"The reason Baji-san beat me up is to get into Valhalla. But he didn't join Valhalla to crush Toman." Chifuyu spoke as I carefully and gently wrapped a bandage over his head and eye. His words made my movements come to a halt for a few seconds as I processed his words. "What do you mean?" I frowned and tilted my head in pure confusion. Why else would he join Valhalla specifically? Why not any other gang that had nothing to do against Toman?

Chifuyu was staring somewhere blankly around his room as he spoke to me. "Baji-san's got something else in mind." He casually explained and the gentle breeze entering Chifuyu's room from the open window made our hair sway a bit in the air.

That's right, after Chifuyu woke up, there was no reason for Kazutora to stick around longer, especially with the way Chifuyu reacted upon seeing him. Thankfully, I did not have to drag Chifuyu up his house, although I clearly did provide him with some support.

It was my first time being in Chifuyu's house. It was not like I had known Chifuyu for ages, although it could have felt like it, thanks to Baji talking about him to me often through the phone while I was abroad. But instead of focusing on his house, the furniture and the interior in general, I was helping him patch up to which he eventually agreed, although he felt bad that I was doing this for him.

He had placed two glasses of iced juice near the table and a few cookies for me and I knew that I would be sticking around his room for a while now. Not just because Peke J was more than ecstatic that I was with them in the room and meowing and patting me for my attention, but because Chifuyu and I had a lot of things to talk about.

"A new guy came out of nowhere and somehow was accepted to take a very important role in Toman," Chifuyu spoke, "Mikey introduced him as new Toman division captain. Many people expressed their confusion and distaste, but who could really go against Mikey's wish?" Chifuyu looked at me. "Well.... Baji did."

I swallowed harshly.

That's right. I had heard of this before. It was Kisaki Tetta.

I remember coming across him and seeing him with some new Toman members on my way to the date with Emma and Draken. I mean- hangout. He himself did say he had just joined Toman when they acknowledged that I recognized them as Toman members. Even H/n mentioned it as some point, so it was nothing new.

Chifuyu failed to hold a small, humorless snicker before he said the next thing. "For some reason, not even that blond guy with the terrible haircut was happy." He looked at me with a grin. "He ran straight at Kisaki, screaming and gave him one hell of a punch, if I say so myself. I don't remember if he broke the guy's glasses but it was a shocking scene. Nobody knows why he did it, but it certainly pissed the other captains for jumping straight in the spotlight and doing this against Mikey's commands. It was dumb, but pretty badass if I do say so myself."

Blond guy with a terrible haircut. Why do I have a feeling that he is talking about Takemitchy?

It wouldn't be surprising if Chifuyu knew Takemitchy. After all, Takemitchy did gain a lot of 'popularity' in Toman after the Moebius incident and by saving Draken. It was not strange that people would know Takemitchy by now.

It was hard to depict the scene Chifuyu was explaining to me in my mind - and it was comical, in a way. Takemitchy was such an awkward and scaredy cat, I doubted he would have the guts and recklessness to do such thing.

My eyes frowned softly as I thought of Kisaki.

It was not strange that people would react negatively to a new, completely foreign to them person suddenly become a Toman captain. Especially considering how he was an ex-Moebius member. But Chifuyu did say that that Takemitchy had, for whatever reason, lost his cool and punched Kisaki. Although I did not know Takemitchy personally, as far as I knew, he, for sure, did not look like the guy to punch people randomly like that, Moebius or not.

And if I remembered correctly, the problems with Baji happened a bit after I found out about Kisaki joining. It was all strange for me.

Chifuyu's playful smile dropped and he looked at me, his right eye completely patched up at that point as I focused on other injuries on his face as I listened attentively. "Takemitchy ruined the ceremony to appoint the captain for the Third Division. Before Baji officially left Toman, he beat up Takemitchy. But I know he didn't do this for no reason.... even if he does likes beating people for no reason." Chifuyu spoke with more determination. "If Baji-san hadn't done that, the rest of the captains would have done so much worse to him. So it was thanks to Baji that he is still standing like that, he might not know it, but Baji saved his ass from a far worse punishment that day."

I shivered. Yikes, just imagining the rest of Toman's captains and members beating up Takemitchy and hurting him was a terrifying scene to imagine. It hurt to imagine Mikey and Draken do anything to Takemitchy... Or even Mitsuya. Mitsuya looked like a very calm and collected person. It was impossible of me to think of him doing such things.

It was moments like these when I realized that sometimes I did forget what it actually means to be a gangster in a gang.

"Baji found the excuse of beating up Takemitchy as a way to get banned from Toman by Mikey, by going against his rules, until he eventually said that he is quitting, right in front of everyone." Chifuyu closed his eye for a moment and went silent as I finished with the final touches.

He gently held his patched up face. His fingers gently rubbed across his patched his swollen eye, his nose and other smaller wounds around his face and cheeks. He smiled. "Thank you, Y/n." "Don't mention it." I smiled back at Chifuyu, sitting on his bed cross legged now as Peke J jumped on my lap, meowing. He started purring when I started petting and scratching his head and belly.

Chifuyu sighed and took a sip of his iced juice. He licked his lips and placed the glass down, "Baji-san wants to expose Kisaki. That's why he joined Valhalla. He joined Valhalla so he could investigate Kisaki."

I stared at Chifuyu. He took it as a sign to continue.

"If Baji-san's gonna investigate from within Valhalla, I want to investigate Kisaki as much as I can from the outside." He rested his elbows on his knees and bent slightly on the front, finding a comfortable way for him to sit on the bed with his feet on the ground. "I have to do something. Because..." He looked down at his hands and knuckles. "He always flies off the handle so easily on his own."

"What does Kisaki have to do with Valhalla? Do you think they're..." I said, moving my index fingers slowly and forming an imaginary circle. "Linked?"

"Mhm." Chifuyu hummed, "Quite possibly. Can't say I know that much, yet."

"Alright - let's say that's the case." I said and placed one hand on the cat's fur and the other on my knee, going along with his theory so we could think more about the possibilities. "Basically, Baji had to get this far to be accepted in Valhalla and he is somehow and secretly doing this to get information by Kisaki. In this case, what..." I wet my lips, trying to think of how to begin the question. I tilted my head at him. "Did Baji tell you that this is his plan?"

"Huh? No, he didn't say that." Chifuyu said casually. I stared at him dumbfounded. "But I can tell. I know what he's thinking." Chifuyu gave me a knowing smile and he had a look on his eye that held a lot of stories. "Because I've been by his side for so long."

Chifuyu paused and there was silence for a while. He looked at Peke J sleepijgncurled up on my lap. He smiled and gently scratched the cat's head. "What I wanna do is simple. I want to help Baji-san out."

Chifuyu looked up at me and met my gaze. The more we kept eye contact, the more guilty he looked. "..... We can't drag you into this, Y/n."

I blinked as he brought me up. "It's too dangerous. Listen," He said in determination, putting his hand above mine and gripping it gently, which caught me by surprise. I glanced down at it and then at him. His green eyes held a lot of hope. "Whatever is going on, I'll make sure to fix this. We'll get Baji-san back." Chifuyu gave me a smile that made my heart flutter - one that made the atmosphere around me lighter, as if reassuring me that everything would be okay. "He is not an enemy, no matter what he did. He cares about us, that's why he's doing all this. I know. I just know it, he would never betray us like this." Chifuyu said and gave me a firm nod as to make his point stronger. "I want to help him achieve his goal, gather as much information about him and show him that I am by his side."

I stared at him intensely. He then noticed the way he was holding my hand. He tensed up and blushed completely, shiftly moving his hand away. "Sorry!"

"It's fine." I smiled gently at him, before looking down at Peke J with a sad smile. "I get what you're telling me... I really hope you're right. I will try my best to believe this too, for your, Baji's, Toman's and my sake. I know it's unlike of Baji to act this way, the real Baji would never be like this. Right?" I asked, mostly myself. "I really hope you're right in this one, Chifuyu. Because Baji really broke my heart back there. He had a fight with brother, I visited his house and he ignored me... but he crossed the line when I saw what he did to you, and when we shared a small talk in Valhalla's hideout before we left, he said some very hurtful things." I tightened my fists as I tried not to get emotional and hurt while remembering what rude things he said to me with venom in his words.

'Stop following me like a dog and throwing yourself anywhere you can.'

'I don't care what happens with Chifuyu. Take him home or throw him off the bridge for all I care.'

