Loveless Fan Fiction / XXXHolic Fan Fiction / Tsubasa Chronicle Fan Fiction ❯ Never Surrender ❯ Murder By the Book ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

CHAPTER FOUR: MURDER BY THE BOOK

I've been hearing voices
Telling me that I could
Never be what I wanna be
They're binding me wih lies
Haunting me at night
And saying there's nothing to believe

Ritsuka Aoyagi was sprawled out on the floor, clutching a bloody shoulder and trying his hardest not to look up. His mother, Misaki, towered over him. Clutched in one hand was a bloody knife and the other a heavy book. Once again, she begged this stranger for her son back, but he wouldn't relent. He would never give back her son without a fight. He had taken one of them, after all. She was positive that this crazy man was capable of much more.
With one swift motion, she plunged the knife into Ritsuka's right arm. Her insides screamed in agony at the sight, but her twisted way of thinking wouldn't allow her to feel for this monster. She didn't want to hurt him, but she couldn't help herself. There was no other way for her. It was either this or an overdose of asprin. She heard a noise coming from the hallway, but disregarded it. Her pitiful husband couldn't stop her. Nobody could.
"Why did you take away my Ritsuka? Who are you?!" Her screams became so shrill that bats would soon be the only ones who could hear her. "Why do you wear his face?! Why do you wear his clothes, go to his school, eat his food, sleep in his bed?!! WHY?!!!!!"
Suddenly, a flash of white light filled the room. She felt something hit her head, and then her world went black.
She found herself in a dark place with nothing to see or grab. She felt cold, remorseful, and lost. She wanted Seimei and Ritsuka back. As these thoughts consumed her, a light beckoned to her. She was drawn to its warmth and hope. When she was three feet away, her heart lifted.
Seimei and Ritsuka were right in the middle of the light, holding their arms out to her. The Ritsuka that she saw was the real one, the one she had searched endlessly for. Finally, her long search was over. She ran into his arms and cried on his shoulder. "Ritsuka, thank goodness I've found you. Now we can all be happily reunited!"
This Ritsuka looked at her with cold eyes. He shoved his mother away forcfully and smirked at her. "You think we can reunited happily? What about the me in the real world. The one you beat so relentlessly? Mother, that is my true form, and yet you do not accept it.
"Because you will not accept me, I will not accept you. We will never see one another ever again, no matter what life we live. Never again will you torment so much-"
"NO!!!" She lunged at her son, but she went right through him and into the light. She cried as she entered, knowing that deep within her heart, Ritsuka hated her. He would never forgive her. It was all over...
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Somewhere in the quietness
When I'm overcome with lonliness
I hear you call my name
And like a father you are near
And as I listen I can hear you say

