I probably should have requested the Last Game category before writing this, huh? Haha oh well, here it is now, so enjoy! This takes place after chapter 12.

Disclaimer: I do not own Last Game :(

Any Time

Yanagi Hisato had been replaying the events from three nights ago in his head for the past several hours.

After he and his friends had gone off for some recreation, fate had it that Mikoto Kujo and himself had gotten lost in the woods on a rainy night. Most of him had been in despair at the time, but another small part of him had been extremely happy, most likely because it was his only time really being alone with her in almost 10 years.

Once they had taken shelter from the pelting rain beneath a tree, he had demanded she accept his jacket and keep herself warm as to not catch a cold. "But... I've never caught a cold in my entire life." She had objected, whereas he had embarrassingly realized he got sick quite often. Nonetheless, she had finally accepted his jacket before falling asleep on his shoulder while mumbling almost incoherent things in her sleep about him blocking her view of the stars.

Two days after, or yesterday, Yanagi had woken up ill and was greatly surprised when Kujo herself visited and nursed him back to health.

This morning, he had woken up recovered and feeling well again, however presently, his elder sister, being the annoyance she was, was speaking to him in a somewhat rare, more serious tone.

"It's good that you're better," she said when she saw the healthy color that had returned to his face upon attending breakfast. "But when your girlfriend left last night, she looked pretty exhausted."

Yanagi's face instantly lit up a shade of dark red and he sputtered on the water he was drinking.

"S-S-She's not my girlfriend!" He shouted automatically until the rest of his sister's words began to sink in. "Wait...what did you say?"

"Oh, come on, Yanagi, I'm not an idiot like you; I can tell when you like someone romantically as opposed to all those other girls-"

"S-Shut up!" He cut off her jeering tone and she snickered. "Anyway just repeat that last part again." He grumbled.

"Ah, right." His sister nodded. "You didn't notice? When she left she seemed pretty unsteady. You probably gave her your cold, idiot." She huffed accusingly.

"What?! Why is that my fault?" He objected but she did not appear to be listening as she continued brutally.

"Only idiots catch colds and then give them to the ones that they love."

"Hey! Stop that!" He cried, desperately trying to maintain what little of his sanity he had left at such an early hour of the day. She's a demon. Why am I being lectured by her of all people anyway? She can never get a boyfriend...

"Fine, well all joking aside, in my educated opinion, you should check up on her today." His sister declared, finally sounding more her age.

"T-There's no need..." Although the suggestion made him somewhat happy inside, he still felt the urge to deny it. "Her mom's probably there. Plus, Kujo said she's never caught a cold before in her life."

"Hm, is that so?" She brought her finger to her chin thoughtfully. "Well then that's all the more reason to go see her. What if she did catch a cold? Since she's never experienced one all her life, don't you think if she caught one now she'd be in pretty bad shape?"

Her words made Yanagi hold back his next objection as he thought more rationally now. That's true... if she were to catch her first cold as a college student... her body wouldn't be resistant to the sickness because it's never fought one off before... He unknowingly raised his fingers to his chin in the same fashion as his sister who consequently giggled in response.

"It wouldn't hurt to go and check on her, right?"

"I can't believe I'm doing this..." Yanagi mumbled as he trudged up the street toward the Kujos' residence.

He could already see the building from where he was with his hands shoved into his coat pockets as if he were doing chores. But on the inside, Yanagi was suppressing a bubbling sort of sensation that fluttered in his chest somewhat irritably. "Geez, cut it out, would you?" He growled at himself. "It's not like I haven't seen her in a year. Why am I getting so excited because of something like this?"

At last, he reached the door and knocked several times very lightly, but although it was a weekend, it appeared Kujo's mother was not present. Maybe Kujo isn't even here either... He pondered as a minute went by and still no one had answered.

"This was a stupid idea. Why do I ever listen to my sister?"

But just as he was turning on his heel, a small clicking sound alerted his attention back toward the door. It slowly creaked open to reveal a beautiful young girl with a puzzled expression on her adorable face.

For some reason, if he saw her today, he would have expected her to be dressed in a simple blouse and skirt, nice clothes that were not too flashy that only she seemed to do justice. However, before him now, she wore long, pink pajama pants and a matching long-sleeved shirt. Her long, dark hair was somewhat curly and frizzed as it spilled over her shoulders; she was the spitting image of one who had just rolled out of bed.

"Yanagi?" Her voice was hoarse and thin, and the boy instantly got the foreboding feeling it was not because she had been sleeping. Her cheeks were flushed a slight pink and her once-clear irises now seemed to be dull. She was leaning against the frame of the door and he could see that her skinny fingers were pale and trembling slightly.

