It starts with a knock on the door.
Asahi has no reason to suspect anything is amiss.
Her husband is at the CCG and it's likely that he will be there until morning. She knows things have been getting more difficult for him. Killings in the 20th ward have increased along with his workload.
While it means he's been spending less time at home with her and Juuzou, she can hardly find it in her to resent it.
Especially not with people dying.
She worries for Juuzou sometimes. Worries about the toll her husband's work might take on his mental state.
Yukinori is very careful to keep the details from him, sharing with her what he can only when he's certain Juuzou won't overhear.
And yet Juuzou is both curious and observant- there's a chance he'll put the pieces together and work things out for himself.
While this therapist has worked wonders, the last thing Asahi wants is for a careless comment to send his mind reeling back to that hellish place.
A knock at the door drags her from her thoughts.
Asahi lifts her head, squinting in confusion.
Who could possibly be…?
Rap. Rap. Rap.
It comes again with more urgency.
Asahi sighs.
"Coming!" she calls, fighting to keep the impatience out of her voice.
What could possibly be so important to warrant disturbing them this late into the evening?
Her hand is on the doorknob when the door splinters inward, slamming her back into the wall. The impact has her seeing stars and knocks the wind out of her.
She slides to the ground before she can get her bearings and brings hand to her temple, blinking past the black spots that speckle her vision.
A low moan escapes her.
Rough hands grab her by the shirt, yanking her upright.
"Where is he?" The ghoul looms over her, putrid breath hitting her in the face.
Asahi gags.
"Your husband, Shinohara Yukinori… Where is he?"
She grasps his wrists weakly. She can't fight him.
It's still instinctual to try.
(If she keeps him busy enough out here, maybe he won't hurt Juuzou.)
"He's not here," she says, taking vicious satisfaction in denying him what he wants.
His expression darkens.
Asahi inhales sharply, recognizing her death before it comes, and she prays that her husband won't blame himself too terribly.
(He will. He'll never forgive himself. Oh, God…)
The death blow never comes.
Juuzou does.
He comes flying at the ghoul with a shriek of desperate rage. His thin arms wrap around its neck as he grapples with it.
"Juuzou!" Horror freezes Asahi in place.
She can't believe what she's seeing.
There's no way… there's no way Juuzou can win this.
He'll die.
She can't let that happen.
Asahi moves before she fully processes that she's doing so. With a wordless scream, she flings herself forward.
She has no weapon, no plan, but she can't just sit back and do nothing.
The ghoul swings his arm out, backhanding her across the face and sending her reeling. She hits the wall again, but he's there in front of her before she can fall.
It all happens so quickly.
She must have blacked out for an instant because when she opens her eyes again, Juuzou lies slumped in the corner, unmoving.
"Juuzou…" She tries to move, but her body won't cooperate, she's shaking so badly. "Juuzou…" Still, she reaches for him, tears blurring her vision.
He doesn't stir.
"He's alive." The ghoul squats in front of her, obstructing her view. "For now." He cocks his head, regarding her coldly. "The rest is entirely up to your husband and what he intends to do."
"What do you want?" she spits. "Don't turn this back on him. This is all you."
She's shaking, but she lifts her chin, defiant. She's terrified- terrified for herself, for Juuzou, for her husband-
The ghoul grips her chin, fingers digging into her flesh, and turns her face towards him. "I want you to tell your husband to come looking for me. It's Warehouse 13. In the Blackout District of Ward 6. Remember that if you ever want to see your child again."
She tries to slap his hand away, but he doesn't budge.
"Don't touch him," she growls. "If you lay one finger on him…"
"You'll what?" He releases her chin, but, just as quickly, grabs her by the throat, slamming her against the wall.
Asahi gasps, vision going white when the back of her skull connects with the wall. She grabs at his wrist, trying to alleviate the pressure on her throat.
It's pointless.
"And just so he knows I'm serious…" He grabs her wrist and, before she has time to process his next moves, twists it deftly.
Asahi doesn't even hear the snap when it breaks because the pain drowns out everything else, erasing her world in a flare of white static.
She screams.
He releases her just as quickly and she drops to the floor, curling around her injured arm, breaths coming in short, wounded pants.
"W-why? Why are you doing this?"
Behind him, Juuzou stirs with a low moan, dragging the ghoul's attention away from her.
"Please…" she whispers. Anything to take his attention off of Juuzou. Not him. Don't take him. He's been through enough. "I'll go with you. Just don't…" She breaks off, bottom lip trembling. Her emotions are overwhelming her.
"How valiant of you to offer…" he regards her carefully- and for a moment, Asahi has hope that he may actually take her instead- but she only sees the same hardness from before reflected in his features, "but you're not the one I'm taking."
"No!" Desperation fuels her movements as she lunges forward, but he knocks her aside like she's nothing more than an insect.
