NeonHorizon: Hn. I wrote this for fun. It's going to follow the characters through the passage of time so they won't stay in the 4th ward for the entire story. Woo. Alright, here's the story.

Fatigue threatened to take over with every step, but he had to get away. He needed somewhere secluded. Somewhere that he would be safe to rest. He had already walked so far, but he knew that he was not alone. Whether they had been sent by that ghoul with the dyed hair or if they wanted to just take it upon themselves to try to kill him, he was uncertain. All he knew was that they had been following him since his fight ended.

He paused in his steps, fighting the nearly overwhelming urge to just let exhaustion take over. A look over his shoulder showed a figure quickly darting off to the side, hiding around the corner of a building. Sniffing at the air, he became a little confused. It smelled like a female ghoul. He remained standing there for a moment, wondering what she was planning. There was some food in his bag. If she thought that she could attack him and steal it, he would use the rest of his strength to stop her.

The young man continued to stare at the corner of the building and saw a brief glimpse of vibrant pink hair as she tried to peek at him. He was close enough that he could hear a sharp gasp when she swiftly went back to hiding. When it became clear that she was afraid, he frowned and kept walking. Of course, he knew he was still being followed.

There was no stopping. Not while she was still behind him. Even if she was afraid when he turned toward her, she could still attack when he let his guard down. The thought of dropping his food popped into his head, but he quickly banished it. He had fought hard after getting this food so he was going to enjoy it by himself.

When his injuries began to hurt too much and he started to lose his fight to stay conscious, he turned around to face her. His eyes narrowed, mouth set in a firm line as he came face to face with his stalker. Whatever he had been expecting to find, this was certainly not it. The girl looked to be around his age and her appearance was almost as strange as the blond ghoul's from earlier.

She stared back at him with dark grey eyes that were beginning to widen. Loose locks of almost neon pink hair were hanging over half of her face, making it difficult to quite make out her expression. The rest of her hair was pulled up and back into a ponytail. She was wearing strange clothes, much like the other ghouls he had seen in this ward. A shirt that had long sleeves, but only covered the top half of her abdomen. Shorts with a pair of scuffed boots and stockings full of holes.

Meeting her gaze directly, he could see something glimmering there. Something akin to amazement, but just barely veiling fear. He gripped the strap of his bag and curled his other hand into a fist. "What do you want?"

Shift P.O.V

It was hard to place what exactly she felt in this moment. All she knew was that it had been a while since her heart raced this way and she was suddenly very self-conscious about her clothing. Among the other 4th Ward ghouls, it seemed fine. Even normal. This new ghoul was dressed less flashy and the way he looked at her made her wonder if he thought she was strange.

He had a serious look on his face that was making her start to sweat. This boy was around her age. He had pale hair, but his roots matched so she was sure that it must be natural. His clothing looked aged, but it seemed to suit him. From what she saw in the fight, he was very strong. It was part of why she had followed the boy. She wanted to see what he would do next. Now she was facing him and she feared angering him.

"I…was curious…" Miyu muttered, shifting her gaze away from his. He's still looking at me. I need to just apologize and go home. He's probably going to leave so there's no point in this. I have work to do. So why am I still standing here like an idiot? She took a step back, bowing. "Sorry. I didn't mean to inconvenience you."

Turning on her heel, she started to walk away. The girl tried to keep a normal walking pace, resisting the urge to run. She glanced over her shoulder and saw him still standing there behind her. It was clear that he was exhausted and on top of that, he was injured. She shook her head, pushing away the thoughts that threatened to take over, and began to jog in the direction of her home.

Over the next two weeks, Miyu saw him around the ward. He never seemed to look her way, but that was fine. She saw him fight Uta at least one more time over those weeks and the fight seemed even more brutal than the last one. Still. He's really strong. And his kagune is really…cool. The girl frowned, biting her lower lip as she studied her work.

She had a rather peculiar skillset for a young ghoul. From an early age, her older brother had been a strict teacher and insisted on her learning skills that were useful. Miyu was multilingual, could read, and could write. For work, she would act as a translator when needed or read and wrote for other ghouls in the 4th Ward. In addition to this, she crafted stamps for them. She made name stamps, stamps for responses, and address stamps.

It was as she was sitting at her table, carving a new stamp for a customer, when a loud thud came from her bedroom. In an instant, her scruffy old dog was on her feet and charging into the room to attack the intruder. Miyu rushed after her, ready to defend her home, but froze in her steps when she saw the person. "Ah! N-Neechan, sit!" The dog had grabbed the boy's arm in her teeth, ready to start shaking, but immediately released him and obeyed the command.

The pale-haired ghoul glared at her for a moment, sitting on the floor against the wall beneath the window. One of the boards that had covered the window seemed to be missing near the bottom and it became evident that he had squeezed in through that small opening. No explanation was offered. No words were even spoken. He stood and pushed past her to get out to the main room.

The pink-haired girl cautiously followed him and was not surprised to see him helping himself to the meat in her refrigerator. It was fresh; a payment from a customer for a particularly high quality set of stamps. She could smell the blood even from across the room. Her heart sank as he shoved the pack of meat into his bag. This disappointment was soon overshadowed by panic. Was he in another fight with Uta?! Is Uta looking for him? And he came into my house! Miyu anxiously toyed with a loose strand of pink hair and turned away from him, but kept her guard up. "A-are you going to leave?"

