I'M NOT DEAD, even though I wish I was. Also, I LIED. The exciting part will happen next chapter haha. It's supposed to be in this chapter, but this one reached more than 13k words so I decided to stop it here. I didn't lie when I say we've entered the beginning of the canon storyline though. Also, I finally managed to write the scene with a character that I've been wanting to write since ages ago! I really like that scene, choppy as it is. (Hint: Queen. Wears glasses.)

Happy new year by the way! I tried to finish this before 2018, but well. Someone decided to buy a PS4 and spend what little free time she have playing instead of writing (or studying, like what a responsible 4th year college student should have done), but here's the new chapter for Eine Kleine! Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it!

Warning: More cheese. Literally 80% of this chapter is composed of cheese lol. I love unnecessary drama, if you couldn't tell. Also, I have no idea for flight procedure and all that. Mostly when I have to board a plane I just stood there looking lost while my friend or family guide me through everything.

10. Promises

Harry spent a lot of time the next morning thinking of ways to tell his friends that he was going to go back home for a while.

Telling his ghoul friends should definitely be done last, since he's almost sure that they'll either try to physically stop him from leaving or insist in coming with him just to make sure nothing will harm him during his trip, so it was best to leave them for the last so they wouldn't have the time to prepare.

They're just overprotective like that sometimes, Harry thought fondly as he tried to make the swelling and redness in his eyes to go away. Putting cold towel on it did nothing, and Harry didn't know how to step outside his apartment without everyone calling him out on it. Harry wouldn't blame them for it either if it happened, since he did look extremely silly with his puffiness and all.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

Really, this was what he got from crying so much over something like that. Must be the teenage hormones messing with him.

Deciding to just skip school altogether, Harry went to the bathroom and took a quick shower before he decided to reheat the macaroni from last night. As he ate, he texted his class leader to tell her that he won't be coming today because he wasn't feeling well… which was not exactly a lie, because he did feel pretty horrible. After being told just the night before that there's a chance that they might die in the near future, who wouldn't?

He frowned as he put his dirty dish on the sink.

Maybe he should go out for today. Have fun and explore a bit. There were still many places he hadn't been to and it could provide a distraction for him from his dark thoughts.

Before he could decide though, his doorbell suddenly rang. Someone was visiting him and it couldn't be Sirius, Remus, or Professor Dumbledore since they never used the front door, so it must either be Kaneki-kun, Hide-kun, or his ghoul friends.

Harry didn't have anything to worry about if it's his human friends, if it was the ghouls though… He glanced at his dirty bowl and the remnants of other snacks he had just ate on the table.

Yup, he's going to be in trouble.

Deciding to play it safe, Harry took out his wand and waved it a couple of times to perform a simple household cleaning charm.

A warm feeling filled him as he performed the charm. It was just a simple charm, yet it filled him with joy. Magic was a big part of him and he missed using it as much as he did when he was still in Hogwarts.

He knew that he had no right to complain since moving to Japan was his decision, but sometimes he missed being surrounded by magic. His apartment was warded quite heavily so he could perform and practice magic inside as long as there were no muggle even though he was underage, but sadly he had to wait for his OWLs result to be able to gain the permit to use magic freely outside.

When the charm did its magic and everything was clean again, Harry quickly ran towards the door and opened it wide to see a familiar blond standing outside his apartment with a miserable look on his face.

"Harry!" The blond whined and clasped Harry's shoulders suddenly, making him took a step back unconsciously because of the weight of his hands.

"Hide-kun? Why are you here so early?" Harry asked in surprise.

"I'm sorry but I'm out of money right now and my next paycheck won't be in until next week and I'm starving do you have something I can eat please I'm seriously dying here…!" The blond bowed his head at him and Harry couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the overdramatic act of his friend.

"I don't have anything ready left since I just ate, but I'm sure I still have some things left in my fridge. Come in, I'll see what I can whip out for you." Harry smiled, opening the door wider.

"My savior! You're seriously an angel, Harry!" Hide-kun sniffed and wiped an imaginary tear from his eyes before he strutted inside like it was his own home. Harry shook his head in amusement as he closed the door back and followed the blond to the kitchen.

Telling the blond to sit still at the dining table, Harry went on to rummage his fridge to see if there's something he could make from the scraps he had in there. Since he only have some meat left, he decided he'd make a simple gyuudon for his friend.

"Is gyuudon alright with you? It seems like I only have some meat left," Harry asked the blond, who were looking at him like he had just told him the best thing he had ever heard in his entire life.

"Are you kidding? Of course I'd be alright with it! Who in their right mind would say no to free meat?" Hide-kun gushed back at him and he let out a laugh at his response.

"You're way too enthusiastic about food, Hide-kun." He stifled a smile at the blond and set to work his magic on the kitchen. Not actual magic though, he meant his cooking skills. Gyuudon was a simple dish to make, so he was able to make them fairly quickly.

"Why didn't you go to Kaneki-kun? Isn't his place closer to yours than mine?" Harry asked as he put the steaming hot meat on top of an equally steaming rice inside a large bowl before taking it to the dining table where Hide-kun was waiting for him.

The blond grimaced as he remembered what their other friend have in his kitchen. "Kaneki only have bread and coffee in his place. I want real breakfast. Like this!"

The college student beamed, gesturing at the bowl that he put in front of him before he immediately scooped a spoonful (since Harry didn't have chopsticks) into his mouth ignoring the fact that they were still too hot to be eaten like that. Closing his eyes as he chewed, Hide-kun moaned in delight. "Anything you make is so delicious, Harry! How are you so good at cooking? Ah, I'm in heaven…!"

"You're exaggerating." Harry smiled at the blond and watched him eat his meal. Hide-kun was always very lively when he ate, just like a hamster. Harry thought that the sight was very endearing. Just watching him like that already made him feel a bit more relaxed.

They spent several moments in a comfortable silence like that, until the blond finally broke it with a harmless question.

"Harry?" Hide-kun began, still chewing his meal.

"Hm?" He asked back.

Hide-kun frowned a little bit as he swallowed down his food.

"Have you been crying?" The blond continued as he put another spoonful of rice into his mouth. "Your eyes are really red."

"O-oh…" Harry stuttered, moving to cover his eyes with his hands even though he knew it was a useless act.

The swelling had actually gone down quite a bit so he thought if he acted like he normally did it wouldn't raise suspicion, but Hide-kun was always an observant one so it shouldn't be a surprise that he'd noticed it.

Harry was steeling himself for the questions that would surely follow when he felt a something touching the top of his head instead. It went in a rubbing motion until he raised his head back up and met Hide-kun's concerned eyes.

"Hey, you okay, buddy?"

Hide-kun's hand was warm on his head. It was comforting, but somehow Harry felt his eyes beginning to get glassy again. Closing his eyes to hide the unshed tears, Harry smiled at the blond.

"Mm, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

While Hide-kun didn't look convinced at his answers, he took back his hand from the top of Harry's head and decided to continue eating.

"Do I need to beat someone up for you?" The blond said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively as he chewed on another spoonful.

Harry's eyes widened at the question and the implication of it. Although his face had reddened quite a bit from the suggestive tone of the older boy, the concern the blond was expressing for him made his chest feel warm too and he couldn't help it when a small giggle escaped his lips.

"No, it's alright, Hide-kun. If I wanted to beat someone up, I think I can do it myself anyway." He told his friend, wiping a little tear of laughter from his eye.

"Oh! That's true, isn't it? I forgot you're stronger than me." Hide-kun scratched his cheeks sheepishly as he remembered how he beat up his molester and defeated a ghoul just a few months back. When he saw that Harry had fallen silent again, he leaned forward as he shoved another spoonful of rice and meat into his mouth.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" The blond said as he chewed, and Harry shook his head at him with a small smile.

"No, I'm fine. It's just some… family troubles, I guess." He said, trying not to say anything that would make the blond worry anymore. "It's nothing, really. You don't need to worry about it. I was just being a baby and exaggerating everything."

"Hey, hey, don't be like that." Hide-kun said quickly, frowning as he put down his spoon. "You're human. It's totally normal that you cry when you're feeling down."

"But…"

"No, you listen to me, Harry." The blond cut his words before he could say what was in his mind. "Don't depreciate yourself like that. You're one of the strongest and bravest person I've ever seen, alright? Whatever's making you cry, it must be something terrible. You're not just being a baby, okay?"

