With a weary hand I turned the knob and walked into my apartment, carelessly tossing my keys onto the countertop. Glancing over towards the clock above my tv, I noted the time, 6:30am, I would have to report back to work in two and a half hours. There were just no breaks with this case at all, and if I had to say it, I needed to find the Black Widow as soon as possible.

The apartment itself was very dark in color, and an absolute mess. There were take-out containers here and there, clothes that needed to be cleaned lying in a not so neat pile, and in short, my apartment conveyed my lack of general responsibility when it came to taking care of my own belongings. Sure, if I had enough extra time on my hands it might be a tad bit cleaner, but I couldn't be bothered to do so with my current work schedule.

After taking my shoes off, I changed into more comfortable clothes, and then plopped onto my bed, my hand quickly finding its place over my eyes as I tried to block the incoming sunlight. I was exhausted. As the head of my squad, I needed to set a good example, even if it meant acting as though I was wide awake around them, when in actuality I was dead-beat tired, and would fall asleep the moment I made it back to my bed. The hours that I slept, as of late were so erratic, since most days I had been awake conducting research. Ok, that last part was my own fault; I did have a terrible habit of researching until the wee hours of the morning, and neglecting my much needed sleep.

When the time came for me to return back to work, I needed to give a status report, as if my lack of catching the criminal wasn't enough, I would have to talk about it. Speaking in front of people wasn't one of my strongest assets, nor was it a favored part of my job. It felt more like a chore really, I would only say the same thing that I have been telling them for the past month, and they in turn would repeat useless information that I already knew. They would remind me of my incompetence, give me a verbal slap on the hand on my way out the door, slipping in the "you can do better than that" shit. A very common approach to their leadership, or at least with the people that I worked under.

Well, I only had a little bit of time to actually sleep, but I decided that if I went to sleep it would be even harder to wake myself up and get to work in a timely fashion. So I went to re-read all of the case files pertaining to the Black Widow.

The moments passed by quickly, and before I knew it I was back at work again.

"How many people has she killed so far, Hamasaki?" Investigator Uchida asked. Of course he knew the answer,

"Three this week, leading up to a total of over twenty targets." I was hitting the ballpark with my response. In actuality, I didn't really know how many she had killed so far; we were just going off of the projected number on the reports. Before I was handed this specific case file, she had already taken the lives of five people, give or take. The thought was, that with an up and coming Investigator, handing the case over to me might prove to be beneficial.

Yeah right.

They all knew that I lacked the drive that most others did, so I think they gave me a gruesome ghoul to deal with in the hopes that I would change my opinion. It hadn't done that so far, and the only reaction it had merited was disgust, and I threw up on my first couple cases dealing with the Black Widow. My colleagues laughed, and said it would get better, but whether they meant that I would eventually grow used to it, or we would get rid of the ghoul wasn't elaborated upon.

While being exposed to certain atrocities could help you get used to something, it also meant that you would get calloused to it, one would be able to look at those things and not even bat an eyelash. Didn't that also mean that while one wouldn't be as grossed out, that they would get too used to it? That was how I felt when it came to the CCG. They hated ghouls, and would gladly put their lives on the line if they could get rid of at least one ghoul in the meantime. But I think they were too used to it, there was only so much you can do with being driven by hate.

Being angry all the time didn't help you with task at hand, nor did it make anyone fun to be around. Then again, maybe this was why they allowed me to come here, because I wasn't tied down by hate, so I was able to think clearly whereas others might not. This, they might have thought, was what would bring the most success. Off the record, I did applaud the ghouls with their ability to be able to go unnoticed in society. None of them would be caught theoretically, unless they messed up.

"You will need to change your methods of pursuit, or else we may never catch her." Investigator Uchida pointed out.

Ah, yes. I knew they could say something like that, when obviously my current ideals of peaceful searching were not going rewarded. All we were able to find were her already dead victims, and she left practically no trail behind at the crime scene. There were no loose ends. Apparently Investigator Uchida would be doing most of the talking, the other Investigators watched on in cold silence, waiting for the chance to speak up, or leave.

"You said in an earlier report, that you think she may be seducing her victims?" One of the men standing against a wall suddenly spoke up. He then walked over to the tables and grinned. With his one squinted and bulging eye, there was no question who the man was. Kureo Mado. Man, this guy gives me the heebie geebies. I remember seeing him for the first time in my recruit days, and he still gave me the uneasy feeling he does now.

