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writing-fanics · 3 months

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• a mothers love .

Slight!Kaneki Ken x Fueguchi!Reader

[summary: a mother's love is strong, and she would lay down her life to protect her children]

[a/n: somewhat of a kaneki x reader but it's a slowburn you'll see towards the end also mentions of kaneki’s mother.. i know she wasn’t all what kaneki said she was.. I’ve read the manga but since technically at this time he still thinks she was a good person it fits in here somewhat]

beginning/ middle / end/ epilouge

Hinami and [Y/n], froze as Kaneki opened the door and saw them eating. Their face covered in blood, he fell onto his back staring at them in shock. "I-I" He stammered, and the sisters picked up the napkin and wiped off their mouths.

"Hinami, Y/n I didn't know you were here." He stammered, and he looked at the two. Hinami and [Y/n] looked down embarrassed, "E-Enjoy your meal." He said, as he scrambled out of the room. Closing the door behind him.

"Hinami Y/n, can I come in?" Kaneki asked, and he opened the door. Hinami looked up from her book to look up at him, and [Y/n] looked up from her sketchbook. He walked over towards the coffee table, "I'm sorry about earlier." He said smiling, holding two cups of coffee for them. "Here. It's on the house." He said, placing them on the table.

"Stay as long as you want." He said, and he turned away from the sisters. "Um." mumbled Hinami, as she looked away. "Mm? What's up?" said Kaneki, as he turned back around.

Hinami looked down nervously unsure of what to say, "Um." She mumbled once again, "Which are you..?" She asked, causing her older sister to look up and stare at Hinami.

Kaneki looked at her for a moment, before reverting his eyes towards the ground. "Um..." He said nervously. Thinking she upset him Hinami looked down, "N-Nevermind." She mumbled, sadly. "I'm...I'm sorry." She apologized, staring at the coffee.

"Y-Your scent is way different from everybody else so.." She said. Kaneki then told her how he was once a human but is more like a ghoul now in a way, he said it with a hint of nervousness in his voice. He wished he could go back to being a human.

Kaneki noticed, that she was reading a Sen Takatsuki. He then helped Hinami understand harder words as well [Y/n], since she struggled with the words as well. She smiled, as he tutored them on the book teaching them all kinds of words.

The three stopped in their tracks seeing the two doves, a older looking dove with white hair, and the other one with black much younger looking. Standing in front of them: holding umbrellas. "Do you have a moment?" said Kureo Mado, looking at them with a craze look in his eyes.

"Mrs. Ryouko Fueguchi," He said, looking at the family. [Y/n]'s eyes widened, he pulled out a ziplock bag with bloodstains inside. Written on the bottom left corner. No.696. "We'd like to ask you about this." He said, looking at the family.

A crowd had started to form around the area, 'What's going on over there?' as people watched. 'Cops?'

"We are Ghoul Investigators." shouted Amon, at the crowd of people, "It is not safe here please vacate the area immediately." He shouted, at the crowd of people as he held up his badge.

'Ghoul? Is he talking about those three?' someone said, looking at the mother and her two children. 'No way they look totally normal.' another person said, looking at them as they left the area.

"Please step back" Amon shouted, again.

"Mom." said Hinami and [Y/n], looking over at her terrifed. She looked at her two daughters and brought them close closing her eyes, as she wrapped her arms around them. "Hinami..Y/n." whispered Ryouko, as she held her daughters close.

"Run." whispered she, looking at her daughters, as her eyes filled with kakugan. Hinami and [Y/n] looked at her scared, "Mom?" whispered [Y/n], watching as her mother released her koukaku shielding her daughters.

"Mom.." Hinami's voice shaking, as her mother

"M.."

"Go!!!" shouted Ryouko, at her daughters. Tearing welling up in their eyes, [Y/n] grabbed Hinami by the hand and ran away.

