Kaneki stirred around under the covers of the bed, well aware of Eto's warm body laying on top of him, purring gently and releasing a giggle ever now and again. He thought nothing of it, in fact he enjoyed it, Eto was like a second blanket, one that wrapped itself around you, and would every now and again kiss you. He smiled, still closing his eyes, for someone who ate humans all her life, she kissed surprisingly gently. In fact, she was rather intimate when she wanted to be, just last night she refused to let Kaneki sleep until she was tired of doing so... he fell asleep before she could finish kissing him. At first he didn't know if he'd enjoy this type of relationship with Eto, he enjoyed her company, her books, and her in general, but before that night when Touka had assaulted him he didn't realize just how much he wanted Eto to kiss him.

Said show's of affection only got better over time. Eto had, rather freely, admitted that she was a newcomer to relationships like this and the only source of physical affection she had were adult books. But, Kaneki(despite never even holding a girls hand) thought she was doing more than fine. He didn't know if everyone felt like this when it happened, but he felt an intense heat in his stomach, a gut feeling that begged for more... However, Eto would stop so suddenly that he felt deprived... yet satisfied... she did it on purpose... Kaneki just new.

Suddenly another giggle, then the feeling of a soft warm hand on his cheek and a gentle voice, stifling laughter whispered into his ear. "Hey there, Ken... wake up... I wan't you to see something." Then, she softly kissed him, her hair tickling his closed eye's. Kaneki slowly opened them, they felt light and willing... It was one of those rare occasions when they hybrid slept great and he personally believed it was thanks to Eto.

"Good morning..." he smiled drowsily, he'd become much more comfortable with waking up in this position, in fact it made him enjoy waking up at all.

"There," she began, grinning wildly, "Now both of you are up..."

Kaneki's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, Both? Who else was here, to his knowledge, they were the only ones here. "What?" He asked, displaying his confusion clearly. Eto simply smiled, and slowly lowered herself on him completely. As she did so he felt a new, warm pressure flow with her, it crawled from his groin, to his waist and ended just before his actual torso started. He felt his face flush bright red, he began to sweat in embarrassment, he knew exactly what it was as he'd woken up to one several times before. It was an erection.

"I-I-" Kaneki began, trying to save himself from the embarrassment, but only making it worse. What was one supposed to say in this situation? It was probably one of the most embarrassing things that had ever happened to him.

Eto began cackling wildly at him, making her amusement known. Her laughter rang in his ears, sending sudden worries into his head. Was he... to small? Was he not wide enough? Or was she just laughing at his morning erection... God, he hoped it was just the last one. "Oh my, Kaneki," she spoke between laughs, "I didn't realize how frustrated you were."

"N-no, I-I-"

Eto then kissed him, shutting him up and surprising him. Then breaking the kiss she spoke, "Listen, I don't mind if you take time to... relieve yourself every now and again.", all the while smiling down at him. "I'd help but... I'm not really in the mood right now." Then she rested her chin on the crook of his neck and sighed tiredly. "I'd much rather cuddle if it's all the same to you."

Kaneki, flustered, began to defend himself. "I-I don't... do that!" He said, sounding almost disgusted at the thought.

"What?" Eto asked, actually sounding surprised at the revelation. "You mean you've never rubbed one out?" she sat up, starring at him with almost disbelief. Was it really that hard to believe? Did he look like someone who would?

"N-No!" Kaneki paused, looking at her, "D-do you?"

Eto let out a tired laugh and began to stretch, "Hmmmm , every now and then... I mean one has to get rid of stress somehow and sometimes pleasuring yourself is the best way to do so." She threw her hands down on to his chest and then slowly re-positioned herself on top of him, smiling and groaning as her body loosened up. "It's only natural, both humans and ghouls do it, there's no shame in it... Think of it as giving yourself a momentary release from the stress of reality, then it's not so bad."

"I-I suppose..." Kaneki said looking to his left, feeling a little uncomfortable. He wasn't lying when he'd said he'd never masturbated, he never even attempted it. He didn't even touch his junk when he went to urinate.

"So it's settled then?" Eto asked into his neck.

"What is?" Kaneki responded with a question of his own. He didn't know they settled on anything.