'I don't give a single shit about Toman.'

'Don't come chasing after me again, Y/n. Don't come to my house trying to find me again.'

I blinked away the tears and shook my head, taking a deep breath as I shooed away all these thoughts. Thinking back to his words, he never said anything equivalent to 'I hate you' or anything that proved his hate or dislike, or maybe anger towards me. Still, seeing how ignorant and uncaring he was hurt me more than I thought it would have. At the same time, this could be seen as a way of Baji trying to keep me away from him and his business.

 I frowned gently and looked Chifuyu in the eyes. "I agree, Chifuyu. Baji would never betray his friends like this. He is definitely planing something. But leaving us away in the dark like this is difficult." I sighed.

"Baji-san was always like that," Chifuyu spoke, looking down at Peke J again. "It's not the first time he distances himself from everyone when there was a problem." He smiled gently. "Baji-san and I have been in many ..... adventures in the past. He has this habit of casting all of us away when something serious is going on. He has a thing for dealing with problems in his own." He made eye contact with me. "He just doesn't want us to get hurt and entangled in his plans. He is very strong, so he wants to give it his all without risking anyone's safety. That's why he tried to ignore and hurt you with his words. He wanted to keep you away from him so that you would not fall a victim." He gave me a bright smile. "Baji-san would say nothing but the best about you, you know.. It's no wonder how he would want to protect you at all costs. Please, don't hate Baji-san." He pleaded. "He has a reason why he is doing everything, and if I cannot stay close to him, I will help him from a distance. He is strong, he can watch his back." His gaze softened. "Helping Baji-san means protecting you, too. Please, stay away from Valhalla... and him." Chifuyu pleaded again. He looked sad suddenly. "Baji-san must have been very sad to hurt us and Toman this way, but I know he had his reasons to do that. I'm sure he would want nothing more than your support, but even if you try to give it to him, he'll still keep you away. He must fear you'll be seen as his weakness and fall a victim. He must think that if they figure Baji-san's plans out, they could use you as a bait and hurt you or use you to blackmail him or Toman." I held my breath as Chifuyu said these words.

'Anyone who messes with her.... Will die ~ ♡'

'I better not see anyone, in any circumstance, lay a single finger on her. She's our princess. Sure, she is Toman blood and the sister of a Toman member, but this girl right here is very special.'

'Call us childhood friends, if you will. Protect her and care for her and her safety like your lives depend on it.'

'Valhalla will never be a dangerous place for you, ever again. Just like you gave house to me, this is house for you, too. Upon today, no scum will ever harm you again.'

'Consider Valhalla a loving, safe place for you. Just like you treated me when I needed some help.'

'Hanma likes you a lot. It's a good thing, though. People won't be messing with you. He even told us to protect you! Imagine how cherished you are.'

Chifuyu definitely must have known how dangerous and vicious Valhalla was as a gang. It was only natural of him to want to keep me away. Although, he had no idea about my kind of relationship with the gang's leader.... or vice leader, I did not know myself, and the things I had been told. Chifuyu must have not exactly known what had happened during the time he was unconscious, which meant he had no idea what had happened to the guy that punched me by Hanma. He did not hear the commands Hanma gave to Valhalla and the way he cared about me and wanted my safety.

.

Chifuyu telling me these terrible things about me being used as a way to blackmail the others was terrifying and made me think of how dangerous the gang was. It made me think of how with a change of the leader's mind, I could get stepped on the ground like a worthless worm.

But remembering back to all those nice times we spent together with Hanma in my room, the laughter we shared, our thoughts, our times when I teached him how to read and write, when we shared food together or had these few sleepovers, as well as the way he talked about me with such admiration right in front of his gang really made me feel like.... maybe I was some kind of exception.

Either way, I was still terrified of Valhalla and I did not want to come across any of its members, especially now that they knew me. No matter what Hanma told them, the idea of being around them still made me feel beyond terrified and uncomfortable. I was traumatized by those encounters already.

An angry look made its way on Chifuyu's big, pretty green eyes. "Baji wants to prevent exactly that. So stay away from Valhalla... and Baji for now. We can't have him worrying. I'll take care of Baji and make sure he returns to us safe and sound. We'll have Baji back and Toman will win for sure!"

I stared at the positivity and enthusiasm Chifuyu held. Somehow, despite all these ugly injuries hidden by the cottons and patches on his face and the fatigue he had, his emotions had a strong effect on me and my emotions.

Somehow, I found myself feeling almost just as positive and courageous.

Chifuyu sighed for a moment. "I'm sure Baji must have been feeling terrible that you were there to see all this. I think the last thing he would have wanted from you would be to see him beating me up like this and have all this blood around."

My heart clenched as I imagined different scenarios of how Baji must have felt upon seeing this. When I saw the look on his face after he realized I was there in the crowd, especially after getting punched, I could see the genuine emotions on his face, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

'Shame on you.'

Was what I told him before I left that cursed place, with Kazutora following behind me with a passedout Chifuyu over his shoulder. I did not even care to see the look on his face after that. Maybe he did not react at all.

Suddenly, he flopped completely on the bed and leaned closer to me, startling both me and Peke J. "Now your turn!" Chifuyu said and pointed his index finger at me. I stared at him like an unblinking idiot. "How did YOU get in Valhalla's turf?" He asked the moment he realized that I did not know what he wanted me to begin talking about.

"Ohh!" I said as I realized. I took a big inhale and exhaled. "Well..." I continued petting Peke J, who instantly relaxed upon my touch. I brushed my fingers through his shiny black coat. "I saw Takemitchy walking behind those suspicious people. Kazutora and some other guys - I mean." I began. "Actually, I did randomly come across them," I said, not getting into much unimportant detail. "And I got curious and worried because Takemitchy looked very anxious and even scared a bit. So I ... I felt like I had to follow them from a distance and see where they went, so I could call for help in case Takemitchy got in trouble." I said. Chifuyu nodded, "I do remember seeing him with Kazutora, before... y'know, I passed out. We probably made a bit of eye contact before I completely lost consciousness. Continue." He confirmed seeing Takemitchy there.

"I saw them getting inside that building and I peeked inside to see what was going on, and I saw all those guys from Valhalla. Before I could start running away and phone someone, maybe my brother or Mikey and let him know of the situation, I ... I was noticed by some guys from Valhalla from outside that were going to chase me. The only way I had bigger chances of escaping them was going inside the abandoned game shop and hid under a Valhalla jacket. I hid inside the crowd and wore my hoodie so they would have more issues finding me-"

"That was very dangerous?!" Chifuyu almost yelled in pure fear, his face grimacing in a horrified look. Peke J tensed up and looked at Chifuyu. "Meow?"

"I know!" I raised my hands up to defense, sweating. "I-I really didn't have a better choice, there was nobody outside who could help me and if I tried to run away I would get caught! Anyways-" I continued before I could get scolded, "I somehow got close to Takemitchy and Kazutora and... well, yeah, that's basically where I saw Baji doing this to you..." I sighed and gently held the cat closer to me, which happily purred and pawed at me. I gently pressed onto the pink paws, seeing the cat's sharp nails. "And yeah, I kinda heard a few things here and there, I saw Baji being accepted in Valhalla and.... I ended up being found out. One of the Valhalla member's punched me cause he thought I was a dude probably, but then he pulled my hoodie down and...." I stopped and got flashbacks of the next scenes that happened with Hanma.

"... they saw me, a girl, and..." I took a deep breath and exhaled. "Hey, I haven't really told anyone about this, so..." I spoke quietly and looked down, catching his full attention. "Well, now the whole Valhalla gang... AND Baji do know that, but... I haven't told anyone else, like, anyone in Toman that I have actually been friends with Hanma far before the formations of the two gangs."

I looked at Chifuyu's shocked expression. He was in disbelief. "You... what?"

"Please don't take this the wrong way!" I rushed anxiously. "I promise before you even think about this, no, I am not betraying Toman and I am not helping Hanma and Valhalla... I just never told anyone because I was afraid people would think that I am a Valhalla spy or something, I promise I'm not! I'll explain..." I sighed.

