A Twisted Triangle

Author's Note:

Thank you all for your feedback. :) It's much appreciated. This story is developing rather well (I think), and I'm very excited to see just where it's going.

There are more chapters to come, so remember to leave your email address in your review if you want to be notified of any updates! Sometimes they run a little slow... ~_~

~*~

A frantic call from Seimei awoke Soubi late one spring evening.

“What’s wrong? I can barely hear you.”

“Soubi, I need you to come over and get Ritsuka. Right now.”

Soubi blinked, thoroughly disoriented thanks to the rude wake-up call, and more so because of Seimei’s odd request.

“Listen, I can’t exactly explain what happened because I don’t exactly understand it myself. It’s my mother, she’s going completely mental.”

Oh, no.

“I’ll be right over,” was all Soubi could get in before Seimei was forced to hang up.

Concern tinged Soubi’s veins. The panic rat set in. He was worried for Seimei, of course. But Ritsuka? He was younger and far more prone to their mother’s freak-out moments, Soubi knew from what Seimei had told him. It was in this light that Soubi’s worry shone more specifically for the youngest Aoyagi.

Soubi shuffled out of bed and threw on a random shirt and pair of pants from his closet. It was in his rush that Kio rose from his bedroom and wandered into Soubi’s.

“Where‘s the fire?” asked the bleach-blond male from the doorway.

“No time to explain,” Soubi muttered as he gathered the essentials from his nightstand; cigarettes, lighter, cell phone. “Seimei’s mother is at it again, he wants me to take Ritsuka out of there for a while.”

“Does his mother have any idea what time it is?” Kio managed through a yawn.

Soubi eyed his roommate.

Kio backed off.

“Alright, alright. But he’s not getting my bed.”

Soubi shook his head. “Sometimes you scare me, Kio.”

Abandoning the thought of a jacket, despite the faint chill in the air, Soubi left the apartment, his pace set to fast-walk.

What could possibly have set the Aoyagi woman off at this ungodly hour? It had to be two, maybe three in the morning. The possibilities were endless with her, he supposed, and now was hardly the time to be figuring out why.

Minutes later, Soubi arrived at the house, and the sounds coming from within caused Soubi to question his next action. Knocking on the door would be a bit out of place, wouldn’t it? Knock, knock. Oh, good evening, Mrs. Aoyagi. Do you mind if I take your son away from here until your brain is back where it’s supposed to be?

That would go over well.

Fortunately, Soubi didn’t have to fret over such things. Ritsuka was already outside, looking particularly sullen. Soubi supposed he couldn’t have expected any less. What he wasn’t expecting was to see a piece of gauze attached to the boy’s right cheek and bandages all around his left hand.

When this woman had an episode, she really went all out, didn’t she?

Soubi approached the teen sitting on the porch with a tentative caution, his expression as casual as possible under the circumstances. Seimei was right to call him over, this looked to be more serious than at first anticipated.

“Ritsuka,” Soubi spoke the boy’s name to get his attention.

The boy on the porch jumped a little.

“… Soubi?” Ritsuka questioned, and Soubi nodded. They didn’t see each other very often, so it was no wonder that Ritsuka was surprised to see him. Perhaps Seimei hadn’t told him who was going to pick him up? Whatever the case, Ritsuka looked a bit more than relieved to see a friendly face.

“Seimei thinks it’ll be better for you to stay with me for a little while.”

Ritsuka sighed. Black ears so similar to the ones Seimei had lost just a few months before flattened against an equally raven patch of hair. Ritsuka’s tail, thin and nervous, curled around his waist.

“He worries a lot,” Ritsuka murmured under his breath.

So he should.

Soubi stepped closer to the porch and held out a hand to the black-haired teen.

“Come on. It’s late, I’m sure a quiet place will do you good right about now.”

Purple eyes, wide and unnerved, looked up to the blond who was unselfishly offering him a safe haven. Ritsuka hesitated, but after a moment’s time, he took Soubi’s hand and pulled himself up off the porch.

