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P.E. is annoying but certainly not impossible for Akito. He has the stamina to run for as long as he needs, and sometimes he even enjoys himself with the games. So, when he and Toya enter the gym together with the rest of their class, he isn’t too worried about it.
Though something about Toya seems a bit off today. His best friend is usually pretty quiet, but today he’s barely said a word. His movements are sluggish and drowsy, and Akito's brow furrows in concern. He gives Toya a gentle pat on the back to get his attention as they step out onto the shiny wooden flooring.
“Oi, are you okay? You don’t look too good.”
Toya looks down to meet Akito’s gaze, cheeks flushed and eyes dazed. His head feels cloudy, messy and disoriented, and there’s this dull ache that throbs in the back of his skull. Still, he doesn’t want to make Akito worry. He’s sure he can get through the class just fine regardless.
“I..I’m alright. I just feel a little warm.”
Toya reassures him. Akito doesn’t find it all that convincing, not with that slight pause and stutter. Wearing a frown, he presses his hand against the boy's forehead, checking for a fever. Toya’s bangs are coated in a thick layer of sweat that he brushes out of the way, and his eyes widen when he feels the palm of his hand make contact with hot, clammy skin. He shakes his head.
“It feels like you’re running a fever Toya, you should sit this one out. Want me to walk you to the nurse?”
Akito suggests, but Toya stubbornly shakes his head.
“I’m fine, really. We’re playing basketball this time right? I should participate.”
Akito gives him a slight grimace. He knows he’s just saying that because the teacher’s been getting on his ass about it lately. Toya tries his best, but unlike Akito he has a much harder time getting the rules down and keeping up with the rest of the class. He just sort of freezes, and his physical strength and stamina are subpar at best. Normally, Akito would encourage him to practice more, but he can’t shake the feeling that something’s off about him.
“No. Come on-”
FWEEEEEEET.
Akito is interrupted by a sharp whistle. He doesn’t miss the way it makes Toya jolt; he winces like the sound hurts his ears. Akito doesn’t get the chance to comment on it. The coach wastes no time with his explanation, and the class is quickly split up into two teams.
Akito and Toya take the left side of the court with half the class, and the other half takes the right. Akito considers himself lucky that he and Toya are on the same team, not just because he can spend more time with his friend but because it’ll allow him to keep an eye on him. He’s still not convinced that Toya isn’t sick.
Toya himself is starting to think Akito might be right about him needing to sit out. Everything is way too bright and every squeak of shoes against the floor makes his ears ring. To make matters worse, he’s feeling kind of nauseous. He went into this with the intention to play at his best so as not to disappoint his teacher again, and now it’s taking all of his energy just to stay upright. He’s barely keeping track of the ball as it flies across the court.
“TOYA! Don’t just stand there, play!”
The coach's voice booms from across the room. The game has picked up enough that most people don’t bother to pay attention to it, but Akito glares and shouts back in Toya’s defense.
“He’s sick! Take him off the court!”
The man just scoffs and shakes his head. He’s not gonna let someone play the “I’m sick” card just so they don’t have to participate. He doesn’t trust it coming out of Akito’s mouth when he and Toya are practically glued at the hip.
“Yeah right. If he can still stand, he’s fine. MOVE Toya.”
He commands, and only then does Toya register anyone was even speaking to or about him. He isn’t fully processing anymore but he moves when told to, taking off in a light jog. He can’t tell if it's his team's court or the others he’s heading to, all he knows is the ball is in that direction and he should probably get on that.
As he runs, everything starts to spin. He’s suddenly extremely dizzy, and he can feel bile rise up from his stomach and into his throat. He’s only just barely able to keep it down by pausing mid sprint. He’s shaking, a cold sweat starts to make its way down his back, and by God does his stomach hurt.
“Here, catch!”
A well meaning classmate aims the ball at Toya and throws it to him. It hits him directly in the chest. The ball ricochets away from him and he's sent backwards by the sudden pressure. Toya doesn't get the chance to recover before he sees stars of black and white dance in his vision.
“Toya!”
Akito watches from the other side of the court as he doubles over in an instant, falling forward onto his knees with a loud thud. Toya just barely catches himself from face planting with his hands, and in the next moment fluid spills from his mouth and coats the floor in vomit. His classmates back away with audible gasps, understandably so, but Akito closes the distance instead.
“I told you he was sick goddamnit!”
Akito is at Toya’s side immediately, hand on his back as he throws up.
The stomach acid burns Toya’s throat horribly, and it just keeps coming. He feels a slight pressure on his back, Akito’s hand most likely. He feels the need to say something but can’t get the words out before he gags again, lurching forward with bile that makes its way to the ground.
