Author's Note: Yes, yes, hello everyone! Sorry I didn't update yesterday, I've been so busy! But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about SADITL! I'll update as regularly as I can, promise!

This chapter is a LOT longer than the others I've already posted, so hopefully that'll be a treat for you! It's also pretty mellow compared to the others, as well. This is the point in the story where everything calms down for a bit...kinda like the calm before a storm. Does that scare you or what? Haha! I also have to give a quick warning:

WARNING: This chapter has harsh language. That's...about it.

I'm actually really tired right now, so I don't have the energy to ramble about stuff. So I'll get straight to the point and then go take a nap...review time!

Keppaku: Oh, thank you so much! ^_^ I'm so glad you like this story! Haha, I just love being cruel to poor Alba. And if it's Elf? Well, you'll find out in this chapter! I'm glad you caught on to that, since that was what I was aiming for! And you seriously want me to torture Alba baby more than I already have? Oh, no! ;w;

Alba: Thanks but NO THANKS!

Shima: Hush, Al. It's true that Elf is seen as the big baddie in this story, but I didn't have anyone else to play the part. I wanted it to be someone who's comfortable with Alba in the actual series and who's viewed as a bad guy in it, as well, so I knew having it be Rchimedes the first or Dezember or even Juli would be too weird. So Elf it was! He's had many interactions with Alba, and I actually admit that I like their ''I hate you but not really'' relationship with each other. Elf has helped Alba in the past, and he's actually doing everything bad in the series for a good reason.

Sorry if that explanation was too long winded. Anyway, continuing on. Thanks for the reviews you guys have been leaving me! You know, I'm not asking for reviews just because, I genuinely want to know what you guys think of this story. This is my first attempt at writing something so sad and angsty, so I want to know how other people feel about it. I swear I'm not trying to come across as selfish or anything, like ''I want tons of people to review so I seem popular''. No, no, that's not it at all! I just want to get many different opinions about my writing, that's all~ So please tell me what you think of it so far, alright? I love you all!

Since Ros has kinda disappeared from the story until recently, he can do the disclaimer and start is off!

Ros: Shima doesn't own Senyuu. And roll the chappy!

Chapter 9

Playing Pretend

Teuffel waited outside Alba's hospital room, in deep thought. So much had happened over the last few hours that he was having a hard time comprehending it all.

He'd followed that evil son of a bitch Elf to his apartment. Of course, Teuffel didn't dare follow him inside in fear of being caught. So he paced outside, trying to find another way to get in.

His plans were immediately interrupted the moment he heard Alba start screaming.

It felt as if every nerve in his body had frozen and turned to solid ice when that first shriek escaped the building. He almost began to hope it was just his imagination, but then he heard it again. And again and again and again and again. Over and over, Alba's screams pierced through his body, making him want to hurl. It was so painful to listen to.

Elf was hurting Alba. His Alba. He almost started crying himself. Alba sounded like he was in so much pain.

The obvious thing to do was to call the police. He knew that, but he also knew that Elf wasn't that dumb. Elf would be prepared for that sort of thing to happen. He'd either find some way to escape, or, even worse, kill Alba before the police found him in time. The chances of that happening were low, but Teuffel didn't want to take any unnecessary risks that could mean the death of the person he cared so much about. He hoped that somebody might hear the commotion and try to see what was going on, but Elf's apartment was located in an out-of-the-way place, so there weren't many people around. Not only that, but the building was surrounded by other shady places, since it was downtown, so the noise probably didn't concern other people too much since things like this occurred all the time around the area. So, his hopes for that plan were dashed, as well.

The only other option he had was to go in there and rescue Alba himself.

But, yet again, the risks were too high. What if Elf saw him coming and threatened to kill Alba if he tried to help him escape? Teuffel wasn't strong enough to fight off somebody like Elf, especially since he was a bigger and more well-built college student. Teuffel had his speed, sure, that was why he was on the track team freshman year, but he knew he'd be too afraid to pull it off.

He was a coward, and he hated it.

Eventually Alba's screams died away into nothing. Teuffel feared that Elf really had killed him, but he was reassured when Elf came out of the building, humming to himself.

"Alba-kun sure is a cutie. Well, I should go and get somethin' to eat before I come back to play with him some more~"

Teuffel almost went up and decked him in the face. Almost.

Once Elf was gone, Teuffel broke into the building and ran all over the place for what seemed like hours until he found Alba locked away in the basement.

What he saw there almost made him burst into tears.

Alba was so broken. Cuts and gashes and bruises littered his body. His eyes were so empty and devoid of life. He looked like he hadn't seen the sun in weeks, though it'd only been a few hours since he was taken away.

