( Tooru's P.O.V)
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Successfully Tooru had coxed the lethargic female from her den however such hadn't came for free, he'd had to conform completely to her almost unfounded scheme to recover their mentor. He'd accepted the passing of his comrades, despite the grave wounds it inflicted, despite the pain that resonated from his core making his chest ache- He'd been told that accepting it was the /only/ way to move on- But she'd offered him another option.
"..." Silently Saiko dragged on a pair of mis-matching socks, tying her laces haphazardly before sparing a fleeting, drowsy gaze in his direction "..." With a small nod he pried the door open, waiting for her to slip through the sliver before he to followed.
A taxi lingered out-side their apartment, camoflaguging with the day to-day life of those passing through; awaiting their arrival. As the two of them slipped in Saiko wavered, sparing a side-long glance in his direction and mouthed something that had his mind lingering on the edge 'I have something to tell you later...'
And then they eclipsed into silence and only the rumble of the engine dared sliced through such; even the radio seemed to settle with a dull hum rather than spattering any 'Popular' tunes.
Tooru's eyes lingered on the blurred shapes that whizzed past, each stirring up a different feeling in his chest; what if Sassan really was still alive- Why would they say he was dead- He placed his nail between his lips, biting down ever so slightly; what kind of reasoning could they possibly ha-
Abruptly the driver pulled to a halt outside of the HQ. The building itself was hardly descret, yet any regular individual would have passed it off as an office building, just as the others that resided in this district- It seemed to almost 'Fit in' despite it's actual reason for being.
"Have a nice day, Sir, Ma'am," The drive tipped his hat as the two departed, Tooru meeting him with an awkward smile of appreciation and before he knew it Saiko had vanished from his side, approaching the steps a few metres away "S-Saiko! Wait up!" He gaped, trotting to meet up with her.
They were met at the enterance by an attendeant; flaxen hair tied neatly into a bun, a smile plastered onto her made-up visage; for a moment Tooru thought she was truly glad to be greeting them but that quickly dissolved into acceptance that she was their guide and nothing else- Especially by the way she hastily ushered them toward the meeting room.
"You don't want to make the other's wait," She mused, heels clicking with each step and as they reached the door she quickly adjusted her vest, patted down her skirt and turned to them "Be ready, as far as I know they're in a foul mood-" The warning didn't fall on deaf ears and as she opened the door she offered a brief greeting and a smile before abandoning them.
"Rank 3 Investigators Saiko and Mutsuki, please take a seat," The voice belonged to an un-named figure who held an ambiance of authority, enough so that it sent shivers down his spine- Hastily Tooru claimed a seat beside Saiko and tuned in.
"As you a group of ghouls ranking from A class to SS class have been assembling of late and thus far we have no plausible explination as to why- So for now, our top priority is to elaborate upon such; then we'll make our next move, understood?"
Discussion rose between indivdual parties yet Tooru opted to remain silent, casting his gaze to Saiko who seemed completely immersed in something else- Something that had little to do with the gathering here and a whole lot to do with finding Sassan.
"There'll be another meeting called in the next fortnight, keep alert and report any findings to the lead investigators immidiently, dismissed."
Obidiently they filed out of the room in single file and it wasn't until they'd slid through those glass doors that Saiko pulled him to the side, fingers clasped tightly around his wrist; lurching him down to her height "Follow me-"
Abruptly she dragged him down the enterance path and around the corner, not pausing for a breath until they'd meandered about a block away and by then her rasps sounded almost un-natural "We need to... Go to the cafe... You know the one... The one that Sassan always liked to go to..." Tooru knew the cafe well but the fact that Saiko; who'd only briefly visisted the place once or twice remembered it etched a dedicated woman instead of a introverted gamer before him.
Hesitantly he nodded "Alright..." And with that their trek began.
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Saiko (P.O.V)
Log { Day 1}- We went to the coffee shop to meet up with Aoi, he gave him some basic information on the conflict that's been waging between the CCG and the Ghouls in the past month; he also reported various unusual activity within the Ghoul society.
Saiko tapped her pen on the edge of her pad pensively, staring across the table at the lanky youth, the majority of his face was masked by long crimson locks so it was difficult to make out his facial expression; she however was already positive of his authenticity.
"I see... Also," Beside her Tooru shifted uneasily, enough so that it made her words evade her- however she quickly recollected herself "Have you seen anyone recently who looks like this..." She withdrew a slightly crinkled image of their team, placing her index finger on Sassan.
Aoi squinted at the paper momentarily, scrutinizing it before finally glancing up and nodding "Yeah! I did! He was hanging around with a group of the migrators, I couldn't quite pin-point where they were headed though-"
Her chest fluttered and for a moment she was at a loss for words "If you can... Keep an eye on him for us..."
"And what's in it for me?" With a sigh she retreved a dvd from her tote bag "Limited edition, just like you asked-" It wasn't cheap to get her hands on such an item but for this kind of vital information sacrifices had to be made...
"And there's more where that came from if you continue with this.." She murmured, closing her bag and sparing a glance at the info-broker.
A grin blossomed across his face, tapping the dvd once against his cheek "Course, I'll get in touch as soon as I have something worth your while~" He slid out of the booth, the only sign that he was ever there was the resonating bell chime upon his depature.
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As they stepped outside Saiko was struck by the sudden chill, ominous clouds having consumed a once pristine sky during the brief time they'd been chatting with Aoi, with distaste she dragged her jacket further up her neck, shielding herself from such.
"Who was that guy?" Tooru asked, sparing her a side-ward glance as the two of them wandered toward a parked taxi "He's a information broker, trades rare items for information on just about anything," She paused for a moment "Ghouls included-"
To be honest she'd met him over some chat room involving one of their cases a while back and since then he'd been a reliable source of information. Tooru however, still appeared uneasy as they entered the cab, a wad of bills and their street address enough to have them back on track.
"He's still out there..." Tooru murmured, his eyes seemingly fixed on the faceless passers by outside; fingers curling then uncurling again and again; trying to come to terms with the lie that had been cast upon them by the other investigators.
"..." Saiko was silent fixing her gaze ahead- It wasn't a mystery that quite a few of their colleagues looked down on them for what they were- Unlike the others not all of the Quinx were adept fighters- chosen only for their compatibility- Like she was but to keep them in the blue about something so critical.. It was odd, that was for sure.
"And we're going to find him.." She offered under her breath when she finally spoke again, her hand touching Tooru's in a vauge attempt to ease his anxieties; that was when the phone in her pocket burst to life, chirping furiously-
Hastily she flipped it open, pressing loud speaker just in time to hear the boom of one of the head investigators "There's been a break in the case- Tomorrow at eight be at the office."
