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Isshin tiredly sighed when he looked over at his clock. Last night, he had gotten very little sleep because of his worry for his only son. Throughout the night, Isshin would wake up and check on Ichigo. His son would be the same each time, asleep but a cough or two would escape his lips. Now, it was five thirty in the morning and the lack of sleep could be seen on the doctor's face.
Yawning, Isshin pulled himself out of bed and got himself ready for the day. Once he finished, he immediately went to Ichigo's room. He found the teenager was sitting up in bed, having a coughing fit. Isshin rushed over to him and rubbed his back until he stopped coughing.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, pushing back some of Ichigo's hair and feeling his forehead.
"Fine," Ichigo answered gruffly, pushing his father's hand away. "I'm fine."
Isshin frowned.
"I beg to differ," he said, reaching over for the thermometer and turning it on. "You still feel very warm. Open up and stick this under your tongue."
Ichigo grumbled but grabbed the thermometer and stuck it under his tongue before laying back down. He knew that his father wasn't going to leave him alone so he just went along with it. He kept his focus on the thermometer, frowning in irritation as the numbers climbed higher and higher.
"This is stupid," Ichigo muttered around the thermometer. "I feel fine."
"Ichigo, you can't talk while the thermometer is in your mouth," Isshin scolded, sighing as he took the thermometer out of his son's mouth, reset it and then placing it back under Ichigo's tongue, holding it there.
Ichigo rolled his eyes and glared at Isshin all the while his temperature was being taken. Soon, the thermometer beeped and Isshin pulled the thermometer out of his mouth, frowning deeply with concern at the result.
"Your temperature is at 38.94⁰C Ichigo," he told him. "We'll need to keep a close watch on it. You'll have to go to the hospital if we're not careful."
Ichigo growled a little in annoyance, causing him to sit up and cough. Isshin, once more, rubbed his back until the coughing stopped.
"I want you to try and get some more rest," Isshin gently told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's still pretty early in the morning and your body needs as much sleep as possible."
The orange haired teen pushed his father's hand off of him and glared.
"I'm fine," he snapped. "I don't need to rest. What I need is to go to school."
Isshin, used to Ichigo's temper, gently shushed him and tried to get him to lie back down but the teenager wasn't having any of it.
"Don't shush me!" he shouted, pushing the hand that was pushing him down away from him.
That caused him to cough some more. Isshin frowned and got Ichigo to lay down while his coughing fit was ending.
"Get some sleep," he ordered, his hands gently pushing on Ichigo's shoulders. "I'll be back with your breakfast in a little bit and after you eat, I'll check your vitals and you can take your medicine."
"No!" Ichigo exclaimed, pushing his covers away and trying to get up. "I'm going to school today Goat face and that's final!"
Then, he used the strength that he had to push his father away from him, which wasn't very far, before attempting to get up. Unfortunately, he rolled out of bed, falling to the floor with a dull thud. Gasping, Isshin quickly went over to him and looked for any injuries.
"Stop!" Ichigo shouted hoarsely before going into yet another coughing fit.
At this point, his father was reaching his breaking point with his son's rudeness and stubbornness. While he was coughing, Isshin helped him up and got him back into his bed, covering him with his blanket.
"You're too sick to go to school today, Ichigo," Isshin told him firmly once Ichigo's coughing fit had passed. "You are going to stay in bed and get the rest you need."
The teen opened his mouth to speak but his father interrupted him.
"No, I'm not going to argue with you," he continued in a stern voice. "You are going to stay in bed. You may read, watch TV, play video games, sleep or anything else that doesn't require you to leave this bed."
"Dad…" Ichigo started.
"You. Need. To. Rest," Isshin interrupted him again. "Ichigo, the flu can get serious really fast and I don't want to have end up taking you to the hospital."
Ichigo froze.
He had a deep fear of hospitals and liked to stay as far away from them as possible despite his father being a doctor.
"We can easily prevent that by you staying in bed, getting some rest and taking your medicine," Isshin continued on. "Now, I'll be back later with your breakfast. After you eat, I'll check your vitals and you can take your medicine. Ok?"
Ichigo inwardly sighed. He really didn't want to be stuck in bed while there were other things he can and should be doing but he knew that if he somehow managed to sneak out of the house without his father knowing, he would be in big trouble with him later. It would be better to not risk it.
"Yes Dad," Ichigo answered hoarsely, nodding a little.
Isshin nodded a little as well.
"Good," he said, putting a hand on his son's shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "Now, get some sleep."
