Chapter 5

AN: I reworked the previous chapters again.

Ritsuka awoke encased in warmth of his Sentoki's arms and surrounded by the unique smell that seemed to have settled itself into his room this past month. The scent was now just as much a part of the room as the blond had become. Ritsuka decided that the combination was easily enough incentive to make him never want to leave his bed again. He shifted and gasped as his wounds from his mother protested. The pain reminded him of her awful reaction to Soubi; well, to be honest, Soubi was probably only a catalyst for her anger. His mother only seemed to be looking for a reason to hurt him these days. It hurt him that he couldn't make her happy, that he wasn't what she wanted, and that he couldn't be what she wanted. If he was honest with himself, it also hurt that he no longer wanted to be what she wanted. He was beginning to feel content with himself, the self that she hated.

Soubi watched Ritsuka awaken; he witnessed the small content smile on his face that accompanied it. He also watched as it subsequently succumbed to the dark thoughts that crept upon the boy as he lay in pain both physical and emotional. With a sigh Soubi squeezed Ritsuka closer; the boy's ears twitched as the warm breath of his Sentoki blew across them. He snuggled back into the warmth and comfort Soubi offered.

He turned and looked into the vibrant blue eyes of his Fighter and smiled softly at the blond's mussed hair. Ritsuka ran his hand through the blond strands, attempting to subdue the wild strands but only managing to make it worse somehow.

"Don't you have class this morning?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the blond hair he was now playing with, giving up on taming it. The blue eyed man sedately nodded in affirmation. "Will you help me with my bandages before you go?" The amethyst eyed male asked, well aware of the fact that he had yelled that he didn't need or want help from Soubi just a few hours before. It was a slight concession on his part that he would accept his Sentoki's help, a small display of his trust.

The blue eyed man smiled brightly and replied with a happy "Of course." The first-aid box was still sitting on Ritsuka's computer chair from the night before. Soubi grabbed it as Ritsuka gingerly took his pajama shirt off, ever mindful of his wounds. The Sentoki slowly began to bandage Ritsuka's arms first, they having sustained the most damage.

Ritsuka looked on in amusement as more and more of his arms were bandaged and wrapped. "I look like a mummy," he said with a small laugh. Soubi chuckled lightly as he moved to begin on his Sacrifice's face which didn't need the bandages but were used to hide the wounds. He attempted to cover as many as he could with as few bandages as possible.

"You should wear a long sleeve shirt today so that no one will see these," Soubi said as he cast a sad glance at Ritsuka's arms. The skin was hardly visible through the amount of bandages he had had to use; only random strips peeked through.

"You're right," Ritsuka replied as he glanced down at his arms in irritation.

"I hate bandaging my arms. As soon as I know I can't get to the skin, it begins to itch. How annoying."

The blond smiled over at his Sacrifice and shook his head lightly at the strange comment. He said, "I won't be able to come over for a few days; the semester is ending and I have a few projects that need to be worked on. But you can always email or call me."

"You need to shower so you can get to class on time." The younger male told the man with a slight unconscious pout at the thought of them having to separate. Soubi nodded in agreement and replied, "So should you."

"You go first; you need to be to class earlier than I do, and you have farther to walk." Ritsuka told him, waving his arm towards the bathroom. The blond smiled and said with as much innocence as he could muster over what he was about to say, "Perhaps we should just shower together, to be sure that neither of us is late that is." Ritsuka shot him a surprised look before he blushed and threw a towel at the blond and said "Go take a shower!" His ears were flat against his head in irritation and embarrassment and face flaming red.

Soubi walked into the bathroom laughing.

Ritsuka came home from school to a dark house, and with it being winter, there was hardly any light left outside with which to see. There was no fumbling as his fingers flicked the well used switch next to the door. He surveyed his immediate surroundings and, despite its benign appearance, proceeded cautiously past the doorway and into the house. Moving around the house with the same caution, he entered and peeked into every room, only find each just as empty as the last. He wandered back to the kitchen and then back through the living room, knowing he would find nothing. The house was quiet, calm, and it all unnerved Ritsuka to no ends.

