FINAL CONFERENCE EVALUATION (written by Doctor Hoshino):

There is definitely something going on in the Aoyagi household. It's pretty clear after reviewing all the conference reports. Ritsuka-kun is unwilling to talk about it, though, and Seimei-san seems to not know what is going on, but he does suspect something. I have determined that Ritsuka-kun is being abused by a male close to him and the male abusing him is not Seimei-san. I will set up an in-depth investigation of his home as soon as possible.

The first person to notice Ritsuka's disappearance was his father, since the man had been looking for the boy to abuse him again. He looked through the entire house, first happy, since Ritsuka hiding from him warranted a harder, more elaborate punishment. He fantasized as he searched for the boy, his current mind only set on indulging. This was before his sickness got worse, before he lost complete control, before he realized how sick he was. This was when his personalities stayed in place for a long time, the one wanting to beat and rape and abuse his own son being the most dominant. This was when he had power and could do whatever he wanted. This was before Seimei stopped him, before his eldest son lost all trust and respect for the human race.

He searched and searched for the scared little boy, getting painfully aroused by doing so. After about an hour, he finally went into Ritsuka's room, lay on his bed, and jerked himself off until he came all over the boy's sheets. He smirked, and then left without cleaning up. Ritsuka would know as soon he returned home and went to sleep. Kiyoshi's smirk stayed as he imagined the little boy begging him to change his sheets. Misaki would let him, that stupid, oblivious woman, but Kiyoshi wouldn't. He would stop him; tell him to deal with the smell and stiffness. The boy would know what he did. He knew far too much for his age. He'd have to be punished for that, as well.

The next place Kiyoshi checked was outside, where he suddenly realized what had happened. That little whore had run away! There were footprints in the snow, leading all the way down the block and even further. Beside himself with rage, Kiyoshi threw on boots and a coat and scarf and followed that stupid boy's tracks down the sidewalk, hurrying along. What was that kid thinking? If that little idiot thought he could run away, he was wrong. He couldn't escape. He would never escape. Kiyoshi held his life, his mid, his everything in his hands. He couldn't escape the all-powerful. He must have forgotten everything that Kiyoshi had taught him in the past few months. Kiyoshi saw and knew everything. Ritsuka wouldn't even be able to get out of the neighborhood. He would find him.

Kiyoshi walked and walked, following his son's footsteps into the town part of the district. There, one pair of footsteps turned into one million and as much as he tried to follow his son's, he lost the boys tracks in a sea of others and wasn't able to designate between them. In a fit of rage, he returned home and called the police, reporting his youngest son missing.

The second person to notice Ritsuka missing was Seimei once he returned home to find the police at his house. He walked upstairs, noticed by neither the police nor his father, and peered inside Ritsuka's room, immediately knowing why the police were there as soon as he saw the empty room. Had Ritsuka run away? Every day, the young boy seemed to get more distant and depressed. This didn't exactly surprise Seimei, but what he saw on the bed did.

Of course, Seimei had his suspicions of why Ritsuka was acting so strange. One of the options was always that one of their parents was abusing him, though that option wasn't very likely since, back then, Seimei trusted his parents and believed that neither of them would ever hurt their children. He was naive, even though he was already in the planning stages of his attack on Septimal Moon. He was far from innocent, and years later, after all had gone down and Ritsuka was in Soubi's care, he would think about how stupid he'd been, how he hadn't seen what that…that monster had been doing to his little Ritsuka. These thoughts would preoccupy him for years and years and he knew he would never stop regretting ignoring all the signs that had been right in front of him.

Contrary to what Septimal Moon, Nisei, and Soubi all thought, Seimei was not self-centered. He stopped being so after finding out what had happened to Ritsuka. In fact, afterwards, he hated himself. How could he not, after finding his little brother, his beloved, being raped by their own father, sick, humiliated, and having to comply with his daddy's every whim? It had all been his fault. He could've prevented it, but his fifteen year-old self had been too absorbed in his own activities to do anything.

