Satsuki hadn't left the ICU since they arrived nearly two days ago, working out of a small room to make sure she was within earshot of Gamagoori and Ryuuko. With their lives hanging on by thin threads, she needed to be there for them, no matter what. The abilities presented by Mako once inside Junketsu had her bewildered and concerned. Mako had power, yes, but she was far from that powerful. She could not nearly kill people like Ryuuko and Gamagoori so easily. There had to be someone else's hand put into this fact.
She could easily tell, from what data and video was collected, that Junketsu was using more blood than normal, even for the Kamui's normally extensive intake, to nearly triple Mako's built-in power. Still, even that much effort would drain Mako considerably, even in the end kill her, so the only lead left was either Ragyo or Nui manipulating or experimenting on Junketsu, or Mako, or both vile woman experimenting on both Kamui and Mako.
She sighed, tired of guessing what was happening, and set her tablet beside her. She rubbed her eyes, going on fumes of a total of four hours of sleep in a three-day period. She couldn't sleep with her sister and shield dying not ten feet around her.
Ryuuko was healing, courtesy of her Life Fibers, but she still could not breathe on her own without machine assistance, and had issues walking, talking, swallowing, stomaching anything, sleeping, and many other things. Her bones had healed correctly, and her muscles were showing signs of recovery, but she still had liquid in her chest and lungs, which was slowly being pumped out since most of the attention was on Gamagoori, who was still clinging to life with weakening fingers.
He wasn't in the ICU anymore, that was for sure. His condition must have taken a turn for the worst overnight that she didn't realize. She snatched her tablet again and drew up Gamagoori's vitals, seeing that his heart had stopped working for a solid minute before starting again.
One whole minute. He was clinically dead for a minute. His brain stopped working, his blood stopped pumping.
Fearful shivers shot through her body. They had to make sure it didn't happen again. She sent a quick message to the surgeons awaiting her approval for their operations on him, and added urgency into her voice of her words before sending it.
Satsuki tucked the tablet under her arm and moved to the curtained-off room beside her, finding her sister sitting up with her shirt pulled up to her breasts, feeding tube sticking out of her stomach and coiling around her skin. Ryuuko quickly noticed her and waved her over. Ryuuko moved her oxygen tubes around ,securing it into her nostrils, messing with her other tube coming out of her chest, which pumped the remaining blood out of her, before readjusting her sitting spot, and smiling at Satsuki.
"Hey." It was a strained greeting, but Ryuuko could barely use her throat. At least it was a sign of improvement from the hours and hours of silence besides the machines. Satsuki smiled, picking up the small notepad beside Ryuuko, writing quickly before handing it to her.
'I'm glad you can use your voice a little more. Have you been working on using it?'
Ryuuko gently grabbed her throat, releasing it once she felt comfortable. "Y-yes I have. S-slowly..."
"It's good to hear your voice again, Ryuuko." Satsuki told her, brushing a stray hair out of her face, "It still hurts, obviously."
"Yeah...but getting b-better. Eas..ier to b-breathe."
Ryuuko reached over and flicked the end of Satuski's noise, making the elder sibling lean away looking at her with a ridiculous expression, causing Ryuuko to laugh out loud, without issues.
"You still...a-are so tou-ouchy." Ryuuko hacked out before coughing roughly.
Satsuki brushed away her initial anger and sighed, knowing that she could not pick a fight with Ryuuko in her current condition. She let her tensions lessen for a moment, relaxing for the first time in two days. She rested her hands over Ryuuko's IV'd hand on her chest, giving leeway to a quick smile.
"We'll heal soon enough to get her back, I know it," Satsuki told her, keeping eye contact despite Ryuuko's eyes moving to the side, "But her amount of power has me worried."
Ryuuko nodded. "She's...t-too p-powerfu-ul."
"I agree, and with that power coming from unknown places, I'm worried that if these string of losses continues, Mako's going to die before we have any chance to save her and take Ragyo and Nui down."
Mako woke up much more tired than before, Junketsu's eyes moving frantically around the room as she sat up, brushing the Kamui's left eye to get him to calm. She had begun to find it more difficult to remove the uniform, not in the aspect that she couldn't pull it off but she found it harder to leave the Kamui sitting frozen in a box, its eyes following her, a moan of sadness echoing from it as she left it to sit in its place.
Junketsu was happy each night she turned away from the glass box, and showed its approval by taking blood, giving her a chance to relax and take out frustrations from dealing with work within the school instead of searching for and taking out Nudist Beach.
