Eli catches the other woman's attention in her favorite cafe while she's waiting at the counter for her coffee. Black. No sugar or cream. The woman tilts her head at the cup as it's handed to Eli with a little glint in her eye.
"Hmm~ that seems awfully bitter for someone who looks so sweet."
Eli has to hold back a scoff, moving the hot cup between her hands. "Is that the best you could come up with?"
"Ouch. I rehearsed that at least a dozen times in my head, ya know." The woman takes her own drink and seems pleased Eli hasn't walked away yet. "Nozomi Toujou!"
"... Eli. Eli Ayase."
They'd shake hands but they're both holding their beverages, and Eli is already turning around anyway. She sits at a table and Nozomi joins her, unprompted but not unwelcome, smiling all the while. Eli, who typically keeps to herself whenever she's out and about, isn't sure if she appreciates this stranger's company or not. Nozomi has a certain softness in her face and eyes and smile. It's kind of disarming.
This isn't the first time someone's flirted with Eli. Her foreign looks make her stick out of the crowd enough as it is, and she has the body of a model (so she's been told), so she assumes this woman has the same motives as every other person who tried to woo her with bad pick up lines or none. She takes a sip of her coffee and patiently waits for Nozomi to say something else, to give her any excuse to leave.
"I've seen you at this cafe every time I come here. It isn't often, but I always remember you in particular," Nozomi rests her chin on her palm, looking over Eli's slim face without even trying to be subtle about it. "Do you always get plain black coffee?"
"Yes. I don't like sweet things," Eli calmly lies, taking another sip.
"Ohh? Me too, actually. Caramel's my least favorite," Nozomi still hasn't touched her own drink. "So you're probably wondering why I decided to approach you, right?"
"... I'd assume it's because you want to get laid," Eli says dryly, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks in spite of herself.
Nozomi bursts out with a laugh, waving her hands in front of her. Her eyes crinkle in a way that makes the corners of Eli's lips quirk up for a moment. She really does have a nice smile, genuine and mirthful.
"No, no! Well..." She laughs again, running a hand over her chin. "Actually, like I said, I see you here a lot. But you're always sitting alone in a corner drinking your bitter coffee, staring out a window or reading a book. So I thought maybe I'd see if you'd like some company."
Eli stares down at her cup then at Nozomi, hesitantly letting down the stiffness in her shoulders. "Nozomi, was it? Sorry, it's just... I'm not that good with other people."
"That's alright! Neither am I."
But they wind up having a lengthy conversation together nonetheless. It's all a blur to Eli later, and she can barely even remember what they talked about in favor of remembering Nozomi's dimples and the glint in her eyes that never seemed to go away. She might've mentioned her sister Arisa at some point. She also learned that Nozomi lives alone in her own little apartment, and that she doesn't have many friends either
She tries not to but she completely warms up to Nozomi within those couple hours. There's just something about that woman that seems comforting and magnetic and goddamn irresistible the more she talks and opens up. By the time they part ways, Eli is asking when they can meet again while trying not to sound too desperate. Jeez, it's like a bad high school romance. She actually stumbles over her words when she asks for Nozomi's phone number.
Her dimples are so cute. Nozomi is cute. She can't think straight. Eli is a mess.
.
.
They meet for weeks after that. Eli gets a black coffee every single time and Nozomi never fails to tease her for her boring tastes. She gives her an endearing nickname, Elicchi, and Eli blushes the first time Nozomi uses it.
It's great. This is great. Eli begins to wish they could truly be together, but she knows better than that. She feels like a stupid teenager in love.
.
.
"I really like you, Elicchi," Nozomi says out of nowhere one day, smiling sweetly with her cheek resting on her palm.
The rush of happiness that follows almost knocks Eli off her seat. She stutters out something and she desperately yearns this could work the way she wants it to.
.
.
Killing with her bare hands never settled well with Eli despite the nature of her kind. Her methods are cleaner, she likes to imagine, and takes just an ounce of guilt off her shoulders (or she's just fooling herself). There's a fairly isolated road on the outskirts of the city that winds through a forest. Not much people pass through, but it's enough.
The screech of tires and crash of metal against wood is a familiar song. Eli makes her way over to the wreck and hops on the crumpled hood, kneeling and plunging an arm through the broken windshield to pull the driver out. His neck is flopping at a funny angle. His death was probably instant.
But there's a groan coming from the woman beside him. Her eyes, half-lidded, flicker with confusion then hazy terror as she stares up at the figure crouched before her and clutching the dead body of her companion (husband? boyfriend? brother? Eli doesn't need to know).
Eli grimaces, and reaches over to quickly snap the woman's neck before she can scream.
The ghoul known as "Rider", attributed to the motorcycle helmet she wears to hide her identity, is known for hunting in these parts by causing car accidents and picking off the dead or injured passengers. Some drivers were fortunate enough to avoid a wreck and make it back to the city to report the incidents, but so far, investigators haven't been able to capture her. Even when they send out their own cars with investigators disguised as regular civilians within, Rider seems to catch on every time (somehow) and avoid targeting their bait.
She's clever, and elusive, and she can also tell that the CCG is losing their patience.
Eli divides the bodies into messy pieces, stuffs them into the bag she brought along, and eats whatever won't fit in. This should hold them for another month or two. She tries to keep their lifestyle as quiet as they can for a couple of ghouls, encouraging Arisa to blend in with humans. Attend school. Make friends. Learn how to eat food. There's no need for her to get blood on her hands, as long as Eli can keep this up.
The trek back to her apartment is almost too quiet, despite the fact she was careful to choose a place with very few neighbors. It's isolated and out of the way, but there's always at least one or two drunkards stumbling around in the street.
