Once Riku had rummaged through Ritsukas' drawers and found something to wear, he made his way into the living room with a pout, where Soubi was waiting not so patiently.
"You ready to go?"
"Yeah yeah."
"Good. Let's get going."
"Fine." The boy's attitude already put Soubi at his limit of patience, so he suddenly stopped just before the door and turned to glare fiercely into the boy's eyes.
"Listen…I am in no mood for you today. I want to make it perfectly clear that you need to keep your attitude in check when we go to see the doctor."
"And if I don't?" Soubi then leaned down to be closer to eye level with the boy before replying in a cool but fiery tone.
"I've told you before, just because I won't hurt Ritsuka, doesn't mean that I won't hurt you." This gave the boy a slight chill as he replying in an aloof tone.
"Alright alright, fine."
Soubi then led the way out of their home and into the car with Riku following sluggishly behind. Once Riku got into the car, Soubi shot him one last suspicious glare before starting the car and pulling out of the driveway. The ride to the spunky doctors' office was relatively short, but filled with an eerie and tense silence, as neither party was entirely thrilled with their current situation. Soubi, more than Riku, was very relieved when they pulled into the small parking lot of the tall office building. As soon as the car came to a stop, Soubi made a quick exit before walking around to open the passenger side door. Soubi glared down at the boy still seated in the car with a disapproving frown until Riku finally looked up at him with big puppy dog eyes.
"Soubi please don't make me do this…" The boy's whining tone only annoyed Soubi further.
"You're doing this whether you like it or not. This is your mess and I need you to clean it up so that I can get Ritsuka back. Now get going."
Riku let out a long defeated sigh before finally hauling himself out of the car. This time around Soubi made sure to let Riku walk in front of him as they made their way up to the door, not entirely trusting that he wouldn't try to make a break for it. Luckily, they both made it inside, down a few hallways and up to the receptionist's desk of the doctor's office. Riku stood quietly at the counter with arms crossed until Soubi gave him a gentle nudge with his elbow.
"Excuse me lady, I need to see the good doctor." The young woman at the desk looked up with wide eyes, caught in a mixture of surprise and annoyance at the boy's attitude. She gave a disapproving glare over the rim of her glasses before replying in an annoyed and tense tone.
"And you are?"
"Rik- er…Ritsuka. Aoyagi Ritsuka." The woman then quietly stood from her place before replying in a much more calm and even tone.
"Wait right here , I'll go and see if she is available."
"Yeah great." Riku then felt a sharp jab in his back from the tall blonde and he begrudgingly corrected his behavior. "I mean, thank you." The woman then gave a small smile before disappearing behind the door. A few silent minutes passed in the waiting room before the woman appeared once again with a smile.
"She will see you now." Riku then began walking towards the door but was stopped by the sound of Soubi's voice addressing the receptionist.
"Would it be all right if I sat in this session?"
"I'm not sure, that is up to the doctor; but you're more than welcome to accompany him to her office and ask her."
"Thank you very much."
Riku and Soubi then made their way down the short hallway that led to the doctor's private office, where the door was already open. As soon as they entered the small room, the petite doctor stood from her chair before bowing graciously to her guests.
"Hello again Ritsuka. Will you be joining us today ?" Soubi gave a warm smile in reply while Riku crossed his arms once again in a silent pout.
"Would that be alright?"
"Of course. Please, have a seat." Riku and Soubi both sat down on the small couch while Dr. Katsuko sat back in her place in her chair with her legs crossed daintily. "So, how can I help you today Ritsuka?" Riku remained stubbornly silent so Soubi decided to step in.
"Well Dr. Katsuko, Riku…has something he'd like to say to you." The doctor then crossed her arms in surprise and embarrassment before speaking to the boy in the most professional tone she could muster.
"Riku? Is that true?" Riku was none too pleased about being talked to like a child and his scowl showed it clearly. He remained silent until Soubi shot him a fiery gaze that was finally enough to startle him into speaking.
"Fine…Listen…I'm sorry for the way I acted during our last session. It was inappropriate and I won't do it again. I came here today to ask for your help and I hope you can forgive my behavior." Soubi's eyes grew wide and the doctor's mouth hung slightly agape, both of them completely stunned at the level of courtesy and sincerity from the usually rash young boy. Once she recovered from the shock, the doctor was able to move forward with the session.
"Well I very much appreciate and accept your apology Riku. Now, what is it that is bothering you? I'll be happy to help if I can. " Riku then averted his gaze to the floor slightly, not being at all comfortable with the idea of accepting help from anyone for any reason.
