---

The door to the Tea Lounge opened moments later, and two men dressed in nice suits carrying briefcases entered, continuing a conversation from outside.
" - see the point in being like that," the younger looking man finished, as he nodded at Mikio.

"Ain't a point to it but putting down the animals. You wouldn't let a dog with the rabies run loose in a school yard, wouldja?" The gruff looking man replied before turning towards Mikio. "Y'all don't serve any alcohol here, do ya?"

"James, it's not even noon yet!"

"Aye, and I didn't say I wanted to order it ya damn boob."

Atticus looked at the other patron, bowing at almost a right angle at his waist. "I apologise, sir, for my partner's rough behavior. I hope we haven't robbed you of the joy a morning coffee can bring."

---

---

Alice giggled at the question, a little nervous at Katashi's silence. "I never did say this was my doing, now did I?" she said with an obvious wink. "But, yes, basically. I want to bring peace to this Ward, and then all of Tokyo. It won't be easy, but there's enough beating around the bush. I've been planning this for weeks. And I think now's the time to start moving. Yeah... So, are you two in? I could use all the help I can get."

She drummed her fingers on the counter for a moment. "Oh! And how's the coffee? I've spent years perfecting the art..."

---

Katashi listened intently to both Alice's and Travis's points. His eyes raised curiously at the mention of being a vigilante. He couldn't help but curl his lips into a smirk. Funny he mentioned that, considering what Katashi does at night. It wasn't that he wanted to be rude by remaining silent, but deep in thought instead. The more he thought about it, the more this could work. His optimistic side played into it a little, but having two more people doing what Katashi does, he could imagine the progress towards peace being made in the city already. He took a sip of the brewed coffee, the warm concoction slipping down his throat. He didn't have a wide sample to say it was necessarily the best in town but it was damn good nevertheless. If he went to more coffee spots, this would be a top contender for sure.

"Honestly, I think it's a great idea." Katashi finally said. "I'm not sure if it's the excitement or this superb coffee talking, but consider 'The Red Tiger' at your service, Alice." He said with a smile, declaring his agreement.

Travis looked over at Katashi as her threw his alias out there this made him smile that and the fact he'd assumed correctly about Alice wanting to tell someone urgently. Travis then shrugged "Why the hell not. I'm in, I'll have you two know I'm normally not this spontaneous. You got me at a good time." His smile widened and then he lifted the coffee up to his mouth giving it a soft blow before taking a sip. He made a sound of surprise as his eyes widened, "Daaaaaam, this is really good! I should have ditched the instant crap ages ago!" Travis took another sip before placing the coffee back onto the table and looking between the two.

He got into a slightly more comfortable sitting position. "So does this team, cult, gathering have a name yet? Or is that still up air?" he seemed rather eager with his question, he was kinda really excited that he'd be doing something more interesting then making sure someone got their happy meal. Plus he'd have company, both of which were fellow ghouls.

---

Alice clapped enthusiastically at the agreement.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant. And, uh, I haven't thought about a name. I'm not good with making names. This place is actually a joke, cause of Doves and stuff. I thought it was funny. But, uh, since we're talking names..."

Alice rolled over the counter, landing on her toes and spinning on the other side. Looking outside and seeing no one in sight, she turned conspiratorially to the others, a finger to her lips.

"I am the Wolf," she said in a whisper, giving a wolfish grin as her eye changed. "The natural difference in my eyes make it very difficult to tell in the mask, and if you spill my secret I may have to kill you! Someone like me... We get hunted by everyone very easily if we're outed. And, yknow, it's nice being a Trump card, eh?"

Travis sipped his coffee again this time it was slow, he wanted to savour this coffee it had been to long since he'd had a good coffee he. He regretted not finding a good coffee place sooner. He placed his coffee down and nodded as Alice explained about the name of the coffee shop. "That is actually pretty funny." he said with a smile before going for another sip of his coffee. He raised an eyebrow as Alice hopped over the desk and checked for on comers. He lowered his cup and tilted his head as Alice raised a finger to her mouth. Then before he knew it he'd sprayed some coffee onto the front of his suit, W-WHAT!?(NANI!?) this girl is the wolf!?

