Dirt flew in the air as my feet got dragged on the ground, my arms blocking a heavy hit from the fierce blonde in front of me. Shock rattled my bones, throwing me off for a moment, but I quickly got back in my zone.
Defying all her thoughts and calculations, I swallowed more power from my wolf and spun around, throwing a kick square on her chest that was faster and harder. Annie let out a loud grunt, the wind getting knocked out of her lungs.
With a split second thought, she decided to not stand her ground and simply allow my strike to get her pushed away as far as it could.
Annie stumbled as she skidded back, lowering her body and steadying herself with a hand on the ground. Once stable, she stood back up, wiping sweat away from her face.
"Geez (Y/N), what the hell was that?" She panted, briefly rubbing her arms that took the most impact.
I dropped back on both feet, puffing my chest out and showing off my buff and muscular noodle arms, a joking smile on my face. "Haha! I have been practicing."
Annie scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Don't get so cocky."
Light flashed from Annie as she sprinted from the cloud of smoke that had appeared afterwards, charging at me at full speed. I copied her actions, opening the dams and taking in as much power as I could, using it to transform my fingers into claws and strengthen my legs.
Annie lashed out her clawed hands, narrowly missing me as I dodged to the left at the very last second. Her piercing blue eyes followed my move, not letting a single thing I did go unnoticed. With movements almost faster than an eye could see, she struck her other hand, getting a clean hit on my arm.
I didn't have any time to react. By the time I jumped out of the way, there was already blood dripping from my arm and staining the grass.
My eyes were wide, staring at the wound in shock, before glancing up to see Annie, who had smoke leaking from her hands while she was slowly breahing out, eyes still locked onto me.
What an impressive fighter.
I stared at nothing in particular as I heard the wolf's comment, using the empty time to quickly heal my wound.
Even you're acknowledging her??
Yes. Her skills are admirable. Clearly built on years of training and experience. Be happy that she is your mentor.
This isn't exactly the time to be standing still while gaping in awe!
I forced my body to move, aching all my muscles in the process as I avoided another one of Annie's lightning-speed attacks.
"The fuck is with your speed?!" I exclaimed, tumbling over to the side as the blonde girl almost hit me with a spinning kick.
Annie paused, her mouth in a smirk as she kept that icy glare fixated on me.
"I have been training."
Once again, she sprinted after me. And as any normal person would do after witnessing that kind of speed and strength, I sprinted away. I ran as fast as I could, heading for the trees.
My only hope was that the packed undergrowth would make her slow down her moves rather than this open ground. I was not at par with Annie with my physical strength and I lacked the skill to cover it. The only way I had some sort of chance was to use my surroundings to my benefit the best I can.
As soon as the bushes was nearby, I leaped, diving into the green mess and rolling forward to lessen the impact.
Annie paused in front of the forest, lightly panting for breath. "Really (Y/N)? Come out here and fight properly."
"Nah!" I replied, shuffling deep in the undergrowth.
"Fine then." Annie stepped into the forest, cracking some twigs and sticks with her hefty step. I lowered myself even more, bunching up my muscles as I kept my eyes fixed on the walking girl.
The girl stopped, her head cocking in my direction. "I can smell you, you know."
Shit, I forgot about that!
Before I had enough time to think up of a plan, Annie launched herself at me, claws outstretched and ready to tear me apart.
I slid forward, quickly lying down on my back and kicking out my legs to her stomach, throwing her behind me. The dew of the grass below dampened my clothing as I flipped around, frantically gazing back and forth for anything that could be of use.
Stop running and fight!
Ziahra's order rung loudly in my ears, and I prepared myself for a battle with the skilled werewolf head on. This time, I was the one to rush forward, barreling Annie as she was just about to stand up, pushing her through bushes and shrubs before kicking her away.
As she was flying in the air, I jumped slightly higher in her direction, with the plan pummel her to the ground. But Annie still had her eyes on me.
She twisted mid air and grabbed my shirt tightly in her hands, positioning me below her to cover her fall. I could only stare at the nearing ground as Annie locked my arms behind my back and forced me to remain in that position,
Falling from several feet in the air with a person landing on me was more painful than I ever imagined, but I couldn't just let that be the end of me. In anticipation of any wound, injury or bones I might break, I had begun a healing process on myself right before I made impact with the ground, so that I wasted no time in getting back up.
