Disclaimer: Don't own Maid-Sama, nor any of it's characters.

Rating: T

As said in summary, basically a three-shot to give some love to these two.

Hospital

This just sucks...

Kuuga grunted, uselessly adjusting in bed, his arm and leg both in casts and the latter 'adjusted' so that they could heal. He could handle that, but he's cursing himself over his own stupidity, and more than that, over the fact that his injury had ruined an otherwise-normal concert- seriously, of all the stupid things to happen.

If it weren't for the publicity this accident had pulled, enough to hold over onto the next concert (when he's healed), he would've been furious.

But whatever- it's just so boring laying here most of the time, and his band-mates didn't visit often enough, which irritated him. They're probably out there pre-writing songs or something, which wasn't a bad idea but he's more important at the moment, since without him they couldn't perform any songs whatsoever, being their lead vocalist... though for all he knew, they're probably just having a good laugh somewhere.

"Excuse me."

"What is it?"

"You have a visitor, Kuuga. Says she's a friend."

For a moment, he was confused- 'she'? What girl had he ever met that was close enough to call herself that, or this is just another crazed-yet-smarter fan lying to get some time alone with him?

Grunting again, figuring even the worst type of fan would at least relieve his boredom (and he'd never refuse gifts), Kuuga offhandedly said "Let her in". With his head turned to the side, he heard said 'friend' walk in but didn't see anything, half-waiting for the obligatory 'explosion' of "Ohmygoditshimahhhhhh!", assuming this was a crazed fan.

He'd later be half-right about 'crazed', but not at all in the way he'd first thought.

"Uh-uh, h-hey there, Kuuga."

A slight furrowed brow- why did that voice sound familiar? He glanced over carefully-

-and nearly jolted; it was her. What was her name again? Something with an 'S'... mmh... unbidden (and quite against his will), he remembered this girl's demonic friend, Misaki, who'd turned on him for quite a long list of things, including some about ignoring Sakura-

-Sakura; that's it.

Kuuga quickly glanced over, but saw that she's alone; Misaki wasn't with her, much to his relief, and neither was anyone else. When he looked again, Sakura looked almost exactly as he remembered: same school uniform, pigtails, and eye color that matched her hair... hmm, she wasn't blushing like hell or going gaga over his appearance (nervous yes, but even still). He felt a bit confused, as he'd thought for sure that he'd never see her again- it's clear she liked the band, so she'd keep buying their music, but after the 'incident' he was certain her demonic friend would prevent her from coming anywhere near him again. Unless- unless she's here on her own, without anyone else's knowledge, just because she's that into the band... perhaps even obsessive.

Inevitably, it always comes back to that; people/fans concerned about him as the lead vocalist, and when he might recover so they could write songs again.

"It's you" he eventually said, before he noticed the basket. "What's in there?"

After a little reaction, Sakura looked down at her basket, which she put more outward. "If you'd like, just some 'get well' food, to help you heal quicker" she said in a sorta-hurry. "You really had me worried, Kuuga!"

"You and every fan out there" he thought to himself, before shrugging. "Well, you can put your gift over there" Kuuga said, gesturing with his free hand. "At the moment, I'm not that hungry."

Her mouth seemed to twist, which he noticed but didn't know what that's about- after a few seconds, she did as he said, putting her gift basket over. Back turned to him: "Today was supposed to be my final concert, and yet here I am."

Confused, Kuuga turned to look at her- her 'final concert'? What the heck's that about?

Nearly in an instant, Sakura turned around, with enough force to unnerve him- he vaguely noticed the small tears in her eyes, plus the 'difficult' demeanor.

"It's not fair!" she cried out, almost comically - in fact, she suddenly had a background that spontaneously 'sprouted' flowers, hearts that didn't get far, and otherwise little puffs-of-steam from her head. "I've been there for every song from Yumemishi, and I love them all, but then you- you... mmmmmhhhh, you had to go and be mean to me and my friends, Kuuga! I was still gonna follow Yumemishi's music, but this was gonna be my last concert, and it was all because of you!"

Still unnerved, Kuuga found his voice again. "Well, then why are you here?" he asked, adjusting his glasses a bit. "I'm not gonna die, and once I'm healed Yumemishi will be back writing songs and everything - you didn't have to come at all."

"But I had to!"

Right about then, he resigned himself to another outpouring- honestly he wanted to say 'save your breath', because it's clear her heart is broken, but hell if he'd say something that'd incur Misaki's wrath again, if/when this story reached her ears. So Sakura would probably say a bunch of things like she's crazy about him - having said as much - yet now that's changed, he wouldn't say much, and when she tells the story her friends would comfort her and forget about his 'involvement' since he hadn't said much.

