A/N: This one is a bit shorter than the other chapters, I imagine. Oh well. It just came out like this. Review me and I'll make the next one longer.

Thanks to all my reviewers who told me what they thought and whatnot. It's a bit too late -and I'm a bit too sick feeling- at night to reply, but I will next time. –smiles- Thanks.

Chapter 4

"Sye." Rowen whispered, calming down. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry." He replied.

"It's alright." Rowen pushed the covers back and walked on his hands and knees to the end of the bed. He straddled Sye's pliant form. "What's wrong? What happened last night?"

Sye turned to him, obviously fighting tears again. "I was watching the news and I saw my mom." He smiled briefly.

"Is that bad?"

"She and her boyfriend were robbing a bank." Sye laughed a little. "We're a pretty well-off family, our whole family is financially secure, so there really isn't a reason for her to rob a bank; that's why I'm laughing. Well, anyway, they came out and the cops were there. Her boyfriend pulled out a gun and aimed at the police. They shot him and got my mom too."

A small gasp escaped from Rowen. "Is she...?"

Sye nodded. "No one recognized her though because one of the missed bullets hit their get away car, causing it to explode when it made contact with a gas leak and burn their remains to cinders. They're playing the tape of it, hoping someone will recognize the people."

"You aren't going to call in?"

"No." He looked away and up at the ceiling. "I don't really want to be known as the kid whose mother robbed a bank and got blown up. You and Ryo are the only ones that know."

"You have no other family or friends that could recognize her or him?"

Sye shook his head. "Our family disowned her a long time ago. As for him... he's a reject with no friends."

"What will you do?" Rowen asked gently. He laid his hand on Sye's arm, putting his other hand on Sye's shoulder.

"I don't know." Sye whispered. "I have absolutely know idea, but I am hungry."

Rowen nodded and checked the clock on the wall of the room.

"Is your mother's cooking really poison?" Sye asked sheepishly. Rowen laughed out loud.

"Not poison, but something similar. Let's go down stairs and I'll persuade dad to give up the car for a day."

They rose and went downstairs where pancakes and eggs waited, but it looked more like cardboard and puke.

Sye sat on a stool in the kitchen area, seated at a bar adjacent to the kitchen where Rowen's father prepared a cocktail for himself. A TV sat up in the corner of the room hanging from the ceiling. It was turned onto the news. Sye's glance caught the beginnings of what he had seen yesterday. When Rowen's father placed the Pina Colada down, Sye took it and slugged a big gulp down.

The man merely stared at Sye, mild shock on his face. Sye took another big gulp after watching the death scene through once, then downed the rest and placed the glass down in front of Rowen's father.

"My name's Alan." He extended his hand to Sye, while Rowen spoke with his mother quietly. Sye shook the guy's hand. "Come by any time you want." The man smiled and it made Sye feel good inside. Or maybe that was the rum?

What a nice guy. He thought. Rowen's mother came over and wrapped her arms around Sye from behind him as he rested his head in his arms on the counter. She rubbed her hands over Sye's nipples and Rowen growled angrily.

Sye didn't even react, though his nipples hardened, he was hardly thrilled by the action.

"Ma!" Rowen hissed, his voice extremely loud.

"I just wanted a feel." She replied releasing Sye and leaning on the back of his stool.

"Ma!"

Sye glanced up at Alan, he didn't seem to mind the action at all.

They must have a pretty sturdy relationship if he lets her touch other guys like this. Sye sat up.

"Do we have the car?" He wondered calmly. He wasn't bothered by the woman –she would probably be the only woman to ever touch him like that ever- he just wanted to get out of there. Rowen nodded and took Sye's arm. "A little less rum in that and more ice." Sye told Alan as he parted from the room. Alan looked at the glass and laughed.

Rowen pulled Sye out the door and they drove over to Sye's house so he could change, like Rowen had done before they had descended the stairs.

