Yui moved her hand to block the sunlight pouring through the window. She hadn't noticed the lack of curtains and blinds the night before. She slowly opened her eyes, the room looked even worse in the daylight. She realized now that the beige carpet was in fact originally white, indicated by the few bits of white shag near the mattress. She lowered her hand from its place blocking the sunlight to the floor, so that she might support herself as she sat up, only to feel an odd dust on her fingers. As she looked down, she had firmly planted it in a well-used ash tray. She moved her hand, and as she sat up she noticed that she was alone. A strong smell soon piqued her interest, it was vile and unfamiliar. She stood up, the wrinkled dress falling to her knees as she took her first step off the mattress.
She could hardly recall the floor plan of the house, it had been practically pitch black the night before, and she had been exhausted. As she stumbled through the doorway, she found herself in a narrow hallway, the bathroom on her left had its door wide open. She looked to her right and followed the scent through the hallway and into the living room. As she entered, two people were asleep on the couch in front of her, and she could see clear into the connected kitchen where Mary sat on a countertop while Ash moved something around a pan on the stove with a spatula. "You sure slept in!" Mary said with a smile as she hopped off the counter. "I did?" Yui asked. "It's almost noon," Ash added, "You want some eggs? Im almost done." So that was the rotten smell, Yui thought. The girl shook her head as she took a seat on another couch in the living room. The brown leather felt odd to her.
Mary and Ash shared a glance. "You're really not hungry at all?" Ash inquired in a concerned voice, eyebrow raised. "I'm sure," Yui whispered, the scent of the eggs had faded and a new scent entered her nostrils. Unlike before, this one was familiar, vaguely human but somewhat off. She quickly traced it to the sleeping couple on the couch. They were confusingly intertwined, arms and legs wrapped around one another, one face buried in the other. Yui must not have noticed them the night before, she decided. "That's Carina and her new boy toy, Will" Mary said with a chuckle as she sat down with Yui on the other couch. "She pulled him off the side of the road a few days ago. He was pretty banged up, said he got hit by a car, but he begged us not to take him to the hospital." Yui maintained her stare. "Now," Mary continued, "she just can't get enough of him"
Sunlight bathed the dimly lit room as the door to the mobile home swung open. Yui turned to see Dan filling the doorway. Carina groaned as she attempted to bury her face into the man she cuddled with, hiding from the light. "I need a hand with the garden," Dan announced to the room. Mary leaned further back into the couch, "Maybe after breakfast?" she said as she motioned her head towards Ash, who was now scraping her eggs onto two plates. Dan looked less than amused. Yui stood up expressionless and began to walk towards the door, Ash's eyes flicked up from the freshly made plates. A silent sadness filled her as she watched Yui disappear out the door.
Maybe Yui just didn't like eggs, she thought to herself.
Yui loved the garden, it was practically overgrown with vines and vegetables. As she plucked and pruned under Dan's calm direction a small smile grew across her face. The cool autumn air felt refreshing to her skin. Dan studied her eager hands as they worked their way across garden. "Have you done this before?" Dan said, eyes focused on his own work. "Just with flowers," Yui said between breaths. Dan gave an acknowledging grunt. Yui took a moment to admire the dirt under her fingernails and the small aches in her muscles. She stood up straight for a moment to relax her back and wipe her brow, but as she did so she noticed the dirt that had covered the lovely dress Ash had loaned her. The white near the bottom had become a deep brown, obscuring some of the flowers. A bit of panic filled her heart as she examined the filth, soon replaced by confusion; why did she even care? It felt wrong to consider Ash's feelings about the dress, this was a girl she barely knew and a human no less. Yui froze in quiet contemplation. Was she getting soft? Was she really going to allow herself to live with these humans? It would be one thing to kill time until she was ready for her next meal but to enjoy it...
"Ash won't care," Dan said, without looking up. Yui's train of thought crashed, her face blushed, she felt disturbed that somehow he had detected her discomfort. Of all the humans she had encountered, Dan was by far the most confusing. All the humans in the outside world she had seen so far had always been so emotional, or loud, but not Dan. His calm demeanor reminded Yui of herself, she took a moment to admire that about him. She wondered just what kind of man he really was. Just as she took a moment to study him his eyes flicked up and gazed past her. Yui then heard the rev of an engine and the crackle of tires on gravel. She turned to see the same car from the night before pulling through the open metal gate that led into the commune. Cal smiled as he pulled closer to the pair, he quickly spun the mechanism to roll down the window. "You cleaned up nice," he announced with a friendly smile towards Yui. The car tugged past the two and around behind the mobile home Yui had slept in with Ash and Mary. Dan stood up straight, patted his hands on his jeans and started off towards the car. Uncertain of what to do next, Yui froze in place in the garden; awkwardly studying her surroundings.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mary emerge from the mobile home along with that strange-smelling couple from the couch. Carina looked like a beautiful mess to Yui's eyes, a collage of brightly colored clothes and blonde hair dye. Her jewelry was tossed about on her chest and her makeup was running. She found something to admire about her lack of concern over her state. The man however was discomforting, as Yui studied the tattoos across his shirtless torso she realized that he was examining her as well. His eyes seemed to drill into her, his face was expressionless. Despite his arm around Carina as the three stood on the porch, the girls exchanging some muted words Yui couldn't hear, he seemed entirely focused on Yui. He seemed off in a very familiar way.
