The rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor filled my ears, but my eyelids felt too heavy to open. Just as I was about to succumb to the ever-present darkness, someone spoke to me.

"Aki, you can't leave me. You still owe me a rematch from that last tournament you beat me in." Tsubasa said somewhere off in the darkness. I started rushing towards Tsubasa's voice, but I couldn't break free just yet. I needed more time to regain my strength.

"Please my lovely Swan, don't leave. You still owe me a rematch," Tsubasa said, cutting through the darkness once more. This time, he was much closer to me. I started running towards his voice, but I couldn't make it again. However, this time, I didn't stop to rest; I kept pushing myself to get closer and closer to where Tsubasa was waiting for me. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I opened my eyes to see Tsubasa talking with a nurse.

"The doctors aren't sure when or even if she will wake up. And if she does, she will have a long recovery ahead of her," the nurse said, looking between me and her clipboard, or at least that's what she did before she noticed that I was awake.

"Oh my; you're awake," the nurse said, sounding surprised as she dropped her clipboard. I was about to try sitting up when Tsubasa put a hand on my shoulder. He shook his head, telling me to stop, and I noticed how tired he looked.

"Tsubasa, you look tired," I whispered softly as I reached my hand up to touch his cheek gently.

"That's because you pretty much shaved ten years off of my life," Tsubasa said, taking my hand into his and pressing it against his cheek. It was then that I noticed that he was wearing his normal clothes and had his hair pulled back in a braid. I chuckled lightly before turning my head away and coughing.

"To have a heart attack at sixteen from not eating and overworking yourself. Young lady, you are very reckless," the nurse said, pushing Tsubasa away from me as she started to take my blood pressure and pulse. However, she squeezed my arm too tight, causing me to shoot up on the bed, trying to get away from her. Tsubasa, who had been watching the whole thing, stepped in between me and the nurse, making her take a step back. I was gasping for air, doubling over in pain, while clutching at my chest. I was breathing heavily when another nurse and a doctor came rushing into the room. It was the female doctor who had been taking care of Tsubasa when he had been in the ICU, who rushed to my side and started checking me over.

"It's alright, breathe," the female doctor said, making me look at her as the other nurse removed the blood pressure cuff. I was trying to fight against the doctor and second nurse when Tsubasa stepped in and sat down on the hospital bed before pulling me into a hug. He was quick to hold my head to his chest, letting me listen to his heartbeat, and it worked until the first nurse tried to get closer to me, which led to me freaking out once again.

"No, no get away from me…" I said almost throwing myself off of the hospital bed, if Tsubasa wasn't there to catch me and hold me still, until after the doctor had sent the first nurse away. I was breathing heavily but still on edge. That was before Tsubasa grabbed my chin and made me look up at him.

"Shh, you're alright just relax my lovely Swan, that's it just breathe," Tsubasa repeated over and over again until I was calm and breathing on my own.

"So, you two want to explain what happened?" the female doctor asked, coming closer to us as the second nurse went to work on removing the blood pressure cuff. It wasn't until the second nurse gasped at the sight of my arm, which was probably bruised from how tight the cuff had been.

"Doctor, please come take a look at this," the second nurse said, waving the doctor over as she saw the bruise that had started to form. She looked like she wanted to kill someone. That was until she grabbed the clipboard that the first nurse had left behind and started reading over it. I was leaning against Tsubasa's chest, just listening to his heartbeat the whole time the doctor and second nurse were trying to figure out what had happened.

"Tsubasa, I'll be back. Just keep Aki calm," the female doctor said as she left the room, while the other nurse continued to fiddle with the machines around me.

"Dr. Sato, I don't understand what the fuss is about. Aki Hagane is pretty much brain dead; she will never wake up." My regular doctor said from outside of the room, unaware that I was wide awake and perfectly fine.

"Dr. Suzukai, Aki Hagane is awake and will make a full recovery. No thanks to you. I've read over the medications you had been giving that poor girl. High doses of sedatives were keeping her in an unresponsive state and almost killing her. If she had been given another dose of sedatives, her heart would have given out." Dr. Sato said, opening the door so that my regular doctor could see me sitting up on the hospital bed with Tsubasa next to me, his arm wrapped around my shoulders and an upset nurse behind us. My regular doctor did a double take when he saw me, as if he was expecting me to be dead. I waved at him with a smile on my face before pointing at my pissed off boyfriend next to me who was holding a camera recording everything that had just been said.

Dr. Suzuki said, "You have no proof of anything I've done." I then held up the clipboard that Dr. Sato had left on the hospital bed.

