I was woken by the chime of a RAIN message.
"Good morning, Takanashi-san. Are you awake?"
"Good morning. I just woke up."
Ding-dong.
Wait, what?
Who would be here at this hour? Given the timing... is it Senpai?
I opened the door, and sure enough, there she was.
"I am terribly sorry for coming by so early. I wanted to see your face and check your health condition in person..."
"Oh, you did mention yesterday that you'd check on me, didn't you?"
"Yes... though yesterday I intended to do it over the phone. I simply found myself wanting to see your face..."
"Well, for now, please come in."
"Thank you. Pardon the intrusion."
I hadn't expected to see this sight again today, and I could tell I was unexpectedly happy about it.
"How is your health condition? Have you taken your temperature?"
As she spoke, her right hand was already resting against my forehead. Was she even aware she was doing it?
"I only had a slight fever as of last night. I think I'm probably fine now."
"I see. You don't feel warm to the touch anymore..."
Sara checked my forehead and then my neck before pulling her hand away.
"Very well. Since you'll be resuming your school commute today, please go ahead and get started with changing clothes, Takanashi-san. I'll prepare breakfast in the meantime."
With that, she pulled a school uniform shirt and an undershirt from my dresser and handed them to me.
She headed straight for the kitchen, where she put some leftover rice from yesterday's dinner into the microwave. Then she started whipping up something with the eggs and ham she'd brought the day before.
...Wait... this is my house, right?
I checked the clock while eating the scrambled eggs she’d made. There was still a bit of time to spare, so I could afford to take it easy.
"I am supposed to meet up with Natsumi at the usual place," she said.
"Understood. So Natsumi-senpai already knows you're here, Sara-senpai?"
"Yes, I have already informed her."
"I see... Ah, thanks for the food. That was great."
This might be the first time I’d ever had such a proper breakfast before school. Back at my family home, it was usually just a slice of bread.
"You are very welcome. I'll go ahead and tidy up now."
"Oh, just leave the dishes in the sink. I'll do them when I get back."
"It will only take a moment, so it's quite alright."
Well, that wasn't exactly what I meant... but I'd depended on her so much already that it felt a bit late to start being stubborn.
"There, thank you for waiting. Shall we head out?"
I locked the door and left the house, falling into step beside her. Even on the sidewalk, I naturally moved to the roadside.
"...I am sorry for all the trouble this morning. Did I overdo it again?"
"Not at all. I'm just grateful to start the day with such a delicious breakfast."
"I am glad to hear that, but... I have been a bit strange lately. When I am with you, Takanashi-san, I find myself wanting to do things for you, no matter what... No, never mind."
Senpai... for her to feel that way... Ah, here we go again. Just looking at her makes my face heat up.
Stop. She said we're just friends. Don't go getting any ideas.
"............"
It wasn't exactly awkward, but a subtle silence hung between us until we spotted Natsumi-san.
It looked like she’d beaten us there.
"Morning, you two."
"Good morning," Sara-senpai replied.
"Morning, Natsumi-senpai."
"Alright, looks like you made it. How's your health condition?"
"I still feel a little sluggish, but if it's just this much, I'll be fine."
Natsumi-senpai looked back and forth between me and Sara-senpai, a knowing smirk playing on her lips.
"I see. I guess Sara's thorough nursing really did the trick, huh?"
"Yeah. Sara-senpai really went above and beyond taking care of me."
"That is not true. I only did what was normal..."
"No, it was a huge help. I know I said it yesterday, but thank you again."
"Fufu... In that case, you are most welcome."
"Yeah, yeah. I see it's business as usual for you two."
""??""
Natsumi-senpai checked the time and turned to face forward.
"Well, let's get going. Takanashi-kun is still recovering from illness, so we'll walk slow. Don't push yourself today, okay? If you start feeling worse on the way to school, make sure you let Sara know. No more lying, okay?"
"Ah..."
Natsumi-senpai! Why would you bring that up now?!
I was specifically trying to avoid digging that back up...
"That is true. Since you seem to be feeling better and the topic has been raised... I think a short lecture is in order."
Ah. So she had been holding onto that...