"You'll start masturbating." His girlfriend told him, boredly, as if she didn't tell him that he should start touching himself.

"W-what!?" He yelped, face red, "I-I never said that!"

Eto grinned into his neck, her hot breath tickling him as she did. Then, she lifted herself up, straddling him at the waist and smiled down at him, mischievously. "Well you are." She told him matter-of-factly, "Because it's natural, it relieves stress, and not to mention it'll make you feel tons better." Then, placing her hand dangerously close to his groin, she spoke once more, "Or, I guess I could help you...", Mock seduction in her voice. She then tugged at his deep blue pajama bottoms and raised her eyebrows.

"N-no!" Kaneki squeaked, "I-I'll do it... I just... where?"

"In the restroom, of course." she said happily, "Just make sure you clean up after yourself if you make a mess."

Kaneki's flush intensified, and he gulped. "D-do I have to now?"

"Yes..."

There was then a silence, awkward(for Kaneki) and deafening. Eto looked a little to excited about all this, most girls(he thought) wouldn't be so excited about having their partners masturbating, but then again, Eto was fairly liberal in her ways, and she'd admitted to doing it rather nonchalantly, it made sense that she wouldn't mind. Kaneki looked her up and down, just to buy time(and some fuel to... please himself to, after all her top was held by a single button and her pajama bottoms were dangerously low. Sighing, he nodded, he couldn't believe he was being forced to masturbate, let alone by his Idol author, but then wilder things had happened to him. "O-ok..."

It had been a month since the incident with the investigators and despite one being murdered by an unknown ghoul, things had been surprisingly calm. No one even spoke of the event, Not the manager, not Koma, nor Irimi, not Yomo, not Eto, not Touka, not even Hinami. In fact, the little girl was acting surprisingly lively since she woke up the day after, like Kaneki had never seen before, still it was a heart warming sight.

Eto was in the coffee shop today, busy in front of her laptop writitng some story that she refused to let Kaneki see, not even a glimpse. Kaneki knew she was doing this to tease him because she had told him that it was a sequel to 'The Black Goats Egg' which left, purposefully, many unanswered questions, despite still being loved by her fans, including her boyfriend. On top of that anytime he'd get close to take a peak on the screen she would click off the page, playing it off as if she didn't see him coming, but Kaneki knew her game, and he knew she wasn't playing fair.

Though, it wasn't just her in the shop, there were other ghouls, in fact there was a considerable amount. He'd asked Touka, his short tempered co-worker if there was any special ghoul holiday, to which she simply scoffed and looked at him with a disapproving face. Kaneki was surprised when she'd told him that they'd come to see 'the ghoul who repelled a Nest investigator'(meaning him). Kaneki thought she was being rude at first, but his opinion quickly changed when he'd noticed ghouls looking him up and down, some approvingly, some with a mixture of mock and surprise on their face. He'd tried his best to avoid their stares, Kaneki didn't want to be known as a power house, because it wasn't him. He remembered in primary school, when he was bullied the most, that he tried to pick a fight with a rather large student and was sent home with a bloody nose... That event described his life perfectly from then on ironically.

Suddenly there was there was the familiar and friendly chime of the door opening and a breeze along with it. Kaneki turned to look at the new customer and give the greeting they were required to give, however Touka beat him to it.

"Welcome to Antei-" she stopped, apparently recognizing the man, then frowned in annoyance, "-ku..." she finished with a just as annoyed tone in her voice. What worried Kaneki is that, while there was always annoyance in her voice, it was particularly sharp here.

The man wore a red and purple suit that stuck out in contrast from the shop and the others in it, his hair a deep shade of purple, a lot like Rize's Kaneki noticed but it was more than likely coincidence, He was tall as well, tall and thin. The man then began to arch his back and take in a deep nose full of the coffee scented Anteiku air and letting out a satisfied breath when he finished. "The smell of coffee being ever so gently brewed... The scent of fine wood and the tapping of feet upon it... And last, but not least, the tinge of human within the air..." He almost moaned aloud, describing the scents he felt flow into his nostrils, all the while flamboyantly changing his poses. "And... there is a new, but familiar scent within the air..."