With the pain of falling added to healing, my body felt like it was being drowned in lava, and it took every cell in my body not to scream in agony. I couldn't let Annie know I was in so much pain.
I forced the healing to go faster, fixing all the fracture in my ribs as they were crushed beneath me. My teeth were clamped shut as I used nearly all my strength to throw Annie off of me.
She let go of her lock, collapsing to the side with a grunt. My lungs were out of breath and I knew I was losing energy fast. Without a second to lose, I empowered my limbs again, sprinting through the undergrowth and heading straight for the blonde.
Annie didn't hold herself back, she too ran forward, eyes glaring and ready to rip me to shreds. I knew she would easily beat me at speed, and so the only way for me to land a clean hit was to take one from Annie herself.
I took a deep breath, and prepared myself for the moment. Annie's right hand struck out, and I simply used my left as my shield, allowing it to inflict full damage on it as I put all my strength into my right arm.
Time seemed to slow down as I lowered my left arm and got ready to tear her down with my right, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw the girl getting her left arm ready for another strike.
If I attack now, we'd meet in the middle. We'd both get wounded, and I still have my other arm to heal. That's going to drain me of my last bit of energy.
I don't know how many milliseconds it was, but it was a decision faster than the speed of light. I diverted all my power from my right hand to my legs, but still pretended like I was about to strike with my right hand.
Annie fell into the bait, ready to go head on with her own set of claws. With a little bit more impulse thinking, I knew that for this attack to completely end all this, I had to go all out.
So either this is going to work... or I'm going to lose.
Through the transparent wall, I accepted all the power available, focusing all of them on my torso and legs. My body felt like it was about to explode by now.
I faked my strike, watching as Annie launched her own, before taking in the deepest breath ever and using all that power flowing through me to swiftly duck my upper body and avoid her attack.
My whole body felt light as a feather as I spun on my heel, momentarily tucking my leg before extending it as far as it could and kicking her in her abdomen with every single ounce of power I had in me.
Through the howl of the wind as I moved my leg, I could hear the multiple cracks of bones from Annie's body hurled across the air. Another set of cracks rung in the air as her back slammed onto the trunk of a tree, shaking the leaves and branches of the elderly plant.
Annie fell to the floor limply, landing with a loud thud. I slumped to the ground, returning to my human form, head pounding and choking for air as I barely had enough energy to properly function my organs.
The both of us lay still on the ground, with me letting out strangled breaths every now and then, and silence from Annie.
What a dangerous move you pulled off there.
I was sprawled on the dirt, staring through fuzzy eyes at the short grass that sprouted up. Tears pricked the edge of my eyes as I lay helplessly, waiting for my body to replenish some amount of strength for me to be able to stand up or walk.
Yeah.... it was....
If you had more than one opponent, you would still lose.
I know.... but I only have one.
You still need training, (Y/N).
....Am I that bad?
Well... you're not bad, if you're against some normal werewolf. Just bad against an experienced one.
I'll take that.
After a few minutes, I stopped pathetically wheezing for breath and was able to breathe normally. I tested my strength, wiggling my fingers and toes. They felt fine, and I attempted to stand up, but only making it to a sitting position before feeling out of breath once again.
Slowly, (Y/N). You still need time to refill your energy.
I know. My eyebrows furrowed in distress as I tried to control my breathing and focus the little energy I had back to walk. But I have to check on Annie.
With another deep breath, I heaved myself to my feet, tripping and stumbling over to where Annie lay deathly still. My legs collapsed once I reached her side, lungs breahless again.
I stared at Annie's chest, relieved to see it moving as she breathed. As carefully as I could, I patted her scuffed cheek, trying to see if she was still conscious or not.
To my surprise, Annie cracked open her eyes, staring at me with pain swirling in them.
"I.... I didn't expect you to... one-shot... me.... Good job...." Annie wheezed out, her voice barely audible. She winced in pain after her poor attempt to speak, making the panic in me rise.
"Fuck, I-I went too far." Worry and anxiety filled my stomach, almost making me double over in pain. "How many bones... broken?"
Annie chuckled, hissing in pain afterwards again. "I don't know. My ribs are... destroyed. And my spine...."
