"Akira! Two on your left!" Hide called, and his partner darted towards him, away from the reaching kagune of the ghouls attempting to subdue her. He subtly sidestepped, and she adjusted perfectly to intercept a ghoul coming in from the right as he lashed his quinque at the other two. They were cut down effortlessly and efficiently. He and Akira took a breather- there were quite a few more than three, but the other teams were managing. A reported disturbance had turned out to be a small ring of ghouls stirring up trouble, but Hide had seen worse in his few years with the CCG. Hide glanced at his partner, and she offered him a rare smile. He was thankful that he had her. She was dependable, quick-witted, and especially tolerant of her polar opposite.

"How are you doing?" She asked, nodding to Hide's left hand. He looked around furtively, and then rolled up his sleeve. Six numbers were imprinted on every person's left wrist, representing hours, minutes, and seconds, from the moment that they were born. It was set resolutely at 24:00:00, until fate decided that it was time for one to meet his or her soulmate. The timer hits zero when two soulmates meet each other's eyes, and starts up again once they kiss, keeping track of the time they spend together as a couple. Ideally, there was never a lapse between zeroing out and the fated kiss- being abandoned or rejected by a soulmate could send a person into despair.

Hide's had started ticking last night.

"I'm fine. I'm just nervous- it can't be a CCG member, but if a civilian gets close to a fight like this, they could be in trouble!" Hide replied, noting that the hour column now displayed double zeroes.

"Well, maybe fate's giving you a chance to play Prince Charming. If a dashing Ghoul Investigator swooped in to save me just as I zeroed out, I'd be swooning on the spot." Akira pretended to fan herself, and Hide snorted.

"You think I'm dashing?" He teased, just as Seido ran up to the pair.

"I hope not. I could never compete with you, Hideyoshi. Lucky for me he's due for a soulmate soon." Seido said, and Akira rolled her eyes. Hide had been harping on about his soulmate all day, annoying the living daylights out of his coworkers. It's a running joke to tease Hide back, and it's admittedly grating. Impressions of him were common, as were ticking noises. He made a face at Seido, and he chortled.

"How many are left?" Akira asked, instead of reprimanding them both. This was not the time and place for fun and games, and they needed to get back to work.

Seido instantly means business. "Just a handful. Amon-san is leading a charge against a group of about five, and two tried to escape. We have them blockaded in."

"Good. We're almost done here. I shudder to think of how many casualties there might've been if we hadn't gotten to this today. A big group like this could tear through a neighborhood in no time." Akira said, and Seido nodded. She took his hand, and Hide had the decency to look away as they shared a brief kiss. He didn't know what was up with them- Seido's counter was still full, and Akira never showed hers off, but she had tried to kiss Amon before Hide joined the CCG. They were together, though, and happy, so nobody pushed them. It wasn't uncommon to have relationships before one found a soulmate, just… strange, to someone like Hide. He had been raised to treasure his soulmate. That he would be blessed to have someone that would completely understand him and love him, as his perfect match. He'd personally never had a relationship that lasted longer than a day or two, knowing that there'd be only one person for him.

Something caught his eye. He followed the movement, and flicked on his communication device when he saw three more ghouls enter the scene. Only, he recognized the ghoul leading, flanked by two males.

"Rabbit." He said into his mic, and he heard Akira click her briefcase open. "Two others, unnamed. Can't see masks from here. Expect at least another two S ranks." There was a flurry of action. Seido fell back, Akira stepped to Hide's side. He could hear over the comm that Amon's attack was being split- half to stay and hold off the small fry, half to engage Rabbit and her pals. Mado-san's quinque, now wielded by his daughter, writhed dangerously in the low light.

"She must head the entire ward." Akira said, eyes locked on Rabbit, and Hide rolled his shoulders. He really didn't want to deal with high-rank ghouls right now, not with his soulmate on their way to him. As he readied his quinque, he checked his wrist one more time. Less than half an hour to go.

"Hideyoshi!" Amon's voice startled him, and he shoved his sleeve back down. He didn't want anyone to see his timer- it'd would just be a worrisome bother. "One of the ghouls escaped down a side street, 5 o'clock. Please, intercept them."

Hide wanted to remind Amon that they were of equal rank, but Akira deserved this more than anyone, and Hide wouldn't take this from her. He was going to at least tell him that, to stay out of her way, but one of the S-ranks suddenly darted in the exact direction that Amon was pointing. Cursing, Hide shot after the two ghouls, trusting Amon to let Akira lead. The alley was dark, and the sunlight had long gone, leaving Hide at the mercy of whatever lurked in there. It was wide, but not very long. He was alone. Hide spun in a slow circle, eyes scanning every nook and cranny. Could they have passed through? The back of his neck tingled, and suddenly there was pressure on his back.

Instinctively, he pitched his body forward, guarding his jugular and attempting to throw the ghoul off. With a few steps, he slammed the ghoul against the wall with all the force he could muster. They dropped, and Hide drew his quinque. He snapped it around. Based off of a Bikaku, it could switch modes from a far reaching whip to a powerful, close range Koukaku dagger. The tail end of it caught the ghoul as it hopped back, and Hide rolled away from a barrage of Ukaku projectiles. Hide smiled. He had the upper hand. Switching to his dagger, he kept his attacks close, and the ghoul was unable to respond quickly enough, focused on dodging. Hide knew that Ukaku ghouls were fast, but their stamina was next to nothing.

