A/N
WELCOME BACK! I MISSED YOU ALL SO MUCH /3
But now you're here and, if you are, that means that you're all up for the sequel and are just as excited as I am ^^ Now I don't expect many people to show up at first because I need to let all you stragglers know that this story has actually been posted. But here it is :D
Things, like usual, will start off a little slow, but I promise that they'll pick up next chapter ;) So, I'll let you get on and I can't wait to see you all in the comments in the future :3
Enjoy the chapter ^^
Peace out, my lovely peeps!XxX
RIN'S P.O.V
"How long have you been working at Anteiku now and you still can't knot a tie properly?" I sigh when I peek over my shoulder after clothing myself in my uniform, though I'm unable to pull up my pants without chuckling at my ivory-haired boyfriend's struggles, a defeated sigh huffing from him as he finally gives up, allowing my soft giggles to develop into thick laughter. Using the mirror to glare at me, Kaneki folds his arms over his stomach with a childish pout, which I swear he's picked up from me, as I advance towards him, wrapping my arms around his waist whilst I press myself into his back, still deciding against taking the time to clothe my legs.
"Shut up," he grumbles through his pursed lips, my eyes rolling themselves whilst my hands get to work, fixing the fabric around his neck so that it forms a neat knot that rests against his chest, his eyebrows raising in awe that I'm able to do it without even having to turn him around. "Uhm... Thanks?" He mutters with a high pitch to his tone, a simple shrug rolling through my shoulders as I trail over to my pants again, tugging the material up my legs until the waistband fits nicely around my hips. Or at least that's what I'd like to say. But, recently, I've apparently managed to gain a little tubbiness from God knows what. Probably the excessive amounts of coffee I've consumed ever since I woke up from that coma at least 4 months ago now.
However, I'd never admit to Kaneki that I'm putting on weight; he'd probably ditch me if I got all fat and stuff since I'm sure he finds my body extremely appealing, not that I can blame him. If anything, I'm most worried about losing the tone on my torso. Perhaps I should start to cut back on eating in general. "Rin? You okay?" Kaneki inquires, lacing his arms around me so that he can nuzzle his features into my neck, his breath nice and warm against my skin as he gently pushes his lips to my Adam's apple, my body shivering a little as I weakly smile.
"Yeah. Just a bit nervous to go back to normality after everything," I admit, concern instantly flitting through Kaneki's silver irises as he nods once, clearly understanding what I'm trying to get at. After all the shit that went down with Shoki that sent me into a month-long coma, we've not really been back to Anteiku. I'm not sure why; I guess we were just too scared to show our faces after all the damage we caused.
"I know. But it's gonna be fine, Rin. M'kay?" Kaneki murmurs in the smooth tone that I can never oppose, my head turning to the side a little so that I can peck a kiss onto his cheek, which flush salmon the second I do, causing a giggle to rise into my throat. He's right; I shouldn't be getting myself all worked up over this. Our friends will take us back no problem, even if I attacked Touka by accident and then had everyone in Anteiku on high alert until I woke up from my coma.
Taking my hand in his, Kaneki and I shuffle our way through his tiny apartment, though I suddenly stiffen in realization, looking over my shoulder to see my tail curiously waggling behind me. Pulling Kaneki to a stop, I proceed to wrap it securely around my abdomen, the feeling of the fur strange against my skin as it's been a while since I've had to hide it. Because, though everyone working at Anteiku knows about the whole demon thing by now, I'd like to bet that the customers don't. And they'd probably proceed to run away screaming if they saw that their waiter had a tail dangling out from under his shirt.
Once I'm settled and comfortable, Kaneki slides his fingers into mine again, a sweet smile on his lips, which I quickly pepper with my own with a soft smirk when a look of mock shock ripples through his irises, encouraging a breath of a laugh to escape me. However, the second I go to put another foot forward, I suddenly feel a stomach-wrenching wave of nausea consume me, my head beginning to viciously pound as I cup my hand over my mouth, my arm wrapped around my stomach. Not again!
