7th Recipe - Spoiled Goods

[starofpleiades]

Characters: Kazumi and You
Setting: Various parts of the tower
Format: Will match
Summary: Kazumi has caught the eventfluenza. Prompts for various stages of sickness on different days.
Warning: Panic, hallucinations

[December 10th, Around the tower]

[Not one to let a little sniffle keep her down, Kazumi is still out and about at this point, around the dorms, the lounge, the cafeteria and some of the safer floors, such as the meadow. Whenever she starts moving though she has to take it slowly and sometimes she stops, holding her head. Going up or down the stairs, she keeps her eyes firmly glued to the wall, one hand trialing along as she walks. Pester?]

[December 11th, Room 02-03]

[Sniffling a bit more, that isn't the real reason Kazumi's holed up in her room. She looks pretty miserable curled up in the corner with the blankets wrapped around her. Sometimes though, she jumps up and looks around, then immediately groans and regrets the quick movement.]

Ugh....

[December 12th, Dorm Area]

[There's a yell, then Kazumi comes bursting out of her room, stumbling down the hall carrying the blanket still wrapped around her. With her free arm, she's waving it about swatting at the air, though there's nothing there.]

Get away! Oogh... no...

[She looks sick and dizzy and miserable and keeps stumbling into the walls but every time she looks around she forces herself back up and keeps running away. This is probably not very safe around stairs.]

Comments

Stairs

[silentsacrifice]

[This isn't the first time Itachi's seen someone look as if they'll barely make it up and down the stairs this month. In fact, it seems to be happening with increasing frequency; even he's been feeling under the weather lately, fatigued and achy as if he's caught a flu.

When he walks next to the girl, slow and steady, he must seem like quite a sight. Since his irises are red with black tomoe inside, they're already a strange enough thing to behold, but now they're watery and red as if he's been rubbing at them. His cheeks are flushed, and each step leaves him wobbling a bit, though he tries to play it off.

For a few moments, he says nothing. Perhaps it's the illness that provokes him to strike up a conversation, as if he needs to re-assure himself that his voice, at least, doesn't sound any different. (Even so, there's still a tightness to it, as if he's trying to keep himself from straining his throat too much.)]

So many medications in the infirmary, and yet they couldn't give us anything that will get rid of a simple flu.

[He watches her out of the corner of his eye, keeping up the same pace. While they're both on the stairway, he'll make sure she doesn't go tumbling down the steps or something.]

[starofpleiades]

[Kazumi looks over, having barely noticed his approach with how she'd been concentrating on just getting up the stairs and not succumbing to her vertigo. Even just turning towards him proves too much and she has to stop and shut her eyes a moment so the dizziness goes away.]

Y, yeah... and so many people have caught it too...

[silentsacrifice]

Careful.

[The word of warning slips out before Itachi can stop himself. He comes to a stop as well, staying a step or two below her.]

If nothing else, an elevator that services all of the floors would be a great aid...

[He eyes the stairs pointedly. It would be nice, but he doubts any of the administrators would be that kind. Why should they bother, when they can watch their test subjects suffer like this?]

[starofpleiades]

Right? I should... probably stick to the ones it does go to... [But even just walking among the dorms required a little stair work]

I'm sorry, am I in your way...?

[silentsacrifice]

[Itachi just stares at her for a few moments, as if deciding what he wants to say. Eventually, he decides to explain himself in a roundabout way, hinting that he intends to catch the girl if she falls.]

...If you fall, you'll break your neck. [Before that can be interpreted as anything too caring, he tacks on:] Then that administrator will have to patch you up, and I'm sure he doesn't want to do any more unnecessary work. I'd say it's his own fault, but I'd rather not find out what he'll do if he gets any more irritated with us.

[From the angry mob a while ago to what Dax told him, that Jason would use his love for his brother as a reason to harm him, Itachi really does feel like messing with him would be a bad thing for all of them. Even if they "mess with him" by doing something as out of their own hands as dying and needing to be brought back. If nothing else, he won't chance it for Sasuke's sake.]

[starofpleiades]

Oh, um! I didn't mean to make you worry... I'll keep going then...

