cross-posting on AO3. pick your poison, fellas.

my words on my last A/N still stand for i am sickly mofo. i shiver and my bones fall through my body. hence why there was no update for June, and in fact, as of typing this, i am in the hospital. fun amirite?

as far as this chapter goes, again definitely not my best, but we do get to see some more canon characters... and maybe that Lexa's not right in the head? maybe.

feedback is always appreciated!

IV

How am I supposed to react to this situation? Lexa had wondered.

The next day, her seventh day in the hospital, Akari had come to visit like always, presenting her with miscellaneous things. Then, with an "All right, Lexa, I'll see you tomorrow," she left and returned home. She must have passed right by her newest visitor, one that Lexa only partially expected but as the days went by, the expectation she had decreased.

A knock, and the door to her hospital room opened, revealing the nurse she'd been relying on mostly ever since she had been admitted. "Here she is," the nurse said, ushering a certain purple-haired girl in. Busujima Saeko. She was wearing the school uniform with a red overcoat, her long hair tied back into a high ponytail, with a bag sitting comfortably over her shoulder that undoubtedly contained a bokken.

Glancing at the circular clock on the wall from her peripherals while Saeko bowed to the nurse in gratitude—as expected from a proper Japanese lady—Lexa noted it was about four o'clock. Given that it was a Monday, a school day with Saeko still in uniform, Saeko must have just come from Fujimi Academy.

The nurse left them alone, and with her thanks expressed, Saeko turned, directing deep blue eyes on Lexa. She didn't say a word, just gave Lexa a calm look that seemed as though she was expecting something.

Which led to the predicament that Lexa found herself in. How was she supposed to react to this situation? She had spent almost the entire night reading through the manga as well as looking through the iPhone, trying to find out more about her relationship with Saeko through past messages and photos, but…

Well, the latter was a fruitless effort. Everything seemed to point to Saeko and her being close friends—or, Gob forbid, more than friends—but none of what Lexa found really gave her a clear-cut idea on how to act toward the purple-haired girl. She knew back in her old world that she acted a lot more cheerfully, wide-eyed and bright with an attitude that tended to be flippant and devil-may-care, but Lexa wasn't sure if that type of personality would've made her and Saeko so close. From the photos and some text messages, Lexa could tell that there was a cheerfulness in this world's Lexa, especially with how many photos there were on the iPhone, giving goofy grins similar to how Lexa believed she did before in her old world.

However, quite frankly, Saeko was the complete opposite of teenaged Lexa. Actual teenaged Lexa, not just a twenty-nine-old stuck in an eighteen-year-old version of herself. People did always say that opposites attracted each other though.

...Don't like those implications, Lexa thought, fighting back a cringe. She wished that they were strangers. It would've given her so much less of a headache because she could just act however she wanted and not rouse suspicion.

So. Lexa decided to bank on something. She met Saeko's gaze… and simply offered an awkward wave, deadpanning, "Are you here to extend the warranty on your car, Saeko-chan?"

Saeko gave her a blank stare. It lasted so long that Lexa began to think that she shot herself in the foot, especially with that stupid-ass joke and adding the -chan honorific. The first name basis she wasn't too worried about, having seen the texts that had them calling each other their first names, but—

Suddenly, Saeko giggled, her hand soon raising to press the back of her palm against her mouth to muffle the sound.

Hah. Crisis averted. Do I get a gold star? Lexa forced herself to giggle a little, grinning, but Saeko moving to sit in the chair beside the bed had her on alert even though outwardly she embodied a slight sheepishness for the joke she made. Cheerfulness was still hard to come by, but as the days passed, the less weaker she became, thus the more energy she could use to put on a mask. Just like high school. University, too. Everywhere in her life, honestly.

"It's just like you to make jokes," Saeko commented. Lexa noted that she looked far softer, less of the composed 'big sister' role that the series had. "Even in this situation."

"Hmm?" Head tilted to the side, Lexa looked at Saeko with a thoughtful expression. It seemed as though this Lexa was a jokester. Meaning not that different from how Lexa actually was in her teenage years. So she smiled, drawling, "Then should I be all weak and frail?" Without waiting for a response, Lexa shook her head, giving a playful scoff. "No way. Them's for boring bones, and my skeleton is never boring."

