Darker than Black: A Heart is not Black
Chapter Eleven: I don't want him to leave me
The man named Li is dead, Misaki remembered Li saying.
His words haunted her, as she drove towards his apartment. It hurt more than someone stabbing a knife in her heart. She remembered the first time she had met him, the night they had introduced each other in a toilet stall, and him saving her from Alice and Wei. Her mind reminisced of the times they had eaten together, and her staying at his place. Misaki frowned, as she figured Li had purposely pulled the trigger on November Eleven, but she couldn't keep a smile off her face. She wondered why he didn't put a bullet between his eyes.
Touching her fingertips to her lips, her mind reminded her of the kiss they had shared, and how warm and intoxicating it had felt. Her heart swelled with delight that he still remembered their moment, but she wondered if Li felt the way she did with him. He was a contractor, and contractors were known to be deceivers. In addition, if all of it was a lie, why did she still have these feelings for him?
Suddenly Misaki recalled how much Li missed his sister. She could tell he was upset about her death, but she wanted to know why he felt relieved that she had passed away. Then she remembered something Dr. Schrader had said.
Back then the messier code BK-201 belonged to a woman.
Li's sister must have been BK-201, and that was why Li had said a part of him felt relieved. Somehow, his sister transferred her powers into him, but how? All she knew was that he was no ordinary contractor. No other contractor would have such strong feelings for a loved one, or risk his life to save millions of humans and contractors.
She started thinking about the countless times he had saved her. Twice at Alice's party, the incident with LR-924 at her apartment, and the time he was sent to kill her, but he couldn't. She laughed slightly at the irony that she had stayed with the man who had been sent to kill her. He also saved her at the warehouse and recently when Hourai had tried to kill her. It made her believe that his feelings towards her were real and wondered if he had chosen for contractors and humans to live together, so that he could be with her.
Pulling up to his apartment complex, Misaki stepped from her car and walked towards the office to knock on the door. Seconds later she was greeted by Li's landlady.
"Eh? What is it that you want?" she asked. Misaki was about to ask if Li was around, but the old lady cut her off. "I told you already I'm not interested in a tombstone! I'm perfectly healthy, thank you!"
"Eh, I'm not here for that," said Misaki, as she waved her hands back and forth franticly.
"If you're the repair man here to fix my television, you're a year too late."
"I'm not…"
"Wait a minute! You're the police woman who helped me with that blasted cat!"
Misaki cringed from the landlady's comment. She was going to give her a scolding for not getting Animal Control to take care of the black cat that was loitering around her place. Unexpectedly, the landlady's face shined with delight, grabbed Misaki's right hand, and shook it dramatically.
"Thank you so much for getting rid of that black cat for me!" chimed the landlady. Misaki blinked at her dumbfounded. "I haven't seen that thing around for two weeks now!"
Misaki blinked at her baffled. A few second later she smiled, "Eh, I was wondering if I could speak with Li, if he's in."
"Li?" questioned the landlady, letting go of Misaki's hands. "I'm sorry to give you bad news, but Li had to go back to China."
"Eh?" Misaki wasn't shocked by the news, but she was still heart-broken from it. "Can I see his room, if nobody else had taken it yet?"
"Why? He didn't do anything wrong that made immigrations deport him, did he?"
"No, I left something behind when I stayed with him a few months back. I was wondering if I could see if it's still there."
"Sure."
She grabbed her keys and walked out the office to escort Misaki upstairs.
"It was all so sudden. I can't imagine why they'd deport such a nice young man," commented the landlady, as she walked up the stairs to his room with Misaki behind her. She got to the door and began to open it. "There are so many bad Japanese people, you know."
Misaki entered Li's old apartment to see it was emptier than it had been. His futon she had laid on that night was nowhere in sight, his desk light left a circular imprint of dust on the table, and the sink seemed bare without a stack of dishes in it. Misaki didn't expect to see Li there, but she hoped to find a clue that might lead her to where he had disappeared. He wasn't only running from the Syndicate, but from her as well. She feared he thought she wanted him behind bars, but the truth is she didn't. Walking over to his balcony window, she looked out at the view. It would have been beautiful scenery if it weren't for Hell's Gate obstructing the view. Suddenly a green coat caught her attention and looked down to see Li walking across the bridge. Her heart racing with excitement, she hurried out of the apartment and ran down the stairs in hope of catching him. She had many questions, but she only wanted to hear the answer to one.
Did we choose the same path? Did we choose to coexist? she wanted to ask him.
As she ran down side streets, she caught him turning a corner. "Wait!"
I just want to ask him that. I want to hear him say it.
Turning another corner, she stopped in her tracks as she lost sight of him. Her heart began to ache.
I need to know if we have a chance to be together.
Misaki felt her phone ring, picked it up to see Saitou was calling, and answered, "What is it?"
"There was some contractor activity at Shinjuku Station."
"Got it. I'll be right there."
Before walking away, she glanced back down the street and smiled.
Hei was sitting on top of a brick wall concealed behind a tree while he watched Misaki walk back towards his old apartment. Knowing she hadn't come to arrest him, he wanted to embrace her in his arms, but felt it was best they should stay away from each other due to their situation. She was the Section Chief of the Foreign Affairs, and he was the most fearsome contractor wanted dead by his previous employers. He didn't want to involve her, knowing they may kill her too.
Spending most of the morning running away from the Syndicate, he thought it would be safer if he hid in his old apartment for a while, believing they wouldn't bother with the place, but he should've known Misaki might stop off for a visit.