Or something.

Sakura's comical-crying turned into something more realistic, though he didn't see this at the moment. "You got hurt and it's like my heart ached" she breathed, looking down. "It still hurts, and I couldn't stop myself from visiting... I didn't even care if you were mean to me again; I had to."

Well, she's dedicated; points for that much. "Like I said, the band will be back soon enough-"

"I don't care about that!" she suddenly cried. "I'm talking about you, Kuuga!"

Suddenly flat-footed, Kuuga looked over at her, trying to make sure he heard right- she didn't care about the band? Just him?

There were still tears in her eyes, mostly from strength-of-emotion than anything and she had her hands tight against her chest, eyes shut. "As far as I'm concerned, I don't care if Yumemichi never makes another song again!" she said, clearly distressed over that possibility, yet sincere anyway. "Just the fact that I was able to hear your voice in all those songs, listening to them over and over again, that'd be enough for me! I just want to make sure you get better, even if you're not listening to a word I'm saying right now."

Still focused upon the meaning of her previous words, he said nothing-

-which evidently, she took as some sort of not-good sign: "Well I brought over my basket, and I've said my piece." Sakura stated, seemingly as if forcing herself to, standing up straighter. "Goodbye."

Then she ran out, as if with a great effort- too late he registered this, looking out the doorway, where his confused nurse had nearly been run over by Sakura. Then he looked in the other direction, seeing her gift basket sitting where she'd left it... she'd actually brought it for him, specifically him...

Huh.

Carefully, having to reach with his other arm, he managed to grab one snack before settling back to before- Kuuga regarded it for a moment or two, then took a bite.

/

Hospital; the next day

Mmmmhhhh... she really shouldn't be here again, and yet the thought of not doing so just made her want to cry...

"I can't even follow my own promises" Sakura sulked, if briefly, hesitating upon going down the hallway. "Final concert, first and last visit- none of it's going so well. I want to believe he won't be mean again, but what if he is?"

She'd been debating like this for five minutes, if not more.

Eventually she just slumped, knowing that since she's already here and she'd baked for him again, she might as well go ahead- unlike last time, just go in and be a friendly face, give him his gift and a few kind words about hoping he gets better, then leave soon after.

Hopefully...

Steeling herself, heart beating faster, Sakura walked her way down the hallway toward his room- however, once she came inside, she stopped as a certain sight registered to her. Wasn't anything big; Kuuga was still laying in bed as before, but he was munching on something, idly staring out the windows on the other side of the room. Except she recognized that snack, because it (among others) she'd personally made, and he's eating it right now! The basket seemed to be gone, and none of the other sweets were in sight, but she also noticed a little compact fridge set up nearby... maybe he'd put the rest in there, because he hadn't wanted to eat them all at once?

Something about her reactions must've been audible, for Kuuga glanced in her direction, eyes-only. He slightly reacted upon realizing it's her, slowly turning his head... she didn't know what to make of his expression, as he seemed to be focused, but she couldn't read him at all except for the brief surprise.

"You're here again" he breathed, blinking once. "Why?"

Well... that didn't seem so mean, that she could tell; just seemed an honest question.

Without threat of such incoming, Sakura became relieved, and this fueled her next reaction: smiling, holding up her next batch, eyes closed and everything. "Kuuga, I'm here to visit you again."

Because her eyes were closed, she missed his reaction entirely, except for the vocal elements: what almost seemed like a 'gah', then an audible shift on his bed. When she opened her eyes, she was confused when she saw him looking away, and surprisingly he seemed to be struggling. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing's wrong!"

She wasn't sure what's going on, only that he seemed to be struggling, and he looked at her again with a furrowed brow, mouth set- or he tried to, because there was a single sweat-drop on his face. Just then though, Sakura realized her own 'limitations' and quickly moved over before she could get frozen, putting her baking on the other side of his table. "I didn't think you'd be eating my first batch" she admitted, trying not to look, hard as it was.

A slight bit of relief, distracted from what he's thinking. "I wanted a snack, and I never reject any gifts given to me" Kuuga said, almost offhandedly but with a strange tone.

"Are they good?"

"Hmm... average, but leaning toward good; you just need more practice."

The words gave her a little warmth, as he'd just said they're not bad- still got room to improve apparently, but even still! "I'll do my best, Kuuga!" she promised, before realizing her outburst - he just raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. "I-I mean, I'll try, but it may take awhile."

