A/N: Chapter two is here. This honestly took longer than I hoped. I was trying to put it out during Touken week and I was making good ground but I'm not sure, I just slowed down.

Speaking of Touken week.

Who the hell decides when it's Touken and how do I get this kind of power? I mean a bunch of stories just started coming in just like that. I would make every week Touken week personally.

But anyways, I wanted to address a few things about this fic to clear things up. The first is about how I describe Kaneki's eyes as murky. If you haven't read the manga then you probably don't know what I'm talking about, so I copied the link to two pages onto my profile from the manga that might clear things up. It's the top two and you should understand what I mean when you read those pages.

The bottom two links on my profile have to do with my use of bold letters in this fic. When I use bold for Touka it's out of rage but for Kaneki well it's darker. You'll see when you read the bottom two links. Look at how the outline of word bubbles get darker and you can tell the tone does too. Hopefully those links will help, but you might not imagine the same tone I do when Kaneki's words are written bolder. Not sure.

But anyways, have you all read Tokyo Ghoul Re? Fucking great. The way Kaneki seemed to take over during the fight with Nishiki, I'm freaking glad Kaneki's still crazy. And the way he says "right" is just damn. I gotta use that in this fic too. And he did the finger crack and grabbed his chin the next chapter. Like I said, I was totally waiting for those.

But most of all, he's finally gonna meet Touka again! No idea how that's gonna turn out.

And am I the only one that thinks that Hinami joined Aogiri Tree as a spy? Maybe to find the manager.

There weren't many things that could leave Kaneki completely and utterly dumbfounded.

Confused?

Sure, but not dumbfounded.

While Kaneki didn't have much talent in general, he was a smart kid and was very adept when it came to solving things. That being said, Kaneki's brain, his broken brain, couldn't get itself started, not after what had just transpired.

One moment he and Touka were having a heart to heart of sorts, growing far closer than he had expected, and the next she was sucking on his thumb.

Literally.

Touka had literally started sucking on his thumb.

The moment he felt her soft lips enclose on his digit, he froze, and any words that wanted to leave his own mouth faded away when she began sucking and licking said thumb. He leaned over her shoulder in disbelief to see if that was actually happening, only to freeze once again as his cheeks reddened slightly.

The look on her face as she continued to suck on his thumb was adorable. It looked so unlike Touka but at the same time fit her face perfectly. Eventually, Kaneki was able to find his words and called out to her. He honestly expected her to punch him in the face when she snapped out of her . . . . whatever it was.

Thankfully, Touka seemed just as surprised by her own actions by her reaction. He would admit to himself that he missed having her so close to him, but it was to be expected she would leave after she came to her senses. He didn't know how to explain it but the feeling of holding Touka in his arms felt so . . . . right.

It felt good, so much so that he really didn't want to let go.

Was it because of everything that happened with Yamori?

Did his hallucination where he saw Yamori kill, she died, it wasn't real but Touka died, Touka cause these feelings?

Or were they there before and he simply didn't notice them?

"Ah." Kaneki sighed as he flopped back onto Touka's bed. "What a bother."

He had too many things on his mind.

Way too much.

In fact . . . .

He could feel them wiggling and chewing up there.

Pale fingers twitched frantically as they slowly drew closer towards his ear.

It was still there.

He knew it.

He could feel it.

He had to get it out. He had to get it out. He had to-

"Onii-chan?" with a quiet tap at the door, Hinami called out to him, unknowingly snapping Kaneki out if his trance.

"Come in." tilting his head to the side, Kaneki sat at the edge of Touka's bed, waiting for Hinami.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up, onii-chan." averting her eyes to the side, the young ghoul voiced her apology.

It was unnecessary in Kaneki's opinion.

"Don't worry about it, Hinami, I wasn't sleeping." wanting to reassure the girl, Kaneki did his best to smile.

A poor imitation of who he once was.

"Is there something you needed?"

"Well, onee-chan came into the room really flustered . . . ." Hinami trailed off keeping her gaze down at her feet the entire time.

Strange, she hasn't done that with him since they first met.

"D-Did she now?"

"Yes, is everything ok? Onii-chan and onee-chan didn't fight did they?"

"Fight? No. A fight with Touka would be much louder . . . . and violent."

"Onee-chan's not that bad." with a little giggle Hinami defended her onee-chan.

"Never said it was bad. Her temper is one of the things that makes her Touka. Imagine Touka being calm and cool like Renji or Kaya."

They both did just that for a few seconds before chuckling a few moments later.

The image was too funny.

"Is that all you needed or is there something else?"

"I-I just wanted to say goodnight." with a smile and a few drops of tears in her eyes, Hinami once again hugged Kaneki. "And I'm really really glad you're back."

Kaneki's smile was just a little more genuine as he patted the young ghoul on the head.

"Me too."

Although, could Kaneki really say he was back?

After all...

...the Kaneki that was taken was weak.

It was fucking annoying.

Kaneki was exhausted but he couldn't go to sleep no matter how hard he tried.

He just laid there, trying his best to ignore that pressure in his forehead on top of worries.

His worries weren't about himself of course.

Why would they be?

After all, he finally saw the world clearly now.

No, what his mind was occupied with was a certain blue haired ghoul.

Touka.

That girl was an enigma.

She put up a cold, aloof front that said "she didn't care", but that facade couldn't be further from the truth.

Kaneki was sure about that after getting to truly know her.

He knew despite her hatred for the doves, Touka shouldered the guilt of killing them, and the guilt of taking someone's loved one away from them.

It was funny in a morbid sense.

A ghoul that held a deep seeded hatred towards the doves couldn't hurt them without hurting herself.

Knowing Touka it probably pissed her off to no end.

The only reason Kaneki could think of that could make Touka feel that way was empathy, the ability to put oneself in another shoes; possibly taught to her by her father.

From what he could tell by Ayato's words, their father was more than likely a peaceful ghoul. If that was true it was possible he tried to instill empathy into them so they could see things from the humans perspective, instead of seeing humans as mere cattle to be slaughtered and fed upon.

Kaneki couldn't be sure if that was true, but if it was then their father was a good, weak, man. He seemed to succeed when it came to Touka, but Ayato was obviously a failure.

Looking back on it, Kaneki was definitely wrong about his first opinion about Touka.

She was a girl who actually cared more than she probably wanted to.

She was a girl who would walk through hell for the people she deemed important to her.

And . . . . was he dragging her through that hell?

He couldn't think of anything to refute that point.

Touka was going to follow him into the kill or be killed world of ghouls because he was throwing himself into it. He couldn't, and deep down to his very core didn't want to, leave her because not only would there be hell to pay, especially after their talk, but Touka would just become more stubborn and follow anyways.

That left Kaneki in a dilemma.

He didn't want Touka to get hurt but that seemed impossible. They would be going against Aogiri Tree along with whoever got in their way, so it went without saying that they would get hurt along the way; he wasn't conceited about his strength and knew he wasn't unbeatable.

All in all keeping Touka from getting hurt was impossible, but keeping her alive was a different story. Just because one got hurt didn't equate to dying necessarily.

That Kaneki could do.

That Kaneki would do.

But, the pressure in his forehead started to build ever so slightly, he still needed to get stronger.

He needed to prepare for what came ahead so he could protect Touka, protect her and everyone else.

He needed strength.

And to get that strength, Kaneki needed to devour.

But, he couldn't devour humans.

Humans were weak.

No, he needed RC cells, and while humans contained them there was another group that contained more.

Ghouls.

He needed to devour ghouls.

Like a switch being turned on, Kaneki rolled off Touka's bed, landing in a crouch that made him look like a feral animal if one saw him. He immediately grabbed his mask off the nearby desk before making his way towards the window.

A second later his feet, Touka had forgotten to get him socks, were touching down on the cold guard rail on the roof. Or at least, he assumed it was cold, he couldn't really tell at the moment. All Kaneki could really feel was a deep hunger from within him.

A deep hunger and the pressure in his forehead pulsing.

That was all Kaneki could feel right at that moment.

'It seems so different.' looking out toward the city around him, Kaneki couldn't help but notice how different he saw things.

Before being turned into a half-ghoul he always thought of ghouls as creatures of the night, beings that one would more than likely get struck by lightning before running into one. But, after his date with Rize, and being turned into a half-ghoul, Kaneki's eyes were opened.

To an extent at least.

Ghouls were everywhere.

They could be anyone.

One could be walking down the street and in an alley they just passed there could be a ghoul feasting on human flesh. With that realization, Kaneki began to see the city as something to be feared.

The more people the more of the odds of those people being ghouls, and while he wasn't completely human at that point, the thought was like a bath of ice water.

But, that was then.

Back when he was weak.

Now, the city wasn't something to be feared.

Why would it be?

