Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing.

Finally, time to start Egoist. Now this part is gonna take place four years before Romantica because the consenting age in Japan is fourteen, and I don't wanna make it younger because I just don't.

KrissyKunn: No, it's cuz you can't write shota.

Chey: Shh, don't tell them that

JFantisist: But it's true

Chey: Ugh, I just can't win today. Anyway, please forgive any weirdness. I am gonna try to keep situations the same but things will be different from the manga.

Egoist Act One

In love with my best friend. What a joke. Hiroki stared off into space. He'd been in love with his neighbor, Usami Akihiko since the boy had moved there four years ago. But in the end, he hadn't even worked up the courage to tell him.

He'd made the mistake of asking his parents for advice. The moment they realized he was talking about a boy, they'd kicked him out of the house and disinherited him.

This brought him to the lonely park bench where he now sat, cursing his stupidity. What would he do now? He supposed he was lucky. Before he'd gotten kicked out, he had gotten into a good school with a full scholarship because his grades were so good. Unfortunately, this place did not have dorms so he might be able to go to school, but he didn't have anywhere to stay.

He couldn't stay at Akihiko's because his parents were dead and he'd been raised by his older brother who could barely support them, let alone him as well, and he had no other friends. His temper had always scared away everyone but Akihiko.

Hiroki sagged and lost the battle with his tears. He let them slide down, one by one, soaking his cheeks.

And then an air rocket crash landed between his feet. "Gyaa!" he yelled, eyes swinging around for the person who launched it.

He caught sight of a beautiful young man with dark hair and western blue eyes. He stared at Hiroki, who remembered then that his face was tearstained. He looked away, scrubbing his eyes.

The man said nothing, but he picked up the rocket and grabbed Hiroki by the wrist. "Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Kusama Nowaki." He pulled a stuttering Hiroki to his feet and started to drag him along.

Hiroki got irritated. "Hey, let go. What's your deal, dragging me around? I said, let go!"

Nowaki did not respond. He simply led him to the center of the park where three old men sat. "Hey, Wattchan!" one of them called. "Did you find the rocket? Oh, another new face," he continued when he noticed Nowaki was not alone. "Welcome!" He handed Hiroki a beer.

"Um, I'm underage," he muttered, not that that had stopped him from drinking before. He was a teenager after all.

"It's alright," Nowaki said seriously, looking right into Hiroki's eyes. He ruffled the boy's hair lightly and looked for a moment like he was going to kiss him.

"Hey, Wattchan, come on, we're launching it again." Nowaki walked away and Hiroki stared after him. His heart was thumping. It felt like it did when he thought about Akihiko. No, that was impossible…right?

"What's you're name, young man," one of them asked.

"Kamijou Hiroki," he replied, distractedly.

"Hey, Hiroki-kun," one of the other men said. "Can we call you Hittan?"

Hiroki ignored him, sipping his beer. He looked over at Nowaki and one of the men said, "Yama-san over there wanted to be an astronaut, but he couldn't so Nowaki is helping him. He helped all of us. We wouldn't be friends if not for him."

"Yes, definitely, oh, here, take my card."

"Mine, too."

"And mine."

Hiroki took all three cards, thinking that these guys were just old men about to be laid off, and looked at them.

CEO…

President…

Director…

Who the hell are these people? And how the hell does that guy know all of them?

They all watched Nowaki and Yama-san for a few moments. "That kid's had a complicated life."

"He's in his twenties, hardly a kid," another man argued.

"No way," the first shot back. "He's nineteen, if he's a day."

"To us, everyone is a kid," the third said, pacifying them both.

"True, true. Anyway," he addressed Hiroki, "Nowaki was left on the steps of an orphanage when he was a baby in the middle of a hurricane, hence his name. He put himself through high school and is working about six jobs to put himself through medical school. He's gonna be one hell of a doctor someday."

Hiroki said nothing. This had nothing to do with him. All he wanted was to be happy.

To be continued…

Chey: Ugh, having a hard time with this. Sorry about shortness. By the by, I'm going on vacation so I won't be able to talk to anybody while I'm gone. I'll be back on Sunday night though. Anyway, I wanted to post something before I left:)

Thanks for reading!