A glimpse of the past. [Fang]

Dizzy…so very dizzy. Nai was beginning to see her body’s viewpoint. Regrets comes as they say when it actually has a reason to visit. But… for Nai the only regrets she has wasn’t for her wellbeing but for the wellbeing of her internal worklist. The list she’s now internally mourning was about to be added for tomorrow if her body doesn’t stop tossing its personal tantrum. She was at her limit… by the gods she should have noticed.. it’s her body after all but see that’s where your wrong. Nai has a habit of ignoring the warning signs her body has long been trying to drill into her head.

She’s stubborn like that, work first before the idea of resting ever comes to play but by then she’d have thought of more ‘chores’ to add to her mental plate. She has a roommate now… one would have thought they could delegate certain chores around their shared room now… But Kurenai being Kurenai wouldn’t dare do it. Not when Fang himself was still on the mend from his mishap with the cold a week or so ago.

She wouldn’t put a sick man to work… that wasn’t right. Not when he also has to deal with going to school soon. This is a school, he would have to suffer classes soon enough with them. The only mercy he has is that he’s going to be in Kiran’s senior year in highschool. Lucky boy… he’s safe from the horrors of college essays and workload.

As Fang’s lips touched her skin the first thing he might as well notice was the coldness it has. It wasn’t as warm as it should be. Her normal gentle warmth was clearly missing from her small body but that could easily be attributed to the fact she’s been outside. Nai’s momentary slumber came to an end where her mini blackout ended as she stirred, a soft moan slipped from her lips as dazed purple eyes twitched before opening. “Wha?....” The dazed girl tried to move but the grip of nausea hadn’t fully released her from its grip. “F-fang?...” She saw something red, the only red she could remember was Fang… She knew she got to her room right? But…why was she on her bed? So many questions only hurt her aching brain.

Mama Fang… how fitting to finally put a name to the side she unwittingly triggered again. It’s no secret Fang has a gentle soul. But trigger it at a certain point and you’ll get what she’s having now. A worried Fang fussing over her like a mother hen fusses over his collection of chicks. She was fine, she kept repeating the thought over and over again as if by doing so her body would actually believe it to be true. Not today it wasn’t, if she wasn’t going to listen then her body was going to force her to listen.

It was his worried tone that struck a guilty cord in her. She’s making a sick man work for her sake. How low can she possibly get? Guilt loomed over her thoughts, clouding her already numbed mind from the growing headache echoing behind it. “You worry too much…” Sighed the girl. Nonetheless she didn’t stop him. She stayed still as he continued to fuss over her health. She didn’t mean to collapse a few steps after entering her room. That was her body’s decision, her mind would have rather she reached the couch and curl on it to wait out the remainder of her nausea. But noooo her body had to disobey and in turn attract a resting Fang’s attention. Sometimes she wonders why she even bothers getting her body to listen to what her brain is saying.

“I’ll be fine… I just exhausted myself. I just need to take a small rest.” She said. Hoping to pacify the boy’s worries before it got out of hand. The scent of tea lingered in her nose as she glanced over to the nightstand were the steaming mug he brought with him rested. White tea… the same one she gave him for his cold. Wordlessly the girl snuggled into the warmth blankets, he was right thought. The dark circles hanging under her eyes wasn’t a trick of the light as he had claimed earlier. The colour only became prominent due to the girl’s paling complexion. Her body…certainly knew how to make its point across. She needed to rest it was a fact Kurenai always forgets.

Nai held back a wince throughout his scolding. Internally she shrunk back like a child caught with her hand inside the cookie jar by a parent who explicitly told her not to eat treats before dinner time. She felt like that child now, a child being scolded by a parent who has their best intentions in mind. She wasn’t blind, she could see the worry clouding Fang’s face but… the next action he did, thoroughly tossed the girl’s composure out the window.

Composure? What composure? Oh the soul that leaped straight out of the window when Fang moved the covers on her bed and promptly slid in. A man in her bed, the girl’s pale cheeks flushed bright red. Red blush starkly contrasting the snow-white flesh the girl had on her. And then her own brain decided to abandon her too. So much for regaining her composure. “U-Uh… Fang-kun… u-uhm?” She stammered out, trying to find the right words to tell him this might not be a good idea but he seemed fully intent on making sure he rested.

Rested… For some reason or another Nai felt like she was forgetting something. At the tip of her tongue she knew the answer was there but she couldn’t quite recall with her mind being too preoccupied fighting against the part of her mind keeping her decorum in check. Men shouldn’t be joining unwed ladies in bed. That’s just…a cardinal no, no but here he was, doing so for her own wellbeing. She didn’t know whether to be touched by the gesture or freaked out at how close their skin is touching.

