Konnichiwa Minna-san! I know, I know, it's been over a year since I updated this but a lot of things happened. For one, my old computer kept eating the fic for breakfast and I eventually temporarily gave up on it but I have returned! This was going to be the last chapter but since I didn't update it in like a year I decided that I would add a sixth chapter as a little bonus. For the dialogue in this I primarily used the Japanese dialogue with hints of the English dialogue (The Japanese translation gave me a little more freedom as to what was being said) but aside from that I don't have anything else to say about this so enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Vesperia or the characters, I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Happy Reading!

Chapter Five: Coming Around

Yuri came to in a fog. He remembered being stabbed and falling from the top of Zaude but he had no idea how he had gotten wherever he was. He knew that he wasn't dead. The stab wound was far too painful for him to be dead. He opened his eyes and found his surroundings to be rather familiar.

"My room…?" He asked softly, "How did I get here?"

He tried his best to recall how he had gotten here but he came up short. Between the time he fell from Zaude to the time he woke up there was nothing that he could clearly recall. There was a vague and hazy memory of a conversation between a woman and two men that he could barely comprehend but after that there was nothing. He figured there must have been some explanation as to why he was here.

Yuri groaned in pain as he slowly sat up. "I knew she hated me," He said softly, "But I didn't think she hated me this much…" He put his hand to his side and found that his abdomen had been tightly bandaged. "So I was rescued huh?" He thought, "But who was it…?" He positioned himself so he was sitting on the edge of his bed. He wasn't about to attempt to stand just yet, just sitting up made his head spin and his side throb painfully.

He looked around his room for any clues as to who had rescued him and he found a book lying on his bed. "Whoever saved me must have left here," He thought. The book was marked at a certain page and it sparked Yuri's curiosity. He read the small passage and gasped. It was about the very thing that Estellise had dragged them through a desert for, "If only we had had this book a few months back," He thought, "We might have avoided that whole mess we got ourselves into that time."

"You have awakened," A deep, familiar voice stated as the door opened.

"Duke…" Yuri muttered as he started to connect the dots as to what had happened to him, "So it was you who saved me…" He sighed as he was able to recall seeing the dragon that had saved them at Cados and Kogorh just before he blacked out "So that's why I saw that there…"

"I couldn't have that sword lost to the ocean forever," Duke said bluntly as he picked up the sword that was leaning against the bed, "It was nothing more than that."

"That being said, you still saved my life," Yuri said as he put his hand to his throbbing side again, "And I owe you my thanks."

"That wound is going to take a while longer to heal," Duke said, "I would advise resting until it heals completely. Such a wound will not heal overnight and will be very easy to reopen. My partner left you some medicine to use until the wound heals."

"Thanks," Yuri said, "I'll keep that in mind. How long has it been?"

"You were attacked six days ago." Duke said.

"It's been almost a week then," Yuri said, "I wonder how everyone is doing without me…"

"Your friends are getting by alright," Duke said, "You should worry about yourself more right now. You still have a rather severe injury."

"So, the Shrine of Zaude was powered by the lives of the Children of the Full Moon?" Yuri asked.

"That is correct," Duke said, "The humans brought forth the Adephagos and led it. It was nothing more than atonement. The few remaining Children of the Full Moon along with the Entelexeia decided on how the world should be. The Imperial Family members are their descendants."

"So that's how the Empire started…" Yuri muttered, "And that would explain why that sword will prove a true emperor…It was the key to Zaude…"

"As long as aer is used no one can oppose the Adephagos," Duke explained, "For it was born of aer itself."

Yuri grimaced in pain a little bit as he sighed, "You wanted to stop the Adephagos as well," He said, "Which is why you went around calming the Aer Krene right?"

"Correct."

"Why didn't you ask for help?" Yuri asked, "You could have avoided the whole mess with Alexei if you had."

"I have aligned myself with the Entelexeia," Duke said, "I have no intention of coexisting with humanity. Humanity will never come to any accord."

"What exactly are you trying to do then?" Yuri asked, "The Adephagos was too much even for the ancient civilization.

"I will continue to protect Terca Lumireis…" Duke said, "There is a way to defeat the Adephagos."

"You say that you can't stand humanity but what about us?" Yuri asked, "Aren't we human? Why did you give me Dein Nomos? Why did you cooperate?"

"You were the only ones who attempted to communicate with the Entelexeia," Duke said, "Which is why I…never mind it is done. Do not leave the protection of the barrier until your wound has completely healed. I cannot be there to save you every time."

