Chapter 4

There was something deeply disturbing about the red-suited man. Something that sent shivers down his spine and froze the blood in his veins.

It seemed invisible, hidden behind a layer of immaculate pale skin and soothing smiles. Deep below the surface, rooted to his very bones, there was something incredibly wrong about him.

Ichigo thought that perhaps it was that he looked too perfect. His skin was pale yet revolted against the threat of pallid decay that festered on skin such as his. Yet his skin was smooth and unblemished, like porcelain, thought Ichigo.

Indeed, even his features were crisp and undeniably masculine with a charming smile attached. But there was something wrong about him.

Very wrong.

Ichigo tensed as the man shifted ever so slightly and smiled wider. He moved with the grace of a feline, though whether it was a cat or lion Ichigo couldn't decide.

A thin smirk appeared on his face as he prowled further into the café. He gazed around the room, smirk still firmly attached, quietly studying the room before staring back at its inhabitants.

His deep purple eyes ran over each person as they stood stock-still under his gaze. The eyes widened imperceptibly and he sniffed again, subtly this time, before his grin grew and his eyes rested on Kaneki.

"Tsukiyama."

Tsukiyama's eyes flickered back to the speaker, Touka, whose lip curled in disgust under his gaze.

"Long time no see, Miss Kirishima."

She scowled and looked away. "What the hell do you want?"

"As cold as ever, I see." Tsukiyama smiled calmly in the face of Touka's usual bluntness. Ichigo narrowed his eyes when Tsukiyama's gaze wandered back to Kaneki, and after a moment, to Ichigo. "My, I wasn't aware you acquired new staff."

Ichigo's knuckles clenched as Tsukiyama took several confident strides towards Kaneki. He distantly noticed Kaneki warily lean back without actually putting any real distance between him and the approaching Tsukiyama.

"You new here?" Tsukiyama asked, circling the bewildered Kaneki like a shark. "What's your name?"

"K-Kaneki." The boy in question replied uncomfortably as he turned to face Tsukiyama. Suddenly, Tsukiyama leaned close and sniffed at Kaneki's neck, who jumped back in surprise.

Tsukiyama took it in his stride before smiling once again, he turned his head towards Ichigo. "I'm afraid I haven't gotten your name yet."

Ichigo raised his chin and stared back at the man, despite his usual intimidating factor of his height being worth null on a person of equal height.

"Ichigo." He grunted and refused to divulge more.

His attention was drawn away as Touka frowned and made a dismissive shooing gesture. "God, you're so creepy, just leave already. You're interfering with our work."

"My, how unladylike." Tsukiyama turned away, still smiling, and laid a hand on Kaneki's shoulder, who flinched at his touch. "I'll drop by for some coffee at another time. Sometime when Mr Yoshimura is around."

"O-okay."

"Lovely." Tsukiyama released his invisible grip on Kaneki and sauntered to the door. "Well then, farewell, Kaneki." He threw an empty smile over his shoulder. "And farewell to you too, Ichigo. Perhaps we'll meet again."

The door swung shut behind him and Ichigo's clenched fingers relaxed and he allowed himself to calm.

"Who the hell was that guy?" He muttered quietly to himself.

"He's trouble." Touka replied to his undirected question before staring at Kaneki and Ichigo. "Both of you had better stay away from him. You got that?"

"O-oh, sure, Touka." Kaneki replied hesitantly before glancing at Ichigo and noticing a similar confused expression on his co-workers face.

"What a creep." Ichigo mumbled to himself, before glancing at the clock. "Crap, I better get going. Class is starting soon." He walked into the café's bathroom and slipped out of his work clothes and into a casual jacket and jeans.

He nodded stoically to Kaneki and Touka at the counter as he left. Jogging down the street, his thoughts strayed from his classes and back to Tsukiyama and the shivers that man sent down his spine.

His mind wouldn't stop, even during his class he thought of the encounter. Ichigo frowned distractedly as he pushed open the doors of the lecture hall, absently strolling through his routine of exiting the building.

