Ghost of the Past {One-shot}

Ghost of the Past

Anime: Darker Than Black

By FireCacodemon

Disclaimer: Darker Than Black belongs to Tensai Okamura
{One-Shot}
Slight AU

The streets were quiet for a change, no contractor activity occurred during the night which was a nice change of pace for the city. It must have been one of the rare nights when no activity was present. For once the police weren’t running around the city trying to catch a contractor or any other criminal, this was a rare moment and the police department were going to enjoy it as much as possible. With the contractor activity increasing over the days, more and more paper work was piling up on their desks.

The oldest looking member of the police force looked up from his paper work at the rest of his team; the remaining three members were busy filling out paper work from the previous cases. His dark eyes flicked between the three comrades in the office at the current time, the main ‘leader’ of the small group, Misaki Kirihara was currently with Li. The two of them were getting pretty close to each other, but what they were worried about was the fact that they all knew that Li was the feared Black Reaper. Leaving Misaki with BK-201 was always going to be a struggle for the team. He was a contractor and therefore couldn’t be trusted but Misaki put her trust in him, something he’s never taken advantage of. Unlike all the other contractors that they had faced in the past, BK-201 was a unique contractor; they had all seen the two different sides of him. The sweet innocent natured version of him named Li; the young male attracted Misaki’s heart very quick and always expressed and spoke what he really felt. The other side of BK-201 was known as Hei; the more emotionless side of him, the killer contractor he was conditioned to be. Even knowing this, Misaki still hung out with him. It took a while for her to put her trust back into Li but it looked like things were working out.

“Is Kirihara still with Li?” Saito asked Matsumoto. The grey haired police member nodded, it wasn’t really a surprise. They had all said that they could handle the paper work so that she could take a well deserved break and hang out with Li. Saito didn’t really enjoy Misaki and Li hanging out from his crush on Misaki but as Kouno told him many times. “It’s better to have loved, than never to have loved at all.”

“I still can’t actually believe that BK-201 and Kirihara knew each other before she found out that BK-201 was Li Shengshun,” Kouno smiled slightly. “She had been chasing down BK-201 when he was right under her nose, playing innocent Li.”

“He’s BK-201, he’s eluded us catching him for quite a while now and when we did find out that Bk-201 was Li, and it just goes to show how convincing he was acting like a human.” Matsumoto replied to Kouno. Mayu couldn’t help but frown slightly, looking over the stack of paper work. She griped her pen tightly and let out a moan.

“Contractors are such a pain for us! Always giving us a lot of paper work to do, as well as making sure the media don’t find out about this either!” She yelled in frustration. “Why does Misaki get a night off when we don’t?”

“Because the only police member who’s close to Li is Misaki, the only one of us here who puts their trust in BK-201 is Misaki.” Saito and Kouno both agreed with Matsumoto.

“Li has such great collar bones...” Mayu sighed before continuing with the stack of paper work.

“Wonder what they are talking about now?” Kouno questioned quietly as he looked out the window towards the fake starry sky.

Darker Than Black – Ghost of the Past

The Chinese contractor brought out a key and unlocked the door to his apartment, the brown haired police officer was standing behind him. Waiting for the door to be opened, she had a quick look around. She had been here once or twice before but both reasons were because she was on duty. Looking around now, it did look like a good place for BK-201 to hide in. She heard the door unlock and turned her attention back towards the door as Li pushed it open. After having a large meal (something both Li and Misaki enjoyed) and had a talk. During the conversation, she had noticed that Li’s mood was dropping very slowly and she knew that they needed to be out from public view to have the conversation. She saw it in Li’s eyes that there was something bothering him and it needed to be said.

Pushing open the door, the two adults walked inside. The apartment was empty as usual, something she had found most contractors had as they weren’t expected to stay in the same apartment for more than one night. She watched Li put down the few bags that they had collected while travelling through the shops. Due to the weather, the conditions were perfect for what they had done during the day. Having friendly conversations about all the little things that their lives never let them have. Since the sun was out, both Misaki and Li bought a couple of ice creams a sat under a sakura tree while eating them. They weren’t ‘officially’ a couple but the interaction between the two of them made it feel and look like they were a couple. Both Misaki and Li were brimming with energy.

