The first few days back at school after Kenichi's encounter with Yomi had been… weird to say the least.

Seeing members who posed as students or even his own friends after a week of resting just felt odd, especially when he hadn't told anyone what had happened.

He knew a few of his friends from the Shinpaku alliance had found him, but he was never clear on who or who specially didn't see him or what happened.

Even then, there was something else that felt off. Ever since everything had happened, he had this unshakable feeling that something just didn't feel right.

Even as he walked to the front gate to wait for Miu to walk home, his mind felt heavy and his eyes felt more alert than before. He couldn't practically feel his quickened pulse in his ears.

He wasn't given long to dwell on the thoughts however, as an all too familiar blond regarded him with his usual annoyed frown.

"Ah! Tanimoto, I haven't seen you in awhile-"

"Shirihama." Tanimoto didn't hesitate to cut off the disciple, staring him directly in the eyes. Then, he striked out suddenly, a direct attack aimed at the smaller male with intent that stopped mere inches before his face.

As usual, Kenichi brought his arms up to defend himself. What wasn't usual was the slight hesitation and flinching followed by a shocked whimper.

Tanimoto raised a brow with slight unease, retracting his hand back to his side.

He's not stupid. He's seen trauma before, especially when he's experienced it so often first hand. It bothered him to see such a confident spirit like Kenichi even show minor signs of his persona cracking. He was worried.

"Stop fighting." He stated plainly, no room for argument.

"What?!" Kenichi all but shouted in shock. "I can't just stop fighting, not when Yami is just around every corner of the school! I-If I do I'll-"

"You barely even blocked my attack. If I hadn't stopped where I did, I would have easily broken past your defenses and hit you." The fighter watched as the other stiffened momentarily before shamefully dragging his gaze to the ground.

"I don't know exactly what's got you so worried, but if I were you, I wouldn't so much as think of setting foot into a battle with another Yomi member until you've regained the confidence to defend yourself, otherwise…" The blond paused, his gaze narrowing. "Who knows if you'll make it out alive."

By the way Kenichi's eyes instantly widen in fear, Tanimoto knows he said something he shouldn't have. It's not typical for the disciple to even worry about death, but it was the way his eyes seemed haunted that struck Tanimoto. They were the eyes of a soul that feared something that had already happened before.

He wanted to offer more, but he knew it wasn't his place to pry. Besides, he had Miu if he really wanted to whine about what had happened to him.

He clicked his tongue, turning on his heel and leaving a slightly shaken Kenichi in his wake.

"Can you believe that guy?" Kenichi groveled as he wrung out the damp towel in front of him, warm water dripping to the bucket below before he joined Mou in scrubbing against the wood floors. "First he attacks me out of nowhere and then tells me I should stop fighting? I mean really, I've been doing this for too long! I can't just stop now!"

Miu giggled, mildly amused at the boy's passion as he ranted. "Still, I get what he means though…"

Kenichi only squinted with a small frown. "What do you mean?"

"He said you shouldn't fight with any members of Yomi because you weren't able to block his attack properly, right?"

The martial artist only nodded. "Well, yeah, but-"

"He might have a point for now. You're in no condition to fight… if you can't even block Tanimoto's attack, then it might be safer to put off any fighting against Yami members temporarily until you overcome whatever is upsetting you…" Miu trailed off despite the fact she more than knows what's been in Kenichi's mind.

The brunett only gives a heavy sigh as he considers her words, his hand subconsciously rubbing over the still sore and injured spot on his chest. The mere thought of losing another fight like that, of dying, was enough to make his heartbeat speed up with anxiety.

The blonde girl beside him noticed, purposefully avoiding bringing up the issue directly in fear of making the boy uncomfortable. "Just focus on helping me and resting for now, kay? You'll be back in good condition in no time!"

Kenichi smiled with uncertainty. "Right!"

"A journey? With Shigure?" Kenichi's voice crept into a pathetically high pitch. "You're kidding… right?"

