"Almost fully recovered, Nico."

"How many days?"

"Two."

A look of relief and happiness washed over his face. "I'll finally be able to go back to work… Ah, I'm so excited~"

"Oh, what do you do?"

Nico gave Isa a juicy smile. "Dance for those who are beautiful. Isa, you'd be on the list as well."

Isa laughed, a bit nervous. "Thank you." She couldn't tell if it was a joke or not.

"Let me tell you a story, Isa. I'd appreciate it if you'd listen…"

"Of course," she replied.

Nico shifted comfortably in his bed. Isa watched the shadows of the trees dancing on the blanket. "I once had a friend who I was very close with. We knew everything about each other-at least he did of me. But I never knew everything about him… I always thought we were so close, and would always be close… One day, he just disappeared. I didn't know what happened to him… It took me a long while to find out," he paused.

Isa didn't know how to respond. "So, what happened to him...?" She didn't know if the question would be going too far. Nico stared outside the windows into the distance. His face was still and expressionless, something Isa had never seen of him.

"Unaccepted. Hated by the world around him… He was put to death."

An awkward moment of silence passed-to Isa. "I'm sorr-"

"No need," he cut her off. "I just wanted to tell you. I'm sorry if it made you feel uncomfortable."

"No, not at all… Thank you for sharing."

Nico smiled. The story of the two friends-perhaps Eto will make it into a book?

Isa left the room with a cup of tea. Nico took a sip and exhaled. "How will Aogiri do about this?"

"She lives right there," she pointed far into the distance to the right corner. "She sometimes goes to Arome, or the other bookstores. She'll go straight home after work, ever since the ghoul attack. How are you going to go about it?" Eto asked.

"I'll meet her at the entrance," Tatara responded. Ghoul attack? He didn't bother asking, if she was alive, that was all that mattered, wasn't it?

"Alright." They watched the night lights of the city. She spoke. "You remember the father of the girl that joined a couple years ago? He was that old man that was pretty good at combat."

"They left."

"That daughter is friends with her. Be careful. If you meet her, then she'll recognize you. I could tell, she was suspicious about me when we met. I guess I have to fix my scent… Should we get rid of her?"

"Not yet."

"The best time would be before the raid. The main subject should witness it as well-or to some extent," a voice came from behind. "Break her a little. Suffer. Just like Kaneki. I hope that she will become one of our greatest," the man said, a smile on his face.

Isa could finally go home and relax for the night. The worst part was walking back home, because of the pain she felt each time she used her wounded leg. But without complaining, she walked home, stoic-faced. She thought that if she limped home, random people would ask her if she was okay and ask her how she got the injury, and then she'd have to lie and make up a reason.

She stopped on a red light, absentmindedly staring ahead. People stopped around her, minding their own businesses. She noticed there was a tall person with bright hair standing not too far from her. He was standing in a way that it was obvious that person was looking at her, but she ignored it. Tatara on the other hand, recognized her right away without having to see her whole face.

He waited for her to turn around, say something like 'hi' or 'hello', maybe a faint blush too. Wasn't that what people would say to a person they liked at the least?

When he noticed she didn't notice him, and wouldn't any time soon, he decided to take the first step.

"Isa, was it?"

She didn't respond, nor did she seem to hear him amid the chattering crowd. A bit flustered, he hesitated to try again, but then thought otherwise. It was for the operation of Aogiri. He stopped himself from speaking and observed her. Her brown hair softly blew in the wind, her doe eyes solemn. She murmured something that he couldn't hear, and then she took a step onto the road as the light turned green. Tatara noticed she limped her first step, then walked normally. A curiosity sparked within him.

"Isa," he called out.

She turned around at the notice of her name with a look of surprise on her face. Her eyes grew big when she saw him-it looked like she was baffled and taken aback.

"Tatara?" Isa never thought that there was even the slightest possibility she would meet him randomly on the streets. "What are you doing here?" She blurted.

"Walking," he replied ever so nonchalantly. Then he gestured forward that they best be walking across the street. They walked side-to-side without saying anything for the first few minutes. Isa felt more calmed than awkward, while Tatara felt curious and confused as to why she wasn't speaking. Maybe she's shy-and clumsy, he thought, remembering the way she spoke when they met.

"How was your day?" She asked.

Tatara actually had to think about it-actually think. As the leader of Aogiri, he was always busy with tasks, he had no time for leisuring. No one had ever asked him a question concerning himself, especially about his day. Not that he minded, but he never thought about his feelings or opinions on tasks, so he didn't know how to answer the question. He could tell some unease in Isa's body posture because he wasn't replying.

"Normal, you could say," he said, hoping it wouldn't be a weird answer to a human.

"Normal huh? I'll assume it's alright then."

Tatara wanted to mention about her leg, he could smell the sweet scent of blood hidden by layers of clothing. Lingering hesitation pulled them away from starting some kind of conversation.

"I'm going to go buy groceries before it gets late," Isa told him later on.

Tatara nodded, right at her side. He didn't bother saying he would come along, it wasn't his style to talk like that. Isa didn't really mind him tagging along-or it was what it seemed to be, although she wondered what he was thinking about. She already knew from the past experiences that he was quiet, keeping most things to himself. Maybe he's not talking because I'm not asking him questions, she thought.

Isa finally broke the silence between them. "Aren't you cold dressed like that?" She eyed his plain tank-top and baggy jeans. It was still mid-winter.