Looking into the blond's unwavering eyes, Harry felt water began to fill his eyes again.

His friend truly believed what he was saying about him… even though he had never thought of himself as someone brave or strong. Most of the time, it was just luck helping him after all. But Hide-kun truly believed that he was strong, and Harry wanted to be the strong person his friend believed he was.

He didn't want to disappoint him.

"Yeah…" He said, wiping at his tears. "I'm sorry for saying things like that."

"It's okay. Just don't say things like that again, kiddo. You're allowed to feel down and cry like us normal mortals too, you know?"

"Mm." Harry made an agreeing sound as he wiped the rest of his face with his own sleeve. When he was finished, he nodded at the frowning blond with a small smile. "Thank you, Hide-kun."

"Come on then. Your eyes are going to be more swollen if you keep crying like that."

"You just told me that it's okay to cry!"

Hide-kun snickered at him and stood up from the chair he had been sitting on, his hands on the table to support his body.

"Great! Now that I'm full and you've stopped crying, should we go somewhere and have fun together?"

"Wait, you're not going to class?"

"Well, you're not going to school and I can't just leave you alone when you're like this." Hide-kun said as he pulled a face, making it seem like he had no other choice but Harry could tell that his friend was worried about him and that really touched him. Sniffing slightly, Harry faked being displeased at the older boy.

"You're just in it for the free lunch." Harry said, but a small smile was tugging at his lips. Hide-kun grinned back at him and winked.

"You know me so well." The blond said, perking up when he mentioned food. "Speaking of lunch, Harry! Please let me eat here until my next paycheck!"

Harry threw a dirty napkin at his face, but the blond ducked before it hit him. They shared a laugh before Harry shook his head.

"Ask Kaneki-kun if he wanted to join us too. He needs to eat healthier food, honestly." He said as he raised from his seat. "You too, Hide-kun. You eat too much junk food. Stop eating hamburger at that restaurant just because the waitresses there are pretty! That's why you're always broke!"

"Aww, but I didn't eat there just because of the waitresses! Oh wait… don't tell me, you're jealous because Kaneki loved to eat there too?" The older boy grinned widely as he draped himself over Harry's shoulder.

"…I'm putting green peppers in your meals from now on." He told the blond curtly.

"Wait, Harry! I'm just playing around with you, don't put green peppers in my meals!"

Huffing a smile, Harry took the blond's empty bowl and put it in the sink.

Hide-kun ended up actually ditching class and went with him to wherever he wanted to go. Harry felt a little bad for making the older boy missed his class, but he couldn't help but feel a little happy by the gesture.

They ended up walking around Tokyo, visiting tourist spots and attractions, took a lot of photos, and bought snacks from all over the place while the blond acted like his personal guide. Tokyo was as busy as always, even on weekdays where most people should either be at school or work. The town was bursting with life and activity and being surrounded by that kind of atmosphere really calmed him down. It was a right decision to be there.

Hide-kun was very kind to him and made him laugh so hard that he was wheezing for breath. It was the first time in a while that he had had so much fun that he felt a little guilty. For what, Harry wasn't sure, but the feeling still settled in his chest somehow.

They almost ran into trouble when a couple of old ladies seemed to notice him while they were buying some taiyaki from a really famous stand. Harry could hear snippets of their conversation, wondering why he wasn't at school at this time of the day, but they quickly noticed his foreign features and decided that he must be a tourist.

Not wrong, but it wasn't exactly right either, Harry thought with a relieved sigh as he accepted the taiyaki from the seller. Quickly walking away from that store so the old ladies wouldn't have the chance to be nosy and question them, they suddenly passed a store that caught Harry's eyes.

A beautiful white lace one-piece dress worn by a mannequin was on the display and somehow Harry's mind imagined seeing Hinami wearing the dress. The little ghoul always wore her mother's old clothes that was several size too big on her. It would be nice if she could wear something like this once in a while.

It would suit her, Harry thought idly as he chewed on the fish-shaped sweets in his hands.

Hinami was a bright girl. She was sweet and kind, and she definitely deserved better than the life that she had now. She deserved to go to school. To make friends. She deserved to wear nice things. Harry knew that it wasn't her parents' faults—they were kind people who worked as hard as they could, but Hinami deserved better all the same.

Actually, not just Hinami. All ghouls deserved a better life. Harry knew from listening to his friends' stories that most ghouls lived in poverty and unable to receive a good education that a lot of them couldn't even read. This was one of the reason why they did bad things too—because their situation forced them to do it to survive.

Harry sighed longingly. If only I could do something to change it.

Of course, a certain blond just have to misunderstand the meaning behind his sigh.

"Did you develop a hobby of cross-dressing, Harry?" Hide-kun said, munching on his still-steaming taiyaki as he hooked an arm over Harry's shoulder. Harry started, looking scandalized before he glared at the grinning blond as the words finally sunk in.

"Of course not! I was thinking that this would suit my friend, that's all!" He hissed at the older boy.

"Oooh, a 'friend', huh? Are you cheating on Kaneki, Harry?" Hide-kun grinned, teasing him as he poked Harry's cheek with his finger.

"Okay, now that's just wrong. She's like, twelve Hide-kun." Actually… wait, was she even twelve? He honestly forgot. She just looked so young. Shaking his head, Harry slapped the blond's hand away from his cheek with a huff as he continued his retort. "Also, I can't cheat on him if we're not even dating."

"True." The blond snickered as he too looked at the mannequin appreciatively. "You're going to buy it?"

"I don't know." Harry mused as he peered at the slightly visible price tag on the dress. 9.800 JPY, was it expensive? "Hinami always wore her mother's old clothes. I think she deserves to have nice things once in a while, but I'm afraid that she might see it as a charity and became burdened if I gift it to her."

Hearing his answer, Hide-kun smiled. An actual, gentle and kind smile, not the teasing kind that reminded Harry of a certain fox. Harry almost averted his eyes bashfully when he felt the blond linking their arms together.

"Buy it. No one would think of a gift from you as a burden, Harry." The blond grinned, gesturing at the headphone he had hung around his neck. "At least I would never. I love it when you give me gifts and attention."

Harry gave him a judging stare. "That's because you're an attention whore."

Hide-kun gasped, scandalized.

"Oh my god. Who taught you such crude words?!"

"Actually, you did. Remember that time when you got really drunk and Kaneki-kun had to haul you to my place because he didn't want you to be alone and cause trouble for others?" Harry quipped, amused by the older boy's reaction. "You started trash-talking some girl who was rude to Kaneki-kun in class after that. I picked up quite a lot of words from you."

"No way! I would never do that!" Hide-kun gasped in outrage before he paused, looking thoughtful. "Wait. Actually, I think I would. Anyone who are rude to our darling Kaneki deserves to be trash-talked."

Harry snorted at that and entered the store, followed closely by the blond human.

There was a bell chime when he opened the door, and although he couldn't tell from the display outside, the interior of the store was surprisingly big. It was lit by natural lights from the window and the décor was simple with mostly wooden furniture and decorations.

The two employees were chatting by the cashier immediately straightened up when they realized they had a customer.

"いらっしゃいませ！ようこそ、フロリアへ！何かお手伝いしましょうか？" One of the employees greeted him as she smiled cheerfully before she actually looked at him and her eyes widened as a gasp left her painted pink lips. "え、やばい！彩夏ちゃん、外国人のお客さんよ！"

The girl panicked, sending a please-help-me look to her friend, who shook her head back at her, also panicking.

"ええ、どうしよう？英語がよく話せないんだけど･･･"

She looked at him, looked at her friend again, and then looked back at him, looking like she was about to cry. Taking pity on her, Harry smiled in reassurance and make a small waving motion with his hand. "日本語でいいよ。"

"Oh, thank goodness!" The girl said before she realized what she said and she slapped a hand over her mouth, blushing in embarrassment. "I mean, we're so sorry, Sir. My English is mediocre at best and I'm the best from all of the other employees, so…"

"It's fine!" He waved off her apology with an embarrassed flush too, glaring at his friend who was laughing behind him. "We didn't mean to startle you too. I'm currently studying here, so I can speak Japanese even though I'm not that good."

"Eh?! No way, you're really good! If I didn't see your face I couldn't even tell that you're a foreigner!" The girl said earnestly, and Harry smiled at her.

