April 5th, 7:45am

"Onee-san, your phone is ringing!" Chou called as she ran into the kitchen where Emily was preparing snacks for when Chloe and Toshio came over. They had an assignment coming up soon and today was the only day they all could gather to finish it. Emily placed the knife down and cleaned her hands on a tea towel before taking her mobile from her little house guest. She didn't bother checking the caller I.D and just assumed it was one of her friends.

"Hello?"

"Emily, it's Yomo." the caller said in a low voice, "Do you have time today? There's someone I want you to meet."

"I have a group assignment with Chloe and Toshio today..." Emily said apologetically, she hated turning Renji down especially when he called her, but she really couldn't afford to have Ghouls over when those two were around. Even Chou was going to play with Uta for the day. But still, it was rare Renji called her first, "Will take more than two hours?"

"No." he replied, "We'll be there soon." He didn't wait for her reply before he hung up. Emily sighed and put her phone on the counter, this was cutting it too close for her liking. But instead of worrying, she continued what she was doing. Whoever this person was, they were important.

She had just finished putting the snacks in the fridge when her doorbell buzzed. Chou skipped down the hallway, humming tunelessly until she reached the couch. "Is it Onii-san?" she asked dangling off the arm of the couch. Emily shook her head,

"Uta won't be here for a while yet." she replied opening the door. Renji, as usual, wore his long coat and stoic expression and beside him stood a nervous looking boy with dark hair and an eye patch over his left eye. He looked strangely familiar.

"Uh, hi." he said meekly with an awkward smile. It was the smile that triggered her memory - he was the boy from Anteiku. The human who liked to go there every week. What was he doing with Renji?

"Hi." she replied suspiciously and stood to the side to let them both in. Renji walked straight over to the couch where Chou was hiding and the boy followed like a lost puppy, still unsure on whether what he was doing was okay.

After making a pot of coffee, Emily joined the two men in her lounge room, sitting on the arm chair closest to the hallway. Chou, having had her curiosity get the better of her, stayed hidden behind the chair, occasionally peeking out. Renji's steel gray eyes slid to the little girl questioningly.

"Don't mind her, she's shy around new people." Emily told him from behind her cup, "So I assume you wanted me to meet him?"

"Yeah." was all Renji said, Emily's gaze shifted to the boy trying to make himself invisible at the end of her couch. He felt her gaze and looked up, smiling that smile again,

"Uh hi, I'm Kaneki Ken." he said, "You're Emily-chan right? The Manager told me a little bit about you. You're...You're human right?"

Emily arched an eyebrow at him, "I am. And what are you?"

"Half." Renji replied before Kaneki had a chance to. Emily almost dropped her cup - Half? How was that even possible?

"I don't really understand it but up until recently I was human and now...I'm not..." Kaneki told her, "The Manger said you know what it's like to belong to both worlds so I wanted to meet you." Emily sighed and closed her eyes, understanding why he was at her house. She had known nothing besides this life, walking the line between two worlds, but he had been carelessly tossed onto it and left to balance on his own. Whoever did that to him was the real monster in both worlds.

"So you want to hear my story in hopes that it will shed some light on your current situation, is that it?" she asked. Kaneki looked down into his coffee and nodded,

"If that's okay with you?"

"Sure, I don't mind, but I'm different from you. I can help you adjust to having to live in two worlds as a human but I can't help you adjust to living as a Ghoul. We're two different species, and you are on a whole other level. You're unique and because of that you have to find your own way to live, we can only help guide you along." Emily said softly. Kaneki nodded again, showing that he understood what it was she was saying; that even if he knew her story and her experiences, it may not even help him at all.

"When my parents met, my mother was a doctor and my father had just broken up a drunken brawl happening just outside of her practice. Apparently it was love at first sight. They dated for a few years before finally getting married. I don't know when my mother found out he was a Ghoul, but it didn't change their love. She quit her practice and started operating out of here, Blue Lotus. It's a safe house for Ghouls my father started. Eventually they wanted a family, so after years of trying for a baby they realized that their genetics were incompatible and ended up adopting." Emily told him, "Growing up, my parents never hid what my father was, what they did here and that though I wasn't their natural child, they loved me all the same. When I was old enough, I started helping them out with our guests, Mamma would teach me about medicine and Dad would take me with him to Anteiku. After they died, I stayed with Renji for a while until I was old enough to continue what my parents started."

"My parents both died when I was young too. Dad died when I was really little so I don't remember him, but I would spend hours reading his books. And Mom..." he trailed off briefly losing himself in his own sadness before returning back to the conversation, "Can I ask what happened?"

