"…and the heart was missing."

"The heart?"

"Yes. You see, it seems this particular Aelurus has a taste for hearts. We've found other recent crimes have had the same thing occur, so we think it might be the work of one single…"

"An Aelurus that steals hearts… seems like something your author would write, Kaneki, though I'm not sure she'd have it in the same context."

Kaneki, who hadn't really been paying attention to his talkative friend, finally looked up over his coffee with a slight frown.

"Illiterates can't slam authors, Hide."

His friend made a face at him, leaning back in his chair. His face had been mocking before, but now it was thoughtful.

"I wonder if Aelurus' can fall in love. I mean, they must be able to sort of like other Aelurus, I guess. But I wonder if any ever fall for humans. Can you imagine an Aelurus with a human? Just kind of hanging out with them instead of eating them?"

"Excuse me."

Kaneki looked up to see the usual waitress, Kirishima, standing there with what seemed like a slightly strained smile. He wondered briefly if they'd said something to upset her, but then waved the thought away; she always seemed slightly strained.

"Can I get you anything else?"

Hide raised his eyebrows at Kaneki, with the kind of look that said 'I'm gunna go for it.' Kaneki shook his head, but Hide ignored him.

"How about a date?"

Ugh. It was so bad Kaneki slunk lower into his seat, trying to make himself invisible. Kirishima's smile grew even tighter as she suddenly realized she had somewhere else to be and took off. Kaneki buried his face in his hands.

"You do realize I come here almost every day? That was just embarrassing."

Hide shrugged, thinking nothing of it. Kaneki actually admired that part of him, because he'd never have the guts to do something so forward. Especially when it came to her.

As if thinking of her brought her forth, the girl he'd been admiring for weeks now walked into the shop, the picture of grace and refined beauty. He let out a small sigh, leaning on one hand and watching her dreamily as she took her usual seat, opening up one of his favourite author's books. Was there anything about her that wasn't perfect?

"Is that the reason you come here every day?"

The reverent whisper was so loud she actually looked up. Kaneki felt his cheeks flush and dropped his eyes to the table quickly.

"Shut up! If she hears you, she'll think I'm strange."

Hide smirked, peering around Kaneki to stare at her openly.

"But you are strange."

"Don't!"

He felt his face flush, and he grabbed Hide's shoulders, pulling him away from looking at her. Bringing his best friend to see the girl of his dreams hadn't been the best idea. It hadn't even been a good idea.

"Well, whatever. I'm out. See you later."

Hide got up without so much as a goodbye, turning as he reached the door to waggle his fingers at Kirishima. Kaneki wondered why he'd even brought Hide hear, knowing what his personality was like. But Hide was more or less his only friend, so…

"I couldn't help but overhear what your friend said."

Kaneki froze. He swore his whole body turned red, and his mouth worked to say something but he was so mortified that nothing came out. He slowly looked up at her, ready to beg for forgiveness and tell her he wouldn't come again, but she wore the same gentle smile she always did when she saw him.

"I've noticed you also read Takatsuki. It's nice to meet another fan, so I was wondering… did you want to maybe compare books over dinner?"

He was dreaming, he had to be dreaming. There was no way a girl like her would ask him out. No way. But here she was, asking him out despite the fact that Hide had all but said he was a creep. Maybe it should've been his first sign that something was wrong, but he thought nothing of it.

"Y-yeah! I'd love to! I mean, it would be fantastic to talk to another fan! That's why I come here every day, trying to work up the courage to talk to you."

Whatever was coming out of his mouth seemed like something that would definitely turn her off, but she didn't seem to think so. She laughed softly—so ladylike, so refined—and nodded.

"I see. I'm Rize, by the way. Kamishiro Rize."

Such a pretty name for a pretty girl… He could fall in love right now. But no, he should wait until after they'd had their first date, right? That was how it went in realistic novels. That was how it would go in a Takatsuki novel. Although, if it was Takatsuki, that love would generally end in tragedy… He pushed the thought out of his head.

"I'm Kaneki Ken. So… does 6:00 sound good? I mean, if we met at the bookstore, we could get dinner afterwards."

"It sounds great, Kaneki. I look forward to dinner then. It'll be a time neither of us will forget."

"Congratulations, Kaneki! I knew you had it in you!

Kaneki looked at Hide, wondering if he was serious or if he was joking as usual. Considering the fact he'd mentioned numerous times that Kaneki 'shouldn't get his hopes up too high' because 'she was out of his league.'

"It's not a joke! It's serious! We're getting dinner, talking about Takatsuki, and having the time of our lives!"

Hide nodded, a small smirk playing across his lips.

"I'm not joking. I mean, it wouldn't be my first choice of a date, but if that's actually what she likes, you guys are perfect for each other. Just… be careful."

Kaneki frowned slightly; Hide was unusually perceptive, so when he got serious and said something like this, it was best to listen. Although Kaneki couldn't imagine what could go wrong going to a bookstore with a beautiful girl who shared his taste in authors.

"Why?"

"Because the Aelurus that eats hearts hunts around that bookstore, idiot!"

He rapped Kaneki's head with one knuckle, shaking his own head in exasperation.

"You're definitely going to get killed. You don't pay enough attention. And even if you don't get killed, someone's going to take your heart tonight. So be careful about the Aelurus, and be careful that girl doesn't break your heart. I don't want you moping around. I need you to be my wingman for Kirishima!"

Kaneki rubbed his head and rolled his eyes, but he was genuinely touched by Hide's concern.

"I'll keep in mind everything you said. But you seriously need to stop thinking about Kirishima. You'll get us both kicked out of that store!"

