Hello friends! I've been on something of a writing spree these few days I have free to myself, so I hope you're all as excited as I am to present this! I don't really know what was expected of this chapter, but here it is!
Shahzeb: I listened to that song about thirty times when I read your review, you're absolutely right about how the lyrics fit the story! I wish I had listened to it before I started writing, I feel like the story would have taken a drastic turn.
itsFAX: Fooled you!
Yoyon586: Thanks for the review!
Danue: I realized that the Copycat Killer hadn't been brought up recently, so I figured I would remind everybody.
maskedkeeper: I love Kaneki, but yeah, he should just be honest.
KnightOfZaku: I hadn't really considered having Coco or Libby bursting through since they haven't really got anything to make a stink about it.
YeTianshi: I think it was Mark Twain who said, ""If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." If only Kaneki had considered this.
hiholly: Your review made my day, so here's another update!
: I can't wait either! That might be why I've been updating a bit faster than usual.
Hellibleri: The red blood cell thing is totally canon! I had to look it up a few times because I thought it was a bit much, but that's what I found.
artem-abramov-2004: I don't see how Merlot impersonating Kaneki's father would do anything since he's already told a lot of people that he's on his own and lost his father when he was young. You have an interesting idea for a different plot though.
ShadowRobot6: I felt as though Kaneki would try to spare the feelings of his loved ones, even if it isn't the right decision.
TheLocalPotato: I don't have the words of gratitude to your kind praise. I hope that the future updates will continue to fall in that category of best written stories for you.
Toastdude1: I'm so happy and flattered to hear that! Thank you!
candrariski155: Please don't kill anybody!
CykaBlyatintensifies: I love your play on words, I read it three times and laughed every time.
Ihavefun: No real schedule for me, no. I try to write as often as I can to get this story done, but I don't have the time like I used to.
prometheus7897: *ding* order up!
Cring Cring: Thank you! and no, I didn't.
Coco sighed tiredly as she thought back to the night before. She couldn't remember the last time she and her mother had just spent time together like that; probably not since her father passed away. The two of them had been so focused on their own careers, Coco hadn't realize just how tense she was all the time and seeing her mother finally relax for even just a few hours made her seem years younger. But nights like that would become fewer and farther between if the Faunus Killer continued his spree. Even if Coco did suspect Kaneki, after talking it out with her mother, she knew that she was likely just being overprotective, yet something in her gut told her she was onto something. Still, she had to stop trying to scare the barista away and confront Velvet directly.
Coco stopped in her tracks and looked up to the sky. The sun had barely risen, which means that Marble was likely already getting ready to volunteer for the community again. Now that she thought about it, Coco thought it might be best to ask Marble about Kaneki, since Velvet still had rose-tinted glasses when it came to him. Coco turned away from Beacon and started heading towards the Scarlatina residence, which wasn't too far. By the time she arrived at the front door of the apartments, Marble was just exiting with a large tote bag.
"Coco? What are you doing here?" she asked with a pleasant smile.
"Hey Mrs. S, I was just in the area and thought I'd come to visit for a spell," she replied. Coco found that Marble had a very disarming aura about her which made it almost as easy to talk to her as it was for Coco to talk to her own mother. "Do you need help with that?"
"Thank you, dear, but I think I can manage," she said warmly. She began to walk down the sidewalk, Coco joining her side. "How are you?"
Coco shrugged and smiled slightly before it faded. "Well, I'm actually a bit concerned about somebody," she admitted. Marble raised an eyebrow before realization settled on her face.
"Ah, you mean the situation with Velvet and Ken?" she asked, a bit too casually for Coco's liking. "I thought they'd make a cute couple since the first night they worked together, but young love can be more complicated than that."
"That's not- well, not exactly what I was talking about," Coco admitted. Perhaps Marble held a similarly biased opinion on the foriegn teen. "Mrs. S, what exactly do you know about Ken?"
