Mending the Shadow

2008. 01. 01. 1:15AM.

She looked around her, her beautiful round eyes were wide and filled with confusion and fear at the sight of their mansion. It was a big and lively 3-storey Victorian mansion, with many rooms and lots of expensive furniture. Just before she went to bed, her mother even kissed her on the forehead, and told her to have a sweet dream on that New Year's eve.

She was exhausted from dancing and playing with her friends, who were children of her parent's friends, and they were all approximately have the same age with her. So, when her mother put her to bed a few minutes past midnight, she fell asleep straight away.

She began dreaming about a blue-eyed prince who rescued her from a flamed castle. She was being carried in the strong arms of the prince, and with her half-lidded eyes, she tried to touch him. But then, he vanished in thin air.

When she fully opened her eyes, she was lying on the grass. She stood up and looked around, and there. She saw their big house, surrounded by a large cloud of smoke and a raging mixture of red and blue flames.

She screamed, but no voice came out of her throat.

Her mother, her father, her dear brother! Everybody, where are they?

She walked towards the burning house, and she felt a sharp pain on her legs. She noticed that her left foot was bleeding. She became frightened at the sight of the blood, and began screaming for help.

"Help!"

----

2018. 10.15. 8:45PM

Kana woke up when she felt a sharp sting on her cheeks. "Ouch!"

She opened her eyes and found that Ken has just slapped her slightly, so as to awaken her.

She touched her cheeks, and looked at him sharply.

"You could have slapped me a little lighter, " she accused, still feeling the impact of his palm on her.

Ken looked at her indifferently, while he was tying his shoe lace.

"I did, several times. But it was only the last that was able to wake you up." He answered, and continued with what he was doing.

Kana eyed him, then she sat up.

How could she even fall asleep in this condition?

They were camped in a tent, in the middle of some forest in the Kumamoto prefecture. She and Ken have been on this assignment for more than a month, and tonight is when they will do the final verdict.

They have collected enough evidence that one of the government's official was using his position to embezzle the natural gold in the country. It was a hard task for them, because he was as careful as a rat. He had many decoys, and was never personally involved in any transaction.

However, he has one weakness.

Woman.

Kana used her feminine charms to get near him and obtain the proper information. Within two weeks of her providing him company and appropriate entertainment, he finally spilled all his secrets. She caught everything on the small recorder that was hidden inside her underwear.

When she delivered it to No. 1, their order was released. The man has to be executed, and his accomplices should be put in jail, by having the police learn about their illegal actions. The Shadows' boss did not believe that the official will change upon being sent to the prison, so his punishment is death.

The two of them shall deliver his sentence, in a manner that would look like a suicide.

"Get ready, " she glanced at him as he stood up, all ready for the battle up ahead. With the all-black attire and only his eyes were seen against the enveloping darkness of the night, Ken looked like an emissary of death.

A mouth-watering gorgeous God of death, for the record.

Kana shook her head to clear her mind of unnecessary thoughts at the moment. Yes, only at the moment.

For once this duty is over, she would go back again to plundering his image in her head, as she usually does on her spare time. Without a doubt, Kana is crazy in love with Ken.

She has made it known to him for countless of times in this previous year, but he had remained uninterested with her advances. His heart was like stone-cold, solid as rock and cold as an iceberg.

But she knew that it was just his facade.

She has watched him cry for a woman, so she knew that he has a proper heart that could feel pain and longing, and love.

And she has made it her sole purpose, aside from being a Shadow, to make him feel again.

Feel a woman's warmth and feel a woman's love, again.

Kana inhaled and exhaled, and once she firmly secured that she is fully covered and equipped with everything that she needs, she nodded towards Ken. He nodded back, and with a motion of his finger, they dashed out from the tent.

----

Mayor Shouta Yamaguchi was checking all his bank accounts to make sure that all the money from the latest transactions have been deposited. A wide grin formed on his mouth as he sat on the couch with a satisfied look on his face.

He is a man with good physical traits, because he believes that a good man does not only train his mind, but also his body. That is why he has learned kickboxing, and could play many kinds of indoor and outdoor sports. It was not only for his body, but those kinds of 'good' hobbies made him a role government official.

His good looks and good character were his charms that made him win in the election again for his second term. Nobody but him, and his very close allies, knew about his illegal activities. He even kept his activities a secret from his own family.

His wife believes that he is a good man, and his two children believe that he is a good father.

That is why he can continue doing his dark deeds without arousing suspicion from his family.

Ignorance is bliss, as they say.

