Chapter 13 - That's Life

There was a part of Ken's childhood that lived with his aunt. His mother traveled to another region to work temporarily, so she left him with her older sister. To some kids, being with their family could be the best, but for him, it was not.

He didn't like his aunt. He didn't even want to acknowledge that woman as his family. He remembers, she abused his mother and always came to her only for an excuse of not having money. When he was five, he remembers that his mother was hospitalized for overworking herself because of that woman.

Thankfully for the help of Hide's parents. They talk to his mother about how "toxic" his sister was for her and to his son. But that had happened when he was 8.

When his mother worked in another region. Ken was five. He was young and innocent but he clearly knew how that woman and his family treated him. They treated him like he was garbage and they didn't even bother to care for him.

But the worst person in that family was his cousin Yuuichi. He always hit him and because of him, he had many bruises on his body. There was this time, his cousin threw him off the stairs. Luckily he didn't break anything. But he had some bruises. His cousin only laughed at him. The woman barely cared about what happened to him. At that time, he ran off to the nearby park. He hid in a playful lump that had holes around it and in there he cried his heart out.

After a while, he heard somebody sing. He had a beautiful and calm voice. Ken watches over the lump's holes. There was a young man sitting on the end of the slide, that was in front of the lump he was in. He had a long bowl cut black hair, he was wearing glasses and wearing a student uniform. He was playing his guitar. He glances at him and smiles.

Ken widened his eyes and stopped looking through the cave hole. Ken heard some footsteps coming to his direction. The teenage boy entered the lump, where he was. Still dragging carefully his guitar. He sat down near the entrance, while Ken was on the other side of the lump. "Hello, you don't mind me accompanying you?" Ken shakes his head side to side. The raven-haired boy looked at Ken. He put his guitar down, closed his eyes, and rested his head on the wall of the lump.

"Taiyou ga sasu tozashita mabuta no, Uragawa ni akai zanzou, Kawa no kaban ni note to pen wo, Saa arukidasou, Kaite mo kaite mo kirei ni naranai, Eranda enogu ni tsumi wa nai, Kinou no yonaka ni mita nagareboshi, Mada oboeteiru I was waiting for-"

Ken knew this song. He just stared at the young boy who started singing. His eyes closed, mouth opening, every time he muttered a word. It's like the wind was dancing within him, every time he sang a verse. Ken moved his head, through the melody of the older boy's voice. He tried to sing along with him, but every time he sang a word he sang it at the wrong time.

The older boy, quieted down, without opening his eyes. His mouth stood there, smiling at him. It's like he was waiting for Ken to sing along with him. "Hello shooting star, Hello shooting star again, Matteita yo, Yume wo miru ano ko wa zutto"

They both started singing at the same time. It relaxed Ken, his eyes were no longer shed tears. Though his eyes felt heavy, he felt all his body relaxed though the time he sang with the older boy. They both look at each other. "Koko ni iru no ah ah, Ano hi no mama ah ah" As they sang the last verse, they smiled at each other. Ken had never felt relieved being around somebody that wasn't his mother. He felt alive, he felt happy. If it was up to him, he wanted to be around the older boy again.

"I like your singing…." Ken muttered, looking down, but smiling. The older boy stared at him and looked up. "Thank you."

"You sing as mama does…" The older boy stared at the younger kid, in amusement. He giggles. "What is your age?" Ken said, as he rapidly approaches the older kid. This time, the older kid flinches in surprise but just stares at him. "I'm 16 years old and you?" Ken raised his right hand in front of the face of the older boy. "I'm five.." Ken seated next to the older boy. He wasn't normally like this, he actually flustered around strangers. He just doesn't know, but something inside Ken felt at ease around him.

"So, what do you want to become when you grow older?" The older boy said. Ken looked in front of him like he was thinking. While the younger kid was in deep thought, the older boy grabbed some little band-aids from his pocket. "I don't know… but I want to help mommy!" He smiled brightly, as the older boy smiled at him and put a band-aid around his knee bruise.

