** Trigger Warning: Blood **

—- From across the room, Ayato muttered something under his breath. Her keen sense still being able to pick up whispered words. Spoken in such a cruel manner of tone - stating facts about her way of staying alive. As if he would not jump mindlessly towards a human body when hunger strikes. At least she was taking an approach much kinder than that. One of respect and decency. Though, she wasn't actually asking Kaneki to feed her. More so for a solution to her numbing stomach pain. "It's alright," he said, already beginning the process. The area in which she had taken a taste of before had once again been revealed to sharp eyes.

The woman felt the action happening. Moistening her lips with her tongue. Any control she had left was quickly drifting off. Ayato muttering another sentence or two about Kaneki being a 'snack' then, the front door of this cabin slammed shut. Leaving the two alone.

"I won't." Valissa was determined not to do this again. The way that she felt about it – putting a face to the meal she ate. It almost sickened her in a way. Before, back in the prison, she didn't have to think about it. Piles of flesh and bone were basically tossed at her. The woman gave into that temptation easily. There were so kind, soul-filled eyes gazing back at her.

Kaneki couldn't actually want this. She wouldn't believe it, but the young man was just so kind. Not much time had gone by since they first met. That much was true, but if there was not some kind soul behind that face, then he would have slaughtered her along with the rest of the Ghouls at the prison.

You never asked… what happened that night…

Now was not the time, nor the place to discuss such things. As her stomach roared just as thunder clapped outside these walls. Nearly shaking the whole foundation. Valissa shook her head once more – reminding the other that this would not be happening. And as if he did not possess ears, Kaneki took it upon himself to lead this session. Watching in a slight panic, his teeth tore a literal chunk of flesh from the middle of his arm. A flow of crimson automatically began flowing from the open wound. Valissa shouting for him to stop. To bandage himself up. Worried about this even through her hunger though.

A few seconds passed when her nose caught a whiff of that familiar bloody iron scent. One she despised yet loved at the same time. Pausing mid-action, Valissa turned to see him kneeling mere inches away. The flickering light of flames dancing across his shaded features. "You will," were the only words spoken before the wound in his arm met her lips. Instantly her teeth tore in. The blood was the only thing she needed in order to be satisfied, but… something within her wanted to taste just a bit more.

Hearing the sound of his rough inhale through pain, Valissa knew in her head that she had had enough. At the same time, she bit down again. Creating an even deeper wound within the man's flesh. Her lips were oozing blood while continuing this same action. Kaneki no longer able to stay silent. His other arm moved in a motion – attempting to shove her away. That action failing miserably. Eyes burning. Mouth tingling. Hunger … unbearable. Her strength outmatched his, so, using that to her advantage, Valissa pulled away. Showing him a smile full of his flesh. Having eaten that part of his arm down to the very bone.

"Don't make me stop now, Kaneki." At that, his eyes widened just as she lunged. Pushing his back to the hard, wooden floor while she straddled his hips. Leaning over. Arms pinned beside his head. The way he appeared, she never would have assumed that he was some ferocious Ghoul. One that some feared. No. To her, he was like a scared child.

It made her laugh.

In a sad attempt to reason with her, the beast dwelling deep within now had full control. "But I'm so hungry, Kaneki. So, hunnnnggrrrryyyy." Smiling again, Valissa's hands quit holding his arms. Now they found a place resting against his chest. Feeling the push of his chest move up – then down. Behind that… his heart. She's tasted that organ before. Found it to be better than anything else in the whole body. The one piece that kept the body alive – and she wanted his.

Kaneki's hands gripped her wrists. Tight. "Don't do something you'll regret."

His face began to twist in another expression. Sharpened nails digging past the cloth of his shirt and into the flesh hidden underneath. He was silent for a moment, and then, he screamed. Louder than she thought possible, and that only brought a wider grin to her lips. The sound of her victim drying. Begging for her to stop. Nothing better in the whole world! She reached in, deeper – and … that sound. Of her literally ripping his chest open. Ribs breaking. Blood pooling from his mouth as he cried out. Reaching in, scooping handfuls of blood into her palms and drinking the liquid like the most divine soup.

Grinning again, Valissa stared down at his form – life quickly fading from his eyes. Before he was gone, he'd hear her say a final piece… that she didn't regret this one bit.

—- Valissa shot out of the bed in a panic. Her body covered head to toe in sweat. Form shaking from the terrible memory of what could have happened that night. Her mind focused on the truth. Yes, she had taken more of his flesh than she originally wanted to. But not to the bone of his arm. Once Valissa's eyes set up to see his face, witnessing the wince of pain within his expression – she stopped. Pulling away so abruptly. Kaneki had tried to reach out, but she slapped his hand away. Telling him not to touch her. Her words were cold. Vicious, but within her heart, she felt terrible for what she had done. Twice now. To someone who had saved her from the hell she had lived for so long. Valissa wanted to repay that action – but this was doing the exact opposite.

