Akira sniffed pitifully, burying himself in his blankets as he tried to keep warm. Yuujiro and Tooru would worry about him, he knew, but he couldn't bring himself to leave the comforts of his bed. His body felt like lead, and it was too much effort to even move. He should've taken a bath as soon as he came home from the downpour yesterday, but he was easily distracted by homework.

They were supposed to meet up today for a study group in the dorm, but Akira was too tired. He wanted to call them to cancel, but his phone was far from his reach, and he couldn't even lift a finger. A loud series of coughing escaped his throat, alerting whoever was inside their home. Immediately, heavy footfalls, which were making his head split, resounded, followed by the loud bang of the door as his brother came in, alarmed.

"Akira! Are you all right? What's wrong?" Harumi asked worriedly, before placing a hand on his head. He immediately pulled it back, panic flashing through his face. He left the room hastily, calling out.

"Mom, quick! Akira's sick." Harumi's voice was loud, and it just added to the headache Akira was experiencing. He wanted to say something, but his throat was itchy, and the effort was wasted. Seconds later, his whole family has filed into the room. A thermometer was placed under his armpit, and a damp towel made it's way on his forehead to keep him cool.

"Oh no! What should we do? He's burning up." Nanami, his mother, said, placing a hand on her youthful face in thought. Hidetoshi, his father, was rubbing his chin in thought. Fuyuki softly smoothed back his hair, trying to comfort him. Natsuru, on the other hand, crossed her arms thoughtfully and looked at Akira.

"How about chicken soup?" she said, pulling back the thermometer. Her eyes widened as she saw that it was 40 degrees, before she gave it to her mom to examine. Akira stayed quiet, too weak to speak, but the headaches were becoming worse and he just wants to sleep. Seeing this, Harumi quietly motioned for his family to quiet down, all of them mutually agreeing to leave Akira in the room for now to rest. As they filed out, Akira's eyes began to droop, until he slowly fell back into a dreamless sleep.

-O-

"Do you think he's all right?"

"Well, this is Akira. I'm sure there's a reason why he didn't show up."

Yuujiro and Tooru looked at the house uncertainly, not sure whether they should enter or not. Sighing exasperatedly, Yuujiro dragged Tooru's arm, knocking on the door loudly but politely.

"Hey!"

"Look, we're just visiting to see if he's sick. All right?"

A loud resounding crash could be heard from inside, following by the shuffle of footsteps. The two boys looked at the door in surprise, not sure how to react. The door opened quickly, and they were greeted with the kind, youthful face of Akira's dad.

"Oh, hello boys! Come right in." he said cheerfully. The both of them cautiously entered the house, aware of the loud talking inside the kitchen. They were ushered to the living room, which had a clear view of the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, but Akira's sick right now. You could still go up there and talk to him, if you'd like." He offered, quickly returning to the kitchen before both boys could protest. Inside, they could see Harumi sucking his thumb in front of the chopping board, having cut himself slightly from inexperience. Natsuru was scolding him while preparing something, while Fuyuki continued to tear up small pieces of bread. Nanami was by the stove, humming as she boiled the water, while Hidetoshi was cutting up pieces of chicken. Yuujiro blinked while Tooru looked on in surprise, neither boy really sure what's going on.

They decided to go to Akira instead, not wanting to impose for too long. When they got to his room, they were greeted with the sight of a large lump underneath a blanket. They cautiously went over, noticing how flushed Akira's face is. His eyes were glassy when he slowly opened them, aware of the new presence in his room.

"Y-Yuujiro? Tooru?" he said quietly, his voice scratchy and soft. They took a space on either side of his bed. Tooru placed his hand on his forehead, hissing slightly at the heat before pulling his hand way.

"You're burning up." Yuujiro stated obviously, noticing that Akira was barely conscious enough to hear them. There was a pause before Akira nodded slowly, as if not really comprehending what they were saying.

"S-sorry…" he whispered out tiredly. Tooru shook his head and smiled, placing his bag down and stretching his arms out in a cat-like way.

"Nah, it's all right. We can do our homework later, right?" Tooru said in comfort, watching as Akira showed a weak, but sincere smile. Yuujiro sighed and put his own bag down, before relaxing against the headrest of the bed. Akira's house was quite far from the school, and he didn't feel like going back yet. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, before Fuyuki entered the room with a warm bowl of soup in her hand. Behind her trailed the rest of the family, with a variety of food at their disposal. Tooru and Yuujiro moved off the bed as they came nearer watching from the side. Harumi and Natsuru carefully placed Akira in a sitting position as Fuyuki placed the soup in front of Akira. Before he could even lift his hand, his mother started to spoon-feed him, while his father helped him chew and swallow the food.

"We made smaller pieces since we know you're having a hard time chewing."

"Sorry if it tastes a bit salty, Natsuru accidentally added a bit too much."

"Hey! At least I made sure the noodles were soft. Your vegetable cutting is the worst."

"Now, now, kids, we're supposed to be taking care of Akira."

As Yuujiro and Tooru watched, they noticed the soft, small smile on Akira's face as he tried to eat, obviously happy. They looked at each other mutually and nodded, leaving the room silently to wait outside the door.

"Kind of makes you jealous, huh?"

"Akira is a lucky guy."

It was just another day in the Sakamoto household, until the next day arrives.