Munch.

I threw another piece of popcorn in my mouth from the bowl between my legs. I was sitting on the couch with my legs crossed and I was watching a boring movie that was playing on television. Both my dads were absent for work which meant nobody was occupying the couches or television. They were all mine.

I heard the door being opened and I looked to see my brother's back facing me. He was already in the house. He closed the door behind him with a 'thud' and removed his shoes.

"Oh, I thought it was Yuri or Harry coming early," I said and kept watching the movie.

"....." I did not receive a response and I turned back to glance at my brother again. He was silent. And as his twin sister, I knew something was up. And I knew for the past... maybe two days? He was in a weird mood but I didn't want to intrude. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He replied immediately but with a cold tone. "Just peachy." He walked quickly to the bathroom and shut himself in.

I lost interest in the popcorn and movie, clearly sensing that something was off. I frowned and looked down at my bowl of popcorn with no appetite anymore. I put it away and quietly walked towards the door of the bathroom and anxiously waited outside, leaning against the wall, crossing my arms and staring down blankly.

It didn't take much time for the handle to be twisted and the door to open. We made eye contact. My brother's cheek was a bit swollen and he had put some patches over his face.

I wanted to touch his face and cheeks gently but I knew it would hurt. "What happened to you? Who did this to you?" I frowned and said in worry. "Did you fight any enemies? Anyone from another gang?"

H/n glared away from me and remained there, clenching his hands. "... Yeah. Exactly as you said that. Faced an enemy. Someone from another gang." My brother replied with a lot of spite. It was strange to see my usually calm brother behave this way. His entire expression carried hate and irritation over something or someone. "And the enemy's name is Baji Keisuke."

My heart dropped low as I heard this and my expression went blank. ".... What?" I stared at him in pure disbelief.

"Yeah," He confirmed with a huff and started undressing his top part to change, turning his back to me. "That motherfucking idiot literally dumped us and went with Valhalla." He clicked his tongue. "Stupid fucking shit. Just leaving like this, like the idiot that he is just like that, after everything we've been through and especially in this moment and just letting go of everything and everyone to join another gang. Valhalla. Join Hanma Shuji. Can you believe that? Especially now that we are preparing for a fight with a very big gang bigger than us. And he joins THAT? Does he want us to fucking get killed, lose and die?!" H/n said harshly and looked at me with a dark frown.

"Woah woah woah-" I shook my head and held it, looking at him. "What? I-I've missed a lot. Please tell me what happened!"

My brother threw himself on the couch and took a big sip of his bottle of water. "A few days ago we had a meeting," He started. I got flashbacks of the date with Emma and Draken, when Draken told us that he had to leave for an important meeting. That must have been it. "Apparently we got a new guy from Moebius replacing the third division and Toman was not happy." Wait- I knew that Kisaki was the new captain of the division... He was a Moebius member?

I shivered at this in discomfort. Kisaki was in Moebius?!

"And as if that was not enough-" H/n continued, making me quickly forget about Kisaki and focus on his next words, "Baji wanted to show off his amazing punches and idiocity and quit Toman and told us in our face- MIKEY'S face that he was leaving Toman and joining Valhalla." He threw his empty bottle with force on the ground and rubbed his face. "It was ugly."

"And now he won't pick up any phonecalls or reply to our messages. He has been ignoring us like the plague. I saw him outside today and I couldn't hold back. Things got heated. I was already pissed by the meeting thing going on but I held back. This time I couldn't help it." He put his hand on his face gently where he got punched by Baji. "I wanted to give him a piece of my mind and rock some sense into his shit, but he's fucking nuts. He won't hear anything and it's like-" He looked at me with a glare. "It's like I'm a fucking stranger to him, Y/n! No- enemy. I'm an enemy now. And Mikey is. Draken is. Chifuyu is. Everyone!" He exhaled I'm frustration and messed with his hair.

"What..." I said in disbelief, frowning and thinking about all that. "But why? Why did he do that?" It was impossible to believe that Baji was leaving Toman just like that. Wasn't Toman his family? Was he not one of the founding members, the captain of the first division? And I knew these boys had a thing for fighting, but he went hard on my brother out of pure negativity and hate. This was not a playful fight between friends. It was serious and it was clear some serious things were going on that I was not even aware of.

My mind was unable to process all this information so far. Did some kind of argument or fight happen to cause this? How bad could it be to the point of Baji leaving Toman and going against his friends like this? It was not like him. It was definitely nothing like him. Baji loved Toman and his friends more than he ever showed. He would never do something like this out of the blue and with no reason.

"Baji being Baji." He sighed and stared at the ceiling emotionless, letting his beat up face relax. "Baji has always been fucked up in the head like this and done questionable shit. But this goes beyond the limit. Nobody can get to him and understand what the hell he is thinking and why he's doing this. I'm convinced he just loves to play shit like this." He then clicked his tongue and threw himself off the couch. "Hope Valhalla treats him right. Shuji will definitely love 'im and treat him nice in his new family. If Baji does not somehow end up with his tail between his legs crawling to us begging like a worm, that is." He spoke in pure sarcasm, even though the ladder was something Baji would never do.

He walked past me and quickly placed a hand on my shoulder, before leaving and pulling it along with him. "I'm going to sleep, Y/n. Sorry to bother you, forget about it. Baji is just weird. Whatever phase he is going through his mind will pass and he will feel beyond stupid when it does." He grabbed the handle of his bedroom door, his hair covering his face. "And if he doesn't, who cares. We don't need him. We don't need stupid traitors who are all about words and lies and then proceed to leave their team and family the moment a minor inconvenience happens. Fucking coward," He closed the door furiously behind him and I could still hear him muttering things.

The house went quiet and not even my breath was heard. I was just standing there outside the bathroom door and my eyes locked mindlessly at my brother's door and just thinking and processing everything he told me about Baji, my concern, confusion, anxiety and my own frustration increasing.

It was not just the fact that I was feeling all these because of what happened and the damage my friend did to my brother.

It was the fact that I could not understand why all this was happening.

It was too late for me to send a message or make a call to Baji, so I had to wait until tomorrow, where it would be a new day and hopefully Baji would be feeling better. After all, I was sure he must have also been having his own issues and feeling heated with the fight he just had with my brother, which unfortunately only resulted in some ugly bruising and swelling instead of resulting in any communication and actual solution. I just hoped he would pick up the phone next day and speak and listen to me, without targeting any anger towards me.

After all, I never did anything bad personally for him to treat me the same way... Right?

.....

All I knew was that I wasn't liking this at all. I didn't want anyone of us to fight and break friendships or Toman. I wanted Baji to get along with everyone. I wanted everyone to get along with everyone.

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

The first thing I did the moment I woke up was gather the courage to call Baji a few times after I noticed that he was never replying to my messages either. He was not picking any of the calls.

Here I was now, standing right outside the entrance of his house after knocking and waiting patiently for the door to open.

Miss Ryoko was the one to open the door. She smiled at me, putting a hand on her hip. "Y/n, good morning. Surprised to see you, come in!" She immediately let me in and we sat on the couch. She gave me a cup of water and I politely declined any of her offers for biscuits or food. I was not feeling like eating with the current situation. And I didn't tell my brother that I was going to pay Baji a visit.

"Has Baji been okay lately?" I asked quietly, hoping he wouldn't hear me from wherever he could be. The woman frowned and sighed, "I don't know what's up with this boy. He suddenly got so quiet and moody. He either spends his time outside going God knows where or he is locked inside his room. And he won't really talk to me. He says everything is fine but I am not convinced." She sighed and crossed her arms. "You're a sweetheart and I don't want to put you in any difficult positions but... Do you think you could try talking to him?" She requested. "I know he really likes you and I doubt he would ever be rude to you, but with his current situation, I don't know whether he would be willing enough to open his door and let you in or speak to you. Maybe he needs his time." She pushed strands of her raven her behind her ear. She looked at me. "Also, if he starts saying weird stuff, please don't take him personally."

"It's okay," I reassured the woman. "I'll try."

I knocked on Baji's door and waited silently, breathing so slowly and quietly and tried to focus on any noise I could pick from the other side of the door, the slightest shuffle or noise. Nothing.

"Baji? Hey, it's just me, Y/n." I decided to speak, taking the hint that he was not going to respond. "I.... I heard that you had a fight with the others. With... my brother, at least." My tone was low, every word made me feel at the edge, fearing that I could say something and potentially trigger him. "I... I am in no position to tell you anything about Toman or how much they all love and cherish you... cause I'm sure that deep down, no matter what and no matter what happened, you're aware of that." I said, looking down and leaning against his door with my back. "And you pretty much know a lot more than I do or I could ever know. You literally created Toman- but enough about that- I'm not really here for the gang talk," I chuckled humorlessly and my awkward smile dropped. "H/n returned upset last night. I'm sure you're upset too, but he cares about you just like everyone. Just like I do, too." I said and sighed, remembering my brother's words about Baji from previous night. It sounded like H/n suddenly hated Baji, but I knew this was not the case. He was deeply hurt, frustrated and felt betrayed by Baji's words and actions. It was not an easy thing and I knew that if I was in H/n's shoes, I would have probably felt the same way, more or less. ".... Please talk to me if you feel like you need to. I'm here for you. I just-" I paused, not knowing how to approach the situation. I exhaled sharply. "I'm here for you. If you need any phonecalls... Just please, at least reply to my messages. Let me know you're geniuenly okay. And if you're not..." I looked up at the ceiling with a sad look. "That's fine, too." I shrugged.

