A/N: I do not own Inazuma Eleven.

Spoiler alert for those who have not watched episode 106 yet.

Requested by Darkus-Girl in her reviews for "Onwards". I hope you'll enjoy this one as well.

Healing

He knew it was her the moment she stepped through the door.

The sound of her light footsteps towards his bed, the sweet scent of strawberries from the body soap she always used, and the cheerful greeting with her kind yet energetic voice… He cracked open his eyes to look at her.

Blinding light hit him and his eyes narrowed sharply. He heard her footsteps move towards the windows next to his bed, the sound of something heavy being placed on the bedside table and the drawing of curtains, enveloping half the room in shade. Faint shouts were coming from the soccer field below. Morning practice had already started.

"How are you feeling, Akio?" Her question was laced with worry.

His heart warmed at the concern in her voice and he smiled inwardly. They had taken to calling each other by their first names when they were alone, which was not very often. Little moments like this were precious and rare. He could count on one hand the number of occasions they had managed to find some time for themselves since the New Year party at Liocott Island. It was mostly because Kidou had been keeping a hawk's eye out for him, but he wasn't going to let her know that.

"Same as yesterday…" he croaked out, cringing slightly at how weak he sounded. Hearing his hoarse voice, she moved to sit on the edge of his bed to help him sit up, handing him a cup of water after she made sure he was comfortable.

Gulping it down thirstily, his gaze landed on the bedside table. On a tray, she had brought in a basin of water with a towel, a bowl of steaming hot soup, a medicine bottle and a tall glass vase filled with six stalks of deep red roses. His eyes widened in realisation at the same time she took the cup from his hands.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" she chirped, grinning at him. At the very least, he had the decency to sink into his bed in embarrassment.

"Tch. Some Valentine's Day this is," he frowned, crossing his arms and tilting his head towards the roses. "I should be the one giving you those, not the other way round."

She laughed, and he couldn't help but smile. Her laugh was kind and pleasant, just like her. She had a fiery personality as well, but he liked that fighting spirit.

"Don't worry about it!" she winked at him. "When you get better, you'll take me out on a date, right?"

"Definitely," he promised.

"Good. Are you hungry? I made some chicken soup for you."

He looked away. It sure smelled good, but he didn't feel like eating at the moment. What if he threw up again?

"Don't you feel hungry? You emptied your stomach after dinner last night and didn't have anything to eat since then…" she trailed off, a worried expression on her face.

"… All right. Just a little bit." It was the least he could do after she went through all that trouble to take care of him. After all, eating might help him recover faster, which meant he could take her out even sooner.

"Great! You don't have to finish everything. Let me know when you've had enough." Taking the bowl of soup from the tray, she stirred it slowly before lifting a spoonful to blow at.

The next few minutes were spent in blissful silence as she fed him breakfast. Neither wanted to spoil the moment with words as they were content with simply enjoying each other's company. The noises from the soccer field below began to fade out.

In the end, all he could take in was only about five spoonfuls of soup, but it was better than nothing. Putting the bowl away, she retrieved the medicine bottle and shook it well. He frowned in distaste.

"You need to take your medicine. It'll help you get better sooner," she tried to convince him, catching the change in his reaction.

He sighed in resignation as she poured out a spoonful of thick, brown liquid and held it out to him.

"Open wide!"

Hesitating slightly, he opened his mouth to allow the spoon to enter. Maybe it was the fever, but she looked a little too happy to feed him. Cringing at the foul taste as the medicine went down his throat, he was once again handed another cup of water. He wasted no time in downing it.

She helped him to slide back into the bed and tucked him in. Rinsing the small towel in the basin, she folded it into a neat rectangle and placed it on his forehead, gently brushing away his hair before pressing her lips against his cheek in a soft and gentle kiss.

"Have a good rest. I'll come by again later in the afternoon to see you, okay?" Stroking his face as he nodded tiredly, she stood up and arranged the items on the tray, leaving the vase of roses on the bedside table.

Giving him one last smile as he closed his eyes, she left the room.

"Thank you… Haruna."

Otonashi jumped in shock when her brother's face appeared in front of her as she closed the refrigerator door after keeping Fudou's medicine.

"Onii-chan! Don't scare me like that!" she scolded, her arms akimbo as she glared at him.

"…" The strategist made no move to acknowledge her.

Starting to feel uncomfortable under Kidou's stare, she turned around to the sink and began to wash the soup bowl and tray.

"Where were you during morning practice?" he asked, sharp and concise as always. The sudden question nearly made her drop the bowl.

"Don't you have training now?" she tried to change the subject, knowing where his questions were leading to.

"If you had been with us, or even noticed the time, you would have known that morning practice ended almost an hour ago," he replied, his tone firm and unrelenting.

The sponge in her hand was being squeezed tightly as she fought to keep her temper in control. "I was in Fudou's room getting him breakfast and giving him his medicine."

Again, there was silence. God help her… if this was going to be their first sibling fight, why did it have to be in the kitchen?

Unable to bear it any longer, Otonashi flung the sponge down into the sink and whirled around to confront her brother. "Onii-chan, please! Give him a chance! You respect and trust him as a teammate, why not as a friend?"

