Jiao-tu poked listlessly at her ramen. "I can't believe Iwakara is dead." She hadn't liked the man at all, but he had been an excellent physicist, and his research was part of what had interested her in Tokodai in the first place.
"I can't believe Professor Mure still made us take that exam," Mei-li said around a mouthful of noodles. They were in their apartment, eating on the sofa in front of the television. Jiao-tu wanted to watch the news reports of the university fire, Mei-li didn't; so they compromised, and were watching the news with the sound off.
"Ugh, don't remind me." Jiao-tu hadn't been able to focus on the exam at all. She'd wanted to spend the day with Tian, so that he would have someone to look after him; he was clearly in a lot of pain from his injuries after that stove fire in the restaurant where he worked. But he insisted that her classes were more important. She only left after he'd promised her that he would ask that quiet girl, Yin, if he needed help.
Then when she'd gotten to campus this morning, she heard the news about Iwakara. Chemistry had been the last thing she wanted to think about.
"After you ran off so mysteriously last night," Mei-li said, "I was asking Arakawa about what would happen if Iwakara's lab had been damaged in the fire - before I knew the fire was in his lab, of course. He said the damage from the water alone would set their research back months, if not years."
"Wow. What's Arakawa going to do now?"
Mei-li shrugged. "He said he was able to back up some of the professor's data; maybe he'll be able to continue some of it on his own, if he can borrow someone else's equipment. Actually, he seemed more worried about you."
Jiao-tu's chopsticks slipped in her fingers. "Me? Why?"
Her roommate regarded her over the top of her glasses. "I told him you had been acting weird - not coming home all night, then your phone ending up with the police, then running off again last night for no reason. I remembered you had gone to Iwakara's office the other day, and I thought if you ran into Arakawa…and then didn't come home…" She let the suggestion hang in the air, unsaid. Then she sighed. "But then where were you last night? He was just as confused as I was."
Jiao-tu blushed. "I did run into him at the professor's office, but he said he had work to do in the library, so I left."
"So there is something going on between you two? 'Tu, I can't believe you didn't tell me!"
"There isn't! Honest; you know I would tell you if there was." Actually, Jiao-tu had hardly even thought about Arakawa in the past couple of days.
"Then where were you last night?" Mei-li demanded.
Jiao-tu sighed. "I can't tell you. It's nothing to do with Arakawa though." Why had Tian asked her to make that stupid promise? He was going to meet her roommates when he came over tomorrow anyway.
"Well, are you going to disappear again tonight?"
Jiao-tu shook her head, and poked at her food some more. She wanted to stop by Tian's again and see how he was doing, but he'd told her this morning that he was just going to go to bed early and get some extra rest; he needed it. She'd see him tomorrow.
"Good. We need a break, after being nearly blown up, and after that awful exam - let's go to Roppongi."
"Roppongi? So far?" Usually Mei-li preferred to go to clubs nearer the university, and complained about the cost when Jiao-tu or Liang wanted to go someplace like Roppongi or Shibuya.
Mei-li leaned over the arm of the sofa and shouted down the hall, "Liang!"
"What?" Their other roommate wandered into the living room, her long black hair wrapped in a towel and her make-up half done.
"Are you going out tonight? 'Tu and I were thinking of going to Roppongi."
Liang's eyes lit up. "Fun! I was going to get together with Chihiro and Umi for karaoke - I'll tell them to meet us at the train station."
Jiao-tu wasn't really in the mood to go out; but then again, it would be nice to have something to get her mind off of the events of the past couple of days.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was a reason you always did stake-outs in pairs, Misaki reflected. It wasn't so that you had backup in case of trouble. It wasn't for the extra set of eyes, or even the company. It was so that you could leave for a few minutes to pee. She'd had entirely too much coffee tonight.
Her subordinates had been surprised when, at exactly 17:00, Misaki had gathered her things to leave. "Tomorrow's my day off," she told them. When that explanation was only greeted with blank stares, she added, "I have plans tonight." At those words, Saitou had turned beet red, and Ootsuka had given her a discreet thumbs up. Misaki had run home to change into more comfortable clothes - jeans, a light, long-sleeved cotton shirt, and a casual blazer that hid her gun - and was parked outside of Xu's apartment building by the time night fell.
