AN: I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me! Huehuehue. So after spending a long time avoiding this story and working on all sorts of new projects that will probably never see the light of day, I RETURN. And with a plan this time. I had given up on this story because I wasn't satisfied with it but I've decided to keep it going. I have a rough plan for an actual story arc and this section actually turned out much better than I was hoping. I have ideas for what to do in the next five chapters and now that Hiro has reached an appropriate age, I'm dialing back the timeskipping. I don't have any ideas for actually getting to the start of canon Tokyo Ghoul, but hey, I'll keep the door open for down the road.

I also learned that most of my other stories came about because I was procrastinating from writing this one... I hate how I am most productive when I am avoiding doing something else... figures

Enjoy!

Previously:

I pulled her back into a hug, this time letting her head rest against my shoulder. "Setsuna-neesan is safe. She was hurt but people are taking care of her now." Tama shivered again and nodded and I gently rubbed small circles in between her shoulder blades. I could feel her begin to relax in my arms. She had evidently been worried for the older girl.

Our embrace broke quite suddenly with the beginnings of brutal sounding combat breaking out in the hall beyond. With that I knew it was past time for us to leave, and it would be best to do so as quickly and as quietly as possible. It wasn't that I didn't trust the trenchcoated Ghoul, because I didn't, but he was purposefully buying us time and I was not about to waste the opportunity.

"Come on Tama-chan, we need to leave while we still can." She nodded in understanding. I smiled at her, thankful she knew the situation well enough and she trusted me in times like this.

She let me pick her up and carry her and I moved over to the window and peered out. A handful of the operatives were approaching once more with their weapons readied but once they entered the building I would be in the clear. I waited for several more seconds before crouching and jumping out the window once Tama secured her arms around my neck and held on tightly.

The cool air buffeted my face as we fell and the familiar sensation of my stomach flipping upside down on itself made itself known to me once more. I still had trouble with heights… particularly the ones that involved falling from them. This time, with Tama in my arms, I forced down the feeling of unease and managed to stick the landing from the third floor.

My knees nearly buckled but I pushed off as soon as I was able and sprinted across the shadowy parking lot and jumped the stone retaining wall lining the perimeter. Shouts and gunfire erupted from the building behind me and it only encouraged me to move faster.

With holding Tama with a firm but not uncomfortable grip, I scaled another low building and fled across the rooftops away from what had once been our home. There was only one thought at the forefront of my mind.

What were we going to do now?

I think it must mean that there is something deeply wrong with me if I think that a warm, clean bed, was incredibly uncomfortable. Then again, by this point I was no longer surprised by my inner contractions, or how many things felt backwards for me nowadays. Letting out a huff, I rolled over and pulled the soft cotton sheets and blankets tighter around my shoulders. My head sank into the feather pillow and the pillowcase was cool and smooth against my skin.

It was… nice.

It lasted only for half a minute before I rolled over the other way and readjusted the blankets. I was back to facing the open window and the moonlit sky beyond. Everything was quiet and calm. A perfect night.

And how unsettling it felt indeed.

I imagined sheep jumping over a fence, followed soon after by a surprisingly athletic cow catapulting itself into outer space where it ignited its own farts to function as a rocket booster. The cow aimed itself in an intercept trajectory with the distant moon. I silently observed the interplanetary bovine with the sheep surrounding me, they had given up hopping the fence and looked a bit put off by the who extravagant display.

"Steve always was a showoff…" one of the sheep said to me, as if it was a perfectly normal thing to say in such a situation.

Of course it had to be Steve. Fuckin' Steve…

As much as I wanted to curse the existence known as Steve and his spacefaring bovine reincarnation, I was distracted by the sound of the lock on my door unlatching with a soft *click.* I knew who it was, as it was a pattern that had been established for the past two days now.

The door cracked open and then was closed again, following by the silent interloper crossing the room to my bed where they stopped. She had taken a bath earlier in the evening and I could still clearly smell the scent of her borrowed shampoo that infused the air surrounding her with a light citrus scent.

"Hiro-nii?"

For the third time in half as many minutes, I rolled over to my other side, this time any intention of falling asleep nor pushed aside and momentarily forgotten. She was clutching the hem of her pale green pyjama top with both hands. They looked cute on her, and they had little space ships on them, but in the gloom, I could have sworn one of them looked like Steve. I blinked, and rubbed my eyes as I pushed myself up on my elbow.

