I am so sorry for the insanely late update. Between, work, school, and tutoring someone in trigonometry, I have had little time to type, let alone update any of my stories. Please forgive me but I do hope you enjoy chapter three of Emerald Ghoul.

I do not own anything from Tokyo Ghoul or Harry Potter.

Thanks and please review, I enjoy all criticism.

Raiba

A week has passed, the refrigerator door stands ajar, and shards of a shattered mirror lay upon the dull grey carpet. Scents of rotting food waft throughout the small apartment. Muffled groans are heard from the young man, Rei, curled into the fetal position on the floor. His clothes stained with long dried up tears. Bags have formed underneath his eyes from lack of sleep and his skin turned to a ghastly unhealthy pallor. The room around him is torn asunder as if a hurricane was wrought upon it. A sickly green energy swirls around him, contained to his room but only just. Despite the terrible agony the teen is in, he is somehow unconsciously keeping a reign on the destructive energy. Suddenly a scream rips through the midafternoon sky. Losing control, the sickly green energy suddenly stops its rotation and shoots outward from the pre-adult, shattering the window in his room. Once again, he hears a scream, although from a different person, from his lower back five tails of crimson muscle and green energy emerge causing Rei to cry out. As if on auto pilot Rei stands, his eyes open, one jade while the other red on black. Crouching like a predator, he leaps onto the ledge of his window and jumps to the street.

Following the scent of blood Rei finds himself in an abandoned alleyway in an industrial district. In from of him a ghoul is attacking two humans. Humans Rei might have recognized if he were in conscious control over himself, Ken Kaneki and Hideyoshi Nagachika. One of the boys, Hide, stands over an obviously wounded Kaneki, who is currently on the ground. The ghoul that is attacking the two humans is using a bikaku kagune that curls around his right leg. Slowly he stalks the two before lashing out and kicking Hide into a wall. As he turns to Kaneki, he notices Rei in his sight. Kaneki lays in pain as he watches the ghoul turn to the new arrival. Rei's odd rinkaku lazily swirls in a hypnotizing fashion behind him.

"These are my hunting grounds, my prey. Leave!" The ghoul shouts at Rei but he does not hear him. In response, a primal growl escapes the hunger possessed one-eyed ghoul.

"Fine, be that way. My meal can wait." The bikaku user expressed.

With inhuman speed, he runs at Rei and lashes out with a flurry of kicks only for them to be instinctively blocked by the green tinted rinkaku of Rei.

Four of his kagune tails extend and wrap the attacking ghoul's limbs. Tightening and beginning to crush the ghoul's limbs, Rei's kagune lift the opposing ghoul into the air. His fifth tail pierces the stomach, then liver, and finally a lung.

Removing the blood soaked tentacle from the bikaku wielder, his other appendages violently slam him into Hideyoshi, breaking his neck. The savage neck snapping led to decapitation causing a geyser of crimson blood. The sickly green energy bubbles up around Rei and seems to absorb the blood of both the barely alive bikaku ghoul and the recently deceased Hide. Once the blood is completely absorbed Rei's rinkaku and the energy disperse leaving behind an awakened Rei.

"What have I done?" In shock, Rei questions himself before collapsing like a puppet with his strings cut. Kaneki hears the question barely registering it before he passes out himself. Neither witness a rather large man appear and gather both ghouls before calling the local police to secure Kaneki.

Twelve hours later Rei awakens with a groan, his body contorting into an upright position before hunching over. The first thing he noticed was that he was no longer hungry and the second, he is sitting on a rather comfortable Futon. Quickly uncovering himself from the comfortable kakefuton, Rei swings his legs off the futon, his feet hitting the hardwood flooring. Opening the door into the hallway Rei pokes his head out into the hallway. Light gleams from the stairwell; Rei slides close the door behind him as he walks toward the stairs. A bell rings out from the bottom of the stairs and an audible click from what sounds like a deadbolt locking mechanism. Rei makes his way down the stairs: his feet landing softly on each step.

'Anteiku, the coffee shop? Why was I brought here?'

"Good to see you awake. Although we were expecting it to be closer to tomorrow morning before you awoke." The elderly manager spoke with his grandfatherly tone.

Slightly startled Rei quickly replied, "Mr. Manager, what do you mean by you were expecting me to wake tomorrow morning?"

"Well Karasu, your body was suffering from severe starvation and slight blood loss from your encounter with the other Ghoul." The manager's tone remained neutral. "Tell me, would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Really?" The manager nodded slightly. "Yes please."

A few minutes of calm quiet passed between the two as the Manager hand brewed the coffee, smoothly pouring water in a circular fashion over the roasted coffee beans. Soon enough the Manager handed Rei a cup of steaming coffee, while holding on to his own.

"Thank you." Rei held the coffee but as he prepared to drink, he slowly lowered it.

The Manager raised an eyebrow. "Are you not going to drink?"

Rei sighed. "Everything I ate before tasted fine but…after the incident with Rize…anything I tasted turned to abhorrent bile." Rei set the cup down. "I am afraid that if I drink this then the last decent memories of human food and drink shall be tarnished."

"Karasu, you do not have to worry about the coffee. As it stands, coffee is the only drink that can be consumed by both ghouls and humans for centuries." To show Rei that honesty behind his words he took his own cup and started to drink.

Following by example, Rei sipped at his cup. His eyes widened, suddenly he drank the entire cup without hesitation. "This coffee is amazing, outstanding, fantastic!" Rei blushed lightly as he recognized his outburst. "I'm sorry."

Laughing lightly the Manager set his cup on the counter. "There is nothing to be sorry for Karasu, and thank you for the compliment." His chuckling starting to subside he took on an air of seriousness. "Mr. Karasu I have something to ask of you."

"Yes, what is it that I can do for you?" Rei asked quickly. "I mean you did make me wonderful coffee."

"Anteiku is a safe haven for ghouls in the twentieth ward; we work hard to help ghouls blend in with humans. Because this is a coffee shop, we attract the occasional human, such as what you used to be; and those boys…Mr. Kaneki and Mr. Nagachika."

Rei interrupts the Manager. "Hang on, I…I have a question. Why did you help me? I know you said you are a safe haven for ghouls, but…but that does not tell me why you helped me. I mean I am not a ghoul, nor am I human. I do not belong in either world. Why… did you help me instead of leaving me to die or to be… killed?" Rei shifts uncomfortably.

The Manager smiled kindly. "We saved you because, while you may not be wholly human or perfectly ghoul, you are both. A creature that belongs to both worlds; unlike what you believe you have a place in the human world and the ghoul world. You have the potential to bridge yourself in both worlds and carry on a life where neither species can hope to live. Karasu you are an anomaly that could actually have a good life. That is why we helped you."

"Thank you. I cannot thank you enough and I am incredibly sorry for interrupting you. You said you had something to ask of me. If I can do it, I owe it to you for helping me." Rei spoke adamantly.

"Karasu, I would like you to take a job here at Anteiku."

Well I do sincerely hope you enjoyed it. Review if you so wish and have a lovely evening.

Ja-ne,

Raiba