Marble frowned a bit at Coco's accusatory tone, but didn't say anything about it. "If you're asking about what I know about him personally, I know he's a hard worker, earnest and that he tends to take on more than he can handle if he thinks it'll help others. But something tells me you're not here to talk about that."
Coco was about to argue, but knew it was useless. "It's just… look, I know he's been good to you and Velvet, but there's something off about him, don't you think?"
"Of course there is," she said without hesitation. "You'd have to be unbelievably naive to not realize that."
"Then you know something?" Coco asked surprised, but to her disappointment, Marble shook her head.
"I wasn't finished," she chided gently. "There is definitely something Ken's not telling me, you, Velvet, or anybody for that matter. When he first came to my shop, he looked beyond lost, and to be honest, I was a bit afraid of approaching him. I really can't explain why that is, but as you know, I did approach him and the rest is history." Marble looked over to Coco who seemed surprised. "I don't know what Ken's not telling me, but what I do know is that he's a wonderful person. If what Velvet's told me is true, he's probably hiding a lot of trauma and is constantly struggling to deal with it."
"But what if whatever he's hiding is something terrible?" Coco asked.
Marble sighed disappointedly and shook her head. "Let me ask you something, Coco. Have you ever done something you regretted?"
"Of course, but–"
"Do you think it would be fair if the world judged you for whatever it was that you did? Or whatever it is that you didn't do?" Marble stopped and looked at Coco. "Listen dear, you're still young, but one day you'll realize that sometimes all someone needs is a second chance, or somebody who believes in them. If Ken did do something once upon a time that has haunted him and he's worked as hard as he does to make up for that mistake, to atone for whatever it is you think he might have done… How awful do you think it must feel to have somebody use that against him to belittle all the good he's tried to do since? To invalidate all the progress he has made, or tried to make?"
Coco stood in silence as she began to reflect on her actions against Kaneki. "But he must have done something, right?" she tried again, almost begging for Marble to agree with her.
"Coco, has Velvet ever told you how many banks I had gone to for a loan to open the café?"
"I don't think so," Coco admitted.
"At least a dozen," she said simply. "They all found one reason or another to disqualify me from getting the loan. Some looked at my marriage and said that it was clear to them I lacked commitment. Some looked at where I lived and claimed I was a 'high risk' investment. But you know what they were all really trying to say, right? 'You're a Faunus, so you must not be qualified. There must be some reason we can say no to you.' It's the same line of thinking you're using to try to disqualify Ken from being in Velvet's life. You don't have to like him, but you don't have to vilify him either." Marble continued walking and looked back towards the young woman. "I know you'll do the right thing."
Coco tried to respond, but she couldn't find her voice. Was her thought process really that in line with the way those anti-Faunus humans thought? She knew better than to think Marble was calling her racist but Coco felt something in her core shake.
Qrow watched from atop a rooftop across the street from Kaenki's apartment as the sun began to rise. He hadn't expected much, especially after the events of the night before. He got up to stretch when he noticed a short girl with twintails standing outside the apartment. She was playfully swaying side to side, seemingly oblivious to the neighborhood she was in. He figured he'd stay just in case somebody had bad intentions, but was surprised when the boy came out of the apartment and walked directly towards her.
"Kid's a player," he laughed to himself as the short girl threw her arms around him. Kaneki gently but firmly pushed her away, shaking his head at her and the two began to walk side by side. "What are you up to now?" he asked himself.
The two continued out of the slums and into a park where the two simply seemed to talk. Well, Kaneki seemed to talk, the unknown girl just seemed to giggle at everything the kid said. The girl then took out her scroll and seemed to frown. Showing it to Kaneki, he shook his head and mumbled something to her. To Qrow's surprise, the girl nodded and dejectedly left, leaving the barista alone. Qrow figured this would be a good time to approach, but he decided it was too soon after his first interaction for him to conveniently bump into him. Kaneki stayed at the park for a few more minutes before he got a call on his scroll and walked off into town.