His sounds were one of alarm and fear, signals he gave only when frightened. She slowly stroked the Kamui as she leaned against the wall, trying to keep her eyes open. She was tired, absolutely exhausted, and ready to fall back asleep but she knew she had to keep moving. She spared the Kamui a little blood, and only after feasting on what she let him and a generous amount afterword, did it calm. With more blood taken then offered, she clawed at his eyes before ungracefully falling on to her back as a powerful dizzy spell stole her senses for a minute.
Would she have enough blood to fight now? Would she be able to use her legs? Junketsu had become greedy lately, but it kept the Kamui strong and herself stronger, despite the slight issues after blood giving.
She adjusted Junketsu once she recovered, twirling around in the skirt for a moment before walking out and reporting to Lady Ragyo for a brief on the day's events, finding she had nothing to do for the second day in a row. Due to Lady Ragyo's needs and whims, she would not be going out to demolish those in her way. She disagreed with the granted downtime but she knew never to vocally refuse an order. She left with a bored groan and a pissed off attitude. She wanted to do something, anything.
Junketsu squirmed toward an open door to her left; one she knew was one of the larger observation decks looking down into the re-purposed sewing room. She saw Nui looking over the construction of Lady Ragyo's ultimate Kamui, looking as bored as she was from her exasperated sigh and being heavily balanced on her hands.
She could also do someone, if said someone was bored enough to indulge on worldly pleasures. Junketsu purred and growled at the idea, but Mako did not care for Junketsu's council in matters such as physical pleasure. She knocked on the door before sauntering inside, Nui's eyes evaluating her head to toe before she turned to her.
"Mako. I thought you were asleep."
"Nope. Woke up early, found out I'm doing nothing again. It's getting boring." Mako complained, leaning heavy on one hip, "Plus Junketsu's getting greedy and I wouldn't mind just running around naked for a while."
Nui's interests were caught like a fish on a hook, her smile growing. "Naked, huh? No undies, no bra?"
Mako smiled coyly, bouncing to her other hip. Junketsu gave a low sound, sending shivers through her. "Depends really. Who would see me in my birthday suit? The entire base? The Sewing Club members?"
Nui walked up to her and without hesitation, pulled her toward her, their faces closer than Mako expected. "Would you show me?"
With the amount of sultry undertone packed into those words, Mako knew she had Nui interested. With Junketsu rejecting the idea of her removing it, she silenced it, bridged the distance between Nui's lips and her own, whispering her answer as her hands fumbled to get Junketsu off.
"I would never say no to showing you."
Satsuki didn't expect Gamagoori to look so calm despite the chances of his death hanging open before him. No signs of blood or broken bones, no sounds of moaning or screaming, no semblance of damage. Yet underneath his bruising skin was still delicately healing wounds; one wrong touch and he could lose limps or organs.
After making sure his heart pumped normally, and the risk of clinical death were greatly reduced, doctors put him into a medically-induced coma to let his body and his mind recover and rest. It was the only thing they could do for him now, after multiple surgeries to fix him from the ear pile of ripped muscle and shattered bones he came in. He couldn't breathe on his own, and much of his body needed nutrients and assistance to speed up healing and recovery.
She ran a gentle hand through his uncombed hair, pushing it back so it uncovered his forehead. He looked peaceful. His ventilator was showing normal numbers and signs and his tracheal tube looked good. The numerous other lines and IVs coiled around despite the peaceful hum of machinery keeping him going.
She hoped he would wake up, or at least heal. She didn't want to be the one telling Mako once they freed her-
If. If they freed her. If she didn't die before they tried, and if she didn't get killed before they tried. IF REVOCS didn't eliminate her before they tried.
If they don't kill her before they try to free her.
Too many ifs, not enough confirmation of action. She needed to make sure she could save her, for Ryuuko and Gamagoori, for her family now safe in Osaka, for her peace of mind. She sighed, running her hands through her hair, unable to shake the undeniable feeling of doom hovering over everything. She looked to Gamagoori again.
Peaceful as usual. She knew it wouldn't change anytime soon. She quickly left a reassuring squeeze of his hands before she turned and left. Staying there with a comatose ally was doing nothing good to her, but it kept her hopes that he would make it out alive. She absolutely did not want to be the breaker of news to everyone, including his family, that he was a vegetable and wasn't going to ever wake up. She calmly went through the metal halls of the base, watching those who passed turn their gaze from her; she couldn't tell if it was she looked angry or if they knew what she was going through.
