"Be advised: we have a shooter or something going on in Edo Heights."

"What's going on?" Yato asked, approaching the solemn faced group listening to a police radio on Kofuku's desk.

"There's an active shooter in Edo Heights, multiple casualties," Tenjin explained. The faces around him were grim.

"Requesting additional units, squad dispatch,"said the radio.

"ESU in en route and nearby officers are responding to the scene now," Daikoku added, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"We have people running saying six or seven shots fired."

"Kamiya, nine two three eight show me going."

"Nine two three eight I have you going."

Another.

"Higurashi, nine two five two show me going."

"Nine two five two I have you going."

"What are they saying?" Yukine asked, looking up at Yato.

"'Show me going' and their badge numbers, they're telling dispatch that they're nearby and responding to the call."

"Hatori, nine eight two five show me going."

"Nine eight two five I have you going."

"Iki, three one one five show me going." The group stirred in alarm and Yato's eyes snapped onto Kazuma's shocked face.

"Iki, like Hiyori Iki?" Kofuku asked, voice pitching higher with worry.

"That's her badge number," Yato confirmed, gulping. "Hiyori is there."

All sound was muffled by the deafening silence.

Ten minutes later the restless detective squad were in the briefing room waiting to hear what Tenjin had managed to find out.

"We don't know very much about the situation right now other than this: there are three dead and six wounded, all civilian."

"Oh my God," Kofuku said.

"How many shooters?" Yato asked.

"Two, maybe three," Tenjin said. "We can't be sure."

"Is Hiyori going to be okay?" Yukine asked, looking around with frightened eyes.

All eyes turned to the pale faced and trembling Yato.

"Of course she is," he replied. "She's Hiyori, she's a total badass, and she's saved my life plenty of times. Besides, we're going in to help her, right?" Tenjin looked grim.

"No, Yato. The Emergency Response Unit is there, SWAT will be arriving in moments, and the nine seven is locking down the scene. We've been ordered to go about with business as usual." To everyone's surprise it was Yukine, not Yato, who protested loudly.

"But that's crazy! They can't really expect you guys to sit around and do nothing! Hiyori is there!"

Yato bit his lip hard in an effort to stay grounded. He agreed with Yukine, more than anything he wanted to charge down to the scene and do whatever it took to keep Hiyori safe. He'd talked a lot about his impulsiveness and recklessness in his court mandated therapy sessions. The very small and quiet rational part of his brain was telling him that he would be of no use to Hiyori as worried as he was, with his legs to weak to stand. His police training piped up and reminded him that having too many officers on the scene would only impede the operation, especially if one of those officers was worried out of his mind about the love of his life.

Yato looked up from his internal battle and cursed, Yukine looked just as bad as Yato felt. His eyes were wide and watery and he was white as a sheet. He looked desperately to Yato, trying to gauge Yato's reaction to this news.

He took a quick look around and saw that every worried set of eyes was fixed on him, Bishamon even had her hands on her cuffs like she was ready to restrain him. Yato realized that he wasn't the only person in the precinct who was worried about Hiyori, but he probably was the only person who hadn't spent the past ten minutes also worried about how Yato was going to react to this news. His resolve solidified as he looked back to the terrified Yukine. He knew what he had to do.

"It's alright, Yukine, Hiyori's got the ESU and tons of highly trained officers there to back her up. If we go down there right now we'd just be in the way. ESU can handle it." He placed a comforting hand on Yukine's shoulder and smiled weakly.

Shocked silence resounded at his words.

"I-Yato is right," Tenjin said, not bothering to mask his surprise. "We need to let the nine seven handle things and try not to worry, Hiyori isn't alone, she's part of a massive response, and she'll be fully equipped with the best protective gear available. In the meantime you all have jobs to be doing. Dismissed."

Yato got to his feet and stayed close to Yukine, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

"Hey," Kazuma said, tapping Yato on the shoulder. The two turned to look at him wearing matching expressions of poorly concealed fear. "You're right, you know? She's going to be fine." Yato nodded silently, afraid to risk speaking. "Are you going to be okay?" Yato nodded tightly again and turned away, squeezing Yukine a bit tighter.

Kazuma watched him go, both worried and impressed with how well he appeared to be taking this. Bishamon came up beside him and he turned, showing her the concern he hadn't shown Yato.