After all, the city was full of ghouls.

A meal could be right around the corner.

Kaya wasn't having a good day, not at all.

That would probably explain why she was downing a bottle of vodka.

Yes, ghouls could get drunk.

They were more resistant but it could happen, as long as said ghoul was willing to suffer through the disgust before it took effect.

At the moment Kaya was willing to suffer through that discomfort.

It helped relieve the pain in her heart.

While she didn't broadcast her emotions left and right, unlike Touka, Kaya still had them, and at the moment she was feeling just one emotion.

Sadness.

With Touka it was guilt.

Enji it was anger.

But, for her, she was just sad.

The reasons were the same but the emotions weren't.

Kaya was simply sad for Kaneki.

She may not have talked to him a lot but she saw the young half-ghoul as a little brother just like Enji.

It was hard not to.

He was just so . . . . innocent.

So much so that it smacked one in the face when they met him.

Sometimes when she would see him interact with Touka, usually him being yelled at causing him to almost breakdown and cry, she would wonder to herself how was it possible for someone to be nearly two decades on the planet and still be so pure.

While most ghouls, even humans, would see such purity as something to be ashamed and embarrassed about, Kaneki was eighteen after all, Kaya thought otherwise. Yes, in the past, before she met the manager and was running around raising hell, Kaya would've saw Kaneki as the perfect prey.

But, now she was different.

Kaneki's innocence was no longer something she saw as a weakness.

No, it was something to be admired and protected.

Admired because the world was so cruel and dirty, so much so that she thought it was impossible to keep such purity clean through so many years.

And protected because the cruel, dirty world just seemed to love devouring innocence.

Kaneki was like a precious flower that managed to grow and bloom despite the blood and filth that surrounded him.

But, when she looked into those murky eyes, saw his pained, forced smile, it was painfully obvious that the flower was no longer pure.

It was now drenched in blood.

No longer would that flower bloom and grow from the water it needed.

Blood would be its sustenance that let it grow.

Into what, Kaya wasn't sure but it was a fate that Kaneki didn't deserve.

Her head tilted back as she chugged more vodka into her system.

It burned her throat like hell, she silently wondered if it was because she was a ghoul or that was just how alcohol was for everyone, but that was fine, she was feeling like crap anyway.

Going for another chug, Kaya's ears twitched as she picked up the faint sound of a window opening.

If it was someone breaking in then they just made the stupidest mistake of their life.

Kaya was not in the mood.

And at the moment she was willing to make someone suffer for that if they gave her a reason.

Standing up purposely, Kaya made her way towards the back door and into the alley. Scanning the skies she was greeted with the sight of Kaneki looking far to fitting for that mask of his.

It was as almost as if Uta knew.

He looked like a predator as he perched himself on the guard rail, scanning the horizon for prey.

A moment later he was gone.

A sigh escaped her lips.

"What are you up to, bookworm?"

A second later she was following downwind.

A frustrated growl was muffled behind Kaneki's mask as he continued his run through the 20th ward's skyline. If he were to be honest with himself, Kaneki had no idea what he was doing. Without a ghoul's heightened senses, he really had no way of telling a ghoul apart from a human.

Unless the ghoul showed off their kakugan or kagune of course.

The odds of Kaneki simply running across a ghoul like that weren't that high.

So, what should he do?

If he couldn't find any ghouls, should he . . .

Should he hunt humans instead?

There were so many of them, it wouldn't be hard to follow one until they were by themselves. Then he could-

No!

Placing a hand on his throbbing forehead, Kaneki quickly cut off his previous thoughts as he viciously shook his head.

He needed ghouls.

Ghouls equaled strength.

He needed strength.

But where?

Where could he find a ghoul?

It's not like he could've asked Touka for help.

He didn't want her to know about him cannibalizing other ghouls.

He didn't know how she would react.

He was honestly scared she would see him differently.

Disgust for eating her own kind?

He didn't want that.

No, couldn't have that no, no.

No.

No.

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

His breath hitched as he suddenly thought up a question that smashed into his mind.

What the hell was that?

He had gotten stuck for a second, that was the best way to describe it.

That description did not do justice to what had just happened though.

He wasn't sure what just happened himself but he knew that it was something bad.

He had been feeling weird for a while now.

Strange . . . why was that?

Confusion was shown on the visible part of his face as he blinked owlishly before shaking his head.

No, he was getting distracted.

He needed to feed.

'But where?' another quick scope of the streets below did nothing to answer his question.

He still had no way to find a ghoul.

How inconvenient for him to not have a ghoul's sense of smell.

What a bother.

(Crack)

"Hunting isn't as easy as you thought, is it?"

In the past Kaneki would've frozen at being caught of guard, but that was then, and Kaneki wasn't the same as before. So, instead of freezing, the half-ghoul spun while throwing an elbow at where the voice was, right next to his ear.

He missed and before he could continue his assault, a voice stopped him.

"Relax, Eyepatch, it's just me."

He blinked and blinked again before his expression, and eyes, changed.

"Kaya? What are you doing here?" taking off his mask, Kaneki voiced his confusion.

"Just making sure you don't get yourself into another mess." her smile was similar to the ones they had received from him when he had returned.

It was strained and held pain and sadness.

When Kaneki had stopped, Kaya simply watched him in curiosity before she realized the half-ghoul was having trouble hunting. When she had decided to talk to him, before his frustration turned into something else, Kaya stalked up to him instead of simply calling out.

Probably not the smartest decision but, hey, she had always liked getting the jump on people.

As another reminder of his change, Kaneki attacked immediately after she had spoken up.

She dodged it easily of course; Kaneki may had gotten stronger, according to what Nishiki had told them, but he was still a pup to her.

But, his readiness to attack wasn't what had made the sadness in her heart grow.

No, it was once again Kaneki's eyes.

When he had turned around, Kaya was greeted with a pair of pupils that had narrowed down to a mere dot.

It made Kaneki look so angry and aggressive.

It was so sad.

That emotion was multiplied when confusion set into his features.

Those eyes.

Those murky, lost eyes that just screamed that Kaneki had went through something horrendous.

Kaya had met a lot of different type of people over the years so she knew that a person could change, she herself was an example of that, but she had never seen such a change that was as quick and drastic as Kaneki's.

The same question that had been tormenting Touka had also ran through Kaya's mind since she saw Kaneki.

What did they do to him?

"Thanks for the concern but," Kaneki started, drawing Kaya from her musings, "you don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself now."

There was no doubt in Kaya's mind that when she and Kaneki thought about him taking care of himself, they both were thinking two completely different things.

(Crack)

Completely different.

Whether it was good foresight or just Touka's stubbornness being a lucky hit, her decision to go with that little bookworm was definitely a good move on Touka's end.

Kaneki needed help.

One look into his eyes and anyone could tell that, but that kind of help was a long gut wrenching journey, and while Kaya, she was sure the others felt the same, was more than willing to help the bookworm, that wouldn't be possible.

He was leaving and she along with Renji and Enji couldn't go with him.

Their place was with the manager.

All they could do was hope for Kaneki and Touka to look after each other.

That and wait for them to return.

Kaya couldn't help Kaneki with his goal, but she could help him his current problem.

"I assume you're not hunting for humans." walking past the half-ghoul that had stiffened at her words, Kaya stopped at the edge of the roof and peered down at the people below. "No need to get all tense. I don't mind."

"B-But they're-"

"My own kind?" turning to face the confused half-ghoul, Kaya rose and eyebrow in amusement. "I've killed ghouls before, so what does it matter if you eat them? I've got no right to judge you. Besides, the way I see it, either way you go about it you're cannibalizing. It only makes sense you would rather eat ghouls after living nearly your entire life as a human."

They both knew that wasn't the real reason for his decision to feed on ghouls but neither breached the subject.

" . . . Thank you."

A small almost gentle smile adorned Kaneki's lips.

"That's probably the most I've ever heard you say in such a short amount of time, Kaya. I feel honored." with a small joke, Kaneki let out a light chuckle.

"You shouldn't make fun of the person that's going to help, little bookworm." reaching out with a mock glare on her features, Kaya flicked Kaneki on the forehead.

"Help me? With what?" staring at the female ghoul with his disturbed eyes, Kaneki voiced his confusion.

With a nod of her head towards the streets below, Kaya answered his question.

"You don't know how to hunt ghouls do you?"

"Ah." Kaneki made a noise of acknowledgment while taking a position at Kaya's side. "I don't have a ghoul's sense of hearing or smell so telling the difference for me is impossible." his nervous chuckle and scratching of the back of his head almost resembled the old Kaneki.

That resemblance was ripped to pieces when he averted his eyes down to the streets while a grim frown made its way onto his face.

Kaneki looked like a man who had lived for far too long and was just utterly exhausted to his very core.

