Public Security Bureau Foreign Affairs, Section Four.

Hei stared at the words emblazoned on the frosted glass doors in front of him.

He straightened his suit jacket, taking care that his visitor's badge was clearly visible. The suit was uncomfortable, but it was important.

He'd chosen a deep blue shirt to pair with it. White with black just felt too…too much like a waiter. He was done with that phase of his life now, or at least, he hoped he was. And the blue looked good. It was a good police color.

And Misaki liked blue.

Not important, he chided himself. She wasn't a mark; he wasn't here to use to his prior knowledge to ingratiate himself with her in order to achieve an ulterior goal. And he wasn't here just to see her again, either. Even though he did desperately want to see her again, no matter how much she might despise him now.

He was here for himself.

Why was he so nervous? This was just a job interview; he'd gone through a hundred interviews before now without the slightest hesitation.

Of course, he hadn't cared about any of those other jobs. It was hard to be anxious about something that was absolutely meaningless to you. And the more he'd thought about this job, the more meaningful it had become, until he couldn't see any other option for himself.

He wished he could have brought at least one knife, but he'd never have gotten it through the metal detectors in the lobby.

Inhaling evenly once again, he pressed the buzzer to the side of the doors. A latch clicked after just a few moments, and one of the doors swung open to reveal a young woman with short brown hair. Her eyes widened slightly when she glanced at his face.

He recognized her.

Of all the people in Section Four, he had to be greeted by the only one who'd made him as an assassin. Shit.

Hei bowed politely, taking an extra moment to school his expression into one of bland friendliness.

She looked him up and down, trying and failing to hide her obvious curiosity. She didn't recognize him, did she? That allergy medicine had certainly worked on Misaki; and anyway, it had been over a year. She couldn't know his face…

"Mr. Li?" the woman asked. "Hi, I'm Ootsuka Mayu. We're not quite ready for you, but you can wait inside."

She sounded friendlier than a normal person would upon recognizing someone who'd tried to kill her; he was probably safe. Probably.

Hei followed her in, skin prickling as it always did when he was entering enemy operations. But Section Four wasn't his enemy, he reminded himself; not anymore. He wondered how long it would take to lose old instincts like that…and whether he even wanted to lose them.

The woman - Ootsuka - led him into a small open space with a couple rows of desks with computers. Two doors and interior windows - blinds drawn - were set into the wall at the right. On the left was an entrance to what looked like a break room. Three dome security cameras set into the ceiling had unhindered views of the entire space.

Hei's mind automatically noted all these details; his attention, however, was focused on the three men in the center of the room, lounging in office chairs and obviously chatting instead of working. They'd all looked up at his entrance. Hei recognized only one of them.

"This is Mr. Li, the new applicant," Ootsuka said, putting a special emphasis on the word applicant. "Li, can I get you anything to drink?"

"Um, no, I'm okay. Thanks."

"Hang on, I know you!"

Hei tensed inwardly when the larger man stood; but he only held out his hand for Hei to shake.

"From that gangster's hotel! You used to work at the Chinese restaurant, right?"

"Um, yeah," Hei shook the proffered hand, allowing himself to feel a modicum of relief. "Saitou, right?"

The detective laughed. "That's right. You're the one who applied for the contractor position?"

Saitou introduced the other two men as Kouno and Matsumoto. Hei had heard their names from Misaki before, but hadn't yet had faces to put to them.

"Wait, you're a waiter? From a restaurant? You do know this is a contractor position, right," the younger man - Kouno - asked, not even bothering to try and hide his critical gaze.

Hei stuffed his hands in his pockets. He'd been hoping for a chance to speak with Misaki before meeting the rest of the team. He'd also been wondering how much Misaki had told them about his identity; they hadn't made any agreements concerning what would happen after his role as her informant ended. It hadn't occurred to him it might be necessary.

"Um, is it?" he said.

Saitou cast him a pitying look. "Come on, Li, we all know you're not a contractor. Why did you apply?"

