Darker than Black: Shinigami No Owari

Chapter One - Behind The Mask (Part III)

Taniguchi's face immediately pales. He merely stares at me, unmoving, before deciding to try and turn to catch a glimpse of whatever it is that I'm looking at.

"Turn back around!" I command, grasping his forearm. The boy immediately complies, and sweat begins to fall from his brow.

As I watch the two strangers, one, who is somewhat underweight in appearance, looks directly at me for a second, then shifts his gaze to the window, and comments on how it seems a storm is brewing. The other, larger than his slim counterpart, sits himself on a stool beside the counter and calls someone over. A teenage girl wearing a cap answers him. As soon as she enters my vision, one thing is clear: She's as lazy as I am hungry. She idly rests her elbow on the counter and slouches over, blowing bubblegum while taking the man's order. Understandably, he starts to grow frustrated with this, and eventually slams his hand down on the counter's surface. Instantly, the girl runs to the kitchen, letting the cook know their customer's request.

"What…what should we do, Hei?" Someone says, bringing me back to reality. Taniguchi.

Rather than answering at that moment, I become distracted by the other goings-on in the diner, once again. The girl who is serving timidly places a large plate of chips before the large, suspicious man. He sighs, irritated, and asks for something else. The girl bends down, disappearing behind the counter, before she shoots back up with salt and vinegar. The man snatches them from her, and messily throws the entirety of both the solid and liquid onto his meal. Strangely, minutes pass, and the man doesn't lay a finger on the now damp and cold chips.

Then, I notice something else; something I have missed until just now. The scrawny man, now also sat at the counter, has been eating ice cubes for a good while now.

Definitely Contractors…

A shaking Taniguchi catches my eye, and I feel it necessary to finally answer his question.

"Go to the bathroom." I order him, which earns me a curious look.

Then, the lights in the diner begin to flicker, eventually turning off. Taniguchi, as well as everyone else, starts to look up curiously. The chef, who's still out of sight, shouts something about it being to do with the coming storm.

"B-b-b-but…why?" Taniguchi eventually asks, stumbling as he does so, similar to how he had been doing before.

Giving him a glare, I answer, "Just do it."

With that, Taniguchi gets up and tiptoes to the bathroom. Not a second passes before the large man begins to follow, and tells his partner to wait where he is.

As the colossus of a man walks past me, I strike. Kicking my foot out, I trip the large man, causing him to land on his face. Then, his cohort rises, going to grab something from his inside pocket. I quickly grasp the fork I had been using, and launch it at his hand. Upon impact, the Gollum-esque man cries out in pain. By now, the bigger man has risen to his feet behind me, and I'm suddenly trapped by his huge arms, being crushed with agonising pressure. Without a doubt, his strength is greater than mine, but something else is happening. I feel a stinging sensation around where he has a hold of me. Then, it begins to burn.

Feels like…as though it's…acid…!

Thinking up a tactic, I kick one of his feet wide, which makes his head come down to my level. I throw my own head back, connecting with his face. With that, I manage to break free and, upon examining the damage done, see that areas of my shirt have almost entirely been burnt through, with some of my skin joining it! Hastily, I boot the side of his kneecap, and hear a loud crack on contact. The man falls to his knees and screams, but not for long as, without a moments hesitation, I grasp both sides of his skull and twist, breaking his neck. Then, he falls to the floor, lifeless. I quickly search around me for the other assailant, but he's gone. A scream can suddenly be heard coming from the bathroom.

Taniguchi!

With Taniguchi, he's locked himself inside a cubicle, with the lanky man trying to get inside, taunting the boy as he does so.

"C'mon! I don't bite! I just wanna get a look at your insides, that's all!" The man cackles, continuing to throw himself into the cubicle door. Just as he's about the break in, Taniguchi places himself against the entrance, using his own weight to keep the psycho out. Before long, the man realizes that he has no hope of getting past this 'blockade', and decides to act unfairly.

Placing his palm on the door, small flames surround his hand, from the end of his wrist to the tips of his fingers. This eventually creates a hole in the door and, upon seeing it, Taniguchi jumps back with a scream, landing on the toilet seat.

Then, the man puts his face to the hole and grins sadistically. "Here's Johnny!"

Taniguchi begins to cry from fright, while the lunatic starts to laugh manically. But his small, unneeded 'celebration' is short lived, as he is pulled from the door and launched into a mirror opposite the cubicle. Before he can say or do anything else, I wrap my shirt around his throat and hold it tight with one hand, while the other turns on the tap of the sink. Finally, I shove his head into the rising water and wait. He'll drown or suffocate. Either way, Taniguchi will be safe and I can get some real answers. I could use my ability, but that would be too quick for this scumbag…

When the madman becomes limp, I let his body fall to the floor and turn my attention to Taniguchi. The boy peeks from around the cubicle door, understandably shaken up by what had just taken place.

"You…alright?" I ask between breaths. He simply nods in reply. "Good…good. Let's get out of here. Come with me."

