American Ghoul
Chapter 01
"I think they went this way!" A man in an all white suite holding a large, orange and blue shield with a large spike in the middle and a large yellow and white spear with a tipped point on one end and the other end has four whip-like chains yells as he points down a sewer tunnel with his spear. Two more men; one in an all black suite holding two white short-swords and the other in a blue suite holding a small, green ax run past him. A young man and woman a few feet away are hiding in a small sewer tunnel that is blocked off. The man is clutching onto a young boy while the woman is clutching a blanket concealing an infant.
"Gregory what will we do? They know what we look like. How will we survive; how will we raise our children?"
"Grace you need to calm down!" The baby then starts to cry and both the man and woman try to calm her.
"Wait! I hear crying! They're back this way!"
"Let's finish this now!" The couple spring up and bolt down the sewer tunnel; the man carrying the boy on his back, "Get back here! Don't make is any harder you monsters!" The man with the small ax yells maniacally. They make a sharp turn and the boy starts to slip.
"Hang on son!"
"Daddy I'm slipping!"
"Greg!" The boy falls out of his father's grip and splashes into the filthy water, "GREG!"
"DADDY!" The man with the small ax jumps and slices downward to kill the kid but a large tendril plunges through his stomach and another rips him in half from the waist. The other two men arrive at the scene and the man in all white looks in horror.
"NO!" The man with the shield and spear yells as tears run down his cheeks.
"GET AWAY FROM MY SON!" Gregory yells as his pupils turn red and his sclera turns black.
"Whoo! Looks like we got a fight on our hands after all!" The man in the all black suite laughs as he bumps the other man on the shoulder.
"Grace take the kids and get out of here!" The man yells as four, black tendrils with purple veins explode out of his tail bone and purple wings with smaller black versions of the bigger ones that resemble butterfly wings burst from between his shoulder blades.
"Two different Kagune, huh?" The man in all white smirks as he gets into a stance, "A Ukaku and Rinkaku? That makes you a Second-Generation Ghoul."
"HE HAD TWO YOUNG CHILDREN YOU BASTARD!" The man in all white yells as he gets into a stance with the other man.
"SO DO I!" Grace grabs her son's hand and runs down the sewer tunnel. The two men charge after them but Gregory intercepts them and smacks them down the sewer.
"Mommy what are you doing! Daddy is in trouble we have to help him!" She then comes to a quick stop in front of a ladder and knees down in front of her son.
"Sweetie I need you to take Eva and wait here. If your father and I don't come back you run up this ladder and get as far away from this Zone as you can." The boy opens his mouth to speak but she places a finger over his lips, "Be strong sweetie. You have to promise your father and I to look after her. Protect her, make sure she never gets put in danger. Promise us this." She looks deep into her son's eyes and he begins to cry. Grace's pupils turn red and her sclera turns black.
"I promise." The boy chokes out. Grace smiles as teas run down her cheeks.
"I love you so much." She kisses him on his head and then runs down the sewer . The boy falls to his knees and looks at his baby sister. She slowly flutters her eyes open and reaches for his face while making coo sounds, "NO!" Grace yells before crashing and banging can be heard from around the corner, "SWEETIE RUN! RUN, RUN!" Blood then splatters from around the corner and splashes into the water, "RUN!"
"NO!" The boy's voice echoes through the sewer and the two men run around the corner and stare him down. He immediately runs up the ladder but right before he can reach for the man-hole cover he slips and falls off the ladder.
A young man then falls out of his bed with a loud scream and lands face first onto the floor. He groans as he slicks his short, black hair back to get rid of the bedhead then slowly gets up and leans against his bed taking deep breaths. He squints at his bedroom door and sees a small girl with long, black hair going all the way down past her butt and bright blue eyes stamped with worry. He lets out another groan and slowly gets up.
"You're supposed to be getting ready for school." He walks over to his bedside table and looks at his clock while putting on a pair of black pants, "It's almost six in the morning." He sighs as he turns around and starts sniffing shirts, starring into her eyes.
