(Future AU;
Yuma's life, though crazy, did become predictable...to a fashion. But when Ryoga Kamishiro joins Neo Domino U, predictable is thrown out of the window. New problems arise, old enemies return, and chaos sits just around the corner.)

Navigation: Chapter One --> Chapter Two

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BEEEEEEEEEEEP. 7:15 AM.

Yuma Tsukumo was generally a morning person. But once in a while, he liked to sleep in and just enjoy the peace that came with it. This had been one such day.

Unfortunately, when he fell out of his hammock, all thoughts of sleeping in flew out the window.

BEEEEEEEEEEEP. 7:20 AM.

Yuma scowled at the alarm – or, where his alarm would have been. The stack of files in his TO-DO box was moved, a once-damp-now-mouldy newspaper thrown away, revealing the wretched device hidden before. He swiped his palm card across the display.

7:21 AM. ALARM RESET. HAVE A NICE DAY.

With a sigh, Yuma retrieved his clothes for the day: a plain green shirt and a pair of white pants decorated with blue flames.

He kicked open the trapdoor before descending the attic's stairs, and the significant change in atmosphere settled immediately. Though the ever-returning cobwebs were cleaned away, it didn't change the bag of takeaway boxes in one corner nor each crack in the skylights' panes. In contrast, the second floor – and the first – had floors vacuumed each week, tables wiped down and bookcases devoid of dust.

A note on the fridge, pinned with a neat, red tile, made him blink. Then the urgent appointment hit him full force.

Five minutes later, with breakfast in mouth and backpack slung over his shoulder, Yuma jumped out of the window. The fire escape shuddered as he landed in a neat crouch, and his hand flung automatically toward his neck for a necklace that no longer hung.

Ten minutes later, the backpack had switched shoulders and the toast was gone. The route to the station was fenced by reflective steel and glass buildings, all virtually identical, an urban jungle disciplined by the power of science and technology. Yuma had a sleek, white D-Gazer snapped over one eye to see the augmented street signs, and somehow managed to check the live timetable data downloading through the network whilst running and short of breath.

Twenty minutes after leaving the house, he scurried off the bus and onto Neo Domino University's grounds. He only paused long enough at the front gates to swipe the key card around his neck, then hurtled past the first green before looping around the amphitheatre.

"Yuma!"

Yuma cycled back a few steps. Takeda Tetsuo grinned at him in a cyan shirt and yellow shorts, leaning on the pillar that his best friend had run past earlier.

"Yo!" Yuma called. "You haven't seen Todoroki around, have you?"

Tetsuo rolled his eyes. "I don't know, maybe he told me to keep an eye out for you?"

"Right. Well, he wasn't at the green. Tell me where he is?"

"Library."

Tetsuo barely had time to finish when Yuma hurried off again, so his sigh went unnoticed.

It was unsurprising when Yuma made it to the library in record time. Sure enough, Todoroki had a booth inside, waiting with arms crossed and eyes drilling through his surroundings. He always seemed to wear a white dress shirt and blue slacks, all arranged as neatly as the gelled antenna in his hair; Yuma tended to wear the same shirt for about five days in a row before throwing it into the wash, and would never admit his sudden spikes of self-consciousness out loud.

Todoroki frowned when he approached. "You're late."

"A D-Wheel and the metro crashed at 4 AM this morning," Yuma said quickly. "There were still delays."

"Delays lasting ten minutes?"

Yuma gave him his best grin. Todoroki didn't buy it.

"It is unlikely it took you ten minutes to find Tetsuo, Yuma," said Todoroki. "In summation, you need to set your alarm earlier."

"Yeah, yeah. What have you got?"

Todoroki held up a laser disk crystal. "You did complete your part?"

"Yeah." Yuma ignored it, reaching into his bag to pull out a sheaf of papers. "Here. You type it up."

"What?"

"Last time I typed it, remember? It took me half an hour."

"We have two minutes, Yuma."

There was a half-shrug, and Yuma gestured to the open laptop feverently. "Start typing!"

Todoroki did so.

In the end it took them three minutes to finish copying Yuma's text, often having to pause and decipher his messy scrawl. Fortunately enough, they were close enough to their next room that they somehow made it inside before the lecturer's arrival.

"You are insufferable," Todoroki said.

Yuma tilted the laptop's screen so the inbuilt camera could get a better view of the hand-drawn diagrams. "You've said that."

"Then I'll say it again."

Before Yuma could come up with a witty comeback, the doors slid open. The lecturer stepped inside, a man in his late thirties with premature grey hair and a nondescript suit. They stood up to bow and pay their respects as they did every morning, and it was only after everyone sat down that Yuma noticed the newcomer to their classroom.

The lecturer scanned the room. "This is Ryoga Kamishiro. He is interested in attending next year, and will join us for the rest of this year to get a feel for the culture."

