The Next Day, because of her fever yesterday, Mizuha was absent today. Shimizu is looking at Mizuha’s seat from her place because she is worried about Mizuha’s condition. Meanwhile, in Hikaru's classroom, Hikaru wondered what happened to Takeru. “Yesterday, he skipped all classes after lunch break, and today he's also absent. Where did he go?" Hikaru wondered. "Is he blaming himself for what happened to Mizuha yesterday?"

Back in Mizuha's class, the teacher asked for a volunteer to deliver Mizuha’s homework.

“Can someone deliver this printout to Yuki-san, who is absent today?” said the teacher.

Shimizu volunteered, raising her hand. “Sensei, I will deliver it to Yuki-san this evening.”

“Oh, Toyama, thanks for your help. Please deliver it to her, okay?” said the teacher.

The classmates were curious about why Mizuha was absent. Some of them had seen Hikaru carry an unconscious Mizuha yesterday.

“Hey, did you hear that? I heard Yuki-san passed out suddenly yesterday,” said one of her classmates.

“I heard that too. I also saw Hikaru carrying her like a princess, rushing to the nurse's office yesterday with Toyama-san,” said another classmate.

They approached Shimizu to ask the reason. Right now, they could speak to Shimizu without hesitation. They were no longer afraid of talking to Shimizu and no longer saw her as a delinquent, contrary to the rumors.

“Um, Toyama-san, what happened to Yuki-san yesterday? We heard she passed out suddenly during lunch break,” said her classmate.

Shimizu told them not to worry about Mizuha and explained that Mizuha just had a high fever. The classmates were relieved and thanked Shimizu for the update.

Hikaru messaged Shimizu, saying that they didn’t need to eat on the school rooftop as usual and could eat in their respective classrooms. They all agreed. Suddenly, Shimizu received a message from her editor, requesting an urgent meeting. "Ugh, why is this happening suddenly?" Shimizu thought. She needed to change her plan for delivering the homework and decided to ask Elly to take her place.

"Elly, can you deliver this to Mizuha? I have an urgent plan suddenly this evening," said Shimizu.

"Shimizu-chan, instead of asking me to deliver it, why not give it to Hikaru? He looked so worried about Mizuha yesterday," suggested Elly.

Elly agreed. "That’s a good idea. I wonder why I didn’t think of that."

Shimizu then went to Class 1B to meet Hikaru. "Excuse me, is Takumi-san here?" she asked. One of the male classmates responded, "Hey, Hikaru, that tomboy girl is calling for you." Shimizu was angered by the comment. "What did you call me? I’ll deal with you later." The classmate was shocked, and Hikaru laughed at the scene.

Hikaru approached Shimizu. "Hey, Shimizu. What’s up? Do you need something from me?"

"Here, take this," said Shimizu.

"What is this?" asked Hikaru.

"This is Mizuha’s homework. I want you to deliver it to her."

"Why me? You’re her classmate, right?" asked Hikaru.

"If you want to see her, why not use this as an excuse?" Shimizu suggested.

“But…” Hikaru felt hesitant to take it.

"Alright, I’ll deliver it this evening," said Hikaru.

“By the way, what happened to Takeru? I haven’t seen him since Mizuha passed out,” said Shimizu.

"Oh, Takeru skipped all classes yesterday, and today he’s absent too," said Hikaru.

"I see. I think he’s blaming himself for what happened yesterday," said Shimizu.

"Yeah, I think so too," said Hikaru.

"Okay, I’m counting on you for this, Hikaru. Go see your girlfriend," said Shimizu.

"Hey, she’s not my girlfriend," said Hikaru.

"But you like her, right?" asked Shimizu.

"Haha, you can’t hide it from me. I counted it for you, Hikaru," Shimizu teased as she ran back to her class.

“You, Shimizu,” said Hikaru, with anger and a blush on his face.

"Wow, you’re so tough, Hikaru. You can talk casually with the famous tomboyish girl like that? We wouldn’t dare talk to her like that."

