SHICHI

Kaneki gagged and rid his stomach of it's contents. "Why would you do something like that?," Kaneki asked Touka weakly. "How could I eat a fellow human's flesh? I'm human! I'm not like you damn monsters!"

Touka said nothing, she just kicked Kaneki in his stomach so hard that he flew upward a few inches. Then, she grabbed him by his hair and shoved him into the large metal vent placed into the wall next to him. She punched him. Kicked him. Threw him.

Kanki slammed into a wall, his head slamming hard against the metal and his mouth filled with blood. He bounced off and collapsed to the ground. Fortunately, the adrenaline coursing through his veins prevented him from feeling most of the pain Touka's attacks afflicted. But when he hit his head… that hurt.

He had a hard time comprehending what was going on at the moment. He was dizzy, the world around him a dull scenery.

Kaneki's body ached in so many places. He just wanted to lie there.

He remained on the ground as Touka approached him and said, "Really, now? So if I'm a monster, what does that make you?," she asked him.

"Please," Kaneki begged desperately. "I'm begging you. Tell me what I'm supposed to do. Ever since that day my life has been hell!"

Kaneki covered his tired eyes with his hand.

"Hell, huh?," Touka replied in a tone as if contemplating something. " I want you to tell me something instead. Tell me… what does cake really taste like?"

This question baffled Kaneki. Why would she ask such a question? She answered his question as if she somehow had read his mind.

"I can't tell since I gag every time I look at it, but it's something that humans enjoy eating, right?"

She walked over again, but Kaneki did not have the strength to follow her with his eyes. She prodded the head of Kazuo thoughtfully. "Why don't you tell me what it's like to live a peaceful life? One where you didn't have to live in fear of the CCG and other ghouls?"

Kaneki managed to get to his feet, one hand still lightly placed against his aching head.

"Your life has been hell?," Touka criticized. "Get over yourself," she added, her voice filled with pity, disgust, and a lack of sympathy. "Does that mean my entire life has been hell?"

Kaneki barely registered her words, as he stumbled around, still dizzy.

"HEY! Answer me," she demanded. This shook Kaneki up and he looked up just in time to be hit in his face with a hard, somewhat fuzzy object.

The object dropped into Kaneki's lap as he returned to the seat of his pants once again, answering his shock and confusion; Kazuo's head.

Kaneki's scream echoed throughout the alleyways.

Later, Kaneki finally managed to get himself home. He was not very religious, although he believed there was indeed a higher force upon all of the Universe, but he found himself praying silently for this nightmare to finally be over.

A thought crept into his mind gently and he took a peek at the yellow enveloped package that sat solemnly on his desktop.

His thoughts flashed back to what had happened between him and Touka.

Touka threateningly made her way toward Kaneki who raised his hands, gestures that tried to prove the authenticity of his protesting declarations that he was human.

Tears streamed down his face once again, making him appear cowardly, but the truth was, Kaneki had never felt so sad; depressed; alone. Deep down in Kaneki's mind roared the upsetting possibility that he really was no longer human.

But nothing could stop Touka, she was a fire in a room of oxygen tanks.

She grabbed Kaneki forcefully by his hair and aggressively flung him effortlessly.

Adrenaline encouraged Kaneki to rise and he just barely dodged Touka's kick, which instead of hitting Kaneki, slammed into the wall next to him.

Kaneki raised his hands in front of his face, cowering from Touka's assault.

He heard a sniffing noise come from Touka, who then said, "You're not a ghoul, that's for sure."

Each time he heard Touka say something directly or indirectly related to his inhumanity, his heart dropped like a disappointed child not receiving the gift they had wanted for Christmas.

She stared at him directly in his red eye as she continued.

"But then again, you're not a human either. A half-breed like you has no place in this world."

Her harsh words cut deeply into Kaneki, through flesh and bone, stabbing him painfully in his heart.

Kaneki stumbled over his words as he once again tried to tell her that he was human.

"If you're so hung up on being human," she told him, "why don't you test how long you can go without eating?" She turned her head as if reliving some horrible memory.

"I'm warning you," she said. "Being a hungry ghoul feels worse than hell."

Her eyes opened, revealing her red beastly ghoul eyes that seemed to illuminate the shadows.

Kaneki could not answer. His body was frozen in its position.

"Touka-chan, I think that's quite enough."

The voice released Kaneki's body from its paralysis. He turned to see a formally-dressed, gray-haired man who appeared to be in his mid fifties, maybe late forties looking at him and Touka with a stern expression that still somehow seemed to make Kaneki feel warm despite his current situation.

"Manager…," Touka acknowledged.

The 'Manager' smiled, an image that made Kaneki momentarily forget about Touka and put him at ease.

"It's been rough for you right?," he asked, although Kaneki had no clue as to who he was talking to. He turned around, telling Kaneki to come with him.

"But Manager! Naze?," Touka protested.

He stopped. "Touka-chan," he said. "It's our policy to lend a helping hand to ghouls in need."

With that he walked off.

After a moment of hesitation on the behalf of Touka, he followed behind the man.

At the café that Kaneki and Hide had gone to, Touka sat in the darkness, her head propped up with her hand. Her expression was one of disdain and disinterest.

Kaneki stared at the table in front of him sullenly as the Manger made drinks.

He was broken out of his thoughts as the Manager sat down a small cup in front of him, thanking him for his patience.

When the Manager noticed Kaneki's hesitation to touch the cup, he said, "What's wrong? Do you not like coffee?"

"It's not that, but…," Kaneki trailed off.

"Kaneki-kun, take a good look at that coffee. Any thoughts?"

Kaneki did look at the coffee. He stared at his reflection in the dark liquid.

"It looks quite inviting," Kaneki answered honestly.

"It's just a regular cup of coffee."

After several seconds of hesitation, Kaneki managed to unclench his fists and pick up the cup with trembling hands.

He did not want to be rude to the Manager, who seemed so generous so he quickly poured some of the coffee into his mouth and swallowed.

Shock hit Kaneki. But it was a good shock. He took another sip. Before he realized it, he had drunk it all. "It's oishii," Kaneki told the Manager, actually feeling a pinprick of hope lessen his pessimistic mind state.

But the hope disappeared before it could turn into anything sincerely warm.

"But when it comes to food," he told the Manager, "I'm always left with a terrible taste in my mouth."

He could not help himself. His body trembled as he began to cry.

"Through history, coffee has proven to be the only thing that we Ghouls can enjoy alongside humans. However, drinking coffee isn't enough to keep our hunger in check. Which is why…"

Kaneki's crying tapered off as the Manager placed a package on the counter next to Kaneki.

"Nan desu ka?,"

The only thing the Manager said was, "If you run out don't be afraid to ask for more.You're always welcome here."

With that Kaneki left the café and went home, the chill of the night cutting through Kaneki.

After Kaneki left, while Touka cleaned the café, she asked the Manager why he had helped Kaneki.

"Touka-chan, do you remember the story of the organ transplant that has been on the news recently?," he asked. "The one where two students were crushed underneath some steel beams. The doctor riskily decided to transplant the deceased girl's organs into the young man's body, who was barely alive."

"But the girl that died in the accident was…"

She was hesitant to know that answer before the Manager turned slightly and said, "It was Rize-chan."

"Wait… you couldn't possibly mean…"

"Yes he is that very young man. The doctor transplanted the organs of a ghoul into him."

"But that's just absurd!"

"I've never seen anything like it before, but he may be turning into one of us."

Touka listened to these words as she stared at the reflection of her face on the clean table in front of her.