still in time.

　　WELL, THAT’S BORING. It’s not a saying at all, unless he’s just being dodgy about the actual terms.  “ Caution is good, “  Tem will grant him, but she hasn’t got much to say on it than that.

　　She hurries after him, still going the single-stair route, if only so she’s not obviously copying him ( like it fucking matters ). Already having forgotten about the door-holding from earlier, she now wishes she’d raced him to the top instead, and her grimace is more notable this time as both instances hit her, though it’s kept ahead of her, not turned on him.

　　Tem looks up and down the hallway formed by the bookshelves, but isn’t quite sure what she’s looking for other than a trail of pink hair to lead them. She could take a moment to focus on the different energies moving around this floor, but she’s no expert at that, and the time it takes might already be too late for them to really track it.

　　Art? A blink, and she follows his gaze to the sign.  “ Um…okay, “  Is the less-than-enthusiastic agreement he gets. She’s sure he has some kind of plan with that, but she’s not going to pretend she has any idea what it is.

IT’S  ACTUALLY  A  LITTLE  SAD  to see the state of the upper floor. Had this been crisp and modern at one time? The shelves are full of utilitarian lines and exposed metal; Hanjae can’t pinpoint when this kind of style was popular, but he knows it isn’t the preferred aesthetic of the sleek new skyscrapers. Maybe the emptiness of the room just emphasizes it sad optimism--these shelves aren’t bustling with life, and why would they be? Everyone seems to use their own phones and computers now. 

He can’t stand them. The LED makes his eyes hurt, and the touchscreens reject his cold fingers, and to be perfectly honest, he’s at a loss for what buttons to touch anyway. 

Bewilderment at technology aside, he’s not wholly at a disadvantage, even if he flinches a little bit as their path brings them past a window. It’s still overcast and the light filtering in is muted and gray, but he hastens his steps all the same as he pretends he’s looking for a specific shelf. The charade might not go on for much longer, though; this floor seems all but abandoned, if his senses are anything to go by. The woman’s heels aren’t clicking against linoleum tile at the moment, which makes her hard to pinpoint. Perhaps she’s standing still. 

The lingering smell of blood is still there. It’s faint and it’s sour, to the point where even Hanjae has to wrinkle his nose. Whatever kind of creature she is, he’s certain she isn’t like him... 

He pauses, taking a few steps into an aisle and running his fingers over the spine of a random book where unfamiliar kanji are printed in a modest shade of blue. If he really focuses, he might be able to catch the subtle disquiet of a third set of inhales and exhales, the only sound that might betray the woman’s location if she’s refusing to move. 

But ... then what? Excuse me, I noticed you reek of gore? It’s not the greatest introductory line he’s ever said, and that’s including more than a few verbal missteps throughout his ninety-odd years. 

Wait. The book next to the one he’s touching ... it’s about airplanes. Something about the style of art painted on their metal sides, but that’s beside the point. An idea strikes him, and he pulls the book from the shelf. In the back cover, there’s one of those printed slips with a list of stamped due dates; balancing the book on his arm, Hanjae hastily begins to fold the paper until a pointed nose and splayed wings form. 

THE CURL IN HER LIP MAKES HER MOUTH HANG OPEN just a bit as she fights the urge to hit him.  “ Being nice to someone you captured sneaking into your territory with weapons isn’t a thing. “  If the world’s problems could be solved with love and friendship, they wouldn’t be living in a fucking wasteland of a country.

She brings down a fist on one of his shins, but there’s no real force behind it. When another dumb statement comes out of his mouth, she rolls her head and lets the momentum from that dip her head to the side as she borderline glares at him.  “ Uh, what? “ She holds the unamused gaze as he continues on, but doesn’t fight the half a grin that breaks out at his mention of Jiseong, complete with an agreeing snort of a laugh.  “ Better him than me, “  She points out. And, as they’ve both personally noted, she received plenty of unwanted Jiseong time since they’d gotten back.

“ Dude, I’m not fucking scared of him. “  He has to know that and is trying to piss her off this time. Her elbow slips from it’s position so she can bring her hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose.  “ Chen…no. Whatever it is that you’ve come up with while laying here drunk, please discard it. “

MAYBE  THE  PUNCH  TO  HIS  SHIN  is feather-light, but that doesn’t stop Chen from letting out a full blown whine anyway. But it’s convenient, because he doesn’t like the way she’s glaring at him either. What? His bear facts are legitimate. And anyway ... 

“ I’m nice to everyone, ”  he reminds Tem. Weapons or no weapons. Honestly, who doesn’t have weapons these days? There’s certainly enough of them lying around from Before. Apparently there used to be practically as many firearms as people, and there’s really an astonishing number of guns. Kind of puts the shells of the cities into perspective and helps Chen imagine what it must have looked like when there were actually residents for every home. 