“It’s alright, just let it out. I’ll take you to the nurse–! …T-Toya?”
Akito's in the middle of soothing Toya through the vomiting when he notices a slight discoloration in his jeans, darkening the fabric like it's getting wet. It spreads from Toya's midsection down to his thighs, puddling around his knees on the floor, and Akito’s eyes widen with a sense of shock and dread. His hand stills against Toya's back. Is.. is this really happening? Right here, right now?
Toya’s so out of it he can’t see anything, let alone begin to identify anything Akito or anyone else is saying. All he really feels is the way his body is far too warm for the shivers that run through him endlessly. The way his nostrils burn with the distinct smell of his own puke. Another wave of nausea runs through his trembling form and he heaves.
Akito is stunned into silence. Toya's…pissing himself. He's unsure if he's even noticed yet with the way he's vomiting, but his classmates sure have. There's an eruption of comments and gasps as people back even further away.
“Ew, is he..?”
“Oh my god he's peeing himself!”
“Damn, he's still throwing up too…”
It's not like Akito can blame them, but he feels a surge of protectiveness anyway. He gets even closer to his friend, making sure to stay away from both the puddles of vomit and now urine respectively.
“Tsh..damnit.”
He whispers under his breath, resuming the gentle strokes against his back. He cards his fingers through Toya's split dyed hair too, matted down with cold sweat as he continues to expel the contents of his stomach.
Toya doesn't have the strength to hold himself up by the time he's finished, and he's a second away from face planting into his own vomit when Akito shifts to grab Toya before he can fully collapse, collecting him in his arms despite the mess. The coach has been doing nothing but gawking this entire time, so Akito takes it upon himself to get Toya out.
“I'm taking him to the nurse!”
His voice booms across the gymnasium with more force than he intended it to in his panic, and before anyone has the chance to make another sound he's scooping Toya up and scrambling to stand. He hooks one arm under his legs and wraps another around his back, then lifts. Toya's vomit and urine stick to his clothes, and though Akito grimaces a little he can't bring himself to care. He takes off for the exit, pushing through the door with urgency.
Toya isn't necessarily a heavy person, if anything he's on the lighter side, but Akito finds himself struggling to hold him anyway because right now he's pure dead weight. Toya's eyes are shut and his face is far too pink for someone who was so pale just moments before throwing up. Akito curses himself for the way Toya trembles in his arms. He knew something was up with him but he underestimated how bad it was.
He does his best to keep from prying eyes on the way to the nurse. After all, one look at the wet patch trailing down Toya's pants tells anyone exactly what happened, nevermind the vomit still stuck to Toya's chin and Akito's shirt.
About halfway down the hall, Toya finally seems to come to his senses at least a little. A quiet, confused voice meets Akito's ears.
“..kito?”
He has Akito's attention immediately. He stops in his tracks to stare down at Toya, and the sight pains him a little. It's just weird seeing someone normally so put together become so…vulnerable. Akito takes a breath and confirms.
“Yeah. It's me.”
Toya feels awful. He's disoriented and his vision is swimming in a way that makes him light headed. He squints, fighting to think clearly. He's obviously left the gymnasium and is being carried. Other than sick, he also feels kind of wet, more wet than what being sweaty would entail. He casts his eyes downward and his breath hitches.
“Akito, did I..?”
He doesn't even want to say it out loud. Honestly neither does Akito, but he responds anyway.
“Er, yeah. You did. Don't worry about it.”
How could Toya not worry? Sure he isn't the type to be easily flustered, but this is embarrassing. He’s so distracted he doesn't notice the silent tears starting to stream down his face. It isn't like Toya to cry over this, but he’s so sick and so exhausted it pushes him over the edge.
Akito's heart plummets. He doesn't know what to do, doesn't know what to say, so he just grips Toya a little tighter and keeps walking.
They reach the nurses office only a couple minutes later and Akito opens the door with his elbow. He sets Toya down onto his feet as soon as they step inside, making sure to keep one arm wrapped around his back to hold him up from under his shoulders. He doesn’t trust him to stand on his own without falling over. The nurse hears them enter and looks up from her desk.
“Hello, what- Ohh.”
Her chipper voice comes to a halt as soon as she sees them. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s going on and she quickly stands up.
“Come set him over here. Is he awake?”
“I mean, just barely”
Akito sets him on one of the beds in the room so the nurse can check his temperature and heart rate. Toya’s aware of what's going on but not truly present. His consciousness has been fading in and out since he threw up.
