Note: Oh boy, yet another case of me forgetting about stories that I haven't finished. It really feels like I should give this story more attention, given how I've neglected it in favor of my other ones. Now that I'm back on it, we can continue. Before we move on, I have something to say to two reviewers.

hechtmanelijah6: Yeah, Bairei got beaten up pretty badly. However, that doesn't mean that he'll die. In fact, he might be alive. Just wait and see, my friend.

Ron: Don't worry, Bairei might be alive. Like I said to the previous reviewer, you'll see for yourself.

Now that I've done that, it's time for chapter eleven. Is Bairei still alive? Will the Seven Heroes be forced to replace him? Tune in to find out.

Chapter 11: Hospitalized

Bairei moaned as he found himself stirring awake. The raccoon's eyes blurred as he slowly opened them. Upon sitting up, he saw that he was no longer at the Evergreen Mountains. In fact, the ring-tailed male was in a hospital bed, with an IV in his arm and certain parts of his body covered with bandages and stitches. Confused, Bairei looked around, expecting someone to come in through the door. Now that he was alone, the warrior started to process what had happened to him prior to blacking out.

The wounds on Bairei stung as he remembered how he wound up in the hospital: he was fighting someone. However, it wasn't just a random person, it was a criminal that was sent out to fight the Seven Heroes. While the team were no strangers to fighting criminals, Bairei could remember that who they fought was a serious threat. After all, if the outlaw managed to injure him, one could only imagine what he would do to the others. All of a sudden, the raccoon remembered what their foe looked like. While he didn't remember everything about the guy, he knew that the man was a gray wolf who rivaled Schaefer in terms of height.

"Kazuma Araki." Bairei quietly said.

The door's handle began to jiggle, which made Bairei gasp. Once the door started to open, the raccoon worried about what was going to happen next. Luckily, Ryuta, Mayumi and Chikaga were the ones who came in. In response, Bairei let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad that it was only you guys who came in!" He said. "If it was Araki, I wouldn't have been able to fight back!"

"And you're lucky that we got you in the hospital!" Ryuta said.

"If we hadn't, you would've died!" Chikaga stated.

"The wounds you got during battle would've killed you instantly if they hit vital areas!" Mayumi said.

"Well, I guess that the enemy proved to be a lousy shot!" Bairei proudly said. "That's what he gets for messing with us!"

"Don't get a big head!" Ryuta warned. "You nearly died during that fight, Bairei, do you really want to fight Araki again?"

"Not at the moment," the taller raccoon stated, "but I can fight him again after I get done training for our next battle!"

"It's better to let Schaefer fight him next time, Bairei." Mayumi said. "He's the only one of us to match Araki in terms of height and strength."

Bairei only sighed as he lie back down on the bed. However, the pain from his wounds came back, which stung him. The raccoon winced as it returned, struggling to keep himself comfortable. Chikaga was by his side, trying to give him a massage. While it didn't make the pain go away, Bairei felt relieved from the massage.

"Don't worry, the doctor can give you painkillers if you need them." Chikaga stated.

"I've been through worse injuries than the ones Araki gave me!" Bairei moaned. "All I need to do is heal!"

"And with Chikaga's massage, you might heal faster." Ryuta said.

"More importantly, you'll heal quicker if you don't do anything that puts more stress on your body." Mayumi added.

Knowing that his comrades were right, Bairei only lie down on the bed. However, something immediately crossed the raccoon's mind.

"Are Bentley, Shizuka and Schaefer okay?" He asked.

"Yes," Ryuta said, "they're in the waiting room."

"Want us to let them in?" Mayumi asked.

"Sure, I don't see any problem with that." Bairei said.

Chikaga went over and opened the door, allowing Shizuka, Schaefer and Bentley to enter the room. The three remaining Heroes approached Bairei. As such, the raccoon could see their faces. While Schaefer looked composed, Shizuka and Bentley looked absolutely concerned. In fact, Shizuka looked like she was about to cry. Bentley even looked like he was going to throw up from the battle damage Bairei had taken.

"Hey guys!" Bairei greeted.

"How do you feel, Bairei?" Shizuka asked.

"I'm fine, apart from the injuries I have!" The raccoon said, moaning in pain shortly after.

"Oh, you shouldn't try to move!" The aardvark wailed. "You could get worse injuries!"

"Yeah," Bentley spoke, "you'll even give your body more strain by moving more than you need to!"

"Sorry, guys, I guess I've always felt energetic, even in situations like this!" The wounded ringtail groaned.

Schaefer didn't speak to Bairei. Instead, the sheepdog stood by the wall, his arms crossed. Ryuta and Mayumi took notice of this, approaching the canine. The two raccoons spoke with him, showing concern.

"Schaefer, are you okay?" Ryuta asked.

"We should never have went out on that mission." Schaefer said. "If we knew that Kazuma Araki was on the Evergreen Mountains, I would've had Chu-ya call on the FBI or CIA in order to have them give us assistance."

"You sound quite scared of Kazuma Araki." Mayumi said. "I get that he's a wolf, but isn't he someone we can take down together?"

"Normally, that would be the case for anyone we fight, but not Araki." The sheepdog stated. "I met him ten years ago, when I came to Japan. When we first spoke, Araki seemed like a nice enough person. That was until I got to more know about him. According to one of his friends, he often killed birds in his free time. In addition to that, he would often get into fights that would end with him nearly killing his opponent. I spent three years trying to get him to see the light, and seven more trying to make sure no one would encounter him, because there was nothing behind the eyes of Kazuma Araki, except for a monster."

The others were dead silent for a moment. They didn't have doubts that Kazuma Araki was a dangerous criminal, but they didn't expect him to be evil to the core. Given what he did to Bairei, they were all fearing what the wolf would do to them. What they did know was this: it would take a miracle to bring the murderous lupine down in battle. Schaefer watched as they looked at each other, contemplating what their next move would be.

"Schaefer, we don't know what to say." Ryuta stated.

"I know how all of you feel." Schaefer said. "I was just as shocked when I found out that Araki was such a brutal person."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Bairei moaned as he attempted to get up. "We've got to stop this guy!"

"And we will, Bairei." Schaefer told his comrade. "But, for now, you should stay here until you recover from your injuries."

"Fine!" The raccoon pouted as he lie back in his bed.

"We should head back to Junichi's house," Chikaga stated, "my father is waiting on us."

"Get well soon, Bairei!" The six non-injured members of the team said as they left the room.

Bairei didn't say anything to them. Rather, he lie down in bed. From that point on, the raccoon would have to stay in the hospital until he completely healed. He dreaded what would happen to his friends if he was unable to leave the hospital. It would be worse if he would be rendered paralyzed from the waist down, as his lack of legs would render him useless. However, he had faith in his friends and comrades, as they were warriors like him. Hell, even Bentley was proving to be a powerful warrior like how Junichi once was.

Note: It really has been a while since I updated this story. As such, I hope to continue working on this one. I actually intended to end this chapter with a conversation at the HQ of the Serpent Gang, but I wanted to just leave it as a breather. I hope that it's okay with you guys. Until next time guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace!