(no subject)
Not much to wiki, so. Rather TL;DR.
Remember those adorable, little boys and girls with the cat ears and tail? That's right. The innocent ones with the giant eyes? Soubi used to be one. Okay, not so much the eyes as it was the ears and tail; they represent one's innocence in the Loveless world - whether or not someone has had sex.
Soubi's real existence begins at the age of seven, when his parents died in some (most likely) tragic car accident, and he was left in the care of one of his mother's acquaintances, Minami Ritsu. Being a teacher at Seven Voices Academy, Ritsu gave Soubi special attention as a student that bordered favoritism. Still, it did not keep Ritsu from doing as he wanted: molding Soubi into living perfection as a Fighter. This is what the Academy specialized in - raising (so to speak) teams, in pairs, that were divided into Fighter and Sacrifice. The Fighter does just as the name suggests, fights. Using from a range of simple to complicated word spells, they attempt to strike the opposing force and defeat them by damaging the Sacrifice. Though the manga doesn't specify many of the Sacrifices abilities, they, too, have their own set of skills. Mostly, however, the Sacrifice is there to receive said damage and order the Fighter in and (usually, as it's portrayed) out of battle. Soubi learned all of this - what to do and how to speak accordingly, how to deal with the pain that was inflicted upon him during a battle (aka RESTRICTION) - during his time there, but the slightly unusual thing was that Soubi was conditioned as a blank Fighter. A relatively fancy term that simply means "spare"; he could be partnered with anyone, regardless of their name, and the use of his power would not be limited.
Because of this, when Soubi was seventeen, Ritsu introduced him to Aoyagi Seimei, a fourteen-year-old who would become his Sacrifice. Thus, master over Soubi's abilities and person. Of course, Soubi was outraged and shocked, having thought Ritsu to take him as his own Fighter [seeing as how Ritsu took Soubi's ears - more soundly put, his virginity - at the age of fourteen; ah, young kids and their easiness to influence]. Still, Soubi did as he was told, and shortly after, Seimei carved (yes, carved, prodded, gouged) his true name just above his collarbone with the addition of some fancy vinework with a penknife. B-E-L-O-V-E-D. It left a permanent mark, one he wears even now.
Claiming Soubi as his own, promising more than Ritsu and mastering him as one would a pet, a dog, Seimei and Soubi became one of the most infamous, feared pairs. Because of Soubi's training and his willingness to follow every and any command given to him whatsoever, no matter the consequence, they never lost a battle. Seimei's efficiency ruthless. Through the next three years, very little changed between their relationship as Fighter and Sacrifice, though Soubi left the Academy and began to attend college. A major in Japanese art. There, he met his best friend Kaidou Kio, also an art major. Soubi's only goal at the time had been "to paint", but due to Kio's persistence as well as the fact he had a tattoo (Soubi's secret fetish?), they eventually bonded.
Then, Seimei "mysteriously" dies. Totally a plot device, honest. Apparently a freak homicide, set afire in a school. During this time, Soubi had more in common with a robot and/or zombie than an actual person. Barely doing what he needed to sustain himself, an animal without its owner.
ENTER: Ritsuka.
Seimei's little brother, twelve and currently in elementary school. Soubi does as ordered of Seimei prior to his death, contacting Ritsuka. But in a slightly improper manner, waiting outside his school and smoking. Soubi tells him, then, that he is there to protect him and that Ritsuka isn't his true name. Despite being a creeper, Ritsuka goes with Soubi to a park to "make memories", AKA taking pictures. There, they encounter their first battle together as LOVELESS. And to quickly summarize, many of these fights together are just small steps to lead Ritsuka closer to the truth: who killed Seimei and why.
∇ BREATHLESS; Midori (Sacrifice), Ai (Fighter). Outcome of battle: LOVELESS wins. There isn't much information gathered from this battle. Really, it's just an introductory type of thing so as to familiarize Ritsuka with the system and to prove that Soubi isn't telling an elaborate lie.
