The Dystrophic Perplexment [Icicle x Senpie]

[Icicle]

Upon sitting at the table, Cici started to ramble on about lineage and other countries and other stuff that she claimed was "unimportant," but yet continued rambling on about. Niko suspected that she had some sort of reason for all of it, but her eccentricity and force of personality were strong enough that Niko found himself at a loss for words, so instead of trying to respond to her, he busily devoured his food. He nailed the technique for speed eating, shoveling spoonfull after spoonfull of food into his mouth, only pausing occasionally to take a drink.

Cici only occasionally stopped her barrage of words to get some of her own food in her system. It seemed as if she was gaining more and more energy as time went on. Niko almost felt intimidated merely by how much the girl could talk. Even if he wanted to, thinking of that many thing to talk about would be insurmountably difficult for him. By the time she was talking about Natsume, he already felt that the pit in his stomach was too big for food to fill.

Niko was trying to move on to his last plate of food as Cici was talking when suddenly she leaned in toward him. Immediately, Niko felt a sense of panic take over his body, but before he could do anything, he felt her elbow dig into his injured arm. As a quick, sharp pain shot through his arm, he moved away from her slightly, wincing as he scooted along his seat. "H-Hey! Careful..." he said this reflexively moreso than out of intent, as he wanted to make sure she wouldn't do it again.

But, since it got her to stop talking for a moment, Niko managed to respond, "And...I barely know her. I don't know why she decided to walk with me, nor why you're here with me now." He scooted back into place as she started asking if they could be friends. In response, Niko looked into her eyes, shoving the last piece of food from his plate into his mouth as he did so. His eyes spoke for him - the uncertainty and distrust which his eyes conveyed as he rose from the chair was more than enough of an answer.

The bell rang as he stumbled over to the dish conveyor belt. He assumed that, if he was fast enough, he'd be able to escape the energetic one. His assumption turned out valid, as he made it all the way to art without encountering either girl. Once again, random people decided to open doors for him, which he didn't understand and was slightly suspicious about. He didn't like walking past people only to have them follow him immediately after.

Nonetheless, by the time he made it to the art room, he was relieved to take a seat in a chair. He pulled out the art supplies he stored in the easel and continued with his work of art. He didn't bother trying to make anything genuine, instead going for the most artsy and abstract idea he could muster and throwing it on the canvas. He judged that the teacher was the type to appreciate that sort of work more.

----

Niko was disappointed to hear the bell ring. He was only a few strokes away from completing a section of the painting. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to get the same technique if the paint dried and he tried finishing it, he decided to take a few minutes to finish the section before packing up to go to the next class.

It only took him a few more minutes, so he felt that it was worth it. After getting up, he grabbed his cane and started to walk toward the door, but as he did so, he heard an unsettling "splat" sound as his crutch hit the smooth, tile floor. Immediately after hearing it, he started to feel his weight fly forward uncontrollably. Before he was able to put weight off of the crutch, it started to slide backwards quicker and quicker. He reached one of his hands up to the headset around his neck, but before he touched them, he realized that there were eyes on him. Shit...I have to think of another way around this...

In front of him was another easel, which he was falling toward. He could tell instantly that he'd smack his face into it if he fell any further. So, to ensure that his face would remain undamaged, he reached the rest of the way up to his head, then out toward the easel. He managed to grab it along it's main wooden shaft, but the device was too unstable to support his falling weight. Instead of making it do so, he pushed off of it sideways, changing his trajectory so that he'd fall to the floor next to the easel - a spot without any random clutter threatening to damage him upon landing.

As a result, when Niko landed with a loud "thump," he grunted. He landed on his shoulder and rolled onto his back rather efficiently to disperse the impact, but he still felt his injuries groaning. He remained on the ground, lying on his back, for a few seconds before attempting to get back up, dizzy after the event. I better not get up too quickly or I'll get light headed since I'm still anemic... He rose to a seated position first, moving slowly, as if all of his muscles were extremely sore. Once he managed this, he cleaned off the bottom of his crutch with a paper towel and rose to his feet. With this done, he made his way over to the next class...