"Says here that you've been giving me a high dose of a sedative to try and stop my heart. If your nurse hadn't tightened the blood pressure cuff so tight than she would have been able to give me the last dose needed to complete your task. Now however I am wide awake and very distrustful of adults." I said tilting my head to the side as I laid the clipboard on my lap. In truth I had no idea what the heck anything that was written but I trusted what Dr. Sato had said. It was then that mine and Tsubasa's friends showed up, just as Dr. Suzuki lunged to attack me and; as Benkei had blocked my path when I had tried to get to Tsubasa's side when I had first gotten back from China, he blocked Dr. Suzuki's path.

Benkei crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Bu-Bu-Bu-Bu-Bull!" Then he added, "And where do you think you're going?" Benkei stood in front of him, blocking his path. He knew he wouldn't be able to get past Benkei, so he tried to run, but was stopped by my father and Hikaru.

"What's going on here?" Hikaru asked, confused, until she caught sight of me and Tsubasa. It was then that another man came up behind everyone.

The man turned to me and said, "Young lady, I am sorry for all the damage done by this man. Dr. Suzuki has actually broken his oath as a doctor to do no harm. And he is no longer affiliated with this hospital. Dr. Sato, you will be in charge of the trauma unit until we can find another doctor to replace him." Everyone looked on in shock, while I remained silent.

"Your apology is not needed, Chairman," I said, bowing my head to the chairman of the hospital board. This wasn't the first time that adults had tried to get rid of me. I also had my suspicions that Dr. Suzuki might be affiliated with Galaxy Nexus; from the pin he always wore on his tie. The design was the same as the logo I remembered.

"Before you go, Dr. Suzuki," I said, leaning forward so that my elbows rested on my knees, "have you ever heard of a company called Galaxy Nexus?" I asked, trying to gauge his reaction to my question. A slight rise in his right eyebrow was the only indication he gave before Benkei stepped closer, clearly attempting to intimidate him into telling me the truth.

"No… I've never heard of the Galaxy Nexus, or the kidnapping of bladers ," Dr. Suzuki said, finally giving himself away.

"Now I never said anything about the kidnapped bladers. And to my knowledge, the name of the group behind the kidnapping hasn't been broadcasted to anyone, so how would you know that Galaxy Nexus was the one behind it? Before you answer that question, let me tell you, my theory; you weren't trying to kill me, but lower my heart rate to undetectable so that you could sneak me out of the hospital and back into the hands of Galaxy Nexus." I said, sitting up straight again, before launching my Beyblade right at his feet.

"I'm sure Galaxy Nexus has told you how tough I am," I said, pushing the blankets off of me so everyone could see the scars covering my legs.

Dr. Suzuki pleaded, "Please don't hurt me. I'll tell you everything I know." Just then, another Beyblade was launched into his head, knocking him out immediately. My eyes widened when I saw which Beyblade it was - Thunder Libra DF145BS.

"Where are you, Grigory?" I asked standing up while looking all around me seeing where he could come from. I had worked myself into a frenzy by this point trying to find that man, or that was before my legs gave out on me and the pain hit me full on. By now Thunder Libra was gone and Cygnus was circling the hallway ready to strike at any minute or that was before Kyoya picked it up off the ground. At the same time Tsubasa was picking me up off of the floor and carrying me back to the bed.

"Will you please stop trying to shave more years off of my lifespan?" Tsubasa said as he set me down and pulled the blankets up around me. I looked up at Tsubasa to see that the worry lines had become deeper again. I reached up and ran my fingers over his forehead, trying to smooth out the lines again. Which only made Tsubasa laugh.

Tsubasa shook his head. "That isn't going to add back the years you've shaved off in the last two weeks," he said, trying to dislodge my fingers from his arm. I sat up, surprised at how much time I had slept.

"I've been asleep for two weeks?!" I asked Tsubasa in disbelief.

Yu started to say "No, Ki-Ki, you've been asleep for almost…" but was cut off by Tsubasa covering his mouth.

"Yu, it is never a wise move to tell Aki how long she has been asleep. I've seen what she is like when she first wakes up," Gingka said, shivering at the memory. I knew what he was talking about, seeing as it was back when I was younger and had been a hell hound with my training and winning tournaments.

"Now Gingka, that was when I was ten, I'm sixteen almost seventeen. I've grown a lot since those days. So, tell me Yu, how long was I asleep for?" I said crossing my arms over my chest. At first Yu looked uncertain as Gingka and Tsubasa were telling him not to say anything. Finally, Yu climbed up on the hospital bed next to me before giving me a hug and whispering the information in my ear.

"Three and a half weeks," I replied, shrugging my shoulders as if it didn't matter that I had been sleeping in a hospital bed for over three and a half weeks.

