Fuck! As if things couldn't get any worse! Lance swore to himself as he carried Frederick back to his room, Foxy where are you? Aren't you supposed to be protecting us!... Sigh, then again he didn't exactly go through that portal willingly. Is someone not letting him come back? Lance continued to think as he carried his baby brother into the bathroom and started the bath water. If they're supposed to be protectors, then why send him back when we need him the most? His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door as he turned to see Lorena standing in the doorway with several towels and clean clothes in her arms, no words were exchanged as he accepted the offer but the look in her eyes said it all.

... As he scrubbed away the blood Lance's concern now shifted to their older brother, hands trembling, lips quivering unable to get the image of his brother being stabbed out of his head. H-He gonna be ok Lance! He's gonna be ok! Repeating that over and over trying to reassure himself and hold back the tears. Don't cry Lance! Don't cry! Come on man ya gotta stay strong for them. Never taking his eyes off his baby brother's silent terrified expression, just staring off into nothing. Lance opened and closed his mouth unsure of what to say, breathing out a sigh realizing that Frederick most likely won't even reply. His suspicion was then proven correct when Frederick immediately flinched away as he reached for his brother's hand. Frederick jumped rather suddenly splashing water and startling Lance at the same time. "Easy Frederick, it's ok. I'm just trying to get you cleaned up." Reaching again very slowly for his brother's hand as he kept eye contact with his baby brother's wide terrified green eyes. "You're ok Frederick. Everything's ok." Not a word, just staring as Lance very gently scrubbed away the blood from each hand... Finishing the bath as Lance laid his brother down in bed tucking him in snuggly...but just as he turned to leave Frederick suddenly shot up grabbing onto Lance's arm! "NO! DON'T GO LANCE!!! Please! Please don't leave me!" Having been silent for so long the sudden outburst caught Lance a bit off guard. "Hey now Freddie it's ok, I'm just going to check on Blaine. I'll be back I promise." bending down and giving his brother a reassuring hug as Frederick whimpered, tightening his grip for some time before finally choosing to let go. "P-promise?" "I promise baby brother. " "...K-Kay." As another reassurance Lance gave his hair a very light and playful ruffle, giving him a bright smile as he tucked his brother back into bed before taking his leave...

After getting directions to the infirmary Lance quietly made his way, hugging himself as he tried desperately to keep calm, but his heart was still beating very fast making it very difficult to breathe. "Lance? You ok?" He jumped for a moment having not noticed Lorena come around the corner. "Oh hey Lorena! Yeah I'm fine! Just fine!" He tried calming himself and put on a not too convincing smile. I'm not sure how to handle situations like this,,, Lorena thought to herself But I can think of one thing that might work. Without a word she reached out and wrapped him in a hug. Lance started to object, tell Lorena he was ok... but he wasn't. Lance thought he had the strength to hold it in to keep it together, at least until he could find a place to be alone. But that hug was all that was needed and the second eldest broke down right in the princess's arms.

...

After getting out of her portrait attire and into something a little more casual Gwen met up with Jamie and the two were on their way to check on Blaine, until a portal suddenly appeared out of nowhere shocking the pastel twins! "Ah! Fuck! Ouch!" Hisashi came flying through and crashed into a wall! "Argh... not my prettiest landing but at least I'm finally out of there." Rubbing his head as the twins came running up to him, "Oh my God! Are you ok?!" Gwen reached up pulling back his bangs to check for any bruises. "Aside from my slightly bruised dignity, yeah I'm all good." Hisashi shook his head a couple times before standing up. "So what happened, where did you go?" Jamie asked as he and Gwen offered Hisashi a hand to help steady himself. "Argh,.. that senile old piece of shit thought it would be a good idea to send me back because of some mistakes that weren't even my fault! I mean how the hell were we supposed to know that Frederick's transformation would happen way sooner than expected?! I mean come on most Kitsunes come of age on their 18th birthday! That asshole knows damn well this was not our fault and that he's just being a-" Hisashi stopped himself reminding himself why he came back in the first place, taking a deep breath standing straight as he turned to face the confused pastel twins. "Sorry about that, that guy just really pisses me off. But enough with that, tell me what happened after I was pulled back? Everyone ok? Is there anyone hurt?" The twins glanced at each other with nervous expressions on their faces. "Well you see..." Gwen started "After you disappeared..."