"Mamma died when I was seven, car accident. She was human after all. Dad was killed when I was ten." Emily replied, watching Chou creep around the side of the chair out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm sorry..." he said quietly. Emily sighed again and leaned back into her chair; Kaneki Ken was still a baby starting to crawl in many ways. He knew virtually nothing of the horrors held within the Ghoul world and though that wasn't his fault, he was going to have to learn quickly and figure out who the real bad guys in this story were. Was it the Ghouls who hunted humans to survive, the humans who hunted Ghouls to live without fear or was it both? People died on both sides every day in the name of survival, though some may claim it was justice, it all boiled down to the same thing. Empty words no matter how sincere spoken were just words.

"You've got good people around to help you," she said glancing to Renji once before meeting Kaneki's eye again, "but remember that my door is always open no matter which path you travel down. You'll always have a place here."

Kaneki and Renji left soon afterwards and Emily wondered whether he truly understood the gravity of her words. She smiled despite her cool attitude towards him, she was glad there was someone else who was joining her on the thin line between worlds. It was nice knowing she wasn't alone anymore.

10.59am

"You can't take her to Helter Skelter!" Emily gasped at the man sitting on her couch, his arms dangling between his knees, black wrap sweater half hanging off his shoulder and sunglasses sitting atop his head, "She's ten years old, she can't be in a bar!"

Uta cocked his head to the side, "I don't see any problem with it." Emily pinched the bridge of her nose, he was being exceptionally obtuse today which could only mean one thing. Uta was up to something, something Emily wasn't to know about. She leaned down and put her hands on his shoulders, staring him right in the eyes,

"I don't care what it is you're planning, but leave her out of it. Please?"

Uta's gaze softened and he pressed the tip of his nose lightly against hers in a playful manner, "How can I resist a plea from you? But you know, I wasn't going to make Chou-chan part of my plans anyway. I just like watching your reactions, it's fun."

"You're annoying." Emily muttered as she straightened and turned her back to the older male. She heard him laugh softly and then his arms were around her in a warm hug,

"You love me though." he told her resting his chin on her shoulder. Emily rolled her eyes, it was rare that Uta was this affectionate but not uncommon. He had his moments. She just took it to mean that something had recently gone exactly the way he planned it to resulting in a good day.

"Onii-san, I'm ready!"

Uta released her and floated over to Chou, picking up her Sailor Moon backpack for her, "Let's go." he said taking her hand.

"Have fun." Emily told Chou walking with them both to the door, then to Uta added, "Take care of her."

He flipped his sunglasses down and half smirked at her, "Sure thing, we're gonna have a lot of fun." Emily shook her head as the door closed, separating the people she cared about and herself. Her apartment was empty and cold again. Every time someone left it was like the warmth left with them. She was used to living alone, but that didn't mean she liked it.

It was still half an hour before Toshio and Chloe arrived so she wandered out onto her balcony and gazed at the city below. Kaneki Ken...He had eyes like hers, lonely and sad. Being thrust into this deep ocean without a life raft would have been terrifying and horrible for him. She pitied him and yet she envied him. While she was tied to both sides, she was remained human. Her place would always be with humans no matter how many Ghoul friends she had. Kaneki truly belonged to both. Maybe if she had been born a Ghoul, perhaps her parents would still be alive. Maybe she wouldn't have to worry Renji and Uta and rely on them so much. Maybe Ayato would have stayed...No. He was always going to leave. Whether Emily was human or Ghoul didn't matter.

3.33pm

"You did tell her that I wanted to see her, right?" Itori asked leaning over the bar. Uta absentmindedly fingered a peanut shell in circles on the bar top feeling bored. He'd been at Helter Skelter for three hours and humans were still pouring in in dribbles, too many to have any fun with and get away with it. His gaze slid to the patron a stool down from him, sweat forming on his forehead and a red hue glowing on his cheeks as his eyes stayed glued to the bartender's exposed cleavage. What a pervert.

"Yeah." Uta replied feeling disgusted at what he was witnessing. If only he could pull those greedy eyes right out of his face.

"Then why hasn't she been in?" Itori questioned. Uta shrugged, the action causing his sweater to fall further down his arm, exposing the Aztec-esque designs tattooed all the way down his arms to his fingers even more. This conversation was boring, Itori was getting annoying. He was having such a good day too.

"Miss! Another here!" A patron called from the other end of the bar. Itori grumbled incoherently and pushed off the bar, a perfect smile gracing her face as she moved to serve her customers. Why was she being so pushy today? It wasn't like he could control what Emily did or didn't do. Well he could but he didn't want to. She was like his kid sister. Plus she was interesting enough without him having to do anything, something that was always great in his opinion.

