The Strong and The Weak (Tokyo Ghoul :RE)

Chapter 4: :RE

Lamps of different styles were set up in various places throughout the store, giving an odd, but strangely comforting, mismatched look to the place. The pattern, or rather lack thereof, did not translate to anything else. The tables and chairs were all made of the same, dark oak and the walls were all painted a warm eggshell color to brighten the aura further. Countless knickknacks lined the walls, some being supported by shelves and some nailed to the wall. Urie's interest was particularly drawn to the stuffed deer head hanging in the far left. With a café as homely as this the Squad member would've expected it to be packed, but once again his expectations were wrong as he noticed a total of five people in there, including Yami and himself.

A bell signaled their entering, and a loud gasp followed quickly after. Yami's lips smacked together the moment she caught control of the sound leaving her, and a redness began to form on her cheeks as a boy that sat on one of the bar stools looked over with curiosity. Yami found that he hadn't changed at all. His hair had maybe gotten an inch longer since she had last seen him, but other than that there were no noticeable differences. Hair was still a honey color, bangs covering his forehead, and glasses still hung loosely on the bridge of his nose. By the look on his face it was clear that he recognized her as well, but he was debating whether or not to greet her with words. Urie grew impatient with standing, and looked over to Yami. The emotion that he couldn't place before was now amplified. "N—Nishio-senpai?" She stuttered out, forcing a friendly smile.

The boy, Nishio Nishiki, tilted his head up as a hello, an almost undetectable smirk pulling at his lips. "Baby Katayama," He addressed her, swinging his legs around on the stool and placing his body weight on the tiled floor, "it's been a long time." He stopped a few feet away from the pair of investigators, hands on his hips with an overconfident aura radiating. Urie yanked out his headphones, growing tired of this new person in a way that he couldn't place. He'd never liked the type that Nishio seemed to be, and the fact that he was so friendly with Yami made him tense. Yami however, was not irked by the nostalgia that was hitting her upon seeing the old acquaintance. "Who's this? A boyfriend?" Nishio prodded, swiping his chocolates eyes over Urie Kuki's tall stature.

Yami nearly jumped out of her skin at the question, especially worried for the cold squad member's reaction. "Uh—No! No, not a boyfriend!" She waved her hands in frantic motions that dismissed any possible thought of a romantic relationship. "He's, uh..." she tried to find the right words that would not agitate the man in any way, "just a co-worker. His name is Urie Kuki."

'Just a co-worker.'

Nishio made a noise of dissatisfaction, shifting weight on his feet. "CCG, huh?" He pointed a long finger at Yami's tan jacket, switching it over to Urie's, too. "Never thought Baby Katayama would grow up to become a killer—"

"We aren't killers." Urie's gruff comment made the air thick in the blink of an eye. Yami's head whipped to the side in shock to gawk at her male comrade. The blunt annoyance that was dripping from his tone also reached his facial features. "We are cleaning the world of injustice."

Her face burned red, hands clutching her chest out of a nervous habit. "U—Urie-kun!" She screeched anxiously, though he didn't acknowledge the sputtered-out name in the slightest. Urie's eyes were now only staring daggers at the man that referred to him and Yami as a murderer. Who the fuck is this guy? Urie thought to himself. And why the hell would Yami know him? "I'm so sorry, Nishio-senpai! He—he—" She failed to complete her sentence to her old acquaintance, instead training her attention to Urie. "Urie-kun, Nishio-senpai was only joking! He didn't mean it!"

Urie's eyes glided over to her small figure, "Can we sit down, please?" Please? Her heart beat faster than it should have as she bowed a rushed goodbye to Nishio. The look of disdain that both the males gave each other as they parted did not go unnoticed. Urie waited for Yami to lead the way, considering that she had been to :Re before. She seems like the type of person to have a regular seat, he thought and he wasn't wrong, either. The few times she had come to this shop she had occupied the same space.