A/N: Read (if on PC) 3/4 size.

Wabi-sabi: represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete"

"Uh, huh. Okay." Yomo muttered with the phone pressed against his cheek. Right after he started to drive again, he called someone and they had been on the phone ever since. "How much again?" Then there were was a short static statement from the phone, and Yomo cursed under his breath.

The atmosphere in the car was overwhelming, and the fact that Tadashi hadn't seen anyone besides themselves in a while made it all worse.

"Yeah, it'll be at your house, if you don't mind." Another long static voice responding and Tadashi could feel the car getting hotter.

"Okay, thank you. I will see you then, Uno. Bye." Yomo said, and then the phone snapped shut. The car was silent, and to Tadashi, the silent was awkward, but to Yomo, it was casual. Tadashi frantically looked back and forth between Yomo and the car handle. He pondered on whether to jump out or not, but concluded that jumping out was a bigger risk than what was already planned.

"I talked to him, and he said he would do it early in the morning, when the sun is barely rising." Yomo said, and then took a U-turn down the empty street. "Which means you get a few more hours to be as you are." He added.

Tadashi checked the time in the car, and gulped. It was nearly midnight, which meant they had been driving longer than they thought. He only had about five hours left, yet he had no actual way to spend it. There was no source of joy for him, and he couldn't spend his time roaming the city without the fear of a ghoul catching him.

"I don't want to become a ghoul." Tadashi whispered, and drew in a deep, shuddering breath.

"Well, I can stop the car and you can walk off right now." And that was what Yomo did. He abruptly parked the car by the sidewalk and a light from the alley flickered on. "We're doing this for you, but if you can live in this world by yourself, feel free. Get eaten." Yomo's voice was monotone like always, so Tadashi wasn't sure how he was supposed to react.

In the end, Tadashi didn't move. Either way, it was a lose-lose. Both of his choices involved death on some level; the death of who use to be, or the death of who he will be.

"Okay then, let's go back home. You can rest, and make sure you don't eat, you're not suppose to eat before surgery." Yomo informed him, although Tadashi already knew. There was no appetite in him to eat anyways, Tadashi was starving but the thought of food disgusted him because he couldn't get the image of a ghoul eating a human out of his head.

Then, it occurred to him that soon that would be him. His eyes widened, shivers ran down him and the hair at the back of his neck stood up. "Will I have to eat..." He couldn't finish his sentence, and had to stop himself for gagging. When his eyes moved away from outside the window and to his hands, everything seemed to get blurry. "Please don't turn me into something I'm not." He begged, and then brought his hands to his face. His face went pink as hot tears trailed down his face, causing his palms to become wet. Everything was too much for him here, he rarely cried but in this world, it seemed like the only thing he had been doing.

Yomo didn't say anything, however he lowered the heat, and clicked the play button below the CD player. The song was something Tadashi wasn't use to hearing, starting with a guitar, then a low voice sang.

"Machi wa nemuredo tatemono wa zutto kensetsuchuu sa."

It was a depressing song, and Tadashi usually listened to pop, hip hop, or rap even. The more Tadashi listened to it, trying his best to keep up with the Japanese lyrics, the more he felt connected to it. With his hands still on his face, he gave out a smoother, yet still slightly unsteady breath. He didn't want to move his hands away because that meant he would come back to the reality he was facing.

He was going to become a ghoul, and he was going to become like all the others in this world. Monster, monster, monster. A repetition in his mind with the sole purpose to only remind him that was what he would soon be like. Within the several minutes he had his hand down, Yomo had stopped driving and sat there without glancing at Tadashi.

The windows had fogged, and Yomo lowered the heat and put up the volume of the music. It was a new song, and just as depressing. The digital clock seemed brighter than before, revealing that it was midnight.

"Come on, it's late now. It's going to get dangerous soon." He mentioned, and then started to drive again.

Then, there it was. A cry in the night, not too far from the car. A few more howls followed, and Tadashi had difficulty swallowing his spit. What could have had been happening right then seemed far too unimaginable for Tadashi. Fortunately, they were getting close to the cafe, only being a mile or two away.

"Ever since an incident a year ago, the doves have become more active for some reason. So maybe those are the screams of a ghoul getting killed by a dove." Yomo informed him.

"What happened a year ago?" Tadashi asked.

Yomo frowned, and Tadashi regretted asking the question. But then Yomo answered anyways, with the frown still on his face, "A lot of good ghouls died one night in a raid to fight off the doves. We seen it coming, and knew how it was going to end, so some of us managed to escape." There was something off about his tone that made Tadashi actually give sympathy to him. "But don't ask me about it, ask anyone else but me." He ordered in his regular voice.