"Aki, that's not the only reason you were in the hospital to begin with; you had a heart attack at the age of 16. You could have seriously been hurt or even died," Madoka said, shaking her head at my behavior. That got me thinking again about what she had just said.

"Was the heart attack before or after I was already admitted to the hospital?" I asked, looking at Madoka. I could see the wheels spinning in almost everyone's head except for Gingka's.

"Ah, you had already been in the hospital for three hours when your doctor rushed you out of the emergency room saying that you had had a heart attack," Madoka said finally understanding what I was saying.

"So, you never had a heart attack and this whole time Dr. Suzuki was trying to make you disappear so he could hand you back over to Galaxy Nexus," Hikaru said as she came into the room with my father right behind her. At this, I started to get out of the bed, but the second nurse stopped me.

"Oh no you don't. You slept for three and a half weeks, meaning that your muscles are weak from not being used on top of that they have been given you a high dose of strong sedatives," the second nurse said as she rushed into the room and pushed me back onto the bed.

"Nana, she isn't going to listen to reason just yet," Dr. Sato said, leaning against the door frame.

"Oh, you are not helping any, Akari," the nurse huffed in frustration, but I couldn't tell if she was referring to me or to Dr. Sato.

"But I've already called in the people that Aki will listen to." Dr. Sato said coming to stand next to the nurse before she picked up my arm and went about checking my pulse. Or that was before I noticed the old man entering the room, right away I knew who she had called in to deal with me. Her parents the former Dr. Sato and his wife the head nurse over the trauma unit. I threw my head back in frustration as I realized too late who my new doctor was.

"Now, now Aki Hagane, is that any way to act towards your elders?" Mr. Sato asked, taking off his hat and setting it on the foot of the hospital bed before taking my patient chart. He looked over it for a few minutes before he took the clip board and placed it on my head. I immediately straightened my back to sit up straight and have the clipboard balanced on top of me.

"Good now, from what your chart says you were given very high doses of a strong sedative to make it seem like you were unresponsive almost as if you were in a coma again. The recovery plan I propose is simply to listen to my lovely wife and daughter. You will have to put in time for your regular physical therapy sessions for your legs but the rest is up to them." Mr. Sato said taking the clipboard off of my head.

"Thank you, Thomas, Akari, and Nana," the evil sadistic woman said as she entered the room, pushing a chair towards me. I slumped forward in defeat as I knew what was about to happen.

"Now Ms. Hagane, is that any way to act?" Aki Sato said smiling at me before ushering all of my friends out of the room except for Tsubasa whose hand I wouldn't let go of.

"No, Mrs. Sato," I said, sitting up straight before turning towards the evil woman, the whole time holding onto Tsubasa's hand mentally preparing for the immense amount of pain I was about to face. Aki Sato was the head nurse of the trauma unit and was known as the Angel of Pain among the patients. Every patient she had were all people that had been told they would never walk again but under her care they all learned how to walk again. However, her methods made everyone think that she was sadistic.

"Good," she said, knowing full well that I had missed the last three appointments. "Have you been doing your physical therapy exercises?"

"No, ma'am," I said, bracing myself for what was to come next. That was until she placed her hand on top of my head. Opening my eyes, I saw that she was holding out a swan-shaped stuffed animal with a smile on her face.

"I heard that you had been in a coma-like state from Akari. So, you get a pass for missing your last three appointments, Aki. But that doesn't explain why you missed the three before that," Mrs. Sato said as she petted my head before picking up my right leg and straightening it out fully. Pain ripped through my entire leg.

"I can explain those. The first one was the day she came back from China after hearing that I was in critical condition. She always has the reminders written down so I can find them and remind her. And the two after that were when I was in the hospital, and she was working hard to find more of the missing blades," Tsubasa said, putting his hands on my shoulders, while he sat behind me for support. Mrs. Sato straightened my legs so she could put my leg braces back on. I had my eyes clenched shut while biting my upper lip to stop the screams of pain.

"Mr. Otori, you know how important it is for Aki to attend all of her physical therapy appointments. Can you please explain why she has missed three months' worth of appointments?" Mrs. Sato said as she pushed her chair back and pulled on my right leg with her.

"I was missing for three months, and then for another month she had been over in China helping a friend of ours who had also been kidnapped," Tsubasa said as she wiped away the tears running down my cheeks due to the pain. I could feel the joints in my legs pop before she let them relax.

"And is he doing better?" Mrs. Sato asked, looking up from the torture she had been putting me through. I looked past her to just outside the window to see everyone talking with the members of Team Wang Hu Zhong. The brief period of relief was soon replaced with pain again, and this time it got too much for me.

