Chapter Text
Konomi hadn't shown up to class that day, which was probably the first sign. Amaya noticed almost immediately. The room was too quiet, too still without her. She wasn't at breakfast either, for almost 3 days in a row, which worried her.
Amaya had known Nomi for a long time, and she knew that she would sometimes have bad days where she wouldn't leave her dorm at all. That, she could understand. Even still, she would always be fine and back to her usual self the next day.
As soon as her first class ended, Amaya was already upstairs, standing outside her friend's door. She hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door, and all she got was a muffled groan in response. Amaya frowned and knocked a second time.
"Nomi? It's Amaya. Are you okay??"
Silence. Now she was really worried.
Amaya sighed and turned the doorknob slightly, and when it gave no resistance, opened the door and went inside.
Amaya half expected Nomi to meet her at the door like she usually does, but then realized that that was a dumb idea considering why she was there to begin with. She looked around for a second before noticing the pile of blankets on the bed, which, suspiciously, was the perfect size for someone to hide in.
Amaya tried not to smile. This was exactly the kind of thing the girl would do. "Nomi, I know you're in there."
The blanket pile only responded by whining.
Amaya got closer. "Come on man, I just wanna talk. Just come out from under your blankets. Please?"
Another whine, this time louder than the last. Amaya grabbed one end of one of the blankets and gently pulled it away from the large mass in the middle. Konomi whined and tried to pull the blanket back towards herself, but without much effort.
As soon as Amaya got a good look at her, she immediately knew something was wrong. The younger girl looked exhausted. Her hair was tangled and tied into a loose ponytail, and her eyes were sunken in from what she could only assume was a lack of sleep.
She frowned. "Nomi, what happened to you? You look terrible, man." Konomi just made a noise that she was hoping would get Amaya to leave her alone. She forced a smile, trying to ignore the pain that radiated from her jaw from the movement. She didn't dare speak, knowing that it would leave her unable to function from the agony it would bring.
Amaya sat on the bed next to her, looking more concerned than when she first came in, making Nomi's stomach sink a bit.
"You're never this quiet. What's going on?"
Konomi just shrugged and grunted, like she was trying to play it off. Amaya looked confused.
"..why aren't you talking?"
Konomi sighed, and with shaky hands, grabbed her phone and typed something out.
Teeth :(
Amaya read the screen, and almost instantly everything clicked into place. The reason why she wasn't eating, why she was missing classes, why she wouldn't talk. It all made sense. She looked at Nomi, concerned.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Nomi froze for a second, then erased what she wrote and typed out something else.
too scared, cant do it
Amaya could've sworn she felt her heart breaking a bit in that exact moment. Not knowing what to say, she silently extended her arms out towards the other girl. Before she could even react, Konomi fell into her arms, quiet sobs shaking her small figure. All Amaya could think to do was wrap her arms around her, and do whatever she could to comfort her.
Which made it even harder to get out what she needed to say.
"..Nomi, I know you don't want to hear this, but I have to take you to Keiko."
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she felt Nomi go stiff. She looked at Amaya with pleading eyes, silently trying to convince her not to do anything. Amaya bit her lip and tried to swallow the knot of guilt that bubbled up from her stomach.
"I'm sorry Nomi, but I kind of have to.."
Konomi buried her face in Amaya's shoulder, sniffling and quietly begging her to change her mind.
Amaya gently rubbed Nomi's back and tried to get her to calm back down again, though she knew it would take a while.
"I know Nomi.. It's gonna be okay. I'll stay with you the whole time, promise."