By the time Nishi and Yoko returned to her apartment in their regular clothes, which hid their suits underneath, it was almost noon, and their stomachs growled quietly. Yoko couldn't help but think of the night before as a date, despite the activities.

Upon reaching the door, they immediately noticed it was open; the lock was broken. Regular citizens would instantly call the police when noticing something this alarming. Still, with their suits and weapons, the two teens regarded the situation calmly, knowing they were more than capable of taking care of themselves and the intruder.

"I'll go first," said Yoko as she tilted her head in Nishi's direction; it was technically her apartment, and if someone dared to break-in, she needed to be the first to challenge it. Yoko didn't voice her thoughts since she wanted Nishi to feel like it was his home too, but she did insist again that she went in first despite his growing annoyance.

Nishi leaned against the doorframe as Yoko prepared to enter; not too happy being left outside like some child who needed protection. Nishi watched her carefully step into the apartment, not quite understanding the reasons behind her cautious behavior; even if the intruder had a gun, he hardly thought a standard 'human' weapon would be a match for their suits as far as he knew. Their own weapons were far more effective anyway. It occurred to him she was just stealthy so as not to draw attention to herself as a way to catch the intruder off guard, but even that sounded more effort than necessary, considering the person was probably nothing more than a mere cat burglar.

Yoko entered the apartment with a slight grin on her face because she knew a simple burglar would be no match for her, and it was all thanks to Gantz. Her grin suddenly fell from her face as her eyes grew wide upon seeing who was sat so casually on her coffee table, a gun in his hand. At least a foot taller than she was, the man stood and stepped toward her.

"Good to see you, Yoko."

Nishi didn't believe the intruder was likely to wait around considering it was broad daylight, but that thought soon dissipated when he heard a loud gasp and something akin to an object clattering to the floor followed by the whispered sound of his name, loud enough for him to hear it. It was enough to alarm him into a more defensive composure.

When Nishi entered the apartment, shutting the door behind him, he saw Yoko stood frozen, and with a frown, he stepped around her to get a better look before his eyes wander to find the reason behind her sudden fear. Nishi locked eyes with the man in front of them; it took him a moment to figure out why this particular person had such an effect on her, and then it clicked. Nishi regarded him calmly as little more than dirt, placing his hands in his pockets as he stepped to the side to tip his head to Yoko and said, "Ah, your ex-boyfriend, I presume." Yoko didn't reply, too afraid by the figure before her; perhaps it was the shock of seeing him? Nishi didn't understand her fear, to the point where she clammed up and left herself defenseless as he saw the cause of the clattering sound from earlier, her gun. Why she was afraid to face the reason for her death was what he couldn't grasp, she had the chance to return the favor given to her by Gantz. Then again, he didn't have anything to compare that with, since he caused his own death, but still, it wasn't like his death made him afraid of heights.

"I can't believe you survived."

Nishi turned his attention back when the man spoke; for some reason, Nishi expected him to be bigger, more muscular-looking perhaps, not this brainless-looking punk whose barely a few inches taller than himself, who dressed as though he couldn't quite remember the fact that he was an adult. She did tell me he wasn't the brightest and not exactly the most dignified type. I've seen homeless people dress better.

"At least once or twice I thought I saw you, but I figured my mind was playing tricks on me, until I saw you tonight that is, and with someone new it would seem."

Have to give him a little credit for his observations, but amateurish at best.

"How dare you replace me with this boy, you fucking little pedophile whore!"

Nishi glanced at Yoko, half expecting her to get defensive, but she was numb to her ex's insults, which annoyed him.

"I don't know how you managed to survive a gunshot to the head, but I'm definitely going to make sure you don't a second time."

Nishi clenched his hand around the weapon in his pocket, the notion that he would have to act if Yoko didn't pull herself together wasn't lost on him, and he didn't know which annoyed him more, the fact that he would have to act, or that he knew Yoko was fully capable of doing the job herself. Nishi had come to realize that Yoko wasn't the girl who he first met at the start of their first mission, she had proven to him that she would do anything if it meant survival, and in some ways, he respected her for it; whether he could trust her, though, was still undecided. Even though Nishi lived by his own codes, and Yoko knew that she couldn't rely on him on their Gantz missions, he didn't have a problem ending this pathetic man's life for her if she couldn't.

The man looked at Nishi with a small grin, to which the boy returned with a glare. "Kid, better scram, I just saved your life." Nishi raised an eyebrow at that, curious about what he meant, though he could take a good guess. "Did she lure you here with candy," the man laughed. "Or, perhaps, given your age, the thought of having sex with an older woman made you happy, that you could go back to your friends and brag about how you lost your virginity to a college chick."

