Soubi watched as Ritsuka scrolled through the pictures the pair had taken. It had been easier than he thought to earn Ritsuka's trust. Apparently, the boy would trust just about anyone that told him they knew Seimei. He had only half lied to him about being the elder son's friend. He didn't exactly know what Seimei considered him to be.
Ritsuka was grinning as he looked at each of the fifty pictures, one by one. The two were sitting on a bench near the bluff where grass dissolved into sand.
"Ritsuka," Soubi said, laying a hand on his shoulder to get him to look up at him. "Let's just talk for a little."
Ritsuka glanced up at him. He had big violet eyes that were clear, unlike most of the patients Soubi saw on almost a daily basis. Soubi looked at the rest of the boy's features in detail. He had a soft face with pale white skin. He actually looked quite feminine, but not at the same time. Soft looking ears protruded from mounds of black hair and a soft tail waved from underneath him.
Soubi had been wrong about him. This can't be Seimei's brother; Soubi had thought when Ritsuka had bolted out of the building in tears. Still, he had grabbed him, just to be sure. The child sitting next to him was very different from his mysterious brother. He would smile, not at others pain, but in real happiness. He had many emotions; unlike Seimei who only seemed to have sadistic, anger, and even more sadistic.
"O-okay," Ritsuka said, almost uncertainly. "What do you want to talk about?"
Soubi found his mind working hard to analyze Ritsuka's every move and word to try to diagnose him. He didn't truly believe there was anything wrong with him. The records from previous hospitals had all said the same thing: they didn't see anything wrong. The files held accounts from multiple doctors. If every doctor said the same thing, wasn't it most likely true?
Soubi pointed at the camera, "Do you take pictures with everybody?"
"No," Ritsuka shook his head. "Usually only the doctors I like. Can I ask you a question?"
"Yes, of course."
"Well, I never really thought Seimei had an adult friend…" Ritsuka trailed off and looked away as if he was scared to say the wrong thing.
"Oh, my ears?" Soubi finished nonchalantly. "There's nothing for you to worry about." Soubi made a resolution to maybe tell Ritsuka what really happened to them one day. He did seem like the kind of person he could get used to.
"Hurry it up, would you?"
Soubi heard the voice clear as anything and suddenly whipped around. It had been there; he knew he'd heard it.
And it had sounded exactly like Seimei…
"Soubi? Are you okay?" Ritsuka prodded at him. He was probably startled at Soubi acting oddly.
"I'm fine," He told him reassuringly.
"Do something!"
Soubi tried not to jump at the sound of the voice again. Again, it had sounded dark and angered. Exactly…like…him.
I'm not going crazy, Soubi told himself over and over. I'm just tired and overworked. His head spun and pain sparked in his brain yet again. Thoughts swirled around in his head, half of them not making any sense as Soubi tried to sort them out. Love him… love Ritsuka… do something… I have to do something.
Unable to think clearly or even know what he was doing, Soubi leaned forward and caught Ritsuka's face in his hands. He pressed his lips to a pair of much softer ones for a long moment before finally coming back down to earth.
What the hell am I doing? He thought franticly. Why did I…? No! It doesn't matter why; I'm going to lose my license!
Ritsuka shoved him away after a few seconds. He breathed hard, his face beat red. He looked angered, confused, and embarrassed all at the same time. Soubi watched as he looked quickly at him and at the school, and then take off running towards it.
"Ritsuka, wait!" He yelled, running after him. Ritsuka was quick, but Soubi was quicker and caught him before he reached the halfway point.
"Stop!" Ritsuka tried to fight him off but it proved no avail. "Don't! Why did… Pervert! Let me go!"
He was crying. Tears streamed down his face as he attempted desperately to run away. He needed to be comforted. Hell, he probably wanted to be comforted. Soubi probably wasn't the best person to do it at the time, but he was the only one around.
"Ritsuka," Soubi said again. "Stop fighting." He wrapped his arms around the teen and held him close. Ritsuka went limp and sobbed into his chest. He looked like he was being weighed down by something much larger than the kiss the two had shared.
