Chapter 81
Recovery

.:Kai:.

Everybody took shifts to keep an eye over the unconscious girl on the bed. Last night Zane offered to make sure he covered every wound. That morning, Kai took one until mid-day where Nya took over.

How did they ever agree to let Violet go? The wounds she obtained haunted Kai's mind. Would they leave scars or will they heal over? Turns out, Violet's lashes were infected but thanks to Zane they're clean and treated. The bullet wounds in her right shoulder, stomach and left leg are healed and thankfully the gunshot didn't hit any bones, veins, arteries or muscle. The minor cuts and bruises were still healing despite's Violet's fast ability to heal. Zane also informed them that the female ninja had a couple bruised ribs. However this was the first time the fire tamer saw someone obtain this many wounds and lost so much blood. Poor Nya is sleeping in the guest room, not able to sleep in the same room with the injured and unconscious Violet. Kai wouldn't blame her though.

But after Violet used her powers, Jay was pushed back rather brutally; getting a long cut across his face from the one of the daggers that fell out of Violet's pocket and Nathan was still out cold after hitting his head from the blow. But at least Violet's rage didn't reach the school where the remaining survivors were. After some counting, Kai came to a conclusion of a hundred and a half survivors out of two thousand were alive, the rest dead.

Suddenly, the smell of Zane's cooking filled the air and the ninja of fire lifted his head from the table to see the Nindroid brother walking in the dining room with a plate on his head and two dishes on both arms.

"Hold on Zane."

Kai quickly got out of his sit and took a plate from each arm.

"Thanks Kai."

"You're welcome."

The usually loud table was quiet. So far, Violet, Nathan, Nya and Wu were absent. No body spoke a word as they ate their lunch. The fire tamer wouldn't blame them. After all, everyone was tired, no one could sleep without seeing the gruesome wounds Violet obtained. Kai casted his eyes back to his plate as his noodles stared up at him, tempting him to eat. But no matter how many times Kai tried to persuade himself to eat, he wasn't hungry. With a silent groan, Kai leaned back in his chair and pushed his noodles around with the fork.

Suddenly, hard footsteps were heard on the decks and the brunette directed his attention to the entrance of the dining room, along with everyone else in the room. It wasn't long until the female samurai charged into the room, panting hard.

"Zane, Violet broke into a fever!"

Upon this, Zane run from the table and followed Nya. Kai went to proceed to get up from the table too but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. When he looked down, he saw Cole looking at him with empathy in his eyes.

"Let's not crowd Violet too much okay?" The leader's voice was soft yet sad at the same thing. Hesitantly, Kai slide back down into his chair.

"But I thought Violet can't get sick, especially when Kai went into a fever." Lloyd said but Kai sighed softly.

"This isn't the sick type of fever Lloyd," Kai grumbled but he continued, "this is a fever caused by a wound infection. It'll just make her heal slower and add more stress to her lungs especially with the bruised ribs."

"Oh…"

Only now Kai can hope for the best.

.::.

After lunch, Kai immediately went to the girls' room despite Cole's earlier comment to give the wounded girl space. He needed to see her. Once he made it to the room, it didn't surprise him to see the door close but what did surprise him was the muffle screams and cries from inside the room. Each wail made the ninja of fire's heart clench but at the same time, it made him wonder if the air tamer was awake.

"Hold her still!"

"I'm trying Zane!"

At this, Kai opened the door and gasped at the scene. Violet was rolled over so her back was visible but bare, displaying the awful purple bruises that made her skin tone mismatched. The seven long lashes that marred her skin had oozing pus seeping and an alcoholic scent was strong in the air. His raven-haired sister was at the head of the bed, pinning down Violet's thrashing arms while Zane's knees held the girl's legs down while his hands tried to dab the alcohol onto her wound to clean it. Instantly, Kai went over to Zane and without any words exchanged, Zane hopped off and the brunette held the thrashing girl's legs down. Kai tried his best not to look at the ninja of air's face; he knew he would only be greeted by a face filled with agony. But slowly, the thrashings died down and the muffled screams and cries –since Nya had stuff a handkerchief to prevent Violet biting her tongue off- and the only sound that was in the air was Violet's heavy pants.