"She will, right?" He asked.

"I hope so. I'm just glad that Yato isn't going to pieces, I thought we were going to have to cuff him in the interrogation room to keep him from going after her."

"Me too, but did you see how he reacted to Yukine? Hiyori is always saying that he's a good dad, maybe having Yukine around is what's steadying him," he suggested.

"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, but I think you might be right. We might only have the one big problem to deal with today. We should get back to work though." She leaned forward and quickly kissed him before anyone could see and strode out of the room. Kazuma stood still in surprise for a few moments, fingers resting on his lips. Would he ever get used to that? After so long of being in love with her?"

"Yato," Yukine began tremulously, "how are you so calm? Hiyori could die today!" Yato flinched. An emotion that Yukine had no name for crossed Yato's face, but his tone was steady when he spoke.

"We all risk death every day with this job."

"That's not helping!"

"What I'm saying is that nothing so far has managed to kill Hiyori, and this won't either."

"How can you be sure?"

"I can't. Anything could happen out there and there's nothing that I could do to stop it, but I have to believe that Hiyori's going to be okay because I can't even imagine what happens if she isn't."

"You're really scared too, aren't you?" Yato nodded and exhaled slowly, massaging the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah, I'm more scared than I've ever been in my life, which is saying something. I wish I had something to tell you to make you feel better, but the truth is there's no telling what could happen today."

"So what do we do now?"

"We try and keep it together. The last thing Hiyori needs is to be caught up in a shit storm over there only to walk back into another over here."

"Okay, so how do we do that?"

"Well, Take is still out, which means I'm still on housekeeping. You and I are going to clean the holding cell, which is miraculously empty. After that we'll move on to the interrogation rooms and we'll see what's going on then."

"So your plan is to scrub the pain away?"

"Yup." Yukine shrugged.

"Might as well try."

"Kiun," Take said, surprised to find him on the other side of his door in the middle of a work day.

"Have you been watching the news?"

"You mean the Edo Heights shooting? Yeah, it's just a precinct over too."

"Hiyori is caught up in it."

"What?" Take cried.

"I wanted to tell you in person and, to be honest, I just had to get out of the precinct. The tension is high and Yato is trying to bleach the sins out of the holding cell."

"Oh God, come in." He stepped to the side and allowed Kiun to step inside.

"Do you want to work on some case files?"

"God yes."

"Holding criminals in this room should qualify as police brutality," Yukine said, voice once again muffled by Hiyori's scarf. "It's worse than the mens room."

"Let this serve as motivation for you to stay out of trouble, I bet other precincts don't have cleaning wizard detectives that get benched and clean their holding cells."

"I'll never break the law again," Yukine said, disgusted, as he scrubbed the floor.

"I'll clean the bottom of the bench so that you don't have to," Yato offered, then regretted immediately as he turned the bench over and saw what was underneath it.

"Holy fuck. This is the worst thing I've ever seen," Yato gagged, eyes filling with tears at the sheer sight of it. "Let's just burn down the precinct. There's no redeeming this place, it must perish." Yukine looked at the layers and layers of old chewing gum that had been pressed to the underside of the bench.

"God, this stuff must date back to the cold war," Yukine said, backing away.

"I say we break the bench and blame a perp. We can tell the captain to put in for a new one."

"Deal," Yukine said.

Yato's phone rang and his heart soared, thinking for one golden second that Hiyori had gotten out and called him to let him know that she was safe. His heart sank, then twisted with worry again when he saw the name on the phone.

"Yato thank God!" Hiiro said, voice tight.

"What? What's going on, why aren't you in class?"

"I saw the shooting on the news! That's just a precinct over from you, I was worried you'd been caught up in it and they said there had been casualties!" Yato slapped his forehead. Yato you idiot, of course it's on the news.

"Hiiro, I'm so sorry, I should have called you first thing to let you know I was alright. I've just been so worried about Hiyori-"

"Hiyori is in there?" She interrupted. Yato slapped himself on the forehead again.

"Yes, she is, but the police response to this is massive, and she's got more backup than she'll know what to do with. Don't worry. I'll call you as soon as we know anything else, alright?"

"Okay, but you had better not forget again!"

"I won't, don't worry!" He sighed when he hung up the phone, collapsing onto the floor. In an instant he shot back up, shouting.

