Disclaimer: Still doesn't belong to me. :D

Warning: Grammar/spelling mistakes, missing words/letters. Characters are probably going to be OOC. Possible yaoi in the future, bad language and maybe fights and blood.

I Cry For The Last Time

Chapter Ten: Maybe.

"I didn't come for that, asshole." Marui glared a mock glare and dug out a small piece of paper from the front pocket of his hoodie. "This is for the brat. Give it to him once you can, `k?"

Akutsu didn't have the chance to agree, or maybe refuse, when someone else joined their conversation. "To give me what? By the way, I won't stop you from having your sexy time; just warn me beforehand, please, so that I can leave while I still can." Ryoma got his ponta from the fridge and opened it.

"Like I said…" Marui's face flushed and he pointed a finger at Ryoma, who was now busy tying his hair up, thus revealing the pierced ears, "I didn't come here for that!" the red-head yelled and after giving the revealed dragon tattoo a strange look, handed Ryoma the envelope.

Ryoma gave the piece of paper a doubtful look before taking it, giving Marui the same look as before. "Wazzis?" He opened it and took out the small invitation that was in the envelope, not too eager to actually read it though. Ryoma scratched his neck while his eyes lazily went over the text, his pierced lips twisting in distaste and eyebrow furrowing.

"And they seriously think I will go? Yeah, right…" the seventeen year old glared at the paper before throwing it on the table and walking out of the room. He had better things to do than letting those assholes make fun of him like this. And Keigo will probably be there too.

And why the hell am I thinking about that asshole now? Ryoma bit his pierced tongue so that didn't have to think about the rich teen. Ever since that night he catches himself imagining those big, warm and strong arms holding down his wrists now and then. It was slowly creeping him out.

"It's not like you have much of a chose Echizen." Marui said while Ryoma still could hear him, "If you go, it means you don't think that you are at fault… But if you don't… You get the point."

Ryoma stopped, but didn't turn around. "What will change if I actually go? They will suddenly receive some god-given enlightenment and figure out who really is the bad guy? Yeah, right, as if. The last thing I want is more shit thrown at me for what I didn't do." Even if the two didn't hear the offence in Ryoma's voice, they knew it was there. As well as hurt and loneliness.

When Ryoma disappeared back in his own room Akutsu turned to his boyfriend. "I will talk to the brat. You'll stay here?" he didn't want to admit it, but he was worried about Ryoma. They were best buddies after all.

"Nah, I have to go back and help the others with the preparations. You'll be coming too, won't you? To the party." Marui asked Akutsu after he had given him a kiss on the cheek.

"I can't make the brat go alone, can I?" Akutsu ruffled the mop of red hair. He watched Marui leave, the foreboding feeling of something bad happening taking over him and hanging in the air. Whatever will happen and whoever will try to take Ryoma down, Akutsu will stand by Ryoma's side and won't leave the brat alone.

He knew how painful it was being alone.

He found Ryoma in the room he had been given, sitting on the bed and looking outside through the window (Or maybe he wasn't. It was hard to tell) with an unreadable expression on his face. His shoulders were tense and the ponta can in his hands was gripped so tightly, it might break any second now.

Akutsu pulled the can out of Ryoma's hands. "I thought you won't let them get to you." It was something that Ryoma had said before coming to Japan for the summer. And it seemed that Ryoma wasn't acting on those words right now.

There was a snort that was supposed to be a rude answer from Ryoma. Akutsu ignored that and sat next to the black wearing teen he called 'best buddy' and waited. At time like these it was better to wait for the younger to start talking himself – he had developed that kind of habit during the years spent in America. Never talk if you are asked to.

"I just don't get it. Why the hell more do they want from me? Am I going around the place spouting shit about them? Am I getting in their way somehow?" Ryoma finally said; his hands were balled up in fists – nails digging into the soft skin of his palms and even drawing blood. "What have I done to deserve all this ridicule and hatred? WHAT?"

Akutsu could see that the teen was doing everything he could not to get up and smash or punch something. The stress and pain that had built up for all this time – it was all too much for one single human being to take up on himself. The last time he had seen (or known) Ryoma cry was on that day that he had found him in that abandoned dressing-room. Though, Ryoma didn't cry even then, but he looked close enough to that stage.

"Tezuka wants to make sure that you don't have the courage to return here. He's the one behind all this." Akutsu calmly said, not bothering to offer words of consolation. They wouldn't help anyway. "But the question is – will you let him do that? And besides, we went over this yesterday."

Ryoma gave Akutsu a look. A look that spoke of so many things and, at the same time, didn't speak at all. It was one the brat's new-found skills. "And what do you think I should do? And I know full well that we went over this yesterday. Shut it and help me." The irritation was back and the some of the old Ryoma too.

"I think you should kick their asses." Akutsu simply said and mock-punched Ryoma on the arm. Even through his long bangs that covered his eyes he could see the brat smirk. It took so little to cheer him up. Honestly.

"Moron." Ryoma snickered and fell back onto his bed/couch. "Let's go and ruin a party then." Since the date was set only three days from now, Ryoma still needed time to figure out just what to wear and how to show them all that he didn't give a flying rat's ass about what they think about him.

That and leather pants (the ones that seemed a bit too tight even on him) wouldn't be a god choice to wear on a hot June day.

"Let's go shopping."

Akutsu groaned in response.

"So that's what happened, huh?" Oshitari asked while sipping his coffee, looking far too smug for someone who didn't want to get involved in the whole 'Echizen haters' movement (Oshitari had dubbed it 'religion', but Keigo didn't want to be blamed for blasphemy, even if he wasn't a follower of any real religious movements).

