"Don’t thank me yet, Soubi," Ritsuka cautioned, and his voice came out barely a whisper. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "Thank me when I succeed."

BANG!

              “Ritsuka?!”

The sound startled Ritsuka into releasing Soubi’s hand, his body scrambling backwards until his calves hit his bed. Turning, reluctantly, he looked at his door where the sound of thudding footsteps coming up the stairs came from. “Ritsuka, come downstairs! I made your favourite!”    

Ritsuka glanced at Soubi and frowned. “You have to go,” he whispered, and his voice held an unusual urgency. “If she finds you in here -“

            “Ritsuka? Why aren’t answering me?!”      

He gave a small sigh, a look of slight irritation on his features at the interruption. She always seemed to know the best time to interrupt and make him the most annoyed didn't she..? However he gave a small smile towards Ritsuka again soon after. 

"Of course.." He whispered. "If you still have the phone I gave you, my number hasn't changed. Call any time... and I'll see you soon Ritsuka." He promised as he stood and silently made his way out the way he'd come inside in the first place. 

Had he truly just declared that out loud? Was he really going to try and do this?

Glancing down at his hand, he looked a thin, almost imperceptible strip of white skin there and felt his conviction grow. That scar was less than a year old and already it blended in so well with his flesh that the jagged, lumpy glass cut it had been before was hardly more than a painful memory.

Nodding suddenly, he spoke. “Yes, it’s possible. And I’m going to do it. Soubi, I’m going to wipe every trace of what Seimei did to you from your body.”

The fighter hummed, closing his eyes for a moment before they opened again. "Well... I wish you the best of luck then Ritsuka." He thought the boy would need it. After all... this scar likely wasn't just any ordinary scar. This one wouldn't go away with time like some of Ritsuka's scars.

    “No. I don’t want you to hide things from me, Soubi, not ever. But if you don’t want them to be seen, then I want you to wrap them back up.” 

    Hesitantly, he reached over and lightly gripped one of Soubi’s hands, holding it in his own as he glanced back down at the scars. “Do you trust me, Soubi? Because there’s something -” he cut off, and his ears laid flat to his skull for a moment. 

    The gravity of what he was about to say weight heavily on his small shoulders, dragging him into doubt and fear. He could do so much damage with these words, not just to Soubi to but himself. And to Seimei.

    It was that last thought that solidified his resolution.

It was then that he turned his gaze to Ritsuka's hand that now clutched his for a moment, a slight look of surprise in his eyes that soon disappeared again. 

The question presented to him through Soubi for a loop. "Do I trust you..?" What an odd question to ask. He'd been sure from what had gone on so far that the question had been answered, but after thinking it through he supposed it wasn't so obvious after all. "I do, yes.. with everything I am I trust you.." 

If the question and the fact that Ritsuka didn't seem worried about just taking his hand like that hadn't blown Soubi off of his normally calm sense of judgement.. the next moment did. That look in Ritsuka's eyes, directed towards him for once... in a way that was meant to be positive and not getting something from him for once. He didn't think he'd ever seen such a look in anyone's eyes before, especially not Ritsuka's. 

Soubi was completely dumbfounded. He didn't know what to do, or to think. What could he do or think..? Soon afterwards Ritsuka's fingers were yet again against the scars, and it was only then that it was revealed what was going on in the boy's head. When he heard what had given Ritsuka such a look however, instead of removing the surprise it just made him even more stunned then before. 

    It was difficult not to return the smile Soubi aimed at him, so he settled for a scowl instead, pink cheeks lightened but still present. “I’m always honest with you,” he mumbled, though he was certain it wasn’t true. He was honest about a lot, but not everything. Not their friendship, for one, nor how… How Soubi brought out things in Ritsuka no one else had ever managed. 

   As he looked at the Fighter - not really his Fighter anymore, and that wasn’t something liked to dwell on - Ritsuka’s eyes fell to the still exposed scars on Soubi’s neck and chest. Silently, he rose to his feet and tossed the pillow aside, walking forwards to touch them again.

    This time, however, it was a study, not a lament, that had him feeling along the ridges. An idea has struck him - a wild one, that might not even work - but an idea nonetheless. 

    Before he began, however, he needed to know. Know if it was even worth pursuing. 

"Well, you certainly seem more honest with me then others." He allowed, not pushing for the fact that he knew Ritsuka would fight it if he did. He didn't wish for the fight between them any longer, he never had wished for the fight between them honestly. 

Deep in his thoughts, and temporarily forgetting that the bandages weren't currently there, he jumped slightly when he felt Ritsuka's fingers against the scars along his neck. 

His heart sank a bit at the question. Did he wants them..? The cuts had been there so long at this point, it was a weird thought to not have them there. Yet... Did he honestly want them..?

".... They are the only thing that truly binds me to Seimei..." He finally said, his words calm, slow as he thought his answer through. "... The only thing... that binds me to a man that... no longer has a need for my presence.." His eyes closed then, thinking of the fact that any time he went into battle with Ritsuka, he felt relieved... but the scar across his neck always burned fiercely.. as if trying to guilt him for his disloyalty. 

    Ritsuka was quiet for a long moment, clearly lost in thought, but when he spoke his words were weighed down with the conviction with which they were felt. “I guess… I guess I understand that. I felt something similar, but I thought it was just because you were… you were Seimei’s friend.”

    He blushed with shame at that.