"Nya, can I get you to boil some water? Kai, I need you to find Yarrow in Sensei's tea box over there."

With that command, Nya left the room and Kai went towards the box that Zane pointed it. The box was neatly organised and each tea was place delicately in a packet and stacked precisely. While searching for the tea, the tamer of fire would occasionally send a glance over his shoulder to Zane, who was trying to bandaged Violet's back and chest.

"Umm Kai, it might be easier if you do this." Zane muttered, indicating Violet's bare chest. With a stiff nod, Kai switched jobs with Zane and tightly but gently wrapped the girl's back and chest.

"When do you think she'll wake up?"

"I cannot give you an answer. I'm a bit uncertain at the moment. Really she should be awake now with naps here and there but I think her unconsciousness has got to do with the massive drainage of her powers."

Kai nodded numbly. As he finished wrapping Violet, he tucked the end of the bandaged underneath. The ninja of fire then softly ran his hand through her tangled hair, undoing the tangles gently. He then realised there was a basin with water so he grabbed a cloth, drenched it, wringed it before wiping away the sweat on her face and taking out the handkerchief.

"But I'm sure she'll join us in a couple days."

"I hope so too."

.:Violet:.

It was like she has been set alight. Everywhere burned; burning her skin and setting her blood to boil. The world was spinning around her head, an immense pain found its way to her shoulder and leg but it didn't burn as bad as her stomach which was nothing to the pain in her back. The excruciating pain felt like someone has pressed a sun-temperature branding iron against her back, burning through her skin to her flesh. Hands were grabbing for her skin, sending more agony. Violet wanted it to stop, for all the pain to be over. Doesn't matter how hard she tried, the hands wouldn't go away. She just wanted the pain to go away….

.::.

Senses came to the air tamer but it was weak. The once burning pain was gone; instead Violet was left with a dull ache that spread through every limb but at the same time, numbness covered her body. The ninja couldn't open her eyes even if she wanted to or move a finger or toe. Violet wanted to groan to let anyone know she was in pain but there was no voice that vibrated through her throat, leaving the ninja further in the dark.

.::.

A sharp pain jolted Violet and her senses. It wasn't the pain that would make her crumble but an awakening call. Her eyes wanted to snap open, demanding to know where she saw and to make sure she was in a safe place but they were too heavily. Violet ended up fluttering open but not how they did in the movies, her movements were sharper. At first, she expected to be hit with a bright light but instead, the female ninja found herself in a dark room. With a jolt, she jumped up, hissing at the pain that suddenly flared in her stomach and back. She snapped her head side to side in alert, looking for intruders or anyone that pose a threat. Instead, in its place, she found a rather startled person. Her aging hair reflected the moon rays that filtered through the window. Squinting her lavender eyes, Violet's hand immediately went to her waist where her daggers should be in her ninja gi but what surprised the ninja was that she wasn't even in her gi but a dressing that wrapped her chest and night shorts that were over her legs. However, she drew her attention back on the intruder.

"Stay back!" The ninja hissed but the woman made no movements but stayed where she was.

"Violet right? I need you just to calm-"

"How do you know my name?!" The ninja yelled, narrowing her eyes. For all she knew, this lady would be pretending to be nice, to be part of the gang just to trick her to believing she was safe before killing her.

"Look, it's a long story but right now, I'm concern about your injuries. If you can just lie down-"

"Violet!" And upon this voice, the said girl flinched at the loudness and before she could turn her head to see who the new intruder was, arms squeezed her body in a suffocating matter.

In an instant, memories flooded the girl's mind of the night Vincent had 'fun' with her. Not wanting that night to repeat, she ignored the new blossoming pain in her stomach and back and went to pin the intruder on the ground, using him to cushioning both of their fall from the bed. When the ninja went to glare in the intruder's shock, dark blue eyes, another voice called her from the room. Unlike the loud voice, this one was calm and… safe?

