Eto knocked on the lavish door of her friend's mansion. Kaito and Hitomi stood beside her, both children looking excited to see the blond ghoul. The door opened, and Ju Nana frowned at the group of three.

"Hello," she said.

"May we come in?" Eto asked.

The black haired woman held open the door and Eto strolled in, the two kids skipping in behind her.

"I have to say," Ju Nana said as the door shut. "This is probably not the best time."

Eto blinked. "Why not?"

"Well," Ju Nana said, glancing around nervously. "It's Ju San."

Eto looked at her kids and back to Ju Nana.

"Why don't you go find Naki?" Eto said, giving the twins a gentle nudge.

The twins ran off into the giant house, and the half ghoul returned her attention to the servant.

"What's wrong with Ju San?" Eto asked. "Is she sick."

Ju Nana shook her head. "No, she… Well, she's gone."

Eto's eyes widened. "Gone? Like, dead?"

"Don't know. A few weeks ago we just woke up and she was gone."

"A few weeks ago?" Eto asked in disbelief.

Ju Nana nodded. "If you wanna know more, just ask Nijuhachi."

Eto nodded and then headed to the nurse's office. The woman sat in her chair sipping coffee, black hair in a tight bun.

"Hey," Eto said, strolling in.

Nijuhachi smiled. "Hello there."

"So I heard about Ju San," Eto said, sitting down on one of the cots.

Nijuhachi grimaced. "Yeah. Things have been different around here since she went missing."

"So what exactly happened?"

"Well, one morning, we woke up and her cot was empty. We didn't think anything of it because Naki always picks her to go into the city if he needs something. So we just figured he had sent her early in the morning. But then we saw Naki."

"What about him?"

"He was a nervous wreck. He was sweating and his hands were shaking and he was pacing around. And that's when we knew something was very wrong."

"Well the reason for her disappearance is obvious," Eto said, kicking her feet.

"And what's that?"

"She ran away," Eto stated flatly.

Nijuhachi laughed and shook her head. "Ju San did not run away, I can tell you that now."

Eto cocked her head. "How do you know?"

"Ju San has a reason to stay."

"Reason being?"

"The Master himself."

Eto rolled her eyes. "She would not stay a slave just because she has a crush on him."

Nijuhachi sighed. "Eto, you perplex me. Sometimes, you are very keen on things. And sometimes, you just din't see what's right in front of you."

"I don't understand."

The nurse sighed. "The feelings are a lot stronger than a simple crush."

"She loves him?"

"Seems to be the case."

Eto stared at the nurse. "Does Naki share the feelings?"

Nijuhachi chuckled. "Now I don't know about that. I do know there's a chick at work that's really into him."

"Miza," Eto said.

"Does he share the feelings?"

"I don't know," Eto said.

There was a knock on the door, and the blond ghoul walked in. His eyes were tired and he looked like he had not been eating as much as he should.

"Hey Eto," he said, forcing a weak smile.

"Hey," she said, looking at the tired man.

"Servants made coffee," he said.

Eto said goodbye to Nijuhachi and joined Naki at the dining room table for coffee.

"So," Eto said, taking a sip. "Ju San."

"Is missing," Naki finished.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner? We can just send some Aogiri members to go look for her."

Naki shook his head. "She'll come back on her own. S—she will."

"Whatever you say Naki."

"So how's things going with Aogiri? Sorry I missed the last meeting."

Eto sighed. "Well, Tatara was looking for a new executive. Someone caught his eye."

"Who?"

"Powerful rinkaku type. Are you familiar with the gang The Cards?"

Naki took a drink of his coffee. "The ones with the white masks with the card painted on the side?"

"Yeah, that one."

Naki shrugged. "I know a little."

"Well there was an S rate ghoul in their ranks that Tatara was interested in. I don't remember the name, but she wore a crown of some sorts and was the seven of spades."

"Was?"

"Oh, you didn't hear?"

Naki stared at the woman blankly. "Hear about what?"

"Doves attacked the Cards. Wiped them out."

"So that Spades girl is dead?"

"Here's where it gets interesting," Eto said, leaning forward. "I asked Juuzou about it, and apparently they never found her body. A gang of ghouls drove out the doves."

"What gang?"

"Juuzou had already left when the other gang showed up, so I don't know."

"So you're still looking for the Seven of Spades?"

Eto nodded. "If we find her, she's going to join Aogiri."

Naki blinked. "How do you know she will?"

"We'll kill her if she doesn't, obviously."

Naki sighed and slumped into his seat.

"I don't care about this Spades chick," he mumbled. "I just wanna find Ju San."

"I'm sure she'll show up," Eto said.