She knew they did, but it still hurt much more. The command center opened for her automatically, Iori and Inumuta stood to salute and returned to work, their faces betraying their need for sleep and something other than loss. They had been on a long reprieve from sleep since Mako showed up, and were early done with data sorting and path-finding, but they were ready to collapse on their consoles.
"You two should be getting sleep. The files are not going to be missing in the morning." Satsuki told them softly, looking over Iori's shoulder, "You've done wonderfully for us, but now it's your turn to rest and recover."
Iori sighed heavily, looking up at Satsuki as Inumuta took the offer, giving his thanks to her for the leave and waking out with a quick goodbye to Iori. Satsuki new that Inumuta would most likely sort more in his bed, but at least he would eventually find sleep. Iori pushed away from the panels and turned his chair to her, eyes heavy.
"I was also able to ready several prototypes for the Two Star's Goku Uniforms. All I need now are facilities and the Life Fibers needed to make them, Lady Satsuki."
Satsuki sighed, and put her right hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for going beyond my orders, Iori. Get some sleep, please. I know what happens to you when you burn yourself up."
Iori smiled for a moment. "It's times like this that I would rather burn up then miss something important, Satsuki."
"Don't, for me please." Satsuki pleaded, "Go sleep. Get something to eat, take a shower, relax and get some sleep. I'll take the mantle."
Iori gave in with a smile as he stood with her help, briefly held on to her and walked out of the command center. Satsuki knew he would heed her advice, and she was grateful for him. She took his seat and opened up a comm channel with Mikisugi, calling him up. Within minutes, the glowing Nudist was beside her.
"Is there any good news on your end, Mikisugi?"
He looked conflicted. "We were able to clear out a portion of the base damaged, knock back a few forces, but we've lost more ground than gained. More schools are falling under your mother's heel then we can coordinate and save. Sanageyama lost his uniform today fighting with his gangs."
One uniform down. Satsuki nodded. "Thank you, Mikisugi. Get some sleep, we can worry about our assets later."
Mikisugi stayed were he stood, gently grabbing one of her shoulders. "You should sleep as well. We don't need another person down in the medical wards."
With those last words, Mikisugi pushed back his hair from his eyes, and walked out of the command center, leaving Satsuki alone. Once the doors closed, Satsuki slumped against the terminal, exhaustion taking her. Her exhaustion was not simply a lack of sleep but the stress from her sister and one of her closest friend's critical conditions, and the stress from the possibility of being unable to rescue Mako.
Later, she told herself, she would take care of it all later. She needed sleep before she had to be taken into medical. With a heavy sigh and reluctance weighing her down, she stood out of her seat and walked out into the base once more, heading straight for her room and to her bed.
Someone was running their hands over her side. The cold touch of a familiar hand drawing pointless shapes on her naked skin, her hands drawing down her thigh until they slowly trailed back toward her waist where the icy drawing continued, reaching lower between her thighs with a curious touch before withdrawing once more and resting around her waist and massaging her skin.
Mako knew who would do so and turned to her other side so she could see Nui once more, sitting up just enough to take the kiss she wanted from the blonde. Nui pushed her down into the bed again, taking one of Mako's wrists and pinning it above her head, moving so she straddled the smaller brunette's hips. Mako dared not look until her lips were freed, swollen still from the first round's amount of lip locking.
"Thanks for the wake up call." Mako thanked, voice still saturated in lingering lust. Nui giggled, her hands trailing from Mako's wrist over her shoulders, teasing her breasts before lingering on her stomach, keeping still on her knees over Mako.
"My pleasure. Now, you look ready for round two."
Mako kept no hold on her heat, her smile betraying her eagerness to continue. Her boredom was long gone, replaced by flames of lust and passion far from whatever she dreamed. This time with her was unlike any fantasy, any instance of groping back in the Academy days. This was so much more, and she couldn't imagine what other possibilities lay ahead with Nui in bed. She dug her hands into the sheets, keeping her arms above her head as she went along with Nui's teasing touches and kisses.
"Round two, round three...just let me feel you. I want nothing more."
Nui's gentle smile gave way to lust, her lips biting Mako's lips before trailing down her face and neck, taking lovebites to her collarbone.
"Eager, aren't we?"
