A long tiring sigh of grief was sounded through the forest. "Black Rabbit, are we there yet?" Asuka asked with a distressed frown. They had been walking for a good forty minutes straight with no break. On an average day, Asuka would be able to handle it just fine but from being out in the sun for so long, the heat was beginning to get to her as she swiped her gloved hand across her sweaty forehead.
With a look back from the front of the group, Black Rabbit calmly said, "Not yet. We still have another couple miles."
"And why can't we just use our Gifts to get there quicker?" Asuka questioned with an annoyed glare.
"Shiroyasha explained that you should save your strength for the match; apparently, we're fighting against a strong Community," Black Rabbit answered.
You looked up into the bunny's ruby red eyes. "By the way, who are we fighting against?"
Turning her head back, she rested a dainty finger on her chin in thought. "Black Rabbit doesn't know. Shiroyasha wouldn't tell her; only that they're really powerful."
"Oh. A challenge," Asuka smirked, liking the sound of that. She loved a good game that would get her blood boiling.
But once thinking back, Asuka's eyes narrowed, and with a sweep of her dress, the rich girl rotated her body and pointed a sharp finger, threateningly saying, "Izayoi, you better not get in my way of this Gift Game! I wish to participate in it and I don't want you killing the competition before I get through with them, understand?"
However, in her fit of pride and intimidation, she didn't notice right away just how far away Izayoi was from the back. Really noticing now, Asuka saw that he was a good fifteen feet away from them, almost acting as if he were trying to avoid a disease that the three girls had suddenly caught.
"Izayoi, what are you doing back there?" Black Rabbit asked, stopping in her tracks once seeing the boy so far away.
"Ho? Is Black Rabbit flustered that I'm not up there with her?" Izayoi mocked with a grim smirk, stopping in his tracks. His body was a little slumped, but he tried not to let it look that obvious as he put his hands in his pockets to put up a shield of his usual appearance.
Hearing the blonde's words, Black Rabbit's cheeks instantly turned the same color as her eyes. "Wh-What?! O-Of course not! I-I mean-! Y-You idiot! Don't mess with Black Rabbit when we have a Gift Game to go to!"
"Aw. How rude. You're breaking my heart, Black Rabbit," Izayoi said in a soft voice, stifling a couple coughs in his right fist.
"E-Eh?! What are you talking about? I-I didn't mean to-! I-Izayoi, what's wrong with you?!" Black Rabbit shouted, ears straight up in frustration.
Izayoi didn't answer right away, instead, just as he was about to, he felt a horrible itch behind his uvula-one that was just out of reach for him to scratch. He brought a hand up to his mouth, stifling out another cough, but it seemed as he continued to cough, the itch grew more and more stronger with each outburst of air he released.
Before he could contain himself, his body doubled over in a fit of coughing that made his throat burn and his vocal chords raspy and hoarse. Though his eyes were closed, he could hear the urgent sounds of his friends' thunderous footsteps approach him, feeling a couple hands resting on his shoulders to help him let it all out.
"I-Izayoi? What's wrong?" that was Black Rabbit. He could tell, knowing that out of all the girls, she was the quickest to urgency and panic.
"Are you alright? Do you need some water?" that was Asuka, hearing her calm demeanor-never too quick to conclusions.
"Do you have a frog in your throat, Boy?" Izayoi immediately knew that was You since he was pretty sure that the rich girl or the bunny girl would never say something as out of character as that.
He continued to cough until his lungs began to ache with pain. Taking in a deep breath, Izayoi finally calmed himself, wondering where his fit had come from. He had never been sick before, being known throughout his school in his original world as being strong inside and out-never missing a day because of illness. Though, he did skip classes for other reasons: the main one being he was always bored.
He couldn't recall once ever being sick. Course he would cough or sneeze from time to time but never from illness. It made him wonder and it made him a little curious.
"Izayoi, are you okay now?" Black Rabbit asked, a hand still on Izayoi's shoulder as she stared into his purple eyes, half-expecting him to double over again.
But he gulped another breath of clean air and smiled, "Yeah. Why? Were you worried about me, Black Rabbit?"
"W-Well, y-yes, o-of course. B-But not in the way you think it, I-I mean-!" Black Rabbit was immediately confused, which in turn only made Izayoi's grin crack wider.
"Would you quit fooling around? We have a Gift Game to complete and it doesn't help that you're here faking to be ill only for Black Rabbit's attention," Asuka scoffed. "That's so vile."
"Oi, I wasn't faking it, Ojou-sama," Izayoi defended himself with a stern look. "Though I wouldn't mind Black Rabbit nursing me back to help in a sexy nurse outfit." And saying that, he let out a hoard of laughter, picturing the fantasy in his mind.
Black Rabbit let out a fierce growl once listening to Izayoi's words. "You . . . you idiot!" She screamed, once again whipping out her paper fan from who knows where with one hand while carrying the pearl with the other, slapping the boy across the side of his frontal lobe.
