It was the third time this week Misaki found herself watching the dark window.

Again she had driven all the way to Okubo, Shinjuku, just to sit there in her car and watch the small apartment building, not daring to go to that door and just knock, like she had promised herself to do for so many times now.

That door with the black 201 on it.

It was almost funny, she thought, how blind she had been.

Her subconscious mind had literally been screaming it at her, but she had not wanted to listen, had refused to see the truth.

It had been almost four weeks, since she had found Li in that alleyway, four weeks since her life had been turned upside down.

She had not been able to think straight for those past weeks, her mind always returning to Li, bloody and broken, lying on her floor.

And always hearing that question.

"Are you so scared of me?"

She had asked that herself a million times.

Was she scared of him? Of Li?

Not Li, she corrected herself grimly, BK-201, Hei.

Her boss had told her that name.

She had not been able to fit those two together, make them blend into one person. It was impossible, it couldn't be.

And yet...

The night after, she had taken that blanket to her bed, curling around it, his scent almost gone by then. She still kept it there.

It was so pathetic.

Of course she hadn't told anyone. Not even Kanami. How could she?

"Hey Kanami, I found out about BK-201 and I think I might have fallen for his alias somehow?"

Outside the streetlamps were coming to life. Which meant she had been here for over an hour already. Just sitting around, staring.

It had not been the first time either, nor the second. She actually had lost count.

In all the time she had spent here, she had not seen him once, there had never even been light in his apartment.

It was probably better that way, as she had no idea what she would have done, had he been there.

Maybe, she thought, he was just asleep, as he probably had to work through the night more often than not.

Killing people.

She swallowed. Hard.

Maybe you should just go home, Misaki, she told herself.

Or maybe, said the small voice in the back of her head, maybe you should just go up there and knock on that damn door.

The voice had become louder and louder, with every minute she had sat here, watching, waiting.

Just like that voice that had warned her of Li.

Maybe if she had listened back then..

Suddenly she couldn't stand it for one more second.

The door snapped shut louder than usual behind her, as she hastened around the corner, almost jogging over the street towards the apartment building.

The old wooden stairs squeaked protestingly under her feet, as she climbed them, but she barely heard them, her mind already fixed on that door with the small 201 on it.

Her hand already lifted to knock, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

What was she going to say?

Doubt washed over her.

What was she even doing here?

Lowering her hand she started to turn back again, when suddenly there was a voice close behind her.

"What are you doing here?"

Wheeling around she found herself face to face with Li, standing right behind her, so close they were almost touching.

Misaki shrank back against the apartment door.

His brow was furrowed in anger, his gaze cold as ice.

This wasn't Li, this was Hei.

"I...um..."

She felt like her mind had deserted her.

"You shouldn't be here!", he growled, moving closer, hovering over her threateningly.

Somehow her instincts kicked in at that.

"Stop that! I'm not scared of you!"

It was a blatant lie and she was sure he knew that.

He let out a grim huff.

"You should be."

But he reached around her and unlocked the door to his apartment, holding it open for her.

The room inside was almost empty, only a small table in one corner, a rolled up futon in the other.

"Do you really live here?", she asked, not daring to turn around and look at him.

"You didn't come to talk about my furniture."

It was not a question.

Finally gathering some courage she turned to face him.

He was leaning in the doorway to the kitchen, arms crossed, his face free of any hint of emotion, like the mask she had seen him wear so often.

"I didn't tell anyone, you know?"

It had slipped trough her lips before she could stop herself.

Still he did not move.

"Why?"

Not knowing what to say she lowered her gaze to her shoes. She dug her hands deeper into the pockets of her coat.

Finally she answered quietly: "I didn't want to lose my friend Li."

Silence.

"I'm Hei, not Li. You know that."

"Yes, I know."

She swallowed hard, cursing the quiver in her voice.

"Yet somehow you are."

Looking up she met his eyes, still showing no reaction.

Then he shook his head, the corners of his mouth twitching ever so slightly.

"Always believing in the good, aren't you?"

Again shaking his head he turned around.

"I'm starving. Would you like dinner?"

And, trying to ignore the soft flutter in her stomach, she finally smiled.

"I would love that, Hei."

So i couldn't resist writing a tiny chapter 2, the ending of chapter 1 was just too open for my liking.

Hope you enjoy it as well :)