Chapter Text
"You're saying I need a costume?"
"Yes! I said that already."
"Are you sure everyone will be wearing a costume?"
"I-I think they will be."
"What do you mean you 'think'?"
"I haven't actually been to a Halloween party."
"What?!"
"Hide has!"
Touka stirred her coffee with a spoon vigorously. Swells of caffeine were approaching the lip of the cup. "Did he wear a costume?"
Kaneki anxiously rubbed a spot where a shaft of sunlight hit the table of Anteiku. "Yes. He was a ghost."
She rolled her eyes. "That's stupid."
"Will Yoriko be wearing a costume?" He asked.
"I'm sure she will be," Touka huffed. "I don't know why I agreed to go. It doesn't sound fun. Why would I spend money on something I'm going to wear once?"
"Yoriko will like that you're coming," he suggested.
"I know, I know." She sipped the coffee thoughtfully. "I just don't know what to do."
"There's probably a costume place around here?"
She set her drink down and glanced up at Kaneki. "Is there? Do you know where it is?"
He held up one hand cautiously. "I, uh, think I could find it-"
"Great!" She leapt up from her seat, knocking her chair backwards. "Come with me, then."
"Right now?" He yelped.
"Yes, right now! I'm off work today and the party is at seven!"
"Tonight?!"
"Yes!" She grabbed a jacket and stood by the door.
Kaneki sighed, tipping his half-finished coffee into the trash and joining her in front of Anteiku.
The nearest shop that sold Halloween costumes was a thirty-minute walk composed mostly of Touka's complaining and Kaneki's slightly exasperated responses. The store itself was swathed in traditional orange and black, overflowing with plastic and rubber decorations.
"I wonder what this store sells the rest of the year," Kaneki mused aloud as they walked inside. A motion-activated wraith cackled, causing him to jump.
"I can't believe this," Touka muttered, eyeing a skeleton window display. "That doesn't even look like a real skeleton."
"I think the costumes are near the back," he replied.
The store was fairly crowded, even in the middle of the day. Large racks of garish decorations were strung from every hook and counter, and kids ran around brandishing skeletal digits. A sizable section of the store was dedicated to candy of all variations: American and Japanese.
Kaneki sniffled as the acrid-sweet smell hit his nose. He knew that at some point it tasted delicious to him-at some point candy was the epitome of a child's food pyramid, or the ultimate reward. But now it was hard to imagine even the suggestion of those neon wrappers. He looked over at Touka, who was making a face.
"I can't believe parents just let their kids roam around strangers and eat that shit," she scowled.
Kaneki suddenly felt an urge to defend his humanity. "It sounds bad when you put it that way, " he pointed out, "But it's a lot of fun. You go with friends, and try to scared, and eat lots and lots of candy, and pretend punch is blood, and-"
"Ugh, stop, you're making me sick," Touka hissed, waving to cut him off. "Keep moving."
They also had to pass a row of scary movies. Kaneki stopped to examine one shelf, stacked with titles like The Unforgiving and Monster of the Deep! A small screen flickered through clips of various movies. One flashed by a woman screaming as blood spurted across her white dress, then falling to the ground to join piles of gore.
Kaneki's stomach growled without warning and a bolt of fear pierced his chest, accompanied by a pulsing feeling in his fingertips and his breath halting then speeding up. His hand immediately flew up to check if his eyepatch was in place, exhaling in relief when the familiar, worn cloth brushed against his fingertips.
Kaneki swallowed nervously. His hands shook, and in the back of his mind came an unsteady thump-tha-thump sound. He backed away from the stand until someone grabbed his hand. His head snapped up and met Touka's dark eyes.
"It's okay, Kaneki," she said. Her tugging mimed impatience but her expression spoke sympathy. "Let's keep moving."
"What about that one?"
"Which one?" Kaneki still felt nervous energy vibrating his joints, but Touka's constant stream of questions-probably intentional-were a decent distraction.
She flicked a costume. "That one."
"A cat?"
"Yeah. It looks easy."
"Everyone's a cat."
"Good, I won't stand out."
"No, the point is to stand out."
"Yet another aspect of this shitty event I don't understand."
Kaneki snatched a grisly clown mask off of the wall and held it in front of his face. "What about this?"
"You look like you're wearing something Uta made."
"Hmph." He hung it back up, next to a row of 'sexy doctors'. "None of these seem really...you."
"I'm beginning to realize that," she muttered, delicately tapping one finger against her cheek.
"Do you want to try someplace else?"
"No, we don't have time. What about...this?" She reached forward and unhooked a costume. It was all folded up, but Kaneki could see a shimmery black fabric coupled with iridescent wings.
"What is it?" He asked.
She examined the clear plastic package. "A fairy, I think? It's in my size." She looked up at him. "What do you think?"
"It's cute, I guess. I don't really know." Kaneki could feel his cheeks going warm.
"Cute, huh?" She held at arm's distance away, no longer facing him. "I could do cute."
"Uh, are you ready, then? To go?"
She tucked the costume bag under one arm, still scanning the back wall. "Sure, sure, yeah."
"Okay, I'll be by the front if you want to look around a little bit longer."
"Hey, wait...Kaneki?" Her voice changed in tone, swooping lower and softer. Kaneki-who had already turned around-froze and pivoted to face her.
"Yes, Touka?" There went his cheeks again, for no damned reason.
She stared at some spot near his shoes. "What if I look weird? You don't know, you've never been to a Halloween party."
He tipped his head to one side, ignoring the twinge of hurt at her words. "What about Yoriko? And your other friends?" He asked.
"I don't...have a lot of other friends. and Yoriko will be busy talking to people. You better be right about this costume thing."
Hesitantly, he walked up to her and placed one hand on her shoulder. "Stop," Touka said tersely, and Kaneki let his hand slip off to rejoin his side. Another pang of something-or-other guided him to step back.
"I'm sure you'll be fine," he reassured, trying to meet her gaze.
"Okay, well, I'm sure I'll be fine, but I don't want to look stupid, which is why you should come with. In a costume. That way I won't look like the only one with their head up their ass." She finally twitched her head up and glared at him.
It's not like I've done anything wrong. "Er, uh, won't Yoriko be confused as to who I am?" He stammered, rubbing at a spot on his chin nervously.
Touka rolled her eyes. "Are you joking? As far as she's concerned, the more, the merrier. She's seen you before, too, when you were over at my place once."
"She's, um, she wouldn't happen to be the one who thought we were dating?"
Touka's gaze shifted to the side. "Yup, that's her. Don't worry, though. I'll clear things up when we're there, which is another reason I want to go. And you can come too, to help me explain."
Was Kaneki imagining it, or were her cheeks turning pink too? It was difficult to tell. "Yes?"
"Right!" She shoved him backwards, breaking the tension. "Then let's find you something that's not 'sexy vampire'."