A Thousand Words (Uta x Photography!Reader x Shiro!Kaneki Ken)

Chapter Two

The streets had become crowded with people after [Name ] and Yume both left campus trying not to get lost in the clustered mass. They stopped by a nice jewelry store like her best friend assured they would.

All was in the ordinary- their surroundings had less people now since they had ventured to a more tame area and the day was turning out unexpectedly nice. There was a high chance off rain supposedly, but there were only a few grey clouds- but the vibrant blue sky still managed the shine through.

[Name] could rest easy now that her photography project was done, and she was proud to say it came out better than she anticipated. Mr. Himura made her nervous enough to think that being to over confident could come back to bite her in the ass. Yet, she saw the finished product of the pictures she took, and after editing up some final touches, she felt that her project was done artistically correct down to every splash of color.

"[Name], what made you want to be a photographer?" Yume asked rather randomly, as she paced the aisle of the accessory shop they both were in. [Name] tagged along behind her not really browsing but kept her eye out, in case she did come across something she liked that was in a reasonable price range.

"Huh?" [Name] questioned, since she was caught off guard.

"I-I mean, how did you know that you wanted to follow that... passion... of yours?" Yume stuttered lightly, as she played with her pigtails- a habit she developed for whenever she was nervous. It was unlike her character to feel nervous about anything, (a characteristic that [Name] always envied) so this of course put both girls on edge.

"Well I always like cameras, I guess." [Name] hesitantly answered. She paused before continuing. "A-And I always thought that no matter what the subject is... you can always bring some type of beauty out of it. Nothing is truly ugly, I-I think,"

[Name's] [E/C] eyes looked back at Yume's brown ones, and she instantly turned a shade of red. How cliche did she sound?

"Well not everything," [Name] laughed awkwardly, covering up her embarrassment. "I mean you can't really take a picture of a dumpster and make it pretty- I meant most things and-"

"[Name, I'm so jealous! I only took finance classes because my parents said I needed to think seriously about my future, I wish I was like you and passionate about my work! You should really be more confident," Yume replied. [Name] wasn't use to being praised but couldn't hide the grin on her face for the rest of the day.

It wasn't long before both females were outside again, tired from shopping, and carrying minimal bags.

"Hungry?" Yume asked while they walked on the less crowded sidewalks. The sun was setting by now and decorated the sky with oranges, purples and reds and provided a calming feeling. As the two girls walked on, they were beginning to stumble into a less populated neighborhood. The air was filled with an unnaturally sweet smell that most likely came from a bakery shop that they had happened to pass along the way.

Undoubtedly, that was most likely the reason that Yume felt a slight spurge of hunger randomly. The smell was appetizing. And, [Name] did promise her crepes.

"Slightly. I could eat something, probably." [Name] replied with a solemn expression. She was digging around her purse and couldn't find the familiar shape of her phone. She stopped in her tracks to fully open her bag, only to realize she might've dropped in somewhere along the way or left it inside one of the various shops.

Yume turned around with a twirl, which allowed her dress to dance in the wind for a moment. Unlike Y/N, who was in a comfortable sweater and leggings, Yume was in more dressy clothing- something that suited her personality.

"Hey, Yume do you know if I left my phone somewhere? I can't find it,"

"Did you leave it at one of the shops?" Yume's eyebrows furrowed as she attempted to think where she last saw it.

After a few more moments of them both scouring the ground, and searching every crevice that was in the area they had to retrace their steps- which only led them to a long night ahead.

~

"Someone claimed my phone?" [Name] was panting as she talked to the last worker at the shop they had visited first. Yume told [Name] that they would have to run since it would close at any minute, and they had managed to walk so far away. Regrettably, [Name] dashed back to the place before Yume.

"Y-Yes, they said it was there's, a-and before we gave it to them we asked them to input the passcode just to be sure, a-and they got it right." The girl was probably scared since [Name] came onto her so strongly.

"How can I get ahold of them?!"

"W-Well, they're a registered customer here so I can give you their email- but you have to swear you're going to only use it to get your phone back... I shouldn't just give it out." The worker warned, but she was still slightly frightened.

It was better than nothing.

~

[Name] now at least had an email and, if Yume let her borrow her cell phone, she could call and catch the culprit if someone answered it.

Stars were starting to feel the empty, black sky, which was a sign that she should probably begin to head home. Except, Yume wasn't waiting outside the store as [Name] had expected.

In fact, she was nowhere in sight.