Notes: I like very specific portions of the anime and the first manga. If those two were blended in some way, I'd love it. That's how this story came about. Which is another way of saying that this largely ignores Re, even though some of the plot is similar. Still, it should be immediately obvious what events I'm ignoring.

Chapter Summary: Kaneki and Hinami both follow their own path into Aogiri Tree, and each comes to know a different side of the mysterious Eto.

Coming to Dinner

A Tokyo Ghoul Fanfic by

Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)

Chapter 1: CentiFly

If there was an initiation process for new recruits, he never actually got to see it. She had beckoned to him, and he had followed her.

"You only need to follow me, Ken-kun." Then she laughed, smiled beneath her bandages, and skipped away, leaving him to do as she had ordered.

For that first week, he had done exactly that, shadowing her throughout her days and nights, leaving her side only when she asked it of him. She had taught him, although in no way that he could even begin to explain to anyone else. His role had not been defined, although he was certainly not a bodyguard. And it was clear that the others were not fond of whatever his rank was, as it was assumed to be above theirs, for him to enjoy her company so quickly after joining.

But at the end of the week, he was abruptly reassigned, and found himself frequently alongside Ayato. He would occasionally catch a glimpse of her, or she might join him unexpectedly for coffee and small talk, but the strange magic of that first week seemed gone for good. He was merely one of her soldiers now, although one she still held an unexplained fondness for.

Hinami had never planned on going to look for Kaneki. She wanted to, of course, but reality told her otherwise. Reality said that people who protected her got hurt or worse, and that she needed to find her own path to getting strong enough to protect herself.

She just had no idea how to go about it, and no one was interested in helping her learn. Touka was busy with school, and even when she wasn't, she refused to help Hinami learn how to fight. Hinami understood that this was Touka's way of trying to keep her innocent. But it frustrated her to no end, because everything innocent in Hinami's life had died with her mother, and there was no undoing that. Hinami was starting to realize that Touka did have a life outside of worrying over her, and that it might be best to leave Touka alone. Touka would never admit that aloud, but judging from the way they began to speak less and less without complaint on either side, apparently felt the same way.

Yomo had the better excuse of being far too busy. Hinami rarely ever had a chance to see him at all. And he, at least, was not opposed to Hinami getting stronger, but truly lacked the time to teach her.

Anyone else Hinami could turn to insisted that she was too young to be worried about fighting or strength. And if Kaneki had been there, he would have said the same. So it was good that he wasn't there, because Hinami didn't want to cry in front of him again.

That left her with one last option: the business card that might be her ticket to a world outside of being hunted, if there was such a thing.

"Hello? M-May I please speak to Takatsuki-san?"

"Hinami-chan!" Eto cried excitedly into the phone, nearly toppling out of her chair. "So lovely to hear from you! I'm so happy you didn't lose my number! How are you, my dear?"

There was a long, decidedly nervous pause. "Y-You remember me?" the caller squeaked.

"You may find this hard to believe, but I don't hand out those cards to just anyone," Eto chuckled. "At least, not the ones with my private line on them. And we had such an engaging conversation, I'm not likely to forget that. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?"

"I know this is completely out of the blue, and I have no right to ask, but... is there any way I could work for you? Maybe as an intern or an assistant? Or just someone to fetch your tea?"

Eto frowned and tapped her fingers against the phone, not liking the desperation she heard. "Hinami-chan, you are a bright and talented young girl, not a go-fer. If, however, you seek to be enlightened, and are willing to listen to me ramble on for hours, I am sure we can find some way for you to be properly compensated. Stay right where you are, I'll come by and pick you up in a few minutes."

As a bright and talented young girl, Hinami should have questioned how her favorite novelist happened to know exactly where she was without being told. As a girl desperate to escape her current situation, however, she wouldn't pick up on it until later.

Later happened when Hinami finally noticed that the taxi's meter wasn't running. Either the driver had forgotten, highly unlikely with two passengers aboard, or he had purposely avoided charging them a fare. And as famous a novelist as Takatsuki was, unless the driver was a devoted fan, he should have been trying to get as much money from her as he possibly could.

