It was a few days after visiting Kaneki when Morie got the text from Hide asking for her to meet him underneath a specific tree at five PM. Morie thought nothing of it and went to meet him there after cleaning up her lab space.
The weather was actually nice that day. The rain had stopped, and the sky had cleared letting sunlight trickle through the branches that Hide waited under. His smile widened when he saw Morie stride towards him with a laptop case slung across her shoulders and a backpack on her back. She raised a hand up and tilted it to the side before bringing it back down as if to say, "Hey". Hide enthusiastically shot his hand into the air and waved it side to side with vigour. "Oi, Morie, get over here!"
The other students around drew their attention to the hyperactive man. She sighed but picked up her pace and jogged towards him. When she got there Hide pulled out his phone and shoved it into her face. "As a thanks I'm going to treat you to this."
Morie pushed the phone back a bit whilst pointing out that he didn't need to do anything but the promotion image on the screen caught her attention. It was a sundae. A chocolate sundae with brownie bits and syrup and nuts all topped off with a bright red candied cherry. It made her mouth water just thinking about the sweetness that the dish would contain. Snapping herself out of her thoughts, Morie eyed the bombastic font detailing where the sundae could be purchased. It read "Big Girl", the American fast food restaurant that to the naked eye looked like the stereotypical image of America. Girls dressed in skirts multiple centimetres too short and large quantities of food piled up on plates were common place there, but it had the feel of respect and cleanliness that the Japanese highly valued. Morie had seen said place on fliers that crept their way into her pigeon box and had the idea of going there after Hide mentioned the place to her.
"The American place?" she mused. "America is known for their sweets…"
And with a shrug they left the university grounds and walked thirty minutes until they met a flashing, yellow building. Bold, neon lights were glowing even though the sun wouldn't begin setting for another two hours. Hide pushed open the glass doors and waited for Morie to step through them. She raised an eyebrow at the man before promptly walking through. Awaiting customers was a smiling girl dressed in the restaurant's uniform holding out menus.
"Welcome to Big Girl. Like what you see? Then come follow me and I'll show you to your seats." With a wink she took off and the students followed. She directed them to a window seat for two then introduced herself as Emma. Internally Morie scoffed. It was obviously a fake name made just to fit the atmosphere of the place. Afterall having a waitress taking with a Japanese name would ruin it. Heck, when she stepped inside Morie started counting how many stereotypical American things she could see. Amongst her quick glance she counted paintings of bald eagles soaring, small statues of Lady Liberty and numerous flags, not to mention the rock music blaring from the store' stereos. Hide, accustomed to the place took no notice but immediately ordered for both of them knowing full well what the menu contained. Morie guessed she shouldn't be surprised at his nonchalant attitude. He seemed like the guy to adventure to places such as Shinjuku to go see the show at the Robot Restaurant with the tourists just for fun. She was more interested in why Kaneki would come to such a gaudy place.
If his staring at Morie was any indication, Hide was growing restless at the stoic woman's lack of conversation. So boldly he asked her what was on her mind. Morie was still counting the number of flags she could see (19) but also let her mind drift to reasons on why the timid Kaneki came here. So far, the only thing she could think of was Hide. She decided to ask the source in front of her who seemed eager to talk. "Kaneki came here, right?"
"Yeah. You know what happened last time he did. I told ya."
"It's surprising that someone like him would even step foot inside. Due to the way the workers dress, it would probably turn his face red. Just from what I've seen, he would probably hide his flushed face with a book."
"You're not wrong. First time I dragged him here, he did hide his face with a book. Which reminds me." Hide bent down and reached for his backpack he hauled with him that contained some textbooks lugged from Kamii. A few moments passed before he pulled out a thin book titled Frankenstein. "You know that whole 'he'll probably let you borrow his books' thing? Well I managed to get this off him." The cover showed a man hauled over a desk whilst the stitched creation loomed in the background behind a set of curtains.
"He needn't have done that, but I respect that it is an interesting choice," Morie replied. "Tell him thanks when you see him next." She slipped it into her own bag next to her clipboard and notes. "It's strange. People always call Frankenstein's Monster Frankenstein. I think it's because of the marketing though I cannot say so as I have never seen the films nor read the book. What about you?"
