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Isshin was finishing up a fish stew for dinner when Yuzu and Karin returned from home school.
"Dad, we're home," Karin called.
The black haired man turned around and gave them a smile.
"How was school?" he asked, turning back towards the food.
The twins looked at each other and shrugged.
"It was ok, I guess," Karin answered, well, mumbled.
"How's Ichi?" Yuzu asked in worried tone.
Isshin turned off the stove before turning back around towards his girls. They had worried and concerned expressions on their faces.
"I'm not going to lie to you," he told them seriously. "His temperature has risen and he doesn't have much of an appetite. His cough and throat are still bugging him as well. But he's asleep right now, resting."
Yuzu had tears of worry in her eyes while Karin looked even more concerned.
"Will he get better?" Yuzu asked.
"We just need to keep an eye on him," was all he told her. "Now, Yuzu, I want you to plate the food. Karin, you go upstairs and wake up Ichigo."
"No need. I'm already awake," a hoarse voice called.
The three other Kurosaki family members looked over at the stairs and saw Ichigo walking slowly down the stairs. Isshin moved over to him.
"You should be in bed," he told him gently, taking hold of his upper arm to steady him.
Ichigo shook his head.
"I'm tired of being in bed," he responded, pushing his father's hand away. "I actually got up to go to the bathroom and when I came out, I heard you guys talking so I came down to see what was going on."
Ichigo continued to walk down the stairs. Once at the bottom, his sisters raced over to meet him and grabbed his arms, ready to steady him if need be.
"Ichigo, you shouldn't be walking around," Yuzu scolded, frowning at him.
"Yeah," added her twin, also frowning up at him. "Your fever will get worse."
Then, they pulled at their brother's arms and pulled him towards the kitchen table. Karin forced him into a chair while Yuzu went over to the pot of stew and made him a bowl. She grabbed him a spoon before bringing the bowl over to Ichigo and placing it in front of him.
"Eat," the light brown haired girl ordered, crossing her arms.
She looked just like a mom. The teenager would've laughed and argued if he was healthy. Instead, Ichigo coughed a few times before picking up the spoon, not really wanting to fight, and taking a bite of his stew. This worried his father. If he was well or on his way to getting well, Ichigo would have argued with his sister. So, Isshin went over and sat down next to Ichigo. Then, he placed the back of his hand on his son's forehead.
"Oh Ichigo," he said with great concern, removing his hand. "I think you are getting worse. I'm going to call the hospital and get you an appointment for tomorrow."
The teenager looked over at him, a scared look on his face.
"No!" Ichigo exclaimed, his hoarse voice cracking.
Then, he began to have a coughing fit. Isshin leaned over and rubbed his back while the twins watched worriedly. Once the coughing fit stopped, Isshin got up and made his son a glass of water. He handed it to Ichigo, who quickly gulped it down.
"No hospitals," said Ichigo, breathing heavily.
Isshin shook his head.
"This isn't a negotiation," he told him as he got up and went to the phone. "You are going to the hospital tomorrow and getting checked out."
He picked up the phone and dialed the number for the hospital. While he was making his son a doctor's appointment, Ichigo glared at him.
"Quit glaring at Dad and eat, Ichigo," Karin snapped.
The orange haired teenager whipped his head over to his little sister.
"But I don't want to go to the hospital," he protested.
Yuzu laid a hand on her brother's shoulder.
"But you need to Ichi," she said gently. "Now, eat. You'll feel better."
Then, she pushed the bowl closer to him. Ichigo sighed and began to eat, despite not being as hungry as he usually is. He had eaten a couple of bites before he noticed that the rest of his family was staring at him. He glared at them.
"I know I'm sick and all," he said in an annoyed tone, "but do you really have to watch me eat?"
"With the kind of appetite you've been having today, I'm going to make sure you eat something," said Isshin, frowning at him. "You hardly touched anything all day."
Ichigo sighed and pushed away his bowl.
