Alice Tries To Speed Run Love Like An Anime Visual Novel

This is fucking ridiculous...

Much to Kaneki's bafflement and slight annoyance, the Cullen family seemed adamant about integrating themselves into Kaneki's life, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out or understand why. Kaneki had fully intended for the odd, friendly family to reduce themselves to the few strange interactions in the back of his memories, only to think of them if they occasionally crossed paths in the small town of Forks.

Perhaps it was because Kaneki and his family were the new specimens in a small town who saw new people even more rarely than warm sunlight through the perpetual rainy gray. There had to be more to it, but Kaneki was far from understanding it even as the weeks passed.

Hinami found a friendship with Alice Cullen when she met the hyperactive girl in town one afternoon; Alice effectively took Hinami under her wing. Kaneki didn't oppose the friendship; he had no reason to. He was happy that Hinami had someone around her age to spend time with. She wouldn't have to go through the anxiety of finding a friend once she started school.

Somehow, Alice had gotten hold of his phone number. Kaneki figured it was Hinami who gave it to her. Or Emmett. Speaking of Emmett...

The oldest of the Cullen kids had been consistently texting Kaneki since that afternoon when he'd returned the clothes he'd borrowed. They weren't particularly long, in-depth conversations, as Kaneki wasn't much of a texter in the first place. The messages just consisted of Emmett checking up on Kaneki nearly every day as if the younger had decided that it was his lifelong duty to do so. Kaneki had found it a bit irritating initially, especially after the third day of messages. No matter how short or dry his replies were, Emmett didn't stop trying to pull conversations out of Kaneki. Though now, Kaneki supposed, it was just something he'd have to get used to.

It was closing in on mid-July, and the renovations to the cafe were in full swing. Touka was having them do a new color of paint on the walls while she went through the process of picking out the furniture: tables, chairs, and the like. She ended up choosing a few different shades of green for the walls, to go along with the forestry likeness of Forks. Touka tasked Kaneki and Yomo with the job of painting while she and Hinami scoured the internet for whatever else she felt was needed. Tsukiyama had given her free rein financially to spend as much as she wished in exchange for her getting Kaneki to call him every once in a while.

She's lucky that me and Tsukiyama have a little in common beyond him being obsessed with me. Otherwise, she'd be out of luck financially...

Kaneki had just started on the wall by the front entrance, his clothing already covered in specks and spots of dark green paint, when a car pulled up in the front lot. He didn't recognize the vehicle, though Kaneki could take a guess as to the owner. Who else would own a sleek black Mercedes in this backwater town?

Kaneki paused in his work, huffing slightly when a few droplets of green fell into his hair. He'd definitely have to wash his hair now. Glancing back at Touka and Hinami, the two girls were too preoccupied with their laptops to notice the sudden visitors.

Kaneki got Yomo's attention from across the room with a wave of his hand, and the man wandered over as three figures stepped out of the car. It was Emmett, Alice, and their mother, Esme. The male of the three met Kaneki's gaze through the window glass and waved as the three walked towards the entrance, the door sitting open to keep the airflow. Emmett seemed unaffected by the unamused look Kaneki sent back at him.

"This is the family you and Hinami have been going on about?" Yomo asked. "I see what you meant by him being built like a tank."

Kaneki only grunted in acknowledgment, raising an eyebrow as Emmett looked to be laughing as if he'd heard Yomo's comment about him. Kaneki set the paint roller down on the plastic-covered floor and went to stand in the doorway, leaning his hand against the frame with a raised eyebrow. "Hello, Mrs. Cullen. Alice," Kaneki greeted. Then he turned his eyes to Emmett. "What are you doing here?"

Emmett stared at Kaneki for a moment with a strange look on his face, like he'd been abruptly hit over the head with a club, his golden eyes scanning Kaneki up and down. Kaneki couldn't help but look down at himself, at the oversized t-shirt and basketball shorts he was wearing, covered in flecks of paint in some spots. He couldn't see what Emmett was staring at.

