Hey guys! I'm so sorry I took so long to upload! I'm such a big procrastinator and I ended up writing this chapter over a longer period of time. I'm sorry . but I hope you enjoy this chapter.


Chapter 9: New life.

(September 1st, 17:08)

Kaneki lay in the bed, staring at the cream coloured ceiling. Usually for him, his mind would be boggling with the events that transpired with Hide last week, but his brain was way too tired.

Kaneki hadn't been able to move his body much, fatigue just rained over him as his (well built) muscles ached from being sore since his little kakuja rampage in the alleyway, though it did get considerably better. He was able to sit up, stand, and walk around but not for long before his legs ached.

Despite his current situation, Kaneki couldn't be happier. His best friend accepted him! He didn't think of him as a monster nor did he change his attitude to him. The relief still hasn't left Kaneki, giving him the rare chance of smiling.

Hide had been taking care of the half-ghoul like a mother would with her child; with care. Hide brought Kaneki several cups of coffee each day, along with piles of books to satisfy the book worm's thirst to read. He even gave Kaneki a shower when he first got here unconscious, dressed him in spare clothes, and practically gave the half-ghoul his bedroom until he makes a full recovery.

The sound of footsteps broke him from his daydream as he sat up stared at the entrance to the room, expecting Hide to pop up with his face splitting grin.

Just as Kaneki thought, his best friend entered the room, headphones around his neck while holing a warm cup of coffee in one and a book in the other, while sure enough giving a smile that radiated just as much heat as the coffee in his hands. His mere presence alone lit up the room exactly like how the Sun would do in the morning. Honestly, those two friends and their personalities were like the Sun and the Moon in comparison. But for some reason, they fit together perfectly like adjacent pieces in a puzzle.

"Hey! Brought ya some coffee and something to read. I know you need your daily dose of books." Hide cheerfully winked before walking over to his occupied bed and placing the two objects on the nightstand.

"Thank Hide, you're the best." Kaneki smiled at his sunshine, the person who shines brighter than the Sun itself in his grey eyes.

"Of course I am, I'm the ultimate Hide." Hide turned his big brown eyes to Kaneki, never losing his smile. "Oh yeah! I have some great news! You're gonna be so amazed!"

"Yeah? What's that?" Kaneki asked while blowing on the steaming coffee that he carefully took from the nightstand.

"Touka-chan wants to see you!"

The moment those five words entered Kaneki's ear, all the time froze around him.

?!

She's alright!

Oh thank God, I thought I'll never see her again.

Kaneki's mind flooded with possibilities, consequences and feelings as Hide's sentence constantly repeated itself, echoing in the corners of his mind.

"Kaneki! You're spilling the coffee." Hide dragged Kaneki out of his thoughts and back into the, for once, exciting reality that is seeing Touka.

Kaneki paid no mind to the fresh 1st degree burns on his leg and instead decided to express his excitement. "REALLY?! She's okay? When is she coming Hide? EXPLAIN!"

Hide took a step back from the bursting half-ghoul and put his hands forward. "Woah calm down, calm down! She got a call from Yoriko-san saying that 'you're back in town'. She then frantically called me sharing the news to which I explained how you're in my apartment and how I met you, though she did have a tough time calling me since my phone was on silent and I haven't used it this past week. I wonder why she didn't just come to my apartment… maybe she doesn't know where I live. Who knows." Hide shrugged and a sigh of relief escaped Kaneki's mouth while he couldn't stop shivering from excitement at meeting the purple-haired ghoul.

"She was so relieved to know that you were okay and that I'm taking care of you. I asked her if she wants to see you but she said not until you've recovered. It sounded to me like someone's got feelings for you 'neki!" Hide nudged Kaneki's shoulder making his white-haired friend roll his eyes and take a sip from his coffee. "Speaking of recovery, you haven't been recovering well after using your kakuja have you?" Hide's tone hinted a bit of seriousness (for once), making the half-ghoul stiffen a bit at the question.