Kaneki was stuck in his own thoughts, "Kaneki!!" shouted [Y/n], from behind causing him to turn around. Tears in both their eyes clothes drenched from the rain, "Kaneki!!" She cried, running towards him tears in her eyes. "Hinami? Y/n? Thank God." He said, looking at them.

"M-My mother..." She cried tears in her eyes her voice shaking, still catching her breath from all that running. "She's u-ugh." She looked down, unable to get the words out still catching her breath from all that running.

The three ran through the streets where, Hinami and [Y/n] were forced to leave their mother behind. "Hide." whispered Kaneki, as he pulled the two girls into an alleyway.

Kureo Mado stood above an injured Ryouko, "If you had come quietly with us, you wouldn't have had to die on the streets." said Kureo Mado, looking down at the mother. "I would've taken my time dissecting you." He said, a crazed look in his eyes.

"Do you have any last words?" He looked down at her, and the mother stayed quiet for a moment.

"Mom.." whimpered Hinami and [Y/n], as they looked towards their mother. Kaneki didn't know what to do he couldn't fight, there were too many Doves. Ryouko sat there in the rain for a moment, surrounded by a pool of her own blood. [Y/n] held her little sister close, and covered both her mouth and eyes with her hands.

Ryouko opened her mouth to so speak, a hopeful smile growing across her face. “Times up..” a swift movement was all it took with the quinque, by the dove. Slicing off the head of the mother who sacrificed her life so that her daughter might live.

Kaneki and [Y/n], could only watch in horror, "Mama!" Hinami's muffled cries, going unheard. [Y/n]'s hand covering both her mouth and eyes, having shieled her from such a gruesome scene but not herself.

[Y/n]'s eyes widened, at the familiar scent she swallowed. "I-Is that?" She stood there frozen, Hinami lifted her head staring at the three. Her face stained with tears, holding the severed hand of her mother. "It's mom." Hinami sniffled, looking up at them. The fight with Kureo Mado, was grueling.

"Get away from her!" shouted [Y/n], shielding her sister from what was once both their mother and fathers kagune. Now turned into quinque used by the crazed Dove. Hellbent on killing the last remaining Fueguchi's.

She coughed up blood, as she was struck in the side by her father's kagune. Sending her flying into the columns, her body falling to the ground with a thud.

"Hina.."

[Y/n] acted quickly and swiftly sliced Mado's neck with her kagune, protecting her sister. She kneeled in front of her placing her hand, on her side. She stared at the dove, as he rambled reaching out towards the two girls a crazed look on his face. Her eyes widened, as she saw the wedding band on his finger.

"Are you guys okay?" A voice said, causing the three to look over at them. "Kaneki Yomo." [Y/n] stared at what she had done. Yomo said that they had to leave, but she seemed to be in a world of her own. "Y/n?" Touka said, looking at the girl who continued to stare off in the distance.

Kaneki slowly walked over towards her, "Y/n, W-We have to get outta here." He said, and she turned away and followed her friends outside. Kaneki placed his jacket on her shoulder's causing her cheeks to turn red slightly, as she looked at him. He smiled at her warmly, her heart seemed to flutter. She almost forgot the pain in her side.

As they walked away from the aftermath. She sniffled, as leaned against him for support as they walked back towards Anteiku. He wrapped an arm around her to keep her from falling, she looked over at Hinami.

Hinami was being carried by Yomo on his back, "Is it okay for me to live." said Hinami, and her older sister looked up. "Hinami." said [Y/n], causing her sister to turn back to look at her older sister.

"I think what mom was trying to tell us that day was to live." She said, looking at her little sister, with tears in her eyes. Hinami sniffled, "Yeah." she mumbled, remembering the final time she saw her mother. [Y/n] wished she were stronger, she wished she knew how to fight.

Especially now, even though they'll have Anteiku she has a feeling something like that might only last for so long. She wanted to be able to protect Hinami, even if it meant she'd die in the process. But right now they needed some rest.

