#azureblitzed

There isn't a better person that recognizes that something had been on Takumi's mind than the one who had claimed her rightful title as an equal. In fact, even without looking at him entirely, Hiruko could tell that he sounded out of his sound mind. Battles like this certainly had taken a toll on the whole team, but it looks like that toll had been saddled so much upon her team leader that Hiruko had to step in.

Not that she minded. In fact, she preferred to be the one to place herself between him and potential danger. Strength, power, brute force, she was all of it. A slight stark difference from before in the past, where she would simply scold at such weakness. Now, her attention shifts to Takumi while he struggled to answer at first. The look of a lost hazy glaze noted by her when he looks back at her at long last.

"You don't feel good to the point where your attention nearly dented our defense here, team leader. If you weren't feeling good, then you should've stepped out of the way and let me take care of it."

A sigh, her annoyance shifting when she takes note of just how utterly exhausted he looks. Certainly, there had been a lot more on Takumi's mind as of recent, and chastising him wasn't going to help anyone. If he was truly going to hide behind being tired, then Hiruko was going to have to be the one to pull him through to regain his bearings in the midst of his exhaustion.

"Sumino. Look at me."

It wasn't a question. It was a demand, and she keeps her stance up while her crimson eyes stare into him. Adrenaline still fresh in her system, even after the invaders were all dealt with.

✉ @azureblitzed said: "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm… I'm not very good at being good." / gives you takumi having a mental breakdown for Darumi

Ah, shit. Darumi's never been good with comforting others - hell, up until this exact moment, she can't think of a time where she's ever been the person someone vented to or sought support from... Probably because she's never had any real friends before. Even at Last Defense Academy, she tended to keep people at an arm's length with her outlandish personality - but then there was Takumi. He actually bothered to save her, of all people, despite her being such a lowlife... At the cost of so many others. She can't blame him for being so down on himself... He had to make all the hard decisions as the leader, and now he was blaming himself for the war's casualties. It feels impossible for an idiotic good-for-nothing like her to say something, anything of value in this moment, but... She has to try, right? She owed him her life, after all. It's the least she could do for him.

"Hey, hey, don't say that... I mean compared to me, you're like a saint, right?" She tries to laugh, but it falls flat - okay, not the time for jokes. Let's try that again... "Er - what I meant is... You're doing the best you can. Maybe the others think what you did was a mistake, but that's easy for them to say when they're not the ones who need to make split-second decisions like you do! And for what it's worth... I'm glad you saved me. You're a good guy, Takumi - the best guy I know, actually. Which, like, the bar is in hell, but - argh, I keep fucking this up, don't I?"

"I know and that's why I'm doing this. I was planning on respecting your decision but we're at a point where we both know this is how it has to be."

*Eito really had been keeping his word and not administering any painkillers or any such medicine to Takumi. However seeing the fever return and the other's inability to even rest it was the final straw. It had to be done and so as he injected it into the bloodstream a hand would clasp around him.

It still looked as putrid as ever but for now it was not slapped or adjusted in any way. Instead Eito reassumed the role as doctor, a role he had no desire of pursuing but once again desperate times called for desperate measures and wiped down his body to try and stabilise the temperature with the remaining hand.

Once the painkillers did their job maybe it would be beneficial to check the wounds again. In between taking care of Takumi his free time was used to read up on the limited amount of medical journals that were in the library. As such his knowledge of the area grew. After all there was only so much you could learn as a patient.*

Even if Takumi has decided to stay in his room today, that wouldn't prevent Nozomi from leaving a small present on his doorstep : a gift basket with a mix of sweet and savory snacks along with a small photo album of all the shared moments between the SDU. She hopes that he enjoys the mementos and food!