By the time he had shut his apartment door behind him, Ichigo was sure of one thing.

Tsukiyama was not human.

It would have been rather hypocritical of Ichigo to assume Tsukiyama was a ghoul, given the assumptions made about himself on the news.

It occurred to Ichigo how predatory Tsukiyama acted, prowling around the cafe, circling Kaneki like a vulture and . . . . sniffing him.

Ichigo shivered when he realised that Tsukiyama had likely been looking for a meal and judging by his interest in the dark-haired bookworm, he had found what he was looking for.

He frowned deeper as he recalled Tsukiyama's offer for coffee to Kaneki and his hesitant acceptance. He'd definitely have to watch out for Tsukiyama, Ichigo doubted that Kaneki's naïve mind would be able to truly see through Tsukiyama's mask.

Ichigo pulled off his coat as he thought, slipping his shoes off and meandering further into the recesses of his moderately lit apartment.

He strolled mindlessly to the window, reaching up to pull the curtains down.

Then he frowned.

Momentarily pulled from his reveries, Ichigo glancing at the curtains in thought. He could have sworn they were already down.

Ichigo wasn't paranoid, but he wasn't stupid either. He leaned forwards and tugged the curtains thoughtfully.

No. He had definitely left them down that morning before he had left the apartment. Ichigo bit his lower lip and stepped closer to the closed windows.

He reached forwards and pulled the handle of the window frame. As he expected, it didn't move. His gaze wondered to the frame again, following the edges.

They weren't fully closed and he could feel a slight draft emanating from between the gaps between the window frame.

Ichigo frowned. It was definitely possible that he hadn't fully closed the window that morning, but even so, his suspicions were raised now. He turned the window handle and pushed it open before leaning his head out the window.

Glancing at the window sill, his eyes narrowed, boot prints. And, now that he looked closer, hand prints on the outer side of the window frame.

The boot prints were slightly dirty and stood out on the nearly clean white colour of his window sill. The handprints didn't have visible fingerprints but the shape of the hand was impressed into the dust of the outer frame.

Someone had been in his apartment.

Either they were incredibly unprofessional, leaving accidental clues in their clumsy entrance, or suddenly rushed enough for an equally clumsy exit.

The time of their entrance could be anywhere between when he left that morning to the when he had walked into his apartment deep in thought not ten minutes ago.

Damn, they could have been pulling the window closed behind them while he was sliding the key into the lock..

Ichigo half-heartedly searched his apartment for possibly missing valuables, hoping this whole thing was just some random idiotic burglar.

He found nothing else out of place and sighed to himself.

Damn. Someone really had broken into his apartment.

Why and who were entirely different questions though. It's wasn't as if he had made many enemies in Tokyo, during his encounters with ghouls his face had been covered by his mask. Even so, breaking and entering wasn't typical ghoulish behaviour as far as he knew.

Calling the police didn't sound like too hot an idea, considering the CCG wanted posters for his masked self all over the news.

Ichigo closed the window and stepped back. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

Resigned to the fact that he wouldn't get any answers, Ichigo decided to sleep on it.

…

He slept dreamlessly that night.

Morning came all too soon, light traipsing through the breach in the curtains and flowing into the room, his alarm screeched into his ear and he rolled off the mattress onto the cold wooden floorboards.

All in all, it was a terrible way to wake up.

Ichigo grunted, pulled himself to his feet and went about his morning ritual, rubbing his head in mild pain. He left late in the morning for his Saturday shift at Anteiku, haggard and unsettled as he was.

Anteiku was more populated than he had seen it before. Customers sat and quietly chatted it an almost conspiring manner, casual domestic conversation that seemed almost trivial to Ichigo. Despite that, there were some alarming whispers passing through the air as he walked towards the counter.

"-another dove in the 20th ward."

"The streets just aren't safe anymore-"

"I'm scared to go out alone."

Snippets of whispers floated by his head, paranoid and fear-mongering as terror was wont to inflict upon everyday chatter. Ichigo tuned out their exaggerated worrying and joined Kaneki behind the counter.

