One day

"If you turn your pages to page 45, I would like you to answer the ten question on a separate sheet of paper and hand it in when you are done." Sakura's mind blurred her teacher's instruction. The pain in her head was slowly increasing in intensity and the heat was reaching a boiling point. She turned her head to look at the rest of the class, beginning to do their work. To Sakura, they were nothing but colored blurs that made her even dizzier when they moved.

'The assignment… I need to work' she said to herself. 'Must… complete work.'

Through what seems to be a conscious stupor or just sheer will, Sakura managed to turn the page and pick up a pencil and began writing. Soon she found herself walking up to the teacher's desk, trying not to fall over and slip into unconsciousness. Placing the paper on his desk, the teacher looked up from his work to see the pale figure slowly turning away.

"Miss Sakura, are you okay?"

The girl winced before slowly turning to face him.

"No, I'm fine sensei…" The teacher saw that her face was unnaturally red and notice that she would randomly fidget at random times. "I'm fine really."

Shaking his head, the teacher stood up and put both hands on the table and said, "You're not feeling well, I'm sending you to the nurse, gather your things."

Sakura slowly shook her head, repeating, "I'm fine sir, really I-"

"Go to the nurse young lady, I care more for your wellbeing than what we're doing now."

Feeling a thousand eyes staring her down, she slowly plodded to her desk and grabbed her bag and made her way to the door.

"Should I send somebody to help you?"

"No… I can get there myself, thank you though." Closing the door behind her, she drug her feet through the hallway, her head down. The tile floor was getting blurrier and blurrier, the heat was at the point where she could be sitting on the sun. After a few stops to catch a breath, Sakura found herself in a bed, thermometer in her mouth.

"This is a rather serious fever you have, do you have any parents to pick you up?" The women in white asked. Sakura shook her head causing the nurse to sigh. "We'll arrange a way to get you home but take this time to rest." The nurse said before standing back up and leaving the room. With nothing but the sound of her own breathing, Sakura slowly closed her eyes before she entered a deep sleep.

Sometime later….

Nozaki was done putting on his shoes when he looked at Sakura's shoe locker, surprisingly lacking the young assistant herself. At first, nothing came to mind, maybe she was late? Probably she had art club again and forgot to tell him? It wasn't much of a deal to him, he was just curious on where she was. Deciding to wait, he leaned himself against the lockers and waited for the bright polka dot bows to make their appearance. Two minutes, three minutes, five minutes, ten minutes have past and still no sign. Looking to his left, he thought he caught a glimpse of the girl but it turned out to be another girl that he didn't know. Sighing to himself, he turned to leave when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning quickly he was quickly greeted by the short figure of his senior and background artist, Hori Masayuki.

"Ah senpai, odd to see you here." Nozaki said in his usual monotone.

"Odd to see me here? We go to the same school but enough about that, what are you still doing here? Don't you have the new edition to work on?"

"I was about to leave but I noticed that Sakura wasn't here yet, she hasn't been for the past few minutes, do you know where she is by any chance?"

Hori rubbed his hair as he tried to remember, "Kashima saw her in the nurse's office, I think she has a fever or something, she's probably still there." Learning that his assistant was in distress, Nozaki's eyes widen.

"Thank you senpai! I'll call you when I get back!" Nozaki said quickly, not allowing the senior to respond. Before Hori could utter a word, Nozaki was in a full tilt sprint down the hallway, the innocent bystanders pinned against the wall to get out of the mangaka's way. Bursting into the room, Nozaki found the women in white and a figure wrapped in white sheets. The red polka dot bows gave away the person's identity.

"Um… Hello there young man, do you need something?" The nurse asked. Breathing rapidly after the flight down the hallway, he reported his name and the reason why he was there. "Oh, you say that you're Miss Sakura's friend?" Nozaki nodded his head after he caught his breath. The nurse looked at the small girl in the bed and walked over to the side of the bed and bent towards the girl's face. "Miss, I know you can hear me, but there's a very nice boy that says he can take you home, are you okay with that?" The red bows nodded and slowly the nurse came away and looked at Nozaki. "Her things are on that table, I trust that you'll take her home and be careful out there."

"Thank you ma'am I'll be sure to do that." Nozaki assured. He bowed and the nurse smiled before walking out of the room. It was just the two of them now. Quickly, Nozaki pursed by Sakura bedside and looked at her. There he saw her eyelids open to reveal those purple eyes.

"Hmm… Where am I?" Sakura mumbled. She tried to get up but Nozaki grabbed her shoulders before she could fall over.

"Shush… You're very sick Sakura, I'm taking you home, here grab on." Turning his back so that it faced the girl, he knelt down and turned his head. Sakura was still sitting upwards and just looked at him with a blank expression.

"Wha-Wha do you want me to do?"

"You can't walk, I'm carrying you home."

"I-I-I can walk bysel-"

"No…." Nozaki's toned sharpened which slightly unnerved her. She never heard him sound like that. Reminding her that they would miss the train, Sakura slowly put herself on Nozaki's back, resting her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry…." He whispers. "I probably sounded a bit harsh." Sakura shook her head.