"Where did you say we were going again, Takatsuki-san?" Hinami asked, trying her best to sound respectful. Takatsuki hadn't said in the first place, something else Hinami was now very aware of.

"My place," came the immediate answer. "I want to get your thoughts on my latest draft. And by the way, there's no need to address me that way anymore. We're friends, aren't we, Hinami-chan? If you're going to work for me, I insist on us being the best of friends. There's no point if we don't have fun with it."

"I suppose that's true," Hinami murmured, still slightly uneasy. "Sen-san, then?"

A very loud sigh was the response. "Nice try, but that was terribly awkward. I suppose it's time for a little truth. That's just a name I use for my writing. From now on, you can call me Eto-chan, okay?"

Hinami gaped at her, feeling unworthy of such closeness. "I... okay?"

"Good girl. Now, you hungry? I could use a snack myself."

Before Hinami could politely decline, a delicious scent filled the taxi. The source became clear as the driver handed Eto... well, a hand. And Hinami's stomach did flip-flops, at the very idea that her favorite novelist knew that she was a ghoul. It stilled, however, once Eto yanked off a finger and began sucking thoughtfully on the bloody end.

"That guy's called Torso, by the way," Eto added, nodding to the back of the driver's head. "It's probably better that you wait to find out why."

"You're one, too," Hinami whispered. "But I... I couldn't tell at all?"

"Your nose is cute as a button and useful, but not perfect," Eto noted. "Nothing is foolproof if you're clever or gifted enough. I happen to be both. And what you don't have naturally, I can teach you. If you haven't guessed yet, this job offer was never about writing. Or not just writing, anyway. Still interested?"

"Will I get stronger?"

"I should hope so."

There was so much left unsaid in that reply.

Hinami took it to mean that whether she got stronger depended on how hard she was willing to work.

Torso, on the other hand, took it to mean that if Hinami didn't get stronger, or find some way to make herself worth the effort Eto had spent in collecting her, Hinami would be quickly discarded. And to his knowledge, Aogiri Tree did not just discard warm bodies. There was no sense in wasting fresh food.

When Kaneki first heard the rumors about the young girl who had joined recently, he tried to ignore them. Even when the girl's name, or rather the rumored version of it, was too close to Hinami's for comfort, he did not react in any way that would give someone cause to notice.

Eto seemed to know everything about everyone. Surely, he thought, she would know of his connection to Anteiku, and to Hinami. It was no accident that they were both brought in by Eto. And if Eto had wanted them to be together, she would have arranged it. But she had not. And to Kaneki, that was a clear message.

Stay away, until and unless you're called.

Eto did not speak much, so it was vital to understand the meaning behind all that she did not say, if one wanted things to go well. And Kaneki did, at least for Hinami, so he kept his distance, and kept his mouth shut.

It became somewhat more difficult, when Ayato began to complain of being tasked with babysitting, and demanded to know why Hinami wasn't afraid when she should be. Kaneki correctly assumed that Hinami simply wasn't afraid of Ayato, and only then because the physical similarities to Touka no doubt put Hinami at ease.

Yet, Kaneki remained confident that Eto had done all of this with a reason in mind, and that she would not waste the chance to exploit his relationship with Hinami. If for no other reason than that as much as Kaneki himself amused Eto, Hinami amused her far more, for reasons that only Eto knew.

Hinami learned very quickly that Eto was not a standard ghoul, and not just because she did not smell like one. The first time that Hinami saw Eto go into a closet and emerge covered in bandages, she had no idea what to think. Eto explained that those were her true work clothes, and that any time she wore them, Hinami should consider her to be royalty and act accordingly. Any other time, however, Hinami was free to be as informal as she dared.

That last part made very little sense to Hinami, because within a day it became very clear that Eto was, in every sense imaginable, the most powerful ghoul that Hinami had ever met. Being informal with her was not something that seemed even remotely possible for anyone sane. Which quickly became a problem, because apparently that was exactly what Eto wanted from her.

"I've decided what I hired you for, Hinami-chan," Eto announced to her. "You're going to be my little sister."

