-Again, thank you guys for the reviews on this story. They always make me so happy, so if you like this new chapter, feel free to let me know! Anyway, hope you like it! :)-

Shiro felt stupid for being so nervous. He couldn't remember the last time he'd sat in this room at Anteiku, waiting for the manager to arrive and ask him about a job. He wasn't expecting anything like the average job interview. After all, Yoshimura focused on helping other ghouls, not on how well they could make coffee. I already know how anyway, Shiro thought, perched on a couch with hands linked in front of him. I guess that'll surprise him, if I get the job.

The click of the door opening pulled him out of his thoughts and he turned to see the tall form of Yoshimura filling the doorway. Shiro's heart ached. The older man looked exactly how he'd remembered him, grey hair combed neatly back and age-lined face kind. Shiro wished there was some way to let him know how much he'd helped Shiro, but he knew there wasn't. He stood up as the manager entered, more out of habit than anything else.

Yoshimura raised a hand reassuringly. "Please, sit," he said, the voice like turning old book pages. "There's no need to be so formal. You're not exactly dressed for a formal job interview, after all."

The last part was added in amusement, and Shiro glanced down at his sweatpants-and-T-shirt combination with a grimace. "I know. Sorry," he apologized sheepishly.

"No, no, it's nothing to worry about. I'm more concerned about your reason for coming to us." Closing the door, Yoshimura crossed the room in easy strides and took a seat on the couch across from Shiro. Shiro sat too, his nerves settling as the familiar atmosphere fell into place around him. "Now," the manager began, lifting his eyes to Shiro's face. "Why don't you tell me why you need our help?"

Shiro didn't know what it was about the question—maybe the encouraging way it was said or the familiar kindness in Yoshimura's gaze—but next thing he knew, it was all pouring out of him. Not the time-travel, of course, but everything else: how he'd been transformed into a half-ghoul, how he'd struggled to grow in this new life, how alone he was. The only things he withheld were the details of his torture. There was no way he could confess that without using Jason's name and besides, that was something that Shiro never dared to speak of.

Yoshimura listened attentively the whole time and didn't question a thing. But his gaze did travel from Shiro's white hair down to the blackened nails, emotions unreadable.

Then again, people tended to react that way a lot when faced with his strange features. "So you have your own apartment here in the city?" he asked, head cocked.
Shiro nodded. "That's good. We don't have as much room here as we used to, now that Hinami and her mother are staying here, along with Touka." He brought a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "I understand why you've come here. I can respect the fact that you don't want to cause any more danger for your friends." Then a soft smile turned his lips up. "I can offer you a job, but I hope you're prepared to train with Touka. She can be difficult with newcomers."

"I've noticed," Shiro joked. "I don't have a problem with that."

"And I'm sure she spoke to you about our policy here at Anteiku," Yoshimura added.

"We won't turn away ghouls who need our help, but we help them discreetly. We can't have any dangerous ghouls jeopardizing the rest of us who want to live in peace."

"I understand." Live in peace, Shiro thought wryly. He hoped that that was possible for him. With an air of finality, the manager stood, slow with the bend of old joints.

"Well then," he smiled, "let's get you settled in."

The term "settled in" translated to finding a work uniform for Shiro. Of course, he was used to wearing them, so it was nothing for him to find one in the right size. Clothes folded the clothes over his arm, he walked down the narrow hallway of Anteiku to find a bathroom to change in. He just needed to double-check that the uniform was all right and then he'd be set. A few steps down, he became aware of another set of footsteps tapping against the wooden floor ahead of him. Glancing up, he felt the breath catch in his lungs.

A woman was walking toward him, steps brisk and Hinami's coat in her arms. Long brown hair swept out behind her and she had the tired features of someone who had been worrying for far too long. Her gaze snagged his. "Oh—hello," she greeted kindly. "You must be the one Yoshimura was talking to."

"Yeah," Shiro answered, hardly daring to breathe. He could still see her husband's kagune ripping her to pieces. "My name's Shiro. I think I met your daughter earlier; she was really excited to go out today."

"Fueguchi Ryouko," she introduced herself. "Please, feel free to call me Ryouko, though. I don't like things to be so formal here." Her face lit softly with a gentle smile.

"And yes, Hinami does love to get out of the cafe once in a while. I had to grab her coat for her. If she had it her way, she'd leave without it every time."

"She really likes going out then?" he asked, even though he already knew. He needed to talk to her. The fact that she was here, right now, was keeping the tears from falling.

"Yes, she does. She loves reading and anytime a new book comes out, she decides that she has to have it." A solemn cloud fogged her expression slightly. "It also helps her, to be out and going somewhere, rather than sitting in here with nothing to do." "I can understand that."

