Write date: 08-20; 08-29
The ending is close, I can nearly touch it, now if only I will myself to finish the final chapter and then the epilogue... Not much chapters left to post either, hooray. And going to a little side note, I don't know if the next chapter will come out soon, unfortunately. A lot of things are occupying my mind... Anyway there you go, the 24 chapter.
-X-X-X-
- Present-
"I loved you, Ritsu... I love you..."
Were does the last words Soubi comprehended before falling? He didn't recall anything else afterwards...
'He's innocent.'
The blonde grumbled, shifting in the bed, before his hands brushed through his eyes. Only then did he noticed the medical dressings covering his arms, they reached from the elbows all the way to the wrists.
'He's innocent.'
That thought still plagued his mind. It repeated periodically every ten minutes or so. It would sound again, bringing his mind to scan the sudden burst of pensiveness and shame, until Soubi would remember Utura Hisho...
'He's innocent.'
"Good morning, Soubi!" A shrill voice evoke, when a blue-haired female tore the curtain, which isolated the man's infirmary bed from the rest of the room. Nagisa wore her lab coat on, keeping her one hand sealed deep in the white pocket. She smiled at him then.
Soubi could've swore, that he saw relief wash over Nagisa's expression. Even though Hisho was not the culprit, who killed Ritsu... It was just a nasty accident and of course the psychologist had been related to the mess one way or another. Nevertheless it didn't matter, how had he got along with the culprit, what was important, was the fact, that he had been framed... So why was she feeling something fall from her chest?
"You slept quite well. So how are you feeling now?" Nagisa continued, while Soubi sat up, before giving a nod. He then rubbed his eyes from the immense light, which was setting rays to his side. He felt fatigued after the rest nonetheless, as his body wanted nothing more but to fall back to sleep for the remaining day. This would happen, when he would sleep for more than twelve hours. So did he this time?
"Your injuries aren't severe, I patched them up." The woman blinked, noticing how Soubi inspected the bandaged arm, tugging at the dressing's edge slightly. They seemed annoying to the blonde. If only he would've known, that the wounds were coagulated by the blood cells, he would have ripped the bandages apart. Instead he scratched at his arm in irritation, turning his attention to Nagisa, who looked over a chart, while swaying back and forth on her toes slightly.
"Shouldn't Yune-chan do this job?"
"Oh? Well she has her own patients at the moment. She couldn't treat you." Nagisa frowned at the young man, while ogling him over her papers." You think I'm not capable of this?"
"N-no..." Soubi coughed out suddenly to escape the woman's menacing stare. So that was displeasure welling through her lips.
Wasn't she jealous of Yune a little? Ritsu had been visiting her instead of asking for Nagisa's advice, even though the blue-haired female had more knowledge in the medical field than that teenager. Regardless Ritsu had wanted to keep his condition a secret from the members of Septimal Moon.
"Since Shio left the job because of a serious injury, which she got in the middle of the riot, I'm taking care of a few of her patients. I need to help Yune-chan after all."
"Who is Shio?" The blonde interrupted slightly confused. Meanwhile Nagisa left him guessing for a second, to only come back with mug of coffee. She sat on the little swivel chair, crossing her legs elegantly.
"The previous nurse. The pink-haired youth. You don't remember her?" Soubi narrowed his eyes, trying to recall, before he eventually motioned his head in a positive response, albeit timidly. (Ch. 1) / (Ch. 7)
Finally, Nagisa finished her coffee in silence, until she saw Soubi throw the covers from himself in annoyance, planning to get up.
He was tired of her company. What a shame... Nagisa thought, as she pouted her lips, then gave him a skeptical glare.
"Are you feeling alright? Don't you want to lay down for a while longer?"
"I am a little sleepy, but that is all." Soubi admitted, as he layed his bare feet on the cold tiles, all the while rubbing the itchy arm.
"Well that's great to hear! Say, if you are really feeling well, would you mind carrying a few things for me?"
Soubi agreed, although he should've known, that her meaning of a few things was quite far-fetched. Still he complied and now had to hold a mountain of papers, while keeping up with Nagisa's pace, as they strode through the stairs.
