A/N: It's been a while since I've done one of these. For this one, I decided I wanted to revisit the first one, because I feel like Mareo's characterization has changed a lot since then and I wanted to address it. For the second half, I randomized it.

Naoko was heading back down the stairs to see what was going on, and it looked like his hunch was correct. People had apparently ended up dispersing since he left, or, at the very least, one or two people ended up leaving the fourth floor's medical room to look elsewhere. That was, if nothing else, the impression he had when he started heading towards the stairs down to the third floor and came face to face with Mareo in the hallway.

"Hey, Naoko," Mareo greeted him. "We're done with our business on the fourth floor for the time being. We should have plenty of time to ourselves now."

Naoko was glad to hear that, since he was honestly hoping to take a load off after what they'd just dealt with on that floor. Just having a casual conversation seemed nice, so that's what they ended up doing for a while. It wasn't much, but by the end, Naoko felt like, if nothing else, they got a little closer to each other, emotionally speaking. Still, he wanted to make sure it wouldn't be too drab of an experience, so he sweetened the deal with a gift. He'd gotten ahold of a stuffed bear a while ago, and Mareo looked like he enjoyed being gifted it.

"Wow. Forgive my bluntness, but I wasn't expecting something so nice. You must have me figured out."

Still, even after spending some time with him, Naoko couldn't help but notice that there was something bothering Mareo. He couldn't quite place it, but whatever it was, it must've been really nagging him. He figured that asking would be the best course of action.

"You okay, Mareo?" Naoko asked. "It looks like you have something on your mind."

"Ah, yes," Mareo confirmed, "I do indeed. I suppose this was something of an inevitability."

"What is it?"

"Well," Mareo sighed, "I'd just like to apologize for the last time we met up like this. That level of honesty wasn't necessary, was it? Besides, those weren't quite my usual mannerisms, either."

"You talked about yourself in a good deal of detail, yeah," Naoko agreed. "A bit…explicitly, even. I mean, I was surprised you'd be so candid straightaway."

"Well, a lot of people are intrusive when they first meet me," Mareo explained. "I suppose speaking of myself in such a way is more of a reflex than anything."

"People really like to ask you about what it's like wearing a metal suit all the time?" Naoko asked.

"Well, yes," Mareo replied. "Why wouldn't they? It's very unusual, isn't it? This was a particularly challenging aspect of my time in early education. I suppose a lot of young children are curious about things they see as unusual, so they'd ask why I wore a full-body suit."

"What'd you tell them?" Naoko asked.

"Usually, I just said that I was sick," Mareo explained. "Or, rather, that I had a condition. They often followed that up by asking what kind of condition I had. From there, I usually explained it in the simplest terms I could muster at my young age."

"What would be the simplest terms to describe your condition?" Naoko asked. "I'd think saying your body was very fragile would be enough."

"True. That's what I would try to convey," Mareo said. "I remember I took up a habit of saying I was born with glass bones and paper skin. A lot of kids responded well to it, and funnily enough, I didn't even realize why until someone told me."

Naoko chuckled. "Yeah, alright. I think I'm starting to understand what you're getting at."

"Good," Mareo said, relieved. "Honestly, I don't blame any of them for being intrusive. I am indeed an unusual case. There's not much of a frame of reference that people have for people with my condition because…as far as I'm aware, there are no known cases of my condition aside from myself. There are people with similar conditions, but they tend to be less…I believe 'extensive' would be the most accurate term."

"Similar conditions?" Naoko asked.

"Well, yes," Mareo replied. "I remember meeting some children in the past with a rather rare genetic condition called 'osteogenesis imperfecta'. Have you heard of it?"

Naoko thought that that sounded somewhat familiar. "Osteogenesis…Huh. Isn't that just the scientific name for brittle bone disease?"

"Yes, it is. Apologies for not just saying that," Mareo replied bashfully. "I have what could be considered a fairly bad case of it myself, but it's still rather different."

"Different how?" Naoko asked. "I mean, I know that it's not just your bones that are affected, but…"

"Yes, that's the tricky part," Mareo said. "You see, from what I've been told, osteogenesis imperfecta comes with a variety of symptoms. Moderate to severe cases can lead to things such as short height, bone deformities, breathing difficulties…Some cases are so severe that those affected can't be held upright by their skeletal structure."

"So, then they can't walk," Naoko observed. "But I've seen you walk around plenty. Is that because of the suit?"

"Well, actually," Mareo began to explain, "it's primarily thanks to a combination of medication, physical therapy, and extensive surgery. Those have worked wonders for my general autonomy, but…unfortunately, it's only helped so much. Like I've said, I'm an unusual case indeed. There are some symptoms that one would expect me to have that I don't, and what's been done to alleviate the symptoms that I do have aren't enough to fully negate them. It's…"

Mareo took a moment to look away, letting out a long sigh in the process.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't planning on making this sound so grim."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that," Naoko replied. "I get it."

"You do?" Mareo responded, relieved. "Well, alright then. I wasn't entirely sure how you'd feel. After the last time we spoke on this topic, I didn't want to risk overstepping my bounds."

