current timeline.
It was a night of a full moon, the silver disc was high in the starless sky of a December giving off the only light to the cliff beneath it. It hung smoky behind the thin gray scudding clouds that failed to hide it.
"Shu, I think that's enough we should stop here" Jodie said from the passenger seat. She had her hands hanging tight on her pistol, and her blue eyes glued to the car speeding in front of them.
"We can't just stop"
"They always run away and…"
"Not this time" Shuichi interrupted with confidence. The agent wasn't stopping for anything. instead, he pressed the gas more causing the car to go even faster as Jodie placed one hand on the door next to her to gain balance.
"Can't you see they're luring us out to a trap? Otherwise, why would they lead us to a cliff where almost no car passes from"
"It doesn't matter, I'm not going home unless I get me one of them" Shuichi said before he reached a hand to his gun pulling it out, he opened the roof and took his seat belt off "take the wheel Jodie" he raised his body up with his foot on the gas pedal still.
"Shu what are you doing?" Jodie yelled
"Just try to keep us straight okay? I'm gonna try to stop them"
"You're crazy" Jodie muttered as she helplessly took the wheel from her seat keeping the car straight on the dark road.
The black Porsche in front of them was pushed to the limit, it was going over 100 km/ph with its tires squealing with each turn, and after dodging through the city for ten minutes, Gin ordered Vodka who was driving to lead them to the cliff.
Adrenaline was pumping through everyone's vessels as they continued driving at an insane speed, the Porsche suddenly swerved and the FBI agents lost sight of it.
Akai sat down muttering some curses, he felt his nerves being wracked, he followed the turn they took and finally got a visual of them.
"That's it, Jodie, this road is straight, just keep the wheel straight I won't take long"
Jodie did as he said despite her not wanting to, but it was no good time to argue.
Shuichi eyed his weapon with sharp green eyes. His cold hands were steady as they lifted the gun and aimed at the target… that's it, that's the perfect shot, he licked his lips in satisfaction before a grin split his face, after all, he never misses a shot, he was so confident that whatever thing he aims at will be penetrated by a bullet within a second.
He pressed the trigger sending the bullet that traveled through the space penetrating the cold air straight to the black Porsche, centimeter away from the tire.
His brows rose as his smiled was whipped off.
"That's it Shu sit down, please let's just go" Jodie who was as surprised as he was from his failure said, but Shu was too focused on his gun as he tried to aim at the tire again.
The backseat window of the Porsche suddenly opened, vermouth stuck her head out of it with a gun in her hand, she aimed at Akai and was about to press the trigger when the car suddenly drifted from its way a bit, by then, it was too late, the bullet aimed for Shuichi left her gun and instead of him, it rested on Jodie.
Jodie heard the loud bullet sound before her ears started ringing, she looked down at her body. The bullet wound was so small on her chest, ragged around the edges but barely bleeding even.
She let go of the wheel resting her shaking hands on the wound. The car drifted to the right hitting the mountain, and if it weren't that Shuichi had pressed the brakes seconds before the collision, it would've been so much worst.
Unlike Jodie, Shuichi didn't have his seatbelt on causing his body to jerk to the dashboard and his forehead to collide with the wheel.
A long silence enveloped the car –interrupted by the loud whistling breathing of Jodie- as Shuichi sat there waking and waking. Jodie looked at him frightened, she felt no pain, she felt nothing but concern for him forgetting all about her wound.
"Jodie… Jodie" he whispered with his head on the wheel, he wanted to help her but instead, he found himself sitting there helplessly, unable to move.
"Shu" Jodie weakly said after a while through her short breaths.
Shuichi opened his eyes suddenly as if he'd just woke, he pushed his body back to rest on the seat before looking at Jodie "your wound!" he said before he placed a hand on it "we should stop the bleeding"
"It's not bleeding much" Jodie pointed out in between her breaths, it was then that the pain got to her, she felt her chest hurt with every breath she took and she felt a desperate need to gasp for oxygen, except that all the breaths she took weren't enough to feed that need.
