All the better; all the worse . . .

[Zach Kaiser]

"Oh, sorry," Eld replied before bending down and locking the cart in place. That would at least prevent everything from slipping away.

"Why don't I cut everything for you?" he offered. She'd be able to eat well enough, but she couldn't divide the food into edible portions with only one hand. Unless she was some kind of genius with eating utensils, but he could probably rule that out.

The omelet was cut into more manageable pieces, and he peeled and cut the orange for her. The bacon she could simply eat by hand and take bites out of.

"Oh, I forgot to ask if you wanted anything else on your omelet. Salt, pepper...?"

[Nayt]

"O-oh, um, y-you really don't . . . have to . . ." Akizetsumei protested meekly; this ultimately fell on deaf ears, as she actually spoke too softly to be heard.

That was the last she said for awhile--or, rather, what felt like awhile to her.

Eldridge Tsukimono was taking care of her. He was caring for her like some sort of ideal friend. Like he was sincerely concerned for her health and was willing to go to so many lengths to help her out. As she came to this conclusion, she couldn't help but look Eld in the face. For a moment, she couldn't take her eyes off of him. She let him take her fork and knife; she didn't even pay them any attention, and the only time she ever looked to Eld's hands was to check to see if she was actually right--and she was. He was cutting up her food for her.

It didn't seem like Eld notice how the girl was staring at him, but she certainly noticed when Eld asked if there was anything else she'd like for her food. She realized how her lips were parted and eyes were opened as if she were awed or amazed. She realized how hard her heart was beating. Akizetsumei ducked her head down, raised her shoulders, and averted her eyes to her plate and refused to look Eld in the face again. Her face was even redder than before.

"A-ah, um, umm, n-no, um, th-thank you," Akizets whispered bashfully.

[Zach Kaiser]

Indeed, Eld failed to notice he was being stared at. While normally a fairly observant and intelligent person, he had a spectacularly large blind spot for when girls were interested in him--both Maya and Sarah could attest to that. As it was, when he looked up at her, rather than coming to the obvious conclusion that she was embarrassed because he was going to so much trouble for her, he immediately jumped instead to a less likely (if prudent) one:

"Hey, you're all red...you're not getting sick too, are you?" he asked, wondering if perhaps the strain of her injuries was giving her a fever. Not even waiting for a response, he reached out and lightly pressed the back of his hand to her forehead.

[Nayt]

"Ah? No, um, I . . ." Akizets started to reply.

But she was both too meek and Eld was too insistent--whether he intended it or not, of course. He set the back of his hand on her forehead, much to the girl's surprise. Akizets straightened her back up as if on instinct, to make it easier for Eld to feel her forehead.

Akizetsumei said nothing. Instead, she blinked and looked up as if trying to catch an image of Eld's hand. Her lips were parted and her brow was raised. She could barely catch a glimpse of Eld's index finger. This was a surprise, yes, but she didn't seem as visibly surprised about this than she did other such acts of kindness. Her cheeks retained their redness, however. There was but one simple reason that she didn't feel faint or anxious beyond all right and reason: it was such an unheard of concept for Eld to lay his hand upon her in any sort of gentle or caring way, that this simply couldn't be happening. It couldn't be real.

Yes, she had to be seeing things. It just so happened that what she unconsciously regarded as illusion made her heart want to beat out of her own chest.

[Zach Kaiser]

"Well...you don't seem feverish," Eld concluded uncertainly as he pulled his hand away. "But you're pretty red. I'll have my parents check up on you when I leave." Other than being red she didn't seem sick, but he wasn't a doctor and he didn't want to risk having missed something.

Still, it didn't seem so urgent as to upset Akizetsumei's meal. He sat back down on the neighboring bed; it wasn't always required for the doctors to stay in the room while a patient ate, but as she was the room's only occupant if she started choking there would be no one to call out. An unlikely event, probably, but at the clinic they didn't take chances.

[Nayt]

"O-o-ok-okay," Akizets stuttered. She was starting to acknowledge that what just happened really happened, and that was a hard fact to deal with so soon.