Emmett snapped out of it, thankfully clearing his throat. "Damn. I don't get a friendly greeting, too?" Emmett asked, pouting.

Esme flicked Emmett's arm, and he dramatically held that arm as if it had actually hurt, sending a glare at his adoptive mother. Grumbling, Emmett said to Kaneki, "Hinami invited us over."

"I decorate homes as a hobby," Esme said. "I offered my help when Alice told me you were all looking into furniture and decor." Alice nodded.

"And I'm here for moral support," Emmett chimed in as Alice said something under her breath, poorly disguised as a cough. "I can help paint."

Kaneki forced himself not to groan, knowing he couldn't just turn the three away without sounding rude, especially since Hinami had invited them. Kaneki stepped to the side to let them in. "Hinami, the Cullens are here," Kaneki called over his shoulder.

"This is Yomo," Kaneki introduced the three. "Yomo, this is Esme, Emmett, and Alice."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Esme said warmly.

"Same. I've heard a lot about you from Hinami and Ken here. Thank you for taking care of him a few weeks ago; I hope he didn't cause you too much trouble," Renji said, gesturing to Kaneki, who planted a swift stomp on the man's foot.

'Oh, no, Kaneki has been lovely. No trouble at all," Esme immediately said as Emmett snorted.

Kaneki rolled his eyes and returned to where he'd been painting, grabbing his paint roller again. Esme and Alice went over to where Touka and Hinami were by the front counter and quickly fell into their work.

"So, what's the plan?"

Kaneki tensed up, not noticing when Emmett had come up behind him. "Painting. Kind of self-explanatory."

Kaneki heard Emmett chuckle; it was a deep rumbling sound. "Yeah, I got that. I meant, what do you want me to do?"

"Why are you asking me?" Kaneki grumbled under his breath before pausing and glancing over his shoulder, only to take an abrupt step forward, almost hitting the still-wet wall. He hadn't realized Emmett had been standing that close. Usually, Kaneki was more aware of someone being in his personal space. "Um... you're tall. Can you reach the top part of the wall with the brush?" Kaneki asked.

Emmett reached for a medium-sized paint brush from the paint can, dark green coating its bristles, and he raised his arm up and touched the wall right below the tape-covered baseboard by the ceiling. He seemed to be careful not to touch Kaneki; however, his proximity was not much better.

"Perfect. You can paint along the edges of the walls." The two worked in silence for a few minutes, Kaneki listening absentmindedly to the four women talking behind them as Kaneki and Emmett slowly made their way down the width of the front wall. Yomo was on the other end of the room, painting the other wall with a lighter shade of green than the wall Kaneki and Emmett were working on.

By no surprise, Emmett was the one to break the steady silence between him and Kaneki. "So, I have a question. It might be a bit personal, but I've been wondering for a while now, but feel free not to answer if you don't want to--"

"Just ask," Kaneki responded with no pause in his painting, his eyes focused on the up-and-down motion of the paint roller.

"Right, um...do you..." Emmett trailed off for a second, and Kaneki glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, waiting. "Do you like guys?"

The way Kaneki's movements stopped abruptly, Emmett thought he'd offended the man with his question. Gray eyes looked entirely over at Emmett now, void of any identifiable emotion.

"Do I give off that vibe?" The question made Emmett cringe.

"No, I mean—you don't look gay or anything, or act like it—not that there's a particular way to act gay, I mean-" Emmett was stumbling over his words, trying to backpedal as he'd never done before. He suddenly felt like crawling in a deep hole and never resurfacing.

Emmett heard Alice's laughter that she was trying to stifle, and he knew it was him who was being laughed at. Forget the others embarrassing me; I'm managing that all by myself...Emmett sucked in an unneeded breath as he watched a smirk form on Kaneki's lips, effectively cutting off his rambling.

