[Hey again! Sorry it took so long to get this up, I've been busy for a while, but anyhoo, we finally get to slam some real plotline in ^^ hope you enjoy! And PLEASE leave comments, I need them to get better for Ch. 4!]
Hei.
Yin's head turned slightly on the moth-bitten couch, which smelled faintly of mildew. There was another person in the room…though her specter lacked sufficient water to leave her body, she could nonetheless feel waves of malevolence from the two beady eyes across from her.
He's bad, she recognized blandly.
"You're the doll of that contractor, BK-201, correct?" The man's voice seemed to have disconnection from his body- its smooth placidity contradicted his rough, gruff figure. Yin said nothing. "He'll come for you," he nodded, satisfied.
Don't leave me, she thought as her blank gaze wandered.
The man had a set of dominoes in front of him, which he began to set up carefully. Yin watched him, as a twinge of puzzlement set in on her for the first time in years. He seemed to inspect each piece carefully before either tossing it back to the side or placing it with care on the table. She couldn't tell with her eyesight whether or not they had a specific order, but from the tiny flecks of scattered color she could see, they appeared random.
"This is my payment. There's a string of numbers that I have to set up and destroy, some way or other," he explained in his slick voice. "Dominoes are the most convenient way. I could also write them out and burn the paper, but this takes less effort." He paused, waiting for a response. "I wouldn't be able to rip it, you see, because if any two numbers still remain 'standing,' I haven't completed my payment."
Yin didn't blink as she gave a slight nod. The man set up the last domino and flicked the first, as each after it fell down in turn.
"So tell me, sweetheart, what's your name? Or can you not say?" He lit a cigar and put it in a rough corner of his mouth. "I've never seen a doll before, but I hear you can't do anything on your own."
"Yin," she replied blankly. He chuckled.
"Yin? What kind of a name is that?" He exhaled after a long draw that appeared quite satisfying. She didn't reply. "I heard you were involved with the doll network crisis a couple of years ago. You look pretty harmless, but you can't judge a book by its cover, can you?"
"Why am I here?" she finally asked.
"Why? We have an agenda," he replied, cigar dangling between his fingers as it slipped from one to the other. "And we can't have BK-201 interfering."
Hei, she thought, don't come.
"The other half of it is, we need Izanami," he continued, eyes lighting up. "And I've heard that she is you."
Yin stared at him and slowly shook her head. "No."
"She hasn't parted from you, has she?" he started to frown slightly, pensively. "A being such as that couldn't separate from a body, could it?..."
The window crashed open as a black figure darted through, and a two-pronged knife spun in the air towards the man.
At once, his eyes sparked red. A long shadow extended from his hand, and the second it touched the knife the deadly metal disintegrated into dust. Hei stood opposite him and Yin, as the darkened rays danced around her tauntingly.
"Hei," she breathed.
"What do you want to let her go?" Hei stiffened as his venomous eyes turned to the man.
"Let's have some introductions, first," he gave a slight smirk as he straightened up, suddenly much taller than the stout man he'd appeared to be before. "You're BK-201, correct? You can call me Wednesday," he bowed smartly. "You want to work out a deal? Your life for hers."
Hei turned to Yin, and then back to Wednesday. He began a slow walk towards him as the ring of shadows forced Yin forward and past him. Wednesday's light blue eyes sparked as the darkness drew back towards him like his blown-out cigar smoke, rushing back at Hei. A long cord flew out of Hei's hand, lashing out towards Wednesday and missing by a hair, just as the long shadows did Hei.
"I supposed you wouldn't be interested in an easy death. Have it your way." A towering spot of darkness rose like a claw through the sky behind Wednesday, before rushing towards Hei.
Hei ducked to the side from the raging attack, throwing his cord out once more; this time it wrapped around Wednesday's wrist. Hei's eyes sparked red as he heard a small sound behind him. As he stared at the contractor in front of him, a horror grew in him that mirrored that in Wednesday's own eyes.
Hei turned around and caught only a glimpse of garnet-colored eyes and the tips of outstretched fingers that had undoubtedly once caressed ivory keys, as both broke into a stream of ash that melted away into the air.