He inclined his head slightly to the shorter boy and raised an eyebrow when he received no response. Looking closer, Ichigo spotted the beginnings of dark shadows beneath Kaneki's eyes and an air of restlessness around the boy.

Ichigo frowned gently and set about washing out coffee cups, seeing as every customer had already been served. They both stood in silence as the background noise filled the air with the sound of numerous soft voices.

"Kaneki." Ichigo glanced to the side where Yoshimura stood beside an unfamiliar dark-haired woman. "Kaya and Ichigo will take care of you and Touka's shift for today." Yoshimura glanced towards Ichigo, who nodded in solemn affirmation.

"Oh, okay. But sir, where's Touka?" Kaneki replied hesitantly, glancing towards the now identified Kaya.

"She's sick today, so I'm standing in for her." Kaya replied with an easy smile as she picked up a tray and approached a customer who had just entered the door. Kaneki glanced back at Ichigo timidly.

Ichigo leaned against the counter as he cleaned a mug with a cloth and made a dismissing gesture with one hand. Kaneki smiled hesitantly back at him and followed Yoshimura's suggestion to visit Touka upstairs.

Kaya approached the counter and Ichigo stood up straighter. "Hey, I don't think we've been introduced, I'm Kaya Irimi." She extended a hand and which Ichigo grasped and shook.

"Ichigo Kurosaki." He inclined his head respectfully as he went about cleaning out another mug. Kaya raised an eyebrow at his short response.

"A man of few words I see?" Kaya replied teasingly and laughed gently as he grunted sullenly. "Oh relax, I'm just teasing you."

Ichigo's lips twitched as they both continued working. At some point, Ryouko Fuegechi came bustling down the stairs into the café, giving a gentle wave to Ichigo and Kaya as she left, sans one daughter, Ichigo noticed.

The door opened again and a girl with hair the colour of hazelnut in a short bob entered, wearing an odd pink coat and carrying a large cooking pot. She strode purposefully and cheerfully into Anteiku, smiling all the while as she lugged the cookware with her.

The girl approached the door leading to the stairwell and paused, before turning to regard Ichigo. "I haven't seen you here before."

"I'm Ichigo, I only just started here recently."

"Right. I'm Yoriko." She tilted her head to the side slightly. "Do you know Touka at all?" Yoriko asked inquisitively.

"Only a little."

"Oh, of course." She seemed to deflate a little but brightened soon after. "Well, I heard she was feeling a little under the weather and since she wasn't at school I made her some dumplings!" Yoriko held up the pot and Ichigo inhaled a whiff of the food inside.

Ichigo faltered as he smelt the positively inviting aroma that seeped out around the edges of the lid, the escaping steam wafting into his dazed mind. "Uh, whoa."

Yoriko giggled at his bemused reaction and smiled brightly at him. "Good, right?"

"Uh, yeah definitely." Ichigo coughed into his hand again to conceal the drool he feared would spill out in his confused haze. "Touka's just upstairs."

"Right." Yoriko smiled victoriously, having won a point over the solemn Ichigo. She climbed the stairs as Ichigo shook his head in reluctant amusement. Ichigo handed a cleaned coffee mug to Kaya absently as she brewed a cup for customer, then silently passed it off to a delighted customer before returning to the counter.

His head snapped back up as the door to the stairs swung open again. Yoriko stormed back into the café, minus the cooking pot she had paraded previously. Ichigo wilted slightly at the lack of cooking pot but mentally chastised himself and straightened as Yoriko approached.

"I just can't believe her!" Yoriko fumed. "I go out of my way to make sure she gets a delicious meal, just to find that she's not even ill, but playing hooky with her boyfriend! A boyfriend she didn't even tell me she had! I mean, come on! We're best friends and she didn't tell me!"

Ichigo winced as Yoriko ranted aloud, crossing her arms in front of her and scowling. A scowl that Ichigo felt slightly impressed by for some reason. He held his hands up placatingly.

"Hold up, Yoriko, what boyfriend?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow, it wasn't any of his business but Touka had never seemed like a people person to him.

