Hanma was standing exactly in front of you, a malicious glint in his eyes reflecting off of the moonlight.
you tried to move, but a strong pair of hands held you in place from behind.
unable to move, or even utter a single word, you watched in horror as Hanma took steps closer to you, until you could feel his hot breath on your face and his cheap cologne filled your nose.
his lips moved, but no words were heard. you thought you had gone deaf.
and then, as if he broke the sound barriers, Hanmas face contorted into an eerily evil grin, his shouts bouncing around inside your head.
you screwed your eyes shut, but his figure could still be seen through your closed vision.
terrified, you attempted to kick him away.
but, he grabbed your leg, twisting it until a snap reverberated around the room, intense pain forming in your ankle.
you screamed, but nothing came out. all that was seen was your mouth wide open, and all that was heard was Hanma's bone-chilling yelling.
looking around, the rest of your vision was black, the only sight to be looked upon being his all too familiar face.
you woke up with a jolt, sitting up in bed covered in a cold sweat.
panting heavily, you felt something damp on your face and raised a hand, only to find it was your own tears.
looking around the room and gaining your bearings, Hanma was nowhere to be seen. you were alone in the pitch black room.
'it was just a nightmare, there's nothing to be afraid of.' you thought, but his face was still burned into your mind.
slowly getting your breathing under control, you stayed sitting up, unable to shake the nightmare away.
these types of things weren't foreign to you, but whenever it happened it sent you into a spiral or fear.
your heart was still beating fast, but your breathing had slowed and your shaking died down.
not wanting to go back to sleep, you got up and went over to your phone, playing some music to distract your anxiety.
it had been a few days since Mikey declared yet another war against Valhalla, and it warmed your heart when everyone agreed without hesitation to fight them and end things once and for all.
although it was settled and the fight wasn't for another 2 weeks or so, your mind still ran rampant with thoughts of the worst outcomes.
disappointment struck you, as you hadn't had a nightmare for so long before tonight.
Hanmas face was imprinted on your mind, and nothing you did to make yourself feel better had any affect.
the instances of when you were assaulted by both Hanma and Kenji always lingered in the back of your head, never leaving.
you felt utterly helpless.
feeling overwhelmed and angry, you marched down the hall and swung Drakens door open, waking him from his peaceful slumber.
he groaned, but smiled softly when he saw your figure standing near him.
"Kenny, wake up," you whispered, and he opened his eyes fully, grabbing his phone to check the time.
"why," he complained, "it's 2 o'clock in the morning y/n."
"i want you to teach me how to properly fight," you blurted out, and he sat up at your words.
"huh? i mean sure, but can we do that in the morning? i'm tired."
"no," you said, almost urgently. "please, i can't sleep. i want to do something."
he sighed, knowing you wouldn't take no as an answer.
slowly getting out of bed, he took some clothes and went to change in the bathroom.
you waited impatiently on his bed, drumming your fingers on your thigh.
despite being tired yourself, you didn't want to sleep. anger overcame any other feeling and you had to get that energy out, knowing it would be better to do that with a healthy outlet.
Draken then emerged from the bathroom, beckoning you to follow him, and you complied eagerly.
the two of you headed out of the brothel, starting up your motorcycles engines as you followed behind him, unsure of where he was going.
pulling up beside him, he was rubbing sleep out of his eyes when you spoke up.
"where are we going?"
"there's a gym in Shibuya district; they've got punching bags and gloves and stuff." you nodded, staying silent as he was visibly very tired still.
it was a surprisingly short ride, and soon you had parked your bikes, walking to the front doors of the gym.
'how have i never seen this before?' you asked yourself incredulously, seeing as it was so close to where you were staying.
Draken held the door open for you, and you smiled, blushing at the small action.
he followed you inside, keeping up with your pace as you walked side by side.
making a beeline towards a back section in the gym, you saw a few punching bags and other fighting material lined up on a back wall.
the gym was virtually empty; only two other people there, who were working out in a different section.
Draken grabbed a pair of gloves, handing them to you as he picked up punching mits for himself.
you slipped the gloves on, looking at him intently for directions.
"alright," he started lazily, "you want to have the right stance for your feet before anything. put your non-dominant foot in front, and your dominant one behind you; about shoulders width apart."
you did as he instructed, positioning your feet and twisting your waist so that you were still facing him, with your legs rotated slightly, so that your toes and knee pointer just to the side of Draken.
"like this?" you asked, and he nodded his head.
