Okay guys. This is Kio's POV, which was kinda a cop-out. I ran out of time before I could make it as good as I'd have liked. However, I tried my best. I'll be going to my other parent's house for a month or so, so unless they get the net on their computer, I'm not gonna be posting stories until I get back. I will, however, be writing like a friggin maniac. You're welcome. I'll have the next chapter when I get back, guaranteed. Really sorry. Gah I feel horrible, like neglecting a child or something. I really really am sorry. Hope it's satisfactory. Also, thank you to those who gave positive reviews. It really does fuel me up (hint hint, give me more!) and make me want to write with enthusiasm. Cuz in all seriousness, I was going to blow chapter four off until July... Enjoy.
I couldn't say I was surprised when Sou-chan came back to my kitchen with the kid passed out in his arms. I felt a bit responsible, on account of I was the host and anything that went on did so under my roof.
I helped Soubi open the door, trying to wipe off the grim expression on my face. I was imagining the worst and imagining it was my fault, a combination of thoughts collaborating into one hectic emotion: Guilt. "What happened?" I asked, only half-wanting to know.
"I don't know, but I have a theory," Soubi mumbled. He was working on setting the boy on the counter. I moved spices and whatnot out of the way for him to lay down. It really wasn't a very practical place. Ritsuka wasn't fun-sized anymore, and took up the whole counter space and then some. His head was hazardously close to the hot stovetop.
"Perhaps we should go to a guest room and set him down," I offered, extending my arms to get him up.
"I just came from there," Soubi retorted coldly.
His words sent a pang to my heart, a quick but deadly current of panic, as I imagined what that comment entailed. "Kio…" he began, but I cut him short. I didn't want to hear whatever he had to say at the moment.
"Tell me when we get to the room," I said simply, holding the door open. His mouth twisted in frustration, but otherwise said nothing. He tucked the kid's head closer to his chest and eased through the crowd to the back rooms, not once taking his eyes off of him. Ritsuka's head rested comfortably on his shoulder, his legs drooping to Sou-chan's sides. His breath was shallow and peaceful, completely oblivious to the noise around him. Truly like a child. Soubi patted and stroked his hair as we walked, exuberating affection. I could count on one hand how many times he displayed such gentleness, and most of the times were when he was drunk.
When Soubi set him on the bed, the kid squirmed and opened his eyes. My heart almost jumped through my chest! I hadn't expected him to be conscious so soon; the movement was too sudden.
"Kio! Hey!" He waved at me where I was seated at the foot of the bed, and smiled. Soubi reached forward to steady him as he rose to his knees and stumbled to me. "I feel funny, Kio-kun," he slurred. I glanced over to Soubi and was returned with a calm but perplexed expression. I was confused too. Why was he talking to me when Sou-chan was in the room? I mean, it's not as if we weren't friends in a way, but Soubi was his boyfriend. Why was he telling me?
He sat opposite of me, his back turned to Soubi, and cocked his head to the side. "Kio-kun, don't look at me that way. It makes me feel bad," he said, his voice small…
I panicked. Look at him like what? Maybe the intense worry and discomfort I was feeling showed on my face accidentally. I tried to smile. He just shook his head and burrowed his head between his knees and chest, pulling them up close to him and wrapping his arms around his legs. "Tell Soubi to go away," he said, still not looking up. "Tell him I order him to leave now."
I tore my eyes from the kid and tried to mouth for Soubi to stay and help, but he was already through the door. When the door clicked shut, only then did Ritsuka look up at me. His face was tear-stained, his lips trembling. My heart gave an uncomfortable tug at the sight. I was used to him scowling or frowning or glaring, but crying was a novelty. I reached out to pat his knee in comfort, but he cringed away. "Don't touch me!" he blurted. Immediately he covered his mouth, still scooting away.
His eyes were wild with terror, a violet-tinted mirror of my own. I sat perfectly still. I figured that any sudden movement would set him off again, kind of like rattlesnakes.
Only a foot or two away, Ritsuka was combing his fingers through his hair, breathing through his mouth to calm himself down. He patted on his cheeks and took another breath, sucking in and blowing air back out loudly. "Okay," he began. "I think I'm slightly intoxicated," he said simply. He smiled and rubbed the circles under his eyes. When I said nothing he stopped, leaning forward and saying, "Didn't you want to know what was wrong with me?"
I nodded. "You heard us?" I asked. I could've sworn he was asleep.
"I was in half-slumber. Couldn't go to sleep completely." He tapped his head. "Brain wouldn't let me." He leaned even more, his eyes hazing over again. "Well… go ahead and ask. Then you can report it back to your little friend." Ouch, I thought. He was being pretty cold to Soubi. I decided that that was most important, so I asked about it first.
