It was late at night. Nobody was awake. Naki and Eto were fast asleep in the Master bedroom. The twins were sleeping in the downstairs guest bedroom. It was long past lights out for the servants, and they all lay sleeping in their cots. All except Ju San.
She silently grabbed her ski mask and slipped out the window. Soon, the doe eyed ghoul was traveling through 22nd ward.
"The Cards," she muttered to herself. "I have to find, and join, a gang called the cards. Damn you Suzuya."
Mesume wandered through the ward, looking for a place where she thought the gang might be. She turned down an alley, and she paused when she heard a rustling. She stayed silent for a moment. When she heard nothing more, she shrugged and turned the corner.
Mesume yelped in surprise when she saw a ghoul standing in front of her. His face was bandaged, and crudely painted on the white bandages was the Jack of Spades card. His kakugan glowed in the holes cut for his eyes in the bandages. His koukaku kugune was curled around his arm.
"This is Cards territory," he said. "Get out."
Mesume responded by releasing her rinkaku kagune and striking at the other ghoul. He blocked using his 'sword', and began to advance. Mesume struck at him again and again, but he either dodged her or blocked her. He was getting close, and she knew she needed to stand her ground.
The other ghoul got close, and he swung at her. Mesume managed to block his first strike, but on the second she faltered. He struck her kagune, and for a second, Mesume was defenseless. The ghoul prepared to strike, and presumably kill, the doe eyed ghoul. Suddenly, a rinkaku kagune that was not Mesume's struck the Jack of Spades ghoul.
He yelped and turned to see who had stuck him.
"What the hell?" he said.
"Stop!" a male ghoul said. He had the same bandaged mask, except on the side was a two of spades instead of a Jack.
Four other ghouls filed into the alley behind him. There was two males and two females. The men were the King of Diamonds and the Eight of Diamonds. The females were the Ten of Diamonds and the Nine of Spades. Mesume frowned, the Nine of Spades looked small enough to be a child.
The ghoul had defended her against the Koukaku user, the Two of Spades, stepped forward.
"What the hell are you doing, Heiko?" her attacker muttered.
"Ssshhhh!" her defender that had been referred to as Heiko hissed. He pulled off his mask of bandages, and to Mesume's surprise, the bandages did not unravel.
"Heiko, what are you doing?" the Ten of Diamonds said, voice shaking.
"I can't smell very well with my mask on," he muttered, not turning to look at the ghoul who had spoken.
Heiko was a handsome man, and looked to be in his mid to late twenties. He had pine green hair that he wore in the same style as an Aogiri member known as 'Ayato' that had stopped by the mansion once. His eyes were ice blue, and he squinted at her. He wore ripped black jeans, a white t shirt, a collared black jacket that was not zipped up, and back combat boots.
He stepped close to her, and Mesume rocked on her feet uncomfortably.
"Koyama Toukan?" he said studying her face.
"I'm not Koyama," Mesume said uneasily. She wasn't sure what this man wanted.
"I know," he said. "She's dead. But you smell like her…"
"I'm sorry," the ski masked ghoul said, taking a step back. "I don't know her."
"That smell," Heiko said, not acknowledging Mesume's statement. "I know that smell. Maybe it's not Koyama, but it's close…" Suddenly, his eyes widened. "No.. It can't be…"
"What?" Mesume asked, now a little scared. "Look, I'm not whoever you think I am."
"Hashiro," Heiko said softly. "Hashiro Toukan… Is that you?"
"No," the doe eyed woman said. "I'm sorry, I've never heard that name in my life. My name is Mesume Hanakurai."
"No, no," he said, smiling and playfully shaking a finger at her. "I remember now. You're Hashiro Toukan."
"I'm really not," Mesume said awkwardly.
"Really?" Heiko said, putting his hands on his hips. "Let me guess a couple things about you."
"Knock yourself out," Mesume snorted.
"You never knew your parents," Heiko said confidently. "You have a twin brother who looks just like you. You're familiar with the name Yamori. And I can't see because it's to dark, but I bet underneath that ski mask you have those big ol' doe eyes."
"H—how'd you know that," Mesume stuttered.
"Because you're Hashiro Toukan," he said, smiling. "You're my half sister."