Yeah. Kinda needed a break from fluff and the tiny winy writer's block which drives me mad yet again. KnB is so normal, in Zelda I could at least kill off stuff here and there (I'm a huge fan of action really)...so after listening to the opening once again, I couldn't help it. It is an amazing song.

Don't mind me. I'm running away from updating my other stories. Extremely sorry about that.

It's not going to be a long story, just a three shot or something. I just needed action and blood and distraction. Sweats. I'm really trying to get the next chapter done for 'Lionheart'. Promise.

Watch out for foul language and a bit gore and blood and stuff.

BREAK

"You're slow."

He turned towards her with a frown, watching her double her steps to keep up with his long strides. But he never once stopped. He never gave her the opportunity to truly catch up. The girl was forced to start jogging in the end. Finally reaching his side instead of just following him like a lost puppy, although in the end she did end up a step behind him anyway with her pace.

"Your legs are too long."

Aomine snorted, looking forward again.

"Sure, let me just cut them off real quick."

"You wouldn't..."

Her voice sunk into a lower pitch, resembling a whisper more than anything. And her grey eyes were wide. The moment he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye his bad mood was already forgotten. He had to force his lips to keep still and not melt into an amused grin. She was too trusting, something she shouldn't be. Not after what had happened four days ago. After what she had seen him do...ah, the humor was gone again. Thanks to his brain which just couldn't keep its mouth shut.

"Of course not, stupid." Clicking his tongue the blue haired man glared at her half-heartedly. "It still fucking hurts, ya know?"

She blinked at him, at first relieved - but then she glared right back. "Don't make such jokes, Aomine. They are terrible."

"On contrary." He breathed in return. "I've been told that I'm god damn hilarious."

She did laugh then. Shaking her head as she grinned, the cheeks colored in a soft rosy-red. And his lips twitched. Wanting to return the gesture - because hell, how long has it been since he had been able to breath and feel comfortable with a human being who knew exactly what he was? Never. Aomine could count it on his fingertips. This was the first time. And probably a terrible idea to begin with, really fucking terrible.

"We're here." She looked away, gazing at the building they had reached. "Thanks for accompanying me."

"Yeah, whatever." He shrugged with his broad shoulders, his steel blue eyes avoiding hers. "Just, ya know, don't go with anyone. Even if they say they know me...especially not if they say they know me."

"Roger that." The girl held onto the strap of her bag, smiling once again at him. "See you."

"Yeah."

He watched her as she walked away, approaching the university she attended. But she didn't disappear immediately, turning around once more to wave goodbye. Aomine didn't return it though. He just stood there at the entrance, waiting patiently until she disappeared in the building and from his sight.

"Fucking stupid idea..." He sighed quietly, forcing his feet to finally move away.

This all was nothing but a damn mess.

There had been so much blood.

His steel blue eyes rose towards the ceiling of the café. Staring at a certain little spot in the warm beige it was colored in. There was only little going on around him. A few hushed voices, quiet conversations with the sunlight flooding the room through the broad windows. And the scent of fresh brewed coffee filled his senses, making him take a deep breath as his mind remembered the certain bloody night.

So much.

Aomine could still taste it if he tried to remember it. He could still feel the warmth of the skin he had torn through, the guts he had pulled out of another ghoul. The wide eyes, the coughing, the growling - and the paralyzed figure of a girl who only stared at him. Terrified, cowering away in a corner to hide in the darkness of the night. She had been the same one he always saw at the coffee shop down the other street. Who always stood in front of him in the waiting line, with the light orange hair she always tied up...

The reason why he had ventured into the damn side-street in the first place, he thought. This was no place for a human. She was lost, he could see that. This district was too close to another hunting ground, not that she'd knew that in any way. But he did.

"Oh my god...a-are you okay?"

