"Kyojuro Rengoku!" My shrill shriek echoed throughout the whole estate, piercing the eardrums of the unfortunate. I couldn't hear anything, but knew there were footsteps coming my way as the Flame Pillar sprinted towards my room, located near the front of the housing building. 

"What's wrong?" he shouted upon arrival, slamming my sliding door open, the obstacle cracking against the wall with a smash, "Are you hurt? Did I do something wrong?" With a shaky finger, I pointed to the nastiest looking bug I'd ever seen in my life, chilling in the corner of the my bedroom. As it moved a couple millimeters, I screamed again, cowering in fear at the sight of it.

Three horns protruded from its helmet-like head and a powerful stinger jutted out of its behind. Spikes covered the entirety of it and its eyes took up almost every bit of its skull. There were two pairs of wings stuck on its back, hidden under a large shell with a red spike pattern painted across it. Not to mention, it had pincers longer than its torso, ready to snap at anything that came its way. Though it was the size of a small sausage, it still frightened me to the bone.

"Get rid of it!" I screeched, on the brink of bursting into tears, "I woke up and it was just there, staring at me!" The blonde stared at me for a couple of moments before raising an important question.

"Aren't you the Earth Pillar?" 

"Yes! I am!" I yelled in response, eyes bulging out of my head in fury, "But I'm not the Grass Pillar, or the Insect Pillar, am I? That's Shinobu's job!" As if on cue, the blackette with purple tips popped her head into the room. 

"Did someone call for me?" she said sweetly, glancing at my frightened figure. I wailed in relief, seeing that she was actually here and could help me get rid of the monster in my living space.

"There's a bug!" The Insect Pillar's violet eyes looked at the creature in the corner of my room once, then reverted back to me.

"I'm sorry, (Y/N), but you're on your own." She then promptly left and closed the door, causing me to start moaning and groaning again. Meanwhile, Rengoku stood idly near the entrance to my room, watching me writhing figure squirm in disgust and detest for the insect.

"Oh God, help me! I'm gonna die! At the hands of a bug! A bug! Not even a bug demon, but just a normal, regular bug! A stupid, normal, regular, bu-" I heard a 'whing' that cut my speech short and found that Rengoku had picked up the creature, and it currently resided on his palm, calmly standing there, unmoving. I took in a deep breath and started to howl, even louder than the first time. I was lucky that the rooms were soundproof, and that Shinobu had slid the door closed on her way out, since I imagined that nobody would like the noises that came out of my throat at the moment. 

"Why do you have it in your hand? Why, Kyojuro, why?" I sobbed, tears brimming my eyes. He sighed quietly and opened a window to let it go while I cowered in a corner, face buried deep in my hands. Rengoku then kneeled in front of me, placing both of his hands on my shoulders.

"It's gonna be okay, the bug isn't here anymore," he said with a hushed voice, "You're okay." I lifted my head, my eyes red due to all the crying. I looked absolutely miserable, and it was then I think he realized I truly did have a deathly fear of insects, and I wasn't exaggerating my feelings about dying. 

I genuinely thought I was going to die at that moment. By the pincers of a tiny bug.

Things had taken a sentimental turn as I felt Rengoku's fingers wipe away the stray tears littering my face. His bold, red irises didn't seem as intimidating as before, and I could feel how gentle he was trying to be with me, despite being someone of a much bigger stature. 

Thankful for his words of affirmation, I flung my arms around him, shaking a little while he comforted me, basking in the warmth the Flame Pillar radiated.

Strong hands patted my back as I showed my first signs of weakness to someone. 

Rengoku knew that I normally wasn't like this -- it was the opposite, in fact. Many had called me strong, grounded, stable, like the Earth. Under team hunting missions, I was the rational part of the system, able to think for others and look ahead with utter certainty that we would win. My fighting style was very much offensive. As I unleashed moves again and again, tremors would run through the ground like the very core of the Earth was shaking. 

My hand was always steady as it gripped the hilt of my blade, fingers wrapped around the grip like it was the last thing I'd ever hold on to. I faced countless demons and each time I won, sometimes even unscathed. And arguably, I had some of the coolest moves which would make the terrain rumble with unkempt power. 

But now here I was, bawling into Rengoku's shoulder like a little baby. He knew me. He knew that I wasn't this weak, right? I could make demons tremble at the mere mention of my name, I could move mountains with a stroke of my sword, and yet I had a deathly fear of the tiniest of beings.

Maybe I was a coward for freaking out like this. I stopped quivering in Kyojuro's embrace and sat there stupidly, unable to think or move anymore. This was so dumb. I should've never called anyone. I shouted for the first person that popped up in my head, rationality completely blown out the window by that point. I should apologize.

"It was awfully brave of you to endure that for so long." My train of thought immediately snapped, individual cargo boxes in tow flying off the rails. "I couldn't imagine being in a room with the thing I fear most for that long." I felt like crying again, but restrained myself from the action, not wanting to get the blonde's uniform completely soaked with my tears.

"You're the bravest person I know, (Y/N), and it's okay to fear things -- it's what makes us human. It's okay to be frightened, you don't need to be ashamed. You might be the strongest man on Earth, but feel threatened by a tiny mouse. It doesn't matter. You're still the strongest man on Earth." Nodding, I let out my last few cries and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Kyojuro, thank you," I sobbed, clutching his robe, "Thank you." He hummed and patted my back softly, allowing for me to release all my pent-up fright. 

"It's no problem. Whenever you're feeling scared, just call me and I'll be there."