When was the last time he was so entertained by a threat against his life? Grinning, Uta hopped down from his perch on a crate and decided to approach the two newcomers. The taller of the two, the one that had just so brazenly threatened to "beat the shit out of" him and "take over the fourth ward" simply grinned back in response to his approach.

The shorter of the two was now turning their head to glare up at the taller one. She was clearly thrown off by what he had said. Whether he had misled her or simply never told her his real reason for entering the fourth ward was a mystery. Not that it mattered to Uta.

They were both interesting. This absurdly bold boy and his significantly quieter friend. Uta tilted his head as he came to stand two feet in front of them, his hands in his pockets. "What'd you say?" he inquired, staring straight into Yuudai's dark eyes.

The taller boy crossed his arms. "Ya got a hearin' problem or somethin', friend? I said I'm gonna beat ya and take this ward!"

"Thought you were going to behave." The girl interrupted before Yuudai could say any more. Her voice was lower than Itori's with a certain cool quality to it. He decided that he liked it quite a bit. It would sound great if she screamed.

"You think you can beat me?" he asked, his attention still on Yuudai.

"When I heard that the fourth ward's leader was some kid around my age, I knew it'd be easy for me and Teru to come and take it! Ya think ya can beat me? That's the question ya oughta be askin'!"

Now wondering if Yuudai had some sort of death wish, Uta stepped closer. It had been a while since someone threatened him so directly and this opponent seemed really sure of himself. The boy had a shaved head, which made him look decently tough, and he was well-muscled. If nothing else, he might present a challenge for a while.

When the newcomer attacked first, it gave him an opportunity to calculate his next move. Yuudai's kagune was a long, spiraling koukaku type that coiled around his right arm. His movements were slower than most opponents Uta had faced, but he had to admit that he was better at taking hits. It was as he prepared to actually end him that the real surprise came.

The girl appeared from behind Yuudai and her kagune tore free from the back of her shirt. Large, billowing red kagune spread like wings and she lunged forward at an alarming speed. Uta backed up, defending himself while his grin returned. The girl's face was twisted in determination and fury, her lips pulled into a scowl and her eyes narrowed upon Uta's. What really made his heart race, however, was the tint of pink to her cheeks as she attacked him.

The girl grabbed onto his shirt with both hands, leaning her face down close to his. "Don't touch him again!"

The sole of a boot connected solidly with his chest, forcing him backwards onto the ground, and his eyes widened in surprise. He pushed himself up just in time to see her fleeing the building with Yuudai leaning against her for support. Itori was cackling off to the side, unable to believe what had just happened.

"Did you see Teruko-chan?! She came at you so fast!" she teased.

He wiped a bit of blood from his cheek, amused that the girl had actually managed to catch him off-guard and injure him. "Where did you find them?"

Shift P.O.V

"Explain yourself." Teruko finished bandaging his wounds, settled in their new temporary home. She glared at her friend, the dim lighting of their battery-operated lantern casting her face in shadow to make her look quite intimidating.

"Didn't ya hear what I said to him?!" Yuudai demanded, slamming a fist against the already cracking wall. "I wanna take over this ward!"

"…your plan all along…?" She saw him nod grimly. "Being foolish. What if you'd died today? He was going to kill you."

"I wouldn't have let myself die!" A grin cracked across his face as he slouched. "Besides, I've got good old Teru for protection. Rushin' in to save the day like a good little bird."

"…shut up…you know I hate it when you call me that…" The girl packed away the medical kit and leaned back against the wall behind her. What're we going to do now? He pissed off the leader of this ward. We've got to leave. I was hoping we could stay and I could talk to that girl again, but now we've got to run away.

She knew that they did not have a lot of time. All it would take is for Itori to lead Uta to where they had taken shelter and even if she refused to do that, he could still track them there by their scents. Ruffling her hair, Teruko grimaced. "This is the worst-case scenario, you know that? You've put us in danger!"

"Just who the hell do ya think I did this for?! I was gonna beat him and take over the ward so we'd be safe! He's our age! He should've been easy for me to kill!" Yuudai argued. He winced when he saw her glare in his direction. "Teru, c'mon."

"Worst mistakes begin with good intentions," she stated. "So now what?"

"We'll wait until dark and then take off, if that's what ya want," he offered, his tone soft. "Teru, I didn't mean to-"

"You don't…ugh…you don't get it! I went in there blind because you didn't feel like telling me what the plan was! I had no idea what you were planning! Know what that feels like? Know how betrayed that makes me feel?!"

