20th Ward, Anteiku Cafe, Tokyo Japan, September 15th

"Yo! Kaneki!" was the sound that caused many in the small cafe to glance over, with the regulars seeing the blond haired boy and turning away, some with small smiles and chuckling at the antics of the two friends, some licking their lips before returning to their coffee. Kaneki looked up from cleaning the cup in his hands to flash a smile at his friend and gestured to the seat in front of him. Keeping the smile on his face Hide made his way over, glancing at Touka from the corner of his eye, and taking the seat. "So," he started while Kaneki began making Hide's usual cappuccino, "what's this about a girl that caught your eye? My poor innocent Kaneki is going to move on from me." Hide dramatically flopped his face onto the counter while Kaneki, nonplussed by his friends antics, placed the cup in front of him and waited for more questions.

After a moment Hide peeked through his hair to see if his act had an effect, and after seeing Kaneki's grinning face he sat up and took a sip. "Man, you're no fun anymore Kaneki. I remember back when you would be freaking out if I did that, though I can't remember if you would be freaking out over what I did, or bringing up your crush." The two chuckled for a moment, before Hide continued "So, who is this girl? You said you see her here right? Is she a regular or something?"

Ken shook his head, "No, she only started coming to the cafe in the last couple of months. But I'm serious Hide, she is gorgeous, and sometimes when I look over at her table...she smiles at me." Hide made a gagging motion at the love struck words and expression on Ken's face, causing his friend to blush fiercely and smacking Hide with the cloth he had been cleaning with.

"Well, you better hurry up and ask her out then, before someone else beats you to the punch." As soon as Hide finished his sentence, the bell on the door rung, and in walked a gorgeous woman, long purple hair cascading down her back, drawing attention to her simple white and black dress that accentuated her figure just so. With a small smile on her face, she took a seat at a table and opened a book. Hide tore his eyes away and said "Well, here's your chance, go take her order, talk with her. I'll be here to help you comfort your broken heart when she turns you down!"

Ken shot a glare at Hide who simply responded with a cheeky smile, before smoothing out his uniform, grabbing a pen and paper and moving to the woman's table. Seeing him coming she gave a kind smile before placing her book on the table, which Ken bumped into in his hurry to reach her. Blushing in embarrassment from his actions Ken quickly sputtered out "I-I'm so sorry Miss. Le-Let me get that for you." As he kneeled down to grab the book he let out a slight gasp as he looked at the cover of the book with words in bold practically screaming at him 'The Black Goat's Egg by Takatsuki Sen'.

As he stood up with the book in his hands the woman placed her hands over her mouth and muttered in a small voice "Oh my, I know it's not really a proper book to be reading in public, I just thought..." she then dropped both her hands and head and continued "I understand if you want me to put it away."

Seeing the way she was acting Ken quickly placed the book on her table before waving his arms saying "No! No there's no problem at all! In fact, I...also read Takatsuki Sen's books, 'The Black Goat's Egg' is one of my personal favorites actually."

The woman looked up, pushing her bangs to the side and exposing her watery eyes "R-Really?You aren't saying that to make me feel better Mr...?"

Giving her a kind smile he finished for her "Ken. My name is Kaneki Ken. And not at all! I've followed Takatsuki-san since even his short stories. Um, may I have your name as well?"

The woman returned Ken's smile, before extending her hand and saying "Rize, Kamishiro Rize. And I haven't met another fan of Takatsuki-san as involved as you before, it's refreshing." She then looked around and mentioned "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was keeping you, I'm sure you have other customers to tend to."

Ken glanced around and saw that, yes a few people were nearing the end of their drinks, and he should be getting to them to see if they wanted a refill or a check. But at the same time, this was his first chance to talk to this girl, Rize... well, at least he had gotten her name. He scratched the back of his head, chuckling a bit before he said "Um, yeah looks like it. I'll take your order and then get out of your hair, alright?"

"Hm, I think I will just have a cup of your best roast, black please." As Ken wrote down her order she suddenly leaned forward, grabbing the pen and pad out of his hands before writing something of her own and handing it back, saying "And, if you'd like, we can meet up at this address tomorrow, and go to a bookstore nearby, I heard Takatsuki Sen is doing a signing there.

