Nobody:...
Me: I'm gonna give Yuuichi a sibling… and more of a backstory than what canon gives us!
"The…gre-"
One second Silabus was holding on to Haseo's face and wiping Haseo's tears away. The cool leather of his gloves feeling nice against the sides of Haseo's face, then… he was gone. Only wisps of light where Silabus once was in Haseo's arms. "No- No!" Haseo all but wailed. "Come back- Come back, Silabus, please! Ple-"
A scream left Haseo's mouth before Ryou violently ripped his M2D off of his face and threw his controller across his room. Ryou sucked in a breath before screaming at his ceiling again. He covered his face in his hands as violent sobs started to leave his mouth. "Don't do this to me! Please!..." Grabbing his chest, Ryou doubled over so far into his seat that his nose was almost touching his leg. "Please!" He pleaded in a whisper as he clutched at his shirt.
"Why'd it have to be him… Why?... All he wanted to do was help people!…" Ryou's throat tightened as a suppressed sob left his mouth. His body slipped out of his chair as he collapsed to his knees. Wrapping his arms around his chest now, Ryou only let his head hang as tears poured endlessly out of his eyes and splashed onto his carpeted floor below. "I…" He covered his mouth with one of his hands. "I need to… I have to… I can't keep doing this! I can't keep losing people!" Ryou whispered.
'I can't!… I…' Ryou sobbed almost pathetically.
He wasn't ashamed to say that while his character stayed there in The World on his knees. He, Ryou Misaki cried.
Silabus was never a person he ever wanted to lose. Ever. Silabus was never suppose to be involved in AIDA. Silabus was just a normal person, a normal player, who wanted to enjoy The World like everybody else.
'Shino, Alkaid, and now Silabus. Each of them taken from me by a PK. Shino by Ovan, Alkaid by Bordeaux… so who PK'd Silabus? And why?' Ryou reached up and wiped his tears from his eyes. 'Why… Why… Why?...Why?! Why?! He's done nothing to deserve what happened to him.' Ryou swallowed hard and he screwed his eyes shut tight while wrapping his arms tightly around himself. He felt sick, like he was going to throw up. He sank his teeth so harshly into his bottom lip that he could taste a drop of blood on his tongue.
'I am so tired. And I really don't know if I have the energy to continue on for today… Silabus… I am so sorry.' Ryou Misaki whimpered. He was already missing Silabus. The warmth of his smile, and the happy glint in his eye he would always have whenever Haseo would give him a sword or new armor.
Ryou felt his will completely shatter. He didn't want to retire from The World. But, at this point, he truely wondered if he was any help to anybody. He felt like he was just letting more people down and doing more harm than good.
A day away from The World turned into two days, then three, then a week. Ryou just couldn't bring himself to turn the game on after he logged out last. He knew his email was blowing up and yet, yet, he couldn't log on.
The idea of logging on into a world without Shino, Alkaid, or Silabus there to enjoy it with… It hurt. It hurt so damn much, more than anybody could ever truly know. With the knowledge that when he logs on again… Silabus won't be there. He won't be smiling at Haseo asking to go on an adventure. He'll be gone. But his status will remain online…forever taunting Haseo, and Gaspard for that matter. 'How many times has Gaspard tried to get into contact with Silabus? How many invites did he send for Silabus to join his party? How many messages gone unread…'
It was those guilty thoughts that made Ryou sick to his stomach as he would lay in his bed listening to his email ping off every hour or so. How many had he accumulated over the week? Twenty? Thirty?
'You promised him you'd take care of Gaspard-'
'I didn't promise shit!'
'It's what he wanted.'
Ryou bit at his scabbed lip while he held back a sob. 'How can I possibly help take care of Gaspard when I couldn't even keep Silabus safe?! Once I tell Gaspard what happened to Silabus…it's all over.' The idea of facing Gaspard with the knowledge of what happened to Silabus and knowing that he was going to have to be the one to tell Gaspard… it was enough to break anybody's heart. This was different than Shino or Alkaid in that regard alone. He'd also have to tell Kuhn.
Kuhn may just PK Haseo on the spot out of anger and frustration alone. And Ryou may just let him.
'Why couldn't I have been faster!? I should have been faster, but I… wasn't. I wasn't fast enough for any of them! Not for Shino, not for Alkaid, and not for Silabus!'
