...If you haven't noticed already, I LOVE AU X3. This is like my fifth fic that's a modern AU oO;; This one's a bit different, though. Read on and you'll see.

Dedication/Inspiration: I must give some credit to Aquajogger and her fic Just a Farie Tale, for that is where I indeed got the inspiration to do something like this. The other part of the inspiration comes from a song on my Rurouni Kenshin OST (I think it's from Trust and Betrayal), called In Memories: A Boy Meets The Man. Had it on repeat while writing this. X3

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Knights.

In Memories

Chapter One

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP--

The annoying but effective noise stopped as a hand reached out and shut the alarm off. A moment later, a boy, maybe 17 years of age, rose up from the nearby bed. He ran a hand through dark red hair and blearily tried to open his bloodred eyes.

"Rrgh... Morning already..." Rath grumbled. He looked at his surroundings. "Great. I'm here again. You know, I was willing to hope again that this was all just a dream..."

Muttering to himself, the boy threw the bed sheets off and got out of bed, stumbling to the nearby bathroom.

He didn't quite remember exactly how he'd ended up here; that time in his life was quite blurred. All he knew was that he had once been in Dusis, and now he was here. Earth. America. Whozawhatsit. Rath didn't care what they called it. The only thing that mattered was that it was not Dusis.

The door swung open and Rath stepped out of the bathroom and headed out of his room, glaring at the alarm clock as he went. He had never really gotten used to the technology like that here. Every morning he woke up to that horrid noise, and every morning he told himself he would set it to the radio instead, but every night he would forget about the alarm clock and just go to bed, and then wake up the next morning to that horrid noise.

Rath stared into space as he waited for his toast to pop from the toaster. He really had no idea why he was even bothering to try and live a normal life here; it's not like it really did him any good. But live he did; the boy went to school, did his homework, the usual. He wasn't bothering to get a job just yet; didn't see the point.

The toast popped and Rath shoved it in his mouth, simultaneously putting on his jacket and backpack as he walked out the door, leaving behind an empty apartment.

-o0o-

"Rath! Hey, Rath!"

The boy in question turned his head slightly.

Two figures joined him from behind, one with long blond hair and blue eyes, the other with dark greenish-brown hair and emerald eyes, complete with a few scars on his face.

Rath had been hanging around these two ever since he had been in this world. They were exactly like them. Exactly like his two fellow Dragon Knights at home. Exactly like them. He was startled by the resemblance at first, but eventually got over it. The two boys didn't seem to mind his presence, so he stayed.

He joined them as they walked to school.

-o0o-

It never changed.

Every day was the same thing. Get up, go to school, go home, do homework, go to bed. Every single day.

He was sick of it.

Rath paid no attention whatsoever to the teacher as he wrote in his notebook with black pen. He wrote in the notebook on days when he was feeling particularly frustrated, irritated, confused, or homesick. Yes, homesick. Rath had hardly believed it himself at first, but he had grown used to the Dragon Castle. Going from there to here had been a bit of a culture shock, and the boy had never really gotten over it.

"Rath."

The stern voice made him look up. Standing above him was his homeroom teacher, a woman with long black hair tied back in a messy bun, and black eyes glaring at him from behind thin-rimmed glasses. She tried to be menacing, she really did, but compared to the Demon Lord, this woman had no practice in the art of intimidation.

"Have you been listening to a word I've been saying?"

"No, ma'am," was Rath's blunt reply.

The class laughed. The woman glared at him. "And what will happen if you fail, hmm? Would you like to be kicked out of school?"

Rath stared up at her. "At this point, ma'am, I don't really care."

She glared at him.

Rath glared back.

The class just laughed.

The teacher gave him one last look as she walked back to the front. "Detention, Illuser. After school."

-o0o-

Rath stopped in his tracks as he saw the lone two figures standing outside the school building.

"You... you guys waited for me?" he stuttered.

Rune smiled at him, and Thatz laughed outright. "That's what friends are for, right?"

"...Friends..." Rath murmured. He had never really thought about friends before.

As they walked, he vaguely heard Rune's voice. "You know, Rath, if you didn't do that all the time, you wouldn't get detention..."

Rath's head jerked involuntarily. "I don't care," he mumbled.

"Seriously, Rath. You're going to have to do better if you want to graduate high school."

"I don't CARE!" Rath yelled suddenly, whirling around to face Rune. The movement was sudden enough to surprise his companion, apparently, as he ended up walking forward and into Rath, sending them both sprawling to the ground.

"I don't... care," Rath repeated through gritted teeth. This wasn't his world, this wasn't his home, and he was never meant to be here, so why should he even be trying in the first place? "God dammit, I don't CARE! I don't care about this school, about this world, about this life! I don't belong here, and I never will, so STOP nagging me about it!"

Rath furiously snatched his notebook, which had been dropped to the ground as well, sending papers flying. As the boy stood up and stormed off, his two companions could see one of the entries from his notebook that had fallen out. It was written in scraggly handwriting in smudged black pen, the edges of the paper crinkled slightly.

Why am I here?

Why was I sent here? When did I come?

Why can't I remember?

Will I ever go back?

Do I WANT to go back?

Why can't I make up my mind!

Do I want to go back

Where do I belong

Which life is better for me?

Why do I want to see them again--

The entry cut off.

In the middle of autumn, two boys sat on the road, reading a piece of paper.

And a plethora of mysteries began to unfold.

-o0o-

...That scene with the teacher was fun to write. n.n;; Anyway, I don't think that the rest of the chapters will be written so choppily; I was trying to write in a more ambiguous style. Considering that I wrote the last part at ten o'clock when I was pretty tired (and it's ten-thirty as I type this now), I'd say I failed the ambiguous style on the last part there. Shame. Shame shame shame.

...Anyway, I'm hoping to turn this into another big epic like "Revelations" or "Smile in the Rain"... (I'm hesitant to use the abbreviation "Revelations" ever since I found out it's also the name of a book in the bible... I'm not religious o.O) Stick around if you like. Enjoy the ride. See you-

Hobey-ho,
Peophin-chan