The Sound of a Beating Heart
Chapter four: Move On

Disclaimer: Loveless is property of Yun Kouga, any other characters are purely fictional. 'Move On' belongs to Korean pop star Rain.
A/N: This is an original AU fic.
* 500 francs = about 100 U.S. dollars

Ritsuka sat on an uncomfortable western style chair. Ritsuka was getting used to uncomfortable western style things, even though he hated them. He was stiff, rigid and stared straight ahead. It wasn't a stare that saw anything, as he seemed to be looking far past his reflection in the mirror. Seimei's cold clammy fingers brushed gently through Ritsuka's hair.

"Something is upsetting you. It's perfectly understandable. I think in time you'll come to like it in France." He paused in hope that his newest collectible would finally speak. However the icy silence between them was evidence enough that Ritsuka was not interested. It wasn't the first time they'd met and in the few weeks he'd been here the cat boy hadn't said a word to Seimei and mostly stayed locked in his room. It was expected but now was the time for Seimei to begin unraveling his gift.

"As soon as I have it complete, you'll have your own room right beside mine. We can decorate it however you want it, Ritsuka. Maybe you'd like it to be decorated like rooms were in Japan? Or do you tire from the life of a geisha?"

Ritsuka's cheeks reddened as a pushed Seimei's fingers out of his hair and stood to face him. His bold outburst seemed odd as he shrank back against the mirror like a frightened cat. "Who are you? How do you know my name? Why am I here and why do you know so much? Where's Soubi?" tears welled in the young cat boy's eyes.

Seimei waited to answer, and he debated on whether or not he should. What Ritsuka didn't know would not hurt him, and certainly wouldn't hurt himself. He took a deep breath. "You already know my name is Seimei. Soubi is still in Japan. I was a loyal patron of his in his short lived days as a geisha. I run my own little okiya here in Paris. However in Paris they are not called okiya, and they do not really have a name. Think of yourself less of a geisha and more of just an entertainer. This people do not wear kimono." Seimei paused to observe the one Ritsuka was wearing. "We will have to buy you new clothes. I think you'd look better in a dress than in slacks, do you agree?" He smiled a deceptively warm smile.

Ritsuka wasted no time in biting back. "Entertainer? What are you talking about? Why am I here?! I want Soubi. I want to go back to Japan!"

"You can't go back to Japan I'm afraid."

"Why not?!" Ritsuka shrank back even more.

"Because Soubi sold you to me. He didn't exactly state why, just that you would be perfect for entertaining here. He saw a lot of potential in you."

Ritsuka's face paled. He couldn't think up real words, just syllables and odd noises that formed an accurate symbol of his devastation and confusion inside of his head. A deep nausea made itself known in his stomach and Ritsuka slowly sat in the floor, holding his mouth shut.

Seimei had two great qualities about him. One, he possessed a terrific mind for business. This is the reason any entrepreneurial investments he made were incredibly successful. Two, he was a terrific actor. No emotion couldn't be mustered and no feeling couldn't be faked.

He stepped forward quietly and bent forward to comfort Ritsuka. He knew touching him would result in the boy flailing, which he already had learned, so he whispered gently in to his hear. "I know your hurt by how Soubi has tricked you. But trust me, I will keep you safe. You will be my shining diamond and nothing bad will happen to you. You can trust me. I couldn't let Soubi keep taking advantage of you like that so I bought you. You will flourish in Paris in a way you never could in Japan."

With all of Ritsuka's fears having been confirmed he found no reason in crying. The only thing he felt was an aching burn in his chest. The only way to cure it would be to forget all about Soubi and the okiya. "How can I trust you?"

"You will learn to with time. You can take as much of it as you need to."

Ritsuka gave an apathetic, "we'll see."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Dear Seimei,

How have you been? What is it like to see your younger brother after all these years? I'd imagine that he does not remember you. However that is what you wanted, correct? He certainly is a beautiful boy, and you're probably thinking that that runs in the family. I'll let you hold on to that.

Our poor Soubi is heart broken. He comes to my home every day insisting on some form of proof that Ritsuka is in good health and what will happen next. He's so pitiful. I know that you'd love to see that frail frame fall against you again. For your sake I've left the whip alone. It's a difficult thing to do. Especially when he begs to hear about if Ritsuka is okay or not. I could just say ,"be mine until the morning comes," and he would do it all for that boy. His old scars are fading and he needs a few new ones.