"Hold on a sec!" Yuri exclaimed as he quickly stood then quickly realized that it had been a bad idea, "Dammit…" He swore as he clutched his throbbing side and sat back down on his bed. Once the pain died down to something he could tolerate he attempted to stand again and was more successful. He looked over at the table and found the medicine that Duke had talked about, "A special gummy?" He thought as he picked it up, "These are rare…why would he just give this to me? Whatever, if it'll help with the pain…" He ate the small gummy then left his room hoping that he would be able to find someone with the little strength he had.

Estellise sighed as she walked around the Lower Quarter with Repede. She hoped that what Khroma had told them was true. Like Flynn, she was beginning to lose hope in Yuri's return. It had been nearly a week since Yuri had gone missing and she knew that most people who went missing for this long, rarely came back. She wanted to walk down the stairs to where Yuri's small apartment was but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She watched as Repede walked to the stairs, "You can go if you want," She thought, "I don't think I could go there…"

Repede barked happily and it brought Estellise from her thoughts, "What's wrong?" She asked as the dog ran forwards wagging his tail furiously, "Repede wait!" She ran after the dog and what she saw as she approached the staircase made her want to cry.

Yuri sighed as he leaned against the tavern's wall. The special gummy had restored some of his strength however it had done nothing to help the wound. "How the hell am I supposed to find everyone like this…?" He thought as he clutched his side again and gasped for breath a bit, "I barely have the strength to walk to the center square…and I'm sure being out for a week isn't doing me many favors either…" He was pulled from his thoughts by a familiar bark. He looked up and saw Estellise and Repede standing at the top of the stairs he was going to try to scale.

"Estelle…Repede…?" He asked. He wasn't sure if what he was seeing was real of just a hallucination caused by the pain he was in.

"Yuri…" Estellise gasped, "Yuri!" She cried as she sprinted down the stairs and threw herself at him. She also wanted to make sure that he was there. She was happy to find that Yuri was very much solid.

Yuri had expected Estellise to practically fly down the flight of stairs however he had not been expecting the girl to throw herself at him. And he had almost no way of preparing himself for Estellise's weight either. The pink haired girl was by no means heavy but with the injury to his side he almost wasn't able to stay on his feet.

"Agh…! Estelle…wait a sec…" Yuri gasped as the pain in his side flared up again. He gritted his teeth in pain, Estellise had her arm pressed up against the wound, "E-Estelle…"

"It's really you right?" Estellise asked completely ignoring Yuri's pleas, "You're not a ghost right? Oh good, you have a shadow!"

"I'm living, I'm living!" Yuri exclaimed weakly, "That's why…you're hurting me!"

"I'm so happy you're alright," Estellise whispered. She continued to cling to the dark-haired swordsman. She was afraid that if she released him he would only disappear again and she didn't want that to happen.

"Estelle," Yuri gasped as his legs buckled, "Please…let me go…"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" She responded as she released Yuri and he fell to his knees, "What's wrong!" She exclaimed as she knelt beside him and noticed that he was clutching his side, "Yuri…are you injured?"

"Yeah…"

"You should have told me," Estellise said as she helped Yuri stand, "I wouldn't have thrown myself at you like that."

"I didn't have much of a chance to tell you," Yuri said, "And you had no way of knowing. Don't worry about it."

"I feel bad now," Estellise said as she led Yuri over to the stairs, "Sit down, I'll heal you. I was so surprised when Repede just ran out like that!"

"Thanks," Yuri said as Estellise activated her power and immediately the pain vanished, "I'm alright now."

"Was that wound from when you fell from Zaude?" Estellise asked.

"Yeah," Yuri muttered, "I guess so."

"I so happy you're alright," Estellise said, "I was so worried about you."

Yuri sighed, "I really didn't mean to worry you," he responded, "I'm sorry about that."

"I want to tell everyone that you're alright," Estellise said, "I'm sure they'll be happy as well."

"What has everyone been doing these past several days?"

"Well, Rita and Judith went off to Zaude again," Estellise explained, "She mentioned that there was a lot to research there."

"That's Rita for you," Yuri said, "What about…Karol? How's he taking everything?"

"He went to Dahngrest with Raven." Estellise said, "Things have worsened between the guilds and the empire because of Zaude. Karol and Raven went there to make sure the guilds didn't do anything too rash."

"Well I'm sure after Heracles and now with Zaude it doesn't matter if people are in guilds or not," Yuri said, "They're going to be on guard."

