Ralph inhaled deeply, noticing the too-clean smell of bleach as he laid in the hospital bed. He kept his eyes closed. A faint breeze drifted across his cheek as he smelt the fresh cut grass and fresh air. Someone must have left the window opened. The sounds of songbirds singing as the market opened up for the day. He exhaled slowly. He heard the nurses in the hallway as they walked up, talking.

“I can’t believe third shift left the stock room like that,” a nurse complained. Ralph mentally labeled that nurse as Nurse A.

“It could be due to the changes in Management,” another nurse, Nurse B, commented, “I know Doctor Basil is after the Head Assistant position to Doctor Cullen, once Doctor Poll leaves.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t explain the medicine shortage,” a third Nurse said, “This is the fourth time this month, I have discovered we were short on a particular medicine we need. I don’t know how that is possible when I do inventory every morning and before I leave for the day. I double check the records as well.”

Their voices drifted away. Ralph finally opened his eyes and blinked, rapidly. He didn’t expect to be almost blinded by the sunlight inching into his room. He sighed before he pushed himself into a sitting position, wincing as pain rippled through his body. He slowly reached out to the bed controls and pushed on the button to incline the bed. He heard the clockwork mechanism click as the head of the bed slowly rose. It felt like it took forever until the bed’s incline was at the perfect height. He let go out of the button and relaxed into the bed. He let out a relieved sigh as he closed his eyes for a long moment.

When he reopened his eyes, he glanced around the room. It was the average hospital room - white walls, cold white tile floors, and a pair of white curtains swaying the morning breeze. The only color in the room was the dark brown couch and the dark door frame. He blinked and directed his gaze back to the couch. His lips parted as he stared at the couch.

Raizen laid, stretched out on the couch. An arm curled behind his head, acting like a pillow. The older man had a white blanket covering him. Ralph guessed Raizen either did that himself or a nurse did sometime during the night.

Ralph didn’t know how long he stared at his teacher. He didn’t know how to react. In the past, whenever he ended up in the hospital, no one ever stayed with him or checked in on him during his stay. It was strange. A good kind of strange, but strange never the less.

Another group of nurses walked up the hallway, just outside Ralph’s door. One of them spoke up, “Have you guys been to that new restaurant in the Celtic District?”

“Didn’t Andy’s cousin opened that restaurant?” a second nurse replied. Ralph frowned. This group of nurses were different from the first three.

“I think so,” the first nurse, Nurse D, said. The sound of wheel rolling over the tilted floor. “I was thinking the three of us could go at lunch and eat there.”

“I heard the Honor District got a new restaurant called Panda Pantry,” the third nurse, Nurse F, spoke up, “We could go there after work?”

“The Village is expanding, lately, hasn’t it,” the second Nurse, Nurse E, commented with amazed note in her voice, “I mean we didn’t have some of these restaurants or stores a few years ago.”

“What do you expect?” Nurse D asked, “Every time we see an inflex of new villagers, we see a boom in new businesses as they adjust to our lifestyle.”

“So, you are not worried that some of the newer villagers are not going to upraise against our Government,” Nurse F said.

“Assuming they do,” Nurse D stated, “Our Ninja and Police Force will take care of them.” There was a pause before Nurse D went on, “I am worried there is a few of them who will refuse to adjust to our lifestyle. Hopefully, Lord Bark will caught them before they can do any damage to the village and expelled them from the Village.”

“You mean make them disappear from our society,” Nurse E’s tone held a correcting tone to it as she spoke, “I have worked in the Government Tower and Intelligent Center. You don’t want to know what goes on in the depths of those buildings.”

There was silence after Nurse E made that statement. It was an open secret. Everyone who stepped out of line disappeared. They would make reappearance, eventually, and melted into society without making any sort of trouble, again. However, Ralph did notice these folks were watched closely by the Intelligence and The Black Hand for months, sometimes, years after they had disappeared and reappeared. He strained his ears to hear if they had moved on or not. He started to think they did when Nurse F spoke up, "A neighbor of mine was like that - spoke out against what type of Government we had, how our government was oppressive and how it wasn't right, etc. Then one day about four months ago, he was missing and his wife and children was extremely upset. He is still missing."

