This is my first fan fiction... So please go easy on the critics. It is rated M for future violence as I tend to describe things a bit too vividly.

Disclaimer: I do not own Darker than Black nor any of its canon characters.


When you live in a lie created by yourself and when you live in a life created by yourself, all excitement seems to disappear. When you lose an identity only to gain another and when you die knowing that you'll live again, life's goal seems to disappear. That is preciously what my ability is. To simply redraw the life and to rename into existence. This power of mine is a mistake, a curse given to me by that thing called the Hell's Gate.

I do not exist and yet I do. I question this existence. I question my own identity. I feel as if I live through a lie as I know that my own history can be rewritten several times over. I know that someone may have the same ability as me and had perhaps written out this chaotic act. Nothing is what it really is, nothing is never what it seems. It's a foolish man's words to say trust what you may trust. Nothing can be trusted as this is just a mere illusion that none can wake from.

My name is Xeno, however I am more known as the name; Ha-Yuu. Or should I say that I was known as the name of Ha-Yuu? The name has long been erased and I have only recently started using the name Xeno after all. My messier code is XS-005. I am a female contractor with the ability to rename things. I am a contractor unique in the fact in which my identity is composed of mostly human and just enough contractor to use the ability to the fullest. I am unique in how my identity had already been erased once or perhaps twice. I am a hacker and a cosplayer. I am a high school student in her last year who is an orphan.

Or so my identity tells me. Unlike others, I am limited in reading my own identity. Although I may write whatever into it, I cannot read it all. This applies to others as well. I need their permission to read their names and I need permission to convert it. It's not so much as manners or even price of my ability, it's the restriction placed on my ability. A restriction I am thankful for.

I am Xeno and I am a contractor with a human side. No, I am a human cursed with an ability. An ability that should not have been given to me. An ability that I may not use. An ability that is too dangerous. An ability that is a weapon greater than all those that may kill millions.


The day was horridly hot. It was one of those temperature that was mixed with the right amount of moisture to think that one was trapped within a rice cooker or something like such. It was this very day in which a new resident for Umitsuki apartment had arrived. The room 202 had been empty for a while as none wanted a room where a break-in occurred in which resulted in the death of the owner. It was just a superstition, however it was still a rather frightening thing to live in a room where a victim of murder had lived just months ago. This alone was probably enough for everyone to conclude that the newcomer would be a foreigner or perhaps someone who have not lived close to the area when the incident occurred.

A small moving truck was in the drive way and people could not help but to inquire about it. There were only few boxes, however they were fairly large and seemingly heavy. Other than the boxes, there was a small desk and three drawers. A tall mirror occupied the space in the truck as well. People had to wonder who was to move in as the objects seemed so normal that they couldn't help but to imagine how plain the newcomer may be.

So when the newcomer stepped off from the truck with a rather lively step, they couldn't help but to wonder how the newcomer possessed such normal things. The newcomer was a girl, or so they assumed by the long flowing hair, who seemed to be foreign and yet with blood of Asian. Her eyes were rather sharp and colored with gray on one while the other was yellow. She seemed pretty enough to be a girl and yet somehow handsome enough to be a boy. She was fairly tall, about 170cm in height, and seemed to be skinny. The most defining and strange feature of this newcomer was her hair. It was at least 75cm in length with the last 10cm being decorated in silver squares. This caused the ends of her black hair to seem like a chess board.

The girl didn't seem to be bothered by the heat as she entered the landlady's residence and came back out with a key. With a struggle, she had thin arms, the girl picked up a box with a tremble in her movement. Whoever she came with, she was definitely not old enough to drive yet, seemed to have been hired only for driving and had fallen asleep in the seat. The girl took the box up three steps before setting it down and massaging her shoulders with a sigh. The look on her face was obvious, the work of moving in would take a long time and be tedious at the same time.

The girl adjusted her cap, she wore a white baseball cap with black lining at the edges, before taking another step with the box. Normally sweat would have drenched the white t-shirt and flown down the khaki shorts and stink the black and red socks along with the black and white running shoes. Somehow for this girl, the fact that it didn't seemed as normal as everyday thing. It was a rather curious normal in which normal wasn't really normal for her. It was almost as if she had a special rule in which only she followed and no one else knew.

"Hello, you must be the new neighbor." The girl looked up to see a tall Asian man. She was certain that he was Chinese, the accent was slight but she could still tell it apart. The man had darkest blue eyes she had ever seen along with such dark shaded hair that seemed a darkest of all blues. A majestic color with such rich and yet light skin tone to match dazzled her slightly.

"I seem to be so!" The girl replied with natural enthusiasm. Her voice was almost a song and had a rather infecting quality of cheerfulness. The girl observed the Chinese man. The man seemed to be skinny, however too fit to be lacking any strength. The man was dressed in white button up shirt with jeans and he also wore a rather friendly face.