How lucrative has our business decision been? I'm sure Ritsuka's ears fetched at least 500 francs*. I bet whoever bought them had them bronzed and keeps them as a trophy. To think if our Soubi wasn't such a gentleman we wouldn't have gotten the pleasure of benefiting from Ritsuka's ears. In your next letter make sure to tell me how much they went for and send me my 40% of the profit. I hope to hear from you very, very soon.

Ritsu

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Yayoi kicked a stone down the street. His dress made a 'swish!' as he walked, and his corset was pulled too tight to his liking. He and Charlotte had snuck away from The Dansuer and wondered about Montmartre. They found themselves passing by the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, near the highest point of Paris. They liked to enjoy the view here when they snuck away. Charlotte stopped to sit on a stone bench and stretch her legs out. She giggled, "Ever notice something Yayoi?"

He sighed. "What?"

"The tops of the Basilique almost look like breasts." She rocked back and forth as her giggles rolled out in waves.

Yayoi stood there dumbstruck. Nothing profound or poetic ever came out of this deceptively beautiful young woman. She was always talking about breasts or ...peckers... and whatnot. He knew her better than that though. She liked to talk about silly and dirty things to keep herself distracted by the prison that was her own life. "I wouldn't know, I've never seen breasts before."

Charlotte's mouth dropped. "You've never seen breasts?!"

Yayoi knew he never should have said anything. "No, but it's not important!"

"It is too! Hey, you could see mine! We could shower together!"

"Shower together?" The suggestion brought back old memories.

"Yeah! That new kid that Seimei really likes came in to my shower the other night. The way he bathes is weird, but that is the way they do it wherever he comes from."

"Where is he from?" Yayoi was actually intrigued.

"Some place I've never heard of. Ugh what was it? Ja ... Jap something... no! Erm..."

"Japan?"

"Yeah! Wait, what? How did you know?"

"You forget that is where I came from." He sat beside her, suddenly much more tired than he was earlier. "I spent most of my life there."

Charlotte's brows knotted. "I thought you were from China?"

Yayoi seemed disgusted. "No, that's just what you hear these uneducated French people say."

"Hey, I'm French too..."

"Regardless I'm from Japan. Ritsu bought me when I was very young."

"Oh, that's right. Wait, but how could you have gotten bought when you were young if Ritsu only started this a year ago?"

"My parents were far too poor to raise me in my town in Japan. They sold me into being a Geisha, to Ritsu. Ritsu thought I'd bring in more money in Paris though."

Charlotte seemed honestly interested. "You know all about me already." She put her hand over top of his. "Tell me more about you."

Yayoi frowned. "If you really want to know. I was born in Tokyo in 1910. My father operated a rickshaw. My mother stayed at home and took care of me. Life in Tokyo was much more crowded than it is here, but I enjoyed it. Blending in with the crowd was peace full. But by the time I was six my parents couldn't afford me. They noticed though that I was pretty and had a nack for drawing attention. I'm not sure why but I did. So they sold me to Ritsu, who said he could sell me to an okiya and make me a famous geisha. He then sold me to an okiya in Gion. My okaa-san was a dull woman. To tell the truth I don't even remember her name. I was a failure at school and couldn't even learn the shamisen. She gave up on me and I became a maid. Then last year Ritsu came back and offered to pay off all my debt to the okiya on the condition that he could have me. That's pretty much how I ended up here."

"Have you seen your parents since then?"

"It's a mere hope that a geisha would see their parents again after coming to an okiya. The owner of the okiya, your okaa-san is the closest thing you have to a parent." He peered down at his feet, twiddling the heels of his dancing shoes. "Have you seen your parents since you left?"

"That's a story for another day." Charlotte whispered. She held her hand out to catch raindrops. "It's starting to rain, we need to get back to The Dansuer."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

It had been a few weeks since Ritsuka had been taken from Japan. Natsuo, Youji and Yuiko lived their lives under the false pretense that Ritsuka was visiting an ailing relative. Soubi and Kio kept up the lie surprisingly well. After all, it wasn't the first time a lie was told when Ritsuka had gone missing. Except this time they knew where he was, sort of. The first time they had the worry of not knowing if he was safe or not. This time they carried pits of despair in their stomachs knowing that he definitely wasn't safe.

