For a second Eld thought she meant she hadn't been drinking, which was obviously not the case, but he quickly realized she meant she wasn't drunk. Which...he was still fairly certain wasn't the case, actually.

"Two," he corrected, holding up his middle and forefinger. While Etsu may not have been formally educated, she was still able to count, so it worried him a little that she was forgetting how many fingers she needed to hold up.

He smiled wryly; two drinks may not have been much for some, but lightweights like Etsu (and admittedly him too) it was enough to warrant some concern. "Here, why don't I help?" he offered, walking over to her to help her get her nightclothes and something to wear tomorrow.

"Oh. Two," Etsu let her pinky and ring finger fall to press against her palm, as well. She curiously looked at her hand. Yes, Eld was right. Those were two fingers.

She couldn't count much higher than twenty, in any case, and as it didn't come second nature, she generally refrained from actually using any numbers at all in her general speech, giving the illusion that counting did, in fact, come naturally to her, unlike spelling, reading, and writing in general. It was all a ruse, though. If there were two things, she'd usually say there were a couple of things; if there were three or more, she'd say that there were a few or a lot of things.

Nonetheless, she stood idle for a second as Eld picked out for her some night clothes and an outfit for tomorrow.

"O-kay." She kind of sounded tired, to boot.

That was just how she could be when she drank, though. She got silly and tired. Silly as far as Etsu was concerned, though; as she was a fairly stoic person that always thought before she spoke or acted, it was generally regarded as silly when she expressed any sort of emotion hastily or acted or spoke the first things that came to mind. Alcohol simply removed some of her social inhibitions, but definitely not all of them.

Eld shook his head lightly; some people not have been able to tell much of a difference, but while normal Etsu was quiet and observant, after she'd had a few drinks she was quiet and kind of spacey.

"Why don't I walk you over there?" he offered as he handed her some clothing. She could probably make it on her own, but he didn't want to risk anyone harassing her--someone like that drunk from earlier today.

"It o-kay," replied Etsu.

The girl took her clothes and stumbled, briefly, to get her balance back. She held them in her arms like like an organized pile of books for a schoolchild. One sleeve was over her shoulder, a pair of pants draped over her arm, a bra over the other shoulder, a pair of panties dangling from one hand, and her night clothes balled up with her outfit for tomorrow. None of these seemed to bother Etsu.

"Emma-chan out-side," she noted, "Out back."

Even though she was trying to say that Eld didn't need to walk her there, she wasn't very convincing in telling him that she was okay. After all, if Eld didn't guide her through the house, she was going to wind up accidentally walking through the clinic, rather than leaving through the side door.

As she walked with Eld, she thought aloud, as if poorly reciting something that had been asked of her--or an order. Or something like that. "A-void Er-rd-kun parent?"

Well, he supposed he wouldn't have to walk her all the way there, then; Emma was pretty good at not drinking so much she lost her senses, so he was fairly certain with her Etsu would be fine.

"Yeah," he agreed; his parents weren't exactly uptight, but he was fairly certain they wouldn't like the idea of a fourteen year-old getting intoxicated. Especially not one ostensibly in their care.

He left the room before her, but quickly shut it between them as he saw his mother walking to her room. "I thought I heard Etsu," Rebbecca remarked. "Is she back already?"

"S-She's just picking up clothes; she's going to spend the night at Sarah's," Eld responded, trying to hide his nervousness. Fortunately, he'd managed close the door before she came out, otherwise the jig would have been up. While admittedly he wouldn't have been in trouble this time, that didn't mean he wanted to see Etsu get a lecture.

"I see. I bet the girls are having all kinds of fun today," came the coy reply. "It's a shame you aren't invited."

"O-Oh, it's fine, I don't mind. Are you...umm...going to bed?"

"Yep. Your father's just finishing up for the night too."

"I-I see. Well, good night."

"Good night, Eld."

Smiling, Rebbecca retired to her room, and Eld let out a small sigh of relief, turning around to open the door. "Alright, Etsu, it's-"

"Oh, and Eld?"

