So…ah…I'm a little bit shattered after reading the last chapter to Tokyo Ghoul, and I figured the best way to make myself feel better is to write the ending I think would be appropriate. It isn't long, but conveys all the emotions and possible thoughts that are going through everyone's heads.

Thank you to the artists of the picture. It's very well-done.

Yup. Enjoy. Sorry if the honorifics are off; it's my first time at adding them in.

[EDIT]: No longer a one-shot. More info at the bottom.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or any of its components.

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Prologue

It had been a very bad week for Kirishima Touka. The first part had been the fact that Anteiku, her favorite place in the world, had been raided by the CCG and half of her friends were dead. Probably more of them would be if-

No. She wouldn't think about that just yet.

The small-town coffee shop for humans and ghouls alike had been completely destroyed. Only parts of it remained standing, most of it in shambles with the CCG checking out each and every corner. Touka let herself smile a sadistic grin thinking of all "surprises" they would find there. Damn those CCG bastards, this was all their fault for this…grief, to put it lightly.

The second part had been when Yomo refused to take her back to find the others. Only after much complaining (and an emphasis on schoolwork) did he finally relent in taking her back. But just for school, he had said, just for school.

That led to the third problem. Yoriko was a relatively smart person; she knew Touka worked at Anteiku, and that Anteiku had been run by Ghouls. This led to a number of uncomfortable questions until Touka convinced her that if she was a Ghoul, she would have been eaten a long time ago. This seemed to convince the budding chief enough. Maybe Touka had just been lucky not to be eaten. Maybe they were just being stupid. Who knows? They were Ghouls.

Then the last problem, and unarguably the most painful one. Kaneki Ken had yet to come back.

At first she had been beyond angry. How could he go out and play "hero" when all they were only Ghouls. Ghouls stayed in the dark. Ghouls were solitary monsters who ate human flesh in the underbelly of the human monsters. They did not go out and play hero.

The sudden ring of a bell roused Touka from her thoughts. On her desk was a piece of paper, hardly written on and random other doodles lining the edge. She sighed. Another period wasted. This was happening all week; she really needed to get out of this "slump", as Yoriko called it.

Leaving the classroom behind, Touka found herself sitting in the school cafeteria with Yoriko and a few other of her classmates. Calling them friends would be too much of a stretch, but classmates seemed good enough.

"…Touka-chan? Hello? Anybody home?"

Yet again, Touka found herself waking up from her daydreaming, to see the entire table (maybe about four, five people) staring at her. "You alright there, Touka-san? You weren't answering us," one of them asked.

Showing no signs of embarrassment, Touka replied "Just been a busy week."

Yoriko, the only person who had known she worked at Anteiku, gave her a sympathetic look before saying to the others "You guys know about that Anteiku café downtown?..."

Touka let her friend do all the explaining. She really wasn't in the mood.

Damn Kaneki for being this selfish! Why was this getting to her so much?

No, Kaneki had been one of her best friends. They hadn't had any contact for six months, sure, but before that they had started getting along really well…

"C'mon Touka-chan, we're going for a walk." Yoriko got up, took Touka by the arm and started walking away, leaving the other very confused classmates behind. Looking back, however, Touka could see signs of pity and sympathy – Yoriko must've finished the story.

Touka hated those looks. They only reminded her of Yomo, who she would eventually get back to only to see his ever-frowning fucking face in the doorway. Yes, she put on a cold demeanor herself, but that didn't mean she didn't like other people giving it to her.

Maybe that's why Kaneki that had been-

Nope, nope, not thinking about that, already been there today, no need to go back. She needed to get over him, as weird as that sounded. Why was this Ghoul's death affecting her so much? Other people have died before, but Kaneki's death was the one that hit her so hard.

Why?

No time to think any further, though, Yoriko was talking to her. "…understand, Touka-chan."

She blinked a few times before realizing that Touka hadn't heard a word she just said. "Hey, you listening now?!"

Sighing, Touka nodded once.

"Hmph. Good. I don't know what's up with you, Touka-chan, but lately you've had your head in the clouds! You didn't used to, so as you best friend I demand that you spill it." Yoriko crossed her arms in a defiant pose, glaring at Touka.

Touka looked away before saying "It's just the Antei-"

Yoriko fiercely shook her head. "You and I both know that's not true. That was a week ago, and nothing ever bothers you for more than a day or two. This is much bigger. So what's really going on?"

Touka knew that she couldn't tell the truth. To tell her that she was, in fact, a Ghoul would ruin her. Unless Yoriko, by some strange accident, discovered what was really going on and bizarrely accept her, Ghoul and all, she wasn't going to tell her anythi-

"Touka-chaaaaaan, is the ice queen having boy problems?"

Now that was not expected. For once Touka really did fluster a bit. Could this really be considered a "boy problem"? Not in the way Yoriko was thinking, but…in a different way.