Shuichi opened the door and went out of the car aiming to go to where Jodie sat, once he stood up, he felt everything around him spinning but he kept walking anyway, he was more concerned about Jodie that he forgot about himself.
Once he reached her, he opened the door and kneeled down.
Jodie followed him with her eyes, he looked scared, it was the first time she's ever seen him scared through the years she knew him. Shuichi examined the wound with worry filled eyes "they shot you on your lung, its okay, it's going to be okay" he took her hand in his and reached with his other hand to the phone calling James and informing him about their location "they're going to be here in fifteen minutes, we have plenty of time, its gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay" Shuichi repeated once he hung up to reassure Jodie, although most of what he said was addressed to himself.
Though his hands were cold, her hands felt ice cold in his. Shuichi took off his black jacket placing it on her chest. Jodie's shortened breath started to steady up, not that she was able to breathe normally but it was just from the exhaustion she felt.
"This is all my fault! You told me to stop but I wouldn't listen" Shuichi muttered. Akemi visited his mind for a brief second, he caused her death and now he caused this to happen to Jodie, he tightened his grip on her hand thinking that he will never forgive himself if anything happens to her.
"I'm I'm cold" she stammered after a while.
"They're going to be here in five minutes," Shuichi said after examining his wristwatch, he checked the wound under the jacket which seemed not to leak any blood. He then rose up to hug her "do you feel warmer?"
"mmm" was all she said.
Shuichi kept his arms around her running his fingers through her hair "you're a strong woman Jodie! You're gonna make it through this…remember when you got shot before? It was vermouth too, who shot you back then wasn't she?" Shuichi asked but he got no answer, he pulled his body back to look at Jodie who looked bluish with her lower jaw trembling. His brows rose in the middle before he went out of the car closing the door behind him.
"You're late, it's been fifteen minutes where the hell are you?" Shuichi yelled taking a tone he usually never uses with his boss "... I don't care about the stupid traffic… just send us a helicopter… what do you mean you can't? She's in a bad condition James and I swear to god I will never forgive you if anything happens to her"
Akai hang up the phone ignoring the rings that followed, he rushed back to the car where he found Jodie with her eyes closed
"Jodie" he yelled but he got no answer. Shuichi reached a hand for her shoulder to move her "Jodie wake up"
Her blue eyes finally opened slowly, Jodie said nothing but groan.
"Stay with me okay!" he gently said cupping her cheeks with his hands "look at me Jodie, they're sending a helicopter, they're going to be here soon and this is all going to be over"
Jodie closed her eyes again, she was able to hear him but felt too weak to respond in any way, she felt him hugging her as he went on "please open your eyes, stay with me" she heard him swallowing hard. Shu hesitated before he continued "I can't afford to lose you, Jodie… I love you" he said with his head next to her neck before he pulled back and continued a bit louder "I love you, Jodie, I'm sorry I hurt you before but I love you, and I don't know why it took me so long to say it… because I was afraid you wouldn't forgive me I guess… but I truly do love you"
Jodie used all the strength she had to open her eyes, she looked at him for a long moment examining every little detail in his face as if she was drawing a picture of him in her mind "I l-love you too" she whispered "I'd forgiven you years ago silly" she smiled weakly before she felt a taste of blood pooling in her mouth, grazing her teeth and soaking her tongue before it came out of her lips.
"No… NO No, this can't be happening" Shuichi yelled hysterically "you know what? I'm not going to wait for them, I'm going to take you myself"
"What…" Jodie said unable to finish her sentence. The next thing she knew was Shuichi taking off her seat belt and holding her up and out of the car between his arms, that's when his eyes grew wider.
The passenger seat was soaked in blood, the bullet penetrated Jodie's chest leaving through her back, that's why she was cold, she was losing blood through her back for over twenty minutes and none of them realized it.
