≪ Chapter 11 ≫

No One's POV

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A certain mousse-haired megane walked along the hallways of Karasuno, enjoying the small peace she had with herself that afternoon.

It wasn't very long until she had been halted by a hand being suddenly placed on her shoulder, making her flinch in surprise– only to find that it was someone she had no energy to deal with.

"Quick question," Sugawara stated, facing his one-and-only rival, "are you up for a bet?"

Raising an eyebrow while folding her arms, she asked, "What's in it for me?"

"If you lose, you owe me three favors. And if I lose, I owe you three favors," he told her.

"Measly offer," she smiled confidently, "how about five?"

"Five it is," he agreed.

"Now tell me what we have to do," she instructed.

"I bet you can't finish a whole bottle of hot sauce," he smirked, "in less than two minutes,"

"Just try me," she challenged, "I don't have any hot sauce, though,"

"Uso, you're gonna do it?" he asked excitedly, taking a small bottle of the spicy sauce out of his blazer's pocket.

"On one condition," she said, looking at him.

Motioning for her to continue, he said, "Go ahead,"

"You have to do it as well," she told him.

"I knew it," he grinned, pulling another bottle from his blazer's pocket, "luckily, I'm prepared."

"Why so suddenly, though?" she questioned, eyes widening in shock at how determined he has seemed for this bet.

"Because I know you can't handle spicy stuff well, ne~?" he chuckled.

"Psh, whoever said that? Hurry now, I want to go home," she denied, putting out her hand.

Handing her a bottle of hot sauce, he mumbled a small "Here," before she grabbed it from him.

'Yabe,' she cursed, 'I seriously can't handle spicy food too well, damn.'

"3, 2, 1, go!" Sugawara counted down, shouting excitedly.

Both had twisted the caps open and immediately chugged down the hot sauce while the silver-head took a look at his wristwatch.

Hikari's face puffed up to a reddish color, getting redder and redder as she drank; Sugawara was doing well as his face was barely red, halfway through finishing it.

'Crap, crap, crap!' she thought, quickening her sipping pace.

Sugawara smiled, seeing the panic on her face as he caught just a glimpse of his competition struggling to finish the whole bottle.

It was only a few minutes before he had been able to successfully finish his own bottle.

"Ah, done," he announced, shaking the bottle for extra drops.

"Mmph," she mumbled, just about finishing it as well, "done. I win the bet,"

"Oh, I almost forgot. You can't drink any liquid for fifteen minutes," he mentioned, "or you're going to lose."

"Sure," she nodded, feeling her stomach suddenly hurt, "well, if that was all, I'm going home."

"Iyada," he shook his head, "how do I know you're not going to drink anything?"

"Ugh, fine, geez. Should we stay in the classroom? I'd rather do homework while waiting," she suggested.

"As long as I can keep an eye on you," he said, narrowing his eyes. "This should be over at 4:35,"

"Don't you have like, practice or something?" she asked, starting off toward their classroom, him doing the same.

"Nope," he answered, shaking his head. "Daichi called it off today,"

"Eh? Sawamura-kun? He's pretty nice, unlike you," she noted, staring off into space.

"Hey, hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Sugawara defended, looking at her spitefully.

The two had been able to reach their destination shortly, and standing in front of them was the door leading to their empty classroom.

"I'll leave that for you to decide," she winked, sliding the door open as she stepped in, making her way to one of the chairs.

"Omae uzai," he hissed, following after the brunette, making sure to close the door after.

Folding her arms, she retorted, "Rude,"

"So, what are we going to do a whole fifteen minutes of being disgustingly in a room together?" he questioned, grabbing a seat.

"There is no 'we'. You're on your own," Hikari replied nonchalantly, pulling a folder out of her bag.

She opened up the folder, taking out a few sheets of paper, grabbing her pencil case from her bag afterwards.

'Would you look at that, skies seem rather grey today,' she thought, quickly glancing outside before shifting her gaze back to her paper. 'But oddly, it's a bit hot. My head hurts,'

She quickly tied her hair in a bun, then returning to her homework.

The light-skinned male decided to do the same, thinking that it would be more convenient for him to have everything done before going home.

A silence was shared, neither comfortable nor awkward, as the two had done their own separate things on opposite sides of the classroom– just as they preferred it.

Nothing but the sound of the ticking of the wall-clock and the brushing of the pencils against the paper had been heard throughout, as the two quietly did their homework.

Despite what he had been already doing, Sugawara had been observing her intently, trying his best not to get caught by the occasional glances– or rather, glares– as he pretended to be working on his own homework as well.

Time passed by quicker than expected, and fifteen minutes drove by fast, resulting in the female of the two to rise from her chair as soon as the second hand of the classroom clock hit 35.

"I'm going. Anyways, I win the bet, so you owe me five favors now," she reminded him, adjusting her grip on the handle of her bag.

"Right, right. Mata ashita," the platinum blonde waved, watching her leave the classroom.

