author's note;
10/01/14 — Someone please find Kaneki Ken. He's been human-zoned for the past two chapters.
"Hinami."
It's a tired and lonely voice.
"Please, come out."
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"No! I want to see Father!"
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"Hinami, please... I miss him, too, but..."
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There's no further response from the other side of the door.
( no further )
Of course, when Yoshimura asked her to come in to work it wasn't only because he needed an additional waitress.
It was because they were running low on meat.
The car ride is comfortably silent. No words are exchanged between the two of them. Only brief glances full of mutual understanding—which is perfectly fine by her. Queasiness and motion sickness aside, it gives her the chance to review part of her Classic Literature exam. And even if nothing about this fits with her ideal studying environment, she'll take it.
The silence continues even after they've gotten to the location. They take a quick look inside the vehicle parked near the railing, a cursory glance down the cliffside, and then they're making their way down in order to get to business. She knows what to do and so does Yomo. There is no need for awkward explanations or instructions. She takes the bag. He takes the equipment. They supply Anteiku with meat. That's all.
So it's a bit of a surprise when the silence is eventually broken by Yomo himself.
"Touka. Don't react negatively to this," he says with such spontaneity that her body reacts before her mind can properly process the fact he spoke at all. "But the Doves have come to the 20th Ward."
"What?" she hears her mouth say, brain not quite up to speed with the rest of her being. Reason then kicks in and she's gritting her teeth and jumping to conclusions. "Shit. That fucking Rize, she—"
"It wasn't Rize that enticed them to come here."
That stops her.
It feels a little like having a bucket of cold water tipped over her head.
"Then," she begins, licking her lips and furrowing her brows. She tries to ignore the way her heart was now slamming itself against her chest, mind racing back and forth between possible alternatives. "Who made those bastards come here? Did someone sell us out?"
"No," Yomo says, "They're after Fueguchi-san."
For a moment, it feels like everything stops.
Then the sickly sweet smell of blood invades her senses once again. The piece of human meat in her hand feels colder to the touch than it really is. The silence that ensues almost deafens her.
She thinks someone must have punched her in the abdomen—but that wasn't possible. There was nobody around besides Yomo.
Touka takes a deep breath and tries to steady her voice. "Why?"
She receives no response and the silence becomes nearly palpable. Shit.
When she convinces her lungs to cooperate with her in order to keep her breathing from becoming ragged, she tries another approach. "Does she know?"
She thinks he nods; small and nearly imperceptible, but a nod nonetheless.
"She does."
So she closes her eyes and continues to shove the pieces of meat she's handed into the bag. There are others like Ryouko and Hinami who depend on them to bring them a meal, after all.
That night, the words on her notebook become a muddled and incomprehensible mess. Letters mix with spaces and numbers and she finds herself rubbing her eyes over and over again to no avail. No matter how much she squints and sighs and revisits the text, nothing makes sense to her. Everything is strange. Everything is wrong. Everything is making her sick.
She gets up from her desk and serves herself a cup of coffee.
The Doves have come to the 20th Ward.
The Doves are looking for Ryouko.
The Doves could be looking for Hinami, too.
(Ryouko is going to be killed,
a small and traitorous voice
whispers within her mind.)
When she comes to, there are ceramic shards lodged in the palm of her hand and a puddle of warm coffee at her feet.
She decides to go to bed early.
When she bombs her Classic Literature exam, it's not for a lack of trying.
(When she finds Hinami alone at Anteiku, hands balled into fists and voice shaking with justified concern, it is.)