"I'm all ready. Are you all right?" She signs hurriedly; her hands a blur.
"I'm fine. Just another bad dream. Go down stairs and grab your bag, I'll be right down." He throws a white T-shirt and a black button shirt on and turns to make the bed with the plastic covering over the mattress. When he turns around to walk out of his room the little girl is still standing in the doorway.
"Was it about mom and dad? I might be young but you can talk to me too Dante." She signs more slowly with her head down. The young man sighs and knees down in front of her, the lose wood paneling creaking under his weight.
"No, it wasn't about mom and dad and I know I can always talk to you. Now go down stairs and gather your things. I'll be right down." He says as he kisses her head and turns her around. She walks down the naked stairs, clinging to the dry wall. The young man goes further back into his room and walks past the clear wrapping curtains that lead into the unfinished part of the house where three construction workers lay dead in a pool of of dried blood. He rips open one of the mans' chests and then pulls out the heart. He lays it down next to the body and then grabs a towel to clean off his hands, "Come and eat!" He yells across the house. He throws the towel on top of the heart and then wraps it up in the towel. He carries it out of the room and down the stairs to his waiting sister.
"But I'm not hungry." She signs with a confused look
"Your eyes are showing. Now eat before I shove it down your throat." She recoils as Dante hands her the bloody towel, "Don't make a mess this time." She nods as he makes himself a cup of coffee, "Did you do your homework?" She nods again as she bites into the heart with glee "Told you that you were hungry." He laughs as he takes a sip of his coffee before slipping on his sneakers, "When you finish wash your hands and meet me outside." She nods one last time before Dante walks out of the house and waits by the sidewalk. After a minute or so Eva comes running out of the house and grabs Dante's hand with a wide smile, "Ready to go to school?" She nods and they begin walking down the sidewalk.
They walk for a few minutes before the noise of kids laughing, shouting and school buses driving by invade their ears. A woman intercepts them and the young man smiles as he wraps his arm around the young girl.
"I trust you've been keeping her fed?" The woman says as she smiles at the young girl, "How was your weekend Eva?"
"It was fun! Dante took me to see an opera!" She signs with sparkling eyes.
"Don't really get what the big fuss was about. He was singing in a dead language." Dante laughs as he shakes the woman's hand, "Thanks for coming back Julie, I know how hard it is with your loss. Your husband was a good man." Dante sighs.
"Well your pay raise is a good mood booster." She manages to say with a fake chuckle, "But I also happen to love Eva! She's just so sweet. Plus the more I help you—the more I get back at the Investigators that killed my husband." Eva goes to leave with the woman but Date stops her.
"Where do you think you're going without your ribbon?" Dante laughs as he turns Eva around and ties her hair in a ponytail with a long, black ribbon, "There ya go! Now go learn something!" Before she leaves with the woman Eva turns around with a smirk glued to her face.
"By the way, Latin isn't a dead language. Every culture uses hints of it and many medical and scientific words and phrases are pure Latin." She signs quickly.
"We live in America! We speak English!" Dante laughs before he turns around and walks towards the city.
The buzzing noise of city life soothes Dante. It lets him know that the more people in the world there are, the harder it is for Doves to find him and his sister. He finishes his coffee and throws the cup in the nearest trash can. He then stops at a crosswalk and a peculiar scent invades his nose. He looks ahead and sees a woman with long, red dreads with green eyes and semi-ripped clothes is waiting on the other side of the crosswalk. He takes another whiff and is instantly aggravated. The woman seems oblivious to him so he cracks a smile as the light turns green and people start walking across the busy street. Dante remains still until the girl passes him. He then turns around and follows her. She turns into an alley and Dante smiles maliciously as he turns into it as well.
"Why are you following me?" She asks as they continue to walk down the alley way; darkness slowly getting thicker.
"Because you're in my territory."
"This is unmarked ground in a District that is predicted to have twenty-seven percent Ghoul population. I can walk as I please."
