Marchen Wonderland

"Ah-- ACHOO!!!!" a sneeze rang out from Yura's room. The poor bassist didn't know what he was sick with, just that he was completely miserable as a result. He must have been awake a couple of hours, at least. "It's only 7:30...? Man... thirty minutes took a lifetime..." he groaned.

"Are you decent, Yuu?" A female voice called. 'It must be Liza...' he thought to himself. "Yura... did you hear me?" Yura envisioned a tall, thin golden-blond haired young woman with slight waves in her hair calling through the sliding door. The attractive blond lived in the same apartment building as he did, but her room mate was the ever-annoying and always-close-by... Karen.

"Yeah...." he replied, drawing out the one-syllable word.

"Yeah you're decent, or yeah you hear me?" the voice questioned.

"Just-" he started to say as his own coughing fit cut him off. "Just a minute..."

"Stay put, Yuu.. I'll go find a thermometer.." the voice commanded from the other side.

'I can't be asking her to look after me like this... She's Yasu's girl...' the lean man thought to himself. Debating over the gravity of the situation, he finally tossed his covers back and dragged himself to the entance of his room, sliding the door back slowly. His eyes met with a much shorter young woman's face. Narrowed light green eyes glared up at him from behind crimson cat-eye frames.

"Karen..?" he spoke confusedly between coughs. "I knew I had a fever, but I had no idea that I was hallucinating as well..." The burgundy-haired, petite female only scowled in return. He knew what was next.

"Liza! Is he sick again?!" she screeched. Yura tried his best to shield his ears from the annoyance of her voice. She was sure to wake everyone in the building with that horrible sound!

"Yuu! You shouldn't be up walking around!!" Liza exclaimed. Yura scanned the hallway for the direction that the more pleasant voice was coming from. He leaned against the door frame in exhaustion.

"Maiccho will have a fit!!" the taller girl exclaimed as she ran over to help the bassist stand on his own two feet. "You need to stay in bed! Can you at least put your arm around my shoulder?"

"Yeah..." another dragged out reply was followed by the man finally gather enough strength to rest his arm onto Liza's shoulder.

"You idiot! Getting out of bed like that when you know damned well that y--" Karen seethed, but was cut off suddenly. "Kitten... I'm trying to sleep.." Keiyuu murmured, poking his head out of the sliding door of his own room. The petite girl's face turned three shades of red as she turned on her heel and stormed down the hallway, disappearing from sight. The still half-asleep vocalist yawned and retired back to his room, sliding the door shut. Liza raised her eyebrow as she quietly shut Yura's sliding door.

"Th-thank you.. Liza...." Yura spoke, coughing once again. "You don't have to trouble yourself like this..."

"It's not trouble! Now go lay down!" the woman shooed Yura off to his bed. "Geez, you look like death warmed over in a microwave oven..." Her words were peppered with concern.

"Unhelpful..." the bassist muttered.

"Well you do!" the blonde retorted.

"I guess...." he layed back on his bed and figeted with his shirt. "Why's it so warm.." he coughed again. "...In here..."

The woman placed her hand to Yura's forehead. "Holy hell, you're hot!!" she yelled out as she took out her cell phone. "I'll have Karen bring a few things here." she reassured the bassist. "I saw her earlier... I think... She'd probably not want to be bothered.. about bringing anything..." he winced. "It's so hot..."

-

Karen was on her way back to her own haven when her ringtone, the chorus line from Duel Jewel's song "Hana uta" went off. "Could that be..? I just told him not to call..." she sighed as she pulled her phone from her cargo pants pocket, and flipped it open. "Liza..?" she whispered as she placed her phone to her ear and spoke her greeting. "What's up?"

"NO, YUU, DON'T!! Ah! Karen, I need some things for Yuu, please!! He's sick! Soup and orange juice!" Liza spoke rapidly and hung up quickly.

"Liza...? Liza... I just got back from there... Hello...? Dammit..." she fumed, finally flipping her phone shut. 'They'd better appreciate this..'

