A/N: Yo! Sorry for the less-than-excusable update rate guys. I'm just been procrastinating this story since, I've been drawing a lot and the new season of anime have started up. I won't make any promises for updates, but I'll still keep this story alive, if barely! Very sorry for my lack of willpower, but I'll do my best! Anyway, the chapter you've all been looking forward to starts now!

Kaneki was completely lost. He looked from one end of the hall to the other, both looking endless with multiple doors leading to only-god-knows-where. He sighed, scratching the back of his head as he chose a random hall and walked down it. After a few minutes, he found a strange looking double-door, emblazoned with gold, silver, and other such metals. Curious, he opened it slightly, a small creak coming from the hinges. He poised his ears, listening for any sound that seemed suspicious. not a sound was made as he listened, deeming it safe to enter. What he found were hundreds and hundreds of books, ranging from thick to thin, in writing he didn't understand. He mentally salivated, his love for books one of the few things he could remember. He mentally marked the area, hoping to come back when he learned the written language. Taking one last look, he made to turn when suddenly a young voice came from behind him.

"Looking for a book?" Kaneki immediately turns around, ready to defend himself if need be, but finds the small, blue-haired girl he saw with the red-head. She held a large staff, taller than she was, and a thick tome under her arm. Kaneki tensed at the sight of her weapon, but loosened up a bit as he saw her expression was of impassiveness instead of malice. He took a good look at her before answering her question.

"Yes, but I cannot read the language." He states, looking solemnly back towards the stacks of books. The blue haired girl points to herself, then back to Kaneki.

"Teach?" She asked simply, tilting her head slightly. Kaneki smiles slightly, a girl he had never met before offering to teach him their language? It almost made him laugh, but something felt off about her offer, as if there was something else to it entirely.

"It's alright, I don't really plan on staying here too long." He said, moving to close the door. He turned towards the short mage, bowing a bit. "Thank you for the offer." Kaneki said, walking back down the long hallway, before stopping as he remembered something important. "By the way, what was your name again?" He tilted his head in mock confusion while scratching the back of his head.

"...Tabitha." She hesitantly said. Kaneki mentally marked her name, turning to face her.

"Kaneki." He turned around once again to leave, Tabitha watching with half-lidded eyes. She turned around, walking into the library to drop off her book on mythical and exotic creatures.

[scene]

Kaneki, through some sheer stroke of luck, managed to find the entrance he took to enter the building. He went to open the door when he heard a sultry, hushed voice snicker above him. He looked up, only to see the same woman from his nightmares. He tensed up immediately, jumping back as quickly as possible away from her. He bumped into something hard. He looked back, and nearly screamed when the sight of a once white hockey mask, now covered in blood, entered his full view. He tried his best to move, but the man's hands held him firmly in place.

"Now now, don't be rude. I just wanna talk, is that so much to ask?" She said, appearing next to him in an instant. Kaneki could feel his heart beating in his chest, adrenaline pumping through him like a raging river. He tried to shake from the man's grasp, but failed. The woman laughed, tapping his head like he was a child, before closing the little distance they had between their faces. She smiled slyly, placing both of her fingers against his temple.

"I'm going to leave you with a little gift, a bit of a hint to your past. Here's a warning since you seem to be enjoying those around you, don't get involved if you want to keep the friends you have right now and the ones you'll make. Oh, and this will hurt a lot." Her smile was too big for her face, her eyes turning black with a red pupil barely visible within the inky black sclera. He could feel an intense heat push towards the center of his mind, the darkness filling the corners of his vision. The faint sound of his body hitting the floor barely made a scratch on the surface in comparison to the pain he felt throughout his skull. He couldn't stand it any longer, his vision completely disappearing as he let unconsciousness take him.

[scene]

Louise stood by Kaneki's bed, a towel sat atop his head as sweat poured down his face, eyebrows scrunching up as he breathed heavily. Whatever was happening to him, She could only wait for him to wake up. She absentmindedly touched his head, stroking the thick locks of hair, a bit of dust coming off of them.

"We'll have to get you a bath soon, you're starting to stink." She said, laughing a bit as she continued to stroke his hair. She continued this for a few minutes, until a loud bang erupted through the room. She pulled her hand back as quickly as she could, stiffening and blushing as she hoped whoever had entered didn't see her stroking his head.

