beautifulmemer

[Why did it always seem to rain on the days Amane decided to go the bookstore?

He had the foresight to bring an umbrella, at least, given the dreary skies earlier in the day, but what he hadn't accounted for was the sheer madness that was the public transit situation before him at this moment. It was tempting just to wait for the next bus, to avoid getting squished and squashed in the throng of people, but it was already getting a bit late, and he really had to get started on his homework...

He can barely get in through the outer edge of the crowd when a body is suddenly shoved abruptly against him-- and considering Amane's got the build and strength of a twig, needless to say he's not about to be breaking anyone else's falls. With a strangled yelp of his own, he hits the ground with a splash, the collision only slightly cushioned by the bookbag upon his back. He lays there in a daze, dimly aware there is probably someone on top of him at the moment, but right now all he can really muster saying is:]

...OW.

[ For a moment the world doesn't seem so bad.

Sure, the transportation situation is really horrible right now, and Illya really wants to get home on time, which is a problem if she can't somehow make it to a bus that isn't already full. Sure, she just got knocked back by someone much larger than her, which isn't exactly pleasant.

On the other hand - she just fell, but it doesn't feel like it at all. She's not hitting any hard surface. It's like something broke her fall, like a nice pillow, soft and warm. Maybe this is her lucky day after all? Maybe some kind of miracle tried to make up for how crappy the day has been so far?

.. of course not. No, after a moment or two Illya swears she can hear something, and then it's like the pillow underneath her seems to move a little, like something is squirming, and that makes the girl immediately leap right back up with a yelp, like she just spotted an insect. (It could be an insect for all she knows, and she's not having that, thanks!!)

It's definitely not an insect though. Even if Illya doesn't recognize the other quite yet in her panic, she at least does realise when she's turning her head once she's standing up that she didn't land on a pillow at all, but actually on another person - which makes the fluster kick in for an absolute myriad of reasons. ]

O-Oh my gosh! Are you okay?! Do you need help getting up?! You're not dead, are you?!

[ Maybe the ramble got a little bit out of her control near the end there, but it's not like the girl can help it. Once she gets a little bit too deep into the panic, it just.. goes where it wants to go, apparently.. ]

[You knock him over and then confuse him for an insect?? Rude, Illya!!

The impact is enough to leave him temporarily winded, and it's not until she's completely off of him that he manages to come out of haze, groaning a little as he tries in vain to sit back up. It's hard to focus on the barrage of panicked questions she sends his way, but somehow his brain latches onto the last one, and he answers in a rare show of black humor:]

N-No... not yet, at least.

[But boy, is he going to have one heck of a bruise later!! And he didn't even want to think of what may have happened to the books in his bag now that they've gotten the full impact of that puddle...

He finally pushes himself up into a sitting position, squinting through the dreary rain to see...

...huh. Amane's not particularly close with any of his classmates, not by a long shot, but he at least remembered her name-- mostly because it was the most unique one of the bunch. ~~Though coming from someone literally named "Normal", maybe that's not saying a whole lot~~]

... Illya-san?

.. huh?

[ The girl freezes up, almost as if someone slammed down hard on the pause button, making a movie freeze in the middle of an intense scene. All that energy from a moment ago seems to fade away from her, leaving her just standing there, staring at Amane as if he just grew three extra arms.

Then there's a pause, like Illya has to think - or maybe her brain just has to reboot, considering just how many emotions it went through here in such a short time - and blink, but then.. ]

Amane.. -san..?

[ Look how slowly she says it, like she's not fully sure of the name even once it passes her lips. To be fair, she's at least better with most of the names of her other classmates, but when one is much less there than the others, you tend to learn their name more from rumors than from interaction.. ]

Is that you..?

[He had almost expected this, to be honest-- he was more like a ghost than an actual presence in their classroom at this point, an empty seat that was only occasionally occupied by a boy. Not by choice, mind you; with all the doctor's appointments and his health finally getting more stable over the past year or two, it added up to a lot of missed school days and a window of socializing that was already shut when he got there. At this point, he merely accepted it as it is-- it wasn't as if he was a social butterfly, anyway, so why bother to try this late in the game? But... it was only right to try to remember some of his classmates' names, in case of an emergency or anything like that.]

