Ritsuka and Robin [COMPLETE]

[decemberbird.livejournal.com]

Who: Aoyagi Ritsuka [sleeping_memory] & Robin Walker [decemberbird]
Where Library
When: Today, Afternoon
Rating: G
Summary: Robin and Ritsuka meet and somehow they talk about dead spirits which causes angst for Robin.
the Story:


Robin closed the book he had just finished reading and stacked it to the pile, finished(which was quite high), and took another book from the other pile, un-finished (which was even higher). "Encyclopedia Britannica..." he mumbled, looking at the title. "Quite long..Of course it is an encyclopedia....I wonder how long it'll take me to read all of this.." He opened the book and started to read the first page, when the huge tower of books wobbled and started to fall.

Ritsuka was in the library, he was reading a book on how to make a kite out of things found in the common household. He also had a few books that he hoped would help him find out more about why the dead were walking the mansion. However, his resources were limited, mainly because of the fact Robin had taken all the books. Ritsuka noticed the tower of books at the opposite end of the room began to wobble. He didn't know somebody was behind them.

He headed over there, he didn't want the books to fall, that would have made a loud noise and he didn't want anyone to come looking to see what it was. That and maybe he could find a few good books.

However, once he got there, he stared up at the tower wide-eyed when it began to fall over. He jumped out of the way and managed to escape being toppled over by the books. A few of them however, fell right next to him.

Robin, however, was not so lucky. Failing to notice the books falling because of him reading the book, some of the heavier books fell on top of him. "GYAH!" he yelled out, his stomach getting hit by a hardcover book.

Ritsuka heard a faint voice of a boy under the books. He hurried over, grabbing the book that fell ontop of Robin's stomach. It was a large encyclopedia. "Are you..okay?" He wasn't expecting to see someone underneath all those books. Was this person hurt?

Coughing a bit from the dust the book created and the encyclopedia hitting his stomach, he opened his eyes to see a young boy with...with...the most adorable cat ears ever who seemed somewhat familiar. " A-Ah, I'm alright thank you. Eheheh..I should really be careful.." he said, crawling out of the book heap and standing up.

Ritsuka tilted his head to the side, he didn't quite recognize Robin, but he did look familiar. He watched him stand up and dust himself off. "What were you looking up?" Ritsuka asked, peering over the mass of books on the floor to see if any might help him out. "You're supposed to put library books back when you finish them." He eyes settled on a book on the paranormal. That seemed to be correct. He reached down to grab it.

"I wasn't really looking up anything. I found the library and decided to read all the books here...And excuse me, you are right.. I was a bit too preoccupied with reading to remember to put the books back.." he said, stacking the books back neatly on the table. Noticing the title the other picked he blinked before digging out another book. "Are you looking up paranormal things? Here, that's another one! I was sure there was another book too..." he mumbled before digging around in the book heap.

"Why would you do that? It would take too long." Ritsuka watched Robin search around for books that might help him out. He didn't know why Robin was helping him search, maybe he felt sorry for him or was bored. "Sort of.." Ritsuka didn't quite know where to start. He figured it would have been better just to ask those who were dead and were now somehow walking the mansion. However, even when he asked them questions, they never had any answers for him. This frustrated Ritsuka to no end.

"I like reading. And all these stories are really interesting," Robin replied from inside the pile. "Ahaha!" Popping up from around the middle of the pile, he held up a normal sized book. "This one was rather accurate regarding the souls of the departed," he said, smiling while handing Ritsuka the book.

Ritsuka blinked, he quickly took the book from Robin immediately flipping to the table of contents. "Contacting the spirit world?" Ritsuka read aloud one of the titles in the form of a question. "What do you know about this?" Ritsuka asked. Robin seemed to know exactly what he was looking for. Ritsuka couldn't help but hold a slight suspicon about it.

"Spirits? Well, I do know some things about that subject," he said. "Why do you ask?"

"Tell me everything you know." Ritsuka was an open book on the subject. He counted on Robin to transcribe what he would tell Ritsuka into those blank pages. He avoided answering Robin's question about why he wanted to know.

Robin blinked. "E-Everything? Um....the subject of spirits is rather..big. Can you please specify more?" he asked, moving to put the books he had finished back into the shelves.