"Ryou?" There was a knock on his door. Ryou shut his eyes at his mothers voice and didn't respond. A few seconds ticked by. Then she knocked again. "I got you some breakfast here. I'll just…leave it outside your door again… Sweetheart, I won't lie to you. Your father and I, we're worried about you. We're worried about that game you've been playing. The reports… it's getting pretty serious."
Ryou hugged his knees up to his chest as he sighed out heavily. "I'm fine, Mom. I just… need some time alone." He responded just to keep his mother happy.
"Okay… are you visiting that Shino girl today?"
"Yeah, I do everyday… I'll be up in a little while."
Ryou honestly almost didn't want to get up, but he would for Shino. It's the least he could do.
He had to practically peel himself off of his bed, but he did eventually get up for the first time that day. Stripping himself out of his sleeping clothes, Ryou started to put on some clean clothes. And with a sigh, Ryou rubbed at his eyes. 'I am so tired.'
"-I just don't know what to do, Shino." Ryou whispered as he sat on the floor while his head rested by Shino's hand on the bed. "-I know I should log back in and just explain everything that happened to my friends… my remaining friends that is. Silabus…I tried to protect him. I really tried. He and Gaspard they're just really good guys and they didn't deserve to get sucked in with AIDA and avatars… Maybe, I should have just told them the basics so they knew what to be on the lookout for. How could I be so stupid?!"
Ryou pressed his face against the itchy hospital blanket as he groaned in frustration. "I swear, Shino. When I learn who PK'd Silabus… I'm gonna… I'm going to kill them. Silabus did nothing wrong. He did nothing to deserve the fate he got."
A sigh as Ryou shifted so he was now pressing his back against the frame of Shino's bed. He tipped his head back and felt the cold metal frame press against his skull while he wrapped arms around his knees. "You, Alkaid, Silabus… Three of my best friends. Gone. Three people who had nothing to do with AIDA… just…gone." It left Ryou with a bitter taste in his mouth. "It's not fair." He whimpered pitifully. He felt like a child at that moment. Alone and afraid. Afraid that if he logs on he'll lose even more of his friends.
"Have you considered maybe trying to visit Silabus in the hospital? Would that give you at least a little comfort?"
'That's it, I've officially gone crazy.' He could only think as he looked at the clear hallucination before him. There, Shino sat in a chair adjacent to her bed where the real Shino sat comatose. This fake Shino, this hallucination of his sat prim and proper. The way he remembered. Her PC character.
"I…" Ryou bit his lip before he shook his head. "The only thing I know about Silabus is that he's nineteen, in college, and lives in Sendai. I never got his real name. I was working up to that with that greeting card- why am I talking to you? you aren't real." Ryou huffed.
He shut his eyes and the whole scene almost seemed to change before him. No longer was he sitting on a hospital floor; rather he was sitting in a completely white room. The real world on pause for this moment, evident by the fact that he was dressed as Haseo.
"Perhaps you're right. I'm not real. I'm not the real Shino, but you need help."
"I guess…" Haseo groaned as he crossed his arms over his chest and he stared at Shino.
"It was never your fault, Haseo."
Haseo nearly bolted when he heard Alkaid, he jerked his head towards her direction and saw she was now sitting next to him on the floor. She was criss-crossed on the ground and when they locked eyes, she smiled. "So, stop beating yourself up, man! You're better than all this moping you've been doing as of late." Her voice wasn't harsh. It was soft, and pleasant to Haseo, who went too long without hearing it. Still, that didn't stop him from scoffing at her.
"Of course it's my fault. There were so many things I could have done to avoided all of this."
"Haseo-" A sharp gasp came from Haseo's mouth as he turned to look at Silabus now. His friend kneeling on the left side of Haseo with his legs tucked under his thighs. Silabus wasn't looking at him, or anybody for that matter. He had his eyes closed and his head down. "-You had no way of knowing that this would happen. You don't even know who PK'd me. You may never know who did this to me."
"..." Haseo bit his tongue as he jerked his head towards the side. Tears perked in his eyes, threatening to spill.
"So, it's best that you get up off the floor and move on."
A shaky uncertain sigh left Haseo's mouth. "I want to. Trust me. I want to! But… I don't want to lose anybody else-"
That was when Silabus sighed and stood up from his spot on the ground. "I know it's not easy. I can't imagine the feelings you're having right now." Silabus now stood fully in front of Haseo. He then offered his hand out for Haseo to take. The two of them locked eyes and Silabus offered him his signature smile. "Even though you can't see it, we'll be with you ever step of the way."
