Within the room in the Hosenka hospital, her eldest brother sat there with the small girl they found. He had taken care of her for the time being. She still just went with the name girl until Lee decided what to do with her. For now, she lied in bed hooked to a magical lacrima taking her vitals. There was not much anyone could do, but hope. She had waken up the other day to Lector and Judina telling her the unfortunate news. Judina and Lector broke it to her. Ever since then, she had not woken up from her slumber or refused to talk to anyone. LeeAnn was still rather weak. She was lucky to be alive. Ryu heard about her condition and knew automatically she should've been dead. Must of been a miracle.

The young girl played with a few toys Ryu had bought her the other day. One of was a stuffed shark she named Bruce and the other was a toy orca she used to play with all the time. It was a cute thing to watch her talk for the toys giving them weird voices. She remained innocent through the whole visit, not understanding the grim circumstances the room gave. "Ryu...when will Lee wake up" she asked. Her wide blue eyes stared at Ryu, he remained quiet for a while before answering. "She's still resting. It will take some time before she will wake up, I am sure" he ensured. He remained vague for her sake. The truth was she was a really rough condition and it still wasn't stable enough to give him relief. Even if he could do something as a doctor, his trained profession, he still couldn't do anything. Only time would be able to grant her wish.

Several hours pass by, it was getting close to the end of visiting hours. Ryu was collecting the little girl and getting ready to leave when LeeAnn woke up. A small squint of her eyelids broke Ryu's concentration from the girl to his sister. She yawned and sat up slowly in bed. A small rub of her eyes as she grown aware of who was in the room. The blonde little girl's eyes grew happy. "Lee, you're awake! I am so glad you're okay. I made you this" she smiled. A small drawing of LeeAnn, her, and Lector having fun. A small smile grew on her face as she ruffled the little girl's hair. "Thank you, this is lovely. You came to see me, Ryu? Why?"

Her question stunned him a little bit. There was not a answer he could give. It was a natural thing he did without thinking twice. Always he remained distant from his family due to lack of association and distane from his father and younger brother. Lee had the most distaste for him, but with good reason since he was a bully to her when they were younger. Now, that was all different. The dire circumstances of their situation made they realize how much they really need each other, especially Lee. "Instincts. You know...I don't want you dead, at the very least. Besides, this munchkin won't shut up about ya" he spoke. The girl bounced up and down next to her bed. For some reason, this innocent child was just attracted to Lee more so than Ryu. She could only guess it was because she was a female, but knew that was probably a long shot. "Tell me...do you have a name, sweetheart?" The girl paused and thought for several moments before shaking her head.

"Would you like one? I might have a name that would suit you well" she smiled. The girl grinned from ear to ear. She stared at Ryu for approval. Simply, he shrugged in response telling her that he really didn't care. "Would Hikari work?"

The small girl had her eyes lit up for the first time in forever. The whole world had stopped on this moment for her. She leaped up onto the bed and embraced the injuried women without any disregard for her wounds. The five-year-old was to extatic that she was being adopted. "I am assuming that's a yes?" Lee groaned at the pain with the extra weight and sudden movement from her boy being hugged tightly. "Thank you! Thank you! I love that name! Thank you, Mom" she smiled. The word "mom" made Lee grown silent. It was all to shocking for her to be called "a mom". Ryu immediately reacted by pulling Hikari off Lee.

"Hikari, she's not your mother, but yes we are adopting her. You will be apart of our family." Ryu explained everything to the young girl. She was still adminate on calling LeeAnn her mother. There was no changing her mind. No one in the world could persuade the child. For the first time in a long time, LeeAnn had not words. Her mouth went dry at the words. She had no response. "I need some rest. I will see you all tomorrow, yeah?" She spoke. Her brother nodded, now guiding the overly excited girl next to her. She waved and say her good-byes before closing the door behind them. Now she was alone. Lector was no where to be seen. He was at Judina's.

"Ragtime? Ragtime! Where are you" she whispered. The spirit shown himself fully on the foot of her bed. He laid there with a chesire girn. "Mom? That's new. Though, I did expect something like that to happen. She's rather fond of you, ya know" he teased. LeeAnn sighed with a studdered breath. "That's not what I am wanting to talk about. I need to talk about what to do next...not about the girl or Ryu, but the family. Caspien. I....I am at a loss" she spoke. Her face loosened letting the emotion and the feeling of helplessness actual to rear its ugly head without a fight. Most of the time, she fought to hold these emotions back, but now, she let them show this time. There was no hiding from Ragtime. He knew every move and thought she took.

"I think it's wise to sit this one out for a while. Let all of this blow over. You've been through a lot already. No need to push of answers" he spoke. The choatic creature was right. She knew that, as much as his words stun, she personally had to admit he was right. Though, being the stubborn girl she was, she refused to tell him that. Lee refused to make eye contact with him regardless of what he had to say. Silence laid between them for some time before Ragtime spoke up again. "You have a tendacey to push your limits too often and get burned in the end. Look what happened with Manzo and you or Kazmir. The best example is your health. Just look at you" he spoke.

