The next morning Misaki had to wake Usagi up once more; that time though, Usagi looked like he was going to pass out at any time. He once again ate very little food, and spent the rest of the day in his study. "Um, Kamijo-sensei," Misaki decided to ask for his advice once more, "have you noticed anything odd about Usagi-san?"

"Yes, I was noticing that this morning." Hiroki commented, "Idiot, Akihiko! I bet he never even assured the kid yesterday like I told him to!" he growled in his head before saying, "If he were anyone else I would have believed he was sick, but Akihiko has never been sick since I met him. He's not the type to have a weak immune system. I think it's probably just an accumulation of stress, you know how he is. He likes to keep his emotions bottled up, and this is undoubtedly the aftermath of doing so. He'll get over it."

Misaki thought for a moment, "Usagi-san being sick would explain a lot, but I've never seen him sick, and neither has Kamijo-sensei, and he's known Usagi since they were ten. Maybe it's not an illness and he's just stressing about his current situation, but I still can't rule out the possibility of an illness. After all, stress has never stopped Usagi-san from touching me. If anything it has always encouraged him. Well as having Kamijo-sensei talk to him didn't help at all, I'll ask Usagi-san myself if he's feeling unwell." Misaki concluded.

He entered the study and instantly noticed the overwhelming smell of cigarettes. "Usagi-san!" Misaki groaned, "I thought I told you to cut back on cigarettes! You're going to kill yourself!"

"I thought it wouldn't be so bad if I had the window open."

"Well it is! It reeks of cigarettes in here! And close the damn window! Do you want to be raped to death?"

Usagi closed the window before taking one more drag of the last of his cigarette and he began to cough violently as he crushed the little fire out in his ash tray on the desk. "Usagi-san?" Misaki was concerned by the older man's coughing fit.

"I'm fine." Usagi gasped as he caught his breath.

"You don't sound fine. And you've been acting really strange lately."

"I'm fine, Misaki. You should be more concerned about yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"No matter what happens, Misaki I want you to only think about yourself."

"What are you talking about?" Usagi was starting to scare him with his cryptic words.

"In survival situations like this, it's easy to forget about the well-being of others and focus on self-preservation. I want you to do that Misaki."

"Why are you talking like that?"

"Because if something happens to me, I won't be able to protect you."

"Nothing is going to happen to you or me, so please stop talking like that!"

"Misaki…" Usagi stood as if to walk over to him, but upon standing his legs gave out from under him and he fell over and passed out.

"Usagi-san!" Misaki cried out before rushing over to his lover's side. Misaki tried shaking him awake, but he was unresponsive. Misaki felt Usagi's forehead and noticed how hot he felt to him. "He was sick." Misaki realized.

He hurried downstairs and retrieved Nowaki before running back up to the study. Nowaki examined Usagi before asking, "Has he been vomiting lately?"

"I've noticed him going inside the bathroom often, but I never asked."

"It seems like the flu. Chain smoking only exacerbated it. He'll be lucky if it doesn't become bronchitis." Nowaki looked up at Misaki and seemed to notice the boy's concern, "He'll be fine Takahashi-kun. Usami-san seems to be known for his resilience, according to Hiro-san, now will be no different." He gave Misaki a reassuring smile and Misaki smiled sadly back at him, still not really believing the pediatrician in training.

"Why don't you go get some medicine for him?" Nowaki suggested, figuring that giving Misaki something to do may help put his mind at ease.

Misaki left the room and walked down the hall, "Did I make him sick? Was the stress too much for him and it made him sick? No, surely it couldn't have been that, right? I mean people get sick for a lot of different reasons, like being out in public and being exposed to germs… but then again, it's been a while since Usagi-san has been outside. Maybe he fell asleep on a cold night without covering up or while still wet, after all it is the fall season and the nights have definitely been getting colder. But Usagi-san has always been covered and he seemed dry the other night. I can only think that the stress of having eight extra people here is the reason why Usagi-san's immune system gave out. So it's my fault. I mean, I didn't tell him to accept the Usagi clan here, but he probably did that because he knew I would have told him to let them stay. I can't imagine him agreeing to do so of his own free will." Misaki sighed before turning back down the hall with the medicine in hand and was surprised to see Usagi awake.

"Usagi-san!" Misaki gasped as he hurried over to him, "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Be—because you passed out, you idiot!" Misaki snapped.

"I've done that before and you've never seemed so concerned."

"You've never been sick before!" Misaki hissed.

"Hm? Sick? I'm not sick."

"Don't lie to me! I felt you, you have a fever!"

"It's fairly high too." Nowaki cut in, "You should take better care of yourself Usami-san; your fever is already 38.9 degrees Celsius, don't let it rise."

Usagi remained silent and simply stood. "Usagi—," Misaki was prepared to catch him if he fell again, but that time Usagi managed to stay standing.

"I'm fine; it was just a dizzy spell." He tried to assure his lover.

"Bullshit." Misaki was still clearly pissed, "Why did you let yourself get so sick? If you were feeling ill you should have told me! Do you have any idea how worried I was? How worried I still am? If it was the other way around and you were in my position, wouldn't you be pissed? Why is it okay for you to hide things from me while you always get to know everything?"

"Misaki…" Usagi prevented his rant from going further. Misaki stood there for a moment, thinking about what he had just blurted out, "… You're right." Usagi finally broke the silence.

"Huh?" Misaki was surprised.

"I'm sorry, I didn't consider your feelings, but I want you to understand where I'm coming from. Do you remember what I told you before I passed out? I meant it. We're fine now, but things will almost certainly get worse. I know you, you never think about yourself, but I need you to start doing that now. I knew if I told you I was feeling ill then you would have been concerned and you would have put my needs first. I don't care about myself though, when it comes to you that's all that matters. So long as you're okay, I'll be fine no matter what, but you have to be—"

"You can't expect me to do that, Usagi-san. I can't." Misaki cut him off.

"You have to Misaki. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you. So please, be selfish for once."

Misaki stayed silent. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't promise Usagi that he would be selfish, but he wanted to reassure the ailing man. Nowaki thankfully broke the uneasy stillness, "Usami-san, we should get you to bed. You need to rest."

Usagi stared at Misaki who maintained his silence and lowered his head, making his bangs cover his eyes. Usagi dropped his head as well before allowing Nowaki to lead him out.

"Usagi-san, I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you the words you wanted to hear so desperately. But somehow I'll find a way to reassure you like you always have for me." Misaki promised in his head as he watched them go while he stayed behind in the study.