100

No More

After a day of rest Akari and her family finally visited Rin. He was brought back by Duke Obara and had hired a nurse and doctor to watch over Rin.

"How is he?" Akari asked as they were lead to Rin's room.

"His body will have scars." Riho said as she lead the way. "He has a fever and has not woken up."

When Akari entered Rin's room, the nurse who was sitting by his bed had gotten up and stepped to the side and out of the room.

"The doctor said that we need to ensure he doesn't get an infection from his wounds and he should be fine if he overcomes his fever... however... I'm afraid he'll have nightmares for the rest of his life." Riho began crying as she looked down at Rin. "I could only imagine what he went through. He suffered so much... why? Who would do such a thing?"

Obara took Riho into his arms as she cried harder and Emi rubbed her back to comfort her.

"Rin's a strong man. He'll get through the fever and his injuries. And in time, with the help of you guys and his friends, he will slowly come back to the Rin that you know and love." Emi told Riho. "Just give him time to heal."

Akari and Dean stayed with Rin for a few hours, letting the nurse have a couple of hours to rest, while her parents and Rin's parents discuss the reason why Rin was hurt in the first place. After a lengthy discussion and a couple of raised voices, they came to the conclusion that they were now in the trenches together, seeing how Akari and Dean were involved and a deranged mage on the loose.

Emi and Jona did not speak to Akari on the way back home. They were too angry with Akari for not telling them. Their cold shoulder towards her made her feel uncomfortable. She didn't like to fight with her parents.

The four of them didn't say a single word until they reached Jona's private office. Once the door closed, it was only then that Jona began speaking.

"This deranged mage that you speak of. Do you know who she is?" Jona asked.

"I do."

"Do you know which royal family she is working with?"

"No." Akari answered.

"Are you confident that you can defeat her?"

"Yes."

Jona sigh loudly as he looked worriedly at Akari then at Dean.

"Promise me that nothing will happen to my daughter."

"I'll try my best to ensure that no harm will come to her." Dean promised. "Akari is a strong mage, Duke Jona. Although she is still training, with her abilities, she is stronger than I am."

Emi sighed heavily as well as she looked at her daughter. It seemed as if it was just yesterday that she gave birth to the quiet and brilliant baby.

"You should have told us what was going on." Emi softly chided Akari. "We wouldn't have been thrown in this confusion, had we've known what dangers are ahead of us."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"As long as we know now, we can prepare for the future. Especially now that you are involved, which in turn involves us." Jona quickly said to avilate Akari's guilt. "Is there something we need to do?"

Dean shook his head no.

"Being that we know that a mage is involved, I'll set up a protection barrier around your home and office. Try not to go out, unless it's an emergency. Who knows when the mage will strike back to hurt Akari." Dean told them. "She will target this family due to Akari and my involvement. For that, I apologize. I'll make sure to take the best precaution that no harm comes to Akari and to the both of you."