pic/quote/scenario prompts meme continuations PSLs ( game-canon AUs, regular AUs, canon settings, one offs, etc. ) Open to all Please be aware of warnings
For a child Ritsuka was fairly self sufficient. He could cook on his own, do the dishes, clean his room, take medicine, things that most people would assume a mother would do for their son. In normal regards, a parent probably did those things. Most of the time, Ritsuka’s own didn’t, and if she did—it was a trap. A tool used against him to judge if he remembered things again, if he was her ‘son’ and not the ‘false Ritsuka’.
Sometimes, he could avoid those things, most of the time he didn’t. And like most things, while Ritsuka could deal with it, some days were better than others. Today, happened to be a day that was one of the worst.
The first red flag was that his mother answered a call from the school. Considering she didn’t think Ritsuka was her son anymore, she never did that. But she answered, and according to his teacher they had a long conversation about him which was the second red flag in his head. Surprisingly, and a bit to his distress, Soubi wasn’t waiting for him outside the school this time. Yuiko pointed it out and he’d simply shrugged before going home.
He almost wished Soubi had been there and had a reason for him to avoid this.
His mother made cake. He hadn’t even been aware that she could bake, much less that she would. But there was a cake on the table, which was supposed to be full of his favorite foods, a normal trick of her’s. She invited him to sit and then handed him a large knife and asked him to cut the cake.
The fight was a bit of a blur, it happened quite quickly as most things do when she tends to snap. He remembered screaming, the table being thrown and the knife hovering inches above his throat—he thought not for the first time that she’d actually finally kill him. However, she’d hesitated just long enough for him to shove her aside and make a run for the door. Barely, but the fact he was still alive meant it was more than enough.
There was a deep cut on his shoulder that he managed to hide with his coat and she’d smacked him on the back of his head with a cup, but there didn’t seem to be any terrible damage. He was dizzy and there was some blood, but that was better than it sometimes was. Ritsuka had ran to the nearest train and boarded it, using that to put some distance between them. This was normal too, the running, but it was the first time she’d followed him out of the house. She hadn’t seemed to follow him to the train station.
His heart still raced in his chest though and as he looked around he thought, for a few minutes, maybe he’d be okay to rest his head. He was tired, and it was throbbing quite a bit. Surely, a few minutes wouldn't hurt.
That was the idea. Until an older gentleman was shaking him awake and warning him they’d hit the last stop for the day. Ritsuka slid down from the seat, gathered his bag and wandered out of the train. The sun was setting, he’d fallen asleep for longer than he intended to, and he was still a bit dizzy. The pain had gotten worse, he didn’t think she’d hit him that hard. As he walked down the street he spun and looked around, trying to pick out where he was.
Not a clue.
The street was unfamiliar, there seemed to be no signs around him, and he’d fallen asleep on an unfamiliar train for what was clearly hours. For the first time, in what seemed like a while, he was genuinely uncomfortable and out of his depth. Ritsuka felt like he could normally handle himself, now he actually felt worried.
He didn’t like the idea of being lost.
As he looked around again he reached up and felt around his neck, taking the phone in his hand and clenching it. Should he call Soubi? He didn’t want to be a bother. Surely if he found a sign he could get himself home. But—Soubi, stupidly somehow, made him feel safe. He kind of—just wanted to hear the others' voices.
Soubi looks at his phone for the fifth time in the past hour. He's checked it each time, but there are no emails or messages or missed calls. He keeps thinking of Ritsuka, though, like he's expecting to hear from him.
He tries to put the feeling aside for a little while, but it keeps creeping back until there is nothing else he can do. He picks up his phone. He calls Ritsuka.
Soubi gets up from the floor and moves slowly around his bare apartment, waiting to hear either an answer or the voice mail message. He pauses by a window and leans against a sill. Something isn't right. He knows it.
He’s somewhere down the fifth street, having walked for the past hour or two in an aimless direction. Whatever rural town he’s found himself in they seemed to not believe in the common nature of street signs. Houses are far and few in between, weirdly, and trees seem to make up the vast majority of everything in sight. His legs hurt from walking and that headache he had seemed to be quickly developing into something more. Ritsuka shook his head and let out a slow breath, leaning against the nearest tree to give himself a chance to breath. He hadn’t grabbed anything heavy to wear when fleeing the house, just his summer coat and it barely kept the chill of the night out.
As he considered himself doomed to sleeping against this tree for the night, his phone still clenched in his hand started to play the ringtone Soubi had personally chosen for himself. Ritsuka lifted it up, looked to the picture that flashed across the screen of it with Soubi’s name, and then flipped it open. Even if he didn’t want to bother him, Soubi had to be calling for a reason.
