Karma Akabane sighed as another passerby stared at the red head suspiciously as he carried a girl with braids in his hands, bridal style. The girl's glasses were askew and her face was red. No, she wasn't drunk. It was simply because Manami Okuda started burning up during class and was feeling rather dizzy. Her class only watched as she tripped all over the place and wobbled unstably before Karma stepped in and decided to take her home. He was only expecting to help her get stable as she walked home, but within a few minutes, she passed out completely.

There were no other alternatives.

As the boy rushed the girl to her apartment complex, strangers shot him a questioning glance, but it wasn't the boy's biggest concern. Manami was getting worse by the minute, painful coughs escaping her mouth and her head growing hotter. It wasn't the best situation.

Using the spare key that his poison glasses kept under the lamp, Karma hastily opened the door and rushed the girl inside her room, laying her gently onto her futon and putting a blanket over her. He quickly got up and shut the front door, locking everything. Proceeding over to the kitchen, he opened the creaky, wooden cabinets to check for medicine. Pulling out a small container of Advil, he carefully skimmed the instructions and groaned inwardly.

She'd have to eat before taking it.

He could clearly remember eating lunch with her that afternoon and watching her pick rather listlessly at her bento. She didn't have an appetite then and skipped her lunch all together. He'd just have to cook her something…

Karma frantically searched her fridge, not wanting to waste any time. Since he didn't know the first thing about cooking, he decided against on raw poultry, afraid of giving the poor girl salmonella. Eliminating almost everything in the fridge, Karma, reluctantly, just decided to make her salted rice. She had to eat something.

X

As Karma finished "cooking" (or whatever he did), he quickly cleaned up his mess. No, he absolutely did not burn any pots. Walking over to the glasses girl's room, he knocked. No answer. He walked in and Manami's eyes fluttered open, cheeks flushed. Her glasses were positioned uncomfortably on her face. Karma took them off and brushed a few strands of stray hair away from her face.

"Here we go," sighed Karma, feeding her a spoon of the rice. Judging by the girl's wincing face, it wasn't very good. Karma chuckled to himself, giving her another spoon. Manami hesitated. "Half," he promised. It felt as if he was negotiating with a small child.

Bite by bite, the girl had managed to choke down half of the bowl and one pill of Advil. As Karma tucked her gently into bed once again, he laughed to himself, deciding to stay a bit longer.

But of course, he'd never cook again.