Travis coughed for a moment then got a napkin and started to dry off his suit. He looked back up at Alice now with a hint of fear, this girl could honestly kill him if she wanted to. And if he let this little secret slip even on accident she just might. This is what I get for not being cautious! he told himself before taking a deep breath. He couldn't sympathise with the intensity of which she would get hunted if she was indeed found out, but him being an associate could probably lead to him getting had as well. "You're a!?... N-never mind. I'll not tell anyone. I like my head to be attached to my shoulders for the most part. O-oh before I forget I'm the Crimson Cross..." He didn't expect to be recognised, and honestly he didn't care at the moment. Right now Alice was his primary concern, for many reasons.

---

Mornings like this were what made life worth living for Kazu Kujo. The weather was pleasantly warm, she had been awake since three AM, and she had some fool’s head under her foot.

“Alright! I get it! I’m sorry!”

Anri slung an arm over Kazu’s shoulders, “Think he’s had enough?”

Kazu lifted her foot up and gave the guy another kick in the face, just for good measure.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Get outta here, punk.”

The guy scrambled to his feet and fled, bleeding profusely from the nose. Kazu almost felt bad about how easy it was to beat him into submission (she didn’t even have to use her Kagune), but he deserved it for trying to mug one of their friends.

The Diamond Kings took care of their own.

---

Thirty minutes later, Kazu was walking the streets after parting ways with Anri. She must have cut her lip on something, because she kept having to wipe away drips of fresh blood from it.

She wasn’t going anywhere in particular, but after trading fist-bumps with another Diamond King she passed, waving at a cool drug dealer she knew, and petting her favorite stray cat, she came upon a new coffee shop.

The Birdcage. Interesting. She could certainly use some coffee.

As she entered the place, she noticed three people already there, one of which must have been the owner. She relaxed a bit when she realized that they were all Ghouls. She could let down her guard a little for now.

But just a little. She looked like someone who had just been in a brutal fight (which, of course, she had). There were bruises all over her face and her lip had started bleeding again.

Wiping her face again, she greeted the strangers with a smile.

"'Morning."

---

---

---

Mikio clasped his hands together delightedly and replied, "Wonderful, I'll get to it." As he and the scarved stranger congregated around the island bar-table, two nattily-clad men entered. Much to the shock of Mikio, who rocked back on his heels slightly, one of the finely suited men asked, "Y'all don't serve any alcohol here, do ya?" He hardly managed to speak in return when the other chastised him. Pursing his lips, the waiter's hand found the gentle grooves of one of the coffee cups neatly piled on one of the table's upper shelves before bringing the pearly, graceful cup on the counter behind him.

Mikio smiled at the man's apology. "No, no, mornings are rarely ever spoiled. Let me get it started for you three. Please make yourselves comfortable, gentlemen!" Mikio chirped in response, grabbing two more coffee cups, all displaying a careful spiderweb of symmetric golden lines curving about the white porcelain. He withdrew the coffee filters and grabbed the sealed glass container of milled coffee beans that Mikio had grounded half an hour earlier. Rich, sensuous smells danced around him as he unsealed the container and gingerly poured the blackened-brown grains of coffee beans into the white filters. Mikio learned well from Shika; he kept a balance between the coarse, acid taste of over-extraction and the unexciting flatness of poor extraction.

He did not hear the mumble coming from the seated man, whose eyes reminded Mikio of the still-seething cinders of a fire. He was too focused his attention on setting the perfect water-coffee ratio; using only filtered water--Shika had edified to such an extent that she often remarked on the exact sameness of Mikio's habits compared to her own. He flicked on the coffee machine, which responded with a gravelly protest. The heavy smell of coffee soon permeated the air of the Tea Lounge.