"If things are not okay, you could always talk to me. If you feel like it, at least... Just... please don't leave us in the dark like that. We care about you. We all do and we love you." I leaned away from the door and glanced at it, as if trying to see Baji through the door or at least imagine what he was doing, the look on his face. "Hope you feel better soon with whatever you're going through, but sometimes talking through some problems can solve them better than how punches can. I know it's not your style, but it wouldn't hurt. Or at least talk to me, your mother or Chifuyu. Someone you trust and feel comfortable with." I stopped talking. "...."

"Toman needs you." I whispered quietly under my breath. "We all do and we love you. Please don't distance yourself from everyone for long. Nobody can help you if we don't know what is going on. Don't let yourself suffer in this alone." I said and slowly walked away with a heavy heart.

This attempt to approach Baji felt fruitless as I received no response or reaction from him. I was not sure whether being ignored and left on heard was better than being yelled at in my face, talked shit and kicked out of his door and house, even if his mom was the one taking charge. At least I told him some of the things I felt the need to tell him. Hopefully they would reassure him and help him with whatever had happened, although I had no idea what exactly was his issue here.

'Apparently we got a new guy from Moebius replacing the third division and Toman was not happy.'

I frowned softly at the thought. Could this be the cause of the issue? Was Baji one of the ones against Mikey's decision, hence the conflict?

It did not surprise me that there could be any conflict in the gang with the idea of someone from an enemy gang joining, especially becoming a captain. At the same time, I also knew that everyone would obey Mikey and listen his decisions. After all, Moebius was defeated as a gang so it did not exist anymore.

But to the point of Baji being so against it that not only did he quit Toman and distanced himself from everyone, but also joining the enemy gang just like that, without a heart? It seemed unlikely to me that this was his issue and the reason Baji did all this.

I knew there was a lot more to that. There were so many things I didn't know of. But I could not force my way through information and anyone to learn all that. It was not right to be intrusive like that... But I couldn't help it. It was Baji we were talking about and it felt impossible for me to ignore it all, especially after the way my brother behaved last night. He was clearly affected by this all, and I was, too. I cared about Baji just like the rest. I wanted everything to go well, even if I had no control over anyone or Toman to fix things.

Just talking to Baji and showing him that he had someone to rely on and feel comfortable with, even if it was just talking to each other felt fulfilling to me.

But that couldn't happen if Baji preferred to distance himself from me too and casting me away like everybody else.

It just hurt that he could act cold and ignorant even to me, with whom we had never had any issues with each other. Whatever was going on, I wanted things to go right soon.

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

I was walking outside by myself a day or two later and I made a turn around a corner sharply, but I bumped into two guys with black jackets that wobbled.

"Hey, be careful!" One of them called out to me in annoyance. I noticed they both had crutches for some reason, one of their legs being bandaged up, a sign of injury or a broken leg. It was strange to me that both were in the same condition. "Oh, I'm so sorry-" I apologized and raised my hands up in defense.

"Now now, that is not a proper way to treat a lady."

The sound of a small bell ringing playfully grabbed my attention that came from a guy approaching the two from the back. It was someone with black hair with yellow dyed stripes in a messy wolf-cut style. He had a beauty mark under the right side of his sandy-colored eyes and black outlines of a tiger tattoo on his neck possibly extending further around his body hidden by his clothes. His eyes were big and he was very handsome. I had never seen him before.

He had his hands in his pockets and he had a blank face staring at the two. His hair was covering his left eye. "Apologize to her." He demanded calmly.

The men in front of me tensed and bowed down. "We are so sorry for our behavior!" "We wish you well and we will never get in your way again!" They both apologized.

I looked down at them in surprise. "Ah- It's okay, really!" I chuckled nervously. The boy looked at me and tilted his head slightly, his bell earring moving a bit and making noise and he gave me a handsome, polite smile. He looked like a strange guy but his beauty was immaculate. "Take care, miss." He said and proceeded to walk his way with the men in crutches in front of him.

"Hm...." I hummed and stared at them. "Huh?" I blinked in surprise when I noticed that it was not just the three of them. Takemitchy was tight behind them, giving me an anxious look.

I was about to call for him, but he quickly put his index finger on his lips and motioned me to keep quiet and not speak, to keep quiet for some reason. He quickly looked back on his way and proceeded to pretend go ignore me. He looked anxious and that immediately raised my suspicion. Who were these guys and why was Takemitchy with them?

I kept standing there with a frowned gaze intensely. My mind possessed no thoughts and I instinctively started following the four.

I had no idea what I was doing, who these people were and where they were heading with Takemitchy, but something was fishy and I was afraid that Takemitchy was in trouble. These guys were not Toman members, either. I wanted to follow them and see where they would head and prepare myself to call for help and call someone in case something were to happen to Takemitchy.

I tried to keep some distance and not make any eye contact with them as to not raise suspicion. I could see the earring guy speaking with Takemitchy, but I could not hear what they were talking about. Soon enough, I noticed there was an abandoned building with a sign above it 'Game Center'.

A few words were exchanged between the two while the other guys with the crutches remained silent and I noticed them all walking inside. I frowned and stared at the entrance as they closed the doors behind them. There were a lot of graffiti all over the walls and doors. One particular graffiti was what resembled to a headless baby with wings and a halo - an angel, by the looks of it, but a headless one regardless.

I took my gaze away from the graffiti and thought to myself of what to do. Part of me wanted to call someone, perhaps my brother or Mikey and let them know about this, but would they actually even be able to come?

I took an inhale and exhaled sharply, deciding to push the doors a bit and see what was going on. Just take a peek and then leave quickly and act accordingly depending of what I would see.

My anxiety rised as I hesitantly approached the doors and opened it a bit.

The entire place was foggy, dark and dirty, it was like entering a basement with barely any sources of light, yet after a while I could see a few things. The area was bigger than what it looked on the outside. There were some benches here and there and in the center I squinted my eyes to see what was going on.

I shivered and held my breath when I noticed that a very big group of boys were gathered in the center, looking at something. All of them were wearing long sleeved white jackets and I could see some black symbols on the back, ones that I could not see well from the distance, however. I noticed one singular jacket resting on the bench, thrown carelessly and it was not occupied by someone.

Yeah, it's scary here and I need to get the fuck out before anything happens. This is not a place for me to be at. I'll call my brother-

As soon as I was about to lean away from the doors an leave, I looked outside to see three guys wearing the same white jackets notice me from the distance.

They saw me peeking right through the doors. "Hey, who's that?!" One called from afar and tried to look at me better. "Fuck!" I muttered under my breath, my mind being enveloped in pure panic by being noticed.

I could start running right here and now away. It was day and I would be able to run in the daylight, but we were in some weird areas with very little people outside to confide in for help, and most buildings were abandoned. Plus, if those deliquents were faster than I was, I would get caught for sure.

Maybe it was a very stupid move indeed, but I quickly threw myself inside the building and closing the doors as quietly as I could. I panted quickly in panic and looked around the place frightened of anyone looking at me. But they were all busy chanting some things and by the looks of it, I could clearly tell some kind of brawl was happening.

The only thing I wished was that it was NOT Takemitchy.

But even if it was, I had no way to stop anything and save him. By the looks of the place and the jackets, it was clear to me that this was a gang.

This wasn't good.

Shaking my head to wake up, I knew I had been noticed intruding in this place, and the only thing I knew was that I could not escape and leave the building. Not now, at least. Unless there were any other exits I could unsuspiciously leave from, it would be a miracle, but for now I had to fit in and make sure I blended in with the crowd.

In order to do that, I had to look like one of them.

I immediately snatched the forgotten jacket on the bench and hurried to wear it. It was just a bit oversized for me, but nothing too much. I quickly zipped it up to my neck, ignoring how hot I was getting under it and how it reeked of sweat and cigarettes and quickly pushed my hair back and wore the hoodie, pulling it as much as I could to cover my face.

The first thing I needed to do after escaping this hellhole I stupidly threw myself in - aside from praying for Takemitchy's safety and calling someone for help and let them know of the situation -, was to throw myself inside the shower and clean every part of my body to rid of myself from all the smell and bacteria.

If I were to leave the place alive, that was.

I wanted to curse myself for being so reckless and stupid as to put myself in such position, especially when I had no weapon with me to protect myself with, but I was too busy panicking and wanting to run away or break down and cry from the fear and panic. I had to get out of there and I physically and mentally needed to do that as soon as possible, but if I were to show that I panicked or any suspicious behavior and attract any attention, it was over for me. Had I been noticed by anyone, the worst things would happen to me.

For now, I had to recollect my breath, get rid of all the terrible thoughts, focus and throw myself with the crowd and behave normally. After all, there was no much reason for me to worry if I was not the center of attention.

Everyone was now silent and standing frozen, making room in the middle for whoever was fighting. Everybody's stares were cold, hard and intense. They all looked like merciless monsters and psychopaths with the way their gazes were fixed like predators on the center.

