Eramis8: Good guess! We'll just have to see next chapter… :p

Chapter 10

"You didn't actually OK this with the higher ups, did you?" When Yu asked the question and Guren didn't answer, he knew that the older man was the cause of everything bad that had happened to him that day.

The day had finally arrived when Yu was to be taken out on his 'mock patrol.' At first, he was extremely excited because he knew that Guren wouldn't even be taking him outside the city if he wasn't capable of it. His teacher was finally recognizing his skills and that made him quite happy about the whole thing.

Something should have been screaming 'this day isn't going to be perfect like you thought it would be' from the moment he left the city. Beyond the area where he had lived for the past few months, demolished buildings and broken down cars littered the horizon. Yu had been slightly mortified and in awe at the scene, causing any logical thought process to fly the coop.

Guren had said that there was supposed to be no monsters; the two of them were just going to take a small walk around the outer boundaries of the city. To say that Yu was both excited and nervous when said monster that wasn't supposed to exist appeared was an understatement. They had gone a bit further than the lieutenant had first planned – the black-haired boy didn't want to admit that it was his fault for that – and some strange creature had appeared.

Before leaving the city's boundaries, Yu had been given a small sword. This one was made out of metal, not wood, and he was given the instructions by Guren to 'not use it unless your life is in danger' and 'don't accidently chop off your limbs.' Those seemed like pretty fair rules in his opinion, but he figured that a random monster sighting was a good chance to use the sword.

As the black-haired boy had jumped towards the monster, Guren had muttered something along the lines of "patrols never go like I plan them" and, long story short, Yu got his butt whooped by said monster and was now lying on the ground, staring up at the raining sky.

"This never was a good idea," Guren muttered to himself as he came towards the boy, who had yet to get up from the ground. The terrain had been slippery, but Yu knew that he hadn't slipped. He simply got smacked by the monster, that was all.

It still hurts so badly! The thought caused the boy to grimace at his aching body. Where exactly had he gone wrong…?

"What were you thinking, jumping into things like that? I swear you have a death wish…" Guren was already chiding him, standing next to the fallen boy and ready to move on. "Come on, let's head back."

The lieutenant moved to walk back to where they had come from and Yu had been quick to follow, or he would have, except for the pain that squeezed his side when he moved. So the boy decided to lie on the ground for a few more seconds, just until he could manage the pain. His teacher apparently didn't have that kind of patience.

"Hey kid, get up. We're heading back." Guren had walked back over to the boy and was now prodding him with his foot, which would have been a normal, Guren thing to do except for the fact that the man was kicking right where the pain was centered at. The boy's arms instinctively went to shield his side when the pain got worse.

"I don't think I can get up…" it was a pitiful statement – one that Yu normally would have never caught himself saying – but he really meant it. He had a high tolerance for pain, but this seemed like it was on a whole other league.

Guren stared at him, disbelieving for a moment. "What are you talking about? Of course you can get up."

"No, I really don't think I-" Yu had started to try and do what the older man had said, resulting in a curse of pain when he failed. The boy really didn't want to move. It felt like knives were cutting into his side, leaving behind a burning mass of aches.

"You can't be serious," the older man looked up at the sky as it poured down rain, sighing a moment later as he bent down. "Alright then, this is probably going to hurt but-"

"Wait, what exactly are you-?" The black-haired boy didn't get to finish his question, but it was answered rather quickly. Guren had bent down and picked the boy up, supporting his upper back and legs. The movement caused the pain in his side to increase and he released another groan as tears threatened his vision.

"It wouldn't be wise to move you like this during the rain. One slip and it could make the whole situation worse." Guren mumbled to himself as the older man looked around. Yu wasn't quite sure what he was looking for, but couldn't bother to ask. He felt winded, most likely from the fall, and he didn't want to waste his breath asking.

His teacher finally settled on one of the abandoned buildings. They were now holed up inside the living room, where a small fire had been lit. Their clothing was damp with the rain, which forced them to remove whatever wasn't necessary in order to let it dry.

Getting his jacket off had been quite the ordeal. Anytime that Yu even attempted to move – and sometimes even breathe – the pain in his upper side would increase. Now that he thought about it, the pain was in his side, but more towards the center of his body. He just wished that it would go away.

Once the removal of his jacket was complete, he had been too exhausted to even try hanging it up. The jacket was now lying on the floor, excess water pooling beneath it. Guren had probably watched the whole ordeal from the shadows; this was confirmed by what he said next.