 

[Wryneck]

As Natsume finished talking to Ben and prepared to leave for their next class, she looked over towards where Niko was, having heard a sound. The whole class was watching, as the boy hurdled towards the ground. No one was near enough to stop the fall, but the boy somehow managed to masterfully stop himself from getting hurt too badly, maneuvering around the easel behind him and landing about as safely as he could on the ground. Natsume rushed over to him and asked if he was alright. Even though he was injured, she was amazed at how well he avoided any serious injuries. With her help, he was able to stand with relative ease. It didn't seem like the fall had caused too much damage, even though he was already injured. "You can come with me to the nurse's office if you want. Even though you're injuries don't seem that bad on the outside, they may be worse than they look on the inside." The boy wasn't in any sort of position to argue against it, and Natsume wouldn't take no for an answer anyway.

She gave her farewells to the other classmates, who gave their condolences to Niko, and led him to the nurse's office. The nurse was a very caring woman, and rushed over to help Natsume with Niko as soon as she saw them coming. "Oh dear. What happened to this poor boy?" The nurse began attending to his wounds while Natsume took a seat and began to explain, figuring Niko would want to conserve his energy.

"We were all preparing to leave for class when Niko slipped over some paint that had gotten on the floor. I imagine the teacher already cleaned it up, but I'm not sure why whoever might've spilled it didn't... Anyway, Niko managed to soften the impact of the fall by shifting his weight around..." Natsume looked at Niko and gave him a smile of sorts. "It was pretty impressive."

"I would imagine it would be. Surprisingly enough, these injuries don't seem too bad. There are a few more areas I haven't checked yet though, so hold still for now..."

Outside of the nurse's office, a single figure listened to the conversation inside for a while before walking away. "Maybe someday..." the voice whispered before disappearing.

 

[Icicle]

As Niko was just starting to rise off of the floor, he noticed Natsume rushing toward him out of his peripheral vision. He felt startled at the sight, but he more or less waited to see what she would do. He felt his injured muscles start to tighten as she bent down and reached toward him, but he fought the urge to retreat away from her - after all, if he acted as if he was totally fine, it would garner more attention than he would get by playing the victim. As a result, when she asked him about if he was okay, he commented, "y-yeah. After falling down a flight stairs, this is nothing." He seemed to be getting more and more convinced of his own lie, but that didn't mean he delivered it any more skillfully. As a result, once he was back on his feet, he simply wiped off the bottom of the crutch with his hoodie's sleeve, getting the cloth wet with blue paint, and then started hobbling over to the entrance of the classroom without another thought.

Natsume, however, had other plans. She quickly stopped him and started talking about going to see the nurse. Niko simply nodded to get her to quiet down, then tried to hasten his way around her and out of the room. Once he was finally free of the prying eyes of his classmates, he felt a bit more secure. The hallway was less filled with random people, so it wasn't as bad. All the same, Niko wanted to get to his next class quickly, so when Natsume started leading him over to wherever the nurse was, Niko stopped her. "Hold on. J-Just wait a second." Once she responded to his plea, he timidly commented, "I'm fine, really...so don't worry so much. We should get to our next class or we'll be late..." He felt awkward using the word 'we' in the saying, but he thought it might cause her to agree more since he included her in his wording.

It didn't seem to work quite as planned. Instead of leading him to the nurse, she instead leaded him to a park bench and said that he needed to rest. "But...sitting in class will do the same thing..." Niko's argument didn't seem to convince her, since he apparently looked as if he was about to fall over. So, faced with the option of fighting her to get to class and appeasing her, he decided to take the path of least resistance. He sat down on the park bench, ensuring to sit as close to one end as he could, and rested his crutch down next to him against the outer armrest. The bench was somewhat ergonomic, but the fact that it was outside meant that the wood was slightly wet, and it was hard to sit down on it since some of the wooden pieces bit against his injuries. But once he was relaxed, waiting around wasn't so bad. Still, he looked over her way, as if wondering what her next plan was. They couldn't sit there too long or they'd miss class. So he waited for his opportunity to get back up in silence.

