A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first Tokyo Ghoul fic! It's for day one of Hide Week 2017: Day one – 永 eternity / forever. Just a little fic about Hide and Kaneki on a date. I hope you all enjoy!

The Kind of Date a Girl Would Enjoy

by Hideyoshi Nagachika feat. Ken Kaneki

When Kaneki told Hide about his plan to take the mysterious girl he'd fallen for to a bookstore for their first date, Hide thought he'd never stop laughing. Maybe if he never stopped, he could drown out the news report on the recent wave of violent Ghoul attacks plaguing the 20th Ward – where he and Kaneki lived – that sent a shiver, like worms crawling, up his spine.

The massacre at the Aqua Building being the most recent, where a sadistic Ghoul ripped apart and devoured several men.

"It's not that funny." Kaneki sounded rather insulted that Hide hadn't shared his fondness for browsing bookshelves for a date. Since Kaneki loved reading so much, Hide thought that he'd at least have read one of those popular dating guides by now. Surely Kaneki would have followed their bold-printed advice of: Don't take your sweetheart to a bookstore as a first date; it's guaranteed to bore them and not get you a second date.

Kaneki raised his cup of coffee, preparing to take a sip, and Hide's eyes flickered to Kaneki's copy of the novel that was his current obsession: Black Goat's Egg. If Sen Takatsuki, Kaneki's favorite author, ever wrote a dating guide, Hide would buy it for him. Though, that author's advice would probably land Kaneki on a date with either a serial killer or a Ghoul.

"I'm just saying! You can't be serious about going to the bookstore as your first date."

Kaneki focused on Hide again at those words, quickly lowering his cup and demanding, "Why not? She might even like it for all you know!"

Take two, Hide thought as Kaneki tried for another sip.

"That'll never happen. Case dismissed."

"Huh?" Hide wondered if Kaneki would ever finish his coffee at this rate. "Then, first, I'll take her out to Big Girl, and we'll get burgers." Hide barely contained the fit of laughter that followed. He leaned down and hid his giant grin in his sleeve, and rhythmically smacked the table with the other. "I'm being serious here!"

"No, it's great! It's just like you!" Hide still trembled with laughter, but he stifled it down until he could speak properly again. Then he propped his chin in his palm and stated, "But it'll be a total flop as a date."

"Sheesh, is everything I do wrong?" Kaneki's light blush now stemmed more from irritation than from bashful hope. "What would you do, then?"

"Okay, listen up. When planning out a date, you have to pick a place where the girl will have fun."

"Such as?"

"Huh? S-Such as…" Great question. What kind of place would a girl have fun at?

"You have no clue either, do you?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be spending my afternoon on a date with you."

"I guess that's true."

Hide heard the anchorwoman report on the Commission of Counter Ghoul's, aka the CCG's, speculations that the slayings seemed to be the work of a single voracious Ghoul. Hide glanced over his shoulder at the screen and muttered, "That's pretty close by, huh?"

If he were to take anyone on a date, Hide thought, the safest time to do so would be during the daytime, preferably somewhere with lots of people.

Turning back to face Kaneki, Hide decided to tease Kaneki about his crush a little, since he did drag him all the way to this quaint café named Anteiku to show her to Hide. Hide leaned in close and startled him. Sip attempt number three: denied. "So? Tell me." Hide held his hand to his mouth when he continued, as if he was whispering some fantastic secret. "Who is this cute girl you mentioned?" Hide grinned when a pale pink dusted Kaneki's cheeks, but he didn't allow himself to focus on that for long, opting to scan the café for attractive girls instead.

"It's her, isn't it?" Before Kaneki could reply, Hide called to the lovely, dark-haired waitress. She smiled, walked over, and asked what they'd like to order. Her gentle voice captivated him even more than her beauty. "One cappuccino, please! And what about you, Kaneki?"

"I'm not done with this yet."

"And also, what's your name?" Hide couldn't stop himself from grinning, especially when Kaneki jerked at his rather abrupt question. He needn't be so shy! Hide simply wanted to know the name of his girlfriend-to-be. Kaneki should learn her name too, if he ever wanted to ask her out.

"It's Kirishima Touka."

