Haru had tried his best to stay awake and keep an eye on his partner. Akira had been restless even though the doctors sedated her; he could see white and black mist ooze out of his partner, with the two opposite elements coming into contact with each other once in a while. Every time they did fuse, they annihilated each other creating a pop and a bright flash of light. The reactions made Akira twitch and struggle; the strain in her face clearly marking the pain she was in. Haru had no idea how to subdue the pain and from the looks of it, none of the doctors in the hospital did either. “We have never seen anything like this. She seems to possess two opposing elements within her and with both of them fighting for control over the other, it is eating away at her both physically and mentally. We have done what we can to keep her stable… But… I’m not sure she will make it,” the doctor told him, patting his shoulder.

Haru couldn’t believe what he heard. There was no way he was going to let Akira die. He frowned at the doctor and stomped away, refusing to take that for an answer. He marched on to the hospital’s library and began searching for books related to healing light and dark magic users. After all, he was a healer too. Even if the other doctors gave up, he was not going to. He browsed every book possible for any such cases treated before… but he didn’t find a single one. I’m not giving up… The Rune Knight kept piling books on his table; none proved useful unfortunately. It was almost past three in the morning when he finally couldn’t keep his eyes open and his head hit the huge book he had in front of him. After all, he had had a terribly tiring day too.

Less than three hours later, the morning sun’s warm rays woke him from his stupor. He woke with a dull throbbing pain in his head, almost not remembering anything. And then, in less than a second, everything came back to him and he jumped off the chair, rushing towards Akira’s room. He opened the door and stared at an empty bed; and she wasn’t in the bathroom either. Wide-eyed, Haru rushed to the reception and inquired of his partner’s fate. “Akira Shimada. Where is she?” he asked bluntly. “Umm… She left this morning. We told her not to, but she didn’t listen,” the receptionist said indifferently. “LEFT?! What the-” he wanted to yell at the hospital staff, but he had no time for that. Instead, he rushed out of the building and started running through the huge Capitol’s streets frantically.

The nightmares were the most striking feature of the few hours of sleep, or rather unconsciousness she was graced with. One could have hoped, the light would have granted her peace. It was what she had once craved, to be accepted, to be approachable... to be happy, light magic was likely to have granted her all that. But no, instead, she was gifted with this entity now, after she had learned to make do with her darkness after she had learned to temper it, to control it... to almost wield it perfectly, manipulate it into aiding her. Her darkness and she were allies... Till light butted in. No warmth, or peace, or restoration came with it either, instead, it brought conflict and turmoil.

In the nightmares, the darkness was in combat with the conquering light, struggling to hold its own, while using the familiarity of Akira's mind, as an advantage. The shadows fought in known territory, on home turf... But the light blasted through. Akira's physical form probably convulsed through the duration of her sleep. She had been lucky, that when she woke up, it was nothing too dramatic, just a soft gasp nothing too noisy, to wake her snoring partner. It was kind of Tsuru to have stayed at her bedside... That's when she noticed the dark aura that flowed around her, pinpricks of light issuing from her, puncturing it ever so often.  

It had taken eons of training to get her darkness in check, now it felt betrayed and lashed out, against her and her new friend. This could be bad... very bad. She was now a threat to everyone in her vicinity. So she did the only logical thing she could think of, gather her things... with the intention to leave. Tsuru would probably have to handle Batra, given his moralistic nature, he'd probably pay up for her, she'd left her share on her hospital bed. If she'd had the time and strength to leave a note, maybe she would have, but time was of the essence. At least she wasn't the sentimental sort, that would have made this so much more difficult. Yet her eyes did linger on the face of her partner for longer than she had anticipated...

Initially, the girl had to ignore the beseeching hospital staff, she assured them she was fine, with much strain. But she was barely being able to contain the contradicting magic inside her, it made everything such a drag. One of them must have seen a wisp of darkness, eerily in combination with the white light...  Because suddenly they were eager to let her go, at least it made things a little easier. She calmly paid for the stay and treatment nonetheless.

With no plan... She ambled the streets of Crocus, in the wee hours of the morning, just as the moon was exiting the stage of the sky.

The scarlet-haired Rune Knight paused for a moment amidst the busy streets of Crocus, panting, while his eyes darted towards any dark-haired girl he spotted. Focusing so much on finding Akira, he had completely missed the young blonde-haired lady walking up to him. It wasn’t until she spoke to him that his brain registered her presence. He heard her words, but couldn’t process it immediately. He took about ten seconds, during which he stared at her blankly, before responding. To Asura, it might seem like the man was retarded and lagging, but it was mostly because he was extremely exhausted and stressed.

