Sorry this chapter took a bit to come out; I wanted to make sure it had at least some of the suggestions you guys put into the reviews.
As always, the author's notes will be at the end. Thank you for reviewing and reading, please enjoy!
Kaneki's hands trembled as he carefully poured hot water from the spout of the iron pot into the flannel drip above the glass coffee pot below. "Slowly and calmly," Kuzen instructed from behind, as he observed the young man's progress. "Pour it while making a circle."
"O… Kay." Getting the last bit of hot water into the pot, Kaneki removed the extensions above the coffee pot before pouring himself a cup with it.
Taking a sip of coffee from the cup, Kaneki found the taste to be lackluster. "... It's no good." Kaneki muttered quietly in disappointment, as he set the cup down onto the countertop in front of him. "Compared to yours, there's something off about it…"
"Coffee is something you have to put effort into, so the taste can vary greatly." Kuzen explained, as he looked down at the near-empty cup that Kaneki had put down. "People are the same," Kuzen said calmly with a wide smile as he looked up to the young man before adding, "There's no need to get impatient."
Kaneki nodded uneasily at the old ghoul, while making his lack of confidence visible for Kuzen to take notice of.
"... Well now, I'm going to the front for a while. Touka can help you out." Kuzen said reassuringly to Kaneki, before turning around to begin exiting the kitchen area. "... Just ask her if there's anything you don't know."
However, just as Kuzen was a meter away from the cornerway that led to the front, he stopped in his tracks. "There's one important thing to remember." The older man said cryptically, much to Kaneki's interest. "Anteiku isn't just a coffee shop. It's also a place where the ghouls of the 20th Ward can gather. There's no need to be particularly on guard here. But, you need to understand that ghoul customers come here too."
"That's… a lot of ghouls…" Kaneki whispered underneath his breath; much to Kuzen's amusement.
"Of course, sometimes humans come into the shop too, just like you and your friend did. During those times, you should still try to give them the best service you can." Kuzen encouraged, and was about to once again leave Kaneki alone in the kitchen before sensing more uncertainty from the nervous young man.
"Um… You didn't say that uh… I mean, I didn't know that this was an actual job." Kaneki admitted in a shy tone. "I was under the impression that I was just repaying you for spending the night here…"
"I take it this is your first job?" Kuzen asked.
"It… It sort of is, yes." Kaneki replied back as he stared toward the ground. "I'm sorry, I'm just a bit nervous..."
"Of course, such a reaction is only natural for a young man such as yourself," Kuzen chuckled softly.
"Um… There was something else too," Kaneki followed up as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Please, do ask," Kuzen insisted with a patient smile on his face.
"It's just that… Since ghouls have to hide themselves from society, is it really okay for human customers to come in here?" Kaneki asked innocently, and although his question was asked without any sort of bad intention, the subject was rather serious in Kuzen's eyes.
"... Since we have to live in the world while concealing ourselves, it's necessary that we learn certain things… Personality and mannerisms... casual gestures and significance of those things… and finally arriving; at how to eat things. As far as we ghouls are concerned, humans are like living textbooks," Kuzen explained solemnly, as a heavy silence followed suit.
As nerve-wracking as the silence was for Kaneki to be a part of, it thankfully didn't last very long. Kuzen's smile returned to him after accidentally catching a glance over Kaneki's shoulder, where his glass cabinet resided.
"Besides that… I really like them… The humans," Kuzen mused aloud with a fondness in his voice, as he stared longfully at the lone antique cup sitting behind two of his most favorite coffee cups he had saved from when his wife and him would share coffee together.
The sacred cup sitting behind Kuzen's own cup was there for when he could finally share a cup of coffee with his daughter.
By the time the old-fashioned analog clock that hung above the front desk of :re's main lobby had struck eight thirty, the coffee shop had gone into full swing.
Saiko and Shirazu, being the most charismatic out of the bunch, had grown to be extremely popular with Touka's loyal patrons. Because of this, the two quinxes were waiting tables and bringing out the cups of freshly-brewed coffee, and various dishes ranging from sandwiches and pastries, to plates of 'cooked meat'.
In the back of the coffee shop, where the kitchen resided, is where the magic was made. Yomo considered himself to be the head chef and coffee brewer, while Mutsuki played the role of his Sue chef and assisted him the best way that he could without getting too much in his way.
Touka had purposefully put the two antisocial employees together, not just because of their affinity for preferring to not interact with their customers, but because of the way Yomo and Mutsuki interacted with one another. Touka wouldn't bring it up to Yomo, due to how stubborn her uncle could be, but the way she would see Mutsuki and him interacting with one another made it clear to her that Mutsuki reminded Yomo of how Kaneki used to be; back when had black hair and wore a surgical eye patch.
Back when everything seemed more simple, and better.
Touka, much like her uncle and the rest of her family, was stubborn, and had always hated the idea of being seen as weak. She took pride in being able to move on after Anteiku had been burned down, and for being the glue that kept the surviving members of the coffee shop together upon opening up :re for so long.
