Corvi never liked being a pain in the ass. Her siblings had been been insufferable ones when they were younger and she vowed never to be like that. That said, she knew when she was being one. It was not like she was trying to be. Shizuo's one bedroom apartment was just smaller than she was used to. Izaya had tons of space. She could stretch out her wings, take off and land with ease. Not so much at Shizuo's. Every time she wanted to preen her wings, something would end up on the floor. Papers and other light objects would scatter around and flutter away with a good down-stroke of her wings.

From atop of the television, she surveyed the damage to Shizuo's apartment. It was like a hurricane rolled in and threw a party with a tornado. At least, there was not as many feathers as she had first thought. She had finally stopped molting and the feathers around her neck had smoothed into its' normal flat covering. There were, however, still a few feathers missing from the tips of her wings. It had translated into her black hair being full once again, although the length still had some catching up to do. It had reached down past her shoulder blades, something which Shizuo enjoyed. His hands were constantly in her hair, complementing how soft and silky it had become.

Shizuo had never thought he would be one of those guys. He would have a normal- Well, as normal as it could be, life. He would be friends with normal- Well, they were mostly kinda somewhat normal, friends. And date a normal- Who the fuck was he kidding, Corvi was a bird. A bird that could look like a person. Or maybe a person that could change into a bird. He made a mental note to ask later.

He was not Shinra. He never thought he would be. He did not go out of his way to find a supernatural woman but it had happened that way. He had found one. It was kind of unfair. What he had wanted and what he got were never the same. What he wanted was a normal life, to be able to control his strength, to not have to worry about hurting people all the time.

He found Corvi in his kitchen hovering over a stand mixer she had brought. Where she had got it, since she had not been back to her apartment in three days, he was not sure. Her black eyes fixated on the spinning blade as it churned the chocolate chip concoction. In the past few days spent with her, Shizuo learned Corvi was easily startled, just like any bird. She would not scream or jump, probably too much pride for that but her back would visibly stiffen, her hair would puff up slightly and her eyes would widen. Afterward she would mash her black lochs down and call him an ass. He was never offended, the word had no bite behind it. Besides, how could he be mad at her when she was a one person bakery that served only him. Not to mention other ways she served him.

Conori's eyes shifted around quickly under her thick black bangs, surveying every single thing in Izaya's apartment. She may have been the third born but was the first, not including their father, when it came to being clever. The whole room was a front. The modern furniture, the desk on raised ground, the cat that circled her feet. She could tell what type of man Izaya was before he even walked into the room.

"That princess cut gives your face a sharpness to it. I like it." Not that there was any doubt in her mind, but she knew immediately why her father had set up Corvi with the man that had taking his seat behind the desk.

"You're a lot like my dad, albeit much more shallow. Did my Corvi lure you in with her swan beauty? Or maybe it was the dark allure of being a crow." Insults would get her no where but she could not resist. Izaya would not blow up like her sister but there was certainly a low simmer sparked in his eyes, masked by a Cheshire cat smirk.

His voice betrayed him. Although veiled carefully, annoyance was present in the tone, "May I ask why you're here? Your sister isn't." Well that much was obvious. The apartment was spotless. Nothing but yet everything amiss. Shigeru knew but withheld that information from the siblings. This was no problem for the third child, she knew all along without her father's help. A smirk of her own grew on Conori's face, "Oh I know. That's not why I'm here." Her feet glided across the floor as she made her way around the desk, "Corvi's always been a staple in my life, for better or worse. She's the queen and we are but her subjects. Doesn't seem like anything can kill her either. I mean, I once watched as she got hit by a bus. Some hawk boys had tricked her into running into the street after them. Not the brightest bulb in the pack but-" She stopped and leaned her back against the desk, faced to look out the window with the informant to her side, "There was a dress she wore when she first met you." Izaya's mouth curled into a smirk to mirror Conori's. They were finally getting to the meat of the talk.

"And you wanted to know who stole it." The younger girl brushed her straight hair from her shoulder to get a better look at the man before humming lightly. With a light push, she was up and walking away from him.

