But in the End

Suspicions Confirmed

Opening my eyes, I saw I was in a different room. Glancing around as my vision cleared up, I could make out that it was the infirmary back at the Agency.

I slowly sat myself up in the bed, groaning from the throbbing in my head, causing me to place a hand on it. Letting out a breath, I glanced over to the window beside me. "Must be morning..."

I heard the door open, causing me to turn my head, seeing it was Atsushi. "Oh, you're awake!"

I nodded my head, giving him a small smile. "Yep."

"How're you feeling?" He asked as he came over and sat on the chair beside the bed.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Eh, like I have a major hangover." I reassured him, not wanting to worry the boy.

"Yosano says you have a concussion." Atsushi mumbled, a somewhat sad look on his face.

"Yeah I figured as much..." I sighed. "But it's nothing I can't handle." I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, standing up with a stretch. "Well, no moping around, let's get out of this room."

With a nod he walked with me out the room, back into the main office. Once we walked into the room, I noticed the lack of people, causing me to raise a brow.

Seeming to notice my confusion, Atsushi spoke up. "Kunikida left a while ago, while Kenji and Yosano had to run an errand."

Nodding my head, greeting the others before looking over to the boy. "I think I'm gonna go get a coffee, you wanna tag along?"

Atsushi shook his head, pointing to his desk. "Sorry, but I got to work on my report of the mission."

"Ughhhh..." I groaned, realizing I need to as well. "I forgot about that."

Atsushi let out a chuckle at my obvious displeasure. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to be doing work with your concussion. Yosano also told me to tell you to take a couple days off to let your brain recover."

I wanted to argue, but I know better than to go against what Yosano says is best for her patients, especially with my head pounding like crazy.

"I guess so..." I trailed off, walking to the door. "Thanks." I made my way downstairs to the café, sitting down into a booth.

"Getting your usual?"

I glanced over to the woman behind the counter, giving her a smile, nodding. "You know it."

Not wasting a second, I watched as she made the coffee before bringing it over to me. Giving her my thanks, I reached for the cup, taking a few sips out of it.

Feeling satisfied, I relaxed into my seat, setting the cup back on to the table. I let out a annoyed groan as I felt my head throb again, resting my head into my arms on the table.

"Look who's finally awake." Huffing, I shifted my head in order to stare at the brunette as he made his way over to the booth. "How's your head?"

"Definitely feels like it was slammed against a wall." I replied, annoyed at the constant throbbing I have to deal with. It was silent for a moment before I spoke up again. "Anything new with this Azure Messenger?"

Dazai sat down, resting his chin on top of his hand, closing his eyes. "Yeah, as a matter of fact."

"Oh?" I questioned, raising a brow. "And what's that?"

"Well, I had a hunch on who our little messenger was." He let out a sigh, like he was dissatisfied. "Turns out my hunch was right."

"When is it not?" I snorted, lifting myself off the table to take another sip of my drink. "So who'd it turn out to be?"

Opening his eyes, he locked his gaze with me. "It was none other than Miss Sasaki."

I let out a hum, taking in the information. "I had a feeling. Ever since we rescued her, I just got this feeling that something wasn't right from the get go."

"You too, huh?" He asked, to which I nodded in response. "I sent an email to Sasaki, addressing the Azure Messenger to meet at the abandoned hospital."

"What for?" I asked, confused.

"Well for starters, to uncover the truth behind the Azure Messenger and her connection to the Azure King." Dazai summed up, leaning back in the booth.

"So what connection did Sasaki have with the Azure King? It's hard to fathom a mere psychology teacher would have such a connection." I pondered, thinking of any possibilities.

"That's the interesting part, you remember when I told Kunikida that Miss Sasaki recently broke up with her boyfriend?" Dazai asked.

I thought back to when we found the two chatting, and Dazai mentioning that, as well as Kunikida jumping to conclusions about the two.

I let out a small grunt, remembering it all, before nodding my head. "Yeah, so what? I thought that was just your tactless way to taunt Kunikida about getting a girl?"

"She was referring to the Azure King." Dazai stated, causing me to furrow my brows in confusion. "I am positive that without a doubt, she was a devoted follower of his, maybe even having a relation to him."

I widened my eyes at the information, processing it. "No way..." I set the cup down onto the table. "Have you told Kunikida yet?"

"I was about to head up to the Agency to tell him this, actually." Dazai replied, blinking as if he just remembered.

"Well, he's not there at the moment." I told him. "Atsushi said he left a while ago."

"Guess I'll just call him at some point." Dazai said as I stood up out of the booth. "Anywho, you coming with us to confront miss Sasaki?"

"Nah, I got things to do." I stretched my arms, grunting from the pop I felt from my back. "You know? Bathe the fish, mop the dishes... stuff like that."

"But you don't have a fish." Dazai deadpans.

I couldn't help myself as I busted out laughing. "Of course I don't, I was just joking!" Once my laughter quieted down, I immediately regret it, as pain shot through my head.

"You sure you're okay?" Dazai asked, in concern, noticing my face contorting from the pain.

I waved my hand at him, as I placed the other on my forehead. "Yeah, I'm good. In all seriousness, I was instructed to take a couple days off and sleep this headache off."

"If you ever feel your life slipping away, let me know and we can commit double suicide together!~" Dazai exclaimed, out of the blue.

I felt a tick mark on my face, turning to the man. "I'm not gonna die from some lousy headache, Dazai!" I exclaimed, staring at him in a scolding manner. "Besides, I'm not committing suicide with you."

"Ah well, a man can dream, can't he?" Dazai sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"In case you were unaware, people don't usually dream of suicide the way you do." I closed my eyes for a moment, before opening them again. "Tell me something, Dazai..."

"Huh?" He looked to me, waiting for whatever I was gonna ask.

"Why exactly is it-" I stopped myself, shaking my head. "Never mind."  I gave him a small wave as I began walking out the door. "Have fun catching our fearsome messenger."

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Published: 12/30/2023