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Ichigo groaned a little when his alarm clock went off to let him know that his one-hour nap was up.
After his father brought up his stew, he brought up his own and his sisters and they just talked while they ate, like they were at the dinner table instead of Ichigo's bedroom. Once they were done eating, Isshin ushered the girls out and had Ichigo take his nap. The teen didn't want to but he also didn't want to fight with his father so he complied.
Ichigo sat up in bed, the wet cloth that Isshin placed back on his forehead falling off again, and stretched before getting up out of bed and heading to the bathroom. Once he was done, he was going to make his way back to his room when he saw that Yuzu's bed room door was open.
'I wonder what she's doing,' the teen thought to himself.
He went over to her door and knocked on it.
"Come in," came her voice.
Ichigo entered her room and found her sitting at her desk, working homework.
"Math work?" he asked, his voice still hoarse, while walking over to her.
Despite being good at cooking, math wasn't her best subject. Yuzu looked up at her older brother.
"Yeah, and I can't seem to figure out what I did wrong here," she said, pointing at the math problem she was working on.
Ichigo frowned a little and looked over her shoulder at the problem. He scanned the problem, looking for any mistakes. Soon, he pointed at a part of the problem.
"You multiplied this number wrong," he told her.
Yuzu looked at where he was pointing and frowned for a little bit before smiling.
"Oh, I get it now," she said, quickly fixing her mistake.
After she did, she turned towards her brother.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?" she asked.
Ichigo frowned.
"Not you too," he said. "I just slept for an hour and have been sleeping off and on all day. I'm going to spend some of my free time out of my room."
Yuzu frowned back and was going to say something when Karin walked in.
"Hey, I just wanted to know if you started on chapter…" she started, slowly trailing off when she saw her brother. "You better get back to bed before Dad finds you missing."
Ichigo rolled his eyes.
"He's not going to find out that I've gotten up."
Karin opened her mouth to reply when they heard some footsteps and a familiar voice.
"Ichigo, time for your medicine."
'Speak of the devil and he shall appear,' Ichigo thought to himself, wincing as he did so.
The girls looked at each other with a knowing expression on their faces before giving him a look that says 'you were saying?'.
"He will when he goes into your room to give you your medicine and you aren't there," said Karin, raising an eyebrow.
"Shit!" Ichigo muttered, sighing a little, a cough escaping his lips. "That's just great."
Then, he rushed out of Yuzu's room and into his, jumping back into his bed. He got back under his covers just in time. His father entered his room with a bottle of water in on hand and his medical bag in the other.
"How are you feeling?" Isshin asked, handing his son the water bottle.
"Fine," Ichigo answered, opening the bottle and taking a drink. "Just fine."
Then, Isshin sat down next to Ichigo and reached for the medicine bottle on his son's bedside table. He poured the correct dose into the cap before handing it to him.
"After you take your medicine, I want to take your vitals," Isshin told him.
Ichigo downed the medicine before drinking three big gulps of water.
"You don't need to take my vitals," said the teen in an annoyed tone as he handed the cap back to his father, who put it on the bottle and placed it on the bedside table.
"But I'm going to take them none the less," his father answered as he placed the bag on his right side and took out what he needed.
Ichigo frowned but said nothing and lifted his arm up so his father can take his wrist to take his pulse. Isshin took his son's wrist and began to take his pulse and respiration rate. After a little bit, he frowned.
"You were out of bed weren't you?" Isshin asked, sighing as he put Ichigo's wrist down. "And you ran to get back here?"
Ichigo, who was looking grumpy, looked at his father with wide eyes, letting off a couple of coughs.
'He got all of that from my pulse?' the teen first thought before mentally scolding himself. 'Of course he did. He's a doctor. He can tell the difference between pulse rates.'
"Ichigo," said the older man, trying to get his attention.
The teen shook his head to clear it.
"Uh…yeah," Ichigo admitted, looking away from him. "I did."
Isshin sighed again.
"Well, I'll check it again once you have rested for a little bit," he said as he picked up his stethoscope. "Let's have a listen to your lungs then."
"But my lungs are fine," Ichigo protested as his father stuck the ear pieces into his ears. "You've said it so many times."
"I'm just making sure you aren't developing a chest infection," his father reassured as he rubbed the diaphragm of the instrument. "Now, lift up your shirt."
The orange haired teen sighed but did what was asked of him. Isshin listened to his lungs and found them clear.
"Alright," said the older man as he grabbed the blood pressure cuff. "Your lungs are clear. Now, I'm going to take your blood pressure."
