a/n: me: *people begging me to update*~ I can hear you, but i won't~
[Complexity]
Haruto stared for a while at Naomi's sleeping form, before running up the dorms, calling for Asuna as discretely as he possibly could.
He knocked gently before opening the door.
"Asuna?" He belted out softly, "Are you in there?"
"What is it?" She stood up from her bed.
Haruto looked around for anyone who might be listening in.
"Naomi's passed out and blocking the front door." He said, "Everyone's inside but we should carry her to the infirmary or at least back here."
Asuna eyes widen, "What?!" but then, lowered her voice into a whisper, "What happened?"
Haruto gently pulled her out of the dorm room, "Beats me." He linked his arm with Asuna's as they walked down the stairs in the Sun dormitories, "I just found her laying there. Honestly, she looks like the dead."
They reached the platform and saw Naomi in the same place Haruto found her, with her upped body supported by the dark wood behind her and her head shifted in an awkward angle. Naomi will no doubt wake up with neck pain.
Both of them gulped, but it was Asuna who broke the silence. "Get her arm and I'll get the other."
"Where are we taking her?" Haruto asked.
"To the infirmary, obviously."
Asuna pushed open the door while the other hand kept her steady, "Nice and slow..."
Haruto stumbled on the last down.
"Don't drop her!"She exclaimed.
"I know! I know!"
Another stumble, but this time it was Asuna, who slipped under Naomi's weight and saw her fall on Haruto; Haruto managed to catch her without crumbling under her weight.
"Hey, I can't carry her on my own!"
Naomi groaned in her sleep.
They both stiffened and paused for a few seconds, before Asuna asked:
"Naomi?" Her voice barely above a whisper, "Are you okay?"
A peaceful sigh escaped Naomi's lips.
"I don't think she's awake."
Another groan escaped Naomi.
Asuna hushed him quickly, "Nao..?"
Silence.
"See, I told you." Haruto said, "Come on, help me."
She nodded as she grabbed Naomi's arm and slung it over her shoulder.
"Alright, step by step." Asuna said.
They continued onward to the infirmary in a snail's pace, they were careful not to wake her up or drop her and when they spoke to each other it was soft, and with extreme caution.
"It's the Night Class." Asuna grumbled, "More specifically, Kaname Kuran."
"What do you mean?"
Asuna sighed, "I mean, I saw them together yesterday."
Haruto's eyes grew wide, "Like dating?"
"No!" She said, "But I saw them through our dorm window and it seemed like they were arguing, and then-"
She paused, what did she see? For all she knew they were just having a conversation. She didn't hear anything about the conversation, but what happened after did give her a terrible sensation.
"Then what?" Haruto pressed.
Asuna swallowed a lump in her throat, she was never one to gossip without knowing facts but... "They hugged, but right after she collapsed into his arms and then he carried her off."
Haruto shrugged, "Could've been a coincidence."
"Someone doesn't just collapse."
He let out a small laugh, "What are you saying? That he put her under some sort spell?"
Asuna sent him a sharp look, "I'm being serious, Haruto. What if she's in real trouble and I've been ignoring it."
"I get it, you're worried but she's the one isolating herself." Haruto continued, "She made her bed. If she wants to go through, whatever is happening alone, then let her." He readjusted himself under Naomi, "It's not our problem."
"So much, you came to her rescue just now?"
Haruto sighed, "I'm not a monster, if I see her unconscious somewhere I'm not going to leave her there."
Asuna rolled her eyes, "Well, she's not alone." her grip tightened on her waist, "She's been hanging with Aidou Hanabusa, remember?"
"Don't forget, Zero Kiryu."
She frowned, "I remember when she hated him." Asuna glanced at Haruto, "She used to call him the 'prefect from hell'."
Haruto look at the trees, "When did everything get so screwed up?"
It was a rhetorical question. They knew when everything changed, when it all shifted. The night she found out about Akira Saito (Hiyori), of course, they had no idea about Naomi's discovery of the Night Class weeks before.
"Maybe, her being half asleep... we'll finally get some answers." Asuna suggested... a terrifying suggestion.
Truly morally ambiguous... taking advantage of someone who was clearly not mentally stable, especially someone she once considered a friend.
"... Asuna, I don't think that's such a good idea." He said, "Whatever she's involved with it's obviously taken its toll on her, whatever it is, I don't want any part of it."
The wind a blew, this night was cold, extremely cold.
Asuna shivered, "I suppose, you're right."
But another poisoning thought surfaced, I could use her as leverage.
She shook her head, she was not this person. She cannot become the person who uses people to get what she wants and damn the consequences, yet isn't that what Naomi does.
Apathetic to the people around her. Disinterest clouding her eyes. Vicious venom dripping with every word she speaks.
Reckless... calculative.
Funny, how those two attributes don't usual correlate, but Naomi wields both with such expertise.
It reminds Asuna that no one is simple, not even herself.
Everyone is complex.
Just as Naomi has her reasons to push people aside, not wanting to ask for help; Asuna has her own reasons to seek out the truth, whatever it maybe.
Haruto pushed the doors of the academic building and led Naomi, still slumbering, into the infirmary.
Naomi stirred in her sleep as they laid her down on the mattress. She did not wake.
Asuna looked outside the window, "It's snowing."
Haruto scratched the back of his neck, "She'll be fine. Let's head back before the snow settles."
"Yeah."
Neither glanced at Naomi when they left, instead they talked about what they would do for winter break.
Leaving Naomi in the past. A fresh memory that would soon become distant.
They didn't think of her when they woke up the next morning, they merely packed their bags and would leave with the rest of the Day class students to the their homes, to their parents, to a sense of safety; a sense of normalcy.
Perhaps ignorance is bliss, thought Asuna.
a/n: i made a poll go check it out :)