Travis stood back and watched as the barber asked Kristian what kind of hair cut he would want. Kristian seemed to be at a loss for most of the questions, then the barber eventually decided he'd just show him some hairstyles. But as he left Kriatian just picked up a pair of scissors and cut his own hair, Travis sighed. He handed the barber a a small amount of money "Well I guess that settles that... Come on Kristian, lets get you back to my place." As he went to the door with Kristian he turned back and mouthed "sorry".

With that done Travis looked up at the sky then back down at Kristian. "Guess it's time to show you my place. Don't expect anything amazing, I'm not exactly the richest person around." Travis then started off towards his place, he made sure to look back and make sure Kristian was following him. This was the first time in ages that he was going to have someone over at his place, he wasn't worried or anything he kept his place clean. His lizard was chill as well, she was a simple skink not very big or intimidating, not that a ghoul such as Travis would be afraid of a lizard.

---

Anko looked up at the sky, which was turning a brilliant pink, and smiled to herself.

Next thing she knew she was on the ground, a light 'ahhhh' rising from her mouth. Apparently she'd walked straight into a young boy!

Wait, she wasn't on the ground. She was... Tangled up with that boy.

She pulled herself up quickly, pushing the hair out of her eyes, as she kneeled next to Kristian.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir!" She exclaimed, picking up the bag she'd been carrying full of what seemed to be clothes. "I got watching the sky and not paying attention and I..." Her voice trailed off as she met Kristian's eyes. She blushed a deep crimson, looking down quickly before raising her head shyly. "I, uh...." She blinked a few times, obviously at a loss for words. "Uhhh...I need help. I'm lost and nervous and making a fool of myself and I'm really sorry..."

@TheRedWatcher

An even more peculiar circumstance has occurred. This girl had sincerity. He could read it all over her face as she had taken a long pause when he came over. He wasn’t at first interested in here, but the man in the red suit. Something about him. Still it was the first time in a long time someone had caught him off guard. He could sincerely say that.

With that came his interest in her though. She suddenly peaked his curiosity. In a world like this, shaped the way it was. Here was a saint, sitting in a coffee shop. That is rare. Very rare. He wanted to know why her mind worked that way. He wanted to know why she could sincerely smile at him, when she was sincerely afraid a minute ago and changed her mind.

What is in her mind? Where could it go? He wanted to wear her mind so to speak. He wanted to know the source of her enthusiasm, her optimism that shined on her. He supposed he was more available than he thought.

“I didn’t expect you to be so humble,” Grant told her, he tried to smile with his eyes, a better try than when he smiled with his face, “So grounded and to earth. I apologize if my visage is frightening. I never intended to frighten you.”

He gives her a humble bow himself.

“Make it out to Mirriam Graye,” Grant tells her, “Do you often do such mundane task out in public? My it really comes to show, doesn’t it, that we’re all the same. Here most people would see you as an untouchable icon. One that lives in a tall glass tower, that is admirably beautiful as you are, but somewhere they could not reach. Truly am humbled to meet you Himehana-sama."

---

Katashi was taken aback by this new comer. He was the guy with the vicious looking scars across the side of his face. Even for Katashi, it was unsettling. However, this guy came from the group with a Dove wearing a Quinque around his neck. The Ghoul would have to be careful around this guy. He could very well be a Dove too. Katashi simply continued to sip his coffee, smiling at the newcomer. Katashi looked as if he wasn't listening too hard, but paid attention nonetheless.

An autograph sounded harmless enough at first. What happened next almost made Katashi spit out the earthy beverage that he had just sipped. This guy was... wait, what? Was he... hitting on Mika? This was just the icing on the "get the fuck out of here" cake that life had presented to the Red Tiger. The man in the red suit cleared his throat quite loud after swallowing his drink, wanting to get the attention of both the scarred man and his new girlfriend.

"Sorry man..." Katashi said to the stranger. He then turned to Mika and smiled. "Mika-chan. Can I talk to you?" The ghoul then turned back to the man, glaring to try and show that this guy was pressing just a little too hard for Katashi's liking. "Privately?"

"Heh! I guess you're right about that..." Yu whispered to Ketsu as she sipped her cocoa again, wincing slightly at the heat against her newly-crisp lips and mouth. After watching Grant for a few more seconds, carefully waiting to see if the situation would go anywhere bad, Yu turned back to Ketsu and put her head in her hands, looking up at Ketsu with a smile on her face.