-

"But it's so hot....!" Yura complained once again. Liza had already had almost all she could stand...

"I know, but for the love of God, do not...! Damn it, Karen.. Hurry up... It's been at least an hour." she whispered, looking straight at the door. Hopefully, a sign that the shorter girl had indeed followed through would be close at hand. Just as she expected, a slight rapping was heard at the entrance to Yura's room. Finally, the reassuring knock that she wouldn't be alone in her mission.

"Two things, Yuu... Do NOT move and do NOT take off your shirt!" the blond said. ""Stay here!"" she commanded, walking over and opening the door. "Karen! I'm so happy to see you...!"

"Hello~" the faux redhead sang out, tilting her head. "What's going on? You look mentally tired..." she spoke, handing a grocery bag with a carton of orange juice and a plastic cup placed over the cap.

"You know exactly what's going on. I have a sick bassist on my hands... Who keeps trying to take his shirt off." Liza sighed. "Can you wet a rag with some cold water please, Karen?" Liza asked pleadingly.

"Sure, I guess..." the small girl shrugged and walked off out of the room.

"Thank you" the more concerned woman said, with a roll of her eyes, then turned back to Yura. "Yuu, I have orange juice~!" she sang, pouring a cup for him. He didn't like being babied, but he didn't mind too much if it was coming from her.

"Thank... you..."

"Are you okay??" the other girl asked as she came back into the room and handed Liza the wet washcloth she had requested.

"He's got a really high fever" the blond replied finally. ".. Yuu, can you lie back?"

Yura nodded slowly and layed back as Liza propped a pillow behind him.

"I can see that..." Karen said, raising an eyebrow behind her frames and pulling her shoulder length hair into a makeshift ponytail, tightly securing it with a rubber band adorning her left wrist.

"Seriously, your band leader is neglectful..." Liza resolved, folding the washcloth in half and dabbed the lean man's forehead with it.

"Where'd he go..? Was he here earlier? Because.. I don't think I saw him..." Karen said, thoughtfully.

"In his room, I think."

"With Yuu like this?? Really??" the dark red-haired girl asked.

"Yes..." Liza was starting to sound annoyed.

"I told him I was fine.." The bassist cut the one-sided round of twenty questions short.

"But you're obviously not, you fibber!" Liza scolded the man. "Here, drink this." She urged, handing Yura a tall glass of orange juice. He put the glass to his lips and drank, stopping halfway to complain.

"Ugh.. It doesn't taste the same..." Yura winced as he put the half-empty glass on the low table nearby.

"That's because you're sick, idiot! Keep drinking! I want you to finish all of it and then drink another glass, then some water."

"So much??"

"Well, you could have some chicken soup..." Karen resolved, but was ignored.

"Yes! We have to flush those fluids out!" Liza cried.

"Uh-huh..." the man muttered.

"So Drink..." she said, placing the glass back into the bassist's hand. He slowly drank the rest, sat up and placed the glass on the table once again.

"Feel any better?"

"It's still so hot!! And now I need to--" Yura shot out of his futon and off to his bathroom, slamming the door behind himself.

"That was odd.." Liza blinked.

"Maybe he needs to throw up?" asked the spectacled young woman, though once again ignored.

"I'm going to go yell at Maiccho now~" Liza said with sarcastic enthusiasm. "Man, I don't want to play mommy to a sick bassist.." she added, furrowing her brow.

"Hm... Isn't there someone else that could look after him...? After all, he can't really do anything for himself in that condition..."

"Then go get Keiyuu or Yasuno. I'll be yelling at Maiccho if you need me."

A muffled thud came from the bathroom.

"..In a moment." she muttered, looking toward the bathroom door.

"How about you go yell at Maiccho... and I'll stay here with Yuu?" asked the smaller female.

"Are you sure you can handle him?" asked Liza.

