Ryoma fluttered his eyes open and let out a soft sigh. Sitting up, he looked over Fuji to see the time. Quietly, he pulled the covers off of himself and got out of the bed. After staring at Fuji calmly sleeping, Ryoma turned away and left the room.
As he walked down the hall, he stopped at the bathroom. Shaking his head, he continued on until he reached the stairs. Slowly, he stepped down and reached the bottom. Darting his head back and forth, he headed towards the kitchen where he sat down at the table. Resting his head on his arms, he once again sighed.
"Can't sleep?" Yumiko pulled out the chair next to the boy causing his to quickly look up at her.
Ryoma avoided her eyes and instead stared down at his hands. "I guess."
The older girl smiled as she placed cards onto the table. "Lets see what the cards have to say."
"You're not going to let me get out of this, are you?"
"Not this time. Pick six cards," as Ryoma pointed to the different cards, Yumiko placed them in front of her. She scanned them and nodded.
"Are you going to tell me what all of this means?"
She pointed to the first card closest to Ryoma. "This card represents how you feel about yourself now. It is the Hierophant and shows that you feel a need for advice or wise council. The second card represents what you most want at this moment. The Tower card suggests that you want an easy solution to a problem. The third card represents your fears. The Empress says that you are feeling insecure. The fourth card represents what is going for you. This is the Judgement card and shows that a brand new potential will come and you must not ignore it because it will affect the rest of your life. The fifth card is the High Priestess and represents what is going against you. It tells that you're suffering from insecurity. Finally, the sixth card shows the outcome. This is the World card and it shows success, fulfillment, and conclusion."
"I'm still not that sure what any of that means," Ryoma stared down at the cards.
"Echizen-kun, something tragic has happened in your past which has caused you to withdraw yourself from people. The event or events made it you're insecure with yourself, and you just want an answer to the problem at hand. You're seeking advice to help you come to a solution. Syusuke is the person that you've come to for help, right?"
"You've figured that just from these cards?" he went back to looking at his now shaking hands.
Yumiko picked up the cards and held onto them. "I'm sure the conclusion to your tragic past will come soon." Getting out of the chair, she patted the boy on the shoulder only making him jerk away. Without saying another word, she walked of the kitchen and noted Fuji passing by.
"You're up early, Echizen," Fuji could hear the sobbing coming from Ryoma. "Did she say something that hurt you?"
"Fuji-senpai, has your sister ever done that weird tarot card thing for you?" Ryoma let his body sway in the chair.
"Yeah, a few times."
"Has she ever been wrong?"
"No. Why?"
"Am I just using you until I can stand up by myself again?"
Fuji quickly placed himself at Ryoma's level and took the young boy's face in his hands. "Why would you ever ask a thing like that?"
"Because if I'm just looking for an easily solution to this problem…then I'm just using you. I'm using you so I have the ability to stay sane when I think about how my own dad would strip me until I was naked and then rape me. I'm using you to express my insecurities so I don't have to hide from myself like I do at school. Senpai, I―" Ryoma froze and lost his words as Fuji let their foreheads touch. His whole body quivered, and his aching heart's beat grew rapidly. "I…senpai…"
"It's ok if you're just using me. As long as in the end it means you'll be able to become strong, I'll be happy."
Ryoma pulled his arms up around Fuji. His breathing was unsteady as he whispered in his ear, "Please stay by my side."
"Echizen," Fuji paused as he tried to find the right things to say. He couldn't tell if Ryoma had said such a thing because he was vulnerable or because he really did want Fuji to stay by him. "We should get ready for school."
Not responding, Ryoma pushed himself away and stood up. Not waiting for Fuji, he went back to the stairs and up to the second floor. Shaking his head, Fuji placed his hand on his chest. His cheeks had a slight pink tint to them, and he couldn't get rid of the sudden rush that was running through his heart. After a moment, he slowly walked back to his room where the two of them would get ready for the day.
NOTE: I'm just going to start by explaining why this chapter is shorter than normal. First, I wasn't planning on putting this part into the fic. I decided to add it though, and I didn't want to go into the part where Fuji and Tezuka this chapter. Also, you all only have to wait about four days until the next update (March 23rd).
I liked writing this chapter. For the tarot card part, I literally did a reading for it, and that is what I got. I was a little shocked that I got the perfect reading the first time around. What did you all think of what I put in this chapter? Would you have rather I left it out and just went right into the conversation between Fuji and Tezuka?
I completely updated my profile. I know have the March update schedule up for all fics, my personal schedule for the year (which will probably have more added to it), special fics that I will write, and the birthday fics I'll write. I also came up with two knew fic ideas (thanks to EchizenRyomaLover), and I even put my own original story ideas at the end of my profile. Yeah, so I would check out my profile for any details on those things. I'm looking forward to starting new fics.
My sister's husband bought me two new books. One is an anime techniques book and the other one is a manga drawing book. My stepfather also gave me this plate with a Chinese poem on it. I became slightly happy because I love these types of things.
Anyways, I don't have much else to say. I have to go write a chapter for "Without Sight". I will see you all on the 23rd, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, thank you so much for reading~!