It was late afternoon when they finally arrived in Forks. Once the car pulled into the parking lot of the empty building, Hinami wasted no time to jump out of the car.

"Hinami!" Touka yelled out the window. "At least wait until we're fully stopped!"

Kaneki and Yomo chuckled quietly as they got out of the care. Stretching his arms above his head, Kaneki stared up at their new home. It was two stories, as Touka had said. A mix of cream and light blue colors on the outside. Not that far down the road, Kaneki could see the local high school in the distance. He figured the majority of their customers would end up being teenagers of highschool. It was mid-summer vacation and there were some people walking around in the small town, though most would be using the opportunity of summer to get out of town.

Two kids, around middle school age, stopped and stared at him as they had been walking pasted. Kaneki gave them a small, cautious wave before following the others. Touka unlocked the front door to the building and they stepped inside.

"Nice," Touka said as she looked around the main room. The layout was pretty open with brown hardwood floors and a slightly darker blue for the walls than what was on the outside, and it didn't look like they would have to do much in the sense of renovation the building. Touka fell into a full rant of plans for furniture, supplies, and decorations.

Hinami grabbed Kaneki's wrist, ignoring the way he twitched under her grip, and pulled him towards the stairs that were behind the front counter. On the upper floor was a living area connected to a small kitchen and three other doors along a short hallway.

"Looks like Touka and I will be sharing," Hinami commented as she opened the doors one by one, revealing two bedrooms and a bathroom.

"Perfect," Kaneki grumbled dryly under his breath. The thought of sharing a room with anyone made him antsy. The living quarters were similar to the apartments they had lived in before, but Kaneki had always made sure that he'd have a room to himself. But since TOuka was the one who set this place up and she refused to tell him about it, Kaneki didn't have a say like he normally would.

It wasn't because he had a problem with sharing or anything. He didn't want to worry anyone with his nightmares or occasional..." episodes". Not long after the events with Jason and Aogiri Tree, Kaneki began regretting a lot of things. One of those things was devouring Jason. If only someone had warned him of the outcome.

He did indeed grow stronger as he had wanted, but at what cost? His mental state took the biggest nosedive yet. Rize had always been in his head, however, she would usually only make herself known whenever his hunger started to really hit him. He would usually be able to keep her in the back of his mind and ignore it. But now the ghost of Rize had become a frequent visitor in his mind, demanding him to acknowledge her presence, demanding he does the most despicable things imaginable. Then, Jason joined. Both taunted him, a constant haunting whether he was asleep.

The nightmares weren't as bad as they used to be, certainly not as bad as his "episodes" could get. At least the nightmares would stick to when he was asleep. Insomnia lets him avoid those most of the time. When awake, Rize and Jason would be faded into the back of his head, quiet and easily ignored. But they would make themselves know sometimes during the waking hours. They would start out small but get progressively worse as the "episode" went on. Luckily, Kaneki had gotten the hang of catching when the episodes would start. He could get on his own.

Yomo's voice traveled up the stairs, telling them the moving truck had arrived with their boxes and furniture for the home. Kaneki helped Touka carry a bed frame up the stairs, Touka talking all the while.

"Everything should be ready by the end of the summer. I've already ordered some furniture for the cafe; tables and chairs mainly. I'll be getting a lot of the supplies last so they'll be fresh when we officially open shop..."

They carried the bed frame into what would be Hinami and Touka's room and set it leaning against the wall by the window.

"How did you manage to put this plan together in little over a month?" Kaneki asked amused.

Touka smiled brightly with a slight chuckle. A look that had guilt rack through his body over the fact that she hadn't been able to do this sooner because of him. "You don't need to worry about that. What you need to worry about is what you plan on doing with your life here. Are you going to work here at the cafe and stuff?"

"Pretty sure that's my only option here," he said rubbing the back of his neck.

"That's not true. You aren't limited to just Forks either. There's Port Angeles or Seattle. I'm sure you can find something to occupy your time with."

"Would any jobs even take me without a college degree?" Kaneki mumbled. That had been another thing he had missed out on. He had given up his college life after Jason, and he hadn't bothered attending college again seeing as they were moving around so much.

Touka thought for a moment. "Not sure. I would think it would depend on the kind of job you're applying for." She looked up at him. "Maybe you can attend college again. We could get your high school transcripts from Japan transferred here; not sure about your college credits though. Might be too risky."

"That's if we end up staying here that long," Kaneki stated, before cringing as Touka narrowed his eyes at him.

"I plan on staying here for a long time, actually. We're tired of jumping from place to place, Kaneki. Nothing is going to happen. Stop being so damn paranoid."

Kaneki shrank back a little. "If you say so."

Touka sighed, her face softening. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be harsh, but you gotta understand, Kaneki."