Kaneki stared on at the scene, concern for the ghouls sanity in his head, and he would've stayed that way had Eto's voice not shaken him from his trance. "Helloooooooo, Shuuuuuuuuu!" She called, halfway standing up and wildly waving her right hand in the air above her head.

Kaneki notice the man clench his jaw slightly, and narrow his eye's at the sudden noise, a silent anger within them. But, as if nothing had happened, he then brushed his hair a bit and breathed a cool bit of air from between his lips. "Hello, Miss Takatsuki... It's been a while..."

Eto childishly nodded her head in response, her regularly bobbed hair bouncing slightly, "6 months and three days to be exact..." she said, sticking her index finger into the air, as if making a point.

"Yes... well, I just came by to see this new blood who took down that troublesome investigator Koutarou Amon." He explained, stalking toward Kaneki. "Forgive me for not coming sooner, but... I was rather swamped..." He then turned his attention to Kaneki. "I assume it was this one here, no?" Shuu asked, no one in particular, as he lowered himself slightly, leaning at the waist and began circling Kaneki. "Hmmm... the smell of sweat, blood rushing, and... oh my..." he teased at him, making Kaneki understand exactly what he reeked of, even if just a little. "But, there's something deeper... hmmm, ahhh yes... Human... Human and ghoul... a familiar yet new scent..." Shuu then stood to his full height and looked down at Kaneki. "Hmmmm... You are Ken Kaneki right?"

"Y-yes"

"I see, so the rumors are true... there is another one-eye in the 20th ward... You, miss Takatsuki,... and the Owl... that makes three." Shuu then looked over to Eto knowingly, "I wonder who the latter really is..."

Eto sipped her coffee, grinning at him, "Yeah, who could he be..."

Shuu simply smirked as he stepped back from Kaneki, "Well, I only came to visit... It was a pleasure meeting you, Ken Kaneki..." And with that, the odd man left, closing the door elegantly and gently behind him.

Kaneki found himself starring at the door, confused by the mans appearance, his actions, then his sudden exit. Kaneki didn't know why, but he had a feeling that that man was trouble, and that he wasn't well liked(at least by Touka).

"Kaneki." Eto called to him, waving her hand towards herself, closing her laptop and sliding it away to the wall next to her, "Come here, there's something I want to tell you." Kaneki walked over to the author, curious as to what she needed him for. Her tone was odd, almost worried, that was new for her, especially considering her easy-going personality.

Eto watched as Kaneki walked over, at the same time watching Touka look up, a blush on her face, then quickly scurry out of the room. Aww damn, we were careless... Oh well, Touka's not the gossiping type. Kaneki now stood in front of Eto, curiosity on his face as he looked down at her. Quickly Eto grabbed him by his tucked tie and pulled him into a light kiss, then sat him down.

She wasted no time getting to the point, she brought him close to her, put her mouth to his ear and began to talk. "About that man, the one who just came in... I want you too stay away from him..." She began, speaking somewhat gravely, "You see, he has a sick fantasy of being able to make humans into gourmet foods... but it doesn't stop there... He's also obsessed with tasting half-ghouls..."

Kaneki gulped, that explained why he got so close to him, why he was so interested, but it also raised a few questions. "Why didn't he go after you?" Kaneki asked, curiously.

"He did... it was a few years ago, so as punishment I... well... I tore out his tongue and broke his nose to the point where he could hardly smell... He was less than pleased... But don't be fooled, he's a pretty strong ghoul... and despite our little training sessions you probably wouldn't be able to win." Then, the author placed her lips on him once more and released him, pulling out her laptop and going back to work. "Now, shoo! No peaking yet..."

It was late now, most of the customers, including Eto had left for the day, leaving only Touka, Yomo, and Kaneki himself in the shop. It was a rather boring scene to behold if Kaneki said so himself, Yomo sat patiently in the corner of the shop, being quiet as usual, his big coat laying gently over him, and his arms crossed firmly, as if he was being kept... Was he? Yomo was always an enigma to the hybrid, he had the capability for compassion, but his actual mood at time was never really clear.

Touka, on the other hand was hard at work behind the counter, furiously cleaning coffee out of cups. Though, Kaneki had to say she had been acting odd these last few months, ever since the night Hinami ran away in fact. At first she'd tried to avoid him it seemed, off-put by something, but soon she had started to linger around him, as if expecting something from him.

