In his daze, Takemichi finds himself walking in a strange, vast white space. He wants to find a way out, so he keeps walking and walking until he arrives at a place with a table and three completely white chairs.

"Weakling"

"Idiot"

He hears two voices behind him. Startled, he turns around, but the light there is too bright, so he can only vaguely see two figures, one dressed entirely in black, the other in pure white. He wants to ask who they are, but then he wakes up, still startled.

The hospital room where Takemichi lies is probably the busiest in the hospital. The core members of Touman, his friends, and Hinata all come to visit him. To be honest, Takemichi feels confused right now. In a moment of urgency, he did something dangerous, and he doesn't know what to say, especially to Mikey and his mother.

Takemichi's mother hasn't said anything since he woke up, which has been more than half a day now. It's a sign of her extreme anger. When everyone arrives, his mother is still friendly to them and says she needs to go home to get some things for him. Hinata's eyes are wet, but she tries to smile and be cheerful.

Takemichi thinks everyone will ask why he acted so recklessly, but they all behave very normally, talking about how they will have a celebration when he recovers or planning a beach trip, reminding him to take care of his wounds and to get well soon. The visit is very lively and cheerful. No one mentions the incident during the fight, and Takemichi, with all his questions, doesn't know how to ask. When everyone leaves, Mikey stays behind.

"I told Kazutora that I would forgive him if he comes to his senses and apologizes to Baji and you," Mikey says, sitting on the hospital bed with his back to Takemichi. Takemichi can't see his expression. He just quietly says, "Thank you."

After that, there is a moment of silence. Mikey suddenly turns to look at him, his face cheerful as usual.

"Why are you thanking me? I should be thanking you."

Mikey's voice softens. "The thing is... I did hate him a lot, but if he sincerely repents, I would still forgive him like I forgave Baji. But he's always been so wayward. Without you, he would never come to his senses. If not that day, there would have been another day when we would have killed each other."

Takemichi can sense the sadness in Mikey's words.

Mikey continues, "I still don't understand why you did it. You risked your life to force me. But Baji said you did it for him, for Touman, and for me, so I won't ask you to explain."

Mikey suddenly moves closer, leaning on Takemichi's shoulder. Takemichi panics as he feels Mikey's body trembling. Mikey is crying. His voice is choked and strained.

"Please don't ever do that again... okay? I can't bear to see that happen again, Takemitchy."

Takemichi feels his eyes sting. He didn't intend to use such an extreme method, but at that moment, he had no other choice. He reaches out and hugs Mikey.

"I'm sorry. I won't ever do that again."

Mikey doesn't reply, and Takemichi knows he isn't satisfied yet.

"Really, I only have one life. It hurt a lot, and I wouldn't dare do it a second time."

"Then pat my head, and I'll believe you."

Takemichi laughs as Mikey acts childishly with him. Mikey gently wraps his arms around Takemichi's waist, feeling his warmth, being comforted by his gentle pats. Mikey doesn't know when he started craving closeness with someone like this. He realizes that he only feels this way with Takemichi. After recent events, he increasingly understands that he can't be without him. He might have developed feelings for Takemichi that go beyond friendship, feelings he's never had for anyone before.

Mikey closes his eyes tightly. Whatever it is, he just wants Takemichi to stay by his side.

When Mikey leaves, Chifuyu enters the room, his face expressionless. Takemichi can tell that Chifuyu is just as angry as his mother.

"If you weren't injured, I'd throw you out of this window."

Takemichi smiles weakly.

"Don't smile like an idiot!"

Chifuyu raises his voice, then softens, sounding like he's about to cry.

"Did you want to save Baji-san by dying in his place? I'm glad Baji-san is safe, but what would I do if I lost you? You're a terrible partner."

The moment Chifuyu saw Takemichi stab himself, a fear gripped his mind like nothing he had ever felt before. His heart felt like it was being crushed, making it hard to breathe. The knife wound on his shoulder didn't hurt as much as the thought of Takemichi dying in front of him.