Hei was pleased to see her again and wondered if her heart ached from falling in love with a contractor. Did she hate him for lying about being the Black Reaper? He hoped not.
xxx
Arriving at the station minutes later, Misaki walked past police cars and officers before noticing Saitou over at an ambulance. He was talking to a young short and thin girl with long brown hair tied back into a ponytail.
"Chief," Saitou called out for her to join him.
Misaki walked over to him, noticing injured people lying or sitting in the ambulances, as others were being escorted out of the station by medics.
"What happened, Saitou?" Misaki asked.
"It happened a few hours ago according to some of the witnesses," began Saitou. "There were men dressed in black suits who began to open fire here in the crowd. They injured a few dozen people, and many others are in critical condition."
"They were chasing the guy who decided to help me carry my bags down to the train," the young girl interrupted. "The two men walked up to him, yelled, 'Die traitor,' and fired at us. I could have been shot too if it weren't for the guy pushing me quickly out of the bullets' path. He then took off through the hallways with those suit men, and then I heard more gunfire and people screaming. I feared for the guy's life and hurried to go make sure he was all right. When I got to the end of the hallway, the two men were lying knocked out on the ground, and I saw the young man head up the stairs and out onto the streets."
"What did he look like?" Misaki asked.
"He was very cute," the girl blushed. "He had short black hair, a sharp face, smooth collar bones and beautiful blue eyes. The only thing I didn't like on him was his green coat."
"Li-kun," Misaki mumbled to herself.
"What was that, Chief?"
"Ah… n—nothing."
Saitou nodded and escorted Misaki away from the young lady.
"Chief, there's something else too."
"What?"
"When we arrived here the two young men weren't knocked out, but dead. They had been stabbed by what appeared to be many long needles, and the commuters that are in critical condition have the same type of wounds."
Misaki's eyes widened.
"The young girl didn't notice, but other commuters had said they saw a man glow blue, as his eyes turned red, and then him firing small needles at the green coat man."
"A contractor was after him?"
"It would seem, Chief, but it gets worse. The contractor didn't just fire at the green coat man, but also at his teammates. As the green coat man tried to run, many of the commuters were caught in the cross fire."
"Nani? He put them in danger?"
"I don't think he intended to since a witness had told me that the green coat man had demanded for him to stop shooting randomly. He even had said for them to take it outside on a rooftop so nobody else got hurt. However, the contractor had said, 'that's the price you get for crossing them.' It would seem the green coat man had worked for the same organization, and for some reason he ran from them."
Misaki was amazed at Saitou figuring out that he had worked for them, but she was happy to know he wasn't stupid.
"Did the young man appear to be a contractor too?" Misaki asked, hoping that Li hadn't used his powers in front of many people who could identify him to the police.
"No, there's no evidence that he is," replied Saitou.
"Is the young man still here?"
"No, and we don't know who he is. Kouno is checking the surveillance tapes to see if we can ID him, and hopefully get some answers about this group he betrayed."
"Good. Keep me informed," replied Misaki, and turned to head into the subway.
Seeing him at his apartment, Misaki knew Li was all right. It pleased her that he didn't use his power and she wouldn't have to worry about Kouno and Saitou putting the pieces together about BK-201. However, if he was on that tape, the person everybody knew as Li would be running from the Foreign Affairs, and she didn't want to slap her handcuffs on him again.
xxx
Wanting to get out of the neighborhood and get some rest, Hei walked down a busy street in Shinjuku towards another station. He was tired from running all day and not getting the chance to eat. Feeling something approach him, he dodged to his right quickly, as he saw some small and long needles fly by him, but a few struck his left shoulder and chest. He turned around to see the same contractor that was following him earlier, as he was hit by a half dozen more needles on his right leg. People around him were also struck, and the few people that weren't hit, screamed out in panic.
Hei cringed in pain but quickly took cover down an alley. He removed his green coat to toss it to the ground, reached into his jean pocket to pull out his black trench coat, and threw it on while still running. Turning around, he pulled out his wire to see the contractor had picked up his green coat. The contractor looked at it, and fired four-dozen needles from his hands to shred his jacket into pieces.
"That's what I'm going to do to you next, BK-201," he smiled. Hysterically laughing, he fired hundreds of little needles from his hands at Hei. "Die, traitor."
Hei covered his face with his arm quickly, as the needles hit his coat and fell to the ground. The contractor looked at Hei stunned. Burning with fury, he tried to shoot more needles at Hei, but Hei flung his wire at the contractor to wrap it around one of his arms and send a volt of electricity through the wire. The contractor shook violently and fell dead.
Taking off his trench coat, Hei flinched from the pain, unbuttoned his shirt to remove it and sat to lean sideways against the wall while gazing at his many wounds. He began to pull the needles out while biting down on his lips to keep from screaming. His blood spattered over his chest and back, as he cringed from the pain. Once he removed the last one, Hei ripped his pant leg with a needle and started yanking out more. Unable to tolerate the pain anymore, he cried out in agony.
After the needles were removed, he ripped off some fabric from his white shirt, and wrapped them around his wounds. He threw his blood stained and ripped shirt away, put his trench coat back on, and limped out of the alley to head down the busy streets.
His wounds were deep and he knew he had lost a lot of blood. Becoming fatigued, he bumped into people as he passed by them and wondered if he should go to a hospital, but figured the Syndicate would spot him there. He thought about taking the subway to his new hideout where Yin should be, but he didn't think he'd reach it. Thinking that his old apartment wasn't too far from here, he began walking down a back alley. Yin was probably keeping an eye on him, which he figured she would follow him there. He came up to the water canal that ran behind his old place, climbed down into it, and walked through the canal. Slowly losing consciousness, he tried to keep his body moving, but he instead passed out, and then fell to splash water around him.
xxx
Misaki was sitting on her couch in her apartment when her phone rang. She picked it up to see Saitou calling again, flipped it open, and asked, "What is it Saitou?"
