This originally started as a KaiMomo angst fic without much appearance time for the other regulars and character death and all that shiz but... It sorta changed while I was writing it and has become a KaiMomo + jealous!Echizen.

Characters / Pairings: Seigaku Regulars, Oishi's Uncle / (hinted) onesided!MomoRyo, onesided!FuKiku
Word Count: +/- 1,682

Tezuka hated Saturdays.

Saturday morning trainings ran from nine in the morning until one in the afternoon, leaving the better part of the afternoon open for free time for the team members to do as they wished – the regulars often went to Kawamura Sushi or, in the burning heat of the mid-summer, they all went and got ice cream.

Saturday morning trainings also meant people were late or just didn't show up, meaning Tezuka spent most of the session handing out laps and, in the process, wearing out his voice. It was often the same people who were late – Echizen being a case in point – and there was often another regular who would always be late or not show up without reason. The captain was sure they had orchestrated a pattern of who it would be each week, because it was never the same person each week.

If the previous patterns were anything to go by, today would've been Oishi's turn to miss practice – probably helping another pregnant lady – but he was the first to arrive after himself, Kikumaru hot on his heels. The rest of the regulars and most of the open team arrived on time, and Tezuka was left standing on the sideline with Inui, wondering where their two junior regulars were.

"Chance of Momoshiro having slept in: ninety-three percent," the data player snapped his notebook shut and let the arm holding it drop to hang at his side while his writing hand lifted to push his glasses back up his nose. "Chances of Kaidoh having slept in: one-point-four percent."

Tezuka's lips tightened into a deeper frown, clearly not pleased with those statistics. He wasn't the only one either. He could see Oishi pushing the rest of the regulars hard, unrelenting in his yells and pointing out their faults, to the point that even Eiji was starting to look stressed.

Not exactly in the mood to have to deal with another Golden Pair breakdown, Tezuka decided to step in. "That's all for practice today," he called out, his voice loud but not shouting. The order earned a few shocked looks from the rest of the team – it was barely half-eleven – but the senior continued as though he didn't notice. "Twenty laps around the courts to cool down then you can leave."

---

"I'm sorry."

Kikumaru and Oishi broke into small fits of laughter, muttering between themselves about this and that by their side-by-side lockers just off to the side, the other regulars paying them no mind. Fuji had watched them for a few minutes, wanting to be sure that the pair of friends would stay that way without another quarrel.

It didn't take long for the Golden Pair to join them, though, and they were all soon deep in conversation concerning the whereabouts of Momoshiro and Kaidoh. Neither had shown up for practice, nor made any attempt to contact anyone on the team. That alone had been enough to send a wave of worry throughout the entire team.

It had been too quite without the rivals constant yelling and trying to outshine the other. Even Horio had seemed a lot less lively today without Momoshiro around.

"Should we call them?" Eiji said, sitting down on the bench beside Fuji and staring up at Tezuka with wide eyes. A small pout formed on his lips at the shake of not only his captain's head, but his partner's head as well.

"Momo's family is away and Kaidoh doesn't have a cellphone and his parents don't know where he is," the vice-captain explained quietly, clearly not happy that he couldn't do something to put his mind at ease.

"Saa, maybe we're all blowing this out of proportion," Fuji interjected calmly, smiling that sickly sweet smile of his. "How about we go get ice cream--"

"Great idea, Fujiko, nya!"

"--and Eiji can pay."

"Eh?!"

"Good idea. If they don't show up on Monday… We'll worry about it then."

---

When Monday morning practice rolled around, there was still a blatant lack of junior regulars, and, when he had finally managed to make it through his second year fangirls, Oishi learned that neither Momoshiro or Kaidoh had shown up for class.

Tuesday was a repeat of the previous day, and it wasn't until Wednesday afternoon practice that there was any news of Momo.

"I'm looking for Momoshiro Takeshi's room?"

"Momoshiro-san… Room fifty-three, east wing."

"Ne, Oishi? Are you okay?" All attention was suddenly on the vice-captain, who suddenly seemed rather pale and unwell.

"East wing… That's intensive care."

Nothing more was said as the team thanked the receptionist as one before quickly making their way down the hallways. Oishi walked a step ahead of everyone else, leading the way – he knew this hospital like the back of his hand, having volunteered here during the summer a few times.