It was something she'd been picking up recently, but only around Eld it seemed. With everyone else in the world, she was completely casual, bright, and cheery. She was energetic and carefree, not at all concerned with what she was saying or how she was saying. Akizets just happened to be a good-natured enough girl that she was unlikely to ever offend someone, and even if she did, it would be so obvious she didn't mean it. But with Eld, she was quiet, shy, and meek. She was bashful in every extent, worried about every word as she said them, and so concerned that if she looked at Eld wrong, he might be less interested in her as a person. It was wholly unnecessary; in fact, the whole reason she was so interested in being close to Eld--being friends with Eld, at the very least!--was her belief that he wasn't like other people. That he wouldn't at all care if she said the wrong thing. That he'd be true and genuine and honest.

Akizets lost herself in thought as she began to eat. Eld did a good thing for her in cutting up her food, on top of succeeding in making a delicious omelet. He'd hear hums on Akizetsumei's end, innocent little hums depicting exactly how she felt about the food she was given to eat.

She almost forgot that Eld was in the room with her, at least until she took a few long gulps of milk and let out a tiny and high pitched burp, which she concealed with her hand. Only then did she looked to Eld, remember that he was in the room still, and immediately react as a whipped dog. She ducked her head down, let out a small "meep!," and practically hid behind the tray he gave her, before speaking a small and barely audible, "excuse me."

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld was always pleased when people enjoyed his cooking, especially as Sarah and Em often remind him he's not as good as Maya. Were Akizetsumei to look over at him she'd have seen him watching her eat with a bit of pride.

When she did finally turn to him, his reaction was quite different though. He let out an easygoing laugh. "Don't worry; I hear much worse some days. Besides, in some places it's a compliment to the chef."

As Akizetsumei was likely finding out, Eld wasn't an easy person to put off. Someone really had to go out of their way to make him more than a little annoyed or angry (most of his banter with Sarah was much better-natured than it looked); after all, even her brother couldn't get under his skin most of the time.

[Nayt]

"O-oh, um, o-okay," Akizets replied smally.

Still, she felt a bit awkward after that. It certainly wasn't very ladylike, at least! But Eld seemed to laugh it off, so she was able to shrug it off, at least a little bit. She was certainly no master at it, though, and still harbored nervousness from that and everything else before it.

"I-it's really good," she remarked; it was somewhat out of the blue, but it was completely factual. "W-waaaay better than what we get at home."

This wasn't actually much of a touchy subject for her, it was just something she didn't talk about if someone didn't ask, and people scarcely asked about her living environment.

Akizetsumei returned to eating, and when she was done with the omelet, she moved on to the orange slices. Citrus fruits were some of her favorites, and actually managed to perk her mood right up. She even giggled some when she took a bit from an orange slice and juice sloshed up on her cheek.

[Zach Kaiser]

"T-Thanks," Eld replied, a little embarrassed about being called better at cooking than someone's mother. Which was kind of odd given that he was most likely better at cooking than his own mother--but that wasn't something he brought up much.

Despite his initial worry that she might becoming ill, Akizetsumei seemed to be doing just fine. As much as he was enjoying talking to her, he had other duties to attend to. "Well, I need to go check on the other patients, but I'll make sure my parents check in on you soon. Is there anything I can get you before I go?"

[Nayt]

"Oh, um, okay," Akizets replied meekly, "Um, n-no . . ."

No, there wasn't much else she needed, but she did have something on her mind. She was thinking about it since last night. It was lonely last night. She hadn't even a book to read. Eld was about ready to leave her room, though. She was about out of time to vent this question.

"W-wait, ummm," Akizets spoke louder this time, but only to get Eld's attention; once she had it, she quieted down, "Umm, y-you said you study at night? U-ummmm, um, I was, um, I was thinking y-you could . . ."

She trailed off. She could barely even look at Eld. Instead, she was looking down in her and fiddling with her fingers against her cheek nervously.

"Y-you know, um, i-if you want, umm."

What am I afraid of? She asked herself, but quickly found the answer: rejection. She was so scared of rejection that it made it almost impossible to ask Eld for anything in particular, especially this. Her fear of rejection nearly made it impossible for her to socialize with him on any healthy level, for that matter.

"Youcouldstudyhere," she blurted this out quickly, if only to throw it out there as fast as she could, to make pending rejection just a little faster.

[Zach Kaiser]

"Study here?" Eld asked, confused for a moment. Of course, the answer was obvious enough--she probably got lonely, being the only one in an unfamiliar room at night.

