Ugh, here is where I start feeling like Masato is way OOC. Maybe he's been humbled by his living conditions in the past year. Maybe I suck at writing him. Who knows! But man, it's kind of creepy when he acts all lovey.

Can you tell yet that I don't actually ship this pairing? Weird that I would write it, I know, but my not shipping them is pretty much the reason they do not secks and make this fic material. I wrote it mostly to satisfy all the dang evidence I see for their relationship, even without slash goggles on. I can definitely understand how easy it is to ship them, especially if Endrance is too girly for one's preferences. So much canon gay to choose from…

Genesis of Ultima

Ryou wrenched the key in the lock of his apartment's front door. He was still angry, enough to take it out on inanimate objects and innocent bystanders. In fact, if he hadn't been stomping on the terrace so loudly, he might have heard the footsteps that had been tailing him all the way to the building and right up to his apartment. As he yanked the door open, however, a hand fell heavily on his shoulder and he jumped in surprise. Instinct made him grab the hand and twist it at an uncomfortable angle.

"Ow—Haseo… Misaki, it's me!" Ryou let go, and recognizing the voice, immediately regretted it.

"Dammit, it's not enough for you verbally molest me in public, now you have to stalk me all the way home? What's wrong with you? And—where's all your food?" He realized, looking Indou up and down, that the man had apparently abandoned his grocery bags at some point.

"I couldn't follow you if I was carrying all those things," Indou explained offhandedly. "And besides, if you say yes to my request, I won't need them anymore…"

Ryou's eyes narrowed to slits. "Oh? And what's your request?" His fingers found the doorknob, ready to pull the door closed in Indou's face in necessary.

"May I stay with you for a whi—"

Ryou whipped the door closed and grinned sadistically at the moan of pain from the other side. "Misaki… Please… I'm living in squalor…"

"If you need help cleaning then hire a maid. They take checks."

"That's not what I meant… I don't have a home right now. I'm sharing a one-room apartment with a lazy college student who's always out drinking and uses my rent money instead of getting a job. I haven't had anywhere to live since I went into hiding. Please, can I at least stay for a few nights?"

Ryou leaned back against the door to think, surveying his own state of living. His apartment was comfortable and contained a full three rooms, not including the bathroom, and his parents paid half of the rent for him since he was still trying to decide what to do about school. He only had one twin bed, but the sofa was comfortable enough, and he didn't eat at home very much so there were plenty of odds and ends in the fridge and pantry…

But he'd be sharing a roof with Ovan, and that was simply not acceptable. Where had his friendship and compassion been when the Twilight Brigade was failing, when Haseo was struggling with his newly awakened avatar, when Ryou needed answers… But now might be his opportunity for answers. Now that Indou would be cornered in his home, he could force information out of him if need be, even bribe him with food or money. Ryou had the upper hand now, and he would be a fool to waste it.

He opened the door without a word and followed Indou inside with his glare. The man did look awfully shabby, especially up against the fairly clean comfort of Ryou's home. "Do you have any clothes or anything you need to bring here?" he asked with false concern.

"No, it was about time to get new ones anyway. I only keep three changes of clothes at a time so they wore out pretty quickly…" Indou was looking around the apartment in wonder. Ryou wondered how long it had been since he'd seen the inside of a decent home. "This is a really nice place for a kid your age who isn't even going to university."

"Don't push my sympathy," Ryou snarled. "Don't forget I'm out of a job too now, because of you."

"You didn't need to be so violent," Indou muttered, though it seemed like an afterthought. He was looking pensively from the bedroom door to the couch, and Ryou had a feeling he knew why.

"Very cute, but you're sleeping on the sofa. It pulls out into a bed. I might be taking pity on you but I'm not giving up my bed for you, or anyone for that matter."

"I was thinking we could share it," Indou said with a smile.

"It's a twin, there's no room…" His eye twitched as he registered what had just been said. "I hate you," he growled, and stalked into the kitchen to replace the coffee he hadn't finished at the cafe. Indou laughed quietly.

Ryou put the headset down and watched the lights of his computer gradually flicking off. He tried to log into The World at least once a day, even though he was still busy trying to find a new job and college entrance exams were approaching (again, he noted sourly; he had failed to get accepted anywhere the previous year, mostly due to his involvement in The World, which had sucked up all of his time and focus). If he strained his ears he could hear sounds of movement from the sitting room where his roommate of what was nearing a month was puttering about.

He stretched, shuffled to his bed, and crawled in, already dressed for sleep. He had been dozing for a few minutes when the bedroom door opened a crack, silently. Ryou shoved his head further into the pillow to shield his eyes from the blinding sliver of light.

"Misaki, are you awake?" Indou asked, standing slightly inside the doorway. Ryou grunted in response, so he continued. "This is important, so please listen. I want to apologize for abandoning you and Shino. You know I had a good reason, but I could have…handled it a lot better."

"Hnh," Ryou said into his pillow, a half-asleep version of, "Apology accepted." Indou seemed satisfied with this, and began to close the door, but opened it again as another thought struck him.

"I'm also sorry that I haven't always been clear in telling you things. I will try to be more straightforward." He pulled the door almost shut, then stopped again, but without reopening it. Ryou could barely hear his soft voice beyond it. "I should start now. Misaki, I really do find you irresistible."

The door clicked closed, and Ryou sighed in relief as the light disappeared. Then his lethargic brain finally registered what had been said.

Damn, he thought slowly but with dread filling his gut. How could the man get away with doing exactly what he was apologizing for, and in the very same breath?!

---

Oh, and "Genesis of Ultima" in plain English means "beginning of the end".