"Do you know what you're saying?! You mean to tell me that Riki's been hospitalized for as long as anyone can remember last seeing him?" Samuru exclaimed in shock and anger. All heads in the room turned his and Reggie's way, but the west block champ didn't seem to care.

"Shigami-kun, may I remind you that you are not supposed to shout like that when someone else is having their turn at crossfire?" Rori asked with fake sweetness; a poisonous, and murderous, smile sported on her face. Samuru muttered something under his breath before letting out a sigh and turning to glare at the wall.

"So what, you're mad at me now?" Reggie asked, sounding offended. Samuru let out a huff.

"No," he said carefully, "I am not." Reggie noticed that he was speaking in a rather strained manner. Stressed, maybe.

"Well I'm sorry for passing on news to you. Maybe next time I should just keep to myself," Reggie said. Samuru turned to face the green-haired boy.

"I'm sorry. I was out of line." Reggie smiled in satisfaction.

"Wow, the great Shigami actually apologized? That's a first," the snake b-daman user teased. Samuru looked annoyed.

"Please, I know my manners, Reggie-san."

"Now you're using a suffix on my name? Wow, you really can change," Reggie said with a smirk. Samuru rolled his eyes but kept in the anger. He knew Reggie knew more than what he let him on.

"If you may, please elaborate," Samuru pressed on. Reggie looked pleased that Samuru was pleading.

"Very well," he said formally. Samuru found himself stifling a laugh. It was very 'un-Reggie' like of him to speak in that manner.

"Other than what I have just told you, Yuki told me that he hadn't seen Riki in a long time." He stopped.

"Wait, that's it?!" Samuru asked in disbelief. Reggie nodded.

"Look, I wouldn't be mean enough to keep anything related to Riki from you. This is pretty much all I know." Samuru looked shocked and cheated.

"So all you know is that Riki has been diagnosed with some serious illness and that Yuki hasn't seen him in a long time." Reggie nodded.

"Thanks. Looks like I will have to dig it up myself," Samuru said more to himself than to Reggie. The automated voice called him up to the stage right after, and that day, Samuru couldn't hit a single target.

The next day, Samuru found himself stepping off the train to East City early in the morning. He had his father's permission easily to go off as early as dawn. He had nothing on him other than Dravise, his phone and a little money.

"Right, time to do my research." He walked all the way to Yuki's family restaurant and called him.

"Hey Yuki, let me in," he said as soon as the eagle user picked up.

"Where are you? Outside?"

"... Please."

Yuki ran down the stairs two at a time, swung the door open with a smile and gestured to the living room.

"Sit first. I'll get us some—"

"What happened to Riki?" Samuru asked straightforwardly. Immediately, Yuki stopped in his tracks and faced Samuru. He was avoiding this question, even when he knew it was inevitable. Samuru's presence could only mean that he knew something.

"I suppose Reggie can't keep a secret, can he? That troublemaker…" Yuki said while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Samuru didn't like this 'beating about the bush' attitude of Yuki's.

"What. Happpened." Those words came off more as a command than a question. Yuki flinched at his tone.

"Calm down now, Samuru. Shouldn't you be nice to someone when you want them to share information with you?" Samuru took a deep breath. He felt anger burning within him. He couldn't bring himself to apologize for the tone he used earlier though, so he glared.

"I really can't get you to be friendly, huh? I wonder how Riki did it. You know, maybe I should call him," Yuki said with a smirk, even when he knew Samuru might just lash out at him. Samuru glared at Yuki for what he said before reminding himself that Riki wouldn't pick up. He knew because he tried.

"Riki won't answer. So there's no need for myself to get jealous over nothing." Yuki smiled. Samuru seemed to have somewhat calmed down.

"That's better. About Riki, I can't tell you much because I don't really know anything myself. I'm just as clueless as you are. Samuru, we're all worried," Yuki said as he sat himself down opposite from where Samuru sat. When he finished, he reached for a glass cup and poured some tea for Samuru, then another one for himself. He took a sip.

"We have visited Riki's mother about the matter," he continued. "That stupid woman, she won't tell us anything! Nothing! Not a damn freaking thing!" Yuki screamed. Samuru furrowed his eyebrows as he listened to Yuki. He felt a surge of panic as he saw tears forming in Yuki's eyes.

"Yuki, I think you should-" But he was cut off by Yuki's hysterical laughs and sobs. Yes, the brunette was suddenly laughing and crying at the same time.

"Of course she wouldn't say anything," Yuki said insanely. "That old hag. She thinks we're a threat to Riki, huh?" Samuru saw something dangerous flicker in Yuki's eyes. The eagle user looked somewhat wild. Samuru was almost scared by him.

"A… threat?" Samuru asked shakily.

"Oh, yes. Those were the words she used. Allow me to quote her. 'You people had better stay away from my Riki, because you're only going to harm him! You'll be a threat!' And what's creepier," Yuki said, tears streaming down like the Niagara Falls now, but a creepy senile smile still on his face, "Was that she was more hysterical than me."