"Calm down," Kaneki said, holding up his hand, palm out. Emmett noticed for the first time that Kaneki's fingernails were painted black. Didn't peg him for a nail polish kind of guy, Emmett thought. "I'm messing with you."

Kaneki placed his hand back around the roller handle, his focus back on the wall. "I like people, no particular preference." Preference hardly mattered when Kaneki hadn't been able to bring himself to 'like' anyone in that way in recent years. No one had turned his gaze like that since...Rize, actually. And that all went swimmingly.

"That was so cruel," Emmett whined, though deep down, he was glad he hadn't offended the other male.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." Kaneki didn't sound apologetic at all. "Why did you want to know, anyway?"

"No reason," Emmett said, ignoring Alice's quiet chuckling. He shrugged. "Just curious, I guess."

"Pretty random thing to be curious about."

Emmett didn't have a defense for that. Kaneki was right, but it was something Emmett needed to know if he did end up pursuing the man. Sure, Kaneki was Emmett's mate-' true mate'-but Kaneki was human. It wasn't like Kaneki would understand the concept of vampire mates, and even if he did, if Kaneki didn't like men, then Emmett wasn't going to be that guy and creep on him. No matter how much it may hurt Emmett in the end.

"Are you?" Kaneki asked.

"What?" Emmett voiced, snapping back to the conversation he hadn't realized they were continuing.

"Do you like men?" Kaneki repeated his question.

Emmett didn't respond immediately because if he were frank, he wasn't sure. He'd only ever been with women throughout his lifetime, both human and vampire, and he was positive that he had an attraction towards the opposite sex. Emmett had never really considered or thought about whether he may like men as well. The only male that had turned Emmett's gaze was...well, Kaneki.

Kaneki was certainly a looker, though it was clear that Kaneki didn't see that in himself, a mix of both handsome and oddly pretty. Almost androgynous, if Kaneki dressed in a certain way, Emmett thought. Kaneki did have a more masculine demeanor in the way he carried himself. But Emmett couldn't be sure if his notice of Kaneki, the pull towards him, derived from normal attraction or from the fact that this was Emmett's 'true mate.'

Emmett decided to go with a neutral answer. "I don't know. I never really put much thought into it, to be honest."

Kaneki nodded. "You're young still. Plenty of time to figure yourself out."

Emmett let out a huffing laugh. "You act like you're not young yourself."

"Twenty-four and eighteen are two different ball fields, two different mindsets."

Emmett couldn't disagree with that. Emmett had been stuck at the physical age of twenty for many years, playing the age of a late teen off and on, but he gained an older mindset as the decades went on. But to Kaneki, Emmett was still of the mind of a late teenager. Hopefully, over time, Emmett can convince Kaneki otherwise.

"I'll have you know that I am very mature for my age," Emmett said. He'd finished painting the top and bottom of the wall and around the windows. "And I'm nineteen."

"Eighteen, nineteen, same thing," The white-haired male said.

"It's really not."

"It really is. Both end in 'teen,' so they're grouped together. Besides, mindsets don't always change within one year. So, they're the same."

"Well, you're classified as an adult at eighteen, so there," Emmett retorted.

"Maybe here in the States. In Japan, you aren't considered an actual adult until you turn twenty."

"But we're not in Japan, now, are we?"

Across the room, the others watched Kaneki and Emmett interact with each other. Kaneki, to his family, seemed very at ease with the larger male, unexpectedly so considering they hadn't known each other that long. Kaneki, with how he sometimes spoke of Emmett, mostly found the larger male exasperating. Kaneki and Emmett's banter was playful, borderline a back-and-forth flirting. Though, knowing Kaneki, he would deny that in a heartbeat.

"I see why Emmett wanted to come along now," Hinami commented with a smirk. "' Moral support,' my ass."

"Hinami..." Touka chided lightly at the girl's language, rolling her eyes.

"What?" Hinami asked innocently, while Alice said, "It's cute, honestly, seeing Emmett try and flirt. He's useless."