"SOUBI! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY MOTHER?!!"
The man that had entered the house, Agatsuma Soubi, was now kneeling beside Misaki. Ritsuka was standing next to him, his anger reaching the boiling point. No matter what this woman did to him, she did not deserve to die. In Ritsuka's eyes, nobody deserved to be killed.
"Ritsuka." Soubi looked scared for the first time in a really long time. Ritsuka had only seen this fear once. They were obviously in the presence of a ruthless enemy. Maybe it was a HEARTLESS fighter team. To Ritsuka, it made complete sense. Only one without a heart could kill his mother.
"Soubi, do you know the fighter team that did this?"
Tears rolled down Soubi's face. "It can't be. Why would he?!"
Ritsuka only had a faint idea about who the man was talking about. "Was this... Seimei's doing?"
Seimei, Ritsuka's older brother, was only recently discovered to be alive all these months. Although Ritsuka was extremely angry at him, he couldn't hate him, just like he couldn't hate his mother. He knew his brother to do extremely unpleasant things to others, being nasty to everyone he encountered. It was also revealed that he may have had incestuous feelings towards Ritsuka. The prospect of his return struck fear and anger in everybody. People who knew about the fighter-sacrifice system knew that Soubi and Seimei were once a team, but something had torn them apart.
Soubi reached for the child and held him tightly. Of all the people who dreaded Seimei's return, it was Soubi. He had been treated horribly by his sacrifice, and still wore the scars as a result. His friend, Kyo, hated Seimei for what he did. He heard that Seimei had gotten himself a new fighter, Negisei (Please email me if the name's spelled wrong). He knew that if Seimei returned, it was to kill Soubi and take Ritsuka with him.
Suddenly, a portal appeared in the middle of the living room. A woman clothed in dark robes and an akward teenager wearing some sort of a school uniform jumped out of it and landed on the couch. Soubi thought that they were a fighter pair, so he prepared to fight. The woman laughed at the man's fearlessness. "Why waste my time with meaningless words? We have more important things to discuss."
"Ack! What happened to you?!" The teen was pointing to the woman's head, which now carried cat ears.
The woman smiled and tugged on them. "Well, you shouldn't be one to talk, liitle one. You have them, too." He squeaked as he realized that she was right. Ritsuka was bent over, laughing hysterically. Soubi was also laughing, but also trying his absolute hardest not to act like the 12 year old.
"You're both virgins!" Ritsuka yelled through his laughter. "Oh my god, that's so messed up!"It took about ten minutes to calm him down. Once accomplished, the black clad female sat down on an armchair and stared at the door. Within thirty seconds, Yuiko and Yayoi burst through the door, literally.
"Ritsuka-kun! We're going to a theme park. Wanna come?" Yuiko jumped up and down in excitement. Yayoi looked embarassed to be seen with her. Ritsuka couldn't really blame him. Yuiko was that way sometimes; too excited for her own good.
"Why not take a vacation?" This came from the woman. The teenager looked away, but he couldn't hide the smile that was creeping into his face. Soubi and Yayaoi found this unnerving. "Wait a minute. Who are you two, and why should we trust you?"
Ritsuka beamed. He could always count on Soubi to dish out a plate of suspision. However, the woman didn't falter under his stern gaze or his balled-up fists. She answered clearly and without hesitation. "I am Yuuko, and this is my assistant, Watanuki. We have come here to grant you a reprieve from your stressful days. Ther place I'm going to show you , while it has its own burdens, will seem like paradise compared to this world.
"Mr. Agatsuma, I want you to say these words, since you have enough power to teleport everyone.
'Break, away from everybody
Break, away from everything
If you can't stand the way this place is
Take yourself to higher places'
"Can you do this?" The look of determination on his face could only mean one thing; Soubi was going to take this woman's challenge. "Of course I can do that, Miss Yuuko. Do not doubt me. I'm not as dumb as you think.".
Yuuko gave a small giggle and smiled. "Okay. Do your thing."
As Soubi chanted the words to take them away, Yuuko felt even weaker. Why was this? She had hardly used any of her magic. Suddenly, it dawned on her that her time may be at hand. She might be running out of time. It didn't matter how much energy she conserved, because what was the point of saving her powers if she died before using them? The people tied by hitsuzen had to find their own way out now. She couldn't do it anymore.
Now that the other people were gone, Watanuki looked at his boss with true concern. Never had Yuuko wobbled and shook so much. Never had her skin taken on a sickly white complexion. He saw her falling and caught her. She looked up and began to tremble. "Why, Watanuki? Why am I so helpless?"
He surprised her, and himself, by cupping her face in his hands and kissing her cold cheeks. Then he moved to kiss her lips. Her eyes widened, but she didn't pull away. They remained like this for a few long moments. Watanuki pulled away and turned a bright shade of red. Yuuko smiled sadly at him. She then pulled away from him completely and set up their next portal for yet another exhausting journey. However, she wasn't as scared as she was before. She had her faithful assistant. He wasn't going to let her drop dead as long as he could help it.
She just hoped it was enough.
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Lyrics "You Are a Child of Mine" Mark Schultz

(A.N. The only reason Yuuko and Watanuki are together right now is because I don't feel like frying my brain putting Doumeki in. He'll be in it later anyway.)