Easy Kurenai, she tried to calm herself. Breathing in internally a mantra to keep her fading cool as she stared right back at the teen. “I s-should be telling you that…You’re still ill..” She countered, trying to maintain some form of dignity right after he managed to smack her mask with his actions. “I’ll rest… right after I do---” The sentence ran dry in her throat when the thing she was trying to recall came up. “The potion for class tomorrow! By Kami I forgot.” And now she was panicking, and clearly trying to get out of the bed despite her body protesting through the nausea trying to burn a hole in her head.

It’s official. Nai.exe has stopped all functions the moment she felt his arms practically dragged her down in bed. Where had she seen this scene before? The girl’s numbed mind, struggled to recall as it tried to fight a losing battle between the shock of Fang’s actions and the growing headache further hazing her mind into fuzzy oblivion. “But… but… school work…, laundry…., cooking…” She numbly started listing all the chores that still needed to be done. She had more, but that’s the few she could recall right now due to head being a preoccupied.

Fang meant well.. but it was her inability to task others her work that was making things difficult for her to rest. She sighed, eventually she had to call in the white flag. Her gazed lifted up, half-hearted exasperation glimmered through those eyes of hers until…she noted just how close they were. Hazed be damn, her head just went back to full alert as she whined. “F-Fine…” She reluctantly gave in. The pout had been her first mistake, she knew well enough she couldn’t handle Fang pouting but she still looked anyway. She still…took a gamble and look knowing that she’d likely lose to the boy. And she did, she lost spectacularly given how she was agreeing to his demands. But the only thing…she refused to agree was him doing her work.

She has two hands, two damn hands to work her own school problems. She didn’t want to burden Fang with her own problems. “I’ll… rest…” She sighed defeated. “And uhm…. If its okay… if you could help me?... I’m not really familiar with salves…” She sighed, taking another defeat. She asked him merely to help her, not do it himself. She mentally corrected. Nothing wrong with asking pointers right?

“Are you sure----” The girl was midway through her question when she heard his statement. The girl’s mouth snapped shut. Kiran… of course, Nai internally groaned in dismay. Why did Kiran have to mention ‘ulcers’… “I don’t have…ulcers… that’s just Kiran being a colossal idiot…” The girl grumbled out. Seeing as her mask was being shot to nothing. She might as well let it slip for now. She didn’t have the mental energy to keep it up with the headache taking most of her attention away. “You…shouldn’t listen to him when it comes to jokes like that…. Though remind me to drag him into math class… tomorrow… lets see how he enjoys it.” She grumbled, shifting her gaze from him towards the sheets before she moved to make herself comfortable. Another win for fang it seems, and this coming from a girl who would likely kill herself from overwork.

Kurenai paused. Furrowing her brows together in contemplation. On one hand Fang was right, he’s a capable boy. He had his hands he can use to get his side of the chores done but the other half of her conscience stopped the thought dead in its tracks. He’s still recovering, her other side not so gently reminded her of the few days when she had to laboured taking care of the sick bird who spent the last few days battling a bad cold he caught from his idiotic decision to spend a few hours out in frigid temperatures in nothing but his damn skin.

Phoenix heat be damned… he was clearly freezing his tail feathers off when she found him. It was by some miracle he didn’t pass clear out due to hyperthermia but he still suffered exposure… by gods, Nai internally cringed at the memory of her having to poke Kiran to help her bring him to the nurse for some proper medication.

But that was all in the past now, the other half argued. He’s getting better, he looked a lot healthier than he did a few days ago. Maybe he could handle… She pouted, her lips unwittingly puffed up in a sigh as she mulled over her decision. “I know…” Still stubbornly ignoring the drowsiness creeping up from the back of her head due to tiredness and the comforting warmth the blankets Fang wrapped around her small body. “You’re still on the mend… I don’t want to accidentally strain you.” She sighed softly, was that another excuse? It certainly sounded like it.

The red hue of a blush coloured Kurenai’s cheeks in response. A silent answer to the boy’s blunt retort towards her sad attempts at veering the attention she gained away from her sickly self. She hated it, absolutely loathed the idea of inconveniencing anyone with her ailments. Her body, her sickly body was her problem. No one needed to be bothered by her issues. Especially not Fang who already has his own to deal with.

Teeth gently nibbled on her bottom lip as Kurenai mulled over her darkening thoughts. The faint movement of his hand evaded her sight until she felt the shifting of the blankets around her, tucking her into the warmth both the sheets and his own close body provided. It’s enough to act as a lulling lullaby to the exhausted girl. Still no one can say she didn’t do her damnest to fight against the call of sleep. “Supposed I’m just use to ignoring my own needs…” She chuckled tiredly, instinctively snuggling closer to the warmth as her eyes slid to a close. “Fine…a nap wont be so bad…” She yawned softly.

“If you get sick…don’t blame me.” Came another retort from her lips, sounds like someone grew tired of fighting against a losing battle with sleep.