"The assassin had disguised himself  as a doctor checking on Kai, Tyson.  Hillary was there with him then. Somewhere along the line, she must have realised that he was no doctor and had come to harm-to kill Kai. 

I had been with her few minutes before that happened. Kai had woken up and Hillary sent me to call the police officers for the enquiry. She stood up to the assassin, defending Kai. She must have even fought with the assassin, seeing the state he was in. But she was gravely injured in the process. Her neck was swollen, her head was banged up to the wall many times, her entire hair was damp with blood. The assassin hit her shoulder with the wooden footrest at the patient's cot, it was broken into pieces. The doctors fear she might have broken her shoulder bone or cracked her skull. On top of it, he buried a blade in her shoulder. 

Do you know what is the worst among it all? When she got too week to fight, he tried tried taking-took advantage of her. You do understand what I mean, don't you?" Tyson's eyes widened as the realization that the reality was way worse than what he imagined sunk in. 

******

Tyson couldn't think of what to say, what to do. He felt trapped in some hellish nightmare, wishing so much that he would wake up from it soon. He had excused himself soon after she told him of everything, for he couldn't bring himself to cry in front of an utter stranger. But the tears never came, nor did the cold feeling when he splashed his face with water repeatedly. All he could feel was numbness, an empty feeling. 

Knowing he couldn't keep Susie waiting forever, he made his way back to her after drying his face. He found Susie waiting for him at a corner. Hillary's CT scan is done. Thankfully, there's no bone fracture or displacement. Her wounds are being taken care of right now. Kai also has been shifted to another ward since his room is... the crime scene." "Can you take me to Hillary then?" he immediately asked. "I'll see what I can do." she affirmed back. 

He and Susie were waiting just outside the ward where Hillary was being treated. For convenience, it was also present on the third floor. The number of policemen and hospital staff had drastically decreased. Only a doctor who was treating Hillary and a police officer remained. The doctor had strictly prohibited anyone from entering until she herself gave them the permission. The police man himself had needed a lot of persuasion to let them, Tyson especially, to even wait near her ward. 

He had been unusually quiet for the last one hour, just staring into space, for he couldn't think that anything had to be said about the matter at hand. Hillary had been molested. The sentence didn't seem to sink in no matter how much he thought of it, how many times he repeated it in his head. It all felt unreal. How could his life change so drastically in a matter of one day, twenty-four hours? 

Yesterday, he was on moon nine, laughing and enjoying himself at a talk show, basking in his stardom, and today, he was sitting in a hospital with an utter stranger for company, one of his best friend was shot, the other was molested, his mother figure suffering in a ward below after an accident, and he had completely no idea what to do. 

When the doctor finally came out, Susie stood up immediately. Tyson followed suit. "What are you doing here? And who's this?" "Ma'am, this is Tyson Granger, Hillary's boyfriend." she introduced me. He didn't bother correcting her. He just wanted to see Hillary. The doctor's face contorted in annoyance. "I thought my instructions were clear Susie. I wanted you to inform a family member, her parents preferably." Tyson took the initiative. "Ma'am, Hillary's mother met with an accident a few days ago. She in the very same hospital, not yet conscious. Hillary's father is unavailable, most likely in another country due to business reasons. She's their only child. Hillary's boyfriend I may be" the word still sounded so foreign to his tongue. "but our families have been friends for as long as I can remember. Hillary was my first friend, she is still one of my best friends. Please let me see her doctor, I mean no harm. " he pleaded. 

He could feel both the doctor's and Susie's hard gaze on him. Finally, the doctor relented. "All right then, you can go see her, stay with her if you can. If she wakes up or you feel she needs any help, call for me. I'll be on the floor below." she agreed. Tyson thanked her as she left. 

He went in as soon as the doctor left. If he thought Kai looked terribly pale after the shoot out, Hillary was no better. She looked almost translucent in the hospital gown. She breathed heavily, an oxygen  mask on her face. Her neck had swollen slightly, giving her skin a purplish tinge there. An ice pack was kept on it to reduce the swelling. 

She was made to lie sideways due to the wound on her shoulder and the wound on the back of her head. Her head was wounded up tight with a bandage. Her shoulder was slightly bandaged where the assassin had buried a knife, an ice pack was let on her shoulder to reduce the swelling. There were many small scratches all over her hands and face which gave her an appearance of have been to a colony of wild cats. The doctor hadn't bothered covering them all up. 

He moved in a daze, took a stool lying near by and sat beside Hillary. Not knowing what else to do, he carefully took her hand in his own. They were cold against his warm ones. But the small feeling of her pulse was all he needed to know she was alive, nothing else mattered. 

