A/N:Now we're gonna flip flop between Kaneki and Touka's povs, and yes this is a slight time skip forward to when Hinami appears. I hope you all enjoy these stories as much as I enjoy writing them. I like the cover and think that it quite aptly suits Touka very well, don't you think?

Fighting against cubital tunnel is such a struggle, I tell you, but I'm determined to update regardless. Ugh, I just hate the heat, though.

Also, I hope you do all enjoy this story and review. I had a bit of anxiety about it, but now I'm posting the next chapter, so come at me. (Be nice, pls) XD

Anyway, unfortunate switching of tenses here. I also forgot the names of the two people who work behind the cafe so please forgive me. Bit rusty on TG. I do like this fic, though, so expect some updates.

"She was an innocent young woman and, while she was not jaded or tainted by the world yet, she possessed an open wound that would fester. Already it was riddled with the maggots of fear. If she wasn't careful, that fear would control her life."

― Armada West, when the gloves come off

Chapter 2 Assumptions and an angry Rabbit

K's perspective (Kaneki)

It all happened so fast, so fast that it's hard for me to wrap my mind around it all. My life has changed in so many ways.

One second, Rize-san was normal, the next second she was a ghoul and she...she attacked me.

Then it got worse, both of us were pinned down beneath something and suddenly she was dead and I was sure that I would die, but now I'm one of those creatures, half ghoul myself? It's still so hard to get used to being this way. It feels like nothing more than a bad dream.

How in the world can I be one of those things? It's impossible.

I suppose I have to accept it, but then I learned that not only is there a ghoul community in Anteiku, but they want to help me. There is this nice old man named Mr. Yoshimura who has helped me out so much. Everyone there is so nice, and I can even work there after school. The only thing is...that Hide can't find out about me being this way.

I'm not sure I like Nishio very much, he's kind of rude and arrogant. Ghouls seem pretty violent, but then there's Touka-chan and she is...something else. She certainly is rude, violent and full of hate for humans, but I feel like she's a nice person deep down inside. Although, she's sort of hard to approach sometimes and has a scary temper. I know that much.

I don't think it's that she dislikes me, I just think she's leery of me because I'm half-human, which isn't fair, but I can't say I blame them for feeling that way. I mean, with how the CCG treats them and all-but ghouls are monsters, right?

I mean, they eat people.

I know Mr. Yoshimura told me to give them equal chances and to be able to see from both sides of view, but Nishio nearly killed Hide for no reason. He didn't even know me and decided he would hate me right off the bat. How is that rational?

Ah, I might have kicked his ass, but still, Touka-chan, she eats people-and, that's wrong, right?

The one thing I'm forever puzzled about with her is how she sneaks up on you. Sometimes, she seems to be staring at me, and it's really intimidating. She is sort of an enigma. I don't know anything at all about her, her past or her family.

But then again, these people don't know anything about me, either. They don't know about my mother, my father or anything, really. I haven't let them in and they haven't let me in. Maybe if I get to stay with them more, I'll understand what makes her her.

It's not that she's not approachable, she's kind of stern and a bit...scary if you approach her when she's in a bad mood.

Today, I noticed her arguing with Nishio, calling him a shithead.

"Uh...maybe you two should get along?" I suggested, but she glared at me.

"HELL NO!" Both of them cried.

"I don't like you, for starters, you're an arrogant little brat and you nearly killed me-" Nishio began, but Touka-chan cut him off.

"It's because you nearly ate his best friend in front of him, you dipshit." Touka-chan growled, rolling her eyes. Was she being...sympathetic towards me? Half the time, she looked at me like I was an idiot! Now that I think about it, she is sort of...cute, but does she...does she like me?

The thought of that seemed really absurd and I suddenly sank back.

"What are you looking at?" She snapped.

I flinched. "U-Uh...nothing, I'm just..."

"I think he likes you." Nishio said smugly.

"Like I'd have a crush on a human!" Touka replied, "Shitty Nishiki, you're just putting words in my mouth where they don't belong!"

The next thing I knew, they were fighting yet again. How predictable.

"Those two are always at it," The nice guy next to me said.

"Do those two ever get along?" I asked.

"Well, they've got nowhere else to go, besides, Touka-chan is a very strong girl. She is kind on the inside." He said.

'Deep, deep down inside,' I thought, watching her. "Is she always that violent?"

His eyes narrowed as he looked at me. "Touka-chan didn't have the best of lives growing up, you know. You might not understand this since you grew up as a human, but for us ghouls, life is a constant battle of life and death. Will our families be taken from us? Will we go without food? It's something you humans never really have to worry about."

I looked at him before I glanced back over at Touka.