With a contented look on his face, he asked for a cup of tea from the family's staff. Within seconds, the tea was brought to him. He took the tea and drank it readily. He then noticed that he began to feel dizzy, and when he realized what just happened, two shadows appeared in front of his eyes, towering over him like dark creatures.

He forced his eyes open.

"W-who the hell are you?" He stammered, and tried to stand on his own two feet.

Alas, something on the tea made him dizzy. But for some reason, it wasn't enough to make him unconscious.

"We are Shadows of the Wind, Mayor Yamaguchi."

The man spoke, and the mayor inched backwards. His eyes frantically searched for some weapons that he can use to defend himself.

Shadows of the Wind? He had heard that there are still some groups of paid assassins roaming around the country, but he never thought that he would be a target. He was always careful to cover all his tracks!

Then, he saw the baseball bat on one corner and made a run for it.

However, he stumbled on the tatami floor as his feet were kicked by the smaller person.

"D-damn it!" he hissed, and tried to get up.

The taller shadow stepped closer to him, and he backed away until he reached the corner of the room.

He began to sweat profusely.

"D-don't kill me. You don't have any proof that I'm doing something wrong." He said, for he knew that these organizations were paid to punish the corrupt government officials.

The taller man stopped on his tracks, and looked at the smaller person. The smaller person showed him an exquisitely-designed hairpin. His eyes widened in realization, and then it turned bloody red with hate.

He started to scream vile words, but surprisingly, he could not hear his own words. He shouted more and more, and noticed that the two were just standing there, towering over him and watching him with cold, murderous eyes.

It was the tea!

He started not to feel his own hands, then his feet. He looked at them with frightened eyes, as he tried his hardest to plead for his life. His carefully earned life.

However, he could not even feel his tongue.

The taller man walked towards him, and as he looked up to meet this gaze, he spotted for the first time that his eyes were surprisingly blue.

He would be killed by a damn foreigner?

Then, a sharp sting on his neck made him lose his consciousness.

----

Within minutes, the house was set in flames.

As Ken and Kana watched the burning house, wherein only the Mayor was inside to be toasted, they both had a grim expression on their faces, hidden behind their masks. Ken was thinking that although another family has lost its head, the country has lost a snake.

Kana, on the other hand, was remembering how her own house was also set in flames, more than 10 years ago.

The next day, it was reported on the news that the Mayor has committed suicide and burned the house by himself after sending his family away. All his accomplices on the government office were captured by the police when an informant gave them some solid proofs of their illegal activities.

Almost everyone in the province was shocked, as the Mayor was treated with respect and many has never thought that he was a corrupt official. For almost a week, many people were saying that indeed, a book could never be judged by its cover alone.

----

Kana and Ken were some of the passengers on the plane going back to Tokyo. They were sitting on the same row, with another person between them. Kana was on the window side while Ken was on the aisle. They pretended not to know each other.

She kept on glancing at him anyway, as he has his eyes closed. But she knows that even the slightest movement would make him snap his eyes open and be ready for any unforeseen happenings.

She decided to send him a message instead.

Since they began working as partners more than a year ago, she kept on bugging him to give her his phone number. It took her a lot of pleading and trickery before he finally gave in, almost just a month ago.

'Ken, will you be going back to that place again once we arrived to Tokyo?'

That place that she was talking about is a tall and old building near the residential area at one of Tokyo's private subdivision. He would often stand there for hours in a day, whenever they don't have any specific assignment.

She saw from the corner of her eyes that he took his phone from his pocket, and once he saw who the sender was, he put it back without even opening her message and closed his eyes again.

She felt irritated at his apathy. Of course, he must know that she was looking at him and waiting for him to read her message.

With a cheeky look on her face, she sent him another message.

'Can you take me with you? I want to see what you were looking at. Or shall I say who?'

She grinned as she sent the message, and squinted a little while watching him at the corner of her eyes. He took out his phone again, and when he saw her massage, she saw that he frowned.

She was waiting for him to turn to her and give her a scowl but he didn't. Instead, the corner of his lips twitched in an annoyed fashion, which gave him a ruggedly sensual look. He deliberately let her saw how he turned off his phone with an irritated action. Then he put the phone back on his pocket, leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes again.

Kana could not help but feel victorious. Her grin widened even more when she saw how her effort to make him displeased just worked.

Yes, call her crazy. But all the emotions that she can elicit from him, even anger, would be welcomed by her with open arms.

It is because most often than not, Ken looked so melancholic and miserable. It's like when she looked at him, he would have this hollow and lost expression on his freaking handsome face that would drive her mad with hopelessness.

Kana wanted to see him smile, because he has the most lovely smile she has ever seen. And she had only seen it once.

