She rode the subway to Chiyoda, her nose buried in her book and her long white legs crossed over on one another as she sat there, unmoving and silent. She departed on the Chiyoda station eight minutes later, and as soon as she stepped onto the lit-up streets of the First Ward, still bustling with the activity of men and women now going home from work, and grew to regret it immediately.

Even Etsuko, with all of her power and strength, knew that this was an exceptionally stupid idea. She stood there at the foot of the steps, clutching the book in her hand, and stared off into the night, spying a tall building twinkling with office lights in the distance; it was the CCG headquarters, and the sight of it made her shiver violently in disdain.

It was only then when she realized that her primary motive for coming to the First Ward had suddenly materialized, and she couldn't bring herself to remember the reason why she had carried out this incredibly stupid decision. She gave out a little huff, her breath materializing as white mist in the chilled air, and then whirled back around, willing to wait another fifteen minutes for the subway to make its trip back around to Chiyoda. Halfway up the stairs though, she was stopped by a curiously familiar voice.

"Oi, Etsuko-chan!" it called from the distance.

Etsuko froze in place, her head dipped downward to stare in amazement at her feet. She slowly crept her head to the side, seeing the exact person she had expected to see.

Ichijou was there somehow, waving at her on the dimmed sidewalk with a stern-looking man beside him; they each carried steel briefcases in their hands. Another shiver was rippled down her spine with the sight of the damned luggage, and saw the man mutter something to Ichijou; however, he shrugged it off rather easily and began walking towards her, the other Dove tailing closely behind him. She noted the man's rather distant aura, and bore in mind the caution that should be initiated in his presence.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Ichijou chimed, beaming up at her.

She fluttered her eyes.

"A-ah," Etsuko sputtered, still shocked from the sudden meeting. "I was just...walking around I suppose."

Ichijou gave a light chuckle.

"Walking around looking this cute? If it were me to say, I'd guess you were actually looking for me," Ichijou jeered, confidence brooding in his mocking tone.

Etsuko fluttered her eyelids again quickly, a light blush staining her cheeks. Her lips sputtered, but were unable find the words to retaliate.

"Shut up," she murmured, knowing no other way to respond.

Ichijou just gave her another round of smiles.

"You really are adorable," he laughed lightly. He offered his hand to her, which she took with her own hesitant, shaky one, and was guided back down from the platform to join the two men below. Ichijou turned to his partner, that ridiculous smile still pinned to his face. "Watanabe-kun, this is my girlfriend, Etsuko. Etsuko-chan, this is my subordinate, Rank Two Investigator Watanabe Riku."

The man named Riku turned and blinked at her before bowing deeply, his face still practically solid granite.

"It is a pleasure to meet someone from Okajima-san's personal life," he murmured. "I am Riku."

Etsuko narrowed her golden eyes, taking the man's appearance into consideration.

He was noticeably shorter than Ichijou, but not significantly - possibly 175 centimeters, maybe a little more. He was, however, quite smaller than him in terms of his build, with a shortage of muscle and bulk, and wore a dark trench coat over his business-like navy suit; he bore thin, rectangular wire-rimmed glasses upon his rather angular nose, and seemed to be clenching his squared jawline out of some sort of frustration - or maybe it was discomfort; she wasn't quite sure.

Etsuko raised a made-up eyebrow.

"The pleasure is all mine," she responded politely, bowing a little to the man. "I'm Etsuko. Please take care of me."

She stared back up at the man with hooded amber eyes, a small crescent of a mischievous smile pinned to her icy face.

Ichijou, with all of his pride and ego, faced Riku with his own ridiculous smile and snaked an arm around Etsuko's shoulders, clearly pleased with himself.

"You should get a girlfriend yourself, Watanabe-kun," he stated, his voice bright. "A man like yourself should be able to catch at least some girl's eye."

Riku merely pushed up his glasses with his thumb, his expression phlegmatic.

"I have honestly never thought about it," he said blandly. "But you seem happy with yours, Okajima-san. It must be nice."

Ichijou's thumb began stroking the side of her arm in gentle circles; it was an oddly soothing sensation that would have never crossed her mind on any other occasion. She glanced up at the man, blinking her round eyes.

"We'll go out tonight," Ichijou announced. "All three of us - is that okay with you, Etsuko-chan?"

The woman sputtered, still a little taken with the unexpected meeting.

"A-ah," she stammered, twisting a loose lock of her white hair around her finger. "That's fine with me - I'm free. What do you have in mind?"