Hisashi was pale in the face, shocked and horrified by what had transpired in his absence. But most of all he was enraged knowing that he could have prevented all of this from happening... Had someone not interfered...

"Take me to Blaine." Hisashi ordered the two who seemed hesitant at first, especially considering they are not 100% certain that they should be trusting Hisashi, with so many questions about him still needing to be answered... However, given Blaine's condition the last time Gwen checked on him?... "Ok I'll take you to him. But only after you pass a certain test." "Gwen! No! We still barely know anything about this guy! Who knows what he could do to Blaine! How are we supposed to trust that anything he tells us is true, he uses magic he could have made up that whole story! Gwen-" his sister slapped a hand over his mouth silencing him. "You're right Jamie, 'I' can't know for certain this man is telling the truth or what his true intentions are..." she stared at him with a look so serious Jamie almost didn't recognize her for a moment "But you can Jamie, no amount of magic can get passed your discerning tongue." Jamie's eyes widened with realization, why hadn't he thought of that before, Gwen removed her hand and the twins nodded in agreement before turning back to Hisashi, Jamie pointing a finger at him. "You! Us! Kitchen now!" "Wait what?!"...

...The twins instructed Hisashi to prepare a dish, anything be it simple or complicated, then serve it to Jamie and only then will they know if he is truly trustworthy, "Um...Ok?" Unsure as to how cooking will prove he's trustworthy, but if it means getting to Blaine as soon as possible he'll do it. Ok, so I'll just make a simple bowl of ramen. "Ok I'm not all that good at cooking, unless you count using my own flames to fry the fish I catch? So maybe you can give me a hand princess? Do you have any rice noodles I can boil?" "No!" Gwen shook her head "You have to make everything by myself! By scratch if you have to!" FUCK! Hisashi swore levitating an apron from the rack and into his sweaty palm. I'm screwed!...

In the end Hisashi decided to go with a dish that was a bit easier for him to make, granted there were a few 'bumps' along the way.You can't go wrong with Onigiri! Sea chicken is my favorite!... I hope this works whatever this is? I need to get to Blaine and see how Frederick and Lance are doing! Poor Kit has to be terrified right now! "Ok here it is! Sea Chicken Onigiri! Tanoshimu! (Enjoy)" "Onigiri? What's that?" Jamie asked, picking up one of the ricey concussions and sniffing it. "Onigiri is just a simple Japanese dish, a rice ball with your choice of filling then wrapped in a small sheet of seaweed paper... But mind if I ask how eating my cooking is going to prove I'm trustworthy?" Hisashi asked, cocking his head curiously as he removed his apron, watching Jamie take a bite of the rice ball. "Because I'm able to tell who a person really is, and their true feelings by the dishes they make, such as guilt over an affair with a su-chief's wife, romantic feelings with a coworker, etc... And yes you can be trusted. You are very close and protected of the plaid princes, have been watching over and protecting them since infancy and would often sneak them out of the castle just to have a little fun because you saw them as having such boring and dull lives. The one who sent you back to japan did so because he was concerned about how close you have gotten to the princes, and yes I agree the guy is cocky at least from what I can tell by your interaction with him. You see the plaid princes as younger brothers and honestly that alone is enough for me to trust you... But your tuna was very soggy and very salty, your rice was not cooked fully and honestly I'm surprised it stayed together, you're a terrible cook." Hisashi just stood there shocked, mouth agape. What The Fuck?! How the Hell did the kid figure all that out?! This kid has to have some kind of magic?! "...uhh?" he was speechless but before he could say anything Gwen grabbed him by the arm. "Ok that's good enough for me! Come on Hisashi, we need to hurry!" The tone of her voice brought Hisashi back to reality remembering that Blaine had been seriously injured and allowed Gwen to drag him to the infirmary. Though he seems to have an unnatural hatred for Leland which does have me confused? Jamie thought as he watched Gwen lead the four tailed kitsune away.