[sneak peek: beginning of something new]

"Wow! You're a really good artist." said Kaneki, from behind [Y/n] causing her to jump and quickly close her sketchbook. "Sorry, I didn't mean scare you." He said nervously, looking at her and she shook her head.

As she gripped the sketchbook holding it close to her chest, "N-No, it's okay. I'm just usually really private about my sketchbook." She said, biting her lip nervously.

"U-Um, from the little bit I saw your an amazing artist." He said smiling at her, causing her cheeks to go red. "U-Um, thanks." She said sheepishly, looking away.

"Um, maybe when your on your break.." She stammered, puffing her cheeks slightly, "I-I'll let you look through it." She said, and he nodded and smiled at her causing her heart to flutter. She had never shown anyone her artwork before, not her mother, father, or Hinami. She thought her artwork looked terrible, she thought at first he was saying it just to be nice but.

He had a genuine tone in his voice, when he complimented the little peek he got of her artwork. She looked up from sketchbook, and glanced over at Kaneki as we worked behind the counter. Her cheeks went red as their eyes met, and she quickly looked away her heart skipping a beat.

Kaneki and everyone at Anteiku, have been helping her through this rough time. Both her and Hinami, both staying at Touka’s place for the time being. She was growing somewhat closer to Kaneki though, maybe even developing a little crush on him.

Her birthday was coming up, in the next couple of days. She was going to be seventeen. Her parents weren’t going to see her grow up. Maybe even start a family. Get married. They wouldn’t be here for any of it.

She looked down sadly at her sketchbook, opening it and going through the pages. Before landing on one, she had drawn recently. Her mother and father, all of them together happily. Tears trickled down her cheeks, at hit the page as her fingers grazed it gently.

Kaneki looked over at her sadly, he knew what it was like to lose a parent at a young age. His mother died from being “overworked”. He was only a kid and even then his own aunt didn’t want him. He sympathized with both Hinami and [Y/n].

————-

Kaneki revealed the colored pencils, that she had always wanted but never got cause they were expensive. “W-What how did you know?” She asked, looking at him in shock. He scratched the back of his neck, “A little birdie told me.” He said, smiling and she looked behind him and saw Hinami.

#kaneki x reader #kaneki x you #kaneki x y/n #kaneki ken x reader #kaneki ken x you #kaneki ken x y/n #tokyo ghoul #x reader #fanfic #angst #hinami fueguchi #ryouko fueguchi #tokyo ghoul x reader #tokyo ghoul x you #slight romance

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ipsen · 5 months

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Blank Canvas 18

Read on AO3. Words: 4886 Summary: Apologies, truth, and Touka's mean right hand. Chapter 17 Chapter 19 Master Post

How could Sen have been so blind?

She had to have slipped up somewhere, but when? How? Did Shachi or Kuzen rat her out? Was there a leak that she hadn’t noticed? Each was its own possibility— Shachi’s heart was too big, Kuzen was a survivor, and she wasn’t exactly sure of everyone she had who was gathering information on V, but there were far more reasons for all not to betray her or Haise. Which only left—

She stopped right before the door to Haise’s apartment.

— Donato. Shit. It was obvious now. Working with that guy, a member of the unpredictable and chaotic Clowns, had always been like navigating a minefield. He was the only one whose interests lay with himself alone, meaning he could be convinced by V. Not even his affection for his son could trump a lifetime of greed. Donato’s alliance with Sen had always been a matter of convenience, where she could exercise his selfish revenge while he was stuck behind bars.

Knock, knock.

However, whatever he’d told V, they ended up going for Haise instead of her, which meant they wanted something. As for what, there were a number of things: her books, her connections, her findings— All were thorns in V’s side, and restricting any would do wonders. But what would they be doing now?

The door opened, revealing Hina. “Hey…” she said, a little uneasily.

“Hi.” Sen kept her voice neutral, not wanting to alarm Hina any more than she already was.