He, unlike Ritsuka, knew much more about sex, and could clearly identify the still un-dried white liquid on the bed. He set out to find Ritsuka as well, calling Soubi first, since he could perform tracking spells.

He walked and walked, walking through the city, the snow, and even on the frozen beaches. Night fell and midnight came. He heard stories while passing by televisions in the city of a missing boy from a residential district, but he just kept on walking, sure that he'd left his own district hours ago. People stopped him on the street, asking why he was barefoot and dressed in a white t-shirt with blood on the back and a thin pair of jeans. He wouldn't talk to any of them. He just walked away, disappearing into another crowd, his mind blank and his thought process only focused on walking away. He only wanted to go one place, and he was trying hard to get to that one place. If he could reach the university, he'd be able to ask someone at student services for the address he was trying to get to.

Mizuki drummed her fingers on her desk, checking her watch again and waiting for her shift to end. This job irritated her to no end. The university was in the middle of Tokyo and she was stuck here, at the Student Services Desk as punishment for pulling the fire alarm as a joke. Really, who would call Student Services at one in the morning on a Friday? Everyone else was either asleep or out having fun, like Mizuki should've been.

Suddenly, the front doors to the student center were opened, the bell atop them ringing and alerting Mizuki. She put on her best smile, expecting some drunken student to walk in, but instead had to look over the tall desk just to see the little boy staring up at her with big blue eyes.

"Hello," She greeted softly. She loved children, and was suddenly concerned for this one. His white shirt stained with dirt and what appeared to be blood. He wasn't wearing any shoes or socks, either, or a coat or gloves. His feet were dirty, nearly blackened, as if he had walked a very, very far distance. He was shivering violently, holding his arms, his face drained of all color.

"I…I'm looking for someone," He said in a tiny voice, his teeth chattering. "Could…could you please look him up for me? I need to find him before dawn…"

Mizuki, forgetting all about her distress at not being able to go out, invited the little boy over to her side of the desk and wrapped the blanket she had brought around him. With tears rolling down his cheeks, he thanked her and then asked again if she'd look someone up for her. She answered yes, and he whispered the name of a man who was quite famous around the campus for being a loner.

Police Report: Runaway case of Aoyagi Ritsuka

Date: 1/10/08

Notes: Aoyagi Kiyoshi called at 2:00 PM to report his youngest son missing. Three officers were sent to the house. The eldest brother, Aoyagi Seimei returned home soon after. He left nearly five minutes later, saying that he was going for a walk. An officer tailed him and reported him meeting a blonde man who was identified as Agatsuma Soubi. The two left in a car and went to Agatsuma's apartment, where the officer was sent to tail and asked the two a series of questions. Neither of the two seemed to know much, though Aoyagi Seimei expressed distress over his brother's disappearance.

Next, the father and mother were questioned. The only thing that seemed suspicious was that the father, Aoyagi Kiyoshi, seemed annoyed and irritated rather than distressed. The mother, Aoyagi Misaki, was in tears and exhibiting common behavior of a mother dealing with a runaway child.

The first thing done was the delivery of a tracking dog to the scene. The dog was allowed to sniff at Aoyagi Ritsuka's bed sheets. Immediately, the dog barked at Aoyagi Kiyoshi, who admitted that he slept in the same bed with his son the previous night after Aoyagi Ritsuka had nightmares.

Next, the tracking dog was given a sample of Aoyagi Ritsuka's clothes and then taken out onto the sidewalk, where there were footprints in the snow which matched Aoyagi Ritsuka. The dog followed the scent into the city, where it was eventually lost.

Other leads are currently being investigated, as this case is also suspected to be a kidnapping.

