Nanami slowly trudged home from her first day of school. It was blazing hot outside, and she squinted her eyes at the sun. Sweat ran down the back of her neck; and the girl knew she would have a giant sweat stain on her back when she got home. Nanami's shoulders ached; the teacher had given them all their books that day. She frowned as she scuffed her feet on the sidewalks. She fiddled with her sterling silver heart necklace her mother had bought her.

"I hate school," she muttered.

The black haired girl would much rather spend her time at the CCG office than at kindergarten. But her Mom and Dad had insisted she go to school. Nanami despised her teacher, Miss Kikkume. On the very first day, the strict woman had made Nanami stand in the corner for talking when she wasn't supposed to be. And the whole class had laughed at her.

Nanami sniffed and wiped away the tears that had started to dribble down her face. She had tried her best to be nice to the kids in her class. She had befriended a girl named Gracie that had moved from America and did not speak much Japanese. That was about it. Nanami did not like the boys in her class; especially one named Jeraru. He laughed the most when she had to stand in the corner and had pulled her hair at recess.

Nanami looked up at her surroundings. She was almost half way home, and she knew that by the old fence she was about to pass. She walked slowly on the sidewalk, looking at the old wooden boards. There was a small grassy area that looked like it had never been mowed in front of the fence. The fence itself was falling apart. It had probably never been repainted, and the boards weren't even straight; they were a crooked mess. Several boards were missing, leaving giant gaps in the fence. Beyond the fence was a small wood. It looked dark and shadowy, and it spooked Nanami.

She stared at the trees through the gaps, and just for a second, she could've sworn she saw something, or someone, dart between the trees. Nanami stared at where she saw the movement, but she saw nothing but trees. Just as she was about to continue, she saw it again. Heart pounding, she crept toward a large gap in the fence for a closer look. She peered into the woods, looking for any movement.

Disappointed to not see anything, Nanami turned to leave again. But a crack of a stick being stepped on made her whirl her head around. Nanami shrieked.

She was nose to nose with a peculiar looking girl with great big eyes the color of the sea. The strange girl blinked, snatched Nanami's necklace, and turned and fled into the woods.

"Hey!" Nanami said, finding her voice just as the girl had disappeared. "That's mine! My Mom gave it to me!"

But the odd girl was gone. Nanami looked back at the sidewalk and then back to the woods. Her mom and dad had instructed her to not take any shortcuts or go anywhere but home. But that was her neckless. The black haired girl took a shaky breath, dropped her book bag, and slipped through the gap in the fence. Nanami peered into the trees, looking for any signs of the green eyed girl. She saw none.

She let out a huff and walked into the trees. Every crack of a stick or flicker of movement made her jump. The shadows made her heart beat faster, and every tree looked like claws that wanted to snatch her up. A lump formed in her throat. What if there were ghouls here?

Suddenly, Nanami heard something. It was faint, but she could hear two people talking. It was coming from her right, and she quietly made her way in that direction. The voices got louder and louder until the black haired girl reached its source.

Nanami ducked behind the tree and observed the situation. There was a small shack stuffed between two trees, and it was in shambles. The exterior was made of pieces of lumber and plywood sloppily nailed together and was supported by broken PBC pipes. The roof was a few tin sheets that were covered in fallen pine needles. Nanami could not see inside, for the doorway was blanketed by a sheet. Outside sat two kids that looked to be her age.

The first was the girl who had stolen her neckless. She sat cross legged on the ground and was playing with the piece of jewelry. She wore black soccer shorts and a black t-shirt. Her snow white hair came down to her shoulder blades and her bangs hung in her large, sea green eyes. She had on no shoes and was covered in a layer of dust and dirt.

A boy sat across from her, grabbing at the neckless. He wore a gray shirt with a shark on it and navy blue shorts. He had teal colored hair and blood red eyes. He was also barefoot and completely filthy.

"Give it to me!" the boy demanded.

