When Ryuu went to school on Monday, Kazu didn't show up on the roof, but he heard from the class officer of Kazu's room that he showed up for class. Apparently, people were surprised that he didn't ditch the second half of the day like usual (although only Ryuu and Kazu knew that they were just napping on the roof).
Is Kazu avoiding me? Ryuu wondered, feeling strangely nervous and agitated, so much so that he wasn't able to take his nap.
One day, Ryuu actually ended up staying in his class to test his hypothesis, and sure enough, while he remained in his classroom for the afternoon, he saw a lone figure sitting on the roof. Kazu. So he is avoiding me.
With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair, searching for Momo, and although he could have sworn that he'd seen her a few minutes ago, she was gone. "Hey," he asked his seat partner. "Have you seen Momo?"
His seat partner shook his head before hesitating. "She left a few minutes ago. Nurse's office, I think?"
Ryuu thanked him before getting up and walking out of the classroom, heading first for the nurse's office before changing his mind and heading towards the roof. I know Kazu's up there right now. Maybe I can catch him and talk to him...
As he opened the door to the roof, he stopped in his tracks. Kazu was pressed against the railing, Momo clinging to him, her shirt halfway unbuttoned. Something flickered in Kazu's eyes as he saw Ryuu, but then they became dark and unreadable again, almost daring.
Momo gasped as she saw Ryuu and quickly stepped away from Kazu, who was wearing a blank face as though none of it mattered to him or affected him in the least.
"Ryuu..." Momo whispered. "Kazu...he...I..."
But Ryuu wasn't looking at her. He was looking at Kazu. "Well, Kazu?" he asked, his voice carefully controlled.
Kazu just blinked and turned around. "She's your girl," he muttered, not bothering to place blame or defend himself. "Just take her and leave."
Ryuu nodded and finally looked at Momo. "Momo...why would you do this to Kazu?" he asked softly, and if he wasn't mistaken, he saw Kazu's shoulders tighten.
Momo looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"Don't you know how much it hurts Kazu, what you've just done?" Ryuu felt himself getting far too angry far too quickly. "I trusted you, and I told Kazu to trust you. What do you do in return?" Ryuu exhaled angrily. "You know that Kazu can't make many friends. I thought that you understood that. So why are you trying to break every relationship he has?"
Momo looked shocked by his outburst, and even Ryuu was a little surprised. He'd never yelled at Momo before.
"What you've done is unforgivable," he added quietly, and then Kazu shocked him by speaking.
"It wasn't her fault. It was mine. So just take her and leave."
Kazu, why are you lying to me? Why is your voice shaking so much?
"I don't care what you say, Kazu. I'm your friend, and I'm going to trust you," Ryuu said, standing his ground, and after a few moments, Momo ran past him in tears.
"I really...I really did like you, Ryuu," she said, sobbing.
Ryuu just looked away. "If you liked me, then you wouldn't hurt my friends." With that, he walked past her and stood beside Kazu, Momo running down the stairs.
"I'm sorry," Ryuu said after a moment. "I didn't think that she would..." Ryuu shook his head. "I apologize. I have no excuse."
Kazu didn't look at him, just stayed quiet for a moment. "Thank you," he finally whispered.
Ryuu looped his arm across Kazu's shoulders. "See? This is what friends are for."
Kazu hesitated. "I'm sorry," he finally added. "I know that you liked her."
Ryuu paused, almost as though checking his heart, but it seemed as though Momo's absence hadn't affected him. "Not as much as I like you."
Kazu smirked. "Creep. Next time you say something like that, I'm throwing you over the balcony."
"Kazu is my favorite," Ryuu mocked in a falsetto voice, avoiding Kazu's punch. "Hey, Kazu?"
"Yeah?"
"You'll stop avoiding me now, right?"
"Who'd want to hang out with a creep like you?"
"KAZU!"