Rize Kamishiro

(A/N: So, my cat knocked my bottle of medicine down from my desk and now I have absolutely no clue where it is xD)

My training continued to be heavy beatings and intense workouts that anyone else would surely shy away from. Currently, I was in the middle of my 300th sit up when I heard the soft footsteps of a particular icy and cruel blonde. To sum up the most 'interesting' parts of the past month, I now have to sleep while my hands and feet are tied together so no 'funny business' happens. Oh, and Touka had beat the ever loving shit out of me one day for talking back to her, so that was kind of important I guess...

Emily walked over to me and said "You get first shower today, so make it quick...you smell." in her usual icy tone before walking away. I shrugged and leapt to my feet before walking inside of our shared room and into the shower. I washed up and put on my work clothes as it was almost time for my shift. My uniform consisted of a long sleeved white collared shirt with a grey waistcoat over it and a pair of black trousers and a brown cravat. I tied my hair up neatly, as it was required, and left the room to let Emily take a shower and get ready for her shift, which usually takes over an hour.

I walked out into the shop area and began to wipe down any dirty glasses or tables that were empty while attending to the customers needs. Touka was in the middle of her shift and passed by while I was making a cup of coffee and said "Wow, look at the little dumbass working like a pack mule...and here I thought you were a complete idiot, well now you ranked up to idiot so be grateful!" before walking away with an amused smile on her face. I've gotten used to her teasing and harsh remarks, which I think is a bad thing because now she's steadily becoming a pain in my ass.

Right after I had delivered a customers coffee, the door swung open to reveal an absolutely gorgeous woman wearing a dark blue dress with purple accents, red-rimmed glasses, and she had a beautiful purple hair and eyes. She walked over to a table at the very far end of the shop and looked at me with a captivating smile. I saw Touka grimace as she walked away to make a cup of coffee. Yoshimura greeted her, saying "Ah, good afternoon Mrs. Kamishiro. Will it be the usual today?" She smiled and said "Yes, Mr. Yoshimura. Oh, I see that you have a new waiter, when did he start working?"

Yoshimura shook his head with a small smile as the woman waved at me. I shrugged and continued on with my job without paying her too much attention. Soon, Emily arrived and started to help out which made things a hundred times easier than before. I saw the woman's eyes flash with a predatory look for a single moment as she glanced at me and Emily. I felt like things were going to start to be a real pain sooner rather than later...

My shift ended with no real hiccups and I went back to the specialized basement meant for my training, but I noticed that Mr. Yomo was already down there and meditating. I still remember the last time I called him 'Yomo' during our last time training and he basically tortured me until I understood that I was to always refer to him as Mr. Yomo, Sir, or Yomo Sensei during training. God forbid if you call him an old man. I walked up to Mr. Yomo and said "Yo, Sensei!" with a casual wave. He shot me a glance before closing his eyes again. I think he's ignoring me.

I paid him no attention and walked to the other side of the room to begin stretching, but I felt a faint presence behind me so I spun around and was forced to suck under a sudden roundhouse from none other than Mr. Yomo himself. He smiled and said "Good, looks like you've learned to joy let your guard down around me. You ready?" The last time I let my guard down during training I almost had my head separated from my body. I nodded and we began the beat down, with me scoring only a single solid hit. After the rather intense workout I was beyond worn out so I wobbled back to my room only to stumble upon the rather awkward sight of Emily and Touka changing. I get why Emily would be changing but why the hell was Touka changing in my room when she knows it's about the time that I come...back...

"Look, if you guys need me to do something then just ask me instead of trying to make me 'owe' you because I stumbled in on you doing something like this." I said while taking my shirt off and making my way over to the bathroom. This wasn't the first time that these two tried to pull something like this on me and made me take their shifts for the day or clean their stuff because they were feeling lazy. I was beginning to see that Emily and Touka had become close friends but fierce rivals during this past month. "Tch, the most you can do is gawk a little so we can hold it against you..." Touka mumbled.

I laughed and waved my hand in a dismissive gesture before saying "if you need me to take you shifts tomorrow I will. I know Mr. Yoshimura asked you to take Emily to a man named Uta for something, so don't worry about it." I closed the door to the bathroom behind me and stopping in front of the mirror. My white hair now had more pronounced streaks of red while the hair itself had grown halfway down my back and had a more wild and spiked look than before. My eyes were still the same color and my features had grown more...refined and handsome from my point of view.

I washed up and continued on with my day while helping Yoshimura and a man named Enji, who is a full-time waiter here at Anteiku, clean up after closing. Enji is a rather nice guy and is very helpful and energetic while also being somewhat funny and thoughtful at times. I guess the staff at Anteiku is made of generally good people even though they're all Ghouls, Yoshimura, Yomo, and Touka included. I was more than a little shocked at first when I had gotten actual proof that they were Ghouls, even though Yami had told me they were, but that didn't stop me from having a good time and having fun around everyone. This new life that I'm living can make me forget about my past pains and losses and really makes me enjoy the present.