"You're really kind." He said, causing the girl to redden once more somehow. "But actually, there's something I need your help with. Is there a smaller size for the dress you have on display there?"

"Of course! Our shop cater to every body size after all. You wish to see the white lace one, is that correct?" The girl chirped cheerfully, gesturing him to follow her deeper inside the store where there're more clothing displayed on the rack.

"Yeah. Actually, if you have any other dresses like that one too, please show me as well." Harry said thoughtfully. Hide-kun raised an eyebrow to that as he walked closely behind them.

"You're planning to buy more than that one?" The blond asked as he hurried his steps. Harry nodded at him.

"Well we're already here, might as well buy something for Touka-san and my friends back home too." Harry said, cheeks flushing slightly. "I've never gone shopping like this before, so this is kind of exciting. Maybe I'll splurge a little."

"Are you sure? Harry, I saw the price tag on one of the sweater earlier and it's over 10.000 Yen a piece you know!" Hide-kun said, whispering so that his words won't be heard by the shop assistant who was busy picking up dresses to show him.

"It'll be fine I think. I never used a lot of what Sirius gave me every month, so it's been piling up. Buying things for the people I like seems like a good way of spending all that money." Harry smiled, whispering back at him.

Hide-kun looked exasperated by his answer though.

"Ehhhh… what's with that answer, you damn rich kid! If you have that kind of money, then treat me and Kaneki burgers at Big Girl!"

"Nope. You need to eat healthy foods too, Hide-kun!"

"And you need to be taught money management, kid! Seriously, you'll go bankrupt like this!"

"No I won't!" Harry huffed, rubbing at his hurting forehead. "Thanks for mentioning Kaneki-kun though. Maybe I'll buy something for him. Hide-kun too, if you found something you like, tell me!"

"You're hopeless." The blond said finally, shaking his head in pity before he immediately perked up seeing something displayed on the far wall beside the cashier. "What about that green jacket though? It looked like something Kaneki would wear."

"Oh, you're right! And that yellow and black one beside it is definitely your style, right?" Harry beamed before he waved at the shop assistant. "Excuse me Miss, I'll take them too, please!"

"Wait no, you don't have to buy anything for me!"

"Too bad, it's my money." Harry said, giving the blond his tongue in a mocking gesture before he laughed and danced away from the blond's tickle attack.

Things got a little out of hand after that and Hide-kun ended up failing to stop him from splurging too much. He finally came out of that little shop with six more shopping bags in his hands, leaving an ecstatic shop assistant and an exasperated blond that trailed behind him as he lamented the loss of all that money.

Despite his much lighter wallet—actually he used debit cards, but you know what he meant—he felt satisfied somehow. Lighter, like he all his stresses just went away. Maybe the rumor that spending money can relieve stress was true? Or maybe that was because of…

Harry glanced at the older boy who was walking behind him while he looked over the many people walking across the road and let a soft smile grace his face.

No, it definitely wasn't because of spending money.

Seeing the blond's figure, bathed in the redness of the sun, a thought suddenly came to him.

Maybe… Hide-kun was right. He shouldn't be so hard on himself. Maybe… maybe he should start on trusting his friends more and rely on them.

Harry bit his lip nervously, his grips on the shopping bags in his hands tightening as he steeled himself. It might be silly of him, but the idea of opening himself and being seen as vulnerable by his friends was scary to him.

It took some time, but finally, in a small voice Harry voiced his thoughts.

"I have to go back home."

The older boy tore his gaze from the takoyaki stand and came to face him.

"I know silly. That's why we're heading there right now." Hide-kun said, a smirk on his lips. Harry stifled a laugh at his response, shaking his head at the blond's misunderstanding.

"No, Hide-kun. I mean back to my country." He clarified with a small smile. It seemed that the older boy was not expecting his words and he visibly wilted as the words finally sunk into his head.

"Oh." Hide-kun said shortly, looking disheartened. Still, the blond tried to be optimistic and beamed at him with exaggerated hand gestures. "Well, you'll come back here again, right? Bring me souvenirs!"

"I will if I could." Harry smiled nervously and licked his suddenly dry lips. This is it, Harry. You cannot back out now. Taking a deep breath, Harry finally decided to just get it over with. "Don't tell Kaneki-kun, alright? I don't want him to worry, but…"

Harry bit his lower lip and avoided the other's eyes, which were starting to show concern because of his hesitation.

"Hide-kun, I… I will be going through a… kind of surgery back home." He finally said and Hide-kun gaped at him before he rushed him with questions, concern in his voice.

"What? Why? Harry, are you sick?"

"Something like that," he answered vaguely with a hesitant smile, not wanting to go into details because he didn't want to lie too much to his friend. Averting his eyes so that he won't be able to see the blond's reaction, Harry continued in a small voice. "I can't tell you the details, but… I won't lie, the mortality rate is really high."

"I guess… I was kinda scared," Harry admitted shyly, cheeks flushing softly as he looked at the ground before a small but genuine smile appeared on his face. "But because you're here, Hide-kun… because you cheered me up… I think I'm fine now. Thank you."

The words was said in a small, shy voice, but somehow, he saw Hide-kun's eyes turned glassy after he said it. Before he realized what was happening, Harry felt two strong arms wrapping themselves around his body and suddenly he found himself inside the older boy's embrace.

"You'll be fine." He heard Hide-kun told him, voice near whisper as the arms around his body tightening into an almost painful embrace. "You're gonna be fine, and you're gonna come back here and tell Kaneki that you like him, you hear me?"

Hearing the raw emotion in the blond's whispered words, somehow, his vision became blurry again. Goodness, when had he become such a crybaby?

"Yeah. That's my plan, actually," he joked lightly, trying to suppress his own emotions. Closing his eyes and praying that the darkening sky will conceal his tears, Harry nodded and pressed his cheek on the blond's chest. Just like his smile and personality, Hide-kun's hold was warm and comforting.

"Thank you, Hide-kun."

They held that position for quite a while, not minding the passerby that stared at them weirdly for hugging in the middle of a crowded street. When Hide-kun finally let him go, the older boy gave him a big smile and slapped his back loudly, making him wince.

"Come on. Let's go home. We'll order pizza, call Kaneki over, and have a scary movie marathon all night," the blond told him. "We will have so much fun you'll forget everything that worries you."

Hide-kun paused.

"Are you alright with not being at a hospital though? Should I call 119? Wait, are you alright with eating pizza? Did you became like this because I forced you to eat so much junk food with us?"

Harry laughed as he assured the blond that no it wasn't because of junk food and that he was alright not being at a hospital because he was an outpatient, and, just like that… he felt the burden that he was carrying felt like it had been lifted by half.

Hide-kun fulfilled his promise and the three of them spend the night together, having fun. It was the most fun Harry had in quite some time and he was grateful for the both of them. When the sun rose the next day, Harry found himself having more confidence in himself. Confidence that he would be able to overcome his difficulties this time too, just like every other times when life threw these kind of things to him.

Harry smiled and closed his eyes.

He'll win this. For his sakes and everyone who loved him.

Harry told his classmates over karaoke that day that he would be going back to England for 'family business' for indeterminable time and, surprisingly, not just the girls—some of the boys that he was close to also burst into tears asking him not to go.

Some of them, led by Takizawa-san, even plotted to kidnap and smuggle him into one of their house so that he wouldn't be able to go back and they only dropped the ridiculous idea after he assured them that if everything went well with his family, he would probably be able to come back a little after the 2nd term started.

To show him their support and as a form of their prayer that he will return to them safely, they organized a small party for him, but being a bunch of rich kids, they didn't really share his view of a 'small' party since they reserved a whole restaurant for it.

They even made a banner that said: "Come back soon and safely, our savior! We love you here!" in reference to what he did last year at the culture festival that embarrassed him to no end and confused the servers at the restaurant since the fact that he had defeated a ghoul never made it to public—Shinohara-san promised to keep his anonymity at his request and the man did a good job at it. Everyone knew about the attack, but because his name was kept out of it, he managed to have a peaceful school life.

The party was chaotic, but Harry felt somehow flattered and happy by their overreaction since it showed him just how much the people around him loved him once again.

He didn't mind all that, but… the rest of their affection was, you could say… troublesome.