"Mata ashita," she mumbled.

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The pitter-patter of the rain echoed in her ears as Hikari looked up to the sky, full of dark clouds hovering above her.

"Yabe," she remarked, groaning, "I didn't know it would rain today,"

Putting her bag on top of her head, she decided, "I guess I'll have to run quickly all the way to the station. Having my house far from school is ever so convenient, isn't it?"

Sighing, she headed out past the gates of Karasuno, getting drenched the moment she set foot away from the shade.

Her shoes tapped against the concrete ground quicker than usual, as the world around her became quite a blur– people and scenery alike.

It wasn't long until she felt the heaviness of the rain become quite an obstacle to her, delaying her more than she had liked.

Her tummy had then rumbled, making her flinch. 'Talk about bad timing. I shouldn't have agreed to that lousy bet.'

She continued to run, muscles that hadn't been used as much as she knew they'd been before suddenly throbbing.

She then sneezed, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her blazer. 'Why do I suddenly feel like my whole body is heating up? Is it because it was too hot in the classroom?'

Her pace slowed– not even halfway to the station, and she was already feeling tired; she knew that she could go a length far more excessive than this.

She felt pathetic.

'Hang in there, Ayumu. You can do this, you're alright. You've gone through more tiring things,' she thought, a distant memory flashing through her mind.

"You're already tired?"

'N-No, wait, I wasn't supposed to remember that–' she panicked, breath hitching as everything around her fell into a world of slow motion.

She had felt her whole weight drop down, eyes widening in shock of her own involuntary actions, as she once more felt her skin against the concrete she had been running on brushing on her arms and legs.

"Hikari-san!"

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Hikari opened her eyes, shooting up from her sleep, pain bursting through her head as she found herself breathing heavily.

"Where am I?" she asked, looking around to see a room so familiar yet so unrecognizable.

"Are you seriously stupid?" came a male's voice, as she quickly turned her head to the side to see the one of the last people she had wanted to see at this time.

"What am I doing in your house, Sugawara?" she hissed, trying to get out of the couch, only to find her body in tremendous aching.

"Lie down," he ordered, helping her slowly lie back down on the couch hesitantly.

"Answer my question, jerk,"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm taking care of you," he rolled his eyes, not wanting to have admitted that. "You passed out on the side of the streets. I carried you here because my house was nearer than yours,"

"What? Impossible. I never pass out," she insisted, not wanting to believe him.

"What were you doing, running in the rain?" he pressed on, grabbing the kettle from the counter, pouring the tea into a small, white China cup.

"None of your business. What were you doing following me?" she countered, raising a brow.

"I wasn't following you. Now, let me just help you get better so you can go hom–"

"Stop, stop, stop. This," she told him, pointing to him then back to her, "this isn't supposed to be,"

"Don't you think I took you in thinking that? I'm not retarded, unlike some people," he answered, handing her a cup of the warm tea.

"Do my parents know?" she questioned before sipping the tea, almost grateful.

"Of course. Actually, they were the ones who insisted you stay here. Unfortunately, they told me to take you in for the night," he explained, clicking his tongue.

"Wait," she sputtered, "what?"

"I have the text to prove it," he told her, tapping on his phone.

"There is no way in my entire life that I am staying over at some guy's house, especially not yours!" she yelled. "I'm going!"

She stood up, though she was tired, and looked around for her things, her mood becoming really irritated and slightly confused.

"To your parents, I apparently am not just some guy. Besides, whoever said I actually wanted to do this?" he muttered.

"Who the hell asked you to? No one! I'm going to leave. Where did you put my bag– what on Earth am I doing in clothes other than my school clothes? What, let me guess, you're a pervert?" she snapped, threatening to punch him.

"Sit back down and lie down, like a decent person and let me take care of you. If it weren't for my somewhat stupid nature to not resist aiding a sick person, then I definitely would have left you on the streets to be robbed and possibly even kidnapped. And for that latter question, I'll have you know that I had a hard time putting on a shirt with my eyes closed," he confided, looking away, subtly embarrassed.

She glared at him with anger existent in her eyes.

"I'm going to make this clear to you once and once only," she uttered, gripping the silver-headed setter's shirt, "you are never, ever going to change me again, talk to me again, or have any contact whatsoever with me, got i– ittai!"

Rolling his eyes, he sighed, lying her back down on the couch while replacing the towel on her head with a fresh one.

"I didn't have a choice," he mumbled, placing the small towel on her head as he did not dare look her in the eyes. "Even though I hate you, it's not decent for someone to leave someone they know on the ground in the rain, where everyone can just steal everything from them. So please– I'm already asking you patiently– treat this situation as if we're..."

"Like I said earlier, there is no 'we', you brickface," she interrupted, whispering, for her throat had suddenly felt sore.

"As if you and I are... H-Home Economic partners who are allowed to exist for more than an hour for today," he continued speaking to her, voice gentle and soft.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she nodded weakly, unwanting to give in, but had to, despite everything that had already happened. "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu," she grumbled.

