Umm so, my real life attacked and that's why this took so very long. This was also supposed to be a shorter chapter, (around 5k) but it sort of ran away with me.

Thanks to the people who reviewed last chapter.

This time, it was Buck-Tick.

Further

She was still a mystery then, even with her final words to him, he still hadn't been able to understand her at all.

Ayato stood, two streets away, at the top of the building where he'd once found a small niche to watch Reina from.

The woman wasn't even in the apartment anymore, he knew well, after about an hour, she had stumbled out of the front door and into her friend's arms –the tall one he'd talked to at the club, he had no idea what her name was- said friend hadn't even seemed to ask, apparently, this wasn't all that unusual for Reina.

In fact, when looking at it from a more detached perspective, he did fit the mold for what he'd seen of the woman, if slightly longer lasting than any of the others that he had spotted her with –and that probably, was on account of him being a Ghoul, a bigger thrill than your run of the mill drug dealer or second tier yakuza- before that weird thing had started.

Reina got bored eventually, she simply went out like a flame, and her dismissal had made it all the clearer, she'd been dispassionate and cold, not antagonistic, or defensive in any way, just… empty.

He knew that it was more than a little bit pathetic to dwell on things like that, then when everything was already over and she was probably already dragging some other guy around to entertain her, but for some reason, Ayato couldn't help it. He didn't want to kill her, not anymore, he didn't even know if the desire would ever return, but the weird possessiveness remained and though resignation had uncharacteristically overcome him when she'd sprung her dismissal on him –all decked out in her little Dove suit, he had wanted to scoff- in a way, he didn't want anyone else to have her, even if the want was of a different kind.

And that was where he stopped his mind in his tracks, he was thinking irrational things, things that could potentially drive him to his grave if he let them take control of his actions. Reina wasn't any more than some pretty, empty woman -that she was a dove was non-withstanding, since he hadn't treated her like he would have a dove from the second time that they had run into each other- but she was no one and nothing important.

He was somewhat glad then, that he had a little more than a week left in Tokyo before the Kyoto mission started, that would be a nice break, after much deliberation, he'd decided that Hinami wasn't going, if only because she was one of the more empathetic members and while her heightened senses would have been plenty useful, they were headed towards a massacre –Eto's suggestion of killing the leaders some way it wouldn't cause a revolt wasn't a suggestion at all and all of them knew it-, instead of her, he was taking Miza, some of her underlings and Naki. The latter had been more of a crutch since Eto had wanted him to take her newly broken pet for testing, but the thing was creepy and unstable enough that he was more likely to blow their cover than Naki himself.

Shachi hadn't had any objections.

He took one last look at the window of the empty apartment and turned on his heel.

Kyoto would be nice, probably.

.

.

He may have been perfectly happy with the group he'd chosen, Hinami, however, wasn't.

They were walking towards their rooms, she had started trying to get him to change his mind as soon as they'd left the meeting where he and Shachi had announced who'd join them in the mission.

"We're supposed to figure out if they'll be a problem, it makes sense that you should take me Ayato-kun" Her stubborn streak was starting to show more as time passed, as her eyes hardened just a little bit more.

"We're not really supposed to figure out anything" He raised an eyebrow at her "You know that, right?"

Her face fell "Is there really no chance that you can carry out the merge without killing them?"

"Maybe" he paused for a moment, and her face brightened back up only to fall again at his next words "There would be one, but our orders are to kill them"

A shadow crossed Hinami's features "All the more reason for me to go, they could be planning the same thing"

Ayato breathed in very, very slowly "They wouldn't benefit from it, they'd only get underlings, not the Tree's boss"

"Then that must mean there's some good will" she said.

"Yes" Ayato said with a grimace, the sheep were inviting the wolves to their pasture. Though the Kyoto Ghouls weren't anything to be scoffed at either, there was only one at most that was at his or Shachi's level –Kyoto didn't have as much CCG presence as Tokyo did, there hadn't been enough pressure there to spawn such things yet- "But that doesn't matter Hinami. I'm not leaving Naki in charge of hunting grounds, it would become a disaster."

They reached his room, Hinami slipped in right behind him, it was normal for her to just invite herself in, at first, it had bothered him, but he had figured that that was what he got for befriending the younger Ghoul, who'd seemed clingy from the start.

"I'm sure there's someone who can manage them"

Stubborn woman

"The only one who is available and has enough power is Eto's new pet" He deadpanned "Do you think I can leave him in charge of anything?"

The brunette averted her eyes, pity taking over her expression "No…" It wasn't like the creature didn't inspire pity even in Ayato, they had all heard the man scream himself hoarse under Eto's ministrations,but that didn't change the fact that he was insane.

Maybe he brought some more tenderness out in Hinami because he was similar to what the bastard had once been –and Hinami had cried tears of both joy and bitterness for hours when it had been relayed to her what had become of the bastard after that last large scale raid-.

"You have to be careful then" she said, with renewed strength, seemingly resigned to the fact that Ayato wasn't budging "You've been reckless lately, Ayato-kun"

"No more than usual" He plopped down on the bed, she sat primly on the edge.

"I heard about it" she said "yesterday…"

To be fair, he had gone a bit overboard. Three Rank twos had been a rather exaggerated meal for his usual amount, but really, he should've gone hunting the week before.

"It had been a while since I last went hunting?"

She turned to stare at him with a stern gaze "That's odd Ayato-kun"

"Not much, I was busy"

She hummed, leaning back "Well, you have been gone a lot at night lately"

Ayato froze, the tone of her voice was implying something "You noticed?"

She shrugged "I can smell all of you here" Hinami seemed to think over something really quickly "What do you do in the third?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because there isn't much for us to do there"

"Apparently there is, for you"

"I don't think you're also visiting libraries" She said dryly "You can trust me Ayato-kun"

"A real shame, that there isn't anything to trust you with, then" And there wasn't, it was over, it had been for a good few days where he had managed to restrain himself from even thinking much about it, though of course, Hinami had to bring it up.

Hinami's lips pressed tightly and she looked away, irritated "I haven't told anyone"

"You haven't told anyone what, exactly?" He narrowed his eyes, did Hinami know about Reina in specific? he could believe that the younger Ghoul had been discreet about it, but he had been careful about getting in and out of Reina's neighborhood.

The brunette took a deep breath and stood up, out of the corner of his eye, Ayato managed to catch the shadow of a blush on her cheeks though she was facing away from him "I could… smell it, a lot lately" she said, and in less than a second, he found heat rising to his cheeks too "I haven't followed you, if that's what you're thinking, I just- "Hinami cut off the sentence there "But you haven't smelt like that these past few- "

"Just- Forget it" he groaned, of course Hinami had to smellthat off of him –though it wasn't surprising, Reina's very cigarettes left a strong enough smell, and smoking wasn't nearly the only thing they were doing- "It's not going to happen again" he said, finally, throwing an arm over his face to cover the slight blush that he knew to have settled over his cheekbones and hating the slight tinge of bitterness in his tone.

