...Chapter Three: The Other Side...

Uta placed his head in his right palm, his elbow propped on the table and the fingers of his left hand drumming against the wooden top. A stiff silence had fallen over Anteiku after the hunters left, and he was getting bored quickly. Hinami had finally come out of hiding and flipped the sign on the door to closed, but that had been the only movement in the shop for at least ten minutes. Uta turned his head slightly to meet Itori's gaze, and the two silently agreed that it was time to go.

Standing, he said to Yoshimura, "Sorry for showing up so late, but we really must be going now."

"Of course," said the manager, his smile never leaving his face. "But before you go, please take this," he held out the card Zoya had written her number on, "I've already memorized it."

Uta took the offered card, flipping it over to read the neat script written on the back. Nodding, he said, "Thank you. See you all tomorrow, hopefully." Then, he and Itori exited the shop, the faint wind ruffling their hair. Uta placed his dark glasses back on his nose, pushing them up the bridge of his nose to completely hide his eyes. It was an unusually warm Spring night, but not unpleasantly so.

One side of his mouth quirked up as Itori poked his side, "Can I help you?"

"Gimme that card for a sec, I want to put her number into my phone." Itori demanded, a pout threatening to sour her beautiful face. Sighing and rolling his eyes, Uta handed her the paper, and Itori grinned as she pulled her phone out of her purse and took the card, tapping the number in before handing it back to her friend.

"Happy now?" Uta asked, side-eying the other ghoul with a half-amused, half-annoyed smile. She grinned again, nodding, and he laughed softly, "Then I'll see you tomorrow." He took the card back, sliding it into a pocket then turned down a side street that lead to the fourth ward. Itori kept going straight, on her way to the fourteenth.

Once she was out of sight, Uta tugged his hood up and started jogging. He had to jump a few fences, but the exercise didn't even wind him. He kept all his senses on high alert just in case a Dove or two were around, but tonight, like most nights, he got lucky.

Boring.

In less than half an hour, he was back in the comfort of his loft, situated right above the HySy ArtMask Studio. The furniture was sparse, mostly because he didn't spend much time here compared to the actual Studio, but what was there was well-loved and comfortable. Walking to the fridge, he took out a small jar, then kicked the door shut. He unscrewed the top and popped an eyeball into his mouth, greatly enjoying the liquidy gush as he bit down. Screwing the top back on, he crossed the short hall to his bedroom and placed the jar on his desk.

The glass surface was littered with several unfinished masks, but those were easily pushed aside to give his old laptop his full attention. Uta booted up the dinosaur of an electronic; the speed, or lack there of, didn't bother him in the slightest on a normal day, but today was not a normal day. He took off his glasses, throwing them across the room to the bed. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he tried to pull the scent of the Fallen back to the forefront of his mind.

They, like humans and ghouls, each had a distinct scent, but unlike either their scents reminded Uta of the outdoors, while humans smelled of food and ghouls smelled dark, primal. It was a bad description, but the only one his tired brain could think up. Zoya in particular smelled like a forest in autumn. Rich and mysterious. At least, that's what she smelled like to him.

And finally, the computer was powered up. Sighing, he clicked the internet icon on the screen and searched her name. The website Nishiki had shown them pulled up first, and he browsed through until he found her profile. Popping another eye into his mouth, he lazily scrolled through the basic info, like height, weight, and age. When he got to the history section, a small smile spread across his lips, and he stretched his arms above his head, then closed the laptop. That could wait until he was back at one hundred percent. Now was time for sleep.

Walking over to the bed, he allowed himself one wide yawn as he picked up the sunglasses and placed them on a side table, his jaw popping as he did so. Slumping onto the bed without changing into nightclothes, he tugged the covers up and folded his arms under his head. One last smile cracked onto his face before he closed his eyes.

This was really going to be an interesting endeavor.


I unlodged my heel from a ghoul's throat, wiping the blood on the grass. The others had also finished up their battles and were cleaning their weapons. Seeing me awkwardly wiping my shoes on the ground, Audric chuckled and said in Russian, "I'll never understand why you turned your shoes into weapons."

I smiled, a hint of sadistic intent hiding in it, "They're easier to hide than a sword, that's why." My gaze turned to the fallen ghoul, and I kicked his head to check for any signs of life, "No one ever expects it. And I prefer to use martial arts anyway." I inhaled deeply, greatly enjoying the scents of the normally busy port.

"That's because you're just unpredictable," Niilo glowered at me as he stowed his daggers away on his belt. There was a splatter of blood across his left cheekbone, and it had gotten there when I kicked through the ghoul's throat.

Damyan rolled his eyes, much to my amusement, and handed him a wet wipe. "You don't get to be one of the best by being predictable. That's how you get killed."

"Is she really? One of the best, I mean?" asked Lauri, staring at me in admiration. His icy blue eyes were rather startling surrounded by dark lashes. I smiled and winked at him, and he quickly glanced away, blushing a brilliant red. I barely held back my snort of laughter at the effect I had on him, but Niilo's glare stopped me.