My breath hitched, eyes wide with shock and panic. I glanced in the direction of Dr. Joy's house.
Should I bring her back? But how do I move her without hurting her??
I brought my attention to Annie on the ground, breathing as slowly and as softly as she can to not hurt her as much. My hands clenched at my sides as I swallowed harshly, trying to figure out what to do.
I can't heal yet, I barely have enough energy. I can't move Annie without injuring her further either.
Annie's eyebrows were slightly scrunched up as she held back the immense pain I can only imagine she's going through. There is one thing I can do...
A pool of blood that was slowly forming beside me caught my eye, and I realized my left arm was still bleeding steadily. I was going to lose too much blood if I left it like that, so I used the strength I had gathered to heal it until I stopped bleeding.
I need to rest. If I rest, I can get some energy back.
My body slumped sideways, falling to the ground as I lay in front of Annie, who peeked open her eyes to see what was going on.
"You okay....?"
Her words shocked me to my core. "You really should be worrying about yourself, and not me."
"I'll be fine... don't worry..."
The pain shining in her eyes told me otherwise. I reached out for her hand, gently placing mine over it.
"Annie, hang on alright? I can heal you after I rest for a bit..."
Annie shifted her head, her eyes fluttering close. "Alright. I feel sleepy as well..."
I watched as Annie quickly fell unconscious, and I was left worrying if that was a good thing or not. But I didn't think too much about it, and instead finally let myself fall into the lingering darkness that had been awaiting my arrival.
*
I don't know how long I was out, but I was awoken by someone's voice.
"(-/N)."
"(Y/N)."
"(Y/N), wake up."
A finger prodded my eye, jerking me awake from my sleep. Annie gazed at me with tired eyes, glancing to the sky.
"The sun's going to set soon."
I looked up, seeing the sky picking up a yellowish-orange hue mixed with the usual blue. There's still some time, but yes, the day was going to end soon.
I must've been out for hours. And Annie...
I glanced at the blonde girl, still laying in the same position from before I passed out.
Annie's been waiting the entire time.
My body ached as I rose to a sitting position, the wound on my left arm slightly stinging. After a few moments of checking, I had enough energy to heal the worst of Annie's wounds. But I don't have enough to heal it fully yet.
Her ribs were broken, but maybe I can heal it so that it was only mildly fractured. The same goes for her spine. Hopefully, that would be enough to lessen the pain when I pick her up.
I placed a hand on Annie's shoulder, watching as she blinked open her eyes, before slowly raising to meet mine.
"(Y/N)?"
My heart ached at how tired she looked. "I'm going to heal you, but I don't have enough energy to do a full one. I can only heal you partially," I explained sadly.
Annie shook her head lightly. "Anything's good enough. Don't force yourself."
"I won't," I lied. This was going to be difficult for me, no doubt. "Can you close your eyes?"
The blonde girl shot me a questioning look, but didn't say anything and simply closed her eyes. I took a deep breath, positioning my hands to her chest and back. I was going to simultaneously heal her ribs and spine, rather than focusing on one at a time.
Since I wasn't going to fully heal it, I had to make sure it was as evenly distributed as I could make it.
With whatever power I had in my body, I let it all flow through both my arms, lighting them up on fire as the process began.
Annie let out a sigh of content as soon as it started, and only then did I remember that healing felt warm, nice and refreshing to others. I grit my teeth, keeping that thought in my mind as I pushed another wave of energy through me.
My body was quickly going limp after the second wave, reminding me that I had very limited energy within me. I kept going, healing her broken bones as much as I could until I run out of strength.
The pain was rapidly intensifying. My heart pounded loudly in my ears, lungs straining for air. My head was beginning to feel light headed, my focus breaking, and my sight blurry. The fire spread wildly through my body, setting it ablaze in absolute pain.
An involuntary hiss left my mouth as I felt blood rising from my throat, catching Annie's attention immediately. The blonde girl opened her eyes widely as she watched blood leak from my nose.
"(Y/N), stop! Stop now!!" Annie ordered, sitting up and swatting my hands away.
The impact broke my shock, stopping all healing and bringing me out of my painful trance. I brought a hand to my nose, holding back some of the blood flowing freely.
