Bread Sun Rising [Kimiko]

[Shigekuni Maria]

The smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the air as Maria sat at the desk in a lonely corner of her office, her knees tucked up to her chest as she chewed on yet another roll. Mornings were always so dismally slow at this school, at least that's what her head was thinking. It wasn't until Japanese class and P.E. that patients started coming in for various...accidents. It might seem a bit odd, that a nurse would be anxious for people to end up getting sent to her office, but after all that's what her job entailed. If nobody got hurt or sick, she wouldn't have a job in the first place.

The bread was delicious by the way. It was always delicious, as both Maria and anyone unlucky enough to have her force feed share her bounty with them could tell you. She always got her bread from the same bakery every morning, a daily order that was far too large for one person, though she hadn't noticed that for a very long time on account of her tendency to give half of it away to unsuspecting students. In fact, getting to the bakery for her order before they sold out of all her favorites was half the reason why she got to school so early to begin with.

She did love bread, it was sort of like chocolate to her, or ice cream. That one food that makes people feel better when they're depressed. Of course, Maria was chronically depressed, so it was only natural that she'd end up needing her bread fix every day. Oh dear, starting to sound like a crack addict now, best watch the terminology there. On the other hand though, it was kind of fortunate that she rarely had any patients in the morning, it allowed her to brood in her office and get all the moodiness out of her system before she had to socialize with anyone after all.

She hadn't met many of the students so far, but she'd been told by the faculty about a fair few of them who were suffering from some...uncommon ailments. It was a bit strange to her, that so many sickly or injured students would be at the same school, and a good number of them foreigners no less. Oh well, she supposed that some of the more frequent visitors might be good company at the very least. For now, it was back to eating her soft, fluffy buns.

[Tokisaka Kimiko]

Despite the fact that she had slept most the previous day away, slept well during the night, and awakened that morning feeling about as refreshed as she could have been, Kimiko opted out of classes that morning as early as the chance presented itself. Having a doctor's excuse was a glorious little godsend, even if she hated the fact that its reason for existence was justified and not fabricated. Given the time of the morning, she had a fifty-fifty chance of missing the nurse. Perhaps it was too early, and the nurse did not come in until physical classes began? Or perhaps he or she was the sort that came extra-early, trying their best to fulfill their role?

The latter was somewhat worrisome.

Then again, if the nurse wasn't there, that probably meant the office would be locked. The pale maiden shook her head slowly as she sighed, rubbing her temple with her right hand as she made her way around the school's alien halls. Her mind had shut down at some point between then and when she found herself in front of the infirmary. She did not feel anxious, but she was mildly worried that the nurse would be nosy enough to pester her until she got answers. Two quick, but soft, almost inaudible taps echoed to the inside of the room as she knocked on the door before a hand tentatively attempted to pull the door open.

Stepping inside without hesitation, the sickly-pale girl closed the door behind her before sending her gaze to a corner of the room, noticing the occupant. Given the location, and the situation, it was safe to assume that it was the nurse. She honestly had to wonder about why an adult was sitting in a manner that seemed more fitting for a love-struck teenager, though. If she had had the interest, she would have commented. Slowly, she took a few steps further into the room, her initial observation more than enough for the time being- or ever. As she moved in further, something stung her nose. The scent of baked goods seemed to saturate the room's air the further in she got.

Oh, what joy.

“I had intended to borrow a bed.” Her voice, though somewhat high, was ultimately lacking in emotion. Her black hair extended past her waist, almost half-way to her knees. In the front, a couple of locks acted to half-cover her eyes, but the dull stare of her right eye was completely unobstructed. “I hope that's all right?” She half-asked for permission. Part of her was worried that the situation would turn into an interrogation as to what the problem was, but, if the paperwork was organized, perhaps all would be fine.

[Shigekuni Maria]

Maria never did pay much attention when she was preoccupied, especially when that preoccupation involved some sort of doughy baked good, so it would come as no surprise that she was completely oblivious to the door of the infirmary opening after a few soft taps, Maria was simply too absorbed in finishing her bun. It wasn't until she'd drawn a nice, fresh scone out of her bag, it's weight and texture just divine in her hand and begging to be devoured, that she heard someone speak behind her and it clicked that she was no longer alone in the room.

The poor nurse nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise (she's easily startled you know), falling back and tipping over her office chair quite promptly, the scone she'd been holding flying with rather astounding precision towards Kimiko's forehead as Maria tumbled clumsily across the floor. When she finally came to a stop, she looked up at the younger girl a bit dizzily and got up enough to lean back against the nearest bed frame. She'd never met this girl, but she must be rather sick to come to the nurse's office at this hour, Maria could tell that much at least.

