Having spent close to three weeks in this world since his awakening, Kaneki had some matters he wished to address.
Money.
His financial situation was anything but acceptable to him. His predecessor was a humble pauper, recalling memories of 'that' Kaneki's laid back nature to the world stirred him to no end. The guy was a mouse, in literal sense.
He had few and old and second hand clothes to his name, his apartment was basic, his living was cheap. The only expenses that didn't seem to bother him was books. He had so many novels and pieces of literature arts piled all over the place in his apartment. In all truthfulness, Kaneki respected such an aspect, after all, everyone had a right to their hobbies— and his predecessor's was rather beneficial.
However, all this just leads to him having inherited books, lots of it! Nothing more, nothing less. He had a part-time job working in a library, but that would only earn him peanuts, and that just won't do. Kaneki had plans set out that required a lot of bank. And it would take centuries to merely fund the foundation of his dreams while working in a library.
Which brings him to his current train of thought.
Kaneki glances at Hide, who was sipping at a rather colourful drink while perusing the menu for desserts. He had to admit, the blond had mastered camouflage. On the outside, he appeared to be an aloof and outgoing young man, but he silently was a plethora of connections, and maybe Hide didn't realize such a hidden strength, or maybe he did.
The earlier interactions he had witnessed solidified Kaneki's resolve. He despised stagnation the most and really needed an upgrade, heck, his apartment was falling apart and there was no way he would allow himself to lay in the streets with rodents. Undeniably, there were many other methods to getting a quick buck. Robbing a bank would be a walk in the park for him really, but otherwise, a tedious task. Converting the haul to liquid assets and cleansing it under the government's noses would be a long process.
Then there was trafficking — drugs, humans, artefacts, weapons, exotic creatures...you name it, the field was vast in such a job. Partaking in illegal experiments, joining assassination firms, the Yakuza, being an explorer—
Again, the job opportunities were never ending, and the pay would be in fortunes no less. But then again, he wasn't so keen on stooping to such lows, not yet at least.
"Hide," the blond raised his gaze from the menu, "I require a job, my pockets are drying up, and you seem to know the right people," Kaneki allowed his gaze to trail towards the front desk and Hide followed. At the reception, Koneko, was now actively hosting incoming guests –big shots that had their pride inflated by her praises – and the blond nodded in understanding.
"I guess you're finally crawling out of your shell, huh." Hide smiled at his friend's request, he had been waiting for this for a long time, finally, he will be lending a hand without imposing.
"I do have a couple of places in mind," he drummed his fingers against the table in thought, "Depends on what you're looking for, any specifics in mind?"
Kaneki shook his head.
Hide nodded and stroked his chin, "Well, in that case, we might stay over for the whole of the evening, I bet you'd want something with a decent pay. Good thing we have an infinite supply of free food today, we can just skip class too."
He then reached out into his bag and retrieved a notebook and cleared the table before him. Half an hour trickled by like sand through a sieve as Hide listed workplaces for his friend, the latter listened attentively.
Truly, Hide was a gem, he was a student tackling Humanities and Core Business in Kamii, his potential shone with how easily he explained the market and structure of the jobs he was presenting. Unlike his characteristic loudness and merry attitude, Hide now wore a serious expression, his olive eyes had a focus to them that would make lawyers shy away.
His voice was leveled and his presence was slightly oppressive, he outright appeared to be a different person at the moment.
Four hours later, Hide was showing no signs of winding up anytime soon. It was 2100 into the night and they had been served dessert more than once. Kaneki stuck to raw fish cuisines with strips of pork and beef that he dipped into lots of soy sauce and spices. He listened and asked questions in return, to which Hide paused to eat before answering, the blond had experience in working in a few of the jobs he was introducing Kaneki to.
They had discussed through carrier jobs, manufacturing and packaging in factories, the food industry, government agencies, banks and other monopoly corporates, amongst many others.
However, he had pointed out that Kaneki ought to utilize his dashing looks, and they delved into hosting jobs, hospitality, and to an extent, the casinos. Kaneki nodded along and asked about the international tours; cruise jobs—
Hide had then told him that there indeed were cruises, but they headed to the islands near Japan, and never ventured to the outside world, confirming Kaneki's suspicions. It was odd that in such a modern era, that international relations had yet to be formed. He had discovered over the internet that any and all approaches made into exploring the world outside their nation was utterly impossible.
Drones relayed static feedback, adventurers sent out to sea went missing. Ambassadors on air went offline after a certain distance away from the nation. This resulted in a cloud of mild panic to settle on the residents of Japan. Were they really the only inhabitants of this world? How many sentient races existed apart from Humans and Ghouls? What would happen if the outside world invaded them?
Over the years, those in authority had invested heavily on the nation's defense systems. To the naked eye, the borders of the country had visibly been buffed up over the decades and to appease the citizens' concern, the CCG had been delegated the credit, in that they were extreme measures necessary to counter ghouls. Well, this did reduce ghoul activity across the wards by a small percentage.
Back on track, Hide was recounting his experience while working for a Casino to Kaneki, when suddenly, there was a blinding flash that struck them. Hide was momentary stunned, his eyes remained unblinking for some time before his brain unfroze.
Another flash prompted Kaneki to direct his gaze to the source. Lo and Behold!
Paparazzi!
No sooner had the duo looked towards the source, than the flashes increased in intensity. What came to view was a lady seemingly in her mid-twenties, with dark hair tied into a ponytail and in stylish attire. What was more noteworthy on her person, was the sleek device within her grasp. The camera was deftly operated, the lenses zooming in and out in quick succession, the operator of the device was a blur of movement, rushing about and twisting acrobatically to snap angles of Hide and Kaneki.
"Oh. My. God! This is such a steal!"
She exclaimed as her finger tirelessly kept snapping shots.
"What a rare find~" she moaned in ecstasy as she closed in to get up close shots.
Hide glanced at Kaneki and the latter shrugged. 'Might as well pose for the camera', is what his expression seemed to say.
"You guys are so perfect, this is the most natural equilibrium I've ever laid my eyes on," the lady paused to speak, her camera not leaving her face, seemingly marvelling at them through the lens.
"You! Blondie, you are oozing so much positivity it makes me not contemplate suicide anymore, and you!" She points at Kaneki, ignoring Hide's panda expression.
"What the hell are you made of? Are you even Japanese? And what is with this stoic indifference, you a cyborg? Maybe a god, you do have the appearance to fit the requirements," she focused her lens and it rolled forward smoothly, "What I'd give to break your serious layer, say cheese~"
Kaneki averted his gaze and sipped his drink. The camera freak chuckled wryly at her failed attempt of getting him to express more than nonchalance. Then, as if a bulb finally flickered on in her head, she quickly reached into her dress pocket and fished out a sleek card, presenting it to the duo, she made her late introductions.
"I am Kamazaki Mei, owner of the Phoenix Fashionette, and I just couldn't help but be awed by you two," Hide took her card and she snapped another shot of them, "I mean, you guys have a compatible synergy that is irresistible to the lens. Guess I gotta thank my lucky stars for tagging along to this expensive restaurant."
Kamazaki finally put down her camera and Hide sucked in a breath unconsciously, she was undoubtedly, amongst the most beautiful women he had laid his eyes on, and that was saying something, as the blond had worked in places with abundance of beauty, the University ladies never stood a chance.
"Well, gentlemen, if you're in no hurry to leave, I'd like to interest you in a proposal."
Kaneki nodded and strangely, Kamazaki took that as permission granted for her to proceed. Subconsciously gulping, she threw caution to the wind and leaned forward ever so slightly in a bow.
"Could you two join my firm and work with me?"