sirenspull_logs | (no subject)

Yosuke wiped some sweat from his face, and double checked his clothes to make sure they didn't look too wrinkled. His first day out of the Juvenile detention facility had been busy. Really busy. Everyone seemed to be sick, and when he had made it to the hospital to check in on one of them, they'd put him straight to work.

He'd gone home that night feeling not so hot himself, but after finally properly meeting his new caretaker, and falling into bed with his clothes still on, he'd resolved to check in on all his friends the next day. They were a bunch of stubborn assholes, so someone needed to do it.

Souji, of course, was first on the list. Yosuke didn't even shower when he woke up, just waited for the sirens and bolted out the door after tossing a quick goodbye out to Unohana-san, or the haunted chair, or whoever was listening. Now, he stood outside and repeatedly buzzed Souji's apartment.

"C'mon, dude, answer..."

It took Souji a minute or so to realize the bell was ringing. He shook his head, trying to clear it. "Coming," he called out feebly, pulling his jacket tighter around him as he moved towards the door. He rubbed at an eye in an attempt to keep it open for a bit longer. He reached out and opened the door.

When he saw Yosuke there, he smiled weakly. It had been a while since Souji saw his best friend, although he wished he could have felt 100% healthy.

"Hey. Come in," he said as he moved aside.

He was happy to him--especially since Naoto had disappeared. He had been a bit more withdrawn than usual and he knew it. His apartment felt too big, so he stayed in his room most of the time. He wiped at his face which, despite the fact that he felt cold, felt abnormally hot.

Yosuke didn't waste time with chitchat. He kicked his shoes off, stepped inside, and clamped a palm onto Souji's forehead. He kicked the door shut behind him, and frowned at the jacket Souji was wearing. "Take that off, dude. You have a fever."

With that, Yosuke turned to the kitchen and started rummaging around, looking for...what? He didn't even know. Medical supplies, maybe. Even just some tea. That should help. He was wearing a slightly wrinkled hospital mask, since he hadn't bothered to stop and get a new one that morning. No way, they would have just set hom to work again.

"What else? Are you sneezing? Coughing?" Yosuke rubbed his own stomach, and made a face, under the mask. "Are you hurling? Tell me you haven't been coughing up blood..."

The warmth of Yosuke's hand felt nice against his warm forehead. He closed his eyes involuntary.

Listening to his friend's words, he reluctantly pulled off his jacket, immediately putting his arms around himself and shivering. He guessed that made sense with how he had been feeling. He wondered if he looked that bad that Yosuke knew right away.

He spaced out a bit, then watched as Yosuke rummaged through his cabinets. "No blood." He motioned around his own mouth and nose, giving a questioning look and wondering where Yosuke had gotten that mask and if he was sick too.

"Everything else though, huh?" Yosuke clucked his tongue. He knew the feeling. Something in the city wasn't agreeing with pretty much everyone, at the moment. But Souji looked bad. He was still standing over by the door looking lost in his own apartment.

"Go sit down, dude." Yosuke said, more gently this time. He nodded to the sofa in the other room. "I'll bring it over."

Not that he really knew what he planned to bring yet. Though when he found a bottle of pills in there, he snatched them up and squinted at the tiny print on the label. Would they reduce fever? ...Bingo!

"It came from work. I mean. Community service, I guess. It came from the hospital, anyway." He finally answered Souji's pantomimed question, while he filled a glass with water.

He nodded in response and shuffled over to the couch. He was having trouble moving he was starting to shiver so badly. He made it over to the couch and pulled his knees up to his chest to try and maintain warmth because it was cold in his apartment--or so it seemed. He closed his eyes and it felt odd. His eyelids were so hot against his eyes but it felt nice to close them.

They opened when he heard Yosuke's voice. He probably could have passed out right there with a couple more minutes of quiet.

"Hospital?"

"Yeah." By then, Yosuke was kneeling in front of Souji, frowning. He put the pills into Souji's hand and held out a glass of water. He'd also found somethin that looked biscuitty, to help his stomach not bounce the pills right away. Something needed to get in there and start working on that fever.

"Take those. I'm going to get a cloth for your head, alright?" That's what the doctor had done for Yosuke back in November, when he'd gotten that nasty bout of food poisoning. While Souji was distracted, Yosuke grasped his wrist gently to feel his pulse and watched his nostrils flare, silently counting respiration. When the clock had ticked off a full minute, Yosuke let go.

"Actually, you'd better lie down. Eat some of the bread stuff too. I'll get the bed ready."

He looks down at the pills and puts them in his mouth drinking some water to wash them down. He then looks at the biscuit and tries his hardest not to make a face. He had no appetite whatsoever--in fact, he felt slightly nauseated. He couldn't remember if he had even eaten yet today. He took a bite of the biscuit and swallowed it, putting the rest of it down on the arm of the couch, hardly wanting to even look at it.

