Soothe
Chapter 2
Sorry my return was delayed. I got out of fanfiction for a while. I'm still contemplating the continuation of a certain story at this point.
Warnings: Abuse, language, POV changes, shounen-ai , later yaoi, incest (see below note)
Notes: I don't know if Kio/Soubi owns a car, but here they do.
Also, regarding Natsuo and Youji...there's some speculation on whether or not they are related (both of their surnames being "Sagan") but I'm going along with the idea that they are brothers.
Disclaimer: Loveless belongs to Yun Kouga.
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"Sou-chan?"
Kio had to squint through the rain pounding off his windshield to get a good look, but he definitely knew that that was Soubi leaving the apartment. The hard, stoic look on his face was Kio's most reliable indication that he was concerned or frustrated. And not the "I-just-ran-out-of-cigarettes" frustrated.
"Soubi!" he quickly rolled down the window to call out to his roommate. Soubi didn't respond at first; he only walked to the car and turned to Kio to stare straight at him with that firm gaze Kio knew so well. The 'zombie' look. Kio swallowed audibly, but managed to ask, "what is it?"
Soubi once again said nothing at first, but finally said one word: "Ritsuka."
"What happened to Ritsuka-kun?" The remarkably young voice startled Soubi a little. He glanced into the back seat to see Youji and Natsuo in the car, leaning over Kio's seat to interrogate him. Which Soubi wasn't in a particular mood to put up with. Because he knew the longer he did, the longer his Sacrifice would be left out in the rain. He stared placidly at the barren streets before him. He couldn't even see where it ended. Could that mean he wouldn't find Ritsuka?
Kio finally broke the silence. "Get in." Soubi hesitated again. The blonde in the driver's seat ignored it and turned to the back. "Hey, you two. Wait inside in case Ritsuka comes here." he jerked a thumb at the apartment building nonchalantly.
The long-haired ZERO scowled. "We have names, Kio." But he let it go as he followed Natsuo out of the vehicle and rushed into the apartment building, shielding himself from the rain with his arms.
Soubi walked around the front of the car and slid into the passenger's side. He murmured an order to Kio --"Drive"-- before pressing the phone hastily against his ear, waiting for Ritsuka to talk to him.
Kio ignored the irony of Soubi's order and drove in the direction pointed to him.
I wonder what would happen if I just...vanished?
Like my brother did?
Ritsuka's feline ears twitched meekly in response to a distant crash. He knew that staying awake was the only thing he could do now to keep himself safe, so he had forced himself to listen more acutely to what was going on around him. Even the sound of the rain sloshing into the gutter just yards away gave him a headache.
Nobody came for him. It was probably a dog. In his dispassionate state of mind, he found himself hating the stupid animal. Then again...he supposed that was just the pot calling the kettle black. He was the stupid animal; he knew staying in that house was foolish. But he feared for his mother's well-being. If she was so enraged by Ritsuka's change in personality, how would she react if he just disappeared altogether? He sighed dismally, knowing that according to her, the "real" Ritsuka already had.
"S...oubi...I'm still here," he murmured weakly into the phone, which he had propped up against his shoulder. A logical part of his mind knew there was a risk of water damage, but it had slipped into the deepest recesses of his mind for now.
"I know...tsuka...oking for you..." the line was breaking up, as Ritsuka had feared. Now he hated the phone. It never let him talk to the one person he wanted to talk to.
The one person that he wanted to save him.
"I'm still here..."
In an instant, the soft blue butterfly wallpaper faded and vanished. Ritsuka just laughed, his face too numb to feel the pain from his bruises and cuts. His battery had died. Now he had no soothing image to help lull him away to a place where there would be no pain. Tilting his head as much as he could, he stared down the street. With his bleary vision, the road seemed to stretch on forever, never stopping until it reached its destination. He wondered where it would go, if he could get up and walk until there was no more road. Where he would end up. Shangri-La, maybe. Heaven, Nirvana, Eden, call it whatever you like. All he wanted was somewhere perfect where Ritsuka could be Ritsuka.
The cell phone slid off his sleeve and hit the pavement harshly.
"...Dammit. I think I lost the call." Soubi closed his phone in defeat, keeping his emotions to a bare minimum. Kio knew his exasperation, though. He hadn't practically hung off of Soubi for ages all for nothing. As strong as his mask appeared, Kio knew where its cracks were. And that was where he knew to search for anything human.
