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Ryoma laid on his prison bed, his fingers laced behind his head. His legs were crossed and bent at the knee, his right foot bouncing lazily in the air. The shuffling of footsteps echoed down the prison hallway outside his cell as guards and convicts occasionally walked by. Most everyone was already awake this late in the morning. The prisoners could roam the courtyard for the next few hours until the mandatory maintenance, cleaning, and exercise routines they endlessly cycled through. Nevertheless, unlocked cell or not, Ryoma just laid there.
It’d been three weeks since he and the other fifteen students had “graduated” from the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles. For roughly a month, Ryoma had lived in that school, making friends and tasting a sort of freedom for the first time in years. He’d even somehow managed to fall in with a small group of boys. They’d all...gotten very close.
It’d been rocky at first; the three boys and he were very different. They could be nosy, troublesome, unbearably optimistic, and just...so very loud. But he’d let them in, and helped them open up to him and each other in return. They’d helped him look to the future for the first time in a long time. But they’d all graduated and returned to normal life, which for him meant prison. He hadn’t seen any of them since their last day at the school, but he’d thought about them a lot these past few weeks. If only they’d had more time together...
They must have gone back to their lives by now. And I’m in here. Who knows what their futures will look like by the time I get out...
Ryoma spent most days in his cell, resting or exercising, doing crunches, push-ups, and the like. The fewer people who figured out who he was, the safer he would be. He couldn’t risk getting into trouble. Besides, he had nowhere to be. Or so he thought.
...
*Klang klang* came the sound of a clipboard being knocked against the cell’s metal door. Ryoma sat upright on the edge of his bed, then waited for his visitor to let themselves in. It’s not like they cared whether he wanted them inside. The cell door swung open and in walked one of the prison’s administrative staff. Ryoma hadn’t seen many of them since he’d been readmitted a few weeks ago. He was a sturdy-looking man with a stern look and a nametag Ryoma had no interest in reading. It’s not like they’d be getting to know each other, whatever he wanted.
The clerk flipped through sheets of paper on his clipboard, then looked up with a fleeting condescension before saying, “Ryoma Hoshi?” Ryoma nodded. He’d learned not to speak unless it was unavoidable. Nothing good ever came of interacting with his captors. “You have a visitor. Come with me,” the clerk continued.
Those words shocked the former tennis pro, who had not been caught off-guard since he’d returned to his prison life. Still, he got up, volunteered his hands to be cuffed, and followed the clerk out of his cell. The walk out of the holding area was silent, giving Ryoma plenty of time to think. Plenty of time to dread.
A visitor, huh? Who came to see me? And what could they want? This could be trouble.
Ryoma had no specific plans to meet someone, and most of those who still knew who he was were leftover mafiosos. All in all, an unexpected visit was not necessarily a good thing.
When Ryoma arrived at Visitations, he felt a bit out of his element. Prison had few surprises for him at this point. But this room was new. He’d never had a visitor, either before or after his brief time in the Ultimate Academy.
The large room had guards stationed at the doors on either side, with a few square tables spread spaciously throughout the area. This way, several groups could meet at once: the prisoners from his side, the free civilians from the other. At the moment the room was empty. The clerk led Ryoma to a table tucked in a corner, then left him to sit alone at one of two chairs.
The young prisoner had just grown bored of taking in the room by himself when the door opposite him, the civilian side, opened suddenly. Ryoma’s black eyes widened as three teenage boys walked into the large room.
Kokichi pranced in first, not looking where he was going. He was wearing an all-white suit, except for the purple shirt, purple pocket square and a white and black checkerboard scarf held loosely in a golden clasp. He was talking over his shoulders to the two behind him with an amused sneer on his face.
Shuichi was just behind him, walking into the room with a slightly nervous smirk. He was sporting a bright chocolate, three-piece suit and a bowtie. He broke eye contact from Kokichi to glance at the guards as he walked past.
Kaito came in last, closing the door behind them. His own suit was old mauve with a paler purple tie and a number of metallic stars and moons pinned to the black trim of his jacket. He patted Shuichi on the back with a determined look in his eyes and said something Ryoma couldn’t quite hear.
The boys he’d been thinking of, dreaming of almost every day were standing just feet away. Part of Ryoma felt ashamed to just be sitting there alone while they were all together. But Ryoma’s eyes darted to the two prison guards posted on either door; they weren’t alone. He needed to keep his cool. His hand instinctively slid toward his outer thigh, but his cuffed hands found no pocket in his prison jumpsuit. Ryoma chuckled quietly at his own muscle memory.
No cigarettes, hands cuffed, just sitting here, waiting around for them to show up like some lost kid. These pieces of work, they sure caught me off guard, huh...I guess it can’t be helped. You guys are the ones who get to look cool today.
Once the three boys made eye contact with Ryoma from across the room, Kaito took a deep breath in, Shuichi adjusted his bowtie, and Kokichi started right off toward Ryoma’s table. “Ah ha! There’s the filthy criminal! We’ve got some business with you, you menace to society,” Kokichi accused, loud enough for the entire room to hear. Kaito and Shuichi’s eyes widened, and they began to chase after Kokichi across the room. The three boys reached Ryoma’s table about the same time, as Kaito threw his arm around Kokichi’s shoulder and yanked him closer.
