"Earlier this morning the body of an unidentified male in his late twenties was discovered behind an apartment complex on the corner of Horikawa and Nichijou Street in Tokyo Cities 20th Ward. According to a statement given by local authorities, evidence of ghoul predation was found at the scene and the matter is officially being treated as a ghoul related crime. The incident is the latest in an increasing number of…"
Bella stared at the television mounted in the corner of the room listening intently as the young news anchor delivered the daily news. It was nearing midday and she was at Anteiku hanging out with Hide. The plan been to go over some of the more difficult reading material professor Tanaka had assigned them but both had quickly lost interest and turned their attention to other things. Like the apparent killing of a young man now being aired on the morning news.
"That's… actually not that far from the campus…" she said taking a sip of her coffee.
"It isn't the first nearby either" Hide whose attention was also fixed on the news chimed in. "Man this place used to be so quiet too…"
"This isn't typical then?"
"Nope – at least not for the 20th ward. In some of the other wards though this kind of thing can be pretty common".
"Officials from the 20th ward district administrative office are advising people to avoid travelling alone after dark and to immediately report any suspicious activity to their local CCG branch office. During a press conference held this morning by CCG's Chairman Washuu, a significant increase to CCG personnel in designated wards has been officially announced…"
"The CCG? I think I've heard that somewhere before. What is it?" She asked.
"Those guys? They're the Commission of Counter Ghoul; the federal agency in charge of enforcing the Ghoul countermeasure laws. They've got branches in every ward in Tokyo, though their head office in the first is where most of them operate from." Hide explained as he sipped his coffee.
"So then they're like cops?"
"Kinda… They only deal with Ghoul related crimes though. But enough about that, semester break is finally upon us! Made any plans yet?" he asked eager to lighten the mood.
"Not really" she said shrugging. "I was hoping to hang out with Haruko, maybe do some sightseeing or something but I haven't heard from her since Saturday".
"Well that sucks, I was kinda hoping to introduce her to Kaneki" He tilted his head toward the counter where his friend was serving another customer. "They'd probably get along ya'know, both of them being quiet bookish types and all", He said grinning mischievously.
"I don't think either of them would really appreciate you attempting to play match maker" Bella Deadpanned.
"Hey you can't blame me for wanting my best bud to be happy" his mouth twisting into a wry smile as he shrugged off her comment.
"He seems happy enough to me" she said looking over at Kaneki. "Besides I'm pretty sure there's something going on between him and that other waitress". Well at least she assumed that was the case. For all she really knew though they were just be friends outside of work. Still it couldn't hurt to mention it, if only to see Hide's reaction.
"Seriously!? With Touka?" he asked wide eyed as he nearly choked on his cappuccino, his attention clearly piqued.
"Yeah I saw them together in Shinjuku last weekend when I was shopping with Haruko" She explained.
"Huh… No kidding? Sure you're not just misunderstanding things? "
"I don't know I might have. It's not like went up and asked them" She admitted eliciting a laugh from Hide.
"Speaking of Kaneki… How's he doing? Has he recovered from that accident?" he was still wearing that eyepatch she noted, maybe he still had some minor injuries? Then again she'd seen people wearing them as a sort of accessory. Though he really didn't seem the type to follow niche fashion trends.
"Yeah I guess..." Hide spared a glance in his direction. "He's not as withdrawn as he was before and he's agreed to start attending classes again which is great! But… I can't help but worry about him ya'know".
"What happened exactly? I mean you told me about the car accident, but he stopped coming to class before that didn't he?"
Taking another sip of his coffee, Hide's expression was unreadable as he took a moment to gather his thoughts.
"Yeah he was in an accident a couple of weeks before that too. He was walking this girl he'd been dating home when it happened. Apparently some steel beams came loose at a construction site they were walking past and collapsed on top of them. The girl was killed instantly." He explained.
"Jesus!" This guy had worse luck than she did. "First that then a car accident…"
"I know right? As if that weren't bad enough he had to have an organ transplant too, which has been causing all sorts of problems for the operating surgeon. Apparently he didn't receive permission from the next of kin before performing the surgery" he shot a sideways glance at his friend across the room before continuing. "In fact from what they've been saying on TV she wasn't an organ donor at all".
"Seriously?!" How has this guy not been arrested!?
"Yeah there was a public hearing and everything. Lucky for him, Kanou is a pretty well respected figure in the community so there's a good chance he won't face any actual charges. But he will probably still lose his medical license."
"Wait Dr Kanou?"
"Yeah that's him. You've heard of him?"
"Yeah he gave a guest lecture a few weeks ago in the pharmaceutical department".
