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“Hey, Ms Kuroi? I can’t come to school today, I’m really sick. No- no I didn’t stay up late, I swear! I’m actually sick this time, really… I’ve got a high fever, I threw up earlier, and I’ve got a headache so bad I can hardly open my eyes. I’m serious, you can talk to my dad if you want proof! Yes… Yes, I'll take care of myself. Okay. Thanks, bye.”
Konata hung up the phone with a heavy sigh, squinting at her phone screen. My head hurts so bad I can’t play video games, can’t read manga, can’t even watch anime! I’ve got the whole day off school, and all I can do is lay in bed. She reclined against her pillows, rubbing her temple. This is horrible.
Hey, maybe Kagami and Tsukasa will visit me after school. Or Miyuki- oh, but they don’t know I’m sick. I could text them, I’m sure they’ll wonder why I’m not in class.
One glance at the light of her phone screen shot that idea down, along with bolts of stabbing pain through her temples. Nevermind… I shouldn’t have visitors anyway, I’m probably contagious. I’ll see them tomorrow, or in a few days if it takes that long to get better.
Laying back against her pillows, she resigned herself to a boring day full of sleep and pain. Maybe I’ll feel better after a nap, she thought, her eyes drifting closed.
–
“Konata?”
“Mmmmm…”
A door creaked open. “Konata?”
“Just five more minutes, Brigade Leader…”
“Oh, she’s asleep. I shouldn’t wake her, then.”
Konata pried her eyes open at the sound of a familiar voice. “Kagamin?”
“Hey Konata, how are you feeling?”
“Whoa, Kagami… what are you doing here?” Konata sat up hurriedly, rubbing her eyes. “Shouldn’t you be at school?”
“I was, I came here on the way back.”
Konata squinted at the clock, barely visible in the dark room. “I guess I slept longer than I meant to.” She scanned the room, seeing only one head of purple hair. “Where’s Tsukasa, did she come?”
Kagami set her bag down on the floor, reaching for the light switch. “She had lots of homework to do, so I told her to head home without me. I wanted to see if you were okay, Ms Kuroi told me you were sick.”
“OW!” Konata exclaimed as light flooded her sensitive eyes. “Lights off, lights off!”
“Sorry, sorry! Do you have a headache?” Kagami flipped the light switch back, turning her desk lamp on instead.
“Yeah, a bad one. Not quite as bad as it was this morning though, I guess the nap helped.”
Kagami sat down at the desk, absentmindedly running her finger along Konata’s keyboard. “So what’s wrong with you? A cold?”
“Not sure exactly,” Konata replied, smoothing her messy blue hair down, her fingers catching painfully in the knots. “Got a fever, a headache, a stomachache. I threw up this morning, but the nausea’s gone away. Did I miss anything important today?”
“All of school is important, you know. But no, nothing in particular happened today. Tsukasa missed you, and she said Ms Kuroi looked worried after she got off the phone with you."
"Maybe I should log on later and tell her I'm doing better… if my head gets better, that is. In this condition, looking at a screen would instakill me."
"Could I get you anything to help? Painkillers, or maybe some tea?"
"Tried the painkiller idea already, they just came back up. Water would be nice, though."
"Okay, I'll be right back." Kagami stood up, smoothing her wrinkled skirt.
"The cups are in the-"
"I know where they are."
–
Kagami returned with two glasses of water, setting one on the desk and handing the other to Konata, who took it with a smile.
"Konata, your hair is a mess," Kagami exclaimed, noticing for the first time when Konata leaned away from her pillows.
"Hm? Oh, I know. I forgot to brush it last night, then of course I was too sick this morning to bother, and I'm sure I tossed around in my sleep earlier. It's a real rat's nest up there, I'm gonna hate fixing it."
Kagami fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, twisting her fingertips in the fabric. "Uh… if you wanted, I could brush it for you. I've got long hair so I know how annoying it is, and I brush Tsukasa's hair a lot too… I was just thinking it might hurt your head to move it around too much, so brushing your hair would be hard, you know…?"
"Awww, Kagamin! Showing your tender side, are you?"
"It's not like that at all! It's just that brushing your own hair might make your headache worse, so you might miss more school, and I'd have to help you with your homework even more! Plus, if you let those tangles fester any longer, they might be impossible to get out."
"Well, I can't deny a potential event flag! Sure, you can brush my hair if you really want to go through the trouble. There's a hairbrush on my dresser."
Kagami grabbed it and sat on the edge of Konata's bed, her cheeks hot.
"Don't get too close though, I might be contagious."
"I don't care."
"But what if you get sick and have to miss school? You'd ruin your perfect student reputation!"
"I told you I don't care, idiot. Move your head over here."
"Fine, fine." Konata set her water glass on the edge of her desk, shifting to face away from Kagami. "Brush away, tsundere. Hey, that rhymed!"
Kagami rolled her eyes, running her fingers through Konata's tangled hair to assess the situation. Illuminated only by a desk lamp and small rays of sunlight streaming through the curtains, she had to rely more on feel than sight.
"Oh, it's bad," she murmured to herself, frowning. "This might take a while. Are you sure you brushed it yesterday?”
