AN: I know what you're asking: why am I randomly updating this story when there are much more exciting chapters waiting to be posted?
Well, I got tired of the total chaos that is this series, and I've decided to finish writing out the middle bits before I finish the series - which will end with the Shifu.
I have two chapters of The Interview to post (if I can get the order right without completely screwing up the comments); two more short stories (1-2 chapters each); and finally, the remaining chapters of The Shifu. Which will be the actual, final end.
I will do my best to update weekly, but because my life is even more chaotic than this series, I can't promise anything...
Misaki was elbow-deep in reports when a loud knock sounded on her open office door. Startled, she glanced up to see Kanami casually leaning against the frame.
Her friend was watching her expectantly; guilt flashed through Misaki's mind.
"We don't have a lunch date today, do we?" She flipped through her calendar. No, today was the third; there was nothing scheduled.
"Nope, don't worry." Kanami shut the door, then took a seat in front of Misaki's desk. She crossed her legs, letting a lipstick-pink heel dangle from her toes. "I just wanted to bring this" she dropped a file folder on top of the central stack of papers "over before grabbing some food."
Misaki opened the file, her brow wrinkling. "This week's star activity summary report? What happened to email? What happened to Ootsuka?" The Astronomics liaison had been sitting at her desk all morning; there was no reason she couldn't have brought (or even better, emailed) the report herself. That was part of her job, after all.
"I told her not to worry about it; I wanted to bring it over personally."
Misaki didn't bother to ask why. She could tell from her friend's playful tone that Kanami was reveling in knowing something that she didn't; she was here to watch Misaki figure it out for herself.
Misaki suppressed a sigh, and scanned the report. It was a simple summary of the past week's observations: contractors that had shown activity and on what scale; stars (and thus contractors) that had exited the range of detection; new stars that had been picked up by the observatory's close-range instruments, indicating that they'd moved into the Tokyo area. She liked to keep an eye on patterns of change, even if Section Four wasn't specifically interested in any of the stars on this -
"There it is," Kanami said with a grin.
Misaki let out a long, slow exhale, willing her heart rate back down to normal as she stared at the only Messier code under the New Entrants heading. Then she saw the time stamp.
"A week ago? He's been back for a week? Why didn't you tell me before now?"
"Well, the only official alert on that Messier code is for activity, and he hasn't made a peep. I would have mentioned his star showing up again if I'd seen it, but I've been in Okinawa, remember?"
"Shit, I forgot. Sorry." She sighed and leaned back in her chair.
A whole week, and she'd had no idea he was even in town. Not that she should know, exactly. Their deal had been that he could leave Tokyo unpursued by Section Four; she hadn't made any stipulations about returning.
She never would have expected him to return; he'd been very clear that that would have been a bad decision on his part. But with the Syndicate's leadership firmly behind bars...
"I take it he hasn't stopped by to see you?" Kanami asked. "Because if he has, and you didn't tell me -"
"Of course not. Why would he? Our partnership ended at the Tokyo Explosion. That was a year ago; there's no reason for him to need to see me now." She would never get that image out of her mind, of Hei running from Pandora - running from her - even as she called after him to wait.
"Well, maybe he doesn't need to see you - but you don't think he might want to see you? After all, the two of you did sort have a thing going…"
Misaki halfway regretted telling Kanami about that. But wine had been involved, and, well, she never could stop herself from over-sharing with even one glass, and they'd emptied the whole bottle. "We didn't have a thing! And even if we did, it was a one-time sort of thing. A mistake. That's all."
"One time? That's not what you -"
"You know what I mean," Misaki cut in hastily, unable to stop a blush from rising in her cheeks. She'd definitely over-shared.
Kanami grinned. "Well, want me to keep a special eye on him? We never got a photo for the specters to scan for, so unless he's wearing that creepy mask, there's no easy way of tracking him down. But I can have them search for the mask."
Misaki had to fight down the impulse to ask Kanami to do just that. Even though technically she could justify it, based on Hei's activities last year alone, she shouldn't. It would feel too much like stalking. And it wasn't even like he was an ex, or anything. Just a one-night stand. That was all.
She wasn't disappointed that he hadn't so much as called her this past week. Not at all.
He'd been in town for a whole week, and she hadn't known?
"No," she said, dropping the file on top of the others. "It's not like he's banned from the city. Unless he does something illegal, he has as much right to be here as anyone else. His star hasn't shown any activity though?"
"Nope. Not even a glimmer."
"That's weird," Misaki mused. "Last year, he'd already killed a contractor before we even knew there was a new player in town."
"Maybe whoever he's working for wants him to keep a low profile for a while?"
Hei didn't need to use his power to kill anyone, not when he had those knives of his. Or Kanami could be right. Shoving the mental image of him standing in her kitchen with her knives from her mind, she said, "Maybe. But who is he working for - and why?"
"I don't know; that's your department, not mine."
"Yeah…it's just strange though. The last time I talked with him, he sounded…I don't know. Tired, I guess. Like he was done with this kind of life."
