Mist 17

Soubi stared down at the envelope in his hand, the envelope that suspiciously had his name scrawled on it, puzzling over what it was. He definitely hadn't dropped it himself. And it's not like he was a popular guy. He also doubted the possibility of it being a secretly placed love letter from Ritsuka.

Unable to find a fitting answer as to the envelopes origin, he slid his finger under the envelope flap and opened it up. Soubi's normally subdued curiosity was peaking as he wondered what this strange envelope was. As he slid his finger under the envelope fold he wasn't careful enough and the paper caught his skin. Delivering a paper cut. He cursed it and wiped his finger on a pant leg before pulling a note outside of the envelope.

'Soubi,' The letter said. 'Stop following me. Stop trying to find me, I know you are. I am here to protect Ritsuka from that beast of a mother and I don't want you getting in my way. Or anywhere near me. My nose has finally begun to heal, after all. I'll do a few things to that woman to make the brat safe, not because I want to. Seimei seems to be concerned. Obviously he doesn't think you're capable of protecting the brat from a mere house wife. Pathetic. You are scum.'

Soubi crushed the note and jammed it into a pocket. Anger flooded his expression. Nisei was not someone he wanted to be called scum by but that wasn't why he was angry. Ritsuka didn't want Soubi doing spells on his mother, he had /ordered/ him not to. There was no way Soubi could let Nisei mess with her. That fool would probably melt the woman's brain if he tried anything. But. Part of Soubi's brain couldn't help but think, 'Maybe it would be for the best, Ritsuka would be safe.' Still, he reasoned, Nisei had no business protecting Ritsuka.

Soubi was losing time, well, actually he didn't know what time it was due to his dead call phone but he knew it was getting too late to still be out tracking this guy down. Only now it had just become much more urgent. He needed to find Nisei before Nisei toyed with Misaki.

Soubi made an unhappy noise under his breath and started running. Low on time, increased urgency. He tried to remember if he was the kind of person who worked well under pressure or not. He decided, if he had to be he would.

Soubi was on a road a few miles west from Ritsuka's school and Ritsuka's house was about a half mile east from there. Nisei's whereabouts weren't really known. The bastard could be anywhere. Actually, Soubi figured he was more than just a few miles from Ritsuka's school, he had covered a lot of ground today. He needed sleep. And food. And Ritsuka.

Soubi needed to get from point A to point B to point C, catch the culprit and protect the victim. The culprit could be anywhere inside or outside of the points. The victim would be between points B and C. It seemed impossible the more he thought about it.

As Soubi neared 'Point B', the school, he was completely livid. He hadn't caught a bit of the frequency, he had no clue where Nisei was, what the danger to Ritsuka could be (thought he always assumed the worst, to be safe), and he had no clue how to solve the Misaki problem if he even could find Nisei. That guy was going to get a whole lot more than just a broken nose once Soubi got ahold of him.

Soubi was running past the school and he could tell the school day was over. "Oh no, no, no." He knew it, he hadn't been there to pick Ritsuka up, if the boy had texted him back Soubi never got it, and now he didn't even know where Ritsuka was.

Soubi caught sight of a few kids walking home. Maybe school had just let out. Maybe he could at least find Ritsuka and then figure out what to do.

He was so out of breath, Soubi's lungs were icy with pain and quite a few of his cuts had reopened. His legs hurt and mostly his whole body hurt from missing Ritsuka. When you see and feel someone constantly for a week it's suddenly impossible to be without them for just a day.

"Soubi!"

It couldn't be.

"Soubi!"

It was Ritsuka, calling his name.

"Soubi! Where were you all day! Soubi!"

Soubi turned around. "Ritsuka." His voice came out as a low hiss through deep breaths.

Ritsuka, despite being angry, came up and hugged Soubi quickly. Kio stood behind him some, looking concerned and ticked off because of Soubi's disappearance. Ritsuka backed up a bit and started yelling at Soubi. "What are you doing?" His eyes held a concerned glint. "You idiot, you look terrible. You forgot? Kio had to come pick me up himself! And your phone was off!"

Soubi cut in, "It died. I'm sorry, sorry." He continued his deep breathing.

"Look at you!" Ritsuka kept on, "Don't run off like that when you're sick! Kio said you left a note, but jeeze! 'I'll be back' is hardly better than nothing at all!"

"Ritsuka.." Soubi took the angry boy into his arms and hugged him tight. 'He's safe.' Reluctantly at first Ritsuka softly hugged back.

Soubi looked up, still hugging, "Thank you, Kio. For getting him."

"Jeeze. It's not like the kid can't walk on his own."

