A/N: Aaaaaaaaaah, yes, we came to the end. This is the end lovely people. Thank you so much for joining in on this and I had someone to write for; you are wonderful! Hope the last scene makes up for all the grief I put you through lovelies.
Anon, you're so kind, I can't.
So, without further ado, enjoy~~~
He stoically watched as her fear turned into surprise, into relief and then…tears pooled in her eyes, as she kept his gaze with her disbelieving one.
"S-Saitou…you are…you're here…"
And then the tears were released; she just gave up and fell forward, right into his chest. He closed his eyes, in a final effort to control his emotions. He simply wrapped his hands around her, falling to his knees. She cried with abandon in his chest and the tighter he hugged her, the more her sobs came. She was shaking all over, sounding unbearably pained.
And he simply held her firmly there, against his chest, as if to make sure she was real.
"I'm here." His voice was soothing. "I'm here." Just like that day she had the accident, he spoke those words and she felt safe; protected; like things would go well. "I'm here."
He barely believed it, even as he held her. He held her by the neck and the waist, spots he could squeeze her even closer from. He needed to feel her heartbeat, her skin, make sure she was there. He feared she would start complaining but all she did was accept him and he found it too much.
But it was real: her lips were cut; her eye had a developing bruise; wherever her hands were exposed there were more bruises. Her clothes weren't torn anywhere suspiciously but they were certainly wrinkled and somewhat misplaced. She was maltreated and hurt and once more in danger around him. The thought alone sent him into a rage! But he couldn't afford to let his hate overtake him. He had to make sure he did this right, to keep her safe.
Once she stopped crying, he took her face in his hands, wiped back her tears. And just stared as she sniffled and struggled to maintain some semblance of decorum. They stayed like that for a while, until he realised she was still bound. He took his knife out of its holder and cut her loose with two moves; seeing the burns from the ropes only made him angrier, but the moment she was released, she grabbed his shirt, as if holding on to him for sanity, for life.
She felt so vulnerable; he did, too. She was the one in pain and shackles but he was the one feeling a prisoner—to his feelings and this image of her, of reaching out to him. An honestly chilling idea was born in his mind then: if he hadn't told Okita to convince her to stop texting…this could have been avoided. She could have texted him about it, he'd have seen it and immediately told his friend. Once more, she was in this position because of him, much like that time with Senguji.
If he could smack himself, he would have. For now blaming and hating was enough. Another ridiculous thought passed and that was that the universe was playing a sick joke on him. You want to see her so badly? Here, have her, beaten and bound in the basement.
He reached out, too, his hand cupping her cheek tenderly; she leaned into it. He had to suppress the urge to hurt every single asshole who dared to touch her for the umpteenth time in only a matter of seconds, barely minutes, as he carefully brought her face next to his.
"You're here…" she only said, reassuring herself and closed her eyes.
He rested his forehead against hers. "I'm here." He repeated with fervour. "No one will harm you." His thumb kept tracing the lines of her face, her mouth, her chin…and she let him. She wasn't fighting, once more she was simply accepting him. He felt her grip on his shirt tighten, brows drawing close. His other hand put strands of hair behind her ear, her breath tickling his neck; she was so kind. And she was right there.
I want her; I want her to be safe. And I want her to be happy; but I want to be happy with her.
He only had to angle his head; his eyes remained open till his lips met hers in the most loving but tentative way. He was hesitant at first, but then she met his efforts with her own and a slow, torturing kiss erupted into a passionate show of affection. But he wasn't rough with her, not even for a second; he barely touched her, putting no force behind it.
They separated when both ran out of breath; he put his forehead on hers. "I'll get you out of here, alright? Trust me."
"I trust you…you aren't here because of me though, are you? Those clothes…" Black shirt with a dirty look and tight black jeans; a gangster's attire. "This is your assignment."
"Yes, I entered a gang of bikers."
"Oh my god; that is so dangerous! I hoped…I feared…I'm just glad you look well."
He shook his head, finally parting with her. "You are in no position to worry about anyone but yourself. You wear everyday clothes so am I to assume Rooster Head is safe?" She nodded yes. "How did this even happen? Why did you take that road?"
She looked away. "…Sano-chan was sick. I took him soup. But on the way there, one road was closed for maintenance and if I took the other one, I'd take twice as much to get there. But the road I took…proved more treacherous than I'd hoped."
He sighed. "That kid always gets you into trouble." She scolded him with a look. "Anyway, we have to get you out of here. This is what we'll do."
He took his cell phone out "I'm calling Okita to tell him about the situation; the police will take more than half an hour to get here though, maybe fifty minutes, thus ever second counts. We can't stay in here too long because even if we banker down, there are approximately thirty seven people on the premises at any given moment. And since today Koutarou is here, security will be tighter."
He dialled Okita's number.
"What we're doing is: I'll take out the four at the door, drag them down here and lock them in. But you don't come out whatever you might hear. Get it?"
"What might I-?"
"Get it?"
She had to force her mouth to stop from sassing him. "Yes."
"Good; now wait a second." He pressed call and put the device to his ear. "Okita, shut up and listen: code red; pre-determined place," and hung up. "Alright; now once they are inside, we get out and head to the right."
"Okay…"
"We have to keep moving because they are too many; but if we take it room to room, it'll take time till they manage to immobilise us. Hopefully, I will have managed to create a path for us to the parking lot. Do you know how to drive a large bike?" She nodded yes. He took out some keys from his pocket and handed them to her. "These are the keys of my bike; the last one of the second row, closest to the gate. If you get a chance, ran to it and leave."
"Without you!?"
"I'll try to catch up; but if you see I'm too late, just go. I can make it alone anyway."
"No! Saitou, you'll have no means of escape if-!"
"Okita will come; I'll just have to hold out."
