Chapter One: Shocks of Black

Riddle One: If New Life Is Born, Then New _ Rises

"Tokaku-san!" A familiar voice called out as a girl with short blue hair rose from her sleep on a small bench, and her eyes glistened as it met with the light of day. A girl with red hair approached the blue haired girl with a bouquet of flowers and a gold ring 'round her ring finger. This was Haru, who called out to Tokaku. Tokaku brushed her hair aside from her eyes as she glanced at the bouquet. It contained blue and red roses, the colors of Haru and her own hair. The trained assassin Tokaku took the bouquet along with her knife and gently cut the out-stuck stems for any poison.

"Tokaku-san!" Haru shouted, snatching the bouquet back. "It's been ten years, and you still think people are out to get me?" Haru asked calmly. Tokaku wiped the blade of her knife with her fingertips gently as her eyes met with Haru's.

"You can never be too sure," she advised, her eyes then meeting with every person walking in the park, then to the man Haru bought flowers from. She then pointed to him, "He could have sold you purposely poisoned flowers," she commented, "then when you were knocked out, he could have kidnapped you and killed you off somewhere remote," Tokaku finished as Haru turned a slightly frightened look to the bouquet in her hands.

"Even if that's true, Tokaku-san...you made a vow, and you would always look for me, right?" Haru shakily asked, tears at her eyes. Tokaku gasped and realized that the flashbacks of the Black Class had been through Haru's mind the moment she ever mentioned poison.

"H-Haru," Tokaku said, before Haru threw herself into Tokaku's arms crying. The assassin tried to calm Haru by rubbing her back softly like a small child, noticing that Haru's crying brought attention from a few passerby people in the park.

"Come on, let's get you home," Tokaku said, wiping the tears from Haru's eyes. As Tokaku helped Haru up and took her soft hand, she met eyes with a younger girl, the same age the both of them had been ten years ago, she looked. There was something familiar about this girl, as she carried a few knives that lay just above the inside of the hem of her blood-red skirt. Her hair was a dark blue, shoulder length, and eyes red, piercing like a lion approaching its prey. Acting as if the glance was just a normal one, Tokaku slowly walked away with Haru's hand on hers, and the red-haired girl's head buried in her shoulder. Tokaku could feel the piercing stare continue from behind her back. As the assassin took another look back, the girl was gone.

"Tokaku-san, is there something wrong?" Haru asked, her eyes no longer wet from sorrow. Tokaku glared around the grassy area searching for whereabouts of the girl and came to find none.

"It's nothing," she said blatantly, convincing Haru that no one was there. Haru clung tighter knowing that Tokaku saw someone, and that she would be better off without the fear.

Tokaku-san hasn't changed a bit. Haru thought to herself. She's still the same cute, overprotective girl she was to me ten years ago.

BZZZT!

"What was that?" Haru gasped at the sudden vibration coming from Tokaku's jeans. The blue haired girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a new flip phone. She had trashed the old one with the number away since her job with Kaiba was done. Glancing at the displayed info on the phone, it said

1 NEW MAIL

Tokaku silently flipped the phone open and stopped by a tree with Haru so that no passerby could be interrupted. Her eyes dilated as she opened the message. It was from Kaiba.

How the hell did he find me?!Tokaku thought to herself. Her grip on the phone tightened as the ornament on the phone shook lightly. Haru glanced at the phone. I started a life with Haru, I started anew. And this guy thinks he can show up and change my life? How the hell did he even find my number?The phone then rang, and on came Kaiba's number.

"Tokaku-san, who's..."

"Stay here and don't move," Tokaku commanded Haru. Used to this routine from ten years ago, Haru did as told and sat beneath the tree as Tokaku picked up the phone and walked far from Haru, keeping her in sight.

"Ah, you answered. I wasn't expecting you to answer at all. You have a new life, a new career, a new way of thinking. Of course I hope my training didn't go to waste," Kaiba smirked on his end of the phone, playing with dice in the palm of his hand. Tokaku held a serious face on her end, and didn't take the call lightly.

"Just who the hell do you think you are?" Tokaku scowled. Kaiba chuckled.

"So you haven't changed," he commented, "It's nice to see you've been living your life with Haru and all, but I think it's time you came back to work..."

"To hell with your work," Tokaku lowered her voice, however still angry so no one could pay attention.

"A new Black Class arrived," Kaiba said, and Tokaku almost flipped her phone shut until she heard Kaiba say, "A child of the Azuma clan is among them," Tokaku stared on in confusion and her eyes scattered glances to the ground.

"What's wrong?" Kaiba chuckled, "Did I get your tongue? Or maybe the fingers that were going to close this phone?"

"As much as I don't care about my clan's pride, I don't want to know about another Azuma," Tokaku fixed herself to her normal, straight face, "It's going to take more than that to throw me off," she said calmly. Kaiba smiled wider on his end.

"Then welcome to the new Black Class. Where you and Haru will be tutors to this class, and new rules will apply guaranteeing you safety. It's just tutoring after all. You'll be paid well more than the teacher, and after the Class ends, you're welcome to live your life and I won't ever bother it again. Unless of course, you miss killing," Kaiba laughed and Tokaku felt a chill breeze across her arms as she looked to her jean-covered ankle where her knife lay hidden.

"That's...yes, it's true. But I'm not killing because I like it. I just like the satisfaction from knowing Haru is safe and sound," Tokaku continued, "Fine. I'll tell her about it,"

"Oh, goodie," Kaiba rolled the dice lightly onto his table getting a double two. "I was afraid I had to keep a couple of more eyes on you," he let out a small sigh, "But I guess my fun ended. I'll send you a riddle to solve as usual,"

The dial tone beeped until the call fully ended and Tokaku read the immediate mail that came in.

"If new life is born, then new blank rises," she thought to herself for a moment then shoved the phone into her pocket after flipping it shut. She walked over to Haru who got up and hugged her.

"Tokaku-san, you're back!" she smiled, nuzzling her face into Tokaku's chest. Tokaku smiled slightly, trying to see if Haru's high positivity could help her feel more comfortable with what was just said to her.

"Haru, I have to ask you something," Tokaku said, her eyes then glancing to the girl from before sitting on top a branch on a tree, playing with a knife. She immediately switched her glance back to Haru, "Are you willing to return to Black Class?"