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Isagi Yoichi never missed a single day of training, it would take a truly major event to make him opt out, which almost never occurred. Not in his middle school days, nor his high school days, the same could be said about when he eventually joined Blue Lock. Every single day was accounted for, and Isagi never missed one, ever. So naturally it was expected that upon joining a professional team such as Bastard Munchen, Isagi would continue on being as punctual as he possibly could, and everyone knew that.
Which is why, when he finally missed one day, people were concerned, and by people we mean Michael Kaiser.
“Where the FUCK is Yoichi?” a grumpy Kaiser asked, stomping one foot on the ground as he crossed his arms.
“He called this morning saying he can’t come today.” Noa responded.
“And you didn’t think to ask why?!”
Noa simply shrugged, he didn’t think much of it, if Isagi needed to skip that day it was fine with him, especially given his impeccable attendance record. Kaiser on the other hand was insistent that something was wrong, how unusual it was for Isagi to not show up, immediately assuming the worst. As a result, Noa gave him a simple suggestion.
“If you’re so concerned, call him yourself.”
To which Kaiser responded.
“Huh, it has nothing to do with me, why would I do that?”
It did indeed have nothing to do with him, he didn’t care that much. Kaiser was simply wondering because they’d agreed to practise together that day, Kaiser didn’t care at all whether Isagi showed up or not.
But he actually did.
The following day, Noa once again informed him that Isagi was absent, having received a text message this time.
“He sounded a little off yesterday now that I think about it, maybe he’s not feeling well.” Noa stated.
“Then he’ll be back in no time.” Kaiser decided, fully convinced he’d see his teammate tomorrow.
But tomorrow came, and Isagi didn’t contact Noa at all, nor did he show up to practise once again.
“Ok are you SURE you didn’t just miss his call? Maybe the text was flagged as spam.” Kaiser started to panic.
“I can assure you, I know how to use a phone, and no, he did not contact me.”
Something was wrong, something was very wrong.
✿✿✿
The week ended, and the weekend came, now it was Sunday, and a bedridden Isagi lamented about how he had missed precisely 4 days of training from catching the flu.
He’s not sure who he got it from, or how, all he knows is he woke up one particular morning with hardly any energy to get out of bed. He figured he could at least inform Noa about it, giving him a quick phone call before training began. He was shocked to hear his own voice and how hoarse it sounded, the words refusing to come out from how pained his throat was.
When he woke up the next day, his throat felt even more swollen and his nose was runny, one of his nostrils was completely blocked and it was difficult to breathe from it. Isagi could not get his voice to work, opting to send a quick text instead, Noa would understand, he never really pressed further in these situations.
Day 3 was when Isagi just felt significantly worse, a fever leaving him confined to his bed for hours on end, only able to muster up some strength to grab water from the fridge, and even that was a challenge. His appetite was long gone but he felt too weak from not being able to cook or eat anything.
Ah, is this how it ends for me? A damn flu taking me out?
Isagi let the negative thoughts take over, cursing himself for not even trying to go out prior to that day. Stores closed on Sunday and he had no way of getting any food for himself. The fridge was as empty as can be and his pantry wasn’t looking so great either, and even if it did, cooking was simply too much for him right now.
I could just call an ambulance…but I can just sleep this fever off too can’t I?
This is bad, Isagi’s mind was really starting to give up on him, he’d even skipped out on his joint practice with Kaiser, he was sure the emperor would be pissed about that. But even picking the phone up to make a call or send a text was sounding like a challenge, Isagi’s throat wasn’t getting any better and he could barely gather enough strength to hold his phone up.
Ah, this better not be how I perish.
Isagi didn’t want to think, even thinking was a struggle, as he laid there, staring at the ceiling, he let his consciousness slip once again, maybe if he woke up later it’ll all be over.
Knock.
That’s weird, Isagi could have sworn he heard…
Knock knock.
Yup that’s definitely the sound of someone at the door.