Annie gripped my shoulders, staring at me in concern. "I told you not to force yourself!"
I shook my head, feeling weak and light headed. This still wasn't as bad as before, I can manage. It's only a nosebleed anyway...
"I'm fine."
"No you're not!" Annie's hold tightened, the concern mixing with anger.
I pried her hands off of me with my clean one, breathing quickly and heavily. "It's fine, I've been through much worse." I slowly looked up and down, inspecting her body. "You okay?"
"I'm fine! You healed me more than enough! Let's go back."
Despite my wobbly knees and spinning head, I managed to stand up just fine. Annie, on the other hand, clearly wasn't in a decent condition yet. As soon as she stood up, she dropped back down, grunting in pain as she clutched her chest.
I lowered myself as well, wiping away the leftover blood on my hands, wrapping her arm around my shoulder and helping her stand up slowly. I was barely able to get up, but managed to conceal it so that Annie didn't notice.
"I'm sorry," Annie whispered, leaning her weight on me and limping forward. I matched my pace with Annie, almost toppling over as she leaned on me.
"What for? I should be the one to say sorry."
"No. I wanted you to go as far as you could. I underestimated you, really. I didn't expect such a strong attack." Annie brought her eyes to mine. "I'm sorry for pushing you... and end up being such a bother to you."
My hand clutched Annie's a little harder. "It's my fault as well. You're in this mess because of me. I shouldn't have gone all out, I should've held back."
Annie chuckled lightly, looking back down on the ground. "If you held back, you would've lost, so I'm glad you didn't. I'm impressed at how much power you had in you. It must've been a pain to take in that much."
"It... wasn't a pleasant experience," I murmured, shivering at the feeling from a few hours ago.
"I can only imagine."
Even with all of Annie's half-healed broken bones, it amazes me that she can even walk. Yes, I am helping her, but even so, it still shows just how strong she is to be able to endure so much movement.
After a few minutes of walking, we finally reached the Dr. Joy's house. And by coincidence, the doctor herself was passing by the see-through sliding door and caught sight of the both of us, limping, bloody, bruised, and wounded.
The elderly doctor rushed outside, holding the both of us in her arms with worried eyes. "What ha--... Come on, let's get you to the medical room."
There was a spark of respect from me for the doctor, who prioritized our well-being above her concern and curiosity over what happened, unlike most people who asked too many questions in advance.
Dr. Joy led us downstairs, to the room where I slept for a whole year. This room gives me the creeps, but only because of the thought of being here for a year, deep in my coma.
I carefully set Annie down on the bed as softly as I can without triggering more of her pain. Dr. Joy came over to my side, a stethoscope hung over her shoulders and her hands can't covered with gloves as she examines Annie's body with a keen eye.
"Give me a rundown, (Y/N)," Dr. Joy ordered, her voice still gentle but heavily laced with professionalism.
I proceeded to tell her the truth, all of it. "I kicked her abdomen and potentially broke multiple rib bones. She hit her back pretty badly at a tree, so she's definitely injured her spine as well."
Dr. Joy nodded, picking up silver scissors on the tray beside her and cleanly cutting Annie's shirt open, gazing at the bruised mess of her chest. For a moment, she stood there unmoving, staring at Annie's chest as it slowly rose and fell.
She took a deep breath, grabbing the stethoscope from her shoulders and putting the eartips in her ears and gently placing the diaphragm on her chest, quietly listening to the sound of Annie's lungs as she took slow breaths.
At last, she took the stethoscope off and asked Annie a question. "Where does it hurt the most?"
Annie pointed to her lower rib without hesitating, keeping her eyes closed the entire time. Dr. Joy nodded and mildly pressed down on the spot Annie had shown her, immediately getting a harsh reaction. She let go and pulled the blankets at the blonde girl's feet to cover her bare body.
Dr. Joy sighed. "Some are fractured, but the one Annie pointed to seems to be broken. We need to get pictures to confirm it and I don't have that kind of equipment here."
I watched in dismay as Dr. Joy placed down her stethoscope and took off her gloves. "I'm going to give the local hospital a call to see if I can send Annie there to get an X-ray scan.... and if needed, surgery--"
"NO!" I interrupted, nearly shouting. Dr. Joy paused, glancing back at me.