Hayato only laughed jovially, stroking his long beard. "Relax, son! It's only a trip away for a sword hunt! It'll help you curb that fear that's been taking up your heart so much lately!"

"Yeah right, like going on a trip anywhere with her is going to help that." Kenichi mentally griped as turned away, trying to sneakily creep away.

All it took was a firm pat on the shoulder from the elder to thwart that plan. "Come on now, it won't be that bad."

"Well, I mean, I'm sure Shigure would like to go on her own to find her own sword like she's done in the past! I don't wanna intrude so-"

"It's fine." The mellow voice of Shigure sent a shocked shiver up the boy's spine as he let out a squeal of shock. "He can… come."

"See, isn't that wonderful Kenichi?"

Kenichi's eyes only twitched as he felt his sanity slowly slip as he wondered for the millionth time why he'd ever decided to stay in this hell of a dojo. "Haha… Uh-huh! Great! Just. Great."

Abruptly he stood, "actually, I have to handle something, so if you'll excuse me…" his voice trailed off before he yelled wildly, running away as fast as possible.

"He's… running." Shigure helpfully noted to the elderly man beside her who only chuckled.

"Glad to see some of his fighting spirit is back at least!" He only laughed again as he heard the noises of chaos that was undoubtedly the small disciple trying to escape his masters in the distance. "Whether he runs now or gets caught, he'll have to face his own fear when he's ready. Such a trauma is not something forgotten by the human mind so quickly, especially an adolescent one…

"I only fear that…" Hayato paused as he stared down the corridor where Kenichi was moments ago,"if he waits too long, Yami will take advantage of that fear and it will be too late."

"GAHHH! Stupid masters, stupid injury, stupid Yami!" Kenichi howled to himself as he picked small bits of leaves and twigs out of his hair. His escape from Ryouzanpaku had been a success, but was quickly followed by an ungraceful landing in the most uncomfortable bush in existence.

"It's not like I wanted to quit training, but the old man is crazy and wanted me to go on some bloodbath trip with my crazy sword master!" Kenichi flicked another leaf from the messy mop of hair on his head, "I swear they're trying to kill me!"

"That's not what I asked, dumbass." Tanimoto deadpanned. "I asked, why of all the places you can go, you always end up at my house?! Go bother someone else!"

Kenichi realized he didn't know the answer to that question. He could have easily ran home or even to the Shinpaku hideout, but something, some kind of instinct, told him to go to Tanimoto, though he's sure that kind of excuse would only piss off the other fighter.

"Well, it's not really like I can go back home right now! I wouldn't want to tell my parents I've decided to put off my training after I've made them so proud ahah…" He pauses, "Besides, I don't really want them to- gah…!" He cut himself off with a slight groan of pain.

Tanimoto's gaze instantly hardens, raising a curious brow before stepping forward. Part of him wants to practically hold the boy down and pat him down for injury, but he knows very well that could also be a reason why he ran away in the first place. He didn't want to force the disciple into a state of discomfort or cause him to run away.

Instead, he kneeled down in front of Kenichi, aiding him in the task of removing any excess foliage from his ratty hair. "Didn't that damn sister of yours teach you house manners? Don't get twigs all over my carpet, I just cleaned."

"Haha, sorry…" The boy's voice is uncharacteristically meek, laced with poorly repressed pain.

Tanimoto's eyes subtly looked up and down the body in front of him, looking for any obvious wounds. Finding none, he asks bluntly. "Are you injured?" Before Kenichi can even reply, the blond reminded him, "Don't lie to me."

Kenichi shifted against the couch uncomfortably, biting his lip as he sighed. "It's nothing big… Just my last fight left some lasting damage, and when I fell over the wall for dojo I just kind of landed on it-"

"Where?" The boy pried.

Again, the other only gave a nervous response, more reluctant to reply.

Tanimoto rolled his eyes. "If you're going to stay with me, then let me care for your wounds at least. I still haven't had my rematch with you yet bastard, and I'll be damned if I let any Yomi idiot take you out before I do."

