Alright guys, Ready for the next chapter?

Chapter 10—are we Friends?

Komamura sat beside the bed in Jin's room in the Fourth's infirmary. The injuries Jin had sustained were... severe, to say the least. Had Captain Unohana not gotten to him quickly, he may have had worse injuries. As far as battles with captains go, this had to be a lucky escape; anyone other than a captain might've been completely destroyed.

"Wow," Koji murmured as he entered. "Captain Unohana said that he'll be fine in a few days, but it was a close call. Even for a captain, it was a pretty bad injury."

"I know," Komamura replied.

"What happened? I mean, you won the match, but—I've never seen you get that mad before, Father," Koji noted.

"I don't know."

"You looked like you were going to slaughter everyone," Koji murmured, fearful. "I've never seen you like that. It was really kind of... scary."

"I'm sorry," Komamura replied. "I did not mean to frighten you."

"But I think it's a nice sign of companionship, friendship," Koji continued, speaking as though he had not noticed Komamura had began talking. "I know Jin's going to like hearing what you did." They were quiet for a moment before Koji continued speaking. "I told him about you and Tosen."

Anger flashed across Komamura's face, but he quickly reigned it back. He did not need to be angry right now; right now, his anger was frightening, even to himself. "Why did you tell him?"

"You know that he has a right to know why you're so against being his friend," Koji stated. A sense of boldness flooded Koji as he continued to speak. "I thought it was pretty unfair to be angry with him when you're really still angry with Tosen. You don't need to scared of friends, and I don't expect you to forget the betrayal anytime soon, but Jin's not Tosen. He's somebody else entirely. He's my friend, why can't he be yours?"

Komamura sighed.

"He was determined to be your friend after I told him," Koji finished. "He wasn't going to let you get away without at least being called your friend once. I think this proves that you do hold him in some high regard."

"Koji, that's enough," Komamura said wearily. "That's enough." He reached forward and put his hand on Jin's shoulder. The boy-captain was still unconscious, but breathing. Absentmindedly, Komamura wondered if Jin was dreaming.

"There's a bright side to this."

"How?"

"You won the match, right?"

"I suppose, but as a captain—who is supposed to be disciplined—I should not have acted in such a barbaric manner," Komamura sighed. "Hopefully, Captain Hirako wasn't hurt too badly."

"A broken arm, and a fractured leg, but nothing the Fourth Division can't heal," Koji answered.

The door to the room opened and they turned. A Soul Reaper from the Seventh had come looking for them. Obviously, she had been looking for quite a distance—she was out of breath and sweaty.

"Captain Komamura, there's some work that requires your attention at the barracks," she said. "I was sent by Lieutenant Iba to fetch you."

Komamura started to move, but Koji was faster. "I'll take care of it, Father. After all, Jin deserves to have his closest friend by his side." Against the messenger's protest, Koji led her out and closed the door behind them, leaving Komamura alone with an unconscious Jin...

...who seemed to be regaining his consciousness. He groaned slightly and his eyes started to move. Steadily they opened and Komamura felt a wave of relief wash over him. Jin smiled weakly and attempted to sit upright, but with a great shout of pain, fell back onto the bed.

"That hurts," Jin wheezed.

"I'd imagine so," Komamura answered. "Besides that, how're you feeling?"

"Like I just got crushed by a Menos Grande," Jin replied. "But I'll live."

Komamura nodded. "Welcome back, Jin."

"Thanks," Jin answered, grinning before a sudden realization came upon him. "Uh..."

"Is something wrong? Do you nee d something, Jin?" Komamura asked.

"Did you just call me 'Jin'?"

"That is your name, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but you normally call me 'Captain Narukami'. I don't remember a time when you called me 'Jin'."

"Why wouldn't I? We are friends, aren't we?" Komamura said, his expression softening.

Jin grinned widely. "Yeah... we are..."

"Get some rest," Komamura told him. "You need to focus on healing. I'll come back in a few hours."

"Wait! I've got to ask; what happened with the match?"

Komamura, who had started to walk out of the room, turned back. Somehow, what he had intended to be a short, simple answer turned into a detailed story. He lost track of how long he had actually sat there, in Jin's room, talking, not only about the tournament, but whatever subject the friends brought up.

Okay, guys. Here you go. Read and review if you want to.

And here's where I have to ask for a bit of help. One of my friends has asked me to do a story for him. He's asking for a Soul Eater fic that revolves around a romance with Free and Joe Buttataki. I'm not good at romantic stories, so I'm asking if anyone wants to do it. Let me know and I'll let him know—He currently doesn't have an account on fanfiction. He had some details that he wanted to be in the story, so I'll send those specific details to whomever wants to do the story.

Other than that, please enjoy the latest chapter and I hope to have another one up again.