I do not own Tokyo Ghoul.

Once again, please don't try and recreate any of the food. I know there are some crazy people like that, so please don't.

Kairi smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. Yesterday she had given the key to the cafe to Yuki and had moved into a room at Anteiku. Today was her first day working, and she quite enjoyed the uniform. "Alright, let's see what we have to work with."

Kairi left her room and headed downstairs. She found Kaneki and Touka standing behind the counter waiting. Koma and Irimi were also behind the counter, but they were much more relaxed. Yoshimaru was also behind the counter, but he was cleaning cups. All in all, it was very quiet.

"Is this a cafe or funeral home?" Kairi asked as she crossed her arms. Irimi and Koma chuckled end while the other two just stared at her. "I know you both are dressed up all nice, but loosen up. You both are in college, the time of your lives, so live." They both relaxed a little, but not by much.

"Perhaps we can review the menu you have brought us?" Yoshimaru suggested as he set down the glass he had cleaned.

Kairi nodded as she pulled the menu she had come up with out of her pocket. "I've got 15 items, perfect for your little cafe. They include drinks, and small food items." She passed them the menu to look at. "And don't worry, by the time I leave you all will know how to make everything."

"And we can eat it all?" Kaneki asked as he looked at the menu. There were pies, scones, and even cake listed on the menu. "There's bubble-tea on here." He pointed out the odd item on the list.

Kairi giggled as the others questioned what that was. "Normally it is a thinned out smoothie with tapioca pearls in it. Mine however is much more acquainted to your dietary needs."

"Wait, you're not a Ghoul?" Kaneki asked in confusion. He had honestly thought the woman was a Ghoul. One of the most normal and human-like ones, but still a Ghoul.

This time everyone shared in a small chuckle, while Kairi sighed. "I get that a lot. No, I'm human." Kaneki just looked at her in even more confusion. "A lot of my friends are Ghouls. Plus everyone that works at my shop are Ghouls. And my cafe is the only one with food both humans and Ghouls can eat."

"How?" Kaneki asked wondering what she put into her food.

Kairi shrugged as she got the menu back from Koma. "I'll show you. I brought enough stuff to make each item once. Then have enough left over for you all to compare to when we start prep-training." Kairi led the way to the back of the cafe. "Shouldn't someone be out front?"

"We haven't opened yet." Yoshimaru stated with a smile. Getting angered looks from Touka, Koma, and Irimi.

Kairi just nodded as she walked over to the freezer and pulled it open. "Alright, one thing to note about the ingredients, they spoil easily. So if you aren't using it, put it back in the freezer." She grabbed a large bag and a container. "Alright. This big bag labeled flour, it's the flour. Once we start cooking you will have recipes to follow. Follow them exactly. There is a difference between flour and starch."

She quickly measured out three cups of the flour. "Touka, please put the flour back. And can you grab me the container labeled honey?" She opened the container and scooped out two spoonfuls of a clear jelly. "This is the eggs." She shut the lid and swapped containers with Touka. "Kaneki, grab me the bottle labeled white oil. And Koma, preheat the oven to 350 please."

They continued to work and bake till they have a loaf of bread rising on top of the oven. "So, how long will this take?" Kaneki asked as he looked at the loaf. The bread looked more like a cake loaf.

"About an hour to rise and an hour to bake." Kairi stated as she helped Irimi clean up. "I usually do all of this at around 5 in the morning. And it's usually 10 to 20 loaves." She chuckled as she saw all of their shocked faces. "Why don't we make a drink while we wait? The starch balls take a minute to make. Then the actual drink is rather simple."

"Do you want me to get the starch?" Touka asked while walking to the freezer.

"Not yet." Kairi said as she dried her hands. "Let's make coffee flavored tapioca balls. Koma, can you make us a cup of coffee?"

"Just a cup?" Koma chuckled as he grabbed a measuring cup.

"What kind of smoothie?" Kaneki asked curiously. The only things he drank were water and coffee.

Kairi paused as she thought for a moment. "Probably something light, seeing as how we are adding coffee starch balls to it." She paused wondering what had Kenaki so on edge about food. "Hey Irimi, come give me your opinion." She asked the girl beside her as she walked over to the freezer. Once Irimi joined her and they had the freezer blocking them her face went serious. "What's up with Kaneki-kun? It's like he doesn't want to eat."

Irimi paused for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I don't know if Yoshimaru-san is planning on telling you, but Kaneki-kun isn't exactly a Ghoul." Kairi gave the girl a confused look. "He used to be human, even came here once. But then he was in an accident and almost died. To save his life, a doctor transplanted organs form another victim into him. It just so happened that the other victim was a Ghoul."

"And he's still alive?" Kairi peaked out for behind the door and looked at Kaneki. The boy looked healthy enough, just a bit on the skinny side. "That's a miracle. So why doesn't he eat?"

Irimi let out a huff as she scratched the back of her head. "Something about not wanting to eat humans. But he can't eat human food, so he's stuck with our diet."

"That explains why he looked so happy when he had his burger." Kairi mused as she looked around the ingredients in the freezer. "Then it might be best if he isn't involved in prepping the ingredients. Otherwise he will never eat anything." The two girls chuckled as they continued to look around. "How about brain smoothie? If I add in enough eye gelatin it should keep the right temperature to avoid any strong flavor from coming out."

"Yeah, but I don't think grey is an appetizing color." Irimi commented as she looked around. "You could just do eyes?"

"Yeah, but then it gets too slimy. Unless I thicken it with starch." Kairi stated as she grabbed a container of unharmed eyeballs. "But I will have to make sure the eyes are all one color. That way when I add dye the irises won't stand out."