With a small shrug he moved to the couch and sat uneasily as he decided to wait for his mother. He pulled a book from his school bag and began to read to help pass the time. After an hour, he fought a yawn and slowly slid into a slouch. His eyes began to droop after two. At the three hour mark, he had gone from slouching to lying down on his side, still reading. Not long after that, his book could be heard hitting the floor as he drifted off into a semi-peaceful sleep.

When Ritsuka awoke he noticed several things at once; the first being that the house was still unnaturally quite, the second being that night was already heavily underway, and the third that it seemed that no one had been home while he was sleeping either.

He sat up - his hair a mess and eyelids still heavy - and scratched at his bandaged arms through his long sleeved shirt as he yawned, his ears twitching as he listened for any sound.

There was none.

With a frown he searched the refrigerator, the counter, and the living room table for a note that perhaps he had missed on his first search of the house.

There was nothing.

He used the phone in the kitchen to call his mother's cell phone, his father's work, and his father's cell phone respectively.

There was no answer.

At a loss as to what to do now, Ritsuka sat heavily onto the couch again. With a frown he decided finally to check his cell phone to see if there were any missed calls, not that he expected any as neither of his parents knew he had a phone.

It was nearly midnight now according to his phone. Looking around slightly scared and paranoid, every slight noise made him jump. The dark had never seemed more malicious and suffocating. He bolted upright and ran up the stairs and into his room. He slammed the door closed, pausing only long enough to lock it before rushing to the spot on the side of his desk where he was completely hidden from the door once he pulled his knees to his chest. Ritsuka held his knees so tightly his knuckles whitened as he squeezed in his frustration. "I don't understand." He whispered, fighting the urge to punch the closest wall. His tears welled in his eyes; they fell over and his eyes shone a beautiful Tyrian purple at his turmoil and desperation. "Why would they leave me? Did they forget me? Or do they no longer want me?" He had so many horrible questions filling his head each worse than the last and no answers to calm him. Ritsuka felt so lost. What should he do? What could he do? What does one do when one's parents have abandoned them?

Ritsuka pulled his cell phone from his pocket and stared at the little square glowing screen flashing the late hour. It was nearing one and there was only one person he wanted to call. Was it too late? Did it matter? He was told to call any time and that Soubi would always answer - did he mean it? Could he trust him…

Soubi lay the paint brush aside, the familiar ringtone making Kio roll his eyes and making the blond frown. It wasn't often that Ritsuka initiated a call and then never so late.

Kio huffed in annoyance and said, "What's he doing up at this hour? It's far past time for good little boys to be in bed."

Soubi shrugged and walked onto the balcony despite the cold to answer the phone.

"Moshi moshi?" He said, the worry clear in his voice. His greeting was met with silence. "Ritsuka?" he said, the worry in his voice increasing. "Ritsuka?" he repeated as the silence made him anxious. "Ritsuka, are you ok?" he said, his anxiety rising as more seconds pass. He quieted and listened closely; much to his relief, he could hear his Sacrifice breathing.

"Soubi, I need you to do something for me." Ritsuka said in a quiet and small voice. There was almost a childlike quality to his Sacrifice's voice that Soubi couldn't recall ever having heard before.

There were a million questions he wanted to ask, but he forced himself not to ask them. "Anything," the tense blond replied instead.

"Soubi, I need you to come for me." Ritsuka said quietly and Soubi wasn't sure whether he had imagined the note of panic in his Sacrifice's voice or not. "Come for you?" he parroted back. "I need you to come and get me," Ritsuka repeated. Once Soubi realized that he hadn't imagined the panic in his Ritsuka's voice and understood that he had to go pick him up, he quickly rushed into the apartment and grabbed his keys as he said, "I'll be there."

"Please hurry" was all he heard before the dial tone.

AN: Reviews are love!