Authors Note: I do not own Loveless or anything related to the storyline. This is purely fan made. Oh wow. This is my first fan fiction on this site. I've done some other works individually, but now I'm striking up the courage to actually publish them on the site. Please review with nice, but critical comments! They all help!
Well here is the next chapter! Yay! I hope you enjoy it! This is mostly focused around Yuiko as I need a time cruncher and also a little review of what's happened so far.
Next Chapter: Truthless Informant
- Kame
---
The motel was dingy. Okay, more than dingy. Filthy. Run down. Hardly worth anything. But these were the hotels that Soubi and Ritsuka needed to stay undercover.
"I can't say much, Yuiko," Soubi whispered into the phone. He stood next to the single, futon couch bed where Ritsuka slept. The boy was restless enough, twisting himself into a twisted cocoon of sheets. The last thing that Soubi wanted was to wake Ritsuka up. "Please stop calling. I thought I had made it clear yesterday that we would call you instead."
"B-B-But Soubi!" Yuiko protested, her voice flickering with anxiety over the speaker. "Can't I speak to Ritsuka."
"No." The answer was cold and flat. No reason either.
"But…" Yuiko's voice faltered as her confidence wavered. Although she had become more comfortable around Ritsuka's older friend, sometimes it was hard to talk to Soubi.
Soubi coughed awkwardly. This was Ritsuka's friend. He was thankful for her presence and friendship. In fact, he relied on Yuiko to watch Ritsuka at school when he couldn't be there. But her persistent calling bugged him. "Go to bed."
"Soubi—why aren't you asleep?"
Soubi's head swiveled over towards the futon. Ritsuka was sitting straight up in bead, his form illuminated by the soft moonlight flooding in through the pigeon-pooh-splattered window.
"Is that Ritsuka?" Yuiko demanded, the tone in her voice suddenly urgent. "Let me talk to him, Soubi."
"Sleep now," Soubi commanded flatly, clapping his cell phone closed. Kneeling down on his knees, he took Ritsuka's hands in his own. "I'm sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep."
"You first," Ritsuka argued weakly, but his eyes were already losing the battle to stay open. A shudder ran through his small body, and all consciousness in his body disappeared. His body fell forward limply, but Soubi was already there. Ritsuka's head rested easily against Soubi's chest.
"Goodnight, Ritsuka," Soubi murmured, laying down next to his charge. He wrapped his arms tightly around the boy's body before falling deep into sleep.
----
Yuiko's House, present.
Yuiko sat forlornly at her bed. Her own land line phone sat in front of her. The illuminated call history on the small screen seemed to mock her. Yuiko, I can't believe you just called Soubi, it told her.
"Ritsuka is going to get too far behind in school. I just want to be a good friend," Yuiko told herself, shaking her head fiercely. Her ears twitched with the rage of emotions. "It's not like I'm being pesky…right?"
Wrong.
"I don't need myself telling me I'm stupid!" Yuiko cried, leaping off her bead. She landed awkwardly on her hard wood floors. "AHH!" she screamed, falling onto her face. Crash…
"YUIKO!? ARE YOU OKAY?!" Yuiko's mother shouted up the stairs.
"YAH!" Yuiko shouted back. She picked herself slowly off the floor, rubbing her reddened forehead. Groaning, Yuiko flopped back onto the bed, burying her face in the pillow.
You're obsessed, Yuiko. Just face it, the voice told her.
"I'm just…," Yuiko began. But she stopped. In her heart…deep down…she did love Ritsuka. He was so kind and protective. At first, Ritsuka seemed to be solemn and solitary, but his caring nature soon shone through.
"I don't want to lose him. He promised me…before he left. He would always come back," Yuiko reasoned. No he didn't. He didn't actually say he was going to come back, the voice told her matter-of-factly.
Thoughtfully, Yuiko recalled the day that Ritsuka disappeared with Soubi. It was right after he had taken a trip to some special school…
----
"Ritsuka!" Yuiko called, catching up with her friend in the halls. She ran quickly over to him, pigtails bouncing from her long, clumsy stride. Slowing to a walk, she smiled down at Ritsuka. Being tall made her feel awkard…no guy was taller than her. Ritsuka was no exception, especially being small for his age anyway.
