Chapter Text
Atsushi wakes up feeling groggy, and in a white room. There’s a beeping to his right, and voices from outside of the room. He feels hot, and uncomfortable, but not unbearably so.
What happened? No matter how hard he thinks, he can’t seem to remember.
Yosano walks in, her eyes locking with Atsushi’s almost immediately.
“Hey,” she whispers, walking over.
She checks his vitals, and shines a light in his eyes. He flinches back, squinting.
“You’re ok. What do you remember?”
“I don’t know. I can’t seem to remember anything specific right now. What happened?” Atsushi asks, his voice rasping.
“You and Kunikida went on a job. You were looking for a thief that was hiding out on the outskirts of town.”
Atsushi blinks, looking down at his lap. “Wait, I do remember that. There were land mines, and the car blew up. I can’t remember what happened after that. Is Mr. Kunikida ok?”
“We can talk about that in a bit. I’m going to check on him now, but I’ll send Dazai your way once he gets off the phone with Chuuya. He’ll keep you company until I get back with an update.”
Yosano gives Atsushi a reassuring smile, and he weakly smiles back. She walks out, leaving Atsushi alone with his thoughts. Never a good thing to be stuck with either, especially not with so little information on the situation. However, it isn’t too long before Dazai walks in.
“Atsushi, hey. It’s good that you’re up.”
“What were you talking to Chuuya about?” Atsushi asks, grasping for any kind of conversation that doesn’t include the agency.
“Oh, we were trying to catch the person that did this. Chuuya got caught up on a mission, but he didn’t know much about them anyway. We’ve handed it off to the Hunting Dogs, so it really doesn’t matter either way.”
“Oh, ok. Well, how is he doing?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask that, but he did seem a little stressed. I don’t care why he’s stressed though, I could just hear it in his tone.”
Atsushi hums, completely unimpressed. “So, we just gave up on the thief all together, and handed it over to the military?”
“Well, they helped us find you. So, yeah, we did. You two were our first priority, and we handed over the case so we could focus on that.”
“Huh, ok. That’s weird, but I guess they have earned our trust by now.”
Dazai nods. “I think they can handle the case without issue. Let’s not dwell on it too much, ok?”
Atsushi nods. “I guess. Why are we in a normal hospital?”
“Because Yosano can’t use her ability on you. We theorized that it’s because of the man’s ability. We think it affected you guys in a similar way mine does, but for a specific time frame. Maybe it’s just for a few hours after you get out of the affected area. His ability created a space that was identical to the area around it, and it captured that space in an object. We’re not really sure how the ability blocking part comes in, but Yosano couldn’t use her ability on either of you. Not that you really needed it. You just needed someone to get the fused metal out of your leg.”
Atsushi nods, struggling to keep up.
“You should try to get some more rest,” Dazai advises, but Atsushi shakes his head.
“I have to wait for Dr. Yosano to come back. She’s going to tell me about Mr. Kunikida.”
“Yeah, let’s hope she comes back with good news,” Dazai mutters, leaning back in his chair.
Atsushi feels his chest constrict at that, because if he wasn’t sure that Kunikida was in really bad shape before, he certainly is now. They sit in silence until Yosano comes back in. She looks sad and tired. She shakes her head at Dazai before turning back to Atsushi.
“Alright, well, I checked on Kunikida. I’ll tell you about his injuries first, and then explain what that means. He had third degree burns on his left side, and it’s more concentrated on his arm. Most of it got infected, and that’s causing issues with his lungs and heart. I can’t heal him, and we really don’t know what’s going to happen from here. We’re trying to keep him as stable as possible in hopes that I can use my ability soon, but he’s not getting better. Right now we’re preparing for any possibility.”
Atsushi stares at her for a minute, trying to comprehend what she’s saying. “You think he’s going to die?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“It’s a very real possibility,” Dazai cuts in, putting a hand on Yosano’s shoulder. “I’m not going to lie to you, Atsushi. He might die, and right now we have no control over that. Even if he pulls through, we have no idea what this is going to do to his lungs if Yosano can’t heal the injuries that were inflicted in that space instead of a certain amount of time after you were there.”
“That’s a possibility?”
“Yes, and we’re leaning towards that at this point since it’s been six hours since you got out of there.”
Atsushi nods, his head spinning. “What about the criminal? Can we get more information from him?”
“From my understanding, he hasn’t been caught yet. I asked Jouno to have someone call me when they catch him, but we can’t be sure that they’re going to do that anyway. Especially since we fully handed over the case.”