"Why wouldn't I? I feel...ahn! D-don't bite there...so hard."
Nui chuckled, drawing up to Mako's face to kiss her again, intoxication slipping through each one as Mako dove head first into her sexual lust, her sense clouding as her nerves and body's sensitivity skyrocketed, sending her through the clouds as Nui ravaged her and showed her what true pleasure felt like, and how much her body could react to each stroke and touch, each bite and kiss to anywhere on her body. Under the constant pleasure of Nui's lips and tongue, and the building pressure in her lower stomach, Mako did not last long, letting the coil in her stomach snap.
Lying in the resulting afterglow, Nui cuddled up to her side, making sure her hands were all over Mako until they rested around her waist. Despite the fatigue tugging at her to sleep away the dregs of what lust lingered, Mako could not find the will to sleep. She gently moved around in Nui's arms, adjusting them so they did not tease her still. Nui, fast asleep and still gently shaking from Mako's reciprocation of her previous actions, turned and faced the other side of the bed, freeing the brunette from her unbreakable hold.
With her freedom gained, Mako carefully stepped out of Nui's bed, and paced for a moment. Something else was bothering her. Something, on the edge of her thoughts, bugging her and poking her.
Despite the cold chill in the room, she did not anticipate the chill running up her spine. Something was off, but she felt something familiar thrumming through her veins. Something warm, gentle, and kind. Unlike Nui's somewhat violent yet quick passion, whatever ran through her was the exact opposite, and it gave much relief to the claw marks in her back and shoulders.
Something dawned on her through the invisible veil keeping her from herself. A singular thought, nearly a memory, of what sparked the warmth flooding her blood.
'I promised someone, and that someone promised me that we would ask each other before we slept together. Consensual, blissful, and pleasant sex with this important person. Who are you?'
Mako knew what she and Nui did was consensual, and to a point blissful, but the claw marks and bite marks covering her shoulders, back, and neck denied the pleasant part of what her body desired. She looked back at the sleeping Nui, seeing the girl smile and adjust deeper into the bed, looking like a divine with her hair spread out over everything like a never-ending halo of blonde.
She felt the cold of the room as the heat of her blood dimmed. She didn't want to stay. She did not want to freeze at the touch of a girl who did not fulfill her newfound values. Without a sound, she gathered her undergarments into her arms, gently draped Junketsu over her arm, and walked through the empty halls of the cold Academy to her private room three doors down from Nui. Once there, she dropped her undergarments to the ground, and for the first time in a long time put Junketsu into its glass closet, blocking out the whimpers of sadness it gave her.
The hum of warmth returned once all was silent again, and she closed her eyes for an instance to stare at the image in her mind of a blank-faced male. The someone she promised; her mystery unable to be solved. She wanted to know what lied behind the white cover of this person. He was the reason she thought against what was instinct hours ago. Why she did not want the cold embrace of the step-sister who saw her for who she was?
"I need to know." she found herself whispering, opening her eyes and pushing away the warmth of the stranger's mental touch. With the room a neutral temperature, she found normalcy and relaxation. She crawled into her bed, a proud four-poster draped in soft blue and gold, dug into the sheets and blankets, and found peace within her falling eyelids, glad that sleep had finally found her.
'Please, mind...I need to know why he is here in my thoughts. Why is he suddenly here?!'
He mind, on the edge of sleep, showed her a glimpse of who he was. Blond hair and grey eyes. She needed no more, sitting up quickly and hitting her head with her fists, refusing such lies.
There was to be no thinking of such barbaric, disgusting, stalking men like Ira Gamagoori. He was a bug, a pest to be smashed. A human not allowed to survive, but to suffer till the end of days. He was to die for harboring such disturbing feelings for her, a higher being blessed with Life Fiber resistance rivaling even Ryuuko.
No more. No more. The room chilled, and Mako was finally able to topple into sleep, not once seeing the shimmering grey eyes of a man who fed warmth into her blood.
Morning broke for the forces, many still exhausted from lack of deep sleep. Satsuki did not push for much, but she pushed them to make sure that they would not falter enough to risk everything. Some grumbled against her orders, but they continued on with their jobs. She found herself sitting alongside her still sleeping wounded in the ICU, looking between Gamagoori and Ryuuko periodically.
Ryuuko was blessed with her Life Fiber healing, the bruising on her neck and face fading fast enough to trick the best person in believing they weren't real. She was improving every hour, and if she kept with the pace she would be free to breathe on her own and remove the tube sucking out the blood in her body cavity. She would have better mobility and finally work toward her final recovery.
