He stood there, breathing in the aroma of Sen's coffee as he watched her wordlessly, out of respect for the author and the task that she had dedicated herself to. The head of the bookish woman was bent down in concentration, her eyes fixated on the pristine paper while the guidance of her swaying hand etched delicate ink trails on top of the ivory surface. "Ah, even your handwriting is good," he wanted to say, but restrained himself out of the fear of embarrassment.

With final delicate touches by the tip of her pen, the woman gently folded the book close and held it in front of her with both of her hands for him to receive. "Here."

He blinked, having grown unaware of his surroundings by the preoccupation of his own thoughts. When he refocused on reality, he found himself looking at his hard-covered book and the delicate hands that held them.

"O-oh thanks." He stammered, taking the book from the woman at a pace too quick to be considered casual.

Quickly, the boy reminded himself of his plans, and with a nervous gulp, he forced his reluctant body to go through with it, hoping that his saliva had carried his insecurities and anxieties down with it. He had planned on impressing the girl in front of her with intelligent words, charm her with the lines the he had been rehearsing ever since the first time he laid an eye on her photograph. Imaginary scenarios of "what if I say this" and "what if she says that" were something that was frequently role-played in his head, and he knew that these scenarios would forever remain a mere fantasy if he spoke with a reluctant tongue.

"Um." He started, but cut himself off, unsure on what to say next.

"Hm?" The girl answered, imploring him to continue. And it was that exact moment, when he met the girl's gaze, that he found his mind growing a bit fuzzy. Suddenly, he had no idea what he was doing anymore.

Words left his mouth like water falling out of a drippy faucet as he spoke with the elegance of a rambling, stammering fool. Still, even in his state of debatable coherence, he found himself unwilling to stop; especially not when each literary references and analogies that he made, and each revelation of the minuscule details he picked up from her books were met with a friendly smile and nods of approval.

By the time he walked out of the bookstore, there was a strange fostering warmness within the pits of his stomach; it was a sensation that he recognized but seldom experienced. He only took a few steps before he stopped, now in front of the intersection. His hands opened the signed hard-covered book in gentle motions as the urge to revisit Takatsuki Sen's handwriting struck him. Feasting eyes fell upon the white canvas, tracing each feminine strokes with his bare eyes, then suddenly, he shut the book, as if he had seen something that he wasn't supposed to. He tossed his head up, and with rose-tinted cheeks, he waited for an interruption in the traffic, trying to not think too much of the heart sketched next to Sen's signature.

"Now, isn't that nice?"

He looked up from the colorful mixtures of his ice cream parfait; his metallic spoon planted firmly within the depths the creamy sweetness. "What?"

Sitting across of him in this small ice cream parlor was a blonde haired boy of carefree disposition. The end of a metallic spoon could be seen in his mouth even as he rocked back and forth in his chair. "To be able to talk to the girl of your dreams and have her not be a bitch, I mean." He proceeded to wipe an imaginary tear off his face, as if upset by this supposed "injustice".

"Make sure to remember to invite me to your wedding. Though I suppose it will be impossible for you to forget since I'm your only friend. Haha."

"S-she's not the girl of my dreams!" He stammered, speaking a bit too loudly to be convincing. "I just admire her work that's all!"

When he caught his friend eyeing his cup of ice cream with envious gaze, he had a feeling that his previously words had fallen on deaf ears. Sighing, he put a protective hand around the glass container of his parfait, and drew the dessert closer to himself. "I'm not sharing my parfait with you, by the way."

"Come on, Kaneki!"

"Nope!"

In what seemed to be a last resort, the blonde boy sprawled himself across the table, his hands reaching for his friend's dessert as he pleaded with puppy-dog eyes. "Pweaaaaase, Kaneki-kun~~~"

His act failed to extract sympathy from dark-haired boy, rather it seemed to have disgusted him, as the boy shrunk further away, his glass of ice cream taken along with him. Grimacing, he spoke. "That's disturbing, Hide."

With a smack of the table, the blonde sat up and folded his arms in front of his chest, as if indignant, deviating from the pleading desperation that he had just before. "Hmph. And I thought that you would learn something from that author of yours. What was her name? Tatsumaki Sen?"

"Takatsuki Sen." He corrected.

It didn't matter to Hide though as the boy carried on, his head shaking in feigned disappointment as he did so. "One would think that talking to her would have planted some kindness within you. But here you are, refusing to share a measly ice cream parfait with your best friend. I'm sure even the great saint Tatsumaki Sen will be disappointed by your actions. Kaneki, I think—"

Then, the boy stopped, his eyes widened and his mouth suspended in a parted position, agape, a finger pointed towards something behind Kaneki. "Wow. I can't believe it…"

Kaneki looked at his best friend puzzlingly. "Hm?"

"Tatsumaki Sen! She's actually here."

Perhaps he was a fool, but Kaneki turned to look, and was naturally confused when the green-haired author was nowhere to be found. When he turned back around, he saw Hide helping himself to his ice cream, the metallic spoon tainted by the other man's saliva buried deep into his parfait.

