I know that it may sound as though Kio looks like a pimp...The color of his suit was my sister's idea, so blame her if you don't like it.
Disclaimer: We don't own Loveless
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Chapter 3
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Soubi was happy that the woman felt that way.
He was a bit jealous that she was so close to Ritsuka though, she probably knew more about his sacrifice than he did.
The flaxen blond looked behind him to see Kio fidgeting in his suit.
It hadn't been long before the man had unbuttoned the top of his red dress shirt. Nothing could be plain with him. His many earrings didn't exactly match with the suit either.
--
"The defense calls Kaidou Kio to the stand."
The blond gave Soubi a smile. "Wish me luck, Sou-chan." He whispered, walking up to the stand. He sat down and leaned back, giving the illusion of comfort.
"Kaidou-san-" Ukai began.
"Please, call me Kio."
The other man nodded. "Kio-san, please tell us your relationship with Agatsuma-san."
"He's my best friend and classmate."
"And you know Aoyagi-kun as well?"
"Not exactly, we've hung out once or twice and he sometimes comes over when I'm at Sou-ch-... Soubi's apartment. He's a good kid, really cute."
"In your opinion, was their relationship ever too close?"
"No, Sou-chan's not like that." The man often joked about such matters, but when it came down to it, he knew better. Besides, even if it was the truth, he would lie for Soubi without a second thought.
"I've no more questions."
Watanabe stood and walked up to the witness stand, putting her hands on it. Kio merely looked at her, unflinching. He had learned a thing or two from years of being around Soubi.
"Kaidou-san, how long have you known Agatsuma-san?"
"Since the first day of college."
"And what is your major?"
Kio looked at her in confusion. "Art."
"And what do you do for a living?"
"I'm a model for art classes."
"That's funny, I have a paper here that says that you happen to work at a local Strip Club."
Ah, I see...
Kio got her game now, he smirked. "What of it?"
"You don't deny it?"
"No, I need something to pay the bills and I use what I have."
"So, you work at a Strip Club and are best friends with a man who has been accused of being a pedophile."
Whatever semblance of control that he'd had was swept away. He looked at Soubi apologetically.
"Well, thank you for your testimony, Kaidou-san. No further questions." She stated with an evil looking smirk.
The blond stepped down and went back to his seat, placing his head in his hands. Somehow he felt as though he'd just blown everything for his friend.
--
"The prosecution calls Aoyagi Misaki to the stand."
Ritsuka turned in time to see the brief smile that passed on his mother's face.
This was not going to be good. He could tell that barely a word out of her mouth would be the truth. His hands started to shake as she put up the face of a worried mother.
Watanabe and Misaki's eyes met with a look of agreement as his mother sat down.
"Aoyagi-san, did you have any idea that your son was even acquainted with this man?"
"Not at all. He keeps to himself a lot and barely talks to me anymore."
"I understand that your eldest son's death put a lot of strain on your whole family."
"Yes, after Seimei died, I had only my dear Ritsuka left. But he had changed, so I barely knew him anymore."
"How was he different?"
"He wasn't my baby anymore, the sweet little boy who had lots of friends and was bright and bubbly was gone. He had become self-contained and no longer talked to anyone. The only improvement was in his grades...How is a mother supposed to act after her son becomes a completely different person? I tried so hard to get my Ritsuka back..." Tears rolled down her cheeks and she pulled out a tissue, dabbing at them.
She continued, sniffling. "But I still love him very much. He's still my son and that man is trying to corrupt him."
"I have here-" The attorney stated, picking up a small plastic bag. "-exhibit 'A.'" These are pictures that were found in your son's room. He is with Agatsuma Soubi and they seem to be having a very good time. Have you ever seen these pictures before?"
"No, never." Misaki replied.
"Thank you, that is all." The other woman stated, sitting down.
Haruto shook his head. They made a good team, that was for sure.
"Aoyagi-san, do you know the names of any of your son's friends?" He questioned.
"What does this have to do with-"
"Please answer the question." The judge stated calmly.
"No." She replied.
"And what of his tastes? Do you know what type of music he listens to? Or his favorite books?"
"No." She was beginning to get annoyed, but was hiding it.
"And those pictures- the police say that they were found in his room on a bulletin board. They were not hidden, there is no content suggesting that they should be. Had you been in your son's room you could have seen them easily. Why would he leave them out, in plain sight, if he thought that there was the possibility that you would see them, and that he had reason to hide them."
"I suppose. But-"
"But you didn't care? You say that you love your son, yet you tell me that you haven't even spoken to him enough to know what he likes."
"I told you, he doesn't talk to me."
"Have you even made an effort? From previous testimonies, it seems that he has been hanging out with Agatsuma-san quite often and we know that this has been going on for over seven months. As his mother, wouldn't you have seen this man at least once in that time?"
"I don't know, maybe they hid."
"Hid? That would be very hard for so long. Perhaps you just don't care." Ukai stated.
"That's not true, I love my son!"
"But Agatsuma-san was friends with your other son, Seimei, as well. Do you mean to tell me that in all that time, you never saw him once? Perhaps you've neglected both of your children."
Soubi arched an eyebrow. It was promising to see that his own attorney had a few tricks up his sleeve.
"Don't you talk about my Seimei!" She cried, standing.
