-----

I was in some pretty rough condition for the next two weeks. For the first week of so I was constantly drifting in and out of consciousness- the longest I was awake for being up to a few hours. But slowly and steadily, I was recovering.

The biggest problem was my shoulder- although luckily, I wasn't wounded in the stomach as bad as Emma was in the original, but I was hit right through the shoulder, which caused some struggles in walking, and no doubt until I healed fully I wouldn't be able to properly use a gun or my throwing knives.

In this time, while I waited for the 4 week mark to explain my plan to the others, I talked to Emma and Ray about the seven walls, and the amulet Mujika gave me. When I wasn't talking to them about it I was trying to walk- using my crutches to aid me. I got into reading- there were some pretty interesting books to read- some were fiction and some were informational. I tried to teach myself some Latin so I could read the backwards-Latin codes in some of the books as well, but I didn't get very far in two weeks.

And then the day came for us to announce the plan. I was sitting in my hospital bed, stretching my arms out. I was grateful to feel only a little pain in my shoulder, and that I could move it around quite well. Emma and Ray arrived in the room and the ginger-haired girl grinned.

"Are you exited?" She asked. I hummed, biting the inside of my cheek.

"I'm not sure... do you think you could give the speech instead?" I asked her. Emma rolled her eyes.

"No. It's your plan anyway- Ray and I just helped out with the details." She smiled. I looked to Ray for assistance but he shrugged, clearly supporting Emma in the ordeal. "We're all counting on you!" She cheered.

Emma helped me get out of bed and I grabbed my crutch- only needing one at this point in time. I arrived in one of the larger rooms and looked across the sea of children looking at me expectantly. I took a deep inhale and pulled out the pen from my pocket. "Seize the future with your hands. That's what Mr. Minerva said when he left this for us. I've got a plan." I looked to Ray for reassurance and he smiled a little. Emma nodded her head and wore a bright grin. "A plan to rescue all of the cattle children."

-----

I sat on the floor of the library, beside one of the couches. I rubbed my tired eyes. It has been a couple weeks since I explained the plan to everyone. Since then I was aiding with preparations with the plan, learning backwards latin, and trying to study books about the demon culture.

When I wasn't doing that I was spending time with all the other children, who seemed to really enjoy my company. I started training with Yuugo a while ago- and although he was harsh he helped me with rehabilitation and growing stronger as well.

I let out a long yawn. I may not be getting a lot of sleep, but I felt too restless to do so. I'd just spent 4 weeks in bed- it was time to get my crap together to avoid becoming a burden to this universe. Like Emma said, they were counting on me. And I needed to be able to outsmart Andrew so I can save Lucas and Yuugo from their fate.

I found myself rereading the same paragraph of the book about demon culture for the 6th time. I groaned, smacking my cheeks to stay focused. There was a knock on the door and I looked up to see Hayato, unexpectedly. He walked in and handed me a glass of water. "Reina's worried about you. You should get some rest." He said simply before leaving the room.

I smiled and waved at him before turning back to my book. I took a sip of my water and flipped the page. Maybe a little rest wouldn't be so bad...

Or so I said.

I began teaching Yuugo how to use throwing knives, along with Don and Niko who insisted in learning. While looking for training knives for the kids I found a sword in the armoury and grinned. Maybe I could learn swordsmanship as well!

And then I was adding swordsmanship to my plate. I needed to be strong enough to hold my own in battle. I couldn't afford to drag everyone down. I couldn't afford to have them worry about me again.

I was sitting at a table in the library reading another book which I suspected to have information about the temple with golden water until late at night. I scanned the backwards latin, now able to read it rather naturally- although I slipped up here and there. I yawned once again and rubbed my eyes. Closing them for a little while can't hurt...

I woke up, the lamp beside me doused. 'I must've fallen asleep...' I smiled. I did feel a little better after a good night's rest. I reached up to stretch and a blanket I hadn't noticed draped around my shoulders fell to the floor. I blinked. 'Did I have that earlier?'

-----

I swung my sword at the training post and winced. I grabbed my shoulder and crouched, taking in deep breaths. I looked to my shoulder and saw blood seeping through the bandages. "Sh*t!" I cussed. I ran over to the infirmary where I unexpectedly ran into Zack bandaging a wound he must've gotten while out hunting. I waved a little and he nodded. I took a seat and grabbed some gauze. I pulled back the collar of my button-up shirt to take a look at my shoulder and winced at the sight of the blood that seeped through my gauze. Zack fortunately left the room, so I quickly removed the bandages and re-wrapped my shoulder. I waited a while to ensure that the wound was scabbing over quickly.

The next day I was due for training with Yuugo. I walked into the dojo and met eyes with the grumpy old man, his arms crossed. I grinned.

"Are we going to get started?" I asked. Yuugo huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"The only thing you're going to get started on is resting." He stated, taking a steady stance.

I pursed my lips. "I don't think-"

"Zack told me your wound reopened." Yuugo said. I bit my lip. 'Tattletale.' I looked to the floor in guilt. "What were you going to do if he didn't tell me?!" Yuugo exclaimed, throwing his arms back as he yelled. "Come to practice as usual?! All that would've done is make it worse!!" He said, now becoming restless as he paced around the room.