He vaguely noticed that Yosuke was in his room. Everything in the room seemed to be wiggling or moving around. Souji carefully got up off the couch and walked over to his room, leaning on the door frame and watching Yosuke, arms wrapped around himself. He couldn't think of anything to say and just watched.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Yosuke blew the fringe out of his face, trying not to sound irritated. He was kind of tired, yeah, but that wasn't Souji's fault, and the dude was clearly not feeling well. "I said to eat your biscuits and sit down...ugh. Here. C'mon. Get into bed and take your pants off."

He rolled his eyes a little, but when he smoothed the sheets and turned around, his expression was as pleasant as he could muster at the moment. "I'll go get that washcloth. And some water or juice or something. Need anything else?"

He shook his head and muttered, "Not hungry."

Souji went over to the bed, completely oblivious to Yosuke's mood, good or bad, and sat down on the edge of it, hunched over, staring at the ground. He needed to muster up more strength to swing his legs up and lean back onto the bed. He put his hands up to his face and rubbed, feeling just how badly he ached everywhere--even his face.

Yosuke sighed again at that, but he was getting more concerned the longer he stayed around. Souji was really bad off. Something about that made his stomach churn, and he groaned quietly. Damn. He thought he'd gotten that out of his system last night. He probably shouldn't have grabbed that toast on his way out the door. Whatever, he didn' have time to worry about that at the moment. Souji wasn't even very responsive right now.

Frowning, Yosuke felt Souji's face again. Shit. It was hotter than he thought it had been. Or maybe the fever was getting worse. He licked his lips nervously. This was bad.

"Hey, remind me, dude. What day is today?"

He involuntarily groaned as Yosuke felt his face. Souji looked up into Yosuke's eyes as best as he could, trying to focus. Why was it taking so much energy to do such simple things? It was starting to vaguely frustrate him.

"Day?" he asked blearily. He had been at work earlier today...or was that yesterday? He worked 4 days a week, so that meant today was...His brain wouldn't focus. He closed his eyes trying to remember and it just wasn't coming to him. It was very, very frustrating. Why did Yosuke want to know anyway?

"Gods." It came out more like a prayer than a curse, and Yosuke's eyes widened. That was definitely worse than before. And it was worse than he knew what to do with. He summoned Jiraiya while he dialed his NV.

Shit, he really should have checked on Souji sooner. He'd just been busy yesterday, but...damn. Yosuke gave the dispatcher the address and his NV number, then he hung up and turned to Souji.

"Okay, I'm gonna pack you a bag, alright dude? No. No, I'll get you some ice...I'll...shit."

He swallowed heavily. It must be the stress, wrenching his stomach. He shook his head, annoyed at himself. "Yeah, ice. I'll get you some ice to put on your neck, okay? And then I'll pack you a bag. Sorry, dude, but you're really sick, okay? We're going to have to take you to a doctor, alright?"

He lifted his head back up to Yosuke and just nodded. He was going to the doctor? He supposed he was awful then. His head seemed to get foggier. How much time had passed since Yosuke got there anyway? 5 minutes? An hour? His best friend seemed upset. Was it just about him? He didn't know anymore. He wanted to sleep, but somehow felt that that wasn't a good idea right then.

Yosuke sent a Dia at Souji, just in case it might do some small amount of good, then darted out to get the ice, and the water. He was back almost instantly, because he actually ran, even in such a small apartment. Shakily, he pressed the ice to Souji's neck and held the water out with his other hand.

"Hold this, okay? And drink that. The cab will be here soon, alright? Just stay with me, okay?

His first thought was to call Uryuu, and freak out at him, but that wasn't fair. Uryuu was probably busy being a capable adult. Anyway, he and Shika had been next on the list. Since there were two of them, and they were both sort of healers, and Uryuu was pretty reasonable, maybe they would be alright. His stomach clenched again, anyway, and Yosuke swallowed again.

Bag, he needed to pack a bag for Souji. Damn. He didn't know where any of Souji's stuff even was. Humiliatingly enough, his eyes were starting to tear up. He hoped that Souji wouldn't notice, considering how out of it he was, and hurried to the closet he'd accidentally fallen out of on Souji's birthday the month before, to find him a change of clothes and some clean pajamas.

Both the Dia and the sudden ice on his neck helped to clear out his head a bit. He jumped a bit at the sudden cold, a new wave of shivering starting. That's right. He has a high fever. He should try to keep the ice pack on him to lower his body temperature...despite how uncomfortable he was. Oh and he probably was dehydrated too since he couldn't quite remember when he last ate or drank anything. He carefully sipped at the water.

Yosuke seemed to be freaking out and Souji was unsure why.

"I'll be fine," he attempted to say in a reassuring voice, but it came out weak and quiet to his dismay.