“Kokichi, you said you’d be taking this seriously,” Kaito scolded in a hushed, frustrated voice as he looked around at the guards.
“Of course I’m taking this seriously! I would never lie to you about that! Now does being serious involve me sitting on Shuichi’s lap, or are you two going to get chairs for yourselves?” And with that, Kokichi plopped down in the chair opposite Ryoma. He shot the tennis pro a wink and a smirk as the two taller boys rolled their eyes and headed to the next closest table.
Ryoma was a little surprised at how much he’d missed that wink. Kokichi had always been...a lot of work. Honestly Ryoma wasn’t sure what Shuichi saw in him at first. Ryoma and the rest of the boys were supposedly close in age, though they’d never discussed it. But Kokichi spent his energy goofing off and pulling pranks, while Ryoma felt like he’d left his youth long ago. Over time, Kokichi had learned that Ryoma wasn’t the type to chase after him. And rather than give up on him, Kokichi started doing this; he’d let Ryoma in on the joke he was playing on the others, just a little. It wouldn’t have been much, if it was anyone else. But it made Ryoma feel...special.
Kaito and Shuichi returned with two chairs from the nearest table, and joined the other two. The three boys looked at Ryoma expectantly, but said nothing at first. They were waiting for him, though Ryoma wasn’t sure what exactly to say either. Eventually, he scoffed and crossed his arms awkwardly, given his restraints. “You guys walk in here unannounced and make me talk first? Hmph, talk about bad manners. What am I going to do with you three?”
Kokichi just snickered to himself, while the tension in Kaito and Shuichi’s postures seemed to disappear. Kaito spoke up next, saying, “Sorry man, our bad. We just weren’t sure what to expect, is all. We hadn’t heard from you in three weeks, so we weren’t sure how you’d be feeling, seeing us and all.”
“Well yeah, it’s pretty normal that you haven’t heard from me. I’ve got no way to contact you. It’s not like any of us had phone numbers to exchange when we left.”
Shuichi seemed like he wanted to say something, but Kokichi interjected first. “Well yeah, we all knew that, riiight? That’s why Shuichi’s been writing you letters this whole time, you heartless monster! Even if you found love and got married in prison, I thought you’d reject Shuichi properly so Kaito and I could have him to ourselves,” wailed Kokichi, throwing himself onto Shuichi dramatically.
“Wait, what do you mean, letters?” Confusion and embarrassment ran through Ryoma’s head. He hadn’t heard of any letters for him. He didn’t even know he could receive letters in prison. How many more things had he been taking for granted?
“Come on, Kokichi, no one thought it was something like that,” Shuichi corrected. He pushed Kokichi off of him lightly and looked back at Ryoma. “So you didn’t know they were there. That makes sense." Ryoma knew Kokichi was lying, but he could also see relief behind Shuichi’s eyes.
He thought I was pushing him away again. I promised I wouldn’t do that to him anymore.
Ryoma shook his head, then spoke with a deep, earnest tone. “Shuichi, I’m really sorry. If I’d known you were sending letters, I would have responded or called right away. I may not be a newbie to being in prison, but having someone on the outside...having people care about me is pretty new to me. But I’m...really glad you sent them. I’ll make sure to read every one of your letters.”
“You don’t need to worry,” said Shuichi, bashfully, “only the first one really matters. It has our cell phone numbers in it, for when the prison gives you chances to make phone calls. The rest are...a little embarrassing, now that we’re talking in person.”
“Well I’ll save those for when I need a smile then. Your sincere side is pretty endearing, you know,” Ryoma smirked, “even when you’re uncool about it.”
Kaito chimed in as Shuichi blushed, “he’s right about that, y’know? You shouldn’t shy away from how you feel for those closest to you, bro!”
Kokichi elbowed Shuichi in the arm playfully. “Yeah Shuichi, don’t be shy! Otherwise I might not get *my* burning love confession in the mail either. I’d get so jealous, I might end up in prison too!”
“I mean, it’d be unmanly to beg, but I’m not gonna be the only one left out either, you know,” Kaito cheered, as he reached over and ruffled Shuichi’s hair.
Shuichi was beet-red at this point, as he melted into his chair. “On second thought, maybe it’s talking in person that’s more embarrassing…”
The laughter from Ryoma, Kaito, and Kokichi that followed hung in the air for a few moments, as a warm comfort set in. This was what Ryoma had been missing. It was the first time he’d laughed in three weeks.
After a few moments, the laughter died down, and Shuichi tried to reclaim control of the conversation. “So anyway, h-how have you been, Ryoma?”
The past three weeks flashed back in Ryoma’s mind. It hadn’t been easy to come back here. The moments of doubt about Shuichi and the others had been dark too. But he knew better now, and he caught himself changing his mind. “Well I won’t say I love being back here or anything. But it’s a lot easier to endure the day in and out this time. Now that I have something to believe in beyond these walls.”
The astronaut leaned back in his chair slightly, crossing his arms behind his head. “Glad I finally got through to you! I knew you would start looking forward eventually, man.”
