It's Not That Bad.... (Vincent, Nik, Junpei)

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Boyfriend. Girlfriend. Junpei had no idea how that was supposed to work. He'd never even had a girlfriend before. Sure there had been girls that he'd had crushes on, girls that he'd hung out with, and even those that he'd gone out with on occasion(whose consensus was that Junpei was too nice a guy and was a better friend than boyfriend). But Junpei had never really gotten this far(being regular "dating" or whatever it was that their hangouts were) with anyone before. So it was safe to say that he had no idea how he was supposed to act, if he was acting the part too much or too little or if maybe he just had the wrong impression altogether.

This was too confusing. He really needed some advice from someone about how to girl.

Junpei nodded at Yue's words and continued to hold her hand for comfort. For who's he wasn't exactly sure because Junpei was feeling pretty anxious and the idea that someone so close to him(emotionally and physically) was making him weary.

So far so good. There didn't seems to be to much wrong with the tests that Nik-Sensei was conducting. But then suddenly….

All Junpei could think about was the iron grip in his hand that threatened to break it. If Yue didn't call out from it, then Junpei did by proxy.

[Yue Hirai]

Whatever Junpei thought he might or might not have been doing right, it was enough to ease Yue's anxiety at least a little, and that was all that mattered to her. Both of them being new to this sort of relationship, she knew the subject of... Exclusiveness would have to come up eventually, but not now.

Now she listened to Nik's instructions, giving a nervous nod as she waited for the doctor to continue her work. "I will," she said quietly, her knuckles starting to turn white against Junpei's hand. She might have been shaking.

It wasn't bad at first, just a couple grimaces as he ankle twinged a bit with the small movements. Yue was beginning to hope maybe it wasn't as bad as it had felt when suddenly Nik tilted her foot to the side, and a jolt of lightning seemed to race up that side of her leg, causing her to gasp and jerk her hand that was holding Junpei's, gripping it even tighter as she bit back a whimper. "I th-th-think that's where it is," she stammered, blinking as her eyes watered. No tears.

She managed to regain what strength she had left and swallowed hard. "So... What... Did I injure?" she asked quietly, more afraid of what she might have to do in order for the injury to heal rather than the pain itself. Not that that wasn't agonizing, but if she couldn't run... Then who was she?

[Dr. Nik Kenjutsushi]

Nodding in understanding, Nakia set the injured foot down gently on the bed, using only a light application of her healing ability to dull the pain slightly. It made her foot hurt by proxy, but because the wound was not fully healed the minor cramp would go away soon. "It's a sprain in the muscles that arch your foot," she confirmed easily. "But the damage is bad. You'll need to keep off of it while the torn muscles heal."

Given that Yue was healthy and active, it wouldn't be terribly worrisome. But that still meant quite a while in a cast. "The good news is, I don't think you need surgery, so this will heal fine on its own. I'll keep you here for a couple of days with your foot elevated and iced to keep the swelling down, then it'll be up to you to do the same. But." This Nik was going to be very strict on. "After you leave here, do not put pressure on it. None. No running, no balancing, not even walking. I can set up crutches for you for getting to your classes, but for the next five week minimum, I expect no pressure on that foot."

She could help some with the healing process and make sure things were going smoothly. But with a tear that bad, the Chinese girl wasn't going to be running again until at least the winter break.

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Junpei was too busy trying to get the pain to go down in his hand to really know too much of what was going on. Dr. Nik was speaking English and while his comprehension had definitely gotten better over the past few months, there was little reason to expect him to have that same level of understanding when his hand had nearly been crushed by one a third of it's size.

However, he did get the gist of it, considering how much it had hurt Yue.

"Yue-chan is hurt bad?" he asked dumbly, after Dr. Nik was already done explaining. What he got was that Yue wasn't going to be able to walk on it. Which probably mean…she couldn't…

"Yue-chan cannot run?" It was probably insensitive that he said it out loud just like that, but it was asked innocently. Because as he had already guessed, if Yue couldn't run, then she couldn't compete. Junpei had watched the girl practice nearly every day for the past couple months. It was…it was….just too heartbreaking….

Junpei held Yue's hand tighter, despite it's aching, looking at Dr. Nik with eyes as sad as if the news had been about himself.

