Inko hummed softly as she wandered the halls of the castle. It was nice that she could have spent some time with the king, even if it was something as small as walking in the rain. They didn't do it for very long, maybe an hour at best or less than that. Though, she just hoped that it had helped to lift his spirits a little. Even not by much but a little bit was better than nothing at the very least.

"Inko you okay?" asked Mitsuki when she caught up to her friend. Inko nodded and gave her friend a small smile. "You sure? Because you just ran out of here like someone was after you." Mitsuki said with a frown.

"I saw the king wandering around in the rain the other night. HE didn't want to leave so he asked me to stay with him, just to walk around in the rain." Inko said softly.

"How romantic."

"Huh?"

"I think it's a nice little romantic gesture. I think he likes you." Mitsuki said with a grin on her face.

"Mitsuki, it won't work. I'm a slave, he's a king. Love won't work besides I don't feel anything like that for him." Inko pointed out with a frown on her face.

Mitsuki though, just gave her friend a smile. As if no matter what the green haired woman said it wouldn't help. Her friend was set in her mind set that the king had feelings for her of all people. Inko just rolled her eyes and shook her head a little before walking on ahead. The young woman just wanted to get out of here as quickly as she could.

Yet, the ash-blonde just smirked a little more before rushing to keep up with her friend. "Think about it, he couldn't keep his eyes off of you when he first saw you. Then of course you get told that you're going to be his personal maid." Mitsuki shook her head before letting out a laugh. "What are the odds going to be that you'll end up as the future queen?"

"I highly doubt it'll ever come to that. Me? Queen? You are thinking far too ahead of yourself on that idea." Inko said with a soft sigh before shaking her head and looked up at her friend. "Plus, that would also incline, that I have feelings for the king and him for me."

Mitsuki shrugged her shoulders as she just grinned at her friend. It seemed that no matter what is said, her friend still had it in her head that the king had romantic feelings for her or at least felt something. Though she knew for a fact that the king would never feel anything as silly as love for her of all people.

Shaking her head, the young woman asked "So, have you misbehaved yet?" She turned to stare at her friend, only for the ash-blonde to smile a little at her friend. A sign that she had at the very least, behaved for the others. Though, Inko still had a sinking feeling that she would at some point mess up. There was no telling how long a run such as this would ever last. It was hard to say, but Inko just hoped and prayed with all of her heart that her friend wouldn't mess up.

Even though Hizashi had told her that the king wouldn't punish someone in such ways, but he could still get angry even if he hid that feeling from everyone. Closing her eyes, the young woman shuddered by a slight chill that ran through her body. She had felt like this since she came in from the rain with the king, but she at least went to have a bath. That had at least warmed her up, and brought up her core body heat.

Though she just hoped that the king did the same thing. Even though he claimed to never get sick, she still had the thought in her head that he could still get sick and would try to hide it from others so they wouldn't worry about him.

"So, what did you talk about?" asked Mitsuki.

"Just random things. Our lives and the like though the king didn't have much to share with me." Looking away, she shrugged her shoulders as she added "I don't think he would have shared much of anything with me anyway since I am nothing more than a slave, a stranger to him which I can understand. Though, I did learn a bit about his family."

"Like what?" asked Mitsuki.

"His mother wasn't from these lands. She was from overseas, traveled here in order to learn more about other lands. Fell in love with his father and they married. After that, they had twins, the king and his sister."

"Sister? He has a sister?" Mitsuki said in shock.

"Yes, though she passed away like his parents." Inko said with a frown on her face. "It was the reason why he walked outside in the rain. It was the day he lost his family, I don't know what too, but they were lost to him." Inko said before shaking her head a little and looked up at her friend. I think when it rains and he's overwhelmed, he walks in the rain in order to wash away his pain. I don't think it ever helps but to numb the feeling."

"So he's a rather sensitive man." Mitsuki said with a grin and giggled a little.

Inko groaned a little at that, why must her friend keep bringing up the possibilities of romance with her and the king when there is nothing going on? There is no romance going on and she knew that. So, why couldn't her friend ever see that? There is no way for them to be… well anything.

Closing her eyes, the young woman ran a hand through her green locks before she went to keep walking until she blinked as she saw the king walking toward them. "King Toshinori?" Inko called out.

The king blinked slowly at Inko as she addressed him. Inko frowned a little at that, was he okay? "King Toshinori? Are you okay?" She asked softly, the king just blankly stared at her for a moment before his eyes seemed to spark a little as if he finally saw her.

"Inko, what are you doing here?" asked the king with confusion in his eyes.