Try as he might Ken couldn't keep the blush off his face as he stuttered out "U-Uh yeah th-that sounds great! B-Bye for now!" And he rushed off to fill the order, his heart practically pounding out of his chest. As he rushed back he couldn't see the slightly smug glance Rize shot to Touka, who in turn shrugged her shoulders before returning to her customers.

Ken was practically a beacon of light as he hung up his uniform in his locker, slipping on his regular clothes as he chatted with Irimi. "It was amazing!" He said with a bright smile on his face, "I'm going to go out with Rize-san and meet Takatsuki Sen all in the same day! It's like a dream come true!"

Irimi glanced at him out of the corner of her eye while she put on her tie, "Are you sure about this Kaneki-kun? I know you have had this crush on her for a couple weeks now, but you've only talked to her once so far, how do you know what kind of person she is? In fact, I think I heard some of the customers saying that they saw her with some gang type guys, what if she's the head of a gang! Or worse, what if she's part of the Yakuza!"

Ken shook his head, chuckling a bit and said "I'm sure if she was part of the Yakuza then she would have better things to do than come to a cafe and read a book. Besides, I want to get to know the real her, not just rumors that people say about her. If she does turn out to be like that, then I promise I'll end it there."

Koma walked over with a wide smile and slapped Ken on the back before saying "Hey Ken-kun, why don't you and I take a 'Men's Day' tomorrow, you can take me to that restaurant that you and your friend enjoy and I can try some of that Hamburg Steak you speak so highly of. Besides, we don't want to worry the ladies do we?" Here he winked at Touka and Irimi and continued "I say let Irimi play her little detective and find out more about this girl, if nothing else than to ease her heart yea?"

Ken gave a small smile as he closed his locker, "I'll be fine Koma-san, besides, I can take you on Sunday, I think they have a special then anyways. Besides, it's just one date, nothing big is going to happen." As he walked out the door he waved and said "Bye! See you all in a couple of days!"

As the door closed Irimi dropped to her knees, tears silently running down her face, she knew that once Ken went on the date, the odds of him returning were slim to none. She doubted Rize was the type to lead someone on when they were just her food, and even if Koma and herself tried to fight her and save Ken they would still lose. If by some miracle they did win it would still end with Ken's death, as they had no idea how he would react to the fact that the people who had been closest to him for most of his life were actually man eating monsters.

A few moments passed and Koma turned and slammed his fist into the nearby locker, gritting his teeth at his inability to prevent what was going to happen. As the two grieved, Touka finished her own changing and was about to leave, before she commented "You know, it was going to happen anyway. What with that binge eater around, either she would have gotten him eventually or one of the regulars would have him for a snack. Face it, we are starting to run out of meat, and I know more than a few of them enjoy the 'Thrill of the hunt', if he hung around here he'd make an easy target when starvation sets in, and you all wouldn't kick him out, it was inevitable."

Without another word Touka walked out, leaving the two to stew in their own emotions. The situation was a lose-lose for Ken, and nothing they could do would change that.

20th Ward, Hiwa no Hana Resturant, Tokyo Japan, September 16th

'I can't believe this is happening!'

This was quite a common thought going through Ken's head today, even resorting to pinching himself several times since meeting up with Rize to make sure this wasn't just a dream. Ken absentmindedly twirled his fork, gathering some pasta while he talked with Rize.

"So Kaneki-kun, what would be your number one recommendation of Takatsuki Sen's books?" Rize asked, giving a small smile as Ken hummed in thought, taking a bite of pasta as he organized his thoughts.

Placing his fork back onto his plate Ken said "Hm, I would probably have to say his premier book, 'Dear Kafka', when I first got it I couldn't put it down for a week!"

Rize chuckled, raising one hand to cover her mouth, before saying "I see, I remember that part with the letter really tricking me! I would have to say the 'Black Goat's Egg' has to take the cake for me, it's truly amazing. Though to be fair, I say that about most of Takatsuki-san's books, his way of writing is simply superb. Plus it's refreshing to see some darker themes in such masterpieces, wouldn't you say Kaneki-kun?"

As she asked her question, Rize leaned forward, obviously eager to hear his agreement. However, in doing so she gave Ken a straight view at her cleavage, and like the hormonal filled teenager he is Ken couldn't help but stare. After a few moments of silence, Ken returned to himself, feeling the blush rush up his face Ken hastily turned his eyes to the side, stuttering out a "Y-Yeah, d-definitely." Seeking to draw attention away from his staring Ken's eyes darted all over, trying to find something, before landing on Rize's plate. "Um, Rize-san, are you feeling alright? You haven't really touched your food."

