Naoko ultimately decided to help out a bit with Ishi and Mine's endeavor. If he had to be honest, he actually really liked the idea of sprucing up the facility. Granted, it did seem a bit silly, since they were trapped there and all, but while they were stuck in it, it seemed like a good idea to be able to look at colors other than gray.

It wasn't as effective as something like a coat of paint would be, but from what he ended up seeing, it certainly helped. Really, it seemed like all it took was just taking a pot of flowers, placing it somewhere in a room, and calling it a job well done. Naoko had a feeling that there was a better, more thoughtful way of going about it, but he wasn't exactly an expert on either botany or decorating. He had a little experience with the latter at that point, sure, but it was, well, only a little. He didn't know about most of the others, either. Though Ishi herself did speak to him about the subject while they were alone together in the game room.

"It's not like I'm super jazzed about working with flowers," Ishi admitted freely. "Oh, I think they're great and all, but it's not like I'm trying to, like, get in touch with my feminine side or something. Mine just came up with the idea, and we're friends, so I'm gonna support her. You feel me?"

"Yeah, that all makes sense," Naoko responded. "I wanna help her, too."

"Awesome," Ishi said contentedly. "Honestly, I don't wanna be harsh, but, I think she could use some love and support. I kinda doubt she's getting much of that from being around Bankei all the time. That girl is...freaky."

Naoko couldn't exactly disagree with her on that.

Funnily enough, aside from helping out a bit with those flowers, and being on standby for Haru in case he needed assistance, the rest of his day was largely uneventful. As far as he could tell, nothing particularly big or important happened that day, and to an extent, he enjoyed that. He figured that if not much was happening, that was perhaps an indication that things were settling down, and things would be fine for the time being. That was, at the very least, a good way of looking at it...though he wasn't sure if that was really accurate.

In any case, there was still that nightly cartoon to watch. Naoko made sure to check it out once he got it, just to see if it what it would be that night.

It turned out to be something very different from what was shown the last two nights. From what Naoko could tell, it looked to be some sort of fan animation, simply due to the fact that the two characters depicted in it, a teenage boy with spiky blue hair and a very similar, yet strangely edgy-looking black-haired teen, looked vaguely familiar. Naoko was by no means a walking fiction encyclopedia, but even still, he felt like he'd seen the characters in something before, like an anime.

Well, if it was a fan animation, it didn't seem like a particularly strange one. In fact, it was actually pretty cool. The two were fighting with swords in a grassy plain, and the animation and choreography were both very impressive. The video went on for a couple minutes, and ended very soon after the blue-haired boy seemingly won, having knocked the edgier boy's sword away and holding him at swordpoint.

All in all, it wasn't half bad, and by the end of it, Naoko felt content. It seemed like what was being shown was starting to show real promise, and he went to sleep that night hoping it wasn't just a one-time thing…

Falling asleep still took a while, though. He was surprisingly bothered by the fact that he just couldn't quite remember who those characters were.

After nodding off to sleep, Naoko eventually woke up again to a new day. Getting up and going to the cafeteria, as he had always done, he was able to enjoy an uneventful yet fairly mellow morning. Unlike the previous two days, discussion of Kimi's newly-unveiled work was actually quite brief. Probably just because it didn't seem like there was anything wrong with it. A few of them even said that they enjoyed it, which Kimi was very much happy about. At least she wasn't being too boastful about it, Naoko thought.

Also, it seemed as though not even Kimi was sure who the characters in it were. Strange, Naoko thought. Maybe she actually made both of them up, and Naoko was just imagining things. He couldn't get a definite answer on this, though.

After he was done in the cafeteria, Naoko casually began to leave, pretty much ready to continue on with his day. He didn't really have that much in mind for what to do that day, however. Perhaps he could look into doing something productive? Thus far, they'd been given no indication of when they could expect the fourth and fifth floors to be opened up for them, which meant that they only had so much at their disposal.

