“ 𝑲𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒚𝒂𝒎𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒌 ?”
.
𝟏
“ Lock the door. And wake your brother up.” Miwa instructed Kotei before planting a quick kiss on her forehead and leaving in a hurry.
Kotei dutifully locked the door. March was near and she's soon gonna get into grade school. And for that she's really excited. Not being able to contain her thrills she tiptoed towards her brother’s room and lightly knocked on his door.
“ Nii-chan, are you awake ?” She whispered.
“...”
“ Niiiiiii-chan ?” She looked at the end of the dark corridor. Her new year resolution was to keep being a good girl and that's the reason she didn't want to burst into his room. But repeated knocking had no effect, overall.“ Onii-chan, Kotei's coming in,” she again whispered before pushing the door open and peeping inside the room.
The curtains were drawn indicating he was still in bed. She walked towards him and with little effort got onto his bed. His back was facing her and the blanket almost covered his face.
Cautiously, she poked on his shoulder.“ Nii-chan, it's morning. Wakey wakey,” she whispered near his ears, cupping her mouth with her hands. Turning upwards she placed her ears near his face for a reply but it never came.“ Huh ?” She noticed how red his face was and his eyes were squeezed, tightly.
Kotei got scared when he did not respond.“ Nii-chan, yer face is so red like a cherry.” She nudged him and he groaned in his sleep. Panting heavily he gradually turned to lay on his back and ever so slowly opened his eyes.
Kotei gasped as she remembered something. She had been like this before once, during the training camp. At that time Kageyama had touched her forehead to check something. So following that she rested her palm on his sweaty forehead too.
It was burning.
“ Nii-chan is so hot ! Oh no ! Nii-chan has a fever ?” She panicked.
In the meantime, Kageyama sat up feeling very weak. Did he fall sick ? How ? It's all that dumbass Hinata’s fault ! Well, he's the only one he could blame at the moment. Pushing Kotei aside he attempted to get off the bed but immediately dropped to his knees.
“ N-nii-chan ! Wah, nii-chan, don't die !” Kotei jumped down and tried to support his weight but it didn't seem to do much.
“ Move. I'm fine.” He couldn't get up so he crawled towards the door only to feel a harsh tug at his shirt.
“ Nii-chan, you don't move. Remember, during training camp, nii-chan told Kotei not to move much. So nii-chan should sleep and rest.”
“ Right.” He didn't resist and sat down on the floor with a thump. With his condition, he couldn't even move properly. But the remedies can't be left unchecked. He has to have a proper meal to put back some strength into his body. Hesitantly, he faced Kotei.“ Can you fetch me the white box from the cabinet downstairs ?”
“ Leave it to Kotei !” She stated proudly and stomped out of her room.
He had his doubts but he used his remaining strength to get back under the covers. After taking the medicine he'll feel better and then he will prepare himself something to eat.
“ Kotei's here !” She announced loudly pushing the medical container towards him on the bed.
“ Thanks. Now leave me alone.”
“ But—”
“ Get out, already.”
“ O-okay,” she gave him a concerned look but assuming she'll only create problems, walked out of the room, obediently.
The next she entered the room the boy was sound asleep. Although he kept twisting and turning on his side, Kotei wondered if there's something she could do to help. An idea clicked in her head. She remembered ! A wet cloth on the forehead, right ?
So she did exactly that.
Picking up a heavy cloth that she acquired from the backyard where it was put out for drying, she drenched it under the cold tap water and without rinsing it at all, ran up the stairs before literally throwing it at his face.
“ KOTEI, WHAT THE HELL ?!”
“ This will help, nii-chan. Believe Kotei,” she insisted as Kageyama felt the water run down his entire face, wetting the soft covers and the pillow he was laying on.
“ No, this doesn't help ! Stay away from me, Kotei! How many times do I have to tell you !” He grabbed the wet rag and threw it back at her.“ Shitty brat !” He cursed before coughing loudly and getting up to weakly walk towards the bathroom to change.
“ But nii-chan did put wet cloth when Kotei was sick,” she thought aloud, confused, staring at the rag, broodingly.
“ Are you done ? What are you standing for ? Get out!” And he literally kicked her out before slamming the door in her face.
“ Nii-chan, can Kotei help ?” She asked from the other side.
“ Stay away from the door ! That'll be a lot of help....,” he went into a violent fit of cough before the hallway grew silent, again.
