I've actually had this plot on my mind for 6 years, but never got around to writing it. What is wrong with Hei will be explained in the next chapter. Thanks for reading.
"Don't forget that the gate gives and takes." –HM-432
Diet building, Tokyo
Kirihara Misaki looked down at her notes and frowned. It was one hour into the meeting and they had yet to discuss the reason she was invited. She stifled a yawn, having worked late last night as usual. She was beginning to wonder why her father even suggested this when her name was called.
"Section Chief Kirihara, thank you for being with us today." The chairman of the security committee was an older gentleman with a short nose. "We look forward to any information you can provide to help us address the situation not just Japan but the whole world faces. With contractors' now public knowledge, the people will want the government to act."
Even though this session was not being televised the chairman still spoke as if to the camera.
"It is my honour."
"Representative Tanaka, you have the floor."
"Thank you, Chairman. Chief, I do not know if you are familiar with my passion for human rights. I do my best to represent the ideals of human dignity and respect. This whole time since the gates appeared, we've been forced to stay quiet while people were used and sold like cattle. All in the interest of not disturbing the public. Now that the cat is out of the bag, members like myself feel it is time to address these concerns. Please, would you give the committee a summary of any abuses you have witnessed personally?"
Kirihara looked down at her notes and realized she did not come prepared for this line of questioning at all. She assumed the meeting would be security related. She made a note to scold her father the next time she saw him.
"Um, Representative Tanaka, I assume you are talking about dolls. The worst-case scenario I've seen is sexual slavery, but as Section 5 would attest, it is very rare. Simply because dolls are much more expensive than…other subjects that can be procured, especially considering the upkeep."
"How expensive are we talking exactly?"
"A basic doll can go for 50 to 100k. A doll with advanced programming can be up to 500, and a doll with proven field experience can go for a lot more than that. I think with recent revelations the prices will undoubtedly rise as demand increases from criminal elements that had been hitherto ignorant of their uses."
"It sounds like you understand the concerns I have with the situation. What might have been a niche industry reserved only for intelligence agencies and the most informed gangs could become a trafficking epidemic. Tell me, Director, we are told that you have extensively worked with contractors and dolls. Are there any solutions?"
Kirihara never really considered the subject. While she didn't treat them poorly or think less of them compared to normal people, dolls had always been a means to an end for her, a way to catch the bad guy. She thought back to BK-201's doll and how she would operate a cigarette stand as cover. The syndicate had spared no expense for her programming. "I think the simplest solution is to offer them alternative and safe employment before any unsavory types do. I've seen some suggestions that homes should be built, etc. and they be treated essentially as invalids, but that would almost be worse. The dolls I've met want to do things even if they can't express it."
"Interesting."
"Kid, let me show you how good a blade feels."
Taito City, Tokyo
Hei fought to stand up and prepare dinner. He had spent the afternoon testing and sharpening his equipment. Meanwhile, Yin had been monitoring their target. With an extra ounce of willpower, he pushed himself to his feet and made a note of how difficult something so simple was becoming. These episodes were growing in frequency and he worried how he would take care of Yin when he couldn't take care of himself.
He glanced at Yin who was staring at him now. Hei knew that he couldn't keep anything from her, not anymore thanks to her spectre. Thankfully, she hadn't broached the topic. Hei wouldn't know what to say.
That's why if his time was indeed limited as he thought, he needed to ensure Yin would be as safe as possible. In the last month, he had eliminated three members of the former syndicate and two contractors that belonged to MI6.
Few understood his motives. The syndicate was non-existent by the time he rescued Yin from Hell's Gate. Yet a few of its members escaped law enforcement and now sat on company boards and filled official government positions. Their status was irrelevant. If there was a chance they knew about Yin, he couldn't take that risk.
Yin didn't like what he was doing. Hei had a feeling she wanted something better for him. Bai felt the same way. So did Amber. But they acted like he had a choice, and he wishes they were right. But he never had a choice, and especially not now, not when he could feel his mind betraying him.
Hei snapped back to awareness and he noticed that Yin wasn't in her spot anymore. He heard some clanging from the non-descript kitchen and he walked over to see her preparing rice and burgers. His stomach plummeted. How much time did he spend standing there?
"Hei, it's ready."
Yin was probably the best cook out of all the dolls, considering their poor eyesight. The burger had all the toppings he liked, albeit some of the ingredients were in weird places. He sat down at the small table. "Thanks, Yin."
He noticed her spectre in the background, similar in shape. It was a constant companion when they were alone, helping Yin to see enough where you wouldn't even guess she's blind. In public, unfortunately, she couldn't use it or risk being seen by other contractors.
The evening was peaceful and his mind harkened back to when he spent the evenings on the front porch in his childhood. Funny, he never cherished the memories before. But at the prospect that he might not be able to feel anything for them ever again, he wanted to squeeze every bit of meaning out of them.
Yin paused and looked at him. Hei knew her well enough to tell that even without facial expressions she was deliberating something. Finally, she said matter-of-factly, "He stopped."
Hei placed down his burger and a hard glint entered his eyes.
Kirihara Misaki was at her desk in her private office reviewing some crime scene photos from last week. A black cat chose that moment to hop up on the worksurface and browse the photos as well.
"Mm. Not his best work."
"I'll be sure to write that down in my findings."
The victim had not been electrocuted. Instead, his neck had been broken but not before a small cut had been made at his neck. It was the leg which was bent that was unsettling to look at.
