Yup... it's just me. I'm taking a break from studying. Randomly while I was crunch for p-values on excel, I thought of this interesting storyline. Haha... "The Sixteenth Striker..." I'm really, really looking forward to Detective Conan movie 16th: "The Eleventh Striker." I'm not sure how the title is relevant to the story at all to be honest. I don't know why I'm writing... I just wanted to write something... anything. I was reading KawaiixKesshou's story, "Accidentally on Purpose" and I was so intrigued by the whole action, special agent theme. I don't think mine would be as amazing; ah well... it's worth a shot right?

Be patient with me on this one; I'm still conjuring as I go.

Prologue: Lost But Never Gone

Thud. Thud. Thud.

My head throbbed like mad. I could feel it pulsating.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

I could feel each beating of my heart sending the blood through my body; the pain in my head was excruciating. The adrenaline wasn't acting fast enough, the pain... It was almost like everything around me was rotating; they were fleeting. I was wobbling as I walked as if I was intoxicated but I was perfectly sober. I forced my legs to carry me as far away as possible but I've seemed to reach my limit. I bit my lips, hard and took rapid breaths as I tried to steady myself and regain my composure. It wasn't just my head; it was my entire body that hurt.

'Don't cry... don't cry... Rin, don't you dare cry,' I reminded myself sternly and closed my eyes. 'You're not going to cry... you've promised yourself that you're not going to cry. Ever. Not after...'

"Ah..." I yelled out helplessly in agony and pain. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. I was useless. My body was yielding. Tears rolled down my eyes, I couldn't control it; it was a biological reaction I couldn't defy. I clutched to the blade wound in my left shoulder. The half dried blood around the wound was sticky under my palm. The bladed had pierced right through my body; the entrance of the katana burned. My sleek black leather garb was torn from my previous struggle. My physical pain inflicted my emotional pain at the thought of my encounter with him just moments ago.

'He did this to me... but I forgive him.'

I clutched to the rugged brick wall in the dark alley way and found shelter by the back door of a sushi restaurant. The cold brick felt easing against my sweat drenched bulletproof vest. Bulletproof vest... what a joke. It was meant to defend me against bullets and evidently not against his katana.

"Rin, you're going to be alright," I whispered to myself. I felt the sweat dripping down my forehead and stopping at my eyebrows, my body was trembling from the pain. It was not like I haven't had it worse before; in fact, there wasn't a place on my body that wasn't scarred from a bullet or a blade. I was a fighter, a lethal killing machine; how could he have gotten the better of me? I let out a scoff; that's right - he made me. It was only natural that he knew my every move as if they were his own when in fact they were his. Then it struck me at the worst time - he hurt me. He would hurt me, intentionally. That feeling pained me more than the blade that had just perforated my shoulder.

'Just a little more... dammit... the data is loading too slowly... 94%... 95%... 96%... faster... faster...' I tapped my fingers softly on the oak table in the dark room. I needed to get out of there, now. '99%... 100%... perfect'

I smiled to myself and pulled the memory scanner from the computer and slipped it in the hidden compartment of my black garb. I was ready to get out of here; my work here was done. Now if I just slip on the ropes and go out the way I came in, I could probably make it home for a midnight snack and crawl up on the couch to watch the midnight rerun of my favorite soap opera. Just as I was slipping on the ropes to jump out of the office building's window from the 39th story, a blade came out of nowhere missing me by a mere margin. A masked man in black crept up to me from the shadows; his profile was illuminated under the moonlight through the bay windows of the room. He had taken me by utter surprise. I leaned back out of pure reflexes and I felt the loose strands of my hair falling onto the floor.

"Leave it here, Rin," his voice was deep and hostile... and oddly familiar.

'He... he knew my name. Am I set up? No one was supposed to know about this operation.'

My eyes widened and I felt like I was struck by a bolt of lightning, his words hit me hard.

He charged at me and I didn't have a moment to process my thoughts. It was now apparent that I was his target; every single strike was aimed to take my life. I tried to dodge each of his advances with the katana but he was too swift. Somehow, he also knew how I would escape from his blade. I drew out a pair of short twin blades from the sheaths by my side and locked his sword in between mine. We were competing on brute force: I couldn't win. I could feel my grip slipping inch by inch. 'What do I do?' Out of desperation, I reached down for my automatic from the holster by my thigh and leaped backwards, aiming it at my attacker. Suddenly, he stopped as I used my thumb to unlock the safety of the gun.

"Who are you and who do you work for?" I wanted my answers. How could he have known about this? Why would he show up here? This was a highly cryptic operation. No one was supposed to know where I was tonight, not even InuYasha.

He paused and it seemed though he was grinning at me through his mask. He dropped his katana onto the floor. The blade made a clashing sound when it made contact with the leg of the desk. He slowly raised his hand above his head to lift the black fabric from his face. I watched in silence vigilantly pointing the gun at him. What was he pulling on me? I need to be prepared for anything. Long strands of silvery hair fell over his shoulders, his golden eyes pierced through my eyes. He looked right through my soul.

No.

This... couldn't be.

It's...

I felt a sudden sense of ecstasy flowing through me. 'He... it's him.'

"How could this... you... I thought... but I..." I was lost for words; my tongue twisted and my knees buckled. I was lost for words and for answers. "I thought you... you never came back..."

A plethora for emotions overwhelmed me. I just wanted to run into his arms and feel his warm embrace once again.

It was all...

So sudden.

"Anata..."

I dropped my gun and took a few steps towards him, completely unaware of the danger looming in front of me. One moment I was melting in his presence and then...

"Ses...s... hom...aru..." I clenched to my shoulder, the blade had penetrated completely into my shoulders, the hilt of the sword pressed against me. I looked up to meet his glance; his eyes were cold and harsh.

There was no love.

None.

'It wasn't really him. He wasn't himself.'

I need to get to a safe house. Now. They were after me and I wasn't in a state to fight them right now especially with him as one of my opponents. I reached for the thin device tucked in the holster against my thigh and placed my right index finger on the microchip scanner of the touch screen.

'Verification complete.'

"Voice recognition required," an auto recorded voice reminded me.

"Nippon0424, F-A-R. Takahashi. Requesting for 5097 rescue," my voice was weak from my lost of blood. I needed to hold on for a bit longer; backup was coming.

"Request accepted. Now self destructing in 3... 2... 1..."

I dropped the device to the wet ground into a puddle of rainwater and the screen cracked on contact with the gravel.

Now the wait begins... I heard footsteps approaching me; they were heavy and languid. Was it his steps? Or hers? If I can just grab the...

It was almost like someone unplugged the power source from me. I fell into realm of unconsciousness.

Talk about out of character. I've actually never read a story with Rin as a strong female special agent... This might be interesting... Everything is so cryptic. One thing's for sure: I'm having a lot of fun writing this.