"U-um. Hello there!" Her voice was staggered and nervous as she tried rather poorly to defuse the awkwardness of the situation. "I...uh...I'm the nurse, Maria. You wanted to use a bed right? I-I don't think we've met, who might you might be miss?" Maria forced an awkward smile as she slowly wobbled to her feet, brushing off her peculiar red and blue dress as she got a proper look at the girl. Her demeanor was pretty unsettling to tell the truth, she seemed like someone who might have more than just medical issues if you asked her.

Picking her chair up to make the room some semblance of tidy again, Maria noticed the bag still sitting on her desk and reached in, pulling out a warm muffin. "Oh, u-um..." She turned back to Kimiko quickly and extended the baked good in her general direction, her hand shaking a bit as she offered the object like a tribute to some great king. "Want...a muffin?" Yes, that did it for sure. Way to go Maria, bread solves everything!

[Tokisaka Kimiko]

To say that Kimiko was taken by surprise by the woman's apparent sense of panic would have been an understatement. Her reflexes had dulled in the past few months- she was more than certain of that when her arm had moved too slowly to swat the pastry from the air. Her body went still when the baked good smacked her forehead. It was not that the impact hurt her- not in any way, actually- but that she was mentally debating whether it was worth deriding the nurse. The pastry had fallen to the floor by that point, but the girl wondered if there had been anything that managed to get into her hair.

Rather than worrying about it, the girl averted her gaze from the adult, giving her the chance to stand without being watched as she drew her hair back. She swore she could feel something in her hair- hopefully a crumb or bit of powder rather than jam, jelly, or butter. She could only let out a weak, silent sigh as the woman spoke, though. Her train of thought annoyed the girl. She mixed the order of things up- introductions, if necessary, came first! Whatever her reason for coming was would wait until after that, anyway!

She had remained silent up until the hand presented a piece of food to her. Her eyes had flickered down to take in the sight before the question registered in her mind. Without hesitation, the girl stepped to the side, shaking her head easily. “Not hungry.” She shot the offer down bluntly. It was only half-true, though. She had not eaten regular food in over a day, so, by definition, her body did want food. That was part of the reason that scent in the air bugged her.

Slow steps brought her towards the bed furthest away from the bread- though it may have appeared as if she were avoiding the nurse herself. By the time she had turned and sat on the edge, she had finally decided how to respond to the first bit the woman had spoken. The lack of family names meant the woman was attempting to be friendly. Whether or not she was one for honorifics was an entirely different matter. “Kimiko. Third year.” She used as few words as possible, her eyes focusing on the woman's form without actually making eye contact.

She had to hope that the situation was just unfortunate- that the circumstances were what made it so. . . unpleasant. Hopefully, that was the case. Otherwise, it was going to be a long year if Maria was going to be there the whole time- every day of the school year. Maybe she could have just claimed to be badly anemic every now and then to skip a few days?

[Shigekuni Maria]

Maria frowned a little at the refusal of her delicious bread-good and withdrew her hand slowly, holding the fine pastry to her chest like some prized family heirloom or a valentine that had just been refused. How anyone couldn't be in the mood for such a glorious achievement of mankind's ingenuity she simply couldn't fathom, but she supposed she at least got the girl to tell her what her name was...while she walked off to the farthest possible bed from the neglected nurse.

"N-nice to meet you Kimiko-chan..." The girl's stare, despite being aimed only in her general direction, was still making her especially nervous and she couldn't help but want to turn away as soon as she could. It was unnerving, the coldness and apathy in this third year's eyes, but she supposed she wasn't in a position to ask about things like that so she tried to just ignore it. [/color=blue]"U-um...oh! Right, p-please feel free to use a bed, any bed is fine, just go ahead and make yourself at home, don't mind me!"[/color]

She stumbled back a bit as she fished around behind her for her chair, finally sitting down again as soon as she found it. She gave Kimiko another jittery smile as she turned around to face her desk again, pulling her legs up to her chest as she retook her former position. Of course, bringing her legs up while swiveling the chair obviously left her with no way to stop it after, so she unintentionally kept spinning...and spinning...and spinning. She was confused for a few seconds about what exactly was going on before she finally tried to put her feet down and stop this madness, MADNESS? THIS IS SPARTA! but she only managed to tip herself over again, this time rolling promptly under a bed.

She looked around dizzily as she came to her senses, crawling out from under the bed frame and struggling to get back to her feet without falling over again. Luckily, the muffin she'd been holding was still intact, so she elected to try and take a bite of it, her momentary lapse in concentration calling her to fall over onto the bed and get a mouthful of white sheets. Spitting them out, she sighed and rolled onto her back, finally getting a well-deserved bite of that pastry before her head fell back onto the mattress, only now remembering that Kimiko was still in the room as her chewing slowed a bit before she eventually swallowed. Oh dear, what a day.