"Gomen, Hikari-san. I can't let you just be sick like this. And it may partially be my fault for making you drink a whole bottle of hot sauce," he mumbled, "dakara, gomen. I can't act accordingly to how we should really be. Just let me take care of you,"

"Fine, whatever, it's fine, I don't care anymore. Just, don't do anything weird, please," she answered, looking away.

"Thanks for understanding," he smiled warmly but hastily nevertheless. "Do you want anything?"

"I'm... a little bit hungry," she admitted.

He nodded, standing up from his position beside her and heading to the kitchen, where he got a bowl from the cabinet.

Taking off the lid of the metal pot sitting atop the counter, he poured some soup to the bowl, putting a spoon in there as well.

Sugawara had then carried the bowl back to the living room and placed it on the small coffee table beside the soft, blue couch where Hikari lay quietly, watching him do so.

"Sit up," he instructed, and she followed, sitting up to eat.

"Here, it's a bit hot though," he told her, scooping a bit of soup from the bowl and blowing it gently.

This made the brunette blush (slightly) profusely, staring at the platinum blonde's face embarrassedly, freezing up for a few seconds.

"N-No thanks, I'll do it myself!" she stammered, getting the spoon from his hands.

"You're going to make a mess–" he started, only to be cut off.

Fumbling, she put the spoon in her mouth hastily, making it spill a little bit.

He rolled his eyes. "Hora. Let me do it. It saves time, and will guarantee to not make a mess,"

"Are you dense or something?" she questioned, looking at him confusedly. "I thought– nevermind."

"N-Nani? W-Wakatteru, wakatteru! But you're going to spill the soup everywhere," he sighed, a blush finally visible on his face as he looked away.

"M-Mou, ii, mattaku!" she gave in, pouting as he blew another serving of soup and brought it to her mouth.

She quickly sipped the soup, not wanting to look her supposed 'arch-enemy' feeding her soup while she was sick, in his house, on his couch.

"Anyways, what time is it?" she asked, wiping her mouth and lying back down.

He replied, checking his watch and putting the spoon down, "7:23 pm,"

"Eh? I was out for nearly 3 hours?!" she exclaimed.

"Shh, you're wasting energy raising your voice. You do have a fever, don't you know?" he said, finally daring to look her in her eyes. "Stop wasting your energy talking and sleep. I won't do anything weird, promise."

Looking away immediately (with the red cheeks, which she blamed the fever for), she nodded again. "Whatever, whatever. I'm sleeping. Oyasumi," she murmured, turning to her side.

"Oyasumi. Um, sleep well," he gently said, pulling up the blanket to her neck. "I'm going to my room, so if you need anyth–"

"Chotto matte," she suddenly called out, surprised at her own actions. "A-Ano... can you... if it's not a bother... c-could you wait until I fall asleep?"

Both of them were shocked at the sudden request– Hikari not even knowing what had gotten into her, and Sugawara flustered at the absurd question.

"I-If that's what you want, f-fine," he answered, this time shocked at his own reply that he actually agreed.

Hikari was unable to resist a small smile, turning to her side to hide this expression, not wanting him to find out about it.

'Why is it that we ended up here, even though we're sure we hate each other? I don't understand, this wasn't ever supposed to happen, was it?' she thought, letting out her breath.

Shutting her eyes, she whispered, "Arigato na, Sugawara-kun."

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The sound of a calm voice had awoken her as Hikari slowly opened her eyes to a new day, remembering her dilemma when she saw a certain light-skinned setter tap her gently on the side while telling her wake up.

"Time?" she yawned, getting up slowly.

"6:34," Sugawara answered her, "we leave in like twenty-six minutes,"

She stretched a little bit before shrugging the sleepiness away, blinking while shifting her gaze to the platinum blonde, who was still in his shrimp-patterned pajamas.

"Nice pajamas," she teased, smiling.

"Oh shut up, I hate you," he responded, laughing along.

"What a coincidence!" she exclaimed. "Me too!"

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a/n: im crying i found this so adorable to write i mean flustery people

FLUSTERY PEOPLE

AND INTERACTION + ESCALATION

IS IT TOO SUDDEN?? TOO FAST?? WHAT DO YOU THINK?

IS IT SATISFYING YET

NO?

Oh. Here, then.

small suckish doodle but ah

ANYWAYS! i said id "spam" but tbh im too excited to post this so

Enjoy, everyone~

Thank you btw guys for 6k reads guys what on earth?? THANK YOU SO MUCH... A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LIKING RIP TIDE BECAUSE SASSY SUGA BUT I HOPE YOU ALL DONT MIND I TRIED BALANCING SASSY W MOM-ISH FOR THIS CHAP SO SORRY IF HE'S REALLY OOC

cries

jaa ne it's like midnight lol sleep is for the week im done w school

nyx