Holy shit, that was an actual reply. Yosuke glanced at Souji in relief, and hit him with another Dia before he ran in to the other room to grab his friend's toothbrush for him. He couldn't keep that up forever, but a few times wouldn't be that hard to tolerate.

Yosuke came back, a little frazzled, and sat beside Souji on the bed. "Alright, we have to get you downstairs...do you uh, need a shoulder to lean on?"

Souji was a little taller, and outweighed him by a decent amount, but it wasn't such a big difference that Yosuke couldn't support the guy while they went down to catch a cab. It would be way easier than trying to help Gilbert anywhere, actually.

The second Dia didn't help much more than the first, though he was more coherent than before, however slightly. He was grateful for that.

He turned to his best friend as he sat. The ice on his neck suddenly made him more aware of how clammy he was from the fever. He wiped at his forehead and face with his sleeve.

He thought about it and nodded slightly. "I can try and make it. I'll tell you when I need help."

Yosuke scrutinized Souji a minute, but he seemed a lot more together than before, so Yosuke nodded. He stood up, and offered Souji a hand up.

"C'mon, then. That guy will charge me for every minute he's waiting down there, ya know."

He tried to laugh, but it came out breathy and weak. Souji felt terrible that he was being such a pain to Yosuke. If only he could think properly.

He stood up and everything around him started to spin. His mind clouded over again. Why was everything so hard to think about? He felt worse all of a sudden. He reached out to his bedside table to ground himself, putting down the glass of water and using his other hand to press down on the ice, hoping the extra contact would offer him more clarity once again.

Yosuke had been headed out of the room, but he'd stopped to make sure Souji was alright. It was a good thing he had, too, considering how not-alright Souji seemed to be.

"Okay, we tried that." Yosuke retorted, and ducked down to support Souji on one side. The reprimand was playful, but also concerned again. He called forth Jiraiya for one last Dia for the road. Then he nodded. "Let's go."

The Dia fought off some of the spinning which he was grateful for, and having Yosuke support him helped even more with the dizziness. He had been feeling a touch better and then he got worse than before. What was that all about?

"Sorry," he muttered regretfully. He was the leader. It was his job to make sure everyone else was doing okay. But there was no "everyone else" anymore. No, Naoto was gone and it was just he and Yosuke left of the team. He didn't think he could bear it if Yosuke left too. The mere thought made him unconsciously squeeze Yosuke's arm tighter. Yosuke was all he had left here.

Yosuke glanced down at the squeezing, but it seemed to be an unintentional thing on Souji's part, so he decided to let it go without any real comment. Maybe it was fear. The thought made his stomach clench, and he vowed to hurry things up.

"Okay, let's just get to where your shoes are, alright?"

He nods slowly, leaning as little as possible on Yosuke, and leads Yosuke towards the door where his shoes were lined up neatly except for a nice pair that he had kicked off earlier in his haste to lay down after work. He paused, took his arm away from Yosuke and slowly kneeled down to put on a pair of sneakers. It took him a bit longer to do, but eventually he stood up, using the wall to help him up.

"I'm sorry," he said again, not looking into his friend's eyes.

Yosuke didn't really know what Souji was apologizing for. Leaning on him? Needing help in the first place? It was weird, but he let it slide, and settled for clapping Souji's shoulder gently. He'd been hovering at Souji's elbow the entire time in case he started to struggle, but he didn't want to hurt the guy's pride more than necessary, either.

"Alright. There's a working lift in this building, right? It'll be way easier here than it would have been at my old place, so look on the bright side."

Hearing the words come out of Yosuke's mouth didn't make him feel better at all. He hardly comprehended them in fact. From the fog in his head, an overwhelming sadness emerged. It made him feel sicker, but it kept coming. There was a burning sensation at the corners of his eyes. He could feel, to his vague horror, tears slipping down his cheeks.

"No. I'm sorry. For everything."

He sounded thick, but needed, at that moment, Yosuke to understand how he felt. He wasn't sure why, but he knew he needeed his friend to listen.

"I'm sorry about everything terrible that's happened to you since you got here. I wish I could have helped you more."

What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he like this all of a sudden? Was it because he was sick? He still couldn't look his friend in the eye.

Well, that got his attention. Yosuke stared, a little dumbfounded. "What? Hey...nothing all that bad-" Except he couldn't quite finish that sentence. Something about it made his stomach twist.

He shook it off, and glanced around for some tissues or something. "Dude, what are you talking about? Don't...don't do that. It's okay. You'll be fine. I-I'm fine."

He didn't take his hand off of Souji's shoulder, though. He wanted to do whatever he could to try and reassure the guy. He must be feeling really bad if he was making strange confessions and apologies.