"Believe me, I do. I hate it too. I-I'm just not used to sitting in one place for long. It makes me anxious, I guess."

The started back down the stairs when Kaneki spoke again. "Maybe I can do something involving the high school since Hinami will be attending."

Touka grimaced but chose not to comment. Hinami would not like that. She was eighteen and Touka doubted she would want Kaneki hanging around her 24/7. It wasn't like she was a child anymore. But that conversation would be between Kaneki and Hinami, she wasn't going to involve herself unless needed.

She cut her eyes over at the white-haired male beside here, focusing on the bags under his eye and the exhaustion she could see in them. Determination settled in her stomach, turning away before Kaneki could catch her staring. She planned on talking with Yomo; they need to do something. Perhaps starting with some sleeping medication that they could slip to Kaneki when he wasn't looking. She understood that the nightmares could be a lot, but it would be for his own good. He needed the sleep, and hopefully, if the sleep is medication-induced, it would be dreamless.

---

As the four ghouls continued to bring in their belongings and get somewhat settled into their new home, the vampires of the Cullen house had to practically restrain Emmett and Rosalie, from going into town to see about the newcomers after Alice had informed them of their arrival. Carlisle, the only one who seemed to have a clear head and the ability to contain his curiosity, kept his family calm.

They would meet them soon enough but now wasn't the time.

---

It was an entire week before Emmett came across any hint of his supposed "true mate". He was leaving Forks Hospital after a visit with Carlisle. Saying he had been anxious for the longest time would be an understatement. Ever since Alice's vision, he found himself restless (or whatever you'd call it for someone who couldn't sleep), and he couldn't just sit around the house all day.

He'd go hunting almost every day, not wanting to defy his father's orders, and he would frequent his father's office when he wasn't hunting. There had been a lot of talks going on, mainly with Rosalie. He still was shocked, and slightly hurt, by his wife's calmness about the whole situation. They had been married since 1936; almost seventy years of marriage.

"I love you, Emmett," she had told him once they had gotten some time on their own. "You know I do. This is why, if this man happens to be your real mate, your destined, I can't stand in between that. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I held you back from the possibility of true happiness. But like I said, we shouldn't make any hasty decisions before we all know for sure..."

His wife wasn't as shallow and egotistical as others made her out to be, that was for sure. Emmett, however, didn't know what to feel. He was upset over Rosalie, and the thought of their marriage possibly ending. He wanted to know who this man was, what he looked like, his personality, his scent...everything.

Emmett grimaced at these thoughts, shaking his head. It could not be normal for him to be having these kinds of thoughts on his mind. Especially about someone that he had never met, let alone seen before. Yet, despite that, he couldn't help be for...hopeful, in a way.

He was not given know details about his-no, this mystery man, at least appearance-wise, when he had asked Alice about the vision. But she wasn't budging, and Edward was just as tight-lipped about it. She had said something about wanting it to be a surprise. It was a wise move for Edward to keep quiet, but it irritated Emmett nonetheless.

And he hadn't heard much gossip about the new family either, which was surprising for the small town in Washington. Then again, it was the middle of summer vacation. Most people took the chance to get out of town while they could. Plus, the Cullen family tended to avoid the town gossips, which was practically everyone in town. They had been the primary topic of conversation when they had first arrived in Forks.

Emmett was walking through the hospital parking lot towards his jeep when a scent hit his nose causing him to pause abruptly and whip his head around to the direction the smell was coming from. Across the road, a girl, in her late teens or older, was walking down the sidewalk carrying several plastic bags on both arms. Groceries, Emmett assumed. She had black, bobbed hair that reached her chin and covered one eye; slender, maybe the same height as Alice but not a skinny.

The girl's own scent wasn't what had caught Emmett's attention, however. Rather the extremely faint smell. It was so weak that even Emmett's heightened nose couldn't pick up exactly what it was, but his instincts were telling him that this was the scent of his mate. The girl must be one of the three other companions that had come to Forks with him as Alice had said. Emmett had never seen the girl around, plus it also explained why she had his scent on her.

Now, Emmett wasn't one for stalking someone, no sane person would be. And he certainly didn't recommend doing so. And he definitely didn't approve of following someone just on the assumption that the person may know someone that you're incredibly eager the meet. So Emmett in no way could be able to justify or explain what he was currently doing if the black-haired girl happened to notice him at any point.

But the girl gave no indication of knowing she was being followed, which kind of confused Emmett. Even humans were at least somewhat aware of their surroundings. And it wasn't as if Emmett wasn't in plain sight, walking many steps behind her down the sidewalk.

He didn't have to follow her very far. She walked into a two-story building that was right next to Newton's family Olympic Outfitters shop. The place had been abandoned and up for sale since he and his family had arrived in Forks.

