A.N. Yeppers! Another chapter! You didn't think I'd leave you hanging, did you?

Notes: Well. this story is finally coming to an end. I shall properly thank those who reviewed later, but for now I want to ask. Sequel, or no? You can e-mail me at Riverunico@aol.com for any suggestions or comments! Arigatou!

The dark form stood in fornt of her, smiling sinisterly. "You haven't one you despicable creature!"

"Wh-who are you?" Cloud coward in a corner shaking uncontrollably. The air around her was damp, and something moved. Probably a rat.. or a snake.

The figure laughed, it's masculine voice echoing in the void.

"Come now, you must remember!"

"N-No." the figure stepped forth and slapped her hard. Cloud's breath caught in her throat as she beheld the man.

He had a shaggy beard and mustache, the color of dark sand, and his hair was a greasy mess. He smiled, displaying his yellow crooked teeth, his eyes blazing. He looked like he went through hell and back.

"Hello. rat." Cloud screamed as the man rushed forth and pinned her to a wall, drawing her up and chocking her. She screamed as loud as she could, her voice echoing as a trial of blood worked it's way out of her mouth. "You weakling! You worthless piece of shit! Why do I even bother with you!?" he threw her to the ground where she lay still, crying. Her legs sat motionless and she couldn't move even if she wanted.

"Your so worthless!! You paralyzed freak!" he grinned wickedly as green fire came into his hands. Inside was a picture, no a scene of what was happening.

It was the guys, and they were screaming.

"this'll happen, and it'll be all your fault,"

"No."

"Yes," the scene closed up on Ryo. His arm was being wrenched form his socket. Finally, the thing doing it to him stopped. But that wasn't all.

Cloud gapped in horror as it took Ryo's arm completely off, and blood squirted everywhere. Cloud opened her mouth to scream, but a gun barrel was in it.

"D-daddy! P-Please! S-stop!" he chuckled cruelly.

"Remember," he whispered, getting close to her ear. She shook uncontrollably. "Here.. no one can here you scream.."
BANG
A scream echoed in the mansion and in a second everyone was upstairs in Cloud's room. Rowen was still sleeping, the sedative Sage had given him knocking him out

Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was screaming no over and over again. Her sheets, clothes, and blankets were all saturated in sweat, and she thrashed violently.

Ryo was trying to clam her down, while at the same time pinning her down. "Cloud! Wake up!" blood squirted from her wound and she screamed louder. She threw Ryo off, and Kento dive don, neatly pinning the struggling girl's arms at her sides.

"Cloud it's us! Wake up!" He shook her, but not to violently. She continued to scream as Ryo knelt to her ear, smoothing her hair as best he could.

"Cloud. Cloud its me!" tears filled his tiger blue eyes and Mia finally came through with an injection.

"Hold her arm still!!" Sage helped Kento hold Cloud's right arm still as Mia stuck in the needle, making the hysterical girl scream all much louder.

Her body shook and the tears poured out of her eyes like steady rivers, but soon she quieted, her breathing harsh.

"Bloody hell."

"What the freak was that?!" Kento demanded, his eyes wide.

"A nightmare?" suggested Mia, wiping the perspiration off her brow.

"No Nightmare could have caused THAT," Sage said, looking at the now fitfully sleeping girl in a sense of horror.

Ryo gently stroked her sweat soaked bangs out of her eyes.

"She Really needs a bath," Mia noted suddenly, noting four very flushed faces. Mia's eye twitched.

"look! I can't do it alone! One of you HAS to help me damn it!" they stared at her.

"I nominate Ryo,"

"Ditto,"

"Same here," Ryo glared at them.

"It's not like you wouldn't want to," Kento grinned, noting how badly his friend's face flushed.

"I'll get my revenge,"

"Whatever, can we get some sleep?"

"I agree, Ryo and myself shall give her a bath in the morning.. while YOU two," she pointed at Kento and Cye, "Clean house!"

"But-" she gave Kento a warning glance and he shut up with only a mutter of, "What about Sage?"

"HE is going to be Rowen's obedient slave," Mia smirked proudly at Sage who looked as though he wanted to cry.

"Looks like your going to have your hands full my friend," Cye chuckled, perfectly fine with cleaning house. Sage shot him a nasty glare as he returned to his room, but in truth, he guessed he wouldn't mind helping Rowen out. maybe..

**

The sun had just rose and it's glorious light had settled like a blanket over the woods and Koji mansion.