“ I might forget the plan, ” he continues, moving his uninjured arm to prop up his head. “ But I technically thought of it before I drank. It’s all up here. ”  He can’t point at his head with his arms in their current positions, so he’s left to indicate by rolling his eyes upwards and hoping Tem understands.  “ Can you go get him? Tell Jiseong we have another interrogation because I remembered something important but I can’t move. ” 

Obviously it’s a lie. They didn’t get anything out of the first interrogation, so there’s nothing to remember, even if Chen cared about those kinds of details  ( and everyone knows he doesn’t. ) 

　　HE GIVES NO RESPONSE TO HER FRIENDLY CAUTION; he may as well have not even heard it.

　　Once inside, he heads straight for where he feels the strongest presence of an otherworldly aura. Being a half-vampire, he has little need for extra equipment, though he may not be entirely aware that this isn’t the case for everyone. As of now, he’s certain it’s only the one presence, but that could change in an instant, so he keeps a bit of his attention open on the off-chance something else shows up.

　　For now, nothing is like, jumping out at him, but whatever’s in here, it’s definitely not happy. That’s about all he can gather from the air of the place alone, but before he can set out any deeper, the girl from earlier is calling to him again. Leon stops abruptly, and turns back to look at her. What does she want with him…? Coordinate? Why?

　　“ A little, “  He answers first off, and makes no move to showcase any of it. There’s a backpack on him that’s the only place it could be stored, but he hasn’t taken any of it out yet. He blinks lazily as a realization comes to him then.

　　“ Were you looking to borrow something? “

IF  THERE’S  ONE  MERCY ,  it’s the fact that the guy’s listening. He doesn’t owe her anything, of course, although she’s the one with a printed permit to be on the premises and he probably doesn’t have anything to match it, which should create some kind of obligation. But Serin still flashes a smile  ( meant to be disarming )  and clasps her hands in front of her to soften her comment a little bit. 

“I have everything I need, but thanks!”  It’s ... nice of him to offer? What is he offering, though? Does he think she wants him to reach in his bag and pull out some kind of wacky infrared scanning equipment or microphones for recording ghostly voices? That’s not the kind of work she does; she fancies herself a cultural historian more than anything, although the supernatural twist keeps people interested. 

She’s not missing ballpoint pens, either, for the record. There’s at least 4 in her shoulder-bag.  

　　TEM’S PROBABLY IN DENIAL ABOUT WHAT A WHORE CHEN IS. Seeing as it never comes up between the two of them ( only in rumors about them ), and she’s wholly uninterested in that with any of these filthy bastards they call ‘ friends, ‘ she basically ignores that stuff as much as possible.

　　“ Yeah, “  She tuts, lifting an elbow to balance is against the back of the couch, and leaning her cheek against her fist.  “ So fucking weird. Why the hell would a hostage want to join us? The dude wouldn’t say a freaking word about the other gang. And Shitseong expects him to pledge allegiance to us now? He’s such a fucking moron. “

　　Ahh, it had felt good to get some of that out. She’s been pissed off about this for a while, but it’s only recently that he seems to have really decided on the plan. An eyebrow raises, and it’s safe to say that her lips curls a little, too, as Tem’s eyes shift over to Chen as much as they can at his equally weird questions.

　　“ What the hell? No? I don’t really care where he ends up, but he’s not stepping foot into my fucking house. I don’t even fucking let the others in there. And you live in every house— “  And every bed.  “ —So I dunno what the hell you’re talking about. “

“ THIS  IS  WHY  you shouldn’t have hit him so much, ”  Chen muses after a few seconds of consideration. In addition to the fact that it didn’t produce any results, that is ( and also because he might have to answer for those punches during his conquest as a Known Associate of Tem’s ... )  

He wiggles his legs again so Tem will be uncomfortable, and idly reaches for the castaway bottle on the floor before remembering it’s empty. If there’s an insult--or just a criticism--buried somewhere in her words, it’s largely lost on Chen. He’s itinerant, yeah; it’s not like there’s a huge population to make friends with though, especially when you weed out the people that are creepy and violent, and most of the houses are rotting from the inside out from misuse and bad fortune.  

“You know how they say that bears are more scared of you than you are of them?” Or is that sharks? He can’t swim, so it’s probably bears, because he can’t imagine he’d have heard the advice before if it was about sharks. “It might be the same with him. We killed his friends and kidnapped him and he’s probably seen more of Jiseong than us, which, you know...” A fate Chen wouldn’t wish on his worst enemies ( if he had any. ) 

　　IT’S WORN ON HER FOR SURE. She’s exhausted, and tired of dealing with those clowns. But she can’t show that; not to them, not to Chen, not to anyone. Weakness isn’t permitted here. They’re all bastards. And she’s a bastard, too.

