Health And Healing

"Wow, our friend here really cannot manage a cold, can he?" Yumi laughed as she propped Ulrich up. The brown haired boy was passed out on her shoulder. The three of them were still in the cafeteria, celebrating a great mission and Ulrich's fever seemed to be getting the better of him.

"Nah, he barely ever gets sick, but when he does...Let's just say it hits him pretty hard." Odd nodded his head, finishing off whatever was for dinner. "We should probably get him home."

"Yeah, I'm working on it. Hey, come on Ulrich." She whispered in his ear. He twitched, but made no move to get up. "Ulrich, you've got to wake up so we can get you you bed." She shook him gently.

"Yeah, Ulrich." Odd leapt up cheekily, leaning close to Ulrich's other ear. "You don't want to miss this...Yumi's trying to get you in bed!"

Yumi shot him a dirty look, but Odd just shrugged it off, proud of his work. Ulrich groaned and slowly opened his eyes. "What?" He asked in a daze.

"Sure, he heard that but he didn't hear me talking to him. Typical boys." She shook her head as Odd snickered beside her. "Anyway, let's get you out of here." Yumi said softly, lifting one of his arms over her shoulders and nudging him out of his chair. "I think you're done for the night."

-

With some teamwork (and one pitstop for Ulrich to throw up his lunch in one of the bushes surrounding the campus), Yumi and Odd managed to get him back to his dorm on the other side of the courtyard.

Ulrich was a surprisingly cooperative ill person, for which Yumi was extremely grateful. He obediently crawled into his bed and curled up under the covers while she got him a glass of water.

"Drink this." She demanded. "It will help you feel a little better when you wake up. Also, you really need to wash out that vomit stench you have going on."

He absentmindedly scowled at her, but obeyed, tilting his head back and drinking deeply. Yumi watched his throat bob as he swallowed, slightly amused.

"I feel like I've been rolled over by a megatank." He hissed, bringing his hand to his forehead. "Make that five megatanks."

"Ah, the sickness wearing of now?"

"No...I still feel...Fuzzy."

Yumi stifled a laugh. "Fuzzy?" She ran a finger down his arm, examining him. "Nope, you still feel normal to me."

"Lightheaded. Whatever."

"I'm sorry." Yumi smiled. "We really need to work on your tolerance levels. I fought of an army of crabs and blocks the last time I was sick."

"Yeah, then you passed out and I had to carry you here to recover." He deadpanned, taking in another long gulp of water. "I'm never getting sick again."

"Point taken. But, I think you're gonna get sick many times, especially if Odd and I have anything to do with it." She smirked.

"Ugh, did Odd make it back alright? I may have gotten him a little sick."

"Yeah, in much better shape than you too, I might add. He seemed to be just fine, a few coughs and sneezes here and there, but otherwise normal."

"I should check on him and apologize." He started to get out from under the sheet, but Yumi pressed her hand against his chest.

"Whoa there, slow down hot shot. He's fine. You aren't. You need to stay in bed or you're gonna get sick again. Trust me."

"But I-"

"No." She stated firmly. "Bed."

He sighed, but laid back down reluctantly. "You really are trying to get me into bed, aren't you, Yumi?"

Yumi choked on her own laughter. "Quite literally, yes. You heard Odd earlier?"

"Of course I did. I'm sick, not deaf."

"Are you going to remember any of this tomorrow?"

"Probably not. If this headache keeps up, I'll probably forget in half an hour."

Sighing, Yumi sat beside him on the bed and looked down at him. "Can I tell you a secret then?"

He closed his eyes. "Sure, not like I'll know in the morning."

She leaned forward. "I really like you."

His eyes flew open. "What?!"

"I like you." She spoke in a matter of fact tone. "I mean, I'm not forcing you to go out with me like Sissi, I just thought you should know."

He blinked at her in disbelief. "You do?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I? You're good looking and an excellent fighter. You care a lot about your friends and would do anything for us. You have a lot to offer. I've never met someone like you, and I've never felt this way about someone."

"My friends are all I've had for as long as I can remember." He murmured softly, apparently writing off her confession as some sort of delusion.

Yumi studied him intently. His face was unguarded for once, and though his dar eyes were still a little unfocused, it was as if he was searching for something she couldn't see.

"My parents were extremely tough on me. They couldn't accept me for me, but my friends could." He spoke thoughtfully. She hung on his every word, eager to learn more about his past that he has kept so hidden all this time. She wanted to know about him. "They look at me as a failure when I'd get bad grades, but you guys cheered me on as if nothing changed. They would yell at me for making mistakes, but my real friends always forgave me."

She placed a hand on top of his and squeezed it gently. "You're an amazing friend. We're so lucky to have you."

"But are you really? I mean, I feel that there will be a point where I have made too many mistakes and you won't be able to accept me anymore. I've never been so scared of something. I wonder sometimes if you'd be better without-"

"Of course we wouldn't be, don't even think like that." Yumi cut him off. "We obviously love you for you. We all make mistakes, it's just a part of life. We wouldn't trade you for the world!"

"But still-" He started again.

"No. No 'but still' or 'what if'. Those never lead anywhere good. Now come on, you should probably try to sleep. The sickness isn't going to go away if we talk all night."

"We're lucky to have you too." He whispered drowsily. "I'm luck to have you..."

"I'm lucky to have you too." She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. "You'll always have me."

He exhaled and turned his head toward her. "Thank you, Yumi."

-

The next morning, Ulrich didn't remember a thing and had a massive headache. The spot just above his right eyebrow, where Yumi had kissed him, burned in a way he couldn't explain.

"What happened last night?" He asked Odd wearily over breakfast.

"You got pretty messed up." Odd replied, sipping his third hot chocolate of the morning. "Yumi took care of you though, she said you might be confused this morning. Oh, and that you might have a killer headache."

"She was right about that." He rubbed the spot that burned, frowning, trying to remember anything from the night before.

Then suddenly, it all came crashing down. He dropped his hand from his head and his jaw fell slack. He remembered a flash of Yumi looking down at him with a gentle smile and then a flash of her lips on his forehead. There where snippets of a conversation - "you're an amazing friend" - "we obviously love you for you" - "you will always have me".

Ulrich's cheeks burned red and spun around to face Odd. "Where is Yumi now?"

"Probably at home getting ready for school. She'll be here at any moment now. Why?"

"No reason. I just wanted to, um, thank her."

Odd raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? Just to thank her?"

"Shut up. Just eat your breakfast."

As he prepared himself for the day and ate his own breakfast, Ulrich made a resolution to himself. There was no turning back after last night and he couldn't just pretend that nothing happened, not now that he knew Yumi cared for him and he'd opened up to her about his insecurities with his parents.

Today he was going to tell Yumi how he really felt about her.