He doesn't spare her a second glance as he gathers Juuzou into his arms, cradling him gently like he's a fragile thing.
And he does look fragile then.
Juuzou is slowly coming back to awareness, clearly dazed, but at least he's conscious.
If it weren't for the circumstances, Asahi might actually have cried with relief.
If it weren't for the ghoul.
He's carrying her child away.
And Asahi can do nothing to stop him.
"Please-" She tries one more time to no avail.
They're gone, like dust in the wind.
She folds over, collapsing in on herself, and wails.
/
"Yukinori…" Asahi holds the phone tight enough against her ear that she might actually break it, cradling her broken arm against her chest.
It's difficult for her to speak.
"Asahi," she can hear his underlying panic, though he's trying so, so hard to keep it together for her, "what happened? Are you alright? Is Juuzou alright?"
"No," she chokes on her words. The tears won't stop coming now, but she makes no effort to stop them. "No," she repeats, shaking her head even though her husband can't possibly see the gesture. "Yukinori, there was a ghoul…"
"Asahi," somehow, in the midst of this, Yukinori manages to keep his voice calm, "tell me what happened."
"He took Juuzou," she manages, gasping with each breath. "He took him and… I couldn't stop him. I tried to… I tried, but..." A broken sob forces its way out of her throat.
Every horrible thing Juuzou could be enduring right now… it's all because of her.
Her fault.
She's his mother now. Protecting him is her job.
She failed.
"Asahi," his voice is gentle, far gentler than she deserves, "listen to me, this isn't your fault."
She shakes her head, hand covering her mouth, completely forgetting that he can't see the gesture.
"Asahi, I know you don't believe me right now, but none of this is your fault."
She finally finds the strength to speak.
"Just bring him home, Yukinori. Please. Just bring him home."
/
"Why are you here?!" Asahi clutches at him, fingers gripping the material of his suit jacket with a vengeance. "Juuzou…! He… What about Juuzou?!"
"Asahi…" Shinohara wraps his fingers around her wrists, disentangling her from his clothing and maneuvering her into his arms. "I'll find him. But I had to come see you first."
His heart still hasn't calmed down.
"I'm sorry." She cries into his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"It's alright." Shinohara holds her fiercely. Protectively.
None of this is alright.
None of this is her fault.
If anything, it's his.
This ghoul broke into his home, went after his family, all because it wanted him.
(How dare he? How dare he come into his home and harm his family? Leave Asahi wounded and take Juuzou from him?)
This profession was only supposed to endanger him. He enlisted because he wanted to make this place a safer world for them.
Asahi and Juuzou were never supposed to be dragged into this.
It's too late for that now.
/
Juuzou lies quietly on the concrete ground where the ghoul left him. His hands are bound and a thick cloth has been tied around his eyes.
He doesn't move. He knows better than to try and escape what's coming.
It will only be worse for him in the end.
This ghoul wants to hurt him, the same way Mama did.
Except… it isn't really just Juuzou he plans to hurt, is it?
His throat tightens.
Asahi- she already got hurt pretty bad.
He saw- when the ghoul was carrying him away, he saw her.
And Shinohara… This ghoul said he's going to bring Shinohara here.
He wants to kill him.
Juuzou's breath hitches.
He doesn't want Shinohara to die.
He moves slowly, bringing his hands up to his face. His fingers curl around the blindfold and, after only a moment's hesitation, he tugs it down.
Wherever he is, it's still pretty dark so it doesn't make much of a difference either way.
Still, there's at least some light filtered in from somewhere.
He climbs to his feet unsteadily, staggering forward a step and catching himself against one of the many crates.
His head is pounding enough to make it hard to think. He stands still for a moment, trying to catch his bearings.
There's still no sign of the ghoul, but that doesn't mean anything.
In this darkness, it could be anywhere.
Even watching him right now.
His heart is beating fast enough that he wonders if it might pop out of his chest and run away from him.
Juuzou presses shaky hands to his chest and takes another, cautious step forward.
Run for it.
The voice in his head screams at him.
Run for it. While the ghoul isn't around. Run for it.
The sound of something landing on the floor behind him, feather light in its movements, has him freezing, one foot in front of the other.
"Where did you think you were going?"
Juuzou doesn't stop to think.
He runs.
He detects movement coming up behind him, but before he can dodge, before he can think to do anything, his legs are being swept out from under him and he hits the ground hard enough to leave him winded.
He stares up at the ceiling and tries to remember what he's doing.
Before he can work it out, a figure moves into his line of vision, looming over him, their face cast in shadows.
His mouth goes dry.
"Well," the ghoul says in a tone that's entirely devoid of emotion, "you've got some fight left in you."
/
The location is an old parking garage.
It's clearly being used for something else now, filled with old shipping crates and other detritus.
Shinohara curses under his breath.
That's just going to make things more difficult.
He sees Juuzou immediately, seated atop a wooden crate. He's barefoot, still in his pajamas, and blindfolded, hands bound in front of him with cord.
