they're calling him Loveless.

〉The fight starts. Soubi claims he'll be on autopilot, which angers them as it seems insulting. Autopilot means a fighter will fight without his sacrifice, which puts him at a strong disadvantage. However, Soubi beats them without trouble, decides to leave, and lifts Ritsuka. However, since he declared battle, he decides to send Breathless away instead and manages to do so easily. Lifting Ritsuka, he once more declares he'll do anything to protect him and nibbles on one of his ears.

〉Nothing makes sense to the kid who had no idea what anyone was talking about. He demands Soubi put him down, and he finally does. However, he disappears right after, leaving Ritsuka without explanation. Realizing it's 6 and he has a curfew, he hurries home to go through his photos.

〉Breathless is seen talking to a mysterious man. Their job seems to have been to kidnap Ritsuka which would have been easy if he hadn't had a fighter. Soubi wasn't a day too soon.

〉When we see Ritsuka again, he's at the doctor's office at the Omori Clinic, agreeing to see a hypnotist in hopes of getting the old Ritsuka back. Since he has such a drastic change after suffering amnesia, it's considered a case of split personality. Kasuko-sensei is his doctor. Jokingly, she asks him on a date, but he has a curfew of 6 and all. However, he does take a picture with her. She does tell him that he should like the Ritsuka he is now.

〉At home, his mother asks how his session went and hopefully asks if the old Ritsuka's back. Sadly, he tells her it's still him, and she attacks him. This time, his dad actually does pull her off and tells Ritsuka to run. In his mind, he's guilty of taking away the Ritsuka she loves, as if he's a murderer. For this reason, he's convinced himself that he deserves her abuse.

〉At school the next day, Yuiko apologizes, but he knows he was the one who reacted irrationally and apologizes instead. When asked, Ritsuka reveals he's reading Introduction to Nietzsche, as 12-year-olds are prone to do. Kindly, he offers to loan it to her, but she's not interested. The class splits up to do an art project, but Yuiko's classmates are still angry she wouldn't carry their bags the other day. Seeing her ostracized, Ritsuka invites her to join him in the project.

〉Outside, Soubi waits for Ritsuka. He agrees to go so he can find out about Seimei, but Yuiko keeps insisting they go to her house since her parents are gone. They stop at 7-11, but Soubi promises to cook something for them at Yuiko's house instead. After they eat, Soubi walks Ritsuka's home and explains Fighters and Sacrifices to him. He also mentions Seimei left a will.

〉At home, his mother apologizes, but Ritsuka's focus is on finding Seimei's will on his computer. While looking, Soubi shows up and helps Ritsuka. The password is Ritsuka's real name, Loveless, which was decided before he was born. Ritsuka's not impressed. He hopes the will to find out that Seimei believes he was murdered by "The Seven Moons" and has left Soubi to Ritsuka. He asks Soubi if that's why Soubi's been helping him in spite of saying he loves Ritsuka repeated. Soubi confirms it and then confirms he was ordered to love him. Devastated, he orders Soubi to stop loving him, hating the idea of actually buying into that love — he was desperate, okay? — and is angry at the thought.

〉The next day at school, rumors of Seimei's death are circulating around Ritsuka's class. He overhears and says he'll murder whoever killed his brother and they might suffer the same fate if they get too close — this is all posturing as Ritsuka is a stern pacifist. As he storms out, Yuiko follows and apologizes even though she wasn't involved. Before the conversation can get much further, Breathless shows up and informs Ritsuka he's going with them. It's their job to bring him back to Seven Moons, which he'll join even if he doesn't want to. Ritsuka refuses and asks why they killed Seimei. Though they won't answer most questions, they do acknowledge that Seven Moons was responsible. Before they can force him outside, Soubi shows up.

〉Ritsuka's first battle starts. Though Breathless manages to deal some damage, Ritsuka's able to handle it. Since their names are different, they're more easily separated, and Soubi kisses Ritsuka which presumably gives him more power. But it's Soubi so who even knows. They manage to defeat Breathless, but Ritsuka refuses to allow Soubi to kill them. He sends them away instead and is then sent away by Ritsuka after telling Ritsuka, again, that he loves him.

Meeting with Yuiko again, he agrees to be friends.

