The Mandarin Gown
Note: Darker than Black is not mine; it belongs to the rightful owners. And I'm just a fan of the anime.
Summary: Hei thinks about the time he first saw Kirihara in a qipao. Suteki…
"You've got an appetite, ne, Li-kun?"
A familiar voice cut off his eating. When he looked up, he saw Kirihara carrying a tray with some food orders. The Black Reaper smiled. Having a big appetite was his obeisance after performing his work. Well, he does manage to cook for himself, but home-made dishes make life boring. So eating outside made the fun complete.
"O…ohayo gozaimasu, Kirihara-san…", he greeted shyly.
Kirihara smiled. Li-kun is so sweet and innocent, yet quite mysterious like BK201.
"Do you mind if I share this table with you?" the policewoman asked.
Li-kun nodded and asked her to sit across him. This way, he could best observe this person who was constantly in search of him, Li/Hei/BK201/The Black Reaper. She's scary, Saito, one of her subordinates, told him. Yes, a woman doing a man's job is tough indeed. Every time a Contractor dies, or something happened that involves Contractors, the Astronomy Division would then call and confirm the presence of BK201 in the crime scene. And in these cases, it was always Kirihara who would be near the area. So much that anything that involved BK201 interested her. It was because BK201 was the most deadly, the most brutal, and the most feared Contractor on Earth.
Yet, here they were, seated together in the same table, dining in the same diner. Mao may have spied them somewhere and had informed Huang or Yin of this matter. Yet that seems illogical for now, Hei thought. Today, he was with the woman who was always chasing him, yet she was the same woman who caught his eye when they saw each other at Alice Wang's birthday party. A Japanese woman wearing a qipao must be an interesting sight. Her hair was arranged in two buns at each side and tied with ribbons. The slit of her attire was quite long, and it showed her flawless legs. He smiled. She had wide hips and big legs, but what did it matter? She was totally dazzling in her outfit. She's quite beautiful, he told Saito. But Li's thought got mixed up. Contractors were not supposed to feel anything or to make such comments. But why was he feeling this way? Did his human emotions return?
"Li-kun…"
There was no way the human feelings would return. He wasn't like Havoc, or Carmine, the Lost One. She was a former Contractor whose power somehow got lost. She returned to her former self. When she told, Hei that she'll tell him about the predicament of his sister Bai, she told him to bring her to the Gate.
"Li-kun…"
If Li was feeling this way, what that does mean though? He forgot the feeling of a kiss, though he had kissed a girl once when she was chased by police. But that was just to shut her up. To his amazement, he withdrew and asked for apologies.
Apologies? He had none of that, now that he's a Contractor. And why had he blushed after kissing her? Damn, Contractors were not supposed to feel anything. They were supposed to be illogical, or to just kill for no reason at all and then fulfill their obeisance.
"Li-kun…"
A warm feeling touched his hand. It was Kirihara.
"I've been calling your attention…is anything wrong?"
"…ah..iie…I was just, thinking about the time we first met…"
"Oh? Yeah, I remembered that you were asked to go back to the kitchen to wash the dishes because you have eaten too much yet still very hungry. I wonder, where do you put all that food in your body? And you never even get fat at all!"
Li laughed. She did remember. It was good she had remembered him as Li and had not known that he was BK201. He was not ready to tell her anything. But why should he tell her? Suddenly, he found himself liking her. It was quite unusual for him to feel this way.
"Yeah, and even the time we introduced ourselves in the rest room. That was weird, huh."
Kirihara smiled. That was a weird introduction to begin with, but it was special. Li and she trapped in a rest room, just them together.
She looked at her watch and sighed.
"Well, I guess I got to get going. Time for work again. Anyway, I'm so glad I bumped into you, Li-kun. Have a nice day," Kirihara said as she stood up.
Li smiled. "I'm happy too. It's been nice meeting you. Uhm…do you mind if I call you…Misaki-chan?"
"Of course, I'd be happy if you do," Kirihara smiled. "Bye."
Then she left. Li 's gaze followed her to the door, and outside. Suddenly, he heard his radio calling.
"That's quite a date, huh," Mao remarked from outside.
"Yeah…she indeed is tough…yet so beautiful. I think…I like her," Hei answered.
End