"Violet." The air tamer didn't know how to respond. The voice neither yelled nor whispered her name. It was harsh yet it wasn't soft, neither demanding. It was more of a neutral greeting that could be mistaken for a warning. Yet, it was a voice she knew she could trust.

"Sensei Wu..?" She asked and at the door frame, it wasn't just him; Lloyd, Kai, Jay, Cole, Zane and Nya were at the door too, their heads around Wu's figure. When Violet looked down, she saw it was Nathan whom she pinned down.

In a hurry, she hopped off Nathan and without an apology or greeting to anyone else, she pushed passed the human barrier at the door –which showed no resistance- and made her way out of the room. The tamer of air ignored the flaring pain in her back and stomach along with the burning left leg but she made sure to put distance between everyone and herself. If she was correct, she was on the Bounty. Upon reaching the decks, fresh air hit her like a thousand feathers; soft and sensational. The oxygen made her lung drown in relief and her mind relax. The ninja limped to the rails that bordered the decks and looked over to see they were over the ocean, far away from Vincent and the remains of Jamanakai Village.

He's gone…. He's gone. You're safe now…

She told herself the dark and haunting images and memories kept swimming through her eyes, making the girl drown further underneath the ordeal she embark on. Falling to knees, Violet gripped the rails as if it was to reassure her she was no longer there. As soon as there was something pressed on her shoulder, Violet went to spin to attack to assaulter and successfully punch him in the face.

"Ah! Violet, what was that for?!" Eyes blinked as the ninja realised it was Kai whom she punched. The brunette held his cheek and scrambled away. "Is this really the hello I get?"

However, the ninja of air remained silent and refused to look his way. How could she ever look at Kai again after what Vincent done to her? How could she keep the secrets of the dark world away from her team? Her family?

"V-Violet?" Hearing Kai's hurt voice pained Violet. She softly but silently winch and look away. "Hey, are you okay? You can tell me anything."

But that's the thing, I don't want you to know.

"I'm here for you Vi. I love you."

But would you after what happened to me? All the lives I've ended killing and 'that' night?

"Please…?" Kai's voice was a mere whisper by now. The girl could feel his eyes on her, expecting an answer… but how?

"I'm sorry Kai…" Her voice came out as a whisper as Violet rested her head against the rails defeated. "I just can't. You don't want to know."

"Yes I do! You've been whipped, shot and beaten. I've seen whatever they had done to you. Do you know how much it pains me to see you like this? To see you look like a fragile little leaf that would crumble away into insanity at any moment? You're just probably experiencing post-traumatic stress-"

"Kai, don't please." She cut him sharply and like that, silence fell into the air.

"I'm sorry. I'll tell the others you don't want company then." His voice was filled with morose that it made Violet felt even worse… but in order to protect those you love, you sometimes have to do the cruellest things right?

And I can never let them know what really happened…

I'm so sorry for the long wait, I've been experiencing writer's block due to the stress of my exams but it's all over (YAY!) and I'm on a 2 week break! In case if you didn't understand, Violet woke up 3 days after she got onto the Bounty, during those days, episode 20 happened, when Misako joined the crew. But massive thanks to the silent readers and the reviewers: ShadowNinja27, Jayla Fire Gal, LightningDanino23, Applejack ninja lover, CarlyShi208, ALookIntoMyWorld, ElementzGirl7, ImaginationOverdrive, Zane's 1 Fan, MortalNinjas and I'm Rat.

CarlyShi208: I'll try to fit it in soon.

ImaginationOverdrive: Thanks again ;)

MortalNinjas: Vincent should hopefully be explained in the next chapter and Violet couldn't use her barrier since there was too much rage coursing through her body that she just needed to let go of that extra steam. And the cuts and bruises are from the scramble they had and the punches and hits.

I'm Rat: Awwww, thanks!

So thanks again for reviewing and the new favourites and follows I received this week, I'll try to update soon within the next 3-5 days, not once every two days like I did last time when I was on break since chapters are now going to be aimed to be 3000 words. Thanks again and I'll see you all with a new chapter soon! Xoxoxo – ZaneLoverFan88