They ate breakfast at a nameless restaurant in town and went back to the park. After sitting there in silence for a few hours watching others play games, they talked and made fun of others as they rounded the park a few times.

Upon their sixth time around the park Ryo came driving up beside them, with Seiji behind him on Ryo's motorcycle.

"Hey!" Ryo and Seiji yelled simultaneously.

"Hi." Rowen replied. "What's up?"

"Tryouts are today." Ryo smiled looking at Sye. "We're headed to the school now, you guys coming?"

Ryo's sunglasses gleamed with the shine of the sun on them as he stared up to Sye. Seiji calmly rested his foot on the ground to keep the bike steady.

"Sye." Ryo groaned and looked away for a moment, then back at Sye. "You're guaranteed a spot on the team with your talent, but I'd still really like you to come."

"I'll come." Sye nodded and they all smiled.

"We'll meet you over there." Rowen laughed and tugged Sye toward their car.

They raced to the school and parked quickly. It was a race behind the building to the soccer field as well and Ryo and Seiji were of course in the lead. Rowen and Sye were neck and neck. When Rowen looked over to Sye, he saw him smiling. Sye winked at Rowen.

He's not even running at full speed. Rowen gasped in shock.

They both skidded to a halt knocking into Ryo and Seiji, and nearly tumbling over, but they all caught their balance.

"What the hell?" Rowen growled holding his head, but when he looked up he saw that student teacher standing in front of them.

"You may think you've won, but it's only just begun." He spoke to Ryo and approached another step. Sye stepped in front of Ryo defensively and Aries laughed.

"You have a little guardian?" He laughed, covering his mouth and throwing his head back.

Sye stepped forward quickly, knelt to the ground and in one smooth motion, drop kicked Aries over onto his back.

Both of them were up again in no time. Aries wasn't laughing anymore.

"You deserved that for locking me in that room." He snarled.

"Your little guard dog needs a new collar." Aries hissed. "I'll be sure to get him one."

"You got a fight to pick, I'll take you right here." Sye growled. Aries glared down at Sye and thought twice about it. He merely turned and walked around them and away.

Ryo's hand descended on Sye's shoulder and he turned around quickly.

"You my protector now?" Ryo laughed and they kept walking to the soccer field. People had just started to arrive and most of the faces were unfamiliar, but that is what this practice was for; new talent.

Rowen took out his soccer ball and handed it to Ryo as the leader jumped onto the benches so everyone could see him. A teacher lurked somewhere off to the side, probably Mr. Steurer, but he didn't come out from the shadows as he watched. Teachers had learned to let Ryo be; things turned out better when they did.

"So, you all want to play soccer?" Ryo yelled bouncing the ball from hand to hand as he looked over the fifty people that stood before him. "There are a lot of you here. I'm assuming because we have always been known for our superb soccer team and many wins, but as you should know, there can only be eleven people on a team. Do the math. Two teams will be selected, one to sit on the bench and be rotated in, if and when we get hurt, the other will start the games. That still leaves about twenty to thirty of you that won't make it; better luck next year. I am rough in my picking. Play to the best of your ability in our trials, but no heroics and by this I mean, no fancy karate style kicks. You might end up kicking someone in the face if you miss, or worse, in the groin."

There were some mumbled groans.

"If I can't find two teams worth of people I want for the games, then I won't bother picking twenty-two of you. Everyone here pick a partner. I don't care if it's someone you know or someone you don't, just pick them and do it now."

Everyone picked a buddy and waited for Ryo to speak again. Ryo knelt on the bench to be level with Seiji.

"Seiji, you and Sye will each lead the first two teams to start, okay?"

They nodded.

"Rowen, you and I will lead the second two."

Rowen nodded and looked around at their specimens.

"Okay!" Ryo yelled, turning back to the kids. "Go over with your partners onto the field and line up on the center line, facing with your partner next to you." More or less they obeyed this order. "Hustle!" Ryo screamed. "This isn't golf, this is soccer! Look alive!"

They moved faster and completed the order five minutes later.

