Wow, words cannot describe how great it was to see all of you guys give your thoughts about my first story. I didn't think I would attract this much attention (To be honest, I didn't expect any lol) but I want to thank you all.

First, Guest, I don't know exactly how powerful I want Kaneki to be, so I can't answer this just yet.
Noble (Guest) Thank you so much for the kind words. Velvet has always been one of my favorite characters because of how much I identify with her, so she will be playing more of a role later too.
Pokemonrot377, thank you.
Guest I appreciate your words, and I'm glad to see that my first fiction is being taken so well.
DIO Over Heaven, thank you, and I will!
Senpen Banka: Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this update!
Ultron Emperor: Thank you so much! It still boggles my mind to see that people like it this much.
Guest: I'm glad I caught your attention, and I hope I keep it.
Harlequin-ThePsychopathicHero: I do hope that when the time comes, you'll enjoy all the bloody fun, and thank you for the kind words.
thereaper1331: I had hoped to get this out sooner, but thank you and here's another update!
Guest: I'm ecstatic to see that you enjoyed my first story so much, and I hadn't seen anybody do anything with the eyes, so I tried to be a bit different. I'm glad that you caught this and hope that I do it justice in the future.
LegionsLegend: Thank you!
Junior VB: He does!
: Thank you so much, I hope I won't let you down. Also, I love your name.
Lolilord: Thank you, and I can't wait either.
Guest: thank you so much, and I hope this update is good for you.
The Big Pickle: I don't know about that, but maybe.
DIO Over Heaven: I am!
Guest: I am!
Blankdad: Thank you!
IlluminatiAnimeLover789: She is~! FineChyna has been helping me be not awful at writing and helping catch a lot of the typos and whatnot that I overlook. She's great, and I hope to be part of her crowd someday (Her and With Death Comes More Death, who I hope will see this story someday as well.)
Kragh50: thank you, and well, this story takes place in the RWBY timeline, not Tokyo Ghoul, but in terms of when Kaneki was taken from his world, well, that's something that he's trying to find out too.
Sturdivant: Thank you, I hope you enjoy the future chapters as well.
Spiderwl: Thank you, and here it is!
Itharax: I'm happy to hear that, and here's another chapter!
Phoniex45: thank you, and I will, I promise!
Anon: thank you!
Ari: I didn't really think of that, but who knows, maybe in the future.

Now, for the chapter to start!

Chapter Two: Strawberry Shortcake

"Absolutely not!"

An orange haired man paced back and forth and he shouted into his scroll. This man was the notorious criminal Roman Torchwick. The normally suave and collected man was visibly irritated as he walked around the warehouse. "My employer is having her mutts move all of the Dust to another location, and I have to oversee it. If she gets wind of me having another hench—err , assistant who's been helping this last week, well, then you'll be getting much more involved than we agreed. You aren't to come within five—no, TEN miles of the warehouse until tomorrow, do I make myself clear?"

"You're kicking me out?" asked a young man on the other line. His tone lacked emotions for the most part, but he seemed a bit disappointed.

"No, no, this is temporary," assured Torchwick. He sighed tiredly, taking a breath to calm himself down. "After tonight, the place is all yours. I doubt we'll need it again, but on the off chance that we do, well, then things go back to how they've been these last few weeks."

"It almost sounds like you care about me," the voice on the other end mused. Torchwick groaned in annoyance. "You got it, Jack."

"Don't even think that this is me cashing in the favor you owe me, punk. This situation is in both our best interests." Torchwick shut his scroll, ending the call, and turned back to the warehouse. For a moment, he allowed himself to revel in the sheer quantity of the stolen Dust. Torchwick was well aware that he was one of the best in the business, but the mounds of crates and shipping containers plastered with the iconic Schnee Dust Company snowflake was beyond his wildest imaginings. He took a cigar from his coat pocket and lit it. "Aside from taking orders from that she-devil, these results almost make dealing with her and her runts worth it." He inhaled deeply, and slowly blow the smoke out.

