"Willow, back so soon?" Touka warmly greeted me with a smile the moment I stepped through the doors to Anteiku. I nonchalantly waved to her and nodded. With a swing of my arm, I effortlessly threw my bag over my shoulder. Touka finished cleaning her table before setting her rag down and running up to give me a hug. I dropped my bag and gave her a bear hug in return.
"Nothing's changed I see," I commented when we broke the hug.
"All except for a few things," Touka replied with a knowing smirk. The moment I shot her a confused look and raised my eyebrow, a boy with an eyepatch walked in.
"Oh," was all I said.
The boy looked surprised for a moment and he tensed up. I could already tell his thought process. The cafe wasn't open, so I couldn't be a customer. There was a bag by my feet so I was most likely staying. The only thing left was if - he shot Touka a questioning look. There it was. Touka nodded slightly in reply to him. I reached my hand out to him. "Nice to meet you. I'm Willow Grove. I used to be a part of Anteiku until I left the ward. Now I'm back," I smiled at him.
I could tell he was less cautious as he grabbed my hand and shook it. "I'm Kaneki Ken. I joined a few weeks ago," he politely smiled back.
"I see you've returned. Welcome back, Willow-chan. Go ahead and get settled in your room. We have much to catch up on," a voice I knew too well said from the stairway. I turned to him with a large smile plastered on my face.
"Will do! It's good to be back Yoshimura-san." And with that, I bowed to Kaneki, hugged Touka once more, grabbed my bag and ran up the stairs.
I quickly unpacked my bag, putting my clothes back in their original drawers. I had left the 20th ward in order to find my father, to which I had no luck with. I grew up with my mother in the 11th ward. To say the least, it was a nightmare. We were always trying to find a place to sleep every night. We finally made our way out of the 11th ward when I was about 10 years old. But the moment we had tried walking in the open, we had run into some doves, who killed my mother mercilessly right in front of me. I would have been dead if Yoshimara hadn't of saved me. I had lived at Anteiku since then.
My mother rarely ever spoke of my father. But when she did, I made sure to pay attention to every detail. Thus, I had known the basic appearance of my unnamed father, what type of kagune he had, and his personality. My mother never suspected me to have payed attention, but I have only one defense for that. Never underestimate a fatherless child.
A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. "Come in," I replied as I placed the new books I had bought on my slightly packed bookcase. Slightly being an understatement. Kaneki walked in, carrying a tray of coffee. "Sorry, it's a bit messy in here," I awkwardly scratched my head. I didn't expect someone to come in, so I had books strewn across the floor. "If you need a place to set the tray, you can put it..." I looked around. "There," I pointed behind me towards a small book less space on my coffee table. Kaneki simply smiled and set it down. I turned around and continued shoving my books into my tightly packed bookcase.
I jumped slightly when Kaneki spoke. "You already bought this book? But it was just published," I looked back at him as he spoke, holding the book in his hands.
"Yup. Read it already too," I laughed uneasily. I had a bad habit of reading books only days after I bought them. Kaneki was flipping through the pages, his eyes trying to take everything in. "If you want you can just borrow the book," I shoved one last book into the shelf. I turned around as I dusted myself off, and smiled to Kaneki.
I loved the look on his face. Like a little human child getting candy. "Are you sure?" Kaneki asked.
"Positive. Keep it as long as you like. I finished it after all," I replied. I walked over to him and the tray of coffee. I took a cup and poured some for myself. I quietly sipped at the coffee. I didn't actually like the taste of coffee, I just missed Anteiku's coffee and I needed the caffeine to keep myself awake for the rest of the day until I could sleep. Safely.
"Thank you so much!" Kaneki said as he bowed his head to me.
"Ah, really no problem. You don't have to bow to me over a book, Kaneki. Formalities should be cast aside. I'm part of Anteiku again which means i'm part of your family," I poked him in the head. "Now stand up."
"Eheh… Well, Willow, Thank you," Kaneki said with a grin.
"Yes yes. Now shoo. You shouldn't dawdle on me and I don't want a pile of books to fall and squish you," I said as I scooted him out of the room.
I smiled and shook my head. I was glad that I found someone to share a common interest with. Kaneki obviously liked books, and I, well. I had a room that didn't have enough bookshelves with book literally in piles on the floor. I took another sip of coffee and got back to work on my cluttered room.
Not even a half hour later I had a clean, presentable room. Satisfied with myself, I quietly walked out of my room and down the stairs to the cafe. I could already hear the chatter of people and the clinking of plates. Touka, I noticed, was taking orders from some humans, while Kaneki was talking to some orange haired kid. I looked around for the manager, spotting him behind the counter making coffee. I walked up to him and greeted him with a wave and smile. He smiled back. "I want to get back into routine as soon as possible if thats ok?" I shyly said. I wasn't sure how accepting Anteiku would be since I had left them before.
"I thought you'd say that," Yoshimura said, taking me off guard. He pulled my old uniform out from under the counter and handed it to me. "Now get dressed quickly. You have much time to make up for," he said sternly, but there was a warmth in his gaze that reassured me that I was home. Safe and sound.
