IMAI
The cold made everyone sleepy, even though we had been here in Hokkaido for almost a week. This meant that almost everybody was heading for bed before ten at night.
Tonight, however, was different. Yuki-sempai had predictably confessed to Yukimura-san, and they had been – spending time – with each other since that little locked-in-the-cupboard incident. Alas for them, they had been interrupted by Tano-buchou with an urgent demand from Tsuki-sempai for the doctor, regardless of the time. It proved just how worried over her friend – or perhaps more than a friend? – she was.
Yuki-sempai, after checking on Fuji-sempai, decided that a call for the doctor was indeed justified, and so the unfortunate man had come. His news had been both good and bad; Fuji-sempai no longer had the respiratory problem of pneumonia, but the fever that had come with it had risen to dangerous temperatures. To top it all off, Fuji-sempai, in a questionably sane moment, had flatly refused half of the medication prescribed for him despite the violent protests from Eiji-sempai, Yukimura-san, Tsuki-sempai and not least the doctor.
Yuki-sempai had let the poor man leave before things got too hectic with a stipulation that he would return the next day, then shooed everyone back to their rooms. Tsuki-sempai stayed with Fuji-sempai, and nobody said anything. Well, almost nobody. I did happen to be witness to an interesting scene not long after most of the people had left.
Oshitari-san had gone over to talk to Tsuki-sempai. "Tsuki-chan, you really ought to get some sleep," he had purred.
Tsuki-sempai had sighed and leaned into his hold for a few seconds, letting him kiss her slowly before she pulled away. "No, Yuushi; he needs someone to stay the night with him. The doctor said if the fever continues to rise he might start having fits, and if that happens… I really don't want to think about it."
"Hmm… Why do you care so much about him? Are you in love with him? Why didn't you just tell me straight out, na?" Oshitari-san had demanded of her.
"Yuushi! I don't think of him that way! Our relationship is an utterly platonic one!" Tsuki-sempai had protested. "I'm not kissing him or anything like I do with you!"
"Then why?" he had insisted.
"He's my friend, that's why. If Yuki-chan were in that state, I'd stay up with her too," she had informed him.
They had had a silent staring match for a few seconds before Oshitari-san had broken away. "Fine, then. I'll believe you… for now."
With that, he had walked off. Tsuki-sempai had stared after him for a moment, then turned and reentered Fuji-sempai's room.
"Ii data," I had murmured, smiling to myself.
TSUKI
I really had to respect my mother for being a nurse. It has to be one of the most trying occupations on earth. Especially if you were on night shift.
I managed to stay awake till close to eleven with the help of a Greek comprehension exercise and a research on some numbers (e.g. the number twelve, which is a composite number, the smallest number with exactly six divisors – 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. The densest three-dimensional lattice sphere packing has each sphere touching twelve others, which is true for almost any arrangement of spheres, as shown by the Kepler Conjecture. Twelve is also the kissing number in three dimensions – kissing numbers, in geometry, is the maximum number of spheres of radius 1 that can simultaneously touch the unit sphere in n-dimensional Euclidean space, and the kissing number problem seeks the kissing number as a function of n). But since I had had less than three hours of sleep in the last twenty-four hours, even physics exercises (in Roman numerals to boot) failed to stave off sleep, despite my having the best intentions in the world.
Normally one would say, "Well, if you need to sleep, why not? Your patient is sleeping too." But in this case, things were more complicated. Fuji hallucinated at random intervals, whimpering and thrashing, throwing off the covers then shivering in cold. It was agonizing to watch his pain and misery, to witness his losing battle against whatever horrors chased him in his fevered dreams.
Furthermore, the chair in which I sat was not the most comfortable piece of furniture. I had chosen it for that very property, so that I would stay alert for the longest possible period of time. Even so, I was barely awake when what the doctor had predicted occurred.
We all know that if a fever runs to long unchecked, the brain gets affected slightly, such that the patient may forget to breathe as the brain 'forgets' to send the order for the lungs to inflate. The ensuing oxygen deprivation results in a fit, as the patient fights to take in air again. This was exactly what happened to Fuji.
What woke me was the choking sound. I roused myself, only to find that he was awake, but still delirious. His eyes were wide as they stared into nothingness; his limbs flailing and his backbone arched in his attempts to draw breath. Sad to say, instead of reasoning things out and taking the logical course of action, I went by instinct.
I literally leapt onto that bed and forced him to collapse from the sharp arch by pressing my full weight onto his torso, then caught hold of his flying extremities. Certainly he fought, oh yes he did, and hard. People in delirium have unheard-of strength; where they get it from is anyone's guess. Still, though, I hung on grimly, knowing that if I let go I would be hard-put to catch him again.
Eventually I felt the pressure ease, and he let out a deep sigh. His eyes flickered in a moment of lucidity… "Arigato, Tsuki-chan… I had a fit, didn't I?" he asked.
"Well… yes. And I can tell you it's not pleasant to keep an eye on you at all, Fuji," I informed him.