Samuru took to his heels and ran out of the door.

The crossfire champion (before Riki came into the picture, anyway) paused at a hawker stall near a park, just as what Dravise advised him to do. He bought a few octopus dumplings and handed the seller the money, thanking him for the food before walking off. He wasn't particularly hungry, but Dravise hoped that eating would relax his nerves a little. Yuki's reaction deeply shocked the boy.

"Samuru, sit and eat first. Your quest can continue later, once you have finished," Dravise said sternly. Samuru didn't object to his partner's demand and sat himself down on a bench in the park. An angel-shaped fountain was beautifully surrounded by lush greenery- something that West City lacked.

"It's weird that I kind of like East City more than West City, huh Dravise?" He heard a grunt from the b-daman.

"It's not. I like East City too," the white dragon replied. Samuru poked on a dumpling, fished it out of the paper bag, and thrust it into his mouth. The flavours burst on his tongue and he felt delighted.

"Thanks, Dravise. You know everything about me," the dark-blue haired boy said to his b-daman partner. They sat there in complete, yet comfortable silence, except for the rustling of the leaves.

Samuru soon found himself standing before the Ryugasaki residence. He stared at the door, the window, the roof. Trying to find peace of mind, his hand reached for Dravise, who was 'seated' comfortably in the bluenette's pant pocket.

"Don't panic. It's not like you." Samuru could sense some tension as Dravise said that.

"You're feeling it too?"

"Mhm." Dravise hummed a reply.

Something bad will happen, but I must go on, Samuru thought. The West Block champion went on to knock the wooden door. No reply. He knocked again. Still nothing.

He started to feel beads of cold sweat form on his brow. His knocking intensified, but all he felt was a panic attack. His mind kept drifting back to Yuki's words.

She was more hysterical than me.

Samuru thought over Yuki's reaction very seriously in the park. If he could crack this badly under the pressure of Riki's condition, then how long has this lasted? Why didn't Riki's mother allow then to converse with her son? What kind of threat would they pose to Riki? The bluenette wanted all the answers, yet he didn't want to know at the very same time. Conflict was forming inside of him, but he knew that if he ran from the truth now, and never got to see Riki again, then the action of running away would haunt him forever.

He wasn't prepared, not at all, and yet he was at the same time. He was ready for this conversation to be over and done with. And no matter the outcome, whether or not he could find out what he wanted, he would have no regrets. He found himself saying his prayers, as mental preparation. Riki's mother opened the door as soon as he ended his prayers.

"Good morning, Ryugasaki-san," Samuru said politely, bowing in front of the woman. She sported a faint smile, dressed in pyjamas. Samuru found that fact a little strange, maybe even disturbing. He could have sworn that it was almost noon.

"Come in, come in," Riki's mother invited, one hand puling the door wide open and the other gesturing for Samuru to come in.

"Thank you for your hospitality." He didn't know what else he could have possibly said to his friend's mother. He felt disturbed by her expression, she looked stressed and Samuru deduced that she had been having sleepless nights, judging from the dark eye bags. Wrinkles were apparent on her face, and Samuru didn't like it.

Something was obviously wrong with her.

He took off his shoes and wearily stepped into the house. Riki's mother followed behind the boy, and he instinctively flinched away when the unstable looking woman stepped past him to the opposite seat. He felt tense.

"Ryugasaki-san, could you please tell me about Riki, if it's not too much trouble?"

"Are you one of his friends? Because I don't remember seeing you before," Riki's mother replied with a question, hinting to Samuru to introduce himself.

"My apologies. My name is Samuru Shigami. I am one of Riki's friends. Same age. I play b-daman as well."

"I suppose that is enough of an introduction. Well, Shigami-kun, Riki is ill."

"Would it be alright if I visited him?" He looked up from his question and stared at the shocked and hurt expression on the blue-haired lady's face.

"Visit, you say?" Samuru felt the room temperature drop a few degrees. Just three freaking words from that woman's lips sent a shiver down his spine.

Yuki was right. She was way worse than him.

"Anyone wanting to see my beloved Riki will not live once their name gets to me," she said threateningly, conveniently picking up a pair of scissors from the table beside her. Samuru jumped from his seat. The scissors came flying towards him but he dodged the weapon aimed at his head.

That would have hurt… a lot, he thought. But she wasn't done yet.

"Reflexes… won't get you anywhere," she said, this time in a mocking tone. Samuru fled out of the living room, but he wasn't done with his investigation. Not yet.

A normal person would have charged out the opened front door, but the dark blue haired boy sprinted up the stairs instead. He burst into Riki's bedroom, locked the door behind him, barricaded it and started going through his friend and rival's things, hoping to find a clue of sorts to the whereabouts of the blue dragon user. He heard a sickly sweet voice calling out to him from the other side of the door.

"Shigami-kun… Open the door now… Or I'll force it open myself~"

The boy's eyes widened as soon as he heard her footsteps go and return, this time the sounds of a key being inserted into the keyhole was made. He couldn't find anything of use in the room though.