-Earlier that day-

Team RWBY sat in their dorm, an air of defeat lingering around them. Ruby was hanging halfway off her bed, her view of the room upside down, as she sighed for the umpteenth time.

"I really thought we'd find something by now," Yang lamented from her bed, where she was lying on her back. She was throwing mock punches at the ceiling to pass the time, but there was an obvious lack of enthusiasm. "It's like whoever did it came out of nowhere and disappeared."

"Or the police are hiding something," Blake muttered under her breath bitterly, tossing aside a folder and opening a new one. "It wouldn't be the first time."

"Why would they have any incentive to do that, though?" asked Weiss. She was sat at the desk, looking over the team's notes. "I know the police aren't always the most reliable, but it doesn't explain why they'd actively try to keep everything under wraps. We've been at this for over two weeks now."

Yang sat up and shrugged. "Unless somebody high up there told them to. I mean, Huntsmen and Huntress aren't the only ones who have a chain of command, right?"

"That would only cause more questions," sighed Weiss, rubbing her forehead. "I mean, even our notes aren't exactly lined up. The people I talked to claimed to never have spoken to Tukson, while Ruby found more than a few acquaintances. I swear I had asked some of those same people, too."

"It's probably because of your last name," Blake replied bluntly, closing her own notes. "I can vouch for you now, but on the first day we met, I wanted nothing to do with you, much less befriend you." Weiss turned to argue, but Blake pressed on. "Most of those reasons had less to do with you and more to do with your family. Although it was pretty pretentious of you to have your butlers carting around all your Dust."

"Still…" Weiss mumbled, looking a bit ashamed. "I'm not my father."

"Of course you're not," Ruby offered gently, finally including herself in the conversation. She rolled over, and looked at her team.

"Did you find anything else weird?" asked Yang, sitting up.

Weiss turned for a moment, and ruffled through a few pages. "Not really…"

"How do you think Velvet is holding up?" asked Ruby. "I haven't really seen her in class these last few days."

"I heard from Coco that she's been spending the last two weekends in Vale to be closer to her mom," informed Yang. "Oh, did you guys know that Coco's mom works for the VPD? Apparently, she was one of the first detectives on the scene."

"You think she knows why the VPD are being so secretive about this?" asked Blake, her bow shifting a little. "It's a long shot, but maybe she let something slip to Coco."

Yang shook her head. "I asked her already, but all she said was that it 'was out of their jurisdiction', or something." Weiss and Blake palmed their face in unison. "What?"

"Do you know what that means?" asked Weiss, struggling not to raise her voice.

"Yeah, it means that they aren't equipped to handle the investigation, or that a different department is taking care of it," answered Yang readily.

"Vale Police Department has jurisdiction everywhere within the city of Vale," Weiss said exageratedly.

"Yeah, and?" asked Ruby, not following along. Yang, however, had a moment of realization.

"There are only a few things that are out of their jurisdiction," Blake sighed tiredly, "and anything that's too big for them, is taken care of by Huntsmen. That list of things can range from terrorism, Grimm attacks, and declarations of war from another nation."

"And we're still in training," Yang groaned defeatedly. "Meaning that we can't investigate this anymore until we graduate… unless we're magically given permission from Ozpin."

Weiss rolled her eyes at Yang's sarcasm. "Like that would happen."

"Even if we can't investigate this, we should at least check up on Velvet," Ruby decided. "She's our friend, and she probably needs us now."

Glynda watched in mild concern as the Headmaster Ozpin rubbed his temples for the millionth time. She'd personally gone over all the notes the VPD had given them, but Ozpin bordered on obsession as he threw himself over his notes.

"Professor… you should get some rest," Glynda repeated tiredly.

"I'm aware of that," Ozpin replied evenly, though it was evident he wasn't paying her advice any mind. He stood over the desk, reminiscent of a war strategist looking over a map, contemplating his next move. "This… this just doesn't add up."

"We're likely missing something, then. The VPD does its work well, but this isn't something they were trained for. If anything, we should have a Huntsman or two shadow them just in case this gets worse."

