"There's nothing that can be done," Karasuma explained. "We're working on trying out how to figure out the location and access to Ohno's laboratories as it is. If Ohno secretly developed some sort of cure, and it can be secured… But all my reports say any sort of research is going to take time. More than the rate Takebayashi thinks Yuu has left."

Nagisa's eyes narrowed, as he continued to pace around the office. "Isn't Ritsu on it around the clock? How has one of the best AIs in modern development not cracked it yet?!"

"Nagisa," Karasuma looked at him carefully. "Are you feeling okay?"

He stopped in his place. "What does that mean?"

Karasuma just seemed tired. "From what you shared, your escape was traumatic. Maybe you would benefit if I organised a person for you to talk to-"

"I don't need therapy!" He didn't mean to snap, but somehow it felt right. "There's nothing strange about worrying for my friend."

He didn't even blink. "I've known you for a long time, and you're not acting like yourself." Finally, his expression morphed into a grimace. "I know… how situations like that can be. Have you found support with the others?"

"Yes," Nagisa said quickly, "all the support I need."

"I am working on it," he said genuinely, "keeping Yuu alive is beneficial to everyone."

He's a person, Nagisa thought, but he didn't voice it. "Am I free to go now?"

Karasuma seemed a little taken aback by the request. "Go ahead."

Nagisa didn't know why he was feeling all this anger rushing through him recently. Sure, there were times in life where he did get angry, but they were only brief dark moments. This… it was like a constant thrumming beneath the surface, and he was ready to burst at just about any moment. Just… something needed to light the fuse.

He walked with a kind of determined purpose, though he didn't have an exact aim. All he knew was he needed to do something. It wasn't like he could just go and talk with Yuu anymore. Although Kayano had been successful in having a calm conversation with him, there was no telling how he'd react to someone else. He didn't even want to admit Takebayashi's words to himself, but he could see the weakness in Yuu's form as it was.

All his other friends seemed to be keeping their distance from him somewhat, like they were trying to give him space or something. So Nagisa went to go find his only other option, the one person who seemed to be refusing to leave him alone. Well, Karma wasn't terrible at reading the air in a room, so he hadn't been draping all over him, but Nagisa was still more than aware that he was being watched, checked in on.

"Let's fight," he said, approaching Karma's bedside.

Karma looked up at him, peeling an eye open. "Huh?"

He was single-minded about this, though. "I was already cleared of injury. We shouldn't be sitting around and wasting time."

"Shouldn't you," he scanned him over, "go find Kayano or someone?"

Nagisa's brow creased. "Are you saying I can't take you?"

"No, but-"

"Then let's go," he said, even more ready.

Obviously, there wasn't really much space to spar in the dormitory room, so Nagisa headed out into the main area. He didn't really care, if they ended up having spectators. He even noticed curious stares, as they walked past their friends to the most open area. Not that this was in any way meant to be a show. Just a means to an end, a cure to the itch in his bones.

Karma looked apprehensive, stood opposite him. "Weapons?"

"No," Nagisa said. "Fists are fine."

"Okay…"

He didn't really look like he usually did, in the midst of a fight. Where was that wild fire? Nagisa was irritated, then. He wanted Karma to take this seriously. He went through the exact same training he did, and Nagisa had actually still been maintaining his assassin skills for the last year. He was more ready than anything.

But it seemed like Karma was going to make him throw the first punch. He went right into it, going for the ribs, and though it didn't seem to hurt him much in the slightest. Karma did seem a little taken aback, though, that Nagisa had actually gone in seriously. When he attempted his next hit, however, Karma woke up a little, blocking him. He knocked him back, a little, but made no serious attempt at fighting back.

The only thing Nagisa could really do then was keep coming at him with everything he had until Karma would have to take it seriously. That was, if he could hold out that long. He kept trying his luck, though, and Karma kept on blocking him, though not properly. Frustrated, Nagisa went for his side, and finally Karma knocked him back.

