Two weeks passed like a year to Cye, lying awake in his bed with no possible way of moving. His legs ached constantly, and they itched like nobody's business, but still, there was nothing he could do about it. Mia had come home shortly after the accident, first yelling about the mess the guys were cleaning up in the kitchen, but once she heard the whole story, she started to help looking after him. By now, the reconstruction should have been done, but Cye didn't think the guys would be letting him cook for a while.

It was determined that the spirit of the demon that had attacked made one last effort to get rid of them, and they hoped he never showed up again. Sighing, Cye turned his head to stare at a pair of crutches by his bed, leaning up against the wall. Mia had left them there just the day before, saying that he should tr walking again, but withsome supervision. But Nobody had come by his room in what felt like an hour, and he was getting restless. His legs were aching again, and he just couldn't stand it. It was almost like they were burning in theflames again. It was unbearable… So, he sat himself up, carefully, and pulled the blanket from his heated body and his bandaged legs and took the crutches. Getting up to rest on them proved far more difficult than he had anticipated, considering he'd had Kento or Sage's help before, and once he was up, he was hurting even more. There was only one place in the house that Cye wanted to go to feel better, and he was grateful that it was just down the hall. Taking a few deep breaths, he started the slow, painful walk out of his room.

As he walked down the hall, he looked into the rooms that belonged to his friends. Rowen was sleeping in his and Sage's room, but other than that, nobody was there. He half wondered if they were all downstairs, watching tv or eating. He was getting hungry, himself, but he wouldn't dare risk going down the stairs by himself. So, he sighed and continued on to is destination. He reached the bathroom without too much difficulty and closed the door softly behind him, taking a seat on the toilet. Once he put his crutches next to the tub, after letting the water start running, the ronin started to undress. Even the sound of the running water made his tired mind calmer, but that wasn't enough to ease his aching legs- he needed to get into it. He took his shirt off first, then carefully slid off his loose sweatpants, leaving his boxers on. He hesitated before removing the bandages, but it had to be done.

He still hadn't gotten over the sight of himself. His legs were still very red and swollen; skin was still peeling off from his burns, and several cuts still remained. Sage said he had been lucky. If he was any other person, he might have lost his legs, altogether. The thought made Cye shudder, and as he pushed it from his mind, he hauled himself up over the edge of the tub and slid down to sit in the rising water. Finally, the ache was fading, and he was a bit more comfortable. But, he knew he wouldn't be all better for quite a while.

The ronin warriors had taken quite a hit this time, and they nearly lost one of their own… Cye still couldn't believe it had all happened at all. It all seemed like some horror movie, complete with a vengeful ghost- which was now nowhere to be seen. Sighing, Cye laid back against the cool porcelain and thought about how stupid it all was. When they had been fighting that guy in his body, he'd pinned Cye to that tree, but while he could have done so many other things, he chose to keep him alive and conscious, to watch him torture his friends. He was helpless, and he hated that feeling, just like he hated being stuck in bed all day with a barely-functioning body. Staring down at his tired expression helped only to fuel his disgust and self-delusions, and he swatted at his reflection. Almost on cue, there was a knock at the door and Cye looked up to see Ryo looking down at him. Hadn't he closed and locked that thing?

"Ryo…"

"Hey, Cye. Is it hurting again?" Cye looked down at the water feeling like a child. But, Ryo, for one, didn't treat him like one, unlike the others- especially Kento. Instead, the ronin leader smiled at him and took a seat on the toilet.

"I…"

"You seem to be recovering quickly. You made it here without any of us noticing! Sneaky, sneaky, Cye!" He laughed a little. Cye had expected a lecture, but it never came. Ryo's calm attitude brought up a small smile to his face, and he nodded his head.

"It wasn't easy, but at least I didn't fall down this time."

"Yeah. That was a scary experience."

"Though, not as scary as the idea of having someone else BATHE you. I swear, I don't think I will ever get over that." He blushed.

"True, but Kento does it all the time for his siblings, so maybe it's not such an embarrassing thing, ne?"

"….Maybe not."The water bearer paused before looking up. "Have we been able to locate that evil ghost yet?"

"Mm… Sage is looking, but I'm hoping he's gone for good now."

"I don't know. He failed to get rid of us, and I don't think he'd be content with that."

"Good point." Cye looked up, then, and gave Ryo a worried expression.

"He's really got it in for us both, Ryo… please be careful."

Cye really was a caring guy. Even when he was hurt, himself, he always thought about his friends, too. He was great, and Ryo was happy to be surrounded by such caring people. He nodded his head and set a hand on Cye's arm, reassuringly.

"Thanks, Cye. I'll try to watch my back!"

"Good. I'll try my best to get back on my feet to help, too- literally. But in the meantime, mind helping me out?"

"Ha ha! Sure, Cye!" Ryo took hold of one of Cye's arms and easily pulled him out of the tub. Cye insisted upon drying himself, but Ryo stuck around to redress his wounds. The two then left the bathroom and Ryo made sure to be careful as he helped Cye down the steps and into the living room, where Kento was snacking on at least four different bags of chips at once. When he felt eyes on his back, he turned just in time to receive a disappointed look from Cye, and a somewhat disgusted look from Ryo. Blushing, Kento cleared the bags from the couch and laughed as Cye was ushered into the seat next to him.

"Honestly, Kento; I take a little break from cooking, and you completely veer off your diet!"

"Hey, what am I supposed to do? Put up with Rowen's cooking?"

"It's his turn to cook tonight? Aw, man… I hope he doesn't burn it all like last time!" Ryo said as he plopped down into an armchair.

"Hey, Cye, if you're feeling up to it, why don't you start cooking again?"

"Well, maybe I-"

One look to the kitchen door was enough to stop the ronin in mid-sentence. Somehow, even the thought of going back into the newly-restored kitchen terrified him. He was afraid… but why? It wasn't like he was gonna blow up again if he went in to cook a simple meal! …Right? It was then that he, and apparently the other two, realized just how traumatic the experience had been for Cye. It had been horrifying for them all, but Cye was the one who had nearly died, and carried the scars from it. Quickly, he turned his head away from the door, only to make himself feel dizzy. Kento saw this and pulled Cye's head to rest against his shoulder, and that's where he stayed for a while. None of them asked him to cook for a while after that.