Hitomi's left hand shook as she drank her tea. Iris had run off to go and help Mizuki at whatever she was facing off at the stadium, and she could only sit in fear for the fate of both her daughter and the girl who might as well have been.
"One member of the team stopping Naixatloz's "Nirvana Initiative" was critically wounded in the successful mission. More information will be available as it's released."
That single line on the news was enough to bring her almost to madness. If she had been unable to stop worrying before, now her fears for their sake was even worse.
As much as she wanted the news, she shut off her TV, unable to listen anymore. She had to ignore her growing fear for what little of her family remained. If it was Mizuki or Iris, she'd already have been called. She was Iris's emergency contact, and Iris would've called her if it was Mizuki.
She kept trying to rationalize their safety, but the fear had yet to leave her. She had already lost Date six years prior. She'd come so close to losing Iris all those years ago. She couldn't face the thought of what would happen if she lost one of them too. Not after everything they'd all been through.
Unable to take the lack of news, Hitomi picked up her phone, determined to at least call Boss to get some answers as to what had happened, but before she could even open up her contacts, she heard the door open, and a cheerful voice shout, "Mom, I'm back!"
Hitomi ran to the entryway, eager to see Iris standing just to the side of the door with one of the biggest smiles she'd had in ages, not a bruise on her skin or hair out of place. "Iris, you're-"
Her relief at her daughter's safety died in her throat as she looked up to see a familiar dark haired man, one eye gray and the other a glowing yellow. Much to Hitomi's relief, that awful mask of Saito's face was gone, put away for now as he gave her a small smile.
"Sorry for taking so long, I had to wait for Boss to clear Uncle to go home. I wanted to call so you could know Mizuki and I were okay, but..."
Date stepped forward. "I didn't want her to ruin the surprise."
Hitomi didn't know what to say, instead simply letting tears fill her eyes as she was finally able to process. Mizuki was okay. Iris was okay. And now, Date was okay too.
Iris went to approach her, but Date did first, putting a hand on Hitomi's cheek, cupping it lightly. "Sorry I took so long."
Hitomi smiled, her eyes still full of tears but the weight of all of her worries lifting after all these years. "It's okay, all that matters is that you're back, and that you're both safe."
He was back, and Iris was okay, and Mizuki was okay. Their family, which had been broken for so long, was finally whole again, could finally heal.
The sound of footsteps behind her caused her to separate from Date, and Hitomi turned to see Iris heading towards her room. "Iris?"
"You and Uncle could probably use some time to catch up. I got to have the entire car ride back." She smiled. "Plus, I need to play Shovelforge. I may not technically have to stream right now, but my audience should know I'm okay, right?"
There was a mischievous glint in Iris's eyes that made Hitomi doubt that was the only reason she was leaving the two of them alone, but before she could ask any further Iris had shut the door, leaving it just the two of them.
She gave him another smile, this one slightly less uncertain, and brought him to the sofa. She waited for him to sit down, for her to be sure he'd never run away again, to finally ask, "What happened?"
"Well, I'm sure you heard about what happened six years ago," Date said. Hitomi nodded. Mizuki had lost an eye and Date had gone missing. She remembered all too well when Boss had shown up with quiet Mizuki with a missing left eye, unable to say anything but apologies.
"As it turns out, I was captured by Naix. Then, when I finally escaped, I had no memory of who I was to come and help. I only remembered when Furue's other half was found. That's when I came home"
Six days. Date had been home for six days and she was only able to see him now. She understood why, but he still let her believe he was dead for six days longer than had been necessary, after all those years without him.
As though he sensed her hurt (and maybe he did, she was still unsure of just what functions Aiba had) he added on, "I wanted to stop by sooner, but so much was going on. I had to solve the case before the Nirvana Initiative went active. I didn't want to let any of you get hurt." Date looked away. "As it is, I failed that."
At his guilt, Hitomi remembered the news report. A member of ABIS had been critically injured. With date home, she had just been relieved that it hadn't been Iris or Mizuki (or him) but that didn't change the fact that it was probably an agent he was close to. She grabbed his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Who was it?"
"The kid thought he had some stupid debt he owed because he's the reason I was gone for six years." Date squeezed harder, his grip tight as she could only guess at his guilt. "Aiba was with Mizuki so I couldn't see them cloaked, and Ryuki..."
She didn't know Ryuki well, but he had come around a few times. At first with Date as his apprentice in ABIS but later on his own to express his condolences after Date's disappearance. She knew she should've been hit harder by his loss, but the fact that she wasn't as close to him made it more difficult to do. Still, he had saved Date's life, and she owed him for that. "Kaname, it was his choice. You just have to have faith he'll pull through."
Date looked up at her and smiled softly. "You've always known what to say to make me stop worrying." He cupped her cheek gently with his free hand, holding her face and she leaned into the touch before he gently kissed her. There was no fire in it, no desperation of a man who hadn't seen the woman he loved in six years, but there would be time for that later when the world returned to normal and Date wasn't seeking comfort and Hitomi wasn't just experiencing nothing short of relief that he was okay.
Even after he pulled away, they lingered, their forehead's touching as they let the moment exist, neither wanting to pull away from the other for fear that they might vanish.
"Don't disappear for six years again, okay?" Hitomi's voice was soft, a request. She had only just finally gotten him back, they had only just managed to start relearning each other, when he'd vanished again. She couldn't go through that pain again. She wouldn't.
"Never again. I won't do that to any of you again." Date smiled.
Despite what their track record seemed to show, Hitomi believed him.