"My name is Li Shengshun, it's a pleasure to meet you." The friendly man spoke in a voice with hint of innocence that drew the listener in. She found the Chinese man to be handsome and attractive.

"My name is Jin Xeno. I dislike my family name, so please call me Xeno." She smiled a bright smile. Something about this attractive Chinese man nagged her suspicion. Xeno promptly ignored it for now. "And the pleasure is all mine," She paused for a second, now then, what was the suffix again? "Will it be okay if I refer to you as Li-san?" Xeno asked. Japanese was too polite in the language.

"Certainly Xeno-san." The Chinese man replied in that friendliness once more. Xeno was tempted to look beneath his name, to discover who he truly was. She suppressed such distasteful urge to do such a horrible thing.

"No, just Xeno will be fine." She added on without giving the Chinese man a chance to comment. "I am more comfortable being called without a suffix tagged behind my name." Xeno smiled, daring the Chinese man, she really should start referring him by his given name, to go against her wish.

"Even so..." Li Shengshun protested, however Xeno shot him another smile daring him to go against her wish. "Ah, alright... Xeno." He smiled awkwardly and pronounced her name awkwardly. Xeno flashed him a brilliant smile before making herself busy with the box. Once more, she merely managed to carry it a couple more steps until she had to set it down again. "Would you like some help?" Li asked.

"Ah, if it won't bother you." Xeno smiled once more. She was dazzling, almost as if she wasn't from this world. There was something about her that made the masked assassin flinch and regret having offered her his help. This strange girl just seemed too dazzling, almost to the point where it seemed so natural that it was easily overlooked. Overlooked only if one wasn't paying attention and was receiving the full blast of it. With an inner sigh, he picked up the box with an ease. The shifting movement within it told him that it was full of books.

The summer day passed in such pattern. Li would haul the boxes and furniture in with help from the other residents of the Umitsuki apartment and Xeno would arrange them and unpack them in her new apartment room. It was a tedious job, however the hint of enjoyment on such activity was obvious as laughter erupted now and then. By the evening Xeno had completely moved in to the room 202 and still had enough energy to celebrate.

To the others, Xeno was just a very energetic and cheerful girl who went against the world by herself. To Li, she was something more. Someone who may be of danger or perhaps an ally. He couldn't tell. In several occasions he wondered if he was overreacting, however he was soon back onto his suspicion the moment Xeno spoke a word or two. Somehow this bright and energetic girl could hide in the background as naturally as a regular silent individual. Li would have completely ignored her existence if he too were of a normal human being.

Xeno didn't really have time for such celebrations. She had to make her payment and she'd have preferred to have all her wits available when she did such. Now and then she would catch the sight of Li-san and wonder who he truly was. She wouldn't have been surprised if Li-san was a normal human being, however she felt attracted to his name for some strangely instinctive reason. Even so, she'd be surprised if Li-san was more than normal. Xeno dismissed it as a normal feeling towards an attractive individual.

When she locked the door behind her and felt the sturdiness of it, she finally relaxed enough to allow a sigh. She was a hyperactive person, however that didn't mean that she had a never ending supply of energy. She could, however choose not to. It would be too chaotic to have such trait. Xeno kicked her shoes off and left it stranded on the doorway before entering the main area.

The room was clean and in order. It was a normal room with a futon to the side and three drawers surrounding the small desk. Stacks of books, they had teased her as little genius, surrounded the desk as well. The closet was stuffed half full of casual and semi-casual. The rest was stuffed with costumes from various manga and anime. However to Xeno, the most important thing was the slick laptop hidden underneath the futon.

The laptop was of her own creation. It had slick black casing with silver emblem of a triangle with simple wings on each point. The laptop was a pound and a half lighter compared to average laptops. The speed was three times faster than the fastest one that could be purchased with money and the memory was just simply incredibly large in amount. The laptop could be charged via solar panels that slid from its side or by electricity. It had several ports in which the laptop could also be easily charged via usb cable if needed to be.

The programs installed on the computer were as black as the cover of the laptop. It had every tool available for hacking and it also held several programs that she had devised herself. The security system on the laptop was a custom and it held a certain device to allow it to leech the wireless from any source. Obviously, it was made to be untraceable. She just adored those toys that the military loved to produce. She enjoyed stealing and smuggling them more, but that's another story.

She flicked the light switch on and plugged the laptop into the power port before turning it on. She felt the light vibration from the silent fans and felt the warm keyboard by the tips of her fingers as she smiled in a slight sadistic way. It was always a thrill to hack. It was a game of cat and mouse. A like of difficult puzzle that seemed to have been designed to test the very being of the player.

