"D-Did all of you see that or was I hallucinating?" Sakaki asked in shocked disbelief after taking a moment or so to collect himself. He still couldn't believe the words that had come out of Kenichi's mouth! It had been both a warning and a threat to do more than simple bodily harm. He had just threatened to murder his school pal in front of them in cold blood. And there was no doubt in Sakaki's mind that the kid absolutely meant every damned word.

There was a chorus of voices, each one speaking at once.

"I heard." Was all Akisame seemed to be able to muster saying his voice sounding strangely weak even to his own ears.

While Apachai threw his hands in the air and screamed, "Appa! Apachai heard! But Kenichi is good person and wouldn't really kill someone... Would he?"

"Don't kid yourself everyone is capable of killing another to a certain degree," Kensei started to say before finishing off his trail of thought with. "Kenichi had blood in his eye... I don't think I've ever seen such a look of raw fury before." He turned his head to ask Niijima what had upset the boy only to see Shigure had drawn her sword and had it pressed against the teen's neck and was already trying to interrogate him.

"What...did you do...to Kenichi? Talk...or else..."

Niijima squirmed a little (or as much as he could without slitting his own throat) as all of the masters turned to regard him with calculating looks. He didn't like those looks. They practically screamed, 'Alien freak, what did you do to our kid?!' and 'Talk or we'll kill you instead.'

"Niijima..." Akisame said as his calculating gaze slowly turned cold, his face expressionless as he said in an unyielding tone that would have sent a lesser man scampering for cover, "What is going on? You will tell us before you leave or-" He started to threaten the boy- god knew he could rip him apart in an instant and put him back together again if he so wished. However Niijima simply looked him in the eyes and gave him an equally cold look before cutting him off at the legs.

"No," The simple word held so much weight that it felt as if it could crush bones. And in many ways, it could. Though Niijima would never admit it, it killed him to say no to the master when he knew what was coming. Especially when he knew that they could help save Kay from Philo's and whatever sick and twisted schemes he may be cooking up at the moment. "I can't tell you anything K-Kenichi doesn't want me too. He's scared that if you knew...you-" It was difficult to put into words, such soul crushing agony and pain. To feel defeated before you ever had the chance to take so much as a swing at your enemies.

So he just stopped speaking, really there wasn't much that he could say at this point anyways. So instead he switched tactics, thinking of the only other way to communicate that wouldn't give any information about his and Kay's past away; he thought of the most painful thing he'd ever seen done to Kay. And then he let a few tears slip unchecked down his face while continuing to hold the master's gaze. Silently pleading with him to see. See the pain, the suffering, the years he and Kay had spent together being humiliated and stripped of their humanity. See how long it had taken them to try and function normally once they had escaped that hellhole.

See, see, see, see-

The master's, startled by Niijima's tears all backed off automatically knowing that whatever reduced the normally calm and collected kid to this couldn't be good in any shape, form, or fashion. Yet didn't know what to do about it. Shigure's sword slowly moved away from his throat giving him a chance to lift his shaking hands to wipe his face. Wiping away as much evidence of his breakdown as he could before saying with a slightly shaky breath, "I came here today to break some really bad news to Kenichi as gently as I could. I thought things would go over better if I informed him first before we brought you in on it-"

"It was stupid of me to assume that we could bring you in on things without being asked questions we don't want to answer. All I can really say from this point on is that you're going to have to keep close tabs on Kenichi. Here. At school. Whenever he's out and about. I can use the Shinpaku to take some of the strain off- but we're kids. None of us are equipped to handle people who will kill innocent bystanders along with anyone else who gets in their way of getting their hands on Kenichi."

The master's looked at him wide eyed, their minds going over the information he'd just given them even as they wanted to ask him, Just what the hell was going on. However they held their silence and let him continue. They had no choice now that he had come this far. It was either listen until the end and learn a few things about the coming storm, or lose their disciple forever.

"And let me just say this, if the people after Kenichi ever get a hold of him... You will never find him again. Not in this lifetime. And even if you did- the person you find would be little more than a rabid animal in desperate need of being put down. Do you understand?"

The master's still remained silent, though now that his words were finally starting to sink in he could see the worry, the anger, and fear in everyone's expressions as he walked over to his backpack and picked it up and slung it into place over his shoulder and said very softly. "These people will stop at nothing to destroy Kenichi... T-They've had him in their grasp before," It was the only thing he was willing to say about his own past and Kay's. The only information he felt safe giving. "A long time ago when he was still very young. He doesn't talk about it. Frankly it's understandable given how many years it took for him to finally escape and regain even the smallest sense of safety and normality... He'll probably start having night terrors again starting tonight. So one of you might have to keep a watch on him just in case. If he even bothers to return tonight that is." Niijima said as he headed for the door when Sakaki called out, his voice almost a shout causing the teen to pause in mid step and look back at the man and his friends from over his shoulder.

"Wait! You unload all of this crap on us and then you just slink off- Just hold it kid! Who are these people? They can't be worse than Yomi. And just why the hell do they want Kenichi?"

"They are much worse than Yomi," Niijima replied before muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "They want him because they never broke him." Then slipped out the door and disappeared.