"Chief, BK-201 was active in Shinjuku," informed Saitou. "I'm heading over there right now."
"BK-201 was in Shinjuku?"
"Hai, it appears he was fighting the contractor that had chased the man in the green coat back at the station earlier today. It appears BK-201 killed him since his star fell from the sky. It's possible the man in the green might be BK-201."
Misaki's eyes widened in surprise at Saitou's hunch, and wondered how a big dolt like him could guess that about Li.
"Really? Did Kouno find out anything from the surveillance cameras?" she asked, fearing the answer.
"Unfortunately no," replied Saitou. "It seems this Syndicate organization had gotten their hands on the videos first and destroyed all the evidence."
"Still hiding their tracks," Misaki mumbled to herself.
"What was that, Chief?"
"Ah, nothing. I'll be there shortly," replied Misaki.
Misaki stood from her couch, grabbed her coat and purse, and left her apartment.
Misaki parked a little ways down from the scene, exited her car, and walked over to the station entrance. She stopped as she noticed a young girl with long silver hair and a black gothic dress standing amongst the crowd. Misaki recognized her from the park where she had met Li at a couple times. She also noticed the girl seemed to be in a slight daze.
Misaki walked up to her, and asked, "Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you?'
She thought maybe the silver-haired girl might have witnessed the events, and she was about to ask her what had happened.
"Please, he's hurt," indicated the young girl before Misaki could ask her another question. "Please help him."
Misaki looked at the young girl stunned and was about to ask who was hurt, but the young girl grabbed her arm, and led her to her car. She stopped the girl in her tracks and stared into her eyes.
"What's this all about?" she inquired. "Who's hurt and where?"
"I can't tell you who in front of everyone else. I only trust you to help him. Please, he needs your help. If you don't he might die and leave me. I don't want him to leave me."
Misaki looked at her baffled. The way she stood and acted seemed like a Doll, but her feelings for this person were far from it. She nodded her head and gestured for the young girl to get in the passenger seat, as she sat behind the wheel.
"Please hurry," she said, pointing her finger straight ahead.
The young girl led her down a few blocks from the incident, told her to make a left, followed by a right, and then asked her to stop. Misaki slammed on the brakes and pulled along side a canal. The girl and Misaki exited the car and walked over the edge. Misaki noticed a trail of blood leading into the canal, as the young girl led her into it. Noticing someone in a black coat lying in the water passed out, her eyes widened in shock and ran over to him.
"Li-kun!" she cried out.
Noticing a puddle of blood swarming around him, her insides turned that he might be dead, and placed her head on his heart. Seconds passed, as she heard nothing, causing her own heart to stop. Suddenly a faint pump sound echoed in her ear. Misaki let out a breath of relief, and pulled out her phone to dial 119, but the young girl stopped her.
"They will find him," she warned.
"But he lost a lot of blood, I need to take him to a hospital," cried Misaki.
The young girl stared at her worried, and informed her, "They're at the hospitals and they will kill him."
Misaki stared at the young girl flabbergasted. After thinking about what to do next, she made the young girl help her carry Li out of the canal and lay him on the ground.
"Please stay here with him," instructed Misaki. "I have an emergency kit in my car. Keep pressure on those wounds. I'll be right back."
After running to her car, Misaki grabbed the medical kit and some blankets out of it, and ran back to Li. Her police training taught her a few survival skills, which she hoped was enough to save him. She prayed a star didn't fall.
xxx
Later that evening, Misaki went to the middle of her room to pull up her rug and removed a floorboard with a knife. After setting the floorboard aside, she reached into the hole and pulled out a small box. She opened it to take out a smaller bag, closed the box to place it back in the hole, and put the floorboard back in place. Reentering her bedroom, she walked over to her bed where Li lay unconscious from loss of blood, and sat in a chair next to it, staring down at him.
He looked peaceful sleeping, but his breathing was still very faint. Her heart ached at the thought of almost losing him, and wondered how she would have handled his death. It had never crossed her mind before, and now she couldn't stop thinking about it. Misaki imagined Saitou giving her the news, and she pictured herself holding back her tears until she was alone in a bathroom stall.
Leaning forward, she softly kissed his lips while she took the small bag, placed it in his left hand, and wrapped his fingers around it.
Figuring the syndicate kept finding him with Dolls, Misaki hoped that by giving him the stone that Kara had asked her to protect, it would help give him sanctuary. She knew it would be difficult for her to find him if he disappeared again, but she hoped, once he woke up, he wouldn't run from her.
xxx
Bai and Hei lay on the ground while staring up together at the stars. Hei was surprised that his sister wanted to stargaze since she hadn't cared about them when she had become a contractor.
"Do you remember how we use to sit at the pond and watch the stars together?" Bai asked, surprising Hei even more.
She never had talked about their childhood either. Something was wrong, and Hei wondered what kind of tricks his sister was cooking up. He put the thought behind him, as he remembered stargazing with his little sister.
"Hai, I remember," he smiled.
"Do you remember what I wished for?"
"Hai."
He remembered she had wished to become a nurse. It was funny how she would become someone who takes lives as opposed to saving them.
"I wished for something else," she informed, looking back down from the sky and smiling at Hei.
Hei gazed over at her as he waited for her to finish.
