Author's Note: I promise there will be more Hei next chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 7- Truth Exists Within The Lie
Tokyo was blanketed with snow as more continued to fall down from the cloudy skies. On one of the snow-covered streets, a father and his young daughter trudged through the snow, hand-in-hand. The daughter watched the snow fall cheerfully, a large smile spread across her face.
"Papa? Where does snow come from?" she asked innocently, giving her father a bright smile. The father chuckled and looked up at the sky.
"Snow is frozen water that grows to heavy inside clouds, and so they fall," he explained and the daughter stared at the clouds in amazement. Happily, she stuck her tongue out to catch one snowflake, and giggled as it was cold. The father smiled to his daughter as she tried to catch more snowflakes with her tongue.
"Hmm, should we have snow for dinner then?" the father asked jokingly, and the daughter giggled happily.
"No, Papa! I want to eat Mama's cooking!" she said while raising her arms above her head, still holding onto her father's hand. The father chuckled and look down at his daughter.
"You sure love Mama's cooking."
"Of course! I love Mama's cooking and Mama! Oh, I also love Papa and Nii-san! And snow!" she said gleefully. Her father smiled more at that.
"You sure have a big heart to love so much," he said, which made his daughter's cheek flush a little in embarrassment. The two continued down the street as the falling snow lessened. The daughter let go of her father's hand to happily twirl around in the snow. The father watched calmly as she giggled in enjoyment.
"I love everything!" she shouted happily. At that moment, a loud screech cried out from down the road. The daughter turned her head just as a car had slid on ice and swerved towards her. The following crash echoed throughout the neighborhood as the father had fallen onto his back from the shock. The father quickly opened his eyes and stared in utter shock at his daughter's body that lay on the reddening snow.
"JEANNE!"
Huang grunted softly as he peeked out of the window as another police cruiser rode by the run-down building they were in. He turned to look back into the room where Mao was seated on a footrest.
"You sure they can't find us here?" Huang asked and got a sigh in response from the fridge in the corner.
"I told you, they can't find this place, and that's the truth," Laharl stated, straightening himself up before swinging the fridge door closed with a bottle of soda in his hand. Huang scowled and sat down on the chair next to the footrest.
"Hei is still with Yin?" he asked and Mao nodded slowly while glancing to the closed door on the far side of the room. Laharl popped the bottle open and took a gulp before sighing happily.
"Don't worry, the doll won't die. I may not have been able to heal her immediately, but with basic medical knowledge and my ability, she'll be fine," Laharl said with a chuckle. Huang and Mao looked at Laharl before Mao spoke up.
"You still haven't explained that ability of yours or why you're helping us," he said, raising a suspicious eyebrow to Laharl. Laharl finished his bottle and twirled it on the tip of his finger.
"Fuuuh, fine. I'll answer your questions on one condition."
"Condition?" Mao wondered and Laharl nodded curtly.
"The condition is that you assist me in my employer's plan," he stated with a smirk. Huang groaned softly as he painfully leaned back in his chair, the bandages covering parts of him slipping slightly.
"Who's this employer of yours?" Huang asked and Laharl smiled.
"Ophiuchus." Just then, the door leading to the hallway opened, causing Mao and Huang to jolt a bit until they saw it was just Jeanne entering. Jeanne silently gave the two a small nod before brushing the snow off of her. Laharl looked over to her, his smile gone as he stared at her. "Enjoying the snow?"
"... I hate snow," Jeanne said softly. Laharl closed his eyes for a moment as Jeanne opened the door next to the one that Hei and Yin were behind. She closed the door behind her, and Laharl opened his eyes slowly to look back at Mao and Huang.
"Anyway, my employer is called Ophiuchus. That's all I know," he stated and placed the empty soda bottle onto the table between them. Mao slowly nodded while Laharl rubbed the bridge of his nose silently.
"And what exactly is this Ophiuchus' plan?" Huang asked. Laharl stared at the bottle silently before replying with, "dunno".
Mao and Huang glanced to each other while Laharl leaned back in his chair and kept rubbing the bridge of his nose as if irritated by something. The three remained silent for a moment before Laharl's mouth opened slightly.
"My ability... is Fictional Reality Replacement. In easier terms, it means I can give truth to lies," Laharl stated, making both Huang and Mao perk up in surprise.
"Seems like a pretty powerful ability."
"It isn't actually. It comes with conditions and quirks that put obeisance to shame. Firstly, I cannot give truth to lies that are not possible. Such as mythical creatures and gods. I can't go saying that a dragon burst into this room from the ceiling, and then expect it to happen because dragons don't exist. Secondly, if I speak a lie that involves a living object, I must have had physical contact with said object first," Laharl stated while holding two fingers up as he stopped rubbing his nose.