As soon as an unlocking sound was heard, he panicked. The only other way of escape was the window, but if he jumped, he was sure to get hurt.

When the door was forced open slightly, Samuru could see a wild, crazed glint in the lady's right eye. The left was blocked by the door, but Samuru knew they were identical. Deciding that he would at least survive the fall from the window, he scrambled up to the windowsill. Then, the door opened. Knowing better than to look behind him, he jumped in time to avoid getting hit by another pair of scissors, this time aimed for the back of his head.

His fall was nowhere near pretty.

Blood gushed from the wound inflicted on his back from the fall and his head was pounding. Pain seared through his whole body and he could barely lift himself from the floor. The blood that flowed from his body alerted him that he needed help. He was literally wallowing in his own blood.

Samuru coughed a few times, and with each cough, pain shot through anew, especially on his back. The way it rubbed against the ground, Samuru could have sworn that the wound was aggravated by even the slightest movement. But he knew he couldn't stay put there.

"Shigami-kun, that looked like it hurt! Stay right where you are, I'll be down in a minute," she called out. As her view disappeared from Samuru's vision, he realized that he needed to get out of there.

Get up.

Off the floor.

She's coming for you.

Run.

And don't look back.

Listening to his mind was probably the worst mistake of his life, because he really rolled off the ground onto his left side, pushed himself off the bloodied ground, and ran.

The searing pain worsened with every step he took, every move he made. Even breathing hurt him. His back hurt from the hitting the cemented floor, his left arm and leg scraped badly by some of the roof tiles he hit, and his right arm bent in an unnatural angle. He landed on it. He was used to walking on the streets without attracting attention, but apparently running and leaving a blood trail probably wasn't the best way to stay unnoticed. He heard a few of the passer-byes' words.

Oh look at that child!

What is he doing, running like that!

An ambulance, quick!

Somebody help him!

'Yes, please help me,' Samuru pleaded internally. Too bad he didn't even have the energy left to voice what he thought. He kept on running, even though Riki's mother had long stopped going after him. Just then, a stern commanding voice filled his ears.

"SAMURU, STOP!" Dravise screeched at the injured boy. He, who was just so close to passing out, stopped in his frantic tracks, his eyes widened. Collecting his thoughts, he heard his b-daman speak again.

"I'll try and see if there are any b-shots you know in close range. Don't you dare pass out on me, you hear?" Dravise commanded. Samuru fell to his knees from exhaustion, but gripped tightly onto his consciousness.

"Kaito and Simon are close. Don't move, I'll contact Scorpio and Fin," he told the boy as he was about to get off the ground. Samuru backed down onto his kneeling position and forced his eyes open, not giving in to the welcoming darkness. His vision gradually blurred, and black spots were starting to appear. Thankfully the two b-shots arrived just then.

"Kaito… Simon…" Samuru said weakly.

"Stay right where you are," Kaito said. "You're lucky I'm in the region and I'm a part of our school's Red Crescent Society." He began by taking off his shirt and bandaging Samuru's bleeding head. Next, he went for the scrapes on his bleeding left leg by using Simon's shirt (even when seeing Samuru in this state, he was still somewhat reluctant) as well. Kaito could do nothing about the massive wound on his back, though.

"You still need to go to the hospital, you know," he stated to the injured West Block player with a serious tone. Samuru, no matter how hard he tried, he could feel his consciousness slipping.

"It's okay now. You can let go," Dravise said to his partner and the boy let himself sink into the darkness.

Samuru couldn't bring himself to open his eyes to anything at all. He heard muffled voices, but that was it. He could barely distinguish if they were male or female, let alone figuring out the identity of the person.

"Serious injuries… gotten very lucky… fractured bones… blood loss… coma…" That was all he could catch from the conversation.

He willed his eyes to open, and they did. A single white LED light hung from its spot, embedded into the ceiling. He gave his eyes a few moments to adjust to the glaring rays before attempting to move.

But the pain snapped right back at him and the only action he could do, without causing himself anymore pain than he already had to endure, was twitch his fingers.

Ridiculous, right?

He continued to do that, until he decided to move his left wrist about. The various scratches he was able to avoid aggravating, and it felt like an accomplishment.

"You're awake," a familiar, authoritative voice called out to him. He turned his head, carefully avoiding the injured part, and looked at his b-daman. He could see its gaze directed at him.

"You know me too well." It was true. A simple movement, even a twitch of the fingers (beneath the blanket, no less) was detected by that trusty white dragon b-daman. Samuru felt an IV line attached to his left hand, the one with the scrapes. 'Hindrance,' he thought to himself. That thought was followed up with a series of coughs; his throat was irritated by speaking those five words. With every cough, his body jerked slightly, causing pain to his back wound.

He wanted to cry because the reason he ended up here was all a blur to him. That blow to his head shook his memory, his thoughts.