Kaneki wasn't sure how he felt. The overwhelming guilt that he felt last night had taken a toll on him and having Velvet hold him through it all seemed to compound that feeling. Still, he couldn't deny that he was happy to have her there for him. Even if he knew she couldn't find out his true nature, he decided that he would make the effort to be more honest with her in other aspects… which unfortunately included Coco's treatment of him. It was hard to witness how Velvet took her leader's actions and suspicions but she had insisted on knowing every bit. He had even included the swing she took on him. Even if it was only a little, it was progress and Velvet seemed to accept that for now.
On the other hand, he finally had to give up his civilian identity to Neo and Roman. It was a desperate move on his part, but as far as friends went, those two were the only ones who were truly aware of his cannibalistic nature and still associated with him. In his twisted ideal world, Velvet would be a part of that group, but her career path put her firmly against them. His meeting with Neo this morning was informative, if not a bit draining. Apparently Merlot has already begun making moves on his own, although to his credit, he had been keeping them away from prying eyes. If what Roman reported was accurate, Merlot will have a small army in a few months.
Which brought him to this moment now. After Neo had gone back to help Roman, he got a message from none other than the young leader of team RWBY. Apparently her talk with her team had gone as well as it could have gone and they were all on good terms again. To celebrate (Ruby's words, not his), they had invited him and their sister team JNPR to watch a movie and go to the arcade again. Normally, Kaneki would have declined and come up with some excuse, but after finding out that Huntsmen were combing the streets around his home last night, he wasn't eager to go back. Something about Specialist Schnee and her two flunkies made him feel as if they had planted something in his apartment, but he felt as if he was being paranoid. Hell, it felt like he was being watched ever since he walked out of his apartment. He was easily able to find his way around town, given his night time activities, and eventually found the two teams lingering around.
"Ken!" Ruby greeted loudly. She zipped over to him in a burst of petals and manifested by his side. "Did you have any preference for a movie? Jaune said something about the Spruce Willis movie that came out a few weeks ago."
"I don't really mind what you guys pick," he said with a shrug. He looked over his shoulder again.
"Oh, you haven't met team JNPR yet, have you? Let me introduce you!" she said, grabbing his wrist and zipping back towards the crowd of Huntsmen. "Hey guys, this is Ken Kaneki, he works at Velvet's mom's coffee place thing," she said. "The tall one is Jaune," she rattled off.
"Ooooh, you're the one who got Velvet to start training harder!?" the orange haired girl asked excitedly. "Nice going Kenny!"
"Kenny?" Kaneki repeated, a bit surprised by her enthusiasm. "Wait, what do you mean she started training harder?" he asked.
"Nora ran into Velvet in the training room not too long ago, that's all. I'm Lie Ren, by the way," greeted the boy in green.
Ruby puffed her cheeks a bit at not being allowed to introduce each member herself and cleared her throat. "Yeah, and that just leaves–"
"Miss Nikos," Kaneki finished, recognizing the tall red-head. "It's a pleasure to see you again."
"Likewise!" she said with a polite smile.
"You two know each other?" asked Jaune, surprised.
"In passing," Kaneki replied. "She showed me how to escape that labyrinth you all call a campus," he joked.
"Well, now that you all know each other, let's get this movie started!" Yang said, clapping her hands for emphasis. The mob of teens then swarmed the movie theater. Kaneki was surprised when Blake of all people subtly pulled him to the side.
"Hey Ken, I just wanted to apologize," she said. "I thought about what you said, and you were right."
Kaneki looked at her confused, not sure what she was talking about. "In regards… to what exactly?"
Blake looked at him and blinked. "The other day when you were out shopping," she clarified. Recognition flooded Kaneki's face as he recalled that conversation.
"Oh, don't worry about it," he said. "I wasn't exactly in the right headspace at the time. If anything, I should apologize for dismissing your concerns so harshly. I'm sorry."
"Still, you had a point," she admitted. "I only reached out because you were a friend of a friend. Gods forbid there ever is a next time, it'll be because you are our friend too."