 

[Wryneck]

Natsume seated herself on the bench, slightly away from Niko. Their next class would start soon, thanks to the male deciding to take a few minutes after class to paint a while longer, and to the fact that he took a little spill in the classroom. Niko had refused her offer to take him to the nurse's office, and she had no idea to what extent his injuries had progressed. Surely not even someone like him would be able to walk away from a slip like that without his injuries worsening. Maybe if she took a look herself, it would be alright. After all, she wasn't that bad when it came to medical dealings. She could at least redress wounds and such.

"You're injuries are probably worse after that fall. If you won't go to the nurse's office, maybe you should at least let me che-" When Natsume reached her hand towards the boy, he hurriedly stood, despite his injuries. Natsume was surprised, but at the same time not too shocked. Of course he wouldn't want her doing something like that. Natsume stood and let out a sigh. "Alright then. If you want things to be like that, then I'll simply pray that your injuries don't cause you too many problems. It isn't anyone else's fault but you're own if they get too bad."

Natsume began walking towards their next class. Natsume was a kind person, but she could be stubborn when she needed to be, and now was such a time. She understood his distancing himself, but he must be in worse condition than she thought, for him to have dashed away so quickly. What would be so wrong in letting her address the injuries she already knew were there if there wasn't more to it? His stair trip story was falling apart the more she thought about it. "You'll be okay to make it to class, right? You can stand well enough, and I made sure we wouldn't be too far away in case you wanted to walk the rest of the way on your own. I understand how you like to be left alone." Her tone was serious, but she still tried to push it in a way that didn't seem condescending, but more in a manner that would make it evident she was the student council president. "Don't push yourself, Niko, or I WILL take you to the nurse's office. Nobody has to do things alone."

The blonde-haired girl paused to think for a moment before realizing how harsh what she just said might've sounded, even though she had good intentions. Another sigh escaped her, though she tried to conceal it, and she turned around, presenting Niko with a slight smile. "I know it's hard being the new student, but no one here is out to get you. Regardless of whatever happened last night. Whether it was that you tripped, or if it was th-" Natsume was hushed by the feeling of her phone vibrating. She recovered it from her pocket and answered it. 'Father?'

"Hello, Mr. Hideyoshi. You wanted me?" Natsume paused for a moment and listened. When her father mentioned Niko, she made sure to avoid looking at him. He'd definitely suspect something if she suddenly looked his way while on a call with her father. "I understand. I'll come over once classes are finished. I'd like to make sure Niko makes it to his classes safely. He is injured after all." Natsume said her farewells to her father before hanging up and turning back to Niko. "Shall we head to class?"

 

[Icicle]

Before long, he noticed that Natsume was talking again. About his injuries. She was very presumptuous, reaching out toward him as she spoke. She seemed to want to check his injuries herself. He wasn't sure why, but he stopped her hand before it could get too far. He held her wrist like one would hold an animal - gently, but firmly. He didn't really have the strength to restrain her hand against her will, but he learned from past attempts that running away from this particular person didn't work very well, so he still decided to go for a more direct approach. He looked straight into her eyes while holding her wrist and shook his head. His expression was serious and grim. "I'll be fine, so stop worrying, miss. It's none of your business." He continued to hold her wrist until he could see that he got the message across, then let her go.

She didn't seem particularly resigned to accept his message, but her words proved that she understood it. As long as she didn't do anything suspicious or dangerous, he wouldn't need to worry about her. She was kind. Possibly too kind. He was worried she'd impose herself on him by thinking that it'd be for his "better good" or something like that. He didn't need that kind of kindness, nor did he want it...as far as he knew. The two got up shortly after the brief conversation, then walked over to the next class. A few seconds into the journey, Natsume spoke up again. Niko wasn't necessarily adverse to listening to what she had to say, but he certainly didn't like what she said. She certainly didn't believe him when he said that he was fine. He wasn't particularly surprised by that, but her persistence was uncanny.