Touka considered :re to be her testimony to Kuzen, who had been taken away by the very same woman who she, at first, despised. The worst part of it was that Touka couldn't let go of her resentment towards Eto, even if the half-ghoul had no memory of doing any of the terrible things she had been accused of.
Had it not been for Kuzen, Touka would have left Eto out in the cold to fend for herself; a punishment that wouldn't have been unfamiliar to the half-ghoul. Touka wanted to forgive Eto, and move on from the past, but the task seemed herculean to her.
Touka knew that she struggled with nostalgia, and found the idea of moving on without holding onto a piece of the past to be impossible.
Despite what she had told herself every time she caught a glance at the lone booth in the corner that housed Haise and Eto, Touka couldn't let go of the fact that the young man sitting there no longer recognized himself as Kaneki.
And that's what was killing her on the inside.
Taking a side glance from the young woman sitting across from him to stare out through the glass window, Haise watched as various pedestrians made their way through the snow-covered sidewalks; each of them wearing comfortable and warm looking clothes as they walked past his wandering gaze. Looking outward past the passerbyers, Haise took notice of the strings of garland hung around the light posts outside.
Christmas was a week away, and the spirit of the season was celebrated heavily by the manager. Although he didn't remember the days he used to work at Anteiku, the way Touka openly valued the holidays and how all-out she went when it came to decorating the interior of her coffee shop made Haise suspicious that perhaps she hadn't always been that way.
Nonetheless, the overall seasonal ambience around him felt very comforting to Haise, which brought onto him a feeling of bitter sweetness. While he couldn't remember any of the Christmases in his life, Haise at least was able to hold onto the warmth he felt inside when thinking about what Eto had said to be 'the happiest season of all'.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Eto asked rhetorically, while holding her chin in her palm as she stared out through the window with Haise. "... When I woke up a month ago, the last thing I remembered was getting rejected by a publishing house after trying to make enough money to buy myself dinner and maybe a bedroll." The half-ghoul mused with a somber smile on her face, as she reminiscenced aloud for Haise to hear as they continued to watch the people walking outside.
"... If only you could have seen the look on my face, Sasaki; after being told that I wasn't fourteen years old, but a grown twenty-seven year old woman… Well, had it not been for Ms. Kirishima still holding on to some of the documents and pictures left behind by my father, I probably wouldn't have believed a word she told me." Eto said with a saddened and quiet chuckle, before slowly turning away from the window to meet Haise's grey eyes.
"Thirteen years, Sasaki… Thirteen years of my life that I still can't remember for the life of me… So naturally, I became curious about my identity when I woke up, and began to poke around the coffee shop to try and piece together what I could about myself from the manager and Mr. Ren as well…" Eto said in a tone that grew more-and-more uneasy, while Haise patiently remained quiet to allow the half-ghoul to speak.
"... A part of me still regrets finding out the truth I uncovered about myself. I… I was a disgustingly vile person who took pleasure in harming others; it's no wonder why everyone hates me..." Eto whispered out quietly with a shameful grimace finding its way onto her face. "The only single accomplishment I've made in those thirteen years that I was proud of was when I learned that I ended up being a successful novelist…"
Eto took a pause, as she stared above toward the white ceiling of the coffee shop to stare blankly at it. "Nine books… I apparently wrote nine best sellers throughout my life, and what do I have to show for it...?" Eto asked with a bothered look on her face, before looking down to reach for the large booklet that she had set aside.
"... The other night, it took me almost two hours to read a single chapter of 'Dear Kafka', and that's the only book I still remember writing…! It feels like I'm living in a different timeline, Sasaki! I still remember when the 'iPod Touch' was new; and I couldn't even afford one…!" Eto mused with a slightly franic look in her eyes, before tossing the booklet to the side on the table.
"It's insane, is what it is," Eto murmured to herself, before reaching over to pick up her coffee cup; the same coffee cup that Touka insisted for her to use.
Taking a long and thirsty gulp of the warm beverage inside her cup, the freshly brewed coffee soothed the half-ghoul as she tried to calm herself down. "... Just to be clear Haise, about that iPod Touch thing I mentioned… I grew up in extreme poverty, was constantly getting in trouble, and never felt safe from where I lived; so believe me when I say that I didn't grow up spoiled or anything…" Eto clarified with nervous look on her face, while Haise arched an eyebrow at her prompt-to defense.
"... I didn't want you to think any less of me than you probably already do, so, yeah… Wasn't a spoiled brat back then; but hey, what fourteen-year old girl back then DIDN'T want one of those nifty little things in their hands?!" Eto chuckled nervously, before taking a sip of her coffee, while silently cringing at her own awkwardness.
'Holy shit, I suck at making conversation,' Eto thought self-critically to herself, as she took deep breaths in-and-out in between tiny sips. 'Goddamn 24th Ward! You're the reason my social skills are ASS!'
Although Haise still a bit out of it, but even he was able to tell just how clammy and shaky Eto's hands were as she tried her best to subtly calm herself down.
"... I'm sorry, I don't know what an 'iPod Touch' is," Haise said respectfully, which astounded Eto for a split second before she quickly remembered his severe amnesia.