Saeko raised an eyebrow, but Lexa could tell she was amused by the small smile she had. A good sign. "Boring bones, huh?" When Lexa only grinned in return, Saeko's own smile widened, lightly shaking her head. "Regardless, it's good that you're in high spirits—"

Haha. AHAHAHAHAHAH. Yes. Totally didn't have a mental breakdown or anything last night.

"Because I'm wondering how you'll make up for breaking your promise," Saeko finished, and suddenly, the soft, amused girl was nowhere to be found. In her place was the Busujima Saeko whose fierce glare could pierce through even the toughest of hearts.

Oh. Oh, that was not a nice look. Her gold star was totally revoked. Preparations for another crisis, a-hoy!

Feeling as though she messed up big time—or rather feeling as though she really wanted to sucker-punch whoever threw her into this world instead of just letting her die—Lexa couldn't help but mutter an, "Aw nuggets," and look away, anxious. How was she going to weasel her way out of this situation? Definitely not by playing dumb and dancing around issues, it seemed.

From her peripherals, Lexa saw Saeko puzzled. Hesitantly, she took a peek, and the glare was no longer there. It seemed like her reaction actually made Saeko confused. Girl. Samurai. Make up your mind.

"Ah." Saeko blinked. "I apologize," she said in a lighter tone, chuckling. "I was only kidding."

Lexa couldn't help but stare owlishly at Saeko. You. Capable of kidding, my left buttcheek. Not with that glare!

If Saeko saw the look, she didn't bother to comment as she continued, "Though your reaction caught me off-guard. Usually, you're quite… hmm, let's say, vexing."

"It's my best quality," Lexa replied, not missing a beat. Because vexing was very much a teenaged Lexa.

"Yes, yes. Clearly, it is something that you're proud of," Saeko said, voice virtually unreadable with the calm tone she had taken."But it feels… Hmm… Let's say, it is refreshing to see you ashamed." She let out a small chuckle. "It happens so little that I forget you're capable of being like that, but I assume it's only because of the broken promise, correct?"

Lexa wasn't quite sure what to make of Saeko's words. She definitely didn't know anything about a broken promise, but she figured it was best to play along in the only way she knew how. "What broken promise?" she asked, giving Saeko a relatively innocent look.

In return, she received an unamused expression, Saeko's lips pressed into a thin line with her eyes narrowed slightly, and Lexa looked away, whistling. Man, Saeko really did have such an intimidating presence when she wanted, but trying to humorously brush off the issue seemed to give poor reception. Yes, dancing around the issue and playing too dumb was a no-no.

Damage control. Damage control. Lexa let out a small sigh, dropping the cheerfulness as she directed her gaze at the purple-haired girl. "Saeko, I…" She closed her mouth, brows furrowed. She didn't know what the promise was about, and what she was going to say would just be empty words since she had no idea of the context, but Lexa knew very well that she had to give a convincing performance, lest Saeko would be upset—and that would make Z-Day and the days after much harder.

"I am sorry," she murmured, wavering her voice just enough to be shame-filled, as if she were truly sorry. "It wasn't my intention to break that promise."

"I know." Saeko let out a small hum, eyes closed. "Despite how you act, you're not one to break promises intentionally." Blue orbs opened, finding their way to Lexa. "I was not looking for an apology either. You can't help being ill, though I will admit that I was really looking forward to you helping me with the demonstration to bring in new members. Luckily, one of our other members managed to fill in for you, but he was not as skilled as you or me."

Demonstration? Members? What—

Akari's voice flashed to the forefront of her mind. "Oh no. You won't be able to do kendo anymore, and just when you were starting back, too."

Ah. Right. She was in the kendo club in this world. Lexa guessed that… well… the other Lexa promised to help Saeko with club stuff, and it didn't happen due to the lung collapse. However, what was truly shocking to hear was Saeko saying that the member wasn't as skilled as Lexa or herself.