“Er… Yes! My partner… Patrol partner, I mean. She is missing from the hospital. She was in no shape to be roaming the streets and her life is in danger,” he said. He still couldn’t understand why Akira would leave the hospital. Did she not value her life? Had she given up without even trying? He was so frustrated that he almost asked Asura all these questions. But he stopped himself, realizing she would have no answers for him and it would be simply be unnecessary venting. “We must find her. Will you help me, please?” he asked, his voice laced with desperation. If she agreed, he would go into further details, describing Akira’s looks. “She is short… About two inches over five feet. Sixteen years old, very skinny. Has short black hair and black eyes. Always has a cigarette between her teeth, although I doubt that will be the case today. At least, I hope not,” he ranted.

As he was speaking to Asura, he saw someone familiar from the corner of his eyes. He instantly recognized him even among the huge crowd; it was Sage, whom he met and recruited at Magnolia. Haru raised his hands high in the air and waved at Sage, beckoning him to cross the street and come to him quickly. Once Sage was close enough, Haru would explain the situation to him and ask him to help too. Hearing Haru explain with urgency for the second time, an old man who was sitting behind the vegetable stall on the side of the street would approach them. “Hey… I think I saw the girl you are talking about. You see, I come here very early in the morning to set up the stall and I happened to see a young, meekly girl walk past here and go through there. I remember because it was very early in the morning and it was completely deserted except for her,” he said, pointing towards a small alley that branched away from the main street. Haru immediately knew it must have been Akira; she always loved deserted, dark alleys. Thanking the old man, he began running towards the said direction and hoped that the other two would follow him. “Let’s go… We don’t have much time,” he said.

As the three began running towards the direction pointed by the old vegetable vendor, Haru realized the blonde girl had given her name but he hadn’t given his. He shook his head in disbelief and quickly apologized. “I’m sorry! I was so focused on searching for her, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Hatsuharu,” he said. He was about to introduce Sage, but there was no need; the boy did so himself. “Thank you both for coming with me,” he added as they turned into the small alley.

When Sage asked if Haru had any clue as to where Akira might be, the scarlet-haired man sulked and shook his head. “It’s my fault… I should have kept an eye on her. I dozed off and… she was gone,” he said, his voice ridden with guilt. “I have no idea why she would even leave, let alone where she might go…” he said, wondering more to himself. He really couldn’t understand why Akira would leave the safety of the hospital at her condition. He remembered the sparks and flashes around her as she lay restlessly on the bed, and the answer to his question struck him then. “Oh crap! I think she believes she is a danger to those around her. That’s why she must have left. So… She will definitely be somewhere where there are not many people,” he would say, looking around to see if there are any other civilians who might have seen her walk by.

Without the details of what actually happened, this might be a confusing for the other two. But, unfortunately, for the time being, they will have to trust the man and follow him. As they half-ran and half-jogged, looking around frantically, Haru ran into a lady sweeping the streets. “Excuse me… Have you seen a black-haired…” he went on to describe Akira and ask if the woman had seen her walk past. The lady stood there thinking for a while, tapping her chin. “Umm… I’m not sure… What did you say her name was?” she asked. “Akira!” Haru exclaimed immediately. “Oh yeah! When I was sweeping the floor, I found this enveloped under that bench there,” she said, pointing her one hand towards a bench under a tree to the side of the road, while fishing into her pocket with her other hand. She then pulled out an opened envelope and gave it to Haru. “I only opened it to see who it belonged it so that I can return it to them… And the recipient’s name is Akira. Maybe the same girl?” she said.

Haru opened the letter and saw the name. It was addressed to ‘Akira Shimada’. His eyes widened in joy and he thanked the lady for her help. “Let’s go… We are on the right track,” he said to his two Rune Knight companions and began running again.

People must have thought she was bonkers. With flecks of blood still adorning the creases of her forehead, and a wicked grin on her face, Akira looked like quite the piece of work. At least she was used to this, people staring at her funny, so it didn't bother her in the least. The only problem was, whenever she tried to approach someone to get directions to the hospital, or at least to the garden, they just ignored her, or called her crazy.

If only I hadn't accidentally almost shot that healer, I could've asked her where the hell we were.... Although the hideout effect that the place had, the woman would probably not reveal much anymore... She thought as she walked backwards for a bit, looking for landmarks around her. Crocus was still new-ish to here, plus she was still a bit giddy after employing so many of her spells. While the element of light was still a little bit easier to control, the conflict she'd endured through a large portion of the night, still left her a little weak.

In any case, Akira had no idea what she was going to say, particularly to Tsuru... At least she sort of had a good story up her sleeve, the encounter with the healer had been interesting for sure. It was so ridiculous, that he'd have to believe her. From the height of the sun in the sky, it was predictably sometime after breakfast... Probably nine? Consciously she kept rubbing her forehead, to try and get the blood off... But she had no idea exactly how much there was of it there was... It still felt odd on her forehead. At least one thing was for sure, any citizen that did see her face this morning, was probably not going to forget it anytime soon.

