He was too warm and too cold at the same time. Nagisa wasn't sure how exactly that had occurred, but the result was him shivering. Ever since stumbling through the entrance of the facility in the early hours of the morning, he'd been on a kind of lock down, and though he understood why, he didn't particularly want to be sat outside Karasuma's office.
At least he had a towel to wrap around his shoulders. It was the only thing he was provided whilst Karasuma made whatever calls he needed to, so he clung to it like some kind of life line. Something in Nagisa's memory had cut out exactly how he managed to get back, more like he was still blinking his way out of the strangest nightmare. But he knew he was right there, at least somewhat safe.
"Nagisa," a voice called out.
"Huh?"
What followed next was a punch to his face, almost knocking him off the chair he was perched on. Still out of focus from the rest of the world in general, all he was really aware of was how his face seemed to be tingling under the contact. For a moment it didn't even hurt, before he adjusted and the sting of it set in.
But then firm hands grabbed him by the shoulders, and Nagisa was forced to look into wild gold eyes. "What were you thinking?"
"I-"
Oh, he was mad. "You what?"
"I'm sorry if you made you worry," he said slowly. "But… I got out of it right away…"
Karma looked as though he was about to throw another punch. "It's been four days."
Four days? Something deep and disturbing sunk into his stomach. How could it possibly have been so long… Nagisa had only slept for a few hours at most, he was certain. Wouldn't he feel weaker than he currently did, if he hadn't eaten or drunk anything? That was… unless somehow he'd been conscious but was missing his memory of it all. Before he could get lost in the thought, though, Karma's arms wrapped around him in a way that was just as violent as his fist.
"I thought you were dead," Karma muttered, as though Nagisa wasn't even supposed to hear it.
Unsure of what else to do, Nagisa clutched him back, though he didn't find himself relaxing into it. A part of him just knew it would be beneficial, the less suspicious Karma was of him. But such a thought twisted his stomach over again. He should be happy. He was happy. His brief capture by Ohno may not have been that successful, but at least he'd learnt some things.
He jolted, at the sound of the door opening. "Nagisa, we need to have another discussion."
Nagisa looked up at Karasuma, and tried to extract himself from Karma's arms, but he wasn't having it. "I'm-"
If anything, Karma held him even tighter. He glared properly at Karasuma, and thick alpha scent practically poured out of him. Nagisa wrinkled his nose, the thickness of it unpleasant even to him. He could have sworn Karma even growled, just a little, and that made him feel wrong. Karasuma just wanted to talk, not threaten him.
Karasuma didn't look impressed either, but he just sighed. "Later, then. Take some rest for now."
Somehow, he didn't think being left with Karma like this was going to be restful. In fact, the moment Karasuma was back in his office, his arms shifted, purposely moving beneath Nagisa's legs. Before he could quite figure it out to stop him, though, he stood up, suspending Nagisa in the air in some weird attempt at a bridal carry.
"I can walk," Nagisa protested.
"I'm aware."
"Karma," he struggled, "put me down."
He didn't. "Relax. I'm just taking you to the bathroom."
"Why?"
Karma's nose came down into the crook of his neck. "You smell off."
He resigned himself to his fate, knowing that he should choose his battles and allowing Karma to carry him was only a minor one. Nagisa didn't want to scent him back in an obvious way, but even without his own nose pressed to his skin, he could tell that he was concerned. That was, at the very least. Definitely unhinged. If that was true, he wasn't exactly eager to bring it up.
Thankfully, they didn't actually run into anybody else on their way to the bathroom. Although Nagisa felt a twinge of unrest at the thought of his friends worried about him, he really didn't want them to see him like this. He knew he could force Karma to cut it out if he really wanted to, at the very least, but honestly they were most of the way there in just that short amount of time.
