A/N: Because for some time now I've wanted to write an AU where III and IV and Rio and Ryoga ended up at the same orphanage. And I like writing AU and I like Disqualifyshipping. So, yeah. Thanks for reading and enjoy.

"Rio!" Ryoga cried.

"Come on, Ryoga," Rio laughed, jumping back when he jumped for her. She smiled and waved the card in front of him before jumping back again when he went for it again. "You're too slow, Ryoga."

She laughed and ran off down the hall with Ryoga on her heels. On their thirteenth birthday, they'd received a token gift from every other child in the orphanage, although Ryoga suspected one of his gifts wasn't honestly from who it said it was. But there was a card that came in the post, addressed to him alone in handwriting he didn't recognise. And Rio had snatched it away, teasing him about him getting mysterious cards, probably from girls.

They swung around a corner and smacked straight into Ryoga's roommate, Thomas. He scowled down at them and Ryoga put himself between him and Rio. While she was normally the more forward of the pair, there was something about Thomas that riled Ryoga.

"Thomas," Michael said quietly, appearing behind him.

"Come on, Michael," Thomas said.

He pushed past and carried on down the hall, much to Ryoga's surprise. Normally, Thomas couldn't wait to argue with Ryoga. Perhaps it was just because it was their birthday. Or perhaps there was something wrong with him, maybe he was sick. Ryoga hoped not, when Thomas was sick he ended up whining a lot and as his roommate Ryoga had to listen to it. It couldn't have been the letter clasped in his hand. Their brother Chris had written to them dutifully every week and Ryoga knew they wrote back without fail. It always cheered them up, it made Thomas' attitude worse than normal. Chris' letters would only ever serve to cheer him up not put that dull look in his eyes.

Thomas was a few years older than them, and would be leaving soon. He kept saying he would walk out on his sixteenth birthday and take Michael with him so they could go and help their brother with his search for their father. At least there was still some hope their father was out there.

Realising Rio was as distracted as he was, Ryoga took the opportunity to snatch to card from her a hurry into his room. Once safely on his bed, he opened it up, hoping to figure out who it was from but inside was just a plain generic birthday card. Inside there was that unfamiliar writing again. Just a simple greeting and wishing him happy birthday and nothing more. No name or signature or indication of who it was who sent it.

But what was more important was what fell from the card. A playing card. He frowned and picked it up slowly and his eyes widened. Aero-Shark. He'd been after this for so long. He kept staring at it in the shop window but he couldn't afford it, not on the allowance the orphanage gave him. Someone had known and someone had bought it for him? Rio took the birthday card from him and looked over it slowly.

"Who sent it?" Rio said quietly.

"No idea," he replied.

"And why didn't I get one?"

"I don't know, I don't know who sent it."

Ryoga was puzzling over the card all day at school and was still no closer to the truth. It was distracting him from his homework when they were all in the study together. He didn't know who could be sending him expensive XYZ cards.

"I know you aren't bright, Ryoga, but those are basic sums," Thomas sneering, suddenly leaning over his shoulder and making Ryoga jump. Laughing cruelly, Thomas leant his chin on his shoulder and glanced down at the card in his hand. "Oh? You finally saved up enough for your precious shark?"

"Get lost, Thomas, it was a birthday present," Ryoga snapped, shoving him away.

Thomas laughed. "From who?"

"I… I don't know." He frowned and held the card tightly. "There was no name."

"Some secret admirer?" Thomas laughed. Ryoga clenched his fists and turned to glare up at him. "Some poor misguided girl who thinks she can win over your cold lonely heart?"

"Shut up, Thomas."

"We can't have that, can we?" he muttered.

Ryoga scowled. "What are you talking about?"

Thomas laughed for a moment and next thing Ryoga knew Thomas' hands fell on his shoulders and his soft warm lips were pressed to his. Ryoga was stunned. He thought Thomas hated him. And he could hear the others in the study murmuring and already starting to gossip, and it only got worse when Ryoga's trembling hand lifted and gripped his collar as he kissed back. Thomas pushed him back in his seat and Ryoga gave a small gasp. His mind was spinning as Thomas pushed the kiss deeper. Everything about him and this situation was being burnt into his memory and all Ryoga could do was cling onto him and give into his advances. Thomas tasted of cinnamon and his skin was so warm- Thomas had always been fiery and apparently that meant everything about him. He was obviously far more experienced than him but Ryoga did his best to keep up with the older boy. And finally Thomas drew away, sneering down at him, and before Ryoga could register much else Thomas was whispering in his ear.

"You're always going to be mine now, little Shark. No one here's going to touch you now they know you're mine. You'll never forget how I stole your first kiss no matter how much you want to hate me."

He laughed and strode off, calling to Michael to hurry up. And, of course, his little brother hurried after him, leaving a stunned Ryoga behind to try and figure out what the hell had just happened. Had Thomas just kissed him just to stop whoever gave him that card getting any ideas? Just to keep anyone from taking an interest in him? Was Thomas that dead set on ruining his life?

Thomas was right though. Everyone but Rio avoided Ryoga from then on. Ryoga was fuming. Did they Thomas honestly think he was going to put up with this? He was going to kill him for this. He wanted to know exactly what had happened, and why, and if the answers weren't to his liking there was going to be trouble.

