Chihaya showed up to the office stiff and silent, her neck and face swathed in a giant scarf.

"Hello, Chihaya!" said the Producer. "...Is something the matter?"

She did not move or answer for a few seconds. When she finally spoke, her voice was painfully raspy: "Can't...work today."

The Producer flinched in worry. "Are you sick?" The clearly unhappy idol nodded. "Stay at home today then...but you didn't need to come all this way just to tell us that! Why didn't you call?"

Chihaya narrowed her eyes slightly, opened her mouth and made a noise that sounded like a sigh but turned into a cracked croak.

"A phone call would mean a conversation," Ritsuko said without looking up from a document she was working on. "Which she clearly can't manage right now."

The Producer hung his head a little and scratched his cheek with a finger. "And I remember you saying you didn't have a good texting plan either...never mind. That was rude of me. Go home and rest, Chihaya. There's no need to rush a recovery, we'll think of something."

Chihaya bowed slightly in thanks and left quietly.

Makoto and Yukiho, who were scheduled to practice with Chihaya that morning, were disappointed when they heard the news. "I hope she gets better soon," Yukiho said, fretting over her hands.

Azusa was passing by and paused. "...Someone is sick?"

"Yeah, it's Chihaya. Producer said she didn't look too good," Makoto said, leaning against the wall.

Azusa put her hand on her cheek and sighed. "Oh my...that's terrible..."

"I know, right? She must have it real bad if she can't even work on the dance routine."

"Yes," Azusa tucked her chin.

Someone was at the door. Who could be visiting at this hour? Chihaya sat up, cleared her throat and tried to hack up some mucus as quietly as she could, and rose to answer the door.

"Chihaya-chan? It's just me. I came to see how you were doing," Azusa said from behind the door.

Chihaya opened her mouth to respond, but she could not get her voice past a hoarse hiss. So she opened the door instead.

Azusa smiled and held up a bag. "I heard you were sick, so I brought some things that should help!"

Chihaya blinked, then smiled lightly and let the other in. She coughed into her elbow as she closed the door.

"I would've come sooner, but...all the apartment buildings look the same after a while, especially when it gets dark, I couldn't find the right one!" Azusa said as she bustled around the little kitchen. There was a pause. "...Chihaya-chan, have you eaten anything today?"

Chihaya turned around and saw that Azusa's expression had become somewhat stern. It was so surprising that she made no move to answer for a few seconds. Then she looked aside and shook her head.

"You're not going to get better if you don't eat. You do want to get better, don't you?"

Chihaya couldn't explain that eating was the last thing on her mind, so she nodded again.

"I'm going to make you some soup. Just sit tight, alright?"

Chihaya had a seat at the table noiselessly. A warmth kind of like relief tingled in her chest.

The next day she felt even worse. Her head pounded, her nose was completely plugged up, and her throat like it had been sanded. She stretched to try and wake up a little more, but that made her headache so much worse she curled up and didn't move for hours. When the doorbell rang she almost swore.

"Chihaya-chan? I came to see if you were alright."

Chihaya pushed herself up and saw that daylight was fast fading. She wobbled over to the door and opened it.

"Oh! You look so pale," Azusa said in a hushed voice. "Sit down, I'll get you something. Oh dear...!"

Chihaya sat back down on her bed, scarcely aware of what was going on. Within seconds she was horizontal again. When she next opened her eyes there was a cup of tea on her dresser and a patient but concerned-looking Azusa sitting nearby. Chihaya propped herself up on her elbows and drank out of the teacup haltingly.

"Do you want something to eat?" Azusa asked softly.

Chihaya wasn't sure about that. She tipped her head from side to side. Azusa sighed softly, took the empty teacup to the kitchen, and returned with a small amount of soup in it. It made Chihaya feel substantially better.

"Please try to take better care of yourself," Azusa said gently.

Chihaya opened her mouth to say something, but her throat protested, so she didn't. Instead she pointed at a drawer in her dresser.

"Hmm?" Azusa opened the drawer and took out the single thing inside, an extra key. "Do you want me to take this?"

Chihaya nodded.

Azusa smiled teasingly. "When I tell you to take better care of yourself, I don't mean to make it easier for me to take care of you!"

Chihaya managed to make a noise that sounded like a chirp.

"Don't worry, I don't mind. I want you to get better too. Do you need anything else?"

Chihaya shook her head. Azusa remained a little longer to gently feed her and make sure she took her medicine, then made sure Chihaya was comfortable and left quietly.

The next morning her throat had cleared up, but a hot haze had taken a hold of her thoughts and sight. She knew her eyes were open, but visions of movement and clouds churned in front of her.

The door opened, which parted the haze for a moment. Chihaya blinked slowly and saw that Azusa was sitting at the edge of the bed. She looked concerned.

"How do you feel?"

Chihaya blinked several more times. No matter how hard or how fast she did so, she couldn't quite get rid of the clouds and that tremendous heat. Even Azusa seemed to warp due to it, even if she was looking directly at her. How could she explain how she was feeling? It was...sort of like she was out of her own grasp. Fluttery.

"I...I am the bird," she managed to say, which she immediately thought of as incredibly foolish.

"Well, if your appetite is any indication, I'd say that's about right," Azusa said lightly, not even disturbed by the silliness of the response. She placed her hand on Chihaya's forehead. "You've got a fever now...but you look a little better than yesterday. I've taken the day off, so you don't need to worry about a thing."

A warmth crept back into Chihaya's chest. Not the fever-heat that made her sweat under her clothes, but something sweet and familiar, like relief.