143/Not Dead Yet

Not Dead Yet
Date of Scene:	18 July 2023
Location:	School Library
Synopsis:	Naru sends a three-word note that gets Kazuo to check in on her. How does one plan to recover from energy drain without knowing that energy drain is a thing? Clearly, the answer is SCIENCE!
Cast of Characters:	Kazuo Saitou, Naru Osaka

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Kazuo Saitou has posed:
The library. His old nemesis.

Okay, not actually a nemesis. A few years ago, it was a welcome place to spend time funneling information into his head. Now, it's a concern that staff might notice his presence and demand to know where he's been instead of studying.

Nonetheless, Kazuo braves it, because he is not setting foot in art club even to look for Naru after a distressing note. There are limits, and those limits involve risks of being swarmed by people who want a Live Model Right Now.

Naru Osaka has posed:
The library is still a safe space for Naru. No one asks why she hasn't been studying, in fact most of the time, no one takes Her Chair. Because there's one table that's got a nice view of the window, but isn't too bad for glare, and that's where Naru settles when she's at the library. Immaterial of being a relatively recent transfer into the school, but still. These things settle in quickly enough.

Mercifully, another night's sleep has helped immensely. She's gotten back up to 'just a little tired' and even better 'coffee helps again'. She has some thoughts on what helped her bounce back. Ideally she won't get to test those theories.

Spoilers: She is likely going to get to test those theories.

Naru has a coffee, carefully in a closed container as not to distress the librarian, and she's settled back in her chair with an english literature book in her lap, curled up reading.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Tables imply multiple chairs, and Kazuo takes unhesitating advantage of this fact, folding himself down and tucking feet out of the way and with them knees. Elbows are kept close in, in the "take up minimal space" way that passes for politeness. The books set in front of him are a physics text, and an English-language paperback, because Camus is a hell that crosses national boundaries. He opens the paperback, giving him a formal excuse to be there, but looks over Naru out of the corner of his eye.

Yep, that'd be Not Dead.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru glances over her book as someone joins her at the table and considers him a moment.

"I considered texting you, but I realized I didn't have your number." She comments thoughtfully, tucking a bookmark into her book. It might be for school, but it's equally likely that she's just doing more English reading for /fun/.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"If this is going to keep happening, maybe we should fix that." He keeps his voice low, but casual-low, not attention-getting. "You look in better shape this time, even given recovery."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I feel significantly less beat up." Naru notes, her tone just as casual low. They could be talking about Camus, but they aren't. "But I also couldn't wake up for about eighteen hours, so something wasn't right."

"I think it's safe to assume that the weird is getting weirder." Naru gives a little shrug. "You? Clearly not dead yet. Weird getting weirder in your direction too?

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
There's a little nod, and another frown. Definitely talking about Camus. "Did you make it back to your dorm before collapsing?"

Kazuo shakes his head, then. "Nothing solid yet. The dance doesn't count. I think the guy dressed as the Batman villain did that on purpose."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru wrinkles her nose, as if vaguely sheepish about admitting it. "Not under my own power. I had to have help. I got there, though." Because somehow in her mind, she SHOULD be able to get home under her own power after being drained nearly to the end of her.

"Just for the record, if you find yourself suddenly paralysed and it feels like you're in a very small kaleidoscope watching fireworks. Know that you are going to feel like absolute hell at the end of it." Naru's voice is that same calm matter of fact. Camus has nothing on watching a magical fight from within a mirrored coffin.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"That seems reasonable." Kazuo considers this for a few moments, then asks, "Do you want some basic medical supplies in your dorm room, or do you have them already? Blood pressure monitor, pulse oximeter, the like? So that you don't have to involve the staff or the nurse unless you want to." There's nothing wrong with the nurse. If anything the opposite. But privacy can be hard to come by, sometimes.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru's brain catches up on the comment about the dance and she skips back a topic briefly. "There was a batman villain at the dance?" She can't help but laugh softly at the mental image. "Almost, but not quite, enough to make me sad I wasn't there."

