Chapter Text
“Maaaakiii-nya!” The sound of Rin’s voice echoes down the hallway as she darts forward noticing Maki headed towards the music room. The redhead stops in her tracks and turns a bit suddenly to notice Rin charging right for her before putting her hands out in panic.
“Calm down Rin-chan! Why are you so energetic?!” Rin manages to stop herself in place just as Hanayo rounds the corner down the hallway a good ways away from them. Turning her gaze down she sees Rin found her target and sighs before walking forward to meet them.
“I told you not to run! Sorry Maki-chan, she just immediately ran off when I said we should go ask you.”
“Ask me what?”
Maki looks on at the two girls a bit confused about what they could be hunting her down for on a day where she didn’t think there were any group plans. Especially since she’d talked to them both earlier and knew they had plans of their own.
“We ran into Eli as we were about to leave and she’d asked if we had seen Nico at all since we talked during lunch. She apparently vanished shortly after and no one’s seen her since. So we thought to come and ask you because Rin said you were the last one to talk to her.”
Rubbing her hand on her head Maki gives a small shrug not thinking much of it for a brief moment.
“She did say she was going to the infirmary, but she didn’t seem that bad when we talked. Though if she did end up going home I’m a bit worried about the kids because I’m fairly certain she’s alone for the day.”
Rin’s face shows her growing sense of desperation as she clings back around Maki’s arm. With a small pout, she shakes her around softly.
“Maki-chan will go check on her right?! We all know she’s way too stubborn about this sort of thing so she’s probably trying to manage them on her own.”
“I know I usually am the one she calls for help when she needs someone to watch over them, but you visit her just as often and I’d already promised Rin we’d go shopping today.”
Twirling a finger through her hair Maki looks around for a moment as she peers into the music room. After a moment of thinking, she sighs and turns towards the door pulling it open.
“Let me just grab some of the things I left in here so I can work on them at home first, but I’ll head over to Nico’s.” The other girls both let out a joyful sigh as they give Maki a small bow and turn to head off.
“Call me if you end up needing anything. We feel kind of bad pushing it all onto you, but you were the best idea we could come up with.”
“Don’t worry about it, I'll take care of it.”
Maki waves them off as she steps into the music room looking around for the notebook she’d left behind during her break. Despite the fact she knows they really need to get some work done for their next performance she can’t help but feel a sense of urgency about the situation.
Maybe it’s her nature of being from a medical family, or maybe it’s just because she knows how one-tracked Nico’s mind is, but she can’t help but feel increasingly worried. In her small sense of panic, she manages to finally gather the few scattered materials tossing them into her bag as she heads out of the school.
Luckily for her she was going to head home on her own today anyway because of music work so there’s no need to notify her driver. Yet she still finds herself staring down at her phone as she makes it off the school grounds. Hastily putting together a quick text she has a faint hope Nico might respond if she’s really forcing herself to keep herself going.
The entire time she’s walking towards Nico’s apartment she thinks back to how Nico was acting the last time she saw her at school. While she definitely didn’t look well she didn’t really think it was bad enough for Nico to rush home with only half the day left. Nico may not be the most enthusiastic about school, but that’s a little far even for her especially since she should know that would worry her siblings.
“Maki nee-chan!” A sudden loud shout of her name rings through her ears as she suddenly finds a pair of small arms wrapped around her home. After a brief second of confusion from being startled she reaches down patting Cocoro’s head with a heavy sigh.
“Well I don't know if seeing you makes me feel better or worse. Given you’re out here on your own and should have already been home from school I take it she’s not doing well?”
Cocoro’s eyes light up in excitement as she realizes Maki is already aware of the situation.
“She’s really not. I actually wasn’t at school at all today myself so it was strange to see her home so early. I had to fight to get her to not come out with me right now.”
Shaking her head Maki can’t help but curse the thought of how hard Nico pushes herself for the sake of these kids. Taking Cocoro’s hand she follows her along to the convenience store she was headed for when they ran into each other.
“Can you look at what she wrote down for me to pick up? You should know medicine better than she does.”
Maki looks down at the scribbled note scanning over the simple medications Nico said to get for her. Thinking back to when she saw her she figures it’s better to be over-prepared and scours the shelves for a few more things that aren’t on the list. Especially after Cocoro tells her Nico hasn’t stopped coughing for the past few hours straight.
