A/N: hi guys!! I'm back!! Here's chapter 17~~ please enjoy~~~~
Kaneki had a horrible nightmare. He dreamed about having a fight with Touka again because of Sasaki Haise, and she got really, really, really mad, beat the crap out of him and left Anteiku with Sasaki.
"Good morning! Onii-chan!" Said Hinami at the counter, eating her breakfast. "Good morning, Hinami-chan." Said Kaneki, walking downstairs.
"Did you sleep well?" Asked Kaneki. "Yeah, I did. I felt safe with onee-chan." Said Hinami, smiling. "That's good." He said, and Touka walked downstairs.
"Hey, good morning, you two." Said Touka, rubbing her eyes. "Good morning! Onee-chan! Thank you very much! I slept very well last night!" Said Hinami cheerfully. Touka patted her head and smiled.
"I'm glad to hear that." She said, and made herself a sandwich. About twenty minutes later Koma opened the door and walked in with Irimi and Yoshimura walking behind him.
"Good morning, guys." Said Koma, waving at them. "Good morning, Koma-san, Irimi-san, and Yoshimura-san." Said Kaneki, Touka, and Hinami, walking over and greeting them.
"It's about time to start, right?" Asked Hinami after greeting them. "Yes indeed. You want to take out the board? Hinami-chan?" Said Yoshimura, and Hinami nodded. "Okay, here you go." Said Yoshimura, handing her the board that had the menu written on it. Hinami smiled and took it out.
"Today's a nice day. I get a feeling that we're gonna have lots of customers today!" Said Koma, stretching his muscles. "Yeah, I have the same feeling as well." Said Irimi, and Nishiki pushed opened the door and walked in. (he disappeared for a very long time...)
"Oh, good morning, everyone." He said, pushing his glasses. Everyone nodded in return.
They chatted for about ten minutes, and Kaneki got thirsty and went to get a glass of water, and Hide and Yoriko entered the cafe. "Ah, good morning, everyone." Said Hide, grinning widely. "Oh hey, Hide, Yoriko-chan." Kaneki walked out with a glass of water, waving at them.
"Today's the prom, who're you gonna go with?" Asked Hide, and Kaneki shook his head. "No body. I guess I'll just go straight to the bar and get some sake." Said Kaneki jokingly. "Oh, hey Kaneki, I just remembered that Rize told me about the prom, and she wanted me to ask you whether you'd like to go with her or not." Said Nishiki.
"Rize-san?" Asked Kaneki. "Yeah, she's not in the city last week and she's not coming back till today, so she wanted me to ask you." Said Nishiki. "Okay, but how come you know her? She's never mentioned you." Said Kaneki.
"She's just an old customer as well. But she stopped coming here recently." Said Nishiki. "Why?" Asked Kaneki. "Who knows?"
"Weird..."
"Yeah, she's weird."
"Maybe she really fell for you." Said Hide. "Pardon?" Said Kaneki. "Maybe she's in love with you, and is too embarrassed to come here?" Hide said, looking at Yoriko for her approval, and she nodded.
"Okay....? Well, I'll go tell her now." Said Kaneki, taking out her phone. "She didn't take her phone, or lost it, or stuff like that. I called her but she didn't pick up. I think she'll come here in the afternoon, you'll have to wait for a while." Said Nishiki. Kaneki nodded and put his phone back to his pocket.
Touka, who was listening nearby, looked rather unhappy. Yoriko peeked at her, and sighed. "Please, Touka-chan, you know it yourself." She thought. Someone pushed open the door again.
"Hi, Touka-chan." It was Sasaki Haise. Hide and Yoriko looked at each other, thinking about the same thing, Uh-oh.
"Touka-chan, ready for the prom tonight?" He asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "Yeah, I'm very excited about that!" Said Touka in a very 'un-Touka-ish' way, but Sasaki didn't notice.
"Okay then, see you tonight! Tell you what, you're gonna be so impressed!" He said, and looked over her shoulder and saw Kaneki looking at them, and he walked over to her.
