Tako Time

Chapter 7: Cold

It was several days after your birthday and you found yourself lying in bed, wrapped in blankets, looking through the sketchbook Ina had given you for what felt like the millionth time. Winter wasn't over yet so it was still pretty cold. Unfortunately for you, your heater had broken.

As you put the sketchbook down, your phone rang. You were tempted to ignore it but that was before you had seen that it was Ina who was calling you. Willing your frozen hands to work, you picked up the phone. 'Hey Ina,' you said, your lips shaking.

'Good morning, Y/N. How are you?'

'I'm cold but, other than that, pretty good. How about you?'

'I'm doing pretty good as well, minus the cold.'

'So, what do you need me for on this fine, winter morning?'

'I was just wondering if I could visit. I want to make up for the time I haven't been able to spend hanging out with you like the others have.'

'Of course you can visit, Ina! You can stop by anytime.'

'Thanks, Y/N. I'll be there ina bit.'

True to her word, Ina did show up 'ina bit'. Unlike you, she was wearing a lot of warm clothes. You were just thinking that you wouldn't need to get her blankets when she said, 'It's so cold in here.'

'I'll be right back,' you responded, rushing off to get blankets. When you returned, Ina was sitting on the couch with Kat curled up on her lap. 'Sorry Kat,' you muttered as you nudged Kat off Ina. As soon as she was comfortable under the blankets, Kat was back.

'So... is there anything you wanted to do,' you asked Ina.

She thought for a minute before replying, 'Not that I can think of. I just kinda wanted to visit.'

Now it was your turn to think. 'I know what to do. For now at least.'

'Hm?'

'Remember the ramen I promised you one time?'

'Yeah?'

'I never actually gave it to you because you fell asleep. Do you still want it?'

'Yes please!'

You chuckled. 'Alright, I'll go make it then. It's not gonna be anything special though.'

'That's fine,' you heard Ina respond as you walked into the kitchen.

After some time, you re-entered the lounge room with a steaming bowl of ramen. You were going to ask Ina to eat it at the table but she looked so comfy where she was so you left her alone. 'Here you go, one special ramen.'

'Thanks, Y/N,' she said as she started to eat. 'It's good!' That was definitely a lie.

'Really?'

Ina nodded, making the classic 'humu-humu' noise. 'Maybe she's not lying,' you thought after seeing the genuine look of happiness in her eyes.

The ramen disappeared quickly and the two of you were back on the couch. Ina was wrapped in blankets and you were trying to stop shivering. Several hours later, Ina left after you had a comfy chat with her. As soon as the door closed, you realised how exhausted you were. You also felt really hot, despite it being winter. Deciding to see if a nap would fix your troubles, you went to bed.

Unfortunately, a nap, which ended up being a really long sleep, did not fix your troubles and had made them worse. It was at this point, after having thrown up twice in the past hour, that you realised you were going to have to cancel the drawing stream you were going to do later that day.

After sending a quick message on Twitter to notify your viewers of the last minute change of plan, you felt like having a nap. Again. And you did, having not learned your lesson the first time.

The sound of the doorbell woke you. A quick glance at your watch revealed that it had been an actual, short nap this time. Slowly, and wobbly, you made your way to the front door. 'Ina? What are you doing here,' you asked in a nasally voice.

'I'm here to take care of you,' she responded as you let her in.

'I'm fine, it's just a cold.' You sneezed. 'It'll go away soon enough.'

'Not if you don't do anything about it. Here, let me take your temperature.' 40.3 degrees (Celsius). 'Lucky I brought medications.' Ina forced a couple of pills into your hand and handed you a bottle of water. Not being bothered to resist, you took the pills with little hesitation.

After you took the medications, Ina forced you to lie in bed. This was not fun as you were very hot under the blankets. You were about to kick them off when Ina returned to your room. 'This should help,' she said as she placed a cool, damp cloth on your forehead.

'Didn't the other girls wanna visit me,' you asked randomly.

'They, uh, had other things to do,' Ina replied nervously. She didn't want to tell you that they forced her to look after you by herself. For reasons she couldn't figure out. Not wanting to deal with the now awkward mood, Ina tried to leave your room.

'Please don't leave,' you whimpered pathetically, an arm stretched out towards Ina.

She walked back to your bed and pulled up a chair. With a warm smile on her face, she held your hand and said, 'Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere.'