"Hey, Shit head- Kaneki!" Touka called from behind the counter. That was her new nickname for him, she'd started cslling him that soon after that night near Kasahara as well. Strangley enough, though, Kaneki didn't really mind, he'd come to understand Touka in fact. She liked to play the bitchy-emo girl, but she was in fact far kinder than she let on... at least to Hinami, and he took pleasure in her bristling annoyance whenever he would act like he didn't hear her name calling.

The dark haired waitress then tossed the key's to the shop over to him, hard, probably hoping to hit him in the head, however Kaneki caught them(albeit just barley). "Lock up after me tonight..." Then, without saying another word she began towards her room upstairs, getting a change of clothes.

"W-wait!" Kaneki called, a bit annoyed at her vagueness, "You live here, why do I have to lock up for you?"

Touka looked down towards him, annoyance in her big, but judgmental eyes. "I have somewhere to go tonight... My friend, Yoriko wanted to hang out... She says I'm to anti-social and I don't want people to get suspicious of me."

Kaneki nodded, "So... Yoriko is... a human?"

Touka looked down towards Kaneki once more, a sudden memory in her eye's, then she gritted her teeth in rage. "Yeah, what the fuck of it?" she hissed, her fist tightening.

"N-nothing!" Kaneki yelped, trying to save his skin, "Just wondering is all..."

Touka grunted in dissatisfaction and walked up stairs, slamming the door behind her angrily. Kaneki flinched at the sound, this is what happened often with Touka, it seemed that she still hated him for something. Still, she was much nicer to him since that investigators death, perhaps she had stopped blaming him for Ryouko's death? In any case, though, it didn't matter, Kaneki would have to get used to her attitude, or risk the slaps upside the head she would often give him.

Now only Kaneki and Yomo remained(along with Hinami who was sleeping on the floor above) and an awkward atmosphere hat set upon the small coffee shop. Kaneki had hardly any interaction with the tall, white-haired man... No, that wasn't true, a month ago, after he fought off that investigator, he was having trouble returning his kagune to his body, he couldn'y do it... rather it didn't want to go back in... Kaneki was going insane at that time due to having tasted sweet flesh and then forcefully depriving himself of it. Yomo had come to try and help Kaneki, but instead found the boy's Kagune peircing through himself... though Yomo didn't even flinch, it wasn't a lack of speed, nor a lack of reflex, but rather... he simply didn't care, it didn't bother him. He didn't say a word after either, when Kaneki regained his sanity and his bearings, Yomo practically carried him to Touka and Hinami's location.

KAneki didn't get to thank him for that, because he hardly saw him much after that, so his appearance in the shop now was strange... unless he just came to visit. Kaneki gulped and spoke, his mouth dry... "Ahhh... Yomo... it's about closing time for the shop... You-you'll have to leave soon..."

Yomo simply nodded at him, face apathetic, body stiff. "I know... I'm just waiting for you to close it..."

Kaneki began to become worried, was something wrong? Was Yomo actually mad at him for running him through like that? D-did he want to meet Kaneki as well? It seemed to the new hybrid that he wasn't necessarily off the ghouls menu even after the surgery, he wondered how ghouls felt, never fearing being eaten, but then, not many ghouls did know how tasty half-ghouls were apparently, so he wasn't in that much danger on the streets... but still... he was becoming increasingly paranoid at the thought. It was almost funny, how, as a human, he never considered the possibility of ghouls, but now they were pretty much the only thing on his mind.

"A-ah... Ok..." Kaneki replied, trying his utmost to hide the worry in his voice, but failing quite miserably. "W-why?"

"Because Eto wants to make sure that Shuu Tsukiyama doesn't try and satisfy his hunger with you..."

Kaneki felt his body run cold, the way Yomo had said that, coupled by the thought of being chased down at night once more, was almost chilling enough to freeze him on the spot. "Shuu... Tsukiyama..." Kaneki repeated, shakily, "I-is that the man who came here earlier? The one with the purple hair and the... flamboyant... suit..?"

Yomo nodded in reply, then spoke once more. "Though as long as Eto is around in the 20th ward, I have a feeling he won't try anything... He may be dangerous... but Eto is much more so... He's not stupid either..."