"Sooo... how's life going for you, mister mysterious?" Yu asked Ketsu with a slightly inquisitive tone. She never met Ketsu, and even though this was a bit of an odd question to ask someone she never met, she was that. An odd girl. Maybe it'd be better for Yu to open up with something she had done. "I beat one of my old personal records at one of my hobbies... w-well... maybe it's not really a hobby..."

Boy, you sure are interesting, huh?

@AngelofOctober

---

At first she was scared, but now she stared at the man with a bit of a heart. He seemed well enough. Actually in fact, she felt a bit like a princess in a courtroom as two princes came before her and tried to steal her away. It tingled her little romantic heart. She was about to write the name on the paper, when Katashi seemed to interrupt before she had time to respond.

She smiled at the man.

“I am sorry give me a second,” Mika looked at Katashi and smiled just as warmly to him, “Yes. If that’s what you want.”

Katashi nodded and stood up, excusing himself to the supposed “fan”. Well, he may very well just be a fan, but it never hurt to be careful. Katashi lead Mika outside the cafe, and out of view from the window and doorway. He rubbed the back of his head, feeling bad for asking this of Mika in the first place, but he just had to speak his mind.

”Mika-chan. I am so sorry to pull you away from that…” Katashi began, thinking carefully about which words to pick. ”I… don’t think we should hang around here for too long. I think… they’re Doves…” Katashi admitted.

Mika looked at Katashi. She understood his fears and she wanted to support him. But what was said, about a war with Alice? She didn’t want any of dead. The way that nightmare played in her head was horrible to her. The outcome reminded her of years ago when she saw her parents butchered in the apartment. Blood soaked into the carpet, like a river of crimson. She didn’t want to see the people she loved killed.

She didn’t want war. She wanted peace. Even if they were Doves. That man in there, he was a fan, he was charming, he didn’t just start attacking them, did he?

“Even if that may be,” Mika told him, “They haven’t attacked us. Or tried to hurt us. Maybe this is the way to peace. You want to prove you’re not a monster, then stop running and hiding. Show them you are human. By leaving, you only make more war and bloodshed. It's time to stop running, time to stop being afraid, and relying on violence. I don’t want any of you hurt. So can’t you try a more peaceful road?”

Katashi felt a little ashamed. So much of his instincts told him to run. Take Mika away from the possible danger, and get out of there while he could. The Ghoul sighed. She was right. What would he prove if they left? Regardless of whether Katashi was a ghoul or a human, what kind of a man was he if he didn’t try.

He would try now. Katashi wrapped his arms around Mika and hugged her tightly before looking into her eyes. ”I am sorry, Mika-chan. I will try. I’ll try for you. I just wanna be cautious. But I will go back in there, because I believe you.” Katashi smiled and let go of Mika.

”Still, that guy was being a bit… uhm… forward?” He tried to joke.

Mika looked at Katashi, “And I believe in you. That you and I can break this cycle. We don’t need any more death and destruction.” She looked at him with a warming look. She truly did believe it. Ghouls like Katashi should not be blamed for those who have hurt others because they derive pleasure from it. They should work alongside society to stop those Ghouls. Not fight against the CCG, and the bad Ghouls. They should be united in a front. That is how you achieved winning this.

She smiled and blushed when it came to his last comment, “I kind of like it….makes me wonder if it makes you jealous. And I find that kind of hot.” she admitted something about her turn ons. She liked the thought that she was in her own reverse harem and men pinned over her. She loved Katashi. She liked knowing he cared to stop others men's advances though too.

Katashi chuckled at Mika’s quip. ”Oh? Is that so?” Katashi asked, playing along with the conversation. It was another cute quirk of Mika. Katashi should’ve probably been a little mad that she admitted that. Instead, he was comfortable that nothing would happen, less that guy wants to risk a fist fight in a coffee shop with someone with Ghoul strength. Even without his Kagune, Katashi noted the other man’s unassuming physique. He could probably overpower him in a fist fight. It wouldn’t lead to that though.

Before he lead them back inside, Katashi quickly stole a kiss from Mika’s lips. ”If there’s competition, I’ll just have to work harder.” He chuckled with a wink before taking her hand and walking back into the coffee shop.