'What did they do to you, little bookworm?'

Disregarding her thoughts, Kaya quickly got back to the matter at hand.

"I wouldn't say it's impossible." turning away from Kaneki, the female ghoul returned her attention down to the people. "You just have to look for more subtle hints. If you look hard enough you can spot a few tells."

"I wouldn't want to be a burden-"

"Don't be stupid." Kaya quickly yet firmly cut Kaneki off. "No one at Anteiku has ever thought of you as a burden. We never have and we never will."

Kaya's words held nothing but sincerity in them, so much so that Kaneki could feel a warmth build up inside of himself.

But, despite her words and the feeling inside of him . . . . . Kaneki knew it wasn't true.

He lacked ability, therefore he was weak, a burden.

No more.

"Kaneki." feeling a hand on his shoulder, Kaneki's eyes widened as they returned to their previous state.

Their new previous state of course, murky and unfocused.

Why was Kaya looking at him like that again?

Just like before in the forest.

Like everyone else.

"If you plan on feeding on ghouls, you'll need to learn a few things about finding."

Well, Kaneki couldn't deny that.

" . . . So, ghoul hunting 101, is it? I never knew you were good at hunting."

Kaya's hand reached back behind her coat, pulling a black object to her face.

"Woof. Woof."

"Before I show you how to hunt, there's one thing you need to know about hunting in the 20th ward."

"And that is?"

"You never hunt any peaceful ghouls while you're in the 20th ward. All of those ghouls are under Anteiku protection. Hunt them and I'll have to knock some sense into you." her tone was both serious yet playful causing Kaneki to chuckle lightly.

"I'll remember that."

"Good."

The ghouls known as Eyepatch and Black Dog were longer on at the same location as before, having moved deeper into the ward to keep any of their activities away from Anteiku.

Kaneki didn't question her.

There was no need to.

While he wasn't the same naive, trusting boy he used to be, he trusted Kaya along with the other ghouls at Anteiku. They were the few he could still wholeheartedly put his faith in, knowing he wouldn't be betrayed.

If one thought he distrusted the manager because of Tatara's words then they were wrong. Maybe when he had heard the ghoul's accusations of the manager he had doubted the kind, old ghoul, but he was distressed and not thinking straight at the time.

Now, thinking about how he had actually doubted the manager, the man who brought Anteiku itself to his rescue, a sense of self-disgust rose up in him like vile in his throat.

Of course the manager didn't tell him anything about Dr. Kanou.

Why would he?

Kaneki at the time was weak and useless.

What would that information done for him?

Would he have gone to the doctor for answers?

Of course not.

Even if he had gathered the courage to confront the doctor, he wouldn't have found him, seeing as Yamori himself told him that he went into hiding. The information that Dr. Kanou had intentionally turned him into a ghoul would've done nothing but cause internal distress.

The manager had protected him.

Protected him because he lacked ability.

But, now things were different.

It was his turn to protect everyone.

"Now," Kaya began, drawing Kaneki from his thoughts, "one thing that could help you separate a human from a ghoul is their reactions to suitcases."

"Suitcases?" Kaneki's head tilted to the side before realization struck him. "You mean quinques."

"Exactly. Most peaceful ghouls that don't have great control over their emotions will almost always react in some way when they see a suitcase; it's a fear implanted in most ghouls by their parents when they're young. Their reactions can range from flinching, crossing the street, picking up their pace, and keeping their eyes focused on the suitcases. Of course, even non peaceful ghouls can react this way as well."

Kaneki couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"This isn't going to be easy, is it?"

"Is life ever easy, little bookworm?"

"No, it isn't."

He knew that better than anyone.

"As for the more violent and less fearful ghouls, they tend to show anger and hostility at the site of suitcases."

It made sense in Kaneki's opinion.

As he learned from his time as a half-ghoul, ghouls that blended within human society always needed to watch their backs and stay alert. One never knew when a dove was around the corner and doves brought death. And even if a ghoul managed to kill a dove in a confrontation, that would only bring more of them.

It wasn't a surprise ghouls would either fear or despise the quinques, the weapons that allowed the doves to kill a ghoul in combat, and since they were carried in suitcases, it was only logical to associate the two.

But still...

He let out a sigh

"Hunting ghouls isn't as simple as I thought it would be."

"You'll get it, little bookworm, don't worry." placing a hand on his head, Kaya ruffled his hair, earning a small smile.

It was a simple act but only a handful of living beings would be allowed by Kaneki to perform such an affectionate action. In the near future, ghouls and humans alike would find the act of rustling Eyepatch's hair as suicidal and insane, but Kaya and the others had nothing to fear from him.

He would never hurt them.

They were his precious people.

Of course, that didn't mean that Kaya messing with his hair wasn't a surprise to him.

But . . . it was nice, and so was spending time with Kaya.

It truly felt like he had an older sister.

A sister that was helping him hunt for other ghouls, but Kaneki would take any family he could get at this point.

"Look there." following Kaya's finger, Kaneki spotted what seemed to be a business man walking down the street with his suitcase. "Now watch that couple." the half-ghoul did as he was told and watched the couple walk down the street, clearly enjoying the night.

'Must have been on a date.' the first and last time he went on a date, he ended up having his insides gently scrambled, not a pleasant experience for him.

As Kaneki watched the couple and business man come closer and closer to each other, he saw the couple freeze for a split second before holding each other closer as they passed by the business man. Their nervousness was practically palpable as they kept their eyes trained on the suitcase, as if it would gobble them up any second.

Maybe he should gobble them up?

"You see? Their behavior wasn't very well hidden, they need some practice really, but that's the effect that the quinques can have on a ghoul."

" . . . . Right." Kaneki nodded before a question crawled into his mind. "You could smell they were ghouls even with all those other people down there?"

"Don't you know dogs are renowned for their noses?" despite the fact that she was wearing her mask, Kaneki could tell she had a smirk on her face.

"When I was little I always wondered what it would be like to have the senses of a dog, I'm almost jealous."

"Yeah, well, it isn't always a good thing."

"How so?"

"Let's just say humans need to learn how to control their sexual urges. That or take better showers."

Even with Kaneki's change there were certain topics that he still felt uncomfortable with. Those topics tended to be in the direction of sexual conduct and with Kaya's comment, he couldn't help but blush with wide eyes. Even his mask couldn't completely hide the blush as it made its way to the exposed parts of his face.

Kaya couldn't hold back a chuckle at the sight.

'At least that hasn't changed.' small blessings she mused.

"S-So, uh, is there more to learn about hunting ghouls?"

She couldn't lie to herself, there was a part of her that wanted to completely exploit that "weakness" of Kaneki's and tease him, but she decided to show him some mercy.

She'd do it some other time.

"Follow me." with that, Kaya took off, Kaneki right behind her.

Eyepatch and Black Dog were on the move again.

As Kaya and Kaneki sprinted across building to building, one thought ran through her mind.

'I thought I was supposed to be the ukaku type.' while Kaneki wasn't faster than her, he was still rather quick for a rinkaku type ghoul.

In fact, he was quicker than Touka.

He jumped off a building, twisting and flipping through the air so much so he actually reminded Kaya of Touka.

'What was the saying?' Kaya smirked as she took to the air as well, albeit in a less impressive manner. 'Imitation is the most sincerest form of flattery?'

It wasn't lost on the ghoul that Kaneki's flight looked distinctively like Touka's.

How cute these pups were.

Banking to the right and jumping off a guard rail, the two ghouls flew across a street before landing on a water tower. They were currently at a residential area that held a number of high-rise apartment buildings.

They would stop there.

Time to continue the lesson.

"There are two main places ghouls usually live at." Kaya began drawing Kaneki's undivided attention. "This one is high-rise buildings. Do you know why ghouls like to live near large buildings?"

Contemplating Kaya's question, Kaneki's head lolled to the left and to the right with dead eyes before he stopped and turned to Kaya.

"Doves." his response earned a nod from the Black Dog before continuing. "Even if a dove can kill ghouls with their quinques they're still human. There's no way they could keep up with a ghoul if they took to the roofs."

"Got it in one."

Kaneki didn't stop, he had a question himself.

"But, these type of apartments tend to be nice, wouldn't the ghouls that live in places like these be more peaceful?"

"Oh? What makes you say that?" he was right of course, which wasn't surprising, the bookworm had always been smart, but she wanted to hear how he came to his conclusion.

"Well, to stay in places like these a ghoul would have to have put in a lot of effort into their human life, I can't see ghouls like the ones in Aogiri Tree living human lives to this extent."

After all, being a ghoul doesn't earn money, a job earns money, and to get a job that pays enough for a nice place like the apartments around them a ghoul would need the necessary paperwork and education.

That took effort.