I quickly averted my gaze from them and pulled the hoodie lower on my face.

The doors of the building were pushed open and the guys that had noticed me now entered and started looking around them. Thankfully, they didn't make any noise and nobody turned their attention away from the fight to look who walked in. They could have easily alerted the rest of the gang and have everyone looking around for me and I had no idea why they didn't do that. Either way, it was held to my advantage so I could not complain or think about it and jinx it.

I held my breath and slowly walked further into the crowd. I could see the backs of the white jackets now, and I was surprised to see a familiar logo. It was the headless angel from the entrance door. And above it were the words 'Valhalla' written.

Among the many individuals with the white jackets, I noticed two boys who were the only ones with plan black uniforms. It was the guy from before and Takemitchy!

I felt myself lighter upon seeing the blond and I instinctively walked just a bit closer their way to stay near him. I looked at his face. He looked terrified. Whatever he was seeing was brutal and intense.

My wish of Takemitchy not being in the fighting center was thankfully granted, cause he looked perfectly well, alive and untouched by anyone there.

But seeing the cause of attraction of all these gangsters almost made me pass out on the spot, cause even if it was not Takemitchy being beaten up, all the relief I felt instantly vanished.

I had to physically refrain myself from reacting, crying, holding my mouth and showing any reaction or weakness that could instantly rat me out. My breath started to pick up slightly and it was difficult for my to keep my breathing at bay.

Chifuyu was laying on the ground, almost unconscious. He was being punched brutally in the face, blood spilling and covering his face, nose, mouth and teeth. His mouth was open and he made noises of pain with every punch. His eyes were closed. It was almost difficult to tell it was Chifuyu. Everyone was staring at him and his attacker with no remorse or care. In fact, many seemed impressed and geniuenly shocked.

It was difficult to accept the fact that the victim was Chifuyu of all people. Not just because I was not expecting to see him, but because of all people, the person punching him was none other than the person Chifuyu loved, cherished and respected with all his heart and devotion.

Baji Keisuke.

The raven haired boy stared at Chifuyu's face from above with eyes blank and widen. His hair was pulled backwards in a ponytail. He punched Chifuyu's face mindlessly, his face had spots of Chifuyu's blood. It was straight out of a horror movie.

The scene made me feel physically and mentally disgusted and disturbed. Not just because of the live violence and blood, it was not the first time I had experienced that. But seeing the friend I loved and cherished so much treat Chifuyu like this, a boy so nice and sweet, so unproblematic and not only that, but someone that considered Baji his best friend and held so much love and respect for him...

It was sickening.

This was not Baji. This was a monster. I did not recognize this person. Even if he looked exactly like Baji, I refused to accept it was actually him.

Baji would never do this. He would never be so violent and cold to someone he loved. Especially not while he was staring inside their soul while they laid unconscious and defenseless under his grip.

"Kazutora-kun..." Takemitchy silently spoke, "What's going on here?"

I looked at Takemitchy with eyes wide.

Kazutora-kun.

I recognized that name. I could recognize it from everywhere. It instantly clicked.

Baji had told me so much about him. Kazutora and Baji met as children after I left the country. Kazutora was the kid Baji saved from his manipulative 'friends' and supported each other. He was the reason Toman was created in the first place, if I remembered correctly. To protect Kazutora and support him. That is, if I remembered correctly, cause memory and understanding can be flawed at times.

Baji and Kazutora had a strong bond, nonetheless. And he was the one who killed Shinichiro that day.

This man was Kazutora. The one I heard so much from, the boy that Baji communicated with through letters with his friend in juvie was released. The one that killed Shinichiro, Mikey and Emma's elder brother.

The one that Baji was with during that tragic night, when they were trying to get Mikey that motorcycle as his birthday gift and killed Shinichiro... accidentally.

Both Baji and Kazutora suffered tremendously from the guilt and the burden of Shinichiro's death, someone's death upon their shoulder, Mikey's brother.

This man, Kazutora, of whom I've heard of about from Baji so many times was here, standing before me and I was not aware of this until now.

My brain was fuzzy and overwhelmed with fear, panic and all the information. I was in danger, trapped in such a terrible and dangerous place. Takemitchy could quite possibly be in as much danger as I was. To make matters worse, I was seeing Chifuyu being beaten up - and hopefully not being killed, for God's sake - and Baji breathing him up. It was too much.

I was sweating but also feeling cold. I was trembling and fighting all the power I had to remain on my feet, not pass out and break down or do anything drastic that could put me in danger and stay calm.

It was all too much.

All my senses were begging me to scream, let it all out, cry, leave and run away but also save Chifuyu and Takemitchy.

All my senses screamed at my entire being to cry and yell at Baji, not even I knew what words would leave my mouth if I could speak to him face to face at that situation.

"What's it look like?" Kazutora smiled at him casually, as if the scene happening right in front of him was a fictional scene from television. "It's a test of faith."

"A test of faith?" Takemitchy was confused.

Kazutora tilted his head at him, smile never fading and his big sandy brown eyes portraying no emotion. It was the look of a psychopath, nothing like what he behaved when the two men bumped into me. He behaved so kindly there and even told them to apologize to me. "It's to test Baji's belief in our group. Going from Toman to Valhalla is like changing religions. You need to show resolve." Kazutora explained.

"The guy Baji's beating on right now is Toman's First Division Vice Captain. He's Baji's most trusted retainer." Hearing Kazutora speak these words were like a knife piercing through my soul.

"The First Division's Vice Captain?!" Takemitchy asked in shock, staring at Kazutora right through his eyes. Kazutora looked unfazed.

"Toman is Valhalla's enemy." Kazutora said simply. Takemitchy looked back at Baji and Chifuyu. "If he's going to betray his old God Mikey, he's gotta stomp out his old beliefs."

Baji panted a bit and proceeded to finally leave the poor boy alone. He stood up and stared down at Chifuyu, or the floor and panted heavily. Chifuyu was laying there frozen, his face twisted in pain and filled with blood. His face would be in a terrible state in a few minutes from now, if it were not already messed up.

I wanted to throw up.

The silence was loud for a few minutes as everybody stared at Baji taking his moment to calm down.

Then, he looked at a specific person. A grin stretched upon his face, as if he was left unphased by the beating up he inflicted on the boy he shared his yakisoba with. "Well?" Baji asked, "That good enough for you, Hanma-kun?"

As if everything about this situation was not shitty enough, I had to hear this name on top of everything.

Baji grabbed his hair tie and freed his hair, letting it fall down. "You gonna let me into Valhalla now?"

Many Valhalla members stared at Baji unblinking. Hanma was sitting somewhere high, his legs spread and his elbows rested on his knees, his tattooed hands facing everyone. His head was facing down the ground. He brought his face up, looking at Baji with a huge smile.

"Damn, dude." A guy with big sandy brown eyes, no eyebrows and a short-shaved cut, blond with black stripes and shapes on his hair looked at Baji, eating some snacks from a bag he was holding, some pieces of the chips stuck around his lips and cheek. "That guy's been by your side forever." He commented with food still in his mouth.

"Surprised you went that far." A bald guy with brown eyes and some tattoos up his left eye and his cheek going down chuckled.

Another blond guy wearing his black hoodie and a black face mask narrosed his gaze at Baji and remained silent.

Baji's smile dropped and he glared at them. "What? I didn't come here for a friggin' lecture."

Hanma stood up. "Kazutora."

"Hey." Kazutora replied, eyes staring right at Hanma, smiling. Hanma returned a lazy smile. "You ready?"

"Yup. This is Hanagaki Takemichi." Kazutora said and looked at the blond Toman member with a certain smile and look on his eye that screamed 'DEATH'. "The new member of Toman."

"Huh?!" Takemitchy gasped and I tensed up, suddenly getting even more scared. I started trembling under the jacket. Oh God, please, no, not him too- leave him alone-

Hanma hopped down, putting his hands inside his pockets and slowly approaching Kazutora and Takemitchy. He looked down at him. Jesus, the height difference was big.

Hanma was close to them, but also closer to me. It was hard to look at him. It felt like Hanma would have the ability to see right through me.

"You're Hanagaki?" Hanma asked, looking at him as if he were a child. His smile fell. "Get up here." He commanded.

Takemitchy was trembling in fear and whimpering and he stood frozen in place. Someone pushed him forcefully. "Go!" Takemitchy gasped and stumbled on his feet, almost falling but he held himself up.

Baji stared down at him, unimpressed. "You're the twerp from the other day." He said casually. By this line, I could tell that they already met. The few bandaids on Takemitchy's face were most likely the clearest proof of this. "Did you come here to get killed?"

Seeing Takemitchy in this dangerous position was incredibly scary. I did not want him to get hurt. Not like how Chifuyu did.

Will they sacrifice Takemitchy? Will he get beaten up by Baji too?

Could I let this happen without doing anything? Could I even stand there and watch without-

"Kill him!" I flinched when someone chanted out loudly, raising their fists in the air. Soon enough, everybody joined in... except for me. "Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!" Please, don't..