Knowing that it's probably not a good idea to hurl all over my boyfriend, I make a quick dart into the bathroom, neglecting to slam the door behind me as I proceed to throw up my guts into the bowl, coughing out rounds of bile with groans and shudders, my knuckles white as they grip onto the sink for support. As I continue to throw up, Kaneki hesitantly enters after me, placing a consoling hand between my shoulders, which he proceeds to rub to release any pent up tension, which my body thanks him for. My stomach, on the other hand, has other ideas, a vile burn raging through it as I spit out more puke. Lovely image there, I know.
After a few minutes of quiet hushing from Kaneki, who refuses to abandon my side, I feel the sickness beginning to ebb, though I still release a low groan that manipulates into a sigh, my fingers grasping onto a few sheets of toilet paper to dab around my mouth. How I've been putting on weight lately whilst I'm constantly throwing up is beyond me, though I guess there are just some things in the world that I won't be able to explain any time soon. So, instead, I do what I do best, being to bitch and moan about this feeling until it evaporates completely, though concern constantly creates a thick mask over Kaneki's face.
"I'm fine. Just anxious, is all," I mutter in response to the worry that his flecks possess, though they seem to dissipate with my lie, my hand rubbing my abdomen to try and soothe the churning feeling that I know is going to return at some point during the day. It always does. And Kaneki's always there to help me through it, which is why, after a few moments of consideration, he frowns and simply shakes his head.
"This can't be just nerves, Rin; you've been like this for the past month. You need to go and see Yukio because, as much as I hate to even consider it, you could be ill and I think it'd be best for you to find out sooner rather than later," Kaneki explains, my head lightly bobbing into a nod of agreement; he's right about this not being a new thing. For the past month, it's pretty much been the same cycle over and over. Wake up, be sick, try to eat, throw up again, down some coffee, lay around all day trying to stop my head from spinning, sleep (barely), repeat. I think it's getting to the point where Yukio's my only option; there aren't exactly hundreds of doctors out there willing to treat a demon.
"Alright. I'll speak with him tonight after work," I mutter, reassuringly patting Kaneki's shoulder before I grasp my toothbrush in my palm, squirting out a blob of toothpaste so that I can scrub my teeth clean and get rid of that putrid smell of sick from my mouth. However, with my words, his eyes suddenly widen, as if he's surprised that I just said what I did.
"You can't go to work like this, Rin!" He somewhat exclaims as I spit out the mouthful of minty froth that I have bundled up in my cheeks, washing it all away so that I can set my toothbrush down again, winding my arms around his neck with a small smile.
"I promise I won't throw up on a customer," I assure him with a giggle, a smirk flickering onto his mouth for a brief second before I connect our lips, linking them together in a gentle kiss until he pulls away, nuzzling his nose with my own before exiting from the room with me lose behind him. But he still looked so unsure. As if he thinks there's something much worse going on than what actually is. I'm just ill. That's it. At least I'm pretty sure that's all it is. I freaking hope so!
Low and behold, work sucked ass. It was boring as all hell and I had to deal with a bitchy kid who wouldn't stop demanding for more and more sugar in her cup until I'm pretty sure it was only 10% coffee actually in there! And then there were the constant toilet breaks I had to take just to eject more nothingness out of my body, which, by this point, is devoid of anything for me to throw up. I kinda just end up dry-heaving into the bowl until I manage to work some coffee into my system. Then I just remove that instead via my mouth.
And, as expected, Kaneki hasn't stopped worrying all day, his arms gently cradling my shoulders as we sit slumped in one of the petite booths near the window, Touka wiping down the table as she stares at me, jutting out her hip whilst resting the rag against it.
"No offence, Rin, but you look terrible," she states, a frustrated sigh growling from me as she does, my hands rubbing my face with a groan to try and keep me from snapping at her again; it doesn't take much for her to piss me off. And pointing out the obvious is always a surefire way of doing that.
"Thanks for the update, but I don't really need your opinion," I spit, Kaneki's eyes widening in sync with Touka's when I use a much more aggressive tone than intended, though I merely fold my arms sternly across my stomach, slouching against Kaneki whilst I glare at her.