Kaneki smiled slightly at that, but internally was struggling to hide his guilt. "I appreciate that, Mis–, I mean, Blake." Just as the two finished their moment, Ruby came by bouncing on her feet.
"Hey, what snacks do you guys want? Weiss is buying!"
"Yang and I can share a popcorn," Blake said, looking over to her partner. "Ken?"
"Do they have coffee here?" he asked.
Ruby made a strange face, but burst into petal back towards the front of the line. In less than ten seconds she materialized again. "Uh, yeah, they do. Weird. Is that all?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine with that," he replied. "No cream or sugar, please."
Ruby saluted and dashed off again, leaving Blake smiling slightly at her antics. "I guess working at a coffee shop will make you something of a caffeine addict, huh?"
"I guess you can say that," he replied with a gentle smile.
"Thank you for your report, Ms. Scarlatina, you did the right thing," Ozpin said to his student. "With the information you've provided us, we now have a lead as to where the Faunus Killer may be hiding and it is only a matter of time before we find and neutralize him. I hope that you have informed this friend of yours just how dangerous it could be if this information got out and into the Faunus Killer's hands. Please ensure that this civilian does not let the events of last night become known to the general public."
"Yes, Professor," Velvet said, her expression blank. Normally she would be just the tiniest bit nervous when speaking to her headmaster, but her thoughts were elsewhere.
"Try to take it easy for a few days," Ozpin said, noticing her tense demeanor. "You've more than earned it."
"Thank you," she said, although her posture didn't change. She headed back towards the elevator to leave. Even after the doors closed, she was still trying to figure out exactly what she was feeling. There was so much that she had to take in since the night before, it was as if her mind simply couldn't process it. When she finally arrived on the first floor, she was surprised to see Coco waiting outside the doors..
"Velvet?" Coco asked, surprised. "What are–"
Before she could finish her question, Coco felt a searing pain across her face. In any other situation, Coco would have retaliated in the blink of an eye and retaliated one hundredfold after seeing her designer shades broken on the ground. But this wasn't some enemy she could stomp on, or some Grimm she could extinguish.
"How DARE you," Velvet seethed, tears welling in her eyes. The expression Velvet wore didn't suit her, Coco thought. Both her fists trembled at her sides as she tried her damnedest to not unleash all the anger in her heart.
Coco's eyes were wide as she touched her now red cheek. "Velvet, I can explain!"
"I don't care, Coco. I don't want to hear whatever excuse you've concocted to try to get me to stop seeing Ken. I don't want to hear what you think, I don't even want to look at you right now! Nothing you say to me matters, none of your stupid 'gut feelings' or instincts mean a damn thing to me. I just want you to leave us alone. Stop trying to look out for me, I'm not a stupid kid, Coco. You're just a bully, no better than Cardin and his friends!" she shouted, shoving her leader to the ground.
Velvet stormed off not sparing Coco a second glance. Coco remained stunned, by her actions but more by her words. Sure, Coco knew she could be abrasive, but for her dearest friend to compare her to the one who had harassed her for months, it hurt her more than the slap. Coco looked down to the test results her mother had given her. Coco didn't know what she should do. The right thing as a Huntress… or the kind thing as a friend. Coco picked herself up as well as her broken sunglasses and put them in her purse and turned back towards the elevator. "I'm sorry…" she whispered, feeling the crushing disappointment that came with her decision.
Velvet wiped her eyes and tried to steady her erratic breathing but to no avail. When she was a fair distance away from the headmaster's office, she finally let herself feel the tidal wave of emotions she had been trying to contain. Finding a secluded corner, she crouched with her knees to her chest as she tried to contain herself. She shook with anger at her leader's actions, writhed at the thoughts of Kaneki allowing himself to be eaten by a maniac for the past few months, trembled at the thought of facing the Faunus Killer and sobbed at how overwhelming the world seemed to her. It was too much and she didn't know who to ask for help. If she asked Fox or Yatsu, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't tell Coco. Velvet didn't feel comfortable asking her junior teams for their advice either, considering that she wasn't exactly as close to them as she'd like, and she couldn't ask her mother as she had her plate full doing what she could for the Faunus community.