"That's what's worrying me, Glynda." Ozpin looked up, his eyes slightly bloodshot, but his demeanor as calm as ever. "The crime scene, the witness statement, and the cameras that managed to catch a blur of the thing that did this, all point to Grimm in nature… In fact, a young Grimm, given by how savagely the body was torn apart."

"Perhaps it was making a statement," Glynda offered. "If we go with the theory that this creature could be more like Salem than say, a Beowolf, maybe the excessive gore was to get our attention?"

"My thoughts exactly," he agreed, his shoulders sagging down with exhaustion. "Salem would never make a move this bold… much less this far into a main kingdom. Yet, this thing has not just allowed it presence to be known, but it nearly shouted its existence to the world. This brings us with two possibilities."

"Which are what, sir?"

"It is a completely rogue Grimm that has no understanding of how resilient and resourceful mankind can be, nor the danger that they pose when united together..." he answered, trailing off. He finally gave in and sat into his chair, running his hand through his hair. "Or it understands all of this, and simply doesn't care."

"This is beyond alarming…" Glynda muttered, touching her chin in thought.

"If it's the latter, chances are that we'll need to form a team of Huntsmen to take care of it. Once it's found, of course." Ozpin leaned forward to look at the blurry image of the creature running down the streets of Vale. "What are you plotting…?"

"You've got to calm down, Velvet. When's the last time you've gotten any rest?" asked Kaneki, as he nearly forced the rabbit Faunus to take a seat. If the girl tried to resist, it went unnoticed, as the girl could barely keep her eyes open.

"I-I know," she conceded. "I'm sorry Ken, it's just that I'm worried about my mum, you know? Tukson's shop is only a few blocks away, so what if whatever killed him is still out there?"

"The police said he had connections to the White Fang, and that's why he was assassinated… You and your mother are safe, this café is an honest bus—Velvet!" Kaneki had barely reacted in time to catch the sleeping girl from falling off her stool. Sighing, he put her arm around his shoulders and led her to the couch in the quiet corner of the café. He unhooked her camera as well as the strange box she carried around and set it on the coffee table next to her. He thought about the girl's last statement, but decided to ask about it later. "Please… just get some rest."

Ring

Kaneki turned to the front door, and in a brisk walk, covered the entirety of the café. He smiled at the party of four, and raised a single finger to his lips, causing the rowdy girls to quiet down.

"Welcome to Scarlatina Café," greeted a waiter with an eyepatch barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry to ask, but could you all keep your voices down? My co-worker is taking a short rest. She's been up… a while. If you'd like to take a seat, I'll take your order in just a moment."

Confused, team RWBY nodded and walked to a table by the front window. The café was still, the only sounds being the low humming of the refrigerator and a flickering light near the back.

"What do you think that was about?" whispered Weiss. "Is this café an inn too? You hardly see those around in the main city."

"Oh, who knows. Hey Rubes, they have strawberry shortcake, you want to split one?" Yang asked, ignoring Weiss' indignant look. She pointed to a picture on the menu of said shortcake.

"Pshht, you'll hog all the strawberries," Ruby scoffed. "I want my own."

"Are you two seriously going to eat right now?" asked Weiss, folding her arms.

"Why not?" the two sisters asked in unison.

"It hardly seems appropriate," she added, although she could see Blake looking through the menu now.

"Come on, Ice Queen, loosen up a bit. I know the investigation was a bust, but it's not like we screwed up or anything. It's above our abilities."

"I never thought I'd hear you say that," Blake chuckled to herself. She saw Yang's betrayed expression from the corner of her eye as she scanned the menu.

"I meant rank," Yang corrected in a huff. "If we didn't have that holding us back, we'd totally be able to find out who killed Tukson."

"Tukson?" the waiter asked politely, as he took out his pen and pad. His sudden appearance nearly made the girls jump out of their skin. He was eerily quiet. "His death seems to be the only thing people talk about these days… I'm sorry for shushing you all earlier. Can I get anything started for you girls?"

