Chapter 5

My ribs were toast. I was sure the cracked ribs I had before, were now well and truly broken from Yui's last ditch attack in the ring. I was trying to wrap myself up and failing miserably when my door opened. I was nude from the waist up and well, let's just say the color of the skin, on my rib cage, wasn't the prettiest to behold. Not to mention all the wounds on my arms, legs, and hips from where I wasn't quick enough in dodging Yui.

"A sporting color that black." Zagi said from my door way. I knew my face was a nice red to match now. What the heck was he doing here? I thought as he started to walk towards me.

"Uh…Zagi…Why are you here?" I asked slowly trying not to freak out. I was gathering my blanket, as fast as I could with my injuries, to cover myself. I got the blanket up to about chest level when he took it from me and threw it across the room.

"Zagi?" I knew my voice was showing some panic now. The answer I got in return was a smirk as he picked up the bandages and started wrapping me up.

"I'm not going to molest an injured woman you know." He snarled at me. Apparently my reaction had made him a little angry. He wrapped up my shoulder first and then moved on to my chest. To say this was embarrassing would be the grosses understatement of the century.

I must have looked horrible with all the bruises and wounds everywhere. Even my hair was thrown haphazardly into a braid to keep it out of my face. I didn't really have a problem with nudity; sometimes during a fight it is just necessary to ignore the fact that I am a woman. I can't be distracted in a fight. But, this wasn't a fight and I was having a hard time keeping my embarrassment in check with him wrapping up my breasts.

My face had to have been beet red from the heat I could feel radiating off my cheeks. Zagi didn't even seem fazed, in the least, by wrapping me up though.

"What's a woman to think when she is alone and injured and someone walks in her room without knocking?" I retorted. My embarrassment was making me a tad edgy. Zagi looked up from his wrapping at my comment and grinned.

"I don't knock."

"Why not?"

"And miss the chance to catch you off guard? No thanks." He smirked at me and went back to diligently wrapping my wounds.

"You're an arrogant little bastard aren't you?"

"ME!" he said in mock astonishment. I couldn't help but chuckle, which hurt a little. I hissed out a breath and ground my teeth to keep from making louder pain noises. God that hurt. Yui really had gotten me good.

"Sorry. You ok?" He said as he further checked my ribs for damage. I could only nod. I didn't trust my voice at the moment. Zagi waiting for my nod, then went back to wrapping again.

Abruptly, my door was thrown open again. Although this time it was a bawling little girl. Tiz came flying into the room and threw herself at me. My reflexes, overriding my body's pain, moved me to catch her. Her little arms wrapped around my neck and effectively moved Zagi away from my chest.

Tiz, though, was in hysterics. She just kept weeping while asking me again and again if I was alright. I grit my back teeth together and rocked her back and forth to comfort her; to show this fragile little girl that I was okay.

"Tiz, Tiz…hunny I'm okay. See. See hun I'm okay." I just kept chanting that to her. I looked over at Zagi to see if I might be getting help some time soon. But what I saw, well, I don't think that many people have seen the warmth that I saw on his face. I don't think that he noticed I was looking till I made yelp when Tiz accidently moved her knee in to my ribs.

"Tiz hun. Let me finish tying up Rem's binding, okay sweetheart?" Zagi gently pulled her off of me and laid her on my right side near to the wall. She was still crying those hiccupping sobs that are heart wrenching when you hear them from children. Zagi did like he said and quickly tied off my binding at my hip.

"Thanks Zagi." I smiled and laid down motioning to Tiz for a hug. Zagi saw that I was going to still comfort Tiz, so he got off the bed and pulled a chair up. Tiz moved in to my embrace and sobbed into my right shoulder.

"Tiz, she's okay… Stop crying Tiz. It's alright now." Zagi said trying to comfort the little hiccupping bundle at my side.

"It's… not… okay... Yui… hurt… REM!" She hiccupped in between cries.

"And I hurt him too. It was a fair trade." Tiz rubbed her eyes and looked up at me. She got an angry look on her face at my comment on fair trade.

"It was not! You're a girl. Yui wasn't supposed to hurt you like that! And you said you wouldn't get hurt. That it would all be ok! YOU LIED!" she shrieked at me as she sat up and out of my arms.