"Huh, no kidding?" That caught Hides attention. "What was he like?"
Bella thought for a moment trying to remember her brief encounter with the man "hmm, He seemed nice I suppose… I only got to speak to him for a minute or so when I was grabbing some printouts at the end of the seminar, but he seemed pleased when I mentioned I was considering doing medicine post grad. Why?"
Hide shrugged offhandedly as he checked his watch "just curious… Aw crap I'm gonna be late!" getting up he dropped some cash on the table and made to leave.
"Late? What for? We're on holidays".
"Job interview, a temp job as a courier" he explained. "Sorry gotta go! Send me a message when you hear from Haruko ok?"
"Ok, well let me know how it goes".
"Will do!"
Now what am I supposed to do for the rest of the day? I guess I could see if Haruko is finally around… or I could just relax at home.
"I'm sick of this!"
Bella was pulled from her thoughts as one of the other patrons across the room began raising her voice. Looking over at the commotion, it took her a moment to recognise the two customers sitting at one of the other tables. It was the mother and daughter she nearly bumped into the first time she had come here. I guess they must be regulars.
The young girl scraped her chair against the floorboards as she stood up and thumped her hands down on the table, spilling her mother's drink everywhere in the process. "I wanna go home! I wanna see Dad!" she cried.
"Now Hinami, look what you've-" before she could finish chastising her daughter, the young girl ran out of the room, pushing past one of the older staff members as she disappeared into the back of the store Kaneki following behind.
Bella grabbed a handful of serviettes from the counter and walked over to the woman who was trying without success to clean up the coffee that was now dripping onto the floor and all down the front of her dress.
"Here" Bella said handing her the napkins.
"Ah thank you" the young woman replied
"It's no trouble, you looked like you had your hands full" she said pointing at the table. "Is she okay?"
"Oh? Yes she just misses her father…" she said looking rather uncomfortable as she wiped down the table. "He's away on business at the moment and it's the first time they've been separated for such long time".
The two of them quickly wiped down the table, clearing up the remaining mess along with a now ruined stack of paper and crayons the girl had been playing with.
"Thank you for your help, and I'm terribly sorry about my daughter's disruptive behaviour" The young lady lowered her head in apology, "she's usually so well behaved".
"Don't worry about it, like I said it was no trouble" Bella said smiling. "My parents separated when I was little so I didn't really get to see much of my dad growing up so I get why she would be upset. Being away from your family can be tough when you're young..." She'd been the same when her parents had first split up. She'd cried and cried when her mom had told her they were moving away from forks and her dad. It got easier as she grew older of course but that had only made it harder for her to connect with Charlie when she actually did get to spend time with him. By the time she moved to forks in her second year of high school, the two of them could barely hold a conversation.
"Ahem…" Kaneki cleared his throat. "Here let me take those" he extended a hand he took the lumps of wet paper and dumped them in the bin behind the counter before giving the table a once over with a damp cloth.
"I'm afraid she's locked herself in one of the upstairs' rooms…" he said apologetically "I'm sorry Miss Ryouko but I couldn't convince her to come down". He said looking defeated.
"It's alright I'll have a talk with her" she gathered her things and made her way upstairs leaving Bella standing awkwardly with Kaneki.
…
"So… Hide tells me you're planning going back to class after the break"
"Ah yes… I've more or less recovered now so I thought I'd try catching up on my studies" he replied in his usual polite yet stiff tone. "Though I might still need to drop a class or two".
"That sucks, Hide said you were in our literature class so if it helps you can have a copy of my notes, I've already printed a copy for Hide so it's no big deal".
"That would be good if you co- Wait you're taking Japanese literature!?" he asked surprised.
"Uh yeah…" she replied caught off guard by his sudden outburst.
"That's pretty impressive for a non-native speaker. Though it is the introductory course, so the workload isn't too heavy" he said more to himself than to Bella.
"It has been pretty challenging." She admitted, a little flattered by the offhanded compliment. "We're due to start covering a new set of reading material after the break too". She'd already had to pull more than one all-nighter just so she could keep up with all the obscure kanji the class kept throwing at her.
"We are?"
"Yeah. First up after the break is Murakami's debut work then its Osamu Dazai's more popular novels"
"Strait into the heavy stuff then? At least I've read most of them" Kaneki mused
"At any rate I hope you don't decide to drop the class. Hide complains about you not being there enough as it is" she said rolling her eyes in a half-hearted attempt to look annoyed. She doubted anyone could be truly annoyed with Hide for any length of time. "From the sound of things it should probably be me borrowing your notes…" she pointed out.
