Author's Note: Written so long ago I don't even remember writing it! Not edited.
IRREPLACEABLE
A Word of the Day Ficlet
By Kysra
She doesn't realize how far she's fallen and so quickly until the hunt for Osugi brings her face to face with a killer.
And as she tries to remember after it's over and everyone is safe, she can feel the burn in her lungs, the heavy ache in her legs from the run to the hotel. Her heart beats in an irregular rhythm as she runs then stops absolutely when she sees him lying upon a mussed bed, bandaged and bare in the moonlight, a strange woman petting his hair, sitting there in only a sheer pair of black underwear. In that moment, Saki's heart breaks harder than on the day of her sister's wedding years ago.
It's not something she wants to recall or relive; but her mind takes her there anyway, to the night after her interview when Takizawa-kun kissed her and she felt - for the first time - worthwhile. It was a sweet kiss, devoid of demand or expectation, and his eyes - she remembers - were bright and smiling when they parted and he took in her shocked face.
Her lips still tingle just thinking about it; and she wonders, wearily, if she'll ever have that again. Because it's different from the crush she had entertained with her brother-in-law - she had always known that would never bear fruit, never actually wanted it to. With Takizawa-kun, there was a distinct promise . . . with every look and touch, reaching out to each other across the water, the threshold . . . the unknown.
That's why she can't give up. Even if he's no longer her Takizawa-kun, even if he's playing someone else. Because even if he sees himself as expendable, to Saki he is irreplacable.
Word: Inane