[Yue Hirai]

Yue felt a strange sort of dullness come over her injured foot, and sent a quizzical look to the doctor, wondering if maybe she had some sort of ability that sort of numbed pain. It was still there, but bearable. What was not bearable, at least in Yue's mind, were the words that came next. She didn't dare ask how long; she just nodded dumbly, jerkily, her gaze shooting over to Junpei as he asked if she was hurt badly. She kept forgetting his trouble with the non-native language, and gave his hand a softer, reassuring squeeze despite the horror swirling in her own head.

She bit back any sort of outburst as Nik explained how long she would have to be out. Five weeks!? There was no way... She couldn't... She had to run, or she would go crazy!! And she would have to use crutches. This information brought far more distress to her features than the pain itself had, but she managed to swallow and reply quietly,"I understand. I... I'll do whatever I can to make it heal as fast as possible."

As calmly as she spoke, it might almost be hard to tell how much she was panicking inside. "No, Junpei, I can't," she told him softly; the question stung even worse, but she knew he hadn't meant anything by it. She looked up at the doctor again, her eyes full of sorrow. "Can... Can I have a few minutes, please?" She didn't know how long she was going to be able to keep this well dammed, and she would rather not have the older woman around to see it when it burst. She didn't, however, want to be alone. "With... With Junpei."

[Dr. Nik Kenjutsushi]

The doctor nodded to Yue, her expression fairly neutral but also sympathetic. She could see the girl's distress clearly, but there was nothing she could do. Five weeks was the best option, since there was no way to speed the healing of a torn muscle like there was broken bones. She could offer some aid, yes, but the best medicine was to keep off of it and let nature run its course.

She had also been about to correct Junpei on his thoughts of the severity of the injury (it wasn't all that bad, since surgery was not required), but when he jumped to the next somewhat-logical state of progression, the pale woman only sighed. Not the most tactful child, but at least the poor girl he came to see had it covered. "It'll only be for a while," she confirmed, trying to be somewhat reassuring. "She'll be back on her feet by spring tryouts, easily. Don't worry."

The request wasn't odd, nor unexpected. Nakia nodded, giving the pair a warm smile. "I need to set up one of the side rooms for your stay anyway," she answered. "It'll take some time, but if you need me, just call." Pulling the hanging curtain shut around the two, her shoes made an extra scuffing noise as she walked to a cabinet, opened a door to retrieve a few supplies, then walked into a side room for extended stays and closed the door just loudly enough to be heard. There was more than enough to do in here, and if the pair needed privacy, so be it. She doubt there'd be much she'd disapprove of going on out there anyway.

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Yes, Junpei was dumb and had little idea of what was going on outside of the fact that Yue seemed to be very hurt and wouldn't be able to run for a while. And that Yue looked really…really sad about it. If only he could use his power to heal then he would in a heartbeat!

Though he was glad to hear that she would recover. That at least brought a smile to his face. Yue was going to be all right. Nothing to it! And Junpei had every intention of being there to help with whatever Yue needed.

Junpei nodded as Dr. Nik retreated from the room to give them some privacy. Junpei may be innocently insensitive, but he wasn't completely dumb…..probably. As soon as they were alone, Junpei turned to Yue, still holding onto her hand, though unsure of what else he should be doing….like he had been this whole time. "Yue-chan?" he asked with obvious concern in his eyes. "Is Yue-chan ok?" She looked so sad, so thin and frail, so much more vulnerable than she normally did. And Junpei started thinking that he really liked it better seeing Yue active and energetic, the tomboy that she was. "Yue-chan?" He hesitantly lifted his fingers to her chin, and rubbed his thumb over her cheek waiting for her to respond.

[Yue Hirai]

Spring trials. That seemed so far away, Yue almost broke down just from hearing those words. She should start training now for those. Her fingers trembled and her lips were set in a firm, white line as she gave another jolt of a nod, not trusting herself to say anything more.