He jumped and nearly banged his head on the ceiling. "Y-yeah?"

"...What's that written on your forehead?"

What? Oh, right...I forgot about that... "Hillcrest. It's, uh, a long story."

"Aha." She gave him a look, the kind of look that parents had that reminded their children that, no matter how hard they tried, they could see right through them. "Well, don't forget to wash it off," she commented as she returned to her room and shut the door.

This time he waited a minute to make sure she was staying in there before turning and opening the door. "Okay, Etsu, let's go."

Etsu was about ready to leave Eld's room when he suddenly shut the door before she could. With her arms full of clothes and her balance way off, she couldn't possibly try and open the door from inside of the room, not like this. She was tempted to try, though--even after she heard Rebbecca's voice on the other side of the door. It was a testament to how delayed her reactions could become after just a couple of drinks. She rethought the idea just a moment later, however, and instead stood where she was, waiting for Eld to open the door for her.

The writing on Eld's head . . . Etsu had barely even noticed it. Two very specific reasons contributed to this: firstly, she was intoxicated. Secondly, she couldn't read. Both of these combined made it absolutely impossible for her to notice the word on his head. Rebbecca had pointed it out to Eld, though, and when Eld opened the door for her and told her that it was time to go, she couldn't help but stare at his forehead. Part of her wanted to ask why it was there; the rest of her mind, however, was bereaved by alcohol, and nixed on that idea, no matter how good it might have been.

"Oh," Etsu remarked as she started out of the room, "Safe now?"

Which was probably a really terrible thing to ask, but Etsu's voice was extremely meek and quiet. No one else was going to here her-- right?

"Y-Yeah." He saw Etsu staring at his forehead, but now wasn't the best time for explanations; he'd tell her about the strange he'd had some other time, when there wasn't someone waiting for him--and she wasn't intoxicated.

Fortunately, Etsu was so quiet there was no chance of his mother hearing it on the other side of the door to her room. He led her through the living room, making sure to give obstacles a wide enough berth so that she wouldn't bump into anything.

Opening the side door that led directly outside without going through the clinic, he peered around out there, looking for Emma. He wanted to make sure she was in good enough condition, or he'd end up escorting the both of them.

Etsu needed the space that Eld gave her. When she walked, she genuinely tried to remain upright and walking a straight line, but she was a horrible drunk. She couldn't hide it for the life of her. There was never any sense in trying, if she'd had a couple of drinks. Just a couple of drinks of sake, even, were enough to make it show exactly how much of a lightweight she really was. She was skinny as a twig, so it was only natural. Sarah, on the other hand, who was about thirty pounds heavier than most of the other girls, could really hold her liquor.

Outside, Etsu stumbled a few paces, only to try and hold onto her clothes for dear life. She did not want them falling onto the ground, but did not mind the fact that the bra and panties that Eld had given her for tomorrow were held out in the open.

Emma would briefly be seen glancing around from the back of the house, before popping out slowly as soon as she knew that Eld and Etsu were alone. She seemed perfectly fine, albeit walking a little recklessly. That didn't mean her judgment was off, though. At least not too terribly off.

"Heeey Eld, what're ya doin' out here?" Emma asked as she stopped in front of Eld and Etsu.

Eld now leveled his wry smile at her; it was kind of an amusing situation, really. Since he was a lightweight himself, he didn't really get to view much of how the others acting when they were drinking. At least not sober, and he didn't always trust his memory when drunk.

"Making sure you two get to your house for the night," he replied. Emma didn't seem that bad off, but she was also much better at hiding it than any of them, he figured. If she was showing it at all, she was probably pretty bad off.

"Don't worry, I won't go in or anything and interrupt your girls day--well, night now--out." It occurred to him belatedly that maybe Etsu was also supposed to avoid him too, but it was a bit late for that.

"Ehhhhhh," Emma audibly groaned--but it was an intentional groan, nonetheless.

