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Ears are Innocence	By : FairyBean Category: +G to L > Loveless Views: 1749 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Loveless, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Ritsuka had slept for three days, no one had come looking and Soubi was worried. It was too quiet. He wrung out and again laid the cold compress across Ritsuka’s head. He had been burning up since they had gotten him home.

“Maybe we should take him back?” Youji said from the door to the bedroom. Soubi looked at him and he put up his hands. “He’s sick Soubi. We can’t just leave him here.”

“Not….sick….” Ritsuka breathed and Soubi turned to him quickly. He opened his eyes a little. “Guess I…can’t take it huh?” he added with a small laugh. Soubi looked away.

“You were hurt. I shouldn’t have-”

Ritsuka forced himself up, cutting Soubi off with such a light, yet passionate kiss that even Youji blushed as Ritsuka fell back. “Idiot,” Soubi breathed, pushing the hair from his face. He showed this side of himself sometimes, the side that truly and so innocently loved Ritsuka.

Youji coughed, took a step forward and then back again. “I think I…uhh, you need anything?”

Soubi turned to look at him and then stood. “Take him for some air, take Natsuo too,” he said and left without a word. Ritsuka looked at Youji as he wrapped his arms around his knees.

“I did something wrong?” Ritsuka asked. “I always do something to-”

“No. He…he is just busy lately. You wanna go get something to eat? You haven’t eaten much in a while.”

Ritsuka nodded, shifting to get out of bed, making sure his bandages were still in place and pulled on a warm jumper, gloves and shoes. It was cold outside he knew and he didn’t want to make Soubi pull a face like that again. He knew very well that Soubi’s only weakness was himself. There were other things he cared about, would sacrifice for. Kio, the Zero pair, animals of any kind, but only for Ritsuka would he be prepared to die.

“Is he still going to school?” he asked quietly. Soubi was near completion of the year, and as far as Ritsuka knew, he was set to pass it with high grades. He sighed as Youji took his hand.

“How about pancakes?” he asked with a smile. Ritsuka nodded, a slight smile ghosting his face. The Zero pair loved sweet things so took every chance they could get as Soubi wasn’t such a fan. Unless he was licking it off of Ritsuka. “Natsuo we are going for pancakes!” he shouted happily as Ritsuka blushed a little at the thought of pancake syrup and sex. “Are you ok?” Youji asked concerned as he turned back. He put his hand on Ritsuka’s head and hmmed to himself. “We will take it easy ok.”

He took his hand and led Ritsuka out of the room. There was no sign of Soubi. “Where-?”

“He just walked out. He’s been obsessed with finding out who it was that-” Natsuo stopped, the game pad still in his hands as he looked at Youji’s face. He sighed, Ritsuka was now angry. He could tell.

“Which way?” Rituska asked, there was none of the soft lilt his voice usually had, this was razor sharp. Natsuo shook his head.

“I don’t know, but we are to take care of you. So whether you are yourself, or not. We are going to get pancakes.”

Youji smiled. Sometimes Natsuo was smarter than he looked. They both knew if they got Ritsuka out and away from the things that reminded him of Soubi that he would become more relaxed. Natsuo raised an eyebrow as he threw on a jacket.

“Ritsuka? Are you alright?” he asked as Ritsuka had a hand on his torso and seemed to be applying pressure there. Ritsuka looked up startled, almost back to the look he had worn when he had been too innocent to understand. The Zero’s agreed he was still too innocent for some of the things Soubi did. Natsuo panicked then, moving swiftly and pulling the hand away. There was blood there again. He sighed. “How far did you think you would get?”

“Soubi said no,” was Ritsuka’s reply.

“Yeh, well Soubi isn’t here, and we have to look after you. So hospital it is,” Youji said and took Ritsuka’s arm.

They all but dragged him to the accident ward of the hospital, then carried as his legs wouldn’t walk further. “Oi! Somebody!” Youji yelled as they walked into a sterile corridor. His hair was in his face, irritating as hell but there were more important things to be doing now than being able to see properly.

“Doctor!” Natsuo yelled after him and a man poked his head out of a room. He saw the trio and immediately took in how pale Ritsuka was. It was the same doctor that had seen him before and a frown crossed his features as he recognised not only Ritsuka but the Zero pair too.

