There was a knock that echoed across the desolate living room adjacent to the entrance. In that barely lighted house, someone moved swiftly toward the door. The door slided and the peoples faced each other. For a few seconds they stare at each other in silence. Arata's gaze fell on the lump that laid over Gabi's shoulder.
"Come in" he said in a quiet voice. "Gabi, please lower your head, I had repaired the celling yesterday" he requested Gabi with a faint smile.
The three of them walked into the room as silently as possible, dodging the pillows, crayons and paper lying around. Arata was at front followed by the girl and at last Gabi.
"Where are Touka and Ayato?" she inquired.
"They are asleep in the next room" he replied without looking back.
At a spot that seem cleared Gabi laid down Shinji. He was in a sorry state.
"Who is he? Did you beat him? Oh god how cruel! Wait he has a raging fever. His pulse is getting feebler...He is in a critical condition" Arata panicked.
"If it was our doing we wouldn't have brought him to you. If you have any meat to spare, do it" the girl retorted.
Arata hurried to the refrigerator and pulled out a tiffin. He put it on the floor and opened the lid. There were medium size cubes of frozen meat. Gabi lifted Shinji up and laid his back against the wall. He held his right shoulder as he was drifting down towards the floor.
Before Arata could say anything the girl picked a cube up and shoved it right into Shinji's mouth.
"Eat the damn meat!" she said in a feeble but angry voice, forcing it deeper into his food pipe. She proceeded the same with two more cubes, even though Arata protested that it was dangerous.
Shinji coughed. Some water was given by Gabi. His condition came to normal, but his injuries still remain. While Gabi was giving him water, Arata brought out many ice packs. He laid all of them over Shinji's legs, arms and chest. Every muscle in his body was screaming. Never have they ever suffered such trauma. If he were a normal human, he would have died from that agonizing pain that had engulfed him all around as if held inside a cocoon of electrical shocks.
Seeing that Shinji was now in a safe state, the girl rose up.
"Well I leave him at your care for tonight" she said to Arata, while brushing of the bits of meat that sticked to her palms.
"Wait, you didn't tell me who he is? And where did you find him?" Arata inquired worringly.
The girl sighed and sat again at her spot. She told everything to Arata. Gabi also listened to it attentively. After all was said and done, she said her good bye. Arata accompanied her to the exit. Gabi soon followed, but this time he forgot to lower his head. His thick skull crashed against the feeble celling and a piece fell down.
"Noooooooooooo" Arata's soul screamed inside his body. He looked at those broken pieces in a sight of sorrowful despair. Upon seeing that, a chuckle broke out from the girl's mouth. Both of them departed and Arata had already cleaned the debris left.
Shinji saw a dream in which his grandpa was yelling at him. No matter how much he begged him not to shout, he kept doing it with more vigour. Suddenly he felt down. Shinji grabbed him and asked him what happen. But he spoke nothing. His lips were sealed and his eyes were looking at infinity.
Shinji's eye snapped open. And staring at his face were two pairs of eyes. To his right an alarm clock laid. Perhap it was the one behind the nightmare.
"Are you awake, mister?" that little girl asked.
"Where am I?" Shinji asked lifting himself up and leaning against the wall.
"You were injured and some friends of your had brought you here" the boy told.
From the back door, Arata enter wiping his hands with a towel. When he saw Shinji was awake, he greeted him with a delightful smile.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Arata Kirishima. Touka, Ayato why don't you two play outside."
The two hurried outside. Shinji kept looking at the open door until their noises were no longer heard. Realising that he had spoke nothing he quickly blurted out.
"I'm Shinji Kurosawa. Thanks for taking care. It seems yesterday some thugs beat me down."
"Well well I know all about what happen last night. Aiko told me everything. You surely were at death's door last night. Good thing they brought you here at once" Arata spoke, pouring some coffee into a cup and serving it forward on the table.
Shinji creeped toward the table and sipped the liquid. In the silence that followed, he tried to recollect what happen last night. He remember that he was knocked out by some giant figure.
'KNOCK! KNOCK!'
Gabi entered into the room. Shinji turned his head to see the visitor. When his eyes fell on that figure, all the coffee flew out from his mouth. He stood up and seem agitated.
"This is the person that attack me last night. Why have you come here. Kirishima kun called the police, he has come to kill me" Shinji spoke in delirium.
Arata motioned him to sit down. "Don't worry Gabi was also the one that brought you here. You should thank him." Arata told the rest of the story to him.
After hearing everything he was ashamed of accusing him. He bowed and said his thanks, but Gabi said nothing and just stood there with that same plain face.
"Don't think bad of him. Gabi is unable to speak, but he has already forgiven you. Well it seems Aiko ain't coming, since she sent you, will she?" Arata asked Gabi. And Gabi shakes his head sideways.
A sudden realisation came over Shinji and in a feeble voice he asked "Are you two ghouls?"
On that question, both of them looked at him dumbfounded and at once began to laugh.
As the laughter faded, Gabi stood up and went away out through the exit, this time without adding any damage. Shinji requested some water.
Arata headed towards the kitchen. It was taking him some time, so Shinji also headed there. Inside the kitchen he saw Arata was cooking something.
"Oh sorry I was about to head back. I was preparing meal for the kids." he said handing over the glass of water to his hands.
Shinji peered inside the pan, and saw some potatoes.
"Are those your children? Why are you making them eat this food? It is in edible for us" he said.
"I know, but it's necessary to adopt human values and behaviour. If they are to reach adulthood, they have to live there life more as humans and less as ghouls. If we fail at mimicking the humans, they will get us and the consequences are never good" Arata said in a heavy voice. "You don't seem to have a mask. You should have one. If you get your own food than it is a must" he continued.
"Mask! I don't have it. And why should I need it?" Shinji asked.
"Well you see, if a human saw and remember your face, you can get in real trouble. The CCG might get after you. And once they start to hound you it's the beginning of an endless hell. See, I know a certain someone who can make a mask for you" Arata said.
He took a piece of paper from a notebook lying on the study table. He picked up a pen from a bamboo pen holder and started writing down something. He gave Shinji two pieces of paper. In one of them was the name and adress of the mask maker - Uta, 4th ward. And the other note which he was asked not to open, that note was for Uta alone.
Before he departed Arata warned.
"Other than the mask, don't accept any offer from him."