    “I think I wanted to get close to you to feel close to him again. And it was like that for… for a long time. But now.” His small hands gripped one another in his lap and he frowned, deep. “Now I don’t like thinking about you and Seimei in the same thought. Now -” the blush that was born of shame deepened, turned into something else, “Now I like to think that you’re more mine. My friend more than his.”

He watched Ritsuka move to the bed, silent and in thought the entire time, and his heart gave a thud so loud he was sure that Ritsuka must have heard it from where he sat even though he knew that wasn't possible. 

    At length, he nodded. It was a careful action, slow and deliberately placed on a subconscious level to accurately illustrate his trepidation on the matter. 

    When he spoke, it was with pink cheeks but a fierce determination that shined through his violet eyes and hardened his baby-soft face. “I don’t like what happened to you. It’s terrible, and I would never want you to go through it. Ever. But…” He chewed on his bottom lip and his gaze dropped to their laps where he studied the wrinkles in their clothing with consternation. “I… I’m glad that we got to meet. Even though it’s brought me pain, too, it’s brought me a lot of happiness. The memories we made together -” his eyes flickered up to meet Soubi’s then back down immediately “they’ve been some of my favourites.”

"I don't believe I know many... if any at all that would wish to go through something like that Ritsuka... however it is a sacrifice I'm willing to make again if it would mean getting closer to you..." 

His smile seemed to almost widen a bit at the thought of the memories, both the ones that Ritsuka referred to when he spoke of his photos, and the ones in his heart of the boy that weren't kept for everyone to see. He didn't need the photos as a reminder, for he knew that they would always be there, and that's what mattered. 

However, when Ritsuka next spoke in that mocking, bitter tone, it caught Soubi off guard just a bit. He blinked slightly before unable to stop from chuckling. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery you know Ritsuka." He answered, his head tilting to the side slightly. However, the question was one that he wasn't sure how to phrase. It hadn't quite been love at first sight or anything like that. He could have said that at least part of it was Seimei's doing... but that didn't quite seem right. 

The fury was trying to return and yet it was tempered by a sudden, gentle kiss to his cheek. Ritsuka twisted his head, blushing bright red and closing his eyes tightly. 

His cheek was much less wet and much more warm as Soubi pulled away and he caught sight of his tears glistening on Soubi’s lips. It was mesmerizing. He watched those lips form words and each one made his chest clench harder and harder in protest.

"It won’t. I can’t be okay - how can you say that after what you’ve been thr- after what he put you through?”

But the wrath couldn’t burn, couldn’t flame bright and free because it was tempered by the gentle pecking at his face. So sweet, so kind, so familiar, so -

"How can I say that it'll be okay after what I've been through..? I honestly don't regret a moment of my life Ritsuka... it may have hurt at times.... but I got to meet you. The few memories I have that are happy... are more then enough to make up for any of the painful ones. Any moment I spend with you... that's enough to give me a reason to move forward." For once, the smile on his face was a normal one, he wasn't just using flowery words to calm Ritsuka, but speaking the truth. 

He continued to try and just be there, to calm Ritsuka. It may have been because of him that Ritsuka was upset.. but all this was stuff that he'd gotten over.. or at least accepted a while ago. Ritsuka was far more important. 

"I’m sorry, Soubi," he whispered. It came out a sniffle. "I’m so sorry." 

Something was building in his chest, some heady experience he hadn’t felt before. It spread like wildfire through his body and it wasn’t until they began aching that Ritsuka realized he’s clenched his fists into Soubi’s shirt and was balling them so tightly they shook.

"I hate him," he declared suddenly, and it was venomous. "I hate him for doing that. I hate him."

His heart went out to Ritsuka.. ached for and with him. Soubi so desperately wished that it was different so Ritsuka didn't have to feel such pain. He shook his head, giving Ritsuka a small smile when the boy started to apologize. "You don't need to be sorry Ritsuka. You couldn't control something like that." After all... Ritsuka would have been maybe 7 at the time... how could he have even considered trying to stop his brother..? It would have been difficult to say the least if not impossible. 

Ritsuka's next words had surprised him again however, and unable to help it Soubi leaned in and kissed his cheek gently, kissing away some of the tears. "... Ritsuka.." However, that's where it stopped. For the first time in a long while, Soubi was at a loss for words. Ritsuka shouldn't hate his brother just because of something that happened to him. He couldn't help but feel touched though, touched that Ritsuka would care so much about him that that would be such a natural reaction to what had happened. 

Violet eyes flicked up to meet Soubi’s as the silence between the first answer to his questions and the second stretched on and on. In those eyes he found his answer.

He no longer felt sick, he was going to be sick because that hand carving the words into Soubi’s neck had turned into Seimei’s hand and his head was swimming so much that he could see the fat droplets of blood dripping from Soubi’s form in front of him even now and he could see the smile his brother wore, colder and more cruel and any that had ever been aimed at him -

Ritsuka’s stomach lurched wildly.

Seeing him go from looking like might be sick, to about ready to be sick was a horrifying thing for Soubi.. and the fighter swallowed hard as he found his mind wondering what thoughts the other could be having that would cause such a reaction. 

Soubi heard the question, and the answer immediately came to mind. However... Soubi could just see how bad of a reaction it would cause. With how panicky Ritsuka already seemed... Soubi was against answering this question. He knew, however, that if he didn't answer willingly at this point Ritsuka was likely to just order that he answer. The response to this was automatic as he pulled Ritsuka in close to hold him tight against him.