The nurse frowns but doesn’t seem alarmed. She just sighs and glances in Akito’s direction.
“Thank you for bringing him over. I’ve got it from here, you can head back to class now.”
Akito shakes his head and plants his ass down on a chair next to the bed, crossing his arms to make his point clear.
“No. I’m staying here for a bit.”
To his surprise and luck, she doesn’t argue with him. Instead, she rolls her eyes and leaves the room through a door in the back. He’s confused until he sees her return a moment later with a new set of clothes in her hands. She leans down to gently shake Toya’s shoulder.
“Hey. I need you to get changed in the bathroom okay? There’s one right next to your bed.”
She gestures not to the room she’d gotten the clothes from but one off to the side, presumably the bathroom. Toya’s arms shake as he sits up, and the nurse lets him lean on her to stand as she guides him to the door. He takes the clothes offered to him and enters the bathroom on his own, shutting the door behind him.
It takes a ton of effort for Toya to strip out of his soiled clothes and into the new ones. The task shouldn't be nearly this difficult, but his body just won’t cooperate. He sits on the floor so he doesn’t have to stand, struggling not to pass out before he's finally dressed. Getting up is strenuous but he manages, though he feels guilty about leaving his dirty clothes on the ground.
The door opens and Toya's shaky form follows suit. Akito rushes to his side, helping him stand and leading him back to the bed.
“Are you okay?”
“Mm….”
It's not quite an answer, but he'll take it. He lays him down and takes a step back when the nurse speaks up.
“He needs rest. Can you give me his first and last name so I can contact his parents?”
Akito obliges easily, and soon enough she's returned to her desk to ring up the landline phone.
Sitting back down, Akito glances over at Toya again. He'd shut his eyes almost instantly after Akito laid him down. He can't say for sure, but he gets the feeling that Toya's fallen asleep already. It scares him a little to think that he's ill enough to lose consciousness that fast.
“His dad is coming to pick him up. I can permit you to stay for a while, but I'm sending you back to class as soon as the next period starts.”
“...Alright”
Akito relents. The thought of leaving Toya's side makes him anxious, which is silly because Toya's doing just fine. He's resting like he should be and he's getting picked up. For whatever reason though that doesn't stop the worry from clawing at his heart. It makes him feel stupid.
He sighs, eyes grazing over Toya's weary form. Even in his sleep he seems restless. His breathing is ragged and his face is scrunched like he's in pain. Akito bites his lip with frustration. He really should leave. Looking at Toya like this hurts him; but instead he reaches for Toya's hand and caresses it, rubbing his thumb against the palm of his hand. The repetitive motion seems to ease Toya a little, but Akito would be lying if he said he wasn't doing it to soothe himself.
.
.
Akito leaves the office that day feeling uneasy, but he forces it out of his mind to focus on literally anything else. A few days go by and Toya remains sick, sp it's up to Akito to explain to An and Kohane why he can't make it to practice. All three band members feel the impact of his absence, and they resolve to work even harder so they can blow him away once he recovers. Akito feels especially motivated, singing his heart out with every note.
Toya recovers within the week, and when Akito spots him in the cafeteria he runs to him immediately, pushing through the crowded room to tackle him from behind.
“Toya! How’re you feeling? Have you recovered?”
Toya momentarily stumbles from the impact but he recovers quickly and flashes him his usual smile. Akito missed seeing it.
“I'm well, thank you. I've fully recovered.”
It's then that Toya's expression falters, and to Akito's surprise he bows his head in an exaggerated manner.
“I'm really, really sorry for the mess I caused. You told me to sit out and I didn't, and because of that you ended up having to drag me to the nurses office. I feel terrible about it, especially considering what a mess I'd made of myself….”
His words are one thing, but Toya's face and tone of voice appear so blank to most people, they wouldn't assume the apology is anything other than casual. But Akito's learned to read him so well, he can tell he really feels guilty about this. Embarrassed even. With a soft huff, he places his hand against Toya's head.
“Yeah, you should be sorry, you idiot”
He chastises gently, and yet his expression is so soft it catches Toya off guard.
“You should've stayed home and rested. Don't you ever do that again okay? You scared me”
He admits, ruffling Toya's hair before pulling his hand away. Toya comes up from his bow sheepishly.
“I won't”
He says sincerely. Akito grins and hooks his arm around Toya's elbow.
“Good. Now come on, let's eat. And after school we'll go to practice. The others have missed you you know”
“Looking forward to it. I promise to work as hard as I can to make up for the days I wasn't here.”
They fall into a comfortable rhythm of conversation, and for the first time since Toya's been absent Akito feels relieved.