Ritsuka didn't bother to help shelve the books, there were more important matters at hand. He took a seat on top of the table Robin had probably been reading on. "..the spirit of a person." Ritsuka blushed slightly, finger running along the pages of the book in hand looking for something that would be valuable to what he was looking for.

"I am assuming this is a dead person, correct? You want to get in contact with this..spirit?" he asked, shelving the books. Robin personally did not like how the subject of the conversation was heading towards to.

"..." Ritsuka didn't say much after that, he just nodded. He read on, nothing seemed to be able to help him. Frustrated he picked up the next book and looked at the index this time.

Robin saw Ritsuka's nod from the corner of his eye. "Getting in contact with a dead spirit...that's pretty much saying you want to revive this person. Trying to raise someone from the dead would normally...end up in failure. And the spirit..would not like it if they were forced to come back.." he said quietly, gripping the books tighter. "Reviving the dead..is something you should never do,"

Ritsuka didn't hear any of the negative answers Robin was giving him. "You mean it is possible? They can come back? Is that how all these people in the mansion are alive again?" Which only left Ritsuka to ask Robin the same questions he had asked the others, though, Ritsuka did'nt know Robin's story or how he came to be in the mansion. "I don't just want to contact them, I want to find them. You can tell me how, can't you?" Though he was young, he carried with him a level of maturity that most did not possess at his age. Being that he was so young, he also was naive in many ways. He did not know the consequences of things he had not yet experienced.

"I....I do not know how the people in the mansion are alive again..It is a mystery to me..." he said, in a slightly pained voice. "I'm afraid...I'm not any good at contacting spirits..my job is to exorcise them. And..I please ask you to reconsider doing that..please," Seeing Ritsuka so desperate about contacting dead spirits brought up bad memories.. She knew she shouldn't..but she was beginning to overlap Ritsuka with her younger brother.

"Then you shouldn't have said anything!" Ritsuka shot an annoyed glance at Robin. Everyone always seemed to have an answer and then when they told Ritsuka what they knew, he only had more questions and never once an answer. "Why should I? It's my decision, not yours."

"Because nothing good ever comes out of trying to revive a dead person..It only hurts you and it hurts the spirit even more.." she said.

"And how do you know this," He showed Robin a chapter of the book he was reading. "This doesn't say anything about that. You shouldn't lie to people, it makes them not want to be around you." He hopped off of the table, grabbing the three books that he was going to take back to his room with him. Before leaving, however, he was going to search the shelves for any other books on the same subject. He looked on the binding of the book to locate the number associated with the section of the library where he would find other books like the one's in his arms.

"I know of personal experience," Robin said, standing behind Ritsuka. "And the aftermath wasn't lovely at all,"

Ritsuka looked behind his shoulder at Robin, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Then tell me."

"The person who called the spirit died. The spirit is now bound to the world of living, unable to be free or rest in peace. Do you want that to happen?" she asked, her eyes cold.

Ritsuka didn't understand the complexity of the situation Robin was describing to him. "If they are back in the world of the living, then I will make sure they are happy. So I don't think there would be a problem. If you're not going to tell me how then you can leave." Ritsuka turned his attention back to the books, pulling a few from the shelves here and there.

"But you'll be dead. You won't be able to help them,"

Ritsuka stopped in mid grab of a book, dead? He didn't believe a word Robin was saying. "Do you have proof? All these books so studies and different cases. They have proof. You don't."

"That is true. I don't have proof that the person died because the person's body is being used by someone else. Afterall, a spirit needs a body to stay in. And the spirit's body sank into the ocean,"

"Why shouldn't they be allowed to stay in their own body? The people here have their bodies and spirits back. Maybe you're doing the wrong research." Ritsuka decided he would stay here, he slide down to the floor and set up the books around him. He would turn to all the pages and chapters that were similiar to eachother and compare the information.

"The people in the mansion here, I have no idea how they revived. But where I come from, when someone decides to revive a spirit, the spirit takes the body of the someone who tried to revive them and use them as a skin to cover what they truly look like,"

"Where you come from. But that's not where I come from. So it's different." Ritsuka continued to flip through the pages of the books. None of which were proving to be helpful in the situation he was in. Maybe he should have gone to the chapel instead. He had lit a candle for Seimei there and the statue of the woman holding her hands out seemed to radiate a certain hope. "A skin? That wouldn't happen. I wouldn't let it if that was the case. If I did that then I wouldn't have them around."

