Welcome back everyone! Now we can finish up this prequel story regarding Es' first encounter with a fever.
Will Es learn from this experience? We'll find out now.
Riverside Walkway [After School]
It was 3:20 PM as Touya, Hinata, Mei and Akira were making their way to the Himezuru Residence. Normally, they would be having a friendly conversation with Es, however...
"ARGH! Why didn't Es just tell us that she was sick?!" Mei shouted in frustration for the fourth time today, breaking the awkward silence. Around lunchtime, Touya and Hinata explained to Mei and Akira about Es' fever and how she collapsed in the classroom. Needless to say, Mei was NOT happy to hear this as this proved Mei and Akira's worries correct.
"L-Like I said, we can only speculate why until we hear from her..." Touya said nervously as he tried to calm his Shrine Maiden friend down. Sadly, his choice of words only served to incense Mei further.
"You bet she has something to say about it! Making us worry like this! I just...! I...! UGH!" Mei said in anger before covering her face, trying to calm herself down. Ever sense she heard about this development, Mei had to bottle her frustration up all day so she didn't disrupt her class. Akira put a reassuring hand on her shoulder while Hinata placed hers on the Shrine Maiden's back and began rubing it to soothe Mei.
"You're right, Es shouldn't have hid it. But like I said, Touya and Hinata were there for her when we weren't. We should just be thankful it wasn't something serious." Akira followed up as he tried to show her the bright side of this whole mess. This seemed to cause Mei to ease up as she lowered her hands from her face and began taking deep breathes as her eyes began to tear up, surprising everyone.
"Does... doesn't she know better than to hide this sort of thing...? Surly she should have realized... she's suspectable to being sick now...? What if she... she...?" Mei questioned tearfully before trailing off, not having the heart to even finish that sentence. If it was something serious, they would have lost their beloved friend. Not to a Union, not to a demented serial killer, not to a mad scientist, but a mere illness or a deadly disease.
"Don't think like that Mei. The point is Es is okay and her life isn't in danger. When we get home, we will need to talk with her, but we can't yell at her either. Besides, I have a good feeling Yuki may have spoken with her about it already." Touya replied in a reassuring tone of voice as Mei wiped her eyes. A year ago, Mei wouldn't have allowed such a vulnerable side of her to be shown so easily. Now, she's crying because of her friend collapsing in the classroom and nobody can blame her. Deep down, Touya was happy that Mei's heart is no longer closed off to everyone and that she's able to at least speak about her problems to an extent.
"Y-you're right. Kagari, Hina, Kamewari... thank you..." Mei said as she took another moment to calm down before the four friends continued their walk back to thr Himezuru Residence.
Himezuru Residence [Living Room]
It was around 3:35 PM when the four of them arrived at the Himezuru Residence and went into the Living Room to see Yuki carrying a tray with her.
"Sis!" Hinata called out to her older sister to let them know they are home.
"Hey everyone, I hope school went well today." Yuki asked with a small smile. She knew that Hinata and the others were no doubt worried about Es the whole day and thus couldn't speak with them as she normally does.
"We'd be lying if we said that we went on without worrying about Es... but we got through our classes without much issue." Touya answered for everyone present, knowing that everyone is concerned. Tha thankfully, Touya and Hinata were able to catch up on their classwork and didn't fall behind.
"We also brought Es-chan's homework home with us as well, but our teacher said she doesn't have to work on it until she's feeling well again." Hinata added on, knowing that Es wouldn't want to fall behind in her studies while making sure she gets well first.
"That's a good call. We don't need her thinking too hard while she's like this." Yuki replied. She has had rare cases of students in the hospital with their classmates bringing them there homework in, depending on the patient's condition, so she knew what's best in this case.
"What's that you got there?" Akira asked the Elder Himezuru about the contents of the tray she's carrying.
"I made some rice porridge along with a cup of orange juice for Es. It's early, but I figured I make her something to eat before waiting in the Living Room. I was on my way to bring it to her when you all came in." Yuki explained to everyone as they understood what the Elder Himezuru was saying. The rice in the porridge is a good source of carbohydrates, which provide energy that is needed for Es' body to fight off her fever along with soothing her stomach in case her fever upset it. The orange juice on the other hand will help decrease inflammation and boost Es' immune system.
"That's a good call Yuki. I mean, you'd probably have brought some food to your patients before in terms of nutritional value." Mei commented, assuming that Yuki might have brought her patients what they need. This did earn a slight giggle from the Elder Himezuru though.
"Sometimes, but the nurses bring the patients their meal mostly. Thankfully, I've learned a thing or two about what people need when they're sick, including Touya and Hina." Yuki said with a bright smile, recalling how she helped look out for Touya and Hinata at the orphanage and took care of them when they started living together in the Himezuru Residence.
