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Korekiyo was nothing if not dedicated. To his studies, to humanity, to Sister… His passions oftentimes lie with his focus. He’s not a wholly active man, choosing to stay on the sidelines and get his conclusions via observation versus physical insights.
That being said, Korekiyo is also far from frail. Both mentally and physically, he prides himself on being capable enough to handle what he must. Fieldwork is no easy feat, after all.
Today, however, felt different. He woke up weaker than he had yesterday. He was losing his breath faster, aching all over, feeling an innate tension between his eyes— If he had to guess, he had a cold developing. Whether it was from an allergy that had wormed its way past his mask or the stress of the situation, he was unsure. …It was irritable, sure, but nothing he hadn’t endured before. He’d seen much, much worse illnesses plaguing others, after all.
Korekiyo started the day off small. He gathered a lovely breakfast from Kirumi, before traversing down to the library to read as he fully prepared for the day. He picked out a book of anthropological studies to refresh any knowledge that may lie in there, avoiding the now cleaned and covered spot on the floor where their peer had passed away hardly a few days ago.
After hardly an hour of reading however, Tsumugi had run down into the basement, beckoning him upstairs to help her move chairs and tables around in a spare classroom. She said it was to prepare for a photoshoot whenever she could get into cosplay again, and he could empathize with the sentiment. Sitting still during such a stressful time could further put strain on someone, and pursuing passions is a well known, healthy dose of escapism. Despite his feelings about the situation though, Korekiyo was feeling queasy after aiding carrying everything back and forth until she was satisfied with the layout.
Attempting to walk downstairs to get back into the book, he was stopped by Miu and Kiibo, who both needed help moving stuff from inside the warehouse to her lab, and were both extremely cagey about the reason. It was entirely exhausting, between carrying cargo down stairs and outside in the beating sun, to hearing Miu not so subtly flirt with the robot beside her… As interesting as whatever their relationship with one another was to him, Korekiyo felt beat. Heavy layers of clothing and heavy loads to move and a heavy dose of the sun and a developing cold all eventually snuck up on him, and by late afternoon, he was almost fully out of it. He was borderline shuffling now, and with one of the final few weighted boxes almost to the door of Miu’s lab, he decided to set it down for just a small break.
“Kiyo, you look tired.” Kiibo pointed out, for lack of a better statement. Tired looked like barely half of it. Miu followed shortly after, with a much less eloquent “Yeah, creepo, you’re sweating like, mega hard! Pfft— it looks like you were cranking it for *hours* to all sorts of kinky porn!” Korekiyo wheezed faintly in response to the two, and waved his hand dismissively. He could handle himself, surely. Just this last box, he could carry it. “I’ve just been under the weather. Rest assured, I’m perfectly capable of handling this much..” He groaned, and picked the box back up. The moment after, his knees went weak, his vision went white, and both Korekiyo and the box came back down.
── .✦
It was probably an hour or two before Korekiyo woke up, finding himself laid out on a thin mattress in a sterile room with a half melted ice pack laying on his forehead, and a piercing headache. After a moment of forcing himself to think through the fog the headache produced, he realized that he had likely passed out from heat exhaustion or some similar ailment. He was probably in some hospital wing of the academy, and he felt that his uniform sleeves had been rolled up to show the bandages beneath. He hurriedly moved the icepack aside and tugged them down, checking to see that everything else was undisturbed in his state of unconsciousness. Luckily, all of his clothing seemed to be in largely the same state as before, save for his boots being set aside the bed, and his hat nowhere to be seen. It was that second one that raised a bit of concern in him, since he couldn’t see it elsewhere in the room either. That, mixed with the anxiety that hospitals always gave him, set Korkeiyo up for the nervousness that plagued him now. He hurried to catch his breath from sitting up so fast, and slowly knelt down to begin tying his boots back on. He couldn’t end the day missing such a major part of his uniform. If he had, then he would be missing it tomorrow, and that would be a problem for both him and…
Just as he had gotten halfway through lacing his first boot, the door opened, and he was looking straight up at none other than Gonta.
“Oh!! Kiyo! Gonta glad you awake! Kirumi say you must rest here until you all better, how is Kiyo?” Gonta hurried in, closing the door behind him and folding his hands behind his back. Korekiyo was sure he would have been content to see the entomologist if he were in a better mood and less sickly. Currently, however, he wanted as few distractions as possible, to try and figure out where it may have ended up, or with whom. “..I’m alright, Gonta. However, I’m in quite a hurry. My hat is missing, and I must—” his sentence was cut off with a sharp hiss. Moving his head too fast to focus back on his laces made the ache increase tenfold for that singular moment, and he groaned as he let his hands drop for a long moment. He wasn’t going anywhere in this condition. Reluctantly, he began to unlace the boot, slowly looking back up to Gonta, who was waiting patiently by the door as he was before.
“Ah… Gonta, have you seen my hat around school grounds? I… require it back, as soon as I can get it.” It wasn’t what Korekiyo would have liked to be doing, begging his peer for help with something so personal. However, to his surprise, the next moment Gonta pulled his hat out from behind his back, grinning and presenting it to him.
“Gonta was coming to return this, when Gonta carry you to nurse, hat fell off Kiyo’s head.” Korekiyo just stared at the hat for a long moment. That was… easier. He nodded shallowly, taking the hat and placing it back firmly on his head. He felt a small part of his worries ease with its gentle weight pressing back against his forehead, and Gonta’s even softer smile at seeing him so relieved. He thanked him with a soft sigh, kicking off his boot with some effort, but staying seated at the edge of the bed. Gonta also made no move to leave, so he decided to strike up a conversation with the man.