Upon learning her name, Hide shot up and clasped her hands. Her left eye, the one not concealed by her long bangs, widened at his sudden closeness. "My name is Nagachika Hideyoshi! Touka-san! Are you seeing anyone?" Hide knew that his behavior appeared as though – as Kaneki jumped to his feet and reprimanded – his "brain was malfunctioning" to poor Touka, who hastily dashed off, but he simply couldn't curb his excitement. "How lovely." Hide sighed happily.

"What am I supposed to do if I get kicked out of here?"

"I can understand why you like her. She's really cute." Hide closed his eyes and crossed his arms, ignoring Kaneki's anger. A little more teasing ought to cool him down. "That's why I asked her out first."

"Hide, that's not her." His answer momentarily stunned Hide, who dropped his arms and stared at him wide-eyed. Kaneki sat back down and Hide followed suit. "But she's also pretty cute. The girl I was talking about isn't here yet."

As those words left his mouth, the doorbell chimed, and Hide saw Kaneki's face alight with a serene adoration reserved only for Takatsuki's novels. If this woman could make Kaneki look that way, even though she most likely didn't even know he existed, Hide felt that it was his duty to motivate Kaneki to speak with her. Also, it would be best if he helped Kaneki plan a date that would at the very least get him another one, or even a kiss (that being the best-case scenario).

Hide looked at the girl – no, he looked at the woman Kaneki had fallen for. A statuesque beauty adorned in a dress of pure white and rich purple. Glasses that matched the lavender color of her hair suited her diamond-shaped face perfectly.

A pretty as she was to behold, Hide felt disturbed by her presence.

She looked the part of cruel royalty. Like she would execute even a bird for twittering as she spoke, or level mountains for not bowing as she strolled past. In summary: exactly the type who would revel in crushing Kaneki's already fragile self-esteem.

Hide, being the caring friend he was, crossed his arms and gave Kaneki the best advice he could: "Give up."

"Huh?"

"You and her would be like Beauty and the whatever." Kaneki was too innocent and lovelorn to notice that something ugly lurked beneath her gorgeous face. Her eyes betrayed her.

"It's 'Beauty and the Beast'!" 'Beast' suited her quite nicely, as Hide was sure that she would transform into one once she took her glasses off.

"No matter what you do, a hottie like that's impossible for you."

"What? Y-You said you'd help me come up with a plan! Didn't you?"

"Listen, Kaneki. Plans are things you make when you have a chance at succeeding."

"I-I do have a chance!" Hide had never seen Kaneki so adamant before; it threw him off a bit. "I… I know that we wouldn't go well together. But just seeing her makes me really happy. And when she meets my eyes, she smiles a little. I think, maybe, if she shares my feelings…" There were very few things in this world that made Kaneki happy, and had it been anyone else, Hide would have marched Kaneki over there and sat him down. Then he'd introduce his shy friend to the beautiful lady, before finally pulling a disappearing act. But he just felt like there was something wrong with this girl.

"You're kinda being that guy… It's creepy." His words broke whatever blissful hypnosis had ensnared Kaneki and left exasperation in its wake. "She's giving you a forced smile because you're staring at her too much."

"D-Don't be stupid." It seemed that Kaneki still wouldn't take his advice. Still, he didn't feel like Kaneki was in imminent danger. Hopefully, it was as he'd suspected and the woman didn't know Kaneki even existed.

"Well, now that I got to see the girl you were talking about, I think I'll be headed off."

"Wait, Hide–"

"Good luck, Delusio-Neki!" Hide chirped with a cherry wave. 'Delusio-Neki', a mix of the words 'delusional' and 'Kaneki', is what Kaneki should have been named at birth. "And see ya later, Touka-san!"

Perhaps if he'd stayed and persuaded Kaneki that he should instead focus his efforts on Touka, he wouldn't have been spammed by celebratory texts from Kaneki announcing that he'd gotten a date with that eerie girl. Apparently, they both were fans of Sen Takatsuki, and both happened to have their copies of 'Black Goat's Egg' with them. Those copies must have had some magnetic magic between their pages to draw Kaneki and that woman together so easily.

Rize Kamishiro. A stifling, moss-colored feeling began festering in his chest when he learned her name.

