~Enji's POV~

The sound of gunshots, screaming and crunching metal sounded from the other end of the line before the call disconnected. I stared at my phone in horror. Shiori's shrill scream of terror echoed across my mind. Without thinking, I took off running in the direction of the courthouse, pushing myself to go as fast as I possibly could.

By the time I reached the scene, emergency responders were already there putting out fires and pulling bodies from the vehicles involved. I spotted the car I'd sent to pick them up, it was hardly recognizable. There were several bodies laid out on the street covered with white sheets, many of which were quickly stained red.

"This one has a pulse!" One of the paramedics yelled.

I turned and my heart fell as I spotted Shiori being loaded onto a stretcher. The entire right side of her face was soaked in blood from a large gash across her temple. All reason and rationality flew out the window as I ran to her side. As I got closer I saw even more concerning things, there was a gunshot wound to her chest much too close to her heart for comfort, and she was littered with a plethora of cuts, gashes and another gunshot wound to her abdomen.

"Endeavor?" The paramedic looked at me in awe as I clasped Shiori's blood soaked hand in mine. I could just barely feel a pulse in her wrist. Her chest was rising and falling shallowly as if she were struggling to get oxygen.

"She's-." What even was she to me? "The car belonged to me. Did anyone else-?" I couldn't finish the question, my brain wasn't working clearly.

The paramedic bowed their head solemnly. "I'm sorry, there were no other survivors. We need to get her to an Emergency Room now."

I nodded and followed them to the ambulance. At the hospital I was forced to wait in the waiting room as Shiori was taken straight into the Operating Room. Before the shock caught up to me, I managed to text one of my sidekicks, my most jovial one, to keep an eye on Hikaru in case the bastards tried anything else. Not that there would be any proof in the matter, I knew exactly who was responsible.

Six hours and two surgeries later, I was finally brought to the hospital suite Shiori would be recovering in. I took a seat on the small sofa near the window and waited for her to be brought back from surgery. A police report from the accident was forwarded to my cell phone. I looked it over while I waited. From the coroner's report, which appeared to have gotten completed in record time, Hiro must have tried to shield the girls as he took the most bullets. Nina had unluckily been on the side of the car that got hit by the van. The driver took a bullet to the head before he'd been crunched into the car from the first head on collision.

I set my phone aside not wanting to read through anymore of the report, not sure if I could stomach anymore at this moment, not until I at least knew about Shiori's condition. I could grieve for the others later.

Another twenty minutes went by before Shiori was finally brought to the suite. She looked deathly pale. The two nurses who brought her up jumped as they spotted me. They made quick work of getting her situated before taking their leave.

I immediately moved to her bedside and tenderly swept a finger over the back of her bruised eyelid. Silently, I prayed and begged to anything that might listen that she'd be okay and would wake up soon. I didn't think I'd be able to relax until she woke up.

After a few more minutes, her heart rate monitor spiked. I clasped her hand in mine once more and felt her fingers twitch. She was waking up! Her eyelids fluttered and she slowly opened her eyes. She seemed disoriented and confused by her surroundings.

"You're alright." I reassured her quietly, "we're at the hospital."

"Hiro, Nina-?" She cut off with a wince and rubbed her neck, her throat was probably sore from the breathing tube that had been down it while she was in surgery.

I shook my head and bowed my head solemnly. "They didn't make it."

Tears welled in her warm caramel eyes. She winced as a sob escaped her. I wiped away her tears. It wasn't good for her condition to get so worked up. "I'm sorry." She choked back more tears. Another grimace crossed her face, it was hurting her.

"It's not your fault." I attempted to make her more comfortable by shifting the plethora of pillows around her, "please calm down." There was nothing I could do to help her.

She struggled to compose herself. "Hikaru?"

"I sent one of my sidekicks to guard him." I reassured her.

She nodded. "Thank you."

Silent tears streaked down her cheeks but she managed to keep the sobs under control so as not to hurt herself.

A moment later a surgeon stepped into the room. He looked a little surprised to see me before offering me a polite nod of his head. "I'm sorry for your loss." He addressed us both.

It hit me at that moment, I had suffered a loss. Though I never would have admitted it to him, Hiro,as he so often put it, was the closest thing I had to a friend. I lowered my head consumed with grief. He'd been annoying but I'd enjoyed his banter.

"I wanted to talk to you about your condition." The doctor paused and threw a look in my direction.

"It's fine. I don't mind if he knows." Shiori spoke softly. Her voice was still a little scratchy, whether from the breathing tube during surgery or her crying fit, I wasn't sure.

"Very well." The doctor nodded. "You were shot four times." He paused to point to each location, one right above the heart, two in the abdomen one upper and one lower and another I'd missed because she'd been covered in blood on her upper left arm. "We extracted all the bullets and repaired what damage we could. The one in your chest was dangerously close to your heart. The one in your upper abdomen did some damage to your liver, the lower one in your lower abdominal region, did irreparable damage to your uterus. I'm afraid you won't be able to bear anymore children..." He paused to let that sink in, "you have a contusion from the impact that caused that laceration." He indicated the bandages around her head, "and you lost quite a bit of blood, we had to do a few transfusions. No strenuous activities for a while, and you'll need to stay here for a few days so we can keep monitoring your vitals and the incision sites from the surgeries."