"What? Her? Haha. Why are you guys afraid of her? She’s not as bad as people say. Just because her appearance is a bit tomboyish doesn’t mean she’s a delinquent. You guys have been misled all this time. If you were friends with her, you’d see she’s a great friend," Hikaru said, trying to dispel the bad rumors about Shimizu.

Akemi was shocked to see Hikaru blush when Shimizu mentioned that Hikaru liked Mizuha. Akemi fell silent. When her friend asked what was wrong, she replied with a fake smile, "Nothing happened."

Meanwhile, Mizuha was still in a weak condition, lying on her bed in her room.

“Mizuha, I’m going out for now. Do you need anything?” her mom said, opening her room door.

“I’m fine; I don’t need anything for now,” said Mizuha.

“Let me take a look at your body temperature right now, honey,” said her mother.

“37.9°C. Your body temperature is still high. If it gets worse, we’ll go to the hospital, okay? Just get some rest, okay?” said her mother.

“Alright, I will rest,” said Mizuha.

“Then, I’m going for now. Please call my phone if your condition gets worse, okay?” said her mother, kissing her forehead.

“I’m leaving,” said her mother. “See you later,” said Mizuha.

At the family restaurant, Shimizu is having a meeting with her editor about the novel. “Umm, this is a very nice script. I’m waiting next for the upcoming chapter, Yamamizu-sensei,” said her editor. “Thank you very much,” said Shimizu. Her editor then left right after they finished their meeting.

“Huh, I’m so exhausted today. Better I rest here for a while,” said Shimizu. She took out her phone and started messaging Mizuha, “Mizuha, how about your condition?” She typed the message and sent it to Mizuha. Mizuha had not read the message yet. “Hmm, she hasn’t read it yet. I think she is sleeping.”

Suddenly, she noticed Mizuha’s mother entering the restaurant. “Here is that, Mizuha’s mother. What is she doing here?” She looked in the direction Mizuha’s mom went and, unexpectedly, someone she knew was waiting for her.

“Huh, is… that… Takeru? What is he doing here with Mizuha’s mother?” said Shimizu, confused as they were meeting with each other.

“Tak-kun, sorry I’m a bit late. I was taking care of Mizuha before coming here,” said Mizuha’s mother.

“Ah, don’t worry, Mrs. Yuki. I also just arrived here a few minutes ago,” replied him.

“How about her, Mrs. Yuki? Is she recovering?” said Takeru, worried about Mizuha’s condition.

“Not yet. Her body temperature is still high. That worries me so much, so let’s finish this as soon as possible,” said her mother.

“Okay, back to the topic that I promised to tell you yesterday. I will tell you right now,” said her mother.

“Go ahead, Mrs. Yuki,” said Takeru, ready to hear the story from Mizuha’s mother.

“What are they talking about? I cannot hear what they’re saying,” said Shimizu.

Shimizu then noticed Mizuha’s mother suddenly drop a tear while talking, and Takeru’s face turned pale upon hearing what Mizuha’s mother was talking about. “What are they talking about? I can see Mizuha’s mother suddenly crying, and Takeru was a little shocked,” said Shimizu, a bit upset because she was curious about it.

“I can’t believe it. Is that right, Mrs. Yuki?” said Takeru, his face turning pale with shock after hearing it from Mizuha’s mother.

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“Yes, Tak-kun, that’s why she didn’t recognize you yesterday,” said Mizuha’s mother.

“Tak-kun, please hear me out. This is a secret between us only. Only the two of us and my husband know about this. I beg you, please don’t tell Mizuha herself or even her close friends about this until the right time to tell them.

Also, from now on, don’t use the name Tak-kun when you are with Mizuha. Promise me, okay?” said Mizuha’s mother with a serious face.

“Understood. I promise you; I will not tell anyone about this,” said Takeru.

“Then I am leaving now. There are things I need to buy at supermarket after this,” said Mizuha’s mom as she prepared to leave immediately.

