Mindless Chapter 2: Restless, a loveless fanfic

1Disclaimer: Don't own a thing. Wish I did, but I don't. This chapter's a little… Bizarre. Zero's awesome.

Yeah, I know… I say Seven Moons and fighter. I just bought the manga and the first DVD. They changed the subtitles on me and everything, so… I just found out that it's Septimal Moon and Sentouki. At least, I think that's how it's spelled. It's weird; I dunno why they did that. .

I think this chapter is actually a tad bit longer than the other one. Go me! Possibly a little shorter. I just didn't know what to do quite yet, so I made a filler chapter… At first anyways. More towards the end it starts to actually mean something to the story. Kio was just whispering in my ear, "C'mon, make me smart. You know you wanna!" So I had to oblige. The poor guy… He just needed the self-esteem boost. (As he sits in the corner and glares at me for that comment…. . )

Another note: I suck at grammar, don't kill me. Most of this is edited by another member on here, and you might not know the difference anyways, so… yeah. Just thought you oughtta know. Might take me a while to update the third chapter. I promised someone a Cloud/Seph/Zack fanfic, so yeah. :( I'm sorry.

I only got one review the last chapter. Made me so sad. Lots of people viewed it, but hardly any reviewed. I'm hoping to get a few more this time around, even if there's only two more than before. Just… Yeah. Review if you can. If you can't, I understand.

The next few days were confusing for Ritsuka, even more so than entering high school. Sure, having his older brother back was awesome, and he didn't have to deal with Natsuo and Youji, but he was kind oflonely. Soubi came to their house - they never went to his apartment anymore. Something about something might happen, Ritsuka had an idea of whatAnd seeing as Natsuo and Youji seemed to have this huge fear of his house, he didn't have to see them. Unless, of course, they decided to bug him at school. He was starting to miss them more and more, though. He was the only teenager in the house and even though that had never bothered him before, things were different now. Seimei was back and everyone had his or her eyes on him. The only reason he minded that was because that left no time for them to spend together.

Most of his time now was spent staring out a window or at his ceiling; sleep was just something he thought about now a days, amongst a lot of other things, of course. Like, how come Seven Moons hadn't attacked? And what exactly had caused that accident? Whenever he brought it up, Seimei would change the subject like he hadn't even said a word.

He found himself being ignored all around like that. His mother was using all her energy on Seimei. Buying him new clothes, trying to get him a job, and making all his favorite foods. Most of the time he wouldn't eat with everyone because it was all things "her Ritsuka" didn't eat. He was going to get fat if he kept making himself food. And Soubi… Soubi was all over Seimei, hugging him, kissing him, everything. Ritsuka was starting to miss the attention he had gotten from the older man. He didn't blame Seimei, no, it wasn't his fault. Instead, he blamed Soubi and everyone for treating him they way they did. It was because of all of the ignoring that he was standing outside Soubi's apartment, waiting for Zero to open the door.

"Ritsuka!" Natsuo glomped him and pulled him inside. "Did you come to see Soubi? He's not here. I thought he was going to your house.

Ritsuka smiled, "He is at my house. I didn't come here to see him."

Natsuo's eyes lit up. "You came to see us?" As he said this, Youji appeared behind him.

A nod.

He was pulled even further inside and then mauled. Obviously Natsuo and Youji had missed him more than he had started to miss them. Not that it was all that surprising, they had always wanted to see him more than he wanted to see them. Youji was hugging him, saying that he was glad to see him and such. When things finally calmed down from all the hugging, squeezing, and falling, they were a tangled mess of limbs. Natsuo's arms were looped around Ritsuka's neck, but his legs were intertwined with Youji's. Youji's hands were caressing Ritsuka's ears and his legs, on top of being tangled with Natsuo's, were pinning Ritsuka's lower half to the floor. If someone had walked in, they probably would have thought that Natsuo and Youji were going to take Ritsuka's ears. Sure, they had entertained the thought plenty of times (and were doing so now), but they wouldn't actually do it without Ritsuka's consent. That didn't mean they wouldn't try to get a yes out of him.

"Ritsuka-kuuun…" Youji twisted a strand of Ritsuka's hair around his finger.

"Hm?" Natsuo smiled. Short and sweet. That was just like Ritsuka.

"Don't you think you've had these long enough?" He was rubbing Ritsuka's ears lightly, just enough to make him close his eyes and sigh in contentment.

"Yeah, Ritsuka. You've had them too long. Ours have been gone for two years now." Natsuo was stroking his tail. They could squeeze a yes out of him yet.

"No," he groaned. "I like them, thank you very much."