Since the day he told them that he was going back home, which was roughly two days ago, Harry had been called out by approximately 16 girls and 2 boys who wanted to confess their feelings for him.

Harry had always been a people-pleaser (except towards assholes like some of the Slytherins back home as well as their Head of House), so having to turn them down was troubling him and making him feel guilty and when he told Kaneki-kun and Hide-kun about it, the both of them only laugh at him without offering him a solution or advice on a better way to turn down someone.

"Stop it, I'm seriously troubled here…" Harry pouted, fighting down the blush that would surely make them tease him even more.

Hide-kun chuckled, wiping a tear that leaked out with his finger. "Isn't it a good thing that you're so loved by your friends?"

"Well, I guess so, but having to turn them down makes me feel bad," he grumbled moodily as he stirred his iced chocolate with his straw. Hide-kun positively glowed at his words, like he had just been waiting for him to say that, and Harry eyed him suspiciously.

"Well, in that case, you should just accept all of their confessions and build yourself a harem! Right Kaneki?" The blond said as he leaned forward and grinned widely, wiggling his eyebrows too for good measure.

"Stupid! A-as if I could do that!" Harry retorted, flushing red at the blond's jest.

"Stop teasing him, Hide." Kaneki-kun said, chuckling lightly. Harry immediately pushed the blond's face back with his palm with a furiously whispered 'yeah, you do that, Hide-kun'. As he bickered with the blond, Kaneki-kun suddenly let out a sigh.

"But… I can't believe you're going back in two weeks, Harry-kun." Kaneki-kun said, looking dejected at the idea.

Seeing this, Harry smiled and flicked the older boy's too-long bangs.

"Only for a month or so, remember? I'll be back before you noticed I was even gone." Harry said reassuringly. Hide-kun too nodded along with his words supportively.

"What he said. Also, you'll still have me to entertain you," the blond said as he nodded sagely before a mischievous glint entered his eyes as he grinned at his oldest friend. "Trust me, you won't feel bored at all because I have plans for us this summer,Kaneki Ken. Plans."

Kaneki-kun gulped. "Harry-kun, could you take me with you please. I'm scared."

Harry sniggered and the blond gasped in disbelief.

"Rude! Rude, all of you! I'll have you know that I—"

Right at that moment, the bell that signaled that someone just opened the door chimed and the three of them reflexively turned their head towards the sound. Standing in front of the door was a beautiful woman with tall stature and purplish long hair. She was wearing glasses and Harry could see the eyes behind those red frames were kind.

Noticing their stares, she smiled sweetly before she went to greet the person behind the cashier, Koma-san, whose pleasant demeanor changed completely the moment he saw her.

Harry furrowed his brows, concerned, but the woman acted civil and sweet towards Koma-san the entirety of their interaction.

"Oh."

Harry looked at Kaneki-kun, who had unconsciously let out the small sound. Hide-kun grinned and draped an arm over his friend's shoulders.

"Hmm, what's this? You knew her, Kaneki?"

Surprisingly, Kaneki-kun blushed at that.

"N-no. I just…" Kaneki-kun bit his lower lip, glancing briefly at the beautiful woman before he dropped his gaze towards his drink again. "I saw her once before—the last time I came here."

Harry's curiosity was piqued. "You come to Anteiku alone often, Kaneki-kun?"

"Sometimes. The atmosphere in here is good for when I want to read," the older boy smiled shyly. "I'm glad you introduced me to Anteiku, Harry-kun."

"I see." Harry said finally, feeling a bit uncomfortable at the thought of the older boy going to the café alone since so many things could have gone wrong with how many ghouls coming and going there. "I'm glad that you liked it here so much."

Sensing his uneasiness, Hide-kun quickly steered their conversation to another topic. Harry felt grateful, but he still couldn't erase his uneasiness completely. Especially after seeing that woman and seeing Kaneki-kun's interest in her…

No, it was not simple jealousy. He was almost certain that—

.

—That woman was a ghoul.

.

And not the kind of ghoul that scavenge for corpse too, it seemed. She might even be a malicious one, from the way Koma-san act around her—cautious.

Harry bit his lip with worry, wondering if he should do something when—

"Harry-kun?"

Harry started.

"Oh! Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What was it, Kaneki-kun?" Harry asked calmly, trying to still his racing heart. Kaneki-kun, the gentle boy that he was, looked over him with concern in his eyes.

"No, it's just—Hide and I have to leave for our part-time jobs soon… are you going with us or do you want to stay here a bit longer?" Kaneki-kun asked him before he frowned and put the back of his hand on Harry's forehead. "Are you alright? You look really pale, Harry-kun. You're not sick, are you?"

Harry smiled slightly at the obvious concern in the older boy's expression, but shook his head firmly.

"No, I'm alright. I was just lost in thought, Kaneki-kun," he said with a light laugh to throw off the older boy's suspicion. "And I'll stay here for a bit longer. I made a promise with Hinami-chan that I would read a new novel with her today. I still haven't given her the things I got with Hide-kun last week too."

"Oh, a new novel?" The black haired bookworm perked up at that.

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, she's been wanting to read The Black Goat's Eggs since forever. I thought it was a little too mature for her, but her mother gave me the okay last week, so I finally bought the book for her so we could read it together."

When Harry saw the sparkles in his eyes, he immediately put a finger on his lips and hissed at the older boy good-humoredly.

"Ssh! Don't spoil it! I'll tell you all about what I think of it later after we finished it, okay?" Harry smiled, and Kaneki-kun returned it with a small laugh.

"I'm holding you on to that." The older boy said with a small laugh before he put down some money on the table. "Here, please pay for both Hide's and my orders, okay? The cashier seemed to be going to the staff room."

"He did?" Harry looked around and indeed, Koma-san wasn't there anymore. Probably called to do something for Yoshimura-san in the refrigerator room.

Harry shuddered.

"Alright. Good luck with your jobs okay, you two?"

After waving them both goodbye, Harry went back to his drinks. Alone. With just that ghoul-woman in the room with him. Harry glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and saw that she was just reading a book quietly while sipping her coffee occasionally.

Harry sighed.

Okay, maybe his feelings were unfounded then. Maybe it was his jealousy after all. She looked like a nice woman, honestly. Why did he ever thought that she could be someone—bad? Dangerous? He should have known better that not every ghouls are bad since he was friends with a few himself.

Shaking his head, Harry pulled out his phone, scrolling through the messages his friends and Sirius sent him.

Full of emoji again… Harry stifled a smile at that.

His godfather had recently bought a smartphone for himself and discovered the 'wonders of emoji'. It was ridiculous to see how much emoji the man managed to sneak in his messages, but it was kind of cute too, in a way. That man refused to grow up even now that he had reclaimed his title as the Head of the Black Family.

He looked up from his phone and nearly dropped it from shock.

There, sitting in front of him, was that ghoul woman.

Harry didn't hear her move at all.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for surprising you! I've been calling you for a while, but you were so absorbed in your phone that you didn't hear me," the girl said, her voice melodic and apologetic, but Harry felt a cold shiver ran through his body at the sound of it.

It was fake.

"Um, sorry. My godfather was texting me." Harry replied, trying to play along with her ruse to find out what she wanted even though he really wanted to just get the hell out of there. "Is there anything you need from me?"

"N-no, not really," she said, waving her hands in front of her with a shy blush, looking every part like the delicate flower she was trying to portray. "It's just… I overheard you saying with your friend earlier about The Black Goat's Eggs? Do you like Takatsuki Sen too?"

Harry's mouth tightened.

So she was eavesdropping, huh.

Harry laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head as his eyes wildly searched around for an opportunity to escape. "I… can't say I do. I suppose I enjoyed their works, but they're not my favorite writer, I guess. Their works are too dark for my taste."

Where was Koma-san when you need him? Koma-san! Come back quickly please!

"Oh my! I suppose some of her works are a little dark, but I think that kind of darkness is enticing and rare to see in fictions these days. Her writing style is so immersive, I felt like I'm living through the protagonist's life when I read her works." The purple-haired ghoul smiled charmingly as she leaned forward in her excitement to talk about her favorite author. "It felt real, like she had experienced it before she poured it into words, don't you think?"

"I… I suppose? It does felt real." Too real, actually. It was what makes him scared in the first place, Harry thought, before he finally realized what she had said. "Wait, Takatsuki Sen's female?" Argh, priority, Harry! Priority!