Irimi shook her head as Kairi grabbed another container to put some eyes into. "It still amazes me what you can do with all of this. And the fact that other humans can't tell what they are eating."

"Humans are rather dumb that way." Kairi laughed as she kept picking out eyeballs. "And it looks like it's going to be a chocolate looking smoothie."

"Never had chocolate." Irimi joked as she grabbed the starch from the shelf. "Do we need anything else?"

"Can you grab the box of food dye?" Kairi waited till the other girl was out of the freezer before closing it. "The only other thing I need is water and ice."

"I'll grab the ice." Kaneki offered as he went to the fridge that was solely for ice. He grabbed a bag and set it on the counter beside the large blender they had. "So what smoothie are we having?"

"Chocolate and coffee." Kairi replied as she grabbed her bowl and other things to make everything. "Koma-kun, is the coffee ready?"

"Just finished." Koma replied as he came in with a cup of brewed coffee. "So, how are we doing this?"

"Kaneki-kun, can you get a pot of water boiling, no salt in it. Irimi, can you blend the smoothie?" Kairi measured out a cup of starch. "I'm still going to need this. Koma, add the coffee!" She cheered as the man poured the coffee into the starch. "Perfect. Touka, start mixing." She handed the girl a spoon and showed her how to mix it. "Alright, Yoshimaru-san, do you have a large holed strainer?"

"I have something that might work." Yoshimaru opened a cupboard and pulled out a flat board with holes in it. "Will this work?"

"Perfectly." Kairi took the board from him and looked at it curiously. "What is it?" All she got was a knowing smile from the man. "Thank you. Touka, how's stirring?"

"It's very easy." Touka replied as she stirred the runny mixture. It got a bit harder to mix as Kairi added another cup of starch to it. "How thick does it need to be?"

"Not that thick." Kairi took over mixing to see how it was doing. "Great job. Kaneki, how's the water? Touka, grab the board and the large round cutter."

"Boiling." Kaneki replied. He moved out of the way as Kairi walked over with Touka and the board. "So, how are we going to make balls?"

"Easily. We are going to place the cutter on the board like this." She placed it down and moved it around to see if it would work, and it did. "Now we are going to add the batter, then move it around so it cuts it off." Kairi passed Kaneki the bowl of coffee colored mix. "Pour some in please."

They all watched as little balls fell into the boiling water. They were finished making balls when they ran out of the mix. Then Kairi stirred them around to make sure they didn't stick.

"How long do they boil for?" Touka frowned as she looked at the dark balls floating in the pot.

"Not long." Kairi said as she placed a large bowl of cold water on the counter. "Now we get the fun part of scooping them out." She pulled out two strainers and passed them to Touka and Kaneki. "I'll leave that to you two. Irimi-chan, how's the smoothies coming?"

"I think I have the right consistency." Irimi frowned as she swirled the smoothie around. "What do you think?"

Kairi took a look and knew it was too slimy. "Needs more starch. It's back in the freezer." As Irimi went off to the freezer, Kairi added more brown food dye. It had a very faint chocolate color to it. Irimi came back with the starch and a scoop. "Thank you." Kairi added a scoop of starch and blended the smoothie. It took about another scoop and a half before it was right.

"We got all of the balls." Touka announced as her and Kaneki looked at them in the bowl of cold water. "Do we add them to the blender?"

"No, they go in the bottom of the cup." Kairi stated as she brought the smoothie over to the same counter as the starch balls. "Koma-kun, six cups please." She scooped out a few spoonfuls of starch balls into each cup before topping them off with the 'chocolate' smoothie. "Enjoy!" She smiled as everyone sipped on their bubble-tea.

"Oh!" Touka said as she chewed on a starch ball. "These are good. They're weird, but good."

"Thank you. The normal tea for humans is weird to." Kairi giggled as she saw Kaneki in his own little world as he drank his tea. She looked past Irimi and smiled. "The bread is almost ready to bake."

"In that case, perhaps it is time to open." Yoshimaru stated as he set down his empty cup. "Thank you, Shimoto-san. I am looking forward to adding your items to the menu."

"I'm hoping you also replace a few things." Kairi chuckled as she followed everyone out to the front to open up shop. "No offence, but your sandwiches are terrible." She chuckled as everyone else agreed, but for different reasons.

"Noted." Yoshimaru commented as he walked over to the door and flipped the sign over. "Work hard everyone."

"Yer Sir!" Everyone spoke in reply.

After a few hours of working Kairi was pretty used to the dynamics of the staff. Kaneki was obviously the trainee and Touka was training him. Koma and Irimi were just watching from the bar. And Yoshimaru watched them all from behind the counter. And Kairi fit in just fine serving everyone.

"Welcome." Kairi greeted the next customer with a smile. His blue hair and expensive clothes stood out in her mind. "Is it just yourself today?" She asked with a smile on her face.

The man smiled as he tilted her chin up. "Aren't you delightful?" He playfully teased before sitting down and watching her. "Won't you join me?"

Kairi stared at the man with a small frown. "Get out." Kairi jumped a bit as Touka growled at the blue haired man. "We don't want you here, Gourmet." Kairi nodded as she realized he was a Ghoul.

"My, My, what bad service." The Gourmet Ghoul stated while playing with the napkin at his seat. "I do believe this lovely young lady was serving me. So back off, Bunny."

Kairi giggled behind her hand as Touka began turning red. "Touka-chan, I will take care of our customer. Can you go get me some bread?" She sent the girl off to the kitchen before she caught a scene. As she watched Touka leave, she spotted Kaneki hiding behind the counter. "It seems you made quite an impression on those two, Gourmet-san."

