Le tme first say that I am so sorry I haven't uploaded in a while. I ws caught up in the hollidays...besides that I have no excuse. *shaaaaame* This chapter is pretty suspensful and the plot is finally starting to develop, plus I've revealed a new vital character. Hopefully some of this will make up for my lazyness..... Any way, please continue to R&R. I hope you enjoy this. Thank You!

Mission 5

I was being followed again. I could sense the eyes on me. It had been like this for a couple of days now, ever since my slip up with Li. I had accidentally let on about my injured arm and now I was being followed everywhere I went. It didn't mean that Li had anything to do with it. Someone else could have just as easily noticed if I had already had a tail on me. The only thing that seemed to feed my suspicion was the fact that I was seeing that strange, talking cat everywhere: the same cat I had first encountered in that warehouse after defeating The Black Reaper.

There was no difference in the way Li treated me so far however. The last couple of times I had seen him he'd acted the same as always, nothing to suggest he was watching me. Damn, I caught myself thinking of Li Shen Shung again. Why was I so obsessed with the idea that he might be The Reaper? It was just a silly thought that kept coming back to me. He did seem the same shape and height. His hair looked identical…Then again there were most likely many people with slim bodies and black hair here. I had nothing to go on. There was no reason to even pursue the idea.

I stopped outside the small coffee shop I had begun to call my "home away from home". It was also where I was now employed. I had to pay the rent somehow. I inhaled the rich scent that wafted from the place before pushing the door of Last Stop Coffee Shop open and walking in past the big chalk board that told all customers about our deals and specials. A young lady with straight black hair and narrow eyed looked up from behind the counter.

"Arashi," she hollered in a vexed tone. "You're late!" I glanced quickly at my watch. I was late…by three minutes.

"Sorry, sorry," I said half heartedly. There really wasn't any way to please the woman. Haruki Arisa wasn't the happiest of people and she liked to take her anger out on others, especially her employees. I moved slowly into the back of the store to put on my lovely cream coloured uniform with its matching hat. When I remerged Haruki gave me a look that said "get to work or else" and stalked in back of the store to her office, to sleep no doubt. I watched her go and then yawned, already too tired to stand. Last night had been a late one.

People flitted in and out in random intervals. The shop was never packed, never too busy. I spent some time recalling just how uneventful my life had become over the past few days. Knowing that I was being followed the only thing I could do was lay low. I would make my move to meet the Reaper again later, after I was able to move freely again.

"A small with six cream an' five sugar."

"Alright, coming right up." Some people's taste disgusted me. After nearly six hours I decided to approach Haruki-san about a break. I pulled out a small sign that informed the customers that I would be back in two minutes and cautiously made my way back to where her office was. I knocked lightly at her door. When there was no response I knocked a little louder.

"Haruki-san," I called softly. The door wrenched open and I looked upon a half asleep Haruki Arisa.

"Huh?"

"I was only wondering if I could take my break now…" The look she gave me was frightening and she was silent for a minute. She looked at her watch, then looked back to me. I waited patiently, but her gaze continued to bear into me. After a minute passed I realized that something was wrong.

"Haruki-san?"

"…" I let my eyes slide slowly over to where a clock was situated on the far wall. The seconds were ticking away. I felt a small jolt of shock and I immediately regarded the woman again.

"Haruki-san!" I took her and made to shake her, but no matter how hard I tried I could not budge her. She was as stiff as stone.

"What the hell is going on," I asked myself aloud. I slowly turned away from her and walked back out into the store front. What I saw there made my heart leap into my throat. Every customer was frozen and unmoving, but standing in the middle of the store, an unearthly, blue light emitting from her was a young girl. Her wavy, auburn hair seemed to float slightly and her large, amber eyes stared vacantly into space. They had a red gleam to them. She turned her head ever so slightly and looked straight at me. I immediately felt myself freeze. I couldn't even draw a breath.

"Verloren," she breathed. Her voice was thin and strained. I could see some deep pain in her eyes as she moved towards me. I wanted to speak, to call out to her. Why was she keeping me trapped in this immobile state when all I wanted was to answer her? "Ver…loren." Her slim hand reached up and cupped my face. She leaned in close to me. Her skin was cold as ice.

Suddenly the door burst open and the spell was broken. Everyone resumed what they had been previously doing. The clock in this side of the building ticked on as before. The girl was gone; no trace of her was to be seen. I stood, still frozen in shock. Could that really have been…. I was awakened from my thoughts when a familiar face appeared before me.

"I didn't know you worked here Arashi-san." I regarded the friendly face of Li with a blank stare. I felt an emotion churning in my gut. It was one that would be best not to act on. I was angrier then I could have imagined at the site of Li Shen Shung. If he hadn't of walked in, maybe I would have known, maybe I would have found my answers finally.

"What will it be Li-san," I asked politely. Haruki Arisa never got back to me about that break.

***

SMASH. I banged my fists into the wall, denting the weak plaster slightly. I winced as pain shot up my arm. It wasn't completely healed yet. "SHIT!" I punched with my good arm and repeated the action for good measure. "Why? Why the hell were you there?" I slid down the wall and buried my face in my knees. For someone who was supposed to have a good handle on emotions I was doing a pretty lousy job. I leaned back and stretched my feet out in front of me on the empty floor of my apartment. I felt like an explosion had gone off in my heart. I couldn't believe how much pain had come from seeing her again. After all this time, thinking she was dead. I knew she'd been here. It was the only place I could go to look, but if she was alive, what had I been looking for?

