Midnight had already passed. It was not unusual for Shiho to stay in the lab for such a late hour. This night though, she had a headache that affected her efficiency and caused her to stay in longer. She placed her elbow on the desk and massaged her temples in hope of the pain disappearing. The aspirin she took didn't seem to take effect. It's probably fatigue from working so long, she thought.
Eventually, the scientist decided to head home. She closed her laptop lid and stood up. Shiho took off her lab coat and threw it on her desk carelessly before turning to her handbag to open it. Just when she did that, she heard a thud from the office door.
Shiho turned her head fast to the direction of the noise only to see a horrifying scene… It was Dai. He was supporting his back on the door frame and was barely able to stand up. His face was drained of blood, it was all white like a sheet of paper. Even his eyes lost their color with their olive green shade looking faded. The lower part of his T-shirt and his pants were all soaked in blood, in fact, he had blood all over him, on his face, on his arms, the small drops of the red liquid were splattered everywhere.
(~45 minutes ago~)
It was supposed to be simple; two members will take the front door of the villa while Dai takes the back door. They assassinate the owner who's supposed to be home alone and leave.
Shuichi got inside through the backyard's entrance. He carefully crossed his way to the back door and was about to enter the house when a strong arm crawled around his neck, pulling him backward. Trapped between the upper arm and the forearm of someone, Shuichi's neck was being crushed against that person's chest. From the size of his bicep, he could tell that that person was not average sized.
Shuichi struggled for a moment before elbowing that person in the stomach, who tottered backward and loosened his arm around the agent. Taking that chance, Shuichi freed himself and turned around to face his opponent. The man was wearing a suit and black glasses in the middle of the night, which indicated that he was a bodyguard. Along with that, he had a huge built. Now Shuichi was a tall man, but this man rested at the height of an NBA player, two meters of pure muscles.
The two men stood there for a second analyzing the other's next move. It didn't take long for Shuichi to figure it out when the bodyguard brought out a gun and pointed it at his head. With a fast movement, Shuichi held the bodyguard's wrist and pushed it downwards, but on the way down, the other man had pressed the trigger.
Shuichi didn't even know it until he felt an agonizing pain pierce through the lower left of his abdomen. He looked down and saw a hole through his shirt, oozing with dark fresh blood.
The agent felt the wrist of the bodyguard struggle between his fingers, but he used all of his strength to keep it under his control. If he were to let go now, the bodyguard will shoot him again. Shuichi brought his right hand that was free and tried to grab the gun helplessly, the pain was causing him to lose his strength and the bodyguard's great power wasn't helping either. But then if he let go he'd lose his life, he had to hang on for his life!
With one hand blocking the man's wrist and the other pulling the gun, Shuichi closed in and dived his knee into the bodyguard's stomach. That movement intensified the wound's pain, causing him to wince as a loud groan escaped his lips.
The bodyguard, though, didn't seem to be affected. Instead, he attacked back with his knee sent into the agent's abdomen, almost too close to the wound. Shuichi groaned in pain and he almost let go of the gun before tightening his grip on it again. He bent his head down to catch his breath, but he suddenly raised it, hitting the jaw of his opponent violently. The bodyguard felt his teeth crack as drops of saliva left his gaping mouth, he was taken aback by the attack he didn't expect. Shuichi used that opportunity and snatched the gun from his hand.
But the bodyguard was not ready to give up. He brought out another gun from his inside pocket and aimed it at Shuichi again.
Feeling cornered, Shuichi pressed the trigger and shot him. His green eyes were wide open as he saw the bullet penetrate the bodyguard's head. It formed a small hole and splattered small drops of blood that ricocheted all over his shirt and body.
Shuichi felt sick. He just killed an innocent man! Even if that man was trying to kill him he was still on the good side, he was just trying to make a living but Shuichi put an end to his life.
He will certainly feel horrible after the adrenaline drains from his body, but now, he had more urgent issues to take care of, Shuichi thought as he looked at the bullet wound before pressing his hand on it and groaning.
(~)
Shiho found her body literally trembling from the sight of Dai. She stepped towards him fast trying to support him before he falls.
"What happened?" She asked with her heart pounding fast inside her chest.
"I got shot."
Shiho stood next to him, she took his long arm and wrapped it around her neck then slowly walked him to a nearby chair.
"How long has it been?"
"About 20 minutes, maybe more."
Shiho sat Dai down slowly then grabbed another chair and sat across from him in a way that their knees were touching. She locked her eyes on his with hers looking wide and frightened.
"You lost a lot of blood." She said as she eyed his soaked clothes. Shiho grabbed her lab coat and pressed it on the wound on his abdomen before looking back at him. "Why didn't you go to a hospital?"