The laptop seemed to have been loading the typical Windows software as it loaded and its screen filled with the blue-color themed log-in screen. Xeno felt her fingers type the password in the prompt box without the need for her to search for it in her brain. It was something like a muscle memory that soothed her. A black screen with white colored font came up and Xeno had to smile in pleasure once more before she started typing. She had a price to pay and the weight on her heart urged her on.

Hei flinched lightly at the loud noise beneath him. How these people could be so loud, he could not understand. He didn't need to understand. He was here for his job and that was to be the end of it all. He was the black grim reaper and the one who was feared. He was a professional and thus he was not affected by things outside of his mission.

So then, why was this girl, Xeno, affecting him so much? He clinched his teeth together as he stared into his empty eyes in the bathroom mirror. The dripping water from his hair made his eyes seem even more empty and he felt the need to stare deeper into it to discover the answer. Why was she affecting him so much? Her presence alone had made him flinch and her presence alone had put him on guard.

'Remember,' Hei reminded himself in thought. "Li Shengshun has nothing to do with the darker side of the world." He felt slightly unconvinced by it, however simply passed it as a thought to be pondered on later. Right now, he just couldn't get over how edgy Xeno had made him feel. He had felt no presence of blood lust, no presence of any harm, and had yet to see Xeno being physically threatening in any way possible. She could have been a contractor, however he doubted it. A contractor could not possibly have been so cheerful and so full of emotion. A contractor could not possibly have been so alive.

Hei continued to stare into his eyes. It seemed more of a glare now. It seemed to be full of hidden daggers of anger and he did not flinch at it but buried his gaze deeper into it. The girl seemed normal and although she should have been out of place, she fit in as if it was only natural that she'd do so. At certain points during the day and the evening, she had even managed to make him off guard. What made her so special? 'She isn't.' Hei spoke to himself in his thought. 'That is precisely why she is so special.' After a light pause, he added more to his mental note. 'Precisely why she is of a danger.'

Xeno sighed with contentment as she turned her laptop off. The heaviness on her heart had been lifted and she felt light and happy. It was difficult, however she wasn't caught. At least she wasn't caught to her knowledge. With another contented sigh, she stepped into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. She deserved a long, hot, relaxing shower and that would be precisely what she would do.

Li heard the water running and knew that Xeno would be taking a shower. Hei pondered if he should take this chance to break-in and find a proof of his theories however the 'good and sensible' side of him said no. Xeno haven't done anything to deserve such suspicion. If she does, then that would be when Hei would take care of her, however, not now, not here. If she was someone suspicious, the syndicate would take care of it or notify him. After all, for all he knew, she could be a member of the syndicate to keep an eye on him.

It never went completely dark during the night and many fidgeted in their awakening sleep. During that night, a scent of blood filled the air in a particular street. The murder occurred 19 miles away from the location of the apartment and it was a nightmarish sight. It seemed as if nightmare has leaked into the reality itself.

The scene was like this. There were two mangled bodies total. The bones were in pieces and in splinters. Shattered completely with no hope for recovery. The skin had been torn apart while the muscles were mushy with pressure it once had. The corpses were unrecognizable and would only be recognized after the DNA test. The estimated method of death would cause normal people to throw up.

The death was not caused by a contractor but a human being. The victim, first a man, had his skin torn off one perfect triangle by another. Then when it made a pattern of triangles upon the arms, the killer had slowly ripped the skin from the fingertips to the ends of the fingers. The perfectly skinned fingers held a nightmarish contrast to the palms in which still had skin on it. The victim was still alive by then. That was, until the killer decided that enough fun was enough and finally gutted out the victim while the victim was still alive. The killer had gutted him like a fish or something worse. There were evidence of the internal organs being squeezed with the stomach having strangled with long strips of skin from the man's legs. The heart definitely was squeezed until it could no longer its shape. The depression placed upon it was obvious and made it seem as if it was a can of soda crushed by a hand.

The second one was of a woman's. This one was more gruesome as it seemed to be a pile of flesh and splintered, almost powdered, bones. It almost seemed as if the woman's body had been squeezed through a food processor and had been dumped everywhere. The organs and the muscles were missing and only the bloody pulp of the skin remained. These alone were enough signs that it should have been concluded as the work of a contractor. However the witnesses, there were five in total, told clearly of how they did not see any bluish glow nor the red gleam in the eyes of the murderer.

These people were too stunned to remember much about anything. However their stories matched up with one another and they could remember only how dark it was and how the stench of the blood had been overwhelming. They could remember how the suspect seemed to have worn all black as they could not see the suspect clearly in the dark night. They remembered how they searched for their cell phones and how they called the police. They remembered the numbing feeling, however couldn't remember the suspect's figure, face, anything about him or her except for how the suspect seemed to have worn all black clothing.