Teuffel embraced him upon seeing him, and hurriedly released the boy from his bonds. He could feel Alba's blood soaking into his shirt while he held him.

But that wasn't even the worst part.

He felt as if his heart was being shattered into a million pieces when Alba started calling him Ros.

Out of all the people he could've gotten him confused with, he just had to go and pick Ros. But of course it was him. Everything was his fault to begin with. If Ros hadn't moved away, Alba wouldn't have gotten all those fake text messages. He wouldn't have gotten kidnapped and beaten and whatever else Elf had done to him.

If Teuffel didn't hate him before, he completely despised him now.

But Alba was delirious. He was mangled and marred and highly unstable, so Teuffel knew he'd have to watch himself or the boy would snap, and then he'd never get him back.

So he played along. He pretended to be Ros, just for Alba. But he still couldn't help but break down and cry a little. What had Elf done to him to make him this way? What the hell did he do to break Alba so completely? It pissed him off. He wanted to find that bastard and inflict all the pain he'd caused Alba, but a thousand times worse. Oh, the pleasure he'd get by hearing that asshole scream in absolute agony...

This fury scared Alba badly. Teuffel hadn't meant to say something like that, at least, not in front of the brunette. So when Alba started screaming and crying for Ros, he assumed that role again, gathering him up into his arms and telling him everything would be okay.

Alba asked him to take him home. Teuffel agreed, but he knew he'd have to take the boy to the hospital first. If Alba came home in such a state, it'd probably give his mother a heart attack.

As soon as he got there, after Alba was rushed away to be taken care of, he called the police and informed them what happened. As he hung up the phone, he rubbed his temples.

Good luck to them, he thought, groaning. He was starting to get a headache. It'll be hard to track down that asshole. Knowing my luck, he's probably halfway across the country by now.

And now there Teuffel was, sitting, waiting. He'd texted everyone he could, telling them that Alba was in the hospital. Foyfoy was on his way now, who was bringing Rchi, and Hime and Ares would be arriving soon, too. Sanejima and Janua were further away, but they were coming, as well.

Teuffel started to hope. No, he started to pray. He begged and pleaded with all his might that Alba would be okay —physically and mentally. He didn't know if his heart could take it if Alba called him Ros again.

But even if he did, and even if Teuffel would have to keep picking up the shattered pieces of his heart, in the end, he knew that if Alba still thought he was Ros, he'd play along anyway.

He was sick. He hated himself for thinking this way. He despised the fact that he actually enjoyed being Ros in that moment, even though it was so nice to have Alba rely on him and need him and want him to be there. Teuffel couldn't be that type of person, but Ros could. And since Ros was everything Alba wanted, and since Alba thought Teuffel was Ros, and since Alba was everything Teuffel ever wanted, he'd play the part. And he'd be disgusted with himself afterwards, for sinking so low, for getting such a sick satisfaction of playing pretend. But...he couldn't not do it.

He raised his head when a nurse emerged from the room. She looked slightly unsettled.

He stood up quickly to confront her, ignoring his nervousness around people for a moment. "Excuse me, but is Alba alright?"

The nurse stopped and stared at him. "You're friends with that boy?"

Teuffel swallowed and nodded.

She sighed and adjusted the clipboard in her arms. "Whatever happened to him, he was cut up pretty bad. Some of the wounds will end up becoming scars. Other than that, he's all patched up...at least, physically."

Teuffel winced at her tone of voice. He knew what was coming, but he still wasn't sure how to brace himself for it.

The nurse continued. "His mental state, on the other hand...is highly unstable. He was ranting throughout his checkup, talking a lot about a boy named Ros..." She gazed down at him curiously. "Is that you?"

Teuffel shook his head. "No...but he thinks I'm Ros."

She blinked in surprise. "Huh? What do you mean? Please, explain."

Teuffel looked away, shuffling his feet. "Ros was...a very dear person to him who moved away half a year ago. Ever since then, he's been really depressed..." He paused, trying to gather himself before he broke down again. "I guess...whatever happened to him in there, he must've gotten me confused with Ros...so now he thinks I'm him..."

The nurse looked alarmed at this. "Oh, dear...this is much worse than we thought..."

Teuffel saw it coming, but that didn't mean it hurt any less to hear.

"I've been talking about this with the other nurses and doctors, and it seems that I'm correct."

Teuffel clenched his fists. "What...? What's wrong with him?"

She let out another long sigh. "It seems he's developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD for short. It occurs when someone experiences extreme cases of injury, death, or any other traumatic event. He's in a lot of shock due to what happened and, because of this, it seems he's gotten your identity confused with someone whom he longs to see again."