Did he know? Did The Reaper know that she was still here? I had no idea, but at that moment I decided that I would find out what I wanted to know. That night. I heaved myself up and left my apartment. I was tracked by the cat again and when I finally lost him I was able to pull on my mask and head for the park. The girl with the unseeing eyes was there as I expected. She had been for many nights. I had no doubt in my mind that she was a doll, his no less. I don't know why I was so sure.

I walked straight up to her, sitting on that round bench. Her head lifted slightly in response. "Where is he," I questioned. She looked up at me, but did not say a word. "Where is he!?" I grabbed her shoulder and shook her.

"Yin!" I turned to find the cat leaping towards us. I let go of the doll as he landed at my feet and glared. "What point is there in you being so elusive," he snapped at me. "You are the one with the questions, yet you keep evading us or running away. Just who are you and what are you looking for? This is your final chance to tell us!"

I stared at the cat with cold eyes. He had a point and I didn't like admitting it. Why couldn't I say it before? Why couldn't I find the words? "Dawn," I said finally. I saw the cat's purple eyes widen at the name. "You know about Dawn, don't you?"

"You…," he started. It seemed like he was at a loss for words. I felt a small pleasure inside, knowing that I'd chosen the right people to come to after all.

"Hei." The small girl's voice was unexpected, but as soon as she spoke I was moving. The Reaper landed in the exact spot I'd been standing, his knife crackling with electricity in his hand. The masked face was lowered, but when he raised his head and looked at me his body followed the movement and I was dodging before thinking. He swiped out at my face with the blade and caught my attention and with his other hand he grabbed onto my injured arm and pulled it back behind me. I bit back a cry and suddenly there was his knife at my throat. I didn't dare move. I could feel the hard metal pressing into my skin, his grip on me was crushing. I knew that I only had seconds. He was about to kill me.

"Hei! He knows about Dawn," the feline called. The pressure on my throat weekend for a split second. There was a silence. "Hei…," the cat said again.

"I know," the reaper replied quickly. He deftly switched his grip on me so that he had one arm around my chest and another on the back of my neck. The jolt sent a wave of white-hot fire through me and I felt everything shut down before I lost consciousness.

***

"Ver. Wake up silly. What are you doing laying here? You'll catch a cold."

I opened my eyes and she was standing over me, her bright, auburn eyes gazing at me with amusement. "What have you done to yourself this time," she laughed.

"What do you mean," I said sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"Look at your hair stupid. Why is it all red?" I laughed at her.

"Because I want it to be red." Her face scrunched up in an awkward expression.

"I dunno. It'll look pretty silly when your roots start growing back in." She grinned and punched me lightly on the shoulder as we sat there together on the green hill, looking up at the night sky.

"Eve," I said looking over towards her.

"No," she responded in a flat voice. "I told you already you can't call me that anymore. I've forsaken that name."

"But E-… Dawn. It's not the same."

"No Ver. Nothing's the same."

"Don't come back here Ver."

"You know I can't just let you walk away. You know I…"

"Goodbye Verloren. I…"

"Did you know…," her childhood voice spoke to me. "Did you know your name means lost?"

"Yeah," I answered. "Mama did that on purpose. She said that's all we are."

"Well you aren't lost anymore."

"What do you mean Eve?"

"I've found you." Her smile…imprinted into my mind, still as clear as day. Even after all these-

The sound of a door slamming made me aware that I was conscious. It took several moments to remember how to open my eyes, but once I'd succeeded I realized there wasn't much to see. I was in a small dark room. The only light was what was seeping in through the window. It looked like it was dawn… I felt the familiar pain in my chest as I thought of dream...

I lifted my head and noticed that there was someone standing at the far end of the room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Besides the chair that I was tied to the only other furniture was a beat up looking sofa. The man crossed the space and collapsed onto said sofa with a sigh. I noticed the mask, which immediately made me notice that mine was missing. Dammit.

I waited for what seemed like an eternity before The Reaper finally rose and walked over to me. I stared into his mask, my eyes betraying no emotion. With nothing to lose I decided it was worth the risk...

"Li-san," I said more than asked. He remained silent, not moving a muscle. Finally his hand came up and pulled the mask free from his face. I regarded his cool dark-blue eyes without feeling any surprise. He threw the mask behind him and continued to stare down at me in that deadly way. When he spoke I heard the voice of The Black Reaper and not the friendly façade I had come to know.

"What do you know about Dawn?"

"I don't see why that's any of your business." His hand came to my throat in an instant and I was met with a rather unpleasant shock. I couldn't keep from choking out a cry. His cold eyes bore into me with such a frightening intensity. Contractors are rational beings. We know when not to hold our tongues. Any contractor in my position would feel no need what-so-ever to hold anything back. For some reason though, the thought of him knowing about Dawn was more frightening then the thought of losing my life.

"Kill me if you want," I said. "The only thing that I care about anyway is the answers you're not going to give me." His hand did not move from my throat, but when I glanced into his eyes I saw something there. He released my neck and stood back.

"Ask then," he said. I felt my eyes widen in spite of myself. Maybe things could still work out after all.