Void Eclipse Code: Chapter 4
I give up in trying to write in Hei's point of view. It's too hard for me to keep him IC with my limited experience.
Disclaimer: Darker than Black does not belong to me.
Rihs watched with amusement as he observed how panicky Xeno had become. Her eyes were stretched to its very extent, the pupils shaking and seeming rather small against the whites of her eyes. He could see her lips tremble and frightened moisture form over her skin. From the way the skin color dulled, he guessed that her skin was cold as well.
Her body was rigid and in the form of a frightened animal. Her breathing seemed labored and forced upon her. He smiled as he saw a vein on her wrist pulsing dangerously. Well, it would be incorrect to say that he saw it, rather, he just knew it. She looked so frightened and so delicious in such a manner that he held himself back with all that he had.
The panic in the eyes. He shivered and could no longer...
Shir grabbed Xeno's arm and caused Xeno to flinch and look down at the boy. Shir shivered in the expression Xeno wore and felt himself infected by the coldness of Xeno's skin. The boy wore his best worried expression before coaxing Xeno to sit down. He didn't speak, he didn't feel the need to. When Xeno had finally settled down, he relaxed slightly.
He peeked rather uncomfortably at Xeno. He wasn't sure what to do in this situation. What should he do? What kind of things should he speak? What kind of expression should he wear?
"Here is your order." The waitress displayed the food over the table and promptly and ignorantly butchered Shir's line of thought.
He begin to peck at the cake, it was delicious, only after the waitress had disappeared. Xeno still looked unsettled and he felt unsettled as well. Xeno was the leader, if she was shaken, it must have been something big.
His stomach flipped when Xeno finally moved after staring out in the space for three minutes. It was scary. She had been like a lifeless doll earlier but now... Now she was alive and calm once more.
"Shir, erase all memory in the building." Xeno spoke calmly. "And do it to the point of no Deja bu nor a dream." The boy nodded feverishly in response before getting to do it immediately. He stretched out fragments of himself in the room and proceeded to eliminate the memories.
When he opened his eyes again, Xeno had been patiently waiting. He nodded to her that it was done and only then did she use her own ability. Unlike Xeno, Shir never had that blue glow nor the red light in his eyes. It startled him every time of how these things made Xeno even more unique and beautiful.
"Shir, feel free to eat all of it." Xeno nodded to him as the glow around her faded. Shir couldn't tell what she had done and could only take a guess as a barrier. He nodded obediently and begin to eat.
"Lu, is OWL there?" Xeno spoke into the black phone. As usual she added an accent at O drew out the L, making the code name sounding truly like a true name. Shir was curious but decided not to question it. "Jah, it's me." He saw her face twist into annoyance. He could still see that hint of fear. "Of course it's me." He saw her hands clinch into cold fists. "Damn you. 'Just do your work and you might be spared' doesn't work out for you? Do I have to remind you precisely why you work for me?"
Shir saw Xeno's lips tremble in both anger and panic. Her shock was wearing off and she had a very good control over it to not let it show in her voice. He saw it though. He always saw things that none did.
"Li Shenshung. Give me everything you can find and send it to me using the delivery girl. Once everyday, update until five days time. Understand?" Xeno spoke words that he has yet to understand. He didn't mind. Xeno had told him that he was too young to understand.
Xeno hung up the phone and begin to stare blankly out in the space once more.
"Seven hells..." The black haired man hissed. The man was messy in appearance. He had dark circles underneath his thin eyes and it was obvious he had yet to wash himself in several days. He was somewhat tall at 170cm in height and very skinny. He didn't have any muscles and was composed of skin and bones. The man's skin was pale and caused his dark circles and equally dark brown eyes to stand out.
OWL put the phone down with a trembling hand. He was still wearing what he had worn three days ago, gray t-shirt and baggy jeans, and was planning on refreshing himself that day. Not to mention that the stubbles on his chin was beginning to grow into a full fledged mustach.
"Lu, I think I am going to die." He said to the glowing computer screen. There was a forest of them in the cramped room. Wires invaded everywhere and the screens, there were at least five large ones and ten other sizes with countless small screens, were the only source of light in the room. The computer screen snorted at him before going dark and OWL felt self pity for himself all over again. A thirty years old man feeling pity for himself... He drowned once more in his self pity.
How? How did things come to be this way? Xeno buried herself in the cushions. How? She grabbed another red cushion and threw it upon her buried body. How? She grabbed a black cushion and buried her face in it. HOW?
"Why?" Xeno swallowed another tear. "Why?" She buried her face deeper into the cushion and cried. "Why?" She choked on the answer she couldn't answer. "This is all an amusing game, isn't it? And I am just a mere game piece." She screamed at the dark skin colored man who sat opposite of her. The man held the amused expression and she screamed at him.
"Hey, hey, I am not the one who is watching the game. I'm a piece just like you." Rihs laughed. "Albeit a lesser piece but a game piece nonetheless." He winked at Xeno and caught a flying cushion. It was soggy with tears and he simply threw it down on the ground.
"Shut up. Shut up. What do you know? You don't know anything!" Xeno screamed at him. She knew it to be childish, she knew. But she couldn't help herself.
"So then, do you know? If you do, why don't you tell me?"
Xeno looked up as a shadow covered her. From above, she saw a pair of two eyes. They were yellow and cold as the first time she had seen it. She trembled. She was frightened. It was so obvious that she trembled even more. There was something at her chest preventing her from speaking and there was just that something... Something that prevented and restricted her movement.
"Come on now, aren't you the loyal piece?"
