Different but Same

Chapter 8

AN: Enjoy Chapter 8!

A gentle breeze blew into Kamiya's room through her open window, waking her up. She groaned as she sat up, rubbing her groggy eyes. She usually wasn't that tired when she woke up in the morning, but she couldn't really sleep through the night because she was too busy thinking. A part of her was hoping Ryuga would text her, but she came to the conclusion that he had no reason to since they essentially resolved everything that happened yesterday while they were walking home.

She rolled her head to the side, looking at her phone that was charging on her nightstand. Will he ever reach out to me? She reached a hand out to grab her phone, but retracted it. Of course he will. Despite admitting that he wouldn't, he still will because he now sees me as a friend. He has no reason to ignore me. That last thought left a disturbing feeling inside Kamiya, but she ignored it, then got ready for school.

Kamiya looked to her left when she walked out of her house, hoping to see Ryuga, but she didn't see him. "I guess he already left," she said to herself, voicing out her disappointment. She took out her phone and opened Ryuga's contact. She was about to ask him if he left for school already, then pocketed her phone with a heavy sigh. "Get a hold of yourself, Kamiya. He's not going anywhere."

She made her way to the train station, patiently waiting with crossed arms.

"Kamiya-san?"

Kamiya turned around to see Nekozaki running over to her. "Hey, Nekozaki-san."

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. How about you?"

Nekozaki grinned. "I'm doing great!"

Kamiya smiled. "I'm glad to hear that." How is she and Shikimori-san always so happy? No matter how bad things are for them, they still walk around with the brightest smiles. I wish I could be more like them…

"You should just ignore them and be yourself."

Kamiya widened her eyes when she remembered when Ryuga told her those words.

"What's wrong, Kamiya-san?" Nekozaki asked, but Kamiya barely heard her.

If my friends accept me for who I really am, then why do I still feel like I need to change? Why am I so disappointed in myself all the time? She didn't have any answers to her questions, which frustrated her. She was tired of constantly feeling down and disappointed while having to act like everything was fine on the outside. She hated having to hide the things she desperately wanted to get out from her friends. But Ryuga-san shared some of his frustrations with me, even before we were friends, and I was constantly asking Shikimori-san and Nekozaki-san for advice about becoming his friend, so it shouldn't be a bother to either of them to get some things off my chest, would it?

"We're boarding, Kamiya-san," Nekozaki informed Kamiya, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Oh… Thanks for letting me know." She boarded the train with Nekozaki.

"Are you sure you're okay, Kamiya-san? You've been awfully quiet. Like, even more than usual."

"Huh?" Kamiya looked at Nekozaki, unsure of whether she should tell her about everything that was currently on her mind. But I was just trying to justify coming to her about these things, so I might as well tell her… "Ryuga-san and I are now friends."

"Really?!" Nekozaki now had a gleeful grin on her face. "That's amazing, Kamiya-san!"

Kamiya wanted to smile, but her worries prevented her from doing so. "But I can't help but feel that he won't treat me like a friend. I feel like I will have to put in all of the work."

"Well, has he given you any reason to worry so far?"

Kamiya remembered all of her conversations with Ryuga yesterday. While she did approach him at the beginning of the day, he approached her during gym class and after school. Even though he didn't seem to be happy, she knew it wasn't because of her. They were talking about really depressing topics and personal problems, so she could understand why he wasn't in the best mood. But she was still glad that he wanted to talk to her.

"I'm assuming he did…" Nekozaki said, sounding bitter.

"No, he didn't!" Kamiya quickly said, not wanting to give Nekozaki any reason to dislike Ryuga. "He's just… not very open to communicating because… he's not used to it…" She hoped that would explain all of her worries without sharing any actual information about Ryuga.

"Then you should be the one to open up communication with him."

"So you're saying I should be the one to initiate our conversations, whether it be in person, over text, or over a phone call?" Kamiya didn't want to be angry, especially with Nekozaki, but she didn't want to repeat everything she'd fought for just to become friends with Ryuga. She wanted everything she'd done to be reciprocated. Ryuga-san will reciprocate our friendship, she reassured herself. He's already approached me because he wanted to talk to me, so I shouldn't have anything to worry about.

"It shouldn't have to be that way, but if it turns out to be that you're the one who's always initiating your conversations, then he isn't really interested in being your friend," Nekozaki explained.

