Part 2: bitter me

—–Translated by daydrop. Please read on the original site at daydrop.nowaki.net.

“…Uh, hey.”

Kei was huddled in the hotel bed as Ushio pressed a hand to Kei’s cheek, which then made Ushio raise his eyebrows.

“Don’t you feel kind of feverish?”

“Huh?”

Ushio pressed his hand to Kei’s forehead and all over his face before declaring, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure you have a fever. Maybe it’s a fever from stress?”

“If you’re talking about my head, I’m always using it, dammit!”¹

Maybe that was why his head kept spinning, and why Ushio had deceived him with that stupid trick of his. Yeah, it was all the fever’s fault. He would make it all the fever’s fault.

“Speaking of which, my joints hurt.”

“Well, yeah, probably because you spread them too much last night. Those hip joints of yours.”

“And who was the one who forced me to do that!?”

“Oh, it seems like your throat is fine. That’s good, that’s good~ What do you want to do? We should be able to get some Bufferin here.”

“I’ll go see the doctor,” Kei answered as he crawled out of bed. He wasn’t sure when the fever had developed, but he wanted to check to see if it was the flu or not. And if it was a regular cold, then he would compel himself to get better by noon tomorrow by sheer force of will.

“Need me to go with you?”

“No. If I infect you, you’ll be a pain in the ass, so stay away from me.”

“Aww, don’t say that,” Ushio said in a coaxing voice.

“I’m not gonna fall for it, stupid.”

“Any pathogens that you carry probably won’t affect normal humans, you know.”

What’s that supposed to mean?

Kei quickly got dressed to leave the hotel (Ushio was the one who got the room, so he had no intentions of paying anything), and he hurried to a clinic that was open on Sunday. He filled out the medical questionnaire as he took his temperature. It was 38.2°C—surprisingly high.² It was a small consolation, but the clinic had the latest instrument for their diagnostic tests, and it was a quick exam. Fortunately, it wasn’t the flu, so Kei asked for some medication and took a taxi home.

Kei took a quick shower, pulled on his clothes for sleeping, and climbed into bed. The thought occurred to him that it had been a while since he had some quality sleep in his own bed, and immediately his entire body slackened and turned into lead. He didn’t want to move a single finger, but he had skipped breakfast to rush to see the doctor, and now unfortunately he was starving. And anyway, he couldn’t take his medication without eating something first. Apparently he had felt so out of it that he had forgotten to stop by the convenience store first.

I know, I should use my errand boy.

Just as Kei was about to message Ushio, he heard the door unlock with perfect timing.

“What did the doctor say?”

“It’s a cold.”

“Anything you want to eat?”

“Kalbi on rice.”

“Give it up.”

Ushio had denied his request, but he was holding a bag from the supermarket, so he probably planned to make something for him to eat.

“I want to read manga. Bring me five volumes of Kingdom from the living room.”³

“Get some sleep.”

“Hurry up.”

“Okay, fine.”

Cruel bastard, trying to deprive him of the perfect distillation of bliss collectively shared by all humanity: reading manga in a warm cozy bed. But Ushio did bring them over, so maybe Kei could deign himself to forgive him.

Okay, time to settle in— 

“…………Oi! What the hell!?”

Only the dust covers were Kingdom, while the contents had been swapped with Ping-Pong Club. Well, Kei did like them both, but it was completely different from what he had expected, and it took him by surprise.

“Quit it with your stupid pranks!!”

“I’ve got nothing to do while waiting for the rice to cook, so maybe I should randomly switch the covers for all the books~”

“Don’t you dare.”

He would definitely go crazy from the anger.

Kei begrudgingly read the volumes that he had on hand and nodded off into a doze. After repeating this cycle several times, Ushio carried a tray into his room.

“I did put some meat in it, by the way.”

The rice porridge had plenty of ginger in it with shredded chicken and kudzu sauce. Kei broke into a sweat as soon as he started eating. Dessert was yogurt with grated persimmon. Even though when Ushio had fallen sick, he had insisted on being left alone to himself, but apparently he had no problems taking care of Kei when the situation was reversed. What a fussy man.

Kei finished all of his food and demanded, “Kingdom.”