Hanma raised his hand up, making everyone fall in silence. He started walking back to where he was, "One of Toman's founding members and its First Division Captain, Baji Keisuke!" His back was facing the crowd, showing off the Valhalla symbol of the headless angel and he spread his arms. "He says he wants to leave Toman behind and join Valhalla!"

Many Valhalla members started whispering and muttering things, Baji's name being heard from all over the places, both by my right and left, although I couldn't see from which people exactly as I held the hoodie up and kept my gaze down low, not even knowing if I was even noticed by anyone. "A Toman higher-up wants to join Valhalla?" "Isn't that bad news?" "Nah, that's amazing."

"Yes!" Hanma said and climbed up the stage. "This is one hell of a deal!" He placed his right hand on his hip. "Baji joining us will be a huge help in our plan to crush Toman."

I shivered and held my breath, sending a look at Takemitchy's back. I couldn't see his face but he was terrified to the core, just as much as I was.

"But first, we need to make sure of something." Hanma noted. He narrowed his eyes and smiled softly. "He might be a Toman spy."

I felt a weird, warm sensation go through my head and heart, making me a bit dizzy and it sparked something in my brain. The thought and possibility of this.

Looking down at Chifuyu and thinking about things, however, raised my suspicions and crushed my hopes of this. After all, Baji quit Toman on his own despite Mikey not wanting this and him never telling Baji to act as a spy. It was unlike Mikey to play the game this way. And Baji even distanced himself from everywhere and had a physical fight with my brother and had harmed Chifuyu so bad, it was impossible of Baji to be faking all this.

"Which is why we had Kazutora prepare a witness." Hanma continued. Takemitchy flinched the moment he, along with I, both noticed simultaneously that he was the supposed 'witness'.

"We'll now summon the witness!" Hanma explained loudly. I flinched and my heartbeat increased further. Hanma was so terrifying and it was the first time he had made my anxiety rise to the top like that. He was nothing like how he was back in my room when it was just the two of us.

He could have easily hurt me and did something bad if he wanted to, but he really was nice and careful with me, although he could kill me if he wanted to.

But he didn't.

"Hanagaki Takemitchy." He lowered his voice. Takemitchy flinched. "Yes?"

"What do Baji here say at the last Toman gathering?" Hanma questioned.

I looked at Takemitchy. "Um..." He blinked, thinking. "That he was going to Valhalla and that Toman was his enemy."

Indeed, that was nothing new for me. Although I was not there in the Toman meeting, H/n did basically explain that this happened.

Hanma looked at Kazutora. "What do you think, Kazutora?"

Everybody's eyes shifted at the boy with the tiger tattoo. "We did a test of faith and summoned a witness. That's probably good enough." Baji had long wiped the blood off of his face clean. "Baji's gonna be useful to our forces and he knows a lot about what's gone on in Toman since I've been gone." Kazutora explained with a smile. "He's definitely worth bringing into Valhalla." Hanma stared at him unblinking.

Kazutora looked back at Baji with a prideful smile. "Are you sure about this, Baji? We're gonna crush Toman and..." A serious look appeared on his face and he frowned his eyebrows softly, his eye glinting. "Kill Mikey."

..... Kill Mikey?

Kill Mikey?

Kill Mikey?!

I gasped under my breath. "!!?"

What?!

There was no way Baji would agree with this.

Baji stared at Kazutora unblinking, his eyes portraying no emotion. "Yeah." He muttered a while later.

He placed his hands on his knees and he bowed down at Kazutora, his hair cascading down and hiding his face. "I'll help you out, Kazutora." Baji's voice was filled with determination and devotion, making his will crystal clear to everybody.

Takemitchy was much more expressing of his emotions and shock than I was, for clear reasons, and Kazutora smiled in pure satisfaction. "I think that's enough."

Soon enough, Hanma hummed and smiled, finally deciding that he was okay with this. "All right!" He called happily. "Starting today," he spread his arms out again. "Baji Keisuke is officially a member of Valhalla!"

Everybody took this as a sign to cheer for the victory of Valhalla to obtain such a powerful member. Everybody raised their fists up and yelled out.

I could not even pretend for anything. I stood there frozen, close to hyperventilating as I was trembling and my eyes were watery as I stared at Chifuyu laying unconscious on the ground.

Hanma grinned psychotically as he stared at the serious looks Takemitchy, Kazutora and Baji had on their faces but also at his entire gang.

"You're kidding me.." I could see Takemitchy mutter and tighten his fist. He was deep in thought and it killed me that I did not know what he was thinking... But I knew it wasn't good.

"Wait a sec!" Takemitchy called out at Baji with a raised voice, making everyone go quiet in pure confusion. "You're one of the founding members of Toman along with Mikey-kun, right? Baji-kun? Why are you betraying them?!"

Takemitchy was voicing exactly my thoughts. Baji blinked arrogantly. "I'm a founding member of Toman, so I shouldn't betray them?" He smirked and glared at the blond. "Give me a break. He's a founding member, too." Baji said, meaning Kazutora. Takemitchy looked at him.

Kazutora looked at Takemitchy with his serious look, before giving him an innocent smile and head tilt, his bell earring ringing. Takemitchy sweated and blinked, his lips parted.

"Kazutora has a grudge against Toman." Baji started explaining. "I'll never forget it."

Then Baji told the story to Takemitchy about Shinichiro, the details he had told me in the past.

My entire body and emotions went numb to the point where I stopped trembling as I had to remember the events of that cursed night.

Baji however was speaking so comfortably with that stupid grin on his face, as if he had never been affected by anything ever. "I didn't have to go to juvie because Kazutora defended me. I've been waiting for Kazutora to go free."

"Nice, Baji." Hanma complimented. "If that's the case, you're definitely welcome." Hanma grinned. "Here!" He said and threw a Valhalla jacket his way in the air shiftly. "That's Valhalla's jacket."

Baji caught it in the air and wore it, adjusting his sleeves. He grinned, as if he was proud to betray Toman like this and join foreign blood like this. "Go and tell Mikey!" Baji mocked pridefully.

Takemitchy flinched, once again at Baji's words and he looked at Baji with a surprised and worried look.

"One week from now on October 31st, Valhalla versus Toman in an abandoned car lot. Shit's goin' down!" Hanma laughed and told Takemitchy in order to tell that to Toman.

Takemitchy was terrified.

"Go," Hanma said and lowered his voice, looking at him with a dark look and grin. "Ha-na-ga-ki." Hanma spoke lowly.

Takemitchy gasped and trembled. He took a few steps back, looking around him with a frowned look, trembling, before he quickly rushed put out the building, pushing the doors open and escaping.

All of a sudden, even though I felt relieved that Takemitchy got away without a single injury, it felt so much cold, dangerous and lonely in a way.

Although he had no idea I was even there with him, close to his back and although under any circumstance, we would not be able to protect each other or even ourselves.... I felt scared. I felt terrified because now, it truly felt like I was by myself.

Even if Baji was there, with what I witnessed, it didn't feel like Baji was there at all. And even if Hanma and I... did have a good relationship, I still felt unsafe, scared and cornered. It felt like he would kill me if he found out I was there.

"Hanagaki...." Baji scoffed with a grin. "What a dumbass. Toman will have nothing against Valhalla." Baji boasted. "Not when Mikey starts bringing in weak wimps like him."

"Damn right," Hanma commented and grinned at Baji. He was definitely happy to have such a strong guy on their team now.

I felt a powerful fist hit my face with force. I let out a short cry in pain and surprise, although it really took me a long time to realize I was punched and fell to the ground.

Before I could actually process this, however, I was pushed on the ground with my face by my back being kicked. I used my hands to guard my face. I gasped when I felt someone grab the back of the jacket and force myself in a sitting position on the ground. My head was hanging low and I was panting and I could see some blood falling from my nostril from the punch and spilling on the ground.

"Sir!" The man responsible for my punch called out. Everybody's attention was now on him and me.

The worst thing that could happen.

I was still in a state of shock, fear, paranoia, anxiety and panic that no forms were correctly formed on my mind and I could barely focus on the pain of my face and nose or the tears that blurred my vision.

"Infighting?" Hanma asked with a blank, unimpressed look.

"No sir," The man grinned and walked next to me. "In fact, we had a little worm crawling inside!" The man said with a grin and grabbed my hoodie.

No, wait-

He pulled it backwards forcefully, revealing my hair that had gotten very messy and all over the place, covering my entire face.

The man had not looked down at me and he kept grinning at his boss. "This guy stole my jacket while-" he looked down at me and paused completely.

The entire room was silent.

"..... that's not a guy."

Someone muttered.

The voices and words of the deliquents flew over my head. I was panting and trembling, my face red and nose bleeding slowly and eyes teary. I was whimpering under my breath.

"Hey, girl."

Mt heart dropped when I heard Hanma's voice speak. "Look up. Let me see your face." He said. His voice was full of authority and power.

I really slowly and slightly looked up, my narrowed, frowned eyes locking with his.

Hanma remained silent with a poker face, but I could swear his eyes widened a bit when he noticed who I was.

"...."

Kazutora, although he himself had an expressionless face, widened his eyes a bit when he noticed that it was a girl who had snuck inside and just got punched, but also most definitely recognized me from earlier.

