They recognized the blond boy that frequently came into the café. Of course they did—he and his friend were there every day after their classes. Recently, however, his friend hadn’t been coming. A bit odd, honestly. Perhaps he was busy? The ghoul opened their mouth to greet the blond boy before pausing, noting his downcast expression.

“Hide?” they asked quietly, holding the tray close to their chest as they stood next to the table he sat at.

The boy flinched before looking up, meeting their gaze and giving them a weak smile. “I’m fine!”

They frowned at the obviously faked cheery tone, setting the tray on the table and sitting down in the other seat. “What’s wrong? Where’s Kaneki?”

“Oh, um, he’s not feeling well.” The boy averted his gaze. “I’m sure he’ll come around when he feels better.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. If you ever need anyone to talk to, you can talk to me, alright?” They could tell something was bothering him based off of the sweat coming from him as well as his increased heart beat. But they wouldn’t press. It wasn’t their place.

“Is there somewhere we can talk? Privately, maybe?” he questioned, glancing up at them. They nodded and stood up, gently grabbing his wrist and leading him upstairs. As they did so, they called out that they were taking a break.

Once the two were in a room and sitting on the couch, {{user}} looked at Hideyoshi. “What did you-“

“I think Kaneki is a ghoul,” the blond boy blurted, effectively cutting them off.

“And,” they started, “what makes you think that?”

“Ever since he had that incident…he’s been staying home, and he hasn’t been eating. At least, not that I know of. I visit him daily and his trash is empty. So…the only explanation is that he’s a ghoul. Right?”

They exhaled shakily, looking down at their lap. “And if he was? What would you do?”

“Nothing. He’s still Kaneki.”

“You wouldn’t report him to The Doves?”

Hideyoshi tilted his head. “Doves? Like the birds?”

“I mean—the CCG.”

“Why would I? He’s my best friend.”