Before we get into this, is it just me, or is it ridiculously hard to find good Darker Than Black stories to read? I've turned this damn site over and over again, and I've barely managed to grasp ahold of a handful of them, every single one of them far too short for my tastes, and I'd like to know if it's just me that's having the this problem. Anyway before I really start ranting, I better get on with it. This is the first part of my four part continuation to the greatest anime in the world, Darker Than Black. It picks up right where season 2, Gemini Of The Meteor, left off. And just like DTB Gaiden, it bridges the gap between seasons, this one doing so for season two and season three. I of course also plan to write out my version of season 3, which will be the sequel to this. But I'm getting ahead of myself, now then, time for the disclaimer.

Darker Than Black and all characters therein belong to Tensai Okamaru & BONES, and I am in no way affiliated with them. Absolutely no attempt will be made to obtain any profit from the use of these characters. As for the image that I'm using, I also don't own it, I found it off of Google images.

One more thing, updates will be infrequent, and when I say that I mean best case scenario I update twice a month, and worst case scenario I update once every three months. Now since this is a four parter, I'd say a fair guess is one part every month, but it could be two or less than that, it all depends on what's going on in my life, if my internet is cooperating and if writers block ever rears it's ugly head. One thing I can say with certainty though is this, this story won't ever be abandoned, end of discussion, so don't worry about that.

Do not forget, reviews are welcome, appreciated and needed.

Now then here it is, part one of Darker Than Black: The Star Of The Undying, please read, enjoy and review.

A lone figure drifted through the darkness of night, protectively cradling an unconscious pale, young, silver haired girl in his arms. She was all but nude, the only thing covering her body was a long black trench coat. As for the figure carrying this girl, he stood six feet with short raven black hair, the darkest blue eyes anyone had ever seen, and wore all black clothing, making it hard to see him in such conditions. As he marched through the black of night, he spared no glances or thought to anything, only looking straight ahead, determined to get the girl he carried to someplace safe. He had been at this non-stop for hours on end, not stopping for even a moments rest. There was good reason for this, for the two were in Hell's Gate, a cursed place where many lives had been lost. No less than four hours earlier the two had been smack dab in the middle of this horrid place, now however they were lingering on the boundaries of it's reach, mere minutes away from escaping the place that had taken so much from so many, including them. And as the man continued onward, the young girl in his arms the only thing on his mind, he passed over the edge of the Gate, but even that did not slow his pace.

Overhead, a star shined brightly, so brightly it almost outclassed all the others, it's size somewhat abnormal, making it more visible than the others. And this great star belonged to none other than the Contractor with the messier code BK-201, Hei, the Black Reaper.

A Yin look alike sat there in a coffin, several dead American soldiers around her casket. Her hair was much shorter than Yin's, in fact it was quite boy like opposed to the silver haired doll's own strands. Of course that wasn't the only difference between Yin and this girl who looked like her, in fact almost every single thing about them differed, their appearance one of the only three things they had in common. This was Izinami, the being who had been residing inside of Yin. Hei had successfully managed to separate the two without killing either. Of course that hadn't been his intention, not at all, he merely wished to save Yin's life, not Izinami's. When her eyes had closed she didn't expect them to open again, she had thought that Hei had finally done what Yin felt needed to be done and killed them both, ending the entire twisted and screwed up affair.

She supposed she should be glad she wasn't dead, but what that man had done to her was just as bad as ending her life. Without Yin she wasn't nearly as powerful as she once was, before her forced separation from her other half she had the power to commit mass genocide, with Hell's Gate acting as a conduit of course. Now however, she had no chance of pulling such a thing off, as for her alone it was impossible, even with her still great power.

Izinami refused to be shamed in such a way, she would track Hei down wherever he was and make him pay. And where she found Hei, she'd find Yin as well, so after exacting her revenge she would become one with Yin once more. And then she could return to the Gate and do what she originally desired to do, she could wipe every single living thing off the face of the Earth. Contractors, Dolls and normal Humans alike, she'd annihilate them all.

With the first step of her plan already forming inside her head, Izinami stepped out of the casket. As she did, she didn't spare the dead American Soldiers she had stolen life force from another glance, let alone another thought, as she began leaving what was supposed to be her burial site. What she did spare a thought to however was, "They honestly believed me to be my other half? It's Incredulous. Soon enough though they will see just how different I am from my weak willed counterpart, unlike her I show no mercy to the pathetic beings that inhabit this planet."

Hei didn't know how long he had been walking, nor did he care, he had to keep moving, he had to put as much distance between Yin and Izinami as possible. He had used his Sister's ability to tear Izinami right out of Yin, so that she didn't have to die because of his mistakes and Izinami's malicious desire. He had fought for her, he had fought harder for Yin than he had any other person in his life, even his sister Pai. And he would do it all over again, just as long as she was alive everything was okay. So he had to get her as far away from Izinami as he possibly could, and he planned to. He had already left Hell's Gate behind, which put him at an advantage. And when he had taken the first step out of it, he had literally felt the pressure of the air around him lift and lighten considerably, which he was grateful for. It was almost as if the Gate itself had a presence, and when he was exposed to it for too long, or too deep inside it's clutches, it felt as if he was being suffocated by it. He had of course felt something similar during his time in South America, during Heaven's War, however there the 'presence' wasn't nearly as heavy. He chalked that off to him not being a contractor then.