"It's alright just breathe Aki. And to answer your question Mrs. Sato he is waiting outside the room with everyone else," Tsubasa said as I started screaming and crying in pain. Normally it only takes about five minutes to put my braces on but when Mrs. Sato put them on it took her fifteen minutes and that includes the torture, she puts me through.

"You're all done Aki. Your first physical therapy session is tomorrow morning and I'll be here to pick you up at 10 am sharp. I won't hear any complaints from you or my daughter. You have four months of appointments to make up for young lady. Thomas, let's go," Mrs. Sato said before leaving the room.

Dr. Sato shook her head and said, "I know that my mother's methods have always been extreme, but I never thought it was that bad." I was about to let Dr. Sato know how I truly felt about her mother when Tsubasa covered my mouth as Yu climbed up onto the bed.

"Language, Aki," Tsubasa reminded me to be mindful around Yu, however, I wasn't in the mood for his fatherly behavior. So, I bit his hand. He pulled away from me, giving me his 'you earned that' look.

"I totally forgot you bite when someone puts their hand over your mouth," Tsubasa said laughing while shaking his right hand in pain. This wasn't the first time that Tsubasa had gotten bitten for covering my mouth with his hand, and I could tell you right now it would not be the last time. I was about to say something when Yu started poking my legs, and because of Mrs. Sato even the slightest touch would send pain shooting up them. By the time Tsubasa noticed this Yu's curiosity had led to him poking both my legs and almost sitting on my right leg.

"Yuu, you can't do that," Tsubasa said before quickly pulling Yu off of the bed and away from my legs. However, it was too late as I started howling in pain. Dr. Sato rushed to my side as I pretty much rolled off of the bed in pain, almost hitting my head in the process. Luckily, Dashan and Chao-Xin were next to me and caught me before I hit the ground.

"Don't let anyone touch Aki," Dr. Sato said after Dashan and Chao-Xin set me back on the bed. She quickly pulled the bars up on the sides of the bed to prevent me from rolling off, before injecting painkillers into the IV line. It took a few minutes for the medication to take effect, but once it did, my body went numb and everything became fuzzy and dark as the medicine pulled me under the covers of sleep. The last thing I saw was the worried faces of Tsubasa and Yu. When I woke, Tsubasa was sitting next to me reading a book, Yu's head lying across his lap. The blanket slipped off of him. I reached over and pulled the blanket back over his shoulder before reaching up and touching Tsubasa's cheek.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Tsubasa asked, looking up from his book. It was then that I noticed that his right hand was wrapped up in bandages. I was about to take his hand when Dr. Sato came into the room carrying a tray of food.

"Here Tsubasa, I brought you something to eat. I know you said that you weren't hungry, but you really do need to eat," Dr. Sato said as he set the tray down on the bedside table, noticing that I was awake.

"Good, I was about to get worried that you would sleep the whole day," Dr. Sato said before getting to work on lifting the head of the bed so that I was almost sitting up. It was then that I noticed that they had taken my normal braces off and replaced them with a type that would not let me bend any of the joints in my legs before putting them up on pillows. I was about to touch my leg when Tsubasa grabbed my hand while shaking his head.

"We had to change your leg braces because you had been in so much pain even while you were asleep due to the medication. My mother went overboard with getting your legs back into your normal braces," Dr. Sato said, moving the covers over my legs slightly.

"Do I still have physical therapy tomorrow?" I asked as Ms. Nana came into the room with a second tray of food.

"I brought a tray in case Aki was awake," Ms. Nana said, coming into the room without even looking up as she brought the tray over to the bedside table. She then looked up and saw that I was awake.

"Thank you, Nana," I answered as I watched her leave the room. "And to answer your question, Aki, you don't have physical therapy tomorrow because you need to stay on complete bed rest." Dr. Sato lifted my leg slightly so she could readjust the pillows. I had to bite my lip to hold back the moan of pain. She did the same with my other leg before placing the tray of food on my lap.

"It's important that you two eat something Aki, Tsubasa seeing how sick you have been lately. Come now little one it's time to wake up and eat something." Dr. Sato said before reaching down and shaking Yu's shoulder, before taking the tray she had brought in and placing it in Tsubasa's lap as Yu sat up. Yu was rubbing his eyes as Dr. Sato placed a bowl of soup onto Yu's lap, before taking a seat on the other side of the hospital bed side and pulling out a book, but it was clear that her purpose was to make sure that the three of us ate something tonight. And I right away could tell that Tsubasa was about to say something when I shoved a piece of bread into his mouth, to stop him. I could tell that Tsubasa was thinner than before, he had gone missing because his clothing which had once fit him perfectly were now baggy.