Ryo gently eased Cloud under the spray of the shower. He was obviously embarrassed, and his face showed it.

He was dressed in only his swim trunks while Cloud was in one of Mia's swimsuit tops and a pair of extra swim trunks much to his relief.

She was obvious to what was happening.

Mia had insisted that the bandages on. The ones form the fight and the ones form the hospitable.

They had also left the ones on her legs there. They had only seen Cloud take them off during exercise, and they had wanted to be careful.

The only thing they couldn't get off was her armor orb, so it lay cruelly on her chest, the dragon's ruby red eyes shinning out at them. It seemed to grin, and say 'remember.. remember me always' but they shrugged it off.

He glared at Mia who splashed him with the water on purpose. She giggled. "Just relax! We aren't hurting her,"

"It's not that." He muttered.

"Oh grow up," she laughed a bit at his mortified expression. "Besides it would have happened sooner or later.."

"Your just as bad as Kento!" he whined. Mia just smiled and began to work Cloud's hair in a fine lather. Ryo grinned thinking of the perfect revenge, "You like Sage.." he taunted. Mia coughed and a blush lit her features.

"Oh shut up!" she immediately glared at him. "That was on purpose!"

"Hey, you did it to me, I just wanted revenge!" Both were quiet for a moment as Mia rinsed out Cloud's golden locks. "She scared.."

"What?"

"She's scared that we'll shun her,"

"What makes you say that?"

"I just do. it was in her eyes when I held her before she passed out,"

"Oh.." Mia made quick work of the washing, and set out on some towels.

Mia dried her off quickly while Ryo dried himself off as well. A blush still lit his face, and a smile tugged at the corners of Mia's lips as she changed the bandages.

She was about to turn around and ask him to leave for a minute, but the door clicked shut, meaning he already had. Mia giggled. "You are a man of courtesy,"

**

Cye and Kento quickly changed the sheets, and the later put them in the hamper while the first took out a new set and easily put them on.

Then the pillows came off and were changed, and fluffed.

Finally the blanket was put back on and the bed was finished. "Well that was quick," Cye commented. But it was probably because this time he had a helper. He chuckled to himself, thinking about how Mia had gotten them to do this.

Kento sighed. "What next?"

"How about we try and make it seem more cheerful in here?"

"Why not? Lets do it!"
In truth, an enormous amount of guilt had settled upon Kento's shoulders, and he tried to push it away.

The first few attempts were unsuccessful, but the third was successful, and Kento soon forgot about his worries for the time being as he spruced it up.

So far they had put up some things they had found, like one of Cloud's posters, a picture of a black horse, that to Kento looked like the one in Cloud's painting in Art class, and a picture of two girls and their horses.

One was definitely Cloud and the horse behind her must have been Thunder, and the other girl must have been Katie and her horse..

They took extra care with that picture.

Kento stood back with Cye to admire their work. "Lets hit Ro's room, I think I have some luminescent stars we can stick on his ceiling!"

"Luma what?"

"Glow in the dark Kento,"

"Oh.. I knew that!" Cye sighed.

"Sure Kento.."

So Kento went down the hall to Rowen's room, while Cye went to his room and got the glow in the dark stars. Then he thought twice and sure enough! He also found glow in the dark planets too.

When the young Englishman arrived, he saw an amusing site. Kento was perched on a stool, and Sage was sleeping in a chair, his arms folded, next to Rowen.

"Well. I guess it can be a surprise now," Cye smiled, handing Kento the stars while he took the planets for himself.

Cye had originally wanted to recreate the solar system, but Kento kept messing up.

So it ended with Cye getting a few stars to make the big dipper above Rowen's bed while Kento did little smiley faces and comical designs around the room.

Somehow Cye managed to at least get the planet in correct order around the Sun besides Rowen's bed, six inches away form the big dipper.

He even managed to get them into a pretty good ellipse too! With the oval pattern and planets in order, he figured Rowen wouldn't be as bored while he was bed ridden.

He sighed. "So.. can we eat now?" Cye sighed again. He didn't remember much about being dead, so obviously Kento didn't either.

"Yeah, I'll go start something. Pancakes sound good?"

"Do they ever!"

"Alright, I'll make some soup for Rowen and Cloud," both left. Sage cracked open an eye and smiled. That was one way to get out of more work, besides, he was still a bit too tired to do anything.

But none the less he got up, and came upon something amusing. Ryo was knocking on the bathroom door. "can I come back in now?"

"Yeah!" Mia called.

