A/N: After much thought and consideration I have decided to take up this story again. But I have no promises on how often I can update it. I appologise for almost dropping this so many months ago, and I'll be happy if I get to see at least one reviewer. Unfortunately, all that time ago, I bumped into some personal issues... (swear it drove me stirr crazy, but oh well) Anyways, I'm back. I appologise if I have lost touch with the characters... and this chapter in general which appears to be 99 OC driven. (sorry) I also appologise for any inconsistoncies in this chapter and in the ones to come. It's been a while so I have gotten time to rethink certain aspects. The GitS characters will be front and center soon, I promise. Also, the plot may also change a bit. I appologise once again, especially if you came close to figuring out where this story was heading.

This chapter along with some of the next were already pre-typed back a while ago, so they may be a little more consistant. However, I did edit them abit... so don't quote me on that

The lithium flower

Chapter 4: Memories

He stumbled, glad to finally see daylight again as two men clad in black approached him. The dark haired man frowned when the men attempted to help his staggering frame. He pushed them away.

"You imbeciles! I was stuck in that damn hellhole for four frigging years! What the hell took you dumb asses so long?"

"We're sorry Takemura-san-"

"Shut up! Where is the hell is she? Where's the bitch that stuck me in here?" Takemura growled, his dark eyes wild and dangerous.

"We…we bumped into her about a month ago but ever since…"

"So like her. Hiding away like that, like some rodent! Do you have any idea who her contact is?"

"Um…her former classmate Haruka Yui, sir."

"What?" Takemura growled. "Her, why her?"

"I guess maybe its cause she knows about our little history. You, me, Akiharu, Kadaji, Yukimura, even her. After all, at one point wasn't Haruka your girlfriend." A cool voice echoed.

"Who's there?" Takemura called out, only to face a gun barrel.

"Just me Mehiji. An old acquaintance." Suddenly, a young woman with emerald green hair and crimson eyes appeared.

"Well, well, Ms. Mori."

"I'd kill you now, but the clean up such a sudden task would be messy. Consider it your lucky day." Jun smiled. "So for now, let's talk."

"Did you want to let me know that our little faker's alive and well?"

"No. I'd rather you not know. I have a warning though: go after her and you'll regret it."

Takemura smiled. "Aw, but here I thought I could win her back."

"That was the most stupid of ideas I've ever heard." Jun growled.

"Well sorry."

"Yuri would never forgive you – shit! Forget it, not even I would forgive you! Not for what you've done to her, or me. And Haruka knows." Jun glowered at him. "My ghost has been whispering to me to recently. Yuri's coming back here. I say you have two to three weeks before she returns and kicks your ass."

"Oh really? Yuri wouldn't happen to be Kage, right? She seems to be causing mayhem for the branch of my company in Taiwan."

Jun smiled. "Yuri…Kage? Hmm…maybe, but unlikely."

"Hey." He said, a word that broke her out of whatever reverie she was in. She had been staring off into the distance for sometime, and he stood there to admire her, but now he became concerned and had to interrupt. "Um…I brought some ointment for the wound…" He started off lamely. She didn't seem to mind, now, her complete and total attention was focused on him.

"Yukimura-dono…is there-" Her voice was quiet; he cut her off calmly.

"No…and there's no need for such high formalities Kusanagi-san. You may call me Yukimura-kun if you want. Or even just Yukimura." Yukimura smiled, stifling a laugh as she gave him a rather cut look.

"Why are you here, idiot?" Yuki shifted, her tone was suddenly so casual, he wasn't sure if he should be gawking or getting pissed off.

He took a deep breath before continuing. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier…" She shook her head, sensing his disarray of emotions.

"There's no need for that Yukimura …" Finally he released the breath he was holding, noticing that her tone became formal again. What was with this girl?

"In such a situation, like what you found yourself in, I can't help but be angry that it's Takemura who did that…I thought I knew him…but on a positive note…how's your sister Kusanagi-san?"

She shook her head regretfully. "My sister… of sorts…we haven't talked in years. The last time I even had anything close to contact with her was a few years back. It was her birthday, and her final cyborg re-sizing. I sent her a silver watch." He watched her closely, she was strong, he could tell, but sometimes he wasn't sure if she was smiling, laughing at him on the inside, for being stupidly and hopelessly worried about her.

Usually she'd snap at him for looking at her with that stupid expression he had on his face. But her expression was dimmed by a distant memory. "I see…it's sad, how families can fall apart like that, Kusanagi-san."

Kusanagi smiled faintly. "I know what you mean, Yuki-kun. Oh…you can call me Mayuka. Or May for short." Her voice was calm, quiet.

Yukimura smiled. "That's your name? Kusanagi Mayuka?"

Mayuka nodded. "Yes, that's what I told you, o-baka." She grinned. "Surprised?"

Yukimura quirked an eyebrow. "Never thought your first name would be something like that…Mayuka-chan. It's a beautiful name…really."

Mayuka rolled her eyes. "Please, don't patronize me…"

"No, really, I'm serious." Yurikmura protested. "It's a beautiful name, honestly."