"Can't sleep, Tama-chan?"

Tama nodded nervously. Her hair was still a little damp, and had been combed off to one side and hung down the right side of her face. Tama's dark brown eyes fixed intently on my face and her tiny pink lips split apart and she gently nibbled on her bottom lip. The expression was something no seven year old should be able to pull off and I found myself caving instantly.

I cursed Steve once more before lifting up the edge of my blankets and shuffling backwards to free up some space for her to join me. Her eyes immediately lit up in the darkness and she gave a small smile that masked the obvious relief in her posture. It was only a second later that she slid under the covers and cuddled up beside me.

Once I pulled the covers back over us I lay down on my back and wrapped my arm around the younger girl. Tama tentatively placed her arm across my stomach and pressed herself against my side, finally laying her head on my chest, with her ear directly above my heart. The fruity scent from her hair wafted into my nose and I did my best to draw some measure of comfort from her particular scent. I rubbed her shoulder through her pyjama top and she let out a deep breath, snuggling herself closer.

Tama managed to fall asleep quite quickly. In fact, barely a minute had passed since she settled down and she was out like a light. She tightened her grip on my and after a while, began shivering-her telltale sign of suffering another nightmare. I gently pressed my lips to the crown of her head and kissed her, inhaling her scent and tucking it away in the deep protected recesses of my mind.

The girl tensed at my touch, but eventually her breathing evened out and she managed to relax. Her leg shifted and settled on top of my thigh. I was thankful that my prepubescent body did not react, as the thought crossed my mind that such a thing would be wrong on so many levels.

I shut my eyes and evened out my breathing and in my mind's eye, Steve completed his orbit around the moon and slingshot himself back towards the Earth. The warm body snuggled beside me distracted me enough that I actually managed to drift off as I watched Steve burn up on atmospheric reentry.

That was why cows never went into space...stupid Steve…

Five circles clockwise.

Check.

Three circles counterclockwise.

Check.

Slowly taper off the pour with another two clockwise circles.

And...check!

I set the kettle down on the stove element and bent over to watch the dark brown liquid steadily drip from the filter into the waiting carafe. It was a slow but fascinating process. The aroma of the freshly brewed coffee flooded my senses, drawing me into some fantastical hallucination wherein the Starbucks woman laid waste to an army of teenage white girls-wearing ugg boots and infinity scarves-with Poseidon's trident, only she summoned a tsunami of coffee rather than seawater. I blinked the image away and glanced at my collecting brew just to make sure that there wasn't a kraken swimming around inside.

"Why are you doing that?"

I looked over to the chair at the end of the small table where Tama sat with her elbows propped on the edge, and her chin cradled in her cupped hands. The young girl wore a pale blue sweater that was about two sizes too big for her. The sleeves were long enough that she could completely wrap her hands in the fabric. We were inside and since it was warm and heated, she wore a pair of grey shorts that stopped just shy of her knees. Her feet were bare, and they kicked back and forth beneath the table.

"Hmm?"

Tama pointed with her sleeve-covered hand at the carafe where my coffee was being consolidated. I had been practicing for almost half an hour, and had consumed more coffee in that time than my entire life leading up to this point.

"I'm trying to figure out how Irimi-san does it. Her technique is so good that you can taste the difference right away whenever I hame it." I had given up very quickly of trying to imitate Yoshimura. The man was a god when it came to making a cup of coffee. He had made us some the other day when we first arrived to help us calm down, I had just run half way across the ward carrying Tama on my back the entire way. I was afraid he would turn us away but he only smiled in his grandfatherly way of his and ushered us in and out of the cold. It was almost as if he had been expecting me…

Yoshimura hadn't asked me a thing, only guided us upstairs and showed us a room where we could stay. Then he encouraged us to sleep and promised to speak to me in the morning. That was now three days ago. And in that time, I had been practicing my skills. If coffee was the only thing besides water that I would be able to drink for the rest of my life, I sure as hell wanted to know how to make it properly. It also might help me out if I ever wanted to look for a job… that's if things would even be normal enough by the time I was that old anyway.