The Ghoul nodded with a frown. "It's sad, Kaneki smells so delectable." He chuckled at the shocked look the woman was giving him. "Cannibalism isn't just for the humans. Now tell me, who are you? I don't think I've ever seen you around. And you smell quite delicious yourself." He gave her a wink.

Kairi shook her head at the man's obvious flirting. "I actually live in 4th ward. Yoshimaru-san asked for my help." She kept an eye on the ghoul as Touka set a basket with a few pieces of bread in it. "Thank you Touka-chan." The man just stared at the bread in confusion. "Anteiku is trying out a new menu, please try it."

The man looked from the bread back to the woman. "Alright." He picked up a piece and carefully nibbled off a corner. He was about to swallow without tasting, but he did taste it. "This..." He stared at the bread as he chewed the piece he had in his mouth. "This is amazing!" He stood up and shouted to the ceiling. "Who made this delicious piece of heaven?"

"Um...I did?" Kairi wondered if she should have even told him that. He was obviously one of the crazy Ghouls, but everyone was a little crazy. She was stunned the next moment as the man knelt down in front of her. "Um...what are you doing?"

"I'm declaring my undying love for you." The woman just stared at him. "My mouth has never been graced by such a rarity as your bread. For such a human looking food to be so delicious, it's extraordinary what your hands can do." He stood and pulled the beautiful Goddess of Food into his arms. "Please, be mine forever."

Kairi was stunned as her brain caught up with what the man was saying. The ringing of the doorbell snapped her back into the present. "Tsukiyama, get your hands off of her." Kairi looked past the Gourmet and found Yomo glaring at his back. "Or I'll take them off myself." Yomo glared at the blue haired Ghoul as he walked towards them.

Tsukiyama released Kairi and took a step back. "I see, this goddess is already taken. Then I shall just have to settle for watching her from afar." He sat back down in his seat and stared up at Kairi with dreamy eyes.

Kairi turned away from Tsukiyama with a confused face. "Thank you, Yomo-kun. What brings you around?"

"Just checking in on you." Yomo ushered Kairi further away from the Gourmet. "Be careful around him. He doesn't care about anything except delicious food."

"Then I should be sticking around for a while." Kairi giggled as she looked over to find the blue haired ghoul cherishing the bread on his table. "So what brings you around? Is everyone alright?"

Yomo shook his head with a smile. "You really have no regard for your own safety do you?"

"All of my friends are ghouls. I think the answer is quite obvious." Kairi giggled as she walked around Yomo to collect an order for a customer. "And tell Uta and Itori to come by some time. They both need to get more fresh air."

"Kairi-chan, you have a call." Kairi set the food down and looked back at Koma. He was holding up the phone for her. She quickly walked over and took the receiver. "Woudn't say who he was."

Kairi frowned as she put the receiver to her ear. "Hello, Shimoto Kairi speaking."

Kairi waited for a few minutes as the speaker on the other end cleared his throat. "Hello, Shimoto-san. I don't know if you remember me, but-"

"You're taking too long." An older sounding gentleman spoke over the other as he took the phone. "Hello Kairi-chan, it's Mado-ji."

"Mado-ji!" Kairi perked up as she held the phone and walked around the corner. "It's been so long. How did you know where I was?"

"Takashi-san said he saw you back in 4th ward." Mado spoke happily with one of his old partner's daughter. "Mentioned how the owner of a cafe in 20th ward was also there. So I guessed he might have been there asking for your help. Your food is the best after all."

Kairi froze remembering how great Mado was at putting things together. "Wow, all of that just from two piece of information. You certainly haven't lost your touch." She laughed with Mado as she remembered he was a bit older than her own parents. "How have you been?"

"I've been good. Working mostly. I've been trying to find the ghouls that killed your parents." Kairi waited patiently as Mado continued to talk. "As well as the ones that kidnapped you. Are you sure you don't remember seeing his face?"

~Flashback~

"I'm home!" Kairi called out into the large house. It had been 3 years since her parents had been killed. She still lived in the same house, went to the same school, and pretty much lived the same life. "Uta-kun, Yomo-kun?" But now she had roommates.

"Kitchen." Kairi looked over and saw the two boys drinking coffee. "Have fun at school?" Yomo teased the girl as she joined them.

"It was the closing ceremony. Of course I had fun." Kairi accepted a cup of coffee from Uta. "And I saw you two in the rafters. Thanks for coming."

"Wouldn't miss our little Kairi-chan graduating from high school." Uta chuckled as he ruffled Kairi's hair. "Your hair's gotten longer."

Kairi huffed as she continued to drink her coffee. "No thanks to you knotting it up and pulling it out." She gave Uta a glare while he just laughed. "Yours is getting long too." She tugged on a piece of long black hair that had fallen into Uta's face. "Black hair really does suit you."

Uta shrugged as he put his empty cup in the sink. "I'm going out. I'll be back before tonight."

Kairi watched as Uta left with a wave. She knew where he was going, there wasn't any food for the two ghouls in her house. She looked down at her coffee with a sad look. "It's not fair." Yomo looked up from his own cup as Kairi spoke softly. "All I want is for all of us to be able to have one meal together."

Yomo sighed as he set his cup down. He walked up to Kairi and pulled her into a hug as she began to cry softly. "I know, but somethings will just never happen. No matter how much we want it." He held her until she stopped crying. He pushed her away and wiped the tears from her face. "Now then, I have to go to work, and you need to make yourself dinner. Make sure to lock the doors." He kissed her forehead before leaving her to her cooking.

Kairi smiled as she watched Yomo leave to go to work. This was their usual routine, sad feelings included. 'We live in such different worlds. Yet we live under the same roof.' Kairi thought to herself as she began making herself dinner. Nothing special, just a simple curry and some rice.

