Shiina Kisaragi's POV:
Jin Narumi was popular from the first day of school. The girls in our class loved him. His cool, mysterious demeanour, added to the fact that he had the best looks in the entire grade, bluntly put, hoisted him up as one of the hottest boys on campus.
In my opinion, though, Jin Narumi wasn't some likeable 'Ice Prince.' He was a heartless jerk. When I was at my lowest, he put me down, and as a result, made me cry. From there, we constantly stepped on each other's toes.
But Jin Narumi had a secret.
He wasn't aloof. He wasn't cool or mysterious. And he definitely wasn't a heartless jerk.
In truth, he was sensitive. He cried and blushed easier than others (me included). Because he found it difficult to be honest, he put on airs when, truthfully, he was nothing more than an awkward ball of fluff.
When I was in danger, he didn't hesitate to sacrifice his life to save me. We had been handcuffed together, so we were destined to perish side by side regardless. However, due to our forced proximity, we were able to clear up our misunderstandings. We apologized and made amends. We got a whole lot closer.
I never would have imagined I'd get along with him so well. I hadn't expected to fall for him, either. Naru's confession—clumsy and adorable as it was—came as a complete surprise. But, because of it, I realized how I felt about him.
We'd gotten off on the wrong foot, we had nothing but misunderstandings, yet here we were now, our feelings mutual.
It was funny how love worked.
All that to say, our story was going to end before it could really begin.
.
.
.
My name was Shiina Kisaragi. Your average seventeen-year-old high schooler.
And currently. . . my life was hanging by a mere thread.
The whole room spun behind my eyelids. Flat on my back, shivering underneath my covers, I heaved and heaved to catch my breath. Although I had a cooling pad over my forehead, it didn't help at all. I was overheating and freezing all at the same time. I sweated through all my clothes. Whenever I coughed, my chest ached. My strength was leaving me.
Even if I wanted to move, I was dizzy. Was it possible to feel super dizzy lying down?
I was dying.
I was going to die.
"On this journey, Mao will search for the cure for Shiina's cold! Do not perish until then!"
Dad, Chie, and Mao had left town hours ago.
Mao was exaggerating, per usual. But, five hours later, here I was: a total mess.
I hadn't been this sick in years. Or maybe ever.
It sounded like an exaggeration, and I was aware of that, but considering how my condition had abruptly worsened, I had little faith in my immune system. Moreover, on the off chance I was minutes from seeing the light, nobody was at home to help me.
With my jittery fingers, I removed the thermometer from under my tongue.
39.1°C.
That was extremely bad.
That was extremely bad, wasn't it?
An hour ago, it was 38.9 degrees. It was getting worse.
This couldn't be happening. I was too young to kick the bucket. The symptoms hit me suddenly last night. A sore throat. A tiny cough. When I woke up this morning, I had a slight fever and a louder cough, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. Since it was Saturday, I didn't have to worry about missing school. But, I did have to sit out on this two-day family trip. As soon as they left, that's when my symptoms worsened, and worsened, and worsened. At some point, I lost the energy to stand so I'd been wrapped up in bed since.
Dad and Chie kept asking and asking if they should stay, just in case, but I stood my ground and practically ran them out the door. After all that, considering they were looking forward to the trip so much, it'd be too embarrassing to ask them to come back. Especially if it wasn't as serious as I was thinking. Moreover, it was dark outside. It'd take a few hours for them to drive all the way back. Not to mention, this late at night, the roads would be dangerous.
Should I call an ambulance? Sure I said I was dying but I wasn't on the verge of death yet. It'd be a waste of time.
Then, Rin-Rin? He was halfway across the country, so that option was out.
Kiharu or Tsumugi were viable options but it was considerably late. They likely were in bed.
My eyelids increasingly grew heavier, my vision blurring.
Of course, if you asked me who I wanted to see most. . .
No. I couldn't be picky and bother Naru.
I didn't like being indebted to Rin-Rin's younger brother, Ryota, but I had no choice. We were neighbours so he could run to the nearest convenience store for me. Plus, he knew where we kept the spare key so I wouldn't have to get up to open the door. I'd treat him to something to make it up to him.
I patted for my phone beside my pillow. Eventually, I hit it, and twisted barely enough so I could see the screen. It blinded me.
Ryota. Ryota. Ryota.
I scrolled through my contacts, in search for his name. But, it was difficult. Aside from the blurriness, I'd reached my limit. With my head throbbing, I couldn't keep my eyes open. My phone hit the bed. I heard beeps. Connecting a call. My thumb had accidentally hit the screen. In my fading conscious, regrets bubbled up inside. If this was going to be my last phone call, I should've just called him. Why didn't I call him?
"Naru. . ."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
A warm, gentle hand.
A soothing caress.
A cold compress on my forehead.
Wearily, my eyelids peeled apart. The light blinded me. Moreover, with my fuzzy eyesight, I couldn't make out the glowing figure hovering above me.
An angel. . .
An angel had descended upon me.
What was this sensation? How could I describe this feeling? It was so peaceful.
The last time I felt like this was in middle school. I'd gotten sick just like this, and Mom took the day off work to look after me. The whole time I was sick was a blur. I fell in and out of sleep. Her gentle touch, however, was constant. She never left my side.
"Mom. . . ?"