"... My apologies," Eto muttered apologetically to Haise before gulping down the last bit of coffee from her white cup. Eto quietly smacked her lips together before slowly setting the emptied cup back down on the small white platter it had been served on.
Taking in a small breath, Eto closed her eyes while slowly releasing her breath before finally recomposing herself enough to continue on with her seemingly one-sided conversation with Haise.
"... I also apologize if I've gone on a tangent; I'm sure you probably don't want to waste your morning listening to the woes of someone as deserving of them as me," Eto stated, before closing her hands together on top of the counter as a sign of respect to the young man who had been patient enough to lend her his ear.
"Not at all, actually; I really liked listening to what you had to say," Haise politely protested, as he took a sip from his cup before quietly grimacing at the lack of taste of his plain-black coffee. "... Although I find what you say to be riveting, I do have to say that I am sorry to hear about your past upsetting you; I wish I could remember something specific right now to help comfort you, but… You know."
Although she knew that Haise had meant well with what he said, the naivety in his words made the half-ghoul let out a chortle. "Take it from me, Sasaki: it's better to let sleeping dogs lie… With that being said, has Saiko told you anything about your past? You and her probably talked upstairs, so would it be safe to assume that she's caught you up to date with what's been going on around here?"
"More or less, yes; she has," Haise replied back with a shrug, before taking another sip of his bland coffee before setting down onto the table. "Blah… S-Sorry, I mean… When we're upstairs, Saiko insisted on letting me know that she didn't have a lot of time to explain everything to me, but she did sort of go over a quick synopsis of my life; so to speak."
"Is that so? Like what, if you don't mind me prying? Without, you know… Saying anything too incriminating for wandering ears to hear?" Eto asked engagingly, as she maintained eye contact with Haise, finding it hard for herself to look away from his eyes.
'He seems so… Happy; like he doesn't have a worry in the world… I wonder if he's mentally capable of worrying?'
"Well… Saiko told me that she and I used to work for an 'insurance' company, if you understand what I'm saying," Haise said as inconspicuous as he could be, without flat out telling Eto that he had once worked for 'CCG'.
"Ah yes… I believe I know what company you're referring to…" Eto said quietly, before ushering for Haise to continue on speaking.
"Ah, good… Anyway, apparently I was their 'supervisor' on top of being a… You know," Haise mused with a bit of a skeptical look on his face, as though he himself found it hard to believe what Saiko had told him to be the truth.
"I wouldn't doubt it; they seem to have a great deal of respect for you, Sasaki. Besides, why is it hard for you to believe that you used to be an... 'Insurance detective'?" Eto asked curiously with a bit of an anxious feeling dwelling within the pit of her stomach; all while Haise couldn't help but smirk at her using 'insurance detective' as a cover up for just 'investigator'.
"I understand that, it's just… It's hard for me to believe that I'd willingly do those sorts of things," Haise explained, before saying, "I mean… What sort of person willingly 'paints the walls red', and is happy with that sort of life?"
"Do you… Do you think less of yourself for having blo-, erm… 'Red paint' on your hands?" Eto asked with a bit of malice in her voice, due to her notioning the thought of Haise judging her for her past. "Some of us can't help having 'red paint' staining our hands, Sasaki… You probably don't remember how this world works, but sometimes people like me don't get a choice; it's either 'paint', or be 'painted'…"
Sensing that Eto was self projecting her own insecurities onto him, Haise needed to take a moment to formulate an appropriate response to her inquiry that wasn't going to upset her. "I… I think I'm in the same boat you're in, when it comes to 'painting', Yoshimura," Haise explained cautiously to the anxious looking woman before him. "... I also suspect that I myself probably didn't have much choice before I was an 'insurance detective'."
"Before you were…? Oh…!" Eto replied back with a sudden twinge of guilt for what she had accused him of thinking. "I… I'm sorry to hear that… What did Saiko tell you?"
"She told me that I've, um… 'painted' a lot of 'things' red in my career as an 'insurance detective'. Besides, I don't think less of you at all," Haise said with an empathetic underlying tone to his voice, as he gently reached over the table to reassuringly squeeze Eto's mildly twitching hand. "... I've been told about the 'painter' I used to be in a past life, as well."
Shocked after realizing that Haise was referring to Ken Kaneki, Eto's hand stopped shaking almost in an instant. "... How much did Saiko tell you about Kaneki?" Eto asked with a sudden shift in her voice.
No longer bothering with her own insecurities, the half-ghoul now wanted to make sure that Haise was going to be okay.
While having searched for her own identity, she had dug up enough pieces of information about the young man Haise used to be, and it certainly wasn't a happy story to piece together.
"She mentioned to me that I… Well, I suppose it would be 'him' and not me? I'm not really sure how to phrase it, Yoshimura," Haise admitted with a visibly confused look on his face, before brushing his uncertainty off with a shrug.
"Anyway… From what Touka has told Saiko, Kaneki used to be a really nice young boy, who became a… 'You know', after getting operated on after being involved with an incident that involved some fallen steel beams," Haise explained, while feeling oddly as though he were describing the life of an entirely different person, rather than the past that he knew to be his own.