The next day Kairi woke up at her usual time. Since she woke up for school everyday, her body was just used to waking up at 6:30 in the morning. She sighed as she got up to start her day. She got into the kitchen and started coffee. She yawned as she pulled the fridge open and found a bowl of eyeballs staring back at her. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"Kairi! What happened?" Yomo and Uta slid into the kitchen from after running down the hall and leaping down the stairs. They paused as all they saw was Kairi sitting on the floor in front of the fridge. "Kairi-chan?" Yomo asked curiously. It didn't look like there was any threat.

Both men jumped as the fridge door was suddenly slammed shut. Kairi looked over at them and glared. "How many times have I told you to put your things in the other fridge?!" She yelled at them as she got up from the floor. "I can't have body parts in the fridge with my food!"

"It's just eyes." Uta defended with a shrug. "They're packed up."

"In a bowl I eat cereal out of!" Kairi shouted at them both. "It's as hazardous to my health as it is yours. Lucky for you though you have a better immune system."

"I'm sorry I got tired and just put them away. Don't make such a big deal out of it." Uta narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms. "And you're the one that made friends with ghouls."

"You're the one living in my house." Kairi wished she had taken the words back the moment she said them. But she wasn't taking them back. Silence filled the air between the three of them.

"I'm going to work." Yomo stated as he headed back up the stairs. Kairi had a point, they were putting her life in danger just by living with her. And he cared for her enough to know that that wasn't right.

Uta watched Kairi carefully, he could see guilt in her features, but no sign of taking back her words. "I guess that's it then." He turned and walked to the front door. "See you around, Shimoto-chan."

Kairi cringed as the door was closed forcefully. She leaned back against the counter as the coffee continued to brew on the counter. After another 10 minutes Yomo left as well, waving goodbye as he walked out the door. The house was deathly silent now that it was just the human.

Kairi passed her day in a daze. Not really remembering what she had done. But one thing she did remember was that neither of the boys had come back. Not even when she locked the door at 10. And certainly not when she woke up at 3 with a nightmare.

Kairi jumped out of bed once she had fully woken up form her nightmare. She could still feel those hands on her. She may not remember the name of the ghoul that killed her parents, but she knew his face and his hands.

She turned on her lights and started getting dressed for the day. 'Might as well start.' Kairi paused when her hands brushed against her prom dress. She had never actually gotten to wear it, she had gotten sick the day of the dance. 'What the hell.' She stated as she pulled the dress on.

Kairi pulled the red dress on and smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. Turning around she glared at the corset back. "I will not be denied." So she determinedly started lacing up the back. It took her a good two hours, but in the end she had done it.

Taking another hour to do her hair and makeup brought her to the front of her mirror once more. The fitted top and satin ball gown looked spectacular in the deep crimson. Then her black sparkling heels added a nice touch, and enough height to not step on the skirt. Kairi smiled as she looked at herself. She froze as her eyes caught sight of something on her bedside table.

Kairi walked over and gently picked up the mask Uta had made her. She walked back over to her dresser and found a piece of red ribbon to replace the tattered black ribbon that had broken a few weeks ago. She smiled as she tugged on the ribbon to make sure it was in place before she tied it on over her face. Her smile turned into a smirk as she caught sight of herself in the mirror.

"Aren't you a sight?" Kairi spun around at the sound of someone else. It did not sound like Uta or Yomo. "Even lovelier from the front." The ghoul had a mask that looked like a cat. "Won't you come with me, Black Widow?"

Kairi froze as he used her mask name, not many people had seen her. "How-"

"How did I know?" The man chuckled as he walked closer towards her. "His Majesty knew that No-Face and Raven were close to Black Widow. And No-Face and Raven have been seen coming and going from this house for a while now. So it's not hard to guess that Black Widow lives here."

Kairi mentally cursed herself for being careless, as well as cursing Yomo and Uta. "So what, you going to kill me?" Kairi's eyes shifted to her bed, Scarlet Fang was just under it.

"Nope." The ghoul chuckled as the human tilted her head at him. "His Majesty wants to speak with you first."

"Well I'm not-" Kairi stopped speaking when the other ghoul picked her up bridal style. "Hey!" She called again as the man threw open her balcony door and walked out. "You can't just-" Kairi was cut off again as the ghoul leapt into the air and started running across rooftops.

After a solid hour of running, the man stopped on the balcony of a very regal looking manor house just outside of town. Kairi was set down on her feet. "You should fix your hair, Black Widow." Kairi did just that, luckily it wasn't too bad. "Now you get to meet the King."

"Who's the 'King'?" Kairi asked as she followed the ghoul through the house. She was kind of grateful she was dressed as she was. "And who are you?"

The man stopped abruptly. "Sorry, I seem to have forgotten my manners." The ghoul took off the cat mask and gave Kairi a small bow. "The name is Fijimora Kojuro. I am a servant of His Majesty, Kyokai Shinji. But while I wear my mask, I am Cat."

"Cat? Do they comment on what the cat drags in a lot?" Kairi giggled at her little joke. She noticed Fijimora did not look impressed. "I'm sorry, Fijimora-san. Why does his Majesty want to see me?"

"Because you are close to No-Face." Fijimora continued their walk down the hall. "No-Face is a core member of The Clowns. And they have been a thorn in our side for as long as we have existed." He came to a stop in front of the doors to the main dining hall. "You will be joining His Grace for dinner. You are not expected to eat anything."

"I am not hungry." Kairi stated calmly, she didn't know if they knew she was human. But she had a feeling they did.

"Very well." The man stated before he knocked on the large door. "Only speak when spoken to, and do as you are told. His Majesty does not tolerate shenanigans." Kairi giggled at the sound of the man saying shenanigans, but was silenced as a knock sounded form the other side. "He is ready for you."