Ichigo huffed but nodded again before relaxing in bed. Approving the action, the older Kurosaki leaned down and gave him a kiss on the forehead before turning around and making his way towards Ichigo's doorway. He paused at the door and turned back to his son.
"Sleep well," he whispered.
Ichigo turned onto his left side, looking at his father with tired eyes.
"Night," he whispered back.
Then, the orange haired teen closed his eyes, almost immediately falling asleep. Isshin gave the sleeping boy a concerned smile.
'I need to keep a close eye on that temperature of his,' he thought. 'And I need to make sure he gets his rest. Even sick that boy is stubborn.'
Isshin sighed.
"I guess I better get started on breakfast," he muttered to himself, "since I'm awake and the girls won't be awake for another half an hour."
He closed Ichigo's bedroom door behind him before making his way downstairs to the kitchen. The Kurosaki patriarch went over to the fridge and took out six eggs, two for each of his kids, and a stick of butter. He then placed them on the counter and went into the cabinets for a frying pan. Once he got out the frying pan, he cut off some of the butter and placed it in the pan. Then, he placed the pan on the stove and turned it on, waiting for the pan to heat up. While that was going on, Isshin took out the bread for toast for Ichigo and some bacon for the girls. Next, he took out a baking sheet and some tin foil, putting the tin foil on the baking sheet. Then, he placed the bacon on the baking sheet and turned the oven on. At this point, the pan was hot enough to cook in so Isshin took out the first set of eggs and cracked them into the pan. While the eggs cooked, Isshin placed the bacon into the oven for them to cook. For the next ten minutes, Isshin cooked the eggs for the girls while waiting for the bacon. Soon the bacon was done as well and while the doctor plated the completed eggs and bacon, Karin came downstairs.
"Hmm, it smells good in here," she said. "Bacon and eggs?"
Isshin turned around and smiled brightly at her, despite his worry for his son.
"Yep!" he said, grinning. "Good old bacon and eggs! I also plan on making toast!"
"I can do that," said Yuzu, his other daughter, who just came in. "Yum! Bacon and eggs."
Then, she went to the loaf of bread Isshin had taken out earlier and took out two slices, one for her and Karin.
"You want a piece Dad?" she asked, picking up a slice of bread intended for him.
Isshin shook his head.
"No thank you sweetie," he said. "I'm content with just my cup of coffee and granola bar."
"Ok," she said, putting the piece down and placing the two pieces she took out earlier and placing them in the toaster. "I'll make it for Ichigo when he comes down."
"Actually Yuzu," said Isshin, "Ichigo is sick so he won't be going to school today."
Yuzu gasped while Karin's eyes widened.
"Is he ok?" Yuzu asked worriedly.
Isshin nodded and gave her a reassuring smile.
"He'll be just fine," he told her, going over to his daughter and patting her head. "If he stays put in bed and gets plenty of rest, he'll be better in no time."
Karin scoffed.
"Yeah, we all know that's not going to happen," she said, rolling her eyes.
Yuzu gasped again and glared at her twin.
"Karin!" she exclaimed. "Don't say that!"
The black haired girl shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm just saying from past experience," she said. "Last time Ichigo was sick, we had to have traps all around the house and someone sitting by him the entire time to keep him from escaping."
Yuzu winced a little.
"That's true," she admitted. "But he was eleven at the time. He's grown up since then!"
Karin rolled her eyes again.
"Still stubborn though," she muttered.
Isshin chuckled a little at that.
"He is pretty stubborn," he said. "Like his old man."
Karin glared at Isshin.
"In this case, it isn't good," she snapped at him.
Yuzu looked at him as well with a scolding look.
"She's right," she said. "Ichigo could make himself worse."
Isshin saw the worry in their eyes as they spoke to each other.
"That's right," he agreed with a nod, looking at both of his daughters. "But it also means that he won't let the sickness beat him."
The twins looked at each other before looking back at their father, concern on their faces.
"He'll be fine," he told them reassuringly.
Then, he kneeled down in front of Yuzu and beckoned Karin over. Once she was close enough, he pulled both of them into a hug. They hugged him back tightly. They stayed that way for a little bit before Isshin let them go.
"Ichigo will be just fine," he told them again. "And I know that you two will also help me make sure he stays in bed and gets some rest."
The twins nodded, accepting the challenge. Then, Isshin stood up.
"Ok," he said. "Now, let's eat some breakfast before it gets cold."
Author's note: I'm not super proud of this chapter. I was wondering if you awesome readers liked this chapter. If you didn't, why? What can I improve on or what should I add. Thank you.