Two knocks became three, three became four and at some point it turned to full on banging on the door. Isagi wanted to get up, answer whoever it was and see what their deal was, but his body was simply not cooperating with him. His vision was blurry and it’s like his back was glued to the bed from how sweaty he was.
Truly, this was one of his worst moments.
“ Yoichi.”
“Yoichi it’s me.”
“Please Yoichi open the door.”
And now he was hallucinating, great, as if a fever wasn’t bad enough he was delirious too. He could have sworn he heard a very familiar voice calling for him, but why on Earth would Kaiser be here to begin with? He didn’t tell anyone, or did he…
Ah whatever, I’m too tired right now, I just want to sleep.
But only a few seconds after Isagi closed his eyes, he was awakened by the shocking sensation of something cold touching his forehead. He didn’t want to look, if he opened his eyes now he might just be met with disappointment. Perhaps he was imagining this whole thing and he was still asleep.
“Yoichi.”
Oh but the hand stroking his cheek felt so real…almost as if.
“Kai…ser?”
“There’s no one else around, Yoichi.”
“Miha…you’re here…”
“Of course I am, my idiot of a boyfriend decided to get sick and not tell me.”
“Heh, sorry about that…how did you come in?”
“I have a spare key, remember?”
But still, just looking at Isagi right now, Kaiser wondered if he would be better off taking him to a hospital, the only issue was Isagi absolutely hated them. His face was flushed and his pillow was practically soaked, Kaiser had brought some medicine with him but there was a chance it wouldn’t be enough. For now though, he just needed to figure out how to ensure Isagi was comfortable and fed.
But the fridge was a disaster, Isagi clearly didn’t go shopping before getting sick and it showed. The carton of milk he had was expired, there were two eggs left and a block of butter. The pantry wasn’t any better, only containing some pasta and rice that Isagi had brought with him from Japan as well as a few spices.
Still, Kaiser was able to make something out of nothing, and within ten minutes had a pot of porridge simmering on the stove.
Going back to Isagi’s room, he’d found, to no surprise, that his boyfriend had fallen asleep again, but he needed to move him if he was going to change the bedsheets. And so, Kaiser took a deep breath, before pulling the covers off, revealing a shivering Isagi, and picking him up with absolute ease to the living room. The couch was comfortable enough for a short nap while Kaiser got busy pulling all the covers off, and replacing them with new ones. It was an easy feat, but the next task was going to be a difficult one.
“Yoichi, do you think you have any energy to take a shower right now?” Kaiser asked, gently prodding Isagi’s cheeks while doing so.
“N…n-o” was all Isagi managed to blurt out, eyes twitching from being woken up again.
“I figured as much…ok well I need you to change into some clean clothes at least.”
“Fine.”
But it was not fine, for Isagi, despite trying to hold himself up, was still in a fairly weakened state, finding it difficult to even sit up. Kaiser had his work cut out for him, but eventually it was done. Isagi was dressed in a new pair of pyjamas and lying down once again.
“I made you some porridge, eat that before I take you back to bed.” Kaiser instructed as he headed back to the kitchen, dishing up a bowl.
“Can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t?”
“Nauseous.”
“From what I can tell you’ve been living off bananas and water, so please do me a favour and eat something.
“...Fine.”
Obviously, Kaiser didn’t expect Isagi to be able to feed himself, immediately taking on the role of spoon feeding him the porridge. Having tried it earlier, it was bland and tasteless, but that was to be expected, all he managed to add for flavouring was salt and pepper, he used one of the eggs to add more substance to the dish but there was really nothing to it.
Still, as long as Isagi ate something is what mattered.
“I’m impressed, you polished off the whole bowl.”
“I’m tired now…”
“Well take some medicine first, then you can go back to sleep.”
Kaiser dug into his bag of pills he’d managed to gather from everyone else in the team. Since they didn’t actually know what was wrong with Isagi at the time, they opted to just pitch in anything they had. Fever reducers, paracetamol, lozenges, Kaiser had everything, he selected one of the flu medications Ness had donated for this occasion, which Isagi gladly took before raising his arms up and staring right at Kaiser.