The corridor leading after seemed endless to the blonde. In so his mind began to fly, oblivious to the monotonic activity. It was as if his brain cut off the wires, leading to Soubi's consciousness. And so it showed the forgotten things, that his mind secretly desired to repeat. He couldn't control the mingling and transparent images, he wasn't even aware of them as of yet.
Firstly, as his gaze shifted into a door, leading to the bathroom, his mind proclaimed, that it should be opened. How it wanted the door to be at least a little parted, as if that scene would unfold like the last time.
He scarcely recalled Ritsu leaning toward that sink once. He had been shakily gripping a syringe, that penetrated his inner elbow, surrounded by two fingers pressed against the rushed skin. What caught Soubi's interest, was the face of the man. It was partially covered with silver strands of hair. His lips moved as if releasing a long awaited sigh, then it curved upwards slightly, into gentle slight smile.
The blonde uncertainly pried his eyes away, not wanting to remember, that horrid grin anymore. It caused uneasiness to squirm in his stomach. Just knowing, that kind of easy, soothing smile could be caused by artificial means. Not once in the period of that horrid month had the blonde seen his sensei so peaceful like that. Yet there Ritsu was, drowning himself in the manufactured feeling of safety, serenity and wellness.
"We're here." Nagisa finally stated, waiting for Soubi to catch up. They were standing in the first underground floor, which was rather quiet and gloomy, because of the lack of people and poorly functioning light bulbs.
"Now prepare to cover your nose." The blue-haired woman joked, swiftly unlocking the door. In the meantime Soubi stood with a tired, sleepy expression, until his eyes shot open from the insides of the room.
The dust seemed to fly toward them from the dark office at the instant the door was parted. And the covers on the lonely window looked like they had been tightly shut for ages. The tall dusty and overfilled shelves decorated nearly every wall of the room and a senile desk stood in the middle, as it's companions, it was covered with books and files likewise.
"What is this?" Soubi snarled at the unpleasant discovery. While Nagisa emitted another chuckle from her lungs. She turned to him soon enough.
"Behold the room of storage! I nickname it the trash dump."
Soubi threw her a questioning glance as if wanting to ask:' why in the world?' But the scientist added like a response to his thoughts.
"But we do need these documents once or twice. It would be ridiculous to keep this bunch out in the open, don't you think so?" She motioned her fingers to the wooden shelf, before taking the papers from Soubi's hold.
The blonde was glad that was over, he could use his hands for more important and not that annoying activities, for instance painting in the farthest corner away from Nagisa. So she wouldn't bounce to him with a few things on her mind again.
"Well, then I'll be going..."
"No. I'll still need your help." An order evoke quickly from the female, as if it was programmed in her mind and just waiting for the right moment to be set free. Soubi only sighed in defeat, as she pointed her finger childishly at him. He believed, that she even practiced this ordeal." So stay here for a moment."
The blonde sat down on the creaking chair next to the desk, seeing, that Nagisa will take her time. The man's eyes traced one of the desk's drawers, before his boredom got the best of him, as Soubi forced it open.
The senile wood didn't seem pleasured by the sudden move eager to fall, due to the books and papers pulling it down. Soubi positioned his hand below it, to keep it steady from the heavy weight. Then he absentmindedly began to browse through the pages stacked in there. Soon his movements paused, when the man thought, that he just skimmed through a familiar photo. He began to look for it, suddenly pulling out a profile.
The man narrowed his eyes at the unexpected discovery. Minami Yune's student form...
'Minami? Isn't that Ritsu-sensei's surname? So they are related?' A thousand of questions buzzed around in his mind, until Soubi pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Oh... Yune-chan did say, that Ritsu had adopted her... So that's why it's changed.'
The blonde's curious pupils began to inspect the lower side of the page. Soon he emitted a silent murmur, as a confirmation of his findings.
"Hinazuki..."
"Huh?" Nagisa perked up, suddenly throwing Soubi a scrutinizing glare. "How do you know about those demonic beasts?"