"Tsubasa, make sure you eat, because you always have a pair of small eyes that are watching you," I said, tilting my head towards Yu who was happily eating his soup. It was then that Tsubasa finally lifted his spoon to his lips and started to eat. I soon followed suit and ate about a third of my soup, before I stopped as I felt the need to vomit again.

"Ki-Ki, are you okay?" Yu asked as I pushed the bowl of soup away from me.

"Yeah, Yu, I'm fine," I said, smiling at him as he went back to eating the rest of his dinner. Dr. Sato sat up and looked at my tray before turning to the IV drip and increasing the amount that was being allowed into my body.

"I was hoping that you might eat more than that," Dr. Sato said before taking the tray off of my lap. It was then that I noticed that the pain was getting worse again. At first I just bit my upper lip and breathed through the pain until Yu climbed up onto the bed so he could give me a hug before he left with Tsubasa for the night. Turns out that Yu had been staying with my father and Gingka while I was in my coma-like state because Tsubasa never left my side.

"Good night, Ki-Ki," Yu said as Tsubasa carried him out of the room. The rest of the night I would wake up several times in pain, just staring at the ceiling of the hospital room, but the nurses didn't seem to notice this until after they had already changed shifts for the day. I was just finishing a cup of hot tea when Yu and Tsubasa entered the room with our friends not far behind them.

"Good morning, Ki-Ki. Can you read to me?" Yu asked, holding up his favorite storybook. I laughed before ruffling up Yu's hair, which I could tell hadn't been brushed out this morning. I was about to ask Tsubasa when he held out the bag we used when he spent the night at a friend's house.

"I barely got him to go to bed last night, but he kept waking up during the night worrying about you," Tsubasa said, rubbing his hand over his face before slumping into the chair by my hospital bed.

"Yu, when you were staying with my dad and brother did they follow your bedtime schedule?" I asked pulling him up in between my legs.

"No, they didn't. I tried to do it myself but it was hard," Yu said as he opened his bag and dumped its contents all over my legs. I shot a look at my younger brother, who quickly jumped in fear as I pulled my Earth Cygnus 145WD out from under the pillows. By this time Gingka was already out of the room and down the hallway trying to get away from my anger. I set my launcher down on the bed beside me just in case either my father or brother thought about coming into the room; they would then have my anger to deal with.

"Aki why are you so mad at Gingka?" Madoka asked confused, Kenta was shaking his head knowing fully well why I was so angry. I held up the checklist that stays in Yu's overnight bag for just that reason. So while everyone was reading over the list I got to work on brushing Yu's hair until I could run my fingers through it without catching any knots.

"So not only are you dating Tsubasa but you're also taking care of Yu as well? But before you were admitted to the hospital, did you always do this too?" Madoka asked, handing me back the list.

"Yes, I was home every night at 5:30 sharp. Then together me and Yu would make dinner, which I also had on a schedule, after dinner we had about 30 minutes of playtime and then it was time for a bath, than off to bed with the promise of story time. Except for the month I was away I made sure that I never skipped a night. And even when I was in China I would always call and read Yu his favorite storybook." I said while Yu played in my lap quietly. I was slowly petting Yu's hair, before looking over at a sleeping Tsubasa.

"Did Tsubasa sleep at all last night?" I asked, leaning my chin on his head.

"Yeah Tsubasa got a few hours here and there, but he kept waking up screaming. I think he left the hospital too soon because he keeps having nightmares. This morning he barely touched his breakfast or his coffee, which is weird considering how much he loves coffee," Yu said as Tsubasa woke up breathing heavily before slumping forward and sighing, proving Yu's point.

"No Yu, Tsubasa is fine but what happened to him is similar to what Chao-Xin and I went through. That takes a lot out of a person. Remember how it was like for you when the WBBA first gave Tsubasa custody over you? You would wake up several times during the night from nightmares…" I said leaving it at that, so he wouldn't be embarrassed about what really happened.

"Oh okay," Yu said, his cheeks slightly flushed from the memories. I went back to petting Yu's hair as he played with his toys.

"Aki why didn't you tell a nurse last night that you couldn't sleep due to the pain? Oh everyone is here already." Dr. Sato said coming into the room about to chew me out for not saying anything to the night shift nurse about the pain. It didn't help that Tsubasa picked that time to wake up again.

"Aki, what have I told you about telling someone when you are in pain and you can't sleep…" Tsubasa said, trying to take my hand but falling short. It was then that I noticed that his face was flushed and his speech was slurred slightly. I reached out my hand and placed it on Tsubasa's forehead to check for a fever, before pulling away from the heat. I turned towards Madoka and the others; Yu was still playing quietly with his toys, which was odd considering he was normally running around everywhere.