"Well I can't find Ritsuka." The doctor seemed genuinely puzzled by this and was quick to question further.
"Can't find him?"
"Yeah…I've been here for a little over a day now. Ritsuka usually takes back over way before this long."
"Has he said anything about it? Is he upset maybe?"
"That's the thing…I haven't even heard from him. Usually I can hear him in my head and he can hear me but I haven't heard him. I even tried calling to him and I got nothing." Dr. Katsuko jotted a few things down in her notepad before looking back up at the pair with a puzzled expression.
"Hmm…that does seem out of place. Did you two do have a fight?"
"No…I mean…not really."
"Would you like to talk about it?"
"No! It's none of your business! Either of you!" The doctor could see that the situation was escalating and Riku's calm demeanor was very quickly fading. She realized that, taken the boy's natural attitude, he wouldn't be cooperative for long so she decided that it was best to work a little quicker.
"Ok, that's fine we don't have to talk about the fight; but could you tell me if it was a big fight? Something that might make Ritsuka upset or depressed?" Riku did his best to calm down before replying.
"No. It wasn't a big deal."
"Ok. Can I ask you and Mr. Agatsuma to think back to when the switch last took place and tell me if anything traumatic happened around that time? Any big decisions made? Altercations? Maybe even family trouble or final exams at school? Anything overly stressful." Almost immediately, Both Riku and Soubi's gazes shot to one another's with worried expressions as they knew of only one thing that happened in that time. Riku then looked back at the doctor with a grimace.
"Yeah…Ritsuka got in a fight after school. Do you think that be the cause of it?"
"He did? Well there is a strong possibility that a fight with a classmate might have a lot to with Ritsuka's disappearance."
"Well it was more of an argument and they weren't his classmates."
"Could you elaborate?"
"I don't really feel like it."
"Well Riku, this could be important. Could you please tell me more about what happened?" Soubi could now sense the tension filling the room as Riku fought back his naturally poor attitude and considering that he was now fairly certain of the cause of the problem, he decided it would be best in intervene.
"Actually Dr. Katsuko, I think you have been a great help but we really must go." The woman was clearly flustered by this, not being comfortable leaving Riku and Ritsuka in such a state.
"I'm sorry but I really don't think it's a good idea to stop the session short. This is a serious situation and I think it's best for Ritsuka to try and resolve it quickly."
"That won't be necessary. We can handle it from here." Soubi then glanced out of the corner of his eyes to see that Riku was now tapping his foot anxiously on the floor.
"Mr. Agatsuma, I understand that you are a busy person but Ritsuka's well-being my priority." Soubi then stood form his seat in an attempt to make his stance clear.
"I can take care of him just fine. We can reschedule for another day."
"But Ritsuka really-" The tension then finally snapped as Riku couldn't hold back his feelings of the situation anymore.
"Shut up! Both of you!" Riku then burst to his feet with both his fists clenched tight in frustration. "He said we have to go lady! Don't you listen?! I know that you make your money by the minute but damn woman, learn when enough is enough!" Soubi then tried his best to handle the situation as best he could.
"Riku! That's enough!"
"No! I'm sick of this! I don't understand how Ritsuka puts up with this shit!" Soubi's patience then ran out completely and picked the boy up off the floor from the collar of his shirt.
"Put me down!" He kicked and flailed for a short moment until he was out of breath.
"Are you done?" Riku then let out a defeated sigh as he nodded his head.
"Just put me down."
"Fine; but then we are leaving. Got it?" Soubi then set the boy back down on his feet.
"Yeah yeah…let's go already."
"I apologize for all this Dr. Katsuko.
"I-it's fine." Soubi then turned and bowed to the doctor before walking towards the door with Riku in toe. Just as they reached the frame of the door however, Riku stopped dead in his tracks before turning around and making a bee line towards the small doctor, stopping only inches from her. She was startled only for second but was given a deep chill upon hearing the boy's calm and angry voice.
"Listen here Doc…Let's get a few things perfectly clear: you are Ritsuka's doctor, not mine. You don't like me and I don't you and that's fine, but I don't like the way you are with Ritsuka and that's not fine. I don't like the way you treat him, the way you talk to him or the way you look at him. You are supposed to be a professional…but you take every chance you can to win your way into his heart and probably more. Well let me tell you something, it's never going to happen. Even if he didn't have Soubi or if you weren't incredibly old…you're not good enough for someone like Ritsuka. He would never be brave enough to turn down your advances so consider this your last warning."
The doctor could only stare on blankly in shock as Riku stormed out of the office, this time with Soubi's following closely behind. The two made their way back to the car in utter silence. It was only once they had both gotten in that Riku spoke once more.
