Chapter 6

"No, NO! Stay with me. Come on. Officer down! Hold on. Just hold on."

Her room was dark, daylight struggling to shine through the edges of her blackout curtains. She'd been home for hours, and should have been asleep a while ago. And yet instead she was sitting on her couch, arms wrapped around her legs, and head on her knees. How could she sleep when she couldn't get the image of the officer that had been shot, eyes pleading with her to somehow save him as he bled out, life draining from his eyes while they waited for the ambulance?

Dying on the job was a risk all officers lived with. It was a fear she had experienced on both sides of the fence; as an officer, and as a daughter of one. There had been countless times where she had seen the worry creep into her mother's voice when her father was late, or the occasional hesitation when the phone rang while he was out. She'd had half a dozen near misses herself.

Knowing the risks and experiencing them, though, those were two different things.

"Take care of them. Please."

Before she was fully aware of her actions, her phone was in her hand and a number dialed.

"Hello?"

She heard a yawn, and felt vaguely guilty for calling, but it was lost in the relief at hearing her voice.

"Yukari-san? Hello? ...Yukari?"

"...Sorry. I." Was that weak voice really hers?

The other end of the line was quiet, and she wondered if the artist had fallen asleep again. The family had gone on vacation overseas, and it was likely well into the night wherever they were. She never should have called, even if she hadn't meant to.

"We all went to the zoo today. We haven't been to one since Minami was little. It was fun, although I did get run over by a balloon cart. I think the man was apologizing, but the language barrier..."

She listened to Maki go on about the day, her quiet, hushed tone leading her to think that the family was sharing a hotel room. At some point, she fell asleep, exhaustion finally catching up with her. When she woke from her dreamless sleep, it was with a stiff neck and a single message on her phone.

Goodnight, Yukari.

~X~

"So, any men you want to talk about?"

"Ugh, mom." She glared over her smoothie, willing her mother to drop the subject. The two had gone out for lunch for her birthday, this being the first time in years that she had been free on the actual date. Her father was at work, but he promised to bring home cake and ice cream for dinner.

"What? It's been some time since Daisuke. Almost a year. Well, nine months."

"Has it?" she drawled, not an ounce of interest in her voice.

"Yukari…"

"It's my birthday, mom. Can we talk about pleasant things?"

Tomomi sighed and shrugged. "Alright, alright. You can't blame me for trying."

She could, actually, if she were feeling more petulant, but she was too full from lunch to muster the energy for that.

"How is Maki doing?" Tomomi asked, with a suggestive undertone she didn't understand.

"Um, fine. She's in Tokyo for a competition. Apparently it's an important one, part of the...Grand Prix, I think. From what I gathered from her rant, it's rare to have that sort of competition in Tokyo. She's been training like crazy. There were some art show after that she wanted to attend, so she won't be back until next week. She was upset that she's missing my birthday, and Minami has been sending me pictures nonstop to make it up for it..." As if to illustrate her point, her phone beeped several times in row.

"Ah, yes. I remember Azusa-san mentioning something about that."

"...You talk to Kamijou-san?" She couldn't recall her mother ever once mentioning being friends with the artist's mother. Granted, they had gotten along rather well that one day at the shopping center, but wouldn't her mother have told her about it?

"Oh, now and then. We meet up for lunch occasionally."

Apparently not.

"So how has work been?" Her mother easily changed the topic again, scratching Ichigo's head as he made himself comfortable next to her.

Confused, and mildly suspicious, she let it slide. "As well as can be expected."

"I was worried about how you would handle the...incident."

She looked away, frowning at the reminder. It had only been two weeks since Hanada had been killed, and her fellow officers still gave her pitying looks. She had nightmares about it every few nights, but that was hardly anything new by now. "It's," she faltered, knowing that her mother would never believe her if she said she was fine. "I'm handling it. I promise."

"I'm glad you have your artist to help you through it."

The officer was too lost in the memory of a calming voice go on about her day at the zoo when she needed the distraction the most to notice her mother's choice of phrasing.

"Yeah…"

~X~

"Happy late birthday!"

"...You didn't have to get me anything, you know."

