Uncharacteristically, Katayama Yami wore a long skirt while sitting in the coffee shop. It was no bother to her though. In truth, she quite liked the warm-colored floral pattern etched on the black fabric, and she did not feel unsuited to wear it, either. She did feel unsuited to show the flowing white blouse, that covered her upper half and tucked into the waste, however. It had been a long while since she'd last gone into the world without her investigator jacket and, while freeing, the heaviness of it on the shoulders were missed. Taking yet another meaningless sip of the coffee she ordered, she couldn't stop herself from comparing it to the heavenly taste of the coffee from :RE. The décor was not nearly as breathtaking as :RE's either. Every coffee since encountering :RE disappointed Yami, and she began to unintentionally think negatively of the perfect café. She cursed that quaint shop for ruining the taste of every other coffee. You are not here for coffee, Yami. She had to scold herself for getting caught up in a trivial thing. Reordering her priorities, Yami glanced yet again at the woman across the shop with silky black hair. Her eyes did not linger for long, for she knew that if she was caught staring it would be perceived as suspicious:
"Nutcracker?" Yami inquired of the name a week prior, tilting her head to the side while furrowing her dark brows at the other five Quinx members that gathered around her. Even Saiko was present, though she had fallen into the hypnosis of her phone; droopy eyes focused on whatever game she was playing more than the group discussion of a new investigation.
Shirazu groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and leaning back on the dining room chair. "Don't make us explain the name, Yami-chan!" His tone was pleading, and he glanced over to the other males of the group. Urie, who was the closest in proximity, pursed his lips while Haise simply blushed from the thought of having to explain the name to the pure-minded girl. "Why does she gotta be so innocent?" The murmured comment would have sent her cheeks flaming if she had not felt so ill.
Yami had eaten very little that morning. Very little, yet it still had a profound effect on her stomach. The instant her mouth tasted the food she had prepared for breakfast, she very hastily scampered to the bathroom, where she spend the rest of her day. It wasn't until the sun once again disappeared from the sky, that she had the strength to stand to her feet and confer with the other members about the meeting that she had to miss. Oh no, even Saiko-chan went to the meeting. Yami cursed herself when she when she was told.
Mutsuki put a hand under his chin, "They call this ghoul 'Nutcracker' because she crushes her victim's testicles before she devours them." A horrified gasp escaped Yami, and she covered her mouth from the shock. The look in her eyes made Shirazu shake his head, scolding Mutsuki for being too forward. That's our next target?
Haise stiffened upon hearing Mutsuki's blunt explanation, "She is sick. You didn't have to say that, Mutsuki-chan. I would have told her tomorrow when she was feeling better..."
Yami's face went pale and a puff of heat hid her body all at once. Wordlessly, Urie had stood to exit the room, not wanting to see the girl get sick nor be the one to have to clean it up. "That's simply terrible..." She muttered. "Absolutely horrible..."
"Her identity has already been uncovered." Haise decided to speak then, seeing no reason to hold back now that Yami knew the most gruesome habit of the ghoul. Upon seeing her confused expression on the statement, he continued, "She has dealings with human trafficking and the Gourmets. We and Squad Suzuya agreed to observe her for a while before pursuing."
Yami gulped, "Gourmets, huh?" The remainder of the evening was spent with Haise and Yami conversing about the information already gathered on Nutcracker...
Her head tilted towards Haise, who was sitting to the left of her (Urie to the right) and noticed the glasses he wore. Yami was not the only one who had altered her appearance for this observation. Shirazu wore a hat and discarded the black attire that he was always seen in. He'd fallen bashful that morning when Yami complimented his new, more modern clothing. Urie, like Haise, styled glasses on his face and matched it with a casual tie and unbuttoned vest. It seems unusual for him, she pondered, It doesn't match Urie-kun's personality. Nevertheless, Yami had not spoken praises nor judgments to his look. She figured that he wouldn't want a compliment anyway. She imagined that if she had, he'd tell her that he didn't care if she liked it or not, and that it was for the mission. Her honest opinion of the outfit wasn't completely positive anyhow because she didn't like how the thick rim of the glasses covered the two moles below Urie's left eye.
"Saiko-chan, you idiot!" Yami jumped, startled from the sudden outburst taking place across the table. She tore her gaze away from her purple-haired comrade and looked to Shirazu, who had been the one to yell.
Saiko's face contoured into one of pure terror, the dark circles under her eyes only enhancing the expression, "Muchan! Save me!" She whimpered dramatically, flinging herself into Mutsuki's arms. It wasn't exactly a surprise that Shirazu yelled at the lazy girl. It had been a week now since the group had seriously confronted Saiko about her absence from investigations and meetings. Urie told a lie about how Haise was conversing with higher-ups to fire Saiko, which scared the girl into compliance. 'I don't wanna work at my mom's bar!' She whined that night. In the beginning, Shirazu, with the new title as Squad Leader, wanted desperately to motivate Saiko to work, but it proved to be more trouble than expected. He was losing an ample amount of sleep trying to make the lazy Quinx close her eyes at earlier hours of the night and wake up when the sun was still in the sky. It made him impatient and rigid, but almost everyone understood.
