Chapter 152

Ｒｅａｄ ｏｎ Ｋａｔ​Ｒｅ​ａ​ｄｉｎ​ｇＣａｆｅ

**Recovery. (3)**

While it was nice to feel myself steadily improving, the word that truly applied to me right now wasn’t “progress”—it was “recovery.”

Unless I could at least reach the level I had right before I left Straight, I’d only end up being a burden to Toya.

So I had to work harder. Even harder.

Until I could return to that version of myself—or no, until I could sing even better than I did back then—

“Natsu-nee?! Natsu-nee! Are you okay?! Natsu-nee!!”

“…Ah.”

Just before I hit the floor, I felt arms catch me and lift me up, and Nozomi’s face came into view, full of worry.

She had reached out just in time as I lost my balance and fell.

So, I’d pushed myself too hard after all.

“You should’ve said something if you were feeling unwell…!”

“Ahaha… sorry…”

I’d never actually gotten sick from exercising before, so I thought I’d be fine—but clearly, I wasn’t.
Working out to get healthy and pushing your body to the limit were two different things entirely.

I tried to move, but even my fingers wouldn’t respond.
Maybe all the overexertion up until now had finally caught up to me.

“H-Hospital! I’ll take you to the hospital!”

“…It’s not that bad, so don’t worry too much.”

I just needed a bit of rest. This pain wasn’t some chronic illness flaring up.

It wasn’t like when my asthma acted up and every cough felt like my lungs were being torn out.

Nor was it like a fever from a cold, where it felt like there was a ball of fire burning inside me, melting my brain.

This pain… was the result of my own effort.

It still hurt—but it felt different from past suffering. So I could smile through it.

“I’ll take you straight home!”

“…Thanks. But don’t rush. You can take your time.”

“But still—”

“If you rush, it’ll jostle too much and make me feel worse…”

I hadn’t eaten before practice, so I wasn’t going to throw up—but just the motion was making me nauseous.
Ugh. I felt like I was going to hurl. Nothing would come out, but I still felt like it.

Nozomi wasn’t usually the type to carry me, so her panicked running was far from smooth.
It felt like I was riding a rollercoaster.

Every time she took a step, I bounced slightly into the air—and every time, my heart sank from the jolt.
But Nozomi, unaware of my condition, only ran faster.

“Wouldn’t it be… better to call a taxi… or something?”

“Running’s faster!”

That wasn’t the point! I wasn’t talking about speed—I was talking about the _ride_.

Even if it took longer, I just wanted to get home without collapsing on the way…

I couldn’t even hear my own breathing anymore—it was completely drowned out by Nozomi’s heavy gasps as she ran.

If she _could_ hear me, maybe she would’ve slowed down a bit…

_…They say closing your eyes helps with motion sickness, right?_

Following that thought, I shut my eyes. And it did help—just a little.

Whew… I just wanted to go home and sleep.

I didn’t know when we’d arrive, but I prayed it would be soon.

—

“So today, Toya will be playing a game called _FALL AWAY_.”

— _Eh, sing for us today too!_
— _Games are great, but I wanna hear you sing!_
— _They say not to overuse your talents, but sing lots before the live, please, Toya lol_
— _Forget the game. Just sing~_
— _lol_

Since the live concert was coming up, I’d been singing a lot more often.
And now the Totomos were constantly begging for more singing streams.

I _wanted_ to sing for them, of course, but I’d been told not to overdo it.
Even if I felt bad turning them down, I couldn’t go against what the CEO had said.

Anyway, just as I was about to start the game—

**Bang—!**

“_Onee-chan!_ Natsu-nee’s—!”

“…Eh?”

The door burst open, and a familiar voice rang out.

Nozomi?!

Wait—I’m still streaming right now!

Thank goodness we’d been on good terms lately. If not, she might’ve called me by my _real name_ live on stream.

But more importantly—why was she bursting in like that—

…Yeoreum?

— _Huh?_
— _She just said “Onee-chan”?! lolol_
— _Wait, is she really Toya’s little sister?_
— _Guess she didn’t know this was live lol_
— _She said Nacchan?! Nacchan’s there too?_
— _She sounded super urgent—did something happen?_
— _What’s going on??_

The Yeoreum in Nozomi’s arms clearly wasn’t okay.

