Well I'm embarrassed. After I posted the last chapter, someone was kind enough to point out to me that Kanae is not French. She's German. GAH! I went and confirmed this on her wiki page and felt like a total fool. I'm thankful someone was attentive enough to point this out, however. As for the mistake, I'll be careful not to mention Kanae's nationality again as to avoid any more inconsistencies. Really, I should go back and correct the fact, but Mockingbird just doesn't sound as nice in German as it does in French. No offense to any Germans reading this! But well, that's that. I'll do my best to get my facts right in the future, but please bear in mind the original story is incredibly interwoven, long, and complex, so forgive me if I miss something.

Please enjoy the next chapter.

"And then the shop had to close down. Isn't that crazy?"

I satisfy Yui with a simple, "Yeah," rubbing my eyes she rambles on. Thanks to Uta, I didn't get more than a few hours of sleep last night. Even after I managed to finally find my way home, I had to go back to :RE to store my mask, and then the adrenaline from running from the doves kept me up another hour. I guess the ghoul investigators are aware of me now, even if Haise and his underling Urie really did keep silent.

I dig into my pocket and turn back on my phone that'd been off during class. Once it's started back up, it buzzes with a new message. The message that appears brings a grimace to my face, which causes Yui to stop for a second. Haise has finally texted me, and it has nothing to do with Hanako.

Mockingbird has been added to the list of ghouls for us to watch out for. Urie has begun investigating.

"What's wrong?" Yui wonders, concerned.

"Oh, Mom just told me to go shopping on my way home," I cough up a lie, about to slip my phone back away when it buzzes a second time, the message having been delayed. I stare at the words, my breathing slowing until it stops. When the letters have finally been comprehended in my brain, I snatch up my backpack. "I've got to go."

"Kiyoko? Hey, Ki-"

I'm already out of the room. Instead of heading to the lockers, though, I fly to the roof. After making sure I'm the only one up here, I close the door securely behind me and rip my phone up to my ear. The time that it rings seems to last an eternity.

The second he picks up, I rage, "What do you mean Noriko Himura has been taken into custody?"

"Precisely that."

"WHY?"

"Calm down, your mother is just fine right now. She was taken into custody under the suspicion that she possesses knowledge to a ghoul's whereabouts. If the interrogation reveals that she doesn't she'll be released."

I suck in a deep breath, running my hands through my hair. "How did this happen?"

"Urie found you in his investigation. He went to your house, but you weren't there." Ah, because I had clean up duty after class this week. I never thought that'd be a good thing. "He took your mother, and he's probably either waiting there for you or he's on his way to your school."

"Alright." So I have to get out of here. I reenter the building and start down the stairs, phone still at my ear. It isn't hard to imagine how he found me. I'm a registered human and he knows that I am one, and the school has it specifically noted that I'm a natural blonde. If they didn't, I'd be getting comments on how I shouldn't dye my hair every time I met a new adult in the school. My hair combined with my age and general location means I probably wasn't that hard to find. "Why are you telling me all of this, though? You can't seriously feel that obligated."

He goes quiet on the other end. I wait, until, "It isn't a crime to be someone's friend. You shouldn't be tried for such a thing."

A grin tugs at the corners of my lips. Of course I don't deserve to be tried for that. What I do deserve to be tried for is killing that little girl. For killing Chisa. "Well, thanks for the heads up. Is there anything else I should know?"

"No. We don't have any information on her yet."

I nearly hang up, but a lingering question keeps me from doing so. "Haise...could you tell me about Aogiri Tree?"

He pauses. "Why are you curious about that?"

"The name's come up in my search," I tell him honestly. "Han- Black Cat never mentioned anything about them to me, so I don't really know what they are." At the school gates, I scan the area for any signs of ghoul investigators. Finding none, I pick up my pace away from the school. For now, I don't need a destination; I need distance.

"They're a dangerous group," he warns. "They're not anything you should get involved with if you can help it."

"I've heard that already," I sigh, "so tell me something I don't know."

"There isn't anything else to tell."

I scowl. "Fine. Then what about clowns?"

"Who?" The tone of his voice suggests disbelief, not confusion. I slow my pace to focus on the conversation rather than walking.

"What's up? That's a completely different reaction than the one you gave for Aogiri Tree."

"If you're getting involved with them, stop it. Drop your investigation. Nothing good can come from it."

I pull the phone slightly away from my ear in response to the sudden sternness in his voice. Uta's really involved in something so serious? But he's so...well, not serious. I dare say he's borderline reckless!

"Did you not know I was seen with one?" I ask. Then I flinch. Should I have said that? Did he know Uta was a clown?

"I was told you're a newly acknowledged ghoul to us investigators. I didn't ask what happened to put you on the map."

"If it makes you feel any better," I offer, "I didn't know I was with one, either. And again, I still don't know what they are. Care to enlighten me?"