Hina stepped aside. “Um, come in… Hide’s still out, so we’re just waiting.”

Sen stepped through and kicked off her shoes. It was a surprisingly nice and clean apartment, far different from her own. Lots of space, too, what with the kitchen and living room separated by tile and carpet, then what appeared to be two bedrooms and the bathroom in the back. If only she could appreciate it under better circumstances.

Ayato and Touka were sitting on the couch on opposite ends. He, upon seeing Sen, opened his mouth, but Touka beat him to it. “Coffee?” she asked, moving to the kitchen.

Sen, after a moment, nodded. “Sure…”

While Touka searched the cabinets for the kettle and beans, Sen sat in a chair at the counter, feeling Ayato’s eyes on her back. Hina entered the corner of her vision and took a nearby cup of water.

Once upon a time, Sen might not have even shown up here, let alone entertained Hina’s call as long as she had. Time passed, people left, she used to say, especially after Papa’s death and Arima’s transfer. Much how you outgrew things as you got older, people tended to outgrow or outright ignore Sen as she went through the motions of life. That was just how she had seen herself.

But things were different now. Miza and Naki supported her. Tatara and Fei befriended her. Shiono was a caring father. The Bins worked splendidly for her. And Haise was— he was just— he—

Sen sighed, a smile playing on her lips. It seemed as though there were some things even a scribbler like her couldn’t describe. This must be how Haise felt whenever she asked him to express his thoughts about her; though she preened with satisfaction, there was something to his countenance that suggested he had more to say.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “About the get-together, about what I said— For everything that happened, I’m sorry.”

Hina tittered. “I-It’s really not a problem, Ms. Takatsuki. I think—”

“It is a problem,” she interrupted. “You’ve all known Kuzen for a long time, and it was insensitive of me to trample on that the way I did.”

The kettle began to hiss as the water inside reached a boiling point. Hina thumbed her glass of water. Ayato intentionally looked away, staring at the muted TV. Touka, with practiced ease, ground a handful of coffee beans.

“He’s hurt me a lot, in more ways than one, and I’ve learned he’s— I know he’s hurt others in worse ways.” Sen picked at the hangnails on her fingers. “It felt wrong letting him enter without saying something, so I… Look, I botched it for you guys, and I’m sorry.”

There was silence as Touka poured the coffee. She slid it across the counter to Sen, who took it with a quiet thanks. Ayato glanced over, sensing that she was done, and Hina took a sip of water.

“I…” Hina searched for the right words. “I don’t want to say that you were wrong. You were… You weren’t ready for him to appear when he did, and you were caught off-guard. At least, I think so.” She looked up at Touka to continue.

Touka sighed and put her elbows on the counter. “I’m sure you remember I was next in line for Anteiku’s manager?”

Sen’s mouth became a thin line, and she nodded. She remembered putting two and two together as they talked at the get-together. The way Touka danced around both her aspirations and her job— having to make a choice between them was tearing her up inside far more than Haise made it seem.

“Well, I was also recently accepted into the Chigyou School of Medicine, for their spring term. If I chose to go, and things went awry for Mr. Yoshimura at the wrong time, then Anteiku might very well shut down before I can come back. But if I chose to stay, then I’d be giving up my selfish dreams to keep up the place that helped me and Ayato at our lowest.” Touka traced a circle on the counter, as though she were running back and forth between the two choices.

Sen took a sip of the coffee. It was really good, she had to admit, even without the sugar she personally liked to take. No wonder Touka could be manager, if this was anything to judge it by. Ayato, for his part, pursed his lips at memories she’d never know, but she could take a guess from her own.

Touka suddenly stopped, and pushed herself from the counter. “You took that choice away from me. With what you said, I felt like I had no other option but to take the path that was best for me, and not for Mr. Yoshimura. Because otherwise, I’d be someone willing to play dumb for the sake of feeling good about myself. I’d choose to do nothing.

