Izumi didn't return for awhile. Though Dyss had no way of telling time, if he decided to count one-two-three-four-five-and so on, he'd have gone through a little over 1800 seconds before she was finally back in the room. Quite the lengthy break, but not lengthy enough, considering how many responsibilities she had at work. Nonetheless, that was more than enough time for her.

"S-sorry about that, um . . ." Izumi apologized once she was in the same room as Dyss.

Before she had left a half an hour ago, she could have sworn that she overheard Dyss saying something about wanting to get cleaned up, too. That would entail a bath, which Izumi would have to be part of. Oh God, she thought to herself, immediately declaring that such would be unnervingly uncomfortable.

"Umm, okay, hm. I . . . um, ummmmmmmmtomorrow! Right, I'll set up a bath for you tomorrow!" Izumi declared, coming to the conclusion that she really didn't want to encounter that sort of mess today. Tomorrow would be better, less stressful. "I don't have any clothes that'd fit you, though. But--but, but hey! I could always take you into the market and we could get something for you. Kayla shared some of her tips with me and she usually gets a ton of tips, so I have enough to get you an outfit or something."

Dyss wouldn't resort to counting seconds until after Izumi had been gone for a while, instead thinking about the part for a few minutes... Had he really met Vince in the real world? He could only pray he hadn't... Not only was Vince impossibly strong, but he ate living people for sustenance... Dyss would be easy prey for him, for one thing, but so would essentially anyone here, including Izumi...

"Okay. Thank you... I'll find some way to make it up to you. I don't want you to have to take care of me for the rest of my life..."

The emphasis on his sentence was a bit strange, but Dyss didn't notice it. His thoughts were brought back to the more positive things in his life, but his concentration wasn't quite quick enough to keep up with his speech. There was certainly a lot to adjust to, both in the world itself and Izumi's home...

"The rest of your . . .?" Izumi asked, surprise in her voice

To Izumi, Dyss had an extremely long life ahead of him. There was no way that she was going to be taking care of him for the rest of his life--not only was that a huge burden to just throw on her (though, Izumi didn't actually think about that factor; she didn't consider telling a poor blind man "no" in almost any situation), but logically, he'd be able to live a normal life on his own if he got back into the swing up things. That meant that he'd have to get a seeing eye dog--or something along those lines--and a house with accommodations for his disability, but that wouldn't take too long at all. Though, he first needed to get the hang of moving around.

That was something to worry about later, though. For now, Izumi just wanted to get him back up to full health, and she wanted to personally quit worrying so much about last night . . .

She exclaimed both reassuringly and enthusiastically: "I--I don't think it'd come to that! Don't worry, you'll be on your feet and living a normal life soon enough!"

A few months, maybe more--but hey! That's not that bad, all things considered!

Dyss nodded, but in truth, he wasn't entirely hopeful. Life without his own particular eyesight was bad enough, but to be without it entirely... He could only hope everyone else would make it to the real world. Then, perhaps... Well, there was the matter of Aria and Ozrik. He couldn't survive in Purgatory as he was in any case... And so he couldn't go back to help them...

"Thanks. I'm going to keep trying to learn the house, and maybe I can get around it later..."

Dyss didn't elaborate on how he was learning the house, mostly because that could lead to a discussion of what exactly had happened the night before. That was something he was embarrassed to get into...

That gave Izumi a good idea, actually. She should have thought of this sooner! If Dyss couldn't move around her house comfortably, there was no way he was going to be able to deal with a large open space. It might even be a terrifying experience, even. Izumi couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to be unable to see, in a wide open space, with nothing to guide her. Though, it didn't help any that she didn't know what it was like to be blind, and could not imagine ever being in such a position, or how she'd deal with it.

"Yeah--I could--hmmm, yeah! I could help you around my house for a bit today! That way, you might be able to start moving around and get used to this place first; a comfort zone kind of thing, you know? We're the only people here, so it's not like we're going to disturb anyone."