"Maybe he's here to take you up on your job offer." Kanami winked.
Misaki snorted. "Right. He made his opinion on that idea pretty clear."
It hadn't stopped her from creating the position of course; she still believed in her vision. She just had to be extra careful who she ended up hiring - which was why the job was still vacant after four months. The superintendent had given her a deadline of six months, or he was pulling the plug on the whole thing.
If only Hei hadn't been so dead-set against the idea, she'd be tempted to track him down just to make the offer again. She ought to have broached the subject differently, been less direct, perhaps. It was just that he'd be so good as a police officer. There was a kind-heartedness to him that he was so desperate to hide; if only he could let that part of his personality shine through…
But it was what it was. If that was how he felt, it wasn't up to her to change his mind.
She sighed. "Speaking of job applications, Saitou's supposed to be reviewing this week's batch now."
"Think you'll get any actual contractors in this bunch?"
"I doubt it. I don't know why people seem to think that asking for external applicants means they can just ignore the whole requirement of having a Messier code."
Kanami shrugged. "Everyone wants to work for Section Four. Can you blame them, after all that great press you got, stopping the Tokyo Explosion and taking down the Syndicate?"
"Yes, I can! I didn't create this position just to have people waste my time!"
"You know, you've been wound pretty tight lately," Kanami said, raising one eyebrow. "Maybe I should have the mediums track down Lingerie Boy for you, as a public service -" she broke off when Misaki's wadded-up post-it note bounced off her nose.
"Just let me know if he shows any sign of activity," Misaki said with a laugh. "Come on, I'll walk you out."
The two women opened the office door to find the whole of Section Four clustered around Saitou's desk and laughing uproariously.
"Aren't you supposed to be going through applications?" Misaki snapped at the head detective.
"We are - I mean, I am," Saitou said, holding up a crisp white sheet.
"Chief, you gotta see this one," Kouno put in. "I mean, they're all garbage, like usual, but this guy actually put some creative effort into it."
Misaki waved goodbye to Kanami, then crossed over to Saitou's desk. "I'm glad our work is entertaining," she said, irritated.
Saitou blanched at that, but Kouno just laughed. "Seriously," he said. "Check it out: 'List your native language, and any additional proficiencies.' He wrote Native: Mandarin. Fluent: Cantonese, English, Korean, Russian, Japanese, Klingon. Proficient: Portuguese."
Misaki frowned. "What?"
"Right? Who the hell is fluent in that many languages? And Klingon?"
"Klingon is a real language, Kouno," Ootsuka said.
"I know, but he put it above Portuguese? How can you be more fluent in a made up language than a real one?"
"Wait, there's a note by Klingon," Saitou said. He squinted at the paper. "I was tracking down a target at a Con. At least, I think that's what it says; the handwriting is awful."
Misaki huffed. "Yes, it's hilarious. Now let's get back to work."
"Wait, wait, there's more." Kouno snatched the page from Saitou. "For previous affiliations, he says, 'The Syndicate' -"
"Ballsy," Matsumoto commented.
"'Chinese MSS (infiltrating), CIA (temporary detachment from the Syndicate), People's Liberation Army (infiltrating), and Russian FSB (infiltrating).'"
"Does that even count as an affiliation, if you're only pretending?" Saitou asked.
"That explains why he knows Russian…"
"Ootsuka, I'm telling you, people like this don't exist in real life. He says he knows Russian because it sounds cool."
Misaki's brow furrowed. Mandarin…no, that was ridiculous. A coincidence. But the Syndicate?
"Here's another good one," Kouno continued. "'How long have you been a contractor? I don't know, it depends on how you count.'"
"How you count," Saitou repeated, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye.
"Is there a Messier code listed?" Misaki asked, though she already knew the answer. Kouno wouldn't have kept that back. Still, a suspicion was growing in her mind that she couldn't ignore.
"Sure - disclosure upon request. Upon request, my ass! He knows we'd spot a fake if he made one up like all the others do. And for Are you a human or contractor? he wrote not really."
"Not really human, or not really contractor?"
"I mean, it's a binary question, right? You can't be both."
"Or neither."
That seed of suspicion had taken root now. Not really a contractor? That actually made a sort of sense…
Saitou nodded, oblivious to her thoughts. "It's definitely a joke, but man, all the detail here!"
"I wanna see what he does if we actually call him for an interview - like, will he try to play it straight?"
"That's a payphone number," Matsumoto said. "See the prefix?"
Kouno laughed. "Does this guy actually think he's some kind of super spy? That's some next level shit."
He tossed the application down on Saitou's desk, and Misaki's breath caught. She'd seen that scratchy, barely legible handwriting before - on a note that had been slipped into her pocket over a year ago.
She snatched up the page, eyes scanning it before landing on the name at the top. First, a phonetic spelling that could be pronounced as Li. Followed by Kuro; the character for Black.
"Call him," she said, dropping the paper into a surprised Saitou's hand. "I'll clear the preliminary interview with HR."
Heart pounding, ignoring the stares of her subordinates, she stalked back to her office.