"C'mon Ritsuka-kun, you need to loosen up." Youji was now whispering in his ear and running his hands up his shirt.

He had been there five minutes, maybe ten, and they were already causing problems. It wasn't on his list to lose his ears to Zero. Plus, he could list quite a few people who wouldn't be happy with him if he did. The thought made him attempt to pull away. However, two things stopped him from doing so. The first was Youji, who was still on his legs. Second, and probably the most influential, was Natsuo. He pulled him down onto the ground by tugging with his arms, which were still wrapped about Ritsuka's neck.

"Where are you going, Ritsuka-kun?" Natsuo chuckled.

Soubi and Seimei sat in Seimei's room. A thick silence had fallen between them. They had been talking about Ritsuka when they all of a sudden got back to the subject of Seven Moons. It wasn't a subject either one of them wanted to discuss, but they knew they had to eventually. It wasn't good of them to deny Ritsuka what he wanted to know. They'd done that for far too long now and Ritsuka was obviously starting to hate them for it.

"Seimei… Can you even answer Ritsuka's questions?" Soubi looked at his sacrifice with sad eyes. They'd been neglecting Ritsuka all week, but they were just realizing it now.

"I… I don't know." He stared at the floor, threatening to put a hole right through it. "I'm afraid it might break him."

"Would it do more damage than not telling him at all?"

"That's what I'm trying to decide. He's getting fed up with us, Soubi. He didn't even tell us where he was going today."

Soubi nodded. He knew what they were doing to him. It was more his fault than Seimei's, though. As a matter of fact, Ritsuka probably didn't blame Seimei at all. How much had Soubi affected Ritsuka, though? Leaving without saying where he was going, locking his door and the door to the deck outside his window; it wasn't like Ritsuka. There was no getting access to him. He had to be losing weight. He wasn't eating a thing anymore, even if they went out to get him something. He was always reluctant. Soubi knew why Ritsuka did it, but Seimei didn't. He didn't know about the beatings. Soubi had made sure to leave that out of their weekly meetings. He wanted to give the impression that their mother had finally stopped.

"Soubi… You don't think he'd hurt himself, do you? Or run away…?" When Soubi looked at him, he had the saddest look on his face. "Does he hate me already?"

Seimei cared about his brother, it was obvious by the way he was acting now. Soubi was sure that was something Seimei had always had. His love for Ritsuka. However, everyone else saw him a different way. He was a sneak, brutal, and unforgiving. He never had Soubi stop fighting before finishing off a team. Ritsuka never knew that side of Seimei, didn't want to know it even when people told him that. All the time he denied Seimei being a bad person, but people just laughed at him. His Seimei wasn't a bad person. However, Soubi's Seimei had been. Somewhere along his journey, though, Soubi's Seimei had died and Ritsuka's had taken over once again. When Soubi first saw him, he noticed certain features about him that had softened from before. He wouldn't have been recognizable if it hadn't been for his eyes, as sharp as ever. Both Seimeis had the same look in their eyes.

"No to every one of those questions. Ritsuka isn't that type of boy. I don't think he's mad at you at all." If anything… It's me he's angry with, he thought.

Seimei smiled and hugged him. Soubi stiffened for a moment, still not used to the affection he got from his Sacrifice. It had only been a few days, after all. He wondered if Seimei would stay like this forever, and hoped so. He could get used to the attention, affection, and all around love coming from the guy. Ritsuka survived off of it, even with an abusive mother, he could probably live forever with it (not really, but he'd like to think so).

"We still need to discuss the accident, Seimei." It wasn't something that he wanted to leave untouched, but… It couldn't be left alone. They had to formulate something to discuss with Ritsuka.

"I know, I know. I just… I really don't know what happened, that's why I avoid the subject. Whenever Ritsuka asks, I freeze up. I just… Don't know what to say, so I change the topic." He let go of Soubi to look into his eyes. "I think that they did it, but… I'm not sure. I have no proof."

"Why? People could've gotten killed. They normally do things in the shadows."

"Do you really think that they care?"

"No… But still. Why would they cause such a commotion? Just to show how much damage they can make?"

"They wanted you out of the way so that they could get to Ritsuka. I told you before… Loveless is the key to something. Ritsuka is Loveless – I thought you knew that, Soubi. Just kidding! Anyways… They want whatever it is that Ritsuka can unlock."

