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Seeing her everyday was painful. You listened to her, admired her, loved her, but you never got the chance to get too close. Whenever you heard her voice, it made you want to push all your feelings aside and talk back to her, but it was just too much. Why? You had no idea, but the possible rejection made you sick.
It felt like creeping vines in your stomach, a feeling you'd never had before. It always got worse when you wanted to talk to her, almost getting the courage to actually do it, but when you decided against it due to your anxiety, it felt like they grew. Sometimes it was like they were in your throat, slowly creeping up and dropping something light...
Hold on, this doesn't feel metaphorical. No, it was actually there, and your suspicions were confirmed when you coughed up a few petals while training one day.
Freaking out, you shoved them into your jacket pocket, wiping off your hand while doing so. You decided you needed to leave, immediately. Not knowing how the hell someone could cough up literal flower petals, you quickly excused yourself from the group and left to go find the teacher.
You spotted Gojo's white head of hair over on the benches, under the awning of the school. He had been half watching the second-years training, half doom scrolling on his phone. Once he sensed you walking towards him, he looked up, seeing you through his blindfold.
"Hey, need something?" he asked, sliding his phone in his uniform pocket. He had on his usual smile, until he saw your slightly panicked expression. "Uh, you alright? You look like you just saw a ghost."
Upon realizing how obvious you were being, you suspiciously shifted your stance, putting on a casual look that wasn't really casual at all. "Y-yeah, yeah. I'm good, uh, I just need to leave. Like, right now. It's an emergency."
Even though you couldn't see his eyes, you saw a confused look cover his face, one brow raising under his mask. "Training only started like a half hour ago, what do you need to leave for?"
You huffed to yourself in your mind, he could be so difficult sometimes. Scratch that, all the time.
Wondering what you could possibly say to convince him, you decided on using the excuse that always worked best with men. Putting on your best hesitant look, you told him, "It's that time of the month and I really don't feel good. Can I leave?"
Gojo's expression suddenly turned stunned, which told you that you weren't about to get any more questions. "Oh- uh, yeah. Go ahead, you're excused from today's practice if you don't think you can come back," he said, making sure he wouldn't be pushing you too hard.
Nodding your head and saying a small 'thanks', you quickly walked away. You couldn't think of anywhere else to get away to, so you ran to your dorm. It wasn't too far from the open area where everyone trained, but it was far enough to make you lose your breath from the distance. As soon as you arrived, you wasted no time to unlock your door and shut yourself inside. You found yourself in your bathroom, hyperventilating as you thought to yourself.
What did this mean? Could you be dreaming? What would this even mean in a dream? Not knowing what to do, you grabbed your phone and opened Google, thinking you were an idiot for using Google to understand symptoms. As expected, you came across a load of results that said you have some unknown illness that would end in your death, and you got really worried. It was more over the fact you still didn't know what was wrong rather than Google telling you were going to die, but it was a contributing factor in your fear.
You had almost exited Google, thinking it was a dead end, until you came across one site that had the words, "IF YOU ARE COUGHING UP FLOWER PETALS, CLICK HERE" in all caps. You shook your head with a sigh. "How convenient," you thought, but you didn't really have another choice. You weren't really up for being humiliated by a doctor, so you took your chances and clicked the link.
It sent you to a pretty underwhelming site, a simple block of black text with no kind of decoration on top of a simple white background. It was really plain, but it seemed like it was straight to the point. While reading, it described an illness it named 'hanahaki disease'. It mentioned coughing up petals, a plant with creeping vines that grew inside your lungs, and an overwhelming love that the patient couldn't express. Just reading it made you feel sick, like this was a joke someone was playing on you, like you were being watched. You felt like you should just forget about all this and you'd be fine, until you finished reading. At the end of the article, there was a singular picture, one that made you feel so horrified you were lightheaded. It was a very graphic picture of someone that looked to be dead, a panicked look distastefully painted over their features from the sickening blue-ish purple buds that peeked from dark green stems in their throat.
