DISCLAIMER: I did not own PoT or any of its characters. If I did the sequel would have been a BL manga instead of Dragon Ball but with tennis and I'm not sure if I'm ready for that kind of responsibility.

Some OOC and AU elements (Duh).

Rain

Of course, it rained the day that he have to leave.

Ryoga didn't hate rain by any means, but the ten-year-old have seen enough cheap dramas that his father seemed to be very fond of to know that rain during sad times is something incredibly cliché. Then again, rain does represent what he felt fairly accurately.

Every part of him wants to resist when his aunt took his hand and practically dragged him to the car. He doesn't want to leave, never wanted to leave. Why didn't his old man fight harder? Didn't he have more money? Yet he couldn't. Nanjiroh had told him that he have no choice and that if he fight against it will just make things more difficult.

He knew that its his fault for not being able to just tell Ryoma from the beginning that he have to leave. Nanjiroh certainly gave him the time to do it. Maybe this would have been so much easier if he hadn't been such a coward. Maybe it would have been so much easier if he had told Ryoma from the beginning instead of waiting until the very end and leave him with something as lame a promise he doesn't even know he can fulfill. But he doesn't want it to be easy. Ryoma is too special for "easy".

Certainly, Ryoga didn't hate rain. He just wished he had been standing in the rain instead of inside the car so nobody have to see the tears streaming down his face.

Run

For Ryoma, running was something that had been ingrained to him ever since he could remember. Nanjiroh have always been demanding, teaching him how to run ever since he could walk without stumbling every few steps. He didn't hate it, much like how he didn't really hate tennis despite all his whining. He just couldn't see why he should leave behind other things he's interested in for it.

That was the case until Ryoga came along. While at first they didn't really get along, with time Ryoma have come to love Ryoga above everything. And Ryoga liked tennis and running, so Ryoma liked tennis and running because Ryoga did. He liked to play tennis because he played it with Ryoga. He wants to get better so Ryoga wouldn't get bored of playing with him.

Perhaps it was instinct. Perhaps because he was an eight years old kid who really doesn't know better. But he ran. He ran after the car that's going to take away his brother from him. He doesn't need anyone to spell it out for him. Ryoga have never looked so sad before, and Ryoma knew that he have to chase after the car. He ignored the pouring rain pounding down his body, ignored his father yelling his name, ignored the promise Ryoga made just a few moment ago. He doesn't want any stupid orange or any promises. He wants Ryoga to be with him.

So he ran with all his might, chasing after his brother. Chasing after the one thing that he knew that his childish heart love above all.

Reckless

Maybe the sadness and grief play trick on his eyes. Maybe his tears blurs his eyes so much he can't tell what's real and not real, but Ryoga swore that he saw Ryoma running after the car from the rearview mirror. As if that's not enough, he could faintly hear through the sound of the rain someone calling his name.

Rubbing his eyes once, Ryoga can still see Ryoma desperately chasing them. Clearing his ears, he can still faintly hear Ryoma's voice calling after him. Just like that, whatever resolve he had built up crumbles into nothing. He doesn't want to leave Ryoma, no matter what. He doesn't care about all the adult things that Nanjiroh or his aunt say. He's ten years old for kami's sake. He had obediently listened to what the adults have to say and obeyed them. He didn't resist when Nanjiroh threw away all the things he like because it "distracts him from tennis". He have been obedient for a long time, and just this once, he wants to be selfish.

So he screams, telling his aunt to stop. He yells out that he doesn't want this, that he'd rather die than have to be separated from his Chibisuke. He ignored his aunt yelling at him when he unlocked the car door and jumped out into the rain. He ignored the stinging pain he felt as he fell onto the cold, hard, and wet asphalt. He ignored the fact that his vision is blurring from that pain and ran toward his brother.

When Ryoma called for him, Ryoga called back. And when they crashed into each other, despite everything else that's going on around them, Ryoga knew that's where he belong. And he closed his eyes, hoping that Ryoma will be there once he opened it again.

Regret

Nanjiroh never thought that it would come to be like this. He knew that Ryoga is upset about it and he also knew that Ryoma would be upset as well once it happened. Yet he couldn't have predicted that both his brats would be so… reckless. He couldn't have predicted that Ryoma would run after Ryoga even in the pouring rain nor could he have predicted that Ryoga would jump out of the car to meet Ryoma in the middle.

