The Devilish Assassin Meets The Angelic Detective

After leaving the airport, Black Shadow found himself standing in front of the hospital where Marie was currently admitted. There was a hint of hesitation in his eyes. He was debating within himself whether he should check on her or not.

The desire to see her overpowered him, that's why he moved his feet forward and finally entered the hospital. He searched for Marie's room. She was in one of the ICU rooms.

He was very careful not to bump with her colleagues. There was a high possibility that they were also there in the hospital right now. And he was right.

He saw some familiar faces who were involved in catching him before. He saw Bryan and Allen just outside the ICU room. They seemed like they were discussing something.

As usual, he needed a perfect disguise so that he could enter her room and see her. He waited for Bryan and Allen to leave first. When he made sure that no one was inside, he started to make his move.

After several minutes, Black Shadow appeared in front of her room wearing a doctor's uniform. He was also wearing a mask to hide his face.

He stood there for a few seconds. He could feel the rapid beating of his heart inside his chest. He tried to control his emotions before he entered the room.

He took all his courage to go near her. When he reached her hospital bed, he saw Marie lying there like she was just sleeping. Her head was covered by bandages. She had an oxygen mask on her mouth. There was also a monitor beside her which was showing her vital signs.

He could feel a tinge of pain deep inside his heart as he looked at her pale face. There was a hidden sorrow in his blue eyes. Although he felt betrayed, still he didn't wish to see her like this.

He removed his mask and walked closer to her. Despite everything, he didn't know why but after seeing her now, he couldn't find the hatred which he thought he had for her. Instead, he had the urge to touch and caress her face as of this moment.

He smiled bitterly as he held her hand. Then he found his voice as he spoke to her.

"Hey Miss Officer. You need to wake up. You still need to spy on me. Do you want to know more about Catseye? Then you must wake up. After that, I will tell you everything I know about that devil kitten."

Black Shadow paused for a moment as he continued to watch her sleeping face.

"That Devil woman tried to play with my feelings today. I think she was trying to get even with me. Do you know she's really smart? I felt defeated today. I thought she was a woman of a few words but surprisingly, she talked a lot today."

Black Shadow continued speaking as if he was having a normal conversation with Marie. Thinking about the past, most of their topics were about Catseye.

"She ruined my plan. I was supposed to enjoy my first class flight but now here I am, standing beside you."

His grip on her hand tightened. He wanted to see Marie's smiling face with her eyes full of anticipation and interest every time he would talk about Catseye. 

But now, he couldn't see any reaction from her.

"Thank you for your gift. I like it." There was sincerity in his words.

"Too bad, you were not able to give it to me personally." Now, he couldn't hide the sadness in his voice while saying those words to her.

Black Shadow was too immersed in watching her when suddenly someone entered the room.

"Doctor?" 

Black Shadow heard a female voice from behind. He felt alarmed but he managed to retain his composure. He immediately released Marie's hand before he turned to face the newcomer. 

Fortunately, she was Marie's mother and she didn't know about Black Shadow. She was just surprised to see a new doctor inside. He looked young compared to the doctor who conducted the operation on Marie.

Black Shadow could see the confusion in her eyes so to avoid suspicion he decided to speak with her.

"Hello Ma'am. I am just checking the patient's condition. The doctor who is assigned to her is having a break as of now." he explained to her.

Marie's mother believed him. She walked closer to them. Then she averted her gaze to Marie. Fear and sadness were visible on her face.

"Doc, do you think my daughter will still wake up?" She was not able to hold herself. The tears voluntarily fell from the corner of her eyes.

"She is still young. W-We can't lose her like this." she started to sob in front of Black Shadow.

At that moment, he didn't know what to do and what to say. He could also feel her pain. He understood what she felt. Seconds later, Black Shadow just found himself comforting the middle-aged woman beside him.

Tapping her shoulder, he said to her: "Of course, she will wake up. She's a very strong woman."

After hearing his remarks, Marie's mother gazed up only to see Black Shadow's gentle and reassuring smile. Those words from him meant a lot to her. She nodded and smiled back at him with a hopeful look in her eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*** Assassin Guild Headquarters ***

After visiting Marie at the hospital, Black Shadow immediately headed to Assassin Guild's Headquarters. He went there to meet the President.