𝟐
A dark, brown haired girl stood by the entrance of the Karasuno gym occassionally peeping in through the slightly parted door. No one noticed her but she was busy finding someone else. Dressed in casual clothes, she repeatedly tapped her watch and nervously pulled on her short hair.
Michimiya Yui, third year in Karasuno High, at present waiting for the drawing graduation ceremony.
But today she waited for the Karasuno Boys Volleyball Team Captain, Sawamura Daichi to invite him out on a walk. The said boy was visiting his team with the rest of the third years to play around a bit. The girl didn't want to interrupt his bonding time with his team. Hence, she waited patiently.
“ Whatchu lookin’ at ?”
Yui froze in her place before facing the speaker with an embarassed look on having been caught so easily.
Hoping she had not been mistaken for a stalker, Michimiya furrowed her brows when met with a small face of a child.
Recomposing herself, she cleared her throat before curtly replying,“ I'm waiting for someone. How about you?”
“ Kotei came to see someone too.”
“ Kotei ? Is that your name ?”
“ Kageyama Kotei is.”
“ Kageyama ? Are you related to Kageyama Tobio?” She nodded.“ I see. But I don't see your brother here. Who are you meeting today ?”
“ Boss."
Who's boss ? Michimiya smiled, blankly.“ Understandable. Have a good day then.”
Kotei maintained the silence between them for a good few seconds before saying,“um...why does big sis keep looking at boss ? Big sis wants to meet boss too ?”
Michimiya tilted her head in confusion. Her brows knitted as she processed her words. As the realisation dawned on her that this ‘boss’ is none other than Daichi himself, she slapped a hand over her mouth. Her ears twitched as her other hand began tugging at the soft material of her own clothing.“ I was not looking at him.”
“ Yes, big sis was.”
“ No.”
“ But big sis did.”
“ I—”
It was futile engaging in this conversation any longer so she changed the topic, instead.“ Look at the time, I should go now. Bye !” She hastily waved at her before speed walking towards the gate.
Disappearing behind it she pretended to have left and peeked to see Kotei standing there with a baffled look. Shrugging, the kid entered and Michimiya sighed in relief.
“ Boss ! Boss !”
Daichi sighed as he felt tiny limbs wrapping around his leg like a panda. Peering down at the bundle of mischief, he greeted her with a smile.“Hey there, Kotei. Are you gonna play setter today in your brother's place ?”
“ Oh, Kotei can ? Yippee !!”
“ No, I was kidding.”
“ Aww...”
“ Kotei, where's Kageyama ?” Hinata asked. Kotei stared up at him with a blank look before pointing at herself.“No, not you. I meant your bastard of a brother.”
“ Ah ! Nii-chan is sick ! So nii-chan can't come. Kotei came to tell that.”
“ You came all this way just to inform this ?” Diachi asked surprised. But he looked more intrigued when she nodded in response.“ You could have just ring us up....,” he muttered under his breath, pinching his nose yet thought it was better not to overlook the little one's effort. Thus, he ruffled her hair, encouragingly.“ Well, you did a really good job telling us that.”
“ Kotei did ? Hehehe...please praise Kotei more,” she slurred her words getting off the taller Captain and rubbing her nape, flustered.
“ Yosh, you did great, Kotei,” Daichi further elevated her esteem.
“ Really ? Really ?”
He chuckled, kneeling before her and patting her head.“ Really.” Kotei smiled giddily and when Daichi proceeded to withdraw his hand the girl held his arm and put it back on her head, motioning for him to continue.
“ Kageyama fell sick ? How ?” Hinata wondered aloud.“ Is the world coming to an end ?”
“ He's a human being. It's normal,” Sugawara sweatdropped.
“ Boss, earlier a big sis was staring at boss from there,” Kotei pointed at the entrance where Michimiya had just reached but immediately flinched back and hid herself when her gaze met Daichi's,“ that's her ! Big sis wanted to meet boss.”
Michimiya ? Daichi thought and offered a grateful smile.“ Thanks for telling me.”
“ Welcome~”
But she pouted when Daichi didn't give her any more headpats and instead walked towards the sister standing outside the gym.
Sugawara had a sly look on his face as he witnessed their captain conversing with the flustered girl, too dense to take the hint. His eyes landed on Kotei who met his gaze too.
She walked towards him and pulled his arm to rest it on her head.“ Please praise Kotei,” she demanded, seriously. Sugawara sighed. He gave the best headpats and Kotei absolutely loved the attention.
“ What's this ? You want headpats ? Ask me !” Tanaka yelled from the other side.
