Blood, Guts, & Desire (Delectable)

Chapter Six: Ashoka

A/N: Finally, the moment you've all been waiting for: FIRST PERSON POVS!!!

Isn't it lovely?

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My nose tingles along with the rest of my body, as I enter the café, pure warmth and the scent of coffee washing over me.

Touka visibly tenses as I sit at the counter, but the café is full of humans and ghouls, so she can only glare.

"Where's that cute one who was here last time?"

I waggle my eyebrows at her, "Ya know, Kaneki?"

Touka leans against the counter across from me, seemingly unfazed, but I can see the pent up rage in her eyes.

"Not here. Now are you going to order anything, because otherwise you'll have to leave".

I smirk, "Coffee please. Black".

She turns away from me haughtily, and the guy sitting next to me chuckles softly.

"She's quite the sassy one", he says, in a lightly accented voice.

I look him up and down: so used to profiling people that it almost comes naturally.

He wears a patterned cashmere sweater vest over a starched white collared shirt, long legs covered by brand name skinny jeans.

As he reaches out a hand to shake, I catch a glimmer of gold.

"Nice watch, by the way".

He smiles, a gorgeous one if anything, "Thanks. Tsukiyama is my name."

He gestures to the girl beside him, who taps away​ at a computer: "And this is my cohort Chihori".

"Hello", I say politely. She grunts in return.

"Oh, I'm Ashoka".

He smiles again, "Lovely name".

Unconsciously​, I scent the air, and realize that Tsukiyama is a ghoul. Chihori however is a human, and my eyes widen to think of how complicated that relationship must be.

Touka tosses my mug onto the counter without so much as a glance back, and so I sip it slowly.

"Does she know...?", I whisper to Tsukiyama. But it's Chihori who answers in a quiet voice:

"Yes. He's a ghoul, you're a ghoul, everyones a ghoul".

I choke on my coffee, and the two snicker softly, exchanging knowing glances.

After that, the conversation dwindles, but as the door opens to allow another customer in, I catch a familiar smell.

Careful not to make it too obvious, I watch the young man I've been trailing take a seat at the counter: directly next to me.

From here, his hair looks even softer, sweet smell of his flesh like a human pastry. He glances over at me and smiles softly, then motions to Touka with his order.

"Good morning", she says politely, looking over at me once, before completely ignoring me.

"Good morning. Uh, I'm supposed to meet a friend from school here, but he doesn't seem to be present yet. Anything you could suggest off the menu".

Ugh, that deep voice reminds me of something. But I can't think what.

Touka smiles, the first one I can really remember her ever making: "Any coffee drink. When I make them: they're to die for".

The boy places his order, and Touka disappears back into the kitchen.

"Hello".

I spit my coffee back into the cup, and Tsukiyama chuckles beside me, shaking his head.

"Hello", I respond calmly to the boy.

He brushes a strand of black hair away from his face, "Haven't I seen you before?"

I take a moment to think: Should I admit that he has?

"Wait, I bumped into you yesterday right? Outside the college?"

Too late. (And I knew it wasn't high school!)

I smile, and sip again at my coffee, his smell still overpowering. He's lucky I've already eaten this morning.

"Yes, that's right. So you go to that school?"

He nods, and opens his mouth to speak, but his eyes catch on a boy with red hair who waves through the window at us.

"Oh, there's​ my friend Nyameso, he's meeting me here for coffee".

The boy waves back at his friend, then looks confused when the friend beckons him out, and then walks away.

"Huh", he mutters, "Thought we were eating here".

He begins to gather his stuff, and leaves money on the counter for his coffee.

"Oh, I'm Tsyuki by the way".

I take his outstretched hand, "Ashoka".

"Nice to meet you, but I must go. See ya soon?"

"Sure", I nod, inhaling his amazing smell one last time, before he disappears outside.

Tsukiyama nudges me with his elbow, and I turn to see Chihori holding out a photo print.

"What's this?", I laugh softly, taking it from her little hands.

Chihori lifts the camera around her neck, smiling, "It's a picture of you and lover boy".

"Lover boy?"

Tsukiyama shrugs, sipping his coffee and tossing change on the counter: "She's a bit perceptive".

And with that, the two of them leave, the counter stools closest to me empty and almost pathetic.

I look down at the little snapshot in my hands, and find a smile slipping onto my face. A strange feeling, familiar though, causes my heart to throb as I take in the details of the image:

Tsyuki and I are both smiling, me with my coffee up to my lips, and him leaning over the counter towards me.

If I wasn't planning to eat him, I could almost fall in love with him.