"Wataru?"

A soft, crying voice brought him back to the present, pulled him away from pleasant dreams. He forced his eyes to open and the light blinded him.

"Wataru." Her voice trembled, her gentle hands ran through his hair and over his face.

His world didn't stop spinning and turned his head away to escape the pain, but he immediately regretted the movement. The pain was unbearable and his lungs burned.

"Don't move.", Miwako cried and tried to stop the bleeding by pressing her hand on the wound on his chest. "Just lie still!"

The gentleness in her voice comforted him. He raised his hand and touched her tear-streaked face.

"Don't cry," he whispered. "Everything will be fine."

She nodded and swallowed a sob. "I know," she whispered, barely audible. Her hopes were long gone. She was no longer waiting for someone to save her.Too much time had passed. Too much damage was done. Without thinking about it, they shot him, let him fall into their arms so she could watch him slowly die.

Every time he breathed in, she hoped it wasn't his last breath. Hours had passed and she didn't know if it was day or already night.

She had lost track of the time since the first shots were fired in this empty warehouse.

She couldn't move, her legs were tied. But she managed to free her hands from the shackles. But even if she could move, her numb legs would no longer support her. And she would never have left him alone.

"They will come," he whispered tiredly.

"Yes," she lied and closed her eyes. "They will come."

He felt the burning pain every time he breathed in. The pain that made him pray to deliver him from this suffering. He was tired and her sobs hurt his soul.But the tiredness was stronger and he closed his eyes.

"Wataru." She shook him. "No, you mustn't die! Not now and not like this!"

The shaking brought the pain back and he opened his eyes. With another painful breath, he looked up at her.

"I am tired."

"No, you are not!" She shouted and her hand pressed even tighter to the still bleeding wound on his chest and made him twitch. "They will come," she said. "He's coming.", She tried to encourage them both. "He will come."

~~ * ~~

He had been looking for them for the last 48 hours, following every lead they had found and forcing his people to keep going until they were found. The police worked without sleep. It was no longer two missing commissioners to look for, it was two members of their family. They were the man's best friends whom they respected and trusted.

It was an easy case. But then something went wrong and they lost contact.They heard the gunshots through the microphones they carried, the screams, and then the silence. The silence that scared him more than he wanted to admit. But he wasn't going to give up.

He couldn't reject the thought, the thought that made him sick, the thought that hurt his soul. The thought that two of his best friends had a bullet in their head somewhere he couldn't find them.

"Do you have anything?" He asked as he turned to the man in the van.

"No, inspector."

"Keep searching."

~~ * ~~

The fear of losing him bothered her. She fell into a restless sleep. She dreamed of a future together with him. But this dream soon gave way to the nightmare because she experienced hours ago. She saw the bullets hit him, make him sink into her arms. She saw in his eyes that he no longer had the strength to fight death.

She woke up. It had only been 15 minutes since she fell asleep.She wiped away her tears and noticed that the bleeding had calmed down. She looked down at her partner and ran a hand through his hair.

"They won't come," he said. His eyes were closed, all his hopes were gone.

"He will come," she lied. "He will find us."

“It's okay.” He opened his eyes and looked up at her. "I wouldn't-"

"No!" She cried. He looked at her sadly. "Do not say that."

"I'll miss you," he smiled tiredly.

"You're welcome." She looked up into the darkness and prayed to the god where she wasn't sure he existed. "Please don't take it away from me!"

~~ * ~~

He looked up at the dark sky, saw the shining stars and the moon reflected in the river. The police were still looking.

There were six of them. Only six people the two were looking for. Just six people who were concerned, who were sure that this search was hopeless, but didn't want to give up. Tears ran down his face.It's been a long time since he last cried. He quickly wiped away his tears.

"Inspector, we found you."

"Come on, let's go," he ordered and his concern and fear increased.

~~ * ~~

The door was broken open and they searched the room.

"Here!" Shouted a policeman. "Oh God."

"Hurry, call an ambulance," Megure ordered. "Come on!"

"Yes, inspector."

He knelt and looked for a pulse. "Come on, Miwako," he whispered.

He found one, weak and slow, but it was there.

"Wataru," she said as Megure picked her up.

"We have you guys," he whispered.

"Inspector." She opened her eyes again before she passed out again.

Thirty minutes later, he was in the car and saw the two ambulances leave. They found her in time. They found her in time to save them both. That's what the paramedics said. The ambulance sirens were the only sound heard on the empty streets.Megure leaned back and looked over at the driver for a moment.

"You did well."

"Thank you, inspector."

~~ * ~~

The pain was there, the cold hallway below and her worried face above him.
"No!" He startled.

She sat up and hugged him. "It's okay," she said, barely audible.

"I know," he replied.

It had been three months since she was found. The nightmares came night after night and they didn't want to stop. He leaned back on the pillow and pulled her with him. She laid her head on his chest, over his heart, over the scars he wore under his shirt.

Both needed time to process what had happened. But she was comforted that the other would be there when one of them had another nightmare.

"Are you okay?" She asked gently.

"Soon. I'll be okay soon."

She pressed closer to him and he kissed her forehead. She looked up at him and smiled. Because she knew everything would be fine soon. "~~ * ~~

Outside her apartment he was sitting in the car. It was snowing a little, but the night was still clear. He looked up at the sky and smiled. He had been taking care of her for three months. For three months he had been trying to forgive himself for exposing her to such pain. He saw the light that shone out of her window, the light that hadn't gone out for three months. He would wait, wait for that light to go out. Then he would know they were fine. Then he would be sure that everything would be fine. Until then he would wait. Jyuzou Megure would wait.

end