Haruhi awoke the next morning feeling very warm and content. After stretching she shoved the covers aside and sat up while she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Once her vision cleared, she looked over at Nekozawa's bed and saw that it was empty and made. No one had slept there that night.

Assuring herself that it was safe to step outside of the magical circle that was drawn around her bed Haruhi softly stepped across the hard wooden floor in search of her sensei. It didn't take long to find him; Nekozawa was passed out, face-down, on the floor. Haruhi's heart jumped and she quickly ran over to him and dropped to her knees. Gently, she rolled him over on his back and assessed the situation.

She put a hand on his chest and leaned her ear down to check if he was breathing. He was. She then began moving her hands across his various limbs and joints to see if he was physically harmed in any way. He wasn't. She cupped his face with her hand and found that his cheeks were flushed and his forehead was particularly warm.

The black wizard Nekozawa with a healing gift…had a fever.

This new information disturbed Haruhi to no end and she frantically went to fetch various items from around the house. She placed a pillow under his head and tucked him in a blanket so that he may sweat the sickness out, and then she filled the pitcher in the bathing area with cool water and brought with her several washcloths to soak. She placed one damp cloth on his sweating forehead, the other around the back of his neck. There wasn't much else she could do for him now other than keeping an eye on him and switching out the washcloths periodically. Haruhi rolled up the sleeves of her nightgown and tied her hair in a braided plait.

She decided to make some tea.

With a hot mug of tea at her side, Haruhi snuggled into the rocking chair with the quilt from her bed and one of Nekozawa's books. She struggled to read the thick textbook; there were many strange and unfamiliar words and several passages were written in a funny language. Haruhi figured she must have selected a magick book, but twenty pages dedicated to various types of seals and symbols indicated this was a book of alchemy. She must have been reading for well over an hour when her eyes began to droop and she sank into the warmth that the quilt preserved, and the hot tea she consumed was rather calming to her senses.

Haruhi fell asleep, and it was around that time that Nekozawa began to stir.

He began rousing alongside his consciousness and fluttered his eyes open until his vision cleared. This took a few moments, and it wasn't long after that when a migraine and nausea settled in. Nekozawa struggled to reach the healing gift in the depths of his soul and mustered only enough to cure the nausea. Once that was settled he became more than aware of the blanket he was wrapped up and sweating in and the damp washcloth that ended up adjusting to his temperature from lack of being changed. Removing these things he sat up and stretched as best he could; lying on the hard, flat surface for more than a few hours – he was sure – had made his back knotted and sore. He then forced himself into a standing position and held still as the dizziness dissipated from his senses.

It was always like this afterwards.

Nekozawa would regain his strength by the end of the day, and usually he would force unconsciousness and sleep upon himself until sunset when he could summon his Gift and fully recover from the expenses of his ritual.

His vision cleared and he stared at Haruhi snoozing in his rocking chair and then looked back at the mess of rags and blankets he left on the floor.

He wouldn't do it this time, he decided. For once in his life, he would let someone take care of him. He tried walking and immediately collapsed. Haruhi was awoken by the sudden disturbance, and she wasted no time in dropping to the floor and aiding him. She swung one of his arms around her shoulders and shifted his weight onto hers while she helped him to his bed. He was sweating profusely and more than likely very disoriented, so Haruhi took care in undressing him. She got him down to his skivvies and tucked him in bed and then fetched him some cool water which she dabbed on his face and helped him drink. Haruhi remained silent and refrained from asking questions, just the same as Nekozawa who was relishing the feeling of being cared for, despite the misery of his temporary illness.

Haruhi spent the day nursing him and cleaning up the things Bereznoff knocked over the night before. She changed into a lavender pullover with a white apron tied around the front and kept her hair braided. Nekozawa watched her every movement when she came into view and looked at her almost lovingly. His eyes were lucid and glazed over and his hair was damp and sticking to the pillow and his skin.

"Do you feel better?" she eventually asked. The sudden sound of her voice startled Nekozawa, and he had to wait for the thudding pound of his heart to settle before he could answer her.

"…Yes…thank you," he whispered.

"Are you hungry?"

"No, not at the moment, but don't worry about me. I'll be perfectly healthy before the night runs out."

Haruhi nodded in understanding and fetched him another cup of cool water. She helped him to the bathroom, and then retrieved a book for him at his request. Nekozawa guessed she must have been used to this sort of thing, and after remembering the sight of her sickly mother, he didn't need long to figure out that Haruhi was her mother's primary caregiver.

'Such a selfless girl,' he thought, 'She is growing on me more and more each day,' he mused, 'What do you think of her Bereznoff?'

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naraku's Phoenix: To reiterate for one of my reviewers, the other OHSHC characters WILL be appearing in this story. Haruhi will be with Nekozawa for a while – obtaining magick skills, among other things – and the two of them will form a relatively trusting relationship. Also, I need Haruhi to learn some magick before the story can progress.