Welcome! For those of you who read my other fic, TKATM, these are various side stories that happen between chapters. They're mainly scenes and drabbles I wanted to add but wasn't sure how to write into the main fic. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy these side stories!
"Captain, I'm fine."
"You clearly aren't, Maki."
Breakfast was finished and Eli's squad was off to do their jobs. Before Maki could leave the table, Eli had stopped her. The moment she had arrived to breakfast, she was a mess. Her tunic was messy, her nose had a tint of red to it, and she clearly did not sleep as well as she would have liked to. She barely touched her food and didn't drink at all, and it was quite obvious that the reason behind it was because she hadn't dried properly from working in the rain the day before.
"Maki, you've got a cold." Eli said flatly. Maki frowned.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired and have a sore throat. I'll live." Maki tried to brush it off. Eli gave her a stern gaze.
"Alright, here are your choices, Maki." Eli says. "You either take the day off and rest so that you're fit for tomorrow, or you do the exact thing I just said." Maki opens her mouth to respond before furrowing her eyebrows.
"Those are the same options!" she said, and Eli nods.
"No work for you today Maki, your cold will just get worse." She looks over to Nico, who had been waiting off to the side for Maki.
"Nico!" Eli calls out, and Nico looks directly to Eli.
"Yes, Captain?!" She exclaims, stepping over.
"There's a change of plans today. Maki's sick, so she won't be able to do her jobs." Nico's eyes widened a bit, excitement creeping into her expression. Did Eli trust her enough to give her all of Maki's duties? Nico was preparing her mental bragging speech to recite to Nozomi later on, until Eli continued speaking.
"I'm leaving Maki to you for the day. Please make sure she rests, eats something, and be sure to check if she gets a fever."
Nico stare dumbfound at Eli.
"Wait, you want me to skip my duties to take care of Maki?!" She asked.
"Well, you are her junior. Umi and Rin won't mind filling in for you two today." Eli replies. Nico frowns more and Eli raises an eyebrow. "Unless you can't take care of a sick person?" She asks.
"Of course I can!" Nico responds instantly, then sighs. "If that's what you say, then I have no choice." Nico walks over to the half lidded Maki, who was starting to feel the cold hit her more. She grabbed her by the wrist, and looked to Eli.
"If you see Hanayo, tell her I need the kitchen staff to prepare their best broth. Actually, maybe you should find Hanayo and tell her that right away." Eli was surprised by Nico's instruction, but nods.
"I can do that. Anything else?"
"Yeah, I'll need someone to bring me warm water every couple of hours. Not lukewarm, not really hot, but warm enough where it's perfect bathing temperature. Also towels nobody cares about getting messy." Eli nods again, understanding the instructions. Nico lifts a hand to Maki's forehead, catching the attention of the red head for the first time since she grabbed her wrist. Nico frowns slightly.
"Come on Maki-chan, you're starting to feel warm." Nico pulls Maki out of the dining hall and begins the walk back to her room. Maki sluggishly followed, frowning a bit.
"Nico-chan, I'm okay. Really." She says in a hoarse, unconvincing voice.
"Even if you say you are, the Captain wants me to help you today." Nico responds, reaching Maki's door and opening it with ease. She pulls Maki inside, shutting the door behind them and gesturing to her dresser.
"You should change into your night wear, and while you do that I'm going to throw my gear in my room." She says. She narrows her eyes a bit. "And don't try to escape, you're sick and it'll be easy to track you down and bring you back to your room." Maki sighs, only nodding slightly as an answer. Nico exits the room, and Maki begins to get changed back into her pyjamas.
She climbs into her bed with a sour face, her stuffy nose bothering her more than words could say. As the thought hit her, Nico entered with some small, folded towels. Maki looks over to her and see's a maid with a small bucket, handing it to Nico after she puts the towels down on top of the table near Maki's door. Maki noticed Nico now wore only her tunic, her sword and gloves gone. Nico thanked the maid, sending her on her way and turning to Maki, who now lay comfortably under the covers of her bed.
