Eight days had passed since Mariko brushed with death and she still hadn't woken up. Keigo wanted to be there every second of the day until she woke up, but his duties as a hero were still existent, and he was occupied for most of the day. During that time, Araya remained by her side. A fact that ruffled his feathers angrily whenever he thought about it; he as the one that sent Mariko in there after all. He had to recognize that Mariko still trusted him though; if he couldn't be there he would rather her wake up to a friendly face than none at all.
He spent whatever time he had leftover with her though. That meant that for the past eight days, he had been at her bedside waiting for her to wake up. Now it was six in the morning, and the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, lighting the sky from an inky black to soft indigo. Keigo hadn't moved the entire time and had spent the last seven hours in that torture device called a chair. He hadn't slept in days. He wasn't aware of anything going on outside of that hospital room, his attention completely focused on the woman lying in the bed. He held her limp hand, rubbing gentle circles into it. It was warmer than it had been on her first night there. That was a good sign.
He felt like a part of him had died when she'd come through the portal looking like that. Her clothes had practically been shredded. She'd been covered with blood as she coughed it up and nearly drowned in it. Her body was littered with cuts and bruises; she was also covered with burn wounds from trying to cauterize her wounds herself with shaky hands while she was barely conscious. It was horrifying to find out she'd done that to herself just to keep from dying. His stomach dropped just remembering it.
The blonde trailed his eyes to her sleeping figure. Her expression was soft and peaceful; as though she lived without a care in the world. He knew that couldn't have been farther from the truth though. Never the less it was strange to see her looking so relaced after coming so close to dying.
"How could I have allowed that to happen?" he asked himself. He was a hero and more importantly her boyfriend. He was supposed to protect her and take care of her. She was the love of his life- the person he cared about more than anything or anyone in this world. How could he have been so stupid as to let her do something so dangerous? She hadn't just gotten hurt, she'd nearly died. And he'd only seen the physical wounds, surely she wouldn't be ok mentally after experiencing trauma like that either. It'd been obvious that Shimizu was out for blood- Mariko's blood. How could he have agreed to her being sent as a hostage? A human sacrifice? It didn't matter if she was a soldier, she was his girlfriend... "What kind of boyfriend lets their girl become a torture victim?" he asked himself.
He sighed inaudibly and leaned down, bringing her hand to his forehead and resting against it.
The sun continued to rise, filling the room with an orange- almost red- light. Mariko found herself being drawn to it but struggled to open her eyes. They felt so heavy- her entire body did; she did it though and found herself in an unfamiliar setting. She blinked slowly, and tried to move her hand, but couldn't. Her limbs felt like lead, the only thing she could feel was a soft pressure on her right hand.
Mariko looked down. Keigo was sitting at her bedside, holding her hand. For a moment she didn't react, her brain still trying to wake up and take control of her body. She must've been dosed with a heavy pain killer for it to take so long just to wake up. Slowly, she scanned the room and realized she was in a hospital. Before she could wonder why, memories of the mission came flooding back to her.
Her fingers twitched slightly, alerting the blonde. Immediately his eyes snapped up to her, hopeful that she had woken up. Seeing that she had, he sat up properly. He wanted to cry with relief. "She's awake, she's finally awake." Now wasn't the time to cry though; he had to make sure she was okay.
"Hey sweetheart, how ya feeling," he asked. His voice was unbelievably soft, like he was trying to calm her down.
"Water," she croaked out. Her throat was so scratchy, talking was painful.
In a flash, a glass of water was floating towards him on a red feather. Keigo guided the strw into her mouth, helping her drink some of it before setting it down on the table next to them.
He looked at her, waiting for a response to his previous question.
"Thanks. I'm just groggy. What did they give me?" she asked slowly. Her voice was still hoarse, but at least she could be understood now.
"Morphine. Lots of Morphine," he answered, taking her hands in his again.
Mariko looked down at him. He was being too quiet; it was something that happened only when he was really bothered by something. "Kei, what's wrong?" she asked, turning her palm in his and squeezing it slightly.
Hearing her nickname for him did him in completely. He couldn't stop the tears as they spilled out of his eyes, one after the other until they streamed down his face.
The brunette stared at him wide-eyed and frozen in shock. For a moment, she didn't know what to do. She had no idea what had brought on the sudden breakdown.
His hand gripped hers tightly as he sobbed. He leaned down, resting his forehead on her lap. "You're okay," he hiccupped. "You're okay."
Mariko's expression softened, a small smile creasing her lips as she looked down at him. She knew she was lucky to have him- someone that loved her so much that he cried just because she'd woken up. She slowly brought her hand up and placed it on his head. "Of course I am. I'm always okay," she promised.
More tears flooded his eyes as he kissed her hand. "Thank you," he whispered shakily, "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."
After a few minutes, he calmed down. He'd barely eaten this week and he hadn't slept at all. The only thing that had been keeping him away was the worry that something could happen to her while he was asleep. She was awake now though; she was awake, and she would be fine. A wave of exhaustion rolled over him and almost against his will- his eyes fell shut.
The brunette smiled and ran her hand through the blonde's hair, ensuring that he fell asleep. She wouldn't comment that his chin was digging into a sore knife wound or that her legs were getting even more numb. She wanted him to rest.
About a half-hour later, a nurse came by to check her vitals. She'd wanted to ask a few questions, but Mariko rejected her because she knew it would wake him up.
"Would you like me to ask him to move? I'm sure it's uncomfortable," the nurse whispered.
She shook her head, "No, let him sleep."
The nurse nodded, telling her to let her know when she needed something.
It was the middle of the day when Keigo woke up again. Mariko had already eaten and texted her team to cancel the celebration because she hadn't died yet. Now, Ayara and Hayato were on their way and would be arriving in about a half hour to see her.
"You're up... feeling better?" she asked sweetly.
"I should be asking you that," he answered, his voice deep and raspy with sleep. Mariko smiled hearing his morning voice. It was one of her favorite sounds; she never got tired of it.
"I'm fine. They took me off the morphine a little while ago, so my body doesn't feel like it weighs a thousand pounds."
"You sure you're gonna be okay without it?"
She nodded confidently, "Yeah, the doctor came in about an hour ago and did some healing on me. It took care of all the cuts and remaining stab wounds. I'm pretty lucky, I don't even have scars," she said pleased as she gestured to her arms. She was right, where there had been numerous lacerations there was nothing but smooth skin now. "The perks of an army hospital are that they've got really good doctors," she commented lightly.
He looked at her hopeful, "So... I can hug you?" he asked.
Mariko laughed at the question and nodded. "Yes, you can."
Keigo wasted no time in throwing himself at the brunette. He crushed her into his chest, giving her no room to escape as he peppered her with kisses. He would whisper a soft "I love you," into her ear after each one.
Mariko giggled slightly, a sound that had him beaming with happiness.
She half-heartedly protested to stop because it tickled but made no move to push him away and only leaned further into him..
The blonde nuzzled into her neck, inhaling her scent, and feeling the warmth of her body spread to him.
They fell into a comfortable silence for a little while before Keigo spoke up.
"I missed you," he whispered, his voice husky with emotion. There had been a few moments where he'd thought he might never be able to hold her like this again and the relief of feeling her in his arms had him close to crying again.
"Me too," she answered.
"I was worried."
"I know."
"You really scared me," he said.
"I'm sorry,"
"I love you."
Mariko hugged him tightly, her hands playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. "I love you too. So much."