Rize glanced down at her plate surprisidly, before meekly glancing to the side, a hand hiding her frown from view. "Oh, well you see I'm on a diet right now...and I already had a big breakfast. Excuse me."

Without a chance to respond Rize had stood up and made her way to the bathroom, leaving Ken there, stumped and hoping he didn't blow his chances with Rize because of a stupid question. As her words caught up to him however, he frowned a bit, 'She's already pretty thin though, why does she need to diet?' Ultimately he just shrugged, 'Girls.' he rationalized in his head. Deciding he would buy her something good from the bookstore to make it up to her.

As Ken and Rize walked into the bookstore, he couldn't help but feel confused by the lack of people in the store. While it wasn't a particularly large store he expected more people to be around for a signing by Takatsuki Sen. Takatsuki especially had fans of multiple age groups, whether it was a younger audience drawn by 'Monochrome Rainbow' or an older one enticed with books such as 'Dear Kafka' and 'The Black Goats Egg'. Another problem was that there was no signs, banners, or anything of the sort that would lead them to where the signing was. "Um, Rize-san," Ken started, looking everywhere he could for some clue "Are you sure the signing was today?"

Placing her hand on her cheek Rize responded "I'm pretty sure the flyer I was said it was today. Hm." Perking up she quickly said "I know! You stay here Kaneki-kun, I'll go find a manager, they should be able to tell us." And without another word she darted off, making her way deeper into the store.

Ken could only sigh, and decide to look through the books that were near the front of the store, glancing through to see if any new releases might interest him. Seeing that the majority of them were works by Takatsuki Sen caused a small smile to form on his face, 'Maybe Takatsuki-san is here after all.'

"Excuse me?" Ken started, having been lost in thought staring at the books, he didn't notice the person walking up to him. Turning he found himself face to face with a young woman, causing a blush to creep it's way on Ken's face both at having been caught unaware and at the woman's appearance. Despite her slightly unkempt appearance one would be hard pressed to call her anything but attractive, her green hair pulled into a messy bun and her bangs framing her face. Her equally green eyes were half lidded behind a pair of glasses, and a small, almost teasing, smile was on her face as she waited, hands clasped in front of her face. "If it's not too much of a bother, could I ask for your help with something?"

Scratching the back of his head Ken chuckled awkwardly as he said "Uh, yea sure, what do you need help with?" Cursing himself for staring at the young woman, while also thanking whatever God was looking out for him today that Rize didn't see him staring at this woman.

The girl simply kept the same smile on her face, either not noticing Ken's staring, or not caring, as she said "Well you see, I was here for a bit yesterday, but when I woke up this morning," she scratched her cheek here while glancing to the side "I noticed that my wallet was missing. So I think I forgot it here, would you mind looking for it with me?"

Deciding to just nod, he began to look around the entrance area, trying to find said missing wallet. As he looked he saw the woman step next to him, looking in the same area. "So," she began with a sideways glance, "do you normally have deep thoughts while looking at the titles of books?" Giggling as she finished her question and Ken's face once again became engulfed by a blush.

"Well, I came here with my date, we are both big fans of the author Takatsuki Sen, and heard he was doing a signing here today. But, well...it looks like he's not here, so she went off to find the manager to see what's going on." Deciding that they had looked in one section of the store long enough, the two moved over to what looked like a side room with a table at one end and began looking for the wallet in the slightly bare room.

"Oh? The both of you like Takatsuki-sans books huh? I'm surprised, I read a bit of one once, but it was so scary I haven't touched it since!" Giggling a bit she continued "I'm surprised that a nice looking boy like you is interested in such scary books. What do you like about them?"

Ken paused for a moment, humming in thought, before saying "Well, I've liked to read since I was little, so I've read all kinds of books. But for some reason, I've always felt drawn to tragedies, so maybe that's why I enjoy Takatsuki-sans books. I feel like, even in his short stories, you can feel a bit of darkness to them that you can't shake off. Maybe that's Takatsuki-san putting a bit of himself in his writing."