She finds herself a bit thankful that she’s with someone who’s used to this sort of thing as she watches Cocoro toss it all into the basket. Telling her to pick up a few treats for her and her siblings as well she giggles at the pure sense of joy in the small girl's eyes. Following along to the register she can’t help but think how strange it must look for the obviously much younger girl to be leading her around a convenience store, but after watching her pass all the items to the cashier she realizes the entire experience is so unfamiliar to her. Simply passing her card along as it’s time to pay she picks up all but one of the bags that Cocoro snatches up as they head off to Nico’s apartment.
Following down the hallway Maki watches as Cocoro darts down ahead of her straight to their door. Despite the rush she still ends up waiting in place for her to catch up before quietly announcing their return hoping to not disturb Nico. While she’s nowhere to be seen as they step into the apartment the loud sounds of heavy coughs echoing through the room quickly inform she’s at least sensically in her room.
“I ran into Maki while picking up the medicine for nee-chan and she offered to help and even bought us some snacks.” Cocoro takes her bag over to her siblings, quickly passing the couple bags of treats she picked out for them off before turning back to Maki who’s now standing pulling the various medicines she’d picked up together.
“How long is your mom gone for today?”
“All day, which is why Nee-chan keeps trying to get up and do things. Mama said probably eight at the earliest”
The sense of worry in Cocoa’s voice is obvious as Maki rubs her head again, still looking over the medicine and then to the clock. She knows Nico is the only way those girls are getting fed unless there’s something instant for them since she’d never allow them to properly cook for themselves.
“Alright leave things to me and I’ll figure something out to make sure Nico has no reason to do anything but rest.”
Leaving her school bag sitting in the kitchen she carries the assorted medicines off towards Nico’s room after telling the kids to wait a bit for her to figure things out. As soon as she steps through the door however she can feel the intense glare immediately set in on her.
“I don’t think I ever called for a doctor”
“Yeah well, your friends and your siblings both did so now you have one.” Maki clicks her tongue at the thought of Nico’s attitude persisting even in the state she’s in. Moving over towards the bed she can definitely tell even at a glance how much of a turn Nico’s condition took. The dreary look in her eyes and the swaths of sweat covering her face isn’t really a good look for a super-idol, but she can’t help but think it’s almost endearing in a way to see her like this.
Before Nico can even speak out in protest Maki already stepped back out of the room to grab a washcloth. The sounds of Nico’s continued coughing drown out the running water as she sighs heavily thinking of what she can do about the kids. As she walks back towards the mess of a girl sprawled out on her bed she reaches out draping the damp cloth over her forehead.
“You’re either going to answer me without a fight or I’m going to send you to an actual doctor, understand? Have you really been coughing this entire time and what hurts?”
“Well that’s certainly not the Maki I know, but fine. It’s been near-constant since a bit after lunch. I went to the infirmary to maybe lay down and grab some simple medication but within 30 minutes it went downhill pretty fast. I haven't stopped coughing, and my throat feels like it’s on fire. As for what hurts well, sort of everything. The fever feels like it’s only getting worse as the day goes on and my chest is so sore the coughing genuinely hurts.”
Maki finds herself a bit surprised Nico complied so easily, but given the girl's condition, she figures she must genuinely feel that bad. Pulling together a few of the bottles she gathers up a small handful of pills from her various cough and fever medications after checking the labels over. Handing them off to Nico with a small glass of water she brought in she looks back towards the door.
She watches closely for a moment making sure Nico actually took the medication before grabbing her phone and leaning herself up over the bed.
“Open your mouth.”
“Huh? Why are you getting so close like this.”
“It’s not the most practical method but just open your mouth.” As Nico reluctantly complies she pulls up the flashlight on her phone and leans in towards Nico’s face. Holding a hand over her eyes she shines the light down the girl's throat struggling to make do with her thrown together methods. After a moment she pulls herself back and lowers her head down over Nico’s chest resting it down softly. She can instantly feel the intense heat coming off her body as she holds still.
“Just breathe normally.” Almost as soon as Maki lowered her head Nico’s breathing picked up immensely, but she quickly tried to calm herself down at Maki’s command. After a few seconds or normal breaths she can’t hold back another stream of heavy coughing as she feels the throbbing pain in her head grow.
