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The moment he woke up, he knew it was going to be a bad day. He considered staying home, but he had already promised Yanagi that he would be going in for work today. He forces himself to get out of bed and trudges to the bathroom. It takes a little longer than he wanted to admit to clean up and get ready for the day, but he forces himself through it.
His cat meows incessantly at his feet. Normally Harumasa would find it cute, but his head pounded and each loud meow made his head spin. He squats down and fills the cat's bowl with food. But when he stands up, the whole world tilts and he barely catches himself from hitting his head.
Maybe this was going to be harder than he thought, but he decides to push through it. He rummages through his collection of medication, searching for something to treat a headache. After swallowing the pill, he takes the prescriptions he was supposed to take and gulps down some water.
For breakfast, he just grabs an apple, a piece of toast, and some yogurt. He forces himself to finish it despite the nausea he is experiencing. All Harumasa can do is tell himself that he needed to eat something. If he ended up throwing up, he would have to find something else to eat.
He leaves the dishes in the sink and makes a mental note to wash it when he gets home, then he stumbles to the door.
"Let's hope Tsukishiro doesn't get mad at me for being late."
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Yanagi taps her fingers against her arm as she stares at the clock. "He's late."
"Harumasa must have overslept again." Soukaku says while she scribbles away with some crayon.
"He said he would be here today." Yanagi frowns.
"Harumasa will come then." Miyabi stands up. "I can-"
"No. You have to finish those documents first, Chief." Yanagi scowls.
"Darn..." Miyabi mutters, sitting back down.
Yanagi looks at the clock a little longer before she strolls to the door. "I will-"
She was going to say that she would go get him when the doors opened. Then Harumasa crashes into her before she could react, knocking both of them to the ground. She hears Harumasa let out a groan and she quickly regains her bearings.
"Asaba! You're late!" Yanagi scolds as she clambers back to her feet.
"Sorry..." Harumasa says quietly, but he makes no move to get up.
So she clears her throat. "Asaba. Get off the ground."
"Sorry." Harumasa pushes himself to his feet with no protest and sits down at his desk.
"Don't make a habit out of it. You don't have any more sick leaves to use." Yanagi scolds.
"Mhm..." Harumasa hums as he glances at some of the documents on his desk.
Yanagi frowns. That was not normal. She locks eyes with Miyabi who is frowning as she looks in Harumasa's direction. Even Soukaku looks concerned. The little oni gives her a frantic look, but Yanagi is unable to say anything before the doors open once more.
An executive officer from another section runs in. "Section 6! You're needed for a hollow emergency in the Shiryu District! A companion hollow is expanding at an alarming rate."
"Understood." Miyabi stands up. "We will move out immediately."
Yanagi wanted to say that they needed more time, but the executive officer is already gone. She turns to Miyabi. "Chief, are you sure?"
"We do not have a choice, Yanagi." Miyabi heads for the door. "Lets go."
Soukaku scrambles after her, running out the door. "I'm coming!"
Yanagi lingers for a moment while Harumasa trudges behind her. She slows her pace so that they are walking side by side. "Asaba."
"Yeah?" Harumasa glances her way.
"Are you ready for this?" Yanagi asks.
"I am." Harumasa says.
But Yanagi doesn't believe him.
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Miyabi had kept a close eye on Harumasa while they were in the hollow. She felt like something had been off when he stepped into the office earlier. He was far more quiet than she knows him to be. Normally Harumasa would crack a joke upon entering the office, but he was unnervingly quiet this time. Too quiet.
Even though Harumasa was her scout, Miyabi insisted on going with him this time and she was glad she did.
An ethereal had dove out of nowhere and nearly struck down the archer. If she hadn't been there, she was sure he would have been hit. Miyabi had sliced it in half before it could touch Harumasa. Sheathing her blade, she quickly turns to him. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah... I'm alright. I should have paid more attention." Harumasa mutters.
"Come. Lets go back to Yanagi and Soukaku." Miyabi grabs his hand.
"But..." Harumasa frowns.
"You are tired. As your chief, I will make sure you get a break." Miyabi says.
"I'm fine." Harumasa says.
Miyabi shakes her head, leading him back to where Soukaku and Yanagi are waiting. "No. Your reaction time is off. I want you to rest, that is an order."
Harumasa falls silent and concern grips at Miyabi's heart. She expected more protests, not this.
"Section 6 will withdraw from this mission and allow Section 5 to handle it." She tightens her grip on his hand and speeds up.
Harumasa doesn't respond to that.
"Harumasa? Are you listening?" Miyabi asks, glancing back.
"Huh? Yeah. I heard you..." Harumasa's voice is quiet.
"Good. We will leave soon then." Miyabi forces her concern down, trying to keep it from showing.
"I'm sorry..." Harumasa mutters.
"It is not your fault. I decided we should have a training to relax." Miyabi makes up an excuse.