"Partner, I'm sorry."

Takemichi realizes that today he has to apologize to many people, but he doesn't regret what he did.

"But you were the one who saved Baji-kun, Chifuyu. At that moment, I was so scared I almost fainted, and after that, I don't remember anything. So, I really don't know why I beat up Kazutora like that."

This is what puzzles him. He only remembers his head hurting a lot, then a voice telling him to give up, and then he really let go. His body seemed no longer his own, and he has no memory of what happened after that until he heard Chifuyu calling him, knowing he was safe. That was when Takemichi regained consciousness.

"I'm not sure, but I heard people say that you were like a different person. You broke the arm of a guy from Valhalla, beat Hanma, kicked Draken, and almost killed Kazutora."

Takemichi's face darkens as he listens. He doesn't remember any of that, and he can't believe he did those things. Breaking someone's arm? Fighting Hanma? Attacking Draken? Trying to kill Kazutora? Takemichi can't believe he did something so terrifying.

"If I hadn't known you before, when I saw you like that, I would have thought your clumsiness was a trick to deceive everyone. People in the gang are talking a lot. Some say you're hiding your skills, others say you were possessed. But don't worry, Baji-san and I punched anyone who dared to badmouth you."

What Chifuyu says makes Takemichi think of a psychological disorder. In the past, it might have been unfamiliar, but in the future, it has become very common because many movies feature characters with this disorder. So, even someone like him who doesn't know much about illnesses knows about it - multiple personality disorder.

Takemichi walks around in a daze for a while. Seeing this, Chifuyu asks worriedly.

"Don't worry, Takemichi. We won't let anyone badmouth you."

Takemichi forces a smile. "I'm not worried about that, I have you guys."

"What about Kazutora-kun?" Takemichi remembers Kazutora.

"He's less crazy now. When you were unconscious, he stayed at the hospital the whole time, but now he's gone. Baji-san is trying to convince him to come see you."

Mentioning Kazutora makes Chifuyu frown.

"That's good. Take it slow, no need to force him to see me. How are his injuries?"

"Well, you broke his arm, so it's in a cast. Half his head is bandaged, his nose is broken, but luckily none of his teeth are missing."

"What, I broke his arm?"

"You don't remember any of it?"

He shakes his head, not a single memory. Takemichi's face darkens, his thoughts about the incident growing stronger.

He says goodbye to Chifuyu when his mother arrives. Chifuyu still smiles as he bids him farewell in the hospital room, but as soon as the door closes, Chifuyu's face becomes tense.

While others may not notice the change in Takemichi, Chifuyu can understand why Takemichi stabbed himself. However, he and the others in Touman are very concerned about Takemichi's unusual behavior.

Because Takemichi is injured, no one wants to bring it up. Chifuyu is very worried. He spent a day searching online, reading and re-reading, and concluded that the only thing that could make someone act so differently is multiple personality disorder.

He asks such questions to determine if Takemichi has any awareness, but Takemichi has no memory of what he did during the battle, which only strengthens Chifuyu's suspicion. Chifuyu knows that Takemichi never had multiple personalities before, and that this disorder only appeared in this recent return. What Chifuyu is really concerned about is the cause.

The usual causes of multiple personality disorder are childhood abuse or trauma or severe psychological shocks. Takemichi definitely doesn't fall under the first cause, but if it's the second, Chifuyu wonders, what kind of severe trauma did Takemichi endure to develop such a serious psychological condition?

Takemichi has told Chifuyu about events in the past, but he never detailed the pain and despair he endured - pain and despair so intense that Takemichi genuinely thought it would be better to die. To Takemichi, that is a past that should never happen again. He came back to change it, so no one needs to know about the past or any terrible futures. He keeps that burden to himself.

Chifuyu quickly runs to find Baji-san, his face distressed as he approaches him.

"Baji-san, I need to gather everyone urgently."