"This must be how Ken feels," she realized aloud. The fear of burdening others must grip his heart like it was gripping her own now. But she couldn't let fear control her; she was supposed to be a Huntress after all. She picked herself up and walked towards the professors' offices. She didn't expect to find many of them around, considering how close they were to catching the Faunus Killer the night prior, but was surprised to find the vice-headmistress. "Um, Professor Goodwitch?" she called out meekly.
The tired Glynda looked up to the Rabbit Faunus with a neutral expression. "Miss Scarlatina," she greeted. "I just received your report from Professor Ozpin not even five minutes ago. Is there something you'd like to add?"
"No, not exactly," she replied, walking into the office. She took a seat across from Goodwitch and steeled herself. "I would like to request additional training to assist in apprehending the Faunus Killer."
"I believe Professor Ozpin made it clear that students were not to engage with the Faunus Killer," Glynda pointed out. "What makes you think that things have changed? Surely you don't expect that because you happened upon him last night that you should be given special permissions."
Velvet shook her head and did her best to find a firmness in her voice. "I understand that I'm not exactly the strongest student around, but during the breach my team and I found out that my version of other people's weapons were the most effective at damaging the Faunus Killer. With my Semblance, I believe that I can close the gap between myself and the killer faster than anybody. The longer that he's out there, the more people that are going to get hurt."
"We are very well aware of that fact," Glynda agreed, a bit pleased to see the girl's resolve. Still, she was fundamentally against the idea of putting her students on the front lines against this particular foe. She looked over the report as she found the person of interest. "Tell me, Miss Scarlatina, is this sudden burst of bravery a result of your discoveries last night?"
Velvet's eyes widened slightly as she thought of Kaneki bandaging himself on the floor of his apartment. "N-no, that's not the only reason," she answered, before realizing her words. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "Professor, the truth is there are a lot of reasons for my wanting to join the manhunt of this murderer, but the most pressing of all is that I can't just stand around and do nothing when I know that I was able to make a difference in our first encounter. It pains me to see how many are being hurt by this monster's actions and how easily he's able to escape us. I might not be able to take him down alone, but I can help!"
"You seem very adamant about this," Glynda noted. "I wish that this motivation to become stronger came from other circumstances." She got up from her desk and gestured to Velvet to follow. "I'm not entirely sure if you're aware of what you're asking right now, or if you are even prepared to follow through on your promises."
"I am," Velvet insisted.
Glynda looked over for a second before turning back forward. "If that is the case, then you may prove to be quite the asset in time, but that's not something we have a lot of right now. We have noticed that your weapons were more effective at cutting the Faunus Killer's appendages, but I'm not sure if you're aware of the killer's frightening ability to rapidly heal himself. There was a moment when one of our Bullheads had managed to tear apart most of his body with its mounted cannons, but he was able to regenerate in a matter of seconds."
"He can heal his body too?" Velvet asked.
"Unfortunately, yes," she confirmed. "It appears that regeneration extends beyond those strange appendages and can be used to repair his main body. I understand that your Hard-Light weapons are only usable for a few strikes before they are expended; have you considered finding a way to strengthen them or extend how long you can use them?"
"I've thought about it before," Velvet confessed. "I just haven't been able to find a suitable method that didn't use an excessive amount of Dust to achieve that sort of effect. Wait, does this mean you'll let me help?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Glynda chided. The two finally arrived at a training room where Glynda began to type away at her scroll tablet. "You said you wanted additional training, and as your teacher, I will be happy to provide the extra help you need," she said. "However, I expect that you are responsible enough to know that you are not to go after the Faunus Killer on your own under any circumstances, is that clear?"
"Yes, ma'am," Velvet agreed.