Now that he had left the Gate behind, Hei solidified the last details of his plan to get Yin to safety. So his destination was the nearest airport, and there was only one other place he had to stop before that and that was anywhere he could find some clothes for Yin. She was still naked, he didn't have anything to clothe her with. Right now, as he carried her in his arms, she was covered with his trench coat that he had taken off and put over her, but that was all. He could explain why she was unconscious to whatever airline he was going to use, and he would make sure they bought his story, and if they didn't then he'd deal with that when it came time to. But he couldn't explain why Yin was nude, and even if he could come up with some ridiculous reason as to why she was, they wouldn't let them on a plane. So he had to find her a set of clothes, but it really didn't matter where he got them from, just as long as they fit her somewhat. He would worry about getting her clothes to wear on a daily basis when they got out of the country. Until then they just needed to get what was really needed.

Hei looked down at Yin to see that she had a peaceful expression on her face, he was glad she was at peace, even if it wouldn't last too long. As he looked back up he took in his surroundings even as he continued forward, he recognized what part of Tokyo he was in at this point. He knew where he had to go from here, so as he cut across a back alley, he began making his way to a place where he would meet up with an old friend...or rather an old acquaintance.

The sky was almost gray as Izinami made her way through the Gate, sunrise just around the corner. She had been walking for over an hour, getting close to exiting the gate, since when the american soldiers found her they dressed her, moved her and prepared her to be buried, so she hadn't been in the middle of the gate when she had woken up, being almost two hours walking distance from it, now roughly three and a half. So she'd be out and about a non-abandoned part of Tokyo in only thirty minutes at most, which of course was very bad for the general population, not that anyone could possibly know of the imminent threat coming their way. Though of course she was after one specific person, anyone who got in her way would end up as collateral damage, and the worst thing about it was the fact that only one person in the entire world knew she was alive and very much a threat to the world at large, which meant casualties would be ludicrously high.

The malevolent and powerful girl knew this and it brought a vile smirk to her face.

Izinami halted abruptly, her smirk fading and a scowl taking it's place, as she noted the presence of someone else out of the corner of her right eye. This person was facing the pale girl, and was silent for several moments, just as she was. This silence lasted until the entity turned to face this person, taking in their appearance as she did. The person was female, stood at roughly four feet and eight inches, had long flowing light green hair, so light it could be mistaken for blonde in certain light, had golden eyes with a brown tint to them and wore the same white outfit she did the last time she had been seen, this person was the first ever confirmed Contractor, messier code UB-001, Amber. The entity known as Izinami was not intimidated in the slightest, "You can't stop me."

Sporting a scowl of her own, Amber replied with, "You're right, I can't. However..."

The time travelling Contractor's scowl disappeared and a confident grin took it's place as she said, "...I know that Hei can."

Izinami's eyes narrowed in annoyance and anger at those words, not that it mattered, since as soon as she had spoken these words, Amber had disappeared.

It had been about two hours since Hei had left the Gate, which considering the Sun was currently rising in the distance, lighting the sky up with color, that had been around four A.M., which meant most airports would be opening for business soon. That was good, as Hei was nearing the street where the residence of his old acquaintance resided.

As he turned, exiting a dank back alley, he came onto said street, and as he did a store caught his eye, it was a clothing store. It was early in the morning, so the street he was on was all but deserted. He had been walking for over six hours considering it was about six in the morning, which is why the street was near abandoned. Of course the fact that this street wasn't exactly a tourist attraction, and didn't get much traffic from the locals either didn't help that. Hei recognized it though, just a block away was where he had found out that Yin was still out there, somewhere. Which also meant that Chin's place was a mere minute or so walk from here. He had helped Hei, at least somewhat. And then he had disappeared on him, well now that he had Yin back, he would at least speak to him and tell him of his plans. Of course he would leave certain details out, he didn't want to get him riled up after all.

So Hei slowly made his way to Chin's diner, each step slow and deliberate, as he didn't wish to wake Yin earlier than he had to.

Soon enough Hei was taking the first step through the front door of Chin's diner, and as he did he was met with only silence. It didn't help of course that he was so quiet when he came in, otherwise Chin would be in here by now...probably anyway.

As Hei made his way to the middle of the room, which was littered with chairs and tables for customers, he began to look around. It didn't look abandoned or anything, it looked as if there had been a few people in here not even twelve hours ago. So it was safe to assume that current events must have made the patrons who were here last night leave in such a hurry and make such a mess of the place. Of course it wasn't hard for him to guess what those current events were, he had been apart of them after all.

Hei stopped in the middle of the room, content on standing there. Then he spoke, just loud enough for someone to hear him in the back. "Chin."

At that there was the sound of someone hitting their head on some pots, and then a response, "Lee?"

His tone made it clear that he was quite disbelieving of what he had heard, perhaps thinking himself delusional, Hei couldn't blame him, it had been over six months since he had disappeared on him. Nevertheless only a moment later, he could hear Chin's footsteps as he made his way out of the kitchen and into the main room. When Chin was actually in the room, Hei took in his appearance. He wore a pair of cheap black slacks, since he wore them around the diner, a short sleeve, plain white t-shirt, and a pair of white sneakers. He was also wearing an apron, since he had been expecting business. But otherwise Chin didn't look any different than he had before, he looked just the same as he did when Hei and Yin had went to him for passports.

