It took almost an hour to calm Nitori down. With his constant cries of apologizes for not telling them the news, or Rin and Mikoshiba's assurance everything will be okay, it took a while. Rin had managed to get Nitori seated and calm, while Mikoshiba talked on the phone with the police.
Rin held Nitori's hand, rubbing the soft skin with his thumb, whispering reassurances. "It'll be okay, Ai. We're going to get you to safety, okay?" He would repeat while Nitori would nod his head.
Mikoshiba sighed in frustration. "So when will you be able to remove him?" A pause. "Miss you don't understand, he is covered in bruises, he needs help now. Just don't evaluate the situation, please just hurry!" He voice rose.
Nitori sniffed. "Are my parents going to be arrested?" He managed to say after a few minutes of silence.
"Yes. As soon as the police can come, heavens know when, you'll be safe." Mikoshiba told him after he hung up. "The police will come by tomorrow, so please just hang on until then."
Rin stood up, shocked. "So you're just gonna send him home?" His eyes were wide. The loudness of his voice made Nitori flinch.
"Yes. We have no choice. If he comes back to our dorms after visitation hours, he'll be considered trespassing. He'll be arrested, Rin." Mikoshiba explained in a calm voice.
The red head opened his mouth to speak in objection, but the stern glare from the captain made him reconsider. "Can we at least walk him home, together? I just want to make sure he'll be okay." He suggested.
Mikoshiba looked down at Nitori. "Is it okay if we do that, Nitori?"
Nitori nodded and spoke. "I don't need you to, but thanks." He stood up and put his shirt back on. He grabbed his bag and nearly lost his balance. Rin shot his arm out to help him, but Nitori knocked his arm away. "I'm fine."
Rin looked at him, stunned. "O-okay."
Mikoshiba opened the door, watching Nitori struggle with the heavy bag on his sore shoulder. He watched Rin fume and worry silently. "It's going to be okay." He mumbled to Rin on his way out.
The walk was filled with a high amount of tension. Mikoshiba was worried that Rin may snap at any minute, Rin was worried about Nitori's safety or he was going to attack his parents, and Nitori was worried that his upperclassmen might fight his parents. Not that Nitori was going to complain if they did that.
"Are you sure you're fine, Ai?" Rin asked for what seemed the hundredth time.
Nitori had soon become slightly irritated with the older teen, constantly telling him he was fine and that he didn't need any help. "You're my kouhai, Ai. I'm supposed to look out for you." Rin would tell him.
"I'm just saying that I don't need a lot of help."
"Well we are going to help you." Rin smiled and grabbed Nitori's bag. "Here. I'll carry it since you're in no shape to carry this." Nitori tried to protest, but deciding not to was his smartest move.
Nitori crossed his sore arms, continuing to walk. He didn't want to go back home, but he didn't want his friends to be involved with his problems. "You don't have to do this, you guys. It's my fault." He felt a pang of guilt.
Mikoshiba scoffed and rolled his eyes. "It's not your fault they're treating you like this Nitori! We need to do this; an upperclassman is supposed to look after their underclassman!" He stated, stubbornly trying to convince Nitori that they would help him.
Nitori walked ahead of them, trying to fight back the hot tears that were welling up in his blue eyes.
At Nitori's house, the trio felt the tension rise to its peak. Rin noticed Nitori was shaking as he pulled his keys out of his pockets and fidgeted with the keys to get them into the lock.
But when the door swung open Nitori yelped and dropped the metal keys.
"Aiichirou! Why were you out so late?" A woman stood in the door way. She smelt heavily of alcohol and cigarettes. "Who are these brats?" A long and bony finger pointed at the upperclassmen.
Nitori shifted his weight and looked down. "I had swim practice, remember?"
"You're on the swim team?"
Mikoshiba cocked his head, remembering Nitori's mother signing the permission forms. Nitori smiled and tried to explain. "Mom, you're drunk. You don't remember. Anyway, this is Seijuurou Mikoshiba, the captain. This is Matsuoka Rin, my ex-roommate." He gestured to the teens.
Nitori's mother sneered and glared at Rin. "So you're the kid he won't shut up about? Huh. Expected you to be cuter." She slurred. "I wonder when he's going to suck you off."
Nitori's face turned red as his head bowed further down. "Mom…"
"So Aiichirou, why aren't you making dinner?" The mom snapped suddenly.