It had been over a month since Soubi had last seen the boy face to face. The last time was during New Year’s, when Seimei had invited him over to his home for his family’s annual celebration. Through all the months of having Ritsuka as an acquaintance, Soubi had never once touched him. But in those few seconds when Soubi helped the boy up to his feet, there was a spark that sprung Soubi’s long-dormant emotions to life. Something in that boy gave Soubi an electrical charge.

And he still hadn’t figured out what.

Ritsuka reached for his hastily packed overnight bag and slung it over his shoulder. “Thanks,” he said with hesitation. “For letting me stay with you.”

Soubi smiled. “My pleasure.”

A short walk to Soubi’s house proved deathly quiet on Ritsuka’s part. Soubi had expected this, of course, but he hadn’t been prepared for it. Most of his mind was set firmly on Seimei, wondering how well he was fairing with Hurricane Misaki hurdling into the Port of Aoyagi.

And now, a special bulletin for residents of Aoyagi County - a hurricane watch is in effect until 12PM tomorrow. Repeat, a hurricane watch is in effect until 12PM tomorrow. Citizens should be advised to-

Lovely state of affairs for a thirteen-year-old boy, Soubi told himself. What kind of stability could he possibly have in that household? More to the point, how did he turn out so normal? Not that ‘normal’ was a household word with Agatsuma Soubi, but the question just begged to be asked. Soubi’s own surroundings had been questionable when he was Ritsuka’s age - and just look at how that turned out, Soubi, old bean. Soubi theorized that maybe, just maybe, both Ritsuka and his brother had acquired some sort of strong mentality from their father. Whoever he was. Soubi hadn’t the faintest idea about that.

It was in this state of awkward silence that Soubi reached for the cigarettes in his back pocket.

Ritsuka piped up. “How old are you?”

Eyes of deep cerulean peered down to the teen at his side. Soubi found himself more or less relieved for Ritsuka to have broken the silence, rather than himself. It would have seemed a little… pushy, for the lack of better terminology.

“Twenty-one last month,” Soubi replied candidly as he propped a cigarette between the corner of his lips.

Ritsuka’s eyes seemed to widen a little bit at that. “Really?”

Soubi nodded. “Why?” he asked. He raised a hand to cup the area surrounding his cigarette, shielding it from the brusque breeze that blew across, holding the flame of his lighter beneath the tip of the rolled tobacco.

A hesitation from the younger male.

“It’s nothing…” Ritsuka went quiet again, and Soubi almost frowned.

Soubi dragged from his cigarette to clear his head, and he found (rather randomly) that tobacco tasted a bit odd when smoked on the go. Why was that? He had no idea. Something about the shift of the wind or something vague like that.

“It’s just that…” Somehow, Soubi knew Ritsuka would open up the topic again.

“I don’t know. You just look a little younger to me.”

Should I be offended by that?

Probably not.

“You look a little younger, so seeing you without… you know, ears… was a little shock, that’s all.”

Oh, so that was it. Observant little one, Soubi had to give him credit for that.

“Ah, I see,” Soubi murmured before he took another cancerous drag. “I haven’t had them for quite a while now.”

Ritsuka looked a little flustered. How adorable.

No. No. He absolutely, positively, absolutely refused to think of a thirteen-year-old boy as adorable. Charming, yes. Intelligent, yes. Adorable? Not if Soubi could help it. He had set that rule for himself long ago. He wouldn’t repeat the mistake someone else had made so long ago.

Adorable, indeed…

… But he is. He really is.

There you go again. God, what’s wrong with you, Agatsuma? Sometimes, I wonder if you fell right on your head or something at birth. Might explain one or two things about you, I tell you that much.

Soubi wondered if it was just barely becoming a habit of his to ramble on in his head so much, or if he had always been doing it and it was only just occurring to him. Whatever it was, it was going to stop. And quickly, too.

“How old were you when you lost them?” Ritsuka dared to glance over with a raise of his eyebrow, only to take it back a millisecond later. “No, no, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. Personal question, I’m sorry.”

