Solar Eclipse of the Heart

Taking care

Akutagawa remained by Atsushi's side constantly—day, night, and afternoon. Even the others began to feel sympathy for him, as he rarely ate or drank, subsisting almost entirely on caffeine. Every night, he slept beside Atsushi. Chuuya brought him fresh clothes daily, and he used a designated shower room.

In an unexpected gesture, Akutagawa ordered flowers for Atsushi every morning. Each bouquet was different but always fragrant. While everyone assumed this was a display of his love for Atsushi, there was more to it than that.

After a week, Atsushi's hand moved slightly. Akutagawa quickly called Yosano to confirm his awakening. Yosano entered the room hurriedly and began to examine Atsushi.

"He is indeed awake, more likely his mind, but it will take more time for him to recover completely," she said with a smile. "I will go and announce it to the agency."

Akutagawa was so happy he could have danced, but since Atsushi had not fully awakened, he tempered his excitement. He continued to stay by Atsushi's side. The strong scent of flowers lulled him to sleep, but this time, he didn't sleep next to Atsushi; he simply held his hand, hoping for him to wake up.

While Akutagawa cared for Atsushi, the agency focused on identifying the substances the man had intended to inject into Atsushi.

The results came in the next day at noon. Ranpo was the first to read the report. Despite the numerous pages, he read them quickly and then explained the findings.

"Those substances were mixed drugs. Many are recreational drugs with side effects such as temporary hallucinations, muscle pain, insomnia, and blurred vision. If taken in high doses, these effects could last longer than expected. The man intended to make Atsushi suffer," Ranpo explained, looking serious.

"These drugs can cause severe pain and require medical attention, but obviously, he wasn't going to call a doctor. He wanted to drive Atsushi insane," Ranpo continued.

"But why did he call Akutagawa then? Wouldn't that just make his work harder?" Kyouka asked, puzzled.

"It's simple. He wasn't the one to call Akutagawa. Someone he was working with betrayed him, believing the white-haired man deserved what Atsushi's tiger did to him," Ranpo explained with a smirk. "I need candy now; I wasted my time on this simple mission," he added, pouting.

Everyone sat in silence, processing the information. They each had different thoughts about the situation, but most were relieved it hadn't turned out worse.

"But what should we do with the body? It's been sitting in the ADA base, guarded by two agents, dead," Kunikida asked, perplexed.

"What do you want to do with it? Burn it?" Chuuya suggested, clearly annoyed.

"That wouldn't be a bad idea," Dazai replied. "Let's cremate his body."

"You can't cremate a body without the person's consent!" Kunikida shouted, ready to punch Dazai.

"I don't care. He hurt Atsushi. I would personally love to burn the body," Dazai said, maintaining his composure.

Chuuya and Ranpo agreed to cremate the body, but they lacked the facilities to do so. One of them suggested burning the entire building with the body inside. They agreed, and once everyone was out, Dazai lit a fire with a briquette. They watched as the building was engulfed in flames.

They left the scene within five minutes and returned to Yosano's office as if nothing had happened. There, they found Akutagawa sleeping on Atsushi's lap, and to their surprise, Atsushi was awake.

"Atsushi, you're awake! Are you feeling okay?" Dazai asked, rushing over with a concerned expression.

"Oh, Dazai-san, can you keep your voice down? Akutagawa is sleeping. But yes, I'm okay, thanks to Yosano-san," Atsushi whispered, giving Dazai a small smile.

Everyone was relieved. Chuuya also approached Atsushi, whispering something in his ear that made Atsushi giggle. Everyone else was confused.

"What are you giggling about?" Dazai asked, looking at them curiously.

"It's nothing you guys should worry about. It's just something about Akutagawa," Atsushi said, blushing slightly.

"Ooh," Dazai hummed with a smirk.

"Shut up, bitch," Chuuya blurted out.

"I thought you were my bitch?!" Dazai squealed.

"Am not!" Chuuya yelled, turning and storming out of the room.

OKAYYY, SO IM SORRY FOR UPLOADING THIS LATEEE. I was in a vacation out of the country and i really didn't want to write the next chapter forcefully. So, i think i will end this story in more than 1 or 2 chapters bcz i just got more ideas of how to continue the storyy. But it'll take me some time bcz school will start next week for me. (Im so sad -_-) Anywayy, maybe ill upload in the weekends or if i want to, upload in the week. But don't expect me to write oftennn. ANYWAYYY, THANK YAALLL.

Word count : 767