"I met Hanma... probably four-five years ago, I think? That was before I left the country. We were still little kids." I began explaining as Chifuyu listened carefully. "He was homeless and it was a bad day for anyone to be outside... Please don't react to what I'll say next!" I closed my eyes firmly and held my hands together, sweating. "But I took him in! Secretly!" I said quickly, his eyes widening completely. His mouth was open. "I know it was very stupid and dangerous, but I was still a child, okay?! I was not that mature!" I had to excuse my actions by blaming me being younger back then. "I have never told my brother, my parents or anyone else about this, you're the first one I am telling this to, so please keep this as a secret until I gather the courage and say this to anybody else!" I begged him and continued. "I secretly took him to my room and offered him food and a place to sleep in. He never did anything to me, he was very respectful and he never stole anything or tried to hurt me. After that, we... we had this habit of having some more sleepovers. He started visiting me more often during the nights so... we would spend time together, we would, you know, play games, chat and I even started teaching him how to read and write, since he quit school from a very early age and never got to learn." I started explaining some details to Chifuyu. He did not make a sound during my monologue. "He was also an orphan and I did not like the idea of him being by himself all alone and hungry. We ended up becoming very good friends and I felt very safe with him. I couldn't tell anyone about this, because they could do something about it, maybe punish me and forbid us from ever seeing each other again and I didn't want that, so we kept it a secret. Then... I had to leave and we promised to never forget about each other and to meet again after four years." I inhaled and exhaled. "Well... We did. After four years we met back when Toman fought with Moebius and he recognized me. Despite.... whatever has happened..." I looked up at Chifuyu with a soft frown. "I can't hate him, Chifuyu. We made... so many wonderful memories together and..." I paused, looking down and closed my eyes. "I cannot just stop caring about him. We're still friends. He really does care about me. He even brought me gifts... He made sure I was alright and.... um, remember when I told you about that guy who punched me? Yeah, he beat that guy up very bad. And he threatened his entire gang that if anyone hurt me he would kill them. I'm not trying to excuse his actions though, what he has been doing is terrible, and it's kind of his fault - okay maybe completely his fault that you got beat up - I'm just saying..."

"He .... commanded the gang to never hurt me and to treat me like a family. He told everyone publically that I helped him in the past, so he told me that he ... I think he wanted me to see Valhalla as a family."

"Bullshit." Chifuyu said lowly. I was caught off guard at the cold tone of his voice as he interrupted me.

I bit my lower lip and slowly nodded to make him calm down. ".... I-... well, yeah- I just... He told me that nobody in Valhalla would hurt me ever again. He scared them all and I doubt anyone would go against his commands." I looked at Chifuyu.

"I know how dangerous Valhalla is, and I don't want to get near them, either. Hanma just told me that Valhalla will not be a danger to me, so..." I looked down. "They won't hurt me, Chifuyu. Not when Hanma is their leader. We're kind of like... childhood friends with him and he proved everyone what would happen if anyone messed with me." I rubbed my hand. "To be honest, I still don't know whether Hanma killed the guy who punched me. So... being around them or going in their turf would not be a problem or a danger to me. And since Baji is there, maybe-"

"No. Don't even think about this." Chifuyu urged.

This was probably the first time I had seen him act so serious and stern. It almost looked unnatural on him.

"Look, I won't tell anyone about whatever you have going on with Hanma. I believe that you're not working with them... or anything like that, as you said," He reassured me. "Even though I don't like Hanma or Valhalla, I understand. Your secret is safe with me. Either way, I would know better than to trust them." Chifuyu said. "Hopefully what you told me about you being safe from any harm from Valhalla is true. It is indeed a great thing." Chifuyu sighed. "Baji must be relieved. However!" He said, forcing an authorative tone in his voice, trying to act like a protective parent.

"Nothing changes the fact that Valhalla is an evil gang led by a strong and even more dangerous leader. No matter the relationship you have with him, it does not change anything about how much damage this gang can do. Just because Valhalla vowed not to hurt you doesn't meant they still wouldn't do something stupid, like... I don't know?! Maybe use you against Toman or maybe Baji, without inflicting any pain upon you." Chifuyu gasped and grabbed me by my shoulders. "What if they want to kidnap you?!"

My eyes widened in shock and anxiety at his sudden words and we just stared at each other. I sweated and pushed some of my hair behind my ear. "Um- wouldn't they have already done that if they wanted... when I was in their turf? I-I mean, they could have easily done so and nobody would have noticed, after all, it is a very deserted area..."

After all...

'I do have a soft for you, darling. I'm disgusted with the idea of doing anything bad to you.'

"..... True, but still," Chifuyu pulled himself away from me and relaxed. "I don't trust them, Y/n. Just for safety measures, be careful and don't go outside by yourself much. Especially around that part of the city." Chifuyu warned. "Here!" He quickly grabbed his phone and started typing something quickly. "Let's exchange phone numbers! In that case, whenever you need anything, you can always call me!" He said, his cheeks flushing and he looked at me with a determined puppy look.

I looked at him in surprise and blushed, accepting his phone and we exchanged our contacts. "Sure! Thank you so much. Chifuyu!"

From that moment, I could just tell the two of us would get along very well.

Not like we never did get along in the first place, but during these times Chifuyu and I had talked of hang out together would always be because of Baji. This was the first time it was just the two of us, even if it was not a casual hanging out and it had to do with, well, serious matters.

"Whenever you want to go somewhere and nobody else is available, just give me a call and I will immediately come to the rescue! That way you would feel safer walking outside." He smiled cheekily, before going serious again after a moment. "Both of us admire and love Baji-san and both of us want to make sure everything will be okay. I promise to do anything in my power to make sure all goes well, but we really can't entangle you in this. I know it could be an advantage if Hanma openly told you you can go to Valhalla's turf and be accepted. That also means you could get to see Baji being there. Still, it's not a good idea to risk anything. You're still, in a way, part of Toman. Mikey said so, too." He said. "They will surely get suspicious and feel more on guard if you're around them. They won't want you getting any information, so as long as you're around that place, they probably will refrain from talking much. That could stop Baji-san from gaining valuable information. Plus, they would see you getting close to Baji and both of you could be targetted and Baji suspected. Baji-san would feel worried if you were around them." Chifuyu frowned at me. "Don't get me wrong, but it would be difficult for him to focus on the plans at hand if he has to worry about you."

Chifuyu seemed a hundred percent sure that Baji was actually planning on helping Toman and exposing Kisaki as he said, even if nothing was confirmed. Still, I decided to put my faith in Chifuyu. After all, Chifuyu was Baji's best friend, wasn't he? The two had been through a lot. Chifuyu definitely must have known something. Even if myself was close to Baji, things were different. It was not me fighting along Baji, watching his back and participating in multiple gang wars to have an idea of how his head is working when he is around gangs.

"I get it, I understand what you mean." I nodded reassuringly at Chifuyu. "I'll keep your advice in mind." I sighed and placed a hand on my chest. "To be honest... I'm relieved Baji has such a wonderful friend to rely on." I confessed. "Hearing you say all these things really make me feel more hopeful about things. I get it that Baji is strong on his own, but... I'm sure your effect on Baji has been significant. I don't know how things would have been if he didn't have you. And I'm pretty sure I would have been even angrier and maybe even hated Baji at this point if it weren't for you." I smiled gratefully at him. "I'm so happy you two have each other. Thank you for sticking by Baji's side all this time. Baji truly appreciates you and it showed many times. You're very lucky to have each other. Baji can be such a dork, despite that you still believe in him, even I started to believe in him too now. I almost lost all my trust and hope for him today. Thank you for taking care of Baji."

Chifuyu's green eyes widened softly and sparkled. He smiled, a reddish hue tinting his cheeks. "I could say the exact same thing to you, Y/n."

----------------------------------------------

"Y/n, can I come in?"

"Yeah," I called and quickly adjusted my shirt the moment I pushed myself from a laying down position on my bed into a sitting one. I crossed my legs and rested my hands on my knees, forcing a small smile upon facing my brother, who twisted the doorknob and pushed the door to my room inwards, allowing himself to enter with my permission.

He returned a small smile and walked to my bed, jumping and comfortably flopping down next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and exhaling dramatically, staring up at the ceiling mindlessly. I kept staring at him as he did so, keeping my smile unwavy, yet curious.

"It's been a while since we hang out just the two of us, sis." He decided to change his position on my bed after noticing that he was not quite comfortable. He pulled himself closer to the center of the bed yet still kept his feet on the ground. He pulled his arm away and rested his elbows on his knees and turned his head to my direction. "Lately I've been around Toman a lot for business and I do hang out a lot with Mikey, Draken, Mitsuya.... the Kawata brothers and the others. I've got real close with them." He monologued and twisted the bracelet he had on his right wrist, narrowing his gaze at it. "It's not that Toman is the only thing I have in my life... But it's nice. We got some really cool guys around. I'm constantly around some guys even before or after meetings and we just do our own shit. It's nice." He shrugged. "That's why I'm constantly out and not at home. Obviously, Yuri and Harry do get a bit worried from time to time, but they do know my friends and how I can protect myself and fight, so they learned not to worry as much as they used to."

