NeonHorizon: Next chapter will be an Uta chapter. I've had to have lots of Yomo due to Airi's current situation. Maybe I'll try to make it extra special ;) Maybe.


Airi's back slammed against the counter in the kitchen, her body flying through the open doorway and past Itori. She hit the hard edge with a sharp cry of pain and looked up in time to see blood droplets fill the air in the entrance. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself to stand again. It was unclear which of her companions threw her, but she could see that things were winding down in the living room. There were at least three dead ghouls sprawled on the floor.

"Looks pretty intense," Itori remarked with a grin. "I haven't seen them go all out like that in a while." She looked to Airi and quirked an eyebrow. "Are you going to help them finish?"

"I don't know if I should try." The dark-haired young woman could still taste the blood of the ghoul she had tried to maul. She suddenly wished that she had saved a little of the fermented blood that Itori had given her. "Who threw me?"

"You didn't see?"

"I was a little…preoccupied." Her blood ran cold when Yomo appeared in the doorway. His mouth was twisted into a deep frown and she could tell from the intense look in his eyes that he was far from happy with her. Airi lowered her gaze and turned her head to the side, unable to look him in the eye.

In the living room, there was a loud splattering sound that indicated someone had been horribly injured. A thud followed and then the scrambling footsteps of someone trying to escape. Airi had no time to wonder what was happening. Yomo advanced on her quickly, grabbing the front of her shirt and lifting her off of the tiled floor. The female ghoul was slammed back against the counter, his body pinning her in place as he glared down in her grey-blue eyes. She barely noticed Itori leaving the room, but saw it from the edge of her vision.

"We weren't going to kill them," he started.

"…but you did…" Her heart was racing in her chest as she tried with every ounce of self-control to keep her gaze locked on his. To look away would be cowardly, but the intensity of his stare was burning into her in a way that made her subconsciously squirm.

"I had to when you got involved."

Airi felt a pressure in her chest. A nearly suffocating, distressing pressure that finally made her drop her gaze. "Yomo…I just…wanted to help. I don't like it…when I have to be protected."

"You could have been killed." His grip on her shirt loosened as he felt her tense against him. "Why did you come here?"

"…you followed us…?" She already knew that he had. More than likely, he had known all along that someone would come to the shipping container and try to take her somewhere else.

"I followed Uta. I was getting supplies and saw him. I knew you were somehow involved. I can't explain it, but I knew so I followed him and I'm glad that I did." He tightened his grip again and leaned down close, bringing his face inches from hers. "Why did you come here?"

"Itori-chan…brought me here to try to find out why Ria wanted Isamu. Someone saw Ria here…with a ghoul child…and Itori-chan thought that there might be a reason and…we were going to try to find out why…" She bit her lip piercing, her hands moving to his chest, not sure if she wanted to push him away or hug him. "I…just wanted to help…"

He saw tears shining her eyes and his frown returned. Yomo released her and looked to the tattered bits of cloth on the floor. "Why did you come to this house?"

"It's…my old house." Airi followed his gaze and felt the tears threaten to fall. "This is where I lost my parents." She looked toward the kitchen doorway as she heard Itori talking to Uta. I shouldn't have left the shipping container. We're supposed to move on to the new hiding place in a few days. I should have just ignored Itori. I should have stayed away from the door.

Uta approached the kitchen, blood coating his hands and dotting his face. He looked from Yomo to the tattered clothing on the floor and then finally to the female ghoul. "Airi…? Do you want to go home?" He held out a hand to her, a slight smile forming on his lips.

An arm wrapped around her from the side, the pale-haired ghoul pulling her close to him. "I'm taking her back. She never should have been outside."

His hand dropped and Uta's smile went with it. "She can decide for herself."

"If she wants to be safe, she'll follow the plan."

"The plan? Isn't the plan…for her to just hide for the rest of her life? But what kind of life is that?" Uta challenged him. He took a few steps forward, stopping a few feet in front of the other two ghouls. "Airi…? Is that really what you want?"

"You know, you wouldn't have to hide if you just changed up your look, right?" Itori joined them in the kitchen, frowning at the two men. "Seriously. They're looking for a girl with long black hair, blue eyes, tattoos, and a bunch of ear piercings, right? So, technically, if she didn't have any of those things…"

Yomo's frown deepened. "We're not doing that."

"It wouldn't take that long for her arms to heal! We just cut off the tattoos and keep her wrapped up until the skin grows back!"