"I'll have a hot coco," Yang said recovering from the shock first. "And a strawberry shortcake. You want anything Rubes?"

"Great choice," he approved. He turned to Ruby.

"I want a cake too, but with milk," Ruby added, narrowing her eyes at Yang. "And make sure mine has more strawberries than hers."

Yang visibly grinned, but said nothing. The young man continued looking around the table.

"I'll see what I can do," he chuckled politely.

"I'll have green tea," Blake ordered, placing the menu back.

"Coffee," Weiss added, finally succumbing to the aroma. After the waiter repeated the order to ensure accuracy, he was off. "Hey, he said that everybody's been talking about Tukson, you think he's heard anything we can use?"

"He's a waiter, not a detective," Yang shrugged. "If he has, there's no telling if it's from a reliable source or not. A lot of people talk just to talk."

"Well, it couldn't hurt to ask," Blake added, nodding to Weiss. "It's not like we're going to interrogate him."

The four girls turned their heads to the one-eyed white haired waiter, who had made a detour to the corner of the café. There, they all saw Velvet soundly asleep. The young man adjusted her pillow, and left a thin slice of cake next to her camera. From there, he went straight to the counter and began to get their orders ready.

"Well, I'll be right back," Yang said suddenly, as she got up.

"What are you doing? She's asleep Yang!" Ruby whispered harshly. "The least we can do is wait until she wakes up!"

"I need to pee!" Yang whispered back, shaking her head, adding a sarcastic, "Sorry!"

"At least Velvet has a co-worker who cares about her," Weiss noted, looking over to the exhausted girl. Even from the distance she was, Weiss clearly saw dark bags around Velvet's eyes. "I didn't realize how much this must have been affecting her."

"Isn't Tukson's only a few blocks from here?" asked Ruby, recognizing the building across the street. She had passed it several times after class during her info-gathering.

"Yeah. Velvet shouldn't feel the need to be scared, but with how the Fang has been acting lately, I would be too. Even if they won't be targeted by the Fang themselves, Humans have been notorious for blurring the line between White Fang member and just a normal Faunus. Velvet probably knows that too…"

"I hate this…" Ruby mumbled dejectedly.

Yang exited the bathroom a few minutes later, when she heard a scroll go off. She reached for hers, but it hadn't rang. Looking around, she turned to see the waiter answer his. Normally she would have just gone on her way, but the young man had a mysterious aura around him that she wouldn't mind figuring out. Pressing herself flat against the wall, she began to listen as he answered.

"I don't need you calling me, I'm coming straight back after work. I don't get off for another few hours anyway," he replied tiredly. Yang couldn't make out the other side of the conversation, but it was clearly an angry man. "You're kicking me out?"

Yang's eyes widened slightly at that. The young waiter was in danger of living on the streets, yet he didn't raise his voice at all. She leaned a bit over to see his face. The eye-patch wearing waiter seemed focused on pouring this, and stirring that, but his expression was, all things considered, rather mild. She was sure of what she heard, yet he seemed to be minorly inconvenienced if anything. To her surprise, his disappointment shifted into a wry smile that didn't suit his face. He shook a canister and began to dispense whip cream as he spoke.

"It almost sounds like you care about me," he replied, almost teasingly. His slight grin turned into a humorless smile. "You got it, Jack."

Jack? Yang thought to herself. She began to replay his conversation in her head, then made and 'oh' sound.

"Can I help you?" asked the waiter, as he noticed Yang's blonde hair sticking from behind the wall. "I'm the only one working tonight, so I apologize if I'm a bit slow to get everything out."

"Oh, no, I'm fine," Yang laughed nervously. He looked her with a raised eyebrow. "Actually, I came over here to ask if you can swap my sister's cake and mine."

"Sister?" he asked. He looked pensive for a moment, then remembered the other girl who ordered the shortcake. "Oh, you and Rubes are sisters?"

"Ruby," Yang corrected, placing her arms on her hips. She put on a stern expression, looking at him in what could only be seen as a warning. "Only I can call her Rubes."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean—" he began, but stopped when he noticed the grin on Yang's face.

