So this is the last chapter. Somehow I just felt like it was done after this. If you guys feel like it ended prematurely, pray tell, and I'll maybe think about writing another chapter to wrap things up more clearly. So...this has been fun! Honestly when started writing this, I had no clue where it was going, but it turned out pretty good, yeah? It's been a lot of fun! I sincerely hope you all have liked it as much as I have!

So with great pleasure, I present to you the final chapter of Mockingbird!

"...are we supposed to do this? A human leg doesn't just heal!"

"We can't bring in a human doctor."

"Isn't there a ghoul doctor that deals with humans? Surely Aogiri knows a few."

"It's not like we have them on call. This is all we can do for now. Hopefully the guy you brought will have done it well enough to keep her alive."

"But what if she can't keep her leg?"

"There's nothing to be done about that if it happens."

"Goddammit! Everyone's so useless!"….That's Hanako's voice….and Ayato's?

"It's your fault for leaving her in there."

"I didn't know!" Hanako snarls. "I thought she ran, like any sensible human would! I literally saw her run out with that dove that was drooling in the doorway while his buddy fought me! How was I supposed to know she was still inside?"

"I told you to keep an eye on her."

"What would you have had me do!?"

"She's awake." The words a third voice contributes cause me to flinch. How did he know? Caught, I have no choice but to force open my eyes against the sunlight. What meets me when they open is the recovery house for Aogiri's members, and three ghouls. I'd been right about it being Hanako and Ayato. Hanako sits on her knees beside where I lay, her teeth clenched anxiously, while Ayato leans against the wall opposite with his hands stuffed in his pockets. I know the owner of the third voice before I even find him in the room. Uta sits crisscross in a corner not too far from where I am on the floor, watching me with his usual black and red eyes.

I return his stare until Hanako asks, "Well? How're you feeling?"

I roll my head to see her. At first I don't answer, mentally accounting for all the aching parts of my body. Bandages restrict my palms and fingers, and open burns sting against the chilled fresh air. The most concerning thing, though, would be my leg that's stuck inside a cast.

"I-" I swallow a cough. My throat still feels like crap from the smoke. "I've been better."

"You've sounded better, too," she grimaces. "You idiot! Why didn't you run when you saw the fire? You could have died in there if Uta hadn't found you!" My throat hurts too much to give a proper response, so I just sit without a sound as she scolds me.

"Just be thankful she's not dead," Ayato interrupts.

"This is why I didn't want you involved in all this, Kiyoko!"

"You're the one who brought her along."

"Shut up Ayato!"

"Why am I even here?"

"Because….I don't know! Why are you here?"

I choke on my laughter. When both of them have stopped to watch me, I coerce words out of my scratchy throat. "I get it, Hanako. I'll be more careful in the future. And thank you for being here, Ayato."

"Future?" Hanako crosses her arms. "I don't think I plan on letting you come in the future."

"I'm not a child," I insist gruffly.

"A human in a ghoul's world is as good as a child. It was wrong of me to bring a child to a warzone." I scoff, shaking my head, but I can't bring myself to speak any more than I already have.

To my surprise, Uta pipes up. "Would a helpless child risk her own life like she did? If she is indeed the equivalent of a child, she is certainly one that can be trusted with the dangers of an 'adult' world."

This earns a glare from my friend. "Says the one who paraded her around to ghoul gatherings where she could've easily been discovered and eaten!"

"You think any would have dared make a meal of her when she accompanied me?"

"Oh I can think of one or two who'd love the thrill!"

"But do you think any of them would succeed against me?" This finally convinces her to fall silent. "Please don't blame me for helping when she wanted help."

"Great help you were," she grumbles. She turns her glare to the ground in thought. Then, after a second, her eyes snap up and lock with Uta's "Wait a second. I know you 'helped' her, but how exactly did you do it? You did more than just drag her out to parties, didn't you?"

I twitch, Uta closing his eyes. "I gave her connections," he treads carefully.

"And?"

My eyes flick from her, to Uta, to Ayato, anxious. Her voice has deepened and a growl is growing from the depths of her throat. Her eyes pulsate, black spreading and dilating like the pumping of a heart.