“Well, you know, a hairbrush touched it, at least…”
“Konata! You have to brush your hair thoroughly every day, you know, that’s why it’s gotten so bad! How about the day before, did you brush it then?”
“Well…”
“I can’t believe you! Do you have any self-respect?”
“Nope! I’m an otaku, it comes with the territory.”
“You’re insufferable. It’s gonna take a long time to untangle all of this.”
"I've got all day. Can't play games, can't read manga, can't watch anime… it's a nightmare! Getting my hair brushed is the most exciting thing I can do. Though I suppose you want to get home soon to finish your homework."
"No, it's alright. I have plenty of time. Now, let me know if it starts hurting anywhere, or if I'm pulling too hard."
"You really do have a soft side, Kagamin."
"I do not."
I've never noticed before, but… her hair is really soft. Beyond the tangles, that is. She swept the hair from Konata's neck and gathered it all in a loose ponytail, sectioning it to make the task bearable. While brushing back the hair around her cheeks and forehead, however, she noticed Konata's face radiating heat.
"Whoa, wait, your face is on fire! How high is your fever? Are you okay?"
"No, no, I'm alright! My fever's gone down a lot, I guess all the heat just got concentrated into my face."
"Oh, okay. But even so, keep drinking water, and let me know if you start feeling worse."
"I will."
With that, Kagami began running the hairbrush through Konata's tangled blue nightmare. It was slow at first, the large knots taking a while to unravel. But once the big ones were taken care of, the rest was just a matter of patience.
As Kagami brushed, Konata found her eyelids growing heavy. The repetitive motion was soothing, and Kagami's hands were so gentle that it never hurt, not even when untangling the worst knots.
"Konata, you doing okay?" Kagami asked after a while. "You're awfully quiet, I can't remember the last time you went so long without talking."
"Mmm… oh, yeah, 'm good. Just gettin' sleepy is all."
"Do you want me to stop?"
"No! No, keep going, it's okay. I'll try to keep my head straight."
–
"Konata, I'm done," Kagami finally said, running the brush through Konata's now-smooth hair. "Besides this little piece of hair on the top that won't seem to stay down."
"Oh… mhm, that's always there… never stays down, never has, don't worry about it…"
Kagami leaned around to look at Konata's face. "You okay?"
"Just… sleepy," Konata said, her eyes drooping. "Guess that nap earlier wasn't enough, I can hardly stay awake…"
"You should rest, your body needs sleep so you can heal faster. Lay down, okay?"
Konata complied, laying her head against her pillows carefully, so she didn’t mess up her hair. “Wow, it really is fixed,” she murmured, running her fingers through it. “You’re good at this… with how terrible you are at cooking and cleaning, I wouldn’t have expected that.”
“Even after I brush your hair, you still have to be an ass,” Kagami said, crossing her arms in indignation. “Unbelievable.”
Konata giggled softly, her eyes now fully closed. “Hey, Kagamin? Uh, thank you. That was really nice. I’ll try not to move too much in my sleep, so I don’t mess it up again.”
“If you do, it’s okay. I’ll just brush it again.”
“Are you gonna come by again tomorrow?”
“If you want me to.”
“It would be nice, if you’re not too busy. Maybe my head will hurt less and we can actually do somethi…”
“Yeah, that would be cool. By the way, about the homework, Tsukasa said… Konata? Konata?”
Kagami was met with only silence. She’s asleep.
Guess I should head home. It’s good that she fell asleep, she needs it. Gathering her things, she stepped towards the door, but hesitated and looked back.
She looks so peaceful. With her blue hair splayed across her pillows, her green eyes closed, her face flushed fever-red, and her chest rising and falling steadily…
She looks almost… angelic.
Kagami caught herself before the thought could go any farther, pressing a hand to her forehead, as if to physically suppress any more stupid ideas.
If Konata found out I thought that, she’d never let me hear the end of it. She noticed the desk lamp still turned on, illuminating the room in a weak yellow light. Leaning over to turn it off, she found herself face to face with Konata, completely oblivious to the blush rapidly spreading across Kagami’s face.
Kagami’s eyes were drawn downwards, resting on Konata’s lips. They no longer curled up at the corners in her trademark mischievous smile, instead being flat and relaxed- an expression rarely seen on her, and Kagami was fascinated by the way it changed her face. Instead of looking devious and young, she instead looked…
Pretty.
Kagami shook her head, expelling the thought from her mind, as well as other thoughts about her lips.
She’s asleep, you sicko, she said to herself. I can’t k… I can’t do that to her.
But…
She tugged the curtains shut, sealing the last bit of sunlight that snuck through, and switched off the desk lamp, leaving the room bathed in darkness.
She turned away, taking a step towards the door, but on impulse she turned back, leaning over Konata’s sleeping body.
Kagami pressed her lips against Konata’s forehead, light and brief, Konata’s skin radiating heat. Her skin really is hot… I think she was lying about her fever going down. She hurriedly walked to the door, her steps quiet so she didn't wake her friend, and exited the room with one final backwards glance at her friend. Her lips burned, and she couldn’t tell if it was from her own blush or from the residual heat Konata’s feverish skin left on hers.
In the darkness of her room, Kagami couldn’t see the smile that spread across Konata’s face. Her face was flushed, but it was from more than just her fever.