"Woo! That was fun to the extreme!" Ryohei shouted at the top of lungs.

"How the hell are you ok already?" Ryuuji questioned as he put his gloves back onto their racks. "Weren't you literally on the floor like 5 minutes ago?"

"Don't worry about me. I could go for a few more rounds actually."

"Yea, right…"

"I can!" Ryohei said in his defense. "Anyways Ryuuji, where did you even learn Muay Thai anyways? Don't people usually learn boxing or karate nowadays?"

"Oh."

Ryuuji said in a solemn tone, as if he were remembering something painful. While he didn't plan on responding any further and walk out the door, it might have been better to just accept reality.

"My Grandfather. He taught me."

"Oh that's cool to the extreme! How’s he doing now?"

"He's dead." Ryuuji replied without missing a beat, all whilst forcing a smile.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's fine. It was a long time ago anyways. I've somewhat gotten over it."

Ryohei scratched the back of his head, knowing that he had unintentionally made the situation awkward. Trying his best to console his new friend, he did the only thing that he knew he could at the moment.

"Anyways, today was really fun." Putting his hand on Ryuuji's shoulder. "If you ever need anything or just want to blow off some steam, you know where to find me."

Hearing this, Ryuuji couldn't help but smile. Being thrown into a world different from his own, a world he had thought was fictional at that, he despaired despite what others might think from his demeanor. He was away from the only friends that he had made in his life, and moreover, he was away from his sister. Now, he had received some sense of solace in the form of a new friend.

"Thanks, Ryohei. I'll definitely take you up on the offer." Ryuuji responded, thumbs up. "I'm going to head out first. See you later."

"Yea. See you next week!"

As he was making his way to the gates of the school, a regrettably menacing figure was waiting for him.

"Ho~ Looks like you made a friend on your first day." Hibari taunted.

"Hibari… What do you want?"

"Nothing, really. I expect to see you here again on Monday, or else." As he brought up one of his tonfas.

"Yea, yea. You'll bite me to death." Ryuuji retorted before Hibari even had a chance to speak.

"Hmph." Hibari walked back into the school grounds, followed by his usual posse, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Releasing a sigh, Ryuuji walked about, thinking of what he should do next.

While he had gotten somewhat acclimated to the new world that he was in, Ryuuji was now faced with many new obstacles in his path. As if having to deal with the fact that he would have to take part in the subjugation of Rokudou Mukuro, it would be impossible for the current him. Homeless. Penniless. Powerless…

But, despite all odds, Ryuuji was still optimistic. This wasn’t the first time that he had to face a seemingly immovable wall. ‘I made it this far in life. Just think of this as another challenge.’ He thought to himself. What he needed were simply two things: a place that he could stay and a way to get stronger. But right now, the former was the most important. He had to find a place to stay as well as food to eat. Otherwise, what good would it do if he were to face Mukuro in bad condition?

However, Ryuuji didn’t have many options. He was penniless, so he couldn’t rent an apartment, along with the fact that who in their right mind would rent out an apartment to an underaged boy. He didn’t have any family to rely on nor close enough acquaintances to stay with. He had thought about trying to stay at Tsuna’s house, but after calculating their familiarity with one another, it would be a long shot. Besides, with the ‘colorful’ cast of characters that appear there, Ryuuji shook his head for the sake of his sanity.

As he continued to plan out his next course of action, Lady Luck presented herself to him in the corner of his eye.

‘This could work.’

Ryuuji ran up behind a tall boy with what seemed to be a baseball bat slung on his shoulders. From height alone, he wasn’t much taller than Ryuuji, but physique-wise, he seemed to be severely outclassed.

“Yamamoto Takeshi, right?” Ryuuji asked as he tapped the boy on his shoulder.

“Yep. That’s me.” Yamamoto replied with a smile, as if he wasn’t bothered by a stranger calling him even the slightest.

“This might sound a bit weird, but I’m sort of acquainted with your father. I need to go meet him but… I honestly don’t know how to get to his place from here. Would you mind if I tagged along with you?”

“You know my Pops? Um…”

“Oh, sorry.” Ryuuji said scratching the back of his head. “Nakamura Ryuuji, class 3-A. I just transferred here.”

Yamamoto, true to his nature, was very warm and friendly. While it might have been slightly weird for most people, being approached by an unknown person, Yamamoto was someone that could easily make friends with most people. He didn’t think much about whether Ryuuji had any malicious intent, and instead, beckoned him along.

“Hm… Sure!”

____________________________________________________________________________

“So, how do you know Pops?”

