Chapter 1

I slid off the park bench that had become my temporary shelter and strolled towards the newspaper seller. He was a middle-aged male who looked like the better days of his life had already passed him, but even though I looked too young for him, I caught the glint in his eye before he could hide it.

"Well, hello there. Today's newspaper is at a discount offer. Only 100 Yen. A lovely offer for a lovely lady."

He twisted his lips when he said 'lovely', turning a harmless word into a filthy expression. I pursed my lips and tried to calm myself down. I had to remember that I could easily kill this piece of vermin, holding out my hand as if to shake his and then with my hair hiding my eyes, all I had to do was give into the feeling in my head and the beast would take over. He would clutch his heart like he was having a heart attack, No external evidence. I would look like a helpless bystander who was supporting him. All I had to do. But I couldn't because I was trying to suppress the monster inside. I didn't need more deaths on my conscience. I opened my mouth to respond.

"Hi."

With my foreign accent, the way I said it made it sound like I was saying his name. To my surprise and bemusement, a man walking past turned to look at me before continuing on his journey to his destination. I got a good look at him and I was surprised. He was tall and lanky but not too slim like those rather feminine guys you see nowadays, who spend more time on their hair than we girls do. He had messy midnight hair, like he had run his fingers through it before. His eyes were a inky blue, so dark that you had to strain to see where his pupils began. He was also quite good looking.

And he was gone, slipping into a crowd of workers as they headed to their offices.

Well, bye then...

And I turned my attention back to the newspaper seller. I deposited the vestiges of my purse into his grubby palm and took a newspaper from his other hand. Wandering back to my little bench, I flicked open to the vacancy page and read it briefly, only looking for cheaper rooms. I found one that seemed suitable. It was in the suburbs of the city, the house of an old lady called Mrs. Tanaka, who was in the business and had several rooms but only one was vacant. It seemed perfect. Gathering my bags, I wistfuly said bye to the park bench that had been my dwelling for the past few days and walked towards the place that was to be my new start.

Tokyo had always been a mystery to me. Even when I was little and things like Heaven's Gate and Hell's Gate hadn't occured, I still wanted to visit the city to see what it would be like. It didn't dissapoint me, even after all these years. The noise and pollution took some time to get adjusted to but they all added to the thrill. I was like a child on a ride that they shoudn't be on and I was enjoying every minute of it.

But the darkness was there too.

Crime and drugs had become a way of life for some of the people here and they were caught in a vicious circle that showed no signs of ever relenting. Hell's Gate loomed in the distance, an ever constant reminder to the people that there were things above and beyond them at work here. To the few who were informed, they had to spend their lives in suspicion. Paranoia became a common feeling to them. And to top it off, the reason they were paranoid was because of people like me.

And what we've done.

To the few that knew we existed, we were called Contracters.