"Now everyone on my left move that way, away from you all. We'll call you group one and you group two. Everyone got that?" He paused and heard some mumbles. "Now partner up again and each group line up where you are, facing me again." They did this. "And separate!" They did and now there were four groups of about twelve people each. "Good! Each group is a team. You will work together for the rest of today!"

Ryo turned back to his new teammates.

"Seiji, pick whatever team you want and put on the green pinnies jerseys and prep them." Seiji went off to do this, picking the team all the way to the right. "Seiji will be your captain!" Ryo shouted to that team. "You're team one now!" He shouted and Seiji nodded in response. "Sye, go pick your team and piney up!" Ryo smiled and Sye went off to do the same. He picked the team all the way on the right. "Which team do you want, Rowen?"

Rowen looked over the two remaining, both looked pretty pathetic. All in all out of everyone, there were about four girls brave enough to be there and they were separated into the four groups evenly.

"I'll take the middle right." Rowen sighed and Ryo nodded.

"Sye will be your captain team two!" Ryo shouted and the kids nodded watching Sye jog over in his shorts and a tanktop. It was a very hot day and the sun was shining directly on them just then. Ryo put his sunglasses back on and glared at the two remaining teams. "You're team three and four!" Ryo shouted and the ones that were looking at him acknowledged this. "Team three is with Rowen! Team four is with me! We're sitting out the first game while teams one and two play! Come over here!"

They came running off the field.

"Rowen, take your team to the other side of the field!"

Rowen nodded and went, with his team following close behind.

"Sit!" He told his own team. He was about to start asking them questions of experience, but his gaze was caught on Sye as he judged his teammates. They all took to him immediately, listening intensely quiet and respectfully. A lot of them, Ryo realized, were older than he was as well. He gave them instructions and they actually started to laugh and joke with him. Sye was easing the pressure and they were responding well.

This will be interesting. Ryo thought. He turned back to his own team, hearing Seiji on the opposite side of the field barking orders and commands. His team stood rigid and grumpily looking at him. They seemed quite fearful of his beauty. Yes, quite interesting.

Ryo allowed ten minutes of time for his captains to speak with their teams. After Sye got to know most of his team, he was laughing with them and stretching. They followed his movements exactly, which could be good, but if they couldn't think for themselves this would be a one-sided game and not in Sye's favor.

Seiji was talking strategy with his team the whole time. He made drawings in the ground and spoke with the people that he clearly knew from beforehand.

The game started after that and Sye and Seiji approached the center line to kick off.

Seiji's team was in a very orderly fashion standing in a general stance, with five defenders, a goalie, and six offenders, then himself. All lined up close to their positions.

Sye's teammates moved back and forth from position to position. Whatever suited them obviously. They were all smirking in their red pinnies; Seiji's squad was in green pinnies.

"Do you even have a strategy?" Seiji whispered to Sye as they came closer to each other.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Sye licked his lips smirking.

"You ready?" Seiji asked, smirking himself.

"I was born ready!" Sye replied and his platoon laughed from behind him.

"Rowen, get that stupid ball out here!" Seiji yelled, keeping eye contact with Sye. They bent their bodies leaning near each other.

"This will be fun." Sye laughed.

Rowen came walking down the center line to the kick off point.

"The game will only be forty-five minutes long instead of an hour and a half because our teams will take over after you guys are done and that will be the game. We'll be keeping score. We got Steurer to get off his ass and referee and as you might have guessed, no subbing, checking other players, timeouts, and so on." Rowen smirked while he said this, then he leaned in closer. "Ryo says for you to teach them all how rough soccer can be, so they can't check, but you two can."

They nodded. Sye turned to his team quickly.

"No checking the other team or ours!" He hollered. They all nodded and he turned back.

"Good luck and remember, it's only a game." He dropped the ball between them and the game started.

A/N: This is probably a bit shorter than the other, but... just tell me what you think and I'll make the next one much longer. Promise.