"You're late." Touka simply said with a scowl from behind me.
"And you didn't have to follow me. I know the area better than you" Kaneki retorted as the purple haired girl walked on ahead.
"With the Doves around, it'd better if we don't wander around by ourselves. I'm saving your ass by coming with." Touka stubbornly replied as they crossed through alleyway to alleyway, back into the urban maze of the 20th Ward slums.
Instinct kicked in as Kaneki navigated through the alleys, Touka following behind as they made their way to Uta's shop.
He wasn't overly fond of Uta's personal questions, but he needed a new mask.
xxx
Shuu Tsukiyama was a man of refined tastes.
His palate consisted of only the rarest and most aromatic of flesh. professionally prepared in such a way that would make world famous chefs blush.
He was a gourmet, and he took pride in that.
So imagine his surprise when he gets a visit from a small bandage wrapped girl and a white haired ghoul with a half mask.
"Well, what brings someone like you into my abode, mon cheire?" Tsukiyama inquired as the mummified girl looked around curiously as Tatara leaned against a pillar, silently watching the blue haired gourmet.
The bandaged girl had a bounced in her step as she explored the cathedral like room where Tsukiyama stayed. "I don't think I've had the opportunity to meet the infamous Gourmet of the 20th Ward. My name is Eto Yoshimura and I believe I can give you to location to a rather rare delicacy." The girl offered, the bandaged around her face turning up as she grinned.
Tsukiyama paused, turning to the girl curiously. "You have my attention, Miss Yoshimura. Though, I must say that scent of yours is absolutely délicieux, my dear." He flashed her a charming smile to her.
"Hands off, Tsukiyama. My body belongs to one person and one person alone." Eto snorted defensively. "You'll find your treat in Anteiku. Considering your history with them, I think you might know who I'm referring to."
Tsukiyama pondered for a moment at this. "You mean the Kaneki boy, correct? I'll admit, he has an enticing scent, but he's rather well guarded by Anteiku." He mused.
Eto giggled at that, visibly brightening up at the mention of her Ken-Ken. "Leave the distractions to me, I can lead Ken-Ken to you. Talk has it that he has a human friend, how does a side dish sound?" She asked with a smile underneath her bandages.
"It's too good to pass up, although, I can't help but question what you get out of this?" Tsukiyama asked cautiously.
Eto simply smiled. "That's not your concern, Gourmet." And then she and the white haired masked ghoul turned to walk away. "Expect Ken-Ken within the week." She said as the two walked out.
xxx
"Uta didn't ask you anything too weird this time did he?" Touka asked as she and Kaneki slumped into the barstools beside each other.
"How weird are we talking? Something tells me he's trying to get the two of us to date with the kind of questions he asks." Kaneki mused.
Touka's faced flared up red at that. "That damn bastard! He should know that gossip shit is useless." She huffed with an angry blush.
"I think it's because it gets you riled up. You do tend to have a more extreme reaction to those kinda of questions. I remember you taking a swing at him when he asked you if I was your boyfriend." The half ghoul pointed out.
Touka grumbled, but remained silent because Kaneki had a point. The sound of the door opening caused them to perk up. Walking into the cafe, a nervous looking girl with pale blue hair observed the interior of Anteiku. Kaneki and Touka could smell that she was a human, although Kaneki recognized her as the girl he rescued last night.
Saiko, if he remembered. "Oh hey, welcome to Anteiku." Kaneki greeted her.
Said girl, brightened up upon seeing Kaneki as she waved at him. "Oh, is this where you work?" Saiko asked as she sat herself beside Kaneki at the bar, much to Touka's annoyance. "I don't think I ever got to thank you for saving me last night, Mr Kaneki." She shyly said with pink tinted cheeks.
"I'll take this one, Kaneki." Touka asserted herself with a low growl, cutting in between Kaneki and Saiko. "You can take your break."