"It's just," Conori paused for dramatic effect, "That dress meant so much to Corvi. She may not have loved our mother and our mother may not have loved her. It symbolizes that she did care about the queen. And I'm sure Corvi would want to give it to her own daughter."

From the corner of her eye, Conori could see coal colored eyebrows raising ever so slightly. He was baited and oh so easily.

Izaya watched as the crow stalked towards the door, her waist length black hair swished to and fro. He could have easily found a purebred swan and used her to further his plans but that would be effortless. There was a reason he got into bed with this family. One was exactly what Conori had mentioned, the tempting darkness they seemed to exude. The other was exactly what Conori had done, thrown quite a curve ball.

"Where did you get that shirt?" Not that Shizuo minded. Corvi was only wearing the black button up while her long brown legs were bare. She plopped down next to him on the couch with fudge brownies in her hands.

"It's one of your's." He had seen her put a shirt on, the crisp white contrasted nicely with her dark features. He had even commented how he had never seen her wear anything other than black. Then, he went to work and came back to find her in a completely different color.

"It's," She frowned, her mouth scrunching up at the corner, "A crow thing. Anything I wear that's not black turns black." Her arms stretched out away from her chest to show him. He lifted them further to see under her arms. She then bent forward for him to check the back. Not a speck of white was left. This was just something he was going to have to get used to. At least it was not one of his favorites.

"Do you feel any better?" Shizuo had woke up to gagging coming from the bathroom. When he entered, Corvi was hugging the toilet bowl. Sweat drenched her body and the old t-shirt he had lent her was clinging to her back. The foul smelling contents of her stomach still floated before she flushed them. Her hair was stringy and tangled and her breathing came out in heavy gasps. It had looked like she went through a car wash without a car. She had said that it must have been something she ate, which was possible. Her diet had changed drastically. Fish, all types of shellfish, turkey burgers, and Philly cheesesteaks were the only things on her menu. Luckily, they were in Japan and seafood was quite easy to come by. The burgers and cheesesteaks were a challenge. They finally gave up and just bought the ingredients to make them.

Corvi seemed to have a lot of cash on hand for someone that had not been to work in a while. Shizuo frowned at the thought of her wad of money, "Where did you get all that dough?" Her eyebrows quirked up at the question. The crows throughout Tokyo had been giving it to her. They had been helping her stay away from her father too. Apparently, Shigeru had angered the city's murder in some way. She explained how crows and ravens were quite spiteful when provoked and often held grudges, some to their deaths.

"Well, I'm glad you're not one of them." It was true, Corvi became angry too often to remember everyone that had wronged her. She still slightly to the feeling of abandon Shizuo gave her but had to constantly suppress it when dealing with him. The one remaining brownie was offered to him to quell her surging internal guilt. He took it with a nod for thanks.

"Mind if I follow along tomorrow?" He gave her a questioning look before she finished, "To work. I want to see what exactly it is you do." It was not like Shizuo had not told her. Why was she so interested now? He just shrugged and bit into the chocolate treat. Fuck, Corvi really knew how to bake.

Corvi mumbled unintelligibly, rolled over and pulled the sheet over her head when Shizuo poked her. It was 8:30, not too early and not too late. He frowned at her blanket covered back. She had been the one to ask to ride along, now she was going to act like this? His hand clasped her shoulder roughly, "Come on. Get up." She just grunted at the gruff command.

"Fine. I'll see you when I get back." With that, she was up and moving. Her shower was done before he had even finished buttoning his shirt. He stopped completely when she returned and dropped her towel cover in front of him. He adverted his eyes quickly. Showing up to work with tented pants was out of question. Corvi chose a pleated skirt and one of his oversized sweater which was already black so he did not object. She turned to his sharply, her eyes bright, "Ready."

