Hana's Heads-Up: Hey, everyone! Hope life's treating you all well. This theme was difficult for some reason. I had a bunch of ideas, but they all seemed weird. So, I ended up writing this. This one takes place during winter break when Kashino is a senior and Ichigo a junior in high school. Enjoy!

Theme 3: Making History

"Onee-chan? Are you awake?"

Ichigo lifted her heavy eyelids and turned her head to the side. There stood the worried-looking Natsume, whose figure seemed distorted through Ichigo's bleary eyes. "Nn?" she responded tiredly.

"So you are! How are you feeling? Any better than before?" The middle schooler shot hurried questions at her sick sister in bed.

Ichigo slowly put a hand to the side of her spinning head, straining to focus her vision. The world before her spun in all directions and made her feel nauseous. Her dry, cracked lips wouldn't budge to make a sound.

"Onee-chan? Onee-chan! Did you hear me? I'm going out with Mom and Dad to Uncle's shop to get some sweets..."

The brunette faded in and out of consciousness. It got to the point where Natsume was no longer audible or visible. Excruciating heat continued to rage throughout her body, sending alarmed signals to the brain all at once. Her head was a solid rock, heavy and stuck in place. No, make that a rock on fire.

"...is here anyway. Got it? Bye!"

Ichigo was oblivious to her younger sister walking out of the room. The burning pain stung her eyes and made them difficult to open. It felt like she could neither breathe nor think straight. Her entire being was so drained, so hot. It was simply unbearable.

She shut her eyes, a hazy fog clouding her mind. In a delirious daze, the fatigued girl fell into a bottomless pit of raging hues...

~x~

A clang of pots and pans sounded from the kitchen below. Ichigo opened her eyes to find herself in her quiet bedroom, curtains drawn closed. What... Did I fall asleep? Natsume?

She struggled to sit up in bed. Her head was feeling less woozy from earlier. The sound of a knife chopping against a board caused her to perk up. Food! Just thinking about the subject made her stomach growl. She was hungry now after not having much of an appetite for the past few days.

As soon as Ichigo managed to get off the mattress, the cold started seeping through her clothes. It felt like a thousand needles pricking her skin. She hastily grabbed her blanket and draped it over her shoulders to provide some relief.

After the difficult task of climbing down the stairs, the brunette rounded the corner. Her throat was rather sore, and she began to cough dryly into her blanket as she entered the kitchen. At the sound of the noise, the blond standing at the stove turned to face her in surprise.

Ichigo gasped. "Makoto? What are you-" She was interrupted by more painful coughs.

"Hey, take it easy." Kashino set his utensils down and rushed over to his feeble girlfriend. Delighted, she reached out to hug him, but he stopped her before slipping on a surgical mask. "Hold on, I don't need you getting me sick. Now's definitely not the time for me to miss out on stuff."

Ichigo pouted dramatically. "Mou..."

"Kidding. I'll just be careful." Kashino laughed, whipping the mask off. "Sit down. You're staggering." With an outstretched arm, he helped her to a chair at the dining table and sat in one himself. He tucked a lock of sweaty hair behind her ear before feeling her forehead. "You're still pretty feverish."

Ichigo gazed into his caramel-colored eyes. "Why are you here? I thought..."

Kashino removed his hand from her skin. "Your parents and sister went to your uncle's pâtisserie and left you in my care."

"No, not that." She shook her head.

"You mean the internship at the famous chocolatier shop? I cancelled."

Ichigo's jaw dropped in shock. "Why?" she wheezed, exasperated. "You were looking so forward to it and-"

"Shh, don't strain your voice too much." The male hushed the frantic brunette. "I just thought that it's more important to look after my sick girlfriend than interning. Isn't that right?"

Ichigo froze. Mixed emotions surged through her abdomen. The young man standing before her flashed a sincere smile. At that moment her chest flooded with overwhelming joy. However, of course, she still felt guilty. "But what about your studying? The final exams for seniors are coming up."

Kashino took her hand and rubbed it gently. "Ichigo, don't worry. You're the most important person in my life, got it? Nothing should come before you when it comes to priority." He reddened slightly. "And I was really worried too. When your parents told me you came down with the flu as soon as winter break started..."

Her boyfriend was too sweet. For him to sacrifice his own benefits for hers was incredible to comprehend. Tears pooled at the corner of Ichigo's eyes and rapidly streamed down her face before she knew it. What she felt was unexplainable. To have someone care for her that much...

Kashino wiped the salty water droplets from her fever-flushed cheeks. "You don't have to cry, silly."

"But I'm so happy," she sniffled, croaking hoarsely. "It's hard to believe this is happening."

"I had no choice. The girl I love was in pain. I couldn't just leave her helpless."

