Iba chuckled at one of his father's lame jokes and his fork down to pick up his ringing phone without checking the caller ID.

"Iba-kun?"

"Okita-kun?" He was rather startled that he heard Okita's voice on the other end. Their normal mode of communication was usually through text.

"It's Shiori-chan. Chinatsu and I are in the hospital waiting room waiting for news. We'll be here beside her until you come." He sounded so serious, and Iba could guess what was going on.

"...Is she going to make it?" Iba had already stood up at the mention of his girlfriend's name. He grabbed his black suit jacket from the back of his chair.

"We haven't heard anything yet. It's up in the air right now. I'll text you updates."

"I'll get the details when I get there. Thank you, Okita-kun. I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up and turned to his parents.

"Is it work-related?" His father set his cup down after taking a sip of his coffee.

Iba's soft green eyes shifted to his feet. "Close…"

His mother stood up and helped him put on his suit jacket. "Go. We can always reschedule. This is related to her, isn't it?" She placed her her hands on his shoulders. She'd noticed how quickly his demeanor had changed in just a matter of seconds.

"Thank you, Mother." He placed a kiss on her forehead and bowed his head to his parents before he ran outside to his car. He was a few hours away from the city, he wasn't looking forward to the long drive with Shiori's condition hanging up in the air. He could feel his world losing color already. He could only pray and hope that she would be okay.

Chinatsu and Souji both stood when they spotted Iba from the window. Iba quietly entered the room, looking a little disheveled, his hair plastered onto his forehead with sweat, the first few buttons of his white shirt were unbuttoned, and his sleeves were clumsily rolled up. He rushed over to look at Shiori. He was relieved to see that she was breathing on her own and that she was resting peacefully. He looked back at his friends with questions in his soft green eyes. "What happened to her?"

"We spotted her in the area of our stake out and we followed her because you weren't with her. We assumed she would need back up. Plus, I was keeping my promise to you, Iba." Chinatsu looked over at Shiori.

"We thought she was working a case. Doesn't seem likely after what we saw." Souji shook his head and crossed his arms. "It seemed…personal. She was meeting with what looked like to be some mafia members."

"Personal?"

"They had a clear shot to her heart. They could've killed her, but they "let" her live. Doc said that bullet missed the heart and major arteries." Souji wrapped an arm around Chinatsu's waist. "We're cops. We know what kind of message they were sending. As to what business Shiori-chan had with them…we don't know. I've already talked to Kondō-san and Hijikata-san. They'll be by later."

Chinatsu placed a hand on her friend's shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. "She'll be fine. You know how stubborn she is. She's not going to leave you." She whispered quietly.

"Thank you, both of you." Iba grasped their hands, his eyes growing glassy with tears.

They left him and Shiori, promising to return the next day.

Iba sat down and took her hand in his, brushing his lips over her knuckles, relief flooding into him. What did she do? Why did this happen? Had it been one of their cases? What recklessness had she been up to?

Why didn't she tell him anything?

Last time he had gone to visit his parents, he remembered he'd come back to find new scars on her body. He knew her body as well as she did. When he'd asked about it, she had given him a vague excuse, but he didn't press on because she didn't want to talk about it.

But now.

She wasn't getting out of this without an explanation.

Kondō and Hijikata had shown up to discuss the details of what happened with him and told him to stay with her. Their cases would be distributed to other detectives. Iba knew that Shiori would hate the sound of that, but she wouldn't be fit to come back to work for a few months, at least out in the field.

Iba remained at her side during the night, trying not to leave her side for more than mere minutes at a time. He didn't sleep for fear that her pretty cyan eyes would flutter open and that he'd miss it.

It was about noon when Chinatsu showed up with a meal from McDonald's for him. "Go rest, shower, change, and come back. I'll keep watch over her and give you a call if she wakes up.

"But Chinatsu-chan-"

Chinatsu's lavender eyes were stern. "Iba."

Sighing, he gratefully took the bag from her and and nodded. "I'll be back as soon as possible."

Chinatsu nodded and took his place next to Shiori's bed.

Iba finished replacing the water from the vase of morning glories he'd brought to liven up the room. He stacked up papers that had fallen from the table. Hijikata had sent him some light paperwork to help him keep earning his paycheck, since he wouldn't leave Shiori's side for more than one or two hours at a time.

He sat next to her bed and brought her hand to his lips, kissing the back of it. She'd been in and out. The painkillers that were administered to her were strong enough to keep her out for hours at a time.

"...Fuck.." She groaned.

Iba was about to press the button to call the nurse, but she gripped his hand tightly, shaking her head. "No more painkillers, Hachirō." She was tired of having a fuzzy head and drifting in and out of unconsciousness.

"Shiori…"

"I'm fine. Just a little while. I won't move." She exhaled through her teeth and shook her head. "I want to be awake for a little while."

