A/N: First of all, this chapter starts during episode 25 of the first season, and essentially acts as an alternate ending to said episode. So if you haven't seen episode 25 this chapter may not make a lot of sense. It also acts as replacement for the OVA series and second season (if the title didn't tip you off). So this story is alternate universe in basically every sense of the word. Please also note that characters may behave differently than they do in the anime, doing or saying things that is slightly (or extremely, but I'll try to keep it tame) out of their established character to fit with what I envision for the story. Creative license and all that.
Rated M because future chapters will be darker, more graphic and more violent than my other fics. I maintain my strict policy of no lemons, so anyone who came solely for that I'm sorry to disappoint, but you will have to look elsewhere.
"Li, wait!" She called out.
The black clad figure stopped and turned to meet the woman's eyes and spoke absolutely, "The man you know as Li is gone."
Misaki Kirihara refused to believe that, maybe Li Shengshun never existed at all, but she wasn't really concerned with names, she could worry about the technicalities later. All she knew is that the man in the white mask, BK-201, was the same person as the man she had come to know as Li. She couldn't be one-hundred percent sure of it, as she'd never seen BK-201 take his mask off in front of her, but her heart told her it was true even if her own more logical mind told her not to jump to conclusions. Hei turned an ran through a hole in the wall caused by his earlier assault and Misaki gave chase, rounding a corner just in time to see the tail end of BK-201's cloak disappear behind a different one.
'He's fast.' She thought.
"Chief!"
Misaki heard someone call out to her, but she didn't much care at the moment. All she wanted was Li, but she didn't understand why she was so desperate to chase after him. Surely he could be arrested some other time? Misaki rounded another corner, running down the dark hallway. Then another, and another, then a flight of stairs and more hallways. Her lungs and every muscle in her legs felt like they were on fire having run up countless stairs and innumerable hallways, she'd run harder and faster than she ever had in her life.
She walked up one more flight of stairs and was met with an emergency exit at the end of the small landing at the top of the stairs. She was about to turn around and abandon the search once faced with this dead-end, when she realized it shut and latched just as she had reached it.
'He wants me to follow him...' She concluded. It may have just been wishful thinking, but at the very least if BK-201 cared about being followed, she wouldn't have been able to come this far by following his trail, for there would be no trail to follow.
Taking a deep breath, Misaki forced the door open and brought her gun to bear. She scanned the area momentarily and found the person she was looking for all this time, standing on the edge of the building's roof overlooking Hell's Gate.
"BK-201, raise your hands above your head and turn to the sound of my voice slowly," She ordered.
This was it, she was finally going to arrest the world's most wanted Contractor.
Hei did as instructed and turn to face the woman attempting to arrest him, still with his mask on. Misaki walked toward him slowly, not taking her eyes off him for any reason. But she couldn't help but feel she was being too cautious. She could tell from the way he stood, the way he waited on the roof, the way he allowed himself to be followed, and the way he allowed her to point a gun at him, he clearly wasn't planning to run or kill her. She stopped several feet in front of the infamous man, when he spoke completely catching her off guard. Neither of them noticed the presence that stood peering through a crack in the door they had come through only moments ago.
"Hello, Misaki," He said.
She wasn't sure why, but hearing him speak her name made her heart skip a beat. With a shaky hand Misaki reached up to his mask but stopped short by a few inches, waiting to see if she was going to be electrocuted in response. When no such thing happened she gripped the white mask and removed it. She was stunned by what she saw, even though she had fully expected it.
"Li..."
"It's Hei, I told you Li Shengshun doesn't exist," Hei corrected.
Misaki lowered her gun, letting the arm that held it fall to her side while she inspected the mask, front and back, with her other hand. It was a simple thing, it even seemed almost fragile. She felt almost frustrated that such a little flimsy thing had kept her from getting any peace about the true identity of BK-201 for so long.
Hei was the first to break the silence, "Are you going to arrest me, Officer Kirihara?"
Misaki hesitated for what seemed like a long while, she knew she should, Hei was on the top of the most wanted list for every organization that knew Contractors existed after tonight. But she felt something for the person she'd come to know as Li, and she just couldn't do it.