"So…I'm guessing you have some great idea of what happened?" Soubi did his best to temporarily ignore the slightly terrifying outburst only moments ago, and answered calmly.
"I'm still not sure what happened…" Soubi then started the car before shifting his attitude and the entire atmosphere to a much darker one. "…But I know where we have to go to find out." Riku was a little scared by the blonde's dark and serious tone but did his best to keep his cool as the car rolled out of the parking lot.
"Yeah?"
"Yes."
"Great. Where to?" Soubi then shot a serious glare towards the boy in the passenger seat.
"To the academy. We have to see Ritsu." Riku was none too pleased by this answer and shot forward in his seat in anger.
"What?! Hell no! That guy is a total asshole Soubi!" The blonde still wasn't entirely sure how Ritsuka's condition and was slightly confused by his alter ego's knowledge.
"How do you know anything about Ritsu?"
"I know everything Ritsuka knows and he isn't totally clueless. He knows a lot more about Ritsu then you think."
"I see…."
"Look, let's just figure this out on our own. That guy is nothing but trouble."
"I know he is…but he might be the only one that can help me get Ritsuka back…that makes it worth it." Riku then crossed his arms in a pout before slumping back in his seat.
"Fine…but I'm not going to be polite this time."
"Fine. Just try not to cause too much trouble."
"No promises." Soubi let out a long sigh before accepting that that was as good as he was going to get from Riku.
The car ride to the academy was very long and very quiet, neither Soubi nor Riku having too much to say to each other even on a good day. It was almost an hour before the car finally rolled through the large iron gates of the campus and up to the large double doors in the front of the main building. Soubi put the car in park and switched it off and took in a deep breath before stepping out of the car with a very ominous eerie feeling. Riku followed behind as they made their up through the double and into the quiet and empty lobby. Soubi put on a determined face as he led the way down a few hallways that led to Ritsu's office. Once they reached his office, they both took a brief moment to quell their emotions before Soubi knocked gently on the door.
"Come in." The tall blonde took one last deep breath before pushing the door open and setting eyes on the tall slender man that had raised him most his life.
"Hello Sensei…" Ritsu gave a wide grin at the sight of his best student and he closed his small laptop before gesturing for them to come in.
"Soubi! Good to see you." Soubi then waited for Riku to take a few more steps before closing the door behind him. With the door closed, Riku found a corner of the room to stand in with his arms crossed while Soubi simply stood in his place close to the door. "And it's good to see you too Ritsuka."
"Fuck off."
"Oh! My my, I hope you don't talk to your Sentouki that way. That's no way for a young master to speak."
"I said…fuck off." Ritsu then turned his gaze over the frame of his glasses and back to Soubi.
"Well…how can I help you today Soubi? Or are you just here for a visit?"
"We need your help with something." Ritsu then cracked a wicked grin as he leaned back in his chair with his delicate fingers laced together in his lap.
"What is it that you need help with?"
"Well to make a long story short…Ritsuka has recently developed an alter ego, his name is Riku, and we have been dealing with it on our own just fine. Recently however, Riku took over and hasn't been able to switch back with Ritsuka and can't hear or talk to him like he normally can." The professor then leaned forward in his chair once more to rest his hands on his desk with an inquisitive grin.
"Really now? Well that is interesting. If I may, what was the original cause of the personality split?"
"We aren't sure."
"I see. The better question is why is it that this time his personality actually split and stayed that way instead of simply repressing the old one, like when Seimei died."
"We don't know that either."
"Well you aren't giving me much to go on Soubi."
"I know."
"Well can you tell me what was happening the last time Ritsuka was in control of his own body?"
"We were in battle." Riku then cut in to add his two cents.
"Yeah, thanks for that by the way asshole. There was no need for a search and rescue and you know it." Ritsu cracked another grin at this.
"Ah, yes. Well it's part of my job to keep tabs on Soubi and that means keeping tabs on Ritsuka as well. Surely you can see how the disappearance of Loveless could be a concern of mine."
"Yeah whatever." Ritsu then turned his attention back to Soubi.
"So was there anything off about the battle then? I hate to admit that I haven't gotten the report back from Nagisa yet. All I know is that you won, but that was never really in question."
"Well normally Ritsuka has no problem with battling, even against opponents far above his level, but this time something was different."
"Different how?"
"Well as soon as Zero landed their first attack, Ritsuka fainted and Riku took over and finished the battle."
"Really now? That's even more interesting. How did he do?" Soubi hesitated for a moment as wanted to choice his words very wisely.
"Fine."
"Just fine?"