"Shirazu-kun," Mutsuki smiled awkwardly at the Squad Leader, "S—Saiko-chan isn't used to investigating, yet..."
Yami blocked out the banter that followed, rather directing her attention to Haise, who was watching Nutcracker intently. "Haise-san..." With a hand covering his unamused frown, Haise switched his eyes over to Yami. She could see clearly that he was unhappy with the way the group was acting. "What should we do?" She asked, hoping that the inquiry would please him in some way.
She felt accomplished when she saw the end of his lips tug up. "We wait, Katayama-chan." Katayama? That worried her. He hardly ever called her by her last name anymore.
Propping a palm against his cheek for support, Urie let out a sigh as Mutsuki continued attempting to ease Shirazu. Urie loathed waiting with a passion, especially since he had to sit across from the person who stole his title and Squad Leader, and beside the girl that smelled like peppermint. He wished that he was at the other coffee shop instead, :RE. There, the scent of coco beans and lavender was so heavy that it blocked out Yami's peppermint aroma entirely. All Urie wished to do was arrest this ghoul so that he could be quickly rewarded with a higher rank. His ambitious eyes showed that want as he fixated on the raven-haired woman across the shop.
Unconsciously, Urie's hand that was not supporting his cheek slid downwards. His elbow grew tired of rubbing against the pressure of the wooden table. So consumed in analyzing Nutcracker, Urie didn't notice how warm the surface that his hand landed on was, nor did he hear the pathetic gasp that escaped Yami. All that was able to tear his attention away was the almost ear-piercing sound of a porcelain mug breaking and Shirazu shooting up from his chair. "OW! HOT! HOT!" The Squad Leader hopped around, patting the part of his trousers that were now soiled with fresh coffee.
Yami's guilty eyes filled with water and she clambered for a napkin to aid Shirazu. It was then, when her tiny hand tore away from below his, that Urie realized just what had happened. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YA, YAMI? WHY'D YOU DO THAT?!" The eccentric Squad Leader bawled his fists at his sides, rage caused by sleep deprivation and stress flowing out of him.
Utterly stunned, Yami was unable to find formal words. "I— I... Shirazu-kun..." The male had yelled and thrown fits in her presence many times before, but never had he directed that fury towards her. His screaming took everyone off guard, even Haise.
Surprisingly, it wasn't Haise that spoke first.
"Sit down and shut up, dumbass." A voice seethed from beside Yami, her cheeks heating up as she hurriedly patted the table with paper clumps of napkins to clean the mess that she made. "She didn't mean to." Urie huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back in the chair. Realizing the graveness of his tone, Shirazu complied with Urie's instruction. It was like Shirazu was snapped back into sanity, and his features becoming softer when he realized that he'd lashed out on Yami.
Shirazu reached out for the broken cup, "Let me help, Yami-chan." His tone was quieter now, almost as if he was trying to apologize without saying the words. Nevertheless, Yami didn't deny his help and watched as his eager fingers grabbed at the shards. But another stream of curses left his lips the moment one of the sharp porcelain pieces drew blood from his finger. The scent of mixed blood filled the air, and Yami stiffened.
"Cover it up, Shirazu." Urie growled, his nose smelling the crimson fluid that was not quite human and not quite ghoul. Haise, although wanting to pounce at this very moment, stayed stationary, the only signs of frustration showing being the way that he hurled his face in his disappointed hands. He knew that their cover had been blown.
Shirazu scavenged for a napkin to block the aroma even slightly, but his hasty hands made his grip clumsy. "Shit, shit, shit, shit..." He continued to curse, making more of a scene. This is my fault, Yami realized before looking over to where Nutcracker was previously located, only to see her slender frame and pale skin no longer there. Yami desperately tried to look as if she was just glancing around the shop in a casual manner, but her heart was racing and her mind was conjuring horrible things. She knows. She knows, where did she go?
Then, as if she had been there the whole time, Nutcracker was standing next to the table occupied by six undercover investigators, her eyes intently locked on a specific boy with orange hair.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"You're lucky that all she did was look, Shirazu-kun. She could have attacked right then with no hesitation!" Haise scolded when the Squad returned to the Chateau that evening. Yami had yet to even shrug off her jacket before Haise began his lecture, which told her that he was infuriated. Truthfully, she was surprised he didn't have a more outwardly negative reaction to the event, considering it put them all at risk. Yami speculated that his lack of reaction was because she was the source of the earlier disruption. She hated it, but the truth of the matter was that Haise didn't have it in himself to scold her like he could Urie or Shirazu.
Saiko had fled to her room already. She'd been whining about missing a new chapter in a manga that she avidly read, and no doubt locked herself away to tend to that interest. Mutsuki slipped in the kitchen for nourishment, saying something about being parched before disappearing to the opposite room, though that could have very well been an excuse to flee from the confrontation. This only left Urie, Shirazu, and Yami in the presence of a frustrated Sasaki Haise. "Haise-san," Yami spoke up, gaining the attention of all the present members, "don't scold Shirazu-kun... It was my fault."
