He was there at the funeral. He watched as the boy held in his tears until everyone had gone. He waited under the cold gray clouds without being seen by him. Then, he left. Until the next day.
Ryuga went back to the cemetery. He went to the familiar grave to find the green-haired boy leaning up against the gravestone, asleep in the 5 inches of snow, clutching to the little silver chain his brother used to wear. Before he died. Ryuga noticed he was shivering in his sleep from the cold. He knelt down and put his palm to Kyouya's forehead and brushed the hair from his face. He then touched the back of his hand to the sleeping boy's pink cheeks. He laid his hand on his shoulder and gently shook him to wake. Bright blue eyes slowly opened and looked at Ryuga. However shocked he was to see him, Kyouya kept a blank look on his face. The one he'd worn ever since the death of his last family member.
Ryuga shook off his coat and put it around the younger boy's shoulders. He took Kyouya's hands into his and stood up, pulling the other with him. Ryuga pulled up the hood on Kyouya's small jacket underneath his up to shield the mourning boy from the still-falling snow. He walked with his arm around Kyouya's shoulders. Kyouya walked with his arms wrapped around Ryuga's waist and his face buried into his side. They walked over the small wooden bridge that rose over the icy river below, which also connected the cemetery to the rest of the city. Ryuga walked steadily while Kyouya walked clumsily, not caring about where he stepped. They walked against the snow which was now falling harder. They walked all the way to the small house in which Ryuga lived with his brother while he wasn't out on treasure hunts.
He opened and led the younger boy into the house and closed the door behind him. It was late already. He walked upstairs to his room and let Kyouya sit on the edge of his bed. He took off his layer of coats and took off his boots. He threw the coats on a nearby table and set the pair of boots on the ground next to it. He pulled the thick blankets on his bed back and laid Kyouya down, and covered him. All the while, Kyouya's facial expression had been the same. Unmoving. He kept his gaze straight ahead. He did not talk, or make any note of who he was with or where he was with this person. Of course, he knew, but simply did not care enough to let it show.
Ryuga changed himself and climbed into bed beside Kyouya, wrapping his arms around him and drawing him close to himself. He hugged Kyouya so tightly he thought he may suffocate him… He let his grip loosen and buried his face into Kyouya's hair. He fell asleep listening to Kyouya's steady breathing, feeling his hot breath on his arms.
Ryuga woke up the next morning to find an empty space beside him. He got up immediately and got dressed quickly. He flew down the stairs and out the door. He looked around and found Kyouya, sitting under a barren tree in the snow, hugging his knees to his chest with his chin resting in the slope between his knees. His gaze was fixed on the road ahead of him. He was trying hard, Ryuga noticed, to not pay attention to the group of people who had gathered around in front of the tree on the road. A few of them were whispering back and forth to each other, a few sniggered and pointed at Kyouya. Then, one of them spoke up. "What the hell are you so upset about? The little shit deserved what he got!"
Kyouya shook his head and closed his eyes.
The same kid spoke up again. "He was nothing! Worthless! Don't you hear me?! You're gonna be just like him! He was stupid, and nothing, and you're upset! What a child!" At this insult to Kyouya's dead brother, and few people in the group chuckled. This heated Ryuga. He marched up to the kid who had just said those cruel things to the boy sitting silently under the tree. Kyouya buried his face in his knees so he wouldn't have to see, but mostly… So no one would see him cry.
"Get the hell out of here." Ryuga growled to the shorter kid.
"Are you trying to scare me? You failed." He said.
Ryuga grabbed the kid's shirt collar and lifted him from the ground so high that he had to look up to look him in the eye. "Do I scare you now?" He snarled. The kid gulped and stayed silent. Ryuga released the kid and he fell to his butt in the snow. "Now, like I said before, get. The hell. Out." He turned around and walked back to Kyouya as the group scattered. He knelt near him and put a hand on his back. Kyouya lifted his head up and looked Ryuga in the eyes for the first time since he'd been there. Ryuga gently brushed the tears from his cheeks and helped him stand up. He lead him into the house once again and sat him on the couch.
All throughout the day, Ryuga tried to make Kyouya talk, or even acknowledge his existence, to no avail. He made him food, tried to get him to drink, he tried to start up conversations, but no matter what, he still had that same distant look in his eye: Depressed, not caring, not wanting to move on. Finally, he gave up. He somehow got Kyouya upstairs and into bed; not that he'd sleep anyway.
