The sun had set by the time Airi arrived at Anteiku. Not that she really minded. She stepped inside, her heart beginning to race. Uta said that asking about running an errand would give me the opportunity to learn about the raven-masked man. But what if it doesn't turn out the way I expect? What if I irritate him?

She was shown to a back room and sat alone on the couch, slouching a little. It was unsettlingly quiet. No one else was in the room with her and the door was left slightly ajar. Fidgeting with one of her black bracelets, she frowned. Several minutes passed in silence until she heard footsteps approaching the room. The door was pushed open further and her heart skipped a beat as a vaguely familiar scent came to her. If not for the Tsukiyama incident, she might not have been able to identify his scent, but it was unmistakable.

The man in the doorway was taller than her, his shoulders broad beneath his long dark coat. His eyes were a pale grey in color, wide when he first set his gaze upon her and then narrowing quickly as he stepped back. The male ghoul's mouth set in a firm line, locks of pale silvery hair falling over his eyes. "Where's Ken?"

Airi quickly lowered her gaze to her boots, biting her lip ring. Ken? Kaneki? Is that what he's asking? Is this…really him? The raven-masked man that keeps saving me? She nervously rubbed her tattooed wrist and lifted her eyes to meet his. "Kaneki isn't here…only me." Summoning forth some courage, she stood. "I'm supposed to help you tonight with your errand."

"I'm not taking you." He turned to walk away, but was stopped by Yoshimura's appearance in the hallway. "I'm not taking her with me. This isn't something that she should see."

"She requested this." There was a firmness to the older man's tone. "Take her just this once. After one time, I'm sure that she'll decide that this isn't for her," he reasoned.

"…if I'm in the way…I'll just go home…" she muttered.

Both men looked toward her and caught the forlorn expression on her face. "Fine. Just keep up." The younger male began walking, but kept a pace that he knew she could match.

Airi soon found herself in a car with him, gliding along through the night and away from the more populated parts of the city. She looked out the window, actually rather impressed with his ability to drive. She had never learned and had only ridden in a car around four times in her twenty-one years of living. "So…your name is…?"

"This wasn't supposed to happen." It was said gruffly as he clenched the steering wheel with both hands. "You weren't supposed to ask about me. You weren't supposed to want something like this."

She gripped the strap of her bag tightly. "I…don't understand."

They pulled over, having reached their destination, and the two sat in silence. "Airi. I didn't want you to ask questions."

"…so you do know my name…" The female ghoul got out of the car as he did and followed him over to the guard rail protecting the road from spilling into the ravine. "Yoshimura-san called you Yomo…when I asked about the errand."

"Yomo Renji." He effortlessly got over the guard rail and waited patiently for her to reach him. "Don't think that this is something you'll do again."

She nodded once and gripped the guard rail with one hand, peering over the edge. There were at least two corpses at the bottom of the ravine. "Uta-san…if he talks about you…he never says your name. He calls you my raven. Why would he say-?" Airi's eyes widened as she was lifted in his arms and the man began to slide down into the ravine.

"Because I am." It was a simple answer, but even in the moonlight he was able to see her now blushing. Still holding her, he looked down at the two dead bodies. "I'm yours. Now don't touch those." Yomo set her down, his brow furrowed.

Airi's heart skipped a beat when she heard his words and, for a moment, stood frozen in place. Mine? He's…mine? But why? She bowed her head as he did to pray over the bodies. When he moved toward one of the corpses, she lingered where she stood and watched him. "Yomo-san…you hardly know me."

He paused in his actions and looked at her over his shoulder. "You don't remember me. I already knew that though. You don't remember everything about the day you came to Anteiku."

Shoving her hands into her pockets, she looked into his pale eyes and blushed faintly. "I remember…Yoshimura-san finding me hiding in an alley from older ghouls. I was starving…and my parents had died earlier that year. Anteiku was warm…and it smelled comforting…and the coffee that the server brought me…"

"The coffee that I brought you. Because I couldn't stand to see you crying." Yomo turned back to the body now. "You don't remember meeting me. You don't remember holding onto me and crying. You don't remember the promise I made."

"I'm sorry…but I do appreciate what you've done for me. That's actually why I wanted to go on this errand…I was hoping to meet you." Guilt settled in the pit of her stomach and she continued to watch him work. He made me a promise? He's been saving me from other ghouls and never wanted me to repay him. He didn't even want me to see him, did he? Airi finally turned away, trying to think of something that she could say to break the awkwardness between them. Without a word, she went to the second corpse and set about harvesting the meat from it. She could feel him looking at her, but gritted her teeth and continued her work. If I can at least make the job faster, it will help him, right?