"You're right for the most part. Ghouls obsessed with fighting normally don't have human lives, and if they do it's almost always to the bare minimum. Those ghouls usually stay in the other place I was talking about earlier. But, the ghouls that blend into human society enough to live in high-class places aren't always peaceful, and when they're not, they're dangerous because their crafty. I'm sure you can think of a few ghouls like that."

" . . . Rize and Tsukiyama."

"Wolves in sheep's clothing would be the best way to describe ghouls like those." Kaya interjected. "They might not be the strongest but they're one of the most intelligent, and intelligence can be more dangerous than strength. Remember that."

He would.

Ghettos.

Every place had them.

Didn't matter what continent, country, state, city, or even ward.

There was always people who lived at the bottom of the barrel.

There had to be.

If there wasn't that would mean everyone was equal, and treating everyone as equal was against human nature.

After all, the smarter students got the better grades; him and his cousin, the son of that woman, were examples of that.

The smarter students got into better colleges.

Then people who graduated with better grades from better colleges got the better jobs, thus getting more money.

The better looking boys got the attractive girls.

The weak got picked on while the strong didn't.

People were not treated equally.

That was something Kaneki could see clearly now.

If one lacked ability, they lacked the better parts of life itself.

That's just the way the world worked.

And those people who lacked ability were the ones he was staring down at.

Whether it was because they lacked education, therefore couldn't get a decent job.

Whether it was because they were criminals and needed to live in a place where they didn't stand out.

Or whether they were ghouls and just didn't put in enough effort into their human lives.

For whatever reason it may be, they lived in these places called ghettos.

"Depressing, isn't it?" hearing Kaya speak up, Kaneki was roused from his thoughts.

"Yeah." the half-ghoul sighed. "We're still in the 20th ward but the difference between those that lack ability and those that don't is so obvious."

The roads were unattended and filled with potholes.

Dogs, garbage, and the homeless roamed the street.

The homes were small, filthy, and falling apart.

Some were boarded up with wood to compensate for the lack of windows, while others had bars covering them for security.

"The doves don't focus much attention on ghettos, that's why wards one through four are almost unlivable. Only the strongest and craziest ghouls live there."

Now that Kaneki thought about, he did remember Uta saying the same thing about those wards when he first met him.

But, he couldn't help the curiosity that built up from Kaya's first statement.

"Why would the doves leave those wards alone if they're so dangerous?" it didn't make any sense to the half-ghoul. "Shouldn't they be more focused on those places because they're so dangerous? What about the humans living there?"

Listening to himself shoot off question after question, Kaneki couldn't help but think that he truly seemed like a little brother pestering his older sister.

"Those wards are like war zones, I can only imagine they don't want to risk losing dove after dove to try to quell those wards. As for the humans that live there, well, those humans could be considered the scum of their species. I doubt the doves really care for them."

"I don't understand why would humans live there if even ghouls can barely survive there?"

Kaneki was pretty sure if he really thought his questions through to himself he could answer them eventually but he didn't. Perhaps, it was because he liked the interaction he was having with Kaya that made him ask his questions instead of giving them some thought.

"Some humans and ghouls would rather die then get locked up."

"And if even doves won't go into those wards then there's no way regular cops would."

"Exactly."

Still Kaneki felt the doves were making a huge mistake by letting those wards go free. Sure, they kept doves from being thrown into a shredder; therefore, allowing them to live and carry out their duties; killing ghouls and saving humans. But, even if that were true, and even if they were content with letting the ghouls kill each other off, the ones that survived would be strong.

Dangerously so.

Kaneki truly felt that would come back to haunt them.

In fact, the half-ghoul wouldn't be surprised if Aogiri Tree recruited those ghouls.

Maybe he should visit those wards himself.

Devouring those ghouls would not only make him stronger, but would keep potential members away from Aogiri Tree.

Eating two birds with one bite.

"So, high-rise buildings and ghettos, huh?"

"Searching those places just give you a greater chance of finding a ghoul about anywhere you go, but like I said before if you're in the 20th ward stay away from the peaceful ghouls."

"And if I'm not in the 20th ward?"

"Do whatever the hell you want." a hand on his shoulder drew his attention away from the streets below and to Kaya's unmasked face. "Just don't do anything reckless, bookworm. Just because you have strength doesn't mean you can't be killed." seeing the look of genuine concern on the older ghoul's face, Kaneki was more than even sure that he needed to bring down Aogiri Tree.

He wouldn't let anyone else be killed.

(Crack)

"I'll remember that." Kaneki nodded his head before a small chuckle escaped his mask. "Although, I'm sure Touka will make sure nothing like that happens."

That earned a snort from Kaya.

"Yeah, because Touka and trouble are something new to each other."

"Ah, I guess you're right about that one." Black Dog's sarcastic statement earned another chuckle, albeit a nervous one, from Eyepatch.

A moment later Kaya's phone buzzed, indicating a text.

Kaneki watched as Kaya read the text before replying with a small smirk on her face.

"Perfect timing." she muttered before slipping her ghoul mask back on before putting her phone away. "It seems a trouble making ghoul didn't learn his lesson. That was his last warning. Follow me." without waiting for a response, Kaya took off yet again with Kaneki right on her trail.

"What do you mean by a 'trouble making ghoul'?" Kaneki questioned as pushed his hands off another guard rail before flipping like a ball in the air.

"Along with feeding and protecting peaceful ghouls in this ward, Anteiku also manages the feeding grounds of the non peaceful ghouls."

He was pretty sure he heard Touka mention something about that when she saved him from Nishiki. He had just been too terrified at the time to really pay the information any mind though.

No one could really blame him.

He had been dealing with being turned into a half-ghoul and almost being killed.

"But, some ghouls don't like being told where and where not to eat. Us ghouls can be rather territorial when it comes to our feeding grounds."

"Nishiki said something similar." Kaneki muttered. "Although his exact words were 'Imagine you find your lover naked and broken and in the same place is a man you don't know, stripped from the waist down'."

"Figures." Kaya rolled her eyes as she and Kaneki overshot an entire building before landing on another. "That Nishiki, so damn vulgar."

"Hehe. Well, that's what makes Nishiki, Nishiki."

"I guess so." agreeing reluctantly, Kaya decided to get back on track. "Like I was saying earlier, some ghouls don't take well to Anteiku trying to keep them in line. Some of those ghouls will listen anyways but others are more stubborn. For those we have to put them in line time to time."

"Put them in line? How so?" Kaneki had an idea, but for some reason he couldn't imagine Enji or Kaya, well, killing.

He had only seen them at Anteiku and never once saw them show their ghoul's side. The most had been when Enji had mentioned his past as the Devil Ape, and even then Kaneki couldn't help but not think too much about it. Enji was always playful and good-natured while Kaya was calm and collected. It just seemed weird to think of them as killers.

It seemed he was still naïve.

"With force of course. That's the only thing that those type of ghouls listen to. " Kaya explained before continuing. "The manager's kind but he isn't stupid. If those ghouls don't learn the lesson the first few times then we have to put them down. Letting those ghouls do what they want will only lead to more trouble. Understand why?"

"I think so." Kaneki nodded before realizing Kaya was staring at him expectantly. "You know you would make a good teacher, Kaya."

"I'll be sure to remember that. Now get back to the question."

"Kind yet firm." that earned him another flick to the head. "Ok, ok . . . . Ghouls are extremely territorial so if they're not divided they'll fight, and if they fight they'll draw the doves attention. On top of that if you let ghouls feed on someone else's feeding grounds without disciplining them the others might either think it's ok to do so as well or they might begin to believe those ghouls are getting special treatment by not being kept in line. I doubt they'd react well to that."

"A mouthful but right again."

"Is that where we're going? To deal with one of those ghouls?" they had been moving for a good amount of time, and while, yes, Kaneki enjoyed flying through the air and spending time with the ghoul beside him, he couldn't help but be curious.

This side of Anteiku was really a side he had never been privy to. He had really only seen the human front of Anteiku. He had gone with Renji to pick up a corpse once, although he didn't do anything, but picking up a corpse wasn't the same as creating one.

"Yeah." Kaya responded to his earlier question. "This ghoul moved into the 20th ward a few weeks ago but he's been causing trouble. I gave him his last warning a week ago but-"

"He didn't listen."

"Basically. If he's going to die might as well put his corpse to use."

Meaning Kaneki had a ghoul to feed on.

"I see."

The throbbing returned.

"Arrogant bastard. Taking his time like he owns the place." Kaya couldn't help but sigh as she and Kaneki watched from the rooftops as the hooded ghoul, shrouded in the alleyway's shadows, ate his meal. "This usually happens."

"What do you mean?" taking his eye of the ghoul, Kaneki diverted his attention towards his teacher for the night.

"Young ghouls that come from more hostile wards think they can do want they want in the 20th ward because it's docile."

