She wasn’t entirely sure if his sense of humor was evidence of a good mood or a really bad one. Rather than try and respond to his jokes, Tsubaki instead focused on the most important things--that he wasn’t showing signs of infection and had made it out of last night’s debacle in relatively good shape.

“That’s a relief! That you’re not sick, I mean. It seems like so many people are…” she said, giving a smile. From his notes on the Doyleton bulletin, he had sounded unharmed, but it was another thing entirely to see the truth in person. “I’ve met Soma-san before, she’s admirable. I’m glad to know you all got away. My group did, too. I’ve been lucky since the last time we talked.”

Her shoulder had been a bit stiff that morning, but it was nothing to write home about. She could live with bumps and bruises.