Shallow humans

Louis stepped out of Hide's room and carefully closed the door.

Touka came over from another room, her neck wrapped in bandages and several adhesive bandages on her face.

"You're hurt?"

Louis stared at Touka's neck and asked in confusion.

Although he had seen blood earlier, Louis had assumed it belonged to Kaneki or Hide.

Touka ignored Louis's question outright, her eyes closed, then pushed open the door to check on Hide.

"How is he?"

Louis scratched his head awkwardly.

"Just some minor injuries. Nothing serious."

"Oh."

The visible half of her face betrayed no emotion. She closed the door and headed back to her room.

"Touka!"

Louis called out to stop her. After some thought, he decided to say it anyway. It was purely to farm affection points... yes, exactly.

"If you ever need help, please be sure to tell me!"

His voice was forceful, his gaze unwavering.

Touka looked at Louis with a hint of surprise, but quickly regained her composure.

"You think you can help me with your lousy skills? Just stop freeloading here!"

With that, she waved him off, turned around, and returned to her room.

"..."

Ding~ Touka Kirishima's affection +1. Current affection: 14

All bark, as expected.

Louis understood Touka's personality. She was reluctant to express much of what she felt, whether happiness or sadness.

They were all flesh-and-blood people, really...

He remembered that Touka was fiercely protective of her own, and her outlook was probably the most straightforward of anyone here besides Kaneki.

Shaking his head, Louis returned to his room and continued practicing his control, preparing for his plan.

"(Sobbing) I don't want to hurt my friends... so... I can't be around Hide anymore."

A faint voice reached Louis's ears.

It was Kaneki's voice... he seemed to be talking to the manager.

"Aside from smell, all my other senses seem stronger than a ghoul's. And..."

Louis looked out the window. Even with pedestrians far down the road, he could make out the details of their faces if he focused.

"As my control over my ability improves, my five senses keep getting stronger too."

Come to think of it, his superhuman physique all stemmed from his crystallization ability.

The stronger his crystallization ability became, the stronger his overall capabilities grew, not just his combat strength.

But using this crystallization ability not only consumed a great deal of energy, it also placed a considerable strain on his body.

Back when he had nowhere to stay, he rarely had enough to eat and never dared use his ability much, so he hadn't needed to worry about how much his body could withstand. Things were different now. His raid on the kitchen that morning alone had given Louis enough fuel to burn through for a long time, which meant he also had to start considering the strain on his body.

After all, the reason his body had broken down in his previous life...

Louis sat on the bed, a cold glint flashing through his eyes, as though he had recalled something deeply unpleasant.

"That... will never happen to me again..."

Meanwhile, in the room where Ken Kaneki was.

"That's not true."

"You're both a ghoul and a human. You have a place in both worlds. No one else does."

"Come to Anteiku. Here, you can also find a way to protect the place where you belong."

"And..."

The manager's voice gradually grew gentler.

"I hope you'll come to understand us better, too. Whether we're really nothing more than man-eating monsters."

"Manager..."

With tears still lingering at the corners of his eyes, Kaneki gazed at the manager standing in the sunlight, a little dazed.

"What do you say? Let's start with brewing good coffee."

The manager smiled gently at Kaneki and led him out of Hide's room.

Kaneki and Hide's friendship had never changed, from beginning to end. It was something Louis could only envy.

Louis pushed open the door and walked in. He knew the man lying before him had actually been awake for some time.

"You're Kaneki's friend, right? My name's Louis."

Seeing no reaction from him, Louis continued on his own.

"I'm... probably the only human here. I don't know how long I'll be able to stay."

"But if anything's troubling you, feel free to come to me."

"I'll do whatever I can to help you, Kaneki, and everyone else."

With that, Louis closed the door with a snap.

A few days later, inside the coffee shop...

"What would you like to drink?"

Louis smiled at the ghoul customer before him and asked in a bright, upbeat voice.

"You must be the newcomer the manager mentioned..."

Although the customer was somewhat surprised, he didn't react strongly to Louis being human.

"Maybe the era the manager spoke of really will come..."

"Yes, I think so too!" Louis nodded emphatically.

Kaneki watched from the side, absorbed. Whatever he was thinking, the smile he gave at the end conveyed how he felt.

After several days of preparations, the manager finally assigned Louis and Kaneki to the front of the shop. Their coffee-making skills still weren't up to scratch, though, so for now they could only work as servers.

As Louis understood it, the manager wanted him and Kaneki to interact more with the customers so that more people would come to accept them.

Eventually, their shift ended, and the two began cleaning...

"Louis?"

"Huh?"

Only then did Louis snap out of his thoughts and look at the curious Kaneki before him.

"What is it?"

Kaneki seemed to hesitate for a moment before asking.

"Why don't you hate ghouls, Louis? Even though you're human?"

"Huh?"

Louis finally realized the shop had already closed, and thought for a moment.

"I told you before, didn't I? I've been wandering for a long time."

"Yes..."

Kaneki nodded several times.

"In a crowd, I can tell ghouls and humans apart, but they don't know I have that ability."

"So I believe what I've seen is genuine."

"They're no different from humans. They're creatures with feelings, and they can form friendships, romantic relationships, and family bonds with humans too."

"I know of a female ghoul who gradually developed feelings for a human man as they spent time together. Of course, the man didn't know she was a ghoul at first."

"They fell in love..."

"But they shared such an intimate life that the man soon discovered her secret."

"The woman clearly realized that too... but she loved him just as deeply, and didn't hurt him."

Ken Kaneki's eyes lit up at that. "Then where are they now?"

"Out of fear, the man called in the CCG, and they killed her," Louis answered calmly.

Kaneki's expression froze, his eyes filling with disappointment. "How could that happen..."

"The story isn't over yet. This woman had a younger brother who witnessed the whole thing. In the end, he even watched his sister die while the CCG hunted her down."

"And yes, just as you're thinking, her younger brother was a ghoul too."

"If I were him, I'd probably hate humans with every fiber of my being..."

"I don't know what he thought, but in the end, he actually fell in love with a human girl too."

"As you'd expect, the girl soon discovered that he was a ghoul." As Louis spoke, he stole a glance at Kaneki.

Kaneki looked awful now. He was probably imagining all sorts of scenes.

"The man wanted to kill her, but at the very last moment, he gave up. Because he realized she truly loved him. Even when his teeth had already sunk into her flesh, she didn't resist at all."

"They opened their hearts to each other. To this day, the girl hasn't reported his identity to the CCG, and he hasn't harmed her, even when... he's starving."

Louis looked at Kaneki. "What do you think of that story, Kaneki?"

"That's a truly noble love... Is this story real?" Kaneki suddenly looked at Louis expectantly.

"Of course. Not only is it real, you should even know one of the people in it." Louis deliberately kept him in suspense.

"Who?!" The anticipation in Kaneki's eyes had reached its peak.

"Nishiki Nishio! The guy who grabbed you by the throat that day and nearly kicked your head off." Louis patted Kaneki's shoulder, feeling the satisfaction of a successful prank.

Sure enough, Kaneki's face went pale again when he heard that name.

"So I've reached a great conclusion, which is..."

"Among ghouls, only men can fall in love with humans!"

The instant he finished speaking, a schoolbag slammed into Louis's face like a cannonball.

"Shallow..." Touka walked in, radiating murderous intent, pulled her schoolbag off Louis's face, and headed upstairs.

"..."

Louis lowered his voice. "Kaneki, one more thing. I've noticed that woman who just went upstairs has a pretty bad temper. Be careful not to get on her nerves..."

Kaneki: "..."