"More or less. He made it clear with his body language that he is planning something and that something is nothing good. To Echizen, to be more specific." Keigo didn't really want to tell Oshitari about his meeting with Ryoma - that might cause some severe teasing. "And as you know, I do not believe in that rubbish that Tezuka and the rest of them are spouting."

Oshitari looked rather amused (then again, he always did) when he smirked back at Keigo. "So what are you going to do? Stand on his side?"

"Most probably. I cannot just stand on the sidelines and watch as someone without blame is treated disrespectfully." It was half true and half lies. But Oshitari didn't need to know that, now did he? "And there is also Akutsu and some of the rare specimens that also don not trust Tezuka." He added as a matter of fact.

"You sure you didn't meet Echizen yesterday?" Oshitari is now giving him the serious look, searching for something on his face, "Because you sound like your crush, nurtured for years, has been resurrected quite suddenly." It was that annoying, all-knowing smile that managed to get on Keigo's nerves, that now could be found playing on Oshitari's lips.

He gave his blue-haired coeval a hard look, something that had long ago stopped working on the smiling bastard, and sighed. "Oshitari, you of all people know that nothing could make Echizen give me some sort of sign that it is ok to chase after him. And just so you know – no, I have not met him." Lies, all he was sporting now were lies.

"If you say so. But I still am a bit suspicious." Oshitari returned to his coffee and left that issue alone. "Well, even if they do start something against Echizen at that party, I will first observe and then act. That is my way of doing things." He casted a quick look at the opened envelope.

Keigo ignored that and flipped open his phone. Yet another message had come about yet another deal he had to go to in his father's place. He quickly read through the contents of it, frowning after reading the name of the person he will have to work with and then closed his phone again. Maybe, just maybe, things would get a bit better between him and Ryoma?

"Another business thing that your father is too lazy to do himself? Or it's just a greeting message this time." Oshitari asked, not in the least bit interested in knowing.

"I might get to meet Echizen soon." Keigo lied about 'get to meet soon' thing. Because he already had met the teen. "It seems that his father is my father's good friend and also partner, so he thinks we should be friends too, since, after all, Echizen has come to Japan." He knew that he sounded happy, but right now, Keigo couldn't care less about how many emotions his voce showed.

Oshitari seemed to be truly surprised for a moment. "You don't say? Well, that is good news for you and probably annoying news for the person we are talking about. Still, good luck Atobe. I think you will need it." The blue-haired teen smiled and got up to get back to training with the old and new regulars of Hyotei academy.

Tezuka was just doing the usual forced grocery shopping parent's made him do at least once a week. And he had to get Inui's and Yagani's birthday presents. Not that they actually needed one, it was just nice to get them one. After all, the thought is what counts. Right?

Everything went just like every other time that Tezuka went out to do shopping. At times he ran into someone who he knew, sometimes even a teacher or two and sometimes he managed to somehow get himself in these situations.

"Jiroh. Yuuta." Tezuka acknowledged the two that were standing in front him, obviously in the middle of a date.

"Tezuka." Fuji Yuuta nodded his head once, not bothering to get Jiroh to do the same. All knew what he thought of Tezuka and the whole Echizen matter. "Weren't you supposed to help the sempais with the preparation?" he wasn't impolite you see, just stiff.

Tezuka thought for a brief moment in favor of ignoring the question along with the asker, but he didn't want a Fuji with a bad mood near him if he were to know of this meeting. "I am not a part of the party makers. Your brother and his other half are."

"I see." Yuuta drawled out and tugged the small ponytail at the base of his neck, an act of nervousness. That was sign that he wasn't feeling too comfortable. "Well then, we will leave you at you shopping, right Jiroh-san?"

Jiroh looked away from whatever he was watching and looked at his boyfriend. "What, what?" his eyes then darted from Yuuta to Tezuka and back, not quite sure of what he should be doing now. But, luckily, for both Yuuta and Tezuka, he wasn't as dense as usual today. "Ah, let's leave. I want to taste those new ice creams in the old shop down the road."

They had just passed by Tezuka, when the bespectacled teen grabbed the usually sleepy boy by the arm and stopped them both. "Akutagawa, do you know if Atobe will be attending the party?" it wasn't like he was interested, he just needed to know in advance, for safety.

And since the chance of getting to know just fell in his hands all on its own…

"Atobe? Who knows? I just know that they were planning on getting Echizen to come, not that he will. But if he were to go that would be so cool, ne, Yuu-chan?" Jiroh's face immediately lit up when he started to talk about the shunned Echizen.

"Ahh.. It sure would." Yuuta agreed, casting a fast glance at Tezuka, as if making sure that the elder won't do anything to them and then smiled at Jiroh. "If he were to go, it would surprise everyone there. Probably."

"Un! It sure as hell would! I just can't wait for the party, just three more days, right? Waahhh, I wanna see everyone sooooo bad!" Jiroh exclaimed suddenly wide awake and hyper just from thinking about it. The people that passed by looked at him strangely, as if he wasn't quite normal.

Tezuka sighed, this one won't tell him anything useful it seems. He bid a quick 'goodbye' and went on with what he was doing. Since the rumor about Echizen was now circulating all over the place there was no doubt that he already knew about the party. Question is – will he come?

Whatever he does will just destroy what little social life he has left in Japan, so, why should I worry? Tezuka smirked a tiny smirk to himself, while going over the assortment of various fruits in front of him. I just hope it will amuse me. If it doesn't, there is always the puppy that follows me around.

A/N: Who loves crazy pairings? I do! And I know that all of you like them too. :)

Next chapter will be purely the party scenes. And maybe even more. But for now, I will leave at this.

P.S. Just two days ago I found out that I have been writing the word "racket" (as in "tennis racket") wrong for the past… something years of my life. I am ashamed. -sadness-