Author's Note: Whoa! Thank you guys so much for all the amazing reviews. All of the comments make me happy, especially when some of you analyze what's going on - there's a lot of symbolism to be caught if you're reading close! (Especially in this chapter...) Anyways, to convey my gratitude, I wanted to try hurry and post this earlier than usual. I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter.

Just one thing I want to mention to everyone before the next chapter:

Warning - The rating for this story will probably be changed to M when the next chapter is released. I don't want to spoil by saying why, though I'm sure it's easy enough to guess. Further warning will be posted in the author's note of the next chapter.

TenraiTsukiyomi - Thank you so much! I really appreciate the input on Ayato. I always fret about how in character the canon characters are, so it's a relief that you feel like he's in character. It's fine to be a fan without completing the series. I first started into fanfiction writing without ever completing what I was writing about. Now I'm a bit more perfectionist than that, but there's never any pressure for you to do so, in my opinion! Glad you're enjoying what you've seen of it!

chapter seven

"I want to hear a love story this time!"

"A love story?"

There is a giggle from within the room. He peeks in briefly around the corner but decides against entering. This must be their nightly ritual when Akira is putting Hotaru to bed, and he has no intention of impeding on their moment together. So instead he waits and listens quietly.

"Yeah. Don't you know any, Aki-nee?"

There is a pause. "Well, I do know quite a few actually. What kind of love story do you want to hear?"

The rustle of blankets seems to signal that the small child is eagerly sitting up in bed. "Um, actually... I was wondering, Aki-nee..." Her voice trails off for a moment, and Ayato is certain that in the short week and a half that he has known these two, it's the first time he has ever heard Hotaru sound so uncertain when speaking with Akira. "Are there any love stories with ghouls and humans?"

The question is quite jarring for Ayato who doesn't expect it at all, and his head almost instinctively jerks to the side as he peeks into the room. Even he is curious as to what kind of answer Akira could possibly give in this situation.

"Well..." she hesitates, "I do. I have a story that fits that."

"R-really?! Okay! I want to hear it then!"

If it's a children's story then it has to be painfully sweet and corny, Ayato reasons. But is Akira really going to fill the kid's head with fairy tales?

"A couple of years ago there was a female ghoul living around this area. She had been separated from her family, so she felt really lonely." The story is off to an almost painfully realistic start so far. Ayato nods approvingly to himself. "This ghoul was kind of unfriendly—she didn't really trust people. Especially humans."

"Even humans? Why?"

"Because she blamed them for losing her family."

There is a brief moment of silence as Hotaru internalizes this. "But... not all humans are bad people. You're a good person, Aki-nee. And I really like Ryuuji down the street, too! We play together all the time at the park, and he's nice to me!"

Akira chuckles merrily at the child's sincere protest. "That's right," she agrees. "She was a really close-minded person. In fact, she didn't really leave her house very much and the people in the area were starting to think she was some kind of a recluse. But there was a really nice man in the neighborhood living with his little sister, and he came to visit her."

"Did he bring a gift? You said people always bring gifts when they visit!"

"That's right. He brought her a basket of fruit."

That answer elicits howling laughter from Hotaru who seems to think this is the most ridiculous gift ever. "Why would he bring something like that! He's so silly. She can't eat the fruit!"

The older woman giggles right along with her younger counterpart. "That's right. It wasn't a very helpful gift, and the ghoul woman wasn't very enthusiastic about receiving it. So he left that day with a rather bitter first encounter."

"How are they ever going to fall in love?"

"Be patient, let me tell the story."

Hotaru expels an impatient sigh but soon falls quiet, apparently waiting for the story to continue.

"See the man was a very kind and generous person, so he came back the next day with another gift. This time it was flowers, and she felt really odd receiving them from him."

"What kind of flowers?"

Ayato merely shakes his head as he listens in on the whole tale. Hotaru's periodic interjections are always leading it off-track as she begs for unnecessary details. Yet just as quickly, Akira is able to produce answers without any pondering, as though this isn't some figment of her imagination and she's really recounting some reality that she is aware of.

"... so the fifth time, she finally let him come into her house. Since ghouls can have coffee, she offered him some."