"True. But I would think that in your world, trying to bring up the dead is such a good thing as well," she said. "I doubt you will be able to fight. Please..Just please don't take the subject of reviving the dead so lightly...."

"I've thought about it! Don't talk to me about death." Ritsuka said in a bit of an angry yelled. His tiny fists clenched together, he didn't looked up at Robin or look over the books either. His eyes were fixed on the floor now.

Robin sighed and hugged the younger boy. "I'm sorry..It's just that...you reminded me very much of my sibling. And I did not want you to make the same mistake as him.."

Ritsuka's eyes widened, he was completely shocked when he felt Robin's arms around him. The hug was unexpected and also unwelcomed. Now that he was in the mansion with all sorts of people, he was having a hard time differentiating the adults from the kids. He quickly pushed Robin off of him. "What are you doing! Get off of me! I'm not your brother, get off!"

Robin let himself be pushed. "I know..I know you're not my brother..I'm sorry. I know it isn't fair to you to overlap you with my brother..I know but...I'm sorry...I'm really sorry," he said, not bother to get up and looking at the ground.

Ritsuka would stand up for the both of them. He took the books in his hands. He turned around and took a step forward towards the door. He was halfway across the room when he stopped. Brother. Robin had one too. Ritsuka didn't quite formulate he had one when Robin gave him that hug, but now that his mind was cleared..he turned back and peeked out of the side of one of the book shelves only to find Robin on the floor. "Where is your brother?"

Robin had expected Ritsuka to leave so it surprised her when the other came back. "He...died trying to revive.....me..." she said, whispering the last part.

Lucky for Ritsuka he had a keen sense of hearing. His cat ears twitched in response. He kneeled down on the floor, still behind the shelves. He scooted over to where Robin was, the books in the shelves seperating them. "Then you are.."

"I'm his older sister, Julia. I died when the boat I was in sank and Robin tried to revive me by calling the Earl, someone who comes to those in despair over the dead. And...he signed the Earl's contract. The Earl killed Robin. And..told me to take his body as a skin.." she said, hiding her face with her hands. "I'm a monster.."

"But you're..you don't look like a girl." Who was this..Earl. Ritsuka had never met him before and the way Robin had been explaining how he visited people, Ritsuka would have expected to be visted by him by now. He wouldn't understand. How could he possibly?

"That's because I took Robin's body. Robin was a boy," she answered, still not moving from the position before.

"So..you are Julia inside Robin's body," Ritsuka moved aside the books that was blocking his view of Robin. His eyes were widened and glistening with tears that threatened to make their way out. He didn't want to admit he was afraid of this Robin. "But..do you..does Robin know? Does he? Is he alive?"

Julia shook her head. "No, Robin is dead. The Earl killed him. It's part of his contract..except he didn't tell Robin that. He tricked Robin," she said, crying at the memory of the huge sword stabbing through her beloved brother's body.

"That's not fair! Demand him back! Go to the Earl and tell him that." Ritsuka fished through his pockets for a tissue, he handed it to Robin through the open spot of the shelf.

Julia took the tissue, wiping her eyes. "I can't..demanding Robin back would be the same as reviving him. The only thing I can do know is to make sure the Earl doesn't trick anymore people..and live for Robin too.." she said, gripping her left arm she got from Master Cross.

Ritsuka looked at her arm questionably. "Why is your arm like that?" It looked as if something was the matter. Maybe it was a burn...Ritsuka had hoped that wasn't the case. He didn't want to imagine the same thing happening to someone else as it had to Seimei.

Julia shook her head. "No. My mentor, Master Cross, gave me his left arm so I can fight the Earl and his minions..which are my kind..people who were forced back to the world of living,"

Ritsuka shook his head, his mind couldn't soak up all this information. He didn't know what to believe now. Where was Soubi when you needed him? then again, there were times Ritsuka couldn't even trust him. "I should go."

Julia smiled at Ritsuka. "Yes..you should. And...would you please not tell anyone of this? Everyone here thinks I am Robin,"
Ritsuka nodded, "I won't tell anybody." Ritsuka hurried to stand up. Leaving quickly and forgetting all about his books.
Robin waved goodbye while Ritsuka ran off. It was only until later did he realize something. "Oh! He's the boy from the cellphone! Ritsuka-san, I think,"