I'm for once in my life shocked. The city was nothing like how I had dreamed it! It was presently one thirty four in the mourning, yet the whole city was illuminated. Instead of wood and hide pagota's there were huge steel structures. I decide I want to go see them. After one hour and fifty eight minutes I arrive at the city. I see a sign over my head that informs me I'm in district twenty three. Their are so many humans here! That, and there's this inhumane smell! I must have it I decide. I follow my trail until I find the building I'm looking for. Anteiku. I open the door. Popping the lock on the door is easy and so I stroll in. Instantly four people turn and take up defensive stances.
"Give me that smell, and I won't kill you all." I reason.
"Yeah right, pal. You seems to not notice that there are four of us, and only one of you." She teen with a purple pixie cut says.
"Touka! That is not how things in my coffee shop are run." Says a new face entering from a side room's stairs. He is definitely the leader here. He smell powerful and I prepare for an attack. He smiles and puts his hands up, surrendering. "We don't want to fight. What is your name young man?" He says.
"Hotaru. My name is Hotaru."
"Hotaru? So your name means despair?" He says a hint of sadness in his response.
"Don't forget darkness!" I say breaking into laughter. This must have been quite new for these people because the older man with grayish hair stepped in front of the female ghoul named Touka. Even she looked at me with fear. The elder didn't however. He just continued to smile.
"Of course. How could I have forgotten darkness. Yomo why don't you make Hotaru some coffee. I'm sure he's been through quite a lot tonight." The silent gray dude moved to behind the counter and started making something. 'The smell! Get it!'
"Shut up Kyo! He's getting it!" I say sternly trying to make him shut up for a minute. This causes everyone to freeze and stare at me.
"Excuse me Hotaru, but may I ask who you are talking to?" The elder says.
"His name is Kyo. He's my brother." I say picking at some of my stitches.
"Oh, and is he nice?"
"Um, well he wants that and he says to kill all of you to get it." They all brace for an attack, well except for the elder. "But I'm not going too. The only one here worth fighting is your Sensei." I reply.
"Oh, how impolite of me not to introduce myself. I am Yoshimura."
"Okay, I didn't need to know that, but I guess if it makes you happy." I say plopping down onto a chair that sat very high up.
"Manager! Look at him! He's obviously a cannibal! If we help him he'll end up betraying us!"
"Touka. Here at Anteiku we have a policy. Do we ever go against it?"
"Hmph!" She pushes past Yomo and storms up the stairs slamming the door behind her.
Yomo came back from around the corner with the cup in his hand. He handed it to me, and I looked at it for just over twelve seconds. "It may be hot so be careful." I don't care. It smells so good. I put the cup to my mouth and let it rush in. It actually tastes somewhat bearable. I let the whole cup be emptied in only seconds. I smile.
"So much better than ghoul's. It's almost bearable!" I say merrily. This makes the other ghouls stiffen, sizing me up as either enemy or friend.
"It's is common for a ghoul to like coffee. It is one of the only things we can stomach."
"I know. But I'm not a ghoul." I say trying to get any last liquid to come out. This causes some of the ghouls to inhale sharply.
"Then what are you? If you don't mind me asking."
"I'm not sure, my parents were ghouls, but then I got the short end of the stick and turned out like this. V says I'm something special, but truthfully I just want to disappear. Then he can't hurt me anymore."
"Do you know V personally?"
"Use to. Then he just left when I became a threat to his plan." I said pulling out some money I found on Sensei's body. I handed it to him and prepared to depart. But I was stopped. I turned to see the manager frown.
"If you ever see him again, please don't tell him about this coffee shop. It could endanger us."
"Okay, plus I don't know where this place is, I just followed my nose." Then I turned and left. I wonder what else there is to this city. I turn down alleys, and wander through streets. Then I smelled it. The familiar coppery smelling liquid. But here? Better see who it is. I easily make my way to the source, with it just being a block down in an alley. There was a young girl feeding on a man twice her size and girth. I moved to get a better look, when she turned to me. One eye? Why isn't she changing it back?
"Why are you keeping your eye like that? I was taught it's disrespectful."
"I don't know who you are, but I'll give you a chance to leave."
"Hahahaha! You might be stronger than that guy, but you will never be as strong as me. I was handpicked and raised by V." I give her the smile. She flinches only a fraction of an inch. Then she studies me. "Do you want to fight me? I haven't used my Rinkaku very much… Oh, Maybe my Bikaku…. No, my Koukaku should work, but I think I'll use my Ukaku. Or I could use them all." I flash one of eyes to see her response. Then the other. Then back to the one she has.
"So you have complete control over your eyes. And you don't smell completely ghoul. Could you perhaps even be like me?"
"Probably not, I'm a failed ghoul. That's why Pops abandoned me. Sold me to V. After all ⅔'a ghoul is completely alone. Not even half like you and your father." This must have set her off, because she brought out her Kakuja and screamed. How fun! I bring mine out, morphing it into hers.
"You dare mimic me?! I'll kill you! She seethed barreling down the alley. She swings fast and it knocks a chunk of my Kakuja off. She steps back to admire her work. It heals in seven seconds completely reshaped in twelve. This catches her off guard. Does she not heal this quick?
