📸💉 - roleplay

"I swear- You'll be fine, stop whining. The least you can do is take it like a man, Tanaka!" A duo went across Hope's Peak, from the courtyard area all the way to the infirmary on one of the higher floors. One was a male student from the reserve course, bleeding from a big but shallow wound in the forehead. Accompanying him was Mahiru, carrying a blood-stained handkerchief and sticking to his colleague's side; yet still not missing a beat in speaking her mind. "Excuse me. Nurse?" Mahiru spoke out loud just after opening the door to the infirmary. She specifically looked out for a female nurse: one, because that felt more trustworthy; but also, because she remembered one of her colleagues was allegedly the Ultimate Nurse, and maybe, if she was lucky, that girl would be here today.

The infirmary was one place for comfort when it came to Mikan. A place where she didn't have to worry about the teasing and nagging- even if most of it did stop as soon as she entered Hope's Peak. Even so, a place where she could have silence and peace while she worked on her studies was phenomenal. Sometimes it felt as if she never wanted to leave. However, even with the comfort, she still had a job to do. She had signed up to volunteer occasionally and allow the school hired nurses a chance to relax. It always seemed like someone was getting hurt. Today was one of those days, and she had elected to work through the full day. As such, she was not required to wear her normal uniform- the only real thing she got out of this job, as she wasn't even paid. But that didn't matter to her, she was happy to help. As she organized pill bottles, she had begun to think on the past and all that came with it, but a piercing voice snapped her from her reverie. She spun quickly to face the door, and moved so that she was in proper view of the door. "I-I'm in here-!" Her timid voice rang out against the sterile air of the infirmary, and she took the steps over to a place right near the door. "What.. What can I help you with?" She had spotted Mahiru first, immediately trying to do what she could to help.

There it was. The voice that rang out in a mix of shrill defensiveness and timid. Today, somehow, it seemed mild. Maybe she felt better here than in their class? Mahiru nodded once she had her attention. "Hello. Mikan, right? We're from the photography club. We were getting some shots outside when this doofus went up a tree to get some from a different angle. He fell. Nothing broken or anything, it seems, but I think his forehead scrapped along the whole tree on the way down." She took a step to the side so that she wouldn't be in the way of Mikan inspecting him. The boy gave a non-committal nod in response. Whether he was more embarrassed or in pain, he at least wasn't complaining anymore. "Can you patch him up? No rush or anything, we were just about done out there."

The tense air that Mikan had been expecting never came, and she was glad that this visit was only one for health. She didn't know why another club might need her, nor did she want to speculate on the possibility of a summons. The idea was far too nerve wracking. "Y-Yes, Mikan Tsumiki. You are.. Mahiru, right?" She might not have interacted with everyone all too often, but she had a penchant for remembering names- especially if it came to following up on an injury. At the explanation she received she allowed herself to step out of the office so that she could look at the injury. A shallow scrape, it wasn't anything she had seen before. The main issue here was making sure the wound didn't get infected. It had happened outside, after all. "I can help-" Her tone was a little more confident than it had been previously, "Please.. St-Step inside. I'll be a moment while I grab some things." With that she stepped back into the infirmary proper and moved immediately to the sink to wash her hands again. She vaguely motioned for the student to sit on one of the cots or one of the seats.

"Mahiru Koizumi, yes. And thank you," she entered along with the other student, which promptly sat in one of the seats the nurse had indicated. Mahiru kept herself standing, eyes alternating between both colleagues. At first, she said nothing, but she and the boy talked briefly about the status of his camera after the fall, which Mahiru took in her hands to examine. And as they waited, she took a photo with it of the nearest wall, and checked it. "Film and lens are fine. The structure doesn't look damaged. Nothing to worry about." She handed him the camera, which the guy pocketed, and from there, Mahiru just observed Mikan from a distance, until she returned.