"I wished to always be with you, Brother."
Hei looked astounded that his sister, a contractor, would say something so emotional.
Amber walked up to them. Bai's attention shifted over at her, as if she were going to ask a question. Amber seemed to reply with a nod.
"Hei," Amber began. "Could you go down to the lake and fill up our water bottles?"
Nodding in reply, Hei grabbed the water containers, and headed for the lake. It took him five minutes to walk there, fill up the containers, and head back to camp.
Once he returned, he noticed his sister and Amber were missing. He noticed Havoc sitting next to a fire and ran over to her.
"Carmine, where…"
Feeling something attack him from behind, he ducked and rolled on the ground. Quickly looking over his shoulder, he saw a knife lay where he had been standing and instantly rolled to his left, as another one was thrown at him. More blades were thrown from other directions and Hei was somehow able to dodge every single one. At the corner of his eye, he saw Havoc highlight in blue as her eyes turned red.
"Carmine, NO!" Hei screamed at her. "I can handle them. Don't use your powers."
Not wanting her to perform her horrible obeisance, he had asked her to refrain from using her powers. He knew where his opponents were hiding in the trees after they had thrown their blades at him. Tossing his cable line at one, he wrapped it around his body, and pulled him out of the tree to land hard on the ground knocking him out. The Reaper connected his wire onto a branch above another man, and swung towards him to throw a knife into his heart. Landing beside him, he pulled out his blade and pushed him off the tree, while the other one seemed to take cover behind another. Hei flung his wire onto a branch above the man, swung onto another branch below it, and looked down at the other man who tried to throw a knife at him. Dodging it, he threw a blade into the man's forehead, jumped out of the tree and went to retrieve his blade.
"Carmine, where'd my sister go?" he screamed, running over to her.
"She said she had a mission at the Gate," replied Havoc.
"She went there without me? If she uses her power, she will faint, and someone will take the opportunity to kill her."
"Don't worry, Hei. Amber is with her."
"I wouldn't worry about them," stated a man's voice behind Hei. "I already sent someone to take care of those two." Hei turned around to see another man dressed head to toe in black with long black hair pulled into a ponytail. "Very impressive, Black Reaper. I didn't expect you to survive that attack without BK-201. I guess waiting to attack while you guys were separated wasn't good enough, but I wonder how BK-201 will do without her brother there to protect her while fulfilling her payment?"
Charging at the man, Hei's anger rose as the man highlighted in blue and his eyes turned red. Hei's body was lifted off from the ground and thrown hard into a tree. He could feel something hitting him hard across the face, but he couldn't see anything. Grabbing his blade, he threw it at the contractor, but something hit his hand and knocked it out of his grip. After the Reaper dropped onto the ground, an invisible hand wrapped around his throat and began choking him.
Hei heard an explosion coming from the Gate, causing the ground to shake, as the grip from around his neck loosened. He took his wire to fling it around the contractor's neck, and pulled hard to strangle him. The contractor's face slowly turned blue, as he tried to loosen the wire around his neck, but was unsuccessful and passed out.
Hei released his hold on the contractor to let him fall onto the ground, and looked towards the gate.
"BAI, BAI!" Hei screamed out, as he ran at it. "BAI, where are you? BAI, BAI!"
He stopped in his tracks to see a bright white light heading towards him. When it hit him, he felt his body pass out and everything turn black.
Misaki heard screams coming from her bedroom as she went to go check on Li. When she got into the room, she could see him sweating heavily, and tossing and turning violently in her bed. She was surprised he didn't seem to be in pain from his injuries.
"Bai!" Li screamed out in his sleep. "Bai, where are you? Bai, Bai!"
Misaki watched him in shock, knowing he was having a nightmare, and wondered how it was possible a contractor could.
"Li-kun," she shouted, while shaking him to try to wake him. "Li-kun. Wake up, please. You're having a nightmare."
Li didn't respond to her plea. Wondering if Bai was his sister, she thought calling him Li wouldn't wake him up from that dream.
"H—Hei," she hesitated to say, as it sounded awkward coming from her lips. "Wake up, Hei."
Li stopped screaming as his body settled down, and his eyes started to open.
Hei could see an image of someone smiling and calling his name to wake up. To him it looked like his sister, but she never called him by his name.
"Hei, wake up, Hei," she called out to him again, reaching her hand toward him. He gladly took it as the person and the light disappeared.
His eyes began to open, but a bright light made him close them. He felt fatigued as he tried to sit up, but he didn't seem to have the strength, and dropped back onto the bed. A sweet scent of sakuras caught his attention while he wondered where he was. He slowly opened his eyes again, allowing them to adapt to the light. After staring at a ceiling for a few seconds, he leaned his head to his right to see a figure sitting in front of a brightly lit window.
"Where am I?" he asked.
"Somewhere safe," a female voice answered.
Recognizing it, he smiled to know she had come to his rescue this time. He tried to sit up again, but Misaki placed her hands on his bare chest, and gestured for him to lie back down.
"You lost a lot of blood, and you hit your head really hard. You still need to rest," she instructed.
"I can't stay here," replied Hei, trying to get up again. Misaki kept her hands on him to prevent him from doing anything irrational. "They'll find me here and then they'll kill you."
"Yin said they are nowhere around here, and if they do come, she'll alert you. For now, you need to rest."
Hei wanted her to let him go so she wouldn't be in any danger because of him, but felt something in his hand. Holding it up, he saw a small red bag in his hand. He didn't have to open it to know what the small item was in the bag. His mind began to rest at ease.
"Did Yin come to you for help?" he asked.