He felt two pairs of hands rush to aid his coughing; one lifted his back a little off the bed while the other patted him slightly, trying to cease the coughs. The pressure of not knowing much of anything added on to the burden he was feeling.

Tears rolled down his cheeks.

Samuru didn't know how much time had passed since his coughing fit. All he remembered was allowing himself to cry and then darkness overtook, again. And he probably spent hours slipping into consciousness, then slipping out just as fast. Everything became a blur to the injured boy.

Probably after his seventh or eighth time going through the above routine was he finally able to fully grasp onto his consciousness. He 'clung' to it tightly, like the time he did when Dravise advised him to. After a minute of sitting on the fence of consciousness and unconsciousness was he able to relax as he started to feel himself again. He was able to hear himself breathe, feel his chest rise and fall against the hospital blanket, blink and know that he would open his eyes. His line of sight started to wander around the room.

"Stop looking, I'm here," Dravise said to him from the bedside table.

"Oh."

"I did a scan check," the white-sliver b-daman said, hoping to pique the boy's interest.

"For what?" Dravise stared stunned at the reply he received.

'Maybe he still doesn't remember,' the b-daman thought. "Samuru, try remembering something, anything."

Samuru tried, but all he got from himself were blurry images flashing before his eyes. He tried to focus on them, but they slipped his mind too soon to take note of anything.

"I can't. It's too blurry." Dravise sighed.

"Try thinking, why did you land in the hospital? A clue, you're in East City."

"I am?" Samuru asked with a bewildered expression.

"You were here to find someone," Dravise told him. Samuru tried remembering again. His eyebrows furrowed with deep concentration.

"Riki is my answer," he declared to the b-daman, which he heard let out an almost unnoticeable laugh.

"Is there a patient by the name Riki Ryugasaki in this hospital?" Samuru asked the nurse who was assigned to change his bandages. At that question, the nurse's movements stiffened up; Samuru felt her tension. "If you don't mind me asking," he added as an afterthought.

"Actually, I do mind that question," the nurse replied coldly. The rest of the bandage changing procedure was carried out in absolute silence. The nurse left immediately after she was done.

"It's been the fifth nurse I've asked this question to, and yet none of them gave me any answers…" Samuru thought out loud.

What he didn't know was that all the nurses he asked, quickly left his room because they felt tears threatening to spill. Same went for this one female silver-haired nurse, no older than thirty. She stood outside Samuru's door, brought her hands up to her face and wept silently.

"Ryugasaki-kun… we're going to miss you so much… all of us will." She took off down the hallway, drying her tears with her short white sleeve, as the painful thought of the young, energetic, kind-natured Riki's situation resurfaced in her mind.

It was a given that he didn't have much longer to live.

Samuru was feeling quite frustrated at all the nurses' behaviours towards him whenever he popped the question. Was it that they knew, but didn't want to share? Or was it that they just had simply no idea whatsoever about the blue dragon user?

A frustrated sigh escaped his lips. Thankfully, the door swung open. The doctor walked in, dressed in a white coat, but Samuru could see that the coat wasn't tightly fastened.

"Shigami-kun, I've come to tell you about some things." Samuru nodded and gave his attention.

"First of all, please do not bother the nurses with questions about Riki Ryugasaki. What we know about that boy is completely confidential; no information should be given to any outsider at all."

'Heartless,' Samuru muttered. 'I was merely worried for a friend.'

"Second, your injuries seem to be healing smoothly. I suppose your back doesn't hurt as badly?" The boy shook his head. "Your scrapes on the left?" Another shake of the head.

"Good. Looks like the only injuries right now are your head and right arm. The head is a very delicate part of the body, so even if it's healing, lay off it. Your fractured arm… that will take time. But I think you'll be fine anyway." Samuru shifted his gaze to his bandaged arm. He squirmed in his seat rather uncomfortably, before asking, "So doctor, do you know anything you're willing to share?"

The doctor glared at the question, but sighed when Samuru seemed unfazed by him.

"You are one stubborn kid." The 'kid' stared at him with a poker face.

"We do, in fact, have a patient by the name Riki Ryugasaki," the doctor said matter-of-factly. "He has leukaemia, it's gotten quite serious. Currently, we're still trying, but it looks like it's time for him to return to where he came from."

"Return?" Samuru didn't understand what the doctor was implying.

"He came from God in heaven, and he's on a return journey to where he came from. He's moving on."

"Then let me see him!" He threw off his covers and started towards the door, but was held back firmly.

"You do know he sleeps a lot because of exhaustion, right?" the doctor asked while grabbing his arm. The boy stood still as he looked blankly at the beige wooden door.

"He'd wake up for me," Samuru retorted.

"Precisely why you shouldn't bother him. Not interfering with his rest is what a friend should be considering instead of blindly wishing to see him," the doctor stated sternly. Dravise, silently watching all the while, could see that Samuru was torn apart from wanting to see Riki and wanting to let his friend get well.