"Some dark-haired guy with an eyepatch." She snorted. "He looks like a total idiot."

Ouch. Yoriko must have seen Kaneki in Touka's room and gotten the wrong idea despite her pure intentions. He'd have to be careful about how he defused this one, Yoriko looked like she was on a hair trigger as it was.

"Uh, I don't think that was her boyfriend." Ichigo suggested as put a coffee mug down and faced Yoriko. She turned her frown to him.

"What?" Yoriko asked in a low, almost threatening voice, despite her completely not at all intimidating appearance, pink coat and all.

Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, that's just Kaneki, he's another new guy here. I think he was just checking to see if Touka was alright, you know?"

Yoriko had the decency to flush in embarrassment as she realised her mistake. "Oh. Oh dear. Um, are you sure?" She asked hesitantly and Ichigo nodded. "Oh. Uh, I probably shouldn't have said that then."

"Uh, listen, I'm sure Touka will forgive you if you just . . . give her some space." Yeah right, Ichigo thought, Angel of forgiveness Touka was not. "Maybe just make some more food for her when she gets back to school, as an apology." His stomach grumbled at the thought of more of Yoriko's food.

She giggled as he turned away to cover his sheepish expression after his stomach gave him away. "Ichigo, I'd be delighted to cook for someone who actually wants to eat it. You only need to ask."

"Oh, right. Well, if you don't mind that is. . ."

She laughed and Ichigo smiled slightly. "Of course I don't mind!" Yoriko turned to leave and glanced over her shoulder at him. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Ichigo watched her go before dropping his head as he realised what he had been suckered into. Kaya smirked as she passed him by, whistling innocently. "Not a word." Ichigo demanded, glaring holes into Kaya.

"Didn't say anything!" Kaya singsonged as she walked past him, coffee in hand.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Ugh."

…

"Hm?" Ichigo frowned in confusion and strained his ears again. Once again, he heard a distant hum of music, despite the lateness of the hour and moonlight staining the streets of Tokyo. He paced closer and closer through streets and alleys curious to locate the source of the mysterious sound.

Ichigo paused, mid-stride, as he recognised the mysterious music.

"Beethoven. . ." He murmured to himself in bewilderment. Who could possibly be playing such an ostentatious anthem at this time of night. Ichigo followed his ears like a bloodhound, now decidedly determined to find the source of the music.

Not once did he ponder how he heard such a chorus from so far away. But neither did he notice the flashes of yellow eyes in his reflection.

Ichigo finally found the source of his intrigue. A church. A rather small Church, almost insignificant beside its towering neighbours. He stepped closer before sidling up to the side of the church, hidden amongst an alley, Ichigo peered through a window which was just about neck-height and watched.

Through the window, Ichigo could see nothing wrong with the church and indeed everything appeared to be in order. That was at least, until he glanced toward the altar.

Lying upon the altar was a young woman, whose form lay still, surrounded by candles. Ichigo blinked in surprise and almost fell back from the window before recovering. He looked further to see the perpetrator, sitting at the organ, wicked fingers masterfully dancing across the ivories, as Beethoven's familiar music erupted from the instrument.

From his deep purple hair and flamboyantly garish garb, Ichigo had a fairly good idea of who played that hauntingly beautiful tune. Touka's words flittered through his mind.

"He's trouble. Both of you had better stay away from him. You got that?"

What did she mean by that? Tsukiyama was hardly the most intimidating being he'd ever encountered, creepy as hell sure but nowhere near threatening. Tsukiyama and Touka had history, that much was obvious.

Was he a criminal? That seemed rather likely. Touka seemed like the kind of person who'd seen tough times, so them having history might make sense. And it would explain why he had a young woman unconscious on the altar. Had he just stumbled into a kidnapping.

In his thoughts Ichigo hadn't realised anything had changed until the sound of Beethoven abruptly ended.

He blinked in confusion before turning his head to stare at Tsukiyama's new distraction.

Standing at the church door, in a turquoise hoodie and eyepatch, was Kaneki.

END

Yes, I'm back in black