Author's Note: Chapter two! A fluffier chapter than the last, but the plot deepens! Please, read and review. I like knowing if my stories are being read!

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I could remember a time when I was a freshman when I'd stumbled behind the Port Island station. I don't quite remember what I had been planning, but I'm sure it was probably about three levels of stupid. I got into a mess with a few punks and I ended up relatively bloodied up. I had needed to miss school the following day just to help recover. It had been pretty bad a situation then, but that was nothing compared to what I was in now. This situation, by a long shot, was much worse.

It had started that morning, when I had arrived at the Iwatodai strip mall. The strip mall had been the place of meet for Minato's friends. I wasn't the first to arrive, which unnerved me a little. I'd shown up about ten minutes earlier than I was supposed to, but instead of thinking about it, I decided to just go with it and throw any plans I'd made out the window. From a distance, I could already tell who I was up against. Minato was sitting on a bench, his shirt clinging to his slim figure, but still looser than he usually wore. He was listening to his music rather than the two boys talking beside him.

Junpei was there, teasing the other male, Kenji. I couldn't stop my eye from twitching at first, but I mastered my disgust and horror, and proceeded to come closer. Minato's gray eyes glanced up, and he nodded dully. He pulled off his headphones, standing up. Junpei laughed.

"Hey! Hidetoshi-san!" he cheered, holding out his hand. I went to shake it, but he snorted, jerking his hand back and adjusting his cap instead. "Too slow! Alright, is this everybody?"

"Kazushi," Kenji reminded, smiling. "Nice of you to join us, Hidetoshi-san. I don't think you go out often, right? This'll be fun. I promise." He too held out his hand, and I took it gingerly, not wanting to fall for the same thing Junpei had done. I would pay him back for sure, but for now I could only stew in my irritation. Kenji's handshake was much too loose and wimpy, and I wanted to squeeze it to flow some of my steadiness into it. I instead just pretended that it'd been a decent handshake.

I couldn't wait to get out of here already. I could be searching for news on the bully instead of playing paddy-cake with these morons. Well, I knew Minato had a straight head on his shoulders, but these two…

I heard huffing, and we turned to see Kazushi hurrying to greet us. "H-Hey! Minato-kun!" I was secretly glad this was the last person joining us. I couldn't tolerate anyone else, and I didn't even have to greet Kazushi to know he was just going to add to my headache. The other caught up and he doubled over to catch his breath. I watched him, my lips firmly pressed together in a slight scowl. I wasn't much of a sullen kid, but this truly tested my patience in general. I wasn't used to other people, so I supposed that made this harder than it could've been.

"Alright! I'm better!" Kazushi announced when he had restored his breathing back to natural. All but Minato and I made noises of excitement. Minato looked between us all, and his soft gray eyes seemed content. I could still see that discomfort. His injuries still hurt him. Everyone else seemed to be oblivious to it.

Junpei announced his desire to head to the upper floor. We trailed up there, watching other people talking and chatting down below. Idle chat? Was that all we were going to do? I tried not to get sucked into any conversations, as most involved chatter about girls and sports. Sports didn't interest me, and I had no time for girls to bother me. Minato leaned against the railing with the rest of them, listening in and out, replying to some things when they brought attention to him. I stood next to him, my arms crossed. I wasn't enjoying myself like Kenji said I would.

"No, it's true! I saw him do it once!" Junpei said, dead serious. "Right Kenji?"

The male nodded. "Everyone was talking about it." Kazushi looked between them, seemingly unable to accept whatever it was as truth. He rounded on Minato.

"Did you seriously kiss Yuko?" he sputtered. I almost snorted, but I kept it to myself. I wasn't surprised when Minato shook his head.

"No…I kissed Mitsuru," the blue-haired male admitted absently, like he was thinking about it. "I once kissed Yukari, too…"

"You dog!" Junpei cried out, slugging Minato in the shoulder. "You've got to be kidding me! Both of them? Dude! You kissed them both!? No way!"

"You were serious when you said you didn't discriminate!" Kenji gasped, slack-jawed. "But, you know, I don't care. I've got my Emiri…"

"That's right. You're datin' our homeroom teacher," Kazushi stated, watching Kenji's cheeks turn bright red. Kazushi turned back on Minato before the subject slipped to Kenji's relationship. "But seriously? You actually kissed them, Minato? You sure are popular with the ladies." My tolerance for the conversation was stretching beyond thin. An angry twitch tormented my brow, and I lost my patience. I turned on them, sneer terrible.