"But, didn't you say you already put him in his place a few times? Shouldn't he know he can't do whatever he wants?"

It seemed like common sense to the half-ghoul.

Seeing Kaya as her ghoul self, Kaneki couldn't help but get the impression she was a powerful ghoul.

So, wouldn't the ghoul that she had disciplined know that better than Kaneki himself?

Unless the ghoul believed he had grown strong enough within a week to defeat Kaya or anyone else at Anteiku.

Unacceptable.

No one would hurt them.

He would pluck anyone that tried to hurt them.

He will devour anyone who tries to take away his place to be.

(Crack)

"He's young, and ghoul or human, young pups do stupid things." Kaya knew that from personal experience. "Anyways, he's all yours. The kid had his chance. If you were able to deal with Touka's bratty brother you should be able to take this guy."

He could feel the throbbing grow stronger.

Without a word, Kaneki dropped down into the alley, a psychotic smile hidden by his mask.

It was time to feed.

The sound of his feet hitting the ground seemed to alert the ghoul of his presence.

A serious lack of awareness of his surroundings on his part.

"Who the hell are you?" standing up from his meal, the hooded ghoul turned towards Kaneki, clearly angered by another ghoul's presence. "You're a fool to think you could take my food from me of all ghouls."

"Kaya was right, you are arrogant."

"Kaya?!" finally the ghoul became aware of his surroundings and sniffed the air. Following the scent, the ghoul's head snapped up to the sight of Black Dog looking down on him. "You! Get down here you fucking mutt! I'm gonna pay you back for last time!"

"As fun as putting unruly pups in their place is," Kaya casually started, earning a snarl from the hooded ghoul, "my friend there is the one you should worry about. He doesn't look to happy either."

Indeed, true to her words, Kaneki did not look happy. Kaya could immediately feel his blood lust fill the alley when the young ghoul had threatened her. It would've been heartwarming how quick he was ready to defend her, not that she needed it, if it wasn't so sad.

The old Kaneki could never summon such blood lust outside of his ghoul instincts influence.

He was too gentle for that.

But, that Kaneki was gone.

(Crack)

Looking down at him now, Kaya couldn't help but think that he would look absolutely frightening to any ghoul who hadn't been around the block, so to say, like she had. With his black nails, pale unruly hair, eyes half lidded with his pupils shrunken to a vicious dot. All of that combined with that mask of his painted a truly nightmarish picture.

A picture fitting of a ghoul.

(Crack)

The finger cracking just added the finishing touch.

How could something so simple could be so . . . morbid?

"I'm not interested in your meal." hearing Kaneki speak, Kaya refocused on the scene below her.

(Crack)

"I prefer ghouls." with no hesitation Kaneki darted forward, his visible eye wide open.

Even though he was wearing a mask, Kaya could practically see the maddening smile on his face.

That poor ghoul had no idea what he was going against.

"You think you can eat me?" letting his single koukaku free, it slid up the back of right arm and molded onto his hand in the shape of a head of a sledgehammer. As Kaneki came within range, the hooded ghoul swung his kagune at the side of the half-ghoul's head only for him to flip over the attack. "You have no idea who you're messing with!"

Landing behind the ghoul, Kaneki had to step back to dodge another swing at his head. That was followed by three more swings and dodged the same way.

'Slow.' Kaneki thought as he stepped to the side as the attacking ghoul lunged forward with his kagune poised forward like a lance. "Is that it? I expected more with that mouth of yours."

"You-!" the ghoul never had time to finish his sentence, as the bottom of Kaneki's foot slammed into his face, launching him further down the alley.

'Perhaps my standards are too high due to fighting Yamori and Ayato.' Kaneki mused with a frown as he slowly made his way towards the cursing ghoul.

It made sense if he thought about it.

Yamori and Ayato were both high-ranking members of Aogiri Tree, a ghoul organization filled with battle hungry ghouls. On top of that he had seen a fight between even stronger ghouls after he had dealt with Ayato. It almost seemed unfair comparing other ghouls to Renji's, Uta's, and Noro's strength.

Yes, that explained why this ghouls ability was disappointing.

"You should've listened to Kaya when she warned you about feeding."

"Fuck you!"

Tilting his head to the side, Kaneki dodged a jab from the kagune before he plunged his hand right into the ghoul's stomach.

Just like Tatara did to him.

"Y-You fucker!" ignoring the ghoul's pained filled curse, Kaneki removed his hand before swallowing the flesh he had removed from the ghoul.

"Disgusting." he muttered as he ducked, dodging another wide swing from his meal's kagune; the ghoul really didn't use his kagune to its full potential. "Taste like . . . plastic soaked in toilet water."

In short...

"You taste like shit."

Kaya couldn't help but chuckle at the half-ghoul's words. She wasn't sure if Kaneki was intentionally trying to anger the soon to be dead ghoul, but he was doing a good job nonetheless.

With a roar of anger, the ghoul attacked once again.

Hopping to the side, Kaneki dodged the kagune as it stretched forward covering the distance between the two ghouls. It curved back around forcing Kaneki to jump up and towards the wall before pushing off it with his feet and towards the opposite wall.

"Persistent." true to his words the kagune continued its pursuit of him as he bounced wall to wall.

In all honestly he wasn't worried in the slightest. In fact, he was simply enjoying the feeling of he got from soaring through the air.

It was absolutely invigorating.

It was something humans could never experience.

Too bad for them.

Leaning backwards in the air, Kaneki dodged a strike directly to his face and let his body fall head first towards his target.

The throbbing had increased, pounding against his head, thirsting for his meal.

It was time to get what he came for.

The foolish ghoul, had no idea Kaneki had led him to sending his kagune far away from his body to keep it from being able to protect him.

As he drew closer, Kaneki let the bottom two of his kagune out before sending them straight at the ghouls knees.

Too fast for him to react, they tore right through.

"Ahhh!" as expected, Kaneki's meal screamed in pain.

'We're making too much noise. Need to finish fast. Guess play times over.' with that thought, Kaneki finally landed on the ghoul before taking a massive bite of the ghoul's neck, killing all sound besides wordless gurgles.

With a growl Kaneki pulled back, ripping flesh and spraying blood everywhere, so much so that his hair was more red than white.

Kaya couldn't help but shiver at the sight.

Not because of how gruesome it was, she was a SS rank ghoul after all, but because that's the little bookworm, so warm and innocent and now so cold and ruthless.

A person shouldn't be able to change so quickly and drastically.

But, he had, and Kaya doubted he would ever return to the person he used to be.

The sound of flesh ripping and blood splattering was a testament to that.

The taste in his mouth was absolutely horrible but it easily made up for the lack throbbing at his forehead.

It seemed that was how he got it to leave him alone.

"Hey." feeling a hand on his shoulder, Kaneki turned to face the masked Kaya. "We should get going. When you feed make sure you do it quickly. Ghouls tend to lose sense of their surroundings when feeding, and that gets more ghouls killed then you would think."

"I'll remember that." Kaneki nodded as he stood up from the remains of his meal; nothing but bones. "Anymore rules left to teach me Kaya-sensei?"

That earned a snort from the Black Dog.

"Just one more." she began as Kaneki followed the direction her finger was pointing to. "Make sure to clean up after yourself. Even if it's a ghoul's corpse if someone were to find the remains they'll think it's a human and call the doves."

"Ah." a sound of understanding escaped his lips.

Even if he wasn't eating humans the doves wouldn't know that, and the corpses would lead them to investigate the ward. That was unacceptable since he was in the 20th ward. Kaneki would not be the one to ruin the manager's and the other's hard work.

"I understand, but where should I leave the remains?" as he spoke, Kaneki began gathering the bones onto the remains of the ghoul's shirt and using it as a makeshift bag.

"We'll stop by a river nearby and drop them off there."

"What about the blood?" it was a valid question, seeing as the alley had bloodstains on the wall and ground.

It looked like a scene from a horror movie.

"There's nothing we can do about that. Come on let's get moving." with that said, Kaya took to the rooftops, Kaneki right on her tail.

A few moments later Kaneki was throwing the pile of bones into the river, watching them sink below the surface.

He had no idea the same thing was slowly happening to him.

"You probably shouldn't have used your kagune, especially since it wasn't really necessary."

Not too many ghouls could take out another without their kagune while the other used their own.

That spoke volumes of the young half-ghoul's strength.

"Why's that?" tilting his head, Kaneki looked at her questioningly with those haunted and disturbed eyes of his.

"Well, that is Touka's shirt you're wearing."

". . . . Damn it." he had completely forgotten about that fact.

Despite knowing what he was going to see, Kaneki turned to look at where his kagune released from, and true to his thoughts, two gaping holes were torn through the shirt.

That was not good.