Natsuo and Youji slept in their own room as usual. Yuiko had taken to sneaking in to Kio's room for a late night kiss, but she always went right back to her room. Soubi however had slept in Ritsuka's room every night since he left. Soubi was there now, sitting in his usual sleeping spot. His eyes scanned the walls and finally affixed themselves to Ritsuka's still unmade futon. He slept on the tatami floor without a pillow or blanket, in fear he'd disturb anything in the young boy's room. He kept everything how it had been before Ritsuka ... well he didn't really like to think about it. Hate would be a more appropriate word.

Speaking of words, Soubi didn't speak often anymore except for when pleading with Ritsu. No matter what he said, what he offered, or tried to bargain it didn't seem like Ritsu had any intention of bring Ritsuka back. What had Ritsu meant anyway by, "this is for his own safety."? What would Ritsu have done? Soubi didn't even know anymore if the decision he made was right or even necessary. He should have been able to protect Ritsuka. He should have been able to be there.

Soubi held his hand up to mask his face and to mask the pain and confusion he was in. He'd cried too much since Ritsuka was taken to cry anymore. Thankfully Kio was the only one who saw, Kio had been his shoulder to cry on even though he wasn't too forgiving. Kio didn't understand why he let Ritsu take Ritsuka away to Paris and why Seimei wanted him in the first place. Soubi never relayed to Kio the hints that Ritsu was dropping about Ritsuka's ears.

Soubi laid his head down on the tatami mat to sleep when Natsuo cracked open the door. "Hey, are you awake?"

Soubi groaned quietly in response.

Natsuo entered the room and shut the door behind him quietly. He gently tiptoed to the huddled figure and sat next to it. "The only one who still believes your story is Yuiko." He waited to see if Soubi would stir. The only response he got was a shift of the man's eyes. At least Soubi was looking at him now. "He's been gone too long with no letters home or anything to be visiting a sick brother."

Soubi nodded.

"Where is Ritsuka? He didn't run away again did he?"

Soubi couldn't keep up his defenses anymore, not even to his geisha. "No he didn't run away." Slowly, almost like he was drunk, Soubi lifted a heavy hand and ran it through his hair. He paused for a moment, seemingly finding his words. He pushed himself up to sit lazily.

Natsuo looked confused. "Well then whats the big deal?"

Soubi sighed. "Ritsu threatened to harm him greatly if I didn't cooperate with him."

Natuso's already slitted eyes narrowed. He remembered Ritsu, from the night he met him in a tea house. But that wasn't important right now. "What kind of harm?"

"I don't know. Maybe he was going to kill him but I let Ritsu take Ritsuka to Paris. He's in the care of his older brother but that may cause him even more harm than Ritsu would have."

Despite Natuso learning many things in just the one statement he just heard he stuck to asking about Ritsuka. "Where is Paris? Is he coming back soon?"

Soubi laughed inwardly about the lack of knowledge of other nations from his friends. "It's a city far away. And I'm not sure when he'll be back but for right now I know he's safe." Soubi lied through his teeth.

Natsuo nodded. "Do you mind if I tell Youji?"

"I knew you would anyway."

Natsuo blushed. "Yeah yeah well," he stood to leave. "Just keep us up to date on Ritsuka, okay?"

Soubi nodded weakly. "I will."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Dear Ritsu,

I have been quite well in the days since my little Ritsuka has arrived. Seeing him brings back memories, but more importantly it brings me back to our business deal. A French bar owner took a great interest in him and paid me 650 Francs in exchange for the right to take Ritsuka's ears. He was so thankful to me that he let me keep them. I'll package them and have them sent to you. It will be up to you as to whether or not you show them to Soubi. Your cut of the profit will also be in the package.

Before you do though, give Soubi a few new scars for me. Maybe take a picture for posterity? I'm glad everything is working out beautifully.

Seimei

How have my readers been? (smiles) Feel free to send in any storyline suggestions or things you'd like to see happen. On the personal front I move into my new apartment soon and start school at VCU on August 20th! If you live in the Richmond area hit me up it'd be awesome to hang out with some of you.

Hopefully the next chapter will be out before I start school! Reviews are much appreciated as they are writer food!