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“W-what’s wrong?” Tsumiki squealed, searching frantically from side to side. “Is it something I did!?”
An ear-splitting scream had arose from the direction of the beach.
“Tsumiki-san, would you mind coming with me to check out the situation over there? If someone’s injured, they might need your help,” Komaeda asked. They had both been on their way out of their respective cabins when the uproar had occurred.
The girl nodded before the two hurried off together.
“Is everything alright over here?” Komaeda asked upon reaching the scene.
Gundam was crouched upon the sand, cradling a tiny pile of fluff in his hands. “I did not foresee that this day would ever come… It is the Dark God of Destruction, Sun-D… he has been bested in combat by a monster from the darkest depths of the seven seas."
Sonia, who had been hovering over him, quickly tried to translate, “Sun-D was playing with a crab and his little foot got pinched, the poor dear…”
Gundam finally looked up from the hamster in his palms, registering just who had arrived. He perked up.
“Behold! Tis the fated healer of legend! Pray, can the be trusted to use thine powers to restore this divine being, lest the apocalypse befall us?” Tears were welling in his eyes at this point, threatening to ruin his elaborate make-up job.
“He says-“ Sonia began, though Komaeda held up a hand to stop her.
“It’s okay. I think we’ve got it.” He turned to Tsumiki. “So, what do you say? Will we get to see the Super Highschool Level Nurse in action?”
“Oh…well, um…” she fidgeted nervously, plucking at the bandage on her wrist. “I’ve never been trained in veterinary medicine…”
“At least take a look,” Komaeda urged. “You wouldn’t want to be the cause of the apocalypse, would you?”
“Er, I guess not…” She held her hands out, doing her best to steady them so as not to drop the patient.
Gundam carefully handed the little animal over to her. Right away she could see the tiny red mark where the crab had pinched his front leg.
“You can cure him, then?” Gundam asked quickly.
“I think so…” Tsumiki replied.
“I shall accompany you, then. We shall travel to the market posthaste in order to procure the necessities for his comfort. Only water from the finest mountain springs will appease Sun-D when he thirsts-“
Sonia cleared her throat. “Tanaka-san, I think that her healing magic might take better effect if she doesn’t have any distraction. That super cool dark aura you emit would make anyone quake in fear!”
Gundam pulled his scarf up to his nose. “Indeed.”
Sonia took him gently by the shoulders, guiding him away, though not before sending a wink over her shoulder aimed toward the other two students.
Once they were gone, Komaeda shook his head. “You know, he probably could have just handled this himself if he didn’t panic. The Super Highschool Level Breeder must be able to tend to such a minor wound on one his own animals… Anyway, what do we need to fix this?”
“Um, we should probably go to the market and maybe pick up some tissues and tear them into a little bandage. The bandages at the pharmacy are all too big…”
“There aren’t any tissues at the pharmacy?” Komaeda asked, surprised.
“There are! I mean, er, there was…But I cried so much yesterday, I used them all up…”
And so, after a quick trip to the market, the two made their way to the island’s pharmacy.
“Komaeda-san? Would you mind holding Sun-D for a minute? If, if it’s not too much trouble?” Tsumiki asked.
Her heart sank when the boy backed away from her.
“Sorry, Tsumiki-san, I don’t think that’s really such a great idea…”
Of course he wouldn’t want to touch something that had been tainted by her hands, she thought, even if it was just a cute little hamster.
Komaeda quickly caught onto the dejected look on her face.
“It’s nothing against you! I certainly don’t even deserve the honor to touch a creature that’s been in the hands of a Super High school Level student; it’s just that, well…I’m not really good with animals.”
Komaeda Nagito, the boy who seemed to fear not even death, was afraid of a hamster? Tsumiki was certain that he didn’t believe Gundam’s tall tales about his pet having dark powers, so why?
“Oh um, I see. Well then, I’ll just set him down on the counter over here, and maybe you can watch him? It’ll just be for a second, I promise!”
Komaeda looked to the animal in her hands, expression growing pained. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea for animals to be left in my care…”
“Komaeda-san… E-even though you were a little scary during the trial, I think maybe you were just under a lot of stress. I don’t think you would ever hurt an animal. You’re really a kind person! …If that’s alright for me to say…”
“You’re right; I wouldn’t kill an animal on purpose, but I have killed them before, as part of my luck cycle. My intentions don’t mean anything, it’s only the end result that does.”
Suddenly, she remembered the story he had told her about his childhood dog. He had mentioned it once during breakfast, explaining how he used to sneak her table scraps before her accident.
“I’ll be right here in the room with you the entire time! …N-not that it means much, coming from some one as useless as me…”
Komaeda looked her in the eye then, taking her in for a moment. She withered under the gaze.
“Alright. I’ll take him after all, but just until you get out the supplies you need.”
Komaeda held out his hands, but the creature suddenly began to cower, curling away from the boy, and toward Tsumiki instead.
“He senses my hesitation.” Komaeda's smile didn't reach his eyes.
“Is…is there anything you used to do to comfort your dog when she was nervous?” Tsumiki asked, reluctant to give up on getting Komaeda to hold the hamster. “My parents never let me have pets, so I’m not sure what they like…”
“Well…” Komaeda thought for a moment. “Maybe it was just a silly little kid thing to do, but I used to kiss my dog on the head when she was afraid of storms.”
He laughed, as if to dismiss the idea.
“M-maybe you could try it? If he sees that you’re gentle, maybe he’ll trust you…”
Though the idea of kissing a mostly unfamiliar animal wasn’t exactly appealing, some of the lies that had passed his lips since coming to the island were probably considerably dirtier than the innocent little creature, after all. Anything to aid Tsumiki with preforming her talent to the fullest, he thought.
He closed his eyes, leaning in.
However, instead of his lips meeting with fur, they met with soft, warm flesh. His eyes flew open to a view of Tsumiki’s unbandaged palm, the hamster having leapt to the safety of a tall shelf.
“I’m so sorry! I should have held onto to him better!” Tsumiki squealed, quickly turning to busy herself with tearing strips out of tissue. Perhaps she should check herself for fever after she finished up with Sun-D, she thought, suddenly warm.
“No, no, it’s my fault! I should have been faster,” Komaeda apologised, retrieving the hamster from the shelf, and gingerly setting him onto the counter. Surprisingly, the small animal did not burst into flames at his touch, nor did a bus come bursting through the wall to run the three of them over.
Just then, the pharmacy door opened, allowing in Sonia, walking hand-in-hand with Gundam. She seemed to be attempting to sooth him by rubbing little circles on his hand with her thumb, but unfortunately, it only seemed to be compounding his stress levels, and in a much different way than the situation with the hamster was.
“How is little Sun-D doing?” Sonia asked.
“He’s doing much better, actually. Tsumiki-san was just finishing taping up his leg. She has very gentle hands, you know.”
End