In the infirmary... Of course everyone in Blaine's room especially Maria were shocked and a little upset that Gwen had brought in the 'mysterious' kitsune who they knew nothing about into the wounded prince's room, that is until Gwen explained to them how they decided Hisashi was trustworthy. "...Alright Gwen if you Jamie say he's trustworthy I believe you. But I'm still keeping my eye on you understand! Try anything and you're out of here!" Maria retorted, pointing an accusing finger at Hisashi "I understand princess, now I need a run down of the situation, right now." The head doctor then went on to explained Blaine's condition to him, "We've already cleaned and stitched up the wound but for some reason his vitals are still acting up? The sword didn't hit any major let alone minor organs and now he's developing a fever and coughing up blood?!" "I understand please stand aside and give me some space." Everyone backed away as Hisashi approached Blaine's bed a slight anger boiling inside seeing one of his brothers in so much pain, but he kept his composure and taking deep breath placed a hand on the wound reciting a spell as his hand glowed a bright white radiance... The whole room was silent for a good solid minute before Hisashi finally spoke up. "There are small fragments of metal within his intestines, my guess is the sword was very poorly made and small pieces of it broke away when he was struck. We'll need to reopen the wound so I can remove them manually. I'm going to need some supplies and he will need to be held down as this will not be a pleasant experience for him." He turned back to the head doctor and without giving him a word in rattled off a list of what he needed. "A large sterile bowl filled with a simple saline solution, with extra on standby as this will take more than one attempt to remove every last shard. The rest of you will need to hold him down and as I said this won't be a pleasant sight so anyone who can't handle it should leave now because I will need 100% focus on this and with Blaine staying as still as possible, understood." Without saying a word everyone nodded in agreement as a couple of the more light hearted nurses exit the room, just as Lance and Lorena made their entrance. "Foxy! You're back!" Lance perked up as he ran and hugged their dear friend. "Hey there Bluebell, it's good it see you're ok I wish I could explain what happened but right now I'm gonna need your help with Pipsqueak." "Huh?" Lance cocked his confusion as Hisashi went on to explain what's going on while tying up his hair and shifting his paws to less furrier hands, Lance was left in shock and fear and immediately agreed to assist with holding his brother down. "Now are you sure you can handle this Bluebell?" "If it means Blaine survives then yes I can handle it!" "And I'll be here to help as well!" Lorena chimed in, giving Lance a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Alright then let's get started... and princess?" Turning his attention towards Gwen "I understand you want to support everyone but as I said I need complete focus so I can't be having a princess freaking out or panicking in the middle of it all. So please with all do respect just step outside." Realizing she had been caught Gwen lowered her head shamefully giving a small nod before turning and leaving the room. Waiting for the door to close turned back to Maria who shook her head indicating that she intends to stay and help a look of determination proving to Hisashi that she 'can' handle what is about to transpire. "Alright then let's begin."