Kamiya looked at the floor with downcast eyes. She cupped her hands together, remembering when Ryuga touched her to comfort her while also fighting off his own discomfort. She was reminded of his rough, cracked, calloused hands, yet they were so warm and gentle. He cares… I know he does…

"Kamiya-san?"

Kamiya blinked, looking at Nekozaki. "What?"

"You're blushing," Nekozaki pointed out. "Is everything all right? Do you have a fever?"

Kamiya, just realizing that she was indeed blushing, blushed even more. Her face felt like it was on fire. "N-No… I-I'm fine…" she stammered.

Nekozaki smirked. "You're crushing on Ryuga-san, aren't you?"

"I'm not!" Kamiya denied, but she knew she was just exposing herself even more.

Nekozaki burst out laughing, confusing Kamiya. "I'm just messing around with you! You should've seen your face!"

Kamiya put her hands over her face, internally groaning. She wasn't used to being so embarrassed. She'd always keep her emotions bottled inside. But just the mention of her having a crush was enough to make her flustered. How does Ryuga-san internalize everything so easily? How can he always keep his composure?

"But seriously, do you like Ryuga-san?" Nekozaki asked seriously.

Kamiya ran her hands through her hair, letting out a heavy sigh, keeping her eyes on the floor. "I don't want to answer your question." She didn't want to come off as rude, but she really didn't want anyone knowing about her feelings for Ryuga. She still didn't completely understand them, so she wanted to get them sorted out before coming to anyone for advice. And she didn't have this desperate urge to tell someone about it, which relieved her.

Nekozaki frowned. "That's understandable. I honestly can't even understand how you can even like him if he barely talks to you."

Kamiya glared at the floor, fighting the urge to direct it at Nekozaki. She knew Nekozaki meant well, but hearing her talk about Ryuga like that hurt her. She wanted to defend Ryuga—to tell Nekozaki that she was wrong—but she knew Nekozaki wasn't trying to hurt Ryuga. She barely knew him, so it would make sense why she'd have such a vague opinion of him.

"Am I wrong?"

Kamiya finally looked at Nekozaki. "Not really…" Those words left a bitter taste in her mouth, but she couldn't give Nekozaki an alternative reason. Unless… "Ryuga-san's trying to change, though. He actually approaches me now." She hoped that was reason enough to convince Nekozaki that Ryuga was at least a good person.

Nekozaki looked curious. "Really? When?"

"Yesterday," Kamiya said. "We talked at the start of gym class and walked home together after school."

Nekozaki smirked. "I was wrong about Ryuga-san."

Kamiya just blinked. "What do you mean?"

"He must really like you if he's willing to take you home after school."

"Well, we are friends, so I would hope that he likes me." I just wish he reciprocated my feelings for him… Will he ever feel that way?

It was Nekozaki's turn to blink in confusion. "Huh? Do you really not understand what I'm getting at, Kamiya-san?"

Kamiya didn't want to keep playing dumb, but she didn't want to tell Nekozaki how she truly felt. What should I do, then? She remembered how Nekozaki had always been there to give her advice. I can trust her. "I do understand, Nekozaki-san."

"Then why have you been giving me the impression that you didn't understand?" Nekozaki asked.

"Because I didn't want you to know that I like Ryuga-san," Kamiya said, feeling like a huge weight was lifted off of her shoulders.

Nekozaki jumped out of her seat. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! Why else would you take an interest in him?! It was so obvious!"

Kamiya was too embarrassed to look at Nekozaki.

Nekozaki chuckled, then sat back in her seat. "Sorry. I guess I overreacted a little, huh? I'm just happy for you, Kamiya-san."

"Why?" Kamiya asked, looking back to Nekozaki. "I thought you disagreed with the idea of me liking Ryuga-san?"

Nekozaki shook her head. "That was wrong of me to say. I know how hard you tried just to become his friend, so I will continue to support you."

All Kamiya could do was smile at her friend's support. "Thank you, Nekozaki-san."

Nekozaki returned her smile. "Of course! That's what friends are for!"

The train came to a stop.

"Come on. Let's get to school."

School was the same as usual. Classes taught the lesson for the day in each subject and were then sent off to lunch, which ended up being a hallway full of students, talking amongst themselves.

"Let's go to the cafeteria, Ryuga-san," Kamiya suggested, getting out of her seat.