It was enough to make you throw your phone across the room, to make your hands shake, to make the pain in your body worse. Gore never really scared you, but that image stuck so vividly in your mind made you obsess over that happening to you. The thought made your head hurt, or maybe it was the coughing fit that suddenly came over you. You felt something in your airway, a soft bundle that was so harshly choking you. When you finally got it up, you saw a couple yellow petals on your bathroom floor, damp and almost bittersweetly bright in color.
As much as you wanted to, you couldn't get up. You were practically forced to stay in your bathroom and calm down, even with the disturbing picture on your phone lying a few feet away from you and the petals grouped right next to you.
❀
There she was. Just seeing her pretty eyes and forest green hair made you nervous, but it made you smile. She was great at everything you could think of, from personality to style to talent. Who wouldn't like her? You couldn't even blame yourself.
After a lesson or two on cursed energy flow and cursed techniques, it was training time again. You hoped you wouldn't have an emergency like yesterday, you really couldn't skip training so much, you'd fall behind.
Since you felt like you did enough technique practice yesterday, you went with training your physical strength instead. Maki was the best at this, so when she saw you practicing off to the side on your own, she offered to battle you.
You felt your heart flutter, she was helping you out and you didn't even ask for it. She was really nice, well, with the people she liked and trusted anyway. You'd seen how skeptical she was of Yuta on his first day, it definitely took her a while for her to start trusting him with that special grade clinging to him.
When you started the battle with her, you couldn't help but admire her. Her moves were smooth, she was confident in them, but you especially liked that little she gave you when she got you on the ground. You battled her a few more times, you winning only once or twice, but you didn't mind. It was only when it was around the end of practice that she spoke to you.
"Really nice job there," Maki complimented, holding her spear at her side as she talked. "You're a really good competitor, better than the rest of these knuckleheads anyway," she laughed, looking at you with her confident look.
It made you happy just to have her acknowledge your skill like that. How hard had you fallen for this girl? You'd never spoken more than a few words to her at a time, but now you finally got the chance to have an actual conversation with her.
As excited as you were, you were still insanely nervous. But, you surprisingly kept a handle on your voice, making sure she didn't think you were a nervous wreck. "Thank you, but you did have the upper hand most of the time. You're a very talented fighter, Maki," you complimented, a smile spreading across your face as you met her eyes.
It was an electrifying feeling, one you really craved to feel more. But, instead of feeling the vines back off due to you actually talking to her, it began to really hurt. It was like there were thorns pricking the inside of your stomach, the stabbing pain forcing itself up your throat like it was crawling up for freedom. You coughed, covering your mouth with your fist before holding a finger up on the opposite hand, for her to excuse you.
She looked a bit worried, but ultimately nodded for you to leave. The coughs were getting increasingly painful, feeling your airways expand only to close harder around the little knives. You carried yourself to the nearest bathroom, claiming a stall before falling to your knees.
You clutched your throat, not being able to breathe as you felt a metallic tasting fluid build up at the back of your throat. You leaned forward and held on tightly to the porcelain seat in front of you, getting up what you could so air could fill your lungs again.
You saw red drops drip down from your mouth to the water below before your eyes squeezed shut. You hadn't even realized your eyes were watering until you felt your tears cooling down your face, it being hot from panic and pain. When you finally felt the liquid flow more easily past your lips, you could breathe again. It calmed you down, knowing you weren't going to pass out lying on the bathroom floor for someone to find you later.
The only thing wrong now besides the needle sensation burning in your neck was that you had an upset stomach. You stayed on the ground until the world stopped trembling beneath you, eventually coming to a stand-still once you caught your breath. Pushing yourself up to your feet, you exited the stall to wash off your mouth. That made you notice your hands were still shaking, but you'd rather be like this than faint in public.
After you made yourself presentable again, you left, seeing that training was over. You sighed, not knowing how long you were actually in there. Now, it didn't matter anymore. Taking yourself to your dorm, you locked yourself in. There was no fear of judgement here.
