I shrunk under my mother's gaze, suddenly feeling a lot smaller than I had standing over the boy. She didn’t even turn to look at him, eyes boring into mine. “Kou, are you hurt?”

I raised my hands. “I didn’t-!”

“One more word and I let the police deal with you. Are you hurt, Kou?”

I held my breath as every prayer I learned in Sunday school flew to mind. God please no, please please PLEASE- “…no. He didn’t hurt me.”

I relaxed slightly. My mother did not. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

There was a beat of hesitation, and I went right back to the prayers as he cleared his throat. “I…I answered the door because he said he was here on CCG business. He interviewed me about the trainjacking. Then he started probing about more personal things.”

When he didn’t continue my mother spared me from her gaze for a moment, glancing back at him and the furniture. “The table and chairs?”

He looked away. “I….stood too quickly?”

I would have wanted to throttle him if he wasn’t keeping a lid on what happened for God-knows-why. Oh, so NOW he can’t lie for shit?! Mom wasn’t exactly convinced either, but after a few moments she let out a long sigh. “Then I assume you don’t want to involve the police either?”

I nearly opened my mouth that time, but the look she gave quickly changed my mind. The boy just shook his head. “As long as he doesn’t come back, I’m fine.”

I yelped as she grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking me into a low bow with her. “I am so, so sorry about all of this. Your rent this month will come out of his pocket, if anything like this happens again please don’t hesitate to call me, or the police. We’ll take our leave now, please excuse us.”

I twisted and stumbled so I didn’t fall over, my mother dragging me down the stairs with her fingers locked in my hair. SHITSPINNING ASSCRAGS- “Ow, Ma, please just let me-!”

She practically threw me at the car, looming over me as I clutched my scalp. “Get. In. The. Car. I don’t want to hear one more word out of you, or we’re going straight to your office and you can explain to your boss instead of me.”

I spent the drive massaging my scalp and frantically trying to come up with an excuse that wouldn’t get me killed by my mom or my sister. Gotta bite the bullet with the work excuse, I just hope that prick didn’t delete the file or mess with it so the second recording was spliced onto the end. Liana’s gonna be pissed, but at least I won’t get in trouble with the Office.

Liana frowned when she saw us come in, looking between me and mom. “Mom? You’re back early, did something happen?”

“Your brother pretended to be on CCG business to get into Kou’s apartment and start interrogating him about his family.”

I put my hands up. “I was on CCG business! I have the recording, okay?! Yeah, I admit I got confrontational after the interview, but I wasn’t just there to-!”

I barely blocked a knee to the groin, but with my hands over my jewels there was nothing to stop her elbow from slamming into my nose as I toppled over. FUCKING HELL-! “You low-life, shit-shovelling rat BASTARD-!"

I scrambled back while trying to staunch the bleeding, but mom calmly put her arm out to stop her. “Hold on, Liana. He didn’t hurt Kou, not physically.”

I grit my teeth, getting to my feet while holding my broken nose. “His story is full of holes and he used that gun like he was born with it, something’s suspicious about him and you know it!”

My sister glared at me. “That is not what this is about, you’re just pissed about something you don’t know jack-shit about!”

I glared right back. “I know enough from what Mom told us about their little chat, and he’s been running for over a year. No prick who hates their parents that bad-!”

“ENOUGH.”

My mom’s eyes were hard in a way I rarely ever saw. “I don’t know where you got the idea that all parents are saints, but I’ll be damned if I let my son run around harassing anyone for some stupid reason like that. You’ve taken this too far, Loren, it stops here. Liana, can I trust you to keep an eye on him for me?”

My sister’s smile was filled with poison. “You can count on me.”

Every irish swear I’d ever learned danced at my tongue, but I took deep breaths and counted up down and sideways until they finally walked off and my blood stopped boiling. Fucking BITCH-!

I winced as I reset my nose in front of the mirror, blood gushing over my coat as I wadded up some gauze. Stupid little motherfucker. Something's off about him, but nobody seems to care. I managed to get the splint in place and tossed a few naproxen pills in my mouth, chugging a cup of water and slamming it against the sink. He looks like a kid, but he doesn't act like one. The way he spun that story on the fly was way too practiced, and he’s way too quick for his size. 