... With two nurses each holding down a leg, Lance and Lorena on his arms and Maria holding him by the shoulders, a third nurse next to Hisashi holds the bowl of saline solution. The stitches have been removed and the wound cleaned thoroughly. Hisashi placed his hand into the bowl infusing it with his own magic causing it to glow bright yellow and form into a large bubble around his hand as he pulled it out, surprising everyone in the room. "I'm using my magic to remove the shards from his body and this solution is simply to make sure the shards will not scratch any organs or vitals as they are passing through and out of the wound. Everyone ready?" They all nodded in agreement, tightening their holds as Hisashi placed the bubble against Blaine's stomach 2 inches away from the wound, taking a deep breath and focusing his magic to begin fusing down into Blaine's stomach, "Sorry Pipsqueak this is gonna hurt." And as expected Blaine started shrieking in pain and struggling to get free, screaming for it to stop and the others to let him go. Lance nearly lost this grip and his cool for a second hearing his brother's cries but he knew he had to continue holding him down in order to save him. The bubble was now fully within Blaine's stomach as Hisashi focused on gather as many shards into it as he could before quickly transfering the bubble to his other hand that laid directly on top of the wound. While keeping their grip the others merely gacked in awe as the bubble exited the wound with several small pieces of metal inside. Perfect! Two more tries should do it. Hisashi breathes a sigh of relief as he hovers the used solution over the empty bowl letting it fall in, as the fourth nurse prepared with a fresh solution switched places with the other. Repeating the same process tears were now streaming down Blaine's cheeks loudly begging for them to stop, his cries brought tears to everyone around and Maria was struggling to keep her grip. Maria? "Huh?" The blonde princess looked up to face Hisashi who was still focused on the task at hand as he spoke to her telepathically. I need ya to do something for me, you're a singer right? Sing this song to him, And immediately images of Queen Islode singing a song to a younger Blaine started playing in her head. She was about to question him but remembering that he needed to keep his focus decided her questions could wait and did as she was told, taking a deep breath and...

"Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay"

She immediately caught everyone's attention.

"Lay down your head and I'll sing you a lullaby"

Lance's eyes went wide. What?! How does she know mother's lullaby?!

"Back to the years of Loo-li, lai-lay

And I'll sing you to sleep and I'll sing you tomorrow

Bless you with love for the road that you go

Blaine's struggles eased up a bit as he listened to Maria's voice.

"May you sail far to the far fields of fortune

With diamonds and pearls at your head and your feet

And may you need never to banish misfortune

And may you find kindness in all that you meet"

Blaine's struggling stopped all together but only because Hisashi had pulled the second bubble out and he was able to rest for a second.

"May there always be angels to watch over you

To guide you each step of the way

To guard you and keep you safe from all harm

Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay"

However as soon as Hisashi began his third and final attempt Blaine's screams resumed pulling as he begged for it to stop. "S-stop! Please stop!" His cries were heartbreaking but everyone had to keep their cool and just hold it together for a couple more minutes. "Blaine." Maria spoke up "I know you're in pain right now and scared, but I promise we're only trying to help. I know it hurts but it's necessary for you to get better. Everything is going to be ok Blaine you just have to trust us." "M-Mama." Blaine whispered between whimpers and small cries of pain that brought a small smile to faces as Blaine squeezed Lance's hand."Alright Pipsqueak we're almost done!"

"May you bring love and may you bring happiness

Be loved in return to the end of you days

Now fall off to sleep, I'm not meaning to keep you

I'll just sit for a while and sing loo-li, lai-lay"

It's going to be ok Blaine.

"May there always be angels to watch over you

To guide you each step of the way

To guard you and keep you safe from all harm

Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay"

I'm here for you.

"Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

Loo-li, lai-lay"

"And we're done!" Hisashi announced happily as he held the bubble filled with the last of the metal shards. "Now let's just get this stitched back up and we can let him rest from here." Fortunately the stitching wasn't as bad as removing the shards so Blaine didn't struggle as much with it, he did let out small cries of pain but that was expected. Once the stitching was finished Hisashi having used his magic to perform the act, discarded the needle and thread in replacement of bandages, wrapping the area tightly and securely before giving everyone the all clear to let go and pretty much everyone collapsed to the ground in exhaustion and very high stress levels. Maria put a hand to her chest as her heart was beating a mile a minute. "Good God, I never wanna go through that again!" Maria let out a raspy breath due to a rapid heartbeat. "You did good princess, all of you thank you for your help...and for trusting me." Hisashi raised a hand and closed his eyes, the others started to glow a soft yellow resulting in many sighs of relief as a pleasant calmness washed over their bodies. His eye twitched a little, feeling a slight twinge of a headache, though no one seemed to notice. "Alright why don't everyone head out and take a low down all that's left to do now is let Blaine rest so his body can recover." Using his magic to cover the now sleeping prince before making his way over to Lance, the others nodded in agreement as they exited the room. Maria offers to stay and keep an eye on Blaine, Lorena going in search of their father to give him the good news. "I need to head back to Frederick's room, he'll freak out if he wakes up and I'm not there." Lance announced getting to his feet with a hand from Hisashi. "I'll go with you. I need to check on the kit myself." However as he turned around Gwen was standing there and had taken a hold of Hisashi's hand. "Actually, Hisashi, can you come with me for a moment?" "Uh sure princess?" Crap! What did I do?! "Bluebell you go on ahead I'll catch up later." "Ok Foxy?" Lance seemed confused wondering what Gwen might want Hisashi for.

