"Cookies Never Tasted This Impassioned" Brown eyebrows lifted themselves from dark brown eyes, as the overweight nurse watched down the hall. A short, but very sweet looking young girl, lead the way towards the pediatrics counter; followed by a tall, scraggly looking teen, both of whom looking as though they'd rather be anywhere else than here. Yumi Utashin knew them both. Ami, the daughter of one of the hospitals most prominent doctors, Hitomi Mizuno—who has recently been under consideration for the head of the e.r., and a very brilliant young girl who is always respectful to everyone. Then there was Makoto; the disrespectful miscreant who mouths off without a care in the world. She'd recently begun visiting the patients with her new guardian, Setsuna Meioh. If Yumi had to pick two people who she thought she'd never ever see in the same room, let alone walking together, those two would be it. The nurse straightened herself up as the two approached her; the taller one still looking hesitant about being here in general. "Good afternoon Utashin-san. How are things going for you today?" Ami allowed herself to lean against the desk, bringing one foot up on its toes, letting her calf support the rest of it. The blue haired girl clasped her hands together smoothly, letting her elbows and forearms support her upper body weight. Makoto felt her brain short out. She stared unapologetically at her picturesque school girl leaning innocently against the pediatrics desk. Emerald eyes felt no rush as they lingered greedily from the pristine white tennis shoes, up the smooth calf towards a navy blue skirt which seemed to have shortened considerably. She was vaguely aware that the conversation had shifted towards her. "Kino-san! It's so good to see you again!" Emerald eyes widened in surprise, shooting upwards from her previous spot of interest. Feeling like a child who'd just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar, Makoto willed her face not to blush and tried to contain the spots of redness to her ears and neck. "Are you okay child? You look a little flushed..." Nurse Utashin looked on worriedly towards the tall teenager. 'Damnit,' the chestnut haired girl scolded herself for getting so lost in such thoughts. She took a moment to gaze at the shorter girl next to her. Ami hadn't turned to even look at Makoto; nor had she even so much moved from her spot at the counter. No one else seemed to notice where Makoto's eyes and thoughts had been. Taking this as a good sign, Makoto hastened her resolve and hurried out a convincing reply. "Oh, I'm fine Utashin-san. It's just a little colder up here than in the elevator." Silently, the tall haired girl prayed that her lie would be convincing enough for everyone. Its not as if Makoto had any problems with finding the baby blue eyed beauty attractive, she just didn't want this nurse to do any annoying teasing... especially at her. As if upon hearing that prayer, Ami stood up suddenly from the desk. Freeing her hands from their grip, the blue haired girl smiled sweetly as she spoke, "Is there anything that I can help with today? Mother is quite busy upstairs and I thou..." Ami didn't get to finish her sentence as the portly nurse in front of her interrupted. "Oh your mother! She needs to take a break sometimes, and you can tell her I said that. Hee hee!" Makoto definitely noticed the forced grin on the small girls face this time. Emerald eyes had been glaring at the pediatrics nurse for interrupting the blue haired girl. But when Ami had moved a step back, the taller girl couldn't help but watch her with concern. There was definitely some animosity between the blue haired teen and her mother, Makoto was sure of that. I'm going to have to personally thank Meioh-san for this one later. -------------------------------------- Earlier... After they dumped their trays and placed them above the trash cans, the three women made their way to the elevator. Makoto couldn't seem to get the blue haired girl out of her head, try as she might. And try she did. Every time baby blue eyes even glanced in the tall girl's direction, Makoto would turn the other way or make conversation with her guardian. 'Even Setsuna isn't helping,' Makoto noted with a glum nod. At every attempt by the chestnut haired girl to steer any attention away from herself or Ami, Setsuna would only give one word answers or not even answer at all. Makoto was beginning to get frustrated; it clearly began to show. Her agitation only frightened Ami further into being even more quiet and ghostlike. Once inside the elevator, Setsuna turned slightly towards Ami, noticeably not making any acknowledgement of the tall teen behind her. "Ami, where are you headed off to?" Feeling several sets of eyes on her, Ami blushed lightly as she spoke, "To pediatrics." Nodding, Setsuna turned to face the elevator doors as they opened at the first floor. She watched one person walk off the elevator and waited to see if anyone else would get on. After several moments, the doors closed and the elevator started back up again. Magenta eyes turned around to face emerald, "Makoto, have you been to the pediatrics ward?" Makoto, who'd been watching Setsuna with great fervor since they entered the elevator, knew this question was coming; and knew exactly where it was leading. She quickly responded that had been up there several times over the course of the last two visits and that she wasn't planning on visiting the children until later this afternoon. Setsuna's face softened into a firm resolve as she spoke again, "I bet the children are just itching to see you again Makoto. Why don't you and Ami head up there? You can keep each other company, too." Opening her mouth to protest, the emerald eyed girl was cut short as Setsuna turned quickly to step out of the opened elevator. "Have fun you two!" Setsuna waved and smiled as she began to walk down the hallway. All that the chestnut haired teen could muster was a mumbled grunt that slightly resembled 'Yes'. She was not planning to spend her day in awkward silences with her peer. Looking over, she saw