Karma fainted left, before grabbing his arm and flipping him over. "You do it by instinct," he taunted him, "you learnt to fight whilst you were pregnant. So you prioritise protecting your stomach, like it's some kind of muscle memory. You have way too many openings."

Nagisa looked up at him from the floor, only having a second or two to register what had happened before Karma jumped on him, effectively pinning him with the weight of his own body. Well, that was annoying. But Nagisa couldn't really do anything about the fact that Karma was practically twice as big and twice as strong as him. His hands came down, trapping Nagisa's wrists against the floor, above his head.

"Gotcha," Karma panted from on top of him. So he had been exerting himself a little.

Honestly, Nagisa had been underneath Karma quite a few times in positions similar to this. Perhaps in a different setting, it would have stirred something within him. Mostly though, he was excited with the fact he knew exactly how to get out of it. Wait. Usually Nagisa would have his hips wrapped around Karma's, with far more leverage to knock him off. All he felt like he could do was struggle.

Something lit up within him, then, as though he was in actual danger. It was weird, he hadn't thought he was so concentrated. But then his blood lust buzzed under the surface, and before he could stop it, it sprung right out of him. Without even really thinking about it, he bucked his hips up with everything he had, causing Karma to fly forwards and instinctively let go. From there, he slid his arms out, and used everything he had to flip Karma over, moving in to choke him from the perfect position before he even had the time to react.

It all rushed through him, then, like the most satisfying of addictions. The power, he was reminded of why it was so addictive. When he pressed harder, and Karma's eyes widened in genuine alarm, he felt like he couldn't even stop. He… he really wanted to kill. And he was about to. But then he faltered. If he killed Karma, it would raise suspicion to him hugely. He couldn't do anything if he was locked away in a cage somewhere. Most people would expect him to automatically lose the fight, so he should.

When he subtly loosed his grip, Karma didn't hesitate to reverse their positions, and Nagisa immediately tapped out. "You win."

Karma moved off him, then, but his face was unreadable. Nagisa just lay there, and he knew he wasn't satisfied. Fighting didn't help anything within him. His head was no less full of questions than it had been when he started talking to Karasuma. Perhaps the floor wasn't the best place to brain storm, but if he couldn't distract himself enough… He had to do something to help. What was it Karasuma had said, again?

"-gisa?" Karma was speaking to him, holding out a hand. "Are you just going to stay there?"

Begrudgingly, he accepted Karma's hand, letting him pull him up and onto his feet. He didn't feel much like saying anything though. Instead, he dropped his hold, and turned his back completely. Maybe it would be better to try and think about this by himself. He knew, as an absolute fact, that there was a problem and he needed to fix it. But, if even Ritsu was having a hard time, he wasn't sure who else could.

…Yuu was arrested for hacking into an important security system, wasn't he?

Nagisa slumped against the wall. Even if Yuu was maybe better with hacking specifically, that didn't mean he'd be able to do it. Kayano hadn't got much out of him, though that didn't mean it was… impossible. He should go and talk to her. That was a little harder than it sounded, though, considering the current circumstances. Everyone was just a little wary of him.

"Kayano," Nagisa addressed her, after only a minute of two of looking. There wasn't any use in small talk at a time like this.

She looked up at him and smiled kindly. "How are you feeling today?"

What did that matter? "Fine, I-"

"You know," her voice faltered a little, "we can talk about anything. I'll always be here for it."

Nagisa nodded. "Good. How's it going with Yuu?"

Kayano's eyes widened, before she shifted. "I feel awful that I can't do much to really help him, aside from make this a little easier and more comfortable for him."

"I had an idea," he moved closer. "Yuu's talented when it comes to this kind of thing. We might actually be help him. If we can get him to help himself."

"He seems like a kind person," she said, "but-"

He wasn't just going to give in that easily. "You've gotten to know him a little, right? He doesn't deserve to be left to die here. Maybe if I come with you, he won't attack, and we can try and explain how he can help himself."