"No?"
My hands were balled into fists as I fought back the overwhelming guilt eating my insides. "Let--.. Let me heal her!"
"Heal her?" The doctor echoed, an eyebrow raising.
"Yes. I can heal her."
"(Y/N), this is a serious injury--"
"I know!" My hand went up to hold the necklace, hoping it'll calm down the waves of guilt. "Just let me rest a bit, I can heal Annie completely. I promise!"
"(Y/N)... I--"
"No..!" This time, it wasn't me who cut the doctor off. I looked back to find Annie staring weakly, but furiously at me. "You're going... to hurt yourself..!"
I padded over to Annie, placing a hand over hers. "It won't. As long as I'm well rested, it won't hurt me like this."
What a lie. It hurts everytime I heal, and only gets worse depending on the severity of the wound. But she can't know that.
Annie still shook her head, her body shivering in pain. "No... you still... can't!"
"Don't worry." I gave her hand a few pats. "It's going to be fine."
Annie continued her weak protests, but I left her side, turning around and facing Dr. Joy. She had her eyebrows furrowed and a skeptical glint in her eyes as she looked at me. There was no wonder to that, Dr. Joy knows healing hurts the healer, no matter the injury.
But this was my fault. I want to take full responsibility.
I lowered my upper body, hands firm beside me as I formed a 90 degree angle, my hair falling down beside me. "Please... let me heal her."
Dr. Joy remained silent for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh and pushing me back up from my bow. She took a step closer to me, bringing her mouth close to my ear as she whispered, "Don't go past your limit."
I hummed my agreement, and the doctor stepped aside, allowing me to walk past. My chest was still aching in pain and walking was already immensely tiring for me. I needed rest to recover my energy and get rid of all this pain, then heal Annie as much as I can.
The door to my bedroom creaked as I pushed it open and close behind me. Without a second further, I dropped myself on my bed just as my legs finally gave way.
Fuck, my clothes--.... Ah, I'll deal with it later...
The sleep was deep and dreamless. Just another day of me floating around in darkness, with nothing in my thoughts. Other than actually good dreams, I prefer this emptiness. Being able to go for hours without a single thought gnawing my brain was relieving, dare I say, the true meaning of rest.
The only thing I hate about sleep... is the moment when you get tired by it. When you've collected so much energy that your body refuses to rest any longer, forcing you to wake up even though you yourself still want to go back to the comfort of sleep.
I was at that point now basically. Laying on my bed with my eyes opened, staring at nothing since I was too lazy to start moving. I fell asleep at sundown yesterday, and now, it's noon the next day.
How many hours is that? Clearly well over 12. If anything, it's my new record.
I slid off my bed, sitting at the edge as I ran a hand through my crummy hair, untangling the ends of it. With a sigh, I stood up and headed to the bathroom to freshen up.
After a much needed shower, I got out of the steamy bathroom and changed my clothes into clean ones, tossing the dirty ones to the rising laundry pile.
My stomach growled in hunger, scolding me for not feeding it for hours. I went over to the kitchen, checking the fridge for anything I can eat to stop my hunger. I got the food needed and crafted myself a thick sandwich, as well an apple and a cup of juice on the side.
As I sat there, slowly but surely munching away, Dr. Joy appeared from the corner, walking while taking off her white coat and folding it on the crook of her arm neatly. She noticed me by the kitchen counter and sat down on one of the stools.
"How's Annie?" I asked after swallowing.
Dr. Joy plucked a lettuce out of the other half of my sandwich, taking a bite of it. "She's finally getting some shut eye after a sleepless night."
Watching the doctor nibbling away the piece of lettuce, I offered her the other half of the sandwich, but she shook her head and pushed it back to me.
"Don't push yourself with the healing, okay?" She warned me again, looking at me straight in the eyes. "I know it takes a heavy toll on you. It's dangerous."
I took the last bite of my sandwich, chewing it and swallowing it before I spoke again. "I know. But healing is something granted only to a Ziahra Lord. It would be foolish of me not to use it when a person needs it. It hurts, yes, but it helps."
Now that I mention it, talking about how painful healing is to other people isn't a good idea, especially if they're a friend or someone that cares. Automatically, they wouldn't want me to hurt myself in order to make them feel better.
