Once Reiji was sure that Adryn had fallen into a deep sleep, he decided to head out of the room with every intention of heading to his own room. However, he was intercepted by Ai who was standing in front of Reiji's door. Before Reiji could say anything, Ai spoke up.

"What happened between you and Adryn?" Ai asked in his normal, calm voice, but there was a hint of an accusation behind it.

"I just helped her calm back down so she could sleep," Reiji responded simply, thinking this was the end of it, but Ai continued his questions.

"If you're interested in Adryn, what were you doing alone with Nova in her room?"

"You wouldn't understand, Ai-Ai." Reiji tried to write it off, not wanting to be honest with his friend, but also not wanting to lie to him.

"Care to tell me what Ai won't understand?" Reiji and Ai turned to see Taemin approaching them. He'd apparently been listening into the whole conversation. "Just what is going on here?"

"He'd had been in Nova's room and once he exited, he wouldn't tell me what he was doing in there," Ai explained before Reiji could explain it all himself. Hearing this, Taemin's mindset switched into big brother mode, not just because of his brotherly connection with Nova, but because of his connection with Adryn as well.

"Just what is going on between you and Nova, Reiji? Actually, tell me what's going on between you and Adryn as well. I know you're a good man, so there has to be a good explanation for this."

"There is absolutely nothing between me and Nova. No feelings or anything there at all. I was helping her with something. However, there are feelings there between Adryn and myself. I would like to get to know her better and be there for her through the treatment she'll be getting now that she'd decided to go forward with it."

"Alright... I'll believe you, but if you are lying, you'll have to deal with Eclipse, and trust me, you don't want to deal with Eclipse when she's angry."

"I promise, there is only friendship between Nova and myself."

"Well, I know she has no feelings for you since Nova is a lesbian. So it's just better to stay away from her."

"I already knew that Nova was a lesbian. Besides, I wouldn't hurt Adryn by going after her ex-girlfriend like that." Seemingly satisfied with Reiji's explanations, Taemin nodded his head and turned to go back to wherever Eclipse was. "Wait, Taemin, can I ask you to do a favor for me?"

"What is it?" Taemin questioned as he turned back to look at the other man.

"Can we not talk about this with anyone else? I don't want to worry Adryn with misunderstandings or anything like that."

"...Alright." Taemin agreed after a moment of thought.

"Ai-Ai?"

"Very well," Ai responded after thinking about it as well. With that, the three of them went off in their own ways. Reiji headed to his room like he'd been trying to before. He decided to just take a shower and change into his sleep clothes. Feeling completely drained, he plopped down on his bed and fell asleep right there. He didn't even climb under the covers.
A few hours later, Reiji woke up. He wasn't sure what woke him, but he realized how he'd fallen asleep. His lights were still on and his hair was still damp. He shivered a bit but then realizes that he had a bad feeling within him. This prompted Reiji to walk out of his room and into the eerily silent hallway. At first, it was completely quiet, but then Reiji began to hear shuffling noises coming from Adryn's room. This gave Reiji an even worse feeling so he knocked on her door. Hearing nothing but the noises, Reiji decided to open the door, only to see Adryn in her bed. She was tossing and turning with tears falling from her still closed eyes.

"Adryn!" Reiji instantly flew into panic mode and hurried to the distressed woman. He began to shake her as he spoke to her. "It's just a dream, you're dreaming, Adryn wake up!" Hearing Reiji's voice and feeling him shake her, Adryn jolted awake. However, her eyes were a little foggy, so she panicked and moved away from the man out of fear. Her eyes adjusted a bit and she was able to see the familiar shape of Reiji before she could see him completely.

"Reiji?" Adryn asked, completely confused. She was hit with the remembrance of her dream and began to cry and breakdown again.

"Are you alright?" Reiji hesitantly sat down on Adryn's bed, being careful to not startle the woman.

"It's just the nightmare I had, I'll be alright," Adryn muttered as she wiped her tears away and gathered herself. "How did you know I was having a nightmare anyway?"