He tilted his head at me. "We do need to start spending more time together, just like the old times. I missed having you around. Sometimes, it's not the same, you know." He raised his hand as if to make his point clearer and changed his tone of voice into a slightly higher one. "We'll make sure to find free time so we can go out with everyone again, just...." H/n sighed and looked away for a moment. "Toman is dealing with this stupid Valhalla gang now .... based on what Takemitchy announced, they declared war, so..." He exhaled and rolled his eyes, wanting to quickly drop this. "I think you kinda got the idea what it's been like with the gangs, Toman is always getting into trouble and we barely catch any breaks with other gangs and meetings. So I constantly have to be around, too. I can't risk putting you in danger again just by having you around." His voice got quieter as he told me this. All this time, I did not say a single word. I just stared at my dear, twin brother in the eyes and listened each word. That's what I was here for. 

"I don't know how things would have been like if you weren't there with Draken that day with the others. I don't like to think much about the chances, I don't want to jinx shit. Everything is cool now and Draken is alive.... And maybe thanks to you, too. I feel guilty to say... that maybe I do not regret it much that I took you with me that day with the fight." Alan hinted the rainy night during the festival when Toman went against Moebius. The night hands were covered in blood, including mine and fear, cries and tears were spent over the possibilities of Draken being dead. The image of his blood on my hands and body, as well as Takemitchy's, Emma's and Hina's was unsettling and traumatizing. The only thing that kept me from getting nightmares was remembering my latest interactions with him after, where he was alive and doing well, even boasting about his 'badass battle scar' and how cool it was.

H/n noticed the grin on my face I failed to restrain, and he gave me a playful grin on his own. "Now now, before you tell me anything, no, I'd never want you to go through anything like that again. I just regret taking you with me instead of sending you home a bit less, just because of the way things turned out to be fine. But just because this time things went well doesn't mean..." His grin fell and he paused, thinking about his next words, even if he ended up switching what he was planning to say in the beginning. "Things could have gotten very serious... And if anything worse had happened to you, I would have never forgiven myself." He clenched his fists, his eyes going blank in rage as he could imagine various scenarios of me falling victim of Moebius atrocious acts. "I'd hate myself if you got hurt again, especially by gangs. Enemies can target you just for knowing you have connections with Toman."

His last words made me freeze and I could have sworn I got dizzy. Just today, earlier during the day, I got myself into Valhalla's turf and witnessed so much. I already got hurt once - although by a miracle, I somehow did not get any mark from the punch I ate from that Valhalla member - and maybe somehow got entagled myself with Valhalla, too.

"How's your neck?" I finally breathed again as H/n changed the topic for a brief moment, his h/c eyes looking over my neck.

"Ah, it's fine," I said and swallowed, touching it gently. "It's doing better and the bruising is going away already, but I still use make up to cover it until it disappears completely. It doesn't hurt."

"Good," H/n nodded. "And this will be the last time anyone gets his hands on you." My brother decided with a scoff.

A bit late for that, brother, but I appreciate your determination.

"I'll make sure to find some more time for us two again. At least whenever we don't have business regarding Toman, cause I cannot keep you around with the gangs after what happened." He ruffled my hair gently, to which I responded with a smile and I playfully pushed his hand away. "Mikey missed you. He asks me about you, sometimes even the Kawata brothers and Mitsuya. His sisters also missed you." He laid his back over my bed and put his hands behind his head. "It'd be nice if we hang out again with them again, wouldn't it? Especially Mikey." H/n said and smiled softly to himself. 

-------------

"Am I doing this right?"

"Yes sweetheart, you're doing amazing," Shinichiro gave me a warm, wide smile and looked down at me with his big black eyes, gently patting my head as he watched me mix the ingredients in the cyan bowl. "Here, as you mix these, hold the bowl steady so it won't fall and make a mess." Shini guided me and held the bowl to show me how to properly do it. I held the bowl the way he did and watched as the two eggs, were mixing with sugar, salt, milk and a few other ingredients.

Shinichiro watched me for a moment, ignoring the laughter of little H/n and little Mikey playing and running in the backround around the house as he took his adorable new recipe book and read the instructions on how to bake a cake carefully. "Emma darling, you take this cup of flour and slowly pour it in the bowl Y/n is holding." "Got it!" Emma beamed and held the white cup using both of her hands and carefully emptied the cup of flour into the bowl I was holding. Once Emma started adding the flour into the mix to create the dough, it started getting harder to move the wooden spoon - that's the best mixing tool we could find - around the bowl, as I needed to use more strength since the dough started getting sticky.

Shinichiro took notice of my struggle. He crossed his arms over his chest, hiding the white appron with the pink letters 'Kiss The Cook' printed on it while doing so. He leaned against the counter with a side smile. "You okay there, Y/n?"

"Y-Yep!" I forced myself to say with determination and wiped the sweat off my forehead using my arm - well actually I did not sweat, but maybe I did this as a childish way to express how tired I got from such a hard work, even though I was trying to show off and show that I was strong enough to manage this on my own. "All good! Tell me if you need anything else-" I groaned as I said this.

Shinichiro smirked at me, winking at me. "I think you girls helped a lot today. It's fine if you want to play, I can manage the rest."

"Last time you tried to bake cookies on your own you burned them!" Emma-chan pouted at Shinichiro, raising her finger at him. Her hair was tied with a glittery pink hairtie in a high, playful ponytail. She herself also wore a small pink apron that had the words 'World's Cutest Chef' printed on it. "I think Y/n and I helping you is probably the only reason the kitchen has still not caught fire."

Shinichiro's smile and eye twitched as he made a dramatic gasp and clutched at his chest, as if Emma'swords struck a sensitive spot. "Don't do this to me, Emma-chan...." I snickered at the scene. "It's fine, Shini! We like helping you and cooking together is very fun!" I beamed and jumped, throwing my little hands in the air as I did so. Emma got hyped up with me and did the same, and soon it was the two of us giggling and squealing and jumping up and down together, holding our hands that were stained with flour, mostly. Shinichiro looked at the two of us with sparkly eyes and he held his mouth shut with both of his hands. His cheeks reddened and suddenly the world got bright and sparkly for him. "So cute!!"

"PEEEEWWWWW BZZZZZZZTT PEW PEW PEWWWWW!!!"

Everybody turned to look at Mike who ran straight in the kitchen, holding a figure of what looked like an exaggerated designed villain from a cartoon. Mikey was holding it in the air as he ran around the kitchen and the table, making weird noises as he ignored us all and just focused at how he moved his figure around in different directions as if the character was flying. He also made noises as he dragged the figure across the counter, making it jump from obstacle to obstacle - aka kitchen tools - as if his figure was doing some kind of epic parkour.

"Villain!" H/n yelled out in an exaggerated deep voice, despite his natural high pitched baby voice, stepping into the spotlight. He raised his own character that looked like some kind of detective based on the outfit and the spyglass he held. "You are under arrest! Give up now!"

"Aha!" Mikey laughed like a supervillain. "As long as I can fight back, I will never get caught!" The two boys started running around with their figures.

Shinichiro gasped as he held a few objects on the edge of the counter, the ones that Mikey used for his playground, and thankfully managed to save them all from falling and causing a scene. "Mikey! Be careful! Not in the kitchen!"

I started giggling and laughing at this while Emma scoffed and rolled her eyes at them. "Idiots!"

Mikey then looked at Emma and I. He raised his index finger up in the air and grinned evily as if an idea formed in his head. He ran to another room quickly, to which my brother mindlessly followed, still playing his role to having to catch the villain.

The moment Mikey ran back in the kitchen, he held two new toys. He gave one to Emma, which was a nurse playmobil and gave me another playmobil which was a farmer. It did not seem to bother Mikey that the toys he gave to Emma and me were completely different from his own figurine, which was bigger, more detailed and most likely more expensive.

"Ha! I have caught two hostages!" Mikey said and raised his figure in the air, pretending to have somehow held Emma's and my characters as hostages.