"Yes, he did fine." Ritsu's attitude then suddenly shifted as he furrowed his brow in growing annoyance with Soubi's dodges.
"Soubi, if you want my help you have to tell what I need to know." Soubi then let out an aggravated sigh before lowering his gaze in defeat, never really being able to defy his teacher.
"We won the battle by using the substitution spell." Ritsu's was genuinely surprised by this, having never known Soubi to take such a risk.
"Substitution? That's very out of character for you Soubi." Riku then took a few steps out of the corner to be closer to Soubi in the middle of the room to address the arrogant man.
"He didn't have a choice. I was in charge and I made the call. I was sick of them and they wanted to take us back here and I hate this place, so I needed to win." Ritsu then put on a very serious face and spoke to the pair in a serious tone.
"Well that was a very dangerous move you pulled. That spell has repercussions. Even the best pairs have to deal with some sort of fallout from using it. I am fairly certain that using that spell is the source of your current problem." Soubi then began to panic slightly as he replied.
"So you think that's what caused this?"
"Yes. That spell completely severs your bond to your Sacrifice but even though it's only for a moment, it can have lasting effects on the bond. With Ritsuka being in an already instable place, the bond breaking could have affected him in a much bigger way than it normally would." Soubi's panic then began to clearly show in his voice.
"So what are you saying? Is there anything we can do to fix this?"
"I'm saying that Ritsuka is lost. He is lost somewhere in the depths of his own mind and soul. Normally he could use his bond to you to find his way back but the spell has made it hard or even impossible for him to feel the bond."
"But…he seemed fine! After our battle he came back, it was only for a few minutes before he went back to sleep, but it was him."
"I'm guessing Riku was drained after the battle?"
"Yes."
"it's likely that Ritsuka was able to find his way without the other consciousness clouding his vision, but as soon as he feel back asleep we was lost again and now is stuck."
"So what can I do?!" Ritsu leaned back in his chair once more as he thought in silence for a moment.
"Well I can only think of one thing that might help."
"What is it?"
"A bonding exercise."
"A bonding exercise? How will that help?"
"Well we would have the school doctor put Riku under hypnosis to quiet the second consciousness in Ritsuka's mind, then you run a bonding exercise with the rest of the school. You use your thread to find Riku's body somewhere on campus and hopefully Ritsuka will be able to see your thread also and be able to follow it back to you while his body is unconscious."
"You really think it could work."
"I think it's your best bet." Soubi then looked over to Riku for support but was only met with a sour expression and tone from the small boy.
"Are you seriously saying we trust this guy Soubi?"
"I don't think we have a choice."
"Fine…but if anything at all seems out of place, I'm out."
"Fine." Soubi then turned back to Ritsu who now had a grin on once more.
"It's all settled then. We are running the exercise first thing in the morning. Since it's already late, you two are more than welcome to stay here for the night. Soubi, I left your room the way you left it and you two can stay there." Soubi had an uneasy feeling about the whole deal but he was also too afraid of Riku backing out.
"Fine. But we are leaving as soon as we are done in the morning."
"That'll be just fine."
Soubi then turned without another word and opened the door behind him before walking out into the hallway. Riku followed behind as they put the office behind them and made their way down the hallway. They only got half way before Riku stopped and called to Soubi.
"Hey Soubi, wait here for a second, I think I dropped my phone in that pricks office."
"Ok." Riku then ran back down the hallway and opened the door of the office calmly. He then shut the door gently behind before approaching Ritsu's desk with a fierce scowl.
"Was there something else I could help you with, Riku was it?" The boy ignored the pleasantry and instead slammed his hands down on the desk in front of the blonde and spoke in the same calm and angry voice that he used to speak to the doctor.
"Listen here asshole…you don't fool me for one second. I don't know what you are planning and frankly I don't care, but you better be sure that I'm not going to let you to do anything to me or Ritsuka; and you sure as hell won't be doing anything to Soubi while I'm around. I know Ritsuka is a quiet polite kid…but I'm not. I know exactly the kind of person you are and I know exactly the things you've done. You are a filthy waste of space…and one day you will pay for things you've done to Ritsuka…you'll pay for the awful things you did to Soubi when he was just a child! And if I'm lucky….i'll be the one to deliver your punishment. After tomorrow morning, if you know what is good for you….you will leave us the fuck alone." Ritsu simply smiled eerily as the boy stormed off back out the door, slamming it behind him and running back down the hallway to meet Soubi.
"Did you find your phone?"
"Yeah I got it. Let's go to bed so we can get the hell out of here." Soubi then looked down at the boy with a small smile.
"You know…for once, I agree with you."
TBC