Mourning Doves | Tokyo Ghoul

4 | R e m i n i s c e n c e

She stood in front of the white light of the fridge, clenching her jaws harshly as she stared at the mangled contents inside the thing with hard, despising eyes. With her lips curled back and her eyes the color of blood, she sucked in a breath through her teeth and tried to push past the urging ache that constricted her chest.

She wanted it. Oh she wanted it; the flesh - it was taunting her.

But she couldn't bring herself to do it; she was physically unable to reach out and grab a container, filled with the remaining contents of a human being who had once lived, once hoped, once loved...

She slammed the door of the white fridge closed with a ripping snarl, grunting in frustration as she whirled around and paced about the small kitchen, her fists shaking at her sides and grappling at her ghostly hair, wheezing and infuriated.

She had settled and lay lounged on her small couch in front of the glowing television, her hand absentmindedly swirling a spoon in a cup of hot coffee, steaming and melancholy; her other hand gripped tighter around the ceramic cup. Her long white hair tumbled down and lay splayed across the chair and over her narrow shoulders, her skin gleaming a pale, deathly glow in the dim light of the flickering screen. Her golden eyes, glinting lowly, remained on the monitor of muted moving pictures, but her mind was transported into its own sinister realm.

And for the first time in a long while, she allowed herself to wallow and succumb to her deeper, darker thoughts.

It was cold. She remembered that is was exceptionally cold for an autumn evening, and she had forgotten to bring a jacket. She shivered profusely, chattering her teeth together as quietly as she could as she walked beside him. Him. That ghoul who had been kind to her.

"Etsuko-chan," Takashi murmured, his hands buried in the pockets of his jacket, and his dark pools of eyes staring straight before them; they continued to walk. "Don't you ever learn from your mistakes? Or do you just like torturing yourself in the cold all the time?"

Etsuko scowled.

"Shut up," she mumbled, her golden eyes glinting. "You're the one who wanted to take me out all of a sudden. Where are we going anyways, Niisan?"

Takashi smirked.

"Someplace that will definitely warm you up," he said with a chiming chuckle. "It's my favorite place to relax and unwind."

Etsuko scoffed.

"Whatever," she muttered bitterly under her breath, hugging herself tightly as she quivered once more. "How far is it? I'm freezing my ass off over here."

"It's just around the corner," he said calmly, leading her down a darkened street. A canopy of branches and leaves, swaying ever so gently in the night breeze, shaded the concrete path as the waning moon began to ascend into the glittering sky. "You'll love it."

Etsuko huffed, puffing out her rosy cheeks as she followed him further down the path, arriving at a small little venue at the corner of a large brick building. A lit up sign lay propped up at the entrance outside, illuminated by a soft golden light.

"Anteiku?" Etsuko scoffed. "A kissaten?"

Takashi nodded.

"They have the most wonderful coffee here," he laughed brightly. "And I heard that the human food is quite lovely as well."

"Like you could verify that," Etsuko grumbled sourly, rolling her eyes. "Let's just go in already."

Takashi watched for a moment as the girl scurried up the steps and up into the darkness above, smirking and shaking his head in exasperation. They entered the café, and the first thing that hit her was that glorious scent of fresh brewing coffee, along with something else lingering deliciously in the air. She blinked her eyes for a moment as she gaped at the cozy little spot, no one there save for a few waiters and bartenders.