After a few minutes of thinking, Ryoma decided that it's kind of uncomfortable making Ryouko wear clothing that he currently uses so he rummaged inside the closet of the spare room and found old clothes that's gotten a bit small after he gained his few inches. They would be the right size for Ryouko whose height is similar to his before they migrated back to Japan. Selecting a pair of faded lavender pajamas, he went downstairs.
Ryouko is waiting patiently in the kitchen, unable to go to the living room because of her wet clothes. She just finished the tea that Ryoma prepared for her. It warmed her up real nice after hours of staying out in the cold. She didn't consider that she'd get drenched all over running in the snow like that. She just focused on getting away from home as far as possible.
'Licht and Ichidou are worried sick!'
Ryoma's words from earlier suddenly returned to her. She remembered Licht and Ichi calling out to her as she hid from them. She feels guilty worrying them like this but it can't be helped. She's also a bit angry at them. From the looks of it, they've known about the engagement for days even before Ichi returned from England but they didn't even tell her a word of it. If they told her, even just secretly, she wouldn't be this rash at accepting the news. She would've planned accordingly with them to come up with a countermeasure.
But they kept it to themselves, kept her in the dark. Betrayal, shock and anger got the better of her and before she knew it, she snatched the wallet with her cash savings and bolted out of the house.
It was quite a hard ordeal trying to get away from them. For a self-proclaimed indoor person, Ichidou is so fast on his feet and Licht can move nimbly in the snow even with that butler's suit on him. It took an hour and a half playing a desperate game of tag with them before she got away successfully then she went straight to the Echizen residence and stayed in the clothes donation bin for the next three hours afterwards.
She sneezed and wiped her nose on one damp sleeve. Feeling shivers all over her body, she wrapped the towel tighter around her. At that moment, Ryoma approached and handed her a pair of pajamas. "Get changed and see if this fits," he said.
She nodded and gratefully accepted the set of dry clothes. He also provided her with a pair of fluffy indoor slippers which Rinko-chan might have purchased for Ryoma to use but he didn't bother using. It still looks new.
Thankfully, her undergarments are safe from the dampness that her uniform suffered. She would've to think about her change of underwear for the whole time she's hiding out but for now, she's too mentally tired to care. After getting changed, she asked Ryoma where she can place her drenched uniform and shoes. Ryoma himself put them away.
Fifteen minutes later, the two teenagers can be seen in the living room, Ryouko sitting down on the blanket-laden floor, looking like a docile puppy caught destroying its owner's favorite pair of shoes, and Ryoma on the couch, sitting with a business-like expression on his face and staring down at her like a judge in a courtroom.
Ryouko just blinked up at him, all the more looking like an innocent fluffy Pomeranian pup. The lavender pajamas fit her but still seems quite baggy to fit her feminine curves. The arm sleeves are a bit too long that only the fingertips of her small hands could be seen peeking out.
Ryoma bit the inside of his cheek. "Dang it, she's cute," he thought to himself. He tried hard not to think of the fact that the pair of pajamas he used until last year is now hugging Ryouko's delicate frame and touching her smooth creamy skin. The mere thought makes him feel extremely strange.
"So," he said, waving away his thoughts and going down to business. "What do you plan on doing from now on?"
"Since you provided me a good place to hide out, I'll just continue hiding out until they take back the engagement. They say that the darkest spot is under the candle... They wouldn't think I'll be so close to home when I'm desperate to get away from it," she said and looked up at Ryoma, looking uncertain. "But that means that you have to keep lying to them eveytime they ask whether I've contacted you or not. You're not a very good liar and I feel bad for making you lie... Are you really gonna be alright with that?"
Ryoma took a couch cushion and placed it on his lap to prop up his elbows. "Don't worry. I was only a bad liar when we're little but I'm real good at it now, especially when there's a good reason for lying. The guilt might bother me from time to time since I'm betraying Ichidou's trust just after I finally earned it, but you matter more than Ichidou anyway so I'll be fine..." he told her.
"Sorry..." Ryouko said sincerely. She was so glad that Ryoma and Ichidou are starting to get along and putting the past behind them. But their newfound friendship is being placed under danger once again because of her.
Ryouko's troubles could be seen plainly on her face and Ryoma reached a hand out to pat her head. "It's okay... Ichidou would understand eventually... He's not an unreasonable brat anymore..." he said in a comforting tone.
Ryouko nodded silently. "Thanks," she said, peering into his eyes. "Thanks for volunteering to hide me and I'm sorry in advance for all the lies you're gonna have to tell later..."
"Well, what are friends for?" Ryoma said with a smile.
Ryouko smiled back. That's right... They're such good friends and they've always helped each other in times of need. That might be the reason why her feet took her to his house the minute she got away from Ichi and Licht. Her whole being knows that only Ryoma is there for her in this desperate time.
The untidy spare room seemed inappropriate for Ryouko to use so Ryoma took her to the room that Nanako-san uses during her stay in their house. He moved sets of his old clothes inside a drawer and thought of the basic necessities Ryouko would need during her stake-out.
Blushing a little, he posed her the obvious question. "What about underwear? You can wear my old clothes but there's nothing I can provide for undergarments..."