“Ah, sorry to take your time for this. Thanks for telling me. I really appreciate it,” said Takeru, expressing gratitude to Mizuha’s mother.

Mizuha’s mom then left immediately after that.

“Mizuha’s mom is rushing out of here. I bet she’s worried about Mizuha’s condition,” Takeru wondered. “But I can’t believe that happened to Mizuha after I moved. I... I’m sorry, Mizuha,” said Takeru, suddenly crying for Mizuha.

As Mizuha’s mother hurriedly left the restaurant, Shimizu watched from a corner of the room, carefully keeping her distance. She saw Takeru seated at a table, with bit emotional after engaged in conversation with Mizuha’s mother.

Determined to avoid any interaction, Shimizu acted quickly. She gathered her belongings and stood up, moving with purpose toward the exit. Her eyes were fixed on the door, and she made sure not to make any unnecessary noise or draw attention to herself.

With a final, resolute glance toward the door, Shimizu slipped out of the restaurant without looking back. The door closed softly behind her, leaving no trace of her departure.

About 30 minutes after Mizuha's mother left, Mizuha woke up suddenly, feeling an intense thirst. She noticed that the water jugs her mother had left was empty. "It's empty already. I don't have a choice; I need to go downstairs to refill it," Mizuha thought. Despite her weakened condition and blurry vision, she forced herself out of bed and started to make her way downstairs.

At the same time, Hikaru arrived in front of Mizuha's house. "I'm finally here," he said to himself, holding a bag containing sports drinks and medicine he'd picked up at a convenience store on the way. He checked his phone and noticed Mizuha hadn't read his message about his visit. Just then, Mizuha's mother returned from her errands.

"Yes? Can I help you? Do you need something from our house?" Mizuha's mother asked as she approached Hikaru.

"This must be Mizuha's mother," Hikaru thought, recognizing her voice. "Yes, I'm a friend of your daughter, Mizuha. My name is Hikaru. I came to deliver her homework and some things I bought for her," Hikaru explained, pulling out the printout and the bag from his school bag.

"So, you're Hikaru-kun! The one who always walks home with Mizuha after school. She talks about you often. Thank you for being such a good friend to her," Mizuha's mother said with a warm smile.

"I'm glad to be her friend too," Hikaru replied, feeling a bit shy.

"Thank you for bringing these," Mizuha's mother said as she took the items from Hikaru. "How is she doing?" Hikaru asked, his concern evident.

"She hasn't fully recovered yet. She needs more rest," her mother replied.

Suddenly, the sound of glass shattering and something collapsing echoed from inside the house. Both Hikaru and Mizuha's mother froze.

"What was that?" Hikaru exclaimed, alarmed.

"It can't be... Mizuha!?" her mother gasped, rushing into the house with Hikaru close behind. They hurried to the kitchen, where they found Mizuha collapsed on the floor, surrounded by broken glass.

"Mizuha!!!" her mother cried, rushing to her daughter's side and carefully moving her away from the shattered glass.

"Hey, Mizuha, are you okay?!" Hikaru asked, kneeling beside her.

Mizuha, still disoriented, looked up at her mother. "Mom, you're back already? Welcome home," she mumbled before noticing Hikaru. "Huh? Why are you here, Hikaru?"

"We can talk about that later. Are you hurt? Did you step on the broken glass?" Hikaru asked, his worry deepening.

"I'm fine. None of the glass touched me," Mizuha reassured him weakly.

Hikaru-kun, could you carry her back to her room upstairs? I need to clean up this mess," her mother requested.

"Mizuha, can you walk?” said Hikaru.

"I can walk... I think," Mizuha insisted, trying to stand up.

Hikaru, seeing her struggle, made a decision. "It can't be helped," he thought to himself. Without warning, he scooped Mizuha up into his arms, carrying her like a princess—just as he had done the previous day when she collapsed at school.

