Its do or die depending on how shitty things end up over time.
Quick thought, if Tokyo ghoul were to play out with Ken as a full ghoul pretending to be a human then it would be easier as a child since noone notices him as much as Hide does. The ghouls take him from his false life and torture him back to his senses leading to the CCG going after him like usual aside from the Aogiri group, instead being in the shadows unless going after ghouls who go after humans but Hide would be part of CCG pretending to hunt ghouls until he meets up with Ken again. Per usual Hide would smile sadly at Ken for letting Ken slip away from his grasp. If that were the case, wonder how s3 would end up being if Arima hadnt meddled after Kaneki wasnt given much of a choice but to eat Hide. Im disgusted with the thought but Kaneki doesnt have a best friend like Hide to go too
"Your Touka friend must think its photo shopped since she never heard of a one eyed ghoul. Nor anyone else here at the moment." says Ken heading back to the table.
"Touka, Koma, is it alright for us to head upstairs to search for Yoshimura?" wonders Hide taking the cell back.
"For your black haired friend to really be part ghoul, he mustve had a hell of a rude awakening before you two noticed each other." says Touka glaring unamused.
Ken watched the trio mingle while huffing with his head leaning on his hand and elbow on the table, sipping coffee at times.
"Touka, you know more about ghouls than I do. If Ken was a black haired half ghoul all his life, he was really convincing as a human. It would make sense for a shy away kid who sits alone in class or at recess-"
"With you as his only friend to lean on, a half ghoul with human parents is peculiar. Acting human all his life until now screws with humans who've known him all his life. You are an amazing observer who picks up on things without needing to say anything. You'd have known all along yet acted like the fool until the attack." says Touka.
"Now you're talking crazy." smirks Hide.
"Be serious about how you say things." says Touka snatching the cell back.
Touka shoved the image in Hide's face pointing from the adorable childlike teen looking human to the suspicious one eyed ghoul pic of Ken gaining white hair.
"You can speak without pressing the screen against my face." says Hide.
"Get real." grumbles Touka.
"Kagune are a ghouls weapon when they feel uneasy right? Ken only showed signs of being human and now he's to hesitant to think rationally." says Hide sliding the cell out of Toukas hand to put it in his pocket.
"Stop treating the white head as the Ken kid! It'll only hurt you more when the CCG takes him on." says Touka reverting her eyes gloomily.
"Wow, worrying about me only proves you like me." says Hide feeling touched.
"CCG workers and ghouls befriending each other results in horrible results so watch your back. Any false move and you will be killed for treason." says Touka.
"Yet he hasnt done anything to prove he needs to die." says Hide.
"Just being a ghoul means you are automatically targeted. If the CCG workers enter the shop, we treat them like customers even though we would rather ignore them. I have no idea if your coworkers are starting to take notice but that guy you were with noticed your Ken clone too. He will get others to hear him out and will eventually storm the house he is using to act normal in." says Touka.
"He can't do anything since he assigned me to the freaking out every second Kaneki lookalike." says Hide.
"Friendship may come before your screwy job but this is the real world. You cant put your feelings before your job otherwise they would get suspicious." says Touka.
"Amon may be a ghoul killer but he knows a ghoul who massacres humans from a ghoul who goes about his day as if he were human." says Hide.
"If you dont produce proper results to him, your work pals will come after you guys to interrogate your asses and lock the teen away once they see him defend you from their weapons." says Touka.
"We will have to wait until such a day comes. It has been a month at most and only signs of human emotions with no signs of ghoul urges. I feel bad he cant eat anything which is probably why he's irritable all the time. If you guys can live normal lives, so can Kaneki. Even just for a little while." says Hide looking at Kaneki.
Ken's eyes closed, twitching in annoyance as he stood up and went back up to Hide.
"Sorry for his dumbass nature always teasing you. I'd prove the eating thing to you but lively here prefers riling you up." says Ken grabbing Hide's shoulder.
"Am I making things worse?" wonders Hide looking back at Ken.
"What do you think?" wonders Ken smiling despite annoyed.
"Maybe?" wonders Hide.
"You wasted cake to blabber on and on to a waitress who doesnt care what you tell her. The bartender is trying to do his job too." says Ken.
"Your face shows one thing but your words dont match." says Hide sweat dropping.
"I don't know how any half breed child can go through school acting like a human but its doing us no good dragging it any further and wasting precious time." says Ken forcing Hide away from the bar.
"I got this Kaneki." says Hide.
"I want to believe that but it sounds more like flirting when you only talk to her." says Ken.
"I'm not flirting. I'm hearing what she thinks toward your appearance." says Hide frowning.
"This is you we are talking about." huffs Ken.
"Its more fun getting Touka to talk." says Hide.
"Coming to Antieku with you was a horrible idea. It seems more like a date even though it turned into Hide and Touka time. Are you two a thing without anyone knowing?" says Ken raising an eyebrow.
"You heard me say I liked Touka but not in that way. She's a great friend to chat and hang out with but that's all. My mind and heart only want you but who else is there to mingle with besides the insane teen? Not many people can be claimed as good friends after your abrupt absence." says Hide.
