Listening to his drug-faded words, Rina found herself needing to blink her vision back into clarity. She leaned closer to hear him--his voice was rough and quiet. "Hey, will do," she told him softly. "I'll be around for a while, I think." Trying for cheerful, she probably just hit strained--but that was all right. He hadn't hit what he'd been aiming for either, his chapped lips splitting blood onto an awkward rictus grin, but she got the point anyway.

"I'll keep coming back until you're better, didn't I say so? I promised." She bent over and picked up her tossed-aside diagram off the floor, rolling up countless hours of work into a neat bundle so she didn't have to look at his face.

"Besides, Ito-sensei would never let me go now. Not when I can do the grunt-work, and he can sleep!" Her laugh didn't sound like much of one. "I'll be helping with the repairs next week, for sure, and the checks in between. Count on it!"

There was just something about him. Maybe it was only that he was around her age, and was kinda cute under all those bruises--but she didn't think so. He was broken, she supposed, sharp-edged and shattered--but not destroyed beyond repair. He was something she could fix.

She smiled at him as best she could, and reached over to brush a sweat-soaked strand of hair off his forehead--she couldn't help herself. "I'll see you in a few days, okay, Genma-san?" Pushing back her chair, she settled her labcoat and stood to leave.