1st time, Tokyo, September 2004

It was a cold day. Hei was in hurry. In ten minutes he will know the team he's going to work with. The Syndicate didn't give him a choice. They just tell you what to do and if you don't do it you have a problem. Big problem. Forget problems, they will kill you.

His new team was supposed to have another contractor, a doll and someone who will be a connection with the Syndicate. He was surprised when he got to the place they were supposed to meet. The place itself was unusual. Old playground for children. A lone girl sitting on a swing. And a cat, on top of the slide.

Hei sat on the bench and waited. No one said a word. Maybe the girl was the doll they were talking about. She certainly didn't look like a contractor. But Hei knew. Looks could be deceiving. Still they needed to wait for the other two members and the girl didn't say anything.

When he saw an old, ugly man in a long coat coming towards the place he thought it was some kind of joke. It was already fifteen past the set time. Will he be working with an old man and a girl who barely looked fourteen?

The man introduced himself. Huang. He was from the Syndicate.

He said that since everyone was there already, they should exchange names.

Everyone was here already? What about the forth member?

Hei's questions were answered when the cat jumped from the slide with grace and said his name.

Mao. The cat. Contractor.

Hei told them his name, and they nodded. Acknowledging his name, maybe.

"And our doll." the man, named Huang, said. "You are Yin, right? he asked gruffly.

The girl sitting nodded her head slowly. Then she got up and joined the circle.

Hei's eyes weren't deceiving him. She had silver hair. When she got close he also noticed light red-pink eyes. What a weirdo. Her goth-like purple dress screamed for attention too.

She noticed he was eyeing her, for she turned towards him.

"I'm Hei." he offered, trying to get himself out of ogling her unusual appearance.

"Hei." she replied slowly.

Hei's eyes widened.

Her voice was pretty.

(what he didn't know was she thought of his voice the same. she couldn't see him that day, but his voice was low and easy for her ears. pretty.)

2nd time, April 2005

A normal mission with his team. He got used to them, working together for almost a year. The harsh voice of Huang, telling everyone what to do and washing his hands of every problem. Hei even kind of liked Mao. Sure, he wasn't very useful while facing the enemy, but he was great in diversion. He was a cat after all. Yin was a mystery, quiet and compliant to every request, as a doll should be.

He threw his weapon towards a contractor who could turn his hands into stone. The wire hooked itself around the enemy's neck and Hei was going to use his electricity.

A gentle voice.

"Hei. To your left. Another."

Hei barely made it in time, but he succeeded in avoiding the deadly weapon thrown in his way. He thought about saying "thank you" but figured it wasn't necessary. His companion was a doll, after all.

The enemy managed to escape, using the distraction.

"Track him down." Hei told Yin. Just a doll.

When she put her feet into the bowl of water, he couldn't ignore the thought of how small and delicate they were. Pretty.

(she tried Hei's shoes on once. they were very big on her tiny feet. she liked them anyway.)

3rd time, December 2005

The enemy was worse than he thought. He felt exhausted as the Syndicate had him working five nights in row. He also had to keep his part-time job, blowing off his cover in some company led by mafia would only cost him more work.

So now they had him. Some contractor tied him up. He was held in some dark basement. With no way to escape. True, only one men was watching him but with his hands tied behind he could do nothing.

Pathetic, here he was, the famous BK201, Kuro no Shinigami, defenseless, with no plan of escape.

That's when he saw it.

"Yin."

And it was her. The silver haired girl's specter in the puddle of water on the dirty floor. It disappeared when the men looked his way.

The water was only ten centimeters from him, if only he could reach it. He waited for his guard to look away and slowly moved towards the wet spot on the floor. Then he tried to make the contractor come closer. As soon as the enemy's feet touched the water, he activated his power.

Man's body hit the floor with a thud.

Hei managed to get up and found an old knife. He freed his hands and checked if the earpiece that connected him with the team still worked.

"Yin. How do I get out of here?"

He decided that this time she needed a thank you. So he found her in her empty tobacco shop and uttered the "arigato".

She only looked at him with those big, strange eyes.

And for the first time Hei thought they were pretty.

Strange, but pretty.