"I'm walking while going to my next task. Are you okay?" Inko asked with concern. The king just blankly stared at her. Now that she got a better look at him, the young woman noticed that the king was shaking, not out of anger or fear but… was he cold? Reaching up at the man, the young woman placed a hand on his forehead and almost yelped as she pulled her hand back. "You have a really bad fever King Toshinori." Inko said with a frown.

"I'm fine, I have so much to do." The king said, giving Inko a small wave as if to wave off her concerns. Inko couldn't help but frown at him a little more in concern. Why would he wave off her concerns like this in the first place? He was sick, now that she had a better look at him she saw that he was pale. She even had felt cold sweat on his forehead and it made her frown a little in confusion.

"No, you need to go back to bed. You must have gotten a cold while you were in the rain." Inko pointed out.

"No…" He whispered softly, shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts. "I have too many people who need me." He added in his whispering voice.

"There are other people who can pick up your slack. I'm sure that Shouta and Hizashi can do what you could have done." Inko said before crossing her arms across her chest.

"No… I'm…" Toshinori whispered before his knees to have given out on him. Inko quickly reached up and caught the man in her arms, only to yelp and fall backward onto the floor.

"Mitsuki, help me please?" Inko whined. The king, tall as he was, had his face buried against her neck and Inko had to admit his skin felt rather hot against her own. He was sweating more than before though maybe due to straining himself to keep moving. Inko frowned as Mitsuki was able to help the green haired woman take their blonde king off of her.

"I didn't think he'd fall on you." Mitsuki said with a frown as she helped lean the king against the wall.

"Neither did I." Inko said before carefully walking over to the king and placed a hand on his sweaty forehead. He groaned a little, only to sigh softly against her cold skin. "He's burning up though, we'll have to take him to his room. He isn't that far from us so I hope that this will be enough to help him." Inko said before seeing her friend nod at him. "King Toshinori, can you walk?"

"I… I'll try." He whispered. Inko saw that the king needed a little help getting back onto his feet as he wobbled a little. Inko frowned a little as she helped the man onto his feet and started to hold onto him, along with Mitsuki to his bedroom.

"Are you dizzy King Toshinori?" asked Inko.

"A little…"

"Mitsuki, can you do me a favor after we get the king to his room?"

"Sure, what do you need?"

"I'll need you to get me a basin of cold water, a cloth, some herbs and maybe some soup. It may be best if he has something light in his stomach." Inko said with a frown on her face as she looked up at the king. She saw how glossy his eyes were as he stared at her and she couldn't help but stare at the man in concern. "Don't worry King Toshinori, you'll be okay. I'll take care of you."

The king just blankly looked at her yet, she was sure that his eyes sparkled with relief. It seemed that he wasn't expecting anyone to want to take care of him, and that made Inko rather curious as to why that was. Looking at Mitsuki, the young woman asked "Also, let Hizashi and Shouta know about the king's whereabouts. It may make them feel a little better to know that the king is sick and in his room."

"Alright." Mitsuki said with a smile before walking with the green haired woman to the king's room. Though, the walk itself was rather difficult. The king would stumble here and there or his legs would give out as if he was in and out of consciousness the whole time. It had her a little concerned about the man, mostly about how long he had suffered like this. Had it been since he got inside from the rain or better yet the day after?

Turning her green eyes back up at the king, she saw that he was staring at her. Blushing darkly, the young woman turned her face away from the man wondering why he was staring at her like that. It was rather uncomfortable, but at the same time it made her heart race in her chest. What was wrong with her?

Once they got to the king's room, Inko carefully opened the door and walked with her friend and the king to his bed before laying him down on his bed. The man groaned and whined a little before sighing softly in content as he nuzzled his pillow. Inko wanted to laugh at the scene, it was rather adorable but knew that now wasn't the time for such a thing as this. "Okay, you go on and get what I asked of you and I'll stay here with the king." Inko said to her friend, the ash-blonde nodded her head before running out of the room.

"I'm sorry." Toshinori whispered softly.

"Why are you sorry?" asked Inko.

"Because I didn't listen to you… I stayed out in the rain when I should have gone back inside." He whispered softly.

Inko just gave him a small smile before running her fingers through his bangs. "It's okay, you were grieving. You don't have to tell me what it is, but you were hurting right?" Inko gave him a soft smile before watching the man nod his head. "Just rest okay? I'll take care of you, you just have to do as I ask of you is all." The king nodded his head to her before nuzzling his pillow once again. "Now, I'll need you to change okay? I can help you with your top but your pants you'll have to remove on your own."