They met up around lunchtime at Big Girl's – their favorite, American-style burger joint – on Friday to celebrate Kaneki's good fortune. So rarely did Kaneki have anything worth celebrating that Hide decided to sweeten the deal by offering to pay for his hamburger steak. It wasn't difficult to convince him to accept.

They sat in the restaurant's patio beneath the shade of a straw-colored umbrella. The breeze felt as refreshing as a splash of cold water in 100-degree weather, which – currently – his mouth felt like since he'd elected to buy the limited-time super spicy version of his beloved hamburger steak deluxe.

His review: worth every volcanic bite.

"We're going to give each other novel recommendations!" Kaneki declared. "It's my first date with a girl ever, but it's going to be a dream bookstore date! Hide… my heart has been deeply moved!" Kaneki trembled with excitement at the prospect of such a date.

"I don't really understand the appeal of a bookstore date." Hide honestly didn't. It sounded like such a boring time. "But are you two really going to spend all day there?" Kaneki read every chance he got. Even when they were in elementary school, and all the children went out to play for recess, Hide would always find Kaneki buried in a book at his desk. And now he's found a date actually interested in a bookstore date? Hide thanked his lucky burgers that closing times existed within the realm of bookstores; he'd never see Kaneki again otherwise. "You should at least ease into it."

"'Ease into it'?"

"Maybe… take her to lunch somewhere else first, then head that way. Or slap on some swim trunks and go swimming with her." Hide blotted his mouth with a napkin (because he could feel the ketchup cozying up at its corners) and leaned a bit over the table towards Kaneki, who mimicked him. Then Hide whispered, "Then you'll get to see that sexy lady in a bikini." Maybe the water would melt her, like it did the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz.

Kaneki's flush could make Snow White wish her lips were so red. "H-Hide!"

"But you have to wait thirty minutes after eating to go! Otherwise you'll get sick."

"H-Hide, isn't that kind of… too soon? For a first date?"

"I don't think so. She didn't do a one-eighty when you said you were taking her out to a bookstore. Or does she not know you where you two are going?" Hide asked, grinning slyly.

"Don't be stupid," Kaneki scoffed. "Of course she knows. And she said that it sounds like fun. What do you qualify as 'fun', Hide?"

Hide answered without thinking, "I can show you." Kaneki strangled on a surprised squeak and started coughing. "Don't think I know how to have fun? I'm insulted, Kaneki Ken. I am the Master of Fun. They call me the Fun Bun!"

"Hide, are you asking me on a date?" Kaneki looked completely dumbfounded, like his favorite horror novel became a cheesy comedy halfway through.

"Sure, why not? You've got tomorrow free, so do I. Plus, your real date's not 'til Sunday. Let's go on a test run!"

"B-But you've never been on a date before either!"

"Whatever. It can't be that different from just hanging out."

"A date is different from 'just hanging out', Hide."

"No way! You talk, eat, and have a good time." The biggest difference, Hide figured, could be that he'd be paying greater attention to his date's needs to make sure they're having a grand time. "Tomorrow morning. Eleven o'clock. I'll come get you." Kaneki tried to interrupt him, but Hide continued as though he hadn't. "Oh! You don't need a swimsuit, by the way. Unless you want to wear one, that'd be fine too."

"No way, Hide." Kaneki focused on his burger and took a big bite. Hide mistook his silence as a refusal of his spontaneous suggestion, until finally – without looking at Hide – Kaneki murmured, "Eleven o'clock, right? Don't be late."

Hide had a bit of time to plan out their date, and though he knew exactly where he'd take Kaneki and what they'd do, he still felt anxious. Not the good anxious, like when he eagerly awaited the moment he could purchase his new Backstreet Boys CD, but the bad anxious, like fireworks were shooting at him from all angles.

How much of their date would he incorporate into the one he had with Rize? Would he even enjoy himself? Should Hide scrap his plans and just take him to a bookstore? Definitely not, he thought. He might as well go for a midnight stroll through Suicide Forest.

Seeing Kaneki dressed in a white button-up and pressed black trousers did alleviate his worries some, and he snickered out, "You should get something cooler to wear, or at least bring something to change into," Hide instructed. "I'm not taking you to church." It was flattering though, that Kaneki took him seriously enough to get dressed up. "I know! Dive in some trunks!"