"Release them this instant! Or else!" H/n moved his figure up and down, somehow an indication that his figure was speaking.

"You will have to catch me first!" Mikey laughed back.

Emma and I exchanged looks. It looked silly at first, but the first giggles were exchanged and then we were laughing and started going along with it.

Mikey noticed the flour on the counter and ran to it without a second thought. He grabbed a handful of it, making his hand white and his hand moving making a lot of flour fly into the air and everywhere he shook it. "Kaboom!" He yelled and threw the flour on H/n's way, and most specifically, the figure my brother was holding. H/n laughed and coughed, closing his eyes and waving any particles in the air away from his face. "With this bomb we are now invisible! Your vision is blocked, it is my cue to disappear! Muahahaa!! Come with me, hostages!" Mikey grinned and ran to Emma and I who were laughing. He used his free hand to gently take one of my fingers and one of Emma's together, holding one of our fingers in his hand and gently guiding us away by running outside of the kitchen, as if the villain was escaping from the scene with his hostages. "Noooo! I have to find the villain and save those civilians!" H/n said dramatically and chased after us soon.

All of us started laughing as the four of us ran away from the kitchen to other rooms to play along.

Shinichiro was left in shock by himself in the kitchen, his eyes and mouth were hung open as he stared at the mess Mikey caused with the flour, which was not only thrown around the counter, but also the floor and carpet of the kitchen by him throwing his 'bomb'. "W-Wait a second, who will help me clean all tho mess?!" Then, he looked back at the abandoned work Emma and I had previously been focusing on, thanks to H/n and Mikey's intervening and suddenly making us play and tag along to the game. "Forget about it. Who will help me with making the cake now?" Shinichiro sighed, placing a hand on his head. "Hope I don't burn the cake this time."

--------------------------

H/n grinned, remembering those simple yet favorable memories. "It's nostalgic to think back to those days when we were this small group of friends that played around almost everyday together." He exhaled, his smile dropping a bit. "Obviously, now things are a little different... Toman is a gang taken seriously by everyone. The gang is being expanded and so do friendgroups, the worries and responsibilities." H/n went serious again for a brief moment. "Still, that doesn't mean we can't hang out together and have fun again."

I smiled at the thought of spending more time with my brother. Aside from being identical twins, we had a very strong bond between us and we used to do almost everything together as children. But things change with the time, so of course we started spending less and less time together. Either way, that was by no means enough to change a thing about our bond in the slightest.

Then, I thought of Mikey and Emma and Shinichiro, even if it hurt to think about him. No matter how much as my heart hurt and wanted to cry and think and talk about Shinichiro, my mind kept trying to block the depressing thoughts about him, cause I knew this would only be the downfall of my mental state and cause more issues. Shinichiro was not someone I would ever forget or ever stop thinking about, but I knew better than to let myself get depressed in a time like this. Now was not the time to get emotional and depressed again, so I pressed my fingernails into my palms tightly, almost to the point where they could bleed, just to fight back my tears and emotional pain but also help to keep myself together.

I thought about how silly Mikey was in the past, and from what I could tell, even if I knew Mikey could still be the same silly kid he once used to be, there was another type of maturity he held, which was visible both on his face, eyes, smile, words and tone. Being a leader was no easy task. It only made sense how he would spend most of his time with anything or anyone regarding his gang. He did not have the time to play just as much games with us as we did together as kids, which was understandable, even if it was sad. Still, Mikey would not just abandon or forget his friends and that showed. I was more than happy to keep up with the latest news with him. With Draken too, of course.

And the Kawata brothers and Mitsuya and his sisters, too. They were wonderful company, even if I did not know them as much. I knew H/n was close with them. Anyone my brother could trust, I could trust too.

At the same time, I also trusted people that my brother did not, - ehem, Hanma Shuji and others - but that was another topic.

We both thought about Baji simultaneously and we could feel the negative change of aura in the room. My brother and I did not have to exchange any words as to understand each other and our feelings at that moment.

"What about you? How was your day, you were out for a lot of hours. Where had you been?" H/n shiftly changed the conversation and turned the focus on me, which caught me off guard and made me anxious. His attempt to change the conversation before Baji could be the center of the topic and make things awkward and depressing may have worked in a way, but perhaps this was worse, cause I did not plan to be asked about what I did today, and what I could come up with as to avoid explaining the entire day to anyone. "Were you with Emma?"

"Uh- yeah that's right.... Just went out and stuff." I casually went with this lie, refusing to look my brother in his eyes.

"....." H/n stared at me with an expressionless face, as if he could see right through me. It probably did not take an expert to notice something wrong and suspicious about me, but like I said, I was not prepared. Plus, if there was anyone in this world that could sense anything going wrong with me quickly, that would most likely be him. "You seem a bit out of it today. Is everything really okay?" He raised himself off from the bed back to a similar position to how he was before. "Is there anything you wanna talk to me about?" He was rather careful with his choice of words.

Maybe I was not good at hiding it, maybe he was just good at reading me, or perhaps, both. Either way, one thing was for sure - I could not easily 'hide' from him.

He never were the pushover type of guy who would make me uncomfortable. If I told him him I didn't want to talk to him about something or felt uncomfortable, he would never push my boundaries. No matter how much he would want to help me out, eventually, he would respect my space and tell me that he would always be available for me if I needed him.

However, his love and care for me made it impossible for him to ignore anything that had to do with my safety or health, so he would not easily back down. In the worst case, he would keep an eye on me and wait for me to tell him myself.

That day left me feeling conflicted, anxious and stressed out. Maybe it showed a lot, and if I was in my brother's shoes, I would have not taken my sibling's situation lightly. I would never want H/n to suffer by himself in silence. Neither did he want the same for me.

This was a serious issue and I could not just spill everything that happened today to H/n. I had already been put in danger once by being involved with gangs once.

'I can't risk putting you in danger again.'

'I'd never want you to go through anything like that again.'

'if anything worse had happened to you, I would have never forgiven myself.'

'I'd hate myself if you got hurt again, especially by gangs. Enemies can target you just for knowing you have connections with Toman.'

'And this will be the last time anyone gets his hands on you.'

Today was a day in which so many things could have gone wrong. I could have ended in a worse condition or even worse than just beating or even death. The thought terrified me, and as much as it terrified me, I would never be able to bear the image of my brother's face reacting to this. How exactly was I supposed to approach the situation and explain to him how I recklessly followed some sketchy people with Takemitchy, entered Valhalla's turf and what I went through and saw there?

Sure, it was my fault for being there in the first place. I know for sure I would have never been able to turn my back the moment I saw Takemitchy being led by Kazutora and the two gangsters in their turf and pretend life nothing had happened. I could have called someone instantly and left, but I know for sure that this would leave me stressed out and worried, and perhaps some fights could have happened if anyone from Toman went there to rescue Takemitchy - who in the end left untouched -. Maybe if I had done that, things could have ended differently and in more positive ways... I did not know how, but I hoped that despite everything, I made the right choice.

Chifuyu, although beated up, was fine. So was Takemitchy and I, even if I ate a good punch.

I supposed that this was one of the best and safest outcomes from the situation. It could have ended in worse ways, so that was a positive.

I was introduced to Valhalla by Hanma. Everybody terrified me and by no means would I ever want to be around them ever again, but I could consider it a plus that thanks to Hanma leading them and us having some type of connection, it seemed like nobody would at least dare hurt me again from his gang.

Chifuyu was still suspicious of this when I told him about this, and I was very sure that if I told H/n anything of what happened, not only would he never trust me to walk outside, - or at least unguarded - but he would question the entire Hanma thing going on. Then, I would have to explain to him what happened in the past.

This could make him lose a lot of trust and faith that the two of us had for not telling him or allowing this to happen, and he would become very overprotective over me. This could lead to a serious fight, for sure. But the more I hid this from him and from Toman, the worse things would get if they ended up finding out about this later. Especially if it was someone else - like a Valhalla member - sharing this 'secret' instead of me being the first one to open up about this.

The entire gang of Valhalla, Baji and Chifuyu now knew, thanks to Hanma, that the two of us were connected. Hanma made his 'soft spot' over me clear enough to prove we knew each other previously. I explained everything to Chifuyu, so I was happy he took it better than I expected and promised to keep this secret safe with him - even if it could be revealed by anyone, or even by Hanma anytime to Toman, which could cause some issues and distrust between my friends and brother. Hopefully if that scenario happened, maybe I could explain to then my fear and worry of them getting the wrong idea and getting them to hate me, such as this making me appear as some kind of spy, but either way I knew things would end up shitty.