"What, haven't had enough?" Sage chuckled. Ryo sent him a glare and opened the door, walking inside. Sage continued on his way, already the smell of pancakes reaching his nostrils.

Ryo peeked a look. Cloud was fully dressed in a pair of boxers Mia had found in her clothes, obviously amusing her. She was also dressed in a large baggy shirt. It was gray and showed off a strap of her sports bra.

"are you just going to stand there staring, or are you going to get her off me and take her back into her room?" Mia gave him an amused look as he blushed, lifting Cloud easily into her arms. "I need to run to the store and get some more bandages for her legs," Mia noted.

Ryo realized her sins were bare, and the places she stuck the wires in were out in the air. As if realizing what he was thinking Mia cut him off before he could ask, "the air wont hurt her any, and it might do her some good," she smiled and opened the door for him.

"Thanks." he walked out, still blushing lightly as Mia opened the door to Cloud's room.

"Wow.. they did a nice job in here," Mia remarked, looking around a minute before pulling back the covers where soon after Ryo deposited his load and helped bring the covers up to her neck.

"She looks peaceful.." he said quietly.

"That's because I made sure to give her some medicine,"

"Oh.."

"Look.. go eat when Cye calls. It wont kill her to be alone for awhile! I'm going to go and pick up the bandages, and while I'm at it I think I'll pick up some groceries and stuff,"

"K.. be careful,"

"stop worrying!"

"sorry.."

"and stop apologizing!" Ryo was silent, and she smiled before leaving.

He took his seat and reached under the covers, grasping Cloud's hand in his own.

It was small and fit perfectly. "can you hear me?" he asked quietly.

There was no response.

Just the steady rise and fall of her chest, and the raspy breath escaping and coming in.

"I just wanted to say. to say.. we don't hate you! Kento didn't mean it! He was just angry! Please.. wake up. You didn't do anything wrong. It wasn't your fault!" he paused. "I couldn't bare it if I lost you. you mean so much.." there wasn't a verbal answer still.

"Ryo! Dinner!" Ryo half heartedly got up, his heart full of worry. He paused at the door hearing a sound.

"Ry.o.." long lashed eyelids fluttered open a bit, revealing a glimpse of brown. A tear rolled out and slid onto the pillow.

Dinner was then forgotten in a heartbeat as Ryo knelt by the bed, her hand clasped in his hand. "Cloud?! Cloud can you hear me?!" he asked, hope in his voice. She managed to turn her head, tears filled her partially opened eyes.

"I..love..y..ou.s-so..m..much."

"I love you too." the dream momentarily forgotten she smiled weakly as he touched her cheek, and she reached up shakily, holding it there. "You hungry?" she was about to say no, but her stomach growled and she blushed slightly. Ryo gently slid his hand sunder her and she winced, so he readjusted and lifted her into his arms.

She fitted like a glove it seemed, and he smiled. "Think you can stay awake that long?"

"Hurry up Sage I'm hungry!" Cloud and Ryo looked out the door amused as Sage came panting past, Rowen on his back.

"Having fun I presume?" Ryo laughed.

"Oh.. shut.. up!" Sag panted, heading for the kitchen. Ryo did likewise, only at a slower pace.

"Well look who's up!" Kento boomed, his voice held laughter as Sage set Rowen in a chair.

"Yeah, well look who Ryo's got!" Sage said, sitting down and glaring at Rowen who beamed at him.

Heads swiveled towards the direction of the door.

Cloud looked away, an ashamed look on her face. Ryo adjusted her and began walking into the kitchen. He set her in a chair, and she almost fell out without the armrests to keep her in like her wheel chair.

Kento immediately retrieved her wheelchair from the living room, and Ryo gently lowered into that one.

Tears shinned in her eyes as she looked at Cye. "I'm so sorry.." The Englishman smiled reassuringly.

"come on now, cheer up love. We aren't going to like you any less!" she sniffled. Ryo put his hands on her shoulders.

"see?"

"I don't deserve you.."

"Its us that don't deserve you." Ryo sat next to her, and Cye set down the pancakes.

"How many do you want guys?"

"6,"

"2 please,"

"2,"

"Cloud? Rowen?" a thud answered their questions. Rowen had fallen out of his chair sleeping and Cloud's head had fallen onto Ryo's shoulder. Cye sighed.

"lets get them back to bed,"

"But I just hauled his ass down!"

"Well you can haul it back up!"
TBC!

A.N. Wow.. this is long ^^