She looked just like she did when she had to be hospitalized from a cold.

To put it simply—she looked really, _really_ sick.

I instinctively stood and gently took her from Nozomi’s arms.

“Yeoreum— _ahem_, Natsu, what happened to her?!”

“Well…”

Just thinking about Natsu being sick made my voice come out sharper than I meant.
Normally, Nozomi would’ve snapped back, but she didn’t say anything—maybe because she understood how I felt.

Okay, Toya. Calm down.
If the guardian panics, everything falls apart.

“She… I think she overdid it with exercise and ended up getting sick.”

“…Yeah, she _has_ been strangely fine until now.”

— _She accepted that fast lol_
— _Nacchan probably pulled something lifting those pink dumbbells lolol_
— _She’s been streaming even when tired from workouts lately._
— _She was so energetic on stream that I thought she was okay, but maybe not…_
— _How’s she doing now?_
— _Is Nacchan okay??_

It wasn’t just me—Totomos were all deeply concerned.
Which made sense, given Yeoreum had always had health issues.

I should’ve remembered that she’s the type to hide it when she’s in pain.
She probably held it in again until she couldn’t anymore.

“Natsu, are you okay?”

“…Toya.”

“Yeah, it’s me, Natsu.”

“…It’s really Toya… Ugh, I feel sick…”

As soon as she opened her eyes and saw me, Natsu gave a faint smile—then quickly turned away, clutching her mouth.

Her stomach? Why would she be nauseous?

Did she eat too fast or something?

I held her gently and patted her back.
She curled up like a baby seeking her mother’s arms.

— _Toya’s totally holding Nacchan like a baby lol_
— _She really does look like a baby right now lolol_
— _Nacchan is baby. Protect the baby._
— _What kind of workout did she do to end up this exhausted?_
— _Nacchan must not get sick!!_
— _Toya jumping up the moment she heard Nacchan was sick—good girl._

Totomos were reacting differently this time.

Maybe it was because Yeoreum had talked about her health struggles before.
Rather than being shocked, they were genuinely concerned—and somehow, that felt better.

Natsu’s condition wasn’t life-threatening like before.
This wasn’t about being _ill_, but about pushing too hard.

“Nacchan, did you overdo it today?”

“…Yeah…”

“If you’re tired, just rest. Or was it your dumb little sister who forced you?”

“…Mmh.”

At her response, I turned to glare at Nozomi.

If Yeoreum says so—don’t you have something to say?

Nozomi squirmed under my gaze, looking guilty, and I let out a sigh.

It’s true that once she gets into something, she doesn’t know when to stop.
Kind of like Natsu, who’ll go all in until she collapses.

They were more alike than I expected—Nozomi, who once studied non-stop in her room, and Natsu, who pushed herself into exhaustion.

— _lolololol_
— _Don’t bully your little sister, Toya lol_
— _Poor little sis…_
— _Toya, release Imotoya!_
— _What even is Imotoya supposed to mean lolol_
— _Imotoya lol_

I ignored the Totomos making up weird nicknames and just kept staring at Nozomi.

I wasn’t even angry—but seeing her so timid was surreal.
It reminded me of the old Nozomi—quiet and totally focused on her studies.

…Yeah, she used to be like that.

Back when I was ditching school to pursue music, and she was locked in her room studying.

As I briefly reminisced, Nozomi finally opened her mouth.

“…I’m sorry, Onee-chan.”

“…Huh?!”

She looked up at me like a soaked puppy, apologizing in a tiny voice.

W-Wait a sec—since when were you the kind of character who apologizes like this?!

— _Boo! Bad sister! Boo!_
— _I think I get why their relationship got rocky lololol_
— _If Toya keeps bullying her, the little sister can come live with me lol_
— _That’s even more dangerous, dude lololol_
— _Can’t believe Toya, of all people, got hit with this twist lol_
— _lol_

Wait… now I’m the bad guy here?!

Fables