"Then why are you walking towards a dead end?"
"To kill you and mark this territory for myself." They stop at the dead end and she starts to take her shirt off.
"I thought we were going to fight, not go missionary on a dumpster. Romantic yet very cheap. Should I be paying for this session?"
"Very funny. Really; I almost laughed." She places her sweater and shirt on the cleanest part of the closed dumpster and as she turns around her eyes shift from human to Ghoul, "Ready to dance?" Wings that resemble a bat's but are blue with green veins burst from her back and she has a smirk on her face, "What? Scared already?" Dante smirks as he takes his shirt off as well.
"No. But you will be." He cracks his neck and jumps up and down a few times while shaking his hands, "Ready for the show?" six tendrils that are black with red veins burst from Dante's back and the woman smirks.
"Is that all?" Two more, thick like tendrils that are also black but with red undertones burst from below his shoulder blade and they wrap around his arms, forming a pitchfork at the ends. The girl's eyes slowly widen as she realizes what's happening, "How the hell?"
"But wait, this isn't even my final form." The woman slowly backs up as Dante's eyes slowly shift from bright blue to black and red. A large black tail with a blunt tip and red, crooked spines slowly grow out from his tailbone and looms over his head, "Scared yet?"
"I'm still faster than you." She chokes out as she resumes her stance.
"I would honestly reconsider this decision."
"What? You followed me actually thinking you'd be sticking me right now?"
"Well—I was actually hoping to just talk. Not end up in a pissing contest."
"I'm done pissing. You ready to fight?"
"You have a Ukaku. You're faster than me but you're slowly loosing stamina as we speak. I have a Koukaku, Rinkaku and Bikaku. Which makes me slower than you. But more durable and stronger, how long can you last? By the size of those wings maybe three more minutes?" The young woman stands there in defeat and Dante retracts all of his Kagune and his eyes return to normal, "Put your shirt on. We're going out." He smirks as he puts his shirts back on, "And wipe that pathetic look on your face." The woman grabs her clothes and follows Dante out of the alley.
They arrive at a dark bar engulfed in smoke and the smell of booze escaping from the opened door. They walk in and the bar is a huge room with two large bars running parallel next to the entrance on each side, over ten booths along the walls and stand alone tables in the pit where there is a much smaller bar in the far right corner. They both sit at the bar in the far right and a woman turns around. She's wearing a short skirt and a corset that makes her breasts look larger than they really are. She's wearing a small top hat and her blonde hair is in large curls. Her bright blue eyes almost seem electric when they look into Dante's.
"Hello Dante! The usual I presume?"
"Hello to you too Clair. And make it two for my lady friend."
"Oh I—I don't drink." She hesitates as she takes a seat next to Dante.
"Don't worry sweetie. This is my special brew." The woman cocks her head and Dante leans in close.
"This is a Ghoul bar. During the day Front door says open, back door says closed. Night; vice versa." The young woman nods in understanding and two beer bottles are placed in front of them.
"So what's your name sweetie. And how did ya bag a hottie like Dante?"
"Well we met at a crosswalk. Our eyes just met and we ended up in a back alley. Went missionary on a dumpster."
"How romantic; yet cheap. How much did he pay ya?"
"I see where you get your humor." The girl scolds as she takes as sip from her beer bottle, "The names' Wren. And we almost killed each other." Clair raises an eyebrow with a sneer on her mouth and Wren sighs, "More like, I almost killed myself trying to pick a fight with him."
"Mm-hm. This is how we met as well Wren. And how I got this job."
"He works here?"
"I own here." Dante says with a cocky smirk.
"How old are you?"
"He's Nineteen with the most adorable little girl."Clair sighs as she leans on the bar and stares into Dante's eyes. Wren chokes on her sip and stares at Dante.
"You have a daughter too!?"