As she blinked up at him, he realized he had yet to explain himself.

"Y-Yo, Kujo... W-What's up?" He said lamely. Idiot! What kind of greeting was that? Do I really even have a reason to be here?! He screamed internally at himself while trying to maintain his composure on the outside.

"Well... Mom's out running errands till this evening," she replied, a little drowsily. "And it seems I've caught my first cold." She added.

As she said this, he saw a certain emotion flash through her previously-dull eyes. At first he interpreted it as a form of excitement, a slight eagerness to take on a new experience for the first time in her life. But that excitement quickly faded into something more unsetting; fear.

Just as his sister had suggested, Kujo was probably frightened because of this state of illness, and she probably felt weaker and more vulnerable than ever before in her life. But that's why I'm here! He stated confidently in his mind.

"Ah," he sighed. "So she was right. You did catch my cold."

"Why would I need yours?" She asked with her dry humor that never ceased to amaze him. "I caught my own cold."

"Oy, what nonsense are you even spouting?" He wondered. "A-Anyway, s-so your mom won't be back until this evening you said?"

"Yes..." There was something in the way her voice trailed off that suggested her loneliness. "She has more important things to do and I don't want to be a burden."

Hey, don't ever let your mom hear you say that, stupid. He thought before gathering himself for what he was about to say next.

"W-Well then, s-s-since you helped me yesterday, it's my turn to repay the favor!" He stated boldly, not waiting for her answer before stepping past her into the house. He removed his shoes and was just about to really become flustered for what he had just said and done when her small, weary voice sounded from behind him.

"You don't have to." She murmured, her head bowed slightly forward.

"Listen you," Yanagi took a step toward her before she could protest any further. "You're sick. And you've never been sick before in your entire life, right? I've been sick a bunch of times, more than I care to count, but I'm used to it, so it's okay if I'm alone sometimes. But with you it's different..." he forced himself to continue with his speech, not wanting to give up when he had already comes so far. "I-If this is your first time being sick... t-then you need someone to look after you. And if your mom can't do it, then it has to be me. I'm also repaying the favor." He added, sternly.

Kujo raised her head and blinked up at him a few times, as if trying to register the meaning of his words.

"But-"

"No 'buts'." He pressed his index finger to her pale lips. "I won't listen. I'm staying." He declared. Briefly worrying if this could be considered breaking and entering, he pushed his shoes off to the side and straightened up. "Have you eaten yet?" He wondered, trying to sound like he knew what he was doing.

"A little." She replied, still leaning against the wall. "But I haven't been very hungry."

"Okay, that's fine." He decided. Wouldn't want her throwing up. Imagine if her mother came home to find such a situation! He fretted in his mind. "For now, you should just lie down and get some rest, then."

Offering a quiet 'pardon the intrusion' he nodded toward the staircase she had come down from moments ago, but noticed that she had not moved from her place against the wall. "Come on." He extended his arm out and offered her his upturned palm. Kujo regarded his hand as though it were some foreign object before tentatively reaching her hand out to him. Their fingers brushed together briefly before Yanagi firmly grasped her hand, giving her a slight tug to pull her forward to him.

Still very weak from the onslaught of the sudden sickness, Kujo stumbled in her slippers and Yanagi darted forward to catch her. "Easy." He soothed, tightening his grip on her hand while moving his free arm behind her back to support her shoulders. Her hair was slightly damp, probably from a warm bath earlier and Yanagi wanted to scold her 'Idiot! How do you plan on getting better if you walk around like that?' but he forced the words back.

Without her consent, Kujo was somehow leaning most of her weight onto her friend, and she seemed to be struggling as she tried to find her own balance. Yanagi noticed her dilemma and gave a small smile. "It's okay. You can lean on me. That's what I'm here for." Her dark eyes gazed into his lighter ones with surprise before she nodded once.

Step by step, he helped her up the stairs, nearly ready to call a doctor when her heel slipped halfway up, causing her to be entirely supported by him alone. "O-Oy! Are you okay?" He shouted a bit louder than he could help when he saw her eyes close for a second as she leaned onto his chest.

"Y...Yes..." she panted, her cheeks flushed with fever. "It just seems... hard to breathe..."

"Idiot! Then you're definitely not okay!" He cried. Maybe I should call the hospital... He debated his options quickly in his mind before deciding to get her to her bed first.

Encouraging her to lean on him as much as she needed to, he coaxed her to the top of the stairs before letting out a long sigh of relief.

