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[spacialeyes]

[Her response is so detached. She doesn’t yell at him or deny the soup or ask him to rush her back to this important task of hers. Yuuto knows something is wrong, but…

He returns to Inaba and sits in the side of the bed, reaching out to check her fever by touching her forehead.]

Can you eat, Inaba? I’ll heat up some soup for you?

[dereban]

[ She still feels very warm and Inaba finds herself groaning in slight annoyance, although it isn't directed at him. ]

I can eat. Room service should be coming in a bit with some stuff. Take the ice and put it in a bag so I can use it as a cooling pad.

[spacialeyes]

Okayyyy. [Though he senses that Inaba is annoyed, Yuuto chooses not to linger on it. Whatever happened between these two is something they probably need to come back to later... maybe over mimosas or something.

He stands again, but before kissing her feverish forehead.]

Soup, room service, cooling pad... What else can I get for you while I'm up?

[dereban]

Should just be water for the medicine.

[spacialeyes]

Alright. [Yuuto walks towards the kitchenette, calling over his shoulder,] How's your computer doing? Is everything there?

How's your girlfriend?

[dereban]

Parts of my notes are missing, so I need to rewrite all those sections.

[ And she coughs a bit-- ]

Say that again and I'll strangle your ass.

[spacialeyes]

I'd be happy that you're feeling energetic enough for that~.

[He checks the door and fetches the room service items, then gets to work in the kitchen. Fortunately there are some bowls and silverware, so he's able to serve her soup properly. While that heats in a microwave, Yuuto focuses on the ice pack.]

Do you need any help? I have a pretty good memory and my sense of time is on-point.

[dereban]

Actually, yeah-- I need you to double check some stuff with me. I need to make absolutely certain that I either haven't forgotten anything or that my memories haven't been fucked with. I plan on contacting someone else for that, too.

[spacialeyes]

I can do that, mm!

[Yuuto walks back with the ice pack in one hand and soup tray balanced in the other. He’ll get the pillows and such when she’s done eating.]

But first! Lunch~! Why don’t you eat and I’ll review what you have written so far?

[dereban]

Oh-- I'll have to translate for you. My notes are written in a bit of a complex code. But... yeah, I'll eat.

[spacialeyes]

Eh... Can I take a crack at the code while you're eating then?

[He needs to keep busy or he'll go insane, so an unsolvable code would be perfect.]

[dereban]

It's triple layered, so good fucking luck.

[spacialeyes]

Sounds fun! [Yuuto holds out his hand to accept her notes,] How's the soup? Okay?

[dereban]

Here.

[ She'll hand him her notebook; if he opens it up, he'll notice that it at least seems familiar at a glance- it's a bunch of zeroes and ones. ]

The soup's pretty decent.

[spacialeyes]

Good. I brought some extra, so if we move you into a house tomorrow then you can keep some.

[Yuuto takes the notebook and opens its, briefly scanning over the numbers to search for indications that it's binary.]

What did you and Ryoko talk about?

[dereban]

... Thanks. I appreciate it.

[ It is in fact binary--however, if he tries to translate it, the letters don't formulate actual words.

But then Yuuto asks that question and she pulls her legs closer to her chest, protective. ]

...I... I got upset. I was told that I shouldn't push myself. But I can't accept that. I have to continue working.

[spacialeyes]

[Well, she did warn him that this code was layer. Yuuto is still scanning the binary for patterns as he speaks, but it's mostly to ground his thoughts. Otherwise he's going to get anxious for both of them.]

I see.

You're both alike in that way, aren't you? Pushing yourselves to the brink... Is it that you both don't know how to stop, I wonder, or that stopping is scary..? Sometimes it's harder to get moving after a break than it is to keep going, hm?

[dereban]

. . . For me it's-

[ She sure did! There does seem to be a pattern, like the letters are shifted slightly.

Nevertheless, Inaba takes a sip of the soup before continuing. ]

I'm afraid. If I don't do all of this, people won't-- I don't want to be alone.

[spacialeyes]

I see. [Yuuto lowers the code for a moment, putting all of his focus on Inaba. Anxiety be damned.]

Inaba, do you know why Ryoko asks you to take it easy?

[dereban]

I have a few guesses. Even so... that doesn't matter.

[spacialeyes]

[Well, he's pushing his answer anyway!]

When Ryoko asks you to take it easy, what she's really saying is probably more like... "I want to be with you for a long time, so I don't want you to get sick."

She isn't going to leave you. I think it's the opposite. She sees you working so hard and she's scared for you. Though! [He fully sets the notes down now,] I'm pretty bad at taking her advice myself... So maybe I don't have the right to talk.

[dereban]

. . . Yuuto.

I'm already sick.

[spacialeyes]

Then isn't that a reason why someone would want for you to take it easy?

[dereban]

I can rest while I'm sick, sure, but... after that... I have to go back to working. I'm useless otherwise.

[spacialeyes]

Please excuse me, as your relationship with Ryoko is not mine to police. [With that disclaimer out of the way!]

But perhaps working together might help? Then she can see that you’re pacing yourself. [And Yuuto narrows his eyes slightly,] Because you’re going to pace yourself, right?