genessia | [Video] - Backdated to October 23rd

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[Video] - Backdated to October 23rd

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH I GOT EVICTED!

[Orihime looks panicked, hunkered next to some piles of clothing and...flour bags? Sacks of sugar? They're all piled up neatly outside of The Commons where Orihime is currently flailing and fretting.]

I lost track of time, I'm sorry! The bakery isn't ready to open yet and I was going to ask that it have a loft up above so it would be convenient to go downstairs and bake in the morning but there are too many monsters so I don't have time to fill out an application and it hasn't been a month since I volunteered as a healer so I couldn't really apply anyway--!

[She clutches her comm in both hands.]

Please let me borrow a place to put my things so the baking supplies don't get ruined in the rain! I can sleep in the chairs in the hospital lobby and take showers using a public restroom sink!

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...

[ The glare is now definitely a scowl. ]

... I'm gonna go get you, and you're ...

[ His place was barely big enough for him and Akihiko. What the hell was he going to do?

He'd be damned before he let any friend - especially anyone as nice as Orihime - be homeless ]

... I'll sleep in our damned bathtub before you're forced to sleep in any fucking lobby.

But...why a bathtub?

[Is there no room on his floor? And what's the difference between borrowing someone's couch and a public chair in a hospital lobby?]

[Either way, she knows she can't stay with Shinjiro and his roommate. Very improper, very scandalous!]

Aki's on our couch and I'm on our futon, and shut up, you'd take one of them, it's fine.

[ ... Yeaaah he's definitely not thinking this through, is he? ]

Where're you at? I'll come get you 'n your stuff.

[ He's not ... he's not freaking out a bit, at the idea that someone who's a Good and Decent Person - let alone someone who's a friend - is going to have to end up in the same situation as he did. He's not. ]

Er...well...there's a little here and a little there...

[She felt really bad turning so many people down so she just wound up saying yes to everyone who offered to take in some of her bakery supplies and stuffed the necessities she'd need to keep with her into a backpack. And she's not taking either one of their couches, she just can't outright say so!]

... Orihime.

[ Yup. First name and everything. But he's dead serious, even amidst his not-freakout.

Why wasn't she letting anyone help her? He felt like tearing his hair out. ]

You've got all these people up there, offerin to put you up, and -

- you're not gonna accept my offer to stay, are you?

[She looks back at him in uncomfortable, tortured silence. How can she explain it? If anyone knows what it's like to need help but hate putting other people out in accepting it, it's probably him.]

...mm...

[Orihime makes a small sound of discomfort as she glances away.]

I don't want to be a burden to anyone. I've had to fight really hard to be on the same level as my friends, and I'm still...

[Her mouth works silently for a moment before she exhales, closing her eyes. I still can't be as good as them.]

If I'm going to be the kind of person that others will trust enough to rely on, then I have to be responsible for my own mistakes. And I'm working in the hospital so much already...I want to be there if there's an emergency. The span of time I have to save someone's life before their bodies disappear is very limited, Shinjiro-san.

[ Shinjiro just, stares, for a long time.

He had no idea that she'd felt anything like this, had thoughts like this. He'd been completely fooled by her cheerful force of personality - he hadn't thought she was anything less than confident and completely comfortable with herself.

After a while, he toggles on the private function, and finally says something. ]

Look.

This ain't the kinda mistake you've gotta pay for, not like this.

You ... you haven't hurt anyone. You ain't done nothin wrong, really, 'cept for workin too hard and forgetting a deadline. That's like. Chump change, as far as shitty things to pay for go.

I ...

[ He's not wearing his coat, so his pants pockets will have to do. Nothing to fiddle with in those. He ducks his head down. ]

... I know how y'feel, but.

You don't deserve this. Really.

I'm not trying to punish myself. I promise.

[She even makes herself smile a little to see if that will reassure him. Getting to see what she's really like under all of the cheer, goofiness, and attempts to treat others in a way she thinks they'd like, is a rare thing indeed, and it probably won't be long before she puts those protections up again.]