[Tokisaka Kimiko]

Kimiko could not help but wonder how someone so easily perturbed could make it to the position of nurse- even if it was only at the school level. Surely, the woman had to have gone through medical school, so she had to have some nerve. Her gaze shifted, trying to determine where the woman was reaching. She completely disregarded the formality at first before finally receiving the “permission” to lay down. Slowly, the girl nodded, her shoulders relaxing a little. She honestly did not care what the woman did, but something just put her on edge- most likely the smell of food.

“Ah. Thank you very much. And it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sensei.” She was polite, formal, even, but her words were simply impersonal. She did not even employ a name- though she honestly felt uncomfortable using a stranger's first name, anyway. While the nurse began her twister on the chair, the young lady rose slightly to pull her hair from under her, shifting the mass of blackness onto the pillow as she laid down. Of course, even though she had been given permission to rest as she wished, something prevented her from doing just that.

Turning her head towards the ruckus the nurse was making, the maiden blinked twice rapidly in a small bit of surprise before her breath escaped in the form of a sigh. This person was an adult? And in charge of the student's well-being, at that? God? Buddha? Who was trying to punish her now? Listlessly, she observed as the woman floundered about before finally being able to eat the pastry she had somehow managed to hold on to the whole time. For several moments, the girl looked on, her arms on either side of her body. Then, she sighed once more.

“Forgive me if this seems rude.” Kimiko noted before straightening her neck and staring at the ceiling before closing her eyes. “But, Sensei, are you always as jumpy and. . . energetic as a child with a sugar rush?” She asked, having paused only to think on a nicer word than the first that came to her mind. In truth, she did not care overmuch as to whether or not Maria was always like that- she just hoped to jab at her gently enough to maybe cause some thought.

“Or is it just because the term has begun?” She asked, not even certain as to why she offered the woman an escape route.

[Shigekuni Maria]

Maria paused for a moment as she took in the black haired girl's sharp words. She was oddly harsh for someone her age and something told her that it wasn't just because she was feeling sick and getting cranky or something to that effect. She huffed a bit at the notion that she was acting like a child with a sugar rush and puffed her cheeks out a bit before going back to chewing on her muffin. She just couldn't figure this kid out and it was starting to get kind off difficult to reply to her.

"W-well...I don't usually get many patients at all at this time of day. In fact, I rarely get any patients for several more hours, so I'm afraid you caught me a bit by surprise. I was still...u-um...preparing for the day, yes." Maria stumbled around for an excuse, but it was like trying to find a can of vinegared kelp in the dark, which while she had no experience in the task herself, she was almost certain was a most difficult undertaking.

Where could she find some vinegared kelp in this town anyway...she would have to stop by the local Junes and have a look around for it, they always seemed to have just what she needed. Ah, Junes, what a great store...Maria shut her eyes lightly as she imagined the endless fields of fresh baked goods...she didn't know when Junes got endless fields of bread, but she wasn't going to complain either. Who would? It was like her own personal heaven...made out of bread...

"Every day's great at your Junes~" Maria hummed a catchy tune to herself obliviously, nibbling on her muffin as she casually rocked her head to the tune of her half asleep shenanigans. When her eyes finally snapped open and she realized what she'd been doing, she cast a quick glance over to Kimiko to see if the girl had been watching her again before quickly turning onto her side and tucking her knees up to her chest, trying to take her mind off of the student's cold nature before she had to face another round of inquisition.

[Tokisaka Kimiko]

The response she received sounded more like an excuse than a proper reason. Her eyes had opened and turned to gaze at the woman out the corner of her eyes, but that quickly stopped when Maria began her mixture of humming and singing. Having closed her eyes again, she reached into her pocket and pulled out one of two earbuds, drawing it into the ear that the woman could not see. After reaching back in her pocket, she fiddled with her phone blindly, but managed to start the music player, which led to a rendition of Tchaikovsky's “Marche Slave” to play in her ear at a comfortable volume.

Her eyes popped open when she discerned movement from the other bed, but all that greeted Kimiko was a back. Had she made the nurse uncomfortable? Or perhaps embarrassed her? If she had had the energy, she would have tried to find out- and subsequently made it worse. For the first time since she had entered the room, her lips curled into a slight smile, dark pleasure tugging at her heart and knocking against her reason. Then, she had an idea that may have been inspired by the music. An innocently twisted idea! She could make life worse for the nurse, if she had a good last name. Her lips curled into what could not be denied as a smile at that point, a little bit of her teeth showing as she half-turned her head, training both her eyes on Maria.

“Sensei,” She almost purred, “what's your name- your family name?” Her eyes, though still dull, had a spark of mischief in them. If Maria looked before answering, she probably would have had her suspicions about answering- yet, under the circumstances, it was only an innocent question, one that would have come up at some point on either side of the conversation. It did serve a purpose other than her curiosity, though- it meant she could actually refer to the nurse properly. “Mine is Tokisaka.” She noted casually, aiming to force Maria into responding by means of polite obligation.