Though the woman's face was hidden to Ken, as she had been searching the ground with her hair falling around her face, if he had been able to see it, he would have seen a slight smile on the girls face, before quickly going away as she called out "Found it!" Jumping up she turned to Ken with a small but clearly well made wallet in her hands. "Thank you for your help..." She trailed off as she looked expectantly at Ken and began to dig around in her wallet, clearly looking for something.

"Oh, I'm Ken," with a small smile Ken extended his hand toward the woman and introduced himself "Kaneki Ken. And it was really no problem Miss...?" This time it was Ken awaiting a response from the woman, glad that he could help her find her wallet.

However, instead of responding to him, or even taking his hand, the woman instead pulled a pen out of her walled with a cry of "Aha!" Then faster than he could react, the woman pulled one of the books off the nearby shelf, a copy of Takatsuki Sen's 'The Black Goats Egg' . She opened the cover and began to write on the first page, finishing with a flourish she placed the book in Ken's still outstretched hand, flashed her wallet to him, showing her I.D. and said "Nice to meet you Kaneki Ken, my name is Takatsuki Sen." Before taking off like a shot, leaving a stunned young man in her wake.

Ken stood still in shock for a good minute, before blinking and breaking out of his trance. He quickly opened the book he still held in hand, eyes widening at seeing what was written down. 'Thanks for all the help Kaneki-san! From, Takatsuki Sen' Ken couldn't believe what he held in his hand, a real autographed book from Takatsuki Sen, then the rest of the events caught up to him. He had met and talked with the real Takatsuki Sen! And then, his voice spoke out to the empty air around him "...Takatsuki Sen is a girl?"

Time had passed, and the sun had set across the horizon, Ken and Rize had spent the day looking through the store, recomending books to one another and generally having a good time. They were now walking along the mostly deserted residential streets, on their way to their homes, making conversation as they walked. "Really? You're type AB Rize? Me too!" Ken said with a large smile on his face, glad to find something in common with his crush.

"Really? What a coincidence." Rize looked down, a pensive look on her face as she said "Our reading choices...and our ages too." She looked up and gave Ken a large smile before saying "We sure have a lot in common, don't we Kaneki-kun?" The two walked past a pair of girls, one of whom gave a glance back at the couple, before turning around and catching up with her friend.

The two stopped at a crossroad, with Ken rubbing behind his head before saying "Thank you for today Rize-san, I had a great time! Well, I'm in the other direction so..." He began to move down the other path, before Rize spoke up.

"Um, Kaneki-kun." Seeing that she had grabbed his attention she continued "Well, there have been some...incidents around where I live, the ones involving those ghouls. I've been worried about it ever since." She brought her hands up to her mouth, covering it, as if she couldn't even stand to speak of the incident. "I think about it so much, sometimes I can't even sleep at night."

Seeing Rize like this...Ken knew he couldn't just let the poor girl walk home on her own, and without a second thought offered to walk her home. Keeping her occupied with a story about himself, Hide, and some fireworks, hoping the happy story would take her mind away from the horror of the ghoul attacks. They decided to take a shortcut through an alley, while normally an alley next to a construction site in the middle of the night would cause some nervousness, the two seemed to be at ease. Ignoring their place and instead focusing on each other.

As they were about halfway through, Rize stopped, and turned toward Ken. Ken raised an eyebrow but stopped as well. Rize took a small step forward and said "You know Kaneki-kun, at Anteiku, whenever you were working, I noticed you watching me..." A blush slowly crept up Ken's face and he began to stutter out an apology, before Rize surprised him and took more steps toward him, ending when she was practically against his chest. Looking up at him she continued "Well you know Kaneki-kun... while you were looking at me..." She leaned up, and whispered in his ear, "I was looking at you as well."

A sense of relief washed over him, that he hadn't ruined his chances with such a beautiful woman. Even more when he realized what she said, that she was watching him, had feelings for him! This elated feeling was quickly cut short however, by the sudden sharp pain coming from his shoulder, something wet dripping down from the pain. He glanced over to see an open wound where his shoulder was, next to it was Rize, with red splotches on her chin. Rize made an audible gulp, before moaning in pleasure, her eyes slowly opened and if he had been able to, Ken would have gasped in shock. Her purple eyes that Ken would normally have been able to spend hours just looking at had changed, now the veins surrounding her eyes were bulged and looked almost as if they were about to burst, her eyes themselves had turned black with red sclera, and when she turned them to Ken, they didn't look at him as someone on a date would, or even how someone would look at another person, they looked at him like a hungry man looked at a buffet, like a predator looking at its prey.