I was about to make my way back to my room when Yoshimura called out to me and asked for me to stay for just a second. "As you know, Touka and Emily are going to see a trustworthy Ghoul that makes masks and goes by the name of Uta. Since his shop is in a less reputable place, I'd like it if you took the day off tomorrow and went with them." Yoshimura truly is a kind man, he's worrying about Emily's safety even though he just met her barely a month ago. I nodded my head and wished him a goodnight as I walked to my room and flopped onto my futon. A few minutes later I heard Emily walk in and crawl into the bed on the other side of the room and after that nothing else really happened. It was just eerily silent.

I heard a whisper come from right next to my ear "Pssst, hey Ryu! It's me, Yami! How's it goin?" and I bolted up and adopted a battle ready stance before catching sight of Yami's amused face. I sighed and whispered "The hell Yami? It's like 12 at night man...what's going on now?" I asked in a tired tone of voice. He chuckled as he said "There's no movement yet, but they're starting to glance over the 20th ward and they might make a move if something else major happens, but I'm just here to check upon you two..." he said as he gestured to the sleeping Emily. We caught up with each other until he finally left at around two in the morning and I was able to get some sleep, not that it mattered as I was forced awake by a loud Touka yelling in my ear. My eyes fluttered open and I looked at Touka, who was leaning over me with her arms akimbo, while Emily was laughing at the side. I released a heavy sigh and got up while rubbing my burning eyes. What the hell were they thinking? Waking me up at six is just too cruel...

It was the beginning of winter here in Tokyo so it was freezing outside. I wore a black hoodie with black trousers and boots. The three of us walked for around 45 minutes before we came across an alleyway with a singular door that was actually pretty well hidden. We walked in to a room with white and black checkered tiles and stands that had white covers over them with what seemed like objects underneath them. As we were walking down the middle of the covered stands to get to where I assumed the Ghoul named Uta was, the cover on the closest stand shot up while a man with black hair styled into an undercut jumped out. His kakugans were activated, and his body was covered in tattoos while he wore grey tank top with a black sweater and pants with a pair of sandals.

Emily's eyes widened and she hid behind me, causing the man to laugh as he shook hands with an also amused Touka. She looked back at us and said "This is Uta, and as you can see he is a bit eccentric but he's a good man!" I flicked Emily's forehead to get her off of me before extending my hand toward Uta and saying "My name is Ryu Takao, it's a pleasure to meet you Uta." He looked at me before stepping too close and sniffing the air around me. He did the same to Emily and his eyes brightened up like stars as he said "Oh! Yoshimura has brought me some fine customers today! Who would've guessed that I'd have a rare half-ghoul and an artificial purebred!"

I stalled at his words and ran them through my head a few times before asking "Wait, what's an 'artificial purebred...?" with more than a little hesitance. He chuckled before saying "Well since you asked so nicely, from what I can tell you used to be a half-ghoul just like your friend behind you. But I'm guessing you were captured and experimented on, because I can smell the doves all over you..." So this crazy man thinks that I used to be a half-ghoul, but was turned into a full ghoul after I was captured and experimented on...?

"Well, you only need to make a mask for Emily back there. Ryu has a kakuja that forms a mask over his face so he's all set." Touka guided the conversation back to the original purpose, causing Uta to pull out a chair and guide Emily over as he took her measurements and asked a variety of questions while doing so. Many of these questions sounded ridiculous but I could tell that he was trying to get some kind of inspiration and a general understanding of her character. After around an hour we were finally able to go on our way with an energetic Uta waving goodbye and yelling "Come back to see me sometiiiiiiiime!!"

I was walking behind Touka and Emily as they talked about different things when I saw a familiar purple haired woman walking alongside a boy with short black hair that gave off a book nerd kind of vibe. It was none other than Rize with an unknown human male. I told Emily and Touka that I had something to do and hurried along after Rize. I found Mr. Yomo watching from afar and met up with him. He told me that Rize was an infamous binge eater and he was tasked with taking her out before she could cause any more trouble for Anteiku.

We followed the duo for a long while up until they began to walk toward an unpopulated part of town, and that's when she attacked the poor guy. Yomo stopped me from taking action as we stood on top of a tall building that was halfway finished with its construction. Yomo led me to a large clump of steel beams and waited for Rize to walk under them before activating his kagune, which took the form of two beautiful black raven wings, and severing the beams from their hold, causing them to fall on Rize just as she was about to begin eating her catch. Yomo called for an ambulance because apparently he was still alive before making his way back to Anteiku.

I stayed back for a while just staring down at the dropped beams and wishing I could've done more for the guy. Because there was no doubt in my mind that he was dead...

(A/N: Ok I promise another chapter this evening xD.)