THIS TAKES PLACE DURING THE GUILD ARC.

Your vision swims as you struggle to stay conscious, the sharp sting of your wounds making it difficult to focus. The warehouse walls blur together, and you can just barely make out Naomi and Haruno a few feet away, both in rough shape but breathing. Atsushi kneels before you, his hands trembling, eyes wide with horror as he stammers apologies over and over.

"I—I didn't mean to—!" His voice cracks, his desperation clear, but you barely register it. The weight of exhaustion and pain presses down on you like an anchor.

And then, suddenly, he's pushed aside. Warm hands—familiar hands—grasp your shoulders, pulling you close. Dazai's voice is unusually unsteady, all traces of his usual playful aloofness gone.

"Hey, stay awake. Look at me." His fingers tighten around yours, his usual gloves discarded somewhere in the chaos. "You're going to be fine. You have to be fine."

You've never seen him like this before—his mask of confidence completely shattered. His forehead rests against yours for the briefest moment, as if grounding himself, before he pulls back just enough to take in your injuries. His expression is unreadable, but his grip on you remains firm, almost desperate.

"You scared me," he admits, voice raw with something dangerously close to panic. "Don't ever do that again."