The ghoul giggled behind her dainty hand. "Yes! And she's quite the beautiful young lady too. I've been to her signing events a few times before," she said with a smile. "Say, I heard that she's holding another event this month. Want to go together?"

Harry blinked. "Wait, what?"

The girl leaned forward as she moved a hand to put over his own. "Please? I want to get to know you better."

Before her hand could touch him though, a bigger, pudgier hand suddenly enclosed her wrist tightly and pulled it away from Harry's vicinity roughly. Harry gasped and saw Koma-san standing beside their table with a terrifying look on his face.

"Don't touch him, Rize." Koma-san snarled, fury burning in his voice. "This kid is one of us. I won't forgive you if you touch him."

Harry saw Koma-san leaned closer to her face and in the coldest voice Harry ever heard him using, he hissed the words, "We won't," before he released her wrist—practically throwing it at her, and yet, the girl didn't seem ruffled at all.

Instead, she laughed.

"Oh my. Koma-san. No need to be so aggressive here. I'm just talking to him, see?" The girl, Rize, smiled pleasantly at the waiter. "But really? He smells different. A bit spicy, but not too sharp like us. He's more like…"

"Really soft and refreshing, but appetizing at the same time. It's a curious smell." She said as she inhaled the air around him with her eyes closed. When she opened her eyes again, her eyes were the red and black of a hungry ghoul.

"It smelled… delicious. Don't you think so, Koma-san?" The girl said, looking enthralled by what it was she was smelling from him.

In that moment, time seemed to go in slow motion for Harry as he saw the girl's lips moved to form those words. Harry felt his heart thumping frantically, and for the first time in a really long time, he felt genuine fear.

His breath hitched and he saw the smile on her face grew wider and wider as she noticed his uneasiness.

"Rize." Koma-san snapped harshly, and the woman only laughed again, waving her hand in front of her as to dismiss the older man's warning.

"Don't be so serious! I wouldn't do anything that would make Anteiku my enemy, Ko-ma-san !" She smirked, twirling a lock of her hair with her finger.

To his surprise, Koma-san didn't claw her face like he looked like he wanted to do. Instead, he tried to have a civil conversation with her, even with fury in his eyes.

"Then stop coming here to look for food. You know the rules. Customers of Anteiku are off limit—humans or not. Yoshimura-san have decided to forgive you for your first offense, but if you do it again, you will be banned from coming here forever, understand?"

"Yes, yes. You Anteiku ghouls have no sense of fun, huh?" Rize smirked again, looking amused at the warning instead of cowed.

"Yes, we don't." Koma-san answered her seriously and Rize sighed at his answer.

"How boring." She said before she pushed herself up and gathered her things and pulled out her wallet. "I'm out of here. Here's money for my coffee. And for his too."

Harry jumped on his seat, startled.

"What?"

"Think of it as an apology for mistaking you for a human, Har-ry-kun !" She winked at him before smiling pleasantly at the waiter again. "Bye, Koma-san! I'll come back next week."

"You don't have to." Koma-san answered as she left with the sound of a bell.

Once she was truly gone, Koma-san suddenly kicked a chair until it flew to the far side of the wall and broke into little broken pieces, making Harry flinch in surprise.

"Fuck. Goddamn her and her fuckhole of a mouth." The older man hissed beneath his breath as he ran a hand through his carefully styled pompadour.

Harry hesitantly touched his arm. "Koma-san?"

Koma-san's head snapped towards him, but when he realized who had touched him, he gradually relaxed and let out a long sigh. Harry frowned, never seeing this side of his brother figure.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Harry-kun. Please don't repeat that okay? It's a bad word." The older man said distractedly, before he noticed the mess he made and he groaned out loud. "Oh man. Now I have to clean this up. Why did she have to show up today of all times?"

Seeing Koma-san's sigh, Harry couldn't help but smile a little.

"I'm going to tell Irimi-san you taught me bad words." Harry teased him, trying to lighten the situation a little.

"Oh my god. Please don't. She'll kill me."

Harry laughed at that and stood up.

"Come on, I'll help you clean up."

Koma-san shook his head with a wry smile. "Nah, it's fine. I can handle this much."

"Okay… if you say so, Koma-san." Harry sat back down awkwardly, watching as the older man began to gather the destroyed pieces of the chair inside a plastic bag. He looked down and twiddled his thumbs together, before in a small voice he told the man, "Thank you, for before."

He felt Koma-san glanced at him from where he was cleaning.

"It's fine." He heard the man said casually. "But if you see her again, call one of us, alright? The manager or Yomo-kun wouldn't even mind if you called him. Ask for our help, okay?"

Harry nodded. "Okay. Can I ask why though?"

Koma-san turned towards him, his eyes hard and serious.

"That woman is dangerous, Harry," the older man said, stressing the word 'dangerous'. "She came to our ward after she was hunted by the Doves for murdering dozens of humans. Unlike most ghouls who ate once a week, she had this terrible habit of binge-eating her preys, see."

The man paused and Harry waited for his words expectantly.

"Before she left… she killed the leader of the ghouls in the 11th ward—the place she used to live in—and several others." Koma-san explained finally. "As much as I hate to admit it, she's powerful. More than that, she's skilled."

Koma-san approached him, and Harry looked up to see the older man smiling sadly at him. "Don't go near her, alright? I don't want anything to happen to you."

He said those words as he ruffled Harry's hair.

Harry could only nod at that, suddenly remembering that Koma-san said that his little brother was dead—possibly even killed. Harry promised himself then, he would never allow Koma-san to feel the same sadness of having someone important to him taken away like that again, and as much as it humbled him to say it, he was someone important to the older man now.

"Alright." Harry promised him with a reassuring smile. "I won't approach her and will call one of you to help me if she did, Koma-san."

His words seemed to reassure the older man who went back to his cheery mood again, and not long after he finished cleaning up Yoshimura-san came out of the backroom for his shift behind the bar, Shouji came dropping by with Hinami hanging on his back, Touka-san came home from school, and everything slowly became right again.

As they came to him with smiles on their faces, Harry looked at all of them and thought, he wanted to protect them too just like they would protect him. They were a part of his family now too, so… when he came back here after the ritual was done, he would tell them the truth—about what he was. About everything.

He will be honest with them, and hope with everything he got that they loved him enough to forgive him for lying to them.

But, for now… he wanted to bask in their affection and shower them with his in return.

Harry looked at his friends and with the largest grin he could, he said:

"Hinami-chan, everyone, come here! I have something for you guys."

The two weeks after that went smoothly. Harry met with Shouji a lot for his tutoring lessons because of his end of term exam and had to stop his self-defense training with Touka-san or his reading sessions with Hinami, but since the tutoring was done at Anteiku's upper floor, both girls still see him often, either to disturb or encourage him.

It turned out that Hinami was so pleased with his gifts for her. The dresses he got her was always worn on her body whenever he saw her. Because of this, he grew closer to Ryouko-san—her mother—too, who was both grateful and somehow bashful by his attention to her daughter before Touka-san and Shouji explained to her that he got something for everyone, not just Hinami.

It turned out that her mother thought that he was courting Hinami with gifts and such, which embarrassed him to no end. Hinami was a nice and precious girl, but she felt more like a sister to him.

While Hinami was more than pleased with her dresses, Touka-san… not so much.

The purple-haired ghoul blushed and glared at him for being 'cheeky' with her for getting her a dress like Hinami too, but Harry could see that she was kind of happy with it (even though Harry was sure that he wouldn't see her wear it ever). Harry had predicted this though and got her a set of hairpin and a knitted cardigan in dark color for her too.

For Shouji he got a light brown jacket that matched his blond hair and a wristwatch, which honestly cost him a bit, but Shouji (no matter how annoying he was) was still one of his closest friend, his mentor, and also his protector since he came to Japan, so he was alright with it.

Koma-san, Yoshimura-san, Irimi-san, and even Yomo-san each got something from him too—just little trinkets that he thought they'd appreciate since he wasn't sure of their fashion type. Predictably, even though he was happy, Koma-san scolded him for his poor money management afterwards.

Harry found himself unable to answer honestly when they asked him why he got them all those things though, instead he lied and told them it was because his birthday was near and he got scolded again because they said it should be him who received presents from all of them on his birthday, not the other way.

