For a second thought he might actually attack again. Then he whirled around and stormed out of the sparring area, slamming the door behind him. 

Liana and I stood still for a few more moments, waiting to see if he would come crashing back in. Then we relaxed and sagged, dropping onto the floor and taking deep breaths. I threw my head back, wiping sweat from my eyes. “That was…….”

“Mildly impressive.”

“That ranking really isn’t just for show.”

“Then again, neither are ours.”

I smiled. “You got that right. Come on, we need to get these to the lab for retraction.”

We were waiting outside when a pair of familiar faces popped up at the front desk, and I perked up slightly. Isn’t that-? “Hey Liana, look who’s here.”

My sister turned and broke into a grin. “Tatsu! Hiko! Over here!”

The two young adults smiled and ran over, hugging my sister as I smiled at them from the side. “Finally found the time to get away from your fancy castle to visit us?”

Hiko laughed. “Sorry, we’re here on business. We were planning to stop by the cafe to ask your mom for some peach pudding though, how are you guys?”

I crossed my arms and smiled. “We’ve been assigned an annoying case, but nothing we can’t handle. You guys been working hard? I hope you’re not slacking off over there just cause you’ve got an unfair advantage.”

Tatsumichi punched his palm. “I’ve been training hard enough to beat even you in an arm wrestle now!”

A technician came out with our cases and I checked my watch. “Since our Goat is probably still licking his wounds, let’s go get that pudding.”

Liana nodded. “Mom will be happy to see you guys again. By the way, how did you get here from the 1st? Neither of you know how to drive yet.”

They shared a glance, and I caught a strange look before Hiko smiled again. “We got dropped off by a lady Urie works with. She said to call her if we needed to be picked up, so there’s no problems there."

The two of them piled into the back of the car as I put all our quinques into the boot, and as Liana pulled out of the parking spot they told us about the others. “Yusa still kicks Ryuchi’s ass at sparring, but Sanzu is getting better. Hiko is also adapting well, we can go toe to toe without any issues.” I smiled as they started arguing over who won the most rounds, the ghoul forgotten.  Just graduated a year ago and already in such a high-ranked position. I’m almost jealous, it took Liana and I years to get to Second Rank.

When we pulled up to the cafe Mother was at the stairs, and she broke into a smile when she saw who we had with us. “Tatsu, Hiko! You two are so big now, at least I know they’ve been feeding you well over there. You should have told me you were coming over, I would have prepared something! Is it just you two? Bring Yusa and Sanzu with you next time, I haven’t seen them for so long.” She turned around. “Emma! I need a big peach pudding out here, and six plates!”

Six? Movement a couple steps above her caught my eye, and I tensed. “Oh. You’re here.”

His expression wasn’t quite contempt but it just barely bordered on hostile, the boy shifting back a step. “I live here, remember?”

Mother’s smile thinned dangerously as she fixed me with a warning look. “Why don’t you all come inside? You’ll have to catch me up on everything, it’s been so long since we last heard from you.”

The kid snuck up another step. “It’s…probably best if I let you all catch up. I wouldn’t want to intrude on…this.”

Liana stepped forward. “No, it’s alright, we’d be happy for you to join us! Hiko, Tatsu, this is Teru Kouto. Kou, meet Tatsumichi and Hiko. They were our juniors at the Academy.”

Damnit Liana- I scowled as he exchanged a glance with my sister, wavering. Slowly, he came down the stairs and exchanged a polite greeting with the two of them before mother ushered all three inside. Of course; trying to make reparations when I didn't do anything wrong. Liana and I moved to follow, but mom’s hand came down on my shoulder before I could get through the door. “Hold on a moment; we’re not going to be having an incident today, are we?”

I shook her off and scowled. “Yeah yeah, I get it.”

Once we were all sat down Mother heaped large servings into their plates, but Hiko was watching me and the brat. “So……Kou huh? You have siblings then?”

“...yes.”

“How many?”

“A brother and a sister.”

Tatsu picked up his fork as he thanked my mother. “You all live nearby?”

“...not exactly.”

Liana cleared her throat. “How’s work? You have any exciting stories?”

Tatsu shrugged. “We took out some B ranks and an A recently, but things are kinda slow. We’re mostly attending diplomatic meetings and stuff like that,”

Hiko smiled. “I kinda like it, fighting is alright but it’s inspiring to watch our senpais defuse the situation with just words!”