Shinohara frantically scan him for injury.
His clothes and hair are rumpled, but, unless something is hidden under his clothes, he doesn't appear to be injured.
There's no blood or bruises that he can see. No obvious distortions caused by a broken or twisted limb.
"Juuzou…" Shinohara approaches cautiously.
Juuzou doesn't react to Shinohara's presence beyond a slight parting of his lips. A tremor runs across his frame.
Shinohara wants nothing more than to run to Juuzou's side, but there's still no sign of the ghoul who abducted him.
He has to be careful.
Rushing out with no thought is exactly what's expected of him, exactly why Juuzou has been left so conveniently and apparently unguarded out in the open.
It's all too easy.
He doesn't move.
The ghoul steps out from the shadows behind two crates.
"I've been waiting for you, Shinohara." He places his hand atop Juuzou's head, almost paternal in a way.
Shinohara doesn't miss the way Juuzou cringes away from him and he bristles.
"What do you want?"
"Do you even remember?" he snaps. "The twelfth ward. The CCG killed my son."
He doesn't.
He has no idea what this ghoul is talking about.
He swallows.
Ghouls and humans are entirely separate from one another, but the grief of a father… This is something he can understand.
He doesn't want to feel pity for this monster, but he does.
"I'm sorry." He swallows, realizing he has know idea how to approach this, but he has to try. "I know how hard that must have been."
The veins in the ghoul's temple throb. "Don't patronize me."
"You're right, I'm sorry." He lifts his hands apologetically. The edge of his mouth lifts in a facsimile of a smile but he can't even pretend beyond that and it drops almost instantly. "You don't have to do this." He knows he sounds like a broken record- it's painfully obvious that this isn't what he's trained for, but the CCG doesn't do hostage negotiations.
He's in over his head.
He's in over his head with Juuzou's life at stake.
"He's just a kid." Maybe that will mean something to this ghoul. Maybe it won't.
Shinohara hopes more than anything that it does.
The ghoul takes a good, long look at Juuzou. Then, he smiles sadly at Shinohara. "Yes, I do."
The room explodes in a flurry of gun violence and noise.
Shinohara lunges forward, dragging Juuzou down and out of the line of fire and into his arms. He tucks his head against his chest, one hand cradling the back of his neck and keeping him secure, and rolls them both away.
"Shit!" he gasps.
Juuzou doesn't make a sound.
That scares Shinohara more than anything else.
Is he hurt in some way he hasn't noticed yet?
He tears the blindfold off and holds Juuzou tightly, protectively.
"It's okay. It's alright. You're safe." It's as much of a reassurance for himself as it is for Juuzou. His fingers are carding through the boy's hair. "I've got you."
Juuzou makes no sound outside of a sharp intake of breath as he presses his face against Shinohara's shoulder.
He's trembling, fingers latching onto the material of his shirt and holding tight.
… he still hasn't untied him, he realizes.
He starts to extricate himself from Juuzou's grip, intent on rectifying this.
Juuzou's whimper- and the way he presses himself more deeply into the folds of Shinohara's shirt- stops him.
"I'm here," he whispers, hugging him tighter. "Juuzou, I'm here and I'm… so sorry I let him take you. I should have protected you better, but I'm here now. I won't let him hurt you."
His promise rings hollow.
How can he promise to protect him when he's already failed so abysmally at doing exactly that?
"Shinohara-sama!" A young CCG recruit- included in this mission for reasons Shinohara can't even begin to fathom, but which he suspects have something to do with nepotism- approaches.
Really, he's the last person Shinohara wants to deal with.
"What is it?" Maybe he sounds more hostile than he means to because the kid takes a step back before catching himself and clearing his throat.
"Ah… the ghoul has been… neutralized?" He coughs, straightening his spine and squaring his shoulders in a clear attempt to appear more professional. "I just wanted to let you know. Sir."
Shinohara inhales, composing himself.
"Thank you," he says, managing to keep his tone neutral.
"I'll, uh…" he fumbles, rubbing his hands together, "I'll leave you alone then. Paramedics should be on their way."
"Yeah," Shinohara says. "You do that."
He just wants to take his son home.
Anything else is just a distraction.
/
He brings Juuzou home.
He's checked out beforehand, but Shinohara's earlier assessment had been correct.
Juuzou is not seriously injured.
He's shaken, yes, and a little banged up.
The most worrying injury is a mild concussion, but it's still nothing he can't overcome at home with him and Asahi.
Just as well, because Shinohara doesn't know how he's ever going to let him out of his sight ever again.
Asahi wraps her good arm around Juuzou and pulls him close, like she's never going to let him go again.
Shinohara can relate.
Juuzou practically melts into her hold, face pressed into the crook of her neck.
He wraps his arms around the two of them, holding them close.
Whatever comes next, they're going to be okay.
