The next morning rolls around.
"cough cough… Ah fuck." Kuroki was on his bed with a face mask covering his mouth, his face flustered.
"cough cough ah… Man cough how did I get so sick…." As he was laying on his bed, he looked back to the time he ran out in the heavy rain without an umbrella.
"Damn… It cough I'm such an idiot." He coughed countlessly, his voice scruffy and muffled because of the mask.
ping
"Mmm?" He tiredly looked at his phone and picked it up. "It's from Satsuki."
The message reads:
[Yo where the hell are you]. She said.
"This annoying—" he texted her back.
"I don't feel good today, just go without me." He texted.
ping
"Just walk it off — is this bitch serious cough" He was annoyed by the text she sent back, telling him to walk it off.
"Even when I'm sick she still has no sympathy."
He texted her back. "If I get up I might throw up… so go."
[Ok]. She replies back.
"sigh" He sighs with relief. "I just need to get some more sleep." As he was closing his eyes, he hears the ring of his doorbell.
ding dong
He ignores it.
ding dong
He ignores it again.
ding dong
ding dong
ding dong
ding dong
"Uggggh who is it!" He was frustrated. "Who… cough the hell is it." He tiredly got out of bed and slowly walked to the door.
ding dong
"I know!!!" He yells. "God, my head hurts." He was rubbing his head while he said that.
As he approached the door and opened it, he looked up to see who it was.
"Yo." It was Satsuki at the door.
"Why are you here." Kuroki said with a cold, dead face.
"Oh, I'm here to take care of you." She holds up a bag of groceries, looking like stuff to make rice porridge.
"But what about—" he was cut off.
"Coming through~"
She barges her way into his house.
"It's time to take care of a sick boy, hehe." She says cheerfully.
(But Satsuki… you can't cook to save your life.) He thought. Kuroki thinks back on times that Satsuki made food.
(There are a couple things I'm afraid of, and Satsuki cooking is one of them.)
(Ever since we were kids… you can't cook… sometimes your food comes out cold, burnt, or both.) He says. (If I recall the last time you cooked something for me, I had food poisoning for three days…)
"Alright~ time to go." Satsuki was in the kitchen, rolling up her sleeves, preparing to cook.
(Honestly, I don't know what's gonna take me out first. This cold or whatever this girl's making.) He says with a dead expression.
"humming" She was happily humming and smiling as she prepared.
"Hey, you sick boy, go upstairs and get some rest." She says.
"O-okay." He responded back.
(I need to hurry and text mom.) He walked upstairs and grabbed his phone. He texted:
[Mom I need your help🙏] He sent.
ping His mom replies back with:
[why? What's happening?] She says.
[Satsuki cooking…..]
[Okay…. What's the issue?]
"Shit." He says with fear. (I forgot my mom is the only survivor that didn't taste Satsuki cooking.) He says.
"sniff sniff Why does it smell so burnt?" He walks back downstairs.
"What?!?" He looks at his kitchen and sees a disaster. (How is this humanly possible.) His face was full of fear and anxiety.
"Huh, why are you back downstairs?" She says annoyed. "Well, whatever… come over here real quick."
"Y-yes." He was still afraid. He was scared.
"Does this look good?" She says.
"What the!?" He looks at the pot and sees something that wasn't rice porridge. "Ah… ah.. w-well." He couldn't even look at what was inside the pot. His eyes were all over the place.
"Will this be good?" Her look was like nothing was wrong with it.
"I-It just needs a little salt." He says nervously.
"Okay~" She says with excitement.
He kept looking at it with fearful eyes. It was bubbling.
(This is going inside me.) He says.
"Hey, go back upstairs. I'll bring it up to you." She says.
"Y-yes." He awkwardly walks upstairs to his room.
He shuts his door. "Well," he says. "I think I know what's going to kill me, hehe." He nervously laughs.
"Ok, let me just wait— huh?" His vision became blurry, his head became light. "What?" bang He falls down on the floor.
(Huh, what was that?) Satsuki quickly ran upstairs. "Kuroki, are you—" Before finishing her sentence, she spotted Kuroki on the floor, heavily panting.
"gasp Kuroki!!" She picks up Kuroki, holding him in her arms. She lifts him onto his bed.
"Kuroki! Are you okay!!" She was worried. "Pant pant so… hot." He says in a weakened state.
Satsuki touches his forehead. "Oh my god, you're burning up." Satsuki couldn't help but worry more.
(What should I do? What should I do?) Her mind was all over the place.
(Oh yeah, the hospital.) She thought. "Wait here, Kuroki, let me ca—" As she was about to leave, before finishing her sentence, a weakened Kuroki grabs Satsuki's arm.
"W-wait pant don't leave me." He says.
"Huh?" Satsuki was left confused.
"I… don't want to be left alone again."
"Please stay here… with me."
Kuroki's voice sounded sad. He had little tears coming out of his eyes, like he was scared. Satsuki looked at him with a worried look on her face. She walked up to him and sat down right next to him.
Holding his hand.
"I won't leave you, Kuroki." She says. "I will always be right next to you…"
"By your side."
Satsuki was smiling at Kuroki, telling him that he won't be alone.
As Kuroki was heavily panting, a little smile came out, and a sigh of relief.
—
"Mmmm…." As time passed, Kuroki began to open his eyes. "Huh? What time is it?" He said tiredly.
He picks up his phone and checks the time.
"It's 8:07." He says. He got out of his bed and walked downstairs.
"I guess my cold is gone… I hope."
"But I don't remember anything after I fell." As he walked downstairs, he saw a lady on the floor foaming from the mouth.
"Huh?!? Mom?!" Kuroki was shocked. He quickly ran to his mom.
"Are you okay?!" He shouted. The lady couldn't make out a sound, but pointed at something on the counter.
"Huh?" He let go of his mom and checked what was on the counter. "M-mom." He was shaking with fear.
"You ate Satsuki cooking!!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.
There was a note left on the counter, and it says:
"I put the rice porridge in the fridge. I hope you enjoy it." The note says.