#then threw out and remade one because it was 'almost' burnt

[constellunette]

my grandma is the type of person where she can't just vibe she Needs to be helpful and prove that she's six steps ahead doint the Right Thing. and it's exhausting!!!!!! I am easy-going on purpose because I like my life being as frictionless as possible. almost nothing in day-to-day life is worth pitching a fit over. so many things are within the boundary of Okay 👍. and it's frustrating to have someone essentially refuse to take you at your word and invent problems for you to have so they can be the one to solve them. I am chill why is the version of me that exists in your head so profoundly unchill!!!!

[tacitusauxilium]

Unforeseen Circumstances // Ch.06

Unrequited love is the most painful thing to feel, and yet, Fuuka is persuaded to try her hands at getting Junpei’s attention, no matter what. However, after multiple failed attempts, what will she do when she catches the eye of the boy with the maroon peacoat? The heartache that comes with falling in love might even be more than she bargained for.

Rated: M - English - Romance/Hurt/Comfort

September 12th

As if there already wasn't tension enough in the dorm, Fuuka can feel the sparks between Akihiko and Shinjiro. She didn't know what caused both boys to have bruised cheeks (she assumed they punched each other because they act like brothers), but knew it had to be a touchy subject. That was two days ago and although the tension was diffused, she could sense some frustration between them. Then again, when isn't someone frustrated inside the dorm? With all these people living together, heads were bound to collide eventually.

So, in order to make herself feel better, she decided to cook something for the few SEES members that were actually here. Junpei and Koromaru was out, as well as Aigis, and Minato. She crossed her arms and remembered a recipe her mother told her that is super easy: beef stroganoff. She walked into the kitchen and began to pull out the ingredients she picked up a week ago as she hoped no one would notice.

Half an hour later, Shinjiro came downstairs as he almost felt like gagging. He thought something was burning—Shinjiro moved to the kitchen and saw a Fuuka admiring her poorly looking beef stroganoff. Shinjiro's eyes were as big as dinner plates as he wanted to scold Fuuka for using the dorm's decent pots and pans. He just stared at her until Fuuka looked at him, a smile as big as her face on her face.

Shinjiro blinked as he started to move carefully towards Fuuka. He looked down at the food and looked at her again. "What in the hell did you make?"

Fuuka gulped, knowing that wasn't a good sign if Shinjiro couldn't distinguish what she made. "B-beef stroganoff…?"

"Is that a question, Yamagishi?" Fuuka shook her head as Shinjiro rubbed his forehead, knowing this had to be remade.

"Senpai?"

Both turned to the opened door that as Minako was there, calling out to Shinjiro. "I was trying to catch up to you… Wh…what is that smell?" She asked as she couldn't distinguish if that was a good or bad smell. Fuuka felt her cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

"It smells?" She asked softly.

"It seems Yamagishi wanted to try cooking herself." Shinjiro stated as he took off his pea coat and reached for a nearby apron. "And yes, your nostrils are going to be irritated as I will fix this."

Fuuka's face lit up, but then quickly dimmed as Shinjiro threw her food away. "Oh? Can I watch?" Minako asked as she moved her body onto a bar stool, getting a bit comfortable. "So what was she trying to make?"

"Beef stroganoff—but it looks like she messed up a bit of the ingredients." Shinjiro pulled his beanie off and began to tie his hair back, into a small ponytail, as he wiped his forehead of a small bead of sweat on his face. "So," he turned to Fuuka, his arms crossed, "what did you do about the roux?"

Fuuka smiles again, contagious as Minako began to smile and wonder if Shinjiro could fix her disastrous mess. "I didn't use any—I made it from scratch with flour."

"Yamagishi, don't start acting proud. You burned the hell outta this."

Fuuka noticed the pan had some burnt crumbs all over the pan. It was hard to prove the pan was silver unless you looked on the outside of it. "You are right. I did burn it…"

Shinjiro sighed heavily, trying to keep calm around Fuuka's calm and carefree demeanor. He looked around and turned his eyes towards the teal-headed girl. "Did you have any left over ingredients?"