The young man just gazed back at her dumbfounded. That was surely displeasure oozing out of the female. He laid the profile inside the drawer, before inquiring again.
"Who are the Hinazuki's?"
"Those brats..." Nagisa spat out unsavory." Their lineage lived just after the forest for generations. They were pretty good neighbors, though a little hot-headed. They weren't that strong, when it came to the strength of their units... Although last year..."
Nagisa cut off, wringing her hands together in the meantime. Soubi gently nodded, wanting her to continue with the story.
"Do you now that boarded cliff on the other side of the woods?"
"Yes... And?"
"One member of the Hinazuki family had died there last year..." Soubi's eyes shot wide open, although he didn't had the means to cut of his companion. "Yeah… It was a boy, Kaito, if I recall correctly, though it was accidental, according to the autopsy. He just fell over. The railing remained like new too. We expected it to be suicide, but there was little proof of that either. So until this day it remains a mystery. What a poor kid, and he had potential to be a good fighter. "
"What?" Soubi grunted, while Nagisa leisurely walked closer to him, prompting her arm on the dusty table.
"Mh... Those kind of events are uncommon here... A few days later the Hinazuki's began to formally attak us... They blamed our protection, even mocked our teaching system, as if we taught that kid how to jump off a border... The ridiculing letters continued. Hinazuki's even went to the length of signing a petition in order to close down the whole school. Or at least change the principal with one of their own..."
"Seriously?..." Soubi eventually interrupted. And Nagisa gave a frail nod, while clenching her trembling fingers. She began to tap her nails at the nearest books. The blonde crossed his hands, as he smirked slightly then." So how did Ritsu-sensei took this? I can already imagine his displeasure of finding out that someone wanted to close off his precious school."
Truth be told, Soubi couldn't imagine Ritsu living or working anywhere else. His whole roots grew here... His father was a teacher and a member of Septimal Moon. Most of Ritsu's ancestors took their role inside of Seven Voices. And there he was, a person who risked everything, he had, to change the organization, to what Soubi saw now... To have all of that taken away, would probably leave a big hole in Sensei's heart. He wouldn't have a meaning anymore.
"Well, of course Ritsu hadn't took it lightly. Who would?" Nagisa scoffed as if saying Soubi asked a worthless question. " We tried to back fire calmly, writing to them, visiting and giving our condolences for the unfortunate child. Our attempts proved to be futile. After a few quiet weeks, they ambushed our school..." Nagisa emitted a sad sigh at the end like blowing out all the stress and rage from her lungs. She still held the resentment for last year's happenings it seemed.
"Nobody got severely injured. But you should've seen Ritsu then, he was quite inraged..."
Soubi stared quiet and oblivious. He knew well, what she stated, was uncharacteristic for his teacher. Something had to really throw Ritsu-sensei out of his comfort zone for him to boil on the outside... However seeing this affair, of threatening to close down the school, then attacking Seven Voices, Soubi would say, that Hinazuki's had done a good job at it.
"We tried to remain civilized. We went to make peace with them. But the Hinazuki's just made the attempt to kill the people, who came. I wasn't there at that moment, so I can't really testify what occurred... All that I heard was… That Ritsu ordered to slay the whole kinsfolk."
The room went to a complete silence afterwards, as Nagisa lips were tightly closed, as if debating had it been a good idea to open up. Soubi, on the other hand, frowned, as his expression slowly turned into a wry face from the sour information. He would part his mouth in order to say something, but every time he felt in a loss of words. So nothing altered for a few minutes longer. Until the blue-haired woman finally slid her hand, then slowly moved away to continue her work. the the only sound in the room was the friction, that the papers created in their rummage.
"So... Nobody survived." Soubi stated dryly for confirmation at that moment. "Maybe a few Hinazuki's lived elsewhere?"
"No... It was their tradition to live in one place... Just... Soubi, please, let's end this conversation."
So even though Septimal Moom destroyed the kinsfolk, Yune was the only remaining Hinazuki. Soubi collected his thoughts. However his pondering was broken, when Nagisa called out, entwining her fingers together and stretching her arms.