That's when he spoke, "Lee? I didn't think I'd ever see you again ya lazy-"

Chin stopped mid sentence as he realized who was in Lee's arms, and at that he also realized Lee didn't reek of whiskey or any other alcoholic beverage, as well as that he now looked like he had when they had first met. Chin wasn't stupid, he could connect the dots, this all meant that Yin was alive, there in his arms. He hadn't ever expected to see either of them again, he thought Yin dead and Lee just gone. He wasn't their best friend, hell he was barely an acquaintance of theirs, but he had been through a few things with them and was definitely glad they were okay. But he couldn't help but wonder just what had happened for them to end up in his diner, with Yin naked and unconscious, while being held firmly in Lee's arms. All he actually manged to ask however was, "Wha-what's going on?"

Hei remained stoic and emotionless towards Chin's blatant show of confusion and answered in his usual monotone voice when dealing with others, "It's a long story, one I don't feel like sharing."

Chin nodded his head before smiling sheepishly, "R-right. Okay then, how about the short version?"

Hei just stared at Chin for a few moments after he spoke, and it was hard for him not to notice. He felt himself begin to sweat under Hei's gaze, knowing that he most likely wasn't happy with what he was asking. And just as Chin was going to speak once more, Hei gave him a very short and vague version of what had happened. "A very...personal enemy, put Yin and I through the ringer, this person has been manipulating both of us for a very long time, but we've finally escaped from them, for now. But we won't be able to hide from this enemy, not for long anyways, at least not in Japan that is. So I came by to get those passports we asked for back during our first meeting."

Chin slowly nodded his head once more, "Alright then, just give me a few days and-"

"We need them by noon."

Chin was silent for a moment, of course not because Hei had cut him off, no it was because of how absurd what he was asking of him was. "Noo-noon? Are you serious!?"

At that Hei was silent once more, his gaze upon Chin, and it was as always, unwavering. Of course that's when Chin realized how ironic what he had just asked was, for Hei was always serious. "Right, stupid question, but how do you expect me to get you both passports by noon?"

Hei's gaze remained unwavering, "That's not my problem, its yours. I expect to have those passports in my hand by twelve o'clock, no later."

With that Hei walked past Chin and into the back of the diner, where he intended to find his old stash of cash he had put up when he was here. It was originally meant to feed his drinking habit if the diner ran out, but now it would serve a much better purpose, as it would now buy Yin some new clothes and get them both tickets for a plane out of the country. Before he could actually do so though, Chin stomped up from behind him and grabbed a hold of his left shoulder with his right hand, speaking as he did so, "Just hold on a minute, you can't just march in here after all this time and make such ridiculous demands!"

Hei turned his head to face Chin, doing so fast enough to cause the diner owner to flinch, where he proceeded to level the Chinese man with a very hard glare, one that scared him to death, speaking as he did, his tone firm, dark and dangerous, "Get it done Chin, now."

Chin stumbled back a few feet from the force of words and the shock and fear he was experiencing because of them. Nevertheless he vigorously nodded his head affirmatively, saying this as he did so, "R-right, y-you got it L-Lee."

Hei continued to stare at the shorter man for a few moments, before nodding his head as well, "Good."

With that he turned back and quickly began rummaging around for the money he had stashed.

And as Hei did this, Chin glanced up at the clock hanging in the main room of his diner to see what time it was, it was six thirty in the morning. "It's almost seven! I've barely more than five hours to get this done! What the hell is wrong with Lee!? He can't just do this to me! I got out of that game when I left Hong Kong! And now, so long after he left, he strolls in here and demands passports! What is that guy's problem!?"

The Chinese man did not voice any of these thoughts of course, as by the look in his eyes, he was scared that Lee might kill him, and he had no intention of dying in his twenties.

Once Hei had found the clump of bills he had hidden months ago, he tucked them away securely on his person, before turning to Chin once more and asking, really, sincerely asking something of him, "Do you have someplace she can rest?"

The emotions that were in his guarded tone and his dark eyes stirred feelings of pity and sympathy from Chin, and his fear became forgotten. "Y-yeah, I do. Follow me, it's not far from here."

The young man nodded his head, before gesturing with it for Chin to lead the way.

Izinami was now walking the streets of Tokyo, doing so aimlessly, as she didn't have much to go on when it came to finding the man and girl she was looking for. Morning traffic hadn't really started up yet, but it was coming. though slowly, just a few cars here and there passing by. Some coming closer than others to the young girl walking the same way. Whether they slowed down to get a good look at her, or just glanced her way, she must have looked quite strange to them all, as she looked like she had wandered away from a funeral because of how she was dressed. None of them could have known that she had done just that, her own funeral to be more exact.

Izinami noticed every single glance and sideways look her way as cars continued to pass her and it aggravated her. she didn't like these filthy beings staring at her and ogling her, which some of them were. She honestly wouldn't have been this irritated by it, if it hadn't been for the time traveler's visit. Nevertheless she remained calm, as she never let her emotions get the better of her.

