He's here again. He's been coming more often lately, and on his own. Worse yet, she now knows the name the CCG gave him. He's even beginning to scare off the various ghoul patrons she and Yomo had managed to find. Not because he's an investigator, no. A dove in a cafe full of ghouls stands no chance, unless they're the infamous Owl Killer, Arima. No, they're afraid because they know. They know that Sasaki Haise is really The Centipede, a man once known as Kaneki Ken, the only ghoul powerful(and stupid) enough to oppose Aogiri almost single-handedly.
Sasaki doesn't understand, though. He doesn't know why she refuses to lower her defenses. He doesn't understand that for once, someone is looking out for his well-being for the first time since Nagachika disappeared.
Sasaki might not be any happier than he was as Kaneki Ken, but he's most definitely safer. Now, he's backed by the CCG, and Aogiri has been mostly dormant for the better part of three years. Now, there's a significant lack of truly dangerous people trying to kill him.
But of course, being the same stubborn fool as he ever was, Sasaki has been pestering her almost daily. Even when given a new chance at human life, Kaneki Ken has found his way straight to her. She can only hope he doesn't end up stuck in the world of ghouls once again. But his persistence isn't likely to end well. She isn't sure how extensive his amnesia is, but the more time he spends near her, the more likely he is to remember the things that need to remain forgotten. Worse yet is Touka's fear that it will be a slip-up on her part that will bring the brutal Centipede back into existence.
It's this same fear that also makes Touka afraid of Sasaki himself. Because just like Kaneki Ken did four years ago, Sasaki is slowly growing on Touka. It may only be a matter of time before she begins talking to him.
The young investigator approaches the counter, just as he's done every other day this week. He watches her work for a moment before speaking up.
"Um, hello," he says nervously, making her look up.
"Oh, hello. Can I help you?" she replies with the usual fake cheer(that might not be as fake as she believes).
"Ah, yes. I wanted to ask you a question. You see, I told you my name not too long ago, but you've never told me yours. But for some reason I feel like I already know it. So... would your name happen to be Touka?"
Her facade disappears, and Touka can feel her eyes grow wide.
"N-no. You must be mistaking me with someone else again, Sasaki-san."
She quickly rushes to the back, and up to the small apartment above :Re. Everything has gone wrong. So very, very wrong.