The artist pouted. "I wanted to. Ichigo gets a present too!"

The dog perked up at hearing his name, and Maki, finding a captive audience in the canine, was more than happy to pull out a plush dog toy that not only looked like him, but sported a police vest and hat. Ichigo sniffed at it before gingerly taking it with his mouth and carrying it to his bed, where he continued to play with it.

Rolling her eyes and smiling, because it was undeniably adorable, she opened her own present.

"It's…"

"Our park."

Their park. Yes, it certainly was, painted in familiar strokes. It was early fall in the painting, the leaves of the shadowed trees a mix of orange and green, some blowing in the invisible wind. The sky was colored pink and yellow, with a touch of grey on the "western" side, and wispy clouds hanging high. There were no people, other than an indistinct painter, a jogger, and a dog. The few details of the people were too familiar to mistake their inspiration.

She was sure she said "thank you", but was too taken in by the re-creation of her favorite place to notice if she had.

"Now let's spar! I want to try something out!"

"Oh...sure. ...Wait, what?!"

~X~

"Whoa, what train did you run into, Someya?"

"Go away, Tanuki."

"Damn Someya, who'd you pick a fight with?"

"I didn't pick a fight with anyone."

"Did your girlfriend beat you up? 'Cause, we can take care of that for you."

"We had a spar, okay. Which was probably a stupid idea, since she's a world class fencer. ...Not that it was my idea in the first place. ...And she's not my girlfriend!"

She ignored the rolling eyes and disbelieving snorts in favor of dropping herself onto her desk, wincing when her body protested, and gently laying her head down. Everythinghurt. She hadn't had a workout this rough since the academy, though at least her stamina hadn't suffered nearly as much as her sword skills had. Facing Maki, it had been so glaringly obvious that her reflexes and speed were lacking. She knew the fencer was strong, and had seen her speed in person and on the various recordings of her old tournaments, but it was totally different facing that ability herself.

Next time, next time, she would get a hit in. No matter what.

And maybe next time, she would be a little less distracted by the graceful figure Maki cut with a sword in hand.

~X~

"We're here! C'mon Ichigo! The ocean!"

"Ah, wait. Don't go too! ...Far."

"Oh, it'll be fine. It won't take us long to unload."

Yukari shrugged and decided to let Minami run off. Her partner would protect her from any trouble, and he was easy enough to spot from a distance on the beach.

"She starts school soon, doesn't she?" she asked, trying to remember if schools still started in September.

"Yup! We didn't get to go to the beach when we went on vacation, so she's excited." Maki pulled out their cooler and umbrella, leaving the towels, blankets, and chairs to the officer.

"I noticed."

Minami had been bouncing in her seat during the entire car ride, telling Ichigo about how much fun she had planned for him. The whole beach trip had been Maki's idea, who had decided to drag Yukari and Ichigo along on her day off. Minami had been visibly glowing when the officer and dog had shown up, latching onto Ichigo within seconds.

"It'll be fun!"

A watermelon, six icecreams, and more sand than anyone was happy with later, the four of them lay on their giant blanket. Ichigo rolled over with a groan, demanding attention from the three humans. He was still damp from his ocean sojourn, the smell of the salt water overpowering even the smell of wet dog. Minami halfheartedly reached out to scratch him, worn out from the hours of frisbee and swimming. The officer herself was quite content to not move, already achy muscles now all but paralyzed after her own bout of swimming/running from Ichigo and Maki, and then a battle royale that ended with them chasing down Ichigo after he stole their "weapons".

"We should probably start packing up."

"Let's get some dinner!" Maki smiled at her, and the grumbling in her stomach made her answer known.

Suddenly energized, Minami sat up and asked excitedly, "Can we have pizza?"

"That sounds good," she agreed.

"Pizza it is!"

Packing up took some time, as they had to shake sand out of everything, including the dog. By the time they made it home, the officer, child, and dog had dozed off. She was too tired to say no when Maki told her to stay, and when she left early the next day after being called into work, it was with a cup of hot chocolate and the breakfast the two sisters decided to make for "their favorite officer."