Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me, sadly. I just use them.

NOTE: For the sake of this story, let's assume that Ryo is the same age as everyone else and attending the same school as everyone else. And just pretend that Kenta and Kazu don't exist. ^^' Oh, and be warned. There is a lot of swearing in one part.

With Tainted Wings

Ryo bound through the air, laughing with the wind whipping his face. It was physical education, and the males were playing a friendly game of soccer.

"Pass the damn ball!" a boy screamed.

Okay. Maybe the game seemed hostile, but in truth, it was friendly. Ryo kicked the ball towards Takato, who kicked it forward towards the goal.


"Lee!!"  Takato yelled, kicking the ball as hard as he could towards the boy.

"Here goes nothing!" Jenrya kicked the ball with all his force into the net.

The goalie jumped towards the ball but with its incredible speed, the ball hit the net and a whistle was blown.

"YES!" Jenrya cheered. Takato and Ryo ran over to him and everyone gave high fives.

"Good one, Lee," Ryo congratulated, wiping off the sweat.

"Yea. Great!" Takato repeated.

"Aren't they incredible?" Juri remarked, sitting on the side.

Ruki could care less, but for the sake of Juri she replied, "Yea." She glanced over at the three boys, who were dancing around. It seems like they just won the game. "Hoorah…" Ruki mumbled cynically.

"Did you say something?" Juri asked, standing up and brushing dirt off her gym uniform.

"Erm…no," Ruki lied, standing up next to her.

"Okay. Well, I'm going to go congratulate them. Do you want to come with me?" she asked politely.

"Sure. It's not like we're doing anything for our gym period." They walked over to the still rejoicing guys. It wasn't like they never won a game. Ruki smirked at the little things that amazed them.

"Hey, guys," Juri began. "Great game."

Takato turned red and laughed nervously. "It wasn't anything spectacular…"

Ruki smirked. "Of course it was. You didn't trip and break your neck while kicking a ball. That takes coordination!"

"I have coordination," Ryo declared, winking at Ruki. He coolly wrapped his arm around her shoulders and grinned.

"Oh god," she mumbled, trying to hide the redness that had come onto her cheeks. She pushed his arm off her shoulder and snickered.

It was true that the two had some history, well, a lot of history. First it was rivalry, and then teasing. As the years passed on, teasing developed into puppy love. They went out a couple of times, but Ruki said that it wouldn't work out. Respecting her wishes, Ryo and her stopped dating, but still remained good friends. Ryo's feelings had never died down for her, but he wanted to respect her. So he never asked if she felt the same.

The whistle blew, snapping Ryo out of his train of thought. The group dispersed to go change in the locker room.

"Hey, school's almost over. Do you guys want to go to the arcade with Juri and me?" Takato asked.

"We wouldn't want to intrude on your date…" Jenrya joked. Ryo laughed and saw Takato turn red again.

"It…it's not a date," he managed to get out.

"Uh huh…" Ryo nodded.

"It's not!!" Takato argued.

"Alright," Jenrya said. "We'll come then."

"I just have to go home for a minute. Then I'll be there," Ryo agreed.


"Great!" Takato yelled. "Oh, and Ryo. Invite Ruki."

"ME?" Ryo asked loudly and surprised.

"Sure. You're in her next period class aren't you?" Takato nudged him.

"Yea…well…"

They changed into their regular clothes and headed to their next classes.

"Then it's set! I'll see you guys later!" Takato said, running off.

"Yea," Lee followed him.

Ryo grunted and ran off. He didn't want to be late - meant consequences and he didn't like those. Next up was math. He made it into the classroom just as the bell rang, practically tumbling in. He found his seat and sat down, right smack behind Ruki. The teacher walked in and began taking attendance. One by one, she called out names, slowly and tediously. Now was the time for Ryo to strike. Quickly, he tore out a piece of notebook paper and hastily scribbled onto it. Then he tossed it onto Ruki's desk, and looked away as if he didn't do anything.

Ruki looked at the crumpled piece of paper on the desk before opening it.

Arcade. After school. The whole gang. Can you come?

Thinking for a moment, Ruki scribbled a response and tossed it at Ryo's head. He smirked and read it.

Sure. I have nothing better to do.

He grinned and stuffed the paper into his pocket.

The final bell rang and a herd of students stampeded outside. Ryo ran out quickly, wanting to make it to his house and back as quickly as he could. Sprinted, he ran a couple of blocks to the subway station and then road the subway a few more blocks before hiking up the stairs and around another corner. And voi la. He had his house.