Besides, that person wouldn't be too happy if Uta started messing around with Emily more than he already did. Anyway, he'd promised he'd protect her even against himself. Itori returned and placed another glass of wine on the bar for him,

"Listen, I know your feelings towards her, U-chan, but I really need to talk to her. Please bring her here, drag her if you have to." she said. Uta sighed and sipped the red liquid,

"Look, if it's about the thing I asked you to look into on her behalf, you can just tell me-"

"No, it's not that. It's something else." Itori said a little too quickly. Uta narrowed his eyes critically at her from behind his shades, "Oh?"

"You wouldn't understand it. It's a...It's a woman thing." Itori said sensing his suspicion. Uta had known Itori for a long time, long enough to know when she was lying - something she was doing now. Uta rested his chin on his palm, resigning himself to wait and see what was going to happen instead of interrogating Itori into telling him; it would be far more interesting that way.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do." he said already starting to formulate a plan to get Emily to Helter Skelter.

April 7th 7:10am

"I usually ask Uta to look after her but since he's the one dragging me to Itori's tonight and I don't really want to take her with me..." Emily said cradling her phone in the crook of her neck while she finished getting ready for school.

"Normally I would, but I've got food to pick up tonight." Renji said on the other side, "I can ask Yoshimura to babysit her for a little while until I get back if you like?"

"Thanks, that would be great." she replied starting to feel a little less stressed.

"It's okay. I'll text you later." Once again he hung up before Emily had a chance to say anything. She smiled to herself; Uta and Renji were totally opposite, it was funny how they could be best friends. Opposite sides of the same coin.

Quickly checking her appearance once more, Emily grabbed her bag, said goodbye to Chou and made her way to the train station. She stood amongst the passengers, her headphones in and using Kradness'* voice to drown out the world, watching as the scenery whizzed past them in a blur of colour. The train stopped at the next station, passengers shuffled off and on in a repetitive cycle. Yet something caught her eye. Or rather someone. A strange looking person was sitting on one of the few benches, swinging their legs back and forth. From this distance, Emily couldn't be sure whether it was a boy or a girl, but they had messy white hair and wore a white button up shirt, the sleeves rolled up to their elbows, and black dress pants stopping just under their knees. Almost as if they sensed Emily's gaze, the person looked up at her, a massive grin stretching across their fine features. The train jolted, signalling it was getting ready to move again just as the person waved. Emily continued to stare at the strange person unsure on what to do - should she wave back or were they waving to someone else? How odd. The train slowly rolled forward, leaving the person, still grinning, behind. By the time she got to school, Emily had already forgotten about the weird person at the train station.

She was in Biology when her phone buzzed signalling a text message. Placing the sleek black touch screen on her lap, she tapped it once and slid the circle to the side, highlighting the text app. It was from Renji;

Manager says yes. When are you going to HS?

Glancing up once to check what her teacher was doing, Emily quickly began typing her response;

In class. U says 7.30.

It wasn't until lunch when Renji texted her back asking why she was going so early.

He said he had stuff to do and is too lazy to come back to 20th then go to 14th.

Makes sense. I'll pick her up at 7pm then.

"Who're you texting?" Chloe asked cutely as she peered over Emily's should, "Aw, no name." Emily locked her phone and slid it back into her pocket,

"It's just a work mate." Emily lied with a shrug trying to play it off like no big deal. Chloe pursed her lips and the sense of dread grew in Emily's stomach; she knew that look. Chloe was going to pester her for more details.

"So what was it about?" she asked using her big puppy dog eyes. Emily picked at her salad and tried to think of something that would make sense, "Um, advice about dating."

"Aw! How cute!" Chloe squealed, clasping her hands tightly together.

"What is?" Both Chloe and Emily looked up as Toshio sat down beside them. Even though she saw him almost every day, she was still astonished at how much he had changed. His long hair was shorter now, but he was still able to put it in a small pony tail and he was bulking up too. He caught her looking at him and gave a half smile, taking her hand in his.

"Emily's playing match maker." Chloe said taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"Oh? So you're finally getting Chloe a date?" Toshio teased earning a brief scowl from Chloe that suddenly turned into a hopeful grin,

"Actually, could you? Do you have any cute work mates?"

Emily fidgeted with her fork, there were some cute guys who worked with her. They were older and in college but they were nice, she just didn't know if they had girlfriends or not.

