Aww, thank you! Glad my three(ish) paragraphs managed to produce thought. Actually, I'm glad they managed to be legible/coherent! Every time I finished one I immediately thought of about sixty more things I wanted to try to cram in... :D
Regarding the bond, I think/hope that Ritsuka's deliberate choice of Soubi, when completely aware of his "connecting wire" going elsewhere, is binding in at least some sense, and may even result in the other half of the pair never developing into a Fighter. We know from Seimei's actions that bonds CAN be deliberately forged and broken (Nisei's age means he was alive when Soubi and Seimei fought together, and Soubi was genuinely connected to Seimei via that bond -- though I have a notion it might not have been as strong/powerful -- and he felt it break at Seimei's 'death'). Given the huge power of words in this series, it wouldn't surprise me too much if Ritsuka's vocalised choice can redirect the bond to another, even without knives getting involved!
I don't think they'll ever be normal, exactly. Soubi, I fear, less so than Ritsuka -- Ritsuka having had a truly disturbed childhood, but nonetheless the sort that many people grow out of, and not involving brainwashing and slave-mentalities; plus it at least isn't tied to his very identity (Soubi will never not be a Fighter, at least not without trauma, but Ritsuka doesn't expect to stay a kid forever). Likewise, however long it takes them to deal with Seimei, Soubi will have been in the midst of that tension a lot longer than Ritsuka by virtue of finding out first (and not having the added shock of discovering Seimei is different than he thought).
I do think there's chance for healing, though; they may always be the odd pair out in the normal world (hopefully with Kio determinedly pestering them to open up more!), but I think that together they can shore each other up, because each is strong where the other is weak -- Soubi can see the problem of Ritsuka's family, and Ritsuka can see the problem with Soubi's teachers, and each sees the problem of Seimei in light of the other ("Don't hurt Soubi" / "Leave Ritsuka alone!"). And Ritsuka, at least, has some nominal links to the outside -- school, teachers, friends, a therapist -- who knows, perhaps even his father, if his mother recovers -- that can give him some grounding in "normal life", enough that Fighter/Sacrifice won't become his whole world the way it is for Soubi.
It'll definitely be much harder for Soubi to let go of the Fighter mentality! Keeping the titles would at least allow Soubi some vestige of his old identity, though given his devotion to being the best Fighter, I don't know how much an empty title would help. Still, he might well find some comfort in the knowledge that he has a Sacrifice, and that Sacrifice will never abandon him despite knowing he's a Blank/they don't share a name -- Ritsuka has made it crystal-clear that he doesn't accept "Names" as unalterable destiny, he values his right to choose how his life will go... and he's chosen Soubi as part of it. (Just typing that makes me want to squee. Even if they never share a bed, I think that's enough of an emotional whammy for Soubi to give him a better start on defining love!)
Ritsuka may always be the one drawing Soubi along and prodding him into new experiences; I don't think he'd let Soubi withdraw completely from the world. Even at twelve he seems to know better than that, given how he puts up with Kio and can refute Seimei's attempt to make him part of a one-human-being world.
I think that, no matter how much healing they accomplish, together or (somewhat) apart, both of them will always be the only two who mourn Seimei a little, too, even while acknowledging that he was wrong and did horrible things -- not the healthiest of positions (?), but not, I think, sufficient to constitute "permanently broken". I believe that even if they never spoke another word to each other for the rest of their lives after defeating Seimei, they'd still be connected by that tiny regret, the knowledge that somewhere in the world is one other person who mourns for the person you had to take down.
Re: Part 2/2
Regarding the bond, I think/hope that Ritsuka's deliberate choice of Soubi, when completely aware of his "connecting wire" going elsewhere, is binding in at least some sense, and may even result in the other half of the pair never developing into a Fighter. We know from Seimei's actions that bonds CAN be deliberately forged and broken (Nisei's age means he was alive when Soubi and Seimei fought together, and Soubi was genuinely connected to Seimei via that bond -- though I have a notion it might not have been as strong/powerful -- and he felt it break at Seimei's 'death'). Given the huge power of words in this series, it wouldn't surprise me too much if Ritsuka's vocalised choice can redirect the bond to another, even without knives getting involved!
I don't think they'll ever be normal, exactly. Soubi, I fear, less so than Ritsuka -- Ritsuka having had a truly disturbed childhood, but nonetheless the sort that many people grow out of, and not involving brainwashing and slave-mentalities; plus it at least isn't tied to his very identity (Soubi will never not be a Fighter, at least not without trauma, but Ritsuka doesn't expect to stay a kid forever). Likewise, however long it takes them to deal with Seimei, Soubi will have been in the midst of that tension a lot longer than Ritsuka by virtue of finding out first (and not having the added shock of discovering Seimei is different than he thought).
I do think there's chance for healing, though; they may always be the odd pair out in the normal world (hopefully with Kio determinedly pestering them to open up more!), but I think that together they can shore each other up, because each is strong where the other is weak -- Soubi can see the problem of Ritsuka's family, and Ritsuka can see the problem with Soubi's teachers, and each sees the problem of Seimei in light of the other ("Don't hurt Soubi" / "Leave Ritsuka alone!"). And Ritsuka, at least, has some nominal links to the outside -- school, teachers, friends, a therapist -- who knows, perhaps even his father, if his mother recovers -- that can give him some grounding in "normal life", enough that Fighter/Sacrifice won't become his whole world the way it is for Soubi.
It'll definitely be much harder for Soubi to let go of the Fighter mentality! Keeping the titles would at least allow Soubi some vestige of his old identity, though given his devotion to being the best Fighter, I don't know how much an empty title would help. Still, he might well find some comfort in the knowledge that he has a Sacrifice, and that Sacrifice will never abandon him despite knowing he's a Blank/they don't share a name -- Ritsuka has made it crystal-clear that he doesn't accept "Names" as unalterable destiny, he values his right to choose how his life will go... and he's chosen Soubi as part of it. (Just typing that makes me want to squee. Even if they never share a bed, I think that's enough of an emotional whammy for Soubi to give him a better start on defining love!)
Ritsuka may always be the one drawing Soubi along and prodding him into new experiences; I don't think he'd let Soubi withdraw completely from the world. Even at twelve he seems to know better than that, given how he puts up with Kio and can refute Seimei's attempt to make him part of a one-human-being world.
I think that, no matter how much healing they accomplish, together or (somewhat) apart, both of them will always be the only two who mourn Seimei a little, too, even while acknowledging that he was wrong and did horrible things -- not the healthiest of positions (?), but not, I think, sufficient to constitute "permanently broken". I believe that even if they never spoke another word to each other for the rest of their lives after defeating Seimei, they'd still be connected by that tiny regret, the knowledge that somewhere in the world is one other person who mourns for the person you had to take down.