This was great. Just fucking perfect.

Himika was having a great day until they walked in. And of course, one of them recognized her on sight. Well shit.

"But today was going so well," Himika whined. "What did I do wrong?"

Sitting at a table sat two doves.

~Earlier that day~

Himika sat bored in her room. Continuously glancing at the clock, which hadn't changed from 7:00 am. Her shift for the day didn't start for another three hours, and Hinami was at school; hopefully keeping an eye on Kentaro, her newest minion.

Normally, Himika would train with Hinami, or even Yomo, but Hinami was still healing and at school, and Yomo was out running some errands or something. Himika was particularly annoyed at the fact that she hasn't been allowed to even hang out alone with Hinami, only when others were around. It was suspicious, to say the least.

"Oi! Open up!"

Himika turned to her door and groaned before replying.

"It's open." Himika raised her voice.

To her surprise, Touka of all people walked in.

"Touka?" Himika mumbled. "Do you need anything?"

"Yeah, actually," She sighed. "This stupid entrance exam shit is stressing me out and I was thinking of having a friendly spar with you. Normally I'd ask Yomo or Kaneki... Nevermind."

Her last words were mumbled, but she quickly snapped out of it.

"So you in?"

"Sure." Himika shrugged. "I enjoy a good fight, and I'm bored out of my mind."

"Works for me." Touka shrugged back. "Follow me, and try to keep up."

Before she knew it, they were in one of the many alleyways of Tokyo.

"Hood up." Touka ordered.

Himika complied and flipped up her hood, tucking her hair into the hood.

"I swear, if anyone spots us I'm throwing you to the wolves." Himika grumbled.

"Shut up and no one will see us." Touka grinned.

"Does the manager know?" Himika whispered.

"He knows I'm borrowing you for a few hours, not what we're doing." She replies. "I had the feeling he'd say no if I told him we were sparring."

"Why would he say no?"

"I'll explain later, hurry up and follow me." Touka grunted.

Instead of taking the rooftops, they cut through back alleys and walked on the sidewalk when necessary. It was barely past 7 am, meaning the streets were mainly full of students and adults headed to work.

Touka blended in fairly well, despite the fact she wasn't wearing a uniform; but she did bring a backpack with her.

"What's with the bag anyway?" Himika asked.

"It has our masks in it and two cloaks," Touka answered.

"Oh." Himika nodded.

The rest of their stroll was silent until they eventually came to the underside of a bridge, which was poorly lit to begin with and had the stench of blood hanging around it like a thick veil.

"Why here?" Himika asked, holding her hand over her nose. "It smells like a morgue." 

"That's exactly why though," Touka replied. "The smell also masks our own, most ghouls started to avoid this place after what went down here."

"Well, what exactly went on down here?" Himika inquired.

"A fight between three ghouls and two CCG investigators," Touka mumbled, clenching her fist.

"Judging by your reaction, I'd say that whatever went on here you were a part of." Himika guessed.

Touka didn't verbally reply, she simply trudged on, brushing off the question and disappearing under the bridge. Himika assumed she had hit the nail on the head and rushed in after Touka. A mere second after entering and a kick slammed into her side, sending her tumbling across the concrete."

"Fucking ow," Himika grunted, slowly sitting up. "What was that for, Touka?"

"You've always got to be ready." Touka scolded, already beside her with a punch aimed at her solar plexus.

"Fuck that." Himika quickly replied, rolling to the left and springing onto her hands, using the momentum to land a kick to Touka's side. "Got you back."

In an awe-inspiring display of flexibility, Touka nimbly backflipped three times to get out of the way, dusting off her shoulders.

"That all you got?" Touka mocked. "In that case, I'll be fine."

Himika tilted her head.

'Was I holding back? I never hold back, well unless it's Hinami.'

'But you DID hold back before.'

Himika looked visibly shaken.

'That's right there was somewhere before I got here. How could I forget?'

'That's right, it just feels so natural here, with others like you. But you're forgetting.'

"No!" Himika roared. "I'm forgetting him!"

A lazy grin flashed through her mind, thoughts of cloud gazing and being saved by bullies.

"What are friends for?" 

Himika promptly passed out.

"What the hell did I do? That wasn't even that hard of a kick!" Touka screeched. "The manager's going to kill me!"

~An hour later~

Warm. Himika was someplace warm, oh, and soft. 

Her eyes flew open and took in the surroundings, which was her room. Her eyes felt itchy and her nose ran. She wiped her nose on her sleeve and grimaced. She was crying?

"Why the hell have I been crying so much lately?" Himika hissed, throwing off her black sweater so that she wore only a tank top.

"Maybe it has something to do with, Shikamaru?"

Himika jumped and turned to her bedside, sighing in relief when she saw it was only Touka.

"Shikamaru?" She repeated, then grinning. "That was his name!"

Touka scooted back a little. "You're actually full on smiling? Why?"

"Because!" Himika then fell back onto her bed. "Because... I can't remember. Why is my face so warm?"

"I have a feeling I know why." Touka giggled.

"I don't understand." Himika frowned.

"Put on your uniform and meet me downstairs, I'm working with you today, we can talk then," Touka ordered, getting up and walking to the door.

"Got it." Himika sighed, walking over to her closet.

She dug around in her closet for her uniform until a shiny piece of metal hit her hand and fell to the floor. She bent down to pick it up and studied it.

"What did it mean to me?" She pondered, holding up the metal and cloth while looking at the music note. "This feels wrong."

Changing into the uniform quickly, she made her way down the stairs.

"Touka?" She stood frozen behind the counter. "What's the- oh."

Sitting there at a table sat two doves, one of which who spotted Himika and called out her name.

"Hey, Himika, right?"

A boy with red stitches sat across from a bulky man with a strange hairstyle, quinque cases next to their seats.

"Shit." Both waitresses agreed.

"That talk will have to wait." Touka decided.

Himika nodded.

A/N

Big thanks to @_Insert_Here_ who's is working on making a cover for this story and the person that this chapter is dedicated to! Also, I have found myself not knowing what to do with this story, but I finally know! There will be a third and final book and this book will be ending, however, I'm not sure how soon. The HimiShika ship hasn't died people! But on a more important note, what about Hinami? She will be going with Himika, so she too should have a love interest, but who? T^T I can't decide!

Funfact #2:
My birthday is May 26th, and I was born in 2004. Meaning that I turn 15 this year. Surprising? Yes? No?