That night, the two boys were ready to head out.

"Promise me that if anything goes wrong, you'll come straight home," Mrs. Shoji said.

"Of course," Shoji assured his mom. "We'll be careful."

With that, the two headed out and towards the Mineta household.

It didn't take long to get there.

Shoji was practically able to feel the shift in the atmosphere. The vibe the house radiated was gloomy compared to the comforting feeling he got from his own home.

He looked over to see Mineta had opened a window and was gesturing for him to go through. Shoji nodded and the two carefully climbed through the window.

The first thing Shoji noticed was the smell. It smelled horrible, like something was rotting.

Shoji quickly noticed that this stench must have not been normal because Mineta seemed bothered by it. His face had scrunched with disgust and concern. But then he gave his head a little shake. "Come on," he whispered. "Let's just gather my stuff and get out of here."

The house was dark, so it was hard to see. However, Mineta was paranoid about turning on a light of and sort.

It took some time, but the two managed to find Mineta's phone and his bag that still had his school supplies.

"Okay, all we need to do now is go upstairs, gather some clothes and my toothbrush," Mineta whispered to Shoji as quietly as he could.

"Got it," Shoji whispered back.

The two of them headed for the stairs, Mineta in the lead. Suddenly, he slipped. He felt himself falling when a hand caught him.

"You okay?" Shoji whispered, helping Mineta regain his footing.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Mineta whispered back. Then he carefully leaned down and ran his fingertips along the floor. The substance he slipped on felt wet, slightly dried, and kind of thick. Warily, he gave it a sniff. His eyes immediately widened in horror when he recognized the scent.

Blood.

He struggled to let his eyes focus in the dark. It was a little hard to make out, but he could see it.

A trail of blood glistened in the darkness. It lead up the stairs.

Shoji noticed it, too. What the hell happened here? he thought, panic rising in him.

Mineta swallowed hard, but he knew he had to go through with this. Carefully, he got back to his feet and started up the stairs.

Shoji had no idea what to think. The energy he was getting from this house felt dangerous. Something was wrong. His instincts were telling him to get out of there, but he knew he couldn't leave Mineta. Whatever is waiting for us upstairs, I will gladly face. I made a promise to protect him, and I have to uphold it.

After stumbling through a very dark hallway, the two managed to get into Mineta's old room. The shorter male rummaged through his closet a bit before pulling out several changes of clothes. Shoji helped him get them into the bag.

"Okay," Mineta whispered, zipping the bag closed. "Let me get my bathroom utilities, and then we can get out of here."

"I'll go with you. Just to be sure."

Mineta whispered a quick "thank you" and the two went for the bathroom.

Once there, Mineta felt around the counter, located his tooth brush and a special type of shampoo he uses, and carefully packed it with everything else. Shoji stood by the doorway and kept watch for any type of movement or sound.

"Okay, I think that's everything," Mineta whispered.

"Good. Ready?"

"Ready."

The two started to leave the bathroom when Mineta stopped and looked at the floor.

Shoji noticed this. "What's wrong?"

"The blood I slipped on earlier. The trail that lead up here. It ... leads to my parents' room. It wasn't here when I escaped yesterday. Not to mention the smell when we first got here. I'm worried, Shoji. Something happened," Mineta explained.

Shoji nodded in understanding. "Let's go check it out, then."

They carefully slunk down the hall. The horrible stench they smelled earlier was getting a lot stronger. When they go to the door, Mineta carefully pushed the door open and peaked inside.

The first thing he noticed was the sound of his old man snoring on the bed.

He's asleep. Good. Mineta thought.

However, his train of thought got sidetracked when he saw what was lying on the floor. Mineta immediately felt his eyes widen and his throat go dry. He could feel his stomach churning and his throat burning, like he needed to vomit. He brought as hand to his mouth and gagged, his eyes welling with tears as he staggered backwards.

Shoji quickly caught him. He could feel the shorter male shaking in his arms. "What is it? What's in there?" he asked in a hushed yet concerned tone.

"M-Mom ..." Mineta whispered.

Shoji wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean. Only one way to find out. "Wait here," he instructed and carefully walked over to the door. The door creaked as he pushed it open a little more.

