Let's Calm Down

The group watched with slack jaws as Osho just rolled his shoulders like 30% of the skin on his upper body wasn't missing.

However, it only took a moment before they were snapped out of their stupor, and Ellie ran forward frantically while summoning Sugil.

"Lie down." She hissed as Sugil created a stretcher made of crystals.

"Huh? But I'm–"

"Lie Down!" She barked, and Osho meekly lay on the stretcher, deciding not to antagonize Ellie further.

Her nostrils flared as she stared down at him, but the underlying worry in her gaze was as clear as day.

Meanwhile, the others went to grab Petee after making sure Osho hadn't killed him with that last attack of his.

Irene summoned Inagi who carried him on his back, and the group left the training room to get to the clinic. (Yes, there is a clinic in the residence.)

The layout of the residences was largely the same, so after taking the elevator up, it didn't take long before the group arrived at a small infirmary-like room that had a few medical beds and all sorts of advanced medical equipment.

Osho sighed as he was placed on one bed and Peter on the other. As soon as he did, a metallic ring appeared over the bed and started scanning them

"You guys are overreacting. All of these injuries are largely superficial–" His words got cut off as an automated voice started speaking.

[Preliminary scan complete. Ailments include:

Partial avulsion of epidermis across 32% of upper body surface, concentrated on bilateral arms and shoulders.

Multiple dermal lacerations, depth ranging from 1.5 cm to 4 cm, several with embedded foreign particles.

Hairline fracture of right zygomatic bone and microfractures across the right orbital rim.

Mild orbital hematoma present; intraocular hemorrhage detected, right eye.

Right cornea exhibiting surface abrasion.

Two fractured ribs on the left side, non-displaced.

Mild pneumothorax risk noted.

Multiple contusions across thoracic and abdominal regions.

Deep tissue bruising on left quadriceps and right forearm flexor group.

Microtears detected in right deltoid and latissimus dorsi muscles.

Elevated lactic acid levels indicating near-maximum muscular exertion.

Trace internal bleeding noted in subcutaneous layers, non-critical.

Overall blood loss measured at 11.4% of circulating volume.

Recommendation: Immediate wound debridement, fracture stabilization, and accelerated regeneration protocol.]

Osho: ( ﾟーﾟ)

Ellie: (＃｀皿´)

Kurt: ( ﾟ□ﾟ)

Sam: (　ﾟﾛﾟ)!!

Irene: (￣□￣;)!!

"... To be fair, it didn't say anything is life-threatenin–"

"SHUT UP!" Ellie yelled, making Osho promptly clamp his mouth shut to avoid angering her to the point of worsening his condition.

Without hesitation, she went to a control panel near the bed and fiddled with it, and a moment later, mechanical arms appeared from under it, all of which held some tool or the other as they began to operate on Osho.

First, he was injected with a needle that numbed his pain receptors. After that, he was stripped down to his underwear, revealing the rest of his body which truly didn't look good.

There were lacerations and bruises everywhere, and the amount of blood was simply obscene to look at. But despite this, Osho didn't look overly bothered, just tired.

A general spray of disinfectant that would have made someone not under some sort of Anastasia pass out from the agony was sprayed all over his body to clean the wounds, and the remaining arms went to work to repair his body.

Ellie stared at him for a few seconds before sighing and moving to attend to Peter. From what the machine said, his injuries were far more dangerous than Osho's as they largely consisted of internal fractures and bleeding. His head was the one with the most damage as there was a significant cave in, and his brain had rocked in his skull sharply to the point of almost bleeding.

"Bro." Kurt shuffled over as he looked down at Osho with serious eyes.

"Look, I know you guys are mad, but trust me when I say that–"

"Teach me." Kurt cut him off, and Osho stared at him with surprise. The usually laid-back guy was now staring at him with an odd fire in his eyes.

"... Huh?" Osho blinked.

"Teach me how to fight." Kurt clarified, and Osho blinked again.