But Harry was happy giving them things. They have done so much for him after all. Took him under their wings, taught him things, protected him, befriended him, and so much more. It might not be much, but it felt like him giving back to them somehow.

The days kept on going on like normal, and before he knew it, his second term had come to an end.

The last day of school before his summer break, as well as the day of his departure back to England, Harry decided to visit Anteiku for possibly the last time to finally say his goodbye to the people that had took care of him during his stay in this lovely country since it wouldn't be right for him to just disappear on them like that.

But as he opened the door to the quaint café he had begun to associate as his second home, he wasn't greeted with the usual warmth of Koma-san's greetings or the gentle murmurs of the customers. Instead, what greeted him was a cold feeling and silence.

The light tinkling sound of the bell rang uncomfortably sharp in the silence.

"We're so sorry, but we're closed today—oh, Harry-kun?" A gentle voice came from behind wall where the stairs are, and Harry turned towards the source of the voice to see Irimi-san walking down the stairs. He raised one hand to wave at her and flashed her a hesitant smile.

"Yeah, it's me." He said as a greeting before he looked around the empty café. "Where's everyone?"

Irimi-san walked up to him and flipped the open sign on the door to close before she shut the door and locked it. Once she did that, she breathed out a sigh and covered her eyes with one hand.

She looked really tired.

"They're upstairs, it's… this is not a good time for a visit, Harry-kun." Irimi-san said. "Asaki-san… Hinami-chan's father was killed last night."

And suddenly, Harry felt like he couldn't breathe.

"W-what? How?" He asked, almost choking on his own words in his disbelief. It was just last week that he saw the man for the first time, when he was walking Hinami-chan to her home after she accidentally stayed too long at Anteiku, and now the man's gone.

"The Doves found him when he was scavenging for food. They took his body with them. Probably to make weapons out of him." Irimi-san answered him, wrapping her arms around herself, showing just how uneasy she felt about the whole situation. "Goodness, this is messed up. How could they do this to them?"

Harry clenched his hands.

"How's Ryouko-san and Hinami-chan?"

"Hinami-chan's fine. I don't think she quite understands yet that her father's already gone. Ryouko-san though…" The ghoul sent a tired look towards the stairs and sighed again. "Well, she's… coping. The manager has agreed to support both her and Hinami-chan, so that's good, but…"

Irimi-san shook her head and tried to force on a smile onto her pretty face.

"Anyway, what brought you here today, Harry-kun?"

"Um… actually, I want to tell everyone that I will be going back to my country tonight." Harry said, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably as he prepared himself to lie to them once again.

"Something came up there while I was gone, and… I'll try to settle things as quickly as I can, but if the worst case happened, I might not be able to come back here again, so… this is goodbye, I guess. At least for now, yeah?" Harry flashed a small smile at her, trying to lighten the mood, but he figured that there was something in his expressions that made her suspect the worst.

"Oh, Harry-kun…" She sighed and took hold of his hands, gripping them tightly in her bigger ones. In a worried tone, she continued, "It's something dangerous, isn't it?"

Not answering her question, Harry looked down to avoid her gaze. Seeing their connected hands, Harry gave it a small squeeze to reassure her.

"I'm sorry for not telling you earlier… and this is such a bad time for all of you too." Harry said, forcing a smile on his face so that he didn't worry her any more than she already did. "I don't think I should bother all of you right now, so… can you pass everyone the message? And tell them I'm sorry that I cannot tell them in person."

Irimi-san looked at his eyes for a while before she closed them resignedly.

"I understand. I'll tell them. Just… try to be safe alright?" She said, squeezing his hands back and smiled back at him. "You've become someone we all treasure in our life. I don't think we'll ever recover if we have to lose you, too."

"Irimi-san…" Harry nodded, determination in his eyes. "Yeah. I'll do my best to come back here."

"Good." The woman smiled and pulled him into a tight hug before he pulled away and adjusted his hair with loving hands like an older sister. As she did this, from beyond the stairs suddenly a quiet voice broke through the comfortable silence.

"Harry-nii?"

Harry's head jerked towards the source of the voice and saw Hinami poking her head from behind the wall with a worried expression. Irimi-san immediately went to her side as the little girl descended the stairs.

"Hinami-chan! You're… where's Shouji-kun? Wasn't he supposed to watch over you?" The older woman fussed over Hinami who shook her head timidly as she accepted Irimi-san's fussing.

"Shouji went after Nee-san… they got into an argument and she ran out the window and then I heard voices from downstairs and…" Hinami paused, biting her quivering lips. Her eyes darted towards him for an instant before she looked down to her bare feet.

"Harry-nii… are you leaving me too?"

Harry could see the faint redness in her eyes and the wetness in them that could only be tears and his heart ached seeing her look so heartbroken like that.

"Father's gone now, and I know can never see him again." Hinami said, voice so soft it was barely even a whisper. She paused, clenching her hands, before in a trembling voice, she looked him in the eyes and asked. "Are you going to leave me like that too?"

"No," Harry said with conviction, shaking his head before he walked up to her and kneeled in front of her. He took her hands in his, squeezing them tightly. "I promise you with all I have that I will try my hardest to come back here."

Hinami's lip trembled, but she stubbornly refused to cry still.

"You… promise?" She asked, her voice small and unsure.

"I promise." Harry smiled, nodding his head to reassure her. "Besides… you guys have my number, right? Call me anytime you want. If I'm somehow unable to answer, a friend of mine will receive it to tell you why I'm not able to receive it. That's why… don't cry, alright?"

"Yes…" The younger girl nodded slowly, hesitantly, but it was enough for Harry.

"Good. Now dry your tears. You'll worry your mother if she saw you like this." He said, reaching out with his thumbs to wipe the wetness from her eyelashes before he stood up and ruffled the girl's hair.

"You have to stay strong for her, alright? And I'm giving you the task of keeping Touka-san and Shouji in line! They'll cause trouble for Yoshimura-san and the others if I'm not here to stop them, so I'm trusting you with the job, Hinami-chan," he said, grinning widely.

Hinami finally giggled and hide her smile behind her hands. "Yeah… I will."

"Good girl. Now hug me." Harry said, opening his arms and laughed when she immediately buried her face on his chest. He squeezed her body meaningfully before he released her, noting her noticeably brighter mood with a relieved sigh. He glanced at Irimi-san who was watching them like a proud older sister and he smiled at her.

"Take care of everyone for me, alright?" He asked her, and she nodded.

"I will." Irimi-san smiled and joined their hug. "You take care too, Harry-kun."

"Of course."

Harry left them with heavy heart, but he fully intended to stay true to his promise, so he hoped that Hinami and the others wouldn't be too upset about him leaving so suddenly.

Harry sighed. He had hoped that he could have at least see Shouji, Touka-san, and Koma-san for the last time before he had to go, but he guessed that it couldn't be helped. In a way, maybe it was easier for all of them not to meet again since he knew how protective of him they were, but still…

Harry looked down sadly at his suitcase and only looked up again when he felt someone's hand touching his. His eyes were met with a concerned look from Kaneki-kun. Immediately, Harry put on a smile and shook his head to dispel the older boy's worries.

Both Kaneki-kun and Hide-kun insisted on sending him off and he knew that Hide-kun's red and watery eyes were starting to make the black haired older boy suspicious, but the blond kept insisting that it was because he caught a cold. In the summer. Harry shook his head in amusement. Hide-kun was really bad at lying to Kaneki-kun.

He smiled, watching his friends bickering at the waiting seat as he phoned Hermione a few feets away to tell her that he's going to board the plane soon. Their presence was a welcome comfort, what with him still uneasy from his earlier visit to Anteiku. As he was just finishing up his talk with the witch, however…

"…you'd get eaten up in a second, Kaneki."

"What? Why…"

"A scrawny kid like you who just reads books all day in his room... you wouldn't stand a chance if you get attacked."

"It's because I'm in my room all the time that I won't be attacked."

There was a brief pause before he heard the blond's voice again, and he sounded amused this time.

"That's true."

Harry furrowed his brows, finally paying attention to their conversation. What in the world were they talking about? Harry thought as he said his goodbye to Hermione before ending the call.

Somehow he had a feeling that he shouldn't return to his friends yet though so he stayed there, a few feet away from them, pretending to still having a call though he was actually eavesdropping on their conversation even as he berated himself for doing it to his friends. But, well. He was curious. Sue him.

