Mia awoke in the infirmary with someone over her, filling a glass of water. Her vision was in a mist, and she felt nauseated & weak. It was not a state she had known recently; her Revenant tended to keep her in perfect health beyond the fatigue of fighting, and yet this exhaustion permeated her pores.

  "Hirogane?" said Saya's outline. Mia closed her eyes until she heard him come over. "She appears to be awake."

  "Mia?" said Hirogane at the end of her hearing.

  "…y-ssh…"

  "Check her for brain damage again."

  "Please stay still." whispered Saya at the start of her hearing. Streams of fog flew in to Mia's ears. "She does not have any brain damage."

  "…yessh…" Mia's eyes peeled open one slice of light.

  "Good enough to question." yawned Hirogane. "What's your name?"

  "...Mffia… Cultz…"

  "Close enough."

  Mia turned over to Saya, hoping the fogwoman had better manner for her fogged brain.

  "Do you know where you are?" said Saya, crouching down.

  "Uffarias… infirmary…"

  "Urasaria?" said Saya, and Mia weakly nodded. "Good. You've been unconscious for a little while, but nothing worrisome for a host. Only a few hours. Would you like something to drink?"

  Mia nodded, and she let Saya drink water to her as her senses gradually glowered. Hirogane left, and Saya whispered: "Aimee is alright."

  "I-Is she here?"

  "Unconscious, but here. She will likely be in a coma for a few days."

  Mia was saddened, and with it came further anger towards that dreadnought, though she later realized that such a reaction had been conditioned and expected of her, for she knew Aimee could not be permanently wounded and that he intentionally had not killed Aimee. And yet the current softness of her senses replicated upon herself a softness of emotion, amplifying all that could be triggered within herself, and began to cry regardless.

  Saya asked if she was alright to be touched, then stroked Mia's shoulder. "It's alright." She took Mia's glass of water. Streams of fog dissolved the liquid, then filled it with tissues she offered to Mia, who continued to sob. "She'll be alright. Her colony was a little damaged. It's why I can't heal all of her damage -- her colony needs to regenerate for a few days. But she will wake up within a few days, and as strong as usual. Would it help if I took your mind off it?"

  "Y-Yes. P-Please."

  "Would you like to hear how I first became Hirogane's assistant?" (Mia nodded.) "Blackburn activated when I was a teenager, but back then, I thought the only positions at Urasaria were violent work. I am still desensitized, but I've never enjoyed violence. So, I kept it secret. I had already used Blackburn privately for minor cuts and scrapes, and before I met Luna, well… I had very clean hands for a chef. I worked at a local Italian restaurant, so we would occasionally see students, and I would use Blackburn to ease some of the annoyances that come with restaurant work, even as I still needed to endure personal indignities. But it was very risky. Creation Revenants like Blackburn - it's illegal to sell anything created by them.

  As with anywhere else in the world, there were always a few local host fights, and occasionally students to respond to them. There was one fight that spread inside, and these two students had dealt with this other man. But, as they taunted him and wanted to torture him for what he had done, he managed to grievously injure both of them before they killed him. They were very, very injured. They were calling for someone to pick them up and transport them to the infirmary. Both seemed calm, but Roxanne and I both felt they were very worried."

  "You healed them?"

  Saya nodded. "I asked them to please not mention me, but a few people had already seen me. Particularly the owner. I went home that night and was arrested by two students, then brought to Urasaria to either have my Revenant stripped from me or to register. I registered, and asked for a position in the cafeteria, perhaps because I thought shedding my former life wouldn't be so drastic then. But, the infirmary is more important."

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  "But you met Luna through here, at least."

  Saya smiled. "She's very sweet, but I worry someone could take advantage of her if I weren't around. She isn't an assertive woman, as I'm sure you've noticed, but… sometimes it's difficult to know if my care is too constricting."

  Mia nodded, but she was reminded of Aimee again and was saddened. "I-I feel a little better. Thank you."

  She wiped her eyes. "...I-I don't know. Sometimes the intensity of what I feel for Aimee frightens me."

  "I can tell you that having interacted with her for a few years, she's likely desperate for your attention. She worships you."

  "I know she does." muttered Mia. "It's felt odd for having no name for what we share together. I have no direction to give my feelings, no... identity to filter these feelings under."

  "She's never been in another relationship, at least in my time here. She's likely following whatever template you set for how she should act and feel. Even as she wants more, she wouldn't risk herself by making any requests of you."