He smiled. "Sorry. But I think I may have to trouble you some more tonight…" Drowsiness was already infiltrating his voice. "You don't mind staying… with me, do you? I need you…" His voice trailed off, and I knew he was asleep.
"… Need me?" I repeated. Did he really mean that? I decided to disregard it for the moment and climbed off the bed, returning to my chair.
Sometime past midnight, I was woken again. Fuji was shivering uncontrollably; muttering unintelligible things under his breath.
Why was he shivering? The covers had not been kicked aside; the room was still well-heated. Reaching over, I rested my hand to the side of his neck; he was still burning with the fever. Guilt rode me – if I had not let him stay through the whole of my ritual, he would not have fallen sick; if he'd obediently taken the prescription from the doctor, he might be cooling down by now!
Involuntarily, my hands clenched. His eyes flickered open, allowing me to glimpse just a shard of sapphire, not enough to be able to tell whether he was lucid or hallucinating still.
"Tsuki-chan," he whispered, "it's so cold."
"Did the hot-water-bottles cool down already?" I asked, trying to sound businesslike.
"I… don't know… but it's cold…" came the shaky response.
I bit my lip. What other way was there to warm him?
(Flashback)
"Mother, why are you hugging Yuu-nii?" I asked.
"I'm trying to keep him warm," she said.
"But he's asleep. He has covers already too, and I just changed the hot-water-bottles," I pointed out.
"Yes, but he's still feeling cold; it's like that when you have a fever, remember? Anyway, the ultimate way to warm a human is with your own body. It's an important thing if you are nursing your own family. It seems to draw away their pain and warms them at the same time." She fixed me with a stern look warningly. "However, remember that when you do this, it is as a last resort as artificial means of generating heat are ineffective. If the patient's sickness is contagious, there is a dangerously high percentage chance that you will contract it if you attempt this."
(End Flashback)
The artificial means of generating heat that I had immediately at hand were futile now, and as far as I knew, his disease was not contagious. Taking a deep breath, I slowly raised the heavy covers and slid in, tentatively wrapping my arms around him. Hopefully I would warm him and drain away his pain.
It would be worth it, just for him…
FUJI
The first sense that returned completely was sight.
When I woke, I found myself looking out of the window. The crescent moon glowed like the Adamantine Sickle of Greek legends, hanging against the midnight velvet of the sky studded with bright diamonds of stars. Snowflakes floated past, as light as down.
I knew I wasn't hallucinating, for the shadows I saw stayed in the shape they were; the moon did not morph into a real sword and cut the velvet fabric of the sky; the stars did not fly towards me like bullets with my name engraved upon them. I enjoyed the view as I waited for the rest of my senses to return.
When they did, I was overloaded.
Shock raced through my veins, turning my blood cold. "… Tsuki-chan?!"
She did not wake or pull away; if anything, she seemed to tighten her hold. How on earth had this happened? Had I said something while still in deep fever? Had she come of her own will? I did not know.
I could feel her breath on my skin; was sharply aware of every place where we touched. This was not good... I was scared, frightened – and yet, I felt the sense of exhilaration that I rarely experienced. This was something I had never thought of, never considered, never occurred to me even in fevered dreamworlds and nightmare lands.
I tried to ease out of her hold, but once again she hung on, not letting me go. Still weak, I gave up after a moment. Girls, I noticed abstractedly as she buried her head in my chest, were so… soft. And they smelled nice - Tsuki-chan smelled of mint, fresh and sharp. I wonder why.
Carnal longing and primal instinct assaulted the walls of reason and propriety within me. I quashed them violently, forcing them back behind the barriers that held my emotions, barriers that I had built upon for so long.
I would not take her against her will, no matter how much I wanted her. She belonged to Yuushi, no matter what manner of dissuasion I employed. She thought of me as nothing more than a friend, no matter that I loved her.
She shifted, tucking herself to me, molding her body to mine. Instantly primitive desires reared their ugly heads, embittered with their previous loss, mouthing and gesticulating, tearing at the mental barricades I held against them. Closing my eyes, I fought the internal battle.
It was hard, indeed it was. These natural yearnings had brought men and women to their knees, pleading for release; they had suffered at the hands of this feeling, known to many as love. But, bearing down with all the willpower I had, I brought it under control, breaking it to the reins that I held.
Still…
The moonlight reflected off her silver hair. It glowed in the shadowy room like the beacon of a lighthouse in the deep, doubtful darkness of the nights at sea. She had healed me in ways that defied the laws of science. I would respect her, though I longed to know every inch of her in the most intimate manner.
I saw the gentle smile on her lips, and felt my own curve slightly upwards. Just for tonight, I could believe that she was mine.
Even if it was just one moonlit night.
A/N: (goes into a corner to cry) I really can't believe I wrote such terrible mush. Maybe I should stick to humor. T.T but this is a romance fic, and therefore mush is necessary…
Well, to anyone who thinks that I've been neglecting the main pairing, I hope this is satisfying. Key word is hope. T.T
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