Chapter 1

Hoshino awoke with a start and instinctively clutched at her neck, feeling not the metallic cool of a collar, but a delicate chain necklace. She ran her fingers over the pendant, a melancholy look on her face.

"It was only a dream."

It would be foolish for Sasazuka to come back. It's been 2 years and he left without telling anyone or saying anything. Apparently he was reassigned somewhere in America but even that we're unsure of. The only indication he was ever here in the first place being the dainty necklace that hung at her neck.

Defeated, Hoshino sank back into the sheets. The scent of coffee and tobacco overwhelmed her but it wasn't an unpleasant smell, instead it brought her a strange comfort. She felt protected and safe. Yanagi, had always been there for her. A silent and careful observer. So it was only a matter of time that their companionship blossomed into romance. Over the past 2 years they'd gotten closer and now Hoshino's heart swelled whenever her mind fluttered in his direction. He helped take away her sorrow, he was her protector.

Hoshino peered over, the glare of the alarm clock telling her that she could go back to sleep but there would really be no point. She had work in 3 hours anyways.

"Yanagi must've already left for work." she thought. Though he wasn't in the force anymore he had opened up his own private investigation firm and was always busy. Between both their schedules they never really had time off together.

Begrudgingly, Hoshino got up and strode over to the kitchen table, as per usual Yanagi had left her some breakfast and a little good-morning note. Hoshino smirked to herself before chowing down and getting ready for her day.

She'd come a long way since X-day, both as a person and in her career. Her hand in solving the incidents promoted her upwards in the ranks, much to Mochida's dismay – though he was encouraging about it. She now worked in Section 1 alongside Morioka and Minegishi, they had scouted her with the hopes of using her as a crisis negotiator. At first, Hoshino was worried about her performance. Yet she was quite good at talking to people, and had solved numerous cases non-violently so she grew confident over-time and even earned the respect of her peers. As such, she was always busy.

Yet there were times when she couldn't help but wonder.

Though the X-day incidents were solved and the membership disbanned, the leader Zero, was no where to be found. Hoshino had the feeling he'd be back, but didn't know when. And that thought terrified her.

A small pat on her head drew her from her daydream. "Hey, Hoshino!"

A familiar voice. A friendly voice, Saeki.

She turned to see his beaming smile as he drew his hand back into a small wave. "I've been calling out to you for the past minute. You alright?"

Hoshino nodded and smiled back to reassure him. "Yeah, just daydreaming."

Saeki furrowed his brow in a way that told Hoshino he didn't quite buy it. Then he got a mischievous glint in his eye. "I know! Let's you and I go out for drinks after your shift tonight." He spoke with such longing that it was hard to deny him, and drinks actually sounded pretty good.

"Alright, that sounds like fun. I'll text you when I'm off." Hoshino said, reciprocating a large smile for her friend before trotting off with a small wave. "See you later!"

Her shift went by slowly, the thing about being a negotiator is that you really only get your moment once in a while – whenever a crisis happens. Lately, and thankfully, Shinjuku had been pretty safe as of late meaning the only real work Hoshino had was the stack of case files overflowing her desk.

Needless to say, her shift dragged by, and by the end of it she was quite thirsty.

After packing up, she shot a quick message to Yanagi telling him her whereabouts and made her way over to meet up with Saeki.

As per usual, Saeki was already there and already a few drinks in, wobbling slightly in his seat.

"Hoshino~"

"Hey Saeki!" Hoshino greeted, sitting down across from him and ordering a drink from the server.

They chatted away the hours as old friends do, drinking freely until they were both belligerent. Yet as soon as the topic turned towards her active duty job, Saeki's mood turned rather sad. Probably from the drink.

"You're so pure, Hoshino" Saeki suddenly blurted, a small scowl on his face that confused Hoshino slightly.

"Thanks?"

"You're the only person I know that goes so far for people, to protect them." Saeki nodded to himself, as if confirming his statement. "Pure and Selfless." Yet, the words didn't necessarily sound happy.

Hoshino blushed and took a sip of her drink, averting her friend's eyes.

As if noting the irregularity in speech, Saeki's eyes widened before returning to his regular carefree smile.

"Sorry Hoshino, guess I've just been down lately. I've hit a lot of roadblocks, but I'm determined to come back!" Saeki said, grinning and delving into his beer.

"Good! I'll cheer you on, Saeki!" Hoshino grinned, clanking his glass in cheers before taking a swig herself. "I know works been tough on you lately, but you'll persevere, you've got more heart than anyone I know."

