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: I hope to end this by chapter 50, if not sooner. That is my goal, but I can't guarantee anything. You guys must be tired of reading this, right? I also made up some chemical crap, as you will see when you read this chapter . . . XD
Yakusoku
Chapter
44: Holding Back the Tears
Yayoi was lying on the couch when his mother came to him, blocking his view of the television. He looked up at her. She looked back down at him with worried eyes - he could tell what she was going to say, so he said it for her.
"I already know . . . You're worried about Takara."
"She hasn't come home . . ."
The days, hours, minutes, and even seconds that ticked by was like an agonizing time bomb, punching away the Hayabi household's breaths. Exactly how long were they going to wait for her return, without knowing the slightest hint of where she could be? It was unbearable and more so on Takara's mother than her brother. The tension within Yayoi's mother proved to be too much then, because before her son even had the time to react, Mrs. Hayabi was wailing like a newborn child.
Surprised by the sudden change in demeanor, Yayoi asked, "are you okay, mom?"
"Takara's gone, how can I be okay! My poor baby has left me again! That stupid father of hers can go to hell!" she cried, yanking at her hair. "He's been controlling her this whole time! And where was I when she needed a mother the most!"
"Mom . . ." Yayoi was at a loss - his mother never really mentioned anything about his sister before. For as long as he could remember, she didn't speak of the two ever since they left this house. Perhaps because of her keeping her real feelings bottled up inside, it was finally time that they were released - let the cork come undone. ". . . you shouldn't place all the blame on yourself. It's not your fault."
It hurt to watch his mother cry. Yayoi wanted to run . . . Run to someplace where he could retreat and most likely cry, as well. His sister looked so sad as she was leaving them, and her pathetic brother couldn't stop her. How gutless can one really be? The strain of it all was becoming too great for Yayoi too, and he felt that he needed an escape. His only solution was to leave the chaos within the house and go outside for some fresh air. Anywhere was better than here. Absolutely anywhere than here.
Yayoi didn't bother to try and console his mother - his only concern right now was for himself - he had his own internal conflicts; he needed space. The bright day outside somewhat lifted his spirits, but the sunny day alone wouldn't be able to bring his sister back to him . . . If only he knew where she had gone, then maybe, just maybe he might go after her.
"Hey," Yayoi turned around, wondering who could be bugging him right now, "you're that little kid's friend, right? Ritsuka, I mean."
"Sort of," Yayoi replied, since he didn't really consider Ritsuka a very good friend anyway. Making Yuiko cry all the time constantly grated on his nerves, so it's easy to see his kinship with the other boy was pretty low.
"Have you seen him around?" the man asked.
"Who are you?" Yayoi stated. "And how do you know Ritsuka?"
"Look, I don't really know the kid; my friend does. Agatsuma Soubi. Ever heard of that guy?" Yayoi's eyes brows raised up in speculation - of course he remembers Soubi.
"Yeah."
"In that case, do you know where Soubi, who is my friend, is?"
"Who are you?" Yayoi asked again, also quite irritated that Kio would need to state Soubi was his friend twice to him. What did he take Yayoi for? Some stupid little brat that couldn't remember something unless told twice?
"Kio."
"Kio, what?"
The man sighed. "You needn't worry about my last name, kid. However, if you have any information regarding my friend or Ritsuka, please do tell me. I've been searching for either one of them and can't find them. It makes me worry." Yayoi could see the agitated look the man was giving him, but he was sorry to say that he did know where Ritsuka's whereabouts were at the current moment. Not that he cared, anyway. "So . . . You have no clue?"
"Not a single one." Yayoi started to walk away, but Kio decided to be persistent and followed him. "Why are you tailing after me? Didn't I just tell you I don't know where he is?"
"I've been searching like mad for days! Soubi's just went up and disappeared on me without telling me first! You're the only lead I have!"
Yayoi sweat dropped . . . He was so not in the mood for this right now. He was hoping to go somewhere to sulk for a while, but how could he if this annoying man was going to follow him? His only solution was to make a dash for it.
"He-hey! Where are you running off to!" Kio cried, immediately giving chase. "Kid! Slow down, will ya!"
Not a chance. Yayoi was so sure that he was going to lose Kio that he didn't bother to pay attention to what was in front of him. Big mistake.
BAM!
"Hayabi, that was quite some tackle, wasn't it . . .?" Miss Shinonome's face was completely red, her glasses dangling off one ear. The groceries she was carrying (most having been ruined) were splayed out across the cement.
Yayoi didn't realize it at first, but he accidentally had his right hand clamped firmly down on Miss Shinonome's left bosom. Naturally, any normal woman would have swatted the hand away and the scream the word "pervert" over and over at the top of her lungs. However, Miss Shinonome did no such thing, and she waited for the boy to realize that he was touching her there. Completely embarrassed by what he had done, Yayoi got off her as quickly as he could, apologizing like there'd be no end to it.
Miss Shinonome tried to reassure him. "It's all right, Hayabi, really. I can see that it was an accident."
"Tell me something! Tell me anything! So long as I have some sort of clue!" Kio pleaded, eyes becoming watery and large in size.
Yayoi could feel a vein popping on his temple . . . Kio just couldn't be any more annoying, could he? "I already told you I don't know where he is. He hasn't shown up to school for a week now, and I haven't heard from him since. Stop bugging me before I call the police and declare to them that you're a stalker. A hysterical man out of his mind stalker to be more exact."
