Black Water | Tokyo Ghoul

Chapter 23: Assumptions or Conclusions?

When Rin opened his eyes, his senses woke with him. The first thing he noticed was the sliver of sun trickling in from underneath his tightly closed blinds. Everything was so calm and quiet, he wondered whether he just dreamt up last night until he felt his clothes - still sticky and stiff with his own blood.

Taking in a deep breath, Rin carefully pulled himself into a seating position and clicked his tongue in subtle annoyance as he groaned.

If he knew his muscles were going to be as stiff as the wooden boards he'd been lying on all night, he would've risked torturing himself with extensive blood loss and pain as long as it meant waking up in a warm and soft futon.

He took a moment in the kitchen, leaning against the sink cabinets to examine the wounds underneath the ripped portions of his clothes. His favorite shirt was in tatters. What was previously one of the few good quality purchases from his days in another ward now had countless holes gouged into it. As he stared at the mess, his words for Touka and Yomo resonated in his head louder than the birds chirping out the peaceful morning outside.

'I won't apologize for what I've done. It won't change the fact that there's only a limited amount of people I can care for. But I will apologize for the fact you had to meet me.'

He lingered over those words, staring at the dried droplets of blood littered over the polished wooden floor and wondering if they were just like what he told Touka and Yomo - words hastily said.

It wasn't a usual thing for him to care. Much less about a little girl he barely even knew and had no responsibility for whatsoever. But Rin hated the cold twisting in his gut as he recalled the stares from Yomo and Touka. Those words were probably a mistake. And Rin was sure he was gonna pay for them someday.

Rin shut his eyes and huffed through gritted teeth, hoping that it would drive away yesterday's ghosts and help him focus on the task at hand.

Today was Friday and he had to get to work and face Amon.

Even after all the people he met yesterday, he still wasn't sure about anything. Mostly about whether or not going back to the CCG was a smart choice.

Jason - one of the most dangerous ghouls Rin had ever feared knew who he was. It wouldn't take much for his goons to track his movements down to the CCG where he would certainly face off with the muscle-brained fool who'd rather die than surrender to any ghoul.

Then, there was Touka. Never mind her hatred for Rin. She hated the CCG in general and with their violent closure yesterday, she could ambush Amon at the end of any day and Rin would be too weak to protect him from her rage.

As usual, the voice in the back of his head was cooing a sweet lullaby. 'Just leave.'

Like he always did when things got hairy. But there was no itch. No nudge to make him hurry towards his room and pack his essentials. Just the general exhaustion and the desire to see Amon's strange brows.

It didn't matter anyway. He was too weak to run. And he was too weak to fight so neither were smart choices.

Ignoring the warmth that pulsed from his newly healed wounds, Rin reached under his pillow and took the phone he hastily shoved underneath it. He didn't remember switching it off. So as he waited for the thing to boot up, he forced himself to his feet just to get the blood flowing through his limbs again.

Shakily walking through the hallway and to his room, he ignored the sudden explosion of continuous digital pops flying over each other and basically fighting for a chance to be heard. As he reached over his back to pull over his shirt, the notifications pings finally stopped and a longer, louder alarm rang through the small house.