She could have just stolen their very life force from them, and the option had some allure to it, but she didn't have time at that point, so against every fiber of her being, she let them be. Knowing that sooner or later they'd be dead made it easier to handle. Yes, just as soon as she reunited with Yin everyone would end up dead. Thinking of this brought her vile smirk back to her face once more. Of course with all the eyes that kept being laid on her, that smirk wouldn't last long.

Chin just stood in the doorway and watched as Hei gently laid Yin down on his bed, taking care so as to make sure his coat didn't reveal any of her flesh, before laying the covers over her as well, hoping to get her warmed up, as she had been frighteningly cold the entire time. Once he had done that he stood up straight, before turning to face Chin, "Go and do what you have to so as to secure those passports, we'll be here until you get back."

The diner owner nodded his head, "Alright then. Just make sure to keep quiet, I've got two kids sleeping in the next room."

Hei looked the shorter man in the eyes for a few moments, silent as he did so, almost as if trying to gauge something of him, before replying, "Got it."

With that Chin left the room, and only a few moments later, Hei could hear him closing the front door behind him.

He waited several minutes before he too left the room, locking the window that was in it first, closing the door behind him and proceeding to exit the apartment as well.

Two people, one male and one female, sat in the two front seats of a modest green four door vehicle.

The male sat in the driver seat, he was about average height and build with short brown hair and green eyes. He had slightly tanned skin, a clean shaven face and didn't look a day over twenty five.

The female sat in the passenger seat, she too was about average height, though her build was thinner than her male counterpart's. She had long blonde hair that reached down to her upper back, and warm brown eyes. Her skin was fair, and she also looked around twenty something years of age.

These two people were having a somewhat animated conversation as they continued to drive down the road they were currently on.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Stop it, you're just embarrassing yourself."

"Hey now, I'm serious, it totally happened!"

"Yeah right, you are so full of it Derek!"

"God's honest truth Angela, I swear!"

Both of them then burst into laughter. They continued to laugh for several long moments, before something caught the eye of the blonde, Angela. "Hey Derek, look at this, someone is walking along the side of the road."

The brown haired twenty something did just that, slowing down a great deal and glancing to his left to see a young man, or woman, he honestly couldn't tell which, walking by the road wearing a suit, more specifically a suit that looked like it belonged to someone who was attending a funeral. This person looked several years younger than them, had short silver hair and piercing violet eyes. "Your right, and what's with the get'up? They heading to a funeral?"

He had a wry smirk as he said this, trying to turn it into a joke. However Angela wasn't having any of it, "Not funny, I mean look at her, by the look on her face it's like her entire family just died. She looks...almost...broken. We should stop and make sure that she's okay."

Derek's smile faded at that, "Yeah, alright we'll stop and-wait a minute, how do you know she's actually a she? What if she, is a he? I honestly can't tell, what with her hair looking a lot like your cousin's, and that suit doesn't help the gender situation either."

The blonde woman softly smacked his arm at that, "I just know okay? Now stop it. We just past her, stop and wait for her to catch up, once she does, I'll see if she needs a ride."

"Now hold on a second, nothing was ever said about giving her a ride."

"Derek!"

"Sorry, sorry, I just don't like the idea of picking up hitchhikers, especially ones from another country."

"She doesn't even look eighteen, what do you think she is? Some kind of serial killer just waiting for her next victim?"

The brown haired man sighed, "No, I suppose not."

With that he put his foot on the break and slowly came to a stop about twenty to twenty five feet from the girl they had spotted. From there the two waited about a minute or two, before the girl was next to their car.

Once she was, Angela rolled down her window and proceeded to speak, "Hey there sweetie, are you alright?"

The silver haired teen came to a stop as she was spoken to, however she did not turn to face the the woman and the car, even as she answered, though it took a few moments for her to do so, which the two chalked up to the fact they had spoken to her in English. "I am fine."

The kind blonde woman didn't seem to think so, as she spoke up once more, "You sure? Cause we can help, if you have somewhere you can go, we can take you there."

The young girl was silent once more, this time for several moments longer than last time, before replying, "Okay then."

With that she turned towards the car and walked over to it, only having to close a few feet of distance, before opening the left back door and getting into the back of the vehicle. She closed her door softly, but did not buckle up, even as the man put his foot back on the gas pedal and began driving once more.

"Now then, where to?"

Since Chin's apartment was only a block away from his diner, and the clothing store across from it, Hei was standing in front of the latter of the two already, having walked out the door little more than a minute ago. He walked through the entrance of the establishment, and thankfully wasn't greeted by anyone. Of course that was mainly because the store was smaller than most, so early in the morning there wasn't much need of more than a single staff member. Said staff member was a girl in her early twenties, had neck length orange hair, hazel eyes and was wearing the store uniform, which was just a blue dress shirt and some grey slacks with some black dress shoes. She was currently at the checkout counter, filing her nails and not even bothering to look up at her customer as she said, "Welcome to Izayoi's Boutique."

Hei didn't respond, and just went to one of the racks and began looking for a set of clothes that would fit Yin. He still knew her size, so it wouldn't take more than a minute or two to find her something, or that's what he thought at least. However since there was no response to her customary greeting, the counter girl grew curious and after several moments decided to look up, and when her eyes were greeted with the sight of a handsome man around her age, she suddenly became very interested in her job description of helping customers pick out clothes. So interested in his looks she was, that she didn't bother to think about the strange clothes he was wearing, looking almost like some kind of soldier.

