Disclaimer: Sui Ishida has yet to hand Hide over to me. I don't understand why, but until then it's his...

AN: Sorry about the last post, there was some document upload errors, I'm just reposting it, I think it's ok now...hopefully. If it still irks up please tell me so I can deal with it! :8

Hide sighed quietly as he looked at the skinny figure he finally managed to coax back to sleep. I have to wash his hair, he thought to himself, running his hands softly through the now rather dirty white hair. What the hell happened to them.

It all started somewhere though. The place was called Anteiku. Yes, that was where everything started.

Flashback-

A university student walked casually around the nearest shopping streets. I'm not stalking her, no, nothing like that, I'm simply…observing the public. A certain orange-haired young man assured himself. The word stalking is often overrated. He couldn't help the fact that he noticed her! She was pretty. Hide Nagachika wasn't just going to randomly admit the fact that he was attracted to this particular girl. Not happening.

Assuring his inner self once again that he wasn't doing anything wrong, he nonchalantly followed the mysterious girl deeper into the streets, zoning out occasionally until he approached a quaint coffee shop, namely, Anteiku.

"If you want a cup of coffee go in, if you're just going to follow me, go back to class." A cold voice snarled in front of him. He felt the heat rise in his cheeks as he looked at the girl in front of him. He could see her more clearly now that her head was turned to look at him. She placed on hand on her slim hips, obviously unimpressed. Her loose bangs covered the entirety of the right side of her face so only one deathly glare was suppressed towards the university student. Realizing the awkward tension between them, Hide stifled an embarrassing laugh and cleared his throat.

"Sure, I'll have some." He laughed again, unconsciously reaching to rub the back of his head looking away from from the glaring figure, walking in with her, glancing up at the little bell that just upon the entry.

He watched the girl walk past the counter, wondering if she was going to buy her a drink, then proceeded to have a silent argument with his inner self.

Are you crazy? Of course she's not going to buy you a drink!

You never know!

She probably works here man!

….Ah….

The conversation ended pretty quick as soon as Hide came to the realization that he followed the poor girl to work, of course she would be annoyed. Crap. What do I do now. But he didn't have enough time to come up with a cool excuse as the girl walked out of the counter, now in a white button up shirt, sleeves rolled to her elbow along with a black best and a matching skirt coming down to her lower thighs. Ok she definitely works here.

"What do you want?" She snapped in annoyance, looking down at him again. He stared at her. "What?" He mumbled dumbly, sliding further into his chair as the girl proceeded to kill him with her eyes. She had to resist the urge to strangle him before a kind tap on her shoulder stopped her from doing so. Glancing up, she sighed and waved off his hand.

"Touka-chan, how about how deal with the customer, you should go rest." The black-haired teen offered kindly. "Ok, ok, just make sure he leaves as soon as he's done with the coffee." She grumbled away, annoyed at the boy's gentleness, it was almost illegal.

Hide finally recovered the ability to breathe, looking out at the way she left. "I'm sorry, she's always like that." He turned his head to the source of the voice. It was a boy around his age, maybe slightly older by a year. His scrawny body showed the obvious lack of athletic background. Hide studied him for a while, taking in the similar dressing style as Touka, albeit with black trousers and a gray waistcoat along with a black necktie. His all too pale face contrasted against the burning sun, still smiling, wrinkling his face ever so slightly. The boy patiently waited to Hide to reply or have his order, and it was only until another awkward minute of silence did Hide manage to zone back in. He was definitely lacking sleep.

"Oh could I get a ummm… caramel latte? Extra sugar." He laughed as he placed his order, watching intently as the young boy quickly wrote it down. "So how long have you worked here?" He tried for small talk.

"Oh not so long, I think around 2 months, they were kind enough to take me in, along with the fact that I love coffee." He replied kindly, offering a gentle smile to Hide. Something about him just seemed so…fragile. Like he would just break apart like china if anything happened. Like he was putting on a show for the rest of the world.

"So is everything fine?" Hide asked again, he didn't know why he kept talking to the waiter. Probably to relieve the situation with the girl. Touka was it? The boy put his hand to his chin, his other hand holding the clipboard. He gave a slight nod. "You lying." Hide hissed evilly, watching the blush rise to his pale cheeks. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!" He stuttered suddenly. Hide burst out laughing again, receiving looks from fellow customers. "Next time don't put your hand to your chin, it's too obvious." He holds his hand out. "I'm Hide by the way, Hide Nagachika." The boy hastened to hold his hand out too. Shaking it softly before breaking away the small contact. "My name is Kaneki Ken."

Sigh, I had this 2 paragraph authors note but the document went like *poof* so yeahh... Read and review!