"Never heard of anything like that before." Unusual though it was, he couldn't help but be a bit impressed by that kind of dedication. They certainly didn't lavishly, though it seemed comfortable enough. Especially the bathroom, which had a large enough bath for a few people.

It was the first time he'd seen anything like it--he was used to taking most of his baths outdoors, anyways.

As he was helped onto the bench, it didn't escape him how much of a struggle it had been for her to support him. Despite his height, he wasn't that heavy, either; he was thin even before being injured, and after being motionless for so long he was downright scrawny.

"Thanks," he replied as she left, allowing him to change. It was...surprisingly difficult. The bench had limited space, and without being able to stand it required some awkward shifting. But assuming Mayako gave him an adequate amount of time, he'd be waiting for her with swim trunks on and now topless.

Mayako returned approximately fifteen minutes later--and she knocked first. That was something she learned to do several months ago. Fenix would never have to worry about her just stumbling in on him in mid-change. No one would, anymore.

Just like Fenix, she was well off to bathe--in moderation. Fenix only needed to wear swimming trunk (which were ruefully familiar to her), but she had to wear a bit more. Mayako stood in the doorway wearing nothing more than a bikini bottom--modest and light blue in color, and a short tank top, also light blue in color, and specifically something that could cling to her and not be seen through when wet. Unfortunately, it showed her mid-rift, and Mayako had made a conscious effort to fold her arms over her navel.

Although she looked extremely young when fully clothed, she had the noticeable developments of a post-pubescent girl when she was scantily dressed. She had a bit of curves to her body, mainly her hips, and a flat belly--just little details of physical development that she was actually proud of, in light of other assets that she personally lacked.

"O-okay, um, I-I'll j-just help you into the tub, th-then . . ." Mayako remarked hesitantly as she started to approach him.

Seeing Fenix shirtless gave her a good idea of how emaciated a coma patient really could be. Scrawny wasn't the best word to describe him; by this point, she could see his ribs quite clearly--even his shoulders. Muscle and fat deteriorated, and while he didn't look like he was on the verge of death, he also looked unhealthy. That was something she'd have to fix! And if anyone could get a person to gain weight, it was Mayako.

Awkwardly, she'd reach for Fenix, to try and help him stand up, and then do her best to help him into the tub, however awkward that was going to be . . .

Fenix's eyes widened a fraction as Mayako entered the room. She was now wearing much less than what she was before, but that alone wasn't the cause. It was...it actually took him a minute to figure out.

I think...she's older than I first thought. He'd initially estimated her at being in her early teens, but seeing her now he realized she had to be at least in her mid-teens. Only a few years difference, but it was enough to elevate her from "kid" in Fenix's mind to "peer."

Which made being in his current state in front of her a lot more uncomfortable, but he did his best not to show it.

As she reached for him, there was something he had to ask, though: "Mayako, why did you change?" Ordinarily he'd probably have been bright enough to figure it out, but the tank top threw him off.

Reaching the tub, he realized getting in was going to be difficult--he couldn't stand on his own, and Mayako could barely support his weight as it was. So he grabbed onto the tub's edge and leaned heavily against it. It wouldn't be the most graceful entry, but it would allow her to push him up and over the edge of the tub, hopefully.

"W-well . . . I-I have to get in, too, y-you know," replied Mayako as she helped him to the side of the tub, "Th-this tub i-is way too big for me to h-help out b-by just being o-out here . . ."

And she didn't have any tops that she was willing to wear at the moment. The tank top provided coverage, it went with the bottoms, and didn't show off too much of her chest or anything. All the other clothes she had would be see-through when wet, or just not good to wear in water altogether. Truth be told, Mayako didn't really need that much with a bikini top, or any sort of specially fit top to go swimming in--she lacked in that feminine asset, something which always had her self-conscious. In any case, a bikini top would have been a little more revealing that she was comfortable with.

When they were at the side of the tub and Fenix got the idea of getting pushed in, Mayako followed along, but also in moderation! She didn't want him to fall head first, or splash water out--water that she'd have to mop up after the fact. Janitorial work, cooking, and mild nursing duties were her main jobs there. So, to avoid creating more of a mess for herself than she already was going to, Mayako held onto Fenix, practically hugging him, as she gently pushed on him--wherein, he could work his way into the tub, and she could hold onto him tightly, with her entire body and all the strength she had, to keep him from plummeting.

Once it was done, she was able to breath a sigh of relief and lifted her leg up, stepping into the tub. Soap was readily available, as were wash rags--already set in place by her when she prepared the bath. It was worth note that Mayako kept her distance, and mainly just tried to see what all Fenix could do on his own; if she didn't have to sit close to him and physically help him move to wash himself, then she was just going to be there just-in-case. No need to make herself more uncomfortable than she already was!

She's getting in too? Fenix wondered if that was normal; truthfully, he'd never spent any sort of extended period in a hospital before since Zach could heal most injuries he'd received. His experience was limited to the waiting room, since the treasure hunter couldn't heal himself with his magic and thus often needed medical attention both major and minor.

