Too Sweet to Eat [Female! Kaneki Ken x Tsukiyama Shuu]

1

PART I: (FEMALE) KURONEKI ARC

~from Kaneki's POV~
Being a ghoul is...scary. At first, repulsive.
But that's what I am now.
Worrying about my humanity, or the void that it used to occupy - thoughts like those are useless.
Then why do those thoughts occupy my mind so often? I wondered sadly, and as my mind drifted from my tasks yet again, the plate that I was supposed to be washing fell to the ground and shattered into three large pieces and many smaller shards.
I flinched and bent down to pick them up, trying to hurry before Touka came back and yelled at me for being a clutz, but in my rush, I grabbed a sharp edge of one of the shards and sliced my finger.
Warm red blood swelled from a shallow cut on my palm, but after a quick glance, I decided that it wasn't too serious. I should deal with the broken plate first before someone else comes in and hurts themself. I was reaching for another shard when someone took my hand and tied a handkerchief around my palm.
I looked up and met the blue eyes of a man who looked to be only a few years older than me, although his hair was a unique shade of blue (or was it purple? I wasn't quite sure). "A beautiful young woman such as yourself should take more care. To mar a woman's flesh is a sin...not to say that there isn't a certain alluring temptation in a scar," he said, but his voice was soft, private.
Then I realized that this strange patron was talking to me, and with a slightly panicked smile, I took my hand back, sweat-dropping. What do I say? 'Sorry, I'm pretty sure you have the wrong person. I'm not any of those things'? or maybe, 'If you're looking for Touka, she's waiting tables right now, but I'm sure she could find a moment to speak with you.' He can't be talking to me...I'm just an ugly ghoul, not that he realizes that, though.
I was spared from trying to escape when Touka herself did walk into the kitchen.
"You broke another one?" she immediately reprimanded, and I winced, giving her the same uncomfortable smile that I'd given the customer. Before I could say anything in my defense, she glared at me and motioned for me to leave. "I'll handle it myself before you break what we have left."
With a guilty cringe, I nodded and stepped past her, but then she noticed the stranger. Instantly her eyes narrowed and she bared her teeth.
"What are you doing here, you bastard?" she growled, and I stared, shocked and apprehensive, trying to avoid conflict if possible (or at least stay the heck out of it).
He got to his feet far too gracefully and gave her a slight bow, but his eyes were following me. I quickly ducked my head so our eyes didn't meet, letting my fingers lightly brush my eye patch, a foreign bandage on my face to hide the ugliness underneath. "I was just assisting the lovely new maiden you brought under your care. Miss...~?" he said, still looking at me as though expecting an answer to his question, but Touka just glared at him.
"Just get out of here, Tsukiyama," she snapped, and he shrugged as if to say, A guy can try, can't he?
As he walked past me, I kept my head carefully tilted down so my bangs hid my eyes, and I could have sworn he sniffed the air. Then he walked to the door and exited Anteiku.
Touka glared at his back until the door shut behind him. "Annoying prick." She turned her narrowed eyes to me. "Don't bother with him. He's trouble." She pursed her lips. "I'll take care of the mess, so why don't you go take a rest upstairs?"
"I- I can still help work," I offered timidly, and she rolled her eyes.
"You're useless as you are, Kaneki. It's better to have you not working than to be breaking all of our glassware."
I flinched but nodded and hung up my apron before taking the stairs to the upper level rooms.
I entered the last room on the left and closed the door gently behind me, leaning against it and sinking down to the floor, my arms forming a protective circle around my knees.
Tomorrow will be better, I thought to myself.
I lie to myself a lot, but that's being a ghoul, for me. Lying to myself because I can't handle the reality that I've fallen into.
I am useless.

~from Tsukiyama's POV~
I left Anteiku behind in body, but not in mind. Even as I crossed streets and made my way to my mansion, I kept seeing that girl in my mind.
Who is she? A slight smile crossed my face. I was rich, fabulous, and powerful. Women threw themselves at me every day. And yet...
And yet I couldn't even get a name.
My half smile turned into a devious smirk. I'll make it into a game. I'll get that girl's name...and much more.
***
And that was how it started ~ the taste-testing of a strange girl.