Since you could think clearly now, you settled yourself in your bathroom, a place you'd really grown to hate. It seemed as if it was the thing causing you pain, like it was something you could blame, but you were smarter than that. You knew it was human nature to deflect your own failure, even if it was obvious where the root of the problem was. In this case, it was literal roots, growing inside of your lungs and gut, all because you couldn't admit simple feelings.
You didn't want to blame yourself. Maki was so beautiful, unique, talented. You could hardly process that such heart-filled feelings or a person so wonderful could cause something like this, so you still had trouble believing it. Rather, you didn't want to believe it. She couldn't be the one making you suffer, and you didn't have this "disease" you read about at all. Surely there were some really terrible stomach bugs or illnesses that could cause you to cough up flower petals and have thorns in your throat and some internal bleeding... right?
Maybe that's what you told yourself as your neck closed back around those pricks of white hot pain, you losing everything from your lunch to your pride.
❀
You could definitely handle yourself. You knew you could, because if you couldn't, what could you handle? You needed yourself to be able to control your feelings, your life, and even this stomach bug you were still completely convinced was unrelated.
These thoughts in your head kept you walking forward to yet another day of training, despite how your last two ended. The problem was, now you had an obstacle in your way. One that was over 190 centimeters tall with white hair and a blindfold.
"I really don't think it's the best idea to let you practice today. I don't know what's been going on with you, but go back to your room. Relax," you heard Gojo say. His words may have been full of genuine concern, but you didn't want it.
"I'm fine, I can train. Just let me go and you'll see," you tried to reason, knowing good and well the more you moved your head, the harder it was to breathe.
Gojo wasn't buying this at all. Even though you couldn't see his eyes, you knew he had a questioning look in them. "I'm sure I would, but you need a day off. I know how much you practice in class hours and alone, and these past two days have just seemed like you haven't been feeling the best."
His words only made you think about the gruesome images you found online two days ago, how that would be you if you continued to act like everything was fine. But, you'd never admit that was what you had. Dying from a simple, very uncommon stomach bug? That wasn't going to happen to you, you were sure of it. All you had to do was wait it out, it would eventually clear up. Flowers died so quickly all the time.
"It's just monthly issues, like I said before. Nothing I can't deal with. Let me train, I'm telling you, I'm fine," you tried to persuade, but nothing was working. Of course, he was always as stubborn as hell.
Just about that time, Gojo sighed, not knowing how to convince you. He was about to just let you go, until the most beautiful girl in the world spotted you and came over. Just seeing her made your heart rate higher, your breath catch in your throat, and... made you feel lightheaded?
Your head pulsed when Maki stopped in front of you, asking if you were alright. She said she noticed you hadn't come back yesterday... is that what she said? Her mouth moved, at least. You could barely hear over the noise in your eardrums, a very high-pitched but fading sound as you felt something clasp around your neck. Who did that? Was it you?
You could just barely feel the trickle of warm, red blood pour to the ground from how hard you were coughing, the last thing you saw being the biggest pool of dark red blood you'd ever seen come from your own body.
❀
"Kaiya?" Maki asked worriedly, her hand reaching out to rest on your shoulder. It was the first time she ever touched you outside of a fight, and neither of you could enjoy it.
When you suddenly grabbed your neck and started violently coughing, the other students turned your way to look. Maki was absolutely terrified at just how much of your other hand had turned red when you pulled it away. She immediately yelled out for someone to get Iieri, going down on her knees the moment yours gave out. The sight was enough to cause nightmares, just randomly seeing a student cough up pure blood and collapse.
Gojo stayed calm to call Iieri while Panda, Inumaki, and Yuta all searched for her, only to find her writing reports on dissections in the infirmary. Once they got her attention, everyone's top priority was to get you to her. Panda was the one to pull you up and carry you himself, being confused and startled by how heavily textured blood spilled from your lips so quickly. It was if something was mixed with it; soft, almost paper thin ovals bunched into golf ball sized clumps, stained completely red. Its own color, if it even had one, was unable to shine through.