"How do I do that?" Hinami asked.

"Come now, you make it sound so complicated! I know how you were with Kaneki and Touka."

Hinami frowned. "Yes, but... that was them. You're nothing like them."

"No? I'm taking care of you, and I certainly don't have to. I'm teaching you things. How is that not like them?"

"Well, that part is, but the rest is entirely different. Ghouls are afraid of you. Lots of them are. Almost as if you were one of the Doves. I'm not sure how to be a sister to someone like that."

Eto considered that in silence, making a show of closing her eyes, crossing her arms, and drumming her fingers on her elbows. Finally, she opened her eyes and asked, "Are you afraid of me, Hinami-chan?"

"I'm... not sure."

Eto grinned. "You mean you're not sure how to answer. You're thinking that if you say no, that I'll get mad and try to scare you immediately. But you're also thinking that if you say yes, that I'll get mad and do something mean to you. Neither will happen. I'm genuinely curious, and I won't mind either way."

"I'm more afraid of what you can do, than I am of you personally."

"That's a good way to think of it," Eto said approvingly. "I don't mind if you're a little scared. I'm the big sister, so you should be afraid of being punished for disobedience. But not so much that you never want to be around me. So is there something I could do that would make you less afraid of me?"

"Maybe you could read to me sometimes. And hold me when I have nightmares?"

"Somehow I doubt that anything in your nightmares is scarier than me, but okay. And of course I can read to you, but I still expect you to do that on your own. I realize your chances to read were likely limited in the past, but that is no longer the case."

That part was true, as Eto had many books in her apartment. Hinami was not sure if Eto had actually taught herself to read, but she could certainly be easily convinced of it. Eto did not seem to do anything else in her apartment, in fact, aside from the occasional bath. It only made sense for Hinami to stay there. Eto had plenty of food stored, yet tended to eat out more often than not. Due to Eto's frequent absences, the bed was almost always free. Even when it was not, the few times Hinami had tried to sleep anywhere else in the apartment, she found herself in the bed the next morning, with Eto either half-draped over her, or slumped over a desk. Hinami had been mildly concerned for Eto's health, given these seemingly bad habits, until it occurred to her that Eto might very well have additional apartments, or perhaps just hideouts, where she spent the bulk of her time. And if anything, Eto was far healthier than any ghoul that Hinami had yet to see eating a live human had a right to be.

Nothing about the note seemed right.

First, it was handed to him by Tatara, a ghoul who, if Kaneki's suspicion was accurate, was employed by Aogiri Tree solely for the purpose of being intimidating, both to other members and enemies alike.

Second, it was clearly a love note. And while Kaneki wished that fact narrowed the field of suspects a bit, given the laundry list of characters he had met in the organization, it really didn't at all.

"To My Sweet Kaneki-kun: I wish to go on a coffee date with you, so please be the gentleman I know you are and agree to escort me. I will be cross with you, if you fail to show up."

Kaneki did not dare to refuse. The worst case scenario was that it was from Eto, who would probably be murderous if he failed to appear. But with Kaneki's luck, the best case scenario was that it was from a guy enough like Tsukiyama to make Kaneki rate his date with Rize as being his best ever, including the double counts of attempted murder.

So on the appointed night, he showed up at the abandoned building an hour early, paced for much of that time, made two cups of coffee, and hoped he would not have to throw his in someone's face to make a hasty retreat.

Any thoughts of coffee throwing fled his mind when he finally he looked up and found Hinami standing in the doorway, her eyes wide.

Kaneki was more surprised by the fact that she seemed surprised. "You must have known I was here. Surely you were able to smell me?"

Hinami shook her head. "Only for the last few blocks, and only then because I just happened to catch your scent. I wasn't actually expecting you. I got a note from Eto saying she wanted to meet me here."

Wordlessly, Kaneki passed her his own note.

She read it, pouted, and then sighed. "She totally set us up."

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked.

"Of course not. I'm just annoyed that she tricked us." Hinami paused and smiled. "It's good to see you, onii-chan."

"I'm glad you're doing well, Hinami-chan." Kaneki started to say something else, then hesitated, and then decided he had to know. "There's something I need to ask you, but I'm afraid it might offend you."