Well, I'm not Tsukasa, at least...

[And thank goodness for that, because his twin's built up quite the infamous reputation all of his own! They should probably be glad he's contained to a different classroom, in any case.]

Um... you're not hurt or anything though, are you? You sort of went flying there.

[Granted, he was the one who got the brunt of the damage, but being as scrawny as he was, he couldn't imagine slamming into him was all that comfortable...]

[ She shakes her head. Sure, Illya does feel a little sore, but it's not painful enough to think that she actually got bruised pretty badly, let alone broken skin anywhere.. B-Besides, she's old enough to not be a baby about such things anymore, clearly! She can handle one fall!

Especially since-- ]

You.. kind of broke my fall. [ At least she has the social graces to sound a little sheepish when she's saying it, because it doesn't really seem to her like it was a voluntary decision on Amane's part.. or on anyone's part here, really.

Besides, that thought inevitably leads to-- ]

S-So I should be asking you that!

[ Especially since the only one of her initial questions he answered is that he isn't dead yet, which-- you know, she can kind of see! ]

[He shrugs off his bookbag in order to help rebalance himself a little and assess the damage (oof, this thing was soaked-- hopefully his books stayed intact, but he wasn't feeling optimistic), though he can't help but give a wry smile at her response.]

Yeah, I'm... pretty aware of that, actually.

[And how-- though he knows it certainly wasn't her fault, and while he was drenched and aching from the whole ordeal, he didn't want her to feel guilty over it, either. She already seemed nervous enough as it is, and Amane didn't want to feed into her anxieties and make the situation worse. He waves his hand a little, as if to brush off her concerns, his wry smile from before morphing into something more sheepish himself.]

I-I'm alright, though. [A beat, as he thinks on it further, and then:] Um... aside from my hip? I banged that on the way down, but... otherwise nothing's broken, so you need to worry about it, Illya-san.

[And the worst that would come from that is probably a nasty bruise, so... not great, but it definitely could have been worse!! He tries yet again to hoist himself up, wet bag cradled against his chest, but... well. With the slick ground and his aching hip, it was hard to get the momentum and proper purchase to stand up, something that dawns on him with mortifying clarity. After a long pause, he averts his eyes, his ears and cheeks dusted pink as he timidly holds out an arm in the air in her direction.]

U-Um... i-if you... don't mind...?

[HE WANTS TO PERISH]

Huh..?

[ There's a second of blissful ignorance. No, make that about five seconds. Five seconds where Illya stares at him and that hand, not seeming entirely sure of what he means, or what he's even asking her for..

.. but then it slowly seems to dawn on the girl. It's a realisation that colours her face the same moment it hits her, and then it kicks in - the double desire to perish. At least they're both suffering.

But even if she's a little embarrassed by her slow realisation and the fact this is bad enough that he even has to be helped up at all - and of course he does, wasn't he sickly, didn't everyone say that?? - she at least doesn't hesitate when she says: ]

N-Not at all!

[ Or, rather, she doesn't mind. She just flusters into Perish Land.

But Illya does reach out towards the hand, getting a good grip on it before moving to try and help him get up. ]

Tell me if you need more help..! [ How would she provide said more help, if he still wouldn't be able to get up this way?

Only god knows. But it's not like she can't not offer it when it's technically her fault that Amane is on the ground in the first place and dealing with all this. ]

[This whole situation could have been easily avoided if Amane actually... you know, stated what he needed as opposed to being so vague about it!! But unfortunately, he's a dumb, self-conscious teenage boy who doesn't always like asking for help, and by doing so, he just made the whole thing worse for the both of them. Thankfully, Illya picks up on his meaning... eventually, and he makes sure to get a firm hold back, trying to get a good leverage going. Amane himself isn't particularly heavy at all, (though the bookbag lends a bit of heft to things), so it's easy enough to hoist him back up once his feet get some proper grip on the ground, and he tries to reassure her worries as such.]

I'm good, I'm good, don't worry--

[But the moment he's properly upright and actually putting his full weight on that hip? He buckles a little, paling as he moves his free hand gingerly to the injured area.]

