"Qian…are you sure you should be up and helping me with this?" Nobara asked, wincing as the girl dabbed a piece of alcohol-soaked cotton on the cut sliced across her forehead. They were sitting in a private room that branched off from the main lounging area.
"Y-Yeah don't worry, I'm fine!" The girl herself had large purple blotches all over her right side, veiny bruises spreading across her arm and leg. She gave the teen a bright smile as she gently covered the wound with a band-aid. "I-I'm just so glad you guys are okay!"
Nobara regarded her worriedly. "What in the world happened to you- you were…"
Qian rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I-I'm sorry I hurt you guys…but I'm okay!"
"No it's not that you hurt us it's just-" The brunette hesitated, trying to find the right words. "You weren't…yourself."
The girl bowed her head. "I-I know, and I'm sorry…I-"
"Why the hell aren't you resting?" They turned to see Satoru standing in the doorway, his arms crossed firmly across his chest.
She didn't answer at first, glancing at Nobara to see her response. The brunette shrugged and Qian tilted her head quizzically, peering back up at the man, only to realize that he was talking to her.
"O-Oh I'm fine, I wanted to make sure the others were taken care of first." She lifted her right arm. "T-This is nothing! No worries!"
However, Satoru noticed the slight tremor in her movement and sighed, turning to Nobara. "How's your head? You should go to sleep."
"It's fine, and I will." She stood up and glanced at Qian. "Thank you for your help, get some rest."
The girl nodded enthusiastically with a broad smile. "I-I will, thank you, goodnight!"
Once the first-year left, Qian immediately turned around to rummage through her first aid kit. As she pulled out a tube of healing cream, a hand plucked it out of her grasp and she looked over her shoulder in surprise.
"You shouldn't be moving around so much." Satoru warned, uncapping the item.
She gaped like a fish before shaking her head, opening her palm. "I-I'm okay, and I can do that, don't worry about me-"
"What the hell were you thinking?" The sorcerer growled, ignoring her protests as he gingerly lifted her arm to rub the salve over her skin. She grimaced at the contact.
"I-I…I did what I had to do." She mumbled. "I-I saw Fushiguro-san in trouble and…I couldn't just sit there."
"I would've handled it." He grumbled, reaching into the kit.
"Y-Yeah but you didn't, and there wasn't any time." He glared at her jab and she held her chin high, meeting his angry expression.
Finally, she turned her gaze away, embarrassed by her own retort.
He smirked, amused by her newfound boldness. "It… took me a bit to break out of that, I admit. But still. You should've run away." He unwrapped the roll of bandages with his fingers.
She let out a dejected sigh and they fell into silence. He gently began wrapping her arm when she opened her mouth.
"I-I always do that and I'm sick of it." He stared at her, but her eyes remained downcast. "I-I spent my entire life running away."
"This is different." He remarked, furrowing his brow. "You could've died."
"A-At least I would've died doing something, instead of being a coward like I always have been." She argued, rolling her fingers into a tight fist.
He took a pair of scissors and cut the bandage, taping it to her arm. "Well. I guess I have to admit… you definitely were not a coward out there. You were kind of terrifying."
She flinched, recalling the ear-splitting screams from the woman and her classmates' horrified expression. Slumping her shoulders, she swallowed thickly, biting her lip tearfully.
"Y-You're right." She raised a hand to her face. "I-I almost killed them… that woman… Itadori-san."
Satoru glanced at her remorseful expression and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well she was going to kill you all if you didn't. And Yuji's capable of defending himself."
"I-I ended up being a burden anyways… after I told you I wouldn't." She murmured despondently.
Satoru shrugged his shoulders. "That's putting it mildly."
Her shoulders sagged further, as though his words literally weighed on them. He peered over to see her crestfallen face, her bangs covering her expression. He sighed in defeat. "But, nonetheless, I have to admit… overall, you did okay this time."
She whipped her head around to stare at him in shock but cringed in pain as she accidentally triggered her injury. "R-Really?" She choked out.
