Chapter Text
If you were ever to ask Dazai, he would probably tell you he didn’t live the normalest of lives.
A very chaotic friend group, very girly younger sister with a surprisingly angelic older brother, along with being a child prodigy of course. But, he honestly hadn’t ever considered that it would evolve into health problems .
Sure, he didn’t always eat properly (or at all), sure he didn’t always remember to take care of himself, but he didn’t expect it to actually have lasting effects on his body.
That was what was going through his mind when he first started having the symptoms.
It started with just headaches. They weren’t all that bad, and he often used to get them when he was younger, so he didn’t think much of it.
But then they evolved into fatigue, which left him exhausted for hours on end, until he finally managed to fall asleep.
And sure, you might be wondering why when they first started, he didn’t just go to his older brother, or even his father, and well, the reasons are little more than complicated.
But back to the present day, and what is currently going on inside our beloved brunette’s mind as he walks down the hallway with his friend, on his way to his next class…
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“ Ugh, today is going to be a long, long day for me, isn’t it?”
Dazai thought, for once quietly heading to his literature class instead of displaying his normal annoying demeanor.
Why? You may ask, and the answer is that he was just so tired . He knew if he told his friends or his teachers that, they would laugh at him, considering it was only the start of third period, and they hadn’t even done anything that exciting yet.
The day had started out pretty normally, or to rephrase, as his days started out now.
He would wake up around 30ish minutes before school, get ready in around 20 minutes, then walk with Chuuya to school as they bickered like they always did.
If the day was gonna go normally, then he would’ve joined his friends in school and he would’ve annoyed Kunikida and Atsushi, catched up on new riddles and puzzles with Ranpo, read another short story Poe wrote, along with chilling with the rest of the group.
Unfortunately, the universe had decided that he couldn’t be happy, and whatever being was up there had dumped this new-found problem on him (or that was what he referred to it in his head). He didn’t know why this started, or what it was.
He just knew that it wasn’t planning on going away anytime soon, and he would probably have to tell someone about it soon. That thought scared him, not because he didn’t have anyone to talk to, he did. He had a lovely older brother, Odasaku, and even more appropriately, his father who was a literal doctor .
But, he’d rather just play it off as nothing than go explain all his troubles and be seen as weak.
Either way, this was probably just stress from school (he was never stressed about school), it would resolve itself in the spring break when he could actually relax. So he should focus on getting to class, not the spring break still two weeks away.
Actually, he didn’t even know why exactly he was so tired, just that he didn’t feel like walking, or even standing anymore. Everything around him felt like it was moving in slow, lethargic movements. Was it just him, was things getting slower and more muddy by the moment?
More importantly, was he even standing anymore? If he was he didn’t want to be.
The last thing he registered in his mind before everything went black, was his grasp on his duffel bag go loose, along with a hand on his shoulder and his friends calling his name as he went crashing to the floor.
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Chuuya wasn’t gonna lie and say that Dazai had been completely normal the past few weeks, especially today.
If asked, he would immediately deny ever giving two shits about that mackerel, with his tendency to call him stupid nicknames and his jokes about his height. But, Dazai was still one of their friends, and with his behavior the past few weeks,he was growing concerned.
These past few weeks, he’d seemed more… tired? Like he just wanted to go to sleep. He and the rest of their friends were starting to worry about him.
Well, they were always worried about Dazai, with all the suicide and death jokes he made (and when he would go without eating or their would be extra bandages on his arms, but no one ever mentioned that).
But, Chuuya was especially worried about him today, along with everybody else. Unlike his usual bubbly (more gremlin-like) manner, he was weirdly… detached? He seemed exhausted , and wasn’t talking to any of them, besides some weak jokes and insults.
When they were heading to the third period though, was when things got really bad. Dazai just kinda stopped? Right in the middle of the hallway. Chuuya stopped with him, taking a look at his pale face.
Dazai’s eyes seemed far away, like he wasn’t really with them here. Yosano, one of their friends, came up behind him.
“What’s going on? Why’d you stop walking?” Yosano asked, now moving behind him as he dropped Dazai’s face from his hands.
“Come on, we’re gonna be late, what’s the idiot doing now?” Kunikida called, always called the ideal student.
Suddenly, Dazai’s book bag slipped from his grasp as he crashed onto the floor. It was so sudden, that Chuuya didn’t even have time to process what was happening until Yosano was yelling at him to fetch a teacher as she kneeled next to Dazai, being the only one there ever having done a first-aid course.
Chuuya immediately went off running, calling the first teacher he saw, which happened to be Mr. Fitzgerald, their economics teacher. He didn’t know why their teacher was just wandering the halls, but at that moment he couldn’t care less.
He quickly motioned for the teacher to follow him, as he hurriedly informed him about the situation that took place
When they arrived back at the scene, Dazai’s eyes were now open, with his legs propped up with his bag, and the hallway cleared except for their friends, with Atsushi crying standing beside Akutagawa.
Of course he’s crying, he’s always crying
Mr Fitzgerald leant down beside Dazai, who was now looking less tired and a lot more aware of his surroundings.
“Good Morning, Dazai-kun. Can you explain what happened? And you do understand that I’ll be sending you home after this?”
Dazai nods, still lying on the floor, looking slightly embarrassed as he explains what exactly took place from his point of view.
