A familiar melody stained the air. It was faint, but still so close. It was just out of her reach, teasing her. It danced around her, distant as most of her memories had been. It was at her fingertips, a melody of her own. She could feel the keys under her as she warmed them with the swift movements of her hands and the life of her body. She felt her mother's eyes on her. Though this wasn't the usual proud look she always wore. Her gaze was full of worry. She could feel the weight her eyes held and it caught her so off guard that she accidentally repeated the note she just played.
Kastinen was gonna give her an earful for this...
"Kirisi, that's wrong-" He looked down at his copy of the sheet music.
"It's not my fault, I-!"
"Kirisi..."
"Kirisi..."
"Yin!" Huang's harsh voice rang out. Yin snapped back to attention, though it didn't appear as though she'd lost focus in the first place.
"Yes..?" She questioned despite her voice remaining monotonous.
"TY-385 is hiding out somewhere in our area, did you find him last night?"
Yin nodded her head no.
"Damn doll, had one job..." Huang stated rather bluntly. Had it been anyone else he probably wouldn't have even thought it, or at the least he would've been a bit more discreet. Though he'd begun to let up on his treatment toward her ever since she ran away. Seeing her cry like that, it proved that she wasn't as unfeeling as he'd initially thought. Still, he couldn't stop himself jarring her from time to time. It was easy to forget how the things he said could negatively affect her.
"I... I'm..." Yin felt the need to say sorry. Though deep down she knew he probably didn't really mean anything by it. Somewhere deep within him, he wanted to care, but this was just how he was wired to act toward contractors and dolls. Still, she felt bad for letting down even in the slightest. She'd searched almost all night but her target was just out of her reach. Every now and again she'd notice signs of someone near her spectre. Teasing her, making sure she knew they were aware of her presence. But she couldn't verify it, and no one had asked, so she said nothing.
"Don't be so hard on her Huang, it's not her fault. I was with her, she searched all night." Mao interjected. "Besides, I'm sure there's some info on my servers if he's used his powers recently."
Huang grumbled to himself but said nothing further.
"-Anyways, his code name is Trevor and he's part of that freak Alucricity organization that's been causing so much trouble for the Syndicate. They're willing to kill and or torture anyone who won't join their group or give them the information they seek. They also have a tendency of carving the letter 'A' on the bodies of their victims while they're still alive, like a calling card of sorts."
"If anyone here is captured it's advised to kill 'em before they're taken away. We can't have any secrets getting out. Think of it as the Syndicate's way of sparing you." Huang laughed coldly.
"Hei, your job is find out who TY-385 works for and eliminate him."
"Got it." Hei confirmed.
"You'll all get more info later, we've been here too long..."
Yin thought back to her mother's worried eyes as she remembered her little daydream from earlier. Seeing her mother like that scared her. And somehow it was almost like it was still important now. As if those eyes still had a story to tell. She wondered why this memory came to her now. The only remnants of the past she held were the ones she most recently received, with Kastinen and her mother being the only ones left beside her after the death of her father. But her father was still alive in this new memory. He had to be, her mother was without that grief stricken energy her presence carried despite herself. But if she wasn't concerned with her father then what she have been upset about?
"Yin?" Hei leaned down to window of her tobacco stand. "We're heading out tonight. You'll be stationed in a warehouse nearby. They'll have a bucket ready for you."
"Alright." She replied. Hei stood up to walk away, but stopped abruptly, as if he'd forgotten something.
"Oh, and here." He placed a piece of candy on her counter. "Uh, don't worry. You're doing fine." He told her, almost awkwardly.
"Tha-thank you." She struggled to find the strength to convey the words genuinely, and they came out monotone despite herself. But she couldn't hide the glint of gratitude in her eyes and Hei was surprised to witness the spark himself. He was glad he could cheer her up.
He didn't know why he felt the need to comfort her. She didn't even seem all that affected, but you could never be too sure with her. Though she was beginning to express herself bit more lately, it was still almost as if she needed permission to give her opinion. But he wanted to make sure she was okay, they were partners after all.
Nightfall soon came and the team scattered to their places. Hei prepared himself for the ambush as he concealed himself out on the balcony of TY-385's apartment. He waited for Yin's signal before attacking.
Yin's spectre appeared in the sink as she scanned the area. The apartment was empty. In fact, it was safe to say that no one had been there for days. "Hei, no one's there."
"What?" Hei asked in confusion. He stood carefully, knowing better than to let his guard down. Hei slowly scanned the area, confirming what he'd just been told.
Wait, if no one had been in the apartment for a lengthy amount of time, then why was there water in the sink? "Hei it's a trap-"
In an instant a secret door in the ceiling swung open and TY-385 swooped down feet first, kicking Hei with the might of the velocity he'd gathered from his entrance. Hei was knocked against the wall, but quickly recovered. He threw a wire and coiled it around TY-385's neck, igniting it with a surge of electricity. But Trevor swiftly heated the cord and snapped it before the current could reach him.