"I had been asleep but woke up out of nowhere with a bad feeling. So I came out of my room and heard you in distress."

"It's starting."

"What is starting?" To Reiji's concerned question, Adryn chuckled.

"Well, Eclipse and Nova, Taemin also, are able to sense when I'm upset too. That just means that you really do care about me."

"I do really care about you." Reiji proudly admitted as he smiled at Adryn.

"Um, what are you two doing awake? Also, why are you in sleep clothes while Adryn is still in her club clothes?" Reiji and Adryn turned to see a worried and confused Eclipse in the doorway. Adryn instantly blushed and Reiji panicked, as things did look a little suspicious.

"Well, I wasn't exactly in the right state of mind to change earlier and Reiji felt me upset and hurried over here," Adryn explained with a red face, trying to rationalize everything so Eclipse didn't take anything the wrong way.

"I see," Eclipse responded with a nod of her head. "Well, thank you, Reiji, for helping Adryn in her time of need, but I got it from here. You can go back to bed."

"Come find me if you have another issue," Reiji stated to Adryn before leaving and closing her door behind him.

"Alright, get into the shower and wash away the night." Eclipse pulled Adryn from the bed and pushed her towards the bathroom. Adryn did as she was told and after she was all clean, she put on a tank top and shorts to sleep in. she then climbed into bed. "You know, I would have kicked John's ass if Taemin let me."

"I'm glad you didn't. I guess I need this to happen to bring my will to live back to me."

"I'm happy that you want to get treatment now, but I'm not happy you had to go through that to figure that out for yourself." Eclipse then thought for a moment and asked a question that surprised Adryn. "What took away your will to live in the first place? Why did you give up on life?"

"My past. Every failed lover. Every abuser I've dealt with. Everyone that had hurt me over the years. Everything just became too much and then the tumor and cancer happened." Adryn then smiled a dark smile. "I planned to end my life after the club if everything had gone well. But since it went bad, in a good way, I don't have those plans anymore."

"It would have destroyed me if you ended your own life. You know that, right?"

"Taemin would have kept you alive and you'd eventually have learned to move on with him by your side."

"What about Nova? She would have been devastated, just in a different way."

"I would have felt bad about that, but Nova wouldn't have fallen apart over me. We don't care that much of each other anymore."

"You're wrong there, but that's a problem for another time."

"I won't be leaving this world for a while now. We'll have time to talk about everything and nothing. We can fix our friendship and become like sisters again now."

"I'd like that very much," Eclipse admitted before she yawned. She then turned to leave as she bid goodnight to her best friend. "I'll see you later. Sleep well this time, alright?"

"Alright." With that, Eclipse was gone and Adryn was alone again.

She didn't want to dwell on anything so she laid right down and drifted off to sleep. The next thing she knew, she was felt something warm and wet on her face. She opened her eyes only to see Serenity on her bed, licking her face.

"How did you get in here, Serenity?" Adryn asked her cub who just nudged her hand now. Adryn noticed that the door to her room was open a little bit, revealing how Serenity had gotten in. Adryn then noticed that there was a note attached to the collar of Serenity. Adryn pulled the note off and she read it. "'Come down to the kitchen when you wake up. Reiji will be there waiting for you so he can cook you something.'" Adryn shrugged her shoulders and decided to not get ready for the day before heading down to the kitchen. Reiji was just sitting at the counter, waiting for Adryn. He was all alone. "Morning, Reiji." The man instantly perked up when he heard Adryn's voice. He then turned around to greet her as well. When he saw her in just shorts and a tank top while wearing her glasses, he paused for a moment before he responded.

"Good morning, how did you sleep?"

"I'm not sure actually."

"Alright. Well, what kind of food do you want for breakfast?"

"Surprise me." To Adryn's response, Reiji laughed and nodded his head. Reiji instantly got to cooking. "Where is everyone?"