"and don't think of moving your waist to me, think of it as twisting your shoulders. your waist will move anyways, but the shoulders are the important part of positioning." you nodded.
"alright, now for your upper body, you wanna have your elbows up, and your fists in front of your face.
"whenever you punch out, bring it back quickly so that your opponent can't sneak in and punch you back. it gives a little less power, but it's better than getting knocked out."
brining your hands up to your face, they rested just below your jaw.
Draken walked up to you, grabbing your gloved hands and moving them upwards more. you watched as he did so, silently noting where to keep your hands.
"okay, and keep your chin down, and mouth closed. that stops any bad attacks to your face."
positioning your head downwards, you flared your elbows out slightly and raised your hands so they were in between your cheeks and your jawline.
with your shoulders facing him, your dominant arm remained close to your body while your other arm was slightly in front of it.
Draken smiled, livening up a bit.
"you're a natural!" he complimented, and you beamed at him.
"the only thing," he started, moving closer. "is that you want your back straight. if it's bent, that makes you more unstable and easier to knock over."
Draken placed a hand on the small of your back, and you straightened out, blushing at his hand placement.
he then stepped back, raising his hands with the mits on near his chest.
"alright, so, try and punch me. don't take your back foot off of the ground; just swivel it so that you can keep your balance. your whole body should turn with the punch, and then go back to how you're standing now."
you nodded, determination in your eyes as you took a deep breath and moved your body, moving in one fluid motion.
as your fist connected with his hand, Draken took a step back, surprised you knocked him off balance.
going back to your original position, you watched as he steadied himself.
"shit, good job," he breathed out, causing you to chuckle.
"i don't think you need any help, y/n. you're really good at this." you smiled at his words, feeling less helpless as your anger dissipated.
"maybe i am good at it, but i want to get better. i want to be able to be as strong as you guys and actually stand my own ground without needing help."
noticing your expression grow sad, Draken stepped closer to you and spoke with absolute truthfulness, almost bluntness.
"i think you are as strong as any of us; you fight really well and you've got great reflexes. but you freeze up when you get scared, like with Hanma.
"when someone's that close to you and isn't actually fighting, when they're forcing themselves onto you, you aren't able to grasp the situation and you become frozen in place."
with his words, realization dawned on you.
it wasn't that you weren't good at fighting, it was that you didn't know how to react in intimate situations.
with the pressure of someone coming on to you, your mind froze and made it almost impossible to fight.
"you're right." you mumbled, helplessness creeping back in as you thought about every situation where you had the opportunity to fight well but couldn't.
it came down to a fight or flight response, and you only chose to defend yourself and get out as quickly as possible instead of standing your ground.
Draken saw the distant look in your eyes, an idea forming in his head.
he stepped back again, raising his hands to his chest.
"let's try again; this time, i'll come at you as well and you have to factor in blocking as well as punching."
you smiled, agreeing and getting back into a fighting position.
'i don't know if this will help, im not afraid of Draken and i trust him, so freezing up won't really happen.'
"just imagine i'm Hanma or something; that might help. imagine it's him you're going against and take out all of your anger." you looked at him, feeling as if he read your mind.
raising your hands again, you nodded at him to start and the two of you practiced fighting for hours, with you becoming more confident in throwing punches as the time passed.
after a few rounds of sparring, you got ready for the next round, picturing Hanma who had treated you so poorly for so long.
anger rose in your chest, and you lunged at Draken who didn't have any time to react.
you threw a hard punch, landing it straight on his nose.
Draken took a few steps back, and all of the adrenaline you were feeling earlier melted away once you saw blood dripping down his chin.
unstrapping the gloves, you ran up to him, covering your mouth with your hands.
"o-oh, my god, Kenny, i'm so sorry!" you exclaimed, as he held his nose.
it was silent for a moment, before Draken burst out into laughter. you looked at him in confusion, and he spoke between laughs.
"you, are a very good fighter, y/n. i think, we should stop though." you agreed instantly, grabbing a few paper towels from a cleaning station and holding it against his bloody nose.
"i'm so sorry," you repeated yourself, and he just laughed harder.
you soon joined in, finding humour in the situation as he stared down at you in pride.
"i'm glad you're on our team, i wouldn't want to get on your bad side." he said after a few moments, causing you to giggle and agree with him.
the two of you sat down, with Draken still holding the paper towels to his nose.
you still felt guilty, but he assured you he was fine and there were no hard feelings.
the feeling of helplessness slowly disappeared, confident that your fighting technique and reflexes mixed would be more than enough to join in the battle against Valhalla.