"Yeah, I remember having a terrible stomach ache when I was little, but I had you and Touya taking care of me." Hinata followed up, recalling the time when she had an awful stomach flu with Yuki and Touya having to nurse her. Hearing this made them nostalgic as they always looked out for each whenever one was not feeling well.
"That's true. Than again, I once caught a cold and even Yuki got sick once..." Touya said while scratching his chin.
"Oh yeah, Yuki didn't you get sick two years ago?" Akira replied as he recalled that Yuki, a doctor herself, fell ill that one time. While he can get Touya and Hinata, it was still hard to believe that Yuki, the one who's teaching him how to become a doctor, is still capaclbe of getting sick.
"That's right Akira. Like it or not, even us doctors get sick. The thing is when I got sick, it was a fever... same as Es really. It when I was on the job. Just collapsed one day. Touya and Hina stayed by my side and took care of me for a change. Touya even skipped school one time just to make sure I was alright..." Yuki said as she reminisced on the that time two years ago.
"Really Kagari? You skipped school?" Mei smirked as she raised an eyebrow. On one hand, she can commend Touya for watching out for his Guardian, but it shouldn't be at the expense of his studies.
"H-hey... I was only doing what's natural to family." Touya said nervously, knowing that Mei was lightly teasing him.
"Anyway, I better gets this to Es before it gets cold. Just wait out here for a moment." Yuki said as she began to notice that the rice porridge was losing a little bit of steam from chatting with everyone. Eventually, everyone just waited out in the front room.
Eight Minutes Later...
Eventually, Yuki came back out to speak with everyone.
"Es is currently eating right now. I'm gonna make a call to the Hospital to let them know that I'll be staying for a few days to look after her." Yuki said as she began to dial the number for her workplace.
"Would it be okay to talk with her?" Akira asked, wondering if they can see their friend after hearing what happened to the Azure Maiden. Yuki gave it a little bit of thought, knowing Es needed to rest, but she figured it might put everyone at ease if they spoke with her. Eventually...
"I can allow, just not too long. Es needs her rest after all... besides, she has something she wanted to tell the four of you. One more thing, I already spoke with her about not hiding her illness. No need to harp it onnher again." Yuki replied with a small smile and a wink as she left to speak with the hospital. Touya, Hinata, Mei and Akira all looked at each other and nodded before getting up to see thier friend.
Himezuru Residence [Es' Room]
After Yuki was able to help Es get into an upright position, the Azure Maiden began to eat the rice porridge. She took her time eating her food as to not overwork herself, but kept a steady pace to make sure to eat it while it was still warm. A few hours ago, her stomach didn't feel too good and didn't have much of an appetite, but the Azure Maiden knew she had to eat something and has no intention of letting it go to waste. Eventually, Es got down to the near bottom of her bowl when she heard a knock on the door. As Yuki said, Touya and the others got home some time ago and it looked like they wished to see her.
"Es-chan. It's Hinata. Touya, Akira and Mei are with me. Can we come in?" Hinata asked through the door in a soft tone to make sure she did agitate Es.
On one hand, Es didn't want to see them. Not because she wanted to avoid them, but because she felt bad for worrying them. However, she knew better than to avoid the problem and eventually spoke up.
"You can come in..." Es spoke softly as she waited for everyone to come in. As much as Hinata wanted to hug the Azure Maiden in relief, she reigned herself in and just walked over to where she was as the others walked in not long after. Es was currently in her pajamas, most likely because Yuki helped her get changed sometime during the day. Es sat there as the others stood still in silence for a minute or two until Akira broke the silence...
"So Es... you... you doing better...?" Akira neverously said, wanting to see how Es was holding out niw that she's in bed. Of course, this choice of words earned him an elbow to the side and a glare from the Shrine Maiden as obviously Es isn't feeling too great.
"I... *sigh* I'm not feeling too well... to be honest..." Es replied as she's still disappointed in herself for not telling them the truth this morning. Akira mentally face-palmed himself for asking her that.
"That... wasn't what you told us this morning..." Mei followed up with a soft tone. Earlier, it looked like she wanted to scold Es for putting all that stress and grief on them, but knowing it would make Es feel worse and after seeing her like this, she really couldn't feel the need to be angry.
"I am aware of what I said... I honestly didn't think I was getting sick... I thought that if I just did what I'd normally do... that it would pass. I was not aware that this is what a fever was..." Es explained herself to everyone in the room as she clutched the blankets. Clearly, she wasn't happy with how she just wasn't be upfront with everyone when she wasn't feeling well.
"It can feel strange to people their first time, but there's no shame letting us know that you weren't feeling well, especially if there was no sign of it going away right away..." Hinata replied in understanding as she knew getting sick was not pleasant. When she got that stomach ache, she thought it would pass until she needed help. It was than everyone noticed that Es' shoulders started trembling
"Es? Es, what's wrong?" Touya asked in concern as he took a small step in case. Was she getting faint again? It was then he saw her eyes tear up a little.