"If she ever wants to tell you, she'll do so herself, but don't ask her about it. It's a very sensitive subject for most ghouls, especially those who have suffered at the hands of the CCG." He said the name like it was a curse, "I presume you were always taught that they were the good guys, right?"

"Yeah." I said, looking at the ground. How was the world so different from what I was taught? Growing up, I was told that these guys were the bad guys and that the CCG were heroes.

"So that means that...?"

"Touka-chan is very reluctant to trust humans. But don't let her outward appearance fool you. She is a very kind person."

'Again, very deep down,' I thought in amusement.

She was still arguing with Nishio and shooting me glares out of the corner of her eye.

"Why does she have to be so scary?"

"It's her self-defense mechanism. She obviously doesn't trust humans very much."

"But I've never done anything to ghouls." I whined.

"It doesn't matter, humans get a good life while ghouls have to struggle to get much of anything."

"I guess that's just something I'm starting to understand, then." I said.

Touka-chan was now taking someone's order and Nishio was cleaning the table as well, but both of them were just ignoring each other.

"Is Nishio-san always that fierce?" I asked.

"Pretty much, as you found out, but best not to cross him." He explained. "He can be a loyal ally if you need him."

Not that I would ever need him, he was a creep.

"So, why does Touka-chan go to school?" I asked, voicing the thought that had confused me the most.

"She wants to learn and do things with her life, just like you. Kirishima-san is a survivor, more or less. If you have a crush on her-"

My face flushed ten shades of red. "It's not like that, it's not like I've been looking at her or anything!"

"Mr. Yoshimura notices, too, and if you two ever want to be set up on a date, you can." He teased.

"What kind of nonsense are you saying?" Touka cried, storming over randomly.

"Oh, nothing, just teasing your boyfriend here." He said cheerfully.

"B-Boyfriend?" She exclaimed. Her face was red.

"Touka-chan, do you-" I began, but I didn't get to finish before she stared straight into my soul.

"Go wash the table," She snapped before she finally used my name for the first time, "Ken-san."

"Just call me Kaneki," I said nervously.

God, she was intimidating.

She'd even threatened to kill Hide, I didn't know if she would go through with it or not, but honestly the sight of her face does make my heart pound. But...I don't know.

"Why is it that I'm only attracted to scary women?" I muttered, unfortunately, she heard.

"What did you just say?" She growled.

"I said nothing!" I exclaimed.

"Good." She said in finality.

"Um...did something happen?" I asked, "Why are you always so...?"

"Why am I always so...what?" She said, uh-oh, we're treading on dangerous waters here.

"Grumpy, uh, maybe you could smile once in a while."

"I smile if I want to." She said haughtily, but her face softened just a little, "But you're not bad for a human."

Then she skulked out of the room.

She's something else, all right. But I can't help but feel like she's hiding things. Sometimes, she'll look at me and look really sad for some reason.

"Is she afraid of me?" I asked the dark-haired woman, who worked behind the counter.

"Touka-chan?" I asked.

She looked at me. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for always helping me."

At this, she just looked away, her face red. "It's not like I'm looking out for you personally, Mr. Yoshimura asked me to."

"Um...uh, Touka-chan...is sort of cute."

She stopped to look at me, her eyes wide. "Cute? I'll never understand you humans and your weirdness."

But she was suddenly stammering a bit.

"Touka-chan, is it possible?"

Suddenly the wall behind me sank from the force of her kick leaving a dent in it.

"I don't know what you're thinking, but it's not true. Now please leave me alone, there's some homework I gotta do."

She's harder to read than a book, but I think I like her. She's a good person deep down.

Just what makes her so bitter?

Touka's perspective

I had that nightmare again, that nightmare about the day that past me died, about the man sticking the knife into my flesh. In the dream it was different, I disemboweled him and ate him and it was so satisfying. I'd loved it. I wasn't quite sure what that meant, but I was starting to focus less on my past life and more on the present.

Honestly, to think that I had to rescue Kaneki twice...how annoying. First, from Nishio, and then from Tsukiyama. Kaneki truly was the male damsel in distress at the moment.

As I was completing my homework, I suddenly remembered something. It was almost time for...Hinami-chan to arrive. Oh shit. I remembered that whole thing happening in the original show. I didn't know how much I could change, but no child deserved to watch that shit happen in front of them.

Oh my god...I remembered it vaguely, but I just knew that my stomach hurt. It was probably from the good but nauseating food Yoriko had made for me, again concerned that I wasn't eating enough in school. Why is your food so good that it makes me sick, Yoriko?

The next thing I knew, I was in the bathroom again. Great.

"Touka-chan, are you okay?"

Oh no, it's Kaneki again. Why does he have to be so nice?

Can't he just leave me alone for five seconds...though he is kind of cute. Cool it, you can't let your emotions get the better of you...

