The next day, Ryusei wore his usual outfit. He felt his leg continue to twitch as Arima drove him to the mall. The young man didn't know why he'd volunteered to drop him off, but he wasn't going to blame him.
"How are you feeling?" Kishou asked.
"I feel fine. Well, almost..." Ryusei replied.
"Nervous?" Asked the GCC reaper, earning a nod from Ryusei. "It's fine to be nervous. But I hope you know I don't agree with leaving you alone with a stranger. Yes, she may be a famous novelist, but in our business, we don't know for sure who's a Ghoul or not."
"So you're saying I should be careful just in case she is one?" Ryusei deduced.
"Precisely." Kishou nodded, "I'm not trying to lecture you, I'm just trying to protect you."
"I know. And I appreciate it." Ryusei said.
Arima nodded and finally arrived at the mall. He pulled over to the side and Ryusei got out of the car.
"I'll be here to pick you up when you call me. Okay?" Said Kishou.
"Yeah, see you then." Says Ryusei.
"Take care, Ryusei."
Kishou left, leaving him here. He checked the time to see that it was 2 p.m. sharp. He looked around but couldn't see Sen anywhere.
"Where is she... ? " he wondered.
Maybe she was late? The streets were crowded as usual during the day. He had to make sure he wasn't in anyone's way because he was just standing and waiting. While he waited, he scanned the social networks on my phone. There really wasn't anything interesting to look at. That was, until he came across a news headline saying "Ghouls strike again! Man found dead in alley". I decided to read it and discovered that the man had been found dead in an alley in the 22nd arrondissement, the same district where he'd been sent two weeks ago.
"Hello!"
He was snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to see Sen Takatsuki running towards him.
"Sorry I'm late, I overslept a bit." Sen apologized, scratching the back of his head.
"That's okay. I don't mind waiting a bit." Ryusei smiled.
"You didn't wait too long?" Sen asked.
He checked the time and saw that five minutes had passed.
"No, not really." He replied, making her sigh with relief.
"Phew! That's good to hear. It's a bit of a common problem for me to wake up on time. I hope you don't mind." She says.
"No, I don't. I understand, it must be difficult for you and your work." Says Ryusei.
"Aww. Thanks, Ryusei! Follow me. I'll show you the dessert I mentioned." Said Sen as she led the way and Ruysei followed her.
She walked beside him. He remained silent, unsure of how to start a conversation with her. He was sure she didn't want to talk about work and didn't want to interfere in his personal life and look like a bastard.
"So Ryusei..." Sen began. "What made you take an interest in my books? I'm curious because you don't look that old."
"I'm 19, actually. But to answer your question, Dear Kafka was given to me by a friend. I decided to read it and became so invested in the dark mysteries." Ryusei replied.
"Hm. I suppose that's why you brought this book for me to sign?" she asked.
"Yes, pretty much. I feel like I should be asking you where you get the inspiration and influences to write these kinds of books." Ryusei said.
She giggled in reply.
"Well, I've always had a soft spot for horror. Growing up, I was fascinated by the subject. I often read books, watched films and when I was little, I used to draw my own monsters. I was... a bit of a strange girl." She replied.
"Well, everyone's strange in their own way." Ryusei commented with an amused chuckle.
"Really? Well, what about you? What makes you strange?" Sen asked in a puzzled tone.
"Hmm. I guess I'm a bit socially awkward?" Ryusei replied, not really wanting to mention his Amazon side.
"You mean the way you stammer sometimes?" Sen asked.
"Y-Yeah." Ryusei admitted, stammering a little, making the author smile.
"I'm sure it's normal. But it looks cute on you." She commented.
"H-Hein?" Ryusei blushed.
Sen smiled again.
"Just like that. You're cute when your face blushes." she teased.
He scratched the back of his head, not knowing what to say to that.
Sen patted his arm, drawing his attention. She then pointed to a building that appeared to be the place she'd mentioned.
"This is the place. Let's go. " She said.
They entered the store and sat down at a table in the back.
"I hope you don't mind us sitting in the back. I often have a lot of people recognizing me when I'm sitting in the front and it gets a bit annoying." Sen confessed.
"I can imagine." Ryusei commented.
A waiter arrived at their table and handed them each a menu before walking away.
"Any idea what you might want? I'm paying so you don't have to be afraid to ask for something expensive." Said Sen.
"Y-You sure?" Ryusei asked, surprised by her statement.
"Of course I'm sure! Besides, this date was my idea, it's just that I'm the one paying for it." Sen replied.
He nodded slowly, admitting she was right. Once they'd decided what they wanted, the waiter came back and told them what they wanted. After that, he picked up the menus and headed for the front.
"I've been meaning to ask. Sorry if this is personal, but what happened to your hair? Is it dyed?" Sen asked.
Ryusei placed a hand on his head.
"You mean the whole green and black thing? It's been like that since I was a kid. According to the doctors, it comes from my mother. But I don't really know if that's true, I never really knew her. She... she died giving birth to me." Ryusei explained with a hint of sadness as he recalled the video of her birth.
"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that." Sen apologized, sad for him.
"Don't be. You didn't know and you were curious. It happens." Ryusei said.
"But I'm sorry all the same." Sen insisted, sharing Ryusei's sentiment.
"Thank you, Mrs Takatsuki." Said Ryusei, not daring to call her by her first name even though they were on first-name terms.