Nishi's fingers itched to pull the trigger, and even though he narrowed his eyes, showing his displeasure for the assumptions of himself and maybe even Yoko that the man was giving, Nishi ignored him and let go of the gun in his pocket in favor of Yoko's. Nishi didn't turn to her, but it was clear his next words were for her when he said, "Nothing you say will ever be a good enough excuse as to why you dated this piece of trash, so I won't bother asking." Nishi grinned at the man's angry reaction to his statement before turning to finally face Yoko and shoved the gun in her hands. Yoko blinked at him, coming out of her stupor, and Nishi frowned. "Most people don't get a second chance like this, they don't get to change what happened, they don't get the opportunity to face the one who killed them without hesitation. But fortunately, you do. You have that chance, and now it's your turn." Nishi pointed at the gun in her hands. "Use that gun and shoot him."

Yoko vigorously shook her head, but it wasn't with disagreement as Nishi and her ex-boyfriend expected. "It's not the same," she muttered. "It's not the same because he doesn't feel the same fear that I did." Yoko gritted her teeth in anger, but Nishi could see the tears she held back as she looked up through her strands of fallen hair. "He isn't pleading to be left alone, to not die."

Nishi huffed a small laugh, but it wasn't at her directly, nor was it a sarcastic way of mocking how helpless she sounded. "Oh, that's the reason, I guess that makes sense." In an instant, Nishi turned and whipped out his gun to point it at the man. "I can change that for you."

The man started to chuckle, which then turned into a full-blown laugh. "The hell is with you two, geez, Yoko you've been hanging around this kid too long if you think I'm going to be fooled by a toy gun." He raised his own gun toward them, pulling back the safety with a smug grin on his face. "Yoko knows I don't mess around with toy guns."

Nishi heard the small gasp of fear behind him, but instead of chiding her, he reassured her, and it was the first time his voice sounded light, less condescending. "Don't succumb to the fear of your previous death because you've already lived it, take the fear and turn it into something you can use." Nishi tilted his head back to her. "Courage to kill your killer."

Yoko's eyes widened, but it wasn't from fear this time, but merely the shock of hearing those words softly from his lips, and then she nodded. "I can do it."

The man laughed again, muttering how ridiculous they both sounded. Nishi grinned and said, "You won't be getting the last laugh." Nishi's fingers twitched against the trigger as he took a step forward. "Since you already have a gun aimed at me, fully intending to kill me, to kill us, you wouldn't mind if I defend myself, right?"

Still thinking their guns were nothing but toys, Yoko's killer stretched his arms out and said, "Go ahead and try, brat."

Nishi lowered his gun away from the man's head and pulled the two triggers without pause. The man continued to laugh, but after a few seconds, he stopped abruptly. Nishi's grin grew dark when the man screamed out as his left calf expanded before exploding, causing a gush of blood to spurt from his torn ligament, and he fell to the floor.

Nishi turned to Yoko and found her shaking with utter shock on her face, not quite the reaction he expected. Nishi grabbed hold of her arms and shook her, slightly angry now. "Now you have no reason to hold back, kill him, you have every right to finish him off!"

Yoko glanced at her ex, Nishi probably thought she regretted this, but the shock came from something else, something her mind didn't think about before. "But what about-" She tried to say before Nishi interrupted her.

"What else is holding you back? He's not going anywhere now, I've practically given you with an easy target, just like he once saw you. He didn't give a fuck when he killed you, shot you in the head, and didn't you tell me the only reason he did that was because you left him? He killed you in cold blood, and now you get to do the same."

Yoko couldn't even express what Nishi's words meant to her, and she forgot about her earlier concern because it didn't matter anymore.

"Kill him."

Yoko smiled when Nishi released her arms. "Thank you."

Nishi placed the gun in his pocket. "Whatever, just do it already so we can figure out what to do about the mess."

Yoko nodded; at least he hadn't forgotten that part.

Before Nishi got the chance to clear a path for Yoko, a sudden shot rang loudly in the apartment, and it didn't take long for Yoko to realize what happened when Nishi reached for her forearm, gritting his teeth. Concern etched in Yoko's voice suddenly when she noticed blood was forming on his hoodie. "Nishi?" Neither one was sure how much protection Nishi's suit provided, but the damage was enough to cause him to stumble against her. "Nishi, where-" Nishi accepted her hold on him, not entirely trusting himself to stand upright just yet because there was a temporary dizziness obscuring his vision.

Nishi knew what she was asking, so he quickly replied, "It's just my shoulder, so don't freak out." Nishi pushed off her as he grasped his right shoulder. Even though the guy fucking shot him, he knew it was still Yoko's right to kill him. "I'll be fine, just kill him will you, stop fucking hesitating."

The sound of loud banging on the door startled them, followed by a woman's voice, "Keep your shenanigans down to a minimum! Who needs the tv that loud anyway!"

They heard a slam of the door, presumably by Yoko's nosy neighbor, and Yoko couldn't help but sigh, the gunshot passing off as the television was a great relief, something that hadn't occurred to her before.