I grabbed the other sandwich, taking a big mouthful. When I was on the mountain, they saw how much I was suffering to heal Petra. Up to a point where Mikasa had to step in. But that's because Petra had a life threatening wound and was also on the brink of death. If I play my cards right, I can make it seem like all that pain and suffering was just a one time thing, and that after a lot of practice, I basically feel nothing.
Yes, that's what I'm going to do. That way, they won't feel bad or guilty if I heal them.
Before I knew it, the sandwich I was eating was finished. Dr. Joy was still staring at me the entire time, and it was starting to make me uncomfortable. I took a sip of my juice, awkwardly looking to the side.
The doctor sighed again. "Just be careful, alright?"
I nodded, chugging down the liquid down my throat and wiping my lips afterwards. My eyes trailed down to the red apple. I still had some space in my stomach to fit it in, but I knew I couldn't finish the whole thing.
I connected myself with Ziahra and took in her power, using it to transform my index finger into a claw and slicing the apple in half. My finger transformed back and I took one half, giving the other to a startled Dr. Joy.
She smiled, the surprise fading away as she bit into the juicy fruit, leaning her head on her other hand. "You've gotten quite used to your power, haven't you?"
I returned her smile, walking around the counter and towards the medical room below. "I guess."
The apple was quickly finished as I made my way to the room Annie was in, tossing the leftover part into a trash can before entering the room. I quietly opened the door and peeked in, seeing Annie sleeping on the bed with the blankets tossed to the side.
My steps barely made a noise as I walked closer, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest as she continued her deep slumber. She must be exhausted, not being able to sleep the entire night.
Annie turned her head, lightly grumbling as she tugged up her new clothing and scratched the side of her stomach, flinging her arm to the side once she was done and not bothering to fix her clothes.
I lightly chuckled, pulling down her shirt to cover her skin as I got ready to heal her.
I'm well rested and well fed. Hopefully, this should be enough energy to completely heal her bones.
My hand hovered above her chest and I took a deep breath, anticipating the pain that was about to come. I shook the thought away, focusing on my purpose of healing Annie instead.
The gates of the dams were opened and the power thundered through my body, all leading towards my hand.
Begin.
My hand burned, it was in so much pain. No matter how many times I do it, the pain always remains the same. The only thing I can do is hide it from my face the best I can.
It was like lava being poured on my palm, then all five fingers. The longer it goes on, the further that lava rises up my arm. The more I power I push out, the more my heart is strained. Immediate danger is when that lava from my hand reaches my heart.
Setting my heart aflame would mean certain death.
Running out of energy to use would mean certain death.
Forcing too much power out at once shocks my body, paralyzing me.
Healing has so much rocky corners. If I slip up and fall, I could potentially die.
I stopped the healing when the fiery pain had crawled up to my shoulder, slumping in my seat as I swallowed gulps of air into my breathless lungs. My heart is beating loudly again, but I wasn't at my limit yet.
Are the bones healed?
Ziahra shifted in my mind. More or less, yes. Her spine needs some work though.
I nodded weakly. Just give me time to catch my breath.
A few minutes passed by with me just leaning on the bed and taking deep breaths as I waited for the pain to go away and get ready for the next round of healing. When I felt okay enough to continue, I sat up, looking at Annie's sleeping position.
I needed her to lay on her side so I can have access to her back, so I gently pushed her body, rolling it over halfway. Annie grumbled, fixing her uncomfortable position herself as she continued sleeping.
With her back now facing me, I pointed the palm of my hand to it, and opened the dam once more.
Her spine wasn't as injured as her ribs, so I didn't need that much time to fix it up. The pain was bad, but still bearable compared to the one before.
I stopped the healing, inspecting her body again. Is that all?
I think so. But I'd give the whole body a quick heal just in case.
Alright.
I hovered both my hands on her head, getting ready to swipe it down her entire body with this one, big wave of energy. The gates opened and the power flowed through my body and straight to my hands. As the healing began, I quickly moved my hands down her entire body, healing, or simply freshening up her from head to toe.
The pain was brief, ending as quickly as it began. This technique was to simply give a small boost of strength to a person so that they can heal up any remaining minor injury themselves, something Ziahra taught me during one of out outings.