Ken looked at the band-aid, and furrow his eyebrows. "Huh, you didn't ask me…" The man furrowed his eyebrows and looked to his other side. Ken stopped smiling and looked down. "I'm sorry…" The older boy looked back at him. "So, what about you….?" The older boy stared at the roof of the lump like he was searching for something. "A police officer…"

Ken stares at him and moves his head to his side in confusion. "Eh.. really? Not a singer?" Ken looked at him in confusion. The older boy stared at him, looked to his side, and back at him, and just nodded. "Yes, I want to be that…"

"Well, mister I can tell you're lying to me and my mommy tells me, people can't lie… lying makes your nose grow big!" Ken stood up and grabbed his nose and then moved his hand upward. "-and in no time, it will be this big…"

The older boy put his hands in the air. "Sorry, you caught me. I won't be lying to you anymore…" Ken stared at him and put his face next to him. "If you love that much playing and singing then why don't you do it?" The older teenager just stood there quietly. He looks down and grabs his guitar. The older boy got up and got outside from the lump. He grabbed the guitar case he had put, near the slide. Ken followed him and looked to the back of the teenage boy.

Ken didn't know what he did wrong. The older boy put his guitar inside the guitar case, he had and closed it. He looked back at Kaneki and blankly smiled at him. The light of the older boy's eyes was completely gone. He approached Ken and ruffled his hair. "When you grow, you want to do some certain things but sometimes life has other plans for you…" Ken moved his head to the side, furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

The older boy grabbed his guitar case and put it around his back. Just when he was about to go, he patted Kaneki's hair once again and smiled.

"Mister, my name is Kaneki Ken. I hope you can sing with me again!" Ken shouted, the older boy just looked back and nodded. Ken just stared at his back, there was something so beautiful and amazing about the older boy, that he couldn't put just into words. He always wondered what the name of that boy was.

Kaneki woke up on Sunday morning, with Koori waking him up. "Good morning Kaneki." Kaneki opened his eyes and sat down on his bed, eyes still sleepy. "Good morning Koori!" Kaneki slowly opened his eyes and was now, wide awake and saw Koori who was sitting next beside him on his bed, looking at him. They both stare in a serious manner at each other, Kaneki stiffens his shoulders and stare at his own roof. "Koori, what are you doing here?"

Koori grabs a cigarette from his back pocket and lights it up. Ken looked at him furiously, he felt a vein-popping around his neck. "Well, I was getting bored…" Koori stands up and looks through Kaneki's stuff. Meanwhile, he exhales the smoke through his mouth, while he picks a book that Kaneki had on his desk. He puts his cigarette between the second and third knuckles of his index and middle finger.

"I had already finished my plans for all my classes and arranged all my materials for this upcoming week.." Koori bluntly said as he grabbed another book from the shelf Kaneki had near his desk. Kaneki just sighs and starts arranging his bed. "And when I finished all of my things, I had time to kill and I came here to accompany you.." Kaneki looked at him, while Koori just kept exhaling the smoke through his mouth, without looking at him.

"So, when I came to your house Kaneki. I grabbed some tea with your mother and then she told me to wake you up.." Kaneki wanted to grab all his strength and grab his pen to almost pierce Koori's neck. But he decided not to… When he had already finished arranging his bed, he sat down on his bed, looking at Koori. Who was still smoking… in his house.

"She told you to wake me up?" Kaneki said. "Yes Kaneki, don't interrupt," Koori said as he inhaled smoke and exhaled it, right after. Kaneki felt his blood boiling each second he saw Koori smoking in his room. But he preferred just to sit down on his bed. "Okay, go on…" Kaneki said. "So, I was just climbing the stairs. When I arrived at your room and heard some people enter. So, I went downstairs to see who had come and saw this huge man, with a wimpy blonde boy…"

Kaneki's heart began pulsating so fast, his eyes widening by each second. Sweating forming on the front of his head. "You know, by his appearance, it feels like a boy decided to wear makeup to just look-like a panda," Koori said those statements, without a care in the world. "Koori…" Kaneki said, without looking at him. Koori put the last of the remaining of his cigarette, on his round small metal pocket ashtray he took from his pocket. The pocket ashtray was attached to a keychain, that contained some other keys attached to it.

