Nadia Protection Squad Assemble (Kendra/Cecil/Nadia/Tomomi)

At hearing that Nadia went to a cadet of all people, and got drunk because of it, Tomomi fell quiet again, keeping his head low and staring into the hot chocolate he was handed. Between Cecil and Nadia, was Tomomi that untrustworthy? He stared into the swirl of the hot chocolate, as if pleading it for an answer, and only vaguely aware of Cecil's self-reprimanding, and Kendra's attempt to get her to keep talking.

What should he say? What could he say? He was the distant friend here, and fully expected himself to be told to go away if he said one wrong thing; either by Nadia or Kendra. He took a sip of the hot chocolate, taking a deep breath and pausing, waiting for Nadia to reply to whatever it was that Kendra had said, before speaking up with the only idea in his mind.

"Have you... Thought about talking to a professional?"

Cecil didn't deserve it - they were words she'd heard before. Nadia got up and made her way over to him, kneeling behind him and put arms tentatively around his shoulders, kissing his cheek. "How do you know what you can have until you reach out and take it? If there's anything this has taught me, it's that. Deserve doesn't have anything to do with it."

She looked a little sadly at Kendra, eyes still full of tiredness. That tiredness was creeping up on her now that she was starting to feel safe and secure with her friends. If she could sleep here with all of them around her, she thought maybe she could get some good rest finally. Maybe even banish some of the demons in her heart. "I...think that's about everything I can say. I can't think of anything else." It was true. After having said all of that to them, emptying out all of the thoughts she'd been brewing over the last few days alone, she felt emptied out...but not in a bad way. Empty like a balloon floating upwards.

It had been meant as a momentary gesture, but now that she was here, draped over Cecil like a cape, she found she didn't want to move, and rested her chin on his shoulder, tired eyes half lidded. "A professional of what sort?" She asked Tomomi curiously, with a note of that same tiredness in her voice.

She manages to pull out a wry look and a dark, dry laugh as his head turns and plants a kiss in return, wiping away at a wet face that doesn't seem to get any drier. "It doesn't, no...not nearly so much as I convinced myself." Not at this point, anyway. Fretting over it when he'd already reached this stage was ultimately nothing short of destructive. It had held him back, and he'd failed because of it.
He'd purge that voiced that cared so much about his so called worthiness before he made that mistake again.

Settled on that, he took Nadia's arms from about him and shifted about, reversing their position so that she was the one in his hold. He brought a hand up to her head, fingers dancing through her hair as talk continued.
Nadia also made a good way to hide his features until he could school them into something else.
As Nadia seemed confused about what Tomomi was asking, he sighed, not sure what to feel right now of her confusion and too drained to work it out. "I believe...psychiatric. A therapist, or...someone similarly trained. Someone who would be able to understand and help you through the things you deal with right now. I know it's rich from me, but...the way you think of yourself, the things you've shown you feel...they aren't good for you."

Kendra looked at Tomomi, wondering how she had missed that. Nadia didn't have anything else to say. Nadia clearly needed professional help. She wanted them to be able to help each other, but none of them really knew how fully. They all had contributed in a sense too. Maybe Tomomi didn't that much, maybe, but Kendra felt guilty about it. She and Cecil certainly hadn't done enough. Another wave of anger hit her, directed at herself for being so oblivious this whole time.

She didn't move, save for the occasional fidget. "It sounds like it would work. I mean, at least I think some progress would be made, hopefully!" She was trying sound cheerier, though her attempt fell flat, Kendra too consumed with negative emotions. "Maybe after you eat and get some sleep though." She could still try to be helpful even if she couldn't do much.

As Nadia was unaware of what Tomomi meant, the Japanese boy quickly felt relief at both Kendra and Cecil understanding what he meant, nodding slowly and timidly, looking as Nadia slumped against him, before glancing at Kendra trying to hold herself together. Taking a deep breath, Tomomi took a sip of the hot chocolate before deciding to speak and try to chime in and help Kendra and Cecil.

"W-what they said. I meant a professional like a therapist, or, a counstiller? Someone that could act as an... A not involved person to talk to about things that could help you feel, well, um, happier in life, and of yourself? B-because, as much as we all want to help, I... Um... I'm sorry, but, I don't actually know how to... A-although, I definitely agree with K-kendra, that that's a thing to think about later, for now, you just eat, drink, and r-rest up. We can clear things up, wash the dishes... Um..."

As he listed the things, Tomomi recalled the gun, left on the shelf, sighing heavily as he stood up slowly. "And um... I'm just going to go put... That thing um... Away... C-cecil, um, you keep hugging her, and h-help her rest, okay?" he asked, trying to keep as neutral a tone as possible before walking back to the bathroom to retrieve the gun, and find a way to store it safely without Cecil seeing.

Nadia was surprised when Cecil kissed her back, even if it was just on the cheek, and the action made her blush and loose her train of thought. He pulled her forward, and she settled into his lap, with his arms around her. She leaned back, head lolling onto his shoulder as she watched the others talk about therapy...therapy. She'd heard the word before, but had never applied it to herself. What would it really mean or do for her? Could the words of a strangers purge this sickness from her soul? She doubted it. But they all seemed to be in agreement about it, and she wasn't about to fight them.

Here and now she had made a decision to continue living...to find a reason to live beyond today. She had thought before that she already had a reason, but when that shadowy feeling crept in none of the transient things mattered. None of the lone adventurers into strange places called to her mind, none of their times fighting demons...but this had. These people. So until she could find a solid reason to continue her own existence for the sake of living alone...these three people would be her reason for living. And if they thought she should seek council, then she would do so.