"Yeah! So, for the last time, stop this moping and get up! We're not fully gone." Alkaid quickly jumped from her spot on the floor and also offered her hand for Haseo to take.
Shino didn't say anything as she just rose from her chair and offered her hand along with the other two. "Other people need and rely on you, Haseo. Don't you dare forget that."
"...Thanks, guys." Ryou reached out for the hands, but he was met with empty air. He was back in the hospital room. His friends completely vanished leaving only him and him alone. At least he thought he was alone. When he turned his head towards the doorway he saw a nurse just…standing there staring at him.
He felt a vein throb up top his head. "What the hell are you staring at, lady?" Ryou could only growl at the woman. He got his point across quite clear and the nurse scampered off. 'I should probably leave before she calls security and shoves me in the mental ward.' Ryou thought as he jumped to his feet. Thankfully, he already had everything on his person, so he was able to leave without incident.
It was when he was briskly walking through the hospital parking lot, looking over his shoulder for security guards, did a plan start to form.
Ryou Misaki had a plan. It wasn't the greatest plan in the world, but it was a plan and that's all he needed to get the ball rolling. First, he needed basic information, which he had. He knew Silabus was male, nineteen, a college student, and that he lives in Sendai.
It was bare bones information, for sure, but with that information he typed it all into Google.
19 year old college student Sendai doll syndrome. Was what Ryou typed in to be more specific.
God, the cases were only increasing. So many people falling victim to doll syndrome it was insane. However, Ryou learned that most of these victims were only in grade school and a handful were actual adults. So, it did narrow his search down.
Knowing that he was looking for a male also helped.
Then, he tried to localize it down to a certain day. The day Silabus was PK'd.
So that left Ryou with roughly three people that were publicized in the news. He prayed Silabus was one of these three. As mentioned; it was a plan but not a good one. There was a good chance none of these three were Silabus.
But it was something and Ryou had to pray he was right.
The first one was a nineteen year old student that was found by his mother.
'No. Silabus lives alone. I remember that conversation.'
Two left.
There was Eto Keiji. A nineteen-year-old college student who was found by a friend after he didn't show up for work. He was passed out in his chair limp and practically dead to the real world. The friend had actually feared he was dead.
Then there was Yuuichi Morino. He was found by his RA after he was heard screaming. According to the article the RA had to actually hold Yuuichi down while he, Yuuichi, suffered from a seizure on the floor of his apartment. "I thought he was going to die in my arms." His RA had commented.
"Jesus Christ." Ryou rubbed at his forehead as he looked at his phone.
The good news is that both of these two were resting at the exact same hospital. The bad news was pretty obvious. Ryou had no clue which one was Silabus, if either of them were him to start with. Still, it was a start that Ryou decided that he was absolutely going to roll with for now.
He already had the train ticket booked for that day for a reasonable price, in fact he was on the train now. He was planning on staying in Sendai for a day even if it turned out to be a wild goose chase. So he had a bag packed and slung over his shoulder as he looked out the window at the world passing him by.
He couldn't help but notice several people surrounding him had their M2D's on quietly playing The World while minding their business. Ryou looked down at his phone and scrolled through Tiktok. It was an entertaining app that's for sure. It was a good time waster outside of The World. It was doing a good job at turning Ryou's mind off for a good portion of the train ride.
'Don't give up. That's how you can help the lost ones.' Pi's voice resounded through Ryou's head. Ryou shut his eyes tight as he let the words sink into his brain. Pi had told him that after he had won the Holy Palace tournament. When he had asked if there was anyway to bring back the lost ones.
'Don't give up.' He repeated those words. Was he giving up? Or was he just distressed about the whole situation?
'Silabus…' He thought sadly as the image of the familiar blade bradier in green. His warm and bright smile somehow always brightening up whatever room, field, or dungeon he was in. Ryou, and Haseo by proxy, felt a painfully familiar tug of guilt in his chest as his lips turned downwards into a frown. How can he return to The World with the knowledge that he failed so many people? Silabus, Gaspard, Kuhn, Atoli. All of them
Ryou looked down at the Tiktok he's been letting replay for the last five minutes. He finally scrolled.
The rest of the train ride was peaceful if not a little crowded at times.