"I've never known you to be offensive, and if it's something you would even consider asking me to my face, it can't be that bad," she reasoned.

"I need you to tell me that you didn't join Aoigiri Tree because of me."

"I honestly don't think Eto would have let me join if that was my reason. As you can tell by this being our first meeting since we both joined, she's kept us apart on purpose. I'm not sure why. So no, you're not why I'm here. I didn't actually know what I was volunteering for. Did you know that Eto is actually Sen Takatsuki?"

Kaneki gaped at her. "You're joking."

"I'm not! That's how I got in."

"But... that can't be common knowledge. Should you have told me that?"

"She doesn't care if you know. And I wouldn't have told you if I thought you were going to go blabbing it to the next person you ran into. We'd both get punished, so I know you wouldn't do that."

Kaneki nodded, still trying to absorb the news. It didn't quite change everything, but he now had a great deal more respect for Eto and how clever she was.

"So, what have you been up to?" Hinami asked.

He thought about lying, since telling her the truth never even occurred to him. "I'd rather talk about you."

Hinami had expected as much, and didn't fight the change in topic. "I've been learning a lot. Eto has tons of books in her place, and she wants me to read all of them. And she's teaching me how to defend myself. I'm much better at using my Kagune now."

Outwardly, Kaneki merely nodded. Inwardly, he was both relieved and concerned. If Hinami was indeed improving with her Kagune, that meant she had to be eating well. But he did not for an instant think that Aogiri's food was as guilt-free as Anteiku's had at least seemed to be. At the same time, just as he did not want to reveal how he had been eating lately, he suspected Hinami would feel the same way about her own eating habits.

"Have you found anyone you prefer working with yet?" he asked instead.

"Ayato," she answered at once. "Though it's less because I prefer him, and more because he's familiar. But I feel especially safe with Tatara. And Dr. Kanou is interesting, once you get used to him."

Though Kaneki was mildly alarmed at the company Hinami had been keeping, he did his best not to show it. "And you're sleeping better?"

"Less nightmares," Hinami replied, quickly and firmly.

"Same here," he noted, although he suspected that she had been far more truthful than he had.

"I don't suppose you've heard from Touka at all?"

The question caught Kaneki off guard. "No. You haven't?"

Hinami shook her head. "We sort of fell out of contact. Yomo used to give me an update on her from time to time, but I haven't heard from him since I joined. Probably because I joined." She looked away, suddenly nervous. "Do you... think we made the right choice? Leaving them behind and coming here?"

Without hesitation, Kaneki stepped closer and gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "We each do what we feel we have to do. That's the first thing that Touka ever taught me, and I'm sure it's something she wanted you to learn, as well. It may not make other people happy, but if you feel in your heart that it's right, you should do it. At the end of the day, the only person you really have no choice but to accept is yourself. Whatever helps you do that, is right for you."

Hinami leaned into the hug, inhaling his comforting scent. "Thank you for telling me that." She wanted, more than anything in that moment, to tell him something that would ease his mind as well. But the one thing she had to offer, she was forbidden to tell anyone, and ultimately, the knowledge would only bring Kaneki more pain.

The moment Hinami returned to the apartment, Eto pounced on her, cheerfully demanding details about her big date.

Hinami greeted her with a flat stare. "You," she said with no trace of humor, "are a liar, Eto-chan."

"Among other things," Eto agreed happily. "So? How was the date?"

"It wasn't a date! I've told you before, Kaneki is like family to me. And it wasn't even me he was expecting. Because he, like me, thought he was meeting you, who lied to both of us!"

"But you had a nice time, right?" Eto pressed, grinning widely.

"Of course I did. Kaneki is a gentleman, and we were happy to be reunited." Hinami paused and stared at Eto. "Why don't you want me to be with him?"

"Who said that? I just gave you a very nice not-date with him, didn't I?"

"After both of us being here for months with no contact. And after you told me there was nothing I could do for him. Why, Eto-chan?"