...A'ight. No way in hell I'm using a bokken near Saeko, Lexa resolved to herself, trying to avoid sweat-dropping as her mind went back to when she last held a bokken—or even a shinai, for that matter. It had to have been probably high school because even though she quit kendo around thirteen, she didn't truly stop practicing until she left Japan. Disregarding how she was forced into an eighteen-year-old version of herself, that would have been over ten years ago.

To say I'm rusty in the way of the sword is a complete understatement. Lexa resisted the urge to sigh, brow crinkling. I very much doubt that I could practice without seeming like a complete amateur, and not to mention my lung problem...

Hopefully, if everything went accordingly, she'd be fully recovered around springtime, but there was always a chance of recurrence. Or so said the doctors. She never managed to relapse in her old world, but this world played by different rules even with how eerily similar it seemed to be on certain things.

Regardless of this all, Lexa had to be in somewhat decent physical health if she wanted to stand a chance against Them. While one particular member of the main cast was certainly out of shape, with being overweight and all, Hirano Kohta still had his craftiness and the ability to run without a lung collapse in the foreseeable future.

Hnnng, I got more problems to worry about than me apparently being skilled in kendo. So I'll just avoid that and focus more on my overall health. It was for the best, she supposed. Saeko would totally be suspicious if she even remotely tried to play along with kendo, but less so if she avoided it. She could even cite her lung as the cause for the avoidance.

A solid plan. Ish.

"There you go again."

Lexa blinked. She shot Saeko a look of confusion, not following. "Huh? What am I doing?"

"Spacing out," Saeko answered.

Oh. Damn. I need to pay better attention to my surroundings. "What?" Feigning surprise, Lexa shook her head in clear disapproval. "Me? Spacing out? Never. No way. Not possible."

"Oh?" Saeko simply raised an eyebrow. "So what did I just say, Lexa-chan?"

…Okay. She's got me there, but this is useful to know. It seems like Saeko is entirely used to me being… well… how I used to be. Doesn't seem to mind it all that much either beyond playing too dumb.

"Hrm. That's a toughie," she drawled, knowing better than to just say something random. She lolled her head to the side, brushing back some of her black locks. "May I take my right to remain silent, Saeko-sama?"

"That only works with the police—"

"Drat." Lexa formed a pout while Saeko let out a small sigh but it didn't seem to be out of irritation. Good. It meant that Lexa wasn't annoying the Lady of War as much as she thought she'd be.

"You should work on that. Others may not be so forgiving as me to have someone be off in another world while trying to speak with them," Saeko said, hands folded over her lap where a large envelope was—something Lexa hadn't noticed before.

"Yes, yes, but I don't care about whether I am forgiven by some stranger," Lexa countered swiftly. "All I need to care about is the people close to me, and so far I have been forgiven by the one and only but ever-so-merciful Saeko-chan." She nodded her head sagely, affirming her words as if every word was nothing but the truth.

Saeko chuckled, her hand raised to her mouth to muffle the sound. Did she always do that? Seemed so. "We both know I am far from merciful, but I do appreciate the sentiment nonetheless…"

Actually feeling some sort of smugness, Lexa smiled, exhaling out of her nose. "Heh."

"Dummy. Anyway." Saeko straightened up, picking up the envelope and handing it to Lexa. "Here. These are all the notes you missed last week, and I'll give you this week's notes if you're out any further."

"Oh. Thank you." Lexa took a peek at the contents of the envelope, and it was indeed all stuff she had learned years ago. Maaaaaaybe, possibly forgotten about, too. It wasn't very useful in the profession she had chosen anyway, and it wouldn't really be all that useful if the world was ending in less than three months. "You didn't have to do that."

"We just started our final semester as second-years," Saeko replied calmly, giving her a pointed glare that wasn't nearly as fierce as before but clearly meant for scolding. "I don't want you falling behind."

Saeko's consideration was actually quite touching. Lexa hummed and set the envelope down. "I'm recuperating on schedule, and they believe that they'll be able to take the tube out tomorrow," she told her. "However, they'll keep me here for a few days to monitor my status. Once home, I'll have to rest."