Not only did he not want to see how Touka would react when she learned he ripped her shirt, Kaneki didn't care if he was stronger than her she was still scary, but above all else he couldn't have her questioning what he was doing. She obviously would be curious about why he was using his kagune, and he was never a good liar.

He needed to keep his cannibalism a secret from her.

Kaneki didn't want to see how she would react.

"The blood we could wash off the shorts," Kaya interjected, obviously amused by his reaction, and unaware of his true fears, "but I don't think Touka will take you messing up her shirt too well."

"You think she'll notice if I just wear another?" he was sleeping in her room, so hopefully she had another shirt similar to the one he was wearing.

"I don't think you have any other choice." shrugging her shoulders, Kaya gestured for Kaneki to follow her. "Come on. You can wash up at my place while I wash the shorts."

"Thanks, Kaya." she was truly saving him from the wrath of Touka.

"Can't have our little bookworm dying on us, can we?" taking her mask off, Kaya gave Kaneki a brief smile before they once again took to the roofs.

"I don't think she'll be that mad."

"It's Touka." Kaya replied. "Besides, she didn't sound to happy about you trying to leave her behind."

That had caught Kaneki by surprise.

"You knew?" landing on top of the roof of the café, Kaneki removed his mask and directed his surprised look towards her.

"It's not just a good sense of smell that dogs are known for." accompanied by her comment, Kaya removed her mask and used a finger to tap her ear.

"So you heard."

Kaya couldn't help but frown as she watched Kaneki's expression completely fall. It was the same deep, soul crushing frown he had unknowingly worn on his face throughout most of the time she had seen him since his rescue. Yes, there were times in that brief period of time where he had shown other expressions, but they had always seemed forced and pained.

It seemed that depressing frown was his new default expression, instead of his old nervous, cheerful one.

'How sad.'

"Bookworm." earning his attention, Kaya slid down and sat against the roof's guard railing before patting the spot next to her.

Blinking with his murky eyes, Kaneki did as he was told, curious as to what Kaya intended.

He did not expect her to wrap an arm around his shoulders, pull him closer, before she rested her head on top of his.

That didn't mean he didn't enjoy it.

It was obvious he did when he instinctively rested his head on her shoulder.

This HAD to be what having an older sister felt like.

It had to be.

"You don't need to get all depressed and guilted just because you're doing something for yourself." she began earning Kaneki's undivided attention. "This is your life. You don't need to live it any other way you don't want to. As long as you don't regret your actions then it's fine. Will you regret not going?"

"Yes."

His response held no hesitation whatsoever.

Kaneki needed to find Dr. Kanou.

He needed to bring down Aogiri Tree.

He needed to protect his precious place.

"Then it's fine. Just make sure you don't get yourself killed."

"Sounds like a good plan. . . . . . . C-Can . . . we stay like this? Just for a little longer?" even though he was embarrassed, Kaneki couldn't help but ask Kaya anyways.

He hadn't felt like he was feeling since his time with his mother. It felt similar but different then the emotions Touka conjured up earlier when he held her.

Nonetheless, Kaneki didn't want to let that feeling go just yet.

"Sure." with a warm smile on her face, the SS Rank ghoul known as Black Dog continued to hold the half-ghoul that in the future would be the infamous Centipede.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"You've been surprisingly caring tonight, Kaya."

"Hey." in mock offense, Kaya once again flicked the half-ghoul's forehead. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"No, I didn't mean you couldn't be caring. I just meant you usually keep to yourself and let people come to you if they need help." Kaneki was quick to explain himself.

"Well, there's a lot more to me then you would think."

"Really? Like what?"

He felt like a child asking to have a story told to him. Surprisingly enough though, he didn't actually care about that fact. After everything that happened with Yamori, Kaneki would've thought feeling such a way would be something he despised. He wanted to be strong and feeling safe and secure like he was didn't exactly make him feel like he could take down Aogiri Tree.

But, despite all that, he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment.

"Where do I begin?" Kaya mumbled to herself as she lifted her head off Kaneki's and looked up at the night sky. "Do you know I'm actually a SS Rank ghoul?"

"What? Really?" Kaneki couldn't hide his surprise even if he wanted to.

Nor could he hide the murky, haunted look in his eyes.

A constant reminder.

"Yeah. In fact you're looking at the leader of the Black Dobells."

"Black Dobells? Never heard of them. Who're they?"

"They're a ghoul gang I created. We used to run wild in the 20th ward, killing any ghoul that got in our way."

"Wow. I never thought you would be like that."

"Oh yeah, I was a real hell raiser back then." she hated to admit it even to herself but she had some good times back then. "The only ones that could stand in our way was that monkey and his Wild Apes."

"Monkey? Apes?" bringing his hand to his chin Kaneki muttered to himself before his eyes shot open. "You mean Enji?! He had a ghoul gang as well?"

"Yeah. They were just as crazy and battle hungry as we were."

"Incredible. He always says things about being called the Devil Ape but I guess I never gave it much thought."

"Not surprising really. Not with how he turned into such a big softie." imagining how that monkey used to be compared to how he was now, Kaya couldn't hold back her chuckles.

His change throughout the years was incredible.

But then again, the same could be said for her.

"So, if you two were so wild, what changed that?"

"The manager." once again a look of nostalgia overcame Kaya's features as she continued speaking. "He wanted to turn the 20th ward into what it is today so obviously he came to the me and that monkey."

That made perfect sense to Kaneki.

If the manager intended to quell the unnecessary violence in the 20th ward then of course he would go to the two leaders of the ghoul gangs that were causing most of the trouble.

"You know what the first thing I said to him was?" she couldn't stop the smile on her face even if she wanted to.

"No, but I have a feeling it wasn't pleasant."

"Don't talk to me so freely old man, or I'll kill you."

"You threatened to kill the manager?" despite anticipating her answer being something of the sort, Kaneki couldn't hide his incredulous tone.

He could never imagine anyone that knew the kind, old ghoul threatening him.

"He wasn't the manager back then, alright? Cut me some slack, damn." lowering her hands she had raised in her mock defense, Kaya let out a brief smile. "But yeah, I threatened the old man."

"What happened after that?" his curiosity was killing him at that point.

"He talked to me freely, I tried to kill him, and he kicked my ass."

"But aren't you a SS Rank ghoul? You had to put up a good fight, right?" he found it hard to believe that such a high-ranking ghoul would just get her ass kicked. It was one thing to lose but another to not put up a good fight.

"For my pride as a ghoul I'd like to say I put up a good fight but I didn't stand a chance. The manager is the strongest ghoul I ever fought. No joke."

Kaneki could see that.

While kind and understanding, the manager had always reminded Kaneki of one of those old men in mangas that Hide would show to him. Someone who had years of priceless experience from countless trials and tribulations.

"Who knew you and Enji were such big bad ghouls." that statement actually brought up a question to the half-ghoul's mind. "What happened to your ghoul gangs? Did you disband them?"

"No." Kaya answered with a wave of her hand. "We use them to help keep the ward in check. Who do you think texted me earlier?"

"Ah."

Kaneki had never given it much thought but Anteiku was a powerful force: a ghoul who could take down a SS Rank ghoul with apparent ease, three SS Rank ghouls, he couldn't see Renji not being one, Touka who was at least an S Rank ghoul, seeing as she defeated Tsukiyama, and of course himself.

He may be leaving and taking Touka with him but that didn't mean he wouldn't be there for them. That didn't mean he wouldn't defend and destroy for his ghoul family. In fact, that was partly why he was leaving.

"I wonder if my small group will turn into a ghoul gang like yours and Enji's."

"One day maybe. But, if it did, what would you do with it?"

"I'd use them to help me find Dr. Kanou, but after that I guess I'll just do what you two did and help keep the peace in the 20th ward."

"Good answer." with that said, Kaya retracted her arm from Kaneki's shoulder, stood up and stretched her back. "Alright, that's enough for tonight. Let's get you clean and then to bed."

"Yes, Kaya-nee." for what seemed like the hundredth time that night Kaneki earned a snort along with a flick to his forehead.

"Brat."

Kaneki was feeling better than he thought he would. Maybe it was because he got to spend time with Kaya along with getting to know her better, or maybe it was because he satisfied his hunger momentarily, freeing him from the throbbing in his head. Whatever it was, Kaneki finally felt like he could get some rest.

He felt, well, not good, but not as bad.

"Kaneki." said half-ghoul instantly halted his steps to the roof door and tensed; her tone and the fact that she called him by his actual name told him she had something serious to tell him.

"Yes?"

"Be careful." he opened his mouth to respond but was cut off. "The path your walking is a dangerous one. Eating ghouls is like a double-bladed sword. It can give you unimaginable strength but it can also destroy your mind. I know many ghouls that tried it and while some succeeded others lost themselves to it. Be careful."