"Beautiful? Please, you're mocking me." Mayuka joked. "Besides, there's no such thing as 'honesty' everybody lies." She whispered to herself. Yurikmura caught onto only the last two words and scowled. Oh yes, on the inside she was just howling with laughter at his stupidity…

"Damn-it, damn-it, damn-it, damn-it, damn-it, DAMNIT!" Yukimura screamed, banging the desk.

Ishikawa sighed when he heard the door open; Jun stuck her head away from her terminal and she found herself looking at Ayame.

"What's you're problem Aniki?"

"He's angry about the whole Kage thing. Seems we can't find anything else on them." Jun answered.

Ayame sighed. "Poor guy, must be heart broken…"

"Shut-up, would yah brat!"

Ayame scowled. "I found a possible identity to him or her…" Her eyes narrowed. "But seeing that I'm such a brat, I guess you wouldn't care for what I say."

"Still him or her, what about the identity…?" Jun asked.

Ayame frowned. "I only have a name. Haruka Yui."

"Haruka…it's common name, and it isn't gender specific either." Jun remarked.

"Exactly! That's why I don't know if it's a boy or girl! But their father openly objects to his child having any 'links to underground mercenaries like the likes of Kage'. Or so the old coot says. Really pisses me off that not even their father gave any hint to if it's a he or she. But we got their age. According to their father he divorced his/her mother many years ago, so going by that he says his child should be about twenty-seven years old."

Yukimura mulled it over silently. "But May would have been twenty-four just two days ago…that's three years…no, she can't be Haruka. But she might know Haruka."

Ayame nodded. "Alright then! Let's see if we can track down this 'Haruka Yui'!"

"Are you sure we should go in that bar?" Kage nodded to Shinyuu.

"But I'm underage!" Kage shook her head; he couldn't see her eyes because of the violet shades she wore.

"You're with me, and they know me around here, you'll be fine." She pushed the doors open and walked in. Shinyuu followed, his nose picking up the odor of cigarettes.

"You know those things can cause cancer to those without prosthetics." Kage smiled.

"Smart boy. Too bad it doesn't matter. We're not going to be here too long. Besides, if I didn't save your ass yesterday, you'd be dead now."

Shinyuu scowled, but she ignored his silent protest. She walked up to the counter as a man with dark hair and deep blue eyes walked over again.

"Raven, good to see you again." She said, her greeting somewhat formal. The man nodded. "Where's you're partner in crime?"

Raven smiled. "He's out Kage-sama. Went back to the Gin to keep the money rolling. We have more customers over there anyways M'am."

She raised an eyebrow. "Aren't we formal?" He nodded, and began walking away, motioning for her to follow.

She followed him to the back of the bar to where a room was, Shinyuu behind her. There was a bed and several chairs there. Something about the set up reminded her of something, her mouth formed a frown before she shook the memory away. Raven sat down at a chair, motioning for her to do likewise. Kage silently complied.

"So…how's the arm." Kage took off the shades revealing her blue eyes again, and then she took off the cloak, hanging it diligently on the back of the chair with her right arm. Shinyuu's eyes narrowed in on the arm again. The arm was dressed in white bandages that were slowly taking the tinge of crimson red, like warm blood in the cold snow. It was held in a black coloured sling. The strong fabric metal composure had a loop of which her forearm was through. The other part of fabric acted like a restraint keeping the arm firmly close to her body. By her neck was a clip, coloured gold, that looked like if she squeezed the sides of the clip the sling would release making it possible to remove the dressings, clean her arm and replace them with fresh ones. What he never noticed about her arm was that on her right she also had a black glove.

"My arm was better before the injuries…and I have no means of getting replacements for my damaged prosthetics though, so I'm stuck." Kage voiced. "After all, if I walked in to Hospital… no, I'd draw too much attention…" Shinyuu looked at her again, without the cloak that covered her face, he could see her face. The angular shape of her face brought out her eyes. But the angles were soft, like her jaw line.

"That's too bad."

Kage shook her head. "If you feel pain it's merely a sign that you're still alive."

Raven sighed. "Morbid aren't we?"

Kage smirked. "What did you expect? I am a dead woman."

He shook his head. "That nonsense again."

She sighed. "Well it is true besides, it's about time I get rid of the damn old war wound and get me a fully functional prosthetic arm. It would work much better than putting up with this."

"Look, shouldn't we get to the point as to why you came here?"

Kage nodded, ignoring the impatient tone in his voice. "So, what information you have?"

Raven opened his jacket, taking out a palm pilot. "The recent happenings with Kuze and the refugees have made the investigation into your 'death' take a pause."

Kage nodded. "Good, that buys me some time before someone who knows opens her big mouth."

Raven shook her head. "Why did you tell her?"

Kage shrugged. "I never said a word to her. All the others were ready to cut me open and see what killed me, however, she was reluctant to do so."

He nodded. "Then how come she knows?"

