Chapter Text
"Tenma! Would you be able to solve this problem?" Tsukasa confidently stands up to answer and begins to speak, only to suddenly clutch his stomach and squeak out an "Excuse me!" before rushing out of class 3-C. "...Kamishiro, would you go make sure Tenma is okay?" the teacher asks. Not that he needed to be in the first place, Rui does as he's told.
Upon reaching the nearest bathroom he can find, Rui immediately hears Tsukasa throwing up in one of the stalls. It sounds violent in there, to be honest, so Rui timidly questions, "Tsukasa-kun…? Are you alright?"
Hearing Rui's voice, Tsukasa sputters out a cough and clears his throat, acting as if he wasn't just letting go of his breakfast.
"Ah, Rui! I-I'm perfectly fine! I simply was feeling a little under the weather and didn't want to distract anyone in class, that's all! No cause for... hhh... for concern..."
Rui lets out a sigh and asks again, "Tsukasa-kun, are you positive? It really doesn't—"
"HRRK!" Tsukasa loses the battle with his stomach, somehow puking even more violently than before.
Rui felt bad for him at this point. With an exasperated sigh and a rub of his temples, he calls out, "Stay put Tsukasa-kun, I'll be right back."
As quickly as he can, Rui makes his way to the classroom. "Teacher, I apologize for the delay, but Tsukasa-kun is indeed quite ill. With your permission, I'd like to accompany him to the infirmary."
"Ah, I see... none needed. I know that Tenma is almost never sick, and it seems to be severe now; please tell him to take care. Thank you, Kamishiro." Rui bows slightly, walking to his and Tsukasa's desks to get their bags before exiting the classroom once again.
As if Rui couldn't be any more worried, when he arrives to the bathroom again his vision is filled with the image of Tsukasa slumped into one of the sink basins, cold water running over his face.
"Tsukasa-kun?!" Rui shouts, abandoning their things at the threshold in favor of going to Tsukasa's side.
"Ah, Rui, it simply feels nice is all, plus I wanted to get the taste out of my mouth," Tsukasa says, speech garbled from the stream flowing over and in his mouth. Concerned, Rui decides to pull Tsukasa up by his shoulders to get a good look at him.
"Damn," is the only thing that Rui gets out when he sees Tsukasa's appearance. Flushed face, puffy eyes, runny nose, the works. It could only be made worse if he were crying too. Regardless, he looks like shit, to put it lightly. "Okay, we're going to the nurse, now," Rui says.
Tsukasa stands up straight, eyes wide. "No! No, I, uh, I actually feel much better now, Rui! Let's just go back to class, I promise I won't cause a disturbance again."
Rui furrows his brow, frowning deeply. "No. There's no way I'm letting you go back in there just to watch you to suffer in silence."
Putting on Tsukasa's backpack and picking up his own bag, Rui grabs Tsukasa by the arm in a firm but gentle grip, leading them to the infirmary. Not without much struggle and protest from Tsukasa, of course.
"Seriously, Rui, I don't know why you're so insistent on taking me down there," Tsukasa grumbles, still halfheartedly trying to wriggle out of Rui's hold.
"Tsukasa-kun, you were throwing up. Even if you got sick more often, that's a cause for concern. Considering it's you we're talking about, it is one hundred percent imperative that you at least get checked out," Rui says.
"Think of it this way," he continues, "if it were me in your position, would you not want me to see the nurse? Being obviously ill and refusing to get help, trying to push myself to keep going..." Not that I haven't done that before, Rui thinks.
Tsukasa is silent for a moment. "…When you put it that way... I suppose I'd try my best to make sure you were alright," he begrudgingly admits, not struggling to get out of Rui's grasp any longer.
"So allow me to do this much then. To make sure you'll be okay." Rui murmurs the last bit. He relaxes his grip but doesn't fully let go of Tsukasa, who notices that, internally grateful. Without his steady arm to rely on, he might've crumpled onto the floor.
On the rest of the short trip to the infirmary, Rui absentmindedly rambles about anything he can think of. Tsukasa is glad for the distraction, nodding and humming his acknowledgement when appropriate. If he relaxed and leaned his head on Rui's shoulder, neither of them spoke up about it.
"Ah, Kamishiro-kun! Need another bandage for—Tenma-kun?!" the nurse gasps in surprise as Rui and Tsukasa make their entrance into the infirmary.
"Hehe, I don't need one for him today, no. In all seriousness, though, he does need some assistance," Rui says, guiding Tsukasa to sit in a chair near the nurse's desk.
"Look, I really shouldn't be—"
"Tsukasa-kun was throwing up. He also seems to be quite weak, either as a result of that or as a separate symptom. I had to help him stand upright the whole way down here," Rui interjects, knowing Tsukasa would downplay the severity of his sickness.
"I see," the nurse says, picking up an oral thermometer and approaching Tsukasa. "Please hold this under your tongue, Tenma-kun. I'm going to look at a few other things as well." She puts a pulse oximeter on one of his fingers. After the thermometer chimes, she takes both objects back and studies them closely for a moment. "Hmm… you've got a slight fever—101.2° Fahrenheit. Your pulse is a bit high, too. Let me check your blood pressure," she says, placing the thermometer and pulse ox aside.