"I'm sorry..." Es whispered to everyone as a few tears escaped her eyes onto her blanket. She knew she shouldn't be crying right now with a fever, but she couldn't help it.
"Es-chan, please don't cry... why are you apologizing? " Hinata asked the Azure Maiden as she and the others walked up to her bed. Hinata didn't feel that Es needed to apologize for what happened, although Touya, Akira and Mei understood why as Es wiped her eyes...
"Because I didn't notify you... that I was unwell... and because... I worried all of you without intending too... I remember that before I lost consciousness... I saw you and Touya with worried and terrified faces..." Es said as she sniffed between her words while still keeping her fever in mind.
"If it was something fatal... like my heart or my lungs... my death would only cause you all pain... Yuki made me realize that... that's why I'm sorry..." Es continued, recalling what Yuki explained to her that hiding a potential illness like that would not end well for her or those around her. More tears escaped her eyes as the other walked up to her bed and knelt beside it as they each took hold of her hand. Es flinched a little and her eyes widened as she didn't want to potentially get them sick.
"Please... don't touch me... I don't want you to get my illness..." Es said with concern in her voice for her friends.
"We're willing to risk it if it means that we can confort you. You are our friend Es and the last thing we want is to make you feel bad. Not even Yuki was trying to make you feel that way." Mei replied with a stern look to let her know that she and the others aren't going to leave her be. Yes, the Shrine Maiden was upset by Es not telling them the truth, but she could tell that Es felt bad.
"Besides, we can't afford to be mad at you. It's nothing fatal and the most important thing is that you're okay." Akira followed up with a smile, showing his support to his friend.
"But... I... I'm still sorry..." Es stuttered as she was at a loss for words.
"You don't have to apologize to us. Instead, I would like you to make a promise with us..." Touya followed before asking the Azure Maiden to make a promise, something that caught Hinata, Akira and Mei's attention. Currently to Es and Mei's knowledge, if Touya ever lost control of the Original Grimoire and became the Black Beast, Es promised she would stop him before he hurt anyone. Now, he was asking the Azure Maiden for another promise...?
"A promise...?" Es questioned as she looked at Touya.
"Once you get better, that whenever you're not feeling well again... that you will tell one of us in advance so that we can help you get well again. Not just in regards to illnesses' like a fever, but this includes diseases as well. Can you promise that with all of us, including Yuki?" Touya proposed to Es, wanting her to be forthright with them regarding her health going forward. Es didn't even need to think it over as she knew what her answer is.
"I promise that if anything's wrong with my health again... I'll let one of you know..." Es replied with tears and a small smile with everyone else smiling in reply. Whatever frustration they had with Es melted away as they were just happy that their friend will be alright.
Even the Elder Himezuru that was listening in on the conversation outside couldn't help but smile. While she never intended for Es to feel bad, she was at least happy that the Azure Maiden learned an important lesson that made their bond as a family grow that much stronger.
Riverside Walkway [Friday Morning]
It was aroundIt was around 8:00 AM as Touya, Hinata, Mei, Akira and Es were walking to school together, just having casual conversation and discussing about turning in their lastest report assignment, which all five completed durimg the weekend. However, Es was once again involved in their conversations before her fever came in.
Throughout the week, Yuki stayed with Es on Tuesday and Wensday to help the Azure Maiden recover while Touya and Hinata brought Es her homework in addition to notes from school so she didn't fall behind. Yuki watched her during the day while Touya and Hinata helped out when they got home with Mei and Akira pitching in from noon to night. On Thursday morning, Es' fever broke and she felt like herself again. Yuki however insisted that Es remain home that day before returning to school the next day and kept watching over her until Touya and Hinata came home. With that, Yuki returned to the Hospital, content that she was able to care for Es and that she made a full recovery.
As the five friends walked to school, it was like this whole mess never happened. What surprised the Azure Maiden was when she walked into her home room, she was greeted with warm smiles and welcoming gestures. Es may not know her classmates as well as Touya and Hinata, but this made her feel welcome and warmed her heart, a feeling she would carry onto the Winter Break starting next week.
From this week onward, Es still kept her promise with her family to always come to them is she wasn't feeling well again. After all, she would do the same for her dear family as well.
The only thing she might need help with in the future that Es can't share isn't an illness or a disease thankfully. But rather... it is a matter of the heart instead...
To Be Continued in XBLAZE: First Night at Mei's.
And we're are done. I hope everyone enjoyed this story.
Additionally, I hope this will serve as an important lesson to everyone. If you are not feeling well, whether it's something simple like a flu or a fever or something serious like a heart or lung disease, don't be afraid to seek help from a friend, a family member and even the hospital. It'll help you get better and even save your life.
With that, make sure to read XBLAZE: First Night at Mei's and XBLAZE: A New Start to continue the story of Es and her friends!
See you around everybody!