Ichigo silently offered his arm and let his father take his blood pressure. Then, Isshin retook his son's pulse and respiration rate. The results this time around were similar to the mornings' results.
"Now, let's take your temperature," said Isshin after he put away the blood pressure cuff and stethoscope.
He grabbed the thermometer and stuck it under his son's tongue. Ichigo glared at the thermometer before looking back at his father.
"Quit glaring at the thermometer," Isshin told him with a chuckle and smoothing back some of Ichigo's hair. "It didn't do anything to you."
The teen turned the glare towards his father before turning away from him in a bit of a huff. Soon, the thermometer beeped and Isshin took it out of his son's mouth.
"Still 38.83⁰C," said the black haired man, shaking the thermometer and putting it back on the bedside table. "I'm hoping for your temperature drop during the night."
"I hope so too," Ichigo muttered, letting off a couple of coughs.
Isshin squeezed his shoulder.
"It will eventually," he said. "But for now, just rest and relax."
Then, he got up and went over by the little TV that Ichigo has in room. He picked up the remote and showed it to him.
"You want to watch TV?" Isshin asked.
Ichigo shook his head.
"Not really," he answered.
His father nodded and placed the remote back where he found it.
"Ok," he said, going back over to him and sitting on the bed next to him. "Is there anything I can get you?"
Ichigo shook his head and grabbed his book.
"No, I'm ok," he said, opening it up and starting to read.
Isshin nodded again before smoothing back some more of his son's hair and standing up.
"Ok," he said. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything."
Ichigo made a 'hmmm' noise to let his father know that he heard him. Then, his father left, closing the door behind him. Ichigo looked up once he heard the door click shut and let out a sigh. Then, he let out a couple of rough coughs.
"This sucks," Ichigo muttered before laying back in bed.
Then, he picked up where he left off. He read his book for about twenty minutes when his bedroom door opened. Ichigo sat up, looked over and saw his sisters.
"Hey Ichi," said Yuzu, smiling a little as she walked over to him with her hands behind her back. "How are you feeling?"
"Um…I'm feeling fine," Ichigo answered, looking a little confused. "I was feeling fine when you saw me twenty minutes ago."
Then, Karin proceeded to walk over to her brother and sister.
"We were wondering if you're feeling well enough for company," she clarified.
The orange haired teen frowned.
"Yeah, I'm up to having company," he said, closing his book and putting it down. "Would be nice since I'm stuck here in bed because of our crazy father."
"Great!" Yuzu exclaimed. "Because I brought something for you!"
She pulled her hands from behind her back to reveal a book. It was an old book that Masaki, their mother, would read to them. Ichigo was still confused.
"You brought me the old book that Mom and I would read to you guys?" he asked.
"I just thought you would like this to be read to you," Yuzu explained. "Mom would read this to us when we were sick and you would do it after she…"
The light brown haired girl trailed off. Ichigo and Karin knew exactly what she was talking about. Yuzu shook her head.
"Anyway, I thought it would be nice if we read to you for a change," she continued.
Ichigo smiled. It would be nice to be read to like when he was little. He nodded.
"I would like that," he told her.
Yuzu and Karin brightened. Yuzu sat down in the rolling chair at Ichigo's desk while Karin sat down next to Ichigo on his bed.
"Ok Ichi," said Yuzu, opening up the book to the first chapter. "Just lay down and relax."
Karin gave her twin a weird look.
"He doesn't have to lay down if he doesn't want to," she told her.
"We had to lay down when Mom and Ichi read to us," said Yuzu, pouting at her twin.
Ichigo chuckled.
"It's ok, Karin," he said, laying down in his bed. "I'm more comfortable this way anyway."
Then, he let out a couple of coughs before turning towards Yuzu.
"Ok, I'm ready," he said.
Yuzu smiled brightly as she began to read. For the next hour and a half, Yuzu and Karin took turns reading chapters of the book to their brother. Once they were finished with the book, Karin, who read the last chapter, handed the book to Yuzu, who placed it on Ichigo's desk.
"I forgot how long that book was," Karin sighed, her voice slightly rough from reading aloud.
"But it was good," said Ichigo as he sat up in bed, coughing a little. "You both did a great job with reading it aloud."
Yuzu blushed but smiled.
"Karin did a better job," she told him. "She can do voices better than I can."
"I like the way you did the voices," said Karin. "I thought yours were better to be honest."
"Well, since my opinion is the only one that matters," Ichigo piped up, "I think that you both did a great job reading and I enjoyed the voices that you both did."