"Why?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head that made her look utterly adorable. The last drops fell to the container below and I began to pour myself an experimental cup. There were almost half a dozen empty or mostly empty cups littering the kitchen of the breakroom where we had been for most of the morning so far. Some of them had been better than others but even my best cup was a far cry from anything served in the cafe beneath us.

"I'm planning ahead." I lifted the fresh cup to my lips and inhaled the steam through my nose. The airborne caffeine went straight to my head, immediately perking me up. This one smelled promising.

The girl fumed, obviously not understanding why I thought coffee was so important, but she watched on as I carefully took a sip, mindful not to burn my mouth. It would heal in a matter of moments but in the meantime my taste buds would be completely shot. Not exactly ideal for taste testing.

I took a small sip and let it flow across my tongue before allowing it to pool at the back of my throat.

"Ahh…" I exhaled after swallowing. That one was much better. Before I could offer the cup to Tama, the door of the staffroom swung open and Irimi stepped inside. From the corner of my eye, Tama froze the moment the door opened and she immediately shut in on herself. Her legs stopped their lazy swinging and she tucked them as far beneath her seat as they could go. She leaned forward, to make herself appear smaller. Her wide brown eyes locked onto me with a desperate intensity. I could see the fear and uncertainty. I positioned myself so I stood between Tama and our guest, even though we both had nothing to fear from the young woman.

Tama grasped a small handful of the back of my shirt. Thankfully, Irimi noticed the change and kept her distance, purposefully approaching the other end of the table from where Tama and I sat and stood, respectively. Irimi was wearing her normal work uniform, and her long black hair was tied up in a neat bun. She looked elegant and friendly, what with the tender smile she sent our way. She was trying to reassure Tama and hopefully make her feel more comfortable. I bowed my head in a gesture of thanks and her smile became a bit more relaxed. Irimi glanced at the table and my recent handiwork.

"I see you've been busy, Hiro-kun." She surveyed the mess I had yet to clean up, her expression both curiosity and exasperation, in a humorous sort of way. I held out my most recent batch for her to sample. Thankfully it was still hot and the best that I had managed to create thus far, not that my "coffee sense" was all that developed to begin with.

She accepted the cup from me, her warm slender fingers cupping my own momentarily. Then she pulled back and raised the cup, her nostrils fluttering as she studied my creation. Irimi smiled and her pink lips parted before she took a slow sip.

I watched carefully, a small part of me wishing her expression would show something besides smug satisfaction of someone sharing an inside joke and they already knew you needed them to explain it to you. Finally she swallowed the rest of her drink. My eyes fell to her smooth throat and I watched with a morbid fascination as the muscles in her neck ferried my concoction into her body.

Oh boy…

Her long and satisfied exhalation afterwards was just a little bit too sultry for our company but damn was it effective. The small smirk she sent my way didn't help me much. If this was her new reaction to my coffee I was definitely going to capitalize on it.

"How was it?" The words left my mouth and a part of me died inside when she composed herself. The smile she gave was radiating warmth and no small amount of pride.

"That was good. Much better than when you started." Her smile shifted into an amused smirk. "But you still have quite a ways to go before you can make something we can serve here." She laughed when I stuck out my bottom lip in a childish pout. There goes that idea.

"Don't worry Hiro. It took me months before I could make anything half decent, and you have a big head start from when I first started working here," she said with a reassuring smile.

"Any suggestions on how I can improve?" I asked.

"The most important requirement is patience, which, somehow you already seem able to demonstrate." The woman paused and crossed her arms, holding the empty cup delicately by the rim. "It's almost as if…"

"As if what?"

"No, never mind." She shook her head then placed the cup in the sink. "Make sure you wash all these and I'll see if I can get some lunch brought up for the two of you."

I groaned inside my head, and she seemed to catch onto the gesture. I never liked washing dishes. Tama, however, pressed herself flush against my back and peered cautiously over my shoulder; spurred into semi-action at the mention of food. Irimi calmly watched Tama attach herself to me, but the girl refused to look at the young woman. She would have been lying to say that Tama's reaction was not concerning. I had not shared too many details with Irimi, but she knew we were the only two survivors from our group. I was the only one Tama had left.