"Well, it doesn't really bother me if you want to talk about how hard living with your condition has been," Naoko said. "If anything, I think it's kind of interesting. If you wanna talk about it again some time, I'd be happy to hear."

"Really?" Mareo replied, sounding as though his curiosity was piqued. "Well, that sounds just fine."

It was the truth, of course. The first time they started talking one on one about the topic, it was a bit too much information all at once. Still, Naoko didn't want to blow him off because of it. He still felt like it was a rich topic for discussion, and he was still legitimately curious about what things were like for him. It already sounded like Mareo was often the center of people's attention. He could only imagine what sort of reactions people would've had to him when he was younger.

It was some time after that that Naoko decided to move on. He still had some time to himself, and he figured he'd go out and find someone else to talk to. People had started moving around quite a bit already, but there were still some people knocking around the fourth floor. There in the common room, in fact, Naoko could see Mariko and Kimi, the latter of whom was still hogging that one couch.

"Hey, Naoko," Mariko greeted him. "Sorry about Kimi. She's been hogging that couch for a while now."

"That's fine," Naoko supposed. "Let's just go somewhere else for now."

He wasn't really in much of a mood to try and get Kimi to budge from where she was. It wasn't like there wasn't a load of other furniture to choose from in the room. Still, she had a habit of making snarky comments, and he didn't need those, either, so relocating was only natural. They took the opportunity to speak to one another, though the topic shifted to Kimi soon enough. Mariko was irked with her, and Naoko understood that completely, so he didn't exactly disagree. It was kind of funny, how a mutual agreement about someone else's brattiness could bring them closer together.

Well, Naoko figured he'd put her mind at ease with a gift. He just so happened to have some rather cute-looking earbuds. Perhaps she'd be able to make use of them? She seemed to enjoy the gift, if nothing else.

"Wow, thanks Naoko! You must know me really well!"

Naoko took a moment to think about what they established the last time they spoke one-on-one. "So, I remember we talked about how you got into composing music."

"Well, yeah, that's what I remember too," Mariko supposed. "Nothing too crazy, I don't think. I just…like music. Well, most people like music, but y'know."

"Yeah, I get it," Naoko replied understandingly. "So, have you done anything interesting relating to music, aside from composing?"

"Like what?" Mariko asked.

"I was just wondering because, well," Naoko began, "a lot of people will go to concerts, for example."

"Concerts, huh?" Mariko pondered. "Sorry, but I mostly just listen to music from home. I'm, uh, not really into concerts."

"How come?" Naoko asked.

"They're just…not for me," Mariko explained. "It's crowded, and noisy, and everything is overpriced…Seeing stuff live is nice, but you have to go through a lot. Plus, like I said, it's expensive."

"Hmm," Naoko thought to himself for a moment. "I guess that's fair. I don't think many people enjoy being in a large crowd. Or maybe I'm just projecting, because that's how I feel."

"You don't like crowds either, huh?" Mariko asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Naoko shrugged. "I feel like being in one's a good way to get sick, for starters, and that's no fun."

"Totally!" Mariko agreed wholeheartedly. "And you have to deal with those long lines, and people are always moving around here and there…As if that sort of thing isn't bad enough, just from going outside."

"Yeah." Naoko nodded along to what she was saying, but stopped for a moment when he took note of what she'd just said. "...Wait, you don't like going outside, either?"

"Well, um…yeah," Mariko said embarrassedly. "I mean, I know that sounds weird, but it's true. I mostly just stay home. That's where most of the important stuff is."

"I see," Naoko replied thoughtfully. He could make some sort of remark about that, he observed, but he refrained from doing so, on the grounds that he wasn't Kimi. "That doesn't sound healthy, though."

"Oh, I-I guess that's true, yeah," Mariko replied hesitantly. "But it's not too extreme. I mean, I'm not like one of those people that just lock themselves in their house and don't go outside. Y'know?"

Naoko had a feeling he knew what she was referring to. It was a phenomenon he'd heard of in the past. "Hikikomori? Is that what you mean?"

"Yeah, exactly," Mariko said sadly. "It's awful. These people just stop working or going to school and just…stay home. They don't even talk to people, or have friends."

"But you weren't like that, were you?" Naoko asked.

"Well, no," Mariko said. "I went to school, and I had friends, but I still kind of…stayed home, if I could."

"Well, then you're no hikikomori, probably," Naoko reasoned. "That's more introversion, to me. I was kinda like that for a long time, staying inside a lot. But still, I wouldn't say I don't like going outside."

"That's cool," Mariko said affirmatively. "If you're okay with that, then that's great. I just don't wanna…make you feel bad for me or anything."

"I don't know if I feel bad for you," Naoko supposed. "It's just something I don't think I really knew about you. I can't say I'm judging you, at the very least."

"That's good to hear," Mariko sighed.

Naoko supposed that it was, indeed, probably not the healthiest lifestyle. Then again, like he said, he wasn't all that different. And besides, it didn't matter to them at the moment. After all, they were stuck inside, and they couldn't leave if they wanted to. That was just the way it was, so it wasn't like any of them could be judged for staying inside. Still, there was the question of why she didn't like to go outside. Perhaps that could be something to ask her about? Only time would tell.