[b]Masae Kanegawa [@Flamelord] and Aderyn Finch [@Mega Birb][/b]

Needless to say, it was some relief for Masae when Aderyn's basically comatose form was laid down on the bed in the nurses office so she could be taken care of. She was even more relieved, however, when a paramedic arrived in response to the emergency call. She didn't want to risk anything when it came down to it, not with her friend. 

"So where is she," the paramedic asked, carrying along a bag of medical supplies in the process. Presumably he knew the story of what state she was in, but obviously an on the scene look was better than nothing at all.

"Over here," Masae replied, leading him over to the bed where Aderyn was currently laid out. "She was attacked and has at least a dislocated leg. She also has Vrolik Disease, and she's also jacked into DGO in spite of my best efforts." She was still annoyed by that fact, but there was nothing to do about it now. 

The paramedic put down his bag before turning his attention to Aderyn, quickly examining her. "Did you make this splint yourself? Good thinking." 

"Thank you," Masae replied gratefully as she stepped back, letting the paramedic do their work as they examined Aderyn to determine whether there were any other injuries, testing other limbs, checking her pupils, and analyzing the connection between her brain and her chip. She didn't think much of the splint, she just wanted to know whether her friend would be alright, as soon as possible. The longer this took the more nervous she got, even if she knew that she shouldn't worry given that she was with adults. No one was going to atack them when they were with members of the school administration. 

So she stepped to the side to let the nurse and the paramedic work as they prepared to set the dislocated leg. They were professionals, they knew what they were doing. She was sure that it would be fine.

Meanwhile in Deep Ground, the avatar of Aderyn was in what was frankly an inescapable position. She had a mech bearing down on her from one side of a wall and her spear effectively poked into the stomach of another combatant. [color=sienna]"So... how's the weather been?"[/color] The nervous laughter right after this was followed by the wall crumbling as the distinct sound of a chaingun locking onto a target, the helmet on Warhawk's head almost looking dejected as she sighed. [color=sienna]"Well, GG."[/color]  Unable to do anything as bullets ripped through her, she gave her enemy a thumbs up for the victory as she exploded into a mass of EXP crystals.

Back in the real world now, Aderyn slowly opened her eyes just as the paramedic was counting down for some reason, with his hands on her dislocated leg. The realization hit just a moment too late. [color=sienna]"WAIT WAIT N-"[/color]

Aderyn suddenly waking up was unexpected, but by that point it was basically too late to stop what was about to happen. It was unfortunate, sure, but it was something that had to be done if she was to really heal and to prevent further damage. So without any heeding of her cry the countdown ended, and the dislocated leg would be forced back into place with a wince on the part of Masae and a firm touch by the medical duo as they kept her from struggling. 

"Sorry about that Miss," the paramedic said as he looked down at Aderyn, once she had had the opportunity to recover from the sudden shock. "How are you feeling? Can you tell me how many fingers I'm hold up?" For the record, the answer was three. 

Right as her leg was snapped back into place by something medicine had never bothered to change, the Welsh girl shifted into the secondary tongue she probably hadn't spoken in a full year. [color=sienna]"Rydych yn cunt!"[/color] Following this, you could almost hear her jaw clamp shut in pain, tuning out the world for a moment while the sensation died down, and she missed the almost automatic sorry from the medic. She did, however, catch the other half of what he said, and spoke through grated teeth. [color=sienna]"I would be better with some painkillers, but here we are. And you've got three up, ya cunt..."[/color] If nothing else, it was pretty obvious her inner Brit was coming through with the pain.

Suffering verbal abuse at the hands of patients was nothing that new, though the nurse would probably have had cross words with Aderyn for swearing if she hadn't been in such pain at the moment. Drugs would come, but only when they were certain that there was no brain damage or other issues that they did not know about yet. Skewing the results that way would do more harm than good. 

With a mental nod the paramedic went on, merely lifting one finger rather than the three he had before. "Alright then. Follow my finger..." Upwards, then downwards, then side to side to make sure that she was clearly seeing it. "Very good. What's your name and address?"

In the meantime Masae rose from her seat, stepping over to take Aderyn's hand in her own, a comforting grip now that she was awake. "Welcome back," she said to her friend with a smile. Things could have been worse, but it seemed as though it was looking up for now. 

Aderyn's eyes followed the man's fingers willingly, though there was an amount of hostility in the gaze. When he finished though, he asked her name and address, which she had little choice but to answer. [color=sienna]"Aderyn Finch, and I live in the dorms on campus. Room 314, west building."[/color] She hoped that the man was done at this point, though she doubted it.

Her tone changed when Masae's hand closed around hers, the blood rushing to her face at this contact. [color=sienna]"Oh, uh... thanks... hey, I wanna ask you something, if it's okay."[/color] With a meekness unlike her usual self, it was pretty obvious that something was up. Given the history between the two, the fellow female could probably guess what was going on.