"Madoka, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but could you please look after Yu and Tsubasa for a few days?" I asked, petting Yu's hair away from his forehead to see if he also had a fever. It wasn't as bad as Tsubasa's, but it was clear that he had one.

"Tsubasa, you both should be at home resting, you especially with that high of a fever," I said scolding my boyfriend who was pretty much asleep again in his chair. This sent Dr. Sato into checking his fever, and the gashes on his back for infection.

"Just a fever, most likely from all the stress he's been putting himself through," Dr. Sato said as her mother came into the room with a wheelchair.

"Akari, I told you to have Aki ready for her physical therapy," Mrs. Sato said, putting her hands on her hips.

"And I told you mother that Aki can't, the aftermath of what you did yesterday was horrible she couldn't even stand anything touching her. And on top of that Aki didn't get any sleep last night." Dr. Sato said before pushing her mother out of the room. At this time Dashan and Chi-Yun had pulled out their beys and were at the ready in case Mrs. Sato came back into the room. Chao-Xin had moved to stand behind Tsubasa who had woken up and pretty much jumped out of his chair when Mrs. Sato had entered the room and started yelling, only to push him back into the chair.

"Don't worry about Yu and Tsubasa Aki," Dashan said as he picked up the mess that Yu had made when he dumped out his bag. "We from Team Wang Hu Zhong will look after them."

"Ah, do we have to leave? Ki-Ki still hasn't read to me," Yu said as Dashan picked him up from his spot on the hospital bed and placed him on his feet beside him.

"Stop," Dr. Sato said before picking Yu up and placing him back on the hospital bed. He quickly curled up in my lap as I wrapped my arms around him. "How bad is the pain right now?" I held up three fingers which Gingka and Tsubasa would understand but to everyone else they would think my pain level were low. I use an inverted pain scale, so 1 is the worse while 10 is the least.

"Let me get the paperwork drawn up. Because I am not going to let my mother put Aki through that again. But that means taking it easy and not pushing yourself Aki." Dr. Sato said, and I could see her point, but she didn't know me that well, because I could tell the minute I stepped through the door of our apartment that I would have a lot of cleaning and work to do. But first I needed to get Yu to take his medicine. I had already sent both Yu and Tsubasa to their rooms that they could rest while, I was trying to reach the medicine on top of the counter from my spot in the wheelchair as I still could not stand with out a great deal of pain, when Dashan pulled it down and held it out to me. He than pulled the rest down so that I could get them later.

"Thank you, Dashan," I said, trying not to notice the look of worry etched into his features.

"Aki, are you sure that you are okay?" Dashan asked as he followed me into Yu's bedroom where Yu and Mei-Mei were struggling to get him into his pajamas.

"Yes, Dashan," I smiled at my friend before turning towards Yu and Mei-Mei. "I'm fine. It hurts a little, but I'm good."

"Yu, go into your bathroom and get changed into some pajamas," I said, putting a hand on Mei-Mei's shoulder and holding out the bundle of lightweight clothing. Yu looked like he was about to say something before I gave him a look.

"Okay Ki-Ki. But then will you read a story to me?" Yu asked as he climbed off of his bed and took the bundle from me.

"After you take your medicine, which book do you want me to read to you?" I asked as I set the bottle of medicine on the bedside table before rolling over to the bookcase and waiting for him to tell me which book he wanted. I was about to ask Yu the same question again when I noticed Yu standing with his head against the doorframe.

"Ki-Ki, I don't feel good. My head hurts and my stomach is queasy," Yu said as I rolled over to him and pulled him into my lap. Normally I would be carrying Yu like he was a little kid younger than 12, but then again, I had to remember that unlike me and Tsubasa, Yu never had a stable home or childhood. I was about to lay Yu down when I remembered that Yu needed to take his medicine.

"I know you don't feel good buddy but you need to take your medicine; okay?" I said pouring the right amount into the little measuring cup and held it out to him. It didn't help that I already knew the answer to this question; as Yu pushed the cup away from him and shook his head. It was then that I pulled out my secret weapon a couple of pieces of chocolate. While I was getting Yu to take his medication, Dashan left to help Gingka and Madoka pick up some things for the apartment.

"Yu, if you take your medicine then you can have some chocolate alright," I said not feeling up to messing around after all I still had to get Tsubasa to take his medicine and that was a worse task than getting Yu to take his. I had gotten Yu to take his before laying him down for a nap. Before heading back into the kitchen to try get Tsubasa's medicine along with his antibiotic from Dr. Sato, which he hasn't been taking at all. I was about to roll into our bedroom when Chi-Yun and Chao-Xin ran out of the room and nearly knocked me over.