You were eventually settled on the table in the infirmary, barely breathing with stained skin. It was only discovered how you were still breathing when Iieri took a look to the back of your throat, seeing it was practically entirely filled by something, only a few holes here and there. Since you had fainted, you weren't coughing up straight blood anymore, getting a stand-still moment for the first time in a few minutes.
Iieri sighed, pulling the light away from your mouth as she tiredly looked at the others. "Something's blocking her airways. I need to get it out as soon as possible, I'm going to have to ask everyone to leave," she explained, worried glances being exchanged across the group. She could tell everyone was hesitant, knowing they all cared about you. So, to prevent them from thinking the worst while they waited, she tried to provide some reassurance, even if not all of it was true. Doctors didn't have to reveal the whole truth about everything, after all.
"Don't worry, all I see right now is some breathing issues. I'll run some tests and make a diagnosis, and then you'll all be informed," Iieri said in a calm tone, not telling them she didn't have to run tests to know what was wrong. Most of them looked relieved, the only two still visibly worried being Maki and Inumaki.
Maki, being one of the two that actually saw you fall, was scared over how you were. This was terribly sudden. Inumaki, being the one you talked to the most, knew you so well from listening to you for so long. You two were close, having talked on paper and texted, since you both were pretty reserved. Just to help them out of the door, Gojo patted their backs and thanked Iieri, leading everyone out with calm words.
As soon as everyone was out, Iieri sighed, reaching for some long medical tweezers to begin removing your problem. She'd seen it only once before, but she studied it enough after that to not be surprised when all she was pulling out was bloody flower petals. There was a dangerous amount caught in the back of your throat, so she wasn't surprised that you were barely breathing when you came in. It took her a while to remove them all, but after your airways were cleared, she knew what to do.
❀
"Use this," Iieri offered, a small whiteboard and marker in her hand. "You don't need to lie. This is really important."
Inumaki was confused at her warning, quickly taking a glance at your unmoving frame still on the table. He didn't know what she was about to request from him, but he'd do anything to help you.
Iieri took her time, knowing her question was a bit odd to anyone that was unfamiliar with your condition, which was virtually everyone. She circled the table, leaning back against it to try and make the conversation seem a little less stressful. "It may not seem relevant, but I need you to tell me if Kaiya has been interested in anyone lately."
Inumaki's brows knitted together, really wondering why that was important. He looked down at the board, writing a few quick words before holding it up for Iieri to see. It read, "Not to be rude, but that's kind of personal. What does that have to do with her condition?"
That was reasonable, Iieri knew that. So, even though she didn't want to get into the specifics right now, she let him in on the basics. "Well, her condition started off as something psychological instead of physical. As unbelievable as it seems, I've seen this before, and it's caused by unrequited love, or when the patient believes it's unrequited. It only happens in people that have a great longing to become closer to another, mostly in a romantic sense," Iieri explained, making this no better for Inumaki.
He knew exactly what she meant though, you had definitely shown that recently, but he still had trouble believing that. So, he erased what he wrote, and replaced it with a new string of words. "Wouldn't tons of people have that then? People like people they can't have all the time."
This was getting a bit difficult now, and you weren't getting any better. "You're right, I understand why you're skeptical. But, there isn't enough research published to safely determine a direct cause. I don't have anything to gain by spreading around her crush like a school girl anyway," Iieri responded, an aloof tone about her voice.
That made sense, she wouldn't use that information too badly, right? She didn't have any reason to, not with nothing to gain. So, even though you had been intent on keeping your crush, and more importantly, your sexuality a secret, Inumaki believed her, hesitantly writing another sentence down. "If you're sure it would help, she really likes Maki."