"You can stop the formalities, you know. Call me Sen." She then said, surprising him.
Their orders arrived. Ryusei had a waffle with ice cream and chocolate syrup while Sen had a cake.
"Wow! That looks good!" He said.
"Very. I often come here to relax. I'd say this is one of the best places to eat." Said Sen in turn.
Ryusei noticed that Sen's order didn't seem too large.
"I don't mind sharing my dessert. I mean, that cake doesn't really look too big." He said.
She gave me a kind smile.
"Thanks for the offer. But I had a big breakfast and I'm still a little full because of it." Sen declared.
"All right." Ryusei agreed.
They began to eat their food. On the outside, Ryusei was quite calm, but on the inside, he was panicking. He was sitting with Sen Tatatsuki! How many people could say that?
"Hey, Ryusei? Do you mind if I ask you some questions about your family?" Sen asked, making him stop eating.
"I don't... I don't have anyone... I don't have a father, as I said earlier my mother died giving birth to me, and I don't have anyone else. The closest thing I have to a family is my mentor, and two work colleagues." Ryusei replied, lowering his eyes.
"O-Oh... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stir the pot. I didn't mean to stir the pot." Sen apologized.
Ryusei shook his head and sighed.
"You don't have to apologize. It's painful enough, but I can live with it." Ryusei said.
She nodded and took another bite of her food. He assumed she wasn't a ghoul. Arima had told him that ghouls can't eat normal food.
"Do you... mind if I ask you some questions about your family?" he asked.
She stopped eating and lowered her eyes in turn.
"I... have never been close to my father. But I like to think I take a lot after my mother. She... died shortly after I was born." She replied.
"I'm... really sorry to hear that. I'm sure she was a good person." Ryusei apologized.
Sen smiled slightly and nodded.
"She was. I only heard about her through a diary she had." She said.
"It doesn't look like any of us had any real contact with her parents." Says Ryusei.
"I suppose not. But I have to admit, it's nice to talk to someone else who can understand me. Thank you, Ryusei. You really are an interesting person to talk to." She says.
"Coming from you, that means a lot." He said.
Things were a little dark now, they were both talking about their childhood and how negative it had been. He thought of ways to try and lighten the mood, then an idea germinated in his mind. He took a napkin from the side and looked in my pockets for a pen.
"What's wrong?" Sen asked.
"I'm looking for a pen. I thought I had one in one of my pockets." Ryusei replied.
"You can just use mine. Here." She said, handing him her pen.
He nodded and took the pen. He bent over the napkin and drew something on it which he then showed to Sen, it was a little childish caricature of a horror movie monster. This made Sen laugh.
"I thought I'd try and lighten the mood," said Ryusei. Ryusei said.
"Well, it worked. I feel better already." Said Sen.
They smiled at each other and finished their desserts. Once they'd finished, they paid for the food and left.
"I really had fun with you today. Thanks for your company." Remercia Sen.
"It was my pleasure too." Said Ryusei.
"I'll be sure to keep in touch. You seem like an interesting and pleasant person to be around." She said.
"I'm glad you think so." Says the young man.
"Anyway, I should be going. I'll see you another time. Bye Ryusei!" She said before walking away.
He said goodbye in return. Once she was out of his sight, he picked up my phone and called Arima. He put the phone against his ear once he picked it up.
"We've just finished talking. I'm ready to be picked up now." He said.
"Okay, I'll be there soon." Said Kishou from the phone.
He hung up and put the phone back in his pocket. Then returned to where Kishou had dropped him off.
He'd really enjoyed his time with her today.
Kishou Arima was on his way to pick up Ryusei when he received another phone call. He answered it and put it on loudspeaker. A woman's voice was heard.
"He sounds nice."
"I still don't agree with that. Why him? You know he's an Amazon." He said.
"I feel I should ask you the same question. Why did you do your best to get him to live a normal life before taking him into your custody and personally training him for three years? Unless you already have him in mind to be your... successor... even more so given what he is..."
" ... I took him under my wing because he needs help, and the more time goes by, the stronger his Amazon side becomes. And once he's mastered it, he might just be the key to flushing them out. There was no other reason." Kishou replied.
"When will he be ready again?
Kishou gritted his teeth and gripped the steering wheel.
"He's still convalescing. He's not ready to return to the field." Kishou replied.
"He seemed fine to me."
"I meant mentally. Physically, he's fine, there's no problem. But the main problem is with his mind. He refuses to use the Amazon Driver, he's afraid of hurting innocent people, be they human or ghoul. So imagine what would happen if he were sent on a mission. All the blood that would be spilled might diminish his chances of controlling his inner Amazon." Kishou explained.
" ... You have three weeks for him to recover. I'll give you a hand, of course. But three weeks is all you have before I reveal the truth to him."
"It's not enough." Kishou retorted.
"It will have to be."
The mysterious person hung up. Kishou sighed and saw that he was in the mall. He pulled over and let Ryusei into the car.
"So, how was it?" He asked.
"It went pretty well, I think. She said she enjoyed her time with me." Replied the young man.
"Then I guess you did pretty well." Said Kishou.
Ryusei nodded, putting on his seatbelt. Kishou returned to the base as the woman's voice echoed in his mind...
You've got three weeks to get him back on his feet. I'll help, of course. But three weeks is all you have before I tell him the truth...