So this is probably one of my most popular stories besides my old Halo story so now I'm re working this story to make it better and read better, a big thanks to my Editor thedankestofmemes for doing this stuff for me.

thedankestofmemes: yo

Cardin groaned–he was in pain, lots and lots of pain. His eyes slowly shifted open and he looked around to see where the hell he was. White walls, no windows, and a long ceiling. Sticking out of his arm were several tubes and wires, all connected to various medical monitors and equipment. He was in Beacon Academy's infirmary from the looks of it, but why? Cardin, for the life of him, couldn't figure out why. Then it hit him: a dust explosion occurred in class and he was caught in the blast.

He moaned fiercely as he attempted to right himself, each movement bringing new waves of burning pain to his muscles, which felt as if jagged needles were piercing his flesh. Noticing his movement, the nurse that worked at the infirmary approached him.

"Ah, Mister Winchester, I see you're finally awake," the nurse said, a smile plastered on his face. "Though, I recommend you not to move for a while." The nurse gently pushed Cardin back down on the bed.

"Um, if it's no trouble, would you mind telling me why I'm here?" Cardin asked. He already knew most of what happened, but he'd like more details as to what had transpired while he was unconscious. The nurse gave him another patient smile and began to speak.

"Well, Mister Winchester, you were caught in a serious dust explosion. Luckily for you, you weren't seriously injured, but I believe you owe that to the person who pushed you out of the way when it occurred," the nurse briefed him. The last part caught Cardin's attention—who had pushed him out of the way?

"And who would that have been?" Cardin's curiosity prompted him to ask. The nurse then pointed to the other occupant of the room—she had brown hair and long rabbit ears; it was Velvet. One question rang in his head: why? Why would she, of all people, save him?

Cardin then decided to ask another question, this one pertaining to Velvet.

"How long will she be like that?" he asked, his words indicating to her comatose state. The nurse though a moment before speaking.

"We're not entirely sure. The doctor said she could be like that a few weeks, or perhaps a few months. We're not completely sure," the nurse admitted, regret lacing his tone and his smile no longer present.

"Oh, okay," Cardin replied, a little dejected at the news for Velvet. "So, how long was I out then?"

Only two days. I'm actually surprised you're up now. The doctor projected you to be out for a few more days to a week," the nurse answered, his tone returning to chipper. "Well, I will go fetch the paperwork for your release." The nurse then left the room, leaving Cardin and Velvet alone. Observing her still form gave him a small ache; she had risked her life to save him, someone who had, for the last year, tormented her to no end. Someone who made her life a living hell.

After getting signed out, Cardin tried his best to forget what had happened but no matter how much he tried, he could not remove the image of a comatose Velvet from his mind: her shallow breaths, as she struggled to stay alive with each one. She looked so frail, much frailer than any person he'd ever seen.

Deciding that he needed to go see her one day after one of his classes led into a free period, he went to the infirmary. When he reached Velvet's room, he was greeted by a face that, while not unexpected, he found unpleasant to see nonetheless. It was Coco Adel, team CFVY's leader, and the person who hated Cardin with a burning passion only seen on B-class star. She gave him the death glare to end all death glares through her sunglasses.

"What are you doing here?" she sneered venomously. Cardin, in turn, raised his hands in truce as he spoke in his defense.

"I'm just here to visit and give thanks to the person who saved my life, you know," he said, allowing as much innocence into his tone as he could manage. Coco lowered her sunglasses to look at him more intensely; this was beginning to make Cardin sweat nervously, but she then got up from the chair on the side of Velvet's bed and made her way out of the room. However, before she left, she whispered into Cardin's ear.

"If I find out you did anything to her, they will never find your body," she hissed, and Cardin nearly bolted from the room right then and there but used all his willpower to keep his body still; he was not going to cower in fear to the second-year student. Cardin sat down next to Velvet after Coco left, looking at her still form. She was still taking those shallow breaths, and her body still looked so frail—she was so small compared to him, and so fragile, he thought. He shook those thoughts from his head as he began to speak to the unconscious girl.

"I'm glad you tried to save me," he began slowly as he tried to find the right words to say. He knew she couldn't hear him, but this felt . . . right. "I know you didn't have to, gods know no one would blame you considering all the crap I put you through." He didn't speak another word, and he remained in the infirmary by her side for the remaining of his free period, leaving only when the bell alerted him that he had to return to class.

Over the next couple of weeks, Cardin continued to visit Velvet. Sometimes during these visits he would run into one of her teammates, each of them giving him varying degrees of murder: from the one he had received from Coco, to touch her and I will end you, and all in between. He would tell Velvet how his day went or leave the study work she would most likely need to catch up in the classes they shared.