He wasn't ready for the sudden change in topic and didn't know how to respond.

"N-no, I guess I haven't." Kaneki averted eyes as he rubbed the hot wet patch of spilled coffee on his leg before setting the coffee back on the night stand and picking up the book called 'The Setting Sun'.

As the opened the book, he noticed Hide giving him a thoughtful look before speaking up. "I think I know what might help you recover, and frankly, I think you also know what." Hide gave a faint smile as Kaneki looked up from the book while his heart raced.

"U-um, Hide y-you can't."

"And why's that?"

"Because there's no way for you to… get any." Kaneki tried his best to phrase that sentence carefully, not wanting to say any particular key words.

"Of course I can, I can get some at :re."

"What?"

"You know… ask :re for help."

"Who's :re?"

Hide face palmed, realizing that his white-haired friend didn't know about the café. "It's Yomo-san and Touka-chan's café."

"O-oh wow! They run a café?" So he knows about Touka and Yomo being ghouls huh?

"Yep, and I work part time there!" Hide gave a wink and a bright smile while Kaneki eyes widened in shock.

"That's great Hide! Good for you." Kaneki smiled at his friend who widened his own.

Hide gently pushed his best friend's head back into the pillow and took his phone out from his pocket. "So rest here 'neki, I'm gonna call Touka-chan okay."

"Yeah."

At least I get to see her. Kaneki thought with a smile as Hide left the room to make the phone call.


Kaneki unburied his head from the book he was reading when he heard a door bell.

"That should be her!" Hide shouted from the living room to which Kaneki tensed up and nervousness hit him. Though he was feeling excited, he couldn't deny that he was nervous as well.

What do I say?

Will she hate me?

The sound of an opening door, distant greetings and footsteps coming his way made a sweat drop fall from Kaneki's forehead.

Calm down.

Calm down.

Calm down.

Kaneki slowly inhaled and exhaled in an attempt to steady his racing heart. He was so bloody nervous! With the increasingly loud footsteps coming his way, he heard his best friend speak. "He's in here."

Hide then entered the room followed by a blue haired, blue eyed, beautiful woman with a warm smile glazing her lips.

"Kaneki!" Touka happily called, cheerfully intensifying her smile.

"T-Touka!" Kaneki stuttered in shock and nervousness as he shakily sat up on the bed, resting his book on the nightstand.

Shit, why am I so nervous?!

Touka dropped the bag she was holding and sped walked to the bed to give Kaneki a tight hug, burying her face in his chest making the latter's eyes widen in shock. "I missed you so much… Bakaneki." Touka wheezed, clearly fighting back tears.

Kaneki returned the hug and gently rested his head in her soft, wavy hair while fighting tears of his own. "I missed you too. I'm so sorry, I promise I'll never leave again. Never."

Hide gave his own smile before turning to leave the room. "I'll give you two some time to catch up."

Kaneki silently thanked Hide before closing his eyes to embrace the tender moment. The two stayed that way for another ten seconds, both enjoying each other's close company, before Touka pulled away to get some air. "You know, you've packed on a ton of muscles since you left."

Kaneki blushed fiercely, which Touka didn't fail to pick up. "Haha, but I guess you still have that soft, gentle side since small complements like that still make you as red as a tomato."

Only my friends make me smile Touka, no one else could possibly bring up any emotion in this broken mind.

And although I still have my good side, I also have my bad. Anyone who touches my friends would never see the end of it.

"Yep, I'm still dumb and stupid for letting myself get red at a pretty girl's praise."

They both smiled at each other, not caring much for the long silence that overtook them before Touka got up and walked to the entrance of the room to retrieve the bag she carelessly dropped. Kaneki's detective nose went off and knew just what the sweet smell coming from the bag was.

"I brought you some food, it'll help you recover." Touka walked back to the bed, sat on the edge, and took out a package from the bag to hand to the recovering half-ghoul.