Finally, something familiar appeared, at least vaguely, it was a shop she'd crossed earlier on her way from the garden with the mysterious woman. Her memory was blurry, but she could swear she was on the right track....

The trio jogged along the street, looking around to see if Akira was anywhere in the vicinity. Haru was glad to hear Asura’s response when he expressed his gratitude. Half way along, he heard Sage say he would try searching by other means and then watched him sprint away in the opposite direction. Haru wished to know what these other means were, but there wasn’t the opportunity or the time to discuss it. “Alright… Thanks again,” he yelled as Sage turned a corner. He figured it was better to split so that they can cover more ground and hoped that was Sage’s idea.

Once he resumed his search, he responded to Asura’s questions. “Some mysterious man ambushed us last night and he messed up Akira’s darkness magic. Now, there is both light and darkness within her and the two opposing elements are clashing for control over her body… If she is does not get proper care, this could be the end of her,” he said, gulping at the last sentence.

The sun was finally well above the horizon, beginning to shine through the sparse clouds. It must be mid-morning. It has been several hours since sunrise and the old man said he saw her very early in the morning. He hoped he wasn’t too late.

The street winded into a sharp turn, and as he turned, he could see several pedestrians stand where they were, and all seemed to look towards a particular direction. Haru instinctively turned towards the general direction and he immediately spotted the familiar physique. She may be bloody and struggling to keep on her feet, but he still knew it was her. “There!” he exclaimed to Asura, pointing his hand at Akira, and then begun running as fast as he could to his partner. When he was finally within her earshot, he screamed at the top of his voice. “AKIRA!” He had a million more things to yell, but first things first. He had to take her back to the hospital.

When she heard him call out, her ears almost twitched, she towards the sound and spotted his poofy orange hair. The sight of him racing towards her almost made her giggle, she played her own part dramatically, racing towards him like they were long lost lovers or something. 'TSURU!' she responded, trying to alleviate the tension she knew would be sitting between them the moment she got closer.

Then she stopped midway when she noticed the girl behind him. Now that there was a stranger around too, she felt the need to awkwardly curb her rare spike of giddy happiness. 'Er...' she said. Feeling a little nauseous after the sudden sprint and becoming acutely aware of the fact that she still hadn't regained all her strength. 'Whoops.' she said as the dizziness made her sway gently.

The blonde girl who had followed her partner, quickly put an arm around her. Helpful... How kind... Aki thought as she smiled at the lady and leaned on her a little. 'Why thank you... And who may you be?' she asked, her voice was at a much higher pitch than usual, sweeter, merrier... Tsuru would probably not even believe it was her. 'Did the Rune Knights replace me already?' she asked, winking at Tsuru as she laughed.

'Oh, you won't believe what I've just been through... So strange.' she added, her eyes darting between the blonde and her partner, or was it ex-partner now... She hushed the tiny voice in her head that seemed genuinely irked at that prospect and was voicing protests in a rather concerned manner.

Despite having steadied her balance, she didn't push away the girl, for once attempting to deal with proximity rather than try and escape it. Tsuru looked pretty cross and things were likely to turn bitter between the two once Aki rolled off of the high that came from the fact that she wasn't dying today... But if she could ride it past their encounter right now, perhaps things would be easier to manage.

Haru shook his head, almost ashamed, when Asura asked if he had any clue as to who the man that attacked them might be. He wished he knew more, but there was nothing except for his physical features. “We heard a noble was kidnapped and went to the outskirts to investigate. We found the noble and saved him. I think this man who ambushed us was the actual kidnapper, but I can only guess because he instantly immobilized me and insisted that Akira fight him alone,” he said, trailing off in the end of his sentence, remembering the horrific night. “When a higher ranking Rune Knight came to our rescue, he did this to Akira and escaped,” he added in the end, to give it a closure.

Before he could elaborate further, he had spotted Akira and rushed towards her. The girl almost fell face down, trying to run towards him after hearing him. Thankfully, Haru was quick enough to dive in and stop her from falling, and immediately after Asura came to assist. So, he managed to keep her up. “Where did you go?!” was obviously Haru’s first question, but he wasn’t sure if she was in any state to respond. The dark-haired Rune Knight was extremely uncharacteristic. She was never a chatty, and now she spoke more than Haru did. She seldom smiled and she was all grins this morning. And her voice… Haru wasn’t sure what happened to her voice. It was high-pitched and sweeter than he remembered. Looking up at Asura, he shook his head, looking almost scared. “I think she has lost it…” he said, worried that the two clashing magic had taken her sanity.