"That sounds gross…" Uta remarked.

"I…really don't want to do that," Airi spoke up. She subconsciously rubbed at her raven tattoo and shook her head. "Yomo…she's right though."

"We're not-"

"I don't mean…cutting my skin off. But…my hair and my eyes…and piercings…"

Itori grinned, clearly excited by the thought of giving Airi a complete makeover. "So let's go! We'll get your hair dyed and cut it and-!"

"No. Airi, we're going home." Yomo moved his grip to the young woman's hand and started for the living room. He carefully led her through the room, stepping over five different corpses. When they were outside, he immediately put her hood up to cover her hair and hide her face in shadow.

She heard the others behind them and felt the tears welling in her eyes again. As much as she enjoyed Yomo's company, Uta's words had reminded her that she was going into hiding. It was fine to spend time with Yomo, but the life she was about to begin would only involve him and she would rarely be able to leave the hiding place. I…don't want to live that way. I love Yomo…but I can't live that way. I want to be free.

As Itori and Uta caught up to them, Airi pushed her hands into her pockets and bit her lower lip. She was hesitant to speak up. She wanted to tell him how she felt. She wanted them all to know how she felt. "I…want to change my hair," Airi started. It was just one thing, but she knew it would make things just a bit easier for her if she wanted to go outside.

"Really?!" The enthusiasm was clear in Itori's voice as she came up beside her. "What color? And what style? Do you want to get color contacts, too?"

The walk back to the shipping container was mostly filled with three of the ghouls coming up with different ideas and suggestions while Yomo silently walked with them. The tension between him and Airi was heavy even as they returned to their temporary hiding place. He left her at the door and began making coffee, keeping his gaze locked on his task.

She sat on the couch, her head bowed as she looked through messages on her phone. Airi wanted to ask why he was so angry, but she had a gut feeling that it had to do with her being put in danger. The female ghoul turned her gaze to him, shyly watching from within the shadows of her hood. He has that expression on his face again. Like he's sad…but he's deep in thought. A message pinged on her phone and she looked down to see that it was from Uta.

"What color did you pick?" Yomo asked, not shifting his gaze from the coffee. He was pouring it now, watching the dark beverage fill the two cups.

"…Itori-chan said…an ash brown would look nice…" The cushion beside hers dipped and she looked at Yomo from the corner of her eye. "What do you think?"

"I like it the way it is." His tone was firm and he kept his eyes from hers, sipping his drink. "Why do you want to change?"

"I just…don't want to be confined." She slouched a little, cupping her coffee cup with both hands. "Yomo, I…really like spending time with you. I just…"

"It's still dangerous, even if you change your hair and eyes." He was quiet as he finally looked over at her. "I like you the way you are."

Airi tentatively leaned against his side and felt an arm wrap around her. She lifted the cup to her lips, taking a small drink. The past hours had been full of uncertainty, fear, and adrenaline. Those things were gone now, leaving her with a fatigue that coffee could not get rid of. "Thank you…for coming today."

The next morning, she woke up to find his arms wrapped around her. His chest was pressed against her back, his face buried in her hair. When he felt her move a little, he pulled her tighter against him. "Just…wait."

"We have to leave early…"

"Please." He was surprised to find her turning to face him and found his eyes fixing upon hers. He took in every detail of Airi's pale face and her stormy grey-blue eyes. The shape of her lips and nose. His fingers threaded into her long, obsidian hair and he let the silky locks run through his hands. "I don't want to lose you…"

"You…won't." She stared up at him, a firm look of determination on her face now as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'll just…look different. But I won't be going anywhere, Yomo. We won't have to hide somewhere else. We…can get a new place to live…near the 20th ward. I'll act differently in public, but…I'll still be me. I just can't live feeling trapped."

Yomo tightened his hold and leaned down to the side of her neck. She tipped her head back on reflex, exposing more of her sensitive skin to his touch. He felt her writhe against his chest when he began trailing his lips along her neck, her body moving and pressing to his. "I'm walking you there." She nodded. "I'm picking you up when my work is done and I'm walking you home." Again, she nodded.

The plan was for her to go to Helter Skelter early in the day and have Itori do her hair. A pair of sunglasses would temporarily hide her eyes from view and she would have to remove all of her piercings. It was her last morning looking like herself and Yomo wanted to savor it. When he finally drew away from her neck, he looked into her eyes and saw a flicker of fear. "Airi…it will be alright."