"I… I don't know if it was an accident or not, but… His life became harder, and he got hurt… But… What's done is done, I suppose…" Haise said somberly with a saddened look on his face, before slowly letting go of Eto's hand to retract his own.
"... Kaneki's life was… Tragic, from what I've come to understand," Haise said with a bit of hesitation in his voice, before taking another sip of his seemingly flavorless coffee to mimic the behavior that Eto was portraying in between telling her own story to him. "A lot of people hurt him, and… I suppose in a way, my life wasn't exactly the greatest after Kaneki died..."
"... Well, no; actually, I wouldn't say he died, because the way I see it, I guess I've always been Kaneki… Even when I took on the identity of 'Haise Sasaki'," the one-eyed ghoul said aloud more so to himself than Eto, as his eye shifted slowly away from hers. "... I probably sound mentally unstable, don't I? Like I have some sort of personality disorder, huh?" Haise mused aloud with a melancholy smirk on his face.
"... If I'm being honest, yeah; you do kind of sound crazy," Eto admitted honestly with an empathic smile, before letting out a solemn chuckle of her own. "But then again, I'd be a hypocrite to judge you for your past, wouldn't I? From what I've gathered about myself, I wasn't exactly the epitome of sanity…"
"I suppose that must mean we're both a little crazy, right~?" Haise asked in a playful manner, as he set his coffee cup down before smiling widely at Eto, who returned his smile with a happy grin of her own.
"That's right, Sasaki; you and I are probably still psychotic~!" Eto agreed with a chuckle of her own, as she raised her finger up to her forehead.
"You know what's crazier though? Everyone's been telling you and I that our brains were scrambled, and they stare at us like we're not right in the head… Of course we're not right in the head; we're lucky that we're even alive right now...!" Eto ranted on with an exacerbated look in her eyes, as she moved her hands while talking to emphasize her point.
"In fact, did you know that there's still metal behind your right eye socket and frontal lobe? They left about half a kilogram of shrapnel in my head…!" Eto said with an astonished look in her eyes. "They said that tampering with it would probably kill us… So it's not like I blame that Matsumae woman for conducting the surgery the way she did…"
"Saiko was telling me something about that…!" Haise mentioned, after being reminded more-and-more of the long explanation he received upstairs while the aforementioned quinex was getting him cleaned up. "I guess that explains the amnesia and everything else…"
"Exactly," Eto said with a smirk on her face, "You should have seen me during the first two weeks of being awake… I wouldn't stop drooling, so I had to stuff wadded-up pieces of tissue-paper into the corners of my mouth, just so I wouldn't get my chin all slimy and gross…!" Eto admitted shamelessly with a joyful look in her eyes, before sticking her tongue out to playfully mimic how she used to be, all while purposefully crossing her eyes.
Her silly expression was enough to earn her a quiet chuckle of genuine amusement from Haise. However, the sounds of joy coming from the young man sitting across from her was music to her ears, and she wanted to hear more from him.
That's when Eto quickly whipped up an idea for a way to get another chuckle out of Haise.
"Hey Sasaki," Eto said with a mischievous grin, "Want to know why the word 'drool' is one of my favorite words?"
"Ermm… Sure?" Haise asked with an oblivious look of bewilderment on his face, before bringing his cup up to his lips.
She licked her lips, before replying with, "It sort of rolls off the tongue~!"
"-PFFFFTTTT…!" Haise's eyes became shot open as he guffawed through a muffled mouthful of coffee, before suddenly and accidentally spitting it all out and onto Eto's face and sweater.
Haise's face grew pale as a ghost while Eto stared back at him with a suddenly deadpan expression washing over her face.
Coffee dripped down from her chin and bangs, and just when the onlookers who were beginning to grow annoyed with the two obnoxiously loud ghouls thought that they would end their date and stop being noisy, Haise and Eto both were suddenly howling with laughter at the same time.
After receiving a number of complaints and unhappy glares from many of her patrons who were within the vicinity of the two laughing ghouls, Touka had finally decided to step in.
Making her way over to their booth, Touka passive aggressively stood by Haise to put her hand on his shoulder before staring down at Eto. "Yoshimura, I'd hate to be rude, but you're being sort of loud right now…. Maybe you could please keep it down? Or maybe you could show Kaneki around the neighborhood, or the mall? I'm sure you two would have a grandiose time there."
Without taking much notice of the subtle way Touka was blaming her rather than both of them, Eto reached over for the maroon handkerchief on the table to wipe her face free of coffee before giving the manager a response.
"I'm sorry Ms. Kirishima, I didn't mean to cause a scene… But now that you mention it, going outside with Sasaki does sound really fun… Except I don't have any money to spend, so unless you're fine with me showing Haise how to spot a rich Christmas shopper so we can pickpocket them, I don't know how you're expecting me to show him a good time… Unless, well… Well, ya know~," Eto said suggestively to Touka while flirtatiously arching her eyebrows up and down at Haise.
While Haise didn't understand the innuendo that Eto was somewhat jokingly hinting at, Touka understood it clearly and wasn't wasn't a fan of what she heard. "... Was that supposed to be funny? Because it sure as hell wasn't..."
