#he knew you were like this and gave you to Nishiki? am i hearing that right? is that correct?

[smol-tired-binch-blog]

Yknow, the fact that Matsushige looks like a knock-off Sohei Dojima probably really didn’t help matters did it

[kulemii]

for the yakuza asks: b2, c15, d1, d2 ?

B.) Let’s Get Personal:

2. What’s a scene that never fails to make you cry?

The epilogue of y0. When Majima and Makoto finally get a chance to see other for the first time and your sat there wondering if she recognizes him or not, I'm fine. It hurts but I can soldier on through that. The part that reminds me of the little bitch that I am though? When she goes to the empty lot and finds the watch!!!! that she!!!! hee!!!1 got repaired! for her!!!!!! and not only can she hear it but she can see it again too!!!! Omg, I'm tearing up right now wtf. Same goes for the end of the Majima Saga in k2! The massage? It was fiiiine. The plane though?! AND THAT FUCKING WATCH?!?! BRB! Gotta go cry it out. I've never been so emotionally fucked by a watch in my life. Ahhhh, to have a Majima Goro of my own 🥺😭

C.) Let’s Get Subjective:

15. Who has the most tragic story?

Nishiki was doomed the moment he was left at Sunflower. He grew up in an orphanage which in of itself is enough to make any child question their self-worth. But to make matters worse, the kid that he saw as so much of his equal he would vow to call his brother was always put before him. Preferred over him. As kids, by Kazama. As men, by Yumi. As yakuza, by family. It got to the point where he believed that Kiryu's success meant his failure. He did what he could to set himself apart and prove that he was worth a second glance only to disappear in Kiryu's shadow. He stepped up for Kiryu. He's saved Kiryu and the only person to recognize that was Kiryu but hell, at that point that wasn't enough! He knew that Kiryu saw him! That's why they were brothers! Even when Kiryu was branded a freaking 'patriarch killer', people still preferred Kiryu. He knew that if the world knew that he had been the one to off Dojima, he'd have never gotten a whiff of the pedestal that put Kiryu on yet he remained loyal... For a while. I think the one thing he felt he had that could prove to be a result of his work -no one else's- was saving his sister. But after Yuko died, a very important part of Nishikiyama died along with her: His hope. Once he abandoned his hope, he knew that he could no longer walk alongside Kiryu. He realized that there was never any chance for the two to be seen as true equals. Then, in his final hours, even after 10 long years, he had what'd been painfully clear to him majority of his life confirmed BACK TO BACK; The world preferred Kiryu. So, he gave the world exactly what it wanted by giving his life in place of Kiryu's. HOW FUCKING TRAGIC IS THAT?! EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO AND CRY AND SCREAM INTO THE VOID!

D.) Let’s Get Controversial:

1. Who’s the most overrated character?

😬 Mine Yoshitaka. Oops, I said it. I said. Hold your death threats. I just don't get it yall. Yeah, I know-- he's hot. And so is like, half the series roster? I don't get the hoopla. I don't. Then that bitch had the audacity to lay a hand on Haruka. He may as well meet me on top of the Millennium To--w..... er......oh yeah

2. Who is the most underrated character?

Makoto Date. Date-san has kept Kiryu out of so much shit. He's laid his literal career out on the line for Kiryu time and time and time again. And it's not like he gets a lot out of it in the end? The Tokyo police are trash. They just let the yakuza run amuck but then the second he's in cahoots with Kiryu to get some shit under control, that's when they have an issue? Anyway, that's a different rant. Basically, Date is Kiryu's real Day One and no one can change my mind on that.

[bastardbrujah]

There's a thud as his body hits and rolls against the concrete. As Leo tries to get back up, he can feel sharp pain running through his right leg. He prevents himself from looking back at it, it's probably bent the wrong way, but that wasn't important. What's important now is the man he's fighting, and how much it pisses him off that he's barely roughed up.

"Aw, c'mon darling," he can hear the man taunt as Leo struggles to stand. "I thought you were gonna 'make me pay'! How're you gonna do anything like that with minimal fighting skills?"

Leo grits his teeth as he keeps an iron grip on the knife in his hand. There's no way he was losing. Not ever. He was determined to rip his head off with sheer force after everything he put him through. The memories of everything that happened while they were together still feels so fresh, so painful, and every once of hurt he feels only fuels him, despite the fact that his body is breaking.

This man has barely sustained any injuries. The only major injury he has was from Leo's surprise attack in the form of a stab wound to his chest. He stands almost triumphantly as he chides Leo. He wasn't just any man. He was Luke, Leo's sire, and right now the two were at a make or break point.

"Y'know I've had fun with our little fight, but aren't you tired yet?" Luke asks with a smirk, and every single word stings. "I really would like to pack things up so we can be on our way out of this shithole."

His voice feels like venom. Every single word infuriates Leo. He's not going anywhere with Luke again. The year of captivity and abuse is the only thing Leo can think about outside of killing him. He's already frenzied only for his sire to continue using his skills with presence to bring Leo out of it. Leo can see Luke's shadow drawing closer, and before Leo can even get up, he's kicked over on his back. He bites his lip to try and avoid letting out any pained sound, but when Luke gets down to straddle his waist with an iron grip around his neck, he can't help but let out an agonized groan. 

He doesn't need to breathe, but the fact that he can't makes Leo claw at Luke's wrist. Luke only chuckles, "I knew you'd do this. You'd rush in on your own so determined to make sure you got to take me all to yourself. You didn't want that side piece to get in the way, now did you, babe?"

Leo can't speak. He continues to try and pry Luke's arm off of him. 

"Yknow, I gotta say, I had you all wrong. Most of my childes ended up Caitiff, but I picked 'em out that way," Luke continues. Leo felt disgusted; it's like he got off on listening to his own evil monologue. "They were far too timid, too docile and weak for my clan traits to stick, and I thought you'd be the same, but no… no, you surprised me. Later on, you ended up fighting me at every turn you got. You just didn't stay down. It became obvious that I had you pegged wrong within weeks. You were perfect for a Brujah."

Leo can't take this. Every word was like a punch to the gut. Leo scrambles to find the knife he dropped as Luke brings his face closer to his as he continues, "I don't know which part was hotter: watching you get fiesty and try to fight back, or putting you in your place afterwards."

Found it. As soon as he found the knife, Leo jabbed it into Luke's side. Luke's grip on Leo's neck loosened, his eyes widened as he realized he was stabbed again. Everything feels still for a moment before Luke's eyes drift to see the knife in his side through his jacket as he almost laments, "You bitch… I really liked this jacket and you just stuck a knife through it…"

There's a chill down Leo's spine. His usual tone was already disgusting and set Leo ablaze with rage. Now his voice was almost hollow, like Luke himself didn't expect this turn of events, but Leo knows what's hidden behind it.

Luke's head turns back to face Leo. The corner of his mouth twists up into a smirk as he pushes back Leo's bangs that stuck to his face from the blood. Luke brings his face a mere inches from Leo, and the next few words lets Leo know exactly what he's in for.

"You're going to wish you hadn't done that."

In a split second, Luke gets up to grab Leo by the hair, only to kick him and send him flying across the empty lot. Leo's not sure if he can even move any further, he knows he's lost a lot of blood, and his vision is blurred. The second he tries to move, however, Luke kicks him over onto his stomach, and Leo screams in pain when he digs his heel into his shoulder.

"Y'know what, I think this was my favorite part," Luke speaks in that condescending tone again, and Leo can feel the disgust in him grow. Luke leans down closer to Leo, putting the weight of his body on his shoulder as he continues, "The part where you would lose… You would quickly just start apologizing so I wouldn't kill you. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll do it, don't hurt me'... how cute. You wanna start doing that again?" He chuckles. "I'm sure you want the pain to stop, don't you?"

Leo felt mortified. If he could bring himself to speak, he'd probably do exactly what Luke asked. He knew he'd made a mistake. He should've never tried to do this on his own, but what other choice did he have? After all he's dragged Majima through, everything that's happened with Nishiki, how could he have him help? Luke was here to collect him, take Leo back and resume whatever torture Luke would frame as a relationship… this was all because of Leo, and in order to fix it, in order to ensure he'd never hurt another person again, he'd kill Luke. 

Except now that seemed impossible. Leo's fingers bled as they dug into the pavement, trying to ball his hand into a fist, trying to get up, do something. Luke grabs Leo's hair to move his head against the ground, scraping his face as Luke speaks, "Well, darling? Are you done acting out for now? Ready to come back with me?"

Not that. Anything but that. Leo can only grit his teeth in frustration as he could barely move his arm. There wasn’t anything he could do to push Luke off or get free, and the gravity of the situation was sinking in. He was going to be taken by his sire, held captive by him, and he couldn’t even fight him anymore.

Next thing Leo heard was the loud clink of metal connecting with something.

Suddenly he no longer feels the weight of Luke’s body on top of him. What happened? Next thing he hears is Luke protesting, “The hell!? Get back!” only before another metallic clink is heard colliding with something. Someone else was definitely here, and they had a fight to pick with Luke. Confused, Leo struggles to flip his body over to look in the direction of the noise, but with his glasses missing since the beginning of the fight, all he can see is a blur. The noises gave away parts, Luke was obviously trying to use presence against his attacker, and his attacker just kept bludgeoning him unfazed. Leo squinted his eyes to try and make out something, anything, but all he could see was two bodies dressed in dark colors. Could that be…?

“Fuck-- stop it!” Luke tries to command, but it’s cut short by a baseball bat to his head. The clink of the bat connecting with his head is repeated over and over, like his assailant is determined to kill him by turning his head to mush. Which each hit, Luke lets out a series of pained groans and screams. All of a sudden, Leo sees the man discard the baseball bat, only to pull out a blade and jam it into Luke’s chest. Luke screams in agony, and Leo could’ve sworn he heard a cracking noise. Did he push the knife in so deep it hit the pavement?

Suddenly the attacker shifts his focus to Leo. He quickly walks over, and as soon as Leo sees the familiar leather pants and snakeskin shoes, his anxiety shifts. Leather gloved hands grab Leo to prop him up sitting, and then they move to hold his head so he can observe his injured and bloodied face. 

“Majima…”

“Why did you run off on your own to fight him like that? Huh!?” Majima’s sudden question throws Leo off guard. It’d make sense he’s upset. The two of them planned to do this together, Majima’s expertise in fighting and resilience against presence was key, but…

Leo can’t bring himself to look Majima in the eye. What was he supposed to say? He felt like he was running out of chances. Majima’s done so much for Leo, and this was another instance in which Leo’s burdens were placed on him. The past few months has strained Majima to where his lovable wild side was barely showing anymore, and Leo knew the origins of that stress resided with him.

“What else… am I supposed to do…” Leo tries to speak, but his throat feels like it’s on fire. “I’ve done enough to you… I’ve left you with enough… the least I can do is clean up my own mistakes…”

“Are you crazy!?” Majima shouts as he shakes Leo’s shoulders, only to stumble over his apology as he sees Leo wince in pain. “You… why do you think that?”

“Because you’ve changed!” Leo responds as tears of blood start to fall down his face. Majima looks alarmed at his sudden outburst, but Leo continues, “You’ve… you can be serious, but that’s all you ever are now. I’ve put a lot on you… and my sire is my own responsibility…”

Majima stares at Leo almost in disbelief before shaking his head and biting his lip. “Leo… I’m not going to deny that I’ve been wound up because of what’s happened to you, but I’m this way because I’m so worried about you, mad beyond all hell because sometimes it feels like no matter what I do, what anyone does, you get hurt! I’m angry because I didn’t put my foot down years ago against Nishikiyama and now we’re here with you bonded to him, and to top it all off, this jackass shows up determined to kidnap you! And I’ve got to be serious because I want to be prepared for anything that gets thrown at you.”

“But they’re after me--”

“And you’re my fiance,” Majima’s quick to cut him off. “Do you really have to ask why I would concern myself so heavily with those who are after you?”

Majima’s hands go back up to Leo’s injured face, his thumbs just gently avoiding the scrapes on his cheeks left by the concrete. Leo hasn’t felt warmth in years, yet there’s something about Majima’s touch that reminds him of it. There’s the usual feeling of guilt that Leo gets when in Majima’s hands, but Leo forces down the bonded emotions to focus on what he knows he feels despite the bond: safety.

“I’ll be damned if another man’s gonna hurt you again,” Majima continues. “You ain’t gotta shoulder this on your own. Let me help you get through this… and once I know you’re safe, I’ll loosen up, alright?”

“You don’t… I’m not upset with you because you’ve changed, I’m upset with myself--”

“And I’m saying you shouldn’t be. This isn’t because of you. You’re the victim here.”

It might take some time for him to accept that, but Leo doesn’t try to argue back as part of the first step for it. He only bites his lip and nods. With that, Majima lets out a sigh before speaking, “Listen. We can fix one problem still… we can still make sure you aren’t going to get hurt anymore by him.”

“Y-you won’t touch me,” a voice grunts out across the lot, and both Leo and Majima’s attention snaps to it just in time to see a knife thrown against the concrete. Luke’s barely standing with blood pouring out of his chest wound. His hair is matted with blood as it hangs in front of his face. 

Majima gently pulls away from Leo, as if a wrong movement would hurt him further, before standing off against Luke. “You really wanna try a round two, you sick fuck!?”

Luke quickly pulls out a tin container from his jacket pocket as he shouts, “You’ll stay the fuck away from me if you know what’s good for you!”

Majima eyes the little contraption in Luke’s hand. There’s no way he should have something like that. The last time he saw something like that was in his own house, shortly before Nishikiyama used it to start a fire in it. Majima stares Luke down, keeping his composure as he asks, “Where the hell did you get that?”

Luke’s face twists up as he chuckles, “Let’s just say I did my research after I learned another man was trying to move in on my childe… turns out he had some interesting secrets in that old warehouse, and they were just thrown out like that…”

‘Damnit, Thirty…!’ Leo can’t help but think to himself. Of course the idiot didn’t dispose of everything properly. Leo tries to get up, tries to at least stop his sire, but the moment he props his leg up, he feels the same shooting pain. He groans, but Majima remains unfazed. Majima tries to take a step forward, but Luke only stands his ground, “Stay back or I use it! There was quite a few of them around there… I got to learn how they work.”

Majima isn’t fazed. He keeps the same intense glare as he tries to figure out the best course of action. Luke, however, has already taken this as his victory, as he begins to walk backwards out of the empty lot. Majima eyes him as he makes his way out of the only exit of the gate of the empty lot, and the second Luke begins to turn on his heel to start running, he springs forward. With a boost of celerity, Majima quickly closes the distance between him and Luke, grabbing his jacket collar to yank him back, but Luke is also quick to turn back around and hold the contraption above them. While Majima grabs Luke’s free arm, Luke throws the contraption, causing a flame to rise up in between them, and with Majima pulling, Luke’s arm winds up directly in it.

Luke can’t help but scream in agony. In a last ditch effort, he starts running out of the lot while trying to remove the jacket. Majima stumbles back, the fire directly blocking off the exit. He’s quick to grab his phone to dial Nishida and tell him to start looking. There’s no way the fire didn’t hurt him, there’s no way Luke didn’t face massive damage, and Majima knew all that was left would be to find him quick and assure he reached final death. As soon as he finished relaying the news to his boys, he turned back to the real priority.

Leo looked distraught. He knew how badly he butchered his chance to get rid of his sire. Majima kneels down beside him, and only offers a few reassuring words, “He’s gravely injured. It’s only a matter of time before we find him. Naito’s not far, he’ll get the fire put out soon, just don’t stare at it.”

While Leo knows Majima is right, there’s something that looms over him. It’s nothing concrete, but it’s just a feeling. Luke has no room to wiggle out of the one, but there’s something in him that tells him he will. He doesn’t tell Majima that though. He instead reaffirms what Majima said, “We’ll finish it then. Soon."

[sweet-cool-twins]

A Nephew and His Uncle, A Hikaru Fanfic

This fanfic is born out of the frustration of Kageyama Hikaru not meeting his uncle. You could view this as a partial Galaxy ending!rewrite. This is my take on how their meeting would have been like. I don't know if Level-5 is ever gonna address this. If they never, at least you guys have this fic as a backup and consolidation. I had to consult some episodes of Galaxy to refresh my memory (my most unfavourable season, bless my resilience). I apologise in advance for any inconsistencies or distorted flow compared to the anime. There are minor alterations you might notice to accommodate this fic. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy the story!

*Dedicated to Hikaru, Reiji, and anyone who wished for this to happen in canon.

*The Earth Eleven only appear heavily at the first half of the story and are in no part of the reunion between Hikaru and Reiji. I apologise if you guys want to see their reactions to that.

Tenma, Tsurugi, Shindou, and Shinsuke were in the Galaxy Nauts's headroom on the way back to Earth from Falam Orbius. They were opening a video call to the Raimon Soccer Team to inform them of their return. The rest of the Earth Eleven members were making a ruckus at the back of the room trying to handle Minori who was aggressively manhandling Kusaka and Tetsukadou like they were leaves that she could brush off.

"Y-you see, M-Mizukawa-sa-" Kusaka tried to placate the girl.

"I ASKED, WHERE AM I?! ANSWER ME?!" Minori grabbed Kusaka's hair and forced him down on his knees to face her.

"Ah, my hair!"

"P-please l-listen to us. We'll be back on-" Tetsukadou stepped forward and tried to calm the green-haired girl as well.

"HUH?! YOU WANT TO FIGHT ME?! BRING IT ON!"

"Ahhhh nonono I have no inten-" Minori did not hear Tetsukadou's words. She grabbed his collar, lifted him high, and vigorously shook him back and forth.

"AHHHH, MOMMMMMYYYYY!" Tetsukadou screamed.

"Waitwaitwaitwait!" Kusaka yelled as Minori, with her hand still holding on to Tetsukadou's collar, wrapped her other arm around Kusaka's neck in an attempt to choke him. "Uck! Sa-save me..."

"They seem to be making a ruckus. Will they be fine?" Tsurugi commented to Shindou as they were watching the commotion. Meanwhile, Tenma and Shinsuke were setting up the conference at the console. "It's been a long time since I was with the team, but..."

"They will. We are the Earth Eleven after all." Shindou answered calmly. The brown-haired boy turned his body to face the monitor.

"I-is that so...?" Tsurugi eyed his senior with distress. A sweat drop rolled down his cheek. He took a glance at the back of the room, noting Ibuki making his way to sort out the fight, possibly exposing himself to torture. He quickly turned around to face the monitor, hopefully, to focus his attention on the video call.

"Tenma, are you sure you've input the details correctly? We don't want to randomly connect to some other off-world planet." Shinsuke asked from beside Tenma who was setting up the call.

"It'll be alright, Shinsuke!" Tenma said as he tapped on a few buttons while looking at a piece of paper by Kabata Shizune, the Galaxy Nauts's conductor. "I think these are the inputs...and...done!" A final push of a button and out popped a transparent window with a view of the Raimon Eleven players in the Raimon soccer clubroom.

"Hey everyone! We won the final match! We're coming back to Earth!" Tenma greeted his friends.

"Congrats on winning, everyone! How are you guys holding up?" Sangoku spoke for the team.

"A lot of things happened, Sangoku-senpai!" Shinsuke piped up. "Like Tsurugi was replaced by a Fake Tsurugi!"

"WHAT?!" The entire Raimon members exclaimed.

"And that he almost got engaged!"

"WHHAATTTTT?!"

"T-there's no engagement! I'm back now! A-and there was a proper reason for those things..." Tsurugi's flustered answer did not seem to expel the shock on the Raimon members' faces, much to the amusement to Shindou, Tenma and Shinsuke.

"Hikaru!" Tenma called out to the purple-haired boy. There was a particular reason for their call back home. An interesting gift for one of their Raimon member. After the revelation of their coach's identity before they left for space, the Raimon Earth Eleven members knew they had to do something to reconcile the kinship for both their coach and their friend. They had to delay the gift due to the severity of the situation, being that Earth Eleven needed to save their planet and the galaxy from Alien invasion. Now that the Tournament is over, they have the time to procure the present for their friend. It took a lot of convincing, some pushing and pulling from him getting away, but it got Kuroiwa to agree to the idea. Currently, the man was in his office in the Galaxy Nauts sorting out his work.

"Hm?" Hikaru hummed in acknowledgement.

"We have something special for you! From Coach Kuroiwa!" Tenma gave a warm-hearted smile. He noticed everyone's eyes widened, especially Hikaru's.

"C-Coach Kuroiwa..." Hikaru mumbled the name to himself, stunned at Tenma's words.

"What is it, Tenma?" Nishiki asked for everyone.

"He wants to talk to you about something!" Tenma replied, still with the large wide grin on his face. He could not help it. He was very happy and excited for his friend.

"Y-you're not kidding right, Tenma-kun?!" Hikaru asked. His face showed that he understood Tenma's hints. At the same time, he was uncertain if his guess was correct. All the time he consulted Tenma about Kuroiwa while Earth Eleven was still on Earth. All the mystery and confusion of his similarities to his uncle. It was going to be solved, right? "Whatever it is from Coach Kuroiwa..., it-it's the truth, right?!"

"No, I'm not lying! It's the truth!" 

"We know you'll be very happy, Hikaru!" Shinsuke and Tenma both gave the purple-haired boy a grin.

