yumemigaoka | (no subject)

Huh?

[ At first she seems a little confused as to what he means, but.. well, with the way Keiwa is looking it sure doesn't take a genius to figure out why he might want to keep others at a slight distance.

It immediately softens the look in the girl's eyes, and she does keep a relatively respectful distance from the other, not wanting to get sick - or Keiwa to feel bad for making her sick too. ]

Are you sick? Is it bad..? [ Sure, Keiwa is still walking around, so technically it couldn't be that bad.

But maybe he's pushing himself. ]

[Keiwa gives her an apologetic smile as he adjusts his mask carefully. His tone is light though, even through the extra rasp]

I might have caught a cold. [stating the obvious there, buddy] It doesn't feel too bad right now, but it's probably better I don't let it get worse. Hence...

[here he wiggles his shopping basket to emphasize, holding back a cough as he does]

How are you? Staying warm?

[ The girl nods. And she does seem to be telling the truth - she's wearing a nice winter coat and a scarf and all! Her caretakers wouldn't let her leave the house unless she was adequately protected against the cold. ]

I'm sorry that happened.. Colds are the worst!

[ Wow, look. At least one thing Illya dares to protest out loud without feeling too shy about it. Maybe she just thinks this is universal enough of a truth to be able to proclaim it like this.. ]

Keiwa-san, you have to kick that cold's butt!

[there's a startled blink when Illya brightly tells the cold off. After a moment, Keiwa laughs weakly - weakly because he unintentionally starts coughing again when the laugh. He's mindful to cough away from Illya (and the shelves).

But his eyes are in the shape of happy crescents, so she's at least successfully cheered him up!]

If you're cheering me on then I'll have to do my best! [pause] Though maybe I'll drop into the Dream Sphere when I'm not feeling too tired.

[ .. hmmm...

Illya isn't sure how to feel about that one. Especially since she isn't sure if Keiwa would make sure that he's feeling a lot better before dropping in there, and she isn't sure if it's a good idea to go to the Dream Sphere while he's still sick..

But then again, the idea of telling someone off is Scary. Even someone who would surely take it as well as Keiwa would. So the girl decides on a middle road - trying to address it in a more indirect way.

For example, starting with-- ]

Do you think it's just a normal cold? I mean.. um, it's not something you caught in the Dream Sphere somehow, right? [ A magical girl cold.. ]

[she knows him so well...]

Huh? [he blinks in confusion at the question before stopping to actually consider it] Can you catch a cold from the Dream Sphere...?

[then he shakes his head slowly]

No... Well, technically, a few other Dreamers and I were knocked out by one of the Hatsuyume Nightmares earlier this month. So that left me with a headache... [pause, then the lightbulb goes off in slow motion] Oh. I wonder if it overlapped?

[even with Tsukasa pointing it out, Keiwa hadn't drawn the line. Or maybe he did, and had forgotten about it in the middle of his work shifts and volunteering]

[ Illya gasps. ]

See?!

[ She's suddenly growing a little bit more intense.. But rather than being excited about potentially being right, it's more that she's getting kind of worried for Keiwa at the very thought of this.. ]

It could be something you got from the Dream Sphere! A-And in that case-- It's probably way more than a cold! [ It could be bad, Keiwa! This could be on a 'someone sure should look at that' level! What if she caught something right before it got worse, and she's saving your life right now?! ]

[he shrinks back, both hands held up to his chest and looking like a small, startled animal... Even though he's nearly twice as tall as she is]

F-From the Dream Sphere? Do you think that's even possible?

[his own eyes grow wide because who would have thought to consider whether Dream Colds were a thing? The answer is these two worrywarts]

Hmm... Well, there's a doctor on staff at the DU, right? [he reaches up to readjust his mask. Keiwa sort of wants to go home to curl up in bed but Illya's got a very good point! If it is something that serious, ignoring it would be a bad decision indeed] Maybe... It wouldn't hurt to go to them for a quick check up.

I think it would hurt more to not go to them!

[ That's her agreeing, by the way. Despite the odd wording. But the odd wording is entirely there to egg him on-- because Illya thinks that the way Keiwa is talking right now is definitely not the one way one should be talking while dealing with something like this.

If she has to harass him into making sure he sees a doctor, then she'll do just that. ]

I mean-- Do I have to take you to one right now?! [ She'll do it, Keiwa!! Don't test her!!

She's very serious about your well-being!! ]

Aah...

[he smiles and lets out a soft laugh from behind his mask when he sees Illya all fired up]

No, no, it's okay! I'll head over after paying for these. [he gently sways his basket, not quite feeling up to swinging it more obviously] I wouldn't want you to catch my cold either.

[HE'S MAKING EXCUSES, GET HIM, ILLYA-CHAN]

[ To be fair, Illya really does not want to catch whatever kind of magical Dream Sphere cold this might be. That would be huge trouble. Imagine if she got sick in a weird way, and poor Sella and Liz had to deal with it-- and what if her parents caught wind of it and would get worried on the other side of the world--

That's terrible. It's all terrible!! She can't let that happen!!

