Just as the last two, this chapter has been slightly revised.

Disclaimer: I don't own Loveless because someone else does. But you know, if they weren't around...

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Chapter 3

Outside, the sun was setting and the cloudless sky was a mix of orange and pink.

Soubi sat in a chair and watched the small boy before him, just as he had done since the day before.

Ritsuka's chest rose and fell as he lay in the hospital bed. There was a cast on his left arm, another bandage on his cheek- to add to the one that was already there, a bandage around his head and dozens of bruises all over his frail body.

Even with all of that, he still looks beautiful...

The fighter looked up as he heard a groan.

"Soubi..." Ritsuka breathed before he even opened his eyes. The flaxen-blond put his hand over Ritsuka's smaller one. "I'm here."

The boy smiled meekly, despite his extensive injuries, and opened his eyes.

"Ritsuka, why didn't you tell me what was happening?" Soubi asked.

Ritsuka's smile faded, he'd hoped that he wouldn't have to explain things so soon. For once, he looked Soubi right in the eye."I didn't want to worry you..." He admitted quietly, tears welling up in his eyes.

The man leaned down and kissed him on the lips. "Silly child, I worry about you already."

"I'm not a child." Ritsuka stated, as defiantly as ever.

"Now tell me, where did those scars on your wrists come from?" Soubi asked, fearing that he already knew the answer.

This time, Ritsuka looked away from him.

"Ritsuka, did you hurt yourself?" Soubi questioned gently.

Tears flowed from his eyes as he slowly nodded his head. Soubi took his quivering chin in his hand wiped away the tears. He then let it rest on the boy's heated cheek.

Ritsuka somehow felt at fault.

After Semei died and I lost my memories, I didn't want to live. Not knowing who you are, wondering what will happen if the person whose body you're in comes back...

"I'm weak." He stated plainly.

"No, Ritsuka, you're very strong, but you are still very young, no matter how mature or self-reliant you think you are. It's easier to go through these things with someone there to help you... someone that cares about you." Soubi assured him.

Ritsuka leaned into the older man's hand and closed his eyes. Soubi kissed his forehead and smiled even though the child was too close to sleep to even notice.

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A few hours later, Soubi awoke. It was dark now and he wondered briefly what time it was. He remembered that he had fallen asleep beside Ritsuka.

Sitting up, he noticed the wonderful way that the moonlight shone down upon the face of the one he loved. The entirety of it was lit in a heavenly glow, a faint blush colored his pale cheeks with a rosy tint, his fever still present. His eyelids moved every now and then.

What could he be dreaming of?...

Soubi gazed down at the boy with a look that could only be described as pure love. He reluctantly stood (as he didn't want to leave the boy's side) and decided that he'd go and get drinks.

Before leaving, he placed a light kiss on peach lips.

He shut the door as quietly as possible and walked out into the bright white hospital hallway. Looking at a clock on the wall, he saw that it was 10:37.

How odd it was, he thought, that in the time that he'd been here, no one had asked him to leave.

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Soon he came back to Ritsuka's room holding a coffee in one hand, and a bottle of apple juice in the other. Such contrasting beverages...much like the people who were to drink them.

He sat back down and watched Ritsuka some more, he could never get enough of just watching that sweet boy.

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The next morning, Ritsuka woke up with a throbbing headache. The pain-killers had helped quite a bit, but he was still in some pain. He turned slowly and faced a pair of elegant blue eyes.

"Good morning, Ritsuka." Soubi said, brushing a stray piece of dark hair out of his young sacrifice's face.

"Here, I brought you some breakfast." He said, as he moved a tray toward his bedside. The meal consisted of: eggs, orange juice, a bowl of cereal, toast, milk, an apple and two aspirin.

"I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got everything. I know you need your strength." Soubi stated.

"This is great, it's not like normal hospital food at all." Ritsuka replied with a small smile. "I know, I went out and bought it for you at a little store down the street. Well, everything but the eggs, they are from the hospital, so be careful." The man said with a smirk.

A hint of worry crossed the fighter's face when Ritsuka reached for the aspirin, only to wince in pain. Taking the glass of orange juice, he swallowed them.

"By the way Soubi, what time is it?"

"A little past time you'd be getting out of school."

That's right, it's Wednesday. I wonder if anyone even noticed that I wasn't in school...

Just then, there was a knock at the door to his room.

"Ritsuka-kun, it's Yuiko and Yayoi-kun, can we come in?" Soubi stood and opened the door, knowing that a visit from his friends would make Ritsuka feel better.

As soon as Yuiko entered the room and saw what bad shape her friend was in, she rushed over to hug him.

Soubi stopped her, "Be careful." He said quietly. She understood and decided to stand next to him instead.

"We brought you gifts." She said, placing a rather large, brown teddy bear at the foot of his bed.

Yayoi placed a bouquet of flowers in a vase on the window sill.

Ritsuka smiled, "Thank you both."

Yuiko frowned, looking at his bandages. "Does it hurt?" She asked, worried. "No, not really." He lied, the last thing he needed was to make Yuiko sad.

Yuiko shook her head causing her pink pigtails to sway. "Yui- I want you to get better soon, Ritsuka-kun!" She said, her eyes growing teary.

Yayoi became jealous, as usual, at this sign of affection.

