Another chapter :) If I had to name it would be...

Trouble In Paradise

R&R as always, if you please.

I don't own anything. Seriously...

"It's your birthday – cheer up, Ritsuka."

"I'm fine."

The violet-eyed youth threw out his half-eaten candy bar into the trash can, his tail skimming against the sidewalk. He never let his tail drag unless he was truly down on himself, which seemed to be the case on the only day Seimei recognized particularly. A squirrel hurried over to the trash can and stealthily stole the abandoned candy bar, tail flicking happily. Seimei sighed; his brother would never throw out something his brother had purchased for him unless the world was about to end – his world, anyway.

He thought of ways to cheer his brother up, but for all he was a sage in all matters Ritsuka he was not so good at making people happy. He saw a stall vendor handing out balloons for the meagre price of two dollars, his round belly swinging back and forth as he worked. Such a thing didn't strike Seimei as an appropriate gift, so he looking for something else. There was an ice-cream and cake stand near the angel water fountain but, as the forgotten chocolate bar indicated, Ritsuka wasn't hungry or he wasn't in the mood to eat, at least.

"You don't have to buy me something to cheer me up," Ritsuka snapped. His ears bristled in anger as if the prospect of receiving a gift thoroughly disgusted him.

Ritsuka had grown up, and Seimei was starting to realize it. Not that he was slow in any nature the word might take but he was in something he could only call denial. His brother didn't want to be coddled and fretted over anymore. He could now reach the top cabinets in the kitchen on his own, cook basic meals, scrub himself down in the shower (he no longer liked baths) and mow the lawn. Maybe it wasn't so much that he was tall or big enough – a few months ago he'd been just the same and still clung to his brother like a bloodsucker – but that he was trying to get some independence. He was tired of being pushed around by their mother when his big brother wasn't there to keep her in check. His friends were starting to grow up and go to parties, and he wanted to go too. He was something of a social butterfly, unlike his brother who purposefully avoided such insignificant things. Having Seimei be proud of him just wasn't something he looked to anymore.

"Then I won't," he drawled.

"I'm 13 now. I don't need you to do anything for me anymore," he continued. (I decided that Seimei doesn't leave in my story. Why? Because it sucked.)

"Sure."

"I asked mom if I could go to a party tomorrow night at a friend's house."

He didn't appear to be making a particularly pertinent point but Seimei was getting annoyed at his younger sibling, something that had rarely, if ever, happened as far as he could remember. His tail was making short slashes in the air and his ears were pinned almost all the way back against the top of his head. Ritsuka, after a quick look over at his brother, felt his heart sink. He didn't want that. He didn't need Seimei anymore and he wanted to show him that…even if he really didn't want to.

"Have fun," Seimei hissed. Ritsuka flinched.

"…can we go home now?" he tried to sound as angry as he could. It seemed to work because Seimei's back straightened and he slipped his hands into his pockets like he always did when he was slowly slipping into a calm, stoic state of mind that radiated murderous anger. Ritsuka had seen it before, just not directed at him. He shivered and blamed it on the chilly wind.

The passed the angel fountain, Ritsuka grumbling when he got splashed. The followed the zigzagging path across the park, crunching some dead leaves under the soles of their shoes. (When's Ritsuka's bday anyway?) Some kids were playing in a sandbox, and while Ritsuka was watching them build a crumbling sand castle he collided violently with his brother's stiff back. He had stopped dead in the center of the path, completely stilled.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

It crossed the younger Aoyagi boy that he'd never actually used a cuss word when with his brother, much less directed at him. He wondered how he would react but then decided that he'd rather not. His brother never swore. He said it was low-class and degraded the user's intellect.

Seimei didn't react physically, as much as Ritsuka could tell. If one squinted, one might have seen the man's eyes turn a tad darker, but no one was paying close enough attention to notice. His tail started moving again as if on its own accord and Seimei turned to face his brother.

"Isn't that one of your friends there?" he articulated with frightening coldness, glancing only once in his target's direction.

And sure enough, there was Hiroshi, a boy who'd come to his house once or twice, trying to ignite something with his lighter – unsuccessfully. When he saw Ritsuka, he stood up and waved, dropping his lighter in his haste. He leaned down to pick it up.

"I'll see you around, Seimei," he yelled as he prepared to sprint in the boy's direction, but an impressively strong hold on his wrist stopped him. He then realized that it hurt. A lot. He blinked.

"You told mom you'd be home for five. It's four fifty-three." How he could tell the precise time without owning a watch was a mystery to anyone.

"Why do you care? I don't," said Ritsuka, frowning. Seimei never cared about his mother's feelings, so why should he now? It was absurd.

Seimei feigned deafness and stared stonily at the boy who was now smoking, leaning against a tree, waiting impatiently for Ritsuka.

"You are who you hang with, you know," Seimei scolded. It was so unlike Seimei to say that and Ritsuka was beginning to think that something was indeed very wrong.

"Leave me alone!" he shouted, trying to pry his wrist from his sibling's death grip. He was blatantly unsuccessful. His brother's fingers were surprisingly strong as though his bones were made of steel and his skin, of ice.