"So... Why exactly did you come?" It was not an odd inquiry, Tom just wanted to know, "It's not like this is the most exciting job ever." Corvi did not give an answer, only a shrug before her coal eyes turned to the sky. It was painfully obvious the way she gazed longingly upwards what she wanted. He sighed and glanced at his bodyguard. Shizuo's eyes were glued to the bird girl. Something was hidden in them, almost afraid that if he looked away she would vanish.

"Maybe you can keep Shizuo in check." Wishful thinking at it's best. At this point, as they walked to the last known residence of their "target", Tom was just hoping Corvi would not fly away and have Shizuo chase after. She made it to their destination fine though.

The dilapidated building could almost be considered unfit for human occupation. No wonder, Tom glanced at his pocket notebook again for the name, Theodore- Theodore? A foreigner? Maybe Corvi would be of some use. Sure, Tom's father had been American but that did not mean that Tom's English was perfect. He was born and raised in Japan. Why would he have to know fluent English?

Three respectfully loud knocks. No answer. Two obviously louder knocks. Shuffling was heard, someone was inside. Two offensively blaring bangs. A clatter and more shuffling before footsteps made their way to the door. The man that opened it made the trio lurch back in utter disgust.

He was severely overweight, unshaven, unwashed and utterly unkempt. His patchy salt and pepper beard extended down his neck to his collarbone. Stains of all the colors of the rainbow were splattered along his once white tank top. A stench that could only be described as rotting garbage on a hot summer's day, spoiled milk and stale corn chips rolled from him. Even with her lacking bird sense of smell, Corvi could tell the man reeked. Halitosis streamed from his mouth when he opened it, "What? What do you want?" Tom asked of the man's name in Japanese only to be sneered at.

"I don't speak no moonspeak. You look like you should be able to speak English, being black and all." The two Japanese born men were lost and turned to Corvi for help. She did not even need to see their pleading looks before she started, "Wait. You live in Japan and-" He interrupted her with a belch.

"Yeah? So? Mexicans don't learn English when they move to the US, do they?" Her eye twitched at his blatant rudeness.

"...Whatever. That's not why we're here. What's your name?" The man showed his yellow teeth in a wide grin as he leaned against the door frame nearest Corvi. His greasy sausage-like thumb rolled over the rest of his fingers.

"Why? Wanna get to know me a little better, sweetie?"

Even in not understanding what was being said, Shizuo knew what was being said. His hands had started curling into fists ever since the man had opened the door. His knuckles were pure white when the man licked his lips while openly ogling Corvi. She had stayed calm, except for the now constant eye twitching. Shizuo totally lost it when a grubby hand reached out to touch her. He did not see that she had swatted it away before it even got close, all he saw was red. An all consuming red as he grabbed the man's shirt. Shizuo hoisted him up and barreled through the apartment until the man's back slammed against the farthest wall.

"You think that she would actually want you?" His voice came out in a menacing snarl. Tom waded through old newspapers and beer cans as quick as he could to stop his employee from snapping the man's neck. They still had not even gotten his name. While trying to pry the blonde away, Tom called back to Corvi for help. She sighed, obviously not caring what became of the situation, before pulling out a cigarette.

"Shizuo," Her voice caught his attention, "Got a light?" That was all it took. All it took to stop the rampage was a slight inquiry from his girlfriend. Tom asked her to join them every day after.

The bored look on Shizuo's face was as clear as day. He did not mind Kyohei, in fact, they would be considered friends. He did not mind Saburo, aside from being a little too loud. Walker and Erika however...

Walker's hands slammed against the table with such force their tiny teacups hopped a few centimeters into the air. All eyes around the table turned to him. A glint was in the corner of his eye as he stared down Corvi from across the table. His chest swelled with burning questions and as he opened his mouth-

"You and your family are just like the royal family of Britannia!" Well damn. Erika stole the words right out of his mouth.

"Yes! That's what I was going to say! You're like Cornelia, if she was the first born. Oh and Cornielle is like Euphemia. But who would be Lelouch? Your father? No, he's more of the-" He stopped when the sight of Shizuo's twitching eye was no longer avoidable.