“You really should see an actual doctor because I don’t think you’re getting by without a prescription.”
“Maki I can’t afford to go see the doctor when mama is so busy all week.”
Sighing heavily, Maki waves her hands over Nico’s horrible form.
“Do you really think you’re going to be able to do much for them in this state? Really you shouldn’t even be near them because I think the last thing you want is to give it to them. Respiratory illness is a lot harsher on young children than it is on anyone else Nico.” Nico’s expression instantly turns soft as she loses the will to fight back against Maki’s claims. She knows that’s very much the truth, but she can’t help but think how the kids could manage without her help.
“I’ll give you a day to see how you fair, but if you’re not better tomorrow you’re going to the doctor. You’re also not doing anything for them today so leave the kids' situation to me.” Maki’s words ring out more confidently than Nico can ever remember hearing from her as she watches her head out of the room.
“Maki you can’t even use a microwave, how can you do this?!”
Ignoring the prodding questions from Nico she makes her way out of the apartment and into the hall as she searches around her phone. After a few moments she hits dial figuring she has no other choice at this point.
“Maki-chan! How is she doing?”
“I’m really sorry Hanayo, but you need to come over.”
“If you’re telling me this then it must be that bad so it’s alright. I’ll bring Rin-chan with me and we’ll head over right away”
“Thanks. She’s really in a rough state and I honestly can’t even leave her in the apartment. I don’t want the kids catching this, but their mom is out all day and I can’t manage to take care of them and Nico.”
“We’ll handle the kids fine. I’ve done it plenty of times, but what are you going to do about Nico if you think she’s that bad?”
“She’s being stubborn about seeing a doctor so I’m going to take her to my place and give her a day to see if this calms down at all before I’m forcing her to go.”
“I guess this comes from your family situation, but this is definitely an unusual side of yourself, but we’re happy to help. Be there as soon as we can.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Even if it’s something I’ve gotten forced into I still have a strange sense of pride when it comes to anything medical. Either way, I’ll see you soon.”
Hanging up the phone Maki stares down at the floor for a few moments thinking about what she heard. That’s two people now that are surprised by the way she’s acting, but she can’t help feeling it’s a requirement given who she is. Even more so it causes the idea of how she truly feels about her future to linger in her mind. Shaking her head she tries to toss the jumbled thoughts aside as she flips back through her phone. This time stopping at the number for her family's driver.
“Change of plans. Can you send for me at Nico-chan’s apartment in about 15 minutes?”
After confirming with her driver she tosses her phone back into her bag and turns her head up staring off aimlessly. The thoughts race through her head all vying for her primary attention as she tries to figure out why she’s getting herself so worked up over this situation.
“It runs in the family and I’m going to need to do this a lot more and in a lot worse situations in the future.” Reaffirming it out loud to herself she turns back towards the door to let the kids know what she arranged. Yet even in this moment, she knows that wasn’t the entire answer.
“So how’s nee-chan doing?”
“Not very well at all, but she’s being stubborn about going to the doctor. So I’m going to at least make her come home with me so she doesn’t get you three sick and if she’s not better tomorrow I’ll drag her there myself. As for what to do about all of you, I called Hanayo over to take care of you until mama gets home.”
All three of the kids perk up at the notion that Hanayo is coming to watch over them much to Maki’s amusement. Knowing she doesn’t have much time she gathers up the few things she left scattered around the kitchen and leaves most of the medicines there for the future if they need them. Grabbing all of her things she heads back to Nico’s room prepared to pull the girl out of bed by force if need be.
“Alright I know it’s going to be hard but get yourself out of bed and at least mildly presentable.”
“Huh, why? Weren’t you just complaining about me not resting?.”
“Yes, but more importantly I want you away from the children because I don’t want you getting anyone else sick so you’re coming home with me if you won’t go to a doctor.”
Maki makes her way around Nico’s room trying to gather up anything she might end up needing for the likely inevitable doctor visit tomorrow. The entire time she looks back towards the bed trying to ensure Nico’s actually cooperating in getting herself ready. As she checks to make sure everything has been tossed in Nico’s purse she reaches onto her dresser tossing one of the many disguise masks back to the bed.
“At least put that on as well.”
