Murasaki and Imu

Muraskai was bleary-eyed from another all-nighter. She'd promised herself that she would finally make a dent in her colossal backlog of games but she had procrastinated reading stories, watching videos and posting on an imageboard. She did sneak in some time on the latest RPG but barely scratched the surface. She nursed lukewarm mug of coffee that she only continued drinking out of habit and contemplated going to bed "If I just stay up I can nap this afternoon, game in the evening and get to bed at a reasonable hour. That will fix my sleeping pattern." She thought to herself.

 

Her trail of thought was interrupted by a knock at her bedroom door. Murasaki welcomed the politeness and liked that her friends no longer barged in, but it was still inconvenient. She scuffed her feet all the way over to the door, Bebe-tan clutched to her chest, and clung to the handle on her door. Before opening it she called out to the other side and waited for an answer 'What do you want?'

 

'It's me.' Miyabi answered 'Your sisters not feeling well today but we all have to go out on missions so there's no one to watch her.' Miyabi took a deep breath 'We were hoping you could keep an eye on Imu for a while. I know she'd appreciate it too.' Murasaki remained silent and made Miyabi wait.

 

Murasaki was too busy fighting her own battle. She wanted to go and help Imu but there was a part of her that sabotaged any attempt to leave "Why go out there? You wasted all night sitting around doing nothing like a bottomfeeder." Bebe agreed with the voice in Saki's head "You're too tired to help her besides Imu would be heartbroken to see you wasting your life, it would probably crumble her will to fight." The words cut deep and Murasaki choked up.

 

'Immie's sick?' Murasaki slightly opened her door, just a slit that she and Miyabi could see through. The harsh light bleeding in from outside and Saki's tiredness made it a battle for Murasaki to keep her eyes open. 'You guys really can't watch her? Well then I guess there's no choice but I'm not really good at this kind of thing. I'm not really good at anything and I've never nursed before.'

 

'It's just a bit of a fever. We're shinobi but that doesn't mean we don't have sick days.' Miyabi held onto her side of the handle, afraid Murasaki would run away and hide in her room again 'She just needs to sleep it off but she asked for you and it wouldn't seem right to leave her all alone.'

 

'Fine.' Murasaki mumbled and she opened her door. The fresh air outside gave her a chill and she bashfully looked away from Miyabi's proud smile. She felt a hand on her shoulder and nodded her head when she was told to make sure she took good care of Imu. Murasaki told herself that she didn't need to be told to look after her sister and that she would be just fine. Imu was her family.

 

Murasaki was left to fend for Imu. Saki crept over to Imu's room, with Bebe as her shield, and gently rapped her knuckled against her sisters bedroom door. 'Hello? Immie?' Murasaki heard a faint voice on the other side. She slid the door open and found Imu in bed with a damp wash cloth over her forehead. Imu's breaths were laboured and sheepishly turned to look at Murasaki. 'I've come to take care of you.' Murasaki clutched Bebe close enough to block half of her face 'Is there anything you need?'

 

'Saki' The joy in Imu's voice was strained to a croak. 'I'm glad you're here.' Imu beckoned Murasaki over and held her sisters hand, it was the first time in a long time that Murasaki had seen Imu without her glasses and she looked unrecognisable 'I just need to rest.' Murasaki refused to make eye contact even when Imu swayed Saki's arm back and forth 'There is something you can do for me.' Murasaki's eyes flicked over and Imu smiled 'Could you make me some tea?'

 

Murasaki nodded her head and retreated from the room. She raced down to the kitchen and brewed some tea. The only way Murasaki knew how to make it was with instant teabags, she was already disappointing her sister 'I should know how to make tea like those fine ladies in the stories I read, not this stuff.' Bebe shared Murasaki's doubts and taunted her from the kitchen counter "You should just drain it down the sink and go back to bed."

 

Murasaki grit her teeth and readied two cups of tea on a tray, she wasn't going to just bring tea and run away she was actually going to drink with her sister. Bebe be damned. Saki still squeezed Bebe under her arm as the tip-toed to Imu's room. She'd show Bebe her worth and finally bond with her sister. 'This should help make you feel better.' Murasaki put on her best smile and her sister returned it.

 

They sat together and slowly sipped down their tea. Murasaki and Imu made stilted small talk but at the very least they were talking. 'Saki, you look tired.' Imu cleared her throat 'Did you sleep last night?' Murasaki avoided the question and stayed quiet. Imu hanged her head 'I need to sleep this off so I'll be dozing off soon. You should get some sleep too.' Imu finished off her cup and fell back into her pillow 'Thanks for watching me.'

 

Murasaki watched Imu gently drift off to sleep and she felt the weight on her own eyelids. She was too worn to walk back to her own bed and instead grabbed a nearby blanket and crawled over to curl up next to Imu. Bebe would have to sit on the other side of the room, Saki had found something else to cuddle up to. Hours later, Murasaki was woken up by Imu 'Hey, I'm feeling a bit better now. Thanks for taking care of me.'

 

'That's okay.' Murasaki mumbled. Her eyes stung and her nose was runny 'How long was I out?' Murasaki sneezed and sniffled her red nose. She had caught whatever Imu had. On the bright side they could spend more time together.