"I'm going to visit Kaneki at the hospital!" came Hide's peppy voice from the living room. Sojin's pencil paused in the middle of a word as he looked up from his homework. The boy's brown bangs fell lightly across his forehead and his soft lips dropped into a slight frown. Rubbing the eraser lightly on his eyebrow, he made a pouty face, aware that Hide could not see his reaction from the living room.
"Okay, tell him I say hi," the younger boy replied, looking back down at his homework. To an outsider, it might appear that Sojin disliked Kaneki due to his less-than-excited reaction every time Hide uttered the name. This was far from the truth. Though he would never say it, Sojin had a crush on his orange-haired roommate, which led to an irrational jealousy of his crush's best friend. Sojin truly liked Kaneki as a person and the two often hung out—even without Hide. Still, the brown haired boy couldn't hide his jealousy at being Hide's number two. While Kaneki had grown up with Hide and developed a close bond, Sojin had just moved into the apartment a few months ago. The boy let out a sigh and placed his pencil on the table, turning to look out the window at the dreary gray landscape of Tokyo as he heard the door to the apartment open and close. Normally, the city was bustling with people and full of neon lights, yet a thick layer of clouds had settled over the capital today. Sojin enjoyed his life in Tokyo, even though he had had no say in his relocation to the metropolis.
Prior to Tokyo, the boy had lived a quiet life in the Japanese countryside. While far from a farmboy, the electric landscape of the big city was taking a while to adjust to. His parents had sent the twenty-year-old to the city in the hopes of acquiring a better education than he could in his own town. While he had initially protested, well aware of the worsening ghoul situation in Tokyo, he eventually gave in and set his sights on making his parents proud. After searching for a place to stay, he had stumbled upon an open room in a small apartment with Hide and ended up living with the slightly older boy. To Sojin, Hide was more than a roommate. The happy-go-lucky boy watched over him and acted as a protector in the harsh city, keeping him safe from swindlers and ghouls alike. It was this caring personality that had caused Sojin's attraction to grow and eventually develop into a full out crush.
Still, protective as he was, Hide spent much of his time out of the apartment with Kaneki. Sojin tried not to hold this against him, especially since Kaneki had recently been sent to the hospital and still seemed to be recovering. While the twenty-year-old had yet to hear the details of what had injured his friend, he understood that Kaneki needed Hide by his side. Hide also seemed to be in lower spirits due to the accident, probably due to Kaneki's lack of answers to his phone calls. Sojin shook his head, pulling himself up to a standing position and scanning the room for his cell phone. He snatched it off the table, slipped on his shoes, and exited out the door Hide had left from moments before. His roommate was probably going to visit his bedridden friend at the hospital yet again, so Sojin would find a way to entertain himself in the meantime.
Stopping on the street below the apartment, he looked left and right trying to think of a place to go. He would visit Kaneki again, but he had already visited the day before and didn't want to creep the boy out. The thought of his friend sparked an idea, reminding Sojin of the quaint coffee shop that Hide and Kaneki frequented. The boys had taken him a few times before, but it would be nice to visit alone for once and get some reading done. Nodding his head happily, the boy set out for the shop, humming a tune quietly.
The ghoul situation in this ward was far less severe than those of the neighboring areas—not to mention attacks rarely happened in the day—allowing Sojin to arrive at the shop unscathed. The brown-haired boy entered the shop, bowing slightly to the girl behind the counter. Sojin had visited the shop enough times to remember the worker's distinct purple hair and rather scary gaze. The girl seemed to have acknowledged his greeting, bowing slightly in return before turning around to wash dishes that seemed to already be clean. The boy shrugged and took a seat at a booth near the window, pulling out a book and beginning to read. An hour passed peacefully before the boy felt the coffee he had ordered hit his bladder. Unable to squirm uncomfortably any longer, he carefully placed his book on the table and searched for the bathroom. He glanced at the spot where the purple-haired girl had once stood, but she had vanished from the post. In fact, he couldn't find any staff members in the front of the cafe.
