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She'd expected things to be more awkward than they are.

There's something which approaches nostalgia as she waits for the bus with the man whom had once been one of her closest friends. It almost reminds her of those long hours spent out on the pier of the island, looking out over the ocean. Almost…

She tries not to stare at him, but it's difficult when she can see that Zane is struggling. He won't confess to that much, but he's breathing too fast, and too hard given that he's pretty much idle right now. Alexis wants to ask him if he's alright. She even opens her mouth a couple of times, but silences herself. Her brother, and Aster had both been in agreement on a particular point: do not fret about him. He did not appreciate people asking him if he was alright, probably because he wasn't. So the woman bites her tongue, she forces herself to assume that if things get too bad, he'll say or do something.

Although it's Zane, he could easily just allow himself to collapse out of stubbornness.

From time to time, she feels her companion's gaze come to rest upon her.

"You don't need to babysit me, Alexis."
"Sorry, but I have my orders." She reminds him. "I'm not to let you out of my sight."
"Is that so?" He doesn't keep the irritation out of his voice.

The bus pulls up, and Zane takes a step forwards. She follows him. She'd made some effort to learn the route, or at least the basics of it. Just so that her charge can't give her the slip. Not that he looks as if he has it in him to do that these days.

"Why do you need someone to come with you anyway?" The woman can't help but ask.
"Cause' that brother of yours thinks I'll skip, or I'll pass out or something."
"Would you?"

He doesn't answer, and that's answer enough.

The pair climb into the bus. It's moderately crowded. Alexis contents herself with following Zane. He makes his way along, periodically grabbing a hold of some a chair, or some of the handles to support himself. Eventually, the man finds a seat and settles down. It doesn't escape Alexis' attention that he's panting, although he's doing his best to attempt to conceal it. Instead, he begins to cough. It's a chesty one, which makes her wonder if he might not have a cold on top of all of his other problems. He pulls out a handkerchief, doing his best to muffle the sounds.

The woman he 's chosen to sit next to – although Alexis doubts he's even taken any notice of her, gives the man a sideways glance, cautious and displeased, before getting to her feet. She moves elsewhere, finding another seat away from Zane. The dark haired man didn't pay the stranger any attention, treating it as an every day occurrence.

To Alexis though, it comes as a shock.

Zane had always been the cool guy to be around. She can remember that much from when they were children, and even more so on Duel Academy island. She remembers the mixture between curiosity, and jealousy as others had wondered just how it was that she'd managed to get so close to the famously distant Zane Truesdale.

Back then, people had moved out of his way as a show of reverence. Hell Kaiser had inspired fear, and later respect. Fifteen years later, he might as well have crawled out of a gutter.

Alexis makes a point of sitting next to him. Looking the other woman in the eyes as she does so. Strangely, she doesn't find the same condemnation there, more some confusion. She pays the stranger no more attention, focusing instead on the man that she'd offered to accompany. Zane's coughing has calmed down now. She wants to ask him if he's alright, but he raises a hand, either in an attempt to silence, or reassure her. She chooses to assume the latter. It's easier for her to assume he's being nice.

"Do you get out often?"
"Sometimes."

He doesn't want to talk. She's braced herself for that much. Aster, and Atticus had both warned her that at best, Zane is likely to be taciturn, if not down right hostile. Alexis doesn't want to push things too far. She folds her hands across her lap, and decides to wait out the rest of the bus ride quietly, if it will better suit the man she's accompanying.

They get off at a stop in one of the better off neighborhoods of Domino city. It's a far cry from where Zane has been living of late. He seems familiar enough with it though, and needs no guiding in order to find his way along. Alexis contents herself with following. He doesn't bother checking to make sure that she's still there. Briefly, she wonders what might happen if she were to vanish suddenly. Would he notice? Would he care? She pushes such thoughts from her mind as best as possible.

Zane seems to be moving around easily enough. If anything, he seems to be doing so more easily now, than he had done before boarding the bus. He's straightened his back, and sped up his gait a little. Without saying a word, he abruptly turns off to enter a building. He doesn't hesitate. As he enters the door, Alexis only just has enough time to catch a glimpse of a big bronze plaque proudly proclaiming the name of the doctors who work within the building, their diplomas, and titles. One of them, she knows, will be for her friend. A certain doctor Newman. Aster has told her that much.

The time that it takes her to register it, and step on through the front door, Zane is already at the front desk. The receptionist gives a slightly perplexed look towards Alexis, which is quickly replaced by a warm smile of greeting. No doubt, she assumes her to be a patient, rather than someone accompanying one.

"She's with me." Zane explains.

They're instructed to wait a while. Alexis follows him as he goes to settle down in a nearby waiting lounge. Again, she sits next to him. At least he doesn't chase her away. Sitting there, she can hear him making an odd sound. Initially, she assumes that he's panting again, doing what he can to catch his breath. He's muffling it though, trying to conceal it as best as he can. Briefly, his old friend glances towards the receptionist. If Zane's going to suffer from an attack of some kind, or get sick (well, more sick), then they've picked the next best place to a hospital for him to do it.

