Random conversations until something else comes to mind

Next day...

Like usual, Ken was watching Hide chow down his breakfast except now it was looking like Ken was trying to keep his gaze off him.

"That Higurashi manga, it got me curious about two things but mostly the characters." mumbles Ken.

"Those two things are?" wonders Hide curiously.

"The small school in the manga suddenly got me curious about your college life. What clubs are you in and the grades you get? Grades aside, are you actually participating in school or willing the days away? You must have college friends that help you cope with the reality of ghouls." says Ken frowning.

Hide blinked surprised by the incoming questions.

"I'm still going to college. Its just not as fun without you. Grades are pointless without a best friend to hang around. Sharing my love of ghouls put rumors around the school toward my loner ways. If people got to know me better, they'd see a happy go lucky guy who'd do anything with anyone who asks. Only thing keeping me from that is reading to into people trying to tell good hearts from bad hearts. Ghoul clubs are hard to come by too." says Hide not to thrilled.

"I can't pop up at college out of nowhere numb nut. It'll make things suspicious if they see a black haired shy away turned white haired feeder who still reads time to time." mutters Ken.

"Still working out the kinks on that perspective." sighs Hide.

"Sure you are. I doubt you even go to college to finish your education." thinks Ken taking a sip of coffee.

"What was that other thing?" wonders Hide.

"...are the villagers humans or demons?" mumbles Ken.

"Neither." says Hide.

"Neither!?" wonders Ken choking.

"They're merely living their own lives whether they give off demonic energy or not." says Hide.

"Well yeah but...its creepy seeing them act like usual despite demonic auras." says Ken.

"Whatya call everyone in Tokyo? Ghouls and Humans who reside here?" wonders Hide.

"Unlike Tokyo, the villagers are one giant family made up of little families." mutters Ken.

"Yet there is a girl who cycles through scenarios like you and Yuno. Every cycle a villager goes insane in order to kill Rika right? You gotta enjoy what life gives you until the bitter end." says Hide.

"Yeah...Rika's screwed no matter what." says Ken bitterly.

"They sure go down with a killer of a time." says Hide chuckling.

"Friends like those you can keep forever regardless of the trauma and deaths. A cycle you are stuck in yet have the best friends you can always count on." says Ken.

"You never know who will end up under the curse. Gets you as excited as you get worried for the school friends." says Hide.

"Going back to Kami college wouldn't sound all that bad if ghouls attended. Wonder how many kids would stray away from me like they do the Ken of this world?" says Ken to noone in particular.

"You have to be there to find out." says Hide.

"You're the one who needs education, not a ghoul like me." says Ken.

"If you can visit me when you just turn ghoul. You can attend the college as if nothing changed. The odd feeling will melt away over time." says Hide.

"What will I tell everyone? That I'm a twin of Ken's who supposedly has the same name?" says Ken.

"I can pretend you are the Kaneki that applied to the college and show you around. They already know about the ghoul incident so seeing you alive could make things better than they seem." says Hide.

"I shouldn't work myself up over teachers and students I won't be able to be around. I'm not sure when you started so I can't tell if you're on summer vacation or not." huffs Ken.

"So you're saying I should drop out and live with you full time? To only focus on my paper boy job?" wonders Hide.

Ken stiffened at the question.

"Are you willing to drop out of college and leave behind whatever it is you are going there for as far as options toward what you wanna do with your life goes?" wonders Ken.

"Not exactly. It's exhausting going between college and work with piles of homework to do though. I can't manage it all even when I think I got multitasking down." says Hide.

"Spring break should be over right? I'm not good with days off for colleges and arriving with a young adult that gained weight on break doesnt sound as suspicious. It will be if they see how well we get along." says Ken.

"Then don't sweat what you don't know for sure." says Hide.

"Drop out if you dare to. Keeps me away from the public." says Ken.

"You still want to keep tabs on my weight or would you rather estimate?" wonders Hide.

"Oh yeah, once you're done with breakfast we'll head out. A weeks worth of nothing but big meals at best, you either gained 10 or 20 pounds. My mind went into frantic mode when I got a good look at your uhh budding belly." mumbles Ken.

"Hmmmm?" wonders Hide smiling raising an eyebrow.

"You could've gained 10 pounds between my cooking and the deliveries. Since I helped you with dessert last night, I probably upped it to 20 pounds. Can't prove it without a digital scale for the bathroom." says Ken seething angrily at himself.