"Hikaru, what are you doing? I can still walk. Please put me down; this is so embarrassing," Mizuha protested, her cheeks turning bright red.

"Don't worry about it. Just leave it to me," Hikaru said firmly as he carried her up the stairs. Mizuha's mother chuckled softly at the sight, appreciating Hikaru's care for her daughter. “Hikaru arm, it feels so warm” wondered Mizuha.

When they reached Mizuha's room, Hikaru was relieved to find the door slightly open, making it easy for him to enter without having to juggle Mizuha in his arms. He gently laid her down on her bed, making sure she was comfortable.

"Hikaru, thanks for carrying me," Mizuha said softly. "And... after I collapsed yesterday, you were the one who carried me to the nurse's office, right? I'm sorry for causing you trouble twice."

"How did you know? You were passed out," Hikaru asked, blushing slightly.

"I just guessed," Mizuha chuckled weakly. "But seriously, thank you."

"Don't worry about it. It wasn't any trouble at all," Hikaru replied, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Mizuha, for now, just rest in bed. Don't force yourself to get up. It's dangerous. If you need anything, just call your mother, like she said," Hikaru advised gently.

"But...I… I don't want to trouble… her any more. She's already done so much for me since yesterday," Mizuha said, her voice breaking as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Please don't cry, Mizuha," Hikaru said, handing her a tissue from a nearby tissue box. "I know you don't want to be a burden, but your mom does all this because she loves you.

“I bet she always take care of you all this time, she seems very love her daughter so much, so don’t blame yourself so much” said Hikaru again.

"You're right... Thanks, Hikaru," Mizuha said, feeling a bit calmer.

"By the way, Hikaru, why did you come here?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, right! I brought your homework. Shimizu asked me to bring it because she had an urgent meeting," Hikaru explained, handing her the papers.

"So, it was from Shimizu... that girl, I figured she was meeting with her editor," Mizuha mused.

"Also, I brought these," Hikaru said, handing her the sports drink and medicine.

"These are for me? Thanks, Hikaru," Mizuha said gratefully.

Just then, Mizuha's mother called from downstairs. "Hikaru-kun, can you come here for a moment?"

"I'll be right back," Hikaru said, stepping out of the room.

Downstairs, Mizuha's mother handed him a bowl of porridge. "Could you bring this to her? Be careful; it's still hot."

"Leave it to me," Hikaru replied, carefully taking the bowl and heading back to Mizuha's room.

“Mizuha, I brought you porridge from your mother,” said Hikaru.

“Oh, my mother made porridge, huh?” said Mizuha.

“But be careful, it’s a bit hot,” warned Hikaru.

“Umm, Hikaru... could... you... feed... that to me... can you?” asked Mizuha, blushing as she suddenly wanted Hikaru to feed her the porridge.

“What’s with that, Mizuha... suddenly wanting to be pampered,” wondered Hikaru, also blushing.

Suddenly, Hikaru remembered that Mizuha had wanted to feed him a few days ago but was interrupted. “Ah, that day, she seemed like she wanted to feed me her homemade tamagoyaki but didn’t get the chance,” Hikaru thought. She had looked disappointed after it didn’t work out.

“I’ll do that. I’ll do the same thing you couldn’t do that day,” Hikaru decided.

“Alright, Mizuha, I’ll feed you, but let me cool it down for a moment. Fuuh... fuuh...” said Hikaru as he blew on the porridge on the spoon before feeding it to Mizuha.

“How about that, is it delicious?” asked Hikaru.

“Umm, it’s very delicious,” said Mizuha, smiling.

“Even though she always looked cheerful at school, somehow, she wanted to be spoiled like a child” wondered Hikaru.

“Here’s more, it’s about to come,” said Hikaru as he blew on the spoon again to feed her. Hikaru repeated the process many times until Mizuha finished eating the porridge.

“Oh, you managed to finish it all,” said Hikaru after emptying the bowl.

“Hehe, it’s just like that. I think it’s because I hadn’t eaten anything since morning—I’ve been sleeping since morning,” said Mizuha.

