The two just looked at the horizon with no one interrupting the silence.
And I got used to this silence.
And I began liking the serenity that she provided.
Touka turned to look at the lady who was taller than her. She grabbed on her sleeve and lo...
"Prepare for blood transfusion. He lost a lot of blood".
"We can no longer save First Class investigator Mado Kureo".
Amon opened and woke up at the sound of someone humming. The broken ribs still made it uncomfortable for him to breathe. As he stared at the ceiling, someone blocked the view and she gave a wave. "How are you feeling? They were successful in saving the remaining ribs functional. Your body will heal itself so take this time to rest, Amon-san", a young lady smiled.
"Special Class Investigator Imai Rikina-san", the inspector was baffled at the sight of the high-ranking special class. "My apologies that I cannot give a proper greeting", Amon furrowed his brow. "You, waking up, is the best greeting I can think of. Amon-san, welcome back", Rikina said with a gentle voice enough to make a grown man cry. The white-haired, blue-eyed lady pulled a chair and sat beside the survivor.
"I came here as soon as I heard the news. Mado Kureo bit the dust and it was not a known ghoul that did so. He had always been obsessed with chasing after the Owl", Rikina said with a calm voice. "Imai-san, if only I was able to get past that ghoul, I could have saved Mado-san. If only I was stronger-", his voice cracked. "Amon-san, here's your food. Eat well and get plenty of rest. That way, your body will recover faster and try not to think of sad memories. It will slow you down in your healing process", the lady gave the plate to the inspector and stood.
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"And when you're back on your feet. Come and have training with me", Rikina gave a final glance before leaving the hospital room.
Touka's eyes widened as she saw a silverhead entering the cafe. "Welcome", Yoshimura, the store manager greeted. "Touka, I came here for the notes", Rikina jumped on her and hung her arms around the dark-blue-haired high schooler. She looked around and saw an outstanding figure. He had an innocent look on his face and an eyepatch on his left eye. Touka noticed her looking at Kaneki. "He's a new worker here, Kaneki Ken", Touka introduced then went to get the dishes.
Rikina hummed and sat in front of the counter. "A friend of Touka?", Yoshimura asked. "She'd throw a fit if I say yes but I can say that I'm her classmate", she answered. "Can I have a cup of coffee? Your recommendation, Boss", the white head ordered. The old man nodded and gave a smile. Touka sat beside her classmate. "Why are you here?", Touka asked with a small tone of irritation. She doesn't want her to be seen in her uniform since Rikina had always preferred taking a photo of the lady in her seeming maid outfit. "Ah, why are you that hard on your classmate?", Rikina whined. "Aren't you busy with your studies? Go and read your book", Touka tried to shoo her. "That's not a good thing to do with a customer", Kaneki joined the conversation. "Kaneki, get your head out of this", Touka sighed.
"Hi, I'm Imai Rikina", the white head held out a handshake. The lad shook it. "You have a fascinating aura with you", Rikina stood up and circled Kaneki. "This place is full of fascinating people", she added. "It's already late. You have to go home", Touka grabbed her arm and led her to the exit. "You don't like me, do you?", Rikina cried. Touka admits that she feels an eerie atmosphere around Rikina that she cannot point her finger at. It's not like she hates her because she's a human but more of it she feels some kind of fear.
A little girl walked down the stairs. "Sister?", Hinami yawned and tilted her head. "Rikina here", she waved her hands. "Hinami", the little girl hid behind Touka after introducing her name. "I'll be visiting again, see you Hinami-chan", Rikina waved goodbye.
Outside Anteiku
"I'd be walking you home", Touka walked beside the lady. "I haven't informed you that I just live a meter away from your cafe shop", the lady stuck out her tongue. "I'm going to pull that out", Touka threatened. "I moved last week and I often see walk this way so I decided to check on you", she informed. "If you have time to check on me, why don't you go to school? You'd be held back for one year if you keep getting absent", Touka sighed. "I did and Yoriko had been dead worried about your sudden absence. It's not just me who is slacking off", Rikina added. "Stop sticking your nose in other people's businesses", the dark blue head warned. They stopped in front of an apartment. "This is where I live. Thank you for accompanying me. Guess you're worried that ghouls will feast on me", Rikina winked at Touka who just had a poker face. "Then, I'll bring popcorn to see them shred you into pieces", the lady said with a cold tone and slapped the notebooks on her back. "See you tomorrow. My skin's quite tough to be torn into pieces", Rikina waved her hands.
Anteiku
Touka entered the cafe and saw Kaneki and Irimi fixing the tables. Hinami and Koma wash the dishes. "Where in the world is Nishiki?", Touka asked. "He called me a while ago. He'll be back after some time", Yoshimura answered. "Ah, who was that girl a while ago?", Irimi asked. "Just another annoying classmate of mine", Touka remembered Rikina's face. "It's good to see you have friends", Kaneki smiled."You also had one. Hide, right?", Touka recalled the name. Kaneki nodded and had a smile painted on his face.
Touka's Apartment Room
After fixing everything, Hinami and Touka entered their unit just upstairs from the cafe. Hinami jumped on the sofa and opened the television. "Ghouls are actively moving this time of hour. Be careful and never go outside your houses alone", the newscaster announced. "Sister. When can we go outside?", Hinami asked."We'd be buying groceries after 2 days", Touka informed. Hinami'seyes brightened with high hopes. It's fascinating to see that a girl who lost her mom during the last 2 months can already smile. Touka patted her head and went to her room to read her lessons.
Alley
Ghouls in their cloaks roam around the area to find something to feed on. They had been ordered by Jason non-stop and they felt drained. Aside from feeling starved, they also gained severe wounds from their leader. Something dropped in the midst of them creating a crater. They were all astonished to see an inspector, a female one. They knew because she was wearing the uniform of the doves.
"Here I come", Juzou, one of the first class appeared from the side and used a crown bar lying on the ground to cut the ghouls into half. "Juzou-san, I hope I can talk to them first before you cut them into half", Rikina sighed and stood straight from where she landed. "We only need to talk to one, right?Imai-san",Hirako Take stepped forward as well and joined Juzou painting the alley with blood.
Blood splashed on Rikina's face. "Here's one lucky bastard", Hirako removed the ghoul's mask to show a female ghoul who is close to Rikina's age. "Where is Jason now? He escaped from the 23rd ward so we have to bring him back to the facility. He's hurt quite a number of humans and looking at your situation, ghouls as well", the inspector reached out to its face. "Save us", the female ghoul felt like she is different from the other doves. It was a crazy idea for her to ask salvation from those who wished their extermination. "11th ward...Jason...with another ghoul...torture", the female ghoul had tears seeing daggers on her chest. They still don't have the slightest hesitation to kill her even after giving Jason's location.
"Kina-sama, I'm hungry. Let's grab something on our way back to the headquarters", Juzou retracted. "What are your cravings?", Rikina asked while piling the corpse together. "I like to have a huge meal!", Juzou hanged around her shoulder. "Ahk. First Class Juzou, refrain from acting so informal with the Special Class Inspector", Hirako pulled him away from the lady.
