[TMM - K] Time Changes Everything

[sunrises]

Yay, I finally got the Roy-centric story that had been sitting on my computer done... x3; It's not much, just my take on how Roy and his family dealt with the fire and Ryou's leaving America.

Title: Time Changes Everything
Fandom: Tokyo Mew Mew - Kokoro
Summary: Roy Bancroft reflects on his memories - the day of the funeral of Jishou and Elizabeth Shirogane, and how his happy trio was broken up. And when he comes back to meet Ryou... how he and D-kun realize that time has indeed changed everything.
Disclaimer: TMM, Ryou, Ryou's parents, D-kun (c) Reiko Yoshida and Mia Ikumi. Roy Bancroft, Brett Bancroft (c) me; Sarah Cohen (c) arisadonna; Liz, Shou details (c) cherryfox, me, chibiberri

Seven years ago, Ryou Shirogane, Sarah Cohen, and I, Roy Bancroft were a happy trio in NYC. We were pretty happy just to hang out together - and on this one particular Saturday morning, we had made plans to hang out for one reason or another.

I had yet to realize that this Saturday morning wasn't going to be like the others. As I got ready for a playdate with Ryler and Sarah, I had yet to notice the sad faces of my parents, the tears falling down my sister's face...

Then, all I cared about was just spending time with my friends. Sure, I was pretty jealous that Ryler got to be Sarah's boyfriend, but what could I say about that? I was just Roy Bancroft, a neighbor. The other two didn't know that I was much more than that; I was sworn to secrecy to not tell them.

You see, my family was filled with mages. You know, the kind that wielded sparkly staffs and weapons? Yeah, that kind. My dad was a weather mage, my mother a nature mage. (That was probably why she got along so well with Ryler's mom, who was a botanist)

...But since the point of this story isn't to tell you how I learned of my powers as a nature mage, we're moving on.

Like I had said earlier, the house was overtaken by depression. When I had come down the stairs in my warm-toned clothing, it was surprisingly contrasted with my family's black.

"....Did something happen?"

Three pairs of eyes turned to greet me, still crying their hearts out.

My father solemnly looked over at me, putting his hand on my shoulder. The tears were still fresh on his face... until now, I thought that my father didn't have the ability to cry. "Last night, your Uncle Jishou and Auntie Elizabeth died in a fire."

No wonder they were crying. I could already feel my face growing wet, my hands turning into fists..

"Couldn't you have done something?" I asked. "We're mages, after all..."

Both of my parents glanced over at each other. (This wasn't a good sign) Letting a sigh escape his lips, Dad knelt down so that he was at my level.

"Rovin, there are somethings that no mage can do alone. Your mother and I don't have the power to put out fires; we can't stop Chimera Anima from attacking, and we can't certainly change the past now."

I could sense from his shaky voice that he too wanted to do something. Not knowing what else to do, I wrapped my arms around him. "Dad.... can't we adopt Ryler or something?"

He shook his head no. "Your uncle Max made an offer, but it seems that Keiichiro is his guardian now... and they want to return to Japan."

Japan... that seemed so far off....

I buried my face in his chest, sobbing. "This isn't fair...."

He ruffled my hair. "I know, but put on a brave front for your friend, okay?"

"O-okay..."

My father couldn't smile today, but he managed a very weak one. "That's my little slugger."

---------------

The funeral was the most depressing place I'd ever been in. While I was sad for my best friend, I too knew that this place wasn't the best spot to hang out in forever.

....As I got out of my seat, my green eyes looked around for Ryler. Surely he was here somewhere, right?

Once I caught sight of him, I walked over to him slowly. When I was in front of him, I didn't quite know what to say anymore. His face was a poker face - stiff and solemn.

Poor guy.. I had lost my big speech, but I don't think that I needed it in the first place. I wrapped my arms around him, letting my best friend finally shed his final tears with me.

"....I'll miss you...." I said sadly, my eyes crying along with him.

He nodded; Ryler couldn't speak today - and why would I want him to? Some days, words weren't needed.

"Ryou, it is time to go."

Sarah tapped us on our shoulders, forcing us to let go. As the two of us watched our best friend leave us, maybe for forever, my lips said something that he definitely needed at the moment.

"Don't forget me, okay? I promise I'll track you down!"

He turned around, giving me our special sign. I waved as he got into the car... and this time, I knew that it was the last time that I could see him.

I looked over at Sarah. "Are you free next week?"

She shook her head no, her blonde hair escaping her beret. "I.. I will be out of town next week. I shall call when I am free, alright?"

I was naive enough to take that for an answer; I nodded, smiling at her words. "Okay, I'll wait."

Her eyes widened, but she too left as quickly as she had come...

And it was then that our happy trio had broken up.

------------------

Six years had passed since we were happy ten year old kids. Now? I was a proud sophomore at Esori Preparatory School, a school for magical beings. (For the average passerby, though, it was a school for the gifted)

...And I still didn't have a girlfriend. Kind of sad, yes, but it was true. While I had been casually dating my friend Allison Fletcher for a while, it wasn't anything serious.

"Hey, Roy. Did you hear about this genius kid?"

I glanced over at my best friend, Tyler Locke. While he wasn't like Ryler (in all honesty, I had only thought about him occasionally. I hadn't heard from him in years... it was like he had forgotten all about me), Tyler was still a pretty upbeat person that I was glad to call my friend.

Shaking my head no, I grinned. "No, but aren't we all geniuses, Ty?"

He laughed. "Supposedly, but that's not what I'm taking about. In Japan, they started some kind of thing called a Mew Project. I think the guy who started it all was called 'Ryou Shirogane' or something."

I held my tongue. Surely he wasn't kidding, right?

But... it was in Japan. Ryler had left for Japan years ago, and the Mew Project was the name of the science thing that Uncle Jishou had been working on...

"....You're serious?" I finally said.

Tyler nodded, not quite getting why I was so persistent with his news. "Yeah, of course. Seems that the family's becoming famous for this Project... think it's in Tokyo, since that's where everything is."

That was exactly what I needed to know. "Yeah, probably. But that's really interesting news, too."

We turned to leave for our next class.

"And thanks, friend."

-------------------

It's been a while since I first heard the news of my best friend again. I remember going up to his new home (he definitely didn't know what he was doing; what kind of person makes their home out of a pink cafe?), Daisuke, the family dog, sitting obediently beside me.

See, Daisuke had escaped the fire by sheer stroke of luck. We had been taking care of him for years, waiting for the time when Ryler would be coming back for his dog.

...I think he had forgotten all about ever returning to America, though.

I knocked on the door. Having heard no response, I walked in just time to hear words that surprised me.

"Hey, Ryou-senpai, I heard that Ari met one of your childhood friends..." Hey, what was Minoru doing here? It looked like he hadn't quite noticed me yet, so I took a seat in the corner.

The person whom he was speaking to... didn't look much like my best friend. True, he looked to be about the same age, but that was where the similarities ended. This blonde looked like.. well, a punk. I had to admit that he did look cool, but it didn't look cool when paired up with his frown.

"I... don't have any childhood friends, Noru."

It took all of my strength to keep from revealing myself. He didn't remember me?

...Figures. Time really had changed him, too.

He had left without a trace; I no longer could see him as my friend. I turned to leave, Daisuke whimpering as we exited the door.

"Hey, Dai, don't worry. I bet that he'll remember us... someday..."

I doubted that either of us really believed what I was saying. Neither of us, though, cared to notice that we had indeed caught the other teen's attention. He stood in the doorway as we left, his frown worsening.

"....He looks familiar..."

Time changes everyone, especially if they leave without a trace. And it isn't always for the better, either.