"It's cringe. That's what it is," Touka said, fake gagging. She turned to look at the two in question. "Get a room, you two!" Touka called out to them. Hinami laughed, and Yomo covered his face with his hand in exasperation.

Kaneki whipped his head around with a glare, though it had little effect. "I don't like what you're insinuating, Touka."

"I'm not insinuating anything," Touka said, blinking her eyes innocently. The grin on her lips gave way to her mischievous thoughts.

Kaneki scoffed, turning back to Emmett. "Ignore her," he murmured.

Emmett laughed. "It's fine. Alice and the others aren't any better; I'm sure you've noticed."

"That's just how siblings are, then?"

"Mostly. Do you not have any? Blood related; I mean." Emmett leaned against the nearby step ladder as he watched Kaneki work. Kaneki looked like he was used to physical labor, not even looking tired.

"I was an only child," Kaneki said. "Technically, I was orphaned, but I had my mother's sister and her family take me in, so it's not the same situation as yours probably was."

"Ah. I'm sorry for your losses.

Kaneki shrugged, shaking his head dismissively. "It was a long time ago."

"Still..." Emmett straightened up, raising his hand towards Kaneki. "Here, let me do the rest. Take a break."

Kaneki lowered the paint roller and immediately clutched the handle to his chest, looking almost like a child who refused to give up their favorite toy. Kaneki leaned back slightly. "It's fine, I got it."

"No, seriously, I don't mind. Take a break, Kaneki," Emmett said. Kaneki didn't move, his eyes narrowing slightly, and Emmett huffed amusedly. He turned to look over at Yomo. "Is he always this stubborn?"

"Yes," the silver-haired man answered bluntly.

"I am not stubborn," Kaneki said, rolling his eyes. "You all just insist on treating me like I'm fragile and go off the rails at any moment when we all know I'm the strongest one living here." Liar...

Emmett glanced at Esme and Alice, a dark eyebrow-raising up his forehead. Kaneki, the strongest of his family? Maybe over Touka and Hinami, but Yomo too? Surely not, as Yomo outdid Kaneki in size alone. But to their surprise, the assumed patriarch didn't disagree with Kaneki.

"I'm well aware of that, Ken," Renji sighed. "That's not what I was saying. You just tend to overdo it when there's no need to and when you have other people that can help."

Kaneki opened his mouth, looking like he was about to argue back, only for him to click his mouth shut as Renji fixed a hard look at him, shutting down whatever Kaneki was going to say. Kaneki clenched his jaw and pushed the paint roller into Emmett's hands with a curt, "Fine."

Emmett's eyes cut back and forth between the two men, unsure what to do now. He hadn't meant to start something between Kaneki and Renji, though it seemed like an ongoing argument they had with each other. Emmett stiffly began working on the wall where Kaneki left off as the white-haired man took Emmett's previous spot, leaning against the step ladder, his arms crossed and looking annoyed. At least he wasn't annoyed at Emmett this time. At least, Emmett thought it wasn't.

"I thought Ken was your last name," Emmett commented, trying to ease the awkward vibe in the air.

"It's my first name," Kaneki grumbled. "Kaneki is my last name." Emmett clearly had a confused look on his face as Kaneki continued, "We say our names last name to first. Like Cullen Emmett."

Emmett didn't feel like delving into the fact that he liked the sound of his name on Kaneki's lips, instead focusing on the slight relief that Kaneki's annoyance wasn't because of him. Emmett's mouth formed a silent 'oh,' then chuckled. "Sounds a bit weird on a non-Asian name. So, how come they call you Kaneki, then?" Emmett gestured to the other three members of Kaneki's family with a slight tilt of his head. "I mean, with family, I'd assume they'd call you by your first name."

Kaneki shrugged, his eyes fixed on the wall Emmett was painting. "I don't know. They can if they want to. They've long had the invitation to, but I think they're just used to calling me by my last name."

"Ah, so it's an invitation-only basis, then?"