"I'm thinking of just ordering some online but I'll use your phone to make the purchase. I left my phone at home since they might locate me by using the signal," she told him. She looked at Ryoma with amused eyes and added, "Don't worry. I'm not going to make you go to the department store to buy some. I can't put my benefactor in such an embarrassing situation..."
"Well, thank you very much for that..." Ryoma answered sarcastically.
Afterwards, Ryoma took Ryouko on a little tour regarding where to find the most basic things in the house. His mother stock up on the toiletries everytime she comes home so they never have a shortage of fresh bars of soap, containers of shampoo and conditioner, toothbrushes, towels and every piece of toiletry.
All of a sudden, a peculiar sound interrupted their tour. A low growl escaped from Ryouko's stomach, making the two of them stop and look at each other blankly.
Patches of pink crawled to Ryouko's cheeks and she placed a palm over her tummy. "I've only eaten breakfast..." she said sheepishly.
"What?" Ryoma exclaimed incredulously. "It's almost five in the afternoon, you should've told me you haven't eaten lunch," he scolded.
"I forgot," she replied apologetically.
"Well, your stomach sure hasn't," he told her with a sigh. "Let's go down and have an early supper. Then you can go to bed early. It's been a long day for you anyways... You need a good meal and ample rest." He took her hand and led her downstairs towards the kitchen.
~~~
Several minutes later, Ryoma regretted speaking so confidently as if he would be the one to fix supper. After he embarrassed himself in front of her, cracking an egg miserably and mixing in small pieces of the shell on the ruined yolk, Ryouko took the lead and fixed supper herself.
He watched as she worked her way smoothly over the kitchen counter, rubbing salt and pepper on three pieces of salmon meat and turning around afterwards to see how the miso soup is doing.
"Why three?" he asked.
"The extra one's for Karupin," she answered, switching on the other side of stove to heat the frying pan.
Ryoma looked around and just noticed that he haven't seen Karupin since Ryouko entered the house. He must still be traumatized from the last time that she visited.
He made himself useful by going upstairs and looking for a fresh change of bedsheets, pillow cases and blankets to make the bed more comfortable. He doesn't usually bother himself with these kinds of thing so he had trouble finding them.
He just finished pulling the sheets off the bed when Ryouko called out to him from downstairs, saying that food is ready.
After they settled for the meal, Karupin mysteriously reappeared from whereever he was hiding in and mewed for his meal. Patting the Himalayan's fluffy head, Ryouko set his bowl down with the salmon nicely cut into small pieces. She even threw in a generous amount of treats beside the fish meat.
Karupin let her pet him as he received his meal but when Ryouko leaned down to pet him once more while he's enjoying his meal, he growled at her. Ryouko couldn't help chuckling at the fluffball's hostility.
"Now I admit that he doesn't like me very much..." she commented.
Although Ryouko seem to take Karupin's rejection in an amused manner, Ryoma looked displeased. He went and reprimanded his naughty fluffball. "Manners, Karu. She's the one who cooked what you're eating, do you know that?" he lightly scolded the temperamental cat.
Karupin responded by turning his big behind towards his owner and continuing to eat with his tail swaying at his triggered Daddy.
"Why, this brat..." Ryoma said, half-annoyed.
Ryouko gave a small laugh. "It's okay. Leave him be and just eat," she told him.
After supper, they did the dishes together, Ryoma washed and rinsed while Ryouko dried with the dishcloth and put them back to the racks and cabinets. He told her to wash up afterwards but after seeing the mess of the bed and the nude pillows, she said for him to go first while she finishes changing the bedsheets and pillowcases.
"Just go and shower. I'm the one who thought of changing the bedsheets and pillowcases. Let me finish what I started," Ryoma said in an insisting tone.
"It's fine. I'm the one who's gonna use the bed anyways..." Ryouko answered in a dismissive manner.
He surrendered and quickly washed up so she doesn't have to wait long. After they were both done with showering, toothbrushing and getting ready for bed, they bid each other good night and retired to their own rooms.
Ryoma went to put away the damp towels that they used and wondered whether Ryouko was able to dry that thick mane of hair that drenched the towel so bad that he can wrung out some water from it. He found his mother's hair dryer and went to the door of Ryouko's temporary room, rapping his knuckles on the wooden surface.
"Hey, I got a hair dryer here, just in case you have trouble drying your hair..." he called. There's no response and after waiting for two seconds, he cautiously turned the knob and peeked inside.
Ryouko is already asleep on the bed with her back on the doorway, the blanket draped clumsily up until her stomach. She didn't even turn the lights off.
With an exasperated sigh, he went inside, left the hair dryer on top of the drawers then flicked the lights off. He was about to go out when he stopped halfway. "Did she really dry her hair properly?" he wondered.
Keeping the door wide open to let light in, he went by the side of the bed to check whether her hair is nice and dry. However, it's damper than he expected.
"Seriously, does she want to get sick, sleeping with hair this damp? And she also just ran around in the snow earlier..." he mumbled under his breath in a reprimanding manner. He was about to wake her up and tell her to dry her hair when she suddenly tossed, turning towards the side where he is seated.
At the sight of her sleeping face, his mind turned completely blank. Swallowing a nervous lump in his throat, he placed his right hand by the pillow, leaned forward and reached over his other hand towards her face. With a trembling forefinger, he traced the inside of her eyebrow until the end of the delicate arc and all the way down her cheek.
