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To say that neither Ryouga nor Yuuma were particularly consistent with their schedules was an understatement given how nontraditional their lives were, especially as of late. Ryouga had never taken to staying around people, especially once in middle school which left him mostly to himself outside of visiting and now spending time with his sister. In contrast, Yuuma had the opposing problem in that he spent almost everyday with a variety of people, leading to him being strung along into whatever antics or needs they presented. However, for the younger boy to have gone out of his way to make time specifically for Ryouga only to prove a no-show was unusual and, at least to the water duelist, concerning. As much as Yuuma’s charisma garnered him allies, he also happened to prove a magnet for attracting trouble in all forms.
It was this line of thought that Ryouga found himself chewing on as he waited up on the rooftop where he had been told to meet the excitable boy the day before. They had made time to go off into town on Ryouga’s bike during their lunch period, Yuuma had said he’d won a free lunch at a new cafe there and it would also prove a good chance to discuss any sense of plan for the increase in Barian activity as of late. Especially with that scare and display from Mizael a few weeks prior, Ryouga was more than eager to work towards preventing and planning against such a scenario again, and getting time alone with Yuuma certainly wasn’t something he’d oppose outright if he didn’t have to.
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted as he heard the creak of the door leading to the roof as it opened, blue hued gaze swivelling to meet an unexpected and slightly startled brown one.
“Sh-Shark? What are you doing up here? I was under the impression you and Yuuma would be together off of campus today.”
The older boy clicked his tongue, shoving his hands in his pockets as he approached Takashi to question him further.
“So did I. What, he wasn’t being held up with you and his other friends?”
An odd look briefly passed the other boy's face before he continued with a slight shake of his head before saying, “No. In fact, he wasn’t in homeroom for our last class before the passing period, so I had thought he left early with you. To summarize, I was coming up here to get a better vantage point for when he returned so I could be sure to remind him about attendance and its importance!”
Takashi nodded sagely, as if in agreement with his own morals as he fisted his hands on his hips for extra effect. This only elicited an exasperated sigh from Ryouga as he simply nodded in response and gently pushed past the council member to head down and out of the building.
Yuuma might not be the most attentive student in the world, far from it, but he always at least came unless something had happened to him. Ryouga has seen him come to school that morning, he made it a habit by now to partially follow Yuuma’s same route to school on his bike in the mornings to assure Yuuma arrived without too much trouble outside of his normal antics and those of that newer boy Shingetsu. Which only meant Yuuma had left school grounds only under very different circumstances then what was planned.
The thought of what happened with Mizael repeating itself came to mind and, regardless how he’d answer about it later, he moved just a bit faster and took the stairs in sets of two all the way down. He kept a brisk pace all the way to the parking lot, taking out his D-gazer to type out a message to Rio before he mounted his bike.
‘ Yuuma’s missing and apparently skipped classes, I'm taking off to look for him around the city. Go home with Kotori in case I'm not back in time to take you home.’
Within moments he received a response of:
‘Contact me if you two end up in any trouble, Ryouga. Don’t be stupid.’
He snorted derisively as he shoved the device back into his pocket before placing his helmet and goggles on and taking off onto the main road. As if he’d be the one to act foolishly, if anything everyone around him were the ones to take risks and act without thinking. He simply ended up dragged along to clean up after them, if need be. It wasn’t his fault Yuuma tended to act in the heat of the things and as he felt moment to moment.
Not that he would want the other boy to really act any differently; Ryouga deeply cherished the person who had wormed their way into his once cold and shattered heart. He found a strong sense of comfort and completeness being around that boundless sense of charisma, excitement, and ambition towards anything no matter how small or minute the task. That “can-do” attitude is what persevered to help pull Ryouga from some of his darkest moments and lapses in self time and time again. Yuuma was always so inarguably himself and Ryouga loved that about him and wanted to protect both those ideals and the boy who exuded them.