"Isn't that great, Hikaru!" Amagi came around Kirino and Sangoku to put his right arm around Hikaru's shoulders, pulling him close to hug him. "Having a present from Earth Eleven's coach!"

"Ah...I-I guess so, Amagi-senpai..."

"Oi oi Tenma-kun," Kariya spoke up beside Hikaru, "What's this information about Coach Kuroiwa and Hikaru? How are you so sure that he’s telling the truth?"

"Gouenji-san and Kidou-san told us! About Coach Kuroiwa and Hikaru's un-" Tenma was cut off by Tsurugi's hand covering the brown-haired boy's mouth. He had his other hand on Tenma's shoulder to ensure he had a firm grip on the teen.

"Tenma, you're saying too much."

"We know that you're excited, but we've agreed to let Coach Kuroiwa do the explanation," Shindou whispered to Tenma, so as not to expose the secret.

"That's right, Tenma! This is a surprise for Hikaru! We shouldn't spoil it for him!" Shinsuke spoke softly to Tenma as well for the same reasons as Shindou. Tsurugi uncovered Tenma's mouth when Tenma muffled something, which Tenma quickly let out the air that he had been holding.

"Pah! ...O-oh yeah...I'm sorry everyone...heh heh!" Tenma scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Tenma-kun!" The voice of Hikaru boomed through the speakers and caught the attention of the four Raimon players in the Galaxy Nauts. "P-please tell me your arrival time! I want to be there on time to meet him!" Hikaru radiated the most determination Tenma had ever seen on his friend. He knew he had to adhere to his wishes. Tenma turned to Manabe and Minaho sitting in the seat on the right beside them, hiding from the situation happening at the back.

"Manabe, what time will we land on Odaiba?" The light purple-haired boy pushed his glasses up before replying,

"Um...based on the calculations," Manabe tapped on some buttons, "it seems we will land at about three in the afternoon, Japan time, captain."

"That will be within thirty minutes. We both concluded together!"

"...! I've never said I needed your assistance, Minaho-kun."

"I know I know...Determining the answer separately gives it more credibility. Don’t you think so, Manabe-kun?"

"...Well, I won't disagree with your logic..."

"Thank you, Minaho, Manabe." Tenma turned back to the Raimon players. "You've heard them. Three PM on the dot."

"Thank you, Tenma-kun!" With that, the purple-haired boy exited the Raimon soccer club room in the speed of light, leaving the rest of the Raimon players still in the room.

"He's really excited," Kurama said with a smirk.

"Well, he's been thinking about it all this time. I wouldn't blame him for that reaction," Sangoku replied.

"He's been thinking about Coach Kuroiwa? How come?" Ichino questioned.

"Haven't you noticed? Coach Kuroiwa looks A LOT like his uncle, Kageyama Reiji!" Hamano jumped into the chat.

"If he could settle this issue with Coach Kuroiwa, it would be nice for Hikaru," Kirino spoke.

CRASH

"W-what happened?!" Kurumada asked. The four Earth Eleven members had turned their heads to the back and found Tetsukadou, Ibuki, and Kusaka on the floor bruised up. Matatagi was engaged in a staring contest with Minori. There was no clue how the fight would end with both person's destructive attitudes. The damage would hurt everyone. They had to stop the fight.

"Ah...t-talk to you guys when we're back. We have some things to take care of! See you guys later!" Tenma blurted out in a hurry.

"Byeee!" That was the last thing Tenma heard from the Raimon Eleven before he shut off the communication line.

----------------------------------------

The entire Raimon soccer team were standing in front of the Galaxy Nauts landing station. All had an excited smile on their faces, except for a certain purple-haired boy with hair shaped like pincers. He was fidgeting restlessly on his spot between Kariya and Kirino.

"Calm your nerves, Hikaru. You're too nervous." Kirino tried to calm the first-year when he noticed him quaking.

"I-I know, Kirino-senpai, b-but it could be him! There are so many things I want to talk to him about! A-at the same time, this is my first time talking to him in person, so I'm not so sure how to act in front of him...W-what if he's really strict and I embarrass myself! H-he will think I'm unworth- TAGAH!" Hikaru was interrupted by Amagi who hit his head.

"HIKARU! Listen to yourself! You've been saying how much you love soccer and how much you wanted to play in your uncle's place! You helped us perfect Double Wing! You scored a goal with your first hissatsu shot that you created! All this within the few weeks you'd been with us! You helped us progressed through the Holy Road and win the Revolution! Don't you see? You've done amazing things your uncle couldn't have done! You've worked hard to get to where you are because of your love for Raimon, your love for your uncle, and your love for soccer! You are worthy, Hikaru!"

"A-Amagi-senpai...You really think so?"

"Of course, Hikaru! We've seen it. We all agree with Amagi here." Kurumada came up to beside Amagi and patted the purple-haired senior's shoulders.

"Don't be afraid, Hikaru-kun! We believe in you!" Hayami encouraged the purple-haired boy. It seemed he was interested in the topic, even despite his meek self.

"A little bit peppy today, aren't you, Hayami?" Kurama teased him.

"I-I'm just trying to support Hikaru-kun that's all!" Kurama grinned, ignoring Hayami's protest.

"Right! Thank you so much, Amagi-senpai! Everyone!" The worries lifted from Hikaru's shoulders as he replied affirmatively.

"Heh heh, I never knew you had it in you, Amagi!" Kurumada's smile turned to a proud grin to his friend.

"W-what?"

"Yeah, Amagi! That's a great speech!" Sangoku complimented.

"You were really cool, Amagi-san," Kirino said next.

"Yes yes! I agree!" Hikaru's eyes beamed in admiration.

"You could be a minister, Amagi-san~" Hamano teased.

"I-is that so? Y-you guys think I have skills in public speaking?! Hehe...haha...HAHAHA! I, Amagi Daichi, am the best at speeches! AHAHAHA!"

"Did we let it get to his head too much?" Kariya commented on the side which no one was able to listen due to Amagi's loud laughter. Just then the loud whoosh from Galaxy Nauts's engines sounded from the skies above them. The Raimon players paused their chatting and quickly formed themselves in a line as they watched the sci-fi train descend and came to a stop at the landing track. The door opened and one by one, the Earth Eleven players exited.

"Ow...ouch!" Tetsukadou was the first out, with a black eye on his face and a bandaged wrist.

"Tek...Even my demon mode didn't work against her..." Kusaka was next, with frizzy hair and a bandaged neck.

"Are you alright, Ibuki? You were thrown very badly." Shinsuke questioned the main goalkeeper, who was limping weirdly and rubbing his shoulders.

"Tsch. I'll live."

"Hmm. Humans are so interesting. Who would have thought Potomuri-san possessing her would have suppressed her abilities that much." Minaho's ear twitched in interest.

"I prefer Minori-san when Potomuri-san was in control. He was so calm and collected." Manabe adjusted his spectacles.

"Captain should've let me handle that green-haired girl. How powerful can she be?" Matatagi rebuked at how he was pushed aside as not to start a fight with Minori.

"I thought you would say that." Zanakuro followed behind Matatagi, saying his common phrase.

"Maybe we shouldn't have hit her in the head. She could be a sweet girl if we let her-" Sakura cut off Aoi during her sentence,

"No no! That woman's a monster! An ogre!" She suggested.

"Rabbits...Flowers...Cats...Rabbits...Flowers...Cats..." Morimura was the last to exit, with her tiny form quietly mumbling safe words to herself.

The Raimon Eleven stared with their jaws wide open in astonishment. Three Earth Eleven players were injured, the girls were scared stiff, one wants to fight someone, two were discussing over possession, and out of all this mess, where were the rest of the Earth Eleven players?!

"Ah, you guys have done a number on this girl." That stopped the Raimon Eleven in their tracks. They watched a middle-age woman and Tenma carrying a green-haired girl on either side of her out of the train.

"Could you bring her to the infirmary by yourself, Auntie?" Tenma asked.

"Of course I can! Who do you think I am? She'll be up and running without you knowing!" The woman smiled widely.

"We don't exactly want her to be running around though..." Tsurugi came up behind the three, mumbling to himself.

"Sorry to trouble you like this, Auntie. Thank you." Shindou thanked Kabata Shizune before the woman gave one last wave. She brought Minori closer for her to lean against Shizune before carrying on towards the building's infirmary to take care of the girl. Kirino blinked in surprise to see his best friend. He left the other Raimon members to chat with the other Earth Eleven members, while he quickly ran up to the dark brown-haired boy, hoping he would solve all his questions.

"Shindou!"

"Kirino?"

"What happened back there, Shindou? There was a crash and-" Shindou interrupted his friend. He gave a confident smile to him in reassurance. It did not seem to placate the worry over Kirino's face.

"Don't worry, Kirino. The Earth Eleven are a strong bunch after all."

"No, no it's not, Shindou-senpai! A young girl just whipped half of our team to shreds!" Tsurugi called out on his senior's obliviousness in panic. "I'm gone for half of the tournament, and even I know that she was very different before I left!"

"Tsurugi, are you alright?" Tenma asked the blue-haired boy in concern.

"Yes...I'm fine..." At that moment Shinsuke came back to Tenma's side, so did the rest of the Raimon players who stood in a group in front of them around Kirino.

"You are afraid of her, aren't you Tsurugi?" Shinsuke chuckled into his hands.

"N-no I'm not!"

"It'll be alright, Tsurugi! Everything will work out somehow!" Tsurugi blinked. He turned his head to the brown-haired captain and stared into those light blue eyes, searching for doubts. He only found assurance. That calmed Tsurugi, just like all the other times Tenma said that sentence.

"Yeah...You're right." Tsurugi closed his eyes as he nodded, heart lifted from anguish.

"Tsurugi! Tenma! Shindou! Shinsuke!" Sangoku called the four Raimon Earth Eleven players.

"Welcome back!" The Raimon Eleven shouted. Tenma's smile shifted to a grin. He yelled back,

"It's great to be back!"

Just then, everyone heard a gasp. They turned to the sound and spotted Hikaru standing at the bottom of the platform to Galaxy Nauts, mouth and eyes wide open in shock. Meanwhile, Kuroiwa stood at the top of the platform, looking down at Hikaru. It was clear who had gasped.

"Uncl-Uhm...Coach Kuroiwa, I-"

"Hikaru." The voice of Kuroiwa made Hikaru stun for a few seconds. It did make Hikaru's nervousness disparate away.

"Y-yes?!"

"Come with me."

"Ah, yes!" The purple-haired boy followed Kuroiwa along a pathway away from the others. It seemed Kuroiwa wanted the two of them to go somewhere else to talk. The rest of the players looked at each other, wondering what they should do next.

----------------------------------------

The Raimon members were all hiding in the bushes watching and listening to the scene in front of them. It was a large crowd, but they were somehow able to squeeze themselves in and still have mild space to move about. The Earth Eleven players had to leave earlier as some had to visit the doctor for their injuries, while the others wanted to see their friends and families after the long journey away from home. Kuroiwa and Hikaru were sitting on a bench along the Odaiba bay area. Their position facing inwards instead of the waters behind them. The sun on the clear blue sky gave the audience a clearer view of their facial expressions (mostly Hikaru's), and they could see how fidgeting Hikaru was. It was clear he was still nervous due to the overwhelming presence of his uncle. His uncle, on the other hand, kept his silence. His form painfully straight, yet not causing discomfort for the older man. A pregnant silence floated between them.

"Hey is this ok? Will Kageyama be ok? Ah-wait..." Kurumada stopped himself as he pondered his question.

"Which Kageyama are you referring to?" Amagi questioned.

"T-the younger one..." Kurumada replied. Hikaru’s voice broke the silence and quickly gained everyone's attention.

"Uhm...Un-Coach Kuroiwa..." 

"You can call me by my old name, Hikaru. The world knows who I am now." Hikaru gasped and quickly turned his body to face him.

"Y-you’re Kageyama Reiji! Are you really my uncle?!” 

"Yes. That's correct."

"Y-you really are-...I was right..." Hikaru sighed in relief. "I-it's nice to finally meet you, Uncle Reiji!"

"It's nice to meet you too, Hikaru, my nephew." There was a pause as Reiji gathered his thoughts. "But it's best you don't associate that name with me for too long. Kageyama Reiji has died 10 years ago," Hikaru's eyes turned sorrowful upon hearing his uncle's words.

"I-I can't call you Uncle Reiji?" Kageyama Reiji tilted his head forward, downcasted.

"I'm not sure. I was supposed to have died but was illegally injected with a serum that kept me alive. Now that I have outed myself to the Soccer Association to fight the Grand Celesta Galaxy Tournament, it's only a matter of time before I'm taken back to jail." Hikaru and the others in the bushes widened their eyes in shock.

"T-that can't be..." Shinsuke said dejectedly.

"After what he has done for Earth, it wasn't enough to unwind all the bad deeds he's done in the past," Kirino spoke.

"Hikaru..." Tenma murmured dejectedly. Hikaru eyed his fingers, unsure of what to do. He finally got to meet his supposedly deceased uncle, only to find out he was going to not see him again for another few years. Maybe even forever! Suddenly, a recall of Tenma's familiar words flashed through his mind. It gave him some positive confidence.

"It's ok! Everything will work out somehow!" Reiji and the other Raimon players focused their attention on Hikaru who exclaimed that sentence. They were surprised to see a cheerful expression on his face. The orange of the evening sky emphasised the emotion on Hikaru's face, providing a sense of warmth that everything will be alright. "Hehe, that's what Tenma would've said!" The purple-haired boy smiled widely. The Raimon players relaxed their shoulders, pleased with Hikaru's answer. Meanwhile, Reiji was still in shock at his nephew's positivity despite the gloomy future that was to entail. "It's fine by me if I call you Uncle Reiji or Uncle Ryuusei, you're still my uncle! Ah! T-that is if you're alright with that. Hehe... Are you ok with me calling you my uncle?" Reiji nodded. His lips lifted to a smile.

"You may call me any way you want, Hikaru." Hikaru had a bright smile on his face upon hearing that.

"Uncle Reiji!" Reiji's lips also widened slightly upon hearing his nephew calling him by his family title.

“Yes, Hikaru.”

"Gak! Does he not realise that he's making coach's situation worse if he keeps calling him by his original name?!" Kariya clutched his hands on the sides of his head in disbelief.

"Kariya, calm down! You're too loud!" Shinsuke whispered.

"But Shinsuke-kun..."

There were a few moments of comfortable silence before Reiji shifted from his crossed arms to placing his hands on his lap. There was an uncomfortable topic he wanted to discuss.

"How's your mother?"

"M-my mother?" Reiji gave a slight nod. Not too sure if he was wandering into uncharted territories by mentioning his sister.

"My sister, is she doing well?"

"Ah...yes she's doing well, Uncle Reiji! She admired yours and grandfather's soccer! Even if there were some illegal mistakes made, you have made up for them! We both watched Italy's match with Inazuma Japan, and I can tell she's very proud of you!" Reiji instantly let go of his breath he was subconsciously holding.

"I see..." Hikaru's face stretched to a wide toothy grin.

"I started loving soccer too! After all the praises my mother said, it made me want to play soccer!"

"You...started playing soccer because of that?"

"Mm mhm!" Hikaru nodded.

"Although I started kicking the ball not too long ago, my teammates say I learn very quickly! My position's a first-year forward! I've helped Raimon in the Holy Road Revolution and protected overpowered children from taking over the future by time-travelling!"

"Oi oi, what is he saying now?!" Kariya was aghast.

"The older Kageyama looks sort of stun doesn't he?" Kirino spoke next.

"Yeah yeah! He looks more rigid and paler than before!" Shinsuke followed.

"You're right. He does look uncomfortable." Aoi mentioned.

"Soccer probably wasn't this complex ten years ago. Else, why would Coach get so stumped?" Tsurugi suggested. The Raimon players nodded to Tsurugi's statement.

"I've joined Raimon because I've heard Raimon helped save your soccer. Maybe by joining them, I could experience the feelings you've had and continue in your place! Even when you weren't around those ten years, I can continue your love for soccer and help make your plays better! I want to learn more about soccer, so I can have lots more to talk about with you!" Even if Hikaru's eyes were black, it had a twinkle of determination that stirred something within Reiji. A long-forgotten feeling he used to have when he was young and admired his father. A feeling that had gotten him to love soccer. That last sentence too brought a lot of memories in the FFI. Particularly, a certain girl during the match with Orpheus. It then surprised Reiji when he saw the radiant boy slump down in dejection. "I know I've said that I wanted to continue on your legacy, but...I was not chosen for the Earth Eleven team..."

"Hikaru..." Tenma was saddened when he heard this. He never knew Hikaru was feeling this way.

"I don't have a Soul. I wasn't strong enough to be in the team that you're coaching. I wasn't able to fight against the universe. I'm...I'm not strong enough to be what you wished to be!" Reiji stayed patiently silent, listening to his nephew's issue.

"Hikaru, I used to think that winning in soccer should be the main thing for playing it, that's what makes soccer fun, that's what makes you strong. I was wrong. Soccer's about training hard, working to surpass others, and most importantly having fun. You've already got that. Why do you need to change?" Hikaru's eyes started to water by his uncle's words. It hit hard in his already vulnerable self-loathing heart. He could feel the love and hope his uncle wanted to instil into Hikaru.

"You have a long way ahead of you, Hikaru." Reiji lifted the hand closest to his nephew and placed it on his head. "But you're doing great. I'm proud of you." A lone tear rolled down Hikaru's red cheeks as his lips quivered. Slowly, those lips shifted to a warm smile.

"YES! I'll do my best! Thank you so much, Uncle Reiji!" The older Kageyama replied with a smile. He was glad he was able to comfort his nephew. He reminded Reiji of Rushe. The girl from Italy he had helped heal her eyes. They both have the same cute and carefree take on the world. He wished he could protect that at all costs. The purple-haired first-year rubbed the remaining tears with his sleeves. "Uncle Reiji, would you like to have dinner with us?" Hikaru asked, noticing the orange of the evening sky had turned dark blue. "My mother's making her special curry tonight! I've heard it's a family recipe!" Reiji gave a saddened smile.

"I would love to, but I have some things to report back to the Soccer Association. Maybe after that, I could join you all."

"Will anything happen to you, Uncle Reiji?" The addressed man paused in mild surprise, not expecting the young boy's intuition. He shook his head.

"I don't know. I was only told to inform the outcomes of Earth Eleven's matches. I don't know what will happen to me after that."

"I see..." Hikaru's eyes drifted to his lap. Another moment of silence overcome them before Hikaru lifted himself from the bench. "This will be the last time I'll see you in a while, right?" He looked at his uncle, hoping to drive the image of him into his mind. "I hope we can meet each other again, in the future!" Hikaru smiled brightly. Reiji nodded.

"We shall see. Like a certain someone's catchphrase, 'It'll work out somehow', no?"

"Yes!" Hikaru's laughter permeated the surrounding quietness. Meanwhile, the Raimon Eleven members were still in the bushes, watching the heartfelt scene that had happened moments ago.

"Isn't it great for Hikaru, being able to meet and have a conversation with his uncle?" Tenma questioned his team.

"Yeah, I'm happy for him!" Amagi yelled with his arms raised. It was miraculous that it did not attract the two Kageyamas' attention.

"We're all happy for him, Amagi..." Kurumada told his friend.

"We should head back. It's quite late already." Shindou said, looking up at the night sky.

"You're right. The two of them have talked it out. Our job is done." Kirino stood up. The rest followed his action.

"Alright. Let's go home, everyone!" The Raimon players walked away as a group, leaving their teammate and his uncle still at the bench making up for the lost time. Their future may be bleak, but Tenma could tell they would be alright.

---------------------------------------- 

I’ve always thought Kageyama Reiji had a sister. It’s never mentioned, but from the way he treated Rushe seems similar to Gouenji and Kidou with their sisters. He also acts like he’s very familiar with handing a younger girl. Hence, why I’m leaning more towards younger sister. As for how Hikaru got his mother’s surname, it seems there is a thing in Japan for a child to take on their mothers’ surname. It was explained by Ishido-Shuuji, but I could not find their tumblr now so you may find out more here. Cause Endou got his surname from Daisuke who is his maternal-grandfather, we could assume this is a thing. 

Thank you guys so much for reading this long fic! Bless you guys! I hope you’ve enjoyed it! <3

[onedreamshipper]

Closer chapter 6

«You’ve got to be freaking kidding me». Ayato was standing on the meeting spot, dressed in all black and with a hoodie to cover his facial features. But he gave up his try to go unnoticed when he saw his sister. Touka had her almost 3-years-old on a stroller with hood so he could be protected from any curious look. She, like her brother, was also dressed in black with her long, black hair covering her right eye as usual and leaving only one purple orb to scan the area from any danger. Ayato moved forward to his sister. He stood for a couple of seconds in front of her. Scanning her and make sure she was okay. Then he threw his arms around her and closed her inside him hug. Took left her guard down and hug her brother back. «Idiot sister… she felt her brother’s chest moving with every sharp breath he took in order to control himself but she didn’t said anything. She left herself feel safe and secure for once since the day she fled Tokyo. She left a single tear travel across her cheek before his shirt absorb it. They stayed like that for a good time before Αyato pop his eyes open and push his sister gently away. «Hmm... so you are alive» He said casually, rubbing his neck and blushing furiously. Touka smiled. Acts of affections wasn’t her brother’s signature but she was more than grateful to know that he missed her as much as she misses him.

