Write date: 09-03 til 09-11
-Hello again! I'm back with another chapter!
-This chapter's calmer and shorter at that. A calm before the storm... hooray!
-Thank you to Dlbn for rieviewing, your words keep me motivated to post this!( and write the 13 chapter of this at the time.)
-Dlbn: Yes the suspense is real. You'll know everything soon enough and the secrets will reveil themselves with time. Thank you really much!
Ritsuka:(wear's a train's driver's hat, shouting cheerfully from the train's cabin.) attention the free-of-charge Suspense train is about to depart!
X X X
Chapter 3: Used to play as a child
-A month before-
With all those hurtful memories riving in his heart, Soubi kept on walking through the corridors nearing the exit.
He enquired some students where could he find Ritsu-sensei and it seemed the headmaster spent the noon in the backyard garden- that's where Soubi was heading now, he had some questions for his former teacher.
The male let out a soundless gasp of admiration as he stumbled across the garden, which was remarkable. The path was borded with flower beds, as if they led him forward. The man saw, bushes spreading their roots not far. They seemed prideful having so many glorious, mysteriuos stories they would never grit out, keep them lost forevermore. Furthermore a fountain calmly rippling from the warm wind and appeasing Soubi's nerves, allowing him to forget his guilt, atrocious twinge he's been carrying for atleast a silent minute.
Finally the horrid voices, alluring him to do the unthinkable, ceased to penetrate his mind, scratching at his sanity in vain...
At this very instant Soubi's mind erased Ritsuka. Who would have thought that the one you trully love, could bring such heartache and suffering?
Something had happened to Ritsuka, more to say someone did the boy in. They had desired the man's head also. So Soubi ran away, scared and lost failing to protect his sacrifice.
Seimei likely forgot about him long ago, who cares about a trash anyway? He could not live at Kio's, he had to abandon Tokyo... That place had too many dreadful memories, too many nightmares always seeking to drag out the guilt. He had to leave, had to escape, and the only destination was Goura, though he was spooked at his sensei's opinion, there was no other way...
Or... there is always one breakthrough. Even in the solid walls there is always a window, a door, a crack radiating with light of freedom... There is always that way, even if your confined with chains, and blackout is torturing your eyes, that blink of light is always with you...
Suicide... the last escape...
Soubi had been nearing that conclusion for some time now, but something always stopped the knife from actually commiting that crime...
Right now the young man felt composure as he walked further through the pathway. However soon enough a silent melody snapped Soubi out. He halted for a second, thinking he imagined it, however it came again. A few notes with a pause. It seemed the artist was still a novice, who did not know how to play...
"Piano?" He wondered to himself recognizing the instrument. He had not remembered there was such a thing in the backgarden. Soubi took a step closer in curiosity: did he gone mad?
As the blonde timidly strided to the point of the sound, he noticed a wooden arbor, which had a wide entrance, standing hiden between the trees. Soubi cocked an eyebrow covering his ear as the tone reached a horrible sounding interval. Okay, he wasn't hallucinating, but who the hell was the musician?
The male quietly slipped inside to take a peek, one half af him obliged this action, but he did not had anything else to do.
"S-sensei?" Soubi's eyes went open in disbelief as he noticed the familiar figure playing the piano.
Minami Ritsu side-glanced with irritated eyes, laying his fingers smoothly on the keyboard.
"Soubi-kun?" He turned to face him, his lips curving into a smirk."Slept well?"
"If I say I didn't, you'll put me to sleep next time?" Soubi snarled in anger.
Ritsu snickered for a minute, catching the different meanings that sentence might have held. The silver haired male posed his fingers near his lips, mocking with cold eyes.
" Uhu... I did not imagine you missed me that much..."
"Cut the crap!"
"Well if you want I could make some arrangements..." Minami Ritsu leered, then leaned closer to Soubi chuckling." Choose your poison: drugs or sex."
Soubi narrowed his eyes with horrible memories flooding in his mind.
"Anyway," the principal sighed, after a second, sitting straight on the swivel chair."About last night, you mentioned that someone killed Ritsuka and was after you. Correct?"
The principal waited for a positive nod out of his student."So you crawled back to me." He smirked tilting his head to the shoulder,coldly scrutinizing his student.
"Oh what irony... "
"I can seek refugee somewhere else."
"And yet...You didn't!"Ritsu outstreched his arms in teasing manner."You said yourself yesterday you had nowhere else to go!"
Soubi bit his lip. Crap. This was a mistake after all, he wanted to pull his hair out of shame.
"Listen Soubi-kun," Ritsu reached a hand toward the keyboard."I said it before- we will help you, you are part of Septimal Moon..."He paused." But we do need some more information on the assaulters. Can you tell me?"
"I... I dont know..." Soubi motioned his head down as the hardship and pain invaded his mind again.
"It might not be right at this moment but the sooner the better... understand Soubi-kun?"
The younger man grunted in response.
"Well, if we make that clear..." Ritsu nodded and spun around to the piano, ignoring that Soubi was still standing in there.
He began with low notes, adding higher ones, slowly closing his eyes as the cold wind ruffled his hair through the arbor's opening.
"Your not really good..." Soubi pointed out feeling his Sensei miss the note again." Maybe you should have tooken a job as musician instead of a psycologist?"
Ritsu ignored him and repeated the same pattern, failing at another tone.
"Well now I know why you hid your 'talent!" Soubi laughed.
"No." The headmaster sighed." Just had nothing to do, thought I'd try something different..."
