Kuri stumbled into the bookshop, holding a box set. She ran over to the table for the booksigning.

Kaneki looked up from the loft where he was reading on his break. Could it be?

He slid down the ladder deftly, watching her.

Kuri came to his bookstore all the time, but he could never get up the nerve to speak to her.

What would he say? 'Nice to meet you, sorry I almost ate you?'!

He watched as she went up to Takeuchi's table. She was so brave; he hadn't been able to get up the nerve yet.

Kuri was now at the shelves, stumbling under the weight of every single Takeuchi book.

Without thinking, he rushed out and caught the books before they landed on her head, in a very ghoulish motion. He hoped she didn't notice.

"Whoa! Thanks!" She smiled at him.

Kuri. Smiled. At. Him.

Kaneki blushed, instantly flustered. "Its…kinda my job to help customers. He indicated his badge.

"Ok…Ka-ne-ki." She sounded his name out carefully. "Hm…Kaneki Ken…Kenaki!"

She smiled again, proud of herself.

A nickname. He had a nickname. Other than Eyepatch.

He laughed a little. "Thats…uh…thanks."

"Do you like Takeuchi?" He changed the subject away from the dangerous territory of himself. "She's one of my favorites."

"Yeah, she's a new find." Kuri grinned sheepishly. "Thanks to her I'm reading five books at once again…"

"Five at once?" Kaneki was shocked. "Th-That's amazing!"

Kuri laughed. "It's really not. It's a bad habit. I just keep finding new stuff I like when I'm already in the middle of something!"

Kuri looked over at Takeuchi's table. "So you met her yet?"

"I…I couldn't…"

Kuri grabbed his hand and shoved a book into it. "This is the one I always see you reading. Go on. Get it signed."

"Really, I can't—"

But they were already there. "Heya sensei! This is Kaneki Ken. He takes good care of all your books."

Kuri shoved him, and he sank down into a bow. "I um…Nice to meet you."

Takeuchi smiled and returned the bow, signing the copy. "Thank you for taking good care of my books, Kaneki."

Now he could die happy.

Xxx

Months later, the cold had taken hold and the ghouls were back in the woods.

The streets of Onsen were alight with the talk of ghouls, after Kuri's classmate, Amon Kotaro, was savaged and killed.

Kuri was skeptical of the talk. Amon was a majorly bad guy, mean to everyone with a horrible temper, but now everyone spoke of him in revered terms as if he was a saint?

She was sure that he'd provoked the attack.

But one person can't stop a wildfire of rumors, and all of a sudden ghouls were in the spotlight for the first time since her savaging ten years ago.

Kuri felt panicked, and went to her backyard more often now. Today was especially bad. One of the cops, Shinohara, had come in to inform them of the savage nature of ghouls.

She went to the backyard and there he was, looking same as usual. Toothy mask, white hair, almost vacant expression, but eyes still directed at the house.

Kuri knew better than to come close, but today was different. Today she had a question.

She cautiously stepped forward—and so did he. Rather then taking it as a threat, she took it as an invitation.

"Did you kill Amon?" She looked in his eyes.

He looked sad, and couldn't meet her gaze.

Kuri took another brave step. "I don't blame you," She said in a conspiratorial whisper.

She reached up without thinking, and stroked his soft, white hair.

A snarl made her jump back. Across from them in the trees was another ghoul.

He was wearing a lizard-like mask, and had light brown hair and a tail like thing coming out from his back.

Kagune…whispered her mind, and her back began to itch.

Another snarl. Her ghoul was in front of her protectively, warning the lizard ghoul back.

She left then, knowing better than to get involved.

That night she woke up to the lizard ghoul growling at her window.

Kuri returned the snarl instinctively, loudly, predatorily.

The ghoul ran back into the trees.

Kuri touched her mouth in question. She had sounded just like a ghoul. Where had that come from?

Xxx

After that day, there were no ghouls in the backyard. Days past, and the toothy ghoul didn't show up.

Kuri theorized about why. Did the lizard ghoul attack him? Was that ghoul keeping watch and not letting him near? Or did it seem to be too much trouble for her ghoul?

She didn't know.

Finally she decide to see for herself.

She checked outside, and that's when she heard the scream.

Was that Amon's voice? Was he alive out there?

Before she could stop herself she was running. Without thinking about it, her body easily navigated the forest with no problem, like she had been here with the ghouls all this time.

She stopped when she reached a clearing.

The ghouls were eating.

Or at least thats what it looked like.

It looked like they were eating Amon.

She had never known what truly made them different from humans, why they were exiled like this.

Now she had her answer: The ghouls ATE humans.

Then why didn't the toothy ghoul eat her? He'd had a million chances. Was he waiting for her to fatten up or something?

No that was stupid. She had only slimmed up the past few years. And he would have known that and struck before she could get skinnier.

The lizard ghoul saw her and lunged.

Another ghoulish snarl ripped out of her.

Kuri was disgusted with herself.

She ran, revolted by the things that once brought her joy: the way she knew the forest, how agile she was the way her back itched—horrible.

She couldn't deny it anymore.

Somehow, she was kin to the man-eating ghouls.

Xxx

Nothing should have made her go near ghouls again. Nothing.

Kuri knew she was smarter than that. She didn't want to see them again.

But then the hunting began.

Akira, the elder sister of Amon, had mercilessly mocked her defense of the ghouls to the Officer the other day. Before she'd known the truth.

So Akira gave her some horrible information. The men in town were going after the ghouls. They had already killed one by accident and were bloodthirsty for more.

Maybe ghouls were wrong. Maybe they were evil man-eaters. But one ghoul had chosen NOT to eat her.

At the very least she could repay that. Then it would be over. They would all be dead.

Except him. And maybe he'd know better and kill someone else. Someone she didn't know.

And that was fine. It wasn't her responsibility then.

So she found herself parking on the side of the road, and stopping officer Shinohara.

"Officer you have to stop them!" She said, putting on the desperate girl act. "My friend Hinami went in there to take photos!"

That part wasn't a total lie. She did have a friend, Hinami, who took photos.

Shinohara blinked, panicking, and said shouted into his walkie. "Hey! Don't go in there!"

"I have to make sure she's alright!"

Kuri ran in. Maybe she wanted to make sure the ghouls were dead. Or maybe she wanted to protect the toothy ghoul. She wasn't sure.

Maybe she wanted to kill him herself.

Hideki, a family friend, grabbed her arm. "It's not safe here. I'll take you home."

Sighing, the fight went out of her. Suddenly home seemed like a good plan, as the andrenaline rushed away.

Kuri allowed herself to be walked home like a good girl. She patted Hideki's arm. "I got it from here."

She opened the fence, ready to go inside and forget this nightmare for awhile, when she saw something that rushed the adrenaline right back into her system.

Leaning against the sliding glass door, clothes torn, bleeding from a gunshot wound, eyes half closed, covered in other minor wounds, and blood, so much blood, was her ghoul.

And he wasn't a ghoul.

He was human.