Stunned, Ken fell backward, tripping over his own feet and landing backwards. He began shuffling a bit, his body instinctively attempting to get away from something that caused that much pain even though his mind was paralyzed by this sudden turn of events. 'What is this?...' Ken thought to himself, still unable to come to terms that this seemingly shy but kind girl had suddenly tore out part of his shoulder. 'Maybe...maybe I'm just hallucinating or something...there's no way Rize-chan would...' No, he knew that he wasn't hallucinating, the throbbing in his shoulder made sure of that, the blood that was dripping down his back.

"Ahh, delicious." Rize's voice broke Ken out of his trance, his eyes darting up to see her lick some stray drops of blood off her hand. When her eyes met his they seemed to light up in delight, and she said "Mmm, you taste so good, Ka-Ne-Ki-Kun." She slowly began to walk forward, continuing "You know, Kaneki-kun, there's a scene in 'The Black Goats Egg' I really love. Where the Black Goat catches a man who's running away in bewilderment, and rips out aaaalllllll~ his entrails," Despite the morbid subject she was talking of, Rize's serene smile never dropped, and her hand moved up to muss up her hair and the other moved to cover her face as she finished with "No matter how many time I read it. that part ALWAYS MAKES ME SHUDDER" Rize's hands quickly returned to their place at her side, her glasses being knocked askew by the sudden movement.

Seeing Ken's face frozen in a rictus of horror, eyes wide and breath coming in short gasps made Rize chuckle before stating "Yes, you never considered it did you?" Rize quickly doubled over, never taking her eyes off Ken's, the back of her dress began to bulge near the base of her spine, as if her skin itself was boiling. "That I am a Ghoul!" with this sudden declaration, and with a now crazed smile on her lips her dress burst where it had been bulging, and four new limbs emerged from the hole. The limbs seemed to be pure muscle, with some sinew even being visible, they were considerably longer than Rize's arms or legs, and ended in a simple curve with a hook.

With tears now streaming down Ken's face, and him seemingly understanding the position he was now in, Rize's smile took a more sinister tone as she said "Oh Kaneki-kun... You're making me shudder" With those words Ken's mind finally regained control, and shot off down the alleyway. His undamaged arm pumping furiously as he tried to put as much distance between himself and that...thing. When suddenly he felt his leg tugged back, falling on his uninjured shoulder and dragged backwards, until he was on his back in front of Rize once again. She had a kind, almost motherly smile on her face as she said "Got you!"

One of her monstrous limbs moved down in front of Ken, taking up the majority of his view, as she said "This is probably the first Ghoul claw you've seen huh? Then I'll make this memorable for you Kaneki-kun, I'll gently scratch around inside your stomach. Heheheh." Ken's hands were scrambling backwards when they finally gripped a pen, taking whatever he could Ken quickly brought the pen up and jammed it into the Ghoul claw, distracting Rize for just long enough to start down the alley once again.

An annoyed expression was on Rize's face, before she sent her claw down after him once again, this time wrapping around his waist and throwing him into the construction yard. Ken groaned in pain as his back and head slammed into a concrete wall, nearly knocking him unconscious, but, he attempted to get to his feet once again, when his stomach was pierced by the claw, forcing him to cough up blood and lurch forward. The pain...it was too much, his hearing was already gone, his vision quickly following. He could see Rize talking, but couldn't hear what she was saying, she seemed to be ready to come in for the kill. He could see his life flash before his eyes, his mother's hamburger steak, spending time at Anteiku, Hide, Manager, Irimi, Koma, Touka... he was going to leave them behind. He was going to be...alone. 'No...I don't want to be...please...Manager, Hide...Irimi, Koma...Touka...someone please...save me...'

Suddenly, Rize glanced upward, shock on her face as she attempted to raise her claws above herself, when steel beams fell on the unsuspecting woman. Crushing her in an instant, a pool of blood forming where Rize once stood. Ken could see some people gathering, likely to see what the loud noise was, before his vision began to dim, slowly losing consciousness.

Kaneki Ken was floating.

