Dashan Wang always looked out for his friends and allies. But the one he looked out for the most was Meili, his own younger sister. Meili was a blader with a split personality. In public, she was a shy, mild-mannered girl, never leaving Dashan's side. In battle and training, she worked herself to the bone, refusing to lose no matter what the cost, with her Blaze Gryphon. Her spirit was intense, but slightly uncontrollable. That side of her was dangerous for her to have.
One day, after the Beyblade World Championships were long over, Meili went to train by herself. Dashan came up to her, noticing that she was pale, and felt her forehead. "You're a bit warm, Meili. You should lie down, get some rest."
"I'm fine, Dashan." She retorted, then left to train. Dashan, being the protective person he is, walked over to Chi-yun.
"Hey Chi-yun? Could you keep an eye on Meili? She's going to train, and you know how she gets. She's feeling a bit warm, and I don't want her to hurt herself. If anything happens, just yell." Dashan asked, giving Chi-yun that overprotective-brother look. Chi-yun nodded, then followed after Meili.
When Chi-yun reached the training grounds twenty minutes later, Meili was there, breathing heavily. Sweat rolled down her forehead in sheets, and she was incredibly pale. Chi-yun watched her from a distance. She tried walking to the steps of the training grounds, but she collapsed before she could take three steps. "Meili!" Chi-yun called out, rushing to the unconscious Gryphon blader. "Dashan!" he yelled, feeling Meili's forehead. It was burning tremendously. Dashan ran over to his sister. "She's burning up." the Lacerta blader explained. Dashan picked up Meili gently.
"Dashan…" Meili murmured quietly, cracking her eyes open. She was shivering a lot. Dashan looked down to his sister.
"Don't speak. You're really sick, and you need to save your energy. I told you not to go train, it was for your own good. But you didn't listen. Just get some rest." Dashan stroked Meili's hair. She fell asleep in his arms and he carried her to her room. Chao Xin and Mei-Mei heard footsteps as Dashan entered the temple with Chi-yun right behind, Meili asleep and shivering in Dashan's arms.
"What's wrong with Meili?" Mei-Mei asked, quietly walking over to Dashan. "Is she feeling over the weather?" Chao Xin walked up to Mei-Mei.
"Don't you mean under the weather?" he replied, placing his hand gently on Meili's forehead. "She's not doing so good, is she?" Chao Xin asked, removing his hand from Meili's scorching forehead. Dashan tucked his sister into bed.
"Anyone know where the thermometer is?" Dashan asked nervously. Chi-yun ran off to go find it. Chao Xin had also left and had just returned with a washcloth and a bucket of ice water. Chi-yun ran in with the thermometer. He checked Meili's temperature. The thermometer beeped, signaling that the reading had come up. Chi-yun looked at it, eyes widening.
"104.8. If it gets any higher, Meili might have to go to the hospital." Chi-yun solemnly explained, putting the thermometer down. Chao Xin dunked the washcloth in the bucket, then lay the cloth across the Gryphon blader's forehead. Meili woke with a start, due to the cold compress freezing her forehead.
"Big bro… I don't feel so good…" Meili whimpered, looking up at Dashan. Dashan looked down at his younger sister and felt a pang of guilt. He didn't try to stop her from training. He could have prevented her from getting this sick. Now he felt he had to, as a big brother and a respected temple leader, set this right.
"I know. Does anything hurt?" Dashan replied, gently stroking her hair. Meili nodded. "Where does it hurt?" he asked soothingly.
"My head, throat, stomach, nose, and a little achy all over…" Meili trailed off at the end of her answer. "I feel weak… like I don't have enough strength… to lift a pillow…" Meili whispered, attempting to pull the blankets up, but failing. Mei-Mei pulled the blankets up to Meili's shoulders. " Thanks… Mei-Mei…"
"Sounds like you have a bad case of the flu. Do you want something to eat?" Chao Xin explained, flipping over the compress so it would still be cold.
"Soup, please." Meili murmured, sleep overcoming her. Dashan motioned everyone out of his ailing sister's room. He stayed to keep her company and to check on her.
About ten minutes later, Dashan heard a faint knock on the door. He got up from the chair he ended up in and opened the door. "You've got a call." Chao Xin stated.
"Whoever it is, tell them I can't talk to them right now." Dashan replied, soaking the compress again and placing it back on Meili's forehead.
"It's Gingka. He says he needs to tell you something important." Chao Xin stated, sounding a bit impatient. Dashan looked at his sister, who was still sleeping heavily, then turned back to Chao Xin.
"Okay, but you're watching Meili until I get back." Dashan replied, walking past his teammate to the video chat. He saw Gingka, Masamune, Tsubasa, Kyoya, Yu, Madoka, Ryo, and Hikaru. "Hey guys. I don't have a lot of time to chat. My sister's really sick, I think it's a really bad case of the flu, and she might need me." Dashan explained quickly.
"Oh. Could you tell her we said 'Get well soon'?" Yu asked, everybody else nodding in agreement. Dashan nodded.
"So, to the important thing. Has Zurafa, or any of the other beys, changed?" Gingka asked suspiciously.
