I know, I know I haven't been posting for weeks. But I have many projects in university and top of that work that I bring home from my actual daily job is sometimes getting to me. I managed to write this chapter in 2 weeks for the short amounts of spare time I had during those days. Either way, enough of my ranting and enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 7 - A beautiful Nightmare

It was Saturday, around 9: 10 am, Kaneki arrived at 8:30 am and that damn hacker so-called "Gamer girl" hadn't come. Why does he of all people have to suffer this? Kaneki stiffens himself on some benches at the station. He munches some gum and started tapping his foot. He was getting frustrated. In cases like this, he always brings a book with him to read, but since life hated him. Of course, he had forgotten to bring a book. There were people walking in front of the station as usual. He looks through the crowd, trying to figure out who in his right mind would hack him. Perhaps this so-called hacker is in the crowd just like what Eto did in the signing event.

¡Heck! If Eto a so well-respected author 'until now' can do things like that to surprise her fans. Why can this hacker do the same thing? I mean, he has seen hackers in movies being portrayed as this enigmatic-figures, who are shut-ins and often had the government in their tails. Perhaps this is so-called "hacker girl" is just one of the many usernames this hacker has done. Of course, Ken knows best is never to associate with people like that.

Somebody with a big coat that covered their whole figure with pastels colors plastered everywhere. The person wears a big star neon glasses, with a black-colored mouth mask, with some letters printed on it that read "hacker". Their hair was covered by the hood of the coat.

Ken just stared there in disbelief. If he could facepalm himself 1000 times, he could have done it now. If this wasn't the person who hacked him, then who else? So, instead of handling another weirdo he would just let this "hacker" do his job. The figure approaches him and sat down next beside him.

The person scoffs, and looks sideways.

"pssst, young boy"

Ken just sweat drop, he let out a big sigh. This is going to be so troublesome. "Yes?" The person next to him just shoves their hand around Ken's shoulders. "Don't say anything to me, you are not allowed to talk back to me, sir!" "I-I'm sorry". Ken almost bowed, but immediately stop afterward. Why in God's name would he say I'm sorry to this person? This person threatens him for God's sake.

The person started laughing in his face. "Of course, you should be apologizing to me! THE GREAT SAI!" The person cough. "-HACKER GIRL SAMA!"

Ken's stress reaches 100 %.

Ken lifted this person's arm over and threw it back to its place. The atmosphere seems so tense. He didn't like this kind of situation, but it seemed kind of silly that he will give the only game he was interested in and top of all that a game that Hide work so hard to give to him, to a stranger online. He could just delete his profile Facebook and Twitter, right? He can create another profile and befriend people again.

He sometimes amazes himself for being so dense. He stood up from the bench when the person grabs their arm. "No wait stop! I'm-" Ken gritted his teeth. "I'm done with this facade! You know you can do whatever you want with that account!" he exclaimed as he shoves away this person's arm. "Imagine at what cost you need to go just to get a game? Imagine how your parents will feel when they know you threaten somebody just for a game!?"

The person began trembling, they took their star-shaped glasses and started sobbing. Revealing a blue-eyed girl with a trapeze typeface, white skin color as porcelain. Wait a minute! This person seems so awfully familiar. Where he has seen them?

"I… ugh… I'm sorry"

The short amount of people who were in the train station stopping their tracks just to see the scenario that was in front of them.

"What is happening?"

"Perhaps a breakup?"

"Poor thing!"

Poor thing? She was the one who blackmails him! Why in this particular scenario he has to be the bad guy? Kaneki took her by the arm, all embarrassed. They move to a quieter place from the station.

He grabs her shoulders and shakes her.

"What do you want from me? Why did you blackmail me?"

"I want you to be my teacher!"

The girl exclaimed, tears still falling out of her face. Kaneki stared at the abyss of the station. He closed his eyes, hands still on her shoulders. His heart, his movements, his thoughts and all of the lifeform of this planet stopped and became one with the infinite dark and nonspecial space.

Still with his eyes closed.

"You hack me because you wanted me to be your teacher?"

"Yes!"

He opened his eyes as big as possible. His sclera darkening with big red veins popping out from them. His grey pupils growing bigger each second. "Then why don't you ask me to be your teacher by my account?"

