Something about the way Rima worded her sentence gave Sasaki a bad feeling, but it was over powered by the feeling of joy. Joy that Rima wanted to spend some time with him. Alone. Now he knew Rima didn't mean it that way, but still. It made him happy.
"Of course!"Sasaki agreed.
Rima gripped her bag tightly."Good..."
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"Okay, okay... How about this one! Why did the penny jump off the cliff but not the quarter?"
Rima giggled quietly,"Hmm... I don't know. Why?"
"Because..."Sasaki chuckled a little,"... because a quarter has more cents! Haha! Get it?! Get it!?"Sasaki started to laugh and Rima followed soon there after.
"That one was good! I like that one."Rima covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed into it.
Sasaki felt a wave of pride fill him as he saw he was able to make Rima laugh so much. He wanted to be one of the main sources of her laugh.
"Okay. One more and then we should start heading back.."Sasaki said as he glanced at his watch and Rima nodded in agreement,"So what bank does a fish bank at?"
Rima put a finger to her chin in thought,"I don't know. That one's hard."
"A river bank!"
The two started laughing again, catching the attention of a few costumers who were sitting a few tables away. The two quieted down shortly after that, wiping the tears that had formed in the corner of their eyes.
"Ok I believe thats enough. Are you finished? Shall we go?"Sasaki suggested, and Rima took one last sip of her coffee, finishing it off before nodding.
"Yeah. I think we should start heading back."Rima agreed, and before she could stand up Sasaki was already behind her, pulling her chair out and helping her up.
Such a gentleman...
Rima nodded in thanks and took her coat, sliding it over her arms and onto her shoulders. As she gathered her stuff and Sasaki set money on the table, Rima took a quick look around the cafe, finding exactly who she wanted to see.
"Touka-chan!"Rima called and said girl looked over her shoulder."We're leaving now!"
Touka nodded, quickly scribbling something down on her notepad, before walking over to her and Sasaki,"Your leaving so early?"
Sasaki nodded,"Yeah we have to go. We'll be back soon though."
Touka nodded,"Okay. That's good-"Touka was cut off as Rima suddenly wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging Touka tightly,"R-Rima-chan!? What are you doing!?"
Rima sighed,"I just wanted to give you a hug. Sorry if it made you uncomfortable..."Rima stepped back.
Touka smiled lightly,"It's fine. You just shocked me is all. Be good okay an come again?"
Rima looked to the floor and started to play with her fingers,"I will..."
Sasaki put a hand on Rima's shoulder, giving Touka a small wave."Bye Kirishima-san."
Touka waved goodbye as the two left out the door, starting their walk back towards the CCG building. It was about 3 or 4 in the afternoon, almost time for dinner seeing as nobody was really out. Sasaki was trying to think of what he could do. He wanted to go out to eat but he didn't want Rima to feel uncomfortable by everyone that was eating around her. He didn't wanna keep asking her but he knew it was probably going to be hard for her to adjust to being out around other people eating in places like restaurants. It wasn't like she was born a ghoul and learned to deal and live with not being able to eat human food. And it wasn't like she was a half ghoul like the QS Squad was where they could still eat normal. It was a little different with Rima like always.
As Sasaki pondered over his dilemma, he hadn't notice Rima start to slow her walk down, beginning to walk behind him instead of beside him. He did however notice the sound of a electrical buzz. Jerking to a stop, Sasaki held an arm out to stop Rima from walking any farther.
"What was that?"Sasaki asked, cursing himself for again not bringing his briefcase. He was too concerned with helping Rima get ready, he forgot to grab it from beside his office chair. Akira would kill him.
"Haise-kun..."Rima whispered as she held onto Sasaki's arm with one hand. Rima didn't seemed frightened at all as Sasaki glanced at her momentarily before scanning the area for any sign of danger. He needed to get Rima out of there fast!
"I think I should call a cab-"
"Haise-kun!"
His attention now on Rima, Sasaki look at the small girl confused."Is something wrong?"
Rima looked up at Sasaki for a moment then she frowned.
"I'm sorry..."She mumbled and before Sasaki could comprehend what she said, Rima had wrapped her arms around Sasaki's neck, pulling him down a little and kissing his lips tightly.
Shocked and confused, Sasaki could only let Rima do as she pleased. All thoughts of danger were replaced with kissing her back for just a few seconds before she leaned away, their lips just barely touching. Sasaki's body unwillingly relaxed. The worries and questioning of what that noise was, flew out of his mind as he looked at her.
