Chapter Text
Yusuke is capable of finishing a shower in two minutes and twelve seconds.
In that time, he can wash his hair, his face and get a good lather going for the rest of his body. It requires some haste, but it's worth it.
Once that's done, he tilts his head back and lets the water pour over his face. He breathes deep, opening his mouth and eyes under the spray. It stings his eyes until it doesn't, and in that moment, Yusuke is at peace.
He doesn't worry, he doesn't feel sick. He is one with the universe.
Madarame's egg timer goes off.
Yusuke turns off the water.
He dries himself with a towel, taking special care with his hair. When he's done, he grabs a q-tip off the counter and carefully dries his ears, double-checks for water in his bellybutton.
The hair dryer is a necessary evil, and Yusuke steels himself before blowdrying the last of the moisture from his hair. The hot air feels evil against his skin.
He takes one last mournful look at the shower and walks out into the kitchen. There's steamed rice and dried mackerel laid out for him, and Yusuke is hungry, but he doesn't head straight there. Instead, he walks over to the kitchen counter, where Madarame is preparing his own breakfast. It's far more elaborate than Yusuke's.
"Hand out," Madarame says, in lieu of a greeting. He doesn't even look up, just grabs the collector off the windowsill. It's a medical device, made of metal and hard plastic, with an opening in the side.
Yusuke knows better than to sigh. He doesn't say anything at all. He just holds out his hand. Madarame grabs it firmly and inserts Yusuke's finger into the device. Yusuke doesn't flinch when Madarame presses the button, even though it pushes a needle into his finger.
Yusuke could do this in his sleep.
Shower. Dry off. Let Madarame take blood. Eat breakfast. Wait for the update on his blood percentages.
Madarame has explained Yusuke's illness any number of times, but Yusuke still has no idea what the numbers mean. Sometimes he thinks their meaning might be changing.
"Your water's high. How long did you stay in the shower?"
Madarame is straight to the point, and he looks Yusuke right in the eye. Yusuke feels a little thrill of fear.
"Five minutes exactly. I turned it off as soon as the timer dinged."
He does his best to keep the regret out of his voice.
"The rain yesterday. Did you stay out of it?"
Yusuke swallows hard. He's a terrible liar.
"I-- got caught up in it. Briefly."
Madarame slams a hand down on the counter. Yusuke jumps very slightly, even though he'd been expecting it. The noise always gets to him.
"Yusuke, we have been over this! You need to limit your exposure to water!"
Yusuke stares at the floor. The kitchen tiling is done in a soft blue, too pale to capture the ocean's depth.
Madarame grabs him by the chin and physically forces Yusuke to meet his eye. Yusuke's hands are shaking.
"Do you understand me? This is for your health. I do enough for you without you sabotaging my efforts!"
Yusuke swallows. His eyes ache with unshed tears.
". . . Yes, Father."
Madarame lets go of his face. Yusuke immediately takes a step back, instinctively seeking distance.
"Get ready for school. And bring your damn umbrella."
Madarame storms out of the kitchen, bringing the collector with him. He'll do more advanced tests while Yusuke is at class, to make sure that Yusuke hasn't actually damaged himself.
Still, once his father is out of the room, Yusuke nearly collapses into his chair. He barely tastes breakfast, and he doesn't find Madarame to say goodbye before he leaves. There's no point; when Madarame is locked in the study, either to test Yusuke's blood or to working on his art, he won't reply to a word Yusuke says.
School is better. His uniform itches and he isn't terribly engaged in his classes, but he's been truly blessed this year.
He sits next to Akira Kurusu. There must be a god out there somewhere, looking out for him, because this is everything he'd been hoping for going into his last year of high school.
Halfway through their morning lecture, the teacher goes on a tangent about how lazy young people are. Akira catches Yusuke's gaze, grins, and rolls his eyes. Yusuke smiles back, and floats on that euphoria until lunch time.
This, of course, presents a new challenge.
Akira does not lack for friends. In their class is Yuuki Mishima and Ann Takamaki, both of whom beeline to him as soon as they're allowed to stand. Ann is the sort of girl that, had he been interested in women, Yusuke thinks he might have liked. She's got the type of beauty that seems like a force of nature, and a personality to match. Mishima is a different story-- he's accidentally rude or awkward more often than not, and hangs on Akira's every word. Yusuke doesn't like him much.
They're joined quickly by the other two members of their group, Ryuji Sakamoto and Shiho Suzui. Shiho is quick to insult but slow to actual anger, and rumor says that her relationship with Ann is more than platonic. Yusuke isn't sure if he believes this, but they do seem rather close. Ryuji is Akira's loud and vulgar best friend, but he irks Yusuke a lot less than Mishima, for some reason.
Sometimes, Yusuke talks to them. Not as much as he'd like to, but they're an intimidating group to try to join. They're been pretty insular ever since their first year. Yusuke doesn't know much about what happened to cause it, only that it involved the gym teacher going to jail. He's exempt from gym, as part of the effort to help him avoid pools and unnecessary showers.
Today, though, he turns his chair to join their impromptu circle.
"Working on your antisocial problem today, Yusuke?" Shiho asks. She's already arrived, and is seated on top of Ann's desk, her legs hanging off the side. "You and Yuuki should share tips."
"H-hey!" Mishima protests. "I'm plenty social!"
"We're all antisocial, don't you start," Akira says, poking Shiho with one of his chopsticks. It's barely a gesture of support, and he might be defending Mishima, but it makes Yusuke smile anyways.
"I suppose we're all in the same boat, then," Yusuke says, hoping that was the right thing to say. It makes Akira smile, so maybe it was.
"You should sit with us more often," Ann says, trying to open her overly-sealed bento box without using her nails. After ten seconds of watching her struggle, Ryuji takes it from her.
"This is why you need a man--"
Before he can actually get the box open, Shiho grabs it and pries it open.
"You were saying?"
Ann laughs and accepts the bento box when it's passed back over to her. Her fingers linger on Shiho's for a moment longer then she needs to. Yusuke catches Shiho's eye and smiles. A look of understanding passing between them, unspoken.
"You know what, I agree. Yusuke should hang out with us more often. Hey, are you free on Saturday night?" Shiho asks.
"Ah, yes, yes I am," Yusuke says, not mentioning that he is pretty much always free.
"You're alright with inviting him?" Akira asks, but he sounds pretty into the idea.
"Sure, he's cool," Shiho responds. Yusuke feels astoundingly proud of that.
Akira glances over at where the teacher is still sitting at her desk. Yusuke wonders if whatever they're planning isn't strictly legal. Akira's friends have somewhat of a reputation.
"Can I have your contact information? I'll fill you in on the details," Akira offers, holding out his phone.
Yusuke scrambles to get his phone out of his pocket. He doesn't care how illegal their plans are.
He is in.