You Promise This Time? A Kogami/Tsunemori fan story

I Found You

The first thing she could recognize as she regained consciousness was a faint, incandescent lightbulb swinging back and forth above. As she shifted her weight, she felt a scratchy, tightening sensation around her hands and waist. Had she been tied up and left in this place? Akane scanned her limited surroundings. From what she could see, she had in fact been tied up and left in a place that appeared to be someone's basement. Though the place she was held up in had an unbearable stench that Akane could only describe it mentally as something that was comparable to the smell of rotting meat. She gagged at the very thought. No way in hell was she just going to sit here and wait for her kidnapper to return. She looked around for something to cut the ropes that bound her to the awfully squeaky, wobbly chair. Unsuccessful, she attempted to stand up, smashing the chair against the walls, desperate to break free. After a few attempts, she managed to break it enough to the point where large chunks of wood had slipped through the ropes, and loosened them. Once she was free, she grabbed her Dominator from the nearby table that the criminal most likely used to "operate" on his victims. She tried not to think to hard about what could've been had she not escaped in time. Step one of escaping was now complete and all that she had to do now was step two: Bring the latent criminal to justice. Shiba was going down.

"What are you doing here, Ahmed I thought you were with the others?" Kogami remarked confusedly by the whole ordeal, glaring back at the man he considered an ally. "Relax, Sheenyah, I am on your side. That women is in dangah. You must go now! I will stay and keep watch. Good luck, my friend!" Shinya, now taking into account that this man was not the enemy, ran out of the car and looked for a way into the building in which the white van had parked by. He removed his gun from the holster on his pants and scouted the outside for an entrance. He Then came across a small cellar door in the back. Shooting at the padlock, Kou managed to break in and found himself in the basement. Shockingly, Akane was no where to be seen. Only the remaining fragments of a wooden chair and rope could be seen through the dimly lit area. The smell of rotting meat brushed his nostrils as well, causing Shinya to heave. His investigation for the young inspector was postponed by the electronic whirring sounds of a gun. He froze. "Drop your weapon and put your hands up where I can see them!" Kogami couldn't help but smirk. "Fancy meeting you here..." He said cooly, as he spun around on his heels casually. "It really has been a while, don't you think so too...inspector?" Slowly raising his hands up to cease her gun pointing. She tried her best to keep her composure while actually wanting to run into his arms and cry tears of joy. Luckily, she had taken a more serious approach to the sudden reunion by poking his chest with the dominator, practically holding him at gunpoint. "Not so fast. After all, you're still a criminal. I found you, and once this is all over, I'm taking you straight back to Headquarters, even if I have to drag you there myself!" She warned, Her tone serious and gruff. He just smiled, his face relaxed and less tense then usual. "Was that a threat? Heh. I guess you haven't changed much from the last time we spoke. Still the same dangerous woman you were back then." Akane blushed slightly at his praise. But shook it off. "We need to remain focused if we're going to take Shiba down. So let me ask you this... Will you help me find this monster and dispose of him once and for all? If you do, I may let you go free. Sybyl won't know a thing about you being in Japan, and you can live in peace. So... What'll it be Kogami? Will you help me one last time?" Before he could answer her question, the silence was broken by the sound of the door upstairs, swiftly creaking open. Followed by the sound of feet thumping down each step. Kogami quickly grabbed Akane and ducked into the darker part of the basement. Both of them, desperately trying not to gag from the scent off decomposing flesh and human remains. Unfortunately, the illumination of the dominator gave away their location and Shiba charged at them with the knife He had used to drug Akane."Watch out, Kogami! Don't get cut by his knife!" Akane managed to slip out of the way of the two men fumbling around in the darkly light room. She pointed her dominator once more, waiting for Shinya to give her a clear shot at the target. Shiba pinned Kogami down. Shinya grabbed at the man's arms to try and stop him. Shiba smirked maniacally, clumsily lowering the knife towards Kogami's neck. Just when he barely grazed his Adam's apple with the tip of the blade, Akane fired. Easily turning the latent criminal into an exploded pile of skin, flesh, and bone. Shinya rolled the disembodied legs off his torso and coughed at the thought of a knife being driven through his esophagus, rubbing it in a soothing manner. She let out a sigh of relief, thankful he wasn't hurt by the blast.

They both panted ruggedly, trying to catch their breath as they escaped the foul smelling establishment. "So now what Inspector?" He questioned, curious to know what her next plan of action was. Akane smirked slightly as she thought about his words. "Well, you never really got to answer my question." She folded her arms, awaiting his reply. Shinya smirked in response, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I suppose you're right. But now that the criminals been disposed of, what'll you do now? Are you still gonna take me back with you, or am I a free man?" She took a few minutes before she gave him her answer. "I don't think I should let you off the hook just yet. You still have a lot of things that you need to fix." Her words cut deeply. Shinya felt the weight of his guilt begin to overcome him. "I suppose I do owe you that much, I've done a horrible thing to you and quite frankly, I don't think I deserve your forgiveness. I just want you to know that I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me. I shouldn't have let vengeance cloud my mind. I'm responsible for- Akane raised her hand to silence him."You did what you thought was right and I can't penalize you for it. I'm mad that you chose violence in the end, but I'm glad you got justice for yourself and your old partner." These were the words he so dearly wanted to hear. Yet he still felt the pain of his guilt consume him. What he did to her was unforgivable. Not even the letter he had left for her many years ago could make up for his actions and he knew it. In his soul he felt he would never truly be able to accept her forgiveness. As much as he wanted it, he wouldn't allow it for himself. He was determined to remain a traitor to Akane. It would make life easier on her. She would be able to stop chasing his ghost around, and he would do the same. She could get married, settle down, and start a life of her own. She didn't need him anymore. "Look, I'm only gonna say this once. So make sure you hear me through to the end."

Akane straightened her posture, wide eyes and eager to hear what he had to say. "Akane Tsunemori, I'm afraid this has to be goodbye for the very last time. You can't keep finding me like this. It's for your own good. I want you to live your life and fight for justice as you see fit. You're still very young and have your whole life ahead of you yet, I'm getting older and probably won't live much longer if I keep going on all these dangerous missions in order to restore democracy. But most importantly, I don't want you to worry about me anymore. I want you to be happy from now on...I'm just a ghost of the past as far as you're concerned and I need to let you go. We can't keep doing this so please. If you want to arrest me... Don't. You're better off letting me escape or killing me right here. And truth be told I've actually been struggling to keep my distance. Once I found out that we were to be stationed in Tokyo, I was happy. For the first time in a very long time... I actually felt glad because I would be able to see my old partner again. A woman who is capable of bringing anyone to their knees and just by being around you, I've scrapped mine from kneeling so much." He tried to keep himself from tearing up at his own words. Akane let out a small chuckle at his metaphor while tears started to well up in her eyes. "So mean... How can you say such a thing after you basically you don't want to see me anymore? What a cruel thing to do..." She sniffled a bit as she laughed hysterically, now on the brink of a meltdown. She wanted to punch him for making her cry, but refrained so he could finish his thought. "I got a bit sidetracked there. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is.... That I do care about you inspector. I have for a long time. But we can't do this anymore. I have to let you go. Please, if you ever see me again, then... I want you to kill me. End me once and for all."