Baji on the other hand, was the closest person of everyone I had that knew about this... I did not have the slightest idea of what he would think about me. Part of me feared he would snitch on anyone in Toman, but at the same time he made it clear that he did not want to associate himself with Toman anymore. At least that's what he wanted to show, based on Chifuyu's theory. Plus, he did not want me to be entangled in gangs. Either way, he was in Valhalla now, so what would Baji gain from telling Mikey, my brother or the rest about that? Baji wanted to stay away from me, he wanted me to stay away from his business.

If Chifuyu was right about Baji wanting to help Toman, that meant that he was still on our side, somehow. And that meant that he still cared about me, which would obviously make him raise a lot of questions about what was going on between me and Hanma. He would have gotten mad and wanted to know about everything by asking me personally. He would not be talking to Mikey, H/n or anyone else about something he didn't know much about. He was the type of person to want to have cleared things by me personally about this.

Considering how he was in Valhalla and he didn't not want me to be around him, I doubted that he would want to speak to me personally, especially when wanted me to stay away. Perhaps, he himself could either ask Hanma about this to gain information from him, or perhaps not bother... or care.

I closed my eyes and shook my head, rubbing it gently and forcing myself to stop with overthinking. It was a terrible habit of mine to overthinking things and situations and imagine different outcomes and reactions. It was overwhelming my mind and emotions and made me even more stressed out. Instead of thinking of this possibilities and what Baji, Chifuyu or anyone else could be thinking, I had to focus on how to deal with the situation myself.

Such as consider telling everything about Hanma and me and Valhalla and what happened today after Takemitchy left from the turf - starting with my brother - or keeping silent about it and pray that it would not be revealed.

Which I doubted by a hundred. This was not something that could be kept as a secret anymore.

Perhaps, Hanma wanted to make things difficult for me for the fun of it, and perhaps wanted to put me in a situation in which I could have people from Toman doubting me and pushing me away, to the point where I would end up following Hanma and Valhalla. Or maybe, he wanted to let his gang know about the importance I held for Hanma and how much I helped him, and command them not to have anyone hurt me.

When we were hanging out together, he would rarely hold back much of his affection over me. He was not the shy person to hold back or act cute, and neither did he care being affectionate with me in front of his gang.

I would have found this situation more heartwarming if I were not in this difficult situation, in which anyone from Toman, especially my brother and Mikey could lose their trust or love for me after keeping such a strong secret from them and make then raise their suspicion over me. I loved everyone and the last thing I wanted was this.

Back in the Moebius fight, Hanma could have easily snitched out on me in any way and let everybody know that we knew about each other. He didn't. He didn't hesitate to hold back this time, maybe due to the fact that we were in his gang's turf and everybody would question why all of a sudden Hanma would show such care for me and the need to have me safe. He considered it okay to let everyone know about this, but that did not mean that the chances of this fact slipping out-

"Y/n?"

The sound of H/n unusually soft and quiet voice ironically made me flinch and look at him, my mind going blank but at the same time being overheated with thoughts, thoughts, thoughts, possibilities, fears, thoughts, anxiety, thoughts, possibilities, thoughts, thoughts and thoughts.

He leaned close to me and wrapped his arm around me. "Hey, you can talk to me about it, something happened, right?" He spoke softly and pulled me in for a hug, gently caressing the top of my head. "Please talk to me." His voice was very soft, in a way that I had to hear in years from up close.

My heart swelled and my eyes and tense expression softened. I felt my shoulders slouch softly as I felt the warm and soft sensation of being embraced and carefully cared for by my brother.

It was as if his voice, care and embrace alone was melting all my worries and fears away, releasing me from this suffocating feeling of holding the weigh of so many emotions, thoughts and feelings inside both my heart and mind and making them all disappear and turn into hot tears that were threatening to fall.

His reassurance, even if he did not know of the situation, reminded me what he was here for. It reminded me over our shared love and bond, the amount of times we helped and stood for each other no matter what happened, an that he would be there for me regardless. Although, the idea of his reaction from everything that I had to say was terrifying me.

But it was happening now. I started sniffling and crying softly, leaning onto hid embrace. Even if I did not feel ready in any way to tell my brother about this, I could not stop any words that were coming, all these pent up feelings and worries I had collected in such an overwhelming short amount of time over such serious issues made me unable to stop or hold back, no matter the consequences and what could happen next.

Only my brother was the only one who could have this effect on me. No matter what was going on, I was just unable to hold a facade in front of him. My mask would break the quickest when it came to him.

And so, I made him promise not to interrupt me or react in any way until I could finish. Him seeing my state only agreed, realizing that something serious for me was weighing me down.

I told him about the first day I met Hanma those years ago and how, no matter how silly it was, I brought him to my room without anyone knowing. I told him about how it was not the last time and how we two started bonding and becoming friends. I told him how safe I felt around him and how he never did anything to hurt me in any way. I told him about the gifts he gave me, the love, reassurance and his friendship and how rewarding and beautiful it felt to have Hanma as my friend. I told him about the days we had sleepovers and how he comforted me before I left and gave me gifts that H/n never noticed.

I told him about seeing him again in the fight of Toman and Moebius, seeing him stand against Mikey and the talk we had in my room again, in which he was happy to see me again and he refused to hurt me in any way, despite him being the enemy gang and how he still remembered and considered me as his friend.

I told him about the Valhalla incident that day, in which I was there with Takemitchy. I told him about everything that happened and I saw, even if Takemitchy had already explained that to Toman.

But I told him how I still remained there and what happened when I got punched by some guy as he realized I sneaked in. I told him about Hanma beating that guy up, how he so carefully made sure I was okay and helped me. I made sure to even provide some details that I could, once I slowly started to calm down, talking and always keeping my eyes down and away from my brother's face. I told him about how Hanma commanded Valhalla to never hurt me and even protect and care for me, as a way for him to show appreciation about what I did for him in the past, as his way of 'repaying' me.

I told him about Baji, I told him about Kazutora and helping Chifuyu.. And then told him about Chifuyu and I talking. I told him about how I had the same talk with him and he promised to keep my secret safe, as well as everything Chifuyu said about Baji, and how he knew he had a plan and he would never betray us like that.

I told my brother about all those things that I was afraid to tell him, the things that made me fear that would create distrust between us and have to face some consequences. Bit by bit, my chest started to feel lighter as I talked to my brother about all those things, but at the same time my anxiety rised over his reaction.

H/n kept silent, not once interrupting me as I spoke. He barely moved and I did not have the courage to look at him and see the expression he had. Was he mad? Scared? Dull? I didn't want to look at him, even if he didn't do anything wrong. He just listened to me speak, as he always did whenever I wanted to tell him anything when I needed his full attention and advice.

With a tender touch, H/n gently pushed my head against his neck near his chest, using the palm of his hand against the side and back of my head.

"Everything will be okay."

His tone held nothing but care and comfort. It made my eyes water.

I felt him taking a very deep, trembly inhale and he sharply exhaled it through his mouth, but he started petting my head. "All this time and I barely ever noticed a thing." He muttered.

He looked down at me. "You know how I prioritize your wellbeing over anything else, right?" Oh how guilty his words made me feel.

H/n felt like the shittiest brother that moment. All this time, his dear sister's life was in danger and he never noticed, not a single time. She had already gotten hurt, not only once. All those moments her life was and could have been in danger, he was never there to protect her. Even if it was her hiding everything from him, he felt great dread to hear everything his sister told him. He could not always be above her head and know what she was doing to protect her, it was not good or healthy. Either way, he wanted to punch himself unstoppably for letting her experience everything without him there to stop and protect her.

And those nights he was peacefully sleeping in his room, she had been having a stranger with her, someone who could have done anything to her so many times, and H/n could notice only too late.

Indeed, he had to admit in the most loving and caring way - his sister was stupid. She was stupidly kind and oblivious to the consequences of her actions and how even her most innocent and good-willing actions could put her in situations where there could be no turning back, thanks to her trusting and caring for the wrong people.

That was how Y/n naturally was. He knew he could not change her, she could be careless just like that, so knowing that, he wanted to be the one to protect her in situations like these.

The last thing he wanted at that moment was to start openly blaming himself right in front of his sister and make her feel worse. So, he swallowed his words and focused on comforting her and being there for her.