Everyone left Blaine's room heading their separate ways as Gwen led Hisashi along down the corridors, Damnit Hisashi you just earned their trust how could you have screwed up so quickly?! Ack! The kitsune reached a hand up to rub his temple Ugh! Fuck! I used up way too much magic today. Gwen led him to what looked to be a simple yet elegant lounge room, guiding him to the large sofa in the middle. "Sit." "Huh?" Hisashi was confused "I know how individuals like you are, Lorena is the same way she acts like she's ok when in reality she's exhausted. I was watching from behind the door and I saw how exhausted you looked the whole time you were in there and even when you first came crashing through that portal." Damn! Kid's got a good eye on her. "Please sit, Jamie had checked on Frederick earlier, he's asleep and you need to rest it's clear that you're exhausted and need some rest." Well Hisashi can tell when he's defeated, and this was not a battle he was going to win. "Heh, you know princess when I first saw you I didn't think you would be the assertive type. Glad to know I was wrong." Then held up his hands in mock defense "Alright I know when I'm defeated."

After getting himself comfortable on the sofa Gwen left for a minute only to return with a tray of tea and some cookies, "Heh, Thanks Kelpie." "Uh Kelpie?" Gwen cocked her in confusion "Oh sorry kid, I like to give nicknames." Hisashi chuckled lightly, adjusting the cool towel on his forehead. "So why Kelpie?" "Well... Your appearance." Gwen immediately froze oh no! Expecting to be insulted once again "M-my appearance?" "Yeah! You're green and your hair reminds me of sea kelp with how wavy it is!" Gwen lowered her head in shame "And you're really cute." Her head shot back up cheeks blushing "C-cute?!" "Yeah so you needed a cute name that matched your appearance. And well Kelpie just seemed appropriate! Ignoring the fact it's also the name of a certain water horse demon. It was the best name I could come up with! Hehe! It was either that or Bambi but you look nothing like a dear so that wouldn't make sense!" Both laughed in unison. "Ok then, Kelpie it is! Thank you um... should I call Hisashi or Foxy? I heard Lance still call you Foxy?" "Tell ya what kid, call me Foxy! You've earned it." "Well I'll leave you to rest and I'll let you know when Frederick wakes up." "Thanks Kelpie."

"Oh! One more thing before I leave, the princes' nicknames? You call Blaine 'Pipsqueak' Lance 'Bluebell' and I think I can guess why you cal Frederick 'Kit'?" "Hehe, well... despite Blaine being the oldest when he and Lance were younger he was always shorter than Lance so I started calling him Pipsqueak. As for Lance it was actually something my sensei pointed out. She told me once that Lance's laugh was so sweet and clear that it was like listening to the chiming of a bell and since his color I gave him the nickname 'Bluebell'. And you'll like this one princess. It isn't just the fact that Frederick is a kitsune that I call him 'Kit'." "Really?" Gwen cocked her head "What's the other reason?" "Don't tell him I told you but when Frederick was a toddler and got really excited about something he would make these noises that sounded a lot like a kitten's meow!"

Kit's gonna be so pissed if he ever finds out I told her! Ahaha!