Two: Name
Featuring: Loveless
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"I want to change my name."
Watanuki who was mending a torn skirt in the veranda looked up from what he was doing. His mistress was sitting with a guest in the sitting room. He couldn't help but stare at the guest because he'd never seen a more beautiful man in his life.
The seventeen-year-old young man was tall with broad shoulders, a slim waist and fine features. His eyes were full of stories. Watanuki immediately sensed the darkness that lurked within him.
Yuuko stretched out in her red chaise lounge as though she couldn't care if the young men could see the endless stretch of her legs and the bits of creamy white skin peeking from her dress's neckline. In fact, she relished the attention.
She wore red today. (That was her favorite color, he thought.) It contrasted starkly with her snow white skin, reddish brown eyes and very black hair.
Mokona was steadily consuming all of the snacks that Watanuki had prepared. The young man didn't even blink at the strange creature.
Watanuki rolled his eyes and returned to his sewing. Their guest had arrived through the strange door. Maru and Moro had happily jumped at the opportunity to mingle with a handsome seventeen-year-old young man with clear amber eyes and gray hair.
"Your name," Yuuko repeated lazily. "You want to change it?"
The black-haired boy remembered that the young man said that his name was Agamatsu Soubi. He frowned. Why would he want Yuuko to change it when he could just go to City Hall and do it there?
As far as he knew, names affected everything. It was written from birth certificates to permanent records. It's what differentiated a person from thousands of other people. It's what gave a person an identity. Changing a name was like changing a life.
"Are you sure?" Yuuko asked as she watched her guest pour sake for her.
"Yes," Soubi said firmly.
"The price will be your necklace." The dark-haired woman's face turned serious. She pointed to the bandages wrapped around his neck. Her eyes held his gaze.
"That's too much," was the young man's amused reply. "I thought you took money."
"I take payment in the form of something with the same value," she said slowly. "I only take anything of equivalent value. If I don't, there will be imbalance. To change your name, you must give that up."
Soubi shrugged. He stubbed his cigarette on the ash tray, patted Mokona on the head and got up. His eyes swept through Yuuko before he looked away. "Thank you for your time. I'll leave now."
Watanuki watched Yuuko's guest leave. She didn't even make a move to stop him. Sighing, he got up. There will be no work done if she wouldn't go after him. After all, the visits happened because they had to.
He untied the white apron and kerchief before depositing them in the kitchen. That was his unofficial uniform. When he walked past the sitting room, he heard Yuuko call him.
"Yes?" he asked, slightly curious.
"He isn't from this world," Yuuko reminded him. "If he doesn't pass through this portal here, he can't ever go back. It closes at sunset. Remember that."
"What?!"
Yuuko and Mokona exchanged amused looks. She raised her glass and they both drank up.
oOoOoOo
Watanuki followed Soubi out into the cold front yard. It was winter. He couldn't help but notice that the other boy was wearing clothes that weren't that suited to the weather. Worried, he approached him.
"Hello," he said politely "I'm a part-timer here. You can call me Watanuki."
Soubi stared at him before nodding. He reached into his pocket for a cigarette and lit it. Somehow it brought back the flush in his cheeks. He wore a green long-sleeved shirt and jeans. "Agamatsu Soubi." After a moment, he asked. "Where is this place?"
"Tokyo," Watanuki replied innocently.
"Ah," Soubi nodded. "She's a pretty annoying woman, isn't she?"
Watanuki smiled uneasily. He never knew when Yuuko might be eavesdropping. "She's not at all that bad."
"I want to change my name for someone I love," the silver-haired young man murmured as he looked up at the sky with the same color of his hair. "I want to belong to him."
An image flashed into his mind. The small, fragile and beautiful Aoyagi Ritsuka stared at him with those large and innocent eyes. He was Loveless, his Sacrifice and Master. There was nothing that he wanted more.
Soubi was pulled out of his reverie when he felt a hand on his arm. There was an understanding smile on Watanuki's face. He was shocked when he heard him say, "If you love someone new, give him all you've got."
The silver-haired man's hand immediately went up to his neck. Deep beneath the flimsy bandages were scars that extended past beyond skin and bone. That was the proof of his loyalty to a previous master. That was what held him still.
He knew the joy and pain of service. He cherished the memories of being used and abused by Aoyagi Seimei. There was no question on whether or not he should love such a twisted individual. Soubi, the perfect Fighter and perfect man, gave himself wholly in the service of Seimei.
So letting go of the necklace… of the scars… it was too much to bear.
Soubi cannot imagine a world where he couldn't love Seimei or be his Beloved again. But true enough, Seimei had replaced him. Seimei had discarded him. Their chain was broken. The links lay destroyed.
He cannot love him anymore.
The image flashed again. A happier and better Ritsuka who would love him back… Ritsuka craved love just as he did… He would never hurt- though it was mingled with the sweetest pleasures- or cry again.
Maybe he should go after his wish. He'd had enough of selflessness. Ritsuka would be pleased that he recovered enough of himself to try and be selfish…
Watanuki smiled and pretended not to see when tears formed in Soubi's eyes.
oOoOoOo
"Your wish," Yuuko said as she waved a lazy hand in the air. "I'll grant for a fair price."
The scars on Soubi's neck and his true name separated from him. The beautiful but grotesque choker engraved deeply into the skin with the crude words held their gaze.
Watanuki had to admire the endurance and strength that the seventeen-year-old showed though it must have hurt. The amber eyes watered but no tears fell. For a moment, the scars floated in the air before it was put away into a small black lacquer box on Maru's hand.
Watanuki and Mokona stared at the smooth skin on his neck that was left behind.
"You're not Beloved anymore," Yuuko said as Watanuki refilled her cup. "You are Blank again. Your wish is granted."
Soubi touched his neck.
He would never bleed in battle again. He would never share Seimei's name or beg for his love. For the first time in many years, Soubi was finally free.
"Is it enough?" Watanuki asked anxiously.
Mokona jumped up, laughing. "Your neck is smooth!"
"Thank you," Soubi murmured, head bowed "thank you very much."
The silver-haired young man got up and walked towards the mysterious door. He took the knob and twisted it. It swung open. The scent of cherry blossoms and summer heat filled the room and aroused their longing.
Soubi turned around and smiled.
It transformed him into the most beautiful man alive.
He stepped into the doorway. They heard an excited voice calling –"You came back! Where were you?"- And saw a pair of dog's ears and a tail. A young boy with black hair and wide eyes saw them before the door swung shut.
"Do you think he'll be all right?" Watanuki asked, slightly worried. He had come to like the queer but fascinating Soubi. "Do you think that boy will take him in?"
"He'll have what he wants." Yuuko answered with a shrewd smile. Her reddish-brown eyes twinkled. "He'll be Loveless now."
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