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Chapter 1: Rest & Relaxation

Blurriness was all Ryu saw as he slowly tried opening his eyes for the first time. All he could tell was that he lying down. A bed? Yes, he was in a bed. But where was he? His vision still blurry he saw a figure standing over him.

"Oh my God, he's waking up. Get Hayate, quick." It was a female's voice. It sounded familiar but he couldn't quite pinpoint it. Maybe if she was to say something else. "My sweet Ryu, I'm so glad you're alive."

That comforting tone, soft, angelic, it was the voice of the only woman he truly loved. It had to be. "Aileen?" He said as his vision began to clear as he saw the face of his love standing over him with tears of joy slightly leaking from her eyes as she answered back with only a gleeful smile and nod.

Ryu smiled back and tried to lift himself to hug her. But the pains from his battle, kept him grounded to the bed. "Be careful, my love. Your body is just beginning to heal."

Ryu looked around his surroundings to try to gain some knowledge of his whereabouts, and immediately noticed he was home. Home at last. In the corner, he saw Ayane sitting alone, watching her Master awake from his painful slumber. He looked to Aileen. "Where are the others?" He struggled to speak.

"Don't worry. Everyone is okay. Rachael went to search for a man named, Muramasa, for Spirit Elixir. And I just sent Kasumi to get Hayate when I saw you waking up."

"There's the great warrior." Ryu heard a voice. He looked to the direction where it came from and saw Hayate standing alongside his sister. "You put us up for quite a scare." He said with a smile.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been in and out of comas for the past two nights."

"How long have I been out?"

"Just three days."

"What?" Ryu said in surprise.

"You went unconscious right after your fight against Murai. We retrieved your body and brought you back here."

Ryu looked at Aileen waiting to hear her side of the story. "And I was devastated." She said with a giggle to hide her emotional pain. "My first sight of you was blood. Blood was everywhere on your body. Your face, chest, and back. I thought they brought back a dead body." She tried to sniff back her tears, but it didn't work.

Ryu looked at his body. There where bandages all over him where a red blood stain was visible as the liquid soaked it way through. They were all over his chest and back. There were bandages on his face where Murai clawed him. There was a splint on his leg where he twisted his knee. His eyes and other parts of his body where skin could be seen were purple and bruised

Her voice began trembling as she spoke. "I thought you were dead, Ryu." She said as more tears began to stroll down her cheek. "I thought you were dead and I cried." She wiped what she could from her face. "I cried and I couldn't stop crying."

The others in the room could only watch Aileen pour her heart out.

Ryu grabbed and held her hand and tried to console her even in his weak position. "It's okay, Aileen. It's all over now. He's dead and will not interfere with out lives any longer."

"Please, Ryu, " Aileen pleaded. "Please promise me, no more missions."

Ryu stayed quiet and stared into his lover's eyes.

"I can't bear to see you come home this way. Please promise me."

Ryu was quiet for a minute until one of her tears landed on his shoulder. He hated to see her cry and being the man he is, he laid there considerate of her well-being as he made his promise. "I promise, Aileen. No more missions."

She smiled and gently hugged him, careful not to irritate his wounds. She then gave him a small kiss on his forehead, probably the only place on his face that wasn't bruised or cut.

"Thank you, Hayabusa." She said gleefully.

"No, thank you." He replied back.

He looked back to Hayate and smiled. "At least, I'm glad to see you two made up."

When Hayate and Kasumi noticed he was talking about them, they made a bigger gap of distance between them, easily telling Ryu that all is not right.

Just then Rachael walked in with a small bag in her hand. "I found it!" She said with excitement. She looked and saw Ryu laying on his bed awake. "Hey, I see you're finally woke." Then when she looked around and saw the tears in Aileen's eyes, the obvious distance between Hayate and Kasumi, and Ayane, who hasn't even said a word, holding her head down in sorrow, Rachael asked, "And that is a good thing, right?"

Aileen wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at Rachael, "Of course it is. The days shine bright as Ryu awakes."

Rachael could perceive the smile was fake, but instead picking into the situation, she only presented the small crowd of her findings. "Well, I have the elixir." Then she began to explain, "I spoke with Muramasa. I told him the depths of your injuries. He wants you to take two of these now and two tomorrow, and get plenty of rest." Ryu nodded. "But, you will have to get out of the bed and re-train your body to work again."

"But I haven't been out that long."

She then explained. "Spirit Elixirs relaxes your body which helps it does its work in the healing process. That's one reason why you don't have to take as many. Since, you have to do a lot of relaxing, by the time you get out of the bed, you will have to work your muscles and your body again."

Ryu nodded. "I understand." He said as he watched Rachael hand two of the bottles to Aileen.

"And Muramasa wants to see when you're all better." She added. "He has a shop outside of the Empire, so it won't be too long of a travel."

Aileen opened the bottles and put it to Ryu's lips and he slowly drank the formula, one bottle, then the other. Instantly, Ryu could feel the elixir working, he was full of energy and was ready to hop out of bed that instant.

"Whoa, wait a minute, little ninja." Rachael joking insisted. "Let it do it's healing, first. Then you can have your fun."

Ryu forced himself to rest as he laid back, took a deep breath as his head to rest on the comfortable pillow beneath him.

Aileen then spoke. "Okay, everyone. Let's leave and give Ryu his rest he's so richly deserves."

Everyone began to make their leave.

Aileen stood, "I'll put a meal into your stomach, since i know ur body is yearning for one."

Ryu nodded with a smile.

Aileen kissed him on the forehead before she left. "Close your eyes and rest, warrior. I will be here when they open again."

Ryu did just that. He closed his eyes, relaxed on the bed, and soon fell into a deep sleep again.