Hide wound up to launch into a tirade about cute girls and why none of them were bad to date, and Kaneki sat there, half-listening as he thought about Rize. Time seemed to drag slowly as he and Hide discussed random things, going from cafés to beaches to walkways, but eventually it was time for the date.

"Yeah, yeah, fine. Cats are better than dogs. But listen… I gotta go."

Hide grinned, then became serious and grabbed Kaneki by the shoulders.

"Listen, you've always been a good friend. And I just want you to know that I want to be a good friend for you too. If there's anything you need, anything at all, call me. You can never be too prepared, okay? You have my number on speed dial?"

Kaneki nodded; he only had three numbers so of course Hide's was at the top.

"That's really kind of you, Hide."

"I know. I'm willing to come anywhere, Kaneki, just please… don't father a child while you're still in college. Knowing you, you'd drop out to raise it—"

"Wha—"

"—and we can't have you wasting those brains of yours. So please, for the love of god, if you need a condom call me."

"Why did I ever befriend you?!"

After relaxing with Rize in the bookstore and having a comfortable chat about Takatsuki, it was time for dinner. The date was going far better than Kaneki had ever anticipated, and he was just starting to be able to relax slightly.

"Kaneki, did you hear about the murders?"

It was getting dark; they'd stayed at the bookstore much longer than anticipated but that was okay.

"Oh… the ones the Aelurus committed?"

He didn't really have an opinion on them one way or another; it seemed distant from him. Like it was something that could never happen to him or anyone he knew. But the way Rize was chewing her bottom lip made it seem as if she was really nervous.

"Yes… they were right around here, I think."

Kaneki paused for a second, gazing around the dimly lit area. He hadn't even noticed, but they had taken a detour through one of the scarier parts of town. He cursed himself, wondering how he could be such an idiot. No wonder Rize was scared; this could be a dangerous place if there really was an Aelurus hanging around.

"What do you think of them, Kaneki?"

She was chewing on her nails now. Kaneki had never noticed what a deep red they were before; and they were pretty long.

"I, um…"

He kept staring at her nails, distracted. Because there was something else that was bothering him, something about her glossy long, black hair. Maybe it was just because of the lighting, but it seemed a little… off.

"Rize… are you wearing a wig?"

She tilted her head back and let out a long, noisy sigh.

"Bo~ring~"

"What do you me—"

Pain would've lanced through Kaneki's body had he not gone into shock over what he was witnessing. In one smooth moment, Rize had torn off both wig and glasses, and leaned forward as if to kiss him. But she hadn't kissed him… she'd bitten him. Straight into the meat of his shoulder.

"W… Wa… Waaaahhh!"

He pulled away from her, stumbled and almost fell, clutching his shoulder.

Her eyes were the same deep red as her nails, with the part that was normally white darker than the sky above. She grinned, chewing noisily on the piece of his shoulder she'd torn off.

"My, my, Kaneki~ You taste even better than I thought!"

No way… no way… Rize was the Aelurus? The gentle girl who sat in the café reading books, the refined girl who sipped so daintily on her coffee, the first girl who'd actually taken interest in Kaneki… She was one of them? Kaneki's mind was so scrambled he could barely think coherently, but the natural instincts of prey kicked in and he suddenly turned to run, putting his head down and sprinting and full speed.

"HEEEEEELP! SOMEBODY!"

He heard a giggle behind him, but he didn't turn around to see how close she was. His shoulder was starting to throb sharply, sending harsh waves of pain over his body. Somebody, anybody… Help, help, help. His feet ate up the ground, and he caught a glimpse of light, people, and cars. He was so close… He was so close…

The revelation brought him half back to himself for a second and he ripped his phone out of his pocket, hitting two buttons in rapid succession. Please pick up, please pick up…

"Kaneki? What's up? Do you need those—"

Kaneki interrupted him, his voice breathless, hoarse with panic and desperation.

"Hide, call the cops, call—"

Suddenly he couldn't speak anymore; it was as if all of the air had been sucked from his lungs. And, impossibly, he was being lifted off of the ground. Not just a little; he was about three feet up. He looked down uncomprehendingly. A long, strange thing was lifting him up. But it wasn't lifting him up by holding any of part of his body. No… it was through his stomach.

He coughed and a warm spray of crimson left his mouth.

"It's fun to watch you run away, but I'm simply too hungry to let you go too far."

Kaneki felt his body being shifted, and now he was facing the platinum blond Aelurus. His hand trembled for a second as he held his phone, before it went slack and his phone clattered to the ground. From far away, he could hear the tinny sound of Hide screaming his name through the phone, asking what was happening, but it was rapidly fading.

Rize threw him against the side of building, and he struck it as if he were an inanimate lump. He slid down the wall, leaving a wide, dark smear, and slumped over at the bottom, consciousness fading. Rize brought the… thing… to her mouth and licked his blood off of it.

"Thanks for treating me to dinner, Kaneki."

She took a step forward, reaching out, and…

CRASH.

The sound of something huge falling to ground sounded loud even to Kaneki's ears. But he couldn't raise his head to see what it was, couldn't even muster enough up to care. Blood soaked his clothes, pooling out around him as his head slumped.

The last thing he heard was a gurgled choking, and Rize's voice, sounding oddly garbled, saying "But I thought you said…" Then he was dead to the world.

A few metres away, there was the quiet sounding of panting coming through the phone as Hide ran, still listening to see if his friend would ever answer him again.

A/N: Yeah this was basically exactly the same thing as the first chapter, but from here on out, it's going to be more different. Like Steins;Gate few divergence lines off different. Also, Hide's going to be the best bro. The pickles to Kaneki's peanut butter (it's actually tasty, trust me).

Thanks for reading!