Ryousuke was quiet for a long time after his brother fell asleep. Still running one hand through Haruichi's hair, he thought about what he'd learned. It was still hard to believe, that his baby brother was diagnosed with a heart disease – a fairly dangerous one from what he'd heard – only about a year after he'd left.

And nobody had told him.

He would have known had he stayed. He would have been there to help if he hadn't come to Seidou. He wouldn't have to hear about it nearly two years later if he'd even called home more often. He could admit the main reason he didn't call very often was because he was avoiding his brother.

As much as he loved the first year, he wasn't fond of forever protecting him, and having to be the better one. Haruichi was playing baseball because he did, but the younger boy had so much talent, that Ryousuke felt he'd be left behind if his brother kept improving at the rate he was.

So he pushed himself harder, trying to stay a level above his little brother. He wanted to give Haruichi something to aim for, but also was wary about being surpassed too soon. He'd started baseball first, and he was the elder sibling. Wasn't he supposed to be better at it?

And yet now there was a hitch in Haruichi playing. His heart was having problems. There was no way he was going professional – not only would no team probably take him if they knew, Ryousuke wouldn't allow it. His little brother, who had some of the best baseball instinct, was limited in how much and hard he could play.

It wasn't fair. Ryousuke had come to Seidou, both as a way to separate himself from his brother, but also because he knew he could get better here. He wanted to give Haruichi something to aim for. He wanted to show that as good as he was, he could always get better. He wanted to prove that height didn't matter when you had the skills to play.

But it was all for nothing, since Ryousuke hadn't been there when Haruichi needed him. He hadn't been there during an important time – when his little brother could have died. Turning to stare at the sleeping teen, he figured it was time to own up to the fact he hadn't been a very good big brother. He'd ignored the younger Kominato and hadn't even tried to keep in touch.

"I'll do better," He whispered. "Just promise me you're going to take care of yourself." He wasn't sure he could deal with it if something happened to his baby brother. Pulling back slightly, he slid Haruichi under his covers, tucking him in before turning towards his door. Surely Youichi wouldn't mind if he borrowed him computer for a while.

Slipping out the door, he made his way over to the short stops room, raising an eyebrow at the screams and laughter coming from within. Shaking his head, he opened the door without knocking, chuckling at the sight of a first year caught within the second year's headlock.

"Ryou-san!" The second year grinned, spotting the pink haired male, "What are you doing here?"

"I need to borrow your computer."

Looking down at his captive, Kuramochi let him go and went over to his desk. "What do you need it for?"

"Something."

Rolling his eyes, the short stop handed over his laptop and the charger. "Fine, fine. Just give it back when you're done."

Ryousuke left with a "Don't come crying to me if you kill another one," making sure to grin at the terrified first year, before heading back to his room, computer tucked under his arm. Quietly entering his room once more, Ryousuke glanced to make sure Haruichi was still asleep before settling down at his desk. Placing the computer on the wooden surface, he plugged it in before he forgot and opened the lid.

While waiting for it to boot up, he wrote a list of the things Haruichi had told him. The name of the disease, the type, and the name of the implant. While he was sure his brother had told him the truth, he wanted to make sure he wasn't being kept in the dark about anything else concerning it. Haruichi had picked up a horrible habit of downplaying injuries or problems he had so others wouldn't worry about him.

Opening the search engine, he typed in the name, Long QT Syndrome. Thankfully, the first link that popped up was a hospital's website explaining the problem. Clicking on it, he read through the overview, feeling his shoulders relax when he read that it was treatable and not life-threatening so long as it was monitored.

Scrolling through the information that no longer concerned him, such as how to know if you have it or how they test for it, he paused when he found a small section about the ICD. It mainly told him that it treated the Long QT Syndrome by sending electrical shocks to the heart when it feels abnormalities in the rhythm.

Continuing on, he found the section for lifestyle changes that those diagnosed might think about. The first suggestion was avoiding strenuous exercise or contact sports. 'Baseball isn't much of a contact sport, but it is strenuous. Why did Okaa-san and Otou-san let Haruichi come here if they knew playing baseball could cause complications?' Putting that thought on the backburner for now, he continued reading.

It talked about keeping calm and avoiding things that might startle you or cause extreme emotions such as excitement or anger. Seeing the next paragraph, he found that some people diagnosed were able to stay in sports successfully. 'The doctor probably said it was fine, which is why Haruichi was able to come.'

Clicking on the next page, he saw three bulleted items that were bolded which told ways to help. The first was Don't Overexert Yourself. Ryousuke pursed his lips. That might be a little hard here, but since Haruichi said he'd already told the coach, maybe he'd let the younger Kominato sit out more. The second was Know Your Symptoms.

The elder brother decided a talk with Haruichi about the symptoms to look for was in order. He should also check in with their parents to see what they had to say about it. The last was to Inform Others. That's already been taken care of. The elder teen breathed a soft sigh of relief, realizing that his brother was taking this seriously and knew better than to lie about it or try to hide it.

The last page said that some drugs may cause problems for people with the Long QT Syndrome, and if the illness involved vomiting or diarrhea, then they should be taken to the hospital. 'Luckily Haruichi doesn't tend to get sick very often.'

Finding everything else was a repeat of the information he'd just read, he exited from the search and powered down the borrowed computer. It was getting late and he could search more tomorrow. Changing into pajamas, he crawled into bed next to his little brother, sighing slightly. "Such a troublesome little brother you are," He whispered, his fingers lightly tracing where the ICD had been implanted. "You'd better know what you're doing, coming to Seidou like this." Tossing his arm over the sleeping first year, Ryousuke pulled his little brother close. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."