Aomine snorted, lifting his cup to his lips. He had torn through two ghouls, his eyes black and red, glowing in the darkness of the empty street. His damn jacket had been a mess. Coated in blood and sweat, torn at the seams, his lips pulled back in a snarl because those fools had been stupid enough to attack him. After he had even warned them, according to his opinion that was a death wish.

But a human asking how a ghoul was doing. Yeah, that was weird. Her fingers had been trembling, her grey eyes glowing in recognition. She knew him. She remembered seeing him in those countless times in that damn coffee shop when he stood behind her in the waiting line.

The blue haired ghoul should have killed her.

She was a variable he couldn't control. She could have reported him. That night, the next morning, every single minute until today...and what did he do instead? Took her with him to Satsuki's place, because his brain was pretty much malfunctioning and he wasn't able to tell left from right anymore.

How else could he explain the fact that the orange haired girl clung onto the rim of his torn jacket? Too scared to let go or even speak after he had just stared at her earlier, half of his face decorated by a bloody handprint of the guy who had tried to fight him off. Aomine had been surprised that she hadn't cried or screamed, even after he lifted his hood and hid his face as he moved through the sleeping city towards the only place he knew would help him...

"Dai-chan."

His gaze flickered towards the face which appeared beside him.

"What."

Satsuki's smile shrunk in size as he merely frowned into her direction. She started pouting, leaning back onto her heels with her arms akimbo. You'd mean she'd get used to his rough attitude after all those years.

"You could smile once in a while, you know?"

The pink haired girl lifted her hands towards the counter, rubbing the surface with a rag.

"If you continue to frown like that, I'm sure your face will freeze up."

Aomine scoffed at her weak argument, continuing to sip on his coffee to appease his stomach for today. It wasn't like he cared what anyone thought about his usual expression. If his face kept people away, the better. That meant less trouble.

"Nah, too much work."

Satsuki huffed lightly, her cleaning ceasing as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"...how's Mia-chan doing?"

"Fine." He muttered beneath his breath. "Nothin' unusual..." Aomine became quiet for a second, maybe even debating whether he should voice his thought or not. But in the end, he did mutter these few words beneath his next breath.

"...she smiles."

The pink haired girl blinked at him, taking in his very quiet words before she smiled once again. With ease Satsuki turned back to the counter she had been wiping before, continuing with her task while her expression had grown rather warm and patient.

"That's good."

Aomine lifted his cup. He barely nodded as he drank the rest of his still too hot beverage, feeling suddenly stupid to have said something like that. But it was true. It was no miracle that this girl had been traumatized after that night. He would have definitely understood it if she would have screamed or yelled. Cried and reported him in a heartbeat. Humans tended to be like that. Overreacting, terrified by anything they didn't consider normal.

And Mia had certainly not smiled afterwards...even though she had always done so before.

At that damn coffee shop...when he bumped into her or if she stumbled into anyone else...she'd always apologize and smile. Even if it wasn't her own damn fault. And she'd turn red, he thought suddenly. She'd always blush...

Aomine's face turned darker as he looked up. "Ryō."

The brown haired boy jumped, nearly letting go of the glass he was cleaning at this very moment. It didn't take long until he glanced shyly over his thin shoulder, pale and nervous, because who knew if he hadn't done anything wrong yet. The scrawny teen hadn't worked here for that long - Aomine still didn't know where Satsuki had found him in the first place - but since then he had done nothing but yelp and cry whenever the blue haired ghoul said his name.

"Y-yes?"

At least he didn't scream the 'yes!' like a soldier anymore.

"Coffee...make me another..."

"Of course." Ryō quickly set the glass he had been cleaning down, turning towards the coffee machine at his side.

Aomine leaned onto the counter, using one of his hands to support his chin. He should stop thinking about it already. He should damn well stop picking her up. Taking her to school and then back home, because even if the orange-head didn't know it - he knew what he had done that night. If those idiots would have just heeded his warning and went back to their own hunting territories...he sighed again.