"Usually. Yomo's the only one who calls me Ken."

Emmett wondered how long it would take for Kaneki to allow him to use his first name. Then he realized how much he'd have to learn about Kaneki's culture. Kaneki didn't seem like he minded explaining things to Emmett if he asked, so at least he had a direct source of information. He could even learn Japanese for Kaneki, though Kaneki sounded rather fluent in English, having found no language barrier between them so far. Maybe he'll appreciate the gesture, though...

"I have a lot to learn about Japan," Emmett voiced out loud.

"Have you ever been outside the U.S.?" Kaneki asked, his eyes moving from the wall to Emmett again.

"Only to Canada and Alaska. We have some cousins over there. Carlisle's-Our dad's family."

Kaneki hummed. "I've never been outside Japan until we left, so I don't have much travel experience either."

"Dad and Edward are the ones who've traveled the most. Dad stayed in Italy for a while. If you ask, he'll tell you about it, though be prepared to sit for a couple of hours if you do," Emmett laughed. "He loved talking about his travels to new ears."

"Hey, you two," Alice called to Kaneki and Emmett, causing both to look over. "We're gonna head to Port Angeles to check out some stores there. Wanna come?"

"We'd have to take two cars," Renji said.

"That's alright. The girls can ride together and the boys in the other," Esme said.

"I call riding with Kaneki!" Alice exclaimed, coming around the counter and bounding to said man, hooking her arm through his.

Kaneki looked at her strangely. "I didn't say I was going."

"Oh, come on, we've barely spoken! I can't let Emmett hog all of your time." Alice smirked over at Emmett before returning her attention to Kaneki. "Besides, I need to talk to you about something important."

"Alice..." Emmett said lowly in warning. There she went again, trying to embarrass him. Sometimes, Emmett couldn't tell whether Alice was trying to help him or sabotage what small progress he'd made so far. Emmett tried to not look too irritated when Kaneki glanced his way.

"I'm sure Hinami is much more interesting to you than I'd be," Kaneki said slowly. "I'm not much of a talker."

"Lies. You've been over here flirting with my brother for the past hour," Alice huffed, ignoring Kaneki's comment that it hadn't been flirting. "Let me judge who interests me and doesn't, okay?"

Alice smiled sweetly, in a way that reminded Kaneki of Rize for a second—or rather, the false persona Rize had portrayed to him before attempting to eat him. Kaneki shivered a bit involuntarily, shaking his head.

"Don't let her pressure you," Kaneki heard Emmett protest. "Alice doesn't know when to back off sometimes." The 'back off' was said more in a hiss of warning at Alice. Alice shot Emmett a glare in response.

Emmett really wished he had Edward's mind-reading abilities, just to see what utter insanity was going through Alice's head when she did shit like this. Meanwhile, Alice wondered how often her brother forgot that she could see the fucking future based on someone's decisions; she wasn't going about this completely blind!

"It's fine, Emmett," Kaneki sighed. "I've been needing to look around some shops anyway." Kaneki turned to Renji, their previous disagreement seemingly forgotten for the time being. "Do you want to shower first?"

Renji nodded, sealing off the paint can he'd been using before heading towards the stairs. "I'll be quick."

"Alright. I'm gonna step out for a minute." All the paint fumes were starting to irritate Kaneki's nose. Gently removing his arm from Alice's hold, Kaneki stepped outside. Emmett quickly followed him, sending one more warning glance at Alice. She had the audacity to look smug.

"How did you do that?" Touka asked when Alice returned to the counter.

Alice blinked. "Do what?"

"Get Kaneki to change his mind like that and agree," Hinami said. "It takes us doing a lot more pestering to get him to agree to do something, and it doesn't even work all the time."

Alice shrugged with a playful smirk. "I suppose I just have a way with people, and I'm very convincing."

Esme rolled her eyes at her adopted daughter. "I believe Kaneki just isn't used to Alice's antics yet, so he hasn't learned how to just say no."