“You’re supposed to say thanks for the meal. How’s your fever?”

Ushio handed Kei a thermometer, and Kei took his temperature. Maybe it was because he had just finished eating, but it read 38.6°C.⁴

“…That’s kind of high.”

“I want shabu shabu for dinner.”

“Act like a sick person a little, would you? Anyway, where’s your medication?”

“The fridge.”

“Oh, so that’s what it was. I’ll go get it.”

Ushio came back with it in no time. Just the bag with the medicine and nothing else.

“Where’s the water?”

What a useless bastard.

“You won’t need it.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, look at it.”

Ushio pulled out what looked like capsules packaged in a blister pack. However, they were much bigger than what people would normally picture for a capsule, and the shape was slightly different.

“Geh…”

“We should quickly get your fever down. You do have work tomorrow, Kunieda-san.”

True, Kei had told the doctor that he needed to reduce his fever as quickly as possible, and so in addition to the normal oral medication, the doctor had prescribed a medication that would be absorbed internally through the body’s membrane. Why did Ushio have to be so sharp-sighted?

“Go home!”

Kei sensed an impending danger to his person and waved his hands to shoo Ushio away. Ushio called out, “Sorry for bothering you then~,” as he turned to leave, still holding onto the bag.

“Dumbass! Leave the medicine!”

“I’ll put it in for you, so take your pants off and lie face down.”

Ushio had ordered him straight and to the point, but like hell he would listen.

“There’s no way in hell! Are you crazy!?”

“Huh, why not?”

That puzzled-looking face irritated him so much.

“Isn’t it something that we always do?”

“We don’t always do that!!”

Like this man with zero sense of tact could ever understand. And that was why Kei didn’t want to do it.

“But you like doing it from the back.”

“I don’t like it. Anyway, that’s not the issue here!”

Oh, crap, his angry outburst drastically drained him of his strength. And just when he had replenished his nutrients too. Kei stopped to take a deep breath.

“Ahh, look, you’re making your fever worse.”

“Then leave.”

Ushio suddenly narrowed his eyes, giving Kei a face full of sadness and despair.

“Kunieda-san…”

“I’ve had enough of that game of yours!”

“Wait, but seriously, what makes you hate it so much? Do you think that I’ve never seen you there before?”

Quit following up on all the little details related to anything sexual.

“If I hate it, then I hate it.”

“Oh, I know, you won’t know what to do if you get hot and bothered by it.”

“I’m gonna infect you, you hear. Mark my words.”

“Spare me please. It’ll be instant death for me if I catch the cold that can take down the ironman Kunieda.”

Was Ushio praising him or what?

“Come on, come on, it’ll be over before you know it.”

Ushio resorted to force at last. He climbed onto the bed and peeled away the covers. Before Kei knew it, Ushio had grabbed his arms behind him and turned him to lie facedown on the bed.

“Bastard, what are you doing to a sick person!?”

“I’m taking measures to help treat your cold, of course. If you keep protesting, I’m going to think that you actually want it, so stop it.”

“What the hell is with that logic!?”

“Here, lift your hips. If you keep squawking, I’ll make you do this face up.”

Kei hated both options, but if he were to pick one based on which he couldn’t stand more, then which one was better? Which one was worse? As he pondered the question, Ushio took advantage of the moment to lift him by his stomach and pulled his sweatpants down together with his underwear to his knees.

“Stop it, idiot!”

“Listen here,” Ushio said with an exasperated voice at his back. “The more you keep resisting, the longer you’ll be here dragging out your embarrassment. If you just stay still and behave, it’ll be over in a minute.”

What? Why am I being lectured like I’m throwing a tantrum? Kei thought, but he couldn’t match Ushio’s strength more than usual, and he wanted to avoid any more unnecessary fatigue to his body. Kei resigned himself to his fate and clutched his pillow tightly.

“…Hurry up and get it over with.”

“Okay, okay~”

The nonchalant parry in Ushio’s response made Kei angry, but if he were to talk back to him, Ushio would probably drag this out even longer, so Kei remained silent. He heard the sound of foil from the packaging break open. Kei squeezed his eyes shut as he braced himself to be touched down there, but the timing he had expected came and went, and there was nothing.