"Stop worrying-" his words blurted out of his mouth right after she commented about being able to get to class, but she kept talking, and he was kinda quiet initially, so he just ended his comment short and trailed off into silence. Once she paused, after commenting on him being a loner, he thought, you say that you understand, but here you are... Then, as if he had made a smart comment, he smiled smugly to himself; the expression dropped instantly when she suddenly spoke up. This time, she sounded spurred up to action. He didn't know the source of her dedication, but it was certainly strong. He was starting to worry that being connected to her was a problem, but he had no idea how to correct it. She turned around and tried to fix the harsh statement that preceded it, but Niko wasn't convinced by what she said. She only seemed to be saying that to assuage her own curiosity, so it was empty of reassurance.

To make matters worse, her cell phone rang shortly after, and the person behind the call was her father. The president of the university. Niko frowned. Yet another reason to not want to be connected to Natsume. And yet, he could not think of a single way to get away from her aside from just leaving the university. As she talked, he thought to himself. Why is it that I'm attending this place anyway? I can't remember. I don't really want to be a teacher. Maybe it's just so that people don't suspect me. But then again... He couldn't think of the reason he was there. He was smart, so maybe that had something to do with it. But he could just become a musician - he didn't need to get a degree on teaching. There had to be another reason. As to what that was, it would have to wait, since they arrived at the building in which class took place. As such, Niko entered and went to class without a second thought.

 

[Wryneck]

The rest of the day went per usual. Natsume and Niko attended their classes, with little conversation going on between the two since their little conversation by the bench. Natsume still kept an eye on Niko, as her father had instructed, but she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. He just behaved as his normally avoidant self. Nothing out of place there. She decided to put focusing on him in the back of her mind and put most of her attention into doing her schoolwork. She was only so into watching over him because she was already curious, but she knew her father would not intend for it to take precedence over her studies.

The remainder of their classes weren't anything special. Exams were close, so most everything was merely a review of things they had already learned. Natsume didn't have to pay as much attention because she had plenty of time to study after class. The student council wouldn't be meeting today, and she'd be completely free, barring whatever it was her father wanted her for from the equation. Soon enough, classes were over, and she found herself instinctively seeing Niko to the cafeteria. She didn't eat here, but she thought it would be best if she at least made sure he made it there safely, what with his injuries and all.

"I'll leave you be as soon as we get to the cafeteria. Your injuries may suddenly act up again, so I want to make sure you can get there alright." Natsume knew that there was more than just him being shy, so she resolved to behave more seriously from this point on. There was no need to act like a girl desperately wanting to be friends with him anymore. It was best if he knew her as the serious person that she was, and not as the façade that she so commonly portrayed towards people she didn't know well. Well, people she didn't know well and Cici (because acting serious with that girl was pretty futile). Once they reached the cafeteria, Natsume stopped outside the door. "I hope your injuries get better soon. Eat up and make sure to rest as soon as you get home." The smile on Natsume's face was ever so subtle, while still maintaining that she was a kind person, and wasn't just out to spite Niko for reluctance in accepting her help. "Oh, but before I leave..." Natsume reached into her bag and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. She scribbled something down on it and handed it to the boy, who slowly but surely accepted it. "If you need any help with anything, feel free to call me." With one final wave, Natsume was gone before the male could say anything more.

---

Natsume closed the door behind her and took a seat once it was offered. Her father had a video screen out near his desk. The still frame that was displayed upon it was that of a window on one of the dorms. Mr. Hideyoshi had the remote in his hand, so Natsume assumed whatever she was called in for had to do with the video before her. "I apologize for needing to call you in here again. The security footage from last night came in, and I thought that you should see it, seeing as how I have you keeping an eye on Niko. There's nothing to be alarmed about though. As you're about to see, we can't make much out of what was recorded. It all happened so fast..."

Natsume sat quietly as her father started the video. It was only about five seconds long, and all it displayed was a sort of wisp zooming through the window. What it was couldn't be told from the clip. It happened too quickly for anyone to make anything out of it. Mr. Hideyoshi stopped the video after letting it play five times and turned towards his daughter. "As you may have guessed, the window shown here is that of Niko's room. We don't know what it was exactly, but we assume it might have something to do with his injuries. As far as we know, he hasn't gone to the nurse's office to have them so much as checked."