"Well, I saw the advertisement. It sounded like a good position - and I think I have some skills that would be helpful to Section Four."

"Skills like what?" Saitou asked dubiously.

"The ad said you were looking for someone who speaks more than just Japanese and English…"

"Okay, I believe you know Chinese," Kouno said, "but Russian? And Klingon?"

"I mean, I haven't used them in a while; I could probably use some practice."

Kouno raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh. Sure. Section Four isn't for rookies - we handle seriously dangerous contractors. Have you ever even held a gun before?"

"Um, I have," Hei said. The rest of the room regarded him skeptically - except for Ootsuka, who was keeping her gaze fixed on her monitor despite the fact that she was clearly listening.

"Uh huh. When?"

Hei thought fast. He didn't want to lie; but he wasn't confident enough to tell the complete truth either. "Well, China requires all men to serve in the army after they turn eighteen…"

"I've heard that," the older man, Matsumoto, said. "They taught you to shoot? At least that's something."

"Target practice is one thing," Kouno cut in. "Have you ever actually shot at someone? Like, an actual human?"

"When I was in the army? No."

Kouno was shaking his head. "Look man, your application gave us all a good laugh - but no way is even half of it true."

"Kouno's right," Saitou added, crossing his arms. "That application of yours was pretty far-fetched. I'll be honest with you, the Chief probably only called you in as a courtesy, since you gave us a hand at the hotel."

"I dunno, that seems pretty far-fetched. A courtesy? From the Chief?"

"You weren't there, Kouno; Li here really stepped up and helped us out in a dangerous situation. He kept his head. I know the Chief appreciated it. I'm just saying, don't expect too much from this interview."

Hei's heart sank. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect with regard to Misaki's opinion of his application; but he hadn't expected the rest of the team to so immediately take against him. How could he explain that he could be helpful, without giving away who he was?

"Yeah, I know it probably looked a little…ridiculous," he tried. "I just wanted it to stand out - get the hiring department's attention, you know?"

"One word of advice," Matsumoto said, speaking up for only the second time. His expression was almost grave. "Whatever question you're asked, answer as honestly as you can. The Chief hates lies."

"Yeah. I mean, thanks."

This was going to be a disaster; why had he thought that applying was a good idea? People like him were not cut out for Section Four. How could they be, when their entire existence - Hei's entire existence - was the very antithesis of what the police stood for?

Before he could figure out how to politely escape from the room short of crashing through an exterior window, however, one of the doors to the right swung open. His breath caught as Misaki stepped out.

She looked exactly the same as when he'd last seen her a year ago. Same long hair and slim figure; same serious, focused expression.

Their eyes met and Hei's gut twisted in a fresh surge of guilt over the way they'd left things - the way he'd left her.

Whatever emotion she might be feeling, if any, however, she kept from her face. "You're early," she said. "Good. Ootsuka, take him to the conference room while I refill my coffee." She turned to the rest of her team. "There's a few questions I want to ask him before we start the interview. I'll let you know when I'm ready."

Without another word she strode off towards the break room.

"Just be honest," Matsumoto told him in a low voice while behind him, Kouno drew a finger across his throat in a prediction of Hei's fate. "She can't fault you for that."

Pretty sure she can, Hei thought as he followed Ootsuka into the small conference room.

There were no security cameras here, although there was a small camcorder set up across from one of the seats around the table - the seat that Ootsuka pointed out to him. Hei took it cautiously, noting that at least the camera didn't appear to be on.

He gazed around the room at the grubby, partially-erased whiteboard, the newspaper clippings and department-issued bulletins taped to the walls. He half expected to find his own headshot amongst the row of wanted contractors.

Of course, no one except the Syndicate's higher-ups had ever knowingly had a photo of his face.

What would it be like to come to work here every day, see the same people every day…have the same people see him? Could he even do it? The longest position he'd ever held was five months at a retail distribution facility in Seoul, and by the last month he'd felt like a rat in a cage, itching to get out and seeing enemies around every corner.