Kairi stood tall as the large doors were pulled open. Inside of the room she found a large table. At the table was one man sitting and eating food. A large chandelier hung above the table, illuminating his features. His golden hair was tied back and his clothes looked like they were made of black silk. Kairi found herself stunned at the beauty of it all.

"So, you are the Black Widow." The man's voice pulled Kairi back to the present. "I must say, I can see why No-Face would keep you around." The man chuckled at his own inner joke. "Come have a seat, there is much I wish to discuss with you."

Kairi walked to the seat beside Kyokai as calmly as she could. She sat down and waited as the man ate another bite of food. She couldn't tell what it was, but judging by his visible kakugan, it was probably some piece of a human.

The man wiped his mouth with a napkin before he turned his attention back to Kairi. "Now then, let us discuss business." He pushed his chair back and offered Kairi a hand. She took it and followed him out of the room with her arm wrapped around his. "I am sure you are aware of what No-Face is up to."

"I am not." Kairi stated as firmly as she could. "I have not spoken with him in the past 24 hours."

"Ah." The man dropped her arm and walked over to a large fireplace in the room they had walked into. "So then you have no information that I desire?" He watched the woman as her body tensed. "You do realise what that means, don't you? It means I have no use for you, but as a warning to No-Face and his Clowns."

"You claim they are a thorn in your side?" Kairi looked up at the man's face, finding strength behind her mask. "So why give them reason to interfere more?" She frowned as Kyokai laughed loudly at her statement. "Am I amusing you?"

"Quite." Shinji stated as he walked over to a bookshelf that housed a collection of liquor bottles. "You are a very interesting character, Black Widow." He poured two glasses and brought them over to his guest. "Most humans would be cowering and quivering at the thought of dying. But you? You bite back." He took a drink as he passed the other glass off to the lady in red.

"So you know?" Kairi took a tentative sip of her drink. She wasn't much into drinking, but it was growing on her. "Your staff acts otherwise."

"They understand that some ghouls prefer it if people acknowledge them as beings and not either ghoul or human." Shinji tilted his head as he examined Kairi more closely. "That fight you have in you, is it why No-Face has kept you alive? Or is it other things?"

Kairi blushed at what the man was implying. "We are friends. He finds me interesting and entertaining. But it seems that has run it's course." She swirled the amber liquid in her glass around. "But some part of me hopes to see him again."

"Why?" He asked as he watched the heartbroken woman before him fade a little. "What wish do you hold onto?"

Kairi laughed a little as one wish came to mind. "I want to someday eat a meal together. Something that we can both eat and enjoy together." She shook her head as. A surprised look came over Fijimora's face. "But it's just a silly dream."

"Maybe." Shinji stated as he set his glass down on a table. "But maybe not. Do you cook?" He got a nod from the woman as she turned her head to look at him. "What if I could help you? Get you the ingredients you need."

Kairi frowned as she thought of the man's offer. "It would be just bodies. Bodies and the various drinks you can consume." She set her glass down as she thought about this more. "Bodies have fats and starches in them. And I'm sure other parts would be substitutes for others." She looked over at Kyokai with hope. "I think I can make it work."

"Good." Shinji said before he took her arm once more. "So, I will provide you with the bodies and everything else. You will stay here and test out your theories and ideas. The Help will test out your creations. And don't worry, there is both ghoul and human Help." He smiled as he led the woman up a flight of stairs. "Now, all that is left is the final detail."

"Final detail?" Kairi asked as they reached the top of the stairs. She froze when she noticed Kyokai lean down close to her.

Shinji smirked as the woman froze under his gaze. "Once your little experiment is over, you will be mine. And depending on what I think of you by the end of all of this, you will either die or live." As he let the words sink in he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "Fijimora, escort Shimoto-san to her new room. She must be tired."

Kairi followed the butler down the hall to a large room. The man gave her another bow before he shut the door. Kairi sat down on the bed and stared at the ground. Her hands were shaking as she removed her mask. Tears fell onto her dress and her mind came to realize what had happened to her. "I'm sorry Uta-kun, Yomo-kun, I'm not coming home."

She didn't know when she had fallen asleep, just that she was woken up by sunlight hitting her face. She sat up and rubbed sleep from her eyes. The room looked just as it had before she had fallen asleep.

"Guess I should clean myself up." She got up from the bed and walked over to one of the other doors in her room. She pulled it open and was stunned to find it was a closet. And judging by how much there looked to be in it, it was probably as big as her bedroom. "Wonder how much of it even fits."

"All of it should." Kairi jumped at the sound of another voice in the room. She spun and found a girl smiling at her. "Good morning Shimoto-sama. My name is Ino, I'll be helping you dress and bathe. Just think of me as your personal Helper." Ino gave her lady a smile to try and calm her.

Kairi took a deep breath as she calmed her rapidly beating heart. "Alright, thank you Ino, but I can take care of that myself."

"But His Majesty specifically told us to attend to you. You are his Queen after all." Ino explained happily.

"His Queen?" Kairi questioned out loud. 'Had I agreed to that?'

"Yes. Now we should get you bathed. His Majesty is expecting you for brunch. And he requested you keep your mask removed. He wishes to see your face. But if ever there is a guest you are allowed to wear it." Ino gently took her lady's hand and escorted her to the bathroom.

Kairi let the girl do as she was told. And soon she was in a red and cream dress with her hair braided out of her face. She followed the girl down towards the dining room.

In the dining room, the table was covered in a variety of foods and drinks. And beside the table was Kyokai Shinji. "Did you sleep well?" Shinji asked Kairi as he kissed her knuckles. "I must say, you have quite the lovely face hidden behind that mask."

"I slept well, thank you Kyokai-sama." Kairi replied with a small smile.