Setsuna should be safe now, but there was no way of knowing for sure at this point. Even if I never got to see her again, I was relieved that she was away from us and free to live her own life. My feelings did not matter, I told myself, although I could not completely rationalize away the dull ache in my heart caused by her absence. Tama, however, was someone I would stay with and protect. Besides, she needed me just as much, if not more than, as I needed her. I reached behind me and grasped her small hand to give a reassuring squeeze. She laid her forehead against the base of my neck in a gesture of trust. I wouldn't leave her again.

Irimi stayed for a few more minutes for the rest of her break before collecting another package of beans to take back downstairs. In the meantime, I ferried over my assortment of cups and mugs I had been using over to the sink. Tama helped carry some of them but she stayed glued to my side the entire time the older ghoul was in the room with us.

At first I was a little confused why she stuck to me so much now but it made sense. Without Setsuna to look after her, I was the only one she had and even though the ghouls of Anteiku were friendly-with the exception of one-she didn't know any of them. The girl had a deep seated fear of strangers, not that I could blame her. Poor thing. Still, her presence was comforting and I enjoyed her mostly silent company. She reminded me of…

Well…

Someone I had been fiercely avoiding thinking about for months now. Up until this past week.

Would them knowing I was alive and "safe" be a relief for them or would it open old wounds? Wounds needed to be cleaned in order to heal properly though. But they had a right to know, right? I fisted my hands in the soapy dishwater, clenching the sponge far too tightly and keeping it from absorbing any of the hot water.

Tama was watching my every move, almost as if she was trying to memorize all my behaviors and patterns. What would she think?

"Ne, Tama, can I ask you something?"

The girl seemed surprised and her eyes widened slightly. After a brief moment of silence she pursed her lips and nodded.

Here we go…

"Did you… have a family? Before… you know…" I couldn't bring myself to say the words themselves. I knew next to nothing about who Tama was, not even her family name. We didn't speak about our pasts during our time living together and Tama was practically mute except for when she was being taught by Setsuna or if she was with me. Asking her about this may stir up unpleasant memories and scare her, but I had to know…

"Ah…" I could see her begin to close in on herself right before my eyes. It sent a sharp spear of guilt through me. As her mind went to places she had no desire to revisit, her shoulders slumped forward and her head dipped, her eyes disappearing beneath the fringe of her bangs. I rinsed then dried my hands and gently grasped Tama's small shoulders. She flinched at the touch but did not pull away. She stood perfectly still like a statue, her breathing had gone incredibly shallow to the point that even my enhanced hearing had difficulty picking it up. That's if she was even still breathing at all.

"Gomen…"

She did not resist when I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around her, engulfing her in a gentle embrace. I pulled her to my chest and guided her head into the crook of my neck and began to stroke her hair softly. Her arms remained limp at her sides.

This was precisely why I did not want to bring up this topic. I knew Tama had severe trust issues that probably stemmed from her time in the nest, if not before. Was it worth it to make her remember just because I was too scared to make a decision on my own?

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." To my immense surprise and relief, Tama shook her head and her arms slowly encircled my waist. She clutched at my shirt. The uncomfortable silence stretched for several minutes at least before my wandering mind returned to when she inhaled sharply.

"I did…" she began, so softly that with her mouth pressed to the side of my neck, it was only the breath that fluttered upwards into my ear that allowed me to hear her.

"...my mother…"

To be honest, I was surprised. Obviously I knew she had parents at one point in her life. She wasn't a clone or something. My surprise came more at the fact that she told me she had a mother. That implied a relationship far beyond a biological benefactor. What exactly that relationship meant for Tama, however, was beyond me. But judging from how some of the tension left her small frame and she snuggled deeper into my embrace, it could not have been such a bad thing. Right?

What would her mother have been like? I conjured up an image of a dark haired young woman in her early twenties in jeans and a green tee shirt. That was certainly an oddly specific image. I could tell Tama was thinking pretty hard about what to say. As far as I knew, none of us ever spoke about our families and this might have been the first time in over a year that she had to. I would not lie and say that she never thought about her parents, but it certainly was not something to be discussed.

What brought on my bout of curiosity though? I felt I was genuinely interested in what Tama had to say. On the one hand, she was so soft spoken that any conversation with her was like pulling teeth, just without the animosity, pliers, saliva, or anaesthetic. Okay, so it was nowhere near as bad as that sounded…

The girl sighed heavily and I could literally feel her reluctance. This whole thing was even harder for her than it was for me, and I was the one who brought it up. I opened my mouth to apologize right at the same time she pulled away from me, leaving me to stare at her with my mouth agape like a small fish. Her eyes were narrowed and she looked off to the side. Not at me. Had she always looked this pale? I could see her lower lip tremble as she stepped out from my arms. I let them fall limply to my sides.

