A/N: I'm so sorry, I hate that this story took such an angsty turn but now I can't just change it! Also I realized a whole lot of nothing happened in this chapter, so I added an omake to make up for it. D: Forgive me!
Chapter 18: Fallout
She finally stopped running, lost in the urban maze. Aelin pulled her knees close to her chest, eyes swollen, lungs heaving. She inhaled, a deep, shuddering breath, then crumpled, curling in on herself even more and lost herself in thought as broken sobs rang out. My fault. I slipped. He hates me. I shouldn't have gone after him while I was still on the high of fighting. I should have done better. I shouldn't have… I- I don't- He's gone and it's all my fault he hates me liar monster murderer killer demon- She tensed when she felt a hand touch her back, and her kagune reacted, ensnaring the intruder. Twisting to look over her shoulder, Aelin winced as she realized she had just bound Ayato from head to toe. Pulling back her Bikaku with an apology on her tongue, she returned to her seat on the ground, her back turned to the teen. Ayato hesitantly approached her once more, his face twisted into a harsh scowl.
"Kitsune? The hell is up with you? You look like a goddamn kicked puppy! Seriously, the fuck is wrong?"
Aelin looked up at him, swiping halfheartedly at her eyes.
"Shut up. I'm fine. Just go and leave me alone."
Ayato let out a disbelieving snort.
"Fine, huh? Sure doesn't look like it. So, you gonna tell me what the hell crawled up your ass and died, or am I just gonna have to sit here and guess?"
Ayato's POV:
Kitsune looked up at him, eyes blazing and teeth bared. "I said, leave. Me. ALONE!" Her kagune lashed out, whipping through the air wildly in response to her anger. With a twist, the tails jetted over her shoulder, stabbing at Ayato in blind rage. Ayato's eyes widened as the Bikaku rocketed towards him, loud swears exiting his lips as he dodged the swiping kagune. "Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh- FUCK! What the hell was that for, Kitsune? Have you gone fucking nuts?" He groaned as he failed to move away in time to escape a harsh blow to the chest, sending the teen crashing into a wall as the breath fled his lungs. Ayato looked down at his torso in confusion as he noticed the lack of blood on his shirt. Despite the chance given by his misstep, it seemed the flailing limbs simply flung him rather than piercing him through or drawing blood. Rolling his eyes, Ayato pulled himself to his feet, muttering under his breath to himself. "She's fucking with me! ...Then again, of course she is, when the hell isn't she?" He spoke up, catching Kitsune's attention. "Well if you're gonna be a damn bitch about it, fine! You know I'm always in the mood for a good fight!" From his back, the dark flickering flames of his Kagune bloomed, extending into winglike shapes, ethereal and burning. Crystals blossomed across the surface, ready to be released at a moments notice. Ayato slid his left foot back and put his fists up, a determined glint alight in his eye.
Aelin's POV:
Is he going to get back up, or- oh, no, nevermind, there he goes. Aelin shook her head with a fond smile at the other's stubbornness, and let her Kagune flare out behind her as she prepared to attack once more. She chuckled softly, her previous worries slipping her mind in the heat of the moment. Dashing forward, she ducked beneath the incoming projectiles, nimbly weaving between the countless crystal shards jetting towards her. With a wild grin, she used her bikaku to fling her body into the air, twisting to dodge Ayato's dogged assault. Landing roughly on the balls of her feet, Aelin dove back into the fray, unrestrained laughter bubbling in her chest as she thought to herself, This? This is living.
Omake: How I Met Your Human
Ayato stalked across the rooftops of Tokyo, scanning the dark alleyways for anyone still wandering the streets despite the dark sky. Out of the corner of his eye, Ayato noticed a young human casually strolling the streets, dressed in obnoxiously bright clothes and headphones over his ears. A sly smirk crept cross the ghoul's face. Not only was there no chance of his prey hearing him, he would even be doing humanity a favor by disposing of such a badly dressed moron! Seriously, what kind of idiot strolls through Tokyo's ghettos in neon orange and green? Ayato let his RC cells darken his eyes as he leapt down from the roofs, landing behind the teen with barely a sound. Right as he reached towards his prey's neck, footsteps sounded at the other end of the alley. Strolling towards him and the human was Kitsune. Ayato froze, worried for a second that he might have encroached on her territory, only to relax as he noticed she was maskless. No business with him, then. She pulled her hands out of her pockets and waved heartily at the two boys, her face split by a fierce grin.
"Oh, Ayato, it seems like you've met one of my best friends. Hide, this is Ayato, he's an asshole, but he's my asshole, so be nice, 'kay? Imma go bother Kaneki now, cya losers!"
Ayato groaned. Ugh, not only does he have to deal with this walking highlighter masquerading as a human being, he's still fucking hungry!