A/n: back by popular demand it's Jun-kei! LoL. Yes folks this is the new story. And in it I'll be explaining a number of things such as:

1) Did Mayuka die and how?

2) Who Kage really is?

3) Mayuka and the late Kadaji Himura, what was the link between them?

4) What the heck happened to Yukiko?

And:

5) Who the hell is the summary refering to?

So sit back and enjoy as I, the authoress tries to update as much as possible...(Grumbles)stupid school...

And before I forget:

DISCLAIMER: MAYUKA, JUN, AND YUKIMURA ARE MINE! Get away you vultures! Cause other than that and any other miscallanious characters that I added for fun and because my imagination was running wild, I OWN NOTHING!

The Lithium Flower

By: Jun-kei

Chapter one: Return

He knew exactly where she was at this time of day. Over the past four years he has gotten used to her habits of staying in the office as long as she could. He knew from the moment she started, she wasn't being her usual self. She was a person of action, she hated being in the office, but now, she'd do almost anything to stay away from home, from memories that constantly haunt her both when she was asleep and awake. Which is why he knew that when Aramaki asked him to go and give her the new information on their newest assignment, today, barely a month after the refugee operation that killed her childhood friend Kuze. He knew where he'd find Motoko: in her office, as always.

Batou slowed down his walk, he was now approaching the door to her office. And there she sat, at the computer typing away. He knew she was just killing time, but he felt it was appropriate to knock anyways. She paused in the middle of what it was that she was typing and looked up right into his cybernetic eyes.

"What is it?" Her question was simple. The matter with what she said it with however hinted to the fact that something was on her mind. Not many would pick that up.

"I…uh…got some information from the Chief." He waited for her to let him in. She nodded.

"Place it here." She muttered, ruby eyes going back to the screen, as her left hand pointed to her desk.

He walked over, a scowl on his face. "What are you working on anyways?"

"A report on the…Kuze incident. It's late, and I have to hand it in to the chief soon." Her answer could have fooled almost anyone. She was a good liar…but there were two people whom wouldn't fall for an excuse like that from her…one had died, and the other, was staring right at her.

Batou's expression became grave. "Just how long do you plan on brooding about this Motoko? You've been like this since you came back to work."

Motoko sighed. "I am not brooding." She knew he didn't believe her. She was an open book to him. But she had to try something. She was sick and tired of people constantly inquiring her about if she was all right or how she was holding up.

"I know you too well to believe farce like that! It's been four damn long years!" His voice carried an edge to it. He was worried, again. About her.

"Look, I have a report to finish." Her reply was cold; she didn't want his pity. "So get out."

"Motoko…" Batou paused. "Look…I know loosing a friend on top of what happened four years ago was hard…but don't start to beat yourself up about it." He sighed, watching her closely. He always watched her, kept an eye for her incase she ever needed him. But she managed just fine on her own. Now she seemed like someone who needed to be comforted…though he knew she'd shrug him of, get angry and call him stupid or something. Usually she would notice by now when he was watching her, but her mind was elsewhere today. Which resulted in her rather slow response to him.

Motoko sighed again. "I'm not beating myself up about it."

He nodded. "You just don't seem like yourself that's all."

She smirked. "Maybe it's hormonal."

He shook his head, and slowly walked towards the door. "Just remember that you're not the only one who's affected by the fact she's gone for good. Yukimura, and Ayame are also affected, and lets not forget the rest of us here at Section Nine. We may be government dogs, but we still have feelings you know."

She smiled sadly in response. "So…I assume you're leaving for home now right?" He looked at the time. It was getting late, it was night outside, had been for hours now. And soon it would be filled with rays of sunlight again. Unless she didn't mind the company, then he would leave.

"Why? Want some company?" Motoko shook her head no. Batou nodded, and leaned on the doorframe.

"Tomorrow…" He looked up for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "Tomorrow…would have been her birthday…right?"

Motoko's eyes met his again, yet they seemed distant. "Yes…it would have been her twenty-fourth." Her voice was solemn. He knew she wasn't keen on talking about it. She'd rather just stuff those feelings away and deal with them later. In her case, 'later' meant never as she'd delve into work to forget it all.

This didn't bother him as much as he thought it would though. Motoko Kusanagi was different from most, some would even dare say she was unemotional, a person who preferred not to face their feelings for fear that they'll fall apart. But he knew she was stronger than those who'd rather believe that their loved one was still alive. At least she was accepting to the fact she would never see her sister again.

