Taijo shook and continued to breathe heavily. He immediately shifted his neck away from Kari and looked at her with panic as if he were expecting an attack. However, she registered in his mind and he looked away from her.  It might have been humors to an onlooker. Taijo had a somewhat intimating figure in comparison to most high school boys.  And stared past the roofs fence to the world below, but he was still envisioning what happened to him. He could even feel the place where he was grabbed. It was still sore.<br/><br/>Taijo was trying to make sense of it. He wanted to speak, but his words were failing him. He had never experienced anything like this before. Thinking about it logically, the entire thing was impossible.<em>But it was so real</em>, he thought,<em>I never have had that happen before. Wait- last night…</em><br/><br/>Taijo suddenly recalled entering his room and seeing it in the same type of background. “No…” he said softly, more to himself than Kari. There had to be a logical explanation for what happened. He needed to do some research and find out what was going on. One thing was certain. Telling people he was attacked by a shadow monster was going to get him labeled as a lunatic. He might even get sent away. That couldn’t happen. He had worked too hard to get there. After what seemed like a really long time Taijo pulled himself together slowed his breathing.<br/><br/>“I am just stressed about school work.” It was a boldfaced lie and the cold delivery didn’t make it anymore believable. “I have a lot of catching up to do coming in late.” Taijo didn’t look at Kari till he was done lying. He was a bad liar. He had never had the need to lie before. He looked at her and there was still fear in his eyes, but he held his composure. “Thank you for your concern, Kari-kun.”<br/><br/>After a short pause he asked, “Are you feeling better?” Taijo was honestly concerned for Kari, but he was saying this more to drag the attention away from himself. He also needed a little more time to gather himself and his courage before he could head back down.<br/>