The emotion behind Haise's eyes switched from the fiery anger of the sun to the calmness of the evening stars in just the one statement after hearing her. "Yami-chan, you may have spilled the coffee, but Shirazu should know better than holler like he did." An unsatisfied noise escaped Yami's throat and she shifted her weight as she tried to find a reason to put more of the blame on herself. She was aware that Shirazu felt insecure about his new position. He told her that he didn't think he was cut out for leading something as serious as the Quinx Squad. If he were to put the blame of the folly on himself, then his self-consciousness would only rise. That was something she absolutely didn't want. In her mind, Shirazu had the capability to be an exceptional Squad Leader.
Eucalyptus stung at Yami's nostrils, more intoxicating than ever before.
"If you want someone to blame then blame me." The voice put everyone in shock, even elicited a foul and inquisitive curse from Shirazu. Yami stretched her neck to look upwards, seeing that the boy who had spoken was standing by her side. His expression was as neutral as always, but his features looked as if he was regretting every word he just previously said. Clenching his teeth together as tightly as possible, he scraped them against each other to rid the hate-filled thoughts he was having.
Haise was utterly astonished by this uncharacteristic declaration, "Blame you?" The Mentor stepped forward, away from Shirazu, his lecture to the Squad Leader long forgotten with this new and unforeseen development.
"Yes." Urie Kuki agreed shortly, his mind did not trust his mouth enough to say any more. He wanted so desperately to exit the room. He hated feeling everyone's eyes on him— looking at him as if he wasn't sane— especially Yami's.
"And why would I do that, Investigator Urie?" The formalities showed Haise's inquisition even more than the way his arms crossed over his chest with scrunched brows.
Feeling his heart speeding, Urie peeked over to Yami. He immediately regretted the decision upon processing her expression. Her eyebrows were shifted upwards and her mouth was parted awaiting his answer. Her appearance made him grind his teeth yet again. "It was my fault Yami-chan dropped the coffee, Sasaki-san." Haise was taken even farther aback with this response for more than one reason. First, Urie had referred to him by name, something he rarely did in the occupation of the Château. When a meeting was called in the CCG or perhaps when a higher-ranking investigator was speaking to Urie, were the only times that he would address Haise by name, and even then, it was easy to detect the distaste he had for the Mentor. While the disgust was still there this time, it wasn't nearly as much as any of them had become accustomed to. Second, he was defending Yami. Yami, who he would roll his eyes at every chance he got and called her an idiot more times that could be counted. Neither one of these reasons were negative, and perhaps that was a third cause of Haise's surprise. "I touched her hand and it must have startled her."
"WHY THE HELL WERE YOU TOUCHIN' HER HAND?!" Shirazu screeched before Haise could have asked the same question in a calmer, more formal form.
Urie scowled, eyes burning through Shirazu with intense aggravation, "I don't mean to, dumbass. Now, stop yelling." It took everything in his power to keep a semi-relaxed façade. Shirazu was irking him to no end and, truthfully, he wanted Haise to scold him the whole night for disrupting the investigation. However, he knew that this shift of blame would show Haise that he was changing, even if it was just a trick. The way Haise was looking at Urie made him believe that he may become ill. Haise's lips started to morph into a natural smile and, while his eyes looked satisfied, there were obvious questions hidden behind them. Urie wasn't dim, he knew what those questions would have been if he would have allowed them to be voiced. 'Why were you sitting next to Yami in the first place? How did you touch her hand on accident? Did you like it? Have you touched her hand before? You two have been rather familiar with each other lately, is anything forming between you and her?' Lastly there was Yami, the cause of Urie's irritation, who stood with a composure of far too much timid purity beside him. She held her reddened cheeks in her hands almost like that would calm her sheepishness towards the situation and reduce the heat that her tender cheeks endured.
With a thick silence falling over the group, Haise cleared his throat with an aura of embarrassment hanging. "Very well," He began, his eyes shifting in between everyone in the room, "all of you: don't do what you did today ever again." Shirazu almost went through the roof when he realized that Urie's confession had saved him from hours of reprimanding. If he had been fond of Urie at all in the past, he would have jumped on the guy for doing such a thing. Urie, on the other hand, moved to get out of the room as fast as possible. Yami was again affecting him in a way that he couldn't explain or like. "Urie-kun," He halted at Haise's call, fists clenching to compose himself, "thank you for being— uh— honest with me."
Urie did not nod a 'you're welcome' nor say anything of the sort, he only hurried to the stairs that led to the second level. However, the boy quickly found out that leaving the presence of the individuals fluttering with questions about Yami and him would not alleviate the interrogation, for he had become the interrogator for himself. Honestly, even with all the questions he could guess that Haise and Shirazu had, he didn't know how to answer a single one.
Why the hell did I do that?