Chapter Twelve: Captive Hearts

Soubi struggled to keep his eyes open. It had been like this for as long as he could remember – weeks, perhaps – living in a dreamlike state, trying to focus, trying to separate reality from hallucination. Images of his past at Seven Voices mingled freely with those representing his greatest fears: Ritsuka lying dead on the floor of the temple, covered in blood; Ritsuka leaving him again and reuniting with Seimei; growing old knowing that Ritsuka would never return.

From time to time, food would appear in his cell. More often than not, the tray of bread, meat and cheese would remain untouched. Sometimes, although he did not remember eating, the tray would be emptied of its contents. In brief moments of lucidity, he recognized the sensation of hunger amidst the nausea and dizziness. He quickly lost track of time in the semi-darkness.

Sometimes, he would try to focus on his surroundings, trying to claw his way out from the depths of his mind. Ritsuka would come – a thought that to Soubi was both a source of hope and gnawing fear. He wanted to protect Ritsuka; he feared for his safety. He would not allow them to hurt Ritsuka. He would die first.

My Ritsuka.

He had never been sure what had attracted him most to Ritsuka. At first, it was Ritsuka's child's vulnerability at the loss of Seimei. Ritsuka's pain had mirrored his own for, although Soubi could never truly say he had loved Seimei, Soubi could never deny that he had needed Seimei. As Seimei's fighter, Soubi had found a purpose – something that had saved him from the pain of losing Ritsu. Later, Soubi had found himself drawn to the strength of the young boy who, in spite of his mother's abuse, had found room in his heart to love her.

We're more alike than we seem, thought Soubi, in a rare moment of lucidity. And now…

Now, Ritsuka had come back to him, although Soubi knew he hadn't deserved it. There had been no one since Ritsu who had made Soubi feel safe and loved. No one until he had met Ritsuka. And he had fallen hard, more so since Ritsuka had returned to claim him as his fighter. And still, after so many years, there had been nothing more than a few kisses, claimed to steel himself for battle, to bond them together. But now, Soubi's drug fogged mind imagined far more…

You have no right. He has his life to live. You cannot do to him what Ritsu did to your mother. When this is over, you will have to let him go. For good.


Ritsuka, Kio, Youji and Natsuo arrived in Sapporo early in the morning, having taken the ferry from the main island rather than flying.

"I don't like this, Ritsuka," said Youji, as Ritsuka hailed a taxi at the waterfront. "You shouldn't be going there alone."

"They want me, Youji," Ritsuka replied. "They're not going to kill me. They took Soubi because they wanted me to come after him. We've been through this a dozen times - you three know what you have to do."

Kio smiled at Ritsuka and put his arm on Youji's shoulder. "Come, boys," he said lightly. "We've got to get ready. Ritsuka will be fine."

Ritsuka looked at Kio and mouthed, "Thank you," before he climbed into the cab. Once inside, he breathed a sigh of relief – much as he had enjoyed the company, he had been more concerned for their safety than his. He still held out hope that he would not need their help later; that he would be able to get Soubi out by himself, without anyone else's involvement.


The taxi dropped Ritsuka off about an hour later at the foothills of Soranumadake, a small mountain overlooking several marshy lakes outside Sapporo. Ritsuka, who had never been to Hokkaido before, marveled at the beauty of the place, silently wishing he could find the heart to enjoy it. It was slightly cooler here than in Tokyo, and he was thankful for the sweatshirt Kio had lent him.

The school Nagisa had described was old and reminded Ritsuka of Seven Voices. The traditional style buildings were dark and somber, and Ritsuka almost expected to be greeted at the front entrance by an elderly servant wearing traditional Japanese dress and wooden geta. To his surprise, however, he was met by no one, instead walking through the gates towards what appeared to be the main entrance of the building, unimpeded.

Am I just supposed to walk up to the door and knock? he wondered silently, climbing the large steps to the doorway. It seemed strange; he had imagined more of a welcoming party – but then again, this was not some action movie, he reminded himself. They've been expecting me, he thought, and they know I won't do anything to risk Soubi's safety.

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He waited for several minutes, and he wondered if Nagisa had been mistaken, or if perhaps Septimal Moon had moved its headquarters elsewhere. Then, finally, one of the large carved doors swung slowly open. But it was no servant who stood in the entrance, it was a man, vaguely familiar in appearance, blond haired, with deep green eyes.

"Welcome, Aoyagi Ritsuka," said the man amiably. "We've been expecting you."

"There were less dramatic ways of getting my attention," Ritsuka said as he narrowed his eyes.

