Li gasped in mock horror. "No way, Officer Saitou did that?"
Misaki grinned, "Yes, but to be fair, his coworker put him up to it." She picked up a piece of okonomiyaki, careful not to lose too much of it as she brought it up to her mouth. "I'm surprised Kouno pulled it off. We're all still waiting to see what Saitou does in retaliation; there is an office birthday coming up soon…"
"But Officer Saitou is so nice," Li insisted. "I can't imagine him doing anything like getting revenge."
"Don't let him fool you, that man has a petty streak to him," Misaki said. She remembered the last time Kouno managed to embarrass Saitou in front of the team like that. Kouno wasn't able to do anything in the office without uncovering large rubber spiders – Kouno's biggest fear – for weeks afterwards.
Li finished a bite of his own meal. "I'll keep that in mind – 'Don't prank Officer Saitou.'"
Between the both of them, they had managed to eat seven plates of okonomiyaki, though Li was ahead of Misaki by a whole serving. She debated getting a fourth one for herself, but then rethought it. Eating the guy you like under the table isn't the most attractive thing a woman could do.
"Do you want to get another, Miss Kirihara?" Li asked, glancing at her stack of plates.
Misaki flushed. How did he…? "Ah, no. No, I think I'm good. I still have work later, and I'd rather not be too full."
Li nodded. "Sure." He looked down at his plate, picking up a stray slice of cabbage with his chopsticks. "So you're not done working for the night? Does your job have weird hours, then?"
"No," Misaki sighed. She watched as Li inspected the cabbage, turning it over, before eating it. He turned up to look back at her, and she tore her eyes away, fixing them instead on the passersby outside the small restaurant. "I've been working since about ten this morning. But we make sure our officers get enough breaks in the day so they can handle the long hours. We also cycle out who gets the longer shifts each week. This one is mine and Kouno's."
"The prankster?"
"The prankster."
Li furrowed his brow as though he were deep in thought. "I can't imagine him trying that kind of thing on you though, right?"
"Absolutely not," Misaki scowled. She was trying to appear intimidating, so she was shocked to hear Li burst into laughter.
"Sorry, sorry," he said between breaths. "I just can't stop imagining it. You look so angry!"
Misaki tried to scrunch her face into an even more intimidating glare, but Li's laughter didn't stop. Desperate, she reached across the table and stole the last bite of food from his plate, popping it in her mouth before he could protest.
The laughter ceased instantly. Misaki panicked, trying to chew the bite quicker. She looked at Li, who was staring down at his now empty plate. Shit. Was he angry? The guy clearly liked food, so did she offend him in the worst way imaginable? Did she let herself get too comfortable with him? This wasn't even a date, just a dinner between two acquaintances. She swallowed the bite, wracking her brain for something like an apology, when Li leaned forward.
Placing his elbow on the table and his chin in his palm, Li looked up at her, his expression unreadable. Misaki knew if she was standing her knees would have given out with the way he was staring into her.
"I guess Officer Saitou isn't the only one with a petty side," he said, his voice dropping an octave, "is he, Miss Kirihara?"
A coy smile played at the corners of his lips. Misaki suppressed a shudder. The sound of her name on his lips like that…
Maybe this was a date.
Her mouth was suddenly dry. She reached for her water glass and took a long gulp. The cool condensation was shocking on her lips, but it helped snap her out of the train of thought that had been threatening to derail her. She peered at him over the rim of the glass, startled to see his own eyes following the path her hand took as she set the glass back on the table. Her pulse quickened when his eyes flicked to her wrist, lingering. She imagined reaching out and brushing the hair out of his eyes, bringing his gaze up to meet hers…
Li's chair scraped on the cement flooring as he stood up, startling Misaki from her thoughts. "I should probably get going," he said. He was still looking at her hand gripping the glass of water. "I have somewhere I need to be."
Her grip tightened around the glass, cool metal rubbing against her wrist as she – oh. That's what he had been staring at.
Misaki adjusted the watch on her wrist while trying to mask the embarrassment in her voice. "I didn't realize it was already so late. I need to get back to work, too."