"Alright, I think I'm done. Soubi, we can go now." The female motioned to a new pile of documents on the floor, once her companion stood up from the office chair." Care to carry?"
Soubi didn't protested, the man just hoped, he could play chess with Takehito in peace.
However when the blonde finished with Nagisa, it took him some time to find him. The temporary headmaster's office was empty for once, Soubi didn't spotted the dark-haired man in the cafeteria either. That was usually the place to look for Takehito, yet there was no sign of him. In the end the blonde resorted to waiting near the office. The other should come back there sooner or later.
"Hey, didn't expect to see you here!" A light laughter evoke from the other side, causing Soubi to turn around. Soon It's owner came into view with a bruised nose.
"Takehito, where were you?" The blonde raised an eyebrow, while the other shrugged his shoulders, all the while rummaging through his jacket's pockets as usual.
"Had some errands to run... Oh, and by the way..."
Soubi saw Takehito desperately search for something, dropping candy wrappers in the meantime. Pretty soon he took out a lighter and some cigarettes.
"You smoke?" Soubi voiced out the simple idea, which came momentarily.
"No. But I heard from a few that you do. So here you go. How about we take walk to the garden? It's easier to get there through the underground level."
"Alright. Thanks..." The blonde took the items a little hesitantly. Actually he was hoping to beat the other at chess, or at least attempt. Well maybe this will have a similar calming effect as well. His companion began strolling in the hallway, leaving Soubi to catch up.
"Things seem to get a lot calmer now, that the culprit has finally been caught... Gomon will come later today for his transfer." Takehito stated, tilting his head sideways.
Soubi blinked dully, staring at the cancer stick in his hand. Nevertheless his mind wanted to scream out, to get Takehito to understand the mistake Soubi had done... He had been the one, who pushed Hisho too far after all, when the blonde had begun to rant on the psychologist, pointing out, that Ritsu had been dead. He remembered the hurt expression, that Utura Hisho had given then, yet the blonde had continued to smear dirt. Why? Why couldn't Soubi trust Ritsu's words? Why did he open Hisho's old wounds, why did he frame him?
'You will make me the culprit.' Wasn't that, what Utura Hisho said? Soubi's lips tensed, as he forced himself to stay quiet. How he wanted to end this game of lies. How he wished for someone to listen to the truth, to help him solve this... the blonde couldn't do this alone anymore. He didn't want to blame any guiltless people... However the biggest desire remained to yell out to Takehito:
'He's innocent.'
"How do you feel now, that everything's over?"
Soubi gave a small frightened look to his companion's sudden question, before mustering a weak smile, still lost in the daze. A manufactured relief. It was a terrible attempt, which the blonde understood, when Takehito nearly flinched away. Dear, this guilt was picking at Soubi's nerves.
"I see you're not well, you won't mask that from me." The dark-haired man patted the latter's back. And Soubi wanted to sulk in even more - this chat obviously won't help to calm his emotions. "I understand this distress over Minami-san... No wonder there was something between you two."
Soubi stared at him, still stunned, while his cigarette nearly fell from his lips. This day was getting worse by the minute. What did Takehito knew about their past? The blonde mumbled quickly.
"Teacher and student. Nothing more."
"Oh? Really?"
"Yes. Really. In all honesty, I'd rather not talk about that." The blonde snapped, losing his temper. And his friend turned his head away absentmindedly. Takehito let the comment slide, thankfully.
Soubi gazed down at the cigarette, stuck between his fingers after that. He saw it slowly emit whirls of smoke.
Teacher and student. How Soubi wished that would have been the truth... Still. If there hadn't been anything, he would've probably remained a virgin through his teenage years.
Despite that, Soubi couldn't say, that he hated Ritsu-sensei as much as he used to. Sorrowful pity was all that was left. After cracking a part of that wretched man's brain, he saw that his sensei hid a lot of things behind a strong façade... He wasn't who he used to be anymore. Ritsu changed dramatically. In the span of a month, the young man had witnessed an entirely different face of his. Ritsu was weak, always haunted by his own demonic past and unable to run away...
Soubi came to an understanding, that every human had a hidden, subconscious part of them, which they couldn't control.