Oh Katashi was. If this was her own harem anime, then Katashi would definitely be the bad boy. While the standing before them was the prince with a dark mysterious past that made him so alluring.

“Sorry about that, the boyfriend got jealous,” she said rather candidly to see how this prince would respond, “Let me get you that autograph now.” She smiled.

---

Huh. The guy actually got that autograph, it seemed. And whatever was happening over there, the ghoul wasn't at all happy about it, even if Grant seemingly was; he walked out with Himehana in tow, apparently to speak in private. That said, Yuno had lost her interest in that situation, and essentially asked Ketsu how he was doing, with a smile no less.

'Ah, well, as I'm sure you've guessed,' he began, smiling back toward her and keeping his voice down, both to avoid the attentions of anyone who might object to his job and because it happened to give his voice a deeper edge than usual, 'I recently graduated from the Investigator Training Academy, much as you recently hit rank 2, so I'd say things are looking up for us both. I don't like to brag, but I killed a Chimera ghoul earlier today that even caught Graye off-guard when it attacked us, an Associate Special Class Investigator no less! I fully admit that I was provided some assistance by Seto, but it was a quick and clean job for the most part. Thank goodness, I say.'

And as for her hobbies... well, he couldn't contribute his thoughts on that if she didn't tell him what they were. 'I'd be happy to hear what you managed to pull off, Yu, if you'd be willing to tell me,' he requested politely, taking another sip of his drink after the fact. Blegh, the sugar was starting to get to him, though he'd had many years of practice in not showing it. He hated adding the sweetener to his drink, but he also wasn't immensely fond of the flavour of coffee on its own, even if he enjoyed its strength.

@Old Amsterdam

Just like that they left. It seemed like a waste of space, didn’t it? Haircutting places. Because they kick you out if you cut your own hair. The man was taking a long time asking him a lot of questions that didn’t make sense. Didn’t you just cut hair and then it was done?

He didn’t understand what all the fuss was about style, about length. Cut meant it wouldn’t get in his way. He just followed Travis, thinking about his new experiences today. He didn’t know if he liked it very much either. Wasn’t there any other way of living, then back there or here?

Here seemed like a lot of extra steps. But back there was a lot of hurt and a burning questioning about one’s own identity.

Kristian felt like he was a burden to Travis, where else was he supposed to go though? He would have thanked Travis fi someone hadn’t bumped into him.

A girl with red hair and purple eyes. He paused, she was pretty, but she seemed really nervous. She was lost and he looked away a little. He felt his heart racing for some reason. He didn’t know what this sensation was staring at her, her pale skin that glistened, and she smelled human. That didn’t deter from her angelic like appearance.

“Err, I wouldn’t be good at directing you…..I’d get lost too,” he told her truthfully. He knew nothing of this place, Or how to guide anywhere there.

He hesitated because he didn’t want to offer Travis’ time. So he just fidgeted staring at her. What now? Why did he feel this rush suddenly?

Travis held the bridge of his nose, Kristian didn't seem to know how things worked did he? If he wanted to cut his own hair why didn't he say so before they got to the hairdresser? Oh well it'd happened now nothing he could do besides take Kristian back to his place and show him around. His train of thought was derailed when he heard Kristian bump into someone, he paused and looked back at him, Kristian had bumped into a girl who looked of a similar age to him. Travis watched the two interact and grinned as he immediately caught on to Kristian's flustered expression. Heh Kristian's looking a little lost for words. He then nodded to the girl.

"Don't worry about looking like a fool, he has you beat there." Travis gestured to Kristian. "My names Travis. Nice to meet you, I'll let the kid introduce himself." Travis was smirking slightly. He hoped this other kid had parents, or else he might have to bring her back with Kristian. At least Kristian was easy to feed though, he'd have to fake stock up his kitchen more if the girl came to stay. He had no idea what had made him think about the girl moving in with Kristian, but he had a gut feeling. He hid his thoughts with a smile as he looked down on the to very pretty children trust me Travis isn't creepy.

Yuno's eyes widened when she heard Ketsu speak about wanting to know what her hobby was. Ooook. This wasn't a part of her master plan... wait, what plan? She never had a plan. Whatever. Point is, this wasn't supposed to happen. At least, not now. He was just supposed to nod his head and be like "That's pretty cool", not "I want to know more". Fuck... um... well... honesty was the best policy right?

