Heyooooo! It's been a while since I've posted any Touken that wasn't for Reality Kick, so I will now. c: This was from a AU prompt ask-thing on Tumblr and a lovely anon requested Touka and Haise meeting at a masquerade. If you see anything wrong or somebody too OOC, please let me know!

[Stay tuned for A/N]

Enjoy~

Touka sighed as she picked up her fifth cup of coffee that evening. Sipping it, she looked around the bustling room, wondering why humans enjoyed this. Masquerade balls are so stupid… These idiots wear masks for no reason. She spotted her friend, Yoriko, giggling and blushing as a young man in a black mask asked her to dance.

She grumbled as she adjusted her own mask so as to not hinder her vision. Thinking about her reason for even being here in the first place, Touka looked down into her cup, recalling the reason. That reason being her best friend, Yoriko.

"Come on, Touka! It'll be so much fun!" Yoriko begged her friend, grabbing Touka's hands and shaking them excitedly.

"Yoriko, you know I don't like parties," Touka huffed. "I'm not going, so give me my hands back!"

Yoriko dropped her hands and pouted, gazing at her with wide, puppy dog eyes, bottom lip jutting out. Touka swore she saw tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

"Yorikoooo," she whined, "stop pouting, it's just one party."

"No, Touka, you have to come!" Yoriko grinned as a sudden idea popped into her head. She looked at Touka pointedly. "Besides, what if you-know-who shows up?"

Touka blinked. "That's highly unlikely, Yoriko. Nobody knows where he is!"

"Well you aren't going to find out if you refuse to look for him in public," Yoriko pointed out. "Plus, it's been so long that you need to get out. Who knows, maybe you'll meet a great guy at the ball"

Rubbing a hand down her face, Touka groaned, "Alright, fine! If it'll get you off my ass, I'll go!"

As her friend bounced around in glee, Touka stared into space. 'He's not going to be there, I know it. And now I have to wear a stupid dress and a stupid mask, ugh…'

So here she was, dressed in a dark red one-shoulder gown that complimented both her figure and hair, which was curled and pulled back by a bedazzled clip with loose tendrils framing her face. Her face was adorned with a black velvet mask studded with dark red gemstones and she could feel the sticky lipstick Yoriko had forced her to wear.

Touka smiled into her cup softly; even though she didn't want to be here, she had to admit that she liked seeing Yoriko this happy. She didn't notice the man in a black suit approach her until she felt something brush against a tendril of her curls. Immediately she dropped the half-full cup as she looked up to glare at whoever disturbed her.

But who she saw rendered her speechless. Even with the mask, the young man looked exactly like her old friend Kaneki who had disappeared five years ago. Can it… Can that really be him? Her eyes raked over his body, looking for signs that it was him. She caught a glimpse of white hair hanging over his mask and her heart sped up rapidly. When her eyes settled on his hair, all hope she had dissipated. She sighed, Stupid, how could he really be here? The man's hair wasn't only white; his roots were growing out pitch black.

"Ah, sorry! I didn't mean to startle you," he apologized, bending down to pick up the cup. Touka just stared at him.

"O-Oh, uh," she stuttered, finally finding her voice, "it's fine, I get antsy in large crowds anyway."

He placed the cup on the table beside them and smiled at her,

"I know the feeling; I'm usually the same." Touka nodded, blushing slightly. "But, I saw you staring into that coffee as if it held the answers to the universe and decided to talk to you. There was also something in your hair."

She cleared her throat, "Well, thanks for getting it… And I was not staring into it that hard."

"Sure, whatever you say," he laughed. She crossed her arms and huffed. "Can I make it up to you with a dance?"

Touka's mind went blank. She'd never been asked to dance before and definitely not by strangers. Although she felt some faint connection to this man that she couldn't quite place; like she knew him. I won't know if I don't try right, Yoriko? Deciding to take her friend's advice, she nodded.

Haise beamed when the young woman agreed to dance with him. I didn't think she'd actually say yes! Taking her hand, surprisingly firm yet soft, he led her to the dance floor and weaved through the couples until he found a good spot. Stopping near the middle of the crowd, Haise pulled her to him, placing his free hand at her waist.

That made Touka blush brightly. Hesitantly she laid her own free hand on his shoulder, falling into the rhythm of the dance. She focused her eyes on his tie, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh right, I never introduced myself!" He paused the dance, bowing at her slightly. "Sasaki Haise, at your service madam."

Touka glanced at his face to find him gazing at her and quickly averted her eyes, mumbling, "…. Touka."

"What, I don't get your last name?" Haise pretended to pout.

"I'm not just going to give my full name to a random stranger, idiot," she quipped, shooting him an annoyed look. But when his face went from teasing to serious, she became confused.

"But what if I told you that I'm not just a random stranger?" He asked quietly, slipping his arm around her waist, pulling her even closer to him.

Touka squeaked in surprise when she felt his arm around her. Her heart began to beat harder as she came face to face with his chin. She couldn't answer.

"Touka-chan?" He bent forward, forcing her to look at him.

"I-I don't know you," she whispered, unsure. "A-At least I think I don't…"

Feeling embarrassed, she looked away from his face and looked around for her nearly forgotten friend. Yoriko caught her eyes from the arms of a very animated, very blond man. She grinned at the couple, winking at Touka before being spun away from sight. Touka felt air brush her ear.

"You only think so?" Haise moved his mouth to her ear, whispering and feeling her shiver slightly and heat spread across her cheeks. He grinned. "You know something, Touka?"

"… What?" She asked warily, flustered by his close proximity.

"Under that beautiful mask, you are more beautiful than even a full moon on a starry night." Touka's eyes widened at the compliment. She sputtered for a response but was unable to form a coherent one. She had just given up in responding with Haise suddenly perked up and beamed at her. "Well, let's finish this dance so we can start the next one!"

Touka followed his lead automatically, thoroughly confused by his sudden change in mood. But she won't deny that she enjoyed the dance.

At home later that night, Touka laid back on her bed, staring at the ceiling in thought. Unconsciously, her hand moved to her neck and brushed the places where she had felt his breath. Embarrassed at herself, she sat up and punched one of her pillows.

"Tch. That definitely wasn't Kaneki," she stated. "Kaneki would never have the balls to act like that with me."

But… Maybe it's time to let go of him and move on… she mused. She recalled Haise's personality and decided that maybe Yoriko had been right about going to the party. Although, she would rather die than admit that to her face.

Rip the bandaid off, just tell me it's bad, I can take it. This was actually fun to write since I've never written Haise, but I'm worried that he's too OOC...

Oh btw, that very animated and very blond man is Hide! Are they a thing? Idk, it seemed right to just throw that in there.

As always, a huge, sloppy thank you for reading and putting up with me! Don't ever hesitate to let me know what you think or suggest something, I'm always happy to receive feedback (as long as it's constructive, not rude). My Tumblr ask box is always open for stuff, heck, you could even send it to my main blog! Just like Tumblr, my PM inbox is open 24/7, so don't feel shy or scared to drop something in them! :3

With love,

Lau ( ˘ ³˘)

Tschüss!