Kenichi felt a slight warmth in his chest, reading through Tanimoto's facade in a heartbeat, knowing his eyes were filled with authentic concern.

He shoved down any prior anxiety and tugged the collar on his shirt low enough to expose the deep ugly bruising on his chest to which the other fighter visibly winced.

"What the hell did you do?"

The disciples' breath hitched with unease. "Aheh, well it was kinda an accident, ya see, sometimes when I get into fights with people I'm kinda unprepared so y'know, things happened and it's really better not talk about it-"

"You don't have to tell me, just shut up." The blond interjected, cutting off the boy's rambling as he looked down at his chest again. "Hey, I'm gonna do something."

"What? Wait- What are you gonna do-" He let out a howl of pain as Tanimoto pressed down against the bruising without warning, pain exploding across his ribcage.

Quickly, he flinched back. "OUCH! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!"

Tanimoto only silently pulled back, eyes narrowed in deep thought.

Broken… Just like he thought…

If anything, the blond was more impressed that he had the energy to yell, let alone escape from his absolutely insane masters without collapsing to the ground in pain. Tanimoto had his fair share of broken bones in his seventeen years of fighting, and he knew just how much they hurt. In the moment of a fight, adrenaline might be enough to mask it, but for Kenichi to be moving so fluently in the aftermath? He really was becoming a lot stronger…

A lot stronger, but so stupid.

"Hey, I changed my mind." He started suddenly, lightly pushing the other down on his shoulders until he was in a lying position. "You're not leaving until you're healed. Not that I care or anything, but your crazy masters might just end up killing you before I do."

Kenichi opened his mouth to argue, but only shut it again, knowing better than to argue with Tanimoto, especially when he's right too. Training with an injury would only make it worse.

Besides, everytime he thought about training or combat he…

He shook his head, warding off the thoughts, instead offering a small "Thanks, Tanimoto."

The blond stood with a poorly managed frown. "Whatever."

Kenichi awoke with a start, his heart pounding against his chest violently. He sucked in ragged and sudden breaths of panic as his mind reeled from the fading nightmare.

He didn't process the plush couch he was sitting on or the warm blanket Tanimoto had insisted he'd taken, only the horrid feeling of the pain in his chest. That horrible feeling of numbness and cold.

He remembers the hard fist that slammed his chest, his heart, the absolutely agonizing agony before there was that blackness, blackness he thought he'd feel forever without even getting to say goodbye-

"Shirihama, hey!" He barely processes Tanimoto in front of him, trying to grab his attention.

The blond on the other hand, felt a slight discomforting squeeze in his chest as he watched the boy before him.

Kenichi Shirihama was strong and bold and so brave. He would barge into any situation to help anyone or to fight for what's right.

But the Kenichi before Tanimoto was anything but. He was weak and vulnerable, curled into himself with fast paced breathing and unaware tears striking down his face. He was so scared.

Tanimoto himself wasn't unfamiliar with such an experience. He instantly recognized it as a panic attack, but that didn't put his heart anymore at ease. He still wondered what possibly could cause someone like Kenichi to feel so terrified.

Hesitantly, he reached a hand out to the trembling teen before him, jumping when he let out an involuntary yelp.

The blond retracted his hand and felt himself at a loss again, sitting himself on the floor in front of the couch. Just because he'd dealt with panic attacks before didn't mean he knew how to help other people. If anything, his common reaction to other people's emotions was to turn and walk away.

But whether he wanted to admit it or not, Kenichi had become someone extremely close to him in his life and seeing him in such a panicked state made him feel… something.

This time he acted in the fact knowing that if the boy kept hyperventilating at this state he might pass out.

"Shirihama– Kenichi. Breathe." He demanded dumbly before realizing that was easier said than done. There was another moment of hesitancy as he placed a hand on Kenichi's shoulder with a more gentle touch this time before he slowed his breathing, hoping the other would follow.