"Dad's would be Schneizel. Not Lelouch. He's not willing to sacrifice himself for anything I know of." A cloud of silence hung over the table and all sights were with the crow. Eyebrows threatened to fly off of faces with how high they were. Crumbs at the corner of two mouths lifted up as the lips curled into twisted smiles. The quiet finally bit enough into Corvi, "What? It was a popular show," Stillness remained, "One of the twins talked me into watching it." Walker and Erika's eyes twinkled in amusement before launching a full questioning assault.

"You really watch anime?!"

"What's your favorite show?"

"Have you been to a convention?"

"Wait. How do you-" Corvi was interrupted by more inquiries.

"So do you read manga? What kind?"

"Oh oh! I have one for you to read right here!"

"She's won't like that one, Erika! You're always trying to push yaoi on people. It's not for everyone."

"Well if she doesn't then I have something else. You know I'm not a one trick pony."

Squabbles were one thing that did not bother Corvi so much. There were always small fights breaking out between her siblings. She would just do what she usually did. Her chin rested in her hand as she just waited. A glance over to Shizuo, Kyohei and Tom confirmed they were doing the same.

She could not remember at the moment who had suggested they stop for lunch, but they had chose Russia Sushi. Simon greeted them with his thick accent and even tried to speak Russian to Corvi. She only knew a few words of the language, thank you and yes, but was somehow able to smoke and mirrors around him. It was their luck- Or maybe misfortune? Corvi was still deciding. The odd bunch had not met the new other odd bunch and Kyohei was just too welcoming to pass up. Yes, she was sure the two younger ones were good but- Her head hit the table, if only to make them stop talking.

They did at last, she exhaled her frustration before picking her head back up. Black eyes narrowed at them, mouth turned down into a frown, she was confident in her actions of intimidation. While they may have grown up in Tokyo, the largest metropolis in the world and may have seen much, Corvi was still the universal sign of death and more importantly, her father's daughter. Erika and Walker shrunk under her piercing coal gaze and she used their silence to ask, "Who told you all of this?" It came out more of a command than anything else.

"It was on the Dollars' website."

It was on the Dollars' website. Just like they said. Two very long posts. If she had to guess how many words, five thousand? Maybe less.

And it pissed her off. Just who the hell can summarize a person's entire life with so few words? Corvi's mother, all her brothers and sisters, her father, all were documented. Even the pet garter snake she had hidden in her room and how when her father had found it, he had made her eat it. It was a lesson of the food chain really- But it was part of the disclosure. Every word she read on the dim screen of her phone made her hands shake with anger until she could no longer see it straight.

Who the fuck did this?

Izaya? No, even he did not know all of the things posted. She had never been open about her childhood with him. He would not know know that she never learned to swim.

Then who?

The next name on the list took them to a less than reputable restaurant. The neon sign flickered unintentionally in sections every few seconds over the storage compartment for the iron security curtain. Outsourced pictures of what the food was supposed to look like plastered the windows. A batch of brown paper bags with tall forty ounce glass bottles sat to the corner of the shop front. They smelled of malt liquor- Or was it urine from someone who had drank all the contents? Corvi was not necessarily interested in finding out.

Inside was no better. A tart pungent odor made their noses wrinkle upon opening the door. Tom sucked his teeth, "What is it with these smells today?" His voice grabbed the attention of the girl behind the hot pink counter who was ironically wiping it down. Her head cocked to the side as she looked them over, her curled dark brown pigtails followed suit.

"Can I help you?" Her sugary sweet voice came out high, "Tom Tanaka and Shizuo Heiwajima, right?" Corvi sniffed at the complete ignorance of her existence. Had she not been around long enough for everyone to know her name?

"Yuriko Tachibana?" She nodded slightly, eyes shifting around the room. There was no one else present. No witnesses.

