Work Text:
It’s been three days since anyone last saw Ryota Mitarai. It’s been two days since he last left his room. It’s been one day since he’s communicated at all with anyone.
This wasn’t unusual by any means; Ryota had a tendency to stay in his room to study or work, especially if it meant getting an animation done by the deadline. Despite his title as the Ultimate Animator, he was known to procrastinate when it came to animations he would do for commercial purposes.
It just so happened that, as his friends knew, he had procrastinated for a little bit too long. He was meant to submit a two-minute long sequence by the next day, but he had only started working on it the day prior. Two minutes might not sound like a lot for normal scenes, but this was meant to be an elaborate fight scene timed to music - Ryota couldn’t afford to put in little effort, either. The way he saw it, the university was already hesitant on keeping him - so he felt that, if this wasn’t the best it could be, he could lose everything, possibly being forced to go back home.
So, as far as anyone was concerned, he was going to be holed up in his room for a while.
❖
Tsumugi walked down the hall, a little bit of pep in her step. She was wearing a very casual outfit - just an anime t-shirt, some pajama shorts, striped knee-highs, and plain gray slippers. The cosplayer was holding a gift box in her hand - inside was a small cake, congratulating Ryota on the hard work he had done. After all, it was nearing the end of the day - the deadline was probably up by now, and so she wanted to be the first to congratulate. She was alone, not wanting to overwhelm Ryota when she arrived, her casual outfit indicating that she intended to be over for a while at Ryota’s room.
She quickly located his dorm, knocking on it with three small taps in a nice and neat rhythm. “Ryota~!” The blue haired cosplayer called out, bouncing on her toes. “I know you might be busy relaxing right now, but…”
…No response.
“...I promise you’re gonna wanna see this.”
…No response.
“...Ryota, I know you’re in there, and I know you don’t go to bed until late in the…” Her hand was on the doorknob, realizing it’s open. She opens it slightly, getting a look inside.
The animator was hunched over the desk, his eyes wide open. There were cans upon cans of energy drinks on the floor, most of them empty. He was looking at frame after frame, looking for any slight imperfection, his headphones still on. His breathing was heavy as he took another drink of an energy drink right by him.
“...Ryota?” Tsumugi called out, putting the box down on his dresser as she closed the door, walking over near him. He didn’t even acknowledge her at first, just continuing to go frame by frame, his eyes darting from one corner to the next, analyzing any even minor infraction in the art.
…Ryota would… Ryota wouldn’t be like this. He’d have jumped in his chair, going “What are you doing in my room?” and I would have responded “The door. You left it wide open.” He’d get my reference, and then I’d show him the cake, and… but that’s not what-
Tsumugi stepped on an energy drink can, the aluminum sound startling her. Yet Ryota kept working. His eyes darted at Tsumugi for a brief moment, before he started to speak.
“T-T-Tsumugi- I need to f-finish this, pl-please leave.” His voice was shaky, barely able to form a coherent word.
“You’re- are you okay?” Tsumugi asked, worriedly stepping to Ryota’s side.
Thump thump.
“I’m okay. I’m okay. I’m okay. J-J-Just- Just a l-little bit more.”
Thump thump.
“You don’t sound okay-”
Thump thump.
“Just n-need to finalize the animation. The sha-shading.”
Thump thump.
“No, I’m serious- Ryota, how long have you been awake for?
Thump thump.
“Th-Three- no, t-two- no, thr- I lost count. I don-I don’t know.”
Thump thump.
“...please, just- take a break for a small second here-”
Thump. But there wasn’t a second thump.
In a moment, Ryota’s drawing pen dropped, a black line crossing the current frame. His hand went right to his chest, clutching it tightly. He started to lean back in his chair, before falling over entirely as he breathed heavily, his eyes still darting all over the room. Tsumugi shrieked, kneeling down to his side quickly.
“A-Ahhhhh! Ryota, what’s wron-”
Tsumugi’s words were interrupted quickly by a bloodcurdling scream, the animator gasping in pain as he convulsed on the floor of his dorm room, feeling as if a thousand vices were in his chest, squeezing it from the inside. Tears came to his eyes as he laid there, trying to breathe.
“No- no-nononono-” Tsumugi began freaking out, holding onto Ryota’s hand. She didn’t feel a pulse - his heart had stopped, and she didn’t know what to do.
This can’t be happening- this can’t be- Ryota’s going to die, no- I can’t- I’m not-
In an instant, Tsumugi pulled out her phone, calling someone as quickly as she could. The phone ringing felt like an eternity, the cosplayer setting it to the speaker as she held Ryota’s hand. But he hadn’t responded - he was limp, cold, and…
He was dying.
The thoughts were interrupted when the phone picked up.
“H-Hello? Shirogane?” Mikan’s voice was on the other end, the nurse currently in her room.
“T-Tsumiki- You need to get to Ryota’s dorm, he- I think his heart stopped beating- he’s going to die- he’s going to die- ” Tsumugi’s voice was full of desperation, tears dropping onto Ryota’s chest.
“W-What? I’m g-going to get there as soon as I can- y-you need to keep him alive, though-!” Mikan sounded worried too- really worried, with Tsumugi being able to tell that she was already rushing through the dorms.
Keep him alive? I can’t- how do I do that? My best friend- Ryota- No- wait… CPR. I-I have to…
Tsumugi made sure Ryota was stable on the ground, before putting her mouth over his mouth, pushing on his chest with as much force as she could to try and get air into his body. She continued to do this, her mind racing as seconds felt like hours.