〉In the next volume, we meet Yayoi Shioiri, another of their classmates who has a crush on Yuiko. He'd confessed to her previously but was rejected as she's quite tall and he's short. As short as Ritsuka. Whom he sees getting Yuiko's attention, causing him to point out that Ritsuka's short. Ritsuka points out he's also short, but it doesn't matter since he isn't dating Yuiko. Yayoi sees how sad Yuiko gets after having to admit that.

〉After class, their teacher points out that Ritsuka's homework didn't have his parent's reading stamp, which is a stamp used to show they looked over his work. After Yuiko notices Soubi outside, Ritsuka has to force himself to focus because while he wants to see Soubi, he's sure Soubi will just say annoying stuff again. His teacher sees him waiting and asks about his identity, which Ritsuka provides. In response to the stamps, he points out that he has perfect grades, but she says it doesn't matter. Ritsuka agrees to get it stamped and runs out to meet Soubi.

〉It's been three days since Soubi last showed which is why Ritsuka assumed he was abandoned. However, Soubi informs him he was busy with school, revealing he's a university student. He also gives Ritsuka a cellphone that can be used to contact him. Since Ritsuka's bad at art, he's really impressed to learn that Soubi's major is drawing and that he specializes in flowers. Soubi promises to draw something for him, which gets him excited. However, his mood once again changes when Soubi promises to answer every time he calls. No one can answer every time, Ritsuka points out, and asks him not to make promises he can't keep. In response, Soubi says he lives for Ritsuka so he definitely will answer every time.

〉At school, Shinome notices that Ritsuka's library card has filled up in just a week and Yayoi notes that his calligraphy is beautiful.

〉At home, he prays at the shrine dedicated to Seimei, a shrine decorated with white chrysanthemum and candles. At dinner, Ritsuka tells his mom that the next day is father-son at school, but his mom says his father can't miss work to go. Saying he understands, he eventually goes back to Seimei's computer to look for information. Finding nothing, he looks at the phone, wishing Soubi would call him. Instead, he hears a voice saying just looking at it won't make the call; Soubi, soaking wet thanks to the rain, broke in instead.

〉After Ritsuka dries him off, Soubi states he wants him to pierce his ears and has even brought the tool. However, Ritsuka refuses, saying that even if it's just an ear, it'll hurt. He doesn't want to hurt Soubi. Soubi continues to press the issue, and Ritsuka finally agrees. When finished, he asks if Soubi likes pain to which Soubi says no, he hates it. Ritsuka doesn't fully believe it, but he asks for Soubi's help finding Seimei's murderer in return. However, when he asks about Seven Moons, Soubi says he can't answer so Ritsuka kicks him out after giving him an umbrella. He also orders Soubi not to say he loved him, not to come back, and to not get sick.

〉The next day, Ritsuka's father doesn't show. Soubi does pick him up, and they leave school together.

〉A little time later, Soubi learns Ritsuka wants to visit Comic Market 63, which is a convention. He calls on a classmate, Minimigawa Hanabi to get tickets in exchange for driving. At the convention, Ritsuka excitedly wants to see everything and even takes pictures with some cosplayers. Ritsuka ends up having to help her in the booth but has an overall good time.

〉Ritsuka wakes and as he prepares for the day, we see just how far the physical abuse goes since his other wounds are often hidden beneath his clothing. He goes downstairs and prays at Seimei's shrine as his mother berates his father and accuses him of being happy for Seimei's death. As Ritsuka tries to comfort her, she flips the table, slaps his face, and grabs him. Ignoring the abuse, his father turns to leave. She challenges/begs him to stop her while Ritsuka remains still, hoping to negate her anger. We see her complain that Seimei isn't around to stop her anymore, showing the real condition of a possible mental illness. However, in her anger, she turns and stabs his hand with a fork.

〉That day, Ritsuka is late to school. We see that he and Yuiko have become a lot closer, and the attitude he had with her the first day is almost completely gone. Instead, he sits with her and listens, and, the day before, even promised to eat the strawberry jam she plans to bring. So, she insists he's coming since he made that promise. Her classmates, who are angry that she's not being their servant anymore, find the jam and pour it out. Ritsuka shows up, hand bandaged, and tastes the jam even though it's been poured into the sink. He then confronts the class about their cruelty and tells them how wrong they are. Loudly. After, Shinome holds him back to talk to him as well as give him some food. After Ritsuka leaves, Yuiko tells her how much she loves Ritsuka.

〉Shinome does some research about Ritsuka and discovers the change that happened after he got amnesia.

