Kokonoe smirked at Ragna's comment and stepped outside. Litchi could hear her talking to someone and was able to make out some of what she was saying.

"You took the parts back with you?" Kokonoe asked.

"Yes, I brought them as you requested." It was Tager's voice that responded, as expected.

"Good, that's all I needed you to do here. Now you go and start taking Noel to Ikaruga. Make sure she gets there."

"Hey, doc" Ragna's voice caught her attention before she could hear anything else being said. "Little help?"

"Oh, sorry about that" Litchi approached and wrapped Ragna's arm around the back of her neck to carry him through the clinic. "You didn't run into any trouble on the way back did you?"

"Nah, me and the Red Devil alongside each other probably made a lot of people think twice around the upper levels. The guys around here just kept their heads down."

Litchi nodded. "Yes, most people around here don't like to get involved with anything like that. The N.O.L isn't exactly popular on the lower levels."

"I figured as much. For my sake, I'm glad that's the case." Ragna shrugged. "So, you guys all know each other pretty well I take it?" He motioned with his head in Kokonoe and Tager's direction.

"We go back a few years. I used to work with them until…" Litchi let out a sigh before continuing. "Well, you know."

"Oh, that guy" Ragna recalled what Litchi had spoken about when they met. "Still carrying on with that, huh?" Litchi responded with a nod. "Well, good luck with that I guess."

"Thank you. That means a lot to me" Litchi smiled as she gestured to the bed she had walked him to.

"Nice to see the two of you shooting the breeze but we've got shit that needs doing." Kokonoe returned from talking to Tager, holding various parts in her hands. The heavy footsteps of the Red Devil could still be heard outside.

"What are those parts?" When Kokonoe set all the pieces down near Ragna, Litchi inspected them for any indication of what they were or what they were for.

"Lambda's regeneration tank" Her reply drew Ragna's attention in further. "I should be able to make a new arm for you out of 'em."

Ragna kept to himself for a moment. Thanks to Nu, he had been able to stop Terumi if only briefly and he would soon had the use of his missing arm again. "Why are you helping me? What's in it for you?"

"Someone asked me a favor." Kokonoe scowled at the memory. "I'm not naming names so I'll leave it at that."

"It was Jubei wasn't it." Litchi recalled her conversation with the hero earlier. He did mention his strained relationship with his daughter before they were interrupted. Kokonoe gave her a glare to confirm and prevent her from saying more about it.

"Anyway, the point is I'm making you a new arm out of these parts." Kokonoe continued in order to avoid the topic. "Shouldn't take too long since I've pretty much just have to stick it all together. While I'm working on that, can you clean him up, Litchi? He looks pretty pathetic."

Ragna muttered under his breath and rolled his eyes. "Rub it in why don't you." Kokonoe smirked as she sat to the side and started working on the construction of the new arm.

"I'll see what I can do." Litchi smiled. She imagined this was another reason why Kokonoe wanted to come here for Ragna's treatment. If it were just between the two of them, not much would be accomplished at any significant rate with the insults and sarcastic remarks they threw at each other. Or maybe it would have worked out fine, after all, from what Litchi knew, the two were working towards a common goal albeit with different methods.

Other than the missing arm, Ragna was covered with various cuts and wounds all over but what stuck out most was the clean hole just below his shoulder. Litchi inspected it and was somewhat surprised to see straight through the other side.

She opened a nearby drawer and took a roll of bandages out. "All I can really do about that is wrap some bandages around it so I'll need to take your coat and shirt."

Ragna slid his arm out of his coat sleeve and shrugged it off from his other shoulder in compliance. "Wasn't expecting much. Took a laser shot right through it."

"A laser?" It wasn't something she treated every day or something she expected to treat. Regardless, it didn't change what she intended to do in the first place. "Do you need any help with your shirt?"

"Would be nice." The Grim Reaper reached for his collar and did as best as he could in taking it off with one arm. Litchi came to his assistance after she noticed him experiencing some trouble.

Setting straight to work, Litchi began wrapping bandages around Ragna's shoulder. It was a simple enough job but in doing so, she found her eyes drifting to the Azure Grimiore on Ragna's arm.

"I know I can't use it but it's so tempting." She tried to shake off the desire to look but continued to find herself drawn to it. "It's right there in front of me: the one thing I know that should be able to cure him. I can't just take it from him so why do I keep looking at it?"

Ragna noticed Litchi's hand make its way away from his shoulder and toward his arm. He moved his hand in front of her face and snapped his fingers several times. "Hey, snap out of it." His voice also caught Kokonoe's attention. "Keep that up and you'll end up like your friend."

Litchi jumped at his voice and pulled her hand away when she noticed where it was. "S-sorry, I… I don't know what came over me."

"You're losing it, that's what" Kokonoe turned in her chair to face them. "And don't give me that bullshit; you know what's happening. We've been over that before."

"Sorry." Her eyes travelled to the floor. The images of becoming something like Arakune appeared in her mind again. Her condition was worsening and at the rate it was progressing, she didn't have much time left.

The rest of Ragna's treatment passed by in silence. After her temporary blackout, Litchi was hesitant to continue but after a small amount of consideration, she decided to at least finish what she had started.