Yoko stepped in front of Nishi with a sudden angry look on her face; she glared at her ex, still writhing in pain despite using his gun a moment before, which was now on the floor. Yoko towered over the man, kicking the gun away to prevent further use. Blood pooled around him, and she silently thanked her landlord for the wooden floors and the lack of blood on her furniture. "Thank you," Yoko said with a grit of her teeth. "You just gave me a much better reason to kill you."

Nishi was slightly taken aback by the meaning behind her words, but still, he rolled his eyes; what better reason did she need other than the fact that he murdered her? Apparently, him getting shot finally pushed her over the edge; he would never understand her.

The man looked up at Yoko, or rather, at the strange-looking gun's barrel in her hand. Fear contorted on his face, and he started to stammer, "Please, please don't kill me. I'm sorry, I was just – upset, I loved you, and I didn't want to lose you. I didn't mean to shoot you! I swear!"

Yoko pressed the gun to his head. "Not what I was talking about, although that was the reason before, and now it's different." Before the killer could splutter out further apologies and excuses, Yoko pulled both triggers. The man's eyes grew wide before his head swelled and then blew up. Yoko snapped out of it, and her hands shook as she collapsed to her knees, the gun falling from her fingers. Now there was truly no one threatening her life, except for Gantz, but at least she could return home with the knowledge that her three killers were gone, counting the mercenary and Yui.

"I almost didn't think you were gonna go through with it," Yoko heard Nishi say, as well as a lot of rustling and the occasional grunt of irritation, but she didn't look up to see what he was doing.

"Neither did I," she muttered. Yoko heard Nishi grunt again, along with more shuffling, and it was only when a knife came into her view that she finally looked up. Nishi held the knife out to her, and she noticed the top half of his body was bare save for the upper part of the suit hanging loosely around his neck, leaving enough room to see his shoulders. Yoko had seen him naked at least a dozen times now, but for some reason, without the throws of passion and their sweating bodies desperately craving release, Nishi looked smaller, and she didn't notice his lean frame until now.

"Spacing out really is a fine skill of yours, isn't it."

Yoko blinked up at Nishi and then mumbled a half-apology.

"Stop moping, you know he deserved it."

Sometimes, Yoko was grateful to Nishi for underestimating her because he couldn't find out what she was really thinking about. "I was just-"

"I need your help, so if you really want to mope, do it later." Nishi waved the knife in front of her; it wasn't just a random butter knife or something one might use for dinner purposes besides chopsticks; the knife was sharp and pointed, but the blade was smooth, and Yoko realized she used it to cut veg. "The wound isn't severe, my suit stopped most of the damage, but I can feel the bullet when I move, so it's probably lodged just under the skin, hopefully not the bone."

Yoko's eyes soon widened, and it was as if she only just remembered the incident because she quickly scrambled to her feet and said, "Nishi, you're – oh shit, he shot you! Is it bad, are you okay!" Yoko reached for his hand, but he pulled it back with a roll of his eyes, finding her concern a little too excessive.

"Calm the fuck down, I just said the wound isn't severe. Just help me get the bullet out already, it's irritating me, and I don't even know if it's stopped bleeding."

Yoko looked at the knife and finally grasped what he was asking her to do. "Are you crazy! I can't do that!"

"I'd do it myself, but I can't reach, I'll end up causing more damage." Nishi sighed, wondering why she was suddenly a worried mess. "What's with you anyway, you weren't this frantic when that alien doll stabbed me before."

Yoko suddenly blushed, thinking about the events that transpired after that mission. "I just-"

Nishi raised an eyebrow. "Is that what happens when you have sex with someone?"

Yoko covered her face so the boy couldn't see her burning cheeks. Yoko didn't think the question was rhetorical either, not a general question about the act of sex, but it was certainly a question about her.

Nishi chuckled a little. "It is, I guess that answers the question about whether or not you think what's between us is a relationship."

Yoko lowered her hands a little from her face to look at him. "Is it not?"

Nishi tilted his head and gestured to the corpse behind her. "You tell me, you're the expert. But if I were you, I'd rethink my choices."

Yoko groaned when Nishi forced her to remember what she did, and she turned away from the sight. "Okay, I like you, Nishi. At first it was just because of our mutual situation, but, I care about you, and I hope – I just hope you're okay with that."

Nishi shrugged and flinched a second after due to his injury. "It wasn't that hard to figure out, you don't kill for someone you don't care about. In order to save a life, you must throw another life away."

Yoko's eyes grew wide; she was unsure if his statement meant he was returning the feeling, but she didn't care, and a smile crossed her face.

"Now, the quicker you help me, the quicker we can clean up."

Yoko nodded as Nishi hopped onto the counter.

