Monster - Tokyo Kushu

N i n e

I ran through the fresh puddles, my hood pulled low over my face. The cold wind rushed at me as I plowed on, panting hard. I was headed towards Anteiku- the only place that I knew of where ghouls could freely come and go.

The wind howled and eventually, rain started pouring down, but my tears never came. My home, my life, would soon crumble apart. The investigators would put two and two together and figure it out. They would come after me. I had to run. Stupid. Stupid! I yelled at myself. It had gotten out of hand.

Finally, I made it to the coffee shop. I slammed open the door. The bell chimed, but even the tiny, gentle sound seemed distorted, broken.

I ran in and stood at the entrance, dripping and panting. Everyone stared at me, stunned.

I quickly regained my composure and dipped into a small bow, then ran all the way inside. Now that I was here, I wasn't sure what I came for.

"Um..." I said, my voice small. I looked around. No customers in this weather. The only people in the shop that I could see were Kaneki, a purple-haired girl about his age, and a younger girl with short brown hair. I looked down at my feet.

"I'm sorry..." I mumbled.

"What's wrong, Elini?" asked Kaneki, a concerned look on his face.

My mind was spinning. Everything is wrong. What isn't wrong? It's all wrong, wrong, wrong. Everything is wrong, or dead, or wrong. It hurts, it's in my head, it hurts...

I sank to the floor. "Elini!" I heard Kaneki exclaim. I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my hands over my ears. Wrong, wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong. It shouldn't be like this. It shouldn't end like this. End? Maybe it is. But what is, what isn't, what is, what's real, what's not...

"I'll get a towel!" piped up the brown-haired girl as she rushed upstairs, jerking me back into reality.

"Kaneki, you know this kid?" asked the purple-haired girl.

"Yeah," replied Kaneki. He lowered his voice, although I could still hear him. "She's the one the manager and I were talking about."

"Touka," the purple-haired girl said by way of greeting. She pointed to a chair. "Sit," she said, and I wearily obeyed, swaying as I sat down. The blood was still pounding through my ears, and it was as if I was detached from the rest of the world.

Just then, the younger girl ran back downstairs, appearing in the room and briskly walking towards me. I flinched. The movement was just instinctive, but the girl took a step back. I looked down, embarrassed, taking the towel from her arms with a mutter of thanks. I was feeling better now, and the fog was slowly clearing from my mind.

"I'm Hinami," said the girl after a pause. I started drying off my hair. "What's your name?"

I flushed and covered my face with the towel. I wasn't used to people being so open towards me, and I felt uncomfortable, almost as if... she were exposing me somehow.

"Hinami..." said Touka, placing a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. "Leave her be. She's had a rough day."

"O-okay," said Hinami with a stammer. "I'm sorry."

I peeked out from behind the towel cautiously. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hinami smile gently. I turned away again, staring to pat down my clothes.

In the corner, Kaneki and Touka were discussing something. I shrugged off my coat, straining to listen.

"Dragon ghoul... Elini. Yeah. She... doves... no... maybe?..." I could only make out a few words.

My eyes felt tired and heavy, and my legs ached from running. I yawned, louder than I had planned. Kaneki stopped talking and looked towards me, his face warming into a smile. Yet behind his mask I could see the fear in his eyes. It was only to be expected, I tried telling myself. They know now. Everything will be different.

Despite the black thoughts that swarmed in my head, inside myself, I began to feel very warm. The soft light of the café was comforting, and the temperature just right. Soon, despite my worries, I began to slowly nod off, the world succumbing to a comforting dark...

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So... chapter nine! Yay!

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