"Hai. You're lucky to have her. She's been worried about you. Apparently she cares about you deeply."
"I know. Where is she? Is she okay?"
"She told me to tell you she's staying with a friend, and not to worry."
Hei smiled and realized she must be staying with Kiko.
Misaki's doorbell rang, causing Hei to become jittery.
"If you'll excuse me," Misaki said, as she got up and left her bedroom.
Walking up to her door, Misaki looked through the peephole to see Kanami standing on the other side with a bag in her hand, and opened the door.
"What brings you by, Kanami?" Misaki asked, faking a cough.
"I was worried about you," responded Kanami, walking into her apartment. "I called up your office and they told me you have been sick for the past two days, so I brought you some of my family's home remedies for the flu."
Looking at Misaki, she dropped her bag on the ground, placed her hand on her head, and gave her a dirty look.
"You're not really sick, are you?" she guessed.
Misaki faked another cough. "Wh…What do… you mean…? Of course… I am."
"Misaki, I grew up with you. We used to try this on our parents and even got Alice to do it once."
Misaki sighed and then gave up her act.
"What's wrong?" Kanami asked concerned.
"Nothing."
"It's about Li-kun, isn't it?" Misaki stared at her and wondered why she would bring him up. "You're love sick."
Misaki stared at her friend flabbergasted, and then almost dropped to the floor if she didn't grab her door handle. She prayed Li didn't hear Kanami say that.
"You should go see him and tell him how you feel," continued Kanami.
"I can't," she replied, as she went to go sit down on her couch.
"Sure you can." Kanami sat next to Misaki. "Just run over to his apartment, knock on his door, and when he opens it say, 'I love you.'"
Misaki blushed. She wished her friend would zip her lips about Li since he was in the other room; in her bedroom, on her bed. If Kanami knew that one, she would never hear the end of it.
"I—I can't, Kanami," lied Misaki. She lowered her head and then softly said, "He—he was deported back to China."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Misaki. No wonder you're love sick," comforted Kanami, feeling terrible, but then looked up at Misaki and smiled. "Well, we should go on a trip to China then. I always wanted to see the Great Wall."
"Kanami, please."
"Well, you should at least go to work. It will take your mind off him."
Misaki sighed but then nodded in agreement.
"Oh, speaking of work, did Ootsuka tell you the tragic news?"
Misaki looked at her friend puzzled. "What news?"
"It happened two days ago. BK-201 died."
"Nani?" Misaki asked, trying to act surprised.
"Hai. According to our data, he was fighting another contractor, NS-719. BK-201 killed him, but after his fight, his star slowly started to fade, and then hours later it completely vanished."
"Vanished? It didn't fall?"
"It's not unusual for our data to miss the star actually fall, it's happened before. But if you look up at the sky, his star is missing."
Misaki looked toward the ground feeling relieved. She couldn't believe the stone actually worked. If everyone thought he was dead, he should be able to live a normal life, if the Syndicate doesn't spot him on the streets. He should move away from here, but she wanted him to stay here, which pleased her, but she knew Li would spend his life trying to take down the Syndicate.
Misaki felt a finger tap her forehead.
"Worrying again, Misaki," said Kanami. "You're going to get wrinkles."
Misaki looked up at her friend puzzled, but then smiled.
"I guess you'll never know the face behind the mask," continued Kanami. "But you don't have to worry about him anymore." Kanami headed for the door. "I'll be back later after work, and we'll spend some time together. And there's no way I'm taking no for an answer."
Watching Kanami leave her apartment, she sighed, knowing that when her friend said, "Let's spend some time together," it meant shopping. Kanami didn't know that she still had to worry about Li, and she didn't want to leave him in fear he wouldn't be here when she came back. She had brought him here not only to be safe, but she also wanted to be with him. Walking back into her bedroom, she saw Li had fallen asleep again. Misaki sat next to him and felt a little fatigued so she laid her head on his chest. It felt warm and peaceful to hear his heart beating, as she found herself falling asleep.
xxx
Two men dressed in gray business suits were talking together inside an office. A tall and thin man, who had short black hair, was standing in front of an office desk, as a short man with black hair sat in an office chair looking out a window at the Tokyo skyline. The tall man could only see the top of the short man's head.
"It appears NS-719 was useful after all," the tall man commented. "BK-201 is dead."
"Are you sure?" the short man asked.
"Hai, his star is gone."
"Are you sure he's dead and he didn't get a hold of the stone?"
"Yes, one of our men saw them fighting from the roof. NS-719 had injured BK-201 severely. He was able to follow him for a while and could see him slowly passing out from too much blood loss. He then noticed his star fading, and after a few hours, it completely vanished."
"It didn't fall?"
"It's possible that his star faded to almost nothing and we couldn't see it fall."
"That's weird."
"It's been known to happen before with other contractors."
"I still don't like it."
"Should I have someone check on Officer Kirihara and the stone?"
"No need to. I will take care of it. I don't want any of you around her anymore."
The taller man bowed in agreement and left the office.
xxx
Jumping up from a loud noise, startled, Misaki feared the Syndicate had found Li and went to go grab her gun out of her drawer. Hearing the noise again, her eyes widened in shock realizing it was coming from Li's stomach. She let out a sigh of relief and then smiled.
Even though he's the Black Reaper, he's still the same Li-kun, she thought. Exiting her bedroom, she entered her kitchen to find something for him to eat and grabbed a few ibuprofen to help him with the pain.
She returned to the bedroom moments later with a bowl of instant noodles, the pills, and water to see Li had awakened.
"Hungry?" she asked.