Kage frowned. "She's not stupid you idiot! I woke up from the coma, expecting to just leave. Sure, that's just what I did, but She's crafty! She'll pick up on even the smallest of breadcrumbs. It's only a matter of time before she and that cloned demon child picks up on everything."

"I see." Raven turned back to the palm pilot. "I think."

"You're too calm! Don't you see, everything's gonna fall apart, and Mehiji's gonna win. He'll get the company, my mother's idiot widow will fold to his demands, and all my planning's gonna be for nothing!" Kage growled.

Raven shook his head. "Then make allies instead of double crossing them." He warned sternly.

Kage glared. "Aren't you an ally?"

"I'm not even sure why you want to try this Coup D'etat against the Mehiji empire! You can't win waging a one man war!"

"Well, he ain't gonna get his way either. There's no way he'll get a monopoly."

Silence enveloped them both before Raven spoke again. "We've also kept tabs on your friends…they're grief ridden, except for one little man with orangey-black hair."

Kage frowned. "What the hell do you mean?"

Raven growled. "The punk refuses think you're dead. He's been searching, with some connections of his."

Kage sat there dumbstruck. "But…why?" Her voice seemed quiet.

"Because he's an obsessive bastard I guess. Just won't let it rest that you could be dead. Or it could just be that lover's intuition thing."

"Shut up!" Kage's voice was fierce. "He's an idiot, just like the rest!"

Raven shook his head. "Liar, you just don't want your lover boy to die on you just like the other one!" Raven regretted saying it, for he was on the ground a moment later.

"Don't say that." She warned sternly. Kage sat back in her chair, her hand over her face. "What an idiot! Why couldn't he be like the rest of them and move on?"

Raven shook his head, looking at her strictly. "Don't forget we have an audience. No waterworks."

Shinyuu gave a questioning glance as he watched Kage wipe her eyes. "Yuri-chan, don't worry." Raven finally voiced. "I promise I won't let any harm come to him. He's like a brother to me."

Kage shook her head. "You're an idiot too. And don't call me…that…I put my step-father and my past behind me the moment I changed my name. Even if it was only temporary."

"Yeah, but you won't even let me call you by one of your aliases either."

"Because." Kage growled. "Because, because…it wouldn't do me any good…as each of those people, I already died once."

"Funny, I see you right here." Kage glared at him but he continued on. "No, she didn't die. You're her; you just refuse to admit that. You want to give up on it. Everything started getting hard and you bailed!" Raven's voice was cold.

"I didn't do that!" Kage nearly screamed, standing.

"Oh, so first you abandon your half-sister Kasumi, and then you dump Akiharu's sister M-"

"Shut up you egotistical asshole!" Kage curled her fist, readying herself to attack before her hand went limp and she merely sat down again.

Raven shook his head. "Obviously there's too many memories when it comes to this subject in matter." Kage nodded glumly, sitting back down again. Raven managed to clamber into the seat and sat again.

"Finally, the bad news." He said, looking at her, his expression overshadowed by his long hair. "Mehiji's men are back," He paused, letting her absorb that information. "And he just joined them two weeks ago."

Kage nodded. "There goes the plan…that's for sure. He'll start trying to shut down my movement." She leaned back in her chair and sighed. "Oh, this is great. I'm gonna be stuck - trapped, unless I think and act quickly. And guess what? My work's rather shitty when I have little time before a deadline."

Raven nodded. "The stress gets to you, huh? Do you still take the-"

"No. I so don't have GWS." Kage muttered bitterly. "Insomina…now that's a different story."

Raven sighed at her tone. "Sources also say that his men have been on your tail for a while."

Kage scowled. "Yes, that's correct. As if my arm wasn't proof enough."

Raven sighed. "How troublesome."

Kage gritted her teeth; her body became tensed. "Actually that's why I'm disappearing again."

Raven nodded. "That would be best…but where?"

Kage smiled. "I'll initiate this cat and mouse game and figure a way to 'take care of' everyone's favourite black marked business owner. Permanently this time."

It was Raven's turn to stand up from out of his seat abruptly. "What! You can't be serious!"

She smiled. "I am serious. I've made up my mind. I'll no longer pretend I'm dead. I'm going back. Back to Japan. Back to Niihama-shi. After all, the bastard's gonnna come after 'the bitch that put him in jail' so what better time to shoot lead into him while his ego is all inflated by anger? Who knows, it might deflate that big-assed head of his."

"You're nuts!"

Kage's smile now had a hint of malice to it. "Maybe I am, but I've made up my mind. I'm going." She stood up from the chair, taking up her cloak and placing it on again so that it concealed her arm again. Raven got up, patting her on the shoulder.

"Just be careful…ok?"

Kage nodded. "Yeah I will." Kage then motioned Shinyuu to follow her and the two some then left.

A/n: Once again, I appologise if this chappie sucked, seemed inconsistant/ and or incohearant in anyway. It has been a while, but I hope to be back up to my old glory soon.

I currently have no preview, or date for the next chappie... damn exams are keeping me... sorry, but now I suffer the woes of highschool :P.

Ja ne!

Jun-kei