Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul Or Harry Potter

Summary: Aria Potter had come a long way since she met Uta in the 4th ward. As a Tracker in high demand, Aria had met many ghouls and magicals over the years. As a magical hybrid, she was a curiosity to the various ghouls in Tokyo as she wasn't something anyone really knew could exist. This is the story that occurs years after where we left off in 'The Ghoul and the Witch'. What will happen?

Chapter Four

Uta glanced down at Aria as she laid curled up next to him. A sense of peace and contentment filled him as he peered down at her. The intense desire he felt for her rose up the longer he peered at her, but Uta was able to push it down as he wrapped his arm tighter around her waist causing Aria to yawn softly as she shifted onto her stomach to press her nose against his chest. Even after all this time, he was surprised by how much she trusted him to not hurt her while she was vulnerable. He leaned down to press his nose into her hair, he smelt the soft hints of cherry blossom and vanilla mixed through the lingering scent of blood, ink, ozone, and a bit of musk caused by her animagus form. He smiled softly as she shifted into him causing the dim sunlight just now coming through the windows to bathe over her features. The sight caused his desire to rear up despite how soon they needed to be in the shop to open.

Aria let out a low groan and burrowed her face into his chest, "Uta?" Uta hummed softly as while inwardly groaning at her sleep roughened voice and the feeling of her breath on his bare chest, "Can we kill the sun?"

"Unfortunately no," Uta chuckled softly.

Aria slowly rose up and peered at him with sleepy eyes, "What time is it?"

Glancing towards the glowing red numbers of the clock, Uta told her, "It's seven."

Aria cursed softly, "Damn it, I wanted to sleep longer."

Uta snorted before cupping the back of her neck and pressing a kiss to her lips. Aria sleepily returned the kiss before pulling away to yawn. He smiled at the sight of her sleepy eyes and reached out to cup her cheek. Aria nuzzled into the touch, "We're going to have to get up and ready soon. The store's opening in two hours."

"Can't we just stay here and sleep in?" She asked him as he ran his thumb over her bottom lip.

He contemplated doing just that as her tongue slipped out and licked his thumb. With a bit of reluctance, he shook his head, "Yoshimura called yesterday about his newest foundling needing a mask."

Aria's eyes widened and she pushed herself to her knees, "He's coming today? Who's leading him?"

"Touka," Uta watched her eyes brighten, "I take it you've figured out how to apologize to her?"

Aria shrugged, "Maybe. What time are they coming?"

"Around 11," Uta sat up and pulled Aria to straddle his lap.

Aria closed her eyes for a brief moment before saying, "I think I can get it done by then," She opened her eyes, "I'll open the tattoo side after they leave. I should have enough time to make what I want to."

"Would you be able to buy me some more charcoal pencils?" He asked earning a nod, "I'm almost on my last one,"

"I do need to get a few things, so sure," She pressed a kiss to his cheek, "We should probably get up now,"

"Probably," He pulled her flush against his body and kissed her deeply.

Kaneki looked at Touka as the female ghoul asked, "Where is Aria?"

"She should be here soon," Uta looked up from Kaneki to Touka, "She has something for you which is the whole reason she's running a bit late today,"

"Something for me?" Touka murmured softly looking both surprised and a little fearful.

Before Kaneki could ask about who 'Aria was, the door opened and in walked someone he'd seen once before at the coffee shop. She was lithe and slightly short with tanned skin. She had a rather warm looking black leather jacket with a red fur lined collar that was unzipped revealing a red graphic t-shirt depicting a howling wolf in black. Hung low on her hips were a pair of ripped up black jeans, she wore a pair of black combat boots. Her burgundy and obsidian colored hair was streaked with bright shocks of white. On her ears, she had three studs in her cartilage and one fang hanging from each ear. On the visible skin of her arms and legs, Kaneki could see a smattering of tattoos though he could barely make out any of them save for the fang sitting under her right eye. What took his attention was her eyes. Glowing emerald green with splatters of crimson and amethyst peered around the shop. As soon as his eye met her's, Kaneki's heart skipped a beat as it felt like a gigantic wolf was judging whether or not he was worth eating. She finally looked away from him to focus on Uta earning a low sigh. Kaneki looked at Uta as the man said, "Aria, this is Ken Kaneki. Kaneki, this is Aria Potter."