"Samuru, probably it's best for you to allow him his sleep. You can see him when he wakes up," Dravise said from his spot on the nightstand, only his irises moving from his partner to the doctor, hinting to the man in the white coat that he needed to take his partner to see his friend once the bluenette woke up. The doctor smiled at the b-daman's reaction.

"You have a very perceptive and understanding b-daman," was what the grown man said before leaving Samuru to his own thoughts.

With his right arm in a cast, Samuru held up his phone with his left, reading a story from the little screen. Dravise seemed to be resting, although whether he was or not wasn't apparent. A nurse, the silver-haired one that Samuru had seen last, knocked onto his door and came in. Samuru looked up from the screen and found a smile, sad yet happy at the same time, on her face as she gestured for him to follow her.

No words were exchanged between the two as they walked through the hospital corridors. It was, yet again, comfortable silence for the one from West City. The nurse, however, seemed to feel the silence somewhat suffocating. She threw the boy a few glances in the lift and while walking, but the boy never returned them. She finally gave up after her fifth try at making conversation, smiling.

The sliver-haired nurse finally stopped at ward 501, and knocked on the door. Samuru rounded the corner in time to hear a familiar b-daman's voice. His left hand gripped tightly onto Dravise when he heard Dracyan. The nurse opened the door just as Dracyan had permitted and gestured for Samuru to enter the room. As soon as he did, she shut the door for him, not wanting to intrude on their reunion. The door shut with a click, and she could feel tears coming to her eyes again.

"If only I could warn you beforehand… but I was ordered not to. Treasure him, Shigami-kun…" she mumbled with tears and a smile on her face.

Samuru allowed his eyes to trail from the spot he was standing at to the nightstand beside the bed, where he saw Dracyan, before he looked at his friend. Riki looked pale, it was apparent that he had lost an unnatural amount of weight, and his eyes looked dead tired. It wasn't distinct, and Samuru didn't want to admit it, but his heart ached. After so long of not seeing, not knowing…

Riki comes back to him in this state.

"Samuru, you came," Riki called out to his friend, putting on the brightest smile he could manage. Samuru's head shot up from looking down and he took in the sight of Riki slowly, registering what his friend looked like and compared it what he looked like before. As he made the comparison, tears gathered in his eyes, and one spilled from his left. Instinctively, his hand reached for the tear, and wiped it away.

Riki was the one in a bad health situation yet he was the one crying.

"Riki…" He had no idea where to start. Should he talk with a comforting approach, saying cliché things like 'it's going to be alright' or 'you'll be okay' or 'everything's going to go uphill from here'? Or should he just not touch on the subject of health and talk something else? What could he possibly have to say?

"Drag a chair or something and sit first, Samuru. We can talk from there," Riki said, shifting his gaze to a plastic chair across the room.

"Do you know…? About how much time-" But the blue dragon user cut him off, saying, "Yes, I do. Is it such a bad thing, Samuru, that you can't say it without looking like you want to cry?"

Samuru took a deep breath before nodding. Riki chuckled as lively as he could, but ended up coughing instead. Samuru rushed to his side upon hearing his coughs, and rubbed his back to soothe him. Riki, in turn, clung to Samuru's yellow jacket, his frail body shaking.

"There was reason for my worrying, after all," Samuru said sternly. He could feel Riki's cheekbones rise at his words, but he himself did not find anything amusing.

"Why are you smiling? There's nothing for you to be so happy about," Samuru said, his voice monotone but filled with worry. Riki, whose coughs had ceased, pulled away from Samuru's hug and smiled at his rival in crossfire.

"Baka Samuru." (Note: Baka means 'stupid' in Japanese.) "Like I said, I'll be fine. So don't worry your pretty little head over my health." Those words, however, only caused more worry to Samuru's thoughts. It sounded like his friend was being strong, but he knew better than to feel comforted just by that.

"You know I won't fall for it," the white dragon user said. Riki tilted his head and looked at Samuru with an innocent smile, but gave up after Samuru's grim expression did not fade.

"Believe what you want," Riki huffed, shrugging his shoulders. He allowed himself to slump back against the bed while Samuru finally dragged a chair over.

Silence drifted across the room, so much that even the two dragon b-damans stayed silent. Samuru and Riki accompanied each other by simply being together; they felt like there was no need for words.

Suddenly, Riki felt his friend's hand slip under the blanket to grab his own.

"Samuru, what are you doing?" he asked but gripped the hand offered to him tightly. Well, as tightly as he could manage.

"I… need closure," the other admitted, his ears and cheeks turning an almost unnoticeable shade of pink. Riki laughed and threw a hand over his friend's shoulders, making the latter turn away in embarrassment.

Again, something that Samuru never got around admitting, but he felt really happy at that gesture.

It had been two weeks, give and take a day. Samuru had made seeing Riki an everyday thing; he felt like he needed to cherish the time he had with the latter. The blue dragon user didn't have any complaints either, instead he was glad to have someone accompany him.

"It was getting boring just reading books all day," he had once told his rival. "I'm glad you're here."