With that in mind and his determination stoked, Ryouga continued his search around town. He received no such messages of danger from anyone, simply occasional updates from Rio to ease at least one of his worries and his own thoughts of concern and frustration to keep him company. By the time Ryouga had grown thin on possible places in the city left to check, the sun had begun to set and Ryouga was left partially on the way back to where he started from. He was about halfway between Heartland Academy and the Tsukumo residence to be more precise;
‘halfway between the start and finish yet nowhere near the goal.’ He thought bitterly as he pulled over to the side of the road to pause and rethink his approach.
He had tried calling Yuuma a few times earlier on, however every time he did he got no signal from the other’s D-gazer so he gave up on that particular endeavor soon enough. However, by now if Yuuma had been dueling either he would have won by now and should be reachable, or... well, Ryouga didn’t much care to consider the or.
Pulling out his own device, Ryouga considered for a moment before re-dialing Yuuma for the umpteenth time that day, not expecting much result, but it was a productive effort towards the search while Ryouga was effectively on break. He had expected to be sent to voicemail immediately, or at worse for it to ring all the way through without an answer. What he was not expecting was to hear a familiar jingle just beyond the crest of the sidewalk leading down to the water's edge of the manmade river that passed by this particular street in this neighborhood.
Ryouga didn’t wait for a response on the other end as he quickly moved to push himself up and out over the side of the vehicle and, at what definitely wasn't a sprint, made his way down the small hill towards the sound. Ryouga slowed quickly as his biggest fear of the day was relieved in an instant: his second chosen charge seated at the water's edge just at the hill’s bottom not even two yards ahead of him. Ryouga let a small smile of relief reach his lips as he closed the distance between them, the ringing of their D-gazers lulling into silence. With the intrusive sound’s departure, Ryouga’s attention was quickly brought back once more to worry about the other boy as he took notice of the other more closely now. His smile fell into a slight grimace, his body falling to slowly kneel beside Yuuma as unsureness settled in his chest.
Shoulders high as he buried his face in his knees, Yuuma’s body had a slight tremor to it as the sound of hard breathing could be heard due to their increased proximity. Ryouga hesitated only a moment longer before he awkwardly but softly spoke.
“Yuuma, I’m going to touch you okay?”
With a slight nod as his go-ahead, Ryouga reached forward grabbing the other’s hands and moving them to hold onto his own shoulders for support. With that done, he pulled Yuuma by the biceps to sit up and forward to kneel with him, finally pulling the younger’s head against his chest with a hand firmly against the back of his head to hold him there.
“You feel my breathing? Try and follow it.”
It wasn’t a gentle command, but it was enough for the other and over the next 10 minutes or so, that’s just what they did: breathe. By the end of it, Ryouga had taken to gently rubbing his thumb against Yuuma’s head, unsure of his words for comforting the other. Yuuma, now feeling a bit more in control, moved to sit back on his calves, slouching forward a bit but not removing his grip on Ryouga just yet. Ryouga didn’t ask or say anything, simply left it up to the other to decide what happened next, as always.
A few beats went by until-
“It’s just...a lot, Shark. It’s not fair, so many people could get hurt if I mess up and if it weren't for you and Kaito that last time, I would have and Astral-”
Ryouga cut him off before he worked himself up again and simply reached forward to pull Yuuma firmly back to his chest, this time resting his chin on the others head as he did so.
“No matter how badly you mess up, I won’t let you. We’ll fix things if that happens, and between us we’re strong enough to make sure that doesn’t happen in the first place. Just follow what you feel is the right thing like you always do, and I'll be right behind you. You were right about me, weren’t you?”
His tone wasn’t quite right and his grip was far too stiff, but Yuuma huffed a chuckle anyway and it was enough to help Ryouga let out the breath of his own that was straining his chest.
‘No matter what happens or what you do, I’ll see you through to the end. You
and
that damned smile of yours.’