"You should take the time to read books in your house once in a while too, Hide," he heard Kaneki-kun said with a small laugh, at which the blond he mentioned quickly retorted in a dry tone.

"No way no way. I'd fall asleep in 5 seconds." Hide-kun groaned as he rested his head on his hands and Harry stifled a smile at that. Hide-kun never did like to read. It's a wonder how he had managed to get into the same university as both Kaneki-kun and Shouji.

"But seriously, it doesn't feel real at all does it... even though we've experience it firsthand." Kaneki-kun continued in a small voice and Harry's smile dropped, finally realizing what it was they were talking about.

Ghouls, huh…

"Yeah… I mean, beings who 'look the same as humans', 'live the same way humans do', and 'eat humans'. Pretty fantastical thing, doesn't it? Like something out of a book."

"Mm."

There was silence as they collected their thoughts. Hearing the thoughtful tone in their voice somehow made him nervous. Harry continued to stand there awkwardly as he debated if he should come back there or not when suddenly—

"Man, hurry up and notice already, Kaneki." Hide-kun said in a low, meaningful voice, "The 'Ghoul' that's closest to you..."

Harry knew logically that it was supposed to be a joke, but the way the blond said it… did Hide-kun figured out what he was? What his friends at Anteiku were?

Or was he implying that…

The hairs on his skin stood on end as a shiver ran through his body, but he tried to shake it off. There was simply no way that Hide-kun was a—despite being not as sharp as a ghoul's, his nose had become more sensitive to scents and he was certain that the blond was human.

It simply wasn't possible, he thought, finally calming down as their black-haired friend opened his mouth again.

"Hide…" Kaneki-kun breathed just as nervously as Harry was before he finally let out an exasperated sigh as he flicked their blond friend's fringe. "Stop joking like that. The security officers might hear you and take you away for interrogation."

The blond let out a dramatic gasp. "They wouldn't!"

"They totally would. You look suspicious already." Though Harry couldn't clearly see it, he was sure that Kaneki-kun was rolling his eyes upwards as he said this. "And I keep telling you that your roots are showing. The clash between your original hair color and your dyed ones is ridiculous."

True, Harry thought as the corner of his lips involuntarily twitched upwards at that. Hide-kun, predictably, made a betrayed expression on his face.

"You take that back! I look beautiful no matter what my hair color is!"

Kaneki-kun rolled his eyes again. "Just be honest that you don't have enough money to do your roots again."

"Well, that too, but…" The blond trailed off, knowing that the black haired boy had got him. He huffed in annoyance before he finally spoke again. "Anyway! I've been meaning to tell you! That girl the other day. The one you 'fell in love with at first sight'—"

"—I did not fall in love with her! Geez—"

"—she's way too out of your leagues, my friend. Give up." Hide-kun said and Harry felt his heart skipped a beat, not expecting their conversation to take this route. That's right. Harry hadn't got the time to warn them yet about that woman—that ghoul.

Harry bit his lower lip as he tried to think of a way to tell them without giving up the fact that Anteiku was the heart of the ghouls in their ward. In the first place, why did he even invited his very-much-human friends there anyway? Stupid Harry! You could have avoided all this problem if you actually used your brain for once!

"What? Why?" Kaneki-kun said, cutting Harry's train of thought there. Harry glanced at his friends again and saw Hide-kun shaking his head sagely.

"You simply don't have a chance. It's better if you don't get your hopes up."

"But…" Kaneki-kun mumbled, sounding distraught. "She's the first person I like in a really long time, and…"

There was a brief silence before Hide-kun finally sighed, sounding a bit frustrated, but not unkind.

"Look, it's not like I could stop you if you still want to chase her, but girls aren't something you choose based on looks. Make sure you're certain before going for it, and when you do…" Hide-kun said, a small, wistful smile on his face. "I'll cheer you on when that time comes."

"Hide…"

Hide-kun… Harry thought the same time as Kaneki-kun breathed out the word. Harry's eyes lingered on the blond's smile—because it was a smile that conveyed so many things. Harry looked down, seeing that smile.

As he thought, Hide-kun was…

"I'm sure the squirt over there will cheer you on too, so… don't jump into it too fast, alright?" The blond continued in his usual tone, grinning as he slapped his best friend's shoulder. "We don't want you getting hurt over full-chested girls."

Kaneki-kun predictably blushed and Harry tried to stifle the giggle that was about to come out. "Hide! Don't talk like that, it's disrespectful!"

"Ha! You know what I'm talking about though!"

Harry looked down to hide his smile. At least he could be sure that someone will be there to protect Kaneki-kun—even from himself—while he was away. He knew that Hide-kun will do a great job at this. They had known each other forever after all, and because…

Harry finally decided that he had heard enough and came back as the blond made some bouncy hand gesture near his own chest and curled up his lips in amusement.

"How obscene."

"Harry!" Both college students exclaimed in unison as they turned to see him standing behind them.

Hide-kun grinned and made another obscene gesture that made the mother that sat beside them cover her son's eyes and threw him a look. Kaneki-kun gracefully slapped the blond's shoulder, making him yelp, and shot him a look too before he turned to the mother and made an apologetic gesture.

"Done making your call?" Kaneki-kun asked him and Harry nodded with a grin.

"Yup! Hermione will be waiting at Heathrow to pick me up when I arrive." Harry explained, sliding his smartphone inside his cardigan's pocket as he walked around to stand before his friends. As he stood there looking at them, Harry suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

He turned his face away from them to compose himself, but when they noticed that he had gone silent Kaneki-kun rose from his seat and touched his face in concern.

"…Harry-kun?" The black-haired boy asked him softly when he noticed the wetness on his lashes, but Harry just shook his head with a laugh.

"Don't mind me. I'm just thinking that I'm going to miss you guys. Sorry for being a sap." Harry told him wetly, and Kaneki-kun chuckled lightly.

"Come now, don't cry. We'll see each other soon, right?" Kaneki-kun said, glancing at Hide-kun for support, but grew confused when the blond looked almost as emotional as Harry was.

Harry looked down. It might not be right for him for not telling the black-haired boy the truth, but he wanted to protect him somehow. He didn't want to make Kaneki-kun worried. He didn't want to make him sad. If keeping him clueless was making him happy, then…

"Yeah, you're right." Harry smiled, looking up as he said it. He was about to steer the conversation to another topic when suddenly someone grabbed his arm from behind and pulled him backwards, making him tumble harshly with a yelp until his back suddenly hit a broad surface.

Harry twisted his neck to see who the hell it was that had done that to him when he saw—

"Shouji! What the hell?" Harry hissed, pulling himself away from the other blond's chest and turned so they could face each other. Shouji, as expected, hissed back at him as he put his hands on Harry's shoulder.

"He made you cry!" The ghoul said, glaring with his teeth bared at his college juniors who immediately backed away with their arms raised to their chest in fear of their vicious senior who looked like he could maul them with his teeth alone. Well, he actually could, but they didn't know that.

"I cried because I'm emotional over having to leave Japan, stupid!" Harry yelled, suddenly feeling like he wanted to hit his head on a hard surface.

"Oh…" Shouji said dumbly as he loosened his grip on Harry's shoulders, tension leaving his stance as he finally realized that he had misunderstood again. Harry shook his head and took Shouji's hands away from his shoulders with a sigh.

"You're unbelievable." Harry finally said exasperatedly but fondly, squeezing the blond's hands briefly before he let them go. Shouji looked like he wanted to say something, but he closed his mouth again when a familiar voice suddenly rang:

"Unbelievably stupid, right?"

Harry whipped his head to the direction of the voice and—

"Touka-san!" Harry exclaimed, pleasantly surprised by their appearance since he thought he wouldn't be able to see them for the last time before his departure. "You're here too?"

Touka-san put her hands on her hips and gave him the most irritated look Harry had seen her give him ever since they first met all those months ago while they were searching for Ayato-kun.

"We came as soon as Irimi-san told us." The girl said a bit coldly and Harry's joy at seeing the two ghouls wilted into guilt. He quickly glanced at Kaneki-kun and Hide-kun, who looked unsurely at him.

"Sorry, Kaneki-kun, Hide-kun… can I talk to them in private?" He said, flashing them a quick, reassuring smile. While still looking unsure, Kaneki-kun returned his smile.

"Sure. We'll wait here."

