The quiet rays of the sun streamed through, gently pressing against Touka's eyelids. The fresh scent of winter softly brushed past the girls, sprinkling its cool across the white sheets. A soothing air of peace caressed Touka with its breath, allowing the girl to breathe with comfort.
At least for now.
A rough groan ripped through the atmosphere, shattering the very presence of serenity.
Clumps of hazel eyelashes fluttered against the irritating light and another dry groan of agony tore through the fabric of the morning calm.
"Shut up, Yoriko." Touka hissed, stuffing her face into the warmth of her pillow. "Your fault for drinking so much."
"My fault?" the other mumbled, enduring against the thundering pain. "What the crap? It feels like hell."
"I know." Touka grumbled, trying her best to lure the wonderful land of slumber back to her. "Now, shut up and let me sleep."
But the pain seemed to be too much for the young girl because multiple moans clawed at her throat, rippling the tranquility that Touka desperately tried to cling onto.
"Alright!" she snapped, hurling her pillow at her friend, and watching it smack against the small mound of brown. "Do you want water?"
"Yes." Yoriko whispered weakly.
Tucking a strand of violet behind her ear, the exhausted girl forced herself to get up, ignoring how her hair was ruffled in odd directions.
She stared as the water splashed into the plastic cup, sprinkling the sides with its liquid jewels.
A sigh escaped her lips and she narrowed her eyes as she picked up the cup and walked back to her hungover friend.
"Here." She said lightly, handing it to her. "You should sleep in. You don't have any morning classes, right?"
Yoriko shook her head but immediately stopped once another pound of electricity slammed into the center of her skull.
She gulped down whatever she could, not noticing a trickle of water sliding down her chin.
"What happened last night?" she grumbled, staring down at her blankets. "The last thing I remember is having my eighth can of beer with Hide and then…" she trailed off, furrowing her brows in annoyance. "Ugh, Touka, my head hurts."
"Yeah?" the girl said, rolling her eyes. "You can at least thank me. I went through a lot of trouble giving you a shower."
"You gave me a shower?"
She nodded then gave a teasing smirk, "Aren't I such a great friend?"
The brunette chuckled, flinching at the never ending roller coaster of hammers pounding on her brain.
"Oh yeah," she said sarcastically. "The greatest."
A moment of silence drifted between the two, bringing a sense of stillness in the air.
"By the way," Yoriko managed to mumble, sliding back down into her fort of heat. "How was it last night, you know, with Haise? Did you two have a lot of fun? I bet he was great in bed-"
"Wanna die?"
"Well," her friend giggled, her eyes twinkling. "My hangover is sort of killing me so you lost your chance."
Crossing her arms, Touka looked out the window, running last night's events through her head. She analyzed what she could, trying to remember even the things that was a bit too hazy for her liking. She dug through the thick muddle of soup, focusing on the important pieces of information that she obtained.
And finally,
"Yoriko," Touka started, refusing to tear her gaze away from the outline of that single tree. "You said something weird last night."
The quiet hum of acknowledgement indicated that she was listening.
"You said something about Haise." She continued, a strange glint of suspicion flickering in her eyes.
She turned her head, the curtain of deep purple swishing behind her as she did. Violet orbs came into contact with hazel, and Yoriko felt something churn in her stomach.
A shivering chill snaked down her spine, trailing its icy fingers across her back.
"Something about a glass eye."
Touka's voice was light and dangerous. It was soft like the smooth texture of a feather, but it carried an odd amount of weight.
Yoriko held her breath, noticing how her friend's purple irises dilated ever so slightly with each passing second.
"I don't remember." She said, feeling how each word slithered away from her lips.
Another layer of silence gently lowered itself onto them, but this time it didn't bring anything remotely similar to something as innocent as peace.
This time, it crushed its claws onto their shoulders, wrenching the air away from their lungs and ripping the previous wind of comfort from their chests.
Touka got up, listening to the eerie creak of the floorboards underneath. She stretched, exhaling then looking back at Yoriko with a warm expression.
"I believe you." She said. "You wouldn't lie to me about something like that anyway."
Yoriko nodded, suddenly forgetting about her blistering hangover for some reason.
"Touka," she squeaked.
"What?"
"Are you alright?" she smiled. "You have this scary look on your face."
Touka blinked, eyes widening in realization as she quietly raised her hand to run her fingers across her lips. She stared out the window again, a weird pressure of anticipation pulling at her stomach.
"I was?" she said uncertainly. "Sorry. I-I didn't know."
Yoriko remained quiet, her eyes searching Touka's expression for any sign of distress.
"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to," She offered, closing her eyes and letting the hangover take control of her head once more. "I'll be dying right here on my bed."
A sweet laugh flew from Touka as she turned to her own bed and plopped herself down, feeling the plush mattress sink under her weight.
"Thanks, Yoriko."
The sky was dyed with a dusty color of orchid and a gentle tint of pink illuminated from the horizon, splashing the city with its glow.
Touka finished wiping down the counter, her grip only tightening around the dirty rag as she glared at the cold surface of the marble.
She wasn't sure what she was feeling.
It was a whirlwind of strange emotions she couldn't quite pinpoint.
The last costumer left, singing off-tune melodies as he stumbled out, struggling to walk after his four shots of vodka.
The bar was finally quiet except for the light dance of classical music, twinkling in the background.
The skies lost its last lingering light of the sun, allowing the inky darkness of the new night to morph and immerse itself into the heavens.
Touka wrapped herself in her jacket, locking the backdoor of the bar behind her. She shivered against the cold, glancing up at the single streetlight that flickered aggressively over her.
She then stopped and quietly listened.