"Hide, seriously?" Kaneki looked about ready to slam the door on him.

"Nah! Just slapping your ass!"

Kaneki blushed and gave him a look that begged, "Why would you say that?"

"Go grab something to change into!" Hide repeated. "I'll wait right here."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me. I just gotta take what I'm wearing off."

"Hide!"

"Go! You're not a chick! You got five minutes."

Hide left Kaneki in a state of confusion, because as soon as he realized where Hide had taken him, he understood why Hide told him to bring something to change into.

"You do realize I'm horrible at athletic stuff, right?"

"I'm not asking you to backflip off a mountain into a split. Just jump around a little. It's like walking on the moon."

"Hide, you've never been to the moon."

"I've been to this trampoline park before, though." The Fly Sky High trampoline park only opened up recently in the 20th Ward, but its popularity quickly flourished. "You don't have to do anything fancy." Hide paid the fee for both of them and bought Kaneki a pair of their special socks: light blue with a multitude of white bumps along the sole to prevent skidding and the acronym 'FSH' stitched into each leg.

Once he led Kaneki over to the lockers, Hide immediately began stripping off his jacket.

"J-Just like that?"

"You can go in the bathroom." Hide jutted his thumb over his shoulder. "That's why I wore mine underneath." Beneath his bumblebee-themed jacket, he wore a white tank top. He should have worn red, though. With his green shorts, he would have been a trampoline-ing Christmas in October.

Once they changed, they climbed a few steps unto the playground flooring that enclosed a field of trampolines, and Hide had special names for them all.

Collections of single-jumpers that you could either linger on or use to propel you from one end to the next; trick-jumpers long enough to perform stupendous flips and tricks befitting gold-medal Olympians on; and wall-jumpers that gave you that superhero-in-flight feeling if you really wanted to get adventurous.

The largest set of trampolines was reserved for free-roaming fun, but there were sections set aside for dodge-ball that consisted of single- and wall-jumpers; a group of trick-jumpers up another few steps that you could jump off and into a blue sea of square foams; a mini rock-climbing area that surrounded a pit of more square foam with a duel-beam at its center.

On that beam, Hide planned, he and Kaneki were going to battle with the giant cotton swabs that Fly Sky High provided, and he was going to knock Kaneki into the pit of foam.

"Don't worry. I only did a half-hour, in case you really don't like it. If you do, we can add on time."

"Let's – uh. Let's find out first."

Hide figured that Kaneki would feel most comfortable in a place with fewer people, and somewhere he wouldn't get hurt if he fell. So Hide led him to the set of six trick-jumpers, which no one was currently using, that all led into the foam pit. Hide bounced right unto one, and encouraged Kaneki to jump unto another. He stayed in the middle and kept relatively in place, and Hide could see the quiet panic building each time he went even a little too high.

"You've gotta relax. You won't have fun."

"I-I am having fun."

Hide thought for a bit, landing once on his back before instantly springing to his feet again. That seemed to have given him a brilliant idea. "Pretend you're in a mystery novel, Kaneki."

Kaneki chuckled, not noticing that he'd started bouncing a bit higher than before. "This doesn't feel all that mysterious, Hide."

"Sure it is. Right now, you and I are the survivors of the Great Foam Epidemic of the year 1910. Everyone except us has been turned into evil foam creatures."

Kaneki laughed out. "What do these 'evil foam creatures' do, Hide?"

"I don't know. They hide things you like. Like that novel you like so much. 'Black Goat's Curry'."

"It's 'Black Goat's Egg', Hide."

"Right, right. It's up to you, the great Kaneki Holmes, and me, Hideyoshi Watson, to find the last copy of the 'Black Goat's Egg'. We need to dive in there–" he pointed to the square foams "–in order to do so." Kaneki still looked a bit apprehensive. "Don't worry, you're not gonna get hurt. I've done it tons of times and I'm fine."

"I know! It's not that I'm worried."

"Plus, I'm right here."

"That's the only reason I am worried." Kaneki drifted closer to the foam.