Li nodded to her, then walked over to the bar of the restaurant, raising his hand in greeting to the cook on the other side. They chatted for a moment, then the cook grinned, reached over, and clapped Li on the shoulder. It sounded like Li was complementing the cook's skills and thanking him for the meal. How sweet.
Grabbing her jacket, purse, and bag of newly purchased wine, Misaki rose and headed towards the register, wallet in hand. She wasn't ready for dinner to be over, but she couldn't find an excuse to extend it. She had patrol for the rest of the night, and he had… whatever he had going on. It wasn't really her place to ask.
As Misaki opened her wallet, she was stopped by Li placing his hand over hers, his grip gentle but heavy.
"Let me, Miss Kirihara," he said. He was watching her with those dark eyes again.
Misaki held his gaze. She opened her mouth to push back, but stopped short. It had sounded like a request, but Li's tone and the weight of his hand on hers made it clear there wasn't room for argument. She stepped away from the register, and he released her hand to grab his own wallet from his pocket.
Misaki was going to wait for him to finish paying, but instead found herself stepping out into the warm evening air. Although the weather had been dry for the last few days, the city itself was still thick with the memory of rain it won't let go of. As Misaki took a deep breath, she caught a lungful of secondhand smoke. She coughed, waving the smoke out of her face and glaring at the offending pedestrian as they walked away.
Don't they know that secondhand smoke is far more dangerous than the cigarette itself?
Misaki barely heard Li step onto the sidewalk next to her, stopping just outside of arms' reach.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, clearly concerned by her coughing fit.
"I'm fine," she choked out, struggling to hold in a final cough. Misaki swallowed the last of the tickle down, then crossed her arms against her chest. "You didn't have to cover dinner for me, you know."
"Ah, of course," Li stammered, staring at the ground by his feet. His shoulders hunched up as he dug his hands deeper in his pockets. "I didn't mean anything by it. It just felt like the right thing to do."
Misaki sighed. She wondered if he felt the need to prove something to her, considering the gap in their pay brackets. She had known men in the past who had developed a complex about that sort of thing. She had hoped Li wouldn't be one of them since those relationships rarely reached a second date.
She shook her head. No, she shouldn't write him off because of one meal. That was hardly fair to him.
"Don't worry about it," she said. She unfolded her arms, relaxing her stance, and draped her suit jacket over her purse. "I appreciate it, Li. This was a really good choice. I've never heard of this place before."
The tension melted off of Li's face at her praise. "Yeah, it's one of my favorites. Now that I work on this side of town, I'll get to stop by more often, too."
She took in the way he looked in that moment, how the bright yellow and red lights of the various eateries and shops illuminated the air around him. It looked like a halo that framed him against the dark city backdrop. He wasn't smiling anymore, as he had been all night. Instead, there was a distant, far away look in his eyes as he stared up at the streetlights. She couldn't read the emotion behind them, nor how he felt in that moment – but she wanted to know.
"So next time, I get to pick where we go, right?"
The words were out of Misaki's mouth before she realized she had said them. Li cocked his head at her, his brow scrunching up again. He brought his hand to his chin, looking away from her once more.
"Next time…" she heard him repeat the phrase quietly to himself. Then, to her: "Where would you want to go?"
Her heart skipped a beat. She took a mental inventory of the places she could recall that she and her officers enjoyed. While they were all perfect for a quick meal between stakeouts, none of them were date appropriate. She adjusted herself, feeling the weight of the wine shift in the bag she was holding.
The wine.
"Are you free tomorrow night?"
Li nodded slowly. "As of right now, I am."
"Well, my friend invited me to this party at her place," explained Misaki. "I'm not really a party person, but it's something that would mean a lot to her." Misaki passed the wine bag into her other hand, the weight of the bottles suddenly seeming heavier than before. "I was thinking it might be more bearable if someone else I know was there."
"Someone like who?"
"I was going to ask someone from my team, like Saitou or Kouno, or even Ootsuka…"
Li took a step towards her, his head cocked slightly to the side again. "I'm sure that Officer Saitou would say yes," he suggested. His expression was pleasant enough when he said it, but something about his voice sounded… off. Was he annoyed?