Gamagoori had no approaching recovery date. His current projection for enough healing to move and act was too far to anyone to see, titled 'wounded and healing indefinitely'. He was still under in his medical coma, showing little improvement for a healing human. His ventilator was still gently going, feeding him the oxygen to breathe. He had some advancements in healing, but it was not working as it should.
Ryuuko's eyes opened, blinking several times before her hands brushed away the lingering exhaustion from her eyes. She yawned softly, moving to adjust her bed to sit up comfortably. She moved her cavity tube around for comfort, and adjusted her mask. Satsuki smiled at her as Ryuuko slowly pulled off the mask, and took her first breath on her own. She wheezed a little, but she could breathe normally. She chuckled roughly and cleared her throat.
"S-stale air...don't know...if I totally miss this." Ryuuko announced, "But free air...is nice. Can the chest tube...be gone with too?"
Satsuki laughed gently, taking the mask away from Ryuuko and adjusting the tubes in her nose for her, shutting off one of the air machines. "I'll talk with them, see what I can do."
Ryuuko gave a big grin. "T-thanks. At least I feel...a little better now. Does my voice sound l-like crap?"
"Not entirely," Satsuki told her, "but you could do better."
"You're an ass." Ryuuko announced, her smile falling when she saw Gamagoori. "How's he?"
"He's...he hasn't been conscious since he was brought in. He's had back to back surgeries, constant observation...he's somehow hung on but its looking bleak for him to heal anytime soon."
"He's alive?" Ryuuko asked, eyes frantic. Satsuki nodded, looking over at him again. Ryuuko, somewhat relieved he made it through, smiled, but it faded when she realized how close he obviously was to death. She looked over everything before settling back on to her bed, playing with the IV in her right arm.
"He's been a medically induced coma since his surgeries started, to let him heal. He's shown no signs of waking up since then. He's healing slower than we want, and at the rate he is he may not heal enough to survive." Satsuki further explained, "It's getting to the point that doctors are debating whether to pull the plugs and kill him humanely, or relying on faith and medicine we don't have enough of for him to heal."
"You are not killing him, no chance in h-hell. I will fight anyone who tries to pull the plug on him." Ryuuko snarled, "I think I know a way...to help him heal, hell maybe e-even fix him up."
Satsuki leaned back in her chair, folding her hands in her lap. She could obviously see the change between them before, but Ryuuko's denial of any hurt to him confirmed everything. She could pin their suddenly repaired and improved relationship on Mako, their obviously embedded faiths to her, her health, and her survival. Ryuuko looked over to her for a moment, smiling for a second before frowning and looking back at Gamagoori.
"I know how to fix him."
"And how is that because all of us are getting desperate now." Satsuki asked, looking up at her little sister.
"I need to get over...to him. Get these tubes out of me."
Mako was waiting for him on the same cliff they had to run from on the day of the invasion, wearing a pure black strapless knee-length dress. She was facing the ocean when he walked up the hill, a soft hymn in the air. The mournful tune could be heard from the bottom of the hill, and it only hit closer to the crescendo as he got closer.
Her hair was shorter than when they met. It barely covered her head. He could see burn and bite marks all over the back of her neck and shoulders. Cuts and claw marks covered her shoulders, and what looked like blood coated her arms from the elbow down.
The mournful hymn turned dark and foreboding, angry in tone. The words in the air became sharp and shrill, the sky above them cracking and turning crimson red. What green around them turned to brown and black in an instant. As he looked around, he could only hear the shrieks of the dying below at the bottom of the hill. He turned back to Mako.
Mako was turning to him on the same hill he watched the slums burn down, wearing an angelic white, juliet-sleeved full length dress. Her eyes found his as he topped the hill, the cries of the dead in the air. The shrill shrieks could be heard from the air, and it only became softer as he got higher above.
Her hair was longer, reaching in her shoulders. He could see not a single blemish or scar on her. The white dress covered most of her flawless skin, showing off the softness of her facial features and the gentleness of her smile.
She reaches out to him, as he drew closer, flames licking at his heels as the hill went up in flames. Yet despite the desolation and horror, Mako stood as the beacon of purity and happiness and hope, her smile brightening as he took her hand. She steps back toward the edge of the cliff, encouraging him to join her.