"As busy as he's been, he probably doesn't have that much time for sleeping."
Kirihara typed something into the police database. It was the conclusion of the report that she was about to send to the city forensics department. No evidence to suggest a contractor was involved.
"Lying now, are we? You know very well that geezer is a former member of the syndicate, and oh, there's currently a certain someone out there who has a serious vendetta against those guys. Someone with a lot of knives." Mao licked his fur and reflected, "Maybe you've been working with contractors too long."
Kirihara didn't appreciate the comment, but she did offer her reasoning. "If there's one thing November and Oreille has taught me is to keep things close to the chest. The regular departments will only tip him off."
"Hmm," Mao said, sounding unconvinced. "Whatever the reason, at least it seems like you're getting the picture. You might still make an effective field agent yet." He scrambled off before his diminutive size worked against him.
"What's that supposed to mean!"
Harvest acted like they were old friends. As if the last time they met, they hadn't been trying to rip each other's throats out. However, Hei had to admit there was some familiarity involved when fighting someone that had been there at Heaven's Gate.
Harvest was clutching his arm which Hei had managed to scrape with one of his throwing knives. They were both breathing heavily, having fought their way through a construction site. Right now, they stood on the second story of a building skeleton.
"Hei," Harvest grinned. "I always knew this day would come. People like me and you don't like to leave fights unfinished. It's too bad that woman interrupted us last time, don't you think?"
Hei grunted, trying to focus his mind on the need to take this guy down. His body was screaming at him to just relax and think about nothing. Only by the sheer power of his will was he able to stand there, his muscles poised to attack.
"The truth of the matter is," Harvest concluded. "This world isn't big enough for the two of us. We both have powers that never should have been given to anyone. But here we are."
Hei found himself sympathizing with November 11 when it came to figuring out contractors that didn't behave like contractors. Harvest was quite philosophical for a creature that was supposed to be simple in their motivations.
"Though I'm afraid, Hei, that we will have to continue this another time."
The black reaper found himself in disbelief when Harvest bent down and placed his hands on the floor. The surface beneath their feet suddenly disintegrated into sand. Hei watched as Harvest jumped from the edge just as the support was lost beneath his own feet. Meanwhile, he had no way to stop his momentum. His reflexes which normally would have already rappelled to the girder above him were a little too slow thanks to the constant mental distraction, and the knife missed. Hei felt like he was watching the sky in slow motion retreat from him.
With a thump, he landed on the ground. The bruising pain of the collision was dwarfed by the sharp pain of something stabbing him in the middle. Weakly lifting his head, he saw the piece of metal sticking up through his stomach. He let his head fall back down to the earth in defeat.
Star activity for a contractor they were tracking led her here to this abandoned construction site. It was just off the road, and once they got through the mangled fence, Misaki pulled up short at the sight of BK-201's doll standing still in the distance.
She coughed from all the dust in the air. There were reports from the neighbors of a loud crash. The police were arriving as well to investigate the disturbance.
She made her way past all the debris over the Yin, if she remembered her name correctly, and froze at the sight of the body at the doll's feet. "BK-201!"
He was unconscious and Misaki knelt to look more closely at the blood coated piece of rebar sticking up through the side of his stomach. "What happened here?"
"He fell."
Misaki wanted to snort. That much was obvious. Yutaka Kono jogged over, Section 4 having been notified, as they were partners in chasing HV-117.
"You don't see this every day," he quipped.
"Secure the sight," Misaki ordered, as if she had never left Public Security.
Kono casually saluted. "Aye, aye, captain."
Misaki waved the paramedics over who were just exiting their emergency vehicle. No doubt it would be a unique challenge to remove BK-201 from the site and to the hospital considering the nature of his wound.
At least he was breathing.
She gave them space and contemplated what she would do with him now that he was finally in her hands. Albeit through no fault of her own.
Her eyes briefly glanced at the still figure of the doll. She looked like she didn't belong in this place, so pale and thin, like an angel of death that had come to take Li away. She would be fine for now. They would decide what to do with her later.
She felt her pocket buzz, and she answered her phone, immediately recognizing the number of Madame Oreille. Not feeling very charitable right now, Misaki was efficient in her greeting. "What is it?"
"You sound stressed."
Misaki sighed, hating the way spies always seemed to dance around a subject. Completely opposite to the way she was raised as a law enforcement professional. "Well, Harvest is an extremely dangerous suspect and we haven't caught him yet. Also, it looks like he may have gotten the better of BK-201."
"Hmm," she said, as if she already knew. "What are you going to do?"
She glanced back at the person she once knew as Li. Those were simpler times, and she almost found she was wishing for them back.
"My job." Misaki abruptly hung up, and crossed her arms, wondering exactly what that involved in this circumstance. After a few moments, she realized there was only one thing she could do, not if they wanted to hold onto the Black Reaper. A normal facility would not suffice.
She dialed a number and raised the phone to her lips. "Get me Dr. Schroeder's contact information."
Meanwhile, Yin didn't move from the spot the paramedics had guided her, just a few feet from where they were working on Hei to stabilize him. Once they removed him from the rebar, they would need to stop the bleeding as quick as possible.
She found that while sometimes she worried whether Hei would come back from a mission, she had never been in this position. Watching someone dear to her on the precipice of leaving. By now, she had a lot of practice in managing feelings of fear and loss. But this was a new level of anxiety, one that seemed to cut to her heart so much it ached.
She raised her arm towards where he lay, and whispered a soft, "Please, Hei."