He was examining a second pack of meat that had been in the freezer, sniffing at the blood-speckled wrapping. "…why should I…?"

Miyu's hands curled into fists and she shook her head. "You…can't be here! If he's looking for you-!" Before she could blink, her back slammed against the wall and she found her wrists held by slightly bloody hands. She glared up into the male ghoul's eyes, her heart beating faster when she realized how close his face was to hers. "Let go."

"This house…is too big for one person," he argued. "Who else lives here?"

"…it's just me and Neechan…" she replied, nodding at the dog. The canine was now standing at his side, her teeth bared and a low snarl leaving her. If he hurts her, I'll kill him! To her surprise, the hold on her wrists loosened a little and he drew back a few inches.

"I'm staying here."

"N-no! Look…if Uta knows that…that the raven was staying here! You don't know! You don't know…how scary it is for a normal ghoul…to try to fight him! You're strong! You don't-!" Her wrists were released and he turned away, looking to the bag he had dropped in the kitchen area.

The pale-haired boy walked to the bag and picked it up, but then turned his gaze to her again. "I'm staying. Call off your dog."

Her frown deepened and she ran a hand through her hair. "Neechan. Heel." The dog went to her side and quieted, but kept her eyes on the boy. The female ghoul settled at the table again, taking up her carving tool and the wooden stamp that she had been working on. I might as well finish this set. If he just came here from a fight and Uta wasn't finished, it's just a matter of time before he comes here. Her dark eyes lifted as the boy leaned against the kitchen counter. "…what's your name…?"

"What's yours?" he countered.

"Kurotani Miyu. But…the others just call me "Kurotani"…usually." Again, she was feeling self-conscious in front of this boy. He was watching her intently as she worked, only venturing closer a few steps at a time. When he finally sat across from her, she closed her eyes and sighed. "If you're staying here…tell me your name. Or I'll just call you Raven like everyone else does."

A look of discomfort settled on his face for a moment when she opened her eyes. "…Renji…" he mumbled, lowering his gaze to the stamps. "Why do you call your dog Neechan? She can't be that old."

She absently reached over to rub the dog's ears, a faint smile forming on her lips. "Neechan…is my only family now. My older brother left around three months ago and…this mangy stray wandered in one day. She's really smart and…she's really protective. Perfect for someone living alone in a place like this."

Thankfully, the boy asked no further questions. He did keep his bag close to him, protecting the meat that he had stolen from her fridge. The dog inched closer to his side of the table, her snout almost poking his knee by the time he noticed her. She stared up at him for a long moment and her tail began to wag ever so slightly.

Miyu finished the stamp and held it up in the light, examining it for any possible imperfections. "That meat. It's an organ. Just so you know. In case you don't like organs. I…can only eat organs. It's because of my defect." She picked up another stamp and glanced to her notes, checking the name and the responses that they wanted her to create.

By the time she completed the set, the sun was down and it was fairly late at night. He's been really quiet. Is it really that interesting to…? She peered up at him through her pink hair and raised an eyebrow. He was asleep with his arms crossed in front of him on the table. An anxious twisting began in her stomach as she realized what a vulnerable position he had put her in. It was dangerous for a female ghoul to live alone. Now she had acquired this strange, hopefully temporary, roommate who would undoubtedly attract Uta's attention to her house.

She reached over and hesitantly poked his shoulder. "…Renji…?" He seemed to be in a deep sleep and simply buried his face in the space between his arms. "Renji?" Again, there was no response. Miyu stood and ran a hand through her hair. She went to her bedroom and grabbed the blanket to carefully drape over his sleeping form. The dog gave her a questioning sort of look and she told the dog to lie down. The animal settled at the boy's side, resting her head on his knee.

The pink-haired ghoul double-checked the lock on the door. She checked the windows for other possible spaces where someone could fit through. Duct tape was secured over the space where Renji had slipped in. When she was satisfied that she would definitely hear if someone else broke in, she grabbed a can of coffee from the refrigerator and settled in at the table.

I can't sleep tonight, she thought as she sipped the cold drink. Since he first showed up, he's been causing trouble. He's really strong, but…there's something about him. He's exhausted. He's sleeping like he hasn't slept in days. Miyu began working on some translations for another customer. The ghoul had received a letter in English, but could barely read Japanese so she would need to translate and then simplify the message.

Throughout the night, she forced herself to stay awake. Each sound out in the street made her jump and a few times, she nearly screamed when a noise startled her. The pale-haired ghoul continued to sleep and the dog dozed off beside him. Miyu spared him a glance every so often, making sure that he was still alive. He did not appear wounded, but she had heard of people dying from internal bleeding.

Uta is really strong, too. I don't know if he's stronger than this boy though. She remembered the one time that her older brother had challenged Uta to a fight and winced. Her brother had lost almost all of the fingers on his right hand and his legs had both been broken. I don't want to have to fight him. I don't know if…I can protect myself…let alone this boy. What will I do if Uta comes here?