Hide began bouncing hard, gaining as much air as possible before flipping into the foam. Kaneki called to him, and he heard the distress in his voice no matter how hard he tried to play calm. The foam felt far softer than they looked, so maybe Kaneki was worried because he landed on his back. "I'm good! Jump in, oh great Kaneki! Let's find that novel together!" He made his speech as dramatic as he could, complete with covering his heart with his hands.

Hide tilted his head back to look at Kaneki, only to find that he was no longer on the trampoline. "Kaneki?" He twisted as best he could in the foam, wondering if this was what turtles felt when they were flipped upside down.

"I'm right here." The square foam blocks buried Kaneki up to his waist, and – dare he say – he looked quite proud of himself. He jumped a good distance for a first-timer, but the way he landed ensured that he wouldn't be leaving this pit with his socks attached.

"Kaneki! Watch out! The foam creatures are gonna get you!" He picked up a square and chucked it at Kaneki.

Kaneki shouted in outrage before doing the same.

"And so commenced Foam War Two!" Hide narrated. "Friend against friend! Friend against foam! Foam against–" two blocks collided midair "–foam?"

"Be quiet, Hide." Kaneki threw a square at him and it smacked him right in the face.

They clambered out of the pit after Hide helped Kaneki locate his socks, then repeated the game a few more times before Hide led him to the rock climbing area.

"Hide, no. Let's go back to the other one. I'll definitely fall," Kaneki complained, already turning to leave. Hide paid him no mind, opting to scan for the giant cotton swabs instead. One of them laid on the mat by the duel-beam, and the other was in the pit, near the farthest wall. Someone probably got angry and hurled it over there.

It's been a while since I've done this. Hide climbed up unto the colorful holds secured to the wall, and began making his way across. He moved a little too fast when transferring to the next wall and would have fallen in if he hadn't grabbed hold and swung over. Thank heavens for that conveniently placed hold that he quickly hooked his foot on. He'd have become one awkward pendulum otherwise. Though, from how he was now positioned, he needed to instantly transform into a pro contortionist in order to proceed.

Kaneki shouted in surprise, and Hide glanced back only to find that – once again – Kaneki had fallen into the pit of foam.

"You made it look so easy," he muttered sheepishly. Almost immediately, Hide fell backwards with a squawk. At least the giant cotton swab wasn't too far from his reach. His real struggle would be getting out of this socks-stealing sea and back to the purple and blue shores.

"Think you can keep your socks on?"

"I… I think so."

Kaneki got out first, managing to fish out his socks on his own, and Hide – with his trusty cotton swab in tow – crawled out not too long after. "Okay, grab that other one."

"What are these for?" Kaneki lifted it and inspected it, turning to face Hide once again.

"It's for Foam War Three!" Hide hoisted the cotton swab over his head and roared this battle cry before he charged at Kaneki, who stumbled back from shock before – almost instinctively – hitting Hide squarely in the side with the one he'd just picked up. The force behind it felt on par with a baby trying to throw a pillow at him, but Hide still leaped off the edge, flailing to make it look like he'd lost his balance. "Aw! Over before it even began," Hide bemoaned.

They did end up staying an hour, in which Hide taught Kaneki proper duel-beam etiquette (Kaneki spent far more time in the foam than on the beam) and bounced around on the six trick-jumpers that surprisingly went unvisited by anyone besides themselves during the time they were there. Perhaps that was because of how early they'd gotten there, because when 12:30 hit, the population of the main trampoline section nearly doubled.

The only reason Hide asked Kaneki if he was ready to leave, was because he was getting hungry, and Kaneki must have undoubtedly felt the same.

Kaneki hadn't realized they'd stayed so long until Hide went and paid for the extra time as they were leaving, because he offered to reimburse Hide. The temptation to hoist Kaneki over his shoulder and dump him in one of the pits called out to him like a deluxe hamburger steak from Big Girl.

Instead of doing so, Hide declined, and silenced any further insistence by announcing his hunger.

"You really love that super spicy hamburger, huh, Hide?"

"What do you think I am, a one-trick rabbit? We're not going to Big Girl today."

"Where are we going then?"

"You're asking a magician to reveal his secrets, Kaneki. Let's get changed and you'll see."

They took quick showers in the changing room, then changed and left, and Hide began giving Kaneki hints about where they'd be going for lunch.

"You like that Takashi Cent, yeah?"