"Objection! Your honor, she's obviously distraught, she can't think straight with this sort of questioning." Watanabe stated, rising.
"Sustained. Aoyagi-san, you may step down." The woman did so, shoving past the young lawyer.
----
Ritsuka pushed up his sleeve. He didn't usually have a watch, but his mother had taken away his cell phone. He was surprised at how much time had passed.
Judge Nanto stood, all eyes went to him. "The court will adjourn and reconvene tomorrow morning at 10 AM." He stated and stood, gathering some papers from his podium.
"All rise." The bailiff said, his deep voice filling the courtroom.
The judge exited the room and everyone began to gather their things and leave. Ritsuka looked back to realize that none of the fighter teams had left yet.
He turned to see Soubi being led out of the room by the bailiff.
Soubi...
The man turned, as though he'd heard the boy's thoughts. Their eyes caught each other's gaze.
The young sacrifice held back tears. Seeing Soubi like this made his heart ache. Sure, he would be going back to his house with his mother, but the blond was going back to jail.
--
Soubi saw the shimmer in Ritsuka's eyes. It made him more sad than he already was that he could make his Ritsuka cry. He gave a reassuring smile, although he himself wasn't sure of the outcome of it all.
At this, he saw Ritsuka smile a bit too, just before his mother called his name and he turned away.
Goodbye Ritsuka...
He hoped that this wouldn't be the last time that they were able to share such a moment.
As he himself was lead away, he could feel a familiar gaze burning into his back. He didn't give the man the satisfaction of seeing his face.
----
Ritsu grabbed Nagisa by the arm. "What? I thought we were going to go see Soubi." The woman stated childishly with a pout.
"There will be time for that later."
"Oh? But what if he loses and they put him in jail? Where will your star pupil be then?" She teased.
"I have absolute faith in Soubi-kun, he will not lose." The silvery-blond stated, adjusting his glasses. Nagisa huffed as he pulled her into the crowd that was leaving the courtroom.
----
Kio and the Zero boys got up. "Hey Ritsuka!" Natsuo shouted across the room.
Said boy looked up as they walked over.
Despite how serious they had been on the stand, the two were now smiling as always. "This is nuts, when I heard that-" Youji was cut off by Misaki.
"Who are you boys and how do you know my Ritsuka?"
Kio stepped forward. "Well-"
"You. I don't want you near my son, you're friends with that man." She stated, moving to stand beside Ritsuka.
"Listen, Aoyagi-san, this whole thing is just a big misunderstanding. Sou-chan never did anything wrong." The blond explained.
Misaki glared at him, Kio stepped back.
"Ritsuka-kun." Yuiko said, walking up tp them.
"Hey Yuiko." The dark-haired boy greeted, moving away from his mom.
"Mother, could you please leave me alone with my friends for a little while?"
The woman scowled, then her features softened. "Of course, Ritsuka." She said in a motherly voice, walking down the aisle and out the doors.
Everyone else had already left, except for them and the other fighter teams.
Ritsuka turned to his friends. "Thank you all for what you said. I just hope it was enough."
"Take it easy kid, Soubi's tough, he'll definitely win." Yamato stated from her seat a few rows back.
"Yeah, he's unbeatable." Ai agreed.
"Um...Ritsuka-kun, who are those people? I remember seeing those two before at school." Yuiko stated, speaking of Breathless. "Are they your friends?"
Ritsuka thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess they are."
"You hags better leave before we kick your butts." Youji challenged, addressing the other Zero team.
Yamato smiled. "You're cute kid, but don't you remember how we wupped your butts last time?" She put her feet up on the back of the bench in front of her.
"Anytime, old lady, anytime." The green-haired boy retorted.
Kio stepped in. "Hey now, take it easy. Don't forget the important reason that we're here, our beloved Sou-chan is in trouble."
"Beloved is right." Midori mumbled.
"He's right, we need to give Loveless our support." Kouya said, finally speaking up.
Her sacrifice looked at her. "I guess so. Good luck kid, stay strong." The blond stated, taking the other girl by the hand and guiding her out through the large, wooden doors.
Midori stood as well. "I'm getting a drink. See ya, Loveless." He said with a wave, as he walked out with Ai close behind. The purple-haired girl groaned. "Oh, Midori please no more of those weird drinks."
"Ritsuka-kun, who were they? Yui- I'm very confused...Who's Loveless?"
Not wanting to explain, Ritsuka sidestepped the question. "You look really pretty today Yuiko."
That got her, the girl blushed as pink as her hair. "Th-thank you Ritsuka-kun."
Youji rolled his eyes. "I have to say, this wasn't such a bad experience after all." He stated. Natsuo nudged him. "Youji."
"It was pretty great seeing Kio jump on that cop's back." He grinned, looking up at the blond.
Kio glared indignantly at the child. "I was only trying to-...Sou-chan was..." He turned, flustered, and left the room.
The Zero boys giggled. "Bye Ritsuka." The burgundy-haired boy said, pulling his sacrifice. "See you tomorrow." The other stated.
Ritsuka shook his head. It was nice having things feel so normal, but then he looked around at where they were and sighed.
Nothing was as it should have been, this was all wrong.
"Ritsuka-kun, your mother is calling you." Yuiko pointed out. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye." Ritsuka replied, walking toward a person whom he wished was another.
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