Koori, move his eyes to look at Kaneki. "Did the people who just came to my house were wearing white suits?" Koori nodded and raised his eyebrows. "Did you know them?" Now Kaneki felt his heart beating unto his heart. Kaneki got up from his bed and put both of his hands on each side of Koori's head. While the older man just stared at him in a surprising manner. "Have you gotten out of your mind, the white suits are here!"

"C'mon Kaneki, grasp out of it…" Koori looked intensely at Kaneki's eyes. "Noo… this is bad!" Kaneki let go of Koori's head and went to his closet. "Kaneki, you really think The White Suits" exist? Those groups are just a bunch of rumors that teenagers invent to create discussions on the internet…" Koori said, as Kaneki took his pajamas and tossed them on Koori's face. He grabbed some plain blue jeans and a plain, black and white striped shirt, along with some white socks.

Koori wanted to comment on how beautiful Kaneki looked, but couldn't do it. Since Kaneki was no longer in sight. He had already closed the door from his bedroom. In Kaneki 's defense, he didn't care if it was a little bit indecent to change in front of his neighbor, somebody he barely knew and also shut the door almost in front of him. But who cares now? Right now, he just wanted to see if his mother was alright.

"So, he did that?"

Kaneki heard some laughter when he arrived in his living room. He couldn't believe what he was seeing with his own eyes. His mother. His very own mother was sitting on the couch between Yamori and Naki. Without a care in the world. They didn't notice when he arrived in front of them, because the three of them were laughing. His own mother was laughing, with the boss and the semi-boss of the 'The White Suits'.

Kaneki's heart was beating fast, sweating from every part of his body. Kaneki couldn't even speak, for all the thoughts that were going on his mind right now. Of course, his train of thoughts was interrupted when his mother saw him in front of the stairs. She waved at him and smiled. "Ara, Ken kun, you're wide awake now…"

Kaneki flinches, as he sees Yamori and Naki gazes follow him, as his mother addresses him. Yamori grinned at him, while Naki just smiled ear to ear. "Kaneki, come here, why are you so shy now? Or are you still sleepy?" Hiroko said, as she stood up and grabbed her son's arm. As he follows his mother's movements. Kaneki was placed between Naki and Yamori. He still was in shock, so he didn't notice when Naki grabbed his right hand and patted it for a moment. "Ken kun, this young gentleman came and told me what you did to them…" His mother's voice brought him back to reality. As he shook his head, to hear again what his mother had just said. "What, again?"

Kaneki doesn't remember doing anything in particular when he met them. He barely remembers that he helped Naki and get to know about The White Suits and how they are linked to Aogiri Tree and how somehow Ayato is linked and let's not forget how he discovers that Aogiri Tree holds the perverted man, who took photographs of him, without his consent. But perhaps, Yamori and Naki know something, he doesn't? So, the only action he thought he could do. For not worrying his mother is better to comply, what these two have to say. "Hahaha, yeah… I remember."

Kaneki laughed nervously as he looked at his mother, who was sitting down on the couch in front of them. His mother clapped her hands and smiled. "You don't remember, don't you?" Yamori's voice came to his left side, as he seriously gazed at Kaneki. Kaneki gulped at his direction and looked at Naki. Who was also seriously looking at him. Kaneki, wanted the earth to open in half and swallow him alive. He was shivering. Although, he knew he wouldn't get beaten by them. Still, the intensity was killing him. What did he do, that they have to come personally to look for him? And importantly, how the heck did they know his address?

"And here I thought, you were excited just like I was for our tutoring lessons…" Naki said as some tears began forming on his eyes. "I shouldn't have expected anything at all…" Kaneki looked surprised at Naki. 'What? So that's the reason why they came here?' Naki averted his gaze and looked down at the floor. Hiroko stood up and grabbed Naki's arm and seated him next to her. "C'mon, Naki don't cry. I'm sure Ken kun didn't mean it to forget…. " Hiroko, said as he patted Naki in the back. "RIGHT KANEKI KEN?" Kaneki flinches in the sudden uplifting voice of his own mother. "Ah, yes…. I'm sorry Naki."

