Chapitre Sept
Fueguchi Ryoko & Hinami
Days passed after the incident, leaving Touka locked away in her room, refusing to go to work, choosing to take some personal days that had accumulated over time. One particular day at Anteiku found Kaneki working diligently as Hideyoshi and Shion sat at a nearby table, happily chatting away, a friendship sparking between them. The door leading to the back and the blond looked over, spitting out his coffee. "N-Nishio-senpai?!"
"What the hell?" Kaneki chastised as he began to clean the mess his friend had made.
Shion merely waved at the new waiter. "Hello, Nishio!"
"Hey, Nagachika, Akuyo." He bowed his head at each teen respectively. "I see you've still got your usual maggot-infested look about your face."
"I gotta say, Nishio-san," Hideyoshi began with a smirk. "The more I look at you, the more you don't seem to fit here in Anteiku."
"I'll kick you out. We're still prepping, you know."
Shion laughed. The girl was beautifully getting along with everyone at the café, and Kaneki was happy to see her fitting in after the problems they had faced with Shuu.
"Why'd you decide to start working at Anteiku anyway, senpai?" Hideyoshi asked.
"Shut your trap, I've got my reasons."
The white haired girl looked up knowingly from her cup of coffee. Ever since the night with Shuu almost killing Kimi, Nishiki had taken up Yoshimura's offer to work at the café in order to keep his girlfriend safe. He'd stop hunting for humans and instead keep himself well fed with the food at Anteiku, in return for his employment. Since then, the blond man had been living an easier life.
Hideyoshi let out an obnoxious gasp. "Don't tell me you're going after Touka-chan?"
"Ha! Like I'd want that brainless woman."
The blond student looked over at his best friend, who had moved to stand behind Shion. "Speaking of Touka, has she still been sick?"
The white haired girl looked up at Kaneki. "Yeah," he replied, refusing to meet Hideyoshi or Shion's gaze.
A sudden slam caused all four young adults to turn over to a nearby table, where young Hinami had stood up, hands shaking as she stared down a distraught Ryoko. "I want to be with dad!" she suddenly cried, running to the door which lead to the employees only section of the café. Shion met Kaneki's eyes and stood. "Go take care of her, Kaneki," she said, walking over to Ryoko as the dark haired boy made his way after the girl.
"What was that all about?" Hideyoshi asked.
Nishiki shrugged. "Who knows? Shit happens in life."
Shion turned to the young blond in front of her, finishing her cup of coffee. "Naga-kun, you're going to be late for class."
"Crap, you're right! I totally forgot!" Hideyoshi quickly scrambled to pick up his things while dropping a few coins onto the table. "Thanks for everything!" And he left, leaving Shion to walk over to Ryoko, lowering her voice.
"Is everything alright, Fueguchi-san?"
"Shion-san...do me a favor?" Ryoko asked quietly, just as Kaneki came back downstairs. "Protect Hinami." She then turned to Kaneki, who sat down across from her. Shion rested her weight against the back of his chair, resulting in a quick glare in her direction which she ignored. "This is my fault. With my husband not around, I have to be twice as strong."
"What is Hinami-chan so upset about to begin with?" Kaneki asked.
"We haven't heard anything from my husband in quite a while. Now, Hinami insists that she wants to go see him."
"Where is Hinami-chan's father right now?"
Ryoko hesitated for a moment. "Some time ago, my husband got caught up in some dangerous business over in the 13th Ward. But when Hinami was born, he stopped doing that sort of stuff for us. He's a great man."
She stood up, and Shion perked up from her spot. "Are you sure it's a good time to go see her?"
"It's alright," Ryoko replied with a smile. "I'm her mother, if I don't spoil her, who will?"
Shion found herself very attached to young Hinami after what her mother had asked of her, choosing to sit with her, arm thrown lazily over the back of the couch as the girl practiced her reading while Kaneki went to visit Touka. The half-ghoul entered the room after a few minutes and Hinami smiled up at him. "Is onee-chan feeling better?"
"That's a good question," Kaneki laughed.
"I hope she gets better soon. Now, let's continue with the reading," she said happily, pointing to a few words on the page. "How do you read this?"
"Let me see…" Kaneki looked at the word in question. "That says 'cloudburst'."
"Cloudburst?"
"It means to start raining violently."
The girl looked at Kaneki with awe and Shion smiled. She met Kaneki's eyes for a second before Ryoko entered the room. "Hinami?"
"Hi, mom!"
"You're practicing your reading again?"
"Yeah!"
Ryoko bowed in Kaneki's direction. "Thank you for always doing this."
"Oh, no, it's fine." Shion snickered at Kaneki's sudden nervousness. "Well, I'll be going now."
"Wait for me," the white haired girl called, jumping to her feet and rushing to Kaneki's side.
"Thanks, onii-chan!" Hinami said as she waved happily.
"See you tomorrow, okay?" he replied, leaving the room with Shion in tow. When the door closed she stood there, listening to the happy conversation between mother and daughter with a pained expression on her face.
Shion was out with Hideyoshi later that night, the blond boy slowly riding his bike next to her. "Looks like rain," he said to her, and she looked at him.
"Naga-kun, do you mind if we go by the bookstore? There's something that's been bugging me."
Hideyoshi glanced over at her. "You and Kaneki, always buried in your books."
When they reached the bookstore, Shion spotted Ryoko and Hinami, rain already pouring from the heavens, walking happily down the street. Suddenly, Ryoko turned around, rushing through the crowd, Hinami trying to fight her away. Looking in the opposite direction, Shion spotted some Doves following them. But Hinami suddenly wrenched her hand away from Ryoko and began running ahead, into an alleyway. Shion panicked.
"Naga-kun, get out of here. Please!" she cried as she ran in that direction, pulling out her phone. She dialed Kaneki's number, hearing the dialing tone just as Hinami ran back out the alley. "Hinami!" she cried, and the girl turned, tears mixing with rain, and ran into her arms. Shion caught a glimpse of Ryoko's kagune. "Shit...ah, Kaneki?" she asked, startled at his voice as she tried to keep Hinami quiet. "Hurry, Hinami's in trouble. We're by Suzuki Books." And she hung up, reaching behind her.
Two men armed with guns came up from behind her, shooting, but a sharp black tail blocked any bullets. Hinami looked up at her savior. An ornate fox mask looked back down at her. "I promised your mother I'd protect you…"
Ninetails had entered the battlefield.
Eternal White Rose finally has an official Tumblr blog! Go follow eternalwhiterose for updates on this fanfiction, and my other projects as well, even some cosplays that I'll be working on! Track 'fic: Artificial' for updates on this story in particular, or if you have anything you'd like to add or draw.
Okay, so Shion has started college and has already made a great impression to her public speaking professor by not showing up to his first class. Whoops. It happens. I got lost and couldn't find the class.
I'm going to start taking my laptop with me to college so that I can write up chapters, but juggling writing, classes, and swimming, I don't know how quickly future chapters will be released.
-Eternal White Rose