It was simple, primarily the two of them sharing interesting anecdotes about their respective scientific fields of study, but it was making him feel a bit better in his rest, calming him further. Still, there was something that Gonta could sense was off.
“You seem nervous. Does bug story unsettle you? Gonta sorry! We can talk about different bug!” Korekiyo shook his head slowly, linking his thumbs together and sighing softly. “No, no, you’re quite alright. I just… I am not fond of hospitals. ..I wish to leave.” Korekiyo said this firmly before he moved once more to put on his shoes and get out, before Gonta hurried to protest, not touching him to stop him, however.
“Ah— Kiyo.! Kirumi says you must rest well for the day..! Nurse far from dorms, you could faint again!” The entomologist's voice was full of concern, and he flailed his hands around for a moment before opting to stand by the door. Korekiyo sighed as he reached to tie his second boot. “...I will be just fine, believe me. Mh, however, I simply must leave. Surely, resting in my dorm will be no different than in here, yes?”
Gonta seemed to think about this for a moment. He was REALLY worried for the anthropologist, the way Miu described him passing out seemed like nothing to scoff at. Still, he also had to think about how Korekiyo was feeling. After that moment, he nodded once firmly, and bent down to be ay eye level with the sitting man.
“Then… Gonta carry you! All the way to Kiyo’s dorm!”
Korekiyo widened his eyes for a moment in surprise, but nodded the next moment. Gonta was quite obviously strong enough to do so, likely with little effort. If he was insisting, then who was he to deny a way out? He nodded, completely tying his shoes. He wasn’t sure how he would want to go about it, but he would do what he could to stay still and not be dropped.
“Gonta pick you up whenever you ready!”
“Now is fine, Gonta.”
One moment, Korekiyo was sitting on the edge of a hospital, and the next, he was hoisted up into the other mans firm, steady arms in an awkward bridal style carry. Gonta took a moment to adjust Korekiyo for his comfort, and began walking at a moderate pace down from the academy to the dormitory building. It was an odd feeling, being carried with such ease. It was as if he was just some sort of ragdoll in the man's broad hands, which was a feeling he would love to delve into further once he was well again. …In a strictly professional manner, of course.
Once they finally arrived outside, Korekiyo sighed a breath of relief, gazing up at the stars. Judging by how dark the sky was, he assumed that it would still be an hour or so before the night time announcement rang. “The stars are quite peaceful,” he mumbled for no reason in particular, craning his neck to gaze up at them. “Looking at them here, like this, it’s no wonder that many people center their spiritual beliefs around them.”
Gonta nodded, peering up at them again. He stared at the stars quite often, at home at least. After a long day of hunting, foraging, and spending time with his family and favorite bugs, he would often lay on the soft grass or sit on a rock, gazing at the stars and taking in their beauty before sleep found him. Deep in the forest, the stars are clear and shimmering, and the night sky of the academy isn’t much different. Well, save for their positioning being shifted, which he had noticed somewhat recently. The stars here weren’t where they were at home, which was incredibly curious. And, incredibly concerning. “Do you want to watch them with Gonta? Rest outside is okay for now! Weather is cool now, so Kiyo isn’t in any danger!”
Korekiyo chuckled the way he always does, with a little breathy, prolonged and paused squeak, tilting his chin down and nodding back at Gonta, telling him that “It would be nice, yes. I do believe earlier I interrupted your story of that.. Centipede, was it?”
Gonta nodded excitedly, jumping back into his story a few paces from where they had left off, as he took a detour from the dormitory to a nice, soft patch of grass he had discovered the week before. He gently set Korekiyo down, sitting down beside the man. He kept switching between looking at the stars to the anthropologist. …Just to make sure he’s doing alright, of course! It’s what a gentleman would do!
It was a few minutes into them both gazing up in soft silence that Korekiyo felt Gonta spread his arms out wider, leaving their hands brushing against one another. He glanced down at where their fingertips touched— Gonta’s hands were calloused, yes, but he could feel through his bandages that they were steady, and warm. It fit him, he supposed. He didn’t move his hand— Not forward, nor back, he just gazed down at their hands, and looked back up at the stars. A moment later, he saw in his peripheral that Gonta had his face turned towards him, so naturally, he looked back. After a moment of them making eye contact, Gonta happily opened his mouth to speak.
“You have cool eyes and shiny hair and a neat outfit— Kiyo has really pretty look!!”
Korekiyo blinked in surprise, a bit taken aback by the sudden compliment. That was quite out of the blue, no? Still, the second after he nodded, taking it in stride. “Ah, I see.. Thank you, kindly.” …He was certain Sister would be happy to see one of his peers complimenting the uniform she had sewn.
After a long while longer of gazing into the sky, they both heard a loud blaring announcement, telling everyone to head to bed now that it was night time. Gonta immediately looked towards Korekiyo, who nodded and began to stand up to head to the dorms for the night. Gonta followed suit, following him closely to ensure he wouldn’t suddenly faint again, heaven forbid. Once they reached Korekiyo’s door, Gonta fiddled with his hands and reluctantly waved Korekiyo goodbye. …Gonta was having such a fun time, but a true gentleman should ensure everyone gets enough sleep at night, surely.
That night, strangely enough, as Gonta laid in bed, he thought further about his classmate. Korekiyo was polite, consistent, smart, calm… It’s like he was a sort of beetle, with a hard shell and strong instincts and an ability to survive harsh environments with ease and grace… Gonta wholeheartedly admired him for it. Truthfully, Gonta wondered a lot about him, and tonight only increased that curiosity.
Gonta hoped he had an opportunity to spend more time with Korekiyo, and soon. He was a nice presence to have around, and very, very smart.