"What's with the face?" Nico asks, rolling up her sleeves. "You can't honestly tell me you wanted to work. You look like shit, and you probably feel just as shitty." Maki frowns.
"I don't like wasting my time." She answers, watching Nico dip a towel into the bucket of water. "It gets boring in here, and I can never sleep right when I'm sick." her voice turns whiney, and she crosses her arms on her chest.
"I don't want to stay in bed. I want to work and train for the festival." Maki grumbles, before scrunching her nose up. She sits up quickly, feeling a sneeze coming on. In an instant, a cloth is pressed to her nose just in time. Maki sneezes, groaning loudly the moment it passes.
"Maki-chan, that's gross." Nico cringes, letting the sickly girl take the soiled cloth from her. Maki frowns more, wiping her nose.
"I can't help it." She mumbles.
After wiping her nose clean, Nico instructs Maki to lie down. Maki does as she's told, and Nico places a folded wet cloth on her forehead. It's soothing, and Maki can feel a nostalgic moment as she watches Nico begin arranging the extra towels on her side table. She's reminded of a time in her younger days when she felt sick and her mother would nurse her back to full health. The sickly girl continues to watch Nico as she recalls a particular time in her life when she had been really sick.
"This feels familiar." Maki mumbles, catching Nico's attention.
"Does it?" Nico asks, moving a chair closer to the bed. Maki nods lightly, closing her eyes.
"Mama did the exact same things when I was little." She says tiredly, sleep finally beginning to take over. It isn't long after that Maki finally falls asleep, leaving her temporary nurse to sit quietly by herself.
Maki is woken up at lunch time by Nico, who has a bowl of a delicious smelling soup. Hanayo is there as well, checking in on her friend. Maki sits up in the bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"You look better than you did this morning, Maki-chan." Hanayo comments, and Nico nods.
"With the medicine you brought as well as another long nap and my amazing help, Maki will be feeling better in no time." Nico says, handing the bowl of soup to Maki carefully. She thanks the both of them, and Hanayo smiles.
"Anything to help you get better, Maki-chan. The cooks made this tomato soup just for you, so be sure to eat it all, okay?" Hanayo asks, and Maki nods, promising to do her best. Hanayo says a small good bye, promising that her and Rin would drop by to check on her later.
"Have you been here this whole time?" Maki asks, stirring the soup with a spoon. Nico shakes her head.
"No, Honoka had stopped by and I asked her to keep an eye on you while I took a break." Nico replies, grabbing her own bowl and spoon. "You're a pretty uneventful sleeper Maki-chan, I expected you to sleep talk or snore really loud, but nope. You're quiet and boring."
Maki rolls her eyes as she sips some of her soup, humming in satisfaction as the warm broth smoothly travels down her sore throat. The two eat their lunch quietly, and once finished, Nico hands the medicine to Maki. She wordlessly swallows it, drinking some water and then leaning back against her headboard. Nico had taken the cloth from her forehead, dipping it in a new bucket of water and ringing it out to place back on the spot it rested before. Maki watches as she puts the dirty dishes to the side, then takes her seat again.
"This really is nostalgic." She comments. Nico quirks and eyebrow, and Maki continues.
"Whenever I was sick when I was younger, Mama would always stay by my side and watch me. Papa and Mama make medicine and Papa trained to be a healer, so they both did their best to always make sure I was healthy."
"She's always make tomato soup and we'd always eat together, just like we did." Maki blushes slightly, looking away embarrassed. Nico smirks a bit to herself as she listens to Maki's story.
"In a way it's kinda nostalgic for me too." She says. Maki turns her attention back to the black haired girl, and she excitedly watches as Nico stretches, sitting more comfortably.
"I used to be a really reckless kid ya know?" Nico starts. "A lot of the village kids teased me because I don't really look my age. That or they were jealous of how cute I was. Either way, I wasn't popular for being an amazing perfect and strong girl, it was more like I was popular because I was a trouble maker. I got into fights with the boys a lot, and I constantly kept getting dragged away from the market by my Papa because of it."