"Hey!" He cried out, a hand reaching for the glass cup, but missed as Hide snatched it to his side of the table. Triumphant, Hide inserted the spoon in his mouth, savoring the taste of the creamy sweetness as it melted against his tongue.

"Ahh. I guess I will just keep this ice cream parfait to myself." The blonde man teased, helping himself to yet another scoop of the dessert. "I mean, wouldn't it be an indirect kiss if you eat it right now? I'm pretty sure you would rather do an intimate thing like that with Tatsumaki."

Kaneki wished that Hide would have at least been courteous enough to keep his mouth shut when eating.

"Do what with me?"

He whipped his head around at the familiar silvery sound; his mind wandering the possibilities that the thing his friend did earlier was not just a stunt to steal his ice cream.

"T-Takatsuki-sensei" He stammered.

It was right beside his table where the short-statured author stood, still dressed with the same tacky sense of fashion that he had seen her in before.

The petite woman smiled prettily in response and repeated her question. "Do what with me?"

"N-nothing r-really." He didn't even sound convincing to himself.

Hide smirked at the transpiring events and moved to get out of his seat, the sound of his scooting chair being enough to remind his bookish friend of his presence. "Well then, Kaneki, I believe it is time for me to take my leave. I forgot that I have a study group that I need to attend. I'm sure you know how competitive the students at Kamii can be, being that we go to the same school."

A smile was exchanged between the petite author and the boisterous blonde as they made eye contact, with Hide excusing himself quietly soon after. Before he headed out the doorway of the ice cream parlor, Hide called out for his best friend's name once again, shooting the boy a wink and a thumbs up when he turned around. An eye roll was all that he received for his efforts, and a light chuckle was all that he gave in return.

"May I sit?"

Kaneki's eyes flitted back to the woman standing by his side and quickly realized his bad manners. "Oh yes, of course." He replied, his hands moving to clear out the clutters on the table. Both cups of the parfaits, half-eaten and completely empty, were swept against the red-bricked wall in the corner. The girl soon helped herself to a seat as she took the spot where Hide once sat.

"So, I heard you go to Kamii?"

"Ah, yes." The boy rubbed his neck abashedly, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"I heard that's a pretty good university. What are you majoring in."

"J-Japanese literature."

He gulped nervously. To sit face to face with another woman and be able to converse with her like this. It almost felt like it was a real date.

"Japanese literature? Well, I guess that's to be expected considering how much you seem to like books."

He could feel Takatsuki's gaze resting upon the book that he had subconsciously swept against his chest earlier. It was a book about ghouls that he had picked up out of curiosity just a few days ago.

"Eh? Kaneki-kun, you're interested in ghouls?" She asked. There was a strange glint shining within the depths of in the author's eyes that he couldn't quite place.

"A-ah, yes." He affirmed. "I just stumbled across it, and I picked it up because I thought it would be interesting. I mean, there were reports on the news about humans being attacked by ghouls, so I thought it would be best if I start learning about what I will be dealing with. You should give this book a read too. I think it is really informative."

Takatsuki expression remained constant throughout Kaneki's long-winded explanation. Only when the boy was finished did the tender smile fade from her lips. "So, what do you think about ghouls personally?"

Kaneki blinked, unsure if his ear had deceived him. "Excuse me?"

Calmly, the woman restated her question. "I asked you for your opinion on ghouls."

It was a question that he was uncomfortable with answering. Desperate, he searched the older woman's eyes for signs of mercy, hoping that she would just let the question face into the realm of the forgotten. However, mercy was not to be found, rather there was a level of firmness that told the boy that his answer was important.

"I think it would be wrong to label them as "evil".

"Eh? How so?" She leaned forward, a hand propping her chin up, her eyes fixed intently on the boy in front of her. Subconsciously, Kaneki scooted backward.

"I mean they really can't help themselves can they? Since they need the meat to survive. Labeling them as evil will be like labeling a wolf evil for killing rabbits to feed themselves." His eyes darted about wildly as he spoke, landing on anything but the woman sitting in front of him. When he was finished, he finally found himself daring to looked at the petite woman, hoping that what he had just said hadn't caused the author to view him negatively.

To his relief, the woman smiled. "You're a kind one aren't you, Kaneki-kun? I really like that, your kindness, I mean."

"T-thanks." He muttered, shrinking slightly in his seat while he tried to control the redness of his cheeks.

Suddenly, the woman stood up. The chair that she was sitting on now moved back in place.

"Where are you going?" He called out.

"Sorry, I have to be leaving soon." The girl said apologetically. "It was great meeting you here and I hope to to see you again."

So, the woman left, leaving Kaneki to stare at her departing figure. The boy was now alone inside the ice cream parlor, sitting in the solid wooden seat with a ruined ice cream parfait and a book that he probably shouldn't have bought. Solemnly, he wondered if he had offended the girl.