Child of The Summer Reborn (KagePro Facfic)

Being Sick Isn't so Bad!

Natsuko POV

"Welcome to the Mekakushi-dan!" said the blond one, spreading his hands. "I'll introduce myself. I'm Kano!"

I heard other names, all melding together in my brain. Kido, Kisaragi Momo, Enomoto Takane, Kisaragi Shintaro, Amamaiya Hibiya, Kokonose Konoha. "You guys are siblings?" I said looking at Shintaro and Momo. "Go figure. You guys look alike."

"Don't group me with this hikiNEET!" said Momo, throwing her hands up.

"Anyway," Kido said, shooting Momo a glare, "You'll be number eleven, all right?"

I don't understand. "But there's only nine people here."

"We had another member," Kido said, staring into space. "Well, we have another member, we still believe she's out there, somewhere."

I nod, not knowing what to say at this moment. After a spell of silence, I say, "I'll do my best here!"

"I'll show you to your room." Says Kano. He escorts me down the hall, and we stop at a gray door. "Here it is. Hopefully you'll be comfortable. It's getting late, so we'll have to explain the rules tomorrow."

I nod at him. I just realized how tried I am, and I don't want to speak, in fear of collapsing. I walk into the room, and Kano leaves. I look around, it's a pretty decent place. On the dresser, there's a picture. I walk over to it, and stifle a scream. There's the ghost girl, and that gray-haired girl, with the rest of the Mekakushi-dan, at the amusement park. They all look very close. I wonder... where did they go?

I have a sudden need for air, and I start hyperventilating. I feel hot, and I start to cough. Maybe I'm sick. I look in the mirror on the dresser, and my face is flushed. I lay down on the bed, I just need to rest for a bit. But I can't, can't rest, my coughing keeps me up. I my head hurts badly, and my stomach feels uncomfortable. I go into the bathroom, and throw up the cereal that I ate. I have nothing left in me now, so I go back to bed and do my best to sleep.

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I drag myself into the kitchen the next morning, feeling how I felt last night. Kido is cooking. "Ohayo!" she says to me.

I wave to her weakly, and pull myself into the living room, where everyone is gathered. My eyes are hidden, and hopefully they won't see my flushed face. I sit next to Hibiya, and listen to the conversation that everyone is having.

"I'm hungry," Kokonose-san said.

"Kido's cooking," Momo said, "Just wait."  

"Okay," Kokonose-san replied, but he didn't look happy.

"Suko, what do you want for breakfast?" Mary asked me from across the room.

"I don't want anything," I whisper, not able to talk loudly.

"Excuse me?" Mary said, not hearing me.

"She said she didn't want anything." Says Amamaiya-kun, the only one who heard me.

"You're awfully quiet today," Seto said, leaning over to get a better look at me. "Are you okay?"

I wave my hand at him, pretending to be passive, but his hand is already on my forehead. My bangs are lifted, revealing my flushed face. I looked in the mirror this morning, and my eyes are darker than usual, now a deep navy. "You have a fever. A serious one. Why didn't you tell us?"

I try to speak, but I just whimper. I feel fidgety, and my breaths are short. I clutch my chest, uncomfortable. Everyone is staring at me now. This is exactly what I didn't want. I don't need pity. I can take care of myself. Just not right now, maybe. I sneeze, and I do admit, it sounds pretty cute, but it brings such a pain to my head that I reach up and grab it.