"Oh…" She was probably looking at him again "I'm sorry"

"For what?" he said, feeling a bit confused.

By then, he had spent enough time around Hinami to know that she was smiling softly, even as she faced away from him and started walking towards the door "You know for what. Goodnight Ayato-kun"

"'Night"

Naïve girl.

There was nothing to be sorry for.

.

.

The people at the front desk had shot them suspicious looks, well, it wasn't like they weren't hiding behind the wrong impression that they gave off.

Their fakes were exceptionally well made, but Hinami looked a little too young regardless of what the cards said.

When they had been led up to their unnecessarily luxurious room, the hotel employee winked at him lewdly and Ayato had sort of wanted to eat his face.

Thankfully Hinami hadn't noticed.

"There are a few ratherinterestingpeople attending this thing"Eto had said "And if that woman arrived ahead of schedule, there might be something useful we can learn from listening in"

"Does this mean that the Kyoto mission is canceled?"He had said, already half knowing the answer.

"No, Ayato-kun, but I do want you to take Hinami there and help her gather info"

And so there he was, looking at the balcony in front of them, seeing a bunch of rich humans dancing through a telephoto lens –they were about half floor above the huge balcony's level, and two streets away- in flashy dresses while Hinami immersed herself in their conversations.

The thing was barely starting and he was already wondering if he could just barge in and test this Special Class Akagi's power –but they were in the first and it was risky for them to have even come to the hotel in the first place-, he had spotted her easily enough, she didn't look like Reina per se –with red hair and a very slim frame- but they shared the eyes and the way that they walked, and then Hinami had confirmed that it was her that they were listening in on.

So long asshedoesn't barge in there

It was a reasonable thing to hope for, he decided, Ayato knew well how awfully they got along.

And then a flash of blue, caught his eye, all but bolting towards the special class investigator with the fakest smile that he had ever seen in her face

I should have learned not to hope for her not to show up, it's like summoning her, dammit.

It didn't help that from the very first moment that he spotted her, he could tell how fake she was being, and how much hatred laid behind every classy flick of the wrist and elegant step –and also the fact that the dress truly made her look like an apparition, all pale skin, red lips and dark hair-.

Oddly, that helped with the frustration that he started feeling soon enough when Hinami's quiet concentration and the city's dying bustle around him began to feel suffocating. For some reason, knowing how much Reina was not the same person he'd come to somewhat appreciate, made it easier not to burst into the ballroom.

There was still some awkwardness, though, some annoyance in him that screamed out at the wrongness of the scene unfolding two streets away, and even the grievously focused Hinami was shooting his stiff form worried looks every once in a while.

The duration of these looks increased tenfold, however, when Ayato felt his muscles lock up and his jaw clench so hard it hurt.

Reina smoked quite often, he had not found it odd, in fact, it had relieved him a little to see the familiar tired expression as she leaned over the railing, cigarette in hand.

And then that man had appeared and a wave of rage had taken him by surprise, it wasn't only the man's clear motives and his confidence, it wasn't even the fact that he was sharing a cigar with her and Reina was clearly playing his game.

It was that for those moments, it was his Reina down there, no one else, she wasn't using the masks that she used for anyone else, her genuine self was playing right into this bastard's hands –or was he playing into hers? - and that much felt far more awful than the mannequin he'd been watching before.

She looked alive.

Ayato growled.

"Ayato-kun, are you alright?" Chocolate brown eyes were peering up at him, Ayato didn't know when exactly Hinami's mind had come back from the divide between the two buildings, but he knew that he must have been terribly disruptive to drag her out from the trances which she usually entered when the young woman analyzed audio.

"…Yes" He said in a low voice.

"Do you know who the man Akagi is talking to is?"

Quickly, he bent over and readjusted the lens "Uh, isn't he the one running for governor?"

"I thought so too" She said "Do you think they would collaborate?"

"They don't seem like the kind" he looked away "All of them have their own interest in mind"

"She, especially" Hinami regarded him with stern eyes "She's been making deals under the table all night"

He sighed "Well, that was to be expected" They had to keep at it until at least two, it was barely half past eleven, he was tired already "No way a person like that would come all this way for a daughter's promotion" Hinami opened her eyes and stared at him expectantly "What?"

"Well, isn't that just a supposition of ours?" He'd slipped up, yes, they had theorized on some of the investigators from the previous raid having been promoted out of season, but no one had known for sure.

Except for him.

And how he knew wasn't exactly something that looked very nice.

"Yeah" He said "But it's pretty likely don't you think?"

"I… guess" Hinami closed her eyes once again "Actually, I think we could spy a bit on her daughter too"

"Suit yourself" He said coolly "So long as you don't miss anything important from the special class"

"That one's quiet, I think she's dancing" he crouches over with the camera and snaps a picture, that is definitely another wealthy politician. Yoshino seemed as adept at playing around and manipulating people as Reina was, if not even more.

"She is"

"Hmm"

Another five minutes passed, their target kept dancing and whispering one or other thing in her partner's ears, Hinami would tell him, eventually what that was; though he was left very bored for a while.

Quietly, he aimed the camera at the balcony.

They were still talking, he held a dying cigar, and Reina had leaned back into her elbows at some point.

They made a pretty pair, both pale and slender, he, far taller than she was, she, all carefully calculated curves and their hair contrasted like the night sky and the sun.

Jealousy is an irrational thing to feel for her he chastised himselfshe's just some woman.

He wanted to jump in and crush the blonde man's bones to dust.

Annoyed, Ayato lifted his focus towards the still dancing Special class investigator, but it wasn't very long until they were there too.

A smug smile adorned Reina's face; while the man watched her with calculating, hungry eyes.

The expression in Yoshino's face was priceless, at least, her eyes stopped showing the pretend cheer and dimmed down until they were only a hard gaze, and her lips retracted into something that looked more like a snarl than anything else.

He saw how the man that the older dove was dancing with flinched when her grip became too painful as her body became rigid.

Reina hadn't been joking when she'd told him just how controlling Yoshino could be.

And yet that was a pretty nice vengeance –petty as it might have been-, the Special class couldn't leave though she may have wanted to and Reina was already on her way with whom was probably some rich, daddy's boy.

He wasn't even really thinking of Hinami and his task there anymore when he shifted the camera to see them speed out of the parking lot, apparently headed towards the second or the fifth.

When his attention returned, he snapped yet another photo of Yoshino and some or other important person talking, he did his very best to ignore the -ever-present those days- worried look that Hinami was giving him.

.

.

Early winter sunlight slid over the covers of his bed.

It had been four days since he'd been ordered to spy on Special Class Akagi Yoshino and about two weeks since he'd seen her daughter.

Maybe it was the fact that he was leaving for Kyoto a few hours later, that even with him and Shachi leading the mission; they were lunging headfirst into enemy territory with no immediate support available and a not so secret plan to assassinate the Kyoto organization's leaders and secretly take over their subordinates. Maybe that was why that morning he couldn't quite rid himself of the thought of Reina.