She quickly nodded her head. "Of course—I always buy extra of everything!"

Shinjiro felt a small smile creep up on his lips. "Pay attention—I'll make it the way you are suppose to make it." Minako raised an eyebrow, not aware that Shinjiro could cook—Akihiko wasn't kidding when they talked a couple weeks ago. "…Arisato," Minako blinked as Shinjiro brought her mind back to reality, "is this okay for dinner?"

"Why not? I can't wait to try it out and see how it's done myself." Minako grinned as Shinjiro tied the apron around him and then fixed Fuuka's apron up again. "Just don't get your hopes up just yet." Shinjiro let out a chuckle as Fuuka walked over to Minako, a small frown on her face.

"But, Minako-chan? Weren't you going out with Shinjiro-senpai? I don't want to just ruin your plans like this—!"

Before Minako could say anything, Shinjiro called out to Fuuka. "Hey. Let's get started." Fuuka nodded quickly as she made her way back over to Shinjiro.

Minako began to watch the two work in sync, albeit some clumsy moments from Fuuka, as she was surprised that Fuuka didn't give up even after Shinjiro threw the devilish food away.

"So, how much oil did you use?" Shinjiro began as he put about a few teaspoons into the pan, capping it up as he put it away.

"Oh I didn't use any. I thought it would be healthier that way." Fuuka explained, a smile on her lips, as Shinjiro felt his stomach churn at the idea of her not putting oil in.

For fucks sake that is what helps give the food flavor—

"And what about the red wine? How much did you put in?"

"Oh I don't know. I put in as much as I thought looked good enough."

"So, how long did you pour it in for?"

"About…two to three seconds."

Shinjiro looked down at the meat, trying to cut it into smaller pieces as he felt his face crestfallen. Dear god, Yamagishi.

"Why is the meat so fatty?"

Fuuka smiled again, quickly to respond, as Minako put her chin on her hands with her elbows on the table. "I told the butcher to give me the best meat he had!"

Shinjiro stopped trying to cut the meat as he felt like shaking the stupidity out of Fuuka when it came to cooking. "Everything about this is all wrong." He grew silent as Minako could see Fuuka play with the end of her apron, feeling a bit defeated. "Listen: don't start messing around with advance recipes until you've improved your basic cooking skills." He explained. "Do you feel bad about charring all this food?"

Fuuka nodded slowly, keeping her head down. "Of course—this is expensive food, too. I'm sorry." She whispered as Minako wanted to speak up from her feeling sad, but Shinjiro just put his hand on her head and messed up her hair a bit.

"That's part one of a punishment from me. Now, part two is listening to me and watching me do this. First off," he held up a finger and made Fuuka look up at him, "prepare everything beforehand. Trust me, it will save a lot of time. Measure out all the seasonings and chop everything out that needs to be chopped out. That way, you can focus your attention on the cooking part and not panic."

Fuuka nodded as she began to look around for a memo pad. "Y-Yes, of course! Memo…memo…"

Within a few minutes, Shinjiro began to get everything under control—he washed the vegetables and began cutting them, showing Fuuka how to cut with a sharp knife correctly. Fuuka nodded and watch, writing down everything she saw as quickly as she could. "Now," Shinjiro began to toss onions into the pan, once it got warmer by heating the sizzling from the pan, "gotta cook the onions on low heat. Cooked onions are the best part of the dish—you don't want to burn them."

She nodded slowly and wrote while she spoke, "Cook onions on low heat—"

"Put that notepad down and watch me. It'll be better to do that." Shinjiro stated as Fuuka placed the notepad off onto the table, along with her pen, and watched Shinjiro picking up the meat in a bowl. "Here's the meat—" he showed Fuuka to emphasis it, "—when you put it in…"

Slowly and delicately, Shinjiro explained how food should be properly cooked. His hands moved swiftly and surely as he showed Fuuka the proper way with basic steps.

After an hour of hellish pain, at least that's what Shinjiro thought, the dish was finally prepared—correctly. It looked as if it could be one of those featured meals from a magazine or cooking network. The aroma was to die for—it was ready to take you to heaven and back home without realizing it.

