CHAPTER FOUR: SMITTEN
"I hope I haven't been too much trouble," Sora said, handing Li a mug of hot cocoa.
"Not at all," Li assured her, accepting the mug. He took a sip of the cocoa and smiled. "Very good." Sora sat down beside him on the floor. She huddled next to Li, draping a large quilt over the two of them.
"So why aren't you going to sleep again?" Sora asked. Hei was worried about the Contractors. But Li would have to lie.
"Just to make sure you're okay," he replied casually. "Besides, I'm not very sleepy. I'll just watch a little television." He could see the apprehension building in Sora's eyes. Their blue hue usually sparkled in the sunlight, but within the despair of her now dreary apartment they had lost their luster.
"Oh,"
"You don't have to worry. I'm right here."
"It's not that," Sora insisted. "I mean, you just have to wonder what that poor man went through! They were talking about electrocution on the news earlier, but his arm was broken and there were fractured-" Li held a finger to her lips.
"Try not to think about it," he told Sora in a comforting whisper.
"I just can't get that image out of my head." Li set his mug down on the coffee table, which had been moved so that Li would have a space to sleep in the living room, and coaxed Sora into his arms. She cried against his chest for what Hei assumed to be a half-hour.
Hei had never foreseen this turn of events. The defense of his life and the execution of his duties had propelled Sora into his arms. In the process Hei had learned something new: Sora had no family in the city, perhaps not at all. She could have been ostracized. Also, a menace was after Sora as well. But with each thing Hei learned came a series of unanswered questions. Sora suddenly sat up, startling Hei from his trail of thought.
"I'm going to try to get some sleep," Sora announced. "Let me know if you need anything."
"Likewise," Li said. Sora went off to her bedroom.
Li turned on the news, curious to learn just what people thought of the dead Contractor in the alley. Sora had been right; the pictures were awfully candid. The body had been decomposing in the open air for hours before Sora had found it and called 911. It seemed rather scandalous for something so tragic. Then something caught Hei's attention. The newscast had interviewed Misaki Kirihara.
"It's hard to say what exactly has happened here," she said. "But we can easily rule out a tumble down the stairs. Evidence has led us to believe that this man was electrocuted, though we can't determine the method used or who might have done it. The murderer was careful to leave nothing behind." It was obvious to Hei that Misaki knew the truth. She couldn't possibly say that a Contractor with the Messier Code BK-201 had channeled electricity through his fingers. It meant he would have to keep a low profile for a while. If he could avoid using his powers he would. He couldn't let Misaki blow his cover, not while he was doing so well, and not while he had nothing to bring Huang.
Roughly twenty minutes after Sora had left for bed she returned with tears in her eyes, though they were heavy from exhaustion. She was clutching a green blanket to her large chest, and even her footsteps were heavy. Li quickly changed the channel to a late-night talk show so as not to upset Sora further.
"Can I sleep out here with you?" Sora asked. "You can still watch TV...I just want to be closer..." She was embarrassed to be acting so childish.
"How could I say no to a beautiful girl like you?" Sora sat down beside him a let out a half-hearted giggle.
"Thank you," she mumbled. She spread the second blanket over the quilt she had given Li earlier. "I thought we could use the extra blanket; I keep it cold in here." Li said nothing. Sora got under the quilt beside him and huddled close. Li decided to turn off the television and lights, set up his pillows, and then snuggled up against Sora, silently enjoying the feeling of her body pressed up against his. He draped an arm over her body, and Sora grabbed hold of his hand and held it tightly. They fell asleep.
The next morning Sora woke up without Li...and the thought petrified her. She instantly missed his warm embrace, but also couldn't stand to be home alone. She got up slowly and checked the bedroom and bathroom, but he wasn't there. He had left. Sora returned to the living room and picked up her cell phone when the front door opened and Li entered the room. He was carrying five bags of take out, and he blushed at the sight of Sora's confused face.
"Isn't it a little early for take out? How about some eggs?" Sora asked, rubbing her eyes. Li set all the food on the table and winked at her.
"You don't know what time it is, do you?" he asked. Sora glanced up at the clock for the first time and gasped.