"Out doing their own thing. Nova and Shiori are out shopping for groceries and whatever else they find. Ran-Ran, Ai-Ai, and Myu are out doing a job that they refused to tell me about. Eclipse and Taemin are on a date, enjoying their last day together."

"It sucks that Taemin has to leave tonight."

"I feel bad for Eclipse and Taemin. They love each other so much and it must hurt to be torn apart from each other constantly."

"I couldn't handle it if someone I loved was so far from me for that long amount of time. They are brave and must truly be meant for each other if they can survive the long-distance."

"I'll have to remember that you don't like long-distance relationships."

"Huh? Why?"

"Anyway, you're going to love what I'm making. It's my specialty!"

"...It's fried chicken, isn't it?" Adryn watched Reiji pause whatever he was doing and look at her.

"...It might be..."

"Can
fried chicken be for breakfast?"

"It's 2 in the afternoon. It's really a late lunch at this point."

"Wait what? I slept that long?"

"You needed the sleep."

"What I need to do is call my doctor after the 'late lunch' and set up an appointment to figure out a treatment plan for me."

"I'll cook faster!" Reiji's resolve caused Adryn to burst out laughing. Adryn decided to stop talking with Reiji so he can finish up peacefully. After a little while, Reiji got done with everything and gave Adryn the food he made. "Enjoy!"

"I will... maybe." Adryn couldn't help but chuckle at the pout on Reiji's face. She then began to eat and once she was done, Reiji offered to clean up, sending her to her room to get ready for the day. So that's just what Adryn did. She got ready for the day and then called her doctor. Dr. Yoshida was her main doctor for her tumor, so that's who she called. She was able to get an appointment set up for that day, as soon as he could come in. Adryn hurried off to find Reiji once her phone call was done.

"How'd the call go?" Reiji asked once Adryn found him. He was walking toward his room, so he wasn't too hard to find.

"My doctor wants me to come in now. Do you think you can take me? I don't really want to do this all alone."

"Of course. Let's get disguises so no one recognizes us and then let's head out!" Reiji and Adryn hurried to their rooms and got disguises on before heading to Reiji's car.

Once in the car and buckled up, they headed to the place where Adryn was supposed to meet with her doctor. The location was the same hospital where Adryn had been just a bit ago but in the doctor's office side of it, not the emergency side of it.

"Should I stay out here or come in with you?" Reiji asked as he pulled into a parking space.

"Can you come in with me? I might need some moral support to get through all of this."

"Sure, I'll be your moral support. Trust me on this!" Reiji's proud comment caused Adryn to laugh. Once she collected herself, the two-headed out and into the building. They head into the doctor's office and begin chatting about how things are going to go.

After an incredibly long time of going over options, Adryn and her doctor decide on a treatment plan. Adryn will undergo retro-sigmoid keyhole craniotomy due to the tumor being right at her spinal cord. She will have to shave her head, despite Adryn not wanting to. After the surgery, she'll remain in the hospital for 3 days for observation. If the surgery doesn't get all of the tumor, she'll undergo Stereotactic Radiosurgery to completely and permanently remove the rest of the tumor and cancer. To Adryn's surprise, the surgery is planned for the next day as they need to get the surgery done as soon as possible.

Once the talk and plans were laid out, Adryn and Reiji headed out of the hospital and back into his car. This is where Adryn proceeded to breakdown. This caused Reiji to instantly panic.

"I've only ever been into surgery when I was three! I don't want to do this! I am so scared I'm going to die because of a surgery that is supposed to save my life!" Adryn cried out as she tried her hardest to not start sobbing.

"You'll be alright. You'll die from not having the surgery anyway. Wait... that didn't come out right. Adryn..." Hearing Reiji not saying the right things didn't help much, but Adryn was able to calm herself down enough for Reiji to safely drive back to the mansion. As soon as they got back to the mansion, Adryn headed right up to her room and went into the bathroom.