"Is it," she swallowed, "really safe to try that?"

Nagisa looked around. "Just… let's go now and not tell the others. If we can convince him to sit in front of one of our computers, I really think we can do this."

"Alright," Kayano nodded. "I trust you, Nagisa."

"We don't have a lot of time," he said, and took off. Kayano was right at his heels, though.

Yuu hadn't exactly been taking a turn for the better in the last few days. Perhaps talking to Kayano really had helped, or maybe he was just too weak to keep it up, but he'd given up on the manic attacking and was currently curled up in the foetal position. He honestly looked harmless like that, though Nagisa did know better.

Giving him one last look of question, Kayano opened the door. "Hey, are you feeling any better today?"

Yuu sat up, straining as if it was a challenge. "Ugh."

Kayano crouched down. "I actually brought a friend with me today, if that's okay."

"Hello, Yuu," Nagisa said, approaching carefully.

He looked up at him, blinked, but then turned back to Kayano. "What's happening?"

"He-"

"I heard that you're not feeling so great," Nagisa interrupted. "Actually, I think I might have a way to fix it, but I'm not so good at figuring out things when they involve computers and technology."

"What," Yuu tilted his head, "you're gonna google search it?"

"No," come on Yuu, "there's this laboratory, and we know they have all kind of stuff that we could access. Maybe it could help other people, too…"

Yuu scoffed.

"You'd, uh," Nagisa tried, "get to mess with some rich alphas."

A smile came over his face. "Sounds like fun. What, you want me to get into their system, or something? I could probably mess with them a little."

Nagisa stared at him. "Do you think… you could get into the system so we can access key information?"

"I'd have to get a good look at it," he thought, "I can have a look at it." Something washed over his face. "Why is this important, again?"

"Just trust me, it is," Nagisa looked over his shoulder. "We don't have a lot of time, so we should probably start soon."

Yuu just nodded weakly.

Well, he was certainly able to stand and walk, as he demonstrated, but he didn't look as though he was having an easy time doing it. Rather than concern, though, that just made Nagisa even more urgent to get him working on it. On top of just being able to maybe save his life, they really did need to get into Ohno's laboratories.

"Don't you think," Kayano inhaled, out of his ear shot, "this might be a bit much for him?"

Nagisa looked over. "He seems fine to me. This might be his only shot at getting better."

"Right," Kayano didn't seem sure. "And if Karasuma finds out we let him out of here?"

"He should be grateful, if Yuu figures it out."

They were given strange looks, as they came past, but nobody actually stopped them. Fortunately, Karasuma had given them that kind of status. It wasn't particularly difficult, then, to get Yuu exactly where they needed him. Currently, Ritsu was plugged into a set of heavy duty computers, doing her best to penetrate all the firewalls. Nagisa didn't really understand how any of it really worked, honestly, but he was counting on the hope that Yuu could do it.

"Alright Ritsu," Nagisa said, "we're getting you some help."

Ritsu, whose image on the computer screen in front of them depicted her with dark bags under her eyes, yawned in greeting. "Hmm."

Yuu sat down tentatively, taking a long look at whatever was in front of him. "I think if I-"

He didn't finish his sentence. In fact, he just started furiously typing. Both Nagisa and Kayano watched in fascination, and even Ritsu jolted awake, with the speed that Yuu was clearly reading and responding to whatever was going on. It looked like it was muscle memory, something he'd been doing for as long as he'd been walking.

"You can do it?"

Yuu didn't reply, but he did speed up. Nagisa decided to take that as an answer. Which meant that their biggest problem was potentially solved. If Yuu really could break into the system, then, hopefully, they'd have all of Ohno's most vital information. At the very least, they could think about actually raiding him, and the thought made Nagisa's blood burn in his veins.

Finally, he looked over his shoulder. "It's still gonna take a while. Whatever this is, they're a paranoid freak. Not that I can't crack it."