The angel flinched.
With every flutter of my eyelashes, my vision cleared, as if to wake me from my drowsy state. Piercing turquoise coloured eyes. Smooth, honey blond hair. As his chiselled features cleared, my heart hushed to a screeching halt. I jolted upward.
"Naru?"
My shout aside, I'd whacked my forehead against his.
"Ow," I hissed, clutching the spot.
What greeted me was a cloth, sopping with water. It was wrung clumsily, leaving my forehead drenched.
Naru, gripping his forehead, fell back onto his knees. A basin of water was positioned on the ground. He stared up at me in disbelief, his big eyes swimming with tears. I'd hit him pretty hard.
One by one, my situation kicked me like a soccer ball to the gut. I was feverish. I was sick. I assumed I was a goner.
"Naru? Huh. Naru? Naru?" I knew I wasn't making any sense.
"W-was the water too cold?" he asked, guilt-ridden. Undoubtedly, he assumed I headbutted him because I was angry. Teary-eyed, he gathered the basin, launching onto his feet. "I'll go change it!"
In less than a millisecond, I was left alone in my bedroom. A huge crash erupted. He'd tripped over his feet, guaranteed.
No. No. No. This wasn't making any sense.
I removed the dripping cloth from my skin, eyeballing it to desperately cement myself to the present. However, nothing aligned.
Naru came over?
He was here?
At my house?
Taking care of me?
Wait, wait, wait.
Think this through calmly.
I had to be dreaming. This was a feverish dream. A hallucination.
I heaved out in relief, and burrowed back under my covers.
Several seconds later, I shot right back up.
Okay! This was definitely reality!
Then, what? Huh?
The last thing I did before I passed out. . . Didn't I call Ryota? I called Ryota!
I dived for my cell.
Naru. Outgoing call. 46 minutes.
I stared and stared, but my most recent call history wasn't clicking.
I. . . called Naru? For forty-six minutes?!
What?
What?
The shock was immeasurable. It took its toll on me. All at once, like the flickering of a light switch, fatigue hit me like a truck. The sudden movements I'd been making, and my high-grade fever, brought me to a lightheaded state. I collapsed onto my pillow.
From my position, I could only watch as Naru tentatively poked his head through the door. He pouted. "Um. . . Should I leave?"
"No! Of course not! Come inside."
This was a scene I would have never imagined, even as a feverish dream. Naru, on his knees, head bobbed in apology. Me still hanging onto a thin thread and bedridden. There were numerous questions I could've started with. But, in order to clear up the misunderstanding, I relied on Naru to fill me in on the gaps.
"You called me randomly," he started. "Even though you did, you didn't respond. You wouldn't answer my questions no matter what I asked. O-obviously, I thought something was wrong."
"So, you came to visit me? And stayed on call with me the whole time it took for you to get here? Just in case?"
He nodded.
I didn't know if it was because of my high body temperature, but my heart melted into a puddle. The whole time it took for him to get here, he didn't let go of his phone.
"How did you get inside, though? Wasn't the front door locked?"
"It wasn't."
.
.
.
What?
"I have a lot I can say about that," Naru added, fists clenched on his lap. His shoulders trembled. "But, the reason it took so long for me to get here. . . I got lost." Voice quivering, his knuckles whitened. "But." His voice cracked. "But, if it was an emergency. . . If you really needed me. . . and I didn't get here fast enough. . ."
If there was a sight I hated more than anything, it was Naru crying.
Now that he was tearing up over my sake. Now that he was crying for my sake. . .
"If you were in this condition, why didn't you call me sooner? When I got here, you were. . . and I. . . and I didn't know what to do. . ."
I really, really worried him. If the roles were reversed. If Naru had called me out the blue, and wouldn't answer me regardless of how much I spoke to him. If I visited him only to find him alone and in a state that could've been life-threatening. . .
"I'm sorry, Naru."
"Why are you crying?"
"B-because you're crying." I rubbed my eyelids, where the waterworks simply poured out, and sniffled. "I didn't mean to worry you. But, I'm fine. I just have a really bad cold, as you can tell. Mao and my parents went on a family trip. I wasn't feeling well this morning so I sat it out. And then I suddenly felt so terrible. It got worse. And worse. And I was scared. I wanted to call somebody. I wanted to call you but I didn't want to bother you so late at night. So, I was going to call my neighbour, but I guess I ended up phoning you instead. . . Honestly, I don't even remember what happened."
All my frustrations bubbled to the surface, and spilled out. Before I realized it, I was in a seated position, cushioned in between Naru's arms. He wasn't the strongest. Although he pretended to be, often, his facade crumbled. But now, at this moment, trembling as he held me close, to me at least, he was the strongest person in the entire world.
"Am I still burning up?"
"When I checked earlier, your fever went down, but it's still relatively high." No bravado, no machoism. He was the sensitive boy I loved. "How do you feel?"
I hiccuped into his shoulder blade. "Way better now that you're here. But, if you stay this close to me, you'll get sick too."
"Colds don't scare me," he said, as if I'd offended him. "I'll be fine."
I laughed.
"Jeez, Kisaragi. You're hopeless." Peeling back, there it was: his obnoxious affront and smile. "I guess I have no choice. Since there's nobody else you can rely on, I'll take care of you."