Honestly, Soubi had actually enjoyed it. Ritsuka hadn't shoved him away or called him worthless any pathetic. Yes, he had called him a pervert, but he had all the right reasons to. After all, he did kiss a child when he told him he wouldn't do anything.
Could I really be falling for this kid? I barely know him…Soubi rested him chin on the top of the boy's head, savouring the moment while it lasted. He felt Ritsuka's arms wrapped around him almost reluctantly and smiled a little.
"I'm sorry, Ritsuka," He whispered into his cat ear, trying to offer some source of comfort to him. It must have worked, as Ritsuka quieted down some. After awhile, he finally gently pulled away.
"I should be back at the school," Ritsuka muttered, looking down at the ground. He began to walk away with his head down and his tail drooping, but Soubi grabbed him by the arm again, suddenly remembering something. "Let go…please…"
Soubi smiled, "You left your camera back there."
A dark haired man was seated at the long table in a control room a safe distance away from the school and its security and search frequencies. He was dressed quite strange for an evil looking man in a control room, for he was wearing a full suit and looked quite dignified.
The monitor he was watching was clearly from a bug placed on someone. Another held an image of a map and a flasher on it, most likely from a locator. There were buttons and slides placed on the panel in front of the young adult, some of which flashed often.
He smiled a dark grin, one that showed his evil thoughts, and leaned forward in the creaking chair. He at last took his eyes off of the video screen, where live footage of a boy who looked very much like him was playing, and proudly pushed in one of the buttons.
"Hurry it up would you?" When he spoke into the nearby microphone, his voice was full of malevolence and the extreme want to watch someone in pain. It was an icy cold sound, one that could make one stop in their tracks and run away.
He smiled again and pushed two more switches, one that seemingly did nothing and the other that switched the camera view. Releasing the first button, he leaned back and watched intensely as the hidden microphone picked up a sound of surprise.
This time, the dark man with jet back hair and eyes threw back his head and laughed, "That's right, you stupid excuse for a doctor, I'm still alive. How can you not see it? You're more of an idiot than I thought, Soubi."
"Ritsuka," Soubi rounded on the boy seated at the picnic table with his camera. "Why don't we talk on the way back?"
Ritsuka looked him straight in the eye. "You won't do anything to me?"
"No," Soubi promised. He would indeed try his hardest not to. Despite this, he held out his hand for Ritsuka to take. He understandably hesitated, but gave in.
"When do I meet with you?" Soubi noticed Ritsuka stare at the ground as he muttered the question.
"Any time you want to. I have time," This wasn't necessarily true since Soubi had other patients, but he would easily push those appointments aside for Ritsuka.
Ritsuka peered up at him for a moment, "What were you to Seimei?"
Good question, Soubi thought. I'd like to know that, too. "His friend. I thought I already told you that," He gave the boy a forced smile. By then, they were nearing the school.
"I have to go meet back up with my mother," Ritsuka said, glancing off towards the main building. "It'd also be sort of odd if I'm seen with the head doctor…"
Soubi laughed, "Nobody even knows what I look like unless they've seen me. And usually the people I see are locked up or won't even talk. Listen," His voice changed to a more serious tone. Reaching into his pants pocket, he produced a tiny scrap of paper with multiple numbers written on it. "If you need anything, those are my contact numbers. The top one is my cell number, the second is my office line, and the last is the office number of my friend, Kio, who can usually contact me no matter what. The first address on the back is my apartment, which is attached to my office. The second is my friend's apartment. I don't care what it is, if you ever need me, just call."
Ritsuka stared at the slip of paper. "In case I need you…?" He trailed off, looking for an explanation.
Soubi eyed the bandages on his arms; something Ritsuka probably thought had gone unnoticed. "You're mother," He guessed, pointing at them.
Ritsuka bristled angrily, "How the hell did you know that?"
"They're too abnormal to be self-mutilation, and a person can't possibly fall that many times in a certain time frame. Seimei never mentioned any father, but he did let it slip that your mother may be mentally ill. With every other possibility eliminated it just leaves abuse. Your mother abuses you, doesn't she?"