"You're right, Mado. Perhaps we can use this information to our advantage." Uchida seemed to contemplate it momentarily, if that, before speaking again. "Maybe if you throw yourself out there to be bait, she might find you. After all, you aren't dreadful to look at."

"Thank you?" I wasn't entirely sure how to take that, it sounded like a compliment, but then it didn't. "How are you supposing I go about doing that, sir?"

"Use your imagination, Hamasaki. You're bound to come up with something."

"Yes, sir."

The higher ups discussed possible avenues in light of this little bit of evidence. Aside from that one question, they asked no more of me.

Out in the halls I paced anxiously, my eyes darted every time something did so much as move. I knew what they were hinting at, I knew what they wanted me to do, but as a matter of pride, it did not bode well for me.

The meeting was short and concise, my squad and I had been rebuked for allowing another tragedy like this to happen, and we needed to step up out game, blah blah blah. You know, the usual uplifting comments that your bosses praise you with to boost your morale. I listened quietly for what seemed like an incredibly long time, answered a few short questions when I needed to, but otherwise it was an uneventful discussion. After being dismissed, we left to go work on finding out some leads. Since figuring out the identity of specific ghouls was as hard a job as any, it often was a delicate process. But before we would hash out details, we would first go get lunch, eating is very important business.

Upon entering the lunch area, I overheard small chatter of a recent accident that killed one person and seriously wounded someone else. Immediately intrigued, I walked over to one of the tables. "Mind if I join you fellows?"

None of them uttered a refusal, so I took a seat near the end of the table. I did my best to stay quiet, pretending to be mulling over the results of the meeting, when I was just listening in. It was easier to do when you were right next to them, rather than being all sneaky about it.

So the boy's name was Ken Kaneki, and the fact that he was still alive was a miracle, even though his life saving surgery had caused a negative reaction from the deceased's family members, or something like. The doctor behind the surgery received harsh criticisms, but in the end what was done, was done and there was nothing that could be done to change the events of the past. We humans likened to believe that we know what's best, and that by simply stating our opinions world peace could be achieved. But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Long story short, he had been released and had been said to be recuperating well. I could only hope that was the case.

"In any event," one of the men spoke up, addressing everyone at the table "if there was a ghoul involved in this we need to find out who it is, and fast."

He made a point to stress the last part, as if we somehow weren't on the same wavelength as he. After that, the group quieted down and began talking about other things, like the newest episode on their favorite anime. Whereas I continued eating my meal in peace, and then I headed back off towards where my squad would be. We had decided to meet just outside the front doors.

Upon reaching the doorway I saw all three of them waiting somewhat patiently for me. How nice of them.

"So," I sighed, "they want us to up how we conduct our search."

"Of course they bloody do." Ellis Drake spat. He was an English man, whose family had come over to Japan many, many years ago. He had little respect for those of higher authority, but he still listened to my instruction, which was nice.

"Now, now, they're right. What we're doing right now is not effective." I paused, allowing for the words we all knew were true to sink in. I gazed from Ellis, over to Chikara and Fukashi Kuroyama, brothers who had joined the CCG around the same time. "As such, I think if we split up, it'll be easier to scrounge around for a lead. So the three of you will be together, and because I was given certain specifics that I have to follow, it'll be easier if I move alone."

"That sounds stupid. They invented to buddy system for a reason, ya know." Fukashi so eloquently mentioned.

"Yeah," Chikara agreed. "You should at least take one of us with you, it's nice to have back-up."

After a few short moments of palpable tension I chuckled loudly, my hands braced my hips in an attempt to seem cool. "It's nice to see that you all care for me so much, but seriously, I'll be fine. If something bad happens I'll notify you first thing, alright?"

"Whatever. I'm not your babysitter. That's Ellis's job." Fukashi growled. He had a habit of showing aggression when he tries to hide the fact that he cares, or that's what I've been led to believe.

Chikara on the other hand, was always the quietest compared to his brother. He preferred to watch as things happened and make solid plans from it, than barging in with gnashed teeth and rash movements like his brother. They were almost complete opposites.

"The sooner we do this, the sooner we can catch her, hopefully. So keep a weary eye out, but don't look suspicious, you'll scare people." I joked, much to the grumpy man's dismay. "We'll meet back here around 9pm, got it?"

"Yes, sir." They all said in unison.

After giving them one last nod, I headed off on my own. While I portrayed nothing but the most confidence on the outside, I was a bit mortified. But if With a new purpose in mind, I decided to head out on a recon mission. Originally that was what we were told to do, Uchida made mention that we shouldn't search for leads in groups, albeit less attention drawing, and that it may be more productive on one's own. I beg to differ, because in the case of life threatening situations, it was always nice to have back up.