“Hina’s right; you weren’t wrong, and Mr. Yoshimura shouldn’t have hid his skeletons in his closet from us for as long as he did. However—” Sen grunted when she felt Touka’s fist collide with the side of her arm— “have some class next time, okay?”

“O-Ow…” was all Sen could say.

“Sis and I totally get having beef with shitty dads,” Ayato said from the couch, amusedly watching her nurse her new bruise. “We really do, but she’s right.”

“Always am.” Touka chuckled. “By the way, how’s the coffee? I usually make sure the two oafs that live here have the good beans, but, well— you know.”

Sen smiled through the pain. “It’s good. Really good. I almost feel more guilty.”

Touka smiled back and almost said something else, but just then, the doorbell rang. She went over to answer it, and Hide was revealed. “Welcome back.”

“Hey, guys. You—” He paused when he saw Sen. “Oh. Hey, Sen.”

The corner of her lip curled. “Hide.”

Haise’s famous— or rather, infamous— little source of information along with Chie. An information smuggler that traveled the world and collected dirt on all sorts of organizations that could be taken down a peg or ten. She was honestly shocked by how lucky she was; because of Haise’s little slip-up on how he acquired Donato’s files ahead of her, she was able to piece together the identity of someone who had, until now, kept it completely hidden.

And oh, how Hide knew that she knew. The moment he paused at Nishiki’s, where they met in person for the first time, he had known. The Scarecrow was outed, at last, by sheer dumb luck.

Her smirk faded; much as she wanted to squeeze more information out of one of her most anonymous and valuable sources, there was something far more important at hand. “Do you know where Haise is?” she asked instead.

Hide cleared his throat, appreciating it. “Well, no, but I mean, I brought someone.”

He pushed in a familiar figure on a wheelchair. Frail bones, thin white hair, and gaunt cheeks that clung to their last vestiges of life. He was dressed in familiar black leathers, with a fedora atop his head.

Kuzen Yoshimura, her father, a shell of his former self.

Sen took the time to, finally, really look at him. This barely functioning old man was who she had despised all this time? This… thing in front of her, declining in real time, was the cornerstone of her revenge?

Even then, however, her anger wouldn’t disappear overnight. She doubted it would disappear at all; Kuzen had twisted and altered her circumstances against her will, and even if good came out of them, it was by her hand and not his. She had climbed out of the muck he poured onto her out of spite, and she would do it a thousand times over to remind him of his failures.

And so, she sighed, glared, and asked the obvious question: “Why are you here?”

———

“I-I’m sorry.”

That was not the first thing Haise expected to hear when he came to.

His hands were individually bound to separate chains, and there was a dim light to give him some semblance of his surroundings. He tested out his bonds, and saw a rusty chain mechanism a few paces away struggle against him. His feet were free, at least.

Then, when he looked up, he saw the driver, sitting in a creaky wooden chair. He wasn’t just tall; his limbs were far longer than his torso needed them to be. His hair was a tousled black, with dark circles under his eyes and gaunt cheeks. He wore a loose collared shirt and torn jeans, both colors faded with time.

“H-H-Hey, Mr. Kaneki,” he said, waving. “I’m, uh… I-I’m Karao Saeki.”

Haise didn’t answer immediately, instead darting his gaze around to see if there was anything he’d missed. No such luck. “Where am I?” he asked shakily.

Saeki tittered. “That’s a little, er, c-c-complicated. Y-Y’see, m-my boss—” His phone suddenly rang. “S-Sorry…” He answered. “H-H-Hello? Yes, I have him… N-No, he’s— he’s totally fine!! I-I-I used chloroform…”

Haise listened to the conversation quietly. It seemed that, for now, he was safe; whoever Saeki’s boss was, they needed him alive and unharmed. That was a load off his shoulders, but the next question became: why him? Was there something he knew that they wanted? Was there some one? The possibilities were endless until he could glean something, anything about these people.

Saeki’s conversation continued. “S-So, M-Mr. Kaiko, what should I—?”