"Thank you," was all she managed to muster, waiting for the woman to leave the area and shut the door behind her before she let out the long, whimpery sigh she had been holding for too long. Her wide, sorrow-filled eyes turned to Junpei then, and it was only a matter of him saying her name and asking if she was alright that made her finally break down the solid wall she had been keeping her emotions behind. She sobbed, tears immediately pricking in her eyes and beginning to roll down her cheeks; she covered her mouth with her free forearm to try to contain the wracking sounds, but there was no keeping them back now.

"No, no, I'm not okay!" she cried breathlessly between sobs, reaching up to hold Junpei's hand against her cheek, taking what comfort she could from his warm, solid touch. "I... I don't know what I'm going to do! Running is all I've done, all I've known, for so long... Five weeks..." She sniffled pathetically, hating herself even more for breaking down like this. "I'm going to lose so much of the progress I've made!" It was all worthless, the time and effort she spent - being thrown down the drain, useless. "I don't know... I don't know..." Yue fell into incomprehensible mumbling, holding Junpei's one hand in her own as tears spilled onto his other one on her cheek. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried; now it was all coming out like a dam had burst.

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As soon as the doctor had left, Junpei seemed to cringe at the sight of Yue's face wrought with tears. She was crying. She was crying!

Had Yue ever cried?

Could Yue cry?

He knew that the girl was feeling poorly and disappointed, in this situation it was understandable for anyone to cry, but Junpei didn't really expect it from Yue. She had always seemed so strong. And even as meek as she was right now, as hurt and sorrowful as she was, Junpei didn't expect her to actually cry.

Junpei felt horrible for thinking it was cute for even a millisecond. Though it still predominated that Junpei would rather see Yue smiling than seeing her so sad and distraught. He gave her a comforting smile as she grabbed his hand. Junpei could feel the starting of warm tickles at the corners of his own eyes, seeing those large drops fall unrestrained from Yue's cheeks. "Hai…" he tried to be reassuring but there was little he felt he could say. He felt like he needed to say something wise and profound, or something that would just calm her down, or fix the situation altogether…..but realistically he knew things didn't work like that.

But he could try anyway.

Junpei wrapped his other arm around the small girl, pulling her face into his chest, and combing his fingers through her hair. He rested his chin above her head. "Yue-chan…..Yue-chan is very strong to me. I think Yue-chan will be fine. Even if all bad things happen, Yue-chan will be fine." He paused. "I am here to help too. So Yue-chan will be fine…." It sounded repetitive, cheesy, but…he couldn't think of anything else.

[Yue Hirai]

Yue was strong, definitely. Not a lot of things bothered her, and she made certain to keep her mind calm and focused all the time, always prepared for the next challenge. But she was still a girl, as much as she tried to push any sort of real femininity out of her life, and that came with emotions that she usually kept bottled up behind a focused, serious face. Junpei brought out the nicer, more relaxed side to her - it had been weird at first, but she was slowly getting used to his presence in her life, so much so that she was starting to... Almost depend on him like she had her brothers, although in a totally different sense.

She'd never really crushed on anyone before, and the fact that they were... Whatever they were only made her feel more vulnerable, and thus willing to break down like this in front of him.

Yue sniffled again and brushed her cheek against her shoulder, cheeks burning as she suddenly felt even more self-conscious under Junpei's kind, concerned gaze. She was so far out of her comfort zone she didn't know what to do. But Jun's touches and presence helped calm her.

She blinked up as he began to speak, tears still streaming, but silently now, swallowing down the last of her short-lived sobs as her tougher, more stubborn side tried to take control again. But it melted again as Junpei pulled her close, and she closed her eyes as his fingers ran softly through her hair. Her small arms wrapped around his waist, taking what comfort she could from his embrace. Another small hiccup escaped as he finished talking. Even though it wasn't a lot, it still made her feel at least a little better, and she squeezed him in thanks.

"Thank you, Junpei," Yue murmured into his shirt, taking a deep, cleansing breath. She would be fine. This was just another hurdle she had to get over. She breathed again, pulling away just a tad so she could look up at her... Boyfriend. "I just... I'll need some time. And... Probably watch a couple of stupid shows to distract myself," she added, laughing weakly. She twisted her fingers into the hem of Jun's shirt, looking down once again. "I, um... I'd like to... Spend more time with you, too," she added quietly. Junpei just had a way about him that... Made her feel, just... Better.