Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Revelations and Recovery
Chapter 41: Revelations and Recovery
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Ace's eyes snapped open, greeted by the piercing rays of the sun.
"Mmm…?" He felt a wave of grogginess and weakness, his breath coming in shallow gasps. Struggling to comprehend his surroundings, he sensed the dryness in his throat and mouth.
Attempting to stand up in search of water, Ace was met with a sudden stabbing ache that coursed through his entire body.
Suddenly the memories of his last battle flooded back to his mind, and frustration gripped Ace as he recalled the results. Despite their concerted efforts to defeat Akaza, he had managed to escape.
"Who would have thought he would resort to tearing his own head," Ace mused, ultimately sighing in acceptance and knowing that he would have to be cautious in the future.
Feeling thirsty, Ace attempted to move, but every muscle protested, sending sharp signals of protest through his weakened body.
Ace grunted, feeling the pain. In the heat of the fight, adrenaline had dulled the sensations, but now he experienced double or even triple the amount of pain as the reality of his injuries set in.
Ace decided to wait until his vision adjusted to his surroundings. It didn't take much time, and soon he gained a clearer view of his environment.
He found himself in a room within the medical ward, surrounded by various medical equipment attached to his body. He could also smell the acrid scent of disinfectant stinging his nose.
Dressed in clean and sterile clinical clothes instead of his usual attire, Ace traced his fingers around the outline of his stomach, feeling the bandage.
"That bastard really gutted me for real," Ace joked, trying to humour himself as he felt the phantom pain. After all, it's not every day you get a hole punched in your stomach.
Examining his injuries, Ace felt a little depressed, realizing it would take quite some time before he fully recovered. Suddenly, a pale light entered the room through half-closed blinds, casting long shadows across the space.
Ace heard the sounds of footsteps approaching, and he saw Yuki entering the room. She sat beside him in a chair, not realizing that he was awake. As he looked at her, he noticed her looking quite haggard, with dark circles around her eyes.
Yuki settled into the chair, glancing at him, and then she noticed that he was also looking at her.
Yuki couldn't react for a second, before releasing a loud gasp and soon tears started pouring from her eyes.
Ace tried to say something, but before he could, Yuki hugged him tightly, as if fearing he might vanish.
"Ouch," Ace groaned, feeling the tight embrace and her slender hands but the ache from his injuries didn't let him enjoy that.
Yuki quickly stopped after hearing his cries of pain.
"Sorry, sorry!" Yuki exclaimed, pulling back, her eyes filled with a mix of relief and concern. "I thought you were... I thought..."
Ace managed a weak smile, despite the pain. "I'm not that easy to get rid of."
Yuki chuckled through her tears, wiping them away. "You scared me, Ace. I thought I lost you back there."
Ace's gaze softened, his hand reaching to gently brush away a tear from her cheek. "I'm not going anywhere, Yuki."
As Yuki composed herself, she reached for a glass of water on the bedside table. "You are thirsty, right?" she said, offering it to Ace.
He nodded quickly and took the glass of water, sipping it slowly as the cool liquid soothed his parched throat.
With his thirst quenched, he could finally think more calmly now. Looking at Yuki, Ace asked, "How many days was I unconscious?"
Yuki replied, "It's been five days since you came back from the fight. Rengoku-san awakened yesterday."
"Oh! It's been five days… How is Rengoku doing?" Ace asked.
"His injuries were somewhat less severe than yours, but still quite significant. Some organs took a hit, and a broken rib almost managed to pierce through his left lung, luckily it was not his heart," Yuki explained.
"Hmm… so where is he now?" Ace asked, curious as he wanted Rengoku to explain the demon slayer mark to others.
"Uh… He left in a hurry. He said he wanted to talk about something with his father," Yuki replied.
"Oh..." Ace nodded, thinking, 'What was so urgent that he left so early without even fully recovering?'
Unable to find an answer, he shook off his thoughts and decided to ponder it later. And tried to move his body in a sitting posture, but his body protested with a wave of pain as soon as he did that. Thankfully, Yuki quickly came to his aid, helping him sit up.
"You should be careful, Ace. You're injured right now," Yuki quickly chided.
"Okay, okay. I just didn't want to talk while laying down" Ace responded with a hint of a smile.
As they talked with each other about some mundane things another series of footsteps was heard.
"Yuki, did you change Ace-kun's medicines?" a voice called out from outside the room.
"Mitsuri-san, come in fast, Ace is awake!" Yuki called out to the voice outside.
A rapid rush of footsteps echoed as Mitsuri stormed into the room. As soon as she saw him sitting up, she rushed toward him.
'No, not again!' Ace thought.