It wasn't an overly sappy longing, yearning. No, it was more of an itch that would not disappear, a recess in the back of his head that insisted on reclaiming her as his despite that never having been the case.

If the whole thing had felt sappy and stupid he could've dismissed it as weakness, that would've been far easier to shut down than what was happening then. She felt like a bubble of her own aesthetic floating in his subconscious, refusing to burst, filled with smoke and warmth, blood red flowers and the heaviness of sleep.

Yes, it was pathetic too, but not in the same way that weakness would've been.

Ayato huffed as he stared at the ceiling of his room, from the light outside, he still had a couple of hours before having to get up and go get himself ready for the trip.

Whatever stupid… thing that was taking over him, it had to end.

.

.

Kyoto was nice, as far as he was concerned, as far as he'd seen, at least, they'd arrived late enough that the city was a crowded sea of lights, of indistinguishable buildings –they were behind on schedule and had to visit the other group's base before heading for their own hotel-.

In the dark, it looked no different from Tokyo.

They headed to the address where supposedly, the emissaries from the faction were waiting.

It turned out to be a grand Japanese style state on the outskirts of the city which was a relief, in a way, even if Kyoto did not have as strong a CCG presence as Tokyo –in most areas, at least- as a group, and even with their perfectly forged identities, they were pretty eye-catching and diverse. Since splitting up in unknown territory was the last thing that they wanted, it was something that they had to bear with.

The whole group stepped out of the truck and headed towards the door, immediately it was pulled open, revealing four Ghouls dressed in formal attire.

"The mistress will greet you, for now" the third from the right spoke "The master had to attend to something"

"I must remind you though, that each and every one of the people involved with this residence, Ghoul or human, is off limits for hunting" Said the one to his left.

Ayato stepped forward "Does that mean that you have humans as part of the house staff?"

"Indeed sir, a part of our staff is made out of humans. You must not worry, they are all loyal to the master, always have been"

"We'll see" He said, thinking it over for a second "May I request that I and my companions are attended to by Ghouls only. As a measure of safety"

"That would be alright sir" the other Ghoul said "Now if you will follow us…"

The two Ghouls in the middle turned around and started walking towards the house, the entryway was lined with lamps and thick groups of tall trees grew on either side, though most of them were already bare of any foliage.

Ayato walked ahead with Shachi by his side, and the Aogiri group followed, tenseness was evident in the air. Ayato knew that he wasn't the only one with his Kagune just ready to burst out from beneath his skin.

The estate itself got lost in the woods that surrounded it, they all entered, relieving themselves from their shoes at the door.

A lavish, well-illuminated interior greeted them, the wide and luxurious living room was occupied by a lone figure.

It smelled delicious.

The woman walked towards them, she was dressed in a formal kimono, complete with an elaborate Obi that tied in a disproportionate bow at her back. The very delicate, porcelain-like features were the first thing that he noticed, her appearance as a whole was quintessentially Asian with hair long and straight –most of it held back in an intricate hair-do-, black as night and with eyes to match it she was very slender and very tall for a woman. She looked to be around her mid-twenties, it was, however, difficult to tell, the woman held herself regally enough to give off the impression of having lived longer than that.

She was beautiful, and also undoubtedly human.

Suddenly he was very sure that the human staff wasn't why they'd been warned off eating any humans in the propriety, in fact, Ayato would hazard a guess that one or two human maids wouldn't be missed, but if so much as a hair was torn from that woman's head, there would be hell to pay for the one who'd done it.

"Good evening, my name is Yamamoto Fumiko. It's a pleasure to welcome you to our residence" her speech, too, was old fashioned and exceedingly formal, the woman walked towards him and Shachi "My husband cannot attend to you right now, so I will be presiding over the dinner that he has arranged" She was indeed, almost as tall as him. "You must be Kirishima-sama and Kamishiro-sama" She bowed "It is a pleasure that Aogiri has agreed to form an alliance with us"

She seemed aware of everything, not only their nature but also the more important details about Aogiri and such.

"We are honored" Shachi responded, his deep voice echoing off the walls as he bowed along with Ayato "Yamamoto-san."

She smiled pleasantly "Please, follow me, our servants will take care of your belongings"

Barely seconds after she had said that, a bunch of servants, both Ghoul and human showed up from seemingly out of nowhere.

Ayato gave up his backpack to some random maid, it wasn't like any of them traveled with much luggage, anything they might have needed, Aogiri's rather abundant arcs would cover, and heavy luggage was inconvenient.

The woman led them down a couple corridors, all lavishly decorated and furnished until they arrived at a dining room with a U-shaped table and another smaller one placed in front of it.

She went inside first, gesturing to Ayato and Shachi to join her at the smaller table, where four seats and posts had been arranged.

The boss must really have been pulled away suddenly he though, taking a seat between the woman and Shachi himself.

"I apologize in behalf of my husband, he cannot be here tonight, his co-leader and some of our high ranking members will join us shortly, however," She said once all of the Aogiri members were seated on one side of the table –since there were way too many spots on it"-

And again, as if the house and everyone within it obeyed her every word, about eleven shadows appeared outside of the door.

A tall, lanky man walked in first, his sandy blonde hair reached the bottom of his neck and despite not being very built, he had an air of power around him. Both him and the people at his back were dressed in traditional garbs, the underlings settled on the table while the man headed for the main table.

As soon as they came in, a bright smile took over the human woman's face.

"Susumu…-sama" Just for a second as she spoke, it was like a mask slipped from her face, true gladness showed beneath, not calm and composed, but relieved and honestly ecstatic "Thank you for joining us" The formal, proper mask was on again soon enough though.

He smiled "Fumiko-san, as always, it is a pleasure" he bowed at her then turned towards Ayato and Shachi, a stoic expression slipping over his features "You two must be the leaders of the Aogiri group. I am Kurosawa Susumu co-leader of our organization" he bowed at them too, quite stiffly however.

Well, it seemed like at least one-half of the leadership wasn't that keen on the alliance. Ayato stood up, not bothering to bow "Kirishima Ayato, my partner is Kamishiro Matasaka" he said gesturing towards Shachi.

"I am honored to meet you" he said, unflinching "However, I'd prefer it if we discussed business tomorrow with my partner present. For tonight, we have prepared a welcome dinner, so as to start our alliance in a good note" his sour expression said everything that was needed. "So without further preamble" The man signaled at one of the servants that stood by the door, and a few minutes of tense silence later they were being served with plates overflowing with meat.

To everyone's surprise, the woman was served dinner too, it was, of course, not human meat, but a plate of sashimi and a small salad.

A small bottle of sake was served to each of them too, the woman poured herself a cup and spoke up, shooting an annoyed glance at her sulking companion "To our future alliance"

A few cheers were uttered, the air was still heavy, regardless.

Everybody dug in, a few conversations starting among the groups, out of the corner of his eye, Ayato observed the woman.

She ate calmly, crossing a few words with Kurosawa here and there. Her manners were impeccable but relaxed, and she seemed to pay no mind to the brutish way in which some of the Ghouls were eating.