"Its not exactly mine, now is it?" wonders Ken.
"Suggesting theres an actual Ken Kaneki out there somewhere? There can only be one Kaneki though. Juuzou can find out in a heartbeat. He is the only one who spies on us-"
"This was a waste of time. We cant talk about that stuff in here and god forbid when Juuzou spots us. What does he tell everyone? Those are the things haunting me more than being captured and tortured and thats what I fear the most out of my time with you." says Ken.
"So there is a chance our version is out there in the shadows that has yet to see you with me?" wonders Hide hopefully.
"I swear...Touka may be right in a way. Rize may have been killed and the only other scenario that can be played out is if your Kaneki was really a ghoul this whole time and killed the bitch before she could feed on anyone else. Would she have known I...he was a ghoul all along? Hell if I know." says Ken staring intensely into Hide's eyes.
"Having twin Kanekis sounds way better than one mopey half ghoul who cant keep his emotions in check." says Hide.
"I said, we arent supposed to speak of such things in here anymore." grumbles Ken dragging Hide out of the shop.
Outside the shop...
"You have a theory don't you? If you hadnt appeared everything your alternate self would do would result in how our relationship would wilt away or strengthen with each passing day since our meeting whenever thats supposed to be." says Hide looking at Ken.
"Night time visits would occur but never day time. They would all seem like a dream that feels real with you never truly seeing face to face aside from when he, if there is a Kaneki in this world they overlooked, is prowling the alleyways. Not many places are dark and dreary unless you count abandoned houses." says Ken.
"That's all the more to talk to your parents about." says Hide.
"That may makes things a little easier but it could screw things up even more." says Ken.
"Not as much as Juuzou befriending the quinx and urging them to see you in action." says Hide.
"I'd die of shame and embarrassment if that were to happen." says Ken.
"We cant find out for sure unless we ask them. They acted like this world was mirroring yours so theres a chance my Kaneki is watching me from the shadows getting jealous of the teen who resembles him." says Hide chuckling.
"Fuck off with that logic." says Ken unamused.
"Yeah, ok." says Hide smiling.
"Besides I could tell when ghouls appear and eerily no ghoul sightings." says Ken looking around.
"Yet. Only way to learn more about this world is through Yuno and Yukiteru. No better person than the duo who dumped themselves and you here." says Hide.
"How nice of you to word it that way." says Ken reverting his eyes.
"If there is a better way to word that tell me." says Hide.
"Your brain cells must be slowly rotting. My kagune take the form of centipedes so I'd be the wrong ghoul for your estranged screwy desire for something like a ghouls weapon as a blanket encasing your body." says Ken.
"I never really understood why ghouls prefer the human life growing up but its starting to make sense now." says Hide.
"You were drawn to me for reasons only you can answer and for one fly to buzz around a Venus fly trap thats trying not to give in to ghoul urges gets riskier by the day." says Ken heading back to the house.
"You would've murdered me at school yet you were amazing at acting human." says Hide looking at Ken.
"Ghoul kids don't know what they are doing when humans are around them unless they had adult ghouls to help them. I might be a smart kid ghoul or human but there are flaws to how things could've went during elementary school. Now stop yacking and lets hear the gods out." says Ken.
"If they messed something up about you-"
"You'd have two Kanekis wanting you but you have yet to speak of the Kaneki that's similar to me." says Ken.
'Bad date?' wonders a devious voice.
"I was tempted to toss him onto the tables when he focused on Touka." grumbles Ken.
"Pictures speak volumes." says Hide defensively.
"Shoving your phone in their faces doesnt do jack." says Ken.
Ken froze in his tracks and looked toward the voice to see Juuzou coming up to the duo.
"Atleast you're alone." sighs Ken in relief.
"What are you two plotting?" wonders Juuzou smirking slyly.
"Hide wants to know if there is a version of me in this version of Tokyo they overlooked." says Ken pointing his thumb at Hide.
"Is there?! I can scout around for you!" says Juuzou eyes gleaming with excitement.
"A grim reaper CCG may give him the wrong idea." says Hide itching his cheek nervously.
"If there is a doppelganger, he will have to come out of hiding. He will have no choice when I spot him." says Juuzou.
"You can scour Japan all you want once we are sure theres another Kaneki that cut off his human life over a news report." says Hide smile twitching.
"The news does get what sounds the most reliable so whatever was said on the tv or radio at the time drove him to drop out. If Hide knows Kaneki is secretly a ghoul then it shouldn't've mattered. People would murmur but you learn to roll with it and go by your own beat." says Juuzou.
"Juuzou, I get what you are saying but Yuki and Yuno created this version of Tokyo before coming here with them. More so Yuno since Yuki had things on the mind while staring into space." says Ken.
"There's no time like the present. Once we get their side and match it up with the Kaneki Hide has been buds with, we will search the teen down and drag him to Kaneki's place. Maybe get some fighting time in." says Juuzou.
"Oy..." sighs Ken focusing on getting home again.