Besides, it's only for a little while longer. I can look into something more formal after the monsters stop appearing, and I put in a request to have a couple of studio apartments on the second floor of the bakery. So if they accept the application, I'll be just fine.

So please don't worry so much, Shinjiro-san.

[Even if she really appreciates how much he seems to care about other people.]

[ Yeah, he might have been projecting a little, with the whole punishment thing, there.

Sighs. His glare has long since softened into a frown. ]

... Is there anythin you'll actually let me do to help?

I can 'least help you find somewhere better to sleep, 'til the bakery thing clears.

[It's a terrible thing to have in common: the desperate desire to be needed so badly that it becomes almost impossible to let others feel needed and appreciated in return. If he'd phrase it a little differently, she might have politely declined, but instead? She remembers how much she wanted to help him when he was going through a hard time, and how frustrating it was to be able to do nothing.]

...When it's daylight...if you go anywhere to eat, would it be okay if you picked something up if I paid for it? Vending machine food isn't that bad but I'd really love something different.

[Just so long as he isn't paying for it with his own money.]

Then I'd have more time to rest.

[ It was more - he felt he deserved what he got, and knew that offers of help to him usually had strings attached. That friends shouldn't waste their time on him, and focus their energy on better targets. That he could handle being on his own, especially since the only person it hurt was himself.

... At least, that's what he used to think. Things were very slowly changing.

Still frowning: ] ... How 'bout this.

You made me all that bread back when I was laid up 'cause of facin my Shadow.

I can bring y'food that I make, and then I don't owe you no debt anymore.

Deal?

Shinjiro-san...

[She's sincerely touched. She'd definitely like to try his cooking, but he shouldn't be doing that for her sake when there's nothing she can do for him in return.]

You're my friend. You never owed me any debts. And you never will, okay? So please let me at least pay for half of the ingredients.

[Otherwise it's just too much, she couldn't possibly expect him to do that for her.]

Wouldn't that go for you, too?

[ It'd been bugging him, that he hadn't been able to do anything in return for Orihime, after getting all of that bread. ]

Unless I can pay you back for half the ingredients for the bread, too.

Ha ha! Nope! That's an employee perk.

[She smiles, tilting her head faintly. Look there's not much she's stubborn about, Orihime's the biggest pushover ever. But she's not going to budge on this one.]

The flour came from the bakery supplies, and it helped me prepare to bake in bigger quantities. So it's a work expense!

[ But she's already being so stubborn about the living situation! Shinjiro sighs. ]

... Fine.

[ He'll just fudge the numbers on how much stuff cost. Claim he has an employee discount at the grocery store. That might work. ]

If you wear out your welcome, though, at that hospital? I wanna hear about it.

Cause, based on all the hits this vid's gotten - I'm not the only person worried bout you.

Yes! And I'm going to repay every single one of them with cake!

[Except Whitley, who wants crepes and a high five.]

Thank you very much. It really does save a lot of time, and that's the thing I need most of all right now.

You're a good friend, Shinjiro-san. I can't wait to work with you.

Hey. Whatever I can do.

[ She's still homeless, but at least she won't be scrounging for food. It's more help than he'd allowed anyone to give him, anyway.

He's a little embarrassed by the compliment, but manages not to flush. ]

... Speakin of. I should get back t'work.

I'm serious, though. Let somebody know if they kick you outta the hospital too, even if it's not me.

They wouldn't do that. Don't worry.

[The staff might not know the full extent of Orihime's work, or that her healing had restored every single terminally ill patient that once resided there, but they know she's been on hand to treat the more grievous injuries sustained by people who ran afoul of the monsters.]

I won't be very hard to find that way. Good luck at work!

[ Yeah, Shinjiro had some questions about her work there, but now didn't seem like the time. She definitely seemed more than just a volunteer, though, considering what she'd let slip earlier.

He runs a hand through his hair. He'll need the luck. Really, the sooner that bakery opens, the better. ]

Thanks.

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[Video] - Backdated to October 23rd

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