Since that night, she's had nightmares of what could have been. Tonight's being one of the worst, but not completely. They were constant. After the second week straight of this occurring, she left Anteiku. Being unable to stay there any longer due to the new hell she faced. Hurting Kaneki had been the LAST thing she wanted to do.

That being said, the young woman stopped into a local shop where a familiar face took residence. Having only met Uta once or twice, he had been rather surprised at her visit. The man being strange as he is, he would not turn her away into the night. Only after explaining her uncomfortable story, she was allowed to stay with him. Until she got her life together a bit more, that it.

It's been almost six months now.

At this time in her life, she's begun to adapt to the new ways of the world. Learning new skills like cooking, though Uta couldn't taste test. Reading books. There were many treasures of life that she wanted to explore in her free time, but one major change had been in her appearance. Not only in attitude, but she found a way to manage the color of her eyes. Opposite to Ghouls, the whites of her eyes would be blood red and the rest shaded a pure black. Once Valissa was able to control herself better, she found that they'd only remain those colors if she wasn't fully satisfied with hunger. When fed, the woman's appearance would be fairly normal. The Iris of her eyes remaining black, but the red faded to a snow white.

Anytime Kaneki attempted to visit, Uta would be a decent person and say she wasn't around. He wasn't much for lying to a fellow friend, but he knew of Valissa's situation. And until she wished to face this situation head-on, he continued to back her up.

Meanwhile, the woman continued her work with the CCG. After being kept as a captive for nearly her whole life, the young girl knew little of people and the way that they worked. This fact altered her personality into something far different than what she had been. When she had first been recused, Valissa was weak. Unable to really fend for herself. The knowledge to fight was there due to the many times she's had to duel against other devils for survival. That was her prison, so Valissa took that training and began applying it to what she needed to focus on.

Hunting those like her, and the Ghouls that made her.

Apparently, a lot of them died that night that the break-in happened, but not all. And those were the 'top dogs' as some would say. That's why she was working. To find them and bright nothing but pain and suffering. Like she had to go through all those years. To do that, she needed to move past caring about making friends and being nice. The saying goes, 'kindness get's you nowhere,' or something like that anyway. Valissa began to live by those words and warped her personality into someone new. Close to heartless. Cold.

Deep down, she was still someone who wanted to care for those she now considered friends and comrades, but if the enemy sensed any weakness, they'd use it against her.

This new version of her – this was her mask.

—- Damnit.

Her body would heal quickly. That was just a scratch. Valissa needed to focus on the enemy before her, and only them. The sound of creaming comrades in the background could wait. If this guy didn't go down now by her hand, she wasn't sure that anyone else had the strength. Blood trickled down her arm at the new flesh wound, but as it did, the skin was already mending itself. Quickly. She would be good to go in less than thirty seconds.

And she smiled. A wide grin with such a vicious, animalistic glare to her eyes. They were back now – fiery red and filled with determination to kill.

They couldn't fail at this. After the months of research and planning – there was no way that Valissa would allow for their attempt to fall short of the whole goal. They knew one Ghoul was locked away within this old warehouse somewhere, and they'd find it. Teams of CCG members flowed the massive building. Floor after floor. Battle met with another battle. All determined to reach the end – capturing this one being.

Valissa could be found near the upper floors. Perhaps the sixth. Or seventh. Not much of a floor anymore, though. Considering that her war with this one individual turned out to be quite the fight. No complaints. It's been a while since any Ghoul lasted more than ten minutes in a ring with her. She'd know – the tattooed tally marks on her wrist would serve as a reminder of any life she took.

"You've grown quite a bit since the last time I saw – " There was not a moment for him to finish that sentence. Her body produced its power. Sending a pointed shard of hardened blood flying at him – straight through his open mouth. Pinning his body to the stone wall right behind.

That is right – Valissa's Devilish power is to use her own blood as a weapon. By some force, she's able to control it much like a Ghoul does their kagune. Shaping and hardening the blood into weapons such as knives, swords, staffs. If she were to scratch her finger, she'd whip the crimson around much like a whip. With this ability, there is no limit to the number of weapons she can carry – and because he body heals itself so quickly, she could go hours, use tones of her own blood and just barely scratch the surface of feeling woozy.

She's tough. Filled with such fire, almost endless power… Valissa has been nicknamed: Legion.

Moments after the other's body fell limp, she took a moment to listen to the silence around her. The wind whistling through the open windows of this warehouse. Through that, she heard the sound of another being taking it's ... last breath.