Agatsuma Soubi was fast asleep at nearly two in the morning, after being out, attempting to track Ritsuka with Seimei. It had been a failure, since even tracking spells couldn't work in a crowded area such as downtown Tokyo. Seimei hadn't said too much during the day, so there had been no insults thrown at him or any harsh words, just the occasional order or muttered words that gave Soubi indication on how worried his master was.

Soubi had been a good boy and hadn't disobeyed Seimei or done anything to irk him. This had earned him a small, distracted pat on the head and a quiet 'Good boy, Soubi,' at the end of the day, which had made Soubi more than happy with himself.

Thus, he'd been able to get to sleep just fine, and had even gone to bed at a reasonable hour, just as Seimei had suggested, though not ordered. For once, no dreams had haunted him and he'd slept well—until his cell phone rang.

Soubi reached in the darkness for it, expecting a call from Seimei, but instead finding it was from the university's student center. What could they possibly want with him?

The nice lady at the Student Center let him, dirty, tired Ritsuka, sit in her lap and play on her computer while they waited for Soubi to come pick Ritsuka up. She didn't make Ritsuka walk or even call his brother. He sat quietly, trying to be polite to the nice woman. She waited until Soubi walked in the door to leave, even though Ritsuka knew it was probably past the end of her shift.

"Ritsuka-san, what are you doing here?" Soubi asked as soon as he walked in the door, seeming more frustrated than angry. "Where's your coat? Don't you know Seimei's been looking for you?"

Ritsuka looked at his feet, ashamed. Soubi was scolding him and had every right to do so. He'd woken him and made him come all the way to the Student Center to pick him up at two in the morning. He'd probably joined Seimei in the search for Ritsuka, as well, since Soubi always joined Seimei in those kinds of things.

"I'm sorry, Soubi-san," Ritsuka apologized, shivering again since the nice lady was preparing to leave and folding her blanket up. He trained his eyes on the floor, too afraid to look and see Soubi angry at him. Soubi just sighed and the next thing Ritsuka felt was him draping his oversized fleece coat over his shoulders. Ritsuka glanced up, seeing Soubi kneeling before him. Soubi helped him into the coat and rolled up the sleeves until Ritsuka's tiny hands peaked out. Ritsuka, thinking that they were going to leave, started walking towards the door, but Soubi immediately picked him up and set him back down in front of him. He pulled the scarf from his own neck, revealing the bandages that Ritsuka was so curious about. He wrapped the long scarf around Ritsuka's exposed neck, fixing it so that it covered his chin and the bottom of his human ears, too.

Soubi pulled a pair of gloves on his hands, as well, before picking him up like a toddler, in a way that Ritsuka's head was resting on his shoulder. Ritsuka wrapped both arms around his neck, sleepy after having walked so far. The next thing that he remembered was waking up on Soubi's bed, hearing the water running. Soubi was sitting beside him, telling him he was going to call Seimei and that he was running Ritsuka a bath. Ritsuka begged Soubi not to tell Seimei. Soubi told him no, though, and that he was going to call Seimei and that Ritsuka was going to take a bath and once he'd be out of the bath, Seimei would be here and ready to take him home.

"I don't want to go home!" Ritsuka yelled, startling Soubi, clutching at his jacket. "Please don't make me go home!"

He couldn't go home. His Daddy would just hurt him again and again and again. It was safe here, at Soubi's apartment. That wretched man couldn't reach him here. Here, it was alright to tell…it was okay to finally say something, to tell someone. That monster wouldn't be able to hear here. He'd said that if he ever told, he'd hurt everyone Ritsuka loved, but he wouldn't know, not here. He seemed to hear and know everything, but this place was beyond his reach.

So, Soubi was the very first person he told. He clutched the man's jacket in both hands, crouching on the bed next to him, breathing hard. Quietly, softly, almost regretfully, he whispered, "My Daddy…Daddy does things to me." He then collapsed against Soubi, unable to take the pain and the suffering anymore, holding onto him as if his life depended on it.

"What do you want this late at night?"