The girl shrieks in fear. He swears to God. That this kind of behavior is unusual from him. He is the type of person who is always tolerant of people but just like Hide once said one time; 'I swear bro if you ever murdered somebody, nobody will suspect anything from you.'

Of course, Hide was joking with that statement, but once you get him mad. There's no coming back from that. Kaneki took his hands from her shoulders and facepalmed.

"y-yeah… is that my school doesn't allow its students to have extra help. They are so picky about it…"

He realized now. A prestigious school that doesn't allow students to have tutoring? KAI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BEING FAMOUS FOR THAT? BLUE HAIR GIRL?

"You're that girl from that time aren't you?"

The girl pouted, eyes getting red, with some light pink color shading her cheeks. "Bout time to realize" He gritted his teeth. "Yes I AM that girl, my name is Saiko Yonebashi." He sweats drop and dragged his hands all over his face.

"If your notes are so bad, how come you enter that school?"

Bold Kaneki, you are becoming so bold but this girl is entering his nerves. He now knows how that Kukie guy felt that day. Is not like he hated her, he quite understood why did she did this, but if she could just have explained her situation. This will never have happened in the first place.

"I made the final quiz, I barely passed. I just suck on Social studies and Math".

The girl squinted her eyes, and tears fall in each side of her eyes in the air. He looks down.

"Okay, I will tutor you but promise me." He grabs her chin up to look at him. Saiko's eyes widened as her body began quivering. "YOU WON'T DO THIS AGAIN?"

"¡Yes!"

Where they about to leave, with Saiko following him. Saiko grabs him by the arm, she turns him around and lays her head fall on his chest.

"kankan"

Kankan? Is his new nickname?

"Don't you feel like some people are watching us?"

"Watching us?"

Kaneki put his arms around Saiko and observe all the scenario that was in front of him. I mean yes they were people walking but no one who was watching them. He felt something inside him tap. Now that he was thinking about it, he actually felt some eyes staring at them. Precisely ever since he got there, but he brushes it off. Since he thought someone just stares at them because they were making a scene.

While exiting the station, Kaneki grabbing Saiko by her waist. They both surprised when somebody grabs them by the shoulders, they look back.

"Kankan don't worry I will protect you!" Saiko put herself in front of him while putting her arms in defending mode.

"What are you doing here?" A woman with a short cut braided hair look at them. Kaneki looks to both of his sides. He lay his hands on his chin. This woman seems awfully familiar but where he has seen her?

"Who-"

"Special Investigator Mado Akira"

She didn't miss a bit. Kaneki gulped now he remembers her. The woman who was fighting with Amon. What possibly would she want from him? Perhaps…. lecturing him? Questioning the whereabouts of Amon?

"Hello Mado san"

She gritted her teeth.

"Akira!"

"Pardon?"

"Akira tell me Akira!"

"Okay… Akira sa-"

"Drop the san"

"A-akira hello!"

She side-glances and pointed her gaze towards Saiko. Which Saiko immediately surprises and hides in his back. Akira opens the red bag she was carrying and handed him a box. He took it and stares in awe.

"I want you to eat this"

"But, I… why woul-"

"DID I STUTTER KANEKI KEN?"

"Okay, Madame". Akira just stares at the floor and clenches her fists. She backs away and leaves.

"Who is that Kankan?"

"Somebody, I know? I don't know Saiko…"

After all, that random and weird nonsense Kaneki faces in the morning. He agreed on some Sundays to tutor Saiko. They exchange phone numbers.

So, Kaneki wanders around the area and found himself in an arcade shop. He could play some games, why not? I mean, he will tutor Hinami for her studies around 3:30 pm. He explores the arcade that he and Hide used to frequent when they were kids. As he enters the arcade, he went on searching for the game where he and Hide met for the first time. It was Wild Gunman. He remembers even though he wasn't into games. His mother had given him some money, she told him to go to a near arcade so he can befriend some kids. Even despite he didn't want to go at that time. He blesses his mother for urging him to get out of his house that day because if it wasn't for her, he would have never met Hide.

As he was approaching the many new games he didn't recognize. He went to their old and retro section of the store where the game was supposedly located as he recalled. But as his surprised, the game was gone. The lights of his eyes went out. Ah, the nostalgic game that embraced a good childhood memory is long gone. He pouted and took a deep sigh. A man with shaggy, light-colored hair look at him.

"Hey there cutie, why are you so sad?"

