Chapter Text
Atsushi wakes up to a tightness in his chest, which has been bothering him for the past few days. It started shortly after he had to go on a job with Akutagawa. It's nothing he's really paid any mind to, seeing as it hasn't caused any issues. Not only that, but this past week has been stressful, so he assumes it's from that. However, seeing as it's been multiple days at this point he should at least check with Yosano to make sure nothing is wrong.
He sits up and stretches, seeing Kyouka peek into his room. His expression morphs at the sight of hers. "Kyouka-chan? Did something happen?"
She shakes her head quietly and walks into the room. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine mostly, my chest feels a little bit tight, but it's nothing too bothersome." Atsushi replies.
"Well, you slept in a lot longer than normal. I didn't want to wake you up in case you were sick." Kyouka tells him, sitting by his side.
"Oh, I didn't mean to worry you. You can just wake me up next time. I didn't mean to make you late too." He apologizes, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Okay, do you want me to make you breakfast?" She asks.
Atsushi shakes his head. "No, you don't need to do that. I'm actually not all that hungry this morning."
She frowns and he feels a bit guilty, gently laying his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I'm okay Kyouka-chan. Please don't worry about me." Atsushi reassures, smiling softly.
Kyouka softly smiles back at him, standing up. She leaves him alone to get ready and he waits until the door closes to stand.
Hopefully he's right about this and whatever is going on isn't too severe. Atsushi stands and changes into his normal outfit for the day. He brushes his hair afterward before exiting his room. When he walks out he spots Kyouka ready and waiting for him. Seeing this makes him smile and she smiles back toward him once more.
When they arrive at the agency, Atsushi drops his things off at his desk before looking for Yosano. Once he spots her he approaches her and taps her shoulder nervously. "Yosano-san?"
Yosano turns around with a smirk, putting her papers down. "Yes Atsushi-kun? Do you need me to take care of an injury?" She smirks.
The young man shakes his head. "No, I wanted a checkup actually." He admits, shifting nervously again.
Her expression shifts to become a bit more serious. "Oh? Is everything alright?" She asks, leading him to her office.
"Yeah, at least I think. I've had some minor discomfort in my chest the past few days. Then I slept in more than normal and Kyouka-chan was worried. I thought it'd be best to make sure everything was alright." Atsushi replies, sitting on the bed she has.
"Okay, I'll just do a routine checkup then. I'll make sure to do a more thorough checkup of your lungs and heart." Yosano replies, grabbing a few things.
Atsushi complies with each request from her, wanting to make things go as smoothly as possible. After around 10 minutes she's finished and he stands up. "Am I good to go?" He asks, tilting his head.
"Well, every time you breathe there's some sort of rattling sound. Do you feel like there's anything in your lungs? Any heaviness or does it feel like when you move there's fluid?" Yosano asks, Atsushi looking nervous.
He shakes his head. "No. I don't. I actually almost didn't get it checked at all." He admits to her.
She nods and crosses her arms. "Well, just tell me if any more symptoms pop up. If this is something worse than we think I'd like to know as soon as possible."
Atsushi nods and waves her goodbye before heading back to his desk. A rattling sound whenever he breathes? What could be causing that to happen? Nevermind that, he can't stay hung up on it for long. As of right now, he's fine and it's probably just his anxiety. There's nothing he needs to worry about, it'll most likely go away soon enough.
When he enters the office again, everybody turns to look at him. Kenji pops up from his seat, wandering over. "Is everything okay Atsushi-kun?" He asks.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I've been feeling a bit off recently and wanted to make sure there wasn't anything wrong. I'm fine, there's nothing to worry about." Atsushi explains, unphased by his white lie. Luckily nobody questions him, seemingly not having caught on. They don't need to be worried, there's nothing they should be worried about.
He glances over to Yosano, who is looking a bit annoyed with him. She is the only one who knows he's lying. If things get any worse he knows she won't hesitate to tell Dazai and then Fukuzawa. Even worse, Ranpo will catch on quickly if something ends up happening. Living with Kyouka also makes it so if he is sick, it'll be difficult to hide from her.
Suddenly somebody nudges him and he jumps slightly. Looking over his shoulder he sees Dazai and relaxes, smiling softly. "What's up Dazai-kun?" He asks, turning to fully face him.
