The Mangled Hands

Eight

It's the day of her and Giyuu's anniversary and Shinobu honestly couldn't feel any worse, that is until she gets a letter delivered to her.

WARNING: Mentions of blood, injury, and torture, though you should be used to it with me by now. 

-linebreak-

Ten days... 

T E N  D A Y S .

That's how long it'd had been since the investigation had really taken off, a week since Giyuu had been kidnapped which meant at least one of his fingers had been broken...

She sighed, at least it was only one. Oh if only she really knew how wrong she would be, hindsight is 2020 as they say. 

Although despite all that, worst of all it was the day of their anniversary, the first case they got together along with the ironically enough the day they got married since they just so happened to fall on the same day. Unknowing to her husband, while planning the wedding she made sure it'd be placed on the same day and mentioned it to her once in a passing comment and she shrugged it but she's sure he knew she was lying. He was always good at telling when someone was lying, it took a liar to know one after all, and with his silent demeanor, he knew when to talk, when to press the witness further and when to let them ramble on; of course, that didn't know how to hold a conversation.

That picture, that picture from their honeymoon. The two of them at the park, a picture she took without his knowledge of him with ice cream smeared on his cheek a picture she found quite adorable. What she wouldn't give to go back to those times, simpler times, she doesn't want to quit the case but she knows she has to. She should but at the same time she shouldn't, she can't let this go and let whoever did this escape. She just can't. 

It doesn't help that it's the day of the twos anniversary that she's considering leaving the case, it doesn't help that the package she got delivered today was for their said anniversary. She knew this by the text she was greeted with this morning and it was to be delivered which meant Aoi would bring it here soon. Ironically enough, she had just gotten a knock on her door signaling she was here with her package, she buzzed the phone machine and let her in.

She heard distant footsteps approach her desk, pausing in front of it, she didn't have to guess why. 

"Are you okay?"

"No, I'm fantastic... What do you think the answer to that question is right now?" She buries her face with her arms, resisting the urge to slam her head on the desk which would result in a nasty bruise that would only draw more attention to her comically large forehead, and right now that was the last thing she needed.

"So..." Aoi awkwardly began. "What's in the box..." She let out the grumble equivalent and apparently it wasn't loud enough so Aoi asked again. Then again, then again. Until finally...

"I-It's... It's a chocolate flake bars!..." She said with an unneeded amount of shame. "H-He said he wanted to try it so I got it for him for our anniversary and now he's not here so there's no point in having it!" 

Aoi doesn't say much but keeps her eyes directed at the ground as she shuffles on her feet. Shinobu is sure it'll stay like that until she eventually leaves but then she speaks up once more.

"...C... Can I eat it?" Shinobu pauses, and slowly raises her head up, and looks at her, slowly blinking.

"You know you're supposed to be comforting me, right?" She sees shame flash across Aoi's face and then she remembers who Tomioka got the idea from.