"Ioder is worried as well," Estellise said, "Then Flynn's being Flynn and he running all over the place." She decided to keep the part where Flynn worked himself to exhaustion and was now sick in bed from Yuri. He didn't need to be working himself up too much. And knowing Yuri, if he found out that Flynn had made himself sick, he would have marched his way to the castle that very minute to yell at Flynn. "We figured that we would do what we could…without you around…"

"Seems like everyone's been working hard then." Yuri said, "That's good to hear."

"We wanted to work hard because…we knew," Estellise started as tears came to her eyes again, "We knew you were still alive…I can't tell you how many times Flynn sent boats out to try to find you…"

"It seems like I really worried everyone," Yuri said softly, "I'm really sorry about that. But thanks to you, the injury I sustained is completely better."

"You should still rest today though," Estellise suggested, "Everyone can wait another day to see you. I'm sure the past six days have been tough on you."

"Alright, alright," Yuri sighed, "Although I'm pretty sure I was out cold for the entire week. I can't really remember anything that happened."

"I see," Estellise muttered, "You still need to rest though. You probably haven't completely regained your strength yet."

"I'm pretty sure you're right," Yuri said, "And besides, if I've been unconscious for the past six days then I haven't eaten anything in the past six days. I'm pretty hungry right now."

"Do you want me to make you something to eat?" Estellise asked.

"You don't have to do that," Yuri said, "You did heal me, I'll make supper."

"You should be pushing yourself too much today," Estellise said, "I'm sure your side is still a little tender."

"It's not like I'm gonna be fighting or anything," Yuri said, "I'm just gonna throw a little something together."

"Let me help you then," Estellise said.

Yuri sighed, "Alright, fine," He said. He wasn't going to be able to convince Estellise otherwise. Once the girl had her mind on doing something, she was going to do it, no questions asked, "Come on, I'm sure we'll be able to use the kitchen at the inn. The woman who runs it set aside an oven solely for my use."

"That was nice of her," Estellise said.

"So what do you want?" Yuri asked.

"I don't really mind," Estellise responded, "Whatever you choose to make is fine with me."

"Alright then," Yuri laughed, "I'll make it a surprise."

Khroma sighed in relief as she watched Yuri and Estellise from a nearby ally way. She remained in the Lower Quarter knowing that, once Duke left, Yuri would set out to find his friends regardless of his condition. Being the former Commandant's assistant, she had often observed both Flynn and Yuri when they were children. She knew that Yuri wasn't much a fan of taking it easy and she wanted to be close by in case Yuri's wound needed a healing arte in order to heal properly.

She had initially wanted to heal the boy's wound with a healing arte however Duke had not permitted her to us anything besides life bottles on the boy. If the princess had not shown up when she had, Khroma would have healed Yuri's wound herself. She smiled lightly and started to make her way to the castle again. She no longer felt the need to monitor Yuri. She knew that he would be alright now that the princess was with him. The princess's healing artes were able to completely seal such a wound with just a single arte.

"I wish you luck until we meet again…Yuri Lowell…"

"Is something wrong Yuri?" Estellise asked as Yuri stopped in the doorway, "Is your side hurting again?"

"No," Yuri answered, "I thought I heard someone call my name."

"I see," Estellise said, "You shouldn't worry about it too much."

"As you wish," Yuri said with his trademark smirk gracing his lips, "Come on."

Sodia sighed as she sat down on her bed. She had just returned from patrolling the area around Zaude with the Schwann Brigade and once again they had found nothing. When she went to break the news to Flynn, he had been in very good spirits considering that his best friend had been missing for nearly a week now and that he was still running a rather high fever. It was then that he told her to call off the rest of the search missions. When she questioned the reasoning behind such orders he simply replied, "Yuri is with Lady Estellise now, he's going to be alright." It was a relief to see her captain smiling again, even if the reason why he was smiling was because of Yuri Lowell's safety.

Sodia didn't quite understand how anyone could have survived such a fall and not have serious and permanent injuries. The wound she had inflicted on him had not hit any vital points but had still been a rather deep wound none the less. She wondered if perhaps losing consciousness from the blood loss had relaxed his body enough for him to survive falling probably several hundred meters into the ocean without any lasting wounds. She figured that had to be it, there was no other explanation. But if that was the case then how did he not drown? And how did he end up back in Zaphias of all places? She knew that someone had to have had rescued him, but who?

She decided to call it a night. She was exhausted from taking over for Flynn until he felt better not to mention that she hadn't been sleeping well either. For the past several night she had jolted awake due to a nightmare of Yuri's ghost telling Flynn what had happened. Naturally, the dream always ended with her being locked up and sentenced to death. Stripped of her rank and dignity as Yuri's ghost continued to mock and chastise her as she walked to her execution. She was never actually executed she always woke up in a panic, sweating and shaking as she told herself that it wasn't real before she could be killed. However she had a feeling that she wasn't going to have that dream again. Yuri's survival had been confirmed by Khroma and therefore he couldn't be a ghost.

