Title: Mostly in Sickness

Characters: Sanada Genichirou, Yukimura Seiichi

Summary: Sanada gets sick one day and Yukimura decides that he wants to play nurse. It does not end well for Sanada, as Yukimura's attempts to make him feel better have varying levels of success.

A/N: Written for the Yume no Tsuzuki Alpha Pair zine. Check out the Twitter (AlphaPairZine) for more info and to view the other lovely submissions.


Every Saturday morning, Yukimura Seiichi would go and visit his friend, Sanada Genichirou, at his really old house. The two would often do mundane things, like feeding the koi fish in the tiny pond in the corner of his backyard, or swinging around an oversized shinai, only for Sanada to patiently correct Yukimura's posture and technique. There were not very typical things nine year old children did, but they both cherished these tiny moments where they weren't playing—or talking about—tennis.

However, this particular Saturday was different. Yukimura showed up around 10:30 in the morning, as per usual, but Sanada wasn't waiting for him at the front door like he normally did. Confused, he lightly knocked on the door, but no one seemed to be coming.

"Hello?" he called out, hoping there was someone who could hear him. "Is anyone home?"

He could hear feet shuffling towards the door before it flung open. Standing before him was Sanada's older teenage brother. Yukimura had only seen him a few times and forgot what his name was.

"Good morning," he bowed.

"Oh, it's you," Sanada's brother said, slightly disappointed. "Thought you were my girlfriend."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"Kid, how old are you?" he asked, interrupting the child before he could finish apologizing.

"N-nine?" Yukimura stuttered.

His brother shrugged. "Close enough," he said as he gestured for Yukimura to enter their home. "Ichirou's in his room. Take good care of him for me!"

Yukimura was now more confused. "Pardon?"

But by the time he turned around, Sanada's brother was gone. Judging from the lack of other noises within the house, Yukimura quickly deduced that no one else was here. He cautiously made his way to Sanada's bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, allowing the young boy to peer through the crack. Sanada was still in bed, but he looked like he was in pain.

"Genichirou?" Yukimura gently called out to him as he slid the door open more.

The boy's speech was slurring and hard to make out. All Yukimura heard was "Sei... You...?"

Yukimura slowly approached Sanada's futon and knelt down. He placed his hand on top of his forehead. "Gosh, you're burning up!"

"...Ichi... Away..."

"You want me to stay away from you?" he asked. "Sorry, Genichirou, but your brother told me to take care of you."

Sanada's pained expression was slowly morphing into confusion. "Where...?"

"Where did he go?" he finished his sentence. "I don't know. He thought I was his girlfriend when he answered the door and then he disappeared."

"What..." Sanada let out a groan.

"Don't worry, Genichirou. I'm an expert at taking care of sick people," Yukimura proudly declared. "Wait here. I'll go make my mom's magic sickness-healing potion."

Sanada was going to protest further, but he found it impossible to move. His body felt like it was made of lead. He braced himself to accept his fate as Yukimura ran off towards the kitchen.

Yukimura returned after what felt like an agonizing eternity to Sanada. There was a disgusting colour-changing drink in one hand and a wet hand towel dripping water all over the floor in the other.

"...It's dripping on the floor," he managed to say using all of the strength he could muster.

Yukimura took a quick glance down at the floor before shrugging. "I'll clean it up after!" He quickly approached Sanada and slapped the sopping wet piece of cloth over his forehead.

"...What are you...?"

"What am I doing?" Yukimura asked. "I'm putting a wet towel on our head to bring your fever down! It's what my mom does."

Sanada's tired brain was getting more exhausted, but he did have to admit that the cool cloth was doing some wonders; even if he should be screaming at Yukimura to wring it out so that the water wouldn't seep into the wooden floors and cause rot.

"Genichirou, don't fall asleep now!" Yukimura pleaded as he tried to shake him awake. "You still need to drink my mom's magic sickness-healing potion!"

Sanada turned his head to the side, where his eyes immediately saw the concerning glass of something he couldn't even begin to describe. He wasn't sure if his stomach was churning from the sight of it or something else entirely.

"I couldn't find your green tea, but I found your grandfather's matcha, which is close enough!" Yukimura smiled.

Sanada was fixated on the floating bug-looking objects within the drink. It took a few seconds for him to realize that his friend had found the bee larvae honey that his brother had bought as a gag gift for their father.

"The honey your mom has in the kitchen is weird. There's like... bugs in it, but it's probably good for you! I can't read the labels, but some of the characters look like the characters I see on my dad's health drinks."

"S-Sei..."

But any attempts from Sanada to stop his ambitious friend were moot, given that he barely had any strength to tell him that there was something wrong. Even if he could muster any ounce of force to say something, his body was too weak to protest.

"Bottoms up, Genichirou!" the unassuming boy smiled as he held up the glass.

But, as luck would have it, Sanada's impending doom was stopped by the shrill shout at his bedroom door.

"Ichirou! Where is your brother?!"

Yukimura looked as if he was a deer caught in headlights as he slowly turned his head in the direction of the voice.

Sanada's mother knelt down to bet at his eye level. "Seiichi-kun, what on earth are you doing here? Where is your brother, Ichirou?" she asked him in a soft tone.

"Oh, him? He went out!" Yukimura proudly stated. "It's okay, though. I took great care of Genichirou in his place!"


Days after the incident, Yukimura was happy to finally see how best friend back at the after school tennis club. Sanada looked like he was full of life again as he calmly made his way towards his rallying partner.

"Genichirou! You look so much better now!" the younger boy said with great enthusiasm. "I hope your mom wasn't too mad at me the other day."

"Mother wasn't angry with you—just my brother," Sanada reassured him. "But, that was a really reckless thing for you to do."

Yukimura looked at him, confused. "Why?"

"You could've gotten sick," he scolded. "I... I don't know if I'd ever forgive myself if you caught what I had."

"Oh, you sound like your dad when you say that," he giggled. "I'm fine. I never get sick."

"You don't know that."

"But, it is the truth. I haven't been sick ever in my life!"

Sanada sighed, knowing that there was no point in arguing about it further. He knew Yukimura would never lose—even at an argument.

"Hmm? Are you feeling okay?"

"...Thanks for taking care of me the other day," he mumbled as he pulled the brim of his cap lower to hide his reddened face.

Yukimura giggled. "What are friends for, Genichirou?"

"I swear the next time you get sick, I will return the favour," Sanada declared boldly.

"Hmm? But, I told you that I never get sick."

"I know, but—if you ever do—I swear I will take care of you."

The azure-eyed boy grinned mischievously. "Then, you'll have to wait for a very long time, old man. I don't get sick."

"So be it," he huffed.