4a.) Hospital

Arthur wasted no time in getting underground after that, ignoring his own wound for the moment, the heat from his blood only barely distracting him, as he rushed towards the medical area, the wounded fox in tow, whom Arthur didn't even know the name of.

"We need help over here!" Arthur shouted. Two medical DaCre, both humanoids with the characteristics of a white jackrabbit, one male, one female, were already approaching far before Arthur shouted that statement.

"Damn... its like eight blades sliced straight through..." the male said, examining the damage at both wounds, carefully. "Bottom one cleaved near the kidney... something very acidic coming out of that..."

"On top of that, two of his ribs are sliced in half lengthwise... another eighth of an inch deeper, and he'd already be dead..." the other added.

"Work fast..." was the only reply, his hands already surrounded by a white aura, as he reached for his tools. The woman did the same... it would probably be best for the fox not to wake up yet...

...
...
...

Some time later, Shobatsu would begin to regain consciousness. His body would feel lucid and vaguely pained, and his head very, very clouded.

Perhaps the first thing he would notice was that he was in a somewhat dim, stone building, one of the few rare pieces of actual furniture the bed he was resting on. Eventually, as his senses would gather, he would notice, and remember, a few more things.

His entire front side had been shaved, the fur a nuiscance to the medical process. Bandages were wrapped several times around his torso, in two places, slightly pink directly over the wounds as the stitching provided the basis to stop the bleeding. Pressure, and stitching... as well as whatever had to be done to repair his lower torso, and whatever had to be done to mend the bone.

"I suggest you don't move... unless you want your currently stable state bleeding again..." Arthur said, leaning against a wall, at the corner of the room, bandages covering his right shoulder. He had much more luck than Shobatsu when it came to avoiding such damage...

Shobatsu only closed his eyes as Arthur spoke. As his thoughts cleared, the memories came roaring back. He'd thought he could stall for time as Iko was in his B rank, and strike when he ranked down to D... But no. He'd gotten overconfident. He'd thought he could take down Iko in his C. He recalled a certain conversation. It seemed like it had happened a lifetime ago.

-|| "Darkness is too often cast with evil; light is too often cast with grace. However, these powers are separate from morality. The light strives to the future, our path and our choices, and is generally obscured by pride. The darkness represents our past, our own knowledge and wisdom that is one's own, which can be concealed by contempt and regret, and by malice. Both forces are necessary..." ||-

Pride... arrogance...

He... couldn't let something like that happen again. It had been terrible... to let him aspire so high, and then to be struck down...

And what of Iko? He'd escaped nearly unscathed from the battle... what would he be doing now? With no one left to stand in his way...

... 'That I know of,' added the small part of Shobatsu that had just been devoted to arrogance-prevention....

... what would he be doing? And Carlos, Luke, and the others? What were they doing? How long had he been out? Carlos and Luke were left with a large group of DaCre, but... not very capable ones, by the looks of it. And the others...

He began to focus, gently with the memories of his last attempt at light manipulations still fresh in his mind. The light around him dimmed ever so slightly for just a moment, and a very thin aura-like line of light ran along his form.

He wasn't trying for any major healing just yet... for now, merely speeding the normal process would have to suffice.

Arthur looked with mild surprise as Shobatsu still managed to gather light to himself. ~Even in that state... he can still use his innate ability... and refine it to a healing aura...~ Arthur thought to himself, knowing that the battle that Shobatsu fought, if Arther fought in his place, could have been several times worse.

"You were lucky," Arthur began, figuring he should know his exact situation. "If anyone else were to have come by, or if you were left alone in that state, you would have died... this is the closest medical area to where you fought: an underground refuge 'city' about a mile off from the place where you fought."

He took a short pause, and continued: "Unfortunately, there was only so much we could do, for that damaged of a body... your right kidney was pretty much destroyed by acid by the time we got here... we had to take that part out, or you would have died on the table..."