"But you said there are thirty seven people out there!"
"…remember when I was stranded in that warehouse I told you about?" She nodded yes frantically. "I held out for two whole days; but I was alone. The only one I had to protect was myself and if I got a little shot up, I didn't mind. But if they so much as graze you, hands will fly." She seemed a little taken aback at that but said nothing. "If you're here when you didn't have to be it'll only distract me."
"I see; alright. I promise if I get the chance to make an exit, even if it is without you, I'll try to make it."
He seemed pleased. "That's all I ask. And in return I promise no one will dare touch a single hair of yours as long as I'm around." She blushed but otherwise nodded normally.
"Okay, survival tips: if you see a gun of any sort being drawn, you immediately dive! Not for the person holding it, for the ground. you'll never believe how eaily people miss, especially a moving target. I'll take care of the rest. If anyone comes at you with a knife you hold your arms out like this" he put his arms in front of him, covering face, neck and chest, showing her the correct stance. "If you can help it, curl up into a ball, it'll help protect the sides, such as lungs." She kept nodding. "If anything happens to me, you run like hell! Always to the right; you'll find the exit to the parking there; should anyone harm you, apply pressure to the wound. No one will manage to, but just in case. Are you getting all these?"
She nodded her head rapidly. "Good. As long as we're on the run you stay close to me and behind me at all times unless I say otherwise. And listen to me if I tell you to do something." He stopped, taking a deep breath. "Alright. We'll stay here for another…fifteen minutes. And then we're setting it into motion."
"…all this is fine but there is one thing I don't understand."
"What?"
"Won't you be exposed if we do all that?"
He chuckled. "…what."
"You're undercover here; for the past three months no less. Won't that ruin all you've worked for? I couldn't stand it if I was the reason your cover was blown; and I don't want you to regret it later and-" The look he gave her, of utter and complete confusion, threw her off. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Tokio…fuck the cover." Her heart stopped. "I'm getting you out of here myself."
She looked at him gobsmacked, reeling from the light-headedness his comment brought. She felt…warmth.
"Now come here;" he grabbed her by the waist, pulling her close "we have fifteen more minutes in this basement and I'll be damned if I spend it talking about trivial things." She glanced at him, cheeks reddening. "We're going to do something relaxing." He sat down, taking her with him. He put her in his lap, head resting on her shoulder. She blushed even more. "Stay with me Tokio."
"…okay."
She watched as he inhaled her scent, eyes closing. Smiling at the surprisingly tranquil image, she ran her fingers through his hair, making him shudder pleasantly. She smiled wider.
"I love you," he abruptly said against her shoulder. She looked at him shocked, but his eyes didn't open to see her. "Let's go to dinner."
She seemed appalled for some reason and without missing a beat slapped his chest. "…don't say such things; that's a death flag!"
He snorted. "You didn't say no though."
"Why would I say no? I've been begging you to take me out on a date for half a year now." he remained silent; she huffed annoyed. "I love you, too-"
"-Idiot," they both snapped at the same time. Quiet laughing ensued. When it died down, still eyes closed, he lazily moved his lips to form: "Can I ask you something that's been eating at me?"
"…sure."
"If you witnessed a murder, why didn't you call the police immediately?"
"…I tried; Tomoda is on a leave so I called Sou-chan. He didn't answer. I thought about…about sending you a message but you don't even have that number with you, Sou-chan has it, so I refrained. I bet he wouldn't read your messages anyway. So I called him twice but he didn't answer. And next morning, as I went to buy food for my cat, they grabbed me and brought me here."
That was too fast, Saitou thought suspiciously, finally opening his eyes. "Were you driving your truck to Sano's?"
"Yes; I had just finished my roll and I had taken the soup with me, he simply reheated it."
Okay, if she took the truck, it made sense to be found easily; he must have been a little bit paranoid. "And if you knew you witnessed a murder why didn't you go to Okita's place? If you explained the situation he wouldn't have minded." And all this grief could have been avoided.
"…I don't know where he lives." She didn't know if she was offended or if she wanted to laugh at the look he gave her. "Why would I?"
His judgemental look didn't abate. "You're calling him Sou-chan."
She finally decided she would giggle. "He told me to call him Sou-chan and it sort of stuck with me now."
"…don't call him like that." She giggled again. "I warned you."
"No, I'm laughing because Sou-…Okita said you wouldn't like it and you really don't like it."
His eyes shifted. "I'll deal with him when the time comes." She giggled for the third time and he decided he liked that sound. He held on to her tighter and waited for his long moment of respite to end.
Twenty five minutes later, he decided it was about time to move. Without warning, he stood, taking her with him.
"I thought you had fallen asleep."
"My eyes were simply closed."
And he wanted to savour the feeling for a little longer, so he took ten extra minutes. He needed them; he was about to kill and injure a lot of people. The dangerous ones had to die, obviously, while the small fry simply needed a push to leave them alone. He wasn't talking about now, though, no, he was thinking of the long run. If they knew her truck, her name and kidnapped her so easily, they also knew where she lived; if they left without taking care of them, retribution would come down hard upon her.
But he wouldn't allow that.
"You stay here no matter what until I come get you, remember?"
"I remember."
"Stay here."
He said it for a final time and ascended the stairs. She followed him with her eyes. He looked so relaxed and prepared for anything, but he must have been worried. She couldn't see it until he reached the door and saw him take a small, bracing breath. Even that was barely noticeable, but she had been looking. Feeling a little better for seeing that yet all the more appreciative for the effort he put in to appear casual, she took heart and decided to be bold: silently, she followed his example and reached the door.
He had left it a tiny crack open. She took a peak outside…only to see one of the four men huddled around him being flung across the room! The second one was being picked up and this one fell on the other two, falling to the floor like bowling pins. Saitou took the initiative once more and kicked out with impeccable precision, hitting soft spots and certain places that caused them to get knocked out easier.