"For God's sake, Y/n," His voice trembled softly and his hold on my head tightened just enough for me to feel a tiny bit more pressure. "Don't just-" He paused on his words. "Don't make me worry like this. You can't just-" He had to be careful with his words. He didn't want to make me feel worse than she already did, but it was true she needed to hear some things. "Don't just..." He paused again, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths, wiping the sweat off of his forehead and gently letting go of me. "I care about you. You know that." He placed his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at him.

I sniffed, eyes still teary that locked with his softly frowned ones. "I know some things happened a long time ago, and you were younger then. You didn't know better. There's no going back in time to fix anything. As long as you're okay," He rubbed my cheek caringly. "I can be more at ease. I'm pretty sure I don't need to stress on what a bullshit idea it was to put a homeless person in your room, without anyone knowing. You know what could have happened." H/n glared softly and tightened his hold on me. At least Hanma didn't do anything to her back then. Right?

"I get it - that was four years ago, things were.... different then," He said hesitantly, as if trying to somehow make the situation sound better than it was. "Of course, that's only because that fucker didn't do anything to you." He lowered his head, taking a few deep breaths to block the worse outcomes of all this, trying not to imagine the worse scenarios happening while H/n was right next to his sister's room or even having sleepovers at Mikey's or Baji's.

"Do you have any bruising or pain in your face and nose?" He asked and leaned closer to look around for any wounds. I slowly shook my head. It hurt if I touched it, but I knew it was meant to be fine. I do not feel that I had any broken bones. The blood had stopped running a very long time ago and surprisingly any redness had probably gone away, which surprised me because I would not say it was a weak punch at all.

"Is there anything else that you want me to say?" H/n asked gently and stared inside my soul, wanting to know if there was anything else I hid from him.

I subconsciously shook my head.

"...... Okay," He whispered and leaned away. "Promise me you won't ever hide anything like this again." He said, his tone sounding something between a demand and a plea. "You know I don't like being over your head all the time... but things are serious here. Even if whatever you told me about Hanma and Valhalla could be genuine," He meant the rule about Valhalla keeping me unharmed, "It doesn't change the fact that you are known among gangs and criminals. Things are much more serious than you can imagine." He glared softly. "You could be very easily targeted." I've heard this before.

'You need to understand that everybody is serious when it comes to gangs. They're serious and heavy issues. The best thing you can do is keep away. Enemies will not hesitate to target you the more they see you out in the open and use you in any ways against Toman.'

Very contradictional of Hanma to say that. Seems like people can really so change their mind overtime. Telling me to keep away from gangs and danger, and then telling me that I am accepted in one and will be protected by sticking around because they are strong.

It kind of made me want to slap him.

"Gangsters are more dangerous and merciless than you think. It takes one person to cause a lot of damage. It's very easy to be tracked down and followed by anyone seeking revenge or a way of causing issues for any gang or enemy gang. It's not uncommon for gangsters to use innocent and defenseless for blackmailing and manipulating gangs and people belonging in gangs."

H/n gritted his teeth. "Don't trust anyone, Y/n. Don't trust them." He warned. "One minor inconvenience and anyone could do terrible things. Especially when someone, anyone from gangs, knows a top dog's weakness, it's only convenient for them to want to strike there. We've seen this happen before."

Right. Just like Pah's buddy. The one who's girlfriend and family was targetted by Moebius. They did evil things to these innocent people, knowing it was a way for emotionally destroying someone in so many ways, taking revenge and weakening them.

Terrible people like them could target me for even knowing I have ties to Toman, or even Hanma, Valhalla's leader. It could be anyone from any gang, really, who would want to take things further and hurt me in order to cause chaos to the gangsters having ties with me. Having my connections with Toman and people from Valhalla was no insignificant deal. My life could be in danger just by being outside or anywhere in that matter, even by people and gangsters that I would never even know of. It was possible for me to be kidnapped, killed or worse, knowing that people were catching up to the fact that a girl who barely knew how to fight had so many ties with gangs, one from which dangerous criminals could retrieve valuable information about gangs from and become the reason of a loved one's downfall.

H/n wanted to protect me from exactly all those dangers that would surround me and have already surrounded me.

I helped ruin the plans of Moebius trying to kill Draken. 

I was the sister of one of Toman's strong fighters, and childhood friend of a few other Toman members, including the leader.

I was Hanma's childhood friend, too, who had been in two gangs as far as I knew and was somewhat of a leader in both of these. And Hanma openly expressed his will for me to remain unharmed, making himself crystal clear to everyone that anyone hurting me would be dealt by Hanma.

And whatever other rumors could be going on everywhere could make me quite the popular person among gangs, in a bad way, knowing that it would be even more dangerous for me to live here and even have my life risked.

The thought terrified me, that I was actually in a greater amount of danger than I was aware of.

Anyone wanting to go against such powerful gangs like Toman or Valhalla and powerful leaders like Mikey or Hanma, would definitely need to find their weak spots.

All those things mentioned above made me very exposed and vulnerable.

"Me and the gang will be there for you and protect you. But that requires you being careful," H/n stated, "We can't have your back if you just.... you know, put yourself out in the open like that," Such as following clearly suspicious people in abandoned areas and dark buildings all by myself without any information about where I was going, what was going on and what kind of people could be there, "- especially in clearly difficult and dangerous situations and keep quiet about it. What if anything could happen to you without anyone knowing?" He asked rhetorically. "Stay out of trouble. Please." He sighed. "The least you could do for yourself if you can't have people being with you all the time is at least informing someone, anyone on the phone about your location and stay away from deserted and dark areas or going out at night. If you need you can call me anytime, I'll be here."

"Promise me." He pressed again. "Promise me exactly that. Please." He narrowed his gaze softly. "You know how we both don't want to share these things with our dads. It's going to terrify them and cause a lot of issues and I am not sure what would happen next... But trust me, if things were to get dangerous for you I would NOT hesitate to tell them about anything further, no matter the consequences. I just want to know that you won't be going to weird places by yourself at night and always tell anyone, me, Emma, Mikey, anyone of your location when you're going anywhere alone, anyone that can have your whereabouts in case of am emergency." He looked down. "It's stupid and unhealthy to just stay at home in fear of anything, but at least we need to take serious measures regarding your safety." He looked up at me again. "Promise me that! And that you will never keep such serious things secret!"

"... I promise." I said quietly after a short pause, my mind blank without any thoughts, not even knowing if I in the end would keep that promise forever for some reason.

"And no more of that Hanma guy."

"...."

"Y/n," H/n's voice was stern. "I know you two were friends-" "-are." I whispered hesitantly. ".... excuse me?" He blinked, not having heard me. I looked away. ".... nevermind," He continued, "-but four years are enough to change a person. He's literally our enemy. He might be your friend, but do you really he would ever prefer you and your friendship over his gang and their priorities?" He asked me, leaving me in silence to think about this.

Would he?

Of course he wouldn't.

He didn't exactly hide his adoration for me, he even told me that I was accepted in Valhalla despite being in 'Toman' in a way, unofficially as a member of course, but as Mikey said, I was in the family. Being friends with the leader and a few other members, along with being the sister of his friend and gang member was enough for him to consider me part of Toman. Just like he probably did with Emma, although she herself also kept away from gangs.

Despite that, Hanma said whatever he said in front of his entire gang.

Even then, I doubted he would ever prioritize his friendship with me over everything in any way if needed. Hanma was raised in crimes from a young age, and it seemed like he was familiar with being in gangs and leading them. It was his way of leaving and he could have his own goals that drove him to continue with such passion. It was silly to think that anyone with a strong drive like his to abandon and leave behind anything he had worked for so long and hard for, just for a single person or a friend, no matter how much he loved and cherished that person.

I think it made sense, in a way.

"Friend or not, that man is dangerous and unpredictable. You haven't seen him in four years. Who knows what terrible things he has commited without you knowing?" He scoffed angrily and looked away. "Just imagine what disgusting secrets he could be hiding from you, just so you can keep on trusting him."

And that was how my eyes widened and hardened and my heart clenched as I thought of the numerous possibilities.

There was nothing illogical about what my brother was telling me. Just because Hanma had always been nice and caring towards me - so far, it could always take a lead to the worse, especially when it comes to a dangerous and unhinged criminal like him - did not mean that he was necessarily a good person. He had hurt people before, he had commited theft and whatever worse crimes that he would never openly tell me about and scare me.

