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Kyoyo said to leave it be. Kyoyo said to drop it.
But that’s like the sixth time this kid almost passed out from coughing. It’s obivious he’s dizzy, he’s got his eyes focused on one spot and he’s definitely counting through his breathing.
“Oi, new recruit,” Chuuya calls, the ranks quickly dispersing from their lines as he walks towards Akutagawa.
“S--” another cough, “Sir?”
“I’ve got a mission for you and it will keep you busy the whole week,” Chuuya states, his eyes narrowed and glaring down at the small teen.
Several eyes worriedly glance the young boy’s way, but no one utters a word.
Instantly the young boy’s form straightens up and it’s obvious he’s trying to keep futher coughs at bay as he nods.
“Black Lizard squad, take a patrol around the harbour and take the other newbie with you,” Chuuya commands and looks over to the other ranks, “Death squad, take the canals; Riots, take the sewers. We don’t need rats this time of year, so flush them out if you see any.”
With an affirmative, their boots eventually recede from the assembly area. Only the Rashoumon-user and Corruption-user was left. It was a quiet pause.
“How I can be of use, sir?” Akutagawa eventually says and clears his throat awkwardly, “I wasn’t cleared by Dazai-san to go on solo missions yet… ”
“Do I look like that asshole to you? HM?” Chuuya snaps and motions with his finger, “Follow me, dumbass.”
It’s an awkward walk for sure. Chuuya knows for a fact that Akutagawa is expecting some sort of punishment and even worse, if they meet up with Dazai then he’ll definitely be punished. The youngest Port Mafia Executive seemed to have taken a liking to taking frustrations out on fresh blood. More than three-quarters of the new recruits quit within half a day. The mafia can’t afford to keep operating like this.
“You’re not to tell anyone about this mission, understand?” Chuuya states and pauses in his walk to glare at the young teen.
Only…. Akutagawa was so focused on his steps and trying his best to not let the dark spots closing in on his eyes win, that he crashed into Chuuya’s side before ending up crumbled on the floor. He stares at the floor for a moment in a daze before scrambling to get up, “S… so… sorry…”.
With a light touch, Chuuya pats him on the head, activating his ability. He gets Akutagawa back upright and weightless as they move forwards, Chuuya’s ability controlling Akutagawa’s form now.
“I can…. I can walk…. On m…”Akutagawa tries to counter, but he’s breathing so hard it’s difficult to get out.
“Just shut up, okay?” Chuuya commands and checks the corners of the hallway before opening the door opposite the main IT server office. His ability slowly pulls Akutagawa inside and he shuts the door after them.
“I do.. n… don’t know…. anything about compuhhh… computers, Nakahara-san… ” Akutagawa says, his voice clearly in a panic, still completely out of breath from simply being upright.
Chuuya doesn’t even bother to counter it. The kid’s so stubborn he’d probably use Rashoumon to get out of this ‘mission’ if he told him sooner. Or maybe not… the kid does look like he’s about to pass out either way.
So, with a gentle flick of his wrist Chuuya moves Akutagawa’s form down the hall and into another room. It used to be the old storage ward, but Chuuya and Kyoyo repurposed it to a recovery room -though it looked more like a studio apartment than anything else. Finally, releasing the ability once he’s got his hands under Akutagawa’s arms – which was a good catch since the kid’s footing was non-existent at the moment.
“I’m…. sorry… it’s… ”
“Did Dazai teach you to apologize so much or do you do it out of habit?” Chuuya says and effortlessly hauls the teen to one of the beds that’s off to the side, closest to the adjacent bathroom. “Take a seat.”
It’s after a boneless flop unto the bed and a hyperventilating breathing spree that Akutagawa finally looks up. His eyes were much darker than before, and he was much more on the defensive. The red aura Rashoumon has was flickering in and out as Akutagawa finally started to catch his breath, ready to jump into defensive mode.
“You’re going to rest here for the week,” Chuuya states firmly, not wanting unnecessary defensiveness and unintended innuendo to plague the teen for a second.
With a confused tilt of his head, the young teen just stared at the Port Mafia Executive.