Turning in an instant, she was met face to face with no one other than…

No.

Letting out an obvious sigh of annoyance, Valissa then rolled her eyes. Ignoring the facts. Planning to continue on without a word. But Kaneki wasn't about to let that happen. Through his mask, she heard his voice. Words upon words – trying to get her to come back to that little coffee shop. All the while she's not listening. Searching the pockets of this dead piece of crap – looking for anything valuable. "Last I checked you weren't an employee of the CCG, so you can take your words, shove 'em then get the hell out of my way." THAT is how cold she's become. Again, this would be her mask. If any other enemies were watching, they may not plan an attempt to use Kaneki as some leverage.

Standing, she faced him. Seeing just one Ghoul eye gazing back. And she scowled.

The young man couldn't be that stupid. From what she's seen, Kaneki was a fairly smart guy. After learning what happened to him – his human life. No, she knew he was smart, so he had to know the reasons for why she stepped back. Why it was that she needed to walk away. Stay clear.

Yet here he was, continuing to make a fool of himself.

"Enough already!" These words could have been heard from miles away. Her voice nearly shouting them to the high heavens. Stomping her feet, she moved towards Kaneki Fully intent on walking past without a problem. "I'd rather feed on my own organs than go back to that place with you. Understand?! It's not happening."

As she passed, the event seemed to happen in slow motion. Her hair drifted off her shoulder with the wind. A grip of Kaneki's hand against her arm. Swiftly pulling her off balance and within that same second, she's pinned to another hardened surface. One that would likely crumble if any more force were applied. Valissa stared angerly at him. Not struggling yet. Ideas running through her head how she'd get out of this without hurting him … too badly.

The mask that he wore was suddenly removed, revealing the face she had avoided for some time now. He stood close to her. Only a few inches of air set between them. His hands flat to the wall – her form standing within. There was emotion behind his look. Even through the dark, she saw it.

Of course, there is emotion. He's had to of been worried about you, idiot.

"Back off."

"No."

That first attempt failed.

"Kaneki, I swear – "

"No."

They stood there in silence for what seemed like several minutes. Just the quiet sounds of their individual breathing. In and out. And he moved not a single muscle the whole time. Likely to his surprise, she didn't attempt any escape either. Through the passing seconds, the glare in her eyes began to soften and Valissa could feel the heat fade away – meaning that her eyes now appeared to be normal instead of being shaded as red as an apple.

"That day at the prison, we were there with the intent to kill all off you. At the time we didn't know Devils were being created there, but it didn't matter. I knew my job, and I wanted to follow through with it. Exact my revenge on any damn Ghoul. No matter who they were." Valissa knew the reputation of Eye Patch. Understood his strength. Back then, he would have been able to snap her in half. Easily. Like a twig. "The job had just begun, yet I paused when I saw you. Weak. Brittle. But it wasn't your beaten body that caught my attention. It was your eyes, and the sorrow behind them – begging for someone to take your life."

Valissa remained silent.

"I've had my share of unpleasant experiences. That feeling is one I know well, so seeing you like that… I saw myself. And I couldn't go through with it." Her body remained still as the other began leaning forward. Pressing his forehead against her tense shoulder. "Thinking I could keep you safe, that I could help… I was an idiot. You don't need me to protect you. You're not weak. Not that same girl you were back in the prison."

After she stood completely still through all of this, a single hand began to rise up to then rest against his cheek. The feel of his skin being so familiar. Soft. Chilled due to the autumn air. But worst of it, she felt his trembling. Not from being cold, but from the fact that he had failed at being a savior for her.

"If it wasn't for you, I'd be long dead. You're the reason I'm alive and I want it to stay that way… that's why I can't be around you. If you stay near me, you're going to die because I'll kill you." These words weren't spoken through any form of malice. There was sorrow in her tone. Truth towards what she believed since the many nights she had dreamt of this scenario – killing him with her own two hands.

Valissa felt his hand cup gently over hers – still placed against his cheek. Slowly his head began to lift up off her shoulder – pausing at eye level. It was as though he didn't care about the words she just said. They didn't matter even a fraction. As if he was willing to take any chance so long as that meant…

Meant… what…

Within the few seconds that her mind wandered to the possibilities of an answer, Kaneki had closed the gap between their lips. Catching her off guard. Throwing Valissa into a whole new realm of the unknown. At first – her eyes were wide with panic. Staring not even an inch away at his closed lashes. The soft, tingling sensation of his lips pressed to hers. Now moving into a slow speed. His body now firmly pressed to hers. Other hand winding around Valissa's thin waist.

This … is my first kiss.