It took Mikan longer than she would have liked to wash her hands and grab what she needed. She slipped the gauze, ointment, and the paper tape into her pocket as well as a few other things she might need. With a wet cloth clutched in her hand, and a pair of tweezers wrapped in her fist so that she couldn't trip and hurt herself, she moved back over to the student. She wasted no time in her actions, gently cleaning around the edges of the wound and thoroughly picking out any stray pieces of bark that had made their way into the wound. "A-After this, I need you to sign some..something that says you were here." All confidence had left her voice at the request, but her movements were still steady. She set the cloth aside and tucked the tweezers away before grabbing the antibiotic ointment. "I.. I don't mean t-to hold you here too long." She apologized quickly, biting the inside of her cheek nervously as she applied a thin layer of antibiotic cream over the wound. (edited)

Mahiru watched the process. Usually this was the point when she'd strike some sort of conversation, so as to not fall into awkward silence. But she watched Mikan's movements instead. Even when her voice was shaky, her movements were anything but. It was impressive- yet, everyone in this school was impressive in some way. Mahiru just hadn't gotten used to it. "Was that... stuck in your bandages?" Mahiru asked, pointing at the pair of tweezers, which she couldn't guess why they were bound to her. "Ah, anyway, you won't be holding us from much, so take as long as you need." After saying that, Mahiru finally decided to sit down as well, and as she did, she took out her own camera, fiddling with it absent-mindedly as she looked over the two. The boy just gave a committing nod when she spoke about signing something, but didn't move much as to not mess with what she was applying on his forehead.

"Ah-!" She seemed a little shocked by the question, even if it hadn't been meant in any insulting manner. "Yes.. If I were to t-trip, it'd p-prove dangerous." She managed to explain. Her eyes didn't leave her patient though, and it wasn't long before she took some gauze and gently pressed it over the wound with some medical tape. "S-Sorry.. It's not very pretty but it's too big for a normal bandage." The apology tumbled from her mouth, and she took a stumbled step back from him. "Are you h-hurt anywhere else? Wh-When was your last tetanus shot?" The questions seemed more casual than her previous ones, and she made no move to walk away until the questions were answered.

"Three years ago, I think," the boy said, eyes looking up to see if he could see the gauze, but failing. "And nothing else's hurting... other than my pride." Before that, Mahiru, perceiving the treatment was almost over, stood up and went over to see. Bouncing off his remark, she gave him a pat on the back. "Hey, it's better than the alternative. Now don't do doing that again. I... appreciate the dedication to getting a good shot, but it's not worth it if it hurts you." The guy tried smiling and scratching his head in embarrassment. Mahiru looked over to Mikan. "That was really quick. Thanks for the help~ ... Hey, where are your manners!?" She directed that at the boy, and his hand moved from her reassuring pat to over his head, pushing it down as if to make him bow it. "A-Ah, sorry! Thank you very much, nurse!" He rushed saying that, at which point Mahiru let him go again.

She was happy to take a step back at the two spoke, grabbing the forms she needed him to sign. She was back in a hearbeat, holding out the clipboard with the short form on it. Just something the school made her use to keep track. At the grateful words she felt almost shocked, but quelled that surprise as quick as she could. "N-No need to thank me." She offered a weak, almost fearful smile. "I'm always here to help." Mikan bowed her head politely towards Mahiru, "Th-Thank you for bringing him, an infection of that s-size could prove troublesome."

When Mikan answered, Mahiru almost brought her camera up. So far, she had been one of the few colleagues she didn't see smile, aside from Peko, and she instinctively wanted to take a shot, but held her urge. "If anyone needs to be thanking me, it's him," Mahiru said, smiling knowingly in the direction of the friend, who nodded in acknowledgement while signing off his name. "But really, it's my responsibility as a fellow member to see that through. Tanaka, you can go home, just make sure to give the key to one of the other members before you go." With a nod and another thank you, the boy stood up after signing and moved to leave the room. Mahiru turned in the same direction, but paused, then looked over to Mikan again, hand on hips and firm gaze back to the nurse. "It just occurred to me: you're getting, like, credit for the time spent here, right? This is not a club, but you're arguably working for the school while here, and I sure hope they're acknowledging that..." Mahiru's tone was pretty direct, as if she was ready to complain to someone if she perceived anything wrong was going on.

