𓏲 ๋࣭ ࣪ CHAPTER   I ˖ 𖤓
🎐 #'          h . hashino

the television screens played overhead , the cafe seeming more crowded than usual .

"last night just before dawn , in a commercial building in ward twenty of tokyo , several men of unidentified origin were discovered dead in aqua building ." the news reporter informed .

"multiple traces of saliva was left on the bodies . it is now being investigated as a potential ghoul crime ."

across the tea shop sat a blonde boy , his melodic , yet strident laughs bouncing off the walls in the room as he slouched across the high table , his elbows resting against it .

"you don't have to laugh that hard . ." his friend sighed , picking up his cup of coffee and pressing the rim of the mug against his lips .

"seriously , kaneki ? i mean , come on , a bookstore for your first date ?" the blonde teased , "why not ? she might like it ." the other boy replied .

"i'll say with certainty ; it'll never happen . plan rejected ."

"okay , first we'll go to big girl together . we'll have hamburger steaks ."

he burst into another cry of laughter at his words , his chin sitting on his arms as he continued to slouch .

"c'mon , i gave you a serious response . ." kaneki mumbled , "no , no , it's good . it really suits you ." the blonde bantered . "but as a date , it's no good ."

the other boy seemed to grow restless at his continuous mocking , a frown forming across his face .

"what's your problem , shooting down all my ideas ?" kaneki huffed , "what would you do , hide ?"

he exhaled dramatically , blowing the few tussles of hair in front of his eyes upwards before they landed on the tip of his button nose again .

"listen , you need to choose a place a girl will enjoy for your date ." hide responded .

"like ?"

"uh — like . . like . ."

kaneki almost scoffed at his stammering , "it seems you don't know either , hide ." he commented . "if i did , there's no way i'd be on a date with you on our day off , right ?" the blonde grumbled , his gaze turning to the window beside them .

"in ward twenty , ghoul consumption incidents have occurred repeatedly , the most recent one taking place around takada building ." another news reporter stated .

her words caught the attention of the blonde , his body turning to face the screen behind him as he read the contents on the report .

"that's pretty close ." he muttered in wariness .

hide faced his friend again , a sly grin tugging at his lips before he leaned closer towards him .

"so , who's this cutie you've been talking about ?" the boy inquired , scanning the room .

his eyes landed on a purple-haired waitress , gesturing towards her .

"it's her , isn't it ?" he said , "no , it's not ." kaneki responded . "though , she is beautiful ."

the blonde hummed in amusement , rising from his chair . "excuse me ! can i get a cappuccino ?" he called , the girl rushing to his side with a note pad and a pen .

"one cappuccino . ." she whispered to herself , jotting the order down .

"what did you want , kaneki ?" hide questioned , "i haven't decided yet ." his friend replied .

"also —" the boy began , turning to the waitress with a seemingly genuine smile , "could i get your name , please ?"

"hide !" kaneki groaned , his cheeks turning pink out of second-hand embarrassment .

the girl raised her eyebrow . "it's touka kirishima ." she said , her voice like silk .

almost instantly , he rose from his seat again , slamming his hands against the table .

"touka ! by any chance , you wouldn't have a boyfriend , would you ?!" he interrogated , his loud voice startling her . "come on , you can tell me !"

kaneki stood up , his hands against the table . "stop that , you moron !" he scolded .

she grew red at the blonde's words , spinning around and running off behind the counter .

hide chuckled , "what a lovely girl ." he smiled in admiration of her soft and feminine nature .

"what're you going to do if you get us blacklisted ? this is the only place where me and her —"

the bells hung over the door let out a loud and jarring jingle , indicating another person walking in .

kaneki flushed at the sight of her , watching as she strode past so elegantly , her long hair falling against her back .

hide let out a confused hum , staring at his friend .

"uh — the girl i was talking about is here . ." the boy explained , motioning towards her .

the blonde took one , good look at her before sitting down in his seat again , shutting his eyes and shaking his head in disbelief that the thought would even cross his friend's mind .

"give up ." he crossed his arms , "i mean , seriously , you two would be like the beauty and the . . what was it ?"

"the beast ." kaneki narrowed his eyes , a little hurt , but angered by his words .

he sat back down , taking another sip from out of his coffee as hide stretched his limbs out , letting out a tired and restless yawn .

"hey , blondie ." a voice called from behind the boy , slowly peering over his shoulder at the person .

kaneki looked up from his mug , setting it down again before swallowing it .

hide's gaze found another waitress , this one having long , black hair and cerulean eyes , the same colour that you'd find when looking out at the sea .

her brows were furrowed , a scowl across her delicate features as her upper lip twisted at the sight of him .

his expression softened while staring at her , scanning the girl from head to toe , steadily and soundlessly .

"is there a reason why you're harassing my workers ?" she confronted , a growl hidden in her words .

'hello ! my name is hanako .' her name-tag read . 'ASSISTANT MANAGER .'

kaneki kicked the boy's shin , causing him to yelp . the blonde glared at him , watching the boy motion towards the worker , his lips pursed .

hide cleared his throat , turning to her again .

"i was just leaving ."

"yeah , you were ."

he raised his eyebrow at her in shock , quickly furrowing the both of them as he processed the underlying hostility in her hiss . kaneki's eyes widened , feeling uncomfortable at the unfriendly tension between the two of them .

hide looked at his feet , shaking his head while letting out an exhausted and drawn out exhale . his hands shifted around in his pockets , pulling out a few coins and tossing them across the table .

"well , kenny-boy , now that i've gotten to see you love-sick for once , it's about time i get going ." he joked , making a few glances at the waitress again before his next snarky reply . "don't want to piss this one off any more ."

hanako's brows furrowed even more , indicating her increasing temper .

he got up from his seat , giving her a better look at his attire ; green cargo jeans that were rolled just above his knees , a yellow and black jacket with orange cuffs that complemented his hair , and orange sneakers and headphones .

she scoffed at his childish clothing style , which matched his personality . hanako gazed over his stature , noticing how he stood just a couple inches taller than her .

he glanced at her , another smug grin tugging at his lips as he rested a hand on her shoulder , his fingers tapping against it .

"see you later , sparky ."

she glared at him , her narrowed eyes shooting daggers .

he left her side again , walking past her while waving at touka behind the counter , pulling the door open .

hide stopped just in the doorway , peering over his shoulder . "i'm rooting for you , kaneki ! you delusional kid !"

the door closed behind him , a sigh of relief releasing from the girl .

she quickly moved behind the counter , tossing her notepad next to her on a table before getting back to clearing the register . touka glanced over at her , clearing her throat .

"are you okay ? i didn't expect you to get so heated ." she commented .

"i'm fine . i just can't stand it when boys act like children ." hanako grumbled .

touka smiled softly , "unfortunately , that seems to be all the time ." she replied .

the ravenette hummed , "unfortunately ."

her co-worker continued to gaze over the girl's features , taking note of the exhaustion etched into her under-eyes .

"have you eaten recently ?"

"i've been trying not to ."