She suddenly frowned and he snapped back to his senses, backing away so abruptly that he almost slipped down. He scurried out the door and closed it before leaning his back on the wooden surface and reflecting on his actions. His chest is thudding like mad and he took a deep breath.
"Are you crazy? Keep it together, will you?" he scolded himself, keeping his voice low in volume. He closed his eyes and took several breaths to steady his nerves. When he opened them again, he saw Karupin in front of him, appearing out of thin air so suddenly that his heart skipped again from a whole different reason.
"Karu!" he exclaimed in hushed tones. "Where'd you come from? Don't just pop up like that..." he told his cat.
Karupin didn't move nor mewed in response. He then noticed that the fluffball is looking at him in a peculiar way, and there's an accusing glare in his big baby blue feline eyes. The cat couldn't talk but it's plain what he's trying to convey at the moment. 'Just what were you doing inside? Explain yourself.'
Ryoma went red in the face, abruptly bursting in denial. "I was doing nothing! Go to sleep, lazy Karupin," he said and went past the feline towards his own room.
Karupin looked over his shoulder and if a cat could only raise an eyebrow, he would've done it. Ahh, these hoomans... They're acting suspicious...
~~~
The next morning, Ryoma got ready for school like usual. While putting on his uniform and finding a padded jacket to wear over it, he wondered what Ryouko's planning about school. "Nevermind..." he thought. "Licht-san must've informed the teachers already, making some sort of excuse to why she wouldn't be able to return to school for some time."
Before he went to bed last night, he received a call from Ichidou, asking whether he got hold of his cousin. He felt guiltier than he thought as he lied over the phone that Ryouko didn't contact him. When the call hung up, he felt as if there's a stone settling on his stomach. He thought he'd feel fine lying to Ichidou since it's for Ryouko's sake but it seemed like he overestimated himself. He felt so guilt-ridden that he lost over an hour of sleep. That, in addition to the fact that Ryouko is sleeping in the next room made it very hard to find his peace of mind. When he did drift to sleep, it was a very troubled one. He woke up feeling sluggish.
"Pull yourself together... It hasn't even been a day. If you're like this after a night's time of hiding her, she'd be caught in no time at all..." he told himself. He would have to be very careful with anyone asking about Ryouko and make it seem like he's troubled and worried about her as well. He must not make it obvious that he knows where she is.
He finished up changing and donned on a pair of extra-thick socks. Though the snow had stopped, the temperature outside is no joke. Just when everyone thought that winter's late at arriving, it came raining upon them as if it just remembered its task, like a student doing homework at the last minute.
Before going downstairs, he stopped by Ryouko's door and called to her. But she didn't reply so he peeked inside the door. He was surprised to find her still asleep. Ryouko is known to be an early riser even when they were kids.
He figured that she must be tired from yesterday's events and let her sleep in. It's also nice to see her spending more hours of rest.
He took out a notebook from his bag, scribbled a note on one page, ripped it out and taped it on the door, informing her that he already went to school and that there are lots of cereal boxes in the pantry and boxes of milk in the fridge for breakfast. He also included a few reminders like putting the blinds down before opening the lights so no one passing by could see the lights on. He has a hunch that his mother must've asked a favor from the neighbors to check on him and the house every once and a while while they're away. It'd be alarming to see the lights go on and off in a house supposed to be empty for the day. Someone might call the cops to report a robber.
He opened the door to take one last peek at Ryouko's sleeping form and for a moment, he was tempted to go inside and take a closer look. But after last night, he couldn't trust himself anymore. He forbid himself to approach her while she's sleeping and obviously unable to defend herself. It's just too dangerous.
~~~
Ryoma thought that school would be like the usual but it turned out to be more nerve-wracking than he anticipated. For one thing, he never expected the whole Seigaku tennis club to know about Ryouko's disappearance. It seemed like before the day ended yesterday, Licht and Ichidou made their rounds to each and every regular member's house including the residence of Coach Ryuzaki and their homeroom teacher.
It would've stayed within the regular line up and the teachers but Osakada Tomoka and Ryuzaki Sakuno were having a sleepover in Coach Ryuzaki's house along with a couple more girls from their class. They eavesdropped on Licht's conversation with the coach and the three blabbermouths couldn't be stopped by Sakuno's futile efforts.
That night, Tomoka and the other two girls spent the time they would've used learning Sakuno's brownie recipe into a calling spree. They were busy phoning everyone they know in the tennis club and Ryouko's fanclub and told them about what they heard and from there, it spread like wildfire. Before lunchtime came, the whole school seem to be gossipping about four different versions of Ryouko running away from home.
Upon entering the classroom that morning, he was met by curious stares and low murmurs. Miyako, Mami, Shuu and Horio bombarded him with questions before homeroom started. Several freshmen from Seigaku also crowded their classroom to ask their own sets of questions. Fortunately, he was saved by the bell.
Before anyone could corner him, he slipped away as soon as the lunch bell rang. He is eating lunch on the farthest table in the cafeteria, trying not to draw any attention to himself and positively failing since almost everyone is giving him passing stares. He doesn't notice this however because he's busy listening in on any conversation about Ryouko's gossips. He wanted to hear what became of the rumors and see how far-fetched they became.