"Is this all we're going to do? Chit-chat about girls and whoever has kissed them?" I demanded, unable to stop myself. "If that's the case, I have better things to do! You are all--" He was cut short. He'd caught sight of Minato, who looked a little saddened. The male looked back over the railing, and then straightened.

"Let's have something to eat," he said quietly. "I'm bored too." The three others groaned, having lost their chance at details, but then cheered. Food never failed to excite them. I looked away, disgusted, but Minato's fingers lightly brushed my sleeve. My eyes moved to his, and the young male gave me a weak smile. "Come on. I'll buy." I couldn't tell him 'no', no matter how much I didn't care for this outing. We moved into the ramen shop, which made me a bit antsy. It was dark and dim, and I wasn't so sure I wanted the ramen anymore. It smelled nice in there, and was warm, but I was on high alert.

"Special!" Junpei cried out, removing his hat. Kenji and Kazushi mimicked him, and then they all looked expectantly to Minato and me. I grunted out a simple order, and Minato ordered a small bowl. They all looked at him as though he was an alien. "What the hell, man? You still not feeling good?" Junpei demanded.

The other shook his head. "Yeah…My stomach's upset."

I didn't let my worry show. I had to get to the bottom of this! I instinctually doubted that his sickness was what upset his stomach. As we were given our ramen, I ate slowly, but I had to admit it tasted good. Kenji glanced over Kazushi and Minato to get a look at me.

"See, guy? It's not so bad," he said cheerily. "I had a feeling this would calm you down." I was about to attack him verbally, but Minato had stood up. He excused himself for a moment, and I was going to follow him out of worry, but Junpei called for my attention. I glanced to him angrily, demanding, "What!?"

Junpei said nothing until Minato was gone, which ticked me off very much, but once the other was gone, he sobered up a bit. "Hidetoshi-san, you know, don't worry so much for him. That guy's really strong. Trust me, you got it? He gets hurt sometimes, but it's because of his own clumsiness. Don't worry!" Junpei laughed, then returned to his meal. I knew instantly that he was lying. I hated liars.

"Don't worry?" I repeated, voice struggling to stay even. My debate instincts kicked up. "The boy is hurt. Simply ignoring any pain he receives is not only the mark of bad friendship, but it also places you in a position that makes you lie. You are covering something up, Iori. I do not like liars."

"Chill," Kenji interrupted, glancing up. "Don't be so accusing, Hidetoshi. We both know he gets hurt sometimes. Heck, Kazushi sees him pretty much naked after school during their practices together."

Kazushi nodded. "It's none of our business anyway. He trusts us a lot, and we trust him, don't we? If it's something to be concerned about, he'll--Look at those Giants go!" he suddenly burst, ramen spilling down his chin. I cringed at the barbaric nature of that. I noticed Minato moving past me and sitting down again. He began to eat quietly, and the conversations between us all returned to what they were before his absence.

I sulked. There was something going on! I knew there was! There was a bully, at the least, involved here! Someone doesn't 'fall' and get their stomach hurt to a point it was uncomfortable to eat! The ramen tasted good in my mouth, but it churned in my own stomach with worry and the desperate need to solve this mystery for sure.

The rest of the day, we just hung around the strip mall. I remained guarded and silent the rest of the entire outing, and when the sun began to disappear and the streetlights kicked on, Kenji and Kazushi broke off to head home. I mumbled my farewell to Junpei and Minato, who went back to the same dorm together, and I began to walk home myself. I felt almost miserable after having to endure that torture, and I bleakly looked at my phone--which I had turned off. I turned it back on and waited to see if I got any messages. My heart beat an extra time when I saw I had one. I pulled up my voicemail and listened to the message.

It said: 'Hello, Hidetoshi-san. You know that thing you asked me about? I looked into it for you. The punks behind Port Island claim that a super-skinny guy, some guy with a silver briefcase, and some girl in this frilly dress have been lurking around back there. Someone told me they swore they had heard the names of the friends that that Arisato kid hangs with. Or general descriptions of them, actually. Hope this helped you.'

A grin crossed my lips, no matter how foolish it looked. A lead. Maybe this mystery wouldn't be so hard to solve after all. I thanked my source and walked home with eagerness. I'll be a better friend than them, Minato, I thought. I'll help you end this, so you won't have to have anyone lie for you anymore.

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PS A/N: Dundundun. What's Hidetoshi getting himself into?