"Oh, he knows how to say no," Touka snorted, shaking her head. "We have a friend back in Japan that's just as charismatic and convincing, and Kaneki has no issue saying no to that menace."

"He didn't before that 'dinner' Tsukiyama brought him to," Hinami mumbled. "Even after you guys warned him about him and his 'tastes.'"

Touka hummed. "Yeah, I forgot about that."

"What happened?" Esme asked curiously. It didn't sound like a pleasant event by the way they were talking about it.

"Let's just say that Tsukiyama and his other guests weren't the best dinner hosts." Touka let out a small chuckle at her own words before quickly covering her mouth as more giggles escaped. "I'm sorry, that—that's not funny."

Hinami fell into laughter with Touka, leaving the two vampires looking confused.

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Outside, Kanekki stood off to the side, leaning against the wall. "You don't have to apologize for what other people do," Kaneki said as soon as Emmett stepped outside with him.

Emmett's mouth clicked shut, casting his eyes away. "Kinda feel like I have to when it's my own family doing it."

Kaneki's eyes remained fixed on a spot of grass across the parking lot, blinking when Emmett came to stand in front of him, blocking his view. He raised an eyebrow, making Emmett glance away again, looking almost flustered.

"Seriously, if I really didn't want to go, then I wouldn't."

"Will you let me apologize anyway?" Emmett asked seriously. "To put myself at ease."

"Nope," Kaneki said, his lips popping at the 'p.'

"You clearly hate me."

Kaneki shrugged. "You're just fun to tease."

"And I'm just gonna have to put up with that, huh?" Emmett smirked.

"I suppose you will since you keep insisting on hanging around me."

Emmett laughed, moving to lean against the wall next to Kaneki. "Jokes on you; I'm just trying to butter you up to get free coffee when you guys open."

Kaneki gave a matching smirk, his gray eyes twinkling. "Well, I can tell the others now that I know your true motives. No free coffee for you."

"See? Cruel. We could have teamed up, ya know," Emmett said.

"And what would I be getting out of that arrangement?" Kaneki asked, cocking his head to the side.

"My amazing and dashing presence."

"Funny, but I'll pass," Kaneki chuckled as a freshly showered Renji poked his head out the front door.

"Shower's free."

Kaneki pushed off the wall without a word and went back inside. Emmett expected Renji to go back in, too, but once Kaneki walked past him, Renji stepped fully outside, shutting the door. He stared at Emmett silently, and Emmett couldn't help but humanly shift nervously under the unwavering gaze. He felt like he was in one of those problematic dad memes where the dad was going to threaten the boy taking his daughter to prom with a shotgun, and it was something Emmett never thought he'd experience firsthand.

"Um..."

Renji made a low grunting noise. "I didn't think I'd have to go through this kind of thing with Ken of all people—maybe Touka and Hinami—but..." Renji stepped closer to Emmett and placed a firm hand on Emmett's shoulder. It was odd that Emmett could actually feel the tight pressure of it coming from a human. "I don't care what kind of relationship you two have or might have, but know this: if you hurt him in any way, you will never see the light of day again. Understand?"

Emmett coughed, his eyes widening a fraction. "Um, wouldn't dream of it...sir?" This was so fucking surreal.

Renji simply hummed, much like Kaneki would do, making Emmett believe that that was where Kaneki had picked up that trait. Renji patted his shoulder. "Good." With that said, Emmett was left alone outside, still looking bewildered. And they said Kaneki was the protective one...

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Alice, as she had said, was good at getting what she wanted, effectively securing a seat next to Kaneki in the back seat of the Mercedes. Emmett was going to drive, and Renji was riding in the passenger seat. Esme, Touka, and Hinami would take the other car—a silver Toyota. Renji would have ridden with the girls, but he couldn't pass up the chance of checking out the Cullens' Mercedes. It turned out that Renji really liked cars.

Before they pulled off, Alice sent a swift text to Emmett's phone.