"So he's Yoshimura's new foundling?" Aria's voice was surprisingly pleasant considering how intimidating she was, "He looks like a puppy,"

"Is that a good thing?" Kaneki couldn't stop himself from asking.

For some reason, he thought that despite her intimidating appearance, Aria might be someone he could look at as a teacher. Aria hummed lightly as she walked towards a door he hadn't noticed, "Perhaps. You have the potential to do great things, but it honestly depends on what you do that will decide whether that is a good thing or not."

With that, Aria opened the door and walked into the room behind it leaving his sight line. Kaneki looked at Touka and she shrugged while glancing towards the door with a mixture of fear and anticipation. Uta jolted him by saying, "Touka," Touka looked towards Uta, "Go on. She wants to give you something. It's best to get it over with now."

Touka hesitated before nodding and walking towards the office with a grimace. Uta shook his head with a low sigh and Kaneki asked, "Is Touka...afraid of Aria?"

Uta hummed softly, "At the moment, yes. Aria and Touka used to be close though she was a lot closer to Touka's brother. That changed when Touka got Aria mad at the wrong time which resulted in her getting hurt, Touka fears that Aria will harm her again though she shouldn't worry."

Uta shifted the subject back to his mask and Kaneki remembered why he was even there.

Aria heard Touka enter the scarcely used backroom of HySy ArtMask and inwardly sighed as she looked through the bags to find what she'd brought for Touka. Touka was the first to break the silence, "What do you need?"

"I wanted to apologize for what happened," Aria finally found the box and turned to look at Touka with a sheepish expression, "Touka, I am so sorry for hurting you like that. I was having a really crappy month that only got worse that day when the person I was tracking managed to not only get away, but also hurt me bad enough that I was in a lot of pain," Aria looked down at the box, "I know it doesn't excuse the fact I hurt you so badly, but please forgive me. I would never hurt you like that if I was in my right mind,"

Touka was silent for a few moments and Aria felt a whine bubble up in her throat. When Touka finally spoke, Aria could only feel a relief, "You're like a fucking mutt, you know? Always coming back even after you bite someone."

They weren't okay, but it would be better now. Aria held out the box, "I made these for you. You can even share it with that human friend of yours."

"Really?" Touka took the box and opened it to reveal a cake, "Is this what I think it is?"

"Chocolate cake with strawberry baked inside, your favorite," Aria smiled lightly.

Touka shut the box and smiled slightly at her, "Thanks."

"No problem," Aria looked towards the door, "We should probably head back out. Who knows how badly Uta's freaking the puppy out,"

"You're going to keep calling him that, aren't you?" Touka asked as they headed towards the door.

"Am I wrong?" Aria asked with a raised eyebrow.

Touka shook her head with a soft laugh, "No. It fits him."

Kaneki almost jumped when Aria wrapped her arms around him and pushed her nose into his neck. He stiffened at the feeling and looked at Uta. Uta chuckled softly, "She's just getting your scent."

"M-my scent?" Kaneki couldn't stop himself from squeaking.

"Aria is a tracker when she isn't acting as a tattoo artist," Touka explained while looking at the masks.

"A tracker?" Kaneki tried to shift away from Aria only to earn a low growl that made him still with wide eyes.

Uta spoke up with a slight smirk, "Trackers are ghouls who's sense of smell is far superior to the regular ghoul. They never forget a scent either which makes them perfect for tracking down people. Aria's one of the best and is paid very well for it especially since she rarely fails in tracking down her targets. Of course, she will assist in capturing her targets which only increases her popularity. Of course, you have to be fairly well off or desperate if you want her to track anyone down for you."