Although Iieri wasn't surprised with your crush, it wasn't really expected either. No one else was openly out of the closet here, so now she understood why Inumaki was so hesitant to tell her. This was pretty deep unrequited love then, especially if you didn't believe Maki was gay. But, now Iieri knew what to do, so she started making preparations.
❀
Your throat was raw. It hurt pretty badly. Your first thought was to go get medicine, but you didn't know where you were. The haziness was slowly fading out of your eyes as you tried to feel for something.
Cool metal. That's what your hand landed on, and it seemed you were laying on it too. There were sides to the metal slab under you, and in an attempt to push yourself up with it, you were stopped. There was a hand on your stomach, gently but firmly pushing it down. You were kind of thankful for it too, as you didn't realize how much pain you felt down your neck, the sensation almost throbbing at every movement. You didn't fail to notice how fluffy it felt under the skin of your stomach, like you had just eaten a pillow. Now that you thought about it, your lungs kind of felt like that too, and that's when you realized how hard it was to breathe.
Voices. Whispers. There was one softly calling to you, or was it louder than that? The longer you laid, the louder it seemed to get. None of the information your body was receiving was making sense, until you finally saw a shade of dark green. You thought it was leaves for a split second, maybe you were still outside laying on the ground from when you... wait.
You'd passed out. The ground would've been concrete if you were still outside, and when you got your vision back, that beautiful dark green was actually something very familiar to you. It was hair. Maki's hair.
No, no, no. Maki. She'd looked so scared earlier, you faintly remembered the panic in her voice as you went down, still as beautiful and as perfect as ever. Should you really have been thinking about that right now? It didn't matter, you wanted to check on her. You needed to check on her.
Her name weakly escaped your lips, and it caused movement. They had reacted to your words, and that's when your hearing completely returned.
"Kaiya, Kaiya. Please tell me you hear me." That... that was Maki. She was here for you, it made your heart beat instantly raise.
"I hear you. Maki, what happened?" you asked, finally noticing you were in the infirmary. Iieri was also looking at you from above, but looked much less worried than Maki.
Maki sighed in relief, looking visibly less afraid to your confirmation. "Holy shit, Kaiya. You fainted, you scared the hell out of me," she admitted, the thankful tone being hard to miss. It made you smile, you didn't need to question why you fainted if she was happy.
But, Iieri immediately noticed what was taking effect. Your emotions were in full swing. You were valuing Maki's simple relief over your own condition, the feeling no doubt increased by your disease. "Kaiya," Iieri called, your eyes reluctant to leave Maki's, but met the doctor's anyway. "You have a very serious medical condition, and it's extremely rare, so I need you to trust my judgement on your treatment," she stated, her voice serious and even. That alone let you know you either weren't about to like this treatment, or it was something pretty painful. Little did you know, it would be both.
"I believe you've been meaning to tell Maki something for quite some time. It's quite literally now or never," Iieri warned, exchanging glances with two different people. You hadn't even noticed Inumaki was sitting in a chair across the room.
A looming feeling set over you. One you really didn't like. "I have to... tell her something? I don't really know what you mean," you lied, wanting anything else than to admit what you felt in your heart.
Iieri sighed. "Kaiya. Now is not the time. You know exactly what I mean, you're dying." She sounded completely unamused, like she could possibly know what you had to lose by admitting something like that. You could lose everything, would lose everything. You knew it, so she had no right to tell you that.
Your eyebrows knitted slightly with your frown. You knew you didn't have to say anything. You could handle yourself. "No, I don't. Words can't save me if I'm dying," you said stubbornly, as it to tell her you didn't believe her.
Instead of getting mad or upset, Iieri's jaw tightened, only loosening to tell you something you really didn't want to hear. "There's no reason to hide it. She already knows. Tell her now or you'll never get the chance to."
Her stern words pissed you off. She didn't know what she was talking about. How could she? You knew that Inumaki would keep your secret...
What the hell had he done? You had done so well keeping your feelings a secret, and he told someone. How could he betray your trust like that?