All four versions got one thing right, that the reason why she suddenly left home is because of an arranged wedding engagement forced to her upon her family. One version stated that she went away to seek the help of a certain high schooler who was also included in the selection of her fiance candidates because he's the one she wanted to be engaged to. They say she was reunited with the boy who is several years older than her and now a charismatic high school basketball star descending from a very prominent family, during the recent inter-school camp held by the captain of Hyoutei Academy's tennis club.
The second version included the captain of Hyoutei himself who became borderline popular among the Seishun students after the ruckus he caused in Class 1-2's cafe booth, saying that upon hearing about Ryouko's engagement, he went to fetch her in a limousine and asked her to elope with him which she accepted.
The third and fourth one agreed that Ryouko is hiding out in town somewhere but the reasons are completely different. The third theory assumed that she was against the engagement because she found love in Seishun in the person of a certain third year to whom she's very close with. She even went to the trouble of bidding on him with a ridiculous amount when his class auctioned him off during the festival.
The fourth and last version has Ryoma in the middle of it all. They say that she's against the engagement because the true person she wants to marry in the future is the childhood sweetheart who was cruelly separated from her by the same people who decided her engagement. They say that the purpose of the whole engagement is to keep Ryoma and Ryouko away from each other. As for the reason why they had to be separated, the Romeo and Juliet rumor from months ago was revived, saying that the Echizens and the Fujiokas had long held grudges against their families for reasons that no one can provide.
Ryoma cannot decide which of the four theories is the most ridiculous but the fourth one kind of made the corners of his mouth turn up half in amusement and half in pleasure. If he's to be a cover-up that can justify the reason why Ryouko ran away, he'd gladly become part of the story, no matter how far-fetched it may be. Unbeknowst to him, deep inside, there's a part of him that wished that the fourth version has some truth in it.
Before he was able to finish his lunch, the juniors and seniors of Seigaku suddenly found him. "Oh there he is..." Inui said, pointing at Ryoma who is in the middle of escaping from them.
"Echizen! We've been looking all over for you..." Momoshiro said and took the lead.
"Drats," Ryoma exclaimed inside his head. He turned around to face them and said, "Senpaitachi..." before giving a polite nod as a greeting.
"Poor Ochibi..." Kikumaru said, quickly hugging him. "You must be devastated... Ichidou-kun told us Hime-chan didn't contact you as well..."
"Do you have any idea where she is? Licht-san and Ichidou-kun has been looking the whole night apparently..." Kawamura said with a worried tone.
Ryouko shook his head and tried to look as expressionless as possible. "I already told them everything I could think of, and if they can't find her in those places, I have no more idea where she could be. But my greatest hunch is she went to find her grandpa Suzuki. He's the only person able to talk back to the elders of the Fujioka clan and since she's also his granddaughter and she's a legitimate part of the Asahina family, he has the right to help her wriggle out of the engagement..."
Fuji and Tezuka nodded as they listened. "That sounds very plausible..." Tezuka commented.
"But Ryouko-chan herself said that her grandpa is very hard to locate since he's a free spirit wandering every country he liked to visit. I doubt she's able to take her passport with her..." Fuji added, placing a forefinger under his chin.
"Then in that case, she might be looking for ways to contact her grandfather while hiding out," Kaidoh said, deep in thought.
"Where can she possibly stay though? I doubt hotels just let twelve-year-olds check in by themselves without any guardian," Oishi added, looking extremely concerned. He turned to Ryoma and gave an encouraging smile. "Don't worry too much, Echizen... Surely she'll turn up sooner or later... Her family is so powerful so they'd use every asset they have to find her," he said in a comforting manner.
Momoshiro placed a hand on Ryoma's shoulder. "Oishi-senpai's right. Ryouko'll be alright..."
"Thanks," Ryoma mumbled. He didn't have to pretend to look bothered and disoriented because the pressure of lying to his seniors already made him squirm in guilt. "If you'd excuse me, I'd like to go back to my classroom... Lunchtime's almost ending..."
"Go ahead..." Tezuka told him with a nod.
"Cheer up, Ochibi," Kikumaru said, giving him a final squeeze before letting Ryoma walk out of his embrace.
The seniors watched his back disappear behind the cafeteria doors and commented among themselves.
"Echizen must feel terrible..." Momoshiro said.
"He'd be the most worried among everyone in the club. I'm actually surprised at how calm he's being... I thought he'd be more frantic and even miss school just to find her..." Kawamura commented.
"Licht-san and Ichidou-kun told him to stay where he is because it's still a large possibility that Ryouko would go and meet him. He can't wander around looking for her as well..." Inui remarked.
"Even so... I also think he's taking it well..." Kaidoh added. His cheeky junior doesn't really know how to listen to what others are saying. He really doubted he'd stay still like what Ryouko's butler and cousin instructed.
With those statements, Fuji also began to feel a hint of suspicion. He remembered the time at camp when Ryouko was nowhere to be seen and it was raining outside. Echizen was so frantic that he ran under the storm without even wearing a raincoat.
Could it be... that he actually knows where Ryouko is, and that's why he's taking everything calmly?
~~~
As Ryoma braved the matters at school, Ryouko woke up at half past nine with a very scratchy throat and an extremely heavy headache. She felt extremely hot which is very unusual during winter. When she struggled to get up from bed, she was surprised to find the whole room spinning and she fell to her knees.
