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The first thing Chiaki registered when she awoke from her slumber was Mikan’s face looming over her. Well, that was the first thing, besides the fact that she had a throbbing headache and that she could hear sniffling that she was about 90% sure was coming from herself.
“I-I’m sorry to wake you up like this, Nanami-chan!” Mikan blubbered, “but I have to take your temperature...”
“Where am I?” Chiaki cut in blearily, her head feeling surprisingly fuzzy as she moved her arm a little bit to brush up against her forehead. She felt a searing sensation radiating from her skin, so she sighed and placed her hand down. Even though she knew that her skin was red-hot, she was racked with incessant cold shivers. Sick? Really? She thought.
“The i-infirmary! I’m sorry t-that I brought you here against your will... but Hinata-chan found you asleep in the cafeteria, face down, and when he touched you, your skin was burning up!” Mikan suddenly switched into what Chiaki interpreted as a terrible Hajime impression, scrunching up her face seriously. “”It was like lava!” is what he said. I-I mean, of course your skin can’t be that hot, he was e-exaggerating, but he helped me bring you over here....”
Chiaki hummed. She couldn’t really remember any of these events conspiring, but she did remember leaving her cottage, albeit extremely tired. She never got sick! She cursed herself mentally for her body’s own fuck-up. “That’s fine...” Chiaki said, waving her off weakly with one hand. Mikan moved closer and propped herself gingerly down on the bed to the left of Chiaki, crossing her knees in front of her and popping the cover off of the thermometer she clasped in her shaky hands.
“O-open up!” Mikan said, smiling proudly at her statement, and with a quivering lip raised the thermometer to Chiaki’s mouth. Chiaki did as told, closing her eyes and letting the warmth of unconsciousness cover her like a warm blanket as Mikan read the digital screen. Oh, wait, she was still conscious! Chiaki opened her eyes and looked down as she saw that she’d been tucked into the infirmary’s bed. It was scratchier than her normal sheets in her cottage, but warm nonetheless. At least the cold of her sickness was quelled, if only a little bit. Jeez, I can fall asleep any time, but the times I really want to sleep, I just can’t will it to come? She berated herself from inside her head.
“Can’t I go back to my cottage?” Chiaki asked, propping herself onto her elbows and scooting herself back a little so that her back hit the pillow and the metal railings of the bed. Mikan dropped what she was doing and scuttled over, prompting with urging hands for Chiaki to just lower herself back down onto the bed as she lowered Chiaki’s pillow. “U-Um, I’m sorry for the inconvenience, Nanami-chan, but I think it’s safer that you stay here with me... What if your sickness gets any worse?”
“That’s fine!” Chiaki begrudgingly lowered herself back so that her head was propped onto the now flat pillow. She couldn’t argue with that logic. And anyways, this was Mikan’s Ultimate talent, right? Mikan obviously knows best. Chiaki stared boredly at the ceiling, counting the tiny grains patterning the cheap tile. Hopefully that would help her to drift off and pass the time. It’s not like she could leave, and she knew better than to ask Mikan for her DSI—she’d certainly go into a long tangent about electronics when you’re sick, and anyways, Chiaki didn’t really think she would be able to concentrate with a battle raging on the planes of her forehead.
Chiaki resided to the classic trick of just counting sheep instead, however she quickly grew bored of even that. She couldn’t exactly imagine sheep, let alone will sleep to come, with those fluorescent lights shining down right on her face, anyways. Chiaki shifted onto her left side and scrunched her eyes up, hoping to block out the light.
It worked for about a minute before her headache grew significantly worse. Chiaki groaned semi-audibly and flipped over to her right side, facing Mikan’s chair, and watched her feverishly scribble something down on a clipboard before Chiaki once again squeezed her eyes forcefully shut.
She just lay there, deep in her thoughts, for what felt like hours. Days, even! Maybe YEARS! Well, okay, she would admit to herself that the last one was over-exaggerating. “Hey, Tsumiki?” She called out, still not daring to open her eyes. Chiaki sure hoped Mikan was still there. She heard a brief sound of something hitting the desk, and then shoes hitting the cold floor as Mikan made her way back to Chiaki’s bed. “Y-Yes, Nanami-chan?”
