The Sky is Falling.

POV: Otogi Ryuuji. Not quite sure why. But it is.
Summary: Otogi Ryuuji attends the funeral of someone far before their time. (One-Shot, No Pairings) Warnings: Character Death.
Written: Saturday, 4 September 2004.

So dismal a day Domino City had not witnessed in a very long time. Rain wept openly from storm-tossed skies and a chilling breeze cut through the air.

Otogi Ryuuji thought it rather reminded him of his own temperament that day.

The tears had not been scarce that day.

The grass was a vivid green, the only real color to be seen amidst the respectable blur of black and gray. Respectful silence murdered the air around him.

Ryuuji had never been comfortable in silence. His mind had never quite learned to cope with situations that required him to hold his tongue in check. Today however, his tongue hung like lead in his mouth, his chest felt tight and strained and his throat was gaged with choked-back emotion.

He felt like he didn't belong here. This crowd of wavering quiet, all in shades of black in gray. He heard their murmurings. "So young" one uttered. "Too young" another replied.

Ryuuji shifted uneasily, his polished black boots squelching awkwardly in the soft mud. He didn't cope well with timid situations such as these. The waiting was worse then anything else.

The ceremony was due to start soon though. 'Too soon', his mind decided. He wished he hadn't decided to come. Surely he didn't belong here. Now that he was here he couldn't leave though, not that he really would have wanted to. He had more respect then that.

His boots squelched in the mud as he shifted his weight again, he could see the approaching pall-bearers now.

His throat throbbed painfully when he saw what they bored upon their shoulders. The coffin was so small – so perfectly white and flawless. It stung his eyes to watch it's procession, where everything else was so drowned in respectful shades of black and gray it was so white. So innocent. So bright.

Ryuuji averted his eyes, ducking his head to wipe the back of his hand across his eyes.

It was hard to believe that there was someone he knew inside of that little coffin. He didn't want to believe that there was someone he knew inside of that little coffin.

Kaiba Mokuba was so young.

Ryuuji felt his chest expand painfully.

The procession stopped as the coffin reached its destination. The big black hole in the ground. Ryuuji felt his arms fall limply to his sides. Kaiba Mokuba would never even see the insides of Domino High School. His world belonged to that hole in the ground.

Ryuuji couldn't watch. A shuddering breath jolted through his body as he averted his eyes. He wished he hadn't.

Ryuuji had once wondered what Kaiba Seto would look like if his mask dissapeared. He had wondered if the cold-hearted duelist was really capable of emotion.

Ryuuji found his lips working a silent prayer as if to take these thoughts back. He had decided that he had never ever wanted to see Kaiba Seto the way he was today.

Another strangled breath worked its way into his lungs. Never had Otogi Ryuuji wished to see the proudest man he knew on his knees.

Kaiba Seto had shed everything that Ryuuji knew him to be. There was no dignity and pride in his classmate today. His expensive black suit had not been given a second thought when the boy had dropped to his knees in the mud.

Ryuuji felt his eyes grow heavy and he drew in a shaking breath. His eyes would not leave Kaiba Seto's helpless form. He was like a proud beast with a mortal wound. Agony was so painstakingly carved into every detail of the mans face that it was damaging to see.

Those devastating blue eyes, the most feared stare in the modern business world, were in fragments. Tears glided upon his face mixing with the miserable rain that plastered his thick chestnut hair to his face. Kaiba Seto looked so young.

Otogi Ryuuji felt his body wilt. The agony of the blue-eyes was heart wrenching. Those eyes did not belong to the Kaiba Seto he knew. Kaiba Seto did not scream for his brother like a lost child for it's mother. Kaiba Seto did not cry into the mud. Kaiba Seto did not deserve the nightmare that was destroying him.

Ryuuji knew the tears were there. They were warm upon his skin amidst the bitter rain. They glided over his skin; a mockery, he thought. A mockery of the pain that he didn't own. The pain shouldn't have been his. He didn't belong here.

The crowds did not approach Kaiba Seto. No, they could not approach him. The minister seemed awkward as he looked on.

Nobody knows what to do when the strong fall.

Ryuuji felt his hands tremble, he stuffed them hurriedly into his pockets and willed himself to look away. He couldn't.

Even as he watched one of the mass broke away. A slight figure detaching itself from the black and gray mob. Ryuuji felt this throat constrict as the slight boy made his way to Kaiba Seto's side. Mutou Yuugi didn't speak. He didn't attempt to comfort.

He simply extended a hand.

The rain seemed to soften for a moment as Ryuuji watched that hand hang tentatively in the air. He watched those blue eyes as they followed the arm to Mutou Yuugi's face.

Both faces seemed caught in motion, Ryuuji Thought. It took several moments before realisation unclouded Kaiba Seto's thoughts.

It seemed as if eternity had been and gone when Kaiba Seto's mud splattered hand gripped Mutou Yuugi's offered one.

In that moment the rain fell harder then ever, driving the mud in torrents from their clasped fingers.

Ryuuji watched Mutou Yuugi as he helped Kaiba Seto to his feet. He heard the faint sobbing from his side. He felt warm tears bathe his face and he felt his eyes draw back to that little white coffin.

The minister seemed to take this as his cue. His gentle, compassionate voice rung through the rain-muffled air. "We are gathered here today to lay rest to a beloved brother and friend..."

And the dismal gray sky wept.

'And if you were with me tonight,
I'd sing to you just one more time,
A song for a heart so big,
God couldn't let it live.'

A.N: Another One-shot. Or at least... I think it's a one-shot. The overwhelming urge to write more is taking me over. No. Will not unless by request. That seems fair at least. Once again my topic is drawn to the Kaiba brothers, the view-point was strange.. I don't quite know how Otogi managed to fit into the equation.. Anyways. Written with the song, "Hear You Me" by Jimmy Eat World in mind.

This is a dedication, it's nearly been three years. Haven't forgotten you Hayley, heres your early birthday present. Miss you everyday.

- Cathy-Bloom.