She'd been here for five hours, and so far nothing suspicious or even interesting had happened. There was just the regular traffic of residents - mostly students, this close to the university. Xu and a woman in red glasses had arrived home around 18:00, and not long after that another woman, with hair almost as long as Misaki's, had let herself into the apartment. Since then, things had been quiet.
Maybe she should just call it quits and go home. She had no evidence that Xu was in any danger, after all. It was, like she'd told Hei, just a gut feeling. Hei. The whole reason she'd gone to his apartment this afternoon and told him what she had guessed was so that he could protect his cousin - but by the end of their conversation, she wasn't entirely sure that he would.
It was rational for him to want to protect Yin; she was part of his team and he depended on her to watch his back. Family meant nothing to contractors. If he had only been looking after Xu because she was tangentially involved in his business with Iwakara, then, Iwakara being dead, he had no reason to be concerned with her beyond having her memory erased tomorrow. And if it were true that the business surrounding Iwakara had died with him, then as Hei said, Xu should be safe anyway.
Although, if family meant nothing to contractors, why had he gotten so angry when she'd brought up his parents and sister?
The lights in Xu's third floor apartment flicked out. Misaki dropped her coffee thermos, grabbed her field glasses, and searched for signs of trouble. The three women stepped out of their apartment, Xu locking the door behind them, and headed towards the stairwell. They were dressed to go out; this would be a good opportunity for anyone waiting in ambush.
Misaki got out of her car and followed the girls at a safe distance, scanning for anyone else who might be following them. She didn't see anyone, but that didn't mean much. If a doll was being used to track them, she would never know.
Xu and her roommates headed towards Ookayama station. Did Misaki really want to follow them all the way to a nightclub district? She considered her options. If someone else were tracking them, Xu would be just as vulnerable at a club - more so, even. And with all the caffeine in her system, Misaki would be up all night anyway, with nothing to distract her from thinking about her disastrous conversation with Hei.
Four other women met up with Xu and her roommates on the busy platform. Misaki risked five minutes for a restroom break; when she emerged, the girls were still waiting for their train, chatting and laughing together. The train arrived; the girls boarded, Misaki getting on one car back to keep Xu from recognizing her. Several times during the trip, she thought she felt eyes on her, but every time she turned, no one was there.
The girls were going to Roppongi, Misaki realized with irritation. Even in a crowded bar, without any company Misaki would attract way too much attention - the wrong kind of attention. She debated for a minute, then pulled out her cell phone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, who are we stalking?" Kanami asked as she slid into the seat next to Misaki with a whiskey in her hand. They had to sit close in order to hear each other over the music of the bar. Misaki had chosen a table where she had a clear line of sight to the karaoke booth where Xu and her friends had closeted themselves; the bar was behind her.
"What are you talking about?"
Kanami just sighed. "Misaki, it's been months since I was last able to drag you out clubbing; then you just call me out of the blue saying you're in Roppongi? And," she picked up Misaki's glass and took a sip. "Yep. Water. So is this for a case, or are you stalking your boyfriends before you even start dating them now?"
"One time!" Misaki protested. Back in college, she had suspected that her boyfriend of two months was cheating on her; so she'd enlisted Kanami's help in following him for several days, and discovered that he was indeed cheating on her - with extra time in the library. He hadn't told her where he was going because he'd wanted her to think that he was too smart to need studying. She'd broken up with him not long after that.
"Alright, alright," Kanami said, smiling. "So it's a case then?"
"Sort of. I'm just keeping an eye on a witness to a case." There was a steady stream of people moving in and out of the bar, but so far no one looked out of place. "It's probably nothing," Misaki continued. "Thanks for coming out though, I was starting to get pretty bored - not to mention, I looked completely pathetic on my own."
"No problem. It'll give us a chance to finish our conversation from the other night. I told you all about me, but you never had a chance to tell me how things were going with that guy."
"What guy?"
Kanami gave her a knowing look. "The one we met at the mall - who you gave your phone number to? You said you were going to call him; I know things got crazy with the whole BK-201 kidnapping thing around that time. So did you ever call him?"