Ichijou only smiled at her, a bit taciturn.

"You'll see," he sang. "It's Friday night - we always do the same thing Friday nights after work. Don't we, Watanabe-kun?"

Riku just shoved his free hand into the deep pocket of his coat, his spectacles glinting in the streetlights.

"Ah," he grunted simply.

Etsuko blinked up at the taller man, a bit hesitant.

"When do you get off work?" she asked finally.

Ichijou just chuckled.

"In about an hour," he said lightly. "We have to turn in a report for today, so it's going to take a little longer. We can meet you up at a café nearby if you want. Have you had your dose of caffeine today, my little coffee addict?"

Her face was suddenly excruciatingly hot. She could feel it in the apples of her cheeks - it was scorching scarlet, and pulsing as the blood pumped wildly under her shivering skin. She swallowed some noise down her throat, and ended up whimpering as a result; she clutched her book tightly to her chest, crossing both arms over it as she further buried her embarrassment in the shadows of her shoulders. She chewed nervously on the inside of her lip.

"I-I've had a cup, yeah," she muttered timidly. "Right before I left the apartment..."

Ichijou cocked his head to the side, pondering this a moment, before releasing his grip on Etsuko's shoulder and shoved it deep into the pockets of his trousers. He pulled out a simple black leather wallet, and gave her a few bills.

"In that case, you can shop around and stop by a café if you want. Just meet us in front of headquarters by nine-thirty, okay?" He flashed her a winning smile.

Etsuko felt her face flush an even deeper shade of crimson, and continued chewing on the inside of her bottom lip and tasting the blood upon her tongue. She shook her head violently.

"I couldn't possibly take your money, Ichijou-kun," she insisted, stepping away from him. "I'll be fine, really. I can use my own money."

"Don't be silly, it'll be my treat for tonight," Ichijou laughed, slipping the bills into the pages of her book. "Don't forget - nine-thirty, okay?" He motioned Riku towards the CCG tower, and started their way towards it. He raised a hand to her before he fully turned around, and waved her a little farewell. "I'll see you in an hour then, Etsuko-chan!" he called out to her.

"O-oi!" she sputtered after him. "Ichijou-kun!"

He was already out of earshot, walking with a newfound buoyancy in his gait, Riku following beside him with narrowed eyes and a thin line of a mouth. Etsuko knitted her brows together, defeated, and clenched her hand into a tight fist, her crimson nails scraping against the paperback cover of her book.

"Damn," she spat under her breath. She cracked open the pages and shook out the bills, discovering the most expensive bookmark she had ever seen. "Forty thousand yen!" she screeched. Her head snapped back up again, enraged and slightly offended, but found that the two Doves had disappeared into the darkness of the dimming night, into the crowd of people that created a haze of suits and blazers on slacks and tight pencil skirts. Her jaw was left slack, and a deep annoyance - if not, anger - boiled within her chest. She curled the fist with the money up tightly, crumpling the crisp bills in her hand. Even with his position as First-Class Investigator, forty thousand yen was still an absurd amount of money - especially since they would only be seeing each other in another hour. She seethed and clicked her tongue in irritation, shoving the bills back into her book and stuffed the cover into her purse, marching down the street to a nearby café to order her own one hundred-fifty yen cup of coffee.

With an hour to kill, she ordered her black coffee and waited rather skittishly to the side, chewing on the inside of her lip and playing with the loose strands of her white bun, her eyes hooded and her brows furrowed. Her glossy lips were turned down into a slight frown, which warded off all of her potential suitors of the night - which was, in fact, quite the relief for her. She took her coffee as it was announced from the counter and exited the café, wrapping her crimson wrap sweater a bit tighter around her slim figure as she walked out into the chilled night air, looking both ways on the sidewalk before turning to the right, walking wherever her ankle boots took her.

She was glad she had worn at least something to cover up her legs; the black knee-length stockings would always be better than bare skin, anyways. Her breath turned into transparent wisps of mist, the tip of her nose as well as her cheeks nipped by the cold until they grew a healthy peach color. She sipped her coffee as she strolled down the street, clutching the sides of the steaming cup in desperation for warmth in her poorly circulated fingers. She wrapped an arm over herself as she looked around, craning her neck back to gaze up at the towering skyscrapers and brightly lit-up buildings; of course, she saw much of this in Shibuya, but it was an experience being in a ward she had never been in before - for good reason, that is.