"Are you sure, you're sorry?". Yamori said, as he seriously looked at Kaneki. Kaneki felt all his hairs gone up. 'Why was he treated like this? Why is he always the one to blame?. I mean, they are right, he remembered they were discussing that Naki had his tutoring pamphlet when they first met. Kaneki stood up and went towards Naki. He grabbed Naki's head and with his fingers wiped the tears from Naki's face.

Two different sets of eyes were shocked at Kaneki's sudden change of expression. Three, if you count Koori who was just now arriving in the living room. "Listen Naki…." Naki's eyes were red, body shaking, as he started chewing on his lower lip. Naki looked away for a moment but looked again, his whole face turning red. "I'm sorry for forgetting about tutoring you, but remember the day, you and your team were discussing it. We never agreed a day or hour, you didn't even manage to get a response from me. How did you expect me to remember something, I never agreed to?" Kaneki looked seriously at Naki, still holding his face in place. "Eh, is that true Naki chan?" Hiroko said as he looked in the direction of Naki. "Not just that Naki, I have many things to do, I have work and I also help my mother from time to time. So if you-

"Yeah, he is right. We should have come earlier. To discuss it better." Kaneki took his hands from Naki's face, who was still burning hot and looked towards Yamori, who was now standing up. Yamori looks at Kaneki. "Now then kid, I'm sorry for all this commotion, alright?" Yamori bowed to him. Kaneki stood there watching him and nodded. "It's okay now, Yamori san." Yamori bends forward again and sees Kaneki. "Well then, let's discuss it now…"

"Alright, I will fetch some tea… Koori, now that you are here, come and help me…"

Kaneki is impressed by how well mannered Yamori is. Despite the crazy looks he has, even his own mother neither Koori ran from the house, when they saw him. Kaneki can easily say this guy has some charisma, that no wonder this guy has underlings like Naki and the others that are in his group. He even apologized for goodness sake. Perhaps, people judge him way too fast, by his looks? He felt guilty that he is one of them.

So, as they sat down on the table, drinking tea while munching some cookies that his mother had made. They were discussing the current tutoring lessons of Naki. "Listen Naki, I will be frank with you… I have three students who I am currently tutoring. The Kirishima's siblings and Hinami." Naki landed his head on the table. "I knew it! You don't want me!"

Kaneki shakes his hands in front of his face. "Is not that Naki. Look, my workplace hours change, so I can't tell you, one hour in particular, because if I tell you that, I would probably be lying to you." Naki's head slowly merges up, looking at Kaneki. "So…?" Naki said. "What we can do is, I can text you, what times I could be free and days… so you can come."

Naki's eyes light up. "That's a good idea!"

"That's a bad idea," Yamori said, as he put the cup of tea on the table. Naki and Kaneki look at Yamori. "But, why big bro?" Naki said. "Look, I have a better plan and so you both listen well." Kaneki gulped and sweatdropped. He looked intensely at what Yamori had to say. "Your mother is a tailor, isn't she?"

"Yeah, I am!" Kaneki clenched his teeth. He wanted to facepalmed. His mother was listening to the conversation and she wasn't even trying hard to hide it. "Well, my groups always wear suits, and it is a pain in the ass to make new ones when we fight-" Yamori was cut off, when Kaneki, put his index finger on Yamori's mouth. Yamori grins and grabs Kaneki's finger. "When we do stuff… well, I was suggesting if you became our official tailor, we in exchange can protect your house. Since I know, you own your personal business here..." Hiroko at this point had gotten out of the kitchen and went to the living room. She looked at Yamori and back at Kaneki.

"Did you think I would get attacked by somebody?" Yamori, who had at this point had already let go of Kaneki's finger, looked at her seriously. "It is better to be safe, than being sorry. I heard some mini-shops are being attacked by some groups."