Teuffel stared down at the floor, nodding.

Her voice softened. "I'm so sorry to tell you this. He'll need to receive treatment until he recovers. Until then, can I be sure that you'll stay by his side and support him throughout all of it?"

Teuffel nodded again, tears forming in his eyes. "O-of course," he choked, "Of c-course I will."

She patted his head. "Thanks for bringing him to us before it got any worse." She started walking away, but not before she called, "Take good care of him, kiddo."

Teuffel rubbed his eyes and put on a determined face. Right. He needed to be strong. He needed to be strong because Alba couldn't be strong right now. And he'd continue to be strong until Alba was okay. He wouldn't break down and cry and lose himself until then.

So, with his face set, he slipped into Alba's room. Most of the doctors and nurses that had been ushered in there before were gone now. Alba sat on the bed, sucking on a lollipop. Teuffel bit his knuckles at the sight of him.

He looked much better than he did when Teuffel had found him, that's for sure. But he was still pretty beat up. Bandages and gauze covered all of the places where Elf had cut him, the gauze used for the deeper cuts, including the one on his cheek.

When Teuffel approached him, Alba's eyes settled on him and lit up. Teuffel held his breath in anticipation. From what he could see, they'd regained their normal glimmer, not the milky and distant glaze they'd had when he'd found him in the basement.

Maybe...?

"Ros!" Alba cried, sitting up straight.

Teuffel tried not to let his grimace show. Apparently Alba wasn't completely back to normal after all.

No. You will not cry. You're not going to run away like that asshole. You're strong. You can do this. He chanted this inside his head as he walked over to the brunette's bed.

"Uh...hi, Alba."

Alba smiled, a bright, beautiful one that had his nerves melting away. "I wanted to see you, but they said that they couldn't let anybody in until they were finished with my checkup. I'm glad you're here now!" He scooted over and threw an arm around Teuffel's neck.

"...I was scared...that you'd left me again..." He admitted quietly.

Teuffel sighed and hugged him back, enjoying the warmth of being in his favorite person's arms. "I wouldn't leave you, silly."

Alba giggled into his neck before he pulled away, twirling the lollipop in his hand. "So, you're staying here, then? You're not leaving?"

Teuffel shook his head. "No, Alba...I'm staying right here."

Alba positively beamed at this. It slowly faded away into a suspicious look. "Hey, call me like you usually do. Hearing you call me Alba all the time sounds so weird now!"

Teuffel blinked at him while he tried to rack his brains for the name. What did Ros always call him? Ugh, he couldn't remember. Was it...H...He...

"Okay, Hero." Ah, that was it! Hero! Why Hero, though? No offense to Alba, but he wasn't exactly the heroic type...

"That's better!" Alba cheered, laughing. Teuffel watched him do so and smiled fondly. Even though Alba wasn't completely back to his usual self, he'd definitely gotten better in the last hour or so.

"So, where did you go? Why did you leave? What made you came back?" Alba asked him questions, one after the other. "I...I was so lonely without you, you know..."

Teuffel winced as he was put on the spot. He'd have to think quickly. What would Ros say in this situation? Luckily for him, he'd had plenty of experience watching people because he'd much rather do that than interact with them, so he'd studied everyone around him when he could. He knew exactly what to say.

Now, the question here was, could he pull it off without sounding really stupid?

"Family matters," he responded. Wait, what? Family matters? Seriously? That was the best he could come up with? "I-I came back to visit everyone for a few days..." Upon Alba's look of panic he added, "B-but, since you got beaten up, Hero, I guess I have no choice but to stay here and make sure you don't...die." Whoa. It almost felt as if he'd just uttered poison. Did Ros really talk this way?

And all the time, too! Teuffel hated being so teasing to Alba. It annoyed him.

Apparently whatever he said worked, because Alba seemed satisfied with his answer. "Okay. But you'd better tell your family that you're staying here a lot longer than you planned!" He tilted his head to the side, eyes growing large. "That's weird. I've never heard you talk about your family before. What are they like?"

Teuffel glanced down at his pocket when his phone buzzed. As he gave Alba a half-hearted response, he read through his text messages.

Foyfoy: We're here. Where r u guys?

Me: Upstairs, second room to the left. Just try not to be too surprised and play along, okay?

Foyfoy: Jesus u make it sound like he's in a coma or something

Teuffel let out a humorless laugh.

Me: Not quite. You'll see.

"Rossss? Who are you texting?" Alba asked him, trying to lean over his shoulder and see.