He had always known Hillary to be a headstrong stubborn friend. She would always have it her way or the highway way, and just to add salt to the wound, her ideas were always way better than his. 

Especially for the last six months, she had been nothing but  an annoyance. It took him some time to realize it was her way of repaying him for completing forgetting about her after he came back to Tokyo, even though she had been an ever faithful friend and had written him a few times. 

They had slowly eased into an 'always bickering' 'love-hate' friendship since then and he had to admit, he loved to bicker with her, see she her face flush with anger whenever she started to rant at him over some issue she was passionate about. 

He never could have imagined he would see her this fragile and vulnerable. To think she's was so badly hurt by that assassin, almost exploiting her weakness as a female... Tyson was sure that he would kill him if he gets a hold of him. 

Tyson hadn't realized Susie had left until she came back with a tray of sandwich and a juice. "Eat it Tyson. You must be hungry." she instructed. When he made no motion to have heard her, she continued. "You've got to be strong if you want to take care of Hillary. Who will take care of her if you fall ill?" she questioned. 

Not seeing a way out of this, Tyson took the tray. After the first few bites, he realized that it was the very same sandwich he had eaten in the morning. It had tasted pretty good in the morning, but it tasted like mud now. He gulped it down with difficulty. He drank the juice in one gulp. He then put the tray on the bedside table and took hold of Hillary's hand. 

Susie tapped on his shoulder again. "What now? " he asked, a slight edge in his voice. If Suzie was offended, she didn't show it. "I thought you might want to have this." she said, giving him a small bit of paper. Tyson took a moment to realize that it was a check, and not just any check, it was a check written and signed by Kai himself, he could recognize the 'too neat handwriting to be a boy's handwriting' anywhere. 

"He had given me the check to pay of Mrs Tachibana's expenses, but I couldn't settle the cheque that day, some technical issues. But I realized that Hillary had somehow paid for the expenses and since he himself is in the hospital, and you might need some assistance, I thought I should give it to you. I'll leave you be for now. I'll be at the main reception if you need me?" she drew back. Tyson felt ashamed of his earlier behavior. "Susie,  he called out, just as she disappeared from his view.  He went to her and said, "Thank you... for everything. I-" he started, but didn't know what to say. 

But Susie got the message all the same. She ruffled his hair like an elder sister would, for she was at least a foot taller than him,  and was surely a few inches taller than Kai, who was the tallest among them all. " I'm glad I could help. I realise you are distressed Tyson, anyone in your situation would be. But believe me, everything will work out in the end. All you have to have is believe it yourself." 

******

Max and his friends were herded by the police as soon as they stepped out of their cabs. They were taken to one of the empty rooms. Officer Jackson was on a call, with Mr Dickenson if he recognized the voice correctly. The call ended just as they entered. Ray asked "What's wrong?" without waiting for anybody pleasantries. "Kai was attacked." he simply stated. Ray looked shocked. So did Kenny. "What do you mean? " they stuttered. 

"What happened exactly? Is he alright?" Max managed to ask calmly, slowly realizing that he had expected some more attacks since yesterday. "The assassin had disguised himself as a doctor to check on Kai. Thankfully we arrived before any major damage could be done. His stitches had ruptured, but he has been tested for it since." Max sighed in relief. Not as bad a his wild imagination had made him believe. But why did Officer Jackson still look so grim? Ray made the connections sooner. 

"What's wrong then? Is Hillary all right? " he asked anxiously. Officer Jackson removed his spectacles, rubbing his eyes. He seemed to be very tired. "She got in the way. Tried saving Kai. And was very much successful at it too. Otherwise your friend would be dead by now. But.. " he trailed off. 

"Please continue, Officer." urged Kenny. Max didn't feel tempted to do so. But he continued to do so anyway. "She didn't get away unscathed. She was terribly manhandled and has gotten some serious injuries. She is being taken care right now. Last we heard of her, she had some issues with breathing as she was almost choked. Her left shoulder was suspected to have fractured. Her head was hit to the wall a good few times, she had a big wound there and... There's no easy way to say this, she was slightly molested."

Max gasped loudly. Sure, he had suspected that there were more attacks to come. But he hadn't thought of Hillary falling in danger due to them. Oh gods, sweet innocent Hillary... 

Ray looked as outraged as he had ever seen him. His eyes screamed for blood, for murder. "What do you mean 'slightly' molested?" he demanded. "We got there just in time to stop things getting out of hand, even if it was by coincidence. We have the assassin in custody. First level of interrogations have already begun."