"Oh, Makoto," Ichigo dried the remaining tears that lingered still. "Thank you so much."

Kashino was about to reply before she erupted into another fit of harsh coughing. He knelt beside her and rubbed soothing circles against her back to comfort her. She breathed noisily, eyeing the blond in exhaustion. He glanced back with concern. "Okay now?"

She nodded and subtly cleared her throat. Kashino stood and walked over to the stove. He ladled out a helping of congee from the pot and poured it into a bowl, which he set before Ichigo back at the table. "Here, I made some porridge for you. I know you came downstairs only because of your empty stomach."

Ichigo cast him a thankful grin before taking ahold of the spoon. After one second of thought, she set it back into the bowl and turned to Kashino. "Ne, Makoto. Could you feed me?"

The nice shade of scarlet painted Kashino's cheeks. "What? A-are you sure?"

She nodded with confidence. Gulping, he snatched the spoon and brought it before his lips, blowing gently on the food. He then reached out with a shaky hand and stuck the food into her mouth.

As Ichigo swallowed, she clutched her throat with both hands. "Ow," she winced afterwards.

"It hurts, doesn't it? Good thing I made porridge."

She frowned. "I'm not hungry anymore."

"Come on, you should at least have a few more bites. Your parents said you haven't eaten much for the past week."

Ichigo sighed and gave in to taking another painful mouthful of congee.

~x~

"I hate the taste of medicine," Ichigo sulked while staring at the prescribed bottle in her hand. Bitter and unpleasant flavors danced on her tongue.

Kashino chuckled. "Who doesn't? You still took it though. Good girl."

Ichigo shook her head wearily and started for the stairs, wavering with each step. After the excitement from earlier, she was drowsy.

"Oi, careful." Kashino hurried to her side and allowed her to lean on him for support as they ventured up to her room. When they reached the bed, Ichigo immediately plopped weakly onto it.

The blond watched the sprawled figure on the mattress. He nudged her up to lie down properly so she could sleep sooner. She reluctantly obeyed. "Mmph, so tired..." she murmured softly once under the blankets.

"Go to sleep then," he told her.

"But when I wake up, you'll be gone." She peeked at him with one eye.

"Don't worry. I'll stay right here with you. I promise."

Ichigo didn't seem so convinced. "Hey, Makoto. Get under the covers with me."

"W-what?" Kashino frowned, confused. "Why, so suddenly?" The request seemed to come from out of the blue. He decided her fever was the cause.

"I'm cold..." She whined, pulling the blankets closer to her body. "Pretty please?" The desperation written in her eyes was irresistible.

The blond crossed his arms and huffed. "Ichigo, my final exams take place next week. I can't-"

Her abrupt sneeze was too pitiful for him to bear.

Kashino sighed deeply. "Fine, I'm coming in with you. But it's your fault if I catch your flu." He slid under the covers on the other side of the bed, making himself comfortable lying next to her.

The brunette smiled at him, wrapping her heated body around his. "You're so nice and warm," she cooed into his ear.

Kashino's face turned flaming red. "Y-you're even warmer than me."

"No, I'm not. It's freezing." She pulled him into a tighter embrace.

He glanced at her worriedly. "You must have chills."

Ichigo did not answer. She continued to hug her dear boyfriend for several minutes, not loosening her grip on him.

"Ichigo? Really, I should get up." Kashino was starting to panic. Too much was going on inside of him, and Ichigo's shallow, raspy pants that fanned his neck were not helping at all.

Suddenly, she leaned closer into his face and planted a soft smooch on his lips.

The blond felt like he had a fever himself.

Ichigo nuzzled his chin, satisfied.

Kashino wanted to scream. "Ichigo! What do you think you're-"

"We haven't kissed in a while," she interjected. "I missed the feeling."

Kashino glared at the delirious girl. "That's true, but now I'll most likely get sick next week..."

"Then," Ichigo smugly grinned, "I'll just have to take care of you like you did for me today. Easy."

The male couldn't believe it. He found himself speechless. Closing his eyes, he sighed and tried to concentrate on another subject. That was impossible to do at the moment though.

"Makoto, I love you," Ichigo whispered, dark orbs transfixed on him.

He glanced back and couldn't resist a smile. "Oh, Ichigo. I love you too."

...

"Another kiss?"

"Just go to sleep, you feverish baka."

Thanks to:

1.) Neko-chan2604

2.) Mikashimotaku

3.) HeArTzCrImSoNaNdGoLd

4.) Yuuki143

5.) NekoIchigo27

Feel free to let me know whether it fit the theme or not! I'd love to hear from you all. :D

So please review! And good luck to those studying for exams! :3