Sukoshi Chō (Little Butterfly) Yomo x reader x Uta *postponed*

Chapter Three: Blood Wine

        Iba, being a former resident of Japan, knew the to manage a crowd fairly well, however being squished against the man she used to know in an effort to efficiently walk the streets of the Tokyo rush hour from one crowded shopping district to another. Although Iba couldn't keep up with the man's rather large pace, she made up for it by maneuvering and weaving in and out of the throng of people like a cat.

Tall buildings were lining the streets, flashing lights and signs, fashion of varying cultures, school uniforms and business suits as well as the occasional loud speaker from a street-level shop encouraging the populous to spend what little they had on what they did not need. The entire scene was nothing but chaos and headaches.

As the two rounded a bend, the crowd dissipated almost instantaneously. The two walked downwards into an underground entrance to what seemed to be an all too familiar scented place.

Iba sniffed the air, "How many fights tend to happen here?"

"Not many. But Itori doesn't tend to clean up the outside of the bar as much as she does the inside."

Assessing his answer, Iba walked towards the rather large steel door just in time to see it swing open in front of her.

"Oh! There you are!" Itori's shrill voice pierced through the air like a knife. "And you found Yomo too!"

"Yeah, I kind of stumbled on him." Iba replied, chuckling. She walked into the bar and sat down next to Uta, hoping that it would get Yomo slightly jealous.

Yomo, not seeing the gesture, decided to sit on the opposite side of Uta as Itori poured 4 glasses of blood wine into fine crystal.

Iba's glass sat untouched for quite some time as the four began to converse profusely, mostly over how Iba got to owning a shop of her own, how she survived out in "no ghoul's land" and also about how things were in Japan, who was still alive, who didn't make it, and most of all, the half-ghouls that kept popping up everywhere.

"So, what you're saying is that we're myths? Like vampires and dragons and unicorns?" Itori questioned.

"Exactly like vampires, dragons and unicorns. The media would come on every day saying that another 'hoax killing' had occurred or that some raving maniac cannibal was terrorizing the towns and so which ever ghoul was actually killing, would never be caught. Although in some cases, there would be secret societies set up just to abolish us completely. Now mind you, these people would have no affiliation with the government and could go about their daily lives being untouched by ghoul-kind.

"To put it plainly, once one of ours died, their family and community would never know like they would here. The mass media is all too ignorant elsewhere, causing societal shutdowns. Children would be found on the streets, children who would not know how to feed themselves, put into homes. The homes can't feed the children, so either the children die, or they get so hungry they learn and kill everyone in the home." Iba sighed heavily and took a long swig of the blood wine in front of her.

The others took a moment of silence to let the information to sink in, a world or mythology. It was difficult to swallow, almost painful, yet the way Iba was so calm about the whole idea was shocking.

Yomo looked into the glass of blood wine before him before asking, "So is it really any safer out there than it is here?"

Itori and Uta looked at Iba expectantly, "I doubt it, I had to kill a few people, but not for the necessity of eating. It wasn't fun. There are organizations though, in countryside areas where children are taken care of and fed, they are taught how to hunt and stay safe. Once they are old enough, they are sent out into the world to fend for themselves."

"Smart." With this, everyone took a sip of their wine, except for Yomo, whom drank the whole glass. This drew everyone's attention.

"Careful Ren-chan!" Itori exclaimed. She reached her hand out as if to stop him, but he had already swigged down the drink.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Uta looked at Yomo, his eyes showing more concern than anything else.

Iba smirked, she knew that Yomo's foolishness would catch up to him and when it did, she could claim him for herself.