"This is different. On the field, Inazuma Japan needs his skills and techniques. Off it, however…" Part of his cape wrinkled as Kidou clenched it in a fist.

"But that was in the past! People change. Even Sakuma has let it go," she tried to reason with him. All she received was a frown.

"Onii-chan! Don't you remember? He helped you and Sakuma take down Kageyama and -"

It had been the wrong thing to say. Otonashi covered her mouth in shock and regret when she realized who she had brought up. Kidou froze.

The issue of his former mentor had become very sensitive to him ever since his passing. That hatred he had fostered against him when he tried to break away from his ways had dissolved back into that familiar feeling of admiration, respect… and love.

Kageyama was like the father he never had. Though his intentions hadn't been righteous, he was the one who practically raised him to be the skilled soccer player he was today. Kidou's thoughts drifted to the cracked pair of shades he kept in a locked box in his room. It wasn't fair… to have him taken away right after he had shown his true side…

A tackle from the front jerked him back into reality. He looked down to find his sister wrapping her arms around his trembling body in a comforting hug.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to say that," she apologized, tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes.

It was all the strategist could do to hug back. "Haruna… you're the only one I have left," he admitted.

"I know, and I promise I'll always be with you," Otonashi pulled away to look at her brother in the eye with resolute. "But you have to let me go. I'm not a child anymore, I'm old enough to choose and decide for myself."

For a split moment, Kidou saw an image of a younger Haruna next to her, staring up at him with uncertainty. When it faded, a determined, young girl was facing him.

It was her victory. All it took was his smile to confirm it.

Otonashi lunged at Kidou for another hug. "Thank you, onii-chan!"

"Just make sure you let me know how things are going from time to time," he said, releasing her.

"I will if you stop watching him and scaring him off every time he's around me. Don't think I'm unaware about it," she warned playfully, winking at him.

The strategist smiled again. Perhaps it was for the best that he gives up the role of the overprotective brother. At first, he thought Fudou was taking advantage of his sister during the mistletoe incident at Christmas, but then he realized that she was the one who initiated the kiss on New Year's Day.

It was time to accept that - accept them - and move on.

Six days later…

Fudou took three days to make a full recovery and returned to training on the fourth. Otonashi's eyes were practically glued to him throughout the session, just to make sure he did not overexert himself.

He took an extra half day to find the opportunity to ask her out on the promised date. Strangely, it wasn't because Kidou had been around that he needed eight hours to get his sister alone and finally ask her out. Instead, it was because Kidou wasn't around that he became extra cautious and paranoid, therefore spending more time watching out for him in case he appeared out of nowhere. For some reason, the psychic abilities Hiroto claimed he possessed did not work on the other strategist.

Otonashi had been staying over at her brother's house for the past few days. That meant he had to personally pick her up from there, where Kidou was. For some reason, Fudou's sense of paranoia skyrocketed to previously unreached levels as he rang the doorbell and was ushered into the living room, where Otonashi was waiting for him.

"Fudou." A shiver ran up his spine.

Why the heck was he feeling so nervous? Since when did he start to be afraid of Kidou? Fudou Akio feared nothing! He didn't understand it. In any case, he casually turned around to face his fellow strategist.

"I would like a word with you, before you two head out," Kidou said pleasantly with a smile on his face. Fudou didn't like that look, but it was his house, his rules.

Otonashi grinned as her brother led her date away. "Onii-chan is finally going to apologise!" she thought in delight.

Kidou stopped at the end of a corridor and turned to face Fudou, pulling his goggles up to reveal his sharp eyes.

Another shiver. "Is it his eyes?" Fudou wondered in anticipation, having never seen him without his trademark accessory before.

Crossing his arms, Kidou began. "Despite what Haruna thinks, I'm not going to apologise."

"Wasn't expecting you to," Fudou muttered. Ignoring him, Kidou continued.

"I'm not sorry I tried to scare you off. I'm not sorry I tried to make you stay away from my sister. However," his red eyes narrowed dangerously. A third shiver hit Fudou.

"I will be sorry if I give you a chance and find out that you let something happen to Haruna. If you ever fail to protect her or even make her cry…" Kidou threatened, his face firmly set as he glared at Fudou.

"Yep, it's definitely the eyes," thought Fudou. Normally he would talk back and dare him to continue, but for his own personal safety and well-being, Fudou chose to nod quickly instead.

"Good." The cheerful look returned. Was the guy bipolar like Fubuki or something? If he ever had to do Killer Fields or Emperor Penguin No. 3 with Kidou when he wasn't donning his goggles, he would beg Coach Kudou to bench him instead. Fudou mentally crossed off "Goggle-head" on his list of taunts for Kidou.

The goggles were a good thing, really.

"See you later, onii-chan!" Otonashi said as she left the house with Fudou holding her hand. Her brother waved back and disappeared inside.

"So, Akio, where are we going?" she turned to ask him. Fudou smiled at her.

"I was thinking of bringing you to that new shopping mall that opened downtown. We could have lunch there and explore," he replied. Shopping wasn't really his thing, but if it made Haruna happy, then he would do his best.

There was just one thing… Kidou had happily warned him that his sister was worse than Rika and Touko combined when it came to shopping.

Fudou's arms would be sore for the next two weeks.

A/N: Enjoy this day of affection and love. Happy Valentine's Day.