"I... um... I build... J-Jenga towers..." Yu choked out before she simply looked down at the table with a bit of an embarrassed expression. Here she was, talking to someone so much better than her about Jenga. Fuckin' Jenga. Something so damn childish but so damn fun. Let's throw charming out the window and jump right into straight-up wife material, eh?

"... god you're a fucking nerd." Yu muttered under her breath as she contemplated just leaving. Nah, it'd be rude to Grant. She didn't want to get on his bad side.

@LemonZest1337@AngelofOctober

---

Anko bowed her head again. "I'm sorry. I've just recently moved to Ward 8 from 11 with all the evacuations. I'm... I'm Anko," she jumbled out, still looking at Kristian. "Maybe... Wouldn't... Are either of you hungry? I know it's so very forward, but I could really use some friends. Even if I did just run into them literally."

---

Sitting at his desk, paperwork finished, Seto set his hands on his head.

Graye would be out for weeks. She'd live, gotten fairly Lucky really, but was looking at six weeks before being back in the field. Two weeks before she could even come back to the HQ.

He sighed, pulling out a stack of papers. Too many unknowns showing up. And he already had some bad ones lurking around.

Needlepoint:
Unknown. Victims tend to be Ghouls. Drained of blood, small needle incisions as only viable source. Possible Rinkaku. Location: Ward 8 by recent bodies.
Rank: Tentatively B until further information is gathered.

The Red Tiger:
Victims and sightings are conflicting. Motive unknown. Koukaku. Location: Ward 8.
Rank: A

The Wolf:
Viscous, cunning, and powerful. Territorial. Rinkaku, Kakuja known. Location: Ward 8 based
Rank: SSS

Kyubi:
Remnant of destroyed cult, only known survivor. High chance off attempting to rebuild the cult. Location: Unknown
Rank: S+

He tapped his desk in annoyance. Two Chimera attacks. Graye removed from service temporarily. And they knew next to nothing about some of the biggest threats in the Ward.

The Wolf worried him the most, though. He knew first hand what she was capable of.

Unbidden his hand traced the scar over his missing eye.

Yeah, he knew what she was like...

He was jostled from his thoughts as his cell rang.

"Seto? We might have them this time. Reports from civilians indicate a strange figure walking through the alleys."

"Perfect. Thanks, Janice."

Seto picked up the phone on his desk, fingers flying across the numbers.

"Grant? Send Yuno back to HQ, if she's got nothing else going on. You're to meet up with Decker and Atticus. We might have finally found this serial killing bastard. Last known location was about ten blocks away from the West border," he ordered quickly, hanging up before he got a reply.

Go get this freak...

---

Jenga towers...? Ketsu cocked an eyebrow unintentionally, taking another sip of his drink as Yuno berated herself for revealing that aspect of herself. Still, he could come up with reasons for the task that were positive - perhaps a form of meditation, or she just found it fun. Of course, he was offering internal beratements of the hobby, labelling it a fool's errand, but it was enough to remind himself that pastimes such as stamp collection also existed. As a matter of fact...

'No need to worry, Yu,' he soothed, keeping his tone level to show he meant no offense. 'Everyone has something they like doing, after all. I, for one, am fond of playing games of chess against myself; I kind of figure, people see a guy playing chess, the immediate assumption is "nerd", when... well, my aim is not to come off as nerdy, and I don't like showing it off often, either way.' Half-true; he didn't often participate in games of chess against real opponents, because he tended to play against himself not for fun, but to improve his tactical thinking. How could he make the best advantage of the resources he had, how could he hit his opponents with overwhelming force... or, say, force from an angle they weren't expecting? Perhaps it'd be better if he did challenge himself against other chess players, but he'd rather not risk them gaining evidence to support any errant theories from his usual strategies.

---

With a cocky smirk, Kazu dropped her jacket to the ground and prepared to spar, formulating a strategy in her head.

Her plan was to dash around Alice and level a blow to her back, then sweep her leg and quickly move back to catch her breath. Keep on your toes, don’t get distracted, be cool.

Speed and accuracy tended not to be her thing; she was more of a brute force kind of person, but honestly, these people were really cool and she wanted to show off a little.

Taking a steady breath, she dashed to the side and put her plan into action. If it didn’t work, then she’d adjust her tactics.