Saeki smiled to himself, "Thanks."

After mulling back into idle conversation, the two shared a few more drinks before deciding to call it a night.

"Do you need me to walk you back?" Saeki asked, a faint slur accompanying his words.

Hoshino shook her head, which also caused her to stagger a little. "It's ok, Shinjuku is safe now. I'll just call Yanagi if I need too." His house wasn't far away anyways.

As if on cue, her phone rang.

"H-Hoshino -hic-" She answered.

There was silence for a moment before a familiar, musty voice followed. "Where are you right now?"

"Outside the… bar," Hoshino cocked her head to the side, as if Yanagi could see it. "Yanagi are you ok?"

"I'm on my way, stay there." He cut of abruptly before Hoshino heard a click.

She looked at Saeki and shrugged. "Guess I have an escort after all."

"I'll wait around with you." Saeki said, leaning against the brick of the bar.

The first thing Hoshino noticed when Yanagi appeared was that he looked tired, the second thing was that he looked rather angry.

The third thing was that he was glaring, at Saeki.

"Yanagi, are you ok?" Hoshino blurted, her voice thick with concern as she took a few steps towards him, putting distance between the two men.

Yanagi's eyes softened as they focused on Hoshino, her expression furrowed in worry. He took her hand instinctively and almost instantly calmed feeling her small, soft skin in his.

He nodded. "Yeah, It's 3 am and just wanted to make sure you'd get home safe."

Saeki piped up, "I would've walked her home."

Yanagi's eyes snapped to Saeki, it was no secret he had a dislike for him. Though no one really knew why. It was as if Yanagi knew something about him that no one else knew. Even after Hoshino had asked him about it, he played it off as merely a jealous dislike, but Hoshino had never seen this blatant hostility before with anyone else.

She put her hand on Yanagi's arm, "It's ok. I'm fine, thanks for coming to get me." She then turned to Saeki, "Thanks for inviting me out, I needed a good de-stresser. See you later!"

Seems like her mediation skills were still in working order even after a few drinks, as they both soon parted ways.

"You don't have to be so hostile to him, all the time you know." Hoshino chastised as they walked back, she was leaning against him a little bit to stabilize herself, but Yanagi didn't mind.

He put his arm around Hoshino and she was immediately overtaken by his familiar scent. "Yeah, I just get worried about you… plus," his voice got a little lower as if he was ashamed, "I'm a man too."

"What do you mean?" Hoshino gazed up at him, their faces a little apart from each other. Yanagi's breath hitched in his throat at her innocent stare before a faint blush dusted his cheeks. He looked away to the side before muttering,

"You drinking with another guy, alone." His hand squeezed her shoulder slightly. "You're mine."

Obviously, he couldn't stop her from having a few drinks with her friends, but he didn't have to like it. He mentally chastised himself at his immaturity.

Hoshino giggled to herself at his small bout of jealousy and sprang up on her toes to place a chaste kiss on his cheek, causing him to blush further. She smelt of alcohol, but he didn't mind.

"Thanks for always protecting me, and for walking me home."

Yanagi smiled at this, and pulled her in closer.

Hoshino awoke to calloused hands rousing her shoulder and a gentle but haste whisper, "Hoshino, get up, it's urgent."

Yanagi sat beside her on the bed, his laptop on his lap in front of him. Once he had registered that Hoshino had awoke, he pressed play, a puzzled look on his face.

Immediately a familiar and eerie voice played, sending a chill down Hoshino's spine. She blinked a few times, thinking – hoping – that this was a dream.

"THE REBIRTH CANNOT BE STOPPED. WE WILL CLEANSE THE WORLD FROM EVIL AND PROVIDE A NEW HOPE."

The words opened to a room, where a man in priest garb sat on a wooden chair.

"THIS MAN, SAYS HE IS A MAN OF GOD YET HIS SINS GO UNPUNISHED."

A loud crack reverberated from the laptop speakers as the bullet penetrated the man's chest, sending crimson splatters against the far wall. The man toppled over in his chair, dead. Hoshino gasped and bunched the sheets in her hands until her knuckles turned white.

"THE REBIRTH IS COMING."

After that, the screen went blank, a familiar logo flashing across the screen. 11 MONTHS – X-DAY.

Yanagi closed the laptop and silently reached for Hoshino's hand. It was cold.

"I knew it wasn't over." Hoshino whispered, her fears filling the room.