Fuuka was in awe as she couldn't even touch it, scared she might mess it up. "Oh wow! It looks so good!"

"Shut up and eat it before it gets cold." Shinjiro uttered as he put the dirty dishes into the sink. Fuuka and Minako both looked at it, not really wanting to ruin his masterpiece.

Minako took out her chopsticks and grinned. "Well, if you say so! Time to chow down!" She didn't know where to stick her chopsticks in—so, with it being Minako, she dug right into the center, with an exasperated sigh coming from Shinjiro's lips.

Damn. Not like you could take it from the sides like a normal person.

Case in point, Fuuka took a small portion of noodle and meat as she opened her mouth to let the juices fill her mouth—she let out a happy moan, not realizing something like this could be made if she paid more attention.

Minako let out the same sigh of happiness as she could see Shinjiro joining in on the fun. "Thank you for the food!" Minako chimed in, making Fuuka nod her head in agreement.

Shinjiro gulped some food down as his cheeks turned a hint of pink in the corners of his cheeks. "…yeah, it's nothing…"

"But," Fuuka looked up at Shinjiro once she finished off swallowing the food in her mouth, "you're amazing, Shinjiro-senpai."

"Anyone can do something like this."

"No way." She shook her head as she held up her pinkie finger. "Please, could you teach me again? I promise to do much better." She smiled softly, hoping that she could convey her determination while still being convincing.

Shinjiro let out a sigh and shrugged. "Not like I have anything else to do. But, you will do it by yourself next time." He looked at her pinkie and just put her hand down, not confirming or denying that promise to make.

After a few more minutes of eating and chatting between each other, Fuuka insisted that she cleaned—it was the least she could do today after all Shinjiro did. He moved over to the loveseat and Minako sat adjacent to him. Shinjiro looked up at the ceiling, his thoughts somewhere else currently.

" '…teach me again'. Huh." He repeated Fuuka's words as he looked back at Minako. "She was so itching to make me promise that I couldn't say no to her." He crosses his arms and closed his eyes, deep in thought.

Maybe…maybe that nature of her lured me in.

"Well, I guess I better be prepared to do more cooking again."

Minako scooted up in her seat and smiled at an idea that crossed her mind. "Why not make a meal for all of us? Like a little party or something?"

Shinjiro opened his eyes and slightly glared at her. "Here? That's pushing it a bit, Arisato." He mentioned but then he sat on the idea for a moment. Recipes pouring in his head of what could accommodate 10 or so people and what would blend well together. "Well, you got a point—maybe we could do something like that, once in a while."

Minako gasped as she clapped her hands together, thrilled that his answer wasn't a no as she felt this was a personal victory for her. She was somewhat happy to see this side of Shinjiro that not many people get to see. Then again, maybe Akihiko and Mitsuru have seen this side at least once or twice.

"I think I'm gonna go check up on Fuuka—" It was as if he had a six sense when it came to her; he heard a crash and then Fuuka yelling as he sighed. "—too late." He moves a bit quickly, knowing how much of a clumsy person Fuuka was as Minako followed behind.

Shinjiro opened the door carefully as he saw some glass on the floor, from one of the cups they were drinking from, as Fuuka's shoulders were curled in towards her as he could see her slightly trembling. This put Minako on edge and made Shinjiro go protective and went to check up on her. "Fuuka?" He asked as he noticed that the step stool that she and other people use was flipped on its side. Shinjiro also noticed that there was more glass near Fuuka.

He moved carefully around, asking Minako to clean up the glass near the stove, as he stepped in front of Fuuka. "…Fuuka…?" He whispered and noticed that she had tears stinging her eyes and noticed that her hand had a decently sized cut, at least a good inch and a few millimeters deep. Even Shinjiro winced at the pain she must be feeling. She was trying her best to hold back her sobs as she could barely see Shinjiro through her tears.

Fuuka took a shaky breath and tried to explained what happened. "I-I was washing dishes…a-and I was putting up the d-dried glasses…" Shinjiro nodded as he began to pull the first aid kit from underneath the sink and looked for gauze, not noticing the water gathered at the front of the sink. "…a-and I mis-calculated my step—th-thought my foot would be closer t-to the ground…w-water from the sink—" she pulled her hand closer as Shinjiro noticed some blood dripping onto the floor between them and around the area near the sink.