"This can't be happening" Shuichi whispered underneath his breath before he turned on his heels walking down the road with her weak body cuddled against his chest, the sight of the blood she had lost burnet his hopes, he found himself running desperately, he knew he wouldn't make it to the hospital, but he just kept running.
"You're not going to leave me Jodie right? You're going to be with me and we're going to celebrate Christmas together" Shuichi said as he felt her grip on his shirt weaken "wake up, you know I already bought you a present, you want to know what I got you? Say something and I'll tell you… or you can send me a signal, just press your finger against my shirt okay…Jodie! Jodie!"
Shuichi finally slowed down, he sat down on the ground with Jodie on his lap, he moved the couple of hairs that covered her face before cupping her cheek with one hand "Jodie" he whispered underneath his breath as if scared to know the answer.
The breathing sound she was making stopped, his hands trembled on her skin as he moved his finger next to her nose, no warmth was coming out of it…
Shuichi moved his hand slowly to her neck but Jodie had no pulse… she was dead… no, she wasn't… he thought as he shook his head in denial moving his finger back to her nose, and back to feel her pulse again, but no sign of life was found.
He pressed her cold body against his in a tight hug as a lump formed in his throat, he felt warm tears coming out of his eyes and down his cheeks as he sat in the middle of the road in denial to what happened, not even aware of how much time had passed before an ambulance siren reached his ear, it stopped next to them followed by James's car who came out of it frightened.
"She's dead" one of the nurses stated.
It was only then that Shuichi realized she was actually dead, he stood up right after they took her from his lap and rushed to James holding his collar "you killed her, why didn't you send a helicopter? She would've lived" he talked and the pain was too obvious in his voice.
"Shuichi kun, calm down. I did all I can do"
"you did nothing" he yelled before his voice broke"she is dead!..." Shuichi heard a buzzing sound in his ears before little stars started to alter his vision and within a second, he fell down to the ground unconscious.
Shuichi curled on the bedroom floor under a duvet, Pain throbbed so violently around his skull that it felt like it was cracked open. He managed to close all the curtains and to place the do not disturb sign on the door to his hotel room before it started intensifying, after all, darkness, quiet and stillness are the things he needs when going through one of these pain seizures.
Nausea overwhelmed him and he had to crawl his way to the bathroom to vomit, he wasn't drunk, he wished it was just a hangover but it was something worse.
In fact, Shuichi was diagnosed with a severe concussion after his head hit the car hard the day of the accident and despite having his doctor insist that he stays in the hospital, he preferred to fly to America to attend Jodie's funeral.
He laid a hand on the bathroom door and tried to stand up, he succeeded but his headache intensified, Shuichi walked his way to the suitcase, his vision would blur from time to time but he just got dressed in the suit he brought from Japan. Even if his head was killing him, he wouldn't want to be late for the funeral.
He headed back to the bathroom thankful that the pain started to ease, he took off his knit cap and started combing his hair backward, he was doing it obliviously, his eyes focusing a glassy look at his eyes reflected in the mirror.
Jodie is dead… today is her funeral… this suit and hair are to attend her funeral… he thought unable to accept what happened. Shuichi shook his head before sending his clenched fist to the mirror breaking it into little pieces, his lips trembled before tears took a trip down his cheek, she was the one who offered him a hug back when Akemi died, she was always there to get his back, but now he had no one left.
Shuichi couldn't remember the last time he cried, even when Akemi died he didn't cry, he was always strong, but when Jodie left, she took a big part of his strength. He headed back to the cuvet where he covered his head and cried for a long time, his jaw trembling like a little child as tears came out of his eyes like water from a dam, he moaned in pain, he yelled as if he was another person until Camel called him stating that he's waiting for him in the parking lot, he washed his face and headed to the funeral pretending to be the strong man he used to be...
I can't believe its finally over, and I'm sorry that the ending is sad, I might post an alternative ending once I'm finished with the exams.
This is the last chapter so please tell me what'd you think of it and of the whole fanfic.
Until next fanfic, luv u all :*