She let out a cough and shakily got to her feet. She felt as if her body turned to a lump of metal as she felt how hard it is to drag herself to the bathroom. She feels terrible and as she looked at herself in the mirror, found out that she looked terrible as well. Her face looked deathly pale and her lips so dry and chapped apart from being devoid of color. She tried rinsing her mouth and it turned into a bout of intense coughing and gagging.
It seemed like she caught a bad case of cough and cold and there are several reasons that might've caused it. She did ran around while snow is pouring, got her uniform nice and damp, and stayed outdoors for five hours in the winter afternoon. She also seemed to have fallen asleep without drying her hair properly. She had been having headaches even while cooking supper for herself and Ryoma. She just closed her eyes for a moment last night to ease the headache but she fell asleep real fast. She have brought this situation upon herself.
She had gotten sick with the flu before but she doesn't remember it being so terrible. Her head felt like someone is trying to split it open and here and there, she felt stings and stabs so painful that they blinded her for seconds.
After staying in the bathrom for several more minutes to relieve herself and expel more phlegm, she found Karupin waiting by the door. He mewed at her and seemed to be gesturing downstairs.
"Did Ryoma not leave him out any food?" she thought and shakily made her way downstairs, taking one step at a time slowly and cautiously. "Wait... a moment..." she told the cat with difficulty. Her voice sounds hoarse and croaky.
She then took a can of catfood and fed Karupin, also changed his drinking water before finding anything for herself to eat. However, nothing seemed appealing to her and she felt like she cannot swallow anything solid, so after downing a glass of milk and taking a pitcher of water upstairs, she returned to the room.
She found Ryoma's note on the door, detached it and placed it neatly folded on top of the drawer. She doesn't really have to turn on the lights since it's still bright out but she still did as he instructed, keeping all the blinds and curtains down just in case someone gets a glimpse of her inside the house. The entire house looked dark afterwards so she opened the lights on the hall of the second floor, the kitchen and the living room. She stayed inside the room and tried to sleep off her headache but with all the coughing and sneezing, she can't even close her eyes.
After thirty more minutes of coughing and exhausting a whole box of tissues on sneezing and wheezing, she stood up to take a drink of water. She realized she didn't bring a glass and directly drank from it. Among what Ryoma told him yesterday, she recalled nothing about where they keep their medicine box and first aid box.
She is feeling too dizzy to get up but forced herself to try and find the medicine box. She has to take something or she won't get better. After finding medicine, she should cook herself some porridge, drink fever reducers, cough and cold medicine and pain killers and sleep it off. With two reckless men in the house, Ryouko doubts that Rinko-chan doesn't have a medicine box.
However, even lifting her arms to check cabinets is a huge ordeal and pretty soon, Ryouko felt her body temperature rising even higher. She can't go on like that or her condition might worsen. She considered asking Ryoma where the medicine box is but with her voice, he would surely know that something's wrong.
She gave up on her hunt for the medicine box and made her way upstairs. She had a dizzy spell halfway and almost took a wrong step if not for Karupin meowing loudly to alert her. Looking down, she saw the cat by her feet, looking up at her with wide eyes as if asking 'What's wrong, hooman? Are you sick?'
She tried to laugh but what came out was a series of coughs. All of a sudden, Karupin did something very strange. He mewed at her and seemed to be trying to make her follow him.
She stepped after the furry feline and found herself staring at the door of Ryoma's room. It was half-open and Karupin gave a small push with his body, making the gap wider. The cat went inside and when Ryouko didn't follow, he snuck his fluffy head out and mewed as if saying 'What are you doing? Get inside.'
"I can't possibly intrude on Ryoma's room-" she coughed, interrupting her own sentence. Karupin bit the hem of her pajamas and started dragging her inside. Of course she's too heavy to be dragged so she just did as the fluffball wanted and entered Ryoma's room.
There are all sorts of sports magazines, toys, grip tapes and clothes scattered on the floor and Karupin navigated around the mess like he's solving a maze. Then he jumped up the bedside table and knocked over a plastic bottle. Mewing meaningfully, he rolled the bottle on his pink paws.
Curious, Ryouko approached the cat and found out that Karupin had led him there because of the bottle. It's a bottle of cough drops. She checked the expiry date and it's still safe to consume.
She mustered a smile and looked at the Himalayan fondly. "Thank you. You're a very smart kitty..." Her voice still sounds hoarse.
"I should take this immediately..." Ryouko thought and she was about to go out of Ryoma's room when Karupin mewed loudly again and began scratching the knob of the bedside table's drawer. Curious, Ryouko opened the drawer and found several bottles of energy drink inside together with Ryoma's arm bands and knee pads.
She took one gratefully and drank the contents to help swallow the cough medicine. "I should try and get some sleep..." she murmured powerlessly and stood up. Another dizzy spell sent her sitting back down and falling onto Ryoma's bed.
Karupin jumped down the bed and mewed while patting the pillow with his furry pink paw. It's like he's telling her to lie down.
But she's sick and if she lies down on his bed, Ryoma would have to change all the bedsheets, pillowcases and blankets or he might catch her flu. She turned to karupin and shook her head. The Himalayan let out a reprimanding growl and started clawing at the pillow.