"Yu, sit up a bit," the words seemed utterly impossible to the twelve and a half year old, who was now spread out on the couch, struggling to catch his breath.

"I don't want to," the boy muttered, knowing he sounded exactly like a whiny kid. That didn't stop him from refusing the action though, knowing that it would only cause him more pain.

Footsteps caused his green eyes to open as Guren knelt down by the couch, a pillow in hand. His gaze seemed genuinely concerned as his hand made its way beneath the boy's back. "Come on," the added lift of the man's hand forced Yu to move his upper body just enough for the pillow to be slipped behind him. The black-haired boy hissed in pain at the movement, taking quick breaths when he was settled on the inclined surface.

You just made things worse, the boy thought as a glare was sent towards the man. The pain had been accompanied by a pinching sensation in his side, making his resolve to not move strengthen.

"Yu, where does it hurt?" Guren's voice cut through the pain, surprisingly calm and gentle. When the boy didn't answer, he continued. "If you don't tell me, I'm going to have to find out on my own."

The words sounded like a threat at that moment, but Yu was too exhausted to speak. For once in his life, he wished that Guren was a mind reader. It's my side, stupid Guren. Can't you tell that?

When the man didn't receive any further comments, his gloved hand skimmed over Yu's torso and then down to his side. When Guren's fingers bumped into the pain in his side, Yu felt his legs instinctively try to curl up as he hissed again.

"Right here?" The older man mumbled to himself, making sure the boy's legs didn't smack him in the face. Yu grew increasingly annoyed when the pressure didn't leave.

"Right there," he repeated, finding that it was getting increasingly harder to breathe. When Guren had started to roll up the boy's undershirt, however, he started to freak out. "What the heck are you-?"

"Relax," the man's order was stern as he forced Yu to stay still. The undershirt was rolled up, revealing his side. The black-haired boy couldn't see much from his current angle, but it looked bruised.

"That's… just great," the boy muttered with a sigh as he tried to lie back against the pillow further. The sudden exhalation of air seemed to catch in his throat, causing a fit of coughing that made his vision cloud with spots of pain. When his vision had cleared a bit, he felt the weight of another pillow being pressed to his chest.

"Let me know when you feel like coughing next time. You could have just made it worse." Guren's words were laced with concern and annoyance, causing the boy to stay silent. Sure, he wanted to spit out another remark, but he didn't have the energy to as the man disappeared into another room.

Yu continued to take shallow breaths, trying to fill his body with enough oxygen to breathe. Any other form of breathing hurt too badly. Guren came back into the room with a melting bag of ice, which the man then wrapped in his discarded jacket. As the lieutenant held the bag against the boy's side, he seemed displeased again.

"Yu, take a few deep breaths." The man had seemed to notice that he felt on the verge of hyperventilation. "I don't need you passing out on me."

"Easy… for you to… say." The black-haired boy responded between breaths, trying to do as the man had said. Every time that he would extend his breathing ended in either it being cut off because of the pressure in his side or another fit of coughing.

Guren glanced impatiently out the window, staring at the dwindling rain. Yu could practically see him weighing his options of leaving and getting help or attempting to carry the boy back. The black-haired boy would have much preferred to stay where he was.

The boy panicked a bit when Guren suddenly stood up, hand on his sword hilt as he stared at the doorway. The door opened, revealing a figure that the man apparently knew; his face turned to one of exasperation.

"What are you doing out here?" If Yu didn't know any better, he would have guessed that his teacher sounded angry. It might have just been the pain messing with him, since he thought that any sort of help was good at the moment.

"When you missed the briefing and didn't come back, I-" a woman's voice floated towards him as he tried to lift his head up. She glanced towards him, her eyes widening with the same concern that Guren had been showing moments earlier. "Oh my… what happened?"

The woman had quickly made her way over to the couch as several other people crowded through the door as well, most likely other members of her squad. Long hair draped down her shoulders as she bent down next to him, but Yu didn't remember anything else. He blacked out a moment later.

I know it's a bit late, but here's my favorite chapter so far. I have no idea why, but it was just so much fun to write~! Apologies to poor Yu-chan, who I just seem to torture in nearly every chapter one way or another. Next chapter we get to see what happens with the 'meeting' for Yoichi and Yu (if the former even decides to show up)! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please let me know your thoughts in a review!

-AnimeWolfGirl9