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Harumasa was on sick leave yet again. Yanagi was used to his typical persuasions (excuses), but this time was different. This time, a young N.E.P.S. officer had come to personally deliver a notice from Harumasa's doctor.
Seth, the officer in question, knocked twice on the office entrance's frame to catch the Deputy Chief's attention.
"Is there anything I can help you with, officer?" Yanagi politely answered, approaching him at the entryway.
"Sorry for intruding, ma'am. I'm here on behalf of Asa-" he cleared his throat before he swiftly tried again, "...on behalf of Mr. Harumasa. For this." He ended, extending the paperclipped stack of medical papers with both hands.
"Well, this is at least one of his more elaborate attempts..." Yanagi accepted the papers and began flipping through them, surfing through tables and charts. "The description doesn't make it sound that bad..." She kept flipping and rereading while walking back to her desk, "Before you go, let me just check one thing."
She had sat down and began typing on her computer whilst referencing the papers. "It seems he's actually worth believing this time," She sounded genuinely shocked. "Thank you for your hard work, officer." A quick database search had confirmed that it was a real doctor this time! "I assume that you're the one taking care of him?"
Seth straightened out once more since entering and responded, "That's right, ma'am. I'll be doing my absolute best to care for him, so just leave it to me!" He finished with a Public Safety salute and a big grin.
"Oh my, it seems he'll be in confident hands at least. Don't leave our fragile friend waiting too long now, and good luck," Yanagi began to wave as Seth was now backing towards the exit.
"Um... thank you?" His head was tilted, and his expression was confused. "Anyway, I'll be taking my leave now," was the last thing he said before leaving the office. He wasn't exactly sure why she would need to wish him luck... Maybe Harumasa was really moody when he was ill.
Seth had made it back to Harumasa's apartment after his second stop that day at both the Lumina Square 141 and JC Pharmacy juusst to make sure he was prepared with anything and everything he could need. Luckily, with all the documentation from an H.S.O. Section 6 member you could ask for, Zhu Yuan was able to quickly approve PTO to care for Harumasa.
Seth used the knocker on the door a few times to no avail, shaking his head and furrowing his brow before pressing the button on the intercom doorbell.
"Just come in..." Harumasa's dreary voice came not from the intercom but was shouted (if you could call it that) through the door from afar.
The door was, in fact, unlocked when Seth tried the handle. He let himself in.
"Sorry for intruding..." Seth said in a subdued voice, trying not to upset him. He took his shoes off and entered the apartment proper.
"I left it unlocked," Harumasa continued, now clearly identified as on the couch in blankets, "And don't act like you're intruding. Who would nurse me back to health if not for my ever-reliable junior?"
His eyelash batting might have almost been endearing if it weren't followed by a deep sniffle and a cough. A small laugh did come from Seth, though.
"I see the cold hasn't taken your charm away."
"It took my taste and smell though..." Harumasa pouted.
"Well, lucky for you..." Seth rummaged in his paper bags and dramatically placed a package of spicy chicken noodle soup (with extra protein) on the coffee table within Asaba's view. "Humans are still fully capable of perceiving spice without taste. And it'll help get those sinuses moving!"
"Oh, yay..." Harumasa drawled sarcastically, "Lucky me!" then threw in a, “Why do they even make this…?” under his breath.
"Now don't you move a muscle, I'll go get this ready for you." He began to move to the kitchen before he abruptly turned right back, "Oh! And..." He dug through the bag again and placed a large water bottle within Asaba's reach. "Drink this. Hydration is key if you're sweating out a fever!" He headed back to the kitchen to make the ramen.
"But you said I can't move a muscle."
"Well, I- Okay, well, you can move to drink the water. I hope. What I meant was to relax and let me take care of you."
"That doesn't sound too bad..."
"..."
"..."
"...D-do you want your noodles under- or over-cooked, Asaba?" Seth asked, trying to keep the air from going stale.