"Well, It's creepy to have someone stare at you while you eat," Ichigo snapped.
Then, he began to cough some more. Once he stopped, Isshin grabbed the bowl and spoon.
"Are you feeling nauseous?" Isshin asked.
Ichigo gave him a confused look but shook his head.
"No," he answered. "But I'm not really hungry either."
His father sighed. He was afraid of that. He scooped up a spoonful of the fish stew and offered it to Ichigo. The teenager moved his head away from the spoon.
"What are you doing?" he snapped.
"You need to eat," the black haired man told him gently, moving the spoon closer to him. "Come on now."
The orange haired teenager scowled at him.
"I'm not a baby!" he snapped.
Isshin took that chance and stuck the spoon into Ichigo's mouth. Ichigo swallowed the stew before grabbing the spoon and snatching it away from his father. The older man raised his hands in surrender.
"Ok, ok," he said gently. "Take it easy."
The orange haired teenager slammed the spoon onto the table before standing up.
"Just leave me alone, damn it!" Ichigo snapped before stomping towards the stairs.
Then, once he reached the stairs, he collapsed in a coughing fit. Yuzu gasped while Karin yelled her brother's name. Isshin raced over and placed the back of his hand on his son's forehead.
"Let's get you back to bed," he told him.
Then, he helped a still coughing Ichigo up before picking him up bridal style. He walked up the stairs, the girls following, and back towards his son's bed room. Once there, Isshin placed Ichigo on his bed before covering him with his blanket and giving his shoulder a slight squeeze while waiting for the coughing fit to dissipate. Soon, it did and Ichigo was breathing heavily.
"You need to settle down," he told him, placing his hand on his son's chest.
Isshin could feel Ichigo's chest quickly rising and falling, getting the oxygen that he needs, but he wasn't struggling, which was relieving to his father. The teenager nodded tiredly before weakly pushing his father's hand away.
"I am calm," Ichigo told him, his breathing slowly going back to normal.
Isshin nodded before picking up the thermometer and sticking it under Ichigo's tongue.
"Just relax," he gently ordered. "I'll be right back with a cool towel."
Then, the older man straightened up before leaving to go get the cold cloth. Karin and Yuzu went over to their brother's bed, Yuzu sitting down next to him. She felt his forehead.
"Wow, Ichi," she whispered worriedly, removing her hand. "You're burning up."
Ichigo, not really in the mood to hear any more about his fever, groaned and shifted his position.
"It's nothing to worry about," he spoke around the thermometer.
The black haired twin frowned.
"Quit downplaying it!" Karin snapped at him. "It is something to worry about if you're running a high temperature."
The light brown haired twin frowned at her sister.
"Karin, don't snap at him," she told her. "He's sick. He shouldn't be yelled at."
Karin turned back to her.
"Well, he shouldn't tell us to not worry when it's clearly something to worry about," she responded.
Ichigo sighed while his sisters argued.
"It's nothing," he muttered.
Suddenly, the thermometer began to beep. Isshin came back at that moment with the wet cloth and placed it on top of Ichigo's forehead before taking the instrument out of his mouth.
"Girls," the father of the three warned, giving them a look before looking at the results on the thermometer.
Surprisingly, Ichigo's temperature hadn't gone up like Isshin originally thought. Instead, it had gone down but not by much.
"38.83⁰C," Isshin read, shaking the thermometer. "Well, at least your temperature dropped a little."
Then, he placed the thermometer on the bedside table and placed the back of his hand on his son's cheek for a little bit before removing it.
"But I wish it was gone," Karin piped up.
"We all do," Yuzu added.
The orange haired teen nodded as well, looking over at his father.
"Especially me," Ichigo hoarsely spoke up, staying quiet until now.
"Well, if you want to get better, Ichigo," said Isshin, looking at his son, "you need to get some more rest. Come on girls. Let's give Ichigo some peace and quiet."