"Uh... why?" He asked tentatively.

"What do you mean WHY??? The way you moved out there was something else! I've never seen another person move like that before in a fight. Let alone with so much control. It was like watching an anime battle where the fighters use powerful but unrealistic moves. Just that... this is reality!" He said, unable to contain his excitement.

Osho was about to reply when the other girls came over as well.

"You have to give it to him. As brutal as it looked, that fight was awesome." Said said with a smirk and Irene nodded.

"Yeah. But... where did you learn to fight like that? I've never seen martial arts like that before. Or is it something your cult taught? I've never heard of anything like Flare Style. And that final move you used..." She trailed off as she remembered the devastating finisher Osho had used to ultimately end the fight.

"Oh, well..." Osho cleared his throat, looking a bit embarrassed.

"You're right, it was from the cult." He took a breath as the part of his face that Peter messed up started to get operated on.

"The cult has its own versions of certain martial arts and adapts them to resemble certain traits observed in celestial objects. Specifically, stars. As you saw, Peter used the Flare Style, which is a take on the solar flares stars release and how they look." He explained, and a look of understanding dawned on their faces.

"That's... pretty cool, actually." Kurt hummed thoughtfully.

"Hm, so let me guess, that last attack you used was what? Supernova Style or something?" Irene asked in a teasing voice, which made Osho chuckle.

"No. That does exist, though. What I made use of was the Neutron Style." He explained, and the others all looked impressed.

Osho then hesitated before asking tentatively.

"Aren't you guys also... I don't know... mad?" As soon as he said this, Ellie spun away from Peter who was now being treated as well, and walked over, her face a mix of emotions.

"Well, I am!" She growled and grabbed the railings of his bed.

"If you had the ability to take Peter out like that, then why did you let him beat you up so much?! Why did you allow yourself to get hurt so much?!" She demanded, and the others subconsciously moved away under the weight of her fury.

Osho sighed as he locked eyes with her. Well, his good eye anyway.

"Before I answer that, I have to ask, will any response I give satisfy you?" He asked, and Ellie flinched as she looked away slightly.

"That... remains to be seen." She muttered, and Osho sighed again.

"I mean, you can't blame her for being mad, dude. She just watched her man sustain severe injuries for like, 20 minutes straight only to realize he could have completely avoided such an outcome." Kurt pointed out.

"Which is fair," Osho admitted. "But what's the point of explaining when no answer I give will calm her down or satisfy her?" He shot back.

"Whoa, whoa. First of all, everyone take a step back." Irene immediately cut in.

"Ellie, you know as well as we do that Osho most likely has a legitimate reason for doing what he did. Moreover, fighting like this is perfectly normal. Heck, what if they had used magic? Or summoned their beasts? Injuries are inevitable. Also, you should be perfectly aware that going all out from the start in any fight rarely ends well." She said to Ellie, who clenched her teeth but didn't retort.

Irene then turned to Osho.

"As for you, trying to take how she's feeling about you right now and smother it in logic is messed up, and you know it. Feelings are messy, and sometimes, even when your logical mind tells you something, your feelings can still clash and make things messy. She has a right to feel how she does, especially after the condition you put yourself into. And you should know how it is when your feelings triumph over your logic." She said pointedly, and Osho had the decency to avert his gaze.

Sam and Kurt looked at Irene in surprise as she played mediator. The girl tended to be quiet most of the time and was probably more reserved than everyone else in their group. So seeing her take charge to try and settle what could devolve into a heated argument of her own volition was certainly an interesting change. Even more so due to it working.

When both parties fell silent, Irene nodded with some satisfaction as she spoke again.

"Good. Now, you two are a couple, communication is key, so how about you do that right now?" She turned to Osho.

"Starting with you. Explain why you did what you did so that we can understand your thought process better and not just throw out judgment." She said gently, and Osho let out a breath.

"Right. Sorry." He apologized sincerely and looked at all of them before leveling his gaze on Ellie as he started to explain.