Yosano dragged Ranpo behind her, practically snoring as they made their way through the hospital. Yosano had a small bouquet of flowers in a vase while Ranpo was munching on bag of mini strawberry Pop-Tarts.
Yosano had to nearly throw Ranpo out of his bed that morning, especially since they were going to spend a majority of the day in the hospital with Dazai and (Y/n). They hadn't heard much since the day before – not even from Kunikida, who'd been keeping them updated every hour or so regarding Dazai and (Y/n)'s status. Yosano noted that most of it was regarding (Y/n), whether Kunikida meant to make it that way or not.
Ranpo abruptly stopped. Yosano snapped her head back, about to ask why he was stopping before she looked in the direction he was. Down the hall, Kunikida was sitting on one of the benches, head in his hands as he leaned forward.
Yosano couldn't hold back the sense of dread she felt all throughout her. She turned to Ranpo and asked, "Why do you think Kunikida is so mopey this morning?"
"I have an idea." He led the way over to Kunikida.
They stopped in front of the blond, prompting him to look up at the both of them. His eyes were red and slightly puffy. While he wasn't crying now, Yosano knew that he had been crying at some point.
"What's going on, Kunikida?" she questioned. "Is something wrong with Dazai?"
"No, Dazai is doing fine," he replied, his voice slightly hoarse. "He woke up last evening and talked to (Y/n) for a bit before going back to sleep."
She and Ranpo let out the quietest sighs. "That's good to hear. Speaking of (Y/n)," Yosano looked around for a split second, "where is she?"
"I don't know."
She looked back down to him, placing her free hand on her hip as she retorted, "You don't know? Why don't you know?"
Before he could answer, Ranpo stated, "Because he confessed his feelings to (Y/n) and she didn't take it well."
"You did what?!"
Kunikida quickly stood, holding his hands up as he explained, "I know I'm responsible for my own actions and I found that maybe it was now or never. I didn't know if there was going to be another chance to find out if there was a chance before the actual wedding."
"Are you serious?" Yosano hissed. "Why would you think that this was an appropriate time to do that?"
"Like I said: now or never. Besides, you were the one who suggested I do it before the wedding."
"I said that you shouldn't but if you had to, you should've done it before the wedding. That does not mean that you should do it after a traumatic event and in the hospital while her fiancé is lying on what could've been his death bed!"
"I don't know what else to say. I thought this was my last chance – I know it wasn't appropriate—"
"Damn right it wasn't appropriate." Yosano pinched the bridge of her nose. "Kunikida, what were you thinking?"
Ranpo cut in with his own thoughts, "He was thinking that since (Y/n) was in a tough and emotional situation that she'd be more in touch with her own emotions. Prompting what Kunikida thought would've been a romantic mutual confession."
"'Romantic mutual confession'?"
All three turned towards the new voice. There stood Dazai in his hospital gown, socks, and slippers. His hair was flatter than usual and he was paler. Even without the attire, he would've looked incredibly sickly and weak.
"Who's confessing what to who?" he asked, looking between all of them for an answer.
He quickly got it as Yosano and Ranpo looked over to Kunikida, who was staring at the ground. Shame wafted off of him, his eyes kept down and his face fell at the sound and sight of his colleague.
"You confessed your love to (Y/n)?!" Dazai quickly put it together.
"That didn't take long," Ranpo commented.
Despite his appearance, he was still agile and strong. He grabbed Kunikida's collar and threw him against the wall. His eyes, once dull, now burned with anger and hatred. His grip on Kunikida's collar tightened, his knuckles burying against Kunikida's chest and neck. Kunikida grabbed Dazai's wrists, not even attempting to fight back, but more so attempting to keep himself upright and conscious.
Yosano dropped the flowers in the struggle, the vase shattering against the gray tiles – the sound echoing throughout the hallway. She and Ranpo stepped back, deciding not to get between the two men.
Neither of them had ever seen Dazai angry. It then became very evident that Kunikida hadn't either, especially as he was mere inches from Dazai's fuming expression.
"What were you thinking? Why would you do that?" Dazai tightened his grip against Kunikida. When he didn't answer at first, Dazai demanded, "Answer me."
"I had to know."
"Had to know what?"
"Whether things would've changed had (Y/n) known my true feelings. I needed to know that if she felt the same. I just had to know."
Dazai's expression softened for half a second. It was almost as if he understood what Kunikida was talking about, only for him to realize once again who he was talking about. His brows furrowed and he pressed Kunikida against the wall harder, pulling back once to slam him again.
