Taking them in

This territory probably belonged to Nishiki Nishio in the first place, but he had been so arrogant that he killed a weaker ghoul outright.

Squinting at Nishiki Nishio as he fled in panic, Louis did not know what to say.

But seriously, Kaneki, you keep rubbing against my face. Are you going to bite me or not?

Watching Ken Kaneki wanting to eat him but not daring to, Louis felt both nervous and helpless.

Nishiki Nishio is gone. Should I wake up now?

At that thought, Louis slowly opened his eyes.

"Ugh... it hurts..."

Coming to his senses, Louis finally noticed the sharp pain in his nose and hurriedly forced it back into place with his hand.

"Just who are you...?"

Touka walked up to Louis and looked at his battered state.

"I have a few questions for you."

Questions for me? What questions?

Holding his nose, Louis stood up and pretended to be badly injured.

"I'll answer whatever you want to ask... but..."

Louis turned his gaze toward Ken Kaneki, who was still struggling.

Sure enough, she merely glanced at Louis, sprawled on the ground, before turning her attention to Ken Kaneki.

Touka tore a hand off the human on the ground and held it out to Kaneki, but the starving ghoul struggled and refused to eat.

"You're not eating? You look so hungry."

Only then did Touka look at the frail boy's face.

"Come to think of it, only one of your eyes is red. How str-ugh..."

Only then did Touka realize that the ghoul before her was the boy Rize had lured in earlier.

"How come you weren't eaten either? And..."

Looking into Ken Kaneki's eyes, Touka was momentarily too shocked to speak.

"Please, help me..."

The helpless boy knelt on the ground and cried out in despair.

"You might not believe me, but I really used to be human. If I eat this, I won't be human anymore, but... but... it hurts so much..."

"If it hurts, then eat."

Touka's expression gradually shifted from shock back to indifference as she spoke flatly.

The boy raised his head, his face lighting up with joy. He was just about to eat when he seemed to remember that he was human and slapped the hand away. In agony, he pressed his entire head against the ground, tears streaming down his face.

"No! No! No! No! How could I eat something like that? What's happening to me? What the hell are ghouls?! They slaughter humans and even kill each other... I'd never do that!"

"I'm... human!"

A desperate roar tore from Kaneki's throat.

Louis stood beside them without a word. When it came to something like this, he had no way to interject.

For Touka, Ken Kaneki's situation probably brought not only shock, but anger at the unfairness of the world. Still...

"So stupid... just give up already..." With a dark expression, Touka tore off another piece of human flesh.

"If you're too scared to eat, let me help you."

Watching Touka tear off another hand, Louis's mood grew heavy as well.

Her ability to accept reality is extraordinary.

He turned away and stopped looking, but... there were sounds of swallowing, vomiting, fists striking flesh, screams, and helpless cries of despair...

"I wish someone would tell me what I'm supposed to do, too."

"What does cake taste like?"

"What's it like to live in peace?"

"What does it feel like not to worry about the CCG?"

"Are you saying... I've been as awful as it gets ever since I was born?"

After speaking, Touka crouched in a corner not far from Louis, her mood utterly ruined as well.

Louis decided not to watch anymore and to let them finish this part of the plot.

With his back turned, he no longer felt like saying any of the flattering lines he had come up with earlier to win them over.

A dilemma like this... was best left to them...

But suddenly, murderous intent rose behind him, and a crimson kagune slowly unfurled at his back.

Louis stiffly turned his head, only to meet her terrifying, savage gaze.

"Hey, human. How long are you going to keep listening...?"

"How could a human's body be this strong?! What are you doing here? And what's with the way you fight?"

"Do you know what's going on with this half-baked ghoul?"

If she had retained some sympathy when dealing with Ken Kaneki, she unleashed her killing intent completely on him.

If I don't explain... I'll die!

"I've seen him before, so I was curious about why he'd turned from a human into a ghoul, and whether it might have anything to do with my condition."

As he spoke, Louis formed an Ice Blade in front of Touka.

"I'm well aware now that this isn't an ability a human should have..."

"I've been wandering for as long as I can remember. I don't know why I'm different from ordinary people. They treat me like a monster, and even that so-called CCG hunts me."

"What am I? A human? A ghoul? Neither, apparently! It seems there's no place for me on either side."

Tears ran down his cheeks. His story had actually fooled even Louis himself.

"All I can do is keep... stealing food by force... sneaking food away... digging moldy food out of trash cans..."

"Ghouls want to eat me, the CCG wants to kill me, and I have to sleep with one eye open..."

Tears poured freely from Louis's eyes as he embellished everything that had happened over the past several days.

Humans treated him like a monster, while ghouls treated him like food. Touka froze, never having expected the person before her to be so miserable.

