My first Tokyo Ghoul fanfic. I've tried to add my own twist on it, might be good or utterly horrible, but do tell me whether it works or not. One-shot though, depending on the feedback which will be much appreciated.

Au: Kaneki goes back to Anteiku.

"If you work in the shop like that, you'll stand out a lot"

Her words hang in the air, lingering in the thick silence that bangs at her ear, deafeningly loud.

Even with the occasion bang and the cluster of explosive sounds reverberating around where they stand, there is just this unknown silence. As if the entire world has stopped in anticipation. They saved Kaneki- or rather he had saved her- and an unasked question remains in her mind.

Now what? Because she isn't naive enough to think that things would remain the same. It was in the way he held himself, the delicate and ironically, the unnatural way he had walked and fought.

Yomo-san moved ahead to find the Manager all the while Uta sits further away from their group. Occasionally, He glances up at them, playing the role of a silent observer.

Kaneki looks up, his eyes are narrowed, not in anger, but just tired, musky and then he smiles, and her heart breaks into little tiny pieces. Because he's beautiful and tragic and strong and it hurts to realize how much he has changed in just fifteen days.

They were so so late.

They failed

And he had to suffer and suffer. Because of their incompetence

"I-" he pauses for a moment, considering his words." I'm not going back to Anteiku"

Until he didn't need her and Anteiku anymore.

There's the silence again.. A moment to let his words sink into her conscience. And her mind thrusts itself in a robotic mood "There are things I want to do. For that.."She can hear him speak under the screaming of her mind, but can't make sense of them, Just the sick realization that she is going to lose him too.

She sees Banjou ask Kaneki to let him help in whatever way he can. He says he'll be Kaneki's shield and Kaneki lets him join his.. team. He's leaving. He's so sure of his wonders if he'd let her join, her lips part, but she stops. He won't. Something screams that he'd brush her he'd leave her alone.

So instead, a simple question makes it through her state of shock, pure disbelief and wide eyes.

"Why?"

A flicker of surprise runs through his eyes, his hunted and murky eyes, before it dissolves back into nothingness. She sees the shitty Gourmet walk towards them and stare at her curiously. But it doesn't matter, no nothing matters when she hears Kaneki voice " I want to protect everyone" He says just loud enough for her to hear.

"I won't" leave you alone.

His hands on her skin were cold, despite the strange comfort she was feeling. He was alive. Lifting her up as if she were a princess of some childish fairy tale.

There is a part of her mind constantly screaming about the unfairness of this entire situation. That she doesn't need protection and who would he protect them from? While the other tries to conjure up whatever sane thought it can to find just one, one freaking way to stop him, because that's what he said he'd do and that's what she will do instead. She won't leave him alone.

"Then do it"

Nishiki gasps, his eyes a little wide and the others wait in anticipation-No- he waits for her." Protect us" Kaneki stares at her, this time not being able to hide his surprise and she stares right back at him. There is the never leaving silence again.

She's too tired to deny his reason and too afraid of the fact that he'll leave regardless how much she'll try to convince him otherwise. But, Touka isn't going to give up. She'll checkmate him in his own game and he'll come back to Anteiku. She'll make sure of it.

"I will" he responds firmly.

"By abandoning us?"

That cuts through whatever justification Kaneki thought. His face twists in a series of different emotions and she wonders whether she hit a little too close to home. "No!" His voice is urgent, desperate and loud, and she stiffens.

Kaneki looks down, closing his eyes before he speaks again. This time it's much softer." Aogiri needs to be stopped. I have to stop them" At this moment, their speculators leave by an effort from Nishiki and for a moment, a tiny little moment she's grateful to that four eye bastard.

"How will that help us?" She whispers. He averts his eyes from hers.

"What do you want me to do?" She barely hears it. He's so tired, so hopelessly lost and alone and powerless and yet everything that would say otherwise.

She thinks of the boy, that she had been so sure died, and how he had been on his knees and scared of her when she took a life and so so innocent and then she sees him and from the sound of his voice, the same desperateness , just a lot quieter, and she knows that maybe, maybe that boy is still somewhere there. She sees a chance and takes a deep breath. " Let's just go back.." She says and can hear his fists clenching afterwards. She curses in her mind, too quick. That's not the answer he was looking for. He looks like he might explode and she's scared. By him.

So she searches for something.

"Why can't you protect us and still be by our side? Do you really have to be alone?"

He looks at her, she wonders whether he had even considered something so simple." A choice?" He says." There are no two options" his voice is deprived of emotions as of he's reciting something he has believed in his entire life." To choose" his voice crakes here." Both is to loss both"

"What kind of shitty logic is that?"

His eyes widen. " I," she stops. Unsure of how to continue." I have been living my life for the past few years with the third option. Haven't you been doing the same since you became a ghoul?"

"He" Kaneki grits his teeth." I was wrong."

He?

"Then am I wrong too?" She says bitterly " To be living a life pretending to be a human while being a ghoul? To choose the third option rather than tormenting humans or completely hiding from that?"

"Touka-"

"Are you an idiot or something?" She cuts him off. He closes his eyes, frowning. "That logic doesn't apply to every single situation except some shitty and exceptional ones. It's ironic for you to think like that"

She swallows " if you think like that, then no matter how, how many times life gives you a bundle of options, you'd only see just two."

At this point, she walks towards him. An arms length away and places a finger on his right eye which snaps open. There's shock and fear, and his skin is so smooth underneath her fingers and he doesn't move, so she wonders if he's doing that intentionally or is simply believing that he can't. "You, who are the third option." She says and hopes against hope that it comes off gently." Before you, there was only human or ghoul. You, who are a ghoul" Her other hand shots up to touch that eye which is always hidden behind his mask, " You, who are a human"

He shakes his head, biting his lower lip till there's a steady line of blood dripping on his chin. " I," he stammers " I am a ghoul."

"Are you?"

She can feel him shaking under her skin and she drops her hands to her side before slowing taking his hand in hers. "Kaneki" she says and realizes how desperate it sounds. She sounds. . " Please.. Don't.. Make yourself suffer anymore than you already have". It's plea, a patheticpathetic one because she needs him to stay just as much as he needs to. Too many people have already left. She failed him once and she won't fail him twice.

He opens his mouth and closes it, and does this again until finally he nods once then twice and then again.

He's still quivering " Touka.." he says. His voice breaking little by little. And she tightens her grip around his hand until they're just as warm as hers. She looks around and spots the Manager and gives him a brief nod."Kaneki" he looks so defeated, conflicted as if in a constant dilemma." It's okay" she whispers and for once in her life, she knows that she just might be right...