Ami lost in her own thoughts as well. Makoto wondered for a moment if the shorter girl was regretting this decision as well. -------------------------------------- Present... "Is Miki still here?" Ami's mind suddenly came back to life at the sound of the other girl's voice. After what the nurse had said about her mother, the blue haired teen suddenly felt very horrible, and sad, and she couldn't seem to hold it back. Everything around her had become blurry for a moment and she was vaguely aware that she was still standing there smiling, her hands clenched into fists. Unclenching her hands, Ami allowed them to fall at her side. She looked over at the tall girl behind her and became slightly disturbed upon seeing the cold, expressionless look in her eyes. Why do I have to be stuck with such an uncouth person? Ami silently berated herself a moment. She reminded herself that everyone has a story to tell and that Makoto's story probably wasn't a good one. Still, blue eyes pondered, its irritating the way that she practically looks right through me, as though she knows everything. "Oh, yes, he's still here, dear. He was actually asking for you earlier. Would you like to go see him?" Ami watched as emerald eyes lit up with excitement. "Alright. Same room? I know the way." Yumi merely smiled as the disheveled teenager walked quickly down the hallway and made a right. Letting out a breath the blue eyed girl didn't know she'd been holding in, she turned back to Nurse Utashin expectantly. Brown eyes softened sadly, watching the shorter girl, "I'm sorry Ami, the board of directors was frequenting the area earlier and we've all been on our toes trying to impress him. It wouldn't do much of an impression for him to see a teenager helping us out. I mean," Yumi sat up staring directly at Ami with a poster pasted smile, "I know you're a genius at this kind of stuff and we all know who your mother is, and it's just that he wouldn't understand at all." The young girl nodded glumly, that was the reason mother was in such a fuss. Baby blue eyes then looked back up with a glint of curiosity in them. "Which room is Miki in?" -------------------------------------- Ami was curious, to say the least. When she'd seen those cold emerald eyes begin to dance vividly at the prospect of seeing this 'Miki', it was as though she was seeing a whole new part of Makoto. Ever since the interrogation at lunch she had not been looking forward to spending another moment with the towering girl. She could see right through me. I felt as though I was standing naked before her, despite the fact I was completely clothed. Shaking her head slightly, the blue eyed girl let out a tiny sigh as she brought her fingers up to squeeze the bridge of her nose. This was something she had never encountered before. Keeping herself guarded was something she had developed as a young child when all the others were jealous of her good grades and studious nature. But it was possible that Makoto didn't know everything; it was more possible, in fact, that she was just good at deceiving others into believing that she knew their every fear, their every belief, their every thought. Blue eyes solidified into resolve as the young girl decided to find out just exactly how much the chestnut haired girl was actually aware of. "Konnichiwa Ami-chan! I just saw your mother, she looks stressed." Ami looked up taking in a tall young man with neatly combed black hair and friendly blue eyes. His arms were stretched upwards with his hands resting behind his head, looking oddly relaxed considering the state of the hospital. The scrubs he wore fell loosely around his thin frame and were donned with spots of blood. "Ohayo Mamo-kun. How are things going down in the e.r.?" Blue eyes closed themselves as the boy's head fell downward, resulting in a half frown and half smile across his face. "They're getting better, we haven't lost anyone yet," pointing to the blood stains on his shirt, Mamoru continued, "That was inadvertently my mistake. I tried to give an IV to some guy who was thrashing like mad, screaming that some monster attacked him and that the 'end of the world was near'. Of course, he managed to pry his arm out from two nurses." Giggling, Ami reached out and patted the young doctor on his shoulder, "Really Mamo-kun, you ought to be more careful." Several loud beeps rang out from the young man's hip and Mamoru hastily grabbed the beeper from his waist band. "Ah well, duty calls Ami-chan, I'll see you around!" Baby blue eyes watched as, what Nurse Utashin once referred to as, 'The Tall Drink of Water', strode assuredly down the hall and in the direction of the elevators. Mother is down the e.r., she can't be that busy. Though the way Mamoru spoke it seemed as though he just caught a glimpse of her. Ami took several short breaths and shook her head lightly, feeling her eyes soften. Her thoughts about the e.r. and Mamoru were short lived, as the young girl turned back towards her destination at hand. Ami found herself thinking of her classmate again and how drawn she felt towards her. 'I'm unconsciously pulled towards her... no... That isn't right. I'm very well aware that I'm getting pulled, but I can't seem to communicate to my feet to stop.' Ami had never been so bold as to nearly invite herself to lunch with anyone before. Though Setsuna often said she was welcome to join her anytime she was visiting in the hospital, the young girl had never found herself wanting to intrude. Let's go see if I'm dealing with the real deal or a fake then. Solidity returning to baby blue eyes, Ami took several more steps forward, stopping just outside Miki's room. 'Why do I feel as though I'm just making this up to see her? No... That can't be right. She seems to know something and I just want to find out how much.' She stared at the numbers on the door, 522, for what seemed like an eternity before raising her hand upwards to knock on the door. White knuckles stopped just short of rapping as the blue haired girl suddenly found herself unable to breathe.
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