Shinji tutted softly. "Try another name for me. That one sounds too formal coming from you."

Kairi frowned slightly. "Shinji-sama?"

Shinji smiled as he kissed her knuckles once more. "Much better, my little Ojou-chan." He led her over to her seat and sat her down before taking his own seat. "I have a kitchen all set up for you. There are even bodies for you to start with."

"Thank you, Shinji-sama." Kairi replied as she added a few foods onto her plate. They both ate in silence. Kairi found herself very grateful that she had studied etiquette as an elective in school. She never thought it would have actually come in handy.

"If you are finished, you may head down to your kitchen and begin." Shinji said as he stood from the table. "I will be in my study."

Kairi stood as Kyokai-sama left the dining hall. Ino was by her side and offering to show her to the kitchen once Kyokai had left the room.

"This is the secondary kitchen." Ino opened the door and let Kairi into the shiny new kitchen. "And this is the freezer." Ino pulled open a large stainless steel door. "And if ever you need any more bodies, just let either myself or Fijimora-san know."

Kairi nodded as she looked at the four hanging bodies in the freezer. She looked down at her clothes with a frown. "I'm going to change before I start."

"Alright. There is a room attached to the kitchen where you can clean up after words." Ino led her over to another door and pulled it open. Inside was a small room with a sink, shower, bath, toilet, and curtained off area. "I will go and get you clothes to work in."

"Thank you Ino-chan." Kairi thanked the girl as she headed off to find clothes. Kairi looked around the kitchen. "I guess this is where it all gets decided." She gripped her shaking hands tightly. "I'm going to get out of here. And some day we will have our meal together." She smiled thinking how great it would be.

It took about 4 weeks before Kairi actually started cooking. She started simple, a loaf of bread. "Okay, I need something to replace the flour, let's try the starch I dried out." She pulled out the bag of starch from the freezer and added 3 cups of it. "Now something to replace the eggs, milk, and honey." Kairi walked back into her freezer to look at her ingredients. "Milk is easy, eggs...I guess I could use the inside of eyes, and honey...what to use for honey?"

"Try the mucus." Kairi looked over her shoulder as another voice entered her kitchen. Shinji looked around the clean kitchen as the woman gathered her ingredients and traveled back to her mixer. "I see you were able to make quite a few ingredients."

Kairi nodded as she measured out her ingredients. "It took a while for some of them to become usable, but I will be able to make do with what I have. Thank you, Shinji-sama."

Shinji nodded as he took a seat on the counter to watch her. He had come by a few times before. But this was the first time seeing her cook. All of the other times she had been preparing ingredients. It had been interesting to see a human treating a corpse as though it was just another source of resources.

Kairi moved around at her own pace. She got all of her ingredients mixed in and started the mixer. "Oh dear, what to use instead of yeast?" She frowned as she walked back over to her freezer to try and find something. Her eyes lit up as she came across her bucket of glands. "Let's see what we have here." She started going through the organs with a calculating frown. "Something that will multiply."

"Try looking in the intestines." Shinji suggested.

Kairi nodded as she moved to her bucket of intestines. She was happy to find a building culture at the bottom of the bucket. "Perfect." She went back into the kitchen and grabbed a spoon. "How did you know?"

Shinji just shrugged as he watched her work. "I studied human biology in university."

"Wow, that's amazing." Kairi finished adding the final ingredient. She grabbed a small bread pan from a cupboard and set in on an oven as she preheated it. "Now to grease the pan." Shinji continued to watch as she prepared the pan and poured the dough into it. "Now it just needs to rise. And hopefully it will."

Shinji got off of the counter and walked up behind Kairi. "I'm sure it will." He twirled a piece of her black hair in his hand before smelling it. "How do you always smell so delightful?"

Kairi felt her cheeks heat up as she gathered her things to clean them up. "I bathe?" She offered as an explanation as she moved away from Kyokai, but he just followed her. "Do you need something, Shinji-sama?"

Shinji waited till she set everything down before spinning her around and pinning her to the counter with his hips. "Yes there is. I need another taste." He leaned down over her as one of his hands kept her head in place while the other supported himself on the counter.

Kairi was surprised by the sudden situation, and stunned as Kyokai's lips covered hers. It wasn't forceful, but there was a sense of needing behind it. He needed her, unlike Uta and Yomo. They had left without even a word of coming back. And in the 4 weeks she had been staying in Shinji's mansion, they had never come looking for her. She found her eyes closing as she responded to Shinji's kiss.

Shinji slowly pulled away from Kairi, her cheeks were rosie and breathing heavy. "You look much cuter like this." He smiled as he placed a soft kiss on her brow. "I will never leave you, Kairi. And I will always cherish you." He leaned his forehead against hers, pulling her into his arms. "Please, tell me their names."

Kairi paused as she took a deep breath to calm herself. Part of her just wanted to stay in Shinji's arms, but the larger part knew something was not right. "I can't. I'm sorry Shinji-sama, but I can't."

Shinji sighed as he pulled away from the woman. He wiped a tear off of her cheek. Then slapped her across the face. Kairi fell to the ground holding her stinging cheek. "Maybe you should rethink what you can and can't do." He walked out of the kitchen without looking back at the woman sitting on the floor.

Kairi curled up in a ball on the floor. She didn't know what to do. If she stayed, she would probably die. If she left, they would hunt her down and kill her. And if she wanted to live, she would have to give up her only two friends in the world. "I'm scared." She whispered to herself.

She stayed on the ground for a while, but eventually got up to see how her bread had turned out. It had risen enough that Kairi felt confident it would make a decent sized loaf. So into the oven it went and Kairi sat to watch how the bread cooked and how long it took to bake.