“What’s this?” the blonde questioned.
“Carry me.” Isagi simply responded.
“Do I have to?”
“You carried me here, carry me back.”
This little shit.
Kaiser could have sworn he heard a giggle when he picked Isagi up again, perhaps he got some of his energy back from the way his legs were swinging around. His whole body still felt warm to the touch but at the very least things were going to get better from then on. When they reached the bedroom, Kaiser slowly lowered Isagi onto the clean sheets, pulling the duvet up to cover him and stop the shivers.
Isagi fell asleep moments later, hugging his sleep pillow with a content look on his face. As long as he didn’t look like he was in pain, Kaiser was okay with that. What he was not okay with was the state of Isagi’s apartment. It was only a few days but there was still dust everywhere, the trash can was filled to the brim and Kaiser could only guarantee the bathroom was in a disgusting state.
He had work to do.
Thanks to the power of modern medicine, Kaiser could almost guarantee no amount of noise was going to wake Isagi up, which meant he could utilise the vacuum cleaner to its full potential. He started with the bedroom, getting Isagi used to the noise before moving onto the living room, it being the largest part of the apartment meant much more ground to cover, but it was no difficult task for him. The kitchen didn’t need much, just a quick run as he was passing by, but the sweeping was bound to take up the most time.
An hour or so passed and Kaiser was finally content with the state of the apartment, having cleaned it thoroughly from head to do. It’s not that he was a clean freak or anything, he just didn’t want his boyfriend worrying about such things once he got better, and if he could take some of the burden off him he would.
Just as Kaiser was about to sit down and rest his legs, he heard the all too familiar sound of Isagi’s ringtone coming from his room. He’s not sure how fast his legs moved, but he was there in a matter of seconds, hurriedly taking the phone and rushing out of the room to avoid waking Isagi up (although, he was still heavily medicated and asleep).
Looking at the phone screen, Kaiser could see that it was a video call, from a very familiar looking name. While it was written in Japanese, Kaiser could recognize it from the various team lineups and score sheets, it was Bachira Meguru.
I really don’t feel like answering this dude.
Click.
Kaiser tapped on the answer button, holding the phone up so he was in full view. A few seconds of connecting later and the image of Bachira finally popped up on the screen, a look of disappointment immediately painting over the smile he initially had when Kaiser first answered.
“Oh, it’s Kaiser-kun.” Bachira obviously stated, before pointing at his ear in a questioning manner. Kaiser understood this, immediately shaking his head to show he doesn’t have his translation earphones with him. Bachira simply sighed, realising he had to communicate in English now.
“Is Isagi with you?”
“Yes.”
“Can I talk to him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“He’s asleep.”
Bachira shot Kaiser a look of doubt, truthfully speaking it did sound suspicious, Bachira always called at an appropriate time, especially considering there was no time difference between Germany and Spain. So why exactly would Isagi be asleep at 1 PM?
Kaiser took notice of this, making his way over to Isagi’s room, it was dimly lit but one could still see. Switching the camera to the back one, the blonde held Isagi’s phone up to show Bachira that Isagi was in fact asleep. Of course, this also showed his pale and sweaty face, as well as his flushed complexion and noticeable eyebags, very obvious signs of a fever.
“Isagi?! How long has he been sick?”
“A few days…probably…”
“A FEW DAYS?! Why didn’t you check on him?”
“I didn’t realise it was this bad.”
Bachira let out a long sigh, the kind of sigh filled with worry. From that sigh alone Kaiser knew he would have booked an immediate flight to Munich if he could just to see his friend, but obviously he couldn’t do that due to his work obligations.
“Listen, I’m with Yoichi now, I’ll make sure he’s better by the next day, you don’t have to worry.” Kaiser tried to reassure him.
That seemed to work, only a tad though, as there was no denying the fact that they still left Yoichi on his own devices for three days before realising his condition.
