◣ better ◥ :

    The way in which she stares at him, he had expected. It was probably out of turn to ask, he knew that much. After all, that was one of the foremost things anyone working in such an organisation wasn’t supposed to ask. But she was a kid, so it was understandable, right? It wasn’t as though she’d ever complained, so how was he supposed to know? Not that he’d complained at her age, but…

    It’s still a little awkward how she falls silent, and then asks a completely relevantly irrelevant question in place of responding. Chuuya furrows his brows, and he sits himself upright with a notable flinch & grunt. He parts his lips to speak, but hesitates when fingers gently make contact with his forehead. As comforting as the gesture should be, he can’t help but look irritable.

    He thinks to say, ‘Hey, that’s not fair– you’re just avoiding my question, right?,’ but he knows that it isn’t fair to pry, as much as he wants to. It’s not like either of them could escape something as fickle as fate even if they wanted to, and he’d learnt that through years of arduous work. Undoubtedly, Kyouka would too, and he only hoped that she grew used to it the same way that he did.

    “ I’m fine, ” he grumbles. No, he really wasn’t fine. He’d been dauntingly close to the verge of death, and as per usual he was cranky. But he’s alive, and that’s all that matters. That’s all that’s ever mattered. Kyouka is alive, too. She has a home, and a mentor. Chuuya won’t pry, but he decides to take a responsibility unto himself. He’ll look out for her, even if she doesn’t want him to.

    “ I guess, I’m… a little light-headed, but I did just bleed out everywhere. ” 

◣ ✿ ◥ Ah, her method of avoiding the question–implying he had brain damage or was otherwise delusional, essentially–paid off, though that didn’t guarantee he wouldn’t ask about it again later. With any luck on her part, he got the hint that she didn’t want to discuss the subject; however, she hadn’t been very lucky the past year or so.

She withdrew her hand back into her lap and watched for a moment before picking up the supplied and getting to her feet. As she put them back in their rightful spots, she considered what else he might need. Once finished with that, she poured a glass of water, carried it back to the futon, and handed it to him. “Here. You should probably lay down for awhile.”

Almost bleeding out everywhere didn’t exactly qualify a person to be moving about, which he should know already, but as he seemed eager to do otherwise, he could use a gentle reminder. She picked up the bowl of water an bloody towels next and carried them to another room, gone for a minute before she returned again. Kyouka sat down, tucking her legs underneath her while she watched the executive.

What next? He should probably sleep. She’d already completed her tasks for the day, and despite not being traumatised by the whole life-or-death situation, dealing with it still tired her out. She considered getting a clean blanket, but she didn’t want to get up a third time and he’d only bled on some of it anyway.

So naturally, “Can we sleep?” was the next thing to come out of her mouth. The futon was big enough for two people (and they were both on the small side on top of it), and while there was another futon in the other room, Kyouka didn’t want to be too far away in case he needed something.