"Why did you have to know? You have been there since the beginning of our relationship – why did you decide to do this now?"
Kunikida looked down. He released Dazai's wrists, accepting his fate. "When I met (Y/n), I had no idea how our relationship was going pan out – both professionally and platonically. It's hard to predict romantic relationships arising, especially with what we do.
"You were lucky enough to meet her and instantly recognize her as a partner. I don't know how, but you were able to get and keep a partner for life – an amazing one at that. (Y/n) is one the strongest, most intelligent, and kind person I have the pleasure of knowing.
"So yeah, I had to know if there was a chance that she would become mine – as archaic as that sounds."
Dazai stared him down for another thirty seconds. Silence erupted between them, tension filling the air as more people began to gather around the situation. Yosano practically shoed them away, keeping the rather violent interaction as calm as possible – at least on the surface.
Dazai's expression softened once again, only this time it remained softened. He slowly let Kunikida down, his arms trembling slightly. He took step back, releasing Kunikida's collar as he looked back up again.
Suddenly, Dazai threw his fist against Kunikida's stomach, causing him to double over. Her gripped the aching area, commenting in a strained voice, "I probably deserved that."
"Yeah," Yosano chimed in, "you did."
As Kunikida collected himself, Ranpo finished up his sugary breakfast snack. He crumpled the bag between his hands, gaining the attention of the group.
"In my observations, it appears that Dazai has been living the life that you, Kunikida have dreamed of," Ranpo explained, his tone calm while his words seemed genuine. "Dazai is the one who lives with her and plans to marry and live the rest of his life with her while Kunikida is but an innocent bystander. Destined to watch him live the life he wanted."
Ranpo stepped forward, his eyes opening more to reveal the green in them. He concluded with, "You two should just be grateful that she's in your lives at all. Neither of you deserve her time, attention, and/or affection. There's nothing keeping her here to deal with you two except the fact that she's found herself bound to Dazai in multiple ways."
Dazai and Kunikida looked at one another. Kunikida straightened his posture, his hand still resting on his stomach as he let out a forced breath. He held out his hand to Dazai and said, "I'm sorry I crossed that line. She's your partner and I should have respected that."
Dazai didn't say anything at first, taking Kunikida's hand and shaking it once. With a smirk, though without the usual mischievous glint in his eye, he replied, "Don't do it again."
Though the sentence was incredibly simple, chills ran throughout Kunikida's body. He knew that Dazai would've done anything for (Y/n) – even in his weakest state. Kunikida couldn't even think about what would've happened had Dazai been in peak condition rather than his sickly pale state.
He wasn't sure he wanted to.
Atsushi and Kyoka casually walked up to the group in the hallway. Atsushi was quickly taken by surprise as Dazai sat in the hallway across from Kunikida with Ranpo, who was now snacking on a bag of potato chips. Yosano was picking up the flowers and pieces of broken vase with occasional assistance from Kunikida. He was still somewhat reeling from Dazai's punch.
Atsushi wasn't sure what to ask or what to expect to hear. He looked around the group and then around the nearby hall. He stepped up to the group and asked, "What's going on here...?"
"We'll explain it to you later, Atsushi," Yosano replied, standing back up with all the flowers she could hold. "It's somewhat complicated."
"Okay..." He looked around one last time before further asking, "Any idea where (Y/n) is?"
Dazai and Kunikida instantly looked to one another. "I haven't seen her since last evening. She stormed off and I haven't seen her since," Kunikida stated.
"She didn't come back to the room last night either," Dazai added.
The search began the second they realized that no one had seen (Y/n) since the night before. They all walked around the nearby areas, trying to find anything that would lead to the answer of where the heck (Y/n) went.
Dazai changed back into his basic attire, ultimately deciding he didn't want to search for her in a hospital gown. He went with Kunikida, following him to where he confessed his feelings to (Y/n).
They walked down the hall she stormed off to, pausing as they reached a nearby bench. Dazai kneeled next to the bench, searching for anything that might've clued them into what occurred.
"Dazai," Kunikida called out.
Dazai went over to where Kunikida was standing. A door to a nearby room was cracked open, the smallest item shimmering within. Dazai stepped in as Kunikida held it open, picking up the item.
"That's her phone, isn't it?" Kunikida asked, not bearing to look.
Dazai nodded slightly. He turned the device over in his hands, eying the cracked screen and damaged case. She never went anywhere without her phone. There was only one thing that could've happened.
"Aimi has her."