Realizing her mistake and not wanting to offend the woman who was putting a roof over her head, Eto's facial expression changed from that of a playful one to apologetic one. "I-I didn't mean to offend you, Ms. Kirishima…! I was just joking, I… I apologize if I overstepped any boundaries."
Tapping her foot repeatedly against the wooden floor to blow off some steam so she wouldn't say anything to hurt the other woman's feelings, Touka's glare eventually softened into a forgiving stare.
Letting out a quiet sigh, Touka's composure changed and her shoulders relaxed a bit while still maintaining her hold of Haise's shoulder. "... It's okay Yoshimura, I'm sorry too if I came off as a bit hot-headed; I'm trying to work on my, erm… On my 'tendencies'," Touka explained while subtly referring to her anger issues without saying it out loud for her eavesdropping customers to hear.
"It's okay Ms. Kirishima, we all have our less than graceful moments from time-to-time; thank you for apologizing to me, as well as forgiving me," Eto said with an appreciative smile on her face.
"Of course… And not to pry into your business Yoshimura, but why are you out of money so soon? I could have sworn I just gave you your allowance a couple of days ago…." Touka asked quietly to Eto, who appeared embarrassed and a little bashful upon being asked about her finances.
"Well, erm…! I used all of it to do some Christmas shopping for the children," Eto replied back in a hushed whispered; not wanting to spoil the surprise for Saiko or Shirazu, in case they'd 'accidentally' hear her.
"I've actually been meaning to ask you if I could earn some money; Christmas is only seven days away, and I've only been able to so far buy one gift for Mutsuki," Eto said in a hushed tone, before backing away from Touka's ear to sit back down in her cushioned seat.
Placing her palm underneath one elbow, Touka stroked her chin while quietly thinking about what she figured to be the best solution for not only Eto's Christmas predicament, but her own predicament that weighed heavily on her mind. "... Say, Yoshimura," Touka said with a thoughtful tone in her voice, as she stared down at the seated half-ghoul.
"Yes, Ms. Kirishima?" Eto inquired back in a curious and respectful tone.
"I'd like for you to take over my shift today; that way you can earn some holiday money. Can you manage :re for me, please?" Touka requested with a wide and confident smile spreading across her face, "I'll be willing to pay you extra."
Although the opportunity Touka was giving her was something that would have benefited the half-ghoul, Eto's hesitation resided in her own excitement that came from the idea of having an outing with Haise. 'We're getting along so well, and he's so easy to talk to… Plus, he's the only one who really seems to… Not judge me, I suppose.'
"I'd love to work today Ms. Kirishima, but… What about Sasaki? Won't he be bored by himself, and shouldn't someone keep an eye on him? It's his first day of being awake, after all…" Eto pointed out, while lowering her gaze from Touka's eyes to meet Haise's.
"Precisely, which is why I'll be taking Kaneki out to get his bearings around the city… Might take him to the park or somewhere else nice, so he can have a clear headspace while he and I… Catch up," Touka said in a slightly anticipating voice, as she looked away from Eto's worried eyes to stare down into Haise's curious gaze.
"How does that sound, Kaneki? You and I are going to spend the day together; just like the good ol' days!" Touka inquired with a nostalgic smile plastered on her face, while Haise thought it over before lowering his gaze down to his rumbling stomach.
"Spending the day with you sounds pleasant Touka, but… Could I have something to eat? I'm feeling rather peckish," Haise asked with a slightly embarrassed smile, to which Touka found to be endearing.
"Of course, Kaneki! You and I will share a meal together before we head out, and then I'll drive us to the library; that way we can see if anything jogs your memory!" Touka said enthusiastically, as she wrapped her arm around Haise's shoulder to help him up from the booth, "You used to be such a bookworm…And Eto?"
Hearing her name being called, Eto turned her somber gaze away from Haise to once again look up at Touka. "... Yes, Ms. Kirishima?" Eto asked with a slightly forced smile on her face, as she tried to not look as noticeably bothered by the fact that Touka was tracing her fingers down Haise's arm to reach for his hand.
"Thank you… For everything," Touka said with a genuine look of appreciation in her voice, "Without you, Kaneki wouldn't be here with us… I know that it might not always seem like it, but… I'm glad you're back, and that you're on our side," Touka said with a heartfelt voice, before turning her attention back to Haise.
Suddenly feeling as though she were shrinking underneath the manager's radiant eyes, Eto felt her heart beginning to race and her stomach twisting into knots, as she swallowed back a lump in her throat before building up the confidence to speak.
"Y… Y-You're very welcome… Ms. Kirishima…" Eto stuttered out quietly, while extending her palm up her face to shield her saddened look from the manager.
"Come on Kaneki, let's get you something to eat," Touka said with an exciting look in her eyes, as she walked hand-in-hand with the still ditzy-headed young man over to where the kitchen door was.
Watching from the sanctity of her lone booth, Eto slowly lowered her hand from her face, before setting them on the table; her fingers fidgeted against one another before slowly curling inward to form half-closed fists that rested in defeat on the tabletop.
'It… It would seem as though I got too comfortable… I should have known my place here,' Eto thought bitterly to herself, as she watched the two ghouls disappear behind the enclosed door just past the main lobby.
