Darker then Black: Misaki's Vacation to Okinawa

Misaki sat at her desk thinking about the past few weeks about the Yakuzas starting a little war and the death of Alma. She wondered what would be the next big event.

Her phone on her desk rang. She picked up the receiver, placed it to her ear, and said, "This is Kirihara."

"Section-Chief Kirihara, I want you in my office," said Hourai.

"All right."

She hung up her phone, stood from her chair, and walked over to Hourai's office to enter it. He had his elbows on his desk with his fingers laced together and looked over them to stare at Misaki.

"What is it, sir?" she asked.

"I'm forcing you to take a weeks vacation," he said.

"What? But sir, I can't do that. There's so much going on that I can't overlook."

"I looked over your work history and I noticed it's been two years since your last vacation. All you have been doing is taking one day off every six months. As of tomorrow I don't want to see you here, or you'll be on suspension without pay."

"Sir, may I say something on my behalf?"

"No, now get back to work and finish up what you're doing."

Misaki bowed and exited the office to return to her work. How could he do this to her? She had a funny feeling something big was about to happen and she wanted to find the cause of it before it was too late.

She was so irritated with Hourai she couldn't concentrate on her work; misspelling simple words or messing up her grammar. What was she supposed to do on her time off besides exercising off all the greasy food she eats? She guessed she could take a stroll through the park a few days. She frowned at the thought. Doing something like that wasn't her one bit, but perhaps if she could contact someone to be with her it wouldn't be bad.

At first Misaki thought about asking Kanami to spend time with her. However, she threw out that idea since she knew her friend would drag her out shopping. Even though she was a woman she despised the notion of standing in one clothing store after another looking at dozens of clothes she wouldn't find the time to wear.

Maybe she could look up Li and ask him if he would like to spend time with her.

Misaki shook her head from being startled at her thought and wondered why her mind slipped him into the mix. Her heart started to race, as images of him flooded inside her head.

She liked him, and thought he was cute, but she had no time for a relationship due to her work schedule. She pictured herself coming home late every night to see her food waiting for her on a table, and he and their child already fast asleep in bed.

Misaki blushed at the last image, but shrugged it away. She couldn't have any kids because of her work hours, and not only that, how could she explain to Li and their kid her secret occupation. She couldn't get herself involved with anybody, and that was that.

After spending a few extra hours late at night trying to finish her work, she left the Foreign Affairs. Misaki arrived home close to two in the morning. She threw her purse on her couch and began preparing a meal to eat when her phone rang. She picked up it to see Kanami was calling and answered it.

"What is it, Kanami?" Misaki asked.

"I heard you were forced to take a vacation," said Kanami.

"Yes I was."

"Well guess what? I took time off as well and booked us a flight to Okinawa for the whole week.

"You did WHAT??"

----

Hei lay on the circular bench with Mao lying on the ground, as Yin sat on the slide. Moments later Huang walked up to them; looking worried about something, and then accidently stepped on Mao's tail.

"MEEOOUUCH!!" cried out Mao, as he hopped off the ground a few centimeters with his body outstretched in pain. Huang looked down startled and jumped back. Mao landed on his paws and glared back at Huang. "Oi, watch where you're walking!"

"What? Why don't you watch where you're lying!" shot back Huang.

"I was here first!"

Huang frowned and started kicking at Mao. Mao hopped backwards and stared at Huang devilishly.

"Careful how you kick at me, or I'll get Hei to electrocute you again," bluffed Mao.

Huang snorted at the comment.

"What's the mission?" Hei asked, not looking at either of them.

"The Syndicate is sending you over to Okinawa to kill a Contractor who was to meet with a contact—who one of our other Contractors accidently happened to kill—about a trade. The Contractor will have the package and we don't know what it is.

"The Syndicate had booked us all on a flight tomorrow. However, there were only two seats left. Yin and I have those seats."

"So how are Hei and I supposed to get over there? Swim?" Mao asked.

Huang smiled devilishly at him.

---

Misaki stood at the gate for her plane in Narita's Airport looking out the window. Kanami was sitting in a chair while scanning through a magazine. She looked up at her friend perplexed.

"Misaki, the plane's not going anywhere," said Kanami. "Why don't you relax and take a seat."

Misaki sighed and sat down. Suddenly somebody reeking of tobacco sat behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see an old man wearing a hat and brown trench coat sitting next to a girl wearing a dress suited for a western funeral.

Misaki stood and walked over to the end of the aisle. Kanami looked at her friend baffled, and then sighed while shaking her head. She was going to make their vacation seem like it was going to last a year, which was fine for her.

----

On the flight line men were busy loading up the plane bound for Okinawa. They threw on people's luggage as if they were trash bags. Someone grabbed a small cage and tossed it onto the conveyer belt ascending into the plane's cargo bay.