Shiori nodded her understanding. "...thank you..."

"Any questions?" The surgeon asked.

Shiori shook her head but said nothing.

"Alright. Get some rest, I'll send a nurse with a second dose of painkillers in a bit." The surgeon offered her a sympathetic look.

Once he was gone I looked over at Shiori. Her eyes were closed but I didn't think she was sleeping, more like she was struggling for composure. I reached over and clasped her hand in mine. Her tear filled eyes fluttered open. She looked down at our interlocked hands before her gaze flicked to my face.

"Are you alright?" I asked, trying to keep my voice soft.

She looked as if she were going to lie and say yes just to appease me but she paused, shut her mouth and thought for a moment. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze and that seemed to be the final straw. Her lip trembled and she shook her head as more tears streamed down her pale cheeks.

I moved closer and awkwardly sat on the side of her bed and struggled with how to comfort her. I attempted to give her a hug but I was much too big and she had far too many injuries and the bed was very difficult to move on due to the plethora of IV's and wires linked to her and various machines. I managed a very strange version of a hug with my arms around her but not touching her and rested my hand against her uninjured arm.

Her bright caramel eyes looked up at me. They were filled with a swirl of dark emotions but I saw the faintest glimmer of light and amusement at my actions. A tiny ghost of a smile quirked at the corner of her lip. "...what are you doing?" She asked after a moment.

"Trying to give you a hug." I growled.

"I don't think that's quite right." She pointed.

"Well it's a little difficult when I'm afraid of breaking you." I grumbled.

Shiori winced as she struggled to sit upright. I opened my mouth to yell at her but paused as she wrapped her thin arms around me and leaned into me, resting her head against my chest. Her body shook slightly as she cried silently in my arms. I felt so useless. Not knowing what else to do, I gently rubbed her back hoping it wouldn't irritate any of her injuries or her still healing bone marrow extraction site.

"You shouldn't be moving." I whispered after she'd cried herself into exhaustion.

I gently settled her back into bed before looking for some tissues to mop up her face. Once she'd composed herself she nestled back into her hospital bed. Her body shivered slightly and I pulled the blankets up around her.

"Endeavor?" Her soft voice made my heart skip a beat.

"...what is it?"

"Would you mind taking the kids to have dinner with Hikaru? I told Fuyumi if we won the case-." She trailed off.

I knew what she'd told Fuyumi as she had called me excitedly just before the hearing to ask if it was okay. I'd agreed, but circumstances had changed. "It can wait until you're well enough."

Shiori bit her lip, "...I just want Hikaru to be around people he recognizes, he's probably scared and has no idea what's going on..." More tears welled in her eyes.

"Did you happen to forget you almost died today?" I growled.

She winced, "no, I didn't forget...how could I?"

I remembered that she had been fond of Hiro and Nina and grimaced as I realized that had been very insensitive and tactless. "I'm not leaving your side." The accident was no accident, it was a hit, she was a target, I wasn't about to let her out of my sight. "Besides, none of them would have nearly as much fun if you weren't there." I mumbled hoping it would lift her spirits a little.

It didn't seem to help.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called my sidekick stationed at the hospital before putting the phone on speaker phone. "Yes, Sir?" He answered on the first ring.

"Put the boy on the phone."

Shiori's bright eyes widened and she shifted a little so she was sitting more upright. Pain flashed across her caramel eyes but she ignored it.

A moment later, a childish voice rang on the other end, "hello?"

I looked at Shiori as a teary smile lit up her face, "hi, baby." She replied softly.

"Mommy!" The boy cried, "are you okay, what happened? No one will tell me anything."

"I'm okay. There was an accident so I have to stay in the hospital for a few days." Shiori replied and I threw her a withering look, she was about as far from okay as one could be and had nearly died. She ignored the look I threw at her and turned her attention to the phone. "are you okay?"

"Yeah, this funny guy is keeping me company." Hikaru giggled.

I'd picked my sidekick that everyone else seemed to think was the most amusing in hopes it would be helpful to the boy and was glad it seemed to be working.

"That's good." Shiori smiled.

"Did you win the case?" Hikaru asked.

More tears streamed down Shiori's pale cheeks, "we did."

"Yay!" Hikaru cheered, "I'll make Hiro a thank you card.

Shiori's smile fell, "sweetheart, Hiro didn't survive the accident."

There was a pause on the other end before Hikaru spoke again, "I'm sorry, Mommy." I was shocked the child grasped the concept of loss.

Shiori looked at the phone with a heartbroken smile, "me too, baby." Blood began to seep from the bandage on her arm. I noticed more blood beginning to seep through her flimsy white hospital gown where she'd been shot.

I reached out a hand to gently push her back onto the bed and threw her a reprimanding look. She didn't fight me and I realized it was because she was in much more pain than she was willing to let on.

"Honey, Mommy needs to rest for a bit, I'll call you later." A single tear slipped down her cheek, "I love you."

"I love you, Mommy, get lots of rest so we can play music soon." Hikaru replied before hanging up the phone.

Shiori sank onto the bed and shut her eyes as she struggled for composure. "...thank you for that..." She said, her voice somewhat shaky.

"Don't make me regret it by injuring yourself further." I grumbled as I tucked her back into bed, "get some rest."