"That's true," Natsume replied. "When I offered to take him earlier, he seemed pretty against the suggestion. In the end, we just stopped at a bench for a moment so he could rest..." The girl's face bore concern. Her father nodded in response to her news.

"I'm not surprised. Obviously there's more to this young man than any of us can see. Which brings me to my second request. Mind you, you don't have to accept it, but it might be helpful in gaining insight if you do." The older male looked at Natsume with a face of neutrality, as if to show that either a yes or no answer would be as equally accepted. "I would like to ask that you stay at the dorms for a while, starting tomorrow."

The young woman looked at her father, a bit surprised at his request. Sure it could help them find out more information, but was that really the best option? There was no doubt that Niko would become suspicious if he found out. Something like that would most definitely make him even more evasive to any of her attempts to get him to open up. "I apologize, father, but I'd have to think about this before making a decision. It's just that a lot could go wrong. If he really is involved with something dangerous, I think that being closer to him than necessary could potentially endanger me. That, and he's very evasive at times. If he were to discover I'd moved into the dorm, it would most likely make him even more alert of my presence than he already is."

Mr. Hideyoshi nodded in response. "As expected, a thorough analysis from my daughter. Indeed all of that is true. It would be best if you did think on it. Even if the timing is bad now, if you ever find yourself on better terms with him, it might make for an optimal time to make the switch, if by that time we still don't know anything. Aside from that, I would like to remind you that the school trip is quickly approaching. We'll all be going on a nature hike a week after exams are finished. I think that would be a good time to try to become closer with the male. Hopefully his injuries will have healed by then. If not, we'll have to attend without him." Natsume's father paused for a moment and pulled out some fliers. "In any case, I'd like to ask you to hand these out tomorrow. Make sure that Niko gets one as well. That'll be all. I thank you for your cooperation."

Natsume accepted the fliers and stood. She gave her father a smile and a slight bow in farewell. "Of course, father." Natsume closed the door behind her and looked over the flier as she made her way home. 'He didn't talk much about it, but that video he showed me was very peculiar. I hadn't even noticed that something like that'd happened.' Natsume rubbed her forehead. All of this brooding was beginning to give her a headache. 'It's nothing to worry about. You'll find out eventually,' Natsume consoled herself before pushing her worries to the back of her mind.

 

[Icicle]

Once Niko entered the classroom, he went and found himself a seat as far from the bulk of the other students as he could find. He passed the time trying his best to stay awake - his injuries and his mastery over the subject matter made him both bored and tired. He managed to not fall asleep, but he drifted into a day dream on multiple occasions, even mishearing one of the teachers' questions at one point. He didn't like the attention he gained from answering incorrectly, so he made sure to stay doubly awake for the rest of the day.

...

Once his classes were over and it was time for a meal, he hobbled over to the building. But he soon found, to his disappointment, that Natsume was following him once again. What is with her? I haven't fed her anything, have I? The brief joke he made fell flat even in his head, so he avoided looking directly at her as he hobbled along. After hearing her reason for following him, he was somewhat satisfied, but nonetheless disappointed. He had hoped that she was following him for a more interesting reason, since she was doing it so much. If she isn't lying, once I'm healed, she'll leave me alone. Nothing to worry about. He nodded over to her, acknowledging the statement without approving of it.

The rest of the way to the cafeteria felt awkward for Niko. She wouldn't leave his side, but she wouldn't say anything either. It made him feel like his brief joke was becoming more accurate, and it unnerved him. Nonetheless, once they reached their destination, she opened the door and gave him a commandment with a surprisingly pleasant expression. Niko nodded, unsure as to whether or not he should agree to do as she said, and continued to watch her as she reached for something and continued talking. She pulled out some notepaper and a writing instrument, so he could only guess what she was going to do with it.

Once she wrote something, he read it to himself very quietly. It was a number. She had written a random number on the paper. She then offered him the paper and said something about calling her. He was now thoroughly confused. He supposed that he should take the paper so that she'd be satisfied and leave him alone, but he didn't know what to do with it. He didn't know how apparent this was on his expression, but she seemed to be in a hurry to leave whether she noticed or not. He shrugged and walked into the cafeteria to get another pile of foodstuffs.