Finally, they arrived to the cafe. All the lights were off, even the upstair lights. Not even the moonlight penetrated through the black glass. Tadashi thought that was their home, but it seemed like it was empty of life at the moment. Before he could ask about that, Yomo parked the car in front of the cafe sign and examined their surroundings. It was quiet, but too quiet.

"Is everything okay?" Tadashi asked, not unbuckling his seatbelt whereas Yomo already had his hand to the door handle.

Usually, the cafe would leave one dim light on. An old trick in business, it would make it seem like someone was in there already and ward off danger such as robbers. But there was not one light in sight throughout the whole plaza. If it had anything to do with doves, Yomo wasn't sure he was exactly prepared.

"Stay in the car, and keep your head down." He told Tadashi in a low voice, and then he got out of the car. The doors clicked as he locked them, and he glanced back once before walking off.

Tadashi did as told, and duck his head below the window level. He wanted to close his eyes, yet they stayed open just in case. He was afraid that if they opened up after closing, he would see something right in front of him. A ghoul, perhaps. There was no possible way a ghoul could manage its way into the car, unless there was one already in there.

"Oh my god." He whispered, and he lifted up his head to check around it. Maybe it was just him being paranoid, however he felt eyes staring at him from somewhere.

Outside of the car, Yomo carefully walked past the cafe, and checked on the other buildings. His vision scanned everywhere, not missing one crack between the buildings or the spaces under the car. After a few minutes, he reached the last building. There was one light on by the counters, and his eyes noticed a shadow below the light. Despite knowing it was locked, he tried to open the doors anyways. The door shook, the wind chimes sang, and the shadow scurried out of the light.

Their head poked out slowly from behind the cabinet, and when they seen it was Yomo, they rushed over to the door. It was a petite girl, frightened and bewildered.

"Yomo!" She cried out, grabbing him by the zipper and jumping. "The ghouls came! They came, and they took someone walking around." She blubbered, "They were so close to my store. Papa went on a business trip, so mama didn't know what to do. She fainted behind the counter."

Yomo stared down at her, thinking of what to do next. He knew something was wrong, and knew that whatever was wrong was still around. A regular ghoul wouldn't attack this territory, it wasn't common, since they knew what ghouls resided there. Akane, for example. Akane was prominent in this ward, and maybe in others too. She was daring, sadistic, and she loved to eat. Another Rize, as some may say.

He placed a finger over her opened lips to hush her, feeling another presence not too far from them. His eyes moved to the left of him, because the sound of something shuffling on the pavement reached his ears. Suddenly, he pushed the girl away and lifted up his arm, as bullets of hard blood darted towards him. Although they penetrated through his sleeve and almost threw his skin, he soon healed. He rushed halfway to the car, and stopped when his car alarm went off, and a deep scream echoed throughout the area.

"I'll go call authorities right away, Yomo!" The girl assured, and then rushed to the back room.

A lanky woman wearing a mask in the shape of a butterfly stood on the roof of the car. Her pink dress was wrinkled, and tainted with rusty red stains. Her black hair was tied up in a small bun, and there was some blood on their mask and lips. Two tentacle claws summoned from behind, wiggling as desired. In one of their arms was Tadashi, frantically trying to wiggle out. He kept screaming, until one of the tentacles went up and pierced him through the torso. Blood sputtered out of his mouth, and he weakly looked at Yomo.

As much as Yomo wanted to help, he knew that there were people around still. Doves would soon rush over, and he couldn't be caught trying to fight a ghoul. It was either saving himself, or Tadashi.

"Don't worry, Yomo-san. We won't kill him, for now. Although you don't look one bit concerned, don't worry about your precious friend. He'll be safe with us." The person laughed in a shrilly voice, while the tentacle pulled out of Tadashi's body.

"We?" He mumbled, and then jumped back when more blood bullets rushed past him. This time they were quicker. Another person jumped down from a nearby tree, and shook their head. It was a female, wearing a small mask that only covered her lower face. Her eyes were visible, along with her long, red hair. Purple wings at her shoulders, slowly fading away as she walked closer.

"Let's go already! This guy isn't worth it. Come on." She demanded, and switched directions, going the opposite way of Yomo. "I can hear the doves coming. They're nearing." She informed.

The lanky ghoul smirked, and then took a stab through the roof of the car. "Think of this as a gift, Yomo. We're taking away some troublesome human for you. A gift from the K!" She said. When she pulled back her kagune and leaped off the car, dashing behind the other woman. Yomo was going to chase after them, but heavy footsteps marched loudly towards the plaza. It was all too late though, the two people had already gotten far now, running away, and the doves didn't seem to notice them.