He knew this would be somewhat surprising information, but, of course, Shobatsu had the right to know about this. Still, something was bugging him about the fox...

"That wolf you fought... what was your relation to him?"

Shobatsu's eyes remained closed as he was told of his kidney. He was aware of it, already. DaCre as a whole are generally more aware of their physical condition, and he'd felt the various wounds on his body when he'd put up his aura. He could function with just the one kidney until he either healed himself enough to regrow the missing organ or until he absorbed data to replace it. The kidney was no more special than an arm or, for example, one of three heads.

As he was asked his relation to Iko, he almost seemed to be holding back a sigh.

"He was... a friend." he said, although his tone of voice more than made it clear even he was no longer sure of his relation to the wolf.

"I see," Arthur replied, somewhat confused by that answer, especially considering the dipslay of blades and bloodloss that had unfolded before him.

~Its always risky bringing DaCre into this place...~ Arthur thought to himself. This was true: he couldn't exactly completely trust every wounded one that they treat... further, he didn't know anything about this fox, where he came from, if he was a loner or something else...

"Well... how about a few things about you, then? I find it difficult to just refer to you as 'fox'..."

"You can call me Shobatsu," said the fox. "As for personal details... Well, I've been suffering from a fit of amnesia as of late."

Despite the fact that he didn't believe the rabbit meant him harm, he still was wary. He was in a vulnerable position, and he might be supporter of the Lords for all he knew. He knew his statement was weak, but he hoped that the DaCre was tactful enough to let his past be.

"I see," said Arthur, quickly seeing through the rather shallow lie, but playing along as such. "I'm afraid... we can't let you leave, then," he began to explain.

"Its nothing personal, but we don't know anything about you, nor can we confirm anything you would say... its for our own safety; some of the stuff around here is sensitive information that we wouldn't want the dark lords to catch wind of."

He took a deep breath, knowing that this predicament would be troublesome for one who was brought here against his will. "However, this may be one of the safest places left for someone like you. Once you are healed, you may roam the underground area, but we would appreciate it if you put that healing light to work for us... your ordeal cost our best two medics a fair amount of energy."

At this point, another DaCre may have let out an objection, or a thinly veiled threat. Not this completely arrogance-free DaCre, however, no sir. Shobatsu knew that, despite the validity of his arguments, he didn't have the strength to back them, currently. He didn't intend to leave until his wounds were healed in any case, so their telling him he couldn't was of no consequence yet.

He did respond, however, by sighing dramatically and making a show of falling asleep.

Arthur nodded at this sleeping Shobatsu, as he turned, and left the ward, talking to the postman outside: "He's making a fair deal about healing himself. Five or six hours at most, he'll be up."

With that, he walked off, other things needing to be tended to...

...
...

Shobatsu was capable of walking in four and a half hours, in fact. He didn't show any inclination to leave the bed, however, and the healing aura remained. An hour passed, then two, three, four... Anyone watching for signs of aggression or a want to leave would be both disappointed and bored out of their mind.

When he acted, there was no noise, no change in data signature, or obvious visual signs to anyone outside the rooms. A small, firefly-like light would appear at his side, out of sight of the door. It would beging to define itself further, however, light becoming stronger, yet more condensed, wings beating with more strength, a vaguely humanoid shape becoming visible as a faint silhouette at the center of the light. This would go on for about a half hour or so.

Then, completed, the new 'fairy'-like light would settle on the edge of the bed, still out of sight of the door, and another would begin to take form. This would continue for quite some time.

A little while after the given six hours, someone had been sent to check on the fox. A strong knock at the door could be heard, followed by a voice, sounding like it belonged to a familiar figure.

"Shobatsu? This is the first rabbit you ever knew... can I come in, or will I have to blast this door open?" The last part was in the familiar joking tone.

The door would open at the end of Valeria's statement, something glowing gently behind it. Shobatsu turned his head, looking over at his visitor. He sighed, closing his eyes again. He was happy to see her, but he was still very disappointed with himself for his arrogance, even after her warning.

