Ju San met Itori with the same awkwardness she had met Uta. She had quickly taken a liking to the woman, with her odd clothes and orange hair. The two woman made a deal; Itori would give Hanakurai information about gangs, as long as the ski masked woman would also give the information she found out to Itori alongside her Boss.
Around three in the morning, she bid the two ghouls goodbye and returned to the mansion. She managed to sneak back in no problem, and passed out in her cot, exhausted. The next day, Naki was away, so Ju San allowed herself to slack a bit. She wandered the mansion eyes half open. Sleepless nights were nothing new to the doe eyed girl, but she usually spent them on a courtyard bench, not a bar in the fourteenth ward.
Eto was running the place while Naki was away, and she allowed the servants a break in the afternoon. Ju San, not having anywhere else to go, sat down on the bench. She allowed the afternoon sun to soak her pale skin, and her brown hair glowed in the sun. She traced her nimble fingers over the names, in memory of better times.
"Hey!" Ju San heard.
She looked up to see Eto walking over to her and the bench. Ju San quickly scooted over so the half ghoul would not see what she was reminiscing over.
"Hello, Master Eto," Ju San said, forcing a smile as Eto sat down beside her.
"Naki's not here today," Eto giggled, kicking her feet. "Just call me Eto."
"You and I both know Naki would kill me if he heard me call you that," Ju San pointed out.
Eto sighed. "Yeah, I don't know why he's so uptight."
Ju San looked down at her feet. "I don't either."
"Or why he cries all the time," Eto mused, tugging at a string of hair. "I honestly wish he would stop."
A spark of anger began to burn in the servant at those words. "He's been through a lot," Ju San said, trying not to sound bitter.
"No he hasn't," Eto laughed. "I mean, Yamori died. Okay, that was hard, but that's just one death. He has a mansion, servants, money, everything."
Ju San clenched her teeth. Eto didn't know anything about Naki's past. And here she was, judging the man who offered her hospitality.
"What do you know about his past?" Ju San snapped, turning to look Eto in the eye. "What do you about him before he wore that white suit? Before he owned this mansion?"
Eto stared at the suddenly sharp tongued servant in surprise.
"That's what I thought," Ju San growled. "You know absolutely nothing."
Anger boiled in Eto. How dare this servant speak to her like this?
"I know what this is," Eto said angrily, standing up. "I know why you're mad!"
"Why would that be?" Ju San asked sarcastically.
"You're mad he loves me and not you!" she said, jabbing a finger at the younger girl.
Ju San stared at Eto, eyes wide. Had she heard that correctly? Was that true?
"H—he loves you?"
"Yeah, he does," Eto smirked. She knew she had hit Ju San's weak spot. "And when we get the children, we're going to be a family. Maybe we'll get married. Hell, maybe we'll have kids of our own."
Ju San's entire body shook. Her heart felt as it had the last night she had spent with Naki on this very bench. Her eyes were teary. Eto's words had completely broken her, and the half ghoul knew it.
"H—how—."
"Back to work," Eto snapped, cutting the servant off. "You're break's over."
Eto, shaking her head, walked to the nurse's office. The day was going by slow; and Nijuhachi was always fun to talk to. As she walked, she pondered Ju San's reaction. Eto couldn't understand why the servant got so bent out of shape. She knew Ju San was attracted to her master; that was obvious. But he was the master and she was the servant, so there was no emotional attachment. They didn't know each other on a personal level. So why did Ju San act like that?
"Hello!" Eto said, sitting down on a cot.
"Hey," Nijuhachi said, looking up from her coffee and smiling. "What brings you down here?"
"Just bored," Eto yawned. "Looking for someone to talk to."
"Well I appreciate you coming down here," the nurse said, beginning to clean off her desk. "So what's been going on with you?"
"Well," Eto said. "A servant snapped at me."
"Who?" Nijuhachi asked, eyes wide. Her expression then changed to a knowing one. "Wait, let me guess… Ju San."
Eto blinked. "How'd you know?"
"You gave the servants a break right?"
"Yeah? So?"
"So I'm guessing Ju San was sitting on a bench in the courtyard."
"Yeah, she was," Eto said, staring at the other woman in shock.
Nijuhachi chuckled. "I'll let you in on something all the servants know: Do not disturb Ju San while she's on the bench."
"Why?"
"She'll snap at you."
Eto was very confused. What did some bench have to do with anything?
"Ju San's an interesting one," Nijuhachi said, shaking her head. "She's good with most things, but she'd be damned if she let go of the past."
"Yeah, she blew up on me about that," Eto said, twiddling a strand of hair. "About Naki's past."
"As expected," Nijuhachi huffed.
"What do you mean?"
The nurse glanced at the open door and then back at Eto. "What exactly do you know about Master Naki's past?" she asked cautiously.
Eto stared at the woman in confusion. "Well, he ran errands for Yamori, and at one point, he got locked up in Cochlea."
"That's it?"
"Um, yeah," Eto said, suddenly uncomfortable.
"You're sleeping with him, right?"
"Yeah."
"And that's all you know?"
"Well, yeah," Eto said, now angered. "That's all I need to know."
"I suppose that's true," Nijuhachi sighed. "God damn you Ju San, bringing up things that should have been buried. She should've listened to Ju Roku."
"Who's Ju Roku?" Eto asked.
"Was another servant," Nijuhachi said. "Year older than Ju San. They were friends, but not friends like…" she trailed off.
"Like who?"
"We're kinda not allowed to talk about it," the nurse said. "Well, anyway, he died not to long before you came here for the first time. Wasn't following orders."
"Oh," Eto said. She would have some questions for Naki tomorrow.