〉As Ritsuka goes home, he runs into Breathless outside of his house who says they're off the mission and just came to say hi. They mention that Soubi went to a school for fighters. They also mention others will be trying to kidnap Ritsuka but, for his mother, he says he can't let that happen. During this time, Ritsuka's also fighting a fever caused by his injuries.

〉Shinome gets the courage to visit Ritsuka's house but changes her mind at the last moment. However, she sees Soubi watching Ritsuka's house. She has a crush on him, but he's very rude to her. Ritsuka overhears him and demands he apologize, and he's very surprised when Soubi actually does. Embarrassed, she runs away, leaving Ritsuka still angry. Soubi invites Ritsuka to physically punish him, but he says he could never raise his hand to another person.

〉Soon, the pair are attacked by Sleepless, which has Kinka as fighter and Ginka as sacrifice. They promise to hand over the envelope that holds information on Seimei is Ritsuka and Soubi defeat them. Ritsuka's worried about attacking since the sacrifice is a girl, but he wants the envelope so he agrees. Ritsuka even kisses Soubi to strengthen their connection. The two manage without too much difficulty, but the envelope only contains a series of seemingly random numbers and letters. Back at Ritsuka's house, Soubi annoys him and is kicked out again.

〉Though some people try to get Ritsuka to join clubs, he's busy every Wednesday as that's the day he has to go to therapy. This Wednesday, he tells his doctor how he's begun to eat more healthy foods thanks to 'a friend' (Soubi). He talks about how much he values the past and hates the idea of change, and this is because he thinks he'll disappear in the future. Internally, he thinks about how much he hates to hear others say 'I like you' as it always hurts his chest for some reason.

〉Once again, we see Shinome heading to Ritsuka's house when two boys stop her to ask if she knows where Ritsuka lives before teasing her for still having her ears. The boys are Youji Sagan and Natsuo Sagan, who make up the second generation of Zero. After learning her name, they're able to take control of her body and plan to assault her. On the way, they run into Soubi who realizes he has to do something if he doesn't want Ritsuka to be angry with him. Soubi begins the fight, but he's at a disadvantage because the two are manufactured to not feel pain, making them a very dangerous team. However, Soubi's also been conditioned, in a very painful way, to not react to pain which helps. Without knowing anything is happening, Ritsuka is happy at home as his mother is in a good mood. While pretending to hope Soubi doesn't come by, he gets excited when he mistakenly thinks he is.

〉At the fight, Zero breaks etiquette and attack Soubi physically, driving nails into his hands and demanding he calls Ritsuka. In an earlier attack, Soubi begins to coat the arena in snow. As they continue to torture him, they don't notice their body temperatures are dropping, and soon, their bodies begin to move slower and they're on the verge of death. With that, it's Soubi's win. He wakes up Shinome who tries to get him to the hospital, but he's less than kind to her and sends her away. Wanting to see Ritsuka, he goes to his house but again, they fight. Soubi is acting odd, and he won't talk to Ritsuka so he gets sent away, again. Realizing he's bleeding at the last moment, he tries to call him back, but it's too late. The next day at school, Shinome confesses Soubi may be injured because of her, and Ritsuka texts Soubi to order him never to lie or hide things from him again, feeling very guilty for sending him away injured.

〉We later learn that the Zeros will be rejected for losing and so, Soubi invites them to live with him.

〉In the following days, Rituska's mood is lower, but his attitude toward other people is changing. He's hanging out with friends, and even going to their houses. He's kinder to people and even takes the time to look after them, telling Yayoi to be careful and assuring Yuiko she should eat her own lunch instead of giving it to him.

〉 At Yayoi's house, they begin to play the game. When Ritsuka tries to call Soubi and invite him to play, the number has been disconnected. Annoyed, he goes to reset the game and sees a memo with numbers that have been taped to the Playstation 2 much like the ones he received on the envelope. When he asks Yayoi about the numbers, he says it's for a meeting in the game. Using his own code, he realizes it's meant to be a meeting at 12:05 at North 74 on floor A-11 at Wisdom Resurrection.

〉As Ritsuka prepares the game, his mother is pounding on the door so he finally answers. She tells him he's always been the favorite since he was so cute, and how he'll always like her best and need her, won't he? Ritsuka agrees, but it's obvious they've done this before. She invites him down to where she's cooked all his favorite foods, but again, he knows this trick: if he does anything the 'other' Ritsuka didn't or likes something he didn't before, it sets her off. This is especially a problem as he's grown and started to like new foods lately. When he accidentally eats a food that was prepared in a way he didn't enjoy before, she starts to accuse him of being a fake, and he has to run away.