"Actually I'd prefer Mr Kaneki to serve me." The nervousness in Saiko's voice was replace with a sharp edge before turning to the oblivious boy. "I'll have a milk tea, if you have it."
"Just Kaneki is fine, Saiko. I'll get your milk tea, give me a sec." He waved to her in a friendly manner as he vanished into the back.
Saiko waved back, her eyes glazed in a dreamy manner.
Once Kaneki left, Touka and Saiko immediately locked eyes on each other.
"So, how'd you meet Kaneki?" Touka asked, her voice dripping with sickeningly sweet venom.
"I just met him last night. Kaneki saved me from a ghoul attack, It was the coolest thing ever! He showed up like a manga shounin hero." Saiko gushed with a grin.
"I don't think the words Kaneki and cool fit in the same sentence. The guy's a complete dork." Touka snorted a laugh. "I've known the guy for like 4 years and I can tell you that he's not as badass as you might think."
Saiko shrugged at that. "Dunno about you, but he made a really good first impression. He's the coolest guy I met and that opinion of mine won't really change." Normally, she wasn't this bold, but something about the boy screamed at her to fight for him. After all, she was infinitely more nice to him than this edgy high schooler.
Before the banter could continue, Kaneki returned with Saiko's milk tea before putting up his apron. "Hope I didn't take too long." Kaneki gave the two girls a polite smile, pretending that he didn't hear the brief spat between them.
Sometimes Touka forgot Kaneki had better hearing than humans.
"Of course not! I was just chatting with your coworker." Saiko replied, giving Kaneki a sweet smile while taking her milk tea.
"Speaking of which, take your damn lunch break already before your shift's over." Touka shot a glare at the two, growing more annoyed at the situation as time progressed.
"Alright alright, I guess I'll let you take care of Saiko for me. See you in thirty minutes, Touka." Kaneki only smiled at the girl's withering glare before heading upstairs to his room.
"You better not keep me waiting, dumbass." Touka shouted at Kaneki as he made his way to the door. "Call me or Mr Yoshimura if something holds you up." She said after him.
xxx
The cloudy skies casted a gloomy atmosphere across the 20th ward as Kaneki looked around for a place to stop.
Suddenly an arm locked around his neck, catching him off guard and pulling him into a dark alleyway.
"Not a word." A feminine voice caused him to stiffen as two humans in white coats passed by them. Kaneki's eyes widened as his gaze lingered on the two briefcases within their hands.
Doves.
Two of them.
Just like the ones Mr. Yoshimura warned about.
...Wait.
Didn't Mr. Yoshimura say there were three doves. So where's the third?
As they passed by, Kaneki's attention turned to his savior and kidnapper.
Messy long green hair and gray-green eyes.
It was Eto.
"It's been awhile, Ken-Ken. Have you been eating well?" Her cheery voice sent a wave of calm chill throughout his body. "How many have I saved you now?" There was a smugness to her tone as both her arms wrapped around Kaneki's neck from behind.
"How would you know if the Doves would come after me?" Kaneki said with barely contained calm. He didn't know why he was so uptight around Eto now. "They could've been just minding their own business." Kaneki reasoned to her.
"Mmm, perhaps, but as ghouls, do we really wish to take that risk?" Eto countered. "After all, as you are now, you can barely hold your own against a decently competent ghoul, much less a well trained Dove." The one eyed ghoul said with a hint of fustration. "I remember when we were kids." The small woman unwrapped her arms around Kaneki's neck and took her hand into his.
Eto never did have a sense for personal boundaries.
"Come, we've got some catching up to do, Ken-Ken. I know a wonderful little place for lunch. I'll pay for both us, of course." And with that, just like before, Kaneki found himself struggling to catch up at Eto's pace as she hooked her arm around his and took him into the busy 20th Ward street.
A/N: I planned for this chapter to be longer, but I figured I went too long for an upload for any of my stories.
If you're following my other stories, I haven't forgotten about them either and have been working on the chapters.
It's just been a struggle to find a balance between life and writing.