"Hey Kaneki." He said. "Hi." Said Kaneki, faking a smile. "I heard that your outfit at the masque last time was the bomb! I really want to see what you're gonna wear this time." He said.
"I'm afraid you have to wait till night." Said Kaneki, his hand holding the glass was shaking slightly. "It was a ghoul outfit, right?"
"Yes, and a ghoul mask."
"Sounds really cool. Well, see you tonight." He said, hugged Touka once more and left.
Crash!!
The sound of glass shattering made everyone looked at Kaneki. He quickly bent down and started cleaning the floor. "Sorry, sorry, I accidentally knocked it off the table. Don't mind, it's fine." He said, and Sasaki left, and Hide went to help him.
"Man, you really are clumsy." Said Hide, and Kaneki laughed a bit awkwardly. "Hey wait a sec, what happened to your right hand??" Asked Hide, squinting. "Nothing!" Kaneki said hastily, trying to hide it.
Touka walked to him and grabbed his hand. "Ouch! It hurts! Touka-chan!" Kaneki said, trying to pull it back, but Touka wouldn't let go. She looked down at his hand, it was all covered with blood.
"How come you always get yourself wounded?" She asked as she sighed. "I cut it when I'm making my sandwich by accident." He said, still trying to pull it back. "Really? I don't think those wounds were there." Said Hide. "I was hiding it! I don't want you to get worried! It's fine, I'm okay! Really!" Said Kaneki.
Touka went to get the first aid kit and pulled Kaneki to a table. "Touka-chan, I can do it myself--"
"Shut up!!" Touka snapped, not looking at him. "O-Okay, if you insist..." He said, scratching his face.
"He didn't knock it off the table." Whispered Hide. "He clutched it with too much force and it shattered!!" Yoriko whispered as well. "Onii-chan must really really love onee-chan..." Said Hinami, looked a bit sad.
"Love is troublesome." Nishiki said after being quiet for quite a long time. "Hope he can overcome it." Said Yoshimura, and Koma and Irimi nodded.
Time skips-----
It was about three now and and was Anteiku's break time, and Kaneki, Touka and the others were all taking a break. "Ah~~ break time!" Kaneki yawned as he sat down at a table. "Lazy you!" Touka said, and Kaneki chuckled. And the door opened.
"Oh, I'm sorry we're-- TAKATSUKI SENSEI?!?!" Kaneki exclaimed, and Hinami rushed downstairs after two seconds. "Good afternoon! Everyone at Anteiku!" She said cheerfully. "Why're you here? Takatsuki sensei??" Asked Kaneki, serving her a cup of coffee.
"Ah, don't be so formal and nervous. I'm here to let you have a look at my new book." She pulled out a envelop and handed to him. "It's titled The Crying Ghost. Keep the script, I bet you'll like it!" Said Takatsuki Sen, sipping the coffee.
"W-Wow! Thank you very much! I'll cherish it for the rest of my life! But what about Rize-san's story?" Asked Kaneki, holding the envelop like holding genuine gold bars. "In the same book. You'll see." She finished the cup of coffee, and left.
"Wow! Awesome! Man! The manuscripts from Takatsuki Sen!" Said Hide, patting his back. "O-Onii-chan! C-Can I have a-a look??" Asked Hinami with shining eyes.
"Sure! Let's have a look together." Said Kaneki, and he pulled out the scripts and started to read.
Time skips again--
"T-This is so sad and b-beautiful!" Said Hinami after reading it, crying. "Yeah, it really is!" Said Hide, blinking, wiping away the tears. "It's gonna become the hit!!" Said Yoriko, also crying.
Kaneki looked at the scripts.
'I am so close, so close to her. But whenever I grasp, my transparent hand goes straight through her body. My empty hand cannot even feel her temperature. My cold hand can only sense the sadness and sorrow swirling inside her torn soul..."