"I've never lied to you Tiz. I told you I wouldn't die, not that I wouldn't get hurt." I told her in a firm voice. Tiz looked stricken. I reached out and stroked her hair to comfort her again.

"Fine; but it's still not fair. Yui isn't as hurt as you are." She wailed again with fresh tears rolling down her face. All I could do was smile at her. She was an adorable child. She was going to learn some very, very, harsh truths about the differences in strength of men and women though. I had learned my lessons at an early age.

"Did you really expect me to not be injured in a fight against a man that had double my strength and arm reach?" I asked her. I wanted her to work this problem out for herself. She needed to understand that Yui got just as hurt as I did in that fight. She couldn't blame him.

"But you were quicker than him." She countered.

"Only by a little."

"You were faster than him. Hell, I think you might be faster than me…" Zagi interjected.

"See! Even Zagi says so." Tiz piped up thinking she had won. Zagi surprised both of us though.

"But Tiz, Rem is correct it was a fair fight." Tiz whirled on him. And Zagi put his hands up to defend himself. She was beating his chest with her little fists and crying.

"WAS NOT! WAS NOT! WAS NOT!"

"Yes Tiz, it was. Rem in perfect condition, though, would have beaten the snot out of Yui and he knows it. That's why he called it a draw and not a win. Because he knew he couldn't win." Zagi told her as he trapped her fists in his hands. Tiz looked to me to tell her that Zagi was lying to her; but could only nod that Zagi was right. I had started that fight knowing that I had a disadvantage. How Zagi knew that I would wipe the floor with him in perfect condition was beyond my realm of knowledge though.

Zagi handed her back to me when she started to wail again saying that we were dumb-dumbs. I held her while she cried and somewhere in the middle of all her crying the two of us fell asleep, with Zagi keeping watch.

XXXXXXX

She was sleeping soundly holding that little brat of Thor's. I walked over to where I had thrown the blanket earlier and covered them both. They were so defenseless sleeping like this. I had this wonderful vision to myself. I reached out and moved a strand of her long red hair that had escaped her braid.

She was everything a man could want. God and the way she fought…even while hurt. I had held myself back from jumping in to that ring last night after Yui had thrown away his sword. I was scared, scared that she would have been too proud to admit defeat.

Never mind that I was right, she was too proud, but she had fought and found the way out of Yui's hold. I was strangely proud that she hadn't given up. I leaned down over that defenseless face and kissed her forehead.

I was so lost in my own thoughts that I hadn't heard the door open. Chen had walked in and saw me. 'Great'I thought. 'Now I'm going to have to deal with her.' Chen looked at me with shocked eyes and nearly dropped the tray of food that she was carrying. I suppose that she had brought it so that Rem could eat after Chen treated her wounds.

I felt a satisfied smile appear on my face when Chen's eyes darted to Rem's chest and shoulder and saw the bandages. As she got closer I got up from my post beside the bed and went to leave. I knew she was going to chase me away after what she had seen. I wasn't stupid.

Chen hurriedly put the tray down by the bed and caught up with me out in the hallway. I knew what she was going to say and I held out my hand to stop her from talking.

"I know…"

"You know what? Tell me you didn't do anything other than treat the wounds. Zagi…we still have one month till the month of joining…" Chen hissed at me.

"I didn't do anything other than treat the wounds and kiss her forehead like you saw." I replied morosely. Chen looked at me with a mix of anger, concern, and fear plain on her face. The anger was for me I'm sure, the concern and fear were probably for Rem and Thor. I knew that Thor was like me. I had known the moment I had met him at his tender age of twelve.

We were survivors and warriors; but warriors can't keep the act of toughness forever. You have equal parts of tough and soft. Some just hide one side better than others. I sighed heavily at Chen. She wouldn't understand. So I continued to walk to the dining to grab something to eat.

I heard Chen call out to me but I ignored her. Eventually she turned back towards Rem's room like I knew she would. She or one of the females that she trusted would now, most likely, be glued to Rem's side. Reporting back to Chen my movements, and probably Thor's as well. This would happen till Rem picked someone for the month of joining. I was going to have to make sure she picked me. That she wanted me. Sigh, ugh Chen was going to make this bothersome and difficult.

"Might as well plan out the hunt then…" I muttered to myself with a smile. Planning was my forte after all.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Comments and Critques are always welcome! :) more to come!