Hee... I like samurai. They kick ass, but they really make me like looking at the time when they lived with nature and trained in dojos. What I wouldn't give to live like that, waking up in the morning and going to train. Dojos just look like fun.
So... why not make Soubi and Ritsuka samurai? Seems kinda cooler than battling your enemies while saying things like "Tear asunder!" and "Cut! Rip apart! Deny!" Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course... Loveless is amazing that way. Real clever.
Thankies (jeez, terrible proper grammar) for reading! That means go read!
"Ritsuka-kun! I know you can move faster than that!"
'Yes..." Ritsuka said, brandishing his wooden sword. "Agatsuma-sensei."
DOJO NO AGATSUMA
Ritsuka really hated training. No, it wasn't the training itself that he despised, it was the violence he was training towards. He didn't like violence one bit. And Agatsuma-sensei knew it.
But he was lucky. Growing up a samurai was something he couldn't change, and he figured that since he had to anyway, at least he had the best teacher around. Agatsuma Soubi was a world-renowed samurai, and Ritsuka had been given the "honor" of becoming an apprentice to him. Agatsuma-sensei made it look easy to be a samurai. And that meant he could evade each and every one of Ritsuka's attacks.
"Dammit, Agatsuma-sensei!" Ritsuka shouted, plunging straight past the man for the fifth time. Soubi gracefully sidestepped, and Ritsuka stumbled into the wall. He leaned up, his elbow against the wall for support. "I... can't get you!"
"Well, of course not, Ritsuka-kun," Soubi said, smiling an infuriatingly mocking smile. The ears atop Ritsuka's head twitched angrily. "How would you ever learn if I let you get me?"
"Raaaahhh!" Ritsuka sprang at him again, and this time Soubi caught him by the arm. The wooden sword dropped to the floor as Soubi pulled him to face level.
"Keep your calm, Ritsuka-kun."
Soubi was calm himself. He'd always been calm. Ritsuka had known him almost his whole life. His parents had sent him to live with Soubi when his brother Seimei died. Seimei had also been an apprentice under Soubi, and a damn good one at that. Ritsuka assumed that was part of the reason that Soubi saw so much potential in him.
Soubi was older than Ritsuka, not by many years, but he was still an adult. The one thing Ritsuka noticed, usually subconsciously, every time he looked at Soubi, was that his sensei did not have ears. And that struck him as odd. Samurai weren't the type to do things such as having sex. Ritsuka knew that he wanted to, someday, but he was young and still blushed at thoughts like that.
And so, now, looking past his sensei's handsome face (for he was quite handsome, Ritsuka had to admit) at the place where ears should have been, he found his cheeks growing hot. Soubi loosened his grip on Ritsuka's arm, and the boy moved away from him, picking up his wooden sword. He looked up, seeing Soubi's face contorted in thought, his blue eyes glowing. Both were silent for a moment.
"Go home, Ritsuka-kun."
"What?" Ritsuka was surprised. "What did I do?"
"You didn't do anything," Soubi said quietly. "Just go home for today."
Ritsuka gave Soubi one last forlorn look and turned to the door of the dojo, carrying his sword with him.
"Goodbye, sensei."
"Goodbye, Ritsuka-kun."
Ritsuka left, heading for the room he occupied on the edge of the dojo field. That was his "home", for he couldn't very well live with Agatsuma-sensei.
He thought more about Soubi. What had he done to cause Soubi to act that way? What was that strange look burning in his sensei's eyes? He thought more about the ears, or rather, lack of them. Blushing again, he wondered about that. Soubi had always told him that it was something to do with his teacher and when he was training, and that he didn't want to talk about any more than that. Ritsuka had a very good idea of what had happened. He assumed that Soubi had went out and lost his ears while still training under his own sensei. That was wrong. He knew for a fact that if he went out and did that, Soubi would beat the living hell out of him.
He shrugged the thoughts away, entering his room.
Soubi heaved a deep sigh. He ran a hand through his hair, watching the door of Ritsuka's cabin close. That boy was too much. That boy... would be his downfall one day. He couldn't get the vivid image of the blush shimmering on Ritsuka's cheeks out of his mind. He knew it was wrong to say, but he was beginning to feel something for Ritsuka.
He loved Ritsuka, like a student. Though the boy was training hard, Soubi knew full well that Ritsuka was nowhere near ready to defend himself against real attack. And he knew that if such an attack were to occur, he would defend Ritsuka and kill whoever had threatened his precious apprentice. Or he himself would be killed in the process of protecting Ritsuka.
He was just afraid that his love was starting to blossom into something other than that of a teacher and a student. He feared that what he was feeling at this very moment was attraction. Something had pulsed through him at the same moment that the blush had flourished on Ritsuka's cheeks, something so strong that he had sent Ritsuka away with a second thought. He couldn't look at the boy anymore, or even be around him for one more minute, for fear that he might just lose control. He didn't want to ruin Ritsuka with these unacceptable feelings.
The boy still had his ears, after all. But Soubi couldn't help thinking sometimes that he would like to be the one that took them. He shook his head. He had to focus on keeping those thoughts quelled while Ritsuka trained.
And after what had happened to him when he was a child... what his teacher had done... he didn't think he could bear it if he did the exact same thing to Ritsuka. He wouldn't let that happen. If the day came when Ritsuka felt the same... Soubi didn't want to think anymore.
He leaned back against the wall, sighing heavily.
"Ritsuka is innocent," he argued with himself. "Ritsuka is young, Ritsuka is not ready... Ritsuka is... beautiful..."
He buried his face in his hands, unable to deny what he felt even to himself. It wasn't right. That's what bothered him. If he were to do anything to Ritsuka, he, the boy's protector, would be doing just the opposite of what his parents had expected.
He would be... ruining him. Doing a sinful, irreversible thing.
Ritsuka would surely hate him afterwards. The boy had a tenacious temper, but very precise feelings. Soubi doubted that Ritsuka would resist if he attempted anything, he would enjoy the moment, but would regret it later. And then he would hate Soubi.
"I have to see him." Soubi said aloud to the dojo. "I have to see him."
Fighting every step, he left the dojo and walked to Ritsuka's cabin. He rasied a fist to knock on the door, and steadied himself, taking a deep breath. He knocked. The sound crashed through his racing thoughts.
"Sensei?" Ritsuka opened the door.
"Ritsuka... we need to talk."
"Sensei? What is it?" Ritsuka was beginning to feel worried. "Are you okay? Are you sick? Your face is all flushed... come inside."
His fingertips brushed against Soubi's arm, and suddenly the man pulled away. Ritsuka looked up at him, eyes wide.
"I... can't come in, Ritsuka. I... might ruin you."
"What?" Ritsuka was confused. Soubi looked away. How could he ever begin to explain?
T.B.C...
Okay... more coming later... when I'm motivated.
-yawns-
Reviews motivate me. -smiles hopefully-