Ryo sits in his new wheelchair on the docks. He had asked Sho to bring him here so that he might feel like he once did when at the academy. Instead, returning to his old sanctuary makes him sad. It reminds him that it is not only he who has been changed over the past four years. It brings back the memories of a time when he was as naïve as Judai had once been. Of him and Fubuki…
"Why can't you love like everybody else?" Fubuki shouts at him, during a particularly brutal argument, "What's the matter with you?" Ryo doesn't answer this. He is tired of questions like these, and decides to start ignoring them.
But then Fubuki had swung at him. Ryo had dodged his arm of course, but the thought of Fubuki showing any violence at all was enough to catch him off guard.
"I don't know how this can work if you don't try a little harder," Fubuki says finally. His voice is soft and defeated, and it is this uncharacteristic sadness that brings Ryo to roughly kiss the other and wrap his arms around him.
The incident as a whole hadn't been unique. Even before he had become Hell Kaiser, Fubuki had always criticized Ryo for being too detached. This had been one fight of many, though what makes this particular time stand out in Ryo's mind, is that it was a bit more to the point than some of their others.
Despite their obvious differences and frequent spats, Ryo had consistently told himself that they could always work things out. Even during Fubuki's time as Darkness, Ryo had never doubted that someday he would come back.
Then he had lost to Edo Phoenix. And except for a few lectures and duels about his new persona, Fubuki had been unsupportive and oblivious. By the times he had come to terms with himself, Ryo had begun to hate and resent him for it.
These feelings were all the more enforced by his time in the other dimension. Fubuki wasn't with him, and Edo was. It was only a matter of time before things changed.
He learned more about Edo. Discovered that beyond the arrogance and superiority, was skill and intelligence. He was an appropriate and complementing rival, and Ryo found that he did not regret the few kisses they had shared under desperation.
But now they are back at the academy. Fubuki still acts hurt and confused by events of a long time ago, and Edo pretends as if nothing has happened between them. Ryo is frustrated and angry with them both, yet he knows that if he were to make the first move, either would happily oblige to a relationship.
Yet nothing is ever that simple. The detriments of connecting himself to them are clear and daunting.
Ryo knows that if he chooses Fubuki, he will never be able to improve or transform. Change upsets Fubuki, and he would never allow it. He will pressure Ryo into becoming something that he has long since grown out of.
With Edo, the problem is nearly the opposite. He is someone who is even more complex than Ryo himself, and Ryo is not sure if he wants to keep up with it, especially for what he would get in return. However close they would become, that status of being opponents could never fully leave their minds. Ryo doesn't know if they can move past this and manage to connect.
He hates them both, Ryo finally decides. Well, maybe not hate, since that is a harsh word. But since he is feeling rather bitter to begin with, he decides that for many of his problems, it is those two who are at fault. This is why, Ryo reminds himself, that he has always preferred isolation.