"ahehe well then I guess I've got no choice but to stick around then". He said sheepishly
"He might not show it but he was really worried about you, you know".
Kaneki let out a sigh "I know, I didn't mean to make him worry like that it's just…" he paused trying to think of the right words "I just had to work through some things on my own".
"Yeah I get that, I just thought you should know. Well I should head out. Need to go to the book store".
"Oh getting anything in particular?" he asked his interest piqued.
"Not really," she shrugged "actually I just want to see if a friend of mine is there. She's been difficult to get a hold of lately so I thought I'd see if I could catch her at work. Why? Got any recommendation's?"
Kaneki's face lit up with enthusiasm. "Well since you asked, there is one author I've been hooked on lately…"
Bella wandered out of the bookstore into the rainy street feeling somewhat dejected. Haruko had been nowhere in sight. She had however managed to find a copy of the book Kaneki had recommended earlier that day.
Bella looked up at the cloudy sky, her brows creasing in frustration. Well so much for hanging out with Haruko during the holidays… maybe I'll swing by her house later, just to see how she's doing…
She hurried through the streets, umbrella in hand as she headed for home.
"Excuse me miss". Stopping mid stride she turned to face whoever had addressed her. She found herself face to face with a stern looking fellow, probably in his late-twenties with a wire bound grey notebook in one hand and an umbrella in the other. "We're looking someone… a young woman and her daughter" he said holding up his notebook. "Does anything here seem familiar to you at all?" Inside were a collection of what looked like crime scene photos taken at some small apartment, along with various articles of clothing and other miscellaneous items that had been documented and tagged. "Perhaps you saw someone wearing similar clothing or perhaps carrying some of these items?"
She pursed her lips as she examined the items in the photos while the man waited patiently for a response.
They do look kind of familiar… but these clothes could be from practically anywhere.
"Mmm no sorry".
"I see… Well sorry for taking up your time ma'am". The man quickly moved on, stopping another passer-by a little further down the street.
Huh… well that was weird. Wonder what that was all about…
Not wanting to dwell on it, and eager to escape the rain she continued on her way wandering toward the bus stop.
Half an hour later she was rushing up the stairs of her apartment complex, eager to get inside and out of the rain. Turning the knob she opened the front door and crossed the threshold dumping her shopping bag on the coffee table before turning on the TV and flopping onto the bed.
Pulling out her phone she typed out a quick text to Haruko
Hey! Stopped by the bookstore, manager said you were taking time off. Is everything alright?
Sure maybe she was being a little pushy but it wasn't like Haruko to ignore her. While she might be shy she didn't brush people off.
Or I could just be over reacting…
Hitting send she scrolled through her contacts, dialling another number she probably hadn't used anywhere near as much as she should have. It only took a couple of rings for someone to answer.
"Swan residence".
"Dad?"
"Hey kiddo! I was wondering when I'd get a call from you! How's things?" Charlie beamed.
"Yeah things are good, great actually. Sorry I haven't called much since I got here".
"Don't worry about it Bells you must be pretty busy with everything, you coping ok?" he asked
"Yeah I'm doing pretty well, everyone's been real nice."
"Well I'm glad to hear that, got anything planned?"
"Just hanging out with friends you know shopping, sightseeing the usual."
"Sounds like fun, you better take a tonne of photos while your there. Your mom won't let you hear the end of it if you don't".
"uugh…"
Charlie chuckled at her lack of enthusiasm.
"Speaking of your mother, make sure you give her a call soon too. I know she might harp on a bit but she worries if she goes too long without hearing from her little girl".
"I will dad".
"Good girl. So uh… I kind of have some news myself actually" Charlie said, a slight change in tone the only thing hinting at the nervousness hiding behind his usual gruff demeanour.
"Really?"
"Yeah. So you know how Sue and I have been dating for a while now?"
"Yeah?"
"Well were uh… we're getting married".
…
…
"Uh Bella? Could you maybe say something?" he said not even trying to hide his fraying nerves.
"Seriously!? That's great! I'm really happy for you two!" she exclaimed taken aback by the sudden revelation.
Another moment passed before Charlie let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Bella you have no idea how much it means to hear you say that. I was worried that-"
"Dad, I'm glad you found someone who makes you happy. I know I can be a little" she paused as she tried to think of the right words. "Distant at times… But I really do care you know. You deserve to be happy".
"y'know I think we might have that particular trait in common" Charlie said amused.
"You know I think we just might."
"So then. When's the wedding?"
"Not for a while yet, figured we'd wait for you to come back at least. Gives us plenty of time to sort everything out".