In a matter of seconds, they were all out.
After that, Saitou bent down low in an effort to secure them but then snorted. "Why are you sneaking about?"
He heard her through that!?
Just as she was about to speak in her defence, nearly opening the door, she realised she was about to make a hug mistake: a young man came into view, maybe twenty; his thick black hair were short, but his fringe was falling over his eyes. She noticed he looked flabbergasted at first, but slowly his shock ebbed away as he assessed the situation.
Oh no; they were found.
She hesitated to come out then, thinking if she could retreat without making too much noise. Probably not. Damn, she had to stay put. She still eavesdropped though.
"Fujita, you…you beat them up."
"Congrats kid, you have the gift of sight."
Tokio seethed. They were in danger! Why was he being smart with this kid who could so, so easily tell on them? Yet the kid did nothing, simply looked on. "Why are you here, kid?" Even Saitou must have been nervous by his watchful eyes if he addressed him so directly.
"I heard they gave you this task and how you accepted so readily…but after our conversation…I mean, I didn't want to believe them, so I came to see for myself." A smile finally graced his lips. "Turns out I was the one who was right; you didn't do as they told you."
"Congrats kid; you do have the gift of sight." Both Tokio from behind the door, and "the kid" gave him an identical look. "The question is what are you going to do about it?"
"…I wanna help you."
"Why?"
"You said it yourself, right? This is my chance; and I'm fucking taking it! We're leaving this goddamn gang one way or the other—running or lying in our caskets."
Saitou must have been amused by Gin's readiness to throw away this gang and his eagerness to do, be something better. But first, a clarification. "Kid, we have someone to protect; no one dies." The smirk on his lips the moment before and his matter-of-fact way of saying that line led her to believe he definitely liked this kid; it also led her to blush ten shades of red but that was to be expected.
"Right, yeah; no one dies."
"No one gets left behind, either. So make sure you keep up." Both nodded. "Tokio, you can come out now." The fact he didn't raise his voice, not even a little bit, made her realise he knew she was there from the start. With a sheepish smile, she did as he asked, pushing the door to reveal her in all of her haggard glory.
"Hello."
Gin was caught off guard. "Ooh the guys were right; you're quite a looker."
"Careful," Saitou warned, all in good humour, but both felt that chilling promise in his voice.
"The hell man, I was only making an observation? What is she, your woman or something?"
"Actually yes." Tokio became beet red while the boy's eyes became twice their size. "This is the woman I was telling you about."
He was telling this kid about her? Her head immediately snapped to him, but he expertly ignored her.
"That must be divine grace…! A little thoughtlessly given, if I may. She's in a bad situation but hey, at least you got to see her again, like you wanted."
She smiled like an idiot. "You wanted to see me?"
"Keep your trap shut kid;" he deflected, already manhandling the criminals "come do something useful and help me."
"Right away."
But she didn't let this one slide; she took to following him around. "You really wanted to see me?"
Gin observed how Saitou looked away under the pretence he was busy with the task at hand. "What do you think, idiot?"
"He's been staring at his screen every five minutes ever since you stopped texting."
She blushed; she smiled; then her expression became neutral while realisation slowly dawned on her face. Saitou gave the kid the deadliest look ever directed at a person who hadn't committed a crime before his eyes. "Keep your trap shut kid."
"Y-…you received my texts? Okita lied to me? You had your other number with you!?"
"…yes."
"Then why didn't you ever reply?"
"I didn't want you to send me those texts; I thought if I didn't answer you'd stop. But there's no stopping you…"
"Wh, why? Why would you not?"
"I was conflicted."
"About what?"
But Gin popped into the conversation, after throwing one of the four down the stairs. "He thought you had a guy on the side."
"Kid," his tone warning "if you wanna get out of here alive-" But Tokio's exasperated "What guy? Who!?" -showed him he could no longer avoid the confrontation.
"…I don't know; Sano said so when we were talking on the phone."
"Saitou, what-…?" Wait; no. Oh god no. Her chin fell and stared hard. "You mean last time we talked and then you never answered again back when Sano-chan snapped about that order?"
He nodded, annoyed. "And we go this way if anyone is interested in escaping," he said instead, taking the lead.
Gin struggled not to laugh; it was so rare to see him this…expressive and uncomfortable, it was hilarious! He enjoyed every second of her incredulous and vexed accosting him and his efforts to side-track her with the cold hard facts.
"Sano-chan, he…he knew I was trying to-…he was making fun of me! Alright? He thought you were my boyfriend when we first met and I told him you weren't but not because I had any say in it" that she said very fast "and then he started calling you like that to tease me and I nearly fainted that day! You're telling me your first thought was completely to the other direction? Why? How can anyone ever be as thick-headed as you?"
Her righteous fury came to a screeching halt and she felt like the universe was explained to her. "Oh god. Sou-chan was right." His irritated – What did I tell you about calling him that? – went unaddressed. "It was something I said; I did this. You took this case because of me."
"…just move. And keep it down."
But just as he was about to laugh some more on Saitou's expense, Gin realised something didn't quite click right; did she say case? And what did she call him? How come he hadn't noticed all this time, she used a different name? So…Saitou came here for a case? He looked at him and saw him in an entirely new light. In fact, Gin felt like he just saw him for the first time and…he hated to admit it but it made sense.
"You a cop, Fujita?"
"Your gifts are plenty, kid. You seem to have the gift of common sense also."
Tokio slapped his shoulder even if she was chuckling at his jab. "Be nicer to the kid."
Gin snapped his fingers! "I knew it; I knew you weren't like the rest. There was something that felt too…honourable about you. You didn't have our stench."
"…you don't stink all that much, either; stay close and we'll make sure whatever smells linger get washed away."
