Ｆｏｒｅｖｅｒ Ｙｏｕｒｓ

【Ｆｏｕｒ Ｄａｙｓ Ｂｅｆｏｒｅ】

It was a frigid night, far too cold for anyone to be out and about. Akutagawa cautiously peered into the shipping container, hoping to locate the teenager his boss had requested be brought to the office. It was scarcely habitable even for a fly. However, lying on the floor, was an eighteen-year-old, coughing and shivering.

"Oh wow, someone found me..."

Dazai lay on the floor, his face sickly pale and clammy. He appeared worse for wear, his vacant eyes fixed on his subordinate as he coughed and sniffled quietly.

"Dazai-san..?" The 16-year-old mafioso approached Dazai's side and helped him up; he couldn't simply leave his mentor here, yet bringing him to Mori's office in this condition was out of the question. He had a better idea.

"Dazai-san? Where is your phone..?"

Before he could respond, another cough interrupted him, visibly shaking him.

"Don't bother..."

His words were sharp, albeit lacking their usual bite; his eyes seemed as cold as the shipping container as he averted his gaze from the teenager.

Undeterred by Dazai's dismissal, Akutagawa located Dazai's phone and typed a message before assisting Dazai in walking.

"We're going to Chuuya-san's apartment."

Dazai glared at the younger man, clearly unamused. Never in a million years would he consider going to Chuuya's house. The mere mention of that name caused him to clench his jaw as if it would be a personal disgrace to go there.

"No. We are not going there."

"You're acting as if you usually don't break into his house for no reason..." He mumbled, "It's the only place we can actually go to."

He stared at Akutagawa as if he'd just changed colour.

"We aren't going to his apartment. I may break into his damn house for no reason, but that's out of boredom. This is different."

He flinched slightly. "It's different because you're sick," he said, leading them to Chuuya's apartment.

"...fine...you know he's going to take one look at me and gloat, making a big deal about me being sick."

He followed Akutagawa, his steps unsteady at times. His body felt heavy, as if gravity had been turned up by 10x, the muscles in his legs weak, and constantly shivering.

"That... I can't say," he paused, dropping a coat on Dazai, and walked beside him until they reached their destination.

Dazai groaned as the coat was suddenly dropped on him. However, it did keep him warm. He wasn't too bad at hiding how weak his body was, but it was starting to wear him down.

"You're gonna regret bringing me here, you know."

"I won't," he assured as he knocked at the door.

Dazai leaned against a wall for support as his subordinate knocked, his legs almost giving way from weakness. His entire body was practically shaking now; the only thing keeping him standing was the support the wall provided. He knew that if he moved away, he would fall flat on the floor.

A redheaded figure opened the door and ushered them inside without a word before hurrying off somewhere, casting a single sour look at Dazai.

Dazai simply scowled back at Chuuya. The young prodigy was clearly not doing well at all; his entire body was weak from the fever. He was still trying to put up a tough front, but it was obvious how worn down he was.