Yuma filled the tub with water and waited for it to fill. When it did, he gently placed Astral inside. He grabbed the soap and scrubbed the blood off.

At that time, Astral woke up. He looked up at Yuma with a confused look.

"Glad you're awake," Yuma said. "How are you feeling?"

Astral thought for a while. Then, he spotted the blood stains that were blooming in the water, and he panicked. Immediately, Yuma calmed him.

"Don't panic," he whispered. "You're safe now. How are you feeling?"

Astral tried to ignore the red in the water. "I… I don't really remember much… Some things, but…" Then, his eyes widened. "Oh, no. What-what have I done!? I tried to kill you!"

Yuma once again tried to calm him. "No, no, it's okay. The thing that matters most now is that you didn't."

After that, they both stayed silent. Yuma finished washing Astral and drained the water. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around the now shaking spirit.

"Get to sleep," Yuma said. "You need rest right now."

Astral nodded and laid on the bed that was in the room below Yuma's. He closed his eyes while Yuma wrapped a soft blanket around him.

Akari peeked into the room. "So, you gonna tell me why you're so late getting home?"

Yuma sighed. "To be honest, I don't really remember what happened after we got lost in the forest. One moment, we're staying in a house for shelter, the next, I'm in some kind of asylum."

Akari remained silent. "So, you don't know what happened?"

"Nope. I do know that Astral had a mental breakdown, though. It's best not to ask him anything until he's had time to calm down and get over it."

Akari nodded. She may have wanted answers, but she knew when to cut someone slack. For the time being, she would leave him alone.

"Okay. Goodnight, Yuma."

"Goodnight sis."

~.~.~

The next day was a pretty weird day. It was a school day, so when Yuma got to school, he was bombarded with questions of "Where were you?" "Why didn't you come to school?" "You were gone for days! Where have you been!?" He even got Astral's journal back.

Astral had gone with him on the first day they were back just for a feeling of normalcy, but all the questions just made him tense. Of course, they couldn't see him, so the questions weren't directed at him, but after that day, he stayed at home.

He still wasn't over it.

Whenever Astral saw something that reminded him of the asylum, Slender man, or the Bro, he would burst into tears. Eventually, Akari had to ask why they were gone for days.

"Astral," she called.

Astral, who was busying himself with rearranging Yuma's deck and shuffling it, looked over to Akari. "Yes?"

"Can I…" She took a deep breath. "Can I ask you what happened while you were gone?"

Astral averted his gaze. "Wh-why?"

Akari sat next to him. "Well, I need to know. I want to help you, but I can't if I don't know what's bothering you."

Astral nodded, knowing that he might not know how to relax again. So, he told Akari everything while trying to remain composed. He told her about Slender, the Bro and Barrel, and the asylum. He told her about the kills. He grabbed his journal and showed it to Akari, who read it.

Her eyes widened. She read about the things he experienced, and she knew that it was all real. After all, Astral couldn't lie when he was scared out of his wits. It just wasn't done.

"Well, I think I know what you might have," she concluded when she finished reading. "It's something called post traumatic stress disorder. PTSD. Sometimes, it lasts for life."

Astral kept his hands busy with the deck. "Really? That's… distressing."

Akari knew he was trying to stay calm, but his eyes clearly showed his genuine distress.

"Don't worry. We'll see if we can cure this."

Astral looked up at Akari, and he saw that she really meant it. He smiled.

"Thank you, Akari!" He hugged her tightly.

Akari smiled and hugged him back.