Ken looked around, unimpressed. Parties were boring for her. She never talked to anyone, never drank never met any guys-
"Wonderful, you came back," Shuu said, appearing before her like a ghost. If ghosts were sparkly and beautiful.
"Hide made me," Ken said, looking away. "Why do you even throw these parties? You don't seem to enjoy them very much." She looked up to find him looking at her in curious wonder. "What? I'm just saying."
Shuu laughed. "You're very right, very right indeed. I don't enjoy these sorts of things."
"Then, why...?"
"I'll tell you if you tell me your name," Shuu teased, and Ken sighed.
"Ken Kaneki. Now answer the question."
Shuu beamed. "Because, Ken, how else was I going to get you to come back?" he asked, being honest for once.
Ken just stared at him. "And why did you want me to come back?"
Shuu swallowed. "Because..." He had to stop himself from saying Because you're the only one who understands me. Somehow, instinctively, he knew that sort of depth would scare Ken off or pressure her to much. "Because everyone else here is annoying, but not you!" he said instead, smiling.
Ken cracked a smile in return. "Funny."
"No, really," Shuu insisted. "My mom is sick in France and my dad just wants to make me into a financial asset and all I have around me are shallow people who couldn't care less about what I feel, just how much money I have," Shuu vented before realizing his mistake and going quiet. "Sorry," he apologized with a shaky laugh. "I didn't mean to-"
"My mom's dead," Ken said. She didn't cry. Her voice didn't break. She just gave a small frown like the statement sounded disappointing to her ears. "I never really had a dad. I live with my aunt's family. She hates me. Her son ignores me. Her husband is useless. But it could be worse, right? It can always be worse. My mom could have gone insane instead of dying and then I'd be stuck in that house with her, trying to take care of her, but she'd be broken right in front of me every day. My aunt could beat me senseless every night. Her son or husband could take advantage of me because nobody is there to protect me. Hide could get a girlfriend and stop hanging out with me. Then I'd be alone. So, it can always get worse," Ken finished, still showing no facial expression.
Shuu's eyes had widened over the course of Ken's speech.
"You could take advantage of me," she went on. "Nobody comes to this area. We're alone. I don't have Hide to protect me. If you were a bad kind of guy, you might do it." She paused. "But you're not a bad guy."
"I'm not?"
She shook her head. "And I'm nowhere near tempting enough to be a worthy victim."
Shuu frowned, something he never let anyone see. "Stop with that. You're pretty."
"Maybe, but not beautiful," Ken said, not disappointed, just stating facts. "Not like the girls in bikinis walking around your backyard."
Shuu shrugged. "If you say so. But I think you're beautiful in other ways. Like, your mind. Your voice. And I really think you are pretty."
Ken just tilted her head. "Shuu?"
"Yeah?" he asked, losing his formality from their closeness in a private setting. "I mean, yes?"
"Could you make it all go away? My mom, my dad, my aunt."
He paused, unsure what to say. "No," he answered honestly after a second, and Ken nodded. "What?" he asked, confused.
"I knew you were a good guy," she said softly, looking down. "Bad guys say nice things like you do, but if you ask them for help, they just want to sleep with you." She still stared at the grass. "Physical contact doesn't help anything. It doesn't make the problems go away, it brings more of them. And it doesn't make you feel comforted because they just want your skin, not your problems, and when you wake up, they're gone and you're still there and-" She looked up, her eyes pained and watery.
"Ken?"