As the seconds trickle by, and he shows no real signs of improving, she finds herself to be growing increasingly anxious:

"Do you want me to get you some water?"
"I'm fine Alexis."

His tone silences her. It isn't angry, but once more he makes it clear that he doesn't want her fretting about him. She wants to, because she knows that he's not going to to do it himself.

They wait for about a quarter of an hour, before a woman come for them. She be the doctor. Atticus had given only a few words of a description: stern, and strict. Exactly what Zane needed apparently. Someone who couldn't be pushed around. There's definitely a sharp look behind her eyes as they lock onto her patient. The former duelist doesn't speak. Instead, he gets to his feet. He makes a point of moving as naturally as possible, concealing the difficulties he's having catching his breath. Alexis keeps watch on him out of the corner of her eye. It's an act that she gets the feeling he's practiced before.

The doctor opens the door to her office. Alexis gets a brief glimpse inside, before, to her surprise, Zane steps out in front of her. He stands there, blocking her way. He seems hesitant, before speaking:

"Wait out here."

It's the first time that Zane has really asked something of her. She nods once, respecting his need for privacy. She'll wait outside. The door is shut, and her old friend disappears from view.

Alexis folds her arms, and allows herself to wander just a little bit further away from the door. It's an unnecessary gesture, it's not like she intended to eavesdrop anyway. What goes on inside the room is between Zane, and his doctor. Her presence here was only to ensure that he actually made it to begin with.

She does allow herself to wonder though. Presumably it will just be a check-up, accompanied by a prescription for the usual cocktail of drugs that she assumes he's on. The only thing that makes her doubt that assumption is that Zane hadn't wanted her to come inside. He must realize that she knows the severity of his condition at this point. Hearing it coming out of the mouth of a doctor, as opposed to from Atticus, Aster, or even to a degree the man himself, isn't going to make much of a difference for her.

Zane emerges about twenty minutes later. His face is as grim as ever, but he's clutching a paper in his hands which has a list of medicines that almost seems to run off of the end of it. His dark eyes come to rest upon her, but he pays her no more attention than that. His destination is set in mind, as he makes his way towards the exit. They step outside. The former pro-duelest takes the opportunity to take a few breaths. He stares out ahead of him, seemingly deep in thought:

"Are you going to be following me, all day?" He mutters glumly.
"I guess that's the plan." She answers.
"Don't you have anything better to do?" Zane questions, beginning to walk once more.
"Better than helping out a friend?"

She doesn't think that she's really helping him right now. At best, she's following him around. Today at least, Zane seems to be able to more or less cope for herself. Although he's certainly struggling, if she were to leave his side right now, would it really make such a big difference?

The man checks his watch. He grimaces, but provides no explanation. He begins walking once more, setting off with a purposeful stride. The brusqueness of it surprises his companion. She lingers for an instant, wondering if he's actually trying to escape her. It's not like he's been particularly subtle with his messages up until this point. After a few seconds of hesitation, she gives chase. It isn't difficult to catch up with Zane. He makes no attempt to dismiss her, focused instead solely on the route ahead of him.

"It's your time that you're wasting..." Zane grumbles, not even deigning to look at her.

Well, it's a start. At least he's not chasing her away.

Alexis hadn't been assuming that this is going to be an easy task. Even before the dark days, before his spiral into insanity, Zane had never been a terribly easy person to read, or to handle. She knows that sometimes just getting him to tolerate the presence of another can be a challenge in itself. The fact that he hasn't chased her away is something of a victory in itself.

They don't go that far. There's a pharmacy a couple of blocks away. It's there that Zane chooses to go to pick up his medicine. Alexis watches as piles of boxes, and pills are handed over to him. He doesn't have a bag, instead managing to slip them into the various pockets of his jacket. It's the variety of them, just as much as the quantity which strikes Alexis. Are they to help fight the symptoms and make life more livable, or to buy them more time? She's no doctor, nor pharmacist, and so doesn't know. All she can do is note that her old friend seems to be accustomed to it. He must have been here a hundred times before…

He leaves without so much as a word. From thereon out, it's as if she isn't even there. He goes about his business, and if he looks at her twice over the course of the hour, and a half that they're moving about the city, it's a lot. Alexis goes along with it, as best as she can. A bit of dialogue would be nice, but it's all baby steps as she sees things.

Then it's another bus ride.

She expects him to go home, they're on the right route after all. Zane gets off two stops too early though. He doesn't explain himself. In fact, he doesn't even warn her that he's about to do it. The man just gets up, and goes. His actions force her to jump up, and give chase if she doesn't want to be left behind.

The street they find themselves is one of the more rundown ones of the city. It's the sort of neighborhood that Alexis fancies she wouldn't like to walk around by herself after dark. Zane doesn't seem phased by it. He begins to walk, but – to her surprise – takes the precaution of looking over his shoulder to ensure that she's still following him. Of course she is, following only a couple of steps behind him. Nervous, but reluctant to leave the man. He seems to have a destination in mind. In fact, he's sped up his pace again approaching something which resembles a more normal pace.

"Since you're so keen to keep me company, we might as well have some fun."