The room was quiet, save for the soft, uneven moans of the injured.
Kira's eyelids fluttered open, heavy as stone. Her head throbbed in dull waves, and every movement sent needles of pain through her bandaged body. Her leg was bound in a cast, but she could still feel the weight of it pressing against the mattress. She didn't know how she got here. She couldn't remember much of the fight, only flashes of chaos before darkness claimed her.
But she remembered one thing.
"KENTARO!"
The word tore out of her as she jolted upright, heart pounding. Pain flared along her ribs, but she didn't care; she scanned the white-curtained rows of beds until reality settled in. She was in the Cradle's medical ward.
"How… Did I get here?" She whispered.
"I carried you after we found you, silly."