@knifeman @TheRedWatcher

---

Alice giggled as Kazu dashed around her. As the punch and sweep came, she raised an eyebrow. Leaning forward she avoided the punch, letting her legs be swept from beneath her.

She twisted as her legs went sideways, planting a palm on the roof and twisting. As Kazu began to back up from the sweep, Alice landed behind her, her hair mingling with the young Ghoul's.

"Tactical. I can get behind that," she said quietly.

With a flourish she spun around the young girl to see how she would react to the unorthodox movements, her hand moving forward in an open palm hit against her shoulder with enough force to spin the girl around if it connected.

At the same time her other hand reached forward to gently run along Kazu's cheek.

And then Alice was gone, across the roof with a lopsided grin on her face.

She'd see how the girl reacted to that, looking at Nat to speak up. Her eyes flicked to a sign displaying the time. She'd have to cut it off if her and Nat we're going to make their appointment.

@knifeman@Old Amsterdam

Natsuya opened his fan, then closed it. Putting his eyes on the filthy street rat Alice had decided to train and ask for his knowledge. Fanning himself slightly he watched the girl charge forward, what a simple and standard tactic. He was not impressed by such a dirty looking girl. Alice could have easily dodged that sweep. Her movements were unpolished. Untrained.

He watched Alice toy with the girl. Flourishing around her and stroking her cheek. It didn’t make him jealous, only hoped that Alice would wash her hands after touching such a dirty creature. She gave him a glance and waited for him to say something.

She honestly wanted his opinion in this case? She knew how he could be when he saw something he didn’t like. He closed his fan and gave the girl a very cold stare, the one he used when he was observing something or at least trying to assess them.

He bit the bottom of his lip with his canine at first.

“You’re not trained in any of those moves,” Natsuya told her slowly, his delivery was very dry as it always was and very formal, “You’re trying to impress people who may have had more formal training. Your footing is all wrong. If Alice wasn’t toying around you left yourself open with that sweep. I would have taken advantage of such a move and so would she have in a normal circumstance.” He stared at Alice.

Then back at the dirty girl. Natsuya narrowed his eyes.

“Where are you from? And why has Alice taken such an interest in you?” he didn’t want the answer from Alice, he wanted it from her. He wouldn’t have taken such an interest in such a girl. She had nothing to impress him with. He pauses, "Don't forget to address your formal name." he added at the very end.

@TheRedWatcher@Alias

How interesting how quickly the man in the red suit ran outside with his girlfriend? He only had two theories, the relationship is a newly found alliance or they were having troubles at home. His eyes curiously lingered on the newly found alliance being forged by his new partner Yuno and Ketsu.

Ketsu boldly flaunted himself in front of Yuno, even if Ketsu was not aware of the things he was showing or believed he was exposing. Every little tick, every little movement, word that left their lips spilled a little more about who they were as people.

It was not worth the joke to stand here for the lovers talking outside, but it allowed him to watch Yuno and Ketsu for a little while. Jenga, and chess. All the little things people did to try and impress the opposite sex.

“So, what do you do?” she could not stop staring at his side of the face. She tried to hide it, pretending to look at a married couple she kept pointing out. An older couple, hair gone white, probably been together through the worse and best times. He couldn’t think of a single detail that made this woman interesting. He couldn’t remember her face very well, just another faceless somebody he long had forgotten because she lacked a quality that made her mind something he’d hold onto.

“I’m an investigator,” he replied dryly, as if to try and express his disinterest. Actually fantasizing about the ways she could die was starting to become more interesting than this date Reinhold had set him up with.

“Right and that’s how you know Clement,” she says, “He mentioned you. He said I’d like your profound insight into the world. He’s your or was your senior investigator, right?”

He nods. At this point a knife in her throat would be the quickest to get her to stop talking. Fake engagement. She wasn’t really interested in him. She found him disturbing in a way. He could tell by her closed legs and defensive posture.

“So he talked me up in order to get you here,” he tells her. She takes a sip of her red wine.

“You have hobbies?” she ask him quickly.

“Jazz music, if that counts, swing too,” he replied because it’s the social etiquette to delve into your personal taste when someone ask you that question.

“Sorry about that, the boyfriend got jealous,” she said rather candidly to see how this prince would respond, “Let me get you that autograph now.”