I blew air from my cheeks. "I don't have the time to-"

"What we don't have time for is waiting for you to recover, once you injure yourself again!!" He said, momentarily pausing in his pacing. I opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to the punch. "You want to be strong. That's admirable enough. But knowing when to take a break is important too-!!"

"I'm doing fine!" I said, emphasizing my words with my hands.

Yuugo scoffed. "We have very different definitions of fine." He said, jabbing a finger in my direction. "Fine is getting proper sleep, eating proper meals, taking proper breaks, and the like! Are you doing any of those things?!" He asked, staring me dead in the eyes.

I looked to the floor, perhaps a little in shame, before I looked back up to the older man. "Well, no, but-" I began softly, but Yuugo interrupted me once again.

"BUT?!" He roared. "BUT WHAT?! What could possibly require you to do this to yourself?!-" He asked in anger.

I blinked the angry tears as they began to sprout from my eyes. "I-"

"WHAT?!" Yuugo asked me to spit it out.

"I DON'T WANT TO MAKE EVERYONE WORRY ABOUT ME AGAIN!!" I yelled, wiping the tears from my eyes as quickly as they fell.

Yuugo pinched the bridge of his nose once again. "What do you think you're doing right now?" He asked. I looked to the floor and sniffed, still wiping my tears. "Do you not see the worried glances everyone is casting you?" He said, his voice now soft. I tried my best not to cry any harder.

Yuugo walked towards me and hugged me. I nearly choked on my tears- more in shame then surprise. 'All I've been doing recently is crying and being hugged-' I thought to myself, barely managing to avoid saying it aloud.

"Stop." Yuugo's voice came from above me. I flinched. Did he hear my thoughts?? I felt a hand stroke my hair as he rested his chin on my head. "Whatever you're thinking right now, stop." He concluded, his voice but a quiet murmur, coming out in fatherly tones. "It's ok to feel weak sometimes. It's okay to be weak sometimes. I should know." He continued his fatherly lecture as I began to relax, the tension of the last month or so finally beginning to ease. "You've been so strong, ok? So strong. And that's good enough. You can relax, ok? Get some good rest, come eat some meals with us, take it easy before you have to go and be strong again, ok?"

"It's ok to be weak, Y/N. It's ok." He repeated one last time.

-----

Yuugo looked down at Y/N, preparing to pull away, when she suddenly slumped against his chest. He stepped back in surprise, propping Y/N up with his arms. She'd fallen asleep standing up, is that how tired he was?

Face-palming and muttering to himself Yuugo picked Y/N up onto his back, shifting her into position. Upon exiting the dojo he found a number of kids hovering nearby. He smiled thinly despite himself. 'This idiot... so smart yet completely oblivious to her surroundings...'

Immediately after he left the sparring room, a number of the kids turned to him in shock. "Is Y/N ok?!" More than a few of them asked.

Yuugo waved them away with his hand. "She's fine. Just tired. But she'll be sleeping and eating well from now on, so you can relax." He said softly, patting the head of one of the toddlers. They all visibly relaxed and went to do their tasks for the day.

The tall man set Y/N onto her bed and she flopped off the edge awkwardly, beginning to snore obnoxiously.

"...You can't even be normal in this sentimental moment-" Yuugo said face-plaming as he shifted Y/N to be fully on the bed and draped the blanket that was at the foot of her bed over her. Yawning, he took a seat in one of the chairs. Although he refused to admit it, Yuugo was loosing sleep over that brat of a girl. He suddenly groaned, leaning back in the chair.

"If you're going to hover out there you may as well come in." He sighed, draping his arm over his eyes. Ray shuffled into the room, rubbing the back of his head. Yuugo rolled his eyes. 'Kids these days.'

He stood up and brushed off his pants before walking passed the ravenette. "Leaving this to you." He said, patting him on the shoulder.

"Wha-"

"Make sure she eats and sleeps properly-!!" He called from the hallway, saluting as he walked away.

-----

I yawned and stretched, blinking my eyes groggily. All of a sudden something hard was set on my head. I blinked once again and as I eyes cleared, I recognized Ray as the cause. I reached up quickly to grab what it was before he let go. It turned out to be a breakfast platter.

I pulled it off of my head and ate gratefully. Man, I was starving. I turned to Ray who was now seated in a chair beside my bed, eating his own food. "How long was I out?" I asked once we both finished.

Ray hummed. "About forty-one hours." He said. I blanched.

"FORTY-FORTY ONE HOURS?!" I exclaimed. Ray pulled on his lock of hair which fell below his chin

"That's what happens when you push yourself too hard without proper meals and sleep." He muttered, crossing his arms.

I smiled nervously. "Ahaha... sorry about that..." I said, pushing my unruly bangs out of my face.

"It's ok. Because next time you do something like that..." He left the end of the sentence hanging as he spoke darkly.

"...you'll what?" I asked, curiously.

Ray hummed. "I've got both some chloroform and an encyclopedia with your name on it. Take your pick."

I gulped, a beat of sweat dripping off my chin.