......

Once he had eaten his fill and incidentally attracted the eyes of his colleagues, he hurried out of the cafeteria and wandered back into his dorm room. Once again, he felt unnerved by all the people who opened doors or rushed by him to activate elevators. He liked not having to go through the effort of doing the tasks himself, but the fact that people were rushing around him and constantly watching him wasn't favorable. Once he reached his room, he padlocked it and deadbolted it, then closed the curtains on the window and checked for bugs and cameras in the room. Thankfully, his sweep didn't reveal any, so he went about disrobing and cleaning himself. He put the sound-cancelling earphones over his head, switched them on, and then started to focus...

.....

He was happy to find that he had made progress on cleaning and closing his wounds after a hot shower. He was happy to see this, so he took some antibacterial ointments and made sure to rub them onto and around each wound before re-bandaging himself. He surmised that he ought to continue using the crutch for a few days, since he still couldn't cancel out his anemia and people would get suspicious if he only had to use it for a single day. Once he was all dressed in bandages, he put on a new set of sweatpants, a new black shirt, and another sweater, depositing the rest in a dirty clothes pile. He then ate an energy bar, threw away the trash, and completed his homework before plunging into bed. He put his headset on, plugged it into the charger, activated the noise-cancelling feature, and started to sleep.

.....

The next morning, he awoke to the sound of his alarm. He deactivated the noise-cancelling feature, realizing that it wasn't helping him anymore since it had slipped off of his ear, and looked around. His room was the same as he had left it last night, and he wasn't nearly as sore. Satisfied in the state of his room, he checked his headset and saw that it was fully charged. He then looked over at his desk and saw the paper that Natsume had given him the other day. I suppose I'll ask her about it if she brings it up.

He shoved it into his pocket, grabbed his backpack, equipped his crutch, and exited his room, headed for the cafeteria. As per usual, he was a bit early, so he walked around for a few minutes before finally gaining access to the cafeteria. Once he was in, he shoved as much food into himself as he had time for, then rushed over to the gym for his morning PE class. He confirmed that he still had permission to sit out for the class, then went over to the corner and waited for the class to end, his pain much more manageable than it was yesterday.

 

[Wryneck]

Natsume woke up later than usual the next morning. Her mind was left to wander the night before, about all that had transpired the past few days. Too much had happened all at once for her to have any break to wrap her mind around what was going on. She sat up in her bed and looked over at her desk. The papers she was to hand out today were there. 'That's right. The school trip is coming up...' Some might think it was a bit weird for a college of their esteem to be having a school trip, but it was a technique they used to give the students a chance to relax outside after exams were all over, whereas they might usually just spend the time dilly-dallying at home. This would actually be Natsume's first school trip at this college, seeing how it was also her first year here.

Her family met her downstairs, where she enjoyed a hurried breakfast before moving along to school. There would be plenty of time to hand out flyers regarding the trip, but Natsume was more concerned about what her father asked her to do last night. It wasn't really like him, to ask her to do something like that. Maybe he was just checking what she'd do for himself, already knowing that she would decline such a request. It didn't matter though. The school trip would serve much more fruitfully for her. She was the only person Niko had really had any contact with, and she'd shown him already that she was sincere (or so she hoped that was how he viewed her actions by now). Everybody on the school trip was required to have at least one partner. Surely he'd pick someone he knew over someone he didn't, right?

Before long, Natsume was standing before the gym building. She went to the girls' locker room to change quickly, and only caught a glimpse of Niko out of the corner of her eye. That was right. Just as Niko was sitting out of gym participation now, the school trip wasn't mandatory. There was no way she could trick him into thinking it was either. People would talk about whether or not they were going to attend, and a vain attempt to lie to the male would only increase the distance between them - perhaps even damage it irreparably. Once Natsume was finished with changing, she took out the flyers her father gave her and decided to begin handing them out. The gym teacher wouldn't bother her about it, knowing it was a request from her father to do so.