Today was no exception. Samuru waited patiently for the lift to reach his floor and he stepped in as soon as the doors opened. Pressing for Riki's floor, he crossed his arms and the doors shut tight. They opened again before the lift reached his desired floor, and a female doctor-looking to be in her late twenties or early thirties-stepped in beside him, tapping for another floor as the lift went down.

"Seeing that kid again?" she abruptly asked out of nowhere.

"Yes," he replied curtly.

"Why are you bothering to do it?"

"Excuse me?" Samuru snapped at her. "Are you implying that I shouldn't be doing what I am doing, seeing a friend every day to simply be with him?"

"I did not say that your actions are wrong, boy," she replied with a mature tone. "I'm just saying that it's probably for the best that you not make this too hard on yourself."

"I don't understand," Samuru told her. He was confused.

"Don't pretend like everything's alright, kid. I see your hurt and suffering. You subtly clench your jacket every time you walk out of his ward."

"So what if I do?" Samuru retorted to the doctor. He could now see a smile on her face.

"Your fiery attitude reminds me of myself from before," she said before untying her dark red hair that was previously in a bun. She flicked her hair a little and it gracefully fell down behind her. "I too had a friend who was dying."

Samuru lifted an eyebrow at her. Just as she was about to go on, the lift stopped at her desired floor.

"Oops, looks like you won't get to hear the rest of my story," she said with a chuckle and looked back at the b-shot's sullen expression. She shook her head at him and decided to say something. "Just a piece of advice, the more you see him, the harder it will be to let go." She walked out of the lift, but as she did, a business card, her card, fluttered out of her white doctor's coat.

The doors shut closed.

Samuru knocked. Once, twice, the third time. No reply.

He knocked louder. Still nothing. Usually, he would've received a reply, but he hadn't.

"Riki, I'm coming in," he announced before turning the knob and opening the door. He looked around and saw his friend asleep, his body propped up by three pillows, his head tilted to one side. He saw Dracyan eyeing him and he heard the b-daman whisper a 'shh' to him. He nodded and kept silent.

Standing by the bedside, Samuru stretched out his hand and ran through Riki's hair as careful as possible as to avoid waking the other. After sifting through his locks of blue hair, Samuru went on to caress his cheek. Rubbing them gently with his thumbs, he immediately retracted his hand when he saw Riki stir a little in his sleep.

'Mmm…' the sleeping bluehead mumbled before turning onto his side and continuing to sleep. Samuru caught himself smiling.

"He's not getting any better though," the blue dragon b-daman said out of nowhere. Samuru fixed his attention on the b-daman as it continued to speak.

"His life force is slowly diminishing. It's become quite noticeable."

Samuru turned away from the voice and replied sniffling, "I already know that." He was about to reach for Riki again but held himself back. He was still deciding whether to get another feel of his weakening friend when the latter woke up, opened his eyes wide at Samuru.

"Hey, why the long face?" Riki asked. Samuru shied his head away for a while to dry the tears pricking at the corners of his eyes before they managed to flow out.

"N-no reason," Samuru accidentally stuttered. "Rori and the others… I talked to them and they say they want to come over sometime tomorrow or the day after. Would it be okay for you? I told them what they needed to know."

"Sure, why not. Just make sure that they come at the same time you always do," Riki replied, approving of their request. "Just tell them not to bring any gifts. I'll feel bad receiving stuff from them," he added. Samuru nodded and said, "Looks like I'll have to halt Yuki from bringing chocolates or whatever he said he was going to bring."

Riki smiled. "Oh and, tell them I said thanks. For worrying." Samuru nodded and asked to leave the room.

"I told them not to bring anything, I swear!" Samuru exclaimed when Riki threw him an accusing look. The entire 'family' of b-shots had arrived, each one holding a gift.

"Yeah, I believe you," Riki said sarcastically as he eyed all the various gifts of all sizes, shapes and colours. "There's even a heart-shaped box filled with red velvet chocolates even though Valentine's was and will be half a year earlier and later." He stared pointedly at Yuki's hands.

"But I made these myself! Don't act like you hate me now, Riki!" Yuki cried.

"I don't. But I am quite disappointed that a certain blockhead couldn't carry out what I told him to do." He shifted his gaze to Samuru. The latter's eyes widened and he brought his hands up, looking to punch someone.

"Haha. So right now it's my fault, huh? My entire fault that they didn't listen to me when I told them. My fault that you can't accept the gifts without feeling bad. My entire fault right? I see what you're doing there," Samuru said in bewilderment, his hands moving about to fit his tone and words.

"Yeah, Riki, it's not his fault that nobody ever listens to him," Reggie said jokingly, clearly to taunt Samuru. Samuru let out an annoyed 'hmph' before sitting himself down on the floor, his arms crossed. Everyone laughed at the reaction they got out of the boy.

