Tiger and bunny: Lucky to be a lady tonight

Chapter 22

No matter who it was, they'd had a long day. Unfortunately, it didn't end well. Muramasa was taken into emergency surgery to try to remove the bullet he was hit with and stitch up his insides. It was a long surgery, as the bleeding had to be stopped, too. Agnes and Anju stood outside the room, looking in through the window of the operating room. Both women were nervous, though for entirely different reasons. Anju, of course, was worried for her son, but the issue of him suddenly glowing blue like a NEXT was concerning to everyone—especially the doctors who were having troubles with their tools until the glow stopped.

Agnes was worried for the man for another reason entirely, however. He had made a mean cocktail, but he was handsome too. All that talk he made about finding the right person, the way he looked right into her eyes, she had thought for sure that he was any regular man, but she had been shown otherwise. He was a family man, and he had accepted Barnaby into his family. Usually, Agnes wouldn't be concerned over a man from a small town, but Muramasa was different. She just had to discover what exactly made him stand out to her from other men.

Kotetsu and Kaede were with Barnaby as he was taken to the ICU. He too went into surgery to have the bullet removed, though his procedure was much shorter. Afterwards, he was placed into a room where Kotetsu and Kaede could be with him. The girls held his hands as he tried to stay awake. The pain in his shoulder was a dull roar at this point, but it still hurt enough to bother him. Most of his shoulder muscle had been torn up, and he couldn't move it at all.

Barnaby didn't speak for quite a while, no matter how hard Kotetsu tried to make him talk. She wanted to hear his voice, let herself know that he was going to be alright. When he finally did talk, it was with an apologetic tone. "I'm so sorry... today had to be like this...I'm sorry to everyone."

Kotetsu shook her head, still in her wedding dress, "It's not your fault! Regardless of the two unwanted visitors, today was still one of the three best days of my life! And you're pulling through just fine." She kissed the fingers on his uninjured side so that he wouldn't feel his shoulder move. "Nothing will change how happy I am to be your wife."

His fingers twitched when they were kissed. "This was not how I was planning... our wedding day to go." He sighed and closed his eyes for a little bit, then opened them back up to look at the ceiling. "I'm sorry Kotetsu. I wish that man would have never found you so we wouldn't be in this situation..."

"No one planned it to end up like this." She squeezed his hand, "Not even that Hunter guy. He didn't expect what my brother did that saved you. I've no doubt that he wanted you dead by the end of the day, but you aren't, and that's the most important part." She paused, looking back at the closed door to Barnaby's recovery room, "...I hope Muramasa is as lucky... Kaede, can you go check on your uncle for me?"

Kaede nodded and stood up, "I've been wondering, myself. It's been awhile since we last got an update." She paused to bend over and kiss her stepfather's cheek before hurrying out and down the hall.

Barnaby managed a weak smile as Kaede left. "I love her so much... I'm very grateful for your brother. Otherwise I wouldn't be here now." He reached over with his other hand and pulled Kotetsu into a kiss.

After a bit, his eyes widened. "Kotetsu... did you notice... Muramasa was glowing like a NEXT?"

She nodded and bit her lip, "I...never knew... maybe it only just now awoken in him with his need to save you, or maybe he kept it secret all this time...I don't know... I also don't know what it is he's able to do. All I saw was his NEXT glow. But then again, I—All I could think about was that gun pointed at your head..." her hands shook, "I...was so scared I'd lose you..."

"I'm still here, Kotetsu, and that bastard, Hunter, is going to get what he deserves...for trying to kill me off." His hands balled up into fists as he tried to sit up, crying out as pain shot through his shoulder and down his arm. "God damn... I swear... he's going to die by my hands... and he's not going to lay a fucking finger on you... or our baby."