Quickly, Yomo ran off to the back of the cafe before they could finally come. The back door was unlocked, and he managed his way in silently. The car alarm was still going off, so he threw his cape to the side, and already knew what he was going to do. He ran out the front doors, and pulled his hair.

"My car!" Yomo bellowed with wide eyes and furrowed eyebrows. Touka and Akane had also ran out behind him, along with a group of people. The group of people ran to the doves, as if they offered the best protection from danger.

An old man in a white lab suit rushed over, with a briefcase and notepad in his hands. Others followed behind him, and examined the car with cameras and forensic tools. While the man explained the situation to the three, storekeepers fled out of their stores and also to the investigators. "So, a lady called about seeing someone get kidnapped by ghouls," his voice was drowned out by humans crying and shouting.

It was late at night, so even the investigators were cranky. They shouted back, and sent people back home with a half-hearted promise to capture the ghouls.

"Do you have any clues of the ghouls' appearances?"

Yomo shook his head quickly, trying to act like he was still in stress, when really he didn't care much about his car. He could always get a new one, he knew his ways and had connections. "My car! I just went to check on the girl a few stores down, and ran back to check on my friends when I saw a ghoul or someone walking towards me. Next thing you know, my car alarm is going off!" He snapped. Behind him, the two women shook their heads in disappointment.

"We were trying to protect everyone, we seen drunk walkers pass by and told them to hide in the cafe. Yomo, at least only the car was damaged. Don't be so selfish." Akane said, and then spun around to check on the humans. She held her chin high with a prideful smirk, and not because she and Touka apparently saved the humans, but because she didn't let herself take a bite of one. Lately, she had been craving human flesh terribly.

Mostly everyone was calming down, except for Touka. She turned her head, and sniffed the air for his scent, trying to search for a certain black haired human. Once she realized that he was not around the plaza or even street, she tapped Yomo's shoulder while he answered the investigator's questions.

"Noda-sama, we found some blood on the car hood and some on the pavement!" Someone called out to the investigator. The man excused himself with an apology, and scurried over to the scene. He knew right away from years of experience that the blood came from a human, and it was still fresh. Yomo didn't mention anyone outside besides him and the ghouls, so who could it had been exactly?

A lump formed in Akane's throat when she overhead the conversation between the investigators with her keen sense of hearing. The three ghouls listened to them speak all at once, yet tried to still be in character. Akane and Touka chatted, and Yomo groaned every now and then.

"That's a lot of blood, Noda-sama. A large pool of it right by the medium sized hole on the hood, and a few saliva and blood coming west from the pool. As if the human coughed up the blood, most likely from internal bleeding at their upper body. A stab, maybe?" The doves were faster now, they concluded that so quick, it even surprised Yomo. They wiped the blood on a towel and threw the towel into a bag. Soon, only Noda and a few investigators were left at the plaza.

"One large stab to result an immediate pool of blood..." Noda mumbled, pensively rubbing his chin, "That rules out a ukaku ghoul then, and I don't feel like it's a koukaku. If anything, it's a rinkaku, I can feel it." He concluded.

"Noda-sama, we can't just jump into conclusions like that, it's not wise to." A plump investigator countered.

No more words were exchanged, and Noda waved his hands, as if dismissing the comment and the investigator himself. Which was what did happen, the others went away, leaving the old man by himself. He gingerly went over to Yomo, and inhaled through his teeth. "Sorry about your car, we'll catch the ghouls soon. I promise." He told them with soft eyes, the brownness of them gleaming under the streetlights. For a dove, he was surprisingly kind.

"Noda-sama! Come on, we must return to the lab soon." Someone shouted from across the street.

Before Noda ran off, he placed a business card in Yomo's hand. His soft hand surprised Yomo's callous one, and Yomo suddenly felt nostalgic. The old man smiled at Yomo one last time, and jogged away to the rest of the investigators. When he was gone, Yomo checked out the card. The logo of a auto car repair shop was at the top, and the name Noda, Katsu below it, along with business information. It must have been his son's shop.

"Where is Tadashi, Yomo?" Touka questioned once it was peaceful again.

On the other hand, Akane yawned, and raised her arms to stretch. She didn't care much about Tadashi, only seeing him as prey gone missing, and there were plenty other meals for her in the world. It wasn't like she was insensitive either, Akane merely didn't want to waste her time again. "I'm tired, man. All this saving tires me out, let's go inside already. I'm hungry too." She complained in a whiny voice, although she had recently ate.

"The ghouls took him, Touka." Yomo answered in calm voice .

It was a funny thing, how unexpectedly sad she felt. It was strange that she was concerned over him, since she sworn to not get worried so easily over people. All the anxious uneasiness had never done her any good, and she was tired of the bad. However, Tadashi had just came into a new world world, and especially a terrible one too. In her eyes, she viewed him like a child just experiencing reality. If anything, Touka was feeling regretful. Despite not knowing him that much, she felt like she could've known him well.