〉We see that Seimei had played the game and was a level 100 Paladin. Soubi logs into his name since he already knows what the memo means. Ritsuka is forced to register as Loveless, and Soubi calls him after seeing him online. However, Ritsuka says he can't wait to go inside the meeting area since it's too close to the time. Soubi tries to follow, but only Loveless is allowed inside. Worried, he leaves his apartment and rushes to Ritsuka's house. In the game, Ritsuka runs into a woman, who we'll learn is Saotome Nana, ​who works for Seven Moons and will only answer Yes and No questions. He discovers there are only 6 members of 7 moons, and that's important. While he does ask other questions, he doesn't get much further because... he falls asleep. School starts early and all. Soubi arrives, sees him sleeping on the desk, and puts him in bed.

〉In school, Ritsuka falls asleep. When the teacher wakes him up, he claims to feel sick and goes to the nurse's office to sleep. After all, he has to be up late again tonight. There, he has a dream of Seimei being killed and dreams Soubi comes to save him. He really does miss Soubi.

〉Soubi runs into Kouya and Yamato, the female Zero pair. Unlike the others, they're much more experienced and manage to beat Soubi. After losing, he calls the male Zero to get a taxi and come to pick him up. Ritsuka keeps calling Soubi, but his calls are ignored. Finally, Soubi accidentally answers one, assuming it's his ride. Ritsuka begs him not to hang up, even orders him, but Soubi does so anyway. However, when the Zero pair arrive, we see Ritsuka was able to find his injured body.

〉Back at Soubi's apartment, Youji claims it's Ritsuka's fault for Soubi's injuries since he 'lets' him fight alone. Normally, when an arena is activated, a sacrifice will feel it, no matter how far away. However, the two aren't bonded, and Ritsuka begs them to teach him. He's asked questions, but they've never been answered, but the pair begin to explain. They then mention that Ritsuka does have a Loveless fighter somewhere. Soon after, the female Zero appear to challenge both Ritsuka and Soubi in a fight since they need to prove they can beat Soubi fairly. The male pair go out to try and win first, but they're easily defeated. Ritsuka and Soubi follow soon after. The two pairs agree to fight the next day at 5.

〉The next day, Yamato comes to Ritsuka's school and picks him up, which is a surprise. She mentions he looks like Seimei, who always looked down on them. For the first time, we hear that Seimei wasn't a perfect paragon of goodness and that he could be a jerk. This causes Ritsuka to be angry. However, at the cafe, she admits it's a lie as he doesn't look like Seimei.

〉At the cafe, she asks where his name is written on his body, but Ritsuka says it isn't written anywhere, which is odd. All other pairs have it written somewhere. Yamato's is on her breast, but Ritsuka declines her offer to show him. As she goes to the bathroom, the waitress asks Rituska if they'd like some hot coffee this time. As she comes back out, he says he may have discovered her secret.

〉In the next scene, the fight is about to begin. Ritsuka tells Soubi to keep injuries to a minimum but to focus on pain, causing Soubi to choose needle attacks. Finally, Yamato shows the pain Ritsuka realizes she felt when the coffee was spilled onto her. Kouya demands to see Yamato's Zero name, but it's disappeared. The battle stops, and the two agree to break away from their master and run off to be normal.

〉In a break fir normalcy, Yuiko wants to exchange journals with Ritsuka, but he denies the request because her handwriting is too ugly. Outside, they run into Osamu-chan, a girl from Ritsuka's old school. The two say the 'chan' at the end of her name is an inside secret and the three of them go to spend the day together. Though Yuiko regards her as a love rival, it's unclear if she really is, though she certainly enjoys taking photos of him. Ritsuka explains that he was in the photography club with her, but her photos were more on construction subjects. And Ritsuka, apparently. At the end, Osamu promises to send Yuiko a cute picture of Ritsuka she takes that day. It ends with her fulfilling the promise.

〉

〉Ritsuka is exhausted since the time to meet up with his Seven Moons contact is after midnight. He spends the day absent from school, which prompts a call to his mother. However, she's locked herself in the room for the day so she doesn't answer. Ritsuka spends his time trying to sleep in random places before going to Soubi's apartment and falling asleep with the Zero pair since Soubi's bed smells too much like him. Ritsuka feels safe staying over at Soubi's since his mother has locked herself away, and logs into the game from Soubi's house with the others watching. This time, there are three people waiting for him, including Ristu ((bad, bad man)) and Nagisa, both of which the others recognize.