Inside it was Mao bouncing around as a pinball. The cage landed on its side while he stared out it frowning.

"I'll kill Huang for this," he muttered.

His cage reached the top of the belt, but no one was around to catch it, and fell off onto its topside. Mao lay on his back displeased at the abuse he was receiving.

The cage was picked up by a dumbfounded looking man and placed on top of a pile. A strap was wrapped around the cage, but it wasn't tide down. The dumbfounded man walked away and began placing luggage and other things in position. Unfortunately, he wasn't securing anything. Mao started to sweat at what would happen when the plane took off.

Minutes later the last of the luggage were thrown into the cargo hold.

"Oi, Hideaki, everything secured?" someone asked.

"Hai, everything is," the dumbfounded man said.

"No the stuff isn't!" shouted Mao. "I'm going to get squished here!"

"Who said that?" questioned Hideaki while looking around the cargo hold baffled. "Is that you, Hiro! I'm not falling for it this time."

He exited the cargo hold and closed it. Mao thought his life was ending, and if it did, he was going to haunt Hideaki and Huang.

---

Misaki sat in coach with Kanami in the mist of the plane next to the window. Misaki stirred in her chair, as she gazed out the window.

"I don't like being on another island," she said. "What if Saitou, Kouno, Ootsuka and Matsumoto get a call and need my help? What if BK201 becomes active?"

"They'll be fine," assured Kanami.

Misaki frowned as she tried to settle down. A man sat next to her and noticed he was the man who reeked of tobacco. He looked at her baffled as she squirmed away from him while plugging her nose.

"Is there a problem?" he asked.

"I don't like the smell of tobacco," she stated.

"My apologies, but it looks like you have to deal with it."

Misaki didn't want to and waved down a stewardess. She walked over to her while smiling and said, "Can I help you?"

"Hai, I was wondering if you could swap this gentleman with someone else," said Misaki. "Or my friend and I?"

"I'm sorry, Miss, but we can't do that since we're about to exit the terminal. Please wait until we are in the air and I'll ask around."

"I'll swap," said the girl with the funeral dress.

"Oh, all right."

The stinky man and the girl swapped seats while the stinky man snorted under his breath. Misaki glanced at her nodding, and then noticed she looked to be blind.

Once everything was set and the safety features were presented, the plane rolled onto the landing strip ready to take off.

---

Inside the cargo hold, luggage and other things that weren't strapped down slid around, bobbled, or toppled over. Mao's cage rattled, fell off its rack to have Mao land on his side, and cringed from the pain. The plane settled down in which it told Mao they were getting ready to take off.

He figured he had a good run at life. Unfortunately, he wouldn't get to eat anymore dry food.

Within minutes, the plane's engines began to wine up, as the plan started its journey down the landing strip. It picked up speed within seconds, which made the luggage spin around, and head at Mao. They slammed into the cage to have Mao scurry away from it, and breathed out a relief his cage hadn't caved in. He felt the plane lift off, causing the luggage and his cage to tumble over to the back of the cargo hold. The plane tilted portside to have the stuff roll in the same direction.

Mao prayed he would survive the flight.

---

Misaki sat relaxed in her seat midway through the flight. However, her mind would occasionally think about her job. She didn't want to be away; especially with Saitou in charge.

"Can I offer you a drink?" said a steward.

She looked at the man to see a familiar face.

"Li-kun!" chimed Misaki.

"Eh? Oh, Kirihara-san! How have you been?"

"Fine. When did you get a job as a steward?"

"I just started. They're giving me a couple days rest in Okinawa."

"Oh really?" smiled Kanami with a devilish glow in her eye. "We're spending a few days there too. We're staying at a hotel near the beach. Maybe you could stop off and see Misaki sometime."

"Ka—Kanami!" Misaki blushed.

Li scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Oi, part-time, get back to work!" shouted a female stewardess.

"Alright," nodded Li. "Eh, can I get you ladies anything?"

"Soda-pop," said the blind girl.

"Water for me, if you would please, Li-kun," said Misaki.

"Your hotel and room number so I can give it to Misaki," said Kanami with a smirk.

Misaki's face turned crimson red as Li chuckled bashfully.

Li gave the three women their drinks and continued on his way. Kanami peeked over her chair to watch Li continue serving other passengers. She looked back at Misaki with a devilish grin.

"Lucky!" she said, causing Misaki's cheeks to shine brighter than Rudolf's nose, as her jaw line tightened and she closed her eyes. "I think he's cuter in a steward outfit than in that awful green coat."

"Would you just stop!" pleaded Misaki.

---

Hei noticed Huang heading to the back bathroom and enter it. Hei headed over to it and placed his back to the door.

"It seems the Foreign Affairs might have been tipped off," said Huang.

"Relax, they're here only for vacation," said Hei quietly

"Is that what she told you? She has to be lying."

"I doubt it."

"Even so, keep a close eye on her."