"If it makes you feel better. A ghoul like you should prefer a mystery weight even when I can't move." says Hide.

"Thinking that far ahead makes me shudder. We'll take it week by week. Maybe month by month. I don't wanna get to ahead of myself." says Ken sweat dropping.

"Anything else floating around your mind?" wonders Hide.

"Which part of you is the best place to nibble without you being torn to pieces?" thinks Ken feeling weirded out.

"The fact we are to portray as lovers is throwing me through a loop. It shouldn't phase me yet it is. Between you looking cute when you're asleep and the temperature rising higher by the day...it's killing me inside trying to find a good timing." growls Ken irritable.

Anteiku...

Ken was forcing himself to wake up early to tend to the blonde quinque that barely made him think he was another Hide and the blue haired quinque who kept an annoyed gaze on her face or was it one of boredom? Hard to tell the difference.

"Did I catch your names?" wnders Ken yawning behind the bar.

"We never said our names." says Saiko.

"Its only fair we tell each other our names." says Ken.

"Us first or you?" wonders Ginshi.

"You already know my name through the news of the construction site. I can tell you it anyway." says Ken.

"We only know bits of it from overhearing the ghoul exterminators from the night they saw it on their home tvs. Hideyoshi filled us on the rest from his time with you before life hit you hard." says Ginshi.

"That wasn't the only time life smacked me in the face." says Ken.

"We could barely hear something about a family you used to know. Were they your family or a family made up of friends?" wonders Ginshi.

"I know nothing about my real family but one was human and one was demon for me to come into this world in such a way. I don't know when I was taken in by my new parents but I...I'm sure they thought it was peculiar that I never took to the yummy looking human baby food and regular food before they noticed something when I was 4 that made it clear as day." says Ken looking around for something drink related to give them.

"And they freaked out like any other human." says Saiko.

"Not necessarily but my foster mom did faint when she first saw my kagune making my foster dad angry in the process. Having me go to school like a regular kid was hell knowing I'd be killed on the spot if I go to play with any child wanting to be friends with me. I had no-one to turn to or rely on until after 4th grade." says Ken saddening.

"That's when Hideyoshi appeared to you." say Saiko and Ginshi.

Ken stayed quiet trying to figure out how to word it in the best way possible for casual chat. Ginshi and Saiko noticed tears welling up in Ken's eyes.

"The CCG doves...whatever you wanna call your human comrades, shortly before I ended 4th grade having the family life despite alterations to family meal times..." says Ken.

"Yeah?" wonders Ginshi.

"Your human comrades, I don't remember who all were human protectors at the time but as soon as I was left homeless still in need of education, Hide's role in my life threw me off so badly during school hours. It was like no-one else could see it but me. It felt to impossible a friendship in elementary but once middle school came, he never budged even if he was a tad angry for letting me get away end of elementary years that transferred to middle school years. Hide was the only human I couldn't shake off so we slowly became friends. Best friends during high school until his dad got in the way. I had to act like food was going to waste again so Hide's dad could send him off to the war of ghouls vs humans never hearing Hide's side. Although, knowing Hide, his 'many' dads probably didn't help in the matter or so he claimed." says Ken focusing on pouring the drinks.

"Many dads? How many times did his mom remarry?" wonders Ginshi.

"Its nothing like that. He only lived with his foster dad at the time but he acted like he had multiple dads for my sake. That's what I was lead to believe. His dad was a real handful having to separate us. Only way we can be together is during school hours or if Hide snuck out into the night. Hide was living a different life in the recess of his mind confusing the idea of taking human meat from his house where 2 imaginary ghoul dads lived with him with ways to find human meat without resorting to killing at a young age. That would make Hide a serial killer of sorts and who'd ever believe that? I had to eat somehow and hiding from the public can't last when hunger controls the mind. Would we both have been able to tell reality from what we believed is true? Taking to manga creates realities in the mind we enjoy more than reality itself. Hideyoshi isn't a serial killer type so searching for suicides before ghouls get to them is a far better solution. He never got caught in the act and if he hasn't killed his dad yet, he will eventually." says Ken setting the coffees in front of the duo.

"Hideyoshi isn't an enemy of Tokyo's human society." says Ginshi.

"How much can one really know about Hideyoshi without being in his house from his childhoods pov?" wonders Ken miserably.