That being said, though, Naoko briefly considered what he and the others could do with what they had. He didn't necessarily like admitting it, but Kimi had a point when she complained of their lack of progress in getting the hell out of the facility they were in. Maybe with the wealth of items already at their disposal, they could figure out a way to bust down those shutter doors, or send out a distress signal, or something. It seemed like a tall order, but with some coordination and thought, perhaps they'd be able to figure something out. In fact, upon taking into consideration the fact that such a task would need some coordination between them, he realized if he was going to make any real progress with this, he'd need some help. He stopped and turned around. Scanning the room's occupants, he noticed that Eryu and Yori hadn't left yet, even if a few people already had. The three of them had certainly worked together on such things in the past, so he didn't see why they couldn't again. He discreetly asked both of them if they'd like to meet in the primary storage room, and they both agreed. It seemed like Naoko's little plan had become official.

Unfortunately, this "plan" would end up having to wait.

Naoko entered the hallway leading to the primary storage room, Eryu and Yori right behind him. Yori, for her part, didn't seem content to wait until they arrived at their destination before speaking, so as soon as the hallway was in their sights, she spoke up.

"I must say, Naoko, it was interesting to see you take the initiative like this," she said. "Granted, it's not exactly 'passive', but…Well, if it's just between us for the time being, it doesn't seem to me like it should be much of an issue."

"That's great," Naoko replied. "Thanks."

"No worries," Yori said contentedly. "Eryu, you're fine with this, correct?"

"Huh?" Eryu responded. "Well, I'll admit that I prefer arranging this sort of thing, but I can't say this is bad. It's not like I don't trust Naoko's judgement. It's safe to say at this point that his judgement is pretty damn spot on."

"Well, it's nice to hear you say that," Naoko replied gratefully. It wasn't like Eryu was the first one to tell him something like that, but it was reassuring to hear it nonetheless.

Having to talk like that slowed their pace quite a bit, but they were still able to make it to the door of the storage room by that point. It wasn't like it was far away. Naoko was going to open it, and maybe say something else as he did so, but he couldn't really do either, because something happened before he could that ended up distracting him. From behind him, the door to the medical room opened, and Mareo walked out.

The three looked over at him as he did so. It was hard to miss the sound of the door creaking open, not to mention the distinct sound of metal on stone as he stepped out. When Naoko got a look at him and his face, he was looking right back at them. He looked like he was a bit troubled, but nonetheless was composing himself.

"Oh, hello there," he said. "Good to see you three. Are you all going to be doing something, for lack of a better term, important?"

"I guess so," Naoko replied. "Is it really that obvious?"

"To a certain extent, I'd say yes," Mareo said. "It just seems to me that when you three specifically coordinate on something, it ends up being at least relatively important."

"I suppose we should be taking that as a compliment," Eryu said.

"If that's how you want to see it, then I suppose you should," Yori replied. "But really, I think it would be best if we hurry this along."

"Ah, you're right," Mareo said, putting his hands in front of him apologetically. "Apologies, I suppose I simply wanted to enjoy some lighthearted chatter to-"

Mareo was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Naoko was a bit confused, for a couple of seconds. Not because he was interrupted, but who was interrupting him. Whoever it was, it seemed they were in the room Mareo had just exited out of. That made Naoko worry for a moment, especially because of the fact that the throat-clearing sound came across to him as being distinctly…feminine.

Mareo looked behind him and sighed. "Ah, yes, speaking of, I suppose it's a good thing you're here for this. I'd hate to have to have you find out about this later on."

Mareo stepped out of the way, and someone walked out of the medical room and into the hallway, that someone being exactly whom Naoko was so concerned about moments prior. It was Bankei.

He had not seen her in some time, but there she was. Granted, she still looked to be in a poor state. Her arm was still in that cast, some bruises were still somewhat visible, and she was clearly using a set of crutches to walk. Nonetheless, she seemed fairly at ease, and as soon as she arrived in the hallway, she began nonchalantly gazing at the room's current occupants.

"Eh-heh," She chuckled. "I'm sorry. I suppose interrupting Mareo was a bit on the rude side."

"Bankei?" Naoko asked. "You're out of bed?"