"Later today I've got another job where you need to partner up with Akutagawa-kun again. Are you ready for it?" He asks.
Atsushi feels his heart rate pick up, chalking it up to anxiety. "Again? But he hates me." He whines, looking mildly annoyed.
Dazai rolls his eyes and Atsushi does the same in response. "But he does, don't pretend like he doesn't." He adds, looking at the ground.
"Does this bother you?" Dazai asks abruptly, Atsushi shaking his head.
"No…why would it? We're enemies and there's nothing more to it." Atsushi mutters, feeling the tightness in his chest turn to aching.
They both stay silent for a few seconds, Atsushi breaking it when he begins coughing quietly. It's not a normal cough however, it's far more painful than it should be. After around a minute of straight coughing he finally stops, his chest burning and his throat feeling raw. He hadn't realized it, but at some point he stumbled to the ground.
Dazai is holding him, gently rubbing his back even though he's no longer coughing. Atsushi lets his head lull back against his mentor, looking at him tiredly. "How'd I get on the floor?" He asks, his voice sounding scratchy and rough.
"You tried to stand while you were coughing and you crumbled to the ground." Dazai explains, Atsushi nodding in response.
With that he moves out of Dazai's arms, standing. His legs feel shaky and the world begins spinning for a few seconds. To combat his sudden dizziness he plants his hand on the nearest wall, closing his eyes until the dizziness ceases to be. Suddenly he feels someone come up behind him to help him keep balanced.
"Don't push yourself, you were coughing for a while." Yosano advises, making sure the younger man doesn't fall back to the ground.
"Do you feel like you're going to pass out?" She asked, Atsushi nodding.
"A little. I'll be alright though." He replies, feeling her gently lower him back to the ground.
She shakes her head and sighs. "We're not risking it. I don't want you to knock your head if you fall."
Atsushi nods and slumps against her slightly. "It's really cold." He murmurs, feeling a hand on his forehead moments later.
"He's burning up." Dazai says. Yosano lifts Atsushi gently, hearing him quietly protest.
She ignores him, Atsushi simply snuggling into her arms further. "I'm going to do another check up, something isn't right."
When they get into Yosano's office she sets him down on the bed. Dazai had been following the two, plopping himself down onto the same bed. Without much thought Atsushi crawls closer to Dazai and leans against him. After a moment he feels his mentor wrap an arm around him, allowing his eyes to flutter shut.
"He's being super cuddly and clingy." Yosano mentions.
"Well, he's sick, so he probably doesn't feel great. That and he's basically part cat if you think about it. So that could be contributing to some degree." Dazai explains.
When Yosano gently places the stethoscope against his chest he flinches back. "Did that hurt?" She asks, seeing Atsushi nod.
"How bad is your chest?" Dazai questions and Atsushi curls up more.
"It hurts a lot. Feels like someone is squeezing the air out of my lungs." He admits, taking an uneven breath.
"Shit…I don't have anything I can use to x-ray his chest." Yosano mutters, sounding mildly annoyed.
Dazai sighs softly and gently rubs Atsushi's back. "Should we just monitor him then?"
"No, I'll be fine. It's probably just anxiety." He protests, neither believing that excuse.
"I doubt it. Your chest wouldn't hurt when I touch it if that were the case. The coughing fit and fever also wouldn't have happened." She replies, tapping her finger slightly.
"How about you lay down and get some rest. If you feel better when you wake up, you can go on the mission with Akutagawa-kun. Otherwise you're not going." Dazai offers, Atsushi nodding.
Dazai gets off the bed, seeing Atsushi find a comfortable position. After that he feels a wave of exhaustion crash over him. Only a few seconds after that he visibly relaxes, drifting to sleep.
—
A few hours later, Atsushi wakes up far more confused than before. He sits up and looks around, realizing he's in Yosano's office. Quickly he stands, exiting the room and beginning to look around. When he pokes his head into the main office, Dazai and Yosano both notice instantly. In response they stop what they're doing and walk over to the door.
"How are you feeling?" Yosano asks, Atsushi looking confused.
"I feel fine. How did I get to your office? I don't remember falling asleep there." He says, looking at the floor in an attempt to recall what happened.