Misaki’s mind went back to how Li looked during the evening meal. He needed to talk, his eyes told her so. That’s the main reason why they came back to Li’s apartment. It provided a nice environment which Li looked more comfortable in. Having the feeling that he’s going to be talking about something important; making him comfortable was her number one priority. She watched Li as he closed the curtains. He looked over his shoulder at his companion before he gave her a sad smile. Alarm bells ran in Misaki’s mind, alerting her that this conversation might finally involve something of his past. Was he going to come clean to her?

“Misaki...there’s something...I need to tell you about.” He spoke softly. His voice held worry while his eyes held the small spark of fear.

“Li, if you don’t want to talk about this then-” Misaki started before she saw Li move his hand up to stop her from talking. She stopped and watched him. Li moved towards a pile of clothes and reached down into the pile, pulling out his Black Reaper mask, his harness along with the two blades that he always carried in the holster for the blades. Misaki watched him; confusion filled her eyes on why he was showing her this. What was the real reason that he was doing this? She watched as Li pulled out the bullet proof coat from his back pocket and unfolded it. It still amazed her how his bullet proof coat could fold down neatly into his back pocket.

“Misaki...I have to talk about this...I can’t go another night without telling you something as important as this.” Li spoke in a soft voice. He was trying to calm himself down. Was there something significant coming up or was there something that’s been clawing at his mind for too long and finally bursting free? Whatever it was, Misaki had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be good. Not when Li was struggling to say what he needed to say. She walked over to him and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

“It’ll be okay. We’ve got the night Li; do you think that’ll give you enough time?” Misaki asked him in a soothing voice. He shook his head.

“No...I’m going to explain how I became, the Black Reaper...I’m going to tell the past which haunts me...and how I became the Black Reaper.” Li forced himself to say, Misaki’s eyes widened at what he had just said. She knew that Li had worked for the Syndicate and when they teamed up, they were able to take down the Syndicate branch in Japan. Both were aware that the Syndicate was just going to come back stronger. But learning about it from what he was there? When he didn’t realise what the Syndicate was planning? This she needed and wanted to hear.

“Are you sure that’s what you want to do? I mean...the way you’ve gone pale now it might be better not to explain.” Misaki questioned his decision; he had gone pale while recalling the memories from what happened. As much as she wanted to learn; she didn’t want to put Li through all the pain if he remembered what he didn’t want to remember.

“Misaki, I don’t want to hide it from you any longer,” he simply said. “I mean...we’ve taken down the Syndicate in Japan and they might send me reinforcements to come and kill me.”

“They haven’t killed you yet.”

“I know, but how long before the catch me and kill me?” Li looked at her with the cold eyes of the Black Reaper. Misaki didn’t back off. There wasn’t any need to back off.

“What...happened to your team?” She asked.

“Yin’s still nearby while Mao and Huang fled to hide.”

“Okay, it’s just us two, right?” Misaki asked. Li nodded, slowly reaching down to the floor in order to sit. Misaki followed Li’s actions so that they were both sitting on the floor.

“I can’t just tell you straight all in one night...it’ll stir too many unwanted memories.” Misaki nodded, she understood that talking about his past with the Syndicate and Heaven’s War was a touchy subject still. Misaki was going to support Li when he needed her. She could provide him with the shoulder to cry on as such along with a warm embrace when she felt that he needed it.

“Li, I don’t care how long it takes. The fact that you’re going to share this is enough for me.”

“Right...do you want something to drink before I start?” He offered with a sad smile on his face.

“No thank you. I’m fine for the time being.” She smiled. Li nodded.

“Back when I was younger, around about the age of 13 was when I first met the Syndicate. With the appearance of Heaven’s Gate and Hell’s Gate came contractors and dolls. You’ve heard about me talking about my sister before, you must have noticed my eyes changed from soft to loneliness?” Li asked Misaki. She nodded. “Well...my sister was the original BK-201. I think Amber’s star was the first star that appeared in the sky...then Pai’s star came next, that’s when she changed. Once that star shone in the new sky, her personality drastically changed. She went from being my cute little sister into an emotionless being who didn’t play with me anymore. Even when I was 13, we still played together...but when she stopped...it caused me concern...and my parents.” Li paused, letting Misaki absorb the information he was giving her. Li didn’t look at her, his life was altered at 13, his plans changed but he still followed what he was asked of his parents when they were little. “My son, can you do us a favour? And look out for Xing?” His parent’s voices echoed around in his head for a little while.