“So you took him out?” he asked as he walked towards them and lifted Ritsuka like he was nothing.

“You drugged him and he tried to jump off the roof!” Natsuo yelled and was only stopped from lurching forwards by Youji’s arm in front of him. The doctor’s eyes widened at that and he glanced down on Ritsuka. He nodded.

“Ok, I’ll only use what is necessary for the operation, afterwards we will wait till he wakes to see if he wants other drugs. Deal?”

Youji nodded. “Just fix him okay?” he said as his felt Natsuo grip his arm. “We just want him to be ok.”

The doctors face softened then and he turned. “Wait in room 302, I’ll bring him there after the op.”

The waiting killed them. Natsuo ended up laying on the bed and curing up to sleep after pacing all over and nearly wearing a hole in the floor and Youji collapsed into a chair. It had been hours. Had they been wrong to take him? To let Soubi patch him up and keep him at home?

“Natsuo, you can’t sleep there, you’ll-” he started as his cell phone began to ring loudly and grappled to answer it.

“Where are you?” Soubi’s voice came through the receiver and Natsuo sat up and shook his head violently.

“Out, you said to get fresh air,” Youji answer calmly, though his face was anything but calm and there was a slight tremble in his hand.

“Why isn’t Ritsuka answering his cell?”

Silence. Neither Natsuo or Youji were fast enough with an answer on that one, and so

“What happened?” came through the receiver. Youji started to talk when Ritsuka was wheeled into the room on a gurney.

“He should be alright now, with some rest. If you plan on taking him out again would you please inform me so I can help?” the doctor said pointedly but that was it. The other end of the phone went dead and Youji winced.

---

Soubi was running, he didn’t care anymore. Ritsuka was back in the hospital. Of course if he was hurt there was nothing the Zero pair could do. Rewrapping bandages and treating small wounds was fine, but Ritsuka had been almost ripped apart by those savages. Soubi knew he shouldn’t have left in the first place but he had had to get the info. He knew now what was happening, and he was praying what he thought wasn’t right. That it wasn’t going to go down this way. That to get to him the seven moons would hurt, torture and maybe even kill Ritsuka. He couldn’t let it happen. Leaving him with Zero was the next best thing to himself. At least they knew Seven Moons, though they would be as surprised to know they were back as he was.

Ritsuka had never talked about Seven Moons since the day they had kidnapped Kio and he had seen that Seimei was alive. There was no word spoken between them, but Ritsuka was good at forgetting and Soubi had a feeling that he didn’t remember that night. He had been hurt then too.

He barrelled into the hospitals main entrance and ran to the desk, almost out of breath and his hair mussed and his glassed askew as he hit the bell to call a nurse to him.

“Aoyagi Ritsuka,” he gasped pushing his glasses up his nose. The nurse smiled but he had no time for useless women right now, he knew they were attracted to his looks and Ritsuka had told him to be kinder to them but it didn’t matter now. She was too slow.

“Room 302 dear, are you family?” she asked as Soubi turned to look at the room sign on the wall to see which way he had to go.

“Yes,” he said quickly. “His one and only.” And then he was off. When he got to the 300’s he stopped running to prepare himself. He knew Youji and Natsuo would need comfort too. But if Ritsuka was as bad as it had sounded on the phone then he wasn’t sure he was prepared for it. He pushed open the door with a blank face.

The first sound to hit his ears was a laugh, that wonderful light and innocent laughter that Ritsuka rarely let free. Soubi’s heart skipped a beat and then Youji noticed him. Natsuo was sat on the bottom of the bed, tickling Ritsuka’s feet while Youji held his shoulder down and was brushing his hair in Ritsuka’s face. The entire scene stilled as Soubi shut the door but Ritsuka still giggled. Then that too stopped as his eyes met those of his love.

“Soubi,” he breathed and gently pushed Youji back to the bed next to him. No one spoke, no one had to. Soubi took two long steps and picked Ritsuka up, holding him close to his body. Ritsuka smiled softly and took some of Soubi’s long beautiful hair into his hand. “You ran here?” he asked, noting the slight redness in his face. Soubi nodded. “You’ve been bad Soubi,” Ritsuka said “Leaving me to find revenge. I do not want-”

“It’s Seven Moons,” Soubi interrupted before Ritsuka could finish and he felt the small body stiffen in his arms. So maybe he remembered more than he wanted to of that night. Maybe they all did.