"Aw, you're helping him, how nice."
"Be quiet, both of you, or else."
"Dude, we don't have cameras in here, you know that; how are they gonna suspect you-?"
"When I don't report to Koutarou for an hour, they'll start thinking something went wrong and come. The point is to get out of here before that happens, or at least hold out until—too late!"
He heard stomping on the ground from the other corridor, closing in on them. He dived towards Tokio and took her down with him and to the side. They rolled until they couldn't be easily seen by the direction the sounds were coming; then he eavesdropped. They must have been around six, maybe eight. They weren't too heavily armed, maybe handguns; and knives, those were a certainty.
He looked down at her. "Remember the survival tips?" She nodded yes frantically. "Time to put them to the test; and another one: staying out of sight is always the best way to go." He looked to his left and saw Gin had taken a similar position next to him, knife already out. "Stay low. Give them no reason to look at you."
He took his own knife out and waited; the stomping was coming closer and closer by the second. He closed his eyes; zero hour is five, four, three, two…
Now!
He let the first ones pass and then lunged at the rear! He took down three but the fourth managed to dodge in time. No one had a gun out that was fortunate; their reaction time has significantly dwindled and Saitou had more time to manoeuvre. The two men that led the party, now bringing up the rear the way Saitou threw his surprise attack, were taken literally down on the floor by an eager to show his worth Gin.
Saitou wasn't playing around; he stabbed two men while lying down and then turned the blade in his hand to lash out on the remaining two; they circled him like prey, but to anyone watching it was clear: the victims were they. He had them right where he wanted them up close and personal. His limbs were longer and his strength more; despite the two bikers brandishing their knives, too, he was calm to the point of calculating. He didn't make the first move, but waited for one of them to lose his cool.
It happened seconds later, when the older one of the two lashed out in a frenzied state, shouting profanities and cursing. Saitou angled his body away from him once, twice, thrice; the fourth time, he grabbed the man's wrist, reminding her his fight with the yakuza, and twisted him until he heard the sickening "crack"; wrist hang lifelessly, knife fell to the floor, scream escaped the assailant's lips, abruptly cut short by Saitou's kick to the face.
He fell to the floor unconscious.
The other man had hesitated to enter the fray, fearing not to stab his comrade in the heat of the moment. But now he was regretting it with every fibre of his being seeing his comrade lying on the floor bleeding, not knowing how to approach this man to harm him. because in that moment that man looked like an asura, powerful and terrible, bringing down men with one move, while that traitor Gin had to fight tooth and nail to keep two people down.
Saitou had taken down three and now turned to number four, him; his blood froze when he met his eyes for a short moment. Hate, disdain, annoyance. He could only watch as the man's fist came closer; losing all will to fight, he put up his hands to guard from the impending hit, knife turned outwards. Like they were nothing, he heard his bones crack upon impact, knife falling from his fist for no other reason he could no longer hold it. A second punch came his way but he never saw how that went. Everything turned black and he surrendered to oblivion.
"Dude, the hell! You just broke his hands with a punch! A punch; how awesome is that? You have to teach me how to do it!"
For all the praise, he looked very serious. "It's something that can be taught only through experience," was all he said on the matter, offering his hand to Tokio who gladly took it, but with a frown to show she understood him full well.
"Anyway!" Gin exclaimed, adrenaline still pumping "ten down, twenty something to go."
"We won't face everyone in the facility kid; that could get you killed."
He huffed. "…so what do we do?"
"We keep heading right, go for the parking lot and try to make an exit before the rest of the cops arrive."
"There's going to be a raid?"
He gave him a look as if to say "obviously". "Otherwise it'd be too dangerous to have her roam around."
"…so basically we hold out until your friends arrive, right?" He nodded. "Can't be too hard right? When are they coming?"
"It takes twenty minutes from HQ but that is once the squadron is ready; prep time varies, depending on the state of alertness. I went with worst case scenario which is something less than an hour…that leaves us with half an hour to struggle. If we keep a really low profile we can make it."
He was already grabbing the unconscious, some dying, people, and dragged them to the side, where a door was; he tried it and it opened. As he tried to look inside, he saw the room was occupied…by a strung out biker, looking at the ceiling with a blank look in his eyes.
Just as a Saitou was about to attack, Gin put up his hand, stopping him. "I know how to handle this," he said confidently and stepped in front of everyone. "Yaku-san, hey; we have to leave these people here. They are ours, alright? So don't go poking them or shouting at them; we'll come back for them later."
"Ah." He looked at the bleeding, incapacitated men and the other two – Tokio effectively hidden from him –. "Okay; but only because it's you Gin."
"Thanks, man, I appreciate it."
"Get ready though; didn't you hear the alarm? Cops came busting in." They looked at each other, Tokio knocking on Saitou's back repeatedly at the sound of that. "Are they the first ones mowed down by the cops?"
"You know what, exactly that. A cop mowed them down." Gin didn't even feel guilty; that's exactly what happened.
"Poor bastards. Take care Gin. I'd go, too but the way I am…I can't hold a gun man."
"I understand man, no problems. Right Fujita?"
"Right."
"You take care, too, man; you're tall, you stand out."
"He'll keep it in min-…d."
As if nothing was wrong, as if the men weren't even there, Tokio walked right in bypassing them and standing far in the room. The strung out Yaku stared hard; the two men stared at Yaku. What would happen now? But Tokio pointed to the door with her chin and Yaku looked out, and the two men followed Yaku's eyes. He saw nothing. The two men though, went out the room and started looking—they heard it before they saw it: a couple of men arguing loudly were heard down the hall.
Hastily, Gin and Saitou closed the door, beaten criminals safely inside…with Tokio having a staring contest with Yaku. Every fibre of Saitou's being was screaming "get this over with" as the two men came into view: Koutarou's right hand man, Furudate, and a small fry were speaking heatedly but weren't arguing after all.