Rui isn't sure what to do with himself while all of this is happening to Tsukasa, opting to pull up another chair to sit beside him. It was strange, being the one to keep Tsukasa in line. He'd do the same for me, Rui thinks happily, …but he'd also do it for many other people he cares for, surely. That's just how he is, isn't it?
He's broken from his thoughts by the nurse speaking. "126 over 82, good. I suspect you may simply have some sort of stomach bug or viral sickness. It is that time of year, after all."
Tsukasa deflates in his chair, ready to get out of there already.
"I'd like to watch you for a bit, though. Since you're rarely sick, I fear this may be the beginning of something more rearing it's ugly head. I do also think you should go home after you rest here," the nurse says.
That gets Tsukasa's attention. He looks at Rui, eyes wide and fearful. Rui places his hand gently on Tsukasa's shoulder, leaning over to his ear. "It's okay, Tsukasa-kun. Lie down for a bit, we'll figure something out," Rui whispers.
"Tenma-kun, please come lie down on this cot. I'll give you a cool cloth for your head too, if you want it," the nurse smiles, motioning towards a cot at the back of the room.
Tsukasa sighs shakily, and with the assistance of Rui, goes over and gets on the cot. Rui moves his chair to be beside it, placing their bags on the ground beside him.
"Here's that cloth I promised, and also a bag in case you need to throw up again. Would you like a blanket as well?" the nurse asks, lying the small washcloth on Tsukasa's forehead.
"Thank you, and no, I'm fine. I appreciate your help," Tsukasa mumbles gratefully, not-so-secretly enjoying the coolness.
"Alright then, you're welcome," the nurse nods, turning to Rui. "Is there anything I can get for you, Kamishiro-kun?"
Rui shakes his head. "No, not at the moment. I'm just here to support Tsukasa-kun," he says, motioning to said blond, who had closed his eyes, expression a slight grimace.
"I see," the nurse says softly. "Then, in that case, I'll be at my desk. I'll leave you two be for a little while. Please do let me know if you need anything." She smiles at Rui, closing the privacy curtain around the cot.
"Rui," Tsukasa says, voice firmer than it had been previously. "I cannot go home like this. I… I don't feel all that great, I'll admit to that, but if I were seriously sick…" he trails off, face twisted in nervousness almost uncharacteristic of himself.
Rui understood. "Then you risk the chance of bringing some unknown illness to Saki-kun, right?" Rui finishes. Tsukasa had briefly talked about his sister before. She had recovered and was doing very well currently. The thought of making Saki sick, having her relapse, sending her to the hospital again for God knows how long… it terrified him to no end.
Tsukasa huffs out a tense breath. "Yeah. I—I can't afford to be sick. I don't want to go home with the knowledge that I might've picked something up. She's been doing so good but, God, Rui, I would never be able to forgive myself. Even if all she got was a cold, knowing that I brought that to her is…" He pauses, taking a deep breath to collect himself. "Anyways, the bottom line is that I can't go home. Not right now, at least," he says, finally relaxing and closing his eyes.
How sad, to have so much to worry about at eighteen years old, Rui thinks.
"Mm, yes," he agrees, pondering on what exactly to do after this point.
Genius suddenly strikes him.
"Why don't you stay at my house?"
I have no chronically ill siblings to worry about, after all, he thinks.
Tsukasa frowns, furrowing his brows. After a moment, he cracks open his eyes to squint at Rui. With much hesitation in his voice, he asks, "Won't you get sick then?"
"Perhaps, but my immune system is much more capable than Saki-kun's, no?" Rui flashes his signature cat-grin.
Tsukasa opens his mouth to speak, then closes it and pauses, thinking for a brief second. He doesn't really like this idea, but admits that Rui has a point. He shuts his eyes again, letting out a dejected sigh. Rui knows he's won.
"In that case, I'll let the nurse know—"
"I didn't actually agree yet you know!" Tsukasa whisper-yells. "But… I guess if you're offering…" He sighs once again. "It's much better than the alternative, I suppose," he mutters.
"Hehe, then like I was saying, I'll let the nurse know we'll be leaving shortly," Rui happily replies, standing up to do just that.
After a brief conversation with the nurse, Rui gathers his and Tsukasa's bags and assists him in getting up and off of the cot.
"Please get well soon, Tenma-kun! School isn't the same without your lively presence, especially in the mornings," the nurse says with a slight giggle.
Tsukasa, holding onto Rui's arm as he was earlier, beams at her words. "But of course! The day must be started out correctly; with a bright and cheerful 'good morning' ! It's my duty not only as hall monitor, but also as an upperclassman," he says.
"I do believe it wakes everyone up, that's for certain," Rui says with a smirk. "In any case, we must get going on our way now, right, Tsukasa-kun?"
Tsukasa narrows his eyes at Rui. "I'm not sure what you meant by that first part… but indeed yes, we should head out. I'm pretty worn out, actually," he says the last sentence under his breath.
"Hmm~? What was that, Tsukasa-kun?" Rui teases.
"N-nothing!! Let's go, goodbye and thank you!" Tsukasa says to the nurse, who giggles again at the display.
Rui cuts him some slack, finally leading the two to the front of the school to change shoes.
With that final task complete, they set off for the Kamishiro household.