"Um, I can try I guess." she said quietly. Chloe cheered with glee and the subject of Emily's text messages was soon forgotten amidst the happy chatter of her friend.

6:35pm

Emily was in her bathroom brushing her hair and listening to Chou complain about having to go to Anteiku for a while.

"But why can't I go with you and Onii-san?" she whined while bouncing up and down on Emily's bed. Emily sighed and headed to her wardrobe to dig through clothes, "Because I'm not sure what Uta has to do before going to Helter Skelter, and I don't want you hanging around that place anyway."

"I've been there before, remember." Chou argued. Emily pulled out a light purple jumper with a white bunny face and ears on the hood. It wasn't particularly cold out but the hood concealed her features without having to wear a mask.

"That was during the day, Chou. It's different at night. Besides, I would feel much better knowing you were in a safe place than out in the streets with us." Emily said to the young girl and crouched before her, "If anything happened to you I don't know what I'd do."

Chou seemed to process what Emily had said and although she still didn't like having to go to a place she didn't know with people she'd never met, she stopped sulking and agreed.

"Do you think that Onii-san with the eye patch will be there?" she asked as Emily slid on her jumper and zipped it up.

"Kaneki-san? Hmm, it's possible I guess."

Renji arrived right on 7pm and, though she was hesitant and reluctant, Chou left with him soon after. Emily was alone in her home once again. She sat on the couch and listened to the game show absently while playing with her phone. She'd just gotten through another level of Puzzle and Dragons when her doorbell buzzed again. Switching off the television, Emily slipped on her shoes and opened the door. Uta was leaning against the landing rail casually and gazing at something below them.

"So what is it you have to do?" she asked him as they walked down to the street, flipping her hood up to shadow her face in the process.

"Delivery." he replied simply and held up the brown paper bag in his right hand, "And I thought we could kill some time by getting dinner. Have you eaten?"

"Dinner? What do you mean by that?" she asked skeptically. Uta half grinned, "I mean, you and I go to some place, you order something to eat and I'll watch you." Emily gave him an unsure look,

"What are you really up to?" she asked him. Uta sighed, knowing that there was no escape from the truth. Uta sat down on the train and waited for Emily to do the same before he replied,

"The truth is I kind of want to pretend to be a real family tonight. You know, ask how you're doing at school and about your friends, relationships and stuff." he said resting his head against he back of the seat.

"You're bored, aren't you?" Emily asked, nudging him in the arm. Truthfully she was touched that he would even suggest such a thing in the first place, she'd never had have a normal conversation with him or Renji as they always knew what was going on with her.

Uta chuckled, "A little bit."

They indulged in small talk until they reached their destination in the 22nd Ward where Uta met with his customer, delivered the mask and then they were back on the train headed towards the 14th. The two walked the streets while Emily decided what she wanted to eat. Eventually she decided on an Italian restaurant called Trattoria Il Fornello**. Since it was a Tuesday, the restaurant was had barely any costumers and that suited Uta and Emily fine. Less people to pay attention to them.

11:15pm

Helter Skelter was practically empty by the time Emily and Uta arrived, only three other patrons were left sitting at the bar drinking away their sorrows. Fortunately, the three of them were Ghouls. Each looked up as soon as Emily walked in, smelling a human in their midst. But after a sharp glare from Uta, they quickly delved back into their own worlds. Itori motioned for them to take a seat at the far end of the bar, away from prying ears. Emily dropped her hood and sat down.

"So, she's here." Uta said as Itori leaned against the bar top and poured him a drink, "What was your important news."

"U-chan, I told you it was girl stuff." Itori chastised, "Shoo for a minute." Uta grumbled to himself before standing,

"You have five minutes." he told the female bartender before stalking off down towards the other people to strike up conversation, leaving Emily at Itori's mercy.

"Uta said it wasn't about the thing I asked him to uncover, so what is it?" Emily asked in a low voice, leaning forward.

"It's about Ayato." Itori replied just as quietly, Emily froze, "There's been rumours going around that he's-"

"Stop, Itori-san." Emily said holding her hand up, "I appreciate you keeping tabs on what he's doing, but it doesn't concern me."

"I know, I know. Look, some people who know him came in here the other night, he's been moving around a lot lately, jumping from Ward to Ward, there's a possibility he may even go back to the 20th. I'm telling you because I know you and I know him and I know how protective of you U-chan and Ren-chan are; stay away from him. Whatever he's into now is dangerous, don't get mixed up in it." Itori said clutching Emily's hands tightly. Itori and Emily had never been close, they were acquaintances at most and that was only via Renji and Uta (mainly Uta). But seeing her like this, serious and freely divulging information without wanting anything in return, made Emily believe that whatever she'd heard was severe. Emily nodded slowly, "I won't. I don't have any intentions of seeing Ayato again anyway."

