Okay, so, if you're a Hideneki shipper, you're probably going to see some Hideneki in this chapter. It won't be in any other chapters (I think). I just apparently can't keep my shipping out of it apparently. But!! It seems the love is only one-sided. Hide. Hide could be interpreted as loving Ken. But Hide's going away now ;-; So he shouldn't be in any other chapters, unless he pops back up from time to time.... And I guarantee you that I will try my absolute hardest not to let Hide intervene with Ken and Amon's relationship.

It had been about a month since the Anteiku Raid. Anteiku had relocated, and it was going to reopen soon under the name of :re.

Strangely enough, I had joined :re. I now understood Eyepatch's opinions and beliefs, and I wanted to be a part of achieving his goals. I learned that :re not only supported him himself, but it also held his ideals.

Unfortunately, Eyepatch is in a coma, so he probably won't see the entrance of :re....

:re chatted over their entrance as I brooded. Suddenly though, there were footsteps on the stairs. But no one was upstairs besides Eyepatch!

All of our heads whipped around to the noise. A blind Eyepatch was making his way down the steps, leaning on and practically sliding down the wall.

"Eyepatch!!" I was shocked.

"Dude, you're all right!!" Nagachika raced out of his chair and gave Eyepatch a hug, apparently startling him and impairing Eyepatch's balance. All of the :re workers were smiling as they made their way up to him as well. I followed.

"H--Huh? Wh--What's going on? I--Um, I--p--please let go?"

"Hide, give him some space; he just woke up from a coma," the Rabbit scowled.

"Oh my G*d, Kanekiiiii," Nagachika let go but clearly still had the same amount of energy, "I was so worried!! How are you feeling?!! Are you all right?!! I--"

"Nagachika, calm down," I chuckled slightly.

He was absolutely ridiculous.

"But he's alL RIGHT, Amon-san!!" Nagachika clearly still felt the urge to be hugging Eyepatch as he was jerking his loose fists back and forth.

"Yes, but he won't be all right much longer if you keep freaking him out like that," the Rabbit scowled. Nagachika -- with worry in his eyes -- tried to also tone down his energy at that comment.

"U--Um... Hi--Hide...? Wh...What happened...? I... I'm t--tired... and I... I'm hungry...."

"Let's get you back in the room then," Nagachika started leading Eyepatch back up the steps, "Can one of you get some food for him please?" he requested, and the d*vil ape was the one to head downstairs. Nagachika continued, "And I convinced Arima-san to let you go, so you're currently at :re, the new Anteiku," Nagachika explained, "Don't worry about anything; I got it all covered, man. Amon-san's fine, too."

"The new Anteiku... Um... A--Amon is...?"

"He quit the CCG that night; he's currently Missing. He joined Anteiku!"

"Uh--s--seriously?"

"Yea! And it's all because of you, Ken!"

Eyepatch's eyebrows were raised. "O--Oh..." He smiled smally, "I... I'm glad."

"Yea!!" Nagachika laughed, rubbing Eyepatch's back softly. "You're convincing everyone, one person at a time!! You're doing great, man! Just look at you!" he gripped Eyepatch's cheek with his hand, which, again, startled Eyepatch who started stuttering, "So perfect! You are--"

"Okay, Hide, that's enough. We get it; you've been freaking out since the Anteiku Raid. Calm down," the Rabbit was officially irritated with Nagachika's actions. (I have to say, it was disturbing me as well.... I'm not sure why.) "Kaneki just got out of a coma, but you don't have to smother him in compliments."

Nagachika looked awkwardly between Eyepatch and the Rabbit. "... Sorry. I just--" he took a deep breath, "I'm really freaking out, and I know how bad Kaneki's self-esteem is, and--"

"Hi--Hide, it's f--fine, please..." Eyepatch's cheeks were flushed, "I'm really fine...."

"O--Okay... I--I'm glad. Um... okay," Nagachika resumed leading Eyepatch up the steps. I kind of felt awkward in this crowd of people following them....

Eventually, we reached the room Eyepatch had been in and set Eyepatch down. Eyepatch seemed to be relieved to be off his feet again. He sighed tiredly.

"Do you want to sleep?" Nagachika inquired.

"Slee..." Eyepatch gulped, "N--No, I'm... I'm... hu--hungry...."

"Koma-san's getting the food for you, don't worry, Kaneki. For now, just rest, okay?"

"... C--Can I--"

The d*vil ape then arrived with a cup of water and a few packages.

"Here you go, Kaneki!" he handed the packages to Eyepatch.