∇ SLEEPLESS; Ginka (Sacrifice), Kinka (Fighter). Outcome of battle: LOVELESS wins. The most notable aspect of this battle is that Ritsuka commanded Soubi to get a coded message they claimed to have; really, more clues to bring him closer to the truth of Seimei's death. And, Soubi likes to beat up punks who run their mouths.
∇ ZERO [male]; Youji (Sacrifice), Natsuo (Fighter). Soubi fights this battle alone, despite Ritsuka's wishes of not doing such a thing. He interfered to rescue Ritsuka's school teacher, Shinonome Hitomi, from the creepy little boys. Shortly after, Soubi takes them in (since, apparently, they have no where else to go).
∇ ZERO [female]; Yamato (Sacrifice), Kouya (Fighter). Outcome of battle: draw/LOVELESS wins. In first meeting them, Soubi is lynched as punishment - he tries calling Kio to come pick him up since he "can't move". Ritsuka, Youji, and Natsuo are there in his place. The second encounter, an official battle, Yamato and Kouya withdraw. Soubi would have persisted with the fight, ready to attack, but at Ritsuka's order, they left them alone.
Timelines aside, some time after Zero's defeat, Soubi stumbles upon another creeper of sorts because no one is allowed to stalk Ritsuka except for him. They even have the same taste in jackets! The man, Akame Nisei, knows exactly who he is, however, and torments him by introducing himself as the real Fighter for BELOVED. To make things worse, he informs him that Seimei, in fact, is not dead, and just to prove it, calls him on his cell phone so that Soubi can hear Seimei's voice. Distraught, Soubi seeks Ritsuka for comfort, though, at the time, he is tied to a chair in his own home. Over-protective mother syndrome? He does not, however, explain why he does this, and Ritsuka somewhat accepts this; Soubi's mannerisms familiar to him. Later, Ritsuka and Soubi meet and battle FEARLESS (Mimuro, Sacrifice; Mei, Fighter). Upon winning, Mimuro, indeed, proves Ritsuka's suspicions to be true by confirming that he met and spoke with an Aoyagi Seimei, describing him exactly as Ritsuka knows him.
Eventually, through Ritsuka's playing of Wisdom Resurrection (LOVELESS's version of WoW) and talking with those of Septimal Moon [Ritsu, Nagisa, and Nana], Soubi returns to the Academy at Ritsuka's request...and Kio in tow. A mentionable, in the drive there, Ritsuka tells Soubi to strip and show him his body - a map of Seimei's handiwork. After arriving, Soubi does his best to avoid Ritsu (something he does throughout the series), but eventually meets with him to discuss strange creeper to pedo things. At some point, Ritsuka calls for Soubi to assist him in battle - leave it to him to run into Nisei - and he abandons Ritsu to fight BELOVED. Or, really, half of BELOVED; Seimei is no where to be found.
In a drawn-out fight of light (Soubi) versus dark (Nisei), LOVELESS wins and takes Nisei prisoner. Afterward, there is a group meeting - consisting of Youji, Natsuo, Seimei, and eventually Ritsuka and Soubi - in the library. Since it's no longer a secret that Seimei isn't dead, he tries to convince Ritsuka that everything to that point has been a lie and that he truly is the brother he remembers. Soubi intervenes, angering Seimei, and aware of the situation, that he is trapped (thus, able to be detained for questioning, etc.), he orders Soubi to help him escape. Still bonded to the name of BELOVED because of the word carved into his skin, Soubi is helpless and has no choice but to obey. Something he visibly regrets after by the repeated rejection of doing what anyone asks of him.
Beforehand, when Nisei was still roaming the halls of the Academy, he knocked Kio unconscious and kidnapped him - this plays in later as Soubi and Ritsuka are to make an exchange with another pair called BLOODLESS: Nisei for Kio. As far as the manga is concerned, currently, Soubi and Ritsuka share cute, domestic times after their encounter with BLOODLESS; the battle outcome ending with LOVELESS' win over the other pair. Kio was rescued, and it seems everyone else has dropped off the radar. Again.