There were two important things about the exquisite Alexa Fuse. Well, aside from the fact that she’s tied for the top spot in the HNH leaderboards. One, She’d rather die than ask for a favor. Two, there was something in her cat like eyes that made her insatiably curious. And there was no better day than today for it to be exposed. For her rival was in night duty, and she, the lone force to be reckoned with in the committee!

After Duty: HNH-IC lounge

Alexa’s eyes widened. They were peculiarly round. Often reflective, bouncing off the true essence of anyone would dare look into her. She blinked. The lashes swayed to her whims. She blinked again. They charmed everything in sight. It gave off a flurry of innocence. But the owner of these eyes was far from it. Once she narrowed these beads, angled her eyebrows off axis, she would be formidable, barely resembling the childlike wonder it transported everyone to.

It was a little quieter than usual. And with good reason. The room filled with less people than it usually did. But! The work goes on, or more aptly for today, the work crawled into their hands. With no apparent reason to do anything, with the head of the committee absent, Alexa Fuse and Reiko Kamiyama found themselves in a rare situation.

The pot of water stirred in it’s boiling state, contrasting the lulled interns of the committee. Alexa clutched the edges of the sofa as her eyes wafted, watching the steam rise from the pot’s mouth. She gave it a smile. It crept to the optimal temperature. With a handkerchief from her inside pocket, she cradled the pot. Her cup of coffee, prepared minutes before, was always the same. Two sachets of a specially imported mix of coffee, creamer and sugar. It was the epitome of simplicity and convenience. The steaming hot water invaded the cup. It’s contents gently swirled and swished as she mixed it all together. The granular, sand-like consistency transformed like it underwent a millenia’s worth of soil formation.

Ahhh. With one sip, Alexa instantly transported to another dimension. Her second coffee of the day was always the best. After a hard day’s duty, there was nothing quite like it. This is how the committee should be. She was ecstatic, for Kaiba Quivers today was nowhere to be seen.

Reiko Kamiyama was on her desk. Not a usual sight, but today, she was busy. Unlike most days of the week, Reiko was actually practicing. Yes! She was still an intern of the nursing department after all. She unfurled the black cuff on her table. A quick inspection. Her eyes were as bright as always. The striking blond hair undulated to the tune of her head. It bobbed back and forth, eventually ending into finality of a nod. With the black bulb of the cuff in her hand, she squeezed it several times. The sounds of a chew toy being bitten to death by a puppy. The ticking hand of the pressure meter continued to go up. She did not care about that. This was not a test. She just merely wanted to squeeze the bulb. The sounds made her giggle inside. Rubber duckies!

The sounds of the rubber ducky reached Alexa Fuse’s ears. Though her back was facing Reiko, she knew exactly what this was. That’s the sound of a blood pressure cuff! Using that device was a skill that Alexa Fuse lacked. If she were to look around, Reiko would surely notice. And when Reiko noticed, Alexa would be swallowed up! I want to know what Reiko is doing!

The squeaks continued to fill the room. Alexa softly put the cup of coffee down. She kept all her usual elegance. A graceful meeting of her hands as she rested them on her perfectly kept skirt. Her ears perked up; the squeaks were unrelenting! That was the arbitrary tipping point. She winced. She couldn’t believe she was thinking this: but if Kaiba were here, this wouldn’t be a problem.

No! Alexa vigorously shook her head. It was as if that would shake off the notion building up inside her. Palms to her skirt covered knee, she extended her legs. Torso straight. Rigid. Mechanical, almost robotic. In lateral movement, she moved with her heel touching the other before taking another step.

Reiko wrapped the blood pressure cuff on herself. The silence of the room evaded her mind. Her concentration would not break! It was only this cuff and her extended arm. She held the pressure bulb on that same limb while her other hand placed on top of her radial artery. The pressure bulb increased as she squeezed profusely. A thump at around 180 mm hg. The release valve was quickly turned on the snap of that weighty knock. The cuff slowly released it’s vice grip. She heard another thump. And another. And another with her mind trailing with it.

Alexa watched on as she brought out a few meaningless papers. It had already been stated but she had nothing to do today. She bust out her remarkably small pen and wrote: ‘What is Reiko doing? Is she trying to get her own blood pressure? Why is she doing that? Why does she even have a blood pressure cup to begin with? Reiko teach me how to use that!’ Her thoughts began to escape to the page. She couldn’t hold it in. Her interest had been piqued. The more she thought about it, the more it so happened to enamor. Captivate. The insatiable cat-like eyes showed more and more.