"Yes sir!" I said with a mocking grin and salute. The Manager only chuckled and went back to his coffee making. I took my leave and walked straight into the meeting room to get dressed. When I was back into my old familiar clothes, I got straight to work. Touka was racing around trying to get all the customers. Anteiku was incredibly busy today, completely the opposite of how I remembered it. I grabbed an extra notepad and pencil and walked up to Touka.
"I have your back," I said as I placed my fist over my heart and bowed down to her. I ignored my long orange hair as it fell over my shoulders and into my face. I heard a thump and looked up to see Touka with her fist over her heart as well. I grinned, happy that she wasn't upset with me for leaving.
I wiped the sweat off my brow. It had been a while since I had a full day of work. "Thank you for coming!" I called out to the last customer as they walked out the door. "Good work everybody!" I shouted.
"Good job yourself," Touka responded with a grin. Was it just me or was she smiling more lately?
"Good job, Willow," Kaneki said once he stood up after wiping off the counter. Touka waved to me and went into the changing rooms to get out of her uniform.
"Thank you! Have you started reading the book yet?" I asked. If I were him, I would have been finished by now, even with the work.
Kaneki had a guilty look on his face. "No. Not yet. I was hoping to start it after work today," He sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
I grinned and said, "Cool! Enjoy! I'm going to head out for a bit to buy some books, bye Kaneki!" I waved to him once and ran into the changing room after Touka.
I had changed rather quickly into my casual clothes and stuffed my uniform into my old locker. Without another word I grabbed some money out of my wallet, left it in the locker, and ran out of the shops. I instantly began heading down the familiar streets towards the main shopping district. I knew exactly where I was going. My favorite bookstore. Today, another book was coming out from a new series I was reading, and I was going to get that book before anybody else bought them all. I was a book nerd and I wasn't afraid to show it. I had other qualities that hid my inner book nerd, but I still showed it to everyone. Books fascinated me. Different worlds with happy endings. You could forget about everything else about your world and get lost in another. Pure bliss in my opinion.
I looked up at the building in front of me. I could see the large towering bookshelves through the windows. This store was definitely one of the reasons I had returned, besides having no leads and missing everyone at Anteiku. I stepped inside the store, sadly noticing a line by the cashier already. Well. Not to bad. I could still get my book. Hopefully.
I walked back into Anteiku with a smile. I was able to get my book. I almost ran into a table when I noticed the main lights were off. It wasn't that late, it was only seven o'clock. I looked around to find the manager and Toula speaking at the counter, where the only source of light was coming from. I could hear the two of them from where I stood. "Take Kaneki to get a mask from Uta, tomorrow. It's your day off isn't it?" Yoshimura-san said to Touka as he cleaned the cups.
"Ahhh," Touka exhaled. "I have to waste my day off on that brat?"
At that moment I stepped in. "Awe, come on Touka, wouldn't it be fun to go see Uta's masks again? And plus, Kaneki isn't a brat," I pouted. "Speaking of which, I need a new mask too. I kinda broke mine in a small scuffle with some other ghouls by accident…" I trailed off, scratching the back of my head.
"Accident?!" Touka exclaimed with a face palm.
"Willow, you shouldn't be so reckless," the manager calmly commented.
"Yeah yeah. What did you expect? It's me we're talking about," I laughed sheepishly. I hated it when they worried. It made me feel guilty.
"Anyways, if you need a new mask, why don't you go instead," Touka complained. I was about to retort, but the Manager beat me too it.
"It's safer with three people, and it would be a good experience for you as well," Yoshimura said, and finished cleaning. He simply walked away afterwards. Touka huffed with annoyance. We both knew that whatever Yoshimura said was how things would go, whether we liked it or not.
I heard footsteps echoing down the stairway. I quietly turned around to find Kaneki walking down the stairs. "Why is it so dark in here?"
"I have no clue. Oh! By the way! Touka and I are taking you down to Uta's shop to get a mask tomorrow. I broke mine a few weeks ago, so I have to get a new one too. I hope you're free tomorrow," I said quickly before Touka could make up an excuse not to go. She was going. I would make sure of it.
"A-a mask?" Kaneki seemed a little worried.
"Yup! Ah. You don't know?" I suddenly realized something. "You're half ghoul, aren't you?" I blinked at him. It was interesting. He most likely just recently became one, because if he were born as half ghoul, he would have either had a mask or at least know about them.
"Y-yeah," Kaneki began to stutter. "Why-why would I need a mask?"
"If you're worried about killing people, it's not for that. It's just incase you run into some Doves. Nasty little buggers," I muttered the last part under my breath, but Kaneki seemed to hear me. He snorted a little. "So. Wear casual clothes. It's an adventure!" I shouted and raised my fist in the air.
"Willow be quiet!" I could hear the manager shout from somewhere in the building. I clasped my hand over my mouth, Touka sighing as she cleaned the tables, and Kaneki laughing under his breath. I smiled. My clumsiness seemed to have calmed him down a bit. Although I was a few years older than both Kaneki and Touka, I was the least mature.
