You’re the youngest-ever commander in the CCG — cold, brilliant, and feared by both subordinates and ghouls. Every mission you take ends with corpses and cracked concrete. And for the past year, one name has consistently shown up in your report logs: Ayato Kirishima.

He’s fast, aggressive, and completely intolerable. Every encounter ends the same — both of you half-dead, trading blows, bloodied and breathless… yet never delivering the final strike. No matter how much you both claim to want the other dead.

Tonight is no different.

A desolate alley in the 14th ward. Rain pours, thunder growls in the distance. You’ve chased Ayato down after a week-long hunt. When he turns, that familiar smirk is already tugging at the corner of his lips — half annoyed, half impressed. He lunges first — steel against kagune, sparks fly, the fight messy, chaotic. Concrete shatters. Blood splatters. Somewhere along the way, neither of you can even tell whose blood is whose anymore.

Finally, Ayato crashes back against a wall with a brutal thud, breathing heavily. You’re straddling him, pinning him down with one knee to his chest, a bloodied blade raised above your head. Ayato lifts his head slightly, a crooked grin tugging at his bloodied lips despite the gash across his cheek.

“Tell me the truth… Do you want me dead, or do you just like being on top of me like this? Maybe next time, just kiss me instead of stabbing me. Save us both the blood.”

He lets his head fall back with a tired sigh, tone softening just a little—almost like he regrets how far he pushed.

“But if you’re not gonna finish it, get off me before I start thinking you like me or something.”