“Reiko.” Alexa put down her pen.

Reiko uncurled the cuff from her arm. “Hello Alexa! How do you do?”

“I’m doing fine.” Alexa replied.

Reiko looked around. “Where’s Kaiba?”

“He’s on night duty today, he won’t be coming in.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I wanted to ask him something.” Reiko looked down to her desk.

Ask him something? Alexa’s hands trembled on the desk. Reiko needed to ask Kaiba something, when she was there. Which meant that I could not answer it! Her curiosity was peaking.

“Reiko.” Alexa looked directly into Reiko’s eyes.

“Hello Alexa. How do you do?”

“I’m doing fine.” Alexa replied.

“That’s great! How has your stay in HNH been?” Reiko assaulted with seemingly unrelated questions.

“It’s been good. The training in EMSA proved to be useful in the actual practicum of the internship program in HNH.” Alexa replied.

“That’s great.” Reiko went back to curling the cuff around her arm. The squeaking began once again.

“Reiko.”

“Hello Alexa. How do you do?”

Alexa furrowed her eyebrows. “Why are you asking me the same questions over and over again?”

Reiko unclasped the pressure from the cuff. She heard the same thumps. Wrote it down, and uncurled the cuff once again. A beeping sound heard, and the strokes of her pen soon afterward.

Reiko’s apathy only fed into Alexa’s curiosity. I need to know why! But the question remained, how am I going to ask her? Reiko was a woman that provided no opening in her words. She is abnormal! Her face slowly filled with the tinge of bright red roses. She couldn’t figure out a way to make Reiko tell her anything. Reiko didn’t answer properly, and she always just ended up being consumed in the direction Reiko wanted to go. She was distracted, distraught. The scene played out in her head, over and over again:

‘Hey Reiko, what are you doing?’ Alexa’s question echoed in her own mind.

‘Hm? That’s none of your business.’ Reiko smiled.

‘Can you teach me how to use that cuff?’ Alexa asked.

‘No.’ Reiko smiled.

That was the only conclusion Alexa could come up with! There is no way Reiko would offer that kind of help willingly. Her thoughts slowly ruminate. There was only one way to solve this problem. To satisfy her curiosity and be taught how to use that damn cuff. I need to make Reiko owe me a favor.

Reiko sat in patience. She waited for her arm to be relaxed once again. So she could take a proper measurement. Her head swayed gleefully. That’s when she finally noticed it. Alexa glared right through her! A smirk danced all across her face.

“Hello Alexa,” Reiko stretched her lips wide.

To which Alexa replied. “‘How do you do?”

“No, I’m done practicing that.” Reiko dangled the cuff like a pendulum. “Do you know how to use a BP cuff?”

Alexa froze for a second. It was a moment’s hesitation that could have been fatal. No! She had to answer quickly. To show her confidence and assert her dominance.

“Yes I do,” Alexa replied.

“Oh okay then, I could have taught you if you didn’t.” Reiko smiled.

That was my chance! The moment went by too quickly. Reiko asked that question so suddenly. Just as Alexa thought of a way to solve all of this, Reiko dangled the very solution right between her eyes. And she didn’t bite!

A devilish grin formed on Reiko’s face. “Why don’t you show me some tips on how to do it?”

Alexa’s heart stopped beating. Reiko looked at her, and kept looking at her. I have no choice. This was the life she chose. How did I end up here? She only wanted to figure out why Reiko was doing the things she was doing and possibly be taught how to do the same. Alas, now she was tasked to teach this woman the very task she didn’t even know how to do.

Reiko put out her arm in invitation. “Cooome on.”

“So you’ve been trying to take your blood pressure by yourself? That won’t do you any good. I’ll teach you the right way.” Alexa stood up, legs trembling. I have no idea what I’m doing! But the ruse must be followed through. The show must go on.

Alexa stared into the outstretched arm of Reiko. Perspiration slowly formed. Legs slowly lost balance. Arms shaking involuntarily. She grabbed the cuff, wrapped it around the arm of Reiko. That was it. That was all she knew how to do correctly. Everything else she knew came from the gleaned information from Reiko’s actions today. If she remembered it correctly, Reiko placed her index finger on the radial artery. And then she squeezed the pressure bulb to an endless squeaking. Seems easy enough.