The way he snatched my phone kept replaying in my head, how he instantly took advantage of my distraction and literally swiped it from right under my nose.  It can’t be because of his parents……………..right? I went to the garage to clean my coat, muttering curses under my breath at the possibility I could be wrong. Mom’s usually pretty good at telling if someone is lying. But he seems to hate his parents without reservation, or he just doesn’t care about them. My hands clenched around the bloodstained fabric. I don’t know which makes me more angry. 

I spent a good fifteen minutes trying to scrub out the blood before tossing my coat in the wash, taking a shower as I tried to avoid getting the bandages my face wet. I don’t care what they say, there’s something suspicious about him. I’ll figure it out myself if I have to. When I was finally done I stepped out, looking in the mirror at the smoothed surface of my dad’s cross. I’ll make sure of it.

I pulled the chain back over my head, holding it in my palm. A light grip enhanced my reflection, bringing my biceps into high denfinition. I smirked a bit, the little bastard temporarily forgotten as I flexed some more. New training regimen’s paying off. My abs were better defined when I tensed the muscles, and my arms were thicker. That kid is literally half my size. He’s no threat in a fight…… The speed with which he swiped my phone replayed in my head, and as I imagined a knife in his hand instead a chill went down my spine. ……but that doesn’t mean he’s harmless.

We ate dinner in silence, glancing at each other but not saying anything. I kept eating, but at the expression on my sister’s face my blood started to simmer. Half an hour passed without anyone saying anything, and I slammed my chopsticks onto the table. “This is ridiculous. Why do you two care so much about some fucking kid that we can’t even eat dinner normally!?”

Liana didn’t even look up at me. “Why are you such an ass that you blame the consequences of your actions on Kou?”

Mother put her chopsticks down and massaged her temples. “Loren, you can’t harass a seventeen year old and expect us act like nothing happened. Kou hasn’t done anything wrong; he works a full time job in order to support himself, he’s independent and obviously has some issues of his own. Those issues are his own business. As his landlady I’m supposed to make sure he doesn’t get harassed, and as your mother I’m obliged to make sure you don’t go harassing people in the first place.”

“He’s keeping secrets and he knows how to use a fucking gun!”

“You have a weapon made from ghoul organs in your room, and don’t go saying you’ve never used the ‘confidential mission’ excuse before. You will leave him alone-”

“Mom-”

“-or you will move out.”

For a few moments I was sure I misheard her. Even Liana looked surprised, silence descending over the table again as I stared at her in disbelief. “You…you’re gonna kick me out because that little shit-”

“I’m going to kick you out because you've suddenly forgotten how to be a decent person! I don’t know where all of this is coming from, but you will not keep harassing Kou unprovoked.”

She stared me down without so much as a blink, and I looked first away. Son of a- My blood boiled as I grabbed my dishes and dropped them to the sink, storming into my room. My phone rang halfway up the stairs and I let out a string of curses, picking up. “What?!”

“Hey hey! So, remember how you owe me Luro and yakisoba after you nearly got us in trouble? It’s time to pay up!”

I checked my watch. ngAAHHH FUCK IT, as long as it gets me out of the house. “Fine. Meet me at Misa’s in ten minutes.”

I hung up without waiting for an answer, throwing on a change of clothes and heading back down. Liana actually looked up this time, and she raised an eyebrow. “Where are you going?”

“Kaji and Luro want their yakisoba, don’t wait up.”

I didn’t bother with the car, stewing as I walked and muttering curses under my breath. Kaji and Luro were waiting when I arrived, and both spotted me at the same time. The two idiots turned to exchange some kind of look, Kaji raising an eyebrow. “Uh, hate to be the one asking, but who pissed in your cereal?”

I glared at him. “The hell are you talking about?”

Luro coughed. “Well, it’s kind of written all over your face.”

I scowled. “Shut up and get inside, buy your yakisoba or whatever it is you wanted.”

We sat down at a table and they ordered their food, barely listening as I imagined throttling the five-foot-five source of all my problems. A few minutes later the waitress set down two steaming bowls of yakisoba - and a bottle of beer. I scowled, temper rising again. “I’m not paying for you two to-!”

Kaji picked up his chopsticks. “It’s for you. You’re less grumpy when you’re drunk and dissolve into Kyoko’s biggest simp." 

“You also tell us about your problems instead of pretending nothing’s wrong as smoke pours out your ears.”