"You can't really be trying to figure out how you ended up with human meat, can you?" wonders Ginshi.

"He's a man of the people who would also do what he can to keep a half ghoul like me happy. Except its not really me anymore." says Ken.

"Lets go back to how he ended up with you when the construction site collapsed." says Ginshi.

"That..." says Ken drifting in and out of thoughts.

Saiko snapped her fingers in Ken's face forcing him back to reality.

"I can't really say yes but I can't really say no." says Ken.

"Which is it?" wonders Saiko.

"I remember it plain as day, just give me a moment to get my facts right." says Ken fidgeting.

"No." says Saiko deadpanning.

"Hide and I were hyping about me finally getting my own dorm room after being forced to live outdoors for so long. Well, more so Hide than me. Hearing him chant excitedly to finally move out killed my ears as much as it did pleasing me a bit. Hide had chosen his few desserts and one of the many coffees while I got my usual black coffee. It was a day off from work for Hide which made it all the more better to just relax from the stresses of life. For him, it was a cheat day and what could go wrong on a cheat day that he can eat all he want having his dad looming over his shoulders lifting off his conscious." says Ken.

"A secret glutton even before Juuzou showed him his candy collection." says Ginshi snickering.

"I just let Hide be himself without feeling like he had to be strung along like how he felt around his foster dad. Being free to do what you want has its pros and cons. It benefits humans more than ghouls though." says Ken.

"When did the ghoul come into play?" wonders Saiko.

"Like any other customer, she came in passing us who were chatting away like old times. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to come to our table trying to fathom why I was with a human if not for food until she smelled human mixed with ghoul or something like that. I've never seen a ghoul until we crossed paths with her or rather she came up to us bringing an air of awkwardness and silence between us three. Hide was being cheeky about a girl wanting me of all 'people' and urged me to go sit with her. Hide knew he was the only one I felt safe around yet he insisted I tried having female friends. Female friends with a ghoul? Looking serious or not, Rize and I ended up sitting together leaving Hide alone with his pastries. With the tense air in here, I kept glancing at Hide wanting him to grab my arm or something yet the moron never budged. Rize and I talked about our favorite books and authors for a little while. Soon, I stood up to go back to my table and get back to chatting about how Hide could balance killing ghouls and college life. I was reaching for my chair when the bitch dragged me out the door. If Hide took notice, he would've been looking around after hearing the door." says Ken getting annoyed toward the end.

"Would you call that ignoring if he thought you could hit it off? If you couldn't see him, it goes two ways. First being that he was happily cheering you on in his mind while enjoying the flavors of the treats. Second being that he was actually eating the treats, never feeling up to looking at where you and the female ghoul sat. Hearing footsteps coming back to him, briefly stopping to listen for a plopping down noise. One doesn't need to look at surroundings to hear what's taking place. At least in Hide's case. He heard footsteps leading to the door making him think you were heading to a much better romantic place." says Saiko.

"How do you get that from what he said?" wonders Ginshi.

"You have to explore all options and if that's not the gameplay choice like for those games where you as the protag tries to get the girl/boy in the game to love them. Forgot what those are called but you get what I'm saying." says Saiko.

"Shouldn't the gamer know the type of game she's talking about." says Ginshi unamused.

"I prefer games where you can let your stress out. Fighting enemies are way better then getting fake lovers." says Saiko.

"So you found someone you like?" wonders Ginshi.

"Real lovers are much worse than fake lovers. For gamers, lovers in game are so much better since you don't get the sensation of being used by people. Instant rejection can go both ways and feeling the love does too. If you start believing your chosen game romantic company is real, you escape the real world believing the game scenarios are real even though you aren't physically there. Is that how Hide and you see each other? In game characters or show characters you know will bound to be with another in said world but the you that is of the real world can never truly be happy in the world you put yourself in. I'd much rather butcher enemies in rpgs and what not than believe I am in a world I don't truly belong in. It's a bittersweet feeling when you look for many ways to gain friends yet can you prove they are the best kind of friends the real world can't give you?" says Saiko.

"Don't confuse gaming perspectives with reality Saiko. You play to many games as it is." says Ginshi looking at Saiko.