"Thomas!" he yelled, bursting into their room after dinner. He'd not been seen since their kiss in the study. "What the hell did you think you were- Thomas?" The room was empty. Ryoga scowled. Thomas' bed had been stripped and the sheets were in a pile at the foot of the bed. "Thomas?"

He threw open the wardrobe doors. Thomas' clothes were gone. All his pictures had vanished from his desk and shelf, and all his mess had vanished. Had Thomas moved rooms? It wasn't unheard of and the brothers desperately wanted to be in the same room. Perhaps he'd worked his way into a trade and was going to be in with Michael now.

Only, when Ryoga checked all the other rooms, Michael was gone too. There was no sign of the Arclight brothers anywhere. Or their things. The front door shut down below and Ryoga frowned, leaning over the railings to investigate. There was a young man there in a black rain coat and long, flowing silvery blue hair. He frowned and the man ran his hand through his hair, talking to the owner of the orphanage. He looked familiar. Ryoga was sure he'd seen him before.

He scowled and returned to his room. Where had Thomas and Michael got to? Ryoga sat silently on his bed, looking at Thomas' empty bed, his fingers brushing his lips. The taste of cinnamon still lingered. The tingle of Thomas' lips against his, the heat of skin on skin contact, his heart pounding… Whatever reason for it, Thomas' kiss had changed everything. Where had he gone? They might not have liked each other but the room felt lonely without him.

And then he spotted it. There were papers in the bin. Ryoga frowned and went over slowly, picking up the papers and setting them on his desk. They were letters. His letters from Chris. They were loving and kind words from his brother, no wonder they always made him happy. It was always reassuring him and helping him through, always promising to Thomas that he was nearly there, that he could find their father soon and Thomas had to just behave a little longer.

And perhaps it was wrong to go through Thomas' private letters between him and his brother but Thomas shouldn't have left them in the bin. There was a new subject and apparently Michael had mentions Thomas had a crush on someone. Ryoga smiled slightly. Thomas was only human after all. And then something else hit. The writing.

He hurried back to his bed and picked up his birthday card and setting it on the desk next to Chris' letters. The writing was the same. That… that didn't make any sense. Why would Thomas' older brother, who he'd never even met, send him a birthday card with an expensive card he desperately wanted inside? Unless…

He turned to the letter Thomas received that day. He scanned it quickly and scowled at it. Thomas had asked Chris to get a card and Chris had done as Thomas asked and sent it in the birthday card. The card was from Thomas? Chris had even made a point that it was coming out of the money he'd saved for him. Thomas gave him Aero-Shark but hadn't wanted Ryoga to know? Why had he wanted to send it to him anonymously? If he wanted to give him a gift, why not just give it to him? Thomas just couldn't do anything simply, could he?

He frowned and continued to read through the letter quickly for any clues. It switched back to Thomas' crush and how he should just… Ryoga's fingers pressed to his lips once more. Chris suggested he just kissed him and be done with it, that Thomas would figure out how he felt pretty quickly. "It's now or never Thomas" the letter said. It was him? Was that why Thomas had kissed him and why he'd given him Aero-Shark? Because he liked him? Then why had he been so mean? And where was he?

"I'm coming to get you after dinner. Be ready, I want to get home by the time it gets dark. Father doesn't have much strength and I want you to talk to him before he has to sleep."

Father? Their missing father? Chris had found him? And Chris was coming to get them? His heart pounded as he realised he recognised the young man in the entrance hall from the photos Thomas used to have on his shelf. That was Chris. He was here for Thomas and Michael. That was where their stuff had gone. That was where they had gone. Thomas and Michael were leaving.

He hurried out of his room as the front door shut again. He couldn't let Thomas go without explaining this. He had to know exactly what was going on. Thomas had to explain. Rio called to him but he ran down the stairs without stopping and pulled open the front door, staring out into the storm. There was a car a little way off and Chris was there, holding an umbrella over the open door as Thomas climbed in with his bag.

"Thomas!" Chris glanced at him and Thomas paused only to be pushed into the car by his older brother. He stepped out into the rain but the car door slammed and Chris got into the driver's seat. "Thomas!"

Thomas glanced at him and his hand pressed against the steamy glass of window. For a moment Thomas actually seemed sad to be leaving before his eyes hardened and became emotionless. His hand moved from the window and he turned his gaze to the seat in front of him as the car pulled away.

"Ryoga?" Rio said quietly from the doorway. "Are you ok?"

"I don't understand," Ryoga said, staring after the car.

"Ryoga," she said, gently taking his arm and pulling him back inside. He sighed and the owner of the home wrapped a towel around his shoulders. "I thought you and Thomas hated each other, what's wrong?"

"He gave me Aero-Shark," he muttered. "And he kissed me and I don't understand what he…"

"Thomas left this for you, Shark," one of the older boys said, handing him an envelope.

Ryoga frowned and opened it slowly. Inside was a folded piece of paper and an invitation to a duelling tournament. He recognised the name. Everyone had been super excited because Thomas had been sent an invitation. It was one of the most prestigious tournaments for kids their age. Why had Thomas left this for him? He frowned and turned to the note.

"If you don't meet me in the finals I want my card back."