Shuichi pushed down on Kaito’s thigh to bring all four of his chair legs back to the ground. “And why do you get credit for that, Kaito?”
“Because look how good Ryoma looks. He wasn’t that toned when we left school. He must've been training since he got here! Last time I checked, it was The Kaito Momota that got you all to exercise in the first place,” Kaito beamed back.
Shuichi paused and cocked his head a little, “Wait, you can tell that easily?”
Kokichi began cackling, “Uh-oh Shuichi! Looks like you’re not the only one pining after Tennis Boy, here!”
All eyes looked to Kaito as his face lit up red. “Come on guys, I can’t be the only one who noticed, right? Shuichi, you’re a detective for crying out loud!”
"I mean yeah, but that depends on what details are important…"
"Nee-hee-hee, look out Shuichi! Or else Kaito will take your talent as the Ultimate Ryoma Detective!"
"Oh come on guys, it's, it's not like that!" Kaito was shouting now, and his face was only getting redder.
Ryoma just looked on as Kaito came up with ever-flimsier justifications. He and Kaito had clashed over their differences early on in their friendship: The boy whose life held infinite potential and the boy whose life was doomed to be empty. But as Shuichi had become involved with the two of them in parallel, the two had grown to see each other's points of view. Ryoma could even see something more bubbling beneath Kaito's surface, and he...didn't mind that. But that was Kaito's battle to fight, and Ryoma knew it. It wouldn't be cool for him to steal Kaito's moment before he was ready.
--
The boys continued to joke about Kaito's suspicious behavior and a number of other topics for what seemed like hours. But eventually, a warning bell rang, announcing that visiting hours were almost over.
Ryoma knew they needed to wrap it up soon, but there was still one more burning question in his mind.
“So what happened here, did you three attend a wedding in the neighborhood of this place or something? You’re a little over-dressed just to see me,” Ryoma said as he moved to get up.
Kokichi's eyes lit up as he saw an opening. He did a deep, theatrical bow and got down on one knee in front of the standing prisoner. "You guessed it! The three of us just got hitched and now we're proposing to you!"
Kaito picked Kokichi up by his suit jacket like he was a kitten until he was back on his feet again. "Fat chance anyone believes something like that. No, Shuichi just thought we should look good and official when we saw you. So we each picked out suits for ourselves!"
Ryoma glanced once more at their three choices, his gaze stopping at Shuichi with his eyebrow raised.
"Remind me to take you suit shopping when I get out of here. You're real important to me, Shuichi...but that suit is a pretty bad color for you."
Kokichi rolled his eyes and complained, "Ugh, thank you! I told him that when he bought it, but they both thought I was lying!"
"You said he'd look better in hot pink," Kaito said, his hand nursing a pretend migraine on his forehead.
"Well that was a lie, obviously, but it really is an ugly suit!"
The astronaut and prankster continued to bicker back and forth, their attention turning toward each other. Ryoma looked over at Shuichi, the taller boy still sitting in his chair. With a breath, he walked around the table and over to the seated detective.
Shuichi scratched behind his neck nervously and looked into the tennis pro's eyes, which were much closer to eye level with him sitting. "You know, us going suit shopping almost sounded like you were asking me out on a date."
Ryoma reached up and brushed off Shuichi's bowtie with his cuffed hands. "Good theory, detective. You might want to get one without a bowtie though. This one's done all wrong," Ryoma replied, undoing Shuichi's bowtie until it hung like a chord down both sides of his neck. "You know Shuichi, I'm new to this whole visiting thing, but I'm pretty sure they let you kiss your loved ones goodbye."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah."
And without so much as a glance at Kokichi, Kaito, or the guards to see if any of them were watching, Ryoma stepped forward. He reached up with his cuffed hands, grabbed both ends of Shuichi's undone bowtie, and pulled the boy forward until their lips finally met.
The detective's eyes widened as he leaned forward in his chair slightly. But then he leaned in even further, reciprocating the shorter man's affection. It was a short, but passionate kiss, and as they parted, they stayed for a moment, resting their foreheads against each other. They both breathed deeply, with their eyes closed as they savored being close again like this, after so long. They hadn't had enough time. They knew this moment wasn't enough either. But it was what they had. This, and their future.
When Kokichi and Kaito finally stopped bickering and noticed what was happening, they grew quiet and waited, a rare team effort for Ryoma and Shuichi's sake. But eventually, the prisoner broke away and sighed. It was time.
Kaito and Kokichi both said their goodbyes to Ryoma, and the four planned when they would meet next. But eventually the clerk returned to take the cuffed Ryoma back to his cell, and the four parted.
--
It was a day like any other in the prison, and the same footsteps as always rang throughout the hallway. But there was also the quiet *pong pong* of a tennis ball, bouncing.
Ryoma laid in his bed, looking at the ceiling. His legs were crossed and bent at the knee, his right foot bouncing lazily in the air. In his hand was a tennis ball, with three boys' names on it, which he was tossing against the far wall. He caught it on each rebound with ease, his thoughts busy, replaying the words from a stack of letters beside him.