[She starts back up the stairs, but turning like that and starting moving suddenly induced another bout of vertigo and suddenly she was tilting too far back...]

[silentsacrifice]

[Itachi perks up immediately, holding his arms out to catch Kazumi as she falls. The slight jolt makes his head throb and causes his balance to waver momentarily, but he gathers chakra to his feet to ensure that he'll stick to the stairs. Thankfully, such a technique is still easy as ever for him to perform.

He has one arm under her back and the other hooked under her legs, and he stares at her with a look just short of being called a glare.]

[starofpleiades]

Oof, ooh... s-sorry about that...

[She smiles sheepishly and shrinks back a little under his glare]

...really sorry.

[silentsacrifice]

[Itachi doesn't reply to that. Instead, he shifts his weight so that he has a better grip, and straightens his back.]

Where were you headed? [The unspoken implication is that he'll carry her there.]

[starofpleiades]

Um... [She was going to stop by one of the more peaceful floors, but given this, she doesn't want to trouble or worry him any further]

I was just going to go back to my room, 2-03. You don't really have to...

[silentsacrifice]

Don't be ridiculous. [His tone is sharp, but there's a small hint of gentleness to it that's easy to miss if you're not listening closely.] You're clearly in no state to walk up all these stairs. I'll take you.

[And, without waiting for further argument, he begins to ascend.]

[starofpleiades]

[She misses it. Well, at least he's helping?]

Th, thank you... I'm Kazumi, by the way...

[silentsacrifice]

[He hears her, of course, but he doesn't acknowledge it. When he gives his own name, there's no trace of warmth in his voice.]

Itachi.

[starofpleiades]

Ah... well, thank you, Itachi.

[Awk ward... she's too busy feeling under the weather to worry about it much though]

[silentsacrifice]

Don't mention it. [Really, Kazumi. Don't.

And then he begins his trek up the stairs, sure-footed and swift in spite of his own throbbing headache.]

12-12, dorms

[eternallily]

[It's the shriek that gets Saki's attention, and she transforms as she runs down the halls in the direction of the shriek.]

Kazumi! I'm on the way, just stay where you are.

[She's got her riding crop out and ready to take out any monster that might be there, but that's put away the moment she sees what's going on.

She stops, focusing, and things stop for a moment. When they start again, Saki's hair is longer, and she's scooped Kazumi up in her arms.]

It's all right. I've got you.

[starofpleiades]

[Kazumi at least calms down a bit when she hears Saki's voice and sees the familiar face. Clinging tightly to the other girl, she gasps and buries her face against her] Make them go away!

[eternallily]

[Saki looks around, squinting into the distance. She's got enough experience fighting to know when there are monsters hiding in the shadows most of the time, but she can't sense anything.]

Where are they? What direction?

[starofpleiades]

[Kazumi just sobs and buries herself more tightly against Saki, like she's trying to use the other girl to cover and block herself from some kind of storm]

Everywhere! They're all... uurgh, my head...

[Yeah, today? Today is hallucination day]

[eternallily]

[Saki hugs Kazumi closer, petting her hair and rubbing her back.]

It's going to be okay. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm going to keep you safe. No matter what happens. That's a promise.

Okay?

[starofpleiades]

Mm. Yeah. I'm sorry I didn't stay in bed. [Since Saki totally saw her the day before when there was 95% less hallucinations and the general consensus was that major vertigo = you should stay in bed]

[eternallily]

You don't need to apologize for that. You were scared and you didn't think you were safe, right? If you were going to look for someone to help keep you safe, that's okay...

[starofpleiades]

I... I don't know what I was looking for. [She grips Saki more tightly, eyes squeezed shut.] I'm glad you're here, Saki.

[eternallily]

It doesn't matter now.

[There's a moment's glow, a shift in Saki's magic - while she knows that in theory, she doesn't need to worry about her Soul Gem, in practice, she doesn't want to risk it. When the glow fades, she's back to her usual appearance.]

You're not ever going to be alone here, no matter what. I'll be here.

[starofpleiades]

Mm, thanks. I... let's go back to my room. [Luckily Saki found her soon, so it's just down the hall]