Li looked over at her and smiled.
Misaki set the noodles on her nightstand and helped Li sit up. He held his head and cringed in pain from a headache. She took a couple of pillows and stacked them behind him for support.
"This should help with the pain," she said, grabbing the ibuprofen.
She placed them in his mouth and held up the glass of water for him to drink. After he swallowed the pills, Misaki grabbed the noodles and started to feed him. A few bites later, he looked up at her puzzled.
"Why are you helping me?" he asked.
Misaki looked at him stunned while holding up some noodles by his mouth. She couldn't believe that he would even ask such a thing.
"You really don't know?" she asked, as Li opened his mouth to eat the noodles, but looked at Misaki confused. "Because I want to help you, Li-kun."
Li winced at her, but then looked toward his bowl of noodles depressed. "Didn't I tell you he was dead?"
Misaki could feel the knife stab her heart from hearing those words again. She tried to hold back her tears, but she felt one escape and run down her cheek.
"I don't believe you," she replied.
"There's no going back to that life for me. Li was a lie, Misaki."
Misaki stared at Li while taking in his words.
"Well, I guess if he was a lie, then that wasn't his stomach I just heard growl," replied Misaki, "and there's no need to feed someone who isn't here."
She set the noodles on her nightstand and crossed her arms looking heart-broken. Li stared at her flabbergasted as silence filled the room. Moments later, Li's stomach let out another loud growl.
Misaki's left eyelid twitched while her lip curled into a smirk, as she tried to hold back a chuckle, but she couldn't and started laughing. Li looked at her embarrassed, but then smiled at her, as she took the bowl to hold out for him to take. He went to grab it, but cringed in pain instead from the sudden movement. Misaki stopped laughing, and started feeding him again.
"Li's not dead," Misaki continued. "If he died, then I would have been killed by Hourai. The Black Reaper wouldn't care about saving a life, and he wouldn't stop from taking one. He also wouldn't care about saving millions of human lives."
Suddenly Misaki's doorbell rang.
"That's probably Kanami coming to pick me up to go shopping," she informed. "I'm sure those painkillers will help you a lot. If you feel you have the energy to leave, just signal Yin. She's been watching over you too."
Li looked at her stunned.
"Watching me?" he asked frantically. "I thought Dolls couldn't see anyone who held this stone. It doesn't work, does it? I need to get out of here." Li tried to sit up again, but Misaki held him down.
"It works, Li-kun. Kanami had told me that your star disappeared. They think your dead."
Li stared at her confused.
"My star disappeared?" he asked. "I thought it just prevented a doll from being able to find whoever held it."
"Kara didn't tell you?" Misaki questioned startled. "Not only can it prevent a doll from finding whoever carries it, it can hide a contractor's star."
Li stared at her baffled and then looked away from her, as he muttered, "That would explain why Mao's star disappeared." He looked back at her. "How is Yin able to see me then?"
"She cares for you deeply. It's almost as she sees you as an older brother, or even more. Maybe that bond is too strong for the stone to break."
Misaki's doorbell rang again, as Misaki left the room to greet Kanami at the door, and headed out shopping.
Hours later, she returned home with two bags of groceries, loaded with tons of food, and placed them on her kitchen counter. She walked into her bedroom to see Li was no longer in bed. She knew he would take the opportunity to leave while she was gone. Her heart sank into her stomach as a tear rolled down her face. Lying down on her bed, she lingered in his scent, longing to taste his sweet lips again, and wished he were still here cuddling and kissing her.
Feeling exhausted from shopping, she sat up to take off her glasses, set them on the nightstand, and pulled out her ponytail. She lay back as her eyes became heavy and fell into a deep sleep.
Hei felt relieved that he was able to make it to the bathroom thanks to Misaki leaving the bottle of ibuprofen on the nightstand. Ecstatic to see Misaki had a full bathtub, he slowly removed his clothes, cringing slightly from the pain, and tiredly stepped into it to wash away his stench from not bathing for two days. He stayed in the tub, making sure he didn't get his bandages wet.
After two hours of bathing, and feeling as if he had the strength, he slowly stood from the tub, grabbed a towel to dry his wet body, and dressed in the clothes that had been left for him on top of Misaki's dresser. He cringed in pain, and nearly fell over from trying to put on his black pants. He refrained from putting on the black t-shirt by leaving it on the counter and hoped after all his effort he would make it back into the bedroom without passing out. Exiting the bathroom, he carefully stepped down into the living room that was lit by the streetlights, and walked towards the bedroom while dragging his feet. He entered the bedroom, stepped over to the double bed, and then noticed Misaki asleep on it.
He frowned to himself, knowing he didn't have the energy to reach the bed Misaki had made herself on the couch. Sleeping on the floor would be to cold, and he didn't want to injure himself anymore. He slowly walked to the other side of the bed, as he used it for support, and almost collapsed. Crawling into bed, he pulled the covers over him, and lay on the edge of the bed, hoping she wouldn't mind.
Even though Hei was trying not to invade Misaki's space, her body was close to his due to the small size of the double bed. Hei started to have images of her waking up in the morning, startled by him next to her, and pushing him off. It was a bad idea.
Suddenly, Hei felt Misaki's arm wrap around his chest and leaned her head up against his. Turning onto his side, he gazed upon her to see she was still fast asleep, smiled at her beauty and fell asleep minutes later.
xxx
Misaki slowly woke up to feel her arm wrapped around something warm and her head against something firm and soft.
"Li-kun," she softly said to herself, as she smiled and cuddled up tightly with him.