"Well, probably, but my friend said I wasn't allowed to bring one of them," Misaki stumbled her way through the sentence, her balance lost by how close Li had gotten to her. He was less than half an arm away now.
"Oh? Then who else?"
"What do you mean, 'who else'?"
Li stopped. He lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. I don't know, he was saying. You tell me.
Misaki's skin prickled. Oh. Oh. He knew full well what she was asking; he just wanted to hear her ask him directly.
Out loud.
Misaki took a breath and held it. Then, "Would you like to come with me to my friend's party tomorrow night?"
~*~*\~0~/*~*~
Hei was neatly tucked out of sight of the main street on the third story fire escape of a new, unoccupied building, waiting for any discernable signal to step in – though what he was stepping in to do, he still didn't know. Though he didn't want to give away his position, it took everything he had to suppress the groan rising in his throat.
Of course, Hei had said. I'd be happy to.
It was true that he didn't have any plans tomorrow night. At least, none that he knew of. There was always the chance that a last minute mission could come through when he wasn't expecting it. His calendar being clear wasn't the issue, though; the real problem was that he never should have said yes in the first place.
Hei knew what it was that Kirihara was hoping for. He'd seen that look in plenty of his previous marks' eyes before, heard the pleas their voices as they asked, Can I see you again? It was dangerous that she recognized him from the incident at the hotel. It was foolish having dinner with her tonight, in full view of anyone who happened to walk by.
Hei released a quiet breath, so small it was hard to call it a sigh. A party at a friend's house was out of the question. He needed to come up with some excuse as to why he couldn't make it, something that made it clear that she shouldn't ask him out again, period.
He looked down the alley he was positioned above, looking out for any unwanted company. It was just barely wide enough for a vehicle, though he doubted one could actually make it through the road, filled as it was with trash and various construction equipment. The sound of rustling plastic and paper, followed by a rather loud, animalistic cry caught Hei's attention and he snapped his head down, instinctively backing into the shadow of the building behind him. Just visible through the slits in the stair landing, a fat tabby cat leapt out of a trash pile with a large black bird gripped in its teeth. Judging by how the cat waddled down the alley, it was already well taken care of by good-intentioned residents in the area. The bird was an unnecessary kill – it hadn't needed to take the risk.
So why did he?
Despite spending over three hours with the woman, Hei didn't have anything to show for it. It wasn't worth the effort to try collecting intel from her; even as a superior officer, there wasn't any intel the police might have that would interest him. The Japanese police barely registered on his radar as anything more than things Hei should avoid.
After tonight he might need to add a new category: things Li should avoid – with Kirihara being right in the center where those categories overlapped.
Hei's eyes wandered back over the alley, this time following the way the blue light danced off the building across from him. Hei tensed. A specter? He scanned the major road below, searching for any indication that he had been made. Each person walking down there could be a threat; anyone sitting in the square across the way could be a doll that was watching him right now. A police car drove by, its blue lights silently flashing as it patrolled. The blue light faded from the window as it passed, and Hei allowed himself to relax a bit.
There wasn't enough water nearby for Yin to be helpful tonight, so Mao was serving as lookout. The cat was good, reliable as far as teammates go, but he couldn't see nearly as much as the doll could. Hei needed to have a talk with Yin after this job tonight. It was lucky there were no other contractors inside the restaurant to notice her specter in Kirihara's glass. He wasn't afraid that she was spying on him under anyone's orders, but ever since the run in with the Russian agents, Yin had been sending her specter out on her own more frequently. She had done the same that morning, too.
I want to make sure my friends are safe, she had said when he asked. He wasn't sure who she meant when she said "friends" beyond himself, and she didn't elaborate any further. Maybe Mao and Huang? Hei had a hard time seeing it.
He glanced at the cop car as it turned onto a side street up ahead. Sunshine City was the largest shopping center in Ikebukuro, and locals and tourists alike would gather here long after the shops themselves were closed. The police likely knew that made it a perfect location for clandestine negotiations to take place – whether between local gangs, simple drug dealers, or foreign operatives like himself.
Hei was sure that Officer Kirihara knew that, as well.