"Ah...uh...none of your business, Hero." He stated gruffly, resisting the urge to smile when Alba stuck his tongue out at him.

Hey, this was actually kinda fun!

A knock sounded at the door. "Alba-saaaaan?"

"Hey, it's Rchi-chan! Come in!" Alba called out.

Foyfoy looked astonished from the other side of the door. "Weird. He sounds fine. But Teuffel made it sound like he'd gone insane."

Rchi shrugged. "Let's just see how he's doing!" And with that, they opened the door.

What they saw surprised them so badly that they became speechless. Alba, on the bed, covered in bandages and wrapped in gauze. Despite his rough exterior, he looked delighted to see them.

"Rchi-chan! Oh, and Foyfoy-kun!" Alba exclaimed joyfully.

"A-Alba-san...what happened to you?!" Rchi cried, hands over her mouth.

Alba chuckled, slightly embarrassed. "Um, well, I kinda got caught in a dangerous situation and got cut up a little. But I'm okay now, honest!" His smile grew even broader. "And look who came to save me! Can you believe it?"

Rchi looked over at Teuffel, who was now sweating. "Teuffel-san? Yes, we knew that already..."

Teuffel knew it was coming. He started fidgeting with his hands out of nervousness.

Alba regarded her with a thoroughly confused stare. "Huh? Teuffel-san? No, that's Ros, silly!" Rchi gaped at him in shock as he continued, "He came all the way here to see me! And he saved me! Isn't that great?"

Foyfoy frowned. "Alba, that's not—" He was cut off when Teuffel made a hand slicing motion across his neck, warning him not to continue. Rchi saw this too and gave him a look that clearly said, "We'll talk about this later" to which Teuffel nodded and clapped his hands together in a "Please play along" motion.

"O-oh, uh...wow, Ros! Good to see you, man!" Foyfoy laughed, a little too loudly.

Rchi, being the smart girl she was, employed her acting skills to the max when she ran forward and hugged Teuffel's waist, crying, "Oh, Ros-san! We've all missed you so much! It's so good to see you again!"

Teuffel smiled and patted her head awkwardly. "Oh, uh...hey, Rchi. N-nice to see you guys too..."

"Now we're all together again," Alba murmured, eyes wavering.

Teuffel's eyes softened. "Al—er, Hero..."

Rchi looked surprised at this, but she quickly shook it off. "...Yeah! Now we can be a trio again!"

Foyfoy scratched the back of his neck, feeling like the fourth wheel in a situation such as this one. "Uh, hey, Te—Ros. Mind if I speak to you outside for a minute?"

Rchi caught on to this. "Oh, yes! I'd like to speak with you, as well..."

Teuffel nodded, almost too enthusiastically. "Oh, yeah, sure! I mean, uh, if you want."

They gathered up outside the door. Once Foyfoy and Rchi left, Alba called out to Teuffel before he could escape the strange atmosphere, as well.

"R-Ros?"

Teuffel turned and almost started squealing at the sight. Alba was looking away, a bashful blush on his cheeks.

Damn, he's just too cute...!

"You...you'll come right back...won't you?" He said so quietly that Teuffel almost didn't catch it.

Teuffel smiled at him. "Of course, Hero." Alba looked at him weirdly, so he sputtered and added, "If I don't you'll, uh, probably be really lonely without me, right? You wimp."

Alba's cheeks turned pink and he fisted the hospital sheets in his hands. "Hey!"

Teuffel chuckled, a genuine one, before giving him a wave and leaving the room.

Alba relaxed, slumping against the bedsheets. Geez, he thought, blushing, he still loves to tease me...

He stared up at the ceiling, furrowing his eyebrows. But he seems different. Not that that's a bad thing, but...well, he must've been through a lot while he was gone...he's nicer to me now. He smiled, his blush intensifying. I...have to admit...I really like seeing this kind of Ros...

And even though he was happy about it, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was still wrong.

Shima: HOH SHIT! Who saw that coming?! It was actually Teuffel that rescued Alba! (Sorry to all of you who wanted Ros to come back. Not yet, not yet...his time will soon come...)

Alba: Now I've really gone insane...

Ros: Hero, you've taken your fetish with me way too far.

Alba: I DON'T HAVE A FETISH FOR YOU!

Shima: (Yes, you do.) Of course not, Alba dear.

Ros: (You totally do.) Sure, Hero.

Alba: Stop making fun of me! Dammit!

Shima: It's about time I signed off and took a nap! I'm so tired! -yawns- Have a great day, everyone! Please drop a review if you have the time!

Well, until next chapter! 'Bye!