«I missed you too» she said looking him directly in his eyes. Ayato’s face dropped and Touka could swear she saw some glassy tears threatening to fall but he managed to keep himself up. Like always.

«Oi, Touka. What kind of things are those you are saying?» His gaze fell on the stroller desperately to change the subject but he wasn’t ready to face that yet.

«You want to see him?» Touka asked quietly. Ayato got shocked.

«So it’s a boy...» he whispered more to himself. Touka went in front of the stroller’s basket and untied Yoru. She picked him up and turn to face her brother once again. Ayato could feel his body shaking from fear and anticipation to meet his nephew. He didn’t know what to do. He should take him from Touka? Touka would give him like that? She wasn’t afraid that he may drop him or worse... He eyes widened when he felt a tiny warm finger poking his cheek.

«Yoru!» Touka scold him quietly and tried to take his hand away but Ayato grabbed it gently and he moved his arms to take the child from Touka’s hold. She let him and now her son was safely tugged in her brother’s big hug. Their eyes were fixated into the other and Ayato seemed in the edge of breaking. Touka smiled sad.

«Yoru...» Ayato repeated and caress his nephew soft cheek. «You know, I always blamed you for dying sister. Your death brought so many pain and darkness in our lives. And when I heard your voice yesterday... I was torn. I should be happy or furious for you fleeing and let us deal with all the loss?» Touka opened her mouth to defend her choice but Ayato continued «But seeing him, alive and well...» he raise his gaze to his sister’s eyes. «I don’t blame you anymore». Touka press her lips together and lower her head.

«I didn’t... I thought...» She brought her palms on her face crying quiet. She poured all the fear, all the pain, all the regrets into those tears. Ayato knew she needed that. He was blaming Hinami for making him soft but it wasn’t Hinami’s influence that make him letting his sister have a mental breakdown in front of his eyes now. He knew she need it. Blood speaks louder than everything, Kaneki’s words were echoing in his mind now. His brother in law was always referring to the blood they were shedding when he was saying that but Ayato was feeling the meaning of those words run deeper into his soul. He placed one hand on her shoulder and pushed her straight on his chest. He let her cry her eyes out in peace, while he was there, protecting them both from any harm. Because that was his duty now. To protect his family.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

«I don’t like that Kazuki guy» he said as he took another sip from his warm, black coffee. They were sitting in a tiny café at the end of the street.

Touka explained everything to him from the moment she heard on the transmission that Kaneki was dead. Ayato was listening her words carefully while being in constant alert. Yoru was sitting on his lap, watching quiet his picture book. He refused to let him from his arms when they sat to the little café and, Τo be honest, that made Touka suspicious but it let it pass. There were only two other couples outside the store so they took a quiet table inside, far away from the big windows.

«He is a mini Kaneki». Ayato mumble after a while when Yoru fell asleep against his stomach with his book in his hands. Touka got up and picked her son. She put him inside the stroller and tugged him. She sat on her chair again.

«He is…» she said with her voice low and took a sip from her own cup.

«He lost his mind, sister…» Touka swallow hard closing her eyes. She knew that the time had come. The time that Ayato would share his news. And they all involved Kaneki. «When Tsukiyama saved his ass from that ambush... He searched all the underground for you. I could never describe you that night when he found the kids...» Touka cover her face with her palms. She wanted to scream him to stop she wanted to know. She needed to know. «It was like earth and sky was mourning with him. I still hear his screams in my ears some nights. The scales on his body were eating his flesh more and more. You saw him on the news, didn’t you? » Touka nod «I don’t know how many nights he remain there. Hinami and I, staying by his side without talking too, protecting him. But I can clearly remember the day when he woke up. CCG send a scouting mission to check our dead I guess. Hinami and I release our kagune to fight but we both were too weak that we barely stand. And then it happened». Ayato rubbed his face tired, overwhelmed from the memories and feelings he was trying to suppress. «Spears in the shape of crosses were unleashed by his kagune, piercing the CCG members everywhere. He vaporized them. He made them turn into dust. We knew he was powerful but that... that scared the crap out of us, Touka. And then he turned to face us and his eyes... Damn, his eyes, Touka, were like made of glass. I could see the craziness inside them. But I knew better. He didn’t choose the craziness. Your loss was too much for him to bear sister. You were the only thing that kept him sane. And you left. And he wanted revenge. And along him, me and Hinami wanted revenge». Touka raise her gaze to him. «I killed so many people Touka. And with ever kill, the hollow in me grew bigger. And then Tsukiyama announced us the plan. To take over everything the humans stole from us. Hinami said you would never approve that and Kaneki lost his cool. He attacked at CCG headquarters that night». Touka couldn’t hear anymore. She signal him to stop. Ayato ignore her. «His life isn’t the same after you sis. He doesn’t leave his room only for the attacks. I don’t need to be a fucking shrink to know that he is in excruciate pain. Only Tsukiyama and Hinami are allowed to visit him in his chamber and every time she leaves that room she is freaking broken.» That caught Touka’s attention and look at him with terror. Ayato understood what she was afraid of and comfort her. «No he doesn’t hit her. I would knew that. But she is refusing to tell me what they are doing in there. He doesn’t even talk to me Touka. He is avoiding me because he thinks I blame him from your death».

«Do you? I mean, if I was...»

«I did, at first. But I know you and I couldn’t blame anyone from your death besides your stupid head so...» They remain silent after that for a while. Both enjoying their coffee and the peace. The sky was getting darker now, a sign from the upcoming rain. «You will marry that Kazuki guy? » Touka spit her coffee directly onto his face. He grimaced and wipe his wet skin with a napkin.

«Are you an idiot? I am already married remember? » She asked furious.

«Yes, but since your husband is a crazy piece of s... » Touka stand.

«Ayato, I swear I will punch the hell out…» Ayato lower his head and made Touka stop her motion midair.

«You will return to us? » Touka sit again and sight.

«I want for Yoru to meet his father. And… if he still wants me… » she close her eyes. That wasn’t a discussion she could make with her younger brother. Maybe both of them grew inside the war, maybe they never truly hate each other and it was just a mask but he was still her little brother. Her insecurities and second thoughts weren’t his and he couldn’t care less.

«I can put you inside the mansion, you know».

«I was thinking coming with the others, the day they will present themselves in front of Kaneki». Ayato nod his head as a no.

«Too dangerous. Most of our guards don’t know you, they are ruthless. They could take Yoru from you by force». Touka’s exposed eye glow red for just a second. «I would never allow that. We need back up».

«Actually, we need a plan». Both of them turn to face the man that spoke to them behind the shadows. A warm smile spread into Touka’s lips. «And the Kirishima siblings aren’t known for their plans». Nishiki smiled warm at both of them.

[harleyquilt]

The Sin of Greed (4/??)

Summary: After waking up in Kaneki’s manor, she finds him asking her out for a special day of getting to know to one another better. However, things get escalated real quick on this simple outing…  

Words: 5,778

Notes: I can’t say I’m too confident with this chapter at all, so feedback would be greatly appreciated! Besides that, thank you all for the wonderful feedback so far, it means so much and I really hope I don’t ruin this series for everyone. I hope you enjoy~

Touka awoke to someone poking her cheek, grunting in her sleep as she tried to swat away the person besides her. When her now opened eyes focused on the giggling figure besides her, she noticed it was Hinami. She leaned against the bed and rested her head on her arms, cocking her head to one side with a bright smile.

Damn, she was so innocent it hurt.

“Good morning, Touka!” Hinami said cheerfully whilst the maids came into the room and opened the curtains, Touka wincing at the bright sunlight that flooded into the room. “You seemed to have been exhausted. You slept for ages and you even missed breakfast! Though big brother strictly told us not to wake you.”

Touka sat up and rubbed her head, a dull throbbing headache pulsating from the bruise on her head. Grimacing, she leaned back into her pillows, watching Hinami take a silver tray from the bedside table and placed it carefully onto Touka’s lap.

“I did you the courtesy of bringing some food to you.” Hinami gestured towards the different plates of food set out besides her, Touka’s eyes widening at the various dishes on display. “Eat what you can, you don’t need to eat it all.”

It stunned Touka to see so much luxurious food, from smoked salmon to a buttered croissant, other options of granola and fruit with slices of toasts next to different types of spreads she could use. There was an iced drink of orange juice at one corner besides two small pills and a small vase with an orchid in the other.

“W-Wow.” Touka blinked hard, somehow not exactly believing she could ever see such a meal before her on a literal silver platter. “This is…overwhelming.”

“I’m not surprised.” Hinami laughed, walking around the bed to her other side, pointing at the pills near the drink. “That’s for the headache. That bruise looks awful, but we can get out medic to help-”

Her attention then caught the small rabbit plush next to her, her voice trailing off and her smile fell. She picked it up and smoothed her thumb over the soft material, an almost sad look replacing the cheerful one she wore before. Just like last night…

“Ah, excuse me.” Hinami coughed and forced out a smile. “I’ll let you eat. Let me know if you need anything, Touka.”

And just like that, she was gone with the maid, leaving Touka alone with all this unnecessary amount of food. She wished she could share it with the other children and Ayato back at home, but it wasn’t like she could carry it with her. With her stomach rumbling, she began to ate as much as she could, but no matter how much she tried to finish it all off out of guilt of wasting food, she was still left with at least a plate full of food.

“This is impossible.” Touka groaned, patting her full stomach. “How do they even eat all this…”

It was then she took a moment to just sit back and relax, taking in the silence around her and she thought back to everything that occurred in such a short amount of time. It was almost ridiculous how much had happened and yet here she was, still alive and breathing but also in the same place as she was in that day she made that deal with Kaneki. It made her question if she would be able to even escape her fate at this point.

“I wonder what I’m going to have to do next.” Touka pondered to herself. “Perhaps I don’t even want to know.”

Shaking her head, she got up and pulled on a dressing gown that was hung up behind the bathroom door, glancing towards the clock to see it was already nearly eleven in the morning. It was then her phone began to rang and she quickly dug into her bag and picked it up.

“Where the fuck are you?” Ayato yelled into the speaker, Touka holding the phone away a little. “You didn’t come back last night and you didn’t even think to call.”

“I’m sorry, ok?” She sat down onto the edge of the bed, tightening her robe around her. “I lost track of time, but there’s nothing to worry about. I’m fine.”

“Fine?” Ayato scoffed. “Ever since this whole thing started, being ‘fine’ hasn’t even been an option.” She couldn’t deny his words, but she remained silent as he took a moment to calm down. “So, how did it go? He didn’t give you any trouble, did he?”

“Who? The One Eyed King?” As she mentioned him, images of last night appeared in mind again - the way he kissed her hand, the feeling of his hungry gaze taking her in, his arm wrapped around her waist. “No…trouble, I guess.”

“That doesn’t sound reassuring.”

“That’s because you’re always paranoid.” She was glad he wasn’t here to see the blush formed on her cheeks. “I’ll probably be back later, but if not, I promise I’ll let you know.”

“I don’t like this, Touka.” He admitted, his voice now quieter but filled with knowing dread. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Her hand wandered back to her bruise and she grimaced at his words, shutting her eyes momentarily to try to shut out the deep sadness she felt; Her and Ayato have never been apart, not once, ever since their mother and father were murdered and now they’re facing this awkward situation where they are forced away from one another. God knows how she would’ve felt if Ayato were to be in her place. She doesn’t want to know.

“I won’t, you baby.” Touka teased, her spare hand twisting around the sash from her gown. “I’m going to see if I can leave now, but if not, I will try again later.”

“You’re like a prisoner there.” He grumbled. “I’m going to go over to that bastard’s place and give him-”

“No! For once restrain yourself.”

“But-”

“No.” Touka sighed, though she knew he wasn’t serious…or was he? “I’m going to go now. See you later, Ayato.”

Instead of a response, he simply hung up, Touka glaring at her phone at the sheer rudeness of her brother. It doesn’t matter.

Tossing aside her phone, she got up again and decided to reenter the marvellous spectacle that was her wardrobe. She picked out a sundress that was a light, baby blue with a thick, brown belt around her waist. Pulling on a short white cardigan, she slipped on some sandals and walked out of the room whilst brushing her hair back into a small ponytail at the back.

Outside her room, as she closed her door, she noticed the door opposite was opened ajar, Touka curiously taking a peek inside until she realised she had seen this room before. After all, it was the room she found herself in on the night she had planned to steal from this place she now stayed in.

“That bastard.” Touka hissed under her breath. “He did this on purpose.”

“You’re not planning to steal from there again, are you?” Miza stood a small distance away, her arms crossed and a smug smile across her face. “I came to check up on you, but it seems you’re fine on your own.”

“I am an adult.” Touka straightened, Miza shrugging and headed back down the hallway, calling for Touka to follow. “The King has requested an…outing of sorts with you today.”

“Another mission?”

“No quite. From what he said, he wanted to get to know you a little more.” Miza turned her head slightly, a wide grin on her face. “You’ve certainly caught his interest.”

“I don’t care.” Touka shook her head and gnawed at the bottom on her lip. “I have no interest in joining the, what I presume to be, long line of women that he’s wooed in the past. I’m not that kind of girl.”

“You say so,” Miza turned to face Touka this time, her brows raised. “But I’ve never seen him so infatuated with someone as he is with you. You should’ve seen him the first night you decided to visit.”

“Infatuated? I wouldn’t say that’s the most accurate word.” Touka mumbled, her curiosity peaked upon hearing Miza’s words. “W-What was he…”

“What was he like the night you first met?” Miza chuckled when Touka nodded slightly, her head turned away. “Well, why don’t you ask him yourself?”

They stopped abruptly by the banister connected to the stairs, Touka leaning over to see the front door open with Kaneki, Nishiki, Naki and Tsukiyama all walk in along with a few other members. However, it was Kaneki’s appearance that really caught Touka’s attention - he was dressed in a long black trench coat, a dark shirt and black waistcoat underneath with pinstripe trousers and red, leather gloves. His hair, surprisingly enough, was down with his bangs casted over his round glasses. Touka felt a chill when she took in this new look on him, a more sadistic and sinister aura surrounding him.

After he gave the order for his lackeys to leave, he looked up and caught Touka’s eyes, offering the usual cocky smile he always wore, but her stomach churned when she saw a smear of blood across his cheek. Touka quickly looked away, clenching her stomach and started to walk away from everyone.

“Wait, little bunny!” Kaneki called, Touka pausing with an agitated grunt.

“I don’t want to even look at you.” Touka yelled back, forcing herself to face him again. “I’m leaving.”

“Now, now, Touka.” Kaneki chuckled as he pulled off one of his gloves. “There’s this particular café I want to show you.”

“Like I care.”

“Ouch.” Miza laughed. “Give him a chance at least.”

“Mademoiselle.” Tsukiyama’s brow twitched and he placed a hand on Kaneki’s shoulder, who only shrugged him off in return. “Our King has offered you a generous offer of his company.”

“It’s not like you have a choice.” Nishiki added with a smirk. “You’re under his control now-”

Kaneki raised a hand and everyone fell into silence and he slowly took off his other glove as he started to head up the stairs. Touka crossed her arms and felt the compulsive need to walk away, but remained in place, despite what she said only moments ago.

“I won’t force you if you really don’t want to.” Kaneki spoke softly. “But it would be my great pleasure to treat you after the hard work from last night.”

He stood inches away, Touka biting the inside of her cheek as she continued to stare at the ground, shaking her head. With a small pout, he stepped even closer and lifted her face gently, Touka holding in her breath with his eyes locked on hers.

“Don’t be afraid to look at me.” Kaneki smiled, his thumb rubbing small circles against her cheek.

His voice…was this really just a game to him? He sounded so sincere, but it wasn’t like he could be trusted. Then again, after everything he had done already and the words Miza spoke not too long ago, it left Touka questioning her own thoughts on him. However, her eyes then wandered to the dried blood on his face and reality came crashing back down to her.

“I’m not.” Touka pulled herself away and walked past him, hugging herself. “Wipe the blood off your face. It’s disgusting.”

“Is that a yes then?” Touka hesitated before she responded with a quick nod.

“It better be worth it.”

“Good.” He rests his hands on her shoulders, his lips pressed against her ear and her eyes fluttered closed. “I have some business to attend to, but I won’t be long.”

“W-Whatever.” She shrugged him off. “Hurry up. I want to go home soon.”

He hurried back down the steps and the others followed behind, including Miza, and Touka was left alone in the entry hall. She stood there awkwardly, her hand rested over her rapidly beating heart as she tried to calm herself. She hated feeling this way around a man like him, but at the same time, her own racing thoughts told her a different story.

Checking the time, she decided there was some time to spare and chose to do what she could do best - poke around the house for a while. She goes down the the first hallway next to the stairs, making her way past a large dining hall, kitchen, living area and finally found herself at a different room near the end.

Peeking inside, she found that the room was surprisingly bare, the furniture covered in white sheets and the pictures that she assumed would’ve hung on the walls were taken down and leaned against the wall. One of these many pictures was placed onto the bed at the far end of the room and when Touka neared it, she saw that it was of two people, a tall man besides a shorter woman, both of their faces scratched out with a black marker of sorts.

“If you keep snooping into other people’s business, you’re going to find something you’ll regret.” The sound of Tsukiyama’s voice startled Touka and she jumped a little whilst he walked into the room.

“Who’s room was this?” Touka asked, her eyes taking in the rest of the room. Despite the dim lighting and thick layer of dust that covered everything, it seemed to be quite a luxurious room.

“Didn’t you just hear what I said?” Tsukiyama shook his head and neared Touka. “Some secrets are better to be kept hidden.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to know a little more about the man I’m working with.”

“Ah, but curiosity killed the cat.” He leaned over her, a smug grin across his face. “Or should I say bunny?”

Touka narrowed her eyes and shoved past him, but he caught her arm, holding her back. Despite her struggle, he held a firm grip around her arm, her other hand clenching into a fist.

“If you hurt my King,” he whispered into her ear, his hushed voice filled with hostility and the promise of danger. “I’ll hunt you down and make you suffer-”

“Just try.” Touka snapped, snarling at the man before her. “Don’t underestimate me, pretty boy.”

He was about to speak again, the anger now clear on his usually smiling face, but the door opened and they both turned to a camera flashing. A little girl, probably a child, lowered the camera from her face with a curious look and Touka heard Tsukiyama tut behind her before he let go.

“Tsukiyama, Kaneki warned you about hurting guests.” The little girl scolded, but she didn’t seem all that concerned.

“Miss Chie, I’m only reminding our little guest of her place.”

Chie? As in the hacker, Chie Hori, Nishiki spoke of yesterday. This…kid?

“Nice to meet you, Touka.” Hori nodded. “Now, Tsukiyama, I can’t reach a branch outside. Help.”

“Get one of the servants.”

“No.”

“Miss Chie-”

“I’ll show him the picture.” Tsukiyama cursed beneath his breath and then sighed, nodding to Hori. “Good. Come on now.”

Touka watched with some satisfaction Tsukiyama leave reluctantly and remained in place, looking back down to the ruined painting. Despite his threats, Tsukiyama may have been right on how some secrets should stay buried.

“Sorry if he’s a bother.” Kaneki stood in the doorway with a sympathetic smile. “Come now, Touka. We don’t want to be late for lunch.”

He offered her a hand, but she walked past, avoiding his eyes and he followed behind until they reached the front entrance. Kaneki had changed to a simple white shirt, black jacket and jeans. It was surprising to see him so casual after all his well made, expensive clothes from before. They walked towards a different car and he sat down in the driver’s seat, Touka giving him a weird look when she slipped into the passenger seat.

“What’s wrong?” Kaneki asked as he started the car.

“I just…don’t you usually have some driver in a limo or something?”

“I thought it’d be better if it were just the two of us.” Kaneki beamed, turning the car towards the gates that opened automatically. “Allow us to get to know eachother better.”

They drive for some time in complete silence, Touka staring out to the passing streets as an attempt to distract herself from the fact that she was actually sitting besides a mafia boss and about to have lunch with him. He confused her so much; whilst on one side of him, he held so much violence and anger, the other was more lighthearted and gentle. His whole persona was shrouded in mystery and yet she couldn’t help but be drawn towards him. She hated him and yet she remained near him. This dissonance within her never seemed to end.

They soon arrived at their destination, parking in front of a row of different restaurants, souvenir shops and cafes. The area seemed small but peaceful, a tranquil aura that surrounded the pretty scenery. Kaneki took her to one particular cafe with the name ‘Re’ and when they entered the shop, Touka immediately smelled the sweet fragrance of coffee that brought back a sense of bittersweet nostalgia within her.

The cafe itself was a cosy area, with bookshelves across the walls above the tables, a large chalkboard behind the wooden counter with different orders scrawled across it. Beside the chalkboard were more shelves filled with different coffee beans and other ornaments that gave the place a more homely image. They took a seat on one of the tables in the corner of the cafe besides the window that looked out to the streets outside and were given their menus.

“This place is…” Touka said, still admiring her surroundings. “Breathtaking.”

“It is.” Kaneki agreed, placing his menu aside. “It reminds me of my more younger years. I once visited a café much like this some years ago. They brewed the best coffee.”

“This place does give me some nostalgia.” Touka thought for a moment and it almost did seem like she had visited a place similar to this one.

“Anteiku, it was called.” Touka froze and lifted her head to stare at Kaneki, whose eyes were still set on her. “What’s wrong?”