He also wondered why she had left Ami alone in a wrecked, war-torn city, especially in her condition.

"Ah... the same silly kitsune as ever, I see..." Valeria said, looking down at Shobatsu's weakened frame. "A pity, though... I didn't think that you'd actually go alone that deep into a Lord's territory..."

Realising that her scolding was not exactly needed at the moment, she sighed. "I'm... sorry I couldn't stick to my role before... as your guardian, that is. It took far too long for me to catch wind of where you landed on this side..."

There would probably be a silence; if there was, Valeria would smirk, and say, solemnly, "You must think this whole guardian thing as nothing more than a burden on me..."

There was, indeed, a silence. As Valeria attempted to fill it up, the glow behind her would increase for a moment, and some incredibly light forms would alight on her shoulders and head.

Little fairy-like forms silhouetted against the glow surrounding them would seem to be protesting, or reassuring her. The little creations seemed to have picked up the base traits of the kitsune's personality without any of the reservation-making memories.

Valeria closed her eyes, understanding the comforting attempt of the light, before scatterring a part of them away with her left arm.

"Shobatsu..." Valeria started. "You may not realise it right now... you may never understand it... but being put in place as your protector is the first meaningful thing I feel that I have ever done..."

She took a short pause, before explaining: "Before I met you or Ami, I was just a reckless spirit... never knowing the fear of death or loss, I simply went around, not caring about the consequences of what I did, simply because I couldn't feel them... a curse of this immortal frame, of course, but this also isolated me... I was alone, spiteful, and angry..."

"When I met Ami and was entrusted with the task of protecting you, at first, I didn't really want to go for it... but in each of you, I saw something that I didn't quite understand... Ami, searching for a real purpose, and you, who was ready to lay down his life to protect what he believes... at first, I thought this silly, but later, especially finding out about Ami's condition, I realised that you both wanted to make something from your lives... I had never seen two so noble souls, and suddenly, I realised that I didn't want to lose either of you, from the bottom of my heart..."

Valeria paused again, looking over at the fox once more. "You may be arrogant and prideful, at times... but you never lost sight of what you believed in..."

This was an odd outpouring from the deepest reaches of this fairy's heart...

At this point, yet another fairy-like creature rose away from Shobatsu, making the number six. It looked around at a new world, eyes bright with wonder, and a desire to help.

Shobatsu sighed, looking over at Valeria. There was a determined look in his eye, some emanating strength that would suggest that he had healed much more and faster than the other rabbits present had anticipated.

"Please, stay out of danger. Without Ami you are vulnerable, and I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you. I don't know if you can return to the other world on such short notice, but do so as soon as possible. I guarantee nothing like this will happen again..."

There was that streak of arrogance showing in that last sentence, but it was more than empty words. The tone in his voice made it clear that this was no gambol or guess at the future, but a statement of what was to come. As Shobatsu finished, and Valeria would be formulating a response, she would feel something on her person beginning to glow with a steady, powerful light... the card.

Valeria, upon feeling the light, withdrew the card, reading it over again briefly: "IOU One Miracle". Smirking, she held this card between the index and middle finger of her left hand, holding it off to her side. "Shobatsu... you're being that same silly fox again," she started.

"Maybe you don't quite understand... while you say 'I wouldn't be able to live with myself without you', I say to you, 'I wouldn't be able to live without you'." She paused for a moment, taking a few steps forward. "You treat the world so selfishly, I think you forget that you, yourself, matter to the people around you... to Carlos, Iko, Luke, Ami... and me..."

With that statement, she leaned over, and kissed Shobatsu softly on the forehead.

Shobatsu blinked, his expression going blank for a moment. In the background, little fairies floated through the air, creating an enchanting ambient light. His usually composed, thoughtful air crumbled as something completely unexpected that he had no immediate response to took place. He was literally speechless, but one, lone, little thought managed to make itself clear in his mind...

