Guns, Bullets & Bones [Tokyo Ghoul]

Ch. 16 ~ I Promise

      "That's... Tragic..." Dylan murmured, feeling his gut twist in guilt for what this girl had gone through, the torture and pain, and part of her literally being ripped away. Had she deserved that? Of course not. The question that made Dylan's stomach hurl was, upon hearing something like that, could humans really be considered any better than ghouls?

     "Some people are just born with tragedy in their blood," Ayako gave a half shrug, her face pulling into a tight-lipped smile. Despite what she said, the dullness in her eyes told Dylan everything he needed to know. She would never quite recover from the torture. He couldn't help but wonder how she was so composed, so normal seeming. He had no doubt that if it had been him, he would've been damaged beyond repair. 

     "Your Kagune... It never grew back, did it?" Dylan asked tentatively, twisting the mug of coffee around in his hands. Ayako took a delicate sip of her own drink and swallowed it down thickly.

    "No," She gave a subtle shake of her head, staring down into the murky drink for a moment. "I think it should have... Or at least, it would have, if it weren't for formula X... Maybe without it, I would still have my Kagune,"

    "I'm sorry to hear that..." Dylan murmured, and Ayako gave a dismissive shake of her head.

    "I'm sure you have other questions, ones that aren't about me," She gave a cheeky wink and folded her arms, leaning back in her chair as she waited. "Fire away,"

     "What about Rio?" Dylan asked after a moment of thought. "Tell me about her,"

     "Ah, Rio... She's a tough one to figure out," She hummed thoughtfully, eyes searching the ceiling as if Rio's life story would be written out on the polystyrene tiles for her to recite like a poem. "I wouldn't even say I'm friends with her..."

    "Really?" Dylan raised an eyebrow. Aside from Tsukiyama, Ayako seemed like the closest thing to a friend that Rio had. 

     "Yeah, she's a serious elitist," Ayako nodded with an eyeroll. "Only the strong should survive, you're worse than scum if you can't take care of yourself, humans are prey at our disposal, yadda yadda yadda, all that crap,"

    "I'm guessing you don't think the same?" Dylan raised an eyebrow, a small smile pulling at his face, as he held back the urge to laugh as how disgusted and bored Ayako seemed. She appeared so far from how ghouls were supposed to seem, she could've been any other girl, like his litter sister Kimiko, or his biology partner Haruka.

     "Nah, humans are friends, not food. Flesh actually taste pretty bad, you know," She scrunched up her nose and took a few large swigs of her coffee, while Dylan snorted into his own cup. Ayako set her empty cup down on the table before checking the silver watch that was looped around her slim wrist. "It's getting a little late, and I said I'd have you back home before dark, so you'd better finish your drink so we can leave,"

     "Actually, I'm done, I don't really like coffee," Dylan gave a sheepish smile and set the half-full mug on the table in front of him.

     "Why didn't you say so?" Ayako rolled her eyes before they both pulled their jackets on, paid for their coffees at the counter, and headed back out into the rain, which was by now a lazy drizzle. Dylan followed as Ayako lead him back to the supposed safety of the 15th ward, and soon, she stopped outside a tower block of flats.

      "This is where I live, you know the way to get yourself back home, right?" Ayako smiled softly and brushed her damp hair behind her ear. Dylan turned and looked down the street, noting where he was, and where his home was in relation. Yes, he could get himself home.

    "Yeah, of course I do," He said with a smile, as if it were obvious. Though, due to his rather clueless nature, it was not obvious at all, and in fact rather questionable.

     "Good," She smiled back, before shuffling on the balls of her feet for a moment, staring down at the concrete, and Dylan paused, as she quite obviously had something to say. She glanced back up. "I'm really glad we're friends. I- You're the first human to be my friend, and the only person who didn't look down on me when they found out about my Kagune, so- so thank you. I know it probably doesn't mean much, but we're friends now, alright? And I know the kind of people you're involved with aren't the safest, but I promise, I'll do whatever it takes to protect you,"

     "I- Thank you," Dylan smiled in returned, feeling his cheeks heat up. This is what is felt like to have a real friend. This is what he'd been searching for, for so long.

     "Any time," Her smile never seemed to fade as she gave him one last glance before heading into the apartment building and up the stairs. Dylan headed home.

~