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A loud boom of thunder rocked the 'base' of the Mekakushi Dan (Now illuminated by only candles after losing power), eliciting a small embarrassing squeak and tremble from the hoodie cocooned girl. She despised her fear of storms. Every time lightning lit up the sky, it turned her from a fearless leader to some scared kitten, and she couldn't do anything about it. She pulled her hood down over her eyes and tried to block out the world around her, sitting lone on the couch in the den. A small voice came from the next room.
"Will you be back soon...?" Kido recognized it as Mary quickly. She must almost be done with her phone, then.
"Okay…Okay…Uh-huh…I miss you! ... Goodbye!"
After a moment of silence, save only for the sound of heavy rain batting at the windows, Mary walked into the den.
"Kido-"
"Hm-?!" The girl on the couch flicked her head up quickly, staring daggers into the one who surprised her.
"A-ah…." Mary stuttered, taken aback at the other's seeming shock. "Sorry…here's your phone back." She held her arm out.
With a deep breath, she reached out and retrieved her phone, slipping it into her pocket. "Thanks."
"Oh, thank you for letting me use it!"
Kido relaxed slightly, remembering why she'd borrowed her phone in the first place. "…Kousuke?"
To her surprise, Mary sat down next to her, letting out a small pout as she sank into the couch next to the other. "…He won't be back for a few more days."
"Hm…" Of course, it's not often he would have to go on a business trip for any part time jobs, but in this particular instance, they needed somebody and offered good pay for it. Still, Kido would've liked to be near her family during a storm. She didn't even know where Shuuya was, but like hell would she ask about him.
Kido opened her mouth to speak again, being cut off by another roll of thunder. A high-pitched whimper slipped out of her; and she further buried herself in her hoodie.
"Hm?" Mary looked over to her friend at the noise. "Kido…? Are you okay?"
"Eh? I'm fi-iine" Her voice shook as the sky rumbled again, ruining her words and any meaning they might've held.
The other slid closer to her, gently placing her hand on Kido's shaking arm. "You're trembling,,,"
She shifted in her spot, trying to shake Mary's hand. "I am not…cut it out." Her eyes and most of her face were now hidden behind her hood and hands.
Mary backed away from her again, not convinced in the slightest that she wasn't scared. As her friend, she had to comfort her, didn't she? "…Wait here, Danchou! I'll be right back!"
"Hey, what're you…?" Kido asked, but the other was gone already. Honestly, she was surprised that Mary was in such a fine condition. She seemed like the kind who would jump and hide under her bed at the first sign of thunder, and yet, she was handling fine…far better than her, even. She was currently less scared than Mary. That needed some time to sink in…
Some rumbling came from the halls. The sound of hurried barefoot footsteps, a trip, a body hitting the ground, picking itself up, and more footsteps. A few seconds of this, and Mary ran back into the room, a large blanket in her arms. "Okay…here!" She stepped forward and laid the fabric over Kido, partially wrapping her up in it.
Kido was ready to object, but noticed she was already starting to stop trembling. Instead, she took the blanket in hand and finished pulling it around her. For a moment, her body was steady.
"…Thanks." She shamefully stuttered out. For as embarrassed as she was, she figured the girl at least deserved some praise. She had calmed down now, after all.
"Ah, it was no problem! Do you want anything else?"
Kido was more than ready to turn her down in less than a second, but flinched at a bolt of lightning illuminating the room. It wasn't as bad as thunder (Ironic, seeing as lightning is the thing that's dangerous), but it caused her to recoil a bit in her seat.
"Oh, wait! Wait here! I'll go make you some tea!" Mary quickly said, before rushing out of the room again.
"Hey, no – wait-!" She'd get up and stop her if she didn't feel locked to the couch. Well…tea wouldn't be that bad. Still, she hated having someone else look after her. She wasn't helpless; she was their leader…well, maybe not right now.