  "I suppose that's why I felt this won't move unless I allow it to."

  Saya nodded. "I doubt she fully understands herself the depth of what you feel for her. She's convinced herself that she shouldn't be caught in longing. She's likely confused by the entire thing, even as she enjoys it."

  For a few moments Mia's nod made discussion superfluous. There seemed an anxiety that she held towards her own conceptions of such with Aimee, though she could not locate the origin of such a medium; it seemed only the quality of youth with the lack of any experience to steady such against, for she could find no trait in Aimee that she could name as an origin.

  "On an unrelated note, I did wish to let you know... The staff asked to question you, but Hirogane will delay telling them you're awake until you are ready. The other students at the hospital wanted to see you, as well. Symphony mentioned wishing to speak with you privately."

  "Makoto?" Mia frowned: her day was going poorly enough. "Why?"

  "She wouldn't say, unfortunately. Would you like me to call her?"

  Mia nodded. "Could you also let Marisa know I'm alright?"

  Saya nodded and went out the curtain. Eventually Makoto stepped inside. Her eyes were unwell, although Mia surmised if she asked Makoto would mock her while denying such. One might be tempted to think Makoto had her own coat of douchebaggery to paper over her insecurities, yet this was not so; if one were to look into her asshole they would merely find a colon.

  "Guess you heard about Aimee." muttered Makoto, sitting down. "Finally gets a girlfriend and falls in to a coma right after. Some things aren't meant to be." She looked up. "What... happened, anyway?"

  With some difficulty, Mia relayed her side of it. "And then I fell unconscious."

  "So, we showed up... dunno when, probably a bit after you did. We were inside, I think Aimee saw you getting thrown out a window. She disappears, I hear her screaming. I rush after the bitch, I see... what you said. FTL. Fuck me, that's so fucking embarrassing. I mean, it's not her fault, but I'm still going to mock her for it. Weak little bitch."

  "And all she'll have to do is point out is that if she died it would have been a tragedy and if you died it would have been a celebration."

  "Damn, bitch, what did I ever do to you?" Makoto considered it. "Oh, yeah. Well, anyway. I'm not one of those bitches who can dish it out but not take it. That's a good one, though. So anyway, I saw that with Aimee, and then he just -- that dreadnought or whatever -- you ate clear through his arm, I guess, one of them. And he just looked at the stump like, you know, no way. I guess you were unconscious by then, and he just fucking shoved his hands inside his chest and ripped it open. I'm not shitting you, he had like five or six fucking hearts in his chest. He took one out and shoved it down your throat. Not pranking you on this one, seriously-"

  "He- I swallowed- what?"

  "I don't know. Dude, I just…"

  "…swallowed a heart." muttered Mia. "Hirogane didn't mention anything about it. Or Saya."

  "Staff doesn't know about that, either. I'm not - I'm not gonna say shit. Fuck those cucks."

  Facts flitted through Mia's mind. After some cogitation, she said: "He's not taking Worldwide from me. He's giving it to me."

  "Uh, did he say he was taking it?"

  "Yes, he had an entire mono- oh, god damnit, why am I even bothering explaining this to you." Mia groaned. "Just fucking go. I'll talk about it with Marisa. And- and Saya."

  Makoto shrugged and left; conflict was not something foreign to her or her personality. Eventually Marisa came in, hugged Mia, generally checked in on her, then brought Saya in at Mia's request. Mia relayed what Makoto had relayed, then asked: "Saya, was there any blood on my mouth when I was brought in? Near it?"

  "Yes, from your wounds. I healed them."

  "Do you know if all of it was mine?"

  "Well, I assumed some of it would be from the hosts you were fighting. But I typically..." Saya frowned. "Let me help you more. What are you trying to reason out by asking me this?"

  "If the blood that was on my mouth when I was brought here on my first day is the same as the blood on my mouth when I was brought in today."

  "...hmm. It's possible. I didn't clean it off from your mouth the first time as, well, there were no other wounds, so it was unlikely it was your's, and I didn't want to potentially destroy evidence. But I did have the time to clean the blood this time. I apologize if you feel I destroyed possible evidence."

  "It's okay." said Marisa.

  "I just wonder what it'll be this time." muttered Mia. "It... it should be something useful, but... I don't understand why it's being given to me." An orange flame appeared above her head, and she slapped it extinguished. "I-I don't feel any different."