Hei walked off to continue serving passengers. Huang exited the bathroom to return to his seat and put on ear phones to listen to the in-flight program. Hei's eyes drifted over to Misaki for a second to see her friend teasing her about him.

He had to make sure to keep his distance from them if he could. Unexpectedly his stomach growled. Everybody on board turned to face him; including Misaki and Kanami. Kanami looked on at Hei flabbergasted and then muttered something to Misaki. Huang apparently somehow heard it through the earphones and shook his head for the attention he had drawn to himself.

His stomach growled again to make him frown from the pain.

"Part-time!" shouted the female stewardess, as she ran over to him. "What's the deal with that stomach of yours? Didn't you get enough food before we boarded? Get to the back and stuff some food down your throat!"

Hei nodded and walked off into the backroom to eat and calm down his craving. He swore his stomach would be his downfall one of these days.

Twenty minutes later, the pilot informed them they would be on the ground soon.

---

As the plane touched down the luggage and Mao's cage bounced around. The plane was pulled into a docking area to let off its passengers, and the cargo hold opened to let a worker in it. He looked at the mess flabbergasted, but he shrugged it off and started throwing the luggage out of the plane.

Mao's cage was picked up and tossed out, as Mao rolled in it and came to a stop in a lying position with his paws up and his eyes spinning.

"I'm… still… alive… Thank gosh!" he muttered.

---

Misaki and Kanami entered the hotel they were staying at and checked in. They road up the elevator, stepped onto their floor, and they headed for their separate rooms. Misaki walked up to her window and gazed out at the oceanfront to see it was crowded.

She walked over to the couch and sat in front of the television to turn on the news. She wanted to check and see if anybody reported anything monstrous. However, there wasn't anything about such a thing.

The newscasters began to talk about the weather when there was a knock on her door. Misaki stood, walked over to it to look through the peephole, and saw Kanami wearing a red bikini while holding a blue and white bikini outfit.

Misaki frowned; knowing what Kanami was thinking, and opened her door to let her in. Kanami smiled and handed over the blue and white suit to Misaki.

"I can't wear this!" yelled Misaki. "It'll expose too much!"

"Don't you want to look sexy for Li?" Kanami asked.

"You didn't buy that for only Li's eyes, but for the whole island. You didn't even know he would be here until the plane ride."

"Why do you think I said lucky?"

Kanami shoved Misaki into the bathroom to force her to wear the bikini. However, Misaki put on shorts and a shirt to cover her body, which caused Kanami to roll her eyes in frustration.

"Why do you do that?" she questioned. "You have a nice body. You need to show it off before all those burgers you eat make you fat."

"I exercise, Kanami," stated Misaki.

"I bet you gain at least a half pound a year from now."

Misaki frowned while heading towards the door. Kanami stepped in front of her, and placed her hand on her chest. Misaki looked at her baffled.

"One more thing," she said.

Kanami removed Misaki's glasses and set them on a table. Misaki looked at her perplexed and then narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"You know I can't see well without my glasses," said Misaki.

"I know, but you look beautiful without them," stated Kanami, and then removed Misaki's hairclip and hair tie. "There, so much better."

Misaki frowned as a strand of hair fell in front of her eye.

They exited the room, entered the elevator, and descended to the lobby. They exited the hotel with bachelors, boyfriends and married men staring at Kanami, as they exited the hotel. The two friends walked across the street to step onto the beach occupied with people from different ages, sex and race.

Kanami found a spot and asked Misaki to put sun block on her back. After she was done, Kanami grabbed Misaki's shirt and took it off.

"Ka—Kanami!" shouted Misaki.

"You're halfway there, Misaki," smiled Kanami, as she twirled the shirt. "Either you take off your shorts or I do."

Misaki frowned and did so. She applied sun block on, let Kanami put some on her back, and they lay on their back to tan.

After twenty minutes Kanami instructed Misaki to turn over. However, once she did, Kanami untied Misaki's top part and yanked it out from underneath her. Misaki looked on petrified.

"Wh—what're you doing?" Misaki asked while blushing.

"Making sure you don't have a bikini line," stated Kanami, as she untied her top bikini.

The men in the vicinity stared at them, as blood seeped out from their nose, causing their girlfriends and wives to smack the back of their heads.

----

Hei, wearing blue swim trunks, walked through the cramped beach. He noticed his colleagues in the distance and headed over to their spot. He sat on the beach with his back to Huang and waited for him to speak while Yin built a sand castle.

Huang wore brown shorts and a white t-shirt. Yin had on a pink one-piece swimsuit with a rubber duck inner tube around her waist. Mao sat nearby with a spot of sun block on his nose.

"Twelve o'clock tonight on the shoreline," said Huang. "Make sure you get the item before killing him. Yin will be watching you. After you're finished with your target you are to head back to your room. I'll come by your place at one in the morning to pick up the item and then store it away for our ride back to the main land."