"Reading's not my thing but I have seen one of the old films; you know one of the first ones made in black and white by Universal." Hide picked up a glass of water that the waitress poured for him earlier and took a gulp. "Should see him tomorrow so I'll tell him then, 'kay." He put the glass down as he causally pointed a finger at Morie. "Tell me more about you? You're so wrapped up in mystery, Ghoul Fanatic."
Morie shot him a glare. She was neither a ghoul nor a fanatic. Fanatics went around breathing in their fields 24/7 and shouted to the heavens about the dire importance of their topics. Morie simply studied and only talked about it when asked. "First, don't call me that. Secondly, you make it sound like this is a date," she responded.
Hide pulled a face and cradled his heart, mocking a fake sorrow. "You were the one to suggest sharing an umbrella. And here I thought we had something going."
Morie's glare continued but was quickly eased as the sundae topped off with richness was placed before her. Decorated with whipped cream, dobs of ice cream and covered with warm brownies, the treat was like a dream to her. But when it touched her tongue, the brownies had the consistency of a dried sponge despite being surrounded melting ice cream, but it was still sweet. Still filling. And she enjoyed it.
Hide poked at the hamburger brought out to him. With every prod, juices oozed from the patty and sizzled on the black hotplate. It was clear that it was cooked well. Morie even guessed that's why Kaneki even came here, for the food and for Hideyoshi. Hide closed his eyes in bliss, seemingly enjoying every bite.
He stopped when about half way through his meal and stared at Morie. "You know when I was here last with 'Neki we ended up talking. He told me that a girl would never come here with me. I guess he was wrong about that." Morie glanced up at him after finishing another spoonful of the sundae. Hide continued, "After some banter I came to the conclusion that taking a girl out for pasta would be my dream first date. I wonder if that will ever happen." He closed his eyes and tried to make a weak smile. "I find it sad that he can no longer enjoy pasta or hamburgers and the like anymore."
The only thing heard was the blaring English music until Morie let out a curt nod. "I keep my promises, so I could not tell you myself." She scraped the last bit of food off her plate. Hide by that point had already finished his dish with gusto.
"So why do what you do, anyway?" he asked.
With a clutter of cutlery, she replied, "I'm discovering answers to a question I have asked myself for many years. You could call it a question that originated with my family history."
It intrigued Hide although how he was greeted with even more silence. Morie's eyes looked somewhat glazed to him thus he decided that now was not the time nor place to push for answers. So, they simply sat there in silence, listening to Highway to Hell.
Hide's eyes were directed downwards as he heard the scrape of a metal chair on the floor. Morie had stood. She gave a quaint bow as if to say "good day" before beginning to walk towards the exit. However, she hesitated for a moment then turned to face Hide. "Thank you for this, Hideyoshi. It was delicious." She briefly pointed her bandaged finger at the empty bowl before retracting it, turning away from the boy.
Hide grabbed her wrist and flashed another one of his famous smiles. "I told ya, just call me Hide." He too paused for a moment before continuing. "You know what, you should hang out with us. I'm sure both of us would enjoy your company. Just Kaneki and I. "He let go of his grip.
She stood dumbfounded. This boy just a few years younger than herself, invited her to "hang out" which left her with no reply. Was he lacking brain cells or genuine? Morie didn't know. People just avoided her, that's how life was. It was alien, foreign. Yet she wanted it. "You know I shouldn't. I have things to do," she answered hesitating, excuses balancing on the tip of her tongue.
"Aww come on. Please?" He started widening his eyes in an attempt to make a puppy dog face.
"It's not right," Morie sighed. "The thought of becoming friends with someone I barely know, let alone scared half to death."
Hide smirked. "You're just scared, aintcha?"
"N-no."
"You are! I can see it in your eyes," Hide laughed. Surely enough, Morie's eyes were trying to focus on the blue speakers behind Hide. She was still standing too, eager to leave but her legs wouldn't move. They felt as weak as jelly.
Hide gently grabbed her wrist again and slowly pulled her downwards back to the table. Morie like a dog on a leash followed along until both of them were once again seated. Her body was like that of a rock, stiff, tense and unmoving. Human interaction was never her forte. Those blue speakers seemed extremely interesting to her at that moment.