"Let it take awhile" he said, free hand supporting his face. "Just try not to cook everyday. At the rate I'm eating plus the hospital's food, I'll need a regular-size refrigerator before long to hold them all. Plus they'll spoil and such."

"Yes, of course" Sakura said, already wondering why she hadn't thought of that before- must've been too focused.

Ah! Wait, she's probably lingered too long by now!

"W-Well, I hope you're also healing well" she said, trying not to look at him, or else she'll be distracted. "Have a good day, Kuuga."

"You're really leaving already?"

Her mouth twisted, but she can't get distracted or hope things due to his question! "I know you probably have no interest in me, or you'll just humoring me being me" she said in a rush, before making a sound. "Maybe you think I'm just another fan, and I get it. I just want to make sure you're not lonely, that you feel better; so I'm visiting you, but I'm not staying long. And so I'm leaving now, goodbye."

Sakura moved toward the door, as quick as she could-

"Sakura."

-him saying her name brought her to a halt, wondering and warmer as she slowly turned.

Kuuga still had that focused look, red eyes intimidating, but it didn't seem to be in a mean way- he almost smirked. "I can't stop you from leaving, but least let me say something" he said. "You really caught me off-guard yesterday, not to mention you didn't give me a chance to respond before you left. That takes some guts to say to a rockstar's face."

By then, her cheeks had grown pretty warm.

He shrugged a bit, still smirking. "This time, I'm not gonna make you apologize or anything" Kuuga continued, before scoffing, "Nah, can't even say that I would've made you. Anyway, though it's late, thanks."

"Ah!"

Then he glanced around a bunch. "For the snacks, and for visiting twice" he said, more short. "I would've said it eventually, but you left too soon yesterday."

Sakura was breathing heavier, having to slightly struggle to find her voice. "W-Well, I just wanted to make sure you weren't lonely!"

Kuuga glanced at her, head tilted. "I've heard a lot of things from fans" he noted, brow furrowing, but his gaze moved off into space. "They say this-and-that about the band, about us members, and do everything possible to proclaim their love and show it. Yet they do so because they see the band, the songs, those who perform them... not the people they are. So hearing you're visiting because you're concerned about me, to make sure I'm not lonely? That's rare."

"But I always saw you that way, and I never thought like that! I always loved your songs, but that didn't stop me at all!"

He glanced at her then, the smirk back. "I realized that just now" he said, offhanded again. "But when you face so many who don't, sometimes it takes a double-take to recognize the real thing."

Sakura was literally struggling now; this was the perfect opportunity to say so many things, feel so much, and yet- and yet- gah!

"That may be true; I don't know!" she said suddenly, seeming to jolt him (purely out of surprise). "But the fact remains, you were still- still mean to me, Kuuga! And you haven't... mmh, you haven't even said sorry to me!"

He got a strange expression. "Those words don't sound like what you think" he noted slowly. "It sounds more like your friends' words, or whatever."

Now she was kinda shocked. "How'd you know that!?" she asked, a bit freaked.

Kuuga seemed to slump, eyes closed. "Kinda figured" he muttered, before opening his eyes. "Look, if you really want an apology, I can give it; I just need to work on it" he continued, finishing with a random brush against his hair. "But you don't strike me as a girl who needs an apology, more of somehow who's happy with even simple things. Maybe anyway. But in the meantime, if you still want to visit or leave, nothing's stopping you. I certainly couldn't."

For awhile, Sakura just stood there, a little breathless at what she's hearing- or rather, what she's not hearing. She'd been (badly) prepared for him to be dismissive of her, not want her around or only grudgingly tolerate her, and if he'd just been a different person who suddenly accepted her, even she would've known something was very wrong.

This- she didn't fully understand this, but he wasn't being like what she'd thought he would...

Well it might still just her being naive, but she'd take it!

Smiling brightly, she held her hands together, "I want to, so I'm gonna" Sakura said brightly. "Look forward to it, Kuuga!"

He grunted, looking away, while she almost missed the slight blush that appeared. "Are you leaving or what?" he muttered, as if to avoid answering things.

"Well, for today yes, but I'll be back every day that I can!"

"You do that."

Exploring just how it may started, with no clear date since even the anime didn't specify when he got injured. Still, we got one side struggling both with lingering love and her own 'hopeless' naivete, and one side who couldn't have cared less until a certain sentiment was established... tricky, but worth exploring lol :)

Still, because it's a three-shot, can't stay focused on the months-long development while he's in the hospital... shame hehe.