She had this uneasy feeling churning in the pit of her stomach since she had gotten off the subway system, and her senses were on high alert - much more than when she was in Nakano, the Fourteenth Ward, only last night. It was different in Chiyoda; it might have been the fact that she felt so helpless among the people there, ridiculously enough, and with the CCG headquarters only a few minutes down the road. It was like walking into a sleeping hornet's nest disgusted as a bee; they were similar, yes, but someone was bound to see the difference sooner or later. And Etsuko hoped that the "later" option would suffice for now.

Out of nerves, she kept on checking the clock every five minutes, with the shaky anxiety reaching her fingers and the caffeine she had just finished not doing anything to help the situation whatsoever. She merely gave a scoff whenever she checked her phone, shoving it back into her purse and storming down the street, forcing herself to go into the little shops scattered across the area. It was only when she passed by a small convenient store when she stopped. It was a tiny thing with a single door leading into what looked to be a shack that reeked of seasoned rice and processed foods. The smell was absolutely revolting to her, scrunching up her nose in distaste, but with a few glances to the sides, she entered the little shop with long strides, hearing the bell overhead chime delicately as she walked in.

The place was absolutely tiny. With a total of two aisles and two cooler stalls in the back, as well as a little station for onigiri and other foodstuffs, it must have been no bigger than her apartment. She browsed around the human food, blinking as she picked up a few bags of chips and a couple bundles of rice cakes, examining them with a crinkled nose but only to put them back down again. She blinked as she skimmed by the onigiri, flopping one into her hand and raising it up in front of her face.

This one was stuffed with salted grilled salmon, wrapped entirely in a nori seaweed sheet. She cocked her head to the side, pondering a little about it, and then gave a little scoff. She plucked up another one and headed to the counter, where a tiny old man had been observing her with kind, wrinkled eyes. She paid for both of the onigiri and thanked the man amiably before making her way out into the frigid night again, the little plastic bag with her purchases swinging lightly from her wrist.

She wandered around the area until ten till, and then began making her way towards headquarters. She felt itchy, but not the kind of itchy that crawled under the skin; it was more a restless itch that added a bit of an edginess to her gait, and as a result, made her body tingle with agitation. The predicted ten minute walk to the CCG fell short of five, and she ended up in front of the tower sooner than she had expected - much to her dismay. She clenched her teeth and paced around the front of the tower, at quite a good distance from the actual entrance, and avoided any eye contact by averting her goldenrod gaze to the cold concrete ground below. She played with the golden bangles jingling on her wrist, rubbing the smooth surfaces with her finger and mixing them around on her wrist with frightful uneasiness; she couldn't believe she was doing this. Of all the places, she went here and sought consolation from a Dove, of all people.

She scoffed at her pathetic self and began muttering under her breath, commenting on how stupid she was and that being there was a terrible idea and that she should just go home and ditch the Doves before they even have the chance to -

"Oi, Etsuko-chan!" the voice called once more. Etsuko stopped in her tracks, her fingers freezing from fumbling with the golden bangles, and took a deep breath before turning around to face him.

"Hey Ichijou-kun," she giggled, giving him a convincing close-eyed smile.

The man beamed, clearly pleased to see her.

"You really do look cute tonight," he said, pulling the cigarette out from his lips as he made his way over to her. Riku was at his side, murderously quiet. "I like your hair especially."

Etsuko flushed as she gazed up at the man with round eyes.

"Th-thank you," she stammered.

Ichijou approached her with light steps and slung his arm over her shoulders again, nodding to Riku as he made his way down the street.

"What did you buy?" he asked her gently, gesturing to the white plastic bag. "Is that all you bought in the last hour?"

Her cheeks burned even more as she began chewing her lip.

"W-well..." she started, sputtering. "I kind of inferred that you had a long day at work today, so I thought I could buy you a little snack before you went wherever we're going right now."

Ichijou let out an amused, hearty laugh, making the woman flush even deeper, puffing out her cheeks.

"Is there something funny?" she mumbled, her cheeks unbearably hot.

As Ichijou calmed down from his clamor, he rubbed gentle circles on her shoulder, which sent a few shivering waves down her body; she held her breath.

"You're too adorable, Etsuko-chan," Ichijou mused, breathing out a cloud of smoke before giving her a winning, toothy smile. "Thank you."

Etsuko blinked her eyes in surprise and stared up at him a moment before fumbling with the bag, pulling the two items out with shaky fingers.

"I didn't know what you liked," she murmured softly, holding the food in her hand. She stuck it out in front of him, twisting her lip to the side and flickering her eyes away. "So I hope this is okay."

