Masquerading Virtuoso【Tokyo Ghoul Fan-Fiction】

ix. Concerto

Silence was but for a moment, until the young man's hands glided to the first chords. Tsuki narrowed her eyes at him, curious as to what sound would emit from such an excessive instrument. When his fingers at last struck the heavy chords, her eyes widened in awe; the sound was deep and frighteningly ... beautiful.

Her tiny heart thudded heavily inside her small ribcage.

After he had executed the first few rounds of chords, the orchestra began to play, their sounds overpowering that massive instrument in a legion of harmony, creating an even more pleasurable melody.

Tsuki had ventured from her seat and stood at the balcony's railing, her mesmerized cocoa eyes transfixed on the stage below---how such magic could be brought to reality truly baffled her.

The man's fingers danced across the keys at such a rapid tempo, leaving the orchestra to provide as a sort of background to it. Her eyes brimmed with tears at the marvelous operation of dexterous performers, but mostly for the pianist.

His hands maneuvered in such a way that seemed inconceivable to any normal human.

Ame and Dai examined their daughter's amazed expression and smiled to themselves. Ame knew her daughter well-enough that the young girl would never want such a fascinating art to come to an end after witnessing it physically. She had already arranged for her daughter a tutor on her fifth birthday.

Tsuki wiped away the tears that moistened her cheeks with her puny knuckles and grinned happily down at the pianist as he carried the performance to a close in such an exhilarating spectacle. She could see the endearment within his eyes as he panted and looked up at the crowd. Small beads of sweat adorned his forehead as he hid the monochrome keys once more and stood to give the audience a final bow.

Everyone present rewarded the orchestra---as well as their talented pianist---with a standing ovation, their whistles and applause causing all the exhausted players to stand, smile, and bow before they left the stage.

The young brunette looked back at her parents and smiled. "Thank you," she said, her voice evident with gratitude. "Thank you for bringing me with you, Mom ... Dad!" She suddenly lunged towards them and grappled her arms around their necks, releasing her sobs and laughter into the dark fabric of her father's bespoke suit.

〜〜〜✳︎〜〜〜

Tsuki stared warily up to the man looming over her table, his grey eyes fixated on her. She wasn't certain of his motive, leaving her cautious. He gestured towards the seat across from her, his expression emotionless.

"May I sit here?" he asked, his voice reserved and cool.

Awkwardly, she nodded. "Y-You may."

The tall, brooding fellow sat down across from her, just as the few customers who'd been there had left. "I have been monitoring your actions for the past two months," he admitted, catching the twenty year old off guard as he propped his elbows on the round table and interlaced his fingers within one another.

Her eyes widened in confusion, her mind interpreting it an entirely different manner in which he probably meant. "M-Monitoring ..."

"I know that it was you who killed those two men a few weeks ago," he muttered, his eyes set on hers. "Do not misunderstand: Yoshimura was grateful." He closed his eyes and sighed. "As was I," he admitted, opening his eyes to examine her.

Tsuki arched her eyebrow. "How ... did you know that it was me who did that, though?"

"As I said just a moment ago: I have been monitoring you," he said, his voice firm.

She glanced over at the elderly man spectating them from his position behind the long counter. What a strange ghoul, she thought, her gaze wandering back over to Yomo, the man's words finally processing fully. W-Wait! she exhaled, her cocoa eyes widening in realization. That's why he seems so familiar ... I had caught a slight twinge of a ghoul that night, she thought, her nostrils unintentionally flaring to inhale his scent once more. Though, I hadn't paid much attention to it, because of ... the blood.

Tsuki furrowed her eyebrows. "There's no denying it by your smell," she said. "You were present that night, but ... where?"

He shifted his dull eyes over to the large window and looked out of it, his grey orbs watching the many people as they passed by with a passive gleam lingering within them. Tsuki knew he had seen many hardships within his life, but only because his eyes spoke more words than his lips.

"From above," he replied, monotonously.

"Oh, I see ..." she murmured, glancing over at the eyepatch-boy standing behind the counter, his only visible brown eye appearing consumed by a remorse that she couldn't fathom to understand.

"If I may be so bold as to ask, Yomo-san," she hesitated and shifted her attention back on him. "Why ... have you been monitoring me?"

The silver-haired man gradually carried his gaze over to her. "It is our job to maintain peace in the Twentieth Ward amongst the ghouls and humans," he explained. "We take it upon ourselves to discover any ulterior motives that come with new ghouls in Nerima. You were no exception to our policy, especially with all the organized ghoul attacks recently and the ghoul investigators taking to the streets---our priorities lie with making sure you're not going to cause trouble for us."

She lowered her gaze to her lap. "I ... understand," she whispered. Tsuki analyzed the few workers present and then Yomo. "Are there ... only ghouls that work here?"

"Yes." he answered, his grey eyes fluctuated to stare at her. "There's one more thing before I return to my duties: Yoshimura has made a request of you."

Tsuki instinctively looked over at the elderly man, assuming that he was the one Yomo spoke of. "What ... sort of request?" she inquired, her chocolate eyes peering back over at him.

"One that requires you to do as you did with those two criminals," he said, his voice firm and low. "Where you dispose of them to protect the humans they prey on."

She heaved out a sigh and nodded unsurely. Yomo returned the gesture and removed himself from in front of her, taking his leave to the door situated behind the counter. Tsuki watched as he muttered something inaudible into the manager's ear, then went through the door that led elsewhere---potentially a back-exit of sorts, or even to more rooms---she didn't know.

Of what she did know, however, was that the request that had been made was already an original goal of hers from the moment she had first arrived in Nerima: to bring justice to those who had done their fellow man wrong.

Bidding the workers farewell and paying her dues for the coffee, she left and went about her free-day---her mind constantly wandering back to her conversation with Yomo and the request; why couldn't he take care of the criminals that plagued the streets of Tokyo? He seemed a capable-enough ghoul, at least, judging by his stature and calm demeanor.