In the event that I would ever encounter a ghoul in broad daylight was yet to be seen, it wasn't like I could just wander around and ask people straight up if they were one or not. Common sense seems to dictate that the usual response would be denying any relation to ghouls fervently. Not that I could blame them, no one would ever admit to it if they still wanted to live.

I was under the assumption that if the Binge Eater had anything to do with the increase in killing by the Black Widow, that I should be looking around the general area of which they took place. It was only natural to assume that if said Binge Eater had any relevance to the Black Widow's prey count going up, it was worth a shot to go and find out. My superiors had said to "go get em", but the way they wanted me to find my target was a little, shall we say undesired route. I could view it as some sick game, but if there was any chance at being able to beat the Black Widow at her own game, they thought that I should take it.

Technically speaking she was my target, so trying to act like someone look to hook up with a random woman on the streets may or may not prove to be difficult in retrospect.

While mulling over these things, I happened across a café, it looked nice and well kept so I decided to head in and get a coffee, any bit of extra energy would work wonders right now. That, and I just really needed a break.

Upon entering the café, I was greeted with a warm smile from someone behind the counter. They uttered a welcome, and I raised my hand in a friendly gesture to let them know the warm feeling was mutual.

My eyes glanced over the small café; it was just as nice on the inside as it was outside. It felt like it had a very calm atmosphere to it, seemingly filled with people just as calm. Upon noticing an empty seat near a window, I walked over and sat down. Reaching into my coat pocket, I grabbed my notebook; inside it was filled with various entries, from my daily routine all the way down to the less pleasant cases I had worked with.

Occasionally I would write down personal entries about my day, mainly unsent letters to my folks. Both of my parents didn't really care about my job, but as long as I was able to make a living they were fine with it. They tried to be as understanding as they could about it, when I first told my mother; she just about had a heart attack. My father on the other hand, just shrugged and continued smoking his pipe. He was a very uptight person, who withheld most of his internalized feelings. My mother was very vocal, always making sure that everyone knew what she was thinking, never letting anyone else have the last word, she was a riot.

One day the two of them decided to move, and move they did, all the way to France. To this day I still have no idea why.

After I had secured the notebook, I reached back into the pocket to grab my pen. This was the time where I would make cross-references, keep track of witness information, dental appointments, yadda yadda; perhaps I could reflect upon my unusual bad luck as of late. Well, I guess you could say I had mediocre luck, not all of it was bad. Just frustrating.

"I'll be with you in just a moment, sir" The voice of a young woman called to me.

Glancing up, I nodded and said a quick "Thank you," before she went off to one of the other customers. The girl although short in stature, had equally short hair that covered half of her face, a new fad with the youth these days? Anyway, she seemed pleasant enough. The other customer had brought a laptop with her, she probably had the same thought process as I. subconsciously I had begun to stare, and in noticing my infraction, I quickly turned my head back towards my work, I didn't want to seem rude. That would make for a bad first impression.

Even if my head was turned, it did nothing to prevent me from "accidentally" overhearing a one-sided conversation between the employee and the other girl. Apparently they must be close, or else asking the longhaired girl if she had a life would be considered rude. Or perhaps it was still rude regardless; I waited for some sort of rebuttal, any form of indignation at the suggestion that the other girl had nothing better to do. Instead I heard nothing, nothing except the waitress carrying on the conversation. That was weird; maybe the girl was a quiet talker.

But as I continued to listen, I still couldn't hear the girl talk, and then the thought occurred to me, perhaps she couldn't speak. That probably meant the girl was using paper or something to write with to communicate with the waitress.

Their conversation ended shortly thereafter, and then the waitress came back towards me.

"What can I get for you today?" The girl inquired.

"I'll just have a vanilla coffee, miss…?" I drew out the miss, to imply that I would like to know her name.

"Touka."

"Miss Touka, that's a lovely name." I hummed; it was my self-proclaimed duty to hold pleasant conversation between the two of us, besides a good rapport with the staff could perhaps open up different avenues of information. If there was any excessive ghoul activity, the local people should know that better than I ever would.

The girl gave what looked to be a strained smile, gave a quick thanks and went to go prepare my drink. This led me to believe that she wasn't much of a people person, such a shame for one as pretty as her, but I digress, contemplating the social habits of people wouldn't get me anywhere. I had to refocus. My drink was brought to me in record time, and for the next few hours, I thought.