It was possible that it was the job of a contractor and it would be the most logical answer as the contractor could have done such from the distance. That night, no unusual star reported activity and the stars that did go active during the night were under the watch of an authority during the time. It was a curious murder, one in which people could not help but to marvel in disgust at how cruel and twisted the criminal was.

Hei almost chocked on his food as he read the newspaper while eating his breakfast. He had seen much and heard much, but this? Hei's thoughts automatically turned to Xeno. He wouldn't have been surprised if that girl was the criminal. Actually, he thought that she was the criminal. It somehow made sense. The girl was strange in her figure with several outstanding features. Strangely enough, it always slipped through one's mind. If he hadn't continuously reminded himself about it and even saw her face as he slept, he would have forgotten about the girl. It was strange how that girl would be so elusive in his memories.

Xeno flinched as she read the news. The description was rather disturbing as she searched the web for the picture of it. She had to know, had to check, to see if her suspicion was correct. She desperately wished that it was as she found a site upholding the picture of the scene before it was cleared away. When the page loaded, she was thankful that she hadn't eaten any breakfast yet as she felt an extreme wave of nausea. The pictures were disturbing, however she forced herself to look over it. Yes, she was correct. The triangular shapes were evidence enough to confirm her hope into reality. She quickly exited the page and ran into the bathroom.

Li heard loud and hurried steps next doors. Hei couldn't help but to think that the girl was moving all over the place to pack and to move once more in order to escape from the crime scene. Li hurried as he dressed in his usual attire.

The doors of the apartment creaked in unison as both Xeno and Li stepped out at the same time. Li looked at the girl. Xeno seemed extremely pale and as if she'd throw up any second. He could see the green tint on the girl's face and put on a worried expression. Inside, Hei was waiting to rid of her if she was a threat of any kind.

"Xeno-sa..." Li stopped awkwardly as Xeno put her hand up and a slightly playful but threatening expression. It had the same air as the daring smile from the day before. The only differences were that she just looked extremely sick as she was using the expression. " Xeno, are you alright?" He amended after an apologetic smile.

"Slightly, yes." Xeno replied wearily. It wasn't everyday in which someone could remember her name and interaction with her so clearly after twelve hours. "Thank you for asking." Inside, she felt her guard going up against this man. Who was this Chinese man? How could he have possibly noticed her when she had taken care to reduce her presence?

Another awkward silence passed before Li asked Xeno about the news. "Have you heard about the murder?" Hei waited in anticipation in regarding the question. He observed the look for a guilty flinch or anything that would confirm his suspicion that Xeno was indeed the murderer.

"Ah, yes." Xeno nodded wearily. "Actually, it's precisely why I am sick." The images were clear in her head once more and she felt as if she'd throw up.

"How so?" Li asked. Hei was almost certain that she'd answer; 'because I committed the murder' or something similar. It wasn't like him to corner such suspicion on a single person without evidence. However this one... The lacking of presence unnerved him and made him feel as if he should get rid of her before she does become a danger and a threat.

"I got curious and looked up pictures of the crime scene." Xeno leaned over as if she'd throw up. She came close, however there was nothing left in her stomach for her to throw up. Not even stomach acid. She already got rid of that as she was trying to wash her face. She was surprised to feel a light and soothing touch on her back and looked up with the emotion honest on her face.

"Are you okay?" Li asked with genuine, or something that came very close, expression filled with worry for Xeno. She felt a light blush on her skin due to the proximity and couldn't hide it. It wasn't that she liked him or anything like that, it was just that it had been too long since someone had entered such close proximity. "Do you have a fever?" Li asked innocently. Hei felt strange in how he could not make Xeno out at all. Was that surprise an honest one or was it just an act?

"Yea, just a bit sick from the..." She gagged again and Li just rubbed her back silently. Hei noticed that Xeno wore unremarkable clothing. She wore a soft blue colored t-shirt that lacked any markings nor designs. She also wore a pair of jeans and white tennis shoes. These clothing lacked anything to help it to remember and Hei became suspicious once more. Was she trying to go unnoticed? If so, why?

It was another minute until Xeno was well enough to stand straight. She felt her heart beat loudly. It wasn't from love or crush. Nothing like that. It was from a mild panic, a seeping fear that she didn't realize but her instinct did. A light bitter taste was on the tip of her tongue and she was in a haze as she left to her part-time work.

Li could clearly see that the girl was in a haze and obviously wasn't really listening to what he was saying. Thus eventually he gave up and simply left to his part-time work after saying goodbye. Hei felt the suspicion increase.


I tried to keep Li/Hei in character, but in some cases, I think that I made it a bit of OC...

Sorry.

Also, there will not be romance other than the Canon ones.

-nichenoche