NeonHorizon: Updates are slow due to me working on a bunch of other stories. This one will end before chapter 50. I don't know how many chapters long this story will be in total yet, but I hate to leave things hanging forever. I apologize for the slow updates.

"I have two things that I want to know about," Saya explained. She held the glass of water in her hand, staring down at the clear liquid and letting the condensation run over her fingers.

"I was found by Yoshimura-san when I was four. I don't have many memories of my life before that. I'm not even sure where I came from. But when I was with Aogiri Tree, I had a sort of memory. It was really fuzzy, but I had a little brother named Saburo. I know that I had two dads; one of them was younger and one of them was older. I don't know if that helps-"

"Hang on. You had two dads? Like your mom cheated or…?" Itori leaned in close from across the counter, clearly entertained.

Saya grimaced. The way that Itori took such joy in hearing about it somehow made the girl uncomfortable. "I don't remember having a mom. Just two dads. Two men that raised me until I was found by Yoshimura. He found me in an alley. But I think I had a little brother named Saburo. I just want to know if I really had a brother and whether or not he's still alive."

"Your name's Mizunami Saya, right?" The woman reached beneath the counter and produced a dark glass bottle. Fetching herself a wine glass, she poured herself a glass of thick, strong-smelling blood.

Sitting beside her, Uta frowned. "It isn't your real name…is it?"

"I don't know what my birth name was," she confessed. "Mizunami is the surname that I picked out and Saya is the name that Yoshimura-san gave me."

"So how am I supposed to find this "Saburo" guy?" Itori swirled her glass a little, letting red nearly splash up the sides of it. "How old would he be?"

"A little younger than me."

The woman stared at her blankly, starting to lose interest. Shifting her gaze to the blood in her glass, she sighed. "Okay so what else did you want to know about? I'll hear both questions and then decide what I want to help you with."

"Itori." Uta turned to look at Saya and saw that she was not pleased with the woman's decision. "She's Renji's little-"

"Why should I have to help with something that I'm not interested in?"

"Then I'll look." He caught both female ghouls giving him surprised looks and bowed his head, absently running his fingers over the condensation on his glass. "Renji would want us to help her," he pointed out.

Still surprised that he would want to help an almost complete stranger, especially since she was currently in hiding, Saya gave him a small nod of appreciation. "Thank you, Uta-san. I can pay you-"

"I…want to hear the story about the pink icing. That's all I want."

He's kind of scary-looking, but is he actually a really nice guy? She looked back to Itori, who raised an eyebrow. "The other information that I need involves Kirishima Ayato. I want to know where he is and what kind of condition he's in."

At this, Itori's expression brightened. "Now that's interesting! Isn't he the little brat that kidnapped you and dragged you to that place?"

Saya's eyes narrowed and her grip on the glass tightened. "Yeah."

"So you want revenge?" Excitement leaked into the woman's voice as she spoke and she leaned closer across the counter.

"I can't forgive him for what he did to me, but this isn't about revenge. I want to know where he is so I can keep Kaneki safe from him. I don't want that little shit to pop up out of nowhere and try to kill Kaneki."

Itori beamed and looked to Uta. The man was hunched forward a little, watching the condensation run down the side of his glass. It seemed that he already knew she would be interested in gathering this information. When she looked back to Saya, she saw the girl's pale blue eyes alight with fury. "Alright; I'll see what I can find out. As long as you have something to trade for it."

Saya frowned and ran her thumb over the side of her water glass. "Do you need it right now or-?"

"I take payment upfront, but if you tack on something extra when I give you the information, I might be able to give you a little something special."

What does that even mean? Her eyes drifted from Itori back to Uta. The man was now toying with his lip piercing as he seemed to be thinking. Why does Yomo have such weird friends? I always thought of him as being pretty normal. Saya tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and she shifted her gaze to Itori once more. "Do you want information or a story?"

"Hmmm…" The woman leaned her chin in her hand, bringing her eyes to be level with Saya's. "How about a story? You seem like you have some good ones. Do you have any stories about Ren-chan?"

Saya felt sweat begin to collect along her hairline and she half-shrugged. "I have a few. They're not really interesting or anything."

"Okay!" Itori slapped a hand against the countertop. "Tell me about the first time you met him then! He's never told us that story!"

Shift P.O.V

Kaneki was hesitant to knock at her bedroom door. Remembering how she had cried when he touched her, the boy's chest felt tight. There was a heaviness in his gut. Guilt. Worry. Despair. If she was reminded of Yamori every time he touched her, it would break his heart.