The sharp clink of ceramic on quartz pierced the coffee-thick air as Mikio methodically laid out the cups of scalding-hot coffee out in a line, coasted on a small plate that, too, shared the simple curving artwork of the coffee cups. He then set out a basket of sweeteners and sugars, all abreast with carafes of fresh milk.

"There you are, gentlemen. Please enjoy!" Mikio announced with a sheepish smile.

---

Yoko yawned as he sipped a cup of warm tea saturated in honey while reading the daily newspaper. He sets the cup down on the glass coffee table and walked to their and randomly picks up an article of clothing. "Ooo lilac jean skirt. Let's pair this with a black and white striped short sleeve," He says talking to himself. Yoko yawns once more before grabbing their apartment keys and a pair of gladiator sandals and walking down to the hair sallon. He smiles happily as they trotted down the daek alley way next to where their apartments. Theh walk through here everyday to get to work, but today it feels kinda uncomfortable and creeping. They shook off the feeling and kept walking but slightly faster now.
Yoko git there right as Yamada was opening the doors and already had a smal line of 5 customs waiting to get in. He smiles up at Yamada and holds up the door marking sure to tell everyone hello and ask how they are doing as they walked in. He closes the door once everyone is in and switched on the Open sign. They looked down at the Tea shop across the street before turning around and starting on there first customer.

---

"Thank you, it does smell wonderful in here," Rose said quietly.

Decker, however, was looking at the other customer with a shrewd look. "Comments like that can spark quite the scene," he replied gruffly.

"What are you...?" A small look of comprehension dawned on Rose's face. "Please, don't start trouble. I'd like to enjoy my morning for once."

Decker, however, continued to stare down the man. "You know, we got a saying where I'm from. Don't assume, it makes an ass out of you, not me," he said, a little louder.

---

---

Alice smiled even wider at Travis's reaction, bringing him a towel to clean himself up with. Before she could do anything else, another customer came in, a Ghoul by the smell, looking a little worse for wear.

"Morning!" Alice said brightly, bowing her head slightly. "Can I get you anything? You look like you could use a strong coffee, no offense. I do have food, too, if you'd like a menu."

Once the young girl got situated, Alice would look at her two compadres. "How about you two come back when I close? We can start from there. 5pm. Course, you don't need to leave right away, enjoy your coffee, eh?"

With a slight twirl she froze while looking at the news.

I repeat again, the CCG has released a mandatory Ward wide evacuation of any remaining civilians in the 11th Ward. Thank you for your cooperation.

Alice cursed quietly. "That's not good.... Not good at all...."

---

---

With a wave of his hand, Seto turned the screen off.

"As usual, you can contact me through the phones if necessary. Given no questions, you're dismissed. I expect results, and soon. We can't drop the ball here in the 8th with the 11th in such hell. Ketsu, remain behind. We'll be leaving shortly."

---

'Yessir!' Ketsu exclaimed once more, before momentarily addressing the others by saying 'And of course, I wish you all the best of luck in your respective missions too, my fellow investigators. Though naturally, our skill ought to be more than sufficient, am I right?' His mouth quirked upward into a half-smile as he examined the reactions of the others, whether they were positive or negative, and so how he might adjust his behaviour around them accordingly, if at all. Something told him he'd be seeing them around a bit more frequently from now on.

---

---

A binge eater? How odd, Remi thought as she listened to Seto speak. When he slammed his hand onto the table, Remi jumped. Not metaphorically. Literally. However, she pretended as if it never happened. Anyone who wasn't looking at her would be none the wiser. She was paired up with Katsura, someone whom she hadn't worked with in the past. At least, she didn't think she did. Her memory was a mess, after all.

After hearing Ketsu wish the others luck, Remi decided that it would be best to do the same. She turned to him and bowed. "Thank you," she said, "if anything comes up, please contact me at this number." From her coat came a business card, complete with phone number, email, and fax machine. Remi always had plenty of the cards on her. After all, she could never remember who had her number.

She turned to Taiki and Sora, handing each a card. "Contact me if anything arises," she said.