When we can't determine the place where they are hurt or wounded, we give them some strength to their bodies so that they can heal it themselves, a bit quicker, if I may add. The good thing about it is that it doesn't hurt me as much.
But of course, this only works for minor injuries.
Annie's body was visibly more relaxed, not stiff in pain like when I came in. I smiled in relief, fixing up her blanket and draping it over her body. Even with the 18 hour sleep, I still felt a bit tired after this session.
I laid my arms and head on the mattress of her bed, allowing myself a short rest to get rid of the exhaustion. Though my eyes were closed, I didn't exactly fall into a deep sleep.
I was in and out of consciousness here and there, I was aware whenever Annie moved around on the bed, or when her hand accidentally smacked my head.
It was more of a light rest than anything, but it was still nice. It would've been better if the room didn't reek of the of a hospital one.
At one point, I actually did fall asleep. But that didn't last long when my face got kicked by Annie's knee. I shot up, wincing and rubbing my throbbing cheek. The blonde girl also woke up, realizing what she just did.
"Oh my god, I'm sorry!" She rose from her bed, pulling my hand away and looking at my red cheek. "Fuck, sorry! I didn't know you were there."
I pushed her hand away. "It's fine," I assured with a small laugh. "How do you feel?"
"..Eh?" Annie blinked in confusion, testing out her hands and arms, as well as her legs. She took a deep breath, her eyes widening afterwards. "I don't feel any pain...?"
She looked up at me, her ice-blue eyes gleaming with gratefulness. I merely smiled. "I'm glad."
Annie faced downwards, her head slowly leaning forward and resting on my shoulder. Her voice was small and slightly shaking as she said, "Thank you."
I wrapped an arm around her and gave her a side hug, patting her back a couple of times before drawing back. "It's no problem, Annie."
"But you go through so much pain--"
"Annie." I stopped her words, looking at her sternly. "The pain doesn't matter to me. The only thing that does is if you're all healed up. So don't worry about it."
Annie was silent, her head slowly bobbing up and down. "Again... thank you."
"Like I said, it's no problem." I stepped from my seat, moving it out of the way. "Can you walk?"
She nodded confidently. "I can."
Annie got down from the bed, landing steadily on her feet without a single wobble. She fixed up the bed, walking around and moving just fine.
I'm really glad she's okay.
I am too. Good job, (Y/N).
Thank you.
"Wanna get out of here?" I asked with a raised brow, pointing to the door.
Annie's eyes brightened up, flashing me a rare smile. "Yeah, this place sucks. And I'm starving as well."
I watched as she jogged to the door, eagerly opening it and glancing back as I followed. I'm not really that hungry, I'm pretty full actually. But I wouldn't mind a very, very small snack.
As we were walking up to the main floor, Annie stopped halfway, bringing me to a halt as well.
"Ah, that's right!" She offered me her hand, a faint smile on her lips.
I looked at it confusedly, and Annie snatched my hand and gave it shake.
"I haven't told you this, but yesterday, I was legitimately fighting you, like I would to a real opponent. I didn't expect it to happen so soon, but, congratulations on beating me (Y/N)!"
I was only able to stare blankly at her. "...Huh?"
Annie let go of my hand, slapping my shoulder as she continued walking away. "Good match. Let's spar again some other time."
It finally hit me. Did I really beat Annie? Was she actually fighting me seriously, and I... won against her?
I ran after her, a wide smile on my face. "Really? For real? I actually beat you??"
Annie playfully shoved her hand to my face. "Yes, now shut up. I'm salty about it."
Dr. Joy met us on the ground floor, staring at Annie who looked to be in optimal shape. "You good, Annie?"
The blonde girl nodded, gazing down at her body. "Yeah, I'm great."
The doctor turned to look at me, a proud glint in her eyes. She walked towards me, eyes going up and down my whole body. "You're successfully mastered all your abilities."
I scratched the back of my head, looking away in embarrassment. "I just... practiced."
"The only thing left for you to do is fully transform." Dr. Joy stared at the late afternoon sky through the clear doors that led outside, and I followed her gaze, wondering what she was looking at.
The doctor turned to me, placing a hand on my shoulder and catching my attention.
"And lucky for you, my dear (Y/N), tonight is a full moon."