A/N: Hey everyone! Angel here. This is my first fan fiction of any sort. Please be somewhat kind with its reception, if it gets any reception at all.

I'm writing this because I've been wanting to write a fan fiction for quite a while now. I just couldn't find an appropriate center for it though.

Please enjoy and review.

Chapter 1: Never one without the other

"Tell me for I cannot see, dear brother."

"The boy and the Binge-Eater were both crushed by this crane's load."

"Ah, how unfortunate."

"Indeed…"

"What shall become of them?"

"It is not yet their time. We will wait."

Ken Kaneki was held in place by the steel beams that had just fallen on him. He had lost all feeling in his body, leaving his mind bleeding from consciousness. No way… No way… No way… Not like this… A slight movement in the cool alley air caught the corner of his eye. He struggled to point his head to look skyward. The feeling in his neck returned with an unnaturally painful twist. Kaneki's eyes finally found what they had originally seen. A small shape on top of the crane above him. It was crouching on the end of the crane, staring down at him. He tried to croak out a desperate plea for help, but once again, he lost the remainder of his motor functions. The edges of his vision began to fade into blackness, slowly closing to the center of his eyes.

A warm, young woman's voice whispered to him as lost consciousness, "Sleep, child."

Kaneki's brain wearily replied, "I don't… want to die."

The voice quietly exhaled, as if it were smiling, "It is not your time. Not here, not yet."

"Who is we?"

"We are... never one without the other."

Kaneki's mind attempted to respond, but he felt a soothing touch on the interior of forehead. Finally, after the rollercoaster of a night, he blacked out.

A handful of weeks later

"What are you doing, Mr. Uta?" Touka smiled, her expression softening.

Uta craned over his shoulder, "I thought I would surprise you."

The lanky gothic man crawled down from his pedestal. Kaneki was an image of pure terror, frozen in place after being scared by the older ghoul.

Touka, still grinning, said, "Ha ha, this is Mr. Uta. He'll make you your mask."

"I'm Uta."

Kaneki struggled to bow and greet in response, "I-I'm Kaneki…Nice to…"

Suddenly, Uta leaned forward, examining Kaneki. He sniffed, "You smell unusual." He turned to the young woman on his left, "Touka, I see the doves are on the prowl."

"What of it?"

"The 20th Ward is nice and quiet. They used to…" Uta looked back at Kaneki, who was slowly attempting to back away from the older man. He grabbed the boy's shirt, who proceeded to cringe and clinch uncontrollably, and returned to his conversation with Touka, "They used to leave you alone." Once again, he sniffed Kaneki, "I'm guessing this has to be Ms. Rize's doing."

Touka glowered at the two, "Tsukiyama seems to be pressing his luck lately, too."

"Ah yes, him…"

Kaneki finally spoke up, "Uhh, is the 20th Ward more peaceful…? I wouldn't know."

"Live somewhere else for a bit and you'll find out," Uta leaned forward, eyes suddenly widening with glee, "If you like, you can stay here overnight. You may see some cannibalism if you're lucky. That's always fun."

Kaneki cringed and broke away from Uta's grasp, "N-N-No, thank you."

"It must be nice that there's a place like Anteiku for you," Uta stood up, "Sit over there and I'll take your measurements."

Touka snorted and stalked away. This is so unfair. As much as I understand the danger of the doves, the manager should have made someone else babysit this idiot. She picked up a grey mask lying on a counter in front of her. She placed it in front of her face and just as quickly put it down. It felt so inanimate, so inappropriate. It wasn't hers. "What about Touka?" She heard Uta whisper from across the room. She sighed and turned back towards Kaneki and Uta. They were both staring at her. Touka felt her cheeks warm as she blushed and opened her mouth to spew a profanity in their general direction.

CREAK!

The door of the shop slowly swung open halfway. The three people inside all simultaneously turned to the source of noise. The entire atmosphere of the room became cold, as the temperature seemed to drop ten degrees. The hairs on Kaneki's exposed skin stood on end as electric shocks seemed to resonate along his extremities. Kaneki gasped as the same woman's voice from his night with Rize spoke in his head, "Oh, it's him."

However, the figure that stepped through the doorway was male. He was nearly a head shorter than Kaneki. He can't be any older than 16. What is he doing in here? Is he a ghoul? Where is the woman? Kaneki thought to himself.

"His heart beats faster. He knows"
"Yes, he does."

Kaneki nearly threw himself on the floor from the voice in his head, Who... Who are you?

"Perhaps, death would have been a blessing for him. He is terrified, scared of his own shadow. There is water everywhere now."
"They are tears. We were like that once."
"But not now..."
"No... Now where the spectre goes, his ghost follows in his wake."
"Tell me mortal, would you like to hear a story?"

Kaneki grabbed his sides, unmoving, frozen in terror for the second time in half an hour, I-I... Yes?

"Brother, tell us a story!"
"There was once a young woman, beautiful as the sun herself, who was, oh, so very lonely."
"Why was she lonely?"
"She was different from everyone. She was too kind, too naive."
"So she found a friend?"
"One day, she found a man, dying. She had never seen death and so was scared for him. She called upon her Birth Right to preserve his life."
"But he was not her friend?"
"He saw her power and smote her where she stood."
"This was not her end."
"He had cloven her in half. She revoked her blessing and he fell lifeless."
"Yes! Vengeance!"
"She was left with her two souls. She tried to fix herself, but then stopped when she realized..."
"When she realized she shouldn't. When she realized she would always have a friend now..."

Kaneki, now horrified beyond belief, cowered behind his own hands. Tears dripped in slow rivulets down his cheeks.

I'm going crazy. Please, someone help me! First I'm turned into a half-ghoul monster, I nearly eat my best friend, I meet the she-devil incarnate, and now I'm hearing voices telling me stories. Help!

The newly entered person quietly voiced, "Hello Uta. I caught wind that there was a rabbit and an eyepatch in your shop."

"Yes, his name is Kaneki. Why are you here, Borei? I haven't seen, nor heard of you for such a long time" Uta tilted his head respectfully.

Borei looked at Kaneki and Touka, then walked over to the girl, "When you return to Anteiku, tell the manager that we have returned. We need to meet him tonight, after Anteiku closes."

"Mr. Borei, we haven't seen you for years," Touka gasped, then a look of confusion dawned on her face, "You said we. Where is Ms. Yurei?"

"It is... a long... very long story; one I would love to share with everyone back at Anteiku. Please, go tell Yoshimura that we need to meet."

Touka nodded without question and walked over to Kaneki. She yanked him by his shirt out of his chair and to the door.

"Call us when his mask is finished please, Mr. Uta," she requested before stepping outside.

Uta winked at her then turned his attention to Borei, "You never answered my question, Spectre. I sense you are here for another reason than for a messenger."

"Yes. Tell me, No Face. Have they forgotten us yet?"

"They... We all know you, though some try to forget."

The newcomer smiled, "Good. Soon, we will remind them all."