We were all gathered in the breakroom an hour later. We were sitting in chairs, staring at the small pile of snacks we had left on the table. Masaki's face was in his hands as he breathed, his elbows on the wood. Nobu's head was tilted back as he stared up at the ceiling, his mouth open slightly. Both of their pants were wet on the bottom, their shoes soaked.

"It can't have been that bad," Keitaro was saying again, refusing to believe it. "Nobu, you said the water barely reached your knees, right? That can't be so ba-"

"Nobu is as tall as I am," Davy reminded him. "For someone shorter, it would be that much worse."

Tetsu looked absolutely terrified. My hands were in his, his fingers intertwined with mine, our hands forming a ball together. He was gripping my fingers too tightly, but I had to ignore that.

Nobu and Masaki had come back after some of us had separated the group in pairs. It was a hard decision to make, but we had to go in different directions to get things done. Yami and Keitaro had gone off in search of the breaker, with Yami's know-how about construction. Masaki and Nobu had gone downstairs to see if we could possibly escape. The plan had become that if it was possible, we'd all go to Keitaro's apartment to wait out the storm, since the breaker hadn't worked. It was better than here. Plus, I was pretty sure he was worried about his family. He was the only one of us who had a child.

But, now they were back and their pants were soaked. They'd told us, breathless, that the entire first floor was flooded up to Nobu's knees. He was exactly six foot, so that wasn't good news. It'd be impossible to get through, and who knew what it was like outside? They hadn't been able to see it well, but what little they'd seen didn't look good.

I knew one thing. I wouldn't be able to get through it. With this news, my heart was beating faster. Wondering. Trying not to panic.

"Just how much rain could be falling?" Yami asked. "I wonder if it's the river being swollen. It has to be, right? But I was just there two days ago. It didn't seem that high."

"I have no idea," Keitaro answered. "It could be anything. It could be burst water pipes, for all we know."

This not knowing about anything was the worst part.

"Damn. What are we going to do about food? How long could we be here? Sana, you can't eat most of this stuff. I wish I'd known- this isn't good. We have to get Sana out of here. We can't let the situation escalate further," Yami said quickly. He looked around at us for our agreement.

I agreed, but how would that happen? There was one thing that no one had mentioned yet, and it terrified me the most. I didn't want to bring it up, because it might make Tetsu even more worried. He'd just about calmed down before Masaki and Nobu had come back with this terrible news. Now I could feel his panic rising through his hands.

The thing was... We were on the seventh floor. The elevators weren't working. How was I supposed to get down to the first floor even if we could surpass that water and get to safety? How in the world was I supposed to get down seven flights of stairs?

"Let me think, okay?" Nobu asked, his voice so level. How could he be so calm? He breathed out audibly. "Well, here's the first thing we can do. Let's call emergency services, and let them know we have someone fragile with us who needs to get to safety. They might not be able to get to us right away, but they'll know and will be working on it."

My blush was back. What about all of them? They needed to get to safety, too. There wasn't nearly enough food for everyone. What were they going to do? I began shaking my head as Yami piped up.

"That's a great idea. I'll call them now. I'll give them all the details." He almost ripped his cellphone out of his pocket. But, he paused. He shook it, tapping it. His eyes almost bugged out of his head as his mouth opened wide. "It's dead. Oh, shit, it's dead! I can't charge it!"

"Everyone turn your cellphone flashlights off now!" Keitaro commanded. "Save your power!"

Everyone rushed to do as he said. Only Nobu was unshaken. He tapped his phone a few times and lifted it to his ear, calm as a sea with no wind. "Hello. Mmhmm. Yes, we do need help. Mmhmm. Well..."

We all listened to him talk as he told the emergency operator what was going on. They spoke for a long time. Tetsu's hands gripped mine even harder, and I wanted to do more for him. I didn't know what to do. This was spiraling way out of control.

I shifted in my wheelchair a little, not wanting to admit to something else. Tetsu's hand came undone from mine, and found my shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly in the dark. It was unnerving, not being able to see him at all. My free hand found him, too, poking him in the chest and then traveling down his arm to his elbow, holding it, feeling its softness. It tensed at I touched it.