Then, one day, while he was in the middle of talking to her, her eyes began to flutter open. Looking all around her, Velvet had no idea where she was; all she could see was a high ceiling and hear a voice that sounded familiar. Where was she? Who was this?

She sat up, ignoring the pain, and tried to ascertain where she was when she saw him: Cardin. She almost instinctively recoiled when he tried to touch her.

"Holy crap, you're awake!" Cardin cried, falling out of his chair at the sight of a new conscious, but a bit out of it, Velvet. This commotion got the attention of the nurse that attended the room, and he walked in to see Velvet sitting up, her eyes open, and Cardin on the floor.

"Oh! Miss Scarlatina, you're awake! That's good!" the nurse exclaimed excitedly as he walked over to Velvet to check on her.

"Right, right, I'm awake," Velvet muttered as she got a better look at her surroundings. She could see white walls and no windows, the telltale marks of the Beacon infirmary. Why was she in the Beacon infirmary?

"I imagine you're wondering why you're in the infirmary?" the nurse asked Velvet, who nodded her head in agreement. "Well, Miss Scarlatina, you were caught in a dust explosion, along with mister Winchester here." Velvet looked over to Cardin, who had a sheepish smile on his face.

"I see. How long was I out?" she asked the nurse. His smile fell slightly as he explained.

"Well, ma'am, you've been in a comatose state for approximately three weeks and four days." Velvet gasped at the news; she'd been out that long, from a dust explosion? How?

Well, I'm going to go get the paperwork done for your release from the infirmary. I will be back momentarily." With that said, the nurse exited the room, leaving Velvet and Cardin alone, if only for a brief time.

"Why are you here?" Velvet asked irritably, but quietly.

"You saved me, so I wanted to come as say, you know, thanks," Cardin managed, avoiding meeting the Faunus girl's eyes.

"Oh, well, you're . . . welcome, I guess," she replied, her tone barely above a whisper. The nurse returned and with him, a wheelchair. Velvet had a look of distress on her face—was she that injured? Noticing this, the nurse quickly spoke up to reassure her.

"No worries, Miss Scarlatina! This wheelchair will only be temporary. You've been off your legs for three weeks, and no doubt they need some time to regain their strength. So until then, you will be using this wheelchair," the nurse finished, his usual warm smile on his face. Helping the young Faunus girl into the wheelchair, the nurse left with Velvet, leaving Cardin alone.

Returning to Team CRDL's dorm, his team had known of his incursions to the infirmary to see Velvet but wisely chose not to comment on them. Except Russel, who asked Cardin how this day's visit went.

"So, how'd it go? She wake up yet?" Russel asked as he was replacing some of the dust crystals in the hilt of his dagger. Cardin, for his part, was lying on his bed and looking up at the ceiling.

"She's awake but stuck in a wheelchair for a while," he said solemnly. Russel gave Cardin a strange look, but decided not to press any further. Cardin closed his eyes, but all he could see was the mental image of Velvet in the wheelchair.

"Hey, Cardin, we're heading out to get some food. You wanna come with?" Dove asked. Cardin simply shook his head, trying his best to close his eyes and resist the image of Velvet. When he heard the door leading out of the room click shut, he let out a frustrated groan. Why was she on his mind? He could not, no matter how hard he tried, shake the image of this . . . freak from his head.

He suddenly felt a pang of regret for calling her a freak. What was happening to him? He needed to clear his mind. Grabbing a pair of clothes, he went to go take a shower; that always helped him get his mind clear when he was having trouble.

As the warm water cascaded off his body, his mind began to clear a little more. He could finally shake this thought—this was just a phase, he knew it.

Stepping out of the shower, Cardin dried himself off and put on the fresh pair of clothes. He stepped out of the washroom but immediately was greeted with the sight of the one person he did not need to see at this moment.

Velvet was being pushed by her teammate, Fox, to their dorm room. Tearing his gaze from her, he rushed as fast as he could to Team CRDL's room. Shutting the door, he fled down the frame and let out a long growl, banging his head against the frame's hard wooden surface. He was so close to forgetting that image, so close, and then he had to see her. Why?!

He needed this answered as fast as possible. He couldn't ask his team, lest he have to deal with the millions upon millions of questions that he knew they'd levy his way. That only left a few people he might be able to tell. He could potentially ask, but none of them were very palatable options. Narrowing down his options, he conclude a single good one; someone whom he could ask but who wouldn't pester too far in return as to why he was asking.

It was time to pay that Juanney boy a visit, and have a little man to man with him. Hopefully, this would solve all of his problems.

Again thank you editor, you put up with my writing and thank you people who liked this story and now its better than it was when I wrote it half a year ago.

thedankestofmemes: hey, thanks for putting up with my crap schedule.