"It's okay—" Shinjiro calmly said, a quick nod from Fuuka and Shinjiro knew this wasn't going to be pretty. He began to translate what she said through her sobs, trying to fully understand what occurred. "You were trying to put up cleaned dishes, after you washed and dried them," Fuuka nodded, "and as you were coming down the step stool, you slip and fell because of, I'm assuming, the water from the sink," which made Fuuka nod again, "and…" he removed the paper towel from her hand, already soaked in some blood, as he saw some tiny shards in her hand. "Fuck…" he whispered as he turned to Minako. "Hey, you're a girl—"

"...that explains why I have breasts. Why?"

Minako joked as she could see the seriousness in Shinjiro's eyes. "Do you have pliers or something? That thing you use for eyebrows that Takeba claims is a lifesaver."

Minako nodded. "Yeah, let me go get it." She put the broom and dustpan down as it was just the two of them in the kitchen. Shinjiro turned his attention to Fuuka, noticing that Fuuka couldn't have made a mess of the water that quickly. "Listen, hold on—" he stated as he picked her up slowly and placed her on the counter so he could get a better look at her hand and to make sure the glass was all cleaned up.

He opened the door to the sink, not realizing it at first because of Fuuka's injury, but that there was a small leak coming from a pipe towards the front of the cabinet doors—he saw the wood was damped and saw the foot size puddle near where the blood droplets begin. He began to turn the water supply off. "W-will it leave a scar?"

Fuuka speaking out of the blue, her cheeks stained with tears, made Shinjiro turn back towards her and his face turned softer, as if he was taking care of Koromaru. "…honestly, it might." He stated as Fuuka's eyes showed worry as he had to quickly back pedal. "B-but, it doesn't look too deep."

Nice save, dumb ass.

He chided to himself internally as he put a hand on Fuuka's head. "Why were you holding two glasses?"

She sniffed her nose, feeling her snot was drying up after all the crying she did in less than a few minutes. "T-the one over by the fridge…that's the one I fell into…" Fuuka nudged her elbow to show which one fell into it—Shinjiro checked for any cuts, and relieved there wasn't any. "…a-and I had the second one i-in my hand. I was coming down the stool because there wasn't enough room—and th-then…"

Ahhhh. Mitsuru might have just bought too many glasses and it got overcrowded… 

Shinjiro nodded as he realizing that perhaps some of the dishes were new ones, and hoping those two glasses weren't. "…you fell and the glass shattered in your hand," Fuuka nodded as Shinjiro felt his shoulders shrink, "damn Fuuka. You might be a bit bruised and sore tomorrow—I'll find some medicine to ease the pain." He rubbed the top of her head gently as Minako came back holding two types of pliers—a small one and a slightly bigger one.

"I-I didn't know which one." She stated as she walked towards Shinjiro as he grabbed both of them. "I can buy some new ones—" she made sure to say that before Fuuka could apologize for ruining hers.

Shinjiro nodded as Fuuka winced the moment he pulled the paper towel back. "Minako," getting onto a more personal level than before, which Minako didn't flinch at her own name being said, "could you look for…gauze, antibiotic cream…" he looked at Fuuka's wound, almost reminding him of an injury he had long, long ago when he was a kid in the orphanage, "…some dressings, gloves…and look for some acetaminophen, for pain."

Minako nodded as she pulled out the supplies from the first aid kit while Shinjiro looked at Fuuka's hand again. "I was going to say look for some peroxide, but I don't want to subject Fuuka to more pain." He mentioned to Minako as he held her hand in his, her hand cold because of some blood loss, and reached for the smallest pliers first. Shinjiro shot his eyes up towards Fuuka, their hearts skipping a beat and they stared at each other for a moment. "You always seem to get my hands on you—remind me to make sure Mitsuru actually fixes the damn dorm up."