"Games either win you over or get boring overtime and as time passes the once excitement you felt slowly drifts into doubts and woes the longer you are around the characters of the game. It's the same result every time if you only focus on the character who needs you the most. You can answer them giving them ways to storm off or feel happier but games always have a twist in some shape or form that hits you like a ton of bricks. So I keep away from such games. How would I be able to save when its mission time anyway? There's always a dark side to everything and the games where you don't see it right away, trick the mind into thinking everything is A-OK with the lover choice seemingly normal. You ought to watch how you go about things before something turns for the worse and all your lives turn an amazing game into a bad ending. Can't say games result in a bad ending anyway if you play your cards right or wrong. Hide and I have an understanding of that much." says Saiko.

Ginshi and Ken stared at Saiko; one out of skepticism and the other out of curiosity.

"Gamer's intuition is all. Feel free to carry on with your time with the female ghoul." says Saiko.

"I was annoyed with Hide for not pulling me into his arms if something felt off about her. At the same time I was left with no choice but to walk around Tokyo while getting to know each other better. Once the construction site came into view Rize came to a halt. I was slightly relieved and tried to book it back to Anteiku. That was when her eyes turned ghoulish and her tentacle kagune thrust toward me, wrapping around me to pull back toward her so we were face to face. You pretty much know the rest." says Ken not to thrilled.

"Dating simulations arent your otp game genres?" wonders Ken.

"Hell no. Its a sham." says Saiko.

"And yet you claim Hide and me as all that dating simulator story view stuff you have to answer appropriately." says Ken frowning miserably.

"I'm just curious if it has the same vibe or not. Continue on. We want your side of the news." says Saiko.

"Well, I uhhhh..." says Ken sweat dropping.

"You can atleast tell us what happened afterwards." says Saiko.

"Ehehehehe...hmmmmm..." says Ken looking away.

"What happened?" wonders Ginshi.

"After the chaos of ghoul aiming to kill off half ghoul..." says Ken.

"Hide told his side so spit it out." says Saiko.

"No one can be mind readers so I can't be fairly certain the reason behind Hide staying here. Thankfully, he was the last customer to leave. He didn't look like he kept downing sweets when I got back to Anteiku clenching my shoulder. When I peered into the window, it looked like he was sleeping on his arms hiding his face away. I was eager to tell Hide about how I not only took on the ravenous ghoul with no way of knowing if I would get away unscathed when the beams landed on Rize but it left me a huffing and puffing stunned mess. It was the second time I was able to live and as amazed as I was to talk to Hide face to face, my occurring anxiety ridden nervousness crawled back into my mind. Guess you can say I had a rush on emotions between excitement, fear and anger trying to get Hide's attention. He did briefly smile back at me when he lifted his head up but his expression changed when he started talking to himself in deep thought. Hearing what Hide was saying to himself...whether he was trying to talk to me or not, my mind was to anxious to tell. Fear drove me out of Anteiku when I remembered the news would show my face and put me on the wanted posters around the city. It interfered with whatever Hide was going on about and I fled back to my place before Hide could look at me to see if I was paying attention. I attempted to do suicide but ghoul skin is stronger than measly kitchen wear. After a few tries to stab my skin, bawling my eyes out between being forced to ditch Hide and coming back to him mumbling away as if I could easily answer him. I don't know how bright light surrounded me afterward, but there was a light of some sort after feeling hurt over something I could've talked over with Hide the day after. All my mind whirled at me was the fact I was the link between species and someone like me was better off hidden away from that night on. And now I'm back at the place that almost lead me to death's door through Rize debating if it's worth living with these workers. The sudden stares from the humans jump started my fear of getting caught by the CCG again and with a shaky hand while bringing plates to tables. My fear got the better of me yet again instead of seeing the reality I was placed in." says Ken.

"It was all in your vulnerable weak mind." says Saiko tapping her head.

"Hey! Finish your drinks and get out of here before they start their shifts." says Ken defensively.

"You haven't given us food yet." says Ginshi.

"Drinks are enough." says Ken.

"Drinks are best with something to eat." says Ginshi.

Ken groaned in annoyance.

"You got the whole story. You can search for Hide or your fellow quinx elsewhere. I hate the idea of fighting. Fighting off ghouls who try to live their lives is meaningless. If you were to put me infront of a dove, I'd either die instantly or flee the area and I would rather take Hide with me wherever I go. I had my chance to grab his hand but I left him here. Knowing him, he's been coming here everyday since hoping I'd appear. Well I'm back and he hasn't set foot in here all week." grumbles week." grumbles Ken.