Notes – For the gx_100. Set pre-GX, not long before Fubuki was taken by Darkness.
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He hadn't seen Fubuki at all lately.
Though technically that was not true. He had seen Fubuki physically, as in Fubuki was standing right there, but he hadn't really seen Fubuki as a person since… since… his memory was hazy on that event.
Whatever had happened it had somehow changed Fubuki.
The other elite student was now more serious and withdrawn than he had been before. In the past Fubuki had been the life and soul of the academia. Even though he was brilliant in his studies that didn't put him above causing all sorts of mischief and generally getting into Chronos's bad books.
But then he had just stopped being cheerful and fun. He shut himself away in the other Blue dorm to study, apparently. Ryo stopped visiting that dorm very much. Aside from occasionally checking up on Fubuki he rarely went there at all.
It was on one of those few visits that he did see something that he had never witnessed before, and had no idea how much he would witness it in the future.
As usual he knocked on the door and waited at least half a minute before the muffled voice of Fubuki droned that he could come in. He walked into the room to find Fubuki once again hunched over a pile of books that he would undoubtedly prevent Ryo from knowing the titles of should the subject come up. This sort of behaviour wasn't normal for Fubuki in the past, but it was starting to become normal now.
"I just thought I'd see how you were," said Ryo hopelessly, "You've been so caught up lately. It's not like you…" Or at least it hadn't been.
There was a vague nod of acknowledgement but that was all Ryo got.
"Sometimes it feels like you're possessed," commented Ryo.
This jolted the head away from the book. Tired eyes stared out at Ryo, the other bringing himself to a stand.
"Possessed? No, certainly not…" he drawled, "If I was possessed it would be much… different. But I haven't fallen into those hands, and I won't ever."
Ryo didn't particularly understand what he had just said, but he wasn't really trying. As soon as Fubuki had got to his feet his eyes had been drawn to the mirror a short distance away from him.
That was not Fubuki's reflection.
For a moment it didn't seem to know what it wanted to be the reflection of, changing from a swirling mass of black into something that looked a bit like a lengthy skull, before settling on a human-like figure dressed in black.
That figure looked like Fubuki. Only it wasn't quite him. Just like Fubuki had not been quite himself lately.
After noticing that Ryo wasn't looking at him the other turned his gaze to the mirror that was being stared into.
"What are you looking at?" Fubuki asked absently, watching his own reflection.
"Don't you see it!" Ryo demanded, making frantic gestures at the darker version of Fubuki looking out at them.
After a brief inspection Fubuki confirmed, "All I see is my own reflection, and you looking worried."
"What about the clothing?" insisted the other.
"The academia uniform is the same as it's always been," Fubuki answered testily.
Ryo stared from Fubuki to the glass image. It seemed that the other truly couldn't see what he saw there.
Turning away from both Fubuki and reflection, Ryo muttered, "Maybe I should go."
"Yes, you've been overworked lately," agreed Fubuki, which was ironic seeing as he was the one who had shut himself away to study for so long, "You could probably do with a break."
It was Ryo's turn to nod mutely. He didn't want to take this from the shell of his former closest friend. If there was something wrong he wanted time to mull it over and come to a sensible decision about what to do, as rushing in about something Fubuki couldn't even see himself would get him nowhere.
He didn't know that he'd never have time to help.
Seeing himself to the door Ryo tried to mumbled goodbye, but Fubuki had already returned to whatever he was doing before Ryo had arrived. So Ryo just pulled the door shut.
It wasn't quite time for Darkness to take Fubuki, but in a way he was already gone.