No less than two moments later, the woman was by Hei's side and introducing herself, "Hey there handsome, my name's Jamie and I'll be glad to help you this morning."

Hei put his signature fake smile on and introduced himself, "That'd be great, I could use the help. And I'm Lee by the way."

The orange haired girl gave a large smile of her own, "It's great to meet you Lee, now then, judging by the fact that you're in the women's section, I'd say you're shopping for your girlfriend, am I right, or am I right?"

Before he could respond, Jamie had already grabbed something off of a rack nearby and held it up to show him it, grabbing something else off of a different rack as she did so, "How about this? Or this? Or perhaps..."

The woman proceeded to drop both outfits before dashing to the lingerie section and back, where she then held up a very see through pair of panties and a very see through bra, and she gave her best seductive smile, "...your looking for something a little more sexy. You know, I'd be glad to try this on for you."

As beads of sweat ran down his forehead, a look of panic came over his face, and he began shaking his head back and forth no, he put his hands out in a halt gesture, as he said, "No! No, no, no, no, no! I'm here shopping for my Cousin!"

As her face became almost blood red because of embarrassment, she dropped the lingerie and said, "I am so sorry, I had no idea!"

She then took off once more, coming back a few moments later with a knee length black skirt and modest black tank top. "How about these?"

"Y-yeah, those'll d-do."

"Follow me to the counter then."

She led the way over to the cash register, not daring to look back due to the situation. Once she was back at her post and was about to ring the clothes up, she was stopped by Hei, "I-I'm afraid these are the wrong size."

Still trying to push down her humiliation at what had just happened, she continued to cease her flirting, "R-right, a size bigger then?"

"Uh, no actually. try two sizes smaller."

Jamie couldn't stop her eyes from widening in shock, "Two sizes smaller?"

"Yeah."

Curbing her sudden jealousy, Jamie turned and went to find the same clothes in a size two times smaller.

As she did this, Hei calmly checked the bills he had, counting them up real quick. Judging by the price tags on the two items he was buying, he didn't have enough for underwear, what with the two plane tickets he was going to be buying, so while the woman was busy he grabbed a pair of panties in Yin's size and tucked them away in one of his pockets. He didn't have enough time to grab a bra though, as she was coming back.

"Right then, now just let me ring these up."

She did just that, before placing the two clothing items in the bag and telling him what he owed her. He paid her and bid her a farewell, leaving in a hurry, she of course thought this was because of the incident just a minute or so ago.

Once Hei was outside he began making his way back to Chin's apartment, dropping his Lee facade as he did.

As Hei entered Chin's apartment once more, he took a moment to look around, as a precaution, before entering the room Yin lied in, closing the door softly behind him as he did. He took a peak out the window, just in case, before turning back to Yin. He merely stared at her for a few moments, the only thought going through his head was of how beautiful she looked, that of course didn't last long as other thoughts came into his head and memories he didn't want to think about began to haunt him once more. So he cleared his mind of it all, pulled the blinds of the window down and then proceeded to peel the covers off of Yin's form, doing the same thing to his jacket afterwards, somewhat slower though. Once that was done she lie bare, her pale skin almost shimmering where what little sunlight got in met it.

Hei did his best to not focus on Yin's body, as he pulled the clothes he had for her out. Once they were out there was no avoiding the inevitable, so he took ahold of the white panties he had taken, and proceeded to slip her feet through the holes, before gently, but quickly, pulling them up until they covered her bare pussy. As if he hadn't just gotten a glimpse of something arousing, Hei proceeded to lift her upper half off the bed somewhat, before grabbing the black tank top and slipping it on over her head. He then had to slip each of her arms through the arm holes, before lying her back down on the bed, placing her head gently on the two pillows as he did. With her breasts now hidden away, her modesty was intact, so all that was left was the black knee length skirt. Grabbing the last article of clothing, he slipped it on, making sure it was secure and wouldn't fall down as he did. As Hei did all this, he maintained composure, as if he had done this a thousand times before, as if he wasn't dressing a young naked girl, not to mention a young naked girl that he had strong feelings for and a heavy attraction to.

With the skirt firmly in place, Yin was fully dressed, so Hei stood up straight and grabbed a hold of the fancy paper bag the skirt and tank top had been given to him in, before proceeding to exit the room and throw it into the garbage can.

He came back only moments later to cover Yin up with his coat and with the blanket he had pulled off her, before taking a seat at the end of the bed, facing away from her and towards the front door.

They had been driving a little over an hour now, and not a single word had been spoken between the three since the young girl had told them where to take her. Derek had tried to speak up several times, but before a single word could come out of his mouth Angela had given him a glare that said to be quiet and leave the girl in the back alone. Every time he did as she wanted, but not this time, he ignored the look, as the silence was getting to him. "So then, what's your name young lady?"

She had been staring off into space since they had picked her up, her face blank, and she was always silent. And that didn't change even as he spoke to her. However the brown haired man didn't seem to take the hint, "Did ya hear me?"

The blonde woman smacked his arm none too gently at that, "Don't be so rude!"