'It seems like Haise and I have known each other for so long, yet… Yet at the same time, today seems like the first time we've actually spoken,' Eto thought with a heavy heart, as she quietly reached over the table to tuck her booklet underneath her armpit before finally getting up from the table to begin her walk over to where she'd be stationed behind the front desk to greet customers.
'Haise… You're easy to get along with, and… I wish I could hold your hand the way Touka holds yours.' Walking past the counter of the empty main lobby, Eto went upstairs to her studio apartment to change out of her dirty clothes and into her uniform.
'Haise; these feelings I have for you, they… They surely must have always been there… I wonder if you feel the same way about…' Unable to finish her thought at the fear of crying, which had been instilled into her head as being a sign of weakness, Eto stood in the upstairs hallway and at the front of her bedroom door solemnly with her eyelids half-closed, before gently leaning forward to rest her forehead against its wooden surface.
'... These feelings I have for you are fatal, aren't they? Touka's already claimed you as her own, it seems… I know I should know better, Haise, but...' Letting out a deep sigh, Eto lowered her shaking hand down toward the doorknob to slowly turn and pull on it, before letting herself in.
'... But I don't think I can stop myself from wanting you; and it makes me feel like absolute shit for doing that to Touka,' Eto thought self-hatefully to herself, before using all of her willpower to not slam the door shut behind her.
Once the door had been closed and locked, Eto put her back against it before slowly sliding down onto the small rug she kept underneath the door, and stared frustratingly outward at the furnished bedroom Touka had given her.
Had it not been for the fact that she had grown close and protective of the quinxes, didn't remember where her apartment was, along with the fact that she couldn't write very well, Eto would have immediately gone for a pen, so she could write a goodbye letter.
'What cowardly urge to have… It sounds like something my father would do... God, no wonder everyone hated me… I really am garbage, aren't I?' Disgusted with herself more than she already was, Eto quietly laid down in the fetal position to hide her face in between her tucked-in knees, as she wallowed in misery. 'I'm absolute...Utter... fucking garbage.'
Far out past the outer regions of the city, over one-hundred kilometers from where the 20th Ward stood underneath a blanket of thin snow, Matasaka Kamishiro, a master martial-artist who went by the name 'Shachi', stood outside on the wooden front porch of his mountain home.
Believing himself to be isolated far enough from the city that was tainted with the likes of V and the Washuu-Clan, Shachi had spent what seemed like a lifetime away from civilization. Having brushed the oak-deck of his front porch clean of snow, Shachi wore his favorite white kimono while he took what little comfort he could from the stone-hearth he had built in the middle of his porch.
Standing past the snowy fields and leafless cherry trees that encompassed his property, stood a black-hooded man who dawned a set of sleek black-armor that covered him from head-to-toe. Seemingly armed with only a katana-like quinque that he kept placed in the scabbard on his hip, the mysterious man of average height stared intently through his black-visored helmet at the ghoul standing ten meters away from him.
Not an inch of skin could be seen underneath the battle-attire he wore, and despite the fact that Shachi knew he came prepared for a fight, the grizzled old ghoul couldn't help but commemorate the stranger for having enough honor and respect to patiently await to be engaged, rather than trying to catch him by surprise like CCG and V had tried in the past.
After the coffee in his iron-cast pot had finished brewing from the flames of his hearth, Shachi calmly poured the piping hot drink into a small white cup before bringing it to his bearded lips to take a sip. Swallowing the pleasantly-hot coffee down his gullet, the grizzled ghoul let out a warm breath into the crisp-morning air.
"... Forgive me for not offering you a cup of coffee; I always try to accommodate for the needs and wants of my guest," Shachi said; making sure to speak loudly enough for the hooded figure to hear him. "However, something tells me you aren't interested in sharing a cup of coffee with an old man such as myself…"
Taking his time to enjoy another sip from his white cup, Shachi quietly meditated for a few moments before setting his finished beverage down beside the roaring fire. "So… Are you the silent type? Or are you capable of conversation?"
"... I'm here to collect the girl," the masked-man said, as the voice-modulator built into his helmet amplified his voice in a deepend and emotionless tone.
Nodding his head slowly, Shachi had already been anticipating the man's answer. Not many would dare face a ghoul with the body count he had under his belt without there being a constellation prize as enticing as his daughter's kakuhou.
"I see… And you understand that as her father, I can't allow you to harm my daughter?"
"My mission is to retrieve Rize Kamishiro; that isn't negotationable," the man replied back with a slight bit of malice in his voice, as to allow the ghoul to know that he wasn't going to back down. "Your compliance isn't negotationable either; allow me to search your home, or die."
"I don't take kindly to home invaders, boy," Shachi said disdainfully at the masked man, before letting out a slightly amused grunt. "Besides, even if I'd invite you into my humble abode, it'd be pointless; what you are searching for isn't here." The ghoul said without a trace of deceit within his eyes; something that the masked man took silent note of.
"If that's truly the case, then allow me inside. I'll conduct my search thoroughly, and your compliance will reward you with your home being left intact when I'm finished with my investigation," the man countered, while beginning to calmly walk towards Shachi's mountain home.