Startled, Ryouko crawled to the bed to pick up the naughty kitty. "You can't do that, Karupin..." she said with a cough. "Mreowww!" he answered angrily.
"Okay, okay... I'll lie down..." she said to pacify the angry fluffball, putting him down.
Her sense of smell is a mess because of the cold but it's not completely gone. As soon as she rested her weary body on the bed, she could smell traces of Ryoma's scent on the pillow and the blankets. She felt herself gradually calming down. She reached over to hug another pillow and buried her face on it, closing her eyes and concentrating on the sound of her heartbeat.
Ryoma's scent... Just his scent makes her heart beat irregularly... Jessica told her that she, Fujioka Ryouko, likes Ryoma romantically. She doesn't plead guilty but she couldn't deny it either. Her feelings for Ryoma seem to become a mess every passing day.
When she was outside the half-open doorway of Ichidou's room and overheard about the engagement plans between her and Setsuna-nii, her heart seemed to have stopped. She didn't feel the usual annoyance and rebellion welling up in her everytime her wedding engagements were being discussed. She didn't feel anger that quickly either.
What she instantaneously felt was fear. Fear and uneasiness, along with thoughts of Ryoma. Why she would think about Ryoma at that moment, she cannot explain. But she clearly remembers asking herself that if she's to be engaged, then what about Ryoma? Why she would ask that question, she cannot understand.
She doesn't want to be engaged under the orders of her family because of losing her freedom but now that doesn't seem to be the only reason. She doesn't want to get engaged partly because of Ryoma. She just realized that after she learned of the news yesterday. So what is it exactly that she wants? Does she want Ryoma to be her engagement partner or something?
At that last question, Ryouko threw the pillow away. No, that can't be... She's sick right now. Yes, she's sick and can't think straight. She can't even walk straight so her thoughts are a mess. She shouldn't think about anything while she's this sick.
She curled herself into a ball, feeling tears stinging her eyes. "So confused... My head hurts... My throat hurts... My whole body hurts... Someone come help..." she thought.
All of a sudden, she felt something warm and fluffy brush through her leg. Karupin is making his way towards her and when she relaxed out of the curling position, he went near her stomach and curled up there, warming her up.
Ryouko looked at him with teary eyes. "I thought you don't like me..." she murmured.
Karupin looked up at her, his big blue eyes seem to be saying, 'Now is an exception. Sleep, little hooman' and placed his head onto the bend of her elbow. With a smile, Ryouko closed her eyes and found inner peace of mind.
~~~
It was only after he reached home that Ryoma was able to breathe properly. The whole situation at school is far too stuffy. Although everyone seemed to leave him alone seeing him so quiet and pensive, the staring and murmuring were still blatantly obvious. He's not very sure that tomorrow would be any better.
He entered the house and was surprised to find everything deathly quiet. Knowing Ryouko, she would've gotten bored all day and since the upstairs can be stuffy, he expected her to hang around the living room, reading or doing something to entertain herself. Either that, or she'd be in the kitchen whipping up some snacks since she knows he'd be home at that time. He was secretly looking forward to the latter.
But as he stared at the house devoid of any traces of activity, he went inside, murmuring 'Tadaima... (I'm home...)"
At the sound of his Daddy's voice, Karupin went jumping down the stairs from Ryoma's room. Ryoma was taking his shoes off when he noticed Karupin's racket down the stairs.
"Tadaima, Karu... Did you behave today? You didn't give Ryouko a hard time?" he asked the feline. He was expecting a mellow greeting but Karupin answered with a series of meaningful mews, his usually soft 'meow' turning to 'mrreow, mreooow'. He started biting onto the button on the sleeve of his uniform.
"What's wrong with you?" Ryoma said, picking up the cat in his arms. Before Ryoma could restrain him, Karupin suddenly jumped out onto the floor and ran all the way up the stairs. When he reached the top, he mewed loudly as if asking to be followed.
It's the first time Karupin acted so strangely and a feeling of dread slowly made its way to Ryoma's stomach. No one should be upstairs right now aside from Ryouko.
Without another word, he sped up the stairs and checked the room where he left Ryouko sleeping soundly.
Empty. Where is she?
"Ryouko?" he called out. Then he heard Karupin's mews again and saw the cat standing beside the half-open door of his room. The room is lit and the light from inside casted a shadow behind Karupin. The sound of muffled coughing could be heard inside.
Ryoma sped towards the room, quickly swung the door open and went inside. He found Ryouko curled up on the bed, huffing and coughing, one hand on top of her mouth to silence her coughs.
"Oi!" he exclaimed, kicked his indoor slippers away and crawled to the bed, placing his hands on her shoulders. She's drenched in sweat and her skin felt hot to the touch.
"Ryouko..." he murmured and lifted her torso up his own, acting like a cradle and making her head rest unto the bend of his elbow. "Ryouko, wake up... What happened?" he asked worriedly, running a hand over her forehead and damp hairline.
To his relief, Ryouko opened her eyes. "Not too close," she said and coughed. She quickly covered her mouth. "I might... get you sick..." she breathed out with difficulty, her words muffled from under her hand.
"Since when did you get sick?" he asked then a horrid thought struck him. Could it be that she's been sick since this morning? Then the reason why she overslept... Was it because she's sick?
