The Human
Six
in which black catches his first Flu.
Is this death?
He flutters his eyelids open.
Was this how it feels to be dying?
It started the day before, in the evening, with his throat feeling strange, and his head aching with a few occasional sneezes and then life slowly started to leave his godly body.
It was morning now, and Black barely got himself out of bed (not that he wanted to, but his persistent fiancé came to wake him up in her usual energetic way), he barely got himself dressed and he barely made his way down to the dining room. He felt cold and his head felt like it weighed a ton as he sat down on the table to eat breakfast.
Steam rose from the food before him, Black sniffs through a mysteriously clogged nose.
Odd, why was the food smelling so different? Or not smelling at all?
He takes his cup of tea and sniffs, again and again, he doesn't smell the usual smell of tea but he drinks nonetheless. The hot liquid pours down his throat and it was soothing that Black drinks the whole thing in slow chugs.
"Are you OK, Goku?"
He lifts his head up to find both Chichi and her father watching him. He clears his throat, feeling as if something was lodged there. "I'm fine."
His voice sounds different.
Why was his voice sounding so nasal?
"Well, you aren't eating anything?" Ox says, and at this Black looks at the food and unlike every other day, he doesn't feel like eating…
Was there something wrong with him? He almost panics and as if trying to negate that speculation he takes a bite and chews through a stiff jaw.
Why was the food so tasteless?!
Oh, Zeno, something was definitely wrong with him…
Black was so distraught that he instantly got up off the table. Feeling weak and lifeless as he tottered to his room on frail limps, he threw himself on his bed not even bothering to take off his shoes as he brings the covers to his head, he felt even more lethargic than he did when he first woke up. His throat ached, his bones ached, everything in him ached!
A few minutes pass before Chichi knocks on his door. She walks into his room, he sniffs looking at her through tired lids when she comes near with heartfelt concern. She takes his shoes off, disregards them somewhere and comes to sit on his bed.
"Oh Goku, Are you OK?" her eyebrows drawn together.
He shakes his head, he was clearly not. Stupid girl.
Next, she puts her hand on his forehead and she suddenly jolts, startling him with her. "You're burning!" she exclaims right before she runs out of the room. He lifts his head from between stiff shoulders staring with wide and alarmed eyes at her escaping figure, he didn't like the look that wore her face just as she touched him, it frightened him. He lifts his hand to his forehead and feels his skin unusually hot and clammy he becomes aware of the heat radiating from his eyes. Something was wrong with him, he was certain now but there was nothing he could do about it except stare at the widely-opened door, anxiously waiting for Chichi's return.
Only a minute later she rushes back into the room, holding a stick-like object in her hand. "Open your mouth," she orders and as tame as a trained dog, he obeys. She puts the glass stick in his mouth under his tongue and tells him to close his lips. It stays there for a while, he wasn't sure how long but his stomach flips when she pulls it off. Chichi seemed to be reading the thing and when she does her eyebrows crease, that same look of concern is on again.
"What?!" he cries, "Wh-whats's wrong with me?"
She puts the object aside. "Looks like you have a fever."
His mouth becomes even drier if that was possible. Hypothermia, what did it mean?
He sniffs again, his heart pounding as he reluctantly asks, "am-am I going to die?"
Her face changes into a countenance he'd never seen on her before. a mixture of bewilderment and mockery? with furrowed eyebrows and flattened lips. "What?! You're not going to die, you probably just have the flu."
What's that? He felt like he had heard of it before but where?
"You've never had the flu before?" her brow was raised and he shakes his head.
"Oh… well, it's a sickness that most humans get it at least once during their lifetime," she pauses and then proceeds with a softer tone, "must be because you got all wet yesterday…"
He remembers the day prior at the waterfall and anger bubbles up his throat, realizing that it was her fault he got sick. when he tries to say something a bout of cough passes through his sore throat and despite that Chichi looked like she was contemplating something, biting her lips totally oblivious to the panic and agony he was withstanding, utterly making light of his situation it made him boil, but then her lips break into a smile that all of a sudden made the room seem to be a tad brighter and a lot less dreary.
"You're going to be OK," she says, placing her hand on his, "I'm gonna take care of you."
He lays back on his bed, his muscles relax, his eyes close, and all those colorful words on the tip of his tongue dissolved, he felt foolishly reassured.
Chichi hands him a pill, and shortly after he takes it, he passes out like he hadn't slept before.
The next time he wakes up, his body feels warmer that he sheds his covers away, and finds Chichi waiting for him, a bowl of warm soup in her hands. Remnants of cold compress washcloths laid carelessly on his bedside desk and he realizes that during the time he slept she made sure to bring his temperature down.
"Are you feeling better?"
He stares at her, a nagging, comforting warmth spreading into his chest, he felt like he had something to say on the tip of his tongue, and his limps craved to get up and hold her to him.
she places the tray on his lap when she receives no reply. "I'll let you eat."
when she tries to leave he finds himself reaching for hand and his mouth unreasonably spouting, "Stay... stay with me."
why did he ask her that? why did he need her near him? was it another symptom of this Flu thing? nonetheless, Chichi smiles and sits next to him on the bed, and he's helplessly and irrefutably glad...
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A/N: well, this is a sort of filler chapter, next chapter this story is going to move and I didn't want it to feel rushed and so this chapter came out.I hope it didn't disappoint...