“Maki...won’t you be in a bad situation if you’re the one around me? I thought your whole point was so I wouldn’t get anyone sick.” With a shake of her head she turns back towards Nico as she tosses the purse onto the bed.
“Someone has to watch over you and if anyone else is getting sick I’d much rather it be the one who takes medical situations seriously.”
Nico can’t help but feel a simultaneous sense of comfort and worry at the thought of how much Maki is doing for her. As she steps out of bed she can feel the rush of pressure in her head and chest as she braces herself on her nightstand. The reality check of trying to move for the first time in the past two hours makes her think maybe she shouldn’t try and push herself in fighting the help.
Turning to help make sure Nico can actually stand, Maki picks up the purse from the bed as she holds her other arm out to grab onto. As she clings around the outstretched arm she finds her balance slowly as they hear a knock on the door while heading back into the living room.
“Ahh just in time you two.” Maki reaches down patting Cocoa’s head as she walks back from letting the two girls inside.
“Leave everything here to us and make sure she actually gets better because she definitely doesn’t look good.”
Rin rushes past Hanayo to throw herself down onto the floor beside Cotaro for him to immediately throw himself on top of her.
“I’ll make sure they have a great time and Kayo-chin will make sure we have a nice dinner right?”
Hanayo shakes her head as she throws a heavy glare in response to the hard part being thrust onto her duty. As now all three children are gathered around Rin on the floor, the three girls all look down at the scene with a soft smile.
“Thanks you two…”
“You should be thanking Maki, not us Nico-chan. She’s the one who’s managing to get everything sorted out so quickly.”
Nico simply nods in response as she leans her head aside resting on Maki’s shoulder as she struggles to keep herself standing. Giving them a small wave and thanks again they make their way outside hoping the driver is on time to when she called for them.
Shuffling Nico immediately into the backseat as soon as they pull up she tells the driver to just head straight home as she sits down beside her. Her gaze constantly watches the exhausted-looking girl beside her as she struggles to think why she isn’t just forcing her to the doctor immediately.
They spend the entire ride in near-complete silence before finally pulling up outside her house. Thanking the driver, Maki tells them she’ll handle Nico from here as she helps her back out of the car. Clinging immediately back around Maki’s arm she groans out heavily.
“Your house is bad enough when I feel well, but why does it have to be so big when I can barely walk?”
“You may be small, but I’m still not that strong so just hold on.” Staring up towards Maki she grins beneath her mask as her small laugh causes her coughing to immediately come back.
“To think Maki-chan was even thinking of getting the honor of carrying the great Yazawa Nico!”
Maki tries her hardest to resist yanking her arm forward in response. Instead just slowly walking along as she leads them inside and up towards her room at the side of the house. With no more complaining or teasing from Nico’s mouth she helps her up onto her bed and tosses their things aside.
“Alright now back to getting some rest with you. I’ll keep track of when you need more medicine and I’ll try and find you something simple to eat.”
Settling herself on the bed she pushes most of the blankets aside as she still feels like her entire body is burning. Her eyes simply follow Maki around the room as she watches her put her school and music supplies away before gathering up the couple of medications she brought with her.
“Hey Maki, why do you have me in your room? Isn’t that worse for you potentially catching it?”
“Yes, but I’ve told you before...I’m not a fan of my living situation. The more I can do to forget about how exuberantly we live the better. So as far as I’m concerned you’re in the best choice of rooms I had.”
After a few more moments of silence Nico simply gives a soft hum in response and rolls back over closing her eyes. She can’t help but feel bad at the sorry-looking state she’s in, but she shrugs it off and heads back out of the room.
After gathering up the best food she could manage on her own; a simple instant soup, and a cool washcloth she heads back to Nico’s bedside and sets the things down onto the nightstand. Seeing that she didn’t move in response she slowly drapes the cloth over Nico’s forehead doing her best not to wake her. Then sitting herself down at her desk she lays her head down as her own eyes begin to drift shut.
About an hour later Nico lets out a weak groan as she sits up in place and looks around the room. Seeing Maki asleep at her desk she turns her eyes away in embarrassment as she grabs the now cool cup of soup from the nightstand. Taking a few sips she lowers herself back down in bed and turns to face the sleeping girl.
“Sorry for putting you through this Maki-chan…”