Li-kun? Misaki finally realized, startling herself as she opened her eyes to see he was lying next to her. He was sound asleep and at peace compared to the previous nights. She was pleased to see he hadn't left her, but she wondered how she ended up in bed with him. Misaki swore Li wasn't lying in the bed when she got home, or had her shopping with Kanami made her too exhausted to where she couldn't see clearly.
Misaki didn't want to, but she had to use the toilet, and slowly pulled away from him, trying not to wake him. As she got free, his head fell to where his lips had almost touched hers, making her want to close the small gap and kiss him. Not able to resist, she softly kissed his lips so not to wake him, slowly pulled away from him while gently resting his head on a pillow, and stood from the bed. Smiling, she watched Li sleeping for a while, before she turned around and left the room.
Hei woke up from the sunshine coming through the window. He was amazed at how peaceful it was for him to sleep last night, remembering he hadn't slept like that since before the gates appeared. He smelt something burning, and worried the building was on fire. Sitting up quickly, he stood from the bed, still feeling fatigued, but he didn't want to be caught in a blaze. He cringed from the headache, as he stood up, and dragged his body over to the door to see smoke coming through the cracks.
"Misaki," he muttered to himself. Hei checked the doorknob to make sure it wasn't hot, and quickly busted the door open. "Misaki!"
Hei looked at her made bed to see she wasn't occupying it, but then he noticed her standing by her stove with an apron on and a spatula in her hand. Misaki was waving at the smoke around her and coughing heavily from breathing it in.
"I thought you might be hungry," she smiled.
Hei looked at her stunned, but then started laughing hard, making him flinch from the pain.
Misaki looked at him upset that he was laughing at her. However, she started to giggle as well, but it turned into a cough from her inhaling too much smoke. She turned the stove off and walked down into her living room still coughing.
Hei walked over to the balcony, opened it to let out the smoke, and gestured Misaki to get some air too. Stepping onto it, she leaned over the rail coughing, while he held his hands on her back and shoulder. After a minute of breathing in fresh air, she stopped.
"Are you all right?" he asked her, looking concerned.
"Hai, I'm fine," she replied, turning around.
Hei smiled, "Why don't I make you some breakfast?"
Misaki looked at him to see he still looked fatigued and hurt.
"Li-kun, your injuries…" she began.
"I'm fine," he interrupted her. "I was able to get a lot of rest last night. I feel a lot better than I ever have, thanks to you."
Misaki blushed.
They waited for the smoke to clear out of the room before they entered the living room. Noticing Misaki shivering from the cool morning, Hei went to wrap his arms around her to keep her warm. The warmth from her against his bare chest kept him warm as well.
Misaki was happy while Li held her in his arms, which made her want to stay in his arms like this forever. A couple of her neighbors were on their balconies too, staring and smiling at Misaki and Li.
She could see the smoke had cleared out from the kitchen, as Li released her, and gestured, "Shall we go back inside."
Nodding, she followed Li into her kitchen, surprised to see that he seemed to know where everything was in it, as he pulled out a pot, wok, bowls, rice and everything else that was needed to make fried rice.
Li filled up a pot of water and set it on the stove to a boil. Starting to place ingredients in the wok, he went to go turn on her vent, but it didn't come on.
"I keep meaning to get it fixed," mentioned Misaki, "but I've never had the time, and I don't cook much anyways."
After Li sent a brief electrical shock into it, the vent started to run. Misaki stared flabbergasted from forgetting who he was due to the past few peaceful days with him. Misaki watched him as he continued to add things, but then he realized he had used his power.
"Eh, sorry," he apologized.
Misaki shook her head it was fine, but she wondered why he hadn't fulfilled his contract yet. She began to wonder what it was.
"Would you like to help?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"No, no. I might burn the food again," replied Misaki.
"It'll be all right. I'm here to help you."
Nodding, she stood in front of him. Li took the spatula, placed it in her hand, and guided her hand to stir the rice. Misaki felt so comfortable and leaned back into him, embracing every moment she had with him.
They finished cooking the meal, sat down at a small table, and started eating. Li was downing his food, which pleased her to see that he had some of his energy back. As she watched him eat, she tried not to ask about his obeisance.
"Is that the price you pay for your contract," she blurted out anyways.
Li looked at her a little stunned by her question.
"No," he replied. "I don't have one."
Misaki looked at him a little confused. She knew Li was definitely different due to his dreams and emotions, but he had no payment. How was it possible to go against everything she knew about contractors?
"I'm human," informed Li, as if he knew what she was thinking. Misaki looked at him flabbergasted. "I don't even really know how. I thought my sister died at Heaven's Gate, but she somehow transferred her powers to me and is still with me."
Misaki looked at him stunned to hear he was a human and a contractor. She then thought of the question that had been eating at her mind.
"Is that why you chose to destroy the Syndicate's machine, so that humans and contractors could live together?" Misaki asked.
Li stared at his rice, looking like he was trying to think of an answer.
"I really don't know," he responded, looking up at her. "I just know that I couldn't live with myself if all those innocent people died, human or contractor."
Misaki smiled to know she had made the right choice by following her heart. The words he spoke at Hell's Gate didn't matter anymore. She knew in her heart that Li still lived.
Misaki's doorbell rang, causing her to freak out a little, and gestured Li to go hide in her bedroom. After Li closed the door, Misaki walked over to her door, looked through the peephole, and saw Kanami outside. She opened the door and gestured her friend inside.
"Kanami? I hope you're not here to ask me to go out shopping with you again," said Misaki.
"It's Saturday, what else would I be by to do."
Misaki sighed as Kanami sniffed the air.