Karma wasn't done with him when he put him down, finally, though. His fingers immediately tugged at the hem of the jumper he was wearing. It was itchy anyway, against his bare skin, considering Karasuma had taken his other shirt almost immediately after he arrived. He supposed he wasn't exactly uncomfortable with Karma taking it off for him, but it didn't feel comforting or anything either.
After his torso was bare, so came the rest of his clothes. Mostly he just felt small, like an injured child more than anything else. With the way Karma looked at him, though, he got it. Karma wanted to protect him now, because he couldn't before. Yet somehow, Nagisa didn't find himself running into his arms.
Karma pushed him back gently, underneath the shower spray, after removing his own clothes. Did he need supervising, now? Nagisa shuddered where he stood, the water just a little too warm to feel nice on his skin. He tried his best not to hiss, when Karma touched his shoulder, and for a moment he just let his eyes fall closed, trying to regain his balance.
He wasn't sure exactly how long he stood there like that, but he could feel Karma staring at him, even though his eyes were shut. It was definitely a weird sensation. He shifted, finally looked around again. He elected to stare down at his feet, as he slowly went about the action of washing himself, though he knew his movements were clunky, as though it was gone from his muscle memory.
Nagisa really looked at Karma, then. His wet hair stuck to his forehead, akin to a flow of blood. He was mesmerised, his fingers reaching curiously for the pulse point on his neck. Karma's actual blood was pumping fast enough it didn't take him long at all to find it. From there, he traced down the vein, down the life it carried. He could feel that pulse, so close to his fingertips, all the life flowing through him.
His body gave him just enough bad feeling as a warning, before he felt the bile rise up. Thankfully, Karma probably saw the panic on his face, and didn't try to stop him before he could dart out from the showers and lean over one of the toilets. He didn't have to retch for too long, before everything that needed to come up did. Presumably he hadn't eaten for days, so he didn't understand how he even had anything to throw up.
All he could see was red. All he could smell was the metallic twinge of iron. Blood. He hadn't puked up blood, had he? Before he could think too much about it, even more came up, and it was all he could do to grip the toilet seat and just let it happen. In the back of his mind, he knew that he probably needed to throw up for a reason, and it was better to have it out of him, but it didn't feel great at all.
"Okay?" Karma's voice came, as a towel was placed over his shoulders to give him at least some cover.
He nodded weakly.
With only a towel tied around his own waist, Karma sunk down to the floor, apparently intending to comfort him or something. It was hard to not appreciate the effort, for sure, but the same confusing feeling came right back. Whether it was okay or not, to lean into him and forget everything else. Some sense did hold him back, at least, and he wasn't sure if he liked it.
Karma pressed his nose right to Nagisa's scent gland, then, and inhaled as deeply as he probably physically could.
"What are you doing?" Nagisa asked, a lot more angrily than he'd intended.
He hesitated. "Just checking your scent."
"What?"
"Making sure you're not pregnant or something."
Nagisa turned, then, looking him right in the eyes. "Why would I be?"
Apparently there was enough threat in Nagisa's tone to het him to back off. "Maybe you should swing past the infirmary, just so you can be checked over."
He considered it. "Maybe I can visit Yuu. I'm sure he'd want to know, considering everything that happened."
Karma stiffened. "About that…"
Well, that certainly meant something was wrong. Nagisa felt it sink down there into his stomach. He could see it all over Karma's face, that he was holding something back. Honestly that wasn't even really like him, if anything he usually said too much. Somehow that sickly feeling morphed into a weird kind of irritation, and he definitely didn't appreciate the feeling.
"What?"
"Are you sure you want to hear it?"
His eyes narrowed. "Why wouldn't I?"
Karma grimaced. "It's not that I'm against telling you, Nagisa, but you literally just puked."
"Tell me what happened then," Nagisa said, "if you want to help."
"He was fine for the first day," he started, "but then he started to get unhinged. He attacked one of the people attending to him so Karasuma decided the best option was to put him in a padded cell for now."
He pulled himself to his feet. "Where?"
"It's bad."
"Karma," he said impatiently, "show me."
