Move along

"Hey… why are you crying?" Ryu went in front of him, and bent down as he looked at the pitiful figure. He asked out of concern, with his eyes widening as to why he was crying. He has never cried before, at least never in front of anyone else but himself. Something that's disastrous must have happened to make him cry like this.

Leo looked up with forlorn eyes that were stained with salty tears that never seemed to stop. Curling up like a ball, he refused to remove his hands from his face. His hair covered almost his entire face, and yet he did not care. Gritting his teeth, he continued to sob, apologizing for what he has done.

"Elliot… I… It's all my fault…!" Leo gasped for air, pulling his fringe as though it did not hurt. What hurt the most was in deep in his heart, not what he felt physically. And he could not do a thing, it just hurt a lot. It hurt like a thousand needles being dropped in your mind. He couldn't express it anymore, that hurt was overflowing. It was overwhelming him, and he felt like screaming the pain out—but nothing could come out. He choked as he cried, almost disregarding the person in front of him. How can he care about his surroundings when his heart was split in two?

"Oi, what happened?" Ryu bent down even more, and placed a concern arm on Leo's shoulders. The usually funny, elusive and friendly yet sarcastic person was now… crying? Those aspects of him were all gone, and now what Ryu was looking at was just what's left of him: the sorrow inside.

"It's… none of your business, go away, Ryu…" he started to talk normally, but it was all in whimpers and mutters. However, because Ryu was extremely close to him right now, he could hear exactly what he was saying. And those words only made him feel angrier, for he was trying to care, and yet this person… did not care.

Ryu tightly gripped on Leo's shirt, pulling it towards him before shouting loudly, "Of course it's my business. You're my friend, for goodness sake! Do you think that anyone walking pass you would just leave you alone to your cries? Leo, just tell me what happened. I might be able to help," and later on changed to a much lower tone.

"There's no way you can help. No one can bring back the dead. It's… all my fault, if only I hadn't made him sign a contract with that… thing! If only I did not exist, if only he hadn't met me, he wouldn't…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say to make Ryu understand. But he did understand, and from the looks of things, Leo would continue to blame himself for Elliot's death. He would keep thinking that way. There's no way Ryu can just leave him here as he might do something silly, trying to repent for his sins or something that would do harm to himself.

"Leo, I know nothing I say will make you feel any better about this matter, but know that Elliot doesn't blame you for it. He doesn't want you to be crying over his death either, so please, stop crying."

"You don't know anything, so just leave me alone!" Leo snapped, using one arm to slap Ryu away from him, which sent him flying to the wall. Leo was actually shocked by his own actions, as he suddenly sat up straight, and left a trembling hand stationary in the air. He walked towards Ryu, who was not far from him. The walls were quite narrow, after all. Leo then sat down beside him.

"I'm sorry, Ryu. I just couldn't control myself."

He then sat up and looked at Leo, "Nah, it's my fault for saying that when I don't know anything. Elliot was really important to you, right?"

"Elliot," he picked up his spectacles and wore them. His eye still not visible, and continued as he looked at Ryu, "was someone far more important. I swore that I would kill his enemies, even if it was me. And yet, I was the one who killed him," he then recalled the memories between Elliot and himself. Those were over, though. Nothing can bring Elliot back to life, even if he were to trade his soul for his life, it wouldn't work. Nothing would work.

Leo…

"Huh?" Leo suddenly tilted his head up, as he heard his name being called by a familiar voice. But it was not Ryu. He looked around, and it seemed that Ryu did not hear anything. And for a second there, it sounded like Elliot's voice. Was it him?

It's me, stupid. Since when was my death anyone's fault, huh? Stop blaming yourself!

"You're not… angry at me?" he asked, looking up with hope. Ryu then looked at him strangely, as he couldn't hear Elliot; he thought that Leo was talking to himself.

No, but if you continue to blame yourself, then I will be. Move along, Leo.

And just like that, the voice disappeared, and Leo felt better. "Move along" was what Elliot told him. Those last words of his, and yet it still pained him so. His hands placed themselves on his chest where his heart was. It hurt a lot, and yet he asked him to move along. He had to move along. Simple words, and yet they echoed through his soul. He forced a smile.

"Thank you, Elliot, for everything."

Disclaimer: Elliot and Leo are not my characters, they're from Pandora Hearts. I only own the story and Ryu, who is my character.