Bungou Stray Dogs ~ One-shots

[Chuuya xR] A choice without regrets (3/3)

If there was one thing she was certain of, it was that she had always wished, deep down, that she could cross paths with Chuuya again. For four long years, she had dealt with her grief and loss as best she could, telling herself over and over again that it was for the best, and that she had made the right choice. 

But still, grief and sadness had become commonplace for her, both night and day, though a little less obvious in the latter case. When she was accompanied by her colleagues, and the sun was high in the sky, she felt a little happier, she had to admit. 

However, when the night came and she found herself alone with her memories, those wounds of the past, in her horribly cold bed, the tears kept flowing, again and again, silently. She knew perfectly well that her brother also knew, but that he was tactful enough to let her decide whether or not she wanted to tell him. 

She did not know, however, if her new colleagues had managed to see that broken part of her, that she hid with a certain amount of shame and remorse, that tore her apart from the inside. 

Many times, she had wondered what Chuuya was doing now; if he had found love elsewhere, if he had forgotten her. It should have seemed insignificant to her, knowing that it was her who had abandoned him, without even bothering to see him one last time, fearing to see her resolutions go up in smoke, and the courage to leave too. 

Many times, she had almost given in to the temptation to go back to her former love, but she had not been able to bring herself to do so. If she did, she was not sure she could return. And she could not leave her little brother, her only family, when he needed his big sister more than ever. 

Osamu was just beginning to change, despite his increasingly meaningless suicide attempts. The fact that they were never successful was a sign that something was still holding him down, she knew that. If she left, as Oda did, what would happen to her beloved little brother? 

She continued to suffer in silence, even though she was not sure she had the right to do so, since the culprit in this story was none other than herself. Without being able to help it, the hope to cross again this man, whom she still loved, was always there. 

However, she would never have believed that this would actually happen one day. And even less under such conditions. 

The war against the Guild had been raging for several days, and the Armed Detective Agency was more exhausted than ever. Only two members were really able to fight, Atsushi and Kenji. Kyôka, the only one who could help them, was however in the hands of the police. The others were brilliant, but almost useless on the battlefield. 

Kiyoko was more or less one of them. Sure, she was a former mafioso, and was able to manage herself well in combat, but she stood almost no chance against power users like the Guild members. 

She and Osamu, on their way to the place where Q was being held, were obviously ambushed by the same fearsome organization. Two of its members, a young blond boy and a man with long black hair and a frightening look. 

Kiyoko could tell from a glance that they were experienced fighters. So, she instinctively stepped in between them and her little brother, and pulled out her weapons, ready to fight for what was so dear to her, risking her own life if necessary. 

Until, without her understanding why at first, a huge rock rose in the air, and simply landed on the strange man, with eyes that gave her goosebumps, putting him out of action in a split second. Kiyoko felt her eyes widen as her heart suddenly raced. 

She knew someone who could do something like this, someone she cared about very much. Had her hopes of seeing him again been so strong that she was now imagining things?