Yosano's eyes go wide in response to his statement. "Do you not remember?"
"Remember what?" Atsushi questions, looking at her inquisitively.
"You had a coughing fit as well as a collection of other concerning symptoms, and Yosano-san brought you to her office." Dazai informs him, looking slightly worried.
"I did? The only thing I feel is a burning sensation in my chest." He admits, both quickly looking straight at him.
"Burning? How does it feel to breathe?" Yosano begins questioning him, worried for his health.
"It's uncomfortable and I can't take a full breath." Atsushi explains, kicking his feet a bit.
Dazai's expression suddenly morphs into realization. "We should leave him alone about it." He tells Yosano, earning a confused look from her.
"Why? He's obviously sick." She protests.
"Trust me, drop the topic. Oh, also, the job with Akutagawa-kun is about 30 minutes from now, so we should both begin preparing." Dazai adds, seeing Atsushi become visibly more excited.
"30 minutes? You haven't even told me what I'm supposed to be doing yet Dazai-san." Atsushi replies, sounding mildly annoyed.
"It's fine, I'll fill you in and then we can leave. Does that sound good?" The burnet says, smiling softly.
Atsushi's expression relaxes a bit and he nods. "Yeah, that should work.'
Dazai hums and turns around. "Great, let's get going then."
Dazai begins walking away, Atsushi trailing behind him. It isn't long until the older man informs him about their current job. Apparently it's mainly him and Akutagawa, but Chuuya and Dazai are sticking around to make sure everything goes smoothly. It's relatively simple as well, meaning they shouldn't have any issues with getting it finished. It's probably just another mission that Dazai could do on his own, but instead drags him and Akutagawa so they can 'become stronger'.
Admittedly, Atsushi is quite grateful that Dazai is constantly pairing him and Akutagawa up. Despite them being enemies for the most part, he can't help but feel like he's gotten closer to the mafioso. It's stupid since he knows Akutagawa would never share that same feeling. His chest tightens further all of a sudden, Atsuahi gasping quietly. Dazai turns around, looking mildly concerned.
Atsushi ignores his concerned expression, staring at the ground instead. Yeah, all of this closeness he feels is probably in his own head. There's not a world where Akutagawa would ever actually care about him. Like he told Dazai earlier, they're enemies and nothing more. Akutagawa hates him, yet he doesn't hate Akutagawa back. The burning in his chest increases as he feels a wave of dizziness, ignoring it. Why is he feeling this way all of a sudden?
Atsushi doesn't react to the new feeling, soon arriving at the meet up spot. When he sees Akutagawa he can feel his heart pound in his chest and he looks away. He's probably just nervous, right? Yeah, he wasn't feeling great earlier and is feeling worse, all it is is nervousness from that. Akutagawa didn't actually cause his heart to pound like his brain is trying to make him believe.
"You look like shit, Jinko." Akutagawa says simply, looking annoyed.
"Thanks, I feel like shit." Atsushi replies, matching the other's tone. His chest tightens further and he coughs once or twice into his hand.
"If you can't keep up with me on this job, I'm going to leave you behind." Akutagawa threatens, beginning to walk away.
Atsushi rolls his eyes and follows behind. "You wish."
As the two younger men walk away, Chuuya and Dazai hang back. "We're we that obviously in denial too?" Chuuya questions, looking a bit disgusted.
"Probably, but it's still painful how oblivious they are about each other's feelings." Dazai replies.
"Yeah." Chuuya mutters, the two deciding to catch up finally.
—
The job was simple, just like Atsushi expected. The pain and tightness in his chest did start posing some issues though. A few times Atsushi was certain he was about to collapse. Luckily he ended up being okay and at no point did he pass out from his mystery illness. However, by the end of the job Atsushi can't think straight. The pain and tightness is becoming so bad he wants to burst into tears. Instead, he's holding out despite how his vision is becoming murky.
Atsushi starts feeling like he did hours before, fear consuming him. If he stays and has another coughing fit they might find out something is wrong. If he runs off without saying anything they'll also probably get confused. "I just remembered I actually have something to do right about now—I'll see you later Dazai-san!" Atsushi says, hurrying off after that.