"I apologize for our methods, Aoyagi-kun," the man replied with a smile, "but I hardly think a formal invitation would have been sufficient in this case. You had already made it quite clear to your brother that you had no interest in what we had to offer you, although I understand that Seimei-kun had little opportunity to explain."

"Maybe if he hadn't nearly killed me," Ritsuka replied, "I'd have had more time to consider his proposal."

"Indeed," said the man, with a hint of smile. "I was quite pleased to hear you had survived. It would have been a real loss if you had died."

Ritsuka said nothing.

"But I forget my manners," the man said, gesturing to Ritsuka to enter. "My name is Minami Sora."

"Minami?" Ritsuka repeated.

"Indeed," replied Sora. "My brother is Minami Ritsu. I heard you trained with him at Seven Voices."

"You seem to know a lot," Ritsuka said, wondering how much Septimal Moon knew, and how they had come upon that knowledge. Was there a spy at Seven Voices?

"Not as much as I would wish," Sora answered, leading Ritsuka into a large lobby area. The floors were a deep, aged wood, the walls a slightly lighter shade. The décor was sparse and quite old. It reminded Ritsuka more of a museum than an active school.

"Where is Soubi?" Ritsuka demanded, tired of the niceties.

"He is here," replied Sora. "I will take you to him."

"What do you want from me?"

"We can speak of that later, Aoyagi-kun," Sora replied. "I know you will want to see him for yourself, before you will be willing to hear what we have to say."

"Why would you assume that I'd ever be willing to hear it?" Ritsuka asked.

"I will let you decide that for yourself," Sora answered simply. He gestured to a small doorway at the end of the hallway. From what Ritsuka could see out the windows, they were at the back of the building now. Sora opened the door to reveal a set of long steps downwards. The walls at the sides of the stairs were solid rock.

"The main facility here is underground," Sora explained, noting Ritsuka's look of surprise. "During the Second World War, this building was meant to house government officials in the event of an attack. It has served our purposes quite well."

"What purposes?" Ritsuka asked, as they descended several levels.

"Enlightenment," Sora replied, with a smile. "The expansion of thought and the rise of the spellmasters. But I will tell you more about Septimal Moon after you have been reunited with your beloved Soubi-kun."

This last comment disturbed Ritsuka far more than Sora's knowledge of Seven Voices. He felt almost violated, as if Sora could somehow see into his mind, understand his deeply conflicted feelings for Soubi. Even a spy would not be privy to what Ritsuka had in his heart. No, this was something far more frightening. Ritsuka forced himself to push these thoughts aside, as they continued to move further downwards, and daylight was replaced by darkness.

After several more minutes they reached the bottom of the steps, which opened up onto a roughly cut passageway. At times, he thought he had heard voices, but they seemed distant, and could not make out what they were saying. Here and there they passed by doors, some of which were open. Inside, Ritsuka could see sparely furnished rooms which reminded him of the dormitories at Seven Voices.

"A rival school, then?" Ritsuka wondered. "But to what end?" So far, Sora had only spoken in vague terms and near riddles, which only served to make Ritsuka more concerned for Soubi's safety and his own.

They reached the end of the hallway in front of a lone door – a dead end, actually, where the passage terminated in solid rock. The lights were even dimmer now, and Ritsuka was vaguely reminded of a dungeon from a fairy tale his mother had once told him.

Sora turned back to him and smiled. "I will leave you two for now," he said, taking a magnetic card from his pocket and swiping it on a reader mounted beside the door. The lock on the door made an audible clicking sound. Sora opened the door to reveal a dark room, then motioned for Ritsuka to enter. "Don't worry," he said with a slight smile, "I'll be back tomorrow morning for you. Someone will bring you dinner in the meantime."


Ritsuka walked into the room and Sora shut the door behind him. Ritsuka stood for a moment, listening for Sora's steps on the stone floor. His eyes had begun to adjust to the near darkness, and he walked into the center of the room, which was far larger than Ritsuka had realized. A small bed was pushed up against one of the walls and, next to it, a table. On the table was a tray of food, untouched. Soubi was not on the bed.

"Soubi?"

There was no answer. Ritsuka allowed himself another minute for his eyes to adjust, then began to walk the perimeter of the room carefully. His heart was pounding. Could Sora have just wanted to imprison him? Was Soubi really here? He shook his head, realizing that Sora could have killed him at any time, and he would have been hard pressed to have defended himself. No. Soubi was here, somewhere in the darkness.