But you know what she can't let happen even more? Keiwa doing his whole avoidance act, just so he can sneak off when Illya isn't looking. Not about this!! ]

Then let's go pay!

[ ...

Yeah, sorry, Keiwa. You're not getting out of this one. Look how determined she is. She's already heading in the direction of the register.. ]

Come on, Keiwa-san! Let's hurry! Then we probably can get you to the doctor before business hours are over! [ This is a WE operation now!!!! ]

Huh-?

[he's a little startled by how insistent Illya is. He hadn't been expecting it! And the wide eyed blinking is probably a dead giveaway for it too. There's a second where he stands there, somewhat dumbfounded, before he comes back to himself with a quiet 'ah!' and follows after Illya]

Okay, sure...? [he's fishing out his wallet, one moment- There it is! So he repeats again, this time with a little more confidence and after a short coughing fit] Okay then.

[once his purchase has been paid for and tucked safely into his usual backpack, Keiwa steps out of the conbini with Illya. He adjusts his mask once again before asking]

The DU is over that way, right? Shall we go?

Yeah!

[ Zero hesitation. Illya is locked in now. This is her goal, and she's going for it. She's already turning after her answer to start walking in the direction of the DU.

.. though she does look back at him. You know, just to make sure Keiwa isn't running away when she isn't looking.. One way or another, she's going to get him to that doctor! ]

Would you really just have kept walking around with that if I hadn't said anything..? [ Keiwa, think of the potential consequences!! Think of the quencies!! ]

[and, luckily for Illya, Keiwa is following behind her, head tilting slightly in curiosity when she turns to look for him]

... [he can't lie very well on the regular, unless he has a very good reason to. He doubly has a hard time lying to friends... So when Illya asks, his awkward sigh turns into a series of coughs before he answers;] Well, I do have to walk back home...

[Sara and Hana appreciate Illya looking out for their brother/cousin, now that they can't do so!!]

[ !!!

Caught red-handed, tanuki man! Even though Illya does kind of know what Keiwa is like, she still would like to assume the best of him, which means she does still look kind of surprised when he's admitting this much now.. ]

Keiwa-san! [ Hence why her tone isn't really scolding as much as she sounds startled. ] Don't you know how bad that could have gone? What if something really bad happened to you? Soooo many people would be worried!

[ Illya may apparently have certain ideas about Keiwa's popularity levels, huh. ]

[oh nooooo, Illya, don't call him out like! Keiwa, at least, looks guilty when she points that out to him]

I just... [awkwardly pulls his mask] It's probably just a cold. Nothing too serious...

[then he looks flustered when Illya mentions that people would be worried. Not just people, but so many people]

Illya-chan, I'm not that popular...

[he gave everyone Valentine's chocolates last year because he had time and wanted to do something for people, not because he'd received a bunch of chocolates. Whether that makes it better or worse is up in the air]

Of course you are! I have seen how many chocolates you were handing out!

[ Sorry, Keiwa.. This is apparently the image of yourself you have managed to cultivate in the young girl's mind.. Even the fact that he's sometimes a little helpless doesn't seem to ruin that image in Illya's mind either. Maybe she thinks he's popular because of that helpless nature.. Maybe it makes people want to take care of him!! ]

Do you think aaaaall of those people [ yes, she is gesturing wildly with her hands in the air now to make her point ] wouldn't even care if something bad happened to you? There's been so many Disturbances, Keiwa-san! We can't have people with mysterious illnesses on top of that..!

Maybe... [he sounds dubious, but also a little amused. What is Illya's impression of him? The 'Keiwa' she knows sounds so much more reliable than regular old him. Except she's not too far off from the truth and he's just his own blind spot... It contributes to the often helpless, sometimes pathetic energy he has]

When Illya-chan puts it like that, I guess I might be a little too relaxed about it. But that's why you're coming with me to see the doctor, right? [he smiles behind his mask, eyes curling up in happiness because Illya's wild gestures and genuine care was warming in spite of these cold temperatures... He has to stop for a second as a cough sneaks it's way out when he laughs at the young girl's antics]

... Though when you bring up the Disturbances... It does feel like a lot has happened recently, huh? Especially since Ai-san said they'd never seen anything like them before Mio-san's Disturbance.

[ There's such an energetic and determined nod when he mentions that a lot has happened. It's strange, since it almost felt like a regular part of being a Dreamer to her, considering how many there have been since she became one.. but the way the DU communicates about it makes it very clear that it's supposed to be something that doesn't happen. ]

Uh-huh! It's happened to so many people I know.

[ Maybe that's why the young girl seems a little overly fussy. Maybe she thinks she can prevent more if she just takes care of the people around her well enough.. ]

And they're-- They're so bad! I don't want more to happen!

[caught off guard by Illya's rather energetic response, Keiwa stiffens slightly- And accidentally sets off another coughing fit. He sounds a little more hoarse than he usually does, but he's nodding in agreement with her]

Yeah... [there's a faint smile from under his mask... Even though he's fairly sure this was just a regular cold and not a Disturbance causing illness] Luckily, Illya-chan is looking out for me. But I promise I'll be careful.

[and along those lines...]

I might need to call a ride after visiting the doctor though...