Jane |UTA| [ Re-Write ]

haunting realisation ✍︎

"I thought I told you to go home" Arima groaned as Jane stood idly at his doorstep. He had gotten back from work an hour ago and just opened the front entrance to see her.

"You did, but I also told my mum I was staying round a friend's for a few days" Jane smiled.

"You do realise how immature this is" Arima almost growled, his voice dark and dangerous as he expressed his frustration with the teen.

Once the words were in the air, Jane automatically stepped back in fear. She felt like a child being scolded by her parents in his presence.

"I'm sorry, I'll just go find somewhere else" Jane sheepishly announced.

In Arima's mind, his thoughts instantly went to that ghoul friend of her's. So with a quick call toward the westerner, the investigator stepped aside and allowed the student to enter his home once again.

While her mum was shopping she managed to pack a few of her clothes before arriving back at Arima's.

"I came prepared this time" she smiled shyly up at the tall man.

"What makes you think this is appropriate?" Arima sighed deeply, still adorning his shirt and trousers from work.

"Well, you're my gay robot aren't you?" she teased to hear the investigator groan loudly as she walked into the bathroom.

"I'm not homosexual!" The blue-haired man shouted after her thick, muscled form, knowing his words did nothing but humour the teen.

He had to say, despite him only being two years older, the maturity between them varied significantly. There were times when Jane became more than whoever she was but in this moment, it seemed like she was simply a kid under his watch. Arima somewhat pitied the girl, having to put a strong façade in face of everything, doing the same only made the investigator understand her pain deeper.

When Jane returned from the bathroom in sweat pants and a sweater, Arima knew she wasn't there to cause trouble in the end.

"You know, Japanese tv isn't as good as I thought it would be" Jane sighed as she jumped over the back of the sofa, barely looking at the investigator as she spoke.

"I couldn't agree more" he mumbled.

"Watching paint dry seems more entertaining",

"If you've got nothing better to do why don't you just go on your phone or something",

"Because I'm tired of my phone-" Jane moaned, whipping her head back to look to Arima, "- do you need help with anything?".

The investigator legitimately thought for a moment.

"I've got a pile of ghoul files, can you split them into their ratings?" He questioned.

"Ratings?",

"Yes-" Arima confirmed, "- they help us indicate the threat level of each ghoul we've encountered".

"Sounds smart enough. I guess I should know these things if I want to be in the CCG" Jane chuckled.

"You want to a be an investigator?" Arima wondered aloud.

"No, I want to work in the laboratories. But now... I think I should consider that path, it runs in the blood anyway",

"Why do it though if it's not what you want?", Jane shrugged.

"I owe it to dad. I think he wanted me to be an investigator all along".

Her words died in the air before Arima gestured to the towering stacks of files. He managed to write down the symbols of different classes and left the teen to it. For about an hour they both silently sat in his office -Jane on the floor and Arima at the desk- as they swam through the waters of heavy information. Somehow, this managed to calm Jane and leave her in a tranquil atmosphere.

"I see why you do this, it's satisfying" she smiled to watch him shake his head at her, however, she still caught a slight curl of his lips.

"Better than doing nothing at all",

"What about being with friends?" Jane asked to hear silence as her answer.

"I don't have friends",

"Family?",

"Are you done with those files?" Arima questioned, swiftly changing the subject.

"Nearly, how many did you really need?" Jane chuckled before pulling one open.

It was an SSS rated ghoul with his file packed with numerous killings. Jane couldn't read a lot of Japanese but singular words stuck.

"No face?" Jane murmured while reading, her finger unconsciously trailing along the name.
"What does SSS rating mean?".

"Do not engage, extremely dangerous" he answered tonelessly, his eyes barely rising from his desk.

"Damn, this guy sure has people running scared. Have you ever seen him?",

"Once" Arima simply answered.

"What was he like?",

A tense pause filled the room, clutching at Jane's chest as she waited on the edge of knowing.

"A monster. He had no conscience, no form of morals. While fighting, I remember he wore a white mask with stitches all over it, no eyes".

Jane's heart stopped, her chest felt tight and mouth dry at the description.

That was Uta's mask.

Then, her eyes fluttered to killed investigators in No Face's file. And right there, in clear enough letters a blind man could read: Mark Fraser.