"Ah, something smells good," she commented, walking over to her table. "What did you have for breakfast?"
"Just some rice," replied Misaki, hoping her friend wouldn't see all the stuff on the stove.
Kanami picked up Misaki's chopsticks to eat some of the rice. Her eyes lit up ecstatically from the taste.
"Ah, this is delicious!" she shouted. "Where did you order it from?"
Misaki began to sweat from the lie she was going to say, but before she could, Kanami noticed the cookware on the stove. She looked at Misaki puzzled, but then smiled deviously.
"Had a little company over today," she teased. "That's one way to get over Li-kun."
"No, I decided to make myself some rice instead of eating all that instant stuff."
"Misaki, you're not a very good liar," she smiled, walking over to her. "Every time you cook something, you burn it, and you've been faking the flu." Kanami whispered in her ear. "Who's the lucky guy?"
Kanami watched Misaki's cheeks turn red and then began looking around her apartment. Noticing her bedroom door was closed, she ran over to enter it, scanning the area, but didn't see anyone. Still convinced that Misaki was hiding someone, she exited the room and went over to her balcony. She pulled open the curtains to see a man in black pants and a black t-shirt standing out on the balcony.
"Found you," Kanami smiled, opening the door.
Misaki wondered how Li had gotten onto the balcony and why he didn't run away, but she figured he was still fatigued from his injuries. Li turned around as Kanami almost fell over in shock.
"Li-kun?" she asked dumbfounded. "I thought Misaki said you went back to China?"
Misaki tried to think of an excuse, but nothing came to mind.
"I tried to tell them that my paperwork was stolen from me, but they wouldn't listen," informed Li. "I was able to get new paperwork and fought them to let me finish my schooling."
"School?" questioned Kanami, glaring at Li. "You obviously couldn't get Misaki out of your mind and had to come see her." She smiled. "How romantic."
Misaki's cheeks turned bright red along with Li's.
"Well, I guess this means I'm going boy hunting by myself today."
Kanami began to leave the room, but then turned around to walk over to Misaki's table, and grabbed Misaki's bowl of rice and chopsticks.
"I'm going to have to come by here more often while Li's around," she said, and then started to stuff her face. "It's really good."
Li smiled at her as she left the room with the food.
Misaki and Li finished washing the dishes as Li seemed to be startled by something in the sink.
"Yin?" he questioned.
"What's the matter, Li-kun?" Misaki asked while she finished drying the last dish.
"Yin's spectre. I need to get out of here."
Misaki looked at Li startled. Moments later her doorbell rang again. She sighed at all the visitors that were coming by today and wondered who it was now.
"Li-kun, I'm sorry, but could you just hide in the bathroom for now. If someone were coming to kill you, they would just barge through the door."
Nodding, he went into the bathroom. The doorbell rang again along with the person knocking on the door.
"I'm coming," she yelled out, scanning the room to make sure any trace of Li was non-existent.
Walking over to the door, she looked through the peephole to see her father smiling outside her door, surprising her since he hadn't been to her apartment in ages. Putting on her sick face, she opened the door, but he pushed his way through it.
"Father, what are you doing here?" she asked, wondering why Yin would think he was dangerous.
"I went by your work to congratulate you on your work at Hell's Gate," he mentioned. "Saitou said that you have been sick, so I came over to see if there's anything you need."
"No, Dad, I'm fine," she assured, and then started to fake a cough. Her father didn't seem to worry and started looking around her apartment, making Misaki uncomfortable. Walking over to her bedroom, he opened the door to look around in there.
"Is there something you're looking for, Dad?" she inquired.
Since he had called her to tell her to get out of Tokyo and the events that had followed, she had been suspicious of him. Misaki didn't want to believe it, but with him searching around her apartment, and Yin's alert, she felt he was looking for Li. She was also afraid that he might be involved with the Syndicate.
"Ah, no, no. I'm just making sure your apartments not too cold," he smiled at her, making his way over to her kitchen. "We need you to get better."
Misaki returned the gesture. "Hai."
Before leaving her apartment, he turned back around to look at Misaki.
"Ah, may I use your bathroom, Misaki?" he asked.
Misaki's heart skipped a beat, as she pondered on what to say to him. If he was here to search for Li, she couldn't let her father see him since he would notify the Syndicate, and they would surely send someone to kill him.
"Ah, Hai," she replied.
Misaki shivered in fear, as he drew closer to the door, opened it, and entered the bathroom. He came out moments later, waved goodbye to Misaki, and exited her apartment. Letting out a huge breath of relief, she walked over to the bathroom and looked around it to see Li wasn't present. Hearing a pounding noise on her balcony, she looked over to see Li outside it, ran over to unlock the door and let him in.
"Li-kun. How did…"
"The bedroom window," he replied breathing heavy.
"But how did you get into the bed…"
Falling, Misaki quickly caught him and held him up. She didn't know how he did it, but whatever he did, it was too much for his body to handle. Misaki helped him back to her bed and laid him down. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep. She was amazed he didn't fall earlier with all the cooking and cleaning he did.
Misaki got into the bed and cuddled beside him.
To be continued…
xxx
A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I'm very proud of this chapter. It's my favorite along with the next chapter. I'm anxious to know what everyone thinks, so please let me know.
I'm already done with the next chapter too, so I hope to have it posted soon.
Thanks again to everyone for reading. :)
I just wanted to say thank you to Sakabatou77 again for all his help. I would have never had the courage to post this story with out your help.
And thank you to Aerysa and BSzoke for catching my spelling errors in this chapter. :)