As her foot hits the cliff edge, he lets go. He stepped away from her in fear. Mako's expression turned wounded, reaching out for him again. The flames backed away as he did. Mako stepped away from the edge to reach out farther, but he did not come closer to her. She saw his refusal to get closer, and stopped her advances, clutching her chest as a wail escaped her, silencing all other sound. The sky opened again, this time spitting out an abyss of black, covering everything except for Mako.
Mako was turning away from him on the place of her death in a blood-stained petal-sleeved floor-length grey dress. She was turning toward the ocean of rosso corsa, her cries echoing in the absolute silence of the black cliff. The maddening sound was the only thing to be heard anywhere, no matter where he went.
Her hair was cut in a wild style, showing signs of force as a few bald spots spotted her scalp. Bruises the shapes of fingers wrapped around her neck, blood falling down large cuts along her collarbone. She had bruises on her cheeks, and marks on her hands and wrists.
Her cries soften only as she reaches the cliffside. Instead his ears ring until her cries turn into sniffles, and she looks back at him once more. She now has a left black eye. She turns entirely toward him, her heels kissing the cliff edge as the cliff cracks and buckles, and she starts to fall down. He rushes quickly to her, her injured right hand grabbing his left hand before she falls, dangling over the edge of the broken cliff which threatens to buckle under their combined weight.
Mako looks up at him dangling above death, her dress turning pure white for a moment as the air lightens around them, the red below them turning blue once more. Her hair is free of blood and at the right length. Her eyes sparkle as she smiles up at him, her cry of relief bringing him joy. She then looks down, and her face curls in sadness. She looks sadly at him before the red ocean flows again, and her dress returns to mournful grey.
She lets go of his hand, and plummets down, all the while her pure clear tears follow her down.
The sky cracks open, the blue sky and white clouds reappearing. The azure ocean flowed freely, taking away the red he saw Mako accept as her tomb. The ground below him repaired itself, keeping him safe above the gentle waves below. The grass returned to green, the tress blossomed in flowers. The soft hymn that welcomed him earlier returned.
He stood on the edge of the cliff, and turned toward the slope down to the bottom of the hill.
Mako was waiting for him on the top of the sloop of the hill, wearing a knee-length, spaghetti-strapped sapphire dress. On her head was a flower crown of forget-me-not, bluestars, and morning glory. She was smiling at him, the sound of bells echoing in the air as she reached behind her, pulling out something.
In her hands was the bloody weapon she had used to murder him. Her face is covered in shadows, but he knows what lies behind the darkness. His eyes close as he whispers his last love and goodbye. He embraced fate as she rushed at him with wild and fury-filled eyes, stabbed the weapon through his chest, and let him fall into the ocean.
The last thing he saw before hitting the waves of the ruby ocean was Mako in her grey dress, soaking wet and crying out for him as he hit the surface of the ocean, and sunk down into the depths of the water to replace Mako's place in the dark grave.
Ryuuko did what she could, and had to be helped back on to her bed. She had gone through hell to do what she did, nearly killing herself and making Gamagoori flatline twice, but she felt she did what had to be done to help his survival.
She was put back on to fluids and blood through her IV, and had the whole in her chest patched despite her healing doing most of the work. Satsuki was with the doctors who monitored her actions, most likely analyzing Gamagoori's condition at the moment.
She lay back, smiling as she felt her heart beat hard in her chest. She had this feeling that Gamagoori would be okay. She saw the nightmare play through his head, seeing him fear the cliffside, but she knew what the cliff meant for him. For Mako, it was death. For him, it was freedom.
With a final small prayer for her actions to work, she sunk into sleep. Her dreams led her down to victory with Gamagoori and her freeing Mako.
On the other side of the hall, Satsuki watched as Gamagoori's vitals immediately improved, as well as activity in his brain. He was alive, thriving, and healing at the rate they needed him to heal. Bones once in stitches and held by sheer luck were mending together, damaged organs and tissues were sewing back together. His lungs were strengthening. His heart was pumping normally again.
By the sheer stupidity, luck, and genius Ryuuko brought to the table, Gamagoori had a shot at being combat ready before they went after Mako.
I realize it's been another month but time really did pass without me noticing. School has be by the throat, and I'm struggling to fight a crap ton of writer's block especially with how I'll progress to where I want to be in this fic.
But I shall still continue writing this, and I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. If all goes well, in a few weeks or less another chapter will be out. If not, I'll be moving to a monthly release schedule for this fanfic.