"Cool".
"Well anyways I'd best let you get back to it, I can't imagine these long distance calls are cheap".
"Okay dad, say hi to Sue for me".
"Will do kiddo".
Bella hung up. Laying back she stretched out staring at the ceiling.
Hmm what now?
With Hide off job hunting and Haruko off doing whatever it is she was doing, her list of ways to pass the time was running pretty thin. No school and her friends all busy it was shaping up to be a rather dull week. She briefly entertained the idea of going back to the coffee shop to chat with Kaneki… The two of them got along well enough given their shared enthusiasm for literature. But quickly dismissed the thought. He probably wouldn't want her bothering him while he was working anyway. Maybe once he started coming to class more regularly and the two of them were better acquainted it would be more appropriate to visit him at work. They'd have more to talk about by then too, like that book that he recommended.
Oh the Book!
Scooting over to the coffee table she grabbed the shopping bag from earlier that day pulled out the novel she'd bought that morning and settled in for an afternoon at home. Gingerly turning the book over in her hand staring at the cover.
The Egg of the Black Goat. By Takatsuki Sen
Across the ward, hidden in the shadows of one of Tokyo's more secluded alley ways. The lingering smell of garbage and bile filled the air as a hooded figure stood over the remains their latest kill.
Some old man with balding hair who'd been wandering home from work and had been unlucky enough to walk down the wrong street at the wrong time. It was messy yet necessary business but with that damn binge eating hag gone it was finally safe to reclaim old territory.
Not just old territory in fact, most of the territory that damn woman had stolen over the last month or so was still unclaimed and that meant it was possible to hunt all over the ward, rather than being regulated to a few blocks on the outskirts. And that meant it was possible to hunt more frequently without attracting too much unwanted attention. Provided you were smart about it and didn't use the same area more than once in a month.
She had to be quick though. Others were quickly starting to muscle in on unclaimed hunting grounds and they wouldn't take kindly to poachers. On top of that rumours of doves in the area meant things were only going to get even more risky from here on out.
Just a few more, then we'll have enough to wait this whole mess out.
Just a few more…
Hey everyone! Im really sorry its taken this long to update but between the Christmas season, Holidays, Fallout 4 and about a thousand other things it just sort of fell to the wayside...
I should be able to post more frequently now plus this one is a little longer than the others so there's that...
This was originally going to end differently with more major plot stuff but by the time it hit 3500 words I decided to put it in the next chapter this it was starting to feel cluttered with different events and locations
Also I plan on going back and fixing some stuff in older chapters as I upload this. Sorry if it spams your inbox :-( any changes will be logged at the top of each chapter.
As always please send me all the constructive criticism you have, Its the only way ill improve. so by all means throw your opinions on plot, grammar pacing layout ,style etc... all is welcome! Also a beta would a godsend if anyone is willing :-).
Thanks a tonne for all the reviews I received between this one and the last! Its really nice to see people taking an interest in this. I'll try and answer any questions directed at me. apologies if Ive missed any.
XxoiIioxX: Im using the manga mostly. It has more material to work with and since Root A changed a lot I prefer to favor the manga .But I've watched the anime a tonne too.
Tibricel Tibby: Thanks for the input! dialogue was a real concern for me since I'd never written any before so I'm glad your enjoying it.
ShiroHollow96: Maybe hehe! Ive got a few scenarios planned.
FictionInformer: Thanks for pointing that out. I'll be fixing that before I upload this.
KioshiUshima: No pairings planned but who knows. If I manage to write decent chemistry between Bella and someone It might happen. no promises though.
itachisdbzgurl: It might happen but then again it might not :-p I have a feeling this question is gonna come up a lot.
sweetandsimple1: thanks for the review and encouragement! I know what you mean with the bashing and i'll keep it in mind as I go forward. cheers!
EvilDragonMuspelheim: Im glad to hear that :-D I hope you enjoy it!
Guest: Like I said above, no pairings planned but we shall see.
Tulip: Thanks for the response! I get what your saying. I've looked at a few different ways to do this and that is one of them. Its difficult because everyone wants this to go different ways and I think they all have merit, including the non human route. Its something im keeping in mind as i write this.
Mitsuk: Yeah im a huge fan of the manga. I'm glad they dont seem OOC I was really worried about that.
MaxFangIggyNudgeGazzyAngel: Yeah I know that feeling University can be a real pain... as for the Poll it was mostly just for curiosities sake. its not for anyone in particular but its still handy info to know.
castor117: Im glad you like it! and im really glad you posted more of yours. its a fun read!
Shinigamiperson: Thanks!