Shiro could see the concern in her and the fear for her husband. But he didn't ask her about it. He already knew anyway, and he wouldn't worsen her fear. "It's nice that you do this for her."

Ryouko's sad smile widened a fraction, making him immediately glad to have said it. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Shiro," she told him. "I better catch up to her now, or I never will."

"Yeah," he chuckled, stepping aside to let her pass. "It was nice to meet you, too."

Then she was past him, shoes patting quietly against the hardwood floors. He watched her go and though he had never had any sort of god help him before, he found himself praying for someone to keep her safe. He would tear any CCG officer apart if they dared to try and steal her away from Anteiku and her daughter again.

The hall bathroom was smaller than the ones attached to the bedrooms, but not uncomfortably cramped. Shiro closed the door with a click behind him and settled the clothes atop the sink's ledge. The mirror above stared at him, devoid of Rize. For the first time in a while, he looked only at himself. The pale hair, dull ashen eyes, the bloodlust and disease hidden behind those eyes. He was an animal. But he could also be like a better person, someone like Kaneki. He wanted to be that more than anything.

It took a few minutes to try on the uniform, which consisted of black slacks, a crisp button-down, and a grey waistcoat over that. I look normal, he thought, looking over himself after ditching the whole sweatpants-and-old-shirt thing. Well, like a normal person with really bleached hair.

Figuring that he'd better go let the manager know that he was ready to work anytime, he took the doorknob in his hand again. He nearly had a heart attack when he began to open it and collided directly with another person. His forehead bumped into someone else's and he was sure that he'd stepped on their foot. "Ow!" a very familiar voice squeaked. Shiro's heart jumped, just as he found himself looking straight at Kaneki's stunned face.

The human's eyes were wide, hand out to steady himself against something and ending up on Shiro's side. There wasn't nearly enough space between them. Kaneki's palm sent heat through the layers of Shiro's clothing. Somewhere deep inside of him, he realized that he was holding his breath. "Sorry," Kaneki managed, an apology in his expression, but some other emotion in his eyes.

"Don't worry about it," Shiro replied numbly. The doorframe was digging into his back and he kinda wanted to move, but he also kinda wanted to stay here and feel Kaneki's fingers curling in the fabric of his waistcoat. Warmth colored Kaneki's face and he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Is that the uniform they gave you?" he asked. His voice sounded like it had to be pushed out of him.

Shiro just nodded, because talking felt like a mistake right now. Kaneki's gaze raked over him, then darted away. "Y—you look good," he remarked, words small and tentative. It had taken an overwhelming amount of courage for him to get them out in the open.

Dammit, don't look at me like that. Shiro couldn't trust himself to say anything that would possibly fix this mess. So he stayed still, long enough for Kaneki to bit his lip worriedly, an idea stuck in his mind. Long enough for him to tip his chin up and show the sure lines of his collarbone as he inched forward, and shit, was he going to—?

Rize's giggle bounced against the inside of Shiro's brain. Looks like someone has a crush, she sang, and like a train wreck, Shiro remembered who he was and what he was doing. He turned his head to the side, avoiding any eye contact. "I gotta go," he muttered.

The hand at his side fell away faster than a blink. He could practically feel the embarrassment radiating off of Kaneki now. "Yeah, okay." Shuffling his feet, he moved a decent distance away from Shiro. "You probably have to start work and stuff, so..."

Shit, now he felt guilty. He was too much of a sucker for Kaneki's downcast face. Summoning up a smile, he brought the human's attention to him again. "See you later," he tried, and allowed a bit of genuine fondness to leak out into his words.

Kaneki's answering smile was worth it. But Shiro still hurried out into the hallway as fast as possible and paused halfway down it to lean against a wall. Why was he so stupid? He brought his hands to his forehead and pushed the hair back from his face. He was acting like an idiot, letting Kaneki get to him like that. Rize was no help whatsoever either, but that wasn't new.

Bitingly, he snapped at her, it's not his fault if he has a crush on me.

Her only reply was a snarky, I wasn't talking about him having a crush.

He bit the

inside of his cheek and told himself that she wasn't right.

XxxxxxX

Kaneki thoroughly scolded himself the second he was alone with his thoughts. He couldn't comprehend why he had to act so idiotic every single time he was faced with a crush. He wasn't even bothering to deny it now; he was starting to get a maybe-tiny, sorta, kinda crush on a half-ghoul. Apparently, he never learned from his mistakes.

But you don't know much about him and it's obvious that he's not interested, Kaneki thought sternly, as he washed his hands and tried to ignore the folded clothes atop the sink next to him. It was tempting, he would admit, to see his shirt that Shiro had been wearing all day sitting right there. His fingers itched and he buried them in a towel to hide them. Kaneki's shirt looked great on Shiro, outlining every one of the ghoul's lithe muscles. It probably smelled like him too.

