Exposition time... yay?

Chapter 2: Kill the Prey

The Capital, Kaneki's Cafe: "The Web", 1:32 pm

It had been a few weeks since he had opened his cafe in the upper ring of the city. His daily customers were a mix of civilian merchants, military personnel, a few doctors, and a large helping of corrupt government officials. Esdeath didn't object to a few of the more spineless "civil servants" going missing when she wasn't around, nor did she ask, and didn't even try to feign caring. They were weak and Kaneki was to strong and to clever to get caught. When she was around however, the half ghoul prefered to get his meals from her. At one time he might have cared about being humane but now, food was food.

There was, however, a rare exception to both rules in the form of a young man who delivered the beans need for his store. Nagachika Hideyoshi was the name he went by. While he acted a fool he was a lot smarter than he let on and rather inciteful. Although they were total opposites, they were the best of friends.

It had been moments after Esdeath left that this very loud, colorful errand boy burst through the front door carrying a fifty pound bag over his shoulder. That was another thing to mention. Hide was exceptionally strong for a human, especially for his weight and build, "Yo! Kaneki!" and also very informal.

"Hide," he responded with a gentle smile.

The beaming boy troted up to the counter Kaneki was cleaning and dropped the bag with a huff.

"How much is it today?"

"The master said three gold."

"Hah. This is getting expensive." He pulled the payment out from a drawstring purse beneath the countertop. "I might have to bump up my prices." Kaneki leaned back on his heels and scratched just below his left eye, being sure to readjust the simple black eyepatch he wore.

"Y'know, you could always buy from someone else." Hide said, flopping down on a barstool and leaning forward on his elbows.

"Mukade*, has the best beans in town and besides, I'd miss your company." He dropped the coins into Hide's open hand.

The youth gave an elated gasp, "Why, Kaneki, I didn't think you saw me like that."

He was about to go on, had the Owner not put a steaming fresh cup in front of him. "I'm not into men, Hide. You're a good friend is all." His monotone was absolute.

"Awww," the other boy teased.

"Anyway, what's todays tip?"

Hide pause for a moment and looked up, placing a hand on his chin like he always did when thinking. "Ah!" He went rummaging through his messenger pack and pulled out an ancient, raty book. "I want you to translate this!"

Kaneki took the tome carefully and flipped through the pages. It was as old as it looked, maybe older. The writing was easy enough to decipher, he had seen its like a number of times before, but the sheer size of it would take him well over a week, assuming he even had the time. He glanced up at Hide's wide smile. "This would cost a fortune if you took it to a Libram to translate." Hide only nodded. Kaneki smirked at his shrewd business sense. "I hope you can agree this is worth more than just a week of tips."

The young man looked slightly crestfallen.

"I'm not saying I won't do it, just don't expect any extra pay from me until this thing is done," he said tapping the book's binding.

"Woohoo! Thanks man you're the best!" Yet again Kaneki was left to himself after a friend drained what was left of their drink and dashed out the door of his shop. The bell gave notice of the door's closing.

As the quiet once again settled the white haired man took the hefty thing to his room. The living quarters weren't that large but he didn't need much space. There were three pieces of furniture and a small window on the far wall. His desk was positioned next to the door on the right, the bed slumped by the window, and occupying its own wall was a large, elaborate wardrobe. He placed the old book on the desk before turning to the wardrobe. His fingers traced the mahogany spiderweb relief before opening it. All of his clothes were arranged from casual to semi-formal by seasons and were mostly light or cool colors. He pushed the articles out of the way and placed a hand on the back.

A slight pressure popped it onto a slider and it glided to the right. Had he wanted to he could hop through the wardrobe into the hidden room just beyond. Kaneki satisfied himself just checking that everything was still in its place. The chamber was slightly smaller than the bedroom. Weights and a pull up bar were stationed in the corners closest to him. It was constructed out of plain stone and otherwise featureless except for a glass case at the far side, directly across from where Kaneki stood. In it was his black combat suit and old mask. He made a mental note that he would probably need to get them fixed soon as the wear was starting to be visible.

He slid the secret door closed before returning downstairs. It was good that he didn't open until 2 pm on Saturdays.

Outside the Capital, Hidden Location, 1:54 pm

The forest whispered quietly as Akame kept on her way, she would reach the hideout soon and then she could give her report to Boss Najenda. Esdeath was back from her suppression campaign and Akame had discovered something interesting. The General had stopped at an upper city cafe, called The Web, and had spent hours there, not leaving until morning. This information would surely be useful in her assassination.

As she rounded a bend, she plucked one of Lubo's strings exactly three times to let him know she was coming. After a minute of flat out running she reached home base. The Night Raids owl hung proudly from the roof. She didn't have to knock as Bulat had opened the door for her.

