Ryu's Sacrifice

After arriving at the Apex Tower, the group brought Ryu to the infirmary to rest. Shiro took Ryu inside the room and helped him lie down. "I hate this," Ryu groaned and did a light face-palm. "Me helping you?" Shiro asked calmly. Ryu shook his head and said "No, I hate needing to be helped." Shiro smiled a bit as he got up from the chair he was sitting in. "Well," he said, "you'll be fine if that attitude keeps up." Ryu looked away from Shiro, then stole a quick glance at him before looking away again and chuckled quietly.
Shiro looked out the door and nodded to the others to enter. Chihiro rushed to Ryu's side the second he got the chance. Seeing Ryu in this state, his stained coat hanging off a chair and the wound on his chest already bandaged, became overwhelmed with guilt again. "Ryu," Chihiro said, his voice shaking. "I'm sorry." Ryu shook his head. "Chihiro, it's fine. I won't go down that easily," he said, trying to smile through the pain. Chihiro, still feeling guilty, looked down. "Maybe I should tell father, he might be able to help," he said, hoping that he might find some kind of answer from saying it. But, hearing this, Ryu's expression became shocked. "No, Chihiro, don't tell father," Ryu said, attempting to sit up.
Just as he was saying this, the quartet heard someone running up the stairs, and soon, Yamamoto Ryosuke was standing in the doorway, looking straight at Ryu, who was looking straight back. "Oh, Spirits, help me," Ryu muttered under his breath as he plopped himself back on the bed.

"Ryu," Ryosuke said, walking quickly to the bedside. "What happened?" "Father, I'm fine," Ryu said, waving his hand through the air as if to brush off the incident. "No, you're not," Ryosuke said, putting his hands on his hips. "Fatherー" Ryu tried to speak, but before he could finish, Ryosuke interrupted him. "No, you're not fine. If you were fine, why would your coat be stained like that?!" Ryosuke said, his voice loud yet concerned. Just then, Haruka stepped forward and said, "If I may, we had an encounter with the Abyss."
Ryosuke face-palmed and let out an exasperated sigh. "Of course," he said. "If I had just been thereー" Before Ryosuke could finish, Shiro stepped in. "Mr. Yamamoto, if I may, we didn't have time at that moment. And," Shiro added, "I don't mean to be insensitive, but it could've been much worse." Ryosuke turned to face Shiro, about to say something. But instead of doing so, he just nodded and said "I... I suppose you're right, Kamiyama. Your father taught you well." Shiro nodded and thanked Ryosuke. However, Makoto could tell that something more was going on inside Shiro's head.

"I just remembered," Haruka mentioned, "that I know the spell that can help Ryu." Ryosuke and Chihiro looked at Haruka in surprise. "You do?" Chihiro asked, his hopes getting up. "Yes," Haruka replied. "However, it's forbidden for me to tell you how to do it. You must learn it from the scroll written by the Dragon Lord Himself."
Everyone's eyes widened at these words. 'The Dragon Lord?' Shiro thought. 'He can't be serious!' Haruka, sensing the slight tension, changed his approach slightly. "But, I hear the Dragon gave said scroll to the Apex Master, who in turn put it in the Apex Library." Makoto's mind buzzed with unspoken questions. Who was the Dragon Lord? Why was it forbidden to learn the spell from another person? What would happen if someone learned the spell from someone else and not the scroll?
But these questions would have to wait, because Chihiro had already decided. "OK," he said, clenching his fists with determination. "I'll find the scroll if it takes me all day and all night." Before Chihiro left the room, Ryu said something to him. "Chihiro," he said, trying to sit up. "Don't overwork yourself, OK?" Chihiro nodded slowly. "OK," he said quietly.

After leaving the room, Chihiro quickly made his way to the Apex Library, determined to find the scroll. And when he entered the Library, he took a step back in shock at how many books and scrolls were inside. 'How will I find the right one?' Chihiro thought, beginning to despair. 'Wait, no, I can't give up if I haven't even tried!' He thought, shaking his head quickly to try to forget about the tower of books. And so, bracing himself, Chihiro began searching for the scroll.
Meanwhile, back in the infirmary, Shiro took Makoto aside to speak with him. "Puer," Shiro began, "I saw you when we fought the Abyss, both that time in the Tower's Arena and just recently." Makoto looked at Shiro, slightly confused. "You've been watching this whole time?" He asked nervously. Shiro nodded 'yes' with a smile. "However," he added, taping his chin. "I noticed that, um, your fighting skills are quiet... amateur."
Makoto felt slightly disappointed hearing this, and looked down to avoid eye contact with Shiro. "I-I guessed as much," Makoto muttered, embarrassed. "But," Shiro said, his tone getting hopeful, "I can help you change that." Makoto looked up again, curious to know what Shiro meant. "It might take a lot of work, but if we start now, by the time Chihiro finds the scroll you'll be just as powerful as me!" Shiro said with a wink. 'Me?' Makoto thought. 'As strong as Shiro? No way, I could never be that strong...'

Shiro could tell Makoto wasn't confident in his own abilities. "You know, puer," Shiro said, a bit quieter, "someone once told me this: You can only be you, so be the best you you can be." Makoto looked at Shiro. "So, don't copy me. Just be... well, you," Shiro said simply. Makoto thought for a moment, and then nodded slowly, starting to understand. "I think I get it," he said slowly. And so, the two went outside to begin training ー Makoto for the first time.