"No," She said, thumbing the safety on her weapon and slipping it into her belt. Hei let his arms drop to his sides at her words.
"Chief? What are you saying?" Saitō asked, pointing his own gun at Hei, either he didn't care that Li Shengshun was The Black Reaper, or he hadn't realized it yet. It turned out to be the latter when Saitō looked to Hei and his eyes went wide, making the connection between the shy, soft-spoken Chinese exchange student and the ruthless Contractor.
"BK-201, get your hands above your head, I'm taking you in," He added.
Several moments pasted and Hei didn't so much as flinch. Saitō cocked his gun and walked forward slowly, reaching to his belt for his cuffs. Misaki bit her lip as she watched. She could save Hei or she could keep her job, if she protected him there would be no going back. The Japanese police and even the Syndicate would be after her then. Was it even worth it? To throw away her life for some kid that probably barely even considered her a friend? Every muscle in Hei's body coiled and his body took on a blue glow, Misaki realized he was about to kill Saitō. She didn't think it would work a second time if she asked him not to since Hei's own life and well-being had been threatened this time. Saitō seemed to realize this as well, as he put both hands on the weapon to steady it and his finger tensed on the trigger, preparing to fire. Misaki didn't think, her mind went blank and before she knew it she had jumped in front of Hei with her back to him. She felt a small jolt in her right shoulder as it bumped against Hei's chest and a small amount of electricity discharged into her body.
Everyone froze, nobody expected Misaki to jump in between her subordinate and the Contractor her was trying to arrest, to save the Contractor no less.
"Misaki..." Hei said.
Saitō narrowed his eyes at the man, clearly perturbed that they seemed to be on a first name basis.
"Move, Chief." He ordered.
"I can't do that, Saitō."
Saitō steeled himself, if she wanted to aid a criminal and a Contractor, she would be treated as a criminal herself. Policy was clear on that, anyone who stood between him and the capture of a Contractor was to be dealt with by any means necessary.
"Then I'm arresting you too, Chief. Both of you put your hands up."
Hei put his hand on Misaki's shoulder, trying to gently push her to the side so he could at least incapacitate the man for a few minutes with a jolt of electricity, but she didn't budge.
"Don't, Hei. Just run, I can stall long enough for you to get away." She said. That was it, Misaki Kirihara had just sealed her fate by confessing her intent to aid BK-201 in evading capture.
The look on Hei's face was one of surprise, he hadn't expected that in a million years.
"Are you crazy? What's going to happen to you then?" He said, voice sounding more like the Li she knew and less like the monotone Black Reaper.
"I can take care of myself," She said while turning to face him. Misaki didn't hesitate for a moment as she grabbed Hei by the collar of his coat and pulled his face down to hers and pressed their lips together in a kiss.
"Now go." She ordered when they pulled apart. Hei was about as surprised at the other four police officers that came up the stairs in full riot gear wielding fully automatic rifles, Saitō had a hurt look with an undertone of jealousy and anger on his face.
As soon as Hei noticed their presence the team in riot gear levelled their weapons and flicked off the safety. He immediately scooped up Misaki and jumped off the roof of the building and landing on another that was one story shorter ignoring the sound of gunfire, all the while feeling the bullets bouncing off his coat. He continued to run, jumping off the second building and into a narrow alley.
"After them!" Saitō barked as he followed BK-201's lead, or Hei, as the now former Chief had called him. The five officers vaulted over the side of the building, two going out one side of the alley and Saitō and the other two exiting the other. But there wasn't so much as a trace of either of them, even while carrying the weight of another person in his arms, the Reaper was still able to effortlessly evade them.
Hei set Misaki down on an old and dusty wooden chair in an abandoned building. They'd managed to make it out of Hell's Gate and the massive wall surrounding it, but Hei hadn't been able to run further than the first spot he saw that was relatively out of sight while weighed down by over a hundred pounds of human. Misaki was light, but it still took its toll carrying someone while trying to outrun the police on foot. As if to broadcast his current state, Hei hunched over and rested the palms of his hands on his knees, which were slightly bent, while breathing rather heavily.
"Are you... all right?" He asked between breaths.
"I'm fine, but why did you save me?"