I accidentally made eye contact with Baji. The look on his face was something else. His eyes were widened and trembling, his jaw clenched. I could see him muttering my name. He looked... almost terrified to see me there and in this state. He tightened his fists and took a deep breath. There was no denying that he was in a state of shock and disbelief upon realizing that all this time I had been here, observing and watching every single of his movements, heard all his words and saw every spill of Chifuyu's blood on his face.

Most importantly, he was shaken by the sight of me injured.

Although somehow, he was totally okay beating the shit out of Chifuyu.

It looked like he was ready to act, before Hanma got up and started walking towards me. I stopped looking at Baji and kept my gaze fixed on the ground.

Suddenly, it felt as if I was not really afraid anymore. I almost felt at peace, as if accepting whatever that was going to happen to me.

Hanma walked towards me and crouched down, staring at me in the eyes. He gently lifted my chin with his finger to face him. I refused to look at him. I made no sound or movement.

He used the sleeve of his white jacket to gently rub my face and my nose, really carefully wiping the blood away and making sure there was no more. He did not mind getting his white jacket stained with my blood. He simply took his time cleaning me and paid no attention to anyone staring at us.

"You shouldn't have been here, Y/n." Hanma muttered to me.

He lifted himself off the ground and slowly walked past me. I kept my gaze on the ground, staring right through the few blood drops on the dirty, dark ground, so hard that it felt I was getting drawn inside it.

I felt calm by Hanma approaching me since I had accepted my fate. But at the same time.... I felt another type of calm when I felt him gently hold my chin and tenderly clean the blood of my nose like that.

He did not punch me, he did not hurt me, make fun of me or throw me into his men like fresh meat to a bunch of hyenas.

Everything was silent and I refused to look at anyone as Hanma walked past me. Everything was silent for a moment, before the entire silence was cut by the sounds of multiple heavy punches against skin and bones. The man who punched me was heard groaning, grunting and crying out in pure pain. It was easy to understand that Hanma was giving a very serious beating to that person behind my back and I could even hear blood spilling out, as well as the man gurgling in his own blood. Nobody was making a move to do anything and neither was I. Everybody remaimed silent, just staring in fear and terror at the scene, but nobody even thought of questioning their leader. I just blankly stared at the ground, feeling numb.

After what seemed like forever, every noise stopped just like that and everything went silent again. Hanma slowly walked right by my side and he knelt down. I saw his arms slowly reaching to me. They were filled with dark, dripping blood. But even if he touched me, I was covered in a Valhalla jacket. I would not be tainted by the blood by skin.

"May I?" Hanma asked quietly next to my ear. "...." I gave no verbal response. I slowly shrugged. That's all I could do or care for.

Gently, Hanma wrapped his arms around my waist and slowly lifted me off the ground before letting go of me once seeing that I was standing on my own. He gently pat my head and softly pushed some hair strands off of my face and used a clean part of his jacket to wipe the remaining blood and tears off my face. He gave me a small smile. "There." His smile fell again. "I cannot bear to see my princess hurt like that." He gave an empty, degrading almost look at the person laying further behind me, and by the look of things, I was convinced that the man behind me was either unconscious, severely injured, paralyzed or simply...

Gone.

Hanma looked back at me and stared at my face. After a while, he looked at his gang. "Do you know what just happened to him?" Hanma called out and pointed behind me, but I was not even going to turn behind me to see how this person turned out to be like. Everybody looked disturbed to the core and it unfortunately gave me an ugly idea of what happened to him. Quite possibly, that guy could have suffered even worse than Chifuyu.

"He got punished for messing with my friend." Hanma said strictly, glaring at the men. "Anyone who messes with her...." He then gave them all a huge grin, blood spilled on his face and cheeks. "Will die ~ ♡" He said in a high pitched tone, despite his raspy voice in a maniac way.

By the looks of people, the man behind me did not simply 'die'. He went through something worse than that. Something agonizing.

"So I better not see anyone, in any circumstance, lay a single finger on her." He grinned and playfully ruffled my hair. "She's our princess. Sure, she is Toman blood and the sister of a Toman member, but this girl right here is very special." He said and placed his hands on each of my shoulders and placed his chin on the top of my head from behind, grinning at the rest. "Call us childhood friends, if you will. Protect her and care for her and her safety like your lives depend on it." Hanma said and whispered to me. "Valhalla will never be a dangerous place for you, ever again." He said and walked away from me, spreading his arms and smiling at me like a happy child. "Just like you gave house to me, this is house for you, too. Upon today, no scum will ever harm you again... Especially under my and Valhalla's guidance." His smile softened although his chesire cat eyes not smiling. "Consider Valhalla a loving, safe place for you. Just like you treated me when I needed some help." He said geniuenly.

After so many nights of me taking him to my room and giving him so much, spending so much time with him and making this a safe place for me, Hanma wanted to return the favor somehow. He wanted to show me that he had his own safe place with his people and he was willing to let me enjoy the safety it provided with the power Valhalla had, even if I was technically 'part' of another gang in a way.

But his enthusiasm was so great that he failed to see how disturbed and traumatized I was by everything that had happened and what I had seen. After everything happening do far, the last thing I could do was see this as a 'safe place' for me to casually chill with everyone. The people here were terrible.

"Just don't expect to be trusted with valuable gang information." He playfully said. "Can't have anyone snitching on our secrets~"

I remained silent and just stood there, not looking at Hanma. Everybody was quiet and Hanma's smile and excitement faltered slightly. "... Hey. Princess?" He paused. ".... you okay there, Y/n?" His voice was quieter as he leaned down a bit for me.

I looked at him blankly, hiding my emotions. "Hanma..." I spoke quietly. "Please... don't come visit me for a while."

Hanma stood there frozen and stared inside my eyes in pure silence at my words. "...." He went awfully quiet and stood there, I could see the excitement on his face and eyes slowly fading away. He understood exactly what I said and how I felt, he did not need to ask and push further. He got the message that all this experience traumatized me to the point where I did not want Hanma to appear by my window anytime soon at home to spend time with me and see him.

It hurt a lot more than he would ever show.

He looked up at the rest with a calm smile. "Well, I think that settles today's meeting." He waved his hand and closed his eyes. "You're all free to go."

Baji joining Valhalla was now officially recognized among everyone and these news would soon be transfered to Toman by none other than Takemitchy.

At least it was a good thing Takemitchy had already left and did not have to witness all this and get even more worried. I was sure Takemitchy would have done something stupid that could have gotten his ass beaten up somehow.

I could not force myself to even look at Baji who was standing there. I could feel his intense gaze piercing through me and I had no idea if or when he would suddenly walk to me or try to speak to me.

Hanma looked at me. Everyone was walking away towards the exit of the building, the place filled with murmurs and many people passing by us would glance and stare at me like some type of monument. Hanma paid now attention to them. "Are you in pain?" "No." I said. I was lying. "...." Hanma sighed. "Sorry you had to see this, but it's just how it is. I told you to stay away from gangs. Tough shit happens, it's the way it is. How did you even..." He stopped. "At least let me take you home."

"I'm staying with Chifuyu." I said blankly, staring at the boy on the ground. He was alive, but unconscious. "I don't want to be around anyone else now." I said, not even able to say his name. My voice trembled quietly. "I just want to take Chifuyu away from here. I don't want him to die." Not even tears could appear.

"....." Hanma kept staring at me and then looked at Chifuyu. His eyes narrowed as he could see that this was a huge mess for me. "... This guy is your friend, huh." Hanma said quietly and out his hands in his pockets. "Well, Baji really went far with him." He said.

This was a strike right through the heart and nerve, my eye twitched.

"Your friend will be fine." Hanma reassured me without emotion and sighed. He could clearly see how shaken I was with all this. "I'm sorry, Y/n." He said quietly. He was genuine. "But some things must be done-...." He stopped and spoke, looking away with his hand on my head. "You wouldn't understand." He patted my back.

He looked at me. "I'll let you rest your mind. I won't be visiting you for a while, but I want to make it up to you somehow." He said almost stubbornly. "I'll give you a few days. Then you must accept my apology."

He was not sorry for anything that had happened. In fact, it was all part of how he worked his gang. He was just unhappy that I got traumatized like this and even got hurt by his own member, though he was not going to be an issue again. He wanted me to forgive him and continue being on good terms with him.

Hanma rubbed the back of his head and pouted. "Gee, all with the bad impressions these days.... Can't catch a break and have it as we did like back then. Yet~" He gave me a wink, his way of trying to lift my spirits.

"Oi, Kazutora." Hanma called at Kazutora. Kazutora smiled at Hanma. "Yes?"

"Come over here." He said and looked at Chifuyu. "Take the boy with you and guide Y/n out. She cannot be dragging this guy around by herself in this situation."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Kazutora said and grabbed Chifuyu almost carelessly, throwing him over his shoulder without much struggle. He faced me and immediately gave me an 'innocent' closed eye smile that would make any girl or guy swoon over him. At least until they got to see what he was like. Because to me, his empty smile looked like a failed attempt to reassure me in any wy and just looked creepy and cold to me.

I looked at Baji who was standing there on the same spot. He had a hard, dark and narrowed look on his face. He was turned on his side and facing down away from me.

