Chapter 3

Kariya and Uzuki heard the screaming turn from sorrow to anger and rage. They looked at each other nervously and dashed off towards the noise. Upon arriving the front of the apartments, Koki could pinpoint the yelling was being projected from the end of the rooms. He grabbed Uzuki's shirt and dragged her to the last apartment on the first row, room 20. Before they had a chance to knock, both members heard the person yelling "Die!" at the top of their lungs. Kariya was stunned as he recognized the voice.

"Minamimoto?" Uzuki gasped, seeming to be in the same state but not with the same impact. When a loud sob and crash hit the Orangette's ears, Kariya sprang into action.

Turning the knob, Koki found the door was unlocked. After shoving it open, he was met with a pitiful sight. Sho was curled in on himself, clutching a knife to his chest in the middle of the kitchen floor, tears cascading down. The apartment was trashed, not a single item looked to be undamaged. Kariya ran to the grey one and dropped to his knees.

"Minamimoto?" He asked just above a whisper. Said man's head shot up, eyes rimmed with tears, and red. A look of immense anger flashed but then dissolved into sadness as more tears fell.

Kariya went to grab for the knife but, Sho flew back in fear, griping the knife tighter, blood dripping down his hand that was grasping the weapon. As Kariya came closer, Sho whimpered and buried his head between his knees.

A soft hand was placed on Sho's cheek, and a soft tap noise was sounded as Kariya set down his lolli in order to place his other hand on the hand that held the knife.

Tilting the other's face up, Koki leaned his forehead against Sho's. "Shhh… It's gonna be okay." Kariya looked through half lidded eyes and met with Sho's. "Can I have the knife? Please?"

Minamimoto flicked his eyes in an opposite direction and loosened his grip enough for Kariya to wiggle it out. Once it was on the other side of the kitchen, Kariya placed one arm on Sho's back and the other under his knees, lifting him. "Come on."

Sho tensed but soon relaxed as they made their way to the room, Uzuki not far behind. Kariya laid the man down on the bed after clearing broken things off with his foot. He then pulled up a chair that was laying on its side but still in stable condition and sat beside the bed, looking at Sho the whole time. Once settled, Kariya looked to Yashiro. "Uzuki. Go get a wet towel and some gauze please." She nodded and took off, only to return a minute later. Kariya placed the towel on Sho's hand, gaining a light hiss as he applied pressure. Once Kariya was sure the wound stopped bleeding he wrapped it properly and rested the hand back on the bed.

Uzuki came forward and asked, "Is he gonna be okay?"

Sho looked away, embarrassed to have someone see him in this state. Kariya nodded his head. He stood up and pulled a blanket up off the floor, covering Sho with it, just before he was able to sit down though, a loud ringing went off throughout the room, causing all three persons to jump. Uzuki blushed and pulled out her phone. After a few minutes, she huffed and slapped the phone shut.

"I have to go. Higashizawa wants me to go send some noise after some players. Don't know why he can't but whatever." She looked pointedly at Kiko and said, "Call me if anything happens, okay? And Kariya… Take care." Kariya nodded in agreement.

After he heard the front door shut, signifying Uzuki's departure, Kariya looked to Sho who was staring back, clenching and unclenching his fists. He had stopped crying but still looked like he could start up again at any minute. They kept staring at each other, not sure what to say. Eventually, Sho yawned, causing Koki to chuckle. "Hey... You need to sleep." Kariya reached over and rubbed Sho's arm through the blanket.

Sho visibly flinched at the contact but didn't let it affect him. "Will- Will you still be here when I wake up?"

Kariya smiled softly and said, "Of course. Now sleep. We can talk later."

Sho smiled slightly and turned onto his side, curling up beneath the blanket. Kariya didn't move his hand and kept up the soothing rubs trying to coax the other into sleep but soon Koki felt the other's body start to shake as light sobs racked his body. Climbing onto the bed, Kariya pulled Sho into his lap, rubbing his back and whispering reassurance into his ear. Sho clung to the back of Koki's jacket, sobbing into his chest. Once he had calmed down, Sho looked up to find amber eyes waiting for him.

"I-I'm…" Sho fell forward again as tears came back to him, as he tried to get through his sentence. "I'm so… s-s-so z-zetta sorry!"

Kariya looked confused. "Sorry for what? You didn't do anything to me, Minamimoto."

His grip tightened and he sniffed, fighting against the fresh batch of tears trying to fall. "You shouldn't have seen me like this… If I wasn't so factoring stupid…"

"Hey. You're not stupid; you're a genius! And don't get all upset that I'm here. Uzuki and I were coming back from eating Ramen so it's not like we went out of our way."

Sho didn't say anything back. He sat up, but as he was sliding off of Kariya, said person beat him to it by sliding down under the covers. Sho looked down to Koki and asked, "W-What are you doing?"

"Sleeping," he said and then turned onto his side, facing Sho. "You should do the same, man."

Sho blushed slightly and laid down and closed his eyes as well. "Uhmm… alright."

Sho felt an arm wrap around him, and upon opening his eyes, his theory was confirmed when he saw Kariya slowly scooting closer to him. Sho relaxed into the soothing warmth and soon fell into the best sleep he's had in a while.

Hey! So that was the third chapter:3 I told you it gets longer! haha. Finally Kariya appears! lol So I actually received reviews ! Thank you:: Lolita and Tear:DD

Lolita: Thanx for reviewing! And I know D; No matter what I'm writing I always end up practically tormenting the main character! I can't help it:/

Tear: Thanx for the lovely review! And I'm so glad you love my story. I did use it in the wrong context didn't I :/ (When I first began writing this I had know clue what 'zetta' actually meant. Now I do lol *Zetta = 10^21st power, or sextillion* ) lol I so nerdy. And also thank you for those endearing complements:3 I like my writing style too! lol

Welp! So there's that :3 Okie bye now!