"Uh," Nagachika quickly grabbed one and opened it up, "Here, Kaneki, here you go," he pressed the meat against Eyepatch's lips, and Eyepatch ate eagerly. They went through the other packages like this, and Eyepatch sighed in content.

"Th--Thank you..."

"No problem, man!"

"U--Um... I... I'm... still tired, but I... Hide, I... I had a... question?"

"It's alright, man. You can remember it later, all right? For now, go ahead and go to sleep. You need your rest. I'll be right here for you," Nagachika petted Eyepatch and lowered him onto the bed, pulling the covers back over Eyepatch.

"Mm... a--are you... sure?"

"Yea. We'll all be here when you wake up."

"Hmn..." Eyepatch gradually fell asleep. Nagachika brushed a few strands out of his eyes and looked up at us.

"Um... I... You guys know the arrangements, so I... I really am looking to you guys to take care of him.... P--Please--"

"Even if you didn't say anything, we'd still take care of him, Hide," the Rabbit replied easily.

"That's right! He's a part of :re, after all!" the d*vil ape gave a thumbs up, smirking.

"You focus on your part of our goals, Nagachika-san," the black dog smiled politely.  

Nagachika smiled softly, "Thank you... I really appreciate you looking after him...."

With that, the conversation had finished, and we waited for Eyepatch to wake back up.

-------------------------

Nagachika had stayed until the next time Eyepatch awoke so that Eyepatch could ask his apparent question.

"Um... Hi--Hide, you said that... uh... you convinced Arima-san to--to let me go.... Th--The Reaper... A--Are you, um...?"

"Hmn? Oh! Oh, no. Nah, me and Arima-san are friends; you don't need to worry about that. He won't tell a soul. You're good. Kaneki Ken and Eyepatch are still separate people, too, although there are still some who suspect a connection.... I'm still an assistant investigator at the CCG, although there was some arguing over me sneaking out. So I'm not on the run or anything."

"Friends... Won't tell a soul... separate... Not on the run... O--Okay... Th--That's good...."

"Although Arima-san did insist I join the CCG as an investigator. He's pretty good at convincing, but maybe that's just because we see eye-to-eye. So I'm currently enrolled in uhh--"

"The Academy," I finished for him.

"Yea, that. Arima-san advised me not to contact you guys too much, and I agree, but I'm back here for the opening of :re. That's the new Anteiku."

"A--An investi... Y...You're going to be an investigator...?" Eyepatch almost seemed devastated at the fact, and my heart hurt at the face he was giving Nagachika.

"Yes, but don't worry, Kaneki," Nagachika held Eyepatch's hand with both of his own, looking very serious, "I won't change, I promise. And I will try my absolute best to do as little damage possible to ghouls. ... I am... still deciding how far I would be willing to go on that though.... I... am leaning towards even risking my freedom and life for that. Arima-san says that he wants me to work under him though and that he'll make sure I'm only assigned bad ghouls."

"Um... risk... Hi--Hide... p--please don't risk your f--freedom and y--your life for some rrrandom ghoul.... Y--You're far more i--important... than ssome ghoul of the sstreet...."

"Okay." Nagachika smiled softly at him and rubbed his arm, "It's great though. The day I visit just happens to be the day you wake up. I'm relieved," he chuckled wryly, "I get to see that you're okay...."

Eyepatch seemed about to cry and even more exhausted than when he woke up, "Um, Hi--Hide... Wh--When will I s--see you ne...xt...?"

At this, Nagachika frowned, "I...'m not sure. But I promise you, I will visit whenever I can."

"O--Okay... Hi...Hide, I'm... I'm sorry," he began to tear up, "That I completely shu--shut you out of my--my life...."

"Hey, there's no need for that, Kaneki," Nagachika smiled softly, rubbing Eyepatch's back, "I completely understand. You thought you were protecting me. You thought I was the typical human that was specist against ghouls. Now, though, you know better, right?"

"Um... Y--Yea... I--I'm so sorry, Hide."

"Nah, man, it's cool," Nagachika grinned, "You just work on getting better. I know Anteiku -- or, :re -- will take extra good care of you. I'm sorry I can't be here to help.... I'm going to work hard though, to make the world a better place for you...."

"Hi--Hide... p--please be careful?"

"I will."

With that, the two of them seemed content at catching up, and Eyepatch fell back asleep.

The next time he woke up, we explained what had happened, what had gone on, since the Anteiku Raid. At that point, :re was open for business, and Nagachika had left.

At the time, I had no idea that Kaneki would begin to rely on me as his "human friend," his "last" thread to the human world.

With Nagachika's absence--with him leaving all of our lives--Kaneki clung to me to still feel a connection to the human world.

I didn't mind though, much to my surprise.

Rather, I went right for it.