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Komaru opened her eyes to the darkness of the hotel room. Her back felt strangely cold. Sleepy hands pulled the covers back down, but in doing so discovered the empty space beside her. Toko wasn't in bed? Komaru yawned loudly. She'd have to go find her then.
She didn't bother slipping on her shoes, bare feet treading across carpeting. If the town wasn't a warzone, Komaru might care a little more about the flooring, but as it stood it was the least of her concerns. Underneath the bathroom door, a line of light shone. Komaru knocked on the door.
"Toko? You in there?" she half-slurred, still waking herself up. Something fell on the other side of the door and there was a muttered curse. Definitely Toko, then. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah, I guess," Toko's muffled voice responded half-heartedly. Was something wrong? Now a little worried, Komaru opened the door, only to find Toko leaning against the bathroom counter, skirt parted at it's slit-like tear. Beside her was their first-aid kit.
"What's wrong?" Komaru asked. Toko huffed and looked away.
"It's nothing. You should get back to sleep," she tried to deflect. Komaru wasn't having it, though.
"You've got the first-aid kit out. It can't be nothing," she retorted. "If there's something wrong, just tell me." Toko turned even further away from her, sighing deeply. Without words, she pulled her skirt back, exposing the apparent issue.
Her scars, the kill count Toko had told her about and Jack had boasted to her, were reopened in places and scabbed over in others. The skin was red with irritation, making it hard to see if it was bleeding or not.
"Your scars!" Komaru came forward to get a better look. Sure enough, some segments of line carved into skin were weeping blood, intermingled with another clear fluid that would form a new scab. "What happened?"
"This is why I didn't want you to see," Toko muttered under her breath. "Th-they do that, sometimes. Usually I can get by for a few months before they r-reopen, but with all this running around they've been touchier."
"They reopen regularly?" Komaru gasped. "I don't think they're supposed to do that!"
"Trust me, I know," she said. "They were really deep, and being placed where they are makes them prone to reopening before they can fully heal." Now that Toko mentioned it, the upper thigh and hip area was a place of major movement for the body. That's where people got stretch marks, after all. So it made some sense that the old wounds couldn't be left alone long enough to completely heal.
"That's..." Komaru trailed off. What could she even say? That she was sorry? Toko hated pity. Noticing her dilemma, the older girl waved her hand dismissively.
"I've been dealing with them for years now. Trust me Komaru, they're fine." But were they? Was she? That was an awful recurring problem to deal with. Knowing it had been Jack that had carved the tally made it even more complicated. She'd gotten a lot better, sure, but Jack wasn't entirely safe and that was a time-tested fact.
"Is there anything I can do?" she asked carefully. Toko looked at her, eyes narrowed and searching for the underlying pity. Komaru didn't pity Toko, though. There was only remorse for what Toko had to go through, past and present. Toko sighed.
"I don't know. I can't get a good angle..." she trailed off, biting her lip in frustration. Komaru could see the problem. The skirt fell in the way, obscuring Toko's look at the scars. It would probably be difficult for her to bandage them, too. Komaru held out her hand.
"Here, let me disinfect them," she prompted. Toko held back for a few moments, staring her down, but Komaru was unwavering. After a silent battle of wits, she provided the bottle of disinfectant and a little cotton swab she'd been holding. "This might sting a little. Let me know if you want me to stop."
Toko nodded, bracing herself against the counter. Komaru got to work gently dabbing the scars with the disinfectant, careful not to press too hard or scrape back and forth. In any other context, touching this part of Toko's body would probably be too much for her to handle. As it was, her face was a little hot. But this wasn't anything romantic - she was just patching Toko up, nothing more.
There were a few points where Toko opened her mouth, as if she might say something, and then closed it again. Komaru always paused when that happened, searching Toko's face before continuing, working even softer than before. Some of the old carvings were weeping blood, but most were trying to scab over. That was a good sign, at least.
"Here," Toko said, handing her the bandages. Komaru took them from her with a grateful smile. Figuring out how exactly to wrap them around Toko's leg took a moment, but Komaru opted to save them both the embarrassment and just put them on underneath Toko's skirt. Adhering the end to the bandage wrap with some medical tape, Komaru's work was done.
"All done," she announced. Not that she needed to - Toko was literally right next to her. Komaru stood up from her crouched position.
"Finally, I'm exhausted," Toko groused. Dramatic much? She put all the supplies sitting out back into the first aid kit with experienced hands. Just how many times had she done this? She pushed off the counter and made to leave. Oh, right-!
"Wait, I forgot something!" Komaru called, stopping Toko mid-step. She turned back around, the bags under her eyes looking darker than ever.
"What is it now?"
"Just gimme a..." Komaru looked around. She could've sworn there was one in here... "A-ha! This!" She proudly showed Toko a black marker. Toko blinked, entirely unimpressed. "Come back over here, I gotta do something," Komaru said, patting the counter where Toko was leaning before. Toko rolled her eyes.
"Fine, but make it quick," she agreed with some reluctance. Stepping back to the counter, she kept her eyes on Komaru as she once again squatted down and brushed back the frayed edges of her skirt.
Komaru's face grew hot. There was no way she was coming out of this not looking like a tomato, was there? Oh well... She uncapped the marker and quickly drew on the bandages, avoiding the area directly overtop the reopened scars. Once she was satisfied with her work, she smiled and capped the marker.
"There, now it's done," she finished, standing back up. Toko had her eyes narrowed at her, but soon looked down to see what she'd written on the bandages.
It wasn't anything crazy - just a simple "get well soon" and some doodle hearts around it. Writing upside down was a little weird, so she hoped it came out alright. Judging by the blush on Toko's face, her message had come through loud and clear.
"I-Idiot..." Toko mumbled, her un-clipped bangs obscuring her eyes. "L-let's just go to bed already!" She walked straight past Komaru, bumping her shoulder on the way and leaving her in the room alone.
Komaru smiled. It was cheesy, she'd admit that in a heartbeat. But she hoped Toko took it to heart. For now, all she could do was make sure her girlfriend actually slept tonight. The rest could come after.