"Saitou! Just the man I was looking for; cops stormed the place. The bitch attracted them no doubt; we found out she has dealings with cops socially. Go kill her and dispose of her body with Gin—no evidence of her being here must remain."
Gin tried to look as innocent as possible. "Sure."
but the small fry had an opinion on his own. "We shouldn't kill her; we should hold her as a bargaining chip."
Furudate hit him upside the head. "Are you an idiot? It's her they are looking for—if they find her here, knowing she's been kidnapped, that's it for us. The only reason they started shooting is because that fucker Rintaro has a happy-trigger finger! We can still talk our way out of this, boss said so."
Saitou nodded to Gin; Gin knew what he meant immediately. Using their knives' hilt they hit the two men at the back of their heads; Saitou wisely targeted Furudate seeing his unparalleled strength helped to knock him out with only one hit. More people to hide now though. What should they do...? The room with Yaku! He tried to open the door…but it didn't. In fact, it did but then it was closed the next second.
Then a single hit to the door took place and they stayed looking at the door; they waited. Not half a minute later, Tokio emerged, sneaking out of the room she was supposed to be sneaking in.
"What happened?" Gin asked her before she even closed the door.
"I managed to convince him I was a figment of his imagination…I think I gave that man a fetish."
Saitou rolled his eyes as he grabbed her hand. "We don't have time for this; we need to reach Okita." They started walking, Gin looking like he was ridiculous for not wanting to know the details of that incredible statement. "But please don't give fetishes to people, especially criminals."
She noticed he was no longer going right. "I'm trying! It's harder than you'd think."
Gin was confused though. "How can the cops already be here? You said another half hour."
"I said worst case scenario; accept the little victories kid."
"Right. Let's go outside then."
Their path was open; but where it wasn't, it really wasn't. If it were just the two men, there would have been no problem, but with Tokio right there it was hard to explain why they were rushing to deliver the prisoner to the cops thus verifying her existence. They had to take out four more people before they reached the entrance…and where the "battlefront" was.
Through the windows, they could see it clearly: the Special Forces unit, led by a man with a commanding presence, shot and guarded behind the barricade the bikers themselves had set up. They had it for themselves, but it helped both sides. But a hail of bullets was ever so casually brought upon, they couldn't just run out there…! They looked at each other; they had to do something. More accurately, someone had to be bait. And everyone knew, the most effective bait would have been
"Me, obviously. I'll do it."
"Not a chance," Saitou refused her faster than Gin blinked "it's either me or the kid but I don't let others do my dirty work."
"I will do it; you're a couple so you should stay together."
"Kid," he begun both angry yet both kind of touched by how willing he was to sacrifice himself "I've survived situations worse than this without the police's help; even if I go first, I'll still come back."
"But I won't?"
"It's a fact," he deadpanned, doing nothing to curve Gin's offence. "Do you want to see your girl again or will you die here? Those are your two choices."
"How can you be so-?"
"Trust him, Gin-san." Tokio put a hand on his shoulder. "He's right about these things. Tactics and whatnot." She gave a rueful smile. "But I still maintain I should go first; if iota so much as glimpses at me, he'll do all in his power to keep me safe. And there's no reason in killing me from the bikers' perspective then because if I get killed, they have all the more reason to arrest them. They won't try anything. But Gin is in obvious danger from the police while you Saitou, might get shot at when they realise you're one of them."
"You suppose they'll act reasonably; if you're exposed, they might as well add one more charge to their wrap sheets'. And only the one who actually shoots at you would be charged for murder; any shots that miss you, too bad for the police. Attempted murder or intention to harm is the most we can charge them with." She bit her lip. "So I'm going first, just like I said."
"But won't the bikers aim to kill if they so much as suspect-?"
"There are only twelve of them;"
"Only!?"
"And once the guys see me in danger, they'll react; I'll be fine." Once more Tokio was buying none of what he was selling. "I'll be fine enough."
She considered. "…okay."
Gin gave in; he was outnumbered and out-reasoned. "Alright."
"If you see a chance, you both make for the officers. Now let's go."
No more words were exchanged between them; they started for the outside. Gin held the door open for Saitou and Tokio, then followed. Looking all around, they saw none. And the din from all the gunfire, shouts and cursing, prevented everyone from looking back because they heard them coming. So Saitou nodded and they started running.
But luck wouldn't stay on their side; just as they had started, the gunfire died down. Everyone's interest was redirected towards the three people that appeared from the side. Officers saw their own, and went on full alert; the bikers saw the girl and went on full alert; there was only a split second for decisions to be made.
And everyone went for the best – or worst – possible one:
"Tokio-chan!" Okita shouted dumbfounded.
The man commanding the officers seemed irritated by this familiarity, but nonetheless shouted: "Protect the civilian at all costs!"
"Kill the bitch!"
"Shoot her!"
Saitou had already redirected himself towards the bikers; panicked, Gin followed his lead. And Tokio, in the middle of it all, chose to run towards the cops with all her speed. Gunfire was heard; directives were shouted; names were screamed.
When Tokio reached the officers, she fell straight into Okita's outstretched arms; she tried to turn around and watch the scene, but he wouldn't let her, he kept pushing her to the back of the lined-up men, where she'd be safe. More shouts and terrible sounds of people dying were heard and her heart beat faster every single time; forcing herself to pay attention; make sure she didn't recognise the voice; ascertain the bikers were still struggling because at least…at least he was alive. And kicking.
Once Okita had secured her inside an armoured police vehicle, he ran back to the front; but the damage was done to the bikers. Saitou's frontal assault, accompanied by Gin, broke their line and some of their spirit. They were easier to deal with; the commanding officer Hijikata had them under his boot in fifteen minutes.