"A…Are you going to visit her grave tomorrow…like you do every year?"

She nodded. "Yeah…why?"

Batou scratched the back of his head. "Well…I was thinking of joining you, but if you want to go by yourself, that's fine by me."

She smiled again, that same sad smile. "I don't mind Batou. I'll be there at around eight o'clock tomorrow, ok?"

He nodded. "That's fine, I'll see you then…make sure you get some sleep tonight, or you're bound to burn yourself out eventually. You may be a full body cyborg, but it's still possible to do so Major." Batou chided, slipping back on her usual nickname, almost as if calling her by her real name was a liberty he knew he could only indulge himself in with moderation. Motoko shook his head, ignoring the fact that he didn't call her name again. Always he worried, sometimes he too much.

"Thanks for the advice, I'll be fine."

He nodded. "Well then, take care, I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah, see you later." Motoko's voice whispered response. She watched as he left the room then rounded the corner of the hallway, heading home probably. She looked back to the computer screen, and began reading it.

"Now where was I…Section Nine was able to successfully disable…" She stopped mid-sentence, her mind still on the recent conversation, making it hard for her to concentrate.

'Tomorrow would have been her birthday, right?'

'Yeah, it would have been her twenty-fourth.'

The words echoed continuously inside her head. Motoko shrugged them off, finding work was now impossible. The very reason she was doing the work was to distract herself from the thoughts of the past her mind plagued her with. It was too late for that now.

She leaned back in the chair, and opened the drawer on the desk. She carefully took out a rectangular piece of paper, and stared at the date.

"December Twenty-fifth, two thousand thirty-one." She memorized that date, for it was the most recent picture she had of her, it was Christmas time then, a little more than one month before she died, shortly after the New Year. Motoko flipped the picture over, and looked at it intensely. In the picture, Mayuka sat in a long chair, her hair was very short, less than chin length, at the time. It was also the during the Christmas party they took this photo, so she was wearing her faded blue jeans and a white t-shirt that said 'Ice queen' in light blue letters on it.

Even now, Motoko thought the shirt was kind of ironic, considering Mayuka had a tendency to be rather cold when provoked, and her element was water. 'Just like I am,' Her mind lingered for a moment. She gazed back down at the picture.

Mayuka's left leg was stretched out while her right leg was drawn close to her chest, and she had her left arm propped up on it, her right hand was giving a 'peace' sign and her sapphire eyes were calm and bright. Her face wore a childish grin, which made her look even more so with the lopsided Santa hat on her head, the violet hair underneath was messy, and thus her usually pokey hair was sticking up at even more odd angles. Motoko sighed, and carefully placed the picture in her desk's drawer again.

It was a prized possession, the last photo that was taken before Mayuka's death. She treasured it like she did the watch she gave her so many years ago. Motoko stretched her arms behind her head, a force of habit that served no real purpose. Her body was cybernetic.

'You're always working! I swear! You're like, married to your job or something! No wonder all the guys call you 'Major' Kusanagi!'

She remembered her sister chiding her on that. It was her childish way of looking at things. "I work all the time 'cause it gives me something to do." She answered to the Mayuka like voice that echoed in her head.

'Really now? Zuru-zuru zuru-zuru!'

"An…onomatopoeia… for dragging? What do you mean?" She asked, feeling sure that this situation would raise eyebrows of those who passed at that current moment, and as if that wasn't enough, the silence from the other voice made her doubt she'd get a response.

'Quit dragging around! This isn't like you!' The voice snarled. And just like that, the voice left.

Motoko smirked; it was as if it were some sort of sign, as if from the great beyond Mayuka was telling her to move on. Despite being fully awake, she yawned, a feat that surprised even her. She stood up, grabbing her jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders. She would listen to Batou, it was about time she turned in. She walked out of the office, set with the intentions of heading home.

"Are you sure about this Ms. Mori?" She was sick of hearing that question from that stupid man. She wasn't just sure; she had made her frigging mind up once and for all. There were no changes in minds; no 'I'll think about it.' she was sure, and she'd be damned if anyone had the gall to disagree. So Daisuke Aramaki should be smart and save them both time and give her the damn applications. The man that was with him had silver-gray cybernetic eyes, and long silver hair in a ponytail. He was bulky, the body build you would expect from a boxer. From what she heard, his name was 'Batou' but that didn't matter right now. She couldn't give a rat's ass about who her co-workers are until she was working with them.