Ritsuka hung his head again, ears drooping. Soubi realized he'd probably said the wrong thing. I probably shouldn't have gone that far.
"Ritsuka…" A frantic yelling from the main building cut him off. A young-looking teacher was yelling for Ritsuka to come back. Beside her stood another woman with an evil-looking expression. It had to be Ritsuka's mother, since the resemblance between them was uncanny.
"Call me if she lays a hand on you," Soubi told the teen, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Tell him that you love him, idiot!
Soubi forced himself not to start. There that voice was again; dark, evil, malevolent, sadistic, slightly angry, it was all there. He could almost picture Seimei himself saying it.
His thinking then became hazy and his vision blurred at the edges. What's happening to me? He could barely even hear himself think. Ritsuka had started to walk away, but Soubi grabbed him again.
"I love you."
What. The. Hell.
The haze cleared away within a second. His vision was restored to its previous state and his mind was sharp again. Ritsuka's eyes widened and he tore himself from Soubi's grip, racing towards his mother and teacher.
It was only seven at night, but the world outside Soubi's bedroom window was pitch black. I guess a storm's coming, he predicted, pausing from what he was doing to look outside it. He sat at his desk in the tiny room alone. In front of him was a paper with a couple sentences written on it.
I am hearing voices. The first one read. It was scratched out with another sentence written above the cross out: I am hearing a voice. An arrow was drawn from it, leading to another statement written: The voice is Seimei's. Another group of words was written off to the side of the three: I can't control my actions- related?
Soubi sighed, considering throwing out his written thought process. He rejected this idea, thinking of one last thing to write down. He chose to do so next to the one pertaining to the relationship between Seimei and the voice.
Seimei is dead, the final one read.
He suddenly wasn't sure if that one was true.
I love you? What the hell? Ritsuka thought angrily to himself as he began to unpack his things. Shinonome-Sensei had taken Ritsuka and his mother through his classes and such. She had said she would give him the orientation the next day. He was all-alone now, since his mother was signing more papers.
It was a nice room. There was a full bed pushed up against the corner, a clock that read 7:00 PM on the nightstand, a desk with a computer, a bathroom attached, a closet; it felt more like a home than any other institution.
Ritsuka was enjoying the breeze as well as the view coming in from the open door to the balcony. Being on the second floor, he had his own balcony, since the spiralling ramp didn't start until the third floor. The view overlooked the beach and the full moon that hung above it, giving Ritsuka a very tranquil sense.
An uneven rapping sounded at the door, and Ritsuka suddenly knew it would end his peaceful night. He slowly trudged to the door to open in, his mother pushing her way through. She had that that look in her eye, the one that meant pain. She shut the door behind her and stood in front of Ritsuka, drawing herself up to her full height. Ritsuka bravely met her eyes, just for a second, if even.
Misaki's hand flashed out, striking her son across the cheek. Ritsuka cringed and stumbled backwards. He tripped over the desk chair and fell to the floor.
"Don't look me in the eyes like that! My Ritsuka would never do that!" She shrieked. Ritsuka wished she would at least keep it down so that nobody became suspicious. "What have you done with my son, you murderous little bastard?"
He hauled himself upwards and, being momentarily distracted, felt his burning cheek with his hand. Misaki took the chance to come at him again, running and taking him down by jumping on his back. Her teeth sunk into the flesh of his neck and Ritsuka soon found himself face first on the floor with his mother on top of him.
"Stop, mother…! I'll get better here, I promise! Please!" He struggled, feeling a hand snake around his throat as the sharp teeth were removed. The nails on her other hand scratched his face and yanked at his ears and tail.
Ritsuka was being suffocated as his mother screamed things about him not being her son, as well as every obscenity under the sun. He coughed, trying desperately to get the air that he needed so much. Cuts bled from every part of exposed flesh. It hurt…
How much longer can I take this? Ritsuka tried to get her off of him, but his prayer was answered when another knock sounded. Misaki quickly got off of him and went to the door. Ritsuka struggled into a sitting position, breathing heavily and bleeding a lot.