"And she's worked hard to get to that position. Never forget that," Audric said, clearly meaning for that to be the end of the conversation.

I rolled my eyes at their silly argument, then jumped when my phone beeped, signalling a text message. The others all turned to glare at me, and I smiled sheepishly at them. "I thought I told you to turn that on silent?" Damyan said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"Uh... Ha ha, I uh... I thought I had. Oops?" I backed away a few feet as I turned my phone's volume off and opened my messages. My eyes narrowed at the unfamiliar number, then I laughed at the message itself.

Hey, Zo-chan! It's Itori, we should go get coffee sometime! Call me whenever, 'kay?

I laughed again at the older woman's seemingly boundless energy, but my good mood was cut short as I was knocked forward. The scent of a ghoul reached my nose, and my body froze as it bit into my shoulder. The pain was blinding, and I heard a scream from far off, like I was underwater. It was later, when I was back home, that Damyan told me I had been the one screaming.

Back in the present, I also heard two men calling my name, and the ghoul was thrown off my back, and someone picked me up bridal style. I looked up, slightly delirious, and that someone turned out to be Niilo. He carried me to the car, where Lauri held open the right hand side back door. Niilo placed me down on the middle seat, buckling the belt across my lap and patting my hair as he slid in and buckled his own seat belt. I twitched uncontrollably as the saliva hissed as it mixed with my blood.

I heard the trunk door slam, and Lauri opened the other door, handing Niilo a first aid kit and sitting down. "I heard ghoul saliva was poisonous to us, but I've never seen a reaction this bad."

Niilo opened the kit, pulling out a roll of bandages and a small brown bottle. "She's always been more sensitive to it. Hold her down, please," he instructed, and Lauri held me by the arms to the seat, and I was too tired to resist. Until Niilo trickled the Hydrogen peroxide into my wound, that is. I shrieked and bucked away from Niilo, but Lauri leaned his greater weight into me and held me down again. I panted from the exertion and pain, tears leaking from my eyes as Niilo cut my shredded shirt sleeve away and wrapped my shoulder in cream bandages.

"You'll feel that in the morning, but you should be able to sleep the venom off." I groaned at his words, but stopped as he smoothed my sweaty hair back. I leaned into his hand, and could swear I heard a soft chuckle from him. We all glanced up as the driver's and passenger's doors were opened.

"Let's get out of here," Damyan said as he got behind the wheel, and I nodded tiredly.

"Home!" I agreed, a small smile pulling my lips up. Damyan laughed at my antics, and pulled the car into drive, maneuvering the machine onto the freeway and away from the kill site on the docks.

"By the way, I think you might want this," Audric said, handing a phone to Niilo over the back of the seat. My phone, I guessed by the pink case. I guessed correctly, since Niilo slipped it into my slacks pocket. I smiled again, leaning my head against Niilo as Audric turned the stereo on, switching to a swing CD. He turned the volume down quite a bit, and the sounds of peppy jazz soon lulled me to sleep.

I woke the next day in my own flat, in the loft where I hid my bed. I kicked the covers off, wincing as that pulled on my shoulder injury. Standing and stretching my good arm, I unplugged my phone from its charger, groaning at the number of messages Itori and someone else had sent me. Opening the unfamiliar number's message first, my eyes narrowed.

I apologize if I woke you up, but Itori has been blowing up my phone for the past hour. This is Uta, by the way. Please call her as soon as you can.

Sighing in exasperation, I saved his number as well as Itori's, then flipped through her rapidly more panicked texts. Rolling my eyes, I decided to do just what Uta had suggested, and clicked on the phone icon at the top of my screen, and held the device to my ear as it started ringing.


Itori paced back and forth behind Uta's work desk in the Studio, her steps clicking on the tile. Uta tried to drown her out by turning up the volume on his radio, but she just got closer to yell in his ear.

"What if she got killed! Maybe that's why she's not answering, right?"

Uta sighed in annoyance, saying, "As valid as your point is, I've seen that woman fight, and she can handle herself."

Itori pouted and opened her mouth to argue her side when her phone, sitting on the measuring seat, started ringing some catchy yet twisted American pop song. She rushed over to it, squealing when she saw the number and name on the screen . "It's her~!" she yelled, answering the phone and putting it on speaker. "Hey Zo-chan! I was getting worried about you. U-chan and I thought you died or something!" Her laugh was cut off by Zoya's response.

"I nearly did," she said simply, and Uta's hands stilled.

He placed the mask he was working on down, motioning Itori over to him. Once she was next to him, he asked, "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"The mission last night took a bad turn, and I got bitten. Ghoul saliva is poisonous to Fallen."

"Are you okay now?" Itori asked, leaning one arm on Uta's shoulder.

"I think you should see for yourself. Can I take up your offer of coffee today?" Her voice sounded really hesitant as she said, "Somewhere besides Anteiku, if possible."

"Sure, why not," Uta said, shrugging Itori off and turning off his radio. "There's a shop not far from my place we can go to. There's also a park across the street we can talk in without worrying about anyone hearing us."