Will made a small physical notion to Carina, who swiftly ended the conversation. The couple then started down the stairs and away from Yui, almost as soon as they hit the dirt the man stopped looking at Yui. As he drew a bit nearer however that scent returned to her, it was like rotting fish. As she struggled to identify the smell she could hear Cal and Dan making their way back to the garden.
Hours later, Yui and the boys stumbled their way back into the mobile home, tracking dirt on the hardwood that Ash had cleaned that day, leaving her apathetically unsurprised. A metallic clink filled the room as Cal dropped his car keys into a glass jar that once contained a candle, now melted down to the very bottom. Yui mimicked Dan as he slumped down onto the couch, and sat next to him, attempting to look exhausted despite the fact that she hadn't even broken a sweat. "You didn't work her too hard did you?" Ash said to Dan, laying on her back on the hardwood. Cal answered before Dan could, "Are you kidding? She's a machine, outpaced me by a longshot." "That's because you're lazy." Mary teased.
Their conversation faded into the back of Yui's mind as she struggled with the uneasy scent from earlier. Something inside of her wanted to warn them, or at least Carina, but as she analyzed the situation she decided she didn't want to jeopardize her current position by making a baseless accusation. It hurt to admit, but she liked it here, she didn't want to leave. She saw Cal retrieve a bong from the side of the other couch, likely used by Carina and that man. She closely watched Cal as he used it and passed it around the room, first to Mary, then to Ash, then to Dan, and now Dan was holding it out to her. She didn't want to use it. She flicked her eyes towards Ash who was watching her patiently with a kind smile. Yui put her mouth over the top of the bong, her nose, and brow wrinkled in disgust, it reeked of that man's scent. The putrid and violating smell of rotting fish filled her nostrils. She wanted to vomit. Ash's face grew concerned, "Are you okay?" she asked gently, but Yui ignored her and lit the bowl. After a toke, Yui looked back to Ash, who gave her an approving smile. Yui hoped she had taken a small enough hit to not feel anything.
Within a minute however, she felt heavy. She slowly dragged her eyes across the room, noticing how calm they all seemed. Her thoughts felt like they were accelerating. That smell continued to bother her as she laid her head back on the couch. Her heart was getting faster, she could feel it, she could hear it! She placed a hand over her chest, its rapping felt stronger and stronger, louder, and louder. Someone spoke but she didnt know who. Something inside her was twitching, it itched. Was that...? Yes, her kakuhou. Her other hand reached around to her back, just above her waist. They felt like they were going to burst.
"She looks scared," Cal said, breaking his typically relaxed demeanor. Ash stood and made her way to the couch squeezing in between the arm wrest and Yui. Who was breathing heavy now, when did she start to do that?
"Its okay," Ash whispered, as she placed a hand on Yui's face. She swiftly raised her head to look at Ash's calming, beautiful face. Yui's face felt hot, very hot. "This is normal," Ash said sweetly. "It was!?" Yui thought. "Maybe you just need something to eat." "No!" Yui responded, nearly yelling. Ash was startled. "Yui it's okay, we all get hungry when we smoke." Hungry!? She wasn't hungry, she just ate yesterday, she shouldn't be hungry! Suddenly it felt like a pit opened up in Yui's stomach. She was hungry. How could that be? Her arms quickly shifted to wrapping around her stomach.
Everyone was rather uncomfortable now. Unbeknownst to Yui, who seemed to be overwhelmed by her own senses, Dan had stood up some time ago and moved to speak with Mary and Cal. "This isnt good, it seems like she doesnt like it." Dan said, revealing a slight crack of emotion in his voice. "Maybe we should have her lay down." Mary said, rising to her feet to make her way to Yui.
Ash had both of her hands on Yui's face now, desperately trying to get her attention. "Yui, please try and calm down" she whispered. "I cant! I cant!" Yui said, shaking her head. All of her kakuhou felt as though they were swelling, most likely in response to her own hunger. Her ordinally logical mind felt frazzled. She analyzed her situation, then reanalyzed it. These people were humans. They might hurt her. They could hurt her. Under her skin, she felt her RC cells congregating, she knew that most likely parts of her back were turning a dark black and red under her dress. She was hungry, her predatory organ was activating. Its natural, she thought to herself, 'The Formative Stage." She began recalling lessons about her biology, ghoul biology. That's right, she was fundamentally different from the gorgeous woman in front of her, she was a ghoul, and that pretty face was a human. She wanted to eat her.