Fuuka nodded. "O-of course." She whispered as Minako came by, accidentally slamming the supplies next to Fuuka and breaking their connection. Fuuka lowered her head as Shinjiro thanked Minako and turned his eyes back to Fuuka's small hand. He felt a bit nervous—this was her dominant hand and didn't want to make the situation worse. He put on the gloves, surprised they were a bit bigger than his own hands, and got focused as he let out a deep breath, carefully removed the few tiny shards that were embedded in her hand. Her fingers were twitching every time he removed one shard at a time. Shinjiro sighed heavily, knowing Fuuka had no control in what pain she was feeling.

Minako kept her hands in front of her lap, watching how delicate Shinjiro was when it came to something like this. She really hasn't seen this side of him at all—she was admiring how striking he was when it came to friends. Even those he met this month. Shinjiro put the shards out beside Fuuka's hip, on a napkin, and pulled the last one out, relieved that they weren't bigger than he thought they could be. He looked at her hand, double checking for everything, as he put the pliers down. "Now, this will hurt, a lot." Shinjiro started as he released her hand and reached for the antibiotic cream. "Grin and bear it, okay?"

Fuuka nodded as she saw him putting a small dab on his fingertip as she could sense the small hesitation of hurting her again. Shinjiro carefully, and delicately, put the cream on one end of the laceration and Fuuka let out an aching cry. She laid her forehead on Shinjiro's shoulder, her teeth gritting in pain as Minako began to unwrap the gauze and the dressing. "Shhhh. Shhh. It's okay." He whispered back into her ear as Minako thought she was intruding on this tender moment. Her eyes still showed worry as she might have dealt with some battle scars, but Fuuka never has gotten injured in battle so she wasn't used the pain that everyone else got used to.

Shinjiro applies a little more ointment as Fuuka began to feel more tears stinging her eyes. "We are almost done." He whispered as he put a tiny bit on the other corner of the laceration and waited for the ointment to dry for a moment. Shinjiro reached for the dressing and opened it—he was glad it was the perfect size for her hand. "Just gotta place this on here…" He noticed her hand slowly starting to let less blood come out as he told her to hold the dressing. He reached for the gauze and began to wrap her hand as Fuuka removed her fingers little by little.

Minako, almost in a daze at watching those two, began to sweep around and picking up all the glass shards the best she could. She made a mental note to get the vacuum sweeper in here to make sure she didn't miss any pieces. Their body language conveyed they trusted each other, and she wondered if Fuuka was falling in love. She truly thought that her brother and Fuuka would've been the one he chose, but maybe she's not decided?

=================

"There." Shinjiro double checked his work as Fuuka's hand was wrapped up very neatly. Fuuka looked at her own hand, feeling exhausted after noticing how quickly he took care of her.

"…thank you, Shinjiro…" she whispered as she removed her head from his shoulder blade as she saw Minako finishing her small task of cleaning up the glass. She didn't realize how much blood she did lost, maybe a couple teaspoons worth, as she felt herself turn a bit white. Shinjiro noticed her looking around.

"I'll take care of it. As for you," Shinjiro made sure to draw her attention back to him, "every morning before you go to school, let me check your wound. That way we can make sure it'll be safe throughout the day." He began to say as he took off his gloves and threw them in the trash bin. "Also, keep your hand elevated for the next few minutes to keep blood flow minimal to your hand. And take acetaminophen—" he held up a bottle that was inside of the first aid kit, "—follow the directions and you should be fine." He gave those to her as he began to reach for a paper towel and water to clean up her blood.

Fuuka nodded as she began to push herself off of the counter but found herself too exhausted to do so. She let out a breathless sigh, as if she was holding it in for too long, and pulled the old "puppy dog eyes" trick. Shinjiro could hear her struggling as he came eye to eye with her as he felt his cheeks heated up. "Sorry…I can't… can you help me?"

Shinjiro sighed and let out a good chuckle as he shook his head. "You've got me wrapped around your finger, huh? Do you have a particular way of how to be helped upstairs?"

