Warning: I haven't read Percy Jackson a while, and English isn't my native tounge so there might have been few mistakes in this fic and I do not own Percy Jackson or Tokyo ghoul. You will notice kaneki apearance is a little different from the manga but i swear that Ishida sensei always coloured kaneki's eyes with two color
Sally Jackson
There was something strange about the young manager of the new coffee shop. The one called Anteiku.
He had this air around him that marked him different from the others. It wasn't obvious. She didn't even sure what was really strange about him but her sixth sense just kept pointing out that he...special. Maybe it was the way he move, the way he talked or how he handle the people, or maybe it was simply his appearance. With snowy white hair, ivory skin, soft delicate feature and those unique doe heterochromia eyes, she couldn't help thinking that he was quite beautiful; and judging from the number of customers, she knew she wasn't the only women ( "or man" she amusely noticed a blushing young male customer who ordered one expresso) that found him atractive. Of course, the coffee helped too. Anteiku had only been opened recently yet it'd already attracted many type of people and satisfied even the most hard-to-pleased customers.
"Sally-san, could you bring this to table 4, please?" the manager passed her the order then quickly got back to brew another batch of coffee.
"Right away." She took the tray, one that had a black coffee and a slice of cheese cake, to a girl seat at table 4.
No matter how strange her manager was, she would always be thankful for him.
They met when she was at the lowest point of her life. Percy was expelled again. The abusiveness she had to endure from Gabe was getting worst. She got down with a horrible fever and the fact that she had to ballance working 3 jobs at once but the pay check was so low didn't help anything. Everything was too much. She just wanted to hide somewhere, to cry her heart out, and she did. She made what most normal people( and herself too) considered a ridiculous action: she talked her problem to a complete stranger.
But her mind was a mess, and he was right there. Someone so kind, so gentle, who had invited her into his shop on that awful rainy day(she should be more supicious, but she was exhausted), kindly offered her a warm drink, and before she knew it, she broke down crying and spilled all her trouble on him despite purposefully leaving out the supernatural side of her story.
"I'm sorry, i'm just...I'm so stress out, sorry..." He didn't stop her, just sat silently, waiting for her to calm down. After all was said, he then offered her a full-time job at his place. She declined. The money wouldn't be enough. In spite of not hearing those words, he seemed to understand her just fine. He convinced her to work for him again, this time with a guarantee of a paycheck large enough she needed not to work many different jobs at once. Sally couldn't believe what she'd heard. It was too good to be true.
"Why're you doing this?" With teary eyes, she asked. He was too young, barely nineteenth. How he thought he could take responsibility for situation like this? So what if he owned a coffee shop? It was probably let on long-term lease.
"You remind me... of my mother." Sally still remembered that looked in his eyes."She sacrificed so much..." He trailed off,not seeing her, but still saw her clearly.
She walked back to the Gabe's apartment (It's Gabe, not her, not her home, she would leave it with Percy soon) when the rain outside stopped all while her mind kept replaying the words he had said before they bade farewell
(" Jackson-san, you need to make a choice."
"I can't, it's not like i have one." A mortal wouldn't understand. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"But if you choose all, you'll lose all."
"..."
"My mother couldn't make her choice and she die because of it."
"Too much work, a child to feed and an ungrateful sister to provide for" He answered her unasked question, the similarities scared her. Three job at once yet it still wasn't enough, Percy-her baby boy, Gabe. )
.
.
.
She came back to the shop.
Anteiku was a Japanesse name.
"You're from Japan?" There weren't many customers on that day. She was cleaning the cup while making small talk to her new employer. The shop was always full of people, it was no wonder he could easily agreed with that large paycheck.
"Yes, i am. Does it really that strange?"
"No, no. I don't mean it like that. It's suprise me that you've come so far. And for someone as you, which was really brave. I mean here is different country, different culture..." His melodious but hollowed laugh rang in the air. The sound as soft as everything else about him.
"i've never planned to arrive here, Jackson-san" He chuckled. That youngful face with a touch of innocent somehow seemed older as he told her, his voice contained a bittersweet tinge."It's an accident."
Sally wasn't so sure anymore if he as young as he look. She wanted to ask what did he mean by that but the doorbell rang signal a few customers's arrival and her manager turned his attention the new group.
She found out a later time that he was 26.
He was strange.
She didn't know whether it's bad or not, just strange.
He was always silent, his voice was never loud, always gentle and soothing, his steps never made any sound. When the shop was on a slowday, it was almost as if there was only her working there. Sometimes, she believed so too. His movement was graceful. The action of brewing coffee looked so simple and full of grace when he was the one who did it.
( "My old manager taught me."
"He must be really amazing. So what's his name?" She noticed the fondness in his voice, he talked the same way people talked about their close family.
"Um...Yoshimura-san was like a grandfather to me" He used "was" not "is".)
The amount of coffee he consumed per day made her seriously thought he purely survive on that thing alone. That she never saw him had lunch at work confirmed that kind of thinking further. Although he was a fully mature young aldult, she often found herself watching over him like some mother hen. It must be because of his stature...
("I'm 1meter72, Jackson-san!" And she taller than him with high-heels on. He blushed when she teased him.
"It's Sally, manager.")
There were times when he silently (so quiet) stared out the window with his sad yet hopefull eyes, he was so fragile at those moment. Then there were times when he wasn't.
"Please, leave sir. You're making others customers uncomfotable." Her manager wasn't the type could be provoked easily. his preferable methods when dealing with anoying customers or employees would be gently persuadetion.
"What the hell? It's that how you treat a customer? Look at my shirt! Do you have any idea how expensive this is?" Typical middle age bussiness man, tall, overweight, haughty attitude and easily three time bigger than her manager. He had been yelling and screaming, demanding the waitress who spilled coffee on his shirt got fired. Standing behind her manager, Anita face redden with embarrassment( Sally could easily regconize a demi-goddess when she saw one.). People in the shop whispered around, some're curious, some're annoyed. They were creating a scene. The bussiness man reached out with his meaty hand to grab Anita, however, her young employer stopped him. His smaller slender hand actually managed to hold back the larger male. What came next was a downright muderous glare and the cracking sound of fingers that made everyone heard it flinched.
He didn't look so fragile anymore.
What unnerved her was how his doe eyes instanly frozen into twin crystalized pool, including that sick noice as he pushed down(broke not pushed, because fingers shouldn't, coulsn't make that kind of noise.) his index finger sent chill to her spine.
"Please leave your number and the adress where you want to dry-clean behind, I will take responsibility and pay for your service. However, right now, you are not welcome here, sir." His voice lost it normal gentle quality and completely void of emotion.
The customer left in humiliated.
Ken Kaneki was a good person. He had lend her a hand when she was down and she cared deeply for the younger man. Neverless, it didn't stop her from feeling there was something off about him. That feeling got stronger when he showed a more serious - (a glimse of dangerous )- side of his.
Neverless, her uneasiness soon faded away as she thought about the Monters lurking around the city under the disguise of the Mist, the petty, vain, unfair, unfaithful Gods and Goddesses. After all, however strange her manager was, he's still only a mortal, which made him much safer to be around with.
"Ken, how long have you opened this shop?"
"About a year now."
There was this little nagging thought that the Monsters's appearances had ceased for a year in the back of her mind.
Done!