34 - Grrr~

RAW

“What kind of love sickness is this… it’s a real illness, isn’t it…”

Haruto sat up in his bed and was disheartened by the temperature reading on the thermometer he was holding.

38.7 degrees.

He definitely had a cold.

"Ah..."

Haruto let out a hot sigh and lay down on the bed again.

Even though he was lying down, he felt like his body was shaking violently, and he had a headache and felt a little nauseous.

"This might be bad..."

Waitfully, Haruto reached for the smartphone next to his pillow.

It was just after 7am.

Haruto operated his smartphone while enduring his headache.

"I have to call my part-time job..."

In this condition, he couldn't even leave the house, let alone get help with housework.

"Also, I'll contact Tojo-san too... Oh, I was supposed to go to the dojo today too... Kazu-senpai and Shizuku too..."

Feeling so exhausted that even using his smartphone is a hassle, Haruto tells his part-time job that he's not feeling well and that he would like to take the day off.

His employer tells him to get plenty of rest and take care of himself, so Haruto takes a breather for the time being.

"Next, I'll send a message to Tojo-san..."

Haruto hesitates for a moment after opening the chat app.

He doesn't know why he caught a cold.

Was it because he was tired from the heat every day, or was it because of the extreme mental stress of his grandmother collapsing?

However, if Haruto told Ayaka that he had caught a cold now, she would surely think that it was because she had taken his clothes after playing in the water yesterday.

"You gave her your change of clothes, and then you caught a cold...it's so embarrassing..."

Haruto looks down and covers his face with one hand.

Knowing how kind she is, she might feel guilty that he caught a cold.

But he would feel bad about taking the day off from housekeeping for the Tojo family without contacting her at all.

After thinking about it for a while, Haruto decides to just send an honest message to Ayaka after all.

With the way the cold is, it looks like he'll have to take the day off tomorrow as well.

If he took two days off in a row without contacting her at all, it would probably cause Ayaka more worry.

Haruto frantically tries to think of what to write in his message with his aching head, operating his smartphone.

--I'm sorry. I'm not feeling well, so I may not be able to come to housekeeping today, and maybe tomorrow either.

Haruto checks his message several times before sending it.

A few seconds later, he gets a reply.

--Are you okay?! A cold? Do you have a fever?

Reading this, Ayaka's worried expression comes to Haruto's mind, and while he feels sorry, he also feels a little happy.

--Yes, I'm fine. If I get some sleep I think I'll get better soon.

--Have you taken your medicine?

--No, I'm going to take some now.

--Are you drinking enough fluids?

--I'm fine.

Ayaka's concern was like that of a mother, and for a moment Haruto was able to forget the lethargy of his cold.

--Shall I go visit you?

Haruto pauses in his reply at this sentence.

His face heats up as he imagines Ayaka taking care of him.

--No, no. It's nothing serious, so I'm fine.

--Really?

--Yes, thank you for your concern.

After Haruto's reply, after a while, Ayaka's message arrives.

--If anything happens, contact me right away.

--Okay. Thank you.

--Okay.

After his conversation with Ayaka, Haruto next sends messages to his fellow dojo friends, Ishikura and Shizuku.

--Sorry. I've caught a cold. I can't go to the dojo today.

Ishikura and Shizuku have been dojo friends since childhood, and they've formed a group of three, including Haruto, on a chat app.

Unlike Ayaka's, this time he doesn't get a reply right away, and after about 10 minutes his smartphone starts beeping.

--Are you okay?

First comes a message from Ishikura.

Soon after, Shizuku writes a message as well.

--It's rare for Haru-senpai to have a cold.

Haruto replies to the two messages.

--It's been a while since I've had a cold. It might be pretty bad.

--A summer cold, I guess. Haruto, you let your guard down.

--I see.

--Shall I go visit you?

--No, it's just a cold, so if you sleep, it will get better. I don't need you to come visit me.

--I see. But if it gets really bad, contact me. I'll take care of you.

Haruto smiled slightly at Ishikura's message, which was gruff but oozing with kindness.

Incidentally, Shizuku hasn't responded since the first message.

The number next to "read" is 2, so she must have seen it.

--Thank you, Kazu-senpai.

--Okay.

Shizuku didn't respond, but Haruto finished the conversation anyway, tossed his smartphone next to his pillow and lay down again.

Perhaps because of the cold, Haruto had no appetite at all, so he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

The next time Haruto woke up was in the early afternoon.

At the sound of a ding-dong ringing from the front door, Haruto slowly lifted his heavy eyelids.

(Is there a package due to arrive today?)

Haruto thought as his headache continued to be terrible.

Even getting out of bed was too much of a struggle for him, and for a moment he considered playing dumb.

However, his feeling of guilt towards the delivery person got the better of him, so he slowly got up and got out of bed.

Haruto somehow manages to reach the front door with unsteady steps, unlocks it and opens it.

Then, he is a little surprised to see the person standing in front of him.

"Huh? Shizuku, what's wrong?"

Haruto had thought it was a postman or a package delivery man, but his eyes widen at the unexpected visit.

"I've come to visit Haru-senpai while he's asleep, sick with a cold."

As expressionless as ever, she jokes, thrusting both hands out in front of her and saying "Grrr" with a lack of enthusiasm.

"Oh, so you came to visit me. Thank you, Shizuku."

Haruto is used to dealing with Shizuku, so he elegantly ignores her joke.

"Haru-senpai, you seem to be in a lot of pain. What's your temperature?"

"Well, when I took it this morning, it was 38.7 degrees."

"Wow, you need to sleep. Go to bed now."

Shizuku hurriedly went into the house and pushed Haruto towards his room.

Shizuku had known Haruto since they were little, and had been to his house many times, so she naturally knew where his room was.