"Anything else?" Hei asked.

"Nothing that I can think of. Just stay away from that Foreign Affairs woman so we can have a smooth sailing tonight."

"Understood."

Hei stood to depart their side and walked along the shoreline.

"You think things will go easy?" Mao asked.

"With Hei nothing goes easy," replied Huang.

"Excuse me, sir," someone said to Huang. He looked up to see a security guard patrolling the beach. "Is that your cat?"

"Eh, no."

"So no worries if we take it."

"None what so ever."

Mao's fur stood on end and began to run off, but the security guard snatched him up by his neck.

"You're coming with me since there's no pets allowed on the beach," said the guard.

Mao hissed and pawed at the guard as he was taken away. Huang smiled at the sight and believed it would be the last time he saw that mangy Contractor. He stood as Yin repeated his actions, and they headed off the beach.

---

After Hei walked a half a kilometer, he saw Misaki and Kanami sun bathing. His eyes fixated on Misaki's bare back. It looked smooth to where he wanted to touch it and find out if it was.

Kanami turned her head and spotted Hei, causing his body to stiffen in fright, and knew what was coming next.

"Ah, Li-kun!" she waved while holding Misaki's bikini top."

Misaki jolted awake with a fright, looked to her right, and blushed at the sight of Hei. Kanami tied her top on and stood while still holding Misaki's top part. Misaki stared on flabbergasted, as her friend ran over to Hei. She grabbed him by the arms and guided him over to Misaki.

"Look at what I caught?" she smiled with glee.

"That's good to see," said Misaki, her face looking as though it had sunburned. "Now can I have my top part back?"

"Oh, was I still holding it?"

Misaki glared at her friend angrily. Kanami handed it to her so she could fit it on and tie it. She stood while looking embarrassed due to her exposed skin. Hei's eyes couldn't peel away from her thighs and legs, and he occasionally gazed at her cleavage. He forced himself to look at her eyes and smile while he blushed.

"I—I didn't expect to see you in this crowd," he said.

"E—eh," stuttered Misaki. "With so many people occupying the place you wouldn't think that was possible."

Kanami rolled her eyes at them keeping their distance, grabbed Misaki, and dragged them into the ocean. Kanami dove under a wave and popped her head above the water. She pulled back her hair while gazing back at the couple to see them standing a meter apart. She shook her head and worked her way over to them.

"What's the matter with you two?" she asked. Misaki and Hei stared at her baffled. "We're in Okinawa, have some fun!"

Kanami pushed Misaki towards Hei in which she tripped and fell to where Hei caught her. Misaki blushed, as Hei's cheeks turned bright red at the touch of their bare skin against each other, and her breast pressed up against his chest. He could feel her heart beating heavily while his heart rapidly pounded like a drum.

He forgot how beautiful her eyes looked without her glasses. They seemed to sparkle with life, even though she couldn't see. Hei thought she looked beautiful with them on, but he felt it didn't do her eyes justice.

"Oh how cute," muttered Kanami in a childish voice. "You two make a good couple."

Misaki's cheeks burned brighter. She stepped away from Hei while staring back at her friend displeased, and yelled, "Kanami!"

"What?" shrugged Kanami with a smile, and then started splashing them both.

Hei and Misaki shielded themselves from her attack, and then they began returning the favor.

As they messed around a wave struck Misaki to where she lost her balance and fell underwater. She popped up to the surface in front of Li. He stared at her flabbergasted, as his nose bled. Misaki frowned and looked down to see she was topless. She covered herself up with her arms and ducked her breast underwater.

"Oi, look at what I found!" chimed Kanami, as she waved Misaki's top.

"Would you stop flashing it around and bring it over here!" screamed Misaki.

Kanami smiled with glee, and walked over to Misaki so she could help fit and tie her top back on.

"Oi, Li-kun, get a nice view?" Kanami teased.

Li blushed while wiping at his nose.

After hours of messing around in the ocean they decided to sit on the beach and gossip. Misaki put on her shirt but left her shorts off so not to dampen them.

"I had no idea you had such an appetite, Li-kun," said Kanami. "I had told Misaki on the plane you two are made for each other since she loves to eat a lot of greasy food."

"Is that so?" smiled Hei.

"Just ignore what Kanami says," spoke up Misaki, her face now cheery red. "She likes to tease people about things sometimes."

"I like to tease Misaki because I don't get the chance to tease her about guys. She's always worried about her job."

"She must really love her job," replied Hei.

"Too much. So what happened to your friend you were buying the bra for?"

"He moved out of the city."

"Was the bra the right size?"

"Hai."

"Ka—Kanami, could you talk about something else," Misaki pleaded, showing she was embarrassed with her friend.

"All right. What do you think of Misaki?" Kanami asked. "You think she's pretty?"