"I will." with a firm nod Kaneki trekked down the stairs, Kaya's words echoing in his mind.

He would be fine.

While other ghouls lost himself to cannibalism, Kaneki wouldn't.

Because he strong.

He would be fine.

He was fine.

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.

.

.

(Crack)

"Nine hundred thirty. Nine hundred twenty-three..."

Touka wanted to die.

Was she being over dramatic?

Probably.

Didn't change the fact that she wanted to die.

What the fuck was wrong with her last night?

Why was she so emotional?

Why was she so needy?

She didn't know what was worse: almost breaking down and crying, letting her feelings about him almost leaving here known, possibly letting him know she feared losing those she cared about, or letting him hold her.

Touka should've punched him in the crotch for that last one.

But, she didn't.

She couldn't.

She just felt so damn comfortable there against him, close to him. It was like that's where she was supposed to be, and that was fucking cheesy as hell. But, it wasn't like she could ignore the fact that being so close to Kaneki felt like a void she didn't even know was there being filled.

What the hell?

Why did she- How could- For what-

"Argh!" letting out a frustrated groan, Touka buried her face into her pillow while her hands pulled at her hair.

Her short hair.

Her short hair that Kaneki thought would look prettier if she let it grow out.

Instantly her face bled red.

Damn that shitty bastard.

She wasn't good with this kind of crap.

It was too emotional.

Like emotional emotional.

Not like being pissed or annoyed, that she could deal with, but this, last night . . . . nope not her thing.

Rolling onto her back, her arms stretched to the side, the young ghoul let out a long sigh.

Good thing Hinami had woken up earlier and was out of the room. Touka couldn't really deal with questions of what was wrong with her, although Hinami would've said it in a nicer tone, when she didn't know that herself.

"Ah, screw it." she had bigger problems to deal with.

She'd just chalk it up to how crazy the last few weeks had been.

With that matter dealt with, ignored really, Touka reluctantly began to get herself out of bed. Normally she'd stay in bed longer, getting up before nine was insane for her if there wasn't something making her get up like school, but she figured it would be the last time for who knows how long she could spend time with everyone else.

Apparently, Kaneki and Hinami had thought the same because they weren't in her apartment. Shrugging, Touka got her self ready for the day before heading down to the café.

If Touka were to be honest with herself, she would say yesterday almost felt like a dream. It was almost hard to believe that just the other day, not even a full day, she was in a war zone between those fucking doves and the piece of fucking shit Aogiri Tree. But, now she was in Anteiku, and more importantly that brat was safe and sound.

Right?

Sure Kaneki was, well, absolutely terrifying when she saw him, but maybe he just needed time to adjust.

It was natural, right?

After he-

"Yamori is a torture-loving pervert."

"It's a torture play room building at the back of building five. I heard he's been spending all his time there lately. He's probably delighted with a new 'toy'."

'Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!'

He was fine.

Kaneki was strong mentally.

He dealt with being turned into a ghoul, he could deal with this too.

He.

Was.

Fine.

It was then that Touka stepped into the shop.

While Anteiku was still closed it was full with ghouls and one human.

The most senior members, the manager and Renji, were busy discussing who knows what behind the counter. Kaya, Enji, shitty Nishiki, and his human were drinking coffee off to the side, and Banjou and his group, she guessed she was apart of that group as well, were doing the same at another table.

But, the person she was looking for was sitting beside Hinami by the window, teaching her new words like usual.

Just like he always did.

It was at that moment that Kaneki turned to face her.

She was reminded why she was never an optimistic person.

Because that smile and those eyes, oh God those eyes, were like ice water straight to the heart.

How could someone's eyes look so . . so . . .

"Touka?"

"Onee-chan?"

Eyes widening even more than they were, Touka was brought out of her thoughts by the concerned calls of Hinami and Kaneki.

She got no relief when her eyes once again met Kaneki's concerned orbs.

Because even though they were concerned . . .

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.

She couldn't look into those eyes.

They just screamed: something happened to me, something happened to me, something happened to me, something happened to me, something happened to me, something happened to me, something happened t-

"Yamori is a torture-loving pervert."

"It's a torture play room building at the back of building five. I heard he's been spending all his time there lately. He's probably delighted with a new 'toy'."

"Onee-chan?"

Touka could hug the crap out of Hinami for calling out to her and pulling her head out of those damn thoughts.

But, she didn't do that, instead she apologized for being distracted.

"S-Sorry." putting all the focus she could muster, Touka did every fucking thing she could to push everything she was just thinking as deep into the back of her mind as she could and then pushed it deeper.

She was so focused on that she didn't notice the look Kaneki and Hinami gave each other. Neither did she notice Hinami bite her lip and look away from Kaneki as the young ghoul swallowed a lump in her throat.

Confused with Hinami's and Touka's plummeting mood, Kaneki could only tilt his head to the side before glancing at the others, searching for an answer.

.

.

.

Why was everyone looking at him with those eyes again?

While Kaneki was in confusion, Banjou was in understanding.

He knew exactly what Touka was going through. The smile and eyes she saw just a minute earlier was the exact one Banjou saw when the half-ghoul rescued him and the others from Aogiri Tree's holding cells.

The utter shock from seeing the drastic change in Kaneki's appearance and expression was mind numbing, and while he had no doubt the impact was harder on her, she knew him for more than a few days unlike himself, it was still a bitter pill to swallow.

He couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl, but he also greatly respected her for her willingness to follow and protect him.

Hopefully he could be of use to them.

During his own thoughts, Touka had managed to get herself together and joined Kaneki and Hinami at their table, and while she was glad to have a discussion, it was about a subject she really wanted to put off as much as possible.

"So, have you spoken to Yoriko yet?"

"Ugh, do we have to talk about that now?"

Damn Kaneki for bringing that up.

"If not now, then when?"

"I don't know. Later?" she really wanted to put it off as long as possible.

Touka had never thought she would find herself in this situation. She had tried to so hard to maintain her human life, the thought of having to say goodbye to it, even temporarily, was something she never gave any thought to.

"We're leaving today, Touka. Later is at most a few hours."

"I freaking know that." her voice came out more as a mumble, already feeling exhausted even though she just woke up.

The thought of the conversation she was going to have with Yoriko and the damned reminder of how messed up Kaneki was, those eyes were burned into her mind, had sucked all the energy out of Touka, leaving her feeling old and worn down.

Damn, life was a pain in the ass for her.

"Fine. I'll text her and tell her to meet me . . . in two hours."

Kaneki let out sigh due to Touka's procrastination.

"Well, unlike you, I'm going to talk to the manager right now."

"Yeah, yeah. You were a teacher's pet growing up weren't you?" her off-handed statement caused Kaneki to turn around.

" . . I helped the teachers when I could but I wasn't a teacher's pet." his response earned a giggle from Hinami and a snort from Touka. "I wasn't."

"Keep telling yourself that, old man."

"Whatever." with a roll of his eyes, Kaneki continued on his way towards the manager.

But, damn, what was she going to say?

Obviously, saying something like "I'm gonna go with Kaneki, remember him? That shy guy you thought was my boyfriend? Well, he's not my boyfriend, I'm just gonna go along with him and find the bastard of a doctor who turned him into a half-ghoul and help destroy a group of ghoul terrorists. Oh yeah, you probably won't recognize him because I barely do, but that's because he's like a whole fucking different person. So, yeah, see ya later. Maybe. Who knows, I might die."

Like hell she was saying any of that.

For a bunch of reasons.

Damn, she really got nowhere with the issue.

She was a procrastinator.

But, really what could she say?

"Just tell her the truth, onee-chan." her confusion was replaced with slight surprise at Hinami's advice.

"You know I can't do that, Hinami. Who knows how'd she react if she found out that I'm a ghoul." that was a question Touka had asked herself time and time again over the years.

Would Yoriko accept her?

Would she turn her in?

The truth was a risk she wasn't willing to take.

"I said tell her the truth not tell her everything." Hinami responded, a soft smile adorning her face. "As long as you don't mention anything that could be related to ghouls it should be fine, right?"

" . . . . I guess so." Touka was hesitant but Hinami was a bright little girl with a good head on her shoulders, so the older ghoul was more willing to give her words some thought. "I'll have to go over what I'm gonna say then."

That sounded like a pain.

'I wonder what that dumbass is gonna tell that annoying human friend of his.'

"Well, that sucked." with a mumble, Touka made her up the stairs leading to the café.

The one thing that Touka wished to not happen, well, happened.

Yoriko cried.

Yoriko cried while giving her a goodbye hug that actually hurt even her.

She had tried to assure the girl that she would be coming back but that didn't stop her from crying. Luckily, Yoriko accepted her vague answers instead of pushing like she knew her friend had wanted to.