Slowly but surely, the other male started to follow. There were rocky and stuttered breaths at first, but with time and the occasional movement of Tanimoto's hand, he managed to steady his breathing.

His throat hurt like hell and his chest still felt tight and tired, but he quietly looked over to the blond on the floor next to him, whispering a meek "Sorry…"

Tanimoto only nodded awkwardly, acknowledging the apology as he removed his hand from the boy's shoulder. He clicked his tongue as he tried to figure out what to say next.

"What happened?" He asked bluntly.

"Um…" The disciple pondered telling the boy next to him. He'd always been so used to being seen as tough and durable and a small part of him felt scared to admit he wasn't. He felt almost ashamed of himself for letting something like that bother him so badly when he'd faced so many similar things countless times before. "It was just… a fight."

Tanimoto only raised a brow with an unimpressed frown. "Elaborate."

Kenichi only sat in silence for a moment, avoiding eye contact. "That day after the sports events at our school, when I went to take a break I found Daimonji had been injured. I was the only person around and he asked me to come help the karate club since it'd been taken over by one of those Yomi punks…"

When he trailed off, the blond boy only sat patiently in silence as he waited for the other to continue.

"I don't know what happened," His voice quieted. "I just remember fighting like normal, but then he dropped his defenses as soon as I went to attack him. I know I shouldn't have shown mercy to someone apart of Yomi, but as soon as he did, I just couldn't go through with it. I can't ever bare the thought of killing someone. Pretty pathetic for someone of my caliber, huh?"

Tanimoto, again, remained silent besides the small neutral hum only to indicate he was listening rather than if he agreed or not.

"I should've been paying more attention… but it all happened so fast. The moment I stopped my attack, I… I just…" He hugged his knees to his chest, hands gripping his arms so tightly they left small crescent shaped indents. "It's kind of a blur but I remember that he attacked me. I felt… so much pain. I thought I was passing out but something felt wrong. I felt cold and like I couldn't breathe and I…" He couldn't help the tears welling in his eyes again. "A-Akisame said I hadn't been breathing or had a pulse when he found me…

"Tanimoto, I-I almost died." Was all he could weakly manage before his body was racked with airy sobs again.

Something about the way Kenichi said it set Tanimoto's entire system ablaze with sheer rage. He knew Kenichi could defend himself, but some part of him regretted he wasn't there to protect him, for not knowing in the first place. He barely bit back an enraged growl, suppressing every urge in his body to stay put and not get up and find that bastard himself and tear him limb from limb.

Instead, he only stared at the disciple in silence for a minute, still blank on how to even help in a situation like this. He only sat himself on the couch next to Kenichi, as if to silently say "I'm here."

He all but let out a surprised squawk as said male shoved his face into his side, latching onto his body like his life depended on it.

The anger in the blond's mind only grew. Bold, loud, unshaken Kenichi Shirihama was sobbing and trembling into his side with an intensity he'd never seen before and something about it made him feel agonizing fury with every nerve in his body.

But again, he curbed it for the sake of his friend weeping into him right now, awkwardly wrapping an arm over his shoulders. Natsu Tanimoto didn't do physical affection, but it felt safe, it felt right to do.

As Kenichi finally pulled away, drying the last of his cries, he offered another small "Sorry…"

Tanimoto forced himself to ignore the disgusting damp spot of tears and possibly snot on his shirt to instead nod again with a small "It's fine."

There's yet another bout of silence as the taller male stares at the tired teen beside him before standing to his feet to leave the room. He returned a few moments later with a small cup of tea and put it in front of the brunett, his other hand occupied with his own cup.

"You can stay." Somehow, Tanimoto felt there was more reason to Kenichi coming to him directly rather than home or staying at the dojo. "Just let me treat your wounds without too much whining."

Kenichi smiled after taking a small sip from the small cup of warm liquid. "Kay…"

Tanimoto sits in the vacant spot next to the disciple again, taking a quiet taste of his own drink.

"Thanks, Tanimoto."

"Whatever."