Deciding he would have to find it himself, the boy headed towards a door leading to the back of the restaurant and quietly slipped through. He continued down the narrow hallway which contained a surprising amount of doors leading to other rooms. Sojin perked up upon hearing a familiar name mentioned in a hushed voice behind one of the doors.
"That Kaneki kid…he was with Rize when she died," the voice whispered. Sojin's eyes widened, surprised that Kaneki would be mentioned randomly at the coffee shop. Perhaps he could get some details of Kaneki's accident for Hide! Inching closer to the door, he placed his ear against it, listening intently.
"He was. Judging by the reports I've received from our sources around the hospital, they transferred her organs into the boy," came the voice of an elderly man. Sojin felt his heart rate increase. He hadn't realized that the accident had been so bad that Kaneki had needed organ transplants. His thoughts were interrupted as the conversation continued.
"What?! How could the organs of a ghoul be transferred into a human?" came the female's voice, quite loudly this time and accompanied by a thump that Sojin could only assume was her fist hitting the table.
"Touka! Be quiet. Do you want everyone to know we house ghouls here?" came the elderly man's voice. Sojin let out an audible gasp at this last bit of information. Ghouls? Here? He took a step away from the door, realizing the danger of the establishment he now stood in. Unfortunately, his gasp had been a bit too loud. The door smashed to pieces in a whirlwind of wood and dust as he felt a hand wrap around his neck and slam him into the wall, slowly increasing the strength of its grip. Sojin cracked his eyes open to find a pair of black and red ones peering straight back into his. Unable to scream due to the pressure around his neck, he scraped at the hand of the purple-haired girl in a desperate attempt to free himself.
"Eavesdropping were you? You're with the CCG! You chose the wrong place to spy, kid," she stated. Sojin's mind raced as the air rapidly left his body. He would have to choose his last words carefully.
"I'm…not CCG!" he exclaimed, barely able to get the words out of his constricted windpipe. The girl looked unconvinced. A desperate idea flashed through the boy's mind as he felt his consciousness begin to slip away.
"I-I'm a…ghoul!" Sojin managed to whisper. The girl let out a scoff, squeezing the boy's neck even harder. Sojin shut his eyes again as he felt as if the girl's fingers were about to rip through his very flesh.
"Touka," came the elderly voice once more. Suddenly, the pressure around his neck disappeared, allowing air to pour into his deprived lungs. Sojin fell to the ground coughing and gasping for air, his neck stinging from the girl's grip.
"He may be telling the truth you know," said the voice, as its owner entered the hallway, placing his hand on the purple-haired girl's shoulder.
"Tch. He's a human if I've ever seen one. Even if he's not with the CCG, he knows too much now," she shot back, removing the grip from her shoulder.
Sojin's mind raced through all of the ghoul documentaries Hide had made him watch at their apartment.
"I am a ghoul! I'm just weak! I can't enter ghoul state at will….I came here for protection!" the boy replied, rubbing his neck and gazing up at Touka. To his surprise, the girl simply scoffed and walked back down the hallway towards the shop.
"A ghoul knows the smell of human flesh, kid. Nice try, though," she said as she pushed through the door.
Sojin looked back at the old man, expecting him to enter ghoul form and finish him off. The old man simply smiled and pointed towards the window.
"It seems Touka is feeling merciful today. I would use that as your exit," he stated. Sojin scrambled to his feet and rushed towards the window, thrusting it open. Before he could jump, the old man spoke up once more.
"Ah, and I would refrain from mentioning anything you heard or experienced today. Touka is a very good hunter, I'm afraid," he stated. Sojin gritted his teeth, jumping onto the soft grass outside and making a break for his apartment, tears of fear welling in his eyes.
"No way…" he whispered in disbelief, not daring to look back.
Heheheh...I love TG ^^ Please leave feedback so I know how to improve! See you next chapter!