Aside from very rare exceptions –mostly Reina- a normal human would never be that calm around such a large amount of Ghouls, true, the woman as married to one, apparently, but even without him by her side, she seemed to pay no mind to the fact that what their plates were filled with was the flesh of people of her species or the activated Kakugan that all of them wore.

He also noticed the tension between the woman and Kurosawa, the lingering looks and the small touches that they tried to hide, it was only barely noticeable, but it was there, held beneath the mist of a well-kept secret.

That was a good thing, though, if Ayato was reading them right, -Kurosawa and the woman- finding an excuse for eliminating the two leaders without people suspecting much would not be very difficult.

Dinner ended as tensely as it had begun and the Aogiri group headed out to their hotel.

.

.

The days passed and he learned more and more about the faction.

They were named Kagerou, led by Kurosawa and Yamamoto Nobu –the woman's husband, whom they'd met the day after arriving at Kyoto-.

Nobu himself was a cheerful man –portly looking, he spoke far too loudly, and his beard went down to his chest, complementing the Edo-period look that his top-knot gave him-, apparently very in love with his wife who had to be at least fifteen younger than he. It had been his first and so far only veiled warning, no one was to touch her, in any sense of the word.

Ayato's assumptions of Kyoto being relatively lax in vigilance resulted only partly true, while most of the city wasn't as crowded with doves as Tokyo, some areas were just crawling with them, he was soon glad that Eto had given them a month to complete the task, since while the discussing of terms would've taken less than two weeks, both leaders were constantly pulled away by matters of raids or one or other dove getting too curious around their trail.

Kurosawa was clearly against an alliance though it was clear enough that they did need some help, and he wasn't the only one.

Of the group that had come to their welcome dinner, about half shot the Aogiri executives looks as dirty as they dared whenever Nobu wasn't in the vicinity –which wasn't all that often, even if they were invited over to dine at the Yamamoto estate least every second day- it was a blessing that when Yamamoto had assigned both him and Shachi 'guides' –both female and rather beautiful, Ayato suspected that they had been told to seduce them, though his had never quite made the effort, despite Yamamoto's many stern looks- it hadn't been the smart-mouthed ones.

It was one of those nights, having lost sight of the Kagerou member that had been assigned to him –eh, she was tolerable enough, rather pretty too, her name was Nori. – Yamamoto had again been pulled away for some reason or other and dinner, this time, had been followed by coffee in an oversized sitting room.

They had been told to wander around all they wanted, within reason, of course.

The two groups were mingling better by then, even Shachi seemed to have come to like some of the members.

He walked outside, snow had begun coming down a couple of days before and he found himself sort of wanting a cigarette, or, at least, the taste of one.

To his left, in the small forest, he noticed a series of sounds, and shuffling, cautious, he took a few steps towards them.

He already had an idea, after all, he hadn't seen either Yamamoto's wife nor Kurosawa inside.

They were further than he'd thought, but after walking a couple dozens of meters, he glimpsed the couple through the foliage –embraced in a tangle of limbs, it was the very first time that he saw Fumiko less than composed, with her hair slightly messed up and the kimono slipping off her shoulders.

However, only that knowledge wouldn't quite be enough, a lot could be altered with a little gamble, he knew –or so the little voice in the back of his mind that resembled Reina's told him- that they seemed to be going to great lengths to hide this, and that Kurosawa was rather hot-blooded.

Ayato almost wanted to laugh, he stopped trying to hide his presence.

As he expected from the start, the other Ghoul heard him "Who's there? Masato?" his kakugan activated, as the woman hurriedly composed her robes.

Oh, so others knew?

Calmly, Ayato stepped out of the bushes, he smirked "Forgive me, I was leaving"

He found himself held by the collar of his shirt soon enough, staring at a glowing Bikaku inches from his face. His own Kagune was out and ready to sink into the other's neck in a second.

They sized each other up for a second, Ayato knew that Kurosawa was one of the stronger Ghouls in Kyoto, it would be interesting, the other man seemed to share this sentiment, beneath the desperation that was plain in his face" You sc- "

"Susumu" a feminine voice interjected "No"

"He'll talk- "

"Let me speak to him," Yamamoto Fumiko said, talking with the greatest of composures to a creature that could snap her in half in a second. "Please"

The other man let go of Ayato and backed away, his Kagune still out. "There is no need, Yamamoto-san. I understand."

" But please, listen to me Kirishima-sama" she said "If you were to tell anyone about this- "

He just looked at her a she cut her off "It is none of my business" Ayato began to turn away when something tugged on his arm.

She was looking at him with wide, pleading eyes, and yet, he could see that there was some calculation behind it, the way she pressed her body against his arm, even the angle at which she held her face and the slight hunch of her back to seem smaller.

It was an act, a good one, at least, the whole helplessness thing.

When Kurosawa huffed indignantly at her, he knew that the other man was aware of it too.

She was beautiful, and she knew it, she knew that because of it, she held a small amount of power that she knew how to use, and she would rather keep the peace.

Ayato had seen better manipulators in action –had known them, her, well- but things were playing to his advantage.

He pretended to be taken aback "I haven't seen anything" Ayato shook her off and almost immediately parried a jab from Kurosawa's Bikaku with ease. There wasn't much force behind it.

"If you so much as dare to open that mouth, I will kill you" He said.

Ayato didn't even turn around, he smiled to himself "Like I said, I didn't see anything"

.

.

Late that night, as he idly surfed the stupid programs that humans put out –something that was most likely gas explosion had killed a millionaire in Tokyo a week before, cheesy soap operas and some cartoons which he ended up leaving for background noise- he felt the presence settle itself across the street.

It was pretty obvious.

From the next day onwards Kurosawa was fidgety and jumpy around everyone, especially Yamamoto, and it showed, not only to him but to everyone else.

He told Shachi of what they'd do as soon as he could ditch the Ghoul following him.

Neither of them was too keen on it, it was a foul move, but such were the orders, and so long as they could make it seem like an internal conflict…

Besides, everything was going accordingly.

.

.

Yamamoto Fumiko asked him to have coffee with her a few days later.

They met in some random café as far from the estate as they could.

She wore normal clothes for once and hid her silky black hair with a short blond wig.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, she smiled and looked at him sternly "I am… very thankful for you keeping your silence, Kirishima-san" the change in honorific wasn't unintended, it was pretty obvious.

"Like I said, it's none of my business" he said "Though if you were trying to keep it secret, that was a careless move"

She flushed and looked away "Some of Susumu's men watch over us most of the time, we didn't think- "

"That they'd be distracted?" he said with a smile, this made things easier.

"Exactly" she said, leaning forward.

