Title: Broken dreams

By: Namikaze Naruto, Tenma no ouji


Sharing a look, the group nodded and Eiji bounced towards the box and pulled out a random tape. "Ryoma, age 9, 'Breathless', let's watch this one." the redhead exclaimed passing the movie to Inui who nodded and went to put the tape in. After making sure everyone was settled in, Oishi grabbed the remote and turned the television on and clicked play.


Four boys, sat in a circle, empty juice cans littered the floor along with candy wrappers. "Hey Ryoma!" a white haired boy called out, turning towards the smallest of the group with a smile, "I dare you to sing."

Ryoma frowned at that. "Sing? I already sing for you guys, why would you have to date me to do it?" the green tinted black haired boy crossed his arms, while the other two, a redhead and a blue haired boy nodded their heads.

"Because," the smile widened, "I get to choose the song." he stated with a chuckle, causing Ryoma's brow to twitch. Chroma was a romantic type, he loved listening to love songs much to Elliot's dismay because he was always on the receiving end of Chroma's affections. "I just heard a song the other day, and fell in love with it. I want to hear you sing it. And please put some emotion into alright." with a smile Chroma turned on the computer, opened the internet and clicked on the youtube button. "You ready Ryo." typing in the song with the lyrics, chroma entered it and clicked on the right one. "Here it is."

Uptown, another endless night
Hearts break in early morning light
Yeah I take my time

As soon as Ryoma began singing, Alex groaned. "Chroma what kind of music is this?" the redhead closed his eyes.

Chroma smiled, "A good one."

Downtown, a lonesome boy at home
Don't know what's really going on
Yeah I take my time

Ryoma tilted his head and put some emotion into his voice. He was curious, the song was upbeat and quite different from all the other love songs, Chroma would listen to.

But underneath it all I know it feels so right
I feel I'm going crazy but I wont cry tonight

Don't turn away
I need to say
You are the one who leaves me breathless
Don't run away
I wanna stay
As long as I can be with you
Now I know
I never meant to break a promise
I never meant to say goodbye
Don't turn away
I wanna stay
As long as I can be with you

Chroma smiled and glanced at the blue haired boy beside him. This was the main reason he wanted Ryoma to sing the song. Ryoma had a beautiful, feminine voice that would do this song justice and it was a good way to show Elliot how much he meant to him.

If I could start it all again

I know your more than just a friend
Yeah I'd turn back time

But underneath it all I know it feels so right
I feel I'm going crazy but I wont cry tonight

Don't turn away
I need to say
You are the one who leaves me breathless
Don't run away

I wanna stay
As long as I can be with you
Now I know
I never meant to break a promise
I never meant to say goodbye
Don't turn away
I wanna stay
As long as I can be with you

Alexander blinked and glanced at Chroma, "Hey Chrome, why did you want Ryoma to sing this song anyways, there's a lot of love songs out there you could have had him sing, why this one?" the redhead frowned.

Chroma turned and stared at Alex, "Because," he replied, switching his attention towards Elliot who was staring at Ryoma in fascination, and frowned a bit, he knew Elliot liked Ryoma, who didn't return those specific feelings, "I want Elliot to know how much I like him and if he gave me a chance, I wouldn't hurt him."

Reaching over Alex patted the boys shoulder. "Elliot will get over his crush soon enough, at least you don't have to worry about competition since Ryoma isn't interested in Elliot romantically."

CHroma gave a nod, "Which is a good thing for me."

Come take my hand, let's break away
Don't stop, don't be afraid
Cause I know we'll be forever

Don't turn away
I need to say
You are the one who leaves me breathless
Don't run away
I wanna stay
As long as I can be with you
Now I know

I never meant to break a promise
I never meant to say goodbye
Don't turn away
I wanna stay
As long as I can be with you

Ryoma got into the music and began to dance to the beat, swinging his hips and head in time with the beat, a smile curling his lips, twirling he danced his way towards Chroma and pulled the white haired up and made him dance with him.

Chroma laughed and pulled Elliot to his feet while Ryoma yanked Alexander to his feet and made the redhead dance. Alex resisted at first but gave in a moment later and chuckled as he watched Elliot try to keep up with Chroma, quite awkwardly at that.

Don't turn away

I need to say
You're the one who leaves me breathless
Don't run away
I wanna stay
You're the one who leaves me breathless

Ryoma ended the song by doing consecutive flips causing Alexander and Chroma to cheer and Elliot to clap his hands, a smile twisting his lips. The redhead bounced forward and wrapped his arms around Ryoma. "That was so good Ryoma, what was that anyways."

"A round-off backhand spring full twisting layout." The boy replied. "You know how I'm learning dance so I can incorporate it into my music or just separated, right." the questioned earned three nods and Ryoma hummed, "Well I the dance instructor said I should participate in every kind of dance and because of my small and nimble frame, he believed starting me off with ballet and incorporating gymnastics into my dance would be beneficial and help me with flexibility." Ryoma shrugged, "When I told him no way, all he said was. 'you never know when it will come in handy' before throwing me into a class full of girls tumbling and flipping around bars."

Chroma and Alexander burst out into laughter, while Elliot was more polite and tried to hide his amusement from the scowling boy. "Shut up, besides learning to do those flips were more then worth it, and it's not like I'm the only boy, there was some others, but they were older then me." Brows furrowed, Ryoma frowned, "Come to think of it, the girls were older as well."

