Disclaimer: Not mine.
Chapter Seven: Ethicless
Yuiko pushed her ice cream around in her bowl, not looking at the men surrounding her. They were all sitting quietly. After ordering their ice cream, no one had spoken or tried to continue the conversation they had left.
After Kio had come storming out of Soubi's apartment, it had taken the group a while to get settled in Kio's car and to find a place to eat. There wasn't much open at eleven on a school night.
Yuiko would be tired for school tomorrow.
"Hey," Kio said suddenly. "I know its not a problem for those two morons over there, but do the two of you have a curfew?"
Beside her, Yayoi shook his head. "As long as I'm in school and keep my grades up…" he trailed off and looked at Yuiko.
"My parents are working…" Yuiko shrugged.
The table lapsed again into silence. Across the table from Yuiko, the two boys only a little older than she was ate their ice cream without comment. Yayoi was just staring off into space, lost in thought. Kio-san didn't have ice cream. Instead, he had a cup of coffee.
Yuiko decided she didn't like the silence. It was time to end it. They had important things to talk about, after all. "Is there anyway to get Ritsuka back?" she asked Kio-san.
Kio shrugged, then looked at the blue-haired boy. Yuiko hadn't caught his name and she certainly had not been introduced to him. "I know as much about this Fighter-Sacrifice business as you do," Kio said, without taking his eyes off of the younger boy.
The blue-haired boy fidgeted in his seat. Beside him, the red-head tensed, as though he were ready to leapt to his friend's defense.
No, Yuiko mentally corrected herself. The two boys were not friends. They were more; they were like Soubi-san and Ritsuka. Two halves of the same whole.
According to what Soubi had said earlier, Fighter and Sacrifice. Though, Yuiko still wasn't quite sure what that all meant. It didn't matter though. If she never found out, it would be worth it to have her Ritsuka back.
"Are you going to answer my question, Youji, Natsuo?" Kio asked, breaking the silence that had enveloped the table.
The blue-haired boy laid a hand on his partner's arm to calm him before speaking. "I'm not sure, Kio-san," he said. "It is possible for a Fighter to manipulate another's memories. I don't know if it could be done to a Sacrifice; I've certainly never tried it, not has Tsou-chan."
The red-head- Natsuo- shook his head. "I wouldn't want to try to, either. Soubi-san would kill us."
Youji nodded.
"He'd kill you for trying to help Risuka?" Yuiko asked. That didn't sound like the Soubi she knew. The Soubi she knew…
"I think Soubi-san lives for Ritsuka, Yuiko," Yayoi said. "Have you ever heard him talk back to Ritsuka, even when Ritsuka was being cruel?"
Yuiko frowned and shook her head. "No," she admitted.
"Your friend's right," Kio-san said. "Soubi would kill and die before he let harm, real or imagined, come to Ritsuka. And he will never fight against what Aoyagi wants."
Yuiko detected a trace of something in Kio's voice, but she was too tired to figure it out. She frowned at her ice cream. It was all melty and swirly.
"But, assuming Soubi was out of the picture, could you do something to bring back the other Ritsuka?" Kio asked.
"I don't know," Yuiko heard the blue-haired Youji say. "It may be possible to trigger the memories he had until this morning, but god only knows what that will do to his personality. I'm not a psychologist."
"I could do it." Natsuo sounded confident. "All we'd have to do is immobilize Soubi long enough…"
"…which could potentially be done with the correct spell during a battle…
"…or we could use them outside of battle…"
Yuiko looked up to see the two boys staring at one another as they talked. It was almost as if they were talking another language.
Kio cleared his throat. The two boys looked at him quickly, a gleam in their eyes that Yuiko was certain she had never seen before in anyone else. It scared her.
"It can be done?" Kio asked.
Youji nodded. "Of course it can," he said. "But I don't think its ethical."
"Ethical? You?" Kio seemed amused, but Yuiko didn't know by what.
"You're just interested in Soubi- you don't want Ritsuka to have him. If messing with Ritsuka's memories sends him permanently insane, it won't bother you a bit. You'll just be one step closer to having Soubi for…"
There was a crash as Kio stood up and left the table. His mug lay broken on the floor and the chair was toppled.
The two boys were laughing at Kio-san's abrupt departure.
Yuiko suddenly felt someone grab her hand. "Yuiko-san, its time for us to go home," Yayoi said. He tugged on her arm until she stood up.
"But Yayoi…" Yuiko trailed off when she saw the look on Yayoi's face. He looked scared. His eyes kept flickering to the two boys chortling at the table.
"Now, Yuiko-san. I'll walk you home." Yayoi tugged at her arm with more urgency and led her towards the door to the restaurant.
"We haven't paid yet…" Yuiko said.
"Let them handle it…" Yayoi tugged harder. It was almost as if he couldn't get away from the table fast enough.
Still puzzled, Yuiko let Yayoi tug her along. If he wanted to go this badly, he must have a good reason.
The night air was cold against Yuiko's bare arms. Her jacket was inside the restaurant. It was dark outside. Dark and cold. It was going to be a long walk home.
Yayoi seemed to know where he was going, though. He stood outside for a moment, looking around, then, with a small nod, he picked a direction and started walking. He held on to Yuiko's hand the entire time.
"Hey, you two." Yuiko jumped at the sound of the voice. She hadn't realized…
Kio was standing by his car. "I'll drive you home. Its too late for kids to be walking at night."
"What about the boys?" Yuiko asked. She looked back at the restaurant. She didn't even think they had money to pay the bill.
"They'll manage." Kio replied. He held open his car door. "Get in. Its late and we all need to head to bed."
Without further hesitation, the two middle-schoolers did as told.
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A/N: Hmmm…my characterization might be off this chapter. Not sure. Lemme know.