Guns, Bullets & Bones [Tokyo Ghoul]

Ch. 21 ~ Ghouls Have Feelings Too [P1]

     Meanwhile, somewhere across the ward, cooped up in her shadowed room in the otherwise empty house, was Rio. Her father had left for work some time ago. Rio wasn't even sure why he bothered working, they could survive without the income. Though she supposed he was just like her, the job was only for show.

       Her mind was on other things. In her mind, she traced and retraced the moments leading up to now. She wondered what had happened. What caused it all? She asked the questions as if she didn't already know the answers, and used the edge of her desk to lever the cap off of another beer bottle. They were her fathers, and had been sitting in the fridge to chill, but he wasn't here.

      There was a low swishing sound as her unlocked balcony door slid open then closed again.

     "Feeling sorry for yourself?" Lane snorted and dropped himself onto the white carpeted floor, next to where Rio had her back propped against her bed, face pulled in a grave frown.

      "I did just try to kill my friend," Rio cast a weary eye over to Lane as she took a swig of her second beer. She grabbed another from the 6-pack, popped the cap open on the side of the desk and handed it to Lane, and he took a few great gulps.

     "I thought we worked past this," Lane said after releasing a satisfied sigh, giving her a chastising look. Rio rolled her eyes and let herself think back to what Lane meant.

~

     Once again, Lane had arrived at Rio's house to drag her out for a hunt. She didn't feel like hunting at all, even though her hunger was beginning to gnaw at her mind and drive her slowly over the edge.

     Down the streets, and through alleyways, the pair wound, looking for anyone they could make a meal out of. When passing through a small, dirty alley, Lane spied a group of three girls. Rio couldn't help but roll her eyes as he sauntered up towards them, and the girls huddled together, whispering about the hot stranger.

       If Rio knew anything about Lane's methods, she knew he liked to play with his food. Though, this time, they wouldn't play ball. Rio watched as she leant against the rough red brick wall, arms folded, as they girls repeatedly rejected Lane's advances, and he grew more and more aggravated and tense. Apparently these girls knew about stranger danger, unlike the majority of bimbos they came across in alleyways.

     Rio had seen this enough times to know how this was going to end.

     Finally, Lane gave in and let out a cry of anger as his Kagune burst forth from his back, and with a few muffled screams and a short shower of midnight blue shards, the girls were laying dead, in a heap of their own blood, on the harsh, unforgiving concrete ground.

     "You know, you need to hunt again soon. I'm not going to keep doing it for you," Lane said over his shoulder as he crouched over the dead girls, leaning in towards the still warm flesh.

    "I know," She replied, making not a single movement, just watching him pause to hover above the skin, before he dropped the body completely. He stood, and turned to Rio, a wide, sick grin across his face, though it wasn't an unusual expression in the world of Rio and Lane.

     "In fact, why don't we find you a target, right now?" He cast a sneaky look back towards the girls, and smirked, "I'll be back for my snack later,"

~

      "I know you were mad, but did you have to eat them?" Rio snorted as she pulled herself from her memory, and took another large swig. Rio knew Lane would remember. He never forgot.

     "It's what we do," Lane gave an indifferent shrug before nudging the icy bottle neck against Rio's arm, below the sleeve of her shirt, and Goosebumps rose on her skin. She elbowed him in irritation.

     "Is it?" She hummed, raising the bottle to her lips, but simply letting the neck rest against her lips for a moment. The look she sent to Lane was cautious, like she was unsure of what reaction he may give.

      "... He affected you more than I thought..." Lane hummed after a moment of staring Rio down, and let out a slight sigh.

    "Oh, like Ayako affected you, huh?" Rip huffed and directed a pointed look in Lane's direction.

     "Let's not mention that," Lane narrowed his eyes and glared into the foreground, before taking another swig of his beer.

    "Why don't you tell me about her, hm?" Rio gave him a gentle nudge in the ribs, and set the beer bottle down.

     "You work with her, why don't you tell me?" Lane scoffed and rolled his eyes, setting his own beer down, so he could tuck his arms across his chest.

      "I do," Rio acknowledged with a gentle hum, and her eyes raised as she thought. "Ayako Higashi, one of the most sickeningly sweet people to walk this earth. Determined and strong willed, but too weak to protect herself... A pretty pathetic combination if you ask me,"

     There was a contemplative silence, and Rio pressed her lips together in a thin line as she dared a glance toward Lane, who's eyes were focused solely on a neutral point in the middle distance.

      "But, there must be more to it. There always is," Rio sighed, and absentmindedly fiddled with the ends of her hair. "You have a history with her, correct?"

     "So what if I do?" Lane huffed, sending a sharp glare towards Rio.

     "So, tell me about your darling Ayako," Rio grinned teasingly and gave Lane another nudge in the ribs. He let out a long sigh as the thought, trying to conjure the right words to truly describe Ayako Higashi.

     Lane glanced up and his steely eyes met with Rio's, his whole demeanour shrouded in warning, the sombreness seeping into the atmosphere.

     "She's a predator posing as a house pet."

~