He looked up at her, still sitting in his seat. "I'm gonna stay here, but you can go eat with your friends. I appreciate the offer, though."

"Do you not eat lunch?"

"Not really, no," Ryuga said. "I like to use this little amount of time to think to myself."

"What do you think about?"

Ryuga's eyes narrowed into a sharp glare. "None of your business."

Kamiya took a step back, surprised that Ryuga got angry so suddenly. "I wasn't trying to invade your personal thoughts. I was only curious."

Ryuga looked away from her and back down at his desk. "I know. And I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I'm just very protective of myself because my mother doesn't know how to respect boundaries and always tries to get information out of me."

Kamiya could feel her anger rising at the mention of Ryuga's mother and the things she did to harm him, but she buried it. She knew she had to remain calm if she wanted to help Ryuga. "You didn't do anything wrong. I don't blame you for being protective."

"But you shouldn't have to bear the burden of my struggles and frustrations." Ryuga opened his backpack and pulled out a notebook.

"Is that your diary?" Kamiya asked. "That's really private, Ryuga-san. You don't have to show that to me."

"It's not a diary," Ryuga said, turning to face Kamiya. "Remember when I told you that I was reading a story online back when we first met during library committee?"

"Yeah."

"I was reading a fanfiction. I prefer to read them over regular books because they're… more imaginative, I guess…"

"That sounds fascinating."

Ryuga's eyes widened in surprise. "You think so?"

Kamiya nodded. "That shows that there was something in a fictional universe that you wanted to happen. You questioned things, which is good."

"Do you read fanfiction?"

Kamiya tilted her head as she racked her brain. "Not that I recall… I mostly just read manga and romance novels."

Ryuga looked away from her. "Would you… read a fanfiction story… if I wrote it…?"

Kamiya smiled brightly. "I would love to read a story of yours, Ryuga-san!"

He looked back to her, handing her his notebook. "Those are all of the ideas I've come up with for a story I'm currently writing, although I haven't posted anything online yet."

"Don't worry about that. I'm honored to be the first person you're showing this to. What's your story about?"

Ryuga looked away from her again. "Do you know what Pokémon is?"

Kamiya blinked. "I haven't heard of it. What is it?"

"If you're not interested, that's okay," Ryuga said. "Don't force yourself to like something just because somebody else does."

"Ryuga-san, I am interested in knowing what Pokémon is," Kamiya assured him. "Please tell me about it."

Ryuga pulled out his phone and started typing, then showed it to Kamiya. On his screen were images of several different creatures, maps, and landscapes. "Pokémon—or pocket monsters—is a video game series where Trainers catch Pokémon and battle with them. There's usually an antagonistic team that the protagonist must face throughout their journey, as well as their rival. Throughout their journey, they have to defeat Gyms, and after they do that they can challenge the Elite Four and become the Champion. You're also tasked with completing the Pokédex, which is like an encyclopedia about Pokémon, but I never bother to complete it. I haven't played Pokémon in a few years to be honest. I guess I just lost interest…"

Kamiya was staring at Ryuga with her mouth slightly agape. She was in complete shock at everything he just explained. She may have not known anything about Pokémon, but she thought she could now play the game just from listening to Ryuga explain everything to her.

"Was that too much information for you?" Ryuga asked, snapping Kamiya out of her thoughts.

"Oh, no, it's fine. I think I understand. Why did you lose interest?"

"I guess I just enjoyed writing more… I just didn't get any enjoyment out of playing video games anymore." Ryuga looked up at the ceiling. "I guess it all started when my best friend a few years back explained all of the problems I had with my family. Ever since then, all I wanted was to make things better."

Kamiya gave him a sympathetic look. "But they didn't, did they?"

Ryuga was now glaring. "No, they didn't. In fact, things just got worse, which is why I just gave up. I guess writing was the only way I could cope with all of my problems. I could just escape into my own imagination where I could control everything and feel the emotions that I wanted to feel."

Kamiya smiled sympathetically. "That's not a bad way to cope. It's actually pretty healthy." She looked at her desk, frowning. She just realized that she'd been neglected by her mother for sixteen years and never tried to understand why. She never tried to make things better. She just got lost in her studies and after-school committees.

"Something wrong?" Ryuga asked, looking at her.

