7h.) Vow

Shobatsu woke.

He sniffed the air, and recognized some familiar scents, which was comforting. He stretched, and immediately regretted it as each and every muscle screamed in protest. Stifling a whimper, he moved into a more comfortable position, eyes flicking open.

By coincidence, as Shobatsu awoke, Valeria could be seen leaving Ami's room, presumably to give her time alone to rest, as opposed to Valeria hanging over the bed. She closed the door silently behind her, Valeria's hand still on the door **** for several moments, her head staring at this hand, as if distracted, and deep in thought.

If Shobatsu wanted to learn anything about Ami's condition, Valeria seemed the most logical one to ask...

Shobatsu noticed Valeria exit the room. He slowly rose to his feet and silently let himself slide down the side of the bed to the ground. He padded over to sit in the open doorway of Carlos' room.

"How is she holding up?" he asked quietly, not wanting to wake either of the sleeping youths.

Valeria exitted her trance and looked over at Shobatsu, it taking her a few moments to realise that she had been asked a question, and a few more moments to think of an answer.

"She seems stable, at the moment," Valeria said, thinking of a way to put a positive spin on it. "Still... for someone like her to force an A-rank transformation, and take that much damage during... its... slightly better than what can be expected..."

Valeria went back to silence after this for a moment. If it hadn't been for Shobatsu's light, Ami would be even worse off at this point... but she didn't want to make it seem like it was Shobatsu's divine duty to save her at this point... after all...

"How exactly did Ami take that much damage from forcing that process? And how much damage would normally be expected?"

Shobatsu's questions came quick and sharp, like razor blades hidden in a nice big clump of cotton candy. They weren't said in a particularly unpleasant tone, and they probably weren't very offensive questions. They were, however, in all likelihood just the questions Valeria was hoping he wouldn't ask.

Valeria looked over at Shobatsu, quite obviously not immediately comfortable with those immediate questions. Sighing, she thought for a moment, this time as if collecting her thoughts, not looking for a specific or kind way to explain it.

"Even before I crossed over, and before our spirits could ever be linked... Ami has always been frail... if you think back, she has never once sprinted, and tried to stay as still as possible in battle..."

Valeria paused for a moment, several key notes already given for what she was about to say: "Ami's fate was already decided before DaCre even entered her life: a degenerative genetic disorder of both lungs... the fact that she's been able to hold out this long is nothing short of a miracle..."

Shobatsu was silent for a few moments. His expression had become wooden. Not a twitch of a muscle, a defiant look in the eyes... nothing.

Finally, Shobatsu spoke, as though from a long way away.

"Do you have any idea how long she will remain in a stable condition?" he said softly.

"I don't know," Valeria shook her head. "Although she seemed steady when I first learned about this after I met her, she has been steadily decreasing in health... I'm not a doctor, though. She may be fine for a while yet... or..."

Valeria didn't finish that sentence, looking down again, sorrowfully.

Shobatsu seemed to slip deeper into thought for a moment. His fur almost seemed to darken for a moment from its light shade.

"I see..." he said. He turned and padded off toward the way they had come in, where he suspected Iko and the others would still remain.

"Is that all you have to say?" Valeria said, looking over at Shobatsu as he began to walk off. "Its not certain if she will improve... are you okay with just walking away without talking to her?"

Valeria said this in a gentle voice, yet it was certain that somewhere in there, her heart was slowly breaking.

Shobatsu shuddered, visibly. He wanted to speak with her, he truly did. but...

Useless...

... something inside wouldn't let him. He felt... responsible for what happened to her. Regardless of Valeria's reassurances, he felt that defending him had been the cause of the drop in her condition. He wanted, no, needed to help her... but...

Powerless...

... he was told that he wasn't able to. Even at his most powerful form, he was unable to offer anything but a temporary reprieve from the pain. He needed to get stronger, for Ami, but...

Worthless...

... there was no way for him to do so. He couldn't help. He couldn't do anything. He... he couldn't...

Carlos woke with a jolt. He felt sick to his stomach. For no reason at all, he felt tears welling up. He felt completely drained of energy, as if he were no stronger than a kitten. He groaned, falling to his knees by the bed, and, using the bed as a support, tried to stand...

The fox stayed rooted in place. His ears were all the way back. His tail was motionless. His fur darkened again, almost seeming a normal fox color now. That was ominous.

Carlos struggled to his feet, but felt weak at the knees. What the hell was going on? He looked out the door, and saw Valeria. "Hey," he said, voice shaky.

If Valeria would but make the connection between tamer and DaCre, especially through the weak D-Rank connection, she might get an idea of how Shobatsu was feeling...

Valeria didn't respond in Carlos's direction, as he was still focused on the DaCre below her, who was visible distraught, feeling an immense amount of guilt and a sense of loss from this fox. His assumptions were insane, of course, but Valeria still saw that these assumptions had affected the fox severely.

Getting down on her knees, she looked at the fox near his level. "Shobatsu..." Valeria started, not exactly sure how to proceed. "Please... don't lose hope because of this... Ami is a brave young girl, who only thought of the DaCre. It was what she felt she could do... this is what gave her life purpose..."

She looked away for a moment, before looking back at the fox. "If you give up hope now... then you have learned nothing from Ami. What has she had to hope for her entire life? She overcame fears that many of us would never dream of facing... life doesn't lose meaning after one loss, Shobatsu..."

Shobatsu seemed to calm at Valeria's words. His ears twitched back into position, and he straightened up slightly, and then even more so as he ranked up, now standing in a humanoid form. He turned back to the fairy.

"It would for Ami." he said. "Mark my words, guardian. I will restore both you and Ami. If I cannot save two people, how can I possibly expect myself to do the same for an entire world?"

With that, Shobatsu turned and walked back toward the front room. As he left, the air in Valeria's hand would flash bright white. In her hand would be a smooth credit card-looking object, but a smooth, reflective gold that seemed to emanate light. Engraved on it were seven words in flowing italic print.

'Ami and Valeria,

IOU one miracle

Shobatsu'

Carlos walked out of the room, slipping his Hardwire back into his pocket.

"He's become rather, er, sensitive on the subject of yours and Ami's health ever since learning you were his guardians." he said, as though apologizing on another's behalf.

"He seems to feel responsible for anything that happens to you two while protecting him. Please excuse him if he seems a little rude."

Valeria saw the card, not exactly sure what to think. She held it to her side, watching Shobatsu and Carlos walk back to the front, not responding at the time.

"One miracle..." Valeria mutterred to herself, as they walked out of the room. Of course... the spirit of light was incapable of accepting regret... she smirked slightly, and leaned next to Ami's door.