She also had a relatively small house, which made things phenomenally easy. Once Dyss familiarized himself with her house, she wouldn't need to help him get around the place too much. Until then, she'd definitely have to be a crutch for him, or at least very close by. The process of helping Dyss explore her house could come later, though. She was going to feel awkward being that close to him if she didn't get a particular question of hers answered beforehand. She may even feel more awkward, depending on his answer.

"B-but, ummmmm, first, I have a question . . ." Izumi trailed off, audibly nervous already--enough that Dyss would most likely notice, and possibly become paranoid. With good reason . . .

"That would be great..."

Dyss would sit back up, his stomach growling again, contentedly this time. The food was settling well, if nothing else. He'd have to try eating again at some point, maybe even in the next few days. Izumi's offer to show him around the house was well appreciated, and he was eager to go, until he heard her tone of voice. It was very serious... He had an idea what it could be about, too...

"Um... Yes...?"

Dyss' voice was similarly nervous, as he awaited whatever Izumi had to say. It couldn't possibly be comfortable for either one of them...

"Ummmmm, last night, umm, when I was . . . when I was sleeping . . . you didn't, ummmm . . ."

This was remarkably awkward. She wanted to keep Dyss in a positive light, she really did, but there were certain things that just shouldn't happen, and one of those things had. So, for her to not feel awkward around him, she needed some reassurance from him . . . .

"W-well, um, when I woke up, ummm . . ." Izumi gulped audibly, extremely hesitant, barely able to say what was on her mind . . . "My glasses were all smudged, and, um, there was dirt on me, and, um . . . you didn't, um, that wasn't . . . that wasn't on purpose, right . . .? You were just feeling around, right . . . . ? J-just trying to get a better idea of what's around and all . . ."

Of course, she left out the fact that the "dirt" she found on her was in the shape of a hand-print, and just so happened to be right upon one of her breasts. Naturally, this was going to set a young girl off that something may have been very wrong, and it was understandable for her to approach Dyss about this. At the same time, it was perfectly understandable for her to be nervous about it.

"Oh..."

Dyss's face turned red, and he seemed extremely awkward and nervous. He had to tell Izumi what happened last night, and yet, what was the best way to do it? He didn't want to feel like he had abused her hospitality, and yet... In a way, he really had, even if it was accidental...

"I... Tried to move around last night. I had to do something... And I... Tried walking later... And... I was in your room, and I sort of fell, and..."

Dyss couldn't say the words, but his subconscious decided to save him the trouble, squeezing his hands as if grabbing two particular somethings. When he realized what he had just done, he turned away, his face becoming even redder and his hands hidden underneath his body as he quietly and sheepishly spoke.

"I didn't mean to, I swear!"

Dyss's hand motions were certainly a good example of what he meant, which both embarrassed Izumi and made her feel extremely nervous. It didn't matter if Dyss could see it or not--he could very well imagine a girl crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive manner, and be correct with his assumption of the potential action.

But still--Dyss did a fairly good job of convincing her that it was an innocent accident. Hey, he couldn't see. Things happened, awkward or not. She couldn't hold that against him, and now that he had admitted that it wasn't on purpose, she felt momentously less awkward around him. This was something that had been on her mind all day, and now that she had that relief taken care of, her mind could move on.

"O-oh . . . s-so . . . so it was . . . . . it was j-just an accident, then . . ." Izumi sighed in relief.

Though, she certainly didn't want it happening again. She barely knew Dyss, and such interaction should only have been an affectionate exchange between two people who were in that sort of relationship! She couldn't justify such a thing between them; she'd only known the guy for a couple of days.

"I-it's okay, ummmm . . . j-just, umm . . . try not to walk around without me for now . . . please?" Izumi requested, hoping that such would deter any such activity in the future.

Dyss nodded, too embarrassed to even speak for a moment while he suffered the agony of having her know just what had happened. At least... She didn't seem too upset. She seemed pretty understanding, considering the circumstances... Perhaps even without blame. Only, she didn't want him to try to travel around without her help...

"Okay... I'll wait for you from now on..."

Dyss would actually turn back towards Izumi, though his hands would remain behind his back, as though they were somehow going to act of their own accord in a way he didn't want. Being restricted to bed without Izumi around was going to be difficult and boring, but it was perhaps better than the alternative...

