Disclaimer: I do not own Loveless in any way, shape, or form. If I did, the series would be twice as long and feature a lot more of Soubi.

Chapter Four: Brotherless

Ritsuka stared at the figure barely visible in the flapping curtains. Dark hair, angular face, deep, blue eyes, small smile.

"Seimei…"

"You were expecting someone else, Ritsuka?" Seimei's voice was smooth, like liquid metal. "My Fighter, perhaps?"

Something in Semei's tone made Ritsuka instantly wary. Something had changed. This wasn't the old Seimei. Ritsuka felt a pit open in the bottom of his stomach. He thought he was going to throw up.

"What's wrong, brother? You seem surprised to see me. Didn't your vision warn you I was around?" Seimei took a step into the room, leaving the veiling shadow of the curtain and coming fully into view. "Don't you have anything to say to me?"

Ritsuka realized his mouth was hanging open and he hadn't moved from the bed where he had been lying. He pushed himself up to his elbow. He tried to speak, but found he didn't quite have the words to say what he wanted to say, if he even knew what to say.

"Nothing to say, eh?" Seimei said, a little smirk playing on his face. "You were never speechless, Ritsuka. Perhaps Mother is right and you aren't her Ritsuka."

"Where the hell were you?" Ritsuka asked, finally finding his voice.

Seimei chuckled. "That's better." His smirk remained in place. "I was away. Studying." He fixed Ritsuka with his dark blue eyes and walked forward to where Ritsuka was leaning on the bed. He knelt before the bed, eyes fastened to Ritsuka's the entire time. "I'm sorry, Ritsuka. For leaving. But I left you with a guardian. Has he been good?"

Ritsuka sat up fully on the bed. "Studying what?" Ritsuka asked. His feeling of uneasiness didn't dissipate.

"Spells."

"Spells?" Ritsuka furrowed his eyebrow. "Without Soubi?"

Seimei chuckled. "Don't worry about that, Ritsuka," he said. He reached out to ruffle his hair. "I'll tell you later."

Ritsuka let Seimei play with his hair, relishing the touch. He stared at his older brother. Seimei. He was alive. He was real. This wasn't some dream nor was it some devilish nightmare. Seimei was Seimei, unchanged.

Except…

"What happened to your ears?" Ritsuka asked, reaching out to stroke his brother's head where his ears should have been.

Seimei chuckled again. "If you don't know that, Ritsuka, then I'm certainly not going to be the one to ruin your innocence."

Ritsuka screwed up his face. "I know how you lost them…" he trailed off, realizing the question was probably too personal and none of his business.

Still, a part of him wondered if it was Soubi.

Seimei pulled away. "And now you're wondering if it was Soubi who took my ears, aren't you, little brother?"

Ritsuka blushed and looked way.

Seimei wasn't smiling now. "I'm going to tell you this once, Ritsuka. Soubi is mine. Don't ever forget that." His voice had changed from liquid silver to hard steel. "Do you understand?"

Ritsuka nodded, his eyes wide and his breath coming shallowly.

Seimei's smile came back and with it, the liquid voice. "I need to go now. I'll be back, Ritsuka, to tell you what I learned. It concerns you closely. We have a destiny to fulfill. Together."

Seimei backed out of the room quickly, disappearing into the fog of the curtain that guarded Ritsuka's window.

Ritsuka stared after his, his eyes burning with the itch of tears waiting to be shed. His mind was a maelstrom of conflicting thoughts and emotions.

Seimei was alive. Joy. Happiness. Love.

Soubi belonged to Seimei. Pain. Loss. Jealousy.

Seimei had threatened him. Anger. Fear. Hatred.

Soubi had lied. Betrayal.

Ritsuka threw his face into his pillow, crushing the tears that were falling despite his best efforts to stop them. Ritsuka couldn't hear anything above his own sobs.

Eventually, Ritsuka's sobs died away into shaky breathing. He lay in his bed, not thinking, just feeling until a gentle touch roused him from his thoughts.

"Ritsuka?"

He hadn't heard Soubi come into the room.

Ritsuka looked up at Soubi, not sure whether to be angry, hurt, or relieved. He wanted to yell at Soubi, hit him, and melt into his arms all at the same time. Soubi looked more than a little puzzled. "Did something happen, Ritsuka?" He brushed his hand against Ritsuka's bandage, asking if his mother was the cause of Ritsuka's pain.

Anger won.

"You lied!" Ritsuka shouted. He jerked away from Soubi's soft touch. "You lied about Seimei, about me, about everything!"

Soubi's eyes widened. "He was here?"

"You knew! You knew he was alive! And you didn't tell me! You lied!"

Soubi flinched away from Ritsuka's angry accusations as if they were physical blows. He didn't offer any defense. Instead, he waited until Ritsuka was finished with his tirade, had worn himself out. It took a long time. Ritsuka had quite a bit of anger for a small fifteen year-old boy. After Ritsuka finished, Soubi gently pulled Ritsuka into his arms and held him there, the younger boy too tired to resist and too in need of comfort to want to.

Eventually, Ritsuka pulled away from Soubi's encircling arms. He looked into the older boy's blue eyes, searching for answers. Soubi met his eyes steadily. Ritsuka buried himself back into Soubi's arms. "Why?" he asked softly. "Or can't you tell me?" his voice did little to betray the bitterness he felt.

Soubi didn't ask 'why what'. He knew what Ritsuka was asking. "I'll tell you everything, Ritsuka. No more lies. No more evasions." Soubi's voice was calm and distant, as if he was preparing for a battle. "It started three years ago when Seimei told me he was going to die and that I had to protect you, no matter the cost…"

Ritsuka knew, as soon as Soubi started, that it was going to be a long night. He squirmed a little to get into a better position, curled up, half in Soubi's lap and half on the bed. When he was settled, he listened to the truth, the entire truth, that Soubi had kept from him from so long.

A/N: I apologize if updates get sporadic (even more than they already were). I just started student teaching, so we'll see if I have any time to write.

Nikkler: Is "shnoggie" a good word or a bad word? Yeah, Seimei's evil. And yes, I don't like their mother. Not sure what I'm doing with her though yet, if anything.

Karen: Sorry about the cliffhanger. I really didn't mean to do it…

DemonicDragon666: I hope this was soon enough. Sorry about the cliffhanger?

Sadil: I hope this lives up to your expectations.

Lyerial: This chapter has a bit of angst. The next will have a bit of fluff…maybe…

Nyumi: Thanks for the compliments!

Sei Ikari: Thanks for the info. It really was just laziness that made me not want to look it up. .

Aigle: Thanks for reviewing! Glad you like it.