Chapter Text
Between the club, his friends, and newfound popularity Aichi barely had any time to himself anymore.
Kai knew this, because Aichi barely had any time for him anymore.
Whenever the two of them would organise something to do, Aichi would always be late with a reasoning that he had been helping out someone else with something important. The boy was always rushing anywhere, and Kai didn't think he'd seen him just stop and take a break lately.
Like now. Kai had found himself waiting at Card Capital with the others. It was afterschool, which meant most of their gang was already there. Miwa had brought himself along at least, so Kai wasn't completely alone in his corner. The blonde was keeping him entertained as Kai waited for his friend to arrive.
"Y'know, I'm surprised Aichi even has any time to come here," Miwa spoke up, clearly able to read what Kai was thinking about. Kai began to protest, but the blonde smiled knowingly and shook his head. "Even as much as Aichi loves Card Capital and playing Vanguard here, he's pretty busy. Just yesterday he got stopped seven or eight times on his way here by someone who recognised him. Or, according to Izaki he did anyway."
That was surprising. Kai knew it happened often, but not to that extent. "Really?" he asked, while trying to pretend to be disinterested. He knew he couldn't hide much from Miwa.
Miwa nodded. "Izaki was really bothered by it. He and Morikawa waited for Aichi to walk him here after his club activities finished - I think because Morikawa wanted to challenge him - and the two of them got so annoyed they ended up acting as bodyguards and refusing anyone to get close. Well, that's how Izaki portrayed the situation anyway," he said, placing down another card. With a groan, he leaned back in his chair. "Damn, Kai. Did you really have to beat me so brutally? You're not even focused on the game!"
"You'll get over it," Kai sniffed, dismissing Miwa's dramatics like he was used to doing. "If that's the case, then we should-"
Whatever Kai had been about to say was cut off by the doors to the shop opening, and in walked the topic of conversation himself.
Kai's eyes narrowed as he took in Aichi's appearance. His normally tidy uniform was rumpled, his cheeks were red from breathing hard and the circles under his eyes had formed to become much more pronounced than they used to be. He looked downright exhausted, and it left Kai feeling more concerned than ever.
"Sorry I'm late," Aichi said, looking at Misaki who was stood behind the counter. Their friends had turned back to what they were doing at the words, but Aichi remained in place to get his breath back.
With no one else looking, the blue-haired boy let out a few small coughs, and looked up to make eye contact with Kai.
The older boy raised an eyebrow when Aichi made his way down to the back corner where Kai and Miwa were set up. "Hello, Kai," he smiled, and Kai noticed there was a slight raspiness that Aichi was clearly trying to hide.
"Aichi," Kai said, keeping it simple. His eyes hovered on Aichi for a moment, before he turned to Miwa. "Move."
Miwa huffed, gathering up his deck. "So mean, you could at least say it a bit nicer," he grumbled, but he did comply.
"Sit," Kai directed to Aichi, who hurried to comply as well. Kai managed to make himself sound grumpy, but in reality he was worried. "Get your deck out, you owe me seventeen rounds."
Aichi blinked, eyes wide. "Seve- what? Oh Kai, I'm so sorry-"
Kai waved the apology off, though he was a bit peeved off at getting rejected so many times. "It's fine, you're busy," he said, getting his deck back together to shuffle it. "You can make it up to me now."
"By playing seventeen rounds?" Miwa asked, but Kai ignored him.
Instead, he focused on watching Aichi get his deck together. The smaller boy's hands were shaking ever so slightly, but Kai doubted he would have noticed if he wasn't so observant. He knew, however, that he wouldn't do Aichi a disservice by going easy on him.
"Come at me," Kai stated, his voice betraying how excited he was.
Despite his clear exhaustion, Aichi looked just as excited which made Kai feel better. "Bring it on," Aichi said, eyes brighter than they had been.
--
(Kai lost most of their rounds, but he was happy at how much Aichi had perked up).
