He didn't know how to be gentle with him? Kento wondered what Sage had meant by that. Kento was still standing in the kitchen looking at his hands. They were red from holding onto the fire extinguisher in the flames, and shaking harder than before. He wanted to help… he NEEDED to make sure his best friend would be okay… but he wasn't allowed to touch him? Kento started to hate his hands, not fully understanding what Sage had meant. He hated his hands…wished he has been born with none, almost.

That's when Rowen touched him on the shoulder. As he looked into equally worried blue eyes, he forgot the hatred of his hands, and with a gentle nudge, they both followed the path that the others had taken into the bathroom. Ryo and Sage were lowering Cye into the tub when they walked in. It was half-filled with lukewarm water, and all of Cye's body was submerged, with the exception of his head. Ryo was holding the unconscious boy's head above the water as sage removed the water bearer's shirt. Removing his pants to get to his wounds was more difficult, however, as some pieces had been burnt onto his skin. Kento began to feel nauseous as he watched the blood flow freely from the woun, staining the water, as Sage searched for a pair of scissors. He would have fallen over if Rowen hadn't been by his side to steady him. In reality, he wanted to faint. He hated to have to see his best friend in such a state.

Again, he almost fell, but this time, Ryo instructed him to be taken out of the bathroom. Rowen led Kento into his and Cye's room and helped him to sit on the bed. Once he was sure the other wouldn't fall off and hit the floor, he left to find a phone. As soon as he was gone, Kento lay back on his bed with his hands over his face hard, pressing onto the sensitive skin of his forehead. He tried to compress the numerous sobs, but after a while, he couldn't, and they came out loud and choked.

"Cye…!"

In the bathroom, Sage had found the scissors and had started cutting the pieces of burnt jeans away from the boy's skin. Whenever the cold metal touched his skin, Cye would hiss and try to jerk away. This made Ryo's job very difficult. Soon, Sage had to pull the scisors away and help Ryo stop the thrashing Cye. Within minutes, all three ronins were soaked to the bone.

"Cye, calm down, man! You're just gonna hurt yourself more!"

"Cye!"

In his pained sleep, from which he couldn't fully awake, Cye was able to mutter only a few words.

"I-it hurts…Kento…!"

Tears were forming in his eyes as he continued to bleed out into the once-white porcelain tub. Cye was crying out for his best friend, and only seconds later did the two hear Kento's sobs from the next room. They could feel each other's pain, but neither of them could do a thing about it. Ryo understood this as he leaned down and hugged Cye. He cradled the boy's head and stroked his hair, making hushing noises. Cye's whimpers lessoned, and his body calmed mostly, so Sage could continue his work. He still shuddered when the scissors came too close to an open and bleeding burn, but Ryo's ministrations were enough to get him through it. It was about the time that Sage was running a cool sponge over his legs that Cye's eyes opened halfway. He appeared to be numb, as the contact didn't hurt him.

Cye's vision was hazy. He could see the end of the tub, and his battered legs, and began to feel sick. Then, he saw two hands, diligently trying to get him cleaned. Soon, a blonde head came into view, but hadn't noticed his awakening. Some of his feeling returned, and he registered that he was sitting underwater, which he found comforting, and that a warm towel had been placed behind his neck. The warmth coming off it was an unusual change from the almost cold water. The last thing he noticed was the soft, gentle hand across his shoulders and another smoothing out his hair. This person holding him was one great source of warmth. He used most of his strength to turn his head to the side, where he saw the raven-haired leader of their group looking sympathetically, yet sadly, at him.

"Cye."

"Ryo…"

Cye moved to look back down at the other side of the tub, where Sage was now looking at him.

"A-and Sage…"

"Glad to see you still remember us. How do you feel?"

Cye didn't have the strength to answer, and his eyes fell closed once again. He remained in a partly conscious state for a few minutes, when he felt a new hand fall over his forehead. He shivered, as the hand felt very cold, compared to the other hands holding him.

"He's running a fever."

"Right. Lets get this done here quick."

"Right."

"Hold on, Cye…"

Then the world went black and cold.