Soubi stood against the wall across from the bed, watching as the three talked about what had gone on in school that day, what the homework was about (which they had brought for him), etc.

This gave him time to think.

How had he not realized what was going on all this time?

Ritsuka was in pain this whole time, and I don't think that I ever realized. I saw the occasional bandage, but he's a boy (granted not a normal one) but I thought that maybe he got them from sports or perhaps from a battle, or he was just being clumsy. How could I have been so blind, especially after what I've been through? But that woman...she's his mother

He clenched his fist, he was growing angry again.

Just one order, that's all he needed, to do away with that problem for good. He knew that Ritsuka would never have that, though.

How am I going to tell him? How will he react? He never spoke about his mother, badly or otherwise, but how could he not hate her after all that she's done to him?...

He'd talked to Ritsuka's doctorearlier that day...

Flashback

"Mr...?" The doctor started. "Agatsuma Soubi, or just Soubi." The doctor nodded.

"Agatsuma-san, I checked the patient's-"

"Ritsuka." Soubi quickly corrected him. His sacrifice wasn't just any patient.

"Ritsuka-kun's X-rays and they worry me a little. He has old injuries, many that seemed to have healed on their own, some were treated. His immune system is weak, probably due to the fact that he's malnourished. It's nothing too serious, but it could escalate to a more serious state. My point is that he needs someone to take better care of him, as you may be aware, his mother is incapable of doing so and he has no other relatives that we can find.

He's just a child and we don't want to put him into foster care, there are so many complications in his case, and we don't want to put him through any more unnecessary obstacles. Would you be willing to help? He seems to be attached to you already and he's old enough to not be overly dependent. He really doesn't appear to have anyone else..."

If the doctor would have stopped trying to convince Soubi for a second, he would have noticed the glint of happiness in the man's eyes.

"Of course, it would be no trouble at all." Soubi said, finally stopping the doctor in his rambling.

"Are you sure? I recall you mentioning that you're in college, do you think that you're capable of caring for a child?" The doctor, who had been trying to convince him just a moment ago, now seemed unsure.

It's fine, I'll take care of him. Don't worry doctor, he'll be in good hands." Soubi assured him with a kind smile.

"Very well then, I'll keep you informed of his condition." The doctor said and walked away.

He finally had the doctor convinced, he wondered what Ritsuka would say. Would he comply and live with him? Or would he fight him and try to stay with his mother?...

End flashback

The blond looked up as he heard the three saying their goodbyes. He'd been so deep in thought that he hadn't realized over forty minutes had past.

"See you tomorrow Ritsuka-kun!"Yuiko said as she and Yayoi walked out of the room.

Once the door was closed, Ritsuka spoke, "What were you thinking about?" "What do you mean?" The older man asked, feigning confusion.

"You looked spaced out the whole time they were here. I was just wondering what were you thinking about."Ritsuka replied.

Soubi sighed, he knew that he would have to tell him sooner or later, and later was a very bad idea. He walked over, moved the soft teddy bear and sat on the edge of the hospital bed. His face was solemn and it worried Ritsuka a bit.

"I love you Ritsuka, you know that right?" He didn't expect an answer and he didn't receive one, just a slightly perplexed look. (A very cute one at that.)

Soubi placed a hand on the boy's good arm. "Ritsuka, you know that what you mother did to you was wrong, right? Well, when adults do things like that, they need to be punished." He explained.

Why was Soubi speaking to him as if he were a child? What was going on?

"Soubi, stop talking to me like that." Ritsuka said suddenly. "Like what?" Soubi questioned.

"Like I'm just some little kid."

Soubi regarded him for a moment, then nodded. "You're right, you're not so much of a child anymore." He admitted, more to himself than to Ritsuka.

He continued, "Your mother was... taken away. I explained all that I had seen and they saw what she did to you. She can't take care of you anymore, Ritsuka, or at least not for a long time. She needs to be treated, to learn that, that is no way for a mother to behave and understand that you've changed, as well as help rehabilitate her. Do you understand?"

Ritsuka nodded, he wasn't certain what it was that he was getting at though.

"Since there's no one else to take care of you, and they don't want to put you into foster care...they asked me to be your legal guardian, that way, you'd live with me. Of course there are papers to sign and some lengthy processes to go through, but in the end, it's your choice to make."

Here, he paused and looked deep into Ritsuka's violet eyes. "I want to know if that's alright with you. I love you very much and I would love for you to remain with me, but it's not completely my choice. If you really don't want to stay with me, you don't have to."

With those words, Ritsuka could see the sadness in the older man's eyes.

The doctors were right though, there was no where else for him to go.

Foster care meant that he would be tossed about from place to place, never truly being cared about. If the person didn't like him, they could just send him back, like some unwanted dinner at a fancy restaurant...

No.

He didn't want that, he cared about Soubi and Soubi cared about him, he knew that he would keep him safe and take good care of him. He already laid his life down for him during their battles, normal tasks would be easy for him to handle.

Ritsuka placed his right hand over Soubi's and smiled. "I'll stay with you."

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I hope you liked it, please review!

P.S.- You may have realized that I didn't mention his dad when the doctor said there were no relatives. In the manga, his dad is there, but not often and I just thought that I'd cut him out entirely. Make up your own reason for why he's not there...maybe he's dead.

P.P.S.- I have a lemon that's sort of on the back-burner, if you'd like me to put in later, then tell me.