Once in the bath, he adjusted himself to get comfortable as Mayako climbed in. In a way, it would have been better off if he still thought she was younger, like she looked when she was more clothed. Now it was hard to deny that, bust size aside, she had an attractive figure.

Fortunately, Fenix was overall much calmer than a certain other young man Mayako had bathed with, so other than a small tint of red on his face (which could have just as easily been caused by the warmth of the water) he didn't show any of this.

For the most part he was capable of taking care of himself. His arms, face, and upper torso were all washed with ease, and by leaning back and lifting his legs out of the water he could wash them as well. (The trunks were mercifully too tight on him to reveal anything during this process.)

However when it came to washing his stomach and lower back and sides he encountered difficulties. He found that if he grabbed the edge of the tub with both hands he could support himself enough to stand while in the bath--but when he tried to rely on just one hand so he could grab the soap, it was too much on his weak body and he quickly collapsed back into the water.

While normally good about telling Mayako or one of the Tsukimonos if he needed anything, in this situation he was not about to ask for help no matter how obvious it was he wouldn't be able to do it on his own.

For a good while, there was silence amongst the two. The only sound was the movement of the water from Fenix's obligatory movements; he had to move and tactically place himself in certain positions to successfully wash, which was entirely understandable. After all, he didn't have a powerful use of his body just yet. He couldn't walk on his own, and he was still a little sketchy with the arms; he couldn't put them behind his back or anything, and sometimes couldn't lift them after he had just a little too much.

Mayako kept her eyes on him the entire time, but unlike Fenix, was blushing for the entirety of the event. She just couldn't get used to it. For some reason, she was more embarrassed now than the time she had bathed topless with a couple of her friends . . .

Nonetheless, when it seemed that Fenix needed help, it came time to do what she was here for: help. She was supposed to be there with him to help bathe him if need be, or at least help him along in the process if she could--help him do it himself, that is. For his legs, she thought that she'd be needed, as they seemed pretty tricky, but she wound up not requiring to scoot closer. Eventually, though, she did.

"H-here, I-I'll help, okay?" Mayako asked as she reached for his hand, to try and take the wash rag and soap from him, "Y-you don't have t-to strain y-yourself--y-you can sit back down . . ."

Fenix was having difficulty with his stomach, back, and sides--and he was tall enough that if he sat up, she was able to help him. That is, if he would permit her . . .

"A-Ah, t-that's not..." he trailed off, his voice shaky not from embarrassment as much as exertion. Necessary, was what he wanted to say, but clearly it actually was. He didn't even have the strength and flexibility right now to wash himself, and his reluctance to accept help had more to do with that than the fact that the one offering was a skimpily dressed teenage girl.

Though that was, admittedly, not helping.

"Alright." Making himself comfortable again, he turned so that she could have easier access to his back. It also did the trick of hiding his now visible embarrassment, though she'd probably noticed already.

"I-it's nothing to be embarrassed about, you know?" Mayako stated as a means of trying to make him feel less self conscious about the situation as a whole.

She didn't think he was embarrassed about her, though. She didn't think that at all. Mayako could count on one hand the number of people that had ever been attracted to her, and still have a few fingers left with which to count. There were probably many reasons, too--at least, she had deduced that much a long time ago. Firstly, her appearance: she looked so young that one had to practically see her in nothing to really see much post-pubescent development. Secondly, for the boys of the age that she appeared (which, admittedly, she'd have taken out of loneliness), she wasn't physically active and she preferred reading a bit more over making new friends. That wasn't the kind of girl that most boys that age wanted, and she wasn't the type of look that most boys her age wanted.

Nonetheless, Mayako sat close to his back and, with soapy hands, reached up to his shoulders. She wasn't too great at giving a back massage, if only because of her minimal physical strength, but she was trying. It was a good way to work the soap in, and he needed that. She'd move from his shoulders down his spine--over to his shoulder-blades, the sides of his chest, and his lower back. All that was easy enough, a bit awkward, but not bad. Washing his stomach, though, required her to practically press up against him and reach her arms around his body--which she did, of course, but after a fairly lengthy uncomfortable pause . . .

"I know, but I'm used to being able to take care of myself," Fenix mumbled. Granted, most people were, but that didn't mean he was any happier about it. It made him grateful that he'd recover, though--he couldn't imagine what it must be like for those who needed this level of care all the time.

As she started to wash him, he was a little surprised--he'd expected a quick scrub down, but she was actually giving him a light massage. This was also a tad embarrassing; however, it felt good so he wasn't going to say anything that might cause her to stop. He even let out a contented sigh.

When she had to press herself against him to reach around him though, it felt nice for a different reason. Well, it could have felt better, but it had been awhile since he'd had a girl of any physical quantity so close. He was tempted to say something, but thought better of it--she might not have even been aware of what she was doing.

