Chapter 37

"Rima-chan,"

I glanced back at the teacher with an agitated look.

"Um…You are close to Fujisaki-san, right? I have a favor. Please deliver this to her house" She handed me a long brown envelope. I looked at it in curiosity.

"Fujisaki-san hasn't reported to class for three days, and I'm worried that her grades in health class would go down. It would be a shame. That is why I want you to give her those handouts about our latest lessons"

I glanced at the envelope for, smirked, then nodded.

"I'm sure she would find this lesson interesting, sensei. After all, Nadeshiko is a very studious student" I said oh-so-innocently.

"Thank you, Rima-chan!" She smiled. I said my goodbye then headed out the classroom.

Nagihiko has been absent for three days, and it sucks. It sucks how he'd do it just when I admitted (only to myself) that I like him.

"Nagihiko, that idiot…" I sighed.

Neither Amu nor Nagihiko are there for me nowadays- Amu's too caught up in her own secrets; Nagihiko's sick and hardly even calls me.

It's safe to admit that I'm feeling pretty lonely…

In the midst of my thoughts, I didn't know that my legs have led me to the place Nagihiko would rather call a house.

Reluctantly, I rang the bell, only to be greeted by the same maid- Baaya.

"Ah, you're Rima-chan!" She grinned. I bowed my head.

"The teacher told me to give these handouts to Nadeshiko" I handed her the folder but she refused.

"Oh, no! I say that you give that to the young ma-…mistress. She's been very lonely. No one would visit her"

"What about the bur-…I mean Mei?" I wondered. Baaya sighed as she led me in.

"Well, she's the very reason the mistress got sick in the first place…" Then she sighed, "Let's just say that Hanawa-sama messed-up in cooking…"

"Oh! I'm surprised that she doesn't know how to cook" I snickered.

Baaya let out a light chuckle before pointing at a certain door.

"That's the mistress' room" She winked at me before walking away.

Wait. Why'd she wink?

I shook the memory off then turned to the door. It's still the same room we entered last time when our charas got lost- large and polished. With a gulp, I turned the knob then entered.

The room had a trace of sakura fragrance despite the large window leading to the smoky streets. In the middle of the room stood a bed, and beneath the blankets was a buldge. The buldge must be Nagihiko.

I walked towards the bed then lay the envelope next to his pillow.

"Nagihiko…?" I whispered.

I slowly pulled the covers off, ready to slam the envelope on his head, but I stopped myself from doing it once I noticed that he was asleep- his breathing was heavy, his face was flushed, his shirt was drenched…

He must be really sick.

Curious, I started to poke at his cheek, only to pull it back. He's burning up…

Suddenly, Nagihiko's eyes fluttered open. He eyed me for awhile before whispering, "Demon spawn…?"

You know what, forget about me liking him. This guy's a total idiot. I literally slammed the envelope on his face, causing him to flinch.

"I'm only here to deliver these handouts from health class to you so don't get the wrong idea!" I growled. I was about to walk away until he grabbed my hand, the hastiness causing him to fall off his bed. I had to flinch for a second at how hot his palms were. I turned to him with a-what do you want now, tea bag- look. He avoided eye contact.

"Um…Sorry. That didn't sound right. Rima, could you…stay…?" He mumbled. I, being the good actor that I am, held back a giggle then looked away from him.

"Fine, but only because I'm being nice since you're sick"

He grinned then let go of my hand. Slowly, I sat beside him then sighed.

"Your maid said that you've been alone these past few days. Don't your parents take care of you?" I wondered. He slowly shook his head as he observed the envelope.

"They're always busy…" He muttered. Silence insured as I tried to let what he said sink in. There was always an edgy feel whenever he spoke of his parents. I figured that the silence was starting to get awkward, so I said the first thing to come to my mind.

"So…who takes care of you…?"

Nagihiko raised his brows at me.

"A private nurse- but she won't come here today. She's boring, anyway- makes me feel like I'm in a hospital" He replied. I nodded my head in understanding. Suddenly, a question popped in on my head

"What about Mei? Doesn't she come to visit you every once in awhile? Or often?"

Immediately, Nagihiko dropped the folder causing the contents to fall off. He eyes the door a few meters away from him before cautiously turning to me.

I froze.

"Why are you asking me all these questions?" He asked- shakily.

I shrugged.

"I'm bored. But you didn't answer my question"

He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a coughing fit. I stood there, paralyzed. When he stopped, he leaned back into his pillow. Worried, I placed my hand on his forehead and resisted the urge to pull it back immediately.

"Sorry for the trouble, Rima-chan…" He croaked. I flinched at the nickname. He added a 'chan'. I wouldn't admit it, but I was slightly hurt.

"Don't talk. Go to sleep, idiot, Jeez! Don't you know how to rest when you're sick?" I hissed at him. He continued to look at me, causing a blush to slowly creep unto my face. Finally, he sighed then closed his eyes.