I was taken aback. The girl suddenly looked much older than a seven year old, even one forced to live through what we both had. It was like the gradually growing spark in her eyes that I had tried my best to nurture and feed had died out right before my eyes. Extinguished by my own words. The reality of what I had just unleashed upon this poor girl was like a knife to the heart.

I-

"She sold me…"

With that, she walked from the room like a dead person, without another word or backwards glance. I watched her go, unable to move or say anything.

Crap

~0~

Three hours had passed since Tama locked herself into our room and refused to come out or let anyone in. I could have blamed her, but I didn't. It wasn't her fault. I was the one who had to go ahead and seek advice from someone traumatized just like I was. Had it really not clicked in why we never spoke about it before? Any of us?

In my hand, I carried a small shopping bag that was half full of various things. Until such a time that we had a home to ourselves, Yoshimura had insisted on us staying in the spare rooms above Anteiku. A part of me wanted to refuse, but on our first night, one look at Tama wrapped in a fluffy pink bathrobe asleep with her head in my lap had destroyed any arguments I might have come up with. The cafe was quite possibly the safest place in all of Tokyo for a young homeless ghoul like her. I couldn't justify taking that away from her. The best thing for her would be for me to stay close by until she got settled and became comfortable around Irimi and the others.

That particular memory felt so bittersweet now.

I had been doing so well and Tama was getting better each day. Until I had to go and do something like that. For what? To ask her if I should go find my own family just because I was too damn scared to make the decision on my own?

Carrying two more shopping bags containing my purchases, and walking beside me was Irimi. She was being subtle about it but she was keeping a sharp eye on our surroundings. I kept my own vigil too, even though I was not exactly sure on what I was looking for. Everything felt normal out here.

"Is there anything else you would like to get before we head back?" Irimi asked from beside me as we passed another store. I was actually a bit relieved she decided to come with me. How old was she now? She couldn't have been more than thirty, at least she didn't look it.

She would have to be only a few years younger than-

Stop it.

My response was on the tip of my tongue when a faint cry from somewhere off to my right drew my attention. My head snapped around in the direction but the only thing there was an alleyway. I stopped, and peered into the gloom, trying to listen.

"Hiro?"

"I heard something…"

I waited for a moment but as I turned to continue on I heard the cry once more, accompanied by a faint scratching. It was midday, so the odds of it being a ghoul victim were rather low, or so I hoped. Ignoring Irimi's surprised gasp, I set off into the alley with the woman in hot pursuit. The sounds grew louder as we went further. I rounded a corner behind the building and there on the ground behind an overflowing dumpster was a shoebox without a lid. As interesting as shoeboxes were and footwear in general, it was what lay inside that caught my eye.

It was obviously a baby, barely a few weeks old if that, with pitch black hair with a few streaks of white along its forepaws and the tip of its tail. The tiny creature looked up with two bright gold eyes that widened to the size of saucers. The closest thing I had ever had to owning a pet had been guinea pigs once upon a time, and before I could stop myself, I was already reaching into the shoebox to scoop up the little kitten.

It hissed and scratched at my approaching fingers. The kitten's tiny claws found grip on my skin but were unable to draw blood. The bite that followed a moment later had much the same result. Thanks ghoul skin. While the small creature was distracted by gnawing on my fingers, I picked it up. The struggle was brief but intense, but the kitten eventually allowed itself to be held. I used the term rather loosely. It refused to relinquish its bite or retract the claws, however.

The small black kitten glared angrily at me. The nerve, I pictured it saying, of this creature to pick me up. That sharp attitude suddenly reminded me of a someone and I sighed despondently, knowing that there was literally no other name I could possibly now choose for the adorable little creature.

"What did you find… oh? Is that a kitten?" Irimi descended beside me and knelt to inspect the tiny terror assaulting my fingers.

I nodded. "Can I take it back with us?"

"I don't see why not. The little guy seems to have taken a liking to you, that's for sure." Irimi chuckled, a warm pleasant sound. She reached out to stroke the kitten's head but it hissed and snapped at her. She simply smiled, like the whole thing felt nostalgic to her.

