Umbrella (T) 356
He found her at the lake's edge, an umbrella open and forgotten on the ground next to her, twirling slightly from the wind. The rain blurred his vision and he nearly fell as he made his way down the grassy hill towards her. He'd been searching for her long before the rain had begun and he hadn't had the presence of mind to grab anything on his way out.
She hadn't come home to him the night before and he'd tried really hard to not think the worst but the old fears had come back full force. They had never found Gin, and so they too had never found peace of mind. It was their firm belief that their constant sustained vigilance is what had kept them and their loved ones safe all these years.
That is, until last week. Hakase had gone missing. An overseas trip gone horribly wrong. He'd missed his flight home even though he had been on the phone with Shiho just two hours before boarding time telling her that he'd made it through TSA. Airport security footage had been tampered with and seemingly no one could remember ever seeing the dear old man.
They'd followed every lead. Everything led to a dead end. Except one. That lead to a dead body. And then another. First young Mitsuhiko, who'd said he was at band camp. Then, Suzuki, who was supposed to be vacationing in the Maldives. Then it was the waitress from Poirot and their elementary school teacher Kobayashi and Shiratori-keibu.
And then it led them to Hakase. Poor, poor Hakase.
His hands shook as they reached for her small shaking form. She was soaked from the rain but he knew the wetness on her face was from something more dear. She leaned into him but continued looking at daybreak above the lake. Her words wrenched at his very soul.
"I could just end it all. Right now."
Brokenly, he wrapped his arms around her trembling figure until he found a familiar metal grip. Somehow, she was colder than the muzzle.
He threw it as far into the lake as he could.