Yuma sighed heavily, taking another spoonful of the soup his grandmother had brought him. He remained quiet, Astral had been asleep since earlier that morning, causing Yuma to feel more concerned. He fought the urge to wake his friend.

Come on Astral, you've been sleeping all morning, I really need you to get up. Yuma thought, becoming increasingly more concerned about his as Yuma decided to act on his thoughts, Astral began to stir and within minutes he opened his eyes.

Yuma put the bowl of soup on the floor and stood up.

"Hey, are you feeling better?"

"For the moment, yes. I am not sure it will continue." Yuma could still hear the weakness in his voice. He noticed that Astral was once again softly rubbing his belly.

"You rub your stomach a lot, and you keep your hands on it, it's just a thought, but maybe something warm would help. Sometimes when my stomach really hurts I use a heating pad while I'm lying down. I could get one for you. Do you want to try?"

"I will try almost anything. There is no need to go immediately."Astral said.

" I'll be going back downstairs in a little while, I'll get it then." Yuma lowered himself back onto the floor, he picked up his bowl once again.

"Do you think you'll be okay long enough for me to finish lunch?"

"Yes. The pain has lessened now. I cannot say for certain how long it will take for it to return."

"Did sleeping help at all?"

"It provided temporary relief from the pain." Yuma sighed.

"Do you still feel drained?" Astral didn't reply, Yuma however knew the answer. He stood up once more, looking down into his bowl. He had eaten less than half of his lunch.

"I'm going to take my bowl down to the sink, I'll bring the heating pad up with me. I'll turn the TV on for you, but I'll keep the volume on low in case you want to try to sleep." Yuma bent down and pressed the button on the device, turning it toward Astral.

"It should still be on your favorite channel." Yuma crossed the the room but turned back at the sound of his name being called weakly.

"Yeah,Astral?"

"Thank you."

"No problem. " he replied making his way to his own bed, Haru was sure to check in at any second. He set the bowl down beside the bed and climbed under the cover just as his grandmother knocked on his door.

He quickly closed his eyes.

"Yuma?" Haru called softly, stepping into the room. Yuma did his best not to react. It wasn't until he felt her hand on his forehead that he allowed himself to look up at her.

"Hey, Grandma." He greeted with a feeble tone.

"I didn't mean to wake you, I just wanted to check in and see how you're feeling."

"I'm okay, it's just-" Yuma paused, hoping what he was about to do wouldn't cause Haru too much concern.

"What is it Yuma?"

"Could I borrow the heating pad?"

"Of course, you just rest and I'll bring it to you. Did you eat any of the soup I brought you?"

"I tried." He said leaning over the side of the bed and giving the bowl to her. She frowned.

"You really must be sick, there's still some left."

"I don't feel too bad,Grandma, I'm just not very hungry right now."

"I'll put it away for later. I'll be right back." Yuma watched her exit the room.

He hoped he would be able to get back to his friend before the pain got to be too much for Astral.

Hang on Astral, I'll be there soon. Yuma thought silently.

Astral sighed heavily, hoping Yuma returned soon. He'd lost interest in the television almost immediately after the boy left, finding no comfort in the distraction.

He found that as the minutes passed, it became harder to relax.

He hoped he would sleep again if only to escape his illness for a short time.

Yuma ran up the steps leading to the attic, Astral was counting on him. He stopped to catch his breath before continuing inside.

"I'm back Astral, I got it." Yuma announced triumphantly. He moved closer to the ailing figure, plugging the heating pad in and setting the device on low heat.

"It's going to take a minute to heat up. It's just going to lay on your stomach, you don't have to do anything." He explained.

"Please be careful Yuma, my stomach is sensitive to pain." Astral said weakly.

"It won't hurt, I promise." Yuma slowly laid the heating pad on Astral's belly.

"I trust you, Yuma." The pain was audible in his voice.

"Are you sure you're okay it looks like this is really hard for you." Yuma rested his hand lightly on the heat source. "Is it helping?"

"No." Astral shifted uncomfortably in the hammock.

"Easy Astral. We'll try medium heat. Sometimes the first setting isn't enough. Lie still." Yuma turned up the setting with his free hand. Within minutes, Astral visibly relaxed into the pillow.

"Is that better?"

"Yes, thank you, Yuma."Yuma too felt relieved when the blue figure began to feel better.

"Yuma?"

"Yeah?"

"I appreciate what you are doing, I do not want you to think you must spend your day tending to me. "

"It's not a big deal,and I haven't been doing it all day." Yuma said dismissively. Astral looked at him skeptically.

"I do not want to be a burden to you, Yuma. I can return to-"

"I told you, friends take care of each other. You're my friend Astral and I won't let you go through this alone. It doesn't look like you have much strength right now, you should save what you have."

"I will be all right. I am sure there are other-"

"Just get some rest. Pushing yourself won't help you feel better, you should just stay here. When you're stronger you can go back in if you want to."

"Are you certain about this, it is not necessary for you to-"

"Don't worry about it. Just get better." Yuma's concern was beginning to show. He quickly turned from Astral.

"I have been through this pain, it is not dangerous. It is simply uncomfortable."

"It doesn't matter. Everyone needs a little down time, sometimes. That's why we stayed home today, I needed a break too."

"You have not gotten much of one, it seems I have been-"

"Don't worry about it." Yuma wondered if Astral had been able to see through his lie. After several minutes of silence, the boy again sat down on the floor with a heavy sigh, a quiet grumble from his stomach pulled him from his thought and left him wishing he had finished his soup.