"Are you throwing up?"

"No, I'm not. Shut up and go away." I cried.

Damn it, that's not what I wanted to say.

I stumbled out of the bathroom after washing my face and got back to my room, annoyed.

I smiled, because Yoriko was always looking out for me. More than that, I did still yearn for human food. I wished I could eat cookies again and other normal human food, but that was impossible.

Then the next night, I saw the two of them standing in the doorway, Hinami-chan and her mother.

My fists tightened, I knew just what this was about.

This meant...CCG, and those stupid doves!

Now that they were right here in front of me, the pain hurt worse now.

"Touka-oneechan..." Hinami whimpered, looking at me.

The little girl was truly cute, it's hard not to want to think of her as a little sister and look out for her.

"Fueguchi-san." I said.

"If you could shelter us for a while, that would be great." Ryoko said, smiling at me, before her eyes fell on Kaneki.

"Mom, who is that?" Hinami asked, also looking at Kaneki in confusion.

"He's a new worker." I explained.

"What happened to your eye?" She asked.

Kaneki looked at her, not sure what to say.

"They're not ghouls, are they?" He whispered to me.

"What do you think, Einstein?" I said.

"Touka-chan, can you be nice for five seconds?" He whined.

"Not until you stop being an idiot, Kaneki." I pointed out.

"You used my name again." He said, "I think that means that you-"

"Clean those dishes."

"You can be nice, right?"

Whoa, that took me off guard.

"I'm just trying to make sure you don't embarrass yourself in front of those two. They've got their own problems. Yes, they are ghouls."

"But she looks so-"

"She looks so, what?"

"Uh, normal?"

"What do you think normal is?" I asked, looking at him intently. "I'd give anything to live the life you've lived up until now."

I mean, god, being able to eat normal human food would be so wonderful. But I was already forgetting what it was like. I both longed for it and didn't miss it. I could still remember what pizza tasted like. But hey, at least I could still drink coffee.

"Touka-chan, could I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Um...about your family."

"That's not your business. What about yours? You haven't told me about yours, have you?"

He paled.

"Well, no..."

"Then, let's not talk about it. People who haven't known each other for very long usually don't discuss that sort of thing. But, maybe some other time."

God, he was so hard to get used to.

"Hey, Kirishima-san."

Oh no, it was Hide.

"Oh, Nagachika-san, nice to see you again!" I said, successfully concealing my irritation, although...I think that he noticed.

"I think you and Kaneki are quite the cute little couple here." He teased.

"C-C-Couple?" Kaneki sputtered. "That's not true."

"Oh, come on, I can see it!" He said, causing Kaneki to turn fifty shades of scarlet.

"No, I don't understand where you're getting that idea from." I said, though my fists were shaking and Kaneki noticed and winced.

"Um...Kirishima-san?" He said nervously.

"I'm all right."

At this, Hide looked a bit concerned.

"Did I upset you?"

"No, not at all, now can I take your order?" I said, promptly slapping the menus down in front of him.

He paled a little.

"Oh, I get it, you do like him, don't you? Have either of you made the first move yet? Either way, you two really are quite the match. Maybe I should make the first move."

"What would you like to order?" I said through gritted teeth.

He flinched. "Um, I'll have a hamburger."

"What kind of hamburger?" I said, my voice way too cheery.

"I'm sorry if I've upset you, Kirishima-san."

"It's all right." I said, but on the inside, I was screaming, Aggretsuko-style, "What kind of drink will you have?"

Behind me, Kaneki was shaking.

"I'll take...iced tea." He said, finally getting it.

Kaneki sat down near his friend.

"She's one scary girl." Hide muttered.

"It's cuz you got under her skin. You shouldn't do that to girls." Kaneki scolded, drinking his coffee.

"You've been missing school a lot." Hide began, concerned about his friend, "You know, I do think she likes you."

Goddammit, would he quit implying that?

Later that night, Kaneki made the most embarrassing faux pas-by walking in on Hinami while she was eating her food.

"You stumbled in on her and you didn't say anything?"

"Well, I didn't know what to do, so I started screaming."

"That's rude, how do you think she felt?" I said.

"Well, uh...I...I mean, she had blood."

"That's normal. You should apologize, she probably feels pretty bad about it."

"Okay...do you two get along?" He asked.

"Yeah, we do." I said, softening a bit.

"You know, Touka-chan, I trust you."

Looking at his face made my heart pound, fucking hell no.

This pissed me off, but nonetheless...

"Whatever." I said, slamming the door behind me.

Teenage emotions were too much, especially as a ghoul now.

"I knew you could be nice." He called after me, leaving me flustered.

I might think he's a pain in the ass, but he...is nice. Sometimes.

Just forget I ever said that.