"I just realized that my way of coping with my problems was keeping myself busy to distract myself from it all," Kamiya sighed, pushing a strand of hair out of her eye. "I never really experienced what life was like…"

"That's on our parents. You can't blame yourself for that. Sure, it was your choice to keep to yourself and not make friends, but that's only because you felt safe in your comfort zone. You were alone your entire life, so it must've felt weird to approach others, huh?"

"Not really… I was just… afraid of what others would think of me…" Kamiya didn't want to tell Ryuga the truth. She wished she just agreed to his speculation. But she knew he already accepted her for who she was, so she didn't want to ruin her friendship with him building it off of lies.

"That's understandable."

Kamiya looked at Ryuga. "Huh?" She wasn't expecting him to say that. She was sure he was going to lecture her about not caring about what other people thought.

"I've always been… different from the rest of the crowd," he said. "I just felt so different from everyone else around me. Nobody shared my interests or hobbies. Everyone just wanted to follow what was trending at the time, while I was just happy with what I enjoyed while growing up as a kid." Ryuga's eyes narrowed in disappointment. "It's like everyone is trying to be somebody there not just to impress society as a whole. I don't understand it. Why can't we just be who we want to be?"

"I think it's because we want to feel wanted and needed by others," Kamiya explained. "We're social beings, so we seek recognition and acceptance from others. And I also think it has to do with the fact that we're all insecure about something within ourselves, so we go to others hoping that they can make us feel better about ourselves."

Ryuga's eyes narrowed disapprovingly. "Is that why we have friends, then? To make us feel better about ourselves?"

Kamiya widened her eyes in fear. "That's not true! I'm your friend because I want to be! I'm not trying to use you to make me feel better about myself!"

Ryuga's glowing red eyes narrowed even further. "But we want friends to feel connected to others because we're not happy by ourselves. Friends use each other to feel accepted and wanted."

It was Kamiya's turn to narrow her eyes. "So you're saying that we shouldn't have friends? That we should be alone for our entire lives?"

"Until we can truly accept ourselves and acknowledge what we see, then yes, I think we should be alone. People just use each other to get what they want," Ryuga growled, fists shaking on his desk.

Kamiya reached a hand out to try and calm his anger, which he seemed to notice, then pulled his hand away.

"I'm okay, Kamiya-san," he reassured her. "I'm just not used to seeing good people." His eyes softened. "...People like you."

Kamiya gasped, too surprised to cover up the heat that climbed her cheeks. "Y-You still think I'm a good person for supposedly using you to feel wanted and accepted? Why?"

"Because you already know who you are. We both do. We're friends because we're happy being with each other and are able to comfortably talk about our interests and problems."

"So it's not a bad thing that we're friends?"

Ryuga shook his head. "No. Quite the opposite. Since we both have already acknowledged who we are, our friendship is a good thing. It will hopefully allow us to further grow and develop individually and our friendship."

Kamiya smiled. "I hope for that as well. I'm glad we could come to an understanding, Ryuga-san."

Ryuga nodded, somewhat disappointing Kamiya. She was hoping he would smile, but she assumed he buried such emotions from all of the bullying and neglect from his family.

"I am happy, Kamiya-san," Ryuga said as if he read her mind. "It just feels awkward to smile. I cut off my emotions to cope with my problems." He did manage to force a barely noticeable smile. "I'm glad you can smile. You're not as lost as I am."

Kamiya opened her mouth to reply, but the bell interrupted her.

"Well, thank you for staying with me. I really appreciate it."

Kamiya widened her smile. "I'll always be here for you, Ryuga-san," she assured him.

Ryuga just blinked, visibly confused.

Soon the students started entering the classroom, and they resumed their studies.

The bell rang throughout the school and all of the students started gathering their things and walking out of their classrooms. Kamiya looked beside her to see that Ryuga was still sitting in his seat, not even making an attempt to gather his things.

"Is everything okay, Ryuga-san?" she asked him.

"Hm?" he asked as he looked at her. "Yeah, I'm doing okay. It's just… a little disappointing when school ends now…"

"Why?"

"Because I won't get to see you…"

Kamiya gasped, not expecting Ryuga to say that. She suspected he didn't want to leave because he didn't want to go home, but he actually admitted that he wanted to see her. She felt like her feelings for him increased as much as the heat that flooded her cheeks.

"Did I make you uncomfortable?" Ryuga asked, snapping Kamiya out of her trance. "That wasn't my intention. I was just being honest."