Kaneki ha noticed many people had been talking about his girlfriend like that, like she was somebody famous... well, she was, but the term he was looking for was probably more along the lines of Infamous, like she was strong. Kaneki himself knew she was, having experienced it first hand about a month ago or so, but he felt Eto couls do much more than that. "A-bout, Eto..." Kaneki inquired, eagerly, "Before I met her... What was she... like?"

Yomo looked at Kaneki, almost sympathetically, and maybe a little surprised? Like he thought he would have know by now... or no... That Eto was keeping something from him. Then, as if he wasn't surprised(if he was) Yomo simply responded with, "That sounds like a question you should ask her..."

Shuu sat at a round, white clothed dinner table, a single plate in front of him and a small, petite, brunette at the end, a camera hanging from her neck like a necklace. Around them were similar tables, scattered about the room, a dim orange light, colored the room and classical European music filled it as well. Despite what it sounded like this was not a 5-star restaurant, in fact, it was not a restaurant at all. It was just another room in Shuu Tsukiyama's mansion.

From a very young age, Shuu had alway's received whatever he desired. His family had become huge in the world of business, and as such he had been provided a comfortable life. He had many servants, ghouls and humans a like. In fact, he was so comfortable that said human servant's knew what he was, he simply paid them not to talk, and they oh so obediently obeyed. It was a privileged life indeed.

Before the two, laid their respective diets, for Tsukiyama an assortment of cut up virgin eyeballs, along with a tongue and the genitals of a young man. For his human friend, Chie Hori, was her name, a lobster, surrounded by lettuce and to the side a black, plastic cup of dipping sauce, though she hardly seemed interested in the food ,which had been so expertly prepared by the human chefs of Shuu's kitchen, but rather Shuu himself. He had invited her over to dinner today, but he only really did that when he wanted to talk about something.

"I am grateful for your coming, little mouse, I have a rather exciting topic to share with you to day..." He began, quite dramatically.

"Oh, and what might that be?" Asked, the small human, as she took a bite out of the lobster.

"I have a new... dish I am dying to taste... It goes by the name of Ken Kaneki... However, he is currently in the care of my previous hunger: Takatsuki Sen. It is so agonizing to see such a tasteful being so... wasted..."

"Mhmmm..." Chie said, this time dipping the lobster into sauce and placing it her mouth. "I remember you saying something similar when you met that Takatsuki woman... but you remember what happened when you tried her... She'll probably do it again if you eat this Ken guy... so how are you going to go about it?"

"Ahh, but that's the best part... It's not actually getting to taste it that's good, no, sometimes... it's the wait...

Now, back in her house Eto sat in front of gathered books from her own personal library(more of an empty closet, but whatever), books that were rather obscure and some not. She had laid them out upon her coffee table in front of the couch and sighed, boredom evident in her voice. She'd had these books for years, and they were quite interesting, but she never really had anyone to discuss them with. Touka, Koma, and Irimi weren't readers, Hinami couldn't really understand, and her father would have been confused by them. It was ghoul history, something very poorly documented, Eto wondered if it was intentional or if ghouls of tha past simply didn't care too...

The sounds of the door unlatching echoed through the house and then the slight whine of said door moving replaced it. Eto knew who it was, it was Kaneki, Yomo had brought him home as she asked, but he didn't stay himself, instead he turned and left. Not even a 'hello' Eto pouted mentally, how rude. Now though, she noticed Kaneki looking at the books, a familiar confused look on his face.

"Kaneki, come here!" she told him, patting the cushion next to her gently. Kaneki obeyed, albeit uncertainly. Eto knew that he knew that she was going to grab him and that he was looking forward to it, he just didn't want to admit it... after all he was a bit of a pervert.

The moment Kaneki arrived at her side Eto grabbed him and pulled him down on her lap, securing him tightly and resting her chin at the top of his head. She felt him relax in her grasp, his arms fell limp on his stomach and he let out a tired sigh. "Hello, Eto..." he said, like he was going to fall asleep. She smiled, she loved to hold him like this, he was like... like a blanket sometimes, he was warm, somewhat soft(becoming less and less soft as they continued his training) and when he took breaths it tickled her.

"Hello, Ken." She replied, speaking into his head, "Are you tired?"