"Did Soubi do something to make you mad? Did he hurt you?" The questions sounded silly even as they came out of my mouth. Of course Soubi hadn't done anything. Soubi would rather cut off a limb than see Ritsuka in harm. He laughed, a tinge of hysteria slipping into the sound.
"Of course not! He loves me. He would never even dream of hurting me."
"Then why aren't you speaking to him about this? Not to be harsh, kid, but we're not exactly peas in a pod. That's you and Soubi."
He nodded in agreement, confusing me even more. "Yes. I'm not talking to him because he loves me and would never dream of hurting me," he said softly. I finally understood why he was so insistent on pushing him away. Something had happened, something too terrible to tell even Soubi.
He hid his face again and waited for me to say something. "So…," I attempted. "Someone else hurt you, but not just anyone. Someone that you couldn't tell Soubi about." He nodded in affirmation. "Someone he knows?" Another nod. I thought hard for a second. It seemed like we were getting nowhere. My questions needed to be more pointed. I lined up the information so far and matched it to the people he knew. For just this once I was grateful that Ritsuka was choosy about his friends, leaving him with only a handful. Friends that Soubi knew narrowed down the list even more. Friends that would not be noticed at a party full of university students…
As the conclusion finally clicked into place, a wave of nausea rolled through my stomach. Him. I bristled at the thought of that man being in my home uninvited. I would have to scrub the floors and walls and disinfect the air. I couldn't keep the hatred for the child's brother out of my voice, although I honestly didn't really try. "What did he do to you?"
Ritsuka looked up in horror at my livid expression. "I won't tell you if you're going to tell Soubi," he said stubbornly.
But even as he said this, his eyes were pleading. He was desperate for me to comply so that he could get it over with. Heartlessly, I took advantage of that desire. "It's me or him, and I'm sure you'd prefer telling me. Depending on what it is, I may or may not tell Sou-chan, but I'm not promising jack."
He stared wordlessly, and I stared back. Two can play the Stubborn Teenager game, I thought. But then, unexpectedly, tears welled in his eyes. He sputtered incoherently through sobs, clenching his teeth in frustration.
"He'll be angry too! How can you not get that? Why don't you understand?! He— ugh!" Ritsuka moved to stand up, but swayed back onto the bed. He put his head in his hands, shaking it back and forth. He collected himself again, making his body into a tight ball. He rocked himself back and forth while he spoke. His voice was more child-like than I'd ever heard it. "Nii-san hurt me, Kio. I don't know what to do." He wrapped his arms around himself as if trying to keep his heart from falling out of his chest and shattering on the floor into little pieces. "I can't tell Soubi. I can't. He'll be so angry! It was all my stupid fault. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I trusted him! How could he? I thought he loved me! Even after everything, I still believed that. How naïve can I get?"
As he spoke, he kept his back to me, not once looking up. Finally I understood why he couldn't tell Sou-chan. I felt cruel at once. My heart gave another painful tug, and I embraced it as a well-deserved punishment. I reached out to hold Ritsuka, and instead of cringing away again he collapsed in my arms, violent but quiet sobs reverberating through his body. Even matched against his 12-year-old self, never had he seemed so fragile. In my arms he felt as though he would break apart at any moment on a whim.
I wasn't exactly experienced in being tender or loving. I patted his hair as I had seen Soubi do, and tried my best to sound gentle. I made myself whisper as quietly as possible. "Are you ashamed of whatever happened, kid?" It was the most delicate way I found to put it, but still the child cringed. After a moment of stillness, he nodded faintly.
I'd known Ritsuka long enough to confirm one thing about him. He was the most blunt, straightforward little one I knew. For something to cause silence in him, to cause indignity so thick that he couldn't say what was on his mind to Soubi of all people… that something must have been pretty awful.
Still, as I thought this, I knew I was going to tell Soubi that he had hurt him. Not to betray Ritsuka, but to avenge him. For breaking the child this way, I wanted that man to be ripped from limb to limb. I loathed Aoyagi Seimei even deeper from the bottom of my heart now. From the pit of my soul. Such a vile snake shouldn't have be allowed to walk the earth for so long. Soubi wasn't violent by nature, but he would definitely give that Aoyagi brat what was coming to him.
Speaking of the devil, Soubi burst through the room. In three strides of his long legs he was at the foot of the bed, leaning over and yanking Ritsuka up on his feet. "We're leaving. I'll call you later, Kio," he was saying.
He all but dragged him out of the room. I didn't have the nerve to protest. It'd been a while since I'd seen Sou-chan in such a foul mood. He practically radiated fury, making the morose atmosphere of the room electric and thick. Perhaps little Ritsuka was right. I can't tell Soubi. He'll be so angry...
I knew Soubi would never hurt Ritsuka, but I couldn't help but be worried.