You needed a second to process things, but that was a second you didn't have. Your fists clenched, and you forced your top half up before they could stop you. "No, she doesn't. I thought I had a better friend than that, but she can't know," you seethed, being extremely obvious as you cut a glare to Inumaki. The only person you thought was safe to tell, the one who could barely talk normally, and even he had blabbed your biggest secret.
Inumaki's eyes darkened, he obviously felt bad for doing it, but you didn't care. You didn't even see he was apologetic through your heated eyes, he had taken away a moment that would've been so special for you. Maki softly touched your fist after that moment, hoping to calm you down. "Kaiya, it's okay, he had to. I'd much rather know than have you die."
You didn't dare interrupt her pretty voice. Even though you listened to her, you still refused to believe it. "Maybe, but I'm not gonna die. They... they can't know that-"
Iieri was quick to speak over you. "Yes, we can. And you will, if you don't stop being so stubborn and just tell Maki you love her," she said bluntly, making you upset to another level. She definitely wasn't afraid to hurt your feelings to get you to cooperate.
She said it out loud. In front of her. Why would she do that? You were fine. You were fine.
"W-what are you two doing? You're messing things up, you're messing everything up!" You quickly turned to Inumaki, no matter how bad your throat and lungs burned just from speaking. "Why the hell did you do that? Why did you tell her? I thought you were a nice person, you promised not to tell a soul!"
Inumaki looked hurt, he didn't like you being this upset with him. You figured he'd just stay quiet, mumble a few stupid rice ball ingredients under his breath, cry maybe. It wouldn't have made you any less mad, but you would've felt a bit better. But no. No one was on your side today, not even Maki. In actual words, he said, "I didn't have a choice. You were dying, and I wanted to save you. I was trying to be a good friend."
You weren't used to hearing him say anything other than ingredients, so this threw you off. It somehow threw your mood way off too. "You sure aren't acting like it. You're just selfish. You just... wanted to hurt me! I told you how important this was to me!" you nearly yelled, but your neck pulsed in pain. The feeling actually stretched all the way down to your chest now, you were hurting worse than ever before.
Even Inumaki, the always cool, calm, and collected one cracked at that. His face got slightly red, and he looked like he was about to say something before Iieri stopped you both, silently dismissing Inumaki from the room. He left without a fight, but he was no doubt upset.
"Kaiya, I'm going to have to ask you to control your temper. Inumaki didn't deserve that kind of behavior for helping save your life," Iieri chastised, a frown on her face. Yes, you were in a bit of an altered state of mind, but that was really rude. Iieri wasn't about to let that slide, especially not against someone who was so nice.
You really didn't know what to say. You felt so betrayed, so mad, so exposed. What were you supposed to say?
In a calmer tone, Iieri continued. "You have a condition known as Hanahaki Disease. When a person strongly believes their love is unrequited, they have a chance to develop it. A flower, deadly or not, starts growing in either your stomach or lungs, and in your case, it's both. It will suffocate you if you don't confess your love, but most importantly, they have to reciprocate for the disease to cure itself."
That information alone scared you. It made the gruesome image come back, the fact you'd been denying for so long come back, it just flooded your senses with fear and more fear. Your hand started to slightly shake, and Maki could feel it. She hadn't released your hand this whole time. She felt the need to comfort you, she knew what she had to do.
"Kaiya... just tell me. You won't regret it," Maki said softly, gently caressing your hand to soothe your anger, your fear. You stopped trembling just looking at your hands. Your hand in hers... it was too good to be true, and you knew it. You had no doubt that she was being forced to do this, but the pain you were feeling, you wanted it gone. Your whole body felt like it was soaking in lava, you just wanted everything back to the way it was. Back when you didn't have this stupid disease, when she didn't know, when training was your favorite part of the day because you simply got to see Maki. This situation was just getting more real by the second, there was no going back.