He stared at the man in red for a second. Was it jealousy he was expressing? Or something else he wondered? His tense body posture could be a number of things and he didn’t know enough to gain further insight.

The girl, however, wore her genuine nature on her sleeve. A trait so easily taken advantage of. Yet, curious how she had one in the first place. So optimistic and bright. If anything interested him the most today it would be this girl. He might not be fond of her music. Her on the other hand. She be easy to open up, but only to see what lie inside her mind.

“No worries,” he told her in his usual dry manner, though he tried to be as cordial as he could, “We’re clearly mere mortals in the presence of a divine madam such yourself.” He paused attempting a joke, but also he was curious as to what the girl said, “If you were any ordinary individual I might have told you as payment for walking out, Mizuki-san was talking to me about the movies. I may have insisted a double date.”

He attempted a small laugh. A girl like her might not catch how robotic it might sound. But he could imitate what a laugh sounds like. He didn’t find the comment interesting. He didn’t find them interesting enough for them to agree. He simply wanted to see how the girl may react.

The joke he attempted was not worth all this effort.

@AngelofOctober@Alias

He was really polite, which made her heart melt a little. She liked Katashi, to her Katashi was a man who could wear a crown and they’d sit on the throne together. But this man, this might be the naughty advisor who just likes to flirt with her to get on Katashi’s nerves. And she had to admit, she did find it hot. When he spoke his eyes and his gaze was sharp, piercing, it broke through her mental defense and she found herself slightly aroused by this idea.

Mika Cam:

“What do you think you’re doing talking to her like that?” Katashi asked defending her honor. The man smiles, his eyes twinkle.

“I was merely showing her respect,”the man told him, he bent down and kissed her hand with the good side of his face.

Her heart was beginning to race. This was the problem with loving romantic situations. She started to get ideas that went astray. Then she heard the last part, mortals, her divine presence. He must have been a knight, who came into the fold, abandoned by his family, and fought to reclaim his honor. Here she was a princess in a castle.

People always believed she was untouchable. She was like a priceless doll being placed up on a shelf, and when she desperately sought the human touch or sought after a human connection, people blocked her off and said she was too precious to behold or to touch.

She failed her arms around desperately. She didn’t want to give him that impression that she was untouchable.

“No no it’s quite alright,” she says with a smile, “I’d love a double date. We would all look so cute together.” She continues to smile and she finally looks at the man, “You may call me by Sasaki Mika. Himehana is my stage name. There’s no reason you should treat me like an untouchable icon. Mister?”

@TheRedWatcher@Alias

She was serious? How odd. He had seen something in her demeanor change. What was it? Had he struck a nerve? He didn’t think this girl could have any complexity and yet, here she was with complexity. It intrigued him to say the least. He eyed the boyfriend for any triggers, when he saw none he found himself silenced.

Should he abort his this game? Yet, Sasaki Mika was it peaked his curiosity. She’d let him inside much quicker than most people. Let him wear her mind even briefly. Perhaps all it took was a singular date and he wouldn’t be stuck with people he had little interest in. Mizuki is better in small doses, else she suffocated him to nausea with her mundane simplicity.

Grant gave a smirk on his face.

“Very well,” Grant told her, “That sounds pleasant. Besides perhaps I’ll get some advice from you two on how to be so cute together.” He gives another dry laugh. He sort of twitches his head to Mizuki who’s been behind the counter this whole entire time. He had to acknowledge her right now. He may have agreed that he felt a slight hint of irritation as he had tried to blow her off nicely earlier.

“Did you hear that Mizuki-san, I got you a date with a pop idol,” he told her with his surface level of charm. It was starting to get tiring. He wanted to see this coffee shop splattered in blood. He was getting tired of this facade. So many people. So many things he didn’t care about. Mizuki smiles and her eyes twinkle. Ah, then she could tell he may have been blowing her off a little?

“I cannot believe I am going go on a date with an idol,” Mizuki said with a pleasant inflection to her tone. Please do not respond. Please don’t say any more. Grant might have slightly rolled his eyes when no one was looking or he hoped no one was.

Grant stared at Sasaki Mika.

“Oh right Sasaki-san,” Grant told her, “I am Grant Wesley.” He sort of gave her a courteous bow. “It’s been a pleasure. My notebook.” he said pointing to it, “I’d like to smoke.”