"Very well," Professor Goodwitch said with a satisfied nod. She condensed her scroll into a phone as she made a call. "Professor Ozpin, if you will, please meet me in training room three at your earliest convenience. I'll explain when you arrive. Thank you."
Velvet gulped at the thought of having her headmaster watch her spar. "Why do you need Professor Ozpin here?" she asked.
"He is the one who put the restrictions for all academy students to refrain from engaging the Faunus Killer," Glynda explained. "If he finds your abilities satisfactory, he will be the one who can provide exemptions to those restrictions. I already know what you're capable of, and if it was up to me, I would deny your participation as a matter of principle, however, I know that Professor Ozpin has always been willing to bend some rules."
Velvet felt a strange mixture of dread and hope. She tightened her grip on the strap of her camera and took a deep breath. "I understand," she said, with determination on her face. Glynda couldn't help but sigh sadly at seeing another student grow up too fast.
Kaneki sat in the middle of both teams, Ruby to his left and Pyrrha to his right. The film itself seemed to be a generic action movie, which he had seen enough action in his day to day life to last a lifetime. Instead of really watching the movie, he found his gaze wandering around the theater to the other people in attendance. He looked over to Ren and Nora, idly wondering if the pair were aware of how obvious their affection came off to others. Thinking about how Qrow had made that comment towards Velvet and himself, he suddenly felt like the pot calling the kettle black. His gaze slowly went over to the other pair of partners to his left; Yang and Blake. They sat in a similarly close fashion as Ren and Nora, but it seemed platonic.
Kaneki wondered why he couldn't seem to concentrate on the film, but from the sounds of Jaune, it was really good. He looked over to him and had to stop himself from smiling. Jaune was so carefree and unafraid of expressing himself. He vaguely reminded him of Hide, but the resemblance was only a passing one. Kaneki was not familiar enough with the blond leader to make that judgment and if he was being honest with himself, Kaneki wasn't sure he wanted to get to know him better. Ruby already reminded him too much of Hinami which already made his heart ache every time he talked to her.
'That must mean I'm…' Kaneki thought for a second. He couldn't stop himself from whispering to himself. "Still human…"
Pyrrha looked over to him with an eyebrow raised. "You caught it too?" she asked, a bit enthused. Kaneki looked over confused, but she gestured to the screen. He looked, but he hadn't really paid any attention to the film so far. He tried to make sense of it, but it seemed that the film was reaching its finale. Before he knew it, the credits were rolling. He turned back to Pyrrha confused, but she was now distracted by Jaune's reactions to the film.
As the nine filed out of the theater, the two teams and Kaneki wandered to a large picnic area with benches and tables. Yang had gone off by herself while Ruby was trying to get Weiss to engage in the conversation but it was clear that she didn't enjoy the film at all. She rolled her eyes when Ruby insisted that something was 'sooo cool' and how 'awesome the good guys' were. Before long she turned to Kaneki who was politely observing.
"What about you, Ken? What did you think about the film?" she asked, trying to get Ruby to leave her alone.
Ken shrugged and scratched his face. "I thought it was pretty fun," he lied.
"I agree!" Pyrrha added. "I thought that I was the only one who noticed that the main character was human the entire time."
"Wait, what?" asked Jaune. "Spruce was shrugging off all sorts of attacks, there's no way he was human! He just lost his powers towards the end for some reason."
"Yeah, what are you talking about, Pyrrha? He was basically a god for the first half of the movie!"
Pyrrha shrugged and looked to Kaneki. "Well, I noticed throughout the film that he wasn't really in danger since the conflict came to him, so he was able to prepare and make it look like he was invincible. The one time he had to leave his compound, he wasn't fully in control, that's why he got hurt in the last fight. You realized that too, right Ken?"
"R-right," Kaneki agreed. "When you say it like that, it feels rather obvious, doesn't it?"
