Zeke didn't appear very happy, but in that same light, he didn't appear mad. His pale green eyes showed only one thing – that he was quietly observing Cooro and the contents of the hotel room. A minute later, he stepped inside completely and slowly closed the door, letting it softly click into place.

Cooro, though wildly delighted at once again seeing his old friend, couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. His mind was jolted away from thoughts of Husky. Slowly, he got to his feet. "What are you doing here…?" Small beads of sweat rolled down the crow +Anima's forehead. He had another question on his mind. "…How did you get in here?"

With a giggle, Zeke replied, "Oh, I have my methods. Friends in low places, you know…" He advanced on Cooro, the slightly amused expression on his face not wavering for an instant. Cooro, however, kept backing up. For some reason, he didn't feel safe – this was definitely not the Zeke he knew.

But Cooro's luck was about to run out. His eyes were locked upon the silver-haired boy closing in on him, and not on his backside. A moment later, he bumped into a wall, and could no longer move back. A small, scared noise burst forth from his throat.

One of Zeke's hands flew out, grasping Cooro's left and pinning it to the wall. The crow +Anima tried using his right hand to flail and get away, but it was wrestled against the wall as well. He could silently add 'trapped' to his list of current feelings.

Zeke leaned in so that his face was level with, and very close to, Cooro's. The beige-green eyes met the brown ones – one set had a fierce fire about them, and the other was afraid.

"Wh-what do you want?" Cooro asked him, trying his best to sound calm but failing miserably.

Laughing, Zeke leaned in even closer and delicately licked Cooro's cheek. The crow +Anima cringed at the odd, unfamiliar texture of his captor's tongue. "I want you."

Nana and Senri were still inside the dress shop, with the bat +Anima most likely trying on everything she saw for a prolonged amount of time. It was this that made time a bit distorted for Husky. He expected that the girl might take a few hours inside the store, so that's how he measured the time he was spending with Noïr.

The two found that they had very much in common. Both had a certain distrust of women, loved shiny objects, and didn't have a flair for dresses.

"They don't just have dresses in there," Noïr explained, scooting a bit closer to Husky, who was next to her on the sidewalk. "They have pants, and tank tops, and…well…" She grinned. "Bras…" Husky didn't have a clue what a 'bra' was, so he did the smart thing and nodded and chuckled along with the girl.

He was so absorbed in conversation with her that he'd forgotten about checking on Cooro. That uneasy feeling came back to him, making him a bit queasy. A gloved hand automatically went to his head, steadying himself.

"Are you alright?" Noïr asked in a concerned voice.

"Yeah, it's just…" Husky shook his head, turning to the girl. "Look, I really need to go check on my friend at the hotel. But I'll be right back."

"You can't go!" she said in surprise.

But Husky got up, breaking whatever spell she had on him. "I'll be right back, Noïr. I promise! But I'm worried about him!"

Noïr bit her lip so hard that she began to bleed. "…Alright. I'll wait here."

That was all Husky needed. He turned and raced off, leaving Noïr all alone. The pretty girl went away, replaced with a scowling girl who had narrowing eyes and a vein popping in her forehead. Noïr got to her feet, her right hand curled into a shaking fist. "Shit."

"I want you to join me," Zeke explained. "On a great conquest."

Cooro did all he could to try and wrestle himself away from Zeke, but to no avail. The boy of 15 was so much stronger than the crow +Anima, and held him firmly in place. "You're not the Zeke I knew," he proclaimed. "What are you?"

With a grin, Zeke told him, "I am a liberator." Cooro was openly confused. "It is my duty to bring equality to the world – to +Anima like us.

"Fly wasn't unique," he continued. "Regular humans look at us, who have been gifted with Anima, and they scorn us. They cast us out. They push us down, torture us, persecute us, and hunt us. It's time that the +Anima were allowed to rise up and seize our day." Zeke's face became covered in an austere darkness. "That's where you come in.

"I want you to join our cause."

"O-our?" Cooro asked him, still scared witless.

"Yes. Me, Noïr, Tommy, Greta, more and more +Anima like us…We've all waited for the day when the +Anima can walk around with their heads held high."

"But…" Cooro protested. "Humans aren't all bad."

"Aren't all bad?" A nerve seemed to sever inside Zeke's head. "Humans are trash. They treat us like filth – all of them. Humans don't deserve their station." And though Zeke's apparent misanthropy was choking, it seemed to make sense to the crow +Anima.

"Will you join us?"

Indecision was written all over the captive boy's face. He didn't know what to do.

In fact, he was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Zeke was once again leaning forward. And before he knew what was happening, it was.

Zeke pushed his lips against Cooro's and let his tongue extend itself into the boy's mouth. And Cooro, amazingly, did nothing to fight back. He was powerless to do anything, and yet he sort of welcomed the kiss. And while he didn't know why, he did.

A moment later, Zeke pulled himself away, leaving a small bridge of saliva between his mouth and Cooro's. "…I think you should join us."

Cooro's brown eyes met Zeke's pale green ones. He replied, "…I'll join you."