Summoning forth some courage, he swallowed his melancholy and attempted to sound cheerful. A fist was raised and he knocked gently. "Saya? Can I come in?"

There was no response. As Kaneki pressed an ear to the door, he was unable to hear anything. No movement of her bedsheets or rustle of her getting up. He frowned and knocked a second time. "Saya? Um…if you don't want to talk about it, it's fine. I just…want to know that you're okay. Can you please say something?"

"She's not here," Banjou called from down the hall.

"Oh. Where did she go? Who went with her?" The pale-haired ghoul moved down the narrow corridor to join the others in the large, main room.

"Uh…well…" The older man rubbed the back of his neck, appearing sheepish. "She sort of muscled her way past me. I tried to tell her to wait for me to escort her, but she was in a hurry."

She left alone?! Kaneki darted for the exit, his heart pounding so loudly that he could hear it in his ears. The thought of her being out there alone sent him into full panic mode. She was strong, but Kaneki knew that there were stronger ghouls out there. Not all of Aogiri Tree had been killed and he had left half of Ayato's bones unbroken. Not to mention that Tsukiyama may take advantage of her being alone.

As he ran into the thunderstorm that was now taking place outside, he looked in every direction. Where would she go?! Why did she leave the hideout without an escort? He was so afraid of what might happen to her that he was trembling. Splashing through puddles of rain water, ignoring the crackle of lightning above him, Kaneki began to run in the direction he hoped she might have gone.

It was more populated in that direction. Hopefully she had just gone out to try to clear her head after what had happened. Kaneki would have gladly been there for her to help her through it, but he understood if she wanted space. He just hoped that nothing happened to her.

He just hoped that he would find her sitting in one of the cafes in this direction. That she would give him that shy smile that she only gave him when they had been apart for a while and she was trying to hide her excitement. He would be so relieved if she would just be safe.

As he neared the first café, his cellphone began to ring. He fumbled to get it out of his pocket, silently thanking Tsukiyama for gifting this new phone to him, and saw "Saya" on the screen. "H-hello?! Where are you? Why did you leave the hideout?" he blurted out.

"This is Kaneki?" It was a man's voice. Quiet, curious, with a hint of amusement.

Kaneki stopped walking and frowned. "Um…Uta-san? Is Saya with you?"

"She's here. She came to get her new mask, but this storm…"

"O-oh! Her mask is done already?"

"Mm-hm." There was a pause and Kaneki held his breath. When Uta continued, there was a soft rustling in the background. "I'll make sure that she gets home in the morning. She dozed off and…I don't think anyone should be out in this storm."

Thunder boomed above him and the pale-haired boy nodded to himself. "Y-yeah. You're right. I'm just…I was so worried." To his surprise, tears blurred his vision. Kaneki wiped at them with a fist, smiling. "I'm glad that she's okay. C-can you tell her that I'm sorry?"

"Did you have a fight?"

"No. Not really. I just…I did something that she didn't like."

"I'll tell her. Good night."

Kaneki felt relief wash over him as he put his phone back into his pocket. She's alright. She just went to go get her mask. He was so happy that he thought he might laugh. All of those dreadful thoughts of Ayato taking his revenge on her or Tsukiyama stealing her away faded.

She'll be back in the morning, he thought as his smile grew. I should get her a gift. That will cheer her up. He rummaged in his pockets and found enough change to buy a two cans of chilled coffee. It was a brand that he knew she liked so she was bound to be pleased by the present. They could drink them together and he could try to help her feel reassured that she was safe with him.

Shift P.O.V

"You should have called him." Uta handed the phone back to her, a small frown pulling at the man's lips.

"I can't talk to him right now." Saya had her head bowed, anxiously toying with a stray lock of dark blue hair. She was sitting on the floor in the back room of HySy, beside the couch where Uta was currently seated. I couldn't talk to Kaneki. I feel bad for running away, but I couldn't face him again after I just broke down like that! When did I get so weak?!

The male ghoul saw her frustrated expression and tilted his head. "He told me to tell you that he's sorry. I won't ask what happened, but…I don't think you should avoid him."

"I'll talk to him tomorrow," she stated flatly.

"Hm." He stood and went to get a blanket for her so she could sleep on the couch. "I told him that I would walk you home in the morning. But…you still owe me a story. I want to hear about the pink icing."