Etsu caught herself stumbling. The last drink had gotten to her a little slow, it seemed. That was always such an awkward feeling, when a drink finally caught up to you. It was a lot like an unexpected kick to the face, followed by a wave of blissful numbness.

"I think we'll be fiiiiine," she remarked as she started to walk.

But just like Etsu, she wasn't outright telling Eld to go away or anything. She started to walk ahead, effectively leading the two of them, if Eld was adamant in coming along, that was. He wasn't going into the house with them, though. No way, no how. If Davis wasn't allowed to hang out with them like that today, then Etsu's boyfriend was going to lack the same rights!

After a moment, though . . .

Emma plucked from Etsu's arms the bra that she was loosely carrying with all of her other clothes. While skipping ahead a few steps, Emma held it against her chest. Etsu did not visibly appear to care. In fact, she only seem confused.

"My God woman," Emma blurted out in disgust, "What the hell cup size is that?"

"I no know," replied Etsu, "fit me though."

Emma tucked the bra back into Etsu's arms, "Don't fit me. Don't fit me at all. What the hell, though. How's a Cizokian get so gifted?"

"You know she just wears whatever Sarah does," Eld muttered, blushing a bit. He never did quite get used to this kind of talk; if this was any indication of their discussions today, it was no wonder they didn't want him there.

He was going to follow them to make sure they were fine; if it was Sarah or Mayako he wouldn't have needed to, since Sarah was tough enough that no one was going to mess with her, and Mayako could hold her liquor surprisingly well. But Emma, once it started to get to her, was someone who needed to be watched.

"Ehhhh?" Emma asked, "Really?"

Incidentally, Emma was not actually aware of the fact that Etsu had borrowed any of Sarah's bras. She thought that Etsu had just worn a sarashi until she wound up buying bras of her own in Galaens somewhere. Which was probably one of the most uncomfortable experiences of Etsu's young life.

"Oh. No. Sarah her-rp buy new ones," Etsu replied at last, "For me."

This, actually, was the first time Eld would have heard about that. How that went, Etsu wasn't elaborating on, but he was likely to use his imagination, and use it poorly. Whatever he imagined was probably completely wrong!

"Ahh-- see, Eld! See!" Emma stuck her tongue out at him antagonistically before returning her attention to Etsu, "So, what size now?"

"Do no know," Etsu shrugged her shoulders, "But fit bet-ter than Sarah-san's."

"Oh? I didn't know that," Eld replied. It was the first time he'd heard of it--he didn't see enough of Etsu's bras to notice that she'd changed any. Which was a shame, though he'd never admit it.

He really should just avoid the subject; but he was curious, and while she might have refused to answer sober, after a few drinks she'd tell him without a second thought.

"So...Etsu...were Sarah's bras too big or too small for you?" he asked at length.

"Big here," Etsu indicated to the sides of her chest, followed shortly thereafter by her indicating her breasts, simply by pushed up below them with her arms, "Smar-rr here."

"What? Really? Goddamn," Emma thought aloud.

That was kind of surprising, but also not at the same time. Granted, Eld had been the only one to definitively see her naked for any length of time. The other girls had seem glimpses once or twice before, but that was all. Etsu was an extremely bashful person and disliked being nude around others--but for more reasons than simply being a shy person in general. It was the same reason that she never wore a two piece bathing suit, even around close friends. She only wore one piece bathing suits, was fully clothed while swimming, or she didn't swim at all.

"What the hell size ya think that makes her, Eld?" Emma pitched the question to Eld. Etsu might not have known, but Emma figured that he'd be the expert to ask, anyways.

Eld flushed a bit. How was he supposed to know? It wasn't like he really compared them. Even so, he gave his best guess based on what he'd been told.

"Umm...I don't really know. Anatomy doesn't really cover bra sizes, you know." It was a lot easier to talk about it if thought about it in a medical way rather than...well, a perverted way.

"Actually, since she just had her first period not too long ago, they might still be growing," he reasoned. It would make sense; Sarah was sixteen, Etsu was fourteen--while it was possible Sarah could still grow, Etsu almost certainly wasn't done yet.