Kaneki stares at him, ignoring the fact he addresses him as a 'cutie'. "Well, I enter this shop in searching for a game but it's not here. The man stares at him, he put his hand under his chin. "Well, instead of being sad over a game you can't find why not search for a game that's similar?"

"Well you see, I'm not that good at arcade games."

"Who's bad at games?"

A tall young man with thick eyebrows and significantly rounder eyes approach them. "Oh, Takeomi kun! I was just talking to this cutie over here." The man suddenly put his arms around Kaneki's shoulders. He stared back. The tall young boy stares at his friend's antics and brushes the arm of his friend over Kaneki's shoulders. Both the stranger and Kaneki surprised. "Itou san, I know this man is cute, but you shouldn't put your arms around somebody like that. That's a serious offense you know?"

Itou put his hands in the air and smile. "Alright mister son of a cop, don't arrest me". Takeomi flinches and furrows his gaze. "Don't tease me like that Itou san. That thing you were doing was a serious thing, are you alright?" He stared at Kaneki.

"I'm alright don't worry. Actually it doesn't really bother me, it actually happens to me a lot".

They both surprised and furrow their gaze. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Kaneki Ken, why?"

Itou put a hand on his own chest. "Kaneki san, I know what I was doing was silly, but if you think inappropriate touching is good then you should tell them you're uncomfortable. I'm a second-year on Law school and this guy right here is the son of Cop who can arrest people so we think..."

Kaneki panicked. Arrest? Cop? Law school? What?

"No, it's just sometimes my friends play like this is not like I encounter people like that. So you shouldn't be worried about me"

Takeomi just stares at him.

"Ok, we will believe you but never hesitate to say something when you're uncomfortable, alright? Because if you don't say anything then people won't know when to stop and then it would escalate to something awful."

Kaneki gulped. I mean what this guy just told him was right. He could only think about what happened with Tsukiyama and that incident with Eto. But, wow he was amazed by how mature these people are.

"Thank you!"

"The three of them stared at each other. The atmosphere was heavy. He didn't know what to do. So when he was about to leave, Itou broke the awkward atmosphere.

"Well now putting the serious aside why don't we look for a game of your liking? Something you can manage?"

Itou accompanies Kaneki in search of a game while Takeomi stared at him. While looking through the arcade the three of them found the Taiko no Tatsujin. It was an easy drum game. Kaneki can handle a simple drum game right?

Itou started hitting the drums. Both Kaneki and Takeomi started slowly swaying their head up and down at the vaporwave song in the game. After that, it was Takeomi's turn. Even despite Takeomi insisting that Kaneki played first and he could just watch him play but then Itou claimed "that was a bit weird from him", which Takeomi replied, "if I could see him more, that's enough for me".

Finally, after some arguing it was his turn. The game wasn't difficult, but they insisted to put him in the 'easy' level. He actually won some rounds. As he was playing the game, he didn't notice Itou was recoding him meanwhile Takeomi was bashfully staring at him.

After some time, as they started to leave. Takeomi insisted to look for the game Kaneki went to search on.

"Ah, you don't actually have to do that for me" Ken insisted as he was wavering his body between the two boys.

"Well… sorry to break it out for you cutie, but…" Itou stops himself and reconnected his gaze with Kaneki's. He brings his phone in the same direction toward the head of Kaneki. "I found it. The store is located in the Shibuya district. To play you have to pay double the price since they only recollect old arcade games".

As they were entering the 'Adore Games' store. The game that had brought Hide unto his life was there, just around the left corner of the store. Time has stopped, every single step, sound, cars, even the little birds flying around were just standing there. Two small figurines of fogginess appear out of nowhere recreating his childhood form meeting Hide. He blinks and just like how time had stopped, it resumed as fast.

They went fast as he pays the fee for playing. He grabs the gun console and press enter. As he was entering every level, he openly remembers how every time he got bullied Hide encourage him to picture every bully in the video, is not really a good psychological way to cope with bullies, but the way Hide had to say it back then, was really naïve and bold coming from a child.

He was having a blast. Ignoring his environment, ignoring how both Takeomi and Itou were just staring at him and not looking at the gameplay. Recollecting old childhood memories, while playing the game. Ken shed a single tear, but he didn't pay any mind. Takeomi and Itou glance at each other and a just nod to themselves. Agreeing if he was crying, and if he wasn't going to talk about it then why bother asking.