"Do you not heal this quick? You're like me, no?"
"How is this possible?"
"How is what possible? Why are you so upset?"
"Shut up! Quit talking! We're not friends! And I'm not crazy! I cut your heart you are dead!"
"You didn't. I moved out of the way, you just cut my Kakuja. And we're all a little mad, Alice."
"That's not my name."
"You haven't told me your name. So I picked one for you. You are Alice, and I am your Mad Hatter." I release my Kakuja and drop to my feet. Alice does the same. We stare each other down, with me finally breaking the silence.
"So, what do we do now?"
"I'm going back to my base. You do what you want." She says turning to walk away.
"Okay! Where are we going?" I say running to catch up to her.
"We? I just tried to kill you, and you want to come with me? You must really be insane."
"Mad."
"What?"
"Mad. Not insane. V says Aogiri Tree is the insane." She stops. I accidentally took two steps too many. "Why did you stop?"
"Quiet. Let me think for a second. So you are with V?"
"No. I got tired of training so I left. Now I'm trying to make new friends. Mr. Yoshimura was nice, he gave me coffee!"
She frowns at that. I don't know why. 'We'll find out why, stupid!'
"Don't tell me what to do Kyo!"
"What? Are you talking to me? I haven't told you to do anything."
"No, Kyo, he says find out why Alice frowned."
"I didn't frown. And my name is Eto. Eto Yoshimura."
"Ooh! So I met your father? Then why are we walking this way? His store is the other way."
"Stop. He's dead."
"But he isn't. I just saw him! Come, I'll show you!" I saw grabbing her arm. She releases her Koukaku and cuts my arm off. It doesn't hurt anymore, but it startled me.
"Damn, now I'll have to re-stitch my arm back. Oh well." I say, watching my arm grow back. She had also stopped to watch the spectacle that was before her.
"He's dead to me. Don't ever talk about him again."
'That bitch, who does she think she is? Ordering us around and all.' Kyo roars.
"Quiet, Kyo, she's our Alice. Now start treating her like it." She groans and starts walking again. We continue down a relatively straight road for forty two minutes seventeen seconds, before turning right and heading towards a construction sight. As we approach the building three men walk out. One is rather talk and looks a lot like me, but with short hair he is also the eldest. The next is about my age, with dark blue hair that's quite shaggy. The third was an eerie giant of a ghoul with long black hair tied up in a ponytail. He wore a white mask featuring huge black lips, a huge mouth with equally massive teeth and tiny slits for nostrils. His fingernails are black.
"Eto who is this?" The elder says.
"This is our Mad Hatter. He will be your new boss, only under me. Got it?" She inquires sternly.
"Yes Eto. Hello Hatter. I am Tatara. The youngest here is Ayato. The other is Noro. He doesn't talk so don't get offended." The elder says.
"Hello! I'm Hotaru! And my brother is Kyo!" I reply smiling from ear to ear.
'You idiot they don't know we're together.'
"You're right Kyo. I guess I should tell them…" I ponder, "Oh, guys he's connected to me. He's like a nagging voice in my head, that I can't rid of."
"Humph, so he's insane?" Ayato states, acting like a hurt child. His expression upsets me. I pull one of my knives from my pocket. As I go to change it, I'm stopped.
"Hotaru, what are you doing?" Alice questions.
"Ayato looks upset. So I thought he needed good boy treatment. So I was going to cut his lung out. And maby pull his intestines out. Is there something wrong with that?"
"A lot actually. Do you think that is reasonable?"
"Yes, it's what V and Sensei would do if I did good, or got sad, or got tired. Except usually it was limbs. Oh! And this one time they cut my reproductive organs out and found a way to keep them from growing back! They even let me stitch myself back up!" I said laughing and reminiscing on the good times. This must have been different because Ayato puked, Tatara stepped back, and Noro stepped forward and placed his hand on my shoulder. Alice turned to me and started crying.
"Why are you crying? Do you need good boy treatment? I've forgotten what they did to Paige, but we could experiment if you want."
"Stop. That's enough. Please don't talk like that. That's torture and you shouldn't be happy about it." She said trying to sound stern but letting empathy slip through.
"Torture? What's that? Is it fun? Is it like when we get to take other ghouls apart and see how long we can go keeping them alive? It sounds fun!"
"That is torture. But for them, not you. I'm sorry they made you go through that."
"Don't be. It's not like I feel anything." I saw starting to fiddle with the knife in my hand. I twirl it through my fingers, trying to remember my favorite tricks. I must have gotten careless because I cut my ring finger off. "Oops." It heals in fourteen seconds.
"Put the knife away, Hotaru. There's no need to spill blood for no reason."
"But it's fun!" I coo.
"That's sick Hatter. Eto do you seriously think this is a good idea?"
"Truthfully? No. But he followed me here, so here he can stay. In fact, I think I found you a new roommate Ayato."
"You can't be serious! No way! He'll probably try and eat me while I sleep!"
'You bet, bitch. Just wait.'
"I won't. Not unless Alice lets me." I say putting on my famous manic smile.
'You're loss.'
"Actually, you will be staying with me. Come, Hotaru, I'm tired." Alice says pulling me in the direction of a separate complex.