Aria finally moved away from him with a frown and Kaneki asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"Like Rize," Aria muttered softly, "You smell like her, but far better. Your scent isn't as oppressive as hers which is due to the lack of binge eating. It's heavy enough to linger for awhile, but sweet enough that most shouldn't mind it. The human side is strong, but the ghoul side is stronger still. It's an odd mixture, but uniquely nice,"

Kaneki was stunned by her words while Touka and Uta looked like it was a usual occurrence. Touka coughed lightly jolting Kaneki out of his shock, "Aria," Aria focused on her and Kaneki noticed that the crimson spots in her eyes had expanded, "I think you scared him."

"Ah," Aria's head tilted lightly reminding him of a dog when it was confused before she blinked and her eyes returned to normal, "My apologies if I scared you,"

"It's fine though is it bad that I smell like that?" Kaneki asked feeling startled by her words.

Aria looked at him for a few moments before shrugging, "Maybe. Rize's enemies will likely come after you thinking you're her until they learn that she's really dead. Stay with Anteiku for awhile before you plan on leaving the twentieth ward, Yoshimura's claim over you will give you some measure of protection."

Kaneki nodded and Aria began walking away, "I'm going to be opening up my side of the shop. Uta, I left some lunch for you on the desk. Eat it before you start working on his mask."

"Thank you," Uta told her before turning back to Kaneki, "Now, have you had any lovers?"

Koma looked at Kaneki, "You met Aria?"

"She was in Uta's shop. I thought she might work there, but she mentioned her side of the shop which is kind of confusing," Kaneki admitted earning a light laugh from Irimi.

Irimi spoke with a light smile, "Aria is the tattoo artist of HySy ArtMask though she helps Uta with masks sometimes and he helps her with tattooing sometimes," Kaneki looked at her in surprise, "They did each others tattoos."

"So she's a tracker and a tattoo artist?" Kaneki asked earning two nods, "But she looks kind of young,"

Koma laughed at the wide eyed look on Kaneki's face, "She might not look it, but she's skilled tattoo artist. A lot of the ghouls you see with tattoos had them done by her. They might cost a pretty penny, but boy are they worth it. She's one of the few ghouls in Tokyo that know how to tattoo ghouls," Koma smirked at him, "Do you think she's hot?"

"W-what?!" Kaneki went wide eyed and began to stutter.

Koma laughed, "Too bad she's taken. I'd say you have a chance, but the devil ape knows not to take another man's girl."

"Taken?" Kaneki looked at Irimi, "Who is she going out with?"

"Uta," Irimi answered with a light smile.

"R-really?" Kaneki's eyes were slightly wide.

Koma nodded, "Yup though you wouldn't really see it," He frowned slightly, "Those two don't have a romantic bone in their bodies. When I was still the devil ape, I was one of the most romanti-"

"They've known each other for a long time," Irimi cut in earning a scowl from Koma, "I remember the day when they first came in here. It was for Aria's twelfth birthday," Irimi looked at Kaneki, "Though from what I understand, they've known each other since they were children. To get the whole story, you'd have to ask them,"

Aria was sitting on her favorite bench in the larger of the twentieth ward parks while working on a new sketch. She paused as she smelt a familiar scent and heard a familiar voice, "Well this is a lovely sight. I didn't expect to see you here, Aria."

"Considering this is my favorite bench in this park, I'd say that's a lie since you've found me here plenty of times," Aria looked up and smiled lightly, "It's been awhile Shuu,"

"It's our own faults that our acquaintanceship has been stalled," Tsukiyama replied with a light laugh, "You are busy tracking and tattooing while I'm busy perusing the finer tastes in life,"

"I see," Aria set down her sketchbook, "How have you been?"

