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Story Title: Eyes Of The Powerful.

Story Rating: M.

Chapter Rating: T+ [is that an option?] (For gore, violence and the such.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Damn bastards.

Last time: "Look, it's probably better that everyone just takes a break. I was never cut out for teaching anyway." He mumbled the last part before exiting the room leaving behind a stunned group of teens.

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As they watched Ryoma leave, Ryoga suddenly punched the wall in obvious anger and frustration. The group eyed each other, trying to figure out what just happened. Once they found that no answers were forth coming, they turned to face the worried Ryoga.

"Uh… Principle … what just happened?" Momo questioned. Ryoga didn't turn to them and closed his eyes, and sighed in an effort to calm himself down. He opened his eyes after a moment and looked at them, pain evident in his eyes.

"Ryoma… he's..." Ryoga said absently as he stood straight up and stared at the wall in front of him. Figuring he wasn't going to continue, Oishi was about to ask more, but Ryoga surprised them by talking once again.

"I know I shouldn't tell you this… it's his past not mine. But even I don't know all of the details. I'm sorry I got angry like that… it's just… you have no idea how long it took, and I mean long as in months, for Ryoma to be responsive to anyone after the… death… of his family." he whispered, now looking at the ground. Tezuka, as well as everyone else's eyes widened.

He…he was like them?

"What happened?" Kaidou asked, surprisingly leaving out usual 'hiss' evident in his voice.

Ryoga sighed and closed his eyes as he leant against the wall and slid down to the ground so that he was sitting on his butt, one leg outstretched and the other close to his chest. He rested his face on his knee as he spoke.

"I don't know for certain… but I do know that after their death- his whole family's death- he was unresponsive; utterly and completely unmoving and unfeeling. The only thing he did was go to the bathroom, and even then he needed to be helped. He wouldn't even eat. We had to force feed him. It's just… when I felt the sudden surge in energy I knew it was because he was having extremely strong emotions and knew that it must have had to do with his past."

"How did you not know it was because one of us forced him to use a lot of power?" asked Fuji. Ryoga smiled slightly and shook his head.

"You are all naturals, but Ryoma was born to be strong. He just was. But when I felt his power grow… I got so scared you couldn't even imagine. I was scared that he would do something… or that one of you had done something to him."

"What do you mean 'if he did something?" Tezuka asked, eyes narrowed. Ryoga sighed and avoided their looks as he explained.

"What did you say before he got mad?"

"Uh… I said… 'Loved ones? My, my Echizen. Do you have a girlfriend? Ah, youth.'… wait did his old girlfriend die or something?" Momo asked worriedly after relaying what he had said, but calmed down some when Ryoga shook his head.

"No, he didn't. He probably didn't even pay attention to that. He probably focused on the 'loved ones' part but, I don't understand something. What where you guys talking about before that?" he asked, showing them confused eyes as he glanced over them.

"We were talking about learning to be strong and training so we could protect ourselves and our loved ones. He didn't want us thinking that everything he was doing to help us was a joke, and that it was to be used as a way to protected our loved ones." Tezuka offered, but raised an eyebrow as Ryoga stiffened and sighed, seemingly turning more worried than before.

"Great," he groaned.

"When I met him it was obvious that he blamed himself for their death. He was probably saying that he had to train himself so he could protect those who mattered because he didn't before they died. He regrets that so much you have no idea. He probably just wants you all to be able to protect those you love…" he said, trailing off at the end as he entered his own thoughts, as did the others.

So he was angry because… why? Nothing really happened. Everyone took his warning seriously- Oh. That's right. Everyone did except Momo. He seemed to make light of the situation. Is that why he was so angry? Because Momo didn't heed his warning with a more serious front? But if couldn't have been just that… could it?

"But that still doesn't explain why he would do something to us…" Kikumaru said after a moment of thought on his part. When the others nodded their agreement, Ryoga sighed once again. Today just wasn't his day.

"Ryoma rarely gets mad, but when he does, he gets really mad. And usually the cause of him getting mad has to do with the fact that someone makes too light of a serious situation or when someone doesn't appreciate what- or who - they have. In this case, when he got mad, I think he felt as if Momo was almost making fun of him for his loss. Imagine if you had that past and you just told someone that they would train to protect everyone they cared about but then someone said something so… well, someone making a joke of it. It would be like someone had thrown salt in his wound and they had rubbed it in. And besides, you probably brought up-unintentionally of course- the last thing he wanted to remember." Ryoga said, staring at the ground.

'Yeah… we know how it feels to have that kind of past…' they thought, but kept the thoughts to themselves.

"Is… that why you got so mad?" Taka asked nervously. He hadn't planned on speaking up at all, but he really wanted to know if the Principal- who was usually so nice despite the fact that they always hurt the teachers- was still mad at them.

