Chapter eight... hopefully better than the previous one? Ja, read on!

Chapter 8

Tezuka sighed, casting an involuntary glance at the empty place next to him. Where was that girl? She had promised to come today. Then why wasn't she here?

His head was starting to hurt.

The incident that caused World War I was the assassination of some guy in Austria… a bishop, I think… yes, definitely a bishop… what was it again? Archduke… Archduke Franz… something…

He groaned. If he managed to fail his history test, it would be all her fault.

Gavrilo Princip shot Archduke Franz… whatever-his-name-was and triggered the war which soon escalated into a full-scale war… Where is she?

This was so not working.

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"Don't worry, Mom, I'll be alright!" She felt she must have said that at least a hundred times by now. "Didn't you hear what the doctor said? I just have to go for this operation and poof! Everything's as good as new!"

Her mother was still not convinced, by the look on her face. "First you go and get a fever, then now this horrible… appendicy-thingy… oh, Maika! Why can't you take better care of yourself?"

"Here," She handed her mother a tissue, who promptly blew her nose into it. "Mom, I didn't have anything to do with getting appendicitis, and you know it. Anyway, it's just a one-off thing. Look on the bright side: If I have my appendix removed now, I won't ever be in danger of getting appendicitis again! See?"

All she got was a sniffle in reply.

"Madam, your daughter needs to go to the operating theatre now." The nurses began wheeling her towards the lift.

"Don't worry, mom!" She called out. "I'll be alright!"

I hope…

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Voices, around her, rising and falling in harmony. She strained to catch the words, but they remained indistinguishable sounds.

I'm so sleepy…

The world of slumber claimed her once again, and she floated off to dreamland.

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"When will she wake up?"

"The anaesthetic should wear off soon."

She stirred groggily, blinking rapidly at the bright afternoon sunlight that filtered in through the curtains.

Wait… afternoon?! I'm late for school!

She tried to sit up, and immediately let out a yell of pain. "That hurts!"

"Maika, you're awake!" Her mother sounded as if she could hardly believe it. "You're alive!"

She rolled her eyes, now remembering that she was in the hospital. "Yes, mom. I'm alive. How long have I been sleeping?"

Her mother checked her watch.

"Almost the whole day, I should say." Now that Maika was safe, a bit of her former briskness was beginning to return to her. "Shouldn't you go shower?"

Maika started to stand up, and immediately sat back down again. Her face was a little pale. "I don't think I want to shower yet…"

My stomach hurts like crazy! It's even worse than before the operation! Don't tell me… Her eyes widened. …they forgot to take it out and my appendix has ruptured?!

"DOCTOR!"

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Tezuka waited, albeit a little impatiently, for someone to answer the doorbell. She couldn't still be sick, could she? He frowned, running over the list of reasons why she hadn't attended class today.

"Ah…" A middle-aged man opened the door, obviously not quite sure what to say to this young man who had just rung the doorbell. "Hello."

"Konnichiwa." He bowed slightly. "Is Maika in?"

Her father, as he surmised, looked slightly surprised. "No, as a matter of fact, she's not in."

He did not say anything, but his question was plain enough.

"She's in the hospital."

To say that Tezuka got the shock of his life was an understatement. "She's in the… hospital?!"

"Yes, the doctor's operating to remove her inflamed appendix."

"A-ah. Arigatou." Still feeling slightly dazed, he bowed once more and slowly made his way out, his thoughts in a mess.

She's in the hospital? With appendicitis? It's not serious, right? RIGHT?

He turned back. "Sumimasen, what ward is she in?"

"Ward C, if I'm not mistaken." Her father was rather bemused. Who was this young man who turned up at the door asking for his daughter, of all people?

"Domo." Tezuka excused himself, and went home to look up 'appendicitis' in the encyclopaedia.

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"Maika, Atobe-san and her son are here to visit you."

Maika sat up, blinking sleepily. "Atobe?"

"Yes. Now sit up and make yourself presentable."

She obediently smoothed down her hair, and got under the blankets. In no time at all, she looked exactly like a sick invalid.

"Perfect!" Her mother exclaimed delightedly.

A series of knocks soon sounded on the door, and it opened to reveal the one and only Atobe Keigo and his mother.

"Konnichiwa…" She pasted a polite smile onto her face.

"Konnichiwa, Maika-chan," Atobe's mother smiled at her. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, thank you." The atmosphere was starting to get a little stifling. Then a brainwave hit her.

"Kaa-san, why don't you go shopping with Atobe-san and catch up with each other over a cup of tea? You really don't have to accompany me, you know."

Atobe's mother brightened visibly. "Yes, why don't we?"

"I don't know…" Maika's mother said doubtfully.

"Keigo can take care of her, ne?"

Whoops… I hadn't foreseen that…

"Shall we?"

And the two mothers walked off arm-in-arm, leaving Maika and Atobe staring at each other.

There was an awkward pause.

"So how are you?" Atobe broke the silence.

"A little tired. It's still rather painful, especially when I move." Maika wiggled to prove her point, and almost immediately regretted doing so. The wave of pain that washed over her was excruciatingly painful.

"Baka!" He admonished her. "Are you trying to kill yourself? Oh, and before I forget…"

"Your… chocolates…" He handed her a gift-wrapped box, looking extremely uncomfortable.

"Chocolates?!" She could hardly believe her ears. Atobe Keigo bought chocolates for her?

