Darker than Black
Chapter Eleven: Kirihara Riku
Hei stared at the woman flabbergasted, wondering how it was possible that she was the daughter of Kirihara Misaki? It had only been a few minutes since he had seen Misaki from the incident in the Embassy's laboratory, or had it?
"What year is it?" he asked confusingly.
"Stop playing games, BK201," the young woman replied. "I know you know it has been twenty six years since you faked your death. Because of it, my mother continued your work to pursue the Syndicate and got herself killed!"
"De—dead? Misaki?" questioned Hei.
"Don't you dare say her name in front of me again!" Misaki's daughter demanded. "Lucky for me my stomach growled for the McDoness nearby, and lucky me for turning down the wrong street to come across you, as your star flooded over the stars and moon."
Hei's eyes twitch at her last comment.
"The stars and moon?" he asked. "They returned?"
"Did you hit your head and lose your memory?" she asked irritated. "Pandora was able to rid all Contractors of their powers five years ago!"
"Nani?"
Misaki's daughter ignored Hei's surprised expression, as she pulled out a small device from her pocket that looked like an iphone, and hit a button to cause a hologram to appear before her.
"Nina desu," replied a woman from the screen. "Riku? Hey, did you see the sky?"
"Hai, and I have the star's owner before me," replied Misaki's daughter.
"Really, who?"
"B… K… 2… 0… 1… Send a squadron with rubber gear to arrest him in front of New Sano."
"All right, Riku."
The hologram disappeared in which Riku returned her phone to her pocket while keeping her burning and hatred brown eyes on Hei. It hurt Hei to stare at them, seeing how Misaki had used to glare at him before she knew who he was. It also killed him to hear that Misaki had moved on after she believed he had died at New Sano, and had a daughter.
Hei wasn't surprised at Misaki's daughter's composure, reminding him of her, and was pleased to see she was a strong woman. Unfortunately, he couldn't let her take him in since he needed to find a way back to his time, if he indeed had traveled to the future.
"Sorry," spoke up Hei.
"For what?" she barked.
"This."
Hei quickly threw his wire at Riku to twist it around her wrist, causing her to shoot at his sudden movement, ricocheting the bullet off his sleeve, and then he sent enough voltage through the cable to knock her out. Riku's eyes rolled up as she fell forward in which Hei grabbed her to lay her down softly. Hei apologized to Misaki for doing such a cruel thing.
He whipped out his cable to an electrical pole across the street, and swung onto the roof. He stared in amazement at the sight of buildings rising higher in the sky, and glittered brighter in the night off Hell's Gate completed wall. Below vehicles ran through traffic in a rhythm, like an invisible conductor orchestrated them. The people walking along the streets wore clothes fashioned of his time, but they seemed to have a glossy look to them.
Hei gathered his poise and swung a few blocks away to drop down into a murky alley that had two brown rubber bins mirroring each other. One set had 'papers only' writing on it, and the other set were for bottles, plastic, and cans. He walked out of the alley calmly and saw a woman across the street.
He approached her to see she had long straight silver hair that fell down to her waist. She wore black seamless knee length skirt, black cotton and polyester long sleeve vest, and neckline glossy looking purple shirt. She had on purple nylons and black polished high heels. Her eyes looked like crystals, but they seemed full of life from the last time he had seen it only a half an hour ago. Tears began to pour from them, as she ran towards him to hug him.
"It's been forever, Hei!" she cried.
"Yin?" questioned Hei.
xxx
Riku was being smacked in the face lightly, which woke her as she sat up straight. She remembered being shocked by BK201, and then noticed police cars, ambulances, and her co-workers around her.
"Where is he?" she said through clenched teeth.
"Who?" someone asked.
Riku looked at the person to see it was her partner, Rito Miko. He had somewhat long messy hair parted upwards to the right with retro glasses and wore leather coat over a claret shirt made out of thin synthetic leather. Tensora was written sideways. His somber pants were snug from his waist to his knees, and fell baggy down to his ankles. There were pockets in the front and back along the waistline, and a set on the side at the knees. His rust-colored boot heels were thick, which made him tower over Riku.
