I hope these "Flashbacks" make you want to go back and rewatch the series. I lost count how many times I've watch S1. As for the OVA and S2, I've seen each a few times now. Here, I somehow managed to turn a 20 second scene into a thousand words! lol

Stargazer:

*A retelling of the post-credits cut scene at the end of S2 episode 2*

BK-201.

That Messier code had become so dear to the former PSB Chief, Misaki Kirihara. She would admit to no one but herself that it felt like a prayer every time those letters and numbers escaped her lips. She relished every syllable as she uttered them.

Ever since her beloved 'Li-kun' disappeared that day, around the corner from his apartment, Misaki had taken to staring at the sky. Her eyes now instinctively knew where to focus, no matter what time of night, no matter what season.

Two years had passed by and her heart was still unrelenting.

It was a cool early spring evening, just mild enough to don a light jacket and set out on her mountain bike for the beach. With her Satake telescope on her back, she was off to do more of her favorite pastime.

The ocean breeze was crisp and refreshing as it tousled the loose strands of hair that framed her face. She made all the necessary adjustments and zeroed in on the star that had become her Polaris - the brilliant star attached to the face she couldn't keep from her constant thoughts.

Misaki sighed and grimaced to herself.

I feel like a teenager back in high school with a hopeless crush.

Suddenly, her mind elaborated upon her own analogy. Walking down the school hallway in her mind's eye, she passed a young teenage version of Li, who still had shaggy dark hair, blue eyes, and wore the same white button-down shirt and jeans. The simple scenario of them catching each other's glance as they passed by brought a real life blush to her face.

Misaki grunted in frustration at her runaway thoughts and turned to refocus on the task at hand.

I was never that girl before, so why am I her now? I've been reduced to buying a new telescope for the one star I want to see more clearly. Now I'm sitting here on this rocky beach, dreaming up scenarios where I tell him how I feel about him while I'm getting nothing but one hell of a crick in my neck.

A sigh seeped out of the tawny-eyed stargazer, her heart suddenly heavy. No matter what, she just couldn't stop watching the shimmer and sparkle of the brightest star in the sky. However, it soon became apparent that her eyes needed a break, as well as her neck. So she sat back and let her eyelids succumb to the strain.

Her thoughts continued to swirl as bits of their conversation from their evening together replayed in an incessant loop. His words echoed in a seemingly cryptic message that she needed to make sense of.

Did Li want me to know who he was? I can't help but cling to the notion that maybe, just maybe, he saw something special in me that made him feel he could trust me. Or…it could just be the unhealthy infatuation overestimating the situation.

Her mind was invaded by flashes of dreams she had been having lately; dreams of dark lustful fantasies, where Li would come and visit her in the cover of night. Images and sensations set her skin ablaze, prickled by the contrastingly cool night air. A shiver raked up her spine at the thought of having an affair with the world's most notorious contractor.

Misaki exhaled slowly as she rubbed her eyes before opening them once again. Her neck still needed a moment of rest from the awkward position. So, for now, she was left to her unfocused thoughts a little longer as she stared at the waves as they rolled onto the sand.

Her behavior and lack of self-control unnerved her. Misaki blamed it on her acute lack of romantic experience, being the driven and disciplined student and career woman that she had always been.

I'm sure it hasn't helped that I had only one short-lived boyfriend in college, if I could even call him that. And now I'm enamored with the most dangerous man on the planet. I'm batting a thousand here.

Just as she began to mentally scold herself, all the little moments they had shared that evening, as two lonely, stressed-out acquaintances, began to reprise once more. They reminded her of howshe caught a glimpse of who, she sensed, he truly was.

Li surely is that dark, thoughtful, yet caring and soft soul under the hardened exterior of someone who has been forced to kill or be killed himself. It's got to be self-preservation from feeling the pain of mercilessly taking lives and losing his sister.

As the somber face of Li in her recollection faded away, Misaki turned back to her telescope, her faith in him as well as her own instincts renewed. She leaned back in and let her eyes focus in to find his star brightening as it flashed and flickered irregularly. The chilly night air caught in her throat as she held her breath. The activity meant that somewhere out there, Li was engaged in battle. Her heart raced as she hoped like hell to never see that star fall. Misaki tried fiercely to put the idea from her mind.

It continued to flicker as she watched, barely blinking. Then, in an instant, the star faded to black, like a dying ember. The star had simply evaporated into thin air.

Startled, Misaki looked up from her telescope. It had not, in fact, been a trick of the eyes.

"BK-201…it's…gone."

The enamored brunette was in complete shock.

He can't be…no. His star didn't fall. But how on Earth do they just disappear? What does this mean?

Hot tears burned in her eyes and tumbled down her cheeks as she considered the worst possible scenario. She quickly wiped them away and watched for a minute, waiting for the light to return, much to no avail.

"Please, still be alive, Li-kun!"

Misaki steeled her resolve as she packed up her telescope and hopped on her bike to get back home and try to get some answers.