The Closed Ward | Tokyo Ghoul

Chapter Twenty-One | Hymn for the Missing

 "Nomura-san, you know I can't--"

"It's not a matter of can't, rookie," Shin interrupts, waving a flippant hand at the nurse who's been trying to escort him to the bathroom for the past two minutes. 

Why she won't take a hint and leave him be, he doesn't know - but he can certainly guess. Something tells him his almost-friend - the ever-so talented surgeon Shunsuke-kun - advised his staff that they may have an obstinate patient on their hands, meaning they've steeled themselves against his bad attitude. He hopes that isn't the case, because it also means that he won't be able to charm his way into an early discharge if they know of the true nature that lurks beneath his pleasant smile.

"You can do this, you're choosing not to."

"I think I'm choosing not to commit a felony, Nomura-san."

"It's not a felony. You're requisitioning some files for your former superior. I hardly call that illegal."

"To obtain those files, I'd have to break into the data room and either locate the physical copy of the files or download them onto a flashdrive to give to you."

"See? It's nothing that difficult."

"Nomura-san..."

"Rookie. I wouldn't be asking this of you if it wasn't absolutely necessary. Takashi will report me to the higher-ups without a second thought; you're the only one who won't leap at the opportunity to at least have me transferred."

"..."

Shin makes eye contact with the nurse while he waits for Amon to respond. She looks rather unimpressed, all things considering, and he isn't sure if that's directed towards him as a whole, or specifically towards his current conversation. Either way, he doubts he has anything to worry about in terms of her spilling anything she's heard to Shunsuke, or anyone else for that matter. Perhaps she's under the impression he's delusional from the wonderfully strong pain medication he may or may not have forgotten to take earlier today.

"I'll see what I can do, Nomura-san. But I make no promises."

"Good boy. Promises are too flimsy for my tastes, anyway."

Shin goes to hang up, but Amon's raised voice catches his attention, and he brings the phone to his ear again, curious.

"Ah, Nomura-san... has anyone visited you recently?"

He means has Kitamura-san visited recently. Amon's easy enough to read at this stage in their relationship, even over the phone, and Shin sincerely hopes he learns to better cloak his emotions, or he'll face trouble in the future in this line of work. 

"Kitamura came by again yesterday."

Shin's careful to speak as neutrally as possible. He has an inkling that Amon's concern about this matter goes beyond what it would if he only cared that someone, anyone was paying Shin a visit. His interest in Rui hasn't gone unnoticed by Shin, but the man still can't quite tell if it's wholly platonic or not. 

Still, he can't help the biting edge that tacks onto the end of his sentence.

"If she's bothering you, you--"

"It's not a bother," Shin says, rolling his eyes, though he scowls slightly at the smirk the nurse gives him. "Don't worry about it. Focus on getting along with whoever they've assigned you to. Some of the old farts around there aren't as sympathetic to brats as I am."

With that, Shin swipes his thumb over the end call button, letting the phone slip from his fingers and onto the bedspread. He's suddenly exhausted, which could be attributed to the fact that he feels like he was run over by several eighteen-wheelers just yesterday, but he's also willing to bet that one of the nurses managed to hide a sleeping pill in his lunch.