-runs away from Yunoki fans-

The shrill bell jerked Yunoki's attention from his particularly dry book of medicine economics. Try as he might, he'd actually been reading the same page twice. Sighing, he folded the page and left it on his dressing table before putting on his haori to entertain his unknown guest. His slippered feet padded to the traditional bamboo sliding door to admit his 'savior'.

"Kazuki?"

Amber eyes took in the shivering figure of his fellow schoolmate, his usually shining eyes now shadowed by his long fringe under the pale yellow porch. His messy hair was tamed by a rather familiar look cap. Yunoki glanced down; his hands were balled into tight fists. One eyebrow arched elegantly; it took a lot to make this smiley face so agitated. He stepped to one side in a silent invitation for his friend to come in; he obviously needed to anyway.

What was he doing here anyway? The trumpet player thought as he shed his shoes and made his way to the guest room. First of all, it was that scene. Hino Kahoko. And Tsukimori Ren. Together in the music shop; only this time, they behaved rather… intimately. His grip on the clay piece of a cup tightened as he recalled the image in his mind's eye.

"Well, what is it?"

Yunoki's smooth voice broke his trance, and Kazuki glanced up to look at his fellow competitor in the Concurs. Even at home, he looked as flawless as he usually did in school. Except that time when he had shoulder length hair; he personally preferred long hair on Yunoki.

"Kaho and Ren are seeing each other, I think."

The words just tumbled right out of his mouth. Like he didn't give a damm about it when it actually did; like it was a 'Oh, I'm breathing' kind of statement. Like it was meant to be.

Yunoki scrubbed his face with one hand. Kazuki definitely was leaning precariously over the edge of self- demoralization, and one wrong word could send him flying out of the door and to who-knows-where. He knew the trumpeter too well (on the emotional side that is). It had been the same with him when his obnoxious grandmother denied him the piano just because his brothers played it worse than him.

"So?"

Kazuki jerked his gaze up in a flash. Is that all he can say?! His mind shouted in outrage.

"What are you going to do about it?"

Now, that made him stop short of it. What could he possibly do about it? Definitely not a challenge to win her heart, because he'd have the upper hand; a basketball match wouldn't suffice because it was unfair, and his fingers were rather important to him… to each his own of course. The third-year Seisho Academy student let out a heart-wrenching breath and rested his head in his hands, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"I don't know. I guess, if she's happy, then…" Kazuki's voice faltered near the end of his sentence and then died out completely.

The violet-haired flutist wanted to smack the green-haired boy across the face. He wanted to whine but do nothing about it. That wimp, when was he going to learn to take charge of his own situation? He wasn't going to be Kazuki's baby sitter for the rest of his life. No wonder she chose Ren. He added that notion in his head.

The cup cried murder as it slipped from Kazuki's trembling fingers and smashed into fragments that rocked on the carpet, the clear ringing sound echoing eerily. The perpetrator was aghast; Yunoki, however, groaned and braced his forehead with his thumb and index. More mess to handle, he thought.

"Yunoki! I'm so-"

"It's ok, Kazuki, leave it there."

Yunoki got up from his seat and sauntered towards his friend. Kazuki really needed a wake-up call, and he knew only one way to do it. Settling on his friend's lap, he folded his legs on the outsides of the other's lap and leaned in close, pressing his whole body into the trumpeter's lithe frame.

"You deserve better, Hihara Kazuki."