Lying in a ray of moonlight that pooled through the window was the bloodied corpse of none other than Mineta's mom. She was on her back. There were several stab wounds in her chest. Blood oozed from the gaps that were brimmed with dried blood. A puddle had gathered on the floor. Blood was dried to her lips, which were open in shock. Her eyes were wide, glazed over, and still full of fear.

That explains the blood trail and stench. Shoji thought. Why the hell ...?

"S-She didn't deserve this," Mineta whispered to him, tears leaking from his eyes. "I know she wouldn't have supported me, but she was never abusive. In fact, she helped me whenever he hurt me. She was the only one who was ever there for me."

"I'm so sorry," Shoji whispered back, kneeling down and pulling his classmate into a hug to stifle his sobs.

Suddenly, Mineta stopped crying. "Hey ... doesn't it seem a bit quiet?" he whispered.

He's right. It did get quiet. Shoji thought.

The reason as to why presented itself immediately.

There was a heart thump. The two boys nervously looked up to see Mr. Mineta standing over them. Shoji protectively wrapped his arms around Mineta so that he was barely visible and glared at the brute of a man before them.

"So you came crawling back, huh, Minoru? Only to hide in the arms of your freaky-looking boyfriend?" Mr. Mineta snarled, a sinister smirk on his face.

Boyfriend.

Even though his father meant that to be an insult, Mineta still felt his face ignite and his brain momentarily stopped working.

Meanwhile, Shoji's eyes widened at that word and he felt his cheeks heating up. Of course he assumed that. I shouldn't be surprised. But why did I react like this? Agh! I can focus on that later! We need to get out of here!

Shoji adjusted his grip on Mineta so that he was carrying him and stood up. "I've heard a fair amount about you. If you think you can hurt him again, you are mistaken," Shoji said, taking a step back.

Mr. Mineta let out a dark chuckle. "So you're okay with being so vile? That's a shame. You seem strong. Still, maybe that's not a bad thing," he said as he pulled out his knife. "It'll give me more of a challenge.

Shoji felt his breath catch in his throat when he saw the knife. Mineta heard the sound of it getting unsheathed and stiffened. "Run!" the grape boy shouted.

Shoji didn't need to be told twice. In one swift movement, he grabbed Mineta's bag and raced down the hall and towards the stairs. The thumping of footsteps behind them indicated that the chase was on.

Shoji had never run this fast in his life. Not even when the rest of the class was in danger. He knew he could get out safely. He had to.

But the he felt something get tossed between his feet, causing him to stumble. Quickly, he tossed Mineta forward to avoid crushing him. Shoji looked over at his feet to see what he had tripped on.

A ... baseball bat? Jesus!

"Are you okay?!" Mineta frantically asked, his face full of concern.

"I'm fine. Just tripped. Let's move!"

"Can you stand?"

"My ankle hurts a little but I'll be fine," Shoji said, carefully getting to his feet.

"SHOJI, BEHIND YOU!" Mineta suddenly shouted, his face full of fear.

Shoji turned around in time to see Mineta's dad plunging his knife down. He instantly squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for impact.

But it never came.

Shoji opened his eyes to see Mineta had often between them and used one of his balls to catch the knife. Shoji had never seen Mineta look so angry.

"YOU CAN HURT ME ALL YOU WANT! I DON'T CARE! BUT DON'T HURT SOMEONE I CARE ABOUT WHILE I'M AROUND!" Mineta shouted.

"YOU LITTLE FUCKER!" Mr. Mineta bellowed in response. He tried to pull the knife out of the ball, but to no avail.

Mineta quickly shoved the ball aside and stuck it to the floor.

But once he did that, Mr. Mineta grabbed his arm and went for a punch.

Shoji reacted quickly and caught the punch and restrained the wrist. "Mineta! Set another one of your balls on the floor!"

Mineta nodded and did as he was told. Then Shoji carefully stuck Mr. Mineta's wrist to the ball, holding him back.

"YOU LITTLE SHITS! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!" Mr. Mineta spat viscously.

The two boys ignored him. They grabbed Mineta's bag and bolted out the door, back to Shoji's house.

I want to say this is the longest chapter written yet. That would explain why it took me so long to complete this.