It was a forlorn smile when he looked at Yuki Iguchi for the last time on the ship, making sure that she doesn't remember him anymore.

It was a sad smile, but it captivated her heart. She then promised that she would try her best, no, her all, to make him smile happily. And that smile would be directed only at her.

Once again, Kana smiled and contentedly leaned back on her chair as well. She closed her eyes and began to plan how to move towards Ken to make him soften to her.

----

Ken's eyes snapped open when he felt the sudden tremor in the plane. At first, he thought it was just a normal turbulence, as the pilot announced a few minutes ago. But then, he realized that it wasn't the case.

Suddenly, some men wearing masks entered the passenger's area, with guns and knives on their hands. He quickly glanced at Kana, who has her eyes closed. He knew then that she was really sleeping.

Some passengers began to panic, and the uproar caused Kana to wake up. She met Ken's eyes, and silent words were exchanged between them.

Terrorists!

They won't go down without a fight. They pretended to be common passengers who were scared and tried to hide themselves in between the seats. The man sitting along with them has long hidden in between them.

"Dear passengers, please relax. We are not here to take any of your beloved material belongings." One of the masked man said, he was holding one flight stewardess on his arms while his other hand was holding the knife that is aimed at the woman's neck.

"We are here to invite you all to be with us in welcoming our God. So I implore upon all of you to stay calm on your seats and don't make any unnecessary movements. You don't want us to think that you might be trying to do something stupid and it might cause us to retaliate into something...more stupid." The man's voice was cold and lethal.

Ken knew that they are suicidal terrorists. They will not rob them of anything, but they might be planning to take the plane down somewhere. They're not after material things, but their lives.

Foolish terrorists! He thought, hiding a smirk on his face as he began to think of all possible scenarios based from the actions that he's planning to take.

After a few seconds, it only took him a mere fraction to decide.

He motioned for Kana to look at the window, and she did without so much as a movement of her head. She noticed that they are still on the ocean. But she thought that the plane has started to decelerate.

It means that they are planning to crash on the ground.

She made a few motion with her fingers, not even once turning her head to confirm if Ken was looking at her. There was no need to confirm. For she knew that even the slight change on her breathing, at the very situation they are in, Ken would read all the signs.

He is, after all, the reigning No. 2, and would soon to be the No. 1.

Ken slightly shifted his head to the left, as if in a stiffed neck, and it earned the attention of the man who just gave them the foolish speech. His eyes squinted when he looked at Ken, in his contrasting features of both Asian and a westerner.

"You!" the man called his attention, but he pretended not to notice it. The man walked towards him, still with the stewardess on his left arm.

"Hey, you!" the man said again, almost just in front of him.

Ken looked up.

"Sorry, I don't understand Japanese." Ken said, acting like a foreigner.

The man has a confused look on his face, obviously did not understand what Ken said in fluent English. The man turned to the stewardess.

"You, tell him not to make any movement or you will die, "

The stewardess' eyes widened in fright and translated the man's words in English, she was stammering as tears fell on her cheeks.

Ken nodded after the stewardess said the words, and the man smirked in satisfaction. He inched backwards, but the moment he turned his back, something pricked the exposed part of his hand that was holding the knife.

He turned sharply at the woman thinking that she did something, but the moment he did, he felt the numbing sensation that moved from his arm to his head, causing him to look like he was being choked.

The knife fell from his hand, followed by the gun. Then his body slumped on the floor.

"Boss!"

Two other men were surprised at what happened and when they ran towards him, Ken moved as fast as the wind. Using his right foot, he kicked the first man in the abdomen, and while turning, his right hand fell on the other man's nape, knocking him unconscious. He then lunged forward to the man that he kicked, took his gun and pointed it on his head.

He did not wait for the man to say anything, because they are not thieves, they are suicide terrorists. Using the back of the gun, he knocked the man unconscious as well.

He then looked at Kana, who was just calmly sitting on her chair, obviously has no intention of helping him. Not that he needed any help anyway.

The other passengers were all in awe at what just happened in front of their eyes, too fast. The three men with guns were knocked unconscious by just one man, a blue-eyed gorgeous man.

Ken put one finger over his lips, silently telling the crowd not to make any sound. He then made his way towards the cockpit. Suddenly, the plane began to move violently. It didn't take too long before he realized that they are going down. As he met Kana's eyes, she gave him a nod. He noticed the hint of fear on her eyes.

He grunted.

They are crashing down to the ocean.

When Ken reached the cockpit, he noticed three men there, the pilot and co-pilot, and one terrorist. They were all dead. With a curse, he took over the pilot's chair, and tried to maneuver the giant aircraft as near as possible to the shore.