"It's fine, Ryuga-san," Kamiya assured him. "You just caught me off guard. But I really appreciate your honesty and I'm glad you want to see me."

Ryuga looked down at his desk. "Do you want me to walk you home…?"

Kamiya felt like her face was on fire, but she still held her smile. "I would love that, Ryuga-san."

"Actually, what I meant to ask was, may I please come home with you?"

Kamiya felt like her mind was disconnected from her body. All she could do was stare at Ryuga like a slack-jawed idiot. "Um…"

"I know that's selfish of me, but I really liked talking with you earlier during lunch, and I was hoping we could continue talking about my story…" He looked at her slowly. "If that's alright with you…"

Kamiya couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Y-You're being serious right now? You really liked talking with me?"

Ryuga nodded. "And I hope we can both earn the other's trust to the point where we're not surprised by how polite we are to each other."

"I trust you, Ryuga-san," Kamiya reassured him. "I'm just not used to hearing these kinds of things. But I'm glad you understand and can empathize with me. I hope I can earn your trust as well."

"It's good to hear that you trust me, but don't blindly put your trust in me just because we're now friends. You should have justified reasons as to why you trust me." Ryuga looked away from her. "There are still things about myself I haven't told you, and I don't ever think I want to tell you."

Kamiya leaned closer to Ryuga. "That's okay. We all have our secrets. I won't force you to open up."

Ryuga looked back at her with slightly wide eyes. "It doesn't hurt you that I am purposefully keeping things from you?"

Kamiya looked away from him. "Well, it does, but I know you're doing it to protect me from being burdened."

Ryuga stood from his seat and grabbed his backpack. "That's why I don't trust others," he growled, his voice as dark as the glare he was shooting at Kamiya. "If you continue to keep things from me like that, I'll continue to overthink things and will eventually cut you off. I don't want to do that. You're my first friend in years. So if something's bothering you, please tell me. Don't leave me in the dark to 'protect' me, because you're really just protecting yourself." He then walked out of the classroom without waiting for a response.

"Wait! Ryuga-san!" Kamiya grabbed her backpack and ran out of the classroom and through the hallway, eventually catching up to Ryuga. "Why did you walk out all of a sudden? Did I say something wrong?"

"Yes," he said bluntly, not bothering to look at Kamiya.

"Will you at least tell me what I did to wrong you?"

Ryuga remained silent and continued walking through the hallway.

"If you don't tell me, how am I supposed to right it? And you're just contradicting yourself."

Ryuga came to a sudden halt, slowly turning his head to look at Kamiya. "You're right. I have no right to be angry with you. I was just being immature."

"There's nothing wrong with being angry. That just shows me that you don't agree with me, but please don't hide the reasoning behind your anger. Please tell me what I did to anger you," Kamiya pleaded.

"When you told me that it hurt you when I kept things from you," Ryuga said. "I got angry because you didn't tell me how you really felt. So, in a way, I felt the same way you did and that angered me." His fists started shaking at his sides. "Sometimes I can't help but question why I'm like this. You're being honest with me now, yet I'm still angry… I just…" He looked at the ceiling, covering his face with his hand. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

Kamiya took a step closer to him. "Ryuga-san, I see nothing wrong with you. It's normal to get angry. I get angry from time to time."

Ryuga looked at her with surprised eyes. "You get—" He faltered, his mouth hanging open like he just remembered something. "Right… You've been angry with me before. But I'm glad."

Kamiya could only blink in confusion. "Why would you be glad that I was angry with you?"

"Because you revealed your true emotions to me instead of putting up a forced facade to avoid hurting me," Ryuga explained. "I honestly don't like when you do that. You don't have to smile all the time. It's okay to express your emotions every now and again."

"Then why don't you express your emotions?" Why did I shoot back at him like that? He was only trying to help me.

Ryuga frowned. "Because I can't show emotion. I cut my emotions off years ago to cope with…" He averted his gaze to the lockers. "You know…"

Kamiya matched his frown, remembering the time she visited Ryuga's mother on Christmas. She could feel how saddened and angry they both were. Their internalized emotions were like a dark tornado that only surrounded them. Not wanting to remain stuck, she took another step closer to Ryuga, who took a step back. "I didn't mean to…" Kamiya bowed her head as guilt washed over her.