"And?" Uta repeats, seemingly unsurprised when he opens his eyes to see hers alternating colors.

"Before she left the room we were in," she hisses slowly, "Kiyoko told me….that she had killed someone before. She told me...that she could kill the doves, because she'd killed a person before. That was your doing! Wasn't it?"

I touch my throat, cursing its roughness and my inability to defend him. What do I do? How can I calm her down?

"What do you mean, my doing?"

"The Kiyoko I know would never have taken a life! Of course you coerced her into it! Just admit it!"

"So you can attempt to rip out my throat? I'm not idiot enough to say that when you're in such a state, Hanako."

"Hanako." I wince at the sting my voice causes, having finally found something to say. "Hanako, I was the one who decided to pull the trigger. He allowed me the choice not to, so he...is blameless. It's my fault for shooting her. It's my fault I took a life. If...if there's someone to be angry with, it's me."

She's suddenly on her hands and knees, snarling at me, her eyes settled into their infuriated black and red. "You don't get it! I'm not angry at you for killing someone! I'm fucking horrified you had to do that! I'm angry at the one who put you in that position! And I'm right in thinking that it was him!"

"Hanako, please!"

She stiffens when I beg, her eyebrow twitching in confusion. "Why are you protecting him? Aren't you upset? Surely you blame him for doing this to you!"

I look her straight in the eye. "He only made me what I asked him to make me."

She gnashes her teeth, then suddenly retracts and curls in on herself. "I didn't want this!" she hisses. "I didn't want to drag you down to my level!"

"Hana-"

"NO! You don't understand! The last thing I wanted to do was ruin you! How could I have let this happen?"

"Hanako, stop it!" I grab her arm, flinching when pain shocks my hand. "I did this to myself! You are not to blame!"

"I'm sure," she agrees, bitterly sarcastic. "Just how I'm not to blame for my dad."

"You aren't! It was me! If I hadn't been there, it would have never happened! He never would have died! So please! Hate me! Just stop thinking it's all your fault!"

"It is!" she snarls, ripping out of my grasp. "I should have been able to protect you! I thought I'd learned my lesson after I failed to protect him, but then we just had to run into doves, and you nearly died! If I can't protect you, I'm going to end up killing you, too, Kiyoko!" My heart tightens when a tear streaks down my best friend's enraged face. "It's why I left! I should have never let you find me!"

My fists clench painfully, wanting to reach out to her, but she's out of my reach. I can't move an inch with my leg wrapped up like this!

"Um…"

My eyes flicker towards the door of the room before returning to Hanako. Then my brain processes the person standing there, and my eyes fly back to him in astonishment. Haise stands in the doorway. His demeanor is awkward, shifting from foot to foot and his eyes never really seeming to settle, but I actually can't find a hint of fear in him. Why is he here? Does he...does he know everyone here's a ghoul? He certainly knows Hanako is, but what about the other two? And why is he in Aogiri's recovery house in the first place? Did one of them bring him here for some reason?

He clears his throat. "If I may say something, Hanako," he begins. "I'm sorry if this sounds...strange...coming from a ghoul investigator, but I hope you consider this advice. People are difficult to care for by yourself. From what I've gathered, you've done well to protect Kiyoko for as long as you've known her. I'm sure you've done better protecting your loved ones than I've ever been able to, although I admit I can't remember most of my life. What I'm trying to say is, for looking after her on your own, you've done a good job. It might not have been perfect, but no one can be perfect. But look around you." He nods to Uta, motioning to Ayato. "You've got help now. Those two wouldn't be here if they weren't willing to help, right? The same goes for me. If you're willing to listen to the advice of someone like me, then I think things will be better from now on. Where you maybe failed to protect her before, the others can pick up the slack."

"Hey now," Ayato interjects, his tone as irritated as it usually is. "What do you mean, 'pick up the slack'?"

Haise laughs nervously. "Haha, was I too presumptuous?"

"Just watch what you say, human."

"My apologies."