She already knew anyway, this disease had robbed you of so many things, there wasn't even a point anymore. It made you upset, just sad. Why did this have to happen to you?
You sighed, supposing you were ready to be rejected. You'd already fought it enough, and this wasn't getting any better. So, after a long moment of pure silence and reluctant acceptance, you confessed, not moving your gaze from your touching hands once. "I... have feelings for you, Maki. You're the most pretty, most unique, and most talented person I've ever met. I-" You struggled to say the last bit, it hurt to know you were going to die after this. "-I love you. And it was nice knowing you, while it lasted..."
There were no words for a while, and each second caused the pain to worsen. Your body ached, you were so tired.
"I love you too, Kaiya. That was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever said to me, I just wish you would've talked to me more instead of shying away," Maki confessed softly, but you couldn't believe it. Everything was working out so perfectly, too perfectly. It was fitting for a girl as wonderful as her.
You wanted to smile, but you couldn't. A frown crossed your face instead. There was no use believing rehearsed words, which was what you thought it was.
"Look at me," she said, guiding your chin to look into your eyes. Iieri had told her right, you weren't going to accept it. She had to prove it, not only to save you from dying, but to also come clean herself.
She was almost as bad as you when it came to feelings.
"If you won't believe me, at least give me a chance to prove it. Because I'm serious, whether you accept my feelings or not," she said, holding your gaze the entire time.
She turned it around on you. The situation was no longer her having to accept your feelings, it was now you having to accept hers. There was absolutely no way you'd shoot her down after that. How could you reject the most perfect girl in the world? She'd gotten your faces so close together, just to prove her point. And she'd surely proved it alright.
"Please... prove it to me," you practically whispered, scared to break the moment. This was all you ever wanted, just delivered in a way you never expected.
While you were so absorbed in the moment, you didn't see Maki silently signal Iieri to leave the room, or at the very least, look away. Iieri just smiled, playfully shielding her eyes before walking out to stand beside the door.
As soon as she left, Maki looked into your eyes for a few more moments, making you feel like you could actually have what you wanted for the first time since you realized you liked her. She was so close, steadying your face, and looking at you with the most genuine look you've seen on her.
"Listen to me," she told you, speaking at a volume only you could hear. "I love you, I really do."
Her lips slowly met yours, keeping the moment light but letting the emotion run freely. Her lips were as soft as you imagined, the sensation relaxing your body more than you thought it would. There was a huge wave of relief soothing your body, so much that you thought it was actually physical, which it was.
That was the relief of the constant physical pain you'd been in for the past two and a half days. The creeping feeling in your throat died down, receding back into your stomach and withering there as well. Air would've filled your lungs again if you weren't kissing, but your airways did clear. The white hot pricks of pain also recoiled, although they left sores.
When Maki had finally pulled away (you were determined not to do it first, oxygen or not), you stared at her in disbelief. She made your heart continue to race, your face warm, and you have to catch your breath. She simply smiled back in return, lightly laughing and gripping your hands when she saw you looked much better than before.
She didn't get a chance to comment on you before Iieri walked back in. "Look, I'll permit a long-awaited kiss, but nothing more," she joked, closing the door behind her. After walking up to you, she saw how much better you looked. "Well, well. Did my treatment work?" she slightly smiled, it not being her forte.
"I guess it did..." you answered sheepishly, not even letting go of Maki's hands when Iieri did a little check-up on you. You seemed to be completely fine now, besides the aftermath of the disease. Your throat was still red and sprinkled with sores, you didn't have much of an appetite, and your lungs were tense, but you could live with that. Iieri was getting you a prescription for your problems anyway, so you'd be good as new in no time.
"I spoke with Inumaki while I was out. He's been out there ever since your outburst. He's a really great friend, you should make it up to him," Iieri suggested, finishing up your check-up.
You looked down, feeling guilty for the way you spoke to him. "I will, anything for the best friend that saved my life."
That made everyone in the room smile, including Inumaki, standing outside of the slightly open infirmary door.