This is the point where he expects another inquiry to crop up, but there is only silence. He realizes that it must be because Hotaru has already drifted off to sleep, because he soon hears the sound of Akira's light footsteps padding across the floor. When he peeks around the corner, he sees her heading in his direction—and the moment she spots him, she flashes a warm smile at him.

As she exits the room, Akira is careful to close the door quietly behind her. Once that is finished, she immediately spins around to face him. "Want some coffee?"

He cocks his head. "I'll drink it."

"Then I'll take that as a yes."

It occurs to him that he has fallen into a strange pattern of going out at odd hours and using Akira's house as a sort of base of operations. This does indirectly put them in some danger, should he ever be tracked—although considering how careful he is about dispatching the investigators in the area, the odds of discovery are too low for him to spare a thought for.

He has decided to consider Akira's house a convenient place to return. It's close enough to the border between wards that he can move with ease to wherever he wants to go. At least that's how he decides to rationalize his decision to loaf about here constantly.

For her part, Akira has never made mention of him being unwelcome. On the contrary, she seems happy for his company and even more eager to shower him with questions regarding ghouls.

Soon enough the two of them are settled opposite of each other with a table between them, two steaming hot cups of coffee sitting before them. She is the first to taste hers, giving a nod of appreciation after she has swallowed her brief sip.

"The chocolate flavor is really good."

Too sweet, he thinks—she made him try it a few days ago. He's more partial to this mocha flavor she made for him the first time.

"You overheard part of the story, I take it?"

He shrugs. "A bit."

Rather than peer over at him, she keeps her warm brown eyes focused on the teacup in her hand. "What did you think?" Her voice is unreadable, but he suspects she must be genuinely curious to even ask such a question.

"You didn't pull it out of nowhere. It's based on something."

"That's right." Her lips tease into a smile as she glances up at him briefly before turning her head down again. "Some of the details are changed, but it's based on my own experiences."

"You fell in love with a ghoul?" he asks, incredulous.

Rather than laugh it off, she tilts her head from side to side. "Well, no. I'm not the one who fell in love with a ghoul. I do love a ghoul now, though. I guess I'm being a bit disingenuous, huh? But I really don't know any happy stories about ghouls and humans falling in love. Then again, I don't even really know any about two ghouls falling in love." As soon as she has spoken, she takes a drink of her coffee as though to wash down her own bitterness.

Ayato keeps his lips pursed, silently watching her the whole time.

"Do you think... a human and a ghoul can fall in love?" Almost as soon as she asks him, she breaks into a dry chuckle and waves her hand dismissively. "Never mind, that's a stupid question."

Yet rather than allow her to wave it off, he answers honestly, "No. I don't."

That seems to be the response she is expecting because she nods knowingly. "Of course not."

"Humans always betray ghouls eventually." He speaks candidly, not even attempting to hide his own cynicism about the matter. Ayato feels particularly strong about humans, but even stronger about relationships between the two.

"I think... you're misunderstanding something." Akira leans back and faces him earnestly. "People betray people all the time. It's in their nature. I'm not trying to sound pessimistic, but if a human betrays a ghoul then I think that person isn't trustworthy in general."

That's her usual spiel about there being no divide between humans and ghouls, that everyone is an "individual." Ayato isn't nearly as convinced as she is that this is true. "You only think that because you're an exception to the rule."

That remark seems to catch her by genuine surprise. "You think I'm an exception?"

"You haven't betrayed Hotaru in two years." Although whether she will eventually or not remains to be seen. The fact is that the way Akira is, she would sooner fight to her own bitter end to protect Hotaru than turn on her at the first sign of trouble.

Her lips tighten into a thin line. "You and I see the world very differently. Even so, I'm actually a little happy to be acknowledged. I hope... I hope that you're wrong. I hope that some day, Hotaru can find someone that will accept her—ghoul or human—and that they'll love her as much or more than I do."

The clock on the opposing wall ticks away the time in the silence that falls between them after she makes that statement. Ayato has nothing to say in return, and now that his coffee has cooled, he hastily drains the cup dry before standing.

"Are you leaving?"

He pulls the black rabbit's mask over his face. "Yeah." Ayato double-checks to make sure it fits snuggly before he turns to start toward the hallway. Just as soon as he begins to leave, he hears the sound of Akira following after him.

