Ryohei was standing. Not shadowboxing, not jiggling impatiently, not running or pumping his fist in the air or anything. Just…Standing still. He could see shards of glass and plastic in the turf, and felt his mouth go dry as his throat constricted.
The lights he'd shattered. That was all that was left-
No! A tinted piece caught his eye, and he sprinted over to examine it. Indeed, the strange glass was tinted black. Why was it here?
Oh, that's right. Lussuria's glasses.
The boxer went all quiet again. Lussuria could've been an EXTREMELY good teacher! His footwork was awesome, and he had one of the most extreme personalities that Ryohei had ever encountered. Plus, those muscles? Well, they'd have been welcome in the boxing club any day. And Muay Thai seemed interesting. If only there was a way of joining the two styles…
"I wonder what happened to him?"
Yes, Ryohei Sasagawa had just said a sentence without yelling or including 'EXTREME' (or both). And yes, he'd just talked to himself.
But really, it was an issue that weighed heavily on his mind. None of the others had their opponents killed. Why only Lussuria? Was it his fault?
And why did he care? Lussuria was an opponent. Sure, it was really sad that he'd died, but…To linger on it for this long?
"Oh, it's the snowflake. Well hello."
This made him smile. Every time he came here, he'd hear the okama's voice, see him out the corner of his eye. Flash of green hair, feathered collars and that lopsided smile.
He was going insane, perhaps…Who knew? He wasn't going to tell anyone. Kyoko could tell that something was ticking inside her brother's head, though…Something that wasn't the usual stuff.
But he wasn't gonna worry her.
"…Hey."
"So spit it out already, boy. What's wrong today?"
"Why do I keep seeing you here? It's makin' me think I'm extremely nuts!"
Lussuria laughed, hands on hips as he stuck his tongue out a little. The expression was endearing to Ryohei. He didn't know why.
"You think I'm not real? Aw, but I thought we had something special!" was the retort, accompanied by a mock pout that made the boxing club captain grin with his whole face.
"You're not real! You're extremely all in my head!"
Teasing, but why? It was the truth. Why was he teasing the illusion of his…What?
Argh, this was all far too confusing for Ryohei. This is why he didn't think about the 'why' of it too much.
"Heh…Well, if you don't think I'm real, then the better for me. I don't want people to know I'm alive," Lussuria shrugged, finally coming into full view. For some reason, this made the younger male feel giddy, like he'd been entrusted with some large secret, or like he'd just gotten a new pair of boxing gloves. Either one worked.
"What are you then? Are you EXTREMELY alive?"
"What do you think?"
"I don't know anymore!"
And his brain hurt now. All this circular thinking was hard.
"Heh. You should feel special. I only come here to visit you."
"Eh?!"
The older man grinned, his hips cocking even more and why was Ryohei's heart racing? He hadn't done anything!
"Why else would I risk everyone (bar the Varia and the Vongola) knowing that Gola Mosca didn't kill me other than to see you? There're people out there who would kill for either the secrets or the head of a Varia, y'know," hummed Lussuria, sitting on the ground and carefully avoiding the glass. "How long is your lunch period?"
"An hour?"
And Ryohei's throat was all tight again. What was going on here?!
"Look. I shouldn't be here. You saw me die. Right? And then you saw me in a stretcher for the Sky Battle, but you don't know what happened to me after, right?"
"R-right-"
"Wrong. I'm here, so I'm alive. Heh…I thought you were kinda smart, snowflake."
"But-"
Harsh hands gripped his shoulders, and those sunglasses (a new pair, presumably) moved to about his own eye level.
"You haven't changed a bit, have you? Don't seem so surprised, Ryohei…"
Breath hot on his cheek, EXTREMELY hot and why was Lussuria so close?
And they were kissing then, somehow unseen by anyone else in the whole entire school and Lussuria the ex-Varia was kissing him, Ryohei Sasagawa, like the world was ending.
HOLY CRAP WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE?!
"You ask too many questions," purred the Italian. "Maybe you HAVE changed."