~At least I wasn't arrogant enough to expect this...~

Valeria stood up, taking a half-step back into the created light, which attractively highlighted her figure. Blushing slightly, she held her hands behind herself, still holding the glowing card, giving a small, sincere smile.

For Valeria, this feeling that she had inside her felt right, even if it initially confused Shobatsu, who had been trying to force her away into safety. "I think you can see now... I won't just back away from this... more than anything, I want to walk this path with you..."

It seemed that she was giving this much thought, probably having these feelings ever since she had first recieved that card... maybe long beforehand.

After an awkward ten seconds or so, Shobatsu remembered to breathe. "Oh, Valeria..." he said, sitting up, and immediately let out a gasp and collapsed back onto the bed.

While the wounds had been healed, a sharp pain was still felt from each abdominal muscle that had been injured in the battle. He could have healed that several times over by now, but he'd been busy making the little fairies with the additional function.

He gritted his teeth and sat up once more, moving to stand up, tearing off the bandages, revealing that not only had the fur grown back but that the stitching had been considered a wound by the currently blind force of Shobatsu's healing. Thins strands of thread glided down to the floor, landing silently.

He focused, and the aura around him intensified, putting him out of sight for a moment. The aches and pains melted away, as though he were taking a hot bath - the limit of his instantaneous healing in this rank. He focused again, and the auras around the little fairies intensified, as one last increment of power was added to them. They almost seemed to dance in the air with joy.

He exhaled again, having held his breath to stifle the pain as he stood up. The aura around him faded to the common warm glow, and expanded to fill the room. This one didn't heal, however, but merely added lighting to whatever room he was in.

"Then let's get walking," he said, the sudden infatuation obviously stifled by the burst of pain. A new tone present in his voice let on that it wasn't gone, however.

Valeria nodded, taking Shobatsu's hand as they walked out of the room, to meet Arthur, waiting outside, who probably led Valeria to this room, Lily standing slightly closer to the door, moving away with a slight giggle.

Emotionless, with his eyes closed, Arthur explained, "If its Valeria's judgement, I have no reason to keep you detained. Feel free to move as you like, Shobatsu."

"Oh... always so serious..." Lily responded to Arthur, in a cheery voice. Smiling, but not looking back, he replied, "Its a decent mask to keep to keep this place in order, isn't it?"

"Yes, but it makes you sound so stern and unapproachable..." Lily said, before looking over at Shobatsu. "So, will you be leaving or staying for a while?"

Echo was there in the base as well. She smiled to Valeria, " Oh finally! Another woman here who isn't so serious all the time! " Echo stared behind her at Shobatsu, seeing his condition. " Yikes, did you do that Valeria? "

Alex gave himself a face palm and shook his head. Not wanting to get on Echo's bad side by suggesting she was being too intrusive with Valeria and Shobatsu.

Valeria looked over at Echo, half-surprised to see a tamer and a DaCre that she knew way out here, but also half-embarassed since she never properly got either of their names.

"Um, no," Valeria started, looking over at Echo with a side glance. "... I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name before?"

Through this, she merely turned her head, still having her hand grasped to Shobatsu's, a still blush that had not left her face quite yet.

Valeria seemed to have covered all the topics of conversation, and the bat somehow knew his and Valeria's names. Fortunately the faint blush that he had was hidden by his fur. He did turn to the two rabbits who spoke to him originally, however.

"I think we'll be leaving, actually," said Shobatsu, eyes hardly flickering over to see Valeria's reaction at all. "These creatures may aid you with your healing, however, for as long as they go without being deleted."

As he made the last statement the six fairy-like creatures fluttered in from what was just Shobatsu's room, circling around Arthur and Lily curiously.

" Echo, pleased to meet you! " Echo did a bow, smiling whole heartedly with feeling at Valeria. " Awww, you guys are so cute together! The girl always falls for the banged up headstrong guy. " Echo chuckled a bit, winking at Valeria before breaking into another giggle.

Alex turned around and began to walk away, not wanting to be apart of the awkward moment.