"BK201!" shouted Riku.
"BK201 isn't here, Riku."
She cursed while standing, feeling a little dizzy-headed from it, and ordered, "Have patrols search in a two hundred meter diameter!"
"Riku, don't you think you're going over board? I know a star has appeared over us again, but how can you be so sure it's him?"
"Because I saw him eye-to-eye! The creep even shocked me with his ability!"
"All right."
xxx
Hei and Yin sat on the Namboku Line, heading northwards towards Yotsuya. His trench coat lay next to him folded neatly, and he had loosened his bow tie to hang around his neck with his three top buttons and cufflinks unbuttoned. Hologram ads played below the ceiling and above the windows. One was of a woman kissing to promote a lipstick, and another flashed back and forth from orange to red to indicate an anime's airdate and time. An ad above Hei and Yin gave information of the latest music coming out to download.
The train itself had not changed over the years, except for refurbished seats that felt more comfortable, and grab handles.
A woman standing while reading a Manga wore a snug and long sleeve gray shirt made out of cotton. A shadow-figured samurai patch was stitched above her left breast, and the collar was cut v-shaped diagonally to the left. Her khaki pants hung loose off her waist, and hovered centimeters off the ground to hide her shoes. The woman had short and dark straight hair with bangs that seemed to glimmer from the train's light.
Another woman wore plaid-less jacket made of leather over a dawn-tinted and taut silk shirt, along with slightly baggy and synthetic leather skirt that came down to the knees. Her high-heel boots made her head almost touch the overhead poles. She was gossiping with a friend on her hologram phone.
A man dressed in a business suit stared at nothing. A teenage boy, who bopped his head back and forth to a beat, was wearing black clothing with white outlining. He had a wireless earpiece in his ear, and had a small circular object, with an Apple logo, clipped to his belt that was playing a hologram of a rock video.
Hei listened to Yin mournfully tell what had happened the past twenty-six years. He had been surprised to hear that Misaki had paid to have chips embedded in her retinas so she could see.
"Pandora had found the meteor that had struck Tokyo so many years ago," she began with. "They did some test and determined Contractors and Dolls were getting their powers from it. Pandora ran some more tests, creating newer Contractors from it, and decided to destroy it. Contractors had gotten word, making EPR resurface with a stronger number, and tried to stop them, but they were too late."
Hei stared blankly while he listened to Yin's story, not surprised to find out where his power resided.
"Did all the Contractors die?" Hei asked.
"No, they and Dolls just lost their powers." Yin answered while closing her eyes, as if recalling a terrifying memory. "The ones who opposed Pandora were executed immediately."
Hei pondered on the story he had been told, and then something surfaced from his brain. If all Contractors and Dolls had lost their powers from the meteor being destroyed, how come he still had his? Was it radiating from the past, or was it something else?
"Yin, what happened when my star reappeared?" asked Hei.
Yin opened her eyes and smiled while looking into Hei's eyes. Since she was no longer a Doll and her eyes glittered with life, it made him feel like he was talking to a complete stranger.
"From what I heard, an orange light shot upwards from South America where Heaven's Gate had been, along with Hell's Gate," she replied.
"How?"
"I don't know." Yin said, as she shook her head.
They sat in the car not speaking to each other.
After a minute had passed, Hei asked, "How'd Misaki die?"
Yin's smile faded as she glanced over at Hei to stare at him for a few seconds, and then averted her eyes to say, "She was kicked off the Foreign Affairs after Yamato had found out about you and Misaki-san. She started her own detective business to hunt down the Syndicate.
"Ten years ago, she had been getting close to bringing them down. Misaki-san had gotten a call from Saitou-san about where the Syndicate was, and she went to check it out. It was an ambush planted by them and Misaki-san lost her life.
"Saitou-san blamed himself for her death, and he and Kanami-san decided to raise Riku-chan and give me a place to stay. Kiko would come over to hang out with me, or I would help her with cases, and we got Riku into anime stuff. The Slayers series is her favorite." Yin smiled from her last comment.
