Mourning Doves | Tokyo Ghoul

12 | V I C E

She rode the subway to Chiyoda, her nose buried in her book and her long white legs crossed over on one another as she sat there, unmoving and silent. She departed on the Chiyoda station eight minutes later, and as soon as she stepped onto the lit-up streets of the First Ward, still bustling with the activity of men and women now going home from work, and grew to regret it immediately.

Even Etsuko, with all of her power and strength, knew that this was an exceptionally stupid idea. She stood there at the foot of the steps, clutching the book in her hand, and stared off into the night, spying a tall building twinkling with office lights in the distance; it was the CCG headquarters, and the sight of it made her shiver violently in disdain.

It was only then when she realized that her primary motive for coming to the First Ward had suddenly materialized, and she couldn't bring herself to remember the reason why she had carried out this incredibly stupid decision. She gave out a little huff, her breath materializing as white mist in the chilled air, and then whirled back around, willing to wait another fifteen minutes for the subway to make its trip back around to Chiyoda. Halfway up the stairs though, she was stopped by a curiously familiar voice.

"Oi, Etsuko-chan!" it called from the distance.

Etsuko froze in place, her head dipped downward to stare in amazement at her feet. She slowly crept her head to the side, seeing the exact person she had expected to see.

Ichijou was there somehow, waving at her on the dimmed sidewalk with a stern-looking man beside him; they each carried steel briefcases in their hands. Another shiver was rippled down her spine with the sight of the damned luggage, and saw the man mutter something to Ichijou; however, he shrugged it off rather easily and began walking towards her, the other Dove tailing closely behind him. She noted the man's rather distant aura, and bore in mind the caution that should be initiated in his presence.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Ichijou chimed, beaming up at her.

She fluttered her eyes.

"A-ah," Etsuko sputtered, still shocked from the sudden meeting. "I was just...walking around I suppose."

Ichijou gave a light chuckle.

"Walking around looking this cute? If it were me to say, I'd guess you were actually looking for me," Ichijou jeered, confidence brooding in his mocking tone.

Etsuko fluttered her eyelids again quickly, a light blush staining her cheeks. Her lips sputtered, but were unable find the words to retaliate.

"Shut up," she murmured, knowing no other way to respond.

Ichijou just gave her another round of smiles.

"You really are adorable," he laughed lightly. He offered his hand to her, which she took with her own hesitant, shaky one, and was guided back down from the platform to join the two men below. Ichijou turned to his partner, that ridiculous smile still pinned to his face. "Watanabe-kun, this is my girlfriend, Etsuko. Etsuko-chan, this is my subordinate, Rank Two Investigator Watanabe Riku."

The man named Riku turned and blinked at her before bowing deeply, his face still practically solid granite.

"It is a pleasure to meet someone from Okajima-san's personal life," he murmured. "I am Riku."

Etsuko narrowed her golden eyes, taking the man's appearance into consideration.

He was noticeably shorter than Ichijou, but not significantly - possibly 175 centimeters, maybe a little more. He was, however, quite smaller than him in terms of his build, with a shortage of muscle and bulk, and wore a dark trench coat over his business-like navy suit; he bore thin, rectangular wire-rimmed glasses upon his rather angular nose, and seemed to be clenching his squared jawline out of some sort of frustration - or maybe it was discomfort; she wasn't quite sure.