Guns, Bullets & Bones [Tokyo Ghoul]

Ch. 3 ~ Rio & Cats Cradle

    After an awkward and silent walk, Dylan and the mysterious girl emerged out of the brook, and stepped into a brightly lit plaza, buzzing with people laughing and chattering. Several stories of stores were a treat for the eye in brightly coloured displays.

    Dylan was astounded that he had not visited such a place before, and suddenly felt rather foolish for treading the same path each day, not a step more. What a small world he had confined himself to living in.

    The mysterious girl motioned to him to follow once more and he did so, stepping out into the bustling plaza. Up the closest flight of stairs, past various shops, until she stopped. He was too busy staring out across the vibrant plaza at all of the people that he hadn't noticed she'd stopped, and crashed into her back.

    He jerked back in embarrassment and only just caught a glance of her disapproving glare before he hung his head low, his face heating in embarrassment. A cold sweat formed inside his shirt and he just clenched his fists.

     "If you weren't so busy staring at the floor or gazing dramatically across the horizon," She said, and he looked up to see her resting a hand on her hip and his face heated even more. "Then you would have noticed that we're here."

    His eyes widened and he turned to look at the building. The front was painted a pastel pink, with stylish frosted windows. The double doors were propped open with a ceramic beige cat statue and the sweet scent of strawberries and cream wafted out to greet him and make his mouth water. He glanced inside at the counter, where various cakes and sweets were displayed, and the wonderful array of treats made his stomach grumble. He felt another surge of embarrassment.

    "Are you going to stand around and stare or actually get something to eat?" She spoke, and a glance at her face revealed a cheeky smile, which felt much more genuine than the smug grin. He wasn't sure what to make of this mysterious girl, though he didn't really feel the need to make a judgement, he assumed he would not have to deal with her again, it was only by chance he was here with her in the first place.

     Dylan walked into the pastel café and up to the counter, where a young girl with curly blonde hair smiled widely, donned in a maid outfit. He glanced around quickly and noted other girls, wearing maid outfits, and he dumbly came to the realization that Hide had directed him to a maid café. Damn Hide....

    "Hi there!" The blonde behind the counter said enthusiastically, clasping her hands together. "Have you eaten with us before?"

    "N-no." He stuttered out glanced away in embarrassment. The girl only giggled.

    "That's fine! Please, take a seat, I'll send a waitress over right away!" The girl sounded overly happy, but Dylan gave a shy smile anyway, and turned away from the counter with a nod. He subconsciously glanced around for the mystery girl, but she was already gone. She worked here, so he guessed she'd gone into the back, or had something to do. Not that it mattered to him, either way.

    He moved over to the first empty table he saw. A pale cream table just inside the door with four matching chair, padded with pink plush cushions, next to the frosted glass window. He pulled out a chair and sat down, dropping his backpack onto the black and white tiled floor. Tiredly, he leaned on the table, staring out at the bustling plaza wistfully.

     He wished he could be like those he saw around him, laughing with their friends, visiting new places, trying new things every day. He wasn't like that, but how he wished he was. Unintentionally isolating himself was not something he had planned, but too shy to try making new friends, barely talking to the ones he had, being like those social butterflies was a long way off.

    "Hi there." A soft voice said, and he looked up, his chin still resting on his hand. Another maid, er, waitress was stood at his table with a soft smile, a laminated sheet in her hand. "May I?" She asked and motioned to the seat opposite him, and he gave a nod, his face flushing once again.

    "Sure."

    "I have a menu, here." She slid it across the table towards him, and he took the lilac sheet, scanning over the delicious treats, silently wondering how the hell he was supposed to decide when they all sounded like heaven on earth. "Take your time." She said and Dylan just nodded. He planned to anyway.

    "What would you recommend?" He asked, glancing up at her, and she looked thoughtful for a moment, humming quietly. A voice from behind him made him jump.

    "I don't know about her, but I would suggest the strawberry vanilla cake." Dylan jumped at the close voice and quickly craned around to look over his shoulder, seeing the same, strange blue haired girl much closer than he had expected, leaning over his shoulder to see the menu.

    "Rio!" The girl across the table giggled with a wide smile and Dylan glanced back at her. "You have work to do, shoo, silly!" She chirped and Dylan heard the soft click of her heels moving away across the tiled floor.

   "Rio?" He asked questioningly. He hadn't meant to say it, and he internally groaned at how rude he must have sounded.

   "Yeah, that's Rio!" The other maid beamed proudly. "So, what can I get you?" She flipped open a creamy yellow note pad and clicked down on her pen, ready to note down whatever he decided upon.

    "I'll have the... Strawberry vanilla cake..." He said without thinking. He hadn't really picked anything else out from the menu, plus, he was a sucker for anything strawberry.

    "Okay!" She noted it down and grinned. "It won't be long!" She chirped before standing and bouncing away in her heels, behind the counter and through a door, where he assumed she, or someone else, would be preparing his cake fresh.

    So, the mystery girl was named Rio. Unusual name, but he couldn't exactly talk, having an English name in Tokyo, thanks to his somewhat eccentric parents. Rio. It was unusual, just like her.

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