The next question that came out of Touka's mouth surprised everyone, including herself. "Are we going to save him?" She asked.

Akane groaned, and threw her hair back behind her shoulder with an annoyed expression. "If you guys do, I'm not going. That crybaby is just food." She grunted, and then walked back over to the cafe doors. She didn't go back in though, instead she turned around and planted her feet firmly. She only wanted a reason from Touka as to why she wanted to save Tadashi. Then, she could go to sleep peacefully.

"Why though?"

Yomo also wanted to know, and crossed his arms while waiting for Touka's response. He hadn't decided on saving Tadashi or not either, but maybe Touka's answer could persuade an answer for him.

"Eh? I don't have to justify myself!" Touka stammered. She felt like the question was so sudden, and couldn't think of a sufficient answer in time. Actually, after a couple of moments, she realized that she didn't have an answer. Or maybe it was that she didn't want to face the answer, didn't want to know why exactly she was going this.

It was getting windier, and police sirens blared from a few blocks down. It wasn't a signal that the ghouls were found though, they knew that those ghouls wouldn't get caught so easily. So they paid no mind to it, and Akane and Yomo went back to waiting for Touka's answer.

As Akane grew impatient, she tapped her foot and grunted something inaudible.

"What was that?" Touka questioned, turning her head to the side to look at Akane. For a moment, she swore she heard something she didn't want to hear. An assumption to the question.

"I said history is just going to repeat itself." She said, and then spun around, and stomped her way into the cafe. It wasn't typical for her to get this upset, especially over an unanswered question. Even if she was an impatient person. Touka frowned in disapproval, Akane was acting so childish for someone nearly twenty three years old.

Yomo gestured his head to the door, and silently followed Akane. Eventually, Touka did the same and went inside. She could feel the night just growing colder by the minute.

Inside the cafe, Akane set up the one dim lamp by the bar, and then watched it flicker on as she placed the plug in the outlet. The dim light illuminated her cheekbones, and caused her light green eyes to glow. Yomo had a small smile on his face, but it couldn't be seen because he was far from the light. He was walking in the darkness up the stairs, and didn't look back, he had a phone call to make.

After Touka locked the doors, she was going to follow behind him, however a hand grabbed her at her wrist. When she seen who it was, she frowned again and knew what was going to be said instantly.

Akane didn't look that upset like she previously was, instead she seemed apologetic. "Touka, I'm sorry to put you on the spot like that." She started, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, though it slowly slipped out again. "I just don't understand why you want to save him. I have my assumptions but, I don't know, maybe I'm just overthinking. Forget it." She had gotten flustered, and didn't want to talk anymore.

"No, what was it? Say it." Touka insisted.

"I feel like he'll become another Kaneki to you. I don't want to see you sad again." Akane admitted, refusing to look at Touka.

The frown on Touka's face was gone, and she offered a small smile instead. With the year that Akane and Touka were currently sharing, she learned that despite how cruel and destructively angry Akane was sometimes, she could be just as kind. The smile was a surprise to Akane, because Touka usually got quiet and upset at Kaneki being mentioned. So Akane shook her head, chuckling weak at herself.

"Sorry." Akane whispered, "Don't pay attention to that. Just forget about it. I won't bring it up again." The insults and complaints were at the tip of her tongue still, but for Touka, she bit her tongue until it bled, just so Touka wouldn't get upset again. Although she was older, Akane admired Touka. After all, she did save her from almost dying. In her eyes, Touka was almost like a guardian angel, just not assigned to one person. "Are you going to try to save Tadashi the way you saved me?" She asked.

Touka didn't respond any further, and kept her smile. Then she went to the stair steps, and was going to take her first step up but stopped halfway when Akane called out her name. She gently placed her foot back down on the floor, and turned her head to Akane, who hadn't moved from her spot yet.

"If you do go save him, I guess I'll go. But only to help!" She exclaimed, and then scratched her cheek with her index finger. "But only to help you two, I don't care about him." She added.

Now, the smile on Touka's face was sincere. She wanted to giggle, but she just gulped it down knowing it would only make Akane feel more embarrassed. That woman hated nothing more than to admit the truth, especially when it made her appear soft. "Of course." Touka said, and then finally went up the steps.

A/N: I will no longer depend on the current arc in Tokyo Ghoul:re manga (the Nutcracker/Action Arc) after this chapter, although Sasaki/Kaneki and his team will still be included (of course!) Hope you enjoyed this chapter, man, I'm just waiting for the thrill to come now!

(✿◠‿◠) Feedback, please!