Hi! This is a KyouTen fic I've been dying to publish-

J: Yeah, a pity that it won't happen literally.

It's rude to interrupt, J! And for your royal information, I was typing out the fourth chapter of Literally before this. Disclaimer!

Tsurugi: NemesisGoddessOfRevenge does not own IE or any of its characters. Thankfully, we belong to Level-5, or else there would be a lot of SaruFei, TakuRan and-

KyouTen! Enjoy~ P.S. Please vote in my poll!

Not Alone Ch.1

"I'm home!" Tenma opened the door of Aki's mansion and stepped inside. "Hello?" Tenma called out. The house was dark, and most of the lights were off.

"Tenma?" A man's voice said.

"Ichinose-san! Where's Aki-nee? Why is the house so dark?" Tenma recognized Ichinose Kazuya, Aki's boyfriend from America.

Ichinose looked uncomfortable. "You see, Tenma, your parents…." He trailed off and stared into the distance. "I'd better let Aki tell you."

He led Tenma to Aki's bedroom. Tenma heard soft sobbing from inside.

"Aki-nee?" Tenma said cautiously.

Aki looked up, her face stained with tears. "Your parents… they…died in a car crash."

Tenma stood fixed to the floor, completely frozen. His parents…were dead? "No!" Tenma cried out. "That can't be true!"

Ichinose put a heavy hand on Tenma's shoulder. "Tenma, I know it's hard for you to take this in, but…" He took a deep breath. "It's true."

"No!" Tenma shrugged Ichinose's hand off. "They can't be gone!" He sank down to the floor, tears streaming down his cheeks. He started sobbing, and stayed there, unmoving, until the first rays of dawn shone through the blinds of the curtains.

At school, Tenma was a total train wreck. He kept bursting into tears during lesson time, catching sympathetic glances from a certain navy-haired striker.

"Are you okay, Tenma?" Tsurugi asked, tapping his best friend on the shoulder. "What's wrong? You can confide in me."

Now, it was very, very rare for Tsurugi Kyousuke to show a gentle and warm side at school. This side was normally shown to Yuuchi, Kyousuke's parents and Tenma. Why Tenma? Because Tsurugi had a mega-crush on him.

Tenma ignored his friend's question. "Nothing."

Tsurugi frowned. "Sure?"

Tenma just turned away, and continued sobbing. Seeing that his efforts were to no avail, Tsurugi left Tenma alone.

During the whole school day, Tenma was in a trance, doing what others told him to do, but entirely not paying attention.

At soccer practice, Tsurugi finally snapped. He couldn't stand seeing his best friend-ahem, crush-act like that. He cornered Tenma.

Tenma's eyes widened when he saw Tsurugi's hard gaze boring into him. "Matsukaze Tenma. What's bothering you?" The navy-haired boy shook Tenma.

"My… my…." Tenma swallowed. "My parents died in a car crash." He instantly burst into fresh tears.

Tsurugi's gaze softened. "I'm really sorry, Tenma. I shouldn't have pressed that information out of you like that."

Tenma rubbed his eyes. "It's okay."

"Do you want me to escort you home?" Once the words were out of Tsurugi's mouth, he mentally face-palmed himself for doing so.

"Y-yes. Thanks, Tsurugi!" Tenma showed a shadow of his normally cheerful self, but then continued crying.

Tsurugi sighed, and sat down beside Tenma. "If there's anything else bothering you, come and talk to me, okay?"

"Y-yeah." Slowly, Tenma calmed down, and his sobbing ceased. After a few minutes, Tenma's eyes drooped and-as the result of lack of sleep-closed, his head resting on Tsurugi's shoulder.

Tsurugi blushed. Now, what was he supposed to do? Shake his crush until he woke up? Or, leave him there in the open alone? Or even… stay in the same position until Tenma woke up by himself-and face the ribbing of the soccer club.