"You're too easy to mess with," Yang grinned, cupping his cheek affectionately, before walking back over to her team. Yang didn't bother to look back, as she walked back to her team. It was only a few moments after she took her seat that their order had arrived.

"Here you are," he announced. "Green tea for the missus in the bow, Coffee for missus with the tiara; I realize I didn't ask if you wanted cream and sugar, so I brought that on the side. Milk for Ruby, and hot cocoa for your stalker sister. Extra whip cream, just for you."

"Excuse me?" said Yang, her mouth dropping. Blake nearly spat out her tea, while Ruby and Weiss looked at Yang in confusion.

"You were standing where you didn't think I could see you, but I saw you eyeing me as I made your order," he smiled politely. "It's alright, I don't mind the attention."

"Yang! You said you were going to the bathroom!" accused Ruby. Yang began to stammer, unprepared for the sudden rush of attention. Ruby crossed her arms and began to grumbling to herself. "Always embarrassing me... and flirting with guys... and hogging all the strawberries..."

"It's not what it looks like," she began to defend. She looked over the waiter, who, if he wasn't wearing the eye-patch, she could have sworn winked at her.

"I'm just teasing," he admitted having had his fun. He placed down the two shortcakes in between the sisters. "Enjoy your dessert, and drinks." As soon as he was out of earshot, Blake managed to compose herself, and smirked.

"I'll be honest Yang, I always thought you'd be a straightforward kind of girl, not the watching from a distance type. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course."

"It's not like that," she shook her head, "I was listening to his call, and it turns out—"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, but that just makes it worse," Weiss added, hiding her small smile behind her mug as she took a sip. "Now you're an eavesdropper too."

Yang opened her mouth to argue, then just shook her head in defeat.

"He just got me back," she laughed to herself.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ruby, already face deep into her strawberry shortcake. The red icing smeared her cheeks and chin.

"First off, gross," Yang laughed, pointing at her mess. "Second of all, I was listening in to his phone call, but when I got caught, I started messing with him, you know, how I normally would. I thought a quiet guy like him would be easy to fluster, but he returned fire immediately."

"Wait, aren't we supposed to ask him stuff about Tukson?" asked Ruby, looking around for something to wipe her face. "Aw, he forgot to bring us napkins…"

"He's already coming back with some," Blake noted, before nudging her partner. "Now's your chance to seal the deal." Yang ignored her partner, and began to think of how to get him back.

Kaneki looked over to Velvet, who was still soundly asleep as he brought the rest of the girls' order. "I know you both wanted more strawberries than the other," he began, setting down a plate of sliced strawberries along with several napkins, "but Marble cuts the cakes in just the exact way so that they all have the…same…" he trailed off. He looked at Ruby, red icing smeared all over her, and his head began to throb. Nearly dropping to the ground, he barely caught himself on the booth.

Hinami… he recalled, holding his aching head. The young girl's face covered in blood as he walked in on her feeding. He then remembered where he was, and quickly tried to compose himself.

"What's wrong?" asked the girl in white alarmed.

"N-nothing," he replied, shaking his head. "I just get these bad headaches every now and then. Nothing to be concerned with."

"You almost collapsed from it," the bow wearing girl replied dryly.

"I'll admit, this one was particularly bad, but they go away as fast as they come. I'm sorry, do you girls need anything else?"

"No, that's ok," the first girl replied curtly. "Can you let Velvet know we stopped by?"

"Of course. I don't believe I caught all of your names." Kaneki took out his paper again, to write them down.

"I'm Ruby," said the one covered in icing. "That's Weiss, she's Blake, and my stalker sister Yang."

"Can you not call me that?" Yang asked a bit miffed. "I have a reputation to keep, you know?"

"Sure you do," smirked Blake, taking a sip from her tea.

"You can just tell her team RWBY stopped by," Weiss offered, seeing that the girls were off with their banter. He bowed slightly, and headed back to the counter, where he began to rub his forehead. Try as he might, the quiet of the café made it almost impossible for him to not hear their conversation.