The weak smile soon dropped back to her normal timid expression, and she nodded along to her statement about her classmate. She was looking forward to putting some stuff away before heading home, but was stopped in her train of thought by the statement Mahiru had thrown her way. Mikan's eyes widened for a split second as she tried to think of an answer, but ultimately decided to shake her head. "It's on-only an opportunity to volunteer. I.. don't mind not getting p-paid." She managed, wringing her hands nervously in front of her. She had never really been asked that before, nor had she ever demanded any repayment for her services. It was simply something she did in her freetime. She didn't have many friends or clubs, after all.

"Hmm..." The answer had Mahiru cross her arms and think on it. Her gaze drifted away from Mikan, to nowhere in particular. The boy who had been about to leave for a while looked inquisitively at his colleague. When she noticed that stare, the boy spoke. "Hope's Peak incentivizes developing your talents, right? Isn't it true you guys can skip class to do it if necessary?" "Dude, sure, but that's not the case here. Her class is the same as mine." Mahiru dropped her stance, but didn't turn back to leave yet. "Ah well. So long as you're not being treated unfairly. By the way! When are you free, Mikan? Do you want to hang out later?" "... That's coming off strong," the guy pointed out, his hand on the door tapping impatiently. "What's that supposed to mean?" Mahiru complained, glaring back at him. "It's normal to want to get to know your classmates better. I tried to talking to others too, but..." She trailed off, her voice lowering slightly as she went. "That... didn't work out too well."

Mikan's eyes bounced back and forth between the two as they spoke, almost curious about the familiar tone of the conversation. It was something she saw often with the students who came in, but not something she'd ever admit to being interested by. Mahiru's question snapped her from her reverie and she seemed to perk up a little bit at the chance to speak. "I d-don't work-" She paused, correcting herself, "I'm not volunteering tomorrow.. You want to h-hang out with me?" Her tone took on an almost amazed undertone, she couldn't imagine someone wanting to be near her at all. Unfortunately, she knew all too well how she felt. Talking to others had only returned poor results, at least it had in the past. "I mean-!" She seemed to be worried now, "You d-don't have to invite me to anything. I-I don't want to bother.."

"It wouldn't be a bother!" Mahiru perked up to put more oomph into what she was saying. "I mean, if it was, that'd be on me since I'm the one asking for it, right?" Deciding to switch gears, Mahiru gave out an embarrassed smile. "You don't need to answer right away, we can talk during class tomorrow too. It's fine if you don't want to either. Sorry if this was sudden." She then scanned the infirmary and stepped away, waving one time at Mikan. "I took too much of your time already. So, um, see you tomorrow?" At this point, seeing she intended to leave, the boy also went ahead and away, but Mahiru lagged behind for long enough that she could hear Mikan's answers.

"Not... a bother?" It was almost phrased like a question and the nurse had to anxiously avert her eyes so she wouldn't give away how surprised she was- even if it was evident in her mannerisms. "Y-Yes-!" She said, maybe a little too forcefully for her own tastes. However, she was quick to back off, "That.. That would be n-nice. We can speak tomorrow." She raised a hand to wave a farewell to her. As soon as she stepped out of the room she let out a breath. She quickly busied herself with reorganizing some more within the office, not wanting her mind to spend too long thinking about any particular thing. With her luck, it'd end up that plans would fall through or Mahiru would see just how ugly she was inside.

"Sounds good!" Mahiru nodded and smiled before disappearing behind the door. (...) The next day, Mahiru did come in, but she wasn't too talkative. Not that most people in the class were particularly so, save perhaps for Teruteru or Ibuki, but it was a point that she kept to herself. The class wasn't full either, but most people did stick to it. And the teacher didn't remark on any absences, as usual. The lecture just started. At times, Mahiru seemed to reach for something in her backpack. She ended up checking it once. A photo, including a lot of people, most with cameras, taken outside. She never looked at it for long. Most of that was just absent-minded acting, or fiddling that went in-between making notes on her notebook. And so it went, until the final bell. Traditional ending for the class. Mahiru stretched her arms and body, put anything right back to the backpack, and then scanned the classroom for Mikan. "Hey, Mikan! Um, you still up for it?"