"Ritsuka." He breathes a quiet sigh. Not quite relief, but he feels better hearing Ritsuka's voice. "Are you all right?"
Even as he asks, Soubi starts preparing himself to go out. Even if he's overreacting, he'll feel better if he can see Ritsuka. He knows that. And hopefully, even if everything is fine, his sacrifice will indulge him. He sits down to get his shoes on, then he's up again to get a coat.
Ritsuka does not believe in lying. It’s something he’s repeated to Soubi many times, that lying is a horrible thing. It’s the wedge that is shoved between them because Soubi has no problems lying, especially to Ritsuka. At least, that’s how it feels to him. Even when the other says he won’t lie to him, even when he tells Soubi not to, it seems like less than a day later it’s back to how it was.
And Ritsuka has voiced that frustration more times than he can count. Especially when Soubi claims he ‘loves him’.
So he won’t lie. Even if he doesn’t want to be a burden. “I got lost.” It feels childish, pathetic to admit. By now he should be old enough to cross the street, go to the store, take a train, and more importantly—find his way home. Ritsuka was aware he was a child, but he was also aware he was very independent for one. This felt like a failure on his part, and it wasn’t a good feeling. “I’ll be fine.” As soon as he found something that looks familiar.
"What do you remember? How did you get to where you are?" he asks as he leaves the apartment. He hurries down the stairs and considers a moment. Maybe by train? He heads that way.
The imperative to find Ritsuka makes him move faster. He's lost somewhere, and Soubi will not leave him like that. He'll find him, somehow.
"I took the train." He answered as he pushed away from the tree. He looks around again, trying to find anything that even remotely looks familiar. Nothing does, nothing makes sense, he doesn't even know where the train stopped since it was a very small town and he slept through the announcement. He would have asked the old man but they gave him a creepy vibe. More so than Soubi did when he first met him.
"I got on the train about five, after dinner. Or rather... During it." He flinched at his own words and reached up to rub the wound on his arm. It hurt quite a bit but the blood dried his jacket to him. "I got off on the last stop. If that helps."
Train. Soubi changes his route, a more direct way to the nearest station.
"It helps," he assures. "I'll find you."
There is no other choice. Soubi stays on the phone as he catches the next train. He studies the map. He thinks he's going in the right direction... it feels like he is. And if he isn't--No. He'll deal with that possibility if and when he has to, not before.
"I may lose service," he warns as he leans against a pole. "If I do, I'll call you as soon as I reach the last stop. Find somewhere safe, Ritsuka."
“Soubi, I’ll be fine. You’re worrying.” Ritsuka let out a breath and leaned against the tree again, looking around again. It was quiet out here but there was something unsettling about that. He didn’t like being out here but that didn’t mean Soubi needed to go running around searching for him. Though... he definitely appreciated it. Knowing Soubi was looking for him was reassuring.
He shuffled on his feet and dropped his gaze down to the ground, feeling his ears flatten against his head. Taking a breath he slowly let it out. “Thank you...”
What else could he do? Soubi stays on the phone until he loses service, then waits in irritated silence for it to come back. He tells himself that it's for the best that they not talk this whole time: he doesn't want to run down Ritsuka's battery. Shortly before he reaches the last stop, he calls Ritsuka again.
"I'm here. Tell me what's around you."
It's as good a way to start as any, and, if nothing else, it will keep Ritsuka talking to him. Soubi just hopes his phone battery isn't close to dying.
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Sometimes, he could avoid those things, most of the time he didn’t. And like most things, while Ritsuka could deal with it, some days were better than others. Today, happened to be a day that was one of the worst.
The first red flag was that his mother answered a call from the school. Considering she didn’t think Ritsuka was her son anymore, she never did that. But she answered, and according to his teacher they had a long conversation about him which was the second red flag in his head. Surprisingly, and a bit to his distress, Soubi wasn’t waiting for him outside the school this time. Yuiko pointed it out and he’d simply shrugged before going home.
He almost wished Soubi had been there and had a reason for him to avoid this.
His mother made cake. He hadn’t even been aware that she could bake, much less that she would. But there was a cake on the table, which was supposed to be full of his favorite foods, a normal trick of her’s. She invited him to sit and then handed him a large knife and asked him to cut the cake.
The fight was a bit of a blur, it happened quite quickly as most things do when she tends to snap. He remembered screaming, the table being thrown and the knife hovering inches above his throat—he thought not for the first time that she’d actually finally kill him. However, she’d hesitated just long enough for him to shove her aside and make a run for the door. Barely, but the fact he was still alive meant it was more than enough.
