Spain Without The S!

Chapter 3: Check Up

  Kouyo stared down at the executive she used to mentor, "there's really nothing more your skill can do?..."
  Yosano shook her head with a grim expression, "I can only heal external injuries... If we could get a few scans and X-rays I might be able to do something..."
  Dazai silently watched the two talking, standing on the far side of the room. Dazai didn't know why but he really didn't want to see his ex-partner's unconscious body laying there.
  Yosano started pacing, "what normally happens?"
  Kouyo took a shuddering breath, "he... he normally just crashes for a few hours... last time it was at least a full 24 hours before he woke up. He usually just wakes up perfectly fine, all his injuries healed with no help... other than occasional pain meds..."
  Yosano nodded in contemplation, "then, hypothetically, he should be just fine..."
  Kouyo stared at Chuuya glumly, "I hope..."
  She reached out and brushed some of his auburn hair from his face with a melancholy smile.
  Yosano heaved a sigh, "I should get going... don't hesitate to call if something happens." She scrawled out her personal phone number on a spare paper before handing it to Kouyo.
  Kouyo took it silently, "again, thank you-"
  "You don't need to thank me," Yosano smiled, "saving people is my job."
  "Mori said he would come take a look at him later... being a Doctor as well..."
  "A second opinion is always good," Yosano picked up her bag off the floor.

——

  Kouyo had moved to sitting in a chair next to the bed, still watching the younger executive.
  "You know, I haven't seen him this peaceful in a long time..." she said quietly. "You probably haven't either..." she slightly turned her head towards Dazai.
  Dazai remained leaning against the far wall, his arms crossed and his face emotionless.
  Kouyo smiled in a way one might before bursting into tears, "right?"
  Dazai's eyes avoided Kouyo's, "yeah... all we ever did was yell at each other..."
  Kouyo laughed lightly, "he'll probably be upset to hear you saved him again." She faced back towards the bed.
  Dazai slowly walked over, "how long do you think he'll be asleep?"
  Kouyo paused, "hopefully not long..."
  The door burst open and a shrill voice screamed out, "Chuuya!"

——

  Elise screamed as she opened the door. The second she heard where Mori was going and what had happened she ran as fast as she could.
  Huffing, she rushed over to Kouyo's side and let out a sharp gasp.
  Kouyo lightly took the young girls arm as if to brace her, "he's still breathing."
  Elise's eyes filled as she sniffed  and squeezed the edge of the mattress, "he's such an idiot!"
  Kouyo chuckled, "that he is, sometimes."
  Elise wiped her eyes on her sleeve, "can I?" She pushed against the bed gently.
  At this time Dazai had been returning quietly to his prior position. There was something weird and wrong about Chuuya, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
  Kouyo nodded, "of course." She helped Elise climb onto the bed.
  She sat on her knees next to Chuuya, staring down at him, "he's going to be okay, right?"
  Kouyo nodded, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, "of course he is. Chuuya is quite resilient when it comes to things like this."
  "If I didn't know any better, I would say that it would be impossible for him to die." Elise said. Her words sounded a bit too serious for a ten-year-old.
  Kouyo didn't have a response to that.
  Elise delicately placed her hand on Chuuya's shoulder, "wake up soon..."
  The door opened again, "Elise-chann... that was so mean of you..."
  Elise's head whipped around and she looked like she was going to cry angry tears, "I wouldn't have pushed you if you had told me sooner!" She hopped down from the bed, "do your job as a doctor and fix him!"
  Mori stared at her in bewilderment, "Uhm-"
  "Don't "uhm-" me! Fix him already!"
  "Elise," Mori looked at a loss for words.
  Kouyo wrapped her arms around Elise and pulled her into her lap, "how about we go get ice cream while we wait?"
  Elise looked defiantly at the mafia boss, "... alright." She begrudgingly obliged as Kouyo stood.
  Kouyo gave Mori a knowing look before exiting with Elise.
  Mori sighed as the door closed, "she's going to be cross with me for a while..."
  Dazai silently watched as Mori opened his case over the nightstand.
  Mori took out several tools, including a small folding table. Dazai wasn't so sure how that fit in there along with everything else...
  "Help me with this, would you?" Mori asked as he slipped the stethoscope over his neck, not even so much as glancing in Dazai's direction.
  Dazai paused, he didn't like the idea of touching Chuuya, something still felt very off.
  Mori turned to him, "if you aren't going to help, what are you here for?" Mori's gaze was pensive and knowing, as if he were trying to say that he already knew the answer.
  Dazai knew it was a bluff, Mori couldn't possibly know what he was thinking. Dazai sighed, "alright..." he walked over to the bed.
  "I've sent for a rebreather to be brought in here," Mori continued to add tools to his pockets and table, "it's so strange, you know... how little we know about how his body works. I thought it would be just like everyone else but he doesn't seem to eat or drink as often. And he has a lot more energy than most people his age, as well."
  Dazai could tell that Mori would go on and on about this if he could. And he probably will. Dazai's sighed internally. It wasn't like he wasn't interested but it was a little strange for a mafia boss to be telling a traitor secrets about an executive member. Then again, Dazai was one of the few people who knew what Chuuya really was.
  "What about sleeping?" Dazai asked quietly.
  "He seems to have a pretty normal sleeping schedule, but I haven't asked. As you may remember, he does tend to overwork himself quite often." Mori chuckled, "he's such a tenacious boy."
  Dazai found it a bit weird that after all these years Mori still called Chuuya a "boy"... but oddly, it sounded right.
  Dazai nodded, "he always did have a strong drive to get things done..."
   Dazai forced his eyes onto Chuuya's face, finally looking at him after hours of being in the room. Kouyo was right, Chuuya did look very peaceful and relaxed. Dazai didn't know what he was afraid of. Maybe he expected him to still have the terrifying tendrils on his completion.
  Mori laughed, "the only thing that hasn't changed is how heavy he's always been for such a petit build!"
  Dazai managed a small smile, "almost as if there's something inside him weighing him down, like it's not just his muscle mass."
  Mori paused, "you know... you might be onto something... I've done many scans on him but his chest cavity always comes out blurry or... black. As if something doesn't want me to see what's there..."
  Dazai's eyes drifted over the sheets.
  "Well, no point in worrying about that right now, we need to see how much damage was done," Mori carefully slipped his hand behind Chuuya's neck and lifted him into a sitting position.
  Dazai took Chuuya's shoulders, resting his weight on his arm.
  Mori put the stethoscope in his ears and pressed the receiving end onto Chuuya's back.
  Dazai noticed his arms were still bare. He felt a little self conscious but it was a little nice to feel the air on his skin.
  Mori somehow seemed to noticed where Dazai's focus was.
  "It's good to let wounds breathe, otherwise they may never heal," Mori said quietly as he was listening to Chuuya's breathing and heartbeat.
  Dazai blinked, all the scars on his arms were from a long time ago. All that was left were faint markings reminding him of the past.
  Dazai held Chuuya a little tighter.