〉He asks about Seimei, but he's told that Number 4 would know more about him and that Ritsuka could meet him if the conditions are right. Then, he's asked about Seimei, and we see some kind moments. Seimei wakes him, cooks for him, bandages him up, plays with him, and teaches him. However, as he describes this Seimei, no one believes it, claiming Seimei is a neat freak who wouldn't touch someone else, never mind sleep in the same bed. The Zero pair asks Soubi to tell them about Seimei, but he refuses. Trying to stir him up, Youji kisses Ritsuka and begins to unzip his coat, but Soubi grabs him and throws him out. Ritsuka finally tells them all to stop, that it's not like Soubi hasn't kissed him a lot of times, and just to sit down so he can get his answers.

〉The woman confesses that she got Ritsuka involved because it seems like Seimei has appeared and wasn't dead after all. Ritsuka points out that he was told they killed him, which she said is true because of his crimes. However, he refuses to believe Seimei would've done anything worthy of death, and he's pointed to Soubi. For now, he focuses on the claim that Seimei's still alive which seems impossible. If he's alive, why hasn't he contacted Ritsuka? If he's alive, why has he stayed away? Begging Soubi to be honest, he asks if Seimei is still alive and is told that he really isn't.

〉At the Ayogi household, the phone keeps ringing until his mother actually answers. The voice on the other end asks if Ritsuka is home. Realizing he's not, she calls all of his school friends, and Yuiko contacts Ritsuka to warn him. Quickly, he rushes home, followed by Soubi. At Soubi's apartment, the Zero pair doesn't understand why he doesn't just kill her if she's hurting him, and says he's stupid for 'hurting himself' by allowing her to hurt him.

〉It's a cruel scene. When he makes it home, his mother tells him to leave, that if he's so unhappy here then he should just stay out. Ritsuka refuses, and soon, he's drugged into the bathroom. After repeatedly dunking his head into the sink full of water, she uses the shower to spray him with hot water while telling him how she wishes she'd never given birth to him. We also see two very important things here: her thoughts and the neighbor's reactions. Misaki (his mother) is internally struggling very hard with herself to make her stop, realizing this is her son she's hurting. She also thinks about how much worse she had it as she was likely abused herself. This once more hints at an undiagnosed illness. Something even more disappointing is that the neighbors do hurt her yelling, realize it's abuse, and do nothing. Finally, she's able to control herself and lock herself in her room, begging him to just stay away while hating herself for her actions. Ritsuka begs for her to at least dry off with a towel.

〉Soubi comes into the house and suggests Ritsuka leave her alone as she's asked. Before the argument can progress, the phone rings again and a stranger's voice tells them to come to District 2 Park. On the way, Soubi points out that there's something wrong with Ristuka's mom, but it only makes him angry. As long as she doesn't die, as long as she doesn't leave him, as long as it's safe, it's fine what she does to him. He's sincerely broken enough to believe it. When they finally do make it to the park, they meet Fearless — Mei Hotarubi as fighter and Mimuro as the sacrifice.

〉More dangerous is what's happening at the Aoyagi home. Nisei Akame, Beloved's real fighter, enters the house pretending to be Seimei. Misaki is ill enough to believe it. Nisei claims he, as Seimei, didn't come back because Ritsuka was here, and in order to have him back, she'll have to kill Ritsuka. Back at the fight, Loveless wins, but Fearless doesn't have much information, only stating they ate with Seimei last week.

〉On the way back home, Soubi asks if Ritsuka believes Seimei is still alive. Ritsuka says he believes in Soubi, but begs Soubi to quiet asking. Things are getting too complicated. Fortunately for him, Misaki refused to agree to kill Ritsuka and begged for 'Seimei' to just come back, but Nisei gives her enough sleep pills to make her fall asleep in the entrance and leaves. After moving her to bed, assuming it was a miscalculation as she normally takes the right amount at the right time, he demands to know how Soubi got the key. Since they didn't move to the house until after Seimei's death, and if Seimei gave him the key, Seimei had to still be alive. Soubi insists he just made a copy of a key he managed to grab.