I stared at him, standing there. ".... Baji?" I forced myself to call. My voice sounded more desperate and soft than I intended it to.

He narrowed his eyes further and refused to make eye contact with me. His expression was filled with anger, irritation, frustration and possibly, a bit of regret.

Nobody knew what was going on through his mind. Nobody, no matter how deep anyone could try looking in his eyes.

"... Baji? I'm talking to you," I said quietly. Hanma and Kazutora remained silent and stared at us. "Why are you ignoring me again? I came to your house looking for you - I wanted to see if you're okay and you just-" My voice trembled and tears threatened to spill. ".... Do-... Do you hate me, Baji?" I asked.

Baji scoffed and looked away, tightening his fist.

"Did I do anything to you? You fought with the others. Not me. Then why are you ignoring me?" I held my tears back, not wanting to cry in front of Hanma and Kazutora again. I felt emotional and overwhelmed, I could not help it. I was in a very stressful situation. "What did Chifuyu do? How could you do this so easily? Isn't he your best friend? Or am I wrong? Are... Are we nothing to you?" My voice cracked and I frowned. "Did you not feel anything-"

"Just go home, Y/n." Baji said fiercely and glared at me. "This doesn't concern you."

He was so cold, speaking to me like nothing I said mattered. "Take care of your nose or whatever and go home. 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." Baji said angrily yet quietly. "I made my choice. I joined Valhalla. I don't give a single shit about Toman." He then turned his back on me and started walking away. "Don't come chasing after me again, Y/n. Don't come to my house trying to find me again."

I stared at him and I felt my heart being ripped and shredded into pieces. It felt the way people would describe a heartbreak of a couple of many years of bonding and loving each other turning into hate and ignorance like that. But oh, this was worse.

It felt like he took my feelings, emotions, love and care for him and turned it into dust and threw them right in front of my face, disregarding me, my feelings, everyone and his friend and family away just like that.

A singular tear rolled down my eye.

"Shame on you."

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

The walk outside was very silent, only occupied by the sounds of Kazutora's and my footsteps.

I kept staring down in silence as we walked. My entire mood was downright shitty after everything. Kazutora looked just fine, although he kept looking at me with a soft frown and those big eyes. He clearly had no idea what to say or do to comfort me. We were both in the two exact opposite moods. In fact, he was feeling more than good, being out of juvie, having Baji join his side and the whole Mikey thing.

After I said the last word to Baji with all the pain I could muster up, I turned my back and left. No matter how much Hanma wanted to comfort me, he understood that he was not the person I was looking for to be comforted in any way and just sent Kazutora to help me with Chifuyu and to take me whenever I needed to.

Not like they cared about Chifuyu. But they knew it meant a lot to me, more than they knew so instead of leaving me to carry him and go through do much difficulties, pain and fatigue, out of their care for me they would help me out for the sake of my mental and physical health after what I went through.

Kazutora silently walked next to me with Chifuyu still unconscious over his shoulder. I could feel his gaze penetrating right through me although I refused to make eye-contact or even ask anything.

"You don't look okay," Kazutora said quietly. "Do you ... need anything?" He asked. I could tell he was not used to this, but it looked like he was surprisingly a bit genuine.

".... no."

".... hm, alright." He hummed and looked around. "How did you get in? Did you follow us?" He asked.

I sniffed and rubbed the tip of my nose. "I wanted to make sure Takemitchy was okay." This was the only thing I said and went silent again. That gave him the idea of what happened basically and me following them and witnessed just about anything. Oh, and I had thrown away the 'borrowed' Valhalla jacket.

"Don't go by yourself following sketchy people like that," Kazutora said in a scolding manner, as if I was a child not having finished my assignments. Although it was ironic how he used the word 'sketchy' to describe the people I followed, in which he happened to belong in. "It's very dangerous. People here can be dangerous." He then sighed and gave me a big smile, his earring ringing. "Glad to see you're okay though. After what Hanma said, nobody in Valhalla will be a danger to you again." He looked at me instensely inside my eyes unblinking, a strange glint in his eyes, my reflection able to be seen through them. "Nobody in Valhalla will hurt you again." He smiled again at me. "You're safe in Valhalla from now. At least something good came out of this, yes? Don't let anyone terrify you in Valhalla anymore, you heard Hanma!" He monologued. "Say, Y/n-chan... Are you and Hanma friends?" He asked.

I walked and thought about it, not speaking and I kept my head down low. It felt as if I was betraying Toman, my friends and brother by this, but the enemy gang was the first to learn about Hanma and I before Toman could. "Eh... yeah, I-.. I guess you could say that..." Kazutora kept a blank face and blinked at me as I spoke. "I mean... I kinda helped him out in the past and let him in my room.... secretly." I muttered the last word. I kept my gaze on the ground as we walked slowly. "And he kinda started visiting me more and we spent a lot of time together. Then I had to leave abroad for a few years and I... I recently came back, but weird things have been going on with gangs..." I ran my hand and fingers through my hair and sighed sharply. "Things got complicated after that, I don't know."

"So you're not friends?"

".... we are." I said, uncertain. "Um- yeah. We are." I said with a bit more confidence. "It's just really weird to be friends with someone your friends and brother hate so much, someone who is on the enemy side." I said awkwardly, knowing that Kazutora was also an enemy to Toman- us.... Toman..

".... Hanma likes you a lot." Kazutora commented. "He definitely showed it back then." He said with a humorless chuckle. Who even knew what he was thinking in his mind? "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." He grinned.

'From now on, Y/n is part of this family. Toman. Treat her well with respect and take care of her.'

'Mikey only focuses on what and which people he considers important to him. It shows how much of a soft spot he has for you.'

'You're part of the family too, you know. Toman has your back.'

'Ken-chin has a lot of respect for women and he doesn't want you or Emma to get hurt.'

'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.'

"It honestly makes me relieved." His smile faltered a bit, his voice shaking me off from my thoughts. "I wouldn't stand being in a gang where people abuse women." He muttered under his breath, along with a few other things.

I turned to look at him, feeling geniuenly surprised and a spark of respect. This was nothing that I expected from him. But it was nice to see that he respected girls.

"Do you trust strangers like that this easily?"

Kazutora's question out of the blue made me raise my guard all of a sudden. I looked at him with eyes widen. He blinked owlishly. "No, really- You just saw a homeless guy and you took him in? That's crazy," He laughed a bit. "Seriously.... don't do that." He said quietly. "Not everybody is a nice person. Not everyone will respond well to your kindness." There was a blank look on his face. "You won't even notice when you'll be taken advantage of." He smiled again and faced forward, immediately switching topic.

"Baji told me a lot about you." He said. He noticed the look on my face, but he carried on. "Baji was never allowed to come see me in juvie, so we would send letters to each other often. He seemed to love telling me all about you." He said enthusiastically, his mood shifting from one moment to the other. "He was always so happy whenever he wrote something about you. He told me that he really wanted to introduce me to you someday when I'd get out. And I had been very excited too," He gave a closed eye smile, tilting his head. The sound of the bell charm hanging from his ear was definitely catching my attention everytime he moved his head. "I won't tell you what he told me about you in detail, though~" He said playfully, as if showing clearly that he would not expose any 'secrets'.

The lively behavior he was showing me was so disturbing, considering the fact that it looked like he was carrying a corpse on his shoulder. He looked so ecstatic that I was convinced he wanted to tackle me in a hug, but apparently he did not want to seem inappropriate and forced himself to hold back. His face would constantly switch between a cold psychopath and an excited puppy. Yeah, I had a feeling this guy was pretty unpredictable.

He looked troubled.

"You're really pretty," He suddenly said with a smile, his cheeks a bit red. It came so suddenly that it took me by surprise. "Heh," He raised a hand in defense, while the other was wrapped around Chifuyu's legs. "Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable..." He looked back at the road, smiling. I had clearly noticed that with the time he had started to slow down his footsteps more and more, making us walk a lot slower and take us longer to get to Chifuyu's home (who was Baji's neighbor) but I didn't question it. Maybe he was tired carrying Chifuyu and wanted to slow down.

"You're very special to Baji," Kazutora muttered. And Baji is precious to me. He swallowed those words. He looked at me in the eyes and stopped walking. I stopped as well, making eye contact with him. "Don't take his words at heart." He smiled emotionlessly. "He just wants to keep you away from trouble."

"...." I stared down at the floor. "I don't understand." I said. "It's not just me. It's Toman, too. Everyone. Mikey, too." Kazutora's smile disappeared off his face.

"He-...." I paused and looked down. I inhaled and exhaled.

For some reason, Kazutora's words to me about Baji talking about me a lot to him and considering me special felt empty to me. Baji had never been there one to just stick to words but not actions. It were always his actions that showed how much he cared for someone. The way he treated me so coldly and disregarded Chifuyu's condition like this was beyond shocking and heartbreaking. It had me wondering if he even cared in the first place from the beginning, or if he just woke up one day and chose to be an asshole and never care again.

He was so complex. I could not understand him and decipher anything about his behavior anymore, the more I tried to make sense of the situation the more confused and frustrated I became.