"What the hell is going on in here?" An aggravated voice asked. A short girl stood in the doorway. Her long-ish green hair stood in contrast with her boyish clothes. She looked not much older than Ritsuka, probably about fifteen, probably. Her voice held authority, as well as her hands-on-the-hips posture.
Misaki stared back at the small teen with cold eyes, "I do not believe you have the authority to speak to me in that way."
"My name is Doctor Kaidou Chouma MD, and I do believe I have more than the authority to speak to you in that way," She snapped. A doctor? Ritsuka couldn't believe this young woman had a medical degree. "And I want to know what the fuck is going on in here!" She shoved Misaki out of the way and her mouth fell open at the sight of Ritsuka.
"My son tripped and fell in his room today. He has to be more careful, doesn't he, now?" Ritsuka's mother's voice was still icy and dark with hate.
Chouma looked at Ritsuka with her back turned to Misaki, her grey eyes filled with an abrupt understanding. Surreptitiously, she put her hand inside her black jacket and pulled out a cell phone. Then she turned on Misaki.
"You need to leave. Now." She glared at the older woman, showing that supremacy over her once again.
"Ritsuka, let's go," Misaki yanked on Ritsuka's arm, forcing him to his feet. Help! He didn't dare to say it aloud, or even look back, for he knew the consequence would be another injury. Chouma thrust her arm in between them and going any further.
"I meant you," She growled. Misaki suddenly let go of Ritsuka, making him fall back to the floor, and jumped at Chouma with a scream. Chouma sidestepped her and opened her phone.
"I need back-up at sector 2, section A! Second floor, room 113!" She yelled into it, barely catching Misaki fist with her own palm. "Yes, send Kio!" It fell with a crash as Chouma was forced to use both hands to defend herself. Ritsuka shrunk away, his breathing still laboured. Black edged at his vision, making him see double. He eyed a slip of paper discarded on the desk and the within-reach phone.
"I don't care what it is, if you ever need me, just call."
Taking a ragged breath of air, he grasped onto the fallen cell-phone and the piece of paper. His fingers shook as he dialled the first number.
"Chouma?" Soubi's voice picked up after the second ring. "Kio just called me in panic-"
"Soubi," Ritsuka rasped. "My mother tried to suffocate me…Help…"
"Ritsuka?" He sounded surprised, but soon seemed to process his words. "Hold on, I'm coming. Do I need to take you to the infirmary?"
"No…No hospital, please…" Ritsuka was struggling harder now. He half-saw his mother being dragged out of the room and Chouma being held back and cared for by a man who was older but looked very much like her.
"Stay on the line, Ritsuka. Are you with me?"
The sound of Soubi's voice comforted Ritsuka. He leaned against the hard flat side of his desk, letting his head fall back against in. Through slitted eyes he watched his mother break free and run down the hallway, three burly men racing after her.
"Ritsuka?"
"I'm still here…" He murmured.
"I'm close," The click of the other line ending the call sounded, and Ritsuka heard the door shut as well. He was lifted up and he felt something being slipped over his mouth and nose. Clean air flowed in, giving Ritsuka's near-closed airways better oxygen.
Ritsuka finally opened his eyes to find himself in Soubi's arms. He tried to say something but it just came out as incoherent mumbling through the oxygen mask.
Soubi smiled, brushing the black hair out of the boy's face, "Shh, sleep now. We can talk later."
Even stubborn Ritsuka was more than happy to oblige.
Hello, my dear readers!
Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! Keep it up!
This plot is going to be getting VERY complicated, I warn you now. I have so much planned for this, I hope all of you stick around for it.
Also, Am I actually good at writing? I've improved a lot from 'A Death Note Fallen Into The Wrong Hands' but I don't really know how much and whatever. However, I do know that I write my stories differently from how I talk and how I write my author's notes.
Oh and if you have time, go read some of my other stories and then vote on my poll!
Keep reviewing!
-Wolfie