Ayato sipped at his coffee "You can never lower your guard" he said "Even a woman like you who is calm even in the midst of a bunch of creatures feasting on human flesh"

Fumiko looked up and smiled sadly "Well I never had much of a choice" she lamented "My poor father married me off to a friend of his on his deathbed. It must never have crossed his mind that Nobu was a Ghoul" she looked down at her hands "He told me on our wedding night, but he has been good to me"

A little prompting and she had spilled "I see, and of course, then Kurosawa appeared"

"Mhmm" She looked up at him, helplessness coating her face, it was as much of an act as it was real anguish that she showed "And I fell in love. I know you have already said that you won't say a thing, but if there's anything I can do for you or your teammates to compensate- "

"It's fine" He said "Though personally, I think it's foolish of you to remain by him, as I have said, it is none of my concern"

"What do you mean?" She said, interested now.

"Your husband will probably kill him if he ever finds out if you two were smart about it; you'd be over the hills by now" a strange light shone behind her eyes then though it was quickly extinguished by resignation.

"Even if we could escape" she said "I'd be leaving all that my father left me, behind"

Ayato had to remind himself that he was playing a role then, or his next words would've been different "Are those things that important?"

"Well…" The woman was playing with the edge of her dress "Maybe n- I don't think we could"

Ayato smirked "Well, I guess that's yourbusiness" he said, and threw some coins on the table "I'm leaving now"

"Wait, Ayato-san" She yelled after him, yanking him back down on the table, thankfully the place was almost empty "Do you really think he would kill Susumu?"

He shrugged "Probably. Anything else?"

"Just one thing" she all but whispered "What would you do, if you were in my place?"

"I'd leave him" he said simply "Or I'd leave with him, I wouldn't stay like this when…" something fit into place "My actions could get him senselessly killed"

Ayato stood up again; and left the woman on the table.

Her determined expression told him that he had probably done what he was supposed to, but a lot of other things were now swirling in his mind.

.

.

Oh, the way home, still with Susumu's Ghoul at his back, he called back to report to Eto, the woman answered in a voice that was barely a whisper.

"Shachi-san has told me already" She said "Nicely done, Ayato-kun" she seemed slightly out of breath, probably from making another of her twisted puppets. "Now for the benefit of that friend of yours "Her voice rose to a normal volume "How are the details of the merge going"

"Kurosawa has decided…"

It truly was a shame, but one couldn't help but to admire the carefully arranged disaster that was soon to unfold.

.

.

He had a room to himself at the hotel –so did Shachi, the rest shared in pairs, except for Naki who had declared upon arriving that he wouldn't sleep anywhere without Gagi and Guge, it hadn't bothered anyone much- upon arriving, he opted for throwing on a pair of sweatpants and cranking up the heat.

Ayato had long since liked to sleep shirtless, but winters were challenging for that kind of thing, and though the Aogiri base did have central heating, it was general to all the facility and no one appreciated having it at twenty-eight Celsius degrees.

The bed sunk pleasantly beneath his weight.

It was already almost dark out though he figured it must've been around five at most, his meeting with Fumiko hadn't run very long; it was for the best.

Though it had given Ayato quite a lot to think about.

It was just a silly supposition, but it fit in with some of the more out of character moments of Reina's, and it also wasn't like Yoshino didn't have a reputation of being ruthless and terrifyingly perfectionistic even towards her closest associates.

He couldn't imagine then how she probably was with a daughter that had more than once stated to him that the woman was obsessed with the family's bloodline.

Of course, for a normal human, a dalliance with a Ghoul –while they knew that the other was a one of course- meant jail, for an investigator it would have meant a downright scandal, he imagined, though he had never heard of such a thing happening before.

And for that woman's child, any kind of relationship that her mother considered beneath her family's status…

Reina had once mentioned a fiancée.

No, that's too far-fetched, a mother wouldn't…

And indeed, it made very little sense.

Despite this, he could see how once Yoshino was back in town, Reina would be watched from many more angles and if the woman was as devoted to her lineage as Reina had made him believe; then knowing that her daughter had so much as sort of befriended a Ghoul, not to say slept with him in multiple occasions, then she probably would have hunted him through hell and heaven.

Those were just conjectures, though, Reina had no real reason to protect him, an enemy and while the woman had more than once proved that she very often did things without more reason than passing flights of fancy, that was downright putting her skin on the line for him.

The strange, bitter warmth pulling at the bottom of his throat was unsettling in itself

So what ifmaybeshe cut it off to protect me he thought to himselfIt isn't even likely, and even if it was the case, what doIcare?

True, there was a draw to see her, to be with her but nothing further than what had happened had ever been so much as possible between them and no matter what, he knew that they had both been very aware of that one fact.

Even if- No.

He shut off the thought, crushed it with all of the mental strength he had, and continued to do it as the light that penetrated the room turned from lilac to blue-violet to dark blue and finally darkness took over completely, only interrupted by the faint light from the streetlamps way below his room.

At some point, an annoying whirring started somewhere that seemed far away.

After four rings, he realized that it actually was the hotel phone, a call from reception, not something very usual since he'd asked not to be disturbed and never really asked for room service.

He lifted the receiver "Hello"

He could imagine that the receptionist had flinched at his harsh tone "Hello sir, I'm sorry to bother you, there's a young lady here to see you."

"Nori" said a voice far away.

"Miss Nori, should I allow her up?"

The 'guide' that he had been assigned by Nobu, what would shewant? "Yes, let her up"

He stood up, fetched a shirt from some nearby chair and just in case, readied his kagune.

A couple of minutes later there were a couple of timid knocks of the door.

When he opened it, the younger woman smiled, though her cheeks were tinged with pink.

Nori was a short, curvaceous woman, around twenty-two or twenty-three if he had to hazard a guess, her light brown hair reached down to the small of her back in tight ringlets and her eyes were a dark gray.

"Ayato-san"

"Does Yamamoto need me for anything?" There wasn't much of a point in stalling, he figured.

She seemed taken aback "No" the woman looked away "I just- "she threw a distrustful look at the hallway "May I come in".

He had a feeling that he knew why she was there. Wordlessly, he stood to the side, and she herself closed the door.

"I heard about what you did for the mistress"

"Well it seems it isn't much of a secret then" he said dryly, turning his back on her and walking further into the room.

The woman seemed to hesitate "I and some of the others are close to her, and… to Kurosawa-sama" The inflection in her voice, told him everything, even without looking at her, it was plenty obvious what she felt towards him.

"Was that who told you to come here?" He said.

"No"

Ayato turned around "Then what are you doing here?"

The woman was propped up on the old fashioned dresser, popping her hip to one side and staring at him with hooded eyes that held dilated pupils.

Grey eyes- FUCK focus.

"I know what you're thinking, it isn't like that" she said huffing "I'm here of my own free will" she took off her jacket to reveal a wide-necked shirt that emphasized her curves nicely "You could consider it a gift from me"

"You do this for anyone who's nice to your Kurosawa-sama?" he asked as she walked towards him, swaying her hips slightly.

Surprisingly, she laughed "No" she was almost three feet from him when she suddenly turned to her right and started walking in that direction instead "In fact, at first Yamamoto-sama had ordered both Emi and me to seduce you guys, tie you down in a way; but we both refused and Fumiko-sama made him give it up" The woman started circling around him "I'm not doing this because anyone has ordered me to" she leaned in "Or because of some misguided sense of retribution" Nori was standing on the tips of her toes, whispering right into his ear "I just like you, Ayato-san, and I think we have something in common"

"Oh, and that would be?" he smirked sardonically, what was that girl playing at?