Misaki stalked in then, interrupting the anxiety that had begun to pool in his gut. After shutting the door, she took a seat across from Hei, set down a chipped blue and white coffee mug, and opened a file folder on the table in front of her.

Then she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. Hei tensed for the accusations that were sure to come.

"Your application was certainly a surprise," she said after a pregnant pause.

"Um, yeah, I guess." His gaze automatically flicked up to the camera behind her.

Misaki saw. "It's not recording," she assured him, her voice softening a bit. "Though I'll have to turn it on when the official interview starts. Department policy. Is that okay?"

"Sure."

"Tell me if it isn't - really."

Hei blinked in surprise. "It's okay. I mean, I usually avoid being recorded at all costs, but there's no reason to anymore. I have to get used to the idea, is all."

Misaki nodded. "Okay. Well, I just want to clarify a few things with you before I bring in the rest of the team. But first I have to ask - why?"

"Why…"

Why did he leave her in the middle of the night like a total asshole? He had no answer for that. Not one that could excuse him, anyway.

"Why apply at all? I seem to recall you had a very strong opinion against contractors working with Section Four, the last time I mentioned it."

Her gaze was hard and unflinching. So, she going to avoid the topic of what had happened between them that night, but she was definitely angry about it. Hei wasn't sure to be relieved or worried.

He studied his hands, considering his answer carefully. "Last year, I did think it was a terrible idea," he said at last. "I had a…a bias, I guess, against contractors. Even though I was starting to see signs that maybe they were changing, that maybe there was still some humanity in them, I didn't want to believe it. I know I was wrong, now."

Misaki continued to regard him, her expression unchanged. "And now you think it's a good idea?"

"Now… I think that if you found the right person, then yeah. Maybe. It might be useful for your team to have someone on board who can see specters, who knows how contractors think. Someone with a specialized skill set."

"Someone who can help level the playing field," Misaki said, nodding. "And you're serious? About joining the police? You could make a whole lot more money working for another private organization like the Syndicate."

Was that really what she thought of him? "I don't care about money," he said. "Yeah, the Syndicate paid well, but the covers they gave me were usually pretty low income. I'm used to that; I don't mind it. I only stayed with them as long as I did because…because I didn't think there was any other option for me. I always just assumed that I'd work for them until someone better killed me."

He took a breath, uncomfortable with saying so much about himself. "Then a couple months ago, the Syndicate was gone, and I was still alive. Suddenly I had a whole life ahead of me, but I wasn't sure what to do with it…and I remembered what you'd said. About hiring a contractor - someone like me," he finished with an awkward shrug.

"Is that the only reason?"

He couldn't tell if she was doubting him or simply looking for more information; she could give any operative a lesson in giving nothing away. "No. When we were working together…knowing that I was doing something that might actually help others. It felt…nice. Like maybe all my training finally had a purpose, besides just killing other people to keep myself alive."

"You think you can atone for the things that you've done?"

"No," he said quietly. "But maybe I can do something good."

Misaki turned her pen over in her fingers as she gazed at him across the top of her glasses. "Policework is about more than just chasing down the bad guy and then calling it a day. Most of our job happens while sitting behind a computer for days, even weeks."

"Most of my jobs happened while mopping bathroom floors for days," Hei returned, pleased to hear a familiar, if small, note of friendly argument in her voice.

"And we always work together, as a team. No one goes off on their own or holds information back."

"I don't always do that," he muttered, not missing the hint of an accusation.

"You mean, you're not going to do that."

"I'm not going to do that," he amended. "My posting here in Tokyo was with a team. It was hard to get used to, at first, but once I realized I could trust them…it was actually kind of nice, having backup I could count on. I'd like to work like that again."

"And you were very protective of them - I did notice that," Misaki said. She hesitated, then asked, "Did they all make it out Tokyo alright? Since you never gave me their real names or descriptions, I haven't been able to check for myself."

Hei crushed down that little seed of grief before it could take root. "No. Just me and Yin."