When their destination was finally within sight, they made for the door, freezing halfway down the hall as it opened and a doctor stepped out. He spotted them right away and gave a smile, beckoning them closer as he slid the door closed.

"Uncle," The vice-captain gave a short bow in greeting, his teammates copying him before they gathered closer, eager to hear what exactly was going on. "What happened?"

The doctor gave a small sigh before lifting the clipboard he had been carrying under his arm to examine it closely. "Late Friday night, Momoshiro Takeshi was brought in not long after half past eleven with many injuries," he read over his notes, glancing once at the boys in front of him in time to catch their shocked yet curious looks before he continued. "Notable wounds included three stab wounds to the back left shoulder, the front right thigh and the right side of his lower abdomen, along with multiple bone fractures, internal bleeding, broken ribs and a pierced lung."

As the doctor continued to list off their friend's injuries, a gloom set over the Seigaku regulars as their worry manifested. Despite the many questions they had – notably What could have happened to our Momo-chan for him to wind up so bad? – they said nothing, waiting for the man to finish speaking first.

"Can we see him?" Tezuka asked, the worry clear in his eyes even if his façade remained calm and collected as ever, though a slight frown tugged the corners of his lips at the shaking head he received as a reply.

"Not unless you can get him out of there," the doctor sighed and tucked the clipboard under his arm. "We usually only allow family to visit patients in the intensive care ward but… that kid just refuses to leave."

"'Him'?"

"'Kid'?"

As one, the team stepped forward towards the glass window, looking into the room. They were barely able to take in the sight they saw.

Momoshiro was lying on his back in the hospital bed, the blankets pulled right up with his arms resting on top. His chest barely moved as he breathed and, as he exhaled, his breath faintly fogged up the mask attached to his face. His face and arms were covered in bandages, and one of his wrists was in a hard cast, obviously broken. Of the skin that showed, there was very little that was neither bruised nor cut, and they could only imagine what the rest of his body looked like.

There was someone else in the room, sitting on the seat beside the bed, with his back to the team. They could see nothing of his face, his arms folded on the edge of the hospital bed in a makeshift pillow by one of Momo's arms. A Seigaku regular's jersey was draped over his shoulders – probably out of courtesy by one of the nurses who kept an eye on Momoshiro. His black hair shone in the bright hospital light, and a corner of a piece of green material was just visible from under his arm.

"Kaidoh-senpai," Echizen breathed out slowly, staring into the room with the rest of his silent team.

A sudden sniffle broke the silence between them before Eiji's face buried itself into Oishi's shoulder, the red-head's arms hugged tightly to his chest as the acrobat was tightly held by his partner. The vice-captain lead Kikumaru away from the room, sitting him on a nearby bench, all the time whispering soothing words in an attempt to calm him, much like a mother would a child who had just had a bad dream.

Some of the team followed suit, unable to handle the sight much longer themselves. Within a few minutes, only Fuji and Ryoma had remained at the window, Oishi's uncle standing with the team and informing them of Kaidoh's injuries. They were few and minor, especially when compared to Momoshiro's – a broken wrist, two broken ribs, a crap load of bruises and a broken pride. When he was done explaining, the doctor bowed briefly before taking his leave, having other patients to tend to.

"Aren't you jealous, Echizen?"

The first-year blinked and glanced up at Fuji, slightly taken aback by the soft, almost sad tone his senpai had used. "Jealous?" He asked, following suit and keeping his voice low so they didn't attract the attention of their team.

"That you aren't the one in there holding his hand?" Fuji glanced down at him and smiled that sadistic smile.

Cheh. Trust Fuji-senpai to still be able to smile in this situation, Ryoma thought bitterly, pulling his gaze away to look back into the room. "That's like asking if you want to be in Oishi-senpai's position right now," he retorted, looking back over his shoulder in time with his companion to look at their vice-captain still holding Eiji tightly, the red-head having passed out from the exhaustion of worry and training mixed together with his head on Oishi's shoulder.

"The difference between me, Oishi and Eiji, and you, Momo and Kaidoh, Echizen," the tensai said with a slight quirk to his smile. "Is that everyone knows Oishi's as straight as Kaidoh's Snake Shot and Eiji's just too naïve to notice it."

"… Cheh."