He started towards the door and was going to leave but noticed that there weren't any footsteps behind him. Isshin turned around and saw that the girls were still standing around Ichigo's bed. They were watching him with concern in their eyes.
"Yuzu, Karin," said Isshin with a sigh, walking back over to them. "Come on now. Ichigo needs to rest."
"For your information Old Man," Ichigo snapped, sitting up in bed and ignoring the wet cloth falling into his lap, "I am resting. I'm not moving aren't I? Isn't that what resting is? Not moving around?"
Isshin frowned at Ichigo.
"You need to watch your attitude with me, young man," Isshin warned before nodding. "But yes, that is what resting is. However, it also means getting sleep."
The orange haired teen rolled his eyes and groaned before falling back onto his bed.
"I've been sleeping all freaking day!" the teen complained. "I don't want to sleep anymore!"
"I know you don't want to sleep anymore," his father told him. "But it will help in the long run."
Ichigo glared at him.
"Dad's right Ichi," Yuzu spoke. "You'll get better quicker if you sleep."
"But I don't want to sleep now!" Ichigo snapped, looking at the light brown haired girl.
"You do realize that you sound like a child right now Ichigo," Karin added in an annoyed tone.
Ichigo turned and fixed his glare on his little sister.
"Oh shut up!" the teen snapped once more, sitting up again. "If you were in my position, you would be doing the same thing!"
Isshin gave his oldest child a sharp glare.
"Ichigo Tsukiya Kurosaki, don't you dare speak to your sisters like that!" Isshin snapped, causing the boy to look over at him with his eyes wide.
The twin girls were also looking at Isshin with wide eyes. The patriarch wasn't surprised by the reactions of his children. It was extremely rare for him to get like this.
"Now," said Isshin to Ichigo, "you will apologize to the girls and then you will stop this disrespectful attitude this instant. I understand that you don't like being sick and stuck in bed all day. Nobody does. But that doesn't excuse your attitude with me and your sisters."
Ichigo winced. He had been treating his family badly. They were just trying to help him feel better and all he's been doing is snapping at them and not even thanking them. The orange haired teen turned towards his sisters.
"I'm sorry Yuzu, Karin," Ichigo apologized, looking at his sisters with a sorry look on his face. "I shouldn't have treated you guys the way I have been."
Then, he turned towards his father.
"And I'm sorry too Dad. I know that you're trying to help too."
Isshin gave him a small smile and smoothed back some of the teen's hair.
"It's alright Ichigo," he told him. "I know you're sorry."
"And we forgive you too," Yuzu added, smiling, before looking at her sister. "Right Karin?"
The black haired girl nodded.
"Yeah, we forgive you Ichi," she said.
Knowing that he was forgiven, Ichigo gave them a small smile as well.
"Now, Ichigo," said Isshin, getting the boy's attention, "Going back to the matter at hand, I want you to try to eat some more and get some more rest. So I have a couple of options."
Ichigo frowned but nodded, knowing he won't like either of the options.
"You can either eat some more of your dinner and then take a bit of a nap," Isshin continued, "or you can take a small nap now and eat later."
Ichigo winced at the thought of sleeping some more.
"How long would this 'nap' last?" the teenager asked.
Isshin shrugged.
"About an hour but that's if you don't want to sleep more," he said.
Ichigo made a face.
"Is there another option that doesn't involving me sleeping more?"
Isshin shook his head.
"Nope, sorry bud," he said.
Ichigo groaned a little.
"Ok," he muttered. "I guess I'll eat first."
To him, it was better to not fight with his father and just do what he was asked to do.
"Ok," said Isshin, smoothing back some more of Ichigo's hair. "I'll go heat up the stew and bring it up for you."
"And we can keep you company while you eat," Yuzu added.
The orange haired teen's eyes widened a little but he nodded.
"I would like that," said Ichigo with a smile.
Isshin smiled.
"I'll go get your stew," he said.
Then, he left to get the food.
Author's note: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. If there is anything you awesome readers think I should add or improve on, please let me know. Thank you.