The closer to Sendai he got, the more uneasy Ryou was becoming. He felt his leg shake violently as he looked at the stop coming up. 'I could be doing this for nothing. Neither of these people could be Silabus… but I just… I need to see him.' Ryou really couldn't understand this desire to see the real Silabus. It was like when Shino first fell into a coma. However Ryou didn't think he could see Silabus every day like he does with Shino.
The train came to a stop and a monotone voice rang over everybody else.
Welcome to Sendai!
Ryou gave a heavy sigh of relief before he grabbed his stuff and started to shuffle out with others.
Once he was on the platform and off of the train Ryou gave a quick look around as others went on with their own lives. 'Okay, to Sendai City Hospital.' He thought boldly, and with his phone in his hand, directions on display, Ryou was determined.
'Silabus. I hope one of these two is you.'
Sendai City Hospital was a busy hospital. Doctors and nurses ran about and paid Ryou no mind as they had many other people to worry about. Ryou shifted his backpack over his shoulder as he walked up to the help desk where a male nurse sat typing away on a computer.
"-Fill this out." The nurse sleepily told Ryou as he shoved a clipboard in his face before Ryou could speak. "I'm sure a doctor will be with you soon."
"Erm. No, I'm looking for the ward on those afflicted with doll syndrome." Ryou pushed the clipboard away from his face. The male nurse sighed and looked at Ryou with such a tired and unimpressed look it told Ryou he was being an inconvenience.
"Third floor." Then the nurse went right back to typing away.
'Third floor. Great.' Ryou walked away from the nurse and immediately made a bee-line for the elevator. He had to wait a few seconds for the elevator to lower and once the doors open he stepped to the side to allow a small crowd to pass. Ryou noticed a couple of people were crying as they walked by. Eventually the elevator cleared and Ryou slipped inside.
For a moment he felt like he was going to have the whole elevator to himself. Right as the doors were starting to close an elderly voice called out: "Hold the doors!"
Ryou immediately threw his arm out; stopping the doors from closing.
A small elderly woman with a tiny child in tow swiftly walked under Ryou's arm. Ryou let go of the door once the woman was in.
This woman had to be in her late sixties. Stout in stature; about two feet shorter than Ryou. Her hair was peppered black and white while put up in a tight bun up top her head. She looked at Ryou and smiled, the crows feet in the corners of her eyes deepened with this movement. "Will you be a doll and press the button for me?" She complimented and Ryou smiled at her.
"Of course, What floor?" He asked before he hit any buttons.
"The third floor, please."
"What luck. So am I." Ryou pressed the button.
"Ah… I'm sorry." The woman whispered as she reached behind her to touch the little child's head. Ryou noticed that she had a book in her hand. It looked like a photo album.
Ryou looked at the kid. The child was a little girl that had big amber colored eyes that were very reminisce of Silabus's own amber eyes. The little girl also had the same light peanut colored hair that Silabus had. She had a bright pink backpack on her back. She couldn't be older than nine years of age. Her hair was interesting. If it weren't for the pink back pack and little sparkly earrings, Ryou would have thought her for a boy. Her hair was cut short almost like Atoli's.
She looked at Ryou curiously before tightening her hand against the elderly woman.
"So, who are you seeing? A family member?" The elderly woman asked as the elevator started to rise up now.
"Ah. A friend, actually." Ryou rubbed at the back of his head. "You?"
"Grandson. Her elder brother." The woman looked down at the child. "Where are my manners? I'm Aoyama Harumi." She bowed and Ryou returned the bow.
"Ryou Misaki."
"A handsome name for a handsome man! And this little cutie is Suki Morino."
"Morino?" Ryou cocked an eyebrow up as he looked at little Suki. "Any relation to Yuuichi Morino?"
"Ah. Yes, that's my grandson." The elderly woman looked down at the ground now. "It's unfortunate."
Suki whimpered and she now clung on to her grandmother's hand like it was a lifeline.
"I told Yuuichi he should go easy on that video game he's always playing especially when the cases of doll syndrome started piling up and rising, but that boy has always been so stubborn." Aoyama sighed as she shook her head. "... now, that just begs the question. How do you know him? Is he that friend you're coming to see?"
"Er…" Ryou looked from Aoyama before looking down at Suki's big brown eyes that practically bore into his own eyes. That child had a case of permanent puppy-dog eyes. This kid hadn't said a word and she was already melting Ryou's heart. "I… don't know." He admitted unable to bring himself to lie to this family. "Does the name Silabus mean anything to either of you?" It was as he asked this did the doors open and the three of them stepped off.