She immediately senses something is wrong before she's even close to her place. There's a smell...
The door is open...
A feeling of dread twists something inside her, and Eli drops the heavy bag containing the body parts with a wet thunk. She needs to run—
"Hello, Rider."
Ah.
It's Nozomi Toujou standing in the foyer, carrying Arisa's decapitated head in one hand and a briefcase in the other. She's wearing a long white coat that contradicts the warm colors she'd always wear to their coffee dates.
There's another unfamiliar woman behind her with steely eyes and long dark hair, also holding a briefcase, but Eli hardly pays any mind to her.
Nozomi smiles.
Eli can feel the world crumbling into pieces around her in a matter of seconds.
She chokes, the sound muffled in her helmet and she falls to her knees, head swimming in a sudden storm. Nozomi is walking over, cheeks dimpled and that friendly light in her eyes gone. Something rings hard in her ears. Eli is frozen in shock, not moving even when Nozomi sets down Arisa's head to gently pry off the motorcycle helmet. Blonde hair falls over her shoulders and Eli's eyes, Kakugan active, are hollow circles.
"Why are you..."
"Thank you for being so helpful, Elicchi. Now we can finally close the Rider case," Nozomi's smile is as soft as ever and she gently brushes a strand of hair away from Eli's face. Her hand is warm on her clammy skin
"N-Nozomi."
"You were so obviously smitten with me, I'm surprised it took this long for you to give me your address. But it looks like my patience worked in the end. Maki-chan told me it'd be better to do it fast and directly, and she was this close to taking the case from me, so I can't wait to tell her I was right! Sometimes it's better to take your time with things, ya know? You did a really great job of hiding you and your sister in plain sight, too. You're such a clever ghoul~"
Nozomi's talking but nothing makes sense. The stench of bodies, both human and ghoul, is overwhelming in the apartment and Arisa's head is still on the floor and Eli seems to have forgotten how to use her muscles. Her Kagune. She can feel her blood throb beneath her skin in heavy beats.
"Toujou-san. Let's not turn this into a monologue," the other woman speaks up, still hanging back.
"Umi-chan, let me have my fun~ please?" Nozomi pouts at her.
"Tsk. Honestly..."
"... Anyway, the sad thing is, I think we really could've been great friends. If only you weren't a ghoul," Nozomi shakes her head in disappointment and strokes Eli's hair, still standing above her.
Tears are dripping down her face now. Eli stares up at Nozomi, trembling, still unable to process and accept what's happening. Her mouth open and closes, forming silent words. Red pulses in her vision but she can't find any semblance of rage, only stunned grief and dizziness that scrambles her innards like blades. It hurts more than anything else Eli can remember.
Maybe that's what humans call a broken heart.
"But, you know what? I think I really did enjoy our conversations. So... thank you for that, Elicchi."
The latches on the briefcase click.
"Thank you, from the bottom of my heart."
The ghoul known as Rider doesn't even put up a fight. It ends as suddenly as it began, and Investigator Toujou gains a new Quinque after that.
She names it "Elichika".
.
.
"Heeeey, did you hear? Eli-chan and her sister got offed..." Rin gnaws on a femur like a dog, slouching sprawled on a sofa. Hanayo is sitting beside her with a neater posture. She's meekly chewing little bits of cut up meat one at a time.
"That idiot," Nico tries to sound indifferent but it's hard. She'd sometimes go scavenging with Eli, and sympathized all too well with her struggle to feed her sister while avoiding the CCG's eyes. Nico's siblings were fond of Eli and Arisa, too. It'll be hard as hell to break the news to them. "I told her she shouldn't have been talking with that human. That's what you get when you don't listen to the great Nico, so you two better learn from this!"
"I'm scared! Nyaaa, Kayo-chin, save me from the briefcases!" Rin drops the femur and drapes herself over Hanayo, playfully licking a bit of blood from the corner of the other girl's mouth. Hanayo smiles a bit and pats Rin's head, but doesn't giggle like she usually does whenever Rin affectionately clings.
"Poor Eli-chan... I'll really miss her..."
"Cut it out. Sitting around moping and being useless isn't what she'd want." Nico sighs, folding her hands behind her head. "Between this and a certain idiot building up a reputation for herself, we might have to relocate soon."
"You're talking about Rin, aren't you!" Rin whines, releasing Hanayo to dive after the bone she had dropped on the floor.
"Four humans in one night is way too much, you moron! You're drawing more attention to yourself and the trail's only gonna lead back to the rest of us!"
"Hehe, they're super scared of Rin! They call me "Wildcat"! That's a cool name, right?"
"Are you even listening to me?! Damn, you're so annoying!"
"Rin-chan, please don't do dangerous things." Hanayo softy pleads. "Losing Honoka-chan last year was already enough, but now Eli-chan too... Nico-chan has a point. I-I don't want to lose anyone else...!"
"A-aww, hey, Kayo-chin! No crying! Rin's gonna stop going overboard, promise!"
Nico sighs again, rubbing her temples. Looking after her siblings provides enough stress, but being friends with Rin only adds twice more. At least Hanayo is sensible enough not to do anything rash and she can usually hold Rin back.
Eli really was an fool, though. But no matter how much Nico thinks about it, she can't bring herself to blame her. Not like that. She was stupid, falling in love with a human as she did, but it's far easier to blame the human who put the whole thing into motion. A sick, fake love story. Nico feels both furious and nauseous just thinking about it, fists clenching tight and teeth grit.
It's a damn shame.
.
.
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A/N: crossposted from Tumblr. It's not what I usually write but I'm a sucker for dumb AUs.