"Oi, do you have to change the subject to that?"

"Hai, I do," nodded Li.

Misaki stared back at him flabbergasted, and then averted her eyes. Kanami stared at her with a wider smile than the Joker's.

As the sun began to set, Kanami and Misaki decided to head back to their rooms. They stood from their spot while brushing sand off their bottoms. Misaki refitted her shorts on and gathered their stuff.

"Li-kun, how about you come back to our place," said Kanami, causing Misaki's cheeks to turn hot pink.

"Sorry, but as much as I would like to, I have to do other things," he said with a smile.

"Well, if you have time on your hands later; stop off at the night club since I'm taking Misaki there to have some fun."

"Oi, Kanami, I had enough fun to last me another two years," replied Misaki.

Hei waved later and continued down the shoreline. Misaki watched him until she lost sight of him.

"Hm, already miss him, don't you," said Kanami.

"You're having fun messing with me, aren't you," said Misaki, as she glared at her friend.

"Of course."

Kanami headed off the beach, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it to smoke. Misaki followed a meter beside to keep away from the smoke's awful smell. Her mind began to dwell on Li and the time she had shared with him.

She was pleased he had been the only guy in the vicinity to see her topless, and she was happy it had been him.

----

Mao shoved his paw through the bars of his cage and tried to unlatch it. He was furious with Huang pretending he didn't own him. If he somehow got out of his jail cell, he'd let that hippopotamus man have it.

The door to the cage room opened. Mao stopped his actions and sat in his cage as a guard brought in a leashed German shepherd. He smiled at an idea that had surfaced in the little brain he controlled. He glowed blue as his eyes burned red, and transferred his soul into the dog's body. The black cat laid on its stomach unconscious, as Mao stumbled in the new body. He got his bearings and bit the guard's leg.

"OOOUUCH!!" he shouted.

Mao ran over to his cage, bit down on the latch, and unlatched it. He stared at the black cat, highlighted in blue, and transferred his being back into the cat's body. The dog fell unconscious while Mao stood, and exited his cage. He hopped onto a cage to let a beagle dog out, and then jumped onto another cage to release a black and white striped cat out. Mao repeated his actions, releasing all the animals, and having them swarm around the guard.

"Wow… hey! Watch it!" WOOOW!!" He danced a gig as he tried to maneuver around the river of animals, and then fell into the mist of them. "OOOCCHH, CLAWS!! OOOCCHH, TEETH!! AH CRAP, PEE!! NO, NO, NO, DON'T POOPE!! AAAHHH, SOMEBODY, SAVE ME!!"

Mao hopped on top of the cages and jumped out the door while using the diversion to escape.

----

The sun had set and midnight was slowly approaching.

Kanami stood in Misaki's room wearing a red dress that showed her bare back and wrapped around her neck. The top came down to show cleavage, and the bottom dropped to the middle of her thighs. She had done up her hair in a bonnet with a few strands hanging out.

She waited patiently for Misaki to put on the dress she had bought a few hours ago.

"I can't wear this, Kanami!" shouted Misaki in the bathroom. "It exposes too much."

"Oh come on, Misaki, your bathing suit showed more when the wave ripped it off!" yelled Kanami.

Misaki opened the door and exited the bathroom looking displeased. She wore a black dress that had cross threads running up both sides of it. The right portion of it draped over her shoulder and the bottom came down to her knees. Her hair hung loose behind her back with a few strands draping before her eyes and shoulder. Instead of her glasses she wore contact lenses courtesy of Kanami.

"At least my bathing suit covered my bottom," said Misaki. She gestured to the left side of the dress that revealed her smooth skin and thigh. "You won't let me wear undergarments since they'll show, so if some guy slips and falls around me, all he has to do is look up and get a good view."

"Well don't let that happen, unless Li shows up," said Kanami.

Misaki narrowed her eyes at her friend and said, "You won't give up about him, will you."

"Nope. Not even when you decide to date him."

"Decide? Kanami, I have no time for a personal life to share with someone. My job is much too important."

"Would you stop with the excuses! You like him a lot, right?"

Misaki opened her mouth to lash out, but she couldn't find words to say.

"Hai, I do," she said instead, "but I don't know how he feels about me."

"I'm sure he likes you too. If he didn't, he wouldn't have spent the day with us on the beach. And besides, he was a little embarrassed you busted him holding a bra."

Misaki looked at her friend startled, and then stared down at the floor. Did Li have deep feelings for her? She hoped so. He was a great guy, fun to be around, and cute. She hadn't realized how muscularly tone he was, especially since he had an appetite worse than hers. Maybe his hunger for food was part of the reason that drew her to him as well.

Kanami poked Misaki in the forehead to distract her thoughts. She stared back at her friend baffled.

"I don't want to see you get wrinkles before you marry Li," smiled Kanami.

