The manager downstairs jingled the keys a distance away, throwing them at Arima. He expertly caught them, flashing his old friend a smirk before walking down the hallway toward his new room.
Hirako was his name, a former partner of his while he was part of the underground gang, CCG. They had discussed his arrival prior, Arima giving him a call. The keys he threw him were to the penthouse room, given to him at a half-off price of only 16.5 million yen.
He had accumulated the wealth through his massive feats while in the gang. He turned the tide of the first war against the rival gang Aogiri Tree, giving him a very high reputation. He was deemed 'The White Reaper,' given 250 million yen as compensation. He then left the gang, seeing as his mission was complete.
He entered the modest apartment after climbing six flights of stairs. It was an L-shaped building, consisting of four rooms, three bathrooms, a study, a large kitchen, a dining room next to it, and the entire roof to claim as his own.
He had turned the room without a bathroom into a storage room, having all of his belongings moved up before he arrived. He resided in the bedroom to the left of it. A king-sized bed was placed in the middle, clean grey sheets upon it. The pillows were white. A complete walk in closet was located on the right side, containing no outfits. A plain white door was located on the left side. The walls were painted a light grey, the borders being white. A light brown hardwood floor was present underneath his feet.
He opens the door on the left, realizing it's the study. A mahogany desk sits in front of three windows, each as tall as the walls next to them. It kind of looks like a lighthouse, as you could see the entire skyline from that point in the house. Two shelves lined the right and left wall, only the bottom left being occupied with a row of books. Arima assumed those were left by the previous owner. He picks one up, reading the title.
"The Black Goat's Egg, by Sen Takatsuki. My sister sure does write good literature. A shame she only writes under her pen name." He states in a casual tone.
He then hears the front door to his apartment slam open, thundering footsteps running toward his bedroom.
"Arima, Arima! It's me, Kaneki! Did you miss me? How are you doing? Can I stay at your new apartment? Are you coming to my high school?" He yells from the other side of the door. He then busts in, wrapping Arima in a giant bear hug.
"...Kaneki, please get off me. And to answer your questions, no, good, possibly, and yes." He retorts, annoyance oozing from his voice.
He then smiles at the white and black haired boy, pushing him off of him as he rubs his hair.
"O-o-ouch! That hurts, Arima!" Kaneki replies in an innocent tone. He was only fifteen for a reason, and you could definitely tell from his actions.
"Is big sister Eto coming here as well?" He questions.
"I don't think she was planning it. She does have a busy schedule. I can invite her over here if you'd like. You haven't seen her in a while, have you?"
"Nope!"
Arima replies, "Very well then, I'll call her right now." He pulls his smartphone out of his pocket, rapidly dialing the digits into them. The phone momentarily rings, before a sweet voice replies.
"Hello! Sen Takatsuki here, how may I help you!"
"It's Arima."
"O-oh hey! Arima! Wasn't expecting my two-minute younger brother to c-a-all me!" She replies in a cheery tone.
"It's only two minutes, I act older than you already. Kaneki wants you to come over to my new place, you know to hang out with him I guess. Do you mind?"
"Of course not! I'll change my schedule right away! Wait, did you say new place?"
"Yeah, I bought it about two days ago. The whole thing is furnished. Kaneki and I already have begun residing in it."
"Are you serious! Let me live with you! These dorms suck. My roommate looks at me like I'm some sort of unemployed parasite who is cooped up in my room all day. Disgusting." She says, a tone of bitter loathing reeking in her voice over the phone.
"Of course. I have two rooms free. Knock yourself out. I'll PM you the details after this call."
"Alright then, bye-bye Arima! See you later today!" She says as Arima hears her hang up. He then texts her everything important that she needs to know.
He looks toward Kaneki.
"Eto is moving here later today. Pick a room, kiddo."
Kaneki's eyes bulge in excitement. "ARE YOU SERIOUS? THIS IS AWESOME!" He yells, startling Arima. Kaneki runs out of the room.
He falls back into the bookshelf, catching himself before he drops anything. A black lance-like object falls into his hands, Arima's eyebrows raising as he sees the object in his hands.
"So that's where it was. Hello, XIA."
He sees the stand where it was held on top of the bookcase. He moves it down to the top shelf, before placing the sword back into its stand. He proceeds to exit the room, searching the apartment for where Kaneki could have ran off to.
Within seconds of exiting, he hears three knocks rapping against the wood of the door. He walks down the hallway, opening the door as he arrives. He spots a familiar head of green hair, preparing himself as it launches at him. Eto's arms wrap around him as he pushes his weight toward his back foot.
"Hey little brother Arimaaaa!" She yells as Kaneki runs out his room.
"Eto, Eto, Eto!" Kaneki yells, wrapping his arms around the two.
Arima stands in the middle, annoyed at the loud noises piercing his eardrums. Nonetheless, he smiled.
After a few seconds, Arima removes himself from the two.
"Hey you two. I'm assuming Kaneki picked a room already, so the last two are your choice. Each have a bathroom already. There's some food in the storage. I'm gonna go to bed, it's 10:00." Arima states, beginning to walk away toward his room, his glasses giving a slight glint as he turned.
