After a few hours, the (h/c) haired girl only appeared to be getting worse. The males all gathered together downstairs, collectively murmuring to one another about the state she was in. While most tried to reason that it was just a common ailment, everyone had a lingering shadow of doubt about what kind of illness it was. It may have just been a cold - as Takuya tried to suggest - but it could have been something much worse. As they tried to figure out what to do, the arguing just got worse and worse.

Even so, no one was at the level of stress Haru was experiencing. Their worries came from the fear that she was in pain or that they couldn't spend time with her like that. However, the brunette was unable to see her sickness as anything else but life-threatening. What else was he supposed to think? His mother had succumbed to something as terrible as that. It hadn't started out that way but it just got worse and worse and worse and...worse. He flinched, quick to shout over everyone else.

"The doctor! I have to take her to the doctor!"

"I know you're worried," Shota murmured, glancing to the side, "but this is most likely a cold. Taking her to the doctor risks the chance that she could be found."

"You mean it puts her life in danger with that killer," Yamato snapped, earning a nervous chuckle from the red-haired male.

"I...had forgotten about that."

"How could you have forgotten?!"

"It's not exactly pleasant to worry about some deranged lunatic targeting the girl I love, is it?!"

"Guys," Takuya shivered, "I think Haru's right. Just to be safe - "

"To be safe, she should be kept here," Yamato objected, "Let's get a doctor here like we did for you and keep her safe and sound without going outside."

"But what if she needs some kind of machine? Or an IV? Or - "

"Stop it," Haru trembled quietly, going unnoticed by the rest of the group, who continued with their lengthy argument.

"Do you even understand how precious (Y/n) is now?!" Rei shouted, slamming his hands on the table, "I don't care whatever you two have to say! I don't even know why we've been letting you two make all the big decisions around here! I'm not letting my cupcake writhe around in pain!"

"She won't even be able to 'writhe around in pain' if the killer finds her!" Shota snapped back.

"You really think a hospital is just going to let some nobody in?!"

"Use your brain! They obviously know intimate details about her, so they'd recognize her on sight! Plus, when the police have yet to even come close to finding them, they're obviously way too good at sneaking around!"

"Then, we go to one of Haru's hospitals! They've got crazy security!"

"As much as here?!" Yamato yelled.

Everyone just kept clamoring and clamoring for their voices to be heard. All the same, no conclusion was going to be reached. They were at a stalemate, and, if there was no majority ruling, there would be no decision. All the while, Haru could only contemplate the amount of pain the girl must have been in. He kept muttering for them to knock it off, telling them to stop, to cease, to halt, to finish, to fucking shut up, but no one was listening. And, at some point, he couldn't take it anymore.

Haru sprinted up the stairs, carrying the (h/c) haired girl on his back. And though Shota and Yamato were yelling at him to put her down - that they hadn't finished discussing everything - he didn't listen. Rei and Takuya were quick to help him, blocking the other two from doing anything. Akari stood back, not really sure what to do. It wasn't that he wasn't concerned for her, but he knew she abhorred hospitals. Still, unable to reach a conclusion, he could only stand around, distancing himself from the argument.

"Oh my!" Rei chuckled mischievously, "If Yamato's not driving, looks like I have to, right?"

"Like fuck you are! You'll kill everyone!"

"Oh well. If someone's not willing to step up to the plate, I have to cover the slack. Ah, I'll take your car, too. Where're the keys? Hm? Hm?"

If only to stop the blonde from driving like a lunatic, Yamato reluctantly hopped in the car. Shota gave him a dirty look for betraying him, but, in the end, Haru got what he wanted, making sure to rush in the house and grab Bastien, too. He couldn't very well leave the infant alone. Simultaneously, the brunette began both comforting his confused baby brother and (Y/n) all the way to the hospital.

When they arrived at the hospital, they were greeted by a nurse who had told them the girl would be staying on the top floor - a room reserved for only the most wealthy and influential guests. Of course, as the eldest son of the Akahito family, the family that owned the hospital, it wasn't that much of an issue for him to take the room. They were all escorted by the nurse, the woman assuring them that the doctor would come soon. Everyone treated Haru with the utmost of respect, staff even stopping in the halls to give a bow or greeting to him.

The doctor came in shortly after they arrived. She, too, bowed to the boy, but was ultimately ignored since all of his attention was purely on (Y/n). The woman went on to explain that they would be doing some procedures and tests on the girl and that she would need the boys to step out for a moment or two while they did so. Haru felt it was distasteful, unwilling to leave her but Yamato put his hand on the boy's shoulder and gave him a look that made him follow the others. They all stood nervously in the hallway.

After a long wait, they were told they could come back inside the room. Haru was worried to step back in. His fears about what was wrong with the girl rose yet again at an almost exponential rate. As he once more gripped onto the girl's hand, the doctor began looking over her charts and turned to Haru to give him the news.