After an hour of baking, the loaf looked golden and had a firm crust on it. So Kairi pulled it out of the oven and popped it out of the pan to cool on a rack. "Smells like a normal loaf of bread." Kairi mused as she looked at her loaf. She had thought it would turn out terrible, but it was actually turning out rather well. "Guess the only thing left to do is taste it."

"Do you require any assistance." Kairi looked over as Fijimora-san entered the kitchen. "I must say, that smells exquisite." He looked at the normal looking loaf of bread that the smell was coming from. "Shall I get some tasters?"

"Just a ghoul. I need to know how it tastes and the texture of it myself." Kairi mused as she picked up a bread knife and cut off the end. The inside was soft and warm. "Looks good so far." she mused as she cut off another piece.

"Would you mind if I was your tester? His Majesty has no need of me for the next few hours." Fijimora stated as he gazed curiously at the piece of bread on the cooling rack.

"If you want to." Kairi picked up the end piece and looked at it. She knew what it was made of, but it honestly didn't look any different than a loaf of bread she made at home. "Enjoy." She tapped the end of her bread with Fijimora's before she took a bite. She waited for some sort of gag reflex to kick in, but none came. Instead her mouth watered at the yummy taste. "This is amazing. The texture is a bit off. It melts too easily when it comes into contact with moisture. What do you think Fijimora-san?"

Kojuro was staring in awe at the bread in his hand. He had handled human food before, since some of the staff was human, but this was amazing. It was edible and the texture was almost perfect. "It is a bit too soft, but the taste if magnificent. Thank you Ojou-sama." He gave the woman a bow as he set the bread down.

Kairi smiled at the praise she had gotten, she had finally made soemthing a ghoul could eat. "I think I know how to fix this. Do you know how to grind bone into a flour?" She asked hopefully while thinking of the pile of bones she had in the freezer. She hadn't wanted to waste a single possible ingredient, so she had put them away as well.

Kojuro frowned as he thought of what she could do. "I could inquire about getting something that could do that. But what help would that do?"

"Starch is good and all, but adding some dimension is always good." Kairi stated while laying a clothe over the bread. "Thank you for your help, Fijimora-san."

Kojuro gave his lady another bow. "I live to serve, Ojou-sama. His Majesty has requested your presence at dinner tonight. There will be guests attending."

Kairi nodded. "Then tell Ino I will need her help in getting ready." She left the kitchen and walked up to her bedroom. She had learned the layout of the mansion quite easily. Especially since she was allowed to roam as long as she had either Ino or Fijimora-san with her.

"Ojou-sama? You asked for me." Ino said as she entered the room and gave her lady a bow.

"I did." Kairi stated as she walked over to the large bathroom. "Shinji-sama is having guest over for dinner." She started undressing as Ino filled the bath with hot water. "Do I get to pick what I wear?"

Ino shook her head as she prepared the bath. "His Majesty has already chosen your outfit for the evening. Although, by the look of it you will approve of it. It matches your mask." Kairi nodded as she got into the bath and let Ino do her job. "Let's make you presentable, Ojou-sama."

After several hours of washing and pampering, Kairi found herself standing in front of a mirror. She was in a blood red dress with a black lace layer above it. The lace had a webbed design and a few spiders hidden around it. Kairi had to admit, she did approve of the dress. Especially since it was an A-line skirt instead of a ball gown.

"Ojou-sama, His Majesty wishes for your presence. The guests are arriving." Fijimora's voice called form the other side of the door to Kairi's bedroom.

Kairi placed her mask over her face and tied it tightly. She then walked over to the door and pulled it open. "Then let us not keep him waiting." She strode past Fijimora and towards the main stairs. She waited at the top as she heard Shinji speaking downstairs.

Shinji glance up and spotted Kairi at the top of the stairs. He gave his guests a smile. "It seems my bride has arrived." He walked up the stairs and offered Kairi his hand. She accepted it and glided down the stairs with ease. "You look delightful, Black Widow."

"Delightful is such a human term, Shinji-sama." Kairi mused with a smirk on her lips. She could never explain it, but it felt like she became a different person when she had her mask on. It was her escape from being a weak human among ghouls.

Shinji chuckled as he placed a kiss on her hand as they reached the landing in the middle of the stairs. "Your quite right. Perhaps, decedent?" A loud bang filled the room as the doors flew off of their hinges. "Who dares?"

The room was quiet as a group of five people walked into the room. A few of them were laughing as they kicked debris around. "Knock Knock." A voice said behind a beaked mask with holes. "Mind if we crash the party?"

Kairi froze as the ghoul spoke, she knew that voice. "No-Face?" She whispered silently as she looked around at the rest of the group. Three of the ghouls had clown like masks. The other two resembled birds more. "Raven?" Noticed the other bird mask ghoul was looking up at her.

"So you Clowns decided to drop by uninvited. And on the eve of my engagement party as well." Shinji scuffed while stepping in front of Kairi. "How bold of you." Kairi stepped back as the air around Shinji became cold. "And how foolish."

As one the guests attacked the five Clowns. Shinji turned and dragged Kairi back upstairs by her arm. "Ow!" Kairi complained as he dragged her towards her bedroom. "So you're just going to run away?"

"No, I'm about to do some serious damage." He pushed the door open and glared at Ino. "Leave." The girl left the room without another word and quickly walked down the hall. He shut the door and locked it. "Now to do as I promised."

Kairi frowned when the man walked up to her. She cautiously took a step back, but the man held her in place with his kagune. The black tendrils wrapped around her body and held her firmly. "Let me go." She demanded as the man stepped up close to her.

Shinji just smiled as he ran a hand across her face. "Why would I let someone as precious as you go?" His kagune released her as he pulled her into a kiss, silencing her scream as his other hand gouged into her stomach.