As if pushed by Shizuku, Haruto lay down on the bed again.

"By the way, what happened to your grandma?"

Shizuku, who knows Haruto's family situation, tilts her head at the fact that his grandmother is not at home.

"Oh, but grandma collapsed from heat stroke yesterday and is now in the hospital."

"What?! Are you serious? Is she okay?"

Shizuku, who is usually expressionless, shows a surprised expression.

"It's okay. She stayed there to be on the safe side today. She'll be out tomorrow."

"I see, that's a relief."

Shizuku sighs in relief and suddenly looks at Haruto's face.

"So, right now, Haru-senpai is the only one in the house?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"And so, you've caught a serious cold."

"Serious is an exaggeration, but that's how it is."

"So, Haruto-sama needs to be looked after."

Shizuku nods to herself, and Haruto shook his head slightly as he lay down on the bed.

"No, it's fine. I'm sure I'll get better if I sleeps."

Shizuku gives him a blank look as he gently declines Shizuku's offer to look after him.

"Haru-senpai, did you eat anything today?"

"Huh? Ah, no, I haven't eaten anything."

Haruto's body is tired and his throat is starting to hurt, so he doesn't feel like eating anything right now.

"I don't have an appetite, so when I get a little better and can eat, I'll make something myself."

"No, you don't need to eat anything, even if you don't have an appetite."

Shizuku says, and stands up.

"I'll make some porridge for you. I'll borrow the kitchen."

"No, it's fine. I'll do it myself."

"Haru-senpai, just stay quiet and sleep."

Shizuku stops Haruto, who is about to get up.

"If you don't get a good rest, you won't get better. Or are you not satisfied with the porridge I make?"

Shizuku glares at Haruto with a sullen look, and Haruto gives in and stops getting up.

"Okay. Thank you, Shizuku."

"Leave it to me. Haru-senpai, please quietly look forward to Shizuku's special porridge."

With those words, Shizuku left Haruto's room.

Afterwards, Haruto dozed off a little, feeling so lethargic that he thought the Earth's gravity had tripled, when Shizuku returned with a small clay pot on a tray.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Shizuku's special porridge is ready."

As she said this, she removed the lid from the clay pot.

Then, the aroma of the porridge spread out along with the steam, tickling Haruto's nostrils.

"Egg porridge, that looks delicious."

"Yes, can you eat it by yourself? Shall I give you a thumbs up?"

"No, I'm sure I can handle that much."

Haruto took the porridge while declining Shizuku's offer, scooped it up with the provided spoon, blew on it lightly, and brought it to his mouth.

The porridge was just the right amount of salty and thick, so he could eat it without any discomfort even with a sore throat.

As the warm porridge entered his stomach, Haruto finally felt a slight hunger.

"This porridge is really delicious."

Shizuku looked a little proud when Haruto praised it from the bottom of his heart.

"It's special for Haruto. I put an aphrodisiac in it as a secret ingredient."

"Wow, what is this aphrodisiac thing?"

Feeling much better after the delicious porridge, Haruto decides to go along with Shizuku's joke.

"I put about three drops of my saliva in it."

"Oof! You!"

Haruto almost spits out the porridge he has in his mouth, but he manages to hold it in.

Shizuku's reaction makes her expressionless, but she seems somehow satisfied.

"That's a lie. I wouldn't do something like that to a sick person."

"...Really?"

"Really. Or did you want it in? My saliva?"

"No, it's fine."

"Mm, it's kind of annoying when you don't like it like that."

Haruto looks disheartened as Shizuku puffs out her cheeks a little.

"It's bad to spit on food, isn't it?"

"Is it bad even for a beautiful girl to spit?"

"No."

"Haru-senpai, you're as strict as ever."

"No, this is normal."

While having this conversation, which in a sense seemed normal, Haruto finished the porridge Shizuku had made.

"Thanks for the meal. It was delicious."

"Was it enough?"

"Oh, I'm pretty full now."

"I see. That's good."

Shizuku went out of the room to put away the empty clay pot, and when she came back, she had a cup and medicine in her hands.

"Here, Haru-senpai. Drink this and go to sleep."

"Thanks. This really helps."

Haruto took the cold medicine from Shizuku and swallowed it with a cup of water.

"Phew."

His hunger was satisfied, and Shizuku asked Haruto, who was taking a breather.

"Are you in pain?"

"Ah, not yet..."

"Do you want a drink?"

"No, I'm fine now."

"I see."

"Yeah..."

"Shall I give you a kiss?"

"...Why?"

Haruto opens his eyes wide at Shizuku's sudden statement.

"They say you can cure a cold by catching it, right? So if I kiss you, I'll catch your cold and Haru-senpai will be fine."

"It's not necessarily true that you can catch a cold by kissing, is it?"

"So should we French kiss to increase the chances?"

Haruto looks dumbfounded at her words.

"That's not the problem."

"Isn't that the problem?"

"It's pointless if Shizuku catches a cold while trying to cure me."

Shizuku puts her hand on her chin and thinks for a moment, then nods in agreement and says. "I see, Haru-senpai is trying to woo me."

"Well, how can you interpret that as that?"

Shizuku could sense that Haruto was a little tired as he said that.

"Senpai. Stop messing around and go to bed."

"You're the one who said that, you're the one who said that."

Haruto gave Shizuku a weak retort, and soon afterwards he started snoring.

The cold medicine must have started to work.

Haruto's complexion, now deep in sleep, was slightly better than it had been at first.

"You've exposed your defenseless sleeping face. I'm really going to attack you in your sleep, senpai?"

Shizuku folded her arms and rested her face on Haruto's pillow, who was snoring.

"Grrr."

Shizuku's face as she whispered this was not her usual expressionless face, but a soft, gentle smile.