After a few days, she woke up in a place she didn't recognize. She was on a bed with lots of bandages wrapped around her upper body, and her arms hurt when she tried to move. As she looked around, she reviewed what she remembered last before falling unconscious. They had been attacked by a group of assassins without warning, and she fought tooth and nail to keep herself and others alive. But still, she was hit more than once and she succumbed to blood loss. While fading in and out of consciousness, she heard a voice telling her to stay alive. She fought off the exhaustion as hard as she could, but then everything went black. Her arms were stiff, and her shoulders had a dull pain whenever she tried using them. Her back felt sore too, probably from staying still for so long. If she couldn't turn herself over, then at least she could try sitting up.

Relying on her core muscles and the strength from her lower body she struggled, but finally was halfway upright. Anything below her elbows were fine, as she noticed the bandaging stopped past her upper arm. The room she was in was small. There was only a table, a chair, and a window. Squinting her eyes, the sunlight filtered in and told her it was late morning. She couldn't lift her arms to shield her eyes, so she had to turn her entire head away. An Ataiyan woman in a kimono with rolled up sleeves came in and was mildly surprised she was awake. "Oh, up already? I didn't expect you to be sitting up with your arms still recovering." Walking over to the window, she pulled a curtain so the sun wouldn't continue aggravating her. "How long was I out? Where am I?" Shiloh asked. "And rather lucid, for somebody who passed out from blood loss." The woman continued. "You were unconscious for three days since you were brought in. After the report of the attack on Kyoshiro Ogami's school, all the injured students were brought to the capital for treatment. One of your friends hauled you in, sobbing like you were already dead."

Grimacing as she shifted position, she had an inkling on who carried her in. "So…how is he? Is he being treated here too?" She asked. "No, he's fine. One of the luckier ones. Want me to call him in?" Shiloh nodded, and the doctor ducked out through the cloth partition leading out of the room. She then heard a male voice rise in shock and waver at the end. By the pitch of the voice, she could make out who it was. Minutes later, she saw a familiar face poke in. "Hey." She said to him as he pulled up the chair by her bedside. Not being able to move her arms was getting really inconvenient. A stiff silence followed between them, as he lowered his head and folded his hands. He was acting depressed for some reason, but she didn't want to ask him flat out. She'd give him time to speak up, at his own pace. With both arms wrapped up like this, it wasn't like she had anything else to do but wait.

"The doctor said they'd let you go in a few more days." He said, breaking the ice. "Really? That's good. It's really annoying not being able to move around, even though I've just woke up." Cymbel looked like he was going to say something, but hesitated. After a few minutes he started speaking again. "I'm…I'm very sorry for being rude." That was confusing. She couldn't think of why he'd say that. "Hey, what's with you? Somebody pick on you again? If those guys are still at it even after all that, they've got some nerve." He shook his head, and wasn't looking her in the eyes. When she moved her head to get a better look at his face, he was avoiding her gaze. "I'm not that great at guessing, but if it's bothering you so much then just say it." Reading body language only helped when it was for simple emotions with clear context. It was a lot harder to figure things out when it was caused by conflicting feelings, like what he was going through here.

"She told me earlier… I deeply apologize for not knowing. I wasn't aware of…your gender." His response was completely out of the blue and threw her off. "…Oh." Well that was unexpected. "Right, about that… From how you're acting I think you've more or less figured everything out?" Again, not being able to move her arms was something she wasn't used to, as she tried to scratch behind her head only to wince in pain. "AGHH–ow."

"But why hide the truth?" He still couldn't wrap his head around why she would go through such trouble. Even if she was trying to be discreet, it seemed a bit much. She went quiet for a few moments and her face grew solemn. "You know how the master of the school is. If he gave you that much trouble just for wanting in, what do you think would happen if he found out?" Resting her back against the wall, she sighed. "There are some people in Nisshoki who see women as being inferior to men, and expect them to be seen and not heard. Not everybody, but most of the time people who have this particular mindset tend to be narrow-minded in other areas as well." He was well acquainted with such types; they were the kind of folk who viewed status and station with higher regard. But even so, they also followed a power hierarchy. They only obeyed and listened to those they considered above them, or worthy of respect. For one like him, a lack of strength and mildness made him weak in their eyes.

"Both of us, we weren't welcome from day one. And Ogami's attitude influenced the school's students to some extent. It's why some of them picked on you, and others pretended they didn't see. It was like a little voice was telling them to be afraid…afraid of showing vulnerability." Shiloh continued. She then explained the thought patterns and behavior he and her had experienced firsthand, providing her own reasoning. Ultimately, she admitted she too wasn't immune from the negative influence the retired horitshi had on them all. She herself put up a strong front to scare others away and keep them at a distance. "When you explain things like that, it does make sense. In a way, it feels a bit sad. We all came with the hopes of growing stronger, but in the end we couldn't trust each other." He said, disappointed. "Isn't that how it should have been?"

"You're not wrong. I thought of the same thing too. It goes to show just how important who's in charge can affect how things run. Instead of helping each other improve, it was every man for himself. You can't expect a school like that to get stellar students that way." She commented, stopping herself before crossing her arms out of habit. "So, any plans now the school's been shut down indefinitely?" Not expecting the conversation to direct itself on him so soon, Cymbel was caught unprepared. "I–well…Honestly, I didn't have any. With the school closed, I'll be returning home and back to work again." Her curiosity was piqued when he mentioned work, and she leaned forward in interest. "Work, you say? What kind of work? You live close by?" He was a bit embarrassed to say it, but she seemed insistent on knowing. "Yes, my house is a little ways from the city. My work is…enjoyable. Before I came to enroll at the school, I worked at a florist's shop in Nisshoki. It's a small family run business, nothing grand." 

"Sounds nice. Working at a place like that'd be a great way to keep your spirits up during Glaciem. But most of the plants would be evergreens then, right?" Shaking his head, he smiled. "No, in fact there's quite a few plants which are in bloom in the colder months. Most people think that there are no flowers in Glaciem, but there are certain varieties which are only available when the frost sets in." Surprised, Shiloh leaned her head as she thought about it. "Huh…I didn't know that. There's still plenty of time before Venti comes; when Glaciem begins maybe I'll drop by and see you then? You could show me some of those plants when you're not busy."

"Yes, it would be my pleasure! But, I don't mean to impose. If you don't have time, any season is fine with me." He was so excited–he'd never had a friend come visit him before! Maybe he was being a bit too happy, but the idea of somebody he knew coming by gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

After a few days, Shiloh was allowed to leave with the doctor's approval. They exchanged contact information, and he learned that she was a courier who mostly took jobs in Canelux. One of her frequent haunts was Adeluna City, and typically anywhere between cities. Her job delivering letters and packages meant she was on the road most of the time, running between one place to the next. Soon, he was back helping with orders at the Amakusa Flower Shop and beginning the slow process of cultivating a garden back at his house. He had finally fixed all the problems the building had when he first bought it, and it was good to have everything in working order again. With each passing day, he eagerly awaited the next letter Shiloh would send, preparing for her promised visit once the weather grew colder.