"What? I thought the Ueno district was the only district with that problem…" Koori said, as he now began talking while being silent all this time. "Nope, since we protect the Ueno district, the Yakuza's are beginning to attack other districts in Tokyo." Naki said as he grabbed another cookie from the plate. "So…?" Yamori said as he looked at Kaneki for confirmation. Kaneki was tempted to the idea, but having The White suits guard his house. Wouldn't that attract more problems to his family? "Plus, if we guard your place. When you are free, you can tutor Naki, isn't' that right?"

"Oh okay, then I agree!" Hiroko said as he shook the hand of Yamori. Yamori just grinned in his direction. Kaneki looked at Koori, who was kind of shocked by the situation. "You guys are so manly… isn't right Ken kun?"

Sometimes, Kaneki wonders if his own mother was insane.

So, now it was official his own mother was insane. She didn't just become the seamstress of Mirumo Tsukiyama, she also became the tailor for The White Suits. On one hand, he is glad that his mother's skills have been recognized by many people and her shop has been growing because of that. But on the other hand, sometimes he wonders if these people just came for her services, just because they knew they could get closer to him. Either way, he was glad for his mother.

Now all of them had already talked about tutoring lessons and his mother bringing embarrassing stories from his childhood. It was time, they had to depart. Of course, his mother insisted he walked with The White Suits to the train station. It wasn't getting late, but Naki said, it was their turn to grab groceries for their dinner. Koori decided to accompany Kaneki. Since he also needed to buy something from the stores that were near the station.

Even though the walk to the train station was normal for Koori, but not for him. Since both Yamori and Naki were shooting glares at the back of the Koori's back. Kaneki was worried about Koori, but it felt like Koori didn't really care at all. If Kaneki could describe Koori, he could be described as a cold, calm, and collected man. Who didn't really care how people saw him.

Surprisingly when they arrived at the train station. Koori decided to stay in a little bookstore that was there and waved Kaneki goodbye. As for Yamori and Naki, they also depart their goodbyes to him, when they arrive at the train station. And just when Kaneki wanted to wave his goodbye to them, Naki hugged the lights out of Kaneki. Not just that, he also earned a great ruffle over his head, by Yamori, who only looked at him. As they depart, Kaneki waved them goodbye.

As Kaneki was walking outside the train station. He noticed something unusual. He doesn't know what was, but he knew that the atmosphere around him wasn't pleasant at all. He turned around and so nobody. The only thing he saw people walking, looking strangely at him. He wasn't completely sure, but he knew something was wrong. It almost feels like someone was walking alongside him.

If it's the same pervert of Aogiri Tree, he will kick his ass. So, he decided to walk more. Yes, in fact, someone was following him. But he didn't hear any clicking noises, just like the other days. But he didn't hear anything. It was just some stepping noises. It also can't be Shuu, because that guy likes to be flashy and when he is around. He is always making sure to make an entrance when he is around Kaneki. So, he can rule out Shuu.

But who? Who will follow him, on a Sunday afternoon that is? Kaneki clenched his fists. He started walking more steps. He gulped and walked alongside a few people that were around the streets. Perhaps, he was getting paranoid? He has read sometimes that people when they are stressed tend to hear or think that something is there, but it actually isn't? Perhaps, he is getting mad. But that can't be, since the beginning of this day, was normal. Of course, if you rule out how The White Suits came to his house, without invitation or Koori entering his room.

So Kaneki decided to test his brain. He decided to take a street that wasn't full of people. A street, that was just him walking. So when he arrived at one corner of a strict, instead of taking the same route going straight to his house, he decided to take the right side of a street that led to a walkway that was empty.

As he started walking slowly down the street, he heard steps behind him. The street was long, empty, and quiet. He started walking more and more. The steps started going louder and nearer by each second. He didn't want to look behind his back. That's until he felt like the other pair of steps that followed him, was getting near him. Kaneki didn't miss that, so he ran.

Kaneki ran and ran, all the best his body could do. He knows he passed many streets, he knew but didn't frequent that easily. 'Why this Sunday?' Kaneki thought to himself, as he ran. 'Couldn't he get a free day, without fearing he would get kidnapped?' As Kaneki ran, he had the urge to look behind his back but saw nobody.