"She's my little sister. And she's eleven." Dante laughs as he chugs the beer bottle, "And for how I own this place—The owner put me in his Will to run this bar." He says as he gets up, "I'm gonna take a leak. You two play nice." He walks off to the darker end of the bar and Clair takes his beer bottle and puts it under the bar.
"So what did you mean by that?"
"By what?"
"When you said this is how you and Dante met?"
"Oh!" She leans in close and talks in a hushed tone, "I walked into his territory as well. But instead of being smart like you I actually fought him." Wren looks at her like she's crazy and Clair just nods in understanding, "It took me three weeks to recover. Would've died if he didn't nurse me."
"He helped you recover?" Wrens asks with a strange look on her face and Clair just giggles.
"He's a teddy bear with a heart of gold. But walk into his territory-mm-he'll hunt you down and tear you into ribbons to protect his sister."
"So why did he nurse you?" Wren asks as she finishes the beer bottle.
"He tells me he always does that. He ties you down, and asks if they can work out a deal. If you say yes he brings you here. If you say no he kills you and sells you to a cannibal." She sighs as she takes Wren's empty beer bottle and chucks it under the bar.
"What was the deal?"
"We work for him for ten dollars an hour and an open buffet." Wren cocks her head and Clair laughs, "If I were you I'd take that deal. It's either that you end up as cannibal shit." Wren stares at Clair with a horrified look and she shrugs.
"And is that true? Did the real owner sign off in his Will to give Dante this place?"
"No one knows. He changes the story each time he's asked." Clair looks at Dante with a smile as he walks back, "Go ahead and ask again. You'll see." She winks as she leaves the bar and goes to a table with waiting customers.
"So how did you get this place?"
"I married the owner's daughter. But sadly he died and the bar went to her. But then she mysteriously died and the bar went to me. Wink-wink, nudge-nudge." Wren looks over Dante's shoulder and she winks at her again.
"So let's talk." Wren turns to face Dante and he's starring into her eyes causing her to recoil, "You're in my territory. You're threatening my life, my associates' lives and more importantly—my sister's life."
"Why does he put his sister's life before his?" She thinks to herself as he continues to stare her down.
"Here's the deal. You work for me for ten dollars an hour. You live in this bar, you hunt where I tell you to hunt, and you stay the hell away from District Four."
"Why District-
"Do we have a deal or do we have to go back to the alley?" She recoils again and Dante is starring straight into her eyes. He raises his hand and an eyebrow, "Deal or no deal?" Wren looks down and thinks, "Clock's ticking." She looks back up and shakes his hand furiously, "Good choice." He gets up and gestures for her to follow him. He pats Clair's shoulder and she follows him as well. They walk through the kitchen doors and five more Ghouls stop what they're doing and stare at the trio, "Gavin! Go cover Clair on bar duty."
"Yes sir!" A tall, skinny man with long black hair and gray eyes says as he takes off his apron and runs past them.
"Everyone this is Wren. She's our newest employee. Clair go to the back and get her fitted for her uniform. Tyson get the practice bar ready." A tall and built man with short, blonde hair and hazel eyes nods towards Dante and walks towards the back part of the kitchen. Dante turns around with a smile, "You're our newest bartender." He walks back out and Clair smiles as she directs her to the lockers.
"So how is he allowed to own this bar?" Wren asks as Clair digs through her locker, "Like—isn't there a law or something?"
"Nope. He has a court order. The only real thing tying him to this place really. Which is why most people believe the 'Owner put him in his Will' story." She laughs as she takes out a roll of measuring tape, "Now lift up your arms and stand up straight."
"Am I going to have to wear the same outfit as you?" Wren sighs as Clair measures her inseam and waist, "Is Dante a perv?"
"No. This is a classical smoking bar with a dark undertone; because you know-we're Ghouls-apparently we're forced by our habits to act goth and shit." Wren laughs with Clair and then another woman walks in with her coat slung over her shoulder.
"Hey Clair! How's your day going?"
"Pretty good, we got a new employee." Clair says as she measures her shoulder and arm span.