As he finishes all the levels. Ken let a sweat drop and was meet with a round of applause. He surprises and blushes. "Oh no! Do you want to play?"

Takeomi stared at him.

"Kaneki san, do you have a partner?"

"AHAHA, Straight forward as always Takeomi!" Itou said.

Kaneki just gulped. As they were all leaving, they all exchange phone numbers as Takeomi insisted that he wanted to be friends with such an honorable man like him.

Ken had arranged his tutoring lesson with Hinami at 3:30 pm, it was 1 hour. At 5 he had the tutoring lessons with the Kirishima siblings, but Yomo had called him earlier telling him. He had an event with his siblings and ask if he could move his tutor lessons. Ryouko had agreed to tutor the three of them in her house. He sends them the address of Hinami. In his mind, he thought perhaps it will be chaotic to invite the Kirishima's siblings but in another part of his mind, he thinks they will behave because Hinami is younger than them.

The doorbell house rang.

"Umm, Fueguchi chan can you excuse me for a moment"

"I already told you Oni chan, call me Hinami chan".

"Hi…yeah ok-"

"Oi, idiot are you already done with that brat?"

He sweats drop, the Kirishima's siblings came. Kaneki opened the front door of Hinami's house to greet the Kirishima's siblings, as Hinami was following him close by.

"Oi, stupid what your mouth!"

"You aren't my parent, bakaneki!"

"Neither you aren't that old to speak to your grown-ups like that"

Oh uh… No matter how many times he tutors somebody. He was always getting distracted in some way. Still, it's not like he's complaining though. He thought his life wasn't that interesting at all. But because of these weird and unique people that have entered his life, his life wasn't that so boring.

Though that doesn't mean he was going to become weird just like them. After all in this life of weirdos, there is always have to be the "one normal" guy.

*Ring ring*

"Mother hello"

As Kaneki grab his cellphone. The Kirishima's siblings stop arguing and as well as Hinami looks directly at him. He blushes and moves to his right side, hiding a side of his face.

"Okay, okay… silence hear me out"

"A-alright"

"Remember that popular and handsome man that came to our house the other day?"

Oh no, he didn't like what was coming.

"Huh, what man mom? Don't tell me that you invite a stranger to our house without me knowing?"

"Oh… So I didn't tell you… huh"

"¡Mom! Don't tell me you got scammed? Some people these days dress elegantly to scam people."

The Kirishima's siblings and Hinami got into a defense mode looking to the back of Kaneki.

"… Nah, he was too handsome to be a scammer!"

"Mom!"

"So anyway, somebody came one day arguing they knew you of your work and was impressed with my work. I was flattered you see. He even gave me a box of chocolates... so romantic! And just like that, he was gone. It was experiencing my own shoujo moment."

"Mother!"

"Well another day that has passed, I was making the dress for Fueguchi chan when a girl with black hair came to my workshop and all of the sudden she introduced herself as being one of the main secretaries of that wonderful man"

. He had a bad feeling about this. If the man that his mother is describing is the same man who had a perverted aura around him. Then he is in great danger, not only that man knows where he leaves but he also has sways his own mother. Kaneki almost vomits as the thought that his own mother described that pervert as a wonderful person.

"Well long story short, I'm officially the tailor of the Tsukiyama family. Is it wonderful, Ken kun?"

Hear me out amore, all of you will become mine! Do you hear that amore you will become mine! I will do everything in my power for you to become my bride!

He now remembers the words that man had told him in his ear, as he was getting arrested. That's what that man meant when he told him that.

This is bad for the heart.

"Speaking of that wonderful man, he is here now. I'm taking his measurements but apparently he wants to talk with you, here you go Tsukiyama san"

"Oh… no mademoiselle. Did I tell you before right? You can call me Shuu, not need to become formal"

"Ooh…."

His mother was practically selling her son without her noticing. How dense could his mother be?! Or could it be that she just deciding someone to marry her son? If that's how it was, his mother was far scarier that he thought she was.

"Amore"

Kaneki gulped. He didn't like that nickname that Tsukiyama has chosen for him.

"We are officially engaged!"

His voice whispered in his mother's cellphone.

Ah well… it seems that he actually live a decent life.

Bye world, I will miss you.

And for that, Kaneki collapsed and fell to the floor.

Thank you for reading it!

-Alecastro