Mary placed a hand on Yui's shoulder. "Why dont you go lay down?" Yui seemed unresponsive until Ash stood up, giving a nod to Mary. Yui looked dazed, with a fear in her eyes that had frightened Ash. Mary invited Yui to stand up using her as a support, but she wouldn't move. After a few words, Yui felt her body lift off the ground. The world was a swirl as she felt like she was flying. Cal was carrying her bridal style down the hallway and eventually set her down on the mattress she had slept on. Yui's whole body felt tense as she focused entirely on keeping her kagune contained. "Yui its just me and you now okay?" Mary said in a gentle voice from somewhere out of Yui's vision. She knew that she shouldn't be hungry, but she was. She was so hungry. The scent coming off of Mary's flesh began to enchant her nostrils, the sweet, supple, tenderness of the girl. "Ash is gonna find something for you to eat, and then I think you'll feel much better. I'm sure you're pretty hungry, I haven't seen you eat anything since we found you." Yui entered the fetal position as she tried to avoid looking at Mary. "I'm so... so hungry," Yui whispered to herself. Mary got closer and placed a hand on Yui's side again. "Hey, its okay. We'll have food soon." Yui's head whipped back to look at Mary, a thin line of saliva dangled from her open mouth and Mary felt horror consume her as she saw that the whites of Yui's eyes had turned black, and the irises were red.
A chilling scream echoed through the entire home as Mary fell backward, her fingernails dug into the carpet as she tried to turn and stand at the same time. "N-no..." Yui whispered pathetically. Mary got back on her feet in a panic and clawed at the door frame to support herself as she made her way out of the room. "Please... I'm sorry," Yui groaned as she buried her head again. Yui heard the door slam. Mary slammed directly into Dan in the tight hallway. Yui had tears in her eyes already as she got the first word in, "Yui's a fucking ghoul!" she screamed. Ash froze in place in the kitchen, and Yui began to sob, alone on the mattress. A sense of shame overwhelmed Dan as he quickly retrieved chairs to barricade Yui into the bedroom with. Cal slumped against the wall in confusion. All of their hearts began to loudly and quickly beat, so much so that Yui could hear them, listening with her predatory nature.
An hour passed, Yui felt like it had been days. The footsteps had died out a long time ago. The spot on the mattress where she had been pressing her face was soaked with tears. She was starting to come down now and had regained control of her kakuhou and kakugan, but it didn't matter. Mary's scream replayed in her head, over and over. They were humans, and she was a monster. She had never felt this way before, but she had also never spoken to humans, not like this. She felt like an idiot, not just for trying to be their friend, but because of Ash. What was she even thinking?
She heard his voice again, speaking so gently, almost sweet, but those words cut her every time she recalled them. "There is no place for us, for you. I hope you know that."
Outside, the four friends had met with Carina on the porch of another mobile home, Will stood quietly away from them. They were all silent, stunned by the reality of their situation. "I suspect if she wanted to, she would have killed us all already," Dan said, shattering the weighty silence that had captured them all. "I've seen it on the news, those chairs at the door aren't going to make any difference. She could leave anytime she wants, but she hasn't." "Are you saying she's our fuckin friend?" Carina flared, "She's a goddamn ghoul." "She was nice enough." Cal countered, "What the hell are you even supposed to do about this anyway?" "Call the cops! Or the FBI, or fuckin somebody!" Carina said, screaming now. Will flinched. The group fell silent. "She was our friend..." Mary said weakly. "And she was going to fucking EAT you! So why don't we all drive into town, and the get the cops like we should have done an hour ago instead of crying about it!" Carina said, storming off the porch towards her small black Beatle parked on the dirt. Will started off behind her, unsurprising to the group. Ash looked around frantically, expecting Dan or anybody to stop her, but nobody budged. A new voice spoke, "I can't let you do that darling." Everyone's eyes snapped to Will, his right hand was on Carina's shoulder. She turned to face him "Why the fuck not?" There was a lull and silence filled the air again until Will let out an audible sigh. "I really didnt want to do this yet, but that bitch has really fucked things up for me. You're all so... alert now." Carina took a step back, "Will what are you..." but he interrupted her. "Just know, I really did like you." The four on the porch watched in horror as a bizarre-looking black and purple fluid erupted from Will's shoulder blade wrapped around his arm, and then solidified into a metallic-looking structure. It quickly reached his hand and wrapped under his hand, forming an incredibly sharp blade beneath his palm. With a single motion, Carina's head had fallen to the ground. The door behind them to the mobile home was audibly locked, whoever was inside clearly planned on hiding. Dan, towering over the girls and being well-built, quickly grabbed both of them, sweeping them under his arms as he hopped off the porch. Adrenaline filled his veins as his mind focused on one thing: the car keys. The girls felt weightless to him as they struggled in his arms in their own adrenaline-filled panic. Cal darted off the porch behind him, both boys headed towards the mobile home that held Yui. Will stood in front of Carina's corpse while the group kicked dust behind them as they ran across the commune. With no eyes on him, Will turned towards the two, and with ease ran quickly enough to get his kagune in range, his koukaku stretched out from under his arm and slashed Cal's calf, he screamed. Dan didn't stop running.