When she was finished, Litchi put the implements she had been using away and rested her head on her hand. Ragna's wounds had all been tended to and now she just had to wait for Kokonoe to finish.

"Go get some rest or something" Kokonoe looked up from what she was doing to give her apprentice a break. "It won't take too much longer anyway."

Litchi stayed silent and nodded. A short rest would make her feel better until she remembered her condition at least. She could hear some of what Kokonoe and Ragna were saying once she had left.

"Not gonna help her out with that? Her mind's starting to get ruined already."

"Yeah, we both realized that a long time ago and we've been over it plenty of times. What interests me is that you seem to care about it. Why's that?"

"She's nice and she's one of the few people I've met here who hasn't tried to kill me. That's about it."

Litchi smiled to herself and sat down in the living room. She found it humorous to hear the man wanted for so much money had some degree of trust in her. Her smile faded a moment after upon contemplating what Kokonoe had said. Kokonoe had said that she was willing to cure her own corruption but only hers. Behind her generally grouchy exterior, it appeared to be Kokonoe's own way of looking out for her, not that she would ever admit it. She was offering a way out but it came at a heavy price for her.

If she did so, she wouldn't be able to cure Lotte and she would essentially be turning her back on him. She didn't know if she could bring herself to take that route after everything she had been through already. Her not taking action had been the start of what happened and she wouldn't end it by giving up half way.

With the way it looked now though, the offer was becoming more and more tempting. The more she could feel the signs of her corruption progressing, the more frightened of her eventual fate she became. She thought she would be ready for the effects of the Boundary by the time they started appearing or at least be able to hold off the corruption for a little while. If not for what would be accomplished if she succeeded, she wouldn't think twice about turning herself in to be rid of her connection to the Boundary.

With her current decision, all she could do was persevere and continue by herself. As she found earlier, Kokonoe would not aid her in any way and from what she had said about Terumi, she had other things on her mind that she deemed more important.

Thinking back to it, Kokonoe had done a lot to try to kill the man, going so far as to use a salvaged Murakumo unit to do it and most likely more that she was unaware of. Litchi questioned the scientist's goals and methods but knew better than to try to convince her otherwise. If she did so, she knew Kokonoe would retort with the same questions and they would argue about who was in the right and attempt to justify their own methods. As reasonable as Litchi thought she had been, her requests for help were probably nothing more to Kokonoe than an annoyance that she wanted quieting. Even if that were the case, neither of them had any business with each other's affairs without imposing.

Footsteps caught her attention, making her look in their direction. Ragna stepped through the doorway, flexing his new arm. "Thanks for the help doc but I gotta be going."

"Someone's eager to leave" she commented. "How does the arm feel?"

"Not too bad" he rolled his arm as he spoke. "I'm used to the other one being fake so it's not much different. Still need some time to get used to it though."

"As long as you can use it alright, I can't keep you" Litchi stood to show him to the door. "That's twice I've helped you now so I don't want to have to see you again."

Ragna smirked. "Don't worry, I'm heading off some place else so I'd be surprised if I did."

"Okay then. I don't need to tell you to be careful, do I?"

"Jeez" Ragna muttered to himself and rolled his eyes. "Bye." He left, holding his right arm up as a wave goodbye. Kokonoe approached the door from the other room at a moment later to see him off.

Litchi motioned to close the door until Kokonoe stopped her. "Keep the door open, I'll going in a sec too."

"Where's he going?" Litchi watched Ragna walk a fair distance before turning to Kokonoe.

"Ikaruga." Kokonoe removed a lollipop from her sleeve and placed it in her mouth. "Lot of questions here, lot of answers there. I'm sending Tager there as well."

"That's where Bang's from" Litchi recalled. "If Ragna's going there and Kokonoe's sending Tager there, it must have something to do with Terumi and Relius. What could they be going there for that needs answers?"

"I don't suppose you're going are you?" the beastkin asked.

Litchi shook her head. "I don't have any reason to." She would like to go there at some point just to see the area but with the potential of conflict and her needing to stay in Kagutsuchi, she saw no reason for her to be there.

"Fair enough" Kokonoe shrugged. "I know I said I wouldn't but this'll probably be the last time we see each other for a while: you sure you're not gonna let me take care of your corruption?"

"I'm sorry professor but I just can't do that" Litchi looked away, the thoughts from a few minutes ago returning.

"Alright." Kokonoe stepped outside the door to exit "I'll save us the time by saying 'no, I'm not gonna help with your own problems' now." Litchi expected nothing different from her. As she finished, she began taking her leave. "Well then, see ya whenever Litchi."

"Bye professor" Litchi waved to her superior despite her not turning around. Not waiting to watch her walk further away, Litchi closed the door, finally left to herself.


A.N.: Really, REALLY sorry for the wait on this chapter! This is almost the end of the story and there will be one more chapter after this one that will be uploaded tomorrow.

Part of the reason for the delay was that I was going to combine this chapter with the next one but decided they would be better off as two separate chapters. Another part due to my writing of another story (read it if you want!). Other than that, sorry I didn't post sooner!