He knew that Kana must be advising all the passengers now to wear a life vest.

He never drove an aircraft in person, all he ever did was just simulation.

"Shit!"

He punched on the control buttons, for he knew that it has been set to go down. Yet, he did all he could to lighten the fall. And again, the last image on his mind before everything went blank was Yuki's smiling face.

----

Ken opened his eyes, which felt like ages since he did. He felt like his eyelashes were stuck on his lower lid and had to blink several times before he could clearly make out the place where he is at the moment.

He was lying on the hospital bed, and when he tried to move, he realized that he couldn't. His feet felt heavy, his hands were numb, and he could feel some pain all over his body.

He groaned inwardly.

The pain that he's feeling meant that he's still alive.

That means that they were somehow lucky. He wondered how many passengers of the airplane were alive, and how many were...not lucky like them.

Kana.

He glanced around the room, which was covered in white from floor to ceiling. The curtain was drawn and he saw Kana's face.

She has a smile on her face as she walked towards him, a nurse following her behind.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, dear brother, " Kana said in her childlike voice, and the nurse, with obvious admiration on him, did her job quickly by checking his vitals.

"How long have I been here, " Ken asked.

Kana sat on one chair next to his bed. He noticed some bruises on her arms and face.

It's good that she wasn't too much hurt, he thought. It would be a failure for him if his underling was hurt under his presence.

"Forty-three hours and..." she looked at her watch, "18 minutes to be exact, " she said, and glared at the nurse who just couldn't help but stare openly at Ken.

The nurse said sorry and went out of the room hastily.

Ken did not mind her at all, for he was so used to females gawking at him as if he is a piece of fresh meat ready to be eaten.

Well, he could be...a poisoned meat.

Kana shook her head.

"I pity all those girls, for having to see such a handsome man and not being noticed in the slightest." She added a hint of mischief in her voice as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Ken pretended not to hear her.

"How long do I have to stay here?" he asked, "I want to get out of the hospital as soon as possible."

Kana frowned.

"According to the doctor, you have to stay here for at least a week." She answered.

Ken has a disappointed look on his face, but he did not say anything.

"Don't worry, I made the report." When he still did not reply, she cleared her throat. "Thanks for saving all of us, nobody died in the crash, except for those three in the cockpit along with you. The three men were all put in jail as well."

Ken's eyes flicked momentarily in gratitude. He could be an assassin, but he had never taken an innocent life even once. He could not even kill a cat.

After a few minutes of silence, Kana began to peel an apple. Ken kept his face turned on the other side. The only part of his body he could move for now is from his neck and above.

"Come on, brother. I have peeled an apple for you, why don't you have some?" Kana said in her playful voice.

Ken looked at her with indifference, and opened his mouth.

She fed him the apples, one by one, in silence. She suppressed her laughter, for she knew that the reason why he was obliging to her is that because he could not do anything in his condition. He could not even lift a finger.

The scowl on his face was so cute that Kana found herself staring at him intently.

"Kana, wipe that silly drool on your mouth, before it fall on me." Ken said coldly, and she giggled. Yet, she unconsciously wiped her mouth, knowing that he was just making fun of her.

Ken knew what she feels for him. For she never wasted any time on telling it to him directly.

She confessed to him two months ago. She could still remember it too well.

----

They were just given their assignment to investigate Mayor Yamaguchi along with his alleged corruption. On their way back from the meeting place, she asked him if they could talk.

"What is it you want to talk about?" He asked, obviously impatient for it was already night time.

Kana looked at him in his eyes, making sure that she was establishing an eye contact.

"Ken, I want to tell you...that I love you."

There, she said it, finally.

After spending many months contemplating on her real feelings about him, she finally realized that she loves him. And it would be better if he knows how she feels, so she will also know how he feels about her.

Ken's gaze never wavered for one bit.

"How do you want me to answer that?" He asked, putting his hands on his pockets.

"Truthfully, " she responded, crossing her fingers behind her back, but keeping her eyes straight towards him.

"Well, I don't feel the same towards you." Was his straight answer.

She was expecting it, but still, it hurts more to hear it coming straight from him. She felt like her heart was torn into pieces.

But she's not a weakling, she is now 20 years old, almost 21. She is an adult and her feelings won't be swayed by his cold rejection.

"I can feel that, but I want to tell you too that I won't give up. I will wait until you fall in love with me." She said in a defiant manner.

Ken's lips twitched sexily, and he took a step towards her, laced with sensual menace. Her feet almost moved backwards but before they did, she held her ground firmly, meeting his eyes equally.