Akutagawa would deny looking out for Atsushi with his dying breath. In his mind, it made sense: Atsushi had to remain a worthy opponent until the day they fought to the death. If he didn't, then everything Akutagawa had been working to was meaningless.

"Good."

He lets go of Atsushi's hair only when Atsushi is standing up fully, yanking his hand back and out of the weretiger's grasp. Only when he does, he immediately puts it in front of his face to cover a cough. His lungs burn in his chest, and it takes effort to not hunch over. Had he really overexerted himself over a squabble? That's more humiliating than the coughing fit itself.

He's just going to ignore the chill that runs down his spine. He may not be able to kill Atsushi, but he can certainly kill whatever weird effects that perfume has.

Not acknowledging his coughing fit once he stops, he speaks to Atsushi as though nothing is wrong. "Whatever you do here, just stay out of my way."