"I guess I have to do this..." Adryn muttered as she found a pair of hair scissors. She then began to cut a little patch of hair, but she couldn't do anything more than that. From the hallway, Reiji could hear Adryn begin crying. Without asking for permission, Reiji entered the room and went into her bathroom to see her sobbing.

"Why are you crying?" Reiji asked, incredibly worried about the woman.

"I worked hard for this hair. I don't even have any wigs to wear once my hair is all gone!" Adryn was becoming distraught but Reiji wasn't sure what to do about it. Until something hit Reiji.

"Hold on." Reiji then ran out of the room into his room and rummaged through his stuff before returning to Adryn. Reiji held out his hand, in his hand was something fuzzy and emerald in color.

"What is this?"

"It's a beanie that I was given. I never wore it but I've held onto it because it's my color. You can wear it until we get you a wig that works for you."

"Thank you." Adryn took the beanie and smiled at it. She then thought of something as she looked down at the scissors. "Hey, Reiji? Can we take a picture together before I cut more of my hair off?"

"Of course." To Reiji's agreement, Reiji pulled out his phone. The two got close together and they took a cute photo with them both smiling.

"Can you send that to me?"

"Sure." Reiji then paused. "But I don't think we've exchanged numbers yet. Get your phone out and we'll exchange numbers."

"Oh... okay." Adryn was hesitant to pull out her phone.

"What's wrong?" Reiji got his answer when Adryn pulled out her phone, revealing a little Reiji dangling from it. "Oh." Reiji then chuckled causing Adryn to frown. "Don't worry, I think it's adorable how you feel about me. It makes me all warm inside."

"Shut up," Adryn responded with a laugh.

"Here, give me your phone. I'll put my number in."

"Alright." Adryn then unlocked her phone and brought up the contacts app before handing her phone over. Reiji then noticed that she only had 3 numbers on her phone. One titled "Sister", another titled "Little Sister" and finally one titled "Boss".

"Why are there only three numbers on your phone?"

"I only need Eclipse's number, Nova's number, and Daichi's number. I never had a need to contact anyone else."

"I see..." Reiji then thought for a moment before adding his number. He then took a picture of himself to add to the contact picture. When he handed the phone back to Adryn, the woman blushed. Reiji put himself in there as "♥ Reiji ♥".

"Thanks for your number..." Adryn muttered out of embarrassment. She was also feeling all giddy and happy inside. It felt like she was about to explode, but calmed herself down. She didn't want Reiji to see how happy it was making her just getting his phone number.

"Here, add your number." Reiji had already unlocked his phone and brought up the contacts app before he handed the phone to Adryn. She didn't add a picture and her name on his phone was just "Adryn". She then handed his phone back to him, making him frown. So, he took a quick picture of Adryn, catching her off guard.

"Hey, don't do that!" Adryn gasped out when she realized what Reiji had done. "I wasn't ready, delete it. I probably look weird or something."

"You look beautiful. You always do, no matter what."

"I won't be looking beautiful after my hair is shaved off," Adryn muttered sadly. "I'll look hideous."

"I promise, you won't look hideous. You'll look different, but it doesn't mean it'll be a bad different."

"Sure..." Adryn then set her phone down and headed into the bathroom to get back to cutting her hair.

"Let me help." Reiji followed behind Adryn and watched her just stare at the scissors.

"To make this quick, we might as well use this." Adryn rummaged through the drawers of the cabinet before pulling out an electric razor.

"Why do you have that?"

"I used to keep my hair super short when I was younger, and I guess I just never got rid of this." To Adryn's explanation, Reiji just nodded his head. So, Reiji took the electric razor from her and turned it on. However, both Adryn and Reiji then froze as they looked at each other. They weren't completely sure if they were ready to do anything and then jumped when there was a knock at the door. Then, the person barged into the room, prompting Reiji to turn off the razor. He then peeked out of the bathroom to see Nova standing there looking around the room.

"What is going on?!" Nova demanded as she approached the bathroom with Adryn and Reiji in it.