"Geez, is he always like this?" Chao-Xin asked, running his fingers through his hair, before clutching at his left arm, for Tsubasa had been fighting with our friends as he didn't think he was that sick. I was about to touch his arm when he pulled away from me. I could tell that Chao-Xin was also trying to come to terms with everything that had happened to him.

"Only when he is sick, luckily I can handle him better than anyone else," I said looking up at them, with a smile before reaching to open the door only to find out that he had locked it. I sighed before heading into the third bedroom which we had turned into our office / Yu's playroom, and the shared bathroom between the two rooms. I opened the door only to find Tsubasa lying on the floor burning up with his fever. I sighed before turning towards the door and unlocking it so that Chi-Yun and Chao-Xin could come back into the room. Together they lifted him back onto the bed and covered him in the bed covers. I put the cold medicine and the bottle of pills on the bedside table next to a bottle of water, before rolling over to the other side of the bed and parking my wheelchair and climbing up onto the bed and curling up next to Tsubasa, with my hand patting his stomach.

"We'll leave you two alone Aki, but call out if you need anything; okay?" Chao-Xin said before leaving the room with Chi-Yun. The whole time I was waiting for Tsubasa to come back to his senses so that he could take his medication, and I didn't have to wait long as Tsubasa sat up and rubbed his forehead.

"It's time for you to take your medication, Tsubasa," I said, reaching past him to grab the water bottle.

"I'm fine Aki," Tsubasa said before turning away from me and coughing. It was then that I held the water bottle to his forehead, trying to cool him down. But I wasn't expecting the sigh of relief, until Tsubasa turned towards me and bowed his head in defeat. He knew that I had heard him and gave into my attempts to help him.

"Fine I'll take it." Tsubasa said slumping back onto his pillows with another cough. I climbed back into my wheelchair before rolling around the bed over to Tsubasa's side and started to get his medication ready for him. First was the antibiotic which was a pretty big capsule but it was better than the impending infection that would land him back in the hospital, then came the hard part of getting him to take the cold medicine, but after living with him for almost six months I've learned how to get him to take it with ease, I held out the mint. When he tried to take the mint before he took the cold medicine.

"Take your medication first," I said, holding out the small measuring cup towards him. It was clear that Tsubasa wanted his mint, but he also knew that I would hold true to my word and not give it to him until he took his medication. We stood there staring at each other until finally, he took the measuring cup and threw his head back, taking the medicine.

"Good here's your mint now lay down and get some sleep." I said holding out the mint and petting his hair out of his face, until he was fast asleep. I rolled into our bathroom and wet a cloth so that it might help bring down his fever, before going to join Team Wang Hu Zhong out in the living room but first I stopped to check on Yu who was still fast asleep curled up with his teddy bear.

"Aki, how's Tsubasa?" Chao-Xin asked, being the first person to notice me.

"Better now that he's taken his medicine. But it takes forever for me to get them both to take their medicine," I said coming to a stop at the end of the couch with Yu's baby monitor in my hand. I took a few seconds to gather myself before moving into the kitchen and getting to work. First thing first I needed to clean up the dishes in the sink and start making some soup for everyone. I had pushed myself onto my feet before wetting the cloth hanging over the faucet and setting to cleaning the whole kitchen. I got about halfway through the kitchen when Dashan entered the apartment along with Madoka and Gingka.

"Aki, what are you doing?" Madoka asked as she rushed over to help me sit back down in my wheelchair.

"Cleaning," I said. "It's been three and a half weeks since I was home. The dishes need to be done, the kitchen needs to be cleaned of dust and cobwebs, and I need to start making some soup for Tsubasa and Yu." Dashan pushed me back into my chair and moved me out of the kitchen.

"We will do that, you just got out of the hospital so for once, will you please let someone else take care of things?" Gingka said, rushing to take the cloth out of my fingers and pushing me farther into the living room. I slowly looked over my shoulder at my younger brother, glaring lightly at him.

"Gingka Hagane, you are already on my bad side, so please don't push your luck. Or do you think I have forgotten that not once during the past three and a half weeks did you take the time to help Yu with his nighttime routine?" I said to him over my shoulder. However, I still allowed them to do as they wished until I heard Yu whimper over the baby monitor, at which point I rushed to calm him down. Upon entering his room, I found Yu tossing and turning all over his bed, so I gently gathered the sleeping boy into my arms and held onto him tightly, before beginning to sing softly.

"Hush, little baby, don't

Say a word.

Mama's gonna buy you.

A mockingbird.

If that Mockingbird don't

Sing!