"It's not okay. I haven't...haven't been a good friend." Shutup Souji, a very faint voice in the back of his head was scolding him. He stopped as his head pounded--he guessed from the crying. Was he really crying? He leaned against the wall right next to him, bringing a sleeve up to briefly wipe at his eyes. Yosuke's hand on his shoulder felt...nice. Different. He hadn't felt this sort of warmth from Yosuke since...well, since before he...Souji shook the thought from his head.

"What are you talking about?" He already said that, but Yosuke repeats himself and shakes his head, too. He gives Souji's shoulder a squeeze, trying to get him to look up at least. "Dude, you saved my life. Twice. Remember when that thing tried to eat me? It popped my ribcage like a grape, and something scratched the shit out of you and you didn't even yell at me for any of it. Remember that?"

His stomach gives a definite lurch at that, but Yosuke swallows hard and goes on. "Or that time I accidentally drank something funny, and you stayed up late talking to me until I felt better. Remember that?"

He snorts, and shakes his head, though he's squeezing a bit harder than he means to, now. And trying his best not to double over. Ugh. One problem at a time, and Souji really needs to hear this right now. He'll crawl into a chair and stay there for a while once they get Souji checked in.

"Or how about that time you paid my bail?" He cracks a smile at that, even around the grimace. In retrospect, it's kind of funny. Gods, his stomach really hurts now. It's a real pain. "You've been a great friend. I'm sorry if I never said it-oh, man. Ugh. Shit. We're a sad pair today, huh?"

He cringes a bit at the shoulder squeeze and his initial reaction is to look away. He begins to, but stops himself and looks up. His eyes are slightly red and he forces himself to keep eye contact. He nodded at the stories, feeling slightly better remembering each one. Finally, a shadow of a smile appears at a corner of his mouth. It felt nice to hear that Yosuke thought he was a great friend. It actually made his head feel less stuffy and foggy--it had gotten more so when he cried.

The smile disappeared when he realized that Yosuke wasn't feeling well either. He didn't say anything but pushed himself off the wall, hoping to make things easier for them both. He was a bit unsteady but was trying to focus as much as he could. The stupid fever was making that nearly impossible.

"Ready?" That's the only way Yosuke can interpret Souji's movement. He glances around for some tissue or something again, but still doesn't see any. That's weird. If Souji's been feeling sick, shouldn't he have some around somewhere?

"C'mon, man." It's gentle, and hopefully reassuring. Yosuke opens the door, shoulders Souji's overnight bag again, and nods. "And next time you try to die on me, at least make it something cool. I can't even tell this story later without embarrassing us both, you know?"

He let out a small, breathy laugh.

"Sorry...I don't really plan on doing this again soon."

His mind slowly wandered back to December as he moved out of his apartment, holding on to Yosuke carefully. In December, when he had faced his Shadow and been killed. When he worried his friends so much. When he worried Yosuke so much. No, he definitely wasn't planning on doing this again anytime soon.

Suddenly, it felt like any mental clarity he had regained disappeared in a flash. He saw flashes of light dance in front of his eyes. He stumbled a bit, but regained his balance.

I will not not pass out he mentally told himself firmly. What was causing these waves of sickness?

"Woah, easy." Yosuke steadied Souji as best as he could. The dude wasn't huge like Gilbert -thank the gods- but he was still a nearly full grown man, and supporting him while trying not to let either of them fall on the way to the elevator took some effort.

Yosuke wasn't feeling so hot himself, but thankfully, this was a task that he could manage even if it wasn't easy. And he was oddly glad to do it, too. Relieved, even. Someone needed to look out for Souji, and that someone should probably be him, after all. It felt right. Even if he was kind of freaked out every time Souji worsened a bit.

Jiraiya made another appearance, after Yosuke had checked the surrounding area and found it all clear. He nearly stumbled after that, though. He had to watch how frequently he used the magic, until they were both at least sitting down. A bead of sweat dripped down from his hairline and slid off the side of his nose. It was as much for himself as it was for Souji when he mumbled something encouraging. "Almost there, dude."

"No more," he said quietly as he felt some strength come back. He didn't want Yosuke wasting the last of his energy helping him. He tried helping himself as much as he could.

Honestly the elevator was doing nothing to help the creeping nausea. He focused on keeping himself as mentally clear as possible.

"Just a little further. Then you can rest." Yosuke misunderstands the request, but he's relieved to finally be on the way downstairs. When the elevator doors open to the lobby, he offers his shoulder again. "C'mon, dude. You can make it, alright? I'm right here."

Souji responds by grabbing onto Yosuke's shoulder and helping himself walk out as best as he can. He probably would have been passed out somewhere on the floor of his apartment by now if it wasn't for Yosuke helping him. When he could think more clearly, he would make a mental note to do something in thanks.

Yosuke takes it easy with Souji, finally getting them outside to the taxi. "Alright, dude? Stay with me, here."