Brushing aside the hostility, it seemed that the paramedic was satisfied by the time she was done, as he stepped away. "She seems to be fine. if anything happens later, sudden pain, things like that, make sure to tell someone." With that he would pack up his stuff before heading on his way, moving with the nurse to fill out whatever recquisite forms needed to be completed while she made a promise about finding Aderyn some painkillers now that everything had been checked out.

For her part Masae didn't move, relief obvious now that it was all over. She had some questions of her own, but that could wait in the face of Aderyn's request. "Sure, what is it?" It would be stupid of her to reject it out of hand when she didn't even know what her roommate wanted to ask her. 

Realizing exactly what she had in mind, Aderyn suddenly remembered all the planning she had done prior to the White Guild taking over and where all of it had gone since then. With her face somehow reddening more, she shied away from the question she had been meaning to ask for awhile. [color=sienna]"Well, now isn't a good time now that I think of it, and I'm not in a good spot to ask it... just, forget about it for now."[/color] In the silence that followed, she gave an awkward cough to attempt to remedy the situation.

"Okay then." Masae was puzzled but didn't push on it, figuring that Aderyn would tell her when she was ready. And like she had said, they had bigger concerns at the moment. Focusing on that would be for the best when it came down to it. Even though she did not lighten her hold, she shifted to be on a more equal level with her friend, sitting down next to her. "What happened? You logged into DGO before you could really explain anything to me." 

Glad that Masae didn't push it any further, she pursed her lips the moment she asked what happened. [color=sienna]"Well, you heard how Chiyo decided to take over the digital world. From there, her crew marched into the Blue City and took it over like they were mice without a cat for miles. And y'know, that's what it was like. Now she's a power-hungry cunt ready to take over the real world too, and we're all gonna get screwed by her."[/color] She sighed, practically defeated by how stacked the odds were.  [color=sienna]"And there's not much we can do but let it happen  All the heavy hitters are in her corner at this point."[/color] It was quite clear that some sort of mood swing was taking hold because of the subject, though it was something that did need to be talked about at some point. That point was now, apparently.

An eyebrow rose as Aderyn described the events that had taken place in DGO while Masae had been here in the real world. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the White Guild were behind the attack that had injured her friend, and her fists clenched in a growing anger. Fighting in the game was one thing, but deliberately harming people in real life? They were no better than the Sweepers (which was saying a lot, considering her former allegiances)

That did leave her with a confused realization, one she was left trying to figure out on her own. But perhaps Aderyn could help with it, if she was willing to. "But...what happened? Even I knew there was a war coming, and I barely play DGO as it is. How did the Blue Guild let themselves get thrashed in a couple hours max?"

The Welsh girl sighed once again in response, trying to, and failing, to bring her knees up to her chest. Since one had just been relocated, a sharp pain came back briefly before she leveled that leg out again. [color=sienna]"Bel, the Blue King, never got online for it. There was no leadership to rally under, and she never even bothered to prepare for something like this. Sure, we had tanks, but the city itself was almost completely vulnerable."[/color] She unconsciously squeezed Masae's hand while she spoke, finding some solace in the contact with a close friend.

"I see." The squeeze was returned, even as Masae found her mind working. So that was it then? This failure of leadership at the top of the Guild, this was the reason that her friend had gotten hurt? Even she found it hard to believe that the Guild had ossified to the point where the lack of the Blue King meant that the entire organization was ripe for the picking. But that seemed to be the case, whether she wanted it or not.

With a sigh of her own she leaned closer, fixing Aderyn with a warm look. "Hey, I have a request too. I think...I think you should stop playing DGO. Until all of this is over." She knew she was asking a lot, but it had to be done. "I won a couple tckets at the Computer Club contest before all of this trouble happened. Once you're feeling better we can go there and be away from all of this madness until the War is over. Please?"

It took her a long moment of thought, a few half-started sentences even, but she eventually gave a slow nod in response. [color=sienna]"Yeah, maybe you're right. This whole war thing is kinda pointless, whole reason I play is to have fun. But this happens, and it kills it."[/color] She looked up at friend and locked eyes with her for a brief moment, her face heating up once again. [color=sienna]"And I'd like that, it'll get my mind off of this."[/color] For an incredibly brief moment, she started leaning in, though the action was cut short by the door opening and the nurse coming through with a set of crutches.

For an instance Masae would admit that she was worried, but hearing Aderyn agree brought about another surge of relief at the prospect. She knew how fired up Aderyn could get about DGO, so having her actually along with getting out of the line of fire was both surprising and welcome. You had to know when to pick your battles, and in a case like this it seemed like this wasn't one that was worth fighting.  Not to the end. 

"Great," she replied, patting her roommate on the shoulder. "Well then, don't take too long n getting better. We don't want to miss the good weather." Noticing the arrival of the nurse, she took stock of the crutches before returning to Aderyn. "You think you're ready to try standing up?"