He just nodded, and motioned Nagisa to follow him, after he'd pulled some fresh clothes on. Nagisa was worried, of course he was, but something in him felt a lot stronger now he had a purpose. He and Karma were completely silent the way there, and not the comfortable kind that came with familiarity. He just didn't really have anything to say.
"Alright," Karma said, as they approached a wall, "but don't say I didn't warn you."
There was a tiny window cut out, and Nagisa stepped up to it curiously. At first he was just taken aback by the entire set up, which felt more like something from a drama movie than the real world. Yuu looked tiny, sat calmly in the middle of lined, padded room. It looked far too stark white. Nagisa couldn't stop himself from pressing right against it, which was when Yuu's eyes snapped up.
Even Nagisa was taken aback, a chill running down his spine when Yuu looked at him properly, like a tiger in a cage. Almost like he was a tiger, he leapt forwards, as if he was genuinely going to attack Nagisa with his bare hands. Even through what must be the smallest of gaps, Nagisa could sense a real sour scent coming from him, as though he was terrified beneath everything.
Karma was immediately by his side, and pulled him back by the shoulder. "He might end up hurting himself."
"W-what happened?"
"Okuda's theory," Karma swallowed, "is that his body was resisting whatever he was injected with. But, eventually it took over quicker than he could fight it. Maybe because violence isn't supposed to come naturally to omegas." He shrugged. "It helps, though, with their research. It's just a problem nobody can get in there to evaluate him properly."
"Research?" Nagisa felt himself heat up. "He's in there. He's suffering."
Karma winced. "Is it even Yuu anymore?"
"What."
He held his hands up. "I'm only being realistic here. He probably doesn't even remember anything after he got injected up until now anymore. From what we can tell, anyway."
"But I met him after he already had it in him, he doesn't know anyone else…" Nagisa's heart almost jumped out of his ribcage. "I have an idea."
"Idea?"
But Nagisa suddenly felt determined. He was filled with this crazy kind of energy to do something. He had his idea and he needed to enact it right now. He moved so fast that even Karma, who admittedly had a large height and speed advantage on him, couldn't catch up to his side. Nagisa didn't really feel like sticking around and waiting for him, though, not when he had important things to do.
"Kayano," he said, immediately half ready to grab her by the wrist and drag her with him.
Everyone turned their heads around. "Nagisa!? You're okay?!"
Nagisa stiffened, not prepared for such a warm welcome. He… really had been gone for a while, hadn't he? He didn't want the attention, though. Not in the slightest. Nagisa wanted to help, like it was the only thing he could focus clearly on. It didn't matter about him, not in the slightest. He was fine, they could see that, and that was enough.
"Kayano," he said again, pushing through the small crowd to get to her. "You can help Yuu."
Her eyebrows creased, for a moment, before she launched herself, practically jumping into his arms. Nagisa wasn't really used to receiving such a hug, even though she was around the same size as him, so he almost toppled backwards. Thankfully, Kayano was well aware of her own centre of gravity, and managed to steady them before any further injury happened.
"You're an idiot, Nagisa!" She hit him on the arm (what was it with people attacking him today?). "I thought you might not even come back!"
"There's a bigger problem, though," he stepped back.
"Bigger problems?"
Nagisa took a deep breath. "We need to be able to help Yuu. If the theory about him not really remembering things before he was injected is right… He's a huge Haruna Mase fan. I think if there's a chance of him recognising someone, it might work with you."
Terasaka scoffed from behind him. "You want to send her into a wolf cage?"
"I'll try it," Kayano said, meeting him with the same determination.
Kurahashi covered her mouth. "But what if you get hurt?"
She smiled. "I can hold my own, so don't you worry, okay?"