"W-what.. that.. f-for?"Sasaki stuttered breathlessly.
"It was a goodbye kiss..."
A goodbye kiss? Sasaki thought. But why? As Sasaki opened his mouth to question Rima, he felt a sharp pain in his neck and suddenly a painful electrical volt went through his body making him immobile, his knees locking up and his body fall forward.
Rima just barely caught Sasaki as he fell into her, falling to her knees under his weight. The tazer that she held in her hand falling onto the sidewalk, breaking into pieces. Rima tightened her arms around Sasaki's waist as he started mumbling, his chin resting on her right shoulder.
"R-Rima...."He breathed, his whole body numb and his vision started to go black,"... what was that....?"
Rima was silent as she laid Sasaki down, his back leaning against the side of an empty building. Even in his jumbled up mind, Sasaki could make out the words that Rima said, even though they were a little slurred together.
"I'm sorry, but like I said before, I consider you a close friend Haise-kun. I would protect you from anything that would harm you... even if it was me .."Rima said, brushing some hair from Sasaki's forehead as he stared at her with sad eyes.
Rima laughed sadly,"Lately, all I seem to be doing is hurting people. No matter how hard they try to hide it, I can see the sad look in their eyes, and I don't want to make people sad any more. Haise-kun, I want the people I care about happy... but I can't seem to make that happen... not like I am now. Ha! How pathetic does that sound?..."Rima asked humorously before sighing deeply,"I just want to protect you... protect you and Akira-nee and everyone else, so... I'm going to Aogiri Tree to try an figure everything out, or at least stop you from getting hurt. So please don't come looking for me. I'll be okay...."
Hearing her words, Sasaki wanted to stop her. Tell Rima that what she was doing was stupid. Tell her that he would be okay if she just stayed....
She did remember! She did remember what happened to her at Aogiri Tree!?
Sasaki also started to feel guilty. How could he not notice how Rima was feeling. He should have know that Rima wasn't alright. All the signs she shown but he was to concerned with Rima herself, not Rima and how she was feeling. All those times she said something weird but he never confronted her.
"What would you do if I left?"
"Yeah, but I would still like to hug you... at least just one more time..."
"That's okay... it makes things easier for later... right?"
"I will protect you from everything I can... even if it's me..."
Rima was giving him all the hints and yet, Sasaki couldn't see them. Or at least he choose not to see them... an now he was paying the price.
"D... ont... ... go...."Sasaki muttered, willing his body to move. He watched with sad eyes as tears started to fall from Rima eyes as she looked at him blankly.
"I have to Haise-kun. It's the only way I'll be able to protect you. Please understand. I need to find out who I really am. Where I really belong.." Leaning closer, Rima gave Sasaki a warm kiss on the center of his forehead, her tears falling from her chin onto his cheeks, almost like Sasaki was crying himself.
"But promise me this..."Rima started as she leaned away, grabbing a hold of Sasaki's numb hand. He couldn't even feel her touch anymore. He couldn't feel what she felt like for the last time,"... if I make it back... promise me we'll go to the cafe again for a coffee date, okay?"Rima laughed sadly with a fake smile as her tears fell.
Sasaki could only look at her, his mouth being incapable of moving any more. Realising this, Rima stopped laughing
"I guess this is the real goodbye... Haise-kun..."Rima whispered, laying Sasaki's hand in his lap and standing to her feet.
Sasaki's eyes widened. No! She couldn't leave! Rima would get killed in an instant if she tried to return to Aogiri Tree! And that's the worst case scenario. Rima just couldn't leave him...
Not now...
Not like this...
Not after everything...
Turning around, Rima picked her bag up and held it tightly to her chest. It clenched painfully and Rima believed her heart would burst at any second. But she had to do this. She had to protect the people who were important to her. An she has to find out who she really was. She had too.
If she wanted to stop hurting the people she loved... then she had too...
Sasaki watched as Rima started to walk away, not even turning to look back at him. Sasaki literally felt his heart breaking at the sight of her walking away. He was so hurt that he didn't even notice the tears falling from his eyes.
As Rima began getting smaller and smaller, so did Sasaki's field of vision. The black spot started taking over his sight and soon enough, the last thing Sasaki saw was Rima...
Rima with her back turned to him....