Give Life a Chance

Chapter 50 - Confessions of a Damaged Heart

"I see, it's common for a severe break to take a long time to heal. The muscle damage and internal bleeding around it most likely didn't help either." Shinobu theorised.

"Right. Well besides that, his spine has completely realigned so now the only problem is the nerve, muscle and tissue damage around it. Between that and the bruising he's looking at a couple of months, maybe longer before he's able to properly begin rehabilitation for combat." Aoi explained.

"What about his sternum? Once that heals, his recovery rate will increase." Shinobu asked.

"It's still concaved, though it has healed slightly. The pressure on his heart and lungs is still concerning, I'm not sure when that will relax." Aoi answered.

"I see. That is... troubling." Shinobu said.

"It'll be okay though, he's working very hard." Aoi said hopefully.

"That's good." Shinobu replied.

The two stood in silence for a moment, unsure of what to say next.

"You can go back to what you were doing, thank you for your hard work. I need to clean up in here." Shinobu said.

"Oh, if you're sure." Aoi said.

"Of course, I won't give you any more work than you already have." Shinobu said

"Okay. Well, are you going to join me for dinner or would you like me to bring some up to you? I know it's a bit late but I have been busy." Aoi asked.

"I'll be working in here late tonight, so don't worry about it." Shinobu said with a smile.

"Okay, just don't push yourself too hard." Aoi said.

"Don't worry, I know how to take care of myself." Shinobu replied.

"You said the same thing last time." Aoi teased.

"And I have learned from my mistakes, now go on don't starve yourself worrying about me." Shinobu said.

"Alright then, good night Shinobu-sama." Aoi said, leaving and shutting the door behind her.

"Goodnight Aoi." Shinobu called back.

As the door closed Shinobu took a deep breath, attempting to compose herself. She failed to do so and tears began to fall from her face as she cursed herself. She walked over to the door and made sure it was closed.

He's going to be fine, just focus on yourself. Shinobu thought.

Attempting to get her mind off things she began to clean the remnants from her experiment.

After putting away all the materials she turned and looked at the clock in the room.

That time already? Shinobu thought.

She removed her protective gear and placed it to the side to be washed later. After doing so, she walked over to a cabinet.

The cabinet was small and had a lock on it, preventing anyone else from seeing its contents. Shinobu reached into her pocket and retrieved the key.

Sticking the key in the lock she turned it until she heard the click, then opened the doors. Inside was a collection of vials each labelled 'Wisteria Poison' and a collection of syringes. Shinobu sighed and grabbed one of each and sat down at the seat at her desk.

Placing the vial on her desk she looked at the needle of the syringe, ensuring it was clean and sharp. Once she was satisfied, she poked the syringe into the vial and drew some poison into it.

I need to up the dosage. If the poison is going to act so slowly then I have to increase the volume. Shinobu thought.

She drew more poison into the syringe until she was sure there was enough.