New chapter! ^^ I wrote a lot of it beforehand, that's why. I've got a plan to be able to work on both this and Coincidences – Coincidences during afternoons, this during the night or times I am unable to work on Coincidences. Anyway. Enjoy!

3 Years Later

Ryoma sighed, pulling his cap's visor down a bit to hide his face from the sun.

"I'm back. In this cursed place. Wonder who appreciates my arrival." His eyes were hollow, dead, and dull. His voice was dry as he gave a bitter laugh.

Kevin frowned, looking at his companion. "Yo, Ryoma. Cheer up. I'll take you to the ramen shop. Deal?"

Ever since that day, he had hated burgers. They reminded him too much of them, the ones who had so cruelly reminded him he was not needed, just a toy.

At that, though, he brightened up considerably. "Deal." Ryoma looked around, noticing a few changes in the environment. For one thing, the ground was a lot more colorful with all the beautiful flowers that had bloomed, breaking away from the suffocating dirt. Trees had rich, pine-green leaves that swayed gently from the breezes that blew by. The houses seemed to be a lot brighter, as well. They were colored from white to blue, red to purple. Even purple houses. 'Ha. Maybe it's Monkey King's. He is, after all, royalty.' He scoffed.

It seemed as if the entire place had improved during the period he had been gone. Perhaps… he shouldn't have come. The cold, harsh facts were just too much to bear, but he knew he needed to take them head on with no doubts left over.

Suddenly, he fell back from having bumped into someone. Kevin quickly jumped forward to catch him, once again marveling at how small and bony he seemed.

"Oi! Apologize!" He snapped at the male in front of him. He had long, silver hair and a grand aura surrounding him. His clothes were that of the most expensive brands, all purple in color, and he wore them as if it were nothing. A watch embedded with diamonds glittered in the sun.

He stared down at them, being much taller than both Ryoma and Kevin. Recognition flickered in his eyes. "You… Are…"

Ryoma stiffened, turning pale when he realized who it was. Kevin glared at the other. "Who are you, and what do you want with Ryoma?"

"Kevin."

"But – "

"Kevin."

"Gomen. {Sorry}" He sulked.

He took a deep breath, gathering up the courage to speak to him. "Monkey King. I suppose I'm a bother to you, as well, aren't I?"

Atobe closed his eyes, not believing who he was seeing. He thought he had disappeared from the face of the Earth. He certainly had a reason to.

"You."

"I'll leave." Ryoma was about to past by him as if nothing happened, but Atobe's hand darted out and held his wrist, preventing him from moving any further.

"What… Did you do… Three years ago…?" He hesitated, wondering if that was a topic he should be poking his nose into. Then he shook his head. Of course it was. However, he hadn't realized just how sickly Ryoma was.

His skin was completely white, and there were bags under his eyes. They were bloodshot. He had cracked lips and there were scratches on his face. What's more, his wrist couldn't have been any smaller than perhaps a two of his fingers.

"What… What happened to you?"

"None of your concern. Now let me go." Ryoma pulled back, using what force he had left to escape. Then he ran, never once looking back.

"You idiot!" Kevin hissed, narrowing his eyes to slits and venomously glared at him. "Now you have him upset. After all he had suffered because you guys, can't you just…. Damn it, give him a break!" He whispered with frustration, tone dripping with hatred. Then he took off after Ryoma.

Atobe clenched his fists, refusing to feel guilty and side with Ryoma. He was the one who did such things. "Especially what he did to Tezuka…"

*Decided to put a line break here. ;)*

Ryoma's chest was thumping wildly as he leaned against the building. It appeared to be a restaurant, for the delicious aroma of sizzling, fresh food had wafted into his nose.

His stomach growled, accepting such smells, but he paid no heed. "Even after all this time… I thought I'd be okay. I knew I was not going to be weak. The weak would be disposed of easily, like how I was before… Damn it, stop thinking about that!" He shouted, sliding down and bringing his knees to his chest. He gazed up, allowing his bangs to hide part of his face as he fingered the strands.

Unknowingly, a tear escaped from his eyes, but he hastily wiped it away and forced the tears to retreat.

"I'm not going to cry here, I'm not, I'm not." He muttered, though his breath hitched in contradiction to his efforts.

Sudden, yet familiar, cheering sounded from inside. His eyes widened in shock. "That's…" He managed.

"Tezuka-buchou! Congrats!" Momo's carefree tone.

"Tezuka! Great job!" Oishi's regular, worrying voice.

"Mitsu~! Knew you could do it!" Fuji's gentle, feminine one.

"Tezuka-buchou." Kaidoh's gravelly grunt.

"0.12% chance it would be a lost for you. 299.88% chance it'd be a win." Inui's data.

"Congratulations…" Taka-san's soft, calming words.

"Nya." Eiji's quiet sigh.

He couldn't believe they would be reuniting that quickly. He thought he'd be able to gather himself before confronting them. But no – here he is, in such a miserable condition, being able to listen to each of their voices once again. They hadn't changed much.