Fortunately, the President was not busy at that time. He was inside his office. Black Shadow grabbed this opportunity to approach him. Seeing Marie's condition, it pushed him to make a certain decision.

" Black, what brings you here? I thought today is your flight going to Country A. The people I asked to arrange your place and everything you need are expecting you to arrive today." The president asked him right away. He was surprised to see Black Shadow.

"I am leaving Assassin Guild." Black Shadow said to him seriously, ignoring his question.

The president looked at him with confusion. His facial expression was asking Black Shadow if he just heard it wrong.

"What do you mean?" The president knitted his brows as he asked him to elaborate his prior statement.

"I want to retract my membership here in Assassin Guild. Starting today I am no longer a member of this guild." Black Shadow declared to him with so much conviction in his words.

The President's mood changed immediately after hearing his statements. He was obviously unhappy with Black Shadow's sudden decision.

"That's impossible. I won't allow that to happen. You are one of the elite assassins who was trained and sheltered by this guild for a very long time now. Are you betraying us? Betraying this brotherhood?"

"I am not betraying anyone Mr. President. That's why I am here, talking to you and informing you since I respect our brotherhood." He defended himself.

"Hahaha. You have the audacity to tell me that? Respecting our brotherhood? Then why are you telling me that you want to leave this guild?" The hint of sarcasm was evident to the president's voice.

Black Shadow breathed in deeply. He knew that it would be hard to convince the president to just let him go.

"I want to use that special rule. I want to be free from this guild's responsibility. Some members broke our rule, that's why I decided to do this. Please, President, allow me to leave peacefully. Hear me out first." Black Shadow said as he was very determined in convincing the President.

He wanted to leave the guild but it didn't mean that he would cause an animosity or conflict between him and the guild. If they would mark him as a traitor then they won't hesitate to eliminate him. After all, he knew everything about Assassin Guild's operation.

From that point of view, it was natural for the president to act like this. He was afraid that once Black Shadow was no longer a member of the guild he might become a threat to them.

"Okay. Tell me a valid and much deeper reason. Then I will decide if I should let you go or not." The president said to him with his firm and authoritative voice.

"The Azumi Twins threatened me and forced me against my will just to get information from me. They broke the rule first. They were not supposed to do that to their fellow members. So you couldn't blame me for my decision."

The president couldn't believe what he just heard. He didn't expect it. But he was not yet convinced just because of that reason.

"Black, it happened only once. Why don't you forgive them and understand? Besides, it looked like they didn't hurt you. If that is your only reason and concern then I will make sure to punish them. Just stay with this guild."

Black Shadow's eyes darkened as Marie's figure lying on her hospital bed suddenly popped up into his mind.

'But they hurt someone that belongs to me. It is also the same as hurting me a hundred folds.' he thought to himself but he didn't voice it out to the president.

Seeing that the president was so persistent for making him stay, Black Shadow could only use his situation to convince him.

"Another valid reason Mr. President… I am being watched by the police authorities. If you want this guild to stay hidden from their grasp then you have to let me go. They already knew about my connection to this guild. They have gathered a lot of information about me. It's time to break my affiliation to this guild."

The president fell silent after that. He was thinking hard as of this moment, weighing the pros and cons and analyzing the risk.

Then after much thought and careful consideration, the President made his final decision regarding Black Shadow's request.

With his serious expression, the President gazed at Black Shadow intently. Meeting his eyes, he spoke to him.

"Starting today Black Shadow will be removed on the list of members of the Assassin Guild. You will no longer receive any assistance and protection from us. You are free to go and leave. But I am warning you. If you ever leak any vital information regarding our guild you will face the consequences of that action."

"I understand it very well Mr. President. You don't have to worry."

Black Shadow thanked him one last time before he bade him goodbye. 

Now that he already cut his connection with the Assassin Guild which served as his shelter for a very long time, he was no longer obliged to follow their rules. This was a new start in Black Shadow's life.