James blinked, trying to clear the blurry image of Takikos face as she moved over to him. "I'm ok.. My head is... Really fucking sore." he rasped, his throat raw and dry. James began to gently pull himself up to a sitting position, disregarding Takikos advice to lie still. Even the small movement of sitting up made his head spin, James breathed deeply, trying to appear calm and controlled. Takiko started murmuring away about soup and blood, but James struggled just to avoid vomiting as the throbbing in his head increased as he leaned only very slightly more upright. He would be useless in this state, how long would recovery take?

Surrendering to his throbbing head, James delicately returned to the horizontal position he has begun in, closing his eyes and sighing in pain. After a few breaths he noticed his head was clearing rapidly, he felt more awake and aware the more he focused. A quiet murmur caught his attention, opening his eyelid even a small slit felt like lifting a weight for James. A young man stood next to Takiko, talking to her quietly. "Who the hell are you? ... And why the fuck do you have a sword?" James breathed. He felt helpless, lying on the ground, unable to move and barely able to speak. Although he still managed to waste his breath on cussing, a horrible habit he'd picked up in the army.