Chemical Engineering

Chapter Sixteen: Depletion

Kumiko groaned as she woke up, alerted in being awake by Shockbolt's morning announcement. Stretching, she was confused when her hand met a scratchy surface.

"Um... thats my face, Spitfire."

Screaming she scrambled backwards, falling off the bed in the process.

"Um... did my breath stink that bad?" She saw Ryozo pop up, a worried look on his face before he saw she was ok.

"Wha, how... why are you in here?"

"Do you not remember what happened yesterday? With Shockbolt?"

"What do you-" she fell silent as swarms of information flooded her brain all at once.

Medications were taken by Shockbolt...

New motive...

Split into groups...

Withdrawal symptoms beginning...

Ryozo helping me...

"Oh... I see now..."

"You ok to stand up?" Ryozo questioned.

"Yeah I'm ok." Standing up, she felt a blush take over her at him helping her. "Thanks for taking care of me, Ozo."

"No problem. Why don't you get dressed before I head over to my own dorm?"

Nodding, she went to her closet to gather the clothes she wanted for the day. Next she headed to the bathroom to change.

Quickly changing clothes, she arranged her hair in a tight topknot on top of her head. The after grabbing her shoes and slipping them on, she opened the door.

Looking over to the fire dancer, Ryozo smiled at her before gesturing the door. "Alright lemme out."

Giggling, she grabbed her cardkey and unlocked the door, letting them both out. They traveled down the hall to Ryozo's dorm where he fished out his own cardkey.

"Well let's go in then."

"Why wouldn't I wait out here?"

He gave her a deadpan look before answering. "I'm in charge of you until this motive is over and last night you nearly passed out in the hallway. I'm not taking any chances."

Not able to argue with his logic, she followed Ryozo inside. She took note of his room which was mainly red and black with an electric blue guitar hanging on the wall.

"Give me like 5 minutes and I'll be out."

She nodded and sat on the bed with her hands folded in her lap. She wondered briefly about how was her family doing and a pang went through her heart at the thought.

"Hey. You good?"

Looking up, she saw Ryozo in his new clothes, looking at her with a confused glance.

"Yeah I'm ok. Just thinking."

"Well let's get that thinker of yours fed, shall we?"

Laughing, she pushed him away as he ruffled her hair. Hopping off the bed, they left the dorm to head down to the kitchen.

"Get the FUCK away from me, you freak!" They heard Maiko scream before silence.

"What, no stupid remark?"

They peaked in to see Maiko glaring at a... broken Misaki?

"Saki?" Kumiko tried to get her friend's attention.

But she was only met with silence.

"What happened?" Ryozo glared at the pink haired girl.

"How the hell should I know? She reached for me and I yelled-"

"I'm sorry."

They all turned to see Misaki, the usually happy girl, with her head down and voice shaky.

"Uh... pardon?" Even Maiko was shaken.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so-"

"O, okay I get it. You don't have to keep apologizing." Maiko tried to soothe Misaki down but was failing.

"I'm sorry mom... please, I'm sorry. I'll be better, I'll do better. Please... just..."

"Put down the bottle mom. Please."

They were horrified as Misaki began to cry, her face hidden by her knees. Suddenly Maiko looked pissed. Off.

"HEY SHOCKBOLT! GET YOUR FUCKING ASS DOWN HERE!"

"You called, sugar tits?"

"I know you already dumped our meds but what, EXACTLY, was Misaki on?"

"Oh shit she was super doped up on shit. Some anti depressant, severe ptsd meds and even a bit of seizure medication. All that plus out of date ADHD meds."

"Mom, I'm sorry. Don't hate me... don't..."

Maiko gritted her teeth before pushing Kumiko out of the way and taking the spot next to Misaki. Awkward, as if never done before, she wrapped her arms around Misaki in a hug.

"Its okay, little bug. It's okay. Mommy's not angry. She's very proud of you, you know."

"Mommy?"

"Yeah mommy's very proud of you. Let's get you to lie down for a while okay?"

"O, okay."

Still without a trace of emotion, Misaki stood with the help of Maiko. Without a second glance, the two girls left, leaving only Ryozo and Kumiko.

"Well that was exciting." Ryozo muttered.

"I suppose..." Kumiko was very worried about her friends but it didn't seem she was able to do anything.

"Look. Why don't you sit down and I'll make food. I don't trust you with knives when you can pass out unexpectedly." Ryozo chuckled at her offended pout.

"Meanie." Although she grumbled about it, she did take a seat.

She sat down as he walked into the kitchen, laying her head on the table for only a moment when all of a sudden...

It began.

"...ko! KUMIKO!!"

She felt her body rocking back and forth as if being shook. She tried to look around but everything seemed to blur until finally it came to focus.

She's beginning to pass in and out of consciousness.

She tried opening her eyes but it felt as if an invisible force was keeping her eyes shut. Her limbs felt heavy, like lead and she could only make out voices.

"What's wrong with her?" She could hear the annoyed voice of Kenta.

"I don't fucking know! I went to make food and when I came back she was passed out!"

"Friend?!" Kaori's anxious stutter registered in her head.

She felt her body being lifted and cradled, rocking back and forth. She was finally able to open her eyes and saw Kenta, Kaori, Ryozo and Kei looking at her.

Kei lifted a hand to Kumiko's forehead, bringing it back quickly. "She's burning up. Wait here."

Kei rushed into the hallway, returning quickly with a damp hand towel.

Pressing it to Kumiko's forehead, Kumiko almost gasped in relief. She noticed then, she was being held in an upright position in Ryozo's lap. But as she was so dizzy from her symptoms, she couldn't find it in her to be embarrassed.

"Ryozo, take some snacks with you, and bring her to your dorm. At least there, she can be cared for and be in the least danger."

"Yeah... c'mon princess. Up you go."

She gasped in surprise as Ryozo lifted her up, bridal style. She felt his body shake with each step and soon enough, she was lulled into sleep yet again... not knowing the actions that had been set in motion...