But then she realized that Yuri was alive. And that sent fresh wave of panic and fear through her. Yuri was still alive. He could tell Flynn what she had done to him not as a ghost but in person. Yuri could show Flynn the deep scar that was probably where the wound once was. Even with the princess's powerful healing artes, such a wound was bound to leave a scar. And if he did that, she would be stripped of her rank and imprisoned for attempted murder. She knew that seeing Yuri Lowell again was inevitable. They always seemed to run into each other wherever they went. She knew that Yuri was going to be angry with her; she had nearly led him to his death. She now dreaded ever seeing Yuri again.

She no longer had the right to hate him, though. Sure, Lowell had killed Cumore, Ragou and Alexei acting as a vigilante. However she had done the same exact thing to him. After her dear captain, and commandant, refused to criminally charge Yuri, Sodia had taken matters into her own hands and attacked the man, nearly leading to his death.

"I'm the same as Lowell now," She thought as tears started to well up in her eyes, "Is he going to call me out as I have called him out? Will he ever forgive me? You can't just go up to someone and say "sorry for stabbing and nearly killing you." What do I do now? Will Yuri Lowell tell Flynn?"

With all the fear and confusion clouding her mind, she clutched her pillow tightly and cried herself to sleep.

Yuri sighed as he lay awake in his bed. He was rather tired but he didn't quite want to sleep yet. There were a few things he wanted to get off his mind first. And since he still wasn't in much of a condition to use his normal method of going outside the barrier and picking a fight with few monsters he would just have to think them through a little bit. He thought about what Sodia had done to him. He couldn't say that he was all too happy with the young lieutenant but at the same time he didn't blame her for what she had done either. He was a criminal and she was just doing her job.

He knew that eventually he would see the young lieutenant again. And when he did he would perhaps discuss it with her in private. He saw no need to inform Flynn of his second in command's actions. If she wanted to tell Flynn, that was fine but he wouldn't bring it up. Yuri knew that he probably would have done the same thing Sodia did if the roles had been switched. In fact, he had done the same thing Sodia did when he killed Ragou and Cumore. The only difference with Sodia was she had failed to kill him.

He sighed. The bandages around his abdomen were starting to cause his skin to itch however he didn't want to remove them in Estellise's presence. He knew that there was a deep scar under the bandages and he didn't want the princess to worry about it. Nor did he want the girl to question the origin of the wound.

He silently gasped in pain again as Estellise accidently elbowed him in the side as she slept. Estellise had insisted on staying in the same room as him in case something happened to him during the night. He had offered her the bed but she flat out refused to let him sleep on the floor saying that it would be bad for his condition. So in the end, the two of them ended up sharing the small bed that was in his room. It was a bit of a tight fit but it was still comfortable until Estellise elbowed him again and he nearly cried out a bit. The wound had sealed up however it was still extremely tender to the touch and was probably still severely bruised.

"Agh…Estelle…" He whispered as she accidently hit him a third time.

The girl stirred, thankfully not hitting the still tender injury again, "Uh…Yuri?" She asked tiredly, "What's wrong…? Why are you awake?"

"I really didn't mean to wake you," Yuri said softly, "But you keep elbowing my side…it still hurts a little."

"Oh my gosh," She exclaimed, "I am so sorry! Do you want me to use another healing arte on you?"

"Don't waste your energy," Yuri said as he rubbed his side a bit, "It's just a bad bruise now."

"I see," Estellise said, "You should try to get back to sleep. We're going to find everyone else tomorrow and you'll want to be well rested for that. I'll try to be more careful."

"Okay," Yuri said, "Night Estelle."

"Sleep well Yuri," Estellise responded.

Yuri sighed as he shut his eyes. He would figure out how he was going to deal with Sodia after he got some sleep and with that he slipped into a light but restful slumber.

Well there you have it. I know it took me like a year to get it up but whatever, it happens. Oh Duke, why are you such an ice prince? Would it kill you to defrost a little bit? I enjoyed writing the little interjections with Khroma and Sodia while I was supposed to be taking notes in a class where the professor would jump from the 1920s to like the 1960s then to the 1930s in a matter of two sentences somehow…but I digress. So what did you think? I'm going to get the next chapter up in a few days or so so just hang tight. I just passed this point in ToV in my like fourth play through so I just got a bunch more ideas. And I promise I won't go another year before updating again. So until next time minna-san ja ne!

Ex-Shark-V-005