When Hayate returned to the small house where Himeno lay, the girl was still asleep. He sat on a chair by the bed, looking down at her and sighing as he took a good look at her face. It had thinned out too much over the course of the war- her cheeks were hollowed, her hair lacking it's luster. Her entire body seemed too thin, and he sighed, feeling guilty. He was the leader of the knights- why hadn't he noticed her state before? Why hadn't he bothered to really look at her instead of simply glance at her, take her for granted? As she slept she was curled up, underneath the blankets like a small child. He reached out and felt her forehead, relaxing when her temperature was only slightly higher. Perhaps she would be alright…

"no.." She whispered as she slept, talking to something in her dream. She sounded like she was going to cry, and Hayate couldn't help but reach out and gently brush her hair from her face.

"Shh… I'm here Himeno." He said, trying to make his voice soothing. The pink haired girl murmured softly, relaxing some. He sighed. Himeno.. I'm so sorry.. how could I have not noticed how bad you felt? He thought, looking at the way she curled up, hiding her face from the world. She was mumbling in her sleep, struggling with something in her dream.

"NO!" She woke with that one, strong word, sitting up and looking around wildly. When she saw Hayate she relaxed some, chest heaving. He reached out tentatively, touching her shoulder.

"Himeno.. are you okay?"

"I- I- I'm fine. Just a bad dream." There she went again with her mask of happiness. Hayate looked at her in a way that made it hard to lie.

"Are you sure? You sure sounded scared." He said quietly.

"I'm positive. Where am I, anyway? Hehe, I kinda lost my temper earlier. Sorry!" She was chattering, eyes strangely bright. Her face was flushed and she seemed to be breathing much faster than normal. She also had shoved the blankets off of her, and it was chilly in the small room. Hayate frowned, reading the little clues. She only acted over talkative when she was A) Feeling really bad and trying to hide it, or B) pretty darn sick.

"You are at my house, and hold still." Hayate told her, putting a hand on her shoulder and pushing her down on the bed. He went and got a thermometer, bringing it back. She looked at him.

"Why do you have a thermometer? I don't need it! I'm just fine." She said grumpily. He popped it into her open mouth and held her still. It beeped, and he almost cursed when he read the temperature- 103 degrees farenheight. He got some advil and brought it over.

"You are going to take two of these and go to sleep." He ordered Himeno. The pink haired girl rolled her eyes, obeying the pill part.

"I'm not tired, we need to get back to the others! They need our help, I mean…." Hayate put a hand over her mouth.

"They won't fight without you, and you need rest. Sleep." He said calmly, pushing her down on the bed into a prone position, and pulling the covers over her. She sighed, but gave up as drowsiness sank in at her position. She fell into slumber, and he sighed, looking at her. How am I going to get you well Himeno? Especially when you won't even tell me what's going on inside your head?

Thanks tons for waiting for this chapter. I'm working (slowly) on a number of fics due to the fact that I keep getting plot bunnies.

Peace!