TRACK ME DOWN [Taneki] [Touken Fanfiction] [Tokyo Ghoul Fanfiction]

Chapter Seventeen :RE

•Touka•

 "Why don't you just tell him how you feel?" I groan in frustration, throwing my head back over the back of my dining chair as I rub my face with both hands. I've been here for the best part of an hour.
 "Y'know, it's not as easy as it looks Yoriko. I'm supposed to be mad at him." Yoriko shakes her head.
"You can't stay made at him forever, Touka. For all you know he could go out on a mission and never come back and imagine how you're going to feel knowing you never forgave him, let alone told him how you felt." She says, pointing a bony finger at me. Yoriko seems fully awake now, probably due to the mugs of coffee that currently sit beside us on the dining table. I take a small sip from mine.
"You're making this very depressing, Yoriko." I state, smiling at her as she laughs in response.
"No but really, just tell him. Okay?" I shake my head again, taking another sip of the bittersweet beverage in my hands. Yoriko kicks my chair, and I slap her arm in retaliation.
"Let's just change the subject," I say, biting my lip and moving my eyes in a downcast direction.
"Thanks, though." I smile, and Yoriko creases her eyebrows. Resting her hand on my knee, she looks into my eyes.
"You sure you're okay, Touka? I think there's a lot more to this story you're not telling me." I nod my head, reassuring her for the thousandth time that I'm 'alright'.
"Anyway, what about you? How's work?" I ask, changing the subject and pretending not to notice the hopeless look on Yoriko's face.
"...It's fine, I guess. I've found a part job at a bakery a little way from here. It's not busy, but busy enough to pay the rent." She says, and I nod my head in understanding.
"The adult world is full of hard work, I'm afraid." I add, and Yoriko smiles a small bit.
"...What about you? You must be really busy what with all the recent ghoul attacks. Am I right?" I nod my head, wiping my forehead with my free hand as a way of getting my frustration across.
"Like you won't believe," I reply.
"We've had so many reports of ghoul attacks in the last three weeks it's not even funny. I've still got missions to complete from months ago." I say exasperatedly, glad that the subject is no longer on Sasaki, but now stressed at the fact I'd forgotten how much work there really was.
"Have you found the One Eyed Owl yet?" She asks, and I shake my head.
"No, we've been too busy for that." I emit a heavy chuckle, taking a big long sip of what's left of my coffee.
"All the best, Touka. Sounds like
you're gonna need it. Got any idea who's behind these attacks?" I nod my head.
"Eyepatch, although there's no solid proof at the moment. That's what I'm trying to prove." I say, and Yoriko nods her head. Silence follows. During that silence, I take a small glance at my watch before practically jumping out of my seat, knocking it over.
"Shit! I've got to get back, Yoriko. I'm really sorry." I state, sculling what's left of my coffee and walking off toward the front door of the apartment.
"Oh, okay. Hang on." I hear footsteps behind me, before Yoriko's petite frame jumps in front of me before swinging the front door open and letting me pass. Thanking her, I let my feet carry me through the threshold of the doorway and onto the front steps of her apartment. The wind blows my hair into white strands covering my eyes, and I delicately remove with with my middle and index finger. Smiling at her, I hug her tightly before releasing myself from her death grip and hopping down the stairs. As I begin to briskly walk down the street, I hear Yoriko's feminine, loud voice echo throughout the street.
"Tell him, you nugget!" I hear her yell, and turn around as I smile and shake my head. I see her small, slim frame stand in her doorway, waving to me as she tries to pull down her pyjama shorts.
"Oh, and dye your hair back!" She adds, before closing the door frantically and disappearing from my sight. Sighing, I turn around and begin my supposedly short trek back to my apartment, hoping Sasaki is still where I left him, although I doubt it.

•Sasaki•

Searching the streets for the area of attack, I re-consult the address scribbled messily in my own handwriting on a small piece of paper, looking back up and taking a left down the designated street. Arriving at the crime scene, I step under the police tape that surrounds the area, moving past the vacant police car designated across the road from the crippled restaurant.
Stepping inside the torn up establishment, I can tell why Touka was so stressed the day I woke up in her apartment. Scanning the area, I conclude that the damage done was worse than I had originally thought. I step over broken chair legs and table-tops, all the while a crunching sound emitting from beneath my feet. Remembering what I came here for, I begin searching. Scanning the walls, I search for the small symbol of a Rabbit - the one that Urie reported in the meeting. I see many things on the walls; splattered, dried blood, scuff marks and wallpaper tearing, but no imprint whatsoever. No painting, marking or significant image in sight. I decide to crouch lower, in the hopes that what I've been searching for isn't at the height of the human eye. I inspect the walls, running my hand over them as my fingers scurry over the torn wallpaper and crumbling walls. I crease my eyebrows in confusion as I find nothing yet again. I decide to search near the rear of the restaurant, between every corner and behind every piece of furniture. I crouch lower, looking near the skirting for anything that fits Urie's description. I walk around to the back of the mini-bar, immediately finding something peculiar yet not what I was looking for. Nonetheless, I decide to inspect.