"There shouldn't be anything to worry about, young master," she affirmed respectfully, "It only appears to be a cold, and it should go away soon. She'll just need some rest and medicine, of which we'll provide her."

Shota chastised everyone, very proud to say that he told them so. And while everyone let out sighs of relief, Haru, for some reason, was not at ease. The brunette couldn't help but hold Bastien closer to himself, staring with great concern at the girl. She was still in pain. Small cold or no, no one could really promise she would get better. Illnesses were wildly unpredictable. Haru kept telling the doctor something else was wrong but the woman only replied there wasn't much more that they could do but wait. The male shivered.

"She'll probably be hungry when she wakes up, right?" Takuya hummed, suddenly perking up, "Should I go get her some fruit? She loves fruit."

"Good idea," Yamato nodded, "I'll come with."

The (h/c) haired girl kept sleeping. Maybe the sickness just made her that tired. Shota said it was good for her to catch up on rest for the illness to go away, but Haru wasn't so sure. It could have just been festering like a parasite and devouring her from the inside. He flinched. Bastien noticed, the infant poking his brother's cheek. With great love, the baby kept him company, stopping him from completely falling apart. That was what Bastien was best at - keeping Haru together.

Every now and then, Haru would get up just to press his hand to the girl's forehead, only to make a fuss and press the nurse call button repeatedly. With a grumpy face, he wouldn't stop until they came, and, even then, he started ordering them around for trivial things. Sometimes, it was that (Y/n) felt too cold, and, others, she was too hot, she was breathing funny, she was groaning, she rolled over on her side, she didn't roll over on her side, etc. Really, he got worked up over every tiny thing.

"Want me to take care of Bastien, Haru?" Akari hummed, reaching his arms out in a grabby motion, "You look really focused on (Y/n) right now."

"No," the brunette huffed, hugging his baby brother to himself, "He's my frére."

"Yeah. But, it might help if you had one less person to worry about. I'll take good care of - "

"No! I can take care of them both! I don't need help! I just need (Y/n) to get better!"

"Haru," Shota called, gazing up from his book, "You know that's not something she can control, right? No one can. Maybe...Maybe you should head back to the house. With everything going on with your mother, it might be best - "

"Shut up! I don't want any of you talking about my mére!"

It was only because Bastien started crying did Haru calm down. The brunette's rage dissipated, and, instead, he was quick to check on his little brother. He began inspecting him for anything that might be hurting him, bouncing him the way he liked to appease him. Akari wondered if it was really okay for Haru to take care of a defenseless infant when he was worked up like that but Shota just shook his head, telling him to leave it be.

Later on, some time after Takuya and Yamato returned, thankfully, the (h/c) haired girl opened her eyes. She expressed her discontent about being taken to a hospital, to which Shota let her know he was the only one that fought for her interests. The girl scoffed, turning to Yamato to request food. Very eagerly did Takuya bring forward a beautiful fruit basket, presenting her with all the different kinds of things inside.

Both he and Yamato received praise for their thoughtfulness, leading Rei to come along and snatch up one of the apples. He freaked everyone as he revealed a pocket knife, flipping it open and almost giving Takuya a heart attack. The blonde ignored everyone asking him why he carried that around, starting to peel the apple in one go. Very excitedly, he placed the knife down on the bedside table before presenting her with a neatly cut slice. As she reached out to hesitantly accept it - remembering the knife was still in his reach - he pulled it back suddenly.

"No, no, no," he scolded her playfully, holding the apple slice up to her again, "You have to let me feed you, cupcake."

"Nevermind. I...just lost my appetite."

"Huh? That's not fair! I carefully prepared this lovely fruit just for you and you don't want it?"

"Please, don't threaten me. I already feel like I'm dying."

(Y/n) attempted to pull the sheets over her head, but she choked as someone shoved the apple slice down her throat. She opened her eyes angrily to see who had done it, but, to no surprise, it was Haru. He stared at her with an angry pout. The male seemed to be upset that she had refused to eat the fruit. Almost the tiniest glimpse of guilt could be seen in his eyes as if he viewed her getting sick as his fault.

She didn't know what to say or do to respond to that, so she just let him feed her. Even Rei backed off. He clearly understood how much Haru needed to be the one to take care of her. The blonde just leaned over and whispered that she shouldn't forget he was the one that peeled the apple. He was just reluctant to have his credit stolen, apparently, despite the fact he took the apple from Takuya and Yamato.

After Haru finished "taking care" of the younger girl by feeding her and almost overdosing her on water, of all things, (Y/n) fell right back asleep. They ended up staying there with her the whole day, but they all knew they couldn't continue staying there overnight. As Takuya's stomach rumbled, they all began to discuss what they would eat for dinner, mainly because Rei stubbornly refused to cook if the younger girl wasn't going to eat what he made.

"Do you have a preference, Haru?" Shota checked in on him, "It's important you eat, too."

"Not hungry."

"Then, maybe you need a break. Bastien, too. He needs a nap."

"No, I have to stay."

