A Dove. At Anteiku.

Kaneki stared at the man outside, his heart pounding so hard he thought it might burst from within his chest.

Against his better judgement, he reached and opened the door. He could see the Dove more clearly now. It was a shorter man with long, greasy hair.

"Good evening...Ken Kaneki." the man's voice was raspy and harsh. "I'm Kureo Mado. Let's talk."

Mado strode over to a table and sat down. Kaneki stared, terrified. Touka or Mr. Yoshimura had to be getting back soon. Maybe they'd save him.

Kaneki knew he had no chance of fighting Mado alone, if the briefcase was a quinque like he suspected. Kaneki had never seen one, but Mr. Yoshimura had told him that they were weapons made from the kagune of dead Ghouls.

"Aren't you coming?" Mado cackled. "If you don't want to talk to me, you can talk to my friend instead!" he patted his briefcase.

Kaneki swallowed nervously, but sat down at the table with Mado. "W-what do you want?"

"I understand that there was an incident. With a Miss Rize Kamishiro, correct?

He knows about the date. Kaneki fought to hold back tears as he nodded.

"Our investigations have led us to the fact Miss Kamishiro was the Binge Eater Ghoul. Her organs were transplanted into you, were they not?

Kaneki nodded again, but this time the tears came through.

"We have no intentions of hurting you, as long as you cooperate."

"No-you're gonna kill me!" Kaneki cried.

"There is a top-secret initiative being undertaken at Headquarters." Mado said, ignoring Kaneki's distress. "A squad of Investigators compromised entirely of Ghouls is being assembled."

"What? Ghouls wouldn't kill their own kind!"

"You're more naïve than I expected. Ghouls are cruel and evil-they'll do anything to save themselves."

"That's not true! Ghouls can be kind and loving just like humans-"

"I'm not interested, Mr. Kaneki. If you choose to join this squad, you will work for the CCG. You will eat meat provided by us, and face no legal repercussions for it. Of course, if you step out of line...you will be promptly terminated."

"What if I don't join?"

"Well, then, Mr. Kaneki, every one of Anteiku's staff will get to meet my little friend!" he cackled loudly again, and it almost echoed in the empty cafe.

Kaneki's heart thumped faster than he ever thought possible. Everyone at Anteiku would die if he didn't accept Mado's offer.

But Mado could be bluffing. Maybe he was just going to kill them all anyway.

No, Kaneki thought. I can't take the risk. He might be lying, sure, but their lives are too important.

"Anteiku will still be allowed to operate?"

Mado nodded. " We will turn a blind eye to Anteiku, but I can't guarantee that an Investigator will not kill any staff who are caught hunting or in any other Ghoul activity."

Kaneki simply nodded, tears streaming down his face. He'd betrayed them. Touka would hate him forever if he worked with the CCG.

"Okay," he whispered even as his inner voice screamed at him not to. "l'll do it."

It all became a blur from there. Mado led Kaneki outside and into a black CCG van, and as they began to drive away, Kaneki looked out the window and saw Yomo's car come around the corner towards Anteiku.

"I'm so sorry," Kaneki whispered to both nobody and everybody.