With their permission, he led Touka-san and Shouji to a secluded corner where they could talk uninterrupted and immediately the older girl rounded up on him, looking very much like she wanted to smack his head with her hand.

"Clever boy. Not telling us that you're going until the very last minute." Touka-san hissed the moment they had privacy. "Clever, but infuriating. If we're not in a public place right now, I'd have kicked you for not telling us sooner instead of the same night you're going away."

"Ahaha… please don't kick me." Harry laughed nervously, not sure if she was joking or not.

Touka-san just squint at him in annoyance before she sighed, dropping her stance as she looked away to the side, avoiding his questioning gaze while Shouji just stood there behind the girl, looking like he wanted to say something but holding himself back from saying it just as he opened his mouth.

They stayed in that tense and slightly uncomfortable silence for a moment, before Touka-san finally broke it.

"You heard from Irimi-san, right? Hinami-chan's father died. Killed by the Doves last night."

At the reminder, Harry looked down and clenched his hands on his sides.

"…Yeah."

Just when Harry expected the girl to scold him, he felt gentle but strong arms encircled his arms tightly. Startled, he looked up to see that Touka-san had just hugged him. Hesitantly as he was unsure of what to do, Harry raised his arms and hugged the girl back.

"Harry, you're one of us now,you know? You can rely on us. We'd help you if you're in danger or need our help." Touka-san said as she rested her forehead on Harry's chest—one of her hand clutching the clothes he was wearing.

"I know. Believe me, I know. How could I not? All of you are so kind to me." Harry immediately reassured as he pried his friend off him so that he could look at her eyes. Touka-san looked upset and Harry's heart felt a twinge of guilt for causing it, but he had made a decision.

"But this isn't something that any of you can do for me. I have to do this by myself." He said that with conviction, hoping that she will understand. Because no matter how strong she was, this really was something that nobody but him could solve.

She seemed to search his gaze for something, but apparently she was satisfied with what she was seeing because she finally nodded at him.

"As long as you understand." The girl said finally as she pulled away. She punched his chest lightly with a sigh and gave him a fond but exasperated look that she must have picked from him. "Come back safely, you hear me?"

"Wait—what? Touka!" Shouji suddenly cried out before Harry could respond to her. Both of them looked at the blond who immediately pull Touka-san to his side and started whispering at her. "I thought we agreed that we'd take him back with us by force if we had to!"

Wait. What?

"Change of plans, Foxy. Let him go. He have another life other than us. Responsibilities that he had to take care by himself." Touka-san said firmly, shaking her head at the blond. "You should understand this yourself, right?"

Shouji bit his lip. "But—"

"Shouji?"

At the sound of Harry's voice, the blond's head suddenly snapped towards his direction and Harry finally saw his face. Shouji looked distraught, almost heartbroken. It honestly shook Harry's heart—like what made him look like that?

Harry saw him shove Touka-san aside before immediately after Harry felt a tug on his wrist. Before he knew it, his face had planted itself onto Shouji's chest and he felt another strong set of arms encircled his body.

"Don't leave us." Shouji mumbled into his hair as he tightened his arms around him. It was followed by a small whisper that said, "Please," like he didn't really want Harry to hear with how faint it was.

But Harry heard it.

"Shouji…" Harry breathed out with a laugh, trying to lighten the situation. "I can't. I have to. But I'll come back after summer ends, you know? I won't leave forever."

The blond fell silent for a second before he muttered again.

"I'll come with you then."

And Harry was once again puzzled by the enigma that was Tohno Shouji.

Brash and loud (but actually caring), claimed that he hated humans (even though Harry could feel that it wasn't really humans that he hated), really protective of the people he cared for (but picked fight with them constantly too), really childish (but also dependable), and now he apparently had separation anxiety too (even though he claimed that he didn't really like people).

What am I going to do with you? Harry thought with a fond sigh.

"You can't. Who will read to Hinami-chan then? Who will keep everyone's spirits up in Anteiku?" Harry sighed, pushing lightly at the blond's chest so that he let him go. Really, it wasn't comfortable having a conversation when you couldn't see your partner's face.

"I'm sorry for not letting you guys know earlier, but I thought it was the best move since I have a feeling you're going to be like this," Harry said when he could finally see Shouji's face again, which looked like a kicked puppy, he thought with a bit of amusement.

"You're needed here, too. Especially in times like this. So stay and wait for me, okay? When I come back, you could be as selfish as you want. That's why, until I come back, I have a request for you." Harry said finally, hoping that this will appease the older man.

"…A request?"

"Yeah. I want you to look after Kaneki-kun and Hide-kun. Can you look after my friends for me?" Harry elaborated. "Like, intimidate them not to come to Anteiku for a while, maybe. Just… watch over them. I don't want anything bad to happen to them while I'm not there."

He watched as Shouji contemplated before he nodded sullenly.

"…For you," the blond said finally. "I'll do it for you, Harry. As long as you come back to us."

Seeing the glint in Shouji's eyes as he said that, suddenly Harry felt his heart beat a little bit faster and he became aware of how close their proximity was. With a slight flush, Harry put his hands on Shouji's chest to keep them from getting too close.

Harry might not be in love with the guy, but he had eyes alright. Shouji wasn't exactly what you could call ugly after all.

"Thank you." Harry said, looking down so that the blond couldn't see the redness of his cheeks. "Can you let go of me already? I think I heard them call my plane for boarding."

It was true, but his group haven't been called yet so he had a little time left to get ready.

When Shouji finally let him go, Harry went back to his human friends to get his things, pretending not to see Touka-san whispering consolations to Shouji. It was their moment—something that he shouldn't intrude.

"They're really attached to you, huh." Hide-kun commented as he helped Harry with his suitcase and carry-on. Harry smiled bashfully but contently as he nodded.

"Yeah." Harry said. "They're good friends."

"Good for you, kid." Hide-kun said, grinning at him and ruffling his hair until Harry swatted his hands with a hiss while Kaneki-kun looked on with a soft chuckle. When his group was finally called, Harry looked each of his friends' eyes with a smile on his lips.

"Kaneki-kun. Hide-kun. Touka-san. Shouji," Harry said before he bowed deeply towards them to convey his feelings of gratitude for everything they've done for him. When he pulled himself upright again, he saw that their eyes were red and watery. How stupid of them, even when he said that he would come back soon. Still…

Harry grinned widely and saluted at them.

"Thank you for seeing me off. All of you, please take care. Let's meet again in two months, alright?"

And, without looking back even once, he left.

Next chapter: Moonlight

If it still isn't clear yet—it's not Kaneki/Harry lol.

I actually giggled out loud when some of you said that it was cute that Harry had a crush on Kaneki or how we need more Harry and Kaneki pairing and that you can't wait until they get together. I'm really sorry I'm a horrible person, but you all know how this ended up. Kaneki is straight and he fell for the wrong woman (ghoul) and got turned into one.

Besides, I did write in the story summary that Kaneki is Harry's important friend and warned you in chapter 4 that there would be about five pairings with unrequited love in this story. Harry/Kaneki is first, Hide/Kaneki is second (which is actually my OTP), so three more to go! Two of them are canon actually. And contained only 2 person, but it goes both way so I'm counting it as two pairings.

(Spoiler)

(It's Touka/Kaneki and Kaneki/Touka)

(Yes they like each other but since they're both too stupid to admit it to each other, it's unrequited ok don't argue with my logic)

So only one more pairing to go! I think this one is really obvious from the start, so I won't bother writing it here. As I told you before, Promakhos actually got all of them right except one lol. Touka/Shouji will never happened because they're both big tsundere who are too similar to each other.

Thank you all for reading! You can bash me as much as you want if the not-pairing disappoint you that much lol.

Anyway, here's translation for the Japanese part.

-Shopkeeper: Welcome to Floria! Is there anything I could help you with?

-Shopkeeper: Eh, this is bad! Sayaka-chan, it's a foreigner customer!

-Shopkeeper: Eeh, what shuld I do? Even though I don't speak English that well...

-Harry: In Japanese is fine. (or, I can speak Japanese, so it's alright.)

Hm? Why did I make that part in Japanese when almost all dialogues since chapter 1 is supposed to be Japanese and was written in English? Don't ask me lol, it just make sense at the time for me to write that part in Japanese, even though now that I think about it, they're really not.