Soubi ignored the comment. Clearly Kio was worried to.

And instead of making Ritsuka angry, as the boy had seemed, Ritsuka was really only worried.

"Ritsuka don't go.." Soubi pleaded. His breath was /still/ intermittent with heavy panting and he was worried. All he could think was 'Ritsuka. If Ritsuka is kept away from that house then nothing will happen. We just need more time. Nisei won't act if Ritsuka isn't present.'

Ritsuka looked up at Soubi from the hug. He repeated the words as if processing them was unbearable. "..Don't.. go?" Had Soubi really just said that?

"Don't go home, Ritsuka. Bad things..." Soubi puffed. He was seeing spots.

"Soubi! How could you say that! This is just like before! She's my Mom!" Ritsuka tore away from the hug in anger. "I'm going!"

"R-Ritsuka that's not-" Soubi tried to correct him.

Ritsuka had quickly jumped to a conclusion about Soubi's intentions. "Stop it, Soubi! Shut up! You don't know anything, you just don't get it!"

Kio was trying to intervene now but Soubi himself pushed Kio away. 'This has nothing to do with Kio. If Ritsuka wants to yell, let him yell.'

"I'm going, Soubi! And don't you interfere!" Ritsuka's face was red, making it seem as though his blood was boiling in animosity.

There was no way to change Ritsuka's mind at that point, anything he said would be disregarded or purposely contravened. Soubi couldn't stop him, he wouldn't. He said nothing.

"Promise me you aren't going to do anything! Promise! Don't lie to me Soubi, I trust you!"

That did it. 'I trust you, could I be anymore unworthy of those sweet words?' So he promised. "I won't."

"Good!" The boy yelled, still furious. Ritsuka's tiny body was currently one that held so much anger and not enough love. He turned to walk to his house himself.

"Go home, Kio" Soubi said.

Kio looked angry. "Soubi! That kid! He's just another Aoyagi, isn't he! Don't let him yell at you like that. You had something to say. Didn't you, Soubi?" Kio was yelling too, but not at Soubi. His voice was raised in anger at the boy.

"Don't let it bother you so much. I said something careless, so he was angry. I have to go now. Some bad things may happen." Soubi turned to leave, clearly dismissing Kio.

"What.. bad things?" Kio asked tentatively.

"I'm not really sure. I have to protect Ritsuka." Soubi said without bothering to turn around.

"Jeeze Soubi! Stop hurting yourself like this!"

'It would hurt much more to ignore all this.' Soubi thought. "Goodbye."

He headed toward the house, where he could see Ritsuka about to enter.

x

"M-Mother.." Ritsuka called into the house as he cautiously walked in. There was no denying it, he was scared. And now Soubi probably wouldn't even want to help him if he got hurt. Ritsuka couldn't believe himself, yelling at Soubi like that. But really, he was angry at Soubi, who kept saying such awful things about Mother.

"I'm home Mother." Ritsuka took a few more steps into the house and set his backpack next to the door. The clothes he had at Soubi's house were still in the apartment.

"Ritsuka! Welcome home!" The voice was cheerful.

"M-Mom.."

Misaki came into view, her careless dress and wreaked hair were to be expected most days as they were now. But this time her attitude didn't match. As if.. she were just pretending to be happy.

"I missed you Ritsuka! Did you have a good day?" She asked.

'So strange.. She's cheerful. Really cheerful.' But he knew why. 'It'll change, she's always like this.. happy at first and then raging mad.'

She was speaking kindly. Ritsuka had heard it like that before. Misaki didn't constantly beat him, sometimes she would avoid him by hiding in her locked room, she would also ignore him and everything else some days and just sit around staring into air. But sometimes, as Ritsuka suspected she was doing now, she would act cheerful and kind, right before snapping and injuring him. Usually that was when she hurt him the most.

"I missed you too." He did.

Ritsuka's mom made him dinner, she made a mess in the process but earnestly said she would make whatever he wanted. And she did, it was all stuff he liked now. No tests. Only it wasn't as good as Soubi's cooking.

He finished dinner and Misaki still hadn't laid a hand on him. She didn't make much conversation and never brought up his absence.

"M-mom is everything okay? Aren't you angry at me?" He asked. 'What am I trying to do? Get yelled at? Why am I provoking her!' Ritsuka thoughts and words were contradicting but Misaki's lack of concern over something so terrible was hard to swallow when she was being so caring about everything else. She was acting so strangely.