That was the most important reason that he should have declined Kirihara's invitation. She was one of the few people in this city that had met him as both his aliases, and that made her dangerous to him. Even though she was likely just a civilian police officer, she was a pretty good one from what Hei had gathered during their first meeting. She may have only met the reaper once before, but once could be all it took to make the connection back to him. He needed to be more careful of her.
"Hei, we have a problem," Mao's urgent voice crackled over Hei's earpiece, and in the same instant two gunshots were heard across the busy public square.
Hei scanned the crowd, only taking a moment to find a woman with short brown curls running towards him. Hei lifted himself onto the railing, feeling it shift under his weight. His gloved hands gripped the painted metal, holding him in place as he counted the seconds.
Eleven… ten… nine…
Her footsteps grew louder as she approached the alley, but they were quickly drowned out by the sound of the crowd behind her erupting into horrified screams. Hei ignored them. The woman glanced over her shoulder, nearly tripping, but she caught herself and pushed forward. She was almost under him now.
Four… three… two…
Hei released the railing.
~*~*\~0~/*~*~
Misaki peered through the dark doorway into an empty room. Her hands were clammy against her gun's grip as she thumbed the safety off. There weren't many places for anyone to hide in here, but she was still cautious as she stepped over the threshold, her gun and flashlight both raised at eye-level. She heard the sound of Kouno's boots scuff across the floor as he followed her inside, sweeping his own light to the right.
Astronomic's surveillance specters were able to track the recent contractor activity to this building, but the newer structure wasn't hooked up to the city's main power grid yet. This meant the task of finding the contractors hiding inside fell on Misaki and her officer.
"Clear," Kouno called quietly from the other side of the room.
Misaki nodded, then confirmed her section was empty before repeating, "Clear," back to him. She lowered her gun to waist-level; ready to use at a moment's notice.
Kouno tried a door, grumbling an obscenity when it didn't budge. He cupped his hand around his face so he could better see through the glass next to it. "We haven't heard anything from BK-201 in weeks. What do you think changed?"
"I don't know," Misaki huffed. She stepped over an open toolbox and some loose extension cords on her way to another door, this one labeled Emergency Exit. She tested it, feeling relief when it opened easily. She waved Kouno over to her and indicated the stairs that sat on the other side of the door. "Let's ask him when we catch him."
Kouno gave a curt nod, his expression tight. "Right, Chief."
They made their way upstairs, careful to quiet their footsteps on the metal staircase. The second and third floors were as empty and dark as the first, so they continued until they reached the landing of the fourth floor. Her flashlight glinted off of something near her feet, and she held up her hand. Stop.
Misaki brought her light down to illuminate the puddle of fresh blood, the edge of the pool only now beginning to turn a dark shade of rust. Her eyes followed the trail to its source: a hand, twisted and mangled, wedged between the door and its frame. She waved to Kouno, and he stepped forward, positioning himself on the other side of the door, his gun ready.
Kouno flung the door open, the mechanism above stopping it from slamming into the wall. Both police officers scanned the room. Empty. Misaki gestured to the body on the ground – male, forties to fifties, Asian, likely a member of the construction crew, based on his uniform – and Kouno dropped down to investigate.
With no carpet or furniture to help absorb the sound, Misaki's footsteps echoed as she stepped further into the room, her flashlight sweeping over crates of various building materials. The large open room looked as barren as the others, but empty rooms don't kill unlucky construction workers. Misaki peered around a corner down a corridor, ensuring it was empty before turning into it. The wall on her left was lined with more plain office doors, the other with floor to ceiling windows. Yellow and blue light from the shopping center across the square bathed the hallway in a facsimile of green as Misaki checked each office.
Misaki's stomach felt like it was going to jump out of her throat each time she stepped into one of the dark rooms, casting her light in each corner before moving on. She had made the right choice in declining additional food earlier; she could feel that last helping sitting uneasily in her gut as she braced herself to nudge open another door.
CRACK!
Suddenly Misaki was flying backwards, air rushing past her ears. Her breath wheezed out of her lungs as her back slammed into the large window in the hallway. Her head knocked back onto the glass and she clenched her eyes shut, a wave of pain and nausea hitting her simultaneously. She heard her gun clatter to the ground next to her. Head throbbing too much to open her eyes, she reached her hand out, feeling along the dusty concrete floor.