Soubi was silent. He hadn't even cracked a smile at Seimei's attempted joke (it really had been a joke, but… Soubi just wasn't in the mood for it). Ritsuka was alone and vulnerable at the moment, that's what his mind was focused on. What if someone kidnapped him? Should he try to call him? From now on he'd stay at Ritsuka's side. He had been paying too much attention to Seimei and not enough to Ritsuka. Well, from now on he was going to take both of them everywhere he went. Including his art classes, if he had to.

"Soubi… Soubi, your phone is ringing," Seimei broke his ever-depressing thoughts.

Maybe it's Ritsuka, he thought, and hurriedly picked up his phone, "Hello?"

"Soubi!" Soubi's heart sank as he heard, not Ritsuka's, but Kio's voice. "How could you do this? They're only kids! You were just waiting for them to get undressed so you could watch. You pervert. I knew you were bad, but this is just… Ugh. It's sickening! Where are you? Are you outside, in the other room, under the -?"

"Kio, I'm at Ritsuka's house…" What was he going on about? Who was he waiting to see naked?

"What…? Then you don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

"Nothing. Just get to your house, and fast."

Before Kio had made that phone call, he had been walking down the street. Now, that's not all that exciting, sure, but he was about to walk in on the "exciting" part. The reason he was walking down the street was because he had to go talk to Soubi about their art courses. It was an innocent enough thing to want to discuss and all. He didn't expect to walk in on Zero and Ritsuka in the position they were in. That was far from innocent.

He opened the front door to find Natsuo pinning Ritsuka to the floor and Youji kissing him. They were still working on getting that "yes" out of him. Their shirts were discarded, but Ritsuka was lucky enough to keep his. Heh, not that he was all that lucky in any other department. Kio wasn't sure at first, but he thought that he was being frenched. Poor, poor Ritsuka. He was shocked to say the least - Kio, that is. He would have let them be if he hadn't been so convinced that Soubi was watching every minute of it. The guy was a pedophile as it was. What better way to show that than watch kids go at it?

By then, Natsuo and Youji had stopped what they were doing and looked up to see who the intruder was. They weren't exactly thrilled that their fun had been ruined. It was then that Kio took out his cell phone and called Soubi.

Soubi stood in the doorway, one eyebrow raised at the sight before him. Natsuo and Youji were still shirtless, and Ritsuka was just messed up all over. He didn't want to know if they had gotten any farther than they were now; it had taken him ten minutes to get there and all. Kids could do a lot of things in ten minutes these days. It was obvious they hadn't gotten too far, seeing as Ritsuka still had his ears on his head. Seimei was behind him (needless to say, Kio was shocked about this almost as much as Seimei was about the shape his brother was in), mouth agape and eyes wide. He was confused as Hell. Why was Ritsuka's hair all messed up? Why were his clothes all askew? The Ritsuka he knew wasn't like that.

"What happed?" Soubi stood with his arms crossed, not looking so amused. Not that anyone did, but Natsuo and Youji.

Kio explained his side of the story and then Zero told theirs. They didn't lie. Actually, they were quite blunt about everything that they said. So blunt that Seimei wanted to kill them. They weren't his favorite people in the world at this point in time (hadn't been while Ritsuka was in the hospital either). Soubi's expression never changed throughout the entire confession. Only when they finally shut up did he soften his gaze. Ritsuka was sure that someone was going to yell at him for something or other. However, most of the scolding was towards Zero. The rest, Soubi was mentally giving himself.

"Why did you come here, Ritsuka?" Finally, someone spoke to him. He thought he was being alienated or something.

"I was bored," he was staring at the ground. "Is that such a crime? I mean, it happens to everyone, right?"

"……."

Sure, it was a Ritsuka-like thing to snap every once in a while, but never before had he done so with such venom and malice in his voice. Soubi didn't know how to react. The only one that could truly see through all of Ritsuka's actions was Seimei. He could see just how hurt Ritsuka was. It was showing through every single part of his face. They were brothers, after all. He and Soubi had been spending too much time together. It was about time that they included Ritsuka on all the action.

"How about we go to the carnival?" he proposed. "We all need to relax and be together. All of us."

Kio stood off to the side the whole time, not really listening to any of it. He was still sure that Soubi had done some snooping. Obviously he was wrong, though, from the angry expression shown on his face. He was so protective of Ritsuka even though Seimei was back. It was as if he and Seimei were Ritsuka's parents and not his real ones. Though, that wouldn't surprise him seeing as he'd heard pretty bad things about them. Well, his mother anyways. Heh, Seimei and Ritsuka looked adorable together and Seimei seemed almost human. Almost. There was still some quality about him that no one else seemed to be noticing. Something that was bugging the living Hell outta him. What if… This wasn't Seimei at all? Ha! What was he talking about? He liked this Seimei a lot more than he liked the old Seimei. But still, something wasn't right. His eyes still seemed to have that insane glint to them. That one that said Seimei owned the world and knew more than he was letting on.