“You should try to relax some. I know that this is scary, but you’re still not fully healed either. You need to remember that,” Yosano says, laying a hand on Atsushi’s shoulder.
Atsushi doesn’t respond, still too shocked to really know what to say. He finds himself disassociating, but he doesn’t care enough to bring himself back to reality. He doesn’t sleep anymore. He doesn’t come back to reality until the door opens again. It snaps him back, and for a second he thinks that Dazai is leaving. Then he realizes that Dazai is standing, but that’s because Jouno is walking into the room.
“What happened?” Dazai asks, his tone low.
“I found him. He’s in police custody right now. The Commander told me to come down here personally to answer any of your questions while she’s interrogating him. I think she’s gotten attached to you guys.”
Dazai hums, nodding. “Ok, well what do you know already?”
“He was running. That’s why it took so long for me to get here. He figured out that you guys were on to him, so he attacked your co-workers, and ran. I was correct about his ability. We do know that most abilities don’t work in the spaces made by his ability, but with what you said about him , there’s obviously exceptions.”
“Do you know if there’s any way to use abilities on Kunikida’s injuries?” Atsushi cuts in, drawing Dazai’s gaze.
“I didn’t realize you were still awake,” he says softly.
Jouno twists his fingers together. “We don’t know of anything yet. The Commander is still working with the guy, but I can’t promise anything right now. I do know that he won’t last long. So, if there is a way, we’ll know what it is soon. As for now, I’m supposed to stay here to monitor the situation from this end. I brought Tecchou with me. He’s in the waiting room, but I won’t let him bother any of you, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
Dazai nods again, still watching Atsushi. “Thank you.”
Jouno nods, and steps out of the room. Atsushi feels the first tears roll down his face as the door clicks shut. He’s fully sobbing in less than a minute. Dazai sits on the edge of his bed, and tentatively wraps an arm around Atsushi. He doesn’t say anything, doesn’t offer any kind of false hope, or unhelpful encouragement. He just lets Atsushi cry, which goes on for a while before he finally manages to calm himself down.
“I don’t want Kunikida to die,” he whispers, and Dazai sighs.
“I don’t either. It seems everyone dies too early though, don’t they?” He sounds sad, sadder than Atsushi thought he would be in this situation.
“You really care about him, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s hard not to after all this time. I’ve worked with him, and we’ve gone through a lot together. He’s my partner, and I don’t want to lose another one.”
Atsushi doesn’t say anything to that since he already knows what Dazai is referring to. “You always make it seem like you don’t have any feelings, or that you’re a ditz. It’s always a little startling when you drop the act.”
Dazai snorts. “Yeah, well, we all have our coping mechanisms. Also, life is easier when people underestimate you.”
“I guess I can understand that. Do you ever miss your life before you left the mafia?”
“Not at all. There are things that I miss, but I lost most of those before I left. My friends were gone, and Mori… well, Mori was Mori. That’s enough explanation for that one. I had to let go of a few things that I cared about, but it wasn’t enough to regret anything. I have a lot now, and I’m not ready to lose it.”
Atsushi smiles. “Well, at least you found a family.”
“Having things to lose makes life hard.”
“That’s why you push people away, because it’s hard? Because you’re worried that you’re going to hurt them too, or get hurt again?”
“To an extent.” He doesn’t elaborate, and they end up sitting in silence for a while.
Despite that, Atsushi does feel better. He ends up drifting back off to sleep with Dazai still next to him. He wakes up to hushed words. He’s alone in the room, but with his enhanced hearing, he can hear people talking outside. The only reason it sticks out to him is it sounds like Dazai, Yosano, and someone else that’s not quite familiar enough for him to recognize them. He stands up, glancing down at the IV in his arm. He pulls it along with him. He follows the voices down the hallway to a waiting room.
“There’s nothing that we can do?” Yosano asks.
Teruko shakes her head, her arms folded across her chest. “There’s nothing that man can do to undo the effect, and Jouno already took Dazai down there to see if touching him would cancel out the ability. Obviously, it didn’t. I believe that he seriously has no idea how to cancel it out, and I don’t think there’s anything else we can do from our end. How’s he doing?”
“He took a bad turn, and he had to be put on a ventilator. They don’t think he’s going to pull through at this point, but we’re doing everything we can. It’s really just up to chance now. I can’t believe this is happening,” Yosano says, dropping into a chair.
Dazai is still standing completely still, not saying anything.