Silence filled the hallway for a long moment before Nurse D spoke, "Well, we know this happens, so, let's focus on our work." Footsteps patted against the floor, fading away.

Ralph had seen some of the night time raids as they were called. The Black Hands would sneak in and take the outspoken person and drag them out of their house before they would be loaded up into a wheeled cage wagon. Ralph got curious one night when he had spotted a night time raid happened and followed the mysterious Wagon. The Wagon would drive to the Government Tower, going to a secret entrance, unloaded the outspoken person, and dragged them through the secret doorway. He didn't get any closer than a nearby rooftop. He didn't need to. When he turned around to leave, a Black Hand stood there, watching him with unwavering gaze and he tried to explain that he was simply curious and wanted to see where The Black Hands had taken the troublesome person, finishing with that he didn't need to more then he already did. The Black Hand nodded and stepped to one side, allowing Ralph to pass. The teen never went to that secret entrance again, knowing the next time he could the one who was dragged beneath the Government Tower.

Ralph directed his thoughts elsewhere. It did him no good in thinking about what was hiding behind secretive entrance to the Government Tower. In fact, it might get him into major Trouble. He sighed. He wondered if the nurses he had heard so far were arriving for their shift or getting ready to leave. Maybe it was a mixture of both. He gazed out of the open window, listening. He heard footsteps traveling up and down the hallway. Their owners not speaking as they hurried.

He turned his thoughts to his teammates, frowning. He didn't remember being admitted to a room last night or was it early this morning? A soft moan echoed from the couch where Raizen laid. He turned his attention to his teacher to see him stirring awake. Footsteps approached. Ralph's gaze flew to the door as the footsteps got closer and a voice spoke, breaking the silence, "I can't believe Doctor Pool is finally retiring." It was a male voice. Ralph silently dubbed him as Nurse G.

"It's about time," a female voice said, Nurse H, in a relieved tone, "He's been here for 30 years." There was a slight pause before she went on, "I really thought he would be the type to die on the job." A series of chuckles echoed. "But seriously, I thought all the wars he went through, he would have died somewhere on a random battlefield."

"It's pretty impressive," a new voice said, Nurse I, "While I do think he deserves a long retirement, it is a sad thing we are losing him."

"Why?" Nurse H asked.

"Think about it," Nurse I started, "The Knowledge he holds can be priceless, especially if we end up in another war."

"I don't think we will any time soon," Nurse G spoke up, "The Curse hasn't been activated, yet. Plus the White Hall House is still recovering from their own battles at Sea." There was a long pause. Ralph glanced over to the room door to figure out if the trio of Nurses moved on or not. "If anything," Nurse G broke the silence, "We might have a small battle or two when nearby villages over resources within the Dead End Forest."

"Define a Small battle," Nurse H drawled, "Because a Small Battle could be one of our Clans being wiped out and their Clan compound just sitting there, slowly crumbling to dust while the clan orphans are spread out in order to make sure that Clan doesn't raise up again."

An awkward silence.

"I know the topic of Isamu Clan is a sensitive topic for you, Chelsea," Nurse G slowly spoke, "But it happened 13 years ago. It is time to let it go."

Nurse H -Chelsea? - made a noise of protest when Nurse I cut in, "Anyway, can we get back to the topic we were discussing? Doctor Pool is retiring. I heard his retirement party is next week. This could be the prefect time to figure out who will be taking his place on the Team of Doctors we have here at Miracle." There was a pause. "So, who do you think will move up on the Team or do you think Doctor Cullen will hire from outside of Miracle?"

A series of hard footstep pounded by the door. There was a pause. "What?" Nurse G protested, "I just told her the truth! She needs to let the Massacre of the Isamu Clan go."

"I hope you realized she was going marry into that Clan," Nurse I's voice held an icy tone, "And she was four months pregnant when it happened. She has been raising her child by herself for the last 12 years. Her heart still belongs to Jacob." There was another series of hard footsteps pounding on the title floor.

A deep sigh echoed from the Hallway as Nurse G walked by.

