The next thing he knew, he was waking up at his desk. He remembered entering the room, but the rest was a blank. He traced back the faint threads of memory... he'd walked to the desk, yes. But he didn't remember sitting down.
As he sat up, a white lab coat slid off his shoulders.
It was Tachyon's.
His heart hammered. He could smell her—that sweet, faint scent of her skin mixed with the sharp, medicinal tang of chemicals. It was an intoxicating, overwhelming aroma.
Had she been here? He checked the clock. It was 10:00 AM. Plenty of time for her to have stopped by. She must have seen him sleeping and draped her coat over him. It was November, and the room was a bit chilly; she had been looking out for him.
What a kind girl, he thought. Then, a second thought struck him—one that made him turn pale.
The lab coat was Tachyon's "final fortress." For reasons known only to her, she usually wore nothing but a long top and tights under that coat. He had lectured her about it countless times, but she would only give him a condescending look and ignore him. Without that coat, she was essentially walking around in her underwear.
He sighed, standing up to go find her and return it.
Before he could reach the door, it swung open. Tachyon walked in and immediately spotted him.
"Ah, you're awake. Perfect. I'll take my coat back. It's colder than I anticipated."
"I was just about to bring it to you. But..." He trailed off, worried she'd misinterpret his concern as something perverted.
"But what? Is it that hard to say? Oh, I see. My outfit again? Spare me the lecture and just hand over the garment."
"Tachyon, listen to me. That outfit isn't normal. At least... at least wear a skirt or something under there."
"I am wearing something. Tights."
"Tights don't hide anything!" Keiichi's voice rose in frustration.
Tachyon gave him that Kirishima-like glare again. "I don't know what you're imagining, but no one has ever told me I'm 'exposed.' And even if they could see through them, it's just cloth. What is there to discuss? Honestly, I fought through the Kikuka Sho for a happy ending, and now you want to pick a fight over this?"
Keiichi went stiff. That wasn't what he meant at all. She didn't understand. But the words wouldn't come. Instead, he just let out a long, defeated sigh and dropped the coat on the desk.
"Fine. Take it."
Tachyon's face darkened. "Bring it here."
"No. Just take it."
Keiichi sat back down, crossed his arms on the desk, and buried his face in them, pretending to go back to sleep. He heard the soft click of her footsteps. She picked up the coat and muttered under her breath.
"Whenever things get difficult, you just hide. How long do you plan to be like this? My patience for your moods has its limits, you know."
She threw the coat on and swept out of the room. Keiichi felt miserable. A dark, muddy irritation swirled inside him, thick as ink and filled with mental refuse. In that foul mood, he fell back into a deep, heavy sleep. He remembered it being a painful, wretched dream, but the content vanished the moment he woke.
He woke again just before noon. The students' lunch break was starting, though it rarely applied to Tachyon, who skipped most of her classes. She claimed she attended the "minimum required," and Keiichi didn't have the energy to argue. In fact, he preferred it when she skipped; it meant she'd spend her time in his office.
Usually, she'd sit on the sofa reading while he worked at his desk. The only sounds would be the clink of her teacup and the tapping of his keyboard. It was a small, quiet, perfect world. But after their spat, he doubted she'd show up today.
At 12:30, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in," he called out, wondering who it could be.
It was Manhattan Cafe. She shared a lounge with Tachyon, though she usually kept a divider between them to maintain her privacy—a privacy Tachyon frequently violated. Keiichi assumed she was there to complain about something Tachyon had done, but her mission was different.
"Tachyon-san told me to go get your lunch," Cafe said bluntly. "She's being restless, which makes me restless. I'm only here because I want peace. Please, give me the bento so I can leave."
Keiichi froze. "Oh..."
Cafe's eyes narrowed. "...Don't tell me. You forgot? You forgot to make her lunch?"
"I completely forgot... I'm so sorry, Cafe-san, could you—"
"No," Cafe cut him off before he could finish. "This is your failure. You take responsibility."
Her voice was merciless.
"I don't care why you two are fighting, and it is not my job to clean up after you. I've already conceded enough by acting as her messenger. If the task cannot be completed, you deal with it."
Cafe was usually hard to read, but Keiichi could tell she was genuinely annoyed. Still, he didn't want to face Tachyon yet. He tried to negotiate. "Is there something you like? I could buy you—"
"No." She didn't let him speak. "To be honest, the fact that you two won the Kikuka Sho still irritates me. I am a stayer; I wanted that race more than anyone. To lose to Tachyon-san, who lost the Derby... to think that flighty animal was faster than me... it's frustrating. It's humiliating. And yet here I am, playing her errand girl. Do you have any idea how that feels? Put Tachyon-san in the Tenno Sho (Spring). That is my only condition."
Keiichi frowned. "Wait, did you come here just to talk about that?"
"It just occurred to me, but yes, I've wanted to say it. Put her in the Tenno Sho. If you do, I will deal with her, however bothersome she is."
"I can't decide that now. We're planning to stick to middle distances for now, and I'd have to discuss it with her anyway."
"Fine. Then stay here and imagine your 'cute kitten' starving while she waits for you. I'm going somewhere else. Perhaps my own trainer's office."
Cafe turned to leave, but Keiichi scrambled to his feet. "Is she in the lab?"
"No... she's right here."
The door swung open, and Tachyon stepped in.
"Honestly, you two were having such an odd conversation I found it difficult to interrupt. So? Cafe. Are you really that upset about losing to me?"
Tachyon gave her a mischievous smirk. Cafe scowled. "I didn't intend for you to hear that."
"I'm sure, I'm sure. Now... Trainer-kun, my lunch?"
Tachyon held out her hand. Cafe interjected, "Wait. You sent me on an errand and then came here yourself?"
"I thought it would be faster if I just did it," Tachyon said dismissively.
"I thought you two were fighting," Cafe muttered.
"We were. We are," Tachyon said, casting a sharp side-eye at Keiichi. "I just came for food. I didn't come to talk to him. He's being incredibly annoying today. Don't you agree, Cafe?"
Cafe looked at Keiichi, then back to Tachyon. After a few seconds of silence, she sighed. "It's none of my business."
"How cold."
Suddenly, Tachyon's stomach let out a loud, traitorous growl.
"Right, right. The food. You made it, I assume?"
Keiichi sat there, looking up at her from his chair, and slowly shook his head.
"You didn't make it?! What exactly is your purpose as my trainer? This morning I couldn't have my medicine, and now I have no lunch. Why are you even here?"
The words were harsh. Keiichi looked down at his lap, stung. Even Cafe seemed to think it was too much. "Isn't that a bit much?" she murmured to Tachyon.
Tachyon's expression clouded with a hint of guilt. "Fine... maybe I went too far. But if there's no lunch, I suppose I'll have to go pick at something in the cafeteria."
"The cafeteria was an option from the start," Cafe noted. "Why didn't you just go there?"
"Don't be thick. I thought the Trainer was cooking. It's much more convenient for staying holed up in the lab."
Tachyon and Cafe turned toward the door to leave. Keiichi, assuming the encounter was over, turned back to his computer. But just as the door was closing, Tachyon looked back over her shoulder.
"...You haven't eaten either, have you, Trainer-kun?"
Keiichi looked up. Her eyes looked lonely—soft, somehow.
"You promised, didn't you? Peak health by next week. Are you planning to break your promise already?"
It was the ultimate olive branch.
Keiichi let out a breath he'd been holding. "Yeah," he said, his voice low. "I'm coming."
He was weak, perhaps. But today, once again, he allowed himself to be saved by the strange, sharp kindness of Agnes Tachyon.