He had thought that it would be fine after Ryoga made that promise. He had thought it's not a bad way to separate too, since he figured out that the two would probably be motivated to get better at tennis so they can meet again. Yet he missed so many obvious signs that it's not alright. He missed the shaking of Ryoga's hand as he handed over the now forgotten orange to Ryoma. He missed the distraught in Ryoma's entire being when Ryoga made him that promise. He missed the fact that neither of the two would ever want to let go of the other.

Maybe if he hadn't missed it all, he wouldn't have to wait for hours to know if Ryoma would be alright after rabidly protecting Ryoga's unconscious body from anyone, afraid that if he let go then Ryoga would be taken away from him. Maybe if he hadn't missed it all, he wouldn't have to wait for hours to know if Ryoga suffered any permanent damage from jumping out from a moving vehicle straight into the asphalt.

If he had been a father, if he had seen Ryoga and Ryoma as his sons instead of his potential rivals, maybe it would never have come to the point where his sons endangered themselves just to stay together. Yet what had been done couldn't be cancelled. All that he can do is move forward and try to fix whatever it is that he still can before its all too late. Before one day he lost both his sons to his own stupidity.

"I think we need to renegotiate something."

Relief

Ryoma was there when he woke up, his back facing toward him, his arms spread out as if shielding him from something, his entire body shaking. At least, that's what Ryoga gathered after an entire minute regaining his bearing.

His head was still pounding, and there's a sense of numbness on the left side of his body, especially his shoulder. Memories of screaming, of recklessness, of pain, of coldness from the rain began to return to him. Whatever thought that might come to him was cut short however when he heard Ryoma's hoarse voice loudly shouting to someone he couldn't see.

"No! I-I won't let you take Ryoga away again!"

Ryoga's heart stopped for a second. Was Ryoma crying? As if by instinct, he tried to reach out to the shaking boy but quickly realised that he could barely move his right arm while attempting to move his left arm only results in a numb feeling. He need to do something, anything, to calm Ryoma down but his body felt so weak.

"C-Chibisuke…" Ryoga called out weakly.

The effect was immediate. Ryoma turned toward him and Ryoga could see that his brother is much paler than he should be, his eyes brimming with tears, and his cheek still wet from tears. "R-Ryoga?"

Ryoga only managed to gave a weak smile before Ryoma practically glomped him. Ryoga ignored the pain that shot through his entire body from the action, fighting back a wince in favor of letting Ryoma cry into his chest. It was then he noticed that Nanjiroh was also there, approaching the two of them.

"Don't worry, Ryoga won't be going anywhere." Their father assured, a small smile coming to his lips. "I guess after what you both did, even she would back down a little."

Returning Home

Ryoga thanked all the gods above that his stay in the hospital didn't last as long as he thought it would. According to the doctor, he got really lucky that he didn't broke anything with his stunt and got away with only a slight dislocation that could easily be fixed. He did scrape a good chunk of the skin on his arm though, but it have already began to heal and according to the doctor will disappear without a mark in a month or so.

But the best part of it all was that he didn't have to leave Ryoma after all. He couldn't care less how his dad managed to convince his aunt to let him go, the most important part was that he and Ryoma wouldn't be separated and never will be if he can help it. He would gladly throw himself into the road again if that meant staying together with Ryoma.

Ryoma had been discharged from the hospital much earlier than him, as he didn't have any wounds to be treated or dislocation to be fixed. Which meant that Ryoma must have been waiting for him back at home. Ryoga could feel a tug at his lips at the thought of Ryoma sulking from having to wait for his brother to come home. His brother is such a spoiled brat and Ryoga wouldn't have it any other way.

When he stepped out from the car, the first thing that happened was Ryoma glomping him with a smile so wide that Ryoga couldn't resist grinning as well.

"Welcome back home, Ryoga-nii!"

And Ryoga knew that he was back home and would never leave again.

A/N: Hello there, I hope you like what you just read because I couldn't write angst to safe my life! Favorite and follow if you did, because there's no way I'll just end it like this when there's so much brotherly fluff to be had and potential future pairings to be made. No, this is NOT gonna have incest in it. Reviews will be greatly appreciated!

A few more things:

- I shifted things around a little such as making Ryoga only two years older than Ryoma for reasons that y'all can probably guess.

- For those who want to see spoiled brat Ryoma and "I do whatever I want" Ryoga, the next batch of drabbles will be for you. Also, fluffy things abound!

- Unless specifically mentioned to be otherwise, the drabbles are in chronological order.

Word Count: 1,748