"What the hell is your problem?" Yukine asked.

"I can feel the bacteria burrowing into my flesh!"

"Do you want me to splash you with bleach?"

"Yes!" Yukine shrugged and began to unscrew the cap on the bleach bottle.

"No! No, no, no, no!" Kazuma cried, sprinting across the station and taking the bleach from Yukine, looking harried.

"Yato, you've already scrubbed the floor, you're fine. Why don't you two do something else? A uniformed officer just brought in someone and we need the holding cell." He shepherded the two of them from the room and handed the bleach off to a uniformed officer.

Kazuma gave Yato a disbelieving look and ushered him out of the holding cell. Can I even leave these two alone together?

Kiun stepped off the elevator, accompanied by Takemikazuchi who gagged as soon as the door opened.

"You weren't kidding about the bleach." Kiun pressed a hand to his face and nodded.

"Takemikazuchi, what are you doing back?" Tenjin asked, stepping out of his office. Yato turned at the sound of his name and his face lit up.

"Does this mean I'm not benched anymore?"

"I'm back officially tomorrow, but Kiun told me about Hiyori and I wanted to be here for any updates," Take explained. Tenjin nodded.

"Normally I'd send you home, but considering the circumstances-"

"Shots fired, shots fired!" Kiun cried, eyes narrowing to read the font on the news website, his face mere inches from the screen.

"Hand me that," Yato growled, pushing the chair Kiun was in out of the way. "Several shots were fired and a few officers were carried away by ambulance, that's all they know." Yato said, gulping.

Tenjin turned on his heel wordlessly and strode into his office. All eyes lingered on him while he dialed the phone and spoke briefly to the person on the other end of the line.

"I don't have the names of the injured parties, but both the officers were men." Yato's knees gave out and he collapsed right into Kiun's lap.

"Yato!" Kiun cried indignantly.

Kazuma sighed and watched Yato's back through the window. He was certain Yato was out there knitting, which Yato had taken to doing when he was stressed after his therapist told him he needed healthier stress relief habits.

Yato had discretely asked Kazuma to look after Yukine then slipped out onto the roof with a frankly alarmingly large ball of yarn. Kazuma was half worried Yato wouldn't come back until he'd finished an entire sweater. The false alarm had really affected him.

Yato sighed and then took another long slow breath like his anger management classes had taught him too. He wasn't angry, but the teacher had said that the technique could work for controlling other emotions as well.

He was grateful that Kazuma had agreed to watch Yukine, he'd needed a few minutes to himself. The few minutes between finding out officers had been shot and finding out neither of them had been Hiyori had nearly killed him, so now he was out here trying to sort out and deal with all the different emotions he was feeling.

He'd nearly gone to pieces, and he felt like he still might, but he knew he needed to keep it together for everyone else's sake. It wouldn't be fair of him to put even more weight on the other's shoulders, not to mention Yukine was looking to him for comfort. As he added more and more rows to the mittens he was knitting for Hiyori he thought about the others.

Yukine was pretty scared, this was the first time he'd gone through something like this so he had no idea how to handle it. The others were dealing with it, but not well. Daikoku was sitting still as a statue, listening to his police scanner. Kofuku had somehow managed to fry every outlet in the precinct, and Bishamon was already on her third anger outburst of the day.

Is it possible that I'm the one handling this the best? What weird parallel universe have I landed in?

The clicking of his knitting needles was soothing against the background of the city. He tried to focus on the yarn and not cloud of dread that hung over the precinct. Hiyori will be okay. Hiyori will be okay.

Yato wanted to make Hiyori proud, so that when she came home she would see him handling the stress and not buckling under the pressure and be relieved.

Yato placed the finished mittens on Hiyori's desk and looked around the precinct. The air was heavy with anxiety and things were much like he'd left them. As he watched the precinct operate like a clock that was missing a vital gear Kiun walked straight into Bishamon, who laid him out without hesitation. Yato winced, thinking it was good that Kiun was half blind so he couldn't see what might have just been the most terrifying sight that Yato had ever beheld. Bishamon had gone full angry tiger mode, full on growling at Kiun. Even Kazuma was hanging back, wary of approaching her when she was like this.

How is this my job? Yato wondered, crossing the precinct and dragging Kiun to his feet.

"Get some glasses man," he said as he pushed Kiun in the direction of his desk.