After awhile, he was asleep.

"Good thing you managed to make him rest! He wouldn't listen to me and his nurse and continued to work!" I jumped a bit at the voice.

"Yo!"

I abruptly turned to the source of the voice, which was on top of Nagihiko's desk. There sat Rhythm- a smirk plastered across his face

"What do you mean by him not listening to you or the nurse?" I asked. Rhythm sighed then floated to my side.

"We kept on telling him to take a break from working and rest while he was sick but he didn't listen. He continued to do his schoolwork and dance nonstop. He's hardly had any sleep at all!" Rhythm explained. At what he said, I couldn't help but want to slap Nagihiko in his sleep for being so stupidly smart.

"Cross-dresser, it's not enough to know the definition of rest when you're sick. It's also necessary to apply it…" I muttered.

Suddenly, he came to another coughing fit, but this was worse. He could hardly breathe and when I checked his temperature with the back of my hand, he was really burning up. Of course, since I didn't know a thing about medication, I panicked. It was Rhythm that calmed me down and brought me back to my senses.

Hurriedly, I made my way out of the door then let Rhythm lead me to the bathroom.

Pssh. Big house.

When I got to the bathroom, I got a piece of cloth, ran cold water over it then wrung it to keep it from dripping on the mansion's floor. Hurriedly, I made my way back to Nagihiko's room then placed the damp cloth on his forehead.

His face was still red and his breaths were still gasps. I couldn't help but worry, knowing that keeping the cloth on his forehead wasn't working. Abruptly, I grabbed the hem of his soaking shirt then pulled it off him.

I then placed the cloth on his bare chest, down to his navel and up to his shoulder. To my relief, it was cooling him down. I continued to rub the cloth on him until his temperature wasn't as high anymore.

"That stupid guy had me all worried…" I sighed as I used the blankets to cover him. I then slumped into his chair before turning to Rhythm; Rhythm, who was smirking at me…

"…And you had to pull his shirt off…" His eye glinted as he said this.

"Oh shut up! I had no choice. It was the only way to cool him down!" I said, trying to sound as calm as possible. "Anyway, if his nurse isn't here to take care of him, then can't Baaya do it?" I said. Rhythm sighed then looked at me.

"Baaya's always out to do special errands ordered by Nagi's mom so even if she wants to, she can't really take care of him. The other maids are busy too, trying to keep this house clean and presentable at all times" He replied.

"But if he's sick, can't his parents find time to care for him? He nearly fainted while I was here…so what if I wasn't…?" I shuddered at the thought.

A lonely expression crossed Rhythm's face. He fidgeted with his fingers then finally started, "Since you're a good friend of Nagi, I know I can trust you so I'll tell you"

I'm not Nagi's good friend. I still think that I'm his rival…even though I kinda like him.

"…you see, in the Fujisaki family, having a girl for a child is actually a sign of fortune- you can teach them Japanese dances and marry them off to other wealthy men. Of course, there is a deal that the surname to be used after matrimony was 'Fujisaki'"

He paused for a second then sighed.

"When Nagi was born, everyone was disappointed. However, his parents decided to make him live as a girl, anyway"

He let out another sigh, signaling that the next statement was a bad memory.

"At the tender age of seven, Nagihiko met some boys in his school. They taught him how to play basketball and needless to say, he enjoyed it. Eversince then, he refused to dance and follow the family's tradition. Because of that, his parents shunned him; the rest of the family had decided to kill him"

A small smile then formed in Rhythm's face before he said the rest.

"Luckily, Mei was there when the two families were thinking of methods for the murder. She managed to stop them by making Nagihiko promise he'll follow the family's customs and traditions…"

Rhythm trailed off.

Silence ensured as everything slowly sunk in.

The chara continued, "The rest of it is sad. Nagi's parents wouldn't treat him like their child. They didn't want to grow too attached to him, knowing that one day he might go against the tradition. That is why the existence of Nagihiko must be kept secret else the family will have him killed!"

Rhythm finished his story, catching me off-guard. The entire story was difficult to absorb. For a few minutes, I found myself aimlessly staring at the walls.

Nagihiko could get killed…

Nagihiko's family hates him…

I took a shaky breath as I turned to Nagihiko at an angle where it's easy for me to slowly swipe his bangs from his face.

"No wonder you were such a jerk" I silently teased.

"Nee, Rhythm…" I turned to the chara, "…other than my friends, the school, Saaya and Kirishima-kun, who knows about Nagihiko's existence?

Rhythm grinned.

"Baaya"

"Baaya?"

"She is the only adult Nagi is attached to and trusts"

"Oh…" I mumbled.

I'm glad. At least I know that Nagihiko still had people that cared about him despite his past. Slowly, I inched myself closer to him before pecking him at the cheek- close to the lips.

"I'll take care of you…" I whispered.