Under the Rain [Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS]

S2-29✩ VR World Matters Should Stay There while We Live the Moment

"What are you doing, snooping around like that?"

Yusaku's eyes narrowed as a small bead of sweat slid down his cheek. Before his eyes, stood the one who almost ruined the internet and tormented many using the ruthless hacker organization that he led; but right now, he looked just like any regular high school boy who went shopping--or just window shopping out of boredom, perhaps, since unlike his right-hand man, he wasn't carrying anything. "Revolver."

"Not that," the boy who owned that alias replied flatly to his call, causing Yusaku to furrow his eyebrows and slightly tilt his head in confusion. Seeing Yusaku's reaction, he continued, "This is the real world. Call me that only in LINK VRAINS."

Yusaku blinked once. "Then, Kogami Ryoken?"

"Too long. Just Ryoken is fine," the other boy nodded as he crossed his arms. "But let me warn you: that doesn't mean we've become friends. It's merely to simplify things."

Before Yusaku could give a reply, Ai had already beaten him to it with his fuming. "Who does he think he is, bossing you around like that! Say something back, Yusaku!"

"That does simplify things, but more importantly..." Yusaku glanced over his shoulder and found Mirai and Spectre had already left. He clicked his tongue, murmuring to himself, "Drat, we've lost them."

Yusaku could hear steady footsteps approaching him and was taken aback when Ryoken suddenly grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him away from that place. He somehow found himself going along with him and only watched while Ryoken grabbed a couple of items and led them to one of the self-service checkouts. After paying those items, he tossed them to Yusaku without saying anything.

Yusaku stared down at them in silence; they were one travel-size ice pack and one canned coffee. "Why?"

"You are a dense one, aren't you?" Ryoken nonchalantly commented as he opened his own canned coffee and drank some of it. He glanced and pointed at Yusaku's face with the hand that was holding the can. "Your cheek looks like it needs some treatment. I don't care about whatever thing you were involved with which got that inflicted on you, but I'm not so heartless to ignore a nasty bruise like some idiot who walked around with it and attracted some unwanted attention to him without him noticing it."

".....You don't have to be so harsh, you know," Yusaku replied with a quiet sigh. As he wasn't in the mood to think of a retort, he decided to just accept Ryoken's gesture and finally pressed that ice pack against his bruised cheek. The cold immediately spread across his cheek, making him wince. Along with that sensation, a certain memory came to his mind. "This brings back memories. You also gave me an ice pack back then, but it was the one used to make shaved ice."

"I don't remember ever doing that," Ryoken raised one of his eyebrows at him. "We didn't even interact that much in real life."

"You did, when we were still little kids," Yusaku leaned back and closed his eyes. "That's fine if you don't remember. That happened a long time ago."

He paused for a moment, his eyelids opening slightly with sadness. "A very, long time ago..."

"Memories are fragile," Ryoken remarked, catching his attention. The silver-haired boy's gaze was sharp, like it always had been, as he calmly observed the bustling cafeteria where they rested right now. "What you remember today may not be the same as yesterday's or tomorrow's. Human brains are prone to forget after all, but unpleasant memories are different in which the brain just tricked itself into remembering them better than any other memories."

Yusaku heard him, but didn't reply. With no words to exchange, random muffled chatter around them, and slow ambience music playing in the background, the two boys soon found themselves lowering their guards and sinking in their own thoughts. It was rare for them to not mind the idleness like this.