"We're shaving my head?" Adryn responded as she walked out of the bathroom.

"Why?!" Nova's irate tone just caused Adryn to sigh.

"I'll explain later when Eclipse and Taemin get back."

"No, you tell me why, right now!"

"Fine. I'm having surgery tomorrow and I need my hair all gone for it."

"What?!" Instead of responding to Nova this time, Adryn spun the woman around and pushed her out of the room. Adryn then closed and locked the door in Nova's face. With that taken care of, Adryn headed back to the bathroom with a chair and sat down on it.

"Is it alright to leave Nova like that?" Reiji asked as he heard the banging and yelling coming from Nova outside the door.

"She'll give up eventually, but we should be aware of Eclipse when she gets back. She'll want to know what's up immediately."

"Okay." Reiji shrugged and then turned the electric razor back on. Before Adryn can even think about it, Reiji carefully took a swipe of Adryn's hair off. This left them both shocked and frozen as the hair fell to the floor.

"Oh wow..." Adryn then burst out into laughter before speaking again. "Just keep going, until nothing is left. I'm just going to close my eyes and wait until you're done. I believe in you, Reiji." With those words, Adryn closed her eyes. Reiji nodded his head and silently went back to his task. He was careful to not hurt Adryn or go too quickly as he shaved all of her hair off. Eventually, though, Reiji finished cutting all of her hair and then turned off the razor.

"It's done. Open your eyes." Hesitantly, Adryn opened her eyes and gasped at her reflection. "You look different but it isn't that bad, right?"

"No, no. It's that bad. It's terrible." Adryn then reached over and grabbed the beanie from the counter. She instantly put it on and tried her hardest to not cry.
Not wanting to see herself anymore, Adryn left the bathroom after brushing herself off and sat on her bed as tears began to fill her eyes. Reiji gave her a moment alone before following her.

"Remember, this is for the best. You'll finally be healthy after this week is over, you know that, right?"

"That is if I even survive all of this..." Adryn looked to the ground sadly as she spoke. Reiji instantly made his way to her and gently grabbed Adryn's face in his hands, making her look at him.

"You will survive. I know you will." Reiji's resolve seemed to brighten Adryn's spirits a little bit. The two didn't move as they stared at each other, feeling themselves getting closer and closer until there was a knock at the door. Immediately, Adryn and Reiji jolted away from each other.

"What the actual fuck is going on?! Adryn! Answer me!" It was Eclipse this time and she seemed furious. Reiji released Adryn's face and watched as she got up and unlocked her door before letting Eclipse into her room. As soon as Eclipse saw the green beanie on Adryn with no hair showing, Eclipse was less furious and more worried. "What happened? What is going on?!"

"I'm going to be having surgery tomorrow to get rid of the tumor." Eclipse's eyes began to tear up, but she didn't say anything before turning and heading out of the door.

"I have to go tell Taemin..." With that, Eclipse was gone.

"She's angry and upset with me," Adryn muttered sadly as she turned to Reiji. "Am I doing the right thing?"

"It's all for the best. Besides, once you heal up, you can wear all sorts of wigs while you wait for your hair to grow back."

"...It won't grow back red though..."

"What is your natural hair color anyway?" Reiji was trying to distract Adryn a little bit now. It seemed to work though.

"It was blonde, but then changed to a medium brown, kind of like your hair color but a little lighter."

"Why do you dye your hair red?" To Reiji's question, Adryn frowned. "Should I not have asked that?"

"No, it's alright. It's really just a personal preference. Nothing more."

"Alright." Reiji didn't really believe it, but he let it go. Adryn had been through enough and he didn't want to upset or anything.

"Let's head down to go tell everyone else the wonderful 'adventure' I'll be going through for the next few days." Reiji nodded his head and the two then headed out of the bedroom. Adryn wasn't sure what was going to be ahead of her but as long as she had Reiji, Eclipse, and everyone else she cares about there, she knew she'd most likely be alright.