Paint Me Blue

XIII. I'm Sorry, Thank You

10 minutes before Yin found Leo Huo:

War was tossed roughly onto the backseat of Leo's car, his wrists tightly bound behind him, leaving him no chance to resist. His breath came in sharp gasps, his eyes darting around desperately as the car sped through the darkened streets.

Eventually, the vehicle rumbled to a halt, its headlights casting a wide arc over an open space by the sea. In the distance, a massive port loomed, dotted with enormous shipping vessels. The horn of a nearby ship bellowed, echoing across the water, signaling its arrival as it moved toward the docks.

Leo swung open the backseat door, his eyes glittering with a wild determination. He grabbed War by the collar, hauling him out with a sudden, violent motion. War stumbled, his legs weak beneath him, but Leo's grip was unrelenting.

"Sorry, Officer," Leo drawled, a faint hint of regret lacing his voice. "I have to admit, I've taken a bit of a liking to you. But it's too bad you saw my face." He gave War a cold, almost pitying smile. "You're going ahead. Wait for me and Akito in the next life, will you?"

War's lungs burned as he fought against the ropes binding his wrists, the icy water pressing in on him from all sides. His kicks were frantic, desperate splashes, but his limbs felt heavier with every passing second. The cold seeped into his bones, making each movement sluggish and clumsy. He thrashed harder, feeling the pressure of the water dragging him down deeper into the black abyss below, the surface above already a blurry, unreachable shimmer.

Panic clawed at him as the last of his oxygen slipped away. His eyes bulged wide, the inky darkness swallowing him. Just as his vision blurred, a figure began to materialize in the murky water. It's of a woman, her outline faint and distant, drifting closer with an eerie, weightless grace. She wore a frilly dress, the layers billowing out around her like ghostly tendrils, and a wide-brimmed hat that cast a shadow over her face.

War's pulse pounded in his ears, the lack of air making him lightheaded, his thoughts scattering. That familiar click-click of high heels echoed in his mind, a sound that didn't belong here...yet it was there, ringing as if bouncing off invisible walls underwater. His vision wavered as he focused on the woman's face. It was a face he hadn't seen in years, one he desperately wanted to remember. His mind, clouded and fading, reached out to the past, straining to capture every detail before it slipped away forever.

The woman floated closer, her features slowly coming into focus...the curve of her lips, the delicate line of her cheek, the slight tilt of her chin. War's heart ached with a mixture of longing and despair, his eyes wide as he tried to take in every aspect, every shadow of her face. He didn't want to forget, not again, not now, even if the memory haunted him.

His chest tightened painfully, the urge to breathe almost unbearable, but he fought to hold onto that moment, the image of the woman, the sound of her heels echoing in his mind.

The darkness around him deepened, his senses fraying, but he refused to look away, desperate to sear her face into his memory, to keep it alive against the encroaching void.

War's eyes fluttered, the edges of his vision dimming, and for a brief, fleeting moment, he saw Yin's face through the haze, his expression one of sheer panic. Yin's arms reached out, bubbles streaming from his nose and mouth, his eyes wild with determination. War's head spun, his consciousness slipping further away as the woman's ghostly image dissolved, leaving only Yin's desperate, familiar gaze filling the void.

Yin grabbed War's shoulders, shaking him fiercely underwater, his hands moving quickly to the ropes that bound War's wrists. War felt a sudden jerk as Yin's fingers tore at the knotted bindings, loosening them bit by bit. But it was like watching from a distance...his senses dull, his body unwilling to respond.