"So, what happened to Riku's father?"
Yin didn't respond to Hei's answer.
"He died," she finally replied after ten seconds of silence, not looking at Hei. "She never knew him."
Hei looked down at the floor and felt a bitter emptiness towards Misaki's daughter for becoming an orphan. He and his sister had faced the same fate when he was ten. It had been a horrible thing to experience, and he wondered if Riku had gotten over it?
The train pulled into Nagatacho.
"Sorry, Hei, but I must be getting home before Riku gets off her shift," said Yin, as she stood. She bent over and hugged him vigorously. "It was good to see your face again. Sayonara, Hei."
She pushed away from him and turned to exit the train, but Hei stood and said, "Will I see you again?"
Yin looked over her shoulder smiling and replied with, "Hai!" She stepped from the train and began walking towards the stairs. The car doors closed and the train pulled out of the station.
xxx
Riku sat in the conference room the next day, rapping her right hand's fingers on the oval table while sitting sideways with her lips pursed. She was dressed in a white blouse, the top two buttons loosened, with a navy blue coat draped over it that hid her holster and gun. Her shirt was slightly tucked out of her dark blue jeans, and the top portion of her black lace shoes were blanketed from the pant legs.
Her colleagues were also gathered around the table waiting for their boss to speak. Rito Miko sat to her left while Tsuya Nina waited patiently to her right. Nina's long hair had been dyed blond, making her small figure look more elegant than it seemed. She also wore blue contact lenses, which drawled in men like they were bewitched.
Riku was irritated that BK201 had not only somehow resurrected from the dead, but he had slipped through her grasp. Her mother had mentioned he was quick, but she didn't expect him to be that quick.
"Can I have your attention," said her boss, Kawakawa Okina. He had a sharp face with slick black hair and calm dark eyes behind circular glasses. "I received word this morning that Heaven's Gate had reappeared in South America."
Muttering started flooding around the table, which Riku ignored as she waited for her boss to mention about BK201.
"A team from Pandora has been dispatched to check it out," continued Okina, pushing up his glasses with his index finger. "What I am concerned here in Tokyo is a city wide panic that citizens will think that Contractors will be heading for Hell's Gate to regain their powers. I am asking Pandora to tighten their security just incase former Contractors do try and break in, but I don't…"
The conference room's door suddenly opened. A man in his sixties with gray long hair and a pressed suit entered with a few other people and sat down around the table. Riku recognized the gray-haired man as Hayatsu Yamato, and another as Kakuri Misuyu who had taken over her mother's spot when she was fired. Kakuri had a sharp face and graying hair dressed in a spiffy suit and tie.
"Hayatsu Yamato-san, what are you doing here?" asked Okina.
"I'm taking over this department and putting my old team on BK201's case," replied Yamato.
"But, sir, I thought you had retired?"
"I reinstated myself. Now, what's the deal with BK201?"
"Well, Detective Kirihara had encountered him at New Sano and called it in, but before back-up could arrive, BK201 had knocked out Detective Kirihara and left."
"Detective Kirihara had come across BK201?" questioned Yamato, as he looked at her with his left eyelid slanting up. "How come I have this itchy feeling of déjà vu, Detective Kirihara?"
"What are you stating, sir?" asked Riku displeased.
"How come every time a Kirihara comes across BK201, he ends up escaping?"
"Are you implying I let the bastard go?" Riku shouted, as she stood to look Yamato in the eyes.
"I'm implying I don't trust a Kirihara. Everyone here knows your mother had a relationship with him. My concern is, are you able to put that past behind and worry about the present?"
"I am! I want him brought to justice like everyone else here!"
Yamato and Riku stared at each other. After a half minute of silence, she looked away from him and returned to her seat.
"All right, here's the thing," spoke up Yamato. "Everyone here will be taken part in seeking out BK201, code name, Hei, aka, Li or Xing, and bring him to justice: understood!"
"Hai," replied everyone except Riku who instead frowned.