“I…remember that name.” Touka narrowed her eyes in concentration.

“Perhaps you also visited that place.”

“I can’t remember.”

“No worries.” Kaneki smiled. “Do you want to order?”

Touka ordered only for the coffee and homemade cheesecake, considering she was still pretty full from her breakfast, whilst Kaneki asked for coffee.

“Tell me, Touka.” Kaneki took a sip of the coffee, his eyes examining her. “How long have you been a thief?”

“Nearly five years now, after my parents died when I was sixteen.” Touka poked the cheesecake, her brows furrowed at the memories of her old life. “It was the only life I could turn to, after all.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He turned away, staring out the window. “That must’ve been hard for both you and your brother.”

“It was. Though I doubt you would actually care - someone as sadistic as you enjoys taking lives away.” Touka scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Funnily enough, it was the mafia that took away the lives of my parents in the first place.”

“That was a long time ago with different people controlling the mafia and besides, I personally do not kill without reason.” He stared off to the distance and lifted his hand, cracking a finger and Touka felt a sudden chill run through her. “I’ll only pluck those that threaten the lives of those close to me.”

There was something within his tone that suggested to Touka that there was more to his past than meets the eye, but she wasn’t exactly sure if she wanted to pry.

“What about you?” Touka decided to change the subject. “How long have you been a part of the mafia?”

“Almost nine years now, but I’ve been a leader for only three.”

“And your old leader?”

“Dead.” He said simply, taking another drink of his coffee. “Don’t think I don’t know what it is to lose people, Touka. Even I feel pain.”

She didn’t respond and instead remained silent as she finished her cake, but despite her silence, she wanted to ask more - she wanted to know who this man was, even if he hid himself within his own shadows.

“What’s with that look, my little bunny?” Kaneki chuckled and he pushed his mug aside, leaning forward. “You seem deep in thought.”

“I’m just curious about you. I want to know how you became the way you did. Something suggests to me that you weren’t always this…cold.”

He offered a sad smile of sorts and placed his hand over hers and though she felt her cheeks heat up, she didn’t reject him as she usually did. His hands were warm against hers, his touch light and it sent shivers through her. It felt…nice.

“Perhaps what you say is true.” Kaneki said quietly, his eyes locked onto hers. “I wouldn’t mind sharing if it’s with you.”

“Why?”

“Because…there’s something about you I’m drawn to.” He squeezed her hand and raised his over to brush away her hair. “Every time you’re near, I feel like I can relax and smile, even if just a little. You make me happy.”

“We’ve barely just met.” Touka leaned back and looked away, but Kaneki instead cupped her face and made her face him, her lips parted and eyes wide.

“Don’t lie and tell me you don’t feel something too. You don’t need to try to hide yourself from me.” She placed her hands on top of his and he rubbed his thumb over her cheeks. “You’re so beautiful like this, Touka.”

“S-Shut up.” She stuttered and pulled herself away from his grasp, much to his disappointment. “This is crazy…”

“Maybe that’s not exactly a bad thing.” He grinned. “You mean a lot to me, Touka.”

She would’ve asked the reason behind his words if she wasn’t so certain that his answer would be less than vague. How was she even meant to feel about any of this?

Once Kaneki paid for the meal, they left the café and started to walk down the street, side by side. She noticed him glance at her every so often and their hands almost touch more than a few times, Touka trying hard to avoid her own temptations and kept some distance.

They go through a nearby park, an area filled with a burst of colourful flowers that surrounded the crystal blue lake in the centre, a white gazebo nearby with willows that hung over the water’s surface. A few children played near the lake, feeding the swans and ducks that swam around.

“I wanted to know.” Touka began, fidgeting with her hands. “Why did you join the mafia? I mean, growing up, I despised them, especially after learning that both my parents were murdered by them. In my eyes, they’re nothing but monsters, so what would make you want to become a part of such a world?”

He stopped in his steps and Touka waited for his answer. He looked up for a moment, sighing as he took a moment to think of what to say.

“Someone asked me to.” He finally confessed, facing Touka once again. “Yes, I think that was the reason.”

“Someone?”

“A woman.” He winced a little, shoving his hands back into his pockets. “But I must admit, looking back, I wish I had decided against it that day I agreed to her proposition. It’s brought me nothing but pain since then.”

Touka stood awkwardly in place, taking in his words in silence - a woman…someone who, in his younger years, probably loved enough to do such a thing. And yet, there was pain in his voice as he spoke, a deep a regret neither of them could deny. He may be the leader of Goat, but if she were to take a guess, this wasn’t a life he actually asked for. In the end, he was just like her - pushed into a life that forced them to change to survive.

“I was naive then.” Kaneki laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “But it can’t be helped now. What’s done is-”

Touka took a step closer and brushed his hair back, Kaneki tensing at the feeling of her touch whilst he gazed into her curious eyes. Her hand moved down to caress his cheek and he leaned into her touch, breathing heavily with his lips quivering.

“Are you sure about that?” Touka asked quietly. “You carry nothing but regret and pain with you. You hate being a part of all this, don’t you?”

He didn’t answer and instead pressed his lips together, but Touka leaned up and kissed his cheek, Kaneki flinching a little before his hands grabbed her hips, stopping her from moving away.

“Don’t go.” He whispered, his hands moving to wrap around her waist and she gripped his shoulders, eyes half lidded. “Please don’t go.”

“Kaneki…”

He lowered his head and his lips brushed lightly against hers, her eyes falling shut as she gave him a gentle kiss. They parted briefly before Kaneki pressed his lips firmly against hers, his hold on her tightening and her arms moved to wrap around his neck, their kisses turning quick and desperate.

“Don’t leave me, Touka.” He said between kisses, trailing them across her jaw and down her throat. “If you did- I wouldn’t-”

“It’s ok.” Touka pulled back, bringing his face back up and giving him another long kiss. “I’m not going anywhere.”

It was then he smiled this beautiful smile, his eyes lit up with newfound joy and his smile holding nothing but a searing love that riveted through them both. Even with the things he does, deep down, he was still a lonely child. Her thoughts on him still remained conflicted, but for now, all she could think of was the beautiful expression he wore for her. For her.

“Come, let’s go back to the mansion.” Kaneki started to lead her away, holding her hand tightly in his. “It’s getting chilly here.”

They went back to the car and as they neared it, Touka felt the uncomfortable feeling of eyes on her. She turned around, her eyes carefully watching the other people that walked past her, but wasn’t able to notice anything suspicious. Kaneki called her over and Touka looked around once more before cautiously turning back.

Then, right in front of her, she saw a man with raven hair towering over her. He had an almost crazed look as he lifted a gun and Touka froze in place, her mind going blank. However, she quickly came back to her senses and leaped away just when he pulled the trigger. The crowd of people started to scream and began to ran away from the gunfire, shoving Touka as they ran pass. She fell to the ground and the man pressed his foot against her head, raising his gun again for the next shot.

Another shot fired, but it wasn’t from the stranger’s gun.

Touka’s eyes widened when she saw Kaneki stood beside his car, his own gun raised and a furious look of rage that clouded his eyes. She managed to scramble away from her position and dashed towards Kaneki, glancing back to see the man was wounded - blood streamed down his shoulder and he dropped his gun, his eyes now replaced with fear. He started to run off and Kaneki continued to shoot, but Touka forced his hand down before he continued.

“No, Kaneki.” Touka gasped as he tried to push her aside. “Leave it.”

“How could I?!” He yelled, his angry gaze now directed at her. “He was going to kill you. I’ll make him pay. I’ll make him suffer and bleed to death-”

“Kaneki!” She cupped his face and forced him to face her. “Don’t do this.”

He was panting, his body shaking but as he continued to watch her nervous expression, he started to relax, his anger easing up. He brushed the back of his fingers against her now dirtied cheek, a sorrowful look replacing the rage-filled one he wore moments ago.

“I’m sorry.” He pressed his head against hers. “I’ll make him pay.”

“No, Kaneki. Let’s just go home.”

After another moment of hesitation, he nods and gives in to her words. They drive away quickly and Touka noticed that they were going down a different direction than the one they took before. Eventually, she found herself in a more darker, gloomy area, the narrow streets surrounded with tall buildings with flashing neon signs that loomed over the crowds of hookers, dealers and gangs below.

“Where are we going, Kaneki?” Touka asked, pressing her shaking hands into her lap.

“It seemed that we were followed back near the café so as a precaution,” Kaneki’s hands tightened around the wheel. “We’ll just be staying around an associate’s place until I call for backup.”

They eventually stopped next to a building that Touka first assumed were apartments until she saw a group of skimpy dressed women with faces caked with makeup near the entrance, wooing the men that passed by.

They both got out of the car, the women immediately calling over for Kaneki as he waited for Touka to come up besides him, taking her hand into his. He ignored the women in tight short skirts and low cut dresses and moved to the alleyway besides the building, knocking twice at the backdoor before someone opened it for him. Touka clung to Kaneki’s arm when they stepped into the building.

Inside was stuffy and humid, the room smelling of sickeningly sweet perfume, different dressers with makeup and jewellery that messily covered the table, corsets and other garments thrown across the seats.

Across the room stood a woman with long, purple hair tied up into a messy bun, her face attractive with dark shades of makeup to add to the already lust filled expression she wore. Her outfit was of a dark violet, silk kimono wrapped around her loosely, the trail decorated with different patterns of blossoms across it. Her cleavage and long slender legs were what really caught Touka, and probably everyone else’s, attention though.

“Kaneki!” The woman beamed and sauntered over to him, wrapping her arms around him and planted a kiss onto his cheek. “You never visit me anymore.”

Touka tensed up, watching Kaneki grow flustered as he awkwardly tried to push her away, the woman’s hands moving down his arms before she laced her fingers through his. She side-glanced Touka and grinned, pressing her body against Kaneki’s as he bashfully smiled at the woman that hung off him.

“To what pleasures do I owe you?” The woman asked and Kaneki finally removed himself from her, but when he reached for Touka, she stepped away, giving Kaneki a hard look.

“We need to stay here for the night. Some trouble with some guys and I don’t want to risk leading them back to the mansion.” His eyes never left Touka, even if she refused to look back at him. “I hope that’s no issue, Rize.”

“And leading them here is fine?” Rize gasped with false concern. “I guess you can always return the favour on a later date-”

“Good.” Touka’s nails dug into her palm, her voice low. “Where will we be sleeping?”

They are shown into a spare room, the room filled with a sweet aroma, despite the appearance of a dingy looking bed, peeling wallpaper and stained carpets. It can’t be helped.

Once Kaneki shut the door, he went towards Touka who stood near the window, but she brushed him off coldly and stepped away. His face fell into a wounded look as if he was the one being hurt by all this. Touka rubbed her tired eyes and kept them to the ground.

“How dare you.” Touka’s voice quivered. “How dare you use me like that.”

“I didn’t use you-”

“Don’t you even try to lie to me.” Touka snapped. “I saw that lovelorn look you gave her. And to think I was someone special.” She snorted, turning her back to him once again. “I’m just another pretty girl to you, aren’t I?”

“It’s not like that.” Kaneki protested, placing his hands on her shoulder but she shoved him away and against the wall, her arm against his throat.

“I guess I really am an idiot. After all that grooming and flattery, I became blind to the truth.” Touka glared at his almost hurtful eyes. “Once we’re back at the mansion, I’m leaving and I don’t want to see you again.”

She stepped back and Kaneki reached out weakly towards her. He opened his mouth to speak but it shut almost immediately. There was nothing else to be said.

“Touka, please.” He kept his distance whilst she started to remove her cardigan. “It’s not as it seems.”

Instead of responding, Touka simply shook her head with some sad laughter. Even now he was trying to justify himself.

“She’s just…an old friend.”

“That’s what they all say.”

“This is different.” He turned her around and kept a firm grip on her, despite her struggles. “Since I’ve met you, I’ve had eyes for no other woman than you. Rize and I just have some history.”

Touka didn’t want to look at him, but even now, his touch sent her heart fluttering. She hated herself for falling for such a man, she hated herself for believing she was someone different in his life, she hated herself for feeling such things towards a bastard like him. Even now, she can’t seem to escape him, despite all her struggles.

“Just leave me alone.” Touka hissed. “Fuck off back to your bitch and leave me alone!”

With every word she spoke, Kaneki’s grip loosened and he let go of her with a defeated expression, watching her walk away from him as he sat down onto the bed. Frustrated, he kicked the ground and buried his face into his hands. Touka watched with some dread before she lay down onto one side of the bed with her back turned to him.

This was just all fucked up - how could this day go so wrong? It started with so much bliss and honesty and ended with hurtful lies and danger. It almost felt like a lifetime has passed with nothing but darkness looming ahead. For now, though, all Touka wanted, what she needed, was to sleep.

To sleep and forget everything.

[seraphine16]

Red Strings of Fate - Part 1/6

Prompt: Beginning

Summary: Soulmates are tied by red strings. You can cut yours if you want to, then you’ll be reassigned to someone else, someone who’s perhaps- better. But beware; If you cut it three times, you will end up alone for the rest of your life.

Rating: T for now, will be mild M in later chapter

Words: 2403

Notes: This will be a short series of prompts instead of one-shots. Publishing one chapter per day is not my style so I’m pushing myself a bit here, I might repost the better version on my AO3 or FF.net account when I have the time. Enjoy and let me know what you think! :)

Soulmates are tied by red strings. The string would only appear once your soulmate is nearby- within your town area. Once it appears, it will never disappear even if that person went far away. Only you could see it, no one else could- except for your soulmate, of course. However, even if you could see it, it tangles, and leads to an invisible path, you would only be able to see the end of the string once your soulmate is right there, in front of you.

Kirishima Touka’s red string appeared recently, but she didn’t really care about it. She was only 17 years old- still a high school student, she had no time to think about having a soulmate. Plus, with doves roaming around and other ghouls constantly threatening Anteiku- soulmate matters should be the last thing on her mind, heck she may have died first before even meeting him.

She had just returned to the counter after serving a cup of Americano to a customer when her first red string appeared, twirling around her pinky finger and tying itself into a cute ribbon before her eyes. It was thin, but strong yet stretchable. She was able to touch it, tug it, and even curl it, but she could not undo the knot that kept it tied to her finger. It stayed there securely, like a complete dead knot.

Nishiki noticed her silence and the intense gaze that she held on her own pinky finger.

“It finally appears huh? Took the cupid long enough.” He teased while crossing his arms across his chest.

“Shut up, shitty Nishiki. I’m not interested in it.” She retorted, immediately went to wash the dirty cups near the counter. She was surprised that the string didn’t even get wet when in contact with water.

“Why? Look at Kimi and I, we’re getting married next year.” A grin of smugness displayed all over his face as he wiggled his fingers in front of her face to show off his silver engagement ring and his red string, but of course she could not see the latter.

“Tch. I know you’re excited but stop showing off you bastard!” She hit his arm causing him to yell in pain. “Anyways, you’re much older than me, so it’s normal for you to get married soon. I’m still in high school, you know?”

“Huh, chill out, it’s not like you’ll meet him soon anyways. It means that he’s nearby, that’s all.”

“Which makes it even easier for us to encounter each other, now that we’re nearby. Yours appeared when you entered Kamii, am I right?”

“Yeah, on the first day, since that was the first time we were in the same area as each other.”

She stopped washing the cups and turned around to properly interrogate him. She couldn’t help but feel curious of how his red string worked.

“When did you finally meet her?”

“Kamii is huge, you know? I met her on our second week of the semester. Not bad huh?” He grinned, remembering how he met her at the vending machine. He was planning to eventually eat her despite being his soulmate, but before he knew it- he fell hard, mainly because she accepted his ghoul side wholeheartedly.

“Yeah, that’s… good to hear.”

“Yours might appear today, or tomorrow, or next year. No one knows.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe you can walk around 20th ward just to search for him.”

“Whatever. I don’t give a shit. If he asked me for a date, I’ll just turn him down.”

Nishiki’s eyebrows furrowed hearing her statement.

“Hey, don’t just decide that on your own! What if it’s his third string? He’ll end up alone for the rest of his life!”

She took some time to process his words. It’s true. Should I really sacrifice someone’s love life because of my selfishness?

“But if he’s a human… then I have to. Else, you know…” I’ll kill him, then eat him afterwards.

Nishiki sighed heavily, his gaze landed on the ring and the red string around his fingers, a soft smile plastered on his face.

“I gave Kimi- a human, a chance. I think you should too.”

Three weeks had passed, and Touka had somehow forgotten about the bright red string tied to her pinky finger.

Until one fine day, when she heard the chime of Anteiku’s doorbell which made her greet ‘Welcome~’ as usual, she felt something tugged her lightly. Or, to be précised, something tugged her pinky finger.

Her string tensed and straightened out, forming a visible line towards the person who had just entered the café. In that moment, for the first time in three weeks, she could finally see the end of her string. It was no longer tangled and led to a transparent end. It was straight, and at the other end of the string it was tied to another finger that belonged to someone whom she could see from her own two eyes.

Her heartbeat echoed loudly in her ears as she slowly looked up at the owner of the string on the other end, and once her eyes landed on his- she smacked her own forehead, disappointment painted across her face.

He wasn’t what she expected.

He seemed weak, nerd, yet gentle and kind. Not that she liked bad boys, but she was at least expecting someone who looked… a bit stronger. He even had an eye patch on his left eye.

Is he trying to look cool? Well, too bad, he looks pretty stupid.

The guy, however, seemed surprised at the discovery of his string leading to her finger, but he bowed slightly and gave a polite smile to her anyway.

She waited for him to approach her, and probably- ask her out. She had always thought that she didn’t have time for this trifle matter, but when she was finally able to see her soulmate, she couldn’t help but feel a bit… thrilled.

Even though she was planning to turn him down afterwards.

A deep scowl etched on her face as he did nothing of the sort. Instead, he headed to one of the empty tables, sat down on a chair, and skimmed through the catalog menu to decide which coffee he should pick.

The scowl on her face deepened.

Is he playing hard to get? Seriously??

 “Oi.” She approached him, as she got closer and closer, she realized that the string contracted- becoming shorter and shorter.

She waved her right hand in front of him.

“You can see it, right? The string.”

He stared dumbly at her hand for a moment, then at her scowling face.

“Ah, yes. I can see it.”

He was a little too polite and it somewhat pissed her off.

“So?” She asked irritatingly as she crossed her arms.

“…So?”

“Aren’t you going to… ask me out or something? My best friend’s soulmate asked her out the moment they met each other.” Her eyes landing everywhere but on him, too embarrassed at the fact that she had just asked him to ask her out.

“I see… That’s what I did too.” He murmured softly, but it caught her interest.

“Did? What do you mean?” she pulled out the chair in front of him and sat down, waiting for his explanation.

“This is my second string. My first one was with a… ghoul. She cut it herself though. Right before she was trying to eat me.”

“And you survived?” She raised her eyebrow. “Are you making this up?”

He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. Her eyes narrowed as she studied his expression carefully, trying to search for any hint of lies, but couldn’t find any. It doesn’t seem like he’s lying… but how did he survive? A dove helped him?

Well, whatever. I will not date a human.

“Should we cut it?” She asked bluntly.

“Eh??”

“You’re clearly traumatized by your first soulmate. And you’re not even my type. I think we should cut it.”

“No, don’t.” He grabbed her wrist out of panic. Her eyes followed his grip awkwardly, and he quickly let her wrist go. “I- I’m sorry. I just… I was scared.”

“You should.” Because I’m a ghoul too.

“Let’s- let’s give it a try. One date. If it’s horrible, then we’ll cut it. Okay?”

She thought for a while, staring hard at him, trying to imagine any future with him.

“Nope. I don’t think I will fall for you.”

He was taken aback by her answer, and it showed evidently on his face.

“But, if- if it doesn’t work out then I’m left with my last string… I don’t want to end up alone for the rest of my life… Also, I heard that for some people, they ended up alone even after the first cut. Which means the person they cut their string with was their only soulmate.”

Oh. She didn’t know that. Despite feeling sorry for him, she couldn’t afford dating a human.

Fine, I’ll treat you badly to make you cut the string yourself.

“Alright then, one date. But to be frank I prefer to stay single for the rest of my life rather than falling in love with you.” Because we can’t coexist.

She noticed the hurt in his grey eye as his gaze flickered to the red string that connected their fingers together, his lips pursed in a straight line.

“That’s so mean… But thank you, for giving me a chance.”

“Yeah, whatever. My shift is ending in half an hour. You wanna wait for me?”

“Sure.”

“Okay. I’m Kirishima Touka.” She took out her right hand, the string contracted as she did so.

“Kaneki Ken.”

The date was horrible.

At least- for Kaneki.

Touka was obviously not interested in him. So she kept on teasing him saying she’s a ghoul and she’ll eat him by the end of the date which scared the shit out of him. She wasn’t intending to eat him though. But he looked so cute when he was scared, so she had a lot of fun throughout the date.

Kaneki on the other hand was trying his best to get to know her, but she simply brushed him off, not feeling comfortable enough to share about her personal life with a stranger, albeit the stranger was none other than her own soulmate.

She stood outside a convenience store, waiting for her date to buy some ice creams when two guys appeared out of nowhere and pulled her into an alleyway beside the building.

“What are you doing here all alone, little girl? Wanna play with us?” One of them was tall and fat, and the other one was slightly shorter yet well-built.