Another 20 minutes of bonding and teasing Samuru soon passed, and Riki was beginning to feel tired. Even so, he kept his chin up and smiled. Nobody seemed to notice the subtle changes in the bluehead's responses and movements other than the west city dragon user. He furrowed his eyebrows a little before thinking, 'This could very well be the last time they're going to see Riki, maybe I shouldn't spoil it for them. Riki seems to be fighting hard too.' He stood up from the floor and brushed his back of his pants before silently slipping out of the room.

'Maybe it's time I paid that red-haired doctor a visit,' he thought out loud.

"You really came to hear what I have to say? I feel flattered," the doctor said to Samuru in her room. A cup of steaming coffee was on her desk while a few photos of her family were displayed on a shelf behind them. Among the family photos sat one where two girls-one the doctor and the other probably a friend from their childhood-had their arms over each other's shoulders, smiling cutely for the camera. She stood up, opened the glass doors, took that photo out, and motioned for Samuru to follow her. He did just that and closed the door behind him.

"Would it be more comfortable if we had this conversation outside of the building?" the redhead asked Samuru. When she received no reply, she said smugly, "Silence gives consent," before walking through the open lift doors towards the automated glass doors. Samuru merely followed without complaint.

"If what you say is going to be no use to me, then I will leave now," he told her as soon as he stepped out the building. She whirled around and replied, "Whether my words are of any use to you is completely up to how you want to regard them."

Samuru stayed silent again, waiting for her to continue. She pulled out a piece of hard candy and popped it into her mouth. Her offer of a candy was rejected by Samuru when she pulled out another and handed it to the boy. She lifted the framed photo and look at it with a soft gaze.

"Like I said, my friend was dying. This is the one," she showed the picture to Samuru. "It happened in my middle school days, when I was a little… discriminated by the people around me for unknown reasons. Until today, I still have no idea why it happened, but it happened." Samuru nodded as a sign of acknowledgement.

"Basically, when the whole world walked out, she was the only one who stayed by me and helped me, became my friend. So when I heard news that she'd gotten cancer, I began to worry about myself, her, the two of us." She paused to take a breath.

"I couldn't let her go no matter how hard I tried. It was useless. She was slowly slipping out of my hands and there was nothing I could do at the time. But after weeks of worrying, it seemed like heaven couldn't wait any longer and they claimed her. It helped to end my super long suffering of fearing her loss, only to surface new ones. I began to worry about myself, what I would be like without her, and something in me just wouldn't let go of her."

"So, you blamed it on yourself not being able to just cut ties immediately? Would cutting ties have mattered at the point? She was going to die anyway," Samuru pointed out.

"I blamed it because I had deepened my ties with her much, much further within those days she sickened. Our feelings intertwined to the point where I couldn't let go of her anymore," the redheaded doctor said.

"You lesbian?" Samuru suddenly asked out of nowhere. He was expecting a slap across the face but the doctor merely laughed at him. She seemed pleased with something.

"There's a reason I'm not married to anyone," she replied. "Until now, I haven't gotten over her yet because of the ties. It still hurts." A tear-Samuru had no idea if it was from sadness or happiness-trickled down her right cheek.

"I got into medicine because of her loss. That's why I'm also into researching a cure for cancer while working. Her influence on me is great. I owe everything to her very existence."

"How is this supposed to help me? I'm already at the point of no return, that patient's feelings with mine are already very deep. There's no way I can get over him, just like you can't get over your dead friend," Samuru told her. She smiled.

"Well, since you are already at that stage of love, I guess there really is no return. Only one thing left to tell you then: Cherish him. Love him like family. Do whatever you can to fight the illness alongside him. Stay strong for him. Support him. But the most important thing, above all else-" she paused dramatically for two seconds, "would be to love him with all your heart."

As she stalked off, Samuru thought, 'That's no advice, you stupid doctor.' But he couldn't bring himself to say it to her retreating silhouette.

With a heavy heart, he trudged beck to his own room. A sigh escaped his lips as he placed his fingers on the cold brass doorknob. He closed his eyes as he walked into the room, where he found Yuki and the others all on their feet.

"Oh hey, Samuru. We were just leaving," Simon said. The white dragon user nodded before shifting his gaze to the side, still standing at the doorway.

"Samuru?" Riki asked, concerned. Samuru lifted his head to look at his friend and replied, "It's nothing."

"Oh, okay."

"How are you healing? Doing okay?" Kaito asked him since he was the one who dealt with his wounds. Samuru felt suffocated for a while with all the questions, so he said, "I'm fine now, even if my right hand's still in a cast. I'll let you guys say your goodbyes." He stepped out of the room.

"That was kinda awkward, even from him," Yuki observed.

It wasn't until later into the night before Riki saw Samuru enter his room again. He looked like he had things he didn't feel like saying and was quieter than usual. Deciding to disregard Samuru's behaviour, Riki kept quiet about it and simply smiled as he would.

That night, Samuru offered Riki a silent company. Only a few words were exchanged in between the entire night. This silence felt comfortable, Riki decided, compared to the one earlier in the day. Probably because they understood each other well unlike the others towards Samuru.

"I'll be going now," Samuru suddenly said. Riki looked up at the clock which read 9pm, and nodded.