Kaneki looked at those sentences, having the same feeling that Takatsuki Sen was scanning him like X-ray again. He could hide nothing from her, she might even understand him more than himself. Kaneki sighed and smiled. "That's why I like your books." He murmured. Just then Rize pushed opened the door and entered the cafe.
"Ah! Rize-san!" Said Kaneki as he approached her. "I'll go with you." He said. Rize smiled and nodded. "Thank you." She said. "Meet you at the gate at five." Kaneki said. She nodded again and left.
"Well, it's about four now. We'd better go get ready." Said Hide, and he and Yoriko left. "We'd better go too." Said Kaneki. Touka nodded and went upstairs with him.
It was about five now Kaneki went to the school gate and saw Rize standing there waiting for him(Touka meet Sasaki at another place).
"Sorry! Shouldn't have kept you waiting!" Said Kaneki as he ran toward her. "No, it's fine. I just arrived as well." She said, shaking her head. "Okay, let's get inside. I can hear the music." Said Kaneki, and the two walked inside.
"You look pretty good." Said Kaneki. Rize was wearing a purple dress that went really well with her hair, and her usual red glasses. "You too." Said Rize. Kaneki, on the other hand, was wear whit jeans and a black blouse that set off his figure.
They found a table and sat down. Kaneki went to get themselves some drinks and return with two glasses of mocktail. "Mocktail is fine, right?" He asked. "The only thing I'd choose." Said Rize, and she took a sip.
The DJ started playing a fast song, and many students went to the dance floor and started to dance, but they remained in their seats. They preferred slow songs.
"So, have you heard about anything from Takatsuki sensei? I heard that she's releasing a new book." Said Rize after a long discussion about if ghouls really exist in the world.
"Oh yeah, she is. Wait a sec." He took out the scripts from his back pack and handed them to Rize. "She gave me this earlier this afternoon. Have a look." He said, and Rize started reading.
"This is very poignant and touching. It'll become the bomb." Said Rize, wiping away the tears in her eyes after reading it. "Pretty good, right? That's why I love her books." Said Kaneki.
A slow song started to play. It was Every Time We Touch by Cascada. Kaneki stood up and invited her for a dance. She took his hand and both if them walked to the dance floor. Touka and Sasaki were not far away from them.
"I like this song." Said Rize. They were moving slowly. "Yeah, it sounds peaceful." Said Kaneki. They moved in circle slowly, holding each other's hand, looking at each other. When the song almost reached its end, Rize spoke.
"Kaneki-san?"
"Yes?"
"What will you say if I say I love you?"
"Well, maybe I'll hug you and say thank you. What'll you do if I say no?"
"Hm... I'll eat you." She licked her lips jokingly.
"Yeah, I guess so." Kaneki chuckled. "What if I say yes?"
"I'll probably eat you as well."
"Yeah, I know that." The song almost ended.
"So, will you accept me?"
".....I'm sorry, Rize-san. We've been to the gate to hell together before, but sorry, I have someone in my mind." Said Kaneki, and Rize smiled.
"I knew you'd say that. I love you, as a good friend." Said Rize, and she touched Kaneki's forehead with hers. "Me too, I love you as my really good friend." Said Kaneki. The song finally stopped, and they stopped as well.
"Let's go take a rest." Said Kaneki, and Rize nodded. They were about to walk off the dance floor, and heard some noise from behind. They looked back.
Sasaki accidentally tripped over Touka's foot, and pushed her to the floor, making a really loud 'bang'.
"It's your chance now." Said Rize, looking at the two. "Rize-san..."
"Go, or I'll eat you before you could even touch them." She said, giving him a gentle push on the back.
"Thank you, Rize-san." Said Kaneki. He started walking toward them. He felt something inside him stirring. Every step he took made the stir stronger. Finally, he reached the two and the stir exploded. He seized Sasaki by the back of his collar and pulled him away from Touka.
A/N: WOOOOOOOOW!!!!!! Kaneki's finally mad!!!! What'll happen next????? You can guess!!! Please remember to vote, comment and follow me!!!!