"That sounds good. Send the address and I'll be there in a few."

"Alright, we'll see you then. I assume you're driving?" Uta was trying to remember the address while he tapped a finger against the tabletop.

"Should be. I'll be driving a black Audi if I am."

"Alright! See you then~!" Itori sang as she hung up, and Zoya's goodbye was cut off.

"That was rude, Itori," Uta said, turning on his stool and standing, pulling on his sweater and sunglasses. "What is she going to think of us?" As he flipped the sign on the door to 'Closed', he began tapping out the address into a text, sending it to Zoya. He got a message back pretty quickly.

Thank you~! I'll be there in about twenty minutes!

"Come on, Itori, we need to get walking," he said as he held the door open, and she dashed out after grabbing her purse. The walk through the city was quiet, and Uta was glad when they walked into the shop. Like Anteiku, it was owned by a ghoul, one they had known well when Uta had still been the peacemaker of the fourth ward. The man smiled politely when they walked in, already getting to work on their regular order of two black coffees.

The shop wasn't very busy at this early hour, but those who were there were human. As were several of the employees. Uta rolled his neck to release some built up tension from leaning over his desk for a few hours while Itori babbled, then turned his attention to the car that had pulled up. Four interlocked rings were on the front, and he stood to meet Zoya as she opened the door. She was clearly favoring her left arm, and Uta held out a hand for her bag.

"Thanks. I really appreciate that," she said as she handed him the messenger bag and slowly pulled herself out of the car, locking the door and closing it by bumping it with her butt. Uta couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. For once she was wearing fairly normal clothes, dark wash jeans with a white boho style top and combat boots, with large black hoops and several studs in her ears. Things that normally didn't go together, but she obviously didn't care.

"Eh, not a problem. How's your arm?" he asked as he held open the cafe door.

She smiled warmly and stepped into the cozy space, striding to the counter where Itori was holding two paper cups. "It's sore, but it'll heal."

He tipped his head to the side at her brushing off his concern. Not long ago she was saying she almost died, and now she was saying it would just heal? She certainly was an odd one.

"You're here, Zo-chan!" Itori smiled, handing Uta one of the cups and hugging Zoya with her free arm around the waist. "Order whatever, I'll pay!"

Zoya bit her lip, tilting her head to the side for a moment, "Are you sure?" Itori nodded at the other redhead, and Zoya smiled faintly, "Then a chai latte?"

"Sure thing, miss." The owner and main barista nodded and set to work on the drink, not even giving her a second glance. They stayed near the counter until Zoya held her own steaming cup and Itori handed the man the correct change. He waved as they left, humming in thought. That girl had smelled odd, but she was with Uta-san, so she couldn't be too dangerous, right?

Once the trio was seated in the otherwise empty park on a bench, Itori asked, "So what really happened last night?" She had angled herself to face Zoya, who was once again in between Itori and Uta.

Zoya sipped her drink before replying, "While we were out last night, we thought we'd gotten all of them. Apparently one was hiding, and after I got distracted by your first text, it slammed me down and bit my shoulder."

Itori looked horrified, "So it's my fault?" she asked, guilt mixing with her worried tone.

"Oh, no no no!" Zoya said, waving her hand that wasn't holding her drink with wide eyes, then wincing when that pulled at her wound. "Sorry, that sounded bad. I stepped away from the others to answer your text, and that's when he attacked. It was my own fault for being reckless, I swear."

"I'm sure it was more than that," Uta said. "If the ghoul just wanted to kill you, he would have done so. He wanted a meal, Zoya-chan."

Zoya's lip curled at the nickname, "Please drop the honorifics. They make me feel weird."

Both ghouls shrugged, seeing no reason to deny her request. "Okay, then don't use them with us," Itori said, "but you may have a harder time getting Ren-chan to not use them."

Zoya mouthed Ren-chan? then asked, "Oh, you mean Yomo-san?"

"Yep, that's him. Sounds like it'll be hard to get you to drop them with him as well." Uta said, finally sipping his coffee. Not nearly as good as Anteiku, but still good.

Zoya giggled behind her hand, a wide smile on her face. "Probably. He just seems so serious all the time!"

"I know! I could count the number of times I've seen him smile on one hand!" said Itori, laughing as well.

One side of Zoya's mouth quirked into a smile, then dropped when she checked the chunky watch on her right wrist. "I should get going, I have work to do."

"What? You're working even though you're hurt?" Itori demanded, expression sour.

"School work, yes." Zoya sighed as she stood, holding out a hand for her bag which Uta still had. He handed it over without argument, and she waved as she jogged down the path to her car.

"She's a really interesting girl." Itori said, her earlier worry melting away. "Don't you think so, U-chan?"

Uta leaned back with a short chuckle, "That she is. We'll just have to watch her."


And this chapter is finally done! This one ended up a bit longer than normal, but that's a good thing to me. Please leave a review!

Disclaimer: I do not, nor do I claim to own Tokyo Ghoul or its characters. I only own my OCs and the plot.