　　Bad mood aside, Tem jostles her body dramatically along with Chen’s squirming.  “ Blleeegghh. “  She basically acts as if she’s seizing. Other than that, she ignores what he’s said, and flops against the dusty back of the couch. He’s already moved on to his next useless thought, anyway.

　　It takes her a minute to respond. She’s not entirely sure what point he’s trying to make. The dude’s a freakin’ hostage, of course he’s being stubborn. Also, Jiseong’s not thrilled about one of their guy’s being killed, so he hasn’t exactly been nice, either. Which has led to the thing she’s really annoyed about…

　　“ What is this, ‘ good cop, bad cop? ‘ “  Tem scoffs.  “ Dude, you’re injured. Also, who cares? It’s a rival gang, not a freakin’ conspiracy. I’m not even sure why they’re bothering with him, but. “  She lets out a groan then, and brings both hands up to cover her face.  “ Shitseong wants to make him replace the idiot that died. “

WELL,  SO  WHAT  if he’s injured? It doesn’t mean he can’t help with anything --- wasting away on the ratty sofa is starting to get boring even for him, and Chen likes to think that he has a pretty good capacity for amusing himself. 

Precedent says that injuries might even be useful. Like the time he slammed his finger in a door on accident and caught someone’s interest by sucking on his bruised finger and making wholly inappropriate eye contact ... the gunshot’s not really the same kind of blessing in disguise, granted, but he’s creative. The second the alcohol loses its effect on him, he’s going to come up with a more concrete plan on how to use it to his advantage. ( Maybe it could involve lifting heavy objects? Except a captive won’t ... ) 

Wait. 

“ ... replace?” Chen blinks his eyes like an owl. It’s true that there’s an open position on the team now --- not that he, Jiseong, Tem, and Chet couldn’t get their various jobs done on their own, but they can’t have an even number forever in case they ever need to vote on something. Which they haven’t needed to do, historically, because Jiseong doesn’t trust the rest of them to make decisions, and even if he did he wouldn’t ask for Chen’s opinion, but hope springs eternal. 

　　HE’D SEEMED THE TALKATIVE TYPE, so the short response and quietness that follows is a little unsettling to Tem. Had she said something wrong? What could that possibly be, though? They’re on a mission, after all. It doesn’t matter much if he feels comfortable with chit chat or not.

　　She isn’t aware of the supposed contrast between the two countries; with America being another girmy place wrought with ghoul-kind, the situations there and in Japan are what she can’t help assuming is the norm. False calls are, genuinely, a blessing in her eyes.

　　The quinx pauses as Chen begins to look around, leaning back on her heels to survey around him in case anything catches her attention. Of course there’s nothing here anymore, but it’s always worth a glance.

　　A blink, and she looks down at him.  “ I don’t think that makes sense. “  They’re very specific parts to have dropped.  “ I feel like the things found would’ve been a little more…random if that were the case. Iー “  Her voice falters, and she looks a little uncomfortable. It’s not like she has first-hand experience, but being looked down on and called a ghoul by your agency makes you a little self-conscious of comments like these.  “ …I think he was just getting rid of the parts h e doesn’t like. “

AH  ...  SHE  DOESN’T  LIKE  IT.  Chen pouts, unable to fully hide his disappointment, but she does have a point. The briefings had emphasized that it was a collection of bony joints that were turning up, enough to suggest a pattern and to suggest that it was the work of the same ghoul. Even if Chen had zoned out a little bit during the meetings, he had done prep work and could verify it on his own. So ... not carelessness from heaving too much at once. And probably not enough remains to suggest that they’d been interrupted in the middle of a meal, either. 

Chen sighs and rubs at his eye with the heel of his hand before he pushes himself back up to his feet. 

“Okay, if he’s scattering the pieces, he probably isn’t stupid enough to leave them right outside his own home.” That would rule out the apartments in the closest circle around the pin-drops. But maybe there’s still something to be gained from knocking on doors? Probably most of the residents are away at their jobs or at school, but what if one of them heard something? Maybe they even saw ... 

AND BOY, DOES SHE CATCH IT. Chen could’ve tripped without any interference from enemies and she’d still get a new one torn into her, she’s sure of it. Even for all her backtalk to Jiseong on the field, she knows the point at which she has to grit her teeth and bear it; it’s degrading, and it makes her blood absolutely boil.

She hasn’t had much spare time to go see Chen; but she does try. It’s not all that weird seeing the guy mostly in a constant state of intoxicationーit’s pretty standard for around here. She’s just not partial to it herself, lacking trust for pretty much anyone besides Chen, and he’s too stupid to rely on to keep these animals off of her.