(Hei's eyes were strange too. they were dark, almost black, when he was fighting and they were soft blue when he was with her. it was alright they were strange. she never liked normal, anyway.)

4th time, March 2006

He was cooking dinner and she stood soaked in the middle of his room. She refused to change and she didn't want to eat. He led her to the bathroom with a towel and gave her his black undershirt. Told her to get dressed. She complied, being the doll that she was.

He didn't want her to get sick.

She came out, with her hair wet and his shirt loose around her small form.

She sat on the floor and stared at his wall. Her fingers held the hem of his shirt, as if memorizing the feel of the material.

"Do you want to eat?"

She shook her head "no" and continued to stare at the empty space.

He finished his serving and brought her a small plate. She ate obediently.

Hei washed their plates and put them away to dry.

He sat next to her on the floor. She didn't even acknowledge his presence, looking forward and not moving.

Hei closed his eyes and relaxed. He felt it then. Her hand on his, small and soft. Pretty.

He looked at her uncertainly and found her with her eyes closed.

So he closed his too.

(she loves when he holds her hand. his grip is strong and she is safe. he always knows where they need to go.)

5th time, October 2006

The time after a successful mission was amazing. Hei didn't need to do anything. He could rest, if only for a while.

They mission was far away from Tokyo and they were sitting in the car know. Huang was driving and Mao was sleeping on the front seat. Hei never knew why he pressed he sat in the front. He was just a cat.

Yin was sitting next to Hei, unmoving. She didn't give any signs but he knew she, too, was tired. She had the needs of a normal human being, after all.

He watched her as her eyes slowly closed and she slipped into slumber. He gently lied her on the back seat, her feet on the floor and her head in the middle of the seat.

Some of her hair fell in his lap. He never knew silver could be so pretty.

(when she touches Hei's hair with his head in her lap, she adores the softness. she knows it is black. it doesn't feel black, though.)

6th time, Okinawa, July 2007

He hugs her. He hasn't felt so content since he held his sleeping sister in his lap on the territory of the Heaven's Gate.

(she loves his embraces. they remind her of something she once felt. long ago. she can't remember what it was.)

7th time, August 2007

They share a bed and he is finally comfortable. They trust each other . They have comfort in each other.

He couldn't sleep when she was lying next to him. He didn't know why. Those weird feelings deep inside, they were foreign to him, as a contractor. But he got used to them. Got used to her constant presence in his life.

He brings her an ice cream from the hotel's restaurant. Strawberry. She told him she loves the taste and he enjoyed making her happy. He thought he saw the slightest bit of a smile gracing her lips and happiness in her eyes, if only for a moment.

Her soft footsteps indicate she would be joining him in the bed. He made her some space.

"Hei. Thank you."

Hei knew she meant it for the ice cream, so he said it wasn't really a problem. He started opening his mouth to wish her goodnight, but the doll had other plans.

She missed his mouth with her lips, instead meeting his chin. He corrected her and deepened the kiss. She tasted of strawberries.

(he didn't taste of strawberries. she didn't mind.)

8th time, January 2009

She is alive but she isn't with him.

The bottle isn't really any relief. His unshaved face bothers him when he looks in the mirror.

He never liked himself in the ponytail.

He didn't shave because she wasn't there to touch his face and tell him it was too rough on her hands already. ("It hurts funny." she said once.)

He didn't cut his hair because he didn't care what he looks like.

But he will find her and when he does, he needs to look his best.

So he cuts, shaves and stops.

She is alive and he will find her.

(i love you Hei. I wait for you.)

Somehow, Suou thinks he's made a right decision with starting to take care of himself.

9th time, October 2009

She looks pretty in the moonlight. She was naked but Hei covered her with his coat.

She is unconscious. He is elated. She is finally with him and her heart beats softly against his chest.

He feels like he could scream in happiness when he hears:

"Hei."

(he told her he loves her once. then, she got naked too, and he didn't cover her that time.)

10th time, distant future

He holds his two-year-old daughter and smiles at her. She smiles right back with her pretty lips and silver hair and pink-red eyes. She is beautiful. He looks at his pregnant wife, so alike to the toddler he is holding in his arms.

(Yin wishes their next child would look just like Hei. Because he is pretty too.)

A/N: Finished. I hope you aren't too bored reading.