I sat on a chair on the right side of Hiruma's bed. I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I had never seen him lying down for this long before. He was always so energetic, yelled and kicked everyone's asses – literally, shot bullets, typed furiously on his laptop, made suspicious phone calls, watched other teams' tapes. Now it seemed almost surreal. So I turned my gaze downward, watching my hands played with the hem of my skirt.

It was his right arm. They said it was fractured.

The room was silent, except for the sound of a ticking clock and Hiruma's ragged breathing. Someone gave him painkiller earlier, but apparently it hadn't kicked in just yet. My heart ached more with each breath he drew.

"Hey, fucking manager."

I practically jumped at his words. I didn't think he knew I was there. He had a white towel covering his eyes since they brought him on a stretcher. Also, I thought the pain on his arm must had been very excruciating that he wouldn't be able to perceive things around him properly.

"Y-yes?" My voice shook as I spoke. I finally raised my gaze and stared at him. He didn't move his head while talking.

"What the fuck are you doing here? You should be out there taking care of those fucking brats."

"I.. No. I don't want to leave you alone."

He paused for a brief moment before he exploded.

"You idiot. Why the fuck would you sit down and stare at a fucking dead guy!? Make yourself a little useful, damn it! Get the fuck out of here! "

I flinched, but I wasn't going to surrender just yet. "I asked Suzuna to cover for me."

"You know damn well she is not cut out for it. Now get lost!"

I had seen him angry countless times before. It might had been my imagination, but I thought something was different this time. There was something else in his voice beside anger. In fact, it was almost like he forced himself to sound angry. Tears started dwelling up in my eyes.

"I'm not leaving!"

"You little.."

"Shut up!"

I jerked up from my chair, causing it to screech against the floor. Now I was the one exploding. I had had enough. He didn't continue whatever it was that he was going to say, so I said - or yelled, to be more accurate,

"You always do this! You keep things to yourself, plastering wide grin to your face all the time, as if you are the mightiest person in the entire world; never feel tired, or sad, or.. or.. pained.." My voice broke. I felt warm tears flowing down my cheeks. I didn't bother to wipe them. "And now you're kicking me out, why? So that you can finally grit your teeth, or grunt in agony?"

He began to move under the blanket. Using his left arm as support, he lifted his upper body and sat up straight. His towel fell to his lap. He looked at me dead in the eye.

"What good is it for me if I show any weaknesses to other people? Besides, it's my fucking problem, not yours!"

"So that other people can help you!"

"I have been doing just fine. And what are you fucking crying over? I'm the one with a fucking dead arm here, not you."

The words dead arm brought a sharp pain to my chest.

"Because I care about you!"

A split second later, I realized what I had just done. My own words echoed in my head. I raised my hands to cover my mouth. Hiruma's eyes went wide in disbelief.

"I-I mean.. I didn't.."

But even then I knew that there was nothing I could do to take my words back. We both knew I was a terrible liar.

I slumped back to my chair and buried my face in my hands.

"Hiruma-kun, you have always been taking care of everything by yourself. You carry so much burden. People probably think that you are a special, amazing person, but I know for sure that you are just a normal person, who gets tired after practice, feels pain when injured..No matter how much you try to hide it.."

The room was once again heavy with silence. I heard Hiruma sighed, and not two seconds later I felt a hand on top of my head.

"Huh?" I raised my chin. Hiruma's face was only a few inches from mine. He stroked my hair lightly.

"Heh, you really are an idiot, aren't you?"

"Hiru—"

Hiruma's face came closer fast – I saw he closed his eyes, and suddenly I felt something warm pressed against my lips.

"I'm gonna start calling you Mamori from now on."