The two turn toward him, smiles on their faces. "Goodnight!"
Arima enters his room, taking off his signature white jacket before putting it in the closet on his right. He enters the bathroom and completes his nightly routine, setting his glasses on the countertop. He collapses on his bed, mentally preparing himself for the day ahead.
"...you aren't going somewhere are you?"
"...we...have a deal for you."
"...her as well."
"...wipe them both clean."
"...what... are you nervous?" She flicks his forehead.
Arima's eyes gently open. The bright light floods into his room from the window behind him. His eyes adjust, and he sees an ungodly sight.
A green head of hair, in his face, flicking his forehead.
"Wake up, Arima! You need to get your paperwork turned in for the transfer! Come on!" She says, flicking his forehead again.
"Alright Eto, I'm awake. What time is it?"
"8:15am." She replies, flicking his forehead once more for good measure.
"Go wake your younger brother up as well. He's missed so many first periods because he sleeps like a rock. School starts at 9, lets go!" She skips out of the room.
"This better be over with, quick."
Arima enters the bathroom, fixing his unkept hair. He grabs the toothbrush resting against the edge of the sink, rinsing it before cleaning his white, pearly teeth. He grabs his glasses off the countertop, placing them on his face before doing one last check and exiting the room, taking care to flip the switch to turn the lights off.
He walks down the hallway toward Kaneki's room. He enters, seeing the peaceful boy in a deep slumber. Arima sighs in regret as he grabs the bottom of his mattress, raising it up sixty degrees. Kaneki slowly slides off the mattress, hitting the floor with a loud thump. He sets the mattress back down.
Kaneki springs up, ready to slam his fists into the intruder that woke him up. He sees Arima.
"You really had to do that, didn't you?" He states in a gruff tone. He exits the room, entering the adjoining bathroom.
"Mission one complete. Time to get food." Arima walks out of Kaneki's room toward the kitchen. He enters, seeing Eto somehow cooking... pancakes.
"So you finally learned to cook, interesting." Arima replies, rubbing her green hair.
"The old man finally taught me after I prodded him for two months straight. Incredible, right?" She replied, a smirk gracing her features. She tossed him a plate after throwing a pancake into the air, both magically landing in his hands simeltaneously.
"He definitely taught you how to cook. I thought I would have to do it again." Arima states as he takes a seat at the dining table. Kaneki walks in, grabbing Arima's plate as he consumes the entire pancake in one bite.
"...Seriously?" Arima coldly replies, not amused.
Kaneki laughs before pointing at Eto. He sees her on the floor, dying of laughter.
"...that...was...s-s-so...FUNNY!" She yells, her body convulsing as she laughs in between words.
Arima looks down in pity.
"Amusing, now make me another pancake." Arima deadpans.
Eto immediately hops up, recovered, and performs the same act as earlier.
Kaneki and Arima look at each other, amused. "At lease it wasn't a one-time thing." Arima says, finally eating his own pancake after sitting down. Kaneki and Eto sit with him, conversing about the day ahead.
They talk for about five minutes, Arima placing his plate in the sink, pointing at Kaneki.
"You. Wash the dishes when we get home." He says.
Kaneki pouts. "Fine."
Arima enters his room, putting on his jacket he retrieved from the closet and smelling the clothes he wore yesterday. He deems then clean, before exiting the room, Eto and Kaneki waiting for him outside. They walk out, heading down the hallway when suddenly, Arima notices an elevator.
He sighs. "I guess I walked up the stairs for nothing, huh?"
The two laugh, proceeding to enter. Kaneki presses the 'L' button, taking them to the lobby. They exit, walking through the main lobby. Arima nods at the manager before exiting the building, the three beginning their trek toward the school.
III
The three arrive at the large building, appearing as a three-story building that spanned across multiple acres.
"Adachi High School." Arima reads aloud.
"Yep, this is the school we go to." Eto states, popping the p.
"The offices for your paperwork to be registered are over there. Me and Kaneki will head off to class!" Eto says, her voice dripping with cheerfulness. She points toward an entrance to the left of the main one. They walk toward the main entrance, leaving Arima alone. He walks in the side door.
"Welcome! Arima I presume? I'm Ms. Fueguchi, the receptionist here. The principal is in the back to see you. You can leave your paperwork here." She smiles, signaling the area where she wanted to papers to be places. He pulls them out of his bag, placing them there.
"Do you by chance... have a daughter that attends here? My younger brother was talking about her." Arima says.
"Yes I do! Hinami is my daughter. She's currently a sophomore attending here."
"Ah, alright."
She smiles once more, before shifting her attention toward the computer in front of her.
"The principal's office is 2 doors down on your right. Have a good day!"
"Thank you." Arima says, walking down the hallway toward the corresponding door. He knocks twice, before opening it. A look of shock appears on his face as he saw the man sitting at the desk.
"Never assumed you were the principal of this high school, father."
"Oh yes, Arima. Take a seat, we have a lot of catching up to do."
That's the chapter. Writing that other story kind of made me want to write one like this, no clue why. It's actually really fun to write about whatever pops up in your head. I kind of got a sense of deja vu writing this for some odd reason as well.
Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you enjoy the next one!
Have a good one!