Cal's scream snapped Yui from her daze. The overpowering scent of a kagune hit her like a wave, it was more potent than before but the smell was the same: rotting fish. Will was a ghoul. Cal screamed. What had happened no longer mattered, the situation was clear to her, it was simple. Her heart soared with courage as she kicked down the bedroom door with a single blow. She scrambled over the chair like an insect with incredible speed. With her forearms in front of her, she sprinted down the hall, turned, and barged through the front door, slamming it into Dan. It knocked him onto his back, dropping the girls. Terror filled his eyes as he realized he had been cornered. Yui ignored him, down the porch stairs was her enemy: and her training took hold. She jumped over her friends, landing between them and the ghoul. It took so little thought that she hadn't realized it, but her ukaku had been released. Ash stared in awe at the two massive, shimmering, almost fluid red wings on Yui's back. "Okay, listen bitch. I was here first!" Will yelled in anger, furious at the other ghoul who he believed was attempting to steal his meals. Yui bent forward slightly and unleashed a hail of crystals in response, Will quickly moved his kagune-covered arm in front of him, expanding the metallic structure to cover the front of his body in order to swiftly block Yui's attack. Just as she had planned.
While he couldn't see behind his koukaku shield, Yui leaped over him, quickly crystallizing one of her wings, and as she came down perpendicular to him her hardened wing sliced down his back. Will toppled forward slightly, moaning in pain as blood seeped through his back. He quickly retracted his expanded kagune he had used to shield himself back into a more aerodynamic blade, he swiftly spun around, swinging it with his spin. Will expected to catch Yui on some part of her body, but he felt no resistance to the blade, and as his eyes caught up he noticed she was gone. He then noticed her several feet away, in the direction that had been directly behind her. He grew frustrated, ukakus were known to be fast but to cover that much ground in less than a second, she must be abnormally quick, he thought. Yui was frustrated as well, this fight should be over by now. She was out of practice and she could feel it in her body. Her ukaku had formed well and felt more than usable, but she knew she could do better. Will had turned around completely to face her, his back had already begun to heal. He took a few steps towards her. Yui felt the kakuhou near her waist began to swell. A last second doubt hit her mind, did she have enough RC cells for this after starving for so long? She shrugged it off, she could win this. She raised her wings and fired a torrent of crystals towards Will. His kagune expanded into a large shield-shaped structure, covering the front of his body. He took a step forward, the crystals were not letting up. It was okay, he thought to himself, he can wait her out. Yui focused her blood flow, and felt two large rinkaku tentacles rip through the back of her dress. They surged forward, one on each side of her, stretching until they were behind Will. By the time he noticed them it was too late. They flicked up and impaled into the center of his back, pressing straight through his torso. The impact interrupted the blood flow to his kakuhou, and his kagune disintegrated in an instant. The continued stream of crystals ripped into him all across his body, slicing skin and piercing holes. Yui used her rinkaku to pull him closer. She allowed her wings to disintegrate and then pulled her rinkaku out the opposite sides of his torso, leaving with him two large holes on both sides of his spine. He collapsed. Yui was breathing heavily, she allowed her kagune to disintegrate as she slowly walked towards his collapsed body. He could be dead, but with ghouls, you could never be certain. She raised her foot and stomped on his head, shattering his skull, and causing gray matter to fly all around his corpse.
The three on the porch were stunned, it was all over, and so quickly. Cal sat himself up to examine his leg. The blood had soaked through his jeans, but the cut didn't seem too deep. He forced himself to his feet and began to limp towards Yui. Dan got to his feet as well and reached to help Mary up, not noticing that Ash had already stood and left the porch. By the time Cal made his way to Yui, Ash was in tears with her arms around her. Yui seemed despondent, stunned. They didn't know it, they couldn't hear it yet as her hearing was better than theirs, but it was over for her. Soon all four of their faces froze, as police sirens echoed through the air.