"What are you doing here?" she said softly, eyes narrowing in irritation as she turned.
The breeze spun past her, swiftly disappearing with the scent of the city.
"Kaneki Ken." She added lowly.
The familiar shade of pure white gleamed underneath the pressing color of deep blue. The murky blackness of his suit melted into the earth's darkness, disguising him with the very color of the night sky. He took a step forward, his breath puffing against the atmosphere as he ran his fingers through his hair, the white strands flowing with each brush and wind.
He smiled, and Touka didn't like that smile.
"I'm sorry for disturbing you so late at night." He said, his voice moving with subtly. "But I am quite desperate."
"No kidding." She snapped a bit more angrily than she intended. "I don't have time for you, Kaneki."
He said nothing for a moment, but still held onto that rare smile.
"I understand." He said, his coat fluttering behind him as he walked. "But I do not have much time either."
Touka's eyes widened in half surprise and in half fear once his skin came into contact with hers. His gray eyes held little to no emotion, and his smile had disappeared just as quickly as it had come. The wind swirled around them, pulling at their clothes and hair as his hand lashed out, grabbing both of her wrists, and slamming her against the side of the bar's brick wall.
Shock coursed through her body, her brain not allowing her to struggle just yet.
"What the fuck-?" she breathed.
The rough cement pricked against her spine, rubbing its texture against her clothes uncomfortably. She stared up at the mafia boss, dumbfounded.
But reason smacked her against the side of her head – hard.
"Get off of me, you sick bastard!" she hissed.
The back of her mind was screaming at her to rip him away even if it meant murder.
She was about to knee him in the goddamn balls but his voice slithered its way into her head, sending icy whispers down her body.
He was incredibly close to her face and she noticed how long those snowy eyelashes were, and how his jawline was so-
Focus, Touka.
"I am in desperate need of information." He said, his tone calm but stern. "And I need you to comply."
"How many times do I need to tell you?" she growled. "I won't give you shit. Let me go right now."
She shivered against his breath and ignored how it burned against the chilled surface of her neck. She tried to wiggle her hands out of his grasp, wincing as it scraped against the harsh bumps of the wall.
He said nothing for a moment, his eyes never leaving hers.
They were gray and devoid of any flare of warmth that she was so used to seeing in so many people. They were blank and held nothing but shivering darkness that no one would dare to touch.
"If it's not money, jewelry, or drugs," he whispered, his hot breath melting against her skin. "Would you like…"
His free hand tentatively lowered itself down to her thigh.
Her breath hitched upwards, stuck within her throat as she felt his palm softly press against her leg.
"Pleasure?"
That's it.
That was the last straw.
With every last ounce of strength she could muster, she shot up her knee and crushed it against his gut, watching him lurch forward.
His grip loosened against the pain and he fell onto his knees, holding his stomach as he peered up at her in between looks of pure bewilderment and surprise.
"I'm going to kill you." She threatened darkly, cracking her knuckles as she towered over him. "So you better have a will."
He blinked up at her, those emotionless gray eyes of his looking into her fiery orbs of rage.
"You," he whispered. "You're quite strange."
"Don't give me that bullshit!" she exclaimed, grabbing him by the collar and heaving him up to eyelevel. "Touch me like that again and I will murder you."
He titled his head to the right, a gentle chuckle of amusement escaping his lips as he released himself from her hold, and brushing himself down.
"I'm sorry." He said softly, letting the cool breeze play with his hair as he smiled. "That was very rude of me. I apologize. I shouldn't have treated a lady that way. Tsukiyama would have been very upset with me."
"I'm still going to kill you."
"Please save that for later."
"No. Screw you."
"I understand completely but please let me go."
The roles were reversed now.
Touka was holding onto Kaneki by the arms, practically crushing his bones with her strength.
She was boiling over, frustration getting the best of her as she drilled her glare into his.
The cold spun around them, breathing its chill against their skin, but Touka refused to let go even if her fingers were starting to feel a bit numb.
Because she was going to rip his arms off.
"I understand that you are angry, but this is starting to become very painful." Kaneki said with a look of concern. "I cannot afford to have any injuries."
"You think I give a-"
She gave a sharp yelp, her eyes widening in horror as his hand suddenly clasped over her mouth, silencing her.
Hot anger bubbled over, urging her to raise her hand and slap him across the face, but she held her breath, noticing how he stared at her with a finger over his own lips.
"Shhh." He said in a hushed whisper, pressing his body against hers.
She bit back another snarky comment, realizing that he was actually being serious.
His chest felt warm against hers and her cheeks flushed red at the pounding of her own heartbeat. His hand was surprisingly smooth as he held her in place, and her gaze was locked onto his - unmoving and unblinking.
A strange premonition sank into Touka's gut, writhing in discomfort as the night grew dangerously darker.
And then she heard it.
That sinister voice, colorfully decorated with a gilded cheer. It was almost sing-song, almost evilly melodious, and almost terrifying.
The voice laughed – a woman's voice – and it rang like golden bells, letting its sound erupt for all the world to hear.
"What are you doing to the poor girl, Kaneki?" it said, a teasing edge to its words. "Sexual harassment is a crime."
Touka recognized that voice and so did Kaneki.
A giggle bounced through the alleyway, taunting the two with its innocent charm. A wide smile spread across the woman's expression as the winter breeze brushed past her, dancing with the strands of her lilac locks.
"Rize," Kaneki said quietly, a strange look silently caressing his eyes. "It's been a while."
The Binge Eater chuckled, throwing back her head as she did, but she stopped and quietly lowered her gaze to take a good look at the Centipede.
Then she smiled sweetly,
"It has."