"A bit..." He yawned in reply, his eye's half open. He was truly, despite how lax his job could be he came home tired almost every day now, he really shouldn't be, but this was the first job he'd ever had... so it was to be expected.

Eto laughed a bit, and lifted his head up to the point to where he was starring her in the eye. "I'm sorry..." She smiled and then placed her lips against his own, pushing gently but intimately enough to prompt him to react the same way. This had become standard for the couple, Eto would often instigate it and Kaneki would follow her lead. She preferred it this way, because she loved Kaneki's surprised reaction when they touched lips, even as long as they had been doing it.

Eto broke the kiss away and smiled, "Feel better?" she asked, teasingly.

"Y-yeah..." Spoke the college student a happy blush on his face.

"Do you feel empty after this morning?" She asked, still in the teasing mood. "You were in their for quite a while... I hope you didn't make a mess..."

Kaneki blush turned to one of embarrassment and he frowned, "I- I told you, I don't do that..."

"Oh, so you wanted me to help you?" She teased, yet again, slightly moving her hand down his torso, making him gasp a little.

"N-no... It- It's just that I... Don't do it..."

"Mhmm, but it felt relieving right?"

"I- guess so.."

"Mhmmm..." Eto, replied, amused at his shyness, "Now, see these books here, Kaneki?" She asked, motioning with her head to the book covered coffee table. Kaneki looked down towards the table himself, seeing a collection of around 7 books on the table. "These are some of the only books that have recorded history of Ghouls..."

Kaneki's eye's widened, he did have questions about ghouls now that he was one, but he never really had the opportunity to ask them. "Hey, Kaneki..." Eto spoke once more, "Have you read, Bram Stokers Dracula?" She inquired, bringing her mouth onto his head.

"Yeah, I read it for an assignment in college..."

"Did you know that Dracula was a ghoul?" Eto asked.

"I thought in the book he's a vampire?" Kaneki responded, without looking back at Eto.

"Well, he is, but in actuality Vlad the impaler was a ghoul, the rumors of him drinking blood were all true, in fact he hid his identity as a ghoul by spreading rumors that he was a vampire... Jack the ripper was also a ghoul... though he was never caught... He preyed upon the young prostitutes of London until a member of the original London Counter Ghoul organization, Sherlock Holmes, killed him... Back then though, there were no quinque's... so humans would use the Kagune of dead ghouls like a sword... it wouldn't last long however as the Kagune need nutrients to sustain themselves."

"That's... actually quite interesting..." Kaneki replied, his mouth slight agape, he did wonder how it was that ghouls did not dominate the world by now.

"Isn't it?" Eto asked, more to herself than Kaneki, "But the most interesting parts lie in the Pre-European exploration of the America's. especially the Mayan's..." she paused, "Eventually I want to read this with you, when we have time, but I assume your tired so-"

"W-we can read them now." Kaneki interrupted, sounding a bit excited.

Eto smiled, "Ok then..."

Kaneki now felt like he regretted staying up so late with Eto, reading, as fun as it may have been. They discussed the various tribes of the western hemisphere, the Americas. The Mayan's, Aztec's, etc. They even divulged into how ghouls are viewed in religion. It was all very interesting, but as interesting as it was... Kaneki was suffering because of his interest. They had both fallen asleep on the couch and when Kaneki woke up he was an hour late for work, and what's worse Touka was there to scold him. What's more, though, is that due to their all-nighter Kaneki was about to fall asleep at work.

But there was one bright side... The shop so far had been completely empty, in fact it was only Touka and him there, and it was quiet. Kaneki was laying up stairs on a couch, a single arm draped over his face in an attempt to shield his eyes from invading light rays peaking through the blinds. He was lucky Touka didn't give much of a shit when he went up stairs to lay down, if she wanted to she could have forced him to stay downstairs and scrub the tables.

In fact she was acting weird today, not mean(despite the scolding) but just quite strange, in fact he even found her sniffing him... or at least he thought she was... maybe that encounter with Shuu still had him shaken... But Shuu had mentioned something personal about him, about what he did yesterday morning... was he joking or... could ghouls smell that? He knew he could smell it when Nishiki and that girl were... getting intimate.

