Hey! This is my first time ever writing a fanfic for an anime. So, please comment and tell me whether it is alright. This fanfic takes places during the 1st season of the Darker Than Black anime. It starts before the episode where Hei goes off to PANDORA to obtain the Meteor Fragment. Some of the situations will be like in the anime. Only that I will add in a few other things! Anyways, enjoy reading the fanfic and let me know what you think! Comments are much appreciated!

Chapter 1: Hua

"You have a new target," Huang said, exhaling a thick cloud of black smoke into the air while he leaned against a tree nearby. Mao sat down beside him, looking like a normal cat having an afternoon nap. Yin stared blankly at the ground while Hei sat at the end of the slide at the park.

"Who is it?" Hei asked, his voice void of any emotion.

Huang dug into his pants pocket and pulled out a picture, holding it out to Hei. "Here." Hei took the picture, looking at it. It showed two people, one girl and one boy. Both looked almost identical and both smiled at the camera. Both looked Asian and as if they were about the age of nine years old. The girl had long black hair and dark blue eyes while the boy had black hair and green eyes. "The girl is your target. She was a contractor for the syndicate before she went rogue. The boy in the picture was her older twin. He died during the disappearance of Heaven's Gate five years ago. Her codename when she was with the syndicate was Hua. Her Messier code is DF-103. The syndicate wants her dead."

"Why does the syndicate want her killed?"

"That's not for you to know, boy. Your job is to kill her. Not ask questions. Besides, the syndicate does not tell anybody more than what they need to know."

"Fine then… What about her whereabouts?"

"Unknown."

Hei got to his feet, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "So, I guess I will be busy for the entire week." He walked off, Yin following him.

Huang huffed and lighted another cigarette. Mao lifted his head and opened an eye, saying, "You didn't tell him the girl's actual age."

"He didn't ask," Huang muttered. "There was no need to tell him if he didn't bother asking."

"You are hopeless…" Mao stretched his stiff body. "I will see you around then. Hei would need me to help him look for the girl." He bounded off.

"Shou?" Hua called as she walked among the buildings. The entire place inside Heaven's Gate was beginning to look creepy to her. Just find Shou and then get out of here! Hua told herself. She called for her brother. She knew he was not using his power because if he did, then she would know.

"He must not be in that much danger then…" Hua said to herself, feeling slightly relieved. But that did not mean he was not under the risk of being attacked. She remembered the empty feeling she felt when she woke up in the morning to find Shou missing from the bed beside hers. None of the syndicate people could tell her where he had gone.

Suddenly, the sound of sirens filled the air. She looked about her, trying to locate the sound. She saw planes flying above her. She felt panic in her heart and ran through the buildings, trying to find Shou. She looked up and saw the underside of the plane opening up, revealing rows and rows of bombs. She watched in horror as the planes dropped those bombs. She flew through the air as a bomb dropped on the ground nearby and exploded. She knocked her head against the side of a building. She grunted from the pain and sat up, seeing stars. She knew she had to find Shou fast.

"Shou," Hua muttered, getting slowly to her feet, ignoring the pain she felt. She walked slowly, her hand on the side of a building as she walked. Her vision slowly cleared up but the pain at the back of her head was still strong.

She appeared from the alley and her eyes widened at what she saw. Tanks littered the wide road like tin cans squashed and discarded once their contents were gone. There were bodies here and there as well. Hua walked slowly to the side of the street.

"Shou…" Hua said. She ran down the road, looking for her brother. Then, she saw a boy, leaning against a lamp post. She recognized the long, thin sword he held and the green cloak he wore. "Shou!" She ran towards him. She hugged him and murmured, "Shou…"

"What are you doing here?" Shou croaked. "You shouldn't be here."

"I came to rescue you!" Hua said. "Why did you go without me? I was so scared that you had left me."

"I left you for a reason. You have to go now. You should not be here."

"Come with me, Shou."

"No. I can't. I am dying, Hua…" Hua felt something warm run down her leg. "Hua…"

Hua gasp and sat up straight. She looked about her, disorientated for a moment before remembering where she was at. She rubbed her eyes. Another bad dream again… she thought to herself. She swung her legs off the side of the bed and slowly got to her feet. Her black hair had been cut to a short bob and dyed a dark brown shade.

The room she currently stayed in was really messy from all the books thrown about the place. But she didn't seem to care. The untidiness of the room reminded her of how messy her brother could be and also reminded her about the fights they would have on why he should clean up. Those memories reminded her of her brother. So, she just left things the way they were.

"Been almost five years since then, right, Shou?" Hua murmured. She stepped into the toilet and took a quick shower. She dressed in a black skirt and white blouse. She was about to leave the small room she rented when she noticed a white envelope on the floor near the door. She picked it up and opened it, reading the letter.

She smirked when she was done reading the letter. She took a lighter and burned the letter. "Who cares if they come after me? I am more than able to protect myself." She opened the door of the house, pulled on a pair of black heels and left.

"How are we going to find one girl in this city?" Mao demanded as he walked on the wall beside Hei. "She could be anyone! How are we going to know whether this lady could be her or that lady could be her?"

"She will make a mistake sooner or later," Hei said softly. "When that happens, then we pounce on her. In the meantime, we keep watch."

"Yeah sure," Mao muttered. "Like the syndicate would wait so long for results! I will go around the city and see what I can find!" He ran off.