Yomo finished quickly and strode over to where the female ghoul crouched. "You shouldn't be doing this."

"I'm going to help you…in any way that I can so I can repay you."

"You want to repay me?" He gripped the back of her hooded sweatshirt and pulled her up, effortlessly turning and pushing her back against a tree trunk. His hand had shifted from her back to the front of her sweatshirt, pale eyes glaring down into her grey-blue ones. "How do you expect to repay me? I can take care of these bodies myself."

Goose bumps rose on her skin and Airi shivered in his grasp. His words reminded her of what Uta had said, causing her face to turn red. "Why…don't you want my help? Why didn't you want me to see you?"

He continued to glare for a moment before his gaze softened slightly. "I have my own selfish reasons." His eyes closed and his grip on her relaxed. "I didn't show myself. I didn't tell anyone about you. Because I wanted to protect you."

She moved on impulse, her arms going around him and pulling him close against her. Airi felt him hesitantly put an arm around her as well. The female ghoul buried her face in his chest and closed her eyes, trying to remember that day years ago. She was able to remember someone holding her, but when she tried to remember what they looked like, she was unable to recall. Feeling his warm body pressed against hers was comforting and she hugged a little tighter. "Yomo-san…"

"I made it my job to keep you safe. After I take the meat to Anteiku, I'm taking you home. And when I said that I'm yours, I meant it."

Shift P.O.V

He looked at his phone's screen, sitting slouched at the bar with a glass of water before him. Across the counter, a pair of eyes watched him with delighted curiosity. He sighed and lifted his gaze. "Sorry that she couldn't make it."

"You keep looking at your phone. Do you think she's going to call?"

"She said that Yoshimura asked her to run an errand…but I know that she asked," he replied with a sheepish expression.

"Wait a second. So she's with Ren-chan right now? He said he was busy tonight, too." Itori came around the bar to sit beside him. "So what are they doing? What kind of errand would she go on?"

"Corpse collecting. I think." Uta stared at the phone screen again. "She was really curious about Renji. She said that he saved her, but…"

"You think he's been following her? Sometimes he's hard to get a hold of so he could be tailing her. I don't know why he'd do that though." Itori sipped her glass of fermented blood and snickered. "What if they're hooking up or something? Think about it! He's been saving her? What if Ren-chan has a little crush on her and she admires him, right?"

"They wouldn't do that," he stated dismissively. He opened the photos on his phone and leaned toward Itori. "Want to see some pictures of her?"

The female ghoul grinned and took the phone to examine the picture. It showed Uta with his arm around a young woman with long black hair, grey-blue eyes, and a lip ring shining in her bottom lip. She was blushing pink, but looked content. Though it was no match for the satisfaction in Uta's expression. "This is her? She's adorable, U-chan! Where did you find such a cutie?"

"She found me," he replied with a half-smile.

"You guys make a pretty cute couple. So how far-?"

"We're not even dating yet. I was hoping that she would be able to make it tonight and I could ask her." Uta looked at the photo as well. It had been taken that afternoon before she left for Anteiku. Before she left to see Yomo. His smile dropped to a slight frown.

Itori rolled her eyes. "Seriously? You haven't made a move and you're letting her be alone with another guy? Even if it is Ren-chan; that's still risky, isn't it? You know what you need to do? You need to just stake your claim! Take her somewhere private and take her, get it?"

"But we're not even dating yet," he pointed out.

"You can sort out the details later. Seriously. If you want my opinion, as a girl, that's what she's probably waiting for! See? She looks pretty shy. She's not going to make the first move so you'll have to do it. I mean, you want her, right?"

"Of course." His smile returned as he scrolled to another picture that had just Airi in it. The thought of having her to himself was nice. The thought of claiming her as is was even nicer. He could imagine her blushing face and the sounds she might make. "You're right."

"I know I'm right. Who would know what a girl wants better than another girl? What was her name?"

"It's Airi. Shirayuki Airi. I'm going to try again tomorrow."

"You're determined now, aren't you?" She saw him look up questioningly. "It's cute to see you this way, U-chan. You have a crush on a girl and you're afraid to tell her. It's pretty adorable."

"It's not a crush." His gaze dropped to Airi's picture again. "I think…I might love her, Itori."