"Thanks . . ." Izumi replied, relieved.

Well, that took care of that loose end. It'd be good like this, at least until Dyss familiarized himself with the house better. Then, she'd have no problems with him moving around. It wasn't like the dark wasn't going to have any adverse effect on him in the night, and if he wanted a drink, or needed to go to the bathroom or something, then he very well should. In fact, that was going to be the first few things she'd take care of with getting Dyss used to her house. If he was potentially going to be there for a little bit, then he might as well.

"H-hey! How about, ummm . . . I help you around the house now?" She asked, suddenly enthusiastic once again, "Maybe, um, it'd help you get familiar with the place, so you can at least go and get a drink or something to eat or go to the bathroom whenever you need to."

"Sure, I'd like that..."

Dyss would slowly move his body, his face still somewhat red with embarrassment, setting his feet on the ground. He would then stand, at least used to doing that part of movement blind. From there, though... He was still lacking confidence in his ability to walk blind. He hadn't damaged himself by falling, though he had wound up in an awkward situation by trying to walk...

"Which way should I go?"

Dyss didn't stick his hands out, leaving them at his sides, still self-conscious of where they were, though it didn't make much sense for her to guide him without using them. It was better than accidentally grabbing something impolite while they were awake...

It wasn't long after Dyss was standing up that he'd feel a slight tug on his wrist. Izumi was holding onto his wrist, and pulling it away from his side gently, trying to guide his arm. Against the side of his arm, he'd feel the presence of a body, and Izumi would proceed to place his hand upon her--lower, hip-level, more than likely, but she may very well have been short, as Dyss would feel only softness--the softness of skin under his fingers (but fabric against his arm), and a thin body--she was placing his hand on her side, perhaps, with his arm wrapped around her. With Izumi close, he'd be able to tell how much taller than her he was--she seemed to end where his chin began.

At the same time, he'd feel her hand holding his in place, and her arm around his waist, too. Considering how much taller than her he was, this was just the easiest way.

"Well, here . . . hold onto me, okay?" Izumi said as she did so, "It'll be easier for now. Once we get into the kitchen, there are chairs and plates and utensils and stuff that you could get hurt on if you aren't careful--so . . . I'll guide you like this for now, okay . . .?"

The action barely had any prompt, but she felt fine with it. Knowing that Dyss's actions last night had been purely accidental, she was able to justify this sort of method. Besides, it was the safest way. If she wasn't so close to help him stand (if all else failed) and stop him from moving in a direction that was no in his best interest, then disaster could easily strike. Assuming that Dyss was all right with it, she started to walk forward slowly . . .

Dyss would step forward haltingly with Izumi, but he would instinctively grip tighter with his arm as they did. Any sort of movement was still nerve-wracking, especially when he could neither see the movement nor control where they were going. His voice wavered just a bit as well from discomfort, though he didn't ever try to stop moving...

"Where are we now?"

After a few steps, Dyss would ask his question, truly unsure. As difficult as it may have seemed, Izumi helping him made him feel even more vulnerable than before. Dyss wasn't a large man at all, and she was even smaller, and yet, he was completely dependent on her, it seemed...

"My hallway," replied Izumi, "We just left the guest room."

It was a pretty simple reply, and they hadn't made much progress, but something was better than nothing. Though, it wasn't going to help Dyss at all if she just walked around the house with him. She had to do something more than that--something to help him memorize everything.

An idea suddenly came to mind. Dyss would feel her letting go of his hand on her waist, just to reach over for his other hand. She strained a bit, leaning into him slightly in order to reach, but still wound up getting a hand on Dyss's wrist. He'd feel a flat, vertical surface against the tips of his fingers in just a moment--a wall. He had held onto them last night, when he went for a failed exploration of the house whilst Izumi slept. She kept like that for a few seconds, all the while still walking, but slowly enough that Dyss wouldn't risk stumbling and falling.

"Here . . . kind of . . . put your hand on the walls and corners, like this," Izumi noted as she provided her physical demonstration, "It should help you remember better."