“Fine, but keep us updated.” Bachira declared.
‘Us?”
“Obviously I’m telling everyone else! They’ll want to know how he’s doing.”
“Please don’t do that…”
If there was one thing Kaiser was scared of, it was the wrath of Isagi’s teammates back home, something he once experienced once they first announced their relationship. He knew full well that some still didn’t accept him, but it was no use trying to convince them, particularly that Rin kid.
A shiver ran down Kaiser’s spine just thinking about it.
“Okay, I have to go now, say hi to Isagi for me later!” Bachira said, immediately hanging up and leaving Kaiser to stare at a blank screen.
“Man, his friends are really something…”
Just as he was about to put the phone away, Kaiser felt a pair of eyes on him.
Isagi was awake.
“Y-Yoichi, how long have you been up?”
“Just now.”
“I see, well can I get you anything?”
“You.”
“Me?”
“I need you.”
With no hesitation, Isagi stuck one arm out from under the covers, immediately gripping Kaiser’s sleeve with what little strength he had. Kaiser could have easily moved away, but didn’t want to force Isagi to use any more energy than he already had.
“But Yoichi-”
“Will you at least entertain your sick boyfriend for a bit? Otherwise I’ll tell Bachira you refused to cuddle with me.”
“So you heard us!”
“Just a little.”
“Hmph.”
Feeling defeated, Kaiser started by taking his jacket off, leaving it on a nearby chair before slipping under the covers with Isagi. It was warm, but he knew to expect that, especially considering the fact that Isagi was still sporting a fever.
“Your fever’s gone down a little.” Kaiser noted, placing a hand on Isagi’s forehead to gauge his temperature.
“Well yeah, the medicine helped.”
“That’s good.”
Isagi discarded the sleep pillow he’d been using in order to snuggle up to his boyfriend, feeling a sense of comfort as strong arms wrapped themselves around him. Isagi buried his face in Kaiser’s chest as he let out a delighted hum.
“This feels nice…” Isagi happily sighed, slowly drifting back to sleep.
“Yeah…this does feel nice.” Kaiser smiled, watching as Isagi’s eyes slowly closed and his breathing evened out.
“Sleep well, Mein Schatz”
✿✿✿
“Miha…do we really have to do this?” Isagi grumbled for the third time.
“Of course we do~ I don’t trust you alone in the bathroom, what if you slip and fall?”
“I’m a lot more stable now, I promise!”
“Nonsense, now close your eyes.”
Reluctantly, Isagi followed Kaiser’s instructions, feeling a rush of water pour over his head as Kaiser held the shower head over him, rinsing all the shampoo off his hair in the process.
“It’s cold!” Isagi complained.
“It has to be, otherwise your hair will be greasy.”
“That’s a myth.”
Kaiser took his caretaking role very seriously, something Isagi didn’t really expect. He thought for sure his boyfriend would stop at cuddles, but no. The second he woke up that evening, expressing just the slightest hint of feeling better, Kaiser had dragged him over to the bathroom and forced him into taking a shower.
Somehow, Isagi didn’t mind the idea of someone scrubbing his body for him, but since it was Kaiser, the love of his life, he felt a tad self-conscious about it.
“Come on Yoichi, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about~” Kaiser playfully joked.
“Easy for you to say Mr. I look at myself naked in the mirror every morning…”
“It’s relaxing, you should try it one day~”
“Never in a million years.”
✿✿✿
Dinner that night was leftovers, although Kaiser had to doctor his up with extra spices. Isagi noted that it was pretty bland, especially considering some of his taste buds finally returned.
‘By the way, why didn’t you just call me?” Isagi wondered.
“I did, you just didn’t answer any of them.” Kaiser grumbled, shoving another spoon of porridge into his mouth.
“No way, did I miss ALL of them?” Isagi was honestly surprised.
“Well for starters, your phone was out of battery when I showed up, I tried calling you even before that!”
“Sorry Miha…”
“Don’t apologise, I’ll feel bad!”