She watched men being arrested and driven out to other vehicles, almost running out of handcuffs; she watched men she didn't know come and go, giving directions and receiving orders; she watched the people in charge move people from here to there but so far, none of the people she knew made an appearance.
Where was Saitou? Gin? Okita?
"Tokio-chan, oh my god!" Okita hugged her tightly for a brief moment and then let her go. "I'm so sorry I didn't answer; look what happened to you. I'm so sorry, it's all my fault. I knew something went wrong when you didn't answer a single one of my calls this morning."
He finally allowed her out of the car and she kept looking all around. "That's alright Sou-chan; where's Saitou?"
"Where he always is after stuff like this; ambulance." He nodded to the right; she instinctively moved to go, but Okita caught her hand. "Don't crowd him; Hijikata is giving him an earful right now. Wait until he's finished."
Indeed, she saw the commander of the Special Forces unit stand in front of the open ambulance doors, talking to someone she couldn't see – seeing the vehicle was turned to the side – looking fierce and imposing. He had a stern brow, scarier than the one when he was giving orders to shoot at people mind you, and his mouth was a thin line. She would hate to be on the receiving end of that man's temper but there Saitou was getting his ass handed to him.
She was glad though; it meant he was well enough to handle it. "So what about Gin, the kid that helped us?"
"Oh, he's fine! We are already working out a deal for inside information before Saitou joined the gang, to help us secure the case." He came close, as if sharing a secret. "I think Hijikata-san took a liking to the kid, so he'll be fine. Oh," he said then, noticing what was going on with the two people at the ambulance. "I think he's pretty much finishing up. Let's go."
She had never felt a ten second walk last so long in her life; because it was ten seconds too long away from him and she had to push past four men in full uniform to reach there. Hijikata's eyes fell on her first, snorting at the sight of her.
"Here comes the stumbling block." He commented and there was something very unsettling at the light-heartedness of his tone, especially when she hadn't rounded the corner yet to be able to see Saitou. "You should know you just cost me one of my favourite operatives; high price for such a short person."
She watched him go perplexed; despite his words a faint smile touched his lips and he walked away, leaving them finally alone. She immediately went to Saitou but as she dived for a hug, she immediately stopped herself, shocked to see him lying on the stretcher, naked on top with tubes and bandages all over him.
"What happened to you? You were fine when I left you!"
"This is nothing; just scratches."
Unabashedly, she ripped the blanket off of him to reveal two "nothings", meaning two bullet wounds close to his ribs, but miraculously away from his vital organs. There were some more bandages at his abs, obvious these ones were stab wounds from the angle and the way the bandages were positioned.
"These are just scratches in Saitou-speak," Okita explained as he appeared next to her "to the rest of the officers these are serious but non-life threatening wounds."
"At least they aren't life-threatening," she comforted herself as she put the blanket back on. Then she wasted no time and did what she had originally planned: wrapped her arms around him tightly and squeezed. "And you're back…"
"Aw isn't it cute? Tragedy brought you together."
"…your stupidity put her in danger."
"Okay that was a low blow." They glared at each other. "What was Hijikata-san complaining about anyway?"
"Well, I blew my cover; that was one thing."
Okita was immediately suspicious. "And the other?"
"…I told him I'm quitting the undercover force."
That was when Tokio finally raised her head to look at him, while Okita stared hard. And then he erupted into a flurry of blows to Saitou's unhurt arm.
"Finally! Finally you quit! I've been begging him to quit for a year now;" he told Tokio 'in confidence' "finally he listened to me." But she didn't react. "Well say something Tokio-chan. He's doing this for you, you kn-oh."
She sprang up and kissed him! Right there, in front of everyone...Both men seemed taken aback at first but as Saitou slowly relaxed into it, hand cupping her cheek, Okita grew exceedingly awkward.
"I, uh…I'm gonna go now, wait over there." Murmuring, he backtracked to where Hijikata was shaking his head in disapproval but slight amusement. "Admit it; they look good together," Okita beguiled the older man. "The flower and her thorn."
He snorted. "At least he's happy." Then a sneer. "If they don't get married and have a bunch of children I'll be very upset."
"Boss, there's no way they won't end up together; my plans and machinations were perfect."
Hijikata shook his head. "I should have known you were the one at fault for this."
While the two men watched their colleague and his new girlfriend kiss and talk and interact, those two were actually having a serious conversation.
"As thrilled as I am you won't be in such danger from now on…are you sure this is what you want?"
"Yes."
"Because So-…Okita said Yaso tried to do the same, but you didn't like it because you liked this line of work."
"…Okita spilled it, huh?"
She lowered her eyes very lady-like at that and tried not to smile. "Yes; I might have told him I knew about Haruka so he felt the need to tell me about Yaso."
"That idiot…well, then was then; now is now. What I want has changed."
"And what do you want?"
"…a position that will allow me to see you more." She smiled up at him and the look he gave her might have been sombre but his eyes looked so accepting, she melted. "So for now, I'd like to stop undercover work. Maybe I'll pick it up again in the future."
"Hijikata already hates me though."
"He's all bark but no bite; at least with women. Don't worry about him, he'll come around."
"I hope so; he has such a strict face."
"He likes it. Says keeps criminals on their toes."
She said nothing else, simply kept her arms around him while he was lying on the stretcher, waiting for a paramedic or a doctor to come tell him what he should do. It wasn't for another ten minutes spent with him playing with her hair or stroking her arm that someone appeared, urging him to let go of the woman and let the men drive him to the hospital.
"Why can't I come with him?"
"…but Okita-san always rides with him."
"Nah, I wouldn't mind giving up my space for Tokio-chan."
"...I'd hate to ruin the tradition."
The paramedics looked at her impressed though; the people present exchanged knowing looks and smirks.
