"Sorry I couldn't stay any longer, Yuria."
"It's okay. I didn't think you'd be able to get off work for the week."
"Your arm's probably getting tired, and you should try to enjoy the festival your school's hosting, so I'll let you go. Talk to ya later."
"Okay."
"Have a good day. Oh, and I promise, I won't tell anyone about what happened in the shower." Soutaro hung up, returning to his work after a long week of helping his little brother, whose broken arms only had longer to recover due to the aforementioned incident.
"S-Soutaro!" Yuria shouted at his phone, despite hearing the clear, consistent tone of an ended call. He knew no one was watching, but his face heated up and he shoved it into his pillow to try getting the red out of his cheeks.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Eva sighed and continued to adjust the bow in his hair. He had gone to the stylist and told him to do whatever he thought would look best on him, but this all seemed a bit drastic. His head felt so much lighter now, like he shed ten pounds. Still, it was weird to see his image like this. He thought getting a makeover would make him feel better after Solo's funeral, and it did to an extent, but it was just shallow comfort over something much deeper. Fixing his loose off the shoulder blouse, he fidgeted one last time before grabbing his bag and heading for the door. It was curious. Before he disappeared, he remembered having a roommate, but he hadn't seen her in quite some time. It was eerily quiet in his room at times lately.
Stepping into the hall of the girls dorm, he held his head high and began to walk to the exit. He felt like he was finally turning a corner, like he had grown from the events of his return. More confident, but still a bit awkward. Some things never changed though. Lost in thought, he once more paid no attention to where he was walking in the halls, oblivious to his surroundings. Then, of course, he bumped into another student.
As Eva recovered, he saw the student he knocked over through his inattention. It was a girl from his dorm, dressed in a skirt only long enough to reach her knees and a hoodie that went over her waist, and her hair was in a ponytail; it was almost as long as Eva's was before the makeover, and white hair was mixed in with the black. A peek through the sleeves showed him some bandages and a spider web-like cast over one of them, too, and she seemed unable to get herself up because of it. Come to think of it, a non-student was with her over the past week just to help her. Did he have to leave? Plus, her two-colored eyes managed to hold onto his gaze for a bit.
"I-I'm so sorry!" Eva yelled as soon as he realized he was staring, trying to tell the girl how he should have been paying attention, and offering to help her up. When she accepted and explained how she wasn't paying enough attention either, Eva couldn't help but pause. At least one of her arms were broken, given the cast and bandages. He couldn't take her hand, and he couldn't just grab someone by the waist.
A moment later, Eva took a place next to the girl, taking her gently by the upper arm with one hand on her back, and lifted her up.
"Thank you," she told him. Her voice was really proper, like she was from a high-class family.
"Please don't. I'm the reason you were knocked down in the first place."
"It's okay. You still helped me," the girl answered with a smile. "And I don't want you to feel bad because of me."
"You're the girl I bumped into on my first day," she continued after a brief observational silence, almost giggling from the idea that their only real meetings have been initiated through collisions. "Your name is Eva, right?"
"Y-Yes," he replied. "I'm sorry, but I can't really remember your name."
"Yuria. It's nice to meet you again."
"You, too." Eva smiled in return before glancing down a second time. "A-about your arms..."
Yuria didn't seem to mind Eva's curiosity about what happened to her, and gave the best explanation she could with the little information she had. She'd woken up last week with her arms and ribs rather heavily damaged, and her brother took it upon himself to help her through her daily tasks. Aside from schoolwork and moving things around, what else did he help her with that had to be taken care of on a daily basis? Eva's mind started to wander at the question. She'd need help eating, and bathing, and even just getting dressed, and it was all escalating in his head like crazy.
Such an activity between siblings is illicit and shameless! Before he knew it his cheeks were flushed from nothing more than a couple seconds of his imagination.
"Are you okay, Eva?" she asked him, looking worried about his expression. "Do you have a fever?" She started lifting the hand with no cast on it until he interrupted her.
"I'm alright! Really! I'm more concerned about you. Your brother isn't around to help you now, and your arms still have a while to heal before they can be of any use."
"I guess that's true," she half-muttered, half-laughed, apparently a little distraught knowing that fact, and Eva couldn't leave her like that. He quickly offered to assist Yuria until she recovered, and didn't take no for an answer.
Yuria, on the other end, found it downright impossible to refuse. Eva wasn't going to accept being turned away, and her plea was incredibly cute. It was like watching a puppy and a kitten trying to fit into the same slipper! On top of it, it was a good idea with their rooms being rather close to each other and not having to involve the staff. (Soutaro already took care of chewing them out for neglect.)
Needless to say, Eva's offer was graciously accepted. Yuria bowed and stated in a submissive yet matter-of-fact tone, "I'll be in your care from now, then." He asked if there was anything Eva wanted to do that day, and the latter mentioned the youkai festival that was taking place at the school. The two decided to check it out, and had some conversation along the way.