"I'm sorry," Misaki said quietly. "Did she come back to Tokyo with you? I can talk to Astronomics about finding a place for her."

"She wanted to go home - to Finland. After we decided we were safe from the Syndicate, we went to her hometown and found someone from her family. I stayed a month there with her, to make sure she'd be okay. She will be."

That had almost been harder for him than it had been for her. She'd been ready to revisit all the memories - good and bad - that came with seeing her home again. For Hei, however, watching her working hard to come to terms with her past stirred up all the pain that he'd spent so long actively trying to forget. He had family out there too, somewhere; family he wasn't ready to face. If he ever would be.

Misaki smiled. "I'm glad you take such good care of her."

Hei shrugged, that smile sending a warm flutter through his heart. "She didn't have anyone else. I wasn't going to just leave her on her own."

"And that's exactly the sort of relationships we have here in Section Four. If you come on board, I expect you to make an effort to be part of the team; not just do you own job."

Hei nodded.

After pausing for a sip of coffee, Misaki continued, "Let's move on to your actual application." She picked up the top sheet in the file. "You didn't list your Messier code; but you still made it obvious - to me, anyway - that it was you. Why? We don't play identity games here."

"Well, I wasn't sure if you would be the first person to read it or not. I didn't want anyone else to see BK-201 and - and make up their mind just from that."

Misaki merely raised an eyebrow, so he continued, "I want to work as part of a team - but will they? If it's me?"

She started to answer, then paused. After a moment, she said, "I'll be honest. My team isn't one hundred percent on board with the idea of hiring a contractor. They'll give it a try because they trust me, but…you may be right. Any contractor that I hire is going to be up against a very ingrained bias. I've told them how instrumental you were in getting us the information we needed to track down the Syndicate's leadership, and that you came to me on your own. But you still have a pretty notorious reputation to overcome; I tend to forget that."

She forgets that I'm a cold-blooded killer? Hei thought dubiously.

"So maybe we keep it quiet until the end of the interview; once everyone's had the chance to talk with you and ask questions, they'll see that you're not any different from a normal person."

Hei's mouth pressed into a flat line. "A normal person, who lied and killed for a living. They're not going to trust me."

"But what's the alternative? I'm not lying to my team about who I'm hiring."

"And I wouldn't want you to. Just maybe…don't tell them that one detail? Not in the beginning, anyway."

Misaki pursed her lips. "I suppose for the first week, while you're still getting to know each other -"

"Only a week?" Hei cut in before he could stop himself.

"You're really worried about this, aren't you," Misaki said, her warm gaze catching his. "Hei, it'll be fine, I promise. All they need is to get to know you; trust me."

"I do trust you," he told her. "But…I only have one chance at this. Once they make up their minds who I am…No one trusts me, after they find out I have a Messier code."

"Your last team did."

"Yeah, well. My handler also shot me; I electrocuted him. It took a while to get there."

Misaki blinked. "Well," she said after a pause, "how about this. I won't tell them who you are - but you will. I'll leave it up to you to decide when, but you will."

Hei fixed his gaze on her coffee mug while he considered. What he'd taken to be an abstract design was actually a pattern of little white whales.

"Okay," he said at last. "That's fair."

"That just leaves the problem of how I explain to the rest of the team why I want to hire you when the position was clearly advertised for a contractor. They know we've been having trouble finding even a halfway decent candidate…let's see how you match up, aside from that." She picked up his application form again. "The job description specifies multilingual fluency and experience living abroad - you definitely have that. We also desperately need someone who's better at going undercover than any of us are right now. I know you can do that; on paper, all those fake jobs of yours could make a case for it. Though I notice you didn't list any of those jobs; you just wrote down a couple of former affiliations."

"You told me once that being a waiter wasn't my real job; I wasn't sure if you'd think it was a lie, if I wrote it here."

She glanced up him, her mouth twisting in an odd little half-smile. "And you were pretty vague about the affiliations. It seems like the only important thing missing is actual contractor-related experience; or any kind of experience involving dangerous situations."

