One month later

Rize had been a ghoul. Kaneki knew this. He knew that Rize's organs were inside of his body at this very moment. He had a ghoul's organs. So it was entirely possible that he himself had become a ghoul. Deep in his head, he knew all these things. But he refused to acknowledge them.

Even now, as the crippling hunger gnawed at his insides, he ignored the almost certain reality of his situation. His inability to eat normal food? He chalked it up to a side effect of the medicine. The fact that his mouth salivated at any exposed skin he caught a glimpse of? Well he was a young man after all.

His single, pure black eye, that he hid behind an eyepatch from the hospital?

Kaneki tried to not think about that.

His stomach gave a loud grown as he walked home from the library. He was putting up the best front he could that life was normal. He had stopped attending lectures long ago. All that human flesh sitting still in one place. It made the pain in his stomach increase ten-fold. But he continued to submit his assignments and read his books. Kaneki was a studious person after all.

Even being absorbed in his thoughts as he was, Kaneki didn't miss the loud exclamation as he walked down the small street to his house.

He glanced up and saw a girl being held from the wrist by an fat, older man, probably in his 40's. Stubble dotted his chin, his shirt was greasy and he walked unsteadily. He was definitely drunk. Kaneki watched as the girl struggled to pull her wrist out of his grasp. Kaneki thought she looked familiar, and he suddenly realized that she was one of the waiters at his favorite cafe, Anteiku. He hadn't been back there since the surgery. He hadn't done much really.

Normally, Kaneki was sure looking at the scene in front of him would fill him with disgust. He probably wouldn't have mustered the courage to stop the old man, but he wouldn't at least acknowledged how reprehensible his actions were.

Now, however, all Kaneki felt was hunger. His eyes couldn't help but trace the waiters legs. They looked so soft and juicy. He wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth into them.

Kaneki didn't realize how odd he looked, standing there staring at the two of them with his mouth watering, until the older guy called out to him.

"What are you staring at?" He shouted. Kaneki turned away and started to walk past the scene.

"Hey! Don't ignore me you brat." The man chased after him and tugged at his shirt.

Kaneki turned to look at him and the man stumbled back, letting out a yelp.

"What the hell. Your eye. What the fuck is wrong with your eye, you fucking . . . monster!"

This time it was Kaneki who grabbed the mans shirt in a tight fist, making sure the bastard would hear pay attention to Kaneki.

"Don't touch me." He said, anger causing his voice to quiver. He wouldn't mind giving this old fuck a piece of his mind. Kaneki never got a chance though.

Blood spurted from the man's mouth and splattered on Kaneki's jacket. The man collapsed at his feet, clearly dead. Kaneki merely stared ahead in shock. His eyes barely registering the sight in front of him.

The waiter from Anteiku stood there, her eyes pitch black and a look of disgust on her face.

"Aw, he died. I wasn't even that hungry. Maybe I'll just take an arm. Old man meat's gross though." Kaneki was still staring, coming to the realization that she was a ghoul. She glanced at him, confused by his behavior. "Did you want some?"

She waved a severed arm in front of his face. The sight of it made the painful hunger in his stomach come back with a vengeance, but his mind, still scrambled after the display of **** he'd seen, prevented him from reaching out to accept the offer. "Are you not gonna eat?" As she stepped closer to offer him the arm, she got a better look at his face.

"Hey, only one of your eyes is red . . . that's kinda weird." Her eyes shot open in shock as she finally recognized his face. "You . . . why weren't you eaten? Rize . . . "

Kaneki's seemingly recovered from his panic, and he promptly turned heel and ran into the night, screaming over what he had witnessed.

The ghoul behind him dropped the severed arm she was holding. "What is he?" She muttered. "Pisses me off."