Toshinori nodded his head before pushing himself up from his pillow and moaned. Inko couldn't help but frown a little at the king in concern before helping him remove his cloak. It was easy to remove, though his vest and shirt were a different story. She noticed that it was made out of a special fabric that could stretch. Odd, why would he wear such a thing?

Shaking her head, the young woman looked at the king and gave him a soft yet gentle smile. He looked up at her and looked so lost and alone. It nearly broke her heart to see him like this, how could he look so emotionless in his face but his eyes, it was enough to break her heart.

Once she helped to remove his shirt, the young woman blinked as she stared at the king's muscular chest. His well-defined arms yet, she also noticed a few scars on his body. One even looked like someone had tried to ram their hand through his stomach and rip out his organs. What happened for this to happen to him? It didn't make sense to her, she reached out and gently rubbed her fingers against his scar, making him flinch.

"Please don't." He whispered, Inko looked up and saw his face tinting pink. Was he embarrassed by the scars or the memory of them? Frowning a little, the young woman just nodded her head as she pushed herself up. Toshinori looked up at the green haired woman as he tilted his head to her. Inko just gave him a small smile before went to turn away from the man to go and get him something to wear. Only to feel the king grab her wrist in a weak grip. Turning back to the sick man, Inko saw that his eyes looked at her in a pleading way. As if he was afraid to lose her, or that she would just leave him to suffer alone. "Don't leave…" he whispered softly.

Inko gave him a soft smile. He was rather adorable while he was like this, but she also felt like that while he was sick, he tended to allow himself to let his emotions out. That his emotional walls grew cracks in them that allowed his emotions to shine through. Right now, he didn't want to be left alone. "I'm not leaving, I'm just going to get you something to wear is all." She said gently before making her way over to his closet and pulled out his sleep wear before making her way over to the king. "Here, I'll turn around so you can change. Think you can manage that?"

Toshinori nodded his head before Inko turned away from the blonde king as he started to change. The sound of rustling fabric was heard, along with a few grunts from the man as he changed. Inko couldn't help but be curious as to how many times the king had ever gotten sick in the past. If he did, how long was he sick for and not to mention did anyone ever take care of him? Look out for him? It had her curious if his last maid ever went out of her way to help him.

"Are you dressed?" asked Inko.

"Yes…" came his weak reply.

Inko turned around and blinked as she saw Toshinori swaying back and forth as he sat on his bed. It seemed that changing had taken a lot of his strength. Frowning, the young woman made her way over to Toshinori and helped him to lean back. "Think you can eat?" She asked gently.

"I think so." Whispered the king in reply.

Inko sighed softly, she wasn't sure if the king was going to be like this the entire time, yet he almost reminded her of a child. Reaching over, the young woman pulled the blanket over his lap to help build up some warmth for the man. Toshinori frowned a little at the man and was about to ask her what she was doing until she just smiled and beat him to it. "You need to stay warm my king. You don't need to get worse." She giggled a little and sighed softly.

Toshinori nodded his head before leaning against the headboard of his bed as he let out a tired yet exhausted sigh. "Why did you try to push yourself so roughly today though?" asked Inko.

"Because I'm a king, I'm supposed to work hard, I'm supposed to help people in… in some way." Toshinori answered before looking up at the woman, his eyes almost seemed to be shining with many emotions that she couldn't decipher. "It is my job to do, no one else's. A job that was entrusted to me by my parents and my master." Inko frowned a little at that, she felt like it was more than just him being a king that it had to do with something else, something more than that. Yet, she couldn't be sure. For all she knew, he could be talking out of his sickness taking some kind of hold over his mind.

Inko shook her head at the man before reaching over and ran her fingers through the man's hair and gave him a soft yet gentle smile. "You still should let others help you. You can't do everything by yourself you know. After all, I'm here to help you right? You can trust me with some things you know that right my king?" Inko said with a smile.

"Toshinori."

"I'm sorry?"

"When we're alone… you… you can call me Toshinori." Whispered the king, causing Inko to blush a little. This had to be because he was sick. It had to be, there was no way that should the king have been well enough he wouldn't have even suggested such a thing in the first place.

"You'll forget about this anyway. Once you're better, you won't remember." Inko said before letting out a soft sigh.

"Inko I'm back!" said Mitsuki, causing the greenette and blonde to look over at the door. Mitsuki blinked as she wondered what she had missed but shook her head. Inko had a feeling that her friend was going to ask her what had happened later on. "I just hope he doesn't mind chicken broth. It's the only thing that I could think of that would be easy on his stomach." Mitsuki said with a small smile as she brought the tray over to Inko.