"So you won't be back at school this week." It wasn't a question, but Lexa nodded anyway. Saeko herself gave a short nod. "Understood. I'll make a copy of this week's notes for you then."

It's not like school will be focused on much, but Saeko's being rather diligent to me. Useful information. Lexa didn't see any room to argue either, so she just nodded. "Thank you. I think next Monday is probably when I can start back if everything goes well enough." She paused. Against her best judgment, she decided to add: "I know my participation meant a lot to you, and I am very sorry for letting you down."

The corners of Saeko's lips uplifted into a smile. "I know. As I said before, you can't help being ill, but I will say that your promises aren't worth as much to me now."

Shit. "Eh? Wait a minute—" Lexa began to protest only for Saeko to lean over and place a finger on her lips, the smile on her face turning wry. She was so close that Lexa had no choice but to look into her eyes, a deep blue that was just as memorizing as before when the collapse happened and Saeko allowed her lap to be used as a pillow.

"I am just kidding." Her eyes twinkled. "Though Father did always teach me that a promise must be kept even if it should cost your life, I'll put this broken one behind me." Saeko moved her hand back, the smile that had turned affectionate melting away into the cool, collected expression that Saeko was known for as she stood. "Speaking of Father, I'd better take my leave. He is making preparations to appear overseas in the upcoming months, and I won't get to see him much afterward, but I'll try to visit again."

"...Okay," Lexa said, watching Saeko leave. However, she couldn't help but think: I must be really disliked by whoever put me here.

Lexa was more than relieved as the next few days, fortunately, proved to be less uneventful and less stressful. She was freed from her link to the machine the following morning after Saeko's surprise visit, and the doctor watched for any changes in her condition. When there was none after two days, she was released, free to go home—although she would have to rest as much as possible for the rest of the week. So she'd be able to attend school on Monday, just like she had predicted.

Saeko-chan is going to be busy this week, Lexa thought offhandedly, tapping her pen along the desk while her gaze shifted between the notebook laid out in front of her and the monitor of her desktop that showed a page of the manga. It depicted gray hands reaching out for Nakaoka Asami, lined up in crosshairs so that she could be mercy-killed rather than deal with a gruesome death.

Should be able to prevent that from happening if I just take out the guy who opens the emergency exit. 'They' shouldn't be able to flood the mall, and if we just stay there for a little while longer, we can be rescued… but I don't think Rei will be able to find her mother if we go that route.

She sighed, two fingers raised to pinch the bridge of her nose as her eyes slid shut, feeling the strain beginning to seep in. How long had she been at this? Hours? Regardless, studying the manga and trying to figure out the best course of action was a hassle—because once Lexa thought of possible solutions, she'd have to nitpick at and second guess them. It seemed as though no matter what she did, she wasn't left without many consequences.

Naturally… and changing many things at a time will make it hard to prepare for future events.

Irritation surged through Lexa, and she leaned back with the chair creaking under her weight, long-lashed eyes opening to glare holes into the ceiling—failing miserably. Maybe… No, there was no maybe. She needed to do other things, and worrying about trying to fix the plot of HOTD when it hadn't been that long since she had been released from the hospital was more trouble than it was worth.

Her eyes glanced at the notebook, reading the first of what she wrote down.

Preventing Igō Hisashi's death.

Pros:

Able-bodied.

He's calm under pressure. Smart. Natural-born leader, relatively.

Seems reliable (if things go accordingly)

Cons:

Takashi is jealous of him, especially when Rei is concerned.

Takashi isn't going to take any initiative if Hisashi is there, most likely. Will affect his development, possibly in a negative way. (Don't like Takashi but it still needs to be counted as a con, sadly.)

Underestimates the threat level of 'Them'. Overestimates his martial arts as a result. (Fixable, I'm sure.)

Lexa gave another sigh, closing the notebook. Yes, that was enough, she decided. She could only handle playing God for so long unlike a certain—

Her iPhone chimed with a notification. She looked at it wearily, picking it up to see… Ah, speak of the goddamn devil.

-UNKNOWN-
you should rest

Lexa set the phone face-down onto the desk and opened the notebook again. Her iPhone chimed again, but she ignored it in favor of messing around with the computer, going to the beginning of the manga.