"Why did you decide not to ask him about Tukson?" asked Blake. "It was your idea to begin with."

"I feel it would be more appropriate to ask when he isn't passing out from a migraine," Weiss replied, a hint of sympathy in her voice. "Also… I got the impression he doesn't want to talk about it, judging from what he said."

"Maybe we can ask Velvet?" offered Yang. "On second thought, she likely needs to stop thinking about the incident instead of remembering anything about it. Poor girl must be exhausted."

"Well, if we're done here," began Blake, setting down her empty cup. "I think it's best if we head back to Beacon."

"Yeah… I guess you're right," agreed her partner. As the group of girls made their exit, Kaneki decided that it would be best for him to close up for the night.

Velvet's eyes slowly opened, feeling both energized and panicked. She sat up, and noticed she was in her mother's café. She slowly began to calm down, when she heard a soft voice nearby.

"You've finally woken up." Kaneki sighed in relief, getting up to check on the girl. He sat across from her, looking at her with concern. "You feeling better?"

"How long have I been here?" she asked, noticing that it was very dark out. She rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes, as she stifled a yawn.

"You arrived around four, and now it's…" he looked at the clock on the wall. "Five forty-five."

"I've been asleep for almost two hours?" asked Velvet, as she sprang to her feet. She was about to rush over to put on her apron, but Kaneki stopped her.

"Uh, actually thirteen," corrected the one-eyed barista. "I closed at a bit early, and it didn't feel right to leave you here alone. You see, your mom didn't work last night. I, uh, realized you were right about her over-working, so I was here all day. If I had known you were coming, I would have told you, but you fell asleep before I could mention it."

"I'm so sorry," Velvet exclaimed embarrassingly.

"No, no, don't worry about it," he brushed off. "Please, sit, you just woke up, I'm sure your hungry."

"But my mum," she began, to which Kaneki waved off. Velvet sat back down, trying to recollect herself.

"She's going to be here in about an hour," he reminded, pointing to the clock. "She called me thirty minutes ago to make sure everything went well last night, so she's fine… but you're not."

"I… I know," she admitted. Much to her embarrassment, her stomach rumbled rather loudly.

"You stay there," Kaneki smiled, "I'll get you some milk to go along with that."

"With what—?" she began before seeing her things neatly placed on the table, next to a covered plate. She took the cover off and saw a slice of confetti cake. She allowed a small smile to form, as she began to realize how much Kaneki was doing for her.

"Your mom baked it yesterday morning, so it should still be alright," he called out. Velvet began to realize how badly she had let this situation affect her, and sighed in defeat. She slowly began to take small bites, as Kaneki returned. "Here you are."

"Thanks Ken," she said with a genuine smile. "I… I don't know what's gotten over me."

"Well, let's talk it out," he offered, taking a seat across from her. "You said something before you fell asleep earlier, but I'm not sure if you were just tired or you found something out that the police haven't released yet."

"Pardon me?" she said confused.

"You said that whatever killed Tukson might still be out there… but the police all say it was a murder, wasn't it? That would imply that they're after a suspect… but you made it sound like something else got him. Hence the whatever instead of whoever."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ken, you're not supposed to know," Velvet gasped. In truth, she had only found out recently from her own team leader that there was something bigger than the run of the mill murderer on the loose. The details were sparse, but it all pointed to some new sort of Grimm. The one-eyed barista was much more observant than she had initially given him credit for.

"Well, hey, I live around here," he joked, although not to make light of the situation. "I just want to know what I should be out on the look out for, you know? I want to have my best chance at living if there really is something out there…"

"Right…" Velvet conceded. She paused for a long time as she thought about her options. On one hand, telling the general public about these sort of situations was almost universally frowned upon... but on the other, Kaneki has been nothing but good to Velvet and her mother since his arrival. She took another bite of cake, as she thought about it further. "If I tell you, you must promise not to tell anybody else… It would cause panic."

"Of course," agreed Kaneki easily. "I don't have anybody to tell, anyway."