“How long have I been asleep? Or, well, how long have I been out of it? It feels like ages..” Chiaki prompted, finally opening her eyes to survey Mikan’s confused face. “You got here at about 7... and it’s 7:10...... You’ve been laying still f-for, umm.... about 5 minutes, since you were talking a bit before you were still, I think. I didn’t time it, though! O-Oh dear, I’m such a failure...”
Chiaki cut off the floundering Mikan by placing her hand on top of Mikan’s bandaged one comfortingly. “Tsumiki, it’s fine, don’t worry! I couldn’t have expected you to time it, anyways.” Mikan seemed to relax significantly at that, so Chiaki dropped her hand and tucked it back under the covers of the blanket.
“Is something t-the matter, Nanami-chan? You seemed upset with the answer...” Mikan prodded quietly, looming over Chiaki like a worried animal. Chiaki flopped onto her back with much struggle and mumbled through the covers—“I can’t sleep...”
Mikan looked a tad worried by this new piece of information, but Chiaki just shrugged it off as Mikan being her typical worried self. “..R-really? You never have any trouble sleeping in typical situations..... but I guess it makes s-sense, because you’re sick and because of the lights...” Chiaki could see her getting worked up, so she quickly cut her off. “It’s just because I’m sick, don’t worry.”
Mikan was quiet for a quick moment, and Chiaki closed her eyes, thinking that the conversation had ended—before Mikan suddenly got up and flicked the lights off, the only source of light coming from the stars in the clear night sky and buildings outside. Chiaki opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the sudden pitch-black state of the room. “Tsumiki, don’t you have to do work or something? I heard you writing a little while ago...”
Mikan shuffled back to Chiaki’s bed. “U-Um, I’m done that, and it wasn’t important, anyways. I was just thinking about what it could be that you have. Anyways, I-I think that it’s just a common cold, so no need to worry...” Mikan sat on the side of the bed as she had earlier. Chiaki felt a little bad for her, so she scooted over cautiously and patted the side of her bed.
Mikan looked down, eyes wide either from Chiaki’s suggestion or the sudden shift in brightness. “R-Really, you don’t need to do that, Nanami-chan... I can s-sit on the chair to keep watch over you! It’s totally comfortable!” Chiaki side-eyed the chair, and even from this far away, she could tell that the thing was totally old and busted up. “It’s okay, Tsumiki. You look really tired.”
Mikan did indeed look exhausted, her eyes drooping severely, bags collecting under them like rubbed-in mascara. Mikan quickly seemed to ponder Chiaki’s offer, and in this short stretch of time, Chiaki suddenly had a thought. “Hey, Tsumiki? Won’t you get sick from me?” Mikan started to climb under the covers so that she was facing Chiaki, purple hair pooled onto the pillow like seaweed. “N-No! I don’t get sick. I think t-that’s part of why I have the talent that I do... I can treat anyone, but I’m never unlucky enough to catch any of their diseases!”
“Huh,” Chiaki said, having no other response. She just lay and surveyed Mikan for a little bit, confused as to why the other hadn’t closed her eyes yet. “You can get some sleep too, you know,” Chiaki said, and Mikan nodded begrudgingly, shuttling her eyes forcefully.
They lay in silence for a short amount of time, as Chiaki listened to the white noise of Mikan’s soft breathing. It really was nice, and Chiaki was starting to feel a little woozy. “Good night, Mikan.” Chiaki said, the use of Mikan’s first name leaving her mouth subconsciously before she could stop herself. Mikan opened her eyes, and it was a bit jarring, flooding Chiaki’s field of vision due to how close their faces were. “G-Good night, Chiaki.”
And as much as Chiaki wanted to stay awake and savour this moment, she finally succumbed to slumber, listening to Mikan’s gentle snoring.