Good.

Touka didn't want her worrying while she was away.

These last two weeks had shown her how horrible it was to be able to do nothing but wait while someone important to you was gone and going through who knew what.

No, she didn't want Yoriko to go through that, even if the situation wasn't anywhere near the same as the one that took Kaneki away from her.

In more ways than one.

Yoriko was a worrier and Touka wanted to reassure her that she was going to be fine. That being said, Touka wasn't the best at reassuring people so she might have not done the best job.

Stepping into the shop, Touka unknowingly let out a breath she was holding when she realized that everyone was there, including Kaneki who was busy being doted on by Kimi.

When did that start happening?

She guessed it made sense, Kaneki had done a lot for the human.

Her shitty boyfriend tried to kill Kaneki twice and eat his best friend.

Then what does Kaneki go and do?

Saved shitty Nishiki from being eaten and then went and risked his own dumbass life by trying to save her from Tsukiyama.

Personally, Touka thought he was fucking stupid for that, but that's what made Kaneki, Kaneki.

"How did it go?" finally breaking away from Kimi, Kaneki voiced his curiosity.

"She cried so . . ."

"That must have been awkward."

"You have no freaking clue. What abou-"

Touka was cut off when the manager spoke up, Hinami in front of him, her head downcast as she tried to gather her strength.

"Kaneki, Touka, I believe Hinami here has something she wishes to speak with you about." that was enough to gain their full and undivided attention.

"I-I . . . ."

"What is it, Hinami?"

"Is everything alright?"

Hearing their little sister in all but blood struggling to get her words out, Touka and Kaneki respectively spoke up.

"Hinami," Kaneki began as he kneeled down before the girl, "you can tell us anything, you know that."

"The old man's right. Just tell us, it's no big deal."

Their words of encouragement seemed to do the trick, as Hinami took a deep breath and brought her face up.

"I want to go with onee-chan and onii-chan!"

Whatever Kaneki and Touka had expected to hear from the young ghoul, THAT wasn't it.

"What are you saying, Hinami?" finding his voice, Kaneki questioned the girl about her unexpected request.

"Kaneki's right." the fact that Touka used the half-ghoul's real name, showed that she was serious. "It's too dangerous for you to come with us. We have no idea what kinda mess we'll be getting into."

"Hinami going with you two might be for the best." Renji didn't speak often, but when he did he spoke with substance. That was why everyone in the café gave their undivided attention towards the ghoul.

"What the hell are you talking about? It's too damn dangerous." that of course didn't mean that Touka understood most of the things he said.

"She's in more danger by staying in the 20th ward, or did you forget that the doves are still looking for her?"

Touka opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out.

Kaneki decided to step in.

"She's been fine as long as she stays here and wears a disguise when she does go out."

At that, Kaya herself interjected herself into the discussion.

"That may be true but living like a fugitive isn't a life Hinami should have. It's not healthy."

Well, neither Kaneki and Touka could deny that.

Touka knew from experience what it was like growing up with doves looking for her specifically. It wasn't the same as doves looking for ghouls in general, not even close.

Hinami didn't deserve any of the stress those fucking doves had caused her and continue to cause her by looking for her.

"If she goes with you, she'll at least have more freedom by being outside of the ward."

Both wanting to answer, it was Kaneki that beat Touka in response.

"I understand, but still, I think she's safer being with all of you."

"You should have more faith in yourself, bookworm."

As if they planned everything out, the manager finished things off.

"You both had earned a special place in Hinami's heart, having any of us look after her wouldn't be the same as you two." the manager's warmly spoken words caused the two's attention to divert to the topic of their discussion.

They couldn't help but smile at the girl who had her head ducked with a blush adorning her cheeks.

She had become such an important part of their life's they really couldn't imagine it without her.

On top of that, the thought of making Hinami sad pulled at their heart strings.

"If you go with us you'll have to listen to everything we say."

"And there's no way in hell you're gonna be doing any fighting." not that she thought the young ghoul wanted to fight, but one never knew.

Hearing Kaneki's and Touka's words of acceptance, Hinami's face brightened before she nodded her head vigorously.

They both couldn't help but glance at each other before exchanging smiles.

"Well," Kaneki began, "if you're going to come with us you better start packing."

"Right away, onii-chan!" in a flash Hinami was up the stairs causing everyone to chuckle at her enthusiasm.

A few seconds later, it finally hit Touka that she would be leaving Anteiku.

"Done!" bright as the sun, Hinami hopped off the last step with a backpack on her shoulders.

"Alright then," standing up from his seat, Kaneki made his way towards Hinami with Touka right behind him, "I guess this is it then."

"Don't sound so sad, Kaneki!" suddenly and without warning, Enji's massive arm was slung around his shoulder. "It's not like you're going into space or something."

Kaneki couldn't help but chuckle at the man's words.

He was going to miss his boisterous attitude.

"You monkey. Give him some space." pulling Enji away by his collar, Kaya stepped up towards Kaneki. "Remember what I told yesterday, bookworm."

"I will and thank you. For everything." they had bonded last night and Kaneki was only motivated even more to protect her along with the others. Even if she was stronger than him and could defend herself, Kaneki wanted to keep her and the others from needing to fight again. He wanted their lives they built to be untouched and peaceful no matter what.

"Don't get all mushy now, brat." with a playful flick to his forehead, it seemed that was going to be a thing between them, Kaya stepped back towards Enji who was giving her a knowing smile.

"Opening up are we?"

"Shut up you monkey."

Kaneki didn't catch the rest of their banter due to Kimi dragging a reluctant Nishiki behind her.

"Go on. Don't be shy."

"What the hell?! I'm not shy woman!" his glare had no effect on his human girlfriend, earning an annoyed sigh from the bespectacled ghoul. "Whatever. Just don't die, dumbass. I ain't gonna pick up the slack for you two forever."

"I'll remember that."

"Whatever." Nishiki grumbled before turning his attention towards Touka. "Try be useful for once in your life you shitty woman."

"Fuck you asshole."

"Tch."

"Don't mind him. He just likes acting like a big bad man." Kimi, giggling despite the crude language being throw by and at her boyfriend, spoke up. After her giggles died down, she focused her attention directly at Kaneki. If the half-ghoul was feeling uncomfortable, that discomfort was multiplied when her eyes started to water before she enveloped him in a surprisingly strong hug. "Take care of yourself, ok?"

"R-Right."

Being hugged was really something new to Kaneki. The only person who had hugged him was his mother but that was a very long time ago. So, he wasn't used to such displays of affection.

A few seconds later Kimi let go of him and directed her attention towards Touka. Said ghoul's eyes shot wide open once she realized what was about to happen.

"N-No." raising her hands, Touka, who was also not used to such displays of affection, nervously backed away, only to bump into a smirking Nishiki. "Assho-." she never got to finish her insult due to Kimi also hugging the crap out of her.

Everyone laughed at the sight, expect Renji.

He merely smiled very lightly.

"Kaneki, Touka." just like Renji, when the manager spoke everyone listened. "No matter what your goal is, always know that your life's are what's most important and you'll always have a place to call home here."

The two ghouls both could feel lumps in their throats along with a stinging sensation behind their eyes from the manager's words.

Yes, Anteiku was their home.

It was a place they were nurtured and protected like baby birds in their nest.

And now it time for them to leave the nest so they could protect it.

"Right."

"Of course."

No matter what.

A/N: Honestly, I think this chapter might have been boring. I know the fight scene wasn't great but they'll be better in the future, I know my fight scenes are better than most but the whole kagune things threw me off. I couldn't really think of one and I was wondering what makes a ghoul have more than one. What's the requirements? Does the type matter? Is it the amount of RC cells?

Because Tsukiyama and Naki are both S rank ghouls and they only have one each. But Hinami and her mom are both peaceful ghouls yet they have two and more in Hinami's case. So why is that? They're all the same type and even if you don't account for Hinami's second pair she still has two like her mother. But how? Surely, Tsukiyama and Naki have more RC cells then them.

No clue.

Anyways, I hope Kaya didn't seem OOC because she talked so much. I figured with the recent events, the alcohol, and the fact that she was teaching Kaneki how to hunt ghouls (hopefully those lessons made sense) her talking more than usually wouldn't seem weird. After reading the chapter about her during the raid on Anteiku, I really wanted to write about her and give Kaneki and her a brother sister relationship. Hopefully it didn't seem to forced. I actually plan on Kaneki still having trouble hunting ghouls and meeting up with her from time to time to further their bond. That and he could meet some of her gang.

Oh yeah, was I the only one that thought she looked sexy when she activated her kakugan? Although she looks better in the anime in my opinion.

Well I ranted long enough. I was supposed to answer some reviews but I'll do that some other time.

Peace.