----

Hei lay on the floor in his hotel room with his hands behind his head thinking about Misaki in a bikini. Her beauty had caught him off guard. He was a Contractor and he wasn't supposed to act on emotions, but for some reasons his body trembled as he thought about her. He came close at passing out after seeing her topless.

Kirihara Misaki is a beautiful and attractive woman, and any man who thought she wasn't was a fool. He figured she didn't know how gorgeous she was by the way she had acted at Alice's party and her shy state this afternoon. Hei wondered, if she hadn't become a police officer, what kind of life she would have led. Would their paths have crossed? Would they have met if the Gates hadn't appeared?

He shook away the thought and stood. He walked over to a closet, slid it open, and grabbed a white tank top and his wire. Hei threw on the shirt, hid his wire in his swimsuit's back pocket, and exited his room to head for the beach.

---

Misaki and Kanami sat at a table as dozens of men and women danced insanely on the dance floor and a DJ played nothing but techno music. Misaki had kept her legs crossed under the table to keep away prying eyes. She had ordered a few shots to loosen her up, but watched how much so she could keep control of her own actions.

Kanami smoked heavily while she drank and looked around the club at the guys. With all the tobacco in the air, it made Misaki glad she hadn't made convenient trips to bars, and she didn't mind the dress she wore smelling like smoke since she wouldn't wear it again.

Kanami would occasionally point out a few handsome men, but Misaki thought Li was cuter, especially how smooth his collarbone looked. She didn't know why, but that particular part of his body, except his midnight blue eyes, stuck out more than any of his other features.

"Lets get out on the floor and dance!" shouted Kanami over the noise.

"What? No way," said Misaki while shaking her head and waving her hands. "You can but I'm staying right here."

Kanami wouldn't take no for an answer. She grabbed Misaki's arm, yanked her out of her seat, and dragged her onto the dance floor. Misaki stared around baffled, as she kept her legs close together. Her friend began to whip her hips side to side, as she threw up her arms while moving to the music. Misaki, feeling a little fatigued, began to bop around in one spot.

"Oh lighten up, Misaki," said Kanami.

Kanami moved behind Misaki, wrapped her arms around her friend's waist to press their bodies together, and began to move Misaki's body in a sexual manner. Misaki looked back at her friend hysterically, as they dipped a few times with the flow of the music. The guys around them looked away from their girlfriends and watched Misaki and Kanami dance.

"Ka—Kanami, stop, this is embarrassing," whimpered Misaki.

"So," replied Kanami.

Kanami continued her actions while directing Misaki's arm motion and had her spread her legs open a little. Misaki thought her head was going to explode at how red it felt.

After two songs, Kanami released her hold on Misaki so they could head back to their table. Once they reached it, Misaki waved down a waitress and ordered a few more shots. Moments later, the waitress returned in which Misaki downed her drinks and ordered a few more.

"Oi, oi, go easy on the drinks," said Kanami. "Can you bring a few glasses of water too?"

"Sure," nodded the waitress.

She walked off and came back a few minutes later to serve the shots and glasses of water. Misaki drank the shots like they were nothing. She then drank a glass of water to replenish some of the dehydration she felt.

"Rreadyy to goo backk out 'n thee dancce floorr?" Misaki asked.

"You're drunk, Misaki," stated Kanami.

"Youu's fault iss that?"

Misaki stood and head back out onto the dance floor. Kanami watched as her friend got down and dirty.

"That would be me," replied Kanami. "And I'm pleased I could be of help."

---

Hei stepped onto the beach to see a few couples walking along the shoreline for last minute strolls. He imagined him and Misaki in each other's arms doing the same thing. However, that could never be. He was a Contractor and a killer, and she was the person who was hunting him down to bring him to justice.

He saw his contact standing a few yards from the shoreline. He was a tall man that stood with a hunch in his back, and he looked to be in his late forties. He had a rooster like neck that hadn't seen a razor blade in days, short messy hair that was graying, and his eye sockets were the size of golf balls.

He turned his head slightly at Hei, as he slowly approached him. Hei stopped a few meters away from him. The old man turned his lower portion of his body to stand before Hei.

"You have the package?" Hei asked.

"Do you have the money?" the old man asked with a groggily voice.

"Show me the package and I'll show you the cash."

The old man glared at him, but he did what Hei demanded. He reached into his short's pocket and pulled out a box that looked to hold a pair of glasses. He opened it to show a glass tube with a bug in it.

"A bug?" Hei questioned.

"Not just any bug," said the old man, as he closed the box. "This bug is special. It is from Heaven's Gate before the place disappeared. If a human is bitten from this thing, he or she will die, become a Moratorium, or revert into a Contractor. This is the last known bug like that."

"Is that so?"