"I'm sure Aramaki-san." Jun-kei replied, trying very hard to keep all traces of distain from her voice. He seemed to accept that, and nodded.

"You do realize that in the entrance exams, you did better off the field then on the field?"

It was now Jun's turn to nod.

"Yet you say you wish to do field work?"

She nodded again."With all do respect sir, I have a major advantage if you put me in the field considering I'm adept at field medicine."

Aramaki seemed to consider this for a moment. "True, but most of the men on my team here are more than capable of handling themselves, and according to reports you have a dependant…are you sure you want to take a chance in such a dangerous line of work?"

Jun-kei sighed. They knew about her having custody of a minor, but so far no one knew it was Yukiko Kusanagi, Mayuka's alleged 'daughter' of sorts. Obviously, Mayuka intended it to be that way.

Jun-kei banged her hands on the desk. "Look, let's get to the point, rather than doing these stupid formalities! I want to be a part of section nine! You've seen the forms, so am I in or not?" She took their sudden silence as an incense to continue. "You guys are used to military applicants, meaning I'm no different to your crowd. Just because I was rusty during your test doesn't mean that with a little practice I won't return to my former glory!"

Batou frowned. "Look, why do you even want the job anyways?"

She growled. "Because I want to figure out what it was Sergeant Kusanagi was trying to find here!" Batou froze. "Sergeant…you don't mean Mayuka…"

Jun nodded. At that point, she saw Aramaki hand Batou a package. "Hand that to the Major. It regards our latest assignment."

He raised an eyebrow at his superior. "Are you sure?" He nodded, and with that, Batou walked away headed to speak to Motoko.

Ishikawa looked over Yukimura's shoulder as the younger man continued to stare at the Website, his mouth wide open in disbelief of what he found.

"What is it?"

"It's here…a note, but how?"

Ishikawa leaned in and frowned. "Kage?"

"I know you guys stopped believing my idea long ago, but…"

"She couldn't be alive."

Yukimura scowled. "Mayuka…Kage was one of her aliases…"

"One?"

The young hacker nodded. "She has others she said, but I don't know them. So Kage is the only one we can go on here."

Ishikawa nodded. "So what does it say?"

"Take a look for yourself." Yukimura answered as he stood up from the terminal and let the older man take a seat. Ishikawa's aged features seemed more distinguished when his expression turned to one of mild surprise. "What the…"

Life refuses to give in, long after Shinn has arrived, bringing with him his legions of Shikigami. Despite this, the spirit can remain restless, unable to believe that this was truly an end. Many leave the world with regrets, others, knowing they left something undone feel bitter about it. Very few leave life completely contempt with themselves. Thus, in between them all are those who cheat death. One day Shinn shall catch up to them, and they too shall be gone, snuffed our by the dark winds. Which is why those precious few find leaving life hard, for they have beat death before. But they cannot escape his reach forever. But through perseverance they do what's needed…

My mission is still not complete.

I wonder if Shinn thinks I was being vain when I chose such as my title…'shadow' But even shadows fade away with the light, only to return in the night's darkness.

Kage

"This…what the hell…" He stopped, looking up at Yukimura. "What the hell does this mean?"

Yukimura shook his head. "I don't know but maybe…huh?"

"What is it?"

"The website…it was just deleted…"

Ishikawa turned back to the screen seeing nothing but the desktop.

"Ishikawa…I think…no…this has to be some sort of sign. Maybe it is May…maybe not. If it isn't maybe it's someone who knows what happened to her…how come she suddenly disappeared and was assumed to be dead like that…"

Ishikawa shook his head. "It's hopeless to believe they werewrong. After all, a medical genius called it. And Mori's calls seldom are wrong. She's dead. It's about time you woke up to the truth, Romeo, or you're going to loose your sanity."

With that the older man left him in the room as Yukimura growled. "Romeo...seriously, I'm nothing like you, old fool. I refuse to give up until I see it with my own two eyes that she's dead."

Cliffhanger...damn I'm evil!

Well guys, that's the first chapter. Tell me now, love it? Think I could have improved somewhere? Let me know!

And yes, for those who were watching the last lines, Mayuka is listed as D.I.A. (Dead in action) And has been for all four years. I'll explain later...but more so, who is Kage? To say anything would ruin the surprise, as I am not even sure whom will be 'Kage' It could be a new or old character...still figuring it out...

aw well!

Ja-ne!

Jun-kei