However, he could only watch as Mitsuri hugged him tightly, burying him in her embrace, while tears streaming down her face.
'At least I can die while feeling this bouncy heaven!' Ace thought.
"Thank goodness, you're alive. Thank goodness," Mitsuri exclaimed, tears streaming down from her eyes like a waterfall.
"Ouch! You're suffocating me, Mitsuri, and don't hug me that hard. I'm the injured one here," Ace said, his face stuck in her breasts.
"Oh! Sorry! Uh… I was just too excited seeing you awake," Mitsuri quickly apologized.
"Heh, it's no problem. In fact, I'm quite happy that you cried for me. You clearly care for me," Ace said with a grin.
"O-Of course, I-I care for you!" Mitsuri replied with a slight blush coloring her face.
"You're still trying to flirt when you're injured," Yuki chided with a playful tone.
"Huh! I'm not flirting with her. I'm just appreciating her care for me. It's your mind that's in the gutter," Ace retorted.
"And being injured shouldn't stop me from that. It's not like I am dying."Ace said.
"But you were quite close to that," suddenly another voice was heard.
Ace turned toward the direction of the voice and sure enough it was Shinobu-the ever-smiling.
"You were in quite a bad situation when you came in. If that demon's punch had landed on your spine instead of your abdomen, you would have been paralyzed for life; more than that, thank your fortune that your internal organs didn't explode." Shinobu said in a grim tone.
"..."
"..."
"Okay! No need to make the atmosphere grim. I survived, and that's enough!" Ace said.
"How long will it take for a full recovery?" Ace finally voiced the question on his mind.
Instead of a direct response, Shinobu approached him, examining and identifying his injuries. As she touched his left hand with gentle precision, she remarked, "A broken hand." Moving to his mouth, she indicated, "A broken jaw, and despite the stitches, swallowing might be a little hard." Only then did he realize why his voice sounded muffled.
'So that's why it hurts so much when I speak,' he thought to himself.
Next, she gestured towards his biceps and legs, stating, "Full of micro muscle and tendon tears." Finally, she pointed to his stomach, solemnly saying, "That's the most serious injury—significant damage to intestines and liver." She sighed and added, "You won't be able to consume solid foods for some time."
Ace listened attentively as Shinobu pointed out his injuries. Some worry filled his eyes as he absorbed the severity of the damage.
"Okay, so how long until I'm back to normal?" he asked again.
"It's hard to pinpoint an exact recovery timeline, especially considering I'm still uncertain about how you managed to survive a direct blow to your stomach. According to Rengoku's report, that demon punched a hole through it with his fist. You're quite fortunate."
"Perhaps your body possesses impressive regenerative qualities, similar to how you recovered so quickly when you first arrived here; injured."
Frustrated with her evasive responses, Ace deadpanned, "Could you please cut to the chase and just tell me the recovery time?"
Shinobu paused in her explanation, a lost expression shadowing her face. Eventually, she frowned, sighed, and admitted, "I didn't plan to disclose this immediately. The shockwaves from those attacks have caused damage to your heart, and one of your ribs has punctured your lungs."
"It would be incredibly hard for you to continue as a demon slayer," she stated. What she left unsaid was that it wasn't just difficult; it would be an outright miracle if he could fight at the same level as before.
"Oh" Ace frowned.
It seemed that overusing of Ethereal Eyes and Hybrid Style simultaneously had taken quite a toll on his body. Add to that the shockwaves from Akaza and the impact of him stabbing my stomach with his fist, and the damage was substantial.
Witnessing his silence, both Yuki and Mitsuri hugged him tightly, presuming he was feeling disheartened about his injuries.
"Don't worry, Ace-kun. This big sister is strong and will protect you forever," Mitsuri reassured, attempting to console him.
Yuki also hurriedly nodded in agreement, agreeing with Mitsuri.
Amused by their gestures, Ace chuckled and decided to playfully tease Shinobu.
Glancing at her, he teased, "Won't you protect and take care of me, Shinobu?"
Caught off guard, Shinobu thought for a bit before responding, "Uh... Of course I will, Ace. Who do you take me for?"
Ace grinned, his playful expression returning. "Well, that's a relief. I was starting to worry I'd be left to the mercy of Mitsuri's and Yuki's hugs"
Mitsuri & Yuki pouted, crossing their arms. "Hey, our hugs are comforting!"
Ace laughed, feeling happy at their care.
"And about the injury, you don't have to worry. I'll be perfectly fine after a few days," Ace reassured. He really wasn't concerned, knowing he could use the light of Dawn to heal his body as long as he absorbed it regularly.
All of them frowned, thinking he was just putting up a tough front in front of them.
But they didn't decide to break his facade and opted to let him rest for a while.
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