"You should be proud," Saitou explained in their stead at her wondered look "Souji never offered up his space, even for Yaso."
"…ah." She was now in on it, too; she realised Okita was always guarded against her, but to be to this extent, it was surprising. Still, she felt all the more worthy. "If that's the case, all the more reason to give in. You go Okita-san."
She gave a small bow, finally letting go of Saitou – who was more reluctant than her – and watched as Okita climbed in the back of the ambulance after they slid in the wounded one. Then a devious smile appeared on her face, just before the doors closed. "Ask him why he took the case Sou-chan!" and giggled as she watched Saitou's discomforted, accusing glare.
.
She grabbed a bold-coloured pansy out of the beautiful bouquet her mother had brought him, putting it on the tray.
"There; now it's a real romantic dinner. Our third one this week, how delightful."
He grunted, sitting up in his bed. She was sitting next to him, on a provided chair, smiling deviously, watching as he took the spoon in his hands. He hated not eating with chopsticks, he felt like a toddler. So his voice had a little more bite when he snubbed "I'm glad you enjoy the situation."
She grabbed her chopsticks and snapped them in half, then, as if to show off. "It's either this or me complaining to you non-stop for getting yourself stabbed at that particular spot and now you can't keep food down unless it's a special blend only the hospital knows how to make," she continued with the same smile, using her utensils as pointers.
"…fair enough," he admitted.
"Let's eat," they chorused and each started eating their respective dish: Saitou wasn't allowed to have anything else other than a pureed version of a fruit salad – he definitely refused to eat meat in that form – while Tokio was eating curry noodles out of her paper package; take out from the closest place to the Kyoto city hospital.
They were both patients but Tokio was there only for a check-up, released from day one; Saitou though had to stay until his stomach was better. Doctors said it would be about a week. Three days down, four to go.
"When is Tomoda coming?"
"In about an hour; he's going to pick up Yayoi first. Then we'll all stay for a while and leave together; Tomoda will drive us home."
"Okita brought you here, Tomoda's taking you home; you're turning them into your errand boys." She slapped him lightly on the arm. "Speaking of which, where the hell is Sano? He left for a soda almost half an hour ago."
Tokio laughed. No matter if they got together, he still remained thick-headed in matters such as these. She literally chocked on her noodles. "Hajime, you're going to kill me," she said, laughing and coughing. "There's a cute girl visiting her mother in the next room and they have gotten quite comfortable; I bet he's somewhere talking her up."
"…she came looking for him yesterday." Tokio perked up. "Thought she only wanted the company of someone her age."
She started laughing loudly, struggling not to fall from her chair.
"This is a hospital you know; keep it down!" Sano shouted to be heard, defeating his whole statement just as he entered the room. "What are you laughing about anyway?"
Every sound other than the machine hooked to Saitou's hand died down, two set of eyes turning to the door. Sano did just walk in but he wasn't alone, no; the cute girl from next room came with him. She was smiling shyly, looking around the room curiously, but not daring to stray from his side.
"…never mind that. Hello," Tokio began, addressing the girl "I'm Takagi Tokio, this is Saitou Haime; who might you be? Rather, I know you're Konishi-san's daughter, I just don't know your name."
"I'm Hana-san, pleased to meet you." She bowed. "I hear you employ Sano-san?"
"Yes! He helps me with the heavy lifting and all; he's very strong, and not only for his age—I know people in their twenties who can't carry as much."
"That's amazing, Sano-san!"
The moment Hana turned to him, Tokio winked; Sano preened like a peacock but still saw the motion and nodded in thanks. "Hahaha, I know, I'm very strong; it's one of my good qualities."
.
.
.
Five years later...
Tokio sighed defeated; Okita looked at his watch; Tomoda was looking around anxiously. While Yayoi was tapping her foot on the wooden floor with a hand on her waist and a frown on her face, Sano was clicking his tongue at random moments. They were all dressed to impress, Tokio being the most impressive one in her mostly white kimono when all else were western clothing. It had beautiful patterns of light pink and blue flower petals, similar lining and the traditional three layers of clothing.
"Just where is he?" Yayoi asked out loud for the umpteenth time. "We've already let three people go before you; soon enough there will be no more couples left to take your place!"
Saitou was uncharacteristically but almost expectedly late. Tokio knew something was going to happen to prevent him from being on time; this was exactly what had happened last time, too. She just knew and apparently, she was right.
"What if he got cold feet and isn't coming?"
"That sounds more like wishful thinking than something that's likely to happen," Okita snapped the spike-haired young adult who dared to utter such words on this day.
"Besides, what cold feet can he get? We're already married Sano-chan, remember?"
Sano snorted! "Going to the city hall and registering your names doesn't make you married."
Tomoda was confused though. "…Sano, that is the legal procedure for a marriage; the ceremony has nothing to do with the law, it's just a celebration."
"If you don't get the priest's blessings it isn't a real marriage!"
Tokio chuckled. "Well, we're getting it now…when Saitou decides to show up anyhow."
"And why did it take you so long? It's been three years you signed those papers!"
"Did it escape your notice I was pregnant!?"
"You were pregnant, not disabled."
"This shrine is very popular, you know" Yayoi reasoned "and we did cancel sometimes either because Saitou was in hospital or one of the kids got ill."
"…excuses!" he kept on. "All I know is you shamelessly got knocked up and had to hurry and cover it up so you rushed to sign your names."
Both Tomoda and Okita smacked Sano at the back of his head; in these five years that passed Sano had grown the most, grown to be the tallest of the bunch, with the exception of Saitou. So both Okita and Tomoda had to reach out to do it properly; it had quite the comedic effect to onlookers, who chuckled at the sight as they went on their merry ways.
"You know he had already proposed when I found out I was pregnant Sano-chan stop being like that."