My cheeks burned in response to both. “I do not turn into a sim-!” 

Luro tapped his chin. “What was it you said last week? ‘Her eyes are so pretty, they have a colour…….I can’t remember what colour it is. I’m going to call it Kyo. I like the colour Kyo. Kyo is sooooo-’”

I threw a pair of chopsticks at him. “Shut up!” I grabbed the bottle and popped the cap open, chugging a few mouthfuls and sighing. “It’s nothing, that brat from before is just getting on my nerves.”

Luro raised an eyebrow as he swallowed a mouthful of noodles. “The kid with the cat? What did he do?”

I scowled, chugging half the bottle. “Apparently he left home because his parents were shit, but I don’t buy it. There’s something weird about him, but I can’t figure it out and they call it harassment when I try to investigate. He knows how to use a gun and my mother said she would kick me out if I kept investigating!”

Kaji raised an eyebrow. “You carry a weapon that can annihilate B-rank ghouls, and you’re worried about a teenager?”

I scowled. “He’s almost an adult, and he’s too quiet. It’s like he just erases his presence, and nobody notices he’s gone until they actively focus on him. If he wanted to, he could probably slit somebody’s throat and disappear before their body hit the ground!”

Luro sighed. “Loren, has anyone told you you’re paranoid as fuck?”

Kaji shook his head. “Really, where do you get these crazy ideas? First you thought he was linked to some classified guy from two years ago, and now you think he’s some kind of assassin?”

I took another swig of beer. “His train jacking story is full of holes, he’s hiding something. Just you wait, I’ll get to say I told you so once I figure out what it is.” A few more gulps and a white haze started to fuzz the edges of my consciousness, and I scowled. “He’s definitely lying about the train incident, he’s too suspicious. And he had to be lying about his parents……probably.”

Kaji slurped up the rest of his noodles. “Probably huh?”

I glared at him. “He has to be! Otherwise…” I frowned. “Otherwise……his story might make sense.”

Luro smiled. “See? Deep down you know he’s no threat to anyone, just a kid from a broken home.”

I shook my head, leaning forward. “No, he’s still creepy. The look in his eyes says ‘death’, even if he does have shit parents.” I furrowed my brow. “No, his parents are probably normal. Unless they aren’t. I need to find more about him…he’s like a ghost.”

Luro put down his chopsticks. “Are you okay? This is the first time you’ve talked about someone other than Kyoko for longer than three minutes.”

I smiled. “Kyoko….maybe she’ll notice my gains. Her eyes are pretty.”

Kaji smirked. “Spoke too soon.”

I frowned and rested my head on the table, my mind fuzzy. “Kyoko….she’d be angry if she knew what I was doing. Or disappointed.”

I lifted my head to finish the beer, dropping it back onto the table after it was empty. Hngh……what’s that sound? I could barely hear Luro as he plucked the bottle from my grasp. “Still a lightweight huh? Well, at least you’ve calmed down now. You should crash at my place tonight, you say something to your family about this kid when you’re out of it and you might be in some hot water.”

I managed to get out a moan, squinting at the table. So many lines….I should count them. Luro shook my shoulder and slid me off the table, steadying me as I wobbled on my feet. “I only go to 24….”

He ignored me and pulled me out onto the street as Kaji took my wallet, only to return it a few moments later. I squinted at him. “Why did you take if give back?”

Kaji sighed. “Maybe we should have gone with a lower alcohol content. Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

They got me into a car and I stared out the window, counting lights as they passed. A few minutes later they pulled me out again, and I scowled. “Why do I have to go in the car and then go out again? That’s stupid. Waste of time.”

Kaji led me up the stairs and sat me down on the couch. “Come on big guy, nap time.”

He made me lie down, but I sat back up. “No, I only sleep with Kyoko.”

Luro rolled his eyes. “Yes yes, I know, but today you sleep alone.”

I frowned, squinting at him. “Alone? I don’t want to be alone. Why are you going to leave me alone?”

He sat down next to the couch and sighed. “Lie down, I’ll wait here.”

I flopped back and squinted at him, and he smiled. “I’ll make sure to rub this in your face tomorrow, so sweet dreams.”

The haze grew, but I managed to mumble “Don’t touch my face. Only Kyoko touches my face.”