Seeing people began crowding around them, thereby slowing them down, Haru frowned and slowly let go of Akira after warning Asura. “Hold her still for a second. I’ll make this quick,” he said, before putting his palms together and creating his Nimbus. The large three-meter-wide cloud would form underneath them and lift all three up to five meters above the ground. After that, he slid Akira’s arm over his shoulders again and held her steady by one hand, while using the other one to control the cloud. With no pedestrians to gawk and stall them, the three would soon reach the hospital.

She just smiled and waved her hand, grinning she simply said 'Psssshhht.' As the girl explained, it was dismissive and to reassure her that she needn't explain, just the introduction was fine. 'So you already know who I am... Good good.' She said now leaning onto Tsuru as well. Her dizziness returned as the cloud she was escorted onto rose. Following which, she lost consciousness and she wasn't sure why. With that, she fainted, presumably held up by the fellow Knights.

When she stirred again, she was back in that infernal hospital bed. Memories of her escape earlier that day clawed their way into her mind. Was everything that happened between then and now some sort of a twisted dream? Did she never actually escape the hospital. Her eyes opened a crack as she looked around. The first thing she noticed was a man standing by the door, he looked worn and tired, much like her probably and he spoke to the occupants of her room, she craned her neck to see who they were... Their presence did make her feel a little warm inside, although that could just be her new element.

'Stick together please.' The man said, steadily, but his anxiety seeped through, clearly, the things he too had seen and endured, or perhaps that he knew of, were rattling him. 'We will need all the help we can get, but I would recommend each of you fight in squads...' he said and then rubbed his chin and scratched his cheek. 'In fact, I'll get my assistant to fill out the paperwork to make you'll a team.' he said, his tone changing to sound like which was less a suggestion and more an order. 'Look out for each other, a Knight must always have their comrades' backs.' he added.

Then his gaze roved around the room and pinned each of them down, starting with Akira, as he turned away, she could swear she saw a ghost of a smile on his face before he softly added. 'I'm proud of the kind of people we recruit...' she wasn't sure if that was meant for her or not, it definitely seemed more directed towards the others. Still not quite up to having a conversation and unsure of everything that had transpired, Akira just felt like getting more rest. The turmoil in her seemed to have calmed and... maybe... things were looking up? She closed her eyes and pretended to still be asleep. As she sorted her thoughts out for later...

~~Exit~~

Thanks to the cloud, the trip to the hospital was a much shorter one. Haru felt extremely dumb for not having thought of this before. He could have searched for her while on the cloud from the very beginning; the height would have given them a bird’s view and would have helped plenty in quicker navigation. In any case, he was glad it worked out and they found Akira. But he still wasn’t sure if he made it on time. He couldn’t shake the thought that maybe he would have made it on time had he been faster.

Swimming in his guilty thoughts, he felt Akira drop her head and found himself supporting a lot more of her weight. “She blacked out,” he said, panic obvious in his voice. He tried accelerating the cloud, but it was already going at its maximum velocity. Not too far now…

Just when the hospital came into their vicinity, he heard Asura question and realized she had misunderstood his previous explanation. She didn’t blame her; in the state he was in, he probably did say something completely ambiguous. “Oh no… It wasn’t the Rune Knight who did this to her. He came to help us. It was the man who ambushed us that did this,” he clarified before apologizing. “Sorry about the terrible explanation. Bad morning…” he said.

They had finally reached the hospital and two nurses rushed out after seeing Akira. “We told her not to go,” they exclaimed as they brought a stretcher along. Haru helped the nurses place Akira on the stretcher and they pushed her into the wards quickly. The healer was right on their heels until the point where they asked him to wait outside while they did their magic. The same doctor that dealt with Akira before rushed into her room and checked her condition. After several minutes of urgent healing rituals and potions, he walked out, looking extremely tired. “She is stable now… It’s a miracle. There is no more conflict of the magic within her. They seem to coexist, but I don’t think it was because anything I did,” he said. It didn't matter to Haru who fixed her; all that mattered was that she was fixed. He thanked the doctor, as he left.

The scarlet-haired Rune Knight opened the door to Akira’s room and would hold it open for Asura if she wished to come in too. Once inside, he saw that his partner was still unconscious. The nurses warned him not to disturb her and he nodded; he was a healer himself and he completely understood their concern. As all the doctors and nurses left the room, another man entered. Haru turned to see who it was and it was the same lieutenant who came to save them the other day. He spoke in soft whispers to avoid waking Akira.

“Hey… I heard what happened. Great job bringing her back,” he said, turning towards Asura and appreciating her initiative to help in such a dire situation. “I know it’s not the best time to ask this, but I’m afraid we have confirmation that the city is going to be attacked. You all, stick together please,” he said. He went on to further details about making them into a squad, but Haru eyes focused out. It really was a bad morning…

Finally, after the man left, Haru fell onto the couch in the corner with his hands on his head. He looked up at Asura and smiled weakly. Despite all this, there was some good news. “Welcome to the team…”

-Exit-