Seeing the man's advancement as a threat, Shachi unrobed his kimono before draping it over the backrest of an outdoor recliner. The icy winds that blew in the morning air sent goosebumps and chills around his chiseled and exposed muscular frame, yet Shachi dared not allow the cold around him to distract him from the hooded man who came to a halt just at his front porch steps.
"... Are you with CCG? The Aogiri Tree? Or perhaps you're with those cowardly snakes who call themselves 'V'?!" Shachi barked out in a demanding voice, while clenching his fists in preparation.
"None of the organizations you've mentioned are worthy of serving; I side only with the White Reaper and Nimura Furuta," the man answered back in a cold and robotic-like tone, due to the voice modulator that hid the true sound of his voice.
"The White Reaper, and…?!" Shachi asked with a surprised look in his widened eyes, before taking a moment to process the newly acquired information. "Kishou Arima, and Kichimura Washuu… They're Washuu's puppets, aren't they? Their souls belong to CCG, boy; by serving them, you serve the same group you speak ill of, fool!"
"CCG's days are numbered; they'll succumb to their own complacency. V has taken refuge within the shadows, and they think of themselves as untouchable, without realizing that they're targets themselves," the man commented, as he methodically grabbed hold of his quinque's handle from the scabbard on his hip.
"And the Aogiri Tree? It's a poorly constructed organization that conjugates with one another, not out of seeking unity or establishing order, but to carry on with their selfish desires... They're nothing more than a mass of weaklings who seek protection behind numbers," the man spoke with a slight chuckle at the end of his sentence.
"... I seek to unify ghouls underneath humanity; there won't be any negotiations for that either," the man said with a flat voice, before fully unsheathing his weapon.
Looking down at the black-bladed katana that the hooded man wielded in his right-gloved hand, Shachi flared his nostrils up after catching the familiar scent emitting itself from the quinque. "That pungent-metallic scent… That weapon you hold; that was fiendishly constructed from Noro, wasn't it? And- Wait…"
Taking a step closer, Shachi took another whiff to catch the other distinguishable scents that were coming from the man and the armor he wore underneath his jet-black robes. "Arata Kirishima, but….!?" Shachi asked with an outraged gasp, after realizing that the hooded man wasn't like any other opponent he had ever faced before.
"Who-… No... WHAT are you?!" Shachi demanded in an angered yell, before launching himself from the top step of his porch with his large fist cocked back above his shoulder. Letting out a battle cry, Shachi screamed out, "SHOW ME!"
Striking his fist forward directly at the bleak-black visor of the man who was staring back at him, the callused skin on Shachi's knuckles peeled back into blistered ribbons the moment his target disappeared within a flash of blue electricity.
"FUTILE!" Shachi roared out in deficiency, as he ignored the disorienting flashes in his vision that were caused by the blinding light, before immediately delivering a round-house kick in anticipation for his opponent trying to strike from behind.
Standing with one foot planted into the snowy ground beneath him, Shachi's anticipated round-house kick left him vulnerable for the robbed-man's counter attack. "W-What…?!" Feeling the ground underneath him beginning to shift violently, as if though something underneath him was tunneling its way for him, Shachi could sense the surprise counter-attack.
Tucking himself into a ball, Shachi tried in vain to somersault away from the tunneling entity from underneath the snowy ground beneath his one foot, but was unable to escape the clamping jaws of the man's quinque that broke through the snow like a great white shark.
"D-Damn it!" Shachi roared out in agony, before falling down onto a puffy mound of snow. Propping himself up on his elbows, Shachi looked past the eyeless entity that he recognized as being made up Noro's kagune to stare at the hooded man standing several meters away with his quinque's blade stuck into the icy ground below.
"Imitating the White Reaper's technique, are y-GAAHHHH!" Even before Shachi could finish his sentence, a scream involuntarily escaped past his gaping mouth as he felt the jaws of the man's quinque, 'Ginkui', chomp down not through his ankle, but straight through the midsection of his femur.
The adrenaline coursing through his damaged body gave Shachi enough of a rush to ignore the incapacitating pain radiating from his severed leg in order to push himself backwards so he could roll into a crawling position. Staring through his tunnel vision, Shachi watched as Ginkui appeared to be devouring the remains of his severed leg, like an animal would, before looking up at the masked man who remained still as he released his hold of the quinque's handle.
"USELESS! USELESS, USELESS!" Shachi screamed into the mountain sky above, as his kagune unveiled itself from his lower back. Due to his kagune having the shape and power of a whale's tail, Shachi used it to his advantage by slamming its flattened tip down into the snowy mound in front of him where his leg was being devoured.
Smacking down with enough force to cause a thirty-meter tall wave of snow and mud to launch forward upon impact, Shachi used his muscular arms and the one good leg he had to leap forward toward where he last saw the man standing.
"DIE!" Shachi cried out in a warrior's fury, before twisting himself in midair to swing his kagune down like a blade. With the quinque having been lost within the splash of mud and snow, Shachi knew that no amount of blinding light was going to distract him from his opponent.
