(disclaimer: Ronin Warriors is not mine, but they have my love.)

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Downtown

   by Melee

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The train tolled out loudly as it pulled into the station. Ryo heard it with a start; he'd been dozing, falling against Seiji without really meaning to. Now he pulled away quickly, a little self-conscious, brushing black hair away from his face. It had gotten long enough recently to start Shin fussing over it.

"Seiji, we're here!" he said and started to stand up.

But Seiji's hand in his shirt pulled him back down unexpectedly and he was sprawling a little across the seat and a little across Seiji. "Sit down," Seiji said. He looked like he was dozing too, his eyes shut against the crowd in the train car. Head tilted back and pale hair fanning across paler skin.

"Seiji," Ryo admonished, trying to right himself with the hand he'd flung out against Seiji's knee. "This is the stop for Touma's apartment. We're supposed to be there... I don't know... ten minutes ago?"

"I've changed my mind."

Ryo looked a little annoyed. "Seiji... you can't just change your mind. Come on, the train is still stopped." He stood again, more forcefully this time in case Seiji had more protests on his mind. But, of course, Seiji had somehow gotten an arm around his waist, and Ryo fell even more across Seiji's pressed slacks and Seiji's pretty shirt than he had before.

Seiji opened his eyes. They were striking, a peculiar sort of gray that swung between muted violets and blue slate. Seiji's breath was against his ear, that extreme closeness that made Ryo a little uncomfortable in public but that was inescapable among his friends. Ryo was used to them touching him. Like they wanted to be sure he was still there. As if, even a month after the fact, none of them could believe he was still alive.

That was fair, he supposed, since he didn't quite believe it of them.

He'd caught Shin staring at him just last weekend while Touma attempted to turn Ryo's wandering focus towards math homework. Stared until Ryo met his gaze curiously and then he'd exclaimed, "God, 'try it on first? If it fits?' God!"  [1]

And walked out, looking faintly horrified.

So Ryo endured Seiji's almost kiss as a sort of necessary comfort, though the thought of Seiji needing comfort was strange. Also odd that he would be so impulsive. Ryo urging them to stick to the schedule while Seiji turned spontaneous? Funny enough to laugh at.

Except that he didn't want to be leaving Touma when they said they'd meet him. For lunch, for a movie, for whatever. It didn't pay to have a plan when heading towards a day with Touma. His sudden inspirations were inevitably more interesting than anything that could be planned. To think about just forgetting him caused a subtle sort of worry in his stomach that balked at speaking up to Seiji's critical nature.

"This train goes all the way downtown. I want to take it."

Ryo winced, opened his mouth to protest, but the train doors were closing and Seiji had always been a little intimidating. It took a battle to give Ryo to courage he needed to stare down Korin.

"What, Ryo?" Seiji asked.

Ryo pulled himself back into his seat, off of Seiji and away from gawking stares. He tottered a little with the uneven clacking movement of the train and Seiji's put a steady hand to his elbow, like it wasn't his fault that Ryo was falling. Or maybe because he knew it was.

A small woman across the way coughed politely into her hand, but she was staring at Ryo and at Seiji's hand on his arm. Ryo turned abruptly away, sorry he'd looked up at the noise.

"What about Touma?" he said flatly, sounding upset and tugging at the dark sleeves of his old corduroy coat. It was dirty from age and smelled a little odd, but he didn't mind it, except when he was being thrown against Seiji's immaculate appearance. Made him afraid some of his shabbiness was going to rub off visibly on Seiji's too fair skin or on his silk shirts.

"Touma will have plenty of fun with Shin and with Shuu," Seiji promised easily. "It only takes one person to make sure he doesn't distract himself and walk into the street," and again, "I want to go downtown."

"We could have gone with Touma," Ryo pressed.

Seiji glared at him harshly for a moment. Ryo stared back, determined. Finally Seiji closed his eyes slowly as if exhausted. "Not with Touma," he said softly.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to go with Touma." When Ryo opened his mouth in preparation for some protest or inquiry, Seiji snapped, "No. I'm not mad." And that was the end of conversation for several stops.

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Off the train and safely into town, Seiji first pulled him into a long narrow confectionery to stare at the plastic displays of wa-gashi and mochi and fruits in jelly. They spent a little while there with Seiji staring at the labels like he was staring into space. 

The woman behind the counter looked a little anxious, wanted to be friendly and make a sale during the slow part of the day, even to two teenagers who probably didn't have much money. Seiji's blank expression wasn't helping her piece of mind, so Ryo started asking hesitant questions, like what's that? Is it good? And she smiled at him gratefully.

Until Seiji suddenly straightened and started to leave. "Seiji," Ryo hissed. Strange again, for Ryo to be the one insisting on proper courtesy. Even though he tried to be polite, sometimes the correct forms escaped him.

Seiji yielded, turning with a little flare of his long coat and apologizing with a bow to the affronted salesclerk. They left the store with two of the fruit jelly drinks on sale by the register in their clear plastic cylinders.

Ryo emptied his quickly, liking the artificial peach sweetness. Seiji held his, open in long, nearly translucent fingers, and stared at Ryo like he'd forgotten about it.

"Seiji," Ryo said again, a little angry, the empty plastic giving way to his closing fist. "What are we doing here?"

----

Ryo pretended he didn't know they were in the store as a strange sort of appeasement on Seiji's part. Like if Ryo were surrounded by enough video games he'd forget Seiji hadn't so much as acknowledged the question.

What are we doing here?

