Ryoma sat there in his desk at school with his head resting in his arms. He ignored the calls for him from Horio and jerked away when the other boy would nudge him. For some reason, he couldn't get his mind to wander from the thoughts of just using Fuji for nothing more than to be his support. Then all of a sudden a bigger question formed in his head; where would he go once he was strong enough to be on his own?

When the afternoon came, Fuji met with Tezuka outside of his classroom. There was silence between them for a few minutes until the crowd cleared from the hallway.

"How long has Echizen been staying with you?" Tezuka scanned Fuji's small framed body.

"A few days…since he came to my house in the pouring rain," Fuji seemed to be avoiding Tezuka's eyes. "It's not my place to tell you what has happened though."

"Echizen's father is wanted by the police. Fuji, there's no need for you to tell me anything, I know what has happened to Echizen," he crossed his arms. "I understand that you're concerned about Echizen, but maybe staying with you isn't what's best for him. It seems as if he's paranoid, and I think it would be a good idea if he was to get help."

"What's best for him is to be in a place he feels comfortable. He's put his trust in me, and I don't plan on abandoning him just because he becomes frightened. If all I can do is listen to him when he's feeling insecure, I will listen until he has nothing else to say. I refuse to let Echizen go even when he says things like he's just using me. And I promise you," Fuji's eyes flashed open showing their icy blue color, "Echizen's father will pay for what he has done."

"There's a deeper reason behind staying beside him, isn't there?"

A smile appeared on his face. "A reason that would be too much for Echizen to handle as of right now."

"You've taken him in, so you do realize he's now your responsibility."

"I know. There are still things that he's locking inside, and I want him to be able to reveal everything to me," Fuji leaned up against the wall. "I can't help but fear that after he's grown to no longer cringe at the past that he'll walk away from me. Is it wrong of me to want to stay by his side like he has pleaded me to do?"

"Life is a mysterious thing that we can do nothing but live," Tezuka pushed the frame of his glasses up with his middle finger. "Echizen doesn't seem like the type of person to just get up and leave when he can. Anyways, I would like you to ask your mother if it's ok for you to have a pet cat."

"Pet cat?" Fuji questioned as he became confused by the random change of subject.

"When I went to the Echizen residence, I found his cat and brought it home with me. I think having his cat back would make him feel a little bit more at home."

"You're such a softy, Tezuka. I'll ask her about it when I get home. I'm sure seeing Karupin would make Echizen happy."

Tezuka nodded as he looked up at the clock on the wall. "We should get back to class. I'll see you at practice."

"Right," Fuji watched Tezuka walk down the hall. He let out a sigh when he was out of sight. He couldn't think of a way to even begin to tell Ryoma that Tezuka had found out what happened to him.

Back in his classroom, Ryoma found himself scribbling random nonsense down in his notebook instead of the day's lesson. He continued to think about what had happened that morning. Being so easily read just by some cards placed on a table made him wonder what else Yumiko has already figured out about him. Did she know what possibilities the future held for him? Did she know the solution that would make him be able to stand on his own two feet without fearing what was to happen next? In the end, Ryoma could only come to the conclusion that Yumiko wasn't a bad person; there was just something creepy about her. That house that the Fuji's lived in felt like the safest place in the world to him, so he knew that those who stayed there were only filled with kindness. That family, even though he had only been there for a few days, had become more loving than his mother that abandoned him and his father that raped him.

Why is it that I ran to Fuji-senpai though? Ryoma thoughts were continued to question more things. I still can't come to a reason behind it. His house wasn't even the closest. I just…

Ryoma placed his left hand up against his chest as he sunk low in his seat. His heart began to race as he remembered how Fuji's forehead softly touched up against his that morning. Though, his mind quickly switched from such a peaceful memory to those of his father's touch. Before he couldn't handle the memories, he raced his hand asking to go to the bathroom and rushed out of the classroom.

In the bathroom, Ryoma sat in one of the stalls holding himself close. His whole body was shaking as his sobbing became uncontrollable. He tried to tell himself that he was safe now that he was living with Fuji, but where he was now couldn't change what happened in the past. Wanting to scream, Ryoma bit his lower lip and stayed where he was until the final bell rang. Returning to his classroom, he lied saying that he had went to the nurse because he felt nauseous. Taking his bag in his hand, he ignored the calls for him from Horio and headed to the clubhouse. At that time, all he wanted was for the only person who was able to take the pain away to do so. Though, when Ryoma was to hear that Tezuka knew what happened, his reaction would be nothing less than a complete breakdown.

NOTE: Hello loves (Yeah, that doesn't make me sound like some creepy writer). Welcome to chapter 12…or, well, the end of chapter 12. Look! Look! I wrote a good bit without any dialogue. That right there is a pretty big accomplishment! Before I go on about some things, the next update will be March 30th. I'm going to try my hardest to make it an awesome chapter because I might not update in April (I'll try to though.).

I would like to mention that Tezuka was originally going to say something about karma instead of something about Echizen not being that type of person. I didn't do this because I didn't know what religion Tezuka is. I didn't want to say something about karma if he was Christian because I don't know if Christians believe in it. I'm Buddhist so I don't really know anything of those religions (If it wasn't three in the morning, I would have asked my sister.). I would have loved to put my karma part in there, but I guess I won't.

Next, I want to say that I was shocked with the reviews talking about the tarot card reading. I didn't know that not many people put Yumiko's tarot card reading in fics (I say this because of secret25's review). Also, lajascot, you are welcome, though I'm the one who should be thanking you (and everyone else) for reading my fic. Oh! Guess what? I know the last thing I'm going to write for this fic. I'm in love with the very last sentences I came up with. Too bad we still have Ryoma's breakdown, Momoshiro blaming, Nanjiro finding, figuring out what happened to Ryoma's mom, and everything in between. I want to go for at least 20 chapters!

My mom and sister bought me two new videogames. As you all probably know, I'm a gamer (I love RPGs). My mom got me a tennis game for the Xbox 360 (which I have to use my sister's because I don't own one) and my sister got me Mana Khemia: Student Alliance for the PSP. I really wanted Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, but I guess they didn't go to the only store that has it right now. I feel like such a loser talking about games…

Finally, when my other sister told me her and her husband are going to buy me a camcorder (because my other one is dead), I decided I wanted to vlog (video blog). I realized something today…I don't do much other than write. I eat, I write, I sleep, I shower. My life is so adventurous. I really wanted to do something interesting with the camcorder I'm going to be getting. This is lame.

Anyways, I'm done rambling. I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I know I always enjoy writing for you all. After this is posted, I'm going to get offline and play Mana Khemia. I will see you all back here on the 30th. Take care, and thank you so much for your support (at least I'm pretending you all are supporting me even if you aren't)~!