He didn't know what he was floating in, or ever where he was, but the sensation he was experiencing could only be described as floating. And floating only occurred in water right? So Kaneki must be underwater. But he didn't feel the need to breath, so maybe he wasn't in water? Regardless, Kaneki Ken seemed to be in an odd place, and if he focused, he could hear voices. The voices sounded concerned, but so far away. Ken wondered what they were worrying about? They should be like him, floating, without even having to worry about breathing, it was great.

"..am...wh...u..." said the voices, in their worried tone. Ken was curious about what they were talking about, so he concentrated harder, hoping to hear more from the voices. "...100...phine...ther...don't...tak...blame..." they said this time, sounding even more flustered, he was even able to hear some bustling around in addition to the voices. Their fragmented voices continued on for some time, before finally dying down. As the voices ended, Ken could feel a tug on him, pulling himself upwards, he allowed himself to be pulled by the force, curious as to what would happen.

However, as he was pulled farther and farther up, Ken began to hear another voice. One that seemed to be only speaking in whispers, one that seemed to be much closer than the other voices, and yet, so much farther away. Though Ken wanted to learn what this voice was whispering to him, he was filled with a sense of dread by it. That if he listened to this voice...very bad things would happen.

Before he could make a decision, Ken was suddenly pulled out of the water, his eye opening and seeing various blobs walking around him.

Before he had graduated from High School, one of Ken's teachers imparted a piece of wisdom on the class, telling them that they were the leads in their own stories, as well as players in others. Thus, he asked the class to write what kind of story they would be the main character in, so that they could see how they viewed themselves. Though most chose comedies and action stories to star in, with some choosing more dramatic options, Ken's option would always stick with his teacher. He had written 'I'm just a regular High School student who likes to read. There's really not anything remarkable about me. But, if for arguments sake, you had to write a story with me as the main character, then it would surely be... A tragedy.'

And if the teacher could see Ken now, various tubes inserted into his body, bruises and discoloration covering it, and a single, black eye with red sclera staring up into the ceiling, he would be inclined to agree with the young boys assessment.

Sunday was an unusual day at Anteiku, the slight chill combined with a weekend day would normally mean a busy day, running around for the staff, flashing smiles as they did so. While on the surface, this seemed to be the case, the cafes "special" clientele, as well as most of the regulars could tell something was off. Koma was unusually quiet, not making as many of his loud and boisterous comments, the manager too, seemed to be lost in thought for most of the day, though he still managed to greet the customers coming in. Irimi however, was the most noticeable today, though she went about her duties normally, many could tell the change in her, an aura of despair seemed to be around her, her smiles seemed paper thin, as if a strong breeze could destroy it.

Though there was some gossip about what was going on, it was only a few of the regulars who were able to figure out exactly what had caused this shift in the staff, noticing the lack of a certain black haired boy who just so happened to be seen with a purple haired glutton a few days ago. Thus, they gave a simple, solemn nod to the staff, before taking their leave.

The day had seemed to drag on for Kaya Irimi, but as the sun began to set she was glad she could finally close up the store and be done with it for today, cursing the place for bringing up formerly fond memories. Suddenly, the bell at the door rang, causing Irimi to turn and tell whomever wandered in that they were about to close, when her heart stopped at who she saw standing at the door. Very few people that came in had blonde hair such as this young man, which would make the boy stand out in the low key cafe even if it wasn't known how often he would hang around, talking to a certain black haired young man.

Irimi swallowed the lump in her throat before saying "H-Hide-san. What can I do for you?"

Hide gave a wide smile before speaking in his usual loud voice "Hey, Kaneki hasn't come in has he? I've been trying to get a hold of the guy all day, but my calls just go to voicemail."

Irimi had to fight as hard as she could to just bring a smile up on her face, and say "No he hasn't. If he does come by then I'll be sure to have him let you know." Feeling her resolve to begin to crack, she quickly excused herself and all but ran upstairs.

Hide simply looked at her retreating form curiously, before shrugging his shoulders and saying to the manager and Koma "Eh, if Kaneki's had his phone off all day after a date, maybe he got really lucky haha." Waving goodbye Hide slipped his headphones on and walked out to the street.