--
That afternoon had led to Kai seeking Aichi out more and more. As the days passed, Kai began picking up more and more signs of just how exhausted Aichi must constantly be.
The blue-haired boy was almost always swarmed by the others, especially when he would be at the shop. Everyone, even people outside of their friend group, would hound him for a battle, and Aichi could seemingly never say no.
When Kai questioned both Misaki and Shingo about the club activities, the two of them said that Aichi always ran things solo for the group. Misaki had even admitted when they tried to help, he would send them off to have fun.
That, coupled with the fact that Aichi seemed to have something he needed to do everyday painted a picture that Kai really didn't want to uncover. Shingo also admitted that Aichi had managed to keep top marks in his class, which just added to the amount of things Aichi had began to pile onto himself.
Kai was beginning to wonder where Aichi was making all the time to keep up with everything. Talking with Emi left him more confused.
"I mean, he goes to bed earlier than I do," she had said, when Kai asked her. "He seems so exhausted lately, I don't blame him."
"Do you still wake him up for school?" Kai had asked, gently because Emi didn't deserve his indifference.
Emi had shaken her head. "He's always up and gone before me."
After those conversations, Kai began keeping more of an eye on Aichi. The boy always had someone talking to him, and Kai could begin to see just how worn down he looked every day.
Even Ren had noticed, as he had called Kai out of the blue one night with a request for Kai to speak to Aichi.
"When I went to see him today, he was asleep on top of his cards," Ren had whined. "Really, Kai, what do you let him get up to?"
--
A week had passed before Kai decided to intervene.
Aichi had begun to look well beyond exhausted, Kai could see that even Vanguard was beginning to become a chore for him, which was what spurred him into action.
He organised it with Miwa first, the blonde offering to make sure Aichi actually showed up to Kai's invitation of a day out together. Misaki had offered to keep the others at the shop busy, deflecting questions about Aichi's whereabouts.
He had even managed to make Shingo take on club leadership for the next few days.
That was how Kai found himself waiting at his usual bench in the park. It was Sunday, which meant everyone had the day off. He was glad for this, because it meant his plan would be ensured to work. Aichi wouldn't be able to make many excuses this time.
Miwa had sent him a text a few minutes ago, letting him know that he was on the way with Aichi.
And sure enough, a few minutes later, his two friends eventually came into view. Kai noticed that Aichi seemed to be dressed in some of his warmer clothes, pink turtleneck shirt with his white jacket over top. He thought maybe Aichi's cheeks looked flushed too, but that was something to keep in mind for later.
"Yo, Kai!" Miwa called as the two of them reached him, waving a hand in the air. "Sorry we're late."
Aichi offered a small smile. "My fault, I slept in," he said, voice soft. Kai thought that he looked like he had gotten no sleep at all, but kept quiet.
Instead, Kai shrugged. "It's fine, I wasn't waiting long. You're spending today with me and Miwa, no exceptions."
"But-"
"No buts," Kai cut off Aichi's retort, eyebrows furrowing. "You are going to spend the day with us. No exceptions."
He saw Miwa give a smirk, and leaned down to Aichi. "I would go along with it if I was you, Aichi. Kai's in a bit of a grumpy mood."
Kai crossed his arms, and raised an eyebrow. After a minute of staring each other down, eventually Aichi gave in with a small nod. "Lead the way, Kai."
--
The three of them did spend the day together. Kai dragged Aichi and Miwa to his usual cafe, intending on making Aichi eat and drink something healthy and get some peace and quiet. And he did.
For the first time in weeks, Kai got to see Aichi's normal smile. He was more quiet than he usually was, but he was engaged in the conversation Miwa had started.
(Miwa had brought up aliens, Kai was doing his best to keep out of it).
"Speaking of," Miwa paused, having finished his lunch a while ago. "I didn't want to bring it up before, but Aichi you feel warm still."
