In spell battles, Soubi is Ritsuka’s weapon and as he takes this term quite technically, he is willing to do everything Ritsuka orders him to do. The irony of this is even if Soubi says that Ritsuka can use him any way he wishes, whenever Ritsuka wants answers about Soubi’s past, Soubi decidedly answers that he doesn’t want to talk about that sort of thing. Also, he says Ritsuka can’t ask him now, or in the future. A then frustrated Ritsuka responds that Soubi is going against his own words, which is indeed quite right.
When it comes to team work during battle, the Soubi and Ritsuka combination at first runs everything but smoothly. Ritsuka can be blamed only that he is new in the whole spell casting and Fighter – Sacrifice concept, thus requires training. Soubi however, can be blamed for willfully keeping Ritsuka from information to improve. Whether this is to avoid the risk of once the questions and answers start, Soubi will start telling Ritsuka things he, one: doesn’t want to talk about, second: reckons Ritsuka is better off not knowing, or just out of his incapability to communicate matters essential to his heart with others, is open for speculation. Though I’d consider the result as a combination of both.
A striking portrayal of Soubi’s paradoxal character can be seen when Soubi, heavily injured after he fought a spell battle without Ritsuka, feels the urge to see Ritsuka. All the pain and loneliness then, he thinks by seeing Ritsuka these feelings will stop. But after he’s arrived at Ritsuka’s windows and Ritsuka asks him to come in, he refuses. He does not want Ritsuka to see his wounds, but still he wanted to see his face. Then he thinks by himself that it would’ve been better if he didn’t go to Ritsuka’s house. The expression on Soubi’s face then is really painful, it’s as if he can’t help himself being this impossibly hypocritical, even though he realizes his behavior.
Pretty much the deepest low for Ritsuka and Soubi battle-wise is reached when Soubi, after fought another battle without Ritsuka (again.), gets wounded so badly that he can’t move. He calls someone else than Ritsuka to come and pick him up. Soubi thinks he doesn’t want to see Ritsuka , while in reality he doesn’t want Ritsuka to see the state he’s in. When he on accident answers Ritsuka’s call, while under the assumption it was somebody else, Ritsuka orders him to tell where he is. In response, Soubi bluntly hangs up on Ritsuka.
After this incident, Ritsuka for the first time receives insightful information on the Fighter — Sacrifice concept (of course not from Soubi; the pattern here seems to be that whatever essential things Ritsuka needs to know, he gets told by everyone else but Soubi). Apparently, it is the Sacrifice’s fault when its Fighter is repeatedly wounded. Soubi did not go through the trouble of calling Ritsuka to come to the battle scene because normally it is not necessary to do so. Whenever a Fighter expands his system to commence battle, a Sacrifice can perceive this even if they’re apart. This does not happen though because Ritsuka is not Soubi’s unique partner in battle. What is up for Ritsuka to do now, is to communicate clearly with Soubi, he must learn to be strong and how to command Soubi properly.
As Ritsuka has not the nature of being happy with ordering people around, and Soubi lacks some essential communication manners, this appears as rather a hard task for them as a team. Still, after Ritsuka has come to know the necessary information, he and Soubi manage to fight their first full and successful battle. It is after that very battle, Soubi starts to open up to Ritsuka.
For the first time, ever, Soubi out of his own mentions Seimei in the presence of Ritsuka. He tells him that he himself was living for Seimei, but Seimei wasn’t living for him. Also, when Sacrifice and Fighter are apart, they usually can’t live without each other.
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