One week passed, and Nuriko only left his room to get his food, then brought it back into his room, never acknowledging everyone greeting him or asking him how he was. Hotohori was quiet as well, and was nowhere near as cheerful as he used to be.
One day Miaka decided to go and talk to Nuriko. After all, his little outburst implied he was mad at her. She lightly tapped on his door, not receiving a response. She knocked a little harder, which didn't reward her anymore than the first knock. Slowly she opened the door, peeking inside. Nuriko was lying on his bed, stomach down, his head buried into the pillow.
"Nuriko? Are you asleep?" Miaka asked, closing the door behind her and approaching her friend.
"Hn," was his response, not bothering to look up. Miaka sat on the edge of the bed.
"Nuriko, I'm sorry if I upset you. I don't try to be better than anyone; people just treat me with a lot of respect because I'm the Priestess. If there's anyway to make it up to you, I'd be willing to do it, no matter what it is," Miaka explained.
Nuriko rolled onto his back and raised his head to look at the Priestess, showing an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Miaka, I'm not mad at you. I guess I'm just jealous because Hotohori-sama is in love with you," he said.
Miaka smiled. "He used to be. He told me about a month ago that he didn't love me that way anymore."
Nuriko widened his eyes. "Say what?" He frowned again and let his head fall back onto the pillow. "What am I so excited about? He's probably furious with me after what I did."
"He isn't, you know. He's really worried about you. I swear he looks more concerned now than I've ever seen him," Miaka told him. "I think you should go talk to him."
"Uh…" Nuriko stuttered. Go and face Hotohori-sama? After what he did? Miaka was insane. "No way." Miaka frowned.
"Listen, I promise you he won't get mad at you! I'm sure he'd be really happy to see you!" Miaka pleaded.
"Oi…" Nuriko whined, going limp and staring at the ceiling. "I'll think about it."