And then, without warning, Seimei let go. His hand dropped back to his side and lay there, unmoving, if not a little tense. Ritsuka, who was still forcing against the hand, fell to the ground roughly, scraping his palms on the pavements. He stared up at the taller boy, wide-eyed. Was Seimei purposefully avoiding his eyes?

Seimei started to walk away, tail fluttering in the breeze, shoulders visibly tensed although he was attempting to hide it. Ritsuka nearly whimpered.

"Where are you going?" He wanted to follow. He really did, but…

His brother didn't answer. He just continued to walk away as if Ritsuka wasn't even there…like he didn't exist. Ritsuka felt hollow, as if some part of his body was leaving with his older sibling. He'd never been ignored by the most important individual in his life before and it was like his life was being forced upside down.

"Seimei…wait," he ordered, convinced that he would obey. He didn't. He was hardly more than a small silhouette now, waiting at the intersection to cross the street. Ritsuka got to his feet, nearly tripping on an untied shoelace, and ran after him, ignoring his friend who was teasing him from afar. He was scared.

He was still too far when his brother crossed the street with another dozen walkers. The sidewalks were crowded so near the mall and streets were busy. There was no traffic but cars were frequent. Ritsuka had to push past people, elbowing them aggressively, while keeping his eyes fixed on the tall boy who stood out well enough. He didn't care about waiting for the red light to cross or about the cars soeeding down the road. His heart was beating so fast that he was sure it would explode. What was wrong with him? He was thirteen, for God's sake, and still he was running after his sibling like a lost puppy.

He opened his mouth to call out again but no sound came out; before he could utter as much as a single syllable, the air was forced out of him by the front of a car hitting his side. He didn't know how far or how high he flew but he landed with a loud snap quite a ways off and shut his eyes. Pain shut up his spine and spread all the way to his fingertips like an electric shock. For a long time he couldn't breathe and his chest hurt as if he'd been stabbed. He was well aware of something wet accumulating on the side of his head that was lying on the road. He could feel his foot poking him in a place that his feet could not reach under normal circumstances and he almost threw up at the thought. And then, just as he was about to wish for the finishing blow, darkness took control of his mind and slipped away to a painless, dreamless sleep.

XxxX

Seimei only walked away because he was furious; at his brother and at himself. At Ritsuka for being so ungrateful for everything his brother gave him without a single hesitation and for his own inability to control himself. He'd seen Ritsuka wince when he grabbed his wrist. He hadn't outright meant to hurt him but for a second, and he could not deny it, it had felt good for him to feel pain just like Seimei felt. And for the first time in his long, dark life he felt like a monster. He'd felt like a perfect human being when he'd spilled a woman's guts out onto the street and when he'd gouged out that man's eyes out. Because, somehow, none of it mattered. But hurting someone of his own race…that was shameful, to put it bluntly.

He'd ignored his brother's calls because, through his partial self-loathing, he hadn't heard him. They had bounced off the walls of his mind. He crossed the street, trying not to take out his anger on anyone when still in his brother's eyeshot and stood in front of the mall, wondering what to do. He could go home, but frankly he had half a mind not to. He could go see Soubi but he didn't know if he was home. Didn't he do some art crap somewhere during the day…? He didn't care enough to ponder it any further. Someone bumped into him and he pushed them back impatiently.

It wasn't Ritsuka he heard, it was the screams. At first he thought nothing of them – animals got spooked by little things all the time. When he heard a loud snap he was intrigued enough to turn around to face the street instead of the mall, but the crowd prevented him from seeing anything. They were forming a tight circle around something and a few were dialling madly on their phones, yelling at some people. Calling an ambulance, no doubt. He heard someone say it was a child and sighed. Maybe Ritsuka had left the park with his friend and was trying to get a look as well.

Minutes later the ambulance came, sirens screaming. The crowd split into two groups to let it pass, still murmuring in horrified voices. Seimei hadn't moved because he was still trying to figure out where to go as his eyes followed the action. Uniformed men were getting out of the truck, carrying various pieces of equipment. They were shouting at one another. They heaved a body onto a rolling bed and Seimei was able to see a mop of blue-black hair sticking out in a mess. So like Ritsuka's, he mused darkly. Maybe his brother was thinking the same thing.

One of the men looked around in the boy's pockets and pulled out a wallet. He picked through it, pulling out some cards and shaking his head. He finally found what he was looking for : a piece of identity.

"Aoyagi Ritsuka."

Seimei felt his heart drop. They wheeled his brother into the ambulance as Seimei tore his way through the crowd, all manners lost in his fury. People were unceremoniously thrown to the ground, hit, stomped on or victimized by his murderous glare. By the time he reached the scene of the crime the ambulance was driving off at top speed until it was just a little spot in the distance. He turned to the crowd, tail hiked and poised as a dog's might before he attacked.

"Who the FUCK is responsible for this?"

That's right. He swore. And for once he couldn't care any less.

Haha...cliffhanger. Review and I'll update mega fast (although I was just gunna write it tomorrow anyway.)