Rin and Mikoshiba felt bad for having to stand there and listen to it, but there wasn't much they could do. "Y-you stopped me." Nitori stammered.
The woman, who had angry blue eyes, which contrasted to Nitori's gentle blue, pointed inside the house. "Get your ass in here." She growled. "I suggest you make something good, because it was a shitty day for me and your father. And I got a phone call from someone earlier today, so you better explain it to me." Everyone's heart sank. Mikoshiba had told the worker not to call the house, that it could put him in even more danger.
Nitori looked back at his teammates, horrified. "I'm sorry. Good bye." He turned back to his mother and walked back inside with her, slowly shrinking inwards, trying to avoid his mother.
The woman looked back at them and hissed, "Now get off my property."
The door was slammed in their face.
Back at the dorms, Rin had decided to spend the night in Mikoshiba's dorm. "She's awful." Rin said after a few moments of silence.
Mikoshiba was leaning against the wall, looking out of the window. "I'm surprised I didn't kill her." His leg was bouncing, and Rin knew that was a sign not to piss him off.
"Me too, but I'll call Nitori later and ask him if he's going to come to school tomorrow." Rin mumbled, clutching a pillow.
The captain punched the wall, furious. "I told them not to call, not to say anything. It's my entire fault if Nitori's hurt." Mikoshiba fell back into his desk chair, head in hands. His voice was shaking in fear and anger. "What if they kill him, Rin?" His first name again. Rin knew Mikoshiba was terrified.
"They're not going to. If anything, they're going to try and cover it before the worker comes." Rin said. "Wait. You said the worker was a woman, didn't you?"
"Yes, why?"
Rin swore loudly. "Nitori's not of age yet. The worker's a woman. In order for someone to inspect an underage kid, the parent has to show consent. There's no way those fat and lazy bastards are going to let her search him. They're never going to know if Nitori is injured unless they see his bruises." His breath was shaky.
He grabbed his cellphone off the desk and dialed Nitori's number. It picked up after a long time. "Ai!"
"Y-yes?" Nitori's voice was quiet and calm.
Rin didn't know what to say; he wasn't expecting Nitori to answer. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. My mom just wanted to talk to me about something. I didn't do well on a test, so she got my dad to belt me." A slight chuckle. "It still hurts."
When Rin put it on speaker, the two knew Nitori was lying. "Are you coming to school?"
After a moment of silence, Nitori whispered, "Maybe. I don't know. My leg got hurt a little, so I'm not sure. And then there's my bottom, so I can't sit real well." He groaned.
"What happened with your leg?" Nitori still thought he was talking to only Rin, so Mikoshiba wrote down what to ask while he took notes.
Nitori sighed. "I accidently spilt some hot water on it. It hurts to walk a bit." He explained, voice quivering. "Oh? I have to go now."
Rin jumped. "Wait, Ai!" His voice went high and loud.
"Yes?"
Rin laughed lightly. "You'll be okay."
The phone went quite, but a small choking sound was heard on Rin's side. It turned into a moan, and later turned into sniffs. He had made Nitori cry. "T-thank you." Nitori said so quietly it was barely audible.
Rin turned speaker off, not wanting Mikoshiba to hear the rest. "I know you like me." He said, not meaning to blurt it out.
"You do?" Nitori squeaked out.
"Yes. I just wanted to tell you I love you, and that you'll get through this." Rin smiled, looking down at his tapping fingers. "No matter what, you'll be okay."
Nitori sniffed. "Thank you so much. I lov-" Nitori was cut off by a loud yell.
"Aiichirou! Get your ass down here! I called you before!" A shriek was heard.
Nitori laughed, wiping a tear away from his bruised cheek. "Thank you and the captain so much. I love you so much…Rin." Nitori choked back another sob and hung up. His entire body ached, from head to toe. He had been crying so much his head was killing him, and his waist was so bruised and it hurt so much that most of his clothes hurt to wear.
"What happened?" Mikoshiba asked, wondering what happened after he had been cut off.
Rin smiled and set the phone down. "Hope. Friendship. Love." He said, trying to fight back tears of his own.
"Oh no, don't be going soft on me." Mikoshiba teased.
Rin rolled his eyes. "I think I already have gone soft. For Nitori Aiichirou."
A/N: I don't really have much to say this chapter, so I hope you guys enjoyed (?) this chapter. There are 2 or 3 chapters left, and then that's the end! ouo