Ryousuke's eyes snapped open and his hands flew to his throat, tears streaming down his face as he gasped for breath. Panting wildly and heart racing, he stared blankly above him until his vision finally started to focus and brain began processing what he was seeing. He was in bed. His old bed. His old bed at his old house, staring up at the bottom of the top bunk.

Scrambling out of bed, he winched as he hit the floor and bolted to his feet, jumping onto the ladder and staring in wide eyed shock at the sight of his little brother – his sleeping, innocent, and young baby brother. Swallowing thickly, he reached one shaking hand out and gently laid it on Haruichi's cheek, biting back a sob when he felt the soft and warm flesh.

This was real. Haruichi was real. Not caring about anything else at the moment, Ryousuke climbed the rest of the way up and slid in next to the younger boy. Wrapping his arms around Haruichi, he buried his face in the soft pink hair, letting out a shuddering breath. He didn't know what to think, or what had happened, but Haruichi was alive. He was here. And this time, Ryousuke wasn't letting go.

Slowly opening his eyes – and not remembering having shut them – Ryousuke propped himself up on one elbow and stared down at his little brother. A smile graced his lips and he laid back down, simply staring at the face in front of his and marveling at how this was actually happening.

Reaching one hand up, he hesitantly laid it on his sleeping brother's cheek again, still amazing that this was real. But here he was, soft and warm. Ryousuke frowned slightly and moved his hand up to Haruichi's forehead. He was hot. Feverishly hot. Sitting up, he slid out of bed and tucked Haruichi in before sliding down the ladder and making his way downstairs.

"You're up early Ryou-chan," His mother commented as he entered the kitchen. "Did you sleep well?"

"I had a weird dream," He said honestly. "And Haruichi's sick. He has a fever."

"I'll go check on him." Standing from the table, he kissed the top of his head and made her way to the stairs. "Oh, and Ryou-chan. One of your friends called earlier this morning. I told him you'd call back later. I left his number by the phone."

Watching his mother make her way upstairs, Ryousuke headed over the phone in the hallway. He stared at the paper for a few minutes, brain still attempting to register the name written down. Kuramochi Youichi.

The impact crashing over him, the pink haired male quickly picked up the phone and dialed the oddly familiar number. He tapped his foot impatiently as he listened to the phone ring, his breath catching when he heard the voice that was so familiar, but so different. "Youi-chan," He breathed, hardly believing this was real.

"Ryou-san!" The younger male's voice was so relieved, and Ryousuke raised one hand to his neck absently. "Thank God! I thought I was going crazy when I woke up this morning! I just – I don't – what happened?"

"I don't know Youi-chan. I'm just as confused as you are. Have you tried to call any of the others?"

"Yeah. Miyuki was just as confused as us. Bakamura nearly busted my eardrum with his loud he was crying. I couldn't reach the others though, but their parents told me they'd call back later." There was silence on the line before he asked hesitantly, "Does…Does he remember anything?"

"He hasn't woken up yet. He has a high fever."

"What are we going to do if he does?"

Ryousuke shook his head sadly. "I don't know Youichi. We'll just…we'll do what we can."

"Do you want me to come over?"

"You don't live anywhere near here."

"So what? We're on summer break right now. I checked the calendar first thing after I called you. Ryou-san, I'm I second year in middle school again."

Ryousuke felt the need to sit down. Sliding down the wall, he couldn't help but laugh. After all those years of pain, all those years of doubt, after everything they'd been through, they were back in middle school. The thought was just hilarious. He didn't realize he was crying until Kuramochi asked if he was alright.

"It's just…" He didn't know how to describe it.

"I know Ryou-san."

"Is everything alright Ryou-chan?" The pink haired teen wiped his eyes and nodded.

"I'm alright Okaa-san. Just remembered the dream I had."

The pink haired woman smiled softly and bent down to hug her son, kissing his temple. "It was just a dream sweetheart." Standing back up, she headed towards the kitchen. "What would you like for breakfast?"

Breath catching slightly as he remembered how his mother had passed away the year before they'd gotten word about how they'd been lied to, the third year looked back at the phone. "I'll talk to you later Youi-chan." Hanging up the phone, he followed his mother. "Can I help make breakfast?"

Haruna smiled in delight. "Of course you can! Go clean up first though. I don't want dirty hands touching the food."

"Yes Okaa-san."

Ryousuke had been expecting Youichi, haven gotten a call that morning that the younger teen was nearing his house. What he hadn't been expecting was the large group standing on his doorstep. He was halfway tempted to shut the door in their faces, but with his mother standing behind him knew he'd get scolded for it.

"They all wanted to come," Kuramochi said, shrugging his shoulders helplessly.

Haruna smiled slightly. She hadn't seen any of these boys around before, and had no idea how they knew her sons. The bats and gloves in their hands indicated they were friends through baseball. Maybe they were on other teams.

"Ryou-chan," she said, putting a hand on her son's head, "Why don't you go get Haru-chan and you two can go play for a while. Just make sure you're back in time for dinner, alright?"

"Hai, Okaa-san." Turning, he made his way upstairs to get his little brother. "Haruichi!" He called, shaking his head when he saw his baby brother playing on his DS. He hadn't put it down since he'd gotten that new game. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" He asked, saving his game and powering down the DS before hopping down from his bed.

"We're going to play baseball with some friends of mine. Grab your stuff and come down." He ruffled the pink hair, smiling at the pout he got, and collected his own bat and glove before heading back downstairs.

Making his way outside, he greeted his friends. It was Miyuki who finally asked, "So?"

Ryousuke shook his head. "Nothing."

Kuramochi put a hand on his shoulder. "It's best this way." The pink haired teen nodded and turned as the door opened, holding one hand out towards Haurichi who was hovering nervously in the doorway, clutching his bat close.

"Come on Haruichi. I want you to meet my friends."

So I really like this ending. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! Let me know what you thought!