𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚎.

◇shine through the night◇

"do what you came here to do."

you could hear whispers from the ruined corridor. despite your body begging you to just go to bed, you forced yourself to investigate. sou and kanna seemed to be searching as q-taro watched. you saw sou's eyes flicker to you. "h-hey.. can we rest a little?" he refused to acknowledge you. "..we'll hardly get any exploring done if we keep resting so much." q-taro turned to you. "this hallway.. 's complicated as a maze." you hummed, getting an idea. "hey, sou?" he finally made eye contact with you. "ah, miss
f/n! me and kanna were just-"

"why don't you let me check you out?" he blinked at you, confused. "..what?" you crossed your arms, leaning against the wall he was standing next to. "safalin has a medical office. they've got all kinds'a medical tools and stuff. kanna says you've been needing to rest a lot, and you're recovering from a head injury. constant fatigue could be a sign of a concussion." your eyes darted to q-taro, who practically flinched at your look. "why don't you let me take a look to make sure everything's okay?" sou stared at you for a while. "q-taro, you don't mind looking after kanna for a few minutes, right?" he awkwardly coughed. "y-yeah, 'course.." you didn't give sou time to respond, just motioning for him to follow you.

arriving in the medical office, you motioned for sou to sit on the grey sofa. you began rummaging through the glass cabinets, searching for different medical equipment. you took note of a few strange things that you caught sight of, but tried to keep on task. you eventually came across a cabinet with multiple basic check-up equipment. grabbing a small flashlight, you walked back over to the couch, sitting down next to sou. "headaches? light headedness?" he shook his head. "n-not really.. maybe a little..." you nodded, turning the flashlight on. "look at me." he turned his head towards you, though you could tell he was trying to avoid eye contact. "i'm gonna shine a light in your eyes." before he could respond, you grabbed his chin to pull him a bit closer to you and keep his head steady.

you could hear him breathing as you moved the flashlight in front of his eyes. "pupils are normal.." you turned it off, putting it down. you continued to stare at him. his eyes finally met yours, his breathing uneven. finally, you smiled, letting go of his face. "that's good!" your sudden change startled him. "alright, stand up." he did as you said, and you walked a few steps backwards. "okay, now walk towards me putting one foot in front of the other." he didn't fall over, though stumbled a bit. you lifted your pointer finger in front of him. "touch my finger." he seemed flustered as he pressed his fingertip to yours. "now close your eyes and do it again."

there were a few basic tests you ran, getting him to move around and asking him basic questions. finally, you told sou to sit back down. "good news, i don't think you have a concussion. minor head injury, but nothing serious. he smiled. "that's good to hear.. thank you, miss f/n." you hummed, crossing your arms. "that being said, if you weren't hit hard enough to concuss you, you weren't hit hard enough to lose your memory." he stared at you for a while, then smiled. "ah, so that's what this is about. you sure had me going, miss f/n, i thought you were actually worried." you returned his smile. "you and i both know that's a lie, mister sou." sitting down next to him, you gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "it's a shame, sou, it really is." with your other hand, you cupped his face. "i'm sure in other circumstances we'd get along.. really well.." he blinked at you, taken aback.

and the door to the medic office swung open. sou flinched, but you made no attempt to move. keiji peeked his head in, staring straight at you and sou. he gave an awkward smiled. "ah, am i interrupting something?" with a big smile, you stood up, letting go of sou. "nope! keiji, i'm getting tired, walk me to my room?" both men stared at you, both seemingly confused. "..sure thing." you waved to the teal haired man behind you before linking arms with keiji. "let's go!" he seemed confused, but walked with you anyways. "..seems like you guys've gotten close." he commented. "just makin' sure he didn't have a concussion." keiji smiled at you. "if that's how you check out all your patients then i'm not feelin' too good either."

arriving at your room, you unhooked your arm from keiji's and swung open the door. "welp, goodnight!" he held the door open before you could close it. "actually, can we talk for a sec?" you raised an eyebrow at him, curious. "how could i say no to that face?" you teased, letting him follow you into your room. you sat on the edge of the bed, flattening your skirt before patting the spot next to you. he sat down with a sigh. "you're playing a risky game, y'know?" you blinked at him. "...by having you in my room?" he chuckled. "no, with whatever game you're playin' with sou. and your little plan to give all your tokens away." you shook your head, smiling. "seriously, keiji, i'll be fine. i work with criminals for a living, i think i can handle sou."

"so you think he's a criminal?" you shook your head again. "no. a coward? yes. but a criminal? not at all. but... then again, most people would be rendered cowardly in a situation like this..." he hummed. "you don't seem to be." you gently laughed, fiddling with your hands in your lap. "you know how it is. but seriously.." you trailed off, putting a hand on his thigh. "won't you trust me?" his eyes flickered down to your hand. "...are you trying to seduce me into leaving you alone?" smiling, you shrugged. "is it working?" he shrugged back. "maybe a little." standing up, you walked towards the door, taking hold of the knob and opening the door. "i'll see you tomorrow, keiji." he sighed, making his way out of your room. "..be careful, f/n."

"i always am."

"a fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool." -william shakespeare