Ryoga inclined his torso, a bow suggesting unfamiliarity with the action and his violet hair bobbed with the action. "It is nice to meet you."

"There is a spare seat next to Yuma Tsukumo. Please raise your hand."

With one last half-bow, this time barely perceptible, Ryoga headed in Yuma's direction. Each stride had the tails of his periwinkle-blue dress shirt fluttering between steps. He dropped his bag beside the desk but changed his mind, putting it on top, then sat down without a single word.

Yuma opened his mouth to introduce himself. He never managed a sound, as the lecturer cleared his throat to begin the lesson.

"I expect all of your assignments sent in within the next two minutes. Now we will continue analysing the properties of New Momentum..."

==

It was a week since Ryoga's appearance when Yuma managed catch him in a conversation. That day, the newcomer tried to leave the room as soon as the lesson ended, but found the sleeve of his shirt caught under a laptop.
  
Yuma knew that thing would come in handy.
  
"Move it," Ryoga muttered.
  
"What—oh, I'm sorry."
  
Yuma slowly clicked his combination into the numbered lock, feeling the force of Ryoga's glare though he could not see it. A blue light lit up, allowing the lid to be opened, and the sleeve fell free. The action had not taken long, but it took long enough that there was a crowd gathered around the door as the rest of the fifty-member class tried to leave.
  
"I'm Yuma Tsukumo," he greeted, now that Ryoga couldn't squirrel away.
  
Ryoga hmmed, disinterested, so Yuma tried again.
  
"You're into engineering?"
  
Another hmm, but less congenial.
  
"Where are you from?"
  
"Heartland." It was short and crisp, but still an answer.
  
"I'm from there too! We might have met—how old are you?"
  
"Nineteen."
  
Yuma rubbed his chin, a favourite thinking pose of his. "Hmm... No, I don't know any Ryoga Kamishiro. Did you go to Heartland Central?"
  
There was no opportunity for answer, as Todoroki then approached them.
  
"Yuma," said Todoroki. "This Sunday at the Main Library, 2:30 PM West Wing. How does that sound?"
  
With a grin, Yuma gave his assessment partner a thumbs-up. "Great!"
  
Todoroki nodded, less enthusiastic. "I'll see you, then."
  
He shot a sideways look in Ryoga's direction before leaving for the door. Yuma, who from that action ended up noticing Ryoga moving away again, quickly brushed past Todoroki and pulled the newcomer into conversation again.
  
Yuma smiled. "Which school did you go to?"
  
"South Heartland College."
  
"I've never heard of it," Yuma replied. He absently waved goodbye to Todoroki as they moved out of the door and split ways, noting that Ryoga, like him, headed for the main station. "What's it like? Is it a private school?"
  
"Yes."
  
Instead of waiting at the main station, as Yuma had predicted, Ryoga turned left along the streets to continue walking. Hiding a grimace at having to walk more, but spurred by nothing but sheer boredom and curiosity, Yuma tagged along.
  
Even though some called him tactless, he knew when to change a topic.
  
"Where are you staying?"
  
"Friend's place."
  
Though the words were perfectly neutral, something about their execution combined with Ryoga's body language made Yuma frown. Ryoga probably tried to hide his actions, but Yuma had been dealing with aloof companions long enough to realise something happened to be wrong. And he knew that, if he didn't pursue the topic further, Ryoga would continue doing whatever he was doing until bad things occurred.
  
"Where?"
  
Ryoga must have noticed the change in Yuma's tone, because his eyes darkened. "Around."
  
"Around where?"
  
Something about Ryoga seemed bristled. Perhaps it were the narrowed eyes, or the tightly pursed lips, or even the tense lines of his back. But no matter which, Yuma could tell he wasn't going to get an answer unless he rectified the situation.
  
"What I mean," he said after a few moments of tense silence, "is that I don't want you getting into anything bad."
  
"Why."
  
Yuma raised his hands. "Hey, I like you. Not in the gay way," he amended quickly, "but there's something that makes me want to be your friend."
  
"That's stupid." Ryoga stopped walking. He turned around to stare at him, probably trying to determine his motives. "I'm not someone for you to be friends with."
  
Uplifted by the most words from Ryoga's mouth that were willingly volunteered, Yuma couldn't help the grin threatening to grow on his face. "That's what the other two said, and we're close. Well, fairly close, anyway." Then he sobered. "But really, Ryoga. If you need a place to stay there's still a heap of room where I live."
  
He searched in his pocket for a piece of paper and a pen, before writing his address down. Then he handed the slip to Ryoga, who seemed to be looking at it with what might have been interest. Yuma smiled and began heading back to the main station outside the university's campus, but turned around and began walking backwards a few steps away.
  
"Think about it!" he yelled. "I'll be waiting!"