"Um..." I shifted a little bit more, uncomfortable. "I have to go to the bathroom..." It had been a few hours since I'd gone. I didn't want to trouble him with it, but it was necessary. I wished I could have gone by myself so badly. How could I disturb him with this now?

"Let's go," he said immediately. He began moving, getting up.

"I'll come with you," Nobu said. The sound of his chair scraping met my ears. It echoed off the walls, so loud, amplified by my senses. "It'll be easier and quicker if I do. I have experience with this."

"Okay," I agreed fast, before anyone could say anything. "Quicker is better. I'd feel better if we got back as quick as we can."

"Yes, absolutely," Tetsu gasped. "Thank you, Nobu."

Nobu's phone light came on and made a beam. Tetsu got up and took my wheelchair's handles so fast.

"Be safe," Keitaro called to us, almost a command.

"We will," Nobu said back, turning to go. He followed us out of the door as Tetsu pushed me a little faster than I'd meant.

Nobu was waiting outside of the stall as Tetsu helped me on the toilet. Nobu had been so kind, and I realized I was one hundred percent comfortable with him helping me in the bathroom. Another strangely calm feeling, piling onto all the ones I'd felt tonight. As I sat on the toilet, letting myself get relief, I'd pondered this. As I was finishing, I realized what this calm feeling was. It made my eyebrows raise in the dark as I stared at nothingness.

It was acceptance. The same feeling I'd had in the hospital. Letting myself be free, allowing to happen whatever would happen. Was accepting what was happening now in the storm part of it? Was my brain allowing that? How far did this go?

I breathed out, and I found Tetsu's waist with my fingers. I squeezed it a little with my thumbs, wanting to feel him all of a sudden.

"All done?" He asked me gently, so full of love that I was taken aback. In the darkness, the sweetness of his voice met my ears like dripping honey. This gorgeous sweetness. He was calm like me. Had this simple act calmed him? How was that possible?

"Yes." I tried to match his sweetness, but it was impossible. He was too amazing.

"Okay, darling." One of his hands left my shoulders, and I heard him pawing around in the dark, his palm hitting the wall with little sounds. It met metal and he tapped for a bit. Finally, I heard the toilet paper roll going, and a little tut of the toilet paper being ripped. I waited patiently as he cleaned me up, blushing a bit despite him doing this so many times per day. His kindness in this always floored me.

He flushed the toilet, and we heard a small knock on the stall door. "Ready?" Nobu asked. "I'll help you transfer him to his chair again. Smooth as we can."

"Thank you. We're ready," Tetsu answered.

"Okay." The door swung open, and Tetsu lifted me to my feet. Like this, I pulled my underwear up and my tights with rustling sounds. I found my mini skirt shoved up my hips, and pulled it down also as much as I could. Nobu's hands took my waist, and as quick as he'd promised I was sitting in my wheelchair again.

It was nerve wracking doing this in the dark. The sounds of Nobu's sneakers shuffling on the tile went away, and the door swung open on its hinges. My wheelchair stared to make its familiar clicking as it started to roll by Tetsu's power.

"Okay, we'll wash our hands, and then go right back. No sweat," Nobu said. He let out a sigh of accomplishment. His familiar heavy silver rings were tapping around the room, looking for the sinks. Finally, they clicked porcelain and a rush of water came on. A ripping came about, and I wondered what it was.

We reached the water, and Tetsu took my hand, guiding it. The coldness shocked me a little.

"No sweat, see?" Nobu assured us. "I'm sorry I can't turn on my phone. I don't have a lot of power left, and I want to be able to call emergency services again to check on their progress."

"No, I appreciate all that you're doing, really. Don't worry. You're helping so much." Tetsu was so calm now. It lifted my heart. It was further amazing me.

"I'll call them in a few hours. I don't know how backed up they are, but-"

Immolation filled everything, water splashed from the sink. A face filled the mirror from behind us as we screamed. Flickering in flames, the face was one of shock. Nobu's longer scream was all I needed to know that what I was seeing was true.

He threw the bar of soap in his hands behind us as hard as he could, as Shion of Hexenpunk ducked. The match in her hand fell to the floor as she protected her head, and she disappeared from the mirror.