Not given any opportunity to decide, Tsurugi just sat there and closed his eyes. By some weird coincidence, he fell asleep as well. He was aware of a few fuzzy shapes in front of him, moving around and talking in barely audible voices.

"Aw, that's just so sweet. Let me take a photo!"

"Stop it, Kariya! I don't think that they'd appreciate it, especially Tsurugi. Should we wake them up, Shindou?"

"No. Kirino, go and tell Endou Kantoku that Tsurugi and Tenma are not participating in practice today. Tenma needs some rest, and Tsurugi probably wants to stay with him."

"Okay. Kariya, what are you doing?"

A click could be heard, followed by a bright flash that forced Tsurugi's eyes open. He saw Kirino standing near the door, clearly on his way to find Endou. Shindou was frowning at the inappropriate behavior of Kariya, and Kariya was holding-oh, god- a camera.

Tsurugi woke up fully and glared at the teal-haired offender. "What are you doing, Kariya?"

Kariya laughed nervously. "I, er, just took a couple of photos of Tenma sleeping with his head on your shoulder?"

Tsurugi growled. "Get out, and let Tenma sleep in peace."

Kariya smirked, tasting a chance for blackmailing the navy-haired striker. "And if I stay here and, say for example, email these pictures to the school newspaper?"

Tsurugi's response caught Kariya off guard. "Please, just leave us alone. Tenma hasn't slept for the whole night. I don't really care about the photos."

Kariya was speechless. Was Tsurugi… begging him to leave them alone? Then, Kariya shrugged. "Fine, have it your way." He left the camera on the floor, and went out.

Tsurugi turned his attention back to the sleeping brunet. Tenma was fast asleep, his mouth open. Little puffs of air were coming out of his nose and mouth.

Looking at the clock hanging on the wall, Tsurugi saw that it was already five p.m. He shook Tenma lightly. "Tenma. It's time to wake up."

Tenma gave no response, and continued to sleep. Suddenly, Tsurugi had an idea. Putting his hands on Tenma's tummy, he started tickling Tenma.

With a startled yelp, Tenma woke up. He giggled. "What… was… that… for, Tsu-Tsurugi?!"

"You wouldn't wake up," Tsurugi shrugged nonchalantly, feigning an expression of innocence, but there was a cheeky smile on his face.

"Hey!" Tenma tickled Tsurugi back.

Tsurugi laughed out loud, and moved closer to Tenma. "I'll get you back," he whispered in Tenma's ear. He blew air into Tenma's ear, earning a shiver from Tenma.

Tenma reached up and tugged on a spikey lock of Tsurugi's hair. "Stop it!" Tenma grinned widely. Then, his expression changed drastically. "Oh no, Aki-nee will be mad if I go home late and—"It appeared that he had remembered the deaths of his parents, and he started sobbing again.

"Don't cry, Tenma." Tsurugi tried to comfort Tenma. "It's time to go home."

Tenma clung onto Tsurugi's arm. "Okay," he said quietly, tears still running down his cheeks.

Once they were out of the school, Tenma suddenly stopped. "Oh, I just remembered. I have to pick up something for Aki-nee. It's one train stop away from here."

Tsurugi frowned. "Don't go today. You need more rest."

"I… I don't want to disappoint her." Tenma sniffed.

"I'll go with you." Tsurugi said.

"It'll be fine! There's no need for you to help me so much—"Tenma's eyes grew wide when Tsurugi touched a finger to his lips, silencing him effectively.

"Maybe you can cope on your own, but…" Tsurugi trailed off, looking embarrassed. "I want to help you as much as I can."

Fresh tears welled up in Tenma's eyes. He managed a half-smile in gratitude. "Thank you, Tsurugi."

Oh my god, that was so lame!

Tenma: You're a meanie!

It's just a story, dude! If it weren't for the deaths of your parents, Tsurugi wouldn't comfort you, and you guys wouldn't get together in the end! XD

Tsurugi: /blushing/ We get your point.

Reviews, please!