Disclaimer: I so want to own Soubi and Ritsuka, yet I can't. Too bad for me since they belong to Yun Koga.

A/N: Ritsuka's so weird, even to me! XD

Yakusoku
Chapter 29: Piece by Piece We Collect Them

Soubi sat on his bed in his bedroom and stared up at the painting he painted of Ritsuka with saddened eyes. As of late, all he'd been doing was staring at this portrait and patiently waiting by his cell phone for the boy to call. Ritsuka said he'd call him later, but later turned to hours, and hours in turn, turned into days, and then into weeks. On record - Ritsuka hadn't contacted Soubi for two whole weeks now, and he couldn't get in touch with him because the kid had his cell phone turned off, and he had no idea who he was staying with. Somewhere in the back of his mind it registered to him that he might never get to see the boy again no matter how much he wanted to.

-----

"Soubi, come over here real quick." Soubi looked up towards Seimei and wondered what he could be smiling so happily about. "Come on, hurry."

Peering down into Seimei's cell phone Soubi came face to face with a picture that he did not recognize. Brows furrowing, he looked up to his Master for the answer to the mystery person inside the picture.

"Can't you see the resemblance, Soubi?" Seimei asked playfully. His smile was filled with mirth, but his eyes held sadness within their murky depths.

"Oh, wait, is that your little brother you've mentioned to me about?" Seimei nodded and snapped his cell phone lid shut before the blonde could keep looking. "He looks a lot like you."

"You think so?"

"Yeah."

"Most people say that we look alike as well, but we have very different personalities. He's really outgoing and loves to have fun, while I'm more of the loner type who enjoys peace and quiet most of the time."

"You're not a loner," Soubi reasoned. "I know you're surrounded by a circle of friends at school so don't say things like that about yourself."

"Hey," Seimei suddenly said out of the blue, disturbing whatever conversation they were just having before, "if I ordered you to kill me, would you do it?"

"If that is what you wish for, then I will not hesitate," Soubi replied quickly.

"Heh, always quick to respond, aren't you?" Seimei asked.

"Questions such as yours are easy to respond to because you've stated it as an order."

"I see . . ." Seimei smiled then. ". . . I guess you're right."

-----

"Hello! Earth to Soubi! Stop spacing out all the time, will you?" Kio lightly tapped his friend on the arm until he got his attention. Thoughts of Seimei dispersed immediately. "Someone's on the phone looking for you."

Eyes lighting up momentarily he snatched the cordless phone from Kio's grip, and answered into the speaker with a, "hello?"

The voice he heard was not from the person he wanted to hear from the most.

"Hi, how are you doing?" She sounded casual and if he didn't know any better, rather nervous, too.

"I'm fine."

"Well, ah, that's good to hear--"

"Sensei, who are you talking to?"

Soubi snapped as soon as he heard the voice - he distinctly heard Ritsuka's voice from the phone. Almost in a state of panic, he asked, "did I just hear Ritsuka's voice? Please let me talk to him!"

"Ah . . . I can't do that," was her response, "and I didn't call you for that reason . . ."

"Let me talk to him, Yuzuna."

"Sensei . . ." He heard the boy's voice again. "Are you talking to--"

"Look, there's something really important that I must tell you, and I'm afraid I can't delay this message any longer. The seven . . . are asked to be coming together again . . . soon. If you want further details you know who to contact. Goodbye."

Yuzuna hung up before Soubi could even protest. He replayed her words inside his head, and instantly knew what she meant even though she said it in an odd way. Yet, it was understandable because Ritsuka must have been right beside her when she called him.

"You heard the kid's voice?" Kio asked of Soubi. The blonde nodded and put the phone down beside him on his bed. "Well, in that case, at least you know where he's at, right?"

Should I even be doing this? Should I comfort him the way I don't want to?

"That might be the case, but I'll wait it out. If he doesn't want to talk to me, then I'll keep waiting until he's ready to face me."

Wow, I've never seen Soubi like this before . . . It's rather amazing.

Kio sat down beside Soubi and patted him on the back reassuringly. Soubi did not lean into the touch, and nor did he pull away; he simply sat there with the feeling of his friend's hand on his back.