He heard Dazai begin to protest shortly before he rushed off, knowing he'd probably be questioned about it later. Atsushi doesn't get far until the pain and tightness in his chest becomes almost unbearable. From there he crumbles to his knees, beginning to cough. Coughing only makes his chest worse, the intensity of the pain beginning to make him cry. Atsushi curls in on himself, hacking up his lungs as his body attempts to rid itself from what's causing the chest pain.
After a few straight minutes of coughing, Atsushi feels bile begin rising in his throat. A few seconds later he vomits a mixture of water and bloody orange petals onto the ground. Tears pour down his cheeks and his coughing begins to calm down. He wipes his mouth, beginning to gasp quietly.
He doesn't attempt to move until he's fully caught his breath, weakly pulling him up to his feet. Atsushi staggers out from his hiding place, using the wall to stay standing. His vision begins to swim with black spots and he shivers. If he passes out now people will know something is wrong. They've already done so much for him, he won't bother them with whatever is going on with him.
Well, he can't return to the Armed Detective Agency until he's gone for a little while. He made some dumb excuse about needing to handle something, so he needs to act busy. What should he tell Dazai when he asks about what he was doing? Atsushi crosses his arms and stops by a cafe, ordering and paying for some tea and a pastry. He needs to have at least something to eat, even if the idea is nauseating right now.
Maybe he'll tell him he has ordered something for Kyouka and forgot to pick it up. Yeah, he'll make sure to stop by the store and get her something she'll like. She really likes bunny rabbits, maybe a bakery nearby has some sort of bunny cupcake or cookie he can purchase for her. His name gets called and he stands quickly, grabbing the tea and pastry.
Since the tea is fairly hot still, he eats the pastry first. Slowly he starts to feel better than he expected. Yeah, the fact he really hasn't had anything today was making whatever is going on worse. While he was used to going long periods without food, the hunger pangs, nausea, and dizziness that pairs with it never gets better. Finishing the pastry quickly, he leaves the cafe to search nearby bakeries.
It takes a few stops, but finally he gets lucky enough to find a place with some bunny cookies. Honestly, they're well decorated and quite cute. He had an idea, quickly stopping by a store for a small basket and some paper stuffing. From there he decorates the basket and places the cookies inside. Geez, he really is going way out of his way to pass off this lie.
When Atsushi shows back up at the Armed Detective Agency, Kyouka is the first to see him. She dashes over to him and hugs him, which surprises Atsushi. Junichirou approaches him as well, looking concerned. "Are you alright Atsushi-kun?" He asks, tilting his head.
"Yeah, I remembered I needed to pick something up." Atsushi lies, nudging Kyouka gently.
"Here Kyouka-chan. I wanted to surprise you." He says, gently handing her the basket.
At first she looks confused, but then she looks inside the basket. Seeing the decorated cookies, her eyes light up. She puts the basket down and hugs him again, which makes him chuckle. "I'm taking that as you like them?" Atsushi teases playfully.
Junichirou smiles softly and chuckles as well. "It was really nice of you to get those for her Atsushi-kun."
Atsushi looks up, seeing Ranpo staring at him. Shit, there's no way he already knows something is up, is there? Atsushi's heart begins to pound again and he ignores it. No, it'll be okay. Ranpo won't find out, he'll just have to continue hiding it.
"I assume that means you're not feeling sick anymore?" Yosano asks abruptly, Atsushi nodding.
"Yeah, like I mentioned, it was only anxiety. After the job I felt a lot better after being able to let off some steam." Atsushi lets the lie roll off his tongue, noticing Ranpo glaring daggers at him.
Atsushi looks away, pretending as if he didn't notice the glare. Soon enough people began heading home. Atsushi left alongside Kyouka, leaving Dazai and Ranpo alone in the office.
—
Watching the door close, Ranpo taps his fingers against the desk nervously. To him, it's blatantly obvious that Atsushi is attempting to hide something. However at the moment, the reason why he's lying is actually lost on him. Slumping back, he thinks for a few moments, beginning to piece a few things together. After a moment, Dazai speaks up, pulling him from his thoughts.
"He's a horrible liar." Dazai says, glancing over at the detective.
"Well, you have to give him some credit. No one else in the agency saw through it." Ranpo replies, unwrapping a lollipop.