"Never speak of Manzo like that. He's too good of a guy for you to use his name in vain" she snapped. Ragtime flinched a little. He raised his brow, feeling a little confused. "I wasn't. I was simply stating that you push yourself too far sometimes physically, mentally, and emotionally. I never said he was a bad guy. Never was putting him down...no need to get so protective" he replied. Ragtime already knew the complexity of their relationship. That was another can of worms he didn't want to open today. For now, he was just lying on her bed being a soundboard for her. That's all he really could do. Emotions and grief was a force you had to let nature take. It was not something you meddled with unless you want to inflict pain on someone. He had no intention of doing that.

The more she fought with herself, the more tangled she became within her own mind. It was as if she was trapped in her own body, stuck for eternity. Her emotions and thoughts were the biggest downfall for the demi-human. Naturally, she never thought of herself to be the strongest mentally persona in the world. Her mental health was not the most healthiest thing in the world. The thought of even her love life made her sick, let alone everything else. Ragtime sighed as he gathered enough strength to push the girl even more forward.

"Are you sure that is even plausable? Ragtime, if you've been around since the day I was born, I was meant for misery. Life keeps beating me down, but why do I keep fighting? What for? Nothing. That's plain and simple," she spoke to her friend. Ragtime was silent this time. The spirit could not bark up any snarky comments or words to come up with. Lee just needed something in her life to live more. The only thing at this time was her newly adopt daughter, Hikari. She needed a gurdian in her life, someone who could actively take care of her. She was too pure for this world and Lee was going to make sure it stayed that way. Nothing was going to stop her from protecting her daughter.

Hikari emboided so much more for her than just someone to take care of. IT was a matter of personal care for a soul that actually looked to her for guidance. It gave LeeAnn purpose than just being a waste of space. A feeling she was all too commonly aquianted with throughout her lifetime. Many times before that she grew to distant and hated people even more before that. Times were hcanging her like a constant tide. LeeAnn grew to love his girl as so did Ragtime. The creature slowly became less and less chaotic slowly changing the tides. If LeeAnn could tell someone something about her life that she was proud to accomplsih, it was taking care of her family. That was something that no one in their right minds could take away.

She slowly, got out of bed and shuffled to the window. The pain was all to amusing for her. She gave a small laugh before sitting down. She stared out the window, thinking about life and how it had treated her this far. She came too far to quit now, but sometimes she did feel helpless and lost for some time. Ragtime was the only guidence she needed for a while.

She curled up into a tight ball. The glass was cold when she pressed her skin against it. It slowly became a warmer temperature to match that of her body. Lee felt a husk of what she once was. The memory very clear. The image was clear in her head, the attack that was aimed to her. The figure that saved her life, but took his own. The man that helped shaped who she was. The legend. Now, he was gone. Her grandfather stepped in at the right time to save her, but in the end became a dismanged body. Everyone had seen what had happened, even Judina. This memory haunted her.

Ragtime appeared in his magical fashion. The nightmare played over and over in her head. The more it played, the more it made her stomach churn. "Why can't I just end it all, Ragtime? Why is my existance so painful? I should of take that hit. Otherwise, all of this would be over." Her voice croaked and crackled with pushed back emotions. The magical spirit remained silent.

"Seems like no matter what I do, the same emotions and situations come back to me. Loneliness. Sorrow. Abandonment. Ragtime...when will this stop" she cried. Ragtime wiped her tears from her eyes. The same patterns repeated themselves making her regret any decisions that lead to this low every so often. This time it involved death, a loneliness she never felt before. Her family was at risk of being lost and this would be all her fault. Yes, she had felt lonliness before, but nothing ever this drastic. Blue Pegasus would never fill that void nor would anyone for that matter.

Ragtime felt helpless. He didn't know what to do exactly. He had lived for decades spending his days out living all of his hosts. None of his hosts he became close to like he did with LeeAnn. There was something about her that made her less likely to be as chaotic and untamed as he normally would be. "Grief is the price we pay for love, Lee. No one can avoid it" he spoke. He let her cry, with him by her side on the window sill. "There's a...saying a host of mine once told me that I think may help you. Life is like an ocean, you have high and low tides. Everything comes in waves and some of those waves are tsunamis while others and calm. It's how you adapt to the ocean that makes you, you. Ocean is beautiful, but deadly. So is life. What happened back there was tragic. Even if you did take the hit, it wouldn't change anything, but make things worse. He sacrificed himself, knowing you have a lot more to live for than he did. Trust me when I say, you are never alone. I will be with you til' the day you die, kid. Nothing will ever change that" spoke Ragtime. He did his best to guide LeeAnn in every way possible. There were somethings he could not help her with, but become an ear.

-Exit-