Yuna and Hana went into the hospital side by side, their strides quick and pressing.
"You can heal him, right?"
"I wouldn't be me if I couldn't."
Hana responded to Yuna's question reassuringly with a charming smile on her face. Yuna didn't even turn to look at her and kept facing their destination as they spoke.
Their destination was Kei's hospital room.
His condition was stable, and he would have healed on his own with more time. There were many others requiring far more urgent healing after the recent monster attack as well. Hence, Hana never healed him. He was of secondary priority.
Now that the war had erupted, he was of the utmost importance. As the apprentice of Yuna, he had to be prepared and ready for a battle.
Many of the monster attack's victims had already healed by now, making the hospital less busy and overcrowded. At the same time, the staff were in distress and hastily treating and releasing the remaining patients to make room, believing that many freshly injured Enlightened would soon arrive.
Naturally, they would gladly release Kei to make more space, especially if he was healed by the strongest healer in the first stronghold.
Yuna and Hana entered Kei's room silently. He was sleeping peacefully.
They didn't speak a single word loudly as they entered his room, hoping not to wake him up by accident.
Almost his entire body was still covered in bandages, but at least he didn't look as pale and miserable compared to the last time Yuna had visited him.
Yuna sat down slowly and carefully on the edge of his bed. They needed him to wake up so that they could heal him properly without shocking him and causing him a jumpscare which could disrupt the healing.
She gently patted his cheek with the back of her hand a couple of times, which unfortunately didn't wake him.
"Hey…Kei I need you to wake up."
She whispered into his ear gently.
Hana couldn't help but have an amused smile on her lips seeing Yuna's attempts at being gentle for once.
Her attempts were futile, causing her frustration. Due to this frustration, she patted his cheek with more force. It wasn't a very gentle approach but an effective one nonetheless, considering that Kei woke up immediately.
Hana immediately lost her smile and felt disappointed by her roughness.
Kei was grumpy for a few seconds until he realized who woke him. Once he did, a soft blush covered his cheeks. His voice was still groggy from waking up just now as he spoke up, his eyes squinted.
"It's been a few days, master. How come you're visiting me? What's the occasion?"
His gaze shifted to Hana, who was standing next to his bed on the opposite side on which Yuna was sitting. He realized why these two were present immediately as he noticed her.
"Ah. So that's why. I'm honored to meet you, gentle flower."
"The pleasure is mine. Meeting someone as courageous as you isn't an everyday occurrence. And please call me by my name."
Her smile was gentle and endearing, his was flustered and polite.
"You two can exchange pleasantries another time. Healing him is more important now."
"Yes, Yuna. You're right."
Hana responded quickly to Yuna's words. She couldn't be certain due to her mask, but it looked as if she starred daggers at her. Both Kei and Hana became uncomfortable immediately after. This was evident from Hana's slightly shaky voice.
Fortunately, they could easily force a more pleasant topic. Kei's healing.
She had healed so many Enlightened and mortals alike that, by now, it was as easy as breathing air. Especially when it comes to injuries such as his. They weren't infected nor lethal and had healed naturally for quite a bit already.
He felt his injuries disappear within just a few seconds after she began to heal him. The deep cuts, the bruises, all of it disappeared without a trace.
Yuna stayed silent as she watched the healing process unfold.
It was done as quickly as it had started.
"That's it already, Kei. Be careful please. You will still feel the pain for a couple of days. Don't be taken by surprise by it."
"Yes, thank you very much, Hana. The pain is definitely still present, but I feel a lot better nonetheless."
Kei smiled at her contently and with renewed energy. Hana reciprocated his smile happily.
Yuna walked towards the exit while speaking up.
"Thank you, Hana. Kei, get moving. Time is not to be wasted currently. I need to train you."
Hana smiled and bowed slightly as a response, watching Yuna take her leave.
Kei, looking confused because nobody had told him about the war yet, obeys Yuna without hesitation and follows her out the door.
"Wait for me, Yuna! Can't I first get out of these bandages and switch into normal clothes before you train me?"
He caught up to her fast-paced walk within a short time and gazed at her confused.
"Yes, you can. Do not take longer than a few minutes, or I'll give you something you can take your time with."
Her voice clearly indicated that taking his time was very ill-advised.
"O-okay. Thank you, master. But I still need to know what is going on. Nothing here makes sense unless something potentially catastrophic will happen."
"You're right. The master of your friend went to the jade palace a while ago…"
Yuna went on to explain the events of the past days and all about the war.
Kei was visibly shaken by it. He despised and rarely ever used violence. Just the word 'war' could send a shiver down his spine. He was fearful.
"Thank you for telling me all of this."
His voice was shaking, and it seemed distant, as if he was in another place. Yuna picked up on his feelings almost immediately.
"How dare you be scared, Kei? Do you believe that I would allow anyone to kill you? You most likely won't need to kill a single person in this war. I will do most of the fighting. I basically just need you to act like eyes on the back of my head."
Despite her harsh and offended tone, her attempt at calming Kei worked oddly well.
Kei blushed ever so slightly as she told him that she wouldn't let him die, a joyful smile creeping up on his face.
As these two left the hospital, Yuna went outside into one of the gardens, planning on training Kei there.
"Do not be late. I expect you in 10 minutes."
"Yes, master. I won't keep you waiting."
He disappeared quickly and ran outside the central building towards his home. Despite the pain he was currently in, he ran there, all so that he wouldn't let his master down.