She nodded in response and took the crutches, more than used to having to walk around with them thanks to previous calamities. With nary a word she set the ends of them on the floor and swung out of bed, making sure to put her weight on the one comparatively good leg she had left. She winced only slightly as she stood fully, then smiled and looked up at Masae. [color=sienna]"Mind if we stop by the auditorium before we head out? I forgot something in there."[/color]

Masae stepped back and released Aderyn's hand so she could rise to her feet with the assistance of the crutches, figuring that she wasn't needed for it. "Sure, I don't mind," Masae reassured her before beginning to head out of the infirmary, moving at the same speed as hr companion. They were both going to the same place after all. Yet as she walked, she couldn't help but shoot Aderyn the occasional look, both to make sure she was doing fine and to assuage her own worries. For all that she had said about getting out of the way, she couldn't help but worry. Something like this, she didn't want it to happen again. Not if she had the power to do something about it.

But for now she tried to keep her mind to the task at hand as they headed to the auditorium. It wasn't that long a walk and the place was practically deserted by the time they got there. Masae followed Aderyn's lead, not sure what they were here for but figuring her friend knew. She could wait however long it took for her to find it. 

With the distinct clicking of crutches hitting floor tiles, Aderyn swung straight for the seat she had been in before the show had been interrupted. [color=sienna]"Alright, I'm gonna try and ask that question again. The timing isn't ideal, but... here goes."[/color] She reached over the back of the chair and pulled up the unharmed stuffed bear she had won for dunking Aaron three consecutive times earlier that day. [color=sienna]"I know that they're your tickets and it just lined up perfectly, but... would you wanna go out with me?"[/color] Fearing the worst, she held out the bear with one arm for the German to take.

While Masae had had her suspicions with regards to Aderyn's feelings towards her, actually being presented with the request and the gift was a whole other matter entirely. For a moment she would admit that she was not sure how to react, merely stuck processing the fact that the question had been asked in the first place. She had never really considered herself to be interested in girls, to be honest. Not that she had actively avoided it, it had just never come up. 

But as she thought on it, she found it harder to argue against it. She had never really thought of it before, but she wasn't actively opposed to it. And she did care for Aderyn, perhaps as more than just a friend. At the very least this was the sort of time in their lives where they could try things out and see what happened. If it didn't work out, then at least they would both have learned something for the future. 

"Okay," she said at last, reaching out to take the bear. "I'll go out with you Aderyn." Well, at least she knew now what had been going on before. Now it was just a matter of figuring out how all of this would work. "So, are you planning to sleep in my room now, or will we be sharing the couch," she asked jokingly. 

More than anything, Aderyn was shocked that she had agreed on a date, even if it was after a long moment of silent thought. While she relinquished her ownership of the bear, she couldn't help but smile brightly at the joke that had been made. [color=sienna]"Well, a bed beats a couch, and I don't mind snuggling."[/color] It was like a compressed spring had finally been allowed to release the pressure it was under, and the embarrassment in the room finally left.

[color=sienna]"So... what were those tickets to, anyway?"[/color]

Now it was Masae's turn to be a little embarrassed, not sure if she was on board with the idea of snuggling as of yet. Fortunately they weren't doing that right now so she could rest easy and think on it, even as she adjusted her grip on her new bear. She wouldn't claim that this had made things easier between them, but it definitely felt like there was a lightness in the air that hadn't been present before. It was nice. 

"Oh? Uh..." Quickly she fished around in her pocket, producing the tickets so she could read them again. Understandably she had been in a bit of a hurry at the time, so she didn't exactly remember what they were for. "Right, an all-paid weekend trip to a hot spring inn," she announced. Okay, so maybe it didn't work out perfectly time wise but she was sure that they could finagle it a bit. A weekend was variable, and time was all relative anyways. "I'm sure it'll be wonderful for your muscles."

For the third time in the same hour, the blood rushed to Aderyn's face at the mention of a hot spring. It would be therapeutic for sure, not that she was in desperate need of relaxation, but it was certainly welcome. What made her blush, however, was the image of her date next to naked in a casual manner, though she decided to keep quiet about that thought. [color=sienna]"I only wish you got them yesterday, I'd still have two legs. Still, it'll be nice."[/color]

The cripple started her way towards the auditorium doors, intent on leaving the building for the day. [color=sienna]"Wanna improvise something? I have some money on me, we could go get dinner instead. I know that ramen shop down the street is cleared out by now."[/color] She was more than willing to walk that distance, pushing the door open with one crutch while leaning on the other.

Unlike Aderyn, Masae had not even considered the possible awkwardness of being seated next to her new date whilst naked in a hot spring, since that wasn't the sort of image that her mind automatically leapt to. It probably helped not being the one with the crush. Nonetheless she couldn't help but nod in agreement with the voiced sentiment. "Me too. As long as we enjoy ourselves then I won't complain."

Together she followed alongside her roommate as they headed towards the exit, now that their business was done here. She stepped through the opened door before holding it once she was on the other side, to make it easier for Aderyn to move through without opposition. "As much fun as it might be to see how much stuff everyone left behind in the scramble to log on, having an actual dinner sounds better. I have some money left over too, so we should be able to split the cost." With that she headed towards the aforementioned ramen shop with Aderyn beside her, leaving thoughts of DGO behind. They wouldn't have to worry about it until morning came, one way or another.