Reader x Kaneki Ken [Beauty was a man; Book 2]

|Run| Part 1 |

___ was working her usual shift at the cafe when Hinami came. The little girl's eyes searched the room before they landed on ___. She walked over to the ___ haired girl and greeted her.

"Good afternoon Hinami!" ___ said with a warm smile. Hinami was always happy around ___. She had grown attached to the woman. "I hope the information I passed on helped." The little girl stated.

___ stopped her work and turned to the young ghoul. She nodded and filled her in on what had happened.

"Big brother is after Nutcracker?!" Hinami yelled. She was worried. This wasn't good and ___ understood. She would have to do something before Haise gets hurt.

___ received a text on her cellphone. Hinami smiled when she read the name blinking on the screen. "You and Kaneki are in touch again?" She asked ___.

The older ghoul nodded and smiled. "He left me his number that night. I think he's starting to remember. I know our Kaneki is in there somewhere."

Hinami nodded and hugged the older ghoul. "I'm glad you have him back." She whispered. ___ shook her head and said, "I don't have him back yet. I'll have him back when he's his old self again." A look of determination in her ___ eyes.

"He'll remember us." Hinami whispered, hugging her tighter. Like Touka, ___ had become a sort of motherly figure to Hinami. The three of them together were stronger than anyone who stood in their paths. The three of them swore that they would bring Kaneki home.

The bell at the door rung and a familiar figure walked in. Hinami and ___ turned around to see who it was.

"Big brother.." Hinami whispered, only for ___ to hear but Haise heard as well. "Huh?" He said, walking over to the counter.

"Hello Haise." ___ said, smiling. Touka came over too and Haise couldn't help but feel a bit at home. He felt like he belonged here but he shook the thought away. The only person he really knew was ___ since they had been talking on calls and text.

"Good afternoon ___!" He said with a smile. Touka shook her head and walked over to other customers. "I thought you were working? You just texted me that you're busy with paperwork." ___ said with a raised eyebrow.

Haise rubbed the back of his neck while grinning. "I wanted to surprise you." He said. Hinami hid her face in ___'s shirt, smiling at how much Kaneki still felt for ___ even with memory loss.

"That's sweet of you, Haise." ___ told him. Hinami was hiding her face still in fear that the investigator side of Kaneki would recognise her.

"Who's this little girl?" Haise asked, turning his attention to Hinami. Hinami froze and looked up at ___ with eyes that asked for help.

___ understood and looked to Haise with a kind smile. "This is my niece. She's a bit shy. Did you want to talk to me?"

Haise looked back at ___. The girl he had started to have feelings for. He nodded and took her hand. "Would you like to go on a date with me?" He asked, shyly of course.

"I do latte you a lot. So, we can go get some coffee somewhere else." He said with a wink. ___ blushed and looked away.

She nodded and smiled. "Okay. Wait for me outside. I'll be there in 5 minutes."

Haise agreed and waited outside. Hinami sighed in relief and thanked ___. "You don't have to thank me, I would have helped without you even asking. You should know that by now Hinami."

Haise and ___ left the cafe hand in hand. The boy knew where he would take her. "So, what do you think about books?" He asked. ___ stopped walking, making Haise stop as well.

"I love books." She told him. The topic of books touched a wound in her heart, reopening it.

Haise noticed the change in her mood, feeing guilty for asking her the question. He was curious though. "Did I say something that hurt you?"

___ continued walking with him. They reached a small book shop. She looked confused as to why he had stopped here. "Weren't we going to get coffee?" She asked.

Haise smiled at her and walked inside. "You didn't answer my question."

___ blushed and looked down at her hands. They took a seat near the window. The sun was starting to set and there were dark clouds in the sky.

"It's going to rain." They said, together. They both turned to each other, blushing. Then laughed lightly.

Two cups of coffee were placed in front of the two. ___ rose her eyebrow at the cups. "We just came."

"I might have planned this beforehand." He said with a cheeky grin. The girl giggled and pinched his cheek. "You're so cute." Haise blushed at her compliment.

Accept me, you'll be able to hold her as much as you wish to, Kaneki's voice spoke in Haise's head and he frowned.

___ turned to look outside the window, not noticing the internal battle between Haise Sasaki and Kaneki Ken.