Yoshimura wasn't exactly thrilled when we returned from our expedition with the little one gnawing away at my hand, desperately seeking blood. He took one look a the kitten and set me firmly in his sights. "It stays upstairs and any mess it makes is your responsibility."

I nodded. I was surprised the man was allowing me to keep it here at all, actually. What I was going to do with the tiny terror had not really sank in yet but that could wait. I carried the kitten into the staffroom on the second floor and dropped my bag on the counter. Irimi had already gone upstairs to leave my other purchases in my room. That was of course considering if Tama would let her in.

For some reason, and one that I was thankful for, the girl was at least somewhat tolerable with Irimi's presence. Although, without me being there, and after what I had just did to her… I had no idea how she would react right now.

Yes, I felt the need to apologize, but what good were simple words after what I had just dredged up.

I took out a last minute addition to my purchases, a can of cat food, and emptied it into a small bowl. I grabbed a second bowl and filled it with water from the pitcher on the desk and set them down on the floor. The kitten released its fangs from my index finger and its nose twitched excitedly. It practically leapt atop my divine offering with zeal. I sat back on the floor to watch the small creature messily shove its face into the bowl of meaty mush.

"I wonder what happened to your mother..."

In classic feline fashion, the kitten utterly ignored me and continued to feast. I wasn't surprised. If the cat had turned around and actually answered me I would have probably punted it across the room on reflex.

I never did take well to being surprised.

The black kitten squeaked and peered up at me strangely. Oh now you pay attention to me. As if understanding my frown, the kitten's ears flattened to its tiny skull and bared its fangs.

Then I realized that it wasn't glaring at me, but rather, someone behind me.

"You know" a tired and irritated sound girl began, "-seeing you do something like this really makes it hard to stay mad at you."

Well that was certainly a way to bring yourself into a conversation. The older girl plopped down onto the floor a couple feet away from me. Close enough to be considered "beside" but also carefully out of reach.

"Et tu, Touka-san?"

To my surprise, the kitten abandoned its food and scampered over to me, burrowing itself into my lap and peaking out at the violet-blue haired girl over my leg. That...was certainly not a reaction I had been expecting from the small creature that had been trying to eat me not half an hour earlier…

Wait…

I would have slapped myself had it not looked so strange, nor the fact that both my hands had already cradled the kitten in a small protective cocoon.

It wasn't biting me this time. Huh.

"Haah? What's that supposed to mean?" Touka glared.

It took me a very long moment to try and remember what I had just said. Perhaps speaking a Latin phrase from Shakespeare to a Japanese teenager wasn't the greatest way of making a statement. Did they even teach Shakespeare in Japan? Hell if I was supposed to know. The last time I had been to school was… technically never… actually.

It had been a long time since something came up like that. An old reflex belonging to someone here no longer but still held sway over me.

"It means 'and you,' although the one who said it was in the process of being betrayed and murdered." I glanced over at the older girl and to my surprise, she actually looked amused.

Touka tilted her head and her eye quickly darted up and down over my body. Was she re-evaluating me?

"I'm sorry about what I did to Yoriko."

The words came out surprisingly easily. I was sorry for hurting her, but considering Touka already kicked me in the side of the head, I figured we were even. Maybe that was why the apology slipped out. That, or I didn't know what else to say to her at this point in time.

It had been three days since Tama and I "moved in" at Anteiku, and this was my first real conversation with the girl. The first day she glared angrily at me and ignored me for the rest. That was fine. I should clarify: moving in was not quite accurate since we didn't bring anything with us in the first place. The only thing I had on me when I arrived was the package of meat Yoshimura had given me…

Oh

You know that feeling when you just realized you forgot something really important?

To be completely fair, I had at least one or two other things on my mind since that day so I could not totally blame myself for forgetting. But since it was something that I had kept with me as a self imposed promise for nearly eight months now, it was kind of a big deal.

A chill went down my spine and I shivered. Touka, who had been heavily scrutinizing me ever since my apology, immediately caught my shift in posture. Even the kitten took notice of my sudden change and nuzzled my cupped fingers questioningly.

"I…"

When was the last time I watched the sunrise?