“You heard me. One week, starting today, you are going to -”
“I’m not sick!!” the shout makes him cough again and he turns bright red in embarrassment when his coughs don’t subside no matter how many times he wills it to.
So, Chuuya heads over to the bar fridge, pulls out the same strawberry-flavoured cough syrup that always worked for him, measured it out in the cup and returned with a glass of water in tow. He wordlessly handed over the water first. With eagle eyes and a pointed clearing of his throat, he coaxed the kid to follow the unspoken order. Wordlessly he handed over the cup of cough syrup right after and glared down at him until he finished it off too.
“I’m…. not…. Sick… ” Akutagawa counters softly, that crushing feel of defeat settling into his stomach as the sweet syrup fills his system, “I’m not…”
“I never said you were sick,” Chuuya counters with a huff. He takes the cup and glass and stashes them into the dishwasher under the sink before returning with a protein bar, “Eat this.”
Though it’s met with a grumble, the protein bar disappears in seconds.
“Your mission for this week is to finish all the food in that fridge, drink at least two of those juice boxes a day and take that medicine three times a day?” Chuuya instructs, as if it were an everyday occurrence, “I expect you to get at least twelve hours of sleep a day, and if I return at any point during the day and see my instructions aren’t followed….”
The red aura around Chuuya alone is enough to rattle the glasses stacked on the tray for a moment before it simmers down, “I won’t be as lenient as Dazai is.”
With a gulp, Akutagawa nods and awkwardly tugs on his coat.
“I’m… really… okay… if…” the teen starts, only to start coughing again awkwardly mid-sentence before grimacing to himself.
“There’s custard, jelly, fruit.... figs, especially, and casseroles in the fridge,” Chuuya states, pointedly ignoring Akutagawa’s protest. The redhead can’t help but be slightly – exceptionally- proud of himself that he’s managed to memorize the entire mafia’s present preferred meals, “And I’ll be back later today with vitamins.”
A sigh comes from the teen, but no further comebacks. He’s definitely tired though. And stressed. By the posture alone it’s obvious he’s exhausted emotionally as well. It doesn’t help that he does a pretty good job at surreptitiously turning his head away and wiping up the tears that seem to be forming without his consent consistently now.
So, Chuuya busies himself with the view outside, and gives the teen a moment before looking back.
Eyes red, nose runny, cheeks pink and a frown on his face. It was an adorable picture all the same.
“I expect you to fulfil this mission successfully,” Chuuya growls out, snapping Akutagawa at attention with his tone, “If you fail to abide by my instructions or leave the room for any reason, I will have you thrown out.”
It’s a little excessive. He knows. He knows because every single time he’s done this to one of his underlings, they turned pale – just as Akutagawa has – and almost started crying – which Akutagawa seems to be on the verge of too. But, it gets the job done, so he sticks to it.
Chuuya holds out his hand and motions with his fingers, “Phone.”
If there’s one thing that puts this entire recovery plan in jeopardy it’s Akutagawa’s phone. Mori and Dazai will most certainly track him. Even if Chuuya would state to the board that he sent Akutagawa on a special mission, they’d certainly use his phone to trace him. That’s how they got Paul Valerie. That was before Chuuya found this room. That was before Chuuya thought it’d be fine to let Paul use his room to recover in from flu. That was before Chuuya realised how toxic the mafia could be. They made Paul run errands for weeks after. It took him months to recover fully.
“… my…. Um…. Okay,“ it’s obvious the teen’s worried about his sister. But, seems like Dazai’s training is taking hold and he’s learning not to question an Executive’s decision.
After switching it off, Chuuya put it in his pocket, “To make sure you follow orders, I will be entrusting Gin from the Black Lizard squad to oversee your assignment after her patrol today.”
It’s the owlish eyes that Ryuu makes that almost makes Chuuya laugh.
“Or do you have a problem with that?”
“No! No problem…. ” and the smallest smile makes an appearance on Ryuu’s face as he quickly looks down to hide his expression.
“Good. I expect a verbal report by the end of the week.”