Soubi couldn’t have prevented the chuckle that rose from his throat. There he was, flustered again. And like it or not, it was adorable. Seimei never looked like that.

“Don’t be silly,” Soubi interjected with a wave of his hand. Idly, he flicked his cigarette free of its trembling ashes. The embers burned on and sent spirals of lonely smoke up into the stars.

“I was-”

Wait.

That was it.

That was it.

That was where Seimei and Ritsuka differed.

Seimei never looked like that; flustered, confused, embarrassed. He never did. To Soubi, Seimei had always been an idol of sorts, a living statue, one that smiled when it was called for, frowned when it was called for, and dared not make a fool of himself in front of anyone else. He saw all, knew all, and he let you know just who was the boss.

Seimei had a near-crippling fear of germs and a horrid outlook on people in general - whether or not the people who knew him were aware of such a thing - and he always took things serious. He was a bit of a cynic, but he never had a fear. That, Soubi supposed, was one of the things Soubi loved about him.

But it was also one of the things he hated about him.

Soubi would never admit it, of course. Everyone thought Soubi idolized the man, which he supposed he did, and harbored no bad thoughts about him whatsoever.

Which he did.

Was that so wrong?

Seimei never looked like that…

Ritsuka did.

Ritsuka, thirteen years old, naïve on a few levels and brilliant on others. Ritsuka, thirteen years old, open to the world and (thus far) showing signs of open-mindedness. Ritsuka dared to tread where his brother did not.

Ritsuka dared to live.

That was where they differed.

“Soubi?” Ritsuka called his name after Soubi had drifted into the chambers of his cloudy mind.

Soubi shook his head, almost as though that would shake him back into the world of the living.

“I was as old as you are now, Ritsuka,” Soubi told him, nonplussed, as though he had never stopped talking to begin with.

Violet eyes widened.

“Are you… serious?”

“Quite serious.” A somber look came across Soubi’s fair complexion, but that faint, ghost of a smile, never went anywhere.

“It’s complicated,” Soubi added after a moment, not a hint of venom in his voice, the way the poison might have been present, were he recollecting on his own. “You should be glad you still have yours.”

Soubi’s long arm reached over, and he playfully tussled Ritsuka’s raven ears. He earned a smile for his efforts, and that was enough to lighten the tension around his shoulders.

Extinguishing his cigarette a minute or so later, the rest of the walk to Soubi’s apartment proved to be light on the heart. Ritsuka had calmed down considerably, his sullen look vanished, and replacing his heavy expression was one of utter vibrancy.

Again, a point where Ritsuka and Seimei differed. Seimei was frequently content, but never vibrant. So full of life.

Ritsuka was.

Once they approached Soubi’s apartment, the blond was surprised when he spotted Kio still up and at ‘em.

“Ah, welcome home, Soubi!” chirped Kio, ten thousand times more energetic than he had been when Soubi left.

Soubi blinked in confusion, but paid it no mind. He should have been used to these things by now.

“Ritsuka,” Soubi said to the teen at his side, “this is Kio. Kio, Ritsuka; Seimei’s little brother.”

“Ah, so you’re the one,” Kio chimed before he popped a lime green lollipop into his mouth.

Ritsuka blinked. “Excuse me?”

Soubi elaborated, as Kio was far too occupied with his candy - which, he decided, was the reason he was so energetic. “Seimei is around here a lot, and he mentions you rather frequently.”

“Oh.” Ritsuka nodded. He said nothing about it, but the smile tugging on the teen’s lips told Soubi that he was inwardly gloating over that fact.

Soubi knew as well as Ritsuka did how much Ritsuka idolized his elder brother. Why shouldn’t he? Seimei was a good role model for thirteen-year-olds - given, of course, that the thirteen-year-old’s in question didn’t know what he did with Soubi behind closed doors. Aside from that, it was all hunky-dory, okie-dokie, and all that other stuff.

“Hey, kid,” Kio called to the boy. “You like candy?”

“Kio,” Soubi chided, “You have absolutely no idea how pedophilic that sounds.”