Yamato began to blabber about the proper procedures of how to capture BK201 in which Riku decided to ignore and thought of what she would do when she had him in her sights. She imagined putting a bullet between his eyes, or maybe in his cold heart. She even thought about torturing that deceitful simpleton.
She began to ponder of where BK201 would hide. He could have gone back to his old apartment, but that would have been too obvious. There were a dozen abandon buildings in Tokyo that he might be hiding at, like he was probably doing at the New Sano building, but where?
"All right, now get to work," ordered Yamato, which snapped Riku out of her daze.
They stood and started filing out of the conference room.
"Detective Kirihara, a word alone," said Yamato.
Riku stopped as Miko closed the door behind him. She turned towards Yamato while glancing at the ceiling to avoid his stare with her lips pursed. He probably noticed her staring off into her own thoughts and was going to lecture her about it. Riku gathered her composure and looked down into his eyes.
"What is it, sir?" she asked.
"I'm putting you on temporary leave with pay while this department does its search for BK201," Yamato bluntly said.
"Nani? You can't do that!"
"I can, and I have your grandfather's approval."
"Ojiisan? He's retired, so why would his word mean anything?"
"He's been reinstated too."
"NANI! Do you people want to give him a heart attack?"
"Your grandfather is healthy enough to handle his job. Now gather your things and I will call you when the situation is dealt with."
"This isn't fair! I have dealt with so much crap because of BK201! I have the right to be apart of this case! But because of you and those stupid Syndicate A-holes always having to put your guy's foot where it doesn't belong, I get screwed!"
"That was way out of line, Detective!" shouted Yamato while standing and slamming his palms on the table. "You best leave this office and building now before I end your carrier like I did with your mother!"
Riku's face burned with fury, as her jaw line tightened, causing her to turn on her heels and exit the conference room while slamming the door behind her. The department's occupants looked towards her, as she stormed off and entered the elevator to go home.
Darker than Black
Hei awed at how much the world had changed in twenty-five years. Everything seemed the same, but the roads had been redone so that heat strips could be implanted in the concrete in order to prevent snow from developing on the ground. Traffic signals were refurbished, and the buildings were cleaned to where they seemed to glow. Holograms littered on top of the buildings, broadcasting previews of movies that were coming out, and the latest clothing fashion to buy.
The vehicles traveling through the city were more aerodynamic. They didn't fly above the city, or hover a meter off the ground. They still required tires, and they seemed to handle on the roads smoother than the vehicles of his time. The cars were also automated to drive on their own and didn't require fossil fuel. Gas stations had removed a majority of their pumps to replace them with battery chargers. Gas that was available cost three hundred yen per liter.
Noon had fallen on the day and Hei's stomach was growling devilishly, scaring stray cats and making neighborhood dogs bark. He didn't know where he was and could care less. He thought of entering a ramen store, but he wondered if his currency would work in this time, remembering Yin had to pay for his train ticket using a clear plastic card with a bar code on it.
Hei took his chances, removing his coat and weapons and hiding them to look less conspicuous, and entered a ramen store. A girl about the age of ten, presented in a blue apron that draped over a bulky shirt and loose pants, approached him smiling. She had long black hair that was tied back into two ponytails using two pink bows, and wore white tennis shoes.
"Welcome to Home Run House," she said. "My name is Rina. How many in your party?"
Hei jumped from her words and glanced around to see he was in the old restaurant by his old apartment. It had changed over the years. The place bore new circular oak tables littering the floor, refurbished benches, and newly colored red paint on the walls. Four different games were being broadcasted in hologram image around the restaurant.
He then looked at the back to see a woman in her thirties with long black hair hard at work cooking ramen. Hei recognized her as an older Rika.
"Eh, sir?" asked the girl named Rina.
"Oh, sorry. Only myself," said Hei.
Rina bowed and guided him over to a far end table. He sat down with his back to the door, as Rina set a menu before him to look at.
"Eh, do you accept currency here?" Hei asked, and showed her a two thousand yen bill. "I don't have my card on me."
Rina took it in her hands and glared at it, as if it were something she had never seen before. She then looked back at Rika and said, "Mama, do we take these paper things?"
