Ritsuka watched as the blood flowed from his wrists and own his arms. It held him strangely fixated. 'The color is lovely...' And indeed it was. Blood red became Ritsuka's favorite color in that moment as it helped chase away all his problems.

'Soubi doesn't love me. Nobody does. Not Soubi, not Seimei, and not Yuki. It's just the fighter/sacrifice bond...screw them all.' He wouldn't fall for the love in the bond again. ...Love...they all claim to love him.

Ritsuka hated them all.

He rinsed off his wrists, wincing only slightly as the hot water hit his open wounds, and began to wash up.

When he finished he turned off the water and got out, making sure no traces of blood could be found. He didn't know how he would explain the hole in the tile wall, but he figured he just wouldn't. He wouldn't have to anyway. He picked up his discarded shorts, underwear, and long sleeve shirt and put them on. Looking at himself in the mirror he frowned. He really did look different.

Sliding the razor into his short's pocket, he washed his hands and left the bathroom.

Ignoring the fact that someone- a soon to be dead someone- was watching over his Ritsuka during the night, he closed the balcony doors as he reentered his house and went to sit on the bed. He would wait for Ritsuka to be finished before he started breakfast for the boy and took him home. He was sure his mother was very worried about him. 'Did she know about the scars? Does she even know who did it?' He would have to ask her at one point and go kill them.

Yuki sighed. 'Ritsuka.' His Ritsuka. He finally had his true sacrifice with him. He finally had his mark.

Pulling back his sleeve, he again looked at the beautiful butterfly carved into his wrist. It had perfect symmetry and the bottom of each wing dropped a little...almost like it was bleeding.

He was brought back to when the lips of the most beautiful creature on the planet touched and licked and even kissed his skin. He shivered, loving the way a chill shot up his spine. Sure, he had lost his virginity years ago when he was still in school, but thinking about doing anything sexual with Ritsuka was better then anything he had ever experienced. And being his sacrifice's first was going to be the best thing. Yuki grew hard as image after image entered his mind.

Even though he knew there was nothing wrong with wanting his sacrifice- I mean, after all, Ritsuka was his- he forced the thoughts to stop. The boy had almost been raped and it would not do good to scare if he saw Yuki's erection.

Sighing, he got up and was just about to knock on the door when Ritsuka came out.

Though the young boy was wearing the same cloths from yesterday, he was clean and looked...god damn, he looked plain fuckable. With his long locks wet and sticking to his face, covering his eyes from sight, tail swishing back and forth at a calming pace, and his small, vulnerable shape, how could one not want to pound him into a bed?

"Ritsuka, would you like breakfast?" He was hoping to see a shiver run up the boy's back like it had before, but to his disappointment, nothing happened.

Ritsuka raised his head you look at Yuki in the eye and said, "Yes, I would, thank you very much."

Surprised that the innocent boy's eyes held such maturity and his voice was so steady, he just turned on his heal and led Ritsuka through his house and into the kitchen.

After making them both some pancakes they began to eat. But it wouldn't be one of those quiet meals that someone who had just gone through a traumatic experience would have wanted. No, Ritsuka started a conversation and it was something that Yuki would never though would have come up.

"Yuki-" Said man shuddered as his name was spoken, "-Where do fighters learn their powers and spells?"

Yuki blinked, taken by surprise once again. "We learn them through our courses at school."

"Are all students at that school destined fighters?"

"Yes. Once a student graduates, they are ready to join their sacrifice in battle."

"Are fighters born with their...magical ability?"

"Yes, I suppose we are...Why do you ask?"

Ignoring that question, Ritsuka asked, "Do sacrifices have power like that?"

Suspicious now, Yuki said hesitantly, "No...They are placed with people who can fight so they won't be in danger. If they could protect themselves, I doubt there would even be fighters."

"...I see." Ritsuka paused that said, "But do fighters only know spells?"

Narrowing his eyes, he stared at his sacrifice. "No. We are taught curses, counter spells, and breaks."

"And sacrifices can't learn any of these?"

Yuki blanched. "You want to fight!"

Ritsuka stared calmly back at his fighter. 'It took you long enough to connect the pieces.' "Yes."

After the shock passed, Yuki took a breath and took their empty plates into the kitchen to wash. "I'm sorry, but no. To learn these you must be able to perform magic in the first place also."

"Ah." Was all Ritsuka said. He watched his fighter closely, observing him before seeing something that he wouldn't have seen before his knew...self appeared today, and that was that Yuki seemed to be keeping something from him. Why else would he want to be away from his sacrifice after their conversation? Ritsuka's eyes narrowed and he said in a deathly calm voice, "Yuki, I order you to tell me everything that relates to battles and fights that a fighter learns in their school years." He knew he had hit the jackpot when he saw Yuki stiffen and turn slowly towards him. He didn't say anything and just stared at him, shocked.

"I order you to answer my question fighter." Ritsuka said, knowing that if he ordered, he would get and that referring to Yuki as fighter would get compliance. He knew this because Soubi had once said that that was how they were addressed during their school years and if they did not answer they would get "punished".

Immediately Yuki answered him- a reflex action, Ritsuka was sure- still looking like a fish out of water. "Along with the courses I have already stated, we learn battle tactics, ways to predict the opponent's next attack, and taijutsu along with martial arts."

"What are the purposes of these courses?"