"Shame we have to meet on terms like this. It seems you've fallen behind on your payments." If it did not sound like a shake down to Corvi, she did not know what did. The girl fluttered her eyelashes at the men and unzipped her shirt down to expose a bit of cleavage. She leaned forward onto the counter to give them a good show and sighed, "Oh my. Well, I'm a little low on cash right now. Can we figure this out some other way?" The thought of using female wiles to get anything was foreign to Corvi. People usually gave her what she wanted after the threat of violence in her eyes so she never had to resort to anything else. She decided it was boring and headed outside for a quick cigarette.

Tom groaned and scratched his head. He was really not in the mood and Yuriko was pushing her luck. Even after threading her arms around his neck and cooing in his ear, Tom just wanted the money and to get away from the smell of the restaurant. After the fifth denial of her "goods", she huffed, "Fine! You don't know what you're missing." She stomped off and dipped behind the counter. A fat receipt, coupon and empty gum wrapper filled purse was slammed down and rifled through. Her wallet was Hello Kitty's mouthless face and she poured the contents out. While it was mostly coins and more receipts, Yuriko managed to fish out a few bills. Her hand crumbled them up and shot out in Tom's direction, "Here. Take it, bloodsucker."

The sound of the glass door closing sharply made them all turn around. Corvi stood with her eyes wide. Her hair was puffed up around her face.

"Harpy eagle" She answered their questioning gazes, "There's a fucking harpy eagle outside."

"A what?" Anything that could get a reaction like that was something of interest for Shizuo. She took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves.

"Active hunting carnivore. Largest eagle in the Americas. Often hired as mercenaries," Corvi inhaled until her chest puffed up, "Talons the size of a half ton grizzly bear." The three humans blinked at her skeptically. Yuriko snickered a bit under their breath. Tom cleared his throat, "So?" Corvi's mouth gaped open a few times before her eyebrows furrowed.

"Just what do you think she's doing here? They don't vacation."

Anything that could take the still simmering Corvi and turn her into a wide-eyed, nervous sparrow, even as well as she hid it, unnerved Shizuo.

"Red-tailed hawks, huh?" Izaya knew what they were and it made them uneasy. The ten brown haired men in stereotypical tough guy clothing shuffled uncomfortably at their secret identities being spoken aloud. Normally on their own, they could not resist the award offered. Izaya smirked as their sharp eyes darted back and forth to each other. They were drawn out of the United States by the success of "Pale Male" in New York City in his natural bird form. If he could make it there, they had thought, then they could make it in an even bigger city. And they had, somewhat, as thugs.

"Any of you ever heard of Corvi Karasu?" One of the group scoffed loudly, the one with the ridiculous pompadour, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah. The crow princess, right? Walks around like fucking royalty." Princess? Izaya threw his head back in laughter. She was a princess now? The hawk sucked his teeth at the informant, "What did you call us here for anyways? We can't kill her, if that's what you want." When his laughing fit subsided, red eyes narrowed at the men. He never wanted Corvi dead. First, that would be as impossible as killing that blond protozoan. Second, he was not about to tell.

"Catch her. Bring her to the address on the back of the card I gave you. Then, you get your reward." One more look at the flock of chickenhawks and he added, "Try not to rough her up so much."

After the men had filed out of the room, Izaya took a few minutes and followed suit. Now outside of the abandoned warehouse, he looked to the sky. There was something about illicit dealings and the locations they took place in he enjoyed. Back alleys, shady taverns, derelict buildings, he loved it. Buzzing and vibrations in his jacket's pocket came from cell phone number seven. A text message from Shigeru Karasu. Even without reading the subject, Izaya grimaced. That man was more than a thorn in his side and more like a spear through the heart. While Izaya prided himself with being three steps ahead of everyone, Shigeru was at least ten in front of him. It would be a grave mistake to not read the text but it certainly took too much effort to open it. Whatever it was would undoubtedly ruin his plan. Finally, his thumb tapped on the little envelope icon.

2 late.

He hissed at the message. What did he expect anyways? The CEO was almost fifty. He had twice as much experience as Izaya and countless connections. Many more allies, family, even enemies that he could twist to do his bidding more efficiently than the younger man. Izaya huffed and replied, "You must hate your daughter." A few seconds later, another new message had appeared.