“Oh you’re doing it so fast!” Reiko exclaimed.

Alexa squeezed the bulb with all her might.

“Hey Alexa–”

She continued to squeeze–

“What are you–”

–and squeeze and squeeze.

“Stop!” Reiko screamed in agony.

Alexa Fuse was lost in the trance of squeezing the small black bulb. There was something oddly satisfying in rushing this ball in her hands. Her eyes latched on it and it alone. “What?”

“My arm!”

“What about your arm?” Alexa squinted.

“I’m dying.” Reiko gasped, color seeping not just from her arm but her face as well.

Alexa held the pressure bulb tightly. Her index finger felt no pulse. Reiko’s arms slowly permeated in a cyan tinge. She turned pale. What do I do?

“Release it!” Reiko felt as if her arm was being split into two. The buildup of lactic acid slowly but surely drained all life from her arm. An anaconda’s vice grip. Not, this was worse.

“Howww!” Alexa panicked.

A ghost slowly wiggled out of Reiko’s mouth. It smiled just like it’s owner but at any minute now she would see the light. Her entire arm was numb and soon her entire body would be too. And her soul would become segregated from her physical form.

“No get back in!” Alexa shouted.

She desperately jammed Reiko’s soul back into her being. Literally impossible. Her imagination rampaged at this costly mishap. But in her eyes she was successful in shoving back Reiko’s spirit.

“The wheel next on the neck of the pressure bulb. Spin it!” Reiko planted her face on the desk.

“This one?” Alexa turned it.

The cuff became tighter. This wasn’t just any ordinary anaconda. It was the serpent god himself constricting Reiko. Soon her soul would end up in snake hell. Even there her arm would be left amputated from her.

“The other way around!” Reiko mustered enough strength to raise her head but only for a brief second as she slammed back down the desk.

“Ahh!” Alexa’s hands were shaking.

She could hear multiple thumps as the pressure finally dropped off. The thumps bore no meaning to her. She was only concerned about Reiko’s arm. She was just about to amputate it off!

Reiko breathed heavily. Her head hung just by the edge of the table. Her arm slowly regained color. The constriction faded away with the seeping air from the cuff.

Alexa stood quietly. She brought great dishonor to herself. This was a traumatic experience she would never ever forget. She watched Reiko Kamiyama desperately vying for air. Alexa fanned Reiko’s arm in her own desperate attempt to fill it up with oxygen.

“I thought I was going to die.” Reiko hunched over in exasperation.

Alexa couldn’t say a word. This is all my fault. She could only look at the desk. Cursing her own inadequacies and that damn cuff.

Reiko looked at Alexa blankly, seemingly regaining all her lost oxygen in a flash. She just continued to stare.

“What is it?” Alexa asked.

For all that had happened, Alexa Fuse was still stubborn. She looked at Reiko, refusing to acknowledge the fault in her actions.

“Ask me.” Reiko continued to stare.

“Fine.” Alexa averted her gaze. “Can you teach me how to use the blood pressure cuff?”

“Oh is that all?” Reiko smiled, seemingly wiping all the contempt in her thoughts.

“I thought you were trying to tear off my arm because you were jealous of how pretty my hair was!” Reiko laughed.

“What?”

“The tale of my blonde hair is interesting ya know?” Reiko raised her finger.

The happy-go-lucky Reiko Kamiyama was indeed unfazed. After just undergoing an almost near death experience that could have amputated her arm, she returned so quickly to her usual glee.

“Sure, I’ll teach you how to use the blood pressure cuff!” She smiled.

It was a different wide eyed Alexa. Is it that easy? She expected it would be harder to ask for actual favors. But it was offered on a golden bow right on her lap. If it was that easy, then why did I have to go through all of this? Perhaps it was just that Reiko Kamiyama was an anomaly. It still rang in her mind. Someday, she had to apologize. But! For now, her curiosity only served to grow. She had yet to find out why Reiko practiced so much. And for another, why is Reiko’s hair blonde? Another question fed to her cravings. Her curiosity would go unabated. I couldn't possibly ask that now.