But soon, she frowned again.

"Sorry, but no matter what you say... you can't leave here alive..." Touka showed no intention of retracting the ukaku behind her, and her voice grew colder.

"I thought you'd understand me..."

Louis gave a self-mocking smile and took hold of the Ice Blade he had formed. "I understand... I'm no match for you, but I'll still fight back..."

The atmosphere instantly grew tense...

Louis knew full well that, in his current condition, he could not possibly last two exchanges against that kind of speed.

Louis was still gambling, because he could see that Touka was hesitating... Holy shit! Killing intent!

Utterly terrified, Louis barely dodged the lethal sweeping kick before immediately unleashing his last resort. He drove his legs down, smashing his knees into the ground.

With a bang, cracks instantly spread across the concrete...

Both Ken Kaneki in the distance and Touka before him were left speechless by the move...

"Touka, that's enough."

A white-haired old man stepped out of the shadows.

"Take them both to the shop."

Touka was immediately astonished and shouted at the white-haired old man.

"Why, manager?! I can understand taking this half-baked ghoul, but why bring that human too?"

The manager turned away, then looked back, revealing his kakugan with an imposing presence.

"Touka, helping fellow ghouls is our principle. As for that human, you didn't kill him right away. That reason is enough."

One glance from Yoshimura Kuzen sent a chill down Louis's spine. Even his hands were trembling.

"What's wrong?"

Noticing Louis's unusual reaction, the manager asked him.

Without thinking, Louis spoke from the heart.

"You... are powerful... stronger than anyone I've ever seen!"

The manager neither agreed nor disagreed. He merely withdrew his kakugan and spoke softly.

"Come with me."

Touka frowned at Louis, then picked up Ken Kaneki and followed. It seemed that, compared with a half-baked ghoul like Ken Kaneki, a human like Louis was even harder for her to accept.

Touching his nose, which was rapidly healing, Louis followed as well.

With the manager, an SSS-rated kakuja, leading the way, no one dared stop them. They soon arrived at the Anteiku coffee shop.

The manager gestured for Louis and Ken Kaneki to sit at the counter, while Touka sat beside them with a frown.

The manager brewed two cups of coffee and placed them in front of the two boys.

Inside the shop, none of the manager's earlier terrifying presence remained. Instead, Louis found him very gentle.

"Thank you..."

Louis turned his attention back to the coffee. It was too hot, but that was no problem for him. He touched the side of the cup with a finger, instantly turning it into iced coffee, then drained it in one go.

"Delicious!"

Watching him, the manager was a little taken aback. "So that's your ability? It's quite unusual."

"Mm..."

Louis nodded lightly. Suddenly noticing that Kaneki still had not taken a sip, he extended a finger. "If you're worried about it being too hot too... I can help."

"No..."

Ken Kaneki shook his head. Of course, that temperature was nothing to a ghoul.

"It's just..."

His voice was hoarse and filled with despair.

The manager patted Ken Kaneki with a warm, broad hand.

"Please take a good look at this cup of coffee."

Kaneki looked at the coffee. He did not find it repulsive, but he still hesitated.

"Kaneki... you can give it a try."

They had already exchanged names on the way, and Louis spoke to Kaneki.

"I can distinguish the scent of ghouls in a crowd, and every ghoul I've seen seems to enjoy drinking coffee."

"It's completely different from how they gag when eating other food."

Louis's words surprised both the manager and Touka beside him.

"It looks really good." Ken Kaneki looked at the coffee before him, but still did not drink.

Just as Louis was growing puzzled, the manager spoke.

"This is just an ordinary cup of coffee."

So he means there's no human flesh in it...

Only when he saw Kaneki slowly lift the cup did Louis understand. Having only just become a ghoul, Kaneki still could not distinguish the scent of humans and suspected that the coffee might contain instant human flesh or something...

As far as Louis could tell, although his nose was sensitive, it was still inferior to a ghoul's. They could distinguish humans from ghouls at a great distance, while Louis usually could not tell until a ghoul came within a meter of him.

"It's incredibly good! How... when everything I ate before had no taste..."

As Ken Kaneki spoke, he started crying again...

"Since ancient times, coffee has been the only delicacy ghouls could enjoy. However..."

The manager paused, took a package from his pocket, and set it on the counter.

Louis sniffed.

It was human... jerky...

"Coffee alone can't satisfy your hunger, so please come back whenever you need to. Don't hesitate."

Kaneki was sent on his way, but Louis began to feel afraid. Now, only their own people remained with him.

"Now that he's gone, we can have a proper talk..."

The smile had vanished from the manager's face, replaced by a solemn expression, as though he were about to make some momentous decision. The sight sent another wave of fear through Louis.