"No, I'm perfectly fine. I'm naturally warm." Tatara hated the way he had to answer these questions. He didn't feel like him-the Aogiri leader him. But somewhere inside, he knew he enjoyed being asked things concerning him.

"Yeah right," Isa said, she didn't believe it for a second. Tatara ignored her remark and kept walking on. Isa was waiting for him to confess he was cold, but since he stayed silent and stoic-faced as usual. Stubborn, she thought. Isa decided to step up. "Here," she said, unwrapping the scarf from her neck. She handed it to him, but he only stared at it. "It's fine. I'm already warm enough anyways," Isa tried to convince.

He still didn't take it.

She sighed and paused. looking at him in the eye. He stared back, a trace of curiosity and expectancy lit in his eyes. Isa slowly and gently wrapped her red scarf around his neck. She felt something like an electrical shock down her spine when her hand unintentionally swiped his hair and cheek. Warmth built up in her face, but she just played it cool.

Tatara watched her as she rolled the long, weightless scarf around his neck, observing her expression-what would have been on her mind-a human's mind. The very own predators and prey humans were to ghouls. How wicked some of their ways were. But this one, someone that probably didn't even know how to dodge a single kagune strike from a C ranked ghoul. A young woman that was oblivious to the fact that he was ghoul. He noticed her face was red, especially she cheek area, but he assumed it was because of the cold. That just lead back to the about how fragile and weak humans were.

She looked calm-kind of happy. It reminded him of his childhood, his dear closest friends, Fei and Yan.

"There," she said, falling back on her feet from a tippy-toe. Her face slightly scrunched in pain as her whole feet made contact on the ground.

"What's wrong?" Tatara asked.

"What's wrong?" She repeated, confused.

"You're in pain."

Isa looked surprised for the split second. "Oh. It's nothing. It just strained my muscles a little from tippy-toeing."

He could smell the blood. She was lying. He knew a human wouldn't be able to track the scent of blood, so he decided to stop the mention about it. Then the conversation he had with Eto replayed in his head. "Ever since the ghoul attack.".

"I see," he said.

They hurriedly walked to a supermarket nearby. Inside the place was filled with hanging fluorescent lights, with a blast of warm air that came from the vents as the automatic doors slid open.

Tatara watched Isa as her face expressed thought of whether to buy a certain item, or move on to the next section. He wondered why she wouldn't have a plan-know what she came here for instead of wasting precious time. He found her methods interesting, quite amusing.

As Tatara followed Isa around, Isa thought if he wanted something to eat. Maybe a warm drink. She took secret glances at him from time to time, he looked almost perplexed as he looked at items and people, and it was cute.

She went to a coffee stand, Tatara following at her heels. Isa ordered two coffees, handing one to Tatara. He took it, inwardly surprised.

"Thank you," he said.

They headed out with bags of grocery. Without saying anything, Tatara decided to take most of the load, telling her he would help. It set Isa in slight confusion and appreciation for the help, but she couldn't help thinking why he was offering to help her. Had Takatsuki told him about her secret?

"Thank you for helping me. You didn't need to," she said to him as they walked.

Tatara nodded in response.

"Are you sure you're not cold in that…?"

He nodded again, slightly agitated by the repeated question. Humans are so fragile, he thought. Then he noticed she was cold without the scarf, facing the ground at most times, huffing under her breath. He stopped, which made her to stop. He set the bags down and unwrapped the scarf around his neck. Isa watched, trying to predict what he was going to do. With the same, blank expression, he took the scarf and put it around her neck, using his memory of how to wrap it like she did.

"I'm not cold," he finally said. He stared at Isa's brown eyes that were locked onto his. She lowered her gaze as she gave in.

"You should best be going home then. I don't want you getting a cold-whether you're cold or not." She waited for an answer but he didn't give her one.

"So you want me to go?" He asked. It made her feel like she was drowning in confusion and more hesitation. She knew the answer, but she was self-conscious to say. He didn't put his eyes off her either, which made her think hastily.

"No," she softly murmured. Tatara felt more amused as her cheeks flushed with vibrant red standing out from the white of winter. He knew that wasn't a reaction from the cold.

"Then let us be on our way," he told her. Without saying anything she continued leading on. If he insisted on helping her, then Isa decided he could take her to the station at the most. She wanted to savour every moment she could.

Isa noticed Tatara came closer and closer as they walked together. Tatara noticed she became alert right away. She was self-conscious-in a good way, he supposed. He could feel the slight nervousness in her demeanor as she kept walking, eyes forward at all time.

A familiar scent formed in the air, moist; a little dense.

Rain.

"It's going to rain," Tatara said.

"Oh, is it?" Isa looked up into the sky. Gloomy and gray. "We're not too far from the station."

"Station?"

"Yeah, I forgot to mention…" Isa lied. "You can leave me from here. I can go home," she told him.

Tatara hesitated, thinking spending more time with her would be better, but then reconsidered. He finally realized that what he'd been doing for her could have led to suspicion more than appeal. He nodded. "Alright then." He handed the rest of the bags to her. She took it, their fingers accidently intertwining with each other as she tried to grab hold of the bag's handle. Tatara saw her cheeks redden softly and couldn't help to laugh a bit. She gave an awkward smile in return.

"Thank you, Tatara-san, for all you've done today." Isa's eyes met with Tatara's. She realized how full of life and captivating his yellow eyes were. "I-Thank you…"