"Oh hello. I'm Amelia." She says as she holds out her hand. She's a short but curvy Asian woman with black hair in a bowl cut and dark brown eyes. Wren takes her hand and shakes it.
"I'm Wren, nice to meet you Amelia."
"So how did he do it? He throw you around a few times? Did you just get out of recovery or did he just let you off with a slap on the wrist?"
"None of the above—I guess?" Clair and Amelia laugh as Wren stands there awkwardly, "What is he doing? Building an army or making a business?" Wren says to try and change the subject with an awkward laugh. Clair then hands her a padlock and the combination, "You know I don't even know the name of this bar!"
"Oh! Welcome to The Shining Bar of Hollywood, California!" Clair says with a cheer.
"Technically it's now called The Shining Bar of Zone Thirty-one, South Quarter, Sector Five, District Five." Amelia chuckles as she starts to put on her uniform. All of the girls laugh and Tyson then pokes his head in.
"Hurry up new girl. You got a lot of cocktails to learn." Clair pats Wren on the butt and Wren follows Tyson past the cooking Ghouls and into a separate room that's a little more brighter than the main dinning hall but has a smaller bar and only two booths and ten stools. Tyson moves behind the bar and gesture Wren to sit in front of him, "Ready to learn the life of a Ghoul in hiding?" He says with a big smile. Wren nods and Tyson begins teaching her the recipes of all the cocktails.
"So what was the opera like?" Julie asks as she sits across from Eva, placing a cup of coffee in front of her.
"It was 'Don Giovanni' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was amazing! Mozart really knows how to combine comedy and drama into his operas." Eva signs excitedly before she takes a sip from her coffee mug, "My favorite scene was when Don Giovanni doesn't repent for his sins and is sent to hell!"
"That seems kinda dark!" Julie teases as she rubs Eva's cheek, "What else did you do on the weekend?"
"He taught me how to use my Ukaku and Bikaku at the same time! Plus he said he's almost done renovating my room down in The Shining Bar's house so soon we'll be able to move there and not squat in abandoned homes that are being renovated." She signs as she takes another sip of her coffee. Julie places a hand on her's and stares into her eyes.
"You know he's doing the best he can sweetie. He loves you dearly."
"But he doesn't let me hunt with him. How will I be able to pull my own weight in The Shining Bar if I don't know how to fight?"
"You don't have to fight right now. You're only eleven. Everyone over there knows that."
"Ghouls that are younger than me are deadlier than me! How will I help protect our territory if another gang comes rolling through?" Eva signs quickly, an agitated expression glued on her face, "When will Dante stop treating me like a baby?"
"When he feels like your strong enough."
"When will that be?" She signs before resting her chin on her hand with a hefty sigh.
"When you stop acting like a child, sweetie." She says as she rubs her arm softly, "Now come on; lunch is almost over and I want to beat the traffic." They both stand up and Julie wraps her arms around her shoulders, "Don't worry Eva. Soon you will be just as strong as him."
They walk back into the school's main building and make it to her math class right when the bell rings to end lunch. Eva sits at the front desk and Julie takes the seat next to the teacher's desk.
"I'm always happy to see your bright face Eva. Ready to learn long division?" The teacher asks as he writes the class objectives on the board. Eva takes out her math notebook and a pencil, "I'll take that as a yes." The teacher smirks as he looks at Julie, "Don't need an interpretation for that." He laughs as students start to pile in.
"So why did he buy a bar?" Wren asks as she starts to make a cocktail.
"First off, he didn't buy the bar. Secondly, he wanted a place that seemed inconspicuous. A kind of safe haven for Ghouls in Zone Thirty-one." Tyson says as he takes a sip of her last cocktail then spits it out with a gag.
"Why do you keep drinking it? Ghouls can't drink alcohol!"
"I'm not drinking I'm tasting. Logic shows that the more disgusting it tastes to Ghouls, the more delicious it is to humans."