Feeling the paper fan smack the side of his head, Izayoi didn't think anything of it, taking it like any would. After all, the attacks never hurt. The pain was equal to one of having their finger bitten by a newborn puppy. It didn't inflict pain, you only allowed it because the perpetrator was cute.
The fan slapped across his face, hitting against his eye, his bangs, his headphone and preparing for Black Rabbit's final assault, he felt the fan hit the middle of his face, before brushing away, leaving behind a horrendous tingle quiver under his nostrils. Instantly raising another fist up to his face, Izayoi produced another fit-a strong interval of sneezing.
"Not again," Asuka exhaled, crossing her arms over her prestigious dress.
Izayoi wished to say something but his nose was fighting against him. It confused him to no end. What was wrong with him? Why was he suddenly reacting this way? He thought back to when he woke up in his room that morning, feeling a little hot from being under the covers, but not hot enough for it to be considered a fever. He also wasn't having such involuntary actions then that he was having now. Was there something in the environment causing his allergies to go off? Then again, Izayoi couldn't recall ever having any allergies either.
"Izayoi, maybe you should sit down," Black Rabbit insisted, putting her paper fan away in time for her to put her free hand on his shoulder again, giving a light push.
He tried to resist but found it almost incapable and found himself falling on the dusty forest trail, which didn't really help his situation at the moment, having only spiked the irritation in his sinuses. For once in his life, Izayoi felt the overbearing feeling of embarrassment. How could act so weak all of a sudden? He was perfectly fine not five minutes ago.
"What's wrong with you, Boy? You sick?" You asked with her emotionless stare.
Sniffling, Izayoi pointed a finger at the animal whisperer. "I'm not sick! Never have, never will."
"Then what's up with you? You have allergies?" Asuka questioned.
"No," Izayoi confirmed, sounding a little congested before taking in another deep inhale through the nose.
"If you don't have any allergies, then what's wrong? What if you are sick?" Black Rabbit worriedly wondered. And raising a hand, reached down to Izayoi's face. "Maybe we should check your temperature-."
Izayoi quickly swatted her hand away. "I'm not sick. It's probably all this dust. Now let's go before we're late." Izayoi instantly stood up with hands tucked neatly in his pockets, his stance so firm you'd never know he was just on the ground in a fetal position, hacking out his lungs.
"A-Are you sure? You look a little pale, Izayoi," Black Rabbit said, once again reaching out a hand as if to stop him.
"I. AM. FINE. Now let's go," Izayoi commanded, and started walking.
The girls exchanged glances, obviously a little worried in each of their expressions for Izayoi's peculiar behavior. But knowing they'd go nowhere with an argument, they trailed after him.
Izayoi, himself, couldn't believe the girls' stubbornness; well, mainly Black Rabbit's. He wasn't sick! He'd never been sick a day in his life! The nerve of them. It frustrated him that they thought he was so weak. All because he let out a couple coughs and sneezes here and there. It didn't mean anything! It just meant the environment surrounding him was affecting his senses more than others. Which even thinking that, sounded a little weird to him. His immune system was the best of the best; he literally had a stomach of steel. So he continued to wonder what exactly set him off.
Thinking in the palace of his mind, Izayoi suddenly felt his cheeks grow increasingly warm. Continuing to walk, Izayoi paced himself as he blinked a couple times to make whatever he was feeling go away. He raised the back of his hand to his forehead and cheeks.
Something wasn't right: they were getting really hot now.
Izayoi blinked another couple rounds as he noticed his eyesight begin to blur and shift from side to side. He was confused. What was going on with him? Why was he feeling this way?
Before he could stop himself, Izayoi felt his condition almost unbearable and letting out a sharp intake of breath, topple backwards. "Izayoi!" Black Rabbit yelled, seeing her fellow comrade fall to the dusty road.
"Izayoi? Izayoi, what's wrong?" Asuka asked, her voice soft and full of worry.
"Boy?" When Izayoi didn't answer, only letting out heavy exhales, You said, "Izayoi? Please talk to us. What's the matter?"
Izayoi's eyes were clamped shut, not daring to open them again. He didn't want to see his world mash up and split; he didn't want to see his world literally upside down. The thought immediately brought up a course of bile up his throat. He couldn't resist as he turned on his side and threw up the contents in his stomach, coughing up what was left.
"Izayoi!" Black Rabbit yelled again, stepping aside the vomit to kneel next to him. And with a swipe of her hand, raised his bangs before resting her bare forehead against his. The littlest touch of contact between skin made Black Rabbit jump with fright and a tiny bit of pain. "Izayoi, you're burning up!"
"What?! Why didn't you tell us, Izayoi?!" Asuka shouted, which only sounded like a sharp pang of sound erupt through Izayoi's head-phoned covered ears.
"We'll deal with this later," You calmly answered. "But right now, we need to take him to a doctor. Something's obviously wrong if even Izayoi can get sick."
Knowing that response was all too true, Asuka and Black Rabbit nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, Izayoi," Black Rabbit whispered to the fallen teen. "We'll get you help."
She was answered with silence as Izayoi was finally pulled away from consciousness.