That damn, stupid, stupid night...

"Dai-chan?"

Satsuki had opened the door to her small flat looking anything but prepared. The usual bubbly girl wore nothing fancy like in the café she worked at all the time, no, instead she stood there in a fluffy sweater which looked way too big for her. Had it been one of his old ones? Aomine couldn't help but remember that it looked faintly like one of his old ones, though he hardly really looked into his closet...

The pink haired girl's face had quickly changed though.

"Oh my gosh! What happened to your face?" Satsuki gushed, lifting a hand to his bloodied cheek which was poorly concealed by his hoodie anymore. The light of her flat exposed everything, he supposed.

"I swear, you're going to be the reason why we're..." Her upcoming preaching died upon her tongue as she finally noticed that he wasn't alone. Doubtfully, Satsuki leaned to the side. Glancing around Aomine's broad figure where the paralyzed orange haired girl was still standing. Not able to look anywhere but her trembling hands which still clung to the rim of the young man's jacket.

"Oh no..." Satsuki breathed."...what...what happened? Is she?" A single deep breath was enough to know. "She is..."

His deep blue eyes finally locked with her rosy-red ones. And for the first time in quite a while, Aomine spoke up.

"I fucked up."

He had been so sure, and he still was, that his childhood friend had so many things to tell him. How he always caused trouble, how he always picked fights with everyone. That he'd be the reason why they'd have to leave Tokyo and move somewhere else, because they were bound to get caught with his attitude. But that night she had said nothing like that.

Instead she had been the responsible and friendly girl he had known nearly all his life. Taking the mismatched pair in for the night where Aomine was finally able to shower and wash his clothes - how had no one reported him? He looked like a fucking serial killer with all that blood. And he had been forced to wear a pair of old jogging pants and a shirt he had left an eternity ago at Satsuki's place, still better than nothing though, he guessed.

Mia hadn't uttered a single word in the meanwhile; she was just sitting on the way too soft couch. Her trembling fingers glued to her knees now because she had to let go of his jacket earlier. And Satsuki was hurrying around her flat, trying to find something, anything for the traumatized girl to drink or eat. She had found nothing in the end though. What ghoul kept such food in their fridge anyway if they couldn't eat it? She had water though. And coffee. Tons of coffee.

Aomine was pretty sure that this had been one of the longest nights he had ever experienced in his life up until now...

After hours and hours of silence and attempts by Satsuki to calm her and explain a little; it ended in such a bizarre way. With the orange-head's gaze lifting, filled with a spark of life instead of numbing fear. She was truly looking at them, not even trying to avoid their eyes or cry and flee.

"...thank you for helping me..."

A human thanked a ghoul.

He had never expected to live long enough to see that happen.

Scratching his neck Aomine stood not far away from the university's entrance. He easily ignored anyone else who left the building, overlooking the strangers for the familiar bright colored hair. But sometimes, his eyes would stray away. Looking left and right, trying to see as much as he could out of the corner of his eyes...his ears strained to pick up anything which didn't seem normal...

Two ghouls were now as good as dead, probably still trying to collect their viscera. He was more than certain that those flies weren't exactly dead yet, he hadn't given them the last finishing blow they needed. But on backsight it had been a mistake. A damn big mistake.

"Sorry." A light voice suddenly rasped, trying to catch its breath. "The professor really didn't want to stop talking..."

Aomine immediately shifted his glance towards Mia who tried to even her breath after running. And he hated to say that, but to see her calmed the turmoil inside his head rather fast. She was doing well. She was fine. He hadn't fucked this up yet. The blue haired ghoul blinked this thought away as he shrugged with his broad shoulders, finally turning away from the grand building.

"Whatever, c'mon."

"Did you wait long?" The orange-head wondered immediately, joining his side as they left her university behind them.

"Yeah."

The girl's face fell, obvious guilt written across her features - until her expression hardened.

"...you're messing with me again, aren't you?"

