Karma
By Hayai Akurei
Hana-Kimi © Hisaya Nakajo
--((00))-((00))--
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The lone occupant of the bed groaned tiredly, curling into a tight ball with his covers wrapped around him like a cocoon.
BEEEEEEEEEEEP!!
With a curse, Nakatsu swatted at his alarm clock, finally smacking the "off" button and immediately, the shrill whine died. Slowly, he sat up in bed, blinking blearily as he picked up the small object, staring at the digital red numbers.
Six thirty. Damn.
Muttering muffled curses under his breath, the soccer star climbed down from his bunk, yawning generously and scratching at his hair. After a quick trip to the toilet, he felt as though something was out of place. Something was not right.
Sticking his head back out into the bedroom with his toothbrush hanging from his mouth, Nakatsu glanced around. He couldn't quite tell what it was.
The room was untouched, and it bothered him. Then it dawned on him.
Kayashima hadn't left yet. And judging from his things that were still sitting where he had left them the night before, he hadn't even gotten out of bed.
"Kayashima?" he called, spitting out a mouthful of toothpaste and setting the brush back in its rightful place in the drawer.
The curtains to the other boy's bed were still drawn, and Nakatsu felt a tug of concern nagging at him. His roommate was always up with the sun, even if it technically wasn't up yet. "Early to bed, early to rise," he would say, part of his "daily routine" which was high up on the priority list with yoga and meditation.
He knocked on the edge of the bunk.
"Kayashima? Hey, you awake yet?"
No answer.
Nakatsu pulled back the curtains, and found his friend still asleep, curled up snugly under the covers. Seeing him like that made Nakatsu want to crawl back into bed himself. It was cold and there was nothing better than sleeping in on a day like this. That is, if it wasn't a school day like today.
Normally, he would have let him sleep a little longer and snuck into the bathroom to get in the shower first – and therefore have more hot water at his disposal – but the slightly drawn expression of discomfort on his roommate's face caught his eye.
While Kayashima wasn't the most expressive of people, Nakatsu had learned to read his roommate's moods and emotions almost as well as Kayashima read his. So to see an open display of emotion on the smaller boy's face instantly activated the blonde's overly active tendency to worry.
Gently, he shook the psychic's shoulder, careful to not startle him.
"Kayashima. Hey!"
Gradually, deep blue-black eyes opened, gazing up at the young man's face. Kayashima looked puzzled.
"Nakatsu? What is it?"
"You slept in, man. Well, you're not late for class, but it's later than usual."
"What time is it?"
The blonde motioned his head towards the alarm clock. "Six thirty."
"Already?" Kayashima slowly sat up, putting a hand to his head. In the morning light coming in through the blinds at the window, Nakatsu could see the boy's eyes had taken on a slight feverish glaze. Immediately, he put a hand to his roommate's forehead and one on his own.
"Are you feeling all right? You look kind of sick."
"No, I feel fine."
"You going to be able to make it to class? You should stay in bed if you're not feeling too well."
The psychic swung his legs over the bed. "No, I think I'll be fine."
"Okay. If we hurry, we can make to the cafeteria on time for breakfast!"
--((00))-((00))--
Needless to say, Kayashima wasn't up for breakfast. The very smell of it made his stomach churn, and he ended up having nothing else except for a single cup of tea. Hopefully the minimal amount of caffeine would wake him up a little.
That turned out to be a mistake. By the time his second class started, his head had begun to ache. It started out as a mild throbbing and from there had escalated into a merciless pounding by the time class finished.
The young man was on his way to his next class when he took a detour to the restroom, even as the bell rang, signaling the end of passing period. He could afford to be a little late if need be. He really needed to sleep this off. Looking in the mirror, he grimaced slightly. He looked as if he'd gone without sleep for a week.
Suddenly, he swayed, and he gripped the side of the sink tightly for support, a wave of dizziness washing over him. His knees buckled from under him and his vision began to swim as he wavered at the edge of consciousness. He slumped against the wall, breathing hard. At this point, he wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep.
Perhaps Nakatsu had been right. He should've stayed in bed.
Nearby, his two guardian spirits Pochi and Tama scurried about, their concern touching his sixth sense. While they could protect him from any outside physical harm, illness was something they couldn't do anything about. So to see their charge weak and vulnerable worried them.
Then, Tama fluttered out the door and down the hall, while Pochi nudged at his hand fretfully, making low whining sounds.
Kayashima was about to call Tama back, wondering where the little ghost was going, but no sooner had he opened his mouth that he heard a yelp from around the corner accompanied by the sound of pattering feet.
With a frightened squawk, a familiar blonde boy came skidding into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. Unobstructed by the door, Tama floated in, running around his feet.
The psychic almost laughed at the sight. His little guardian spirit, with a determined look on his face, was herding his helpless roommate around by bonking his head against Nakatsu's heels. The young man would shudder with an unexplainable chill and look around frantically, trying to spot whatever it was he felt around his feet but couldn't see.
But then, as he turned around once again to try and spot his attacker, wide brown eyes landed on the lone figure on the floor of the bathroom.
"Kayashima!"
Immediately, he forgot about his predicament and knelt in front of him.
"What are you doing in here? Are you okay?" he asked, eyes roving over the smaller form for any sign of injury, "Did you fall? What happened?"