〉The next day, we do find out that Seimei is very much alive and hiding in a house. Nisei is watching the Aoyagi house and notes Ritsuka didn't go to school. As Shinome-sensei calls to find out why he's missing school, Misaki says he has the flu, but as we see the house, we find that Ritsuka is tied to a kitchen chair. After the visit from 'Seimei' last night, she's afraid he'll be killed so he's being restrained. Though he begs her, she refuses to let him go, even after Yuiko visits and is denied entrance.

〉Soubi realizes Nisei is watching the house and confronts him. Cruelly, he calls Seimei and lets Soubi hear Seimei's voice which momentarily breaks him. Once Nisei leaves and Soubi collects himself, he finally manages to go into Ritsuka's house as Misaki has gone shopping. Upstairs, Ritsuka takes Soubi's old key and gives him a new one; when he uses a key, it'll be one from Ritsuka from now on.

〉Nagisa-sensei contacts the male Zero team to come back since the female pair has left. While they'll miss Soubi, they agree and when Soubi returns, they're gone. Ritsuka looks into the game to find that Ritsu is there alone. He tells Ritsuka to have Soubi bring him to Goura. The next day, he calls Soubi and requests he take him. Soubi says to make it an order, to which Ritsuka agrees. As Ritsuka goes to get into the car, he meets Kio. The two get in the car and begin to talk.

〉Kio begins to tell Ritsuka how horrible Seimei is, though Ritsuka disagrees. When Kio tells him to simply ask Soubi, he does, but Soubi denies it. We see Ritsuka think back on some incidents that question Seimei's perfectness: class fish that somehow died, blood on Seimei's coat, and his instructions that Ritsuka should never accept a homemade gift from someone else because they might be dirty. Seeing Ritsuka is nothing like Seimei, Kio decides he can start to like him now.

〉As Kio goes to the bathroom, Ritsuka demands Soubi shows him. Seeing the scars inflicted by Seimei, Ritsuka begins to hate himself, both for being so stupid and for being unable to completely let go of Seimei's hand, even after seeing that. They arrive at Soubi's old school and stay there for the night. It seems that night, they're having a night training exercise which has the Sacrifice and Fighters split up. The two have to find each other and then they battle other pairs.

〉Nisei and Seimei show up and begin to make their way past the school's defense. Kio, who was never allowed inside, is taken by surprise and injured. Seimei demands Nisei find Ritsuka, and we see Seimei's feelings about his brother: the world was made for just the two of them, and he's the only person Seimei wants to love and be loved by. Not understanding, but not caring, Nisei finds Ritsuka, who's with Breathless. He defeats the pair, but Ritsuka calls to Soubi, who finally hears and rushes to Ritsuka's side. Their fight begins.

〉Nisei attacks Ritsuka mentally, claiming Seimei, whom Ritsuka now knows is alive, didn't come back because he didn't want to see Ritsuka. He also claims that no one would miss Ritsuka if he disappeared, which is a real fear of his. However, Ritsuka shakes it off and strengths his bond with Soubi. Nisei calls to Seimei to help since two on one battles are difficult, but Seimei doesn't come. The Loveless pair win.

〉Seimei and Ritsu meet and argue. Ritsu has a very gross, unhealthy obsession with Soubi and is angry that Seimei mistreated him ((in spite of how horribly Ritsu treated him...)) and we find that Soubi is a blank fighter, a fighter that had the ability to go to any Sacrifice. Seimei tricked Ritsu into giving Soubi to him. We also find that Ritsu took Soubi's ears at a very young age due to his obsession with Soubi's mother transferring to Soubi.

〉Back in the present day, paramedics rush in as Seimei's gouged out Ritsu's eyes. As the Zero pair rush after Seimei, they find a note: Ritsuka, I'm back.

〉Nana manages to guide Seimei to the library, where Zero shows up but are pressured by his words. Ritsuka shows up and runs to Seimei, glad to finally see him alive. He begs Seimei to explain why everything is happening. Nagisa directs Zero to kill Seimei, but Ritsu directs Soubi to take him alive.

〉Seimei tells Ritsuka to love him as he is, that love isn't so restricting or imprisoning him. If he loved Seimei, really loved him, he'd love him even as he truly is. He claims Ritsuka was born only for him and tells Ritsuka to just say the words and give up everything for him. However, Ritsuka disagrees and says that even if you love someone, even if he loves and believes in Seimei, he can't let him do bad things. He refuses to become Seimei's possession.