Aomine dared to snicker, grinning at her lopsidedly while Mia tried to shove him away. He didn't really budge much, but his snickers grew a bit louder because it was just so amusing to watch her face twist into a frown. Her cheeks warm and ears colored in a burning red.

"Just a few minutes." He finally replied truthfully. "Ain't nothing."

"Stupid." She muttered beneath her breath, crossing her arms beneath her chest. "Say...I don't mind being escorted all the time but, but doesn't it annoy you?"

He glanced at her immediately and Mia's eyes fell to the ground before she returned his stare.

"I mean, you probably got a lot of stuff to do, too. Right?"

"Not really."

"Oh." Mia blinked at him. "Then...then it's cool, I guess. I mean, I'm really thankful...it's just-"

"I wanna do it." Aomine interjected. "So shut up."

The orange-head nodded slowly, looking forward again as his curt reply ended their small conversation just like that. She didn't even realize that he led her through another street than the previous days. Or that he glimpsed towards the distance behind them with a frown. Maybe karma finally decided to kick him after all, he thought, because he'd always recognize this certain scent anywhere.

"Oi." Aomine drawled quietly. "You got time right now?"

"Mia-chan!"

Satsuki abandoned the tray from one second to another as she saw who exactly had stepped into the small comfy café. Her pretty uniform moved with every hectic step she took. An outfit Mia hadn't seen her wear before yet - obviously, this was just their second meeting - but the bubbly girl engulfed the orange-head in a tight loving hug anyway. She went on and on about how nice it was to see her, how she had been worried and she was certain that Aomine was nothing but rude to her. His half-hearted complain was ignored though and Mia pulled inside towards the counter.

"I'm so excited." Satsuki laughed. "Wait right here, I'll make you an amazing coffee!"

"O...okay?" The orange haired girl replied, still overwhelmed.

The pretty waitress sent her a last grin before she quickly rushed behind the counter, already reaching and fetching a few things. Ryō who had only witnessed this all with a nervous glance was suddenly caught by Aomine's deafening stare. The blue haired ghoul nodded towards his childhood friend, ordering the nervous boy without a single word to prevent the worst. And dutifully as he was, he moved to Satsuki's side. Offering his fellow colleague to help out since he still wanted to learn - lies, Ryō was already better than the bubbly girl and their manager - but Satsuki was too happy to decline.

"I've never been here before." Mia said quietly as Aomine sat down next to her. "It looks very nice."

"People like you don't come here often anyway." He drawled lazily, leaning onto the counter.

"People like...? Oh." The girl looked briefly over her shoulder towards the other guests, every one of them busy with themselves. But he still watched her curiously. Observing the way her gaze darted from spot to spot until she looked back towards him. "Is it...okay that I'm here then?"

"What?"

"I don't want to be rude or anything, I mean."

Aomine snorted, shaking his head. "Somethin' is wrong with your head, you know that?"

Mia scowled at him, lifting her arms to cross them upon the counter's surface. "Well, sorry for having actually manners."

"Yeah. Ya should apologize for that."

This time she couldn't suppress her own smile and laughter, the dark grey in her eyes lighting up with the good natured spirit their little banter had. And it was so strange yet nice to hear it, he thought. There was some sort of pride or warmth swelling in his chest. Uncomfortable and yet too good to let go off completely, because there was this human here, his mind repeated.

A human who had seen him tear apart two ghouls right in front of her eyes. But they were sitting here now, in one of the casual spots where his kind met up and tried to live in some kind of bizarre peace. And she was still looking at him with...

Aomine wasn't able to find the right word for it.

Could respect count? It was the best word he was able to come up with. And he wasn't really picky, so the blue haired ghoul chose to stick to that. Even if it sounded a little strange that someone respected his good old lazy ass.

"Tadaa!"