“ My kouhai wants headpats ! Sensei is coming !”
And soon she found herself buried under large hands which ruffled her head rather harshly and she let out a whine of protest. Yet the warm feeling never receded and she felt better at peace.
“ I hope Kageyama gets better soon,” Kiyoko commented.
Kotei finally was able to escape the rough headpats and hid behind Asahi’s towering figure. Kiyoko's words brought her back to her senses and perceiving the suden comprehension she slapped Asahi’s leg.
“ Ouch !” The glass hearted ace squeaked holding his leg. This kid sure was strong. Although he was wearing trousers, the hit still hurt.“Why'd you hit me ? I'm offended.” He sulked.
“ NOOO, Kotei's sorry ! Kotei was shocked !” She cried throwing her arms around him.
“ Are you sure ?” He asked, timidly before giving in and forgiving her with a bear hug.
“ Kotei forgot ! Kotei must hurry back to nii-chan !”
“ Kotei, wait...”
𝟑
Kageyama groaned loudly, opening his eyes gradually. Feeling a lot better, he contemplated whether to ring up Miwa. But knowing the oldest sibling, she's sure to leave in the middle of her work and rush home at once. So, he decided against it.
The house was eerily quiet.
As he laid on his back and strained himself to sit up, a wet cloth slid off his forehead. With a look of scrutiny, he tried to remember when he tended to himself. But no such memory surfaced up in his mind. When did he....?
He stopped his train of thoughts as his gaze fell upon the lump beside his bed.“ Kotei...?” He leaned over his bed only to find the girl sleeping in a very uncomfortable position, with her back resting against the bed side and her head slumped to her side. Is she planning to break her neck ? Yes, she is.
Dragging himself off his bed he carefully placed the girl under the soft covers and immediately she nuzzled in the warmth. Kageyama tucked her in before moving a few strands of her hair away from her face. Had she been there the whole time ?
His lips streched into a genuine smile.
Closing the door behind him, he descended the stairs only to lose his balance at the last step when a certain tangerine head jumped out of nowhere.“ Kageyama, you jerk, you shouldn't be out of bed, yet !”
The latter lost his balance and almost fell on top of the former if not for Sugawara catching him at the last second.“ Careful there.”
“ Sugawara-senpai—wha-what are you doing here?” Kageyama asked shocked as the older gave him a soft smile before leading him towards the table and made him sit down.
“ Of course we came to look after you.” The grey haired male placed a bowl of hot soup before him.“ I couldn't do much. But I hope this will help.”
“ Y-y...,” Kageyama hesitated still sitting in a trance.“ You didn't have to !” He doesn't wanna be a bother to his seniors.
“ I came here on my own whim. And on behalf of the entire team, get well soon, Kageyama,” Suga placed a hand on his head and patted him, affectionately.“ Hinata, can you take this back.” He handed him the damp towel.“ Change it and place a new one in his room.”
“ Osu !” Hinata saluted before rushing to get the work done.
“ TH-THANK YOU !” Kageyama suddenly shot up from his chair and bowed a perfect ninety degrees.
“...”
“...”
The other two stared at him in shock.
Well, that was unexpected.
“ You jerk, you owe us one !” Hinata pointed out.
“ Shut up, dumbass !”
“ Okay, okay calm down.” Suga gently pushed him down to the chair.“ So can you eat on your own? Or do you want me to feed you ?” He chuckled.
“ What a big baby,” Hinata snickered under his breath running away before the latter could complain.
“ I-I can eat...on my own....,” the sick boy said, flustered, avoiding eye contact.
“ Good.”
“ AAAAHHH ! NII-CHAN GOT KIDNAPPED! NII-CHAN !”
There was heavy thumping upstairs before Kotei rushed down the stairs and heaved a sigh noticing her brother staring back at her, awkwardly.
“ NII-CHAN !” She approached him hugging his legs.
“ Ugh, get off !” He pushed her back wiggling free out of her grip.
“ Kotei, I have snacks. Want some ?” Suga asked picking the kid up who nodded, intently.“ Let's go get it then.”
Booping her nose, she giggled as Suga carried her out of the room.
Kageyama stared down at the bowl, the warm vapour hitting his face. Although he's sick, he didn't feel worse anymore. Grateful for the soup in front of him, he made haste in finishing it.
This is the first time he felt truly lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and seniors.
Being pampered feels good once in a while.
That dumbass better not be going through my things.....
______________________________________
“ 𝑇𝒉𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 !”