Hei continued walking slowly down the road. Suddenly, he stopped and placed a hand on his stomach. His stomach growled, as if demanding for food. He looked at his watch and said, "Oh… It's lunch time already… I guess I will go to that shop again…" He walked towards the ramen restaurant, thinking.

He was so deep in his thoughts that he walked straight into someone, causing the person to fall down and drop the load of papers and books. He apologized and helped catch the pieces of paper that flapped in the wind. He walked back towards the person, seeing that the person was a woman. She was a head shorter than him and had dark brown hair that barely brushed the collar of the blouse she wore. She was still kneeling on the ground, collecting all the books she had dropped.

"I am really sorry!" Hei said. "I didn't notice you." He helped pick up the remaining books she had dropped. The woman stood up and looked at him. She had an oval-shaped face, small nose and high cheekbones. He noticed that her big, round eyes were a dark blue colour. She had full lips that were a natural pink shade.

"It's alright," the woman smiled. "I should have done things one at a time rather than doing so many things at once. Thanks for helping me catch those papers. If you hadn't, I would have lost my entire night's work!"

"No problem," Hei said. "Need me to help you carry them to some place?"

"Oh! Yes! That would be a great help! Come on. My workplace is this way." She lead him to a nearby building, elbowing the door open as her hands were full. She walked up a flight of stairs with Hei following behind her. Soon, they were in an air-conditioned room filled with cubicles that were either occupied or empty.

The woman lead Hei over to a nearby cubicle and told him to put the books and papers there. A few people walked over to the cubicle. One of them said, "Whoa! Celine! New boyfriend?"

"Shut up!" the woman, Celine, muttered. "I have more important things to do than date people."

"That's what you always say!" a woman said. "You need to go out and have fun." The woman looked up and down Hei's body. "Though I would say, this guy looks hot! Would be shame if you wouldn't date him!" The entire group laughed.

"Very funny," Celine said. "I will be going to lunch now." To Hei, she said, "Come on! I will treat you to lunch! There's a very nice ramen shop nearby if you like ramen."

"Why don't you ask him to a nice fancy restaurant, Celine?" a guy from the group suggested before Hei could say anything. "Then after that, the both of you can spend the afternoon and night together! I can tell the boss that you are sick and-" Celine pulled his right ear.

"Mind your tongue, Nate," Celine hissed. The man squealed from the pain.

"Ow ow ow!" Nate said. "Let go of me!" Celine released him.

"Let's go!" Celine said, grabbing Hei's arm and dragging him from the office. Soon, they were back on the street. "I didn't manage to ask for your name."

"Li Shenshun," Hei said. "Most people just call me Li."

"I am Celine Park," Celine said. "Come on! Let's go have lunch!"

Hua looked up at the sky. Li Shenshun… An interesting person. She smiled when she remembered how he ate the many bowls of ramen. It was astonishing! She had never seen anyone eat so much before! She said, "But I bet if you were his age, you would be eating as much, wouldn't you, Shou?"

She sighed, holding her coat tighter about her. She wished she had brought a scarf with her. The nights in Tokyo could be very cold at times and she was not used to the cold even though she had lived here ever since she was born. Hua suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her ears listening for something. Someone was following her. She was sure of it. She turned down an alley, away from her home. She would take care of the troublemaker before returning home. She didn't want her private sanctuary to be invaded.

She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a mask, putting it on. The mask covered the top part of her face. Flowers and leaves were painted onto the mask. She could hear the footsteps of the stalker following behind her, running after her. If you are looking to rob this lady, you are going to be in for a big surprise! she thought, turning around to face the person. She heard the footsteps grow louder and lifted her arms. Her eyes glowed red and she was surrounded by a blue light. She felt the plants react to her.

She knew the person was going to round the corner and she got ready to strike. When the person emerged, she threw the plants forward. The person who rounded the corner, stared in horror as sharp thorns came down towards him, he said, "Wait! Hua! Wait!" Hua recognized the voice and drew the plants back.

"Amagiri!" Hua said, subduing her power and then hugging the man. "Where's Amber?"

"She's not around for the moment," Amagiri said. "Thank God I came instead of her. She could have been forced to use her power and that would be wasted."

"I am sorry, Amagiri," Hua replied. "It is dangerous times now. Everyone has to look out for themselves. Did you come here for something?"

"Amber has something she wants you to do." Amagiri reached into his pocket and took out a small picture, giving it to Hua. "She needs you to get into PANDORA and retrieve that item."

"PANDORA? Are you crazy? I am a contractor, if I get anywhere near Hell's Gate, there's no knowing what will happen! Any contractor, even you, would know that!"

"But you have more control over your power than the rest of us do. We need you to get into PANDORA. There is an item they have that the syndicate must never get their hands on."

"And I am the one needed to infiltrate PANDORA because of that? Why can't you send someone else? I would do any other jobs but this!"

"All the other contractors are busy. We don't have time to wait for any of them to be free. And, like I have said earlier, you are the best contractor we have that can control her powers."

"Fine then… But how am I going to get in?"

"We will take care of that. Resign from your job tomorrow and then get ready to leave for PANDORA. I will drop by your house later in the night. Try not to attack me then." He turned around and left. Hua looked down at the photograph she held. It showed the picture of a round, glass-like object that had a rainbow sheen.

"I hope I won't have to kill anyone then…" Hua murmured.