"Battle tactic help you in figuring out what to use based on the power of the opponent and the way they initiate the field. The use of predicting the opponents' attacks gives you a great advantage in protecting your sacrifice. Taijutsu and martial arts are nonmagical based. They are used when or if you can't use magical attacks and you must resort to hand to hand combat to protect your sacrifice." When he finished his eyes widened at the realization of what he had just said.

"And why didn't you mention this before?"

Yuki closed his mouth with a snap, staring at Ritsuka with amazement.

"Answer me...or else." Ritsuka had never used a threat when dealing with his fighter, but he wanted these answers, and if he had to, he would punish Yuki. After all, he didn't care about the fighter anyway.

Yuki, who seemed to know that he had never threatened his fighter also, watched his sacrifice with blank eyes. He was taught to never disobey your sacrifice and to never show anything of or towards pain. "They are not normal classes. They were for me when I stayed at the school after I actually graduated. I had asked to stay behind. And when my magical skills grew extremely powerful they had nothing else to teach me. And if for some reason I ever needed it, they taught me hand to hand."

"I see. Yuki..." The fighter looked over to his sacrifice who was looking at him emotionlessly, yet still some how deadly when he said, "Don't ever lie or hide things from me again."

A direct order, It must be obeyed.

Yuki nodded and turned back towards the dishes. When he had finished he turned back towards his much changed sacrifice and said, "I think I should take you home now."

Ritsuka said nothing and the only indication that he even heard the man was when he rose from his seat and headed to the front door to put on his shoes and jacket.

Ritsuka had not seen Yuki for two weeks, along with Soubi. Well...at least not in the real world. Soubi's head and his false words of love entered Ritsuka's everyday. And everyday, he would chase them away in the same way he had in Yuki's bathroom. The razor was kept with him at all times, even as he slept.

His cloths all consisted of one similar thing. Long sleeves.

He had a total of fifteen cuts, eight on his left arm and seven on his right. One for each day that Soubi had entered his head. The two weeks and the day he found a way to keep him away.

He had not seen Yuki and he didn't really care. It was better to be away from him. To be away from everyone. But he was sure that if he was ever in danger that Yuki was appear. That's the only good about fighters. Now he knew why Seimei treated Soubi as he did.

Walking home from school, Ritsuka though back to Seimei. He had thought that he had loved him. They were brothers after all, and he had always told Ritsuka to come to him if their mother ever did anything to him, but still.

There was something about Seimei now that he thought about it, that just agreed that Seimei hated him to. There really was no argument and he accepted that. It didn't matter anyway, for now, he hated Seimei too.

When he got home, he locked the door and took off his things. He had no homework because he had finished it all already. He was heading upstairs to his room when something suddenly pulled to the left, into the kitchen.

As he turned to look at who it was, he hot smacked across the face so hard that he fell to the ground.

Oh. His mother was home.

He got back up just to be pushed hard against the counter, having the corner hit something in his back. He crumpled to the ground having been momentarily paralyzed.

"You stupid, stupid boy! Who the fuck are you! Where is the real Ritsuka! Tell me you bastard!" He didn't even bother to say anything. He didn't know where the old Ritsuka had gone...probably gone with the experience of almost being raped...But that's not what the bitch ment. She wanted the real Ritsuka. She was insane and didn't even know that he WAS Ritsuka. And even if he had said anything, she would not have believed him.

As he rose he felt a stabbing pain in his side. When he looked he spotted a fork sticking out from some place under his ribs and it caused him to cough up a little bit of blood.

He didn't cry. He hadn't cried since...since the day he had changed some to think of it.

And he didn't scream. What was the point? There was no one around to hear him and also, he was use to pain by now. Once you hurt yourself, not many things can ever hurt you again.

"You piece of shit! Get up off my floor! Leave! Bring my Ritsuka and Seimei back to me!"

He didn't move once he stood but instead smirked sadistically and wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. Then he did something he had not done before.

He looked up, directly into her eyes and said, "You stupid bitch. I am Ritsuka. I have done nothing but changed. Seimei is dead, more than happy to be rid of you, I'm sure. You're the piece of shit that no one loves and we all hate you. Ritsuka 'left' because he hated you, just like Seimei, and just like your husband. You are worthless. And I am better then you."

The next thing he knew, he was bleeding from his cheek as a carving knife made it's way across it. He heard a clang, letting him know that his mother had dropped the knife, but then felt an itch on both sides of his face. Coming out of his shock of standing up to his mother, he noticed that she was raking her nails down his face. She then picked him up by the collar of his shirt and shoved his head into the wall multiple times.

Soon, after feeling dizzy, he began to fee light headed and he noticed that he was missing something. 'What is it...?' Then he knew it was his breath. His mother was choking him and he couldn't breath. That was why he was light headed.

He was too weak to fight her so he just stared her in the eyes as she looked crazily back.

"You dare say that to me to little fuck! How dare you! I will kill you now and let Seimei and Ritsuka have your body as a sign of my love for them. They love me so much. Yes, they love m-"

"No."

Ritsuka, who had almost blacked out from lack of oxygen hear the voice and looked behind his mother to see who it was. But he couldn't make out the face clearly.

"You are more wrong then you know. Ritsuka hates you. We hate you...Mother."

Ritsuka's eyes grew wide as the realization hit him. 'Seimei...'

The world went black.