"Miss Mesume?"
Eleven year old Cards Member Shimina Yokeru climbed into Mesume's lap. The brown haired ghoul had been sitting on one of the many crates in the warehouse, looking at the gang she was now so deeply intertwined with.
"Yes?" Mesume asked, smiling at blue eyed blond.
"Do you think the investigators are gonna get us?" Shimina asked, leaning her head against Mesume.
The older ghoul stroked the young girl's long, wavy hair.
"Of course not."
"They got Mommy and Daddy," the young girl said softly, tears forming in her crystal eyes.
Mesume sighed and hugged the young girl tighter. Since she and Naki had no children, she had come to think of young Shimina as her own daughter. The blond ghoul's parents were slaughtered in front of her when she was nine.
"But I'm going to protect you," Mesume said.
"Promise?" Shimina asked, looking up at the older ghoul with wide, teary eyes.
"I promise."
"Hey there," an attractive woman said, smiling and walking up to them.
"Kintai!" Shimina said gleefully, hopping off of Mesume's lap and throwing her arms around the beautiful ghoul.
Kintai grinned. Her waist length, pine green hair tumbled in perfect curls down her back. Her lavender eyes radiated warmth, glowing with joy at the sight of the two ghouls she considered to be her sisters. Her toned body glistened with sweat, and she wore her casual clothes that consisted of a grey v-neck, black jeans, and a belt. Her cloth mask was clipped to her belt.
"Where've you been?" Mesume asked.
"Just working out," Kintai replied, stretching.
"Trying to impress Sename?" Mesume asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
Kintai made a weird face. "Um, no. He's like eleven years younger than me."
"I know," Mesume giggled. "I was just messing with you. But seriously, age is just a number."
"To you," Kintai said, playfully messing with Shimina's hair. "Isn't your boo like, what, six years older than you?"
Mesume blushed.
"So he just knows more tricks in bed?" Kintai asked, teasing the younger ghoul.
"Kintai Shukujo!" Tanichi scolded from where he sat nearby. "You know better then to talk like that in front of a child."
Tanichi Shounin had his now white hair slicked back as usual, and storms brewed in his grey eyes. A thin, white t shirt covered his muscular upper half, and he had on black jeans a checked vans. Mitsumi Ouken sat in his lap. She looked like a doll, with her pale face and dark eye makeup. Her eyeliner was flawless, and her lipgloss made her lips a luscious pink. Her bubble gum pink hair was pulled into two low ponytails that fell over her shoulders, and her bangs hung in her emerald eyes. She wore a puffy white shirt and a choker with bells on it, with rolled shorts, fishnet stockings, and black combat boots.
Mesume liked both ghouls, but she had a tendency to feel awkward when they would start flirting around in front of her.
"Oh, hush Tanichi," Mitsumi scolded. "The kid's gotta find out someday."
The man rolled his gray eyes.
"Kintai, you're back!" a male voice said.
Mesume looked to see the two male ghouls Kinmuno Seikyuu and Shinbei Hakaro approaching them. Kinmuno had a quirky grin on his face and a mischievous sparkle in his deep blue eyes, like he was going to pickpocket someone. His good friend Shinbei walked beside him. The man still wore his hair in an undercut, but it was unwashed from a skirmish earlier that day and was caked with blood. He his characteristic smirk on his ghostly pale face, and his odd turquoise eyes seemed to glow.
"Wow," Kintai said. "I didn't know you all missed me that much."
"I know Kinmuno certainly did," Shinbei chuckled, placing a hand on top of his friend's head.
"Hey, knock it off," Kinmuno said, pushing Shinbei away and then running his hands through his short black hair.
"What's the whole gathering about?" a woman in her mid twenties asked, walking up to the crowd hand in hand with a male ghoul. Another woman walked on her other side.
Ranaida Ashiro, the one who had spoken, was smiling. She wore a white tanktop, dark jeans, all black converse, a black leather jacket, and a blue beanie. She had obviously been smoking; Mesume could smell it on her. She was holding her boyfriend Matakeshi Shiato's hand. The man was smiling, which was out of character for him. His sad brown eyes focused on the group, and he ran his hand through his long black hair. The woman on the other side of Ranaida was Jimota Yuuzoku. She was frowning, and to Mesume, it looked all to familiar. Jimota resembled Mesume so much that they could be family; the only difference was that Jimota had emerald green eyes.
"We're just chatting," Mesume said. "But it looks like Jimota's having fun."
"Shut up," the brown haired ghoul said. "I hate third wheeling."
"If you hate it," Ranaida said, jabbing a finger at her shorter friend. "Get yourself a boyfriend."
Jimota rolled her eyes. "Like who?"
"Shinbei doesn't have a girlfriend!" Mitsumi called out, twirling a strand of her pink hair.
Jimota blushed, and the turquoise eyed man walked closer to her.
"Ohhhhh!" Kintai said. "Kiss her!"
"Yeah!" the others said, joining in. "Kiss her!"
Everyone was chanting 'do it', and Shinbei rolled his eyes. Jimota was blushing her face off. Suddenly, the black haired man leaned over a kissed the green eyed ghoul right on the lips. When he pulled away, Jimota looked like she was going to faint. Everyone laughed and cheered.
Mesume looked across the warehouse at Kenki. Him and Sename sat together on a box, observing everything going on. Mesume smiled. Kenki was like the father she had never had, and Sename was like a brother. Kenki was wise, kind, and patient. Mesume thought what he did for every abandoned ghoul was honorable.
"Boo!" someone said, grabbing Mesume's shoulders.
The doe eyed girl jumped, and whirled around so see who was behind her. She playfully rolled her eyes when she was met with her half brother's lopsided grin.
"Heiko, don't do that," she said, playfully shoving him.
Mesume loved her brother. They had been partnered together, and they had their little routine. Mesume would know what Heiko was going to do, and visa versa. Sometimes it seemed like their thought processes were intertwined.
Come to think of it, she loved everybody here. They were all the family she had always yearned for. And it had started out with a spy operation. Now, she had sworn to herself that she would keep them safe.
It was soon time to leave, and Mesume was soon walking the Tokyo streets at 3:00 am. Guilt made her want to throw up on the side of the road. She had not reported any information to Juuzou in weeks. She just couldn't do it.
Motion in front of her made he servant freeze. There was a young man dancing around, making his way toward her. He stopped when he saw her.
"Mesume," he said. "Just who I was looking for."
A lump formed in the doe eyed girl's throat. "S-Suzuya."
"You haven't given me any more info on the Cards," he said, frowning. "Yet you've obviously been with them."
"They're my family!" Mesume said, clenching her teeth.
Juuzou sighed and shook his head. "I should've known this was gonna happen. Plus, you're getting dangerous. You've killed, what, thirteen investigators?"
"I was defending my family," Mesume growled. "And I'll kill you too if you come near that warehouse."
Suzuya smirked. "Got it."
He walked away into the night, leaving Mesume to herself.
"She slipped up," the man giggled.
Juuzou had made a list of the possible locations that the Cards could gather at night. He had narrowed it down to three. Only one was a warehouse.
"I've pinned 'em."