"No."
"I… I see." Ryu's eyes started to glow, but he quickly caught himself.
"I am unable to heal wounds like that. they cannot be stitched up, nor can they be sealed. I am a doctor. Not a miracle maker. I am truly sorry about your pupil, but she might as well be dead. Internal bleeding cannot be stopped. Especially at such a large scale. Honestly, I'm surprised she's still alive from your description of what happened. Get going. I'm sure you will want to be there for her final moments." The healer looked at Ryu with regret.
"I… I will."
Ryu wasted no time and ran. Had the hospital been too optimistic? Had they lied to stop them from worrying? Yuki couldn't die. Not now. He couldn't let his inability to see through Kiyoshi be the reason she died. It was too soon. He couldn't let his niece die like that.
Shu sat in his bed, reading the books Ryu had gotten him. It helped his understanding of The Awakened. It confirmed what he learned earlier about how Aiko was the only one who could pull water from the air instead of having to rely on a pre-existing water source like rain or a pond. He also learned how second awakenings were rare and typically gave control of an element someone in your family can control. That made a decent amount of sense. His mother was a lightning wielder as well.
The book explained how there were only a few types of awakenings despite how diverse the uses are. Water, fire, lightning, wind, earth, and mana were the only recognized types of awakenings. There were of course things such as ice and metal manipulation, but those were just categorized under one of the six categories.
Shu paused for a moment. He knew there was only one known light wielder, but he figured there would be at least a mention of it in the book. Wasn't it a widely known fact that the Empress of Windrise was a light wielder? Maybe they had decided not to include it because it had only happened once.
Shu flipped to the lightning section and started looking through different uses and techniques. There were two categories for all of the types except mana. Long range and short range. All of the elements were also leaned more toward one of the two sides. Lightning was normally used as close range enhancements. Using it to coat your hands to make your punches pierce through materials, coat your legs to make your kicks more damaging, coating your weapons to increase the amount of damage, and using it to partially paralyze your opponents are the most common uses. However, the more skilled people can use it as a ranged weapon. Some could even call down lightning from the sky, which proved to be the most powerful type.
A wave of pain shot through Shu and he blacked out.
Yuki saw a faint blue glow illuminating her in the dark room she was in. Was it her eyes? If it was, then that meant she was using her powers. But that was the only light in the room, so she couldn't be. Her fire would make light itself. What could it be?
Then it struck her. The shadows. Were they keeping her alive? The wound she got should have been fatal under normal circumstances.
Yuki was frustrated. Ever since that day her powers had fully awakened, everything seemed to be made just to test her or scare her. The dark hall, the repeated presence of blood, her own power, Shu almost dying.
When she thought of Shu, she jumped in panic. Did he end up surviving? He wasn't bleeding when she had brought him, but he had been so pale from blood loss that she thought he wouldn't live much longer.
She hefted herself out of the hospital bed, wincing at the pain in her abdomen. But she didn't care. She had to see if Shu was okay. She could stand a bit of pain if it meant she could put her mind at ease.
She slowly shuffled her way over to the door, clutching her stomach. Which room did they put him in? Ah, whatever. I'll search every room if I have to.
Behind the first door she opened, she saw an unconscious Shu sitting in the bed with a book. She rushed over to him, ignoring the wave of pain that swept through her. She checked his pulse and found that it was normal. He must just be asleep.
She sighed in relief at the realization. She didn't know what she would do if he died. He'd been by her side for 16 whole years. He couldn't leave her now. Not after everything they'd been through together. Especially before she had built up the courage to tell him that. But it wasn't time yet. And Yuki wondered if there ever would be the right time to tell him. But for now, she was happy he was still here.
She crossed her arms on the bed next to him and laid her hand down on them before drifting off to sleep. This time, willingly.