"Kaneki! Kaneki are you alright!?" Siesta's worried voice rang through, Louise looking at her with a bit of a frown. Siesta ran to his side, holding onto his hand and trying to get something out of him. As Louise watched how worried Siesta was, she wondered if Kaneki really needed someone like her by his side, but as soon as that thought flew, she shot it down with gusto.

'There's no way he wouldn't need me here! I'm his master, and I still have yet to apologise to him for the way I've been treating him!' She chastised herself mentally, staring into Kaneki's pained face. Whatever was happening, it would be a while before he recovered, so she decided to reassure the maid.

"He's alright, ma-", she stopped herself, reminding her that the maid was his friend, "Siesta. He just needs some rest." She said, assuring herself more than the person she was supposed to be. Siesta looked up from Kaneki, her full attention on the pinkette. Louise forced a smile, hoping to take the thick atmosphere down a notch.

"What happened?" She asked, a hint of malice barely hidden in her words. Louise finched slightly, not expecting such a tone.

"He walked off and when I found him, he looked out of it and then passed out." She kept the details of their fight a secret, a maid not really needing to know about their situation. Siesta tensed up, becoming a bit more panicked.

"Was he talking to himself, like someone was there next to him, or talking to you as if he thought you were someone else?" She asked, not even attempting to hide the worry. Louise tilted her head, confused at what Siesta was asking.

"Why would he be talking to himself? Are you hiding something from me?" She demanded, accusing Siesta of keeping something important about Kaneki from her. Siesta flinched visibly, turning to look away before readying herself to spill the beans.

"W-when I found him a few days ago, after the fight with Guiche, he looked badly hurt. I went to approach him, but he was mumbling to himself about being hungry and telling someone to leave. I called out his name, and he turned towards me." she recalled something horrifying, but kept up her story. "It looked as if he was wearing some type of mask, but I wasn't too sure. He called me "hide" or something like that, but I didn't even get to ask who or what that was before he was gone. The next second, a searing pain erupted from my shoulder", she gripped her left shoulder, softly squeezing it before turning to look Louise in the eyes, "I looked and saw that he was on top of me, biting deeply into my shoulder. He ripped a good chunk out, swallowing it whole. The pain was unlike anything I felt before, and I could feel myself passing out. I called out to him, to hopefully make him stop, but I couldn't say anything. Suddenly, he stopped, and collapsed on top of me."

Louise looked dumbfounded. Kaneki, her familiar, tried to eat someone! She looked wide-eyed at Siesta, who was looking down into her lap, then to Kaneki, who was still breathing heavily. She turned back to Siesta, opening and shutting her mouth like a gaping fish. She barely managed to compose herself to actually ask her question.

"What happened after that?" She asked, curious to figure out how Siesta managed to drag dead weight all the way to infirmary with a torn shoulder.

"Well, one of the mages from the school carried us here, I believe her name was Tabitha." She said, grasping her hand a bit out of habit.

Louise was definitely worried now, someone from the school found the two in a bloody mess, with Kaneki on top of Siesta. It just screams assault, which is punishable by life in the dungeons! The familiar's actions match the master's, so that means if they get accused, then it's all over for her! She mentally berated herself, trying to think of a way out of the situation, before Siesta spoke up.

"You don't have to worry, miss Valliere, miss Tabitha said that she would keep the whole incident a secret as long as it didn't get out of hand." Siesta said reassuringly, Louise breathing a sigh of relief. She looked down at Kaneki, wondering just what he was.

"Whatever happened to him in the past must have been a living nightmare. If I may be so bold, I believe he shouldn't remember it." Siesta stated, looking upon his shuffling form. Louise could only nod in agreement, making it her personal mission to keep him from finding out his past.

A knock at the door interrupted the heavy silence between the two.

"Excuse me, miss Valliere and Siesta, but it's late. I think you both should get some rest for tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll let you know if something happens while you're gone." Emily said, giving the two a trusting smile. They nodded, getting up and leaving the room. Emily smiled back at them, before turning her attention back to Kaneki. She touched his cheek, a lustful smile creeped onto her face.

"Oh~ the face of suffering suits you so well, Kaneki. I hope you'll show my master and I that face more and more as you continue to struggle~." She kissed his cheek before turning around and walking out the door. "Sweet dreams." She whispered, chuckling as she walked down the hall, leaving a half-aware and hungry Kaneki.