Mikan came into class, a little late but quick to find her way to her seat without tripping over her own two feet. She tried to keep as silent as possible as she entered, keeping her head down. She knew how often she entered late, and made a note to ask the school about leaving the office early. She wouldn't but.. she could think about it. The lecture passed quickly, and Mikan had lost track of the time. It wasn't until the teacher's voice had gone that she seemed to remember what she was doing. Almost as habit she stood from her chair at the bell, her mind aiming for the office but the call of her name snapped her out of it. She spun around, spotting the source of the voice. Her eyes went wide, confusion evident. She hadn't really been expecting Mahiru to actually follow through with her offer. "O-Oh.. Um- yes?" She said, fidgeting with the bandages on her arm. "Of.. Of course!"

She definitely looked surprise, which Mahiru couldn't immediately understand. But since the answer was positive, she would take it for what it is. She made a mental note, when noticing the fiddling with the bandages, to make a question about it later. "Great! Then we can go to the station. No rush, gather you things as normal." As she said that, Mahiru looked around. No one except for Fuyuhiko seemed to take too much notice of her movements, and he turned around and walked to leave when she noticed him. The sight made Mahiru take a deeper breath before looking over to Mikan again. "You don't... mind walking around the next district, do you? It has some clothing stores I like visiting. Of course, we could go the other way and go around the mall too... What do you usually do on your time off. Mikan?" She asked in a matter-of-fact tone, as if she had just remembered this might be a pertinent question at this time.

Mikan was quick to try and quell her surprise, pushing it down to the bottom of her chest. She couldn't imagine why Mahiru was being so nice, but she would take it for what it was. Something different. Even if her mind was fully expecting this to be the lead in for some practical joke. She jumped slightly at the question, shocked by the rather blunt tone from her classmate. "I-I'll go wherever you want to go." She admitted, looking down at the ground to avoid eye contact. "I.. I usually h-help out in the office, or I go home." She wasn't terribly interesting, her life revolving mostly around her talent. She began getting her things together, making sure her first aid kit was at the top of her bag before she zipped it. Clumsy as always, it would be good to have the little kit within easy reach.

"Hm..." Mahiru thought for a bit after the answer. It was hard to gauge where she should relent or not in treating Mikan, since her reactions were pronounced. Should she insist Mikan chose a place, or should she just go with that flow? She decided to go with the latter for now. "Well, if you're sure. Just don't let me push you towards something you don't like, OK?" Now she'd just let her finish, step away, turn around and wait on her to show signs she'd follow. Only then would Mahiru leave, with a wave for the people that remained behind. "Sorry if that was sudden yesterday," she'd admit, once they got going. "Everyone in class here is impressive in their fields, and I wanted to feel like part of that beyond... y'know. A title." She scratched the back of her neck and averted her eyes, as if she was embarrassed by something. "But it's hard. Hiyoko doesn't seem to like me, and Ibuki seems like she has to rehearse every other day. And so on..." Her voice trailed off.

Mikan slung her bag over her shoulder, double checking that she had everything she might need. Leaving something behind would ensure that she never saw it again. She was happy to follow after Mahiru, not quite sure where it was that she wanted to go. Sure, she had agreed to hang out but she had no plans other than that. "I-I understand.. I don't think the class likes me..." She trailed off, swallowing back her nerves. "S-Saionji seems to hate m-me the most.. she seems to t-tolerate you." She kept her gaze away from Mahiru, tearing up at the thoughts that shot through her mind. "S-Sorry.. I'll be quiet."