Hei reached into his back pocket to pull out his wire, flung it to wrap it around the old man's wrist, and electrocuted him. The old man shook for a second, and then fell dead on the beach while dropping the box. Hei retracted his wire, walked up to the dead man, and picked up the box. He placed the item and his wire in his back pocket. He then positioned the dead man to look as though he had fallen asleep.

He departed the dead man's presence and headed down the shoreline to have one last stroll for his well-being.

After walking for a half an hour, he spotted someone wobbling along the beach in a black dress while holding her black high heels. He stared at her, as his body trembled at how beautiful she looked. He wished the moon could find its way to peek through the fake stars and shine on her to give her a more elegant glow.

Misaki stopped to narrow her eyes at him and then smiled with glee as Hei returned it. She walked up to him and then tripped to fall in his arms. She giggled hysterically while Hei looked down at her perplexed.

"Kirihara-san, are you drunk?" he asked.

"Hhaii, a liittle," she said.

"A little? You reek of alcohol."

"And toobaccoo." She added with a chuckle.

"You need to get some water in your system or you're going to be really sick in the morning."

"'M finne, Li, no need to worry 'boutt mee."

Misaki pushed away from Hei and began falling backwards in which Hei had to grab her again and sit her down.

"You're far from fine, Kirihara-san," he pointed out.

"Li, call mee Miisaki. Kirihhara's too formaal. Wee're frien's."

"Ah, hai, Misaki."

"See, much betterr. Since wee're frien's, frien's don' keep sec'etts fromm each otherr. Right?"

"Hai."

Hei began to wonder where Misaki was taking her conversation. She had seen his backside at the shrine while he confronted Amber, and then she recognized his backside again at the store as he bought a bra. Did she think he was BK201? He hoped not since either he had to kill her, which he didn't want to do, or have the Syndicate kidnap her to wipe away her memory.

"I—I likke you, Li, a lott," she began. "I—I was wonderen, y—you like me a lott, right?"

"Hai, I do, Misaki," he said.

"If—if twoo peopple like eachh otherr, shouldn't they fight to be toogetherr?"

"Hai."

She smiled at him as she blushed. Apparently, the alcohol hadn't taken over her emotions completely. Misaki averted her eyes from him to look at the ocean. She stood clumsily from the ground and, surprisingly, she ran into the ocean. Hei watched in amazement.

She dove into the water, popped her head out moments later, and pulled back her hair. She gazed at Hei and said, "What're you doin'? Come onn. The waterr feels great!"

Hei stood while removing his shirt, and dove into the ocean. As he stood, Misaki splashed him. He smiled, picked her up, and threw her to dunk her. She stood looking startled, but then she smiled and started to chase him towards the shoreline. Suddenly a wave hit her in which she fell forward. Misaki bumped into Hei; knocking them over, as Hei dropped onto his back on the shoreline with Misaki falling on top of him. Her arms held her up while she had her left knee between his legs and her drenched hair hanging down.

They stared into each other's eyes. She slowly drew close to him and kissed him. He gave into it, causing him to take a hold of her neck and caress it.

---

Misaki heard banging on the door. She stirred in her bed from it, her head pounding as if there were a dozen Japanese drums banging at once.

"Misaki, get up!" shouted Kanami. "We got a lot of shopping to do!"

"Go away," moaned Misaki.

Suddenly she realized she was naked under her covers. She woke up with a startle, wishing she didn't as more drums began to bang, and tried to think of what had happened last night. Misaki remembered leaving the bar without Kanami and meeting Li on the beach. She recalled chasing him, and then them kissing, but everything after that was a total blank. She noticed her dress lying a meter away from the bed, and the bed seemed mangled as well, but there was no sight of Li anywhere.

"Misaki!" shouted Kanami. "Do you have Li in there with you?"

"N—no," Misaki blushed. At least not anymore from what I can tell. She said to herself.

"Then get out of bed so we can go shopping."

"Go without me. I'm not feeling well."

"Oh no. It's your fault for drinking so much. Now get out of there before I bust down the door."

"Oh, all right. Give me a few minutes."

Misaki changed into casual clothes as she tried to remember what had happened. She wasn't hurting at all, but something still could have happened between them.

---

Hei lay on the floor in his apartment while thinking about last night. He figured she wouldn't remember any of it, which he wondered how she would feel when she woke up. He wanted to stay with her throughout the night, but he couldn't.

There was a tapping at his window. He looked at it to see Mao staring at him with narrowed eyes. Hei stood, walked over to the window, and opened it.

"You get the item?" Mao asked.

"I thought Huang was coming to get it?" Hei asked.

"At one in the morning, but you weren't here," Mao stated. "I met up with him last night to have a little talk with him, and after our little discussion, he told me you weren't around. Apparently, Yin couldn't find you, or at least that's what she claims. I decided to see if you were here yet, and here you are. Now, where's the item?"

"Ah, about that," began Hei.

