| Excuse the short and shitty chapter - it's necessary for plot reasons. |

The clock ticks relentlessly in the background, scraping towards midnight, and Amon heaves a soft sigh as he leans back in his chair, hands threading through his hair. Mounds of paperwork lay spread out atop the desk Shin had ordered him to inhabit while he went off on his own little escapade to the Closed Ward several days ago; they're finished, too, filled out and dutifully signed with Amon's name at the bottom. 

Meaning he's nothing of importance to do until Shin returns.

Still, being on his own for a few beats isn't terrible. Shin's a difficult mentor to get along with, and sometimes Amon finds himself checking off the days until his three month stay in the eighteenth ward comes to an end. Other days, though... being able to witness what a first class investigator is capable of in the field more than makes up for the menial tasks Amon's frequently saddled with.
Today doesn't happen to be one of those days.

Midnight. What is he even still doing here? Shin had phoned, hours ago, that he was going to try and make it back tonight, but with the weather starting to take a turn for the worse, and the general mayhem of Tokyo traffic, he was betting on getting in tomorrow morning at the earliest. There's no reason for Amon to be here anymore, no logical reason, in any case.

His eyes drift to the cell phone perched at the edge of his desk, and he rights himself in the chair, frowning. He's tempted, unreasonably, to check in with Kitamura Rui. The last time they'd spoken, she'd sounded... petrified, and while he had given Shin her warning the man had brushed it off without much concern. Amon hadn't thought to question him at the time, why he thought Rui might react so volatilely to the news when it seemed she might appreciate knowing something was being done about her mentor's case; now he supposes it's the result of grief. 

From what he understands of the situation, Rui believes she had something to do with Ikehara Kaori's disappearance, and as ridiculous as that is, he knows all too well the illogical, crushing weight of guilt, the all-consuming thought that if you'd only done something, things would have been different.

Pain pulses just behind his eyes, and Amon rubs tiredly at his forehead, kneading tender circles into his temple. 

Don't get tangled in the past.

It's a rule he's come to live by, as best he can, and despite a handful of setbacks, it works well for him.
Rui could probably benefit from it herself.

"I doubt she's awake," he muses aloud, tapping his fingers against the smooth gloss of the desk - consciously a few inches from his phone.

He shouldn't be awake, either, he thinks, his lips curling into a distasteful frown. 

Amon, breathing another short sigh through his nose just as the clock reaches the climax of its journey to midnight, eventually pushes away from his desk. Shin isn't coming tonight. Hopefully he'll be in by the time Amon clocks in tomorrow - or rather, this morning - but at the moment there's nothing Amon can do about it, and certainly not from behind a desk. 

If he was out with Shin, though...

In the midst of gathering his things, Amon lifts his head as he hears a knock at the door.

"Amon-kun, you're still here?"

"Date-san," Amon greets automatically, bowing his head. With a quick glance at the clock, he gestures to the paperwork Shin delegated to him, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips; Takashi chuckles in understanding, nodding. 

"Shin's a devil even when he's not here, eh?"

"Nomura-san isn't--"

"Ah, ah, don't bother, Amon-kun. I've known Shin since he was fresh out of the Academy. He's a pain in the ass to everyone, so no need to defend him."

Amon only ducks his head; it's quite against his nature to publicly badmouth his superior, even if he happens to agree wholeheartedly with Takashi.

"Everyone from the Academy's bitter, I've noticed," Takashi goes on after a pause, head tilted. He looks pointedly at Amon, who stiffens slightly at the accusation, but can't bring himself to refute the claim. "It's obvious why. I can't imagine their loss. So, generally, I give them a bit of leeway. But Shin" - and here Takashi grins, a teasing glint in his brown eyes - "he's a bastard through and through, and there's no excuse for it. You don't have to take shit from him, Amon-kun; no one would fault you for standing up to him once in awhile. If you don't agree with something he's doing, tell him. Shin's the type that doesn't back down until he's had some sense knocked into him."

Amon blinks.

"I..."

"Ah, actually, I can't see you talking back to Shin. You're too respectful for someone your age. Not that I mind it. You just might want to straighten your backbone some, if you know what I mean."

Before Amon can fully process this advice, Takashi snaps his fingers, realization coloring his expression as he untucks a manilla folder from under his arm and waves it around for effect.

"This," he says, and there's something different about his voice, a sharpness that Amon finds more congruent with Shin when he's in a mood. "I almost forgot about it. I was waiting for Shin, but it seems he won't be home until tomorrow. Or rather, until later," he amends, following Amon's gaze to the clock face.

12:07. Waiting for Shin had been pointless, then, and it makes Amon stifle a groan of frustration. 

"I was planning to leave it on his desk and let him find it whenever he gets here, but it might be safer in your hands, Amon-kun."

Amon furrows his brow, accepting the folder. It's light for a case file; a new ghoul, perhaps? He looks up again when Takashi clears his throat.

"Tell him one more thing, Amon-kun. He's to drop whatever case he picked up on the side in favor of pursuing the contents of that folder. Understood?"

Heart sinking, Amon feels himself nod on instinct, and he thinks that maybe Takashi is right. Maybe he's a touch too soft in his admiration for his superiors. Because, even though he wants to inform Takashi (screw being polite) that Shin's current case is just as, if not more, important as whatever the bureau's assigned him, but he unthinkingly bites his tongue and smiles his most professional smile.

"Understood, Date-san."

Satisfied, Takashi bids him farewell and reminds him not to stay too much later before he disappears from the doorway, and Amon - suddenly exhausted - drops back into his chair. His half-packed bag sits at his feet but he's no intention of pulling it into his lap to toss in the last of his things. Instead, he stares at the folder, brow wrinkled with curiosity. From what Shin has told him, he hasn't had a genuine case in months, seeing as the ward's been relatively quiet; nothing worth a First Class Investigator's skills has surfaced as of late. 

Amon flips open the folder, reasoning that Shin won't care one way or the other, and quickly scans the first page.

Four confirmed attacks. Suspected of committing at least five more, which would coincide with the surge in missing persons reports. Brazen in their movements through the ward. Seemingly no fear of being discovered. 

Hauntingly, brutally violent.

Amon swallows thickly. This ghoul... it's like nothing that's entered the eighteenth ward in years. He's done inventory in the records room enough to be familiar with the most aggressive and terrible of the ghouls in this ward's history. And he has to wonder if this ghoul isn't altogether... worse.

Skinner. 

Amon says it once, tests it out, and something in him utterly rejects the word. It slides across his tongue like bile, sticks to the back of his teeth; he has to swallow again, shaking his head, and he slaps the file down on the desk beside him, face-down. 

This ghoul - Skinner - is Shin's latest charge. That doesn't necessarily mean Amon will be involved; his status as a Academy student bars him from joining in on any real investigation, and at the very least - if a mentor like Shin disregards the rule about Amon tagging along into the field - he's to have no real combat experience until he graduates. 

But... perhaps Rui was right to worry. To still be worried. 

Amon's certainly starting to question whether or not things will turn out alright in the end.