Isa was still in half-daze as she was let go by the waiter. She stumbled backwards and accidently tripped over her own foot, landing onto the ground. Her mind was spinning with confusion when she knew she should have been relieved. But seeing the anger on her best friend's face was the thing that drove all her feelings of reassurance away, leaving only unsettledness to fill the space. The way the darkness shadowed on her face-and the way the faint light illuminated it-it pricked her mind as if she saw someone who looked just like her before.
"And who're you?" The waiter scorned, activating his kakugan as if he was showing off that he was superior.
Isa snapped her head back towards Ina, eyes widened, waiting for her response. She wanted to tell her to run away, but somehow couldn't find herself to say it. She was completely staggered, but she knew part of her wanted to hear Ina's response.
"That isn't of your concerns," Ina shot back. She paused, relaxing. "I don't want to fight, just let her and I'll leave. I'll even compensate back with more if that's what you wish."
The waiter's face cracked up into a wicked smile. "Ha!" He jeered. "What you call more is less than what I'll receive!"
"What do you mean? Did Aogiri order you?" Ina asked, anger filling her voice as she mentioned Aogiri.
"So you know about them well too, huh?" He gestured towards Isa. "I keep her until they're done their business, I get the money. And lots of it too."
"You rather have money than food?"
"You should know as much as I do, woman. Living in a world of disgusting, merciless humans-how we need to live among them and just like them," he laughed curtly. "I can find food everywhere, all I need is the money."
Ina stayed silent for a long moment. Isa stared at her, trying to read her thoughts, but she couldn't see through her friend's stone face. She never even seen her friend look that way before.
Was she a ghoul this whole entire time? She wondered. Fear started to clutch her again, but Isa managed to suppress it. The Ina she knew for almost her whole entire life-if she were a ghoul, did that really matter? Wasn't Isa also the one that thought ghouls and humans were alike?
"I guess...I have no choice then," Ina said, looking up to meet the waiter's eyes.
The waiter flashed a sadistic grin. "Just how I wanted it to be…"
"Isa," Ina called out in a commanding tone. "Come behind me."
Isa stood up, her legs felt like all the energy was drained out of it. Slowly, she listened to her friend and walked behind her.
"I want you...to run away." Her friend said softly.
"What are you going to do…?" Isa asked, feeling anxious.
"I'm sorry, Isa."
She...was that woman. The vision of that night replayed itself in her head. How her father died that night-all the things that Ina had angrily said about humans and ghouls. It all flooded back into her. Everything she'd been through her whole entire life-Isa couldn't imagine. And now what was to happen? Her friend had told her to run, but she couldn't just leave, even though she couldn't fight.
"Go now," Ina told her.
Mixed with many emotions, Isa was in the verge of tears. "No. I'm not leaving."
Isa was pushed back by Ina as the waiter flew into the air, smashing down with a large wing-like organ. Isa stumbled and hit the ground, snapping her head back to see that Ina still stood in front of her, a hard-as-shell organ that was shaped into a lance attached right above her shoulder. It beated bright red in intervals, as if it was in sync with Ina's heartbeat.
The two kagunes came into contact, then retracted. Ina jumped backwards. "Get out of the way, Isa!" She commanded.
Isa stood and sprinted several yards away, turning to look back at the two now engaged in a battle. Isa panicked again, trying to figure out what she could do to help Ina. They were too far away from any source of help. Isa looked for something she could attack with-she felt nervous, thinking she would just get in the way.
Ina dodged left to right, slowly backing up towards Isa. She and the waiter were panting, but the look on their face told the battle was not over yet.
"I-sa," Ina said in between heavy breaths. "I want you to start running. Just do it. It's a plan," she quietly slurred so that it was even hard for Isa to hear clearly, but she understood.
The waiter slowly approached them, a smile plastered on his face. Ina stood defensively in front of Isa, waiting for a attack. Right at that moment, Isa broke into a sprint the opposite direction, running as fast as she could. Her legs started to automatically move on its own-everything felt numb-it was as if she was in some kind of trance. Her thoughts slowly went to the back of her head. She wondered what happened to Ina. Was the plan successful?
A blur of red swiftly appeared before Isa could stop, sending her crashing into the waiter as he wrapped his arms around her. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked, his eyes narrowed in displeasure.
Ina! Where's Ina!? Her mind shouted. She stared into his eyes, shouting at Ina in her head to hurry. "Where is…"
He looked up as if he was scanning around. "She disappeared," he replied, his lips slowly curving upwards into a smile.
From a distance, there were multiple explosions going off simultaneously, catching Isa's attention again. The raid. Who was winning? She wondered. It was hard to believe that there would be many humans and ghouls that were fighting in that area, sacrificing themselves. It was a painful thought.
"Hmph. I wonder who's winning over there," he mumbled.
Isa's mind flashed with the thought of Ina. She suddenly had an instinct that she was hiding, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. All Isa had to do was now distract him. It was the least she could do.
"Why is there a war breaking out betwee-"
Isa fell forwards and painful cry came from the waiter. Isa's hand was the first to hit the ground, then her face.
"Only an idiot leaves their guard down," Ina's harsh voice spoke, giving Isa a wave of relief. There was a disturbing sound that was like a blade piercing through a body and quickly retracting out of it. Then, silence.
"Ina?" She called out nervously, still on the ground.
"Yes…?"
Isa slowly stood up, turning her head slowly towards her friend-who was a ghoul the whole entire time. They stared at each other for a long moment. Isa walked over to her. Blood was smeared on her body-and the smell of it was fresh and coppery. Her kakugan eyes looked back at her, surprise with a mix of sorrow behind them. Isa stopped right in front of Ina, looking in to her eyes. She wiped the blood off Ina's face.
"So you were a ghoul all this time…"
Ina looked down and nodded. "I…"
"Don't worry about it, Ina, I understand." She remembered about the night when her father died. She wanted to mention it but couldn't find herself doing it. Instead she asked, "how did you know I was here?"
"It's a long story. But Isa-you're in danger. Have you heard of someone named Eto?"
Her eyes widened. "That's Takatsuki!"
Ina narrowed her eyes in disgust. "So it was her. She smelled...different."
Isa could feel the blood pulsing through her veins. There was no way. Everything was set up? Takatsuki was really a ghoul? Then what about Tatara…
"I have to get you out of here. It's dangerous at night-especially the night of the raid. Sorry-I should have warned you about it. I completely forgot." Ina started to lead down the road. Isa followed.
"Come to my place for the night. It's the safest there."
"Okay." Isa took in a huff of breath. It was the second time she was saved from death. She looked at her friend walking in front of her, feeling a pang of sadness thinking of all that she'd been through. Her only best friend who had such a loving family-so kind enough that they raised Isa. Now they were gone.
They walked further away from the explosions. "I'll take you to a part of the city where we can stay tonight. It's probably dangerous to go back home anyways," Ina told her. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine...thank you. Let me treat your wounds too," Isa replied-suddenly remembering from the book that ghouls could regenerate on their own. She kept quiet about it anyways.
They continued walking in dead silence, until a voice was heard right behind them.
"I-na~" The singsong voice called out, giggling afterwards.
Isa knew the voice. It was her.
Takatsuki's.