--owwwwwww, ow ow ow.

[Welp, looks like standing on the bus was going to be out for him! No doubt this would probably get better within a few days, with some rest and care, but for right now? They probably needed to find an alternate means to get home. Thankfully, his parents weren't against him using taxis in the case of an emergency, and he had a decent amount of money to spare due to his allowance and Dreamer pay, so...]

Uh... which direction were you headed? I'm gonna see if I can grab a car to Akabeni, so if you're going that way...

[Probably wouldn't be the best idea to leave her waiting for another bus in this rain and having this happen again, after all!]

[ At least Illya does continue to be helpful. And not even because he's offering her a way out of this mess - please, this isn't just something she's doing because he's helping her too, though that will make her feel like she owes him even more in a moment..

But right now it's just natural helpfulness that gets the girl to move, letting of of Amane once he's standing but instead moving to the side of his sore hip, s-slowly (and with some definite fluster, and worries of is this weird, but if the alternative is letting him stand in pain then that sure is the worse option--) grabbing a hold of his arm and putting it over her own shoulders, so he can lean on her, rather than on that hip.

But with how busy she was with carrying out this little plan and considering its social acceptability, the words don't get through to Illya until..

.. you know, at least a few moments later. Hence the surprise in her voice as she asks: ]

Y-You're saying you'd let me come with you?

[ Or, you know, pay for them both, rather.. Since Illya definitely doesn't have money on her to pay for cab fare right now, that's for sure.

Wait, is it weird to ride in a taxi with a classmate you don't know well?

.. N-No, she doesn't have time to consider that right now! She'll get murdered if she gets home too late!! ]

[Amane's so preoccupied with the lingering pain from his fall and trying to figure out their next course of action that he doesn't even catch what Illya's doing until she speaks up-- and promptly freezes on the spot. It goes without saying that he's not really used to interacting with others his own age, let alone girls, so for one to be grabbing his arm like that out of the blue...]

Ah--

[His cheeks and ear flush pink, his eyes darting to her hands, and then her face, and then back, trying to figure out just what was going on. She said she wasn't hurt from the fall, so she probably wasn't using him for support (not that he'd be that good at it at the moment anyway), so-- was this for him? Was she trying to prop him up somehow? His track record with peers his age only ran as far as his twin brother, and Tsukasa probably would have dragged him along by the arm if they were in a similar scenario (not that he expected Illya to do that, of course), so...

He clears his throat a little awkwardly, not entirely sure whether he should remove his arm from her grasp or just accept the help she was tentatively trying to offer. If she was an adult, it'd be one thing, but would it come off as too weird if was a classmate he barely knew?? Not to mention she already sounded surprised at his offer to send them both home, so was that also?? Overstepping a line somehow?? He wasn't even sure at this point, but--]

W-Well, if we're headed the same way, then I don't see why not? I mean... it'd probably be faster than waiting for the buses and dealing with that again. ["That" being the crowd of people already clumping up in anticipation for the next ride] You could always pay me back at school, if that's what you're worried about...?

[Unless it was riding with him she was concerned about, which... to be honest, considering he looked and felt like a wet cat at the moment, he wouldn't really want to sit in a car with himself, either.]

Well, I guess I-- I should..

[ Apparently that is what she's worried about. Or one of the aspects about this entire situation that she's worried about, given Illya's apparently capability of worrying about ten different things at once about any given situation..

Though her tone does make it obvious she was genuinely worried about basically accepting money from him, just through him paying for the cab fare.

.. even if, as she thinks about it, she can't help but instinctively voice: ]

Though I just spent all my pocket money on DVDs...

[ Look at this Tortured Expression.

It's not even Illya's conscious attempt to try and get out of having to pay for this, mind you. No, this is just her instinctively voicing the first thought that came up in her mind.. W-Why must every single situation be so complicated! ]

I-- I'll find some way to repay you though, I promise..!

[OH... GIRL.....

Not that he can blame her, really-- he's blown his allowance before on astronomy guides and Teki-Terra box sets-- but the timing of it all definitely wasn't the best. He waves his free hand a little, as if he was trying to brush aside her offer, trying to alleviate her worries some.]