Naru's laughter settles as she considers the probably practical and generous offer. "I don't really know how to use anything beyond a bandaid, or a elastic bandage. I wouldn' know if something wasn't right by the numbers." She is thoughtful a moment. "I suppose I should have gone to the nurse." Hindsight, and all of that.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo's eyes silver at the question, and he acquires a sudden smile. "Someone decided to go to the dance as the love child of the Riddler and Michael Jackson," he says. "Since the DJ decided it was Eighties America Throwback Night, starting with a rickroll and settling into Thriller, he probably had the best time of anyone there."

Don't know how to use anything beyond a bandaid. Kazuo exhales. "So we get the easy things, and references for what's normal, and a journal to keep track in long enough to find out what's normal for you. Then you can use it to make decisions on when you just want to sleep in, and when you need to explain things to an adult. Does that sound all right to you?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru smiles back the description of the dance, a little touch of laughter marking that half of the conversation. "Starting with a rickroll is just cruel." But funny, based on the little giggle.

Settling to the more serious side, Naru nods slowly. Her thoughts chew over the pragmatic approach. "This presumes that I am going to wake up half dead more often." She gives a little twist of her smile. "Which at this point, feels like a valid assumption. It could have been coincidence.." She trails off, a half shake of her head at the sense that it didn't feel very coincidental. "Coffee didn't help, which was its own cruelty. I normally eat lightly, but I was starving for a big heavy breakfast when I did finally wake up. I'm mostly vegetarian, so it was odd to crave red meat." She's thoughtful, clearly already having started to examine her own body's reactions with an analytical bent.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Crave red meat?" Kazuo repeats. "That's weird." Craving any food is the opposite of what he'd have expected, let alone hard-to-digest protein, fat, and iron. "Anything else off when you woke up? Headache? Muscle pain beyond 'I just spent how many hours not moving'? Dry mouth? Did light hurt?"

If she says yes to that one, do those weird American movies have a point? Should he be looking for pretty boys who sparkle?

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I also thought it was weird." Naru agrees. "Which is why I noticed it." She sets her book down as he offers a list of things and shakes her head to most of them. "Headache, but mild. Dehydration more than anything. Crazy thirsty. Still tired, but not 'unable to wake up' levels of tired." She shakes her head at the mention of light. "Unsurprisingly, I was not, and am still not, keen on the idea of tiny spaces, but a walk in the sunshine and fresh air felt good, not made things worse."

Everyone can put down the wooden stakes.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Little nods mark Kazuo's attention to her list. "And you know the rules of thumb for dealing with dehydration in the summer already, right?" More to the point, how are they going to stock her up for it without her roommate homing in on the sugar? No, there is no 'they' there - from the way Usagi reacted, Naru knows how to handle her better than Kazuo could ever guess. "Okay. It sounds like you've got most of recovery sorted out already. I live offcampus - it's probably easier for me to go hunting the gadgets. They're little. And cheap."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'm planning to pick up some of those elctrolyte tablets that you add to water." Which solves the whole 'hide sugery drinks from Usagi' problem. Added bonus of being able to keep them in her school bag. "Wandering over to the conbeni to get a drink isn't always practical.

"I'm hoping not to test the recovery plans." She sounds resigned to the reality that they'll have plenty of opportunity to test things. "My mother lives in Tokyo, but sending parcels there would prompt more questions than I really want to answer. I can get parcels here, though, but it's probably easier if you get things. I can pay for things though."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"I'll keep receipts, and we'll figure it out." Kazuo does not sound worried. Naru does not need to know that he is considering trying to talk his mother into parting with some of her cherished merch money, so that he doesn't need to sleep with hideously expensive 1/8 scale figurines within kicking range if he moves before he's awake. "Do you know where it happened this time? Or when?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"This time?" Naru nods at the notion of figuring the money side out. She isn't hurting for allowance money, although who knows what state the store's books are in currently.

"At the market." Naru makes a face. "I ended up spilling my latte." Because that was the true tragedy of the whole experience. "Not long after school, there was a bunch of other students around, which is how someone was there to help me home." She pauses, as if the thought hadn't occured to her before. "I don't know what they saw. I never thought to ask."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Might be worth it," Kazuo says - his tone is still English-lit, but his expression is more than half serious. "Asking, I mean. There's a lot of things that could be happening, but ... well, one of them says it might be a good thing you didn't drink any more of that latte."

Poor latte. Wasted and unfairly maligned.