"It's Takatsuki Sen, Hide."

"What's that novel you like by him again? The one you and that hottie both like?"

"'Black Goat's Egg'."

Hide took pleasure in immersing himself in various aspects of foreign culture: foreign music, foreign girls, foreign movies, and – especially – foreign cuisine. He found this restaurant by accident the same day he'd spent a few hours quite literally bounding off the walls at Fly Sky High. A simple, small place sandwiched between a ramen bar and a game store, so plain that he'd mistaken it for a wall at first. Until the name, painted an even, bright red in English, caught his attention.

"The Four Seasonings of India. It's buffet-style and they've got a great lunch special going. I figured since you liked that 'Black Goat's Egg' so much, then you'd definitely like his curry."

"I've never eaten at an Indian place before."

"It'll be fun! I'll show you what to get. Come on!"

The interior décor was as unremarkable as the exterior's (though, he did like the arm-length statue of an elephant rearing up situated on the front desk where there often sat a pretty girl with chocolate-colored skin and eyes like grey storm clouds that lit up as though lightening flashed whenever she greeted him definitely boosted the enjoyment of each visit), but he didn't bring Kaneki to eat the walls.

They started small at first, Hide directing Kaneki to get the mild goat curry with Basmati rice served with green peas and potatoes, while he got rice with the spicy lamb curry and two chicken samosas.

From the first bite, he instantly knew that Kaneki enjoyed it as much as he did. They'd always cook the meat tender enough for a butter knife to slice through, yet somehow it didn't slip right off the bone. And the curry sauce gave the illusion of disappearing as soon as it hit your taste buds, even though its delicious spice still coated your tongue.

He gave one of his samosas to Kaneki (who eyed it with greater interest after practically shoveling down his goat curry) and showed him how to use napkins to squeeze the oil out of the samosa before biting through its crispy shell to taste the strips of chicken bathed in creamy mashed potatoes.

Then they went back for more. Spinach pakoras – deep-fried spinach in chickpea batter rolled into a crisp delicacy (which tasted a tad too odd for Kaneki's liking, so Hide ate them all). Aaloo paratha – artfully ripped up flatbread packed with spiced mashed potatoes (it tethered on being almost too hot for Kaneki, as he'd often need a sip of water when eating, so Hide then decided to get them both deserts). Fruit custard – the first pair he returned to their table with; it looked a smooth, soft orange that held strong undertones of mango with pear cubes and cherries intermixed (which Kaneki thanked him for, and indulged in a few spoonfuls each time the heat became overbearing). And kheer – the final pair he got; sweet, creamy rice pudding garnished with pistachio pieces and spiced with ground cardamom.

"How'd you find this place, Hide? Everything's so delicious!" Kaneki took another bite of his kheer. "Mm… It's sweet!"

"My soulmate sitting at the front desk drew me in."

"You sure you wanna call someone else your 'soulmate' while you're on a date?" Kaneki blushed as soon as he realized what he'd said, and – to his credit – he made Hide blush a little at his blunder as well. "I mean… on a real date."

"Nope! You're right. We're on a date. That's your first lesson, Kaneki! Always make sure your date feels like their number one in your eyes. So, you know, don't bring up Touka-san when you're on your date."

"…Why would I?"

"I mean Touka-san is pretty cute. One minute you're checking out that hottie's fine breasts–" Kaneki choked "–then the next, you're putting a ring on Touka-san's hand!" Hide reached across and smacked him on the back a few times before he finally regained his composure. Then he chastised Hide for speaking so crudely.

"We should do a double wedding, Kaneki." Hide's sudden comment made him sputter. "You marry your novel, and I'll marry that pretty girl by the desk."

"Haha, Hide. Very funny."

"Then, I'll marry you and Touka-san, and your date could marry that novel you like?"

"You can't have a three-person marriage, Hide." Kaneki chuckled and shook his head.

"Sure you can. There are places." Hide glanced at the clock. "Well, let's go."

"Could you tell me for once where we're going first?"

"Yeah, yeah. I was thinking if you just want to go for a walk, that'd be good. I just needed to stop by my place to grab something first. You can leave your clothes–" Hide gestured at the backsack by Kaneki's feet "–there too.