Upon feeling his kagune scraping against something that felt more solid than his own organic weapon, Shachi felt his heart sink deep into his chest. "That's…?!" Shachi stammered out in bewilderment, as he caught a glimpse of the bright-crimson kagune that wrapped around the man's arm like a two-meter long blade.
"... And to think, I almost mistook you for a threat," the hooded man mused in a monotone voice, before dashing through the snow to split Shachi's kagune down the middle, before completely severing it from the ghoul's back.
Before the snow within the air even had a chance to settle back down onto the Earth, the hooded man quickly arimed the tip of his kagune directly against Shachi's body. Firing twelve crystallized shards into the ghoul's body like a shotgun, the artificial projectiles shot through Shachi's body with enough momentum and force that they tore straight through him before piercing through the ground and deep into Earth's crust.
With twelve gaping holes riddling his body, Shachi let out a guttural cough as blood began to pour out of his chest. Twisting upon hitting the ground from the impact of the attack, Shachi laid with his back against the blood-soaked snow underneath him, where he was only given a mere second of mercy before suddenly feeling his entire body being electrocuted.
Unable to control his own movements, Shachi was able to gatch enough glimpses of the hooded man standing above him to see that the concentrated bio-electricity was being projected at him from the man's fingertips; an ability that the heavily modified and sleek quinque of Arata's kakuja had given him.
Due to the conductivity that the snow provided, Shachi was soon left as nothing more than a barely-breathing charred body, without a leg to stand on. With each wheeze he took in, Shachi could taste the unfamiliar flavor of his own fried organs, as smoke trickled out of his disintegrated lips. Defeated, unable to speak or do anything to stop the inevitable, Shachi could only listen with his fading hearing to the man's voice, as he thought about Rize during his final moments.
"... You asked me about who and what I am; I'll answer your question, not because I consider you a worthy foe, but because I want my name to be the last name you think of," the man said with a taunting attitude that was hidden behind his voice modulator. "... I also want my true voice to be the last thing you hear."
Reaching underneath his neck cover, vacuum-sealed air created and filtered by the suit he wore bleed out from underneath the unlatched seals past his gloved fingers, as the man removed his helmet to free his voice from the helmet's built-in modulator.
The man's diamond-shaped pupils stared down at what remained of Shachi's body with an unimpressed look in them, before he raised a hand up to brush his gloved-fingers through his well-trimmed dark-purple hair.
"... My name is Kuki Urie; I am the 'Black Reaper'."
Since Haise's still Haise, I wanted there to be a Black Reaper that would be less suicidal and nihilistic than Kaneki was in the manga (And I think anime? I didn't watch the anime).
Urie's character and his relation with Arima and Furuta will be explained, and what his situation is with CCG and his old teammates.
Rather than having a desire to 'die with style' Urie's motivation as the Black Reaper revolves around the idea of damning himself to a life of hate and suffering to shield his loved ones from the threats of CCG, V, and the Aogiri Tree.
Urie's modified Arata quinque and robes are written with the inspiration of Kylo Ren in mind. I'm a huge Star Wars fan, on a side note.
Haise not being able to taste coffee is foreshadowing of other complications caused by his head injury.
Okay so here are a few answers to the questions I received through your reviews while writing chapter six:
Yes, the phantom girl Haise saw was him seeing a memory of Hinami, back when Kaneki was teaching her how to read. That's why Haise somewhat remembered Anteiku, but wasn't able to recall the name of the coffee shop.
The reason why Haise saw Hinami was indeed his self-consciousness trying to remind him about her execution date.
While Eto does have dyslexia, I'm planning on her eventually asking Haise to help her write her last book by typing while she talks, and then editing it for her.
Touka still loves Haise, but refuses to accept him as anything other than the memory of Kaneki, hence why she calls him Kaneki rather than Haise.
Mutsuki developed feelings for Haise will be explored in later chapters.
The Aogiri Tree has been a lot less stable without Eto, and it'll be shown in further chapters. It'll also be explained more on why Eto refused to rejoin her own organization later on in the story, but basically, without her memories of creating and operating the group, she finds what they do to be unnecessarily cruel and feels the need to be with the quinxes in order to protect them.
Essentially, she doesn't trust the Aogiri Tree to use Saiko, Shirazu, and Mutsuki against her as leverage.
Eto's resentment for her father abandoning her still weighs heavily on her mind.
Eto and Haise don't remember being each others' first kiss; at least not yet. And if they were to kiss or have any sort of "secretion" exchange, it would be magnificent, huh?
The flashback in the beginning was when Kaneki first started to work at Anteiku; a memory triggered by the coffee. The cup that Touka insisted on Eto using was the same one she recovered and repaired from when Anteiku burned down. The cup was the same one Kuzen was staring at in the end of the flashback.
I'm not sure YET if I'd have Haise date three women at the same time, but I wouldn't be opposed to it. Either way, Touka, Mutsuki, and Eto aren't exactly known for being the sharing kind of people, so for now they're going to try to win Haise over in their own ways.
Anyways, thank you again for reading this chapter, and I'm excited to work on the next one!
Thank you, and have a good day