Disclaimer: I do not own…. Man, what's the name of this anime again? Uhhhhhhhh….
Oh yeah. : p What, I actually have to say it? –SIGH- okay, then… Idon'townLoveless. Happy? T.T;
This Time
The first time it happened, it was a mistake. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time… that's what he told himself. Ritsuka had come home from school a bit earlier than usual, due to a blackout, and so he had no idea what would happen. He expected to enter the house and hear Seimei moving about, somewhere, waiting for him. But no… he wasn't there. It wasn't too much earlier than normal, and Seimei was always home before him. A little curious, the catboy walked about his house, carefully peeking into each one of the rooms in search of his brother.
"Seimei?"
It was so dark, he thought to himself. And Seimei wasn't there. But, that wasn't all that bothered him… he hadn't heard even the smallest of sounds since he'd entered the house. Fear suddenly started to build up inside him as he wondered where his mother was. She hated the dark, if he remembered correctly, and he also… didn't like him. In his fearful state, he didn't hear her coming up behind him, and he didn't know she was there until she grabbed him from behind. Without any warning, her fist came right down and into his chest from behind.
"Die!"
"M-Mother, stop! It's just me!"
"Die! Die! Leave me be, you beast!"
'She must think I'm a robber or something!'
…Yeah, that must be it. He kept telling himself that as she continued to pound on him, and no matter how bad it got, he never lifted a finger against her. Perhaps, somewhere deep in his heart, he hoped she would recognize him and come to her senses. He hoped she would stop on his own. But that wasn't going to happen. Before he knew it, he was being dragged out of the kitchen, and he tried to keep up as she then pulled him up the staircase. Where was she taking him, and what was she going to do? He had no idea, even as his mom threw him into the bathroom and pinned him to the floor. Her knee was painfully sticking up into his back, and he couldn't help but shout out.
"Silence! You filthy thing! I hate you! DIE!!"
-
It was only fifteen minutes before Seimei was home, and he looked about the house with a grimace.
"Knocking over a power converter… Ch'. Soubi, you fool. You should have seen that-"
"Seimei?"
The call was quiet and sweet, and he rose his head to the staircase as his mother was coming down. She walked up and hugged him right away, whispering 'I'm scared of the dark' into his ear. But, though uncomfortable with the closeness, he hugged her back and smiled. He decided that they needed power, so he offered to go downstairs to the basement to fix the fuse box. He really didn't mind, after all. He had some homework he had to finish, and afterward, he'd shower, which meant he'd need the hair dryer. Then he paused, his hand on the final switch, and with a smile, he decided, 'Maybe I'll share one with Ritsuka!'
He liked that idea, and thought about it as the power slowly came back on and he made his way up and down the hall. Ritsuka would be home from school in half an hour, and until then, he could have a little snack. But, as he passed by the phone, it suddenly went off. He would never admit to being startled, but he did jump a bit when it went off unexpectedly. He didn't hear his mom coming to pick it up, so he sighed and lifted the receiver to his ear.
"Moshi moshi. Aoyagi residence."
"Mr. Aoyagi?"
"No, I'm the eldest son."
"Oh, I see. Well, I'm Ritsuka's teacher at school, and I thought I'd call."
"Oh? Is something the matter with him? Does he need to be picked up for some reason?"
"Well, no. Didn't you hear? We let out school about thirty minutes ago… Is he not home yet? How strange."
But it wasn't strange to Seimei. He roughly set down the phone and ran to thekitchen, where he knew his mother would be. sure enough, there she was, standing at the counter with a knife in her hands, ready to cut something for the dinner she was making. She heard him come in, and turned to face him. It was only then that he noticed several wert spots on her dress.
"Seimei, I'm making your favorite dinner today, okay?"
"Mom."
"Mm? What is it, dear?"
"…Where is Ritsuka?"
"Ritsuka? Why… he's in the bath right now."
"So why then… are you wet?"
"I was… helping. Such a good boy today…"
Seimei's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected Ritsuka to come home before he did, and their mother had been known to be even more psychotic when it was dark. Without answering is mother, he rushed out of the kitchen and took the stairs two at a time, heading for the upstairs bathroom. The door was closed, but from inside, he could hear the dripping from a faucet. He tried the handle, but it wouldn't budge. Mom was the only one with a key, he cursed to himself. But then again, maybe nothing bad had happened at all, so he rose his hand and just a bit too hard, knocked on the door.
"Ritsuka? Ritsuka, it's me, Seimei! Are you in there?"
(drip) (drip)
There was no reply from the other side of the door, so he knocked harder and yelled.
"Ritsuka, answer me! Damn it… RITSUKA!"
The door made a loud crash as Seimei kicked it in. One of the hinges was definitely broken, but he wasn't concerned with that, or the scare he might have given his mother, all he was thinking about was Ritsuka. The light was switched off, but even through the dark room, his heart sped up. Only a small candle was burning next to the tub, and there was darkness peeking out from the very surface of the water.
"Ritsuka!?"
Seimei switched the light on, and there, resting at the bottom of the small bath, was his younger brother. His whole head was submerged under the water, and no air bubbles were coming up. If that weren't bad enough, his hands were bound with duct tape, and there was some covering his mouth as well. Seimei ran to the tub and reached down into the water to pull his brother back up- the water was scalding hot, even though the boy he held was slightly chilled. He managed to easily hoist the boy from the tub and sat just next to it, cradling him in his lap. After calling a few more times, Ritsuka finally, though weakly, opened his eyes. That's when Seimei removed the tape from his mouth, and immediately, the boy was assaulted with air. He didn't know how starved of it until then, and so he pulled in a deep gulp of air, inevitably choking on it. Seimei, at least relieved that he was alive, smiled down at his brother and patted his back until he was breathing semi-normally again.
Once he'd caught his breath, he weakly opened his eyes again and leaned against the warm body holding him, trying to snuggle into the warmth. His body felt like a cold death… Had he died? Seimei didn't speak. He only hugged Ritsuka and petted his soaked hair softly, letting his brother cling to him and snuggle him.
"S-Seimei…"
"Ritsuka, I'm sorry. I feel responsible for this." But Ritsuka softly shook his head.
"If I had been here, mom wouldn't have…" Again, he shook his head.
"M-mom… not at… fault… An accident… accident…"
He never knew why he had started crying, then.