His aura was nearing a lime yellow with panic, and Kayashima had to blink back the brightness of it. He couldn't bring his voice to work, and instead slumped forward to fall into Nakatsu's arms with exhaustion. Once again, his world was beginning to spin and he felt nauseous from the movement. It was like being on a boat that wouldn't stop rocking back and forth and back and forth…
Nakatsu frowned down at his friend as he took in the flushed face, shallow breathing and glassy eyes. "I knew it! You are sick!" Kayashima didn't really have anything to say to that.
"Come on, we need to get you to bed."
With a "hup," Nakatsu hauled his lighter companion onto his back, immediately setting off at a brisk pace back to their room. He'd explain everything to the Kitahama-sensei later once he got back. He'd also have to swing by Umeda-sensei's place later on too, for some medicine or anything else that could help. But that could wait. The first thing Kayashima needed was rest.
Kayashima sighed, feeling the warmth of Nakatsu's back seep against his stomach as Pochi and Tama trailed behind like puppies. It had been a long time since he had felt so exhausted, weak and so utterly drained. But now with his roommate looking after him, he felt safe.
That familiar, all-encompassing aura shone a warm gold, tinged slightly blue around the edges with worry while streaks of determined red mixed in the center. He sighed and shook his head. That was Nakatsu for you. Nakatsu, who was so warm, loyal and so completely devoted to his friends.
A small sigh of relief escaped his lips as he let himself give into the comfortable darkness and drift off into a dreamless sleep.
--((00))-((00))--
"Good God, Nakatsu," Umeda groused, getting up from where he sat by Kayashima's bedside where the dark-haired boy lay fast asleep. "You have got to be the worst mother hen I have ever seen. Your roommate suffers from the terrible plague known as the cold."
Really, the blonde certainly had a knack for being a champion worrywart. The smallest of injuries habitually escalated to a full-blown battle wound in Nakatsu's mind, which required every bit of possible attention. Once, he had come to the doctor about a miniscule cut on Mizuki's hand that had already begun to heal.
So, that same emotionally driven young man had barreled into his office after last period, asking for something that would help his roommate's fever. From the way he was fussing and making such a big deal out of it, one might have thought that Kayashima was on the brink of death.
Reaching down, Umeda pulled out a small bottle of medicine and set it on the desk. "The last time a measly cold was ever considered remotely dangerous was in the eighteen hundreds in Europe. The cold was practically a kiss of death. And that was only because people were paranoid and went overboard with treatments such as blood letting and other ridiculous curing methods, instead of just letting their patients get some rest like they should have."
He turned to the soccer player and gave him a chilling glare, "So just let him sleep and make sure he stays warm and drinks plenty of water. Two of these pills every six hours should help.
"So now," he continued seriously, "Unless his temperature starts to skyrocket, I don't want to have to see you about this matter again." Deftly, he picked up his bag and headed back to his office.
"Thanks!" Nakatsu called after him. He sat down at the desk, reading the small bottle. "Two pills every six to eight hours to reduce fever. Best taken after a meal."
Brown eyes sparked as he smiled widely. "Well, that's nothing that can't be done!"
--((00))-((00))--
Kayashima awoke some time later to the smell of food. That was peculiar. Curious, he opened his eyes, immediately picking up on Nakatsu's aura before he even saw him. The blonde was sitting on the floor, minding a pot that was simmering nicely in front of him.
"Hi!" he exclaimed cheerily, noticing that his roommate was awake. "I made you some soup! You didn't eat much of a breakfast this morning, so I made you some dinner! See, I knew keeping that hotplate would come in handy! And some food will help those pills go down better!"
Moments later, the dark-haired young man found himself bundled up in front of their little kotatsu, with a bowl of hot soup in front of them. He'd lived with Nakatsu long enough to know that he could cook, and that anything of his that he ate wasn't dangerous.
Downing the medicine with a glass of water, he sipped at the steaming broth. It was delicious, the heat settling comfortably into his stomach. It wasn't too salty and Nakatsu had even added some noodles to it. He smiled, and Nakatsu beamed, his aura glowing with pride and relief.
As he finished, he could feel his body start to warm up. He was even a little full, and he felt a bit better now that he had some food in him.
"Thank you," he croaked, "It was great."
"I'm glad that you liked it!" said Nakatsu, "Now get some sleep. And don't worry about class tomorrow; I'll take notes for you. And I'm sure the guys will pitch in too."
The psychic blinked. After all that Nakatsu had done for him, he was still intent on doing more? "You really don't have to do that, you know. I mean – "
"It's no problem," he argued, "And if you can't read my handwriting, I'm sure Mizuki and Sano will lend you theirs. Mizuki has nice handwriting."
"But – "
"Don't worry," Nakatsu reassured him, "Just get some rest. That way you'll be back to normal in no time. That'll be your thank you to me."
"But why?"
The other student looked slightly puzzled, then his expression creased into a smile.
"Just because. You'd do the same for me if I was sick, right?"
That was true.
Kayashima wanted to open his mouth to try and argue back, that Nakatsu didn't have to go out of his way just to help him out, but his determined friend wasn't going to take no for an answer. Slowly, he gave in with a small smile and crawled back into bed, burrowing under the warm comforters like a caterpillar. Nakatsu picked up the dishes and took them to the bathroom sink to wash, turning down the bedroom lights behind him.
"Good night."
--((00))-((00))
Hmm. This didn't flow as well as I would have liked it to, but it was still fun to write. Nakatsu's mother hen complex is simply adorable. He has to take care of absolutely everyone.
As always, please review. Writer's Karma! What you give is what you get in return!