Rika looked up from her work and stared at the currency. Her eyes turned into stars, as she dropped her spatula and clapped her hands together.
"HAI!" she shouted with glee. Rika rounded the counter, stormed over to the table, and snatched the yen out of Rina's hand. "This is worth twenty times its value since they discontinued currency ten years ago." Her joyful mood diminished, as she thought of something. "Demo, I'd feel bad for taking it and not able to pay you."
"How about an all you can eat buffet?" asked Hei.
Rika looked at him surprised, and then narrowed her eyes as she took in his feature.
"Oro? Are you related to someone by the name of Li Shengshun?" she asked.
"No, I don't know anyone by that name," Hei lied, as he cursed in his head for Rika remembering how he looked.
"Really? I figured you might be his son or something because you look like him."
"Really?" Hei laughed, but frowned as his stomach growled loudly, causing everyone to look at him flabbergasted.
Nobody said anything for a minute until Hei laughed it off again. Rika stared at him curiously.
"Could I have five bowls of ramen to start off with?" Hei asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Heh?" Rika asked startled, as her daughter's jaw dropped open like a ton of bricks. "Five bowls to start off with? Are you sure you're not related to Li Shengshun?"
Hei smiled and nodded his head. Rika shook her head, and gestured for Rina to get to work. After waiting a few minutes, Rina carefully walked over to his table with five bowls balanced on a carrying tray, and served his meals. He dug in to devour his food, making Rina stare at him baffled.
"Piggy!" she said.
"Rina! Be nice to our customer," demanded Rika.
Hei smiled at the commotion, and continued eating his meal. He was glad that Rika had inherited her father's touch at cooking.
Ten minutes into his meal the door opened, causing Hei to look over his shoulder to see a woman dressed in a black t-shirt, long blue skirt, a pare of pink-rounded glasses, pink plaid shoes over pink and white striped knee-high socks, and dark hair with pink high-lites. She took a seat a few tables down from him.
"Hey, Rina-chan!" she cheerfully waved.
"Eh, Kiko-san!" replied Rina while waving too.
Hei's eyes widened as he recognized an older Kiko who worked for Gai, and quickly looked away hoping she wouldn't notice him. Then he realized the bowls he had finished stacked next to him, which might give him away, and prayed she was over the whole stalking.
"Mama, Kiko-san is here!"
"Hey, Kiko. The usual?" asked Rika.
"Of course," replied Kiko.
Rika brought out a bowl of ramen that must have been made for Hei, and served it to her friend instead. Rina served Hei another three bowls and took the empty ones, as she pouted under her breath about washing extra piles of dishes.
"Mama needs to buy a dish washer!" she muttered, as she served the other customers. "Mister is a piggy like mama's friend!"
"Hey, Kiko, I know someone who you could stalk in place of Li-san," Hei heard Rika whisper to Kiko. "He's two tables over."
"Oh, very funny. You know I gave up on that years ago," said Kiko.
"I know. How is the Private Eye business going?"
"Fine. Gai's mad at me for taking all his cases, and he's still working at McDoness as a Manager to pay his bills."
The two friends chuckled. Rika returned to her work, as her friend started eating her meal. Hei cautiously ate his food, pleased that he didn't feel Kiko's eyes on him.
Moments later the door opened again in which he ignored so not to look back towards his former stalker.
"Riku-san, Yin-san!" shouted Rina, causing Hei to choke on his food and slam on his chest to swallow.
"Eh? What are you two doing here?" asked Kiko.
"I was put on leave thanks to BK201," replied Riku, as he heard her and Yin sit at Kiko's table.
"Li-san's star appeared over the sky? Is he really back?"
"Hai."
"Oh, what I wouldn't give to see him again," said Kiko.
"So you can stalk him again?" asked Yin teasingly.
"Of course not!"
"You best not, or I'll arrest you, along with BK201!" stated Riku.
"Can't you get over the past and call him…?" began Yin.
"No I can't, Yin, and I will never. I was hoping he was rotting in hell. Unfortunately he's alive!"