When I had finally finished with my super effective thought bubble that accomplished nothing, it was about dusk when I decided to head back. My current idea was that wherever the Binge Eater was, the Black Widow would be as well. It was something that I had in mind since around yesterday, and it hadn't changed a bit.

As I walked down the sidewalk the muffled sounds of someone in distress reached my ears, and I swiveled around immediately. Sprinting towards the noise, hoping to god that it was just a normal kind of crime, and not one that had to do with villains of the ghoul kind. Some of my superiors might say that I lacked initiative, I could research all day, but when it came right down to engaging ghouls in battle I choked. Now was not the time for such hesitation, not when someone needed my help!

Much to my utter horror, I saw a ghoul attacking some lady in an alley. The attacker looked rather buff, he was dressed semi-nicely and looked to be in a terrible mood. There was no time to call for back up; there was no time to run for help. So I needed to do something, and do it fast.

Throwing all caution to the wind, I charged forward, thrusting all of my weight into his side in an attempt to bowl him over. Although the most that I did was knock him over a few feet, and he landed roughly on a knee.

"Run!" I yelled to the woman as I took a defensive stance between her and the ghoul.

The scared woman took a few seconds to comprehend what I said, before picking up her purse and running like the devil was on her heels. With her out of the way, I could fight more efficiently.

Despite my brief moment of heroism, fear began to creep its way over me and I soon found out that my knees were shaking. How pathetic.

"Who is thisss?" The ghoul sang, and although half of his face was covered, I could see the sick grin that was plastered on his features. He crept closer "A little dove come out to play?"

"Not really, I don't fancy games." I heard myself say, much to my own surprise.

"How sad," Mr. Buff Man released his kagune, "I love games."

I felt myself go stiff when he began walking with more gusto.

In order to best mobilize my movements I slammed a fist against my thigh, forcing my body to come back to its senses. My eyes darted from the ghoul to my possible escape routes. With a quick made plan in my head, I proceeded to run around the ghoul and go farther into the alleyway. If I remembered correctly, there might be a series of them around here, and if I wasn't I would undoubtedly get lost.

While running sounded like a good option in the heat of the moment, the attacker was quickly on my tail, his kagune thrusting into the nearby buildings with a force that broke them. Damn, I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that mess.

Before I knew it, the ghoul had jumped above and over me, effectively cutting me off in seconds. With what little time I to react, I jumped through an old window that was to my right. As an afterthought, if I were lucky I could probably lose him in there if the building were big enough.

The room inside was poorly lit, and stunk of mildew. From the contents of the once tranquil room strewn all over the floor, and the ripped curtains, one could assume that no one had been living here for quite some time. Who ever lived here, left in quite a hurry it would seem, and as such didn't care for the belongings they left behind.

Immediately I began to try and retake control over my breathing, it was easier to hide from something when one was quiet. I was without my weapon, ok, not entirely, but it wasn't in an easy to take out position, and I was sorely lacking in any form of back up. If there was any chance that I could live to see another day by hiding, maybe that would deter my pursuer. But as much as I desired to stay hidden it wasn't the thought of being found that sent chills up my spine.

On a futon mere inches away from me, I heard another set of labored breaths. This let me know that I wasn't as alone as originally thought, and I seriously doubted whomever it was was hiding. After grimacing, I decided to see what else was in here with me. My eyes shifted wearily to my right, and it slowly occurred to me, that whilst escaping from being hunted by one ghoul, I had, um, accidentally thrust myself almost literally into the hands of another.

The ghoul's face was softly illuminated by the crimson color of her kagune; her otherwise flawless skin had the stains of blood.

"Oh shi-" I began to curse, but was cut off by one of the extensions of her kagune rushing to my lips to silence me.

"Shhh," the ghoul cooed bringing a finger to her bloodied lips. Her vermillion eyes looked me over, inspecting the prize that had found it's way to her.

Needless to say stumbling across this ghoul was completely unintentional, the real trap had obviously been laid out for the poor sap she was consuming. Suddenly, there was a hoarse growl coming from the window I had just jumped through, and there would be my pursuer, who looked rather annoyed that someone else was already on site. Rather than coming in, he waited quietly outside, almost as if waiting for permission to retrieve his prize.

The female ghoul switched her attentions towards the other intruder, her eyes dancing with an anger that she did not have seconds ago, and she turned to face the other predator. Her kagune extended to their full length, before slowly being brought back towards her lithe body. Adopting a bored expression, she placed a hand nonchalantly beneath her chin.