Sugino looked at Nagisa worriedly. "Do you really think this is a good idea?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
He didn't stick around to hear Sugino's counter argument, instead taking off behind Kayano, as did the rest of their group. It made Nagisa feel better, that they seemed to agree with him about what was right. Helping Yuu, that was definitely the right thing to do. He couldn't help but feel nervous, though, as the entire crowd of them gathered around to
"Takebayashi," Kayano gulped, "I need your entry permission."
It took Nagisa a moment to realise why Takebayashi of all people would be the one with access to such a secure room, but once he pulled out a key card, it made sense. He was the one who was an actual doctor. Why send different medical staff in, whilst they had one who was already a trained assassin and had intimate knowledge of the original tentacles.
Nagisa was certain it would work, but he still held his breath as Kayano entered the room. For a moment, Yuu didn't even react at all, as though he hadn't noticed anybody was there. She looked nervous, but she took a few steps closer towards him, and then his head turned around. Nagisa really did tense up for a moment, but no attack actually followed.
"H-hello there, Yuu san," Kayano said. "It's nice to finally be able to meet you."
It seemed as though his brain was lagging behind a few moments, because he just blinked rapidly before focusing in on her. "H-haruna Mase?!"
She smiled widely. "That's right! How are you doing today?"
Yuu sighed. "Yeah, I'm definitely in some kind of wild fever dream. There's no way the real Haruna Mase is here talking to me."
"Oh," she remained light, "I feel pretty real."
Even outside of that room, the mood completely changed, and the relief buzzing through everyone was clearer than anything. Nagisa had only seen Yuu's temperamentality for a few moments, but he could already tell it was different. This was good, right? Yuu definitely didn't seem exactly relaxed, and if he thought he was in some kind of nightmare… He couldn't blame him for that one, though.
Kayano continued to chat lightly with him, and as it went on, some of their group were settled enough by the idea of it to move on and focus on other important things. Kayano was, thankfully, pretty used to handling meeting her fans, and managed to not show any fear she might have. It was at least good to see that neither of them were unsettled.
People filtered out, one by one, until it was just him, Takebayashi, and Karma. It definitely had been helping, because Takebayashi stood taking a near insane amount of notes. Nagisa, on the other hand, was just… watching. And Karma really wasn't kidding about not letting him out of his sight. Well, he could cut his loses with that, he supposed.
"He looks better," Nagisa practically pressed his face to the glass.
"He's sick, Nagisa," Takebayashi said as though it was just a simple fact. "We've already tested him whilst he was sedated."
"Like he's self destructing?"
"Yes," he pushed his glasses up on his nose, "we're sure he's going to die."
Nagisa frowned. "He's strong. He's been through a lot. He can get through this."
"It's like a kind of poison."
He turned on his heel, though, rather than sticking around for Takebayashi's lecture. He didn't know him. Yuu looked fine, so he couldn't be that sick. Thankfully, the notes Takebayashi were consumed with were apparently more important than following him to explain further. Karma, though, was predictably hot on his heels. Like he really wasn't going to drop him.
"What are you doing?" Nagisa stopped and turned to face him. "I'm just going to bed. It feels like a long day. I need to rest."
"Okay," Karma shrugged. "We'll go to bed then."
There was a weird kind of conflict within him. Nagisa felt like he honestly couldn't even understand why, but he knew he didn't want to upset Karma. A low part of him really was complaining, wondering why he hadn't just run into his arms yet. But an even bigger part really didn't want to. The idea of Karma's arms wrapped around him in bed him feel claustrophobic at only the suggestion. Suddenly he felt sick again.
"I want to be alone right now," he said simply. "I'm tired."
For a moment, Karma just stared at him as though he was shocked. Almost upset, maybe. But he had no reason to be, Nagisa was sure. He just wasn't in the mood to cuddle. Karma had other things to do. Why should it matter, what Nagisa did? Anyway, they had their own beds for a reason. Nagisa had a dread feeling that things were going to amp up, and he needed to be better rested.
"Okay," Karma eventually said, and still leaned in to kiss the top of his forehead, "goodnight, then."
His lips felt like ice.