"Plus, what is more conspicuous than a huge ass bar with hidden bottles of blood?"
"New girl—you don't even know the half of it." He looks at a stop watch and then clicks it, "Time!" Wren drops what she's doing and presents five drinks, "Good job new girl. But you need to be three drinks faster. We get slammed further down the week."
"How many Ghouls does Dante have working for him?"
"Eight—nine including you; ten including himself." He resets the stopwatch and then places it down.
"So how did you come to work for him?" Wren asks as she pushes the five drinks aside.
"I walked into District Four one night while hunting. I almost had the kill but it was taken from me by Dante. He swooped in dawning his Asura Ghoul getup and all three of his Kagune exposed. We fought for maybe—three minuets before two Doves crashed the party. My Bikaku and Rinkaku was torn to shreds by one of the Doves who wielded a chimera. Dante killed both of them and saved my life. In return I vowed to work for him. I can now hunt all I want and live in peace knowing I'm protected." Wren looks down and realizes how she got of easier then probably everyone else who works for him. But then shoots her head back up in awe, surprising Tyson, "What?"
"You have two Kagune?! Are there any Ghouls in this bar with one?!" Wren asks; almost embarrassed. Tyson looks down with a chuckle.
"Four—five including you."
"So including Dante; half of the ghouls who work here have two or more Kagune?!"
"Dante is the only one who has three Kagune." Tyson says as he rubs the back of his neck, "You can ask him why on your own time." Wren looks down biting her tongue in frustration. She hated all the secrecy in this bar. But soon a new Ghoul will come and take her place as 'The New Kid' and she'll be a part of the secrets. She lets out a large sigh and looks back up at Tyson.
"You said that I don't even know the half of it." Tyson looks up at her and she raises an eyebrow, "Half of what?"
He gets up while wiping his mouth clean with a napkin. She follows him and they arrive at the locker room again. Tyson opens up a random locker and twists one of the hangers on the locker's wall. The whole wall of lockers then splits in two to reveal a short hallway that leads to a large elevator.
"What the hell!? How did he do this?!" She asks in both excitement and fear.
"This was already here when he gained ownership of the bar." Tyson says as the elevator opens and they both walk in. Tyson then pushes the big button and the doors close.
"Only one button?"
"Only one floor." The elevator jumps to life and starts it's descent.
It takes a good three minutes for the elevator to stop and when the doors open Wren's eyes widen in awe. There's a large room with a very tall ceiling and a huge U shaped sofa and a large glass coffee table in the middle. A bigger than life plasma screen T.V. Is on the wall facing the sofa and where the carpet to the living room ends, the tile to the dining room and kitchen begins. A large kitchen with an island is to the left, a strange, large metal door close to the elevator and a large round table with more chairs than Ghouls around it.
"What is this place?" She asks as she slowly walks further in.
"This is your new home." Wren looks at him like he's crazy and he shrugs, "Part of the deal. We'll move any belongings you have in an apartment or house you already own.
"I'm a squatter." She says choking back tears, "Where do I live?" Tyson gestures towards the wall opposite of the elevator where there are stair cases leading up to three stories, each story has too many doors to count, "How is that possible. How far down are we?"
"Far enough for the earthquakes to not cave us in, and shallow enough to not let the supports give out. Your room is on floor three, door number seven." He says as he walks past her, taking out a large ring of keys and fiddles with them. They walk up the stairs until they get to the third floor and arrive at her new home. Tyson inserts the key and unlocks it. He opens it and Wren runs inside in excitement. She's then greeted with bland gray walls, a standard bed, a dresser and a separate room for her bathroom, "Huh."
"Don't worry. You'll be able to decorate it in no time. Not like you have to waste your money on bills or groceries." Tyson laughs as he hands her, her key, "House Rules; Six in the morning everyone is up and getting ready for work. When work is over everyone helps clean up the bar and we're all down here by the time we're done. Lights out at ten at night. Absolutely no hunting in District Four. Zero tolerance for inviting humans or street Ghouls into the bar or our home, infighting, sneaking into the cooler and binge eating. You are not allowed a Credit or Debit Card. You may only pay with cash. No cars, cellphones or anything else that can be traced to you directly."
