Only one this time, but it's a little longer so I guess it balances out? Next chapter will be a continuation of this. Probably. Possibly.

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_Start_

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Shinra's whole body trembled in time to his quick and ragged breath. He pulled his hand away from his stomach where it had been resting, bringing it up to his face.

"F-fuck…" Shinra gasped in pain.

He looked down at the bloodied mess of his lab coat. The once white coat had turned a deep red, and he winced at the sight of his lower torso, torn fabric indicating where a bullet had met its mark.

He scrunched his eyes shut and tried to think of what to do. His body was going into shock, but there was a slim chance that the shot hadn't hit anything vital.

He probed his abdomen carefully, sluggishness seeping through his arms. The bullet had hit a little more to the side, at an angle, but he'd probably bleed out before he could do anything.

Careless. He'd been careless. He took this job because he needed to keep a reputation with this specific gang, but the location wasn't secure. There had been a raid by a rival group only moments before, and now he was on the ground, dying in a room filled with the already dead.

Shinra laughed, a tiny, weak noise. His acting skills saved him from being shot again like the others, but he had to play dead for too long. His vision was starting to blur. For a moment he forgot that he was wearing his glasses and pawed at his face, clenching the spectacles and then throwing them away.

His mind was slowing down, making every second stretch out, but he managed to get a hold on the makeshift operating table and pulled himself up. The man he was working on was still there, but riddled with a few more bullet holes than he came in with.

Shinra pressed a hand firmly into his side, the sharp pain keeping him awake and slowing the blood flow. He managed to take out his cell phone out before slumping back down to the ground. His finger hovered above the call button, and he cursed himself for doing this, but he wasn't about to die here.

He hit the speed dial. Shinra could feel himself fading, not dying as such, but passing out. He smiled grimly.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. I never wanted you to know this side of me. The phone was ringing on the other end, but he didn't bother to bring it up to his ear, instead letting the device fall to the floor. The recipient wouldn't be able to answer him, anyway. "Celty," his voice broke, and he slipped into darkness.