Was it childish to act this way? Yes, incredibly so. In fact, Lexa was well aware that doing the exact opposite of what the entity said was going to prove troubling in the future. Did Lexa care? No. Not even in the slightest. Screw that goddamn bastard.

As soon as she scrolled down, getting up to the part of Hisashi snatching the baseball bat and pushing Takashi aside to save Rei, the monitor of her screen went black. Lexa almost thought it was because it had shut off, but white letters appeared on the monitor, reading: Rest.

Lexa glared. "You don't get to tell me what to do. Not when you're the reason I'm here."

The letters morphed. Z-Day occurs on April 13th.

Lexa raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "And you're telling me this, why? 'Cause you think it'll get me to rest?" She clicked her tongue in distaste. "Fuck off. I don't trust anything you say."

A few seconds ticked by before the letters disappeared once more. Only this time, nothing appeared until she was met back with the sight of Hisashi slamming the baseball bat into the head of one of Them. Thinking that she was finally left alone, Lexa went back to reading, but as she tried to scroll down, the page remained. Gob, this entity or whatever the hell it was was a piece of work. Frustrated, Lexa grumbled, "Will you just leave—"

Her words died in her throat as the cursor moved by itself, clicking to skip past several pages. Until it landed on the page where Takashi, Rei, and Hisashi were in the hallway, overhearing the announcement of the PA system that would throw Fujimi Academy into chaos. Then the cursor clicked to the next page, showing the announcer's blood-curdling scream, but the cursor moved to the left of the page where a large panel was dedicated to showing a chalkboard of a classroom.

It was there that Lexa saw it. Though it was partially behind the speech bubble, she could make out the words written on the chalkboard. Tuesday, April 13th.

She stared for what seemed like an eternity, eyes narrowed in a harsh glare, before heaving a sigh. Well, that took care of that problem, it seemed… Assuming she wasn't being messed with.

I can't… always assume I'm being messed with though. Lexa leaned back, sinking into the chair, letting her head fall back as her eyes slid shut. This really was going to break her further, wasn't it? "What a hassle," she muttered.

Something clicked. Something clack. Lexa's eyes slowly opened, expression annoyed. For fuck's sake, can I have some peace?! I don't need my mind trying to play tricks on m—

However, the sound of Akari's voice broke her out of her thoughts and her annoyance. "Lexa, I'm back!"

Wearily, her eyes shifted to the door of her bedroom, ignoring the sight of a black mass in the corner. She was always better off never paying attention to these kinds of things, but since she wasn't truly alone now that Akari was in the house, Lexa supposed that a break was in order.

It did not take her long to head downstairs where Akari was taking off her shoes at the main entrance, groceries on the floor in paper bags. She greeted her idly, but then paused mid-step on the stairs as she realized that Akari was not alone. Behind Akari's frail self were two people dressed in the school uniforms of Fujimi Academy, a male with gray curtained hair and sharp brown-colored eyes and a female with long orange-brown hair tied back in a half-up, half-down style and warm eyes that were maroon, framed by bangs—Igō Hisashi and Miyamoto Rei, Lexa quickly registered despite how she could've sworn Rei had more of a plain color palette.

"Forgive me for taking so long, but I met my grandson on the way to the market and I just had to have him over for dinner," Akari explained, almost gleefully. Lexa fought to keep her composure, resisting the urge to cringe as she pieced together the situation despite how caught off-guard she felt—though she did make sure to tell Akari it was all right, trying to avoid raising any suspicion. She was very well aware that Akari had grandchildren, had even met some of those grandchildren in her old world, but this...

It was far too unexpected for Lexa's liking. Because 'grandson' could only refer to Hisashi, and the male in question stepped forward, bowing. He was taller than she thought he'd be, almost a head-span taller than Rei herself with a sturdy build that could be seen even underneath his uniform.

"I'm Igō Hisashi." His eyes found Lexa's, and he smiled, polite. "It's nice to finally meet you. Grandma always talked about you."

Lexa forced herself to smile back as Rei moved to introduce herself. Gob. Fucking. Dammit.