"No… I guess I was more worried than anything. I spent months, literally, getting him back to something resembling normal. He would never be the same, but at least he would eat and talk- but only barely. He never was a talking person. But he never spoke of that night until I asked him about it two years later. That's when we had gotten much closer… but even then, Ryoma shared practically nothing with me. I'm sorry again. I know it seemed like an over-reaction to you but… I'm not as calm as I seem to be." he said, throwing them a smirk, almost as intimidating as Ryoma's.

"If you had managed to make him screwed up, you would have been dealing with me. Well, at least I hope he is fine…" he said, mumbling the last part. Tezuka looked at him for a moment before saying anything.

"Shouldn't you go to him?" he questioned, but looked at Ryoga in confusion when the black-haired man immediately shook his head.

"When he gets mad, he likes to be alone. And besides, I probably couldn't get near him anyway. He probably has an illusion or something in place." he said softly.

Tezuka nodded in understanding but looked at him again when another question surfaced.

"… Did he really mean what he said? About resigning, I mean." Tezuka asked.

Ryoga winced. He didn't want to think about that part. It took him forever to finally get him over here to teach. That, and with a little… persuasion from the High Council that is. After a moment he shook his head and eyed them as he spoke.

"Probably. But he probably will be forced to return… if he left." Ryoga said, sighing once again.

"Forced?" Fuji inquired, looking at Ryoga with opened eyes. Ryoga shook his head, a smirk pulling at his lips as he looked at Fuji.

"Nope; I can't answer that. But I guess we're just going to have to wait." Ryoga said. They all looked at each other for a moment before nodding to each other.

They would wait for their teacher they had come to respect, and understand a little better- now at least. What surprised them most, though, was that he had no family, just like them. It made them want to learn more about their mysterious little teacher. What else was that boy hiding?

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It was such a cold night. But then again, it probably just seemed a lot colder than it was. But to me, it was the coldest night of my life. The screams. The threats. My mother stepping in front of me, but getting shot in the process. The bullets.

The blood.

So much blood. The blood of my family stained the house. The walls. The floors. The knife in my hand. My mother tried to protect me from father. So did Nanako. But they couldn't. They died trying, though. I didn't know what was going on. One minute we were all getting ready for bed, and the next my father had a gun in his hand and a crazed look in his eyes.

I was scared; so scared. I was frozen.

Unable to do anything.

Unable to help. I could only watch as my mother was shot in front of me. Watching as her blood splattered on the floor and on my shoes, despite the fact that her back was to me.

Unable to do anything as Nanako screamed, watching with wide, terrified as the scene unfolded in front of her still very young eyes.

Unable to do anything as my mother fell, lifeless on the floor that was already painted in crimson blood.

Unable to do anything as Nanako stood in front of me despite the fact that she knew she was going to die.

Unable to do anything as her body jolted with every bullet that lodged itself in her body.

Unable to do anything when she fell, next to my now dead mother, with tears in her eyes.; dead because of me.

Unable to do anything…

Why? Why couldn't I do anything? Why was I so weak? I felt tears stain my face as I cursed my own existence. But I didn't need help in that area. My father was already doing that.

He said I was a monster. Inhuman. No son of his.

That I was to blame for their deaths. And the worst part of all… was that I knew he was right.

I was unable to do anything for them.

Just watch as they died, and died because of me. Why? Why did they die for someone so… so horrible as myself? Why? I didn't understand why, but I knew that my father killed them. It may have been my fault, but my father was to blame also.

And so, everything went hazy.

I don't know what happened. The only thing that went through my head was that I wanted my father dead. I wanted him dead. And I was going to do it.

A knife.

I saw one on the counter and rushed to get it, surprising my father. He shot me. Again. And again. And again. But I felt nothing. I was too mad; too focused. I got the knife and charged. And the next thing I knew…

Blood.

More of it; so much more. But this time, I caused it to come out.

I was covered in it.

I held the knife.

It was me who killed. I could no longer hate my father, for I became like him that night.

I killed him.

And with him, my innocence, my naivety, died with him.

Along with my heart.

Trying desperately to calm his shaking, Ryoma wrapped his own arms around himself and whispered the words he had always whispered when the memory came crashing back to him.

He wasn't useless.

He was strong now.

He is able.

He felt himself begin to calm down. He was fine. He would be fine as long as he was strong. As long as he trained. As long as he never again could do nothing. He would never stand and watch someone die ever again. Not unless he was the one doing it.

He wasn't sure how much time passed by as he just stood on-top of the mountain he had created, just wanting to be closer to the sky. He watched the sky, looking at the full moon above him; the many stars twinkling in a sky of onyx. He emptied his thoughts as he began to meditate. He needed to calm his mind.

Think of nothing, he told himself.

Think of nothing…

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edited: 1/1/15

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