He's an idiot! He already noticed that it's strange for her to oversleep so why did he not went in and checked on her before going to school? Right! Because he's afraid he'll try to touch her again! How stupid!
"Medicine..." he murmured and wracked his brain on where his Mom keeps the medicine box. Settling Ryouko down on a pillow, he flew downstairs and pulled the top drawer of the decorative shelf in the living room. He took the medicine box from inside, went to the kitchen, prepared an ice bag, dampened towels inside a silver basin full of ice water and placed everything into two platters that took him two trips up and down the stairs to deliver. It took him another minute to get a pair of light flannel clothes for her to change into.
With everything he needs on stand by, Ryoma quickly went to work over the suffering Ryouko. He wrung out one of the towels and quickly gave Ryouko's burning damp forehead with pressured pats. Then he folded the towel and lay it to rest on her forehead.
Her body is drenched in sweat and has to be thoroughly rubbed down with cold damp towels then afterwards, dried immediately with a soft cotton towel. She also needs a fresh change of clothes.
But to administer the cold towels and have her changed out of those sweaty things, he would have to... to... He swallowed a nervous lump in his throat.
He would have to take off her pajamas...
He looked at Ryouko laying on her back, practically gasping for every breath of air, her brows etched with a pained expression. He should prioritize helping her first. She wouldn't want to get taken to the hospital. She'd be caught right away. So it's up to him to help her.
"I just wouldn't look," he told himself, making a decision. He rummaged inside his drawers and took out a handkerchief. He folded it into a cravat, positioned himself by Ryouko's side and blindfolded himself.
Totally at a loss on what to do next, he placed his left hand to where the pillow is to locate her head. From there, he found her shoulders, then traced his way all the way to the neckline of the pajama shirt. When he felt the buttons with one thumb, he put his hands together in that area and unbuttoned the very top. He gulped and willed for his head to clear out. His heart is not helping him either, drumming out like crazy, trying to distract him.
Tracing down the shirt, he found the second button and unbuttoned it. He let out an exhale and traced down for the third button but all of a sudden, he felt a hot hand over his hands, making him freeze.
"I'll do it..." came Ryouko's coarse voice then without another word, she lifted her other hand to the handkerchief covering his eyes and lifted it to his forehead. He has his eyes closed even with the handkerchief covering them so he slowly opened them.
Ryouko's pale, thoughtful face came into view, peering into his eyes with clear, unclouded rust-colored pupils. The damp towel on her forehead had slipped into the pillow, by the side of her head. "I'll help you help me so let me take my clothes off by myself..." she told him, her tone sober. She's still breathing in difficulty but otherwise, quite stable.
His gaze automatically shifted down to his hands. With two of the top buttons unbuttoned, he saw a glimpse of graceful collarbone archs, creamy white skin lined with beads of sweat and the outline of a peach-colored bra. He guiltily averted his gaze, took his hands off the third button and turned around.
He lifted his hand to his forehead and took the makeshift blindfold off his head. Keeping his eyes to the wall, he quietly scolded himself and his noisy heartbeats. He flinched as he suddenly felt Ryouko shift on the bed as she sat up.
"You don't have to sit up..." he said in a low volume of voice. "Just undress while lying down... I'll face the other way until you say you're done. Your head might hurt."
"It's okay... It doesn't hurt that much anymore..." Ryouko answered as she worked her way on the remaining buttons. Her head still felt heavy but most of the heaviness cleared out after she realized what Ryoma was doing. Her eyes were wide as she watched him hesitantly trace for the next button with trembling fingers. Even though he's blindfolded, she could totally see how nervous he was.
She was contemplating on letting him continue or slapping him across the face but in the end, she did none of the two options and merely stopped him in such a calm manner that surprised not only Ryoma but herself as well. Although unable to help her with the fever, he was able to accomplish one good thing and that's helping her clear her head.
Coughing as she took the pajama shirt off, she snatched one of the blankets and draped it over her shoulders. From under the blanket, she began rubbing the cold towel over the front of her torso, her shoulders, neck, chest, stomach and armpits, ridding herself of the sweat and excess temperature. She rinsed the towel with the icy basin of water for every part she cleaned and switched between three towels. Just when she was almost finished, she found herself unable to reach her back.
She turned around and saw Ryoma rigidly sitting by the edge of the bed, shoulders tense and facing the opposite side like a kid being punished. She poked him on the back and he flinched. "What?" he said, almost exclaiming.
"It's okay to look. I got myself covered," she told him, her voice still hoarse and croaky.
Ryoma reluctantly turned towards her, quietly sighed in relief upon seeing the blanket over her shoulders and asked, "Well, what is it?"
"My back. Can't reach," she said and handed him a freshly wrung towel.
Ryoma took the towel. "What should I do?" he asked dumbly.
Ryouko turned her back to him and opened a space from under the blanket where he can put his hand in. "This way, you can wipe my back with no accidents..." she quietly said.
Ryoma nodded, blushing at the word 'accidents'. "I got it," he said and went to work.
It was perhaps the most awkward minute they spent together. Ryoma took care for his hand to only touch the towel and not even graze her skin, otherwise, he doesn't know what would happen to his poor heart.
After that agonizing minute, Ryoma relinquished the towel to Ryouko and faced the wall once again. In about five minutes, Ryouko had wiped herself down and got rid of the sweat. She dressed herself with the soft flannel pajamas.