"I couldn't go to a hospital, they'd interrogate me… You're a scientist Shiho, you could help me with this."
"I…" She drew in a deep breath. "I don't know, Dai san."
"You have an entire lab with five floors and 2 basements, I'm sure you could figure something out."
Shiho was suffering a mind stroke at that moment. She couldn't think clearly but what she knew was that she couldn't help him. She was a scientist, but most of her work was done on mice, not on people. She needed someone experienced to do such surgery. That's when Riku sensei crossed her mind, he works with her in the lab but before that, he used to be a surgeon for one of the biggest hospitals in Tokyo.
"Okay. I'm gonna call my coworker, he's a surgeon..." She muttered, talking to herself. She turned to the desk to grab her phone. "...He will be here in 20 minutes." She added after ending the call.
Looking back at Dai, Shiho felt her mind blinded by fear. She drew in another deep breath trying to remember what to do in such cases. She needs to measure his pulse, right! She needs to assess the gravity of his blood loss. Her right hand pressed on his wrist and she closed her eyes, focusing on feeling his heart rate. It was too weak which is not a good sign. As she concentrated on that for a while, she heard a faint sound. Her blue eyes flickered open only to find that his teeth were chattering.
"It's okay...I'm just a little cold." Shuichi smiled at her. He rarely smiles, but now that he was in this condition, he managed to do it.
This was a warning sign! To be cold in the middle of the summer, he must've lost a massive amount of blood.
"Oh! Let me get you something to… I… Can you wait here alone?" She asked him anxiously.
"Yeah." He whispered.
Shiho stood up but she just froze in her place and continued looking at him. She had an inner quarrel with herself, she needed to go bring him a blanket but she didn't want to leave him alone like this. He was still losing a lot of blood and it was obvious on her white lab coat that was slowly turning crimson. If only the lab was crowded as in the daytime.
"Hey, don't make that kind of face. Just go...it'll be okay." Shuichi softly added.
It'll be okay!
"I should be the one telling you that." She murmured, eyes staring at him worriedly.
Shuichi smiled again, thinking about how her hand was shaking on his skin when she measured his pulse. She seemed too nervous like he had never seen her before, and so, he tried to smile to make her relax a bit.
"You don't have to, because I'm sure it'll be fine." He reassured, putting his entire trust in her.
Shiho looked at him for a second before turning on her heels and leaving. Just when she stepped outside her office she heard him groan. She felt her heart tighten and suddenly got the urge to cry. But she needs to be strong now! This is not the time for her to break down.
(~)
By 4 am, Riku sensei finished extracting the bullet successfully and sewed up the wound on Dai's abdomen. Shiho stood next to him throughout the whole process offering him a hand whenever he needed something. Dai laid there under the effect of general anesthesia.
When they finished, they moved Dai to another room. The scientist thanked the doctor and apologized for bringing him in at such a late hour. They both said goodbye and he left.
Shiho walked back to the room with slow steps. She let out a sigh, she hadn't slept in almost 24 hours but she didn't feel the slightest bit of sleepiness. She grabbed a chair and sat next to Dai's bed.
Shiho examined him closely. She never got to do this before but now that he was unconscious, it was her chance. Dai looked so peaceful after all the pain he went through. His skin was glowing temptingly and his lashes looked long and thick, contrasting his color. Shiho placed a hand on his shirtless body and traced his chest with her fingers gently. She has never felt safer than in there, that day she hugged him, it was the safest she has ever felt…
For a second time, Shiho brought herself down and hugged him obliviously. He felt so warm. Shiho placed her head on his chest and listened to his steady heartbeats thankful that the surgery ended in success. What would she do if she had lost him? She wasn't sure she could bear it. She lifted her head again and brought it closer to his face, she probably won't get another chance to examine him so closely so she needed to take in as much of him as she could now that he was unconscious and nobody was around.
Her eyebrows rose in the middle as she stared at him, faces centimeters away. His lips were so tempting to her but she just couldn't... She couldn't take advantage of him now that he was unaware of it, and she couldn't do this to Akemi. Remembering her sister felt agonizing. Why did she fall for Akemi's boyfriend from all people? The only person forbidden for her to love, why? Why didn't anyone else care for her? Why didn't anyone else have the courage to stop Gin for her? Why did it have to be him?
Shiho closed her eyes and brought her face closer to Dai's. She printed a long kiss on his cheek and then left the room before she does something else she'll regret.
Wow! I can't believe this is already in the tenth chapter! I didn't expect this to be so long but well... I love these two.
Next chapter: Shuichi's recovery goes horribly wrong.
