KNB: Knuckles (NijiHimu)

Three

 THREE

It was two sweet years ago when Himuro first met Nijimura. He just finished his classes for the day when his friend Mike calls him to the court. Mike spoke hastily through the phone, which was something that he would not expect of him. He hurriedly makes his way to the place that Mike gave him, and sees him caught in a ton of trouble. Three men stand in front of Mike and another person, and they seemed to have pissed the three off.

He calmly approaches the three of them, taking a short glance of every single one of them. At one side, he sees the three guys Mike was talking about. On the other side, he recognizes Mike's ginger hair, but sees an unfamiliar face beside him.

He felt a little shocked to see a Japanese with Mike. He had jet black hair styled to the left, and a fair skin tone. This man was wearing a long-sleeved polo, but then he could see that his clothing fit him tightly, somewhat revealing his athletic build. His hands were curled into fists; and even if he knew little of the language, his eyes knew that something was up.

He passes Mike and his companion, catching one last glance before he faced the three. Mike's face brimmed with joy as he saw him. However, it was not as priceless as from what he saw from his companion's face.

Himuro will never forget the face that Nijimura made that day. It was as if he had seen the light. His face was glittered in awestruck, and he might drool anytime soon. However, he couldn't help but feel attracted by this man either.

He quickly shakes the thought off, passing it as something irrelevant, and attempts to solve the problem in hand. In one swift punch, he knocks out the tallest of them all. Everyone looked shocked, even the people that he's trying to protect. He grabs Nijimura's wrist, and runs off to a direction opposite of Mike's. He was really surprised and impressed to see him catch his pace.

After they had their retreat in a safe place, he asks the new guy his name and everything that happened to him. His name is Nijimura Shuzo, which Himuro shortens to 'Shuu', much to the other's dismay. Anyway, his name is Nijimura Shuzo, and his life here in America has been like a movie. He couldn't help but giggle.

Suddenly, they learn that Mike has been kidnapped, bringing distress to the raven-haired male once more. However, he was surprised to see that Nijimura too was angry. Even if he only knew of Mike for a few hours, the look in his eyes shows that he's ready to kill.

During the stakeout for Mike, he was impressed of his companion. After learning that they've held the ginger-haired boy captive in a warehouse, Shuu tells him of how a warehouse works and their switches. His knowledge stunned him, and he couldn't thank him enough about how this knowledge was the key to save Mike.

Even knowing that he is an athlete, he was impressed with Shuu's reflexes and instinct. His breathing was shallow and inconsistent, but he was determined to rescue their friend. His eyes were efficiently surveying the area, seeing if everything was clear before making the next action.

When they faced the kidnappers, though weaponless and outnumbered, he bravely faces them to save Mike. Though they were in a middle of a fight, he couldn't help but feel impressed of his fighting style. It seemed to have rooted from a certain martial art unlike the usual American-style punch-and-kick routine. His movements had a certain grace of its own. If he wasn't too careful, he'd get hit because he was too enthralled by his new friend.

"You're so reliable," Himuro couldn't help but say that to Shuu.

What impressed him most was the fact that he was ready to protect Mike at all costs. Though cornered by sixteen people, his eyes burned with determination to fight them all back and protect Mike, a kid he just met a few hours ago.