Stitched Together

Chapter 2: Bittersweet

You have got to be kidding me. My eye twitches in annoyance as Suzuya snores loudly, sprawled out across the bed. I attempt to move but half his body is on me. "Suzuya..." I whisper irritably, finally fed up with waiting for him to wake up. "Suzuya," I repeat a bit louder, but he merely wiggles slightly. I swear this little brat is such a pest. "God get up," I grumble. He's not cute anymore, that's for sure. I perk up a bit at the sound of knocking at the door. Suzuya sits up quickly and smiles.

"Come in~" he sings. My mouth just drops at how easily he got up.

"Good morning I just wanted to- oh," Shinohara walks in and stops at the sight of Suzuya leaning on me in bed. I look fairly disheveled with the large shirt off one shoulder and my hair slightly tangled. My face goes bright red at what this looks like. "I didn't mean to intrude-" he starts, but I shake my head violently.

"Oh nonononononono, this is not, no," I stutter and shove Suzuya off of me, but he wraps his arms around my shoulders and smiles big.

"Am I doing a good job Mr. Shinohara? You said to protect her so she stayed safe with me all night," he giggles. Shinohara sighs in relief and smiles slightly.

"You've done excellent so far Juuzou, thank you," he says nervously, flicking an apologetic glance to me.

"Yay, Juuzou's good," he laughs before hopping out of bed and into his slippers. "Are we going to breakfast today Shino?" He asks cutely. I just sit in bed and tilt my head slightly.

"S-sure if you want to today," Shinohara answers. It's obvious those two are around each other a lot, but it seems Suzuya's outgoing personality is still a lot to handle. I almost feel bad for the guy, though the two kind of seem like father and son. "I often take Suzuya out for breakfast, so we can stop by your house on the way so we can get your things. I'll keep them in my car while we eat okay," he suggests and I nod. Shit, I hate eating in groups, especially with investigators. The smallest thing could set them off. Good thing I've trained for this. Because of the path I've chosen, I've put a lot more effort into seeming to be human. I can hold human food a lot longer than most ghouls, and I've done an extraordinary amount of practice to get to that point. Considering I'm going to be with this weirdo for god knows how long it looks like I'll have to sneak away carefully some times so I don't make myself entirely I'll. I grab my clothes from yesterday and walk into the bathroom while the boys talk. After changing and brushing through my hair I exit and find them waiting. "Alright, let's go then," Shinohara smiles as Suzuya runs out of the house. I shut the door behind me and follow them to his car. Suzuya jumps into the passenger side but before I enter Shinohara stops me. "He hasn't been terrible has he? He's a bit of an odd kid but he usually means well..." He trails off. I get the feeling he apologizes for Suzuya a lot... Like a whole lot.

"He's fine Mr. Shinohara, a bit loud, but all he made me do was sleep in his room. While I would've preferred to just crash in the couch, he was only trying to keep track of me," I smile reassuringly. Of course lying is a must, saying that I'd rather get caught by the CCG than spend another day with this kid isn't exactly an option. With that, I get in the car and buckle up. I look at Suzuya who is kicking his feet excitedly and frown. This boy has got to be an amazing fighter, because I'm not finding any redeeming traits, well other than his creepy perceptiveness.

"Reina?" Shinohara says, snapping me back into reality.

"Oh I'm sorry, what was that," I answer.

"Your home, where is it?" He asks.

"Ah yes, you go down this way and take a right," I begin instructing him and soon enough we pull up to my apartment complex. "Thank you, I'll be right out," I announce as I open the door, but Suzuya chimes in.