"Nnn… it's okay, it's my fault for making you do this… Don't you have a new edition to work on?" Sakura said coarsely. Shaking his head, Nozaki reassured her that it was alright and that the health of a friend mattered more than another chapter of a romance comic.

"We should get going."

"Mhm…."

The two made their way out of the school and down the road towards the station. The sky was clear and the wind was blowing through the alleyways, making a whistling sound as they passed through. From her place on his shoulder, Sakura lifted her head.

"Ne... Nozaki-kun?"

"Hm?"

"T-Thanks…."

"It's alright, there was no way that I was going to leave you there?" Nozaki replied, cracking a wry smile. Sakura's face reddened as she planted her face back into his shoulder. Standing on the station platform the two waited. Soon the metal carriage screeched to a stop in front of them and they boarded. Grabbing on to the handle with one hand, Nozaki placed his free hand on Sakura's who was wrapped around his neck. He looked to his right and saw the red bow slowly rise up and down. She was asleep. The boy smiled to himself and grabbed her hand tighter when the train jerked forwards and began moving.

"Now arriving at station, please mind the gap." Stepping off the train, he readjusted himself and checked to see if the cargo he was carrying was still hanging on. Luckily for him, the red bow was still there. Looking down at his feet as he trotted along, he heard soft talking coming from his right.

"Hnn… maybe one day Chiyo, one day he'll finally notice you." Nozaki's attention peaked as he stopped to listen to what the girl on his back was saying. "One day you'll be able to hug him every day, one day you'll wake up and see his face every morning…" She stopped and breathed deeply. "One day Chiyo… you can say that you love him and he'll reply with 'I love you too'… one day Chiyo, but not today."

One day

That echoed through his mind as his building came into view. Taking a deep breath, he continued forwards until he reached the door. He gently moved his hand to grab the key from his pocket, careful not to wake the sleeping girl. Inserting the key and quietly turning it, he stepped inside and slowly began ascending the steps, stepping quietly as possible. One more quiet key turn and Nozaki was in his loft, setting his bag down, he moved to the couch and gently set the girl down. He stretched his back after the trek and was about to head into the kitchen when he heard violent coughing coming from behind him. Thinking quickly, he ran to his sink and quickly filled a glass of water before running back.

"Sakura! Sakura!" A panicked Nozaki shouted. Immediately the girl sat up and snapped her head back and forth, all the while the cough that was afflicting her grew in intensity. Seeing the glass in front of her, she made a grab for it and gulped the water in one go. The burning in her throat washed away by cold, refreshing relief.

"Ehh… what's going on? Wher-"She paused when she saw the eyes of a familiar face. "N-N-Nozaki-kun? What are you do-"

"Shusshh, don't waste your energy."

"What do you mean? How did I get here?"

"You got sick so the nurse asked me to take you home so… here you are, but seriously you should lay back down."

"*Cough* No, I feel fine now!" Sakura tried to get up on her feet but as she stood up she felt her legs buckle.

"Sakura! You can-"

"I'm fine!" Sakura shouted, holding her hand up to Nozaki's face. She took a few steps as Nozaki looked on with concern. He readied his hands for when the girl would fall.

"Sakura, you're very sick, you need to res-"

"I said I'm fine Nozaki-kun!" Her vision began to blur as she took another step, then another, then another. "I-I'm f-fin-e, I'm f-f-fin-"

"SAKURA!"

Everything went black as she fell forwards. Nozaki rushed forwards and slid underneath just in time to cushion the girl's fall with his body. The impact caused Sakura to wake up and in her panic she grabbed onto Nozaki's shirt.

"WHA-WHAT HAPPENED! WHAT'S GOING ON!" Sakura blinked, confused and panicked. She felt fabric on her hands and when she looked up, she saw the face of Nozaki looking back down at her.

"A-are you okay?"

"Nozaki-kun… I really am sick aren't I?"

A small grin molded on to the boy's face as he replied, "You should've listened to me, now, could you get off of me?"

"Huh?" Sakura paused for a moment when he said 'off of me?' then she looked at her hands to see the fabric of his shirt in her palms. Blood rushing to her head, she jumped off of him, despite just fainting not long ago. "P-PLEASE FOR-FORGIVE ME!"

Nozaki chuckled lightly and patted the girl's head, "Don't worry about it, as long as you're alright." He stood up and dusted himself off and moved in Sakura's direction. The girl was still red as a pepper when the tall teen stood over her. Without even hesitating, Nozaki swooped down and picked the girl up princess style.

"N-N-NOZAKI-KUN!"

"I can't risk you falling again now can I? Don't worry, I've seen this in a manga before." Nozaki carried his assistant into his room and set her down on his bed. "I'll get a towel to cool you down, you need anything?"

Sakura shook her head, "No… I'm fine." Nozaki grinned and turned to face the door. "Nozaki-kun…."

Turning his head back, "Hm?"

"Thanks… for taking care of me." Nozaki nodded his head and left the room. Coming back, bowl in hand, he set himself down and went down on his knees next to his bed. Dipping the towel in water, he brought it up and placed it on Sakura's head. Feeling the towel heat up, he let go and returned the towel to the water and repeated the process.