He sucks in a breath on the other end. "Honestly, we don't know much about them, either. Far less than Aogiri. Their rise to power was somewhat recent, but they've existed for awhile. Other than that...we don't know any of their faces, but every one we've encountered is S rated, if not SS. Don't go any deeper than you already are."

"I don't have a choice."

"Kiyoko…"

Damn. Of course he knows my name. Urie found me. "But thanks for the info. You can sleep with a clean conscious knowing you didn't let me dive in blindly."

As I click off the phone, I shake my head. Haise's right, I'm getting in deeper than I'd bargained for. Yes, I wanted to be involved in their world, but this isn't just deep in it. It's the heart of it. But if I'd wanted to quit I should have done it before I pulled that trigger at Uta's shop. I can't dwell on the past. I can do that later, when there's no imminent threat.

Having gained the distance I want, I finally stop walking. Frankly, I have no idea where I am, but I should be able to figure it out once I find a street sign. Now that I have the distance, though, maybe I should start thinking about destination. Where am I supposed to go? Home's obviously off limits, and I can't go back to school. I'm sure Yui would let me spend the night, but she'd definitely get suspicious if I stayed over longer. I can't handle that many questions right now. Maybe I could...no, I can't drag Touka into this. I won't be responsible for her getting discovered. I need human sanctuary, someone who won't pry too much.

The answer becomes blatantly clear when I think about it. I dial the number and return the phone to my ear.

"Y'ello."

"Mami, hi. Do you think I could crash at your place for awhile?"

"Sure." There isn't a shred of hesitance in her response. "However long you need. Do you know where I live?"

"No."

She begins to recite her address, but without anything to write it down on, I interrupt. "Could you maybe just text it to me?"

"Yeah, no problem. See you tonight."

A few seconds after we've hung up, my phone buzzes with the address. I'm certain she won't mind me in the least, but I wonder how her parents will react. I'm coming to stay for an unknown period of time, and I've never even met them before. What choice do I have, though?

It takes me a good ten minutes to find a sign telling me where I'm at, and then another fifteen to find my way to the address on my phone. The apartment complex makes me hesitate. Clearly, Mami's richer than me, but by how much? I don't really have anything other than my own home to compare it to.

I step inside onto the sleek granite that is the lobby's floor. Unlike the complex where I live, the room is spacious and lit, with a few people bustling about. It feels more like a hotel than apartment place.

I'm about to call Mami again when familiar blue and black hair catches my eye. I waver my first step, but then head over the couch where she's lounging.

"...You asleep?"

"Nope." She opens her eyes, grinning up at me. "Welcome to my place!"

"Um, which apartment is yours?"

"Whichever one's open."

"Huh?"

"Dude, I own the place."

I blink, mouth frozen partially open. "W-wait, you mean-"

"My dad owns the place. But I stay here when there's a free apartment, 'cause I get too much bitching when I'm at home."

"How much money do you have?"

"Never counted." She swings herself upright into a sitting position. "I'm assuming you don't mind living with me, since you asked, but I can only let you stay if we stay in the same place. I can't just give out a room for free, or dad'd freak."

"That's...fine," I stammer.

"Come on, then." She leaps to her feet and pushes something into my hand. My heart races at the touch of cold metal, but even before I open my fingers to see the key I've reasoned that there's no gun small enough to hide in one's palm. I trail after her. On the elevator ride (yes, there's even an elevator. I swear this place is too hotel-like) she asks, "Did you bring anything from home?"

I startle, feeling a bit thoughtless to have not thought about that. "Ah, no. I came straight from school."

"I'll bring some clothes then, if you don't mind," she yawns, leaning against the wall. "Our sense of style's a little different, though. Oh, and there should be toiletries provided in the bathrooms."

"There're multiple?"

"Three, I think, in the one we're staying in."

"Seriously?" I have to pinch myself as not to gawk at her. She just grins toothily. When we step off the elevator, there are only four doors in the hall we enter. She opens the far one on the left, motioning dramatically for me to enter. When I do, of all the things that're there to make me pause, it's the chandelier. Under my breath, I mutter, "What is this, some fairytale castle?"

"Welcome to Mami's Mansion!" She shuts the door behind her and flops face-first onto the black plush couch. Her next words come muffled, her face buried in a pillow. "No un 'ill 'ell us whadda do 'ere."

"Sorry to trouble you." I doubt she hears me, though, considering how my voice is swallowed up by the immense space. I let down my backpack onto the floor and sit in a seat unusually comfortable. Oddly enough, I find myself missing the hard surfaces of the chairs at home.

So Mami's your rebellious rich kid. Is that a stereotype? I feel almost as though it is, but at the same time I feel like you'd have to dig around a bit to find good examples of it. Maybe I just haven't consumed a lot of media involved with those kinds of characters. Oh, you're wondering about Noriko? Well, I'm going to leave you only with the information mentioned in the chapter. However, as I look back on it, Kiyoko's life has entirely disintegrated, hasn't it? Both people she cares about have been disconnected to her. We'll have to just wait and see what that does to her.

Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!