“So how did you feel when she changed?” Misaki asked.

Naturally I felt gutted, seeing my little sister had changed but when she committed her first murder...that’s when I realised that I never wanted to kill anyone, it destroyed families and lives. Unlike a contractor, I would feel the guilt slowing eating away at me. Slowing driving me insane...taking me off the path I wanted to walk and putting me on a different path. Tempting me to kill once more, I mean...once you’ve done it...shouldn’t it be easier the second time?” Li asked Misaki. She shook her head.

“Killing someone is never easy, not even when a police officer has to kill to protect the public,” she said sadly. There have been times when she had to kill criminals in the form of self defence, sent contractors to PANDORA (who were never seen again) and each time she did that, she felt a little more of herself dying. “Who...did Pai kill?”

“Once night, she just got up and left in the middle of the night, I was always a light sleeper since Pai’s change and heard her leave. So I got up to follow her. We travelled to a holiday home of some family...Pai snuck in through an open window with me following. It was to the living room of the house before Pai started her attack. Two adults both looked like they had come home from work and were talking about something but that didn’t matter to Pai. She activated her contractor power and took out the lights; before I could stop her she had already launched her attack on the couple. I watched as she took hold of both people and killed them using electricity. I just stood at the back in shock from what I had just seen. Pai then turned to face me, her eyes glowing red and the ‘contractor’ aura glowing around her.”

“What did she say?” Misaki asked.

“Onii-chan, I killed them. Why are you crying?” Li repeated the words she had told him many years ago. “That’s what she said then asked. I was crying back then, I used to cry a lot. When I killed someone for the Syndicate before I moved to Tokyo I wanted to beat myself up...but I never could and just ended up crying silent tears. I couldn’t stop. What both of us failed to notice were a pair of purple eyes watching us.”

“Someone with purple eyes was watching you?” Misaki asked. Li nodded.

“You remember Miss Haraguchi?” Li asked. Misaki’s eyes widened, connected two and two together.

“Pai killed her parents!” She said in a state of shock. Li nodded once more, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She was pretty close to him, listening to everything he had to say while thinking about questions to ask him.

“After that, Pai suddenly fell asleep. I ran over to Pai and caught her before she fell over and injured herself; before the police came I made my escape with Pai. By the time I got home with Pai, there was a black van outside home.”

“Was it the Syndicate?”

“Yeah, they were waiting for me...more Pai than me.”

“Was it because she was a contractor?”

“Yes, they wanted her to join them...” Li’s voice grew quiet as he felt the tears forming in his eyes. He didn’t want them to fall but it was going to happen. Misaki frowned slightly before she gently ran her thumb under Li’s eyes, collecting the tears forming and whipping them away. “H-ey M-m-misaki what are you doing?” Li stuttered, turning red from embarrassment. Misaki chuckled to herself while she ran her tear covered fingers on his shirt sleeve gently.

“Making you feel better.” She smiled, making Li smile slightly. He nodded and continued. Li explained to Misaki about how the Syndicate had wiped his parent’s memory of Pai and how they proceeded to try and erase his memories of Pai. Misaki’s eyes widened when she heard that ME was going to be used on Li, he continued talking, remembering the way that the injection was put into his neck and the ME was injected into his system and then left on the streets with Pai gone. She listened to the tale and how Li had managed to recover some memories of Pai, enough to have the drive to find her. She asked him a few questions which Li answered.

The conversation went on to when he found Pai once more and from the simple fact that he had found Pai once more and then how the Syndicate decided to use Li as Pai’s body guard. Misaki heard all the training that Li was given, all the beating he received if he wasn’t good enough. It was also a surprise to hear how much Li had changed under the harsh training of the Syndicate. He had previously told her about how happy he was playing with Pai, how innocent he really was...how happy he was in the past. Misaki listened carefully to how Li was conditioned to try and think, act and behave like a contractor. Something that must have looked impossible from the eyes of the Syndicate actually worked...Li was near enough an artificial contractor. Just minus the contractor ability. Li explained how his last test from the Syndicate indicated his peak human condition. Making his agility, speed, endurance, dexterity along with his natural strength something that wasn’t easy to match with other people or even some contractors. Li continued on explaining his hand-to-hand combat. Misaki knew some of his skills but she didn’t know how that he had managed to acquire them under the conditions that he had done. Misaki enjoyed the history lesson that she was receiving from Li.