"What cooler?"
"Instead of a fridge we have a cooler where we keep the bodies." Tyson says as they walk back out of her room and down the stairs. The walk back towards the elevator and Wren sees that strange, large metal door.
"You mean that?"
"Yup, that's our cooler." Tyson says as he puts the key chain back on his belt.
"You guys cook your food?"
"We just reheat the bodies. Only Gourmets cook their food-fucking parasites-they're the bane of Ghoul society."
"I'm right there with ya." They enter the elevator and begin their ascent back to the bar, "So why can't we hunt in District Four?"
"For our protection. You see—we all think that this bar was a front for a Ghoul gang and the housing below was their headquarters. But Dante didn't want our front to be so close to home."
"You don't shit where you eat." Wren says with a nod as the door opens and they make their way back to the practice bar, "So what's the new front?"
"District Four. Only Dante and Clair are allowed to hunt there—The Asura and Banshee Ghoul Duo." Tyson looks at Wren and she looks back with confusion in her eyes, "Dante and Clair hunt humans for us there. They're ranked as Single-S Ghouls, causing the CCG to focus on District Four-
"And ignore most other districts." Wren says as she walks behind the bar and starts to clean the glasses she used as trial runs.
"You learn fast."
"But why don't they investigate just the two? I mean yeah—there are many Ghouls in District Four but they should be able to know which Ghoul killed the human by the crime scene right?"
"You forget, Dante has three Kagune. Hard to tell which Ghoul kills the human if it looks like a different Kagune killed them but the Ghoul they hunt doesn't have that Kagune." Tyson smirks as he walks next to her and grabs some more bar tending tools, "Ready to keep learning?"
"Sure." Wren smiles as he teaches her the names of the different tools and uses them for examples.
Dante is walking towards the school and he can see his sister waiting for him with Julie.
"She didn't give you any trouble did she?"
"No, she was a good girl today." Julie says as Eva runs over to Dante and hugs him.
"Ready to go home, munchkin?" She looks up at Dante with a wide smile and Julie walks past them, "You know you and your son are welcome to stay with us as well. We have more than enough room. You don't even have to work for me." Julie smiles and turns around to face Dante.
"How many times do you have to ask me until you get tired of the same answer?"
"As many times as it takes for you to get tired of the same question and change your answer." Julie looks at Date, her eyes slowly watering, "You and your son will be safe. You'll be well fed and you won't live in constant fear of Doves breathing down your neck. Plus Eva could use a friend her age and her species." Julie looks down and shifts her weight from one leg to the other, "I'm not going to stop asking Julie. You were the closest thing to a parent we had. I'm not going to let you live in fear and its the least I can do to repay for what you've done for us."
"On one condition."
"Name it." Julie stares down Dante and he remains still and calm.
"I'll interpret Eva for free as long as I'm made Assistant Manager and I'm paid fifteen dollars an hour."
"Clair is Assistant Manager. You can be made Financial Adviser and Stock Keeper for the same rate of pay." Julie looks around and then raises her hands.
"And you teach my son how to use his Bikaku. You know my husband had a Rinkaku as do I." She signs with a small smile.
"Deal. Go home, Gather your belongings and wait for my people." Dante smiles as he raises his hand to shake hers. Julie nods as she shakes his hand, "I mean it. Wait for my people." She flashes him a teasing smirk and walks back home. Dante looks down at Eva who has a confused look on her face, "What?"
"Are Julie and Bryant going to live with us at our squat?"
"No munchkin, they're going to live with us at The Shining Bar. Your room is done." Eva jumps in silent excitement and hugs her brother tighter. Date laughs as he picks her up and puts her on his shoulders, "Ready to go home?" He asks as he looks up at her. She nods hurriedly and he begins to walk back to the city.