Hide was still cracking his smile and trying to contain his laughter before it got out of hand. To him this sort of situation was familiar. Kaneki never wanted to really be around people before Hide ran up, tackled him and demanded his friendship. He would do the same here just without the tackling part. "Look, you can. I may not have a lot in common, but you and 'Neki sure do." At this statement Morie glanced at Hide and raise and eyebrow. "You both isolate yourselves. I wouldn't say you are shy, but I do think you look down on yourself. It's probably along the lines of this, 'No one is interested in what I do. No one really talks to me. Thus, I conclude that what I do is weird and if it is weird why should they interact with me?'" Moire gulped slightly. He was spot on. "You need to return the book anyway." Hide finished with a wink as Morie glanced downwards at her twiddling thumbs, deep in thought.
The waitress returned and cleared the plates off the table but Morie remained silent for the moment. As the waitress passed by, plates balancing on her arms, the scientist took in a gulp of air. "I'll think about it…"
She got up and exited the restaurant swiftly leaving Hide grinning and with the bill. He knew she would return.
Only two days passed before Morie bumped into Hide again. It was in a narrow hallway linking the pristine biology section of Kamii University to the pharmaceuticals department. He was just rushing out of an office that Morie knew well, holding a messy stack of paper. He fumbled with the sheets and dove in order to retrieve one that was slowly floating downwards. Morie herself was taken aback at the sudden appearance of the man and let a gasp pass through her lips.
Hide looked up, his mouth agape and immediately dropped the stack. "It's you! I knew we were fated," he almost shouted whilst pointing a finger in her direction in exasperation.
"And what of it, Hideyoshi?" Morie questioned.
"Aww, come on you can at least call me Hide," he whined before bending down and scooping up the paper. "It's awkward if you just call me Hideyoshi or Nagachika. Besides haven't we evolved into friends yet?" Morie clenched her fists into a tight ball and focused her eyes intently on the boy who had only just finished picking up his papers. His eyes were also focused on Morie's but they darted ever so slightly, analysing every reaction on her stoic face. "Your eyes tell me everything. You can't hide away forever~ Please won't you join me for stroll to a vending machine? It will be my treat once again," Hide offered with a grin.
Morie pondered the idea for a second or two, knowing that the closest vending machine wasn't too far away and accepted the offer. As a university student free anything seemed like a good idea. One can't just live off instant ramen and microwave meals for their entire life after all.
The two of them made their way out of the corridors and into the fresh air and sunlight warmly glowing behind clouds that were slowly gathering. Morie could smell the tang of moisture in the air and her nose wrinkled in displeasure as she saw splotches of crimson flicker in and out of her eyesight. She closed her eyes tightly to try to disperse the imagery and once it had faded, she swiftly opened them once again. Hide caught her brief expression and became interested in why her nose twitched in disgust. "Hey, Morie, what's wrong? Something seems up?"
She turned her head to stare at the boy's brown eyes, calculating her response. Taking in a deep breath, almost tasting the scent of rain on her tongue, Morie figured she might as well somewhat tell Hide. "Rain brings back bad memories therefore I do not like the smell of it."
The mystery of who Morie was and her psychology fascinated Hide but he masked his curiosity, frowned slightly whilst giving out an "Well okay then…" then continued back to smiling, dropping the subject. One day he would be able to discover what made Morie tick.
People passed by the two and distracted Morie away from her thoughts and from the boy beside her. Soon she found herself walking not to the nearest vending machine but to the main outdoor sitting area of Kamii University. There were sleek metal tables alongside older wooden ones situated underneath trees full with vivid leaves. Concreate paths with red bricks detailing the edges lead students to and from the different buildings and along a wall stood seven vending machines offering every drink from warmed coffee in a bottle to refreshing peach Fanta.
Morie nearly missed a figure with black hair and a singular white eyepatch sitting at one of the benches with his nose in a book Morie recognised, Dear Kafka. She had read that book when it first came out due to its popularity. From there she discovered the works of Franz Kafka and brought a translate copy of Contemplation. Reading a story a day, Morie became enraptured with flow of words Kafka weaved together to convey the grim reality of the world around her and when she finished reading the book with the story Unhappiness, she found herself reflecting on her grim outlook and longing for the time where she could happily munch konpeitou besides her mother and father, like the narrator gazing upon the ghost girl.