Finally, she turned to Katsura. "Sir, I look forward to working with you," she said, bowing and handing him a card. Then, her attention turned back to Seto. "Sir, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I would like to request access to all of the case files and autopsies for the previous victims. Please send them via email." She placed a card on his desk, still unsure if he actually had her contact information.

She then left the room. Upon leaving, she pulled out a tiny plastic bottle and quickly swallowed the liquid inside. She tossed the empty plastic bottle away and walked out of the CCG. She was still incredibly cautious about the Rc gate. Those things were terrifyingly loud.

---

The drive to Miyoshi was short. After all, it was only three kilometers northwest from the HQ. The maze of residential buildings was disorientating, making it difficult for Remi to find which alley was the scene of the crime. Of course, that confusion was quickly stomped out when they passed by an alley covered in yellow tape with two police officers watching the entrance. Remi got out of the car, flashing her badge to the two police officers. They moved aside, allowing for the two investigators to enter the scene.

And that's when the investigation started. Remi put on a set of nitrile gloves and face mask. Thankfully, the corpse had already been moved. A chalk outline was all that remained.

Travis nodded in thanks after Alice gave him the towel, he quickly started drying himself off, he didn't get to much coffee on himself, he was happy for that. Travis then looked over at the slightly battered kid who'd just walked into the cafe, he gave her a brief wave but didn't say anything because he had just started sipping his coffee. He smelt she was a ghoul and honestly didn't want to get involved with her, she might'v been small but she looked like trouble or was in trouble. Travis wanted no part either way. He'd be a hero later, now he just wanted to get out of the cafe and think. He handed Alice back a the towel and the payment for the coffee, "I'll catch you then, I got some things I could go sort out till then. So I'll catch you two at 5 AM. Cya, and thank you for the great coffee!" with that Travis waved and slipped out of the cafe closing the door behind him. He then rather quickly headed for the local park.

Ho boy Travis you're mixed in with the wolf now. And you can't just not show up.. She showed you her identity, she'd hunt you down if you just tried to bail. Plus she's kinda cute... Good lord Travis... You really are desperate for a girl aren't you?...

---

Once everyone had left, Seto turned back to Ketsu. "Remember, too much confidence is a bad thing in our profession, Ketsu."

Clicking a button, Seto brought up a map of Ward 8. "There's been several attacks, in seeming random locations. With our resident duo going searching, and our two best scene Investigators checking the latest... That leaves you and I. We're going to meet up with a certain Associate Special Class Investigator by the name of Merriam Graye. She may have a lead on a potential threat that could give us answers about this mysterious killer."

---

---

Katsura followed close behind, looking at the outline. He turned towards the officers. "Tell me you were competent and have pictures of the scene before you moved the body?"

"Uh, yes, sir. My superior is bringing them this way now."

"Brilliant," he said with a tense smile. "So, Remi, what do you think? Blood splatter on the buildings and ground appears to indicate a slashing weapon. But what else happened here?"

---

Sora blankly stared at the card he found tucked between his fingers. He looked up to give Remi a confused look, but as he raised his head, he heard the door shut close. His head shook from left to right, looking for the rank 2 investigator. He turned to Seto. The young investigator seemed like he was about to say something, but no words left his mouth, the only thing keeping them in being his teeth biting down on his lower lips. Letting out a sigh, he pocketed the card, turning to Taiki as he walked out the room, wrapping his earphones around his fingers.

"So, we're doing what we've been doing?" he said in an annoyed tone. A mischievous grin crept up his lips. "And you came all this way, hm, Tai-san?" Sora let out a childish laughter before pointing at a wall. "We might not have a particular case in our lap right now, but you'd better not use that as a chance to slack off! I wanna get the new Switch. Oh! Maybe we'll find the trail of a big ghoul syndicate and get a raid! I'd definitely be able to get the extra money for a second pair of Switch controllers if I get the Silver Osmanthos or Double White Wing this year, and we can play together!"

The BirdCage, huh...