"If I'm actually so special to him, why did he keep on pushing me away like that?" I frowned. "... I doubt he cares about me. Maybe not anymore, for some reason. I just... I never had an issue with him. He just left Toman like that, and now he probably hates me because of a fight he had with my brother." I scoffed and kicked a rock. "Baji, that idiot... Treating me as if I were his problem in the first place. I don't want to talk about him now. I'm tired." I sighed. "I had a tiring day. I want to help Chifuyu and go rest. I've had enough for today." I rubbed my face, feeling all the fatigue wash over me.

So much happened in such little time, all the anxiety, anger, pain and fear made me feel at least thirty years older than I was.

Kazutora stared inside my eyes with his blank look. He hummed softly. "... Okay." He smiled widely. "I won't talk about Baji again."

If Baji's way of caring for Y/n is pushing her away, Kazutora was sure Baji would appreciate it if he took care of her and protected her in his place from now on.

Kazutora already liked her. He could definitely see why Baji-san and Hanma liked her so much. To have these two have such a soft spot for her really said a lot about her.

Baji had already told Kazutora enough about her in the letters for him to have formed an opinion about her, even before meeting her officially. She sounded a lot and looked like his type, but he also knew Baji liked her. The question was... did Y/n like him back, especially after what happened?

Seeing and meeting her up close was so much better. Shame, they didn't have the most proper introduction. It sounded more dreamy in his mind meeting her under better circumstances. But she was much better than what he had envisioned in his mind.

Kazutora slowly had to make her feel better around him. Maybe, maybe he could change her mind about Toman and Mikey and get her on their side. He would never want to entangle girls in gangs, but both of them already knew Valhalla accepted her. Or at least, upon Hanma's commands and threats.

After everything that happened in Valhalla's turf, she was scared. Of course she would be. It must have been terrible for her to hide among so many dangerous and vicious men, thirsting for blood and being thrilled over someone being beaten up and drowning in their own blood. And she was hurt. That was unacceptable. The nobody who punched her didn't know she was a girl before he punched her, yes, but still, unacceptable. How could she feel safe in such environment?

Her relationship with Hanma was weird and maybe even unstable in a way and her relationship with Baji was turning strange and possibly crumbling apart, making a huge downfall. Kazutora did not feel the happiest to see Baji and Y/n have so much tension between them, after Baji talking about Y/n and the bond, trust and comfort they built within each other. Of course she would choose Toman over Valhalla like this. She had her friends ans brother there, as she said.

Kazutora was sure that Baji did not have any issues with the girl, he was very certain of it. He liked her too much to push her like this and hurt her feelings. Kazutora could only guess that Baji wanted to keep her away from him and the gangs, so she would not try to convince him to come back to Toman -considering she was his weakness- and he needed to hurt her so she would let him go and stop.

It was a bit sad to see the two's relationship slowly turn out like this, but Kazutora knew it was the right thing for Baji to do that.

At least, that's what Baji would do. If Kazutora was in his place, he would have taken the girl with him.

Not by force, of course. He'd slowly convince her. Slowly, carefully and respectfully, until Y/n understood the situation and his feelings and would be willing take his side after using the emotional bond he had built with her built from understanding, love, communication among other things. That was not manipulation though - it was not hurting anyone in the first place, right? At least not the 'right' people-

But Baji being Baji, he did things his way. He pushed her away as his way of showing how much he cared, but obviously not anyone could see through his actions.

Kazutora could see how hurt Baji was, how he despised seeing the look on the girl's face, see her hurt and hear the pain and betrayal in her voice.

So, Kazutora wanted to take care of the girl on Baji's behalf while he could not. He had to admit, the selfish part of him was happy with the idea of being around her and building a good bond with her. He definitely liked her and protecting her from danger and from Toman's delusions was something both Baji and Hanma wanted. It would be a lie of him to say it was not a want of his, either. Sure, he basically just met her, but with Baji's letters about her, he felt like he knew her for an eternity, even if she didn't. It was okay. It was a good thing that she didn't know anything else about him. It would give him the opportunity to show himself as a better person, even if he had his guilts, suspicions and fears over her seeing Kazutora in a negative light after what happened with Shinichiro.

Which was another motive for Kazutora to get revenge on Mikey. It was all Mikey's fault. Kazutora did not kill Shinichiro, he did not do this on purpose- no- what is he saying? In fact, it was not even Kazutora who do this. It was Mikey, it really was him. He was just given the blame and forced to carry a burden he shouldn't have been - along with people's hate and other personal issues, too.

Not only would Kazutora enjoy the sight of Mikey's face upon seeing his loved ones being turned away from him and bring him down, but he would actually get closer to this certain girl. He needed to be far more considerate of her than Baji or Hanma was. Kazutora was far from stable, but he could not show himself to her. She would hate him and be scared, even if it was those impulses making him do things. Kazutora didn't want to turn out to act like Baji and hurt her and push her away for whatever reason and he didn't want to have this strange relationship Y/n described that madebhee uncomfortable and confused. He wanted to secure a stable friendship and relationship with her, starting slow, nice, easy and careful and getting her to feel comfortable enough.

Perhaps a plan a bit too easy in the mind of someone with such a twisted childhood and mind who was not even stable himself in any way.

He hoped she would be as understanding as Baji said and listen to him and understand that Kazutora was not the bad guy here. It would be nice if the two could become friends and she would accept Valhalla - accept Baji again and Kazutora.

Kazutora was not the kind of person to open up to anyone and trust people like that. He had severe trust issues growing up, developing since his early childhood years among friends and family. It was hard to trust anyone.

The only person he could fully rely on was Baji. The bond between them was unbreakable, Baji was even willing to leave everyone behind for Kazutora. He took Kazutora's side and Baji felt another sense of comfort and happiness with him.

That's why he believed in every single thing Baji told to Kazutora. Baji has proven it with his words and actions that he would stay by his side.

"Ngh....."

Kazutora and I were both shaken from our thoughts once a quiet, raspy groan of pain was heard from the unconscious boy hanging from Kazutora's shoulder.

"Chifuyu!" I called out and quickly rushed to his side, raising my hands to touch him but stopped. "Kazutora, help me put him down."

Kazutora silently did as I asked, gently putting the boy to lay down on the ground. I sat on the ground by Chifuyu's head and gently held the bad of his head with one hand, protecting it from the ground and another on his chew that was stained with his own blood. Kazutora was standing up and staring at Chifuyu with a blank look. He clearly had no care for the blond boy and he only assisted me cause, I could only guess, Hanma ordered him to help me out with him.

"Chifuyu, hey, can you hear me? Chifuyu? It's me, Y/n," My voice trembled as I noticed his eyelashes flattering. The muscles around his eyebrows and lips twitched occasionally, perhaps from the pain and confusion and he slowly opened his eyes. He was exhausted, in pain and clearly out of it. "-gh...." His green eyes slowly danced around the sky he was facing. Once he started gaining some consciousness and realized he was awake and he was laying down, he locked his eyes on mine.

I was leaned over him with a worried look. "Thank God," I muttered under my breath, "How are you feeling? Can you hear me?"

"..... what..." The boy's voice cracked, he had definitely put a lot of effort to say that singular word. ".... Y.../n.....?" He kept staring at me and his voice was barely heard. Although I was relieved to see him awake and recognizing me, I could not help but feel even more worried. "I was worried sick about you, hey do you remember what happened? How many fingers am I holding?" I raised three fingers for him to see. He stared at them. "....." I flinched once I saw him slowly get in a sitting position without any help. He held his swollen, bloody and cut, bruised face and trembled, hissing in pain and he lowered his face, his blonde hair hanging down. "Easy-" I held him by his shoulder gently.

"Ack-.... I'm fine, Y/n, I promise...." He whispered, still not facing me. ".... three fingers." He noted in the end. "..." I stared at him, feeling the strong need to help him in any way I could. But it was clear he was in a stage that he needed to recollect his thoughts, powers and adjust to his surroundings. So I had to give him exactly that.

It took Chifuyu about a minute to slowly come around. He would gently rub his head and face and groan, look around and breathe and he insisted on standing on his own feet, so I had to help him out.

Chifuyu squinted his eyes and looked at Kazutora who was standing there, hands in pockets and staring at Chifuyu with his big sandy eyes and an expressionless face.

"You- bastard...." Chifuyu gritted his teeth and took a defensive stance right in front of me, blocking my view of Kazutora. "Y/n, this guy is dangerous!" Chifuyu yelled out. "Quick, run away and go ho-"

"Chifuyu, it's okay!" I said and put a hand on his shoulder, making him glance at me from the side with wide eyes. He immediately recognized Kazutora, hence why he was in such a defensive state.

"He helped me carry you outside and take you home, it's right in the corner... He is not here to hurt you." I said and deep down prayed these words were true, because if Kazutora got a weird mood change and decided to beat up Chifuyu - as if he did not go through a lot already - I did not know what I would do.

"What- what do you mean?!" His eyes widened and he glared at Kazutora, gripping his fists threateningly. "What even happened and why are you here?" He asked, clearly being confused after being beaten up by Baji in Valhalla's turf and then he wakes up outside with a Valhalla member and me. "Do you know how dangerous he is?! Why would he be carrying me home?! How did we even get here, how did you appear and where is Baji?!"