Trevor quickly took cover for a moment and took off the bandaid on his arm, pulling at the skin healing there. He would have cried out had he not already built up a resistance to the pain of his price, besides, there was still a fight to be had.
Trevor emerged from his spot and was immediately nailed in the face by Hei's fist. TY-385 thrust his fist out for a counter attack but Hei dodged in time and grabbed his arm, leaving him vulnerable. Hei unsheathed one of his forked knives and slashed him across his chest. The wound stretched from his right side to his left shoulder.
Trevor howled in pain and recoiled backwards, ripping his arm from Hei's tight grasp. Hei pursued him as he trailed out of room. Trevor gathered some of the concentration that was quickly leaving him, and managed to land a roundhouse kick to Hei's head, knocking him against the doorframe. Hei's mask flew off his face at the force of the kick and slid across the floor. But Hei was too disoriented to worry about covering his face at the moment.
TY-385 slipped out of a window and practically slid down the fire escape. Hei heard Yin's calm voice in his ear. "Hei hurry, he's headed down Ginza St."
'Ginza St.? That's-' Hei's thoughts were interrupted by Yin again. "Hei, I'm losing sight of him..."
Hei shook himself off and began to trail after Trevor. He quickly caught sight of him again and his suspicions were soon confirmed. TY-385 was headed for the warehouse. He threw a knife at him, and it struck him in the shoulder. Trevor swayed in his path but was not yet deterred.
They were nearing warehouse, Hei had to end this quickly before Yin was put in danger. Hei pressed on a bit faster, slight desperation carried within each step.
"Hei, behind you, another." Yin warned. Hei turned just in time avoid the dagger soaring toward him. The knife instead pierced the back of the new assailant's partner. She caught up to Hei in an instant and came down on him, her fingers curling into a monkey paw instead of fists. Hei looked over his shoulder to see Trevor escaping his line of sight. "Yin, run!" Hei warned once he realized he might not make it in time.
"It's confirmed, he has her." His new opponent relayed to her own partner, touching her earpiece. 'Shit!' He hoped Yin would run like he'd told her, but he had the sinking suspicion that she wouldn't know how. Where would she even go?
Luckily for him, Hei soon spotted Huang perched up on a rooftop trying a to line up a shot. All he had to do was keep her still long enough for Huang to shoot. Hei noticed that her footing was off, she stood with her knees pointing inwards and her heels facing outwards and away from each other. This was his chance. He struck the side of her calf hard with his foot, snapping her shin in two.
She shrieked in pain as she fell to the ground, holding her leg to her. Huang seized the moment and pulled the trigger, striking her through the head and killing her instantly.
Hei ran through now busted doors of the warehouse to find Yin pinned up against the wall. Her bucket of water had been knocked over and Trevor had both of her hands pinned above her head with one of his own while the other covered her mouth.
"It's about time you come home sister..." He smiled at her. The sickening grin stretched across his face and made her want to grimace. His light blue eyes pierced hers, and though she couldn't see them, she could still their impression. Just like her mother's on that day...
"Yin!" Hei ran up to TY-385, covering his mouth and tilting his head upward to expose his neck. Hei slid his knife across the flesh of his throat and let the blood flow from the constricting chamber of his body. He tossed Trevor's body to the side as he stepped closer to Yin, grasping her shoulders. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." She replied almost uncertainly.
"Are you sure? Did he hurt you?"
"No, not really."
"Good-"
"Hei," Huang stepped into the warehouse with Mao trailing not far behind. "Did you get the info? Who the hell's in charge of this rookie gang?"
"I don't know." Hei looked away indifferently.
"Dammit Hei! How many times have I told you not to kill the target if we still need intell?!"
"He was going after Yin-"
"So what?!" Here it comes. "In fact, you should've killed her first! She could've told him everything about the Syndicate, what would you have done if he'd gotten away with kind of information?! Do you have any idea what the Syndicate's willing to do to us if they find they out that this mission went south?! You're lucky you killed him! But guess who's gonna have to kiss ass to keep our heads on our shoulders?!"
Hei turned to him angrily. "Don't think you're doing me any favors kissing up to the Syndicate, I can take care of myself. If they wanted to kill me they would've done so already."
"Huang, you know you can't expect him to up and kill Yin when you couldn't do it yourself when it came down to it." Mao interjected, sensing the need for a voice of reason in this heated conversation. "Besides, what's done is done. TY-385 is dead, so mission accomplished, in a way."
"Don't think gonna start cozying up to you freaks, if you push me again I will pull the trigger!" Huang stormed out there as if someone offered to pay for all his drinks for the night. Or at least until he got drunk, which he never did.
"Yin, let's go."
Yin followed Hei as they headed back, and though she felt guilty for starting a fight, she couldn't take her mind off those piercing eyes...