Hide recalled how excited Kaneki looked at the thought of recommending novels on his date with Rize. Actually, he couldn't get it out of his head. Though he initially intended this date to be an opportunity to show Kaneki how not to bore his date silly, he found himself wanting to see that look on Kaneki's face once again.

Besides, dates were about having fun. They didn't come preplanned or prepackaged, but were meant to be custom tailored by the people who wanted to have fun together.

Hide wasn't a big fan of novels, especially tragedies, but something in the way the author weaved this story together, and the protagonist's longing for a home, really captivated him.

So Hide kept it hidden in his own backsack, chatting idly with Kaneki as they walked alongside the Kasahara River. He'd initially intended to give it to Kaneki for his birthday…

"I've got something for you." He slipped the backsack off his shoulder and retrieved the novel and handed it to Kaneki. "You were pretty excited about recommending novels to that girl. I don't particularly care about that kind of stuff. I like manga more, but I do like this one."

Kaneki read the title aloud. "'A Purified Mind'."

"By Chika Biswas," Hide added. "It's about a boy who's born in a "wrong" way and searches for a place he can call home. It's pretty good. My favorite part's the end. Don't give me that look, that's not how I mean it." Hide made to open the book to read the passage.

Kaneki swiftly plucked it from Hide's hands and snapped it shut. "Don't spoil it for me. I haven't read it yet."

"You don't read how a book ends first?"

A horrified expression twisted Kaneki's features, as if he'd learned that his rotten aunt had tossed all his books in the trash again. "You spoil the ending for yourself? That's sick."

"Hey! It's not! It's like a… like a journey. I'll already know where I'm going, but I'll be finding out how I'm gonna get to that ending. Sometimes it's satisfying, sometimes it's not." Before Kaneki could start lecturing him on proper reading techniques and the importance of avoiding spoilers, Hide huffed, "Just read it! And we can discuss what we liked about it after your date tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe she's read it too."

Hide leaned forward against the railing and crossed his arms. Warm rays of afternoon sunlight sparkled atop the glassy water.

"When the icy water filled his lungs, it drowned his all-consuming fear, and he felt peace embrace him like a dove's wings. It purified his mind, and filled his pockets with thirteen gold coins. He only needed one, though, to be with his God." He could recite his favorite quote from Biswas' book the same way he could order his favorite burger from Big Girl.

Though it marked the protagonist's death, Hide felt a strange serenity when he first read those words. The 'God' the boy referred to as his 'only friend' throughout his tale, guided him to that point so that they could be together for all eternity. But, he also gave him the option to leave as he wished, for he still held twelve coins remaining.

He liked to think that the boy emptied his pockets, and that eternity was as true as implied. That's what Hide would have done had he been in the protagonist's shoes.

"Really?"

"Here's a nice spot to bring her to end the date. Girls like pretty stuff, diamonds and all that. The river kinda looks like it's full of 'em right now." He looked at Kaneki out of the corner of his eyes, and gave him an encouraging smile. "You might even get a kiss."

"O-On the first date?"

"Play your cards right–" Hide pushed away from the railing and ambled towards Kaneki, crossing his arms behind his head "–and you just might."

"Hide, do you really want to discuss this book with me?"

"Yeah, if you like it. Won't hurt my feelings if you don't." He stopped right before him. Kaneki's eyes were the color of rain clouds, something he'd vaguely noted whenever he looked at him, but hadn't associated with the word 'beautiful' until now. "But, you really love the idea of a bookstore date more than anything, huh? If that's something you two'll enjoy, then go for it." Bookstores didn't appeal to him any more or less than it did before his date with Kaneki, but he did realize something else.

It didn't really matter where he took Kaneki. They could have gone to a bookstore, and Hide had the inkling that he would have liked it regardless because of whose company he was in.

"I really did have a good time, Hide," Kaneki said honestly, giving him a small smile. "I'm no good at sports, and I'm way too clumsy for rock climbing, but being around you really calmed me down!" He clutched the book closer to his chest and slightly bit the inside of his lower lip. "But a kiss on the first date? Is that really proper? Wouldn't you treasure that more?"