"I'll stay here," Kayano said. "Just to make sure he's still okay."

Was that banishment? There was a pleading kind of look in Kayano's eyes, begging him to just go along with what she was saying. A big part of Nagisa really didn't want to leave Yuu out of his sight. Not whilst it was so vital, and they might be so close, but he knew he could relax at least a little bit. Perhaps the hard part was over, and now Yuu was able to focus. He didn't miss the way Yuu suddenly spluttered, though, before resuming whatever he'd stopped to type.

He slipped out of the room, though he wasn't sure where he should head to. Not when there was nothing to do but wait. Nagisa didn't feel much like 'hanging out' with anybody else, not at a time like this. Honestly the only course of action that sounded vaguely alright to him was pacing up and down the hallway. He needed to get the blood rushing through him again.

Something weird struck him, then. Nagisa cried out without really meaning to, clutching his head. Of course he'd experienced many headaches over his life, but none that hit quite so suddenly. It was like fire, like something was worming its way around underneath his skull, trying to bite its way into his brain. He shoved the back of his hand into his mouth to cover up any potential screams, knowing at least on an instinctual level that he didn't want to alert anyone.

He was taken off his feet, at the force of it, though he managed to crawl away into the corner of the hall way. His eyes fixed shut, and the only thing he could do was clutch at his head, as though that was somehow going to make it better. Time had no meaning right then, and he had no idea what was even happening to him. He needed to try something.

When he opened his eyes, though, all he could see was blood. Blood and the sound of a blade scratching at the surface of something. Scratch. Nagisa wanted to scratch, too. Was there a knife in his hand? It felt heavy, whatever the case, and somehow he knew he had to lunge. Another painful burst hit him right there in the head, so he struck again, and again. A flash of heat washed over him, and he was unbalanced again.

"-at happened?" Hands were shaking at his shoulders, and Karma's face replaced all of the crimson.

Just like that, Nagisa woke up. "How did you find-"

Karma looked angry somehow. "You reek of distress-" then he looked down at him. "What did you do?"

Following his eyes, Nagisa almost jumped out of his skin when he saw his own arm. That explained the blood. It was absolutely covered in scratch marks, some of them clearly deep enough to properly puncture the skin. Now that he looked at it, he could feel the deep sting of pain, and he dropped it limp. But that didn't make any sense.

When he didn't reply, Karma stared right into his irises. "You're coming with me."

Nagisa didn't particularly know what was happening, but he tilted his head and nodded, accepting Karma's hand without question as he lead him over into the bathroom. Karma knew exactly where he wanted him, practically picking him up to sit him on the counter by the sinks as he soaked a towel in water, and did his best to clean the wound. Perhaps it was something about the feeling of water, but just like that, Nagisa was jolted back to reality.

"Why am I sitting here?"

Karma barely deigned to look up at him. "Because I told you to."

He pulled his arm away. "Did you command me?"

"To be honest Nagisa," Karma said, clearly out of patient, "you were barely listening to me."

He didn't want Karma's concern, or his manipulation. Advising him to do something was one thing, forcing him was another. His anger went deeper than his emotions, though, and it was burning him up from the inside. It wasn't safe, if Karma thought that it was okay to just go around commanding him to do things. He was clinging onto Nagisa too much, and he needed to stop that. Needed to force him to leave him alone.

"Do you know what I did to get out?"

Karma's eyes flicked up. "Huh?"

"I killed one of Ohno's guards," he stared at him dead on. "Then I jumped down into the next room, and killed the guests that were sleeping there too."

"Nagisa-"

"They screamed." He remembered it, like needles in his eardrums. "It was so loud I-I'm surprised nobody rushed in right away. But I didn't care. I just left them there to bleed out."

"Okay," Karma's hands came down on his shoulders, as though he was trying to be comforting. "We can fix this."