Li soon moved onto Heaven’s War. The war that made Li the contractor he was today. The feared Black Reaper, the contractor who other contractors called a demon, even the police had sometimes called the Black Reaper a demon from Hell. Misaki was probably going to be the only person in the whole police department who was going to know this information about Li and how the Black Reaper came to be. Misaki was hearing the whole transformation from being innocent as a young teen to being the cursed contractor she met at the age of 22. Over 4 years, the two of them had become stronger friends and took down the Syndicate. Something both were grateful for but they both knew that Li was also going to be targeted more by opposing contractors, another branch from the Syndicate.

“Li...I think you should stop,” Misaki said gently resting her head on his shoulder. “You look like you’re ready to break down from everything you’ve just discussed...even your small relationship with Amber.”

“There’s a reason...I told you this...I don’t feel I should stop...until I’ve told you.”

“If that’s what you want to do. I’m just a little concerned about the way you look and your emotional level,” Misaki said. “That and knowing I can’t do much to help...”

“But you can help.” Li said quickly as he held Misaki’s hand, entangling his fingers with her fingers. Misaki looked down at their fingers; she felt his cold fingers up against her warm fingers. She had a feeling that something was going to happen. Something was probably going to happen, something she didn’t want.

“H-how can I help?” Misaki asked.

“It’s been...a while since I went back to the ways...of the Black Reaper...” Li pointed out. Misaki nodded. It had been a while that Li hasn’t been the Black Reaper. So why was he starting to worry about it now? Was there a reason he told her what happened to him? Because he fears that something is going to happen to him or something? Na, he didn’t normally have anything to fear, like he said, he was the Black Reaper and there’s nothing he seems to fear about. He knew that Pai had fused her soul with his and that’s how he gained contractor abilities in the first place. So technically, the Syndicate did get their artificial contractor...in a strange way with Li.

“Yeah, it has been, hasn’t it?” She said, still wondering where Li was going to.

“What...if I have...a relapse of the past...?” Li questioned Misaki. Her eyes were wide with shock. So that’s what has been bothering Li, she could easily see why. She didn’t want to lose what herself and Li had together. They were near enough a couple. Li had more emotions than the other contractors but that’s because he still had the human emotions that were never lost. They were only suppressed until the right person helped him recover his emotions. Misaki was grateful that it was her who was the one to help him recover what he had lost. Something Hell’s Gate probably couldn’t help him.

“Li, look at me.” Misaki said sternly. Li moved his head upwards and looked at Misaki’s face. She gave him a smile as she removed her fingers out from his and slowly placed them on Li’s cheeks. “I don’t want to lie to you...so I’m not going to. I don’t know much about what’s going to you but I know that together we can stop you falling back into the past...stop you returning back to your ways as the Black Reaper. He’s just a ghost of the Syndicate.”

“But I’ve already felt myself wanting to fight...wanting to kill again.” He said, starting to panic. Misaki let go of his face and pulled him into a hug, wrapping her arms around him to try and calm down the panicking contractor in front of her. It hurt her seeing her friend (possibly lover) in such a state. She grew shocked slightly when Li wrapped his arms around her too. Li gently placed his head on her shoulder, feeling terrible for making Misaki worry.

“How strong was the feeling?” She asked him as she held onto him tighter.

“Not...strong...”

“Can...You call me again if you feel those feelings again?” Misaki asked him, she felt him nod before she felt something wet on her shoulder. “You’re...crying...?” She asked confused. Li wasn’t the average contractor, his past had said that. Even when he became a contractor, he was more human than contractor. His emotions were all there, showing that he wasn’t just the black hearted killer he was back in the past.

“What...if I can’t...? What if I just click back?”

“Li, if you go back to being the Black Reaper...then we’ll have to kill you.”

“Thank you Misaki.” Li gave a small smile as tears fell down his face.

