Mask. /// RETURNING

Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 1

"Come on, Yoriko, hurry up will you? It's freakin' freezing out here..."

The black haired ghoulette stared up toward the sky and whispered to herself as she waited for her human friend to come out of the store that she had gone into, an annoyed look plaguing her violet eyes as she impatiently tapped the floor below her with her school shoe clad foot.

It was around 9 PM- completely dark with the winter weather and hell, it looked like it was gonna snow. But even with the weather and the time, the cook in training insisted upon getting herself ingredients to make her and Touka food for the next day in school. The words, of course, made Touka inwardly cringe. After all, it wasn't like she could really enjoy it- or avoid eating it. She wanted her best friend to be happy- to think the efforts that she made each and every day weren't for nothing. And perhaps they weren't. In a way, the human made herself happy.

But that was a confusing theory for Touka in general, so she didn't think too hard about it at all.

She stared into the shop window, staring at the orange haired woman with a rather blank expression upon her features; not reflecting her thoughts in the slightest manner. It seemed that she would never reveal her inner emotion- even on her own.

Yoriko.

Her gaze was fixated, watching as her finger gently pushed at her bottom lip. A habit of the humans when she was focused upon a task. She did it during her exams too, Touka had noticed. But her pen replaced her finger.

It made a small smile cover her face, her chilly body suddenly warming up as though she had been embraced. Her little habits... Touka noticed them all. How her brow furrowed when she put finishing touches upon food she made... how she'd look down at the ground or the table when she was nervous... how shy she was, and how she would go silent and gaze toward herself for help whenever she was faced with an uncomfortable social situation.

Ah, this human was a strange one to Touka. So annoyingly clingy... loving... shy. The polar opposition to herself as a whole. Brash, strong, slightly lonesome, outgoing. Let it be named. Touka opposed the woman by any means stated... and yet they got along so well. It was as though instead of contradicting each others personality, they... more or less complimented each other. Say, if one person didn't have one aspect of their personality, the other would fill the blank.

They were like a puzzle.

Ghoul and human.

Shy and outgoing.

The chef and the waitress.

How wonderful friendship was.

Touka, who found herself caught in a daydream amidst the staring she was doing, shook her head as she saw her best friend approaching the door and pushing it open slowly.

"I got it! Chicken, eggs, flour, bread crumbs- yep! Got it all! Are you sure you don't wanna sleep over? My Mother already said yes before I even asked!"

Touka winced at the question, her face red. Why did Yoriko's mother always insist upon taking her into her home?... no... she was a ghoul. There was no way she would allow herself to put her best friend and her family in danger.

"Nah- you know me, I like my own bed... C'mon, It's getting way late now! Your slow butt took forever in the store! How many brands of breadcrumbs did you have to decide between this time?" She said softly, her hand reaching forward to gently flick her in-between the eyes before she began to walk away from the human slowly.

The human held her head, pouting as she followed after her.

"Hey- brands are important! Some have really bad tasting foods and I want my food to be perfect! It's important!"

Touka turned her head back, staring toward her angry looking face with a soft smile. God, why was she such a dummy? Getting so worked up over a joke... she was so gullible it was laughable.

"Calm down, Gordon Ramsey. I was only poking fun... C'mon, I'm sure ya Mom is getting worried about you now. It's 20 minutes past 9 already."

The chef in training suddenly allowed a smile to break onto her face as she caught up to the ghoul, staring in front of them as the crossroad that they would separate at came into view... which... for some reason, made her heart lurch. Her skin was crawling, her hairs were standing on edge... there was a burning feeling at the back of her head... like she was being watched.

Why? What the hell was this? This feeling- this sudden, intense fear at the sight of their destination?

As she reached the road, Yoriko turned on her heels to smile towards her best friend, a dumb look in her eyes that only made Touka more... nervous.

"Cya tomorrow, Touka! I bet my fried chicken will be better than today's! I'll perfect it! I swear!" She said, beginning run off toward home.

"... Yeah. Cya." She said, her eyes following her every move as she played with the straps of her backpack on her shoulders.

Something was wrong.

Something was extremely wrong.

Touka ran into an alleyway and pulled off her backpack, pulling out a mask and a wig as she began to push the two on herself, then tucking the backpack behind the trash.

Why was this getting to her so much?

Well... when Touka left, the sensation gave off by the gaze that was watching her... disappeared.

So... was it watching Yoriko?

She jumped onto the rooftop and jumped over buildings, keeping an aerial view over the city.

She wanted to protect her. She wasn't sure what she'd do if Yoriko got hurt. Yoriko was innocent. Too innocent... so Touka kept an eye on her.

Damn it, she hated this feeling- she felt sick. Like she had been punched in the gut. Why was she so worried?

... She could only... find out.

"Please be okay.."