Finally, after several minutes, he saw a shadow in the far corner of the room.

"Soubi?" Ritsuka's eyes widened in fear as he saw the still figure on the floor. He ran over to it and dropped to his knees. A tiny sliver of light filtered into the dark cell from the hallway, and Ritsuka moved several inches over so as not to block it. His hand went automatically to the tangled mat of blond hair, brushing it out of the other man's face. What he saw in the dim light made his heart pound madly in his chest. Soubi's face was battered and bruised – a myriad number of injuries, some healing, others clearly freshly inflicted. His shaking hand met Soubi's chest and, once he realized that Soubi's heart was beating strongly and he could feet the rise and fall of Soubi's breath, Ritsuka found he could breathe once more.

Why did they do this to you, Soubi? he wondered silently, his heart aching. If only I had gotten here sooner…

Slowly, gingerly, Ritsuka used his hands to assess the extent of Soubi's injuries. It became quickly apparent that none of the injuries were life-threatening. The most disturbing discovery, however, was not the obvious bruises, but the tiny puncture marks Ritsuka found on Soubi's arms. Scores of them.

They've been drugging him, he thought, horrified. But why? The answer came rather quickly: Sora did not want to risk leaving Soubi's abilities intact. Ritsuka had little doubt that Soubi could escape from this prison if he had his wits about him. Sora, no doubt, understood this as well.

Ritsuka lifted Soubi's head and gently placed it in his lap. He absentmindedly continued to stroke Soubi's hair, trying to gather his thoughts. "Soubi," he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

Soubi stirred in Ritsuka's arms.

"Soubi?" Ritsuka whispered.

Soubi struggled to open his eyes, succeeding only in part. "Ritsuka?" he said, his voice hoarse, barely audible.

Ritsuka smiled and kissed Soubi gently on the forehead. "Thank God."

"Soubi," Ritsuka said, "you had me so worried."

"You shouldn't have come," Soubi whispered, although Ritsuka saw a hint of a smile on Soubi's face and knew the other man was pleased to see him.

"There are plenty of things you think I shouldn't do," Ritsuka said gently. "That's never stopped me before."

"No," said Soubi, his voice slightly stronger now, "I suppose not." His eyes began to close again. "But you must leave now, while you still can."

"You're in no condition to go anywhere," Ritsuka replied, ignoring the implication that he leave Soubi behind. "They have no intention of killing either of us…yet."

Soubi smiled stupidly upwards at Ritsuka, his expression childlike, simple. Soubi's blue eyes looked dull and glassy, and Ritsuka felt something much like pain rise in his chest. Pain, and guilt.

"Sora allowed me to see Soubi…no, he wanted me to see Soubi as a warning to me of what will happen to both of us if I don't cooperate. He knows Soubi will obey my orders," thought Ritsuka. Then, another thought, "Seimei must have told Sora what happened in Ueno Park. Sora must know Soubi no longer will obey Seimei."

"They wanted you to come, Ritsuka."

"I know," Ritsuka said, helping Soubi to sit up against the stone wall.

Once he was sure that Soubi would not tumble over, Ritsuka stood up. "I'm going to get you some water, Soubi." A minute later, he was again by Soubi's side, helping Soubi drink. "Not too fast," Ritsuka added, with a smile.

"This is quite a change of roles," Soubi said. His speech was slow and slightly slurred.

"You need someone to take care of you sometimes, you know," Ritsuka chastised kindly, as he put the empty glass down and proceeded to brush the hair out of Soubi's eyes. In the light from the doorway, Ritsuka could see that Soubi's once bright blue eyes were now a shade of dull gray. He bit his tongue to keep the tears at bay. "This is my fault," he thought bitterly.

"You must escape," Soubi said, struggling to focus on Ritsuka's face.

"We came here to bring you back, Soubi," Ritsuka said determinedly, "we aren't leaving without you."

"We?"

"Kio, Youji and Natsuo are waiting for us in Sapporo," Ritsuka explained.

"Sapporo?" Soubi repeated, clearly surprised at the revelation. "I didn't realize they had taken me so far away."

"When's the last time you ate anything?" Ritsuka asked, looking with concern at Soubi's face, which was deathly pale.

"I'm not sure," Soubi replied. "I'm not really sure how long I've been here. It all just runs together." He smiled back at Ritsuka, who frowned.

"You need to eat, Soubi," Ritsuka said, standing up and walking over to the table. He picked up the tray of food and laid it down on the floor next to Soubi, then sat back down. He picked up the napkin from the tray and poured a bit of water from the carafe onto it. He gently began to wipe Soubi's face of the dried blood and dirt from the floor.

