Over the Cerulean Sky
Another one for Dear4Life because she is just that awesome~ Happy birthday!
Song used is Daybreak's Bell by L'arc en Ciel.
This one is to make up for the fact that Carry On was not a Hei/Misaki story, otherwise, it would have been perfect!
The setting is post-season 1 some time immediately after BK-201 disappears. Credit for the flashback dialogue is due to BSSubs as it was taken directly from episode 25. Enjoy!
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Squinting as she looked at the monitor, the area at the core was hazy and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to it. There were no people. She could recognize the outline of a pavilion and some buildings in the background, along with a well off to one side. No human figures appeared on the screen.
"Looks like they're scared."
"Wait a minute...! BK-201 is not at the core area! There will be no explosion! There's no threat!" she exclaimed. "Please, wait!"
They didn't listen and she rushed forward trying to stop them. Before she could reach them, her commander grabbed a hold of her arm - stopping her progress. She struggled against his grasp, but he didn't loosen his hold; he only gave her a stern gaze.
"Please..." she murmured, shifting restlessly in her sleep. "Wait..."
Click. She watched in stunned silence as her commander pulled out a gun, taking it off of safety. The gun was levelled directly at Eric Nishijima, the man who had knocked Dr. Schroeder to the ground.
"Captain!" she finally exclaimed.
"The Organization cannot possibly kill me..."
Bang. Bang. Two shots were fired to his chest and she recognized the shock on his face before he fell to the floor. A moment of silence enveloped the space before a collective gasp went up in the air. The doctor screamed as he stared at the body in front of him. The scream triggered mass hysteria as everyone rushed to get out of the room.
"Don't..." she muttered.
"I've recorded our conversation. I'll have to ask you to come with me," she stated.
"So... You chose the third option..."
Before she could respond, her commander rushed her and grabbed her neck. His grip was too tight, like it had been earlier around her arm. She couldn't breathe... She had come this close and she was going to die... After all, he wasn't going to let her off the hook if she knew that much...
"H - Help... Me..." she whispered breathlessly.
Her commander attacked him as he came rushing forward, throwing punches; first with his right, which he easily dodged; then with his left, which again he dodged. Before he could retreat from the lunging motion, her commander was pushed to the ground as his hand was clamped around his forehead. She saw him apply pressure...
"You mustn't!" she cried out.
Her commander was unconscious and he dashed off before she made her move to check on them.
"Wait a minute!" she exclaimed, to which he paused momentarily.
"Wait! Li-kun!"
He stopped abruptly and a sense of relief overcame her. He was listening. Slowly, he turned to face her and she tried not to flinch at the sight of his mask. So white and haunting with a purple lightning bolt down one eye and a painted red mouth. Underneath that, she knew that it was Li.
"The person named Li no longer exists," he stated before he took off.
"No! Li!" screamed Misaki, waking herself from her nightmare.
Breathing heavily, she glanced around and saw that she was in her own room. The moonlight was streaming into her room, forming the rectangular shape of her window. The apartment was quiet as everyone else was in bed, like they should be. Using the back of her hand, she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Again... It wasn't the first time she had dreamt of that moment... In fact, she had every night since - a reoccurring nightmare. He had been that close to her... Was that the only way they could meet? It was so depressing...
She could accept that he was truly BK-201. She could also accept that he had been Li as an undercover agent. What she couldn't accept was that Li no longer existed. She refused to believe that every moment, every precious and sacred moment together, had been a delusion. He was somewhere, being suppressed deep beneath his other persona. His statement was all a lie!
Sighing softly, Misaki pushed away the blankets and shifted to the edge of her bed. Getting up from it, she went to the closet to grab a robe before she made her way to the kitchen. Normally, she wouldn't need it. Normally, she wouldn't even be awake in the middle of the night... But now... A lingering chill had settled in her bones.
She was desperate. She wanted to beg him to stop. Please... Even if she had to sacrifice her own life, she didn't want him to kill anymore. She didn't want him to bury away the sweet and gentle Li; to become more and more ruthless; to behave like the monster that everyone believed the Black Reaper to be.
In the kitchen, she grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with cold water. Though her lips and throat were parched, she only sipped at the cool liquid. A small amount made its way down her throat before she finally placed the glass on the counter top.
She slowly made her way across the living room towards the balcony. The glass door slid open softly and she let herself out; to stand outside and breathe in deeply. Carefully, she leaned against the railing while glancing up at the darkened sky. The stars glimmered and she took comfort in the knowledge that his was still there.
Even so...
Eventually, she closed her eyes as she focused her thoughts on him. A secret wish she made every night that he would be safe, regardless of where he was. The words were murmured from her lips into the night's wind. Words that she wished would fly away to where he was and ring daybreak's bell - just like a bird. To where he was, over the cerulean sky and across countless waves; to protect him as he faced the morrow.
Her thoughts took her back to that evening when he mentioned his sister. His expression hinting at a deep sorrow he kept hidden inside him. It was the key to the reason he had to fight. If only... She would trade her life for his pain if it could stop the killing and strife...
Shivering from both the cold and the empty hollow feeling, Misaki pulled away from the railing. Wrapping the robe more snugly around her body, she finally pushed away from the edge and went to lean back against the wall.
She couldn't understand... Why did they keep repeating the same mistakes? Humanity, never evolving. To know she shared the same human blood as those who had plotted such evil and even unknowingly helped them... She hated it. A place, a world, that belonged to no one... They used their differences to cast judgment on each other - never satisfied until there was bloodshed...
Finally unable to stand it anymore, she headed back into her apartment and closed the balcony door behind herself. The tremors continued to overtake her body - more from the manifestation of her fear. She feared for Li's life... He was out there somewhere amidst all the violence and danger.
Shivering on her couch, she repeated her earlier words like a mantra, as if they would fly across the sky...
Please... Someone wake me from this nightmare... Words she wanted to scream.
If she could have her wish come true. If only... She would trade her life for his pain if it could stop the killing and strife...
How many times would she have to relive those moments before her fervent desires reached the heavens?
With her thoughts still on him, she continued to whisper the only thought in her mind. A secret wish she made every night that he would be safe, regardless of where he was. The words were murmured from her lips into the stillness of her apartment. Words that she wished would take flight like a bird, soaring into the darkness and ring daybreak's bell. To where he was, over the cerulean sky and across countless waves; to protect him as he faced the morrow.
It was another hour before she finally relaxed enough to make her way back to her bedroom. The tremors had subsided to some place below the surface. The desperation that clawed at her soul had retreated. Though she would never know true peace, not until she had an opportunity to hold him safely in her arms, she conceded that it had been another day that he lived.
"Li... If it helped, I would trade my life for your pain," she murmured before she closed her eyes.