Kai blinked, leaning over to place his hand against Aichi's forehead before the smaller boy was able to argue. "You do feel warm. How do you feel?"
"Cold, mostly," Aichi said, his cheeks red. Kai imagined it was mostly from his temperature, but removed his hand all the same. "But I'm fine. Really. Besides, I've just been super busy."
"We can tell."
MIwa smiled, turning Aichi's attention to him. "You've definitely been busy, buddy. We've been keeping an eye on things. But today, all you'll be doing is resting."
Aichi tilted his head. "I have other things I need to do, Miwa-"
"Nuh-uh, not today."
Kai decided to speak up. "Misaki is handling your 'fans', and your club members are handling the club. You don't have anything else to do. And Emi has let me know you don't have any homework that you haven't already completed. You have nothing to do."
"And you've been taking way too much on," Miwa added, his voice softer than Kai had ever heard it. "We've been looking at all you've done. Aichi, even Vanguard started to seem like it was dragging you down. So today, we're officially putting you on bed rest. And since no one knows where Kai's apartment is, it's the perfect place for you to hide out."
Aichi looked between the two of them, his eyes wide. They looked a bit glazed over from exhaustion, and the eyebags are more than prominent. That coupled with the tint to his cheeks, he looked unwell. "I- you guys aren't going to let this go, are you?"
Kai stood up, giving Aichi his usual trademark smirk. "Right in one go, Aichi. Now come on, I'll even let you play Miwa again."
Aichi stood up to follow, with Miwa beside him, whining about being beaten again as the three of them headed to Kai's apartment.
--
After stopping by a shop for snacks - Miwa's choice - the three of them were sorted in Kai's apartment.
Kai had made tea after Miwa had demanded some - well, more like after Aichi had politely asked for some - and the three of them were stretched out in the living room. Miwa had ended up on the floor across from the couch, where he had lost another game to Aichi, despite giving it his all.
Aichi, for all his exhaustion, was still at the top of his game, which Miwa and Kai were impressed by.
Now, however, the three of them were done for the day and were simply chatting. Kai ended up having an almost heated discussion about dragons with Miwa, who simply let him talk. Aichi chimed in with his own thoughts every now and then, but would otherwise just listen.
A while later, while both Miwa and Kai ended up with their own game going, Kai felt a weight hit his shoulder. With surprise, he looked down to find Aichi's blue hair moving with each deep breath he made. His weight had leant fully onto Kai, but Kai didn't mind. Aichi didn't weigh much, and it meant that he was actually asleep.
"Oh, cute," Miwa popped up, his voice a whisper. "Is he asleep?"
Kai ignored the way his cheeks turned red, and gave a small nod. "Finally," he said, keeping his voice low and soft so he wouldn't wake the boy. "Are you done?"
Miwa nodded, giving a knowing smile. "Yeah, yeah I'm done. You got him from here? Make sure to keep his temperature down. I think he's on the verge of a fever."
"I know, Miwa."
"Okay, okay," Miwa laughed quietly, packing up his things. "Call if you need anything. Seriously, Kai."
"I got it," Kai said, giving his friend a small, Kai-smile. "Thanks Miwa. Now get lost."
The blonde grinned, leaving the apartment and Kai to look after Aichi. Once he was gone, Kai moved himself as gently and slowly as he could without waking Aichi. He replaced his shoulder with one of the pillows on the couch, and stood up to get one of the spare blankets.
Once he had Aichi situated, he sat down on the floor next to the couch. Aichi looked peaceful, small breaths as his chest moved up and down. It was the most relaxed Kai had seen him in a while.
He allowed a small smile to appear on his face, as he reached forward to gently ruffle Aichi's hair. He grabbed a book that was nearby and settled back down on the floor, leaning against the couch as he waited.
When Aichi woke up, he would make sure they talked about healthy habits. But for the time being, Kai was content to watch over his friend - his Vanguard.