Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, the manga, or anything else that I don't own.

Chapter One--Shin

Izumi Sano sat cross-legged on the floor of his dorm room. His discarded school uniform was folded on his bed, and he aore a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. Burying his head in his hands, he whispered, "Damn it, I should have taken better care of him while I was there..."

"Sano? Are you okay?" The sweet voice of his roommate, Ashiya Mizuki, broke the silence hanging over the room like a black cloud. Sano took a sharp breath of the humid air, trying not to think too hard about the fact that Mizuki, the girl he loved, was with him even now, in the hardest of times.

"I'll be fine," the raven-haired high jumper said. To prevent the statement from being a blatant lie, he added, "At least, I will be if he is."

That was a mistake, he realized. Squeezing his eyes shut, he willed himself not to cry. It was for naught, though—a warm tear slid down his smooth skin, dropping off his chin.

One tear gave way to the next; Sano's tear ducts ignored his silent plea not to cry. Silence descended on the room once again. Mizuki watched Sano allow the tears to come one at a time. He was so beauitful even at the most vulnerable of times. It was no wonder she had fallen in love with him.

Mizuki got up, walked over to Sano, and knelt. Sano felt cold fingers wiping tears off his face. He opened his wet eyes to see Mizuki kneeling in front of him, leaning forward on her knees, her face a mere 6 inches away from his, her delicate hands wiping the drops of warm, salty water from his face... she was so beautiful...

Suddenly, the boy realized what he was thinking. No, he chastised himself. Mizuki doesn't know... He shut his eyes and turned away, trying to ignore the hurt inhale from Mizuki, and his own feeling of loss. He regretted forcing her away. He clenched his jaw as he felt his cheeks go hot. He was sure they were bright red.

"Um... I'm sure Shin'll be okay, Sano. You recovered from high jump injuries just fine," Mizuki pointed out. Her voice trembled ever so slightly, but otherwise did not acknowledge her own hurt feelings at Sano's sharp dismissal.

Izumi shook his head. "I didn't land on my head," he said, not bothering to keep the angry acid out of his voice.

"Well, maybe if you're so worried about your brother, you should go see him instead of sitting here where you can't do any good!!" Mizuki exploded. Sano could tell she was angry—very hurt and very angry. And it was his fault. He wanted to apologize, to tell her she was right and he was wrong. It wasn't that easy, though. Instead, he let the hurt silence stretch, not looking at her. The air was thick and brittle with tension.

"Shin hates me, Mizuki," he finally whispered. He couldn't just go see Shin now after deserting him—at least, it had been desertion in Shin's eyes. Shin had made it clear last time the two had come in contact that he hated his older brother. "I deserted him when he needed me, Mizuki. That isn't an easy fix. I can't just waltz into his hospital room after what he thinks I did to him."

Mizuki took a deep breath and willed herself not to yell. "Maybe instead of telling me you can't patch up your relationship with your little brother, you should go try it." Her voice was softer now, but she still sounded angry and hurt.

Sano looked up. "Maybe I should." Forcing himself not to appear agitated, he got up, grabbed his wallet off of his bed, and walked out.

"Shit," Mizuki whispered to the closed door behind her one love's back. "Now what've I done?"