Until something could happen and I would be unfortunate to see what Hanma could have possibly become over the past four years, something that could prove just how 'good and harmless' Hanma could really be towards me and how 'loyal' he could stay to his words.

'I'm Mikey's enemy. Not yours. I will never hurt you.'

'I haven't forgotten what you've done for me, silly.'

'You're still my friend, remember? I promised.'

'You'd only get yourself hurt. And I don't want that.'

'I do have a soft spot for you, darling. I'm disgusted with the idea of doing anything bad to you.'

'I cannot bear to see my princess hurt.'

'Anyone who messes with her.... Will die ~ ♡'

'She's our princess. Sure, she is Toman blood, but this girl right here is very special.'

'Protect her and care for her and her safety like your pathetic lives depend on it. '

'Valhalla will never be a dangerous place for you, ever again. This is house for you.'

These, along so many other of his sweet, caring words of his for me.

As far as I remember, Hanma was a genuine guy. But really, after so long, was he really the guy to stick to all those things he said, or could he really turn against me out of the blue?

Maybe this was something expected. He was a dangerous criminal, too. He didn't seem good news, no matter how nice he treated me. He could treat me delicately like a princess today, and sip wine from my skull the next day.

Okay, exaggeration, but... still.

I'd like to believe Hanma was not this type of guy. He was not the person I housed for so long.

"Please, for your and everyone's sake... I don't want this to sound selfish, but knowing the circumstances, stay away from Hanma. And don't you ever, EVER make the mistake of letting him in again." H/n warned. "This fucker could have promised your safety, but I would know better than to trust someone like him like this, no matter how 'faithful' he could be towards you. I don't know how misleading this comparison may sound, but... Even the most loyal dog is capable of slaughtering its owner in cases of severe hunger." He narrowed his eyes. "In your eyes Hanma can be a friend that you spent time with, but in my eyes he is a dangerous gang leader with incredible power that he can use without consequences in any ways he wishes. Knowing the dangers and having seen extreme cases, I would know better than to let someone as dangerous in my house, especially my sister's room. Who knows when he could snap and do something that we could never return from?"

That was right. Because even if my safety was guaranteed, it was not the same for H/n. Even Hanma told me that his enemy was Mikey and Toman. He would not just turn soft enough as to stop his plans of defeating Toman over a silly for him friendship. Even if I could let him in my house and remain unharmed, who knows what he could do to somebody else of mine?

Could I risk my family and friends' lives like this?

"... I told him to stay away." I whispered.

That was half truth half lie... maybe lie on the most part. Cause I told him to temporality do so, not permanently. And Hanma himself made it clear that he would stay away and leave me to my peace for a while and then return, trying to find a way to receive my 'forgiveness' or whatever, I did not remember well. He would not stay away forever, but we would sea with this when the time would come.

"Good. I hope it stays that way." H/n firmly nodded.

He slowly got up and exhaled loudly again, giving me a soft smile, one that hid all his frustration, anger and every intense and stressful emotions that was boiling under his blood, wanting to seek revenge from everyone hurting me and putting me through this mess. He wanted to stay calm and collected, positive only for my sake. "You'll be okay as long as we stick to those things we said, together. Okay? And don't worry about Toman and Valhalla." He ruffled my head gently and cleaned the drying tears off my face gently. "We'll beat their sorry asses and be in peace. And we'll get Baji back." I perked up at this. Him noticing that, he grinned and spoke with determination, pulling his hand away. "That's right, we'll get 'im back. If Chifuyu is right, we will have secured victory... and we will honestly be very happy that this fucker did not actually abandon us. And even if Chifuyu is wrong about Baji still being on our side and actually left," He grinned. "I guess we'll have to beat some sense into his empty head."

I smiled and looked away, using my wrist to clean my face. "There we go." H/n smiled back, putting his hands on his hips. He started walking away towards the door of my room, placing his hand on the doorknob. His back was turned against me and his face was now hidden from me.

"Take some rest, alright? You need it after all this," He told me. His finger slightly flinched on the knob which mostly went unnoticed by me. "Everything will be fine, Toman will take care of things. You just .... have some more faith and reliability on your family. Don't leave us in the dark next time something happens, and.... Stay away from anyone in Valhalla." He looked back at me with a gentle smile. "Good night, sis."

"Good night," I nodded and watched him as he left. The room was dead quiet now and even after my brother left, I kept staring at the door, barely blinking once.

My smile faded a bit.

It felt relieving to let these things out of my chest in a way. The anxiety and fear of anyone finding about all these was eating me alive and driving me insane from the inside.

Mostly the fear of their reactions.

It seemed like H/n took it better than expected... But honestly, I felt like he was just containing himself for my sake. He wasn't cool with everything that happened.

He said everything will be fine, but he was not fine with what had been happening with Hanma. He wasn't fine with how I found myself almost trapped in Valhalla's turf and got hurt and scared. He wasn't fine with anything I told him, cause we both knew all of them could have led in completely serious consequences, even if I kept getting lucky and getting away unharmed, on the most part.

But for how long would I keep being lucky?

It's not about relying on luck and doing reckless things.

H/n was very rational with me. He didn't tell me anything weird or bad - just told me to stay away from weird places and preferable, have someone with me when going out and informing someone of my location, something that would be good to do either way, even if in my case it was worse now, because of this kind of reputation and popularity I was suddenly gaining with the gangs, which was not a positive thing.

He told me to stay away from Valhalla, Hanma and anyone among that gang and not trust anything they had said or promised.

Even if I did find it in myself to trust Hanma, it was reckless to trust someone like him so blindly, let alone an entire gang to listen to Hanma and leave me in peace. Yes, I did see the way Hanma beat that guy up for punching me and that was a huge thing that convinced me of a lot of positive things. H/n was not there to see how serious Hanma was over me, he had never seen the two of us hanging out together and strengthening our bond.

But he was not wrong when he persisted on me being careful about putting trust in others and him or Valhalla, knowing the kind of reputation they had and the multiple crimes Hanma had caused. People change with the time and I have heard stories on the most loyal people ending up betraying their loved ones.

I hated to assume the worst, but it was unfortunately necessary.

What left me feeling guilty was that even if I did promise H/n what he wanted, I had a feeling it would not be so easy for me to stick around that promise.

Some people were not done with me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This took forever for me to write :') What can I say, writer's block has been biting my ass an awful lot lately so it started taking me a long time to continue writing chapters.

But it's not enough to stop me from writing my favorite book >:) I have to feed my readers after all and things will be getting interesting upon the Valhalla arc. I have honestly been waiting for this from the beginning of writing this story.

This chapter was long and I don't know if it was exhausting for you to read, since it was more talk rather than action or anything too interesting, but even chapters like these are necessary in my opinion. After all, sitting down and having different conversations with people like this is something that tends to address issues, thoughts and help people get closer and learn more about each other. Plus, it shows the MC's tendency to overthinking and panic over these things.

Before writing these parts of the chapter, I was planning on not letting Y/n share these 'secrets' happening with anyone (aside from Chifuyu) and especially not her brother yet, but at the same time I wanted to make this a bit realistic in a sense, that made her feel stressed out from what had happened to her in Valhalla that scared her - and it could scare anyone irl really - and suddenly she is spilling everything out of the pressure, to a person she trusts a lot and was afraid to tell anything in fear of him reacting negatively against her.

And H/n, being the supportive brother that he is, wanted to comfort his sister and try to reassure her that everything will be fine, but also advises his sister to stay away from trouble, avoid sketchy areas and people and always stay in contact with someone, which is something even happening in real life unfortunately, so we really need to be careful out there. Y/n is protected by plot armor, the effect of being, y'know, Y/n in fanfictions, the love of all these characters and of course, me :3

It's a shame things are not as simple in real life but anyway let's not get into such deep and strong topics, just you guys be careful out there-

Yeah I was originally not planning on writing this scene in the story, and I planned on having H/n learn about this in a different way but in the end I was like Fuck it, change of plans (happens often).

I just hope I am not making things confusing here cause it feels I am getting repetitive with some things ╥﹏╥

Either way, this chapter also gave Y/n the opportunity to hear some things said from Chifuyu and H/n and also have her question her own way of thinking and acting in situations, cause at first she was all about hiding things (out of fear) and then she has people caring about her and telling her to rely on them more for her safety, as to also not stress herself about the gangs situations, but still stay away for obvious reasons.

Next chapter will be way more interesting, I promise you that, take care everyone!

NEXT UPDATE: August 30th