"You saved me, I was repaying the favour." He said matter-of-factly.
Misaki raised an eyebrow at him, "That wasn't very rational, your chances of successfully outrunning them was drastically decreased with me tagging along."
"You kissed me," Hei said, changing the subject while looking her dead in the eye.
Misaki's face turned a shade of red she hadn't thought possible at the reminder. She didn't think much of it at the time, it was a heat-of-the-moment type of thing. But now that she realized it, and thought about the audience they had, she was more embarrassed than she'd ever been.
"W-well I... I, uhh." She fumbled with her words, trying to talk her way out of it.
"I know why you did it, Misaki. But I keep trying to tell you Li is gone, if you had feelings for Li you need to let them go, he's not coming back," Hei said coldly.
Misaki stood to face him, "Li, Hei, BK-201, The Black Reaper, they're all the same person. I don't care what you call yourself or who you pretend to be, you're still you."
Hei's face didn't budge, he just had the same expressionless look he'd had when his mask was removed. Misaki began to doubt their current situation, this is exactly what she'd been afraid of. She'd made a huge mistake in turning on the police for someone who didn't seem to like her back. Hei seemed to be able to read this in her features and pulled her into a hug to reassure the woman that he didn't dislike her, and wouldn't just throw her to the wolves after she's stuck her neck out for his sake. He may have been a Contractor, but her was human too, and he had come to like Misaki during his time posing as Li.
"So tell me, Hei. Before Li left, did he say anything about me?" Misaki asked playfully.
"He did, Li told me about this date the two of you went on once. He said it was nice. I think he also said leaving without saying goodbye was difficult for him."
Misaki giggled, "A date huh, is that what he called it?"
Hei had no response.
"Is that why you let me follow you to the roof and remove your mask, because it was your way of saying goodbye?" She continued.
Hei said nothing again, but she could tell by the way he tightened the hug ever so slightly that she had hit the nail on the head. After a few more seconds the two pulled apart and Hei let his hands fall to rest on Misaki's waist, when he touched her she grabbed on to forearm and air hissed past her clenched teeth as she inhaled sharply. Hei removed his hand, startled by her reaction, only to notice the crimson liquid on his hand.
"You're bleeding." He said.
She looked to Hei's hand, then down to her side. Pushing the blazer aside she saw that a sizeable patch of red had soaked into the left side of her shirt, and a jagged hole was torn in her shirt just under the ribs.
"Looks like they got me after all." She joked.
Hei wasn't amused, he just pushed the bleeding woman down on the chair and gave her an order she hadn't expected.
"Take off your shirt." He said flatly.
The look on her face made Hei realize what he had just said.
"Or lift it up," He corrected sheepishly, a bit of his Li persona showing, "I need to stop the bleeding."
Misaki did as she was told and removed her blazer then un-tucked and unbuttoned her shirt about a quarter of the way up and rolling it up to just under her bra, being careful to move gently when it passed over the bullet wound.
Hei took of his black coat, then his own shirt, and ripped a few strips of fabric from the latter, folding one into a square as makeshift gauze and pressed it to the wound a little too firmly for Misaki's liking as she winced at the contact.
"Keep the pressure." He said while moving her hand to the fabric. Once he was sure she wouldn't let go, Hei took the second strip and wrapped it around her torso and tied it over the wound. Misaki noted how strong, yet gentle his hands were, taking care not to cause any more pain than was necessary. He pulled the strip of cloth tight and knotted it, causing the injured woman to shut her eyes tight and hiss in pain again.
"Sorry." Hei said, "Can you walk?"
Misaki took the hand offered to her wordlessly and smiled at the Reaper to show that she wasn't so helpless that she couldn't even walk under how own power.
"Let's go." Hei smiled back.
"Go where?"
"My safe house, you still need proper treatment for the gunshot and if we stay here it won't be long before someone finds us."
She was about to argue, but she didn't have to be a Contractor to realize that going to a hospital would get them both arrested, or killed by other Contractors that still worked for the Syndicate. Hei slipped his black coat back on and took Misaki's hand, leading her along and sticking to the shadows. He'd have to be extra careful in moving around the city to make it to his destination safely and without any setbacks with an injured person in tow.