He tensed, Eto could see it clear as day. Ayato was in a hard position, but it was a choice for him to make either way. Could she force him to return? Absolutely. Yet, that took all the fun out of things. What people did with the choices they were given is what defined them, ghoul or human or anything in between.
Whether Ayato came crawling back to Aogiri or no was fine with her, his residency in Hive City was only a plus. He was an asset in many ways, regardless if he returned to his old position or not. So, even if he wanted nothing to do with her, she would do well to keep him close.
She laughed, openly, and her hand reached out towards him. Rather than cause harm, her bandaged hand simply smacked the middle of his back in a casual, friendly gesture.
“You’re quite welcome!”
Still laughing, mostly at Ayato now, Eto returned back to her perch, where she had stood up and began to sway.
“Even if you say you’re through, I’ll leave an open door just for you. Think of it as a favor for all the wonderful work you did for Aogiri.”
“Aaha, I must warn you though, this city has far more things to worry about than Doves and other ghouls.”
There were plenty of surprises to be had, but he ought to know better than think that the possibility of her coming to reap his gratitude in forms of a favor wasn’t one of them.
He wishes that he were home. It's strange to miss Tokyo, but he does—at least he understood how things worked there. Hive City is a sprawling mystery, and it’s not something that he’s willing to sink his teeth entirely into. He has other things to worry about than trying to figure out why he and so many other people are here...
But Eto is exceedingly good at making him fucking curious about some of the shit in Hive City. It’s infuriating how well she could draw people in.
Ayato gives her a dry look when she pats his back and laughs at him, and then takes a small step away from her just to put... some distance between them. She could be beside him again faster than the blink of an eye (hell, they could be across the street from each other and she could still kill him without moving from her perch), but it’s more comfortable this way.
“By ‘wonderful work,’ you mean all the people I killed for you, right?” Not that he wouldn’t have been murdering people, anyway... Ayato brushes some of his hair behind his ear and frowns. He needs to stop asking questions.
“But I’ll take your word for it. You know I can take care of myself. Do you have any other wisdom you’d like to share, or can I go ahead and fuck off?”
No matter where he ends up going, he’s aware she’ll likely be keeping tabs on him. He doesn’t really care.