Dazai only nods and crosses his arms. "I think he's sick. I'm not sure what with, but he was super pale when he ran off. I'm afraid he had a more severe coughing fit." He admits.
Ranpo stares at the floor, taking a deep breath. "I've got an idea as to what's going on. But it's not really my business."
Dazai raises an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oh?"
"If I'm right, I want to talk to him in private about it. If my hunch is correct, it's not something we can really help with." Ranpo explains, looking worried.
"I assume that means you won't tell anybody what you're thinking." Dazai replies, still intrigued.
He only nods, standing up and stretching. "Yeah. If I'm correct, it wouldn't be right for me to tell you my thoughts. It's not my place." Ranpo replies, dead serious.
There's a quiet knock on the office door, causing Ranpo to flinch. When he opens the door it's Poe with Karl sitting on his shoulder. When Ranpo sees this he smiles softly, leaning on the doorframe.
"I just wanted to check in, normally you're home by now, Ranpo." Poe says, Dazai smiling to himself as he sits back at his desk.
"Yeah, sorry about that, Poe. I needed to talk with Dazai-kun. We can go home now." He says with a hum, Poe nodding.
Ranpo leaves quietly and when they exit the building, Poe decides to speak up. "Did something happen?" He asks.
Ranpo nods and runs his fingers through his hair. "Remember that disease I had? When I almost died." He mutters.
Poe visibly tenses, frowning. "Yeah, how could I forget? I thought I lost you." He replies, Karl letting out a whimper.
"I think Atsushi-kun has it." He admits, seeing Poe's eyes widen. "He's acting the way I was."
They walk in silence, until Poe finally decides to speak up. "Well, you should talk to him privately. If you want I can stay around the office regularly. Since you had it for so long I know how to help with symptoms." Poe explains, gently squeezing Ranpo's hand.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I'll talk to him about it soon. Maybe not tomorrow, but in a few days." He begins, pausing for a moment.
"Maybe you could come with me. We can both offer help so he knows it's safe to come to us." He adds, Poe nodding.
"That sounds like a good idea. But, if he starts to get anywhere near as bad as you did, we should probably tell Fukuzawa-san. There's no way he should be fighting during the later stages of the disease." Poe replies, using his free hand to pet Karl.
"Yeah, that's a good plan. In a few days we can meet up with him. Is there anything we should get ahead of time?" Ranpo asks, looking up at the other.
"Well, think about the things you wanted at the time. I'm sure he'll want something similar." Poe answers, smiling softly.
"That's a great idea. For me, I craved my comfort foods a lot. So I'll bet he'll want chazuke. Getting him tea will probably be helpful for his throat as well." Ranpo begins brainstorming, Poe feeling his cheeks become warm.
"I liked being around you and Fukuzawa-san at the time. It was just because you guys always made me feel better. So maybe we can do that for him." Ranpo adds, Poe nodding.
"Oh, if he does have it, do you know who it is for?" Poe questions, looking at the other curiously.
Ranpo thinks for a moment, humming to himself. "I think to find out that, I'd need to use my ultimate deduction!" He says with a grin, pulling his glasses out.
Luckily they arrive at their shared apartment before Ranpo makes a public scene. Poe is smiling and blushing either way, happy that Ranpo is happy.
Ranpo puts his glasses on, thinking for only a second or so. His eyes widen and he looks at Poe, who's staring expectantly. "So? Who do you think?" Poe asks.
"Akutagawa-kun." Is all Ranpo replies, Poe's eyes going wide.
"Why do you think that?" Poe asks, Karl hissing.
"Well, it's actually pretty simple. When he ran off, it was after having met up with Akutagawa-kun and Chuuya-kun. You could say it was Chuuya-kun by that logic, but there's more. Dazai-kun offhandedly mentioned how Atsushi-kun told Yosano-san that it started happening a few days ago. That's pretty vague, but he also had a job with Akutagawa-kun a few days ago. That and his first coughing fit was after he and Dazai-kun talked about how they were enemies." Ranpo explains his full thought process, sitting on the couch.
"It's a romance out of tragedy novel." Poe mutters, running his fingers through his hair.
"We were rivals, but at least we weren't trying to kill each other." Ranpo says with a sigh.