Deciding quickly how she should play this out, Touka looked sideways at Yoriko before saying "Maybe…in a way."

Yoriko was beside herself. "No way! I would never imagine…" She stopped yelling for a minute before saying "Is it that boy I once saw you with? You know, the scrawny, black-haired guy with an eyepatch?"

Still flustering a bit, Touka nodded.

"But…wasn't he a waiter at Anteiku? Just like you?" Yoriko gasped as she came to a conclusion. "He was a Ghoul, wasn't he!"

This time, Touka decided that she would stop there. She didn't need to tarnish Kaneki's reputation by telling the whole world he was a Ghoul. Instead…

"No, he wasn't. He just wasn't as lucky as me."

Yoriko got the meaning instantly. "So you're saying that the other Ghouls…" She didn't go on; she knew what had happened by now.

Touka shook her head. "I haven't seen him ever since the raid on Anteiku. He might've gotten away, like me, but at the same time, he might not have."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Touka-chan, I didn't…I had no idea." She looked up expectantly at Touka. "Was he…important to you?" Touka swore she saw the hint of a smirk on Yoriko's face, and was determined to wipe it off.

"In a way, yes. But not the way you're thinking of. He was a college student, about two years older than me. Really into books, almost…introverted with other people, really."

Touka decided right there and then that if it was too painful to talk about Kaneki in her head, might as well share it with someone off and ease the burden. It was working, too.

"C'mon, sit down." Yoriko gestured over to the bench, and they both gratefully sat down. The wind had picked up bit, and was starting to get a bit chilly.

"What was his name? I don't think you ever gave me one."

"His name was…well, is Kaneki Ken."

"Who knows? He may still be alive and you two can have a tearful reunion."

They talked for a good half hour, Yoriko asking questions about Kaneki that Touka hadn't even realized were true until asked. By then the sun had been hidden completely by the clouds, wind and clouds making it chilly even for a hot-blooded Ghoul like her.

But still, they kept talking.

Near the end Touka had told Yoriko almost everything about Kaneki – minus the Ghoul stuff. It felt great to give Kaneki a good word to someone else, but at the same time it hurt a bit in the heart. At one point Touka had started referring to him in the past tense, catching her mistake only when Yoriko pointed it out.

If she didn't have faith in Kaneki to return, no one would.

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The next day started off on a bittersweet note. Touka had gone home that night thinking of her talk with Yoriko, slightly exasperated after Yoriko had told Touka off for not telling Kaneki what he really meant to her. Now, there was a good chance she never would.

But what Kaneki meant to her she still had no idea. Yoriko kept bugging her, but she never really found out.

At the same time, the sun had stayed in the clouds all night. This morning the chill had been present once again, dampening her still-rising spirits. Stupid clouds.

She tried not to focus on Kaneki that day. Would he forgive her if she failed her class just for thinking of him? Of course not.

After class ended, Touka had walked along the school, gazing into nowhere when Yoriko had found her.

"Touka-chan! Touka-chan! I've been looking for you!"

She looked at Yoriko curiously. There was no reason to find her right now; they had just eaten lunch together.

This also seemed oddly familiar, almost like déjà vu. Where had she seen this again…?

Yoriko was breathing heavily when she said "I nearly forgot! This morning…I was walking to school…and some guy stopped…me…"

As Yoriko caught her breath, Touka lost hers. Now she knew why this was all so familiar.

"He had this really white hair, looked almost completely natural, so I know this couldn't be your precious Kaneki-kun," Yoriko grinned as a rare flush of color came to Touka's cheeks, "but it seems that you still have quite a fan. He sent you this."

Touka looked down at the small item in Yoriko's hand.

"I know, not nearly as cute as the one Kaneki got you, but I guess in this case it's the thought that counts. He didn't say anything; just called my name in this semi-strangled voice, gave me this, roughly said 'Touka-chan', and limped away. Maybe he was embarrassed or something."

By now Touka had picked up the small charm and felt a stinging on her face, knowing that it had nothing to do with the blistering cold wind.

A small, spiraled centipede charm lay in her hand.

"I guess I would be, too, if I had black fingernails. I mean, what kind of guy paints his fingernails black?"

Yoriko looked up at Touka's face and asked, concerned, "Hey, Touka-chan, are you okay?"

Touka rubbed her face and said strongly "No. I'm not okay; the bastard likes to tease me it seems."

While the shrinking pain still lingered, not being able to see him in person, it was a far cry from the original pain.

Shithead. Making me worry like that. Who does he think he is?

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[EDIT] I fixed the "-san" to "-chan". Also, instead of being a one-shot like I originally planned, I'm thinking of writing a full-on story instead of a one-shot. Should I? Or should I simply let this stay as it is? I'd appreciate the feedback, if nothing else.

Cheers.