"I have been better," Tsukiyama settled in the seat beside her, "I heard that Rize has come to this ward though I have not seen her,"

"She's dead," Aria inwardly growled at herself that the bitch wasn't.

"Oh such an unfortunate event," Tsukiyama sighed earning a soft snort and an eye roll, "Still bearing a grudge towards her?"

"Always," Aria shook her head lightly, "What brings you to me, Tsukiyama? I don't think this is a social call or you would have called me to meet with you at the usual cafe,"

Tsukiyama gave a dramatic sigh, "So focused on getting to the bottom of things," He looked at her, "I was hoping you might help me find Rize, but seeing as she's dead, I cannot do that."

An evil thought occurred to Aria at that moment. While it could end Uta's plans prematurely, it would make the whole tragic play so much more interesting even if it didn't end. She would definitely have to tell Uta about what she was going to do, but for now, she was going to act alone. Smirking lightly, Aria told him, "Shuu. What would you say if I told you Rize left behind something interesting that might prove interesting?"

"Oh?" Tsukiyama brightened and looked at her, "And what might that interesting thing be?"

"Feeding the boy to the sharks is mean, 'Ria," Uta scolded her lightly as she settled down her back bare to him and the tattoo needle beginning to buzz, "You might end our fun early,"

"And?" Aria didn't even jolt at the first stab of pain, "Add Tsukiyama into play this early will force something interesting to happen not to mention you have to agree that him attempting to eat me was getting annoying,"

Uta was silent for a few moments leaving only the sound of their breath, the sound of music coming from the stereo they had set up in the corner, and the buzz of the needle. When he finally spoke, Aria was no longer registering the pain in her back, "I suppose you're right. It will prove to add an interesting spice to the whole play as well as give it the minor villain we were looking for."

"Kaneki will be more motivated to get information about the bitch," Aria explained her thoughts knowing Uta wanted to understand her choice better, "He will do anything to get that information. At some point, he will end up meeting Itori. Itori will likely ask him to get information about the ghoul restaurant since Souta is always reluctant to talk about it unless it's with either Matsuko or you," Aria tried not to squirm when she felt the itching sensation of the already healing parts of the tattoo, "Tsukiyama will likely take him there anyway as part of the meal. At some point, Kaneki's blood will spill and Tsukiyama will realize what Kaneki is,"

"Thus leaving Tsukiyama to attempt to make a meal out of Kaneki," Uta chuckled softly, "That is devious. I suppose we'll need to give Souta a heads up about this part of the plan," Uta's fingers brushed against her bare skin, "I assume you'll continue to talk with him?"

"Tsukiyama has a lot of interesting insight when it comes to books and I really enjoy our conversations," Aria turned her head to glance at Uta, "You don't really enjoy reading after all,"

"I suppose it's a good thing to have friends outside of the group if only to sow more chaos," Uta still sounded a little annoyed.

Aria was happy he wouldn't push her to end the friendship despite his dislike of Tsukiyama. Aria returned to looking forward and said, "Do you want to piss off some Doves once this one heals?"

"It has been awhile," He hummed lightly, "Sure,"

Aria walked into the bar and found Kaneki asking, "Really?"

"Why don't you ask her?" Itori grinned at Aria and waved her over, "Where the hell have you been?"

"I got held up at the bank," Aria pulled off her coat as she walked over to where Uta was sitting, "What do you need to ask me, Puppy?"

"P-puppy?" Kaneki stared at her while Itori burst out laughing.

"Oh god, you're right. He is like a little puppy!" Itori shook her head.

Renji nodded to her as Aria sat down between him and Uta. Itori got up to get Aria a drink after she finished laughing. Aria looked at Kaneki and told him, "You remind me of a puppy. New to the world and filled with potential," Kaneki nodded slowly, "You're also pretty cute when you're confused."

Kaneki's eyes widened and Uta chuckled softly, "Don't tease him, 'Ria. It isn't very nice."