"Hi," Ritsuka responded. His voice was distant. Yuiko was instantly wary. She knew he had his moods that made him unresponsive and bitter.
"So, are you excited? We're presenting our projects for the class," Yuiko said happily. She tried to push her worry out of her voice.
"Not really," Ritsuka said. His eyes flickered over at Yuiko's face. In that instant, Yuiko saw something had happened to him. There was confusion and betrayal.
"So, what are you doing afterschool today?" Yuiko pressed.
"I don't know." The tone was still evasive and passive.
Ring! Ring! A cell phone ring startled Yuiko. She glanced around, looking for the source of the ring.
"Hello?"
Yuiko looked down at Ritsuka and saw that he had pulled his cell phone out of his bag. His face was immediately closed off to everything and everyone except what who was talking to him. His ears flattened down as the conversation continued. Mostly, the person on the other side did the talking, but every so often, Ritsuka would say "Yes" and "No" and "Maybe."
But then Yuiko caught Ritsuka glancing up at her. His eyes flickered up towards her, and back down again just as quickly. He began speaking rapidly and in a low murmur. Yuiko could barely make out what he was saying. It was something to do with Fighters and Sacrifices. What was that? A new game? That wouldn't explain his distant tone.
"So where are you?" Ritsuka's voice was suddenly clear and easy to parse. Yuiko tried to pretend that she wasn't eavesdropping, but her breathing suddenly grew shallow as she began to pay more attention to her best friend's dialogue.
"Mhmm. Mhmm. You're here? Now? Give me a minute then." Ritsuka clicked the End button and slipped the cell phone back into his bag.
"Who was that?" Yuiko asked shyly, her face blushing from embarrassment.
"Soubi," Ritsuka said, his voice filled with indecision. Suddenly, everything in the world had slowed, and it was just the two of them. Everyone else in the hallway had disappeared. "He says we had to leave. I don't know for how long…"
"What?" Yuiko asked. She could barely get the words out of her lips. Leaving? How could Ritsuka be leaving? And why was he leaving? So many questions thrashed through her mind. One couldn't get out.
"I'm leaving Yuiko. Now," Ritsuka repeated irritably.
"Leaving? But why?" Yuiko demanded, suddenly desperate for answers. It wasn't fair that Soubi was taking Ritsuka away. Ritsuka deserved to live like a normal boy, but every time Soubi was involved, something always changed in Ritsuka. Of course, Yuiko was glad for Soubi's presence. He protected Ritsuka from something…
"I can't say." His face was down cast and nervous. Something in his voice seemed tense and in a hurry. "Goodbye."
"Wait!" Yuiko cried, grabbing onto Ritsuka's arm. She was suddenly afraid that he was going to leave forever. Leave her. Leave her without a best friend. "You'll come back right? We're friends forever so you'll come back! Promise me that!"
"I—I—I can't," Ritsuka admitted. "I can't make any promises at the moment, Yuiko."
"You have to promise me," Yuiko insisted. She hoped Ritsuka could see the feelings that she had for him, so he wouldn't be so eager to leave her alone. "I won't let go if you don't."
"Yuiko," Ritsuka said firmly. "I have to leave. I will try as hard as I can to come back." With those words, he yanked away from his friend and ran down the hallway, towards the exit.
Yuiko cried out after her best friend, but he didn't turn around. Backtracking as quickly as possible with her long limbs, Yuiko made it to the front of the school building in time to see Ritsuka run out to the school gate. There was Soubi, standing there rigidly. They both looked so comfortable in each other's presence. But both of them had faces that reflected maturity and experience well beyond both of their ages.
----
"Okay, I admit it," Yuiko whispered. "I'm obsessed."
Good.
"And I'm in love with him."
Good.
"And I wish he had made a promise."
Beggars can't be choosers. The same applies with you, Yuiko.
"Yah," Yuiko conceded. "But I wish I wasn't so clueless."