Their last ‘ meeting ‘ has gone such a way that she’s been trying to avoid that she’s already not thrilled when she finally goes to see Chen again, but as she walks through the door to the shityass home she’s trying to force a more upbeat attitude into her. His voice immediately addressing her is surprising, and she blinks at the injured boy, and then her face falls.

“ Chen, you can’t think. “  So much for ‘ upbeat. ‘ Tem plops down on top of his legs, and crosses her arms as soon as she lands on them.  “ No, I’m not, “  She answers, fully expecting him to continue anyway.

SHE  SEEMS  LIKE  she’s in a bad mood, but she’s been getting yelled at ever since the mission’s conclusion, and he’s mildly drunk right now, so ... it’s not something he’s going to comment on. Besides, he’s always felt that his naturally charming personality has a way of lifting other people’s spirits, so by just being himself, he can make her smile again. 

As Tem sits on top of his legs, Chen bounces them up and down to try and dislodge her. “You can only sit on me if we’re going to cuddle,” he protests, knowing full well that cuddling isn’t part of her modus operandi. Like a cat that acts cute and friendly until you try to pick it up, and suddenly the claws are out. 

But it’s a shame, because he likes physical contact even when it’s meant entirely platonically. Like if someone wanted to play with his hair right now, he’d really ... 

Ah, yeah, back to the point. He has someone in mind for that, and it actually isn’t Tem. 

“So the hostage still isn’t talking, right?” Chen has gathered this much from Jiseong’s bitching and whining. ( Sure enough, he’s not taking Tem’s replies as an actual deterrent. ) “It’s like what I said --- that if you had been nicer we could’ve learned something. So, uh, I’ll pretend like I like him. Make him trust me, and then ... ”

SHE WOULDN’T CONSIDER THOSE CALLS FAKE, BUTーOH, no, he means like, seriously fake. Like knowingly bullshit just to get investigators over there. The realisation and the story has her laughing in return, and she shakes her head but can’t answer right away.  “ Not me, I haven’t! That’s hilarious! Our squad leader would be pissed if we got sent on a call like that. “  It’s a lot less likely to happen these days than when the squad was new, but even with her own promotion, Tem is still pretty low on the totem pole as far as rankings go.

…Speaking of which, her expression drops at Chen’s comment on such.  “ Er… I guess. “  She stops alongside him, dark eyes scanning cautiously around the area.  “ But doesn’t that mean there’s a lot more bad stuff happening around here? At least the fake calls would mean there isn’t as much to really take care of, hopefully. “  Not that she can pretend not to understand the want to move up; it’s part of any job, or any aspect of life, really. Wanting to climb the ladder and make something notable of yourself is most everyone’s goal, and even Tem feels a surge of pride at her own step in title.  

“ Maybe we should figure out what exactly we’re doing here, though. If we can make any headway on our own, that’ll look pretty good on both of us. “  A new transfer and a recently-promoted experimental investigator; not a bad combo to show some success with.

ALRIGHT,  JAPAN’S  GHOUL  PROBLEM  is notably awful; back home, they’re less likely to have to do full military operations in the city  ( Chi She Lian had been the exception, not the rule. ) But even if there were whispers around headquarters about how badly managed the Japanese branches must be to allow so much ghoul filth to multiply around their capital, it was hard to deny that it bred a certain degree of skill among their best investigators. 

“We had our moments,” Chen concludes with a shrug, and resumes scanning the area with his eyes. 

Differences in workplace culture aside, there’s not too much that makes investigating around Tokyo different from investigating in Shanghai; the monsters they seek have the same features everywhere. The same uncomfortable attempts to blend in beside humans, with few of them actually making a convincing show of it. 

Pocketing his phone, Chen drops to a crouch in the middle of the alley, around where the ankle fragment should have been discovered. Why only one piece...? Shouldn’t there have been more to dispose of? Ghouls ate flesh, not bone... 

　　SHE’S ALREADY INSPECTING HER OWN DRINK, spinning the cup in her hands and raising it to her lips to lick off the small bit that’s run down the sideーbut besides that, it’s a good save! When she lowers it back down, she’s shaking her head a little harder than necessary.

　　“ No! It’s totally fine! Seriously, it’s probably my fault. I don’t fucking pay attention. Like, ever. “  A trait one would think she’d try to work on.  “ I’m just, like, so fucking bored anyway, I think my brain’s going numb. “

" AH,  YOUR  TRAIN  IS  CANCELLED  TOO? ”  Serin asks before she realizes how stupid of a question it is; at this rate, the entire station is going to be shut down with all tracks on stand by until further notice. And everyone who’s trying to leave ... they’re just going to be stuck, aren’t they? It’s too optimistic to think everyone’s going to become fast friends after a few hours, so maybe it’s a good time to capitalize on nice conversation before people start turning too sour.