"Wh-wh-what about…the bodies…?" He stutters.

"No one cares."

"The…t-the cameras…? The evi-vi-vi-vi-evidence?"

Thankfully, it wasn't the storm that powered this place down earlier, but myself. "Taken care of."

As we're about to leave the bathroom, Taniguchi asks, "And…the…the witnesses…?"

Turning to look him in the eye, I mutter, "Maybe I should deal with them. Thanks for making me aware, Tani-"

"NO!" The boy shouts loudly, clenching his teeth. "You-you-you can't! They're inno-!"

"That was a joke." I say, interrupting him this time, before I continue to make my leave. "We'll be leaving tonight, so it won't matter."

Taniguchi starts to follow me. "W…w-w-w-w…we?"

It doesn't take long for us to get to my apartment., but I must admit, after that horrible nightmare, I'm rather nervous about setting foot in the place.

As I open the door, Taniguchi and I are greeted by the sight of a short, dark corridor which, at the end, opens up into a small living space. To the right of this is the kitchen, with the rooms separated by a worktop alone.

I check everywhere for anything being bugged or possible threats lurking around corners. Fortunately, I find nothing. Returning to Taniguchi, I see that he's sat, rather uncomfortably, on my sofa. I decide to plant myself in the armchair next to it.

There's a good, long silence for a while. Taniguchi is, undoubtedly, trying to force the horrific images and experience from his mind. I, on the other hand, am trying to figure out where we can go; what we can do. Sadly, however, my results are blank.

There's nowhere I can go. No one I can turn to. I'm no better off than this kid!

"Tell me why you were sent here." I say, plainly. Taniguchi looks at me, as if bewildered. "No change of subject, no pausing and certainly no stuttering. You've not only risked your life but mine also by coming here, looking for me. Now…" Shooting him a stern glare, Taniguchi sits up straight. "Talk."

"I…I-I-I don't know where to b-b-b-b-begin…" He takes another look at me, and sees my expression hasn't changed. "Oh! S-s-sorry…no stut-stu-stutt-stutter-stuttering…" The boy laughs nervously, before he takes a deep breath and starts to answer my question. "Izanami…or Kagu-Tsuchi, as they're called now…sent me here to warn you and-Ah wait! It's probably best I say how he found me, hmm?"

The kid seems to be fishing for a reply. I give him none. "You…you see…I'm a hacker. A major hacker. It's where my skills lie…my calling. When I was six, I was already looking into Pandora's old files. My father…he was a researcher for them, so I'd scour his computer system for anything of interest. There were so many things! But…you were also one of them…a file on the computer…BK201. For years after that, I tried to find any trace of you. I could hack almost any system! I knew about the Syndicate…about Izanami…I knew it all! I kept my mouth shut. I didn't say anything. But I continued looking for you. Guess you could say I'm a fan boy, or something like that."

He pauses, and his eyes fall to the floor. "When…when my father died, I became a shut-in. I dedicated my time searching for you and the secrets surrounding you…it's all a pathetic, nerdy person like me had left. Somehow, someway…Kagu-Tsuchi found me. Well, not him personally. He sent someone else… a man named…gah! What was his name again? Erm…oh! He called himself Shikome! He said he was looking for you, but sent me…with all I'd learnt…to find you since, well, he couldn't. They didn't know where you were! He told me to mention Izanami, and deliver a message. There were others, but this…this Shikome…he was insane! He burnt down my home and threatened that, if I failed, he'd…he'd let his men…"

The boy trails off for a moment, but resumes to answering me in no time. "And so, alone and terrified, I set out to find you. I'm a hacker, you see…have I told you that already…? Well, modern-day's all about technology so, being a master in the art, I found you."

"Right…" I sigh, finding his whole explanation rather hard to take in. Then, I ask him another question. "What are you here to warn me about?"

Taniguchi thinks for a second, before he whispers, "That you…that we…all of us…are going to die."

….What?

"They said that it's all coming to an end. That we'll all die…unless…"

Wanting to know what it is so that I can avoid my demise, I spare him no time to ponder. "Unless what?"

"Unless you find something called the Amenonuhoko." Seeing that I'm about to quiz him further, he states, "I don't know what that is!"

I let myself sink into my chair, defeated.

How am I supposed to find something I know nothing about?

As if sensing my despair, Taniguchi says, "I…I know someone…a group that may be able to help us." Noticing that he's piqued my interest, the boy smiles. "They're called…well, they're the new…actually, they have nothing to do with…but…ah heck! There's a group, not the one you worked for, being called the 'Syndicate'."

And with that, I've already decided where I'll be heading. With the help of Taniguchi, it should be possible for me to find this new 'Syndicate'…

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

And part three is up! Hope you enjoyed it! That's the end of the first chapter, and it's time to move on with the story. The next chapter won't arrive until this upcoming weekend, due to me having to study and the like. Anyhow, in chapter two, Hei will finally meet up with Misaki Kirihara and the 'new' Syndicate. So, keep an eye out for it next weekend!

Thanks for reading!