“Shut up. Let me go.” She weakly pulled her arm, couldn’t risk using her ghoul strength when her date might see her and worse, report her to the CCG.

Tracing her would be easy since they were connected by the red string, and to cut the string, both parties must present at the scene, a proof of agreement on both sides.

“Come on~ We just wanna play~” The slightly shorter guy pushed her against the wall, yanking her dark hair so that she was facing him.

She was planning to spit on the guy’s ugly face, but the voice of her date stopped her from doing so.

“Let her go!” Kaneki appeared with plastic bag in his hand containing their ice creams. She couldn’t read the expression on his face. He looked… scared? Afraid, even, as if he might end up doing something he would regret later on.

“Ohho~ your soulmate, eh? What a waste to have someone like him as a soulmate.” He lowered his gaze while shaking his head, pretending to sympathize her. “Why don’t you cut the string? You deserve someone way better than this nugget.” They started to laugh loudly which sounded very much infuriating to her ears.

“S-shut up!” Kaneki made a move to punch the rude guy who was holding Touka, but the taller guy started to hit him from behind.

He lay helplessly on the ground while they kicked him mercilessly.

Touka just stood there, she was in a dilemma- whether to reveal her strength, or just acted as a weak young girl. Kaneki looked so weak, and those guys were beating him using their full strengths.

However, before she could even decide, kagune emerged from his back- knocking down the two guys, saving both of them.

He had a horrified look on his face as he stood up, perhaps he was expecting her to scream or cry for help, or maybe run then call the police to report him to the CCG.

But she just stood there, surprised at what had just occurred right in front of her eyes.

“You’re a ghoul too?”

Kaneki started to work at Anteiku, learning more about the world of ghouls with Touka and the rest of the café members.

They weren’t dating. But she did not dislike him anymore.

They grew closer and closer each day, with her teaching him how to fight, and him trying his best to meet her expectations.

When he said he would be sad if she died, after she was badly injured as a result of her own brashness, she couldn’t stop the warm feelings building up inside her.

One day, he gathered up his courage to ask her out on a date, for real. She said yes, and he was so excited, continuing his work while grinning stupidly all the time.

Four months ago, she stated that she wouldn’t fall for him, that she’d prefer to stay single for the rest of her life rather than falling in love with him. Fate, on the other hand, proved her wrong; his delicate side made her wanted to protect him, his nerd part helped her with her difficult school exams, his gentleness and caring side made her happy, and his kindness melted her icy heart, allowing him into her life.

She had fallen for him, slowly but surely.

A smile blooming on her face as she stared at the red string on her pinky finger which led to her soulmate. Maybe this is a good beginning, she thought.

However, fate seemed to be cruel to her, mocking her own words back then, giving her a taste of karma.

Their relationship ended before it even started.

The date never happened.

He was kidnapped by Aogiri.

[xkanekitoukax]

Erased (pt. 9 / series finale)

Erased [part NINE]

part ONE | part TWO | part THREE | part FOUR | part FIVE | part SIX | part SEVEN | part EIGHT | part NINE |

Warnings: Language, some nsfw and unhealthy situations throughout the series. Pt. 9 warning: Just a small nsfw Nishiki x Touka moment.

Author’s Note: This is it. The Erased finale. It’s longer that every previous part, 7000+ words (and it was meant to be 8000+, but last minute I made some cuts). There is an epilogue, which could possibly lead to a sequel series...it just depends on how well pt. 9 is received. Like I had mentioned before, in other posts regarding Erased, this story went a completely different direction than what I had originally planned out. I gotta admit, I’m sad this is ending. This is my first multi-chapter fic and so, I’m really attached to it, especially with what has happened with these characters. I’ve always meant for Erased to be fueled by drama and so, it does have that cheesy dramatic tone, but it’s been fun. I gotta thank all of you who have been with this series from the beginning and I know some of you have gotten attached to it as much as me. This series wouldn’t have happened without guys. So, thank you so much for all the love!

Please let me know your thoughts! Reblogs/comments/asks are very much appreciated, especially with this finale. I’m extremely nervous about this part, so feedback will calm my nerves lol. 

ENJOY~ <3

-

When Touka got to her room she tried reaching for the bed, but she collapsed to her knees next to it, feeling as though something was tightening around her neck and chest and causing her to gasp for air. But her heart…her heart hurt the most. Every beat felt like a knife twisting into her.

Ayato…Hina…

She fell forward, grasping at the sheets of the bed and pressed her mouth to the mattress to muffle her scream. She screamed as hard and as loudly as she could until there was a pang in her throat. There had been so much building up inside her…she had to let it out.

Touka couldn’t help replay everything that had led her to this point and how she never could have predicted that things would ever be this way. Ever since Kaneki walked into :re as someone else, as Haise Sasaki…a dove…with no memory of who he used to be, she wanted to believe maybe it was a good thing. He seemed happy, even if he was set out to bring down ghouls. It was something she was willing to look past and try to forgive him for. She had chosen to not push him to remember his past and maybe that was her biggest mistake.

What if she had done this…what if she had said that…what if…WHAT IF!

Kaneki had let this persona take over…it got to a point where he wasn’t just doing his job, he was enjoying it. He wanted to kill ghouls. He wanted to kill Nishiki. He almost killed her…

Why Kaneki? Why did it have to be you…

Why did the world have to be so cruel?

Her struggle to breathe had only gotten worse, the constriction in her chest causing her to gasp for air and then there was a pain growing in her belly. She instinctively wrapped her arms around her stomach.

I’m sorry…hang on…

“Oh, fuck, Touka,” Nishiki rushed to her, kneeling down in front of her and taking her face between his hands, forcing her to focus on him. “Look at me, Touka! Deep breath…come on, deep breath.” He took a deep breath with her and then exhaled. He placed her hands on his chest so she could feel his chest rise up and down to get her to follow his breathing, trying to calm her down. And after a couple of minutes it began to work.

Touka fell forward, crying into Nishiki’s shoulder as he held her and felt her fingers dig into his chest.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” He said, rubbing her back.

Touka thought about how Nishiki never lied to her. Ever.

He never sugarcoats anything…

She had to believe him, even now. More than ever.

“I have to do something to save them, Nishiki.” She let out against his shoulder. His embrace tightened.

“We are going to do something to save them. You’re not doing this alone.” Nishiki said, making it clear that he was a part of this. There was no way he was letting her do this alone.

Touka shut her eyes and held onto him tighter as Nishiki placed a hand on the back of her head, massaging her. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for what would happen next with the next thing he had to say.

“We’re going to need Kaneki’s help, Touka.” He said.

She pulled away from him, looking at him incredulously. “What?”

Nishiki sighed heavily. He expected her to react this way. “Listen to me…”

“No. No fucking way am I letting him help us. For all we know it’s a fucking trap!” Touka started to push herself away from Nishiki, feeling slighted that he would even dare try to take up Kaneki on his offer. Nishiki let go of her, not wanting to force her to hold on to him.

“You’re absolutely right, Touka. It could be a trap, but if Kaneki wants to make things right…if he really loves you…” He didn’t get the chance to finish.

“Make things right? Loves me? I don’t care, Nishiki. I can’t forgive him for what he did…for what he almost accomplished.” Her body recalled his tentacles stabbing her, making her shiver.

“I’m not asking you to forgive him, Touka.” Nishiki moved to sit down on the floor, leaning back up against the bed. He pushed his legs up slightly to rest his arms on his knees. He looked as though he was picking his next words carefully to make them matter, to make them get through to Touka. “What I’m saying here is whether we like it or not, he is the only one who can help us get to Ayato and Hinami without it being a complete suicide mission. I’m asking you to think about this, because it’s not just you I’m thinking about…” It wasn’t just Touka anymore. There was a baby to think of and he wanted to remind her of that before they made the wrong move. Touka had for a brief moment forgotten that she was pregnant. She really would have stormed the CCG without much of a plan and that would not only be stupid, but selfish. Right now, it was just Nishiki and herself against a horde of ghoul killers.

They needed a plan…and Kaneki’s was the one Nishiki believed in.

Trust him.

Touka joined Nishiki, sitting down next to him and sighed. “And what if it’s a trap?”

“It won’t be.” Nishiki pushed up his glasses as he looked up at Touka. He wanted to tell her that he had told Kaneki about the baby being his, but he knew no good would come from it if he mentioned it now. But Nishiki believed that by telling Kaneki it would make sure that he wouldn’t try hurting Touka again, that it would make Kaneki fight to do the right thing.

Nishiki placed an arm over Touka’s shoulders and felt her lean into him, perfectly molding together.

“What do we now?” She wrapped her arms around him, really cuddling into him until the side of her face was pressed up to the middle of his chest and she could hear his heartbeat. Nishiki kissed the top of her head.

“We wait until Kaneki gives us the go ahead.” He said against her hair. “It will also give us time to get a hold of Yomo, and…"

“Moi?” Nishiki and Touka turned to the bedroom door to find Tsukiyama. Yomo soon appeared next to him with his eyes falling on the couple who continued to hold each other, but looked bewildered.

“Tsukiyama?” Touka let out.

“You two should know I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Tsukiyama said with a grin.

They now had their team.

-

The next day Kaneki had made contact and set up a meeting with Nishiki at the now closed down shop. Kaneki seemed hesitant when Nishiki mentioned Yomo and Tsukiyama being involved, but he wasn’t entirely surprised either. Kaneki had told Nishiki they had better odds with them involved if anything went wrong, but it would still be an interesting meeting together.

But while the meeting was set, there would be one person opting out of it. Touka would not be part of the meeting, as much as she wanted to, but after seeing how she reacted being in Kaneki’s presence, and how it would affect her health, Nishiki and her decided it was best she sit this out and he would fill her in later, even though she was torn up about it.

When Kaneki walked into the shop, alone, he appeared in a little bit of better health from the previous day and more rested, though there was still an obvious sadness to him. He tightened his black coat around him and straightened himself up when everyone’s eyes fell on him.

“Yomo, Tsukiyama…” Kaneki acknowledged them with an uncomfortable nod. “Nishio.” Nishiki gave a small nod back.

“Ah, so, you remember me. Have you regained your memories?” Tsukiyama asked curiously with a small grin on his face.

Kaneki rubbed his chin. “Most of them.”

Tsukiyama pressed on. “We met not long ago, do you remember those meetings, Kaneki?”

“Yes…” Kaneki’s jaw clenched.

“You’ve met him as dove already?” Nishiki’s eyes darted back and forth at them as they had a stare down with Kaneki expressionless and Tsukiyama looking amused as ever.

“Oh yes, quite intimately, since nearly killed me by throwing me off a roof and was part of the massacre of most of my family.” That was news to Yomo and Nishiki. There was a very awkward silence between all of them, but tensions were high between Tsukiyama and Kaneki. This was not the time for revenge. For anyone.

“Oh, that’s great. Good to know he’s had murderous intentions towards us for a while.” Nishiki stepped up almost between them. “I know there’s a lot to settle, but there’s obviously a reason why we’re all here, trying to work together.”

“My apologies.” Tsukiyama gave a small bow and put his differences with Kaneki aside.

Kaneki’s eyes wandered for a moment, obviously noticing someone was missing from this meeting.

A hint of sadness crossed his face. “I take it Touka didn’t want to be here?”

“I’ll fill her in.” Nishiki said. Kaneki nodded at him and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his coat before taking a deep breath.

“Ayato and Hinami are being held in one of the lower levels of Cochlea. Third level, to be exact. I will be able to create a distraction so that all of you…”

“Why can’t you get them out yourself?” Tsukiyama cut him off, looking pensive and a little skeptical.

Kaneki looked down. “It’s complicated.”

“Try us.” Yomo pressed, narrowing his eyes. There was an uneasy feeling building up inside Nishiki about how Kaneki was reacting to all this. It was as though he was still not himself, not completely, as if there was still a hold over him. But before Kaneki could speak, Nishiki cut in.

“You want us to be the patsies? You want to make the CCG believe you had nothing to do with this so you can stay in the CCG, right?” Nishiki asked Kaneki.  

Kaneki nodded his head, still avoiding eye contact with anyone. “Yes.”

Yomo and Tsukiyama exchanged looks, but Nishiki kept his eyes on Kaneki.

“I get it now.” Nishiki sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking how it was definitely a good thing Touka wasn’t here. She would have flung herself at Kaneki at this point to murder him. “You never had any intention of leaving the CCG.” Nishiki had sensed Kaneki was up to something, but he never thought it would lead to him still being a part of the CCG. He expected the opposite.

“I hope to use this as a way to gain more control of the CCG, be the one who…”

“But you’re still going to hunt down ghouls, right?” Nishiki took Kaneki’s silence as his answer. “Figures.”

“I wish I could tell you my plan, but it’s better this way, Nishio.” Kaneki spoke.

“Save it, Kaneki.” Nishiki put a hand up to stop him. “Just get to the part where we save Ayato and Hinami so we can finish this meeting.”

Everyone lingered to solidify their plan and Kaneki reassuring everyone this would work and that Ayato and Hinami would be freed and everyone could move on with their lives. He made it sound so simple. Nothing about this was simple.

When it came time to leave, Nishiki followed Kaneki over towards the entrance of the shop.

Kaneki stopped at the door, taking a moment to gather his words. “How is she?” He asked Nishiki, not meeting his eyes. All he used to do was look people in the eye. This version of Kaneki had lost all confidence in trying to face people, but more like he was ashamed of himself, as if he wasn't worthy of being seen.

“Touka's fine.” Nishiki simply answered, crossing his arms.

“And…and the baby?” Kaneki got choked up mentioning the baby. He stared at down Nishiki’s feet as his brows came together in a pained expression.

“They’re both okay, Kaneki.” Nishiki leaned against the door frame, looking around the empty shop and remembering all the times Kaneki had come in here in the beginning, how hopeful Touka was each time he visited before everything went to shit. “Do you realize how fucking disappointing all of this is? Your plan…”

“I have to do this, Nishio.” Kaneki sighed heavily.

“This is going to break her heart even more, you know that, right?” Nishiki’s jaw clenched with each quickening heartbeat as anger began to boil up inside him again.

Kaneki only nodded as tears filled his eyes. “I know, but at least she has you to pick up the pieces.”

“You’re such a fucking idiot, Kaneki. I wanted you to see your damn kid, that’s why I told you in the first place! I wanted that truth to make you wake up and want to be there for her, for your kid.” Even though Nishiki was with Touka, and he had no plans on leaving her, he still wished Kaneki would be able to be part of his child’s life.

“It did wake me up, Nishio. It pushed me to make this decision because it’s the best thing I can do.” Kaneki looked up at him finally. “She deserves so much better than what I could ever give her and that’s with you. So, please, just keep her safe…keep her happy.” He didn’t wait for Nishiki to respond, he opened the door and disappeared into the cold night.

-

Touka had been chewing on her lower lip practically all night. She had chewed on it so much she caused her lip to get slightly swollen. It was out of nerves and anxiousness. She wondered how the meeting was going. If everyone was okay. If Kaneki mentioned her…

Her head turned sharply towards the front door of Nishiki’s flat when she heard the door unlock. Nishiki made his way inside his flat with his eyesight down at his feet and a paper bag in one of his hands.

“How did it go?” Touka asked Nishiki as he shut the door behind him. She was eager to know every detail about what went on in that meeting she wanted to be a part of, but just couldn’t bring herself to face Kaneki again.

Nishiki set the paper bag on the kitchen counter and slipped off his sweater, draping it over the headrest of the couch before leaning against it. He looked up at Touka, who stood a few feet away with her arms crossed and chewing on her bottom lip. His brows furrowed. He walked up to her and ran the pad of his thumb over her fat bottom lip.

“Nerves got the best of you?” He asked with a small smile.

“It’s fine,” She shoved his hand away from her. “What happened?” She wanted details. All of them.

Nishiki puffed out some air. “Plan is a go for tomorrow night.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“Do you really think it’s going to work? His plan?” Touka swallowed hard. “Can you really trust him?”

Nishiki could see how hesitant she was being a part of this, and she had every reason to doubt Kaneki, but despite the plan not going the way Nishiki hoped, he still believed it would work.

“It’s going to work, Touka. I know it will.” The way Nishiki spoke was reassuring and it had calmed Touka down slightly. He began to speak specifics of the plan, minus the part where Kaneki was going to remain at the CCG. Nishiki had also made it clear to Touka that she was in charge, but should anything happen to him she better stick to Yomo and Tsukiyama.

“Wait, if anything does happen to you and I’m the one in charge, then it’s my call, right?” Touka frowned at him.

Nishiki nodded. “Yes, but…”

“But nothing, Nishiki.” She placed her hands over his chest and looked at him with a defiance in her eyes. “I wouldn’t leave you behind. No matter what.” She meant it. She hoped things would go smoothly, but they all knew they were going straight into enemy territory and anything could happen.

“You really are so fucking stubborn.” He shook his head at her, but he yielded to her. It was impossible to argue with her about this at this point and chose to change the subject. He nodded over towards the paper bag. “That’s for you.”

Touka gave him a big smile before walking over to the bag, grabbing it and opening it. She made a face of disgust, but her stomach rumbled appreciatively.

After the meeting, Nishiki had gone out to get Touka some human food since she hadn’t had some in a while and while it was disgusting to him and her, it was necessary for the baby. They both knew that once things settled down again, when they could have time to actually relax, the baby would be getting everything it needed and more from them.

Nishiki walked into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, opening it for Touka as she pulled out the burger from the bag and took a big bite. He watched as she winced, no doubt from the taste hitting her tongue and making her body instinctively fight it, but she took the bottle of water and took a sip, swallowing the chunk of burger. After that she didn’t struggle so much, having told herself she could do this for the sake of her baby. She was fighting for this baby.

Nishiki hid the smile forming on his face. Seeing her with such determination made him admire her that much more. He had always admired her decisiveness, her boldness, and her perseverance, but it was only until recently that he let himself accept that he had fallen for those qualities of her and so much more. He loved her…

Once Touka was done eating, they both headed to the bedroom to try to get some sleep, but honestly, neither one of them were in the mood to sleep. There was too much going through their minds keeping them awake, keeping them restless…

She watched as Nishiki began to slip off his shoes and she did the same, but there had been something nagging her, and something she hated herself for, for even caring…

“What did Kaneki do tonight?” She asked.

Nishiki’s brows came together. “What?”

“Kaneki. Did he seem like himself or…” She trailed off, thinking about Black Reaper.

“He seemed in a little bit in better shape than the last time, but he was his usual glum self.” He explained, even though he had sensed that Kaneki wasn’t all there. Did she really need to know that to torture herself more?

“Well, he’s only still alive because I didn’t go to that meeting, so…” Touka said cooly. For a moment the way she sounded, how calm and cold she seemed, it reminded Nishiki of the Touka she used to be years ago. She was just putting up a front and he couldn’t help the chuckle that came out of him.

“What’s so funny?” She raised a brow at him.

“You.” He said. “You still love him, Touka.” Nishiki was simply stating a fact that Touka didn’t want to admit to. She was trying her hardest to pretend Kaneki didn’t mean anything to her anymore, trying to erase him from her history, but it would only hurt her more if she kept fighting it. She had to accept Kaneki would always be a part of her.  

Touka opened her mouth to hit him with some sassy comeback, but nothing was coming out and it pissed her off. She plopped herself down on the edge of the bed with a slight hunch and her hands in her lap. Her eyes were staring down at her fumbling fingers as she straightened herself up and took a deep breath before exhaling sharply.

“You’re right, there will always be a part of me that loves him. I still love him because I’m too stupid to let go of who he used to be. I will always think that the Kaneki I knew, who I fell for, is still in there somewhere, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m not with him. I don’t want to be with him. Not anymore.” Touka could feel her heart racing as she spoke, her hands moving to linger over the spot where Kaneki’s kagune pierced her thigh and stomach. She looked up at Nishiki, the one person who got her through this mess. Nishiki, the man who helped keep her together and that she ended up falling for. “I’m here with you. Just you. Even if one day I know you won’t be.” Touka knew Nishiki’s heart belonged to Kimi and…

Her own thoughts were disrupted by Nishiki, who had wasted no time in walking right up to her and gently pushed her down onto the mattress. He scooted her further up the bed so she could rest her head on a pillow and delicately encased his body over hers. The warmth of his body instantly calming her racing heart and the way he looked at her putting her doubts at ease.

Nishiki leaned down to kiss her softly, caressing the side of her face with his hand and letting his long fingers trace along her jawline.

He wasn’t holding himself back and he wanted her to see that…to feel it…

His hand traveled down from her face and rested between her breasts, right over her heart.

“I’m not going anywhere, Touka. I’m here now, I’m here for the long run.” He said, meaning every word. Touka lay there blinking, trying to let his words sink in.

“But…” Nishiki covered her mouth with his hand and shook his head at her.

“Just shut up and accept it, you stubborn brat.” He chuckled.

Touka reached up to remove his hand from her mouth and raised a brow at him. “Do that again and I’ll bite your fingers off.” She teased, pressing her lips into a hard line so she wouldn’t laugh.

“No, you won’t.” Nishiki grinned and kissed her again.

Had Kaneki fully come back into her life and had Kimi come back into his…there was no doubt things would be different, but they believed everything had happened the way they did for a reason. This was it and they accepted that.

They soon began peeling off their clothes, letting their garments cover the floor around the bed, and spent a good while meshing their bodies together, kissing until they were breathless.