"Boys!" a female voice called out, "It's time to get to bed, so hop to it." Rinko appeared in the room, "Brush your teeth and go to sleep. We've got a big day tomorrow." turning towards the camera, Rinko placed her hand on her waist, "You perverted old man, you're suppose to be watching the boys not sleeping." she yelled before the camera was turned off.


They stared at the television in stun silence before it was broken by Eiji, "Ochibi-chan can do gymnastics, that's why he could keep up with my acrobatic tennis and do the hit between his legs when we first met him."

"Data!" muttered Inui as he scribbled into his notebook as Fuji moved to change tapes. He couldn't wait to gather more data on the youngest of the team. It was sure to be interesting.


A few weeks later

with Ryoma and Haru


"Alright, we've been going at it all morning, so I want you to do some light stretches and attempt the parallel bars." Haru called out. Ryoma nodded and slowly took a seat on the floor and started doing stretches. After making sure he was ready, Haru picked Ryoma up and moved him towards the parallel bars, "Let's see how well your balance is?" Haru placed him beside the bars and Ryoma grasped them, making sure he would be alright, the older male took a step back encase he needed to catch Ryoma. "Try to walk using the bars for assistance."

Doing as he was told, Ryoma took several wobbly steps, gripping the bars tightly to stop from face planting, he hunched over slightly when his knees locked and shook his head when he saw his uncle move to stop him, "I'm fine. Let me continue." he whispered, straightening up, he proceeded to take several more steps before having to stop again.

"Alright that's enough for now Ryoma, you can try again later." Haru smiled, "Your doing pretty good, Ryoma." Pouting, Ryoma closed his eyes when his uncle picked him up, "That reminds me, I got a call from your mother, and she said she'll be coming by later with your friends. Rinko said they have a surprise for you."

Ryoma opened his eyes, "Really."

Haru gave a nod, "I bet they'll be very proud of the progress you made." Placing the younger boy onto his wheelchair, Haru pushed him towards the living room, "I hypothesis you'll be walking in six months, give or take a few weeks, at the rate your going." A chuckle was issued, "But what else can you expect, you have the Echizen's stubbornness and the Takeuchi's tenacity."

Ryoma shook his head at what his uncle said, "You really think I'll be able to walk in half a year?" the words were soft, and Haru had to strain his ears just to make out the words. Coming to a stop at their destination, Haru picked Ryoma up and set him on the couch.

"You'll be able to walk, yes, but you'll still need to keep up your physical therapy to make sure your legs stay strong." The doctor crossed his arms, "But aside from that then yes, I really think you'll be able to walk by then. By next month, I'll be able to tell just what kind of damage your legs suffered, but from what I can see, you got off easy and just might heal fully, and that's thanks to your age. Young children are prone to healing fully compared to an adult because your body is still growing, so that's just might be your case."

Ryoma hummed and stretched his legs out, "I guess we'll just have to wait and see what will happen." the green tinted black haired boy leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes, just as the sound of the door opening was heard.

"Haru, we're here!"


They had been working on perfecting the perfect song for their baby boy for the past week. Smiles broke out, along with ecstatic laughter at the thought of surprising Ryoma with what they had just accomplished.

"For first timers, you did very well." Kyou complimented, "Ryoma's going to love it. And a plue, you all can sing, who would have thought, hm." he chuckled, "Forming the musical group he wanted doesn't seem so impossible after meeting you guys."

Rinko smiled at that, "It's time to visit Ryoma, you guys ready." Nods and voiced agreements were her answer causing her smile to widened. "I'm glad we moved here and I'm happy he made such good friends." she whispered.

"And we're really happy to have met Ryoma-chan." Fuji stated, blue eyes opened and glinting under the light, "He means the world to us, Rinko-san, and there's nothing we won't do in order to ensure his happiness."

Eiji bobbed his head, "Hoi! Hoi! Fujiko-chan is right. We'd move heaven and earth if we could in order to heal ochibi-chan, nya." the redhead glanced towards his friends who nodded their heads in agreement, "The only thing we can do is be there for him while he recovers."

"As he is our pillar, shouldering our hopes and dreams, we'll be his support, holding him up in order to obtain our shared goals." Tezuka stated as he guided the boys from the room, while Rinko and Kyou watched them.

Kyou smiled, "Ryoma has found himself some great friends!"

Rinko sniffed, "He sure did, and I thank every Kami for guiding them to him."


"Ochibi-chan!" The yell was his only warning before arms wrapped around his neck, not that he much minded. as long as the redhead loosened his hold a bit. Seeing the look Oishi rushed forward and told the redhead he was gripping Ryoma too tight. Not wanting to release his baby, Eiji loosened his grip. "We missed you. Did you miss us?

Ryoma gave a nod, "Un." His answer brought smiles to the rest of regulars faces.

"Hey Ryoma, your friends have something they want you to hear, you ready?" Kyou grinned as he motioned for the eight to stand in front of the first year, to which they complied to the request.

Furrowing his brow in confusion, he nodded his head in the positive.

"Alright you eight, go for it!"


Tsuzuku

(To be continued)


Tenma