She was a bit flabbergasted, wanting to be a bit greedy, but felt they haven't grown that much just yet. "J-just help me off the counter for now." Shinjiro obeyed and helped her off as she took a few seconds to get the blood back to her head and feet. Fuuka seemed okay, steady at first, as she saw Minako's worries eyes. Minako turned towards Shinjiro, a small smile on her lips.

"Senpai, why don't you get her upstairs? I'll take of the mess—but at least come back to see if I did cleaned it correctly?" She suggested as Shinjiro nodded and waited until Fuuka was distracted.

"Oh? But I couldn't—"

Fuuka felt her breath leaving her lips as she felt Shinjiro swooping her into his arms, all bridal style like, as Minako covered her lips and tried to stifle her chuckle. "Sh-Shinjiro—"

"No complaints. You need rest." He walked towards the door and kicked the door and used his back to prop it open so he could leave. "Now, keep that hand elevated." He was as cool as a cucumber as Fuuka nodded and kept her hand hovered above her head. "N-not that high…"

They walked up the stairs carefully as Minako popped her head out to see how far they were up the stairs as she felt her chest cave inward as she kicked the ground a bit with her foot. "He could have told me he liked her. I would've helped sooner…" she bemused outloud as she closed the door and went back to cleaning up Fuuka's blood, knowing that this might be a 'no' on going to Tartarus tonight and possibly tomorrow. She admired how Fuuka's confidence has grown over the last few months. And she wanted to keep it growing as she found someone she enjoyed—now, she was conflicted on letting Minato know about them or Shinjiro knowing about them.

"Oh boy. This is going to be a doozy." She mentioned as she put a hand to her forehead, knowing this is going to get ugly.

Fuuka felt herself being whisked to her room—she could swear up and down that she was hallucinating, but Shinjiro was carrying her up to her room. She blinked and realized she was not dreaming at all. Her heart pounded quickly as she watched him expertly opening up her room with his arms still holding her close to him.

"Is there any clothes or something you need?" Shinjiro asked, noting that her room totally screamed 'I AM A GIRL AND I LOVE FLOWERS' but the aroma from her flowers made him a bit confused. "Also, what is that smell?" He laid her down on her bed, noticing she would need some clothes to change into—there was some blood on her school uniform.

"Lavender—I use some to help me relax and get some sleep…" She mentioned as Shinjiro began to look for some night clothes for her. He looked absolutely confused as he picked up a t-shirt and some shorts—it made Fuuka laugh weakly as she laid down on her bed. "Those will work, senpai—it's workout clothes Akihiko-gave me."

"Wait. What?"

"He thought I should get buffed and what not. Too bad the clothes are a size too big on me—so he thinks I've…a-already worked out and that I looked good. To be honest, he doesn't have a good memory."

"I think I've hit him a few too many times in the head. That might be the reason why." Shinjiro stated as he watched her sit up and hold her clothes in her lap. "…is there something wrong?"

"…a-are you sure you want to see me change?" Fuuka pointed out as Shinjiro felt his cheeks tint pink, her head tilting a bit as she fell to the side and she caught herself with her good hand. "…ahhh…mmmm…"

Shinjiro sat on the bed with her, noticing she was a bit warm. "Take the medicine first, for me." He reached for the acetaminophen and one of her water bottles nearby. "Here." Fuuka took the medicine and the water as he wondered how he could help her with her clothes. Mitsuru would not be pleased if he was in the room with their navigator, but would she understand the situation?

Dammit. Maybe I should ask Minako for help. She's—

"Senpai? …Shinjiro?" She had to call for his name as Shinjiro blinked himself back into reality. "…I don't care, to be honest, if you have to see me. This is probably a dream, or a hallucination." Fuuka laughed weakly, noticing her wound was slightly bleeding again. Shinjiro let out a low curse and rubbed his temple.

"Fine, fine. Besides, you have blood on your clothes—I'll have to see if anyone could help me clean it out." Shinjiro stated as he wondered how tired and how out of it Fuuka really was. He watched her undress, a little camisole underneath her turtleneck, and he could see the white bra straps—he felt a bit aroused, but shook the feeling away. "Now, your skirt, too." He helped her up, slowly, as she could barely get the skirt off as she reached for the water next to her again, sipping it again.