A small smirk came to my face. “That’s cause the ghouls know they mean business; you show you’ve got bite and they’ll pay attention to your bark.”

Teru was nibbling at the portion mother had heaped onto his plate, glancing between Tatsu and Hiko. His face was set in his usual a wary-passive expression as he watched our juniors. “Are your seniors important people? The only time diplomatic meetings would happen with the CCG would be with big ghoul groups like the Aogiri Tree from way back at the Dragon War.”

Well, he’s smart enough to figure out that at least. “Their seniors are high ranking officials, you’ve probably seen them make the news a few times.”

Hiko smiled. “They’re amazing! I was actually inspired to join the CCG because of them, although the pay was also a big selling point.”

Tatsu nodded. “Everyone’s salary dropped by a bit when Goat became official and needed government funding too, but we still get a fair amount more than most other jobs.”

I scowled. “Damn freeloaders.”

Hiko seemed to be paying closer attention to the kid now. “By the way, how old are you? It’s kinda hard to tell.”

“I’m seventeen.”

"What school do you go to?"

There was a pause. "I'm...not going to school. Or college."

Tatsu tilted his head. “Oh. Why not?"

He poked the pudding and kept his eyes on the table. Will he spill if its someone younger asking him? “I…can’t afford college.”

Hiko cleared her throat. "What do your parents do for a living?”

I paid very close attention as he cleared his throat. “My mom…didn’t work. My dad was a mid-level manager at an office.”

Tatsu frowned, picking up on the past tense the same time I did. “ ‘Was’? Then when you said you didn’t live with your family-”

Teru shifted in his seat. “They’re alive. I just……don’t have a great relationship with them.”

My grip on the spoon tightened as I scowled. “He’s a runaway.”

Liana shot me a venomous look. “He’s not a runaway, he’s living separately from them because his parents were assholes. And you seem to be forgetting about the little conversation we had about minding your own fucking business.”

Tatsu and Hiko exchanged a look. “Um, maybe we should talk about something a little less per-”

Sorry Tatsu, but I’m not backing down after you’ve already done the heavy lifting. I leaned forward. “Why don’t we ask him what his parents were like?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why don’t you shut your mouth before I do it for you?"

Did she just- It only took me a moment to get over my initial surprise as I stood. “You want to pick a fight with me now?”

Her answering glare made my blood boil. “I want you to-!”

“ENOUGH.”

We both froze. …shit.

My mother stood, calmly and deliberately, as she turned her look of wrath on me. I’ve faced down an S ranker while waiting for backup to arrive and nearly died every three hits. So why do I wish I was dealing with two S ranks instead of this? Just the look in her eyes was enough to remind me of my more rebellious years as I suddenly felt much less ambitious. “We’re going home. Now. Inform Chief Kang you won’t be making it back to the Office for the rest of the day and wait outside.”

I briefly considered saying something to placate her, apologising or the like. The slight tightening around her eyes as she lifted her chin and dared me to say something ensured I did otherwise, my sister and I quietly walking towards the exit. I’m not sure if I should be glad she’s not doing it in front of Tatsu and Hiko, or if I should be worried now that she has time to stew on it. Should I try to- Liana turned around slightly and grabbed my shoulder to stop us. “Kou, I know it isn’t much, but take this as an apology. For everything.”

Huh? “What are you-” Her flawlessly polished black boot shot up before I could finish, and I felt something crunch as my eyes widened.

LJWEAAAEFEFQEYFERQWEQDSAOIHTHGFL- I wheezed out a small breath as I dropped to the floor, my vision spinning as nausea spread like a lightning shot through my balls. Through my suffering I was able to see the shocked faces of everyone at the table, but as Liana grabbed my collar and dragged me the rest of the way out I caught a shy little smirk tug the corners of his mouth. It set my blood to boiling, but what I saw next turned lava to ice. What the-

She pulled the door open and shoved me inside, slamming the door and stalking over to the other side of the car. Bitch- I grit my teeth and glared at Liana from the backseat. “That was low, even for you.”

She didn’t even turn to look at me as she pulled out her phone. “So was trying to dig out his secrets the second he gave an inch to be polite, and dragging me into this to make sure we both got in trouble for your stupidity.”