"If I see you're in too much pain, I'm calling the nurse." He sighed and gave her hand a soft squeeze.

She nodded. Iba could read her like an open book, so she trusted him, and she had trusted him with her life numerous times in the past. She wasn't going to start doubting him now. "What do you want to know?" As he could read her, she could read him. He was biting his tongue to keep from bombarding her with questions.

Hesitating, Iba brought their clasped hands to his forehead, remaining quiet for a few moments. "Shiori, you're my sun and my world revolves around you…If something had happened to you-" He cut himself off, and she stared at him with wide eyes when she felt her hand start to get wet.

She squeezed his hand tighter. "Hachirō…I'm sorry." She knew that her weak apology couldn't make up for the days, hours he'd spent next to her, worrying, and doing things for her. "…I'll tell you the truth this time."

Iba shook his head, keeping his head down. "Will you?"

"You don't believe me?" She was actually shocked that he doubted her. He'd never voiced it before.

"You've lied about it before, Shiori." He finally lifted his head to look at her and released her hand.

She reached over to dry his tears with her hand and cupped his cheek. "...I know. I had to." Her heart ached, more than the wound in her chest, seeing him like this. She was the cause of those tears, of his anguish. "…but I'm ready to tell you now."

Iba remained silent and took her hand in his again, squeezing it, reminding himself that she was here. Hurt, but alive. That was what most important to him, but he couldn't help but feel hurt that he kept some kind of dangerous secret from him. A secret that almost cost her her life. He couldn't put into words how much he loved and cared for her dearly. Shiori wasn't good at expressing herself with words, but he knew through her small actions that she loved him too. His soft green eyes looked over at her expectantly.

"I was talking to my foster father. He happens to be the head of the infamous Dragons. You've seen my tattoo on my back, but I lied about it. They gave it to me when I was sixteen." She took a breath and looked up at the fluorescent lights. "I ran away from my home when I was seven after my step-mother killed my father for the fortune and was going after me. I lived on the streets for a while until I was picked up by my foster father." She grasped his hand. "I had a good life with them, but when I saw the damage they were causing with their business practices, I couldn't go on anymore. I ran away, joined the academy."

"I can imagine they weren't happy with your decision." Iba sighed, scooting his chair closer to the bed so he could kiss her temple. "You've been dealing with that alone, Shiori?"

"Yeah…They wanted me to stop interrupting their businesses, hence the message." Nodding, she shook her head. "Hachirō…I couldn't weigh you down with my past, but now that my hand has been forced…"'

Iba gently and carefully wrapped his arm around her and embraced her gingerly, afraid of hurting her. "I love you, and whatever burdens you have, I want to help you with them. I'd rather have my heart stop because I'm looking at your beautiful face," he kissed her softly. "instead of being frightened that something's happened to you." He glanced at the heart monitor that was beeping rapidly.

Shiori used a hand to cover her eyes and red face. "…How do you say shit like that with a straight face, Hachirō?"

Iba dismissed the nurse when she came in. "She's fine, I just said something that made her heart beat faster."

The nurse laughed and went over to unhook Shiori from the heart monitor. "Here, I'll let you continue with what you were doing, but don't get carried away."

Iba flashed her a smile and kissed Shiori's red cheeks. "That's how your heart reacts to my words, Shiori?"

"Sh-shut up, Hachirō…"

"I'm flattered." He grinned. "But as for our cases…"

"Shit, I have to talk to the Doctor to see when he can sign me back in for field duty." She ran a hand through her violet bangs.

"Ah-ah." Iba clicked his tongue in annoyance. "That'll be months from now. It'll be at least one or two before you can even set a foot at the precinct to do paperwork." He got up to get her a small glass of water. "So don't even think about it. You're going to get lots of rest and care."

"Fuckkkkkk…" Shiori groaned in annoyance. "But I'm going to go crazy."

"I'll talk to the Chief and Captain about letting you assist with cases-nothing more than watching footage. We won't be going to chase suspects or witnesses." Iba placed a kiss on her nose as he placed the cup of water in her hands.

"Fuck that, we can go talk to witnesses at least, can't we?" Shiori took a slow drink from the cup of water.

"You think your job needs you more than I do?" His lips formed a cute pout that made her heart jump. "No, I need you more. And I need you to recover. We'll be following the Doctor's orders and taking it slowly."

Her cyan blue eyes stared at him, taking in his soft features. Where would she be without him? He was the only person that could help her reel her temper and the only person that loved her how and for who she was. She didn't feel like she deserved him. "Hachirō, I think I need the painkillers now…"

"I'll get a nurse, Shiori."

She grabbed his hand before he could get up. "…I love you…and I'm sorry."

His smile melted away the aching in her heart. "Let me carry your burdens with you, is all I ask if you do love me. I love you too, Dearest."