"My mother made me buy them," He muttered.

That explained it. "Well, thank you anyway."

He broke into a smile, and was just about to say something when she cut him off. "Are you patronising me, Atobe Keigo?"

"Wha - !" He sputtered. "No!"

"Oh, really?" She arched an eyebrow. "Then why is it that I get this sneaking suspicion that you're being nice to heap burning coals on my head?"

"Now that you mention it, it is a rather attractive side benefit…" He grinned mischievously at her.

His smirk was soon wiped off when Maika bonked him on the head with her pillow. "Ow!" He glared at her. "What was that for?"

"For sassing me," She replied coolly, before proceeding to whack him thoroughly with her ready-made weapon without moving from her seated position on the bed. After all, he was quite conveniently located by her bedside…

And I can't even hit back because she's sick! Aargh! He shot her a death glare, hopping out of the way as her pillow clipped him on the shoulder. "You're gonna pay for this later…"

She looked at him, eyes innocently wide. "Who, me? What did I do?"

His conscience decided there and then that there was a limit to chivalry, and she had just exceeded it. He grabbed her bolster, and the rest was history.

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Tezuka looked at the sleeping form on the bed. Brown ringlets were spread messily on the pillow, a few stray curls spilling onto her cheek. Her lips were slightly turned up in a smile, giving the impression that she was laughing in her sleep. He felt an involuntary surge of protectiveness, and had to remind himself that this was Maika – as in, Tawako Kamaika, the spitfire. But he couldn't help but think that she looked very different in her sleep. She looked so… vulnerable.

Her eyelids fluttered open, and the illusion was broken.

"Tezuka?!"

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So sleepy…

She opened her eyes groggily, only to discern a well-known figure standing in front of her.

"Tezuka?!"

He merely inclined his head.

"How did you know I was in the hospital?" She queried, sitting up.

"Your father," He replied shortly. "Here's your homework."

She looked distastefully at the pile of books on her table. "Mou, Tezuka, I'm sick! Can't I be excused from doing homework?"

"No." Came the immovable reply.

"Just this once?" She pleaded.

"No." He said. "Besides, your arm and your brain shouldn't be affected by your appendicitis. I know your mouth certainly hasn't."

She made a face at him. "You don't have to be nasty about it…" She pouted childishly, but accepted the proffered books.

"So what's been happening at school?"

He slid into the chair she indicated. "Nothing."

"Short, concise, and utterly too general. Typical." She remarked. "Elaborate, please."

He thought of the numerous girls who had attempted to take over Maika's place, without success.

"Nothing much," He amended. "Just a few girls who wanted to sit at your desk during your absenteeism."

"Really?" She sat up straight, wincing a little as her stomach muscles twinged. "Who? What happened?"

"I can't remember their names," He shrugged. "They… decided that they liked their original seat better."

That was one way to put it. The fight for Maika's place had gone on for quite some time, the victor always being dethroned in a matter of minutes. It was extremely annoying, to say the least. The next day, he had simply placed his bag in the seat next to him.

It did work… or maybe it was the fact that he sent death glares at anyone who tried to sit there. He'd have ordered them to run laps, but they weren't in the tennis club, unfortunately. At any rate, he was exceedingly grateful for the fact that it actually worked, because having a girl disturbing him every five seconds and clinging onto him was definitely not conducive for studying.

"Want some chocolates?"

He looked up. "No thanks," He answered automatically. He looked closer, and realized it was a very expensive brand of chocolates.

"You bought it?" The question was out of his mouth before he could stop it.

Maika looked up. "The chocolates? Nope, Atobe gave them to me."

Tezuka was acutely aware of a sudden white-hot surge that threatened to take hold of him, but he told himself that it was perfectly unreasonable to feel that way and simply quashed it, not even bothering to give it a name.

"He came?" But he could not keep the slight edge out of his voice.

She did not notice it, fortunately for him. "Just now. And thanks to him, my back is now officially the sorest part of my body."

He frowned. "Why?" Surely Atobe wouldn't hit a girl, especially when she was sick? No, not even he would have done that…

"Pillow fight," She said dismissively.

He barely managed to keep his jaw from dropping. "He… hit you?"

She smiled sheepishly. "I hit him first…"

"He shouldn't have." Tezuka's voice was decisively harsh.

"Oh, don't worry about it…" She said hurriedly, noting that Tezuka's hands were currently balled into fists. "We're always like that."

He didn't like the way she said 'we'. It implied something… more.

"Tezuka?" Maika was looking at him a little strangely. But then again, he deserved it. It wasn't often that you managed to catch the famed captain lost in thought, after all.

"Hn?" He grunted, not very pleased at having been caught at inattention.

"Could you… do me a favour?" Maika asked delicately. "I'm going to be in the hospital for another three days at least, and my homework…" She trailed off meaningfully.

"Ah, yes." A small smirk formed on his face. "Don't worry, I won't bother you with homework anymore. I won't even collect it."

What?!

"Tezuka Kunimitsu!" She whacked him soundly on the head. "You had better bring my homework, or else…"

He raised an eyebrow, despite being a little startled at the unfamiliar sensation of getting smacked. "But I thought you didn't want to do your homework?"

"Tezuka!!" Why were all the males being extraordinarily smart-alecky today?

Maybe Mars was being a little brat somewhere up there in the universe.

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So how was it? Better? Review, ne?