Kyouya woke with a jolt. He'd had a dream... Not really a dream, but more like a movie scene. Only that... He'd been there and seen the movie being filmed in person, and it wasn't a movie. It was his brother's death. He'd been having this played before him every night in his head since he'd seen it. He checked the clock, 5:57. He sat up and got out of bed. He put his clothes on and walked out the door of the bedroom, careful not to wake Ryuga in the process. He kept walking until he was out of the house and headed towards the forest.
Ryuga woke, once again, to find Kyouya missing. Where did he go this time? He got out of bed lazily and put on some clothes. It was 6:30. Where on Earth would he go this early? He walked out the door only to be surprised by red stains in the snow. Taking a closer look, he was able to identify it to be blood. Even though the spots on the ground were just drips, he had started to worry for two reasons. One, because the blood could be Kyouya's. Two, it wasn't just a few spots, but a whole trail. He decided to follow the trail of blood, and boot tracks, into the nearby forest.
He followed the trail with a silent quickness until he came across a clearing. There in the flatter parts of the rocks, was a familiar form, lying face down, blood dripping into a pile at the base of the largest rock. "Oh my God..." Ryuga whispered. He took his phone and called for an ambulance. After doing so, he dropped his phone and ran to the motionless body. He shook him ever so slightly with tears welling up. "Kyouya... Why?" He said almost silently as he looked at the blade that had been dropped, and was now being covered by the steady drip of blood coming from the cuts on his wrists.
Ryuga wrapped Kyouya in a tight hug until he felt Kyouya shift underneath him. He let go and turned him over to find his deep blue eyes looking at him.
Kyouya's vision was blurred but he knew who it was that was with him. Suddenly, he appreciated everything that Ryuga had done for him this past week and his heart warmed over with the feeling that not everyone who cared was gone.
Ryuga noticed that Kyouya was about to slip away from consciousness. Before he could though, he kissed him for the first time. Kyouya, too weak to do much stayed motionless in the snow atop the rocks as tears welled in his eyes. He was finally realizing that he had someone here the entire time and he'd been too wrapped up in his brother to realize this. He saw Ryuga stand back up straight and smile at him with tears in his eyes as well. That was the last thing he saw before the blackness engulfed him and he heard, felt nor saw anything else but his own unconscious thoughts.
I woke up later with that same stupid blurry vision just like when Ryuga came to save me in the woods. I rubbed my eyes, but it didn't work. I wonder if blood loss can cause loss of vision? I wanted to ask some questions... After a long struggle trying to find it, I pushed the button on the wall near me to call the nurse. "Yes?" I heard.
"Um... Can I talk to the doctor?" I asked.
"Yes, I'll send her right down."
I waited in silence until the doctor entered my room. "I heard you wanted to speak to me?" She said in a soft and soothing voice.
"Yeah. Why can't I see anything?"
"I'm sure you're not completely blind." She countered.
"Well... No, but I have this foggy... Blurry vision crap. How come?"
"It was damage to the optic nerve due to a non-ample blood supply. However, you're not going to be having this trouble for very long. Once you regain the blood you've lost your blood will be flowing back through the nerve and this will repair your eyesight." She told me.
"So, how long will this be?"
"Only a few days. Nothing to worry about."
"Oh, okay." I said lazily and closed my eyes.
"If that's all..."
I waved her away weakly and dozed here and there, waking up about every five or ten minutes. I didn't want to open my eyes. The blurriness just gave me headaches.
"He's all good." The nurse told me.
"Great," I said, "where is he?"
"Waiting at the front desk with his doctor."
I went as quick as I could to the front desk to look for Kyouya. Thank God he was able to come home now. When I got there he was sitting at a desk with his head against the wall. The nurse was rambling on to him but he didn't look like he was listening. "I mean, I know that she's trying to do what she thinks is best but really? I mean do you honestly think that she was doing what Aki wanted?" The nurse at the desk asked.
"I don't. Know," said Kyouya without looking at her, "can I just go home now?"
"Yes, you can." I said as I walked up next to him.
"Oh, alright. See, your friend and I here were just having a little talk about-'"
"Yeah, that's great. Can I just sign for him so we can leave?" I interrupted.
"Very well then." She said, sounding irritated. She pulled out some papers and handed me a clipboard telling me to sign in certain spots. Once that was done, he was free to go.
I held my hand out to him and smiled as he took it. I helped him up and we made our way toward the door. We stopped about halfway through the waiting room. I kissed him again, but this time it was deeply and passionately. I just had to tell him that I cared so much for him, and this way the only way I knew how.
