Chapter 12

The cell phone rang repeatedly, waiting for its owner to answer. Its backlit LCD glowed eerily in contrast to its night surroundings. The curtains were pulled back, letting the soft glow of the moon in. The red-haired man awoke, irritatingly unflipping the cellphone and responding with a tone that would give any person a hint that the man who the voice belonged to was no where near amused by this midnight call. His arrogant tone faded as the person on the other end described of another organization who would have to be removed after they obtained their information.

As he turned off the cellphone and threw it carelessly onto the carpet, he murmured, "And just as I thought the fun had ended….this should prove to be interesting."

Chapter 13

"Neu, Neu, I found it!" Tot ran over to where Neu was studying a list of necessities they would need for the next month. Shopping in a store, she never thought she would be inside a store, shopping like any other person. Before Masafume was put in the state that he was, money had been readily available for them at a moments notice, but after he fell into a comatose state, the steady stream of money stopped. There was enough to last them for many more years to come, yet they were willing to take no chances. Without Ids or stating the place of residence, they would not be able to find a job. No member of Schreient had either. It was simply as if they didn't exist, and they would have to act as if they didn't if they were to continue with their experiments in peace. So until the time being, they would have to go to a store as any other human being.

Tot was holding in her hand a brand of hairspray Schoen had written down specifically on the list. The member of Schreient, even after years of being no longer part of the modelling industry, insisted on purchasing accessories from her modelling days. Tot had been at the women's department for half an hour, trying to explain to the worker that she needed to find the hairspray with the blue bottle, and not the green that was displayed on the shelf. Triumphant, she placed the item into the cart, perfectly content in pushing the cart down the aisle.

They were able to finish the rest of the groceries with less time. Tot was a few metres in front of her as they walked out of the shop, balancing the two paperbags on both sides with ease. She skipped along the sidewalk, glancing back at Neu when she reached their car. She watched as Tot tried to capture a white butterfly that was fluttering above her.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Neu said when she collided with a person who had just turned the corner. The groceries had limited her vision and she had not been able to avoid the collision. She hastily switched the bags to her other hand to prevent the contents from spilling. It was a man she had bumped into, and in his hands, were a beautifully arranged vase of flowers. She couldn't see his face clearly through the bunches of roses, but his dark blonde hair was quite beautiful. Almost as if the tresses belonged to a woman rather than a man.

"I caught the butterfly, come quick!!" Tot called out to Neu, waving to her excitedly.

Neu laughed, "Tot, you shouldn't do that to butterflies." She bowed her head quickly to the man, apologizing another time before heading off to Tot and her butterfly.

"Asuka…"

Chapter 14

Another mission. Another kill. Yet it was just more than one murder, the night would end with numerous killed. This was how life always was. Takatori was ruthless when it came to those who betrayed him, and it would become their task to dispose of the useless without staining the Takatori name. The last kill had left blood stains on his shirt, because the man had struggled and he had been caught off-guard. And it was a shirt he favored, he had hoped he could murder the man without getting filthy.

He followed Schuldich's lead, controlling each landing of their shoes so no apparent disruptance would be made. Schuldich's hair was covered with a dark navy hat, very rarely would he be seen in anything that would hide his hair, yet tonight was more important than the last. His hair was a shade of red and orange, if anyone saw them and managed to escape, it might as well be as good as a fingerprint. There are not many foreigners in Japan, let alone ones with a hair color like his.

Schuldich tilted his chin slightly, a signal meaning for them to go their separate ways and meet afterwards. He slipped into the closest door to his right, unnoticed. Clicking the door closed, the darkness blanketed his vision. Sensing no presence within the room, he reached for the light switch. As the light filtered into the room, he studied the walls around him. Walking over to the oak-table, he sifted through the contents, and finding none of the files Takatori had ordered them to bring along with the man's death.

On the edge of the desk, was a silver-framed picture of a girl. The frame was obviously very expensive, and the owner must have cherished the picture, because the glass that separated a person touching the photo was spotless. Upon closer inspection, there was something familiar about the girl. It wasn't possible for him to recognize the person, this building was owned by Takatori, he knew of no one associated with the politician other than those in Schwarz.

/Why are you crying? Here, this is the nicest flower necklace I've made, I'll give it to you, so don't cry anymore, okay?/

He placed the frame back to its place. The girl in the picture smiled back at him unmovingly, her wind-blown hair fallen onto her shoulders. The voice, he heard the voice clearly, yet it was not a memory of his own. He remembered no events in his past with the voice. Yet the voice sounded familiar…The echoing of a distant gunshot brought him back to his senses.

What was he doing here, trying to make meaning of a stranger's photo. The voice must have been a fragment he had mixed into his own past, how else could it be explained. He turned the light off of the room, engulfing the room once again in darkness. The door clicked to a close behind him as he slipped past the security guards.

The picture frame on the table, no longer held the photo of the girl.

Chapter 15

He was trapped. No escape. The hallway he headed in was now being overtaken by security guards who were fully equipped. Had it been only one or two men, he could easily have used his powers to his advantage and gotten rid of the threatening situation, yet there were at least twelve within his sight. Trying another hallway on the other end, he saw a handful of security guards making their way towards his direction. He had misjudged the plan, he thought all would go smoothly as it always had.

A door behind him opened, an arm grabbing ahold of him and drawing him into the dark room. He struggled, ready to use the knife that was hidden in his pocket if needed. Shoving the assailant with invisible hands he concentrated. In his mind, he pictured the light switch being turned upwards, and a few seconds later, the room brightened.

"Why did you do that? I was just trying to help." On the floor, facing him with tears in her eyes was Tot, holding the arm that had received the full impact of his powers. "You didn't need to be harsh, if you didn't want to be saved from those guards, you could have just told me."

"What are you doing here."

"Nagi's being mean to me!" She cried, holding the same stuffed animal he had seen her carrying on their first encounter.

"…You know my name."

Tot hesitated, seemingly uneasy at the situation she had brought herself into. She stood up from the ground, turning the doorknob and opening the door open an inch wide.

"I-I think I better—"

The invisible force closed the door shut.

TBC….