Velvet put her fork down, walked around the coffee table and sat beside Kaneki. To say he was surprised would be an understatement. A moment later, he understood, as she began to speak in a very very low whisper.

"Ken… there might be a Grimm within the city… and judging by how little evidence there is on it at the moment, it may be a new breed, or an unusually smart one…" Kaneki's eye widened, though he was internally relieved. He had read up on Grimm during the last week, and while there were a lot of them out there, he didn't feel they posed much of a threat to him. Granted, he hadn't actually encountered one, but he was confident in his abilities. The fact that he wasn't directly a suspect eased him significantly.

"Oh," he said simply. Velvet must have mistaken his tone for shock, as she then grabbed his hand in reassurance. She made eye contact with him, and smiled gently.

"It's ok," she said softly, but firmly. There was a certain confidence in her voice that normally wasn't there. "This is why I want to be close by, so I can protect my mum, and well, you and everybody else."

"Protect me?" Kaneki asked now thoroughly confused. I thought you were a student… Not to mention the fact that your mother tells me about those bullies that pick on you… he thought to himself. Wait… Beacon must be some or of training academy.

"I know not everybody is meant to be a fighter," she continued, "and I didn't plan to become one to be honest… but when I found out my Semblance, it didn't really feel right to become anything else. I wanted—no, needed to prove to everybody that Faunus aren't the demonized beings we're portrayed as on the media… and if becoming a Huntress can do that, I didn't really have another choice."

"Velvet…" began Kaneki, leaving a long pause to fill the air. He wanted to tell her that he could defend himself. He wanted to assure her that her mother was in safe hands with him around. He wanted to reveal that he wasn't so helpless. But he couldn't. His Ghoul powers weren't something that she could understand, and after coming to terms with being stranded in world where he was the last of his kind, he knew he couldn't let anybody else know. As kind as Velvet may be, it became clear to Kaneki that she was being trained to kill, which only made her a threat to him. If she found out that he was the one responsible for Tukson's mutilated body, there would be no way he could talk himself out of it.
Oh, I'm a half-Ghoul, which means I have to eat people to survive. But I'm a good person, I swear! The argument was laughable at best.

"What is it?" Velvet tilted her head questioningly.

"Your friends, um, team RWBY, stopped by earlier when you were asleep."

"Oh, what did they want?"

"They didn't say, but to be honest, I think they were worried about you," he answered frankly. "This whole Tukson thing… they're looking into it too it seems, and I guess they must have noticed how rough you'd been taking it since they stopped by to check up on you."

"I see…" she replied guiltily. Velvet shifted a bit in her seat, looking away from her co-worker.

"Are you going to stay again this weekend?"

"Yeah… Though I won't next week, since my team is going on a mission outside the kingdom. I don't know how long we'll be gone."

"Well, if it helps any, I'll make sure you mom doesn't overwork herself to death while you're gone."

"You mean how your mother did?" Kaneki froze as he heard the familiar voice behind him.

"That means a lot," Velvet smiled thankfully, giving him a small hug. Kaneki didn't return it, as he saw a shadowy figure slowly come in and out of existence. The vaguely humanoid shape eventually settled into a familiar glasses wearing woman. If it weren't for her prominent Kakugan that marred her face, she would appear almost angelic.

"Looks like you've gone back to playing human, Kaneki dear," said the ghostly figure of Rize. She began to giggle to herself, the same sadistic laughed that brought phantom pains of being bitten. Slowly, her laugh became maniacal and increased in volume until it nearly deafened Kaneki. Behind Rize, appeared another figure that made Kaneki's blood run cold. A tall man, wearing a suit and a hockey mask holding a pair of bolt cutters.

"You know the drill," Yamori cackled, cracking his index finger. "Start counting."

"Kaneki?" asked Velvet, pulling away. "Are you OK? Y-you're shaking."

Kaneki's continued to stare at the pair of Ghouls, as his blurry memory slowly began to become clear.

"1000," Kaneki nearly whimpered. "993... 986..."