It Starts With a Question

Sorrow

The quietness was turning into something foreign for Touka. Even in her own apartment, the company of Kaneki and Hinami had begun to feel more normal to her, than the empty rooms, she would often face during the majority of the days.

The girl had decided to spend the last few days of her vacation outside, in the fresh air, maybe it wasn't that fresh, since it was raining. It wasn't the kind of gloomy rain that would make you feel sad or depressed, but more the kind of; 'annoying, I want to bathe in the sun' kind of rain, that would make the majority of the people become irritated within seconds. The teen was no exception.

She glanced at the window, then at her coat and umbrella, wondering if it was worth it. Maybe if it was summer, when her home would become a sauna she would prefer the rain, but at this moment it wasn't and she was feeling kind of lazy.

"I should go to Anteiku..." The girl muttered.

She grabbed her coat and umbrella with obvious disgust, she headed out into the dreadful weather.

The girl let out a sigh as she entered the coffee shop, the warm, dry air felt like a relief to her body. Yup, she definitely hated the rain during almost every season. "Hello." She mumbled.

To her surprise only Nishiki and Roma were present. "Ah, Touka-san! I thought you had to work later." Roma exclaimed surprised.

"I had nothing better to do, so I decided to get a drink. Where are the others?"

"Enji-san has a day off, Irimi-san is running an errand and the old man... I think he went to visit Yomo-san for something." Nishiki answered the teen's question.

The ukaku girl said nothing and glanced around the place. It wasn't crowded, but you couldn't call it peaceful either and with only Roma and Nishiki staying watch. Something felt odd. "I'm surprised, shitty Nishiki is so quiet."

Roma and Nishiki glanced at each other. The girl looked unsure and Nishiki seemed annoyed and nervous. Obviously, something had happened.

"What?" The girl frowned.
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"I'm so sorry, it's all my fault!" Roma whined desperately.

"For the last time, stop apologising, it was Enji-San who was stupid enough to forget mentioning that he had mobbed the floor."

"But..."

Touka wasn't listening, she was too occupied to stare at the mess that was in the storage room. All the coffee beans were spilled on the ground, broken glass, even some of the machines they had stored there were completely broken. The poor girl felt like having a heart attack.

"I can't believe this..." She turned towards the two ghouls, lips firm and expression strict. "How did this happen?"

Roma was fidgeting with her fingers, not daring to face her colleague. "I, uh, and Nishio-sempai were organising the storage room, I accidentally tripped because of the slippy floor and bumped into Nishio-sempai... Then... Everything came down with a crash..."

The high school girl didn't answer. She stared at the mess and back at the two waiters. Finally, she let out a sigh. "You two, try to clean this place as much as possible. I'll try to serve the customers with what we have left. The manager is not going to like this." She muttered as she went to change into her uniform.

Her final high school year hadn't even started and the felt drained already. She quickly tied her hair before she went down and started to serve the arriving customers.
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Noon arrived, but for the ukaku ghoul it felt like she had been stuck here for hours. It was probably the stress her two co-workers gave her. She really started to miss her apartment and mostly her bed. Roma had already left, so it was just her and Nishiki. She focused on cleaning, not wanting her mind to wander somewhere else, but she was a bit too focused that she didn't notice Nishiki's eyes to her, until later.