She froze at the sound of approaching footsteps. Misaki forced her eyes open to watch as a woman – Caucasian, late fifties or so, with short brown hair in tight curls – stepped out of the room across the hall. It was hard to see the color of her eyes, obscured by the red light bleeding from them.
"Police are fast in this country," the contractor mused in half-decent Japanese. She held out her arm, palm open and facing Misaki. The air in front of the hand began to warp, bending and shifting, distorting the light that passed through it. The space around the woman shimmered with a bright blue color. "They asked me not to kill civilians, but we cannot have witnesses either, you know?"
Misaki rolled to her right as the contractor released her power with the same loud crack as before. The window shattered instantly, raining small chunks of glass down on and around Misaki. The officer reached backwards for her gun, keeping the contractor in her line of sight. Where she had expected to feel the cool touch of metal on her fingertips, she instead met soft, sturdy cloth. Misaki whipped her head around to find herself staring at a black-clad figure, the hem of their pants gripped firmly in her hand.
"I was wondering where you ran off to," the curly-haired woman said. "I do not love chasing after my targets."
In her periphery, Misaki saw the wall beside her gently illuminate in blue, but her attention was on the feet before her. She hadn't let go of the pant hem yet, nor had she looked up to see the face of the owner; she didn't need to. She recognized the jacket – long and black with a hint of green underneath – as well as her firearm just beyond the coat's tails, its dark metal glowing in the light of the city. She'd need to reach between his legs if she wanted to grab it. Was she fast enough to get it before he noticed? She'd only have a split second before he realized what she was doing, and she didn't want to provoke him while she was too close to dodge an attack.
BK-201 carefully lifted his foot out of her grip before setting it back down a few inches away, and Misaki finally looked up to meet the pale white mask. He wasn't paying any attention to her, focused entirely on the contractor on the other side of the hall. In his hand was a large dagger, blade pointed firmly towards the other woman.
This was her chance. Misaki stretched her arm outward, past BK-201's ankles and coat tails, but immediately pulled it back as another blast ripped through the air. Misaki ducked to avoid being hit again, covering the back of her head with her hands. BK-201 also crouched low as he dodged the attack, his mask nearly level with Misaki. She was startled to see it again in person, and so close this time, mere inches away. A pale ear was barely visible past the edge of the mask, though it was still mostly obscured by shaggy black hair.
BK-201 spun around quickly, sweeping his leg out behind him, and then rushed towards the attacker. Misaki scrambled forward and reached for her gun, but grabbed nothing. BK-201 had kicked the firearm the rest of the way down the hall. Misaki cursed as pulled herself up off the ground and sprinted toward the weapon.
She heard a couple more blasts as she ran down the hall. Occasionally the walls would flash rapidly, like someone was repeatedly flicking a light on and off. She heard the woman yelp. Misaki picked up the gun and aimed at the two contractors, struggling to get a good lock on either one of them. The woman's ability was expertly keeping BK-201 at a distance, but it wasn't enough to keep the knife from coming close enough to graze her, the walls flickering a bright blue-white as she cried out.
So, BK-201's power was related to his knives. Did they act as a catalyst, like VI-952's blood? Misaki shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. Why was she thinking about the hotel again?
Probably because that was the first – and only – time she that had encountered the black reaper before. She hadn't seen him fight during that encounter, not really. He had burst through a window and kicked Wei away from her and Saitou, and that was it. He left as quickly as he arrived, likely not even aware or caring that he had unintentionally saved their lives. Now he'd done the same thing, kicking away her gun and distracting the contractor long enough for Misaki to get out of away.
Misaki sucked in a breath and willed herself to focus, taking aim at the center of the fight. The woman was mostly stationary, relying heavily on her power to keep BK-201 away. He, on the other hand, didn't seem to ever stop moving. He jumped and darted around the woman, stabbing at her or trying to knock her over with an occasional kick. She would stumble, then manage to blast him away before he could close the distance. Misaki would never be able to hit him; it would be a waste of bullets. Instead, she fired at the woman.