There was a deep cut on his shoulder that he managed to hide with his coat and she’d smacked him on the back of his head with a cup, but there didn’t seem to be any terrible damage. He was dizzy and there was some blood, but that was better than it sometimes was. Ritsuka had ran to the nearest train and boarded it, using that to put some distance between them. This was normal too, the running, but it was the first time she’d followed him out of the house. She hadn’t seemed to follow him to the train station.
His heart still raced in his chest though and as he looked around he thought, for a few minutes, maybe he’d be okay to rest his head. He was tired, and it was throbbing quite a bit. Surely, a few minutes wouldn't hurt.
That was the idea. Until an older gentleman was shaking him awake and warning him they’d hit the last stop for the day. Ritsuka slid down from the seat, gathered his bag and wandered out of the train. The sun was setting, he’d fallen asleep for longer than he intended to, and he was still a bit dizzy. The pain had gotten worse, he didn’t think she’d hit him that hard. As he walked down the street he spun and looked around, trying to pick out where he was.
Not a clue.
The street was unfamiliar, there seemed to be no signs around him, and he’d fallen asleep on an unfamiliar train for what was clearly hours. For the first time, in what seemed like a while, he was genuinely uncomfortable and out of his depth. Ritsuka felt like he could normally handle himself, now he actually felt worried.
He didn’t like the idea of being lost.
As he looked around again he reached up and felt around his neck, taking the phone in his hand and clenching it. Should he call Soubi? He didn’t want to be a bother. Surely if he found a sign he could get himself home. But—Soubi, stupidly somehow, made him feel safe. He kind of—just wanted to hear the others' voices.
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He tries to put the feeling aside for a little while, but it keeps creeping back until there is nothing else he can do. He picks up his phone. He calls Ritsuka.
Soubi gets up from the floor and moves slowly around his bare apartment, waiting to hear either an answer or the voice mail message. He pauses by a window and leans against a sill. Something isn't right. He knows it.
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As he considered himself doomed to sleeping against this tree for the night, his phone still clenched in his hand started to play the ringtone Soubi had personally chosen for himself. Ritsuka lifted it up, looked to the picture that flashed across the screen of it with Soubi’s name, and then flipped it open. Even if he didn’t want to bother him, Soubi had to be calling for a reason.
“Soubi?”
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Even as he asks, Soubi starts preparing himself to go out. Even if he's overreacting, he'll feel better if he can see Ritsuka. He knows that. And hopefully, even if everything is fine, his sacrifice will indulge him. He sits down to get his shoes on, then he's up again to get a coat.
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And Ritsuka has voiced that frustration more times than he can count. Especially when Soubi claims he ‘loves him’.
So he won’t lie. Even if he doesn’t want to be a burden. “I got lost.” It feels childish, pathetic to admit. By now he should be old enough to cross the street, go to the store, take a train, and more importantly—find his way home. Ritsuka was aware he was a child, but he was also aware he was very independent for one. This felt like a failure on his part, and it wasn’t a good feeling. “I’ll be fine.” As soon as he found something that looks familiar.
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The imperative to find Ritsuka makes him move faster. He's lost somewhere, and Soubi will not leave him like that. He'll find him, somehow.
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"I got on the train about five, after dinner. Or rather... During it." He flinched at his own words and reached up to rub the wound on his arm. It hurt quite a bit but the blood dried his jacket to him. "I got off on the last stop. If that helps."
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"It helps," he assures. "I'll find you."
There is no other choice. Soubi stays on the phone as he catches the next train. He studies the map. He thinks he's going in the right direction... it feels like he is. And if he isn't--No. He'll deal with that possibility if and when he has to, not before.
"I may lose service," he warns as he leans against a pole. "If I do, I'll call you as soon as I reach the last stop. Find somewhere safe, Ritsuka."
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He shuffled on his feet and dropped his gaze down to the ground, feeling his ears flatten against his head. Taking a breath he slowly let it out. “Thank you...”
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What else could he do? Soubi stays on the phone until he loses service, then waits in irritated silence for it to come back. He tells himself that it's for the best that they not talk this whole time: he doesn't want to run down Ritsuka's battery. Shortly before he reaches the last stop, he calls Ritsuka again.
"I'm here. Tell me what's around you."
It's as good a way to start as any, and, if nothing else, it will keep Ritsuka talking to him. Soubi just hopes his phone battery isn't close to dying.