"Well...if you're awake, sure, I can keep you company," he agreed. He'd just have to leave the door open so that he could hear if he needed to check on any of the other patients. Of course, if she was asleep (and he figured she might be) he'd just let her sleep.

"Later, then," he said with a wave as he exited the room.

[Nayt]

It seemed he saw right through her. Akizets nearly let out another "meep" in surprise, but she kept that one quiet, even though she did look over to the wall with blatant embarrassment--not for the reasons she wanted Eld to hang out in her room tonight, but the very fact that they were so easily discovered.

She expected, of course, that Eld was going to say no, that he had other things to do, and probably shouldn't study with other people in the room. And that would've been fine. She'd have said that she understood and wasn't offended or anything of the like. Then he'd leave, she'd look away, she'd tear up, bite her lower lip, hiccup, and feel sorry for herself 'til the bacon got cold she she lost her appetite.

But that wasn't what happened. What really happened was the exact opposite: Eld said yes. He was willing to come see her this evening. He was willing to keep her company. He didn't say anything about studying, but that was the whole idea she was going with, so maybe he'd study, too! The whole thought of it, being in a room alone with Eld at night--it was kind of exciting, but also kind of scary. It made her heart beat hard against her ribs, while at the same time bringing a cheery smile to her lips for the first time today.

"O-okay," Akizets replied with a hint of energy, "S-see you then."

To say that Akizetsumei patiently waited for evening would be to tell a blatant lie. She was nervous. She was anxious. She busied herself trying to think of things to say, even when Eld's parents were in the room, asking her questions and testing the little pains they expected to have gone away by now. She was cheerful; this was all it took to make her feel energetic and lively again.

Naturally, this meant she wasn't going to sleep for a long while, even after sundown.

By evening, Akizets was waiting a little more patiently. She hadn't much else to do but think. The Tsukimonos didn't check on her with much excess, so she hadn't many people to talk to, and was starting to feel the stings of loneliness by the time the two doctors went to sleep.

[Zach Kaiser]

Fortunately for Akizetsumei, she wouldn't have to wait long after the doctors went to bed. Though she might not know it at first--Eld opened the door and slipped inside so quietly that unless she was actively watching it she likely wouldn't notice. The reason for this being that if she was asleep he didn't want to wake her, but that clearly wasn't the case.

"Hey," he said to announce his presence, before once more sitting on the bed next to hers. Under one arm was a thick textbook and a notebook--in the other was a candle, which he proceeded to set down on the cart (left there from earlier) and light.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he opened up his book.

[Nayt]

Although it was lonesome after awhile, Akizets got to thinking about more things than just Eldridge Tsukimono. She thought about her parents and her brothers. They hadn't stopped by to visit today, but that was kind of expected. Toushikyo said yesterday that he was going to be busy today, Oboreru was at school today, and her parents usually worked all day. She couldn't blame them for not paying her a visit but, well, it would've been nice if they had tried, at least. Maybe tomorrow, she told herself.

She did not expect Eld to show up after awhile. It was dark and most people, patients and doctors both, were sleeping. She sulked some and looked off away from the door. She didn't at all notice Eld when he showed up, and when he finally spoke to her, he nearly gave her a heart attack.

"Aahh!" Akizetsumei squeaked whilst nearly jumping out of bed.

She set her hand over her lips to quiet herself in the midst of this, however, and instead produced a small whine. Slowly, she turned to look at Eld, sitting on the other bed as he was. She was wide eyed like a deer in headlights, but calmed quickly, dropped her hand from before her lips, and resorted to the same sort of nervousness as earlier--this time for a much different reason. She was still a little spooked!

"H-hi! Um--g-great! Umm--ummmm," Akizetsumei quieted down to near silence, before sinking down awkwardly and lifting her right hand just enough to wave nervously, using only her fingers.

She was clearly wide awake, too.

[Zach Kaiser]

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He was a little embarrassed; that wasn't exactly the best way to help someone feel at ease, which was what he was in part here to do. With patients often resting nearby, he'd grown up used to limiting the noise he made most of the time; he'd perhaps gotten a little too good at it.

"Oh, before I get started, is there anything I can get you? Something to drink, maybe?" He didn't want to get too settled in just yet; he may have been here more to socialize than caretake, but that didn't mean he could ignore his attendant duties.