With a beaming smile on his face, Ichijou took a bundle and gave her a kiss on the head, her face finally turning a beet red in its entirety and making her heart fire rapidly inside her chest. She choked on her breath and sputtered some more, timidly reaching out her trembling hand to offer the last wrap to Riku.

"A-and I got one for you too, Watanabe-san," she stammered.

Riku stared at her with a cold expression, flickered his steel gray eyes to an enthusiastic Ichijou, and accepted the offer with a stiff swipe of his hand.

"Thank you," he said monotonously. "I will eat it well."

Etsuko pressed her lips into a thin line, but shrugged off the vague thank you and continued her way with Ichijou, who dragged her further down the street.

Ichijou immediately tore off the wrapping of his onigiri, thanked her for the food, and consumed it within three bites, which pleased her on a certain level. She smiled up at him with a sincerity that radiated warmth and kindness, which was nonexistent ever since that certain incident. However, she brushed off the memory before it had the chance to haunt her; she came for consolation tonight, and all she had to do was forget it until morning.

They arrived at a club in an unnamed alley, the massive letters "VICE" lighting up the street in its glowing green aura. The entrance was black in itself, with dark shutters and a dark patio slithering inside to a swarthy overhang, propped up by two thick black wooden posts. From inside, she could hear the hypnotizing bass pulsing in the background, mingling with the voices that chattered and laughed in the building.

"This is typical Friday night?" Etsuko asked him, raising a surprised eyebrow. "Clubbing?"

"Not necessarily clubbing," Ichijou said, slipping his arm down to curl around her slim waist. "I just like how the drinking system works here - it's exclusive to only this club."

Etsuko dragged her eyes around the place, which seemed entertaining enough, and gave a mere shrug.

"How long have you been coming here?" she asked him as they entered the place. It was filled with people, as expected, dressed in body-tight dresses of a multitude of bright colors and ripped jeans and sweaty shirts; it was especially dark in there, save for the multi-colored lights that blinked in rhythm to the bass that reigned on like a constant heartbeat.

"Since I turned twenty-one," Ichijou laughed. "It's been my favorite place to drink ever since."

The trio pushed past the mob of people, a few of the men giving her some nasty intrigued looks. Ichijou saw this, and only pulled her body tighter against his as he let out a menacing snarl, glaring at the others to back off; Etsuko, however, merely brushed off the matter - she was, after all, used to this kind of attention.

If it weren't for her being with Ichijou in the First Ward, this would have been the perfect hunting spot.

They reached the bar, where the table was lined with soft neon green lights that reminded her of radioactive waste; the edge of the table itself was glowing with the light, as well as the wall in the back that held a variety of alcoholic bottles. The entire place was illuminated by this shade, and gave a rather toxic feel to it.

How fitting.

Ichijou took a seat at the bar, pulling Etsuko to sit next to him. Obediently, she sat on the emerald-green cushion and crossed her long white legs, setting her purse down in front of her so she could pull out her mirror compact; Riku sat on the other side of his partner quietly, unfazed by the noise booming around him.

"Here," Ichijou said, giving her a laminated sheet, which must have been a menu. She took it from him with two fingers, raising a made-up brow in puzzlement. "I'll explain how it works here. This place's theme is entirely based off of the Seven Deadly Sins, and that doesn't exclude the drinks. You choose the sin that represents you the most or something and the bartender will see to everything else."

Etsuko blinked her eyes and glanced down at the menu, which only held seven items with detailed descriptions for each. She cracked a little laugh.

"That's pretty deep for a bar, don't you think?" she mused darkly.

Ichijou only responded with another laugh.

"Quite," he chuckled. "But that's why I like it - not to mention the drinks are phenomenal too."

Among the odors of sweat and alcohol and at least fifteen different perfumes, a distinct scent came blowing into her realization. She fought the instinctive urge to allow her kakugan to swirl into her eyes, but still widened them as a result of genuine shock.

What was another ghoul doing in the First Ward?

"Good evening! How may I assist your Sins today?" a bartender asked the three as he approached them. He had a kind smile on his face, with ruffled black hair that was glossy enough to reflect all the rainbow of lights flashing out through the club. He wore a dark emerald pigmented waistcoat over a black button-up shirt, completed with a black belt and slacks.

Etsuko flickered flashing eyes to the man. Him. It was that one.

"I'm Pride," Ichijou piped up, leaning against the slate counter on his elbows.

"Envy," Riku grunted.

The bartender turned to Etsuko, whose gaze remained darkened with a mist of jest.