He heard footsteps and looked up. Shadows towered over him as faces from Rikkaidai appeared, staring at him with disgust. Ryoma flinched, not wanting to be in this position as of right now. Why does he keep bumping into them? What did he do wrong to deserve such a fate?

"Why are you here?" Yukimura spoke, each word so icy they could've been frozen if it were possible.

Ryoma tried to make himself as invisible as possible, tucking his head in between his knees to avoid catching a glimpse of their expressions.

"Are you here to hurt them again? After they healed, as well?" Akaya demanded, stomping over and forcing him to look at him in the face, grabbing him by the collar.

He closed his eyes, allowing himself to be lifted so easily by the other. Akaya was surprised at how he can just carry him with ease, as if he was carrying a feather. Upon taking a closer look, he seemed… Dead.

"What… What are you doing to yourself?" He shouted as another tear silently rolled down the paler boy's cheeks. He staggered back, letting him crumple up on the floor.

The cocky Prince, crying? Sick? Lifeless? They just didn't go well together when describing him. Suddenly, the door opened and Momo appeared, holding a bowl of noodles and noisily slurping it up.

"Oh, are you here to…" He let go if it, a noodle hanging from his mouth as his eyes bored down onto a huddled figure on the ground.

He had the same figure as…

"Echi…zen…?"

"No…" Ryoma whispered when he realized he was discovered. "No. Get away. Please… Leave me alone!" He shouted, trembling. He felt a pair of warm arms envelope him into a reassuring hug. "Ryoa… It's alright… Boku ga iru. {I am here}" Kevin murmured soothingly. Then he turned to look at Momo.

"You. Shut. The hell. Up. Close your freaking mouth and stop blabbering all that bull cause even if they believe you and your oh-so-beloved Tezuka's pathetic and worthless lies, then they're damn stupid. Suffering? Yeah. You're really suffering. Healthy glow. Merry twinkle. Plump. You're alive." He said sharply, as if slapping them across the face. No way in hell was he going to let Ryoma be miserable because of them. No way in hell.

"And you." He glared heatedly, an angry aura flaming around him. "You guys are damn stupid. Freaking morons. Believing Tezuka may have been the biggest mistake of your lives. If you can't open your eyes to accept reality, then just f'ing shut the hell up!" Kevin spat out, shouting the last part. Each word was dipped with gallons of hatred.

"K-Kevin…" Ryoma whispered weakly.

"Yes?" His tone immediately softened, as if he were talking to a baby boy.

"Thank you." He muttered.

"Anything for you, Ryoa. Anything for you." He replied, standing up and carrying the sickly boy 'bridal-style.'

Niou raised an eyebrow, taking in all that had just happened. 'He looks more fragile than Seichii, and that's saying something.' Then he put on a more thoughtful expression. 'Perhaps… All their tears and stories… Were lies…?'

Momo clenched his fists in anger. Who was that blondie? Why couldn't he just leave Ryoma alone? This wasn't his business, nor was it something he should poke his nose into. What's with the whole 'Ryoa' thing, anyway? It's just stupid. And who was he to be able to hug him so freely like that? Why did the brat let him, anyway? What were they, lovers or something?
Then it hit him.

"Don't tell me… It's cause of us? But… That can't be. He's just an emotionless moron." Despite all the excuses he put out, he knew what the reason was.

The reason for Ryoma's change.

"Takeshi… Was that… Echizen?" Kaidoh asked hopefully.

"Y-yes…" As soon as he said that, he wished he hadn't.

The other boy had gasped, leaping out of the restaurant and chasing after the two.

"Mamushi! Wait!" Momo tried to stop him, but he had already run out of hearing range. "Damn. I thought he'd never come back." He muttered darkly, slamming a fist against the wall.

"ECHIZEN!" Kaidoh shouted when they came into view. Kevin turned around, still glaring for he recognized the person to be from Seigaku. "What do you want?" He snapped.

"I'm just… I'm just… Echizen… I'm sorry…"
Ryoma gave a bitter laugh.

"I guess you expect an apology is everything I need, everything that will take away my pain and make me blissful like I was before. Well guess what? It's… It's not. I won't bother you guys ever again. You won't see me." He gave a remorseful smile. "So go back." His voice softened, a pained expression creeping onto his face.

A bother. That's what he had said back then. The healthy glow, the radiance of his skin ad dimmed down and all but disappeared. They had practically destroyed his life, if not something worse. He clenched his fists tightly, regretting their actions. "Damn…"

*How's it so far? Line break!*
Atobe rubbed his temples, thinking over the events that had happened. His grand, king-sized purple bed with silky blankets and a soft, comfortable mattress creaked as he sat on it. "Ryoma… Heh. So he's back, ahn? Just that… His condition is not normal." He groaned. "Complicated business that Ore-sama does not want to take part of."

But he feels a sharp pain in his heart every time he remembers that desperate face, begging and crying for reality to be a dream and a dream, reality.

Unfortunately, life doesn't go that way. The perplexing thoughts made his head ache. "Ore-sama will need to look around and research a bit." With that, he snapped and the lights went off as he decided to doze off a bit, to rest from all the chaos and excitement.