Her fingers slid up his side "Sometimes when you look in my eyes I remind you of something, don't I?" she said and Ayato froze "I'm good at reading people "But she must be to you like he is to me"

Again, he laughed, it was true that her eyes were almost the exact same color as Reina's, but they lacked the distrustful, hardened expression that was scarce even in a Ghoul. "You are way off the mark"

She pouted "You can lie to me all you want" The hand slid up even further "So what do you say?"

Fumiko had probably run right into Kurosawa's arms as soon as she'd gone back, told him everything, and this girl had been watching in the sidelines, or something like that. He didn't really care for the details, but that was probably what had happened.

It wasn't like he the situation didn't affect him, if only just a little, there was no need for him to take her offer, but there was no need for him to not do so either.

It was a good stress reliever, and if she was just an exceptionally gifted liar and someone had ordered to go there and make sure he was satisfied, he wouldn't have them breathing down his neck as much –her tying him down to Kagerou was out of the question anyways.

Ayato didn't particularly feel any attraction to that one woman, but it probably went both ways.

In the end, an image flashed in his brain, an image he'd thankfully not snapped the shutter at two or three weeks before when he'd seen it.

Two people in the balcony.

She had been beautiful, blue suited her.

He turned around in a flash and all but crushed his lips to the other Ghoul's.

.

.

Two weeks later, the stage was set, and so were the actors.

Everyone had witnessed Kurosawa acting fidgety and annoyed and avoiding both Yamamoto and his wife, while she had started acting distant from her husband, leaving the estate for extended periods of time with her female guardians.

Yamamoto was starting to worry, to act jealous.

Of course, the Aogiri group acted surprised –after all, only Ayato and Shachi knew of the orders to get rid of the bosses and had been lucky enough that crafting a convincing stage would not be very hard- as they continued their labors and finished drafting up the finer details of the alliance.

Fumiko herself had taken to inviting Ayato over for coffee, though they always wound doing so in silence after the exchange of minimal pleasantries, she never told him anything though she always looked upon him with grateful eyes and her attitude made him believe that things were going according to plan, maybe even better than he expected.

Nori showed up at his hotel another two times though the last one Ayato turned her away. The sex itself wasn't bad, but after the second time she showed up, he found himself sick of her, wishing for something else –wishing for Tokyo maybe, for this damned revolting job to be over, for Hinami and Rei- Touka, maybe-.

The woman hadn't taken it badly, just laughed and made some quip about the woman that she was sure, he loved as much as she did Kurosawa –she was wrong, but Ayato didn't bother correcting her, after all, it wouldn't matter what she believed soon enough-.

And so, the day came when the alliance would become official, the Aogiri executives were supposed to leave the next morning –all but Miza who would stay to oversee things- and the plan was to be put in action that night.

Ayato found one of Miza's subordinates and gave her the notes that she was to stealthily deliver to both Kurosawa's apartment in the city –hadn't been hard to find- and Yamamoto's study.

The direction in both was an abandoned warehouse, not that far from the estate, the hour was three in the morning.

Yamamoto's was signed by Ayato and Kurosawa's by Yamamoto –getting the signature had been a pain, good thing one of Miza's subordinates knew of a good human forger- and his subordinates had been ordered to destroy them as soon as the two men left them anywhere, and if they never did, Ayato and Shachi would take care of that at the warehouse.

He'd take Kurosawa, and Shachi would take Yamamoto.

And in the morning, Shachi would disappear and Ayato would take over.

The martial artist's grievous look gave Ayato a feeling that while he regretted having to twist around so many webs of lies, he was glad that they were going to fight them themselves.

At the mansion, a feast awaited, they toasted to their alliance and ate, again with Fumiko and one of her dainty human dishes, enjoyed in the midst of human meat. "To Kirishima-sama, and Kamishiro-sama, let this alliance last" Yamamoto had bellowed with all of the strength of his undoubtedly massive lungs.

Ayato was almost regretful for what he was about to do to a woman who had grown so accustomed, so accepting of Ghouls that she'd fall for one and eat in their midst.

But work was work.

As they were leaving, Miza's subordinate confirmed to have just delivered Kurosawa's letter and that Yamamoto's had already been read, and subsequently discarded and destroyed.

The van left through the usual path, and took a left as soon as they were unwatched and out of sight, it dropped Ayato and Shachi a few kilometers shy of the warehouse.

It was nine, they had time.

His phone vibrated inside his pocket

Sumi

Number 2's note has been read, should it be discarded?

According to plan.

His reply was short

No

"This is most dishonorable" his companion muttered.

Ayato leaned back into the crumbling wall "It's not like this is the first time Shachi-san"

"We're setting a trap on two honorable men" The taller Ghoul said.

Ayato shrugged "If they are strong enough, they'll get out of it" they both knew that was unlikely.

Shachi looked fondly at him, the man had been his mentor for a while, while he wasn't happy with Ayato's occasional bout of cannibalism, he kept him in high regard "You're right about that kid" He too leaned back against the all "I can tell you aren't happy with this either"

"The boss is the one that likes intrigues" Ayato responded "I'd much rather straight up fight. I would have if she hadn't wanted to not cause a stir"

"With this group, it would have cost us half the manpower "Shachi pointed out.

Ayato sighed "I know"

Despite everything, Kagerou was tight and stuck to their leaders, who were some of the strongest Ghouls in Kyoto to boot.

Hours passed.

At half past two, the screen of his phone lit up again.

Targets on the move.

If all went well, they'd be back in Tokyo by sundown the next day.

The two men arrived at the warehouse at almost the same time, Kurosawa was barely inside when Yamamoto crossed the door.

"Susumu"

"Nobu, what did you- "

One look was enough, each pounced on their designated target.

"You bastards" Yamamoto screamed as Shachi rained blows down on him, taking out his kagune much sooner than he usually would've –it was after all, because he had a Bikaku, the same kind of kagune that Kurosawa had, that the plan had become so easy to formulate- the first gash across Yamamoto's chest appeared shortly after.

Ayato rained down shards onto his enemy, Kurosawa's Bikaku was unable to deflect them all, and one of them went deep into his leg.

He did, however, manage to get a good stab on his abdomen.

Ayato wasn't all that worried, he'd had to indulge Eto on a little strengthening before leaving and it was nothing compared to an arm.

Wanting it to be over as soon as possible, he wrapped his wing around his arm and thrust forward, piercing through the other's shoulder with an ease that almost amazed him.

A quick look at Shachi and Yamamoto showed that the latter was quickly bleeding out from a hole in his chest.

And then someone screamed.

A woman.

None of them had noticed her before, trapped in the heat of bloodlust as they were, but she was undoubtedly there, in a white and blue sleeping kimono, shaking like a leaf.

"Fumiko" both Yamamoto and Kurosawa said almost at the same time.

The situation was clear enough, but she still asked "What's going on?"