"Kamiya-san, why do you want to touch me?" Ryuga asked softly.

Kamiya took a step back, lowering her head even further to hide her pink-colored cheeks. "I… I'm not good with my words, so I feel like touching you is the only way I can comfort you." She glanced up at him. "I know you don't like to be touched, and I'll always respect that boundary of yours, but I just don't want to feel so helpless when you're in pain. Please tell me what I can do to help you, Ryuga-san!" she pleaded.

"Kamiya-san, don't ever think that you are helpless. You help me learn and grow every time we talk. Sure, we get angry at times, which causes us to argue, but we're only human." A soft smile graced a corner of his lips. "I'm proud of you for addressing how you felt about me hiding things from you. That took a lot of courage. And I appreciate you respecting my discomfort of being touched." He looked at the floor shyly, putting a hand over his wrist. "I sometimes want to be touched, though…" he whispered softly.

Kamiya gasped in surprise. "You do?"

Ryuga nodded, then cautiously looked around him. "We should head out. Are you fine with continuing this conversation once we get out of the school?"

Kamiya nodded. "Yeah, that's fine." She followed Ryuga throughout the hallway and out of the school, then started making their way to the train station.

The two teenagers were walking in silence with their heads bowed.

"So… why do you want to be touched sometimes?" Kamiya finally asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"I guess it just shows me that the person touching me truly cares about me, and it also makes me feel safe…" Ryuga explained, still looking at the ground. "But just the thought of wanting to be touched by someone frightens me. I honestly don't know why."

Kamiya slowly turned her head to look at Ryuga. "Were you abused at all? Physically, I mean."

"Not that I recall. I came to the conclusion that it was because I never received physical affection from my parents, so when people try to touch me my body doesn't know how to react and my mind takes over and defends me by telling me I'm unaware and uncomfortable by what's going on, so I avoid being touched altogether." Ryuga finally looked at Kamiya. "Does that make sense?"

She nodded. "I didn't really receive that kind of love or affection while growing up, either, but I was never really uncomfortable with it. It surprises me, yes, but I quickly learn to accept it." She remembered when Shikimori hugged her after telling her to forget about her feelings for Izumi. She was surprised in the moment, but then realized that she desperately needed that hug.

Ryuga looked back to the ground, holding onto his wrist.

"Is talking about this making you uncomfortable?" Kamiya asked, growing worried.

"No… I just… I…"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Ryuga stopped walking and turned to face Kamiya fully. His eyes were glowing intensely, yet they exuded a gentle aura. "I want you to hug me…" His cheeks were now as red as his eyes.

Kamiya gasped as she took a step back. She never would've thought Ryuga would ever want something like that. Her surprise was overtaken by her nerves, but she gulped them down. I need to remain strong for Ryuga-san. I need to show him that I am here for him. She took a step closer to him, spreading her arms.

But Ryuga immediately took a step back, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't think I can do this…" he said, sounding as scared as he looked. "I know it's what I want, and I'm glad you're willing to give that comfort to me, but I'm just too afraid. I don't ever think I'll be able to fight through my discomfort."

"Then I'll help you," Kamiya declared.

"Huh?" Ryuga looked at her confusedly.

"I'll help you fight through your discomfort," Kamiya repeated. "You shouldn't have to hold your feelings back because of your parent's lack of love."

Ryuga nodded slowly, exhaling a shaky breath. "Thank you for understanding, Kamiya-san. I hope I didn't make things awkward between us…"

Kamiya smiled softly. "Of course not. You were honest with me and I really appreciate that. And if you ever need anything from me, I'll be here, okay?"

The corners of Ryuga's lips curved upward, forming a barely noticeable smile. "Okay. Thank you, Kamiya-san."

"I'm happy to help! Now let's get to the train."

"It's all right, you can come in," Kamiya reassured Ryuga as he stopped in front of her house.

He nodded hesitantly and followed her inside. They both took their shoes off and set them on the floor.

"Would you like anything to drink? I can get you some juice if you'd like."

Ryuga shook his head. "I'm fine for now. Thank you for offering, though."

Kamiya smiled softly. She took a seat at the dining table just outside of the kitchen. "So, tell me about your story. What is it about?"

Ryuga's eyes narrowed. "You don't have to act interested, Kamiya-san. You didn't even know what Pokémon was before I explained it to you."

