Kaede Mori found the daily processes of life to be mundane, too simple, too human.
Wake up, brush teeth, apply makeup, put on some clothes.
Grab a skinny latte from her local café, try not to be late to her morning class at Kamii University.
Avoid the stares of her peers at her Classic American Literature class, knowing that their stares are because of her father. Her father, Iehiro Mori.
Iehiro Mori, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, was not what Kaede considered to be an "active" father. The man devotes his whole life, and much more, to his career. Kaede hoped that when her mother was kidnapped by a foreign terrorist group, that maybe, her father would put aside his job to save the woman he cares for. Kaede was wrong, and at the tender age of thirteen, she and her younger brother, Kyou, lost the only person who truly cared for them. Since then, the young brunette has ignored anything that has to do with the stranger who lives in her home, who is no father of her own.
Taking a final sip of her now cold drink, Kaede grabs her grey backpack, and waltzes out of class to meet with her affable best friend, Emiko Yoshida, at the Kamii University cafeteria. Along the fifteen minute walk, away from the Department of Literature, Kaede ponders, and overthinks about matters. Profound matters, trivial matters. Everything. That's something that Kaede cannot avoid. She overthinks things, and the thoughts, they never stop. They're always there, floating, penetrating her brain, making her nerves jitter and the skin on her head constantly warm.
Soon enough, Kaede spots Emiko's coral toned hair sitting under a tree, outside of the cafeteria.
"Kae-chan! I picked up lunch for you as well." Emiko's blue eyes sparkled as she held out a bag of cheese-flavoured fried crisps, whilst snacking from her own.
Kaede let out a chuckle whilst taking the packet from her best friend's hand. "You know, this fried stuff is going to give us cancer one day."
"Well then, we'll have died happy," replied Emiko, whilst stuffing another crisp into her mouth, relishing in the tangy flavour.
And that's how Kaede's days went. Whilst the sun was out, and day-time rolled about, the young brunette went to her classes, socialised with Emiko, drank a lot of lattes, and studied in the library. And when the sun began to set, a black-tinted luxurious car would be waiting at the entrance of Kamii, waiting to bring Kaede back home into the luxurious penthouse that her family inhabited in the first ward. Always a house, but never a home.
However, on this chilly Autumn day, the young brunette never saw the black-tinted car. Kaede waited, and waited. She sat waiting on the bench in the front entrance, but the car never came. Sending out a quick message to the family chauffeur before leaving, Kaede migrated towards the cafeteria. Emiko was long gone by now, and Kaede had no other friend to socialise with, and studying in the library didn't seem particularly appealing to her. Instead, Kaede purchased yet another skinny latte, before sitting down on one the seats, and slipping out a copy of King Lear.
Hours passed, and no reply came. The cafeteria had closed, forcing the young brunette to go back out into the freezing cold atmosphere of Tokyo. Kaede tried calling the chauffeur, and her father, who demanded that she be driven back home every single day, for security reasons of course. Well then, guess I'm taking the metro home.
It was nearing midnight when Kaede finally made it into the first ward. Hugging her thin black hoodie, Kaede cursed herself for not bringing a warmer top. The harsh winds of the city were unforgiving, and it had been a long time since Kaede had been outside. Too long.
And so, Kaede began to think some more. The nineteen year old could go home, into the confines of her warm apartment, and just watch some television. Alternatively, Kaede could go to a café, pick up yet another latte, and observe the nightlife.
Before realising, Kaede passed the CCG headquarters, walked some more. Kaede never strayed from the path, always walking in crowds, she wasn't stupid. But she didn't know how long she was walking. She kept walking until her feet throbbed, walking, thinking. Then a strong coffee scent, and a sign inscribed with ":re", caught the young brunette's eye. Kaede strolled in, and was greeted with a quiet atmosphere, and a low "good evening" by a light-haired barista.
"I'll have one skinny latte please, the largest size." Kaede sat herself down on a brown bench, as a young girl passed by, setting down a warm mug in front of her. Muttering a silent thank you, Kaede began to look out of the window of the empty coffee shop, observing the people that pass by.
The low voice who welcomed her spoke again. "You know, a young girl like you really shouldn't be out at this hour. This is a dangerous city after all."
Kaede turned her head towards the source, slight smiling whilst replying. "But wouldn't the biggest danger be shielding yourself from reality?"
The man continued wiping down the clean surface of the bar, as he let out a hum of approval.
Kaede found the silence of the café comforting, and if anything, it felt like a shelter from the outside world. The bell sound rang, signalling another late night customer. To subdue her curiosity, Kaede turned to see who had come in. To her vision, entered a white-suited man of muscular build, with sharp, angular eyes, and a corresponding attitude. The dark haired man then turned, and the pair's gazes met, and held each other. That fleeting glance lasted for a moment, but to Kaede, felt like a brief eternity.
Gathering her belongings, Kaede left a thousand yen bill, and left the coffee shop. And back she was, walking.
She walked, back home, noting the dynamic nature of her home city. She etched into her memory all the details, of the strangers faces she encountered, the interactions she was witness of. Memory of the men smoking outside of an office. Memory of the homeless man she had given her spare change to.
When laying back into her bed, one memory was most striking to her. The one where she saw a man with a mask, standing on a roof. Kaede was sure that he was a ghoul, and that was something that both, scared her, and intrigued her.
Chapter notes
hello! my name is sabina, and i hope you enjoy the opening chapter of a fanfic i've been really working on. reading back on it, i now realise that my depiction of tatara is too unrealistic, but i promise that at one point, the way that tatara is soft with my oc will be explained. regardless, i really hope you enjoy this story, and i would be absolutely ecstatic if you left a review with your personal opinions about the fanfic.
i primarily utilise archive of our own (ao3) to update my stories, but i am posting some stories in bulk here just to back up my work. if you do like this, please do leave some love and a review, i'd really appreciate it! if you want to be completely up-to-date with my work in general, you can check out my profile on ao3, i have the same username (belovedmind).
until next time,
s.