"Alright, Samuru. I'll see you in the morning."

That night, Samuru found that he couldn't sleep well. Nightmares kept bothering him one by one. He had waken up a few times and had to be soothed by Dravise once. Something was pressuring these nightmares and he had an idea what it could be.

"Dravise, would it be okay if we headed down to Riki's? Just for a while. I need closure." Dravise began to sense what his partner was feeling, and hummed an approving reply.

Instantly, he jumped out of bed, grabbed his b-daman and dashed out the door, heading towards the lift. He pushed button number 5 in a hurry, and tapped his right foot against the floor impatiently. After what seemed like an eternity to him, the doors finally opened, and he sprinted down the hallway, careful not to lose his balance from not being able to swing his right arm.

He knocked loudly and hastily on the door twice and barged in. Riki was sitting upright in bed, coughing and coughing. Samuru briskly walked to his side and pulled Riki towards him, causing the blue dragon to slam right into his body. His left hand wrapped around Riki's body, softly patting him on the back as he coughed. He felt Riki's hands clench onto his black shirt (he didn't bother putting on his yellow jacket before) and he allowed his rival to bury his face in his shirt, muffling the coughs.

"Do you need the nurses?" Samuru asked softly as he leaned his head on top of Riki's. Riki shook his head, nudging Samuru as he did so. A faint smile crossed Samuru's lips.

"Do you need water?" he asked next and received the same reply.

"Samuru… a bright light… I don't think I can hold on…" Riki mumbled, unable to form a coherent sentence. His coughing stopped and he looked exhausted, Samuru noted.

'A bright light…? Holding on…? What do they mean?' Samuru thought. Trying to put two and two together, he continued to observe Riki. Even though faint, Samuru could see his breathing slow down. It hit him.

"Oh no, no no no, Riki! You have to hang on!" Samuru cried. Riki pushed himself away from Samuru's embrace and leaned back on his pillows before shaking his head and sighing.

"I can't go against nature's will. I'm sorry," he said to Samuru with a smile. The west block player suddenly felt bad; his dying friend could very well be on his last breaths and he was using them to apologize.

"No, no, it's not your fault," Samuru said as he ran a few fingers through Riki's hair. He saw the smile Riki always had on his face, and a sudden feeling of ease washed over him.

"Samuru, what would our future together look like?" Riki asked out of nowhere. The other person in the room suddenly felt the moment slightly cliché; he had read plenty of books and essays and stories where when the lover of the main protagonist was on his or her last moments, they would be sitting down together and talking about their future together as a couple. He almost chuckled.

"Well, for starters, we would live in a luxurious estate, with lush greenery surrounding us. Birds would stand tall on the branches chirping to their favourite songs, and we'd see bees collecting pollen from the very flowers you decided to plant for the garden," Samuru described. Riki fought the urge to close his eyes and give in, as he continued to listen.

"We would adopt two children, or more precisely, a pair of twins. They would be a boy and a girl, and we would name them ourselves. What would you name them?" Samuru suddenly directed at Riki.

"Hmm… your surname, right?" Riki asked, to which Samuru shook his head. "Not necessarily my surname, use yours if you'd like."

"Let's see… the boy would be Haru Shigami and the girl Sarashiwa Shigami," the blue dragon user answered with a smile. "I still think your surname is more fitting."

"I'm flattered that you think so," Samuru replied. "They'd grow up carefree." He paused to glance over at Riki for a while, only to find the blue dragon user giving in to exhaustion; his eyes rolling back into his head. His breathing slowed significantly. Samuru knew it was time, he knew he had to let go. So he continued.

"Every day, you'd wait for me at the doorstep, pulling me into an embrace once I step off my car from work. Then, we'd walk into the house. I put down my bag, and we'll go over to the gardens together, where the kids are playing with each other. A bonsai plant will sit in front of us as we watch them run happily."

Riki gave a very small hum. "What you said… it's the truth, right?" he asked slowly. As he did, he felt his whole world spin, his head heavy. Samuru bent close and gave him an affectionate stroke on the forehead. Then he bent in for a kiss with Riki. A light, meaningful kiss.

"Of course it is," he said with a heavy heart, knowing that Riki wouldn't reply. He felt tears threaten him to allow them to go, and he couldn't hold back either. They trickled down his cheeks and he felt drained all of a sudden. Riki was smiling in his everlasting sleep. He reached out to touch the East Block player's blue hair, and he had his gaze fixed on that face Riki wore to sleep. His heart felt like it was pierced by an arrow, and now bore a great hole where Riki once was. He took deep breaths as the tears came even more ferociously now. His legs gave way as he fell to the floor, his left hand clutching the bed's cold metal frame.

"Riki… I love you."

A/N: I did this upon requested by a friend XD I originally gauged it to be around 3000 words but look what I got in the end ^^" I apologize if there are any grammatical mistakes and if the characters are too out of character -" Well, I hope you enjoyed the story, cause I sure did enjoy typing this up :)