"Chifuyu please-" I rushed to make him calm down and held tighter onto his shoulder to prevent him from jumping at Kazutora. "I'll explain it all to you, please calm down for now I'll tell you everything!" I understood his confusion, frustration and stress and he had every right to be feeling the way he did, but if I did nothing to cool his temper and his tense emotions down, there could be another fight and I knew for sure who would be victorious between the Valhalla member and the beaten up Toman member in pain.

Kazutora was staring at the two of us with his poker face, unimpressed by Chifuyu regaining consciousness and suddenly snapping this way. How rude of this bastard to wake up and ruin the moment and talk he was having with the girl, let alone disrupt his thoughts?

"Now now, no need to get all fired up," Kazutora slowly raised both of his hands up in front of him around the height of his neck, closing his eyes and forcing a smile. "I've just been assigned to help the lady carry you home, nothing more and nothing less." Kazutora turned his back towards us and lowered his hands. That was enough to make Chifuyu a bit more relieved, although his glare darkened and his narrowed green eyes did not leave Kazutora's figure. "Now that you're conscious again, there is no reason for me to stick around any longer, right?" He turned his head side-ways and gave Chifuyu a big eyed look, a wide grin stretched on his lips and cheeks and he looked very threatening. "I have a feeling you might pull a stupid move on me and I'm afraid I would lose my temper and react in an inappropriate way in front of her. That would be very ungentlemanly of me." He pouted. "It was orders to help Y/n-chan out, not bother or stress her any further today."

Kazutora was the type of person who was not afraid to fight or cause bloody scenes. He didn't care in the slightest. But he clearly had his own way of showing his respect to me which seemed to be quite a lot, considering Hanma's and Baji's ties with me, Hanma's orders and the fact that I was a girl. Althought that made him appear as a polite gentleman, the crazy look behind his eyes and the sadistic smirk he held was enough to prove to me that in other circumstances, he would not hold back on his words, behavior or punches. Just the thought made it difficult for me to swallow. If there was one thing I didn't want to do is to somehow end up in this guy's bad side and witness the depths of his insanity firsthand.

Chifuyu's eyes widened a bit at Kazutora's words. His last line indicated that something could have happened to me and that thought terrified him to the core.

Kazutora only smiled and looked at me. "You need to go home and rest well, oh, and put some ice on your nose, okay?" His tone suddenly got sweeter which was a huge contrast to the tone he used a few seconds ago, as if he was a mother looking after her darling daughter. "You better take a great care of her, Chifuyu. At least while I'm not here."

He lifted his hand in the air and smiled at me, speaking in a high pitched tone. "See you around, Y/n-chan~"

I slowly took my hands off of Chifuyu's shoulders as we watched Kazutora stuff his hands in his pockets and lazily walk away, going back to the road from were we walking from previously. I stared at Kazutora's back, the way his hair moved and his earring flew around and then looked at Chifuyu, even if his back and the back of his head was facing me, hiding his expression.

"Chifuyu.... Are you okay?" I asked gently.

Being the sweetest boy that he was, whatever expression he held on his face was wiped of the moment he turned his head to look at me, his green eyes widened and his lips turned down in a frown. I could see the fatigue on his face and it was covered in a lot of bruises, dried blood and his face was swollen. It was painful to see him like this.

"I should be asking that! Are YOU okay?!" He said, taking a step closer to me and forgetting about Kazutora. "What was that about your nose? Who hurt you?! Did those assholes do anything to you?"

Just his words and the look he gave me made my heart clench. Despite the amount of pain and trauma he went through physically and mentally, he was worried about me. He did not seem to care about his face and his own pain. He looked worried over me. He looked as if he could start crying any moment now, looking at my eyes and nose.

"Chifuyu I promise - I'm fine," I nodded firmly and forced a small smile to look more convincing, but the tired look on my eyes could have proved him otherwise. I gently wrapped my hand around his back and wrapped his arm around my shoulders to help him stabilize better, although he looked alright standing on his own. "Come on, your house is just around the corner. Let's get you home and patch you up and I will explain everything to you." I sighed, knowing that I would have to explain everything to him in detail. I had to.

".... What happened to you, though?" I turned the question to him. "How did you end up in Valhalla's turf? And why the hell was Baji beating you up?" I narrowed my gaze, the tone in my voice going more firm upon mentioning this. "He is out of his mind! He hurt you so bad just to join Valhalla! He left Toman behind, he was very rude to everyone and left you bleeding in pain on the ground like you were-" I held my words and shook my head. "I have no idea what is going on Chifuyu, really, one day Baji just lost his shit and turned his back on everyone and I have no idea why all this is happening."

"I'll tell you everything at home," He looked up, narrowing his eyes and tightening his arm around my shoulders slightly. "As long as you tell me everything that happened to you and how you ended up with Kazutora here." He sighed in worry. "If you're saying all that, I guess you somehow got inside the turf and witnessed what Baji was doing and... what happened afterwards while I was unconscious." His tone dropped. "I'm so sorry that you had to see all this. But Y/n!" He looked at me with a determined look, staring right inside my soul. "Please, don't hold a grudge against Baji for what he did." He looked back at the road as we were slowly walking towards his house.

"Baji has a plan."

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

Phew, this was possibly the longest chapter I have written so far here! It took me a very long time to finish writing this, because it was a longer chapter and I was in the middle of exams, studying and writer's block, but it could not be helped. I'm so relieved and satisfied I finally managed to write this. It took me a few weeks to complete this but at last I did :D even if it was a bit of a pain in the ass to finish it, it was a wonderful, interesting and fun chapter for me to write!

I was planning to seperate this chapter in two divided chapters, but I think that if I did that, you guys could lose the atmosphere I hope I managed to create while writing this. Cause I wanted to create this atmosphere of Y/n dealing with all the stress, fear, anxiety of being around the Valhalla gang as well as the sadness, worry, anger, betrayal and disbelief with the whole Baji and Chifuyu thing going on, cause I think all these emotions mixed together in a single chapter would be nice ig. If I seperated this chapter in two, you guys could forget details that happened until the next chapter would be published so I suppose it would have been less climatic and enjoyable.

I hope I fed you well with this chapter and everything going on :) as well with all the mixed emotions and more time with the characters that appeared. Also, Kazutora is very much happy to be here and so am I, cause I really really wanted to introduce him to the story already.

During the beginning of the story, I was planning on making Kazutora a childhood friend too to excuse his obsession with Y/n, but because of changes of plans we met him in person with the start of the Valhalla arc.

About Kazutora I wanted to say some more things:

I really wanted to write him as a very unstable, unhinged and psychotic yandere and it would be fitting I think, considering this many issues he is dealing with before the time-skip. I've read fanfictions of him being depicted this way and I seriously enjoy these and I am here for it.

Now, obviously he WILL be one and it will show in future chapters. I think it would be a bit unrealistic in my mind if he turned this way for her out of nowhere, but obviously his obsession will increase extremely quickly. As far as I remember he canonically respects women, as (spoiler ig idk) in the time-skip scene with Takemitchy he did say that he did not want to be in a gang that hit women and stuff like that. Now past Kazutora and time-skip Kazutora are indeed very different so he could be more unhinged than the respectful and more collected hot and long-haired Kazutora. Either way, I'd like to depict Kazutora trying his best to look polite and gentlemanly in front of her, even if slowly this could change Idk we'll see.

Plus, his interest and obsession with her also is a factor created by Baji's letters during Kazutora's time in Juvie. In this fanfic, Baji apparently met Kazutora after Y/n left the country, so he would tend to speak about Y/n to Kazutora at times and even send him letters telling him about her. And Kazutora did pick up on Baji's thoughts, feelings and connection with the girl and him being close to Baji would create a mix of interest, jealousy, respect and other things among the need for attention but also obsession with the girl, after seeing Baji's connections to the girl based on his letters. Plus, seeing Hanma Shuji himself hold such respect, love and care for the girl would obviously give Kazutora the idea that Y/n really was special to be close to both Baji, Toman and Hanma out of everyone and be noticed by the two, so this naturally also picks his interest.

Obviously, he will be wanting to get close to her for so many reasons, reasons concerning his own feelings and curiosity, but also Baji and his way of getting revenge of Mikey and Toman. So that's why he will be trying not to scare or creep her out and slowly get closer to her and make her feel comfortable and safe enough with him to fulfill his own wants and goals.

And yes, Kazutora is naturally a very complex character so it is difficult for me to write him the way he would be exactly but I am trying my best :') and I do know that he has severe trust issues and it would be weird if he suddenly opened up and felt safe a girl he just met (gives Anna from Frozen vibes ngl) but considering what I've mentioned above and what Baji has described, things will be a lot different when it comes to her.

All these things together will only cause Kazutora to have many feelings about Y/n, starting with great interest, curiousness and later also developing into obsession, clinginess and overprotectiveness, the need for her constant attention, time but also increasing his jealousy, his madness, insanity and all those great things that could show what a psycho he truly can be- but I don't wanna be saying too much cause you will have to find out what happens next yourselves ('∀｀) The only thing I know is that I will have fun writing scenes with Kazutora.

NEXT UPDATE: August 18th