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

As Yuudai settled in to sleep, Teruko decided that she would keep watch. With him injured in the fight with Uta, he would need all of the rest he could get before they attempted to flee the fourth ward. She rummaged in her bag for her notebook and pencil, flipping to a fresh page and writing.

They would need to find somewhere safe outside of the fourth ward. Preferably somewhere secure with glass in the windows and working electricity. They had lived in worse places, of course, but she much preferred the place they had had in the eleventh ward. It had been a nice little motel room near the ocean. Much more peaceful.

She had not realized that she had dozed off until Teruko felt the warmth of a hand over her mouth. The girl's eyes snapped open wide and she prepared to fight, but winced when a tight grip claimed her left shoulder. When she woke up, Teruko's gray-green eyes met a pair of red and black ones that sent a chill down her spine.

The room was almost dark now, but the small lantern gave off enough light to illuminate the face of her attacker. It made his bleached hair shine like moonlight almost and the piercings in his ears glinted faintly. A grin spread across his face as he leaned down closer, pausing with his nose inches from hers.

Teruko's heart was pounding as she kept her eyes locked on his. The hand over her mouth pressed a bit harder and he released her shoulder, bringing a finger to his lips to signal for her to be quiet. She continued to glare at him. She was angry and flustered. Angry that she had let herself doze off during such a dangerous situation. Flustered because a rather attractive boy was so close to her.

When he realized that she was probably not going to cooperate, Uta gripped her shoulder again in a silent warning. Leaning in closer, his lips neared her ear. "You're pretty strong. You're stronger than he is."

Finally shaking out of her shock, the female ghoul lifted both hands and gripped the wrist connected to the hand over her mouth. She squirmed, trying to wedge her leg between them in the hopes of kicking him away from her. How did I let this happen?! Yuudai! You have to wake up! Yuudai!

"You made me bleed," he continued. The hand on her shoulder let go for a moment before grasping her left wrist and pinning her arm above her head. "I haven't had that much fun in a while."

Teruko succeeded in contorting her body enough to slide a booted foot between them and pushed it against his chest, trying to make some space. However, she lacked the room needed to build up enough force to push him away. Instead, he pushed against the sole of her boot and shoved her own knee sharply into her ribs. Ow, ow, ow! Yuudai, wake up! Wake up!

Uta finally leaned back to regard her panicked facial expression and grinned, tilting his head. "You're cute."

You're cute! No! Damn it! Yuudai, come on! I can't handle this; I'm going to get a nosebleed if he doesn't get away from me! She could hear her pulse in her ears as the pink tint to her cheeks spread more. The rapid beating of her heart made her feel a fresh wave of panic bubbling up.

"I like you." He drew close again and trailed the tip of his tongue over the curve of her ear, pausing to flick at the silver hoop that threaded through the cartilage. Her body tensed beneath his and she released a sound, but it was muffled by his palm. A look down showed that her face was now bright red and her eyes were half-closed in embarrassment. "You like me?"

I can't take much more of this! I can't even get my kagune free because I'm pinned against this wall! Teruko's arm was released and she felt a strong grip around her ankle. Her leg was forced to the side so that it no longer separated them and she winced as he immediately closed the distance. She hated the fact that she was blushing. She hated the fact that she was attracted to him. Even in this absolutely terrifying, potentially deadly, situation she was half-wishing that would kiss her.

Before either of them could make another move, they heard someone calling his name outside. Uta pouted, but released her fully and leaned back. Meeting her gaze once more, he signaled for her silence. "You're gonna stay, right?"

"We…tried to kill you," she stammered, dumbfounded by his question.

Grinning, he leaned down and brought his face close to hers. "Yeah and you're pretty strong. I like you. So you should stay. Where else are you gonna go?"

It was somewhat depressing that he seemed to automatically sense that they had nowhere else to go, but it was true. "You...actually want us to stay?"

"Yeah." Uta said this as if it should have been obvious. He stood and stared down at her for a moment. "Find me tomorrow. I'll give you something good."

Teruko was still a little startled by what had just happened and numbly watched him saunter out of the room into the darkness. What was that about? He likes me? Her heart skipped a beat and she shook her head. He likes me?! A boy like that…likes me?

Yuudai stirred awake and blinked groggily. "Teru, what's up?"