Pixie Fiend (1:48 p.m.)

Whatever I say to Kaneki, do not react cuz you realistically wont be able to hear ?ￂﾠ

Emmett dropped his phone into the cup holder more aggressively than he intended to, his eyes narrowing into golden slits. "You're not funny, Alice. Stop it."

"What's not funny?" Kaneki asked as he slipped into the back seat with Alice, pulling the seatbelt across his torso. He'd gotten all of the paint out of his hair, though some strands had a pale green hue from the paint sitting in his hair for too long.

"Nothing," Emmett and Alice said simultaneously, one's tone in an annoyed grumble, the other sounding infuriatingly chipper.

About ten minutes into the drive, following behind the Toyota, when Alice started. Renji was flicking through the Mercedes car manual that listed its features. "So," Alice began in a low tone for only Kaneki to hear. "What are your thoughts on my brother?"

Emmett's hands tightened around the steering wheel as his eyes flickered between the rearview mirror and the road. Kaneki looked up from his phone. "Which brother? And what do you mean?"

"Emmett. Who else?" Alice rolled her eyes.

"You said brother, and you have two. Be more specific."

"Don't avoid the question," Alice said.

"Elaborate." Emmett smiled as he witnessed Kaneki's smooth avoidance and Alice's growing frustration.

"What do you think of him? Like, are you interested in him?"

Kaneki stared at her blankly until she added, "Are you into him?"

Kaneki cocked an eyebrow. "Um, I've only known you guys for about a month...besides, he's a bit young for me to be interested in how you're insinuating."

"Jasper and I knew each other for less than that before we started dating," Alice said, though how she phrased it was a significant understatement. Considering Alice saw Jasper coming, they really got together in a day, if not a couple of hours. "And there's only like five years between you and Emmett."

Kaneki's eyes cut over to Emmett with an unreadable expression on his face, then turned back to Alice. Emmett felt like jumping out of the car. "What brought this on?" Kaneki asked.

Alice held her hands up in mock defense. "Just asking," she said in faux innocence. "I mean, you two were the ones flirting earlier, so I was just curious."

Kaneki clicked his tongue. "We were not flirting."

"What would you call it then?" Alice smirked.

"Talking with someone who talked to me."

"Flirting is a form of talking."

Kaneki rolled his eyes. It hadn't been flirting, at least not to Kaneki. Sure, he and Emmett had been bantering back and forth, but that was similar to how Kaneki had been with Hide, and no one had ever accused them of flirting. Kaneki barely knew Emmett. He enjoyed the other male's presence slightly, Kaneki could admit now since he liked to have someone who could keep up with his bantering, and Emmett was the most intriguing one out of his family...but Kaneki wouldn't take it as far to call that as flirting. Emmett certainly wasn't flirting on his end.

"So, you wouldn't be opposed to him taking you out sometimes?" Alice asked after a moment.

Emmett tapped the brake suddenly, then hit the gas again, a strained smile forming on his lips. "Sorry. Foot slipped." It was taking all of Emmett's willpower not to pull over right then and there and give Alice an earful. What the fuck was she doing? It was too early—way too early—for Kaneki to be bombarded with questions like that. And Emmett wanted to ask them himself, damn it!

"Alice, I swear to fucking god, if you keep talking, I'm going to send you through the windshield," Emmett growled beneath his breath, his voice extremely quiet so only Alice would hear. Alice smirked at him but settled back in her seat, backing down. She began showing Kaneki a video on her phone; the subject changed.

Kaneki felt confused and slightly concerned at the threat he'd heard Emmett give, but he didn't react outwardly. It was said to too low for Kaneki to overhear realistically. He wasn't sure how Alice did, but Kaneki chalked it up as another small confirmation of what he now deemed the 'Cullen Theory.' Renji didn't react outwardly either, continuing to flick through the Mercedes car manual. However, Kaneki doubted the man cared too much beyond mild curiosity.

Curiouser and curiouser...