Chapter 3:
Ritsuka flinched when he heard that word. What a horrible name for a person to have.
"It means, 'One without trust,' " the boy continued. "I'm a Sacrifice." Ritsuka wondered why he gave such information so freely. Then he realized. Soubi had called him by his true name before he woke up. Perhaps he had heard them, and that was what woke him from his sleep.
"Actually, I mean your other name," said Ritsuka, "the one people use to address you." The boy smiled.
"My name is Etsuko Hatsuharu. Call me Haru if you want." He attempted to sit up, but his wounds in his sides caused his great pain. Soubi and Ritsuka slowly set him upright, careful to leave his wounds closed. "Damn, this hurts," Haru moaned. Ritsuka gingerly reached up to his own face and touched the bandage on his cheek. His mother had inflicted so much pain on him, but what was done to Haru was worse than he had seen his mother do.
"Haru must stay here for a while," said Soubi. "Is that alright with you, Ritsuka?" Ritsuka started and stepped back.
"Him! Stay here?" he asked uneasily. "What about my mother? She'll hurt him even more."
"It's alright," Haru said quietly. "I'll be gone by tomorrow. It's okay." Ritsuka felt guilty as he watched Soubi help Haru sit up. He was just like Soubi, another Fighter unit, but he was still a human being.
"Who are you? You're not Ritsuka! Give me back my Ritsuka!"
"Mother, stop it. You're hurting him with your words. He's stressing out."
"You stop it, Seimei! Stop calling him Ritsuka! Bring me back my Ritsuka! Seimei, when did you get like this! Why don't you listen to me at all?"
"Mother, please..."
Ritsuka shuddered as the scene ran through his head. Seimei. Beloved. They were the same person. Ritsuka wasn't one to trust people right away. But, his brother was different, and Soubi was the same. Perhaps Trustless could be the same as both of them.
No, he told himself. He's nothing like Seimei. And Soubi… Soubi isn't like Seimei either.
"Heh, I wonder," Haru murmured. "I wonder what she'd say if she saw me now." Ritsuka's ears pricked as Haru spoke.
"Who's 'she'?" he asked. "Someone you know?" Haru gazed out the window at the pouring rain. He smiled knowing she was safe, yet he was sad that he wouldn't see her for a while. Just watching the rain brought back memories of holding her hand, fighting in battle, spending afternoons at the park no matter what the weather. He glanced down at his hand, but it disappointed him. He half-expected to see her hand resting there.
"Her name," he began, "her name is something only I can know. Her real name is 'Immortal,' but her name that everyone else knows…it is my treasure." He stared silently at the sky, yearning to be near her. "Her hair is soft," he murmured. "Her voice is as gentle as rain. She's my angel, my Immortal. I want to see her so much." Ritsuka tried to picture Immortal in his mind, but all Haru had said built nothing. To him, she sounded like any regular girl. But, in Haru's eyes, she was something more.
"I better get going," Haru sighed. He slowly slid off the bed onto the floor holding his side in his hand. The bandages slid off, revealing reopened wounds.
"No," Ritsuka protested. "If you move, you'll bleed to death." Soubi smiled at Ritsuka and innately grasped his own ear. In the holes Ritsuka had pierced into his flesh, he wore a pair of butterfly earrings. They reminded him of Ritsuka. Though the touch had been gentle, the needle hurt the most. The needle, Ritsuka's words… they were nearly one in the same.
"I'll be fine," Haru snapped. "I can take care of myself. After all, I am seventeen years old."
"No way!" Ritsuka gasped. "There's no way that you could be seventeen!"
"Just recently seventeen," Haru smiled. "Immortal and I celebrated it together. By the way, ice cream and strawberries taste very good together. She made them just for that day."
Oi, Ritsuka thought, his eyebrow twitching in frustration. This guy just went from entranced to immature to happy in, like, five minutes!
"Good to know you're feeling better," Soubi smiled. "Now, Ritsuka, let's go." He grabbed Ritsuka's wrist and pulled him out the door.
"Where?" Ritsuka asked, trying to resist Soubi's force.
"The art exhibit," Soubi replied. "I have to take my paintings home tonight, and the one I made for you is there." Ritsuka smiled. A painting just for him. So, Soubi wasn't such a bad guy sometimes. But what about Haru? He couldn't leave him alone in his house. Masaki would find him eventually and make his wounds even worse.
"Soubi, Haru can't stay here," he said. "If my mother finds him, he might die, you know, because his wounds would become worse." Soubi's smile faded a little, and he released Ritsuka's arm.
"I understand," he replied. "I'll just bring the painting to you later." He glanced back at Ritsuka before disappearing behind the window curtains. "See ya soon," he smiled. Ritsuka smiled back, but it was a hollow reply. Within minutes, Soubi had disappeared.