"You have the assassin? Take me to him right now. I'll show that son of a bit*h-" Ray angrily demanded, Max was with him too. A good punch was no price to the pains he had caused them, but it would surely make them feel better. But Officer Jackson was having none of it. "There will be no word out about either the second attempt at Kai's life, or that we have the assassin in our custody and most importantly, nothing about the girl. I do not want to get stuck in the middle of a media frenzy. And you do not want to put the girl in more danger than she already is, by publicising it. The assassin is in my custody and I'll be the only one who'll be deciding what to do with him? 

The reason you're all here is to inform you guys that we'll be giving you GPS trackers. Even if you suspect something suspicious going on around you or  feel that you're being followed, I want you to alert us. One of the officers will be near the dojo and one will be near the hospital. I've talked about it with Mr Dickenson just now and he has allowed me to restrict your movements. You're not allowed to roam around after six. One of you will be present with Kai and Hilary at all times until they are fit to have their own bands. If you plan to go anywhere outside the usual locations, you've got to inform us. You're advised to go in pairs wherever possible. Am I making myself clear?" he asked. 

All three of them nodded after a few seconds of hesitation. "The other boy, Tyson is with Hillary at present. You all can meet her for now, though she hasn't gained consciousness yet." he informed them. 

When did Tyson come here? He wondered, but didn't bother to ask. No one bothered to. Max just wanted to see Hillary as soon as he could. 

******

Tyson sat in a daze, his mind a tornado of questions. 'How did she live with so much grief, stress alone?'

 'What happened at her house? Does she even know about it? Do her parents know about it? Why couldn't she contact her father?

 Why didn't she tell me? How come she told Kai and not me? Didn't she trust me enough? Why didn't she use the cheque then? 

How did she even manage the expenses alone? And how did she still have enough to contribute to Kai's treatment?"

Hillary slowly starts shifting in her position, her face contorting in a frown. Tyson tucks in a strand of hair behind her ear, softly blowing on her face, thinking she was feeling warm. Much to his worry, Hilary was burning up with fever. She was awake with a small yelp. The pain due to the disturbance in her shoulder  must have woken her up, Tyson mused. 

She blinked at him with those huge innocent ruby eyes of hers, seeing and yet not truly seeing him. Tyson held on to her hand tightly, not knowing what to expect. "Is that really you Ty?" she asks hopefully, raising her hand to reach out. He quickly nears her to let her  touch his face. "I feel so -" were all the words Hillary could choke out before her emotions got the better of her. Seeing this, Tyson starts crying too. "You are safe now, Hill. Everything is gonna be alright, I promise. Please get well soon." he pleads.

"Don't leave me again, Ty. Please.. "

"I promise, I'll never leave you." Tyson affirmed back, kissing her hand as tears streamed down his eyes. 

"You must sleep now Hil. You'll feel better soon." he promised, slowly stroking her hair. Hillary nodded in reply, her eyes already drooping in exhaustion. She was  asleep again in seconds. But Tyson didn't stop stroking her hair, replaying the small exchange they had, feeling guiltier and guiltier after every single time. 

******

The rest of the blade breakers checked on Hillary first, only to find Tyson already with her. Both of them were sleeping peacefully, not giving a care for the world. 

Hillary's breaths were slow and heavy, experiencing some discomfort due to her  swollen neck. She was made to sleep on her sides so as to not disturb her head and shoulder injuries. She was as pale as ice, and dried tears streaked her face. 

Tyson was asleep on the chair beside Hillary, his breaths quiet for once. His head resting on her hand on the cot, tears streaking his face too. 

Max eyes filled to the brim at their sight. The feeling of helplessness and guilt was just too much to bear. To think all of this could have started due to him and his mother. How he could have stopped a disaster if he hadn't been so persuable.  Max didn't need to look at his friends to know what they were thinking. 

Ray was the one to take the call.  "Max, its best if you stay with the two of them. I and Kenny will be with Kai in the next room. Give us a shout if you want something, alright?" Max just nodded in response. Ray went ahead and adjusted Hillary's blanket to cover her up until her neck. Kenny went to the reception to bring them all a blanket each. Ray covered up Tyson too,  removing his cap and placing it on thebedstand. 

After Ray and Kenny left, Max tried sleeping with no avail. Realizing that sleep won't be that merciful today, he took out his cell phone, toying with the responses he planned to send to the members of 'All Starz'.

Realizing that he desperately needed an out and he couldn't bring himself to burden his friends here, for he had to be strong for them all and not be the first one to break, Max called another best friend of his. A best friend whom he had known all his life. A best friend present at  the other side of the world. They hadn't talked to each other even after he had payed to bail him out, but Max couldn't think of anyone else with whom he was even half as close he was with him. 

Thanks to the time lag, it was somewhere around midday in America. The call connected immediately. 

" Hey , who's this? " 

******

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