The moment I woke up, something felt off.

My body still felt heavy. My throat hurt a little, and it seemed my fever hadn’t completely gone down.

But more than that, there was a strange weight on my stomach under the blankets.

I looked down.

My little sister was sleeping there, hugging me around the chest.

“…Ruka?”

When I spoke, she opened her eyes slowly.

“Ah… good morning, big brother…”

She murmured sleepily, pressing her cheek against my chest as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“No, wait, hold on. Why are you in my bed?”

“Ah! Um, I was taking care of you! Yes, taking care of you!”

“Taking care of me?”

“Last night, when I checked on you, your fever was really high… I got worried, and I just held your hand… and then…”

Her voice trailed off in soft and fragile.

“I’m sorry…”

“No, you don’t have to apologize…”

Ruka slowly lifted her head and looked straight at me.

She reluctantly got out of bed and stood up.

“Um… I’ll make breakfast. Can you eat something?”

“…Maybe something light.”

“Then I’ll make porridge and soup. Please wait a moment.”

With soft and quick footsteps, she left the room.

I stared at the ceiling for a while.

Why…?

Was it because I still had a fever, or was it because of what Ruka had done?

My head was a mess, and I couldn’t think clearly.

About fifteen minutes later, Ruka came back with a tray. Steam rose from a bowl of porridge and a gently-scented soup.

“Here, big brother. It’s not too hot, so you can eat right away.”

“Thank you.”

I quietly watched Ruka while taking a bite of porridge.

“Yesterday. You were about to say something. What were you going to say?”

“Ah, um…”

Ruka hesitated, then shook her head gently.

“Did I? I don’t remember that?”

When she acted so innocent, I didn’t feel like pressing her. Well, never mind.

Then she suddenly remembered something and stood up straight.

“Oh, right. I need to check your temperature. I’ll get the thermometer.”

She hurried out of the room, going down the stairs. Looks like she’s done with forehead checks from last night.

I got the thermometer, tucked it under my arm, and waited. 38.2°C. It's still pretty high.

“Ah, you still have a fever.”

“Seems like it. I’m staying home from school today.”

“Yes. I’ll stay home too.”

“No, Ruka, you should go to school.”

“No, I’ll stay home. I want to take care of big brother.”

Ruka said it firmly.

“It’s fine, it’s just a cold.”

“No! Last night you were really struggling.”

Her face darkened.

“You’re overreacting.”

“I’m not!”

Ruka’s voice was unusually sharp. I could see tears forming in her eyes.

“If anything happened to you, I…”

She bit her lip and stopped herself.

“Alright. Then take care of me.”

“Yes!”

Ruka wiped her tears and gave a small smile.

After that, she stayed by my side the whole time while taking care of me.

She kept changing the ice pack on my head, reminded me to drink water often, and even made easy-to-digest udon for lunch.

By the afternoon, my fever had gone down a little. Ruka looked relieved.

“You seem to be feeling much better now.”

“It's all thanks to Ruka.”

Ruka smiled, then clenched her fists in front of her chest.

“I’ll do anything for my big brother.”

My heart skipped a beat at her words.

“Anything…”

“Whether it’s taking care of you, cooking, cleaning, I’ll do it all for you.”

Looking into her clear eyes made my chest feel tight.

“…Big brother?”

I looked up when she called me. Ruka was peeking at me and was worried.

“Your face is red. Did your fever come back?”

“Ah, no. I’m fine. Probably…”

“Really?”

“…Yeah.”

I could hear my heartbeat loud in my ears.

“Make sure you’re well by tomorrow, big brother.”

“I’ll try.”

“Yes. Or I’ll come sleep beside you again tomorrow?”

“Hey.”

I pulled the blanket up over my head.

My face is hot, probably still because of the fever… hopefully.

Chapter 8: "I Woke Up to My Stepsister Snuggling into My Bed"