Focusing back on Kaneki blissfully unaware of her presence she once again turned to Hide still grinning like a maniac. "You tricked me," she hissed in a low voice but sighed and relaxed her face. This was an opportunity to see house the mousey boy was doing. Honestly, Morie didn't have much hope for the boy, at least not in his current state. He seemed too nervous and unsure of himself to really do much. 'Going from human to ghoul must be putting the boy through hell,' she thought to herself whilst gazing back to Kaneki's head noticing the contrast between his jet-black hair and pale white skin.
Hide stealthily tip toed his way over to his best friend and tapped him once on a shoulder before darting behind his other. Kaneki jumped and quickly closed his book before looking pasted the shoulder Hide touched, noticing his friend had moved just out of his sight. "You're back. I didn't think you would come back so quickly," Kaneki said as he trailed off, noticing Morie dressed in her dark burgundy jumper and black tracksuit pants. It then quickly darted to her hand wrapped in gauze. Her eyes hung low and dark circles had formed from enduring the trials and tribulations associated with her research and constant report writing. Kaneki froze stiffly at the sight of her which Morie noticed and looked focused her eyes on the ground beneath her feet.
"Yeah, I got all the paper I needed to fetch for the cultural festival. But hey, look who I bumped into~" Hide sung catching Kaneki and Morie's attentions.
"Hello again," Morie said as she redirected her attention to Kaneki and Hideyoshi.
Hide with his bright personality cut through the awkwardness emanating from the other two figures with his laughter and smile. He grabbed onto one of Morie's shoulders and directed her to the seat across from Kaneki. "'Neki, do you mind minding these for a minute or two?" Hide asked and before Kaneki could answer, he placed his stack of papers next to Dear Kafka. "I believe I promised you a vending machine drink, didn't I? So, what do you want to drink?"
"Hot chocolate, please." She wondered if she should get up and follow Hide rather than stay with Kaneki but he stood behind her at an angle that blocked off her most easy exits and figured that she could still question Kaneki about the tablets' effectiveness.
"Kaneki?" Hide inquired.
"I'll have some coffee, if you don't mind," he replied. Hide walked over to Kaneki and ruffled his neat hair. In response the boy shut his eyes until Hide stopped and opened them in a mock happiness as a way to thank his friend for the free drink.
Bouncing away from the table, Hide strode towards the vending machines whilst fumbling with the loose change in his pockets. His on the fly plan was working smoothly and a sly grin creeped its way to his lips.
Meanwhile, both Kaneki and Morie started twiddling their thumbs to help relieve their racing minds. Figuring that she might as well ease into the conversation, Morie opened her mouth to say, "So, Dear Kafka. How many times have you read it? I've read it myself when it first came out."
At this comment Kaneki perked up slightly and gently scratched his forehead. "To be honest, I've lost count. Takasuki's novels are always so interesting so I find myself re-reading them quite often." He paused slightly before asking Morie, "Do you enjoy reading her works too?"
"Well I haven't actually read some of her latest works. I've been too busy with my research but I wouldn't mind reading them some time in the future when I'm not busy writing reports. By the way, I should thank you for lending me Frankenstein. I haven't started reading it though as I've been busy trying to replenish the amount of RC cells I can use. I need to feed Shirozumi and help after all."
His mind flashed to the container of red pills she had given him noting that none remained now. When he first got the bottle there were only nine tablets plus the two Morie had made him take. His stomach still growled, longing for muscles and organs and the bones of others but he pushed on for Hide. Still shoved in the lowest corner of his fridge still sat the package wrapped in brown paper offered to him by the manager of Anteiku and so many times he had been tempted to devour it but stopped at the last second, too afraid of becoming a cannibalistic monster. So, he took the pills and greedily ate them in a mad hunger before thinking, praying that they would make his suffering end.
"Oh," he mumbled realising what Morie had sacrificed to help him, a person she knew nothing about.
"On the topic of RC cells, I've been wanting to ask; how the tablets have been going?" Morie had only tested them on Shirozumi and Nishiki and as Shirozumi was a mouse and thus could not speak, she couldn't really get feedback on the tablets. As for Nishiki, be begrudgingly took them when Morie presented him with some then proceeded to state that they were shit but helped curb his hunger slightly. So, having another person as a subject was seen as a bonus in her eyes.