Jaune and Ruby's expression fell flat as they both remembered the film to try to find evidence to dispute it. Pyrrha laughed at the two's reaction and patted them on the shoulders. "I just noticed that the scenery was kind of samey throughout the first half of the movie, that's all. I didn't really put it together until a few moments before Ken did. What gave it away for you, Ken?"
"I can't really explain it," he admitted. "I guess something just felt off? I'm not really sure if that makes sense, but narratively, it wouldn't really be satisfying if you watched a hero who can't fail just win all the time. There's no stakes if that's the case."
Weiss raised an eyebrow and laughed. "You expected a coherent story from… from that?"
"It's more like I was hoping for one," he replied. "I don't try to expect anything when going into a movie."
"Why's that?" asked Blake.
Kaneki realized he was becoming the center of attention. "It sets you up for disappointment," he replied with a shrug. "If your expectations are too high, nothing will live up to them."
"That's kind of a sad way of thinking," blurted out Nora. "Don't you ever feel excitement for anything? Like smashing Grimm or pancakes?"
"Nora…" Ren said, trying to reel her in from her shenanigans. "He's not a Huntsman."
Kaneki silently gave Ren a thankful nod. "Anyway, are we going to head to the arcade anytime soon?"
"Oh, Yang went to get some food," Ruby informed. "Weiss didn't like the arcade food."
"There was a hair on my plate!" she said a bit too defensively. "Besides, it was all just fried and greasy food."
"Well, that's kind of the point of going out to an arcade," Jaune pointed out. "It's not like we went to some upscale restaurant."
Blake hid a smirk as she saw Yang returning with the food. "I'm guessing you aren't going to be a fan of what Yang ordered us then," she said to Weiss. Weiss looked surprised and turned towards to see Yang bringing over a stack of pizzas.
"I hope you're all hungry!" Yang said, putting down three boxes of pizza. "I got pepperoni and meatballs, sausage and bacon and chicken with red onion!"
Weiss' face twisted in disgust before the boxes were even opened. She looked over to Kaneki who seemed to flinch at the assault from the aroma from the pies. "Ken, you wouldn't happen to be vegetarian, are you?"
Kaneki turned to her, noticing the looks he got from the other teens. "Not exactly, I just have a really weak stomach," he replied. "I'll be honest, I probably wouldn't be able to keep this down."
"I told you that you should have asked him what he wanted," Ruby shouted in a whisper. "I'm sorry, Ken, I can run over and get you something if you'd like!"
"I'll be fine," he said, rubbing his nose a bit. "I didn't have much of an appetite anyway."
"I'm sorry, Ken," Yang said sheepishly. "I got every meat they had hoping one of them would be something you'd like."
"No worries," he assured. He sat back in his chair as the other began to tuck into the food when his scroll went off. He looked at the notification and saw it was Torchwick. "I have to take this, excuse me," he said getting up. He put some distance between himself and the teams before answering. "This better be important," he said harshly.
"And here I thought you'd be glad that I came bearing good news," Torchwick said sarcastically. "Of course it's important, asshole, why else would I be calling you?"
"Just get to the point."
"It looks like Ozpin is being a bit more aggressive with his manhunt, especially down in the southwest quarter of Vale where Merlot set up shop. Personally, I would recommend skipping town until things die down."
"I don't exactly have a means of leaving the Kingdom, Jack," Kaneki said with an eye roll. "Besides, even if I could… I don't really think it'll do me any good." Kaneki sighed as he thought about Velvet. He was aware that Torchwick would find out about his civilian connections eventually. "There's somebody I can't just leave behind… and taking her with me is out of the question."
Part of Kaneki expected Roman to laugh at him, while another part wondered why he would admit this to him. No part of him expected Roman to let out a sigh and say, "I understand. We'll figure something out, Eyepatch."
Kaneki turned back towards the eight Huntsmen in training. Knowing that they were just normal teens despite their training made him wish he had never gone out with them. Getting to know the enemy only made it harder to fight them. "Looks like tonight is my last night as a human," he said more to himself than to Roman. He didn't wait for a response and hung up before making his way back towards the group of friends.