Before Derek could reply, besides the ow he voiced, their attention was pulled to the silver haired girl as she spoke, "Izinami, my name is Izinami."

Angela smiled at her answer, "Izinami, that's a pretty name. A rare one too. I've never heard it before, whether it be back in the States, where we're from, or here in Japan."

Derek couldn't help but smile as well, doing so because he was reminded of exactly what they were doing here in Japan, "Yeah, we're here touring Tokyo for our honeymoon. We've only been here a few weeks, but Angela's right, we've yet to meet even a single person with the name of Izinami. Does it have some kind of special meaning?"

She still wasn't looking at either of them, and she also didn't seem too inclined to answer the question about her name. So the brown haired man brushed that one off, and asked another question, "So, uh, Izinami, you speak English pretty well, where'd you learn to? Everyone we've met so far speaks with at least some kind of accent, you however don't have one."

After several moments of silence it seemed like she wouldn't answer that question either, and just as Derek was going to tell her never mind, she said, "I've know how since I was a child. It was the first language I learned."

Derek gave a few forced chuckles at that, "I guess that means you're not from Japan then, huh?"

"No, I am not."

That somewhat quick answer bought Izinami several moments of silence, however, despite how much she wished for the pathetic worm to shut his trap, he spoke once more, "So then, where are you from?"

The powerful entity didn't think she could take being in the presence of these two inferior dogs any longer, "Here."

"Here? But I thought you said you weren't from Japan."

"No, stop here."

Derek put his foot on the brake pedal, and slowly came to a stop. Once he did he and his wife took a look around the area for a moment, it was next to a back alley, and there was a mall just a few feet from them, as well as a few fast food restaurants and diners on the left and right them.

Angela then decided to speak up, "Listen honey, you don't have to get out here, I'm sure we can take you a little further."

"No."

"No?"

Izinami finally looked at the two, and the disgust was evident in her eyes, even if her face was still blank. "No. I can no longer stand to be in the presence of your filth any longer, now die."

"What did you-"

Before either of them could finish that sentence they began to glow an almost ethereal bright blue with a white tint to it, and their very souls, their life force, all that makes them who they are, were sucked out of their bodies, coming out in small ball form, the balls being the same color as the glow that covered them, that now faded away. As Izinami absorbed the small spheres of life force, the bodies of the married couple went limp and slumped over, the blonde to the side against her door, and the brown haired man against the steering wheel, starting up the horn of the car.

As the horn continued to blare, Izinami opened her door and stepped out, before going on her way, not even bothering to close her door as she left the scene.

Hei sat there waiting for several hours, keeping watch over Yin as he did. But soon enough, at about ten past eleven, Chin walked through his front door once more, two passports in hand. He looked a little roughed up and he was panting, but overall he didn't look much worse for ware. He took a few moments to calm his breathing and his heart rate, before wiping the sweat from his brow and walking into the dining room, Hei getting up and following behind.

They both sat down opposite each other, and immediately got down to business. Chin, knowing that the words 'let me see them' were going to be the first ones out Hei's mouth, handed the passports over. The taller man looked them over for a dozen moments, before saying, "I see you used the old pictures we gave you, it was smart of you to keep them."

The taller of the two stood up before speaking once more, "These'll do."

Hei fished a handful of bills out of his pocket and handed them to Chin, "That should cover it."

The chinese man didn't even bother to count the money, as he was pretty surprised he had been paid at all, as he had been intimidated into this job, at least to a certain degree. He certainly wouldn't complain though, he was hurting for the cash pretty badly at this point."T-thanks Lee, I needed this money."

Those words caused Hei to stop on his way back to Yin, he didn't turn around to face Chin, but he did speak to him, "Chin, Yin is the only thing I care about in this entire world, I would do anything, endure anything, kill anyone I had to so as to keep her safe. And where I'm going will help me do just that, however I'll have no contacts there, matter of fact I no longer have any contacts here. I could really use someone I could trust, someone who could keep me informed of what's going on in the underworld here in Japan, someone who could give me a heads up whenever he heard any information related to either Yin or I, are you up to the job?"

Chin was taken back by this, a great deal in fact, "Lee I-I don't know about this..."

"Don't worry, you'll receive regular monthly payments information or no information, just as long as you do everything you can."

Chin seemed to think it over for a few moments before answering, "Alright alright, I'll do it. But answer me this Lee...just what is she to you?"

Silence consumed the room at that question, but eventually it was broken, though it seemed to take forever, "I love her."

Chin's eyes widened to the max, "You...love...her...? Holy shit."

"By the way Chin, my name's not Lee, it's Hei."

The chinese man let go of his shock at that and proceeded to sigh, "Right, now you tell me."

Hei left the room to get Yin, when he came back he was wearing his trench coat once more and Yin was securely on his back, looking as if she had fallen asleep during a piggyback ride. He was at the door a moment later, opening it and preparing to leave, having already tucked the passports away somewhere on his person. Just before he walked out the door though, Chin spoke up once more, "Hei, don't worry about the money, I'll do the job for free."

Hei looked back at the chinese man, and with just a hint of gratitude in his eyes he nodded his head. "In one month, buy a prepaid cell and put your number in it, I'll have found another contact by then and I'll have him come here and meet you to pick it up."