Never once has she asked him where he goes or what he does. It's as though she implicitly understands based on what happened the first night they met, and he suspects that's the reason she has never mentioned it. Maybe she considers him one of the "bad" ghouls, since he kills humans.

Once they arrive at the front entrance and he has secured his shoes on his feet, Akira suddenly holds out something toward him. "I bought one from the shrine earlier. It's a protection charm. So you can return safely."

Although such human superstition is lost on Ayato, he readily accepts her gift. For a moment he studies it, peering out through the holes in his mask. "Return safely?" he echoes her words with a curious tone to his voice.

"I thought you might think of this as a sort of second home since you'd been hanging around here a lot lately. Was I wrong?"

He tucks the charm into one of his inside pockets. "Not wrong," he allows. "I don't have anywhere I call home."

Despite the finality of his statement, she reaches out and grabs his wrist, taking Ayato by surprise. Those freckle-covered cheeks dimple as she grins at him. "Home should be somewhere you can always go and feel safe. Hotaru and I can be that for you, if you want. You're always welcome here."

He recoils, pulling out of her grip. "Why?"

"Because I also know what it's like to not have a home anymore."

It's not normal for any person to be this nice, least of all a human. Especially when she should be perfectly aware of what kind of ghoul he is. Offering him such comfort is naive. He could turn on her and eat her tomorrow if he really wanted to. "I'm leaving."

"Be sure to come back soon." She gives a small wave as he turns away with the flutter of his long jacket, disappearing out the door.

—

"... so she told him that she was a ghoul?!"

The next night he finds himself eavesdropping on the tale outside of Hotaru's door. This time he sinks down to the floor and sits as he listens, peering down at his own hands. There is dried blood underneath his fingernails. He quickly curls his fingers into fists as though to hide the sight.

"Yeah," Akira answers, satisfied that the climax of her story has been so well-received. "Since they had spent so long together, she thought it was time that she was honest with him. But she could only do it because she really, really trusted him."

"How did he react?"

"Well..." A pause. "He was... surprised. It was hard for him to accept at first, because he'd believed for so long that she was human."

"Well that's silly. Whether she is human or not, she is the same person. That never changed."

"That's right," Akira responds in a soft voice. "You're exactly right, Hotaru. Like the ghoul woman that was once close-minded, he was close-minded, too. He had a hard time reconciling all the things he had ever heard about ghouls. Eventually, though, he came back and told her exactly what you just said. That nothing would change just because she was a ghoul."

"Good! That's how it should be. Did they live happily ever after then?"

Ayato stares emptily at the opposing wall as he listens. He wants to answer that no, there are never happy endings—especially where ghouls are concerned. Yet he suspects Akira will take a very different approach to the question.

"No, they didn't."

His eyes widen.

"Why not?" That's the same question he wants to ask, not because he's in disbelief but because he didn't expect Akira to answer negatively.

"He loved her and she loved him, that's absolutely true. But the world isn't as accepting of ghouls and humans intermingingly. You know I've warned you about investigators, right? That's why you have to always be very, very careful. Hopefully some day we can make this a world where their kind of love will be welcome."

That answer is sobering, like a bitter pill called reality. Even Ayato has to feel some appreciation that Akira didn't sugarcoat it. Eventually Hotaru is going to have to come to the realization that though she is loved by a human, not all humans will love her. Some will spurn and resent her—not because she is a "bad person," but because she was born a ghoul.

"I want to be like her," Hotaru announces suddenly. "But I want to live happily ever after. Do... you think my mommy would be disappointed...?"

"If you were with a human?"

"...yeah."

Thoughtful silence and then Akira says, "I think your mom just wanted you to be happy. So no matter how you get your happily ever after, I don't think she will be disappointed at all. In fact, I'm sure she's proud of you right now. You're getting prettier every day, you're so smart, and you're always good about following rules."

"Of course! My mommy taught me that much."

It's the first time he has heard Hotaru ever mention her mother. The subject seemed almost taboo before. Neither her nor Akira had brought mention of it before. But he is gradually beginning to understand what Akira meant when she said that Hotaru is her hope for the future.

Before he realizes it, a shadow falls over him. "Were you waiting?"

"Not exactly," Ayato answers gruffly as he stands, dusting himself off.

"Coffee?"

"...fine."