Luckily, they didn't catch him yet. Just yet. But that doesn't mean, he would just walk freely again. He saw a young slim man, wearing a black mouth mask, also dark shades covering his eyes, cleaning outside a store, whose door was open. He ran toward his direction and as he was getting closer to the store. The man had already gotten in the store. As he arrived at the entrance of the shop. "Please, let me hide here!" Kaneki said as he entered the store. The man, who was cleaning the store, was putting the broom and the dustpan away in the backside of the counter he had.

The man turned around to face Kaneki. "Sure thing, if you want, you can close the door." The man turned around to put some bottles of cleaning he had on the floor, to put them inside a room, where he also had put the broom and the dustpan. Kaneki closes the door and sits down on a nearby couch. That was near the entrance. Kaneki was massaging his stomach, recovering his breath, since apparently his stomach and all his body were not happy with him. Because right now, they are screaming in agony. Yes… he knows he isn't fit. But right now, for him, it is better to take things slowly. As he sat there, he didn't notice the door of the shop, as well as the glasses of the shop, were tinted. He could see people walking outside the shop.

"Are you okay?" The man was now facing him, still wearing the black mouth mask, along with some black glasses, he was now wearing a black beanie covering his hair. He came to check him, handing him a bottle of water. Kaneki looked at him and nodded. "Here, you can drink this," the man said, as he bends forward. "T-thanks…" Kaneki said as he grabbed the water bottle to drink from it.

The man looked through the windows of the store. "It seems, you were followed, is that correct?" Kaneki shocked himself, by drinking the water. It almost went inside his nose. He coughed a little and wiped the little water he spat all over his mouth, with his free hand. "Eh.. don't tell them they are still following me?"

"Yeah, look" The man pointed his fingers outside the store windows. Kaneki followed his fingers and saw two familiar figures in front of the store. It was Mutsuki and Shinsanpei. Kaneki felt his heart going out of his body. 'Don't tell me… they were the ones who were following him all this time?' Kaneki couldn't believe what he was seeing. It almost feels like, everybody had something against him.

"Ah, it seems like they will enter here…" Kaneki gasped and looked at the man. The man nodded and pointed him a finger, behind the counter he had in the store. Kaneki nodded and hurried to hide behind the counter. The man also went beside him, when the man went near the counter, the door of the shop was opened.

"Irasshaimase!" the man said when Mutsuki and Shinsanpei entered the shop. Mutsuki looked closely at the shop and back at the man. Shinsanpei stood next to Mutsuki, following behind him. Mutsuki got near the counter. "Do you want anything in particular?" The man said.

"Oh… no... we just want to know if you saw a boy running by this street?" Mutsuki said as he pushed himself into the counter. "Well, I saw many people walking-"

"Young boy, short black hair, uneven bangs around his forehead, wearing a striped black and white shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes."

Kaneki wanted to vomit. If it wasn't confirmed they were the ones following him. Now it is totally confirmed. But why him? Why did they want to follow him? If they wanted to hang out with him, they could at least text him and tell him, they wanted to hang out? Right? Or perhaps Kaneki was getting crazier, by thinking like that? Perhaps, this is a new trend, teenagers nowadays do with their friends? He didn't know how to react to all these crazy things that were happening around him.

"Well… no, I haven't seen anyone like that, I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay... Sorry to disturb you…" Shinsanpei, say in a monotone voice. "Wait, Shinsanpei!". Kaneki sits there and suddenly flinches at the sudden shake on the counter. It appears that somebody has beaten the counter. "Listen here and listen well dear shopkeeper…"

Is that Mutsuki speaking? It definitely sounds like him. Was he threatening the shopkeeper? "If I hear from somebody else, that you know what direction that boy took. I'm going to come here and castrate you… did you hear me?"

'MUTSUKI NO!' Kaneki thought, as he felt so horrified by the sudden change of Mutsuki. "Yes, customer, I heard you loud and clear." Kaneki didn't move, he just sat there. Until he heard the door of the shop being open and then closed. He waited a minute, so he could move from there. "I think it's safe to leave from there…." The man said as he looked down at Kaneki. Kaneki looked up at him and nodded. He slowly moved upward and saw the shop empty.

