A/N: I'm sacrificing the my chance to watch videos right now to work on this. Also, a little news to anyone who's reading Apartment A&B by me and Shadownia, we're working on an audio fic for it. Which is why I need to ask here(and maybe update said fic with the same note) if anyone knows how to cut audio files. For what, you'll just need to wait and find out. I need to be able to do that, since she's pushing all the work onto me for this(cuz apparently I'm good with computers, ha) So if anyone knows how, a little help would be useful.

Chapter 3: Getting there

Shit, my throat hurts...

Kyou groaned as he opened his eyes, light streaming in through the curtains. He'd slept right through the night, not even bothering to get up when his parents called him for dinner. Was he that tired?

A look at the clock, which read 7:45 am, told him that yes, he did just sleep through a whole day.

With another groan, he quietly picked himself up and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. A quick glance around the room showed that nothing had changed at all, other than being cleaner than when he'd left. His bed still had the same light blue sheets he'd left on them, his desk clear of all the clutter it had before(he had a sneaking suspicion he'd find it all stuffed in the drawers) with his old computer gathering dust. The bookshelf on the wall opposite him was piled high with untouched books and games, along with a few figurines of Vanguard units he'd collected shortly after getting into the game.

He stood up, walking over to a dresser that he assumed held his old clothes(he was sure they would still fit, he hadn't grown much over the years, and his parents always bought him things a size bigger anyways) and reached for the top drawer. He didn't even get it halfway open before he laid his eyes on the tall pile of magazines on top. Those were not there before.

He picked up the one at the bottom, flipping through the pages. It was a copy of Vanguard Monthly, with articles dating back to when he first rose up in the ranks of AL4. He narrowed his eyes. What were these doing here? Did Mamoru bring them in? His brother must be mocking him.

Sighing, he threw the magazine back into the pile, intent on throwing away the entire stack sometime later. Maybe he'd read through them if he had the time.

I've got lots of time now, He thought gloomily, pulling the drawer open. Realizing he really didn't have any reason to dress nice, as he'd be staying in the house all day, he decided on a dark red shirt and a pair of black shorts. He threw his jacket onto the bed, ignoring the small thump that came from one of the pockets hitting the wall. He got dressed as slowly as possible, not wanting to go down and face his family.

Once ready, he went over to the bed to hang up his jacket(he knew his mom would give him hell if he left a mess right after coming home), digging into the pockets. He pulled out his deck, staring at the unit on the bottom. Sky Diver's card stared back up at him, shining slightly in the sunlight. He had prided himself in managing to pull such a rare card on his first attempt, but now he felt so... empty. He pulled the card aside to see General Seifried, his favorite card, which was now a dull reflection of how he used to see it.

It almost hurt to look at them.

He shook his head, returning the cards to the deck and placing it face-down on the desk at his bedside. He grabbed the jacket again, hanging it on the hook on the back of his door. He hesitated for a moment, hand hovering over the door knob, before shaking his head once more, pulling it open and exiting the room.

"... I just can't believe it took this long."

Kyou paused outside the kitchen doorway, hearing his mother's voice. She sounded frustrated. He took a step back, pressing his back against the wall. He definitely wanted to hear this.

"I mean, really, cardfighting? He doesn't even have any friends!" She continued, acting as if he couldn't hear her with the volume her voice was at.

"He'll change his attitude soon enough, Mamoru did his research. Apparently people that are kicked out never join teams again." His father laughed. Kyou clenched his fists.

"Well, who wants a disgrace on their team?"

Kyou picked that moment to storm into the kitchen, ignoring the surprised gasp from his mother and his father's widening eyes. He said nothing.

"K-Kyou." His father stammered. He cleared his throat. "Did you... hear any of that?"

Kyou shot him a look that said yes, he did hear it, every damn word of it. Unfortunately, his throat was still sore from the previous night, and he didn't want to permanently damage his voice. Instead, he opted to just roll his eyes and sit in an empty seat, farthest away from the married couple. He folded his arms over the table, laying his head down. A long silence passed before Mamoru sauntered in, yawning into the back of his hand.

"Morning." He said, taking the seat across from their father. He glanced at Kyou, rolling his eyes. "Oi, get up, the table's not for sleeping."

Kyou resisted the urge to tell him that the couch wasn't a drying rack, either, but decided against it. Arguing with his brother wasn't worth he burning in his throat.

"So, Kyou." A place was placed in front of him, layered with things he knew he didn't want to eat nor ever wanted to try. He pushed it away, ignoring his mother's sigh. "We've enrolled you into your new school. It's a public school, as you requested, so getting your uniform won't be any problem." She sat down next to his father, who looked displeased.

"It's already the middle of the year, so do your best to catch up. You start on Saturday, so make sure your ready by then."

Kyou nodded, satisfied with how things were going. He half expected them to pick a private school anyway, but seeing as he threatened to leave again, he supposed their image was important enough to give him a choice in one thing.

He vaguely felt someone staring at him, but he was greeted with the sight of his brother stuffing his face, cleaning out his plate by him. He wrinkled his nose.

Disgusting. And he's supposed to be an adult... Kyou shook his head, standing up and heading back to the stairs, intent on going through those magazines.

"Kyou, wait, you didn't eat your-" He didn't pause at the sound of Mamoru's voice, stomping up the stairs and slamming his bedroom door behind him.

"This one I don't need."

Not that he intended to keep any of them. Most of the articles dating back to when he first joined AL4 were about "Foo Fighter's new and powerful unit" and "Suzugamori Ren's amazing winning streak".

Like he cared anymore.

He threw aside another magazine, pushing the entire pile aside. He'd throw them all away, it wasn't like there was anything he needed to know. Wasn't that what the tv was for? And there's the internet too.

He allowed himself to fall back onto the floor, stretching his arms out. The burning had settled into an uncomfortable tingling feeling, which he liked even less, but it was good sign. He rolled over, glancing at his deck from his spot.

I want to play, but I don't want to play, He thought, frowning. Why is it so hard to do something I want to do so easily?

He shook the thought aside, lifting himself up and looking around.

Nothing to do.

He glanced at the computer, but realized he never really used one much at Foo Fighters other than looking up cards and decks. And that had been his first week at the headquarters.

He turned his attention to the bookshelf, eyeing the large amount of books shoved into it. When had he collected all those? Some were even titles he'd never heard of. He stood up, walking over and pulled out the closest one, the title reading I Am A Cat.

Well, he's never really read much, but now was as good a time as any to start...

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xXxXxXx

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A/N: Having a phone conversation right in the middle of updating is probably the worst thing that can happen. That, and finding Leon's season 3 portrait. Which is why the phone call happened, I needed someone to fangirl to. I get the feeling Shadownia will kill me though for saying I didn't really care about Ren's portrait, but she can deal with it. Our kittens have torn up my fingers, and now I have 4 bandages on one hand. On different fingers. I've also found out why the water bowl kept ending up upside-down. Dammit, Oreo, your not supposed to test the drinking water then drag it across the kitchen. Anyways, next chapter we will skip a few days to get to Kyou's school life. I've always amused myself with the idea of Kyou reading constantly or really getting into a book. I've also decided on how to use the other avengers(no, not those avengers) Unfortunately, I didn't manage to finish this before midnight, oh well. Hey look, chapters are getting longer. That can't be good.