"I don't drink," she hissed. "So a water is fine."

The bartender only chuckled, bowing to her slightly with a wicked gleam in his maple eyes.

"Certainly, miss," he mused. He began mixing a few drinks behind the counter, seeming to be chuckling to himself as he did so. Etsuko eyed him dangerously, her lip tugged back into a small snarl.

"You don't drink, Etsuko-chan?" Ichijou asked her from the side. She blinked her eyes a few times to compose herself, and then turned to him with a ghost of a smile.

"Unfortunately not," she said sheepishly. "I have a weak liver, you see. So the doctor advised me not to drink."

Ichijou placed an arm against the back of her chair, his hand resting on her shoulder again. He had this sorry look on his face, which made her feel a little bad about herself.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "If I'd known I wouldn't have taken you here."

Etsuko chuckled a bit and gave him a reassuring pat on the leg.

"I'm fine," she laughed. "Please don't let me rain down on your evening. You enjoy yourself."

A spark lit across his gaze, followed by a wicked smirk. He leaned closer to her, making her heart thump wildly inside her chest and her eyes widen with panic.

"In that case, take care of me, okay?" he murmured in her ear.

Etsuko gulped, her breath ragged as she did the only thing she could do in that moment: nod.

"I have your starter shots," the bartender piped up again, setting down three shots in front of either of the men. "I'll get started on the next round."

"Thank you," Ichijou called after the man. He took an exceptionally royal purple liquid-filled glass and raised it up towards Riku, who held up his own glistening emerald liquor. They cheered to each other and downed the shots in one gulp, neither of the men wincing as they placed their glasses back down on the counter and hurrying to the next without any hesitation.

Etsuko sipped her iced water as she observed the place, with all of its hypnotic elements and reverie. Meanwhile, the men sitting next to her downed more and more alcohol, the ghoul bartender supplying them with what seemed to be an endless supply of hard liquor and mixed drinks. It got to the point where she got a little worried, knowing her expertise in getting humans drunk, and asked the bartender whether they should stop or not.

"Trust me honey, they can take a lot more if they wanted to," he chuckled. "They're obviously regulars here, so they know their limits."

Etsuko bit her lip and held back a retort, glancing over at a man who laughed much too excessively for his own good and the other seeming to fall further down into the depths of isolationism. She turned back to the ghoul, who seemed aware of her own presence as well through his shimmering eyes.

"So what's a creature like you doing in a place like this, at this hour?" the bartender asked her curiously, cleaning a few glasses with a white towel.

Etsuko clenched her jaw, flickering her amber eyes over to Ichijou. Upon seeing him, she refused to say a single word.

"Ah, I see," the bartender chuckled, setting down the glass and starting on another one. He eyed the arm that was still propped up on the back of her chair. "You're together."

Etsuko swirled her water gently with her straw, gazing deep into the distorted colors reflected off the walls and into her glass.

"It's not what you think," she murmured, taking another sip of the icy water. "We're truly together. I don't have any other intentions."

The bartender chuckled again, clearly amused.

"That's quite a sight," he mused. "A ghoul and a Dove? Together? I'd say that's rather scandalous."

Etsuko growled, flickering threatening eyes up to him.

"Shut up," she hissed. "He doesn't know. And I don't intend on letting him know."

The ghoul placed an interested finger on his lip, leaning against the counter and towards Etsuko. She leaned back from him a bit in response, pulling her lip up dangerously.

"What a pretty little tragedy," he jeered. "I'd like to see how this one unfolds. A truly vicious forbidden love, like a twisted version of Romeo and Juliet. How utterly romantic."

Etsuko snarled, clenching her fist.

"It's none of your business," she spat at him, eyeing him up and down. "What's a ghoul working at a human club in the middle of the First Ward anyways? Are you asking to be killed?"

The bartender smirked, waving her off.

"Don't worry about me honey," he chuckled. "I don't hunt here. Only the craziest ghouls would ever think of that, and so far, no one has been insane enough to do it. I buy my food from Anteiku - you've heard of it, right?"

Etsuko felt her mouth go dry, her tongue a turning into stiff board beyond her tightly clamped lips. She gulped down a massive mouthful of water.

"Yeah," she sighed, stabbing her straw into the mound of ice in her glass. "I'm a regular there."

The ghoul tilted his head to the side like some sort of curious puppy, his eyes glimmering in amusement.

"I don't live here either, of course. I live in Taitou, the Sixth Ward. It's not worth the risk for ghouls here, you know?"