"One-thirty! How could you let me sleep that late?" she demanded. Li handed her a plate of food.
"You were exhausted. You'd had a rough night and I didn't want to bother you, okay?" he said defensively. They both sat down to eat.
"Last night was pretty special," Li muttered after moments of silence passed. Sora blushed.
"Oh...yeah," she mumbled, embarrassed. Li was blushing as well. It seemed to be a constant thing for the two of them. But something in Sora just struck Hei like a hammer.
Sora's long, black hair was disheveled from sleep, her blue eyes containing a joy they hadn't that night. Needless to say, she was a beautiful girl even when she was down. And she was funny, sweet, and easy to talk to. But greatest of all, she was mysterious, an alluring quality in anyone, though she did it best. Hei couldn't say he was falling in love; no, that would have been abrupt. But he knew he was smitten. He really liked her. He shouldn't, not as a Contractor, but he couldn't help himself. Sora made it so easy to care for her and to want her.
"What are you doing tomorrow?" Li asked excitedly. He should have toned it down, but he was overwhelmed with joy after waking up with her in his arms.
"I have class in the morning," Sora replied. "Why?"
"Let's go take that trip I was talking about," Li suggested. "You owe me anyway. The view is spectacular, and it might even take your mind off of the murder." Sora poked at her rice idly with her chopsticks for a while before replying.
"Do you think we're moving too fast? I mean, we hardly know anything about each other." Sora said, biting her lip. "I shouldn't have called you here or made you feel-"
"Sora, stop. I'm happy that you called me. I want to be with you." Li said. He hadn't realized how that had come out until Sora's face lit up tentatively.
"You mean it?" she asked. Li looked down at his plate. What have I done? Hei thought to himself frantically. Huang won't like this at all. And why should he? This is a mess. This is a sloppiest job I've ever done. But if I correct myself now we'll both be humiliated. What do I do?
At last Li said, "Yes, I mean it," In some respects it was the truth. "What do you say?" Sora stood up and crossed over to Li's side of the table. She sat down in his lap and looked into his eyes purposefully.
"Let's not make it official yet," she said. "We should slow down. But that doesn't mean I don't like you, Li. In fact, I'm crazy about you. Which is why I don't want to mess this up." Li smiled.
"I understand, and I'm okay with it."
"But about tomorrow....It would be great to get away," Sora replied.
"Did you bring home any presents?" Huang asked sarcastically as Hei slowly made his way down the alley they were meeting in. Hei didn't respond. Huang was probably never going to let the incident go, not as long as he remembered. Mao leapt down from a tree branch and approached Hei.
"So Sora found the Contractor you killed?" he asked. "What did she say about it?"
"Didn't you see the news?" Hei asked, leaning against the brick wall.
"Of course, but we need to know why Sora called you," Huang replied.
"She didn't suspect me of killing him, if that's what you're asking," Hei replied. "She couldn't sleep; she was scared."
"Oh, and you just comforted her all night long?" Huang's eyes narrowed accusingly.
"She just didn't want to be alone in her apartment. I slept on the living room floor." Hei had left out the part about cuddling with Sora the entire night and his poor choice of words intentionally. He didn't need Huang to overreact.
"So she doesn't have any family?" Huang asked. Hei shrugged.
"I guess not. But I still haven't gotten much out of her."
"This is taking too long. We have absolutely nothing!" Huang snapped. "Hei, I know I told you this would take longer than usual. But I didn't expect that we'd have absolutely zero information after a week-and-a-half of undercover work." Hei repositioned himself on the wall, kicking away a scrap of unsightly garbage.
"We're going on a trip tomorrow," Hei said. "I need a car."
"The Syndicate can get you one. Where are you going?" Mao asked.
"She's going to paint something for me," Hei said. "There a spot outside of the city filled with cherry blossoms."
"There are cherry blossoms everywhere," Huang said.
"Paintings," Yin said again. This time they all ignored her.
"But I like that spot," Hei said firmly. "I need a car."
"Something good better come out of this," Huang said, grumbling. Mao remained silent, but he had noticed something different in Hei.
A/N: Sorry this one was much shorter than usual, but I didn't want too many things happening in this chapter all at once. Hope you enjoyed it!