Touka lay there with her eyes shut as she felt Nishiki’s lips kiss over one of her hip bones, slowly moving his way up along her stomach and the curve of her ribcage. His free hand resting over her outer thigh, stroking it. The feeling of his lips against her skin, the attention he was giving her, it was all making her feel so alive, so wanted…so loved…

The overwhelming sensations and emotions coursing through her was almost too much, she couldn’t help the tears that began to roll down the sides of her face.

Nishiki, who had been kissing and kneading one of her breasts looked up to see the tears and pulled away, worried he had done something wrong.

“Touka, are you okay?” He asked her and saw her nod.

“I’m just…happy.” She admitted. He smiled at her, reaching up with his free hand to stoke her cheek as he positioned himself over her and fit himself between her legs. He never expected to contribute to her happiness, but it felt good knowing he could give her that. And than he could admit she had done the same for him.

“I’m happy too.” He said, still caressing her cheek.

Touka wrapped her arms around Nishiki’s neck, shut her eyes and pulled him down for a kiss as he let a hand slip down between them to guide himself into her. She sighed against his lips as he stretched her and he let out a groan against the side of her mouth as he began to thrust in and out of her, feeling her legs wrap around his waist and hooked her ankles behind him as they pushed him to keep going.

Their love making was intense, but unhurried as their bodies moved against each other in complete unison along with their quickened breathing that carried a mixture of groans. Their kisses were soft and lazy, with their moans getting in the way. Each of them taking brief moments to let themselves slip into their hazes before bringing their eyes back on each other.

Both of them stared into each eyes through hooded eyelids as Touka noticed Nishiki’s eyes looking over every inch of her face.

“Beautiful…” Nishiki panted as he ran the pads of his fingers along Touka’s cheekbone, feeling the hotness of her flushed cheek. It was such an affectionate gesture that filled her cheeks with even more warmth.

They came together and so intensely they both trembled from their orgasms hitting them, proof of how strong their connection was as one. As her walls contracted she mewled out his name as he grunted hers, but then groaned along with each hot burst of essence his cock let go deep inside her.

Nishiki collapsed slightly over Touka, making sure not to completely crush her as she felt him start to shake. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him tighter, placing soft, breathless, kisses against the side of his head. He turned onto his back, bringing her over him and staying buried inside her as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply.

She could still feel him semi-hard and she let her desire take over, letting her hips moved up and down him very slowly, working him until he was hard again.

Neither one of them wanted to say it, but it had been in the back of their minds, if anything went wrong…if one of them by chance didn’t make it…they wanted to make this moment count.

-

The next evening Yomo, Tsukiyama, Nishiki and Touka gathered in the shop, going over the plan again in detail and counting down to the hour they would head to the CCG headquarters. With their masks ready, they were all determined to make this a success, even as everyone had their doubts about Kaneki. This would work no matter what.

All of them had gathered at the specific spot where Kaneki told them to be at and that’s when a backdoor, minimally guarded and easy to take out the doves that were guarding that area. Once the door was opened they had 30 minutes to get in and get out. But going through three levels in that short of time, seemed like a challenge, but it could be done. It would be done.

The distraction was a level one security breach, the release of lower-rated ghouls that would keep the CCG busy for a while. Kaneki had somehow hacked security, manipulating it so that it seemed like a system failure as he controlled everything else from the control room. He was able to keep an eye on everyone through the security cameras, but he had paid close attention to Touka and Nishiki.

The group had managed to slip straight past level one and level two without much of a problem as the lingering doves were in such small groups. Tsukiyama seemed to be having too much fun and while no one was surprised by his actions, Touka reigned him back in.

By the time they reached the third level, Touka led her group down further, but they all couldn’t ignore how many cells they were passing and all the ghouls possibly in them. Anger flared in all four of them, knowing that many locked up in Cochlea didn’t deserve to be here.

The doors to Ayato and Hinami’s cells immediately opened, on cue as the group reached them. Hinami stepped out first from her cell and Ayato soon after.

“Ayato! Hinami!” Touka yelled as she ran towards him, pulling them both into a huge embrace. Hinami was quick to hug her back tightly, but Ayato barely put his arm around his sister. His attention went haywire, looking around everywhere as if he was anticipating an attack.

“Where is that half-ass bastard?!” Ayato demanded, pulling away from Touka, but hovered around her and Hinami as if he was protecting them.

“He’s controlling everything from up above.” Yomo told him. Ayato winced and then spotted a camera and immediately walked up to it.

“You’re fucking dead, Kaneki! You hear me?!” There was pure rage laced in his voice. Hinami stepped in front of him, placing her hands over his chest and trying to push him away from the camera. “I will find you and kill you! Mark my words, Kaneki!” Ayato’s black and red eyes flared with anger.

“Ayato, please stop, we have to go!” Hinami tried to his get attention and he finally looked down at her. It was as though she had an immediate effect on him, calming him just enough for him to nod in agreement.

“Come on! Our window is closing!” Yomo shouted.

Tsukiyama, Ayato, and Hinami began to run off as Yomo and Touka soon followed, but Touka looked back to find Nishiki standing in front of one of the prison cells, staring at a chart hanging off one of the doors.

“Nishiki!” Touka called out to him, but he looked as though he had seen a ghost. He was petrified. Touka stopped running towards the exit, causing Yomo to do the same. She ran back towards Nishiki as Yomo called out for her to stop, but she couldn’t leave without Nishiki. Once she reached him she could see all color drained from his face. She followed his line of sight and saw what had gotten his attention. The chart of a prisoner that was signed by a K. Nishino.

Kimi.

“Sh—She’s here…” Nishiki let out barely above a whisper. Kimi was here. "Working for the CCG. Why…why would she…” He sounded completely lost.

“THE GHOULS HAVE BEEN SPOTTED!” Touka heard a dove shout from down the hallway. She saw a group of doves armed with quinques and she reacted by flaring her ukaku, crystalizing it to shoot projectiles at them. She managed to hit a couple of them and mde the rest take cover, enough for her to grab Nishiki by the collar of his coat and make him look at her.

“Nishiki, we have to fucking go! NOW!” She yelled at him. His eyes fluttered and he came back to his senses and noticed the group of doves trying to come their way. He pushed Touka forward and started to run towards Yomo who was dealing with his own small group of doves that he easily took out.

But the group after them were gaining ground, until Touka watched a dark figure fall between them and saw a massive black and snake like rinkaku begin to take out the doves one by one. There were screams ringing out, bodies were flying, and blood was splattering over the walls. Yomo, Nishiki and Touka watched on in awe at the ghoul who had taken out a whole fleet of doves without hesitation. But it wasn’t a ghoul.

The dark figure stood over the bodies until it looked up at them.

“Kaneki.” Touka let out, staring at the glowing black and red eye that looked back at her. She could barely see his face, but it was him. There was an intensity in his eyes, but it had softened into a sad expression as he looked at Touka. For a moment she had forgotten how angry she was towards him…

“Touka?” Nishiki took her hand, making her to snap out of her trance. She turned to look at Nishiki and then looked down at his hand holding hers, seeing their fingers laced. She squeezed his hand and he immediately started to pull her away, trying to lead her out of Cochlea, but she turned back for a moment to see Kaneki one last time, seeing a flicker of disappointment flash over his face.

-

Everything after that moment had become a blur. It had become a fight for survival and now a fight to get as far away as possible from the chaos ensuing at the CCG. Even if Kaneki had managed to take some of the reins, they were still going to be hunted down.

Both Nishiki and Touka were rattled by the events that had unfolded. Nishiki, trying to understand why Kimi would be a part of the CCG and Touka, watching first hand how merciless Kaneki was…in protecting them…protecting her.

Ayato, still raging and clinging onto the idea of getting his revenge on Kaneki, put his vendetta on hold as he joined up with Tsukiyama, along with Hinami to head west to another home Tsukiyama had that would keep them safe for a while. Yomo went on to try and contact Uta and Itori, hoping to get help from them as Nishiki and Touka headed back to Nishiki’s flat to gather up some of their belongings. Touka had left behind something too precious to leave behind…

Neither Nishiki nor Touka had spoken since leaving Cochlea, but they were still processing what had happened. Once Touka gathered up what she needed, Nishiki carried her backpack and they were out the door, heading over towards Uta’s studio to meet up with Yomo. They kept to the shadows, wearing their hoodies and keeping themselves alert. It didn’t seem to be registering that they were on the run. Again.

“Hey, are you okay?” Nishiki asked her as they walked.

“Yeah, are you?” Touka answered, though there wasn’t much emotion in her reply.

“Yeah.” He sighed. She didn’t believe him and he didn’t believe her. They had to face what happened.

“Nishiki…?” Touka let out faintly.

“Yeah?”

Touka stopped walking and faced Nishiki making him stop in his tracks. “I saw how seeing her name affected you.”

Nishiki looked away from her, recalling the image in his head. Kimi’s name. Involved with the CCG. He had to have been imagining things. He wanted to believe it was just a cruel trick his mind was playing on him. His Kimi wouldn’t be in alliance with them…

“If you want answers,” Touka spoke, hoping to get his attention, but he continued to avoid her. “If you want to find a way back to her…I’m not stopping you, Nishiki.”

That is when Nishiki finally looked at Touka, seeing how calm she looked, how ready she was to give him up if that’s where his heart was pulling him towards. She was letting him know it was okay. If he still wanted Kimi…it was okay. He looked behind him for a moment, telling himself to decide what to do.

Choose.

Nishiki shut his eyes tightly, making his decision.

-

—Epilogue—

Three years later…

Touka had been brewing coffee for a table of three. It was another easy batch that took almost no time at all. The Manager’s Special was such a popular choice when she was working and she was more than happy to make the coffee, making sure to give special attention to every cup she brewed.

And right now, brewing coffee was better than walking around taking orders.

“Mama, look!” Ren, Touka’s three old son, beamed as he showed off some of his drawing and coloring skills with a drawing of a very colorful chameleon. He had been sitting up at the bar so Touka could keep an eye on him and he was always so good, so patient and always into his coloring and drawings or even flipping through one of his many picture books. He was the ultimate dream child to Touka who was thankful to be able to have him around in the shop.

Ren was the spitting image of Kaneki, from his jet black hair, the shape of his face, and while everyone said he had his mother’s eyes, he still very much had a lot of Kaneki. Every time Ren smiled…it was Kaneki’s smile…

Touka had done her best to move on from the events that unfolded three years ago. The rumors were that after the CCG realized Kaneki had taken part in aiding ghouls and helping free a couple of them, that he had been branded a traitor and sentenced to death. But there were other rumors than Kaneki lived, but simply disappeared. Whatever happened to him, his name had faded more and more each year. It was now as though he never existed. Erased, just as Touka once wished for…

He lived on though…

“That’s beautiful, Ren! Want me to hang it up here?” Touka ask, patting one of the cupboard doors. Ren nodded excitedly, proud to have his work on display. Touka smile as she took the colorful drawing, gathered a couple of pieces of tape and set it on the cupboard door. “There we go!”

“That’s definitely the best thing we have hanging around here.” Yomo said, also giving off a smile as he came up behind Touka.

“My boy is a little celebrity artist around here.” Touka let out. Ren put his hands up and was so full of glee it made both Touka and Yomo laugh a little.

“I’d pay good money for that.” Nishiki’s voice came from the entrance of the shop. He had been looking directly at the drawing with a huge smile on his face.

“Papa!” Ren jumped off his seat and ran into Nishiki’s awaiting arms. Nishiki picked him up and gently threw him over his shoulders, letting Ren’s legs dangle off his shoulders and letting him hold onto his head to keep himself balanced. Ren loved riding on Nishiki’s shoulders, telling Nishiki he felt like he was “a king!”

“You ready to visit the bookstore?” Nishiki asked Ren, sneaking a look up at him with a smile.

“Yes! Need more books!” Ren let out excitedly.

“Yeah, you always do, kid.” Nishiki chuckled as he looked over at Touka, who was just finishing up drying some cups. He flashed her his charming smile and she returned the smile with a bright one of her own.

In that moment, when Nishiki had to pick a new life or try to salvage the old one he once had, he had picked this life he was living right now. And he never regretted it. This is what he wanted.

Touka looked over at Yomo who gave her a little nod with a warm smile, giving her the go ahead to leave. She walked up to him and kissed his cheek, putting a small smile on Yomo’s face.

Touka took off her apron and walked around the counter to join Nishiki and Ren, rubbing her seven months pregnant belly as she did so. Nishiki walked up to her, splaying a hand over her stomach and leaning down to kiss her.

“How are you doing?” He asked pulling away.

“Great, but your daughter has been kicking me all day because you haven’t been around to calm her.” She told him. Nishiki’s smile grew wider as he rubbed her belly, letting his baby know he was there.

“A daddy’s girl already.” He said.

Nishiki laced his fingers with Touka’s, leading her and Ren out of the shop. Every Friday afternoon opened their weekend of family time where they went to the bookstore, took walks, checked out the market, and took Ren to the playground. Weekends were just for them, something both Nishiki and Touka cherished, even more so when they took videos and photos.

Once they were outside, Touka made sure Ren’s jacket was secure on him as he continued to sit on Nishiki’s shoulders. Nishiki had bent down a little so Touka could reach him.

“Mama, I’m okay.” Ren was already annoyed by his mother’s incessant need to make sure he was warm and safe.

“Now, you are, silly.” She said ruffling his hair as Nishiki stood back up.

Touka paused as she felt something all too familiar hit her, sending a shiver down her spine. Eyes. There were eyes on her, but she couldn’t pinpoint where the stare was coming from.

“Touka?”

“Yo.” Touka reacted to Nishiki’s voice.

“You okay?” He asked, tightening his grip around her hand.

“Yeah, sorry, I got distracted.” Touka smiled at him and Ren.

Nishiki began to lead her away again with Touka already getting over the feeling of being watched. She had felt it before, but it always ended up being her imagination or paranoia. She always cursed at herself for letting her imagination run wild like that. Ever since they had moved far away from the lives they once had, there wasn’t anything to be afraid of. They had lived as normally as they could.

Everything had finally come together. There was nothing to worry about.

Everything was okay.

———

Juuzou casually made his way towards the Director’s office where Tooru Mutsuki was standing by and looking as though he was guarding the entrance.

“He’s busy, Suzuya.” Mutsuki stepped in front of Juuzou.

“Never too busy for me.” Juuzou waved him off with a smile as he walked past Mutsuki and into the Director’s office. There was a bowl of candy sitting on top of the Director's desk, something Juuzou helped himself to every time he walked in. Juuzou grabbed a piece of taffy-like candy and sat down on one of the chairs, propping his feet up on the Director’s desk.

“What’s your report, Suzuya?” The Director asked from his seat, which was still facing the windows.

“She seems to be doing well.” Juuzou spoke with his mouth full. “Uh, question though, why aren’t you checking up on her? Don’t you want to say hi?”

“Did she look happy?” The Director asked.

“Well, yeah.” Juuzou answered.

“And my son?” The Director turned his chair around.

[CCG Bureau Director Haise Sasaki aka Black Reaper aka Ken Kaneki, alive and well]

“He looked like a happy kid.” Juuzou added.

Kaneki smiled. “That’s why I’ve stayed away, Juuzou. To keep them happy.”

“But you still want to go ahead with the plan?” Juuzou asked.

“Yes.” Kaneki pushed up his glasses and placed his elbows on his desk, his fingertips pressed together. “And do me a favor, Juuzou, send in Nishino, I’d very much like to include her in this.” He added.

“Roger.” Juuzou hopped out of his chair and was soon out of his office.

“What was that all about?” Mutsuki slipped in as soon as Juuzou was gone.

“Get a hold of Urie, Yonebayashi, and Shirazu.” Kaneki sighed heavily, but gave a little grin. “We’re going undercover, Mutsuki.”

———

[murasakihime]

fic: Still loving you

Gift for: @littleevilaccident Pairings: Sasaki Haise x Touka Kirishima, Ken Kaneki x Touka Kirishima (mentioned), Nishio Nishiki x Kimi Nishino (mentioned). Characters: Touka Kirishima, Sasaki Haise, Nishio Nishiki, Saiko Yonebayashi, Urie Kuki,  Tooru Mitsuki and Ginshi Shirazu. Rating: K+

Happy new year, Tokyo Ghoul fandom! May Ishida sensei celebrate 2018 by not killing any of our beloved characters xD

@littleevilaccident you mentioned that you loved every version of Kaneki so I decided to write about his Haise version. This fic is placed after Haise was introduced to Touka. I also took the liberty to make NishiKimi a thing (even if they were separated during that arc) because it’s holiday season and Touken already provides enough angst. So I guess it’s a bit Au- ish?

@tgsecretsanta2017 thank you for creating this beautiful holidays event =)

“For the last time, can you please put on that dress?” Nishio’s voice had started to get impatient.

“No way am I wearing that ridiculous dress!”  

“Please Touka, only for a moment! I need to be sure it’s on Kimi’s size”

“Gosh, Nishiki!” Touka exhaled frustrated. Nishiki was as stubborn as always. “I’m not even wearing the same size with Kimi”.

“Really?” Nishio said while he looked her more carefully. “Yes, you’re right. Kimi has bigger boobs”

“Nishiki!” Touka tried to kick him but he blocked her leg with his hand.

He gave her satisfied smirk which managed to frustrate her further.

The fact that we usually train together is to blame for that, she noted to herself.

She felt that someone was watching them. She turned and saw the seller looking at them with a very shocked face. Surely, not everyday people were entering shops and kicking each other.

“Can I help you with something?” she asked them with cold politeness which barely hided her true feelings behind her words. What she meant to say was that she wouldn’t allow them to make a mess on her shop any further.

“Actually, yes” Nishio who had just noticed her a moment ago replied.  “I need to buy a gift for my girlfriend”.

“And what would your beautiful girlfriend would like to try on? “She asked looking at Touka.

“It’s not for me!” Touka’s red face showed her embarrassment as she quickly tried to solve the misunderstanding. It was absurd to think that she was dating anyone, especially an idiot as Nishiki.

She let the girl to help Nishiki, feeling slightly guilty that she was letting a stranger deal with that idiot but it couldn’t be helped. She needed a break after spending an hour into that shop.

Touka was never fond of shopping. Back in high school she used to go shopping with Yoriko and only because it was nice to see Yoriko’s beaming face once she found what she was looking for. But those times belonged to the long past. Nowdays, she wasn’t hanging around with Yoriko and she rarely went  to the mall, too.

She should have never agreed to accompany Nishiki to his search for Kimi’s Christmas gift. Why she even agreed to do it in the first place?

Nishiki interrupted her thoughts as he screamed in her ear “Boo!”

That unexpected sound made her jump a bit and she almost dropped her bag down.

Touka turned to face him, only to see him enjoying himself way too much for being able to scare her.

Asshole.

Why she was even friends with him? Sometimes she thought that they should go back to being only coworkers.

“I found the perfect gift for Kimi, even without your help!” he declared in a very happy tone.

“Congratulations” Touka stated in an uninterested tone.

I hope he’s not waiting for me to ask him what he brought because I won’t.

“I can’t wait to see my Kimi wearing this!” he said not noticing Touka’s apathy to his excitement.  “She’s gonna look so cute! Way too cute!!”  His face had the expression of absolute joy as he was lost to his imagination of his girlfriend.

Do all people look that silly when they are in love? Touka wondered.

Then I’m glad I’m not in love with anyone, she lied to herself as she always did when that subject came up.

There was no use to think about him. After all, he didn’t exist anymore; at least not as she would like to remember him.

Kaneki Ken was forever lost.

Touka turned away her head so Nishiki wouldn’t be able to notice the silent tears forming in her eyes.  No one should be allowed to see her weakness for him. It was easier to pretend she didn’t felt anything about him anymore if no one knew about it.

As she focused looking on the entrance of the shop, a confusing shape entered her vision. A single figure appeared in her vision. A figure that was as well-known as it was dear to her.

How was possible for Kaneki to stand in front of her when he was lost? Still, her eyes didn’t lie to her because as the figure approached, a familiar face smiled at her.

“Touka –san” a warm voice said and yet all Touka could hear was the formality that was too distant to belong to a dear friend.

Haise Sasaki was standing in front of her.

How could she let herself be deceived by a ghost of the past? It wasn’t like it was the first time she met Haise. She had already met him twice- once when he visited the RE café and once when she bumped into him in the hospital. She should have known better.

And yet, why did he look at her with those puppy eyes? He wasn’t supposed to look at her in the way Kaneki did. And she definitely wasn’t supposed to be drawn to him. What was wrong with her?

She realized that he was waiting for her to reply to his acknowledgment so she said “Haise-san, I didn’t know I’d find you here”.

“We’re also here!” a voice behind Haise complained.

Touka unwillingly moved her eyes from Haise to the source of the voice.

Haise’s squad was standing right behind him. She recognized the always looking bored man, the fragile male with the shy smile, the small girl and the blond man who always blushed when he was around her for some reason. Judging by his expression he was the one who had spoken this time. Was Haise so distracting that she missed them? Certainly something was wrong with her!

“I’m happy to see you, too” she said to all of them and at the same time to no one in particular.

The blond took her words at heart as he managed to blush even further. That didn’t escape from the small girl’s gaze, who unsuccessfully tried to stifle a laugh.

