Ah yes… Thank you Rieina Bara for beta reading.)

It was a dull and rainy day, which exactly expressed Shuichi's mood, when the small funeral procession stood around the freshly dug grave, crying.
Hiro looked around. There weren't many people.
Hi sighed. Ryuichi seemed to be busy with his career so much so that he couldn't make friends. That reminded him of Shuichi. And there was nothing the matter with him.
Little by little all the guests left the cemetery, Toma held the crying Noriko in his arms.
Toma had made sure that Ryuichi's funeral would take place in Japan, because where he was born, he also should be buried; close to the people that looked after him when he still was alive.
"Shuichi, let's go?" Hiro said empathetically, touched the hand of the shattered boy carefully, for the reason that he couldn't do anything but weep distressingly for days.
"Please, you needn't to wait. I still want to stay a while, okay?" He said with shaky voice.
Hiro didn't want to go actually because he wasn't sure if Shuichi wouldn't use Sakuma-sans cross to stab himself to death?
But surely he wouldn't be able to forbid his friend to be alone with Ryuichi just for a while.
It was obvious that Shuichi had feelings for the elder singer since his childhood? Sure, Shuichi loved him somehow, he admired him?
Ryuichi and he weren't friends like Hiro and Shuichi were, but there was a kind of tie between them which bound them, making them belonging to each other?
"Ok, Shuichi? I'll go home. You know where you can find me?"
He nodded, didn't try to dry his tears.
For a moment he stood still, crying silently, so that nobody could hear it. The wind blew the rain into Shuichis face; his hair became wet and stuck to his forehead.
After laying a white lily on top of the grave he collapsed. His hands were sinking into the mud.
"Shuichi?"
He must have been lying for hours on the grave. When he regained consciousness he noticed that it was pitch-dark already.
Dozy, he looked around, then started shivering.
"Shuichi!" His name again, was he going crazy? He had heard Sakuma-san's voice once more?
He already missed him when he went back to America, but now this situation was unbearable. Arduously, he stood up, swayed, and then he had a new attack of dizziness.
"Shuichi? Hey, Shuichi!" His eyes became bigger. That must be a hallucination. There was Ryuichi, who sparkled in the wan moonlight. The boy shivered more.
"A ghost?" He whispered and began to go towards this apparition.
A smile was on his face, decorated his dirty face.
"I'm crazy? There's Sakuma Ryuichi's ghost?"
He approached him faster and faster; extended his hand towards him, to grab him, to keep hold of him. He wanted to say goodbye, to tell him something really important before he had to go to the kingdom of death.
"Sakuma-san." He shouted and started to run. The image of the elder singer seemed to become blurred. No, he also ran and seemed to leave the cemetery.
Shuichi ran slap into somebody.
"Sakuma-san!" He shrieked once more.
"SHUICHI." Someone held on to his arm and began to shake him.
"Damn it, where have you been? I was so worried and searched you everywhere! Have you been here on the cemetery all this time?"
Shuichi looked around, apathetically.
"Shuichi, come to your senses!"
"Hiro, I've seen Sakuma-san! He was a ghost and talked to me!"
Hiro regarded him seriously.
"Shuichi, that was your imagination, surely you're feverish?? He held his hand and pulled him behind, brought him to his apartment. "Sorry, you can't stay at my place. Ayaka's there?? He said and made Shuichi open the door. He helped him to get off his shoes, took off his own and pushed the boy towards the bathroom.
"Listen, you get a shower now and then you go to bed. And brush your teeth, okay? Shuichi?"
Shuichi stared into space.
Hiro rolled his eyes, undressed the boy and forced him to lie down in underwear, and then he covered him.
"Sleep now, Shuichi? I got to go, don't mess about, okay?"
Hiro waited a moment, until Shuichi seemed to sleep and went to his own apartment. He didn't want to leave him alone; Shuichi was in a too bad shape.
Shuichi squirmed, dreamed misleading things, then he sat in his bed bathed in perspiration and as straight as a die, giving a sharp and loud cry.
Confused he looked around. The same bare walls?
He closed his eyes shortly, then opened them again and shrieked in shock once more. He looked at a pale face.
"Shuichi, be quiet!"
"TASUKETE! HELP! A GHOST! HELP ME PLEASE! HELP!" The boy shouted in panic. Then he felt that something slapped his head a bit violently so that he fell asleep once more.
The next morning he stood up very early and took a cold shower to take his mind off things.
After that, he took his way to Sakuma-san's grave and hoped that his imaginations were true and the grave would be actually empty?
He wanted to turn off to the cemetery-street when he caught sight of Hiro; but before he had the chance to call his name, someone put his hands over his mouth and pulled him into the bushes.
"Shhh…hush now?" A hoarsely voice murmured against his ear. "If you scream I'll kill you."
Shuichi, who really wanted to shriek, tried desperately hard to free himself from, yay, what was this? Kidnapping? Hostage-taking?
He hadn't a clue.
He tried to turn around to look at the face of the person that held him so close.
His eyes widened. That couldn't be true!
"Hello Shuichi. It's me, Ryuichi!?
Two friendly eyes looked at him, but the childish smile couldn't hide the seriousness of the elder face.
"Can I take my hand away? Will you stay calm?"
Shuichi became pale, but nodded then.
"S…Sakuma-san's ghost?? He mumbled in a distraught way.
"Nonsense, you stupid twit? I'm no ghost or can a ghost do this?? He asked and embraced him softly.
Shuichi's eyes became huge. He felt warm hands on his back, and then he clung around the pink haired boy's neck.
"Shuichi, help me, please?"
"S…Sakuma-san?? He whispered anew. He wasn't really capable of understanding this situation.
"You're not dead at all?"
"Argh? Would I sit in front of you then??
Shuichi shook his head.
"No?" He meant.
"Listen, Shuichi, this is not a good place to talk"
Shuichi nodded again. No, in the bushes he hadn't made good conversations indeed.
Bewildered he grabbed Sakuma's wrist and made his way home.
"Well, I'll bring you to my place. I think you really have to explain some things?"

to be continued