A long hand laid atop Ritsuka’s shoulders and Soubi murmured into his ear, just loud enough for Kio to hear, “Don’t eat anything he gives you that you haven’t seen him eat himself.” Soubi paused, then added, “Even then, it might not be safe.”

“Hey!” Kio shouted.

Both Ritsuka and Soubi wound up laughing at the bleach-blond Kio’s expense.

“I resent that!” Resorting to pouting, Kio took his lollipop out of his mouth and shook the emerald orb at the end of the stick at his roommate and the black-haired teen beside him.

“Sleep with one eye open, Soubi. If you don’t, I just might-”

“Kio, please,” Soubi interjected as he led Ritsuka into the hall. “Not in front of the children.”

Ritsuka had to stifle a laugh. His black tail frantically twitched at his side, almost as though it had some smart-alecky remark that it was just dying to blurt out - only, it didn’t have a voice box to blurt with.

“Hey, where are you goin’?”

“I’m giving him your room for the night, Kio.”

“What?!”

Soubi laughed candidly at his friend’s expense and quickly ushered Ritsuka into the bedroom at the end of the hall before Kio could throw his little fit. He shut the door, locked it, and shook his head once he heard Kio start to rant.

“You sure it’ll be alright, me taking his room?” Ritsuka asked as he switched on the light.

Soubi waved a hand. “He’ll get over it.” Turning, Soubi directed his slightly raised voice half to Ritsuka, half to the door where he knew Kio was eavesdropping, “I’ll tell him he can sleep with me on my bed and he’ll be fine.”

“Score!” came the voice from behind the door. “Keep the room as long as you want, kid!” And then, Kio scrambled away.

A shake of Soubi’s head voiced his idle concern for Kio’s mental health. It was no secret that Kio was a blatant homosexual and blatantly attracted to Soubi. Physically only, of course. So sharing Soubi’s bed, if just for one night, meant that Christmas was coming twice this year for poor, demented little Kio.

“I think he’s had one too many lollipops,” Ritsuka said with a chuckle. He set down his overnight bag by the bed.

Soubi was inclined to agree.

“You must be tired,” said the blond as he himself suppressed a yawn. “The bathroom is right across the hall if you want to take a shower or something, and you’re more than welcome to scrounge up something in the kitchen if you get hungry.”

Ritsuka smiled graciously. “Thanks, Soubi.”

“No problem.” Soubi turned to leave, but as he opened the door, he just couldn’t help one more jab at his roommate’s expense.

“By the way, if you hear something heavy falling on the floor in the middle of the night, it just means Kio has overstayed his welcome.”

“I heard that!” Kio yelled from the living room.

Soubi rolled his eyes and went to close the door.

“Um… Soubi?” Ritsuka beckoned just before Soubi could leave. The blond ducked his head back in the doorway.

“Yes?”

Ritsuka fumbled with his hands for a moment, and Soubi couldn’t help but notice that, between Ritsuka’s effervescent intervals - which occupied his countenance more often than not - came unnerving fits of anxiety.

“Do you think… Seimei will be alright over there, all by himself?”

Purple eyes, shimmering, innocent and worried, looked to Soubi, hoping for the answer he had already conjured for himself.

Soubi’s features fell a little. Ritsuka’s worry transferred to him and doubled. He could feel the fear in Ritsuka’s eyes, and the sudden longing for another person’s presence, if only for that moment. It was in that light that Soubi stepped back into Kio’s bedroom - Ritsuka’s, until further notice - and shut the door behind him.

Only once they had their privacy did Soubi offer a small smile.

“He’ll be alright. Your brother is a pretty tough customer when he wants to be.”

Ritsuka nodded uneasily. “I know, I’m just…” He couldn’t speak anymore. His voice had taken to shaking, and anything he tried to say would only come out a jumbled, quaking mess.

The tears would come next.

Soubi stepped closer to the boy. He leaned down a little - seeing as how Ritsuka only came up to the middle of Soubi’s chest - and wrapped a comforting arm over Ritsuka’s shoulders.