Bang, bang, bang!
It looked like at least one bullet connected, but Misaki couldn't be sure, because at the same time BK-201 swung around and landed a kick to the other contractor's ribcage, knocking her out of the way of the other shots.
The force of the kick threw the woman against the wall, stunning her. Misaki expected BK-201 to take advantage of the opening and strike the other contractor where she laid, collapsed; but to her surprise, he didn't move. Instead, he remained hunched over on the ground a few feet away, his shoulders heaving as he caught his breath. Misaki steadied herself with a breath of her own as she began slowly approaching the two contractors. If she could get close while BK-201 was distracted, maybe she could get the jump on him. Kouno should be here in a moment to provide support; there was no way he could have missed the sounds of that fight.
BK-201 suddenly lifted his head to stare at Misaki, and the black, empty eyes of his mask bore into her, freezing her in place. She raised her gun so it was level with the man in front of her. Up until now, he had treated her as a bystander, an obstacle that needed to be avoided but not dealt with. By taking another step towards the contractor, Misaki knew that she would be turning his knife on her.
She held his gaze and walked forwards. BK-201's posture stiffened, but he didn't move. Misaki took another step, and then another, keeping her eyes fixed on the masked contractor. The man ducked his head slightly – looking down, maybe? It was hard to tell with the way his mask warped as it moved – and then rose to his feet. If Misaki hadn't been watching him so intently, she would have missed the slight wobble he gave as he stood. She also would have missed the small stream of blood shining in the streetlight as it trailed down his leg.
His leg.
BK-201 had been gripping his leg while he was crouched on the ground. The same leg he had kicked the woman with after Misaki had fired her weapon; the leg he was now favoring as he took a step towards her.
She had shot BK-201.
And he was pissed.
Misaki saw the contractor slip a hand under his dark coat, followed by a flash as the metal of his knife caught the city lights. She steadied her aim as his pace sped up. The white mask was suddenly much more terrifying.
"Don't move!"
Kouno's voice was nearly drowned out by the sounds of the city leaking in from the shattered window. BK-201 stopped, keeping his weight off his injured leg. He kept his gaze on Misaki, though it was impossible to tell where his eyes were actually directed, hidden as they were.
Kouno crunched over the broken glass in the hallway and approached BK-201, keeping his weapon locked on the man. "Chief, are you ok?" Then, to the masked contractor: "Get your hands on your head and get down on the ground, now!"
"I'm fine," Misaki answered. She heard her own shoes scrape against the debris as she took another step forward.
BK-201 didn't move. He continued to stare at Misaki, or maybe at the gun she still had aimed at him. Then, slowly, deliberately, he lifted his arms up in such a way that his jacket opened to either side. Misaki realized then that his coat was unbuttoned; the strap of some kind of harness was fastened around his torso. From either side of the harness, hanging just at the edge of his ribs, were the handles of two large daggers.
That didn't make sense. She was sure that she saw him take out a knife earlier, but now his hands were empty as he placed them on his head. When Misaki had seen him reach into his coat, he must have been sheathing his blade. But why – didn't his power rely on his knives? Why would he put them away like that – intentionally make himself vulnerable – when he was injured and surrounded? BK-201 didn't seem to be the type to surrender, no matter how dire his circumstances appeared.
Misaki recalled Jack's words from when they first encountered BK-201 during the Havoc incident: Mr. 201 seems to be acting entirely on his own, and his support team is nowhere to be found… quite the puzzle, isn't he?
Kouno's voice drifted over from behind BK-201 as he checked on the other woman's status. Misaki saw BK-201 glance over his shoulder at the sound.
"Don't even think about it," she warned him.
He looked back to her, studying her. She stopped about 20 feet away, close enough to be sure she wouldn't miss if she needed to fire her weapon, but hopefully far enough to dodge an attack from him.
A loud gunshot rang out and BK-201 jerked forward as the bullet slammed into him, stumbling on his injured leg. He gripped it tightly, then whipped around to confront the shooter. Misaki looked over at Kouno, ready to scold him for shooting at a suspect without cause, but she stopped; he was just as surprised as she was.