But then there was a demo of the new Final Fantasy for the Super Famicon and he distracted himself gratefully from confusing Seijisms for a little while with cheesy 2D plot. [2]

Seiji came up behind him, standing too close because of the crowded store and the cluttered shelves. He leaned forward, hair brushing Ryo's cheek and Ryo pushed the wrong button, watching in distress as Terra Branford keeled over, or was assumed to keel over. The graphics weren't so clear.

A pale hand covered his darker one, Seiji taking the controller from him with his other hand. "Done?" Seiji asked, fingers light around Ryo's wrist.

Ryo said nothing, reminded suddenly of his confusion and a little bit of his irritation, but distracted by Seiji's heat against his back and his legs.

Something brushed against him on the other side. A small hand snaking in around them to latch onto the plastic controller in Seiji's hand. "You done with this? I want to play."

Seiji arched an eyebrow that was a suspicious shade darker than the rest of his hair but dropped the coveted toy. He didn't, however, release Ryo's hand. The child, all tousled black hair and spoiled eyes, stared at Ryo's caught wrist with a little "Oh" of surprise and was suddenly shy, stepping away from them to give them space they didn't need. Like he'd heard people like them existed but had never before believed it.

Ryo wrenched his wrist away from Seiji's grasp and stalked out, away from the store and the hasty conclusions of society.

----

Seiji caught up with him somewhere on the next block, one of those streets just for pedestrian shoppers. No cars, plenty of people. Pulled Ryo out of his angry flight and blocked him into a corner where one shop front jutted out farther than the next.

"Ryo," Seiji said, arms on either side of Ryo's head. With Ryo pushed back against the brick, knees bent, their difference in height was greater than it usually was. Ryo felt he was dwelling in his own little house of shadow, light blocked off by a vengeful angel as sunlight passing through blond hairs created an uneven halo around Seiji's head.

"Ryo," Seiji repeated, "What is it?" He narrowed his eyes, the irises looking a deep purple in the dark overhang of shop awning and tall building and Seiji himself.

Through the window framed by Seiji's body and arm against the corner, Ryo stared out sullenly at the people passing. Caught the surprised face on a couple old enough to be his parents and then the disapproval that came after as they saw Ryo backed into this dark corner with another boy.

Fury. These people thinking things that weren't true. These people that they all bore scars for, secretly. It hurt. And it hurt more because he didn't fucking deserve it.

Seiji was starting up again, trying for that third time charm. "Ryo –   " Except that Ryo put his hands on Seiji, fingers clutching at the collar of the sophisticated coat, and he shoved.

Now Seiji was against the other wall of their secluded corner, pushed down an inch or two to just Ryo's height, and Ryo's lips were on his. They burned – all of Ryo was like fire – his tongue and his teeth and his passion that did its best to hide his inexperience.

Seiji didn't seem to mind, spared barely a second for shock and then his hands came to Ryo's head and the back of his neck. Ryo waited to be pushed away, almost faltered when it didn't happen. Instead, Seiji's fingers were stroking his neck under the long fall of his hair and there was a soft palm against his cheek.

Ryo pulled away, breathless and suddenly determined not to be so overcome. He hadn't meant anything by it. He'd just had something to prove.

"Why are you mad at Touma?" he demanded, because after a whole day of this there still wasn't any better explanation. And maybe Seiji was off-balance enough, like almost never happened, that he might answer.

Seiji's back was still against the wall, dirt and dust no doubt coming off on the perfect khaki as they spoke. Somewhere in the back of his head, that horrified Ryo. Seiji looked up at him and his eyes were a little wild, a little shocked. "Because he said I wanted this," Seiji breathed, not watching Ryo's face, distracted by his hand still tangled in the soft black hair behind Ryo's ear, palm against Ryo's cheek.

"What?"

"This." Seiji traced his thumb along Ryo's cheekbone down to his mouth, running his thumb for a moment along Ryo's bottom lip.

Ryo felt suddenly cold. "He was angry?" Pleading, blinking at Seiji through long black lashes that might hide tears. But he hadn't meant anything by it. He couldn't cry, not just because Touma disapproved of something that didn't exist.

"He wanted to tell me something I might not know," Seiji explained, lips twisted in soft self-mockery. "Touma is very thoughtful."

"And you were mad." Ryo shut blue eyes, shock finally reaching him over what he had just done, and his hand on Seiji's chest was no longer there just to touch him, but to be the end of a stiff rail keeping them apart.

But Seiji was having none of that.

"He was right, I didn't know." Which was too vague to assuage Ryo's sharp doubt, but then Seiji's hand hit the inside of his elbow hard, a martial move, almost an attack, and Ryo's arm bent against his will. Seiji put a hand on Ryo's waist, pulled Ryo hard towards him.

Then Seiji was kissing him again, the arm that had kept him away pinned uncomfortably between them. Ryo barely noticed. The other arm went around Seiji's neck to pull him closer. Outside that little shadowed house, someone gasped a little, another made a sound of disgust, a whisper of "in public, no less." Still others ignored them, stepping around in wide berth and trying to pretend they'd planned it that way.

But Ryo didn't care anymore. As long as he'd earned it.

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O_o

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I like this story.

[1] Try it on. If it fits -- it's yours...  Ryo said this to Talpa when he... well, possessed him at the end of the TV series. I actually pulled out the DVDs to find the quote. I have absolutely no compunctions about the fact that I'm using the Japanese names while that quote came from the dub. Ryo's dialogue is just more priceless and horrifying in English.

[2] The super famicon is the Japanese version of the SNES (from what I can tell). Do me a favor and do _not_ go look at its release dates. Thank you.  (note that it's really sad that for the fics I waste my life on, I can't be bothered to look up even a typical Japanese breakfast, but for this little thing, I look up early 90s gaming consoles?!?)