Yato then turned to Bishamon, meeting her most intimidating glare with an expression of all the anxiety and grief he'd been trying to hold back until now. She blinked at his raw expression of vulnerability, her scowl fading.

"Come on, Bishamon, don't scare the kid," he said, indication where Yukine was hovering anxiously behind Kofuku. There was a long pause.

"How are you the one keeping it together?" She asked eventually.

"I'm pretty far from together, I feel like I'm falling apart and I'm more terrified than I've ever been in my entire life but… I just let peeling me off the ground be another thing that Hiyori has to worry about today." Silence followed his words.

"Yato-" Daikoku said, with something like pride.

Yato met Kazuma's eyes and saw that same emotion there. Yato gave him a sad smile and strode to his side, throwing an arm around his shoulders. For once Kazuma didn't roll his eyes, just returned the half-embrace.

"I'm really scared for Hiyori too," Kazuma said.

"I can't stop thinking about what if something bad happens to her," Yukine put in, appearing at Yato's side.

"I wish there was something I could do. I'm not used to feeling helpless and I don't like it."

"Guys, guys, guys, guys!" Kiun cried out, "there's an update, someone read this for me!" Take rounded the desks and leaned in to read over Kiun's shoulders.

"They've taken both the shooters into custody. A few officers were injured in the action but it doesn't say names or what precinct they're from."

"Call her cell!" Daikoku said. All eyes turned to Yato, who was already dialing. After the second ring Hiyori's voicemail picked up and Yato swore under his breath.

"It's just going to voicemail."

"Let's not panic," Tenjin reasoned, "they've just taken in two shooters and there were multiple casualties. It's going to be a circus over there and if Hiyori is uninjured she probably still hasn't had the chance to check her messages. If her phones dead she may even just show up here after a while. There's nothing to do but wait."

All they had done all day was wait.

"Hey everybody," Hiyori said.

In an instant Yato had crossed the room and wrapped Hiyori in his arms. A sob rattled n his chest as he buried her face in her neck, drinking her in like the elixir of life. His body curled around hers like he could shield her from the dangers of the world even though he'd learned today that he couldn't.

A terrible sound caught in Hiyori's throat. She clutched at him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder and pressing close, her arms wrapping around his neck. Her shaking breath flutters on his neck and his body is too busy shaking with his repressed panic to react to it. The two of them held each other for a long time, making quiet sounds of mixed relief and grief because they couldn't speak.

She's really here. She's alive. Thank God. Yato took a deep breath of her scent and made another ugly noise that he couldn't name. The shaking in his hands slowly subsided and he mastered his raging emotions enough to speak, though his voice still came out broken and raw.

"Are you hurt?" She shook her head mutely.

He pulled away just enough to scan her for injuries, just to check, and noticed a light splatter of blood across the right side of her face. He didn't comment on it, just brushed the worst of it away under the pretense of caressing her cheek lovingly. To his surprise she leaned into his touch, closing her eyes and sighing. When he tried to draw away she caught his wrist and pressed a kiss to his palm. His arm tightened around her reflexively and she leaned into him, pressing her forehead to his.

"Please stay with me." They were the first words she'd spoken since she'd greeted them. They sang to the most precious parts of his soul.

"I could never leave," he replied.

A high keening wail that might have been her name when it started jolted them from their trance just before something small and blonde collided with their side, nearly knocking them off their feet. Yukine sobbed into Hiyori's chest, clutching her tightly. She released one of the arms that was holding Yato and wrapped it around Yukine. Yato did the same.

"I'm sorry, Yukine, were you worried?" He said something incoherent that served as confirmation.

"Yato kept distracting me with cleaning and Bishamon beat Kiun up, but every time there was a new update I got so scared they'd say you were dead!" Hiyori stroked Yukine's hair, murmuring comforting words.

"It's all over now, I'm safe. I'm not hurt. I'm right here."

Bishamon and Kofuku both joined the group hug, tired of waiting their turn, and they were closely followed by the rest. Daikoku joined last and wrapped his arms around the whole group, tears streaming down his face.

"Yato, will you take me over when we're done here?" Hiyori whispered, leaning into his ear. He'd calmed enough that her breath on his ear sent a shudder down his spine, but he nodded.

