Notes: For the gx_100. Set prior, during and after GX, with a mild reference to Tag Force.
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When Fubuki didn't turn up for class Ryo started photocopying his notes for him and this was the start of it.
When Ryo didn't turn up for class, and there was only one class he didn't, Fubuki insisted that the class couldn't be started until he was there. No one objected much to this. Except for Chronos.
When Fubuki started to go away more and more to stand in those circles and mutter words that most people didn't know Ryo pretended he had no idea about it at all. And because he didn't have close companions before Fubuki this had thus far been the hardest task of all.
When Fubuki had disappeared Ryo didn't wait around for someone to deal with it, it was Ryo's problem and Ryo's job to deal with it. Of course there was no way he was still in that unused dorm, so after the fifth night Ryo stopped checking.
When Fubuki's sister enrolled in the academia there was no doubt in Ryo's mind that he would take on the role as her temporary big brother until Fubuki returned. There was no doubt between either of them that Fubuki would return.
When Fubuki did return Ryo felt guilty that he looked more surprised than he should have done. So he made up for this by spending more hours in the hospital guarding the boy's body than he should have done.
When Ryo wanted to talk with Asuka about his role as her temporary brother coming to an end once Fubuki woke up Fubuki made sure he was surfing that day. Then didn't talk to either of them about it out of respect.
When Fubuki went out surfing everyday after that for the rest of the term Ryo made sure to be standing on the beach, just after class, watching.
When Ryo duelled Juudai on the last day of the year their friends were neutral about whom to root for, but Fubuki felt he might have been the only one leaning more towards wanting Ryo to win than Juudai.
When Fubuki chose to redo two years of his education because of the absence Ryo didn't look down on him for it.
When Ryo left Fubuki made sure he'd put his phone number in the pockets of iall/i of Ryo's trousers.
When Ryo found himself drowned and alone in the underground duel he purposely pushed Fubuki out of his mind, because he just couldn't think of him as having abandoned him.
When Fubuki and the others saw the new Ryo on TV for the first time he did not pass comment, even when the others whispered.
When Ryo returned to the island Fubuki chose not to challenge him at the lighthouse, lest ruin the memory of that place.
When Fubuki duelled Ryo he didn't even hesitate to use Darkness's deck against him. If those cards had so much as a chance of defeating the Cyberdark deck than he would pursue it.
When Ryo won Fubuki… accepted. He knew it was the end of it all, but he didn't want to insult Ryo by pretending the change had not been a choice made by Ryo himself.
When both of them struggled through the new events, through the Dark World, through Darkness and through Shou's coming of age, they didn't interact at all. Because they wanted to respect that it had been the end.
But when Shou graduated Fubuki made sure there were loads of photos taken, because he knew Ryo would have wanted to see it.
And when Fubuki phoned him up years later, after the end had gone, to tell him the photos had been developed, Ryo didn't refuse to meet him. Because all of the silent events had acted as proof of their friendship and they knew the friendship wouldn't end.