"Thank you. I don't think I'll be leaving the room tonight. So if you don't see me until tomorrow morning, I'll tell you what happened." Inko gave her friend with a small smile before Mitsuki wiggled her eyebrows at her friend. The green haired woman sighed softly before watching her friend leave the room.

"Is she usually like that?" asked Toshinori.

"Sometimes." Inko said with a sigh before walking over to the bed and sat on the edge. Looking at the king, she gave him a small smile as she said "Anyway, I hope you're hungry. While you relax, I'll make you some medicine that should help you feel better." Toshinori nodded his head as he slowly ate at the broth, a small spark hit his eyes then and for that Inko smiled at that.

Pushing herself up from the bed, she made her way over to the spare table in the room and pulled out some of the herbs that Mitsuki had brought for her. At least there was one thing that came in handy about being a slave. You learned a thing or two for sure. One of her past master's was a specialist in herbs. Such as making medicine for those who were sick like in Toshinori's case. At least the castle had many herbs here that she could use, or even herbs that she could use instead should they not have any of what she had first requested.

Making sure that it was grounded up into a fine powder, the young woman pulled out a glass of water and poured the contents into the glass before mixing it in properly. Smiling, the young woman looked over at the king and saw that he had finished eating and had set aside the tray where Inko could easily grab it later and take it to the kitchen.

"Full?" asked Inko.

"A little."

"Okay, think you can drink this for me? It'll help you feel better." Inko said with a smile on her face. Toshinori nodded his head slowly, though he looked so exhausted. The young woman carefully handed the king his glass of water before drinking its contents and sighed softly. Letting out a loud yawn, he rubbed at his eyes, it was a rather cute sight for sure.

"Sleepy…" He mumbled.

Inko giggled a little as she got up and helped Toshinori to lay down in his bed. "It'll do that. But it'll help you feel better faster." Inko explained before tucking the man in bed. Though if she was honest, it was rather odd to tuck a fully grown man in bed since he easily towered over her without any issue. Though, Inko watched as Toshinori looked up at her with innocent eyes that reminded her of a child. "Think you can sleep for me?" asked Inko with a tilt of her head.

"Yeah but… um… will you stay with me? Until I fall asleep?" asked Toshinori.

"Sure, sounds fair." Inko said before sitting on the other side of the bed. Just looking over at the man as she ran her fingers through his blonde locks. Toshinori just looked up at Inko and had a faint blush on his face. She couldn't help but just smile at the blonde as she asked "You okay?"

"Yeah… I'm just… rather surprised that you did so much for me." Toshinori said with a soft whisper before letting out a soft yawn.

"What do you mean?" asked Inko.

"My last maid didn't do much for me. Or at least, she did as she was asked of me and the others but never out of her own choices. Then after that she was too awkward being near me so… I wasn't planning on having another personal maid until you get assigned to such a task." Toshinori explained softly, his voice sounded so broken. Didn't anyone help him out of the kindness of their hearts? It didn't make sense to her, did people only do their jobs just because they had been asked to?

Shaking her head, the young woman looked at Toshinori as she said "Don't worry about a thing my king. I'll look out for you, don't worry okay?"

"You said 'king' again…" Toshinori said with a small pout. It wasn't very noticeable, though Inko knew that she had to do something to cheer him up. Even though the pout was rather adorable on the man. Though, she found it to be rather improper to call him by his name without his title. Yet, then again, it wasn't like he would ever remember anything that happened after this anyway so, maybe it wouldn't hurt to go along with it right now.

"Okay, I'm sorry Toshinori." Inko said with a soft smile.

"I forgive you…" Toshinori whispered softly, a soft yawn escaping him before he scooted himself closer to Inko and let out a soft sigh. The young woman blushed a little before giving him a gentle smile. "Don't leave me Inko… don't leave me for Zuko."

"What makes you…? Toshinori, I'm not going to leave the castle with Zuko if that is what you're worried about." Inko said with a frown on her face, causing her to tilt her head to the side in confusion.

"Good…" He whispered softly, a yawn escaping him before he wrapped his arm around the woman's waist and nuzzled against her side. The green haired woman blushed madly before giving the man a soft smile. She knew that he was sick, he wouldn't remember a thing when he woke up. Running her fingers through his hair once again, the young woman knew that the king would sleep well, she just hoped though, that he never remembered this…

After all, if he knew that he did this he may avoid her at all costs.