"Does it hurt?" Ritsuka asked, studying Soubi intently.

Soubi smiled. "Not anymore," he said dreamily.

Ritsuka laughed softly. "I kind of like you like this, Soubi," Ritsuka said, picking up a piece of bread and tearing off a small piece and putting it to Soubi's lips.

"Like what?" Soubi murmured as he chewed the bread slowly.

"Soft and fuzzy," Ritsuka said, with a grin. This comment drew a lopsided grin from Soubi who looked sleepily back at Ritsuka.

Ritsuka's eyes were wide with emotion; he was overcome with relief at having found Soubi safe. Instinctively, he reached for Soubi's face, running his fingers gently over the bruised skin. He paused briefly at Soubi's lips, transfixed there. Soubi looked at Ritsuka as if trying to understand. He reached for Ritsuka's hand and kissed it.

"You came back for me again," Soubi said, sighing deeply and releasing Ritsuka's hand. "But you shouldn't have, you know," he added, softly.

Ritsuka fought back tears and stroked Soubi's angular chin. "You're a damn fool, Soubi," Ritsuka said, frowning now. "Did you really think I would let you go again?"

"Of course," Soubi replied. "And you should let me go, Ritsuka. You should not be risking your safety for me."

"Dammit, Soubi," Ritsuka nearly shouted. "You don't understand anything, do you?"

Soubi stared at Ritsuka. "What have you suffered, Soubi," wondered Ritsuka sadly, "that you believe you don't deserve to be loved?" His heart ached to make Soubi understand.

This time, Ritsuka could not hold back his tears. He didn't care. He reached for Soubi and pulled him close, stroking his hair, wishing Soubi could hear his thoughts and understand how much Soubi meant to him. Leaving Soubi here alone would be like leaving a part of himself behind; he could no more leave Soubi and flee than he could cut off his right arm.

"Soubi," he whispered, trying to master the flood of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. "How can I make you understand?" He put his hands to Soubi's face and just looked into Soubi's blue eyes for a minute. He saw both surprise and confusion there.

"Please," Ritsuka said finally. "Let me show you…" Startled, he realized his hands were trembling. Before when he had told Soubi he loved him, it had been difficult, but he had understood that the connection between the two of them had to be reforged. But now… Now, the feelings ran deeper, the risk was greater.

Ritsuka swallowed hard and brought his lips to meet Soubi's. Soubi's expression of surprise intensified, as Ritsuka felt the familiar hunger that had grown over the past few months rise from within his soul.

At first, Soubi seemed to hesitate, as if overwhelmed himself by Ritsuka's gesture. But then, slowly, he began to respond to Ritsuka's demand, and Ritsuka felt Soubi's lips part as the kiss deepened. Ritsuka's heart beat wildly in his chest, and he lost all track of where he was. The only thing that mattered was Soubi, the taste of his mouth, the musky scent of him, the way his body felt in his arms.

"I love you, Soubi," thought Ritsuka desperately.

"Ritsuka," murmured Soubi faintly.

Ritsuka pulled away, suddenly conscious of the fact that Soubi was weak, vulnerable, unable to choose for himself. "Oh, God," thought Ritsuka, "am I like Ritsu? Taking advantage of his pain?" The thought terrified him.

"I'm sorry," Ritsuka said, releasing Soubi and turning back to look at the tray of food. He picked up a piece of cheese and, without looking into Soubi's eyes, brought it to Soubi's lips – the same lips that moments before he had so eagerly hungered for. "You're weak, hungry. I shouldn't have…"

"Shouldn't have…?" Soubi whispered. "No. Should have."

But Ritsuka still could not look at Soubi, instead concentrating far too much on the food so as not to be tempted to kiss Soubi once more. "I'm so sorry, Soubi," Ritsuka thought sadly. "I can't seem to do anything right, can I?"

A half hour later the tray of food was empty, and Soubi's head was once more on Ritsuka's lap, his eyes closed. "I love you Ritsuka," Soubi said, his voice thick with sleep.


Author's Note: Yes, finally! Fluffiness! No limes yet –sorry, I just couldn't see that happening while Soubi is in a drug-induced coma and they are both imprisoned in a cell (lol, that WOULD be interesting, wouldn't it, though?). But yes, this story is supposed to be as realistic as possible, so I've restrained myself. Still, this chapter does mark the beginning of the "burn" in "slow burn." XD Plenty more to come – I promise! -Lex