“I’m going to take this bowl back to your mother in the kitchen. I’ll be back,” said Hikaru. “Before that, here, drink this water first and take this medicine after,” Hikaru suggested to Mizuha.

“Understood, I’ll take them. See you later then,” said Mizuha.

Hikaru made his way to the kitchen downstairs, while Mizuha took the medicine that Hikaru had given her. Suddenly, Hikaru noticed a door in front of Mizuha’s room labeled “No entry.”

“Huh, what’s with this room, and why is it labeled like that? Also, it’s locked,” said Hikaru. “Never mind, this must be some private family matter that they don’t want anybody to enter,” Hikaru thought as he headed to the kitchen.

“Oh, you’re already back. How did it go? Did she finish the porridge?” asked Mizuha’s mother.

“Yes, she finished it already. She ate it very heartily,” said Hikaru.

“Really? That’s great. I was worried she wouldn’t want to eat. I think it’s because you were there with her; it gave her the appetite to eat,” said her mother.

“Umm, does she become this weak when she’s sick?” asked Hikaru.

“Yes, she somehow becomes this weak when she’s sick, this happened since 2 years ago,” said her mother.

“Last two year... does she mean during middle school?” wondered Hikaru.

“But you don’t need to worry about that. I just need to keep monitoring her health every day to make sure she doesn’t get sick,” said her mother.

“Ah, before you go back to her, take these Cooling Gel Sheets. Please ask her to put one on her forehead,” said Mizuha’s mother.

“Understood, I’ll give this to her,” said Hikaru, turning back to Mizuha’s room.

“I’m back... Mizuha,” said Hikaru, holding the cooling gel sheets. Mizuha was already asleep when he came inside the room.

“She’s already sleeping; it can’t be helped,” said Hikaru, adjusting her blanket to cover her properly. Hikaru also placed a cooling gel sheet on her forehead. He sat beside Mizuha, holding her hand. “Mizuha, I hope you fully recover after this. I’ll be waiting for you to come back to school as usual,” said Hikaru. As Hikaru gently put her hand back down, Mizuha suddenly spoke in her sleep, “Hikaru, thank you...”

“Huh, is she sleep talking?” said Hikaru, a bit shocked by that. “You’re welcome...” replied Hikaru, whispering in her ear. “I think I’d better go home now, as she’s already asleep and I’m done with everything here.”

Before leaving, Hikaru took a look around Mizuha’s room. “Wow, this room is filled with so many drawings. Did she draw all of these?” Hikaru wondered, admiring the very attractive artwork.

“I’m leaving now, Mizuha. See you later at school,” said Hikaru as he left Mizuha’s room.

As Hikaru arrived at the stairs on the lower floor, Mizuha’s mother spoke, “Oh, you’re going home already?”

“Yes, Mizuha is already asleep, and I’m done here, so there’s no need for me to stay any longer,” said Hikaru.

“Oh, I see. If you say so, it can’t be helped,” said Mizuha’s mother.

“Hikaru-kun, thank you so much for today. You did so much for her,” said Mizuha’s mother, bowing her head to show gratitude.

“Please raise your head, Mrs. Yuki. I was just helping her as a friend,” said Hikaru, with a nervous tone.

“Before you leave, take this. These are some dishes I made for dinner. Share them with your family. Consider it a gift from me for what you did for Mizuha earlier,” said her mother.

“Thank you so much. I’ll share it with my family,” said Hikaru as he took the container.

“Alright, Mrs. Yuki, thanks for having me here. I’m leaving now,” said Hikaru.

“Me too. Thank you for what you did earlier,” replied her mother.

Hikaru left Mizuha’s house after that.

“What a great person he is. He even came to see you when you got sick. Good for you, Mizuha, you’ve got friends who really take care of you now,” her mother thought, feeling relieved that her daughter had good friends like Hikaru, Takeru, and the others who genuinely care for her.