But... were the others smelling what he did? If they did was the smell still lingering on him? There were many thoughts running through his head and causing his face to grow red with embarrassment, however all of it was interrupted when the door rang. "Shit..." Kaneki mumbled to himself, standing up and hurrying downstairs.

When he reached the bottom he saw four figures, one tall and bulky, stood stiffly. His hair was laid down on his hair jelled back and spiked at the ends and his small beard shaved into a rather weird design. He had an angered and threatening look in his eye's, Kaneki decided then that he didn't want to mess with him... The others looked similar to one another, however one was shorter than others and much more feminine shaped.

Kaneki noticed Touka looking at them warily, almost as if she was ready to fight, however she still kept cool. "Would you like some coffee?" she asked, kindly, like the manager had taught her to.

The man shifted his gaze down to her and frowned. "No... we want to ask you a question,though..."

Kaneki stepped further towards them, "And what would that be?" He inquired, getting somewhat serious.

The man looked over to Kaneki and almost scoffed at how small he was, his bowl cut, his outfit, just about everything about Kaneki he found comedic, but then... there was a smell coming from him, a familiar smell, one that he missed... One that he was looking for. The man then grabbed Kaneki by the throat and pushed him into a wall, his face turning into an enraged scowl.

"You... Smell like Rize!" He shouted at Kaneki, reeling back his fist. "Are... you her... her..."

"I-I-I" Kaneki stammered trying to think of something to calm him down.

"Hey, put him down!" Touka yelled, getting ready to attack herself.

"Rize's Boyfriend!?"

Wut? Kaneki thought, almost laughing, but thanking god that he didn't, lest the man punch his face in. He heard Touka verbalize a similar question and one of the three goons in the background, the more feminine one, sighed.

The man then tried to hit Kaneki, but thanks to his time fighting with Eto, Kaneki countered, surprisingly efficient in his movement. He grabbed the man's thick arm and pulled it off of him, finding it surprisingly weak considering his size. Then, in a swift movement, he dodged the swinging fist by mere inches and delivered a swift, light uppercut to the man's chin and readied himself for another swing, surely it would take more than that to take someone like this guy down.

However, to Kaneki's surprise, the man... feel down, like a log onto the wood floor... in fact he was out cold...

"So weak..." Touka muttered to herself, looking down at the floored man judgementally.

"Thats... our leader..." One of the trio said, embarrassed.

The man had been out for a good thirty or so minutes now and showed no sign of stirring awake, so they ended up moving him upstairs... It was actually becoming quite worrisome, What if he never woke up, what then? How would he explain that to the manager? His group was actually not mad at all that Kaneki had floored their leader like that, in fact they said it was quite common. They revealed that Banjou, that was his name, was the leader of the 11th ward until a group of ghouls had taken over, however their rule was more a dictatorship than anything as those who didn't join were killed or beaten to hell. They had said that the group was sent here to find Rize or find 'the one who smells like Rize', It wasn't hard figuring out who they meant... But Banjou was hoping to tell Rize something, instead of capture her(as if he could).

Suddenly, Banjou began to stir, his eye's blinking quickly and his head shaking until finally he opened his eye's. He sat up quickly and looked around, wondering where he was. His face was one of confusion and his eye's were that of worry, as if he feared waking in a certain place. Then, abruptly, he grabbed his jaw and hissed, "Owww, dammit that hurts..."

"S-sorry..." Kaneki replied, smiling. "I didn't mean to hit you, it was just reflex..."

Banjou looked over to him, surprise in his eyes, almost like he couldn't believe someone like Kaneki could do that. "... You're a lot stronger than you look..." Banjou commented, rubbing his chin, then sighed, "I suppose that's why Rize choose you, huh?"

"No, she didn't choose me(at least not in that way)," Kaneki replied, very strongly, "We were just close friends..."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Banjou replied bowing to show his apology.

"I-it's fine really, you don't have to-"

"I do! I have to or I will be even less of a man than I am right now!" Banjou argued, still bowing, causing Kaneki to sigh. "But, anyway's might you go where Rize went?" He asked, his demeanor turning dark. Kaneki considered telling him the truth, that Rize was dead, and that her Kagune was implanted within him, but he knew that would crush him... he just couldn't do it...