I love my daughter. :)

The smiley made the raven haired informant cringe. It felt like receiving a text from his grandfather. That was if his grandfather was a mysterious, cryptic bird who's motivations were unclear to even his immediate family. Izaya would have rather have dealt with Conori. She was less his speed but still fun to play with. But it was apparent he was up against the master.

Forty-five minutes. They had spent forty-five minutes in the smell restaurant waiting for Corvi to leave. The sun was starting to set . Tom had wasted time tapping his foot against the uneven dirty floor tiles and playing Candy Crush. She had peeped outside and finally given the all clear.

"Well, that was a giant time suck," said Tom in the coal haired woman's direction, "I never figured you to be such a-" The glare she shot him shut him up immediately.

"If I can avoid a fight, I'll always do so." Shizuo nodded to the remark. They were never actively looking for a fight, it just happened. They were alike in that respect, although, it seemed Corvi enjoyed using her Northern Shaolin techniques. If he was not lying to himself, Shizuo would have loved to watch. She was agile, her attacks aggressive and she used her long legs to her advantage with kicks and leaps. Thinking back on their fight, if he could have seen clearly then, he would have been mesmerized.

"Besides, it was a female eagle," Tom shrugged so Corvi continued, "They're usually twice the size of the males, you know." He rolled his shoulders, still unimpressed, as they strolled to the next name.

It was a bust, no one home. And so was the next. The last name, Masaru Watanabe, was right around the corner from Corvi's former job. Something tugged at her to go and see how Webster was doing. She missed her job. She missed her old boss. She missed the smell of the books, the crisp scent of paper, the fresh ink on newspapers. She missed knitting behind the counter while keeping an eye on those shifty looking students over by the adult magazines.

"Corvi," Her name being called snapped her back to the present, Shizuo and Tom stood outside the front door to the apartment building, "You coming?" She did not answer, her head was turned in the direction of the book store and they went ahead without her.

If she went to visit, would Webster tell her father? Would one of her siblings be there, waiting patiently for her to show up? After drowning the butterflies in her stomach, she set off to the store, come what may.

It was the same. Same shifty students, same housewives buying the same cheesy romance novels, same old owl dusting the shelves and talking to a different girl behind the counter. Of course, she did not expect him not to get a new employee but another crow? It was insulting. They were not interchangeable. They did not even look alike. Corvi's jaw was ridged as she opened the door. The new crow was a bright eyed young girl who shone those charcoal eyes at Corvi's.

"Hi!" Cheer was obvious in the small voice until she knew exactly who she was talking to. The girl was off of the wooden stool in a flash. Corvi moved the seat back a bit before bottom was placed firmly in it. She had angled it perfectly. When she leaned back, the wall was close enough to hold her upright. She missed it and she missed the owl that rushed to the counter. His face was flustered and pink.

"Corvi!" He knew she was fine. She always was but the long absence had frightened him. Even with her fits of anger, he had missed her.

"You replaced me. You replaced me with another one. Do you think we're all the same? That you can just grab another and people won't notice?" She was still angry from earlier but not really about her replacement. That was a farce. Her old employer was one of the few that could have posted everything about her. By the way he was fumbling with his words, no. Toshiro was not who did it.

"Are you going to speak to my father soon?" It was clear what she was asking. He had no intention of ratting her out, even with this new peculiar manner of acting. She was intentionally pushing her weight around. Not like before. Something was off though.

Maybe she was finally becoming like her fath- No. Not Corvi. Never.

She shifted forward on the stool to balance her elbows on the counter, her fingers laced together under her face, "So-"

"Are you alright? Are you sick?" Her eyebrows raised at the sudden outburst and she withdrew her hands to her lap. Was she acting strangely?

She was. The old Corvi would have walked in, read a book and hoped not to be noticed. She would have been saddened a little about her replacement but not confronted her. She would have had a short chat with Webster if he detected her and would have made sure to call him by his real name. Then, she would have left quietly.

