Chapter Text
Atsushi:
It was supposed to be a simple mission. “Supposed to” being the key word. I was sent alone since there were no ability users that we knew of. The job was just to watch some random store and wait for the bad guys to show up and stop them, simple. Well simple if our intel wasn’t dogshit.
I had a picture of the guys I was looking for. I've been waiting for a while, hanging out at some random bus stop. To my left I see the guy from the picture, along with a few other people who had their hoods up. They turn down an alley and I follow them carefully. I follow them for a while before the guy turns around.
“Now!” he yells and someone jumps down from a building behind me. I transform my legs and arms getting ready for a fight. People block both sides of me, this was definitely a trap. I doge as one of the guys attacks me with a knife, sending him flying into the building next to us. I fight off most of the guys till there are only two left, the one from the picture and the one from the roof.
They both attack at once, leaving me little time to doge. The one from the roof grabs my arm and shouts something. My body goes limp and I fall to the ground. I try to move but I can barely move my fingers. I start to panic as I am flipped onto my back. I stare up at the guys in fear. The one from the photo stands over me with a knife in hand.
“You’re gonna wish you never followed me.” he says and plunges the knife into my stomach. I gasp in pain, not being able to speak, scream or move. He pulls the knife out and grabs my face with his blood covered hand. “How powerful you feel now, you gifted freak.” He says and then leaves.
I try to move again but still only my hands seem to work, and only a little at that. I blink at the sky wondering what I can do in this situation. My phone, I remember. Slowly I reach my fingers toward my pocket. After a minute of fumbling I managed to get it out. I flip it open, which takes a lot of effort might I add. I hit the call button and hope I called someone who can help. The phone rings for a minute before someone picks up.
“Jinko. What do you want?” he says harshly. Akutagawa, oh shit. I hit one of the buttons and use morse code to send SOS, hoping he understands and doesn’t just hang up.
“Where are you?” he asks and no reply comes. I hear a grunt and the clacking of a keyboard. “Are you still there?” I hit the button once.
“Can you talk?” two hits. “Are you injured?” one hit. “Shit, hold on.” rustling sounds come through the phone followed by a door slamming.
“I’ll be there soon, don’t die yet, only I get to kill you.” The call ends.
My hand goes limp, the call draining most of my remaining energy. I can feel the fear coursing through my body, and the blood soaking my shirt. The fear gets replaced by the dizzy feeling of blood loss. The sky starts spinning, and I hear footsteps headed my way. Someone comes into view right before I fall into darkness.
Akutagawa:
My day was going just fine, I did a couple missions, did some paperwork. I sit at my desk going over the last file I needed to do, when my phone rings. Jinko. I consider not answering but it must be important if he’s calling from work.
“Jinko. What do you want?” I say harshly. I wait for a moment before I hear beeping, SOS.
“Where are you?” I ask and no reply comes. I grunt and start tracking his phone on my computer. “Are you still there?”
One beep.
“Can you talk?” two beeps
“Are you injured?” one beep. “Shit, hold on.” I grab my coat and run out the door as soon as I check the location.
“I’ll be there soon, don’t die yet, only I get to kill you.” I end the call and leave the building. His location is not far and so I run. I get to the general location but don’t see him. As I turn the corner I see bodies on the ground. Jinko is lying in the middle, not moving. I run to him and crouch down, right as his eyes shut and head turns to the side.
His abdomen is covered in blood and there is a bloody hand print on his face. I check his pulse and his breathing, I sigh as I find it. I use Rashomon to put pressure on the wound. I grab his phone and call a cab before tucking it in my pocket. I lift him up and walk to the main street out of the alleyway. The cab gets there fast and we get in. I give the driver directions and look at the unconscious weretiger in my arms.
We arrive at the ADA in record time. I bolt up the stairs and throw the door open. I hear gasps and a gun cocking as I enter.
“What are you doing here?” Kunikida asks, aiming a gun at my face. I ignore him and rush to Yosano.
“Yosano-san, help him.” I ask, trying not to let my voice shake. She nods her head towards the infirmary and I follow her in.