〉Seimei is angry and tells Soubi to blow open the window behind him so he can escape. As a fighter, Soubi has no choice but to obey. Still, he feels guilty and like a traitor. Ritsuka assures him he isn't, and that he understands. The next day, Soubi visits Nisei, who's still being held captive within the school. It's also discovered that Seimei has taken Kio.

〉Ritsuka takes Nisei some food but doesn't show him pity. When Nisei gets confused and said Seimei said Ritsuka was a good kid, Ritsuka replies he isn't that good of a kid and that he just hates the other guys more.

〉Kio is being held by Blood, which consists of the sacrifice Hideo Yamamoto and the fighter Yurio. Seimei sends Soubi a message saying he'll trade Kio for Nisei so they make plans to leave. Ritsu and Nana both give Ritsuka advice as Bloodless is a team known for psychological attacks. Zero and Loveless leave for the exchange with the charm Nana gave to Ritsuka.

〉Bloodless and Loveless fight. Their attacks are on Ritsuka, and he's drawn into dream realms. In the first, he sees an older version of himself, who says he'll never be him as he'll disappear. Then it shows Seimei happily returning, and Ritsuka's family being whole. Next, he's in a school. Seimei is there as well as the body of the person he killed to take his place. The fake Seimei confronts him; at this point, Ritsuka doesn't want to admit that his brother is a killer.

〉It's difficult, but Ritsuka accepts it's a difficult situation and, in refusing to run from it, manages to break free. It's then that Soubi realizes he's had it wrong, and that the one assumed to be the fighter is actually the sacrifice. Inside, Kio is confronted by Chouma Kio, who claims to be his sister. There's a subplot about Kio having a daughter close to his age which is odd and will be explained later, but that isn't about Ritsuka so...

〉Ritsuka goes back to school, where Yuiko tries to feed him in order to keep him strong and healthy. After school, he sends a packed box of things he doesn't want any more down the river and goes to Soubi's house to make him an omelet. He's successful. This is his way of trying to support him, something he learned just that day from Yuiko.

〉The Zero pair return to live with Soubi, and they also transfer to Ritsuka's school. Soubi has to mess with the teacher's memory so she doesn't remember having met them before. They get off to a rough start and are especially mean to Yuiko, but Ritsuka finally gets it lined out.

〉At some point later, Ritsuka's at home, and his mother begins to throw things at him. Though he's confused as to what set her off, he accepts it. At school, Yuiko asks about the bandages that are on his face, and he admits the truth, showing he's becoming honest about the abuse. Again, Yuiko is bullied, which Ritsuka has to stop. On the way home, they two duck into a shelter for cover from the rain and run into Tokino Fujiwara, the fighter for Moonless. Further away, Mikado Gomon, the sacrifice, meets Soubi and guides him to Ritsuka. It turns out that Gomon used to be friends with Seimei in school.

〉Since it's raining and evening, Ritsuka and Soubi are advised not to fight the pair. For some reason, Moonless agrees, and they all go to Soubi's to rest. Here, she asks that they team up to stop Seimei, but Ritsuka says he hasn't decided that yet. She asks if he needs a reason and then tells him how he betrayed her, cut her hair, and had Nisei rape her while he watched. Soubi yells for her to stop, that there's no reason to hurt Ritsuka but he points out that he asked and accepts the cost of that request.

〉The next scene of importance is Ritsuka coming to his doctor's appointment. While he's waiting in the waiting area, a woman in a nursing uniform is asking another nurse for information on Ritsuka, which she gives freely. As the first woman disappears, the second nurse suddenly realizes she didn't have a familiar face at all. Soon, we discover the woman is Hatsuko Shigemori of the team Faceless. After leaving the clinic, she gives the information to Nisei.

〉Again, Ritsuka misses school. Soubi takes him to visit the grave of his parents and begins to tell Ritsuka stories of his past. Seimei shows up and orders Soubi to follow him, which he does. Ritsuka goes to Soubi's apartment to get his things and fights with the Zeros before leaving and falling down, losing his bus pass. When he comes back, they make up. Deciding to do their own investigation, They check Seimei's room and finds his photo albums which consists solely of pictures of Ritsuka. Even in the past photos, he looks solemn and when his mom brings them snacks, she agrees he's always been serious, contradicting what he's been told about the past him.

〉The group decides to look for Soubi by going after Seimei. The Zero twins discover Faceless and decide to use them to find him. This is where his story has ended since the manga hasn't been updated.