With that he exited the apartment, closing the door behind him as he did.

By the time Hei reached the airport it was around eleven fourty five, and judging by the place he had in line, if he was lucky, he could catch the twelve o'clock flight out of Japan. As he waited, his eyes searched the busy crowd, moving his eyes to and fro from everybody within the vicinit, making sure there were no enemies about. Thankfully no one had tried to interact with him, which he had been somewhat worried about since he was carrying an unconscious Yin on his back, which would draw a good amount of attention, but everyone was so busy with their own problems, the hustle and bustle of the place, as well as their complaints, that no one paid them any mind. That changed of course when they reached the ticket station...

It was attended by a woman, she stood at about five seven, looked to be in her early thirties, had medium length brown hair placed into a pony tail, purple eyes and wore a blue and white uniform. She smiled when the two stepped up to her station, "Oh look at you two, how cute are you!?"

Hei responded by putting an expertly faked self conscious smile on, rubbing the back of his head as if nervous, and forcing a few chuckles, playing the role Lee once more. The attendant in response to his reaction, let a playful smirk come over her face, "She your girlfriend slick?"

"Yeah she is. We flew in a few weeks ago and we've been touring Tokyo ever since, we're actually considering getting married here. She was so excited about it that she wore herself out on the way over here talking about it."

"So you decided to carry her, that is so sweet. You two make such a cute couple."

A large smile spread across his face as he replied to that, "You really think so?"

"I do."

"Thank you."

"You're most welcome. Now tell me something, what's with the get up?"

"Oh this? Just some cosplay, no big deal."

"I see, alright then. Now what is it that I can do for you?"

"We need two tickets to New York City, the earliest flight available if you could Ma'am."

Only an hour later and they were in the sky on a plane to New York, which would be quite a long time in the air.

Hei sat in the middle seat, to his left in the window seat was the still unconscious Yin. To his right was an old woman, skinny and pale with graying hair. She wasn't very talkative, which Hei was thankful for. He didn't want to have to put on the Lee charade more than he had to, he had more important things to focus on. Such as thinking up a way to support himself and Yin, without drawing attention to themselves, which meant he couldn't do what he was best at. Which also meant he had to get a regular job with regular wages, and that posed a great problem. He ate enough for ten people every meal, or at least every time he could. But he would put a stop to that, for Yin's sake. It wouldn't be hard to do so, after all for six months he drank all his meals from a bottle, not having the stomach to eat with what was going on. So not eating, with Yin by his side, would be the easiest thing he had to do when they got to New York, hell it would the easiest thing he would ever have to endure.

Hei was currently climbing a set of stairs, heading to the second floor of the apartment complex he was currently in. He'd been in New York City less than three hours, but had still managed to secure a place to stay. Landing had taken place at a little past two in the morning, the flight having taken roughly fourteen hours, and yet despite such a long flight, Hei hadn't slept a wink. And yet he was still as observant and as vigilant as ever, even as he came to a stop at the door of the apartment he and Yin would be staying in.

He opened the door to Yin's and his new apartment before walking in, shutting the door behind him as he did so. He walked a few paces forward and into the bedroom, where he proceeded to lie the younger girl gently on the bed, before beginning the same ritual he performed every time he moved into a new apartment, or hotel room, or whatever else he had been provided with. Said ritual being the process of him checking high and low for listening and surveillance devices. Since it was a small place it didn't take him more than two minutes, and once he was sure there were none, he moved back to the front door and locked the two locks it had. He'd have to put more on later, for security reasons.

That's when Hei turned back around and took the apartment in. It was a one bedroom, there being only three rooms in total. The bedroom made up half the tiny apartment, with a queen size bed, thankfully brand new, a small TV, and a small dresser with a clock and phone on it.

The rest of the apartment was made of the tiny bathroom, which didn't have a door, which could literally only hold three people, no matter how hard they squeezed into the room. It held a cheap shower with a torn curtain, and of course a standard toilet. No sink however.

Then there was the living room, which half of it was literally the kitchen. The room held a tiny mini fridge, a small outdated oven, a tiny sink and a very outdated microwave that appeared to be broken. The countertop the fridge and microwave were on was cracked and obviously needed repair.

The part that was actually the living room held nothing more than the door, and the ugly brown carpet that was everywhere except in the bathroom.

Hei normally wouldn't have even batted an eye at the fact that he'd have to stay in a place like this for a while to come, but since Yin was with him he was rather...appalled at staying here. The only reason he had chosen this apartment, besides the fact it was all he could afford, was the fact that it was sanitary. There had been a few apartments that were cheaper and exactly this size, however they were all filthy and infested with bugs, mainly cockroaches. And he wasn't going to have Yin live in something like that.

Now that everything was calm Hei glanced at the clock, which read four thirty in the morning. He hadn't been to sleep in the past fourty plus something hours, that combined with what he's gone through during that time had him pretty tired. And while he could stay awake, he needed to rest for a while, otherwise his skills and awareness would take a hit for it. So he sat down, his back against the door, so if anyone tried to come in it'd wake him, and closed his eyes. After nearly twenty minutes of listening intently to his surroundings, mainly the sound of Yin's breathing, Hei let sleep overcome him.