"One day it was raining pretty heavy and Mama and I were trying to help out Papa with the fields. Even in bad weather, a farmer still has to work. It could get pretty rough sometimes." Nico sighs a bit, then continues. "But we got the job done! And you know what happened? Some idiots thought they could steal from our barn! I still don't get why to this day! Two people can't steal a giant plough! And all are farm tools were outside because we were using them!"
"Naturally, I chased them down and I beat em up. They were pretty pathetic really, but they ended up getting away because Mama and Papa found me."
Maki yawned, lying back in her bed and continuing to listen as Nico talked about her Father and Mother scolding her for it. Even though the boys were wrong, it didn't mean Nico should chase after them and beat them up during bad whether. She smiled lightly, imagining a tiny angry Nico kicking kids in the shin and yelling obscene words.
"You sound like a really dumb kid." Maki comments. Nico frowns.
"Hey! I'll have you know I was and still am the cutest kid that could beat you up." She replies. Maki shakes her head slightly, and Nico smiles.
"Well anyway, after that I got really sick. A pretty bad cold, not to mention the bruises and scrapes from fighting the two boys. Mama and Papa helped me get better, and when they couldn't they taught me everything I needed to do. So even when I was sick, I could still help myself."
"After that, when I got better Papa suggested I use all the energy I have beating up other kids into becoming a knight." Nico watched Maki yawn again and smiled slightly. "But I guess that's a story for another time."
She watches as Maki shuts her eyes, sleep beginning to consume her again. Before the sleep completely hits her, she opens an eye a crack, staring directly at Nico with a small smirk.
"You were a pretty weird kid." Nico frowns, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, well you're also really weird. Trying to work when your sick? Who does that?" She smiles lightly, watching Maki chuckle.
"The Captain maybe?" Maki says quietly, causing Nico to laugh. She smiles a bit more. "Umi's smart enough to know to take care of herself, and Rin and Honoka hate doing anything when they're sick." She turns her body towards Nico, lying on her side and closing her eyes.
"I'll tell Nozomi to scold the Captain for being a bad influence on you then." is the last words Maki hears before she falls back asleep, a tiny smile at the corner of her lips.
The rest of the day was spent with each other, and at dinner time Maki felt better than ever. The medicine was working fast, and thanks to Nico's help her cold wasn't too bothersome at all. As Nico was about to leave there was a knock at Maki's door. She stood up and answered it, and there stood the captain holding a tray with what was most likely dinner for Maki and Nico. Resisting the urge to smirk, Nico opened the door wide and grinned.
"Captain! What a surprise. Come to check on Maki?" She says cheekily. Eli only nods.
"Since I was heading this way, I offered to deliver it." She steps inside the room, and Maki sat up properly. Eli smile towards her, speaking in a softer tone than she usually had.
"How are you feeling?" She placed the tray down, and Nico took over, stirring the contents of the stew and making a pleased sound.
"Actually, I'm feeling great." Maki replies. She's thanks Nico as Nico places the bowl in her lap, and Eli smiles.
"I'm glad to hear that." Eli replies, watching as Nico took the seat she had occupied most of the day.
"Nico, thank you for doting on Maki for the day." Nico shrugs.
"It's not a problem." She waves her hand, before picking up her spoon. "Unless I get sick. Then you're taking the blame, Captain." Eli chuckles slightly.
"Well that's only fair." she says. "Then should I dote on you if you get sick, Nico?" theres a playful hint to Eli's voice, and it almost causes Maki to spit out the bite of stew she had taken. Nico shrugs.
"Well if you're offering..." Maki turns away, shaking slightly in an effort to contain any laughter.
When she composes herself, she idly eats as Eli and Nico talk, swapping stories of the day. It's very small, but Maki can feel nothing but complete bliss. In the end, Maki decided that this sick day wasn't so bad.
