I'll Protect You- MatchaBlossom

Chapter 1- Luck of the Draw

~Joe POV~

I stare at the screen and watch in horror. Before I know what's happening, I'm running as fast as I can. My head gets fuzzy and my ears begin to ring as I abandon all thought for myself, and I only think of him.

"Joe!" I hear Miya shout behind me, but I ignore him.

I just have to keep running, I think to myself.

"Kaoru," I say under my breath. "Please be ok."

I keep my head down and continue running without thinking. Turn after turn, step after step, the dread of the situation increases.

I round a corner, and then I see him. Cherry, laying on the ground unconscious, and Adam standing over him, board in hand at his side.

"Kaoru!" I yell despite myself.

Adam looks up from staring down at Cherry, and locks eyes with me. In that brief moment, I think about charging at him. But I force myself to think rationally and realize that won't do any good, plus Cherry needs medical attention immediately.

"Kojiro, what a pleasant surprise," Adam says with a smile.

"Why would you do this Adam?! Do you not have any care for him anymore?!" I yell back.

I kneel down beside Cherry, place my arms underneath him, and pick him up as carefully as possible. The sight of the blood dripping from his head makes me freeze. It's such a horrific sight that I want to puke right there, but I force myself to hold it in.

"Cherry just isn't an entertaining skate partner anymore," Adam replies with a smirk.

"You bastard!" I yell back.

A small hand grips onto my arm gently. "Ko..jiro," a weak voice from beneath me says.

I look down in my arms to see Cherry, eyes barely open, staring at me with desperation. I get what he's trying to say to me, and nod my head gently.

"Don't worry Kaoru. I'll protect you. You'll be ok. I won't do anything. For you," I say to him softly.

I look back up to see Adam still smirking at me, trying to egg me on.

He just wants you to lose control and attack him. Don't fall for his trap, I tell myself.

Tires screech behind me, and stop right before they hit me. I turn around to see Shadow in his car.

"Joe, come on! We gotta get him to a hospital quickly!" he shouts at me.

I stare at Adam for another second, and then walk to Shadow's car. I open the back seat door, and get in along with Cherry. Miya gets out of the back, and moves to the front.

"Are you sure you want to stay in the back with him? You can come sit in the front," Shadow says.

"No, I'm staying with him," I say harshly.

Shadow doesn't say anything else, and just drives.

I sit with Cherry laying carefully across me in the back seat. My arm sits at my side, and his head lays against it. My other arm lays across his chest to keep him from moving with the car. Looking into his eyes becomes painful, yet I can't seem to look away. He looks like he's sleeping peacefully, but in the back of my mind, I know he's not.

He's more of a mess than I've ever seen him in my entire life. There's dry blood on his forehead and trailing down his cheek. His mask is torn in a few spots, and there's a few small splotches of blood on his kimono. I think about what he'd say regarding how he looks right now. He'd probably take about 5 showers, burn the clothes, then wash his face another 3 or 4 times. He's always been a bit of an OCD-ridden neat freak, hell-bent on making everything spotless and perfect or his whole existence would be ruined. The thought makes me want to cry, but I hold it in as not to embarass myself with Shadow and Miya here.

We finally arrive at the hospital after what seems like eternity. The doctors take him away, and we're forced to stay in the waiting room.

After around 2 hours, I tell Shadow and Miya to go home, to which they reluctantly agree after I swore I'd update them on Cherry's condition as soon as I found out.

Most of the time that I'm waiting, I just stare at nothingness, and hope that Cherry will be ok while my mind races with worst case scenarios.

After 3 hours of waiting, I get too overwhelmed and begin pacing back and forth nervously. I pace until my legs hurt and I physically can't stand any longer, then sit down again. I repeat that over and over again.

Many doctors come and go, twenty at least. I ask each and every one of them if they know anything about Cherry's condition, but none of them know anything.

9 hours and 24 minutes after arriving, another doctor comes in, and this time it's Cherry's.

"Is anyone here for Kaoru Sakurayashiki?" he calls out

I stand up quickly. "Me."

I walk over to the doctor, who begins to walk back to where he came from. "Follow me," he says.

I speed up to get in stride with him, and once I am, he begins talking.

"What's your name?" he asks.

"Kojiro Nanjo," I reply.

"Mr. Nanjo, I'm afraid that Mr. Sakurayashiki's condition is nearly worst case scenario. After arriving, us doctors examined him and took him into surgery for his head, and after surgery, he fell into a coma."

The words hang in the air, and swirl around me, making my brain go foggy.

"A- a coma?!" I finally say. "How is he in a coma?! Will he be ok?!"

"Mr. Nanjo, please calm down. In the state he's in, we won't be able to tell when or if he'll wake up. We can only partly asses his condition, and for now, he's alive, so that's what we're gonna focus on."

"Ok, I'm sorry for my outburst."

"It's ok. I understand that stress and tension is high right now, and won't get any better for a while."

"Can I see him?"

"Well, Mr. Nanjo-"

"Please, call me Kojiro."

"Well, Kojiro, only family is allowed to visit at this point."

"Please, he doesn't have any family. I'm the closest thing he's got!"

I prepare myself to go down on my knees and beg him. I want, no need, to see him.

"Well, if that's the case." The doctor points his finger at a door ten feet to our right. "He's in there. You can go see him."

"Thank you."

The doctor begins walking away, and I slowly start approaching the door. My hand hovers over top of it for a minute or two, before I finally just open the door.

Hello!

Another new story yay! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. This is going to be a relatively short story btw.

Ily all <3

~Z