Kujo, who was now the picture of enervation, could only nod in the direction of her room, as her fingers were currently occupied by clutching onto his shirt and her voice was fixated on filling her lungs.

Yanagi closed the door to her room behind them and briefly noticed how simple and neat her room was before walking her over to her bed. He sat her down before bending to the floor to remove her slippers and then reaching for her large pillow. Kujo could only watch in confusion as he sat it up before helping her lean her back against it and pulling the blankets up over her lap. She immediately let her head fall back onto the pillow and her eyelids fell shut, and Yanagi frowned when he noticed how hard her chest was heaving.

There was a small table beside her bed which had an assortment of items aside from the usual alarm clock and lamp; also, there was a glass of ice water, a box of tissues, a towel, a wash cloth, and a bowl of steaming water. "What's all this?" he wondered aloud.

At his question, Kujo blinked one eye open and looked in his direction.

"M...Mother said to use them... if I started feeling worse..." was all she managed to say.

As he pulled the chair from the desk in her room over to her bedside, Yanagi assumed Kujo's condition had not been as bad when her mother had left to run her errands. If it were this bad, she probably never would have left, which means Kujo's progressively getting worse... Damn it. Just looking at her now made his chest tighten. She could barely breathe and she was trembling all over, her normally refined facial features scrunched into an expression of pain. Well, then it looks like I have no choice!

Taking the wash cloth, he dunked it into the hot water and wrung it out thoroughly before moving his chair closer to her bed. Leaning forward, Yanagi placed his right hand on her shoulder as his left hand pressed the warm material to her exposed collarbone. Kujo's eyes flew open in surprise when she felt the sensations seeping into her skin and she glanced at him quickly, clearly puzzled.

"This should help get rid of the congestion." He explained. Even as he spoke the words, Kujo could feel the aching tightness in her chest begin to unravel, little by little. She inhaled a bit easier, although her exhales were still shaky and uncomfortable. "Just close your eyes and try to relax." He soothed. Kujo blinked at him once, an unreadable emotion in her eyes, before she complied and closed them.

Yanagi removed the cloth momentarily to dip it back into the warm water and reapplied it on her chest. Gradually, after repeating the process several times, Kujo began to appear more relaxed. He could feel her chest rising and falling beneath his palm in time with her breathing, and unlike her frantic panting from earlier, her breaths were now much steadier and deeper.

Yanagi let slip a small smile when he saw that she was feeling better, and removed the washcloth one last time before leaving it in the bowl. He then took the towel and wrapped it around her shoulders, gently brushing her hair aside as he pressed it against her chest. The warm temperature of the water put together with the soft fabric of the towel produced a heavenly sensation to the sick girl; she let out a long sigh, closing her eyes as the corner of her mouth curled up into a smile.

Pleased that he had made her more comfortable, Yanagi decided to be conceited with himself for a moment before remembering that he had not magically cured her sickness. Her cheeks were still pink and she occasionally let slip a hoarse kind of sound from the back of her throat, as though it was irritated.

However, now that she could breathe evenly, she looked as though she were about to fall asleep, so he said nothing more. Her hands were curled limply in her lap, loosely clutching at the blankets there, and Yanagi swallowed as he reached his own hand forward.

But just before he could make contact, Kujo let slip a single cough it seemed she had been battling against for a while now. Yanagi swiftly withdrew his hand and wondered if she had noticed what he intended to do, but she had not reopened her eyes. She tried to clamp her lips shut, but that only seemed to make the coughing more persistent, and before long she was coughing continuously.

Alarm flared within Yanagi as he watched her suddenly double over, her arms clutching her sides as she hunched painfully over her stomach as the fit continued. The flimsy coughs quickly transformed into harsh, loud ones, assaulting her throat viciously as her recently-regained breath was snatched away again. Yanagi called out her name but she did not respond as he reached forward to hold her. He gingerly pushed her up to sit straight again before closing this distance between them, pulling her to his chest and wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"Shh. It's okay." He forced himself to sound as calm as possible. "Just breathe, Kujo." He rubbed her back which was violently shuddering as she continued to cough over his shoulder. Her body convulsed against his as it tried to expel the unseen tormentor from within her stomach to no avail. Yanagi did not know what else to do aside from pull her closer, tracing circles over her back with his palms as her fingers clutched his shirt, trying to hold on to his support.

After a minute had passed, Yanagi thought his ears might start bleeding if he was forced to continue listening to the awful sounds that raked her petite body. He felt tears beginning to swell in the corners of his eyes as he apologized to her silently. I'm sorry, Kujo. I don't know what else I can do for you... He thought miserably, holding her tighter.