Cecil's fingers in her hair were a gentle breeze across an open field, a blanket of comfort and security pulling up around her shoulders. She felt so...heavy, tired, safe. The sheer comfort of it was so enormous that the rest of the world seemed to cease existing. And she was fine with that. This feeling was enough to sustain her. Her eyes closed completely and she heard the voices of the others as they corroborated the thoughts of therapy. But as they spoke the words blurred together, went from understandable language to a swirling ambiance of familiarity. She couldn't say when she had actually drifted off, but the others would be able to tell when the muscles of her neck finally relaxed fully, and her head lolled softly forward, into the waiting crook of Cecil's arm.

He wasn't sure how long she'd been like that when he noticed that Nadia had fallen asleep, but he couldn't find it in him to wake her.
That though, posed its own issue...he could hardly stay like this forever, and this was no place for her to get the sleep she'd long been deprived of. His gaze turned to the others as he spoke in a hushed voice. "Do you think you can help me get her to her bed...?"

Kendra watched Cecil and Nadia interact, smiling a little, though mentally she felt like collapsing from stress. At least they all had been able to arrive and help Nadia with her issues. She watched Tomomi going to the bathroom and, remembering what she had seen, decided it was better that Cecil was getting Nadia to bed, unaware like Kendra normally was.

"I can do it." Her words were much quieter and softer than normal. She moved over to Nadia, though she was unsure of how to pick her up exactly. She assumed she was picking her up, anyways. "Are we carrying her over, or...?

Cecil nods. "I mean, we're not waking her up, and I hardly think dragging her across the floor is good, so...yeah."[/font] He shifts around, trying to get into a better position, holding her properly. "I'll take this end, so...get her legs, and we can try to carry her like that. Hopefully we can get it done without too much trouble." He glances to the girl sleeping on him. "Or, um...waking her up."

Kendra nodded her head, ready to try and help Nadia out. "Got it!" She had hushed herself, trying her hardest not to wake Nadia as she began to hold her by the legs. She looked at Cecil as she tried not to drop her, hoping she had understood what he meant properly. "We good?"

Cecil nods towards Kendra as she seeks out confirmation. "Now let's be careful..."
He stands slowly, first getting his feet beneath him and then with the utmost care, working with Kendra to relocate his girlfriend to her bedroom. He was sure his family would have a crack about going to bed with his girlfriend and another girl if he heard about this, and as soon as the thought occurred, he lightly flushed red as his treacherous mind played out the scenario he would have been subjected to at home.
...he hoped Kendra wouldn't notice as they brought Nadia to her bed.

Kendra holds onto Nadia's feet as they get to the bedroom. She didn't notice Cecil flushing as she moved, hoping to safely put Nadia down without any further rush. Her bedroom seemed nice, at least, and the bed certainly seemed comfy when you looked at it. Ready to put her down?"

Meanwhile, within the bathroom, Tomomi stood there, first checking to make sure there were no items to suggest that Nadia had been preparing to swallow and overdose on any forms of medication. That done, he went back to why he first went there; the gun. Gun in hand, Tomomi looked at it... Stared at it, eyes scanning it and trying to analyse what the best way to make it safe until she needed it for her midnight endeavours would be. He wasn't a professional at this, but, it wasn't like he could take it to a professional, so, he had to make do.

First, the boy did the obvious thing, taking the bullets out, as well as the magazine they were in, before setting the magazine aside. Then, the gun itself, as he couldn't just confiscate it in case she needed it, but neither could he have left it there in case she tried to shoot herself again. So, Tomomi did what he could, intent on dismantling the gun while keeping it possible to reassemble. Still, he couldn't just memorise what he'd done with perfection, so, Tomomi improvised.

Taking a piece of toilet paper, Tomomi bit on his left hands index finger, hard enough to draw a trickle of blood, before trying to write down what he was doing, swapping between dismantling some of the key parts, and writing the instructions. Gun dismantled, Tomomi set the pieces inside the nearest bathroom cupboard, once more to hide it from Cecil, and shoved the instructions in his pocket so that nobody knew he'd caused himself to bleed while keeping his left hand in his pocket to press it up and allow the blood to dry. If asked, he could always just say he'd pricked it a bit; that way it wouldn't be a lie.

So, that done, Tomomi left the bathroom to go clear up the kitchen, the cups of water, and any empty mugs, keeping things washed up and tidy.

The room is stark and easy to Navigate. And in the act of depositing Nadia, she stirred, Consciousness skimming just below the surface of consciousness. Her hands groped empty air. "Cec...." she mumbled between thin breaths. Not finding her quarry, the girl slipped further into the waves of seamless sleep.

On her bedside table was an envelope with a thin level of dust on it. It seemed ordinary enough, except that it had Cecil's name scrawled on it in Nadia's delicate handwriting.

Inside it, if he happened to look, was a key.

Something tore at Cecil as Nadia grasped at the empty air and called for him, and before long he had grasped her hand in both of his, planting a light kiss on her forehead as he gently squeezed her hand. "I'm here, this time."
Reluctantly relinquishing her, he then works to tuck her into her bedding properly, careful to avoid disturbing her as he transitions her from on her bed to in it. As he works, he spots the envelope and his chest clenches, but he keeps going. Only once Nadia is secure in her bed does he gingerly pick up the envelope.

He's not sure about this, and the way he looks between Nadia and Kendra tells it. As he looks at the small girl, he seems to have withdrawn into himself again. "...this has been there for a bit..."
He opens it slowly as if afraid to see its contents, and when his fingers reach inside to find a key, he seems...less immediately scared, but lost. "...what...does this mean...?"