It would breach out at dark, crawl out of the alleys, poisoning the brain. In conclusion, making the human act impulsive, stupid, according to emotions and making decisions a lot of people would rather want to forget, for instance, when Soubi nearly committed suicide. (Ch. 4) That would be a perfect example of the so-called-demons deeds. Maybe it was the same for Ritsu?... What if that was the reason, he raped his student? Simple irrationality? No. That sounds ridiculous.
They walked in quiet for a few minutes, coming near to the stairs, which led to the underground floor. Soubi's legs froze at the sight of it. His whole body seemed disinterested in moving forward too.
The blonde shut his eyes, trying to stop the anxiousness that spread, polluting more and more of his insides. Now, even his heartbeat struck heavily, as he remembered, that Ritsu met his deathbed somewhere down there, below the earth, in that accursed boiler room. He had died there, ripped apart in such a gruesome and mocking way.
The blonde felt a lump form in his throat, just staring at the darkened hallway. And the person who did this, lived freely. What if the culprit will kill again? There was no telling, who will lay their life. What if Soubi will be the next victim? He was digging for things, that were supposed to be kept silent. He already knew too much, compared to Nagisa for example. Won't this prying be the end of him one day?
The blonde suddenly heaved out, trying to stop his imagination from recreating Ritsu's death. Takehito heard this, turning on his heel to take a glance of his companion.
"Are you okay? You look quite pale."
"I... I'm fine..." Soubi muttered, covering his mouth and nodding for a few times more to confirm himself than anyone else. His pupils jumped from either side, to check if no one was watching, before the blonde strode down the stairs.
"Could you keep a secret?" The blonde nearly stammered out hurriedly, when he was a few steps away from Takehito. The middle-aged man seemed confused by the sudden topic and Soubi's beyond worried face.
"Yeah. What is it?"
"Ritsu-sensei... He..."
"What, are you finally going to open up about your past? I'm not pushing you to do it." Takehito shook his head. The blonde sighed then. For some reason it was enormously hard for his tongue to twist out those words.
"He's... Dead... Ritsu-sensei is dead. He was killed in the boiler room."
"What?. A-are you serious!? H-how is that possible, Minam-"
"Don't try to feed me with the common saying, that he's in rehabilitation. I'm telling you what really happened." Soubi snarled out, cutting his companion off. He just hoped the other believed. It must sound like an absurdity to Takehito.
"Doesn't it sound weird that we are unable to visit him? It's been a whole month and there's still no news about his recovery. Doesn't it sound a little suspicious? I'm pretty certain, that the only thing, that those doctors are curing is Ritsu-sensei's corpse." The blonde huffed out his anxiety. Actually he was quite angry at himself for letting that much emotion get out. Then again, this whole incident wouldn't strike him as much, if he didn't care for Ritsu.
"So... You mean... After he was stabbed in the garden he was brought here?" Takehito slowly sat on the steps of the stairs, prompting his elbows on his knees in thought.
"No. That's not it. The story with the garden, the healing process. It's all a set up."
"What? So... What truly happened back then?" Takehito shot him a glance, as Soubi sat next to him with a little easiness oozing in.
"As much as I remember, sensei was tortured for a few weeks, before dying in that room. He didn't knew the culprit himself, but it was obvious, that they had met."
"Wait a minute..." Takehito ran a hand through his hair, as an idea struck him. He leaned his back at the stairs slightly with a sigh. "If Minami-san's accident was fake, that means the evidence is too."
"And Hisho is innocent..." The blonde muttered out, while his nearly deadpan eyes were stuck to the floor. The mind finally got the humiliating sentence out in the open. For some reason those words warmed the blonde's heart. He wished to repeat them again and again.
"I don't know about that... He was suspicious. Besides we have no evidence for and against his innocence, Soubi. Right now we can't rule out anything."
"I'm sure of it. Ritsu said that Utura Hisho wasn't a killer. And he himself admitted that he loved sensei until the end..."
