Day 63: Bus 3 (Evening)

[lighthearted]

Sora had to admit, that soup had definitely hit the spot even if he'd had to force the first few bites down. His stomach was full and warm and while the fever was definitely still there, it felt more manageable now that he had some fuel in his system. It was too bad he couldn't carry a water bottle around or something, since that would have also been a help with cooling him down.

Then again, the wind seemed to be doing a fine job of that on its own. A nurse made sure to walk with him as they moved back toward the buses, doing her best to shield him from the wind with her body. It was something that Sora actually appreciated; she didn't have to do that, after all, and with how weak he felt right now fighting the wind was pretty tough.

Still, they made it back safe and sound, and Sora boarded the bus, realizing at a delay that he hadn't even bought anything on the trip. It was a waste, but he wasn't going to dwell on it too much. He already had enough on his mind as it was. Like the fact that he hadn't seen Riku and Kairi all day and couldn't have told them about his illness even if he wanted to. He'd at least had the chance to make plans with Tsubaki, but still, where were his friends? If there was a time when they should have been around, it was now.

Sora leaned against the window, keeping an eye on the other patients that were approaching. He wiped his hand over his forehead and found that it was still covered with a thin sheen of sweat. Not much he could do about that unless he found some medicine or Dr. Facilier worked out a cure. One step at a time, right? He could beat this.

[For Albedo and Nigredo.]

Comments

[thecamellia]

"It’s fine" was more or less a “yes.” If she asked if he had other symptoms, she supposed she would get the same sort of answer and he would probably conceal them if he could. But if Kurogane had a rash, then…

"So you are sick." The girl shifted, keeping one eye on the blond man as she worked to process the implications. She hadn’t been able to tell when she’d spotted him on the bus that morning, but the glimpse she’d gotten of his arm told her the worst. All of the friends she’d talked to that day… Sora, Leanne, Kurogane… they were all ill, every one of them!

What did that mean? Were all three of them only going to get worse from this point on?

"When did that happen?" she pressed on. "Did it start yesterday like the oth--"

Tsubaki had been prepared to push Kurogane for a truthful response if she had to, but the violence that broke out at the front of the bus halted her in her tracks once more. Not only had the prisoner knocked a nurse to the floor, he was struggling hard enough to injure the woman who’d tried to stop him. Now things were going too far! She heard a familiar voice call out in protest, but his was one of the few, leaving her to bite the inside of her cheek out of a mix of adrenaline and anxiety.

"Hold on a minute," she told Kurogane before straightening in her seat and shouting, "Stop fighting! You’re going to hurt people!"

[seekingmystrength]

Kurogane's gaze turned from the girl following her question, and he watched the world go by out of the window as he waited for the expected - her persistence that he wasn't fine. He'd been around enough girls there to know how this went, yet experience hadn't kept him from continuing to be his stubborn self.

He didn't want any help or concern from others whether he knew them or not. Chances were she couldn't do anything even if she did know. And besides, he wasn't sick or breaking out in a rash because he wanted to.

When she stared off on him that he was sick, he sighed internally, just loud enough to not hear her continued words which made her sudden break in berating him surprising. He brought his attention around in time to see her standing and heading for, of all things, the commotion near the front.

"Hey, I said let him be!" he called after her, only rising enough to see what was going on. There was another patient involved now, and more nurses as well. Tsubaki didn't need to get in the middle of things like that. "Don't get involved!"

a late conclusion to the thrilling bus antics--!

[thecamellia]

If there was anyone who didn’t need to be involved, it was Kurogane, who was probably feeling ill if his rash was like Sora’s and Leanne’s. Not to mention all the people on the bus who were going to be collateral damage! “You stay there!” she told him, brows furrowed.

She was in the process of looking back toward the couple at the front when she felt the first rough bump from under the wheels. As she steadied herself with a hand on a seat, the bus jumped again, wheels skidding on gravel.

Oh no--