He didn't want fixing. Had Nagisa implied that he was broken? He needed Karma to give up on him… but it seemed like he wasn't going to do that on his own. Karma was so… attached. Nagisa needed to sever it somehow. He needed to yank Karma away from him so hard that he wouldn't run back. Which meant digging his claws in and making him hurt. If there was anything Nagisa could try and count on, it was his stubbornness during an argument.

"Look at this," Nagisa yanked his shirt down furiously, and tilted his head. "There's no mark here, Karma. What I do has nothing to do with you."

Karma's eyes narrowed. "I'm not trying to talk to you as your alpha."

"What is this then?"

"What, I can't be concerned for you now?"

Good, he was angry. Nagisa could see it in the way his jaw clenched, and his eyes burned up. But Karma had come a long way since they were both teenagers. He wouldn't hold such words against him forever. Break him, a dark voice said, you know exactly how to break his heart. And heartbreak was the only reliable method.

"Why do you care for me?" Nagisa asked, plainly.

Karma blinked. "Huh?"

His lips remained straight. "It's a real question. I never thought caring was your forte, and I have never been the easiest. Anyone sane would have given in by now."

"Nagisa-"

"Do you hope that if you wait it out long enough, that I'll fall in love with you?" Nagisa looked up. "Is that all? Time doesn't change a heart."

Nagisa's heart was empty. Karma looked at him like he'd just been punched. Why was he looking like that? Nagisa felt… annoyed. Like he wanted to punch it away. He needed to bury a knife in something and he needed to do it soon. It wasn't enough, though. How can I get him to leave me alone? Break him. Nagisa needed to do his absolute worst, and break him. Luckily, he knew the words Karma needed to hear.

"What if I tell you?" He said, without blinking. "I love you Karma. Are you satisfied? That's all you've ever wanted to hear, right? Bet it doesn't even matter to you if I mean it or not."

The light faded from his eyes, and it reminded Nagisa of death. His own breath caught, the feeling of succeeding a fulfilling one. He still wanted to smash something, his bloodlust not quite satisfied. Perhaps that was because it was a slow realisation. Like the more Karma thought about it, the more it was hitting him.

He just stood there in silence, and didn't even react when Nagisa slid past him. Was he in shock? Well, that bought Nagisa even more time. There were other things to do, probably, now that problem was taken care of. His arm was an issue, though. He decided it would be best to go by medical himself, an infection wouldn't benefit anyone. So he left the bathroom, not even stopping to look over his shoulder.

There was a commotion preventing him, though. To reach the other areas of this facility, Nagisa would have to cross through the main communal area, but clearly something had happened. There was a vaguely excited aura in the room, and everyone was wrapped up in discussions he couldn't make much sense of.

"What's going on?" Nagisa asked, dazed with it all.

Sugino turned to him. "He did it. Yuu got into Ohno's system."

It was as though his brain dropped everything else, just threw it out like it meant nothing to him. If Yuu really had managed it, then that changed everything. He took off properly, his feet carrying him without too much thought. Nobody actually stopped him, though, as he raced towards the room he'd left Yuu in, swinging the door open triumphantly.

"I did it," Yuu said when he saw him, "I-"

He turned even paler than he already was, though. Before he could even reach his hand up to catch it, he started coughing violently, projecting fresh gloopy blood. Just like that, he couldn't hold his body on the chair anymore, and there was just a moment of panic in his eyes, before he slipped off it completely.

"Yuu!" Kayano seized over to him in alarm, catching the back of his head before he could hit the ground.

Nagisa could only stare, his mind blanking it out as she screamed at him to go get help. It felt like he was underwater or something, and he was suspended. Yuu was shuddering, spasming wildly. When Nagisa looked closely, the whites of his eyes turned red, and they rolled up in his head. It fascinated him, and instead of running for someone who might be able to stop it, he came closer, getting to his knees beside them.

Before he could really get a good look, though, Yuu went eerily still.