Today was horrible. The checkup was probably the only normal thing he did. But doing that and rounding up Erina made him miss lunch, so he was starving for the whole day. He was just too happy to get home when he did.
Or at least, he was happy when he got home. Without much time after changing, a certain someone surprised him in his room once more.
"Oh, it you again." He spoke enthusiastically when he saw her, lying in his bed. Compared to earlier today, it looked like the effects of the tranquilizer had worn off. She was her usual self.
"Come on, you could act like you're a little happy to see me." She greeted him.
"If you knocked on my front door like a normal person, I might be a bit nicer." He told her. "You know I wouldn't keep you out if I did."
"Aw, but going in through the window is so much fun. Besides, you mom said I can do that anytime I want."
"Damn it mom." He said to himself. That women just did not care about his health if it meant him having so-called friends. "Never mind about that, I think we both know why you're here."
"Of course, it's not like it's over with Yogi yet." She got up, stretching out her legs. "You got any ideas?" She asked.
"Hmm, let me think about that." The truth was that he never thought about it much in his spare time. He wasn't a fan of forcing thing, but were there any opportunities that he could take advantage of?
"I mean really, I can do anything." She said, impatiently waiting for a response.
"Just hold on… Wait a second." It hit him. Earlier today he noticed that Yogi wasn't feeling well. "I think he was feeling a little sick in class today. So we should pay him a visit."
He had seen this scenario in anime too many times to count. Romance or otherwise. A character gets sick, and their closest friends or potential lover comes to help take care of them. As a result they get much closer to one another.
"...So if you help take care of him, maybe he might start to realize how special you are to him." He finished explaining. She was excited at the prospect, she was almost already jumping out of the window.
"What are we waiting for. Let's go!" She ushered him on, but he didn't want to rush.
"Hold on, if we want to help him. We should at least bring some things that aid in illness." He calmed her down. "Let's see, I guess I can grab a bowl of instant noodles. My dad's a bit of a health nut, so it should be pretty good for him."
"Nice, then I'll cook it for him when we get there." He also went and took some medicine from the bathroom. He wasn't really sure what was wrong, along with the fact that Yogi probably had some at his house. But it was better to be safe than sorry.
They left his house. Thinking about it as they left, he realized that he didn't actually know where Yogi lived. He was about to send a message to him, when he was stopped.
"Oh don't worry, I know where he lives." She said. That wasn't a surprise considering the type of person she was. "Plus I think it'd be so nice if we gave him a little surprise." Wasn't what he wanted to do, but he saw no harm in it either.
It was a bit further than he was expecting. Turned out that he basically lived across town from him. If they were normal friends, hanging outside of school seemed like a hassle.
They reached their destination and were greeted with unexpected guests. There was Misei, Misao, and Yuriko waiting with each other by his front door.
"Oh hello. We weren't expecting you guys here." He said to them. They felt the same way.
"I'm assuming you're here because of Yogi's condition." Misei said. It must've been apparent to the others during lunch. "As the school president, I must be responsible to the health of the students." She said in an official manner. Of course the real reason was clear.
"I see you got some things for him, Kikugawa." He noted the bag she was carrying. It looked like she had picked up some health items for him at a convenience store. He showed the bag he was carrying that had his own supplies.
"W-whatever. I was just around and I thought he might need it." She said. Yogi's not here, is there really a need to deny this? "It's not like I got anything fancy, just some cheap medicine."
"Sure…" He replied. "So have you guys been waiting long?" It was odd timing if they really just ran into them right as they got here.
"Actually, we've been here for a little while now." Misao said. "His parents are out of town, so it should be just him at home. But I would've thought he'd answer for his friends."
"Really? Well maybe he's feeling better and he's out getting something."
"Or maybe's he's really sick that he can't get out of bed." Erina gave an alternative answer. It wasn't illogical, but for some reason, he had a bad feeling about that answer. "We should get in to help him!"
"We're not breaking into his house." Misei shot it down before hearing what she had to say.
"Oh come on, I know how to get in through his window in his room pretty easily." She was bragging about something that one really shouldn't speak so loudly about in public.
"Well leave me out of it. I'll be a sensible adult and wait for him to answer." Misei dismissed her. Misao agreed with her.
"Yeah, it's not like I'm desperate to get inside." He swore, it was like she had the same way to start every sentence.
"Your loss then." She grabbed Arata's arm without permission. "Come on, let's get inside."
"What? Why do I have to follow you?" She leaned into his ear and whispered.
"Come on, you already know…" Reminding him of her blackmail threat. As if he could forget.
"Fine… I guess we can add breaking and entering on the list of things you've made me do." He followed her, mostly with her dragging him over to her spot.
"See." She pointed over to the garden wall that was leading up to a window on the second floor. He figured this was Yogi's room. "Now, get going up there." He commanded.
"What? You're the one that know how to get up here. You go first."
"Oh I knew you were perverted, but I never thought you'd try and peek up my dress." She did a cover motion to the skirt she was wearing.
"W-what? That's not what I'm…" He stammered, defending himself. "...Fine, I'll go first." Relenting, he turned his burning face away from her to the wall. It was a lot more stable than he was expecting. He was originally worried that it might not support his weight, but being on it alleviated that concern.
Once he had reached to the window, he wasn't sure what to do. Erina caught up next to him. Looking at him like he should know what's he's doing, as if this was standard practice. She slid the window off to the side, getting herself in and then helping him.
"Huh, so this is Yogi's room." He scanned around his surroundings. There really wasn't anything that stood out to him. This just looked like a plain boy's room, or at least when he assumed to be one. Seeing as he never considered what was in his own room to be normal.
"Yep, isn't it just so nice." She said. She went and laid on the bed, giving it a nice sniff. He recoiled in disgust, glad she didn't do that when she was in his bed. "I guess he must not be home right now. We can just surprise him when he gets back. He doubted that, seeing as he would have to meet the others just outside his front door first. They would most likely tell him about this intrusion.
"Well you can just wait in his room. I'll just cook up some noodles for him in the kitchen." He grabbed his bag and left the bedroom. Since he wasn't certain when Yogi would be home. He hoped that the food wouldn't get too cold if he started now.
It felt strange to be walking in someone's house without their knowledge. Unlike Erina, he at least had some semblance of personal space. Once was he nearing the bottom of the stairs, he noticed something that seemed out of place in the kitchen.
It looked like a shoe knocked over. Odd to see in what should be an empty house. Actually, it wasn't just one shoe. Getting closer, he could see it was two. Those shoes weren't knocked over either.
"What the?!" He rushed over. The shoes belonged to Yogi. Getting over to them he saw the body. Collapsed onto the floor, unconscious. Fear, anxiety, a flood of emotions overcame him. He screamed.
He got onto Yogi, seeing what was wrong. There didn't seem to be anything immediate about his condition. Erina rushed down the stairs, as soon as she heard him.
"What's wrong?" She ran to him. Once she saw what he had saw, she let out a yell much louder than his. Thinking quickly, he told her to call an ambulance. Making sure he placed Yogi back to the ground gently, he ran over to the front door.
"What's wrong? It looks like you've seen a ghost." Misei told him once he opened the door. The other two looked at him in confusion from the situation.
"There's…" He said, trying to speak with his heavy breathing. "There's. A. Problem with Yogi." He said, almost fainting in front of them.