"I stole it!" the girl retorted. "How much money do you think we could get if we sold it at street fair?"

"I'll only tell you if you give it to me," the boy said, grabbing at the neckless.

"Go steal your own," the girl said, sticking out her tongue.

"We could sell it now," the boy said. "Fair's going on. And we could buy some stuff to patch up roof holes with the money. Dad would never know."

"We have to start school with Mom today, remember?" the girl said.

"No. Mommy's busy today. We start tomorrow."

"Oh."

Nanami took a deep breath and mustered up her courage. She stepped out from behind the tree and stared down at the two grimy kids.

"That's my neckless," Nanami said, voice shaking. "Give it back."

"No it's not," the girl said. "I found it."

"No you didn't!" Nanami yelled. "It's mine!"

The white haired girl stood up and smiled at Nanami. "Prove it."

"Stop," the boy said from where he still sat on the ground. "Just give it back."

"No!" the girl said.

The boy looked up at her. "Just give it back, Hitomi."

The girl glared at the boy and then thrust the necklace at Nanami. "There," she said rudely. "Take your stupid necklace. It's not even pretty anyway."

"Be nice," the boy said, standing up. "We never get guests."

"Good," the girl said. "I hate people anyway."

"Sorry bout my sister," the boy said, turning to Nanami and giving her a small smile. "She's kinda mean."

The girl rolled her eyes, and Nanami stared at the boy. He had the saddest eyes she had ever seen.

"What's your name?" Nanami asked cautiously.

"I'm Kaito," the boy said. "And my sister is Hitomi. We're five. Who are you?"

"I'm Nanami. And I'm five too."

"Hi Nanami," Kaito said shyly. He glanced at his sister and gave her a nudge.

"Hey," she muttered.

"Do you, um—," Nanami paused to glance at the shack. "Live here?"

"No," Hitomi laughed. "Do you wanna see inside?"

Nanami thought about her parents. She was supposed to go straight home, but she knew they wouldn't be back until nightfall. She had plenty of time to spare. "Sure."

Kaito held open the sheet and Nanami crawled inside, the siblings close behind her. Inside was a few blankets, stacked books, drawing pads, and an assortment of toys.

"Where'd you get all this?" Nanami asked.

"We stole it," Hitomi said pridefully.

"Oh," Nanami asked. "So are you guys, like, twins?"

Kaito nodded.

"Do you guys stay out here a lot?" Nanami asked.

"Yeah!" Hitomi said. "We play games. Do you wanna play with us?"

"What games do you play?"

"Hunter and wolf," Hitomi said. "That one's my favorite."

Nanami blinked. "What's that?"

"There's somebody who's the hunter and there's somebody who's a wolf," Kaito explained. He pulled a nerf gun out from under a blue blanket. "The hunter gets a gun, and he has to go find the wolf and shoot them."

"What's out of bounds?" Nanami asked.

"Can't leave the woods," Hitomi said. "You wanna play or not?"

"Yeah, I'll play. Who's the hunter and who's the wolf?"

"There's only one gun so there can be only one hunter," Kaito said. "And there's two wolves. I can be the hunter, and you and Hitomi can be wolves."

"You always get to be hunter," Hitomi whined.

"I'm going to count to ten," Kaito said, ignoring his sister. "You guys run."

Kaito started to count, and the two girls took off into the forest. Nanami stuffed her broken necklace in her pocket and ducked behind a tree with the white haired girl.

"I think we're far enough now," Hitomi said, slumping onto the ground.

"Why'd you steal my neckless?" Nanami asked, sitting down next to her.

Hitomi shrugged. "Money."

"Don't your Mommy and Daddy get you things?"

The white haired girl shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah."

"Do you not like them or somethin?"

"They don't live together," Hitomi explained. "They don't like each other."

"Oh," Nanami said softly, placing her hand over her new friend's. "I'm sorry."

