Juuzou's eyes groggily opened to the chirping noise of his alarm clock. He groaned and turned it off, then rolled back over. I have to go have coffee with Kiniko, he remembered.

"What a miserable start to a day," he said.

He forced himself to get out of the warm blankets and he sleepily stumbled over to the shower. He turned it on and sat on the edge of the tub waiting for the water to warm up.

He shuddered as he remembered last night's dreams. They hung over his head and made him feel like as if he had a rock in his stomach.

He pulled off what he had slept in and stepped into the shower. He stood motionless in the warm water and named everyone he had dreamed about last night.

"Takizawa. Mama. Mother and Father," he grit his teeth. "Shinohara."

Juuzou tried not to think about Seidou's death. His fellow investigator had been quite annoying, but Juuzou couldn't rid the last time he had seen the man from his thoughts: Takiwaza crying in the hallway, saying that he didn't want to die. Now Juuzou had told others and himself that things like death didn't bother him, and for a long while, it had been true. But now, with Shinohara gone, the truth in that statement had been starting to fade very quickly.

Shinohara. Juuzou could feel the tears coming, so he bit his lip and decided not to think about the man that had been like a father to him. In his dream last night, he could not move, and he was forced to see Shinohara be killed by the one eyed owl once again.

"That ghoul," Juuzou said balling his hands into fists. "I will make that ghoul pay."

Juuzou wanted to go back to not caring if people lived or died. He thought of the person that made him that way. Mama. No, Big Madame.

"Whatever her name was," he muttered, reaching for the shampoo.

He remembered having to be a "good boy". And what did he get in return from the woman? Pain. She had turned him into a monster.

"What did I ever do wrong?" he said out loud, the tears beginning to flow.

He wondered about his parents. Juuzou didn't know how he had come into the clutches of the ghouls. Had his parents just given him up? Had they even cared? Missed him? Who were they? Are they still alive?

His mind swirled with questions, and he cried harder.

"It's not fair!" he wailed.

Then, he thought of Sen. She thinks I'm talented, he thought. He thought of how she had gone out of her way to talk to him at the zoo. His sobs became sniffles and then stopped completely as he thought of the author.

He finished showering and dried off. Juuzou wrapped the towel around himself and combed his hair.

"One, two, three, four, five," he said as he picked up his red bobby pins and put them into place, making the roman numeral thirteen with them. "Perfect."

He walked into the main area of his little apartment and pulled clothes out of his unorganized dresser.

"Black pants, white shirt," he said to himself.

He put on his clothes examined the stitches on his hand, and then bounced over to the side of his bed where his red slippers were laying. He slipped them on and smiled.

"I got my slippers," he said.

He unplugged his phone and checked it.

"Don't b late," the message from Kiniko read.

"I do what I want," Juuzou said out loud, as if his co worker could hear him.

He slipped his phone into his pocket, and his pants started to slide down.

"My suspenders!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "How could I forget my beautiful suspenders?"

He rushed over to his chair and grabbed his suspenders. He clipped the back and left side, and then he remembered that last night he had broken the right clip.

"I've encountered a problem," he said.

He looked around his apartment for something he could use to fix it. His eyes rested on the red string he used for stitching himself.

"This is my special stitching string," he said, frowning. "But these are my special suspenders."

He cut off about a foot and a half of string and then tied his strap to the hook. He ran to the bathroom to check and see if it looked okay.

He frowned when he saw it. "One side has a shiny silver clip attached to a silver shiny hook, and one side has a giant knot of red thread tied to a silver shiny hook."

The thread had created a giant mess, but Juuzou didn't have time to fix it. He brushed his teeth and the like and then skipped out the door.

"On my way to Haiko's," he said as he walked briskly down the street, humming as he went.

He jumped up the stairs to the coffee shop, alternating the foot he landed on.

"I'm here!" he said, throwing the door open. The little bell jingled and everyone paused from their conversations and coffee to give the white haired man an odd look. "It's 11 o'clock."

"Are you going to buy coffee or are you going to continue to tell us obvious things?" the barista asked.

"Suzuya!" hissed a man sitting in a corner. Kiniko was scowling at the younger man.

Juuzou smiled. He was already getting on his partner's nerves.

Maybe today will be better than I thought it would be, Juuzou thought.

"Must you embarrass me so much?" Kiniko asked as Suzuya sat down.

He only shrugged. "So what did Amon say to do?" he asked the older man, wanting to get whatever this was over with.

"He said we just needed to talk," Kiniko said, taking a sip of coffee.

"Well what do you want to talk about?" Juuzou asked.

"Hmmmmmmm," Kiniko said, leaning back and clasping his hands. Suddenly, a sly smile crossed his face. "What about that writer you've got a crush on?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," the younger man scoffed, feeling his face getting hot.

"Oh, I think you do," the brunette said.

"No."

"Look, deny it all you want, but it's obvious. So do you have the money for our little wager?"

"I'm not playing your stupid game!"

"Alright, alright," Kiniko sighed. "I guess that makes it all a lot easier for me then."

"How?"

"I can do what I want without worrying about losing money."