"Get away form her." A low hiss sounded from behind Shinji. He dropped the woman as a flurry of claw kagune threw him at the wall. Uta knelt down beside Kairi, she had fainted from the pain. He growled as he turned his attention on Kyokai. "You will pay for this."

Shinji chuckled as he stood up. "Don't be mad at me, she's the one that threw herself at my feet. She felt abandoned by you and Raven. So she came to me. And she told me-" He stopped as a kagune tore off a piece of his side. He staggered as he clutched the gapping wound in his side.

Yomo glared at the man. "You're lying. Because if Kairi had told you everything, you would know our names. That would have been the first thing she told you." His gaze softened as he looked at Uta pressing a blanket to Kairi's wounded abdomen. "Kairi can do many things, but one thing she does not do is betray her friends."

"She's human." Shinji growled while glaring at the two clowns. "All she is good for is dinner and a show." The three stared at each other as they waited for someone to make a move. The distant sound of sirens distracted them all. "Looks like you're out of time."

"No, you are." Uta collected Kairi in his arms and stood. "You think Yoshimaru can help Kairi?" Yomo gave his friend a nod. "Good. We're done here then." In an instant his kagune sliced across the room, bisecting Shinji. "Let's get the others and leave. And burn the building."

"Uta! Investigators just walked in through the front door." A woman with a clown-like mask ran into the room. "They've got Quinque and already killed Hacchi and Hirako."

Yomo cursed as he looked down the hall. "How do we get out of here?"

"There's a back exit through one of the kitchens." The three looked down as Kairi's eyes cracked open a bit. "Back stairwell, two floors down." They all nodded before running towards the stairs. Kairi smiled as she leaned against Uta. "It's nice to see you both."

"Keep looking." Uta stated as he jumped down the stairs as smoothly as he could. "Don't need you passing out from blood loss." They rounded the corner and found the tidy kitchen, a single loaf of bread on an oven. "Where's the door?"

Kairi pointed at a hall beside the freezer. "There's a loading bay at the end where they unload all of the food before distributing it around the manor." A loud bang was heard above them. "You need to leave."

"Not without you." Yomo stated as he snuck down the hall towards the loading bay. The hall they came out of was hidden from view to the rest of the bay. But there were CCG officers everywhere. "This is going to be tricky. We won't go unseen that's for sure."

"I'll slow you all down." Kairi said while her mind looked for another option. She couldn't see anyone that used to work with her parents.

"We're not leaving you, not again." Uta stated while his hold on Kairi strengthened. "How are we going to do this?"

"Uta stop." Kairi looked up at Uta before she pulled her mask off. "They will realize that one of us is injured. And try to find out who I am. They will find my blood. Then they will question me and get to you. I am not going to do that." She slowly eased herself out of Uta's arms, trying not to throw up or just collapse. "Get yourselves out, I'll get out on my own."

Uta held her up, shaking his head. "You'll die from blood loss if you don't get help." She looked pale as death. "And your organs are almost falling out."

Kairi smirked a she straightened up. "Do you really think I'm scared of dying?"

"If you have a plan, share it." Yomo stated as he watched the CCG officers. He could almost make out an opening they could take.

"I can distract them as well as draw them to me." Kairi looked back down the hall to the kitchen. "And there is something I need to take care of." She took a step away from the trio and down the hall. "Go." She didn't look back as she made her way back to the kitchen. She grabbed the loaf of bread and the clothe that was over it and threw it into the oven. She turned the oven on to 500 degrees and shut the door. She walked over to the freezer and shut it off after she opened the door.

"So you were against us the entire time." Kairi spun around. Ino stood in the doorway, blood covering her arms and legs. "Did you lead them here? The Clowns? The CCG? Did you kill His Majesty?" The girl began crying as she made her way to the bleeding woman. "After everything we've done, you would betray us?" Kairi watched as the girl picked a knife up from the counter and continued to walk towards her. "I'll kill you for it!" Ino cried out as she lunged at Kairi.

Kairi grabbed the girl's wrists and kept the knife away from her. She tripped on the lip of the freezer and fell back. Her grip on Ino never loosened, but Ino was weaker than her. "You're human?" Kairi kicked the girl off of her, clutching her stomach as she tore the flesh around her wound more.

"Yes, I am. But so are you." Ino shouted as she got up to lunge at Kairi with the knife again.

A centipede like object wrapped around Ino, cutting her into pieces where she stood. "My my, what have we here?" A man walked into the kitchen. Smoke was starting to come out of an oven as it shook in it's place. He spotted movement from a woman lying inside of a large freezer. He walked up to the woman and looked down at her. "Seems you certainly-" The man stopped as he got a better look at the girl. "Kairi-chan?"

Kairi frowned as she looked at the man looking down at her. Her vision was hazy, but his grey hair and taunt face was easy to place. "Mado-ji." She felt pressure on her stomach, as well as a wave of nausea. But that soon faded as well as her sense of time, and it all turned black.

~Flashback end~

"Kairi-chan? Are you alright?" Kairi nodded as she came back to the present. "I'm sorry if I brought something up. Your parents would be proud of you for staying strong through what you've been through. You know, they both wanted to leave their quinque to you. Hoping one day you would follow in their footsteps."

"I'm not meant for the CCG Mado-ji." Kairi said as she leaned against the wall. "Thank you for calling. It was nice to hear from you."

"I will get back your father's Scarlet Fang." Mado said firmly. "It's a promise."

Kairi nodded as she handed the phone back to Koma. "I'm going out. I need some air." She didn't look at anyone as she walked out of the door of the cafe.

Yay! Long chapter! So much fun to write as well.

Let me know what you thought of the story.