Peppa bares her teeth. "Says Me! I'm more than my race, and you know what? I'm not comfortable with you rubbing it in my face like that! You got to be tall, is that not enough for you!?"
Izumi frowns. She gazes... at? No, past Peppa. "There's a lot of areas where I'm not enough."
Well past the point of sympathy for her cousin's twisted outlook, Peppa turns away. "Fine, fine, Izu- Izzy, do what you will!"
The school nurse sweeps the curtain open, chiding them, "Hey, you two aren't here to chat, you're here to rest-"
"I'm leaving," Izumi answers.
The nurse crosses his arms, "Now, look! You have that special slip to rest and study in here, Mahogany, but that doesn't give you free rein to-"
Izumi's aura flares up red, and quickly gouges into her palm with her nails. She then fixes the nurse with a look. "...I'm going to the library, I'm having trouble getting quiet in here." She looks back at Peppa. "My cousin is feeling under the weather, but it should pass. Peppa, I wish you good health in the oncoming days." She walks out, a trail of blood drops following her.
The nurse faints back into their chair.
Peppa notes the implication in those words, and grits her teeth. Another of her loved ones she's turned against her.
...
"Oh, fuck that!"https://youtu.be/1v1CimgAK2MPeppa speeds through the halls and catches up to Izzy.
"Peppa, what."
"I have something else I want to say to you."
"Oh really?" Izumi asks her, "Is it something like, 'I'm going to tell the others'?"
No. Peppa flares her nostrils anyway. "And what if I do?"
Izumi sighs. "Do what you will."
"..."
"If it's that big a burden for you, you can let it slip. And I won't entrust you with anything else."
...
Peppa looks aside. "It's not that. Heck, not like my cred's worth anything if I wanted to blab."
Izumi rubs her arm. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry I got you involved in it, and made you look bad in front of the others."
Peppa inhales. <span class="mu-i">If she were sorry, she'd...</span> She exhales. "Nah, I pushed you, this is a burden I volunteered for, and they all won't even hear me out."
Peeved, Izumi clicks her tongue. "I can't believe they didn't buy the bit about the red paint, you're an artist and you like red!"
"Eheheh," Peppa rubs the back of her head, then says more seriously, "But yeah, if every conversation I have is going to crash and burn, I wanna at least crawl away from this one with..." She bows her head and claps her hands together. "Thanks for helping me out yesterday!"
Izzy laughs, "Come on, that? It was nothing! Anyone passing by would have done the same, I was just there because Teacha had business to take care of.
"Not anyone, it was you, you brought me to the nurse when I was knocked out!" Peppa explains, "You healed me, and looked after me till I woke up. You care for others. That Izumi I see-" that shock runs through her body, anxiety running rampant.
"Peppa!?" she gasps, and hisses out, "I told you not to-" She gets hugged by Peppa.
