Kaneki had a lot on his mind as he was walking with Hide, but the main thought was that he had to go to Anteiku that afternoon. This, inevitably, reminded him of the incident from a few days ago. As if it was not bad enough that he was dealing with extreme hunger and anxiety from the organ transplant, he also had a girl acting unfairly hostile toward him at work.

His stomach felt like it was eating itself and he tried to ignore it. Hide was talking to him, but all he could think about was the pain in his abdomen. He had eaten one of the "sugar cubes" that Yoshimura had given him, but the hunger was still undeniably there. If anything, it seemed to have only whetted his appetite this time. What am I going to do? There has to be some way that I can make it better. Some way…where I don't have to eat human flesh.

A heavy sigh left him, catching Hide's attention. "Hey. You okay? You look pretty out of it."

"I-I'm fine," he replied quickly.

"You're still looking really pale. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just tired." Kaneki attempted a smile, but he knew that it was unconvincing. Nonetheless, Hide seemed almost ready to drop the subject.

"You've been eating, right?"

"Y-yeah," he lied. "I'm just tired. That's all." He had been walking with his head down, but now felt compelled to lift his gaze. He paused in his steps as his right eye met a pair of icy blue ones in the distance. They widened a little when they caught his eye and the girl smiled in a strangely shy, sheepish way that he had never seen before.

Of course, Kaneki had noticed her around the café before. She was always wearing a smile, but now that he had seen it up close, he knew that that smile was forced. An act that she put on for the customers. Before the incident from a few days ago, she had never really stuck out to him. Now here she was, leaning against a tree near the college campus entrance and wearing a half-grin.

She started forward, brushing a stray lock of dark blue hair behind her ear as she neared the two young men. "Kaneki-san! I didn't know what time your classes got out so I decided to wait for you so we can walk to work together," she announced.

"Wh-what? Um…Mizunami-san?"

Hide beamed and offered a hand for her to shake. "Nagachika Hideyoshi. Nice to meet you."

"Mizunami Saya. Any friend of Kaneki-san's is a friend of mine." She seemed to catch the puzzled expression on his face and raised an eyebrow. "Or do you prefer Kaneki-senpai? Or Kaneki-kun?"

"Er…I don't really…"

"I like Kaneki-senpai," she determined for him.

"Kaneki, are you dating a high school girl?" Hide joked, seeming to have just noticed that she was younger than them.

"N-no! We just work together."

"Just coworkers," Saya confirmed. "Ready to go, Kaneki-senpai?"

He was unsettled by the idea of walking alone with her, but she linked her arm through his and started off. Why is she acting so friendly today? She was mad at me because Rize died and now she's acting like we're friends. I don't understand it. A glance over showed her grin shrinking, settling into a more natural expression that he suspected might be real. Her eyes narrowed a bit and she glanced over at him briefly, color rushing to her cheeks. Is she…blushing?

"You haven't eaten at all, have you?"

"I can't do it. I just can't. I can't even look at it," Kaneki admitted. "I've already heard from Touka that it hurts to starve this way, but there's no way that I can eat flesh."

Her lips twisted into a scowl and she shook her head. "You can't starve. I won't let it happen. I'll figure out something."

She wants to help me? But why? She hated me the other day. Kaneki bowed his head as they kept walking, knowing full well that she was taking to him to the café. "Mizunami-san, I-"

"Saya."

"What?"

"Call me Saya. Only strangers call me Mizunami," she stated firmly.

"Saya-chan, I…well…why do you want to help me?" He tensed when he felt her lean in close to the side of his neck, making them both stop on the sidewalk. She was so close that he could feel the soft tip of her nose trace over his sensitive skin and it sent a rush of blood to his face. "Saya-chan?!" Lips delicately brushed his neck for an instant in what he sensed might be her smile.

"You smell amazing~" She stepped back and seemed to read the fear in his expression because she shook her head. "I don't mean in a "food" way, senpai. I mean in a good way." Her grin returned full force and she squeezed his arm tighter against the side of her chest. "It makes me feel tingly. I like it!"

