Prologue: Misdirection

Before he even picked up the phone, Hozumi knew what Heath was going to ask. "How's the team, Hozumi?" Greetings didn't matter. Formalities weren't needed. They wouldn't buy much time in the case of avoiding the subject at hand, anyway.

"They're… fine. We lost another two members today, but I'm sure that you and me and Tomoe will keep Honan Stride alive." Hozumi blinked back tears and took a deep breath, as if it would keep his voice from shaking.

A sigh came from the other end of the line. "Stride is over for Honen, huh?" Heath chuckled, but there was no humor in his voice as he went on. "It's funny how one event can acutely cripple an entire life's worth of plans."

"Heath-kun, that's not what I-"

"Tomoe came to visit me in the hospital today." The words caused Hozumi to go rigid, but he still put on a smile and tried to reply optimistically.

"O-oh? Did he bring you a card?" He asked. Dread settled in his stomach. A card was not the reason Tomoe had visited Heath, his mind told him.

"If cards come in the shape of resignation letters, then yes." Bit out the other male. For a split second, Hozumi was allowed to see the anger nestled behind the broken defeat. Just a second, and then it was gone. "There's nothing more we can do."

"Don't say that!" Hozumi snapped. The tears weren't as easy to catch now, as they rolled down his cheeks. "Don't say that… you'll get better, Heath-kun… we'll find new members… even though Kyosuke betrayed us, we can still… still-"

"Hozumi. I'm sorry, but this… this is something that doesn't go away like losing a match. We can't just pretend it didn't happen. We can't just move on. In the case of Stride Club, well… I feel as though now is the best time to face reality." How dare Heath speak like that, after everything that had happened!

"Aren't you even the least bit angry?!" Hozumi shouted into the receiver, though his own anger was drowned out quite a bit by the sobs that threatened to take over his speech completely. "You're in the hospital! Tomoe abandoned us! Stride Club is falling apart and it's all because of that… that… bastard!"

"Hozumi… I know you don't understand. I know that you're angry and confused. But please trust me when I tell you that you can't be so hard on Kyosuke."

"Why?! Why can't I?!"

"Hozumi."

"Heath-kun!"

Silence ensued between the two of them as the tension of the conversation took the time to dissipate again. Finally, Hozumi collected himself and spoke. "I… I'm in shock. I don't want Stride to fall apart. I can't believe that Kyosuke would- I mean… he was such a kind and understanding person! But… when he looked at me… at us… his eyes were no more than that of a beast's. He… he ruined Stride."

Heath remained quiet, but his breathing hitched slightly when Hozumi compared his closest friend to a wicked creature. Hozumi couldn't stop, despite knowing that he hadn't been as close to Kyosuke as Heath had been. "I hate him. I can't understand why he'd do it and I hate him for it. For hurting you."

"Kyosuke didn't-" Here, Heath paused. He had sounded like he was about to fervently protest, but instead, he chuckled, took a shuddering breath, and finished with "He didn't think about it. Didn't pause. Just… did it. I wasn't expecting it, either."

"Why are you laughing?" Hozumi asked.

"I just… I'm thinking about something ironic."

"What's that?"

"Through all of this, and the documents; the various hospital visits and just EVERYTHING… no one bothered to ask me what happened."

Hozumi's eyes widened, and then he was speaking rather angrily into the phone again. "We all know what happened, Heath-kun! We wouldn't make you relive it all like that!"

Another silence ensued, and Hozumi was almost about to ask if Heath was okay when he said "Yeah… I know."

And for once since the conversation had started, Hozumi didn't know how to respond.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Nice to meet you! You can call me Mel. Thanks for taking the time to look in on my story, as it's the first fanfic I've written in a long time. I hope you enjoyed the prologue, and I also hope I can see you back for chapter one, "Pain Begets Pity".

~Melanie-March~