"Hates you?" Mahiru repeated, confused. She then looked back while they walked, early enough to catch the gaze aversion and the last remark. Her lips contorted in concern, and she took some more awkward seconds to consider what to say. "No, no, it's fine. I don't want you to just be quiet. I-I just think that maybe you guys just started on the wrong foot? I mean, there's no reason to dislike you right off the bat! Some of them are just... um, too focused on their own thing a bit too much." She tried to dismiss the concerns a little bit as they approached the gates. "Hope's Peak is a very different environment. I know it's not like any other school I've been to before. Because of this focus on their talents, it must be tough to make friends... And it's pretty tough for friends from middle school to join as well." She almost trailed off there again, but shook her head and looked at Mikan again. "W-What I mean to say is, if you're not friends with the others yet, that's probably normal. Maybe it'll be better once we're further into the year." She tried smiling to help reassure Mikan.

"H-Hiyoko is always calling me names. Sh-She doesn't have a nice bone in her body-!" The accusation came tumbling out, and she rushed go cover her mouth. A few mumbled apologies followed the statement, and she purposefully kept her gaze down at the floor. "N-No one else pays much attention to me. It's b-better than middle school but Saionji acts like all of them back then did." She managed to calm herself down, trying to explain her thoughts a little more clearly than an outburst Reassurance did little more than worry her that she had said wrong, and she felt the tears prick at the back of her eyes. She reached up to wipe at them, not wanting to cry in front of someone who was trying to be kind to her. "Th-Thank you though, Mahiru..."

"Ah..." Mahiru went silent for some more time. She wanted to be sure to give everyone a fair chance, but if Mikan was ill-treated as such and her initial spiel didn't work, she decided it might be best to focus on the moment instead of the school and subjects related to it. Especially if she went so far as to thank you. At this point, they were out of the gates, and taking the direction of the station. "No need to thank me. I didn't do anything in particular. Um..." Searching for a less specific subject, Mahiru took the time to look Mikan over. The question she had before crossed her mind again. "By the way, I was wondering... Those bandages of yours are all for injuries? Or is it, like... a nurse aesthetic that you're going for?" Then, realizing the last sentence could be taken as being awkward and playing around how Mikan might react, Mahiru rectified: "Sorry if that's assuming too much... I don't mean ill by that. I was just hoping that was not all for injuries because... that'd mean there's a fair bit of them."

Mikan felt as if she had said too much, electing to speak only when spoken to until further notice. Mahiru didn't want to know all the details of her life, they would simply bore her to death. So she continued walking and she managed to distract herself by fiddling with a loose thread on the jacket of her school uniform. It wasn't until Mahiru's question that she seemed to perk back up a little to answer her. "Y-You were nice.. to me. I h-have to thank you." She glanced back up at Mahiru, offering a weak smile towards her at the statement. She could feel tears pricking at the back of her eyes and reached up to harshly wipe them away. Now was not the time to cry, Mikan. The question itself was a little harder to answer as she was torn between two rather different options. On one end, lying was less complicated but could easily be discovered while the truth was a little more difficult to explain, but she supposed she could try and explain as much of the truth as possible without worrying her new acquaintance. "I-I'm just a klutz. Well, mostly" She tried to laugh it off, but the sound felt hollow in her own throat. While some of the bandages were from still=healing injuries some also served to hide the scars she had endured in her previous schools. No one had ever been particularly nice to the nurse, why else would she have started nursing in the first place.

For now, Mikan was smiling more or seemed in a generally better humor. Mahiru considered that good enough for now. She led the way sort of mechanically, and focused of how to launch into further conversation from this point. "Ah, I see. So it's really for injuries... Well. Then it's a good thing you're a nurse, after all." Mahiru spoke in a light tone, as if trying to make it sort of a joke. "And come to think of it, I think your title is... I dunno, more normal-sounding? When I got scouted for my photography skills, I imagined all of the ultimates related to some occupation or job. Teruteru being a cook made sense, and you being a nurse did so too... but then there's Fuyuhiko and Nagito, and I don't get... hmm." Realizing she was somewhat gossiping about the others, she stopped on her tracks. She didn't want Mikan to think that was the kind of person she was in general. But she also had no follow-up. As they got to the station, it became clear that there had been some light rain in that part of the city. The street and sidewalk had some water to them, and the entrance to the station, which was accessible by some stairs, had accumulated some water in its steps. Seemingly out of impulse to try and do something, Mahiru looked from the stairs to Mikan, then held with one hand on the railing that went along with it, and offered the other hand to Mikan. "N-Now, this is not because you said you were a klutz," she began, in an apologetic tone. "But here, hold my hand. J-Just to make sure neither of us fall."

