The Closed Ward | Tokyo Ghoul

Chapter Two | On My Own

Rui wakes before her alarm goes off. Just a few minutes, really, but it reminds her how high-strung she's been recently. It's normal for her to sleep right through the blaring alarm on most days, so when she rolls over and taps her clock, resetting it, her heart sinks all over again.

Kaori's still gone, and it's still her fault.

The warmth of her bed is almost too tempting to leave, but she bites her tongue to jolt herself from her stupor and swings legs off the bed, pressing her feet flat to the floor. Electric shivers radiate upward from the soles of her feet, reacting to the chilly wood of her apartment; gooseflesh raises all along her calves and forearms once she's standing, her covers tossed aside and her heat source abandoned.

She'd be more lethargic this morning if she didn't have a purpose for getting out of bed.

That used to be her work. She'd learned from Kaori that a job is something you have to do in order to get by; a career is your life. Journalism is Kaori's life, and it's slowly becoming Rui's. But after Kaori left the paper, everything seemed... dull. Lifeless, listless. Rui still loves journalism with a passion, but without Kaori to nurture that spark, she's found it's been dimming these past few weeks, far from the wildfire it had been when they were together.

"Don't go getting yourself depressed this early in the day," Rui sighs, lightly slapping her cheeks as a mock scolding. Living alone, she doesn't have anyone else to do it for her. Padding across the room to her dresser, Rui snags her phone from the nightstand and dials a number while she decides on what to wear.

They pick up after two rings.

"Rui-chan!"

"Hey, Akane-san," Rui greets, a ghost of a smile flitting over her lips. Akane's cheer manages to brighten her mood, as usual.

"I'm surprised you called. It's like..." Rui can imagine that Akane has to glance at the digital clock above her oven, as she knows the woman's been awake for an hour already and is probably settling in for breakfast right about now. "Seven o'clock? Don't you usually hit the snooze until eight?"

"Yeah, well... I've got something important to do today. Don't wanna be late."

It's a partial lie, seeing as she hasn't set up an appointment or done anything that would signal she's visiting the CCG headquarters today. Akane doesn't need to know that, though, so it works out.

"Ah, gotcha! Does that important thing include coming to work?"

Her tone is teasing, but another wave of guilt still crashes inside Rui's stomach.

"Sorry, not today. I can't... Being there is just..."

"I get it, Rui-chan. Don't worry. Should I tell Harada-san you won't be in again today?"

"If you wouldn't mind. I'd call him myself, but I'm pretty sure he's blocked my number."

"Haha, you did call him about Ikehara-san half a dozen times! That's..."

Akane trails off, and it's her silence that prompts Rui to consider what she'd said properly. She had called Harada at least six times in the space of two days, after it was confirmed that Kaori was missing, not just on one of her adventures. She'd wanted him to do something about it, she still wants that - but he won't admit there's anything for him to do in the first place.

"Anyway," Rui says thickly, just to breathe some life back into their conversation, "thanks, Akane. I'll talk to you again, soon as I can."

"Wait, Rui-chan!"