"S'okay. Hardly know them anyway. Lived at an orphanage till start of summer."

"Were they nice?"

Hitomi balled herself up. "No."

"Oh," Nanami said. She wasn't sure what to say. "You know th—."

"Sshhh!" Hitomi suddenly said, slapping a small hand of Nanami's mouth.

Nanami swatted her hand away. "What are you doing?"

"Kaito's in this side of the woods now," she whispered, voice low.

Nanami blinked. "How do you know?"

"I can hear his footsteps. And smell him."

Nanami stared at the odd girl. "Really?"

"Yeah," Hitomi said. "And that means he can hear you, so hush!

"He can't hear me!" Nanami retorted.

Hitomi suddenly sprang up and yanked on Nanami's arm. "His steps are faster!" she said desperately. "He's running now!"

Nanami. confused, ran next to her new friend. They raced through the woods, Hitomi constantly commanding the taller girl to run faster because Kaito was getting closer. Suddenly, there was several pop noises.

Nanami and Hitomi slowed when they realized to nerf bullets had hit their chests. Kaito stepped out of the shadows, laughing.

"I knew it!" Hitomi said. "I knew you looped around! When I lost your scent, I knew!"

Kaito snickered and handed his sister the toy gun. "Your turn."

The three children played for the rest of the afternoon, but when the sky started turning pinkish, Nanami told her new friends that she had to head home.

"Awww, okay," Hitomi said. "Will you be back tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Nanami said, smiling.

"Yay!" Kaito said.

"Sorry again about the neckless," Hitomi said sheepishly.

"It's okay. How do you guys have such good hearing and smell?" Nanami asked. "It's amazing."

The twins glanced nervously at each other.

"What?" Nanami asked. "Is it some big secret?"

"Can we tell her?" Hitomi whispered to her brother.

He shook his head. "No."

"Why not?" Hitomi whined.

"Cause," Kaito said. "She could tattle on us."

"I won't!" Nanami protested. "I promise!"

"See?" Hitomi said, placing her hands on her hips.

"No," Kaito said, digging his hands into his pockets.

Hitomi rolled her eyes and stomped onto her brothers foot as hard as she could. He cried out in pain, squinting his eyes shut. When he opened them, Nanami screamed in horror and scrambled back, tripping and falling onto her rear end.

"You're ghouls!" she said in horror.

"Part ghoul," Hitomi said as her brother's eye went back to normal. "Our Daddy is a human and our Mommy is a half ghoul."

"B—but you eat humans," the black haired girl said.

"Yeah," Hitomi said, looking down at the ground.

"But you're nice," Nanami said, staring blankly at the twins.

"Just because we're ghouls doesn't mean we're mean," Kaito said.

"A—are you gonna hurt me?" Nanami asked, voice shaking.

"Of course not," Kaito said, extending his hand to the fallen girl. "We promise. We're friends, right?"

Nanami stared hesitantly at them, and then slowly took the boy's hand and allowed him to help her up. "Right."

Nanami stared at the ground, not sure how to feel. What would her parents think if they found out?

"What's the matter?" Hitomi asked.

"It's just," Nanami said uncomfortably. "My parents. They're ghoul investigators."

"That's okay," Kaito said. "Our Dad is too."

"Your Dad, a Dove, had babies with a ghoul?" Nanami asked, shocked.

"Yup," Kaito said. "Long story."

"What's your Daddy's name?" Nanami asked.

"Suzuya Juuzou," Hitomi said.

Nanami's jaw dropped. Juuzou had lied about having no kids.

"My Daddy is Amon Koutarou and my Mommy is Mado Akira."

"My Daddy knows them!" Kaito said. His expression then became stern. "But you have to pretend we never met, okay? Everything is a secret."

Nanami nodded. "Okay."

"See you tomorrow then?" Hitomi asked hopefully.

Nanami nodded again. They bid their goodbyes and the black haired girl headed home, heart and brain at war.