Gossip was definitely not Mikan's thing in the slightest. Gossip created conflict and conflict.. well... the nurse simply wanted everyone of her classmates to get along- even if that was near impossible most of the time. This gossip was different, however. It was in the grey area for her. While she was still discussing others without their knowledge it wasn't in any malicious way, so she could see the benefit to the conversation. She still couldn't quite figure out a good way to continue the conversation without indulging in the gossip she usually strayed from. "W-Well.. Fuyuhiko's talent has to do with his lifestyle. That is his career." She rubbed her arm awkwardly as the two continued to walk. Mikan opened her mouth to continue her statement before realizing that they had arrived before the steps. The water was only slightly worrying and a million worst case scenarios flashed through her mind. That was, until Mahiru spoke to her. She seemed to snap back to a slightly more responsive person, glancing at her hand and then glancing back down at the stairs. There was no doubt that she could manage to get past the stairs without help, it might just involve some tumbling. Yet, as much as she was wary to admit it she would like the help. "I-I appreciate it... Mahiru." She said, voice weak and faltering at the end of the statement. Tears began welling in her eyes at even this small act of kindness, and she was quick to swipe them away from her lashes. She nodded quickly, trying to steady her breathing as she reached out to take the photographer's hand in her own. She took another deep breath, slowly moving to take the first step. She kept an eye on her own footing as she began to walk.

Mahiru didn't pursue the subject again immediately. She was unsure as to whether she was being biased against Fuyuhiko because of his sister or if she was right in thinking no respectable career would involve the Yakuza. For now, she decided it might be better to take her new-found friend's hand and go down. Mikan's reactions were still hard to grasp. She rode this wave of being either very subdued or going too deep. It was unfortunate that Mahiru really didn't know the proper way to read it. But she rode the high she got when Mikan said her name, and grabbed her hand. She hoped that meant they were becoming fast friends after all. They rode down together, she let go of her hand and pointed around the right direction they'd take the subway. "It's only two stations, we'll be there in a bit~" The station was not awfully crowded: it was pretty full of other students, however, since this was the usual time they left. Some clusters of students, especially in Hope's Peak, made for amazing characters in photography because of their unique appearance. Reserve Course students had everything more standardized, but others had it very differently. While they walked, she once reached for the camera while looking around, but didn't quite end the motion. "Do you mind having photos taken of you, Mikan?" She asked, non-chalantly. "Some people are like that... I just wanna know ahead of time so I don't make you uncomfortable."

The station was still much too crowded for the nurse's liking and she nearly reached out to grab her friend's hand again. She stopped herself, letting her hand just drop down by her side. No need to come across as far too clingy too fast, the two had barely spoken before the previous day and now here she was clinging onto her hand like a lost child. Why was she so desperate to hold her hand? Every instinct in her mind told her it was just because she had never really had a proper friend before, but this situation felt a little different than that. She pushed the thoughts aside and instead focused on her footing so that she wouldn't fall flat on her face if she slipped. She was happy to follow the photographer's steps, not all too familiar. Most days she ended up walking the long way home in order to avoid crowds (and just avoid getting home all too quickly). Both were reasons she also volunteered after school rather than immediately head home. Her gaze snapped back up ay the question, and she turned her head to look up at Mahiru. That was something she'd never been asked before, nor was it something that she ever really expected to be asked. As the two slowly came to a stop to wait for the train she managed to come up with somewhat of a proper answer. "Ph-Photos?" She asked, looking a little concerned at the notion. She wasn't the most comfortable with the idea but she'd never admit to that. "N-No.. You may do what you wish-!" She said quickly, a little nervously.