She tried to make it seem as though she was taking a second or two to talk to each student as she went along. Luckily they weren't all spread out in a way that would make giving one to Niko last seem overly suspicious. After she'd handed out one to every student of her class, she made her way over to where Niko was seated and took a seat, making sure there was enough distance to not make her seem overbearing, yet close enough to speak with him without everyone else hearing. The male had taken notice of her even before she had approached, and she was certain she was being watched out of the corner of his eye.

"Here," Natsume spoke up, holding out a flyer toward him. The male reluctantly accepted it, just as he had the paper with her number on it the day before. "The school trip will be coming up after exams week. It isn't mandatory to attend, but it would be a great experience..." Natsume sat in silence for some time, trying to come up with anything that they could talk about. Part of her was already relieved. He would know that she could've lied to him, vain as it might have been, right?

"I see your injuries still haven't recovered yet. They seem a little better though." Natsume offered a curt smile, then turned towards the class that was running about the gym. "Say... What do you do for fun when you're injuried? Do you have other hobbies that you keep yourself occupied with?" This was it. A chance to start a conversation that wasn't directed around guiding him somewhere or questioning him about something he didn't want to be questioned about. There was no reason for him to not answer her, so it was the perfect opportunity to work on the gap between them. "Once, when I was really sick, my father went out and bought me a keyboard. He didn't want me to have idle hands, so he gave me something to do. I always loved the piano, and this was the first mobile one that I'd ever owned. Even though I was sick, the music managed to make me feel a bit better, simply because I was doing something I enjoy. You have something like that, don't you?"

 

[Icicle]

As Niko sat down, other people in his PE class started to stream into the room. He looked down at his wristwatch to see if it was abnormal for people to be streaming in. 7:50. Nope, not abnormal. He waited around, making sure to not make eye-contact with anyone for long. The people weren't making as big a fuss about him as they did yesterday, which he was happy about. But once Natsume walked in, he noticed that a few people started to remember that he was there. He waited for class to start, but was surprised to find that Natsume walked right over to him. Well, he was less surprised about the fact that she was, so much as he was surprised that she then sat down next to him.

He didn't bother looking her way. He could feel her eyes and was unsettled by it. He felt the urge to leave, but he knew that she wouldn't have much time before class started, then she'd have to leave him alone. Thus the logic side of his brain told him to hold his ground, not that it made him feel any better. At least she wasn't uncomfortably close.

Once she spoke up, he flinched a bit - not because it was sudden, so much as because she reached toward him as she said it. He looked over at the object she was holding out after a second and clumsily reached out to grab it. He succeeded, then observed it to distract himself from her. A trip to...some camp? He listened as she explained a bit about the flier. He noticed that it said it was optional on the flier itself, and also saw that each person needed a partner to go. But what he was confused about was why she decided to sit down in order to give him the flier. She could've just remained standing, but she didn't. The thought sent a shiver down his spine. He eyed her cautiously out of the corner of his eye, just to reassure himself that she wasn't trying anything. She seemed to be thinking hard as he did.

Eventually, she spoke up again, a few seconds after he had put the flier in his pocket and mumbled a curt "thanks". Once again, she pointed out his injuries. Her attentiveness to his injuries made him wonder what was so interesting about them. Maybe she likes blood? He continued to listen to her as she spoke on, but had no response to give. I...don't really do anything...do I? He looked over at her the second she stopped and inhaled, ready to give a response, but she continued speaking before he could start. He looked away quickly, feeling embarrassed. Of course, the pause was too short. Obviously she was just taking in a breath.

Once she was done speaking, he looked over at her with a sheepish expression. He waited a few seconds to ensure that she was done, then inhaled again and commented, "...I...like music..." He nudged the earphones around his neck a second after saying this, pointing them out, then looked away from her and paused for a few seconds to let it sink in. "...and I play violin...but, exams are upcoming...so I've been studying..." Would that be enough? Or would it bring up more questions? He looked down at his leg after feeling a slight, momentary pain surface. She obviously still had questions. She didn't seem eager to get up. And time wasn't exactly flying by either. Perhaps he had chosen the wrong plan...