Mary arrived in the kitchen soon enough and set the pot that she regularly kept full of water on the stove to heat; then grabbing her favorite tea leaves.
"It will be ready soon, Kido!" She called out down the hall.
The other only grunted in her seat, certainly not audible to Mary. She wasn't exactly happy about the situation, but…she wasn't unhappy. Mary taking care of her…it was kind of sweet.
Mary continued preparing herbs and got out a teapot, cup, and plate. Before long, the water started bubbling and steam drifted from it rapidly, seen only thanks to the candles nearby. She poured the water into the pot, set up the leaves in an infuser, and let the tea steep for one minute. She poured it neatly into the cup, and carried it out to her friend on a plate.
Kido's attention peaked at her returning caretaker (As much as she didn't want to call her that. That's sort of what she was, wasn't she?)
"Ah – it's ready!" She held out the parcel to the other.
Kido reached out from under her covers, taking the plate in her hands.
"Careful, it's hot…"
Silently acknowledging the other's warning, she carefully lifted the glass and took a steady gulp of tea. And another. And another. It seemed to numb pain in her throat she barely noticed beforehand. Kido knew Mary was good with tea, but this felt like something entirely new. The whole cup's worth was gone in under a minute. She set it back down on the plate.
Mary stared wide-eyed at the other's speed. "…Um, would you like some more?"
"Y-Yeah…" Kido held out the glass to her.
Mary served another helping of tea, and Kido downed it just as quickly. Her blood that ran cold at the storm began to warm again, and her whole body relaxed.
"…Any more?" Mary offered.
"No…thank you." Kido declined, feeling full now – and substantially calmer.
"Hm~ I'm glad you like it…"
"Yeah…" There was no point in hiding it now, was there? Mary clearly knew she was scared; she might as well praise her for what she'd done. "Ah…thank you. That helped a lot." Now she was just thankful there wasn't a candle too close, so the other couldn't see her blush.
Mary smiled brightly at Kido. "It was no trouble! I'm happy to help, Danchou~"
At that moment, there was another crack of thunder, in sync with a flash of lightning. Immediately, Kido felt her nerves weakening. She buried herself in her blanket, trying to stop herself from going into another panic.
"O-Oh…um…" Mary took notice of her, and felt the need to help her again. What more could she do at this point, though? Well…she had one idea. "Kido, can you maybe sit yourself sideways a little?"
"Ah?" Kido obliged, putting her legs up on the couch and spreading them out across her. "Why?"
Mary would give her friend anything that might help her calm down, and in her experience, sometimes that was just someone to snuggle with.
Mary pulled the blanket over a bit and, praying Kido wouldn't mind, slid right in. After a moment of fidgeting underneath, Mary's head popped out of the covers. Not taking more time than necessary, she buried her head under the other's chin and wrapped her arms around her.
"Ah – huh…?" In a way, Kido wasn't surprised. Mary was the type to do this. She was prepared to kick her off faster than she would Kano, but honestly…it was cute, her show of affection. She was only trying to help, after all…testing the waters, Kido returned the hug and wrapped her arms around Mary. Wow, her hair really was fluffy…
Kido melted into it in seconds. She pulled the other close to her chest, inadvertently hugging her tighter than she'd intended to as there was another roll of thunder.
"Shhh…it's okay..." Mary spoke in a calming manner.
"Yeah…" Kido tried to relax, playing with Mary's hair a little. How she kept it so soft was beyond her.
"It's late. Lets get some sleep, okay?"
"Ah…?" She hadn't thought about it, but when she saw her phone earlier, it had been late. Maybe if she went to sleep, the storm would be over when she woke up. "Yeah…um…lets just, sleep…"
Mary nuzzled her head into the other a bit more. Kido fell asleep in under thirty minutes. The last thing Mary thought before drifting off herself was how embarrassed their leader would be when she woke up.
Well, that didn't matter right now. All that mattered was that moment right there.