Yayoi seriously was not in the mood. His sister's disappearance made him depressed enough; he needn't the extra weight of worrying or wondering what the hell could be happening to Ritsuka right now. Without noticing it himself, tears began to fall from his eyes, painting small circles in the cement a dark brown color. He tried so hard to hold back the tears . . . He tried so very hard.
"I remember you! You're that man that attacked Ritsuka that one time! Are you after Hayabi, too!" Miss Shinonome gave Kio a stern look - she distinctly remembered a confused-looking Kio and a trodden Ritsuka on the ground. "I won't let you have him! Look what you've done; you've made him cry!"
"I didn't do anything," Kio protested, raising both of his arms into the air. He was creating quite a scene, because several onlookers were looking at them. "I was simply asking him if he knew where my friend or the kid could be."
"What kid?" Miss Shinonome inquired of him.
"Aoyagi Ritsuka . . ."
She tensed at the name; he was back at her place probably inside his room doing god knows what, but she didn't want to tell this man that he was staying with her. He seems crazy enough to want to tear Ritsuka to pieces, if he could get a of hold him. "Leave us alone," was the only thing she could think of saying. "I don't know where he is either."
Kio sweat dropped and backed away, once and for all feeling quite defeated. He didn't get the answers he was hoping for. It wasn't his fault that he was so worried for his friend (and crush), because he left their apartment without telling Kio, and hadn't returned from wherever he left to. Poor Kio was left at home worrying and worrying, until it got to the point where he went out searching for him or Ritsuka. There was a good chance that Soubi was with Ritsuka anyway.
"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm leaving now." Kio looked around and tried to smile (nervously) at the onlookers that were giving him disapproving looks. "Maybe I did scare the kid and I'm sorry."
Miss Shinonome turned her attention to Yayoi. "Are you all right? He didn't do anything to you, did he?" Yayoi shook his head. "You can come over to my place to cool down if you like. Ritsuka's there and I think he'd like to see you."
-----
This was a new discovery, even to Soubi himself . . .
"So this is how he does it!" Isoshi exclaimed, eyes pooling over the documents like they were pure gold. "No wonder the so-called magic water is so important to him!"
"Exactly. As I've seen," Seimei leaned against a wall, face becoming serious, "Soubi's marking isn't deeply scarred yet. Ritsu used the "magic water" on him not long ago. Because in this world there is no such thing as Fighters and Sacrifices - that sick principal made this all up. It's like a game to him."
Isoshi paused in his reading, glancing over at his friend questioningly. " . . . but that doesn't explain for the fact that spell battles do exist. When two people come together, they can actually fight another two people paired up."
"Hmmm, I'm not sure about that speculation, either. The markings aren't real though, since Ritsu carves them into children and then later reveal that mark when they're older. It says so right there," Seimei points to the documents in front of Isoshi, "and these files are top secret. There'd be no way he'd lie about this. He guards his magic water like his life depends on it."
"What is the magic water?"
"Some sort of chemical he created, I would think," Seimei replied.
"Nagisa's the one with the brains when it comes to making stuff. Maybe she has something to do with it, too."
"Read further down, Isoshi."
Isoshi mutters something incoherent, before finally saying, "I leave you with strict instructions. Make it a potent one, thus as being able to break the skin, melding the flesh where the carved lining begins and ends." Perplexed, he continued to read on, "a drop of nitrogen haloids, nebulae salt, and clear liquefied phosphate."
"That crazy bastard!" Seimei cried, feeling cheated that he (as well as many others) have been cheated. "We've been following his orders like hound dogs, truly believing that we're different than everyone else in society when this is all made up! I don't want to be a pawn he can control anymore!" Seimei could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He tried his best to hold them back.
Isoshi could understand Seimei's point of view, but he was still thinking about the spell battles. There was no real explanation for this, was there? Why was spell battling coexisting with the world, while Fighters and Sacrifices did not? There must be some fault in all this . . .
"That's it?" Ritsuka asked, having been so absorbed by the tale, that he thought it strange to end so abruptly.
"That's it. I've unearthed the truth though, haven't I?" Soubi asked of his little Master.
"How did you find out about this?"
"Seimei's left me a little memo . . . I didn't discover it until the other day when I was searching for your cell phone. You threw the poor thing so hard that it nearly popped the covering off, and that was where this slip of paper," Soubi pulled something out from his pocket, "came out, lying in the grass."
"Why would that be in the cell phone, unless . . ." Ritsuka trailed off.
"That's right - that cell phone was Seimei's cell phone."
"Why lie to me and tell me that it was yours, then?" Ritsuka asked, getting angry about it.
"I did say it was his . . . You had a hard time believing me, so I changed it and eventually told you that it was originally mine." Those words stung Ritsuka. Soubi was right - he did at first say that it was Seimei's, but like the idiot that he was being, he didn't believe the man - Soubi doesn't lie all the time, does he? "Now that I'm telling you its truly his, are you going to take it and keep it?"
"He's right up here . . ."
Miss Shinonome's voice floated down from the hallway.
"She's back! Hurry! Leave!"
It was too late. Right when Soubi was about to step one foot out the window, he was caught by Miss Shinonome and Yayoi.
Chapter 44: END