Etsuko felt herself ease a little bit, propping her cheek on the heel of her palm as she drained the last of her water.

"Yeah," Etsuko mumbled. "It's practically suicide."

The bartender set down the glass and began with another.

"No kidding," he scoffed. "So aren't you going to have a drink or something?"

She flashed him a puzzled look, tilting her head to the side. "Ghouls can't drink - "

"This place is a collaboration between a ghoul and a human, you know," the man chuckled, placing the glass down on the counter and slinging the towel over his shoulder. "So naturally, there would be some exclusive ghoul drinks on the menu. Of course, I don't get to serve them that often, so this would be quite the treat."

Etsuko raised her eyebrows in shock.

"A collaboration?" she asked, stunned. "A ghoul and a human? How is that possible?"

The bartender smirked, leaning down on the table again.

"Shin and I are very good friends," he chuckled, shaking a finger at her. A darker glint shot across his eyes, mischievous. "Lovers, actually. He and I have been seeing each other for more than five years, so naturally he was shocked to find out my little secret. I thought I was gonna have to kill him after that, you know? But he said that he didn't care and all that he wanted to do was be with me! Amazing, right?"

Etsuko knitted her brows and stared at the man in disbelief.

"That's incredible," she murmured.

The bartender nodded, his face spread out into a dream-like state.

"Do you know what the theme of this club is, miss?" he asked her smoothly.

Etsuko blinked, now hunched over the counter herself.

"The Seven Deadly Sins," she said. "That's what my boyfriend said earlier."

"Bingo!" he jested, winking at her. "The drinks associated with every Sin here was engineered and carefully crafted to appeal to that certain Sin - at least, for the most part. It's an art form that my lover and I created. To send a message to all that indulgence is Sin, and we should embrace it with all the love in the world!"

The woman stared at him in amazement, pursing her red-stained lips.

"Indulgence is Sin," she repeated softly. "Just like how you and Shin - "

" - are seen as sinful," the bartender finished, clicking his tongue and throwing a finger at her in confirmation. "In not only the world of ghouls and humans, but in the human world alone as well. You're a sharp one, miss."

"Th-thank you," she murmured, training her eyes back down to her water.

She sat there to ponder for a few moments as the man zipped back and forth from behind the bar, taking orders and making drinks for the vast amount of people who visited the counter. It was over after a good chunk of time, which she had spent looking at the men next to her drink one beverage after another after another. It was an amazing sight, really; the amount of alcohol they could both hold was higher than she had ever seen anyone withstand.

"So, how about those drinks?" the bartender asked, appearing back from his rush.

Etsuko let out a little scoff, finishing the remainder of her iced water.

"Sure, why not. Get me something good," she grunted.

The bartender winked at her, a big smile stretched across his face.

"Sure thing, honey."

He turned around to fix something up, reaching into a mini fridge he had not touched all night and pulled out a black bottle, as well as a few others. He began mixing a drink, pouring the liquids into a shaker with a scoop of ice. He shook the container in a graceful-like fashion, intensified by the blinking lights of the club; the music, in turn, began shaking her bones. He poured the drink over a stout glass with finely shaved ice, sliding it over to her with a proud smile on his face.

"My special, on a mist," he mused. "Please, tell me what you think."

Etsuko took the drink and swirled it around a little, taking in the scent of human fluids mixed with a variety of other things. Skeptical, she hesitantly brought the drink to her lips and took a sip; her mind was instantly shattered.

"Holy shit, this is really good," she gasped, tilting the glass so she could look at the contents. It was clear, as if it were vodka or tequila, with no traces of blood at all. Still, she could taste it on her tongue, and the mixture of that with a blend of other liquids sent a fiery sensation to spread down her throat, up her nose, and all throughout her body; if this is what alcohol was supposed to taste like to humans, she could understand why the men were drinking so damn much.

The bartender took a little bow, amused.

"Thank you," he chuckled. "I'm glad you like it."

"What's in here?" she asked, taking another sip. She shivered, genuinely satisfied.

"A mixture of blood plasma and other things," he jeered. He placed a slender finger to his lips, winking at her teasingly. "But the actual recipe is a secret, you know?"

Etsuko laughed, taking another drink.

"You're a sneaky little fucker," she chuckled. "How many more tricks do you have under your sleeve?"

The bartender's eyes lit up, brighter than the neon green lights around them, and twitched his lips up into a mischievous smile.

"Enough to blow your mind, honey," he mused.

~~~✿~~~

Yeah so this one is 5000+ words. Oops.

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