Rika gestured for her daughter to continue serving their customers, and walked over to Kiko, Riku, and Yin. Rina walked over to Hei's table to gather his bowls, and walked towards the back as she babbled, "I'm going to have a long day washing dishes! Mama really needs to get a dishwasher!"
"Hey, Riku. I think you should hear this," Hei heard Rika whisper. "There's a guy over there that looks like he could be Li-san's son, and he eats like him too."
Hei tensed as he waited for Misaki's daughter to whip out her gun and point it at him. Seconds past without anything happening, making him wonder what she was waiting for.
"BK201 hadn't been with anybody in his last few months except for my mom, Rika" muttered Riku.
"That you know of," stated Rika.
Hei felt her eyes on him in which he readied himself to run. Seconds passed slower than a slug moving along a tree branch, as Hei's heart pounded heavily against his chest.
"Just let it be, Rika. He's not the son of BK201," replied Riku.
He felt her eyes move away from him, making Hei think she didn't recognize him without his coat, and relaxed a little to continue eating his meal.
"What will it be?" asked Rika.
"The usual," replied Riku.
"Three bowls again? Riku, aren't you concerned of gaining that weight in your hips later in your life?"
"I exercise, so no."
"Unbelievable!"
Riku, Kiko, and Yin began talking amongst each other. A few minutes later, Rina placed two more bowls on Hei's table, and shook her head in frustration, as she served four more bowls to her mom's friends.
Hei decided to wait for Riku and Yin to leave first before he did, so that Riku wouldn't be able to see his face and put him in a bind. Occasionally, he could feel her looking over at him, making him tense up, but settled down when she looked away.
After a half an hour of Hei eating thirty bowls, putting Rina in tears, and listening to the women gossiping about their favorite anime—like the Naruto T.V. series—they paid for their meal and left.
Hei let out a sigh of relief, stood from his table, and waved goodbye to Rika and Rina while exiting the restaurant. As the door closed he heard Rina mutter, "Piggies!"
He picked up his coat and weapons, and started walking down the streets, wondering how he was going to return to his time?
A click sounded behind him two meters away from the back of his head.
"Did you really think I didn't recognize you because you were wearing that hideous tuxedo?" asked Riku.
"I was hoping you wouldn't," replied Hei. "You are just like your mother, Riku."
"I heard about that story of her spotting you in a woman's store, BK201."
"I'm guessing you didn't attack me in the restaurant so not to make a commotion?"
"Hai."
"And you waited for me to exit so you could sneak up behind me to where I couldn't dodge a bullet, and to make sure I was out of your reach to hit or electrocute you."
"You should have been a detective. You should also know I already called the police and they are sending back-up right at this moment."
Hei knew she wasn't lying since he could hear sirens growing louder in the distance. He thought hard on how to get out of the bind he was in, knowing he had faced far worse than this, but most of his opponents ended up dead afterwards.
"Hey, Riku, I almost forgot!" shouted Kiko, as she rounded the corner. "I… EEHHH?"
Hei felt Riku's guard drop, as she turned to face her friend shocked, allowing him to flip-kick backwards, knocking the gun out of her hand and arch over his head. He then flung his wire upward, hooking onto a telephone pole, and flew up onto the roof.
He hesitated and looked down at Riku to see her run over to pick up her gun and point it up at him. She glared devilishly, her finger twitching on the trigger to pull it, but something was preventing her, as if her own mother was holding her back.
Hei turned away and ran off to swing across the buildings. Seconds later he heard her scream out his messier code while shooting into the air.
Riku stared at where BK201 had been as she grinded her teeth together. She had had him at point-blank range and he had escaped because of her idiotic friend interrupting her. Riku had let Kiko run off so she wouldn't interfere, but that did no good.
"That was Li-san!" shouted Kiko, infuriating Riku from hearing that name. "He hasn't even aged! Oh, Riku, do you think he'll be here later, or maybe return tomorrow at noon?"
Riku turned to stare furiously at Kiko and growled, "Oh, I hope so! But I don't think he will!"
"Why not?"
