Caught Between a Rock and the Hard Truth

[MatrixTamer]

When Takuya and Kouji returned to the cave, they dully noted that Samuel had fallen asleep. Immediately Kouji's gaze fell upon Akiko to see if she, too, had succumbed to tiredness, though in his heart he knew she hadn't. The old Akiko, the Akiko he knew, would have cared too much about hurting them to let herself be taken by sleep. But this Akiko... this Akiko was too distrustful.

Once his blue eyes found hers and he saw that she had indeed chosen to stay awake, he let out a sigh of disappointment, the walked over to her and sat down next to her, hopefully not so close as to make her uneasy but close enough so they could talk.

"Do you mind my being here?" he asked first, not wanting to end up pressuring her into a conversation she didn't want. Still, he hoped she'd say no. Even if she didn't understand who he was or why he was talking to her, he thought that maybe just the fact that he was talking her might bring back a part of the bond of trust they used to share. Even if it didn't, she could use the knowledge that someone else was there for her during this period of confusion she was going through.

Takuya, meanwhile, sat down across from where Kouji and Akiko were near the cave entrance and stared outside, awaiting Izumi's return. He wasn't sure why she'd run off like that, but he couldn't keep himself from wondering. He hoped she'd come back sometime soon.

[UnityWind]

Izumi slowly walked back to the cave, her mind wondering about other things than sleep. She walked into the cave and found her friends were mostly awake. "Oh, did I keep you waiting, sorry." she said as she walked over to Takuya and sat down.

[MatrixTamer]

"No, it's fine," Takuya said, trying to look like he hadn't even noticed she was gone. He didn't do too good a job of it. He looked back over to where Kouji and Akiko were sitting, a curious look suddenly coming into his eyes. His mind traveled back to when they were in the Garurumon's village. Akiko had been seriously ill then, and it seemed like Kouji was going out of his mind with worry. He was hiding it better this time, but Takuya could guess that now Kouji felt no different.

His mind jumped. He remembered a conversation they had while there over a meal. Kouji was absent, and Izumi had suggested a theory that Takuya dismissed, being too interested in the food. But now...

"Hey, Izumi," he whispered so only she could hear. "D'you remember that time in the Garurumon's Village when you said something about Kouji and Akiko? Something about him... I dunno... having feelings for her? I wonder if it's true. This is supposed to be hard on Akiko, not being able to remember who she is and stuff, but... I think it may be even harder for him."

[UnityWind]

"Yeah I do." Izumi replied. "Kouji. He really does care about Akiko. I mean, he has been around her alot longer than any of us have. I wouldn't be all that surprised if right now, felt like telling her to get some rest." she said, unconsciously laying her head on Takuya's shoulder.

OOC: I couldn't resist.

[MatrixTamer]

Takuya felt the presence of Izumi's head on his shoulder and, out of the corner of his eye, looked to her. His expression of confusion clearly showed that he wasn't sure how to handle the situation. Should he bring his attention to the matter and question her? Should he move away from her? Or should he just pretend nothing happened? After all, all she did was put her head on his shoulder. It wasn't a big deal; she could've just been tired. Eventually he decided that it was best to ignore. Ignore it and hope it went away. It wasn't a tactic Takuya would normally consider, but in such an awkward situation he could think of nothing else.

"I wonder if we could do anything..." he muttered quiety, looking back to the two but then pulling his gaze away from them lest they realize they were being watched and talked about. "Y'know, to help? But then again, this is Kouji we're dealing with. And Akiko. Neither of them are huge fans of being helped out with anything, the stubborn jerks."

Even though he'd spoken ill of their two friends, he said it lightly. Anyone who knew Takuya would understand that Kouji was his best friend, and though they constantly were at odds Takuya would do almost anything for him when it came down to it. And Akiko... Well, Takuya never got along with Akiko anyways, so he could say just about anything he wanted about her. Still, though, he'd do a lot for her, too. He'd already vowed to help her out in their journey to get her memory back. He could help with this, too.

"But the problem is, she doesn't know he cares about her that much. And if she gets her memory back... She's probably gonna be too mad to feel the same way."

[UnityWind]

As soon as Takuya had started talking, Izumi realized where she had placed her head. At first, she thought he didn't notice, but then, this was Takuya she was talking about. How sweet she thought. He's letting me rest on his shoulder. Never knew Takuya could be like this After a while, Izumi realized Takuya's question and decided to answer.

"We wait."

[MatrixTamer]

"Wait?" Takuya looked to her, wondering if he'd heard wrong, knowing he hadn't. What good would waiting do? Granted, he knew there wasn't much they could do other than wait, but still. Takuya was never the one to sit idle when something was wrong. He preferred action. He wanted to confront a problem the instant it arose. Not sit and wait. "Why do we have to wait? We should at least ask him about it or something. But just waiting... Well, it doesn't get us anywhere."

He stole another glance back at the two, then returned his gaze to Izumi. He was getting uncomfortable with her head on his shoulder. Not that he minded it, really, it was just... awkward. Didn't she realize what she was doing? He wondered again if he shouldn't say something about it, but remained silent as he was unable to decide how to put his words.

[Mario]

Suddenly, Samuel stirs a little, soon sitting up. Sitting there fore a few seconds, he then stands up and begins to walk out of the cave, oblivious to Takuya and Izumi. "Need a drink of water..." he seems to say to someone until it is realized that he is subonsciously muttering it. He soon exits, walking toward some unknown destination in search of water.

[UnityWind]

"I know Takuya, but that's why we have to wait it out. not for long, just a day or two. You know, let the air between them settle. I talked about with Kouji earlier and he won't admit anything to Akiko." the blonde told him before yawning loudly. e leaft her head from Takuya's shoulder whilst rubbing her eyes, trying to swat away sleep for some unknown reason.

[MatrixTamer]

"I still don't like waiting..." Takuya muttered, looking down at his tennis shoes and twisting one of the loose laces around his finger. The absense of Izumi's head on his shoulder brought him a slight relief, but immediately after that he began to be bugged by it, as if she had sensed his awkwardness in the situation and had removed it for that sole purpose. That's not what I wanted... he thought sulkily, now nearly convinced that he was the sole reason Izumi's head was no longer resting on his shoulder. However, he didn't have any time to think if he had really wanted it there or not, or what he should say about it if he did. Something else Izumi had said caught his attention.

"What d'you mean you talked to him before?" he whispered, careful not to let his voice carry across the cavern to Kouji and Akiko, who were sitting a mere few meters across from them. "When did you talk to him?" Takuya noted Samuel's leaving the cave, but he didn't say anything. He was too concerned about what Izumi had been keeping from him to verbally acknowledge the new kid. He was sure Samuel would be alright on his own.