"Of course I'm not mad Ritsuka. Now go get your homework done. Ask Seimei for help if you get stuck." She said, acting more motherly then she had in the longest time or maybe she ever. It wasn't the first time Misaki acted as though Seimei was still alive and at home but now Ritsuka couldn't truthfully say 'he's dead.' "Oh that boy.. Seimei's out awfully late tonight." She looked concerned as well as frightened as she thought about her son.

Ritsuka shivered. "I-it's okay.. I can do it myself."

"Okay, Ritsuka." She responded. "You're such a good boy." Misaki pulled her son into a firm hug.

Ritsuka braced himself and hugged back lightly. 'She's going to now..'

Nothing happened. Misaki released him and beamed as he stumbled backward. Ritsuka grabbed his bag and rushed upstairs, pausing to think in the stairwell.

'Mom.. was normal... Is she.. better, like not upset about me anymore? But she can't be.. she acted like Seimei was 'alive.' It's like her personality changed totally.. Like she was put under a magic spell, or something. She's acting like she forgot things too, like Seimei, and me being away.' And then it dawned on Ritsuka what his thoughts really meant. It wasn't some fairytale he lived in but spells still existed. 'A spell.'

Ritsuka rushed up to his room. Already angry before he could give the situation another thought.

Soubi was sitting on the edge of the bed, head in hands. He hadn't heard any yelling nor beating so he was relived but he knew Ritsuka wasn't going to be relived. He would want an explanation. But Soubi had no clue what Ritsuka was assuming.

"Soubi!" Ritsuka yelled. He had shut his door and spotted Soubi. He figured Soubi would be here. "Are you stupid! You're completely daft aren't you!" He approved the man closer. 'Why has he kept doing so many terrible things today?' Ritsuka thought furiously.

"How could you do this! I told you not to Soubi!"

Soubi was stunned. Ritsuka really actually thought he did this. The boy was more angry then Soubi had ever seen him. He was pacing around the room furiously yelling. His tone was only a little bit hushed so that his mother wouldn't hear.

With Soubi stunned into an obedient silence Ritsuka continued yelling. "What's with you! Answer me!"

Soubi looked up into Ritsuka's blazing eyes. Soubi was downcast at being yelled at so seriously but much more so than that he was worried about Ritsuka. "I'm sorry, Ritsuka. I didn't-"

Ritsuka interrupted him, his temper had complete control. "You didn't what, Soubi! You didn't mean to! You didn't think I'd be mad! What is it! Goddamn, I don't care which it is. Fix her! Put Mom back to normal, I don't care if she beats me after! Don't mess with her like that! Soubi!" His eyes, his fists clenched as he yelled.

"I-I can't, Ritsuka.. If you just let me tell you.. I di-" Soubi couldn't believe he was actually contradicting the boy, his master. He just wanted Ritsuka to calm down and understand.

"Shut up! Get out! Don't tell me you can't fix her! I don't want to hear your goddamn voice until you put her back to normal! She's my Mother!" Ritsuka was crying now, slumped to the floor with his back against the door. "Fix her! Don't mess with people's brains! Is she like me now, Soubi? Having a different personality take over and not knowing who she really is! She doesn't have the right memories!"

Soubi started backing up to the balcony. He wanted to cry himself but knew he didn't even deserve that. 'Was Misaki like that now? What effects was this spell of Nisei's going to do? It feels like something cast by him would definitely be unreliable.'

"Ritsuka, I will fix this. I didn't do it but I should've found him before he could."

Soubi wasn't sure if Ritsuka's heard him over his sobs. The sobs that were cracking his heart bit by bit.

"I love you, Ritsuka."

If Soubi wasn't already exhausted and strained enough, now he was tumbling into Hell. He could not let Ritsuka do the same.

Ever since he got to Ritsuka's the presence of Nisei's Battle Frequency was strong. When he got outside it started moving away. Soubi followed it.

x

Nisei was out of there as quick as he could be. He didn't want to meet up with Beloved's monstrous ex-Fighter.

He did what he came there to do and got out. 'Damn, Seimei's lucky to have a guy like me who's willing to do this much. But.. Jeeze he slapped me around enough to convince me..'

Nisei's fighting skills were nowhere near Soubi's, not that Nisei would ever agree with such a statement. Also, he didn't particularly care for the brat that Seimei devoted so much of his time and thoughts to. So the spell had been done with a bit of haste. The words might not have been exactly right. 'But hey, what's the worst that could happen. Seimei should be glad if that beast explodes.'

The intended spell should have non-permanently caused Misaki to be agreeable while she forgot only about Ritsuka's short disappearance. Or something.

x

Soon after Soubi left, Ritsuka found out the complete effects of Nisei's rouge spell.

x

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A/n: I'm sorry Snoozie