But almost as if she heard his apology and was willing to forgive him, she soon began to calm down. Her breath hitched as the last cough expelled itself from her throat, and her shuddering died away into less spastic trembles. He continued to rub her back, hearing her quiet sobs over his shoulder from the indescribable agony she must have just gone through. Imagine such a terrible cold being the first one she's ever had... He knew it must have been terrifying and he only felt a little consoled as he realized he had been there beside her through it.

He continued to hold her as she cried, burying her face into his shoulder. He could still feel her heart hammering wildly against her ribcage, and he held her for a long while until her pulse began to drop.

It was probably a full ten minutes or so until he finally loosened his embrace on her and moved back slightly. When he saw Kujo's face, he felt a twisting feeling in his stomach. Tears that had been streaming down her cheeks had left wet trails all down to her neck, her eyes were only half open, and she still wheezed for breath.

Yanagi reached sideways to lift the glass of water and brought it before her.

"When you're ready, drink this." He said softly, placing it into her slightly trembling hands. Kujo nodded once, determined to complete the task provided and slowly drained the glass, the cold, refreshing liquid seeming to heal her previously hot and scratchy throat. "Good girl." Yanagi smiled, placing the empty glass down and grabbing a tissue.

Kujo obediently blew her nose before discarding it into the trash bin on the floor, and at last, Yanagi picked up the towel once more. He gently dabbed it over her cheeks and wiped away her tears before securing it around her shoulders and collarbones again. "There." He said, sounding quite proud of himself, until he realized he was still sitting on her bed with her, only inches between them. "A-Ah..." he stammered. "D-Do you feel better?" He asked stupidly. Idiot! How could anyone be okay after that?

But when Kujo gazed up into his eyes then, the dullness from earlier had completely melted away, and he recognized that lively spark beginning to shimmer again.

"Yes." She rasped, clearing her throat. "I feel much better than before." She endeavored to present him with a small smile, which automatically made up for the fear she had just put him through.

"G-Good." He stated before gathering himself and leaning forward. Yanagi brushed her bangs aside for an instant as he pressed his forehead against hers. Kujo stiffened until he pulled away. "Your fever is going down, too." He announced. Then he smiled again and his voice softened. "You should rest now."

Somewhat reluctantly, he got up from her bed and took his seat on the chair again before adjusting her pillow, lying it down on the mattress. He then gently laid Kujo down and pulled the covers up over her pajamas that seemed far too large for her slender form.

The two of them let out simultaneous sighs before chuckling a little.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." Yanagi was truly relieved. "It's a good thing we didn't have to call the hospital..."

"Yes." She agreed. "It's all thanks to Yanagi." The boy blushed madly when he saw her tiny smile.

"Ah, w-well you know, I was just returning the favor..." he muttered, scratching the back of his head.

"What I mean to say is, thank you, Yanagi." Her voice had been nothing more than a whisper, but he had heard it clearly.

When he looked down at her again, her eyelids had fallen shut, unable to fight off the exhaustion any longer.

Yanagi pondered leaving for a moment, but quickly decided against it when a small, sleepy sound slipped past her lips. I can stay a bit longer. He decided. He placed his warm hand on top of her cold one, watching her as she slipped off into a peaceful slumber.

Confident in the fact that he would wake up before her mother returned, Yanagi leaned down and folded his arms on the mattress, resting his head in his arms. He gazed up at her adorable sleeping face, keeping his one hand over hers while his other reached up to comb through her long, soft tresses. She mumbled his name in her sleep and he blushed a little before smiling.

He kissed her hand before closing his eyes, listening to her quiet, steady breathing as it lulled him to sleep.

About two hours passed before he awoke again and he knew he needed to depart. Regrettably letting go of her hand, he caressed her cheek for a moment before turning to take his leave. But before he could do so, he heard Kujo stir as her eyelashes fluttered open. She pushed herself up, her long hair slightly messy and irresistibly cute as she turned toward his back and called out his name.

"Yanagi."

He stopped and turned back to her. "Yes?" He could see that she was conflicted about what to do so he kindly spared her. "You don't have to thank me-" he barely managed to finish before Kujo suddenly jumped up slightly from her bed and threw her arms around his neck. Quickly finding his balance as to not fall on top of her, Yanagi tried to remind himself he was not dreaming.

"Thank you, Yanagi." She breathed into his ear.

Regaining his composure, he hugged her back lightly and kissed the top of her head.

"Any time, Kujo."

A/N: I was forced to wait so long for chapter 12's release so once it finally did come out, I just couldn't stop myself from writing this :3 Thanks for reading!

Please review!