A/N: random thing i wrote bc of an AU (UA?) at the back of my mind, that isn't my Dark! Endou AU lmao
i have the next chappy already written out and oh boy, this is gonna take a while to complete geez
on a sorta unrelated note, ENDOU IN THE NEW ARES EPISODE IM SHAKING I LOVE THIS GUY SO MUCH I CANNOT *aggressive keyboard smash* AAAHHHHH HIS INTERACTIONS WITH TONEGAWA TOUSEN IS THE CUTEST ESPECIALLY WITH SAKANOUE-KUN YYYYIIIIIIIIIEEEEE
...
...moving on...
What he sees when he opens his eyes leaves him shaking.
A soccer ball engulfed in flames as an afterimage of a dragon just behind it was coming at him at such a ferocious speed that he couldn't find it in him to move. Not even one inch.
All he could do was stare at the incoming projectile in horror.
It nearly grazed his face and he just stood there, paralyzed with fear. Hair spraying wildly at the strong wind the shot brought on.
("Oi, Endou! What's the big deal? You didn't catch the ball!"
Who is that? Who is that, who is that, who is that?
Where is he?)
Eyes wide and trembling, Endou barely catches himself when he falls to his knees.
("O-oi, Endou!"
They were calling his name. Whoever they were. He can't see, too blinded by sheer panic to fully understand and see what was going on around him.
"Captain!"
Captain?)
He catches sight of his hands, he was wearing gloves. Goalkeeper gloves, and he chokes back a sob. He was on a soccer field. Why was he on a soccer field?
(He can't breathe. Can't breathe, can't calm, needs something, something, oh god how did he, what were the steps again, how to calm, ground, safe-)
His hands find their way to his head, to his hair, trying to find something to ground himself with-
His headband.
He was wearing his headband. His Grandpa's old headband. Last he checked, he just let the thing hang around his neck out of sentimental reasons so why was he wearing the headband-
There's someone hovering over him and it's familiar and warm and he thinks the person is asking if he can handle touch right now and Endou can't find the strength to reply so he just shakes his head while letting out a shuddering breath, his frame still shaking and oddly timid.
"Breathe," the person says, arms circling him but thankfully not touching and the voice is familiar, familiar, familiar as a blue and yellow blur fills his vision.
Kazemaru doesn't know what suddenly came over him.
What he does know is that one look at Endou's form and he just...knows that his best friend is having a panic attack and he needs to help him now, now, now, now, now-
He gets down to his knees, kneels in front of Endou, and the foreign (yet somehow familiar?) words tumble out of his mouth, "Endou, Endou, do you think you can handle touch right now?"
He's never had to calm someone down from a panic attack before, lest of all that someone be Endou freaking Mamoru himself, but these sudden instincts were strong and the deja vu of the situation made him feel that he'd done this for years now.
Endou, who was still crying and wow that was something he never thought he'd ever think in his life, just shakes his head and Kazemaru is nodding along, his hands just hovering over the other's arms like some sort of shield or other. He didn't really know.
His body was pretty much acting on its own at this point.
He's vaguely aware of Kidou and Gouenji telling the others not to crowd the two of them and he's glad for that. To think that slipped his mind-
"Breathe," Kazemaru tells him and he makes an exaggerated show of inhaling the air. "In."
He exhales loudly and slowly so Endou could mimic him. "Out."
"In."
"Out."
"In."
"Out. "
The process repeats and Endou is slowly but surely starting to breathe normally again. Slowly beginning to calm down. Kazemaru breathes a sigh of relief as Endou wipes away the tears still flowing down his face.
"Water..." the goalkeeper mutters quietly, voice unnaturally weak and soft.
Kabeyama is at his side, water bottle already in his hands. Kazemaru gestures for the taller male to give it to Endou, who then complies with the request.
The brunet grabs the water bottle gently and gulps at the refreshing dew almost desperately. "T-thanks. Kaze." He turns to Kabeyama and scratches his cheek sheepishly.
"And um, I don't think I caught your name?"
And if the Raimon soccer team didn't already think that today was the weirdest day ever then this definitely was the final nail to the coffin.
A/N: im going to be honest this is mostly self-indulgent stuff haha /shot