this was certainly something he hadn’t expected. traffic laws were certainly terrible here, he’d lazily been musing, watching the cars speed by with reckless abandon – or he was just in part of the town filled with racecar driver wannabes, or people with a death wish. how nice! he could have joined them in their death beds…if only he had a drivers license. ( if one was going to die, they might as well die legally after all! komaeda didn’t want to be put in jail posthumously for something like driving without a license. that was stupid. )
but it looked like his luck was on his side this evening, as he staggers in a breath; lungs desperately trying to get back the air that had been knocked out of him, staring glossy eyed up at the sky for moments and ages; there’s a voice buzzing in the background, and he can’t understand what it’s saying.
it’s probably important, but his mind is working on its own pace. he’ll let it pass, maybe his luck would cover it for him.
“Guess my luck does work here, after all.” rasped out, tone breathless but not panicked or surprised; it’s rather like he was making a casual observation, like commenting on brown leaves falling in early fall. it’s almost too much so, for one who just casually walked into the path of a speeding car. what was he thinking? nobody knew. breezy words hide a sort of bitterness that he doesn’t even realize he’s feeling, looking to the side at the road. picking his torso up, so that he was sitting on the ground – he starts coughing to the side, petering out into a wheeze that indicated that he was much more winded than initially believed.
it’s odd. his luck feels screwed up. its highs and lows aren’t as extreme – shouldn’t he be dead by now? he’d been tempting fate all along but all he gets are lukewarm responses; nothing from the luck that had been his judge, jury, and executioner, and if his luck was trying to be tsundere, this was a weak attempt.
ah, this was bad. his luck, no matter how worthless it was, was a talent, after all, and if it waned…
“Was I supposed to notice them?” said between coughs, gulping in another breath before his eyes refocus on the person who had saved him – he doesn’t sound sorry at all, voice altogether too distant. “ I guess I should have been more careful,” he muses, but with the way he says it, it doesn’t seem like he’s talking about being careful with the cars.
when a hand is offered, he blinks. he studies the offered hand for a moment, before looking back up at her, not taking the hand, but making no motion to get up either.
“I didn’t expect someone else to get involved… that was careless and forgetful of me… someone like me doesn’t deserve forgiveness.”
… what does that even have to do with the hand? but he seems to snap back to normalcy soon after, still sitting–
“I should be asking if you’re alright. That impact couldn’t have been painless, especially when you hit something as bony and useless as me.”
… he doesn’t seem to be getting off the ground or taking that hand any time soon.
Panic quickly attempts to seize her heart as he lies motionless on the ground, struggling to catch his breath, but she steels herself, knowing full well that she needs to stay levelheaded in a situation like this. The best thing to do would be to call for an ambulance if he wasn’t going to move. Carrying him herself would take too long, after all. Hand delving into her schoolbag, she grips her phone, voice cracking as she speaks despite trying to remain calm. “H-Hold on, I’ll get you some help, so just--”
Her fingers pause their dialing as he finally speaks up, relief immediate, but nearly overshadowed by her confusion towards his tone. He was so calm, it was almost alarming, and his words made little sense. Though, she supposed if she had nearly been hit by a car, her mind would be a mess, so saying strange things didn’t come as too much of a surprise. “I -- Yes, I suppose you are lucky it wasn’t worse, but -- nevermind that, how are you feeling?” She inquires, an edge of concern in her voice. For a moment, she’s hopeful that he’s unharmed, having no trouble at all in sitting upright, but that same panic from earlier rears once again as he answers her with a fit of coughs and wheezes. “Please, don’t push yourself! If you need to lie here, I can call for an ambulance, so focus on resting for now.”
In the back of her mind, she notes that outwardly, he’s fine. There were no injuries whatsoever, and if was able to move around, it was likely nothing was broken either. Still, she wants nothing more than to get him to a hospital -- for his head, if nothing else. The way he was approaching the situation was far too careless, as if nearly dying was an everyday occurrence for him. The only logical conclusion was that he had hit his head on the pavement, because no one could be that relaxed after a near fatal accident. “Yes, you definitely should have been more careful -- at the very least, check your surroundings when crossing the street...” She repeats her statement from a few moments ago, though her voice lacks the same conviction it held before, too awestruck by his behavior to scold him properly.
Perhaps this was just his way of dealing with it, she thinks. After all, everyone dealt with stressful situations differently. Odd as it was, maybe it wasn’t her place to judge. Maybe he truly was fine, and she was simply overreacting.
That line of thought doesn’t last long, however, and she’s right back to assuming the worst as he begins admonishing himself on her behalf. While she understood it was completely normal to feel some semblance of guilt for causing a scene, and was admittedly no stranger to speaking badly about herself, she was completely taken aback by how out of the left field and harsh it was.
“Oh, no -- I mean, I.. forgive you?” She blinks, unsure of how to respond. “It isn’t like you were trying to get yourself hurt, so there’s no need to be so hard on yourself... Just be more careful from now on.”
Was he really okay? It was one thing to feel apologetic, but he seemed to go above and beyond an apology. He was outright berating himself -- and repeatedly, at that. “And I’m completely fine, so don’t worry about me...” She pauses, choosing her next words carefully. “Are you really okay? I think we should get you looked at, just to be safe. You can move, right? The hospital isn’t too far away, so here -- “ She crouches down to his height, sliding an arm around his shoulders and easily lifting him to his feet. “I’ll help you, so lets get going.”