"Oh my god, shut up," Kaneki mumbled, rubbing at a headache forming near his temple. He had to start thinking of Shiro as a friend. There were certain things friends did not do with other friends. They did not imagine their friends in their clothes, they did not crush on their friends, and they did not remember how amazing their friends looked in a new work uniform. "I'm just gonna kill myself and save him the effort," he decided. Then he squared his shoulders and left the bathroom with a new resolve: no fawning over Shiro. No more awkward fumbles. Period.

When he made it out to the hall, the first thing he did was step on Touka's foot.

She'd been walking past with an armful of trays, planning on stocking them up in the shop. Said trays clattered in her arms as she struggled to keep a hold on them, while Kaneki tried not to trip over her foot. "Shit!" she snapped. "Would you watch it?"

"I'm sorry!" he yelped, righting himself and reaching for the wobbling trays. "I didn't see you!"

"I can tell!" Grabbing a tray before it could topple to the ground, she blew a lock of midnight hair from her view. "Don't you have to go back to your friend or something?" she demanded.

"What do you mean?"
"Hide, or whatever his name is. He keeps trying to balance teacups on his head!"

Kaneki groaned in despair. This day kept getting worse. "I'll tell him to stop," he sighed, scratching the back of his head glumly.

Touka must've noticed, because she paused and scrutinized him from over her load of trays. A trace of sympathy softened her around the edges. "Hey," she said, still rough but not the bark of anger from before. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he answered, bewildered. "Why?"

"You're acting weird. Is it about Hide?" Blowing out a hard exhale, she sent a glance to the ceiling. "He wasn't acting that bad, okay? I was more mad about you stepping on me."

Kaneki raised his arms in denial. "No, it's not him. It's, uh..."

"You don't like being around so many ghouls?"

"No. You guys aren't that bad."

A half-smile graced her lips. But then, "is it Shiro?"

"No!" he yelped too fast, then instantly wanted to punch himself.

She cocked a hip, weight sinking onto one leg. "You sure?"

He could tell that she was going to see right through him, no matter what he said. Kaneki had always been way too readable. He fiddled with the zipper on his favorite blue jacket, stalling. "Okay, it might...have something to do with him," he confessed.
"The fact that he's your friend and he's a ghoul?" she guessed.

"No, I mean... Like I said, I really don't mind that anyone is a ghoul," he told her. "Everyone here has been so nice to me and Hide, and you made me see that there's, I dunno, another side to you guys." A half-smile played across his lips. "I'm not nearly as terrified as I used to be."

"You should be," she advised, though with a playful tilt to her mouth. "You haven't met some of the worst ones yet."

Unbidden, the image of Rize's bloodstained face flashed in Kaneki's mind. "But I have," he murmured. "And Shiro saved me. But, Touka, something's wrong with him."

"What d'you mean?"

"He does weird things sometimes and he gets this look." A shudder crawled down his spine at the memory. "It's like he doesn't even see me."

"So, he had a bad past," she concluded with a shrug. "It happens sometimes. What's the big deal?"

This was the tricky part. Kaneki pulled at the hem of his jacket, suddenly very interested in the state of his shoes. "...I—I think I might be getting a crush on him."

Then he hurried to add, "and I don't wanna get, you know, involved with someone without knowing them enough. I feel like I don't know him right now. I dunno. I think I'm being stupid."

"Frankly, I'm surprised you can even consider seeing a ghoul, after your first try," she remarked. Kaneki's head jerked up and she rolled her eyes. "Hide told me about your 'date.' I had to hear every gory made-up detail from him. But listen." Adjusting the trays in her grasp, she fixed him with a serious blue gaze. "If you really think that something's off about Shiro, I'd wait. Don't try to force anything until he's ready to tell you. Okay?"

Pleasantly taken off-guard by the sparky ghoul's advice, Kaneki answered with a tiny smile. "Okay. Thanks, Touka."

"Yeah, whatever," she huffed, happy-advice-giving gone and waved a hand at him in an absent farewell. "Just don't get yourself killed by him, 'cause right now, it sounds like he could kick your ass. I'd rather not deal with that."

"I'll try," he deadpanned. He supposed he should feel grateful; she had hinted that if Shiro attacked him, she would "deal with it." At least he knew she wouldn't stand back and watch. That antsy wriggling inside of him still hadn't left, however. It was the slightest dark feeling that something was off about the half-ghoul he'd let himself befriend. Glancing over his shoulder into the coffeeshop, he glimpsed the flash of white hair from behind the counter and his heartbeat skipped. I'll try.