"Thanks." Kaneki smiled with light pink tinted cheeks as he took the package from her. As he unwrapped it, a big chunk of meat was revealed. He picked it up in his hands only to instantly be brought to the realms of hunger. His eyes became mismatched in colour, one had a dull grey iris and white sclera while the other with a pitch black sclera and a blood red iris that had red cracks webbing out to his cheekbone and temple, though both stared at the juicy, tender meat with desperate hunger. Despite his starved state, he had enough restraint to completely salivate all over his food only to greedily bite, tear, and rip the flesh to chomp and swallow like there was no tomorrow. After all, that is what he would do if Touka wasn't there.

Slowly, Kaneki took a big bite out of the soft flesh and humanely chewed enough to swallow. He repeated the process until all that was left in his hands was dripping blood. Eager for more, the feeding ghoul licked the blood off his fingers and lips.

With a paper towel Touka passed him, Kaneki finished wiping his lips and dark nailed fingers when he finally noticed and stared at something he thought had lost long ago. His darkened nails which were a result of blood being trapped under the bedding of the nail.

And to think they would go back to that disgusting colour after having my hands decapitated by those two Aogiri freaks.

And I thought I'll never see them this colour ever again when I joined the stupid CCG…

Remembering just how remarkably long the white-haired half ghoul can stay locked in his thoughts, Touka decided to break the silence. "Don't worry about that." She took Kaneki's hands into her own and smiled. "I know what you're thinking. Something stupid like 'this just proves that I'm a monster' or 'now she'll hate me'."

"I-"

"Don't think like that Kaneki. Please? Don't go back to those days when you left because you thought a 'monster' like you wasn't needed and should just 'protect' his friends."

Kaneki looked down, guilt washing over his face. Realizing this, Touka tilted her head so she could still have eye contact with her friend. "Kaneki think about it, you're smart so it shouldn't be hard to realize the stupid mistake that you're repeating. Do you really think that after all the time that has passed, I'll leave you behind thinking that you're a monster because of something so trivial? Even if you were to go berserk, slaughter a loving family of four to have a full on buffet, and almost kill me when I try to help you, I'll still care about you just as much as I did the day before let alone me hating you just because your nails turned black. Laughable."

Kaneki hesitated.

He brought his head back up, making the 19 year old girl do the same. "Y… You're right Touka. I'm such an idiot. And to think I made a promise to myself that I won't make the same mistake again only to start thinking the complete opposite thing and start the process all over again."

They both smiled, happy that they both agree in the matter.

"Thanks, Touka. Again, I'm sorry. I-If I'm going to be perfectly honest, I think the reason I'm acting that way is because I'm still self-conscious about being half-ghoul… even after all this time."

Touka's face darkened, and Kaneki swore he saw a hint of anger in her face. "Kaneki, I understand. But I also think it's because of the trauma that sick motherfucker made you go through."

The half-ghoul's eyes widened in shock.

"I know that this is not a very easy topic for you to talk about Kaneki, I understand that. But what I'm trying to say is that no one should have experienced It. Ghoul or human, kind or evil, sinful or clean. I also want you to understand that experiencing something like that is not easy to overcome, and most people probably would never even recover from it, mentally and physically. So don't strain yourself Kaneki. Let :re help you and give you the life you deserve."

For what felt like the tenth time, a long silence filled the air accompanied by heavy tension.

Kaneki scoffed playfully. "What's with all the lectures today? First Hide and now you? I thought I already stopped going to college."

A huge, wide, bright smile pierced Touka's face. She returned the playful act by nudging Kaneki on the shoulder. "That's 'cuz you need it, blockhead."

"Ow, jeez." Kaneki rubbed his shoulder while returning the smile at the ghoul.

After smiling at each other some more, Touka got up and lifted the empty blood-stained package and stuffed it in the bag that it came with, making a mental note to dispose of it properly later.

