-Sorry for the wait on this chapter, haha. They're starting out kinda short for right now, but they'll probably lengthen later, don't worry. I'm gonna keep writing it for a little while and see how it works.

If you are reading this, and you're enjoying it, don't be shy; leave a review to let me know! I love feedback, even if it's a tip for making it better. :3

Until next chapter!-

2

He didn't bother to pick the mask up off the floor when he passed it. Wearing it out in public might just scare the crap out of people and for once, he wanted to appear normal to them.

Or at least, as normal as a white-haired boy in beaten clothing and bare feet could look.

Beside the bed, there was a white bedside table with a single drawer. Kaneki pulled it open without much expectation, then blinked when he spotted the folded money inside. So someone had given him money? Or he'd brought it from wherever he'd been before this?

"Not questioning it," he decided, plucking the money from the drawer and shoving it shut with his knee. Choosing between buying and stealing clothes was easier now.

The moment he stepped out into daylight, however, he began to regret his decision to leave the apartment at all. He was out in the familiar streets of Tokyo, the buildings stretching up over his head and a steady stream of cars passing by in front of him. Shielding his eyes from the sun with a hand, he picked a random direction and started walking. This was when it became difficult. People walking past on the sidewalk kept looking his way, some curious and some pitying. All of them made sure to give him a good distance.

A brief twinge of embarrassment made Kaneki lower his head a bit as he walked. He really should've expected this. He was a barefoot ghoul with strange hair and torn clothes. To anyone walking by, he must've looked like a wreck. I could tear all of them apart if I wanted to, he reminded himself. He cracked a knuckle and met some of their stares as he continued walking. He'd been through much worse than public embarrassment, after all.

XxxxxxX

He'd forgotten what shopping for clothes was like.

He didn't do it very often and rarely took much of an interest in it. He supposed the world must have been laughing at him right now, a powerful ghoul holding up a pair of pants in some clothing store, wondering if they would fit. Better get a size bigger, he thought and snagged a pair of black sweatpants from the folded piles on the shelf. He guessed it was early fall, based on the weather outside, so warmer clothes were a good option for now. It was always good for ghouls to wear clothes they could move in easily too. Speaking of which...

When was the last time he ate?

Feeling stupid, Kaneki rested a hand over his own stomach as he paused by a rack of T-shirts. He didn't feel very hungry right now, thank God. He must've eaten recently. Sighing, he went back to rifling through the shirts. This whole memory-loss shit was getting seriously annoying.

The only shirt in his size was blue, but it was better than getting a white one (he had to worry about bloodstains, in case of say, a fight or his next meal). So he picked it out, turned around to head toward a section of shoes, and came face-to-face with blonde hair. Ruffled blonde hair with darker strands streaking it. Familiar. Kaneki's heart stopped.

"Hey!" Hide greeted with his usual confident smile. His hands were hidden in the pockets of his jacket, but he pulled one out to point at Kaneki's feet. "Just wondering; do you always shop without shoes on or do you just really need shoes?"

Kaneki's mind whirled, unable to form a coherent sentence. His best friend was in front of him for the first time after everything that had happened and he wasn't even fazed. Either he was taking Kaneki's strange appearance very well or he didn't recognize him. I might look different to him now. Finally, he formed a dumb, half-muttered response: "I just really need shoes."

Hide laughed, an easy sound that wormed its way to a dark place in Kaneki's heart. "So, what, are you like, homeless?" he asked, brown eyes twinkling. Then the amused expression vanished from his face, leaving wide eyes and fumbling hands. "Oh, crap, wait, I didn't mean it like that. Sorry. I mean, I don't know if you really are homeless and wow, you probably think I'm a jerk right now, sorry."

Kaneki shrugged it off. "Nah, it's fine," he said, holding the folded clothes against his chest. "I'm not homeless." Though I am poor.

"Oh, okay, good." Hide blew out a relieved exhale. Then his smile was back and he was holding his hand out toward Kaneki. "I'm Hide, by the way."

Kaneki blinked down at the outstretched hand. Hide really didn't recognize him? "Actually, Hide—" Then his gaze travelled to a movement behind Hide's shoulder and his entire world froze. Kaneki went rigid, lips parted, but no words coming out.

"What?" Hide asked, glancing around curiously. Then he pointed in the direction of Kaneki's staring. "Oh, that's my friend, Kaneki. Hey, Kaneki! Get over here!"

The boy, the boy Kankeki was staring at, the boy with the dark hair and in a blue-and-black jacket, glanced over at the two curiously. "Why? Did you find another pair of shoes you 'had to have?'"

"Nah, I found our new best friend, er, um." Hide paused, narrowed his eyes at Kaneki. "What's your name?"

Kaneki's mind was busy spinning so fast, reeling from what he was seeing in front of him. His stomach was lurching and oh god, he didn't want to throw up here. It was taking sheer willpower to keep his shaking knees from buckling and to keep his eye from turning. In the midst of the sickening haze, he registered that he had to answer Hide's question. But now, thanks to this...development...he also had to lie. "I—I'm..." Raking his brain for a suitable name was difficult in a split second, so he grasped at one feature and went with it. "...Shiro."

White. White hair. He named himself after his hair color.

If Kaneki hadn't been trying not to black out, he would've kicked himself for coming up with such a name for himself.

Better start thinking of myself as "Shiro," he thought, swallowing down a lump in his throat as the boy started over to them. Or I'm gonna try to answer every time someone says "Kaneki." God, what the hell even is this?!

"Kaneki, meet Shiro, Shiro, meet Kaneki," Hide introduced, cheerfully oblivious to the havoc he was wreaking on Kaneki—er, Shiro's—world.

"Hi," the boy ventured, with all of that shy politeness had been in place back before Jason.

Shiro mumbled something of a greeting back, unable to tear his gaze from the charcoal eyes in front of him. He'd never been faced with his own face like this before, not even in a mirror. A person couldn't have a conversation with themselves in a mirror, with their PAST self. Another wave of nausea hit him and he clamped his teeth together to fight it.

"Wow," Hide remarked. He had stepped back a bit and was glancing back and forth between them. "You guys really look alike, you know, except for the hair, obviously. I read this thing somewhere that said there were like, seven people in the world that looked like you, but I thought it was stupid until this."

Kaneki wrinkled his nose doubtfully and then began studying Shiro a little closer. "I don't think we look that alike..."

"You even have the same eye color, man."

"...I guess you're right. Huh." Shrugging it off as a happy coincidence, Kaneki then gave Shiro a small smile. "Weird, right?"

"Yeah. Weird." Shiro wasn't capable of any more than simple words. His breathing was picking up and he knew that if he didn't get out of here soon, he might end up puking all over their shoes. "Listen, uh," he began, hugging the clothes almost protectively to his chest, "I better get going. I'm gonna be late for...something. It was nice to meet you, though."

Kaneki blinked at the sudden departure, but didn't question it. "Okay. Nice to meet you, too."

"See you later," Hide added brightly. He was grinning that friendly grin of his, the kind that wrinkled his eyes and said that he meant it when he said they'd see each other later. Hide was just that kind of person when he made friends.

It would've been comforting, if Shiro wasn't gaping into his own eyes, watching his old face speak and act like life was normal. God, did this Kaneki even realize what hell was out there, waiting in dark corners? Or was this some dream or hallucination that Shiro would wake from, feeling more confused than ever?

He didn't know. He didn't care. Anteiku would have to wait until later. All he cared about was getting back to that strange apartment he'd woken in this morning, so that he could throw up for the second time today.

He could almost hear Rize again, whispering sweetly into his ear, tell him I said hi, darling.