Half and Half

Chapter 10

Shortly after they arrive at Anteiku and enter through the door which causes the bell to ring. The shop was completely empty except for the employees who worked there.

"Kaneki, it's good to see you again," Yoshimura said with a smile on his face. "I heard from Nishio that you have asked for the store to close early today, and I can understand why."

"Touka, are they all ghouls?" Yoriko asks quietly, her uncovered eye focused on the employees.

"Yes, but don't worry. They're not going to hurt you," Touka replies.

"Right... time for introductions," Yoshimura said, starting the introductions of the employees to the newly turned one-eyed ghoul. "Everyone, I would like you to meet Yoriko Kosaka. She's a friend of Touka's and now she's a one-eyed ghoul just like Kaneki here."

"Um, hello there. Nice to meet you all," Yoriko bowed her head as she greeted them.

They greeted her in return, and this proves that they're as friendly as Touka describes them to be.

"Now I understand the surprise you wanted me to see regarding this cafe," she told her in an understanding tone.

"Well, yeah. That's just one part of it," Touka said.

"You're right, Touka. That's just one part of it," Yoshimura added. "The other part is that Anteiku will help you out with food. You could say that this place is a feeding ground for ghouls in the 20th Ward. We only eat the flesh of those humans who have committed suicide."

"I see..." Yoriko said with relief on her face. "At least that's better than killing a human to satisfy your own hunger."

"I hope you can become accustomed to this world like Kaneki is," Yoshimura said solemnly.

"I will. Thank you for telling me the secret behind this place," Yoriko said with a small smile. "I'm sure I'll fit right in."

"It's nice to see another one-eyed ghoul in this place," Koma said. "What I don't understand is that how did you become like Kaneki here."

"That's what I like to know myself as well, Koma," Touka added. "I wonder what happened to her before I found her on the park."

"I think I know what happened. I was there when Yoriko saw him," Kaneki has decided to tell the story.

"Who?" Yoriko asked.

"Don't you remember? I saw you being chased by a maniac for being a witness to a murder he committed if I'm not mistaken. You were cornered to a tree, and he challenged you to a coin toss in which you lost so he shot you in the chest and left you for dead. Then I saw Dr. Kanou, the person who converted me into a half-ghoul, take you in for an attempt to convert you. I lost him before I got the chance to save you."

Hearing the words caused her to remember the night's events that led to her transformation into a half-ghoul.

"I... remember now," Yoriko clutches her chest, the area where Chigurh shot her on that fateful night. She has become deathly afraid. "I was shot. He shot me."

"You know who did it?" Irimi asked.

"Yes, I do..." was her reply.

"Can you please describe that person?" Irimi said while taking out a pen and sketchbook to draw the person she saw.

"Well, this guy had a haircut that looked like he's in the seventies, brown hair, brown eyes, and his face doesn't show much emotion which makes him death personified."

"Like this?"

As soon as Irimi reveals her drawing, everyone is filled with mixed reactions. While Kaneki is not surprised as if he knew who that was, Touka is surprised to find out who that is.

"Yes, that's him," Yoriko confirms the drawing.

"Wait, isn't that the guy we saw outside the park before the fight?" Touka attempts to look at the drawing closely.

"Oh, so you saw him already?" Irimi questioned.

"He was there when he was threatening Mayuhara with some kind of weapon. It looked like an oxygen tank with a hose connected to it, and he pointed it on her head," Touka described on how she saw the guy. "It's as if he was trying to kill her with it, but that never happened because Mariko called for her attention."

"I see... That was the captive bolt pistol, or cattle gun if you prefer," Irimi said the weapon being used. "At least your friend is lucky to survive encountering him."

"Just to be clear, Mayuhara is not a friend."

"Oh, sorry I mistook your relationship with her. There's no reasonable doubt. That was Anton Chigurh."

"You know who that was?" Yoriko questioned next.

"What's to know? That guy is a sociopath. He is someone who likes killing more than anything else, and that he shows no emotion from it, not even remorse," Irimi describes her opinion of Chigurh. "You could say that he is an unstoppable force of evil. More feared than the ghouls for the humans, or for us ghouls, the doves."

"Doves?" Yoriko questioned, looking confused on whom is she referring to.

"It's what we call the investigators," Touka responds.

"Oh, right..."

"Anyway, this guy kills both humans and ghouls," Irimi added.

"Kills both humans and ghouls?" Yoriko repeated with fear on her face regarding on what she said, turning to a TV near the cafe. "Wait, you mean..."

"Yeah, the mysterious 'Half and Half Killer' that everyone is talking about. That was him," Irimi said with confirmation.

"If I'm not mistaken, you've encountered him before, haven't you, Kaya?" Koma questioned.

"Yeah, it was from one month ago. Even if he only carries the cattle gun and silenced shotgun, he is not to be taken lightly, and I was lucky to have survived against him."

"Wow, that is quite a story," Roma said her opinion.

"Well, the next time I see him, I'm so gonna kick his ass for turning Yoriko into a half-ghoul!" Touka declared on what she's going to do if she ever meets Chigurh.

"Didn't I tell you not to take him lightly?" Irimi said firmly. "He may not be affiliated with the CCG nor the Aogiri Tree, but nevertheless he's a very dangerous individual. There's even danger by just talking to him."

"You heard her, Touka," Kaneki added. "I encountered him when he was threatening Hide, and I already know he won't stand down even if he's fighting against a ghoul. Also, he almost killed Mayuhara because he thought of her as an annoyance."

"Okay fine. I shouldn't take him lightly," Touka calmed down.

"Yoshimura, I would like to suggest that I should train Yoriko," Kaneki suggested. "After all, I'm the same as her."

"That's a very good idea, Kaneki," Yoshimura agreed to the idea. "She will need training in case trouble comes for her."

"Like Anton Chigurh, for example," Irimi said. "If he finds out not only she survived that night but also turned into a half-ghoul, he will certainly come back to finish the job with her."

"Yeah, I can see that," Yoshimura understands that kind of problem. "So, Miss Kosaka, are you up for training?"

"Yes, I am," Yoriko nodded. "I don't want to run away anymore if I encountered that guy again."

"Good. Kaneki, I suggest you train her in the same place where Touka used to train you."

"That's what I have in mind, Yoshimura," Kaneki agreed. "Let's go Touka, Yoriko."

"Right..." Touka and Yoriko nodded as they followed him to where the training area is.