"Not the whole night," A pause. "Haru. You cannot stay the whole night," Another pause as the brunette refused to respond, Shota's face contorting in concern before he let out a sigh. "Fine. You can stay until 8, alright? Only until 8. The rest of us will go grab some food. I'll bring some back for you, too, okay? And Bastien...I think you should let us take him home."

"Frére's fine. He just needs to be with me."

"No. He loves you, Haru, but he's only a baby. Look how tired he is."

The brunette glanced down at the infant. Bastien was a good baby. He never cried unless he was in pain or scared, and he almost always attached himself to his older brother out of pure trust and love. Sometimes, Haru forgot he was less than a year old. The entire day, Bastien had been relatively quiet. Even then, the baby was trying very hard to keep his eyes open, resting his head on his brother's shoulder. Haru frowned, hugging him tighter. He didn't want to leave him.

"I promise he'll be well taken care of," Shota assured him, "And, if something happens - " A pause as Haru snapped his head over to stare at the red-head in fear, "No, nothing will happen to him. Relax. I'm just saying we'll update you on everything. But you can't take care of both of them at once. Choose one."

"No. No, I can do it! I..."

"C'mere," Yamato stepped forward, slowly reaching out for the baby, "You know I'm great with him."

"No, but he wants to be with me!"

"Yeah, but you want to be with (Y/n). You'll get alone time with her, okay? You can help her take her medicine and calm yourself down. And, how about this? If you change your mind and you want Bastien back, we can all head back to the house together."

Haru bit down on his bottom lip, turning his body away from Yamato. Of course, that only signalled he was considering it. Clearly, his top priority was the (h/c) haired girl, but he rarely ever parted from Bastien. He even hated leaving him with his nannies to go to school. But, as Shota once again reminded him he didn't have the strength to take care of both of them, the brunette ceded.

"You have to feed him! I-If he wakes up, you have to get the bottles in the fridge and - "

"I know."

"A-And you can't let him sleep alone! He doesn't like it! You have to be in the room with him!"

"Alright."

"Plus...Plus, you have to sing him his favorite song before he goes to bed! It has to be in Echali! Okay? Okay?! B-But you can't speak Echali, so I should really - "

"Don't worry," Takuya perked up, raising his hand to volunteer, "I can sing it in Echali."

"But - "

"Stop making excuses," Yamato sighed, cautiously and slowly starting to pick Bastien up from him, "You know how many babies I've taken care of, don't you? I know everything there is to know."

"But frére is a special baby! He's a super special baby, so you can't..."

Haru trailed off as Yamato fully picked up the baby. He had nothing to criticise about the way the older male was holding him. The male was supporting his head and tucking him into his body, putting his protection above all else. He was even murmuring for Bastien to close his eyes, reassuring him he was okay. But Haru didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. What was he supposed to do now?

"Alright," Shota sighed, "We'll head out now to eat. You have an hour, okay? I'll be back to pick you up."

Confused and feeling empty without his baby brother in his arms, Haru darted his eyes from the departing group to (Y/n) and back again. Before he could even decide if he wanted to chase after them, it was too late. He'd been paralyzed, forced to stand in place. Still, at the very least, he was able to focus on the younger girl now. The brunette stared down at her, once more pressing his hand to the back of her forehead to find she now felt cold.

"Where's your heat?" he scolded her, breaking into tears.

He trembled the more he thought about it. She was cold then hot then cold then hot and it would only continue like that. The doctors weren't of any help. What good was a pill going to do? It wasn't helping his mother. Everyone kept whispering she was going to die. She even collapsed and had to be rushed back to Echal where she'd get better treatment, but, all the same, people kept murmuring she wouldn't survive. Was (Y/n) like that, too? Was she in as much pain as his mother? He began crying more and more.

The male's tears only halted in surprise when the younger let out a faint groan. It was then that Haru jolted, quick to grab onto her hand. He didn't want her to be in pain. No, she wasn't supposed to get sick. The brunette had done everything he possibly could. She got sun, she got veggies, she even worked out and kept clean, but she was still in pain. His heart raced. What did he do wrong? Was it going to get worse? Was she going to become weak? Was she going to be in more and more and more and more pain?

"No," he murmured, hugging the younger girl tightly, missing the fact she stirred slightly, "I won't let you suffer."

The brunette sadly glanced up at the knife Rei left on the bedside table. Dragging it off of the wood, he stared at the weapon with a somber expression, pressing the blade gently to his palm just to see if it was sharp enough. It would only hurt more if it was dull. To say goodbye and show her he was only going to help her out of love, he kissed her on her cheek. Haru, unable to look as he held the knife above his head, missed the girl's eyes opening.

(Y/n) blinked a few times before her eyes opened completely, her vision slowly focusing on the knife before she registered what was happening. Even so, it gave her nowhere near enough time to move away, Haru squeezing his eyes shut further as he brought the knife down on her neck in an attempt to end all of her suffering at once. Blood spilled.