“I’m sorry, but there isn’t anything else my team can do for you,” Teruko says, her head bowed.
Atsushi stays right where he is, unable to move. They stay like that for a minute before Dazai notices Atsushi.
“Sushi, what are you doing up?” he asks, crossing the room to Atsushi quickly.
Atsushi’s crying by then. He throws his arms around Dazai as soon as Dazai is close enough. Dazai holds him as he cries, which lasts for at least fifteen minutes. Teruko and Yosano stay in the background, both quiet, but neither of them making a move to leave. Dazai eventually pulls Atsushi over to a seat so that he doesn’t end up falling on the floor when he loses strength.
“Can I see him?” Atsushi whispers.
Dazai glances at Yosano, who just nods.
“Of course you can, buddy. Let me help you to his room. Teruko, can you run ahead, and make sure that you pull whoever you put in there out? He won’t need any extra protection if we’re there.”
Teruko nods, and jogs off in that direction. Atsushi keeps a hold of Dazai’s arm as they walk in that direction. Tecchou and Teruko are standing outside when they reach Kunikida’s room in the ICU. Atsushi sniffles again as he walks in. Kunikida is motionless on the bed. His skin is pale, but his face is red. The ventilator is breathing for him, making his chest move in a very stiff and manufactured rise and fall. Atsushi drops into the chair beside Kunikida’s bed, but he doesn’t risk reaching out to touch him. He sits there for a while before Dazai lays a hand on his shoulder.
“We should go.”
“No, I’m not leaving him.”
He reaches out tentatively, but still stops right in front of Kunikida’s hand. The door opens, and Atsushi turns around to tell whoever it is to leave. He stops short when he sees Akutagawa in the doorway. His eyes dart between Dazai, Atsushi, and Kunikida.
“What are you doing here?” Dazai demands. He looks angry as though Akutagawa is intruding on something deeply important and personal, which he kind of is.
Akutagawa looks uncomfortable, and is shuffling his feet.
“I came to bring something that will help him. Chuuya did research on the criminal and found someone that he thinks can counteract the man’s ability. He wasn’t able to come in person, but he sent his best wishes.”
“What are you talking about?” Atsushi asks, his eyes wide.
Akutagawa opens his bag, and pulls out a box. He hands it to Dazai, who opens it to reveal a syringe.
“That will negate any lingering effects of any ability. Your doctor should be able to heal him after that.”
Dazai makes eye contact with Akutagawa, then nods. “You’re not lying.”
“Of course not.”
Dazai walks out, probably to go get Yosano. Akutagawa stays awkwardly in the doorway, seeming unsure of whether he should leave without results. Atsushi doesn’t say anything, hope choking him. Yosano comes in with Dazai a minute later, her fists clenched tightly as though she doesn’t want to get her hopes up either.
“Atsushi, can you step out? Once I heal him, we’re going to have to extubate him, and you don’t want to be in here for that.”
Atsushi stands up, wobbling immediately.
“Help him,” Dazai says, making eye contact with Akutagawa for a second before looking away again.
Akutagawa nods, and walks over to Atsushi. He grabs Atsushi’s arm, and pulls him up straight. He brings him to the waiting room, which is empty right now.
“It’s after visiting hours,” Akutagawa explains, then coughs into his arm. He gets an odd look from the receptionist, but she doesn’t say anything.
“Thank you, Akutagawa. This really means a lot.”
Akutagawa hums. “It’s not like I had anything better to do. I was off shift, and my sister is out of town. Chuuya is the one who did all of the work.”
“Yeah, and I’ll thank him too when I see him.”
Akutagawa looks away, still frowning. They sit together for another ten minutes before Yosano comes back.
“It worked. I was able to completely heal him, and he’s getting dressed right now,” she says, relief and exhaustion evident in his tone.
Atsushi forces himself to his feet at that.
“Thank you, Akutagawa. We didn’t think he was going to make it,” Yosano says, grabbing Akutagawa’s arm.
Akutagawa looks even more uncomfortable, and glances towards the elevator.
“Can I go now?”
“Yes, you can go.”
“Bye,” Atsushi says, and Akutagawa just waves as he walks out.
Kunikida walks into the waiting room a few minutes later, and he looks completely fine, just like Yosano said he was. Atsushi hugs him as tightly as he can.
“Let’s get you back to your room,” Kunikida murmurs in his ear, and Atsushi reluctantly nods.
Atsushi is released from the hospital the next day, and they’re all able to go home.