"Ahhh, no... She left the 20th ward a while ago... she didn't tell me where she was going either... she just left..."

"I see... well... should you see her again, can you give her a message for me?" Banjou asked, looking up almost pleadingly...

"I suppose... Why not?"

"Tell her to run." Banjou said, repeating his followers down below.

"Why?" Kaneki inquired, hoping to get more out of Banjou than he was releasing.

"A group sent us to look for her, however these guys... they're not someone you want to be affiliated with, no... They're cruel... They kill indiscriminately... They even murder ghouls for no reason sometimes... it's a nightmare... and to make things worse... I've heard that their leader is-"

Suddenly, there was a loud crash, glass sprayed the room, and a leg smashed into Banjou's arm, breaking it and sending him reeling to the floor. Where there once was a window now stood a slim, average height teenager, dark messy hair framing a grinning face, and strangely enough he looked almost exactly like Touka. "Hey Banjou, I think that's enough out of you, you're like a damn slut, alway's gossiping about others."

"Ayato..."

Suddenly, Touka and the other three ran into the room, Touka leading them, an angered expression on her face. "Hey, What the fuck is going on-" She stopped, anger forgotten, and a look of disbelief on her face. "Ayato..." she mumbled, but loud enough to be able to hear, even if just barely.

"Hey there," He replied, cheekily, "Big sister..."

Then, Touka felt the looming presence of two others behind her, causing her to turn. She saw two men, one small and slender, almost bones, the other huge, intimidating, with a face like a gecko. The thinner of the two wore woman's clothing, make up, and had a shaved head, he also stood like a woman too. The one next to him had his hands pushed into his pockets, lazily, a slight smile graced his lips and he looked down at Touka like one would a pest.

"Nico, Yamori... What the hell are you two doing here?" Ayato asked, his previous cheek forgotten, he almost sounded worried.

"Tatara isn't really that confident in your abilities Ayato, so he sent us as... insurance..." Yamori replied, his gaze shifting towards Kaneki. "Oh, who's this?" He co'od leaning in towards Kaneki, causing him to back up slightly. Yamori then sniffed the hybrid and smiled, "Hey, look, you found him, good job kid..." Yamori commented, reeling back a fist and smashing it onto Kaneki's face, sending him flying, and let out cries of anguish.

"Now, Now, Yamori." Nico warned, shaking his finger, "Kill him and Tatara won't be too happy..."

"I don't want to kill him... not yet... just see how much he can take..."

Touka was fed up, she'd had quite enough of sitting still. "You fucking bastard!" She yelled as she leapt towards him, Ukaku ripping out of her shoulder blade, ready to strike. Yamori simply smiled at the attempt, letting his arms go wide, telling her to give him her best shot... And she would have... had a booted foor not smacked her head and sent her to the floor, making her head bounce.

It was Ayato... Ayato, her baby brother had kicked her in the fucking head. "Ayato... you little brat!"

"A brat's someone who act's impulsively, Touka, You're the only brat here..." Retorted Ayato, hitting her square on the jaw, almost breaking it and sending her to the floor once more.

Yamori smiled and turned, just in time to see Kaneki trying to give him a hit of his own, single Kakugan activated and flaring. "Oh my!" He laughed as he dodged and appeared behind Kaneki, almost to fast for the eye to catch a glimpse. Kaneki was dumbfounded for a moment, searching for the big ghoul, how could someone so large disappear like that? Then, two thorned tails ripped through his stomach, making him cry out in pain, in turn making Yamori laugh.

"Hey, Yamori, that's enough!" Banjou yelled at him, but was ignored completely.

"Oh wow, he's still concious?" Yamori commented, then began thrashing the room with him. "LOOK AT IT, LOOK AT IIIIIIIT!" he screamed in exitment, "HE DOESN"T FUCKING BREAK! NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I HIT HIM, HE DOESN'T BREAK!"

The view was sickening, so much so that even Ayato averted his eye's and made a disgusted face, "Let- Let's just go..." he said, almost sympathetic for the imapled Kaneki, who now had a dazed, bloody face. And leave they did, without protest, without a making much noise, taking Kaneki, Banjou, and the other three with them, leaving Touka in a pool of Kaneki's blood, on the floor, unable to do a thing...

Dammit...