Of Heart and Spirit

Chapter 6 - In a Moment of Weakness

Yugi and Tea sat at their desks a little worried. Their friend (Y/n) hadn't shown up at their usual time to walk to school this morning, so something must have happened. "Maybe she just slept in is all..." Tea suggested. Yugi frowned as he shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe..."

"Why are you two moping about?" Joey said as he wrapped his arm around Yugi's shoulders. Tea frowned as she slouched in her seat. "(Y/n) didn't show up to meet us this morning, we're just a little worried is all." Joey frowned as well as he removed his arm from Yugi's shoulders to lean back in his own desk.

They all looked at the clock, it was minutes before classes were about to start. Just before the bell rang, the door slid open, revealing their missing friend. They all smiled at her as she moved to sit next to them all. She sighed as she slouched in her seat. "Sorry guys... Something came up... and I ended up running late..." (Y/n) said, out of breath. As Tea, Joey, and Tristan all told her not to worry about it, and things happen, Yugi watched her with a frown.

Even if she had to run the whole way from her home to the school, she shouldn't be this out of breath, she is just as athletic as Joey. Yugi tilted his head to the side as the bell rang and everyone sat down so class could start. He frowned as he watched her ragged breathing, also noticing the slight flush in her cheeks and the sheen of sweat on her skin.

~Later~
Yugi followed (Y/n) to the cafeteria as the others headed up to the roof. "(Y/n)...?" Yugi spoke as he looked at his (h/c) haired friend. "Yeah Yug?" she asked quietly. "You're sick, aren't you..." Yugi said, it wasn't a question, he knew it was fact. (Y/n) let out a sigh as her shoulders slumped. "Yeah..." she answered softly. "Why did you come into school then?" Yugi asked. "You shouldn't push yourself when you're not well."

(Y/n) frowned as she ran her hand through her hair, pushing it out of her face. "I know Yugi, but..." she bit her lip as she glanced away from him. "My parents have a business trip this weekend, if they knew I was sick, they'd have stayed behind. I know this trip is important to their jobs, so I came into school today so they wouldn't know." she admitted. Yugi frowned more as they slowed to a stop in the hallway. "I figured, since its Friday and all, I would just have to push through today, then I'd have the rest of the weekend to rest up, ya'know?" she said with a small shrug.

Yugi shook his head as he crossed his arms. "Then whose going to take care of you the next couple of days? Yourself?" he asked. (Y/n) frowned as she kept her gaze away from her tri-color haired friend. Yugi shook his head again as he reached out and took her hand. "Come one, we've got to get everyone's lunch!" 

~

(Y/n) and Yugi sat amongst their friends on the roof, eating their lunches. (Y/n) grabbed something extra small, not know if her stomach could take it. "That's all you got, (Y/n)?" Joey asked when he noticed how little she got to eat. "I'm not feeling well, that's all..." she said, unable to lie to the rest of her friends any longer, now that Yugi knew. "You're sick? And with your parents being gone?" Joey said, his eyes widening. "Whose gonna take care of you?" he asked as he sat closer to her.

"She'll stay over at my place." Yugi announced. Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at him, especially (Y/n). "Stay at your place?" she asked as she pointed at herself. Yugi smiled as he nodded his head. "Of course, I can't just leave you to take care of yourself when your sick." he said as he gently patted her shoulder. "That's what friends are for. You can stay in the guest room, and as long as you get plenty of rest and orange juice, you'll be fine by the time school is back in." Yugi said with a bright smile.

The small blush on (Y/n)'s face darkened a little as she gave Yugi a small smile. "Thanks Yugi, that really means a lot." Yugi chuckled softly as he waved her off. "Don't mention it! What are friends for?" Joey chuckled as he wrapped his arm around (Y/n)'s shoulder. "With Yug taking care of ya, you'll be better in no time! His grandpa can make a really good soup too! So you'll be in good hands!" "Yeah! We'll walk you to your apartment so you can pack a bag, then we'll take you right back to Yugi's place so you can get some rest!" Tea said as she leaned towards them. "No friend of ours is gonna be sick and alone! We'll even visit you during the weekend!" Tristan said with a smile, patting Joey on the back. (Y/n) smiled at all of her friends. "Thanks guys."

~Later~
Yugi and (Y/n) waved the others goodbye before going into Yugi's home. "I called my grandpa earlier in between classes to let him know you'll be staying for the weekend (Y/n)." Yugi explained as they moved into the living room.

(Y/n) took in a deep breath and let out a content sigh at the smell of something homemade. "That must be the soup Joey talked about earlier." (Y/n) said with a warm smile. Yugi placed his bag down on the coffee table as (Y/n) sat down on the couch. "Yup! I'll go see how its doing!" Yugi said as he left to go into the kitchen.

Yugi opened the lid of the pot and stirred the soup a bit. He tasted the broth and tried one of the carrots, since they were the part that took the longest to cook. He hummed as he placed the lid back on. "The soup is gonna take a while longer if you-" Yugi paused as he walked back into the living room, noticing (Y/n) asleep on the couch. Yugi smiled softly at her as he took the blanket off the back of the lounge chair and placed it over her.

Yami floated next to Yugi as Yugi covered his friend in the blanket. "She must have been tired." he said softly, even though he knew his voice couldn't wake her. Yugi nodded his head as he sat on the lounge chair. "She's a lot more sick then she let on. Going through school today must have really taken it out of her." Yugi whispered as he opened his bag, going to start on his homework. Yami floated next to the girl at the side of the couch, simply watching her. "You really think she'll be better in just two days then?" Yugi shrugged his shoulders, not taking his eyes off of the papers in front of him. "Hopefully, if not, her parents should be back and we can take her home so she can rest some more."

Yami nodded his head as he reached out, going to brush a strand of hair out of her face, but stopped. He moved his hand back to his side as he remembered he wasn't able to touch her. "You'll wake her when the soup is ready I'm guessing." Yugi nodded his head as he glanced up at her. "Yeah, but for now, we'll let her rest."

Yugi and his grandpa took care of (Y/n) the rest of the weekend, providing her with soup and medicine the whole time. By Monday morning, she felt much better than she had a few days before. Yugi and (Y/n) sat at the table in the dinning room, eating a small breakfast. "Thank you for taking care of me Yugi, it really means a lot to me." (Y/n) said, smiling warmly down at her breakfast. Yugi smiled brightly at her in return. "Of course, (Y/n)! That's what friends are for!" (Y/n) smiled softly up at him as she watched him go back to his breakfast. She bit the inside of her lip as her cheeks warmed. It sounded cliche, but during her sickness, Yugi's kindness and compassion towards her in her weaker moments, really melted her heart.

Yugi frowned as he noticed the flush on her cheeks. "Are you sure you're feeling better? Your cheeks are a little red." he said concerned as he placed the back of his hand on her forehead. (Y/n) smiled wide as she gently removed his hand from her. "I'm fine! It's probably just the sun hitting my face through the window!" she said with a wide smile, waving her hand slightly. Yeah, the sun...