Ryuuko sayz: you will HATE me this chapter...I know I'm making you judge me prematurely...but excuse me for being a sadist...b

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As the other members of Weiss sat down to dine, Ken walked in, looking a little better then he had before. He managed a weak smile before sitting down, a flash of a grimace passing on his face, gone as quickly as it had appeared. Yoji didn't notice, and it was gone to quickly for either Aya or Omi to make note of it. The dinner was unusually quiet; everyone was tired for one reason or another. Omi was the first to leave, visibly yawning. He placed his dishes in the sink with a clatter before retreating to his room dragging his feet. Yoji was the second to leave, heading to his room before reappearing in his leather, meaning he was going to the bar tonight. He grabbed his jacket before exiting. Aya and Ken were the only two left, Aya eating slowly as usual. Ken had only picked at his food, before getting disgusted before slowly standing, suppressing a gasp of pain. He slowly, almost painfully walked out of the kitchen before leaning heavily on the wall outside of it, huffing slightly from even that much. Aya slowly turned and looked at Ken. He had left a trail of blood as he had walked and he saw that ken was holding his shoulder almost painfully tight. Aya could see that the clothing on his shoulder was slowly blossoming a crimson color, slowly soaking the fabric. He raises his eyebrows, now certain that Ken is hurting badly. He gets up from his chair and walks over to Ken.

"Ken. What's wrong? You can't hide it anymore," Aya said in his quiet but commanding voice.

Ken looked at him, his eyes slightly glazed in pain. "It isn't that bad..."

Aya gave him a steady look that said "I'd have to be blind to not notice that it IS that bad."

Ken gave a small grimace that might have been counted as a smile.

"Let me see, Hideka," he said softly. Ken sighed and slowly pulled his shirt off, revealing a heavily bandaged torso, red slowly dying the white. The shirt sticks to his shoulder and he gasps in pain before he finally manages to pull his shirt away. The bandages on his shoulder are entirely soaked through and the blood is beginning to drip down his side and arm, a small scarlet river. Aya raises his eyebrows, never having thought that it could be this bad.

"Anything else?"

Ken paused before answering, "My leg...it.." He grimaces just think of it. Aya slowly looks over the job that Ken had done had sighs inwardly. Well, he had been working with only his hands...

"Sit down, Ken," Aya said before going to the bathroom. Ken was too exhausted to protest and slowly sank into a wooden chair. When Aya returned, he began to slowly peel the blood-slick bandages off of Ken. Ken bit his knuckle to keep from crying out in pain, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. As the bandages parted from his flesh, deep as well as shallow slashes appear on his body. One runs from his hip to his ribs, running pretty deep, but not deep enough to pass beyond muscle. Another leads a jagged edge across his chest. Dozens other litter his torso and arms, him bleeding heavily. The worst wound though, lies on his shoulder. The flesh is ripped almost beyond recognition, the edges of the skin sticking up like small mountains torn fresh out of the ground. Even some muscle was torn, the shoulder a sickening mass of blood, most of the blood vessels spraying their contents onto Ken's shoulder and neck. That made Aya wince, almost feeling the searing pain that ken must be going through. He puts a small amount of disinfecting solution on ken's shoulder before beginning to stitch it up. Compared to the blazing pain of the wound, the tug of the wire feeling almost like nothing. Once his shoulder is sewn up, his hold on his finger relaxes enough for him to taste the metallic blood. Aya slowly turns his attention to Ken's other wounds, slowly patching Ken back up again. Once finished, he bandages Ken, then looks steadily and penetratingly into Ken's eyes.

"Now tell me how you managed to almost be torn beyond recognition."