“…Oi, what are you doing?”

“The instructions say to warm up the tip first.”

“I don’t care, just do it!”

“I know you’re used to it, but still.”

“You better watch your back when I get better.”

“Let’s hope you get better soon then~ Okay, it’s ready now, spread your legs for me more.”

He could say it so easily. Kei wondered if it was because he lacked an imagination despite his occupation as a creator.

“I can’t go any farther, my clothes are the way.”

“Oh, right. Well, it doesn’t matter.”

Two fingers spread him open to prepare him to take the medication. Kei slightly recoiled his shoulders at the sensation of the air touching him.

“I’m putting it in.”

“Nn…”

The pointed tip of the suppository was shaped like a rocket, and it pushed up against him. The feeling of the slippery coating on the surface was much different from what Kei was used to, and his body couldn’t help pulling away from it. Nevertheless, Ushio pushed the entire thing inside of him all at once.

“Nnh.”

When the tip of Ushio’s finger entered him, it was almost unbelievable how fast he relaxed and opened up. It was clearly telling them both that it knew that particular touch, and Kei wanted to run away.

“Is this enough?”

Ushio pushed farther in, and Kei could tell that the hard, foreign sensation would remain there inside of him—and that it would not be coming out.

“Unnh…”

“Bear with it a little longer.”

After a short period of discomfort, the sensation of a capsule lodged inside his body gradually dissipated. It steadily melted with the body heat, and the medication would absorb and circulate through his body to bring the fever down.

“Are you okay now?”

“…Nn.”

Kei relaxed the tension in his shoulders, and Ushio suddenly wriggled the finger that was still inserted inside him.

“Noo!”

“Oh, it’s gone. I wonder if it’s all melted? Or maybe it went farther in? Hmm, you really are hot here with you having a fever and all.”

“Stop…”

“Stop what?”

It was clear that the voice knew exactly what he was doing.

“Take it out, stupid!”

“Okay.”

The pressure inside of him pulled out so slowly that it made him impatient. On its way out, it ground into his weak spot.

“Aaah!”

It was rare for Kei to have that spot stimulated all of a sudden without any foreplay, but it didn’t change the surge of arousal that he felt despite the flaccid state of his cock. The suddenness of it probably made the experience more intense than usual.

“Noo, don’t.”

“Oh, does it hurt?”

Ushio knew full damn well that it didn’t. When the edge of the fingernail approached the rim of his hole, Kei clenched down fiercely to try suck the intrusion back inside of him. The greedy clutch of his hole was probably clear to Ushio’s eyes, and a fevered heat was directed at his head. Kei realized that within the depths of his body a desire still smoldered with heat, probably because it had been shut down in the middle of their activities last night. He would have been fine if Ushio hadn’t touched him like he had.

“Hmmm? Is something detaining me from leaving?”

“Don’t play dumb… Nghh, you had to touch me all weird.”

“Whoops, I wasn’t thinking, and my habits kicked in… Anyway, you responded way too nicely.”

“You’re awful!”

“Okay, I don’t want to be more awful than I am, making a sick person overexert himself, so should I stop?”

Dammit, taking it away like that made him even more fucking awful.

“You’re the worst…” Kei whispered in a nearly faint voice and smothered his face in a pillow. Ushio seemed to really feel bad and said, “Sorry,” as he gently stroked his hand up and down Kei’s back.

“Kei, forgive me.”

“Shut up. Drop dead, drop dead, drop dead.”

“I’ll take responsibility for it.”

Ushio pulled out the finger that he had kept partially inside of him, and after studying the little gap briefly, pressed his tongue to the place that twitched and gasped.

“Nh, ahhh…”

Copious amounts of saliva made its way deeper and deeper inside of Kei, as Ushio inserted his fingers again and spread him wide open. The tongue and fingers fucked him with the similar motions of his cock, ravishing his hole tenderly.

“No, ah, aaah…”

“You’re seriously burning up. Hey, um, you’re trembling a lot. Are you okay?”

“Of course I’m not!”

“Oh… Okay, I’ll be gentle.”

Ushio spouted another line that was probably not to be trusted as he firmly held Kei’s hips. Even now Kei felt like he might collapse.