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Yanagi was relieved when Miyabi called for them to withdraw from the hollow. The moment they had stepped into the office, her relief turned into panic when Harumasa suddenly collapsed.
"Harumasa!" Soukaku screams, rushing forward.
Miyabi beats her in speed and catches Harumasa before he hits the ground, but the sudden weight against her causes her to sink to her knees.
Yanagi is trying to calm herself down when Soukaku and Miyabi look at her with wide, panicked eyes. She knows they were waiting for her to think of a way to fix this, but her mind is working in overdrive. She thinks about calling the hospital, any emergency service, the funeral house, everything. Her hands shake as she grabs her phone. But before she can dial anything, a hand weakly grasps hers.
"W-Wait..." Harumasa says, barely audible.
"Harumasa!"
"Are you alright?"
"Do you need anything?"
"Water..." Harumasa whispers.
Soukaku quickly scrambles away and comes back with a bottle of water. Her hands struggle to open it and she shakily holds it out to Yanagi as she sniffles.
Yanagi takes the bottle and quickly uncaps it. She tilts it slowly, not trusting that Harumasa would be able to hold it. After a short moment, Harumasa pushes away and buries his face against Miyabi's shoulder.
Miyabi reaches a hand up and gently runs her fingers through his hair as he breaths shakily. She whispers some soothing words, gently reassuring him that they were there. Her red eyes focus on Yanagi, silently asking her to decide on what they needed to do.
Yanagi finally calms her nerves after a few deep breaths. "Lets move him to the couch."
"Understood." Miyabi nods. "Harumasa, I'm going to lift you up now."
"Okay..." Harumasa says quietly.
Miyabi slowly stands up with Soukaku's assistance. Then she hastily makes her way over to the couch and lays Harumasa down.
"Are you alright?" Yanagi asks, sitting down by his head.
"No... I'm sorry..." Harumasa whispers. "I didn't want to cause all of you trouble."
"It is alright, Asaba. It wouldn't have been any trouble for us if you needed more time off." Yanagi scoots closer, placing a hand on top of his head. She frowns when she feels a burning heat. "Just tell me if you aren't feeling well. I would have understood and gotten you some sick leave."
"I'm sorry..." Harumasa mutters.
Miyabi kneels on the ground and leans over him, grabbing Yanagi's other hand and squeezing it. "Yanagi said no apologies, so no apologizing."
"Mmm..." Harumasa closes his eyes.
"Um... is there anything I can do to help?" Soukaku asks tentatively.
"Do you think you can go grab a blanket and some pillows?" Yanagi asks.
"Um..." Soukaku frowns.
"They are in the closet." Yanagi says.
"I can do it!" Soukaku nods in determination. "I'll get the softest blanket!"
"Good girl." Yanagi smiles.
"I'll be quick!" Soukaku runs off.
Yanagi watches as Soukaku disappears out the doors and sighs. She gently runs her fingers through Harumasa's hair, hoping the gesture was soothing. Miyabi squeezes her hand to reassure her things were alright. Yanagi leans down and gives the fox thiren a quick peck on the lips. Miyabi's ears twitch in surprise, but she doesn't say anything.
So the they sat in silence, save for the ragged breaths from Harumasa.
Yanagi looks at the clock. "Soukaku hasn't returned yet."
"I will go find her." Miyabi moves to stand up, but a hand grabs her sleeve.
"Don't go..." Harumasa whispers weakly.
Miyabi frowns before staying seated. "Okay. I will stay."
"I can go look for her then." Yanagi moves to leave, but Harumasa grabs her sleeve. She frowns. "Yes, Asaba?"
"Just stay, please." Harumasa says.
"Alright. I'll stay." Yanagi sighs, leaning and places a kiss on his forehead.
Miyabi glances from Yanagi to Harumasa before copying the action.
Harumasa makes a confused sound.
Yanagi gently shushes him and places his head in her lap. She runs her fingers through his hair. "Rest now."
"We will be here when you wake up." Miyabi reassures, gently holding his hand.
Harumasa stares at them for a few more moments before his eyes flutter shut. After awhile, his breathing grows softer and his body relaxes.
Yanagi smiles fondly as she watches him. "He looks peaceful when he is sleeping."
"He does." Miyabi agrees with a yawn. She leans her head against the archer's arm. "I will do the training of waiting for Harumasa to wake up after he gets enough rest. I will be awake to make sure he is alright."
"Don't overdo it, Miyabi." Yanagi laughs quietly.
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"I got some blankets! I couldn't decide which one, so I took three!" Soukaku says as she re-enters the office 20 minutes later.
She looks around confused when no one greets her. Then her eyes land on the three sleeping on the couch. "OH!"
The little oni creeps over and drapes the blankets over Yanagi, Harumasa, and Miyabi. Then she curls up against Yanagi and joins her friends in their nap.