"You can't do that!"

"Yes I can." Kiniko looked at Juuzou and then chuckled. "Oh Suzuya, I never could have imagined I'd see you like this."

"Like what?"

"Look at yourself! Blushing, biting your lip, getting all defensive. Basically, I never thought I'd see the great investigator Juuzou Suzuya hot for someone."

"Can we just talk about something else," Juuzou grumbled. He was becoming more and more uncomfortable by the minute.

"The bet is still on," Kiniko said. "She's really hot. I mean, no offense, but this is perfect for me. Get with a hot chick and get money. It's perfect."

"How do you know you would win?"

"Because look at yourself, Suzuya. You don't stand a chance."

Juuzou felt angry at this blow to his already small to begin with ego.

"Speak of the devil," Kiniko grinned, looking towards the entrance to the coffee shop.

"What?" Juuzou turned around in his chair, and then gulped and spun back around, face growing red. He bit at the stitches on his lip; he had a tendency to do that when he was nervous.

Sen had walked into the coffee shop. She was wearing a casual low cut shirt and jeans, and her long hair was down. She had a lanyard with some keys on it around her neck and had on black boots.

Juuxou shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Oh, Suzuya," Kiniko said, shaking his head and giving his partner a pitiful smile. "Look at you. How can you expect to handle a girl when you can't even handle yourself?"

Juuzou blushed harder.

"Now if you'll excuse me," the older man said, standing up. "I have an author to talk to and a bet to win."

Juuzou whirled around in his chair and watched Kiniko walk over to sen, who had just ordered a coffee. No, he thought. I can't let her be used like that.

He took a deep breath and walked over to Sen and his co worker.

Kiniko was in the middle of introducing himself.

"I don't recall if I ever introduced myself properly," he said, shaking Sen's hand. "I'm Special Investigator Daichi Kiniko."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Kiniko," Sen said, smiling.

"Oh, that's to formal. You can call me Daichi," he said, winking.

Sen's face turned red, and that familiar spark of anger igniting inside Juuzou.

"Oh, hey Juuzou!" Sen said, smiling.

Juuzou blushed. "Hey Sen."

"Oh Suzuya, have some respect and address this fine woman formally," Kiniko said, looking at Juuzou.

"He can call me Sen if he wants," the writer cut in, frowning.

"Whatever the lady wants," Kiniko laughed, putting his arm around Sen.

She stood awkwardly and glanced at Kiniko, and then turned her attention to Juuzou.

"How are-," Sen stopped mid sentence, a confused expression on her face and her eyes fixed on Suzuya's lower region.

Juuzou felt himself panicking and he looked down at his pants.

"What on earth is that on your suspenders?" she asked.

Juuzou felt himself relax a little now that he knew what had caused her to give him an odd look, but he felt embarassed none the less.

"Oh, that," he mumbled. "My suspenders broke and I um didn't have anything else to fix it with, so I just used thread."

"Same one you use for stitching I'm guessing," she laughed. "Oh, by the way, I'm sorry I freaked out when I saw your stitches the first time. It's just so cool! Much better than tattoos."

Juuzou blushed again and found himself smiling a bit. "Thanks."

"Why didn't you just wear other suspenders?" she asked, shifting a little farther from Kiniko, who was holding a little tighter.

"These are kinda my only ones."

"Oh," Sen said, a thoughtful expression on her face. Suddenly, her face lit up. "I have an idea!"

She took the clip off her lanyard, stuffing the keys in her pocket.

"This might work."

She leaned over and started to untangle the thread that was attaching the right strap to Juuzou's pants.

Juuzou felt his face and neck grow even hotter. His palms began to sweat and he couldn't stop biting his lip; his whole body was tense.

Sen must've felt him tense up, for she quickly stopped and stoop up straight.

"I'm sorry, that was awkward," she said, face beet red. "I shouldn't have done that."

Kiniko was staring at her, a shocked expression on his face. He quickly got over it though, and he placed his arm around Sen again.

"It's fine," Juuzou stammered.

He finished getting the thread off, and he threw it in the garbage can next to them. He felt the right side of his pants begin to slip, and Sen giggled and handed him the lanyard clip. Juuzou clipped it on, and his suspenders were good as new.

"Thanks!" Juuzou said, finding the confidence to smile at the pretty woman.

"Oh, by the way, I love your rainbow buttons," Sen said, pointing to the green, yellow, and orange buttons of Juuzou's shirt. "They're really cute."

Suzuya's face flushed, and he smiled again. "Thanks."

"So," Kiniko said, shooting Juuzou a glare. "Do you have any plans for today?"

"No, not really," Sen said.

"Really?" Kiniko cooed in her hair, letting his arm drop from around her shoulder to her waist.

Sen shifted away, but Kiniko pulled her closer.

"Why?" she asked. Juuzou piked up a hint of something he would call fear in her voice.

"Oh, I was just thinking you could come back to my place," he said, arm and hand slipping lower.

"Actually, I think I'm busy," she said.

Juuzou felt the spark of anger he had felt earlier erupt into roaring flame. Control yourself, he thought. Don't blow up like last time.