‘Kaiko’? As in Kaiko Industries? As in V? Wait, could Haise even make that assumption? If this was V’s doing, then why target him? He was completely useless; wouldn’t it have been better to target Sen? Then again, the idea of Sen in the same situation was worse; he should just be grateful she was (hopefully) free. She could continue her work, continue helping people who deserved help, and not waste her time with people like him: burdens who treated mines like eggshells, never caring for the consequences. She probably— no, she definitely hated his guts now, as she should.

Sen— no, no, Takatsuki had infinitely more important things to think about than him. Hopefully, his drafts of the last few pages were enough; he’d hate to be more of a burden than he already proved himself to be.

Saeki clapped his phone shut and stowed it away. “S-S-Sorry, Mr. Kaneki,” he apologized again. “B-Bosses, right?”

Haise, not wanting to take his chances, decided to nod.

“W-Well! Make yourself c-c-comfortable, because you might be here a w-while…” He twiddled his thumbs.

“Why… Why me…?” Haise asked cautiously.

Saeki flinched slightly. “W-Well, um…” He seemed to grapple with something internally, then relented. “Well, o-okay, you d-d-deserve to know… T-T-To save you from the d-details—”

———

“They promise the safe return of Kaneki,” Kuzen, settled in, said, “once you stop your investigation of them.”

Sen scoffed. “That’s it? That’s all they want?”

Kuzen pursed his lips. “It is an obvious choice, no?”

“Obvious— are you fucking kidding me?” Sen stamped her foot down. “Sacrifice everything that I— that we’ve— worked on these past ten years for— for one person?!” Even as she said it, her heart twisted in agony. “That’s the best they can do, huh? I— I can’t even begin to imagine—!”

“What are you talking about?” Touka interjected, stepping in between them. “You know the people who have Sasaki?”

Ayato came forth. “What the fuck did you get him tied up in?!”

“G-Guys—” Hina began.

“Did they kidnap him because of you?” Touka’s voice shook. “Does he even know about—”

“Touka, Ayato,” Hide stepped in, “let’s take a breather, and—”

“You’re awfully calm about this!!” Touka whirled on him, all but grabbing him by the shirt. “Our best friend has apparently been kidnapped by some— some group we know nothing about, and the reason might be right in front of us! Why aren’t you—!”

“I just think that antagonizing Sen isn’t the play here.” He put up his hands in defense. “Look, we’re all in this together to try and find him, so—”

“So you’re just gonna let her keep secrets from us?! Real good ‘working together’, pal! Are you fucking—”

“I’ll talk!” Sen said, turning all eyes on her. “I’ll talk… You deserve to know.”

She carefully left out the part about Hide being the Scarecrow, but laid out the basics of V, as well as her and the others’ involvement in exposing their deeds. Kuzen hung his head slightly the further she went, especially when she mentioned Ukina. It was a small consolation prize.

“I can’t fucking believe this,” Touka muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Okay, so a secret government lobbyist organization, who works with serial killers, has Sasaki because you—” she jabbed a finger at Sen— “are getting too close to ‘exposing’ them?”

Sen nodded stiffly. “Yeah.”

“You realize how stupid that sounds, right?” Ayato complemented Touka. “Just ‘cause you broke some laws, he’s gonna pay?”

Another nod. “Yeah.”

Hina was the only one who didn’t seem phased when she spoke. “Ms. Takatsuki… Are you going to stop?” was all she asked.

Sen curled her fingers into a fist. “I… I can’t stop,” she said, wanting her tongue to betray her just this once. “I’ve… We’ve come too far to stop now.” She trembled. “I won’t— I can’t choose him, even if I want to.”

And she did, desperately so. She wanted to choose Haise over everything and contradict her own words. Her lungs longed to cry out in protest, to throw everything away for him, because now that she’d felt the warmth of the sun, she wanted to bask in it forever.