Shift P.O.V

Up close, he's actually kind of cute. Not in a manly way exactly, but in some sort of way. She lowered her gaze and started to walk again, bringing him along with her. It had been a snap decision to go to the university. The thought had been bothering her since Nishiki pointed it out to her. Kaneki really was all that was left of Rize. The more she thought about the older female ghoul, the more she realized that she really had been in love with her. That was when she thought of Kaneki. If he's what's left of Rize-san, then maybe this could work. I just have to make sure that he takes care of himself. Takes care of Rize-san's organs. I can make this work, right?

His scent drifted to her again and she could barely suppress a giddy laugh from leaving her lips. She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, smiling to herself. "Do you want anything? It will be my treat."

"Um…what?"

"Like canned coffee or those coffee beans that college students eat sometimes!"

"N-no, thank you." He tried to pull away, only to feel her arm tighten around his. A look over showed her expression changed to one of pure bliss. "Saya-chan?"

"Hm?"

"About the other day…?"

Her smile instantly fell and she released his arm. She shoved her hands into her pockets and lowered her gaze to the ground again. "I loved her, okay? Rize-san. I never got to tell her how I felt. I know what she did to you. We were going to laugh about it later. She was going to wait for me to get off of work and tell me about your "date". When she never showed up, that was when I realized how much I really cared about her. I never had the chance to tell her how I felt. So now, I won't make the same mistake."

Kaneki's eye widened in alarm when she turned to him, tears rolling down her blushing cheeks. "Saya-chan?"

"I don't know you that well, okay? I realize that. But, please, just let me do this. The only living parts of her are in you. She's living on through you so please let me help. Whatever you need, whatever you want, I'll get it for you. I'll do it for you. Okay?" She reached over to grab his hand, bowing her head. Her heart was racing as she said this.

All of her life, Saya had tried so hard to project a certain image. When she was around humans, she was cheerful and friendly, but never showed weakness. Even when she was herself, she never felt as weak as she did now. She desperately wanted him to accept her offer of help. She hardly even knew him, but she was afraid to look in his eye and see disappointment or fear. It would just be too much for her to bear.

"F-fine." He turned his head to the side and gave her hand a slight squeeze, which caused her to look over. The young man was clearly nervous around her, but there was a change in his facial expression. Something almost like relief. "So you don't…hate me?"

She wiped at her tears with her free hand and stifled a laugh. "No. I don't think I could, even if I tried. I was angry, but when I look at you up close, you really don't look like a killer at all. I think maybe I was just angry that she was dead and I didn't have anyone else to blame."

Kaneki saw her grin returning and tensed a little. "Saya-chan, h-how long were you waiting at the university?"

"Well, if you're asking if I went to school today, the answer is "no". But it wasn't all about you! I was asked by a friend of a friend to get a friend's assignments for them." Saya dug around in her bag and produced a folder nearly bursting with handouts and worksheets.

"You…have a friend that goes to Kamii?"

"Tch. We're not all recluses. I don't know what Touka's been telling you." She released his hand and chose to walk in front of him, but backwards so she could look at the young man. He was a bit taller than her, but so was Touka. A light blush decorated his face as he met her stare and it intensified when she tilted her head. "You look pretty hungry. Are you sure that I can't tempt you~?"

A nervous laugh escaped him and he looked away again. "N-no, thanks."

"Not even a snack? It doesn't have to be something big, but you have to eat something at some point."

"I-I'm fine. Really. I just don't think that I could stomach looking at it…let alone eating it."

"So, before the accident, what did you like to eat?" Saya tucked her hands into her pockets once more, staring intently at his face as he considered his answer. Humans have a lot of stuff that they eat. Maybe I could find a body part that looks like his favorite human food. That would probably make it easier, right? Then Rize-san can keep living. She grinned to herself. I mean Kaneki-senpai.

When his mouth turned down in despair, it made the girl frown as well. "Hide and I used to always eat together…"

Seeing such a sad look on his face, she let her frown become a scowl and she stepped toward him. Her hands went to his cheeks and she held him in place, staring up at him while blushing red. "Senpai. It's going to be okay. I promise. Now what can I do to make you feel better?"