"Of course I will, Hiyori," he kissed her softly on the temple and squeezed her a little tighter around the waist.

By the time Yato opened the door to Hiyori's apartment her relief and joy at seeing her friends again had worn off and the suppressed terror from her ordeal was manifesting. Yato swept her off her feet and carried her across the threshold, despite her protests that she could walk. He kicked the door shut and dropped her purse in the entryway before carrying her to the couch and wrapping her up snugly in their love quilt.

"What do you need?" He asked, kneeling in front of her.

"You." He ignored the way his entire body ignited at her response and asked again.

"What else do you need?" He watched her carefully while she considered.

"Food."

"Soup?" She giggled and nodded. "I'm on it."

He got to his feet, kissing her on the forehead before heading to the kitchen to fill her request. Once it was on the stove, however, there was little to do but wait, so he returned to her side, a warm wet rag in hand. Yato knelt at Hiyori's feet and took her face gently in his hands, wiping away the blood on half of her face. She closed her eyes and leaned to one side, pulling the love quilt down so that the could get to the blood that remained on her neck.

"It isn't mine," she said softly, staring at nothing.

"You don't have too, Hiyori." She kept talking like she hadn't heard him.

"He was right next to me when it happened. One second he was there, giving orders and the next he's on the ground and I can feel his blood on my face and everyone is firing. The bullet got him right where is protective gear ended. Someone dragged him away and I don't even know if he survived."

"I'll find out for you."

"I never got his name."

"I'll still find out."

"Thank you."

He withdrew the washrag, now cold, and reluctantly got to his feet. He hated to leave her like this, vulnerable and scared, even to go as far as the kitchen, but she hadn't eaten all day.

"Yato- thank you for taking care of me."

"Of course."

He quickly checked the temperature of her soup and poured it into a bowl before returning to her side. He sat down beside her, one hand holding the bowl and the other pulling her so close she was practically in his lap. He placed the bowl gently in her hands and wrapped that arm around her too. She ate a few bites before foregoing the spoon and drinking the soup right from the bowl. She set the empty bowl on the coffee table and relaxed against Yato, burying her face in his chest, sliding her hand up so it rested on his heart, it beat wildly in response to her touch but she took comfort in the feel and sound of a heart that deeply loved her.

"Do you want to talk?" He murmured, his voice resonating in his chest.

"I felt so helpless," she replied, the memories clogging her throat. "I watched so many officers and civilians go down and there was nothing I could do for them. I never want to feel like that again."

"I'm so sorry, Hiyori, I wish I knew the right thing to say." Hiyori turned her tearful eyes to his face.

"Just say what you're thinking."

"I'm thinking that you're the farthest thing from helpless I can imagine. When everything was so terrible after Rabo's trial and I could hardly function it felt like the world moved under your fingertips and there was nothing that couldn't do. It seemed like the whole world stopped to listen when you spoke." He chuckled. "You were the most powerful thing I had ever seen and I was totally in awe of you."

Hiyori gave him a look so full of molten hot something that he didn't dare name that his heart nearly stopped, then kicked right into overdrive. The thundering of his pulse nearly choked out his breathing but he couldn't look away because no one in his life had ever looked at him like that, with so much emotion that he felt like he'd been set on fire. He didn't dare even let himself think what that look might be saying because he'd been wrong before and he couldn't stand it to be wrong again. Hiyori needed him now, and he needed to forget about everything else and just support her the way she'd supported him.

Hiyori had no idea how to communicate what she was feeling, though her hand on his heart and her ear on his chest was telling her he understood, she knew by his expression that he didn't believe. And why would he? Yato knew better than anyone the things that trauma could do to your mental state, and he would dismiss any signs that she loved him as a projection. She leaned forward and kissed him sweetly on the cheek, leaving her hand where it was so she could feel his heart damn near stop and his breathing hitch.

The corners of her mouth pulled upwards as she returned her head to where it had been and listened to Yato trying furiously to regain control of his emotions. I want to tell him, she thought, but the restraint veiling the longing in his eyes told her that any move she made tonight would just make Yato think her feelings weren't real, and she'd have to spend months detangling that web. But she'd also learned today that waiting for the right time would only leave her with regrets. Tomorrow, she decided, I'll tell him tomorrow. In the meantime she snaked her arms around Yato's waist and collapsed into an exhausted sleep.