Once he was gone, Koma and Yoshimura looked at one another, before finishing the cleaning and moving upstairs, following after Irimi. Upon reaching her in a small dining room area, Koma sat down across from Irimi while Yoshimura began to prepare a cup of coffee for the trio. As the smell hit their sensitive noses their eyes began to glaze, the current blend that Yoshimura was pouring was one that they had gotten for Kaneki as his first cup of coffee, though Irimi protested that he was too young. Once they all had a cup of the brew, they raised their cups in a toast, to the young man they would never see again. Irimi at this point had lost the control she had held to so tightly while working, and with tears falling down her face and sobs wrenching from her throat, shoulders shaking as she did so. Koma was more composed, but the tears silently streaking down his face were more than noticeable. Only Yoshimura had his face dried, however if one could see his eyes they would see deep pools of despair, held by one who had seen and taken many lives, and was now forced to accept another one lost.

Placing his cup down, Yoshimura placed his hand on Irimi's shoulder, his head lowered as he said "I know it is hard, Kaneki-kun will surely be missed. But, perhaps this is for the best." Ignoring the two surprised gasps, Yoshimura explained "There is nothing we could have done for him in this situation without revealing who and what we really are. And I have noticed Kaneki-kuns curious glances at the freezer...if he had gone to investigate...Anteiku is too important to the ward to be gone. So, let us remember Kaneki-kun as he was...a brave young man, and a dear friend." Slowly he brought his glass up high, and said with a voice more tired than anything else "To Kaneki." His actions were repeated by his two companions, before the room fell into silence, with a common thought running through all of their minds cursing their biology for not allowing them to drown their sorrows in sake, as they had seen humans do many a time.

Aogiri Tree Base, 11th Ward, Tokyo Japan

The eleventh ward was a battle zone.

That is the only way many inside and outside said ward would be able to describe it, walking through the streets one would think they were in a war torn country, not the capital of a highly advanced country. Streets were largely empty even during the day, with the few who actually brave the streets moving quickly, their backs hunched and praying that they would be able to make it to their destinations safely. Children were kept home rather than risking the walk to school, if they hadn't already been sent to live with family outside the ward. The only upside to this arrangement was the lack of human on human crime, but only in a trade off for a very high ghoul on human crime rate, with a few of the more daring ghouls even eating in the daylight, in the alleys just off the street.

The cause of this sorry state of affairs you might ask? It would be none other than an organization calling itself, "Aogiri Tree", a organization said to have spawned from the darkest pits of the twenty-fourth ward. The organization boasts a wide assortment of high ranking ghouls, and claims that their leader is a natural one eyed Ghoul, though only higher ups in the organization can claim to have met him.

Currently, said higher ups, known as "Executives" were having a meeting in their main base in the ward, discussing a future attack. In the room there were several figures, a white haired man wearing a red mask and a white robe attempting to lead the discussion onto it's proper path. This man was known as Tatara, was one of the few foreign Ghouls part of Aogiri Tree, and surprisingly one of the highest ranked among it. Next to him stood a figure that seemed to be his exact opposite, with black hair, a black robe, and a mask covering their entire face marked with only a mouth. This was Noro, one of the more mysterious members of Aogiri Tree, and one that none had heard speak.

Standing opposite them was a large beast of a man, heavy set with wide shoulders and a flat face, this man was Yamori, also known as Jason of the thirteenth ward. Clad in his fitted white suit, that his subordinates derived their name from, the man looked as if he would rather be anywhere else at this moment, a bored look on his face. Standing near him was a young man, no older than fourteen, his blue hair in a bedraggled style, and dressed in all black clothing with a purple scarf around his neck. This was Ayato Kirishima, the newest executive in Aogiri.

And finally, sitting down in the center of the room was a young person, older than Ayato but younger than Tatara. Their name was Eto, wearing a purple robe with the sleeves torn off and small ears on the hood. Not a single feature on their body was discernible due to the bandages that were wrapped around every inch of their body. Eto was drawing pictures on the dust that covered the unused rooms floor, giggling to them self every now and then.

Just as Tartara was about to bring the occupants of the room back to the task at hand, the single door to the room squeaked open, causing Tartara to turn his glare at the intruder. The young Aogiri Tree recruit shrank from the glares intensity, and quickly spoke, hoping to be spared the sight of their entrails on the floor from Tartara's wrath, "Y-you asked for us to bring any news of Rize Kamishiro-san to you immediately Tartara-sama."