Fuuka gave the skirt to Shinjiro as he saw her clad in her panties—a baby blue bra and panties, with white lace around her legs and her waist, and wait-was that a matching set? Now, Shinjiro was a bit aroused. He didn't even know she had a small hourglass figure—why hide something like that? He coughed softly as he put her clothes on her desk and helped her slowly into her shorts and her one size too big shirt.

Shinjiro began to slightly fantasize about what she would look like in his own turtlenecks—and he made sure Fuuka was sitting down, safely on her bed, as he took off his beanie and ran his fingers through his hair.

Hey, brain? Could you lay off the sexual thoughts FOR FIVE MINUTES?!

He took a minute to compose himself as he noticed Fuuka was dozing off while sitting up—he was a bit impressed, but knew she needed rest. "H-Hey, get into the bed before you sleep standing up, Fuuka." He uttered as he helped her move into the sheets, a small sigh escaping his lips as Shinjiro was relieved she was doing better this time around.

Shinjiro focused as he saw the cut in her hand stop bleeding—but, he still wanted to get it fixed before she made it worst. "I'm going downstairs—want anything?" He asked her as she shook her head. Shinjiro could see that she was getting sleepier by the minute. He put on his beanie and went to go get the first aid kit. He couldn't believe that no one was helping him out—granted, Minako was friendly and helping her with her wound, but now they were alone, he was hoping she'd jump in and help.

Unfortunately, she was already gone and he was cursed (or perhaps blessed?) to deal with Fuuka and her hand. Shinjiro grabbed the first aid kit on the counter and moved back up to Fuuka's room. Entering it slowly and quietly, he could hear a light sigh coming from her bed and noticed that she was already asleep. Shinjiro could sigh 20 pounds off his shoulders as he moved the first aid kit to her table in the middle of the room and began to treat her hand while she was sleeping.

He looked at her sleeping face, not realizing how peaceful it was after she cried and sobbed everywhere. Is this what Minako meant as gross sobbing? He shook his head as he was able to clean up her wound faster with her being still and quiet. Shinjiro threw away her dirty bandages in the little bin near her desk and turned to face her again. He bit his lip, wondering why it was so quiet in her room—just then, the A/C unit kicked on and some white noise filled the room.

Shinjiro scratched the back of his head as he carefully moved Fuuka's hand back underneath her comforter and watched as she grabbed a nearby stuffed animal—he didn't realize she would still sleep with something like that. He didn't judge, just knew it might help her sleep better. Shinjiro shook his head as he stared at her too long, remembering what she looked like minutes ago and felt himself getting aroused again—he began to think of sad things, or ugly things.

Aki in drag. Aki in drag.

That barely worked as he kept chanting the words over and over in his head. After a few seconds, he realized that he had been in her room for too long—he cleaned up her hand and should've left minutes ago. So, why did he stay?

Shinjiro made sure Fuuka was okay, for at least a few more minutes and began to lean over her—he stopped himself. He couldn't do this, right?

She's just a friend. …someone who helps me with my Persona issues. He thought silently as he sat down on her bed as Fuuka turned towards him. Dammit. Girls are going to be the death of me.

He reached down, ruffled her hair up a bit, and kissed the top of her head. Granted, he thought that was the least he could do—he was told that as a kid, while in the orphanage, that a kiss on the head meant you admire them and wish them the best of luck. Oh, and that it brought them good dreams while they slept. So, Shinjiro was being less selfish tonight and thought of Fuuka before him. He reached for the first aid kit, after he got up from her bed, and walked to the door as quietly as he could.

Shinjiro couldn't bother her with his feelings—he knew that Minako might be right on the dot about him, but knew that Fuuka wouldn't like him back. He had too many demons inside of him, and couldn't tell her all about them. Not now. Maybe, not ever.

He opened and closed the door as quiet as he could as he was finally outside of her room. Shinjiro took the first aid kit back to the kitchen and then turned off the lights—he sat downstairs in the living room, wondering if would be able to sleep with the teal-hair girl in his mind. For once, he wouldn't care if that was the case. It was simply one more reason to lose sleep over for.