Ryo Marufuji/Edo Phoenix, Different, #5 Outcast/General #2
Title: Different
Author: Fenikkusu Ai
Claim: Ryo Marufuji/Edo Phoenix
Table: General #2
Prompt: #6 Outcast
Rating: T
Summary: Ryo just wanted Edo to shut up.
Word Count: 421
“How did we end up being outcasts?”
He didn’t care for human contact much anymore, except for Phoenix who insisted on tagging along everywhere now. Though, the question made Hell Kaiser wince. It was almost as painful as an electric shock.
It made no sense. Ryo had been the most loved and respected member at this academy. Now, some of the other students cringed as he walked past. There were always fans trailing behind him of course, behind both of them, but their attentions didn’t matter. They only wanted a shiny autograph or some other trinket.
Edo Phoenix was most likely considered an outcast as well even with all his success. He was handsome, rich, and famous, but the coldness in his eyes and that wintry guarded smirk made others uncomfortable within minutes. Maybe having a life such as his made him that way. He could relate easily enough to adults but not to teens his own age. Children, he called them.
Except for Ryo of course.
However, the two were a magnificent sight in front of the dorms, but even though the students milling around did stare from afar; they did not approach.
“Don’t think about it too much, Phoenix. We had our chance at a normal life. Life wasn’t kind.”
“Yeah?” Edo’s tone was confrontational.
Ryo looked away and tried to think back to that time when he was innocent. When he was king of the school. When Asuka talked to him. When Sho talked to him. When he wore white instead of black. The memories were there, but they were indistinct and faded. It was better not to think at all. Instead, he focused on the present.
“We’re different from them. We’re pros.”
Edo snorted.
Even Ryo admitted there was more to it than that. They were experienced. They could be cruel. Perhaps they were darker than the others in spirit and mind. Ryo knew himself that he had cut down his fellow duelists without mercy, and he knew Edo was capable of the same. Even to this day, Ryo could only get the story of Edo’s stepfather in bits and pieces.
It must have been a hell of a duel.
Edo cleared his throat. “You’re right. We are different.”
Without warning, Edo kissed Hell Kaiser right on the lips. In public view.
“Idiot!” The older boy hissed.
However, a quick scan of their surroundings proved that no one was around at the moment. Ryo sighed in relief.
“What do you care, Ryo? We’re outcasts,” Edo said merrily.