"Silabus?..." Aoyama whispered as she repeated the name. "No… I'm afraid not- huh?" The little girl, Suki, started to frantically tug on her grandmother's sleeve now. "Yes, dear?" Aoyama leaned down. Suki whispered into her grandmother's ear for a few seconds.
"Okay, okay." Aoyama sighed suddenly as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out her cellphone. Ryou stayed put and watched as the little girl started to tap on the phone for a few seconds. Ryou tilted his head as he watched this child expertly flip through whatever she was looking at to find what she needed.
Well, she found it. With a happy gasp, she ushered Ryou over with a simple gesture of her hand. Ryou walked over and crouched down so he didn't seem so intimidating to the little girl. The girl flipped the phone over to show Ryou whatever it was she wanted to show him.
It was a video the girl had filmed. Ryou could tell the girl was filming by the wonky angle the phone was being held at, and how shaky it almost seemed to look. There, the camera was pointed at her older brother's back.
This was Yuuichi Morino. He was standing up, pacing the floor, an M2D over his eyes and a controller in his hand. The room was a little too dark to make out any defining features on Yuuichi aside from his light brown hair that matched his sister's. But then, oh then, he spoke.
"Haseo, how should I fight?" Yuuichi had asked as he continued to pace rapidly back and forth, no doubt wearing a hole in the carpet.
Well, Ryou had his answer didn't he? Not only did it absolutely sound like Silabus, but he had spoken Haseo's name. But still, he couldn't look away from the phone. He watched the video play out.
There was a pause on Yuuichi's side before- "We're fighting Kuhn, right? How should I fight? Offensive? Defensive? Oh man, I'm nervous."
'I hadn't realized he had actually been pacing. I thought that was something he made his character do.' Ryou thought as he gave a little smile at the video before him. It had ended pretty quickly after that.
"Yeah… heh… yeah. That's him alright. Thank you." He looked at Suki and gave her a soft smile. To which Suki returned with a shy smile. She then handed her Grandmother her phone back. To which the grandmother pocketed.
"You met him through that video game, I take it?" The grandmother asked as the three of them started to walk.
"I had… he's a good friend and I wanted him to know that."
"Hm." Aoyama hummed weakly at this. "Do you know… how this happened?" She inquired.
"...He was just… at the wrong place at the wrong time." It was a lie pure and simple. Mainly because Haseo didn't know the truth himself. Aoyama sighed at this. The three of them walked in silence until they got to Yuuichi's room.
Well, it turned out Yuuichi was sharing a room with another person suffering from doll syndrome. Which was fine, the three of them just pulled the curtain to allow them privacy.
Ryou had actually paused once he layed eyes on Yuuichi Morino.
Yuuichi was laying there, his eyes shut, while his breathing remained even. As mentioned, Yuuichi had the exact same hair color as his baby sister. Yet, his hair was cut to mirror Silabus's own hair style, minus the ponytail that was.
Yuuichi was leaner than Ryou expected. He didn't really know what he expected…maybe someone pudgy from playing too many video games and not getting enough exercise. After all, Silabus had said he had taken up jogging because of how much of The World he had been playing.
"Big brother-" Hearing Suki's voice made Ryou whip his head towards the little girl. This tiny child had crawled up into Yuuichi's bed and wiggled until she was in the crook of Yuuichi's arm. "-I'm back. I told you I'd be back. Look-" Suki grabbed her bag and pulled out a crudely drawn picture. Ryou didn't get a good enough look at the picture as Suki had put it on Yuuichi's chest face down. "I drew you a picture." She whispered before wrapping her arms around her big brother. She buried her face into his side and whimpered. "You'll see it when you wake, I'm sure."
Ryou's throat went dry as he watched the scene before him. Yuuichi's grandmother sat down in an empty chair and started to look through a photo album that she had carried with her. "..."
There was silence between the parties as Ryou walked up to Yuuichi's free side. "Hey, Silabus." He whispered as he sat on the floor. "I'm glad I found you. I…I wasn't sure if I would, if I'm being honest." He laughed a little at himself before clearing his throat. He then reached up and grabbed Yuuichi's free hand. It was warm to the touch. "I haven't been online since… I know the others are worried…about both me and you. Gaspard… god, I know he's been blowing up my inbox."
Ryou ran his thumb over the back of Yuuichi's hand. 'In his last moments, he still focused solely on making sure I was okay.' It had replayed over and over in his mind since the incident. How Silabus was wiping Haseo's tears away even as he was fading. As he knew he was going to fall victim to doll syndrome, and he still focused on Haseo.
