Black Water | Tokyo Ghoul

Chapter 12: Job Offer

Rin's fingertip tapped at the tabletop.

Staring hard at the dark, polished wood, Rin still couldn't understand what happened yesterday.

Shifting his eyes a bit, he saw the porcelain cup of black coffee sitting at the table he rested his palms against. Watching the liquid flutter when he lightly tapped the tabletop, the boy tried to shake away the memory of him laughing gleefully at a ghoul investigator.

After fighting and successfully killing a ghoul wailing about not getting a job, he took Amon Koutarou into his house and fixed the Dove up himself. Not to mention, he lent the man his clothes despite how ill-fitting they were.

Amon's fitted figure and his angry pouting face popped into Rin's mind again.

The boy shut his eyes, grinding down his teeth. Laughing right now wasn't the best idea.

Especially since Touka had been eyeing him since the moment he stepped into Anteiku. At first moment he woke up, Rin thought about skipping work again and just wanted to wait until he got fired. Admittedly, he didn't want to confront Touka.

In the back of his mind, the situation would either result in Rin hating Touka even more and cussing at her face or Rin hating Touka so much, he'd end up destroying Anteiku.

But even when he decided it was best to just leave and earn some money, the boy wasn't ready for the strangeness of the day.

Rin got into Anteiku four hours ago.

He was wearing his usual outfit-black jeans, a white sleeveless top underneath a black jacket, and he had the same messy hairstyle that simply had him stereotyped as the usual young boy in a band. As usual, he was an hour late. But everyone in the café noticed something different about him.

Touka was the first to notice and Rin hadn't realized that, unlike the usual frown he wore, the corner of his lips had curled upwards. His eyes were bright underneath thick brows and his skin wasn't as pale and lifeless as it normally was.

Rin realized however, the look of utter fright on Touka's face as he passed her. Usually he wouldn't mind the look of fear but after their heated exchange in the street yesterday, he expected her to keep from starting eye contact and make sure he never uttered a word near her.

The boy raised a brow at the girl, challenging. Then finally asked, "What?"

Shuddering for a moment, the purple haired girl muttered "Creep." under her breath before she quickly moved away with her shoulders protectively bunched up.

Rin blinked, watching her scurry away while shooting shifty glances over her shoulder now and again. It was an unexpected reaction towards him. He expected the girl to glare at him then throw a punch the moment she saw him.

Right then, someone tapped Rin's shoulder. Turning, he was met with Kaneki. Whose face instantly went from worried to shocked and amazed. Now that worried Rin.

"Ah, Rin, did something happen?" Kaneki asked, sounding hopeful and his face filled with a sudden and subtle happiness for Rin.

It was a sickly sight to the boy. Quickly enough, Rin avoided everyone after that, losing the "smile" people kept staring at.

Nevertheless, he continued with the everyday routine. Unusually, Anteiku had a strange surge of customers and Rin had to force himself to always give away a dainty smile to the customers. He didn't enjoy the predicament. At one instance, he actually almost got into a fight with a male customer.

'Stop smiling at my girlfriend.' The customer growled before his lady friend shot a troubled glance toward him then quickly apologized to Rin.

Rin never expected more from a human. The way the guy's brows scrunched up together was actually a natural response for Rin. He'd probably get annoyed with someone who kept smiling at his partner as well. But it still pissed him off.