CH 6 Gestures

Laboratory Mishap

Science—such a tricky period before recess.

But for Hiromu and Youko, staying at the lab was nostalgic. Their deceased parents were great scientists and were often seen researching and experimenting in the laboratories of the previous teleportation facility at the Dainan district. Hiromu thought that a laboratory experiment with Youko's section would be an interesting memory for his teaching assignment. For that reason, he brought the class to a laboratory at the east wing of the school building.

Hiromu demonstrated flawlessly about how Icelandic geysers erupt using a flask containing cacodyl chloride. He did this with great caution to prevent lab mishaps. After all, cacodyls chloride's a dangerous chemical that can cause permanent blindness.

In contrast, Youko was taking interest on a glass pipette while the class emulated what Hiromu did. She remembered how she made Ryuuji furious when she used the pipette as a stirrer for a glass of cold milk.

Hiromu noticed that Youko was playing with the glass pipette and a stopper. He removed his eye mask, walked towards her and put his hands in his sides.

"Stop playing like a child, Youko" he said firmly.

"I'm not playing, I'm trying something," she retorted, "and please, stop treating me like a child".

She was forcing the pipette in the hole of the stopper with her hand. She was using her whole strength as the pipette won't go through. Hiromu's eyes widened in aghast.

"Youko that's—"

POINGK!

The pipette flew and hit Hiromu HARD in the eye.

"HIROMU!" Youko bellowed

At the Infirmary

Hiromu felt how lucky he was that he won't be needing stitches. However, he had to sport a gauze pad in his right eye for a few days. His laboratory class had to be dismissed early, that's why Youko's section had an extended free time till recess. It was only his third day in his teaching assignment and he thought that partial blindness will do little to his overall performance.

Youko fidgeted while watching Hiromu from a distance.

"d—daijobou?" she asked nervously when the nurse went out for a while

"mochiron" Hiromu replied resolutely, "this does not par with the wounds we received while fighting Vaglass. On the other hand, I'm a bit disabled because of your impulsiveness."

Impulsiveness, Youko thought. Such description was tagged to her memory of being "rejected" by him. But instead of getting annoyed by his straightforwardness, she felt more miserable.

"gomen" she said while looking down at her feet

Youko's face was all gloomy that Hiromu had to toss a tissue roll at her head.

"daijobou, I'm not angry at you" he chuckled, "but I'm feeling that the other side of my face is throbbing"

Youko's face brightened up, "Souka, I remember Jin-san telling me that okasan does this when my face hurts"

She moved closer and put her hands in each side of his face. Hiromu jerked initially but remained still afterwards.

Despite Youko's nervousness, her hands were still warm. And it coincided with the sudden shift of her expression from apprehension to placidness. He thought that both her gaze and her gesture were soothing.

After some minutes, she removed her hands from his face.

"how does it feel?" she asked. She was expecting that her gesture somehow helped to distract him from the throbbing.

"Funny" he replied with a hint of amuse

"doushite?" she asked in return, her eyebrows turning into a frown.

Hiromu was about to reply when the nurse appeared. She came back with a new roll of gauze and jelly doughnut. Both items were given to Hiromu and the nurse disappeared again from their view to attend to a student who just turned up.

Hiromu gave the doughnut to Youko, "This is for you. I noticed that you haven't taken anything to boost your calories."

Hiromu had always been observant with Youko's calorie intake. Even during their heyday with Vaglass, he had been as obstinate as Usada. At first, Youko thought she was being implied of being forgetful but she just realized that he was being thoughtful.

"and to continue my answer earlier—"

The school bell rang as recess drew to a close. Youko let out a shriek and put the doughnut between her teeth.

"I have to go, gomen!" she said while biting off a large chunk from her snack.

His gaze followed her as she vanished from the hallway.

He realized that he had to hurry too. He needed to be in his school for his afternoon classes. As he walked towards the faculty room, he placed a hand in his chest and muttered,

"this feels funny"

Research

There was a waiting room in the hallway (adjacent to the sleeping quarters of the gobusters). Hiromu was always found contemplating or playing his music box there with his buddyroid, Nick. In short, it was Hiromu's favorite 'hang-out' in the city (in the country side, he preferred by the sea). However, Nick wasn't there when Hiromu was doing his research on a laptop. He had retreated to his quarters earlier than usual— thus leaving Hiromu alone.

Hiromu was editing his paper when Youko appeared with her workbook. Her eyes were already puffy and red as if she's been staring in her workbooks for long. Hiromu was looking at her from a reflection and smiled in discreet when he saw her donning her Usada-inspired pajamas.

Youko took a seat beside him and stared at him from the corner of her eye.

"Homework?" Hiromu asked without looking at her

"I'm not asking your help" Youko replied defensively, "besides it's only English."

She opened her workbook and started working on the reading comprehension section. She was underlining sentences and taking glances at him simultaneously. His eye-patch seems new, she said to herself.

"that's not due tomorrow" Hiromu said, surprised that she was studying in advance.

"how did you-?" she paused and looked at the date on the topic. It was due two weeks from now. She groaned resentfully for her mistake and searched for the page that was for tomorrow.

"I was almost impressed, then I thought it was unlike you" he chuckled

Youko made a face and continued with her work.

Two hours had passed and Hiromu was almost done with his goal. He glanced at Youko who was still busy with her workbook. She was ready to doze off, with her head bobbing and her eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Yet, she supported herself by putting all her weight to her pencil.

THUD.

She fell asleep with her right cheek resting on the arm that was pinned on the table.

Thinking that she failed to finish her workbook on time, he leaned his head and made a quick look without touching the pages. He was surprised to know that Youko was already done with her homework for tomorrow and was covering for the pages that were due a week after.

"could it be?—That you were waiting…" Hiromu said delicately

He closed his laptop, moved it away from him and rested his arms on the table. He relaxed himself by pinning his left cheek in his right arm. He stared at her for a while until he felt his eyelids getting heavier minute by minute. He didn't remove his gaze from her most especially when she was beginning to smile in her sleep.

Hiromu chuckled to find such a soothing sight and fell asleep.