Kaneki had never felt relief in his life. Kaneki stares at the door. ''Sometimes, you don't know a person until you see the hidden things they keep from you…'' Kaneki looks behind the voice of the man who was behind him. The man took his mask and glasses. Kaneki widening his eyes, when he realized who he had in front of him. It was Uta, the same man who gave the piñata to Saiko that one time.

Kaneki stared at him for a moment. "If you want, you can stay here for a moment. Until you feel safe to go home." Uta said as he patted one of the black leather stools he had near the counter. Kaneki nodded and sat down on the stool. "I'm sorry, for not recognizing you.." Uta just shook his head calmly and waved his hand in the air. "It's okay, those two kids didn't also recognize me, so that's good." Kaneki apologetic smiled at him and looked at the store calmly.

All the store was painted in black, with some grey undertones. On the walls, he had many masks hanged. Many different kinds of masks, some traditional Japanese masks, some modern ones, and some unique ones, if that's the way he could describe it. On the roof of the stores, were also hanging some unique piñatas. On the right wall of the store, there was a hanging frame that appeared with many drawings, in black ink.

"Are those tattoos?" Kaneki said as he pointed out at the frame with many drawings. Uta looked at the frame and back at Kaneki. "Yeah, I'm a tattoo artist." Kaneki nodded understandably. "But you also make piñatas, right?"

"And I also make masks, Kaneki kun…" Uta said as he sat down on a stool next to Kaneki. "Wow, you're so multi-talented Uta san.." Kaneki looks in amazement at the wide store, he looked behind the counter there were some letters that said: "Hana ni Mizu"

"That's how my shop is called," Uta said as he looked in front of him. Kaneki just saw the letters of the store and kept his sight in them. "Why?" Kaneki turned his gaze to look at Uta, but Uta didn't turn to see him. He just kept on seeing nothing in particular. It almost feels like he was lost in space. "Is the title of one of my favorite cassettes, that I found… You see Kaneki kun, sometimes life can give you certain things in life. It is up to you if you want to keep it or not. There are things that you will find in your life, and think 'is this really a thing valuable in my life?'. And sometimes, you will get in some certain scenarios and question, why are they happening to you… but you know.. I don't have the answer for it, nor should you, because that's the beauty of life. Life is so unexpected. You cry you laugh, you mourn, you get angry… Life gives you things that make you grow and change. And when I listened to that cassette it made me feel all those types of emotion."

Kaneki stood there, listening to Uta. Uta turns around to face Kaneki. He puts his hand around Kaneki's shoulder. "The thing that just happened to you. You might view it, as a weird discovery, but if you put in a lighter note, you can turn that weird discovery into something that can help you…" Kaneki sees Uta, who was intensely looking at him. His sclera was dark as the walls of his store, his pupil as red as the couch he had near the entrance. There was something so mesmerizing and also weird about this man's eyes. That was captivating but also creepy.

"And what's that?" Kaneki said. "I think it's time for you to try to get some defense classes." Uta said, as he smiled at him and patted him on the back.

Note:

1) If you guys didn't know the song that Kaneki was singing in the beginning, it was "Hello, shooting star by Moumoon". This song holds so much power to me, and to this fanfic. That I kept replaying over and over when I was writing the first part.

2) Hana ni Mizu: Is a 1984 cassette by Haruomi Hosono. I discover this album by browsing some cool and yet nostalgic music to write this chapter. And it almost feels like that album was made to describe my feeling or just Uta in general.

In general, I feel like Uta is such a normal, unique, and yet weird character that we got on Tokyo ghoul. And I know, there are so many mixed feelings about him, but in general, I love characters like him in stories. Do you know? You don't know if they are going to kill you or help you and when I listen to this album, it reminded me about Uta. So, if you care to listen to it. Listen to it, I highly recommend it.

3) Also, perhaps you have noticed that Kaneki changes his way of talking very often because I wanted to try all the personalities Kaneki had on Tokyo Ghoul. He was sincere, but also demanding in some scenarios.

4) By the way, if you want to follow me on Tumblr: existanceale and or twitter is: itsale_castro.

Please comment any reviews, please!