Tokyo Ghoul: HELL YEAH! MADARA TEMPLATE!!

Ryoma Kanzaki let out a slow breath, rubbing his earlobe with a napkin to wipe away the lingering sensation of Rize Kamishiro's bite.

"As I said earlier, just two weeks," he repeated firmly. "Not a single human. If you break the deal, everything's off."

Rize pouted slightly, but her amused smirk never faded.

"You're really strict, you know that?" she sighed.

But deep down, she understood why he was so adamant.

Unlike most ghouls, she didn't need to hunt so frequently to survive—she just enjoyed it.

In Ward 20, under the guidance of Yoshimura, the ghouls of Anteiku lived differently. They sustained themselves using the bodies of the dead—suicides, accident victims, the ones nobody would come looking for.

Japan, after all, had one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

Many chose isolated places to end their lives, not wanting to trouble anyone. Their bodies often went undiscovered for days, even weeks.

The ghouls of Ward 20 quietly collected these bodies, storing them for survival. It was how they avoided CCG's scrutiny, how they maintained the illusion of peace.

But Rize?

She didn't care about peace. She loved the thrill of the hunt.

Her repeated killings had started drawing CCG's attention, making the ward more dangerous.

In some ways, it had been her who started to tear down the fragile truce this place had maintained.

But for now, she would play along.

For now.

[Ding! The host has completed Option 3 and received a reward: 50 fusion points!]

The system notification rang in Ryoma's head. He barely reacted, already used to these constant rewards.

Instead, his attention shifted toward a certain bespectacled boy sitting nearby.

Kaneki Ken.

And judging by the burning look in his eyes, he had just witnessed everything.

---

Kaneki sat frozen in place.

His mind was a swirling mess of emotions—shock, disbelief, jealousy... and a strange emptiness.

"Kaneki, your face is red. What's up?"

The voice of Hideyoshi Nagachika snapped him out of his trance.

The blond-haired young man sat across from him, orange headphones resting around his neck, watching Kaneki with growing amusement.

"N-Nothing," Kaneki stammered, quickly looking away.

Hide raised an eyebrow.

"...Really?"

He wasn't buying it.

After a moment, Hide leaned back and smirked.

"By the way, Kaneki, where's that 'cute girl from the coffee shop' you kept talking about?"

Kaneki's heart nearly stopped.

Oh no.

"Wait—!" he whispered urgently. "Keep your voice down!"

But Hide was already glancing around, scanning the café.

"Hmm... Could it be her?" he muttered, subtly nodding toward Touka Kirishima, who was working at the front counter.

"Or... is it her?"

This time, he motioned toward Rize Kamishiro, who was still sitting dangerously close to Kanzaki Ryoma.

Kaneki visibly flinched.

"...Oh," Hide murmured in understanding.

Bingo.

Kaneki's reaction was answer enough.

Which meant—

"Wait," Hide whispered, eyes widening. "That guy sitting next to her... Isn't he the one you told me about? Your 'book friend'?!"

Kaneki's face burned even redder.

"Wait, wait, wait," Hide grinned. "So you're telling me—"

He lowered his voice dramatically.

"—that the girl you had a crush on is dating your friend?"

Kaneki groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Kill me," he muttered.

Hide, of course, wasn't done messing with him.

Without warning, he raised his hand and called out to the counter.

"Excuse me! Waitress! Can we get some service here?"

Touka Kirishima turned toward them, walking over with her usual bored, mildly annoyed expression.

"What do you want?" she asked.

Hide gave her his most charming grin.

"I'd like a cappuccino. Oh, and one for this guy too." He gestured at Kaneki.

Then, without missing a beat—

"And also... what's your name?"

Kaneki's soul nearly left his body.

Touka blinked, caught off guard. "...Touka Kirishima."

"Got it," Hide grinned. "Thanks, Touka-chan."

Kaneki kicked him under the table.

"Gh!" Hide grunted, barely holding in a laugh.

Touka, clearly not amused, gave them both a weird look before walking away.

Kaneki turned to Hide, seething.

"What the hell was that?! Why did you—"

"Relax, relax," Hide waved a hand. "It's not her, right? Which means..."

He grinned knowingly.

"It's Rize."

Kaneki froze.

"...Yes," he muttered, defeated.

Hide fell silent.

For once, he actually looked... concerned.

"Kaneki," he said seriously.

"You should give up."

Hide put his hands on Kaneki's shoulders, staring him straight in the eye.

"You saw them just now, right? That girl is way out of reach. And more importantly—"

His tone darkened.

"—she has a boyfriend. And it looks serious."

Kaneki flinched.

Because it was true.

The way she leaned in toward Kanzaki Ryoma. The way she bit his ear so playfully. The way Ryoma allowed it, even if he seemed annoyed.

It looked... real.

Painfully real.

Kaneki clenched his fists.

"I know," he said quietly. "I've already accepted it."

Hide sighed. "Good. Because man, unrequited love is—"

Before he could finish, he glanced at his watch.

"Shit, I gotta go to work."

With a casual wave, Hide got up.

"See ya, Kaneki."

Kaneki exhaled and leaned back in his chair, trying to calm himself down.

Maybe Hide was right.

Maybe it was better to let go.

---

Meanwhile, at the other table—

Rize had, of course, noticed everything.

She smirked, resting her chin on her hand as she whispered to Ryoma.

"You know," she purred, "if you hadn't stopped me, he would've been my next target."

Her violet eyes flickered toward Kaneki Ken.

"He looks soft. Probably delicious."

Ryoma sighed.

"I knew it."

Rize grinned, licking her lips.

"Of course, no one would be as delicious as you, Kanzaki-kun."

Ryoma's eye twitched.

This woman was going to be a problem.

====

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