"Good." Itori let Emily's hands go and stood up straight, "Now that's out of the way, I do actually have some useful information regarding that particular thing U-chan asked me to look into for you."

"Time's up." Uta said strolling casually back over to the two women, sipping his drink as he went, "Are you done?"

"Yeah, I was about to tell Emi-chan about the recent discovery I made." Itori said with a sly, confident smile.

"Oh?" Uta asked arching a fine eyebrow and sitting back on his stool, "Proceed."

"Well, I finally found someone who was willing to investigate the mysterious force hanging around your house." Itori said, "They reported in yesterday. It's most definitely a Ghoul and a powerful one at that."

Emily frowned, it didn't make any sense. There were no Ghouls around her area except Chou. "That doesn't make sense." she said softly.

"Mm," Uta agreed, "We would have been able to tell."

"Ah, here's the kicker - it can hide itself." Itori told them, "That's why none of us have been able to smell it. It was only by chance that my guy managed to find traces." Emily was quiet, so Ayato had been right. There was a Ghoul lurking around her father's old territory, and it was strong. Stronger than anything Emily had ever seen. This could be very problematic. Yet the number of deaths in her area hadn't raised dramatically and aside from that one incident, she never felt threatened. This whole thing was getting weird.

"Excuse me." Emily said sliding down off the stool, she needed to gather her thoughts.

11:30pm

"Excuse me" Emily said as she slid down off her stool. She looked pale and very confused. Uta wondered whether it was the news that there was a Ghoul hanging around, or whether it had to do with what Itori had told her before. Once she was out of ear shot, he leaned his elbow on the bar and rested his cheek against his palm,

"So, what really happened?"

"My guy found him." Itori said, "Or rather, he found my guy."

"And?" Uta asked keeping his eyes glued on the female bathroom door for signs of activity.

"He said to stop digging around." She replied pouring herself a drink, "The guy's over there if you want to interrogate him." Uta shook his head,

"Nah, I figured that would happen."

"If you knew it would happen, why'd you tell me to make him go?" Itori grumbled in annoyance. Uta's crimson gaze slid to the red-headed woman,

"Two reasons." he said holding up two fingers, "The first is for appearances. Emily has to believe you're doing your best to look into this seriously."

"And the second?" she asked curiously. Uta grinned devilishly,

"Because it's fun."

"What's fun?" Emily's voice was light and too care-free. She was worried definitely worried about something but didn't want to show it. He gazed down at her curiously; as far as humans went, Emily was fascinating to him. Even what she called mundane was fun in his opinion. Perhaps it was because he'd never met a human raised by a Ghoul before, or maybe it was just purely her personality that he found so interesting. She'd been a happy child, her smile brighter than the sun, but she'd lost something when her mother died. Part of her light had died. Of course that was a natural response in anyone, but after the incident with her father it was like she'd become a complete other person.

There were three sides to Emily - The Emily she showed most people; the sweet, caring, nice girl. Then there was the Emily behind the mask; numb, sad and lost. Finally there was the third Emily, the real Emily. Not even Uta knew what she looked like anymore. But she was still there. He'd seen a glimmer of her a year ago when she'd walked into his shop. That night he was finally able to craft her the perfect mask. It was something that fit her perfectly - a porcelain doll with lips the colour of her hair and a spattering of cracks painted in various places around the face. It depicted his vision of her; a beautiful, broken doll.

He leaned over and placed a long, slender finger under her chin, "Secret." he told her. Emily pouted, "You're mean."

Uta smiled at the young girl and dropped his hand from her, "Yep." he agreed as he stood, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, I still have to pick up Chou from Anteiku." Emily said pulling her bunny hood back on and thrusting her fists into the pockets.

"Thanks for your help, Itori-san." Emily added. Itori waved her hand dismissively,

"It's fine." she said giving Uta a quick stern look. Emily began walking towards the exit,

"You'll get your treat later." he told Itori before following the human girl like a guard dog protecting its master. He suspected he was going to recieve a rather unpleasant phone call later. Still, it couldn't be helped, he should have known by now that nothing was ever going to go to plan if Uta was involved directly. But maybe that's what he was counting on...

*Kradness - A Japanese utaite. Youtube him if you haven't already (he does an amazing cover of Unravel).

**Trattoria Il Fornello - actual Italian restaurant in Nakano, Tokyo.