Mei Cheng's eyes lazily drew upon the brand new shop that had opened in the vicinity. She was dragging her feet along, the will sapped out of her as she lurched forward, back bent because of the heavy weight that rested upon her heart. She really missed Takao, and now she was stuck in the stupid capital of Japan with the stupid CCG and surrounded by complete strangers. Well, it was not like she could not make ends meet, but the contacts she had carefully cultivated over the years had all fallen in a fell swoop or were too far from helping. Being a street doctor, though, as seedy as it was reported some side benefits, such as snacking on mafia corpses one was asked to clean, and getting some cold hard lumps of cash one could spend in luxury items.

Yet the elegantly-cut one piece dress, high heels and exquisitely trimmed haircut were only material comfort, a vain attempt to soothe deep scarred wounds but with no avail. She had been shambling without purpose. At least until she saw the sign. People called her the Fenghuang, most regal of the birds. Maybe a Birdcage was a fitting place for her now, she was amused at the irony. After carefully checking the coffee signs on the outside, she lingered on the smell of freshly ground beans. Probably humans were able to tell this too, but not from this distance, anyway.

Taking a deep breath, she walked herself in, eyes piercing the surrounding. A few patrons, huh. A young waitress, a brat who had gotten in a scuffle and some delicious looking male, which however, was probably far too immature for her taste. She, without a word, slumped in one of the chairs and made a notice for the waitress. All of them stank to Ghoul.

"This place smells funny." She paused, not letting skip a heartbeat, as she said in a half smirk. "Get me some brew, please." Her eyes drifted at the younger ghoul. "Youngsters these days... have you been smashing bricks with your face or something?" she added to Kazu.

---

Kazu chuckled a little at the owner’s comment, “I don’t need any food, but you’re right; I would kill for some coffee right now.”

Getting settled at a table, Kazu pulled her book out of her backpack and opened it up where she had placed her bookmark (actually just an old receipt). Looking at the book, anyone could tell it had been read and re-read many times. During the year Kazu had lived on her own, it was her main form of entertainment. She never really thought about replacing it; the story about an angel, a demon, and a misplaced Antichrist had become a comforting familiarity. Kazu could probably recite certain passages from memory.

Reading her book over again was definitely a better source of entertainment than the news. Despite some reports on gang violence, which she and her friends would make fun of together, current events just made her sad and worried, much like the shop’s owner seemed. Kazu looked up at the TV screen, and then at the door, when someone new came in.

The lady looked really fancy, like the kind of person she and her friends often avoided.

She jumped a little when the woman talked to her, and quickly regained her composure, putting on her best cool-kid face.

“You think this is bad, you should see the other guy,” she finished off her boast with cheesy finger-guns.

---

---

---

The smile blossoming across Mikio's bespeckled cheeks faltered slightly at the comments from the two well-dressed Doves. Puzzled, he observed the two stately partners for a moment longer before averting his tender gaze back to the seated man. "I'm glad you like it. Let me know if any of you need anything else!" Mikio then turned his back to the settled customers, focusing on busying himself with cleaning up the stray granules of coffee beans and discarding them in a wastebin, before wiping down the sleek silver brewing machine.

Concertinaed beams of sunlight slipped through the shutters of the windows towards the back of the lounge, neatly chopping up the polished wooden furniture. A sense of peace sifted through the air, with the muffled sounds and protests of passing denizens. Still, Mikio felt an underlying tension snake through the teahouse, like a predator waiting beneath still water.

---

Decker looked at the man with narrowed eyes, his hand unconsciously opening sightly to finger the release on his briefcase. "I have to commend you, sir. Too few people miss a full breakfast before heading out," he said quietly.

Meanwhile, Rose was cleaning up their cups, bringing them to the counter. "Would I be able to get your card and a cup to go?" He asked gently. "I must recommend this to a friend of mine, I do believe she'd find it much to her liking.

"If I could pry, sir, may I ask where you procured your outfit? It seems well made, if I may be so bold," Decker continued.