"Is that all?" Huang asked and Laharl shook his head slightly.
"If I speak a lie involving a contractor, I must have first ingested a part of that contractor, whether it be hair or blood. In addition, all contractor abilities I gain access to also come with their own obeisance. For example, if I were to want to use the ability to teleport, I must pay the obeisance for that ability in addition to my own," Laharl stated calmly. "Those are the three conditions to my ability, but that isn't everything."
Mao and Huang silently listened as Laharl poked the soda bottle once. Laharl's eyes glowed red and the soda bottle had suddenly become full again. Mao and Huang flinched at the suddenness as Laharl took a nail out of his pocket and brutally impaled his arm with it. Laharl gritted his teeth as he pulled the nail out and flung it away as Mao and Huang watched. Laharl placed his hand over the bleeding hole in his arm before his eyes glowed once more and the hole closed up. After that, Laharl grabbed the now full bottle of soda and quickly drank all of its contents before choking and coughing roughly.
"Ha... see? This ability of mine may be useful, but the prices are a bitch," he muttered painfully. Mao eyed the bloody nail over by the wall and then looked back at Laharl.
"So I take it you became MI-6 agent December with that ability?" Mao wondered and Laharl nodded.
"I had Jeanne join MI-6 as February for about a year before I killed December and took his place right before being called in to Tokyo. From there, I had to locate BK-201, or rather Hei, and get him into action by using the photos of Izanami and the observation spectre as bait-"
"Why Hei?" Mao asked, cutting into Laharl's explanation. Laharl paused to look at the cat.
"Because my employer told me his power is necessary for my job. Awakening his doll was just a way of making sure he did what we wanted. After all, dangle cheese in front of a mouse and it'll try to get it no matter what," Laharl stated while rubbing his throat in pain. Mao nodded slowly and glanced to the doors.
"And you want us to help you with this plan?" Huang asked gruffly. Laharl nodded once before Huang jumped to his feet. "Don't bullshit with me! Why should we help you?"
"Sit down, Kiyoshi." Huang's eyes widened in surprise as Laharl stared at the floor with a frown. "If you don't, those wounds are going to open like they did when you returned to the hospital after giving Hei the information about the guard check."
"How did you..."
"You never thought it was strange? That the doctor who watched over you just happened to also be selected to examine the guards at the Gate? That you had just happened to overhear the conversation?" Laharl asked icily, which made Huang fall back onto his chair.
"That was you."
"Naturally. I need some way to get the guard check info to Hei, and you were perfect," Laharl explained. Mao and glanced to Huang and then to Laharl before narrowing his eyes.
"You haven't given us a reason to help you," Mao stated, and Laharl scratched his head slowly. Huang and Mao stared at Laharl until he spoke.
"Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year. And on that day..." Laharl trailed off as his face had become paler. Mao and Huang looked at Laharl in confusion until Laharl stared at the two of them. "Tomorrow, Izanami regains all of his lost powers. And if he does become complete again, everyone in this world will die by New Year's Eve."
Inside the room behind the closed door, Hei sat silently next to the bed that Yin lay in. Hei's eyes were fixed onto the bandages on Yin's side and left arm. His brow furrowed as he continued to stare at them. Suddenly, Yin's finger twitched, and Hei looked to her face to see her eyes slowly open.
"Yin..." Hei said softly and Yin stared at the ceiling before raising her hand slowly and placed it onto Hei's. Hei held onto her hand and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hei." Hei glanced to Yin's face as she continued to stare at the ceiling.
"What is it?"
"He's calling to me," Yin spoke quietly. Hei's hand twitched as he stared at Yin silently, his teeth slowly gritting themselves. Hei tugged on Yin's arm to pull her to a sitting position before holding her tightly against him.
"Hei?" Yin wondered quietly as Hei put his hand on her head.
"I won't let you go again," Hei whispered softly in Yin's ear. Yin nodded slowly and closed her eyes as she rested her head against Hei's chest. As she did that, Hei glared at the wall silently. "I'll never let him use you again..."
The door opened, making Mao and Huang look over to see Hei step out of the room, his glare still in his eyes. Laharl didn't need to look as Hei walked over to him and glared at the boy's head.
"Where is he?" Hei asked angrily, and Laharl finally glanced back calmly to Hei.
"Are you agreeing to help me?" Laharl wondered and Hei nodded once.
"I'll kill him permanently this time."