“W-what?” Natsuo said, his face haunted. Youji shook his head, hair flying everywhere.

“No, no it isn’t Soubi. You got it wrong. They aren’t, they don’t…” he trailed off into silence and Ritsuka took his hand and squeezed it lightly.

“You never have to go back Youji, you either Natsuo. You are with us now,” he said and turned his eyes back to Soubi. “We need to find out what they want, what they are doing now…and whether Seimei is with them.”

He paused and looked to Zero. “You should go home. They do not know that place yet, and they will easily trace Soubi to the hospital. Keep it safe for us to return to when we can.”

Youji looked horrified at that but Natsuo nodded. He put a hand on Youji’s shoulder. “We will Ritsuka, we will keep our home safe, and Kio too,” he added to Soubi who nodded.

“But, we want to fight too!” Youji protested as he was pulled to his feet. Ritsuka smiled.

“Someone has to protect home Youji, and you are the only ones I can trust to do so.”

Youji scowled. “That’s sly Ritsuka. So sly,” he muttered but let Natsuo lead him to the door. “You better come back!”

Ritsuka let the silence settle for a moment as Soubi held him and sat on the bed. He threw the cover over them as Ritsuka was shivering. He laid his head back on Soubi’s chest and his fist crumpled Soubi’s shirt.

“I cannot see Seimei again Soubi…I cannot have him order you to-” he choked off the words he was going to say. “I cannot put you through that again,” he finished instead but Soubi’s fingers had tightened around his back and he put his other hand on Ritsuka’s head. Comforting him.

“No,” he breathed. “This time is different. This time Seimei has Akame and you have me. We are Loveless.”

Ritsuka laughed harshly. “Soubi, I wish with all my heart that that were true but-”

Soubi didn’t let him finish, tipping Ritsuka’s chin with his fingers and desperately crushing their lips together in a lustful, bruising kiss. “Do not tell me what I feel is not true Ritsuka.”

“Nisei is Beloved,” Ritsuka said, tracing his fingers lightly along the bandages that covered the scarred words upon Soubi’s precious flesh. “Soubi too is Beloved.” He moved his hand to Soubi’s cheek. “Would you really throw away being Beloved, for being Loveless?” he breathed, putting meaning into those words that no one but Soubi would see.

“Yes,” he said firmly and without hesitation. “I love you Ritsuka.”

Ritsuka did something unexpected then. He got up, wrapped the blanket that Youji had brought with them around himself and said “Get the doctor, tell him we are leaving.”

Soubi stared for a moment before he got up fluidly from the bed. He was trying to contain his excitement. Everytime he got an order from Ritsuka he felt a thrill go through his body. It was the way he was conditioned, but when it came from Ritsuka it gave him pleasure to carry out the words to the letter. “Is that an-” he started but there was a smile on his face.

“Yes, its an order, now go do it,” Ritsuka said and laughed. Soubi left without further hesitation and found the man at the nurses station. He recognised him as the one he had handed Ritsuka’s broken body to the first time he had been here. He bowed.

“Thank you for treating him,” he said formally and then stood up. “I’m taking him home, he doesn’t like it here. He said to tell you.”

The doctor turned to the nurse beside him and muttered something and she fetched him a file. He flipped it open then started ordering things. The nurse jotted them down and then ran off again. At this the doctor looked up at Soubi.

“You’re going to be looking after him?”

Soubi nodded slowly.

“He needs complete quiet, rest and not to move for at least five days. If you have to move him he isn’t to walk at all. His injuries are extensive and he shouldn’t be taken from the hospital but I was informed of his tendency to walk off roofs so I will turn him into your care. I warn you young man, if any strain whatsoever is put upon that child’s body, you won’t be able to get him here fast enough. He will die.”

Soubi blinked. Took a moment to process that and got his phone out, sending a text to Youji. Then he looked at the doctor. “Understood.”

“Are you sure? This is the second time this week that child has shown up in such a state. Whatever you are into, do you need help getting out?”

Soubi’s eyes turned cold then. “If you got involved you would die. I will solve it, it is me they are after anyway.”

At that the doctor paused with his pen over the line where he had to sign to let Ritsuka into Soubi’s care. “Leave him here,” he said.