His opponent staggered back, using the width of the alley to its full extent. They were breathing heavily, and Hide wasn't much better. Hide could see fear in the black and red of their eyes, and he paused. Then, he shook his head. No, the least he could do was make this quick for the ghoul. It took all he had, though, to dehumanize them enough to kill them. The ghoul made a sudden break for the opposite end of the alley, and Hide switched his quinque back to its Bikaku mode, ready to end this. Another person intercepted them, though, before Hide could. The figure was dark, clothed in all black, and Hide could see four huge, writhing kagune behind… him. He made quick work of the other ghoul, throwing them roughly to the side. Hide attempted to inch away, back to the CCG. He wondered if they were handling Rabbit well. The bigger ghoul seemed content in completely destroying the other, and Hide turned to dash away.

Unfortunately, something ran after him, faster than his human feet could ever be, and he felt a slick pressure worm around his ankle. Oh, God, this was a horrible way to die. Instead of being slammed into a nearby wall, though, or impaled, he was simply lifted into the air. He hung upside down, a few feet above the concrete, and he struggled to breathe. His quinque was torn out of his hands by another kagune, and the footsteps slowed. He fleetingly wondered if his soulmate will come to his rescue, in a sick parody of Akira's prediction. His counter was probably in the seconds by now. His heart was racing, and he wasn't sure whether it was from exhaustion, fear, or hope.

Hide felt his center of gravity shift as he was righted slowly, held up by a single kagune wrapped around his throat. He didn't know if he could call for backup- his radio had gone silent. It might have been damaged in the fight. He roved his eyes over his assailant. The first thing that he saw was the hair. A shocking white, bright in the darkness of the alley. The mask, a gruesome snarl, bared teeth, one eye visible. One kakugan eye. Eyepatch? But he hadn't been spotted in forever! A shock ran through him as he met that red pupil. The eye widened, and Hide swore he heard a gasp from behind the leather of the mask. He was dropped at once, and he collapsed to the ground. He was shaking, and it took him a second to get back to his feet. The ghoul, even at full height, was a little shorter than him. That feeling, when their eyes had met- it was a textbook soulmate signal. He couldn't spare a glance to his counter, though, because he recognized the feeling of being snuck up on. His quinque. Where was his quinque?

The ghoul in front of him reached out and snapped a hand around his wrist. He was surrounded, no weapon, no communication. But then, he was spun around, and suddenly he was behind a leather-clad arm and one kagune. Eyepatch, an SS-rank ghoul, was defending him? The other ghoul, smaller than both of them and in no way matched to this challenge, seemed to realize their mistake. They stuttered back a few steps. Their kagune were weakening, flickering out. Hunger, Hide knew, was the only thing keeping them here. Why hadn't Eyepatch finished them off? It was an easy kill- beyond easy, child's play.

"This is my territory." Eyepatch hissed, and though fear rippled through Hide, there was something familiar and oddly comforting about his voice.

The other ghoul glanced over its shoulder, but held their ground. "This is… very clearly… not your… I mean, where else are we supposed to hunt?"

"Not my problem. The entire 20th Ward is mine, get it? Leave, or face the consequences." Hide then had a stunning realization. Rabbit led nothing. Eyepatch was the clear top ghoul, and he appeared to want the entire ward under his thumb.

And he had decided to spare Hide. After meeting his eyes. He risked it. Before either ghoul made another move, he checked his wrist. His timer had zeroed. Was this ghoul… his soulmate?

With a whimper, the ghoul finally escaped, leaving Hide alone with Eyepatch. As soon as the other ghoul slipped away, Rabbit came into view. Just his luck. Hide felt fear seize his heart like a vice. If Rabbit could take out a seasoned Investigator like Mado, how was he to stand a chance? Perhaps Eyepatch was just saving him for the other ghoul. He shuddered.

"The Doves retreated. We were able to wear them down, and tell off the others. I think they're heading out to 13. No casualties, unless you count the handful killed by the Doves before we got here." Rabbit said, and then, her kagune was flaring. Like a wing, it extended behind her, and Hide knew that if she wanted him dead, he would be dead. He could feel her stare, even when it was hidden by the blank eyes of her mask.

"No." Eyepatch commanded, and waved Rabbit away. "I'll meet up with you later."

The heavy feeling in Hide's chest lessened a bit. He was safe, then? He felt safe. Was that wrong? He shouldn't feel like that, not when he could reach out and touch an extremely dangerous ghoul. Even if he was Hide's soulmate.

Rabbit seemed reluctant to leave, but eventually nodded and backed into the darkness. He could still see the bright red of her kagune burning in the distance. Alone again. What now? Eyepatch turned slowly, and their eyes met again. There was that same zap, that shock of realization, and Hide knew. He wondered if the ghoul could feel it too? Judging by his quickly relaxing posture, the softening and dissipation of his kagune, he must. Eyepatch took a hesitant step towards him, and Hide felt like closing the distance between them. Despite the situation, the magnetism pulling at his very being was almost overwhelming. Instead, he settled for introducing himself, at least.

"Hi." he breathed, and Eyepatch subtly shook his head. Hide pretended not to notice. "I'm-"

A single finger shushed him, only an inch or two from his lips. Eyepatch's visible eyebrow was drawn, and he seemed almost apologetic. It only took him a stride or two to make it out if the alleyway. Hide had never felt so lonely. For a second, he could've sworn he was drowning. This was what being rejected by a soulmate feels like? He almost collapsed, but was able to keep himself upright with the support of the wall. Taking a shuddering breath, he fiddled with his comm until he could hear a weak signal start to hum. He'd worn out enough headphones to know that devices could work if held a certain way. He pushed the button, and heard the shaky feedback of a receiving comm. Thank God. He also saw the glint of his briefcase, and managed to blindly locate his quinque.

"Nagachika Hideyoshi reporting in." He said into the mic as he wandered back out to where they were fighting over an hour ago. "Please send retrieval. I'm way too tired to walk back to headquarters. Over."