…

Yoko unscrewed the clear bottle's lid, the liquid looked like water, but Nishi knew better, and he scowled at it with suspicion. Yoko huffed, "I can't just go stabbing into your shoulder, I should at least disinfect it or something." Just as Yoko was about to take a sip for herself, Nishi grabbed the bottle to stop her.

"You're not taking one sip of that until you're finished."

Yoko lowered the bottle from her lips with a smile. "Well that's kind of insulting."

Nishi removed his hand back to his side. "Not really, considering Kazumi confirmed you have a low tolerance for alcohol."

Yoko laughed nervously and hunched her shoulders. "Oh."

Nishi looked ahead and said, "Hurry up."

Yoko reached a hand up to lightly brace it on his back. "This is pure vodka, so it's going to hurt."

Nishi growled impatiently. "Just do it already, pour the whole fucking bottle on for all I care, just get the damn thing out."

Yoko didn't hesitate any longer, and just like Nishi ordered, she poured the whole bottle over his wound.

Nishi's eyes grew wide, and he gripped the edge of the counter with both hands before his eyes clenched shut. "Fuck!"

Yoko cringed at her little decision to take his words literally. "You told me to."

Nishi gritted his teeth and glowered at her. "I was being fucking sarcastic." Nishi panted a little before saying, "It's a good thing you're not training to be a nurse, you have poor bedside manners." A sudden thought occurred to him that she hadn't actually told him what she studied at college, but right now, he was in too much pain to care.

Yoko rolled her eyes. "As if you care about bedside manners, if this were the other way around, you would not be showing me your 'bedside manner.'"

"If it were the other way around the bullet would be out by now." Nishi then grinned and added, "And according to you, I have very good manners when it comes to-"

"Okay!" Yoko blushed and picked up the knife from the side. "Shut up now before you distract me."

Silence ensued, and Yoko brought the knife down onto Nishi's shoulder; she heard him grit his teeth as she tried to dig the bullet out. "Sorry…"

Nishi took a breath when Yoko stopped to wipe away the blood. "You're going to have to go deeper, just ignore your feelings until it's done, it's not that difficult."

Yoko groaned inwardly as if what Nishi said was just that simple. "Okay."

Before Yoko tried again with a little more determination than earlier, Nishi stopped her and said, "Pass me a wooden utensil."

The request sounded odd as she reached into a draw and pulled out a wooden spoon, but once she handed it to Nishi, and he placed the handle side in his mouth, she realized why he wanted it. The boy's survival instincts always seemed to impress her, and she couldn't help but think of their teammate. "No wonder Sugihara is always praising you. I bet he did something like this in the war."

Nishi nodded in reply, and a serious expression cast over Yoko's face as she tried again.

Yoko took Nishi's suggestion and ignored the part of her that felt guilty for hurting him while she pushed the blade deeper into his shoulder to the point she could feel the edge of it under the bullet. Yoko cringed at his groan of discomfort and the grunts of pain hidden behind the wood in his mouth. "Almost there…."

Nishi spat the utensil out, and his voice became high-pitched as he gritted out, "You're fucking there, just take it out."

With a tug upward and the flick of the blade, the bullet popped out and clinked onto the floor.

….

Yoko looked over at the couch's end when she heard a stir. Nishi was lying across the couch, his feet resting on her lap and his head on a pillow. "How do you feel?" asked Yoko as Nishi attempted to sit up.

Nishi groaned quietly when he sat up and realized he was wearing different clothing; along with that, there was a sling on his arm. "How did-"

Yoko couldn't help but give him a sympathetic smile. "You passed out."

Nishi looked at her and then groaned for a different reason as he carefully leaned against the cushions. "That's so lame."

Yoko chuckled at his response and then stood up, purposefully looking at her watch. "It's almost eight o'clock, are you hungry?"

Nishi shifted his arm with discomfort. "Sure, why not." Suddenly, he noticed something different. "You cleaned up already?"

Yoko turned to Nishi with a saucepan in her hand and huffed a laugh. "I did it while you were passed out, it got dark, so I figured it was the best time. The blood wasn't the problem because of the floors and then I just – got – the…." Yoko trailed off when Nishi started walking over to her. "Body in a-" Yoko cut off completely as Nishi kissed her quickly, and she dropped the saucepan as he pressed her against the fridge. When they pulled away, Yoko smiled at him. "Get a little excited there?"

Nishi stepped back from her when he realized and turned his head. "Well… I'm hungry, so…. it doesn't matter right now."

Yoko stepped forward and kissed him again. "Thank you."

Nishi shrugged his left shoulder. "I can't do a lot with my injury anyway."

Yoko blinked at him, and she couldn't help but laugh at his relatively innocent answer. When Nishi frowned at her, she quickly said, "That isn't why I was thanking you." Nishi tilted his head and waited for her to elaborate; Yoko kissed him once more and said, "Thank you for helping me face my killer."

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