Ralph frowned. He didn't remember the hospital being this drama filled the last few times he was here. Never the less, he was learning a lot from conversations happening in the hallway. He wondered what others kind of conversations he would hear before a doctor or nurse saw him. He glanced around and saw a pitcher of water with a glass sitting next to it on the nearby night stand. He sighed and tossed back the covers. The chill morning air sent goosebumps over his bare legs as he noticed he was wearing one of those cloth hospital gowns. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed when Raizen's voice rang out, "Don't get up."

Ralph jerked his head back and watched as Raizen sat up, rubbed his eyes, and tossed back the blanket covering his lap before he stood up. The younger ninja thought Raizen was still asleep.

"I just want some water. I can get it, " Ralph spoke in a defiant tone. Raizen stopped in mid-stretch and narrowed his eyes. Ralph felt an alarm bell go off in the back of his mind. He wondered, briefly, if the glare sent at him would been the same type of glare a father would give his rebellious son. He wrestled with his choices: get out of bed and grab a glass of water or allow Raizen to help him and get him a glass of water.

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"Your Doctor said you will have stay in bed unless you have to use the loo," Raizen stated, "it means I will be around to help you with everything else." Ralph didn't like that. He was not disabled where he needed to be waited on hand and foot. He opened his mouth, but Raizen cut him off before he could speak, "The Doctor will be in a couple hours and will have the final say on when you are able to take missions again. They will have a word with me before making that final decision, Ralph." There was a pause as Ralph chewed on his inner cheek. Either stay in bed and be able to go back on missions or get out of bed and be put on medical leave for a bit longer then he could afford to. He sighed and pulled his legs back up on the bed before he covered them back up. He glanced at Raizen who looked pleased about Ralph's decision. Ralph resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Raizen walked over to the nightstand, limping slightly. Ralph mused it must have been sleeping on that couch. He didn't know how comfortable those couches were. Plus, his teacher was still injured. Raizen didn't move his injured arm as he grabbed the water pitcher with his good hand and poured some water into the glass, filling it up, before he set the pitcher on the night stand. He grabbed the glass and turned to Ralph.

Ralph took it and brought it to his lips, taking a sip as Raizen returned to the couch. They didn't speak as the market noise grew, letting them know the Market had opened and villagers were shopping for what they needed for the day. Ralph didn't know how long they sat there in silence, but he jerked his head around when he heard female voices in the hallway.

"I can't believe the amount of overdoses cases we are experiencing with the homeless," a Nurse said in an exasperated tone. Ralph frowned as he tried to remember which letter he had left on. Maybe It was I? No, he remembered I was talking about Doctor Pool and his retirement. Maybe it was J? He don't think he had used J yet. If he did, oh well. He dubbed the exasperated Nurse as Nurse J. "That was the 15th one this month."

"I'm trying to figure out how they are getting these drugs," another nurse, Nurse K, stated, "Some of the reports I have been hearing from the science department are strange. They don't know drug these people are using."

There was a loud sigh before the third Nurse, Nurse L, added her input, "Either they are telling the truth or they can't tell us." The Footsteps stopped. The silence was heavy before Nurse L went on, "Our science department are the most highly skilled scientists' on par with the Mercy Kingdom's Scientists or the Scientists from Earth and the other realms Avalon has been connected to over the centuries."

Ralph raised his eyebrow at the closed door, wondering what was her point was. It was common knowledge that the Hidden Bark's Science Department kept track of the latest developments in the other Kingdoms and Nations inside and outside of Avalon. With each new group of villagers, they brought knowledge with them about how the World worked, how to treat diseases, New Knowledge on various topics and new methods to get information through various means. He didn't know if there was talks of improving the health systems or not.

"I'm lending towards they can't tell us due to orders, higher up," Nurse L stated.

Ralph glanced over to Raizen. His face was stoic as he watched the doorway. His eyes were hard.

"That new group of villagers," Nurse K started, "Didn't they have a shipment of white powder with them?"

"According to the rumors I have heard, yes," Nurse L admitted, "However, they were keeping quite on what it was."

"So, you are telling me that our Science Department might have decided to test out the white powder on our poorest citizens to see what kind of effects the powder has?" Nurse J asked. A strange silence fell between the three women. Ralph felt his mouth, suddenly, too full with his saliva, but he couldn't shallow. His eyes darted back over to Raizen. He sat on the couch with his back straight.