Before she could apologize, he was around the counter and a hand was placed on her forehead. Not a full second had passed before he pulled away, "Corvigan Karasu." The wrinkles around his mouth arched up as he smiled brightly.

"Corvigan Karasu! I would have never guessed!" Her mouth gaped open to ask what it was before he patted her back wholeheartedly. The questioning look on her face caused his face to fall slightly. If she did not know by now, he was not about to tell her.

A change in topic took her mind from the matter entirely. He talked mostly of business. Since her departure, their regulars had been asking for her. They had all seen the fight with Shizuo and were worried. Maybe, they had pondered, she was in the hospital. Maybe Shizuo had actually killed her. Maybe she had run off. The last one, she turned her head away, was right. Looking back, she regretted it. It was turning her back on her family. Vibrations in her pocket made her take out her phone. Even with her old boss still yammering away, she pressed the hold button and the screen came to life.

Four hundred and thirty seven emails. Two hundred and sixteen missed calls. Six hundred and seventy two text messages. That was what she got for not looking at her phone and even more so for not replying. She pretended to listen to Toshiro as she checked her texts first. The most recent one was from Corvidal.

Fine. If you don't come back, you forfeit all first born rights and I become king.

She snorted at the words. He was always after her commanding lead. The next was from Cornielle. The young girl had sent at least three times as many messages as anyone else. The thread of texts had even passed the limit and was self deleting.

Have you spoken to Shizuo? He said I could meet his brother.

Kasuka? Why would she want to- Oh yeah. He was a movie star and Cornielle was a teenage girl. She was constantly fawning over whoever was on the cover of J-14 or whatever it was called. Corvi did not remember being like that at fourteen. She wondered if the girl watched music videos on MTV- Did they even play music videos anymore?

The third, sent the day before, was from her father.

Miss U

Even with auto-correct being built into every smartphone in existence, Shigeru still succeeded to get around typing out the word. Regardless of the spelling, the text managed to shred Corvi's emotions. Toshiro had long since stopped talking and was by her side, staring down at the same words. He looked up to her face. Her monochrome eyes were wide and unmoving. Someone with her complexion should not have been able to become as pale as she was.

Toshiro had watched Shigeru grow up. From a hatchling to a newlywed to the man he had become currently, every notable moment and not once had he ever shown any real concern for anyone else. To see that he missed- That he admitted that he missed his daughter. It had to be soul crushingly hard.

Well, the bookstore owner was glad his family was not so complicated.

Corvi had stared at her phone until her eyes became unfocused and blurry. When the screen finally turned black, life surged back to her legs. She was out of the bookstore in a split second. The slight chill of the outside air broke whatever spell she was under and she glanced back over her left shoulder through the glass. Concern was plain across on the old man's face, as was her own. It was jarring news but she was leaving without saying goodbye. Who knew when the next time she would see Toshiro?

"Ei!" A crushing vice grip snatched up Corvi's upper arm. Her head turned to face the offending hold and was met with wild red eyes. Light grey roots turned to dark tip of hair that stood up at an angle away from the neck. It belonged to a woman of respectable height and muscle, almost dwarfing Corvi as she blocked out the street lights that had flickered on moments ago. Her eyes widened as she realized who this was.

The harpy eagle.

Before Corvi could even try to reclaim her arm, her teeth scraped together as a punch landed on her cheek. This was new.

It hurt. It really fucking hurt.

Every fight she had ever been in hurt too but not like this.

Even more than Shizuo.

A sickening snap rang though her head at the next blow followed by another. The woman released her arm and Corvi tried to block but was too slow. She was sent tumbling down the sidewalk. With some distance between them, she collected herself quickly. Her nose was bleeding, probably broken. Fragments of teeth were mixed in the blood she coughed up. Heavy boot steps were all she could hear before a hand caught a fistful of her hair. It yanked up, forcing her to look directly into the harpy eagle's blood colored eyes. The woman's voice was deep and filled with a twisted amusement.

"Corvo."

Next chapter is gonna be the last one.

Who's ready?