I knew the answer to that question easily. It was four days ago. I had not been able to for the past three because I slept in an actual bed and had a traumatized seven year old girl clinging to me each night to ward off her nightmares. That prevented me from being to be unable to sleep so I actually slept in quite late for me.

I knew it was not in any of my pockets, as much as the urge to pat myself down told me to do so. After all, the only thing I had with me when I got here was a package of prepared food and some loose change. Certainly there was no small black cloth pouch that I had kept on me ever since…

Why did I remember it now though?

My eyes flicked to the doorway and I was flooded with an unbearable urge to get out.

There was only one place it could be, and the location came to me instantly. At the time, it didn't matter. They were only my old clothes, and getting to the rooftops was much more important. Why did I leave it in the bag instead of putting it back in my pocket? Oh, right. Irimi had given me new clothes to wear after my first shower in… a long time.

Touka looked like she wanted to say something but it looked like she was intentionally holding herself back. I ignored her in favour of scooping up the kitten and placing it down beside its half devoured dinner. Without much encouragement or preamble, the little furball attacked the food once more so I stood and headed to the door.

"Where are you going?"

She actually sounded concerned. Or was she just confused by my behaviour? Was this so important that I would use it to avoid a conversation with this girl who seemed to be in the midst of extending an olive branch?

"Keep an eye on Steve for me."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Sutiibu?"

It may have been weird that I pronounced it in perfect english without an accent whatsoever in comparison. I pointed at the small feasting animal. "Hai. Steve."

Touka's bewilderment was quite obvious.

Fortunately I had not been inside long enough to take off my jacket, as I had come to feed Steve barely a handful of minutes earlier. So I reached for the door to head out before I forgot or got sidetracked again. With luck, I should be back within a few hours, as it wasn't all that far away and now that I knew the route it would be even easier.

A faint pitter patter of child sized feet in the hallway barely registered to me as I pulled the door open just as someone else had the same idea. Of course, the door moved much faster than either of us had anticipated and it caught me off guard.

"Ah-" "Oh-"

We both vocalized our surprise simultaneously.

I think the sudden shock knocked both of us off guard to the extent that neither of us could move, let alone breathe. At least we didn't collide with one another and send each other to the floor where we would groggily come to terms with out new surroundings and start screaming in surprise. Or collide and end up kissing one another. That would be just weird… thanks brain...

Maybe that would have been preferable to the complete and utter body binding paralysis that struck me.

Dark hazel-brown eyes widened to almost comical proportions and a pair of eyebrows rocketed upwards to disappear beneath low hanging bangs. A small nose was set perfectly above a gaping mouth hanging open as the words died at the back of their throat. There was still a tiny bit of baby fat clinging to the neck and cheeks of their pale skin. It looked so soft. My eyes barely moved to examine the face right before me before returning to her eyes.

There was a tarnished butterfly hairpin clipped to the left side of her head… I noted...

It would be fair to say that in that moment, any plans I held for recovering my keepsake from my former roommate had already been thrown out the window.

Touka gasped loudly.

Steve squeaked in confusion at the sudden intrusion.

The girl standing right before me, with her hand holding the other side of the doorknob, looked like she was trapped somewhere between absolute terror and disbelief. She was maybe an inch taller than me. A strange thing to take notice of, but I couldn't stop comparing myself to her and I was sure my face was mirroring her expression perfectly.

After all, this was not something I expected to happen.

Expected? Sure. Eventually. But definitely not planned or anticipated. I wanted to do this at some point but it was stuck in my head in the place where whimsical fantasies were kept, rather than actual goals. At least that was something I remembered struggling with a long time ago.

"I-" "You-"

Neither of us could formulate actual words.

How long had I dreamed of seeing her face again? I caught her scent almost immediately and like a powerful pheromone, I couldn't turn myself away, even if I had wanted such a thing. She smelled like many things that I didn't bother classifying but there was one singular aspect that triggered a deep sensation. Memories. Time spent in a bed together snuggling for warmth. Playing on the floor with small toys. Holding hands as we walked. Her smiling face.

Her eyes sought mine with a desperate intensity like I was about to turn into smoke. She swallowed, noticeably, and tried again. Her lips were trembling.

That's what the feeling was. It was incomplete bu without a shadow of a doubt, it reminded me of one thing.

Home.

"Nii...chan?"