Ryuji, Mika, and Ajax went to the mall the next day.


    As Ryuji and Ajax guessed, Mika went on a much bigger than planned shopping spree and ended up buying a mountain of things she probably didn''t need.  The boys tried to stop her but she just shrugged and found some “important” reason to buy it anyway.


    And of course, just like she promised, Mika made Ajax carry most of the must-have items.  Before he realized, his arms were overflowing with bags and an assortment of goodies piled high that he had trouble walking without dropping anything.


    Ryuji and Ajax stared at each other in wonder at how a single person could do enough shopping for a whole family, just  for themselves.


    After a short break for some food, Mika’s treat of course, they reluctantly continued their exertion around the mall.  Mika eagerly dragged the boys to the next store and they exchanged another look, this time filled with dread at the thought of carrying more bags than they already held.


    And so that was how the day went for them.  By the time they were done, Ryuji and Ajax were exhausted.  When Mika gave them permission to go home, Ryuji and Ajax collapsed on their beds that night, their energy completely spent, and fell asleep immediately, too tired to do anything but rest.


    Weeks passed after the exhausting shopping trip, and before they knew it, summer break was over.


    Mika, Ryuji, and Ajax found themselves back at school, starting their second year of high school.


    They compared their schedules and found out that they had completely different ones.  The only time they could meet up would be by chance in the halls on the way to their next classes or occasionally during lunch on certain days.


    This caused much disappointment for them.  They had hoped to at least have one class together.


    The bell rang and they all split up to go to their classes.


    And so another school year began.


    Everything was the same but at the same time different.


    Ryuji had to be very careful of his surroundings.  He had to make sure to not get water on his hands while he was around people.  If his hands got splashed with water, he had to quickly hide them in his pockets.


    When he went to the bathroom, he had to make sure no one was in the bathroom with him before washing his hands and then run to the paper towel to dry them off quickly.


    He no longer used water fountains as the water could splash onto his hands while he was drinking.


    He no longer ate anything cold during lunch as the condensation from the container would be wet.  This sadly included his favorite ice cream which he used to get everyday at lunch.


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    Still, as long as no one noticed the scales, as long as he could hide them, he could maintain his normal life.


    But deep down, Ryuji knew this wouldn’t last forever.


    When he wasn’t in contact with water, his skin would feel dry and itchy.  And it only got worse and worse as the days went by.


    To cope with this discomfort, Ryuji developed a routine.  He would go to the bathroom in between classes and quickly wipe himself down with a damp towel to soothe his skin, then wait long enough for it to dry before hurrying off to his next class.


    It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was the only way to keep the discomfort at bay.


    On good days, he could get through the entire class without needing a break.  But on the bad days, his skin would be so itchy that he couldn''t help but ask permission to leave the class just to go to the bathroom to relieve his problem.


    His classmates started to notice his increased trips to the bathroom and expressed their concerns.  They started asking if he was feeling okay or if something was wrong. If there was either a health issue or a more personal matter going on.


    He brushed them off and shrugged, saying that he was fine and that it''s no big deal.  His classmates looked at each other wanting to question him further but decided to respect his privacy as they weren''t all that close enough to question him about personal issues.


    And so life went on for Ryuji.


    After school, Ryuji would take a nice long soak in the tub, finally relieving his skin from its dryness and itchiness.  At first his mother and brother found it odd that he would take such long soaks after school everyday, but they just let him be and eventually got used to it.


    Ryuji made sure to lock the door of course so his family wouldn''t be able to suddenly barge in and see him with scales on his skin.  He didn''t want them to know, afraid of what they might think, the possibility of rejection and being called a monster by his own family scared him into silence.


    Other than those changes, life went on just as usual for Ryuji, but he was worried.  He wondered, for how long would he be able to keep this a secret from others?


    What would happen if someone discovered his secret? Would he still be safe? Would he be hunted down and turned into a lab rat?


    He shuddered at the thought of being hooked up to those monitors and getting poked and prodded with needles.  The mere image of getting his blood sucked from his veins or injected with who knows what kind of drugs or chemicals sent chills down his spine.


    He shook himself to get rid of all these scary thoughts.


    For now he just had to focus on his school work and hiding his secret from others to the best of his ability.


    Luckily for him, he did not sign up for the swim team and his brother never mentioned it again.


    Ryuji tried his best to keep up with his schoolwork and the usual routine to keep up the illusion that nothing was different even though everything had changed.


    Every day was filled with nerves for him, like he was walking on a tightrope 50 feet above the ground.  With one wrong step, one careless mistake, his secret would be revealed to the whole school, no, it would be exposed to the whole world.


    Ryuji grew paranoid from all the stress and worry.  Every glance towards his direction, every conversation whispered among classmates in the halls got him thinking, was it about him?  Was someone watching him? Did they find out?


    Ryuji knew he couldn''t let his guard down.  If he let his guard down and someone saw his hands covered in scales, then everything he had worked so hard to keep hidden would all be for naught and his whole world would come crashing down around him.


    He was just biding his time, clinging on to the last bit of normalcy in his life for as long as possible, because he knew deep down, that it was only a matter of time before someone noticed.


    He couldn’t keep hiding forever.


    He had no idea what would happen when they would discover his secret.


    And that day might come sooner than he realized.