…what if this isn’t enough? What if he dies? What if he loses his life, because I didn’t check up on him enough, because I wasn’t there for him when he needed it, because I-I thought he’d be okay, and he’s not, and he’s going to die, right here, right now, and there’s nothing I can-
“C-Clear!” The deafening thoughts in Tsumugi’s head were quickly interrupted by Mikan pushing her to the side, swiftly using a defibrillator on Ryota, shocking him. Tsumugi watched on, tears still falling from her eyes. Mikan felt for a pulse, before shocking him once more, repeating the process of feeling for a pulse. The nurse could detect a slight, but weak, pulse.
Tsumugi’s heavy breathing halted for a moment as she stepped back, not sure if Ryota was going to be okay. Her mind became hazy, the next few moments slipping by her. She could feel herself fall back, but she just sat there, unable to calm herself down.
A couple minutes had passed. Tsumugi was still on the floor, even though the first responders had taken Ryota out of his dorm room, quickly wheeling him to the hospital. It was just her and Mikan in the room, the nurse slowly approaching the dazed Tsumugi. She was ushered out of the room, Mikan being careful to support her as she guided her out. Yet Tsumugi felt out of it, as if her mind was clouded, but not even with any coherent thought; she could tell that she was cold, but she couldn’t really identify where she was cold. She knew she was taken to a bus at some point, but time felt as if it was progressing at a standstill. She didn’t know where she was, she just knew she was being guided, her sense of touch and smell gone…
“Your friend’s ready to see.”
“...hey, you doing okay?”
“...o-oh, huh?” Tsumugi looked up suddenly, her senses returning to her. She saw a nurse; an older one with long, pink hair, her skin slightly tan. She had a blue stadium jacket over her scrubs, likely her personal flair to the outfit. Her nametag read “Hiroko Hagakure, Nurse Practitioner.”
“You just seem really out of it right now. And I wouldn’t blame you a bit, given what happened…”
“I-Is Ryota okay?” Tsumugi’s voice became full of emotion again as she stood up from her seat, holding her hands close to her body.
Hiroko began walking, leading Tsumugi to his room. “...he’s stable now. We had to do a lot of tests to make sure his heart’s working properly, but…” The older woman opened the door, allowing Tsumugi to go inside first. She shuffled in, seeing Ryota in his hospital bed. He was hooked up to an IV, still asleep, the heart rate monitor beeping in a slow and steady rhythm.
“...doctors said it was cardiac arrest. There was more than an unhealthy amount of caffeine in his body… we flushed a lot of it out, but he’s still going to need to take medication to monitor his heart until it gets back to normal.”
Tsumugi swallowed nervously as Hiroko said that, making her way to the side of the bed and holding Ryota’s hand. “...but he’s going to be okay, right?”
“He should be alright, mostly at least. When he’s awake, we’re going to run a few more tests to make sure his heart’s okay… still, if even a few seconds had gone by, it might have been too late to save him. We’re lucky his heart’s beating normally now.”
Tsumugi frowned, tears reaching the bedside. The older nurse walked over, putting her hand on her shoulder.
“...hey, listen. You saved your friend from dying… he’s gonna have some complications, but what’s most important right now is that he’s still here.”
“...I…I saved him?”
“If you didn’t check up on him, he probably wouldn’t have been able to get the help he needs.” Hiroko pats her shoulder, before moving to the monitor, checking on it.
…if I didn’t check up on him… if I didn’t… I saved… him?
Tsumugi continued to think about what had happened as she leaned on the side of the bed, taking it all in.
❖
It’s been a week since Ryota was in the hospital. Every day since then, Tsumugi has checked up on him, making sure he’s okay. Right now, Tsumugi is in his room, sitting on his bed as the animator looks over a fanfic she had written. The mini-fridge that once held can after can of energy drinks was now full of water bottles, with Ryota grabbing one out of the fridge as he reviewed the fic.
“...d-don’t you think it’s a little unnatural for Ake-Akechi to be so casual about this date?” Ryota spoke, reading the text on his monitor. He was highlighting a few things, mostly bits of writing that he liked.
“Not at all. Akechi doesn’t have to abide by his detective code at the moment, since he’s not actively hunting the Phantom Thieves right now.”
“W-Well, yes, but… hm…” Ryota scooted back in his chair, getting up to stretch his legs. “...it’s like, after such a tense mo-moment, and yet he seems casual.”
Tsumugi patted the spot next to her on the bed, motioning for Ryota to sit next to her. The animator quickly did, his eyes going up to Tsumugi’s. “I don’t think it’s as unnatural for him to be casual… especially when they care so much about each other. You read over the scene where the two hug after that, right?”
“O-Oh, I didn’t… see it.” Ryota said, nervously.
“...I probably forgot to put it in that draft, it’s okay.” The cosplayer noticed that Ryota was slowly moving his arm around her back, trying to pull her into a hug. She smirks, before pulling Ryota back, hugging him first.
“W-Woah!” The animator was a little winded, but quickly rested his head on Tsumugi’s stomach, giving her a firm hug.
“...you remembered to take your medication, right?” Tsumugi said, pulling the blankets over the two of them
“Mhm…” Ryota softly muttered, scooting up a little. Tsumugi patted his head, taking her glasses off and putting them on the nightstand. She was happy she could be here for Ryota when he needed it most.