Then, Ichigo started to have a coughing fit.
"Ichigo!" Yuzu exclaimed, getting up and rushing towards him. "You need to lay down!"
Karin scooted over towards him and began to rub his back. Once his coughing began to die down, Yuzu and Karin gently pushed him down onto his bed.
"It's just a cough," he told them.
He eventually stopped coughing and was going to sit up but his sisters stopped him.
"You need to stay laying down," said Karin, holding his arms down.
"Yes Ichi," Yuzu added, pushing on his shoulders. "You need to lay down."
Ichigo didn't try to fight them. He relaxed and eventually the girls let go of his arms and shoulders.
"Maybe we should take his temperature," Yuzu said to her twin.
"We should," Karin agreed with a nod.
Then, the lighter haired twin picked up the thermometer and turned it on.
"You don't need to take my temperature," Ichigo protested.
"Shush Ichi," Karin said gruffly. "We need to make sure it didn't go up."
Yuzu stuck the thermometer under her brother's tongue and held it there.
"Why are you holding the thermometer?" Karin asked in annoyance. "He's perfectly capable of holding it under his tongue."
The lighter haired girl frowned at her twin.
"I'm just making sure the reading is accurate," she told her.
Ichigo rolled his eyes but wisely stayed silent.
"He's fifteen Yuzu," Karin answered in an exasperated tone.
"The reading could still be inaccurate," Yuzu countered.
Ichigo watched his sisters argue with amusement. While they argued, the thermometer beeped and the teen took it out of his mouth, after pushing Yuzu's hand away. Looking at the results, Ichigo shrugged and placed the thermometer back on his bedside table. He continued to watch his sisters argue. They argued for another five minutes when their father entered the room.
"What's going on in here?" Isshin asked loudly, getting the attention of the kids.
Yuzu blushed.
"Well, we were taking Ichi's temperature," she admitted. "But then we began to argue."
"It was kind of funny to be honest," Ichigo added.
"Either way," said Karin, shrugging her shoulders. "We tried to help make Ichigo feel better."
The light brown haired girl brightened.
"Yeah!" she said. "We read the book that Mom and Ichi would read to us when we were sick!"
Isshin smiled.
"Well, I'm sure it made Ichigo feel much better," he said, "and I thank you for helping out. But now, it's time for bed."
The girls nodded before they hugged their brother and father and left to get ready for bed. Isshin turned towards his son.
"What was your temperature?" he asked.
"Same as before," Ichigo answered, coughing a couple of times.
Isshin nodded, sighing a little. Then, he walked over to his son and felt his forehead before smoothing his hair back.
"You need to get ready for bed as well," he told him. "You need the sleep."
"But eight o'clock is too early," Ichigo protested. "It would be like if you asked Yuzu and Karin to go to bed at six."
"Well, you aren't going to stay up until eleven," Isshin told him firmly before softening. "Besides, a good night's sleep might bring your fever down."
Ichigo made a 'hmm' noise and shrugged his shoulders. Then, Ichigo's bedroom door opened and the heads of the twins popped in.
"Good night," they said in unison.
"Good night," Ichigo called out hoarsely.
"'Night girls," said Isshin, turning towards them with a smile. "Sleep well."
"You too," said Yuzu.
Then, they left to go to their rooms. Isshin turned back to his son.
"Go get yourself ready for bed," he ordered him. "I'll be back in a bit to check on you."
Ichigo frowned but nodded. Isshin left the room as Ichigo got up, went to the bathroom and got ready for bed. While the teen was brushing his teeth, he began to cough. He quickly spat out the tooth paste before he choked on it. He waited for the coughing fit to pass before getting a drink of water. Unfortunately, the cough came back and he choked on the water. Ichigo was quickly able to cough out the water and launched into another coughing fit. It took a couple of minutes but the coughing fit passed. Once it did, he finished brushing his teeth and went back to his room and into bed, suddenly not feeling so well.
"I don't want to be sick anymore," Ichigo muttered as he crawled under the covers.
He laid his head down on the soft pillow and immediately fell asleep. A little while later, Isshin came back to check on his son only to find him asleep. He walked over and placed the back of his hand on Ichigo's forehead.
"You're still really burning up," he whispered as he removed his hand. "I wish you were awake so I could give you some more medicine."
Isshin smoothed back more of the orange hair and placed a kiss on top of Ichigo's head. Then he tucked his son in before turning off the lights and leaving the room to let his son rest.
Author's note: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. If there is anything I can improve on or you readers think I should add, please let me know.