"What, pray tell, do you think you're doing?" She asked innocently.

The other ghoul remained silent, his eyes widened with the sudden realization of whom his was facing now that she was completely within his view. He couldn't hide his apprehension, nor the hunger in his eyes.

"Leaving?" She suggested, this time driving the tips of her kagune into the windowpane. More than likely her actions were a display of some sort of dominance, or an odd possession. Her now silhouetted form looked as though she had eight appendages, each one poised and ready to attack if it became necessary. Which proved to be unnecessary, but the intention was still there.

It was only then that it became apparent, from gazing upon her, to finally being able to see her victim, that there was only one possible explanation as to whom stood before me. My own eyes widened as I had come to realize that she was not just some random ghoul I happened across, she was in fact, the Black Widow. And I, the dove, flew right into her web. My luck today was awful, the hell?

I swallowed hard, suddenly wondering if this was the time where they would fight over who got to have the pleasure of killing me. Despite my own fascination with this turn of events, I couldn't help but feel a little afraid as I was now going to have to deal with two ghouls instead of just one. At this moment I felt like a steak being held in front of two feral dogs. The end result would be disastrous, and I would be dead. But as I continued to watch the confrontation in front of me, I noticed that there was going to be no dispute over that. The Black Widow spoke lowly, softly, sounding as if she were reprimanding a child. But beneath her words lay a hidden threat.

There was no need for more words, no more signs of aggression, there only remained an eerie calm as the other ghoul ran off. He had no more interest in making a meal out of me, but then that still left the SS ghoul, and I was all alone. Dead gentleman not included.

With a chuckle, the Black Widow turned to face me again, for the moment, she completely ignored the carcass she had been hovering over mere seconds ago. She sauntered over to me, swinging her hips side to side with each step. I had tried to scramble to my feet in a vain pathetic attempt to escape as it was halted as she jumped and landed with her feet on the outside of my thighs. There were only two possible conclusions, I would either die right here and now, or on the very slim chance she felt merciful, I could walk away from this.

Because of the lighting I couldn't really see her all that well, but the moonlight did well to illuminate her body. It was at that moment, that I noticed she wasn't wearing any clothes, well except for her undergarments. I could feel my face heat up from embarrassment, and I heard her laugh at my discomfort when my eyes darted away from her to focus on anything but her body. Did she always kill her victims like this? Talk about a way to go. Then again, I think I already knew that this might have been one of her methods, but when being faced with it, it was rather peculiar.

If it weren't for the fact that I was in such a precarious position, I might have thought that her form was beautiful. No! Bad, bad Daiki, I mentally slapped myself. What the hell are you thinking? You could die, or worse get fired for that very train of thought. Actually, wait a minute, death sounds much worse right now. "U-uh, if you don't mind can I-" I stammered, trying to adjust myself under her scrutinizing gaze.

Her face drew extremely close to mine, past the point of just plain awkward. I could just about feel her lips on the side of my head.

"I do mind, in fact." She whispered. She drew closer to me, her hair tickling my nose as she brought her head beside mine, "What's a dove like you doing here?"

Her hot breath fluttered around my ear as if performing some intricate dance, her thin fingers also toying with my tie. She had effectively scared off the other ghoul, and now she got to play with a new human that practically presented itself to her with no strings attached. Great. What was it that some used to say, that when you don't go looking for something it'll find you? I didn't know whether to feel grateful for that or not. It's kind of hard to try to explain to a ghoul that you mean them no immediate harm, especially if you work for the CCG of all things.

Not that a ghoul should have any reason to believe me in the first place. To the larger part of society, ghouls were considered evil and people wanted nothing more than to be rid of them. In my opinion, people just wanted something other than themselves to blame for the decline of society as a whole. That was just the way that life worked, and it was wrong.

"But I do believe I had enough to eat tonight, killing you now would be such a waste. I'd hate to ruin your hair, it's so fine."

She then withdrew herself from my side, and then walked back over to the futon. There on the stained fabric lay her mask, she reached down to pick it up, and placed it back upon her head. Placing her clothes back onto her body seemed to be an afterthought. She seemed content to slowly put the fabric back over her skin, taking her precious sweet time, too.

"I'll see you later little birdy," she blew an exaggerated kiss in my direction.

And just like that, she was gone.

I shuddered. Was that a threat, or a promise?


And here's chapter 2! With a special guest appearance by Toki from Ode to Sleep written by Calloniel, which I totally recommend reading if you haven't done so yet. Anyway thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!