“I cannot, they target him for me. I am the only one who can protect him. Last time…last time was a mistake on my part. It will never happen again. I swear it.”

The doctor regarded Soubi with his wizened eyes and nodded. “Very well, but if you should ever need it,” he said and scribbled on a sheet the nurse handed him with a crisp white bag, “This is my phone number, and the order and frequency with which each mediacation is meant to be taken. Tonight he will be in immense pain. Are you sure you can handle it.”

Soubi nodded, “I'm not alone there.”

“Ah, the two youngsters? Very well. Take care.”

Soubi nodded and went back to the room. Ritsuka was in the chair sleeping soundly. Soubi put the bag on Ritsuka’s lap, pushed the paper into his pocket and lifted the sleeping child from the chair.

“Soubi,” Ritsuka breathed lightly, “Soubi, stay with me…wait for me.”

Soubi bit his lip, wrestling his emotions under control as he carefully walked from the hospital. He got a taxi home to save Ritsuka getting cold and found that Natsuo and Youji had done him proud when he walked in. It was warm, anything that made noise had been unplugged, muffled or turned off and they were sat in front of the tv on mute with subs. He didn’t talk but gave them a nod as he went towards their bedroom. He went in, seeing they had changed his sheets. He was glad of that and the extra blanket that they had placed there. From their own beds no doubt. He laid Ritsuka in bed, keeping the blanket around him and took the pills before covering him over, turning on the nightlight and leaving the room.

He shut the door quietly and then slumped to the sofa. He was exhausted. Youji lifted the paper from his pocket as Natsuo took out the pill bottles. He whistled as he read the labels. “This is heavy duty stuff Soubi, what happened to him?”

Youji looked up from where he was reading, and at the clock. “Soubi, he needs a pill in ten minutes, the blue ones Natsu,” he added and Natsuo looked through the bottles till he found one. “This is bad, this is very bad. He’s not gonna get too much sleep for a few days. We have to protect this place…Soubi…you should stay with Kio.”

Natsuo gaped but Soubi sighed and nodded. “I was thinking the same. He needs complete silence, but keep your cells on loud. If I need you, or to warn you. You have to answer.” He stood up and Natsuo took his sleeve.

“Give him the first pill Soubi, say goodbye and explain yourself. He won’t believe us.”

Soubi held out his hand and Natsuo gave him the pill bottle and then went to get a glass of water. “How many,” Soubi asked and Youji glanced at the paper.

"Two…but Soubi it says that he’s gonna be-” he stopped. Soubi would know, and he didn’t need to say it out loud. The separation would be hard enough. As Soubi took the water from Natsuo and went back to the bedroom he whispered “Ritsuka is going be hurting Natsu, we have to do something.”

---

Soubi put the glass on the side with the pills. He hadn’t turned the light on and he was glad of it as he sat on the edge of the bed. He kissed Ritsuka on the head, alarmed at his high temperature. He shook him gently. “Ritsuka,” he breathed and Ritsuka’s eyes flew open in fright, he started to struggle against the blankets and shout. Soubi took his shoulders and kissed him. It took a moment but Ritsuka centred himself on that kiss, and relaxed.

“Soubi,” he said weakly. “What happened, where did you go?”

“Ritsuka, you have to stay here, with Natsuo and Youji. You have to stay. I will go to Kio because he too needs protection. Now can you sit up, you have to take a pill.”

“Liar, tell me the truth,” he said as he struggled up. Soubi smiled sadly.

“I am forbidden to tell you of it,” he said and took up the pill bottle, opening it and tipping two onto his palm. Ritsuka shook his head.

“Too late for that. Stay safe Soubi…text,” he said as he took the pills together and sipped the water. “Stay until I sleep.”

“I…cannot. It isn’t safe,” he added hastily. “I’ll come back Ritsuka. I promise.”

Ritsuka frowned, his face seemed on the edge of tears but they didn’t break as he nodded and closed his eyes. Soubi tucked him into the bed again and kissed him before leaving. He paused only to tell Natsuo and Youji to take care and then left. Youji went straight to Ritsuka and climbed into bed with him while Natsuo locked the doors and windows and hit the lights. They set an alarm for the next pill and all slept together in Soubi’s bed. Ritsuka in the middle and the Zero pair beside him like sentinels against whatever tried to come.
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Ears are Innocence