FireCacodemon: Welcome back to another chapter of Under the Mask.
Hei: Darker than Black belongs to Tensai Okamura.
November 11: On with the chapter.
Chapter 29
Misuzu was outside the apartment complex happily sweeping the floor with her broom. It had been a while since Li had come home to the apartment, a good kid like him always came home and informed her when he was going to be away for a while. As he hadn't done that this time, she was starting to grow worried. It really wasn't any of her business what her tenants got up to in their spare time (although SOME needed better life choices) it was Li that she always enjoyed seeing in the morning or in the afternoon. Misuzu hummed happily to herself while sweeping while cautiously keeping an eye out for the black fat cat that seemed to come here often. Many times, has she had to pick up the bins because that cat had knocked them over when he pounced. The cat was a bloody menace but it always ran away before she could do anything serious like call the animal control people.
"It's going to be weird seeing your apartment, Li." Misuzu's ears picked up an unfamiliar voice.
"Your apartment is more lived in." That was Li's voice.
"What do you mean?"
"Heh…I'm out most of the time working or studying at the nearby library."
"So, it's either study or work for you, no play or sleep?"
"No rest for the innocent, huh?"
Misuzu didn't recognise the first voice but her face brightened up when she heard Li's voice. Finally, he was coming back to his apartment like the good kid he was. What soon appeared wasn't what she was expecting. Li was on the back of a (to her) total stranger. This was a sight she wasn't liking. She had seen the white-suited person around with a tall, icy-blue haired lady and a little child, they looked to be a family together but she wasn't sure on that. She noticed that Li was looking dead tired but he had a smile on his face. So, she didn't complain or make a fuss.
"What apartment number?" The blond haired male asked Li.
"Apartment 2-0-1," Li responded, earning a chuckle from the other male. "What's funny Jack?"
"Nothing," Jack smiled before Misuzu's presence caught his attention. "Oh, hello there. I found Li looking exhausted after his shift at work and offered to take him back to his apartment. I didn't have my car with me so I offered to carry him back," Jack smiled at her.
"I was getting worried about him, not returning home after a long time." Misuzu admitted.
"I'm sorry, a lot of things have been happening out of my control. I don't have a phone to call you or ever had any physical money with me!" Li frantically tried to apologise.
"It's alright, you're home now. Go up and get some sleep Li." Misuzu continued to sweep as Jack nodded and started to take Li back to his apartment.
"She's a lovely lady, don't you think?" Jack teased Li.
"I'll get the key…" Li moved one arm off Jack's shoulder and into his pocket where he pulled out the apartment key and offered it to Jack. Jack took the key off Li and unlocked the apartment and headed inside with him.
Under the Mask – Chapter 29
November 11 looked around the empty apartment as Li closed the door behind him and slid off November 11's back and onto the floor. He said that he would have walked the rest of the way home but that didn't quite happen. Li would have rejected the idea before but he rather enjoyed being on November 11's back, it wasn't something he could do as a child when the Syndicate took him and his sister, so it felt nice to rest on November 11's back. November 11 looked behind him to see that Li had started to check if there were any bugs located in his apartment, he had been away from the apartment for a while and the Syndicate might have bugged it if he ever came back.
"Do you always travel light?" November 11 asked Li as he watched the younger contractor starting to relax and pulled out some cushions for them to sit down on.
"I'm always out either working for my company or working as Li. I'm hardly here so why should I carry much?" Li watched as November 11 gently sat down on the cushion that Li had passed him.
"Still can't believe your apartment number is 2-0-1, same as your star number…you really look like you can fall asleep any minute now."
"I don't even know why…ever since the meteor shard reacted and that white light happened…"
"Maybe you've finally got a payment?"
"Sleeping was my sister's payment…I don't have one…"
"Get some sleep, I'll protect you while you do. Trust me," November 11 removed his jacket and got up from the floor and walked behind the younger contractor and sat down behind him, placing his jacket over Li and pulled him onto his chest. Li didn't attempt to struggle and let November 11 move him.
"What…about you?"
"Don't you worry about me, you go and get some rest first," November 11 gently gave Li a few pets, trying to sooth the contractor into a sleep. "No one will be finding us here unless it's your team, right?"
"Right…" Li looked up at November 11 before he reached up to give November 11 a kiss, Li gently placed his lips over November 11's and held the kiss for a few seconds before he broke the kiss and snuggled up closer to the MI-6 agent with a smile on his face. November 11 smiled and wrapped his arms around Li, making sure that he felt safe and protected while he slept.
November 11 couldn't hide his blush from Li's actions and thought back to how they were enemies in the past. To see Li like this in the past meant that he could just kill the Black Reaper once and for all but when he thought about what they were like now…if every contractor was like Li…still had a human consciousness…would they be able to live with people better? Or would anything change from the world they had now. Contractors and humans against each other for their own selfish greed. Amber had told him that Li would need to repeat the same events as Heaven's War, which will involve saving all contractors and dolls…but wiping out millions of humans. November 11 felt like he knew the answer that Li would have if he heard Amber's plan…he wouldn't be able to choose between humans and contractors. If he was just another contractor, then he wouldn't give a thought about the humans and just repeated the events of Heaven's War…but if he was just a human then he'll let the gate be destroyed and the world would return back to normal. Under the mask of the Black Reaper was a hybrid of the two, a contractor with a conscious. Yet being with him, November 11 felt his own consciousness resurfacing.
"Would repeating Heaven's War…mean that you'll sacrifice yourself too?" November 11 asked. November 11 didn't want that, he didn't want to give up Li just for the sake of his own survival. He soon chuckled to himself as he compared himself to how he was before he brought Li home that night. He wanted to learn a lot about the Black Reaper but instead he was getting closer to understanding Li. The Black Reaper…the contractor side which responded to Hei while there was Li…the human, the one with the impossible choice soon. "Has anyone told you you're incredibly light…?" November 11 smirked before he looked up at the window to see July's spectre. "Come over and bring food please. Li might be sleeping for a while. Bring Li's team if possible."
FireCacodemon: That's the end of the chapter.
November 11: grandshadowseal - FireCacodemon wants to finish this story and is now determined to do so thanks to a role-play with a friend. I was polite and maybe told a little lie to her but I'm sure she'll be back next chapter. Knowing FireCacodemon...we'll become embarrassed later.
Hei: Snowgem33 - We'll do the best we can with the life we've got.
FireCacodemon: Well, that's it for this chapter. We'll be back for another chapter again. Bye~