"He came to me."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I got a call from the Student Center about an hour ago. They told me a child had come asking for my address."

"Ritsuka…he walked all the way to your university?"

"Yes."

"Why? What happened?"

"I don't know."

"Did he tell you anything?"

"Yes."

"What'd he tell you?"

"I know it's not my place to say, but I think it'd be better if you come here before I tell you."

"Will he tell me himself?"

"No."

"Why is that?"

"He begged me not to tell you."

"Alright, I'll be over there soon. Is he alright now?"

"Yes. I ran a bath for him. He's in it now."

"Good. What'd you do for him?"

"I took him back home and let him sleep for a little. Is it alright to let him sleep on my bed after he's done in the bath?"

"Yes. That's fine."

When Seimei arrived, however, he was in a hurry, since he'd just gotten a call from Septimal Moon sending him out on a mission. He took Ritsuka home before Soubi could get a word in and left the next day, still unconvinced that either of his innocent, loving parents could ever do anything to little Ritsuka. When he was called home by his mother after just five days and came home to his father raping a screaming Ritsuka, Seimei lost all control and told Soubi to take a now passed out Ritsuka to a nice hotel in the south, far, far away from Kiyoshi.

That day, Seimei learned to never trust anyone, not even Soubi, the man who was too afraid to disobey him. The only person he could trust was Ritsuka. That was the day when he decided that he'd make a perfect world for Ritsuka and himself. That was also the day that he stopped seeing everyone around him as humans. Only he and Ritsuka were humans, the only two people with no bad intentions. That was the day that Seimei lost it completely and his one focus became protecting his little brother from the monsters of this world.

The next time the kids on the block saw Ritsuka was a month later. It was when Aki, Hayato, and Yatsuhiro peaked out their window early in the morning and saw Ritsuka playing basketball with a tall blonde man out in the street of the cul-de-sac. After Ritsuka had been gone for a month, both from school and from home, this came as a shock. The triplets immediately called up the remaining families (three had moved away since they heard Aoyagi Kiyoshi was in the hospital) to tell them.

Chizu-chan was the first to come out of her house. She watched Ritsuka and the strange man for a few minutes on her doorstep. Ritsuka was bouncing the ball, staring at his feet, not even running around and laughing like he used to. The strange man apparently noticed as well, since he picked Ritsuka up and let the little boy throw the ball in the basket from only about a meter away and about two meters up. He set Ritsuka back down and clapped and smiled, picking the ball back up and holding it out to Ritsuka.

Ritsuka-kun had changed. She could see it and all the others could see it, too. None of them approached Ritsuka and the strange man, even when Seimei came out to watch the two of them. When Seimei finally talked to the two of them, apparently saying it was time to leave, the three of them all got into a car together and drove off, never to be seen again. The Aoyagi family moved to a near but different neighborhood after Ritsuka was hospitalized and lost his memories. Apparently, Ritsuka didn't even return to pack his things up, only Seimei did, and that was just for a day.

The next time Chizu-chan saw Ritsuka and the blonde man was nearly four years later, when Chizu and the rest of the kids finally understood what exactly had been done to Ritsuka. It was just a regular summer day. She'd just gotten off of school and had a lazy day ahead of her. The only thing scheduled was her weekly therapy visit. The doorbell rang in the middle of the morning and Chizu padded down the stairs to see who it was. When she opened the door, she immediately recognized the blonde man who'd been playing with Ritsuka that one day. Holding hands with him was a taller, thirteen year-old Ritsuka.

After years and years of therapy to try to forgive herself for not telling, the only thing she felt like she could do was slam the door in both their faces and run back upstairs.

Annnd that wraps this prequel up~ Lots of the things in here will be elaborated on in Healing in later chapters and everything will start making sense, I promise.

Chapter title taken from the Offspring's 'Kristy are you doin okay'.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please review again! I really appriciate that you take the time to do so, especially those of you who write more than a sentence! :J

~Wolfie