The sun was already peeking over the horizon when Isuke heard a barely audible creak followed by a gasp of relative volume. She couldn't help but let out a small sigh of relief. That idiot's alive. She did kept her promise after all. She smiled and pulled the sheets over her, after all, she couldn't let Haruki know that prudent Isuke waited up for her because she was too worried to sleep, or she'll probably never hear the end of it. Isuke shut her eyes and waited for the redhead's sweet voice to fill the room.

"Isuke-sama? I'm home. Are you asleep?" Haruki whispered, and waited a few seconds for a reply, but none came.

"Whew. That was close." Continued Haruki, as she carefully slid under the sheets, grimacing as wool rubbed against her lacerations.

Once comfortably positioned next to Isuke, she wrapped her arms around her lover's waist. Now, Isuke may not have been able to see, but the rest of her senses were heightened and when the mahogany door opened, the familiar metallic stench of iron and death filled the room. The smell didn't bother her, what did, however, was the composition of the stench. Was it Haruki's blood? Or was it the target's? She hoped that it wasn't the former. Her thoughts were disrupted when she felt Haruki's unnaturally rough lips on her neck as she fought the warmth rising within her that was threatening to make her look like a blushing virgin.

"Night, Isuke-sama."

Isuke waited for a good few minutes before hearing soft snores coming from the exhausted girl. She then reached for the table lamp on the nightstand and turned it on, while skillfully escaping Haruki's hold on her. What she saw next infuriated her, and at the same time broke her heart. Haruki's hair wasn't the only red on her, a fresh cut stretched from her cheekbones to her lower jaw, and another right across her lower lip. Reddish brown dried blood lined her lips like cosmetics, attributing to their unnaturally rough texture. Isuke shook her head in disapproval while she made her way to the drawer and searched for the over utilized first aid kit.

That idiot is never listening to Isuke. Isuke had told her to be careful hadn't she? Idiot! Thought the pink-haired girl angrily.

Once she had found what she needed, she returned to sit on the edge of the bed and turned Haruki, such that she was lying in the supine position. Isuke poured antiseptic onto a cotton ball and started to clean Haruki's wound meticulously.

"Woah, ouch! That fucking hurt!" exclaimed Haruki, as she sat up and looked around, still dazed and confused as to what was going on.

"Shut your mouth and stay still!" I'm surprised that you actually feel pain." Isuke's words were dripping with sarcasm, as she continued to clean Haruki's wounds.

She smiled slightly when she noticed Haruki pouting childishly upon hearing her words.

"When did you wake up anyway? I preferred Isuke-sama when she was sleeping hahahahhah…OUCH GENTLE ISUKE-SAMA GENTLE!" The redhead regretted her words as soon as they escaped her lips as Isuke applied more pressure onto her wounds, intensifying the vile stinging sensation.

"What does Isuke look like to you? A pig? You were so noisy that you could've awoken the dead. Now take off your clothes."

Haruki's initial wince was replaced with a sickeningly smug expression.

"Now, now, I understand that I'm irresistible but this can wait."

"Don't get ahead of yourself sweetheart. Isuke is no pervert. I'm sure these aren't the only injuries you have, so take off your clothes."

"Nahh… I don't have any other wounds." Denied Haruki inconvincibly, while letting out a nervous giggle.

Isuke sighed, diverted her eyes towards the blood-stained sheets and pulled them off of Haruki.

"Yeah, right."

"The target was an owner of a dye company!"

"Cut your bullshit and take them off you moron."

"No. You do that for me." Suggested Haruki playfully.

Isuke rolled her eyes and proceeded to unzip the torn black hoodie, revealing a bullet grazed shoulder and bruises on Haruki's well-defined abs, accompanying multiple cuts here and there. Isuke grabbed another antiseptic soaked cotton ball and continued to work on the newly revealed wounds while Haruki stayed still and observed.

"You don't have to do this every time I come back from an assignment, you know? You need sleep, after all, I can always do it myself the next day."

The pinkette was a little taken aback by the sudden serious atmosphere and cursed Haruki's selflessness. After all, it was that that had caused her all the pain in the first place.

"What, and let you die in your sleep from infections?"

"But…"

Isuke sighed and placed the dirty cotton ball down. She cupped Haruki's face in her hands and looked straight into her amber eyes.

"Shut up and listen. Isuke isn't doing this because Isuke feels obliged to do it. Isuke does this because Isuke wants to, okay?"

Haruki grinned and pulled Isuke onto her lap with strong arms.

"I'm sorry for making you do so much. I'm a burden ain't I?"

"Don't apologize, idiot. As long as you come home in one piece, there's nothing to be sorry about."

Haruki just smiled gratefully and moved her face close to Isuke's. Their lips interlocked and Isuke wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's neck. When the kiss ended, Isuke shut her eyes, rested her head on Haruki's chest and allowed herself to indulge in the warmth from the other girl. Her eyes shot opened when she realized that she had yet to dress the wounds and groaned as she tried to get up.

"What's the matter?" asked Haruki curiously

"Your wounds need to be dressed, you idiot."

"That's it? That can wait. Come on now, its bed time, be selfish and stop worrying about insignificant things. Isn't that what Isuke-sama always said?" chuckled Haruki.

"Don't use Isuke's words against Isuke, you idiot." Came the reply.

"I love you." Reminded Haruki while planting a kiss upon Isuke's forehead.

"I love you too, you corny idiot." Mumbled Isuke as she switched off the lights in a desperate attempt to hide the reddish hue that was creeping up her face.

Hey there! It's been a while huh? So sorry for not updating as frequently as I would like to, it's just that I'm constantly sleep deprived, with school being the main culprit (Like it's 4 fuckin am here right now and I really need some sleep, yikes!) Also, I would like to apologize for the chapter being too short, I'm trying my best to lengthen it! Thank you all so much for your patience! Pardon me for any grammatical errors that I may have missed out on while editing and please do leave a review if it's not too much to ask for! I love reading about your thoughts on the story! Sooo, that should be it for now. Stay awesome young padawans! Until next time, ciao~