“Set him here.” she orders. I release Rashomon and watch her get to work. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. He called me and he couldn’t talk or anything so I tracked him and found him like this.”
“My ability isn’t working, he must have been hit with an ability or something.” she says. “Go get Dazai, now!” I rush out of the infirmary and everyone is standing outside waiting.
“Dazai-san, we need you, quick.” he pushes past me and into the room.
“He was hit with an ability, and I can’t heal him.” she tells him. He reaches over and grabs Atsushi’s hand. Nothing happens.
“It’s not working. I don’t know why.” he replies sadly.
“Damn it!” Yosano yells and grabs some supplies before getting to work on his wound. “Out! Both of you!” We leave and I’m immediately bombarded with questions. I tell them what happened and we sit and wait till Yosano comes out.
Kunikida:
“Will he be okay?” Kyoka asks. Yosano pulls her into a hug.
“Yeah, He’ll be fine. He just needs to rest now.” she says and pats Kyoka’s head before pulling away. She looks at Dazai and nods towards the President's office. They leave and I turn to Akutagawa, who looks insanely worried for a mafia man.
“Go home kid, I’ll call you when he wakes up or we know more.” I tell him. He hesitates for a second before leaving.
Rampo and the others are out on cases so it’s just me and Kyoka. We enter the infirmary and see the boy laying there covered in blood and bandages with an IV hanging from a stand on the side. Kyoka sits on the side of the bed and holds Atsushi’s hand. I grab a washcloth and get a bowl of water. I bring it to the boy’s side and start cleaning the blood off his face. After I’m done I set the bowl aside and sit near the bed. We sit in silence for a while before the door opens.
“What’s the news?” I ask.
“We don’t know what’s going on but he was hit by an unknown ability and I can’t heal him and No longer human is useless.” Yosano says as Dazai slumps in a chair. We all sit there for a while in silence before I take Kyoka back to the dorms to sleep. I lay on her couch and stare at the ceiling.
Atsushi:
The darkness loosens its hold on me and I drift back to some awareness. I feel something in my hand and something around my stomach. I slowly open my eyes and the world spins for a second. Once it stops I blink a few times and realize where I am. I remember what happened and I try to move but I can’t. My hand moves a bit but that’s all. I start to panic and my breathing picks up.
“Atsushi?” someone asks. I tap my finger in response. “Can you move?” they ask again. I tap twice. Yosano comes into view and I stare up at her with panicked eyes.
“Hey you’re okay. You need to stay calm okay. Deep breaths.” she tells me and I try to follow her breathing pattern. Once I calm down, she puts her hand on my forehead pushing my bangs out of my face. “You’re going to be okay.” I blink in response.
“Dazai is holding your hand okay. I’m going to ask you some questions and tap once for yes and twice for no like you’ve been doing okay.” she says and smiles at me. I tap once and Dazai tells her.
“Can you move anything besides your eyes and hands?” two taps. “Are you in pain anywhere?” two taps. “Okay, Is it okay if I touch you?” one tap. She puts the back of her hand on my forehead. “Your fever broke so that’s good. Can you feel this?” She puts some pressure on my shoulders. One tap. “Here?” one tap.
“Okay, Atsushi, I don’t think this is permanent since you can still feel everything.” she tells me. “Okay try to get some rest.” she walks out of my eye sight and Dazai scoots his chair so I can see him. He smiles at me and runs a hand through my hair.
“Hey, kid. You got yourself in quite the mess didn’t you.” I can see the concern in his eyes. “You're gonna be okay.” his thumb rubs the back of my hand.
My hand right, I can move it. God, he better know morse code or once I get better I’m gonna kill him. GIFTED tap out in morse code on his hand. That gets his attention immediately.
“Gifted? Is that what you said?” one tap “you were hit by an ability right?” one tap.
Misson, I tap. This conversation is taking a lot of energy. I can feel my eyes drooping.
“What does that mean?” Dazai asks. I try to keep my eyes open for a little longer. My eyes close. With my last bit of consciousness I send one more thing.
TRAP