The Common Cold [Izaya/Kururi]

[Shizuo // Kururi]

Honestly, one would think that being the sister of someone who apparently wasn't human would give one a sort of... immunity to silly human things... Such as colds. Head-spinning, knee-weakening, nausea-inducing colds of all things. And really, who got a cold so bad that it brought them to their knees on the day of a school trip out of town?

Kururi Orihara, apparently.

Mairu was still going, as were her parents- they'd volunteered as chaperons, and there really wasn't anything they could do to back out of it. They'd made her promise to stay home and to call if she got really sick, but honestly, she didn't want to be home alone. She never liked being alone.

But there was someone who she could go see, today, someone who she didn't see often. And so, with her hair slightly tangled (each tug of the hairbrush caused pain to flare in her skull, and she'd given up about halfway through), her face flushed, and her breathing slightly raspy, she slowly made her way towards Shinjuku, head down and hands tucked into her pockets.

By the time she reached the apartment building, she was exhausted, and had to sit on the bench outside for a few moments. A few moments turned into half an hour as she tried to catch her breath and keep her vision from twirling, and eventually she pushed past it, forcing herself to her feet and heading for the elevator.

She was wheezing rather badly by this point, and fumbled for her emergency inhaler, using it and tilting her head back as the painful tightness in her chest eased, little by little. At the top floor, she got out and headed for the door at the end of the small hallway.

Knock knock knock.

[Izaya Orihara]

Knock knock knock.

The sound of someone knocking on his door made Izaya frown. His gaze, which had been focused on the screen of his computer for nearly four hours now, shifted to a digital clock a few feet away. The small glowing numbers were hard to make out at first and he squinted, not used to the darkness around him. The curtains behind him were shut, as he hadn't bothered to open them, and the only light his eyes his seen was that of the computer screen.

When they'd finally adjusted enough to allow him to read the time, his frown suddenly deepened and he looked to the door. It was still far too early for him to have any 'walk-in' clients, and the only appointments he had for the day were meant to be outside. Namie had the day off, and the brunette doctor had never once bothered to come in when Izaya had told her it wasn't needed. That eliminated almost all the people who could possibly show up. Had it been Shizuo, he wouldn't have a door anymore, and Masaomi wasn't the type to bother with him physically when a phone call or text would do. Mikado... didn't actually know where he lived. His ex-gang leader friend was less than likely to reveal such information, and anyone else just seemed a ridiculous guess.

Sighing, Izaya glanced at his computer screen and considered ignoring the sound for a moment. He was having far too much fun with the Raira students in the chatroom with him, but the curiosity at the back of his mind didn't seem to want to be silent. Briefly, his hands lingered over the keyboard of his PC before the need to know won him over and he hit a customized button on his laptop. Almost immediately, a window popped up, turning on a small, hidden camera outside his apartment. The appearance of the small figure standing at his door made something in his stomach contract and he was already halfway across the room before his brain had processed that Kururi was not only supposed to be at school, but on a trip several-hundred miles away in another part of Japan.

Not wasting time, Izaya opened the door and glanced around the hallway, half-expecting Mairu to appear at random after having found a way to mess with his cameras. He had hoped that might happen. But he knew perfectly well it wasn't the case.

"Kururi...?" he murmured, feeling his stomach plummet for the second time that morning as he took in her appearance. "Why aren't you with your classmates?"

[Shizuo // Kururi]

"Good morning, Iza-nii," she said, voice raspy yet still managing to convey the appropriate level of amusement at his lack of greeting. Though, given how she must look, it was probably entirely understandable. "I'd love to come in. Thanks for asking."

She leaned against the wall as a shiver crawled up her spine, head throbbing as the motion jarred her skull. "I..." She trailed off at the itch in her throat, then lifted the hand not busy supporting herself, coughing into her sleeve. "Nhg. I got sick. Don't want to be home alone. May I stay here until Mom and Dad get back from the trip...?"

[Izaya Orihara]

Izaya's first reaction to the situation was something akin to panic. His stomach twisted painfully as he looked down at his little sister, all the warning bells of everything that was wrong with it going off in the back of his mind. Just by looking at her, it was obvious enough that she hadn't been dropped off, which only left a small handful of options for her transport and half of them he really didn't like.

"Why didn't you call me from the house?" he muttered, leaning forward quickly to scoop the younger into his arms. Unfortunately, he didn't have the same physical as Shizuo did, making the act slightly difficult, but his sisters were far from heavy. Happily, she was light enough that he was able to get her to the couch without trouble. "I would have come to pick you up, Kururi. Are you trying to make yourself worse?"

The tone was supposed to come out scolding, but all that he was able to project was concern. His hand immediately moved to rest on her forehead, causing him to wince when he felt the unnatural warmth it gave off.