Ryoma asked her to sit on a cushion as he changed the bedsheets and blankets into fresh ones then helped her on the bed afterwards. "Don't tell me you ate nothing today..." he told her as he assisted her while drinking water.
"Only a glass of milk and water. Nevermind, go feed Karupin first. I only got to feed him once this morning... He really took care of me today... I'd be a worse mess without him," she answered.
Ryoma is ready to curse after hearing her reply. "A glass of-" he repeated, stopped halfway and willed himself to calm down.
After that, he told her to wait and went to the kitchen. Porridge should be easy to make and it's the basic dish to feed sick people.
Opening a can of catfood for Karupin, he fed the fluffball, brushed the good kitty behind the ear and left him to enjoy his meal. He quickly searched online for a tutorial video to make simple egg porridge.
After almost an hour of arduous efforts, and Ryouko restraining herself from going downstairs with all the banging noises coming from the kitchen, Ryoma went up with two bowls and two spoons on a platter. Ryouko is lying down, slightly sitting up with her back propped up on several pillows stacked together.
"I don't know if it turned out well, but here's some egg porridge. You have to eat something for the medicine to work properly..." he told her, taking off his own bowl and spoon and placing the platter on top of a pillow on her lap as an improvised table.
"Egg porridge?" Ryouko repeated. "By the sound of it, I thought you were butchering a cow..." she commented, taking her spoon.
Ryoma glared at her. "Can you just appreciate the fact that someone who doesn't cook took all these efforts to cook you something so you can drink medicine?"
"I was just joking..." Ryouko said and scooped up some porridge.
Ryoma took a test-taste before he placed the porridge in the bowls so it should be fit for human consumption. The taste for him is okay. He waited with bated breath as Ryouko took her first bite.
Then she made an uncomfortable expression and placed a hand over her mouth as if she's about to hurl.
Ryoma looked at her with alarm on his face. "Hey, are you okay? Is it that bad?" he said and quickly took a bite from his bowl. He chewed thoughtfully. "It tastes okay though..." he mumbled.
He then noticed the corner of her mouth turning up. "Ha ha, very funny..." he said, realizing she just pulled a prank on him.
She let out a laugh which was followed by three deep coughs. Ryoma quickly helped her sip some water.
"Actually..." she said after swallowing the water. "My tongue is kinda numb right now, and I can't taste anything... But let's just say it tastes nice for your first dish..."
Ryoma rolled his eyes, hiding his disappointment. So she can't taste anything... He worked so hard to make it taste like a regular egg porridge. "Just eat all of it then drink medicine and sleep," he told her.
They ate in silence until it was interrupted by a crunching sound from Ryouko. She spat something on the spoon. It was a small broken egg shell. She looked at Ryoma with a face ready to burst with laughter while he covered his face in embarrassment.
"I'm sure that that's the only eggshell mixed in there... I paid attention while cracking the eggs..." Ryoma said in his defense.
They continued eating and a minute later, there was a crunch coming from Ryoma. He put his thumb and forefinger in his mouth and took out... voila! Another broken eggshell!
Ryoma and Ryouko looked at each other and bursted out laughing.
Ryouko suffered a coughing fit afterwards. "The only eggshell huh?" she quoted his words from earlier.
"I'm not stepping in the kitchen again..." Ryoma said, shaking his head.
"Nah. You just need a proper instructor. I'll teach you once I get better..." she told him.
After Ryoma assisted Ryouko at drinking all the necessary medicine, he placed a cold patch on her forehead for the night. Then he brought a spare futon inside his room, setting it up on the floor.
"What are you doing?" she asked him. "Are you sleeping here?" she added with disbelief in her tone.
"It's my room, of course I'll be sleeping here..." he answered, placing sheets over the futon.
"Then I'll just go back to my temporary room..." Ryouko said and attempted to go down the bed.
"Stay there," Ryoma instructed with a firm tone. "You're still sick so I'll be here in case you need something. I won't be able to sleep well knowing that there's a sick person in the house. What if you need something from downstairs and you try to get it yourself, has a dizzy spell and falls down the stairs? You can't leave this room. I'll do the menial chores..." he told her.
Ryouko was about to complain. "But-"
"No buts," Ryoma said with an authoritative tone. "If you have complaints then get better and beat that flu."
With that, Ryouko settled on the bed properly and yielded to Ryoma's words. She thought that she would have a hard time sleeping because Ryoma is practically a couple of steps away but she dozed off before she even had the time to feel nervous. It must be the effect of the medicine she just took.
On the floor, Ryoma is still blaming himself about Ryouko's condition. If only he had checked on her that morning... Thinking that she suffered the whole time he wasn't home... Just the mere thought makes him feel like his heart is being squeezed.
As he looked up at the bed, he saw Ryouko's left hand hanging by the edge of the bed. He inched closer sidewards and reached out to grab her hand with his right one.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered, squeezing her slender fingers affectionately. "Being sick and all alone... I won't let you experience that again ever... I'll be here... I promise..."
Ryoma: Who's the good kitty?
Karupin: I AM-nyaa! 😸😼
Karupin: I luuvv snuggling! 😻
Oya, Karu-chan... Taking care of your future Mommy aren't ya? 😆😆