Eto's smiling face vanished, replaced by a cool stare. "Your job is to be my little sister, Hinami-chan. Mine alone. You aren't here to be his. That I let you see him at all was a kindness. A reward for how hard you've been working. A small gesture to show you how much I appreciate you. It didn't have to happen. It doesn't have to happen again, ever. Please keep that in mind."

Hinami bit her lip to prevent herself from saying the first thing that came to mind, which was that Eto was being childish and jealous and unfair. "I haven't forgotten, and I do appreciate everything you've given me. But my point was, if you had a good reason for keeping Kaneki and I apart, and you shared it with me, I wouldn't ask to see him. I'd stay away on my own."

Eto said nothing for several minutes, pacing back and forth while Hinami watched her. This was unusual in that Eto had been startlingly forthcoming with sensitive information around Hinami. To the point where even Hinami questioned if Eto should really be so trusting with her.

Finally, Eto answered, although it was nothing that Hinami expected to hear. "I want to shape Kaneki. But he won't become what I want, if you're close to him."

Hinami knew instinctively that what she wanted for Kaneki was the polar opposite of what Eto wanted for him. She also knew what happened to those who got in the way of Eto's plans. So she only felt safe asking one thing. "Will he be strong when you're done with him?"

"The strongest. For as long as that lasts."

"Then I promise to stay away from him." Hinami felt certain that she could be satisfied with news of Kaneki through whispered rumors and Ayato's complaints. And, now that she thought about it, perhaps that was the hidden purpose of the latter in the first place.

"You're a good sister, Hinami-chan. To offer that without being asked."

Hinami shrugged. "He has to be alive to get strong. There are worse things, but I think him dying before I was ready to lose him is the one thing I couldn't accept."

"Then I promise to make you strong enough to bear losing him."

It was exactly the sort of thing Hinami didn't want to hear, while at the same time being exactly the sort of thing she had come to expect from Eto.

"Ten minutes," Tatara told her at the door, as he always did.

Hinami nodded. "I remember. Thank you for escorting me, Tatara-san."

He said nothing to that, as the gratitude was not necessary. Hinami would never be allowed there alone, and as one of the people closest to Eto, Tatara would of course be one of those trusted to keep an eye on Hinami. Although in this case, it was less because she might be in danger, and more because it was one of the few times where she might prove to be untrustworthy. At least as far as Eto and Aogiri Tree were concerned.

And it had been a point of great dispute, when Hinami had first been informed of this particular secret. It had very nearly caused her to leave Aogiri Tree entirely. But the resulting backlash of Eto's wrath would be directed at no one who deserved it, and more importantly, at those few Hinami cared for.

So she had shut out the cries of her heart, and accepted that there was nothing immediate she could do about this great wrong, like so many others that she had encountered.

As she neared the center of the room, the old man looked up from his work. "Ah, you're back, Fueguchi-kun," he offered as a greeting. "He's in the last tank today. And on your way out, I have another medical journal for you."

"Thank you, Kanou-sensei," Hinami said, though she dreaded the very thought of having to force her way through another of the highly complicated texts. While she enjoyed reading, her lack of proper schooling presented a considerable challenge when tackling such advanced books. But Eto insisted that since never going to school had not stopped her, it would not stop Hinami, either. And it was ultimately a small price to pay, given what Hinami got in return.

Hinami slowed to a stop in front of the last tank, carefully placing her hand against it. The wizened face floating inside gave no sign that it sensed her presence, or anything else around it, as always. But she pretended that it did.

"Hello, Yoshimura-san. I've come to share the new word I learned today."

The word she had learned was "revenant", and as usual, it had come from something Eto had said. More specifically, it was the codename for one of Aogiri Tree's latest projects.

A person who has returned, especially supposedly from the dead.

Hinami knew nothing else about the project, but had not forgotten Kaneki's lesson on using context clues to figure out the meanings of things, which seemed so long ago now.

Eto cared nothing for human life, so she would never bother to bring a person back from the dead. Not as a human, anyway. And even that was beyond her considerable abilities. Unless the person were not actually dead, but merely thought of as dead by the world at large. Or at least by the CCG. And if there was one thing that was easy to do when fighting ghouls as a profession, it was to be declared dead without a body to match that declaration.