"Says the one that enjoys scaring the crap out of any new customers," Aria retorted with a slight smirk, "So Puppy, what did you want to ask me?"

Kaneki shook his head like he needed to clear it before asking, "Are you a one-eye? Like me?"

"You mean an artificial one, right?" Aria asked earning a nod, "Yup," She changed her left eye and watched his eyes widen, "I've been one since a few days after I turned eleven. Of course, we aren't fully the same,"

Aria took the glass of wine Itori handed her and sipped it with a soft sigh. Kaneki nodded slowly, "I heard from Yoshimura and a few others about the magical world. You're a magical hybrid. Can you really eat normal food?" Aria hummed lightly, "Is it true that there's a potion that allows ghouls to eat human food?"

"Yes, but it is difficult to make and can only be used sparingly otherwise your body will develop a resistance to it," Aria watched his expression crumble, "I and the ones holding my contract are currently attempting to find a more reliable potion. While there has been progress made, it is slow for the most part. By our estimation, it will take another five years before the improved potion is created unless we have a breakthrough,"

"Oh," Kaneki sighed softly before shaking his head, "Aria, do you not like Rize?"

Aria barely managed to stop herself from shattering the glass in her hand at the sudden question. It still cracked earning a cry of dismay from Itori. With a wave of her unoccupied hand, Aria repaired the glass. Taking a fortifying gulp of the wine, Aria told Kaneki, "'Do not like' is a very weak term when it comes to what I feel towards Rize. To put it plainly, I hate her and am very glad she's dead. I just wish I'd been the one to kill her."

Kaneki swallowed while Aria mentally growled at the fact Rize was still alive out there. Uta's hand touched hers and Aria realized she'd been trembling in anger. Taking a deep breath to calm the rage that had welled up, Aria took a small sip of her wine as Kaneki said, "Oh."

Aria walked into Anteiku carrying her sketchpad and a bag of books. Irimi looked up and smiled softly, "Ah, Aria. Here to see Hinami?"

"Yeah," Aria smiled warmly at the female ghoul, "I think she'll really enjoy these,"

"Just head on up, she'll be glad to see you," Irimi told her.

Aria inclined her head and headed up the stairs. She sniffed out Hinami's scent and knocked on the door it was coming from. Aria entered when Hinami called out and smiled warmly at the younger ghoul, "Hinami, I am so glad to see that you're well."

"Aria!" Hinami jumped up and pounced on Aria while Kaneki looked on in shock.

"I'm so sorry about what happened," Aria hugged her close, "I would've come early, but things have been busy for me,"

"It's fine, Aria," Hinami burrowed her face into Aria's shoulder, "I know,"

Aria pulled away and held out the bag of books to Hinami, "I got these from Luna. They might be a bit advanced for your age, but they'll be exactly what you would be learning in school at your age."

Hinami took the bag with a wide grin, "Thank you!"

"No problem," Aria glanced towards Kaneki, "Is Kaneki helping you out?"

"Mhmm," Hinami hummed as she walked back over to the couch carrying the bag of books.

Kaneki looked at Hinami for a few moments before asking, "Do you do this often?"

"I like helping younger ghouls have a chance at a better life when I can," Aria told him, "They need as much help as possible since not everyone has parents to look after them,"

"Aria," Aria focused on Hinami, "You won't be able to stay long, will you?"

Aria sighed softly as she shook her head, "Unfortunately not, Little Bird. I got called in by the goblins. If they hadn't called me in, I would stay and help you go through these."

"It's fine," Hinami smiled weakly, "I know you're really busy,"

"I'll come by again soon and read with you," Aria promised her.

Aria hugged Hinami one last time before leaving. She heard Kaneki asking, "Does this happen a lot?"

"Around this time of year," Hinami replied, "She's really busy,"

Well, the last bit seems a bit stilted to me, but I just couldn't get it to flow any better.