"The truth is, Silabus, I don't know if I can go back. I never planned on losing you. I did my hardest to protect both you and Gaspard. Neither of you were suppose to get…" He sighed and rested the back of his head against the metal frame of the bed. Tears were already threatening to spill from his eyes.
"You seem to have a lot on your plate, young man."
For a very real moment, Ryou had forgotten that he was actually in a room with other people. "Crap, sorry. I know I sound crazy-"
"No, it's fine… come-" Aoyama patted the empty chair next to her. "That floor has to be filthy."
Ryou almost retorted that it was a hospital and that he was sure that it was required by law to be clean, but in the end he felt the fight wasn't worth it, so he got up and let go of Yuuichi's hand. Quietly he took the empty seat next to Aoyama.
There was a silence between them for several seconds before the photo album was suddenly shoved into his lap on an open page. "This is my favorite picture I have of him."
"Hm? Er…" Ryou blinked in surprise at the picture in front of him. It was one of Yuuichi, of course, he was younger in this picture. Maybe fourteen or fifteen? It was a school photo- only Yuuichi- yes- Yuuichi the person behind the loveable character known as Silabus was flipping the camera off while sticking his tongue out. "... Does Yuuichi have a twin?" Ryou could only ask in shock.
Aoyama laughed at his question. "No. Thank god, I could barely handle Yuuichi when he was a child."
"You raised him?"
"I did." Aoyama beamed at that. "Yuuichi was a… troubled child. To say the least."
"Really?" The curiosity in Ryou's voice couldn't be masked.
"It's true. Now most of it wasn't all his fault. His mother and step-father were to blame for some of his violent outburst. His step-father wasn't exactly a kind man. I've made my opinion of him clear to their mother. But she would always shrug me off…"
"Violent outbursts? Are you saying he'd get into fist fights and stuff like that?"
"On more than one occasion. Yes-"
"No!"
The elderly lady chuckled as she was clearly reliving a memory. "Once, when he was eight, I had to physically pull him off of another kid."
"That's insane… I never knew. He's always a ball of sunshine when he's online."
"Oh, I'd imagine. He's gotten better. Much better since then. And now he's trying to make up for his past, I assume… yeah, he was a little delinquent until a couple years ago. He's learning, however…"
"Forgive me for prying, but now I have to know. Are you raising her as well?"
"Temporary guardianship. Yuuichi has been working hard to try and graduate early so he can take her in. He doesn't want his mother to have custody of her. He loves Suki and she… well she worships the ground he walks on… They're half- siblings, but you'd never guess. Poor thing, she cried for days once we got the news… I'm sorry." Aoyama brought her knuckle up to wipe her misty eyes. "It was hard for me as well."
'He's never mentioned this to me.' It was a pitiful thought to have, but, at the same time, Ryou had no idea just how much Yuuichi had hidden behind a screen. Suki was peeking up at Ryou from her spot on the bed before she buried her face back into Yuuichi's side, but right before she had done that, Ryou spotted tears.
Fuck. Now he felt himself tear up.
'What have I been doing moping about like this?' It was passion and a bit of self-loathing that came back and struck Ryou like a truck. 'God, how much of a self-centered idiot can I truly be? I'm not the only one hurting here. Yuuichi has people in the real world that love him and want him to get better. Just the same as Silabus does in the game. I'm an idiot- but I'm going to fix this. I'm going to get Silabus, Shino, and Alkaid back-' It was in the middle of this thought to two cold wrinkling hands cup the sides of his face making him tense up for a moment. Aoyama then wiped the tears from his eyes with her thumbs.
"I didn't mean to make you cry." Aoyama whispered. "But I can tell, even though you never officially met my Yuuichi, you care for him. Don't you?"
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't." Ryou whispered before gently pulling her hands away from his face. "But I promise the both of you-" he looked at Suki, who was peeking up at him again. "-I'm going to wake Yuuichi up."
"And just how do you plan on doing that?"
The M2D in Ryou's backpack felt as heavy as led at that very moment. "I have my ways." He whispered to Aoyama.
He then looked back down at the photo album. The picture of Yuuichi flipping the camera off while sticking his tongue out still right there in his lap. "So… what's the story behind this picture anyways? Because let me tell you something about Silabus: He's literally the nicest person I've ever met and I would never imagine him doing something like this."
