Their first training session

Kaneki checked the time on his phone again as he stood outside Anteiku. She was 40 minutes late by this point. Touka had told him to show up to Anteiku, even though the manager had closed the shop for a few days after Ryouko's ****.

"Oi," he heard Touka's voice call out to him. Kaneki looked up to see her standing in front of him. "Yo," she greeted him.

"Hey," he said. "You're late."

Touka didn't respond and brushed past him, opening the door to the shop and leading him inside. "Follow me," she said as she walked further into the shop, and down to the basement. They entered a room in the basement Kaneki had never been in before. "Down here." She opened a hatch on the floor that revealed a ladder leading further underground.

Kaneki followed Touka down the ladder and emerged into a long wide underground room. He could see various tunnels leading out of the room. "This is . . . ?" Kaneki asked.

"An underground tunnel built long ago by ghouls. It goes pretty deep past this hall." Touka explained.

"Why are we here?"

Touka stood with her back facing him and began taking off her jack. "I'm gonna teach you how to use the kagune properly," she said. "I say teach, but if I just explain it you'll never be able to understand. I was taught using the same method I'll be using now." She turned her head back to look at him and Kaneki gulped as he saw her eyes. "You might die though, so prepare yourself."

Kaneki didn't have time to react as Touka came flying towards him. Her fist slammed into his stomach, driving the air out of him. He fell to his knees in front of her and gasped once before Touka's foot was headed towards him. Touka's kick landed with inhuman ****, and sent Kaneki flying back. He landed on his back, and Touka and glanced up to see Touka already standing above him.

"It seems like you don't feel like you're in a lot of danger right now," she said. Her shoe came to rest against the tips of his fingers, and Kaneki felt her being to push, bending his finger back.

"To -Touka?" He said.

"It's going to break," she warned him. Kaneki felt her push forward even more and his finger began to burn. He wanted to stop her but he couldn't. His kagune just wouldn't come out. With a shove of her foot, a crack echoed out through the room as Touka broke Kaneki's finger.

Kaneki let out a fierce scream as pain rushed through him. Touka stood above him mercilessly. "It'll set by tomorrow," she said. Kaneki glanced up as he heard a whoosh of air. Touka's kagune emerged from her back like wings, the different shades of red coloring her kagune sparkling beautifully even in the dim light of the tunnel.

"This won't heal immediately," she said. "If you don't do something you might die." Kaneki felt his heart pound in his chest at her words. He scrambled back, inane mutterings escaping his mouth as he tried to escape her. Touka was really trying to kill him! "At that time," she continued. "I'll just dispose of you." Kaneki saw her flick her kagune and several spikes shot out. He curled up into a ball and shut his eyes, preparing himself for ****.

A loud thud prevented his ****. Kaneki opened his eyes to see his own kagune out, protecting him from the projectiles Touka had fired at him. Kaneki watched as Touka sighed and slowly retracted her kagune.

"Even if we do this, it's impossible. The kagune you used before was stronger than this one. Let's go back up," she said. As they walked up the stairs she explained his kagune to him. "The shape is a little different, but you're a rinkaku type ghoul, like Rize. They're strong and heal quickly. They have better tenacity than other ghouls, too. When you combine that with superhuman strength, and if you hone your skills, you'll be able to fight defensively or offensively."

"What about your kagune, Touka?" Kaneki asked as they walked.

"An ukaku. It's much faster, but suffers in close quarters and over long periods of time," she explained.

"I see . . . it was beautiful." Touka glanced back at him and he could've sworn she was blushing. "Aside from the part where you tried to kill me."

"Thank you."

She paused as they reached the seating area of Anteiku. "First we have to burn the sensation of taking out your kagune into your body until you can take it out and put it back at will," she said, leaning back against the counter. "As for the times when you can't release your kagune during close combat, training your body is necessary too."

She walked forward until she was right in front of him and examined him front head to toe. "For now you should do 100 sit ups, push ups, squats and dorsal muscle exercises everyday." Kaneki made a noise of confusion and she grabbed the front of his shirt, lifting it up to expose it bone thin chest. "The hell? You plan to fight with this body? Add more muscle," she told him.

They were in that position, Touka standing in front of him lifting his shirt up, when the door to Anteiku opened and Uta, the mask maker, walked in, carrying a package in his arms.

"What do you think?" Uta asked. "I wanted to keep the eyepatch since it fit's Kaneki's style."

"Shouldn't it cover the other eye?" Kankei said.

"Nope. I wanted to see the eye that's usually covered." Touka and Uta both smiled, pleased with the look of the mask on his face. And Kaneki couldn't deny, the feel of the cold leather, and the look of the world through his usually blocked off eye, it felt strangely exhilarating.

Uta waved goodbye as the door closed shut behind him, leaving just Kaneki and Touka in Anteiku. "Touka?" Kaneki said, turning to face her. She gave a small grunt of questioning. "I know you said the kagune I released today is weaker than the one you saw earlier . . . why is that?" He asked.

Touka gave a small sigh. "It's because you haven't been eating properly. I know you don't exactly like it, but ghouls have to eat humans. We have to. It's just how we survive. You need to understand that eventually," she explained.

Kaneki nodded his head. He had suspected that was the reason. "Before . . . before her ****," Kaneki said. "Ryouko was teaching me about the ghoul world." Touka looked up at him in confusion. "And, well, she told me that ghouls don't have to eat humans to survive," he continued. "That we can survive off of . . . female ghouls' semen." He managed to say, his cheeks turning red with embarrassment.

He slowly lifted his head to find Touka gazing at him in curiosity. "What's your point?"

Kaneki gulped. "I was just thinking . . . if I wanted to get back to full strength . . . maybe . . . you could help me out with that?" He said. His face was beet red but he stared at Touka, wanting to prove his sincerity.

Touka stared back, seemingly unfazed by his question. "I'll consider it," was all she said, before she walked off to the back rooms of Anteiku, leaving Kaneki alone with his embarrassment.