"Who said these people were our citizens?" Nurse L argued. That was an interesting point being made. Ralph had seen some of the homeless around his neighbor and with one look, he could tell they were new to the Village and were classified as 'Undesirables' for various reasons. He didn't know how many times he had lose some of the Undesirables as they roamed through the alley ways, stumbling around in the dark, moaning for some kind of substance they wanted. He had also witness a couple of them busting into a ground level apartment once before and heard a woman's screams of horror and pain before the Police Force showed up. He didn't know what had happened to those Undesirables after they were led out in handcuffs. "Anyway," Nurse L spoke up, breaking the dark silence, "We got work to do. I'm sure our Government will do what Lord Bark's thinks is the most important to protect us and other non-fighters."

"Yeah," Nurse K's voice trailed off as trio walked away from the door.

Ralph glanced over at his teacher. Raizen's shoulders slowly relaxed. His fist opened and Ralph saw the older man was holding a kunai. Ralph's eyes widened. Raizen was ready to launch himself through the door and attack those three women over the topic they were discussing. There had to be some truth behind what was said. Nurse L appeared to be most knowledgeable over the possibility of what was going on in the Hidden Bark's Science Department. Ralph wondered why. Did she have experience working with in the mysterious department? Did she personally know someone who does or did? Perhaps she had witness something she wasn't supposed and she knew what kind of risks she was taking by talking about the science department? Of course, she could be dumb and not realized who was sitting in one of the rooms, waiting for the moment to attack her.

The strange feeling Ralph had been experiencing for the past few minutes slowly faded away. It was like the infamous deer caught in the lantern lights look when a speeding carriage came barreling down the dirt path, a paralyzing fear of not knowing what to do until it was far too late. He shallowed the mouthful of saliva and did it, two more times. He brought a hand up and wiped at the corners of his mouth. Thank goodness, he didn't start drooling from the amount of saliva he had produced. That would be embarrassing.

Ralph gave Raizen a side way glance, wondering if he would be allowed to ask such a question. Raizen caught him and raised an eyebrow at him. Ralph gulped as his eyes darted over the blanket covering his own lap before he asked, "Was there any truth to what she spoke about?"

"Ralph," Raizen started, "It is above your pay grade. I barely make enough to know the Truth of what she speaks. My wife, on the other hand, does make enough to know the Truth." The man on the couch sighed. "It is an open secret that our science department has done and will do questionable things. Most of it is on Need to Know basis. You already are using some of the benefits of the science our scientists have been able to create and expand upon. We do have a few scientists from the other nations within Avalon and outside of it. They have been most helpful in various ways to improve our lifestyle and increase our value to the White Hall Family of Camelot." Raizen lend back against the couch. He looked uncertain. "I do know there will be a lot of interesting developments in the coming years that my child will benefit from and you will learn about as it is release to the public."

Ralph nodded. He didn't understand what Raizen was trying to hint at, but he understand it was above his pay grade for a long while. If Raizen barely made enough to be in the know, the Science Department must be doing a lot of questionable experiments and learning from the results of the said experiments.

"Anyway," Ralph started and trailed off. He need to change the subject. He didn't know how long it will be before the Doctor would see him and give him an update on his condition. He racked his brain for a topic to talk about. An idea sparked. "How are Lilian and Enzo? I haven't seen them since we were separated yesterday into the different triage rooms."

Raizen gave him a grateful look before he replied, "Lilian is just exhausted. She will be back at full health within a week." He stood up and grabbed himself a glass of water. He took a sip and went on, "Enzo will need a bit longer to heal. He broke his arm and depending on how fast he heals, he could out of commission for 6 to 10 weeks."

Ralph let a whistle. 6 to 10 weeks. "What are we doing to during that time?" He asked, "I'm not sure if I can go that long without a check."

"I think after these first two missions, it may be best if we have a few days off from missions and train in various techniques," Raizen nodded. Ralph opened his mouth to protest. Raizen raised a hand and continued, "We will still take a couple low rank missions, depending on how you and Enzo are healing. You might have some limitations on what you can do. We just have to work around those limitations, once we found out what the limitations are."