Mother emerged from the cafe a few moments later, and I could see Hiko and Tatsu still speaking with the brat through the open door. They’re talking to him still? Then I can ask them- “You’re not leaving the house for the next week."

I jerked back into the present moment as my mother slammed the car door behind her. What- She- A WEEK?!?!? “Wha- Hold on-!”

“You will not leave the house, you will be taking over Liana’s chores, and if I see any of your friends near the cafe or Crata’s store I will add another week on. You have enough annual leave for two weeks until you start having trouble at work, so I suggest you think very carefully before you attempt any sort of workaround. After your probation I expect you to make it up to Teru, and we’re not going to be done with this until he tells me – unprompted – that he no longer feels unsafe with you around. I’m not sure which part of my parenting I’ve been too soft on, but try me again and I’ll be sure to remedy it.”

I grit my teeth and swallowed my excuses. She’s way too pissed to listen to me, and she didn’t care before anyway. I have to get evidence first, then I show them that he’s not who they think he is. “Whatever.”

I had to bite my tongue the whole way home, and once I was in my room I got my computer out. First I need to find out where he just came from, whether it’s his parents house or an apartment in another Ward. Then I can get someone from there to spill the beans, and once I know his dirty little secrets Liana will be begging me to take me with her to bust his ass.

 - - -

I kicked the nearest trash can hard enough to dent the crumpled metal exterior, using every Irish swear I had ever learned in my life. How the FUCK is it so hard to dig up info on ONE KID?!

I slapped my card against the subway gate and dropped into one of the seats. It’s been two weeks since I started digging and I've barely got anything to show for it. The four names on my phone had cookie cutter stories attached; post-adolescent, thin, medium length black hair, very quiet, good worker, and they had all vanished within one and a half months of each other.

I had to cash in all of my favours at the police station to get the footage for where he got on, and I’ve got nothing to show for it. For the hundredth time that day I wished I had a way to snap a photo of him so I could whittle down my options, pinching the bridge of my nose as I tried to sift through the minor details in my head. Okay, so one of them was seen walking a dog but it could have been a favour to someone. There was the guy who worked at a cafe but he didn’t even live in that damn ward, so I doubt it. Maybe the junior club security guy? He knew how to handle a gun back on the train……then there’s the flower shop guy.

I gazed at my screen for a few moments as I got off the train, then made a reminder to go see the florist again when I had a photo or a voice recording or something that they might recognise. The walk back home was long enough for me to think up a few ways to get the stuff I needed, and as I arrived I shut off my device and made my face less of a dead giveaway before I unlocked the door. Liana barely looked up as I came in, braiding her friend’s dreadlocks. “Kaji and Luro doing well?”

While her hair was being done Thella was painting my sister's toenails, and I waved hi to her on my way to the stairs. “Yeah.”

“It's nice of them to give up their own time making sure you don’t have the opportunity to think of a way to screw Kou over.”

The black girl whistled a low note and capped the nail polish as I froze on the stairs, fanning the red liquid with a magazine. “Girl, that’s 17 days and counting. Remind me not to piss you off, you hold a grudge as well as you hold that sword of yours.”

Liana turned to smile icily at me. “Well, when your brother has trouble treating a person as a fucking person you’ve gotta be heavy handed sometimes.”

I had to force my legs up the stairs. “Go fuck yourself.”

I slammed my fists into the punching bag until I couldn’t feel my hands, throwing kicks and jabs as I channelled my rage. Motherfucker. She has no fucking idea what he is! My mind kept replaying the way his surprise twisted into that condescending smirk. Quiet, uncomfortable eyes turning to mild amusement as his lips curled to a smile. The look of a cat watching two mice fighting over who was going to get eaten first. The same look in the eyes of that ghoul.

My rage dried up like a drop of water in a hot pan, the memory of that day sending shivers down my spine. The S-rank freak with a discus machine for a kagune. It might have been funny if I hadn’t almost died that day. I could still feel the scar behind my shoulder, the price I’d paid for the risky opening I had taken. All I managed to hit was his mask, and I got a good look at his face as he watched me bleeding on the ground like a bug.

The punching bag was ripped off of its stand and its insides sprayed across the floor, sticking to my skin as I hissed breaths through my teeth. He's not human. The arms of my dad’s cross dug into my palm. No matter what he says, no matter what he does, I know what he really is. I just have to prove it.