"You feeling better?" Nozaki asked, wringing out the towel into the bowl. Sakura nodded her head and Nozaki placed the towel into the bowl and rose to his feet. "I'll be back." Standing at the sink, thoughts ran through Nozaki's mind as he drained the bowl and washed it out. 'Should I ask her about what she said earlier? Is that too soon? Did she actually mean what she said?' These thought's still in his head, he returned to the room and there was Sakura, laying there and staring up at the ceiling. He sat on the edge of the bed and the girl's gaze switch from the ceiling to him.

"Nozaki-kun, can I ask you something?"

"Is this about the beta that you didn't finish yesterday?"

The girl snapped upwards, "WHAT!"

"I'm just kidding," Waving his hand head back and forth. "Yeah what is it?"

Sakura sunk back into the mattress and she felt her face heat up. "Is there by any chance that I said something when I was asleep?"

'Maybe one day Chiyo, one day he'll finally notice you. One day you'll be able to hug him every day, one day you'll wake up and see his face every morning…. One day Chiyo… you can say that you love him and he'll reply with 'I love you too'… one day Chiyo, but not today.'

One day

The monologue played through his head as he looked at the girl that said it. He began slicing his hand through his hair as he replied with, "Yeah… you did sorta say something."

His response caused Sakura's heart rate to increase. "I didn't say anything stupid did I? " Covering her bottom half of her face with the blanket.

"No, No, nothing like that."

"Then what?" Sakura insisted. Nozaki felt his face get warm as he tried to piece together the right words to say back. Taking a deep breath, Nozaki steeled himself.

"Sakura… you don't seem to feel anything do you?"

"Huh?"

"Feeling, do you feel them?"

"I-I don't un-understand?"

'Damn it Umetarou, get the latest issue out of your head.'

Taking another deep breath, "Sakura, do you… have… feeling's for me?"

Sakura's heart stopped and her mind raced, and in the absence of cohesive words, she just slowly nodded her head.

"I see." Nozaki said finally.

"Please don't let this strain our friendship…." Sakura croaked. "I didn't want to tell you because I knew you had other things to do, and I didn't want to be a bother to you." Sakura paused to take a breath, she did this at the same time a small tear formed in her eye. "I always wanted something to happen and I always told myself that one day… one day that something will happen and I'll be forever happy."

"Sakura…."

"I'm sorry if I put you in an awkward situation, we can just forget that this ever happened."

Not wanting to hear her say anymore, Nozaki leaned forwards. "Sakura… ever since I met you, you've been nothing but an astounding assistant, you've always done good work and your input has helped me out of some really questionable decisions." He leaned closer in closer and Sakura's pulled her face back a bit. "But you've been also a great friend that I can't seem to find anywhere else because you know me and my interactions with girls?" His face drew closer, "I cherish your company and I hope to be your friend for as long as time will allow but that's probably not what you want do you?" Both their faces were now so close that both of them could feel each other's breath.

Sakura grew panicked and tried to justify herself, "NO! I WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND! NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS!"

"Not even if this happens?"

"Huh? What do you mea-"She was interrupted as Nozaki planted his lips on hers and kissed her deeply. After a few seconds which felt like years, the two parted and both were red in the face. Realizing what had just happened, Sakura covered her mouth. "DID WE JUST?"

"Yes... we did, did I do okay? Manga has never taught me this." Nozaki said, seemingly relieved that he got his point across.

"Noz-Nozaki-kun, does this mean?"

"Yes Sakura, you don't have to wait anymore, you don't have to wait for that 'one day', because that 'one day' just became today and every other day after today." Nozaki climbed onto the bed and put himself at Sakura's side. Settling himself down, the girl began to giggle.

"I didn't think that this day would come!" Sakura giggled. "Nozaki-kun!"

"Hm?"

"I don't think this is my sick brain that's saying this but… I love you!"

Nozaki let out a breathless laugh and smiled. He reached his arms out and wrapped it around the girl's body. Sakura took her head and dug it into his chest. "I love you too… get better soon alright?"

"Mhm! But since you're taking care of me, that shouldn't be a problem!" She rubbed her head back and forth before she looked up at her dream come true. They both closed in and the tips of their noses touched as the both of them laughed. With one arm around his girl, Nozaki grabbed the covers and placed it over himself.

"You better go to sleep now." He said quietly, wrapping his arms ever so tightly. Sakura did the same. As Nozaki neared deep sleep, Sakura's voice jolted him. Though muffled, he could hear these words.

"Every day Chiyo, you'll wake up to see him. Every day Chiyo, you'll be able to hug him. Every day Chiyo, you'll be able to kiss him." Nozaki listened as the girl went on. "Every day Chiyo, you can say 'I love you' and he'll reply 'I love you too.'" Sakura paused, causing a silence that made Nozaki wonder if she was done. Just as he was about to close his eyes to go back to sleep, she said one last thing that made his heart jump and flip. "One day Chiyo, You'll be able to be with him forever, with a ring on his finger and yours. One day he'll make breakfast for your kids. One day Chiyo, one day, just not today."