Then, Kio heard Seimei talking about going to the carnival and it being 'everyone'. He highly doubted that Seimei actually meant everybody. He would be excluded from this. The only way he ever got in on these things was if he snuck in. He was sick of stalking people just to have a little bit of fun, okay? He just wanted to be able to hang out with someone without having to stalk them for some reason or another. To say the least, he was a little shocked when Seimei invited him along as well.

As they entered the carnival scene, Ritsuka found himself having more and more trouble finding something to make him happy. He was too busy thinking about so many different things that he couldn't seem to find the time to enjoy his surroundings. He spent most of his time being pulled around by Seimei and Soubi, just letting them take him on whatever ride they wanted. However, he finally snuck away with Kio, actually wanting to be away from his brother. Kio didn't seem too comfortable with his brother's presence either, but Ritsuka knew why. He hated Seimei for what he'd done to Soubi, the person he'd made Soubi into. Ritsuka understood now, somewhat anyways. Seimei had expressed a sort of cold, cunning manner towards some random person off the street. It was apparent he only showed compassion to those he truly loved.

Kio offered to buy him cotton candy, but he declined. Instead, the two of them went to get an actual meal. It was more expensive, sure, but it was better than plain ol' cotton candy. It was American food, not half as good as actual Japanese food, but also better than just cotton candy. Ritsuka and Kio sat down at a table far from the others. They were going to have a little chat.

"So, why'd you run away with me? I thought we were all going to stick together," Kio said, smiling at Ritsuka before taking a bite out of the hot dog he had bought. It wasn't all that good, but he ate it anyways.

"Something wasn't right," he mumbled before picking at his French fries. He didn't know why he'd gotten a hamburger. They were too juicy and full of fat for his liking.

"Oh? How's that?"

"Seimei… He was smiling weird. It wasn't Seimei's smile."

"You noticed that too, huh? I guess we're just gunna have to wait and see, aren't we?"

"Yeah. Do you think Soubi…?"

"Not a chance. He's probably just glad to get the attention he's getting. I don't doubt that Seimei's like that or anything, but… I don't think that's Seimei. Be careful around him and watch what he does. You should know better than anybody how he should act. Make a list or something, of things that he does wrong. Things that you don't think would change about him. Then get with Soubi and discuss it. He needs to know too, otherwise we're all in trouble. The second Soubi is down, we're out for the count."

Ritsuka nodded and continued to eat his fries. Natsuo and Youji managed to find them, and ran over to chat. Ritsuka wondered if they noticed anything wrong with Seimei, but he doubted it. No one really knew him like Ritsuka did. Not enough to determine exactly what was wrong. It was that smile. The looks he'd get from Seimei. They weren't loving stares, they were the glance of some crazed man. Seimei wasn't crazy, last Ritsuka checked. So, if it wasn't Seimei, then where was the real Seimei? And why was this one giving away so much? Probably just to get in good with them. What if he was wrong, though, and that was Seimei?

"Ritsuka-kun! We're talking to you!" Natsuo was getting all red from being ignored.

"Sorry… I was thinking." He looked over to them, figuring he'd amuse them for a while. So long as it didn't involve him getting kissed again.

"So, Ritsuka-kun, what ride are you going on next?" Natsuo sat down beside him, getting too close all over again.

Ritsuka scooted over, away from him. He didn't think they realized he hadn't been on a ride this whole time. "I dunno… The Ferris wheel, maybe?"

And that's how he found himself riding the Ferris wheel with Kio beside him and Natsuo and Youji across from them. They said it was good luck to kiss once you got to the top. Where they'd gotten that from, he didn't know. They probably meant it was just a romantic thing to do, so he didn't stop them when they commenced in doing so. Kio groaned and turned away while he just stared out the same spot that he had been the whole time. That's when he saw Soubi and Seimei (possibly not Seimei, but that was a confusing thought). They were diagonally below them and had their hands intertwined. Ritsuka wanted to yell for them to separate, but… He didn't like being such a vocalist. Plus, he wasn't sure if he was just having a hunch or if what he was feeling was true or not. God, he didn't like feeling so confused. Then Soubi caught sight of him and waved. He waved back before turning to watch Natsuo and Youji. They were an easier pair to stomach right now.