Kamiya narrowed her eyes as well, but she didn't know if it was because she was feeling doubtful or annoyed. "Then why did you ask to come home with me?"

"Because I wanted to talk to you about my story…" Ryuga sighed, then took a seat next to Kamiya. "I didn't mean to accuse you. I'm just not used to anyone showing so much interest in… me…"

Kamiya leaned closer to Ryuga. "Ryuga-san, people who take you for granted don't deserve you. You're too good of a person to be used or taken advantage of."

"Nobody deserves that."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Not a single person deserves to be harmed," Ryuga said softly. "Nobody has any enemies."

Kamiya just stared at him, getting lost in the soft way he spoke.

Ryuga started rustling through his backpack, then put his notebook in front of them.

Kamiya focused her attention on his notebook as he started flipping through it.

"So I wrote everything out in sections, starting with the main characters."

"Did you come up with these names?" Kamiya asked.

"Only Hilbert and Hilda's parents. The rest of the characters already exist in the games."

"So do they have their own personalities, or did you create them as if they were your own characters?"

"I kind of expanded on their personalities," Ryuga explained. "But since Hilbert and Hilda have no personalities since they're the game protagonists, I had to give them personalities. N is much more naive and polite in the games, but I wanted to portray him as callous and cold toward humans. And I guess Hilda's mother's personality is what I'd expect a real mother to treat their child, but I also gave her a similar personality to Hilda."

Kamiya continued to read through each character's personality. "You created very complex and interesting characters. Everyone has room to grow and develop throughout the story." She narrowed her eyes as she continued to read through his notes, then looked at Ryuga with a soft smile. "You have very beautiful handwriting, Ryuga-san."

His eyes slightly widened. "Uh… Thanks…"

Kamiya giggled. "So what's the plot of the story? Are they mainly focused on defeating all of the Gyms, or does each character have their own goals?"

"They all have a common goal from the start of the story, but only Hilbert is serious about achieving it. Cheren wants to be the Champion, but Hilda and Bianca don't really have any goals. I think that's one of their biggest struggles they need to overcome during the story."

"That's really interesting. I don't think I've read a story with characters quite like these. Have you ever thought about creating your own fictional story?"

"The idea would cross my mind occasionally, but I'm mostly interested in writing fanfictions. I guess it just gives me a little cushion while writing because I don't have to worry about starting from scratch by having to create my own fictional world and characters," Ryuga explained.

"Well, what's the plot of the story?" Kamiya asked.

"Just like the beginning of each Pokémon game, the main characters get their starters and go on a journey to complete the Pokédex. They encounter N and Team Plasma, the antagonistic team, and set out to stop them. I wrote out a brief summary of each chapter if you'd like to have a better understanding of how the story progresses."

Kamiya flipped another page. "You gave each character a backstory too?!"

"Don't read those!" Ryuga suddenly panicked, his voice pitching higher in fright.

Kamiya eyed him curiously. "Why not?"

"I don't want to spoil the story for you, and those backstories are the final pieces to completing the characters."

"If you don't want to spoil anything for me, why are you telling me about your story?"

Ryuga averted his gaze to the table, remaining silent.

"Ryuga-san, your story sounds really interesting so far, and I'd like to know more. While I could just read whatever you've written so far, I want to know everything before reading because I want to help you make your stories as amazing as possible. You came to me not just because you enjoy talking to me about your story, but you also wanted my opinion, right?"

Ryuga nodded.

"So I'm here to offer any ideas I can," Kamiya continued. "And I think if I were to read your story when it's finalized and complete, I'll enjoy it even more. So please let me help you."

"Okay," he said, although he sounded a little hesitant. "Go ahead and read the backstories…"

Kamiya wasted no time reading through the rest of Ryuga's notes. She felt a smile spreading as she read about Hilbert's relationship with his younger brother, then felt it disappear when he was left on his own for the next few years. Her mouth now hung completely open when she got to the end of his backstory. "How… How can something so horrible happen to someone at such a tender age?"

"When someone is different from the rest of society or stands out, they're wanted by people of higher power so they can be used," Ryuga explained solemnly. "I also want this story to teach lessons to others."

"Well, I'm already learning a lot," Kamiya chuckled. She then continued to read the rest of the character's backstories, which weren't as tragic or brutal as Hilbert's. "Hilbert must be very broken during the beginning of the story, huh?"