-----

'You were talking to Soubi?' Ritsuka wanted to ask, but he asked of something entirely different in fear that his teacher might get angry. "The call sounded really urgent . . . You sounded so stern, even though I was standing there right next to you. Usually, you never show me your strict side."

"Ah, sorry about that," Yuzuna said, "I wasn't really thinking. Did I scare you?"

"No, not in the least."

I've seen things far scarier.

"Are you feeling better now?" she asked.

"Somewhat . . . Thank you for letting me stay here. I slept really easily when I was in your presence." Flattered by the boy's innocent dependence on her, Yuzuna couldn't help but blush a shy red. Ritsuka noticed this. "I . . . I didn't mean to get you all worked up . . . Did I say something inappropriate?"

"Not at all."

Right now, right here, he's being really gentle. Has the past few weeks chiseled away at him? Does he still feel like he has no semblance of control over his own life . . .? Still, it is too early to tell what he is really suffering from, and it wouldn't be a good idea for me to bring it up. He looks as if he's forgotten about it at the moment.

That's right . . . The only person who can see the true me is Sensei. She has complete access.

"Um, can I stay here for as long as you're going to work?" he asked, and tried to project as much wide-eyed sincerity as he could so that his Sensei would let him stay. This usually worked on her when he really wanted to do something, and knew that she'd be against it. "I promise to be really quiet."

"Quiet, huh?" Yuzuna looked thoughtful for a second. "You're always quiet most of the time so it's not a problem."

"By closing my mouth I feel that that is the only thing I have left to control, Sensei . . ." Taken by surprise by his abrupt change back to the original reason he was here, she gawked at him. "I can't tell whether it's bad or good to do so. What should I do, Sensei?"

Yuzuna sighed and pondered over what to say to her patient. "In an overview about everything's that's happened, I'd like to recap it for better reasoning over this matter. These may be explanations to some of the anxieties you feel towards yourself: the lost of a loved one, lost of possessions, feelings of guilt, considering yourself a quiet person for better control over what you'll say, confused thinking, suppressive friends . . ."

"They're not really suppressive, but sometimes I feel like they're being more mean to me than they are letting on."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't really explain it - that's just what I feel at times when they're around me." Ritsuka's dark ears drooped lazily atop his head as he looked at his Sensei. "Not only are my friends meddlesome . . ." he stopped for a moment to let it sink in that he finally considered Yayoi and Yuiko as his friends before going on, ". . . I think Kouya and Yamato were being quite unfair to me and themselves."

"See, right now you're recognizing the faults and facts about yourself and others around you. The definition of defining oneself is usually the process of overseeing his or her own viewpoints of themselves to try and get a better understanding."

"What clearly defines me is missing. I can't seem to grasp that concept, Sensei."

"I'm not understanding you," Yuzuna told him.

"Precisely. What is there to understand about me? If my own mom couldn't see me for the real Ritsuka that she knew and loved, then why should you?" Ritsuka felt like he was getting tired all over again. He stared down at the floor away from his Sensei just so that he could concentrate on what he was asking of her. "People misinterpret me all the time, right? It happens at school, in the streets, at the park, anywhere I go, I feel like an outsider to a world that isn't fit for someone like me."

The way he is talking now frightens me; there have been cases where a patient talks like there's no hope left for them, and the only answer they could come up with was suicide. Is Ritsuka thinking of killing himself even if he's not directly saying so?

"Is that what you truly feel towards yourself, Ritsuka?"

"Sometimes." His eyes were still downcast as he continued to let his glossy orbs stay glued to the floor. "Isn't it normal to feel like you're out of place somehow?"

"It can be normal, but in your case, it rather worries me." She could see a small frown forming on the boy's lips - it goes to show that not everything was a pleasant conversation when it came to such discussions as this. "The reason I am saying this is because you claim that you don't belong in a world such as this one. Saying things like that never leave nice results."

I'd better shut my mouth before I let anything slip further that'd make Sensei more uncomfortable around me . . . Am I afraid of losing what I have left? Do I even have anything left to lose?

Chapter 29: END