Kitsuna stirred, but remained out cold. Daichi had come to check on her, and received an

update from the store manager who had brought her in. Bandages covered her arm, face, and several other places. Between those were horrid bruises, but the girl's face was peaceful for the most part while she slept. The boy checked his phone, tempted to call Yui one more time. She hadn't stopped bawling since the night before, but she refused to come see Kitsuna.

"Dai..chi?"

"You're awake?," Daichi jolted and dropped his phone. He reached to get it, glancing at the girl on the hospital bed in front of him.

"Mnh. Feel like shit…Ah!," the girl lurched up to a sitting position, then fell back down with a cry of pain. She was panting, and Daichi started to scold her.

"Hey, don't do that so suddenly. You just got out of surgery!"

"Yui.."

"Huh?," he looked at her incredulously, easing her back onto the pillow.

"Is Yui okay?," Kitsuna looked up at Daichi with a determined look in her eyes. He sat back down, letting out a sigh and a sort of chuckle.

"Yeah," he answered her, and she sank back into the pillow.

"Good."

At that, Daichi let out a full laugh. A small one, and beamed over at her. Kitsuna turned her eyes his direction, but didn't move her body at all anymore than she had to.

"You're pretty weird. You've gotta be hurting like hell right now, and you're worried about her? Man," Daichi was amazed. In many ways, with the girl in front of him. She had to have two surgeries already, for a broken wrist and rib. After a period of recovery, there were more surgeries scheduled for her knee and ankle. Collar bone, too. And several places with stitches that needed to be watched.

"Sorry. Guess this means I really can't get in fights anymore," she laughed, then coughed and went quiet. She kept smiling up at him, though.

"She thought you'd hate her," Daichi finally spoke back up.

"Huh? Why would I?," Kitsuna's voice was strained now, but she kept the conversation going.

"Hm? She said it was her fault you got in that mess, and couldn't run away," Daichi's eyes widened again at the girl's response. She was genuinely confused and worried for her friend, nothing else. Or nothing else she was going to show him, which made him a little sad.

"Huh? I wouldn't run from a fight. Ever. You both know that," she replied with perhaps not the most tactful answer.

"You should try putting that raw strength into something more useful," Daichi chided her. Her smile faded, and she stopped looking at him. He could see a small pout, but he knew she understood him.

"Oh, that reminds me," Daichi produced her jacket from a nearby table, along with her phone and headphones. Beads of sweat formed on her face, and her expression stiffened. Daichi narrowed his eyes, his suspicions now confirmed.

"Something fell out of this pocket," he pressed on, pulling up the pocket in question.

"I'm sure it did," she looked away, turning her whole head this time. Her neck and back screamed from the pain, but this was something she absolutely couldn't face right now.

"Something you couldn't have bought yourself. Because no one our age should have that kind of habit," Daichi kept going, knowing he was pushing it now.

"Fine! I got it! Not like I can keep the habit while I'm stuck in here anyway," she caved, but not very convincingly. Daichi let it go for now, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to smoke here. He also knew there were far worse things she could have done to cope with her situation, and he was glad she didn't turn to those.

"I'll bring work by from the school. They're not gonna like the absences, though. Might hold you back a year."

"Ah, guess that's what I get for pissin' them all off," Kitsuna groaned. She forced her right hand up so she could look at it, at the bandages on her wrist. She winced with pain, then let it fall back to her side.

"Daichi. Thanks. Tell Yui that, too. And she can visit whenever she's ready, I'm not mad," the girl said that and fell silent again. Her eyes slowly closed, and her breathing mellowed out again. Daichi ruffled her hair, an old habit he developed with his siblings that carried over to her and Yui.

"Good luck, with volleyball stuff too. Got a thing coming up soon, yeah?," her voice trailed off as she fell unconscious again. Daichi blinked a few times, then put the hoodie over her shoulders and stepped into the hall. He was close to tears just then, shocked that she had been keeping up with his and Yui's volleyball club affairs amid all her issues. He didn't have time to let that out now, though.

"Hey, you! You know her, yeah? Can you answer some questions-Ah?"

A reporter that had been lurking in the hallway was met with one of Daichi's signature glares, and lost their initiative.

"She's resting," he warned. The reporter shook their head, unable to bolster through that quiet rage. They backed off for today, but swore to themselves that they'd be back. Daichi only relaxed once they were well out of sight. It sucked, but the story of what happened to Kitsuna had made the local news. She was well known now, and for every wrong reason possible. She would have a rough road ahead, and not a lot of backup. His mom wasn't able to take the girl in, nor were Yui's parents. With her dad in jail for the foreseeable future, that didn't leave anyone backing her. The man from earlier, the store clerk, seemed to be considering taking over as her legal guardian. That presented its own hurdles though, some near impossible to clear. The man seemed like decent folk, at least. That put Daichi's mind at ease, but only a little bit.