It was awful embarrassing for her, too--but only when she was pressed up against him. That was when the self consciousness kicked in. Fenix was a few years older than her, and though she really wasn't in the right mindset to gauge sexual attractiveness of someone, she was still self conscious. After a moment, when she finally realized that she had her chest pressed up against Fenix's back, she felt self conscious about herself--that she was sub-par compared to other girls, and even though she had no desire for the man in a sexual or romantic way, she hated the notion that she was disappointing . . .

After a moment, she slid back, away from Fenix, giving him space (that she presumed would not be taken up by someone as physically disappointing as herself).Well, that was done. All that he needed to do now was rinse off.

"Th-there . . . that she take care of it," Mayako whispered as she returned to her original position--over on the other side of the tub.

"Thanks," he replied as she moved away again.

He wasn't aware that Mayako was just as embarrassed as he was, if not more so. The reasons were entirely different, though; he probably couldn't understand her being embarrassed about her figure anymore than she'd likely get why he was self-conscious about needing aid.

He dunked himself into the water to rinse, which was all he really had left to do. He wasn't in a particularly hurry to get out, though, as he'd just be confined to his bed again. Even a bath was still better than laying down all day.

"Y-you're welcome," whispered Mayako.

After quite a bit of silence, awkward as it was--with just her sitting with her knees to her chest and Fenix relaxing after rinsing, Mayako figured that she should have at least done something. Anything. The silence was going to persist, but at least she wasn't going to be sitting there, staring at the water, thinking about days past in an idle mental haze. That's all it was, anyways: a haze. A haze she didn't want to think of for much length.

Mayako quietly moved to grab the soap, as well as shampoo. She may as well have bathed herself a bit while she was in the water. It had been awhile since her last bath, after all--something she was usually good with.

All things considered, though, she couldn't muster up the strength to do much more than work. Nonetheless, she crossed her legs and leaned forward, dipping her head in the water. Shampoo was applied, but kept there--allowed to sit, while she sudsed up soap in a wash rag and started wiping it over her shoulder. If at all possible, she was going to try and pretend that she wasn't in the bathtub with anyone else--though, of course, for soaping up her chest or something along thones lines, she was going to need to turn from Fenix--and would, without an instance of hesitation.

After a moment of sitting there, her back to Fenix, Mayako finally let herself sink under the water--for a good while. She just sat there, bending back so she was completely submerged, unwilling to get out of the water or even rub some of the shampoo out of her hair. Being in the water just felt nice.

She sat up as soon as she felt the need to breath, and sat up out of the water, mainly rinsed off. God . . . it would've been so nice right now if she could just worry about herself--simply concern herself with her looks and boys and how much someone wouldn't be interested in her . . . but she couldn't. That little stress was practically a relief for her, all things considered.

Mayako leaned on the side of the tub, folding her arms upon the edge and leaning her head on her arms. The girl released a sigh--discontented by her situation, and all the hard decisions she had to make with it.

"Fenix . . ." Mayako whispered to him, though she didn't turn to face him just yet, "Do . . . do you mind a room change? I . . . I was thinking, a-and, um, I talked to Tsukimono-sama, and . . . it came up as an idea to change your room s-so you're in the same room as Emma . . ."

Fenix was hardly paying attention to Mayako washing--probably for the better, considering how embarrassed she already was with the situation. He had a lot to think about, given that nearly half a year had passed in the blink of an eye to him. Unfortunately, there was only so much he could surmise from inside the hospital/house. He wouldn't be able to really tell how things were (and accept what had happened) until he could go outside.

Mayako's question snapped him out of his mini-trance. "That's fine," he replied. It took him a moment to recall her implication that her friend may have been suicidal, or at least self-destructive. Since she and the doctors seemed to think of him as someone who needed nearly constant care (though he thought otherwise) it would allow her to keep an eye on them both, which made sense.

It didn't even occur to him that he could have been on watch for similar reasons, given his circumstances and generally quiet demeanor.

Thank God.

She couldn't just do that without the patient's permission, not in a clinic like this. In a large hospital, if a patient needed a room change, it was done. It was that simple. But this was a little more complicated. He was a coma patient, so exposing him to too many people at once might have been bad if he didn't feel that he was up to it.

Nonetheless, this was going to make things a lot easier on her. She felt terrible for having to break up her watch on Emma--not necessarily because she was her friend's suicide watch, but because she just wasn't there for her nearly as much. It might also help her if she had someone else to talk to while Mayako was busy, too. She wasn't a skilled psychologist, but it just sounded like a good idea.

"O-okay, w-well," Mayako turned around to face him again, "W-we can soak for a-as long as you'd like. J-just let me know wh-when you want to get out, a-and I'll help you out, help you dry off, and start the room change."

Help me dry off...? This time he didn't even start to protest--as much as he'd like to think he was capable of at least that much, if he couldn't even wash himself he also couldn't dry himself off.

"Okay," he replied instead, attempting to relax again.

He was mostly successful, but it wasn't long before the water began to cool and the water was getting less comfortable.

"I'm ready to get out," he said abruptly. "How do you want to do this?"

The way they used before was fine if he was being pushed into water, but wouldn't work for getting out. Or at least, he didn't really trust that Mayako was strong enough not to drop him.