A/N I'm Back! Wow, that took me ages to do. I finally have everything back under control and a head full of fantasy.
I must say, I'm not really happy how it turned out, especially the first part, but it gets better and I think it's still good enough after such a long time. Have fun

Chapter 12

Niou and Yoshiko left Marui with Fuji for almost an hour. Al the while he didn't once leave his seat and never turned his eyes away from Fuji. When they came to get him, he was hesitant to let go. He only let go when they told him that he could come and visit him any time he liked.

The whole journey to his relatives' home, Marui kept silent. Every once in a while Niou glanced sideways to his best friend, worried about the state he was in.

Niou knew Marui from when they were very little. Over time they became best friends and stuck together through everything. Niou knew everything about Marui and Marui knew Niou through and through. That's why he also knew, how Marui dealt with relationships. With the pinkette it was all or nothing. When in love he gave his all to the other. That meant, that when rejected, he could break.

He had seen it once before. Two years ago, Marui had a huge crush on an upper-classman. After weeks of loving him from afar, Niou had convinced him to go and confess to the guy. Because who could withstand Marui and his almost-genius like skills?

Well apparently, that guy could.

The guy had not only rejected him, but also humiliated him in front of everyone. Laughed at him and called him names. For the next following weeks he had been avoiding everyone. He only came to school for the necessary lessons. The first week he didn't even show up for tennis practice.

But with everything that happens in life, it always fades away after time. But by that time, Marui had built an iron wall around himself, through which only a few could see.

So ever since that time, Niou would pay extra attention too Marui. Making sure no-one could hurt him.

But now Marui had a serious crush on Fuji and Niou feels conflicted. On one hand he really wishes that this will work out alright, because he deserves it and they fit kinda good together. On the other end however, he never forgot that incident two years ago and he didn't want to put his best friend through that again. He figured that all he could do for now was wait and see how the things would unfold.

After a small drive they arrived at a painted white house. Marui once again heaved his bag further onto his shoulder and with a sigh walked up to the front door.

The door was opened by a friendly looking women with pink hair, a shade slightly darker than Marui's. "Buta, sweetie. There you are. Do you have any idea how worried your parents were when you didn't come home last night? I'm so relieved that you're save now. Come in, come in. I made you something nice for lunch". She ushered the two of them into the house.

Marui dropped his bags and proceeded to give her a hug. "Hey aunty Amaya. I'm sorry for worrying all of you, but I'm here now, ain't I?".

Niou just stood behind. He didn't feel the need to intrude this scene. But apparently Amaya had seen him, because she now focused her attention on him.

"Ah, Niou-kun, it's so good to see you again. I assume you have looked after Bunta like you promised?" Niou nodded at this statement. "I have, to the best of my abilities".

"Good. I have set up your beds in the spare room upstairs, so go and get yourselves installed". With that she walked back to the kitchen, leaving Marui and Niou alone in the hall. Marui once again grabbed his stuff and proceeded to climbed the stairs. All the while they didn't spoke to each other and it started to irk Niou a bit.

"Marui?", he asked, but Marui didn't look up or gave any impression that he had heard him at all. "Marui?, Niou tried again. Still no reaction of the other male.

"Marui, please talk to me. Ever since the hospital, you've been unusually quiet. It's starting to worry me. It's not good for your health to bottle it all up".

Marui stopped rummaging through his bag and went to sit on his bed. He still kept his head down. His pink bangs covered most of his face, so Niou couldn't see his expression.

Niou also stopped with what he was doing and just stared at his friend for a few seconds. He then walked to him and kneeled in front of him, so he could look him strait in the eyes.

"Marui, please talk to me", he pleaded. This time, Marui did look up. His eyes had watered and his face was damp from fresh tears.

"What have I gotten myself into, Niou? I never wanted this to happen. Am I not worthy of anyone? I just wanted to be loved for once in my life. But now I cause him to end up in a hospital. I'm a hopeless case". He put his head back in his hands.

Niou sighed and pulled Marui's hand from his face. "You are worthy of anyone. The question is more, are they worthy of you? Personally I think you and Fuji would be a perfect match". "But-", Marui was about to protest, but Niou silenced him. "And yes, I know he's in the hospital, but he's a strong guy and he will get out of there. In the meantime, the best you can do is support him".

"You think so?", Marui sniffed. "I know so". Niou send him a reassuring smile.

"But what about you? I'm just dragging you into this whole mess. I still remember a promise that I would help you with your love-life".

"Don't you worry about me", Niou laughed. "There's a small chance I will get what I want. Besides, we were talking about you and not me".

Marui wanted to protest, but didn't when he saw Niou's face. Instead he kept still and told himself he would help Niou anyway.

"You know what? I think your aunt has made something nice for us. So what do you think? Wanne go try it out?". Niou stood up and extended his hand. Marui whipped the tear stains of his face, showed a small smile and accepted the invitation. "I hereby challenge you for a game 'who can eat the most'. Let's see who's boss".

Niou laughed. "Challenge accepted".

A/N On to the next chapter. Yihaa! R&R