"It is as you see, Fumiko-san," Shachi said, parrying a heavy blow from her husband's kagune.

"What the hell are you doing, idiot, get out of here!" Kurosawa yelled as blood ran down his chin.

"Nobu wasn't in bed, and I called you…" her voice died down.

"Go back love, get the money from beneath the bed and leave" Yamamoto was holding onto his shredded side, he was done for, it was just a question of a fatal blow.

"I'm not going to leave without you" she didn't specify who.

A flash of green caught this eye, and Ayato ducked just in time before Kurosawa's Kagune pierced right through his skull. In retaliation, he turned the wing that was currently forming a sword back into shards.

It was a point blank shot.

Kurosawa's body was shot back a few meters, he landed sprawled, twitching on the floor, clearly still alive but grievously injured.

A white blur soon appeared, running towards the fallen man.

Tears fell from the woman's beautiful face as she cradled him in her arms "Please let us go." She said "We'll disappear, just…"

Scandalized, Kurosawa opened his eyes "Dear, we can't-"

"We can" she insisted "We can leave right now, we don't have to wait for February, we can go" the woman pressed a delicate kiss to his forehead "I can't live if you die here"

"What's- what is this?" A voice bellowed from behind Ayato.

Face flushed and panting, holding his side as his Kagune gleamed around his arm, Yamamoto was observing the scene wide-eyed.

Fumiko lifted her face from Kurosawa's and her eyes fell on Yamamoto's form like it was the first time in the whole fight that she realized that he too was there.

She closed her eyes tight "I'm so sorry Nobu" more tears fell to the ground and she clutched Kurosawa tightly as she helped the other get on his feet "So, so sorry"

The betrayal and devastation on the man's face couldn't be measured.

"You have to run love" Kurosawa said, pushing her lightly once he had recovered his balance "I can't leave, but you have to go"

"No" she tried to pull him, but her arms would never have enough force for that, not when he was a Ghoul and she a human. "Susumu"

"You two- "Yamamoto's body started moving forward, with clumsy, quick steps, ignoring now Shachi and Ayato's presence "How could you?"

"Leave!" Kurosawa screamed and shoved the woman as far as his arms would allow him. Fumiko fell a few feet away, clutching her arms with an expression of pure fear in her face. The blonde man puffed out his chest and stared straight at Yamamoto "I'm Sorry, Nobu I really am, but I love her"

"She's my wife" Steady steps, each time Yamamoto grew closer to Kurosawa. He turned towards the woman "Tell me you don't love him, tell me it's not true" She looked away.

It had never been Ayato's –or Shachi's- intention to reveal the affair, but quickly, the excuse they'd planned to present the rest of the organization with, was becoming true.

"It is, I love Susumu, I'm sorry"

Yamamoto's steps became steadier, his body picked up speed and hurled towards Kurosawa, Koukaku ready around his arm.

The blonde man braced himself, Bikaku taking a stance at his shoulder, clearly shipped away, having lost much density.

And then blood washed over the ground in every direction possible.

The Bikaku's tip peeked out from the back of Yamamoto's skull, and the Koukaku attached to Yamamoto's arm that had already started to disintegrate had gone through Fumiko's torso and almost through Kurosawa's.

It didn't take an expert to know that the three were dead.

The woman must've known that her body would have never withstood the force, as well as the fact that Kurosawa was more than likely going to die even if he managed to move, which he hadn't even planned on doing, one could deduce from his stance.

Maybe that was why instead of throwing herself in front of Kurosawa, facing her husband, she had chosen to throw herself facing Kurosawa, with her arms around his neck.

The three bodies hit the ground.

Ayato turned away, the note that he was supposed to stuff in Yamamoto's kimono no longer had any reason to exist.

His eyes met Shachi's sorrow-filled face and he understood.

Neither had wanted to involve the woman.

With bloody fingers, he pulled out his phone

Sumi

Change of plans, come to the scene, bring Aku, clean up any remains of my kagune

Without looking back at the grim scene, the two men headed out of the warehouse, the car was waiting two blocks away.

.

.

Everything turned out better than they expected.

The next day someone had dropped by questioning them about their leaders, and since both Ayato and Shachi had made a point out of going out of the window instead of checking out the day before, hotel staff confirmed their presence at the hotel.

Kagerou was in a frenzy, looking for their leaders until someone went to Kurosawa's apartment.

Later on, someone showed Ayato the note, talking about how the scene they found was horribly sad.

He pretended to be at least slightly fazed by the whole thing.

Everyone believed it easily enough, the many that had known about Kurosawa and Fumiko's affair filled in the gaps of what had happened nicely and the story sounded very plausible even to Ayato, who knew full well how much of a lie it was.

They had planned on making it like Yamamoto had asked Ayato to help him get rid of the man taking his wife away, it had been the most believable thing since Shachi had a Bikaku, just like Kurosawa. Fumiko's appearance had been wholly unexpected, but it had provided a much better story where neither of them got involved.

He was walking out of the state when someone grabbed him by the hair and pulled Ayato roughly backward.

"You bastard" A familiar voice said "It was you, wasn't it? You told Yamamoto-san"

"What would that benefit me in, Nori" He said, voice cold "Didn't a good few people know anyway?"

"I know- "His hands found her middle and Ayato threw her a few meters to the left

"Learn to speak to your superiors" He walked off, under her hateful gaze

They had to stay behind for an extra day, now having the upper hand, they accepted a new representative of Kagerou to take back to Tokyo and left Miza all but in charge of Kyoto, she'd know what to do from there.

It was sad and awful, seeing how easily people could be played.

Three hours later, Ayato arrived in Tokyo.

.

.

At the base, the first random subordinate that passed him got tasked with handing in his report to Eto.

Ayato wasn't much of a fan of writing, usually reporting back orally, but having to recount the events of the past month would've taken long and seeing as he had manipulated a fair lot of people in a rather distasteful manner, he preferred to submit it that way and save himself Eto's delighted expression.

Upon entering he had felt very tired, but after twenty minutes in his room it started feeling like the walls were closing in and suffocating him –never mind that outside was winter in all of its glory.

The unpleasant thoughts flying around inside his head didn't help either, nor did the irresponsible, irrational desire that had been nagging at him since he had stepped out of the bullet train.

I guess one look wouldn't kill me

Not bothering with the doors, he snuck out of the window.

The third was pretty far, but Ayato had time.

He walked, almost as if giving himself the chance to back out at any second.

He didn't.

.

.

By the time, he found himself in his little niche again it was already night.

Stubbornly, h fixated his eyes on the windows in front of him.

Still, there were no lights on in Reina's apartment, though the window was open and the curtains drawn.

Exhaustion from the trip was creeping in on him, the whole situation felt so much like routine, but he couldn't allow himself to go lie in the fire escape, at risk of seeming pathetic.

So Ayato laid there, head lolled to one side as the building in the distance became blurrier by the second.

The next day, he woke up at around ten, pretty sure his nose was frozen. In a half-asleep state, he shot one last look at the apartment, not really registering what he saw.

