Sorry I've been gone, and that this chapter is short. Haven't had a lot of time to write lately. Warning: Includes mention of self harm, abuse, and possibly suicide in later chapters.

I don't own Tokyo Ghoul

The next few weeks were uneventful, or as uneventful as it could get. My injuries had healed nicely and had faded, only to be replaced by fresh ones soon after. They didn't hurt as much now and it had already faded to the back of my mind. Things at work however picked up, but not in a good way.

Akemi and her friends had picked up on harassing me during that week. It didn't help that Mrs. Kenta was away on a trip during that time and left her in charge. Granted she couldn't fire me and had no authority to actually do anything to me. But she could still make my job difficult. Doubling the work loads, giving me two person jobs to do by myself, making me redo tasks I just finished for the smallest problem... I knew she was getting a kick out of it. The boys weren't sure what to do about it but I assured them I was fine. Akemi was still irked that the tattooed guy came to me for help instead of her. Or because she didn't get his number, I'm pretty sure it was the latter. Knowing her she would have tried hooking up with him by now.

The boys tried to help me as discretely as possible so she wouldn't turn on them either. It wasn't hard since the girls spent a majority of the time in the office slacking off. My own personal work creating displays for the shop had been neglected because of all the extra work I was given. Even some of the simple things I would normally do like placing orders had been left to hang. Thankfully part of Omaro's training included managing inventory and orders. Most of my breaks and lunch, when i finally got them, were spent going over everything and making sure it was correct so there wouldn't be problems later.

Speaking of, the shop had currently closed up early today. The girls deciding they had better things to do and unfortunately dragging Kouta along with them. They left locking up to Omaru and I, and all the basic closing duties. It was currently pouring rain outside, so chances are we wouldn't be getting too many customers today anyway. he front door was currently locked and the sign switched to closed, while the two of us continued working in the back. There was still orders to place and materials for the shop that could not be put off any longer.

"Would Mrs. Kenta be ok with the store closing early today?"

"Honestly, I doubt it. Even if it is one of our usual slow days. But days like this, most would just place orders online." I replied without looking at him. My focus was on the current stack of papers in front of me.

"Should we tell her about this when she comes back? And the other stuff that's been going on?" he asked.

"Not really. It's happened before. Besides it won't make much of a difference."

"Why not? " At that I paused from working to actually look at him. His question had thrown me off guard.

" It doesn't matter. She has no real authority here so it's not like she could ever really do something bad to me," I replied. "Her mom may own the place but she can't really do anything."

"But don't you think it's unfair that she basically does whatever she wants just because her mom owns the place?"

"Of course i do. I think as long as the shop doesn't suffer too badly for it she's in the clear. Besides if we did say something it's four against two and it's not like there's proof."

"You think Kouta would go along with whatever they said? " he asked puzzled. "I know he likes Ami but even he can't ignore what they really do around here."

"I think he would. They managed to drag him off shopping with them didn't they? "

At that he didn't reply and went back to working. We worked comfortably in silence for about another hour before deciding to take a break. Between the two of us a decent amount of work had been finished and only a few more things needed to be done. Before we knew it another couple of hours passed, all that was left to do was close up things up front. Thankfully it wasn't anything major, just straighten the shelves and lock up. The two of us set to work quickly. Normally I would do this on my own

"You don't have to stick around with me," I spoke after a few minutes. "It's past the time for you to leave anyway."

"I don't mind. We're almost done anyway."

"If you insist." I said with a shrug.

With only a few more things to do it wouldn't have mattered if only one of us stayed or not. The rest of the work was done quickly and before we knew it, everything was done. Omaru went about doing a final sweep of the store while I made my way to the front to double check the locks. I made sure I had my mask on before walking to the front, just in case anyone walking by happened to get a glimpse, only to stop dead in my tracks.

A familiar figure was standing in front of the door, eyes hidden by sunglasses and a slight smile on his face.

Thank you so much to everyone who left reviews! You guys are the ones encouraging me to get my butt in gear and keep writing. I admit I am having trouble at times but I'll keep pushing through.

11/27/19