Prologue: Tearless
The screams of excited students echoed through the hallways as Ritsuka made his way past the crowd, flanked by his two friends. He paid no mind to Yuiko's excited exclamations of her plans for the brief summer break. Yayoi wrapped an arm around her and smiled down at his energetic girlfriend. Woe to him, as he couldn't deny her even smallest request.
"Ritsuka."
Yayoi's calm voice broke the trail of Ritsuka's thoughts. He looked over his shoulder. Unlike himself, Yayoi had grown quite tall in the two years he had known his friend. "Hm?" His gaze drifted from Yayoi to Yuiko's pout. "Did you ask me something?"
She looked up at her elementary school crush with sparkling eyes. "I asked if you had any plans for the summer! What high school are you going to attend after vacation? The entrance exams are so hard!"
"Soubi and I are going away," Ritsuka whispered and paused to look out the window. There, standing at the gate, was the familiar figure of the blond.
"For vacation?" Yuiko's lips trembled. "Or are you going away forever?"
"Forever." His eyes fixed on the blond, and he smiled when the familiar head turned and he was pierced with those eyes. "We're going away forever, but the three of us can still be friends." He turned away from Soubi's gaze and gave his friends a fake smile as they gaped at him in shock. "Call whenever you wish." He handed them each a slip of paper with a number written on it. "We'll come back and visit when I have breaks from school."
"Ritsuka-kun…"
Ritsuka was gone, disappearing into the mass of students before the tears came. He couldn't stand watching his friend cry; he couldn't stand knowing that he would be the cause of her tears, her pain. He moved to the gate, grabbing hold of Soubi's hand and dragging him down the street.
"Did you say good-bye?" Soubi questioned.
"Get me away from here," Ritsuka whispered. "That's an order." He didn't protest when his smaller body was picked up and cradled, as he was carried down the street. He wrapped his arms around the familiar neck as sobs rendered his small form useless.
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The park was quiet, beautiful in its emptiness. There were no children screaming, no one to see Soubi kiss away his tears. Ritsuka held Soubi's face as far away as he could, one hand on each side of his face, looking deep within those eyes. Soubi smiled and leaned forward, pressing his lips to those of his Sacrifice. Ritsuka didn't react. He didn't welcome the attention, nor did he reject it. Soubi pulled back after a moment. It had been like this for years, since Seimei and Nisei had appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye. There had been no signs of the two, other than a few glimpses and hints of their presence. They were watching Ritsuka, that much was certain. Soubi held the small body close to his own again.
"Soubi, we have to do this," Ritsuka whispered as he leaned back against the familiar body. "You know that."
Soubi sat in silence for a few moments, but buried his face in the silky hair of his Sacrifice. "I know."
"Once a name is written, it cannot be unwritten."
Soubi closed his eyes, and a tear trickled down his cheek. "I know."
Author's Corner: I know that it is super short, but I wanted to give all of you a spoonful of the icecream rather than whole carton. It's also a vague chapter, which was exactly what I was going for when I wrote it. The next chapter will be much longer, I promise. But before you get that, first you must review! Actually, I'm probably going to write no matter what, but reviews are appreciated and motivational.