"Well, I did maybe just now lead the others to believe that I have experience in the Chinese army…"

Misaki raised an eyebrow. "Do you?"

"I impersonated an enlisted soldier for two weeks in order to assassinate one of the generals?"

She ran a hand down her face and sighed. "Well, it's not technically a lie, I suppose."

"Um, actually. Speaking of technicalities…" He trailed off, having no clue how to even begin to explain it.

"Are you referring to your drawn-in bubble? Are you a contractor - Not really?" she read. Then she set the application aside and pointed to the next sheet of paper in the file. "I have a note here from your preliminary interview with Officer Saiki: Director Kirihara knows the circumstances." She raised an eyebrow. "I don't, actually."

"Um, yeah. I really didn't want to talk about it with a stranger, so I lied. A little. Sorry."

"Will you talk about it with me? I think I already know a bit of it."

Hei blinked. "You do?"

He hadn't told anyone those details; the truth was still too raw, a wound that had just barely begun to heal over. Every time he thought about it, the thin scab tore through to bleed all over again. Yin knew, but only because she'd been there with him.

"Well, you've always shown more emotion than any other contractor I've met, though you tried to hide it. I wondered about that a lot when we were, um, working together." Her cheeks flushed the tiniest bit pink. "And I was investigating the Syndicate's history, I noticed something strange - up until the disappearance of Heaven's Gate, BK-201 and the Black Reaper were often mentioned as if they were two separate people. One of Pandora's scientists also told me something interesting: that the original assignee of Messier code BK-201 was a young woman."

Misaki gazed at him over the top of her glasses. Her voice softened as she said, "You once told me that you have a sister, and that she has the same power as you. It's literally the same, isn't it - how did you end up with her star, but without becoming a typical contractor yourself? What happened to her?"

As much as he hated thinking about what Bai had done at Heaven's Gate, Hei did believe that Misaki was someone he could confide in. He wanted to confide in her, he realized.

He took a deep breath, and told her what he'd learned at Hell's Gate.

He kept it short; the fewer pains he had to dredge up, the better. Misaki listened without interruption, her eyes full of compassion, rather than judgment.

"Hei, I'm so sorry," she said when he'd finished. "I had no idea; I can't imagine what you must have gone through."

He gave a half shrug, his voice dry. "Whatever I went through, I chose it."

"I'm not sure I'd agree with that statement; but I guess that's not really important right now."

"No; because it means that whether we tell the others that I'm BK-201 or not, I'm not actually a contractor. So I really don't fit your job description. I applied anyway, because, well, I would like to get it. I hope this wasn't a waste of your time…"

"Well, you fulfill the spirit of the description, if not the letter. You'll make a good guinea pig for the department, this way - it'll be easier for you to integrate into the team with your capacity to still feel emotions, and you have the contractor background we're looking for. I think it's a perfect fit, really. I'll keep the interview questions steered away from those background details though, and more focused on scenario-type discussions, like you had in your prelim. Actually, I haven't gone over your answers to those yet - though I did see that Saiki left me a couple notes on the transcript…" She shuffled the papers until she found the one she was looking for. "Were those pretty simple for you?" she asked as she scanned the document.

"Um, well, I've never had to answer questions like that before…"

"Sure, but they should still just be common sense. Like this one about an illegal order from a superior…" Her brow furrowed. "Against the law how?" she read.

"I mean, it can't always be black or white, right?" Hei tried.

"Did you call the police…no, they just took him out back and beat him up."

"Well, that is what happened…"

"Under references - Jesus, Hei."

"I am doing my best not to lie anymore; it's not easy, after so long."

Misaki closed the folder with an exasperated sigh, but Hei could see the corners of her mouth twitching upwards. "Well, I'll bring in the rest of the team. The next round of questions will be similar; just think about your answers as if you were already a cop, and not a covert operative," she said.

"Um, okay. I'll try."

She rose and crossed to the door; before she opened it, she turned back to him and smiled. "That suit looks good on you, by the way."