“Ah—”

Kei loved it, but he could never get used to the thing pressing into him no matter how many times they did this.

“Aaah, ah, ahhh!”

Ushio’s cock was dangerously heated as always. The heat melted his insides, and Kei almost wondered if it was hollowing him out as a different intoxication from earlier went to his head, and he had to rub his face into the pillow to ride it out.

“Nn… ngh, no, noo!”

When Ushio filled Kei completely, he started rocking back and forth inside of him without even a pause. Oi.

“No, don’t… Y-You said you would be gentle… Liar…”

“Dummy, in this case, it’s kinder to end this quickly.”

“Ahh!”

Kei wasn’t satisfied with his explanation. Furthermore, just when Kei was about to come, Ushio gripped his cock to prevent him from reaching completion.

“No! It hurts, let go.”

“It’s not like you can come twice in your condition, right? Hold back until I’m ready to come.”

Hey, is this supposed to be gentle? Really, you call this gentle? Go get your head checked, stupid.

“Ahh, ahh… No, no, I can’t keep holding it in.”

“I didn’t get to do anything yesterday, so I don’t think I’ll take long.”

“Hurry up and come!”

“Hey, it all depends on you.”

“I-I’m totally gonna kill you…”

“Oh, good, it looks like you immediately came to life.”

“Ah, ahh, ah.”

The tip thrusting into him repeatedly filled him with pleasure, but from the outside, Ushio wouldn’t grant him his release. And so Kei complained by clenching down fiercely on heated pressure inside him. In response, the rhythm of the thrusts became merciless.

“Noo— Nhh, no, please, I can’t… anymore…”

“Yeah, me too.”

Ushio’s full length thrust into him hard, as if it was trying to break free from his walls, and at the same time, Ushio finally released his grip on Kei’s cock.

“Ahh, aaah…”

“Nhh… ngh.”

Ushio roughly yanked up Kei’s T-shirt and shot his come all over his naked, sweat-slicked back.

Whether it was the effectiveness of the fever reducer, or the fact that he had sweated a lot earlier (Kei did not want to admit that it was the latter), his fever had dropped down below 37.5°C by nightfall.⁵ Kei had already had cow and poultry, so next was probably pig according to Ushio’s logic, and for dinner Ushio prepared pork shabu shabu with tofu and parsley.

“When you told me to mix half sesame sauce and half ponzu together, I was really skeptical, but it’s surprisingly good once I tasted it.”

“It makes everything taste better this way.”

Kei finished his food and demanded, “Medicine,” directing his order at Ushio.

“And I mean the powder or the tablets this time!”

“Yes, yes, I have them here. And your water. Do you need a jelly drink to help it go down?”

“…No!”

“What are you so suspicious about?”

“Try asking that yourself.”

“Yeahh, I don’t have the slightest idea~ I mean, you are an idiot, and no medicine in the world will help it.”

“Hurry up and hand it over!”

Kei swallowed two each of the two types of tablets and the powdered medicine all at once. He massaged the passageway down his throat over his T-shirt, and after taking a breath, he grabbed Ushio by the collar and pulled him into a kiss. Kei offered up his tongue, still covered in white leftover powder, and Ushio sucked it all off thoroughly before mumbling “Yuck.”

Yeah, savor the bitterness you deserve.

Kei didn’t think that Ushio would really do it, but his entire manga collection—every single book—was swapped out with a different cover. He stood there for a while, tearing at his head in aggravation.

“…He freaking put Black Jack inside of Attack on Titan!”

Seriously, I’m gonna get you for this.

If Ushio were to become laid up in bed any time in the future, Kei was going to barge into his house, switch out each of his socks with a mismatched pair, and rename all the folders on his damn computer.

Just you wait and see.

—–Translated by daydrop. Please read on the original site at daydrop.nowaki.net.

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1. In Japan, they say that if you use your head too much, you can develop a fever.
2. 38.2°C – Approx. 100.8°F.
3. Kingdom is a war story manga by Hara Yasuhisa about the Sengoku (Warring States) era.
4. 38.6°C – Approx. 101.5°F.
5. 37.5°C – Approx. 99.5°F.

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