"But Hisho knew about his death..." Takehito cut the younger man off with a colder tone. And Soubi gone silent, before giving a timid nod, not glanced up at his companion. The dark-haired man shook his head. "We can't make out anything with this little information..."
"I have another suspect." Soubi inhaled the lung killing smoke, before puffing it all out." Hinazuki Yune. Her family was the one, who threatened Septimal Moon. Am I correct?" He threw Takehito a glimpse, who gave an affirmative motion.
"So she has a reason for killing Ritsu-sensei. And she was responsible for his medications. That made him even more dependent on her. Besides she's a good liar. I'm pretty sure Yune-chan made a lot of them to cover herself up."
The blonde recalled the scratch marks, that he spotted on Yune's wrists. She claimed, they had been from Nagisa's cat. Truth was, they weren't. And that made Soubi wonder, why would she mislead about something as indifferent as that. Unless it was somehow related to Ritsu's torturing, that way the nurse had to cook up an alibi to hide the real reason.
Although Soubi's theory had a huge hole... At the time, when someone plucked out Ritsu's toenails, she had been sleeping. The nurse was wearing a nightgown, in so she had exoneration... On the other hand, since it happened vaguely in a span of an hour and a half. Yune could've come back and fallen asleep. So in the end, having an alibi did not prove anything. Soubi had to remember that from now.
"So you are positive that Yune-chan did it?" Takehito rubbed his chin in thought. "Actually, it could be possible... As you said, she had a motive. Ritsu had ordered to kill her family. So she wanted revenge. Makes sense."
Soubi stayed silent for a minute, tapping the burnt ash down, while overthinking his reasoning again.
"It's quite sad, what happened to Minami... I never wished him such a fate." The dark-haired man broke the quiet. The blonde just blinked tiredly at him.
"What?"
"Hmm? Are you surprised, that I'm grieving over his death? Okay, I understand you probably wouldn't. With everything, that happened between you two."
Soubi turned to Takehito with widened eyes, barely masking his nervousness, which struck as soon as those words were uttered. He didn't wanted to hear anymore, his mind proclaimed of the worst to come, yet he sat scared, silent and waiting.
"I know what Minami had done to you... He let it slip to Hisho once, when he was drunk... That happened a year before. Regardless of what you might have thought, only a small minority had known, to who you had lost your ears, either the students, who harassed you, or Nagisa. We, the Septimal Moon, hadn't listened to gossip. And we had ignored her rants likewise, because well it's Nagisa. If only we could've known sooner. Maybe something would've been different. Maybe we could've taken you away from that monster." The man bit his lip in pain then.
And Soubi closed his eyes, suddenly seeming more interested in the silence. He wished for the other to shut up. He didn't want to listen...
"There was something that surprised me though... He raped you, when you were twelve or thirteen... He remembered it clearly to that day. Hisho told me, that Minami even blamed himself... Soubi, I... Know it's hard to believe and he never told you this... But I'm sure Ritsu wanted to apologize maybe one day or another. He felt sorry for what he did... But his pride never let him sink that low, as to admit it..."
The blonde felt his heart rate becoming quicker, it seemed, that every heartbeat weight a ton. Soon his mind echoed back Hisho's words, when the psychologist had interviewed him. The lonely phrase, that finally got a meaning. He clenched his fists soon, hearing those sentences in the back of his mind.
'Minami Ritsu, eh? I kinda pity you kid.' (Ch. 11)
'Ritsu used to talk about you on and on, you poor thing.' (Ch. 21)
'Those regrets, mistakes. I've done so much... Too much... ' (Ch. 20)
'Didn't it hurt, when I took your ears?'
'Those demons don't let me sleep, now they don't let me live.'
'Why? Come on, Soubi-kun, huhuhu... Is that fear I hear in your voice?'
'I can help you lift that flesh up. Then you'll just have to hit me...'
'You prayed... Begged... Hoped for me to stop... Now did I? No...'
A disaster. A web of unrelated thoughts. First Hisho's, then Ritsu's words.
He got sick of the turmoil in his brain. Soubi suddenly turned to Takehito with a foreign and cold face.
"That's not a reason for me to forgive Ritsu-sensei."