"Well, you" Hide jabbed his finger into Kaneki's chest "can't just lean in and kiss her. You'll be pressuring her, and she'll most likely reject you because she'll feel uncomfortable with the forwardness. Though, knowing you, you're not bold enough to do it anyway.

"You gotta wait for her to show that she wants to kiss you. Then you gotta decide if you should let her initiate it, if she wants you to initiate it, or if you should hold back."

Kaneki stared at Hide for a moment, glancing down briefly, before returning his gaze. Then he quietly inquired, "How would I know?"

"You'll know if a girl wants to kiss you, Kaneki." The signs would be too obvious for even Kaneki to miss: lip-biting, the girl checking out the guy's lips, a lot of eye contact, closeness of proximity.

"Would you know if a girl wanted to kiss you?"

The question caught him off-guard, but Hide managed to answer as nonchalantly as he could. "Sure I would."

"How would you know?"

For the second time without thinking, Hide offered, "Let me show you how." Hide dropped his bag on the ground, and took the novel from Kaneki and rested it on his bag.

"First, I'd tell her 'goodnight', or 'good afternoon' in our case. Then, I'd go to leave. If she stops me, I'll wait. If not, I'll go." Hide made to turn away, but the sudden pressure of Kaneki's hand gripping his shoulder stopped him, not because of its strength (which severely lacked, of course), but by its surety alone. "Y-Yeah. Something like this." He paused. "Then I'd have to decide based on what she does next."

"What should she do next?"

"You're not in a library, you don't have to whisper." He didn't take the bait, so Hide continued, "Usually, a girl would wrap her arms around a guy's neck. Like in one of those TV dramas." And Kaneki performed a variation thereof, keeping the hand anchored to Hide's shoulder in place while caressing his nape with the other.

"Like this?"

"Yeah. Just like this." Hide wanted to lean forward, close the space between them, and press his lips against Kaneki's.

He felt that a kiss from Kaneki could be many things. Kaneki's kiss could carry the weightlessness of jumping on a trampoline. Kaneki's kiss could taste of the light sweetness of kheer. Kaneki's kiss could drown his every breath, and make Hide ready to drop his gold coins.

Because Kaneki would look at him in the cherishing manner he did with his novels.

But he didn't. Even now, he didn't look at Hide that way; the way he gazed at Rize.

Hide wasn't what he needed to be truly happy.

"If she gets close like this, you'll know she wants to kiss you." Hide removed himself from Kaneki's hold. "You just gotta be able to read the moment right." Those rain clouds looked about ready to burst. Hide much preferred the clear blue of the cloudless sky.

Hide glanced at Kaneki when he felt a timid tap on his shoulder and saw Kaneki holding his bag out for him. Kaneki had tucked the novel under his arm. He thanked him and took it.

"Let's talk about this after tomorrow." Somehow, Hide felt that Kaneki wasn't referring to Biswas' novel.

'After tomorrow' was a pretty vague time, but Hide assumed he had meant sometime during that week back in October. Perhaps that would have been the case had it not been for that incident involving steel beams. Or had Rize Kamishiro not turned out to be a Ghoul. Or had a mad doctor not transformed Kaneki into a One-Eyed Ghoul. Or had Kaneki not pushed Hide away because he thought his existence endangered Hide's. Or had Aogiri not tracked and captured Kaneki.

Perhaps if Hide had resolved to tell him that he knew everything sooner, they wouldn't be hiding in the little café called Anteiku where this madness first began, drinking Hide's awful coffee in the middle of a war between the Anteiku Ghouls and the CCG Ghoul Investigators.

Perhaps Hide wouldn't be bleeding out in front of his best friend. And Kaneki wouldn't need to be on his knees, holding Hide and crying.

"The coffee's so bad, I've gone hoarse." Kaneki snorted slightly, then gently brushed Hide's cheek. His fingers lingered indecisively for a moment, then settled into a tender caress. "Hey, you think if I'd kissed you back then, we'd be here right now?" Would he have called off his date with the Ghoul named Rize? Would he have accepted Hide's kiss?

A light, chaste pressure against his lips was his answer, and with what little strength he could muster, Hide pulled Kaneki back down for a second.

"You're right, that coffee is bad." Hide's laugh was soft and short-lived. "Let's go home, Hide."

©Kitty Seeboo