After his moment with Misaki, he returned to his place and emptied out his back pocket. However, his wire and the bug weren't in there. Apparently, when he and Misaki went for a dip the stuff must have been washed away.

"The man knew I wasn't his contact and threw the item into the ocean," Hei said instead.

The last thing the Syndicate needed to know was him and Misaki kissing each other on the beach.

"Really," said Mao, half believing him. "Huang's not going to be happy about this." Mao smiled with glee as he stuck up his nose in pride. "Which I could care less."

He departed the window and sprinted off. Hei walked over to the door, grabbed his coat as he put on his shoes, and headed out to get something to eat.

---

Misaki miserably walked around the many stores with her friend. She hardly bought anything in which it made Kanami have her carry a majority of her bags.

"Can we head back to our hotel so I can lie down and rest," pleaded Misaki.

"What? It's not even noon yet and you want to go back to our rooms?" pouted Kanami. "We're on vacation, and we're supposed to have as much fun as we can."

"This is far from fun," mumbled Misaki under her breath.

After hours of shopping and getting a bite to eat, they headed back to their hotel to drop off their bags. Misaki lay on the bed to relax her mind.

Unfortunately, it lasted only ten minutes before Kanami was banging on her door again.

"Ah, what now?" Misaki barked.

"How about we head down to the beach?" gestured Kanami. "You can rest there."

"Oh, all right!"

She caved in record time since she knew her friend wouldn't take no for an answer. She didn't bother putting on her bathing suit, which bothered Kanami, but she let it be. Misaki threw on a straw hat and a pair of oval shaped sunglasses to keep the sun out of her eyes. Kanami had on a pair of big rounded glasses and her bathing suit with a see through skirt on.

They descended to the beach. Once they reached it, Misaki rolled out a towel, sat on it, and began applying sun block on. After she finished, she lay on the towel, threw her hat over her face, and fell asleep.

"Misaki, wake up," said Kanami. "It's time to go."

"I just fell asleep," groaned Misaki.

"No you haven't. You've been asleep for four hours straight."

"What? Really?" questioned Misaki, as she sat up to realize the sun seemed lower in the sky.

Kanami nodded.

Misaki sighed. They stood and departed the beach. As they walked towards their hotel Misaki noticed Li walking nearby. He looked up from his daze to look at her, and smiled.

"Ah, I forgot something back at the beach. I'll catch up with you later," said Kanami.

She headed back towards the beach while leaving Li and Misaki alone.

"How, how are you feeling, Misaki?" he asked.

"Fine," she said. "Eh, I wanted to ask about last night. Did… did… I can't remember anything after we kissed."

Li looked at her startled, but then he smiled and said, "Nothing happened, Misaki. You were so exhausted I helped you back to your place. You thanked me and I left."

"Is… is that so? Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Suddenly Li's stomach growled. Misaki looked at him baffled and then started to laugh. Li blushed as he scratched the back of his head embarrassed.

"Would… would you like to get something to eat with me?" she asked.

"Hai, I would love to," he said.

----

The next day, Hei entered the airport for work to make his way back to Japan. Huang, who had scratch marks all over his face curtsy of Mao, sat in the waiting area with Yin to be boarded, as Mao was thrown onto the plane in his cage.

"Not again," he muttered.

Once things were ready and everybody boarded, Hei sat in his chair thinking about Misaki. He had lied to her. What he had told her wasn't what had happened. Hei had taken Misaki back to her place. However, just as he was about to say goodnight, Misaki took him by the arm and guided him into her room. Misaki had settled him onto her bed, sat on top of him, and she had continued kissing him passionately.

She had removed her dress and laid him down on his back. She began to kiss down his chest and stomach while removing his swim trunks and continued making her way down. Hei at first had given into it, but his senses had caught up to him. He didn't want to take advantage of her while she was drunk, and he had tried to push her away, but she kept on making her move. He had taken a chance, but had to give her a slight shock to stop her, and hoped she wouldn't remember. He had laid her gently down on her bed, placed the covers over her, and he had kissed her goodnight.

He couldn't get any sleep the rest of the night, and it took all his strength to keep himself from returning to her room. It was even harder when he saw her the next day. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her vigorously. However, there was no logical way he could develop a relationship with her.

He hated to deceive her, but it was best that way, and he was pleased she didn't remember any of it.

"Everything all right, Li?" said a stewardess next to him.

"Hai, everything is all right, Chikako," said Hei.

---

Misaki returned to work a week later to hear BK201 had been active in Okinawa. She stood in Hourai's office a little upset.

"I was there," she said to him. "You could have informed me so I could look into it."

"You were on vacation and I didn't want to interrupt it," he said.

"But, sir!"

"No buts. So did you enjoy your time off?"

"Somewhat, sir. Although I wouldn't say shopping is a vacation time, more like torture."

"Maybe next time plan your own trip."

She thought on his words. If she did, she'd ask Li to join her.