Touka noticed that Haise was intensely looking at Nishiki. She remembered that Nishiki had told her about his meeting with Haise during the Torso investigation and how the latter was able to see his face.

Oh crap! Her inner thoughts screamed, he’s gonna recognize him, isn’t he?

The blond followed Haise’s gaze and gotten a completely wrong idea because he shouted  “Touka-san! Is that your boyfriend?!”

Now everyone was looking at Touka and she felt her cheeks getting redder.  Once again, the people were getting the wrong idea, nothing new. But how dare that blond draw all that attention to her and make such silly accusations? What would Haise think? And why she even cared?

“No, he’s just my friend!!” she quickly corrected him and as she was feeling Haise’s gaze on her she lowered her voice and continued “I don’t have a boyfriend”.

Idiotic girl, she scolded herself. Why did you have to share that unnecessary information, no one cares about?

That moment Nishiki finally decided to speak. But much to Touka’s disappointment he just found a way out of the shop and the awkward situation of meeting Haise. He said that his girlfriend was waiting for him, and then excused himself.

Touka was left looking at him as he was moving away thinking that now she was really trapped. He couldn’t blame Nishiki for wanting to get out of that situation but she wished he had found an excuse that could also give her a reason to get away.  Now she was stuck with Haise and his squad.

“I’m really sorry for Shirazu’s behavior” Haise politely bowed to her. Once he raised himself once again, Touka was surprised to see that he had an ashamed look on him; like he was the one who had asked that prying question instead of his coordinative.

“It’s okay” she said not really meaning it. But she didn’t want to see his face ashamed anymore.

Why so apologetic? You always apologized for the things you didn’t do, she thought. Still, you never apologized for leaving me behind.

But this was so wrong. It wasn’t Haise who had left her behind. It was Kaneki. And she had no right to project her feelings on the wrong person; like he had no right to still make her feel butterflies on her stomach.

She spend the next half hour mumbling answers to the questions Haise’s subordinates made and avoiding his gaze as much as she could. Yet she could feel that his eyes  never left her face. Her head began to hurt and the conflicting feelings she held in her heart were too much for her to bear. She whispered an excuse she didn’t even believed herself and she hurried towards the exit.

She ran, and she ran and she ran until she couldn’t breathe anymore. She didn’t stop once she walked out from the shop, she didn’t even stopped once she reached the park. Only when she felt the fatigue consuming her body she stopped.

“Touka-san! Touka-san!” She heard Kaneki’s—no , Haise’s voice calling her so she turned around to face him.

Haise stopped running once he approached her. Now he was just looking as exhausted as she was supposing she was looking, too. She observed him as he was trying to catch his breath and make a failed attempt to tidy his clothes a bit. He was a cute sight nonetheless.

“Touka-san, I don’t know how to say it…well, I hope you won’t take it the wrong way…and…”  he offered her an awkward smile as he run one of his hands on his hair. “ And I’m definitely not the creepy type of guy...so I’ll understand if you are not interested”.

“Um, what are you talking about?” Touka asked him having no clue was he was trying to tell her.

Haise’s cheeks burned on a crimson red color as he said “Would you like to go out with me at some time?”

Touka knew that the right answer would be no. She had decided long ago not to be involved with Kaneki’s new life as Haise. Besides, the guy wasn’t really the guy she had fallen in love with. Kaneki was long dead and that person just happened to share the same body with him. This was so wrong in so many levels.

And yet, a part of her soul she really wanted to accept. If Kaneki had abandoned her and had been lost forever from this world would it be so wrong for her to fall in love with Haise,too?

I’m not betraying your memory Kaneki. But you have been gone for far too long and I feel so lonely. And Haise is the only person I can really love. He’s another part of your soul, and I love every part of you; unconditionally, passionately, eternally.

“I’d love to go out with you at some time” she replied shyly.

A radiant smile appeared on Haise’s face and Touka couldn’t help but return it as well.

The rain inside her soul stopped. The sun had finally returned.

[archive-of-fics]

Not Normal - Hide

  You sat on the couch as various thoughts raced through your head. In your hands you held a framed picture of you and Hide. It was taken last month at Anteiku. Hinami had gotten hold of a camera and started asking everyone to pose. You had finished with your shift and were sitting with Hide at one of the tables when Hinami rushed over.

Hide happily threw his arm over your shoulder and pulled you close, as he smiled widely for the camera, you were thrown off guard and looked at him blushing. Hinami snapped the picture and thanked the two of you before running off to ask Renji to help her develop the pictures. She gave you and Hide a copy of the photo and here you are remembering that day.      It was a day where you had not fully realized the situation you were in. You were blind to the reality and lived like you wished you could. Being with Hide was the greatest thing that could have happened to you. However, recently the cruel reality had started to sink in. Hide was human, and you were not. How you were blind to that fact, you did not know. Maybe just being with him made you feel human. He made you forget of the monster you really were. And as insane as it sounds, you loved him. You were in love with a human.      How much longer could you keep this from him? Hide was the best boyfriend any girl could ask for. He was so gentle, so kind hearted. There was no evil fiber in his being. He was an angel unlike you. You were a monster. A killer. Hide deserved better. You took a breath as you put your face against your hands. You had to tell him.      Having made up your mind you picked up the phone and called him. After the second ring you heard his cheerful voice on the other end of the line.     "Hey (Y/n)!"      "H-Hey Hide." You said stuttering nervously. "Um, do you think we meet up? There's... there's something I need to talk to you about."      "Uh oh. I don't think I like that tone of voice." Hide answered chuckling nervously. "But, sure. I'll come over to your place. I'll be there in about ten minutes. Sound good?"      "Yea. That sounds great. See you then." You hung up the phone and took a breath. Well that's that. There was no turning back now. Everything was about to change. You stood up from the couch and paced around anxiously waiting for Hide to arrive.           It felt like an eternity until you finally heard the doorbell ring. You felt your heart pick up. You were nervous but you were also scared. Maybe you shouldn't tell him anything.      "(Y/n)?" Hide called from the other side of the door as he knocked. You shook you head. No. You had to tell him. If you really loved him you should tell him what his girlfriend really is. "(Y/n)?"     "Uh. I'm going!" You called back. You walked over to the door and placed your hand on the handle. You stayed there for a second before nodding your head, taking a breath. "Okay then." You opened the door and saw Hide there. He looked a bit worried, but smiled when his eyes met yours.     "Hey babe." He told you as he leaned down and kissed your lips lovingly. You savored it, knowing it would be the last time you ever kissed him.     "Hey." You moved to the side and let him inside. Hide walked toward the living room and sat on the love seat. He looked over you and held his arm out for you to take so you can sit on his lap as you always do. Instead of doing that however, you sat on the couch across from him.      "Okay." You head him mutter as he positioned himself so he was facing you better.     "You want anything to drink? Eat?" You asked. Even though you didn't need human food you always had the kitchen stocked for when Hide came over. It would seem strange for one not to have food in their house. He shook his head.     "I'm good, thanks."          "So. The thing I wanted to talk to you about," You started. "Look, it's not an easy thing to say but, hear me out. I'm-"      "Did you hear the new song that came out today?" Hide asked cutting you off before you could say any more.      "What?" You asked confused.     "Yea. Your favorite singer released a new single today! Didn't you hear it? It's amazing!" Hide told you excitedly.           "Hide look I-"     "I'm surprised you haven't heard it yet. You usually hear it the second it comes out!"      "Hide." He didn't hear you and just kept talking. "Hide." You tried again, but still nothing. "Hide." He kept rambling. "Hide! Can you please stop and listen me!" You exclaimed making him stop and look at you. Your eyes widened realizing what you had done. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't... I didn't mean to yell." Hide said nothing and continued to look at you.      "So what is it you need to tell me?"      "Well, I first need you to know that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love you and I'm grateful for everything we've been through." You told him. "But, there's something important I need to tell you and I understand if you'll hate me afterwards and want me off the face of the earth. I just can't keep this from you anymore. I love you too much to keep it from you."     "You're talking about you being a ghoul right?" Hide questioned raising an eyebrow.     "Look, Hide, I know you're confused but, let me finish saying what I have to say and then-" You stopped. "What did you say?" You asked him making sure you heard him correctly. He chuckled.      "I know you're a ghoul (Y/n)."     "What?! Since when?!"      "Since we started dating." He admitted, shrugging his shoulders.     "And you say that like it's nothing! I could kill you!"     "I know. But, if you wanted to, you would have done it by now."      "Hide. Do you even understand what I am? I'm a monster! You should be scared of me! You should feel repulsed for having dated me!" You yelled, not understand how calmly Hide was taking this. It surprised you that he knew about you being a ghoul and yet still decided to ask you out. What's wrong with him?!     "I asked you out, because I love your personality, the way you are, not because of what species you are. I mean it's not your fault you're a ghoul right? You were born like that. Kaneki on the other hand," He drifted off. Your eyes widen as you looked at him in disbelief.     "You know about Kaneki too?"     "I overheard your boss and Kaneki talking after Nishiki attacked us. I feel awful for Kaneki. I wish I could have done something to prevent that you know? I notice him suffering because of it. Even so, Kaneki is still my best friend. Him being a ghoul doesn't change that, just like that doesn't change anything between us (Y/n)." Hide said taking your hands in his.      "Hide." You said before you quickly tackled Hide to the floor and hovered over him, your arms on either side of his head. Your (e/c) eyes had turned to your ghoul eyes. Hide looked at you, his expression not showing shock or fear. Instead, he reached a hand out and placed a hand on your cheek.      "I'm not scared of you (Y/n)."     "You should be." You answer back.      "Why do you want to make me to hate you?" Hide asked in confusion.     "Because you deserve better than a monster like me." At that moment you gasped as you quickly found yourself laid back onto the floor with Hide now hovering on top of you.     "Well, I don't agree on that." He told you. "I love you, and there's nothing you can do to change that." Before you can argue back, his lips sealed yours, silencing whatever it was you were going to say.

You stayed still for a moment not understanding anything. Hide should hate you. He should have and could have reported you to the CCG, but he didn't. Tears welled up in your eyes as you realized that. Hide... Hide didn't hate you. He still loves you.      You were prepared for the hate Hide would have towards you when he knew the truth. You were willing to let him go so that he can find happiness elsewhere. Even so, you hoped, a part of you had hoped that he would stay. That he would stay and be with you like he was now.

 Hide from the start, and he didn't care. He didn't care that you were a ghoul. Kissing him back, you wrapped your arms around his neck, and let your tears continue to fall. It wasn't Hide who didn't deserve you, it was you who didn't deserve a sweet soul as Hide. Soon, you both pull back and Hide looks at you lovingly.      "I love you (Y/n)." You chuckled and nodded.      "I know. I love you too Hide." You told him. "Oh, and Hide?"      "Yea?"     "You are not a normal human." He laughed as he sat you both up on the floor.      "Maybe not. I'll go make us coffee, you pick out a movie for us to watch." Before leaving to the kitchen, Hide kissed your forehead leaving you still in a state of disbelief. He had a best friend and a girlfriend as a ghoul and he is not phased in the slightest. If it were anybody else, they would have surely ran away, and yet Hide did not. Yea you were right. Your human boyfriend, was not normal. You smiled.      "And I love him for that." 

[harleyquilt]

A new life. (Touken fluff fic)

Summary: au of if kaneki joined touka to the new cafe instead of fighting arima, inspired by 144 and requested by @rozemaryblaze and @catsoul2

Notes: probably not my best work. But thank you for 200 followers!! Again, probably not the nest fic to celebrate with…but I’ll accept any requests given!! Thank you!!!!! Please enjoy and feedback~~

It was quiet in the new cafe, only the sound of the clock ticking and the distant sounds of touka’s voice talking to yomo in the main area. It had been a year since the Anteiku raid and since then, he had decided to use yomo’s advice and join him, touka, nishiki and hinami in making a new cafe in a new ward. A new life. One he hoped he wouldn’t regret.

It had took them the whole year to save up for the cafe and decorate it and the opening day had finally arrived. Kaneki wasn’t sure if he had recovered from his…instability from the years prior to this, but he knew being with touka and the others helped immeasurably, even if that may take him a while. Though, if he was completely honest, he continued to keep a distant relationship with his friends and very rarely shared any of his past experiences that still haunted him in his dreams at night. Atleast he was here, watching over them like he should have before. He won’t allow anyone to hurt them again.

“Kaneki.” Touka called out and peered into the break room he stood in with a handful of clothes in her hand. “Here’s your uniform. Are you sure you wanted to work as a waiter?”

“Yes.” He smiled honestly and took the clothes from her with a small thank you. “You said it would help if I stopped ‘lurking around,’ as you put it.”

At first, he couldn’t say he was comfortable with the idea of going back to being a waiter in the cafe, originally planning to join yomo with his jobs with yoshimura, but of course that plan was no longer possible. Nonetheless, he couldn’t deny that touka was wrong; he spent his days mostly hidden away on his own, but he could tell touka tried hard to help him take a step back into the real world. It was the least he could do for her and besides, maybe working with touka again would help distract him from the usual voices that dragged his mind to darker places he’d rather not dwell on.

“Sorry for being honest.” Touka smirked, already making her leave. “Hurry and get changed, we’ll be opening soon.”

His eyes stayed on her as she walked away, shaking his head quickly when he realised he was staring. Again. It was something he noticed he was doing a lot of since he came back and noticed how she had changed, growing a few inches taller, her hair becoming lighter and was now more curled with her new haircut. Calling her cute now would be an understatement, to say the least.

He once again tried to push away these thoughts. Thinking about touka in such a way…he shouldn’t let his thoughts wonder off so freely. Of course, he wasn’t going to lie and say he wasn’t fond of her. If anything, she had been on his mind for a very long time now, but he knew allowing himself to become closer to her would only lead to danger and the mere thought of her ending up in a situation and dyin- no, he couldn’t even think about it. He won’t let it come to that, so for that, he’ll continue avoiding her, even if it ended up hurting her. Besides, she would never think of him the way he does for her. Not after everything he had done and how much he had changed.

Why did you have to change…

Her words echoed in his mind as he started to remove his shirt, grabbing the freshly washed one touka gave him.

“Oh right, kaneki. I forgot to give you your-” touka stopped abruptly, her eyes widened at the sight of his bare chest, roaming them over the toned muscles he got over the past two years. A blush rose of her cheeks.

“What’s wrong, touka-chan?” Kaneki asked confused, slipping on the new shirt.

“Y-Your tie.” She sheepishly handed over the tie, biting her lip and trying so hard to avert her eyes. “You’ve changed so much. Last I remember, you were a bean pole.”

He laughed a little at her response, seeing her so embarrassed so amusing considering how she used to scold him for being so weak.

“Oh? Is that so?” Kaneki buttoned up his shirt. “I guess I followed your advice well then.”

“S-Shut up and get changed, idiot.” She stormed out of the room, releasing a breath she didn’t know she held. “How did get he get so good looking.” She mumbled to herself.

“Touka-chan.” He called out and when he heard her footsteps stop, a sly smile grew on his lips. “You know I can still hear you.”

“I’ll beat the hell out of you!” She yelled, rushing off.

…

It was closing time, the last of the few customers finally leaving and nishiki and kaneki wiped down the tables whilst touka went over to flip the sign on the door. The cafe was doing wonderfully well since it opened six months ago, many customers, both humans and ghouls, visited the cafe along with their endless compliments for touka’s delicious coffee.

She set out three new cups for her and the boys, preparing the coffee as they finished cleaning up.

“Jeez, such a busy day.” Nishiki complained and leaned against the mop. “Why am I working for you again?”

“Because you’re a lazy piece of shit with nothing better to do.” Touka sighed, pouring the water in each mug once it boiled.

“You shitty woman.” He huffed. “I deserve a raise.”

“Then insulting your boss will probably not be the best way to go about it.” Kaneki shook his head but continued to grin after he finished wiping over the last table.

“Atleast kaneki knows some respect.” Touka said smugly and stuck her tongue out to nishiki who rolled his eyes in response.

“That’s only because you two are into each other and then you say you don’t pick favourites.” Touka choked and kaneki ended up knocking over a few things from the table from nishiki’s comment, whilst he sat there smirking at their reactions. “Don’t try to deny it. I can practically smell the sexual tension and it’s bloody revolting.”

“Fucking idiot.” Touka snapped, holding up a mug ready to throw it right into his head. “I’ll kill you where you stand.”

“T-Touka-chan.” Kaneki stammered, hiding his blushing mess of a face with his hand. “You’ve already broke three mugs this past month.”

“Fine.” She grumbled, setting down the mug and moved on to finish the coffees. “He deserves it though.”

Kaneki and nishiki took a seat on the stools at the counter and touka passed them their drinks. They were silent as they took the first sip, savouring in the nostalgic taste that warmed them up as they drank. With every coffee she made, it had seemed touka had continued to make her coffees more like the managers’ and yet, it still wasn’t exactly the same. Not yet.

“This cafe is doing well, surprisingly enough.” Nishiki commented, his eyes wandered to the rest of the cafe. “And to think our lives be dammed after what happened in the 20th ward.”

“Well, it’s the least we could- wait, what do you mean ‘surprisingly enough?’ Did you not think that I could have done it?”

“If we’re talking about you who couldn’t even give anyone a decent haircut to save your life or you, who couldn’t go through one week without breaking a plate, then yes, it was surprising.”

They started to squabble once again and their voices grew louder with each comeback whilst kaneki sat by in silence, not really paying attention to the conversation. He held the mug in his hand and stared out of the window, the memories of the raid flooded into his mind.

You couldn’t protect them that day, a voice whispered harshly within him. You couldn’t save the manager or your other friends. You ruined their lives and forced them to start over. All you bring is pain-

“Kaneki.” Touka called softly, but it startled kaneki nonetheless and his mug fell from his hands and smashed loudly against the cold ground.

“Sorry.” Kaneki mumbled, kneeling to collect the broken shard but his hands continued to tremble violently, dropping the pieces as he tried to pick them up.

Worthless Worthless Worthless Worthless

Nishiki joined him, placing a hand on his shoulder and told him that he would sort it out whilst he goes to the break room to take a moment for himself. Kaneki gave a small nod and rose to move to the next room, avoiding to even look up to touka who called for him once again.

Pitiful meaningless empty weak pathetic selfish

The voices didn’t stop, bombarding him continually with a merciless wave of bitter resentment that tore his mind apart with the reminder that he was partially to blame for everything that had changed; He took nishiki away from kimi, he ruined the life touka tried so hard to build, hinami was forced to move away from the home she had finally found after her trauma. He’s the reason Yoshimura died. He ruined everything.

If he hadn’t been so selfish…

Touka knocked on the break room’s door lightly, asking if she could come inside but kaneki didn’t respond. Slowly, she opened the door slightly to the dark room, muffled sobs being heard somewhere in the dark and saw that after she turned on the lights, kaneki was in a small, crouched ball in the corner of the room, his arms covering his sobbing face and his hands clawed against his head. He flinched when he heard touka’s voice again and buried his face into his knees, trying to hold back his small sobs from her.

“Kaneki. You…” She didn’t know what she could say to comfort him.

He seemed so fine the times they were together, even if he faltered here and there. Perhaps she had only ignorantly hoped that he was healing, despite the fact that she knew better judging by how much he went through only for his only home to be destroyed. Did he blame himself? When he had reluctantly agreed to yomo’s proposal to join them, was he really moving on from his old ways, or was he using it as an excuse to distract him from the pain he secretly felt? And to think that he went through all of this on this own…not anymore, touka decided.

She approached him and sat down besides him and his grip tightened as he clenched his hair with his fists. It pained touka so much to see him in this state, the realisation of how much he must have kept to himself only now sinking in, but all she could think of was how much of an idiot she was for not noticing sooner.

“Kaneki.” Her voice was low but gentle, soothing kaneki in a such way he couldn’t describe. “Please look at me.”

He’s hesitant at first, but she waited patiently with him first lowering one arm before he removed the other, shakily lifting his head to face her. At first, he feared to look up to see pity, disgust even, written all over touka’s face, the fear that she would now see him for the weak person he was and it made him nauseous to even imagine, but he didn’t want to reject her. What he didn’t expect, however, was to see her smile. Such a beautiful smile. A smile that wiped away all worries and doubts, instantly warming his heart and calming his mind. All in one smile.

She lifted her hand slowly and pushed back his bangs and moved it down to his cheek, her thumb wiping away a stray tear from his bloodshot eyes. To her surprise, he hadn’t flinched away from her and had even shuffled closer and kept his hand over hers to prevent it from leaving him. She may not know the words to tell him, but maybe words weren’t needed right now. Maybe all he needed was to know that he wasn’t alone. She watched him shut his eyes and his brows furrowed as he rubbed small circled on the back of touka’s hand.

“Thank you.” He said, his voice hushed. “Thank you, touka-chan.”

“You don’t need to hide from me.” And she froze slightly when he nodded, resting his head against her shoulder. She brushed her fingers through his hair with her other hand and smiled to herself. “No one blames you for anything and even if they did, I would just beat them up for you.”

She felt him laugh against her, his hand squeezing hers slightly and she couldn’t deny the butterflies she felt in her stomach to see that she was able to make him happy, even if just a little.

“I’ll always be there for you, kaneki.”

…

It was so hard for her not to stare at him these days. He’s changed so much over the last few months, his roots reverted back to black with his hair becoming thicker and his face becoming more defined. His body also became more broad whilst he also grew a few more inches. She didn’t want to admit it, but he looked good.