Soubi and Seimei met them at the bottom, both of them putting an arm around his shoulder and leading him off. He looked back at Kio, a pleading look in his eyes, but knew there was nothing the adult could do. He had no problem being embraced by Soubi. It was this potentially fake Seimei that bothered him. However, there was no getting out of it as they brought him onto a different ride. One that would last a while… The swan boats (he hated the swan boats) (A/N: I can see Ritsuka not like these… He's more of a sky kinda kid, not water.)

"So, Ritsuka, what'd you and Kio do?" Seimei still had his arm around his shoulder, where as Soubi had long ago released him. He knew what Ritsuka's limits were when it came to contact with other people.

"…We went and got something to eat. Talked a bit. That's all." He swore that Seimei knew they had been talking about him. He just had that look in his eye.

"What'd you talk about? Seems like you don't really talk to each other much…"

Soubi cut in, "Seimei, you're avoiding the topic. We brought him here to talk away from Zero and Kio. Why don't you get to the point?"

Because, Soubi, he's not Seimei. We're being fooled! I just know it. He stopped thinking as soon as Seimei looked at him. It was weird, like he was reading his mind. That scared him and he looked at the bottom of the boat. Seimei was going to feed him something else, he just knew it. This was just going to be great. All fun and joy for Ritsuka.

"Well, Ritsuka… We came to talk to you about what happened the other day. Y'know, the accident?" He nodded and Seimei continued. "Well, you were in the hospital a few hours, that's obvious. Soubi and I didn't discuss anything while you were in there, we just waited for you to wake up. And even when we left, we still didn't discuss it. It wasn't until a little while ago that we did. It was today, actually. The subject's kinda touchy, y'know?"

That was another thing besides the look to put on his list. Seimei didn't use the word "y'know" more than once in a speech. "I get it… So, are you going to tell me what you talked about?"

"You betcha." 'Nother thing, Seimei didn't talk like that. Was this guy getting sloppy or what? Even Soubi giving him a scrutinizing look. "Well, it was obviously Seven Moons. And, like I said before, they're after you. I didn't wanna bring the topic up because I don't know specifics. That's all I've really got so far. Just, Soubi and I decided it was best you not leave our sight."

Great… He bet this guy would just love to have his eyes on him twenty-four/seven. It would be so much easier for him to take him to the Seven Moons headquarters. Not that he'd mind, Seimei might be there. The real Seimei. Not this fake one that seemed to be messing up so much now. Maybe he was getting antsy and wanted to get his job over with? Whatever it was, Ritsuka didn't think that he'd survive another day. If something was going to happen, it was going to happen soon.

"Well… I guess we'll just have to wait and see what they do, right?" He smiled at the fake Seimei before him and squeezed Soubi's arm a little. Their private signal for trouble. They'd talk alone later.

Later seemed to never come. Soubi didn't appear inside of his bedroom until well after midnight. Luckily Ritsuka was in such a restless mood, otherwise he would've fallen asleep long ago. However, right at the moment he was panicked and couldn't sleep. Did wonders on his eyes. Soubi gave him a worried look and sat down beside him.

"I was going to wake you… I didn't realize you'd already be awake," He draped an arm around his waist and rested his head on top of Ritsuka's.

"That's fine. I haven't slept well in a while. I'm used to it by now." He sighed. "Listen… There's something wrong with Seimei. I don't –"

"I know. I've known for a while now. Well, today that is. It started during our earlier conversation. The real Seimei knows you would never hate him, hurt yourself, or leave. He told me that once. Told me you weren't that kind of boy. Today… 'he' asked me if I thought you would. I had to reassure him that you wouldn't, but that was his first mistake. There were numerous others that I just overlooked as change, but he started to get really sloppy later on."

"Yeah, I noticed that… Seimei would never say 'you betcha'. He was never so casual with anyone, not even me."

Soubi held him for another hour, rocking him gently. The motions slowly caused him to fall asleep, for the first time in a long time, before three o'clock. Soubi laid him down and kissed him on the forehead, just as "Seimei" walked into the room.

"Soubi, I thought you left," he said, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"I'm leaving now... Ritsuka wanted to talk to me. Then he wanted me to help him get to sleep." Sure, Ritsuka hadn't asked to be put to sleep, but it would be appreciated later on. It didn't take all that long for them to realize they'd been thinking the same thing all night.

/Chapter 2: Restless

A/N: Alright, there it is. Chapter two. I know, it took me forever to get it done. Well, I technically had it done, I was just too lazy to type it up. Sue me. XP I had the right after I got almost no reviews. What was the point of continuing something I wasn't sure people liked? sniffle Anyways, hope you liked like chapter and, like I said before, it's going to be a little while before I update again. Unless you review and convince me this is more important than some comedy.