Mr. Fitzgerald listens carefully, before asking Yosano and Ranpo to escort him to the nurse’s office, so he can contact Dazai’s father to pick him up, as he should be the one to decide where to go with this situation.
“I take it you won’t be attending your classes tomorrow, Dazai-kun?” Mr. Fitzgerald asks as Chuuya helps Dazai get off the floor.
“I’ll see what my father thinks, even though I don’t want my work to pile up, I have to do what he says.” Dazai replies, choosing his choice of words very carefully.
“I understand, though I will be letting you take the next three days off,” Mr. Fitzgerald says, before awkwardly patting Atsushi’s head, and leaving to go report to the principal what happened.
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The first thoughts that go through Dazai’s head as he wakes up are “ M’ on the floor….?”
Slowly, he remembers the situation that took place just a few minutes ago, as Yosano and Ranpo loom over him, with Kunikida watching from behind them.
“You were out for 22 seconds, are you feeling alright?” Yosano asks, in a professional tone as if she was his doctor and not a hormonal teenage girl just chatting about jerks in their school a few minutes ago.
Before he can actually form a reply, Chuuya comes running behind him with Mr Fitzgerald following.
He groans internally at the sight of his least favorite teacher, and at how embarrassing this situation is about to become. Well, at least the hallway was cleared out, no doubt the work of Yosano.
Mr.Fitzgerald leans down next to him asking him what happened, and after a very awkward conversation, he’s being helped to the nurse’s office by Ranpo and Yosano, with others in their group fussing over him as Atsushi cries.
“Oh come on, I’ll be fine, and I get to skip school for three days if I want. This situation is turning out much better than expected Kunikida~” He said, displaying his usual gremlin attitude, before nodding at Chuuya as a signal to text him later.
As forced to by the nurse, Dazai lays down on the bed, dreading the moment his Dad arrives. It’s not the fact that his father’s cruel to him by any means, but he’s always put his patients, his work and everything in the hospital over him. And to top that off, he would now have to have a check up with endless questions of why didn’t you tell me? And I’m here for you, you know , and that wasn’t something he was in the mood to deal with right now.
He’d rather just play it off as something out of the blue, than have people fuss over him.
Besides, it wasn’t like he was having any extreme symptoms, right? It was just some fatigue, along with headaches, and a little trouble hearing properly. It wasn’t some complicated health condition, and he would be cleared of that soon.
Oh, the irony of that statement is what he would realize later.
He just needed to wait this out, explain to his friends how he was perfectly fine, and get this weird talk with his father over with, and he’d be okay.
That was what he was planning, with his friends creating idle chatter to hopefully dampen up the mood, when his father walked in.
“What happened?” were his father’s first words. Not, something like are you ok? Or hi, hello there! Nope, he went straight to business.
Mori motioned for his friends to exit the room, before immediately coming to sit down beside Dazai, still wearing his white coat, obviously having left in the middle of his shift.
Well, he’ll probably be taking me back there with him, isn’t he? Dazai though absent-mindedly.
The nurse came by to repeat what she had been told, before officially dismissing Dazai to his father. Mori helped him get off the bed, his friends already left for their classes. He wouldn’t deny the fact that he was a bit nervous, not because he was scared of his father or anything of the sort.
It was just… it wasn’t a common experience for them to act in any sort of father-son type of manner. It wasn’t that they didn’t have a good relationship, just not a very developed one. Mori always had work, Dazai always preferred to be left alone in solitude, and after the incident , his father always let him have his own space.
So, it was awkward for both of them as Mori let Dazai through the empty halls of the school, supporting his weight as if he couldn’t himself. He led him to the sleek white car parked outside.
Bonus of being a famous doctor, you made a crap ton of money.
Dazai took the front seat beside his father, trying to be in the most comfortable position possible for the uncomfortable conversation which would soon follow.
“So, do you have any idea why this happened? Have you been feeling ill recently? Do you feel feverish?” Mori said, following up that last question by putting the palm of his hand on Dazai’s forehead.
“I don’t know why this might’ve happened. My headaches started up again, which in turn didn't let me sleep, which left me tired and… weak? for the rest of the day. I don’t know about the fever, I just feel a bit dizzy right now.” Dazai replied, awkwardly staring out of the window, trying to avoid looking at his father.
“Where were the headaches, and how bad were they, and how much have you slept in the past few weeks on average? And you do feel a bit warm. The dizziness is to be expected. For now, we’re going to the hospital so I can check you over.”
“I guess, near the back and front of my head? And like a 5/10 on scale, and I think I’ve slept about 4 hours every night. Why can’t you just check me over at home? We don’t need to go to the hospital.”
“I know how you are Osamu, if you’re saying a 5 then it's probably an 8. If you’re saying you slept 4 hours every night, then you probably slept 2 every two days . And I have to check your vitals, along with administering medicine. Considering you’re still young, fainting spells need to be treated a bit more seriously as your brain will try everything in its power for you not to pass out.”
Mori pulled into the hospital parking lot for employees, before turning to him
“I know you hate hospitals, but this is necessary, ok? I promise I’ll try to make it as comfortable as possible for you.”
Dazai nodded, before getting out of the car, trying to prepare himself for the upending doom ahead.