He raised a hand to his chin and looked Morie in the eye. "I feel somewhat better and have a few more tablets left so you don't need to worry about rushing to make more for me."
"Okay."
Wind blew past them, ruffling the leaves in the nearby trees reminding Morie of the moisture in the air. "You know, it will likely rain later today," Morie said. "You might want to go home quickly or at least have an umbrella with you."
It was at that moment that Hide returned carrying a bottle of hot chocolate stacked on top of a can of coffee in one hand and a bottle of Fanta in the other. He ran up to the table once the two sitting individuals spotted him and placed the ordered drinks in front of each person. Morie casually unscrewed the metal lid off the bottle and began to sip at it whilst Kaneki in contrast hesitantly pulled at the metal ring sealing it shut until the sound of aluminium separating resounded. Hide on the other hand a bit too eagerly opened the drink. It fizzed and bubbled over the boundaries of the container. Fumbling with the cap, Hide desperately fumbled to try to contain the soft drink's mini explosion to little avail. Foam sprayed over the concrete as Hide lost a third of his drink. His knees collapsed to the ground and he lifted his arms to the sky as the last few droplets of Fanta dripped downwards. "Oh, why are you like this to me!" Hide mocking cried to an invisible God much to the bemusement of both Morie and Kaneki.
A smiling Kaneki pointed out that maybe he shouldn't have run with the drinks and Morie nodded in agreement whilst lightly laughing at the unfortunate boy who would be covered in sticky residue for the rest of the day. The thought of Hide handling the papers he collected with sticky hands amused Morie. Hide himself didn't seem to mind though. He stood up and started loudly laughing with the other two.
As Morie continued to sip at her quickly cooling hot chocolate her walls begun to crack and the longing that came with an offering of friendship seemed too good to deny any longer. So, when she finished the drink, noted the time and realised that she needed to collect Shirozumi from her lab, Morie curtly excused herself from the table stating, "I will see you two around some other time. Thank you for the drink Hide."
Hide beamed after Morie said those words and nudged Kaneki with a sticky elbow. "Look who's decided to join our little gang," he whispered into the ear of his best friend as Morie slipped behind a campus door.
"It seems that way," Kaneki said his voice wavering slightly. The scent clinging to Hide was beginning to get stronger but because of the pills he had received, he was able to spend time with his best friend until he became a beast, thus maybe including her wouldn't be so bad.
Author's Note:
Frankenstein: The novel Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley and tells the story of Victor Frankenstein using science to create life. This results in the monstrous looking Frankenstein's monster who is actually a caring creature. I have drawn parallels to Frankenstein through the relationship between Morie and Shirozumi. In Frankenstein, one of the points that people analyse is the effect of science and when to deem it has gone too far. Morie eventually create a new life for Shirozumi through questionable science.
Japanese vending machines: I am sure that everyone reading this has heard about the wonders of Japanese vending machines. The ratio of vending machine to person is about one vending machine to every 23 people. Considering that Japan has a population of Japan is 126.8 million people that means that there are about 551,3043 vending machines in Japan. From personal experiences I can tell you that they are everywhere. The most common ones are ones that sell drinks. These vending machines have a lot of drink variety from your normal soft drinks and water to canned and bottled drinks such as coffee and hot chocolate that come out warm after you purchase them. Furthermore, you can also get some really weird vending machines that can sell anything from clothing to canned escargot.
Franz Kafka's Contemplation: This collection of 18 short stories was written between 1904 and 1912. One of these stories is called The Street Window and only consist of two sentences detailing the thoughts of a man as he looks out a window. The story I mentioned by name, Unhappiness is also from Contemplation and is about a narrator who encounters the ghost of a young girl after witnessing a chaotic scene. It turns out that the ghost girl was part of the narrator's psyche as a reminder of the youthful childhood he once had. I chose this story as Morie's favourite from Contemplation as it reminds her of the joyful times she had when she was still a child and the opening sentences of Unhappiness is meant to reflect on a certain event in her past.
Konpeitou （金平糖）: This is a colour Japanese hard candy which is made out of sugar and is usually bagged or packaged in a small cup. Due to the way they are made, each piece of konpeito is shaped like a spikey ball.