Darkness, for the longest time she could see, feel, hear and taste only darkness. But every now and again, she would hear the muffled sounds of someone speaking to her, and even though she couldn't understand them, she recognized the voice, even if no one else in her situation would be able to. It was Hei's voice, and despite not being able to discern what he was saying, she was comforted by every word he spoke.

Oh how she ached to feel his touch once more, to feel his arms wrap around her and hold her close to him, he made her feel safe when he did that, though that was not even close to why she wanted him to hold her again. She also yearned to hear the sound of his voice, not the muffled, undiscernable version that now filled her ears, but his strong, soothing, natural voice. And most of all...she dared to hope that he felt the same for her as she did for him, she knew without a doubt that he cared for her, his reaction to what happened the day Izinami tried to awaken was proof of that, not to mention all the times he had come to her rescue, and done whatever he could to make her happy. But she feared that he might see her as he once saw Pai, or something else entirely.

Her doubts on his feelings were solidified the day that the fake Amber showed up, he was out of it when he wasn't with her and was drawn to her every moment of the day. He couldn't stop thinking about her, she could see that. He soon came to realize she was fake, and even before he did, he wouldn't leave her for the blonde, she knew that, however she felt it was because he knew Amber could take care of herself and that she could not is why he would have stayed.

The truth was that Yin wanted, no needed to be with Hei so desperately, that she would have gladly been Amber's replacement for him. If it made him happy and allowed him to genuinely smile, she would do absolutely anything at all. However she also knew that if Hei truly didn't feel the same way for her that she did for him, that he would never be with her to the extent she needed, as he would never treat her as Amber's replacement. But of course, none of this mattered, as she was dead, Hei had killed her like she had begged him to, putting an end to an existence that would have killed her inside, as she knew Izinami wouldn't have spared Hei, no matter how much she pleaded with her.

As Yin's eyes slowly fluttered open, she slowly began coming to the realization that she wasn't dead after all. And as that dawned on her, her eyes finished opening, and instead of the dark grey she was accustomed to, she could see the white ceiling clearer than even her specter would allow her to. She was alive and she could see, it was unbelievable. She shot up into a sitting position on the bed she was in, putting the sleeping Hei, with his back to the door, in her line of sight. She simply stared at his sleeping form for several moments, before getting to her feet. As she did she thought to herself, "Hei saved me, even after everything I put him through and showing him what I had become, he chose to save me. I can't feel Izinami's presence anymore, he must have removed her using the ability his Sister gifted to him, he really, truly saved me, in doing so he chose me over the world, and he's somehow given me the sight I never had on top of that."

That's when Yin felt something wet slide down her right cheek and then down her left one. She raised her hand to touch her own cheek, as she realized she was crying. And as she did, the tears quickly began coming faster, and as the dam broke and she began to shed more tears than she could ever remember doing so in her lifetime, she felt as if she had been given a second chance. Hei had done so much for her, and now, whether he loved her or not, she would do whatever it took to make him happy, and make sure he stayed that way for good.

Not even bothering to wipe away her tears, Yin made her way over to Hei and kneeled before him, proceeding to whisper his name as she did. "Hei...Hei..."

His eyes slowly opened, his vision quite blurry at first since he hadn't been asleep long and had been so long without rest, but as his name was spoken a third time, he forced his vision to clear, and the sight he was met with was a crying Yin on both her knees, putting her at his level since he was sitting down. "Yin..."

"Hei...you saved me...thank you."

The raven haired man then proceeded to pull the silver haired girl into his embrace, before almost breaking down, tears of his own coming down his face as he held her tightly to him. As he spoke, his voice was fragile and audibly affected by the tears he was shedding, as he was choking back sobs as he did, "Yin, I'm so glad I have you back, I need you, I don't ever want to be alone, I don't ever want to be without you ever again. I'm sorry I failed you, I'm so sorry! I'll never let you down again, I promise you, I will always protect you!"

Yin's tears were still falling as well, as she hugged the man she loved more than anything in the world back. "Hei..."

She wanted to tell him that he was wrong, that he hadn't failed her, that it wasn't his fault, that he always kept her safe, and made her feel so special. That he was the only person she would ever be capable of loving, that no matter what he had done, or would ever do, that she would always love him. She wanted to put all his worries, doubts and self loathing to rest, so that they would never bother him again, but she knew that to do all this would take time, so instead of telling him these things, she said, "...I know you will. Because you always keep your promises. Thank you for everything you've done for me Hei."

He merely tightened his grip on her as he spoke the words she had been wanting to hear for almost two years, "Yin, I won't ever let anyone take you away from me ever again, because I love you far too much, I can't live without you."

Yin managed to get him to loosen his grip so she could pull back and look him in the eyes, a smile forming on her face because of his words, her tears of happiness continuing to slide down her face as she said, "I love you too Hei, so much."

Seeing Yin smile naturally, without the aid of her hands, caused Hei to smile as well, which just made her happier. She then leaned in, and Hei, knowing what she wanted, captured her lips with his, kissing her with all the passion he possessed, letting her know how much he wanted, needed and loved her, and she did her best to reincorporate. Several long moments later, when they pulled apart, both were still smiling.

Seeing Hei's true smile after so long only reaffirmed the only goal, wish and dream she had in life, and that was to make him happy.

Yin would protect Hei's smile, at all costs.