"They usually end up overcooked when I do it, but I'm sure you're better at these things," he replied, turning the TV on across the room. The movie he rented from Random Play resumed, and he lowered the volume. Just something else to fill the air. He couldn't pay it much attention anyway.
“Oh, this is The Heartbeat, isn’t it?” Seth perked up from the kitchen after hearing the movie. “Have you seen it before, Asaba?”
“I have, but I’m giving it another watch. I really liked the plot of it.”
“Really? That mother was being totally reckless the whole film! The Investigator at the beginning really did a great job of trying to stop her, but the mom just totally barged into the Hollow anyway. I know she wanted to save her son, but that is way too dangerous! Protocol clearly says that civilian responders should never put themselves in harm's way to provide help.”
Harumasa was starting to be much more entertained by Seth’s ranting than by the movie. Seth had an oven-mitted hand on his hip while he wagged his finger in the air to denounce the mother’s actions.
“Although Miss Yao did give a phenomenal performance. I still think the whole thing should have been a proper investigation done by the professionals instead. I mean, that kid already has congenital heart disease, so a fast and effective search is of the utmost importance. Having a second victim in the Hollow is the last thing they would want!”
“You really know your stuff, huh, Junior?”
“Oh, come on, you graduated with higher marks than I did. I know you know all this, too. But you’re saying you liked the movie?” Seth continued stirring the soup on the stovetop.
“Yeah… I did. I thought the mother’s dedication was touching. I had never seen anything quite like it before, and I didn’t really get it at first.” Harumasa was getting uncharacteristically somber. “Don’t you find it sort of incredible? Someone loving you so much that they would break the rules and face danger?”
“Umm, yeah, incredibly short-sighted, maybe. One person is only able to search the Hollow so much. A fully equipped team of investigators would have found her son much faster, and their reunion could have happened safely outside the hollow.”
“Seth, what videotapes do you like?”
“Well, We Need You is a classic feature spot for a lot of great information on available positions, and N.E.P.S. is often there promoting one of their divisions and providing useful Public Safety Announcements. Bangboo knows! is one that I used to watch a lot as a kid, actually, but it still holds up today, too. Making practical Hollow safety knowledge accessible to children isn’t easy, but they do a great job.”
“Right… you’re kinda hopeless, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing~”
“... Your soup is done, by the way,” Seth said while carefully walking the bowl over to and setting it down on the coffee table. “Here, let me help you.”
Seth delicately helped lift Harumasa upright on the couch so he could have a few bites of the noodles. Harumasa was right, Seth had cooked the soup perfectly. He had also taken a seat next to Asaba after he was assured that Asaba could handle himself.
He got through about half the bowl while watching more of the movie. In a few minutes, Harumasa was clearly slowing down his eating and didn’t seem to be eager to finish the entire bowl.
“Asaba, sit still for a moment.” Seth leaned in, inspecting his face and wiping it with a napkin. They must have been less than a foot apart. “Oh, sorry! Was the soup still too hot? Or was the spice too much? You’re all red,” Seth reached out and felt his forehead, which was not covered by a classic yellow headband, “And you’re quite hot too-”
Seth’s words stopped when Harumasa lunged forward and quickly embraced him in a tight hug.
“A-Asaba..?” Seth practically chirped out in confused surprise.
“You can hear my heartbeat, right, Seth?” Asaba whispered up to Seth’s ear.
A shiver sent all of Seth’s fur puffed up. “O-of course I can, Asaba… What kind of question is that?” He nervously laughed and slowly hugged back. And he really could hear Asaba's heart. He could hear his own, too. They were both rapid and strong.
“Can we stay like this for a bit, Seth?” Harumasa said, gripping him tighter, lying down, and taking Seth with him. “I think it’ll help me get better.”
“Wh- Yes! I’m here to do whatever makes you most comfortable. I just hope you don't get me sick…”
“You’ll be fine~.”
Harumasa pretended not to notice Seth's rapidly swishing tail.