[Un]Shakeable

- Ten -

The unextravegant, dull wave of heat blasted your face as you stood atop a high building of the 8th ward. Your mother's old mask covered your eyes, but it was unexpectedly clearer than you expected, which was saying something since they were a pair of sunglasses. Your [Size] hands were in the depths of your black coat (lent to you by Kanon). Beside you stood the silver-haired ghoul, her silver hair tied and tucked under a hood. Instead of wearing her glasses, a black mask covered her face. A bandage-looking design covered her eyes; the material was thin enough to act as a sheer veil that allowed her to see. Over her mouth was a white 'X.'

On your other side stood the violet-maned male, his usual gruesome smiling mask attached on his head.

Kanon let out a huff as she crossed he arms, looking down at the sleeping city below. "Where do we hunt first? The nursing home south of here usually has easy catches, but they taste like shit," she stated, her pale lips pursed in thought. "Or we could try lurking in the alleyways for a tastier meal, possibly going the night without fresh food," she exasperated. "It's your choice, of course." Kanon turned to the two of you, awaiting an answer.

You simply shrugged. This area was unfamiliar to you, so you would have to rely on Ayato and Kanon for navigation. "I don't really care," you replied. "I'm fine with anywhere."

Ayato, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly what he wanted. "Southwest of here, where there's that park near the library. We can stay in the alleyway there. If my memory's right, there's usually some sort of group meeting that's always in the library or park, right?" He turned to Kanon for confirmation.

Kanon drew a puzzled expression but nevertheless nodded. "But it's easy to get caught there, and there's been a higher number of ghouls hanging there. I don't really trust it..."

The male scoffed. "Whatever. Let's just go," he demanded before stepping off of he building edge and falling feet first to the hard concrete ground below. Ayato was utterly still as he fell -- there was no scream or laughter or movement. Just utter silence from him, with his hands buried in the pockets of his dark leather jacket. You stared at him in bewilderment as he simply fell through empty space, stunned by how stoic he was seemed compared to how he usually acted.

And strangely, the female beside you burst out a cackle of amusement, causing you to snap out of your staring. You shot her a question m questioning look as you watched her nearly double over from hysterics.

"What's so funny?"

Instead of a reply, Kanon just burst into another fit of giggling. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. "[NAME]!" She gasped out between giggles, "You think you're slick?"

Baffled, you blinked, resembling a deer caught in headlights. "Excuse me?"

It didn't take long for Kanon to quiet down into a lower twitter of amusement. A smirk still resided across her lips, but she was still calmer. "[Name], do you really think that your gawks at Ayato aren't obvious? You're really checking him out, aren't you?"

Almost immediately, your face flushed, glowing a deep shade of red until it reached your ears. "W-What're you talking about?!" You cringed, realizing how high your voice sounded.

You weren't checking him out! Simply, you were just admiring his stoic-ness and his physique -- perhaps also thinking of the body type he had so you could properly teach him in the best way he could fight?

But that's a piss-poor excuse, and we all know it.

Kanon's smirk evolved into a Cheshire-type grin. "I was right, wasn't I? You were checking out Ayato, weren't you? Aw, that's so cute; your face is so red!" She pressed.

"Kanon! I don't like him or anything. That's something your vivid imagination concocted to deal with your lonely days when we're not around. Don't mix your daydreams with reality," you snapped.

"I never said anything about you liking him, but I guess your words reveal yourself!" She beamed. "But don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

But before you could even defend yourself any further, Kanon leaped off the edge of the building, cackling as she fell. Her lungs ached as she gasped for breath from her fit of laughter.

You groaned as you covered ran a hand through your hair. Seriously, you didn't like Ayato in that way. Well, at least you didn't think so. Sure, he was attractive, and he was a fair fighter. Plus, the fact that his hand in yours felt nice was an added bonus. But you didn't see him as a romantic option at the moment; that would've just been moving too quickly.

As you were fretting over your interactions with Kanon, she had already reached the ground and was now standing beside a scowling Ayato. You gulped as he sent you death stares.

"Are you coming down already or what?" He called from the ground. His tone sounded not only annoyed and direct, but it also somehow hinted aggression. Wouldn't want to keep the violent males waiting, would you?

You rolled your eyes. "Yeah, yeah! I know, trash." You muttered the last bit to yourself. But you did take Ayato's demand into account, so you hopped off the side of the building.

As soon as your feet hit the ground, Ayato rolled his eyes and turned on his heel so that he wouldn't face you. His hands were shoved in his pockets, and his mask fit on his face, shielding his identity from the world. You could hear him let out a low growl. "You coming or what, [Name]? I'm fucking starving; let's go find something to eat." Ayato led the way out of the alleyway, but Kanon lagged behind so you could catch up with them.

The silver-haired female clasped her hands behind her back, and although you couldn't really tell, she probably had a smile hidden behind that mask of hers.

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i'm not satisfied with this chapter, it was so short :))