Yamamoto asked as the two walked along the streets of the downtown area. The raspy sound of crows cawing could be heard amongst the hustle and bustle of the surrounding shops. There were many students and salarymen alike walking around, enjoying the atmosphere as the sun began to set. Ryuuji reminisced as to how long it had been since he was able to escape the clutches of his ‘duties’ at work to enjoy a time like this.

“Oh. Takeshi-san helped me out a bit in the past.” While he wasn’t lying, it was a bit of a stretch for Ryuuji to call it ‘the past’ when it was roughly six hours ago.

“I see. That is like him.” Yamamoto agreed on the spot. “Oh, we’re here. Just up ahead.”

Sliding open the shoji door, it was very casual and relaxing. Families eating together, salarymen celebrating a successful deal, and the occasional student splurging on their allowance; this lively atmosphere was unlike the time that Ryuuji had arrived beforehand. It looked… fun.

“Pops, I’m home.” Yamamoto said.

From over the counter, Tsuyoshi replied as he was slicing up some tuna for sashimi. “Oh, Takeshi. You’re back. Hurry up and get changed. It looks like it's gonna be a busy service tonight.”

“On it.”

“Oh, this is a surprise. Ryuuji, you’re here too.”

Seeing that he left suddenly and unannounced, Ryuuji bowed and apologized. “Tsuyoshi-san, I apologize for leaving so suddenly. Some ‘things’ came up with the school.” He stayed like that until Tsuyoshi replied.

“Don’t mind it, kid.” Tsuyoshi chuckled. “If you still want to, you can head to the back with Takeshi and get changed. We could always use an extra hand around here.”

“On it, sir.”

After getting changed, Ryuuji went back into the service hall and continued paying off his meal. It was like the part-time jobs that he had to do during his university years: washing, cleaning, taking orders, the usual. There wasn’t much trouble other than the occasional customer that got too drunk, to which Ryuuji helped call and escort them out to the taxi. When the service was done, clean up was quicker than usual with additional manpower. Overall, it was a successful night.

“Good work, both of you.” Tsuyoshi applauded.

“Phew, glad that's over with.” Yamamoto said as he wiped the sweat off his brow. “I’m going to head up to do my homework now. Seeya, Ryuuji.”

As Yamamoto headed up to his room, all of Tsuyoshi’s attention was now on the somewhat capable young man that he had just met today.

“Thanks a lot today, Ryuuji.” Tsuyoshi said, giving Ryuuji a pat on the shoulder and handing him an envelope of cash. “It’s getting late now, so you should probably head home, no?”

Ryuuji, after letting out a dry laugh, replied. “About that… I know this might be a long shot, but would it be possible if I stayed here for a while?”

Tsuyoshi’s eyes widened in shock. ‘What is this boy saying?’ He thought to himself. Of course, it would be weird, and awfully suspicious, if a person he just met asked if they could stay at their house. Before getting the chance to decline, Ryuuji quickly continued.

“Oh! Not for free, of course. I can help with the cleaning and preparations. I know that Takeshi is really focused on his baseball circle right now, so he isn’t able to help out much around the shop. I don’t mind doing so. I can even pay rent… as soon as I get some money. I just need a place to stay for a while.”

Ryuuji spoke, not giving Tsuyoshi a chance to say anything back. He was very desperate. Ever more so than he had been in the past. And as soon as he finished his pleas, Tsuyoshi tried to calm him down.

“Look. I can’t just let you stay here all of the sudden. Also, what about your parents? They’re probably getting worried about you right now. Thanks for today, kid, but you should probably head home.”

Ryuuji led out a disheartened reply. “All right. Thanks for the food and letting me work here today, Tsuyoshi-san. If possible, I’d like to come back to work here again sometimes.”

“Sure thing. Now get going. See you around, kiddo.”

“Yea… See you later, sir”

As Ryuuji closed the door behind him as he walked out, he let out a depressed sigh. While he should have continued to ask Tsuyoshi to let me stay there, outside of the heat of the moment, he was right. He would have had to have a few loose screws to let him stay there all of the sudden. Moreover, Ryuuji was tired.

A lot had happened in the span of one day. All the hardships and troubles in his past couldn’t compare to this. Then, he had a few good-hearted friends. Then, he had a decent paying job, despite the conditions. Then, he had the hope of seeing his sister wake up. Now, he had nothing but himself. Alone.

Walking under the light of a slightly obscured moon, he went wherever his steps led him. Eventually, past the tall buildings and quiet neighborhoods, he somehow made his way back to Namimori Shrine. ‘What a way to end the day. Back to where I started.’ He jokingly said to himself, as he walked towards the shrine.

After putting his hands together and giving a brief bow, he sat, then laid down on the cold wooden planks of the shrine. Covering his eyes with his hand, a single tear drop trickled down the side of his cheek.

In a deject voice, Ryuuji whimpered. “What now?”