From what he could see through the large windows of the first story, the newcomers were in the process of preparing for renovations. Ladders and paint cans scattered the big open area covered in plastic to protect the floors. Were they opening a shop? Emmett looked around for anyone that might be watching then backed into the treeline behind him. He could see the girl moving around the first floor and he heard footsteps coming down from the upper floor.

"Oh, Touka," came a deep male voice as a tall man came into view from the back, behind the counter. He was well-built with silver hair that almost reached his shoulders. "I thought it was Kaneki down here. Have you seen him?"

The girl, Touka, was in the process of unpacking some of the bags onto the counter. She shook her head. The man hummed, taking a seat in one of the stools at the counter. Touka pushed 3 bags off to the side, telling the man that those needed to go upstairs whenever he went back up.

"I'm sure he's fine, Renji. He's probably just wandering around and stuff. You know he can't sit and stay in one place for long," Touka said.

Kaneki, Emmett thought. Was the person they were talking about his mate? It wasn't this Renji guy-strange names; must be foreign-, though he was getting the same scent that he had picked up from the Touka girl. Emmett moved silently closer to the building, making sure to stay concealed in the trees.

He could smell clearly now, and the man was definitely not his mate.

"Is Hinami with him then?"

"Probably. Kaneki barely lets her leave his sight if he can help it." Touka smiled slightly with a shake of her head. "I wonder if she'll try and get us to make him stop hovering or if she'll handle it herself."

Renji chuckled. "He's just protective."

"I think the words you mean is 'overprotective' and 'paranoid'."

Well, with everything that he's been through, it's just instinctive to him," said Renji. He sighed. "But I'll talk to him about it. It will probably hurt him more if we just wait for Hinami to finally snap at him."

Touka laughed at that. "True, but it would certainly be a sight to see."

So his mate was the protective type. He deduced that this Kaneki was is possible mate, as the only one left of family was this girl named Hinami. Emmett wondered how that would work out with him, as he himself had his own protective tendencies. Though they may not be as extreme as it sounded like this Kaneki's are. What had happened to make him that way? The way they spoke about him made Emmett think that Kaneki wasn't originally like that, at least not to that extent.

"What are you doing?"

Emmett was so focused on his own thoughts and the conversation inside that he didn't even hear Jasper show up. He had nearly jumped out of his skin at Jasper's sudden voice at his side. He turned to look at him and glared as his brother gave a sheepish grin.

"Don't do that!"

"Sorry," Jasper said. He turned to look in the building. "It's only been a week and you've already become a stalker."

"I'm not stalking," Emmett grumbled defensively, crossing his large arms over his chest. "I saw the girl in town," he nodded his head in the girl's direction, "and she smelt like my mate, so I just-"

"Followed her home," Jasper finished. "Pretty sure that's what most people would call stalking."

"Shut up," the burly man pouted. The two inside were talking about ideas for renovations it seemed. They were opening a coffee shop on the lower level. A good idea, in Emmett's opinion. It had never crossed his mind that this small town didn't have a coffee shop or a cafe of sorts.

Jasper slapped his hand against his brother's shoulder to bring his attention the girl walking up to the building from the sidewalk. In her late teens, the girl had bobbed brown hair with a headband with two four-leafed clovers on it. This must be the Hinami girl they were speaking of. If that's the case, where was the Kaneki guy?

"Hinami," Touka said as the girl crossed the front door frame. "Where's Kaneki? We thought he was with you."

Hinami came around the counter to Touka's side. "He was. We got me registered for the coming school year and stuff. He wandered off afterward."

"That doesn't seem like him."

"I doubt he would have if the school wasn't close by," Hinami said, rolling her eyes. The other two chuckled.

"He was acting weird during the end, like more than usual. Antsy."

Touka paused, then sighed. "We'll talk to him about it later."

Emmett cursed under his breath. He'd missed his chance. Maybe I could head to the school and pick up the man's scent from there...

Jasper nudged his side and shook his head. "I know what you're thinking; don't do it. You'll meet him when the time's right."

He opened his mouth to argue, then shut it with a sigh. He nodded. "Was there a reason you came out to find me?"

"Carlisle wants to go hunting tonight."

"I've practically hunted every day. I don't think I need it."

"You sure? He's getting off work early today."

Emmett moved his gaze back to the building. The three had disappeared up the stairs while they'd been talking. Hunting might be a good idea; keep his mind off things. More importantly, it would keep him from trying to track down his mate right there and then.

"Alright," he said, and Jasper smiled before disappearing into the woods, presumably back home. Emmett ran his hand over his face, glanced at the work in progress coffee shop, and heading back to the hospital to get his jeep.