"Boss," Mesume's captor said, addressing the man who once again stood beside him on the roof of an abandoned building. The sky was black, and the city below was brightly illuminated. "Hanakurai is walking again. She's not strong, and I would not recommend any tough work."

The Boss nodded. "Good."

"W—what are you gonna do with her?"

The man in charge glared at his subordinate and did not answer the question. Instead, he fished around in his pocket and pulled out a small baggie. Inside was two, small, round white pills.

"What are those?"

"Drugs."

"I know they're drugs. But what type of drugs, and what do you want me to do with them?"

The Boss handed the bag to his subordinate, who put them in his own pocket.

"I want you to dissolve them in her coffee or water," the Boss instructed. "It'll knock her out for awhile. And then I want you to drop her off somewhere."

The caregiver swallowed hard and nervously tugged at his scarf. "Where do you want me to take her?"

"Your partner has the directions."

"Alright," he said. "When?"

"As soon as you can."

"Okay," he said, turning to leave.

"Wait," the Boss said. "Give this back to her."

He pulled a plastic flower crown out from his jacket and handed it to his subordinate.

The subordinate smirked. "Her namesake."

"I think she'd be sad if she never got it back."

The man sought out his partner, who was sitting on a bench outside the building. The streetlamp illuminated the large man, and he pulled out his headphones when he saw Mesume's caregiver approaching him.

"What did the Boss say?"

"He said you had the directions to the drop site."

The larger man nodded and pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket. The man with the scarf frowned and opened the folded slip, and his eyes widened.

"Are you sure this is it?" he asked, looking at his partner with wide eyes.

"That's it," the man on the bench said. "I don't know why the Boss wants her taken there, but you'd better do it."

"I know, I know," he said, shoving the paper into his pocket.

"So," the bigger man said. "I have some of your stuff that I borrowed that I need to give back. I went to your apartment to see if you were there the last couple nights. Even as late as 2:00 am. And you weren't there. Where have you been?"

The male ghoul blushed and tugged at his scarf. "I've been staying with Mesume."

"Where are you sleeping?"

He blushed even harder. "The bed."

"You guys fucking?"

He shook his head. "No."

"So you really love this Flower Crown chick?"

The smaller man bit his lip. "Yeah."

"And you've only known her for what, a month?"

"Shut up, you don't know anything about love."

The man seated on the bench shrugged. "I thought you didn't like ghoul chicks anyway."

The smaller man sighed. "Mesume's different."

"How's that?"

"Well, most ghoul chicks are complete animals. They treat others awful, and all they care about is food, food, food. And they all are so tough, you know? Mesume, well she's kind. And funny. Food is not all she cares about. And she doesn't act all tough. She's… Fragile. Educated to. Very smart."

"Well, I hope you haven't gotten all that attached. Tomorrow you gotta drop her off."

"Tonight's my last night with her," he said, hanging his head.

"Well," the larger man said, standing up. "You'd better make the most of it."

The tall man slowly opened the door into the pitch black, windowless room.

"Scarf Man!" Mesume giggled playfully from where she lay in bed.

He chuckled and shut the door behind him. He climbed into the bed and slipped between the sheets. Mesume rolled over so she was laying on top of him.

"Hey there Sassy," he said, smiling.

No response.

"You alright?"

"I'm never gonna see you again, am I?"

The man sighed. "Seems to be the case."

"Well," Mesume said, sitting up. "Then I'm not waiting. The longer I lay here with you, the harder it is to leave."

She pulled off his scarf and tied it around her eyes.

"Mesume…"

"Just get it over with already!" she shouted, tears wetting the scarf and lip trembling. "You're gonna knock me out, right?"

The man sighed and lifted the small ghoul off of him.

"Be right back," he said.

The man flicked on the lights and returned holding a glass of water.

"Drink this," he said, guiding the glass to her lips.

Mesume chugged the glass, and when she had swallowed the last bit, began to cry.

"You're going to start to feel dizzy in a few minutes. And you'll pass out."

"And my memory?" she asked.

"The last thing you'll remember is probably laying awake waiting for me."

She began to cry harder, and she climbed into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, and she laid her head against his chest.

"Please don't leave me," he whispered, not sure if he was even speaking to her.

"I don't want to," she said, sinking down against him.

"I'm going to miss you so much."

"Why?" she asked, voice becoming sleepy. She slumped against him, unconscious.

He stroked her hair, tears in his own eyes. "Because I love you."

She did not move or respond. He sighed and pulled his scarf off her eyes and wrapped it around his neck. He easily picked up her small body and carried her out of the building and into the streets, where he hailed a taxi. He told the taxi driver the address, and he gave Mesume an odd look.

"What's up with her?" he asked.

"Too much to drink," he lied.

"I see," the taxi driver said, speeding off.

The male ghoul stared at Mesume's beautiful face as they drove. The bright lights outside fell on her face and seemed to make her glow. It suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea what color her eyes were. They pulled up in front of a long driveway, and he paid the man. He got out of the car with Mesume in his arms and began to carry her up the driveway.

With each step towards the massive house, his heart ached more and more. He didn't know why he was to bring her here, or what was going to happen to her. All he wanted to do was curl up next to her and keep her safe.

He reached the door and carefully laid her down, like how a mother would leave a baby at an orphanage. Tears falling, he looked at her one last time. There was a knot in his stomach; what if she forgot him? He wanted her to have something to remember him by. Suddenly, he had an idea.

He did what he needed to do, and then he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. He brought a shaking hand to the door and knocked loudly. And then he ran away into the night.