Ryo ran inside and set down all his books. There wasn't a lot of homework so there was nothing to worry about. He could do it later. Besides, he was a master at the art of procrastination. Quickly, he scribbled on another piece of paper and posted it on the refrigerator. "Gone out. Be back by dinner. – Ryo" it read.

Just then, the door to his home opened. "Ryo, are you home?"

Screw that note. He crumpled it up and threw it out. "Yea, Dad. What are you doing home so early?"

"Work ended early," he grunted. "I'm going to go do some work out back. Can you help me run some errands?"

"Um…now's not a good time," he replied, pulling his shoes on.

"Why not?  There are only a few things on the list," his father asked.

"I'm supposed to be hanging out this afternoon."

"You can hang out after you run these errands." There was a hint of anger in his voice.


"I'll do it tomorrow! Geez!" Ryo exclaimed.

"Young man, you'll do as I tell you!"

"Why do I have to do it if it's not convenient for me?!" Ryo yelled back.

"Because you have to learn to separate your priorities and learn to be unselfish!!" Ryo's dad reasoned.

"You know what? Fuck you, Dad!" Ryo yelled. "It's my goddamned life!"

"Don't talk to me like that! I fucking work my ass off to support you and this is the thanks I get?" he screamed.

"Bullshit! You do nothing around here! If Mom were still around…" Ryo began angrily.

"Don't you bring your mother into this!"

"Well it's not my fault you fucking killed her!!" Ryo screamed.

SMACK.

Ryo held his cheek as his father glared at him, nothing but pure fury in his eyes. "Get out," he snarled.

"Gladly, old man," Ryo answered, running out the door.

Ryo ran quicker than he usual did, away from his house. He and his father were hostile towards each other ever since his mother passed away. It was a car accident, a bad one on a snowy day. The car skidded and hit a pole on the mom's side, instantly killing her. And his father had escaped with cuts, bruises and a few broken bones. The only thing that remained was a scar on the back of his neck. It was all his fault. He was driving. Why wasn't he more careful? Tears sprung to his eyes. He was only seven. Only seven years with his mother – it wasn't enough. It wasn't.

He stopped for moment to wipe away the tears. Ryo couldn't show up looked like this, all red eyed and angry. "YOU BASTARD!!" he screamed back at his house, letting all his pent up angry slide from his fingers. "GO TO HELL!"

The arcade was filled was kids, mostly from their school. His group was sitting down in the food area. They were talking and eating, laughing and smiling. He walked over and sat down in an empty spot, which just so happened to be next to Ruki. "Hi, everyone. Did you miss me?" Ryo joked, nudging Ruki. She blushed and groaned.

"Hey, Ryo!" Takato greeted, drinking his soda.

"Hello," Juri said.

He smiled and relaxed. With his friends…that was where he belonged. They joked, ate, talked, and played some video games. Before they new it, the sun had set and the streetlights were about to light up.

"Well, it was fun. I'll see you all at school tomorrow," Ryo said, leaving. They all said their good byes before leaving.

Ryo walked home from the arcade, since it was only around 2 blocks away from his house. The streets were dark, though, even with the lights. He tucked his hands in his pockets and looked up at the dotted sky.

"Hey there, little boy…" a voice hissed from the shadows. "Have any money to donate to this poor man?"

Ryo snickered. He knew who it was. "You moron. You already did this do me before. Trying to mug me?"

Voices growled and emerged from the shadows. A band of disgruntled high school boys, uniforms messed up and alcohol in their breaths. Their steps were staggered and dragged.

Ryo laughed at them, almost pitying them. They got angrier and charged at him.

"You little punk!!" one snarled.

Ryo dodged easily and punched his with his stomach. Another one charged and Ryo kicked him, blood spewing out of his mouth. The leader pulled out a blade and charged. Ryo barely dodged aside, his two lackeys were weighing him down. The blade slashed Ryo's bare flesh on the palm of his hand. He winced for a little bit before tackling him to the ground, despite a height and weight difference.

The three boys were lying on the ground, moaning and rolling in their pain. Ryo snickered and ran off back home. His house was right around the corner, so it wasn't too far away.

Ryo ran up the street and turned the corner, only to see bright lights and a crowd around his house. Confused and surprised, he pushed his way through the crowd and looked around.

"What the heck's going on here?" he asked.

A policeman approached him. "Are you Akiyama Ryo?" he asked.

"Yes…" Ryo raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

"Your father…he's in the hospital."

Ahh – cliffhanger!!!  Sorry, not a lot of Ryuki in here right now but it's coming soon! Please read and review!