"Yes, but it was still reckless and stupid." He scowled at her hopeful expression. "You have no idea what that power is capable of and you could've hurt people. You didn't, this time, but next time you won't be so lucky."
"Y-Yes…" She hung her head, feeling exasperated by his reprimand. "I-I understand."
"So, don't do that again." He wiped his fingers with a paper towel. "I told you, if you ever get in our way-"
"Y-You'd get rid of me yourself…" She huffed and turned away once more. "You already said that to me before…I get it."
The corners of his lips twitching upwards as her audacity reappeared once more. He then noticed the bloodstain on her shirt was still wet, and frowned. "Alright, you need to take off your shirt."
Qian blushed and whipped her head up, her eyes comically wide. "W-W-What?"
"You heard me. I can't patch up your shoulder if your shirt is in the way." He stated as a matter-of-factly, pouring some alcohol on a ball of cotton.
"No, no it's okay! I'll take care of it myself!" She immediately tried to stand, ignoring the pain shooting up her body.
Satoru rolled his eyes, placing the bottle down. "Stop behaving like a child."
"I-I'm not! I'm just-" Qian cried in mortification. "I-It's embarrassing…"
He sighed. "Fine, then just let me lift the back of your shirt and you can hold the front down. How about that?"
She hesitated for a moment, before slowly nodding her head. As he gingerly lifted the back of her shirt, her blush deepened, unsure of how to respond to his unusual kindness. She faltered in realization as she chewed on her lower lip. Finally, after a few minutes, she was unable to stop herself from asking the burning question on her tongue.
"W-Why are you helping me?"
He looked at the back of her head with surprise before he carefully began cleaning the gash. "What are you talking about?"
Qian hissed as the soaked alcohol made contact with her wound. She bit the inside of her cheek, the stinging sensation almost causing her to cry. After a few moments, she took a breath. "Y-You said that if I was ever a burden, you'd just get rid of me. Right now, I'm being a burden. So why are you helping me?"
Satoru was silent for a moment, before he exhaled.
"Guilt." She peered at him over her shoulder questioningly and despite his mask, his gaze felt more gentle than usual. "You've made it very clear that you're trying to help, to the point of hurting yourself. I think you deserve a bit of credit."
Qian felt her face grow hot at his words, her heart pounding as a rush of cautious giddiness flooded across her chest.
A few minutes later, she felt his fingers press a soft bandage over her shoulder blade. "Alright. Done." As his hands retracted, she couldn't help but miss the warmness of his touch-
Her cheeks erupting in bright-red, she immediately shot up, ignoring the painful jolts that raked her body. Satoru raised his brows, regarding her curiously.
"T-T-Thank you very much for your help! I'm going to go to bed now- goodnight!" In a flurry of white as she put away the kit, she was already rushing upstairs.
Satoru couldn't help but smirk, staring at her retreating figure.
He was heading towards the lounge before he halted in his step. "Oh! Yuji." He turned around, calling out to his student.
The boy stopped to look over his shoulder quizzically, nodding to Megumi to go on ahead. The dark-haired teen waved goodnight to the duo and continued limping down the hallway back to their room.
Yuji placed his hands in his pockets. "What's up, sensei?"
"Before I forget, thanks for the granola bar by the way. I was pretty famished earlier tonight and it was much needed." Satoru waved, beginning to walk in the opposite direction.
Yuji tilted his head in confusion. "Granola bar? I didn't give you anything."
Satoru stopped, quirking a brow. "I found a couple of them stuffed in my backpack- I saw you eating them in the car and figured you had some extra to spare."
Yuji crossed his arms, squeezing his eyes shut as he struggled to think. He suddenly brightened and dropped his fist into the palm of his other hand, remembering the origin of the treat in question. "Oh those! Naw, those were from Qian! She was worried about you."
He shook his head, admittedly amused by her antics. She's full of surprises. He sighed once more and got to his feet, heading to his own suite. As he passed by Adalaine's room, he paused for a moment. He knew that she would welcome him with open arms, and he could use the release…
But, for some reason, he didn't feel up to it. He placed his hands in his pockets and continued down the hall.