Mama's gonna buy you

A diamond ring.

If that Diamond ring

Turns to brass

Mama's gonna buy you

A looking glass.

If that looking glass gets broke,

Mama's gonna buy you

A Billy-goat

If that Billy-goat won't pull

Mama's gonna buy you

A cart and bull.

If that cart and bull turns over,

Mama's gonna buy you

A dog named Rover.

If that Dog named Rover won't bark

Mama's gonna buy you

A horse and cart.

If that horse and cart falls down,

You'll still be the

Sweetest little baby in town." I sang while rocking Yu in my arms. I was so caught up in stopping Yu's nightmare that I didn't notice Team Wang Hu Zhong and my younger brother watching from the door way. I was about to put Yu back into his bed when my wheelchair got stuck on the rug in front of Yu's bed.

"Here, Aki, let me help you," Dashan said as he pushed my chair forward so that I could lay the sleeping 12-year-old back down again.

"Thank you, Dashan," I said as he pushed me back into the living room and over to the couch.

"Yeah, because you rarely sing in front of anyone. Okay what recipe am I using for the soup?" Gingka asked while holding out just his favorite recipes. I rolled my eyes before rolling over to the container of recipes cards that our mother often kept. Before flipping through them until I came up with a hearty vegetable soup that would be good for both Yu and Tsubasa, that and I wouldn't get sick by the smell of cooking meat.

"This one. You seem to forget that I can't stand the smell of meat very well," I said, holding out the card for him to take. He didn't look too happy about it, but it's not like he had the courage to fight me when he was already on my bad side.

"And you better follow that recipe to the 't' because that is a family recipe from our mother's side," I said before reaching into my bag and pulling out the pain medication that was sent home with me along with my water bottle. I quickly read over the instructions that came with my medication before taking out the pill and swallowing it with a sip of water. Then, I pulled myself out of my wheelchair and lay down on the couch for a few minutes, which turned into three hours, and would have been longer if Dashan hadn't woken me up to eat something.

"Hm… What time is it?" I asked as I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"A little after 5:30. Yu and Tsubasa are both awake and waiting for you," Dashan said, shaking my shoulder as I nearly fell back to sleep while sitting on the couch.

"They're already awake." I said pushing myself up off of the floor and staggered as I was still tired and half asleep. I slowly made my way into the kitchen and over to the kitchen table the whole time Dashan never leaving my side as I walked into the room. Somehow during my nap Madoka and Gingka had left, and the soup was made perfectly.

"Dashan, who made this soup?" I asked, looking at the man next to me.

Dashan looked surprised at my question. "Is it that easy to tell that it wasn't Gingka?" he asked. Yu and Tsubasa both gave me a spiteful look. I held out a couple of napkins while pointing at them.

"But this can't be Gingka's cooking; it's actually edible. It tastes almost like Aki made it," Tsubasa said before turning his head so he could cough. It was then that I noticed Chi-Yun blushing in embarrassment.

"So, Chi-Yun made it. It's really good," I said before digging back into the soup. This seemed to make Chi-Yun smile before he went back to eating.

"So, you could tell that Gingka didn't cook because it was actually edible? That's impressive," Dashan said, letting his spoon drop into his bowl of soup. This made me laugh because he didn't know anything about my little brother's cooking abilities. Tsubasa was shaking his head while Yu was giggling next to him.

"My little brother can burn a pot of water, if it wasn't for the fact that he had Madoka he would only eat fast food. And our father isn't that much better but they are still my family and I love them even when I am angry at them." I said once I had finished laughing, the look of relief that passed over Chi-Yun's face was strange but it didn't matter. I was able to finish about two bowls of soup before I finally realized that this wasn't the vegetable soup that I had told my brother to make, but his favorite which had meat in it. I ran to the bathroom feeling sick to my stomach. I spent fifteen minutes throwing everything up, Tsubasa never leaving my side, he was holding my long hair out of the way while rubbing my back trying to calm me down.

"Gingky shouldn't have tricked Ki-Ki into eating meat, because she is going to kill him," Yu said as Tsubasa carried me over to the couch as I didn't have the strength to even stand up.

"Is this what happens every time she eats meat?" Dashan asked as he stood next to Yu in the opening of the living room.

"Not just eating, if she even catches the smell of meat, she gets like this. Ki-Ki once told me that all those people fed them was meat and that was only if they had won or followed orders, mostly fast food. So, the smell and taste bring up bad memories for Ki-Ki." Yu explained to the members of Team Wang Hu Zhong as Tsubasa tried to get me to respond, I could still hear everything go on around me but I was slowly falling back into the memories of the three and a half years that I was kidnapped, until finally darkness.