A few minutes ago I would have killed to have a moment of peace, but now I would do anything to hear the high pitched screech of a girl. Be careful what you wish for. But the problem is that wasn't what I wanted. Sure, there were a lot of times I did everything I could just to avoid people on the street but now that there's nobody to see my broken body in the middle of the road.

I was actually on my way to see the loudest, most annoying group of people I knew. Nobody got under my skin the way they did back in middle school. Even with my bratty attitude they still dragged me along for whatever stupid adventure they had planned. And as time passed I really did grow to love them.

After Nationals I left for America without so much as a goodbye. I had planned to go to some camp when they assured me that the Seigaku Regulars would be invited, and I knew they would go. What I didn't plan on was missing them so much. In the heat of the moment I got a one way ticket to Japan and set off to go see my friends. Yep, you heard me. Friends. Never thought I'd say that.

Now I'm lying in the middle of the road with my back all torn up, legs bent in an unnatural angle, and growing weight on my chest. I don't know if it's all the blood I'm losing but I did a really terrible thing.

Every move brought a new wave of pain that coursed through my body, so you can imagine the agony it was to move my arm and pull out my cellphone. Other than the cracked screen the phone was fine. I turned it on and pressed the emergency call button, after typing the number in I let the phone drop the ground next to my head. I shifted until I could hear the person on the other line.

"-is your emergency?"

"I was-" talking was harder than I expected and I began to cough violently. After my coughing fit ended I tried again. "Car."

Lucky for me the person on the other end understood. "Help is on the way. Please remain on the phone with me. Is there anyone near you?"

"I wanna call somebody."

"No sir ple-" I ended the call.

My vision began to go in and out of focus. But I managed to type in a number I knew by heart with my bleeding finger. Half of my nail was gone. I wish my body would hurry up and turn numb, I can't help but flinch every now and then and it is a painful experience.

"Momoshiro speaking."

"Hey Momo-senpai." I tried to hold back another round of coughs.

"Oi! You little brat, what the hell?! What the fuck is wrong with you, you little brat?! You didn't even say goodbye to us! Now you're just calling me out of the blue! It's a little late for goodbyes don't you think?!"

"Sorry."

"Sorry? Well then I guess you're calling to beg for your senpai's forgiveness. I won't accept an apology over the phone. You have to come back to Japan."

I wanted to surprise them, so I didn't tell anyone, other than my mom, that I was coming. "How is everyone?"

"You're calling to see how we are? The Ryoma I knew would never do something like that. What have you done with him?"

I laughed, that was a mistake. I felt something warm and wet shot up through my throat and into my mouth. It over flowed and I felt it run down my cheeks. I wouldn't be surprised if it was my blood.

"Well I'm doing fantastic. Got a girlfriend and everything. Oishi and Eiji are out there winning tournaments and keeping an eye out for rotten players on the street courts. The snake is as stupid as ever, why did you leave me with him? Kawamura has some cooking school on their hands and knees, begging for him to choose them as his high school. Inui's been wandering around collecting data on potential regulars for the other schools. Oh, and Fuji is using Tezuka as a model for his photography club thingy. More like stalking."

The weight on my chest grew some more and breaths started to come out short and labored. No sound of sirens or anything. "You guys know that you're my best friends, right?"

"Ryoma?"

"I have no idea what would have happened to me if I hadn't met you guys." If I don't make then I want them to know this. "But you, you're my brother."

"Alright stop you're scar-"

"Can you just talk to me?" My vision blurred and no matter how many times I blinked I couldn't fix my vision.

"If this is some kind of joke-"

"Please!" My voice cracked.

"...Remember Atobe? And that time you shaved his head? I think he misses you. He came to the school and started lecturing the new club members about how they'll never be as good us. But honestly I think he had you in mind when he said all that. He was really angry at you when you left. So anyways, Tezuka came out with the scariest look on his face…"

I couldn't hear anything he was saying. It felt like he was humming in my ear but I couldn't make out any words. I guess this is dying? No warmth or cold that blocks out the pain, I can still feel everything. It's just my luck that my death won't be peaceful.

"I'm sorry." I don't know if I said it out loud. I couldn't even tell that Momo's "humming" had become louder and more frantic.

Suddenly everything went white.

My body began to twitch and thrash around slightly.

It slowly turned grey.

It felt like I was being choked. Like the air was purposefully avoiding me, leaving my mouth open desperate for a little bit of oxygen.

"Thank you Momo-senpai."

It's a terrible thing I'm doing. Calling Momo when I'm like this.

Then...nothing.