Mourning Doves | Tokyo Ghoul

15 | N a u s e a

Etsuko faced the violet-haired girl, whose expression immediately darkened as she mentioned the Manager.

"What business do you have with him?" she asked her dryly, eying her up and down with a sour expression. "What does a ghoul like you want with him?"

Etsuko ground her teeth in irritation, flashing poisonous amber eyes at her.

"My problems are none of your concern," she hissed back.

The younger ghoul snarled.

"And they're not worth the Manager's time either," she retorted hotly. "What makes you think you're so special? Coming in and demanding to see the Manager, even though you've never been a part of Anteiku - "

"Is there a problem here, Touka-chan?" a gentle voice murmured from the side.

Touka jumped to the side, bowing shallowly to the man quickly as she began sputtering a little.

"N-not at all, Manager," she stammered. "It's just that this woman - "

"Etsuko-san," the Manager greeted her, facing the woman with a kind face. "It's been a while. Please, come upstairs."

Etsuko bowed to him lightly, following him up the staircase after flicking Touka a triumphant expression. The girl just scoffed, bolting to the counter to grab herself a rag to wipe down the tables.

The Manager led her down the hallway on the second floor and into what looked to be an office. He motioned her to the couch, where she politely accepted with another slight bow. She hurried over to the couch and took a seat as the Manager followed after her with long strides.

"Would you like some coffee, Etsuko-san?" he asked her warmly.

Etsuko flickered her amber eyes up at him, light shooting across her gaze.

"Yes, please," she replied a bit enthusiastically. "It's been a while since I've had Manager's coffee."

The old man chuckled, walking over to the counter to the side to fill up a delicate-looking ceramic pot with water, setting it up to boil.

"How have you been, Etsuko-san?" he asked her, beginning to grind the coffee beans. The smell was already drifting throughout the air, and the aroma calmed her so her shoulders sank back a bit. She let out a shaky sigh. "We haven't seen you around here for a while."

Etsuko shuffled her feet, a bit nervous.

"I've been...preoccupied with some things," she murmured solemnly, examining her bony hands. She turned them over and gazed at the dark lines engraved into her palms, and then flipped them back over again to trace her eyes over the knuckles that stuck out prominently from her skin; they casted shadows against her paleness, and the long tendons that ran from her fingers and down to her wrists shifted as she clenched and opened her hands. She pressed her mouth into a thin line, her mind in deep thought. "Things that I wanted to talk to you about."

The Manager, sensing her uneasiness, set the preparations to the side and turned around to face her with his hands neatly and politely behind his back. He gave her another warm, reassuring smile.

"I think I might have an idea on what it may be," he said gently.

Etsuko's eyebrows perked up, hopeful.

"So you'll be able to help me?" she asked, a bit frantically.

The Manager merely cocked his head to the side, intuitive.

"I might," he murmured, turning back around as the water began to boil, and slowly began to pour the water in a circular motion over the filter of ground coffee beans. He seemed concentrated on the coffee, but somehow seemed all the more interested in her situation still. "So let's start general, shall we? What is this problem specifically?"