"Why don't you run back to your date now, kid?" Okita snapped, the one most nervous of all.
"She is waiting with her parents," he pointed at Tokio "keeping her kids busy, remember?"
"Go keep them busy with her, why don't you?"
"Alright, let's all be calm now," Tokio had to intervene "Saitou's late and we are all a little jumpy. But I am positive he'll have a very good reason, so let's relax till he comes and explains. Alright?"
Her eyes were trained on Sano. He pouted and looked away but she saw the jerking movement of his head. "Great. Oh, speak of the devil! He's finally here."
Saitou walked briskly towards them, looking perfectly normal, as if he wasn't a couple of hours late. While he approached, all glared or stared with varying degrees of intensity, until he reached them. He too was wearing traditional Japanese clothes; he made sure they were in all black, resembling a groom's outfit, even if it wasn't one, not really. The moment he arrived he gave a quick kiss Tokio but the first thing that he said was "where are my daughters?"
Almost everyone rolled their eyes.
"They are with their grandparents, don't worry…oh and Megumi-chan."
Saitou snorted. "You brought your girlfriend to a ceremony like this?"
Sano's cheeks coloured. "So what, shut up? I wanted to. Why are you so late anyway?"
"I helped an old man; he was being attacked by some thugs for money. I got him out of the predicament waited for the police and once they had my statement and I was sure this would receive the treatment it deserved, I left."
"Why do these things always happen when we're about to officiate or bless our marriage, I don't get it." She complained, but knew this would happen, she really did. Because "ugh, I should have known bad luck would come our way, though; I got a call from Yaso yesterday."
"Yaso?" the three detectives chorused, followed by a very incredulous look.
"Yeah," she became sour "she called to congratulate us on our marriage again, because the first time wasn't enough apparently. Said something about the kids, too and went on to sneer at me in a polite way."
No one ever really doubted Tokio's truthfulness; they were simply shocked Yaso would do something like that. "Why is she bothering you?" Tomoda asked dumbfounded.
"Want me to make her stop?"
"Oki-kun!" Tokio exclaimed scandalised at his dark eyes and savvy tone. "You're an officer of the law, don't make that face." she shook her head. "No matter; she's called home before but I just ignore her."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Saitou scolded her. "I can take care of it."
"I didn't want you to think about her."
"Don't be jealous of that hag, Tokio-chan!"
"I'm, I'm not jealous."
"Yeah, you're ten times better," Yayoi encouraged, ignoring her friend knowing full well she was lying. "Look at her, married and still bothering her ex, who also happens to be married."
"Yaso is persistent but I know how to make her stop; you should have told me, idiot." He kissed her again, chaste, sweet. "Let's go receive those blessings now because I don't know how long I can stay in these clothes without thinking I should change all of my wardrobe into this."
Inside joke known only to his wife and best friend, the three chuckled as they all made their way to the main part of the shine. The previous wedding had just ended; perfect timing. As they walked in – she heard at least two people who worked there cheer to see she was finally going in, making her mood even better – they noticed their family members and rest of the guests seated at the very first seats, looking formal and giddy!
Surprisingly, the first to lead their group was Hijikata; he was wearing traditional clothing, too and he too looked a little too good in those baggy, old-timey clothes. He had said he wouldn't miss this for the world but then they gave him an urgent assignment…which he must have completed in record time. Second was Gin, glowing with happiness next to his own wife. They had only just gotten married, three couples before them - they were supposed to do it in succession, but Saitou ran late - .
Then it was Megumi, all dolled up, who had their eldest daughter, Aiko, in her lap and showed her, her parents as they passed by them. The girl clapped excited as she exclaimed "mama! Papa!" and waved energetically to grab their attention. Their second daughter, Hitomi, barely a year old, followed, sitting in her grandad's lap, who had taken her little arm in his hand and used it to wave to the couple walking to the priest. Then it was grandma and then a beautiful young lady who must have been Okita's mysterious date.
Tokio smiled at her daughters; Saitou waved back; the people who came in with them hurried to their seats and waited until the priest, who had gone out for a moment to have a drink of water, came back. When he did, surprise met his face, a smile forming on his lips.
"If it isn't the young man who saved me from those crooked people!"
Guests and Tokio looked impressed. "Kanamori-san," Saitou acknowledged with a tilt of his head "I hope your health is well." None of his words or his tone betrayed if he had any prior knowledge whether the person he saved was his priest.
"Oh yes, I'm fine, thanks to you! Who wold have thought, eh?"
"Indeed…for your information, the suspects have been apprehended and are currently sitting in a cell, awaiting trial."
"Really?" He nodded. "How do you know?"
"I'm a police officer so they told me when I called them, just before I got here."
Visibly impressed, the priest pat Tokio on the back. "You are marrying a very good man! But let's not waste more time and bless this union!"
He cleared his throat and began.
All the while, Tokio was looking at her husband with a wide, loving smile; he knew how important it was for her for the priest to like them, what with them having already two children and the prejudice that existed in the traditional circles. He was the one who insisted on this but she was the one who said "if the priest doesn't like us he's simply going to jinx us" and meant it.
She didn't believe it was intentional that the man he saved was the priest, there was no way Saitou would take to following him around to earn his favour…but it was a very fortunate little twist. Maybe Yaso hadn't left her bad-intentions mark on them today. She stood there, looking at him and smiling, while the priest talked and chanted.
In the end, they drank the sake…and just like that, they were married again. With the authority of the emperor himself, Sano folded his hands, proudly withstanding Hitomi's tugs on his hair and said with gravitas:
"Now I approve."
A/N: And it's finished~! Oh dear it's so liberating but it's a kind of bittersweet moment, too you know? Ah, I really enjoyed this story, it was so fun to write and write it for you, lovely people.