"Because one: he doesn't want to be stalked! And two: I'M TRYING TO ARREST HIM!"
"Oro? Oh, yeah, I forgot."
"Forgot? How can you forget something like that, obasan?"
"O—obasan? I'll have you know forty is the new twenty!"
"My mom was in her twenties and you had called her that!"
"Oh, don't bring her into this! She stalked Li-san and stole him from me!"
Riku snorted as a vermilion half egg-shaped car pulled up with a swirling red police light on top of it. A meter of its front and back was straightened to a perfect ninety degree angle, and the bottom was raised a meter high off the ground. The tires looked spiffy, and the rims gleamed in the sun. The windows were tinted to where you couldn't see inside, and the engine running on battery power hummed quietly like a vacuum cleaner.
Riku's partners, Rito Miko and Tsuya Nina, exited the vehicle and walked up to Riku while looking around the scene to see where BK201 was. Squadron cars began to screech to a halt, making Riku feel like she was an atom bomb about to explode since the whole squadron was present to hear her failure.
"Where's BK201, Riku?" asked Miko.
"Escaped!" she shouted.
"Escaped? How?" Nina asked.
"Eh, that would be my fault," replied Kiko, holding up her arms as her charm bracelets slipped down her forearm.
"You? What did you do? Stalk him again?"
Kiko lowered her arm and looked down at the ground blushing, as she twiddled her left foot on the ground.
"Riku, Commander Yamato isn't going to be happy about this," said Miko. "He was already mad when he heard it was you calling for backup. We thought he was going to have a heart-attack."
Riku wanted to say, 'I wish he would of,' but she instead frowned and rolled her eyes.
Riku had to wait the rest of the afternoon for Yamato to arrive back from a meeting he had to attend. When he had finally arrived around seven in the evening, his blood vein was bulging out of his forehead, and his face was crimson red. He slammed his door shut, almost shattering the glass, and glared angrily at Riku.
"YOU HAD HIM!" shouted Yamato. "YOU HAD HIM AND YOU LET HIM GO! THIS IS WHY I DON'T WANT YOU WORKING WITH MY TEAM!"
"I got distracted, sir," replied Riku calmly.
"I DON'T CARE IF TOKOGAWA HIMSELF WAS WALKING DOWN THE STREET! YOU HAD HIM POINT-BLANK RANGE!"
"I KNOW! YOU DON"T HAVE TO SHOUT!"
Yamato's face burned even redder and grinded his teeth together, as he growled, "Get out of here!"
Riku snorted and stormed out of the office. She entered the elevator with Yin following, descended into the lobby, and bolted out of the building.
They entered her mother's old car with Riku sitting behind the wheel. She started it up and peeled off madly as she furiously drove through town. Yin was sitting tensely in the passenger seat while Riku screeched around a semi recklessly.
"Ri—Riku, please slow down," begged Yin.
Riku ignored her plea and continued to work her way through traffic unprofessionally.
Ten minutes into the drive, she pulled up to a batting cage that was empty, swiped her card through the scanner, and began taking swings at fastballs to lighten her frustrations. Yin sat in the cage to her left frowning at her.
Riku was so lost in anger she didn't know how many times she had swung at balls, how many she had missed and hit, or how many times she kept paying to play.
After what seemed like a decade for her, Riku swung at a ball so hard, she missed it, spun on her heels twice, and fell on her bottom.
Laughter came from her left and looked to see Kanami in tears with joy, and Saitou smiling in the same batting cage with Yin. Riku blushed from the embarrassment.
"Are you all right, Riku?" giggled Kanami.
"Ha—hai," replied Riku. "Wha—what are you and Saitou-san doing here, Kanami-san?"
"Eh, well, we heard about your run in with Li," spoke up Saitou, "and then Yamato scolding you, so we figured you were here. We wanted to see if you were all right."
Riku looked up at them lost for words. Her mother had left in her will that Riku and Yin were to live with Kanami. Kanami and Saitou had decided to marry months later, never having kids of their own. When Contractors no longer existed, Kanami was let go and had a difficult time finding work because of her occupation she had done for years. She ended up working at a part-time job.