He gave the man in the red suit, who hasn’t given him his name, a look. He was just as curious as the girl. He needed to separate them. The girl was sickeningly overwhelming with her aura.

Staring over at Ketsu and Yuno, they were still engaged in their endeavors. He was starting to lose the mood of stomaching people though and at least stepping out might give him some time to refresh.

“Care to join?” he added to the man in the red suit.

"Whaaat. Chess is so much better than Jenga towers," Yuno joked before sipping her cocoa again. It actually cooled down now and she could drink it without burning herself to cause a reaction. It was still friggin' hot, but it was a lot more tolerable now that some time had passed. After the coca had been sipped, Yuno returned to the conversation. "Especially since it builds logic and stuff. The best thing you get from a Jenga tower is the satisfaction of 27 blocks high before it falls back down."

Little did Ketsu know, that was just Yuno being slightly cute. Building Jenga towers was rather interesting and required a small major in architecture, something that Yuno failed to have. Every block mattered. You only had 54 total blocks to work with, and once you take away the forbidden bottom six, you only have 48 blocks to work with. You start at 18 blocks high, and once you calculate for every block you can't easily remove without fucking up the structure, it gets very stressful. It made Yuno cry once, actually. She was about to beat her previous high score when she got scared about what block she could remove. Of course, you could remove the ones at the bottom, but that was a risk because those were fundamental to the support of the structure. You could try to remove the one from the middle, but it was stiff, and it would be really hard to remove without breaking the damn structure entirely, forcing you to forgo all that work you put in so you had to start fresh with 18 blocks. Getting it up nine more was a challenge, as you had to make sure every block was just right and sturdy enough to work. If it wasn't, you'd fall, like you would off of a Ferris wheel after your dreams were crushed by your parents like you had cancer or something, even though you knew you didn't. It was too delicate, like the surgery you had to get in order to get that cancer out of you when you were so young. It sucked, and Yuno knew that more than anyone. Every tower. Every single tower was like that operation. One fault, and you lose that little bit of your life, only to never get it back. In a way, it was like killing yourself, just a bit less deadly than you would originally think. Then again, everyone was dying slowly anyway, so it wasn't like you we-

"Oh?" Yuno peeped as she saw Grant walk out of the coffee shop in some kind of distress, the sudden attention shift causing her to stop shaking. "Do you think Grant is okay?"

---

'I mean, I guess you could put it like that... but it's still kind of sad, isn't it?' he lamented, glancing over toward Grant and his new "friends" to see Himehana flailing her hands... had Grant caused that? 'I mean, really, imagine just a guy playing a two-person game by himself in his apartment, right? Heh... uh?'

...was she shaking? What on Earth... had he said something that upset her? Well... maybe he'd accidentally implied that him playing chess by himself was awful, and thus her stacking Jenga blocks was worse still? Shit, that wasn't a good start if so. Much as he didn't feel a need to especially impress anyone at his own rank, he also didn't want to burn his bridges in case they ranked up quickly. But, maybe it was unrelated, too... best to ask.

'Hey, Yu?' he asked quietly, snapping her out of her moment just as Grant began walking outside. She openly wondered if Grant was doing alright, apparently completely insensate to her own vibrations. Perplexing... and something to consider in the future.

'Yeah, he's fine. Looks like he's stepping out for a cigarette,' he observed, noting that Grant had asked the redcoat ghoul if he wanted to join him too. Not necessarily a smart move, if they began fighting and the First Class Investigator was caught off-guard. In the meantime, if redcoat accepted, Ms. Himehana would be on her own... oh, that'd be humorous. Probably not worth it, but humorous nonetheless. His ghoul side pushed him further into making up his mind, albeit for the wrong reasons in context.

'Did you notice how easily Himehana became flustered when chatting to Grant?' he asked his coffee mate with an air of conspiracy, pointing to the idol in question even as her partner accepted Grant's request and followed him outside. 'Let me ask you something: if even Grant can catch her attention, how do you think she'd respond to our respective charms?' Taking a bit of a swig from his drink now that it had begun cooling properly, he stood up, motioned for Yuno to follow him, and began to stroll casually, leisurely even, in the Flower Princess' direction. Indeed, this might be a chance to try and figure out what she saw in the ghoul, too. That wasn't a partner one took on the spur of the moment, after all. Unless it was, in which case...