“It’ll be alright,” the older man murmured to the teen, who collapsed rather unwittingly into the blond man’s arms.

Ritsuka shut his eyes and leaned fully against Soubi, losing all sense of stubborn pride that prevented him from crying in anyone else’s presence. He buried his face in Soubi’s neck and held onto his shirt, almost as though that would keep him grounded in the real world until he decided to stop crying. Whenever that was.

Soubi repeated the words, “it’ll be alright,” a few times over until Ritsuka’s breathing calmed a little. Only then did his long arms pluck the boy up from the floor and tote him to Kio’s messy bed. Soubi laid him down and sat gingerly on the edge of the mattress.

“Hey,” Soubi murmured gently while he combed through Ritsuka’s unruly black hair. “It’ll all blow over tomorrow. Things’ll look better then. You’ll see.”

Even through the tears, Soubi’s voice had caused a small smile in the crease of those trembling teenage lips.

“Thank you… Soubi.”

Soubi left the bedroom without another word, merely turned once he reached the doorway to switch off the overhead light and give Ritsuka one last, friendly smile. After the fact, he maneuvered his way into the living room where Kio sat upon the wood panel flooring, sucking on his lollipop.

“You know, you would’ve made a great big brother for someone,” Kio broke the silence while Soubi lit a cigarette. His playful attitude was gone, the rarely seen - but greatly missed - Serious taking its place. Soubi rather liked Serious in times like these. It made him feel like he wasn’t the only one who could keep a cool head when everyone else’s were exploding.

Soubi exhaled a smoky breath and closed his eyes.

“You alright?” Kio asked, scooting over on his knees until he was right in front of Soubi, who only nodded.

Concerned for his friend, and putting his flirting aside, Kio laid a hand atop Soubi’s arm. He took his lollipop from his mouth and thought for a few moments.

“Things’ll be fine in the morning, you said so yourself.”

Soubi nodded again. “I know.”

Kio stood and utilized his free hand to rub at the junction between Soubi’s neck and shoulder. That area always seemed to be tense, more so when Soubi was worried, and Kio made it a habit to knead out the rough spots whenever he found an opportunity. And right now, when Soubi knew he wasn’t up to his childish flirting, seemed like the perfect time.

Breathing in the carbon monoxide fumes, Soubi rubbed at his left temple and exerted a tired breath. He really was tired. But how could he sleep right now, when his worry for Seimei had resurfaced?

I’m not worried about Seimei. Seimei can take care of himself. He’s dealt with that woman on his own countless times before, I’m sure he can do it again. I’m worried about Ritsuka… I’m sure he’s seen his mother go into fits like this before, but it’s never gotten so bad that Seimei had to have him hide out until it was over. He must be shaken up pretty badly…

“Sometimes I wonder how you can draw at all with these rocks for shoulders,” Kio told him, almost scolding him. He put his candy in his mouth, the stick hanging out from the corner of his full lips, freeing both hands to massage Soubi’s shoulders.

Soubi chuckled at that. “I wonder about that, myself,” he confessed as he opened his eyes to a haze of smoke.

Kio’s brow furrowed, but Soubi couldn’t see it.

“You should really find some time for a vacation this spring,” Kio told him as he kneaded away the knots in Soubi’s aching back. “All to yourself. A trip to a hot spring, maybe. You’ve been really stressed out lately.”

“I should,” Soubi groaned as he bowed his head and went back to sucking on his cigarette.

“But you won’t.” Kio sighed, exasperated. “Alright, that just means that I’m going to have to give you a back rub every day until you get some of that stolen energy back. How’s that sound?”

Soubi smiled, one of his rare, sincere smiles. Hardly anyone saw those anymore. Kio did, though, once in a while, and more often than most. The truth of the matter was that Kio gave a damn about Soubi in his own little way, which was enough to lighten his mood a little bit.

“You know what, Kio?”

“Hm?”

Soubi looked back to his friend with that same, genuine smile on his lips.

“That actually sounds pretty damn good.”

Kio beamed, but said nothing more about it.