"Jesus. Someone took their daily dose of testosterone!" Touka snarls in response, my hands quickly tightening into fists by my sides as I feel the overwhelming urge to surge up at her and give her a good slap around the face for insulting me like that. However, the second Kaneki's fingers curl around my wrist, I feel my body relaxing, despite that irritated fire still burning in my stomach.
"What's gotten into you, Rin? I mean, I know you two don't get along but... That was out of character, even for you," Kaneki states when Touka abandons the two of us before I can imprint a nice red mark upon her face. Merely rolling my eyes with a light scoff, I shake my head as I run my hand through the thick nest of navy that is my hair.
"Out of character? Really? I bitch at her all the time! It's nothing new!" I try to defend, though my pitch is all over the place, which usually tends to happen when I'm lying. I mean, the last time I got worked up at Touka for no apparent reason was because I was already going through so much shit with Yukio at the time. But now? I don't really have a good reason for snapping at her.
"You know what I mean, Rin," Kaneki mutters levelly, causing me to shrink into myself a little when he uses that dominant tone that makes me realize that yes, he's older than me. And yes, he could easily overpower me in a fight. And, since I'm so used to constantly being the strongest in the room, I can't help but be intimidated by the way he manipulates his voice into a more menacing one that I'm not used to. Sighing, I hang my head, pushing my hair from my eyes.
"Look, if this is about me going to see Yukio, I'm on it, alright? I just want five minutes to unwind," I murmur under my breath, Kaneki's features instantly softening whilst he curls his arm around my shoulders again, encouraging me to nestle my face into his neck. Even though I've managed to actually gain a few inches over the past months, making me officially taller than him, I still can't deny that I love snuggling up to him and the half-human half-ghoul water bottle that his body is.
"I'm just worried about you," he whispers in my ear, placing a delicate kiss on the tip of it before motioning his lips lower, their soft touch gracing my jawline in a way that makes me whimper a little, Touka rolling her eyes out of the corner of my vision. Bitch. However, I just push the thoughts of her out of my mind, nuzzling my face deeper into the skin of Kaneki's neck as I gradually start to suckle on it, though I'm forced to stop when a twist courses through my stomach. Are you fucking kidding me?!
"I don't f-feel so good," I groan, pulling away from Kaneki before shooting to my feet, darting into the nearest bathroom, only barely getting there on time to vomit, though all I can feel is frustration when only strands of spit dribble from my mouth. Sorry, but it's the truth. I can't produce anything to throw up any more. All the flesh I've eaten this month was already flushed away this morning. Which means I'm gonna need more as soon as I can to avoid tearing into a random human on the streets. Just brilliant. I just don't understand why the heck this is happening to me. Whatever it is that's happening to me.
Huffing out a heavy sigh, I decide to flush the toilet anyway, though there's not much to dispose of in all honesty. Even still, I wash my hands, splashing a little of the water on my face as well, catching sight of my kakugan glinting the mirror. Well, at least the shop's empty now, save for the handful of ghouls that work here, so nobody's gonna freak out upon seeing my weird-ass black and crimson eye. Exiting the room, I allow my tail to slip from my torso, gradually unwinding until it hits the floor with a soft thud, drawing Kaneki's eyes to me in an instant.
Pushing himself away from the wall just outside the bathroom, he bundles me up in his arms, running a caring hand over my hair as I softly groan into the fabric of his uniform, my hand rubbing soothing circles over my abdomen to try and quell the sickness. "I don't know what's happening to me, Kaneki," I whimper against his shoulder, his arms giving me a light squeeze as he pulls away, a soft smile on his lips.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. We'll go and speak to Yukio right awa-"
"-Kaneki-kun? May I have a word with you, please? It's a matter of high importance for your ears only," Yoshimura (or Gramps, as I have come to like calling him) suddenly croaks from the doorway, his voice rusted with intelligence as he gently smiles, kindness radiating from him through everything he does. Casting an unsure look to me, Kaneki's eyes are enough to ask whether or not he's allowed to go, my arms gradually releasing him from my grip. Ever so hesitantly, Kaneki makes his way over to Gramps, though he does so after pressing a soft kiss into my hair.
"I'll be right back," he assures before taking off out of sight.