"No… Why?" Dashan wondered, clearly confused by his friend's question. Gingka sighed, like he had been expecting a different answer.
"Long and complicated story. If one of the beys does change, call my dad immediately. It's really, really, super-duper important." Gingka explained.
"Big bro…" Meili called out weakly. Dashan looked to his sister's room, then turned back to Gingka.
"Gotta go, Meili's calling for me. I'll call you if something does change. Bye." Dashan hung up, then re-entered Meili's room. "You feel a little better?"
"Not really…" Meili muttered, shivering slightly under her blankets. Someone knocked on the door. Both siblings looked over to see who was coming in.
"Soup's ready. Coming in." Chi-yun entered the room carrying a steaming bowl of noodle soup. Everybody in Team Wang Hu Zhong knew that Meili hated chicken in soup. They never bothered to ask why, though. "Careful, it's hot." Chi-yun warned. Dashan helped his sister sit up so she could eat the soup. Making sure that Dashan had everything under control, Chi-yun exited the room.
Dashan spoon-fed his sister until she had finished the soup. She fell asleep in the same position, and Dashan didn't move her in fear of waking her up. Dashan moved back to his chair, watching over Meili as she slept. Twenty minutes later, Meili snapped awake, lurching forwards. "Meili, what's wrong?" Dashan asked, his expression contorted with worry.
"I really don't… feel so good…" Meili whimpered, clutching her stomach. Dashan knew Meili was feeling sick, but he didn't expect her to be feeling this sick.
"Do you feel like you're going to be sick?" Dashan asked, moving the wastebasket to the edge of the bed. Meili moaned, and heaved into the trash can. Dashan rubbed small circles into her back, whispering soothing words. Two minutes later, Meili was sitting back up in bed, looking weaker than before. "Do you think you can make it to the sink? I'm going to get you cleaned up." Dashan wondered.
Meili nodded. "But I don't think I can... without a wall or something... to lean on." Dashan helped his sister up, wrapped her arm around his shoulder, and together they made their way to the sink. Dashan cleaned Meili up, and brought her back to her room. He tucked her back in bed and checked her temperature.
"103.1. Your fever's come down a bit. Just try to get some sleep. If you need something, just say so and I'll be here." Dashan sighed in relief that Meili's temperature had dropped. Meili drifted off to sleep, and Dashan stepped out of the room.
He heard a faint ringing, so he made his way to the room with the video-chat. He was getting a call from Team Lovushka. He answered, wondering what the call was about. "Hey Dashan. Gingka called and told us what happened. We called to say 'Get well soon' to Meili. Could you deliver the message?" Aleksei asked.
"Sure thing." Dashan replied, looking at the bottom of the screen. A little phone symbol had appeared and it was vibrating. "I've got another call. I'll have Meili call back when she's feeling better. Bye." Dashan hung up, then answered the next call.
It was Zeo and Toby. "Hey Dashan. Gingka called and told us what happened. We called to say 'Get well soon' to Meili. Could you deliver the message?" they asked.
"Team Lovushka asked the same thing. I'll deliver the message and I'll have Meili call you back when she's feeling better." Again, the phone icon appeared. "Third call in five minutes. See you guys later." Dashan picked up the next call.
It was Team Excalibur. "Hey Dashan. Gingka called and told us what happened. We called to say 'Get well soon' to Meili. Could you deliver the message?" Julian asked.
"Sure. I'll have Meili call you back when she's feeling better." Dashan replied. How many teams did Gingka call? Once more, the phone icon came up. "I've got another call. See you later." Dashan picked up the (hopefully last) call.
It was Nile and Demure. "Before you say anything, was it Gingka who called?" Dashan asked. The two members of Team Wild Fang shook their heads.
"Nope. It was Madoka. So, could you deliver the message?" Nile asked. Dashan nodded.
"I'll have Meili call you back when she's feeling better." Dashan replied. He heard gentle footsteps by the door. He turned to face the sound. Meili was leaning against the door frame in her pajamas, looking incredibly flushed. "Meili! What are you doing out of bed? You need to rest." Dashan became instantly flustered.
"I heard… you talking… to someone. So… I came to see… who it was. Don't be mad… big bro…" Meili wobbled over to Dashan. She leaned against him and looked at the screen. "Hi… Nile...Hi… Demure." she greeted, struggling to stay standing.
"Hey Meili. We hope you feel better soon." Nile and Demure smiled kindly. Meili almost collapsed at that moment, Dashan barely catching her.
"You alright?" Dashan asked, wrapping Meili's arm around his shoulder. Meili nodded shakily. Dashan turned back to the members of the African team. "I've got to get Meili back to bed. Call you guys later." Dashan hung up, helped his sister back to her room, and tucked her into bed for a third time.
"Big bro… can you open... the window? The stars… look extra pretty… tonight." Meili asked, pulling out the puppy eyes. Dashan sighed. He knew he couldn't say no when his sister was sick and used the puppy eyes.
"Fine… but only for a little while." He cracked open the window, allowing fresh air to circulate the slightly stuffy room. Little did Dashan (or anyone else, for that matter) know what was going to happen overnight.