"I remember when you could barely look at the meat without throwing up in disgust. You really did change over the years, though I guess this change might be for the better since there won't be any more trouble concerning your meals now huh?" She gave a small chuckle, to which Kaneki replied with one of his own.

"Yeah, and thanks to that, I didn't really give you any trouble on having to force feed me did I?"

Touka's grin grew even wider. "So how are you feeling?" She asked, changing the subject.

"What?"

"I mean your condition, is it any better?"

"Oh, yeah it is, thanks. I can feel that my body is pretty much back to normal thanks to you. Though my strength isn't at it's best yet."

"Looks like that overly powerful kakuja of yours comes with a heavy price huh?"

"Seems so."

The conversation seemed to have lost its energy to keep going and the two struggled to find any suitable questions or sentences to start another one, as the silence that hung between them was unbearably awkward.

"I think you should stay in bed, and when you're 100%, and only then, will we decide what you're gonna do."

"I want to finish college at Kamii while working part-time at :re, just like I used to." Kaneki said suddenly, as if he anticipated the blue haired girl was going to say what she said.

"Really? Is that your decision Kaneki?"

"Yes."

Touka's lips formed a warm smile, happy and grateful with what Kaneki just said. "Well, we'll be more than happy to have you back Kaneki."

"Thank you Touka."

"Sure. I'll be looking forward to seeing you at work and at Kamii."

"Thank- wait what?! You go to Kamii now?!" Kaneki was shocked that the former high schooler Touka Kirishima got a place at the very university that he went to, Kamii.

"Yep, that's right. But it did take a lot of hard work to get there you know. Kamii definitely lives up to its standards."

"Wow…" The half-ghoul replied, dazed. "But that's great Touka. I'm happy for you."

"Hide goes too you know."

"Wha- seriously?!" Kaneki abruptly turned his head to face Touka and harshly hit his head on the headstand. He plastered a dumbfounded face before squeezing his face when the pain hit him.

Touka simply burst out laughing at the shocked reaction of the 20 year old half-ghoul. "Idiot!"

"What's so funny?"

"Isn't it obvious? You keep on getting suprised, and your reaction was priceless!" Touka weezed between giggles, unable to contain her laughter.

"W-well I guess I should have known Hide was still going to college huh?" Kaneki said sheepishly while scratching his chin as his face went redder by the second.

Finally having control over her laughter, Touka stood up from the edge of the bed, picked up the bag and walked to the door, stopping halfway to turn her head and smile at Kaneki. "Well, as much as I'd love to stay and talk, I've got to help Yomo-san at the café. But once you feel better, give me a call and we'll arrange a meeting for you to talk and arrange things at the café. You have my number right?"

"No, sorry."

"Ok, you can get it from Hide."

"Alright."

"Well, see ya Kaneki."

"Bye."

Touka turned around and waved as she left the room, leaving Kaneki to ponder on with his thoughts. He looked at the nightstand and reached for the book, deciding to apologize to Hide for letting his coffee get cold.

As Kaneki read the book a deep smile reached his lips, not from the contents of the story but from the feelings welling up inside him. Hide, Touka and Yomo. It had been so long since he saw them and he couldn't help but feel relieved that they're safe.

Thank you everyone, for allowing me to have a second chance to live.


A/N:

I know Kaneki doesn't get black nails again when he regains his memories but I thought that he should in this AU to represent just how hard and fierce the battle again Tatara and Noro was.

Also, I got a really good question from Vi-Violence and I thought I should answer it for you guys as it may clear some clouds.
Question: "What I want to know is why he didn't make a B-line for :re."
Answer: It's because he doesn't know that it exists. The whole reason Haise Sasaki went to :RE in the original series is because he was with Shirazu and Mutsuki and together they decided to go to :RE because Haise's 'Nose kagune was whispering to him that the shop has good coffee' (lol). So in short, Haise never went to :RE because he never really had friends so he never made that walk past :RE with Mutsuki and Shirazu.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a review because the support is what makes me continue this story since I know people are enjoying it and find it interesting. :3