"Well, why wouldn't I be?" Bankei asked rhetorically.

"I believe the answer to that question is clear enough," Yori said calmly. "Judging by your appearance, you still haven't fully recovered."

"True," Bankei replied. "But it's not as though I haven't been recovering at all. Granted, I'm still not in peak physical condition, but now I can do some simple tasks unassisted."

"Hold on a minute," Eryu ordered. "Mareo, you gave her those crutches?"

"Of course I did," Mareo answered. "She expressed a desire to leave her bed and socialize again. I found the crutches, and gave them to her. There isn't really much else to say about it."

"You didn't try telling any of us beforehand, then?" Eryu inquired further.

"Was I supposed to?" Mareo asked concernedly.

"Eh-heheh," Bankei laughed. "I have the distinct feeling that I understand what Eryu is attempting to convey here."

"What would that be?" Mareo asked.

"Well, if my assumption is correct, it would appear that he was expecting you to get his permission beforehand."

"What?!" Eryu exclaimed. "I didn't say that!"

"That's what it sounded like to me," Bankei replied nonchalantly.

"Eryu, perhaps you should calm down," Yori said expectantly. "It's perfectly fine that he gave Bankei a set of crutches to use."

"Yori is correct," Mareo said. "Now that she has them, she shouldn't need nearly as much help as she once did."

"It should be quite nice to be ambulatory once more," Bankei commented lightheartedly. "Having to be carried to the ladies' room seems so silly in retrospect. Then again, I may still be faced with some limitations. The stairs in this place may prove worrisome, specifically. A shame, really, since I would like to be able to see the third floor with my own eyes."

"With your own eyes, huh? Do you know anything about the third floor already?" Naoko asked.

"Only some vague accounts of it from my caretakers," Bankei explained. "I have heard, however, that on that floor there's a room with cells in them. Haru is in one of those right now, is he not?"

Naoko nodded. "That's right, he is. Takeshi and I are taking care of him right now."

"You two are taking care of him?" Bankei asked. "Fascinating. Tell me, what does that entail?"

"Nothing much, really," Naoko replied. He had a weird feeling about being questioned like that, but nonetheless didn't see why he wouldn't answer. "We just keep him fed and get him stuff he needs to stay preoccupied when he asks."

Bankei's grin faded as she gained a muted expression. It looked as though she didn't like hearing that. "Oh. So, you're both at his beck and call. That sounds rather, um, cushiony. For Haru, that is."

"I don't know about that," Naoko replied. "He's still stuck by himself for the next couple weeks or so."

Bankei suddenly looked shocked. "He'll only be locked up for a couple of weeks or so? That doesn't seem very long at all, in my opinion."

"...Mmm," Yori hummed nervously. It looked like she was trying to hide it, but she seemed about as concerned about the current situation as Naoko and Eryu were.

"Are you all really sure that you should let a man as belligerent as him go free so soon?" Bankei asked pointedly. "Because I don't think that would be a good idea at all."

"Belligerent?" Naoko asked confusedly.

"I understand why you feel this way, Bankei. Perhaps we should agree to disagree for the time being," Yori interjected. "We have our business to attend to, and I'm sure you have yours. If you'd like to speak to us about this further, we can do so some time later."

The hallway went silent for a few seconds as Bankei seemed to contemplate this. Naoko couldn't help but notice that Yori was trying to hurry things along. Obviously, she had been worried before, so he could imagine she wanted to put an end to all of it.

"Eh-heh," Bankei laughed for a moment. "Well, that would be just fine. I'd hate to keep you for too long, anyhow. You all have fun."

Bankei then left without saying another word. As soon as she was out of the hallway, Naoko found himself sighing in relief.

"Well, that could've gone better," he said.

"I'm afraid I have to agree," Mareo responded. "You all seemed quite uncomfortable speaking to her. I must say, I'm a bit concerned about all this myself."

"We're sorry to hear that," Yori apologized. "This was all just poorly-timed. Speaking of, however, perhaps we should attend to our own matters now."

Naoko nodded. "Right. Let's get started."