Hearing the nature of the interruption caused Tartara to let up his glare a small bit, and nodded for the messenger to continue. Swallowing the lump in their throat they continued "W-we just received word from some of our contacts, saying that Rize-san has been in the human news. T-they claim that she was in an accident in an industrial yard in the twentieth ward along with a Kaneki Ken, and...um..." Seeing her hesitance caused Tartara to return his glare to it's full power, the messenger quickly squeaked out "They say she died and her organs were put into Kaneki-san!"

Seeing that the messenger had finished, Tartara dismissed them with a flick of his wrist, turning back to the Executives as the door closed. "This is surely a ruse. No doctor would miss that Rize is a Ghoul, much less use her organs for transplantation into a human anyway. Inform the Bin brothers, the search for Rize Kamishiro will be in the wards adjacent to the twentieth, before moving into said ward itself. Rize can not hide from us forever. Now then, back to our next assault..."

As Tartara continued his speech, Eto it seemed, had zoned out, focusing entirely on their drawing. If one looked, they would see a name having been written in the dust, in perfect calligraphy. "Heheh~" giggled Eto, as they steeped their fingers in front of their face, proud of their accomplishment.

In the dust the words spelt out, "Kaneki Ken"

Authors Note: Hi everyone! Sorry for the bit of delay for this chapter, but I got a new job that has been kicking my butt with hours recently, should be better now though! So, not a lot to say from me, except that we are finally starting to pick up steam here! So with that, and the newest changes in the manga, I have a question for you all, this one can be responded either here or in the poll on my profile, as it will be replacing the previous poll. So, the chapter question is: Who is your favorite version of Kaneki? Is it the OG Kaneki? White-hair/Shiro-neki? Haise Sasaki? Or Red-hair/Kaneki Potter? I can't wait to hear your responses! And as always, even if you don't want to answer the question, feel free to ask any questions, comment on anything you saw, or even just say hi, feel free to do so!

And so, as always, stay classy internet!

Review Responses:

The Legendary Dragon Trainer: Here you go!

Tmax99: Thank you very much! I'm glad your liking both the story and Tokyo Ghoul in general!

Lovelydragonfly: Thank you very much! I'm glad that you like the story so much!

Sondrex76: Thank you for reading! I hope you have a great day as well!

MechaJesus2: Maybe...or maybe I'll trick everyone and make it KanekiXShuu heheh

Mr I Hate Znt Nobles Kill Em: To be honest I giggled when I imagined the manager, wide eyed and in shock as Eto walked into his store, would be great haha.

xxxDreamingFlowerxxx: Ch1- Thanks! And I do have to say, the treatment Kaneki received from his aunt struck a personal chord with me as well, since growing up one thing that was ingrained was the belief that you care for your family above all else, and to see that happen made my blood boil. Though with the new light shown on his life with his mother, it would appear Kaneki didn't even have a happy life with his mother, and maybe his life with his aunt wasn't exactly as it was shown...

Ch2- I'm glad your liking it! And I would say at that point, Ayato became more of his reclusive self, but about to leave and go on his own way. And yea, it would take a while for Touka to accept a human Kaneki. And I agree, I just wish I they would have explained the motivations more than they did, since that's a very large part of Tokyo Ghoul, why the characters act like they do.

Ch3- I'm glad you like it! No, the girl at the end of the chapter was Rize, tasting some of Kaneki's blood. Though I wouldn't have put it past her, I implied that the girl was killed by Touka when she took care of the Ghouls attacking Kaneki, hence her telling Yoshimura that Yomo should have come with a body earlier. And yep, that is indeed Takatsuki!

Delta Maruader: She didn't, but I believe in a chapter of Tokyo Ghoul, it's mentioned that she helps either Touka or Hinami with learning some things.

Scarease: If I do need some I will be sure to check with you!

Guest: Here she issss!

Nissangtrlover2569: I'm glad you loved it! And here's another update for you!

FlawlessMirage: Well, here's the answer to one of your questions haha. As for the other...what kind of author would I be if I didn't have some surprises in store?

Guest: I haven't quite made my decision yet, but I believe I will be going for manga based, with some anime elements thrown in.

MaxBacon: Thank you very much! And here's the next for ya!

Oriko: Thank you very much! And that is pretty close to my own theory, very interesting.

Chapter Preview:

"No please...I...I DON'T WANT TO BE A MONSTER!"

"What, were you keeping him around so you could have him whenever?"

Next time: A Monster