Ignoring the oddness of his being here for now, I turn back to Hanako. "He's right, Hanako! And we can always count on Touka, too! Hell, I'm probably in the best position any human could be in right now! I've got two ghouls from Aogiri looking after me, a clown, and even a ghoul investigator from the other side! And if it weren't for you, I would've never met anyone here! Hanako, please don't get so down on yourself! Not when I've got so much to thank you for!"

"Why are you humans so optimistic?" she hisses. Even as she says this, though, the tension in her seems to ease.

"We're optimistic to balance your pessimism," I smile, searching for a smile in return. She sees this and obstinately refuses to give me what I want. Feeling it best to let this soak in for her, I decide to change the topic. "So, is anyone going to explain why Haise is here? I mean I'm glad he was here to help calm her down, but he's a little out of place, if you know what I mean."

"I brought him," Hanako mumbles, her gaze flickering to him. "We were still near each other when Uta called me about you, and we needed a human to tend to you. None of us are exactly experts on how the human body heals."

"Imagine my surprise when she suddenly started dragging me to some unknown place, threatening to kill me if I made any move against her," Haise chuckles. "She didn't even have her bikaku out to fight with!"

"That's enough outta you!" Hanako snaps, baring her teeth at the dove.

Still smiling, Haise replies, "Yes ma'am."

I hide a giggle behind my hand. Who would've thought the two of them would get along like this? Weren't they just fighting a little while ago? Haise's attitude isn't all that surprising, but we all know Hanako's aversion for investigators, and yet here she is practically bantering with him! As I'm trying to hide the delight in my face, my gaze meets with Uta's and my face begins to boil. I quickly avert my eyes, opting to look at the ground.

Wait, why am I reacting like this? I should thank him. He was the one who got me out of the fire, even if I did just believe him to be an illusion at the time. It's not like I said anything embarrassing back then, right? I don't think I said anything like that. But then again….my memory of him finding me is a tiny bit hazy. Oh, I hope I didn't blurt out something stupid!

"Y-you're the one who rescued me, right?" I start, begging myself mentally not to stutter like a lovestruck preteen. Why now? I've never had trouble speaking to him before. "I can't thank you enough for that. Honestly, I never thought you'd care enough to go out of your way to save me."

"Don't thank me," Uta tells me, uncrossing his legs and standing. He lowers himself again when he's next to me. Surprised, I make the mistake of glancing up. Our eyes meet and I find myself unable to look away, even though my face grows hotter. "I only saved you because I had something to return to you."

I blink. "Something to return? What's tha-"

He presses his lips to mine and my eyes widen. It only lasts a few seconds, but that's enough for me to spot Ayato and Haise glancing away, the latter blushing, and Hanako frozen where she sits a few feet away.

When he pulls back, my hands fly up to cover my mouth. He smirks. Then he stands and returns to his corner, as casual as if he had just gotten up to hand me something he'd borrowed. For a second, time seems to have frozen.

And then Hanako lunges into action, practically breathing fire at the ghoul who just kissed me as she demands answers for what just happened. Too overwhelmed, I lay back down on my side and drape an arm over my eyes and ear. Hanako shakes me violently in an attempt to get me back up, only to be stopped by Haise who points out my injuries.

As I lay there, clearly not asleep, I can't keep my laughter off my lips. What I'm laughing at? …..who knows? I definitely don't. I just know that I'm laughing, and that it feels damn good.

The End

TADA! And with that, it's all wrapped up! Normally I'd now tell you how I've always pictured my character and mention how some other people saw them, but this is the first time I haven't left the character's appearance up to personal interpretation. I'll probably return to doing that next fanfiction, but I'm still debating whether to do Attack on Titan or Yona of the Dawn, so it might be a little time before my next story comes out. If you have a preference for which one I write about, leave a comment! I also want to work on some of my non-fanfiction ideas. Also, I typically give a shout out to someone who commented a lot, but this time I had a whole slew of you commenting rather than a few serial commenters. So, instead I'll mention a returnee I've noticed. Lot's of love to winddemon199! It's great to see you again! And with that I'll wrap this up!

Till next time, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!