Misaki hesitated. She'd always relied on Kanami for relationship advice, and not being able to confide in her best friend had been wearing her down. She could talk about Li, without bringing up Hei; and maybe Kanami would have some insight that would help her figure him out.
"I didn't call him." Kanami frowned; Misaki hurried on before her friend could say anything. "But I did stop by his place to say hello right before he was getting ready to fix dinner, and he invited me in to eat."
Kanami raised her eyebrows. "And?"
Misaki shrugged. "And, we ate, and we talked. Then I left."
"That's it? Have you talked to him since then?"
"A couple of times. But the conversations never seem to go the way I want them to." She idly swirled the ice in her water.
"How do you want them to go?"
"I guess…I just want him to be honest with me, and I feel like he isn't." Which was stupid. Why would a contractor be honest with anyone, let alone her?
"You think he's lying about something?" Kanami frowned. "Wait, don't tell me he really is a cross-dresser?"
Unbidden, an image of the Black Reaper wearing a wig styled like a geisha's came to her mind, and she burst out laughing. The look on Kanami's face made her laugh even harder.
"Are you sure this is just water?" Kanami said, picking up Misaki's glass and eyeing it.
"No," Misaki said, wiping a tear from her eye. "I mean, yes, it is just water. Sorry. No, he's not a cross-dresser." Another snort of laughter escaped her. "I don't mean a lie like that. I mean, emotionally honest. I don't know how he genuinely feels about anything. Including me."
"Hey, is this a private party?" an unfamiliar voice interrupted. Misaki and Kanami looked up to see two men standing in front of their table.
"Shinji, hi," Kanami said. "Actually, it's girls' night - sorry."
The man who had spoken raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Not that kind of girls' night," Kanami said, winking.
"Too bad," Shinji said. "Give us a shout if you girls want more company - we've got our own booth." He took his friend's arm and the men disappeared back into the crowd, staggering a little. The bar was starting to fill up, Misaki noticed, then remembered guiltily that she was supposed to be watching Xu. She glanced at the karaoke booth - they were still there.
"Sorry about that," Kanami told Misaki, watching the men leave. "So wait - how well do you know this guy, exactly?"
Misaki frowned. She'd thought she'd known Li pretty well, despite their brief interactions, but Hei wasn't Li. She did know contractors…but Hei didn't always act like a contractor, even when he wasn't pretending to be someone else. Was that the problem? Was she trying to think of him as either a regular human or a contractor, when in reality he was something in between? "Not as well as I thought I did at first, I guess."
"And how much time have you spent together?"
"Not a lot," Misaki admitted.
"You can't expect a guy to spill his innermost feelings at the very beginning of a relationship, can you? So," Kanami raised her glass and finished off her drink, "maybe you just need to spend more time with him. Do you want to spend more time with him?"
"I…" She did, she knew. Despite her better judgment, despite knowing what he was capable of, just thinking about being near him made her heart beat faster - and not with fear.
"I'll take that blush for a yes," Kanami, smiling. "I'm going to go grab another drink - do you want something?"
Misaki looked over at the karaoke booth again; the girls looked like they had settled in for the night, and by now she was really starting to doubt that Xu was in any danger. "Maybe a glass of wine."
Kanami pursed her lips. "I'm not sure this place has wine; I'll check."
While she was gone, Misaki gave the bar a cursory scan. It was all well and good for Kanami to suggest that she and 'Li' spend more time together, but she seriously doubted she would see him again; as himself anyway. Whoever that was.
She sighed glumly. What was taking Kanami so long? A movement near the karaoke booth attracted her attention; one of the girls slipping out to use the restroom. Not Xu. What was Misaki doing here, really? If her witness had been anyone other than Hei's cousin, she doubted she would be half as concerned. Stalking by proxy; that's what she was doing.
Misaki's phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out, and saw a new text message from Kanami:
Think I'll go meet up with Shinji and the guys after all - give me a buzz if you need rescuing ;)
Rescuing? What is Kanami talking about? She looked up from her phone, only to see a bottle of beer being held out to her.
"They don't have wine, but your friend said you like this brand."
Misaki stared dumbly for a long moment before finding her voice. "Hei?"