The two of them remained hugging each other for a little while longer in silence. The silent tears of Li had stopped rolling down his face, he felt calm just being held by Misaki. Someone who’s got strong arms, he won’t hesitate to shoot him if he slipped back into the ways he was trained to be. He was free from killing anyone who got in his way and that was the way he wanted to keep it. Li gently pulled away from the hug that himself and Misaki had shared while both sides of emotions settled down. Misaki watched him for a little bit but she soon saw Li starting to blush which caught her off guard. Was he thinking of something inappropriate?

“Mi-misaki?” He stuttered.

“Ye-” She went to ask before she felt Li place his lips gently onto hers. Her face flared up with a blush as she had a desire filling from Li’s touch. She soon felt Li placing his hand on her face, his soft gently touch made her heart skip a beat. It was beating rapidly as she felt the softness of Li’s lips. Li pulled away, blushing harder than before, a smile plastered on his face. Misaki wasn’t much better. “Wha...?” She asked him.

“Was...that out of line?” Li asked. Misaki smiled before she started laughing. Li looked at Misaki like she had just gone crazy.

“No...” She laughed. “That wasn’t out of line.”

“But...you’re laughing?”

“You don’t realise how much you’ve just made me happy,” Misaki continued laughing.

“I did?”

“Li, I feel silly for saying this but...” she took in a deep breath, Li’s already confessed something from his past. His dark past was something she didn’t expect. Now it’s time she confessed something to him. “...But do you remember Alice’s party? When I wore that red Chinese dress?”

Li nodded, remembering how he had gotten into trouble at the party for ‘getting lost’ and wound up at the main room of the party. “Yeah, you looked stunning that night. It really suited you well.”

“That was a crazy time, that’s when I first met the Black Reaper, when we first clashed against each other. That started the game of chase that we played. Before you came back as the Black Reaper, I felt a spark for you. When I saw you standing near a table with the embarrassment expression as well as being red in the face actually helped me. I don’t look for men with certain qualities. I’m not like that.” Li nodded, listening to her every word. Misaki continued. “But there was something about you which made my heart beat quicker when I saw you. I wanted to hang out with you every chance I got to understand what I was feeling when I was with you. I understand it now. I get what I’ve been feeling.” Li noticed that she was going redder and redder in the face. It was amusing seeing Misaki like this and he was going to remember this time for a long while.

“So...what was it?” Li asked her, his hand on Misaki’s face gently stroked her cheek. Misaki gently placed her hand over his hand. Smiling at the warmth it provided to her, his hands were soft but still recovering from the damage which had been done to them all those years ago.

“Li, I love you. I love you so much. I’ve been holding it back...but hearing what you told me, it gave me the courage to share how I feel about you to you. You’ve always been there; I was just too blind to see it.”

“What would you do if I loved you back?” Misaki’s eyes widened. Did Li really love her back or is this another dream she was having? She looked at Li. Chocolate brown eyes met midnight blue eyes. She couldn’t see any lies in his eyes and she didn’t hear any evidence of a lie off Li. But he did have contractor qualities, lying was something he was good at. Playing women too from what he had told her.

“Do you...mean it?” Misaki asked. She needed him to admit it.

“Misaki, when we started hanging out and talking, I was really nervous that you were going to find out that I was the Black Reaper...You would have just killed me on the spot. When I first saw you in that Chinese dress, I had to remember to breath.” He laughed. Misaki chuckled too. She never really saw herself as pretty for anyone. Everyone seemed to know that she loved her job more than actively seeking for a partner to spend the rest of his life with. “After Alice’s party, we bumped into each other more often and hung out. Something I thought was weird but at the same time I enjoyed it with you. I found it harder and harder to ignore what I felt when I thought about you...even though we were enemies...I guess I still had feelings for you.” Li said.

“That’s really sweet.” Misaki smiled.

“There’s...another thing...which I’m scared of...”

“What’s that?” She gently strokes Li’s face.

“The people...I’ve killed...haunt me too...when I close my eyes...I can see them...staring down at me...waiting to kill me.”

“Li, I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I promise.” Misaki reassured Li.

“Misaki...”

“Yes?”

“Thank you, for being here.”

“What are friends for?” She smiled before they both broke into a laugh.

“Erm...Misaki?” Li asked again.
“Yes?”

“Are the police wondering where you are?” He asked, looking at her with eyes of innocence. Misaki thought for a moment before she shook her head.

“They know I’m with you.”