Hell Bound | Tokyo Ghoul [Cancelled]

Chapter One | Mayumi

Mayumi breathed in deeply, her lips parting in a satisfied grin as the city's vivid scents washed over her. Smoke and oil, human and ghoul, the faint scent of rain on the horizon, rushed to her by the wispy wind raking its fingers through the loose strands of her hair. She'd missed this, the exhilaration of being on the hunt, the thrill of the night heating up her blood.
Of course, in the back of her mind, something terribly sensible told her how wrong this was, but she'd learned long ago how to block out that nagging voice and return herself to the here and now of the night.

She crouched low on the rooftop's edge, hands braced against the rough brickwork. She swept her gaze over the ground below, searching for a target; it was a slow night, unfortunately, with the incoming cold forcing the average street-goer indoors. But she was patient - to a point.

A half hour passed before Mayumi's head whipped around, her nose twitching, mouth already salivating. Prey. She picked them out in the dark, a young woman bundled up in thick layers to ward off winter's chill, head ducked down; Mayumi's eyes were keen enough to pick out the pinkish hue of the woman's cheeks and nose, painted on by the cold.
As carefully and quietly as she could, Mayumi angled herself over the edge of the roof, her kagune ripping free from her skin to wrap around the railing of the fire escape; she swung down to ground level, dropping lightly onto her feet and straightening easily, tucking her kagune away again - all the while reminding herself to keep to the shadows.

The woman, still unaware of Mayumi's presence, carried on down the sidewalk, passing from one pool of light to the next. She seemed to hurry her footsteps whenever she passed into the darkness that bordered the refuge of the street lights, and Mayumi couldn't blame her.

Walking alone at night in Tokyo was dangerous business.

Mayumi worked her way to the mouth of the alley she'd dropped into, her back pressed flush against the building beside her, waiting for the opportune moment to reach out and snatch the women for herself...
"... you do know it's impolite to poach, right?"
Mayumi stiffened, her muscles going taut as she spun on her heel, resisting the immense urge to allow her kagune to make a return appearance. Reckless as she usually was with her meals, she knew enough not to scare off her prey before she'd even taken a bite from them.

She smelled ghoul - but something was off. Mayumi took a step forward, fists held up threateningly before her, daring the shadowed figure to make a move.

"Poach?" she hissed, her voice low. "This territory's been unclaimed forever, ever since Copperhead got taken out by Doves."

From the corner of her eye, she watched as the woman quickened her pace again - the perfect moment, and she was missing it because of this ass of a ghoul.

Her brow furrowed; why hadn't she smelled them before now, though?

Shadows draped down the figure's front, muddling their features into a vague, unidentifiable silhouette. Mayumi sniffed again, her eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. Something was off with this ghoul, but for the life of her she couldn't place the defect.

"Unclaimed until last month," the figure drawled. "When it became mine." 

They didn't move from their position at the mouth of the alley, only shifting to brace their shoulder against the adjoining brick wall of the building Mayumi had recently scaled. Mayumi's lips curled into a biting scowl, her hackles raising at the brazen disregard this ghoul had for her; they didn't see her as a threat, at all.

"Therefore, poaching would indeed be what you're doing. Although, I'm willing to forgive the intention just this once, for old times sake, since you're obviously ignorant of the fact."
Old times sake? What in the hell were they talking about?