At the entrance to the corridor stood six – seven, eight? – armed men, fully covered in military-grade protective gear. Each one had a sub-machine gun pointed down the hallway squarely at BK-201 – and her. They filed further into the hallway, shoving Kouno out of the way as they blocked the entrance. Misaki's blood boiled at the sight of her officer being thrown around.
"What are you doing? He's surrendering!" Misaki shouted.
The men ignored her. Out of the corner of her eye, Misaki saw four more appear from the shattered window, wearing the same gear, carrying the same weapons. Their gear was impressive, but plain; there didn't seem to be any markings indicating an affiliation. They took aim at the contractor in front of her.
Misaki considered her options. While she didn't trust BK-201, these new men were a more immediate threat. She turned her gun on the soldiers – they had to be soldiers of some kind, dressed as they were – and said in the most authoritative tone she could manage, "I am Chief Kirihara, PSB Foreign Affairs, Section 4. This is my jurisdiction, and you have no right to interfere."
One of the soldiers turned to her and raised his own weapon in response. "Lady, I don't care what you are," the man said. His voice was slightly distorted by the mechanical tone his combat helmet gave him. "You'll stand down if you know what's good for you."
Misaki glared. She was debating what to do when her vision went dark. Or rather… her line of sight became obscured by the back of BK-201's black coat. His knife was in his hand again, but it wasn't pointed at her at all – it was angled towards the soldiers that were closest to them, the ones by the window edge. His left arm was positioned in such a way that, were he anyone else, would make Misaki think he was shielding her.
But he was a contractor. And she had shot him. It didn't make sense.
"When I say go, run."
It took a moment for Misaki to realize who the muffled, raspy voice belonged to. BK-201 was focused entirely on the soldiers, but his gloved hand moved in such a way to indicate the path behind her. She looked back; he was right, it was clear – no debris, no armed gunmen. She would be able to get away safely, but…
"My officer, on the other end of the hall. I can't leave him here," she insisted.
"I'll get to him if I can. Go."
BK-201 ran in the opposite direction from the hallway exit, and the soldiers followed. Misaki turned to run, but she hesitated.
BK-201 was helping her escape. He willingly chose to act as a distraction to give her time to get away. Why? He had more reason to kill her for shooting him. And he was fast, despite his injury. He could have run on his own, or perhaps taken her hostage to leverage a safe escape route for himself. But he didn't do any of that.
Misaki's grip tightened around her gun. She swallowed, chastising herself for what she was about to do. She turned back around, leveled her gun at the first soldier she could see, her finger tugging at the trigger—
A short, pained cry came from the end of the hall. Between the men, Misaki could see BK-201 standing, one hand on his neck. His knife fell from his hand to the floor with a quiet clatter, and he dropped to his knees. She saw his head turn slightly, the black eyes of his mask locking with hers, before he fell forward. A slender arm caught him before he hit the ground.
It was that contractor from before, the woman with the curly hair. Misaki scowled. She was working with the soldiers.
A number of the armed men began shuffling around the contractors, and Misaki lost sight of what was happening. She walked forward, barely registering the glass under her feet.
BK-201 was down. Was he dead? No, he couldn't be – he wasn't allowed to die; she had too many questions for him, too many open cases she needed to close. After evading her and her men for so long, for him to go down so quickly… Was it her fault? What is because he, for some unknown reason, decided to give her and Kouno a chance at escaping? No, Misaki knew that she wasn't responsible for this, yet she couldn't ignore the tight grip of guilt in her chest.
She saw BK-201's limp form emerge from within the group, draped over another man's shoulders in a fireman carry. Another soldier shoved Kouno to the side as the group made their way towards the main room and, from there, the stairwell.
"Wait," Misaki called out. "That man belongs in the custody of Section 4. You don't have the authority to take him anywhere!"
A single man pulled back from the group as they continued on. Misak couldn't tell if this was the same man who spoke to her earlier or not. With the way their armor obscured their physiques and their helmets hid their facial features and warped their voices, it was impossible to differentiate between them.
"With all due respect, miss – this is no longer your jurisdiction."
The man walked away, leaving Kouno and Misaki as nothing more than an afterthought.