She gave her report as precisely as possible once everyone was assembled in their normal spot. The assassins were much more relaxed today.

"So, it seems that we need to do some investigating of this Web place." Leona sighed. She was leaning against the wall, playing with her golden hair. She had a disappointed look on her face. "Ugh, the upper districts, the one place I can't blend in. It's not fair I tell ya'"

"At least you don't have to carry Mine's shopping bags." Lubo replied in an attempt to cheer the lioness up. She only glared at the green haired man.

"Are you up for this, Mine?" Najenda asked, calmly taking another breath from her cigar.

"Sure," the pink loli girl responded.

"I would like to provide support." Akame had finally spoken up.

"No, there are wanted posters of you everywhere and you're too conspicuous. If this were a nocturnal o.p. I'd send you in a heartbeat." Najenda deadpanned, "Bulat will be going in a military disguise while Mine will play a Noble. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Boss" everyone said. With that the two members got ready to meet the Ice queen's friend. They didn't know what they'd find.

The Capital, The Web, 3:44pm

Kaneki was having a bit of a slow day, not that he minded that. The quiet was good for him. He was able to think. Only a handful of people were there. He knew three of them personally, Itori, the information broker that rented a booth from 3 to 10 every day and her close friend, and bodyguard, Uta. Although he wasn't that physically intimidating, being super skinny and all, the tattoos, half shaved head, and piercing red eyes did his job well enough for him. Itori herself also had red eyes but medium length auburn hair as opposed to Uta's black locks. She was talking quietly with a "merchant", normally Kaneki would eavesdrop but this conversation wasn't particularly interesting.

Another Regular, Eto, sat on the opposite side, hurriedly scribbling away at several layers of parchment. She was a writer and his adopted older sister. Her Father, Yoshimura, was the owner before Kaneki. The white haired man had worked for him many years, becoming part of the family, and the cafe, and by extension the criminal network it was a hub for. While the underground society was mostly for smuggling goods there were a few less savory jobs that need to be taken care of. Members like Eto, and his combat instructor Yomo, were mostly responsible for that now, while the duty of leading fell to him. Eto offered to lighten his load a bit but the eccentric author was a little… unstable. Her messy light green hair fell in her face several times before Kaneki offered her a hairband and some more coffee. She gave a thankful smile before rushing back to work.

When the bell rang again Kaneki hadn't been expecting anyone in particular, so he was pleasantly surprised. The first thing he noticed about the young girl was pink. Her hair, her clothes, even the bags of her many purchases were all pink. Buried under the mountain of acquired belongings was a private guard who wore a simple white suit of armor and a helm that covered his face completely. Kaneki gave as gentle a smile as possible and showed her to a booth before taking her order. The guard wanted nothing.

"Slow afternoon, hu?" the man's voice was low and the conversation sudden.

"Er, yes, it'll pick up again around 5." Kaneki response was somewhat lame as he wasn't expecting to have to make small talk today.

"Hmm," the young lady sighed after taking a sip, "I didn't think coffee could taste this good."

*POV

Their waiter blushed slightly at Mine's complement. "Well, I do my best." His dull stormy eye was the most expressive part about him, not a hint of any kind of emotion showed in his voice. He seemed to Bulat all together honest. He was also handsome with smooth kind features but definitely masculine. He didn't know how to describe it but he felt…dangerous. Was it because he was the one Esdeath was meeting with? Was it that he had a teigu? He certainly didn't feel any bloodlust coming from the waiter. What was it?

"What do you do when it's slow?" Mine's question had interrupted his thoughts, he had missed part of the conversation. Before he could answer however, another man in a dark cloak walked in through the back door.

"Excuse me a moment." He murmured almost to himself while walking away from the table. It wasn't possible to see the cloaked figure's face as the hood obscured it. Judging by the deference in his slight bow to the white haired worker he seemed to be a subordinate. A few brief inaudible words were exchanged. Bulat could see the flash of fury in the waiter's eye. "Handle it." he responded coldly. It sent a chill up the Night Raider's back. The cloaked figure bowed again before departing the same way he came in. Bulat felt Mine stiffen next to him went they caught a sudden rush of killing intent. It dissipated as quickly as it came and their server returned still as kindly seeming as before. This was definitely someone they would need to watch out for. "Now then, do you need anything else?"

*It is the first name I came up with to be honest and I'm to lazy to change it. Also, it's the name of a very good TG fanfic. Though the author does have a few grammatical errors, the story is superb. I'm keeping it as an omage.

I don't feel like this was the best work I could put out, much less descriptive than I normally do but I'm not sure how to make exposition seem all that fun… Don't expect daily updates to continue.