The next time that Kaneki saw Hinami, it was in an official capacity. Ayato was seated between them, looking as much a third wheel as he likely felt.

"I need you three to do the shopping this week," Eto told them, sounding perfectly serious. "If you fail, you die." She placed the list on the table in front of them, and promptly left the room.

Ayato glanced at the list, then slid it to Hinami, who stared at it for a very long minute before passing it to Kaneki. After he read it, he understood that Eto had not been threatening to kill them if they should fail. At least, she had not done so outright, which did not erase the possibility.

No, the threat was goimg to come from what was on the list itself. Where once Kaneki would have thought it to be impossible, or at least difficult, he had already begun to propose several scenarios in his mind when Ayato spoke.

"I can't believe she wants us to catch live Doves. What's the point?"

"It's more fun to play with your food when it's still alive."

This from Hinami, something that seemed to startle them all.

"Is it?" Ayato asked, genuinely curious as to what she would say.

"It must be."

Kaneki knew, without asking or even desiring to know, that she was back in that tunnel with Touka, fighting for their lives against a madman for no reason other than they had existed.

Then she came back and avoided his gaze. "Any ideas? And don't say-"

"You hang back and let us-"

"No! I said don't say that!"

Ayato gave Kaneki a knowing glance. "We can talk about it on the way." Which was another way of saying they wouldn't.

He woke up to the entirely unexpected smell of fresh coffee in his home. Which would be fine, except that he lived alone, had never given a spare key to anyone, and did not, to his knowledge, brew coffee in his sleep.

His gun was on the nightstand. He thought, briefly, of grabbing it, and instead went for the briefcase on the floor. Whether the intruder was human or ghoul, it was a weapon guaranteed to do far more damage, in his hands.

He moved slowly, cautiously from the bedroom to the kitchen area. There were two cups of coffee at the table. One was obviously for him. The other was for the intruder, who had clearly started without him and was caught in the act of sipping.

"Good morning, Inspector Amon," the intruder greeted calmly. "Would you care for some coffee? I don't like to brag, but I learned from the best."

"You have five seconds to explain why you're here, Eyepatch," Amon replied, tightening his grip on the briefcase.

"This is an invitation."

"I'll have to decline."

"That's too bad. I don't think your partner is going to be too cooperative without you there."

Amon glared at him. "You're bluffing."

"I'm not. You should be getting the call any moment now. I'll be outside if you change your mind."

Amon watched him leave, then immediately called his partner. He got a busy signal three times, and when he finally hung up, he got the call he'd been warned about. For some reason, he was less annoyed that Aoigiri had Akira, and more annoyed that Eyepatch had been completely truthful.

Eyepatch was waiting outside, as promised, though with a full escort, which Amon had honestly expected. No one ghoul would have been able to subdue Akira so easily. He hoped, anyway.

"So this is why you joined them?" Amon asked. "Safety in numbers?"

"I could accuse you of the same," Eyepatch replied. "This is still an invitation, but there is a mandatory dress code." He held out a pair of handcuffs. "This isn't about killing either of you. We need you both alive."

Amon reluctantly offered his wrists. "Somehow, I think I'd prefer it if you wanted us both dead."

"Somehow, I don't think you're the first to think that. And you likely won't be the last."

Continued in Chapter 2: HoneyBear

Kaneki has an offer for Amon and Akira: information, in exchange for an eye-witness account of how the late Inspector Kureo Mado died. It's not as if they have a choice. It's not as if they'll ever leave alive.

Endnotes:

If it wasn't clear, I'm following the anime storyline where Kaneki joins Aogiri Tree. In this version, however, he does not leave them, and does not encounter Arima. So there is no brainwashed version of him walking around. That is one of the major concepts of Re that I find highly annoying. To the point where I cannot bring myself to care at all about any of the characters introduced through their connection to that version of him. So despite the fact that I'm still reading Re, there are large blocks of content that have no importance to me and that I've basically forgotten. Which is surprisingly effective, as the characters I do care about were all introduced before Re.