Look, I'm not exactly hurting for money, so you don't really need to stress about paying me back right away...

[After all, with his Dreamer pay, plus the Mentor bonus and whatever he was getting from his parents... he's got quite a bit of dough! Not that he was spending it ALL willy-nilly-- he had stuff he wanted to save for, after all-- but he did have more to spare compared to some of his peers. He had the feeling she probably wouldn't be satisfied with just that, though, so after a brief moment of thought:]

But... if you really want to repay me, you can cover me for classroom duties next week, maybe? That's a fair trade, right?

Edited 2023-07-04 01:52 (UTC)

.. okaaay...

[ That's not exactly the most enthusiastic response anyone has ever heard, huh.

But it's not like Illya is lying about this. In fact, that's the entire reason the response isn't exactly enthusiastic - because the girl sure isn't looking forward to doing extra classroom duties. But she's well aware that she ought to do something to repay the other, and since she's out of money, this is truly the only solution.

So she sucks in a breath, like she's trying to gather her courage, and then nods. ]

I'll do it. I promise.

[ Still not sounding super DETERMINED, but you know, at least it's.. a slightly better answer..? ]

Then.. do you think we can find a cab soon? You know, before we get even more soaked..!

[Well, he can't exactly blame her for the lackluster response-- he wouldn't be too thrilled about taking on somebody else's classroom duties, either. That all said and done--]

It's not like they're difficult or anything, so don't worry. The worst you have to do is wake up a little earlier than normal and you'll be fine.

[Though depending on whether Illya likes to sleep in or not, that might not make things all that better!! But really, there could be worse chores she could be doing than just changing the water in the classroom vase and wiping down the chalkboard, so she should consider herself lucky. (Not that Amane's going to tell her that straight away, of course-- it wouldn't seem like a good repayment if he was just giving her the easy tasks)

But her question gets him to snap back to the situation at hand, and he glimpses up and down the road, trying to see if he could spot a cab coming up in the distance.]

OH-- yeah, right, hold on, let me...

[... hold on, wasn't he forgetting something? Falling into the puddle was one thing, but--

... oh NO.]

Wait, where'd my umbrella go??

.. huh?

[ At least all thoughts of classroom duties are completely forgotten when Amane starts about that. Sure, it would have been easier for those worries to instead be chased away by actually getting into a dry cab, but it seems that their life isn't exactly that easy today..

And at least Illya is helpful enough that she doesn't start whining about how they should catch a cab. No, instead she immediately starts looking around, as if she might be able to spot said umbrella somewhere, even though it's a lot harder to stare off into the distance with this pouring rain. ]

Wait, what did it look like..?

[ Maybe she can spot it, if only she knows.. It can't be far away from here, right? They've been in this spot the entire time! ]

[Look, Amane would love nothing more to be in a warm, dry cab himself, especially since he got the brunt of the puddle when he fell, but his umbrella was a priority, okay!!! And if anything, it would help keep them a bit less drenched, which... okay, at this point it was a losing battle, but it was better than nothing! As Illya searches on her side, his eyes try to sweep the area in front of them as well, hoping to catch a glimpse of it in this watery gray haze. His voice sounds a bit distracted as he looks, trying to figure out where it had went.]

Um... it was blue, and had constellations on the inside...

[It was one of his favorite umbrellas, and while he had others at home, it would suck to lose this one! His best guess was that it flew out of his hands when they collided, but really, it couldn't have gotten THAT far, could it?

... it would probably help if these two actually looked behind themselves, though.]

[ Two geniuses right here. Staring to the side, staring in front of them..

Staring basically anywhere but right at the spot where the umbrella actually is..

And it's not even for a lack of trying. Oh, no, Illya is truly trying over here. She figures helping Amane find his umbrella is the least she can do in return for him helping them get home, and so she truly is staring at their surroundings like she's studying a page in a Where's Waldo book.. ]

You.. don't think the wind just blew it away, do you..?

[ She actually even sounds worried about that! Illya would feel so guilty if she made Amane lose his umbrella. Sure, it's just an umbrella and all, but it'd still be her fault! ]

TDM #3

transportation trouble

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