Chapter Fifteen: Interrogation:

January 7th, 2009.

Victoria, Hong Kong.

She trusted him dearly. He had it all together. He found a way to save them all from their deaths. He became the light to their salvation.

They met six months ago. Oh, she'll never forget that night. She looked for solace from the harsh laws. Many doors had been slammed in her face since '07. Some even threatened to kill her themselves. However one night, she came to this temple in a run-down neighborhood. It looked rather warm. Desperate, she went inside.

He looked like an angel that night. His words filled her with hope. Such a beautiful face with white-blue eyes and thin lips. Slender man too. She couldn't tell if he ate or not. Judging by his worn army uniform, probably not. Yet, she loved him still. He became her angel. She followed him on that boat six months ago.

Before they set sail, she felt another sea of uncertainty rise in her stomach. Maybe this was too risky� Suddenly, someone touched her hand. She paused and looked up. Those white-blue eyes came with a smile in the dark.

"It'll be okay," his eyes told her. "We can do this." She nodded once and the boat set sail.

November 2nd, 2009.

-Four Hours Ago-

Fan immediately shielded the girls. "Take Anna and run, Meixiang!" he ordered. His comrade looked up, bewildered.

"But what about you?" she cried.

"You have to survive for all of us!" he yelled. "I'll hold him off long enough for you to escape. Now, go! Go!" Meixiang reluctantly took off in Anna's body. Fan turned back to Nobu.

"Now it's just us," he said.

"Agreed," the old man replied. Fan drew out his juan and took his stance. Nobu put up his hand.

"I'm not a fan of violence," he said.

"Did you kill them?" Fan snapped.

"Had no choice," the old man replied. "They were in the way." Fan gritted his teeth.

"You monster!" he barked. He held up his juan.

"Now, now," Nobu said. "Let's talk like rational men here." Fan didn't listen as he charged with a scream. Nobu sighed and shook his head.

"I'm so sorry to do this to you buddy," he mumbled. Fan raced over to him with blood in his eyes.

"Die!" he cried with his juan raised high above his head. Splotch! Fan gasped aloud in pain. Nobu squeezed on his heart like a sponge. The juan fell to the cold, hard floor with a loud clack. Nobu looked him in the eye.

"I am so sorry," he said. "But you were being unreasonable." Fan gasped aloud and collapsed while hanging against Nobu's hand. The old man dropped him to the ground. He looked at the body.

"You fought well," Nobu said. "Sleep now." In the supply room, Meixiang and Anna saw everything. The captor trembled as she stood at the open crack.

-Now-

Tsuzuki and Hisoka found Fan's body on the ground. The older shinigami noticed the burns on the wrists.

"The Eda-Kimoto got him!" he gasped. Hisoka paused and looked around.

"Shh!" he whispered. "Do you hear that?" Tsuzuki paused and took a listen.

"What is that?" he asked. They trailed the noise to the supply room. Tsuzuki pushed up the door. Anna and Meixiang both looked up.

"Anna-chan!" Tsuzuki exclaimed. "Are you alright?"             

"Yeah," Anna replied. "But, I can't say the same for her." The Shinigami turned to Meixiang. The woman collapsed at his feet.

"Arrest me!" she pleaded. Tsuzuki gave her a puzzled look.

"Huh?" he asked. Meixiang looked up at him with frightened eyes.

"Arrest me! Please arrest me! Please!" she begged over and over. Tsuzuki turned to Hisoka for help. The boy only shrugged back.

-------

Meixiang didn't talk in Ju-Oh-Cho for three whole days. Her mind seemed miles away. None of the shinigami could get her to talk. At one point, Wakaba thought she saw tears in Meixiang's eyes. By day three, something had to be done. Tsuzuki and Hisoka came back with Anna in tow. At first, the woman didn't get it.

"Why did you bring me along?" she asked.

"She possessed you, so we figured you would come in use," Hisoka replied.

"You sure about that?" she asked.

"We couldn't think of anything else," Tsuzuki told her. The woman said nothing as they went into the interrogation room. Meixiang looked at up them. Anna leaned in to her ear.

"Hey," she whispered. "How are you?" The other woman didn't speak. She looked away from her.

"My friends and I want to ask you a couple of questions, okay?" Anna asked. The other three took their seats.

"Where are you from originally?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Hong Kong," Meixiang whispered.

"You a tourist?" Tsuzuki asked. She shook her head.

"Then why are you here in Japan?" he asked.

Meixiang played with her boyish-cut cyan hair for a long time before speaking. "I'm a siren."

"What?" the others asked.

"Yes, it's true," she said. "Two years ago, the Hong Kong officials ordered all sirens to be executed. My people were killed every day. There wasn't any place to hide. We had woken up to a new Hell.�

She leaned forward on the table. "I met Fan and the others back in August of '08. They took me in and we planned to escape to Japan. So in January, the boys and I snuck aboard a boat with fourteen other sirens to Japan."

"But how did you get by security?" Hisoka asked. Meixiang gave him a little smile.

"I'll show you," she said. The siren stood up and walked around to Anna. The other woman tensed up in a panic.

"Oh god, not again!" she cried. The shinigami moved into a defense position to attack the suspect.

"Relax," Meixiang told them. "I'm just giving you a little demonstration."

Hisoka quickly caught on. "I get it now! You guys possessed the corpses to get by and survive."

"Exactly!" Meixiang replied. "Though a live body isn't as easy to handle as a corpse." The pale-skinned siren returned to her seat.

"So what happened to the others?" Tsuzuki asked. Meixiang's pride began to fade.

"They all died," she said quietly. "Starvation, officials, or illness claimed them. Her uncle killed my brothers and the man I loved. Now, I'm the only one left." Dry tears ran down her face.

"I am sorry for your loss," Anna whispered.