"Keep looking, he's hard to miss. Did he say what happened to him?" Kio asked, turning a corner haphazardly. He hated driving a car, particularly since they lived in Japan, but he knew Soubi wouldn't dare carry Ritsuka in the rain.
Soubi took his chin from his elbow resting near the passenger side window and quirked one delicate eyebrow upward. "What do you mean, 'he's hard to miss?'"
"Sou-chan, I didn't mean it like that; don't change the subject," Kio said, inwardly rolling his eyes. He knew sarcasm in this situation wouldn't help. Soubi looked bothered enough.
It took a while for the usually reticent man to respond. "His mother."
"His mother did what? Did he tell you what she did?"
"He didn't tell me it was her."
When did he pick up this habit of speaking for other people? Kio wondered if Ritsuka found it as irritating as he did. "Then how do you know his mom had anything to--"
"Because..." Soubi held his hand up to silence the driver. Kio glanced at Soubi in curiosity, trying hard to keep his focus on the road ahead of him. "She's...troublesome. In the worst possible way."
The car was silent.
"Yoooou-jii...what're we waiting for, exactly?" Natsuo drawled, stretching out languidly on the bed.
The other ZERO wasn't quite sure himself. He stared idly at the phone, willing Soubi or Ritsuka to call. That way he wouldn't have to worry about them.
Like a damn weakling.
"We're waiting for something to happen, that's what. I just wanna know why Ritsuka-kun called Soubi," Youji replied, continuing his staring contest with the phone.
"Maybe the kid's desperate for something of Soubi's, you know?" the redhead leered, grinning mischievously. Youji twisted his face in a grimace. The phone had won the contest. Youji knew Ritsuka was 14 now, certain impulses would be kicking in...but calling Soubi so late at night for something so trivial? It was so strange, so..."un-Ritsuka."
Besides, if he were Ritsuka, he'd go for the ditzy chick with the huge boobs. Without letting his brother in on his secret wishes. Natsuo absolutely adored him; if he found out about his thoughts, Youji knew he wouldn't be able to make up an excuse in enough time. He would run head-on into Natsuo's anger and turn Youji into a deer caught in headlights.
"I dunno. Loveless isn't connected to Soubi...but it has been two years," Youji replied thoughtfully, forcing himself away from the phone. He sat down near Natsuo and stroked the ZERO's cheek absentmindedly. Natsuo purred in content, not questioning why Youji felt like being affectionate.
"Maybe he finally wants to prove that connection."
Ritsuka was floating.
He lay in a vast sea of nothingness, being supported by an unseen force. One that he trusted. Seimei's arms, maybe. Though he hadn't forgotten about his shocking nightmare all that time ago.
His whole body felt as if it was burning, slowly, on the edges of his skin and spreading slowly inside him. He suddenly pined for growing pains, which he had been getting enough of recently. Ritsuka focused on the inside of hs eyelids, looking for anything to stare at until he met an end. Whatever end he was to meet.
"Hey, there he is! Holy shit..." His senses more acute, Ritsuka decided to initiate a guessing game with the outside world. Guess the Foreign Sound.
A car door opening. Garbled words of a distressed man. A car door closing. Another car door opening.
Someone lifting him into his arms. Someone pulling the angel, fallen from grace, back from the depths he had fallen so harshly into.
"S...Sou...bi...?" Ritsuka croaked, attempting and failing to lift his arm and feel for his lifeline. A warm hand wrapped around his wrist (lightly, so the bruises there wouldn't ache anymore than they already did) and lifted his arm. Ritsuka's hand pressed against his savior's face.
He smiled a little at feeling the thin rims of the ovular spectacles. "It's me, Ritsuka. You're not too far from your house."
It suddenly fit in Ritsuka's head. The crash he had blamed on an innocent dog was nothing more than Misaki Aoyagi, looking for her missing boy. Not caring at all about the shadow of his "former" self. The ghost, the hollow shell in which the real Ritsuka was hiding.
And Ritsuka slid into the backseat of the car to let darkness--sleep, unconsicousness, death...whatever came first-- overtake him.
-End Chapter 2-
I torture poor Ritsuka, don't I? As much as it sounds like it...NO, RITSUKA IS NOT SUICIDAL IN THIS FIC. It'll be made clear later.
As mentioned above, the story will get a bit more intense regarding malexmale content (SoubiRitsuka, YoujiNatsuo), so the rating may go up.
There will probably be one or two more chapters after this one.
Thank you for reading; please review. No flames.
-Sei Ikari