Back at the base and in his room, his mind finally presented him with a couple of ideas.

The window and the curtain were untouched

It's winter.

She never came home

He didn't know why it was so upsetting, but it was.

.

.

That same afternoon he was woken up by a rather annoyed presence in his room.

"You don't even tell me when you're back"

It was obviously not Reina. "Should I?"

Hinami sat at the foot of his bed, hair in a tiny ponytail; her hands held a rather thick book. She shrugged "When you've been in another city for a month and haven't even bothered to call, I'd think so"

"'t was an easy mission" he said sleepily.

She shifted her eyes "So I heard"

.

.

Two days later he went way out of his way while hunting, it was the first time he felt hungry since leaving Yamamoto's house with its excessive human meat feasts.

He liked to believe that he had ended up in the third by accident, and so, swinging by felt like a natural progression of something.

The window was still untouched, a lot of snow had probably fallen in already and the curtain was stiff with frost.

On the way home, he passed by his sister's café.

Touka seemed to be doing fine, her smile was sad, reminding him a bit of Hinami's but the little shop was full and Yomo was staring at her fondly from his spot on the bar.

They all found their paths, he guessed even if some feeling remained between people.

Two blocks down the road, and after making sure that there were no bloodstains on him from his meal, he ducked into a tiny coffee shop –again, ordering the first random pastry in the menu- this particular café seemed to be for older people, he guessed from the décor and the tiny tv above him that was broadcasting the news.

Ayato let himself get a little lost in his own thoughts.

Month anniversary… gas explosion… Investigative department.

His eyes were drawn to the screen, he faintly remembered hearing about it while in Kyoto. The top floor of some soon to be luxury hotel had exploded, killing the proprietary.

It was most likely a gas explosion, but for some reason, the police saw it fit to investigate.

Or they had, apparently that morning they had finally come out with an official statement.

A short, man with as much white in his hair as there was black stood in a podium with a serious expression.

'A month ago, the top two floors of the new Midnight hotel exploded.' He cleared his throat 'Upon revising the premises the corpse of Nikolai Ivanovich Volkov, 27, Russian Nationality, owner of the building was found. Our department decided to open an investigation since abnormal movements had been observed near Mr. Volkov's building, as well as the fact that the security tapes had been completely obliterated and there were inconsistencies with the time at which certain events were supposed to have happened' The man looked away, the embarrassment on his face plain to the sight 'It is today however that we release our official statement, despite the fact that there are multiple inconsistencies, everything points at the explosion having been caused by a gas leak. May Mr. Volkov rest in peace'

The screen cut again to the news anchor, who said a few solemn words about the young entrepreneur who had lost his life in an unfortunate incident.

The name rung a bell in Ayato's mind though he couldn't quite recall-

A photo came up on screen, and it clicked.

.

.

Later on, pacing around his room, he pondered on how the whole thing was stupid and he was overreacting, both because no one had mentioned anything about a second body in the penthouse and because why should he care if the last person he had seen Reina with was now a charred corpse.

He climbed out of the window, again.

.

.

Ayato wandered around the city until it was late enough that no one who wasn't crazy would've been asleep.

As soon as he was sure that it was past three am, his feet took him back to the building he knew all too well, climbing the treacherous steps –especially so now when they were covered with ice- easily.

The window and the curtain were frosted over, and untouched.

Before anyone could spot him, Ayato slipped inside.

The carpet was full of ice, in fact, various surfaces were frosted over and the room was messed up into infinity. There were several sets of muddy footsteps, marking the once immaculate carpet, but Reina had never worn shoes inside unless she had just come in or was about to go out.

In the huge mess that reigned, which clearly evidenced that someone had looked through the place, it was hard to see, but a few things were missing.

He could tell because he knew the place.

The wardrobe's doors had been shoved open and where the line of hangers had been fully occupied only about half of the dresses remained, a few pairs of shoes were missing too. The open drawers of the dresser were filled with obvious holes where things had been hurriedly taken, no bags remained on the hangers, nor did her ballet shoes –he had never seen her wear them-, and none of her jewelry was there.

Almost none.

Something small glittered on the floor, behind the nightstand where she'd always leave it when she wasn't stuck in the past enough to wear it.

The engagement ring shone maliciously as if telling him that it knew it all, that it had seen her leave disappear, that it knew why she wasn't there and why it had been left behind.

The power outlets where her chargers usually were; were empty, he noticed, and the laptop wasn't there either.

Ayato walked deeper into the apartment.

There footprints everywhere, and by the front door, there were remains of CCG tape.

The windows of the kitchen often left open so the beast could get out whenever it wanted were shut tight.

Ayato almost flinched, expecting the cat to pounce on him any second, but there was no one, nothing, in the dusty kitchen, even Reina's little beast had disappeared, not even its food bowls remained.

A section of the counter shone more than the rest, someone had written in the dust with their finger in a bubbly script.

Rei-chan come back soon.

And then below it in a harsher font.

You better, you fool.

It was clear enough.

Akagi Reina had run away.

It had probably been Yoshino or the new Dove responsibilities, or maybe she had finally decided between throwing herself off a cliff or taking the chance and actually starting a life somewhere else.

Hell, for all that Ayato knew, the Russian's death had driven her over the edge.

Had she left a day after he saw her in that balcony? A week?

It couldn't be more, CCG had clearly been there a while before, but they always watched potential crime scenes for at least two weeks.

Though maybe they had not treated this as such, it was clear that she had run away.

Ayato turned around and left the way he'd come, but not before pocketing the small silver ring.

.

.

"Ayato-kun, would you help out Naki-kun with those pesky investigators in the twelfth tomorrow?" They were sparring again, Hinami sat uncomfortable as Ayato dodged strikes from Eto's rabidly laughing new pet.

He shrugged "If you want me to"

The green haired woman nodded "You`ve gotten stronger too. I'd say that you're at Taki-chan's level" she gestured towards the creature. When Ayato didn't react indignantly at the comparison, she frowned. She raised her hand, gesturing at them to stop "Is something wrong, Ayato-kun?"

He had slept awfully for the previous three –four? - nights, but she didn't need to know "Nothing"

"Oh…" Eto frowned "You can go now"

He didn't complain as he went back to lie on his bed.

Again, nightmares found him easily.

.

.

Her apartment wasn't even under surveillance, he scoured every strategic point around it, but there were no CCG men.

Naki's little problems hadn't taken them very long, the large meal hadn't settled his stomach, though, and soon enough he'd found himself outside of Reina's building again.

Ayato didn't know what had seized him, she had chosen to leave, finally done something for herself, big deal.

He headed back to the base.

.

.

The corridors and the mess hall were unexpectedly nigh empty, sure it was very late, but it wasn't as if being a Ghoul allowed for a human's schedule of sleep and meals.

Ayato quickened his pace and headed for Hinami's room.

(and closer, than ever)

Any guesses as to where Reina is? Nothing of her in this chapter, but there'll be lots in the next one (probably?).

As always, I'd love to hear what you think.