“Careful, I see some drool from all that staring.” Nishiki smirked. “The word ‘subtle’ doesn’t seem to exist for someone like you.”

“Give it a rest.” She threw the wet cloth at his face and tried to ignore his persistent comments.

“All I’m saying is that you might as well as make a move whilst you can.” He nodded towards kaneki, who was talking to a very clearly interested, beautiful woman. “You’re not the only one into him.”

“I’m not into him.” She protested a little too loudly. “That idiot can do whatever he wants.”

Despite her words, her eyes continued to wander to where kaneki stood, the woman sitting cross legged with her head rested on her hand, her eyes fluttered with a cute smile that could bring any man to their knees. Kaneki, on the other hand, continued to remain polite, with that awkward smile of his and lighthearted voice and he clearly had no idea on how to respond to the woman’s flirting.

He seemed happy.

After she found him broken in the storage closet nearly six months ago, touka tried her best to help him move on from his painful thoughts and insecurities by being his support. After that day, he had slowly began to open up to her and shared small pieces of his past and experiences bit by bit with each passing day and eventually, the burdening weights that held him down were finally being lifted from his chest, she saw him become…happy. He started to smile more and even began to laugh again and what’s better was that he wasn’t avoiding her anymore. That was the greatest gift she could have received.

But as he opened up to her, she inevitably grew closer to him too and now she wasn’t exactly sure on how she felt. To be honest, she always had…Some feelings towards him, begrudgingly enough, but now she didn’t know how to react to them. Should she pursue them, of should she let him go and be happier with someone who wasn’t afraid to show their affection? She just simply wasn’t sure.

“Touka-chan.” Kaneki waved his hand in front of her, bringing back her attention. “Did you hear me.”

“W-What?” Touka shook her head and blinked hard. “Did you say something?”

Instead of being annoyed, he only smiled at her. He had such a beautiful smile.

“I said one espresso, please.” She nodded awkwardly and began to prepare the drink. “Such a daydreamer lately, touka-chan.” She froze when she felt his hand brush back a strand of loose hair. His touch was so warm. “Is there something on your mind?”

“I…” She almost dropped the cup, but caught it just in time. “Shit.”

He came round the counter and took the mug from her hand to set it down. Touka was more than certain that she was a blushing mess at this point, only hoping that the ground beneath her would just swallow her up already.

“Touka, your head is so hot. You must be catching a fever or something.” Kaneki frowned, placing a hand against her head. “Come on, I’ll take you to the break room. Nishiki-senpai, watch over please.”

With a knowing smile from nishiki, he nodded and gave a thumbs up to touka as kaneki began to guide her away from the cafe towards the break room. Touka, on her way out, caught a glimpse of that woman from earlier who glared right back at touka, jealousy written all over her face and touka couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

Once in the break room, kaneki gave touka a glass of water and went to find a damp cloth for her head. It was amusing in a way to see him so worried for her when it wasn’t too long ago that touka was aiding kaneki. He scurried around until he found one and dabbed it on her head.

“I’m fine, kaneki.” Touka said, but he didn’t seem to listen to her. “Stop worrying so much, my mind just drifted off a little.”

“Can you blame me for worrying?” Kaneki took the cloth away and placed his hand back onto her head, sighing with relief when he felt it was back to normal. “But I guess you’re right. I just can’t help it when it’s you.”

She expected him to leave then, but his hand stayed in placed and drifted down her cheek, his light touch sent a shiver through her. He locked his eyes onto hers, biting his lip nervously as if he was about to do something he wasn’t sure of. Touka didn’t know what to do and remained frozen in place, awaiting his next move, but instead he leaned back and quickly took his hand away.

“S-Sorry.” His voice shook and his hand moved to scratch the back of his head, turning his face away whilst he cringed at his own actions. “I don’t know what came over me then.”

Then, of all the things to happen, she pulled his tie and forced him to face her and leaned in. For a moment, she hesitated, licking her lips and waited for kaneki to push her away, but he merely stared at her with those big round eyes of his and pursed lips. She took a deep breath and pressed her lips against his.

It was weird at first, clumsy and awkward, but when she pulled away, trembling with sheer embarrassment, his hands cupped her face and pulled her back in for another kiss. It was softer this time, more patient and slow.

After a while, they finally broke away, but kaneki continued to hold touka’s face in his hands, his forehead against hers. He continued to plant small kisses on her nose to her cheek and touka smiled against him.

“Touka-chan.” He whispered, his voice laced with an undeniable happiness. “Touka-chan…”

“Yes?” She giggled and tugged him closer so that she could wrap her arms around him.

“Is this real?” Touka laughed again, kaneki beaming at the sound of her laughter, like music to his ears. “I can’t believe-”

“Shh.” She pressed a finger against his lips, dragging it down and opened his lips slightly. “Just go with it.”

“Oi,” Nishiki kicked the door. “Hurry up, your shifts aren’t over yet.”

Touka scowled, glaring at the door as kaneki leaned back. Of all times…

“It’s fine, touka-chan.” Kaneki smiled, noticing touka’s grim look. “This probably wasn’t the best time to do…This, but there’s no need to rush.”

Strangely enough, to hear such words from him was surprising. She was so used to seeing him leave, always being torn apart from each other for so long and now, he was willing to take his time, to continue this and see where it may lead. She wasn’t complaining, of course.

“Sure.” She agreed and the pair both left the room to an impatient nishiki and back into the cafe.

“When I talked about making a move, I didn’t expect you to be so sudden.” Nishiki whispered into her ear. She kicked his shin, shoving him away as she went to greet some new customers.

As she spoke, however, she noticed that kaneki couldn’t stop staring at her and every time their eyes met, he smiled ever so slightly, touka melting a little every time. All the while, nishiki continued to make vomiting noises in the background, much to touka’s annoyance.

…

They couldn’t keep themselves apart from each other, which was made evident when kaneki couldn’t stop hugging touka from behind or how he held onto her hand constantly, unable to keep himself from kissing every spot on her lovely face. He especially enjoyed watching her, even more so with how her body has changed in all the right places over the past two years.

“Kaneki.” Touka murmured against kaneki’s lips. “We still need to work.”

“I can’t help myself.” He nuzzled her and continued to hold her despite her protests. “You’re just so beautiful today.”

“Idiot. You say that every day.”

“But it’s true.” He parted slightly just to relish her flustered face. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She mumbled into his chest. “Now get back to work. I’m still your boss, you know.”

As kaneki walked away, hinami stood by touka’s side, sharing a overjoyed smile with bright eyes. Hinami nudged her, but touka acted as if she had no clue what she was smiling about.

“You suit each other so well, Onee-chan.” Hinami giggled, helping touka prepare a few more cups of coffee. “He really does love you.”

Touka shrugged, but she couldn’t hide the permanent smile that was always on her face ever since she and kaneki got together. Kaneki wanted to take the relationship slow, adoring every moment they spent together. She has never felt so warmed in her heart before.

As she expected, kaneki was very affectionate, showering her constantly with everlasting kindness and wore his heart on his sleeve, never being afraid to show his love for her in any situation. What was probably the best part for her though was the fact that he was so honest with her, never hiding or faltering to come up front with her. It was as if she unlocked a whole new side of him that she didn’t knew existed before. She was glad, to say the least.

“I’ve never seen him so happy.” Hinami reminisced. “You wouldn’t know, but way back during the time I was a part of his group, he was always so distant, his mind unstable and unbalanced. It was difficult to watch at times and yet, I didn’t know what it was I could’ve done. I was so useless then, but it seemed you were able to actually do something about it.”

Hinami brushed back a strand of her hair, her eyes lowered as she bit the inside of her cheek, her thoughts wandered back into those old memories.

“And then you rescued him.” Hinami smiled almost sadly, looking back up to her older sister. “Only you could make him smile once again and I’m so happy to see you two finally get together. It’s what he needed, I think. Thank you, Onee-chan.”

“I- well-” touka stammered, unsure on how to respond, but she quickly relaxed and held hinami’s hand in hers. “You make him happy too, silly. But thank you for taking care of this idiot whilst he was gone. It’s nice…being with him, I mean. It’s helped us both.”

“Of course, but I didn’t do much in all honesty.” Hinami shook her head, but touka flicked her forehead.

“Of course you did. Now cheer up, hinami. You’ll get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that.” Hinami pouted but it wasn’t long before she sighed and was smiling once again.

“What are you two girls talking about?” Kaneki asked as he neared the two.

“Just girl stuff, nothing that concerns you.” Touka shooed him away, but her tone remained playful. “Oh that reminds me, hinami. Perhaps you might want to go into school. We can tutor you until you can pass the entrance exams. It’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while now.”

“Me?’ Hinami exclaimed. “In school? I don’t know…”

“I think it’s a great idea.” Kaneki agreed, his face suddenly lit up. “You deserve to atleast experience college and maybe touka can even go with you. You didn’t even get a chance to finish college, did you, touka-chan?”

“Yes, Onee-chan. You and me could enter and study at the same time, it’ll be amazing.”

Kaneki and hinami looked so excited that it made it all the much harder for her to say the next few words.

“Kaneki, I can’t.” She shook her head. “Too many people already know my face. It’s simply too dangerous.”

Both of their faces dropped when the realisation of her words sunk in. Of course. It couldn’t be that simple.

“After all that hard work.” Kaneki winced. “And it was all wasted. If only if I could have done something then-”

“Don’t.” She grabbed his collar and pulled him forward to face her. “It was my own choice. Don’t you dare blame yourself.” She let go and took a step back and kaneki stood awkwardly as she spoke. “It’s fine, it doesn’t bother me. Besides, we have this cafe and that’s all I need.”

The three nodded and moved on from the subject, but it was clear that their conversation was still swirling in kaneki’s mind. Such a worrier.

It was late, touka exhausted from the day and changed into one of kaneki’s comfy shirts and some pajama shorts, dumping herself onto her bed and lazily dragged herself to her side of the bed. She looked up in time to see a shirtless kaneki walk into the room, his hair damp from the shower.

“You had a shower and didn’t invite me?” Touka grinned, her eyes hungrily taking in every bit of his muscled body. “How cruel.”

“You know why I didn’t invite you. Not after last time.” He crawled onto the bed and pulled touka into his arms. “Besides, you seem tired.”

He pecked kisses along her shoulder to her neck, burying his nose into her soft locks and shut his eyes. Her body was so warm against his, fitting perfectly into his arms.

“Oh right.” Kaneki said, shuffling back a little. “I saw you and hinami talking earlier and she seemed upset. Is she ok?”

Touka turned around, seeing kaneki wait patiently with a concerned look written all over his face. With a small nod, touka rested her head on kaneki’s chest and heard the rapid beatings of his heart as her hands moved up his back, feeling all the scars from past battles on his firm and toned muscles.

“She’s just feeling insecure,” touka mumbled. “You should thank her for joining you in your group back then.”

“Huh? I mean sure, of course, she means a lot to me. I hope that whatever she’s feeling will pass soon, I’d hate to see her upset on my behalf.” He mimicked touka’s actions and brushed his hands down touka’s back, the light touch making her arch slightly. “What about you? Are you feeling ok?”

“Just tired.” Though she knew what he was asking was about the discussion of rejoining school.

“Then sleep.” He pulled the duvet over them and rested his lips on her forehead.

“I don’t wanna.” She complained, but her eyelids started to feel heavier with every second. “I want to spend more time with you.”

“And you call me a sap.” He laughed. “It’s no big deal, touka. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’m just scared that every time I close my eyes,” touka said after a short pause, nibbling the bottom of her lip. “I’ll open them again and find that you’re not there. That thought in itself is…terrifying.”

He looked down at her, stunned. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her grip on him tightened, clinging onto him desperately. In the past few months, touka had shared pieces of information about her past, but it was clear that abandonment was a far too common aspect of her life. In a way, it wasn’t all that surprising that she would also fear the same thing from kaneki, especially since he left her once before.

But he swore that it would never happen again. Not after he saw the pain he had caused.

“I promise you, touka.” He whispered. “I won’t ever leave you again. I promise.”

“That’s all I need then.” She smiled, looking up to press her lips against his. “Thank you.”

[xkanekitoukax]

Erased (Pt. 4)

Erased [part FOUR] (A Ficlet Series)

part ONE | part TWO | part THREE | part FOUR | ?

Warnings: Language, some nsfw and unhealthy situations throughout the series. 

Part four contains a nsfw Nishiki x Touka scene. You have been warned.

Author’s Note: This wasn’t meant to become anything more than a small ficlet, but then it did end up becoming something more. And in a different writing style from my previous fics.

Additional Note: Every part seems to get longer and longer...I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I am so sorry for that.

—————

Touka didn’t want to think about him. She didn’t want to feel the pain, that had dulled for a short while, but now hit her harder than ever.

She knew she was being toyed with, like she was in some twisted game, and she didn’t know what to do.

It should be an easy decision.

Don’t think, Touka! Just…oh god…

Nishiki had been working his tongue over her clit while also sucking on it. Her mind was swirling with ecstasy. This was his favorite thing to do to her, and God, he was so good at it.

Her hips tried to move against him, but he held them down, letting her know that he was in control of her pleasure. He was the one in complete control of this situation.

That shithead…

She threw her head back into the pillow with her mouth gaped open, letting out soft moans as she felt a knot building up deep in her belly. So close.

She couldn’t see what Nishiki was doing to her, but she could hear it and feel every bit of it.

He seemed to know exactly how to get her to writher around, how to get her to be so vocal, and that’s exactly what he wanted. He took pleasure in taste her, feeling her, and hearing every pant and moan that were music to his ears.

Touka felt her entire body tense, her breath go still, and her mind fall into a haze as she came. But this is where he showed her no mercy as he didn’t even let her body get a chance to recover.

She could hear him slurping at her and while it sounded so lewd, and embarrassing, it was still a turn on. He continued to hold her down as he worked his tongue over her faster and slipping two of his long fingers inside her to hit that spot that would having her coming undone again.

And she did. She came again with her body spasming and whimpers coming from deep inside her. He helped her ride out her second orgasm by running a couple of fingers against her, feeling her throb against them.

It took a couple minutes for Touka to regain some feeling back in her limbs before trying to sit up. She watched as Nishiki sat back on his heels and looked at her with a very smug look on his face. So proud of himself…

“Do you still want to rip out my tongue?” He cheekily asked, licking his fingers clean.

She covered her face and shook her head. He could be so obscene sometimes. She got a kick out of it…

“Shut up.” She tried to contain her giggle as she pushed him onto the bed and straddled him.

He held himself up on his elbows, watching her reach into her nightstand for a condom. But then she decided against it.

He looked at her a little unsure since they had tried to be careful since that first time and slipped up.

She reached down between them and guided him to her entrance.

“Trust me.” She told him, sliding down on him, taking him in inch by inch slowly. Nishiki watched her intently, letting out a long groan as he felt her tight walls swallowing him. She let out a sigh when he filled her completely, keeping still to adjust.

She placed her hands on his taut stomach to lifted herself up and then back down on him. She continued to do so until she found a steady pace as he watched her in a trance, even glancing down between them to watch her slid up and down his length and feel how slick he was because of her.

He sat up and placed a hand on her back while his other hand grabbed one of her hips and helped her go a bit fast and harder. He was letting her have most of the control here. She wrapped her arms around his neck, keeping him close as their eyes bore into one another.

The mixture of their pants and moans filled the room and it wasn’t long before Touka came again. Her face contorting as she felt  another orgasm hit her and her walls throbbed around him, squeezing him. Nishiki started to tense and curse under his breath, feeling his release just moments away.

Touka lifted her hips off him, just in time for him to come over her stomach and between her breasts. He groaned against her shoulder, completely breathless. She reached down to collect his essence with her fingers before bringing them to her mouth to taste him. He looked up at her to witness it and she only grinned at him.

He had truly brought out another side of her…

Spent and trying to catch their breaths, they fell back onto the bed.

Touka fell on her side, shutting her eyes to bask in her afterglow as Nishiki fell back on his back and draped an arm over his eyes. But it wasn’t long before Nishiki removed his arm away from his face and turned to look at Touka.

She looked sated and peaceful. But it never lasted.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

Touka’s eyes snapped open, finding him staring at her.

“You really should stop asking me that. You already know the answer.” The answer was always no.

She placed a hand on his cheek, seeing the concern in his eyes. He cared so much and it warmed her heart. She never imagined being in this situation, but it had to have happened for a reason. “But thank you. For still trying.” She added.

Nishiki gave her a faint smile and squeezed the hand that was on his cheek.

———

Shivering. That’s what had woken Touka up.

There was cool air hitting her bare back and it was all because Nishiki had hogged the covers and this wasn’t the first time. He was laying on his side with his back facing her and completely covered with a blanket.

She uncurled an arm from under the pillow and gave him a shove.

Nothing.

Goddamit, Nishiki.

She gave him another shove and this time with her foot hitting his lower back while she grabbed the blanket and tried to pull it towards her. He started to groan and flipped over on his back, running his hands over his face. The blanket was finally loose enough for Touka to get some of it back on her.

“What the fuck, Touka?” Nishiki croaked.

“You hogged the blanket again, you shithead.” She wrapped the blanket around her.

“Well, get another blanket.” He fought for some more of the blanket, but only to piss her off. They both struggled with it, going back and forth until she was too mad to deal with the situation.

She grumbled and got up, grabbing the remnants of her clothes off the floor to at least put on her shorts and shirt.

“Since you’re up, how about making some coffee?”

“I’m off the clock, jerk!” She spat, but then sighed when she realized coffee actually sounded good. Her veins craved for it. “Fine!” She relented.

Nishiki grinned.

“Thanks, sunshine.” He mumbled into the pillow, already starting to fall asleep again.

Touka rolled her eyes and headed out of her room, yawning and feeling even colder than before. It was only when she walked into the living room she found the source of the chilly air.

Kaneki stood by the sliding door of her patio that was wide open, letting the cold winter breeze into the room. She sighed, cursing to herself about having chosen a flat on the first floor. And no, she wasn’t surprised by him suddenly showing up.

After all, he was a dove and doves were creeps.

Kaneki shut the sliding door and then turned to give Touka an all too familiar smile, like the one he gave her before he left her the first time. A memory she wished could fade…

“Good morning, Touka-chan!” Even his eyes smiled and it only added salt to the wound.

Goddamnit.

“I wish I could say I’m surprised.” She crossed her arms, watching as he looked around the flat curiously. She had pieced everything together over the past twenty-four hours. “You’ve been watching me.” It wasn’t a question.

She was tired of this. Tired of all of it.

His eyes looked over at her with a half smile on his face.

“You know what I do, Touka.” He said in a tone that made her blood boil. He sounded so proud of what he did. Of what he was. A murderer.

“Yeah, I know exactly what you do.” She sneered.

She watched as he walked up to her and stood in front of her, studying her.

She could feel her heart start to race again. It was as though she had no control over her body when he was so close to her.

“And you’re not afraid? I could kill you right here, right now.” He was so close now that she could feel his breath on her.

She looked up at him with a look of disbelief. He seemed so sure of himself.

What a joke.

“You couldn’t kill me even if you tried.” She scoffed.

Suddenly she pressed up against the wall with one Kaneki’s glove covered hands wrapping around her throat, squeezing his fingers around her neck ever so slightly.

The leather stretched, but she could barely feel any pressure.

“That sounds like a challenge.” He has a smirk on his face that she wants to smack off him, but then he softens as if something in his head triggered. “But you know I wouldn’t hurt you.”

“Do I?” She didn’t know who this man was anymore. He was all over the place. Fucking with her. And yet here she was, doing nothing to stop him. Maybe she deserved this. “I don’t know who you are.” She added, unable to mask the sadness in her voice.

It was tearing her apart to see the man she once loved in front of her…as someone else.

Kaneki looked at her, seemingly hurt by what she said. His hand around her throat slipped behind her neck and he pulled her even closer to him. His other hand found her hip and he squeezed it tightly, as if he didn’t want to let her go. Their bodies molded against each other like a perfect fit.

So much familiarity…

She should have pushed him away. Why couldn’t she push him away?

It was too late.

“I miss this.” He let out softly.

It was that right there that tore Touka up even more. It sounded like Kaneki, it felt like him…

Was he starting to remember?

She felt his lips brush against hers and the simple contact made them both gasp. It was almost electric.

But he quickly pulled away from her with a pained expression on his face that then turned into a look of disgust.

“You smell like him.”

Nishiki.

For a moment she had forgotten that Nishiki was in her bedroom…

Kaneki let out a groan in frustration as he tore himself away from her. Whatever plans he had, ruined by the scent of someone else.

He’s quick to walk away from her and head for the front door.

Always leaving.

He looks over his shoulder to look at her, but doesn’t look for her eyes.

“Just tell me one thing, Touka,” Kaneki’s voice is strained, as if he’s holding himself back. “Does he make you happy?”

It’s a question she didn’t expect and it actually stuns her. It makes her think about the past few years where she felt empty and a darkness looming over her.

Then she thinks about the past couple of months and how they have given her some of that light back in her life.

“Yes.” She finally answers.

She couldn’t lie, even if it hurt him.

She watched Kaneki’s hand twitch beside him before curling into a fist. He then took a deep breath and walked out of the flat, slamming the door as he left.

Touka shut her eyes, fighting back the tears building up as she slid down the wall and to the floor.

—————