"Uh... If you get him back to his bed, I think I can manage for a while." Karen said, furrowing her brow. She probably couldn't handle him on her own, but at least it was less work than going off to look for someone willing to help.

"Fine. Okay, Yuu... let's go~" She sang out, dragging the poor man back to his resting place."Alright, he's yours for the next little while. Later~" she called back, shutting the door and walking off down the hallway.

"Yippee..." Karen's reply was dripping with sarcasm. She then turned to Yura. "Just keep your shirt on and we won't have any problems." she whispered and sat down on the floor next to his futon.

-

"MAICCHO!!!" the tall girl bellowed, slamming open the door of the guitarist's room. He looked up from his practicing to see Liza, flared nostrils and all.

"Yes...?" he finally replied, muting the strings of his guitar with his slender fingers. "Why are you upset, Liza??"

"Because Yuu is horribly sick and you are totally neglectful!" She shot back.

"He said he was fine... Who am I to argue with someone that didn't want anyone to take care of him?" The guitarist resolved as he went back to his practicing. Then he sneezed. "That was weird... Must be allergies again..." he said with a shrug, and took up his practice once more.

"I'm not done!! Even if he said he was fine, anyone with eyes could see that he really really needs just a little bit of care!!"

"I didn't think that he was..." he didn't even get to finish that sentence, when the blond girl retorted.

"You are a very neglectful band leader and I'm not talking to you until Yuu gets better!!" she spoke, crossing her arms in the process. Mai's face changed expressions.

"I swear he told me that he was fine!!" he yelled back as Liza stormed out of the room.

-

" .. Is he even conscious?" The burgundy-haired female questioned, but was given 'the look'.

"Maa.. it's okay... I'm fine...." he muttered with his eyes half-closed.

"I don't know... Okay, Yuu.. if you can hear me, you need to sit down very slowly in the bathtub, okay?" Liza spoke slowly, helping the man sit down.

"Mm..."

"This is really embarassing..." Karen said, finally turning both knobs of the water faucet.

"A little cooler..." the blonde softly commanded. Karen tightened the left knob completely.

"It's cold!!" the man said with a shiver.

"Sorry, Yuu, but your fever!!"

-

"Maybe we should check on Yuu? Odd noises are coming from in there..." Keiyuu asked Yasuno as he walked out into the hallway and saw him by Yura's door.

"Yeah.." he replied, still trying to listen carefully outside of the room. The shorter male waltzed up and slid the door open. "He never locks it anyways." he shrugged.

"I see..." the drummer said, cautiously walking into the disheveled room.

"Well, it's a mess..." Keiyuu said, picking up a lone sock and tossing it down just as quickly. "You'd think he'd keep up with this dungeon of a room better, wouldn't you?" he said with a grin.

"He's not in here... What's with this orange juice jug?" the much taller man questioned. There was a half-empty jug of juice just sitting on the table with a half-empty cup right next to it.

"Muuu... shit...!" a high pitched voice whispered in the next room.

Keiyuu heard the voice. "What is she doing in his bathroom?"

"Who knows..."

-

"I think I really am getting sick...." Karen muttered as she held in a sneeze.

"What??"

"It's okay.." she said, holding back a cough the best she could. "I'll be fine.." the girl said, waving her room mate off. "I'm going back to our apartment..." she spoke, getting to her feet and allowing herself out the door. That's when she heard it:

"Arisu...." Yura murmured.

"He's delirious... he must be..." Karen said, shaking her head and closing the door behind herself.

"Yuu...? Yuuuuu......." Liza called, waving her hand in the man's face.

"Arisu.. is.. that... you..?"

~*~*~*~*~

"Is he okay..? Hatter-san...? Hatter-san...." a familiar, but startlingly soothing female voice spoke softly.

"He's fine. Just leave him alone.. Probably dozed off in the rocking chair." another familiar voice said.

"Where...?" the man fluttered his eyes and saw two somewhat familiar, small silhouettes. "My head hurts..."

"See? Just like I said, he probably dozed off and didn't even realize it."