"Why, the public library banned you?"
Ritsu groaned trying to play, meanwhile Soubi smiled viciously- Sensei's temper was breaking. Knowing he used to be very levelheaded this was hilarious to the former student.
"Soubi-kun I used to play as a child."
Soubi stood oblivious-like he ever cared.
"But did not had the time to practise, because I was taught to be a sacrifice."
Ritsu inhaled, his eyes drifting back to Soubi, the younger man agitated for an instant. Never had the blonde seen such sad, gloomy eyes out of Ritsu, did his teacher's composed self finally snapped? Well Soubi was proud of his 'deed' it was said that emotional stress can lead to diseases, heart attacks. A few more years constintely irritating him and...
"Whats with that look?" Ritsu snickered falsly, spotting Soubi's curiosity."Are you concerned how I was brought up?"
"Kind of," The younger man shrugged his shoulders." I'm interested how you became such an ass."
"Oh, I'll pretend I haven't heard that." Ritsu chuckled, feeling the squall ruffle his silver hair. He tilted his head smoothly."My parents were greedy, autocratic retards."
"Hee?"Soubi grinned, though his eyes flickered with fury, maybe even jealousy." So did they rape you when you were a child, too?" He hissed.
"No. Why would you think that?"
"Forget it."
A dreary silence took over as neither spoke for a minute, Ritsu flipping through a note sheet not glancing at Soubi's direction even once.
His student on the other hand seemed inraged; bitting his lip attempting to cover it,no use. He soon felt the iron, salty taste in his mouth-blood. Did he chewed on his lower lip that hard?
So Ritsu's parents weren't perfect either, guess it was passed down the bloodline. He thought he finally found sensei's reason for raping him all those years ago, maybe then he wouldn't have loathed him that much if Soubi understood his motive: stress, pain, jealousy of his childhood. Anything... any explanation would do.
But, no! Nothing came to light, so it was merely a satisfaction,a delusion.
Resentment drenched his emotions, so much hatred. His hands were even trembling with desire to slaughter him.
Why? Why damn it? How come he devoured his body over and over without any reason? Why had he took his virginity, marking Soubi as his property?
"No..." Ritsu forced a breath out of his lungs after a few minutes." They had not violated me, there was something else..." He tilted his head at Soubi with a grim expression." A curse."
"What do you take me for? A fool?"
"Dont believe me?" The teacher chuckled seeing Soubi's cold expression. "My foolish parents were religious above all, although I remained neutral to religion. Anyway when I was 12 my mother died out of an unexplained disease... She fell into a delirium and demised soon after."
Soubi crossed his hands on his chest, he couldn't comprehend these sentences. If Ritsu loathed his parents, this could have been assumed how viciously he called them. Then why was he so hesitant to speak? Did that encounter leave a longlasting scar in his heart?
"Then the priest refused to bury her, saying it wasn't an ordinary death, but an invitation from a demon. It meant that Minami Tomoko's(his mother's) soul was stolen"
"Absurd." Soubi complained.
"I hadn't believed it either, don't interrupt... My father felt devastated, nonetheless we still burried her by ourselves..." He paused with an aching sigh."That's when it all began... all those strange events, that fear, horror, guilt..." Ritsu covered his face with a palm, the last sentence was a wail.
"So," The blonde looked lured, it all seemed like a good fantasy tale to him." What exactly happened?"
"Soon after, our house caught in a mysterious fire, and the grave we built to our beloved..." The headmaster paused, shivering for a second, then embracing himself in order to stop the act.
"It..." He whispered as the wind became more violent and and a few careless drops of rain indicated an upcoming storm Ritsu whispered grief-stricken.
"It had been torn apart by a storm. It-Its was as if something itched for..."
He broke down facing the tiles.
Even Soubi's sneer softened seeing his sensei's agony.
"He said it..." Minami Ritsu staggered as the storm viciously danced through the garden, ripping the rose petals who gladly bowed to the strong force, joinning in the ball.
" He... He forced that religious menace on me... Again and again, again and again... I-I even began hallucinating at nights..." He sighed as his body agitated, his hands unconsciously clutching his plain white shirt harder out of the cold.
" Every night I saw my mother standing beside me... Every time we visited that torned memorial...I felt someone's... presence...I felt her. B-breath... Over and over...Over and over."
All of a sudden Ritsu felt an arm pat his shivering shoulder, he lifted his head in disbelief. Then Soubi flushed, backing away, what drove him to touch his teacher?
"Sensei,"The young man vocalized, not knowing what he wanted to say exactly."Calm down what ever you've been through its over now."
"Youre right." Ritsu exhaled trying to straighten up, though his body was still shaking."I have to go back. Thank you..."
The teacher whispered to Soubi. And then calmly strided out of the building.
The blonde stayed in the same spot as if glue stuck his feet to the tiles. He had not expected that kind of melancholic behaviour, nor the silent escape of his.
Soubi glanced at the dark figure being washed by the cold rain, becoming more blurry with every step he took. The lightning struck, radiating the light to illuminate the garden for a short second, revealing Ritsu's wet back as he dissapeared into the darkness. Blackout covered Soubi yet again.
Standing in this chaos, it was futile to recreate the scene before. It was impossible to believe this once was a garden. All that he comprehended now was the sound of the rustle as only proof of the land.
Soubi still detested his Sensei and unfortunetly that was one of the reasons he couldn't save him that day...
*The DarkCat*