"Oh, we can make time," Kiniko said starting to pull Sen towards the exit of the little bistro.

"Oh," Sen said, face completely white. Kiniko forcefully guided the young woman towards the door and out of the coffee shop.

Before they were completely out the door, Juuzou's partner looked back at the younger man and mouthed the words 'I won'.

But Sen also looked back at the white haired man, and the look on her face made Juuzou unable to control himself anymore. Her eyes were wide and pleading, and full of fear.

The two went out the door, and Juuzou stood in place for about ten seconds, in shock of everything that was going on. When he cae to his senses, he bolted out the bistro door and into the street. He looked both ways, and he didn't see either Sen or Kiniko.

Then he spotted them walking into an alley across the street. Kiniko was pulling Sen along by her arm. Filled with rage, he sprinted across the street.

"I've spotted them," he said to himself.

"Kiniko!" Suzuya said, skidding to a halt in front of his partner and the novelist. "Where are you going?"

"We're going back to my place," he said, giving the younger man a gloating look.

"Amon said to stay at the coffee shop."

"Well you see here, this wonderful lady really wants to go with me."

"No I don't!" Sen said, yanking her arm away from the man.

"Yes you do," Kiniko said, grabbing onto her.

"Let go of me!" the author yelled, slapping him across the face.

"How dare you slap me!" Kiniko said, raising his voice.

"Leave her alone!" Juuzou said, shoving his co worker.

Kiniko let go of Sen and stared at Juuzou, like he was still trying to comprehend the fact that this man, who wasn't even twenty yet, had just shoved him and spoken out against him.

"What was that you said?" letting go of Sen and getting very close to Juuzou, staring down at the younger man.

"I said leave her alone," Juuzou said as bravely as he could. Kiniko was bigger and older than him, and without a quinque or some type of weapon, he knew he couldn't beat the older man in a fight.

Kiniko swung at Suzuya, and the white haired man ducked. The older man began to swing again and again, but Juuzou was quick, and he dodged the blows.

"Fight like a man!" Kiniko growled at Suzuya. Juuzou turned and started the run back toward the street.

"Are you really going to chicken out and run away in front of the girl?" Kiniko screamed.

Juuzou picked up a broken garden stake on the ground, and when Kiniko punched, he sidestepped. Juuzou then hit his partner in the face.

Kiniko howled in pain, blood spurting out his nose. He grabbed the stake and yanked it away from the white haired man, and then swung it at him.

Suzuya ducked, and became increasingly aware his partner was backing him up closer and closer to a busy street.

"Stop!" Juuzou yelled at the brunette. He was vaguely aware of Sen shouting, pleading for the two men to stop fighting.

Before he knew it, Juuzou's foot slipped on the curb. "This is a busy street, stop it!" Sen yelled.

But Kiniko payed her no mind, and he punched Juuzou in the stomach as hard and he could. The punch sent Juuzou flying into the street.

The impact of the black sedan against Juuzou's tiny body should've killed him. The couple inside thecar screamed in horror as a white haired boy's body rolled up over the top of their car. They skidded to a halt, and Suzuya laid motionless in the street.

"Juuzou!"

Sen's scream seemed to bring Kiniko out of his heat of anger and back to the reality of things.

"Suzuya!" he exclaimed and rushed over to his partner's body.

Juuzou was staring at the asphalt. The impact didn't hurt him; he was pretty much insensitive to pain. He was just startled, and his head felt a bit dizzy.

He got to his feet and shook his head, but the dizziness remained. Sen, Kiniko, and the rest of the bystanders gaped at him, astonished that he was alive, let alone able to get up.

The driver of the car ran up to Juuzou, asking if he was okay and the like.

"Just a bit dizzy!" Juuzou giggled.

He then glared at Kiniko. Oh, he hated his partner even more now. At least Sen was now safe.

"Juuzou I'm sorry!" Kiniko said, his nose crooked and bloody.

Instead of speaking to the older man, Juuzou just smiled at the beautiful author that was staring at him in awe.

"Best be getting home!" Juuzou said out loud to nobody in particular.

He took a couple steps and staggered. The dizziness was getting worse and worse.

"Juuzou, what are you doing!" Sen said, running up to him and helped him out of the street.

"Walking home," he replied. He took another step and almost feel, but Sen caught him. His stomach was churning, he thought he might throw up.

"No, I'm taking you to a hospital!" Sen exclaimed.

"Home," Juuzou said, vision starting to blur. "Don't feel pain. Just need to lay down."

"At a hospital they'll take care of you," Sen frowned. Juuzou fell to his knees, and Sen kneeled down next to him, letting him lean on her.

Juuzou thought of how Amon would react if he knew about what had gone down. If he was admitted to the hospital, CCG would be notified and Amon would find out.

"Home!" Juuzou barked at Sen, the words coming out a little sharper then he had planned.

Sen frowned. "What's your address?"

"7977 Rozu street." Juuzou said, body starting to collapse as his vision blurred even more. "Apartment number 26."

He closed his eyes, and Juuzou's world went dark.