Satsuki appeared on the other side of the counter, setting two cups in front of them with a big smile. And after his steel blue eyes flickered towards Ryō - who nodded urgently to show that the warm beverage was acceptable - he reached for his cup. Mia was still blinking, making the waitress fiddle nervously with her fingers.

"Does it smell bad?"

"What?" The orange-head looked up quickly. "No! No, no, no - I'm afraid, I just don't really like coffee...I mean, coffee without-"

Aomine was blowing away the steam above his cup while his free hand already reached for the tiny bowl to his left. He set it down right next to Mia, offering her the sugar cubes without even awaiting the rest of her sentence. And quietly he ignored her smile and 'thanks', just like Satsuki's expression which seemed to shine like the sun outside with her newfound joy.

"I'm so happy to see you again, Mia-chan!"

Picking up a few sugar cubes, the orange-head dropped them into her warm beverage.

"It's nice to see you again too, Momoi-san."

Satsuki huffed playfully, leaning against the counter on the other side. "Oh, you can call me Satsuki! Can I call you Mi-chan as well?" It wasn't hard to notice how his childhood friend was already bouncing on her toes. "And I've been shopping actually. I've bought a few cookies and snacks since last time I couldn't..."

The pink haired girl suddenly looked towards her fingernails a tad bit nervous. "...I mean, only if you ever considered coming over again of course...I know, it's probably rude to expect you to..."

"I'd love to." Mia interrupted her, holding onto her now sweetened coffee. "Mo- Satsuki-san. Thank you for going out of your way to even buy those snacks...it sounds like fun."

"Oh, don't thank me!" Satsuki giggled in relief. "I've always wanted to buy some even if I can't eat them...I was a bit excited as I finally had a reason to get them."

"Momoi-san." All three pairs of eyes glanced towards the brown haired boy who jumped slightly because of all the attention he suddenly received. "I'm sorry, but, but I haven't roasted the beans by myself before. I'm sorry for asking but could you please help me?"

"Of course." The pink haired girl replied. "Excuse me."

Mia sipped onto her coffee, smiling over the rim of the warm porcelain cup before Satsuki turned away from them. Aomine observed her quietly out of the corner of his eyes, noting how her shoulders relaxed even further after she took a second nip of her coffee. But the girl wasn't able to hide the tiny quirk of her lips, the rim of the cup still pressed against her bottom lip.

"You hate coffee." He muttered beneath his breath. "Why didn't ya tell her?"

Her grey eyes moved towards him, slightly wide. And only then Aomine realized that she had never told him that. Of course she didn't - they were complete strangers. They had never spoken to each other until those few days ago. He only knew her from that coffee shop. From standing right behind her and listening to her orders out of mild curiosity. The barista had offered her a coffee once. Special offer and all, but she had declined. Preferring the hot chocolate every time no matter what time of the year it was...damn, he felt suddenly really, really stupid...

"She looked so happy." Mia mumbled after a little while. "It feels hard to say 'no' if Satsuki-san looks so happy."

He snorted, drinking his still too hot coffee to cover up his moronic train of thought.

"Watch out, she can be extremely annoying if ya don't tell her 'no' once in a while."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Mia smiled at him before she reached once again for the sugar cubes, keen on drinking the coffee still. All he could do was shake his head. The blue haired ghoul leaned onto the counter, cupping his chin with one of his hands to get more comfortable. It was a spontaneous idea to bring her here, maybe not the best one - yet again. But at least this café had become something like a neutral ground in their district. If she was going to be safe anywhere, then it would be here.

He should have eaten those ghouls that night. That would have saved him so much possible trouble.

Or he should've ignored her...let her walk straight into the dangerous alley and her death.

Aomine decided to just drink the rest of his hot coffee in one go, ignoring the burning sensation it brought with it. He rarely felt pain anyway. He had felt worse. And the uncomfortable sting it created was perfect to keep his mind on its toes.

Life had been simple once.

It wasn't anymore.

Or maybe...it had never been.