Riku smiled at their concern and stood to exit the batting cage. They ended up sitting on a spot her mother had mentioned she spent the night with BK201, and stared up at the only star in the sky.
"Tomorrow is the tenth anniversary of Misaki's death," stated Kanami.
"Ah, I can't believe how fast time flies by," replied Saitou.
"It's kind of nostalgic," said Yin.
Riku said nothing as she continued staring up at BK201's star. For years she had come here with her mother, staring up at the fake stars with BK201's missing, but now it lay before her. How it seemed so easy to reach up and squish it between her fingers.
"It irritates me," spoke up Riku, causing Saitou, Kanami, and Yin to look at her curiously. "The torment I took, and the years of service I gave to the police department, but yet they treat me like I'm untrustworthy. Ojiusan lost half of his money I was supposed to inherit to his ex-wife.
"And now I have to deal with… with… BK… 20… 1." Riku said through clenched teeth.
"That's life," sighed Kanami, while pulling out a pack of cigarettes. "They won't let me back in the lab because of my connections with Misaki."
"Kanami-san, when did you start smoking again?" asked Riku surprised.
"Just now from everything happening," replied Kanami while placing a cigarette in her mouth and lit it. "You want one?"
"No, I made a promise to my mother after she died I would never light up or put another cigarette in my mouth again."
"Ah, I forgot about that."
"How can you when I made it to redeem myself for the hard times I gave her?"
"Riku, don't beat yourself," said Saitou. "I feel more to blame since I was the one who sent her there."
"I know, but the things I had said that day. It still haunts me." Riku jumped down and looked back at Saitou and Kanami smiling, as Yin hopped down. "I'll see you two later."
They returned it. Riku turned around and walked off to her car with Yin following.
xxx
Riku woke up early on her mother's anniversary, put on the Yukata her mom had bought with Kanami years ago, and exited her apartment with Yin who wore a black and purple dress.
They entered the Porsche and drove off. Neither of them spoke without any sound embedding from the speakers, making it feel like time had stopped.
Riku pulled up to the graveyard where her mother's ashes lay, exited the car, and entered the place to walk along the graves quietly with incense in their hands. A figure kneeling in front of her mother's grave caught her attention, and halted Yin.
"BK201," she whispered. "Yin, stay here."
Riku wanted to know how he found her mother's grave, but she put that to the back of her brain. She swiftly moved around a dozen graves, pulled out her gun, and placed her back against the grave behind BK201. Tension built up inside her, as her heart raced. She quickly spun around and pointed her gun at him, but he was missing.
Suddenly, a wire lassoed around her, and tightened its grip, causing Riku to drop her gun. The end was wrapped around the gravestone she had popped out from behind, preventing her from moving.
BK201 stepped out from behind another grave, making Riku grind her teeth in anger.
"Why you! Let me go!" she shouted.
"Sorry," replied BK201. "Yin, can you let her go when I'm gone?"
"Hai," replied Yin, as she walked up to him and took his split double-sided knife.
"Yin, how can you side with him?" barked Riku.
"Sorry, Riku, but I have my reasons. Please don't take it personally."
Anger built in her from the betrayal she felt, not just from Yin, but also from the world. BK201 began to walk off, making her stare at his back with disgust.
"Why, why did you leave okasan?" demanded Riku.
BK201 stopped and turned to face her and replied, "I didn't."
"LIAR!" cried Riku. "YOU LIE! Mom had said she held you while you died!" BK201 looked at her confused. "She told you about being pregnant with me. But…." Her head fell forward as tears formed in her eyes. "You… you left… you left her anyways."
Silence filled the air while Riku's heart ached with pain and her tears watered the ground by her feet. She couldn't hold back the years of torment that had been bottled up inside. It had finally shattered into pieces to make Riku look up at him again, scattering her tears from her eyes, as hatred incinerated her soul.
"Why," she shouted at him. "Why did you leave her? Why, OTOSAN!"
Japanese words
Okasan: Mother
Otosan: Father
Obasan: Old lady
Ojiisan: Grandfather