Ralph sighed. At least there was a chance he would be able to take on missions, still. He took a breath and felt a tinge of pain in his ribs. He ignored it as he asked, "What kind of techniques will you be teaching us?"

"That kind you fight with," Raizen said. Ralph blinked then glared, allowing the unspoken 'duh' hang silently in the air. Raizen grinned at him before he explained, "I have to see which elemental affinity you three have before I start teaching how to use the elements to your advantage." Ralph cocked his head to the side. Raizen noticed it, "And yes, you three will be taught how to use the other elements you don't have an affinity in. The attacks will be weaker, but it can still give you an advantage over your enemy." Raizen paused, with a thoughtful expression before he asked, "Is there anything you would prefer to learn about, Ralph?"

"How to create seals," Ralph beamed. It had been one of his hobbies since he heard about the Great Seal Master Alexander and he had been trying to learn more and more, but the local stores and the library didn't have a lot of information on seals. He shifted slightly uncomfortable at the next topic he would like to learn about when he informed Raizen of it, "And How Clans are formed, their hierarchy, and what kind of purpose they have in the Village and within the Family Structure." He wasn't for sure if he had worded that correctly or not.

"Clan formation?" Raizen raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you thinking about forming your own Clan within the Village?"

"I don't know, yet," Ralph admitted, "I do want to have a proper family name instead a Bastard name and a large family." He stared pass Raizen, out of the window. He often wondered why he hadn't been adopted when he was younger. There were a few families who had expressed interested in him, but something happened and they changed their minds, often choosing another boy or girl to adopt. Eventually, he knew he had become too old to adopt and decided to take his own fate in his hands. A dream of his slowly changed. If he couldn't have a family to adopt him, he would have a large family of his own.

"Well," Raizen started before he paused, thinking. "I don't know the formal paperwork about Clan formation for the Village, because most of the time a Clan is formed is when we get a new group of Villagers and they might form a clan, using one family name with the rest of the families being protected families." He tilted his head back. "I think it might do some good if I did teach you and Enzo how the Ninja Clans worked with Lilian's help, if she is willingly. It may help you down the road when you start making your own family, if it gets Clan status or not."

There was a squeal of excitement, echoing through the hallway like a siren. Ralph jumped in his bed and jerked his head around to look at the door. His heart thundered in his chest. His body tensed and he felt pain ripple through his body. He tried to ignore it as Raizen moved from the couch to stand beside a stand up closet, standing sideways with a kunai in hand. He watched the doorway.

"YOU GOT ENGAGED!!!" someone screamed, "Congratulations!"

"Shhh!" someone else replied. This voice was deep, indicating it was a man speaking, "It is not even 7 in the morning. We still have patients who are trying to rest. You can't be screaming in joy about this in the hallways!"

Ralph let out a sigh as he relaxed.

"And beside, I know some of the patients are from the Ninja Class," the same person spoke up, "Your squeal just set every of them on edge. Especially after the chaos with the Luna Wolf pack, yesterday afternoon."

"I'm sorry," the first person, Nurse M as Ralph dubbed her, replied. Her tone was apologetic. "I was excited for her."

There was an embarrassed sigh, "I was too, still am," Nurse N said, her female voice was soft. Ralph had trouble hearing it, but he was able to hear when he strained his ears. "Like he said, it is still early in the morning. Most of our patients are or were asleep or at least resting. Hopefully, you didn't wake them all up."

"I said I'm sorry," Nurse M moaned.

"I know," Nurse N replied. There was a pause as wheel rolled over the tilted flooring then "Do you want to be one of my bridesmaids?" Nurse N asked. The question obviously took Nurse M by surprise as there was a long silence then another squeal. Ralph groaned. Raizen rolled his eyes.

"Quite, you two," Nurse O spoke up, "The Patients!"

"What kind of wedding are you thinking about having?" Nurse M asked Nurse N.

"Perhaps a Spring wedding," Nurse N replied, "Beyond that, we haven't talk about any more plans for the wedding."

"Women," Nurse O muttered loud enough as he walked by the door. The hard silence that followed that statement informed Raizen and Ralph that the two women heard and now, there was a good possible that the male nurse was getting two glares.

"Never a dull in the village," Raizen muttered as he returned to the couch.