She didn't even feel the hands around her neck until it was too late and she was chocking. The fear was still blocking her throat and she could only gasp out small bits of air at once. Tears spilled from her and she couldn't look away from those frightening eyes. She clawed at his hand instinctively and the blood dropped down her fingernails. The warmth of the living liquid made it even worse and she feared more of the man in front of her. Oh only if he knew. Only if he knew!
She dropped back onto the sofa like a rag doll. She curled up in the corner of the sofa and whimpered. She chocked on the tears flowing into her mouth and didn't care of how horribly she looked at that moment.
Soon Xeno fell into an exhausted sleep. Rihs looked over the fragile girl and thought of how he had become a guardian and an enemy of such a... thing. He relaxed as he too closed his eyes. He instinctively moved his arms onto the arm rests. Only then was he reminded of his missing limbs. Rihs looked up and sighed.
He wasn't a contractor to begin with. He was just forced to become one. He was forced to become the knight and the watch of the entire plot. Oh he still remembered that bitter night. He had been hired to look deeper into PANDORA. That was where he became a contractor and lost both of his arms.
He still remembered how sudden it had been. He was being chased by a masked man. A man he soon knew by the name of 'Black Reaper'. Then he was cornered and in such a hurry to live, he made a contract with the gate. It had been an unfair one, but he was still living, wasn't he? He just lacked arms.
He had somehow made out of the things alive but the masked man had sliced both of his arms off. He didn't hold a grudge for the masked man though. He knew it to be the price for his new ability. But what happened after was worse.
He had been sent to PANDORA for experiments.
Code 1243 was what they had named him. It soon became code 4444 as he slowly lost his mind as a contractor. He was a prisoner and they wanted to see the full extent of his power. His ability. He didn't have a price, but they didn't know about that. They were too busy trying to see what his ability was.
It was simple, really. It was just air molecule control. He could change its shape and properties to form just about anything. He had once been a promising physics and chemistry graduate, so for him it was easy to know and to use to its full extent.
He did well without his arms. Whatever was sent to him, he killed almost immediately. Even the bravest of all military members refused to go into his little cage. The only ones he didn't kill were the ones that would be of benefit to him. However that didn't stop them from doing experiments on his body.
He hissed as the scars on his back throbbed. He had declined Xeno's offer to erase the scars in fear of forgetting exactly what PANDORA did. No matter, they were going to destroy the core and that was that.
To think that such a fragile thing had the capacity to do such a thing...
Now then, onto the dark haired men. There were two in the restaurant although Xeno had noticed only one of them. One was a civilian, he was certain of it, while the other... There was a certain thing about him that made him feel... uneasy? It was familiar as well. Now then, only if he could remember that strong familiarity.
OWL stared at the screen, his eyes wide as it could possibly go, and ran his hand through his greasy hair. He swore as he reached for the print button and hesitated. Was it really a good idea to let her know this? He was a coward, he had to let her know. He slumped in his seat as he pressed the button for print. Every rustling noise the printer made sounded like a gun sound to him and he cringed at it.
Xeno woke up with a strange fatigue inside her brain. She had expected to see the pristine beige ceiling, however found it to be the water stained ceiling of her apartment. She staggered to sit up and when she did, she found a large bowl on top of the kitchen counter. With her sight still unfocused, she made her way towards it and smiled lightly as she found a bunch of dumplings.
Then her throat throbbed.
She collapsed on the ground and trembled. She looked at the door, thinking of how easily that killer could kill her if it pleased him. There was a newspaper on the floor nearby her shoes.
"At 3:00 AM, another grotesque corpse of the latest serial murder victim has been found. The police..."
That's right, that man could kill her whenever he wanted to. Yes, he could kill Xeno.
The knocks on the door startled her and she stepped back away from it. She felt her cells become intense and frightened. Was Rihs standing on the other side of the door? Was he?
"Hello?" She opened the door and peeked out. She held onto the sleepy voice and expression. She sniffled a bit as well, to give it an illusion that she was sick. When she looked up to see who it was... She nearly cussed. "Morning Li-san." She smiled to hide what she was truly thinking.
"Morning Xeno-sa... Xeno." It made her flinch in how Li Shengshun had managed to correct himself and remember the conversation from such a long time ago. Had it really been that long? No, it had been only a couple of weeks. It had felt like months. "I was just worried, with the serial killer and all and your job being late at night..."
Job. Her job. His job. It hit her like a grand finale that was of the most tragic thing in the world. How could she have had forgotten?
"I've been fired." She forced a smile and lied. "Well, for now anyways. Until I get better." She strained another smile.
"Ah, well..." He seemed awkward. "I hope you get better." Another awkward silence passed by until he just nodded good-bye and walked away. She closed the door and slid the chain in after he left.
Her heart throbbed. It hurt. It was so strong in its movement that she thought she'd explode. It hurt. She slid down the door and sat on the cold floor. She allowed a sigh and used her arms to support herself. Her hand nudged something thick and crispy in texture.
A large black box with the perfect triangle with perfect circles on each corners was placed next to her hand. Right. The delivery girl. She had pushed it back in here mind perhaps too far. With a sigh, she picked up the flat rectangular box. With another sigh, she stood up and staggered onto her futon. With another sigh, she unwrapped the box and opened it to find interesting papers. PANDORA papers.
OWL forced out a breath. Whatever that girl decides would be her choice. However right now, he needed a shower. A shower and some food. Anything but the instants. They were completely tasteless by now and it annoyed him in how he had grown accustomed to it.
Shir cuddled a blanket and curled up against the corner of the plush sofa. He was tired. He didn't know what Rihs was planning, but he was tired. The poor child fell asleep immediately. He relaxed in the thing called sleep. It was something that his other self didn't have. He silently whispered sorry before drowning in that sweet thing called sleep.