"Yeah, that's why he needs to learn to piece himself back together. Another part of his development is learning to trust humans."

"And he hates humans because of how much he was abused throughout his life?"

"Yeah…" Ryuga's eyes closed as he let out a shaky breath, clasping his hands together. "...There are some scenes I'll have to write out to show the abuse Hilbert witnessed… but I don't know if I can do it without having a panic attack." He looked at Kamiya slowly with pleading eyes. "Please be here with me while I write those scenes out." His soft whisper wasn't low enough to mask the pain in his cracked voice.

All Kamiya could do was stare at him through sympathetic eyes. She'd never seen anyone look so afraid. She knew Ryuga had never been physically abused, but she couldn't understand why that kind of thing would scare him.

"Just stop staring and laugh at me already," Ryuga said, his tone now as cold as ice.

Kamiya gasped, realizing that she hadn't responded to Ryuga yet. "Ryuga-san, I'm not going to laugh at you," she reassured him, leaning in to get closer to him. She wanted to touch him—to provide him some sort of comfort—but knew she could only use her words. "I will be right here with you while you write out those scenes and I will do my best to comfort you and make you feel safe."

Ryuga hesitantly pushed his hand toward Kamiya's, but stopped when he caught her surprised expression. She smiled warmly, understanding what he was silently asking for, and he placed his hand over hers.

His touch was cold at first, but Kamiya soon felt the heat resonating from his gentle touch. His skin was rough and calloused, but that only made Kamiya feel even safer. She could feel his hand shaking, then took notice of the shaky breath Ryuga let out. It was obvious he was very uncomfortable and nervous.

She covered his hand with her other one, but didn't let go when Ryuga wildly widened his eyes. "It's okay," she softly whispered. "It's just us. You're safe here with me, Ryuga-san."

"Thank you, Kamiya-san," he whispered. "To be honest, I don't even know why torture frightens me so much."

"Maybe you're just afraid that something like that could possibly happen to you."

Ryuga lowered his head, but didn't make an attempt to retract his hand. "Could be… Maybe I just don't like seeing others in pain…"

"That's nothing to be ashamed of. To me, that just shows how good and pure you are."

Ryuga only nodded.

Kamiya started rubbing her thumb over his hand. She didn't really know what she was doing or why she was even doing it, but it made her feel good.

"I just wish I could draw, though," Ryuga eventually said.

"I can draw," Kamiya said.

Ryuga shot his head up, eyes wide in hope. "You can?!"

"Mhmm!" Kamiya nodded, now smiling. "I only draw when I'm bored, but I'm not that good."

"I'm sure your drawings are amazing," Ryuga assured her. He averted his gaze to the table. "Would you like to draw out my story?"

Kamiya widened her eyes. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. While it is my dream to write out my stories, I would love to see everything drawn out." He looked back to Kamiya. "Are you sure you want to take on such a big task? It's going to take a lot of time."

"I'm sure!" she said determinedly. "I mostly read manga, so being able to draw out a story this imaginative will be a dream come true. Thank you for asking for my help. That means a lot."

"No problem…" Ryuga said, looking down at their hands awkwardly. "You can let go of my hand now. I feel much better."

"Oh…" Kamiya looked down at their hands, just realizing that they were still holding hands, and quickly pulled her hands to her chest, looking away awkwardly. "I didn't make you uncomfortable, did I…?"

"I can't say…"

Kamiya didn't say anything, too embarrassed to give a response. She occasionally snuck a glance at Ryuga, who was looking anywhere but where she was.

"I guess I should get going," he eventually said, getting out of his seat. He grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, then pointed to his open notebook. "You can keep that to get a better understanding of the story, and I'll send you some pictures of what each character and Pokémon looks like."

Kamiya could only nod.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good evening, Kamiya-san."

And then he was out the door, leaving Kamiya alone with a blazing heart.

To be continued

AN: So, I'm not entirely sure if the whole thing with Ryuga writing a fanfiction—especially a Pokemon one—makes sense or is even possible in this story, but Naruto was mentioned in Assassination Classroom, so I figured it could work. It was also my intention to have Kamiya and Ryuga hug in this chapter, but decided that it would've come out of nowhere and would've been too rushed of a development. I hope you're all liking this pairing so far.

That's all I have for now. See you all in the next chapter!