I was finally able to read chapters 101-103 of the manga and it was rather depressing. This is what happens when I find something depressing. There are spoilers for those chapters, so if you haven't read them then you are forewarned.
I don't own. Just write for fun, even if it is rather depressing.
/GG/
Every Minute of Every Hour
School is, and always has been, rather an important part of a child's life. Everyone should have the opportunity to increase their knowledge and school happens to be a great way of doing that. Unfortunately for Ritsuka, he wasn't exactly paying attention to the lesson at that time. Why had Soubi done it, why had the man left him to cry at the cemetery, alone?
A tear slid its way down Ritsuka's cheek and landed on his hand. A bandage covered that hand because of the anger the tween had felt, causing him to hit his hand against Soubi's desk. Natsuo had been nice enough to clean the wound and take care of the hand. Said tear had been absorbed by the fabric and disappeared from sight.
Ritsuka turned his face toward Yuiko and saw that she was looking at him with a concerned look in her eyes. That girl, she would always care, but she wasn't what he needed…or wanted at that point. Far be it for the boy to admit that Soubi was the one he thought was the one staple in his life. He never would have thought the man would have left moments after begging Ritsuka never to leave him.
Another tear slid down the side of his face and fell to the desk. He watched as it was quickly joined by a second drop, then a third.
"Ritsuka!" Yuiko shouted.
The cat-eared boy turned and looked into Yuiko's worried face again before realizing that everyone in the room was staring at him. He was crying in class and now everyone in the class had seen him. Within moments he was grabbed by two pairs of arms that were suddenly wrapped around his and pulling him out of the classroom.
Natsuo and Youji had pulled him from the classroom and into a nearby broom closet before depositing him in front of the custodian's chemical shelf. Ritsuka looked up at the Zeros with wide, teary eyes. They knew that it had only been a day since their elder 'brother' had disappeared, but they also knew how Ritsuka felt about the man, even if the boy never voiced it.
"What are you two doing?" Ritsuka asked in slight alarm.
"Keeping you from embarrassing yourself more in front of your ditzy girlfriend and the entire class," Youji answered slyly.
Ritsuka lowered his head, ears drooping and tail resting on his lap. "Thank you," he answered softly. He hoped and prayed every minute, of every hour that Soubi would be there waiting at the gate of the school. In his head, he wanted time to stop until he could guarantee his fighter would show up and take him in his arms, verifying that he was there. He would even relent and let the older man kiss him, with tongue, just to guarantee Soubi's appearance.
The seven stages of grief are never fun. The Zeros both knew this and they also knew that if Soubi didn't show up at the gate, they were going to be in for a long night. Friends just didn't let other friends go through the grief alone.