But there were people besides her who were a part of the investigation, and they were people who put so much on the line. Now it was her turn. Ugh, she was the worst.

She bowed her head as low as it could go, as if it would absolve her of her sins. “I’m sorry.”

Silence, as her decision hung in the air and everyone digested it. It was likely that none of them would ever see Haise again. That lovely person, full of boundless kindness, would be forever lost to the world. No one would ever see him smile, laugh, or cry ever again.

Touka reacted first. She walked up to Sen, pulled her up by the collar of her shirt, and punched her square in the jaw, knocking her to the ground.

“Touka!” Kuzen shouted as best he could, but it went ignored.

Ayato and Hide had to grab her by both her arms before she could advance. Hina, meanwhile, helped Sen up and checked for lasting injuries.

“Fuck V,” Touka breathed. “But fuck you too. I don’t care what the hell you’ve ‘discovered’ or whatever, but you don’t just give up like that, you hear me?!”

Sen, leaning on Hina, massaged her second bruise for the day. “It isn’t that,” she muttered.

“Then what is it?!” Touka ripped herself out of Ayato and Hide’s grasp. “Don’t you care about Sasaki?! Don’t you— Why are you just letting him go?!”

Sen bit her lip, trying not to tremble.

“That look on your face makes me sick, you know that?” Tears welled in Touka’s eyes. “Thinking you’re making the right choice, that this is all for some ‘greater good’, and maybe it is! Maybe, if you let Sasaki die, we’ll all eventually be in a better place, but I—!” She raised her fist again, but let it hang at her side instead. “I don’t care. I won’t care until we try something else.”

It was a pretty thought; when you didn’t like your choices, force a new one that did. However, Sen had made her choice years ago: she would fight. And whenever you fought, blood would spill. The blood of the innocent, the blood of the guilty, and worst of all, the blood of your loved ones.

She simply hadn’t realized how much the latter would hurt. “Say we did try something. What would we try? Where would we even start?” She hated the question as soon as it left her lips. “We don’t even know who—”

“He is with the Torso,” Kuzen suddenly said.

It was like dropping a bomb. The name hovered in the air, taunting all who recognized it. Hina’s eyes widened in horror. Hide, Ayato, and Touka swallowed. Sen thought she’d heard incorrectly. Did Kuzen— did he really just—

“He is with the Torso,” he repeated, his grip on his armrest like iron. “I do not know where, but… that is who is with him.”

“Torso…?” The word was practically foreign on her lips. “He’s with the…?”

“He’s with the Torso…” Hide mumbled, putting a hand on the side of his head. Suddenly, he gasped. “H-He's with the Torso!!”

“Uh…” Touka looked mystified.

Sen, instead of explaining, joined Hide with the same realization. “Yes… Yes, he is!!” She laughed, her heartbeat picking up with hope and her stomach flipping. “The Torso!!!”

They jumped up and down together, cheering and whooping and confusing everyone else.

Ayato palmed his face. “Are we just gonna be lost all day?”

Sen ignored him and grabbed Hide by the shoulders. “Nashiro. Did Nashiro leave anything behind? Please tell me she—”

“She did.” Hide nodded enthusiastically. “All of his hiding spots, every single one!!”

“Um, excuse me!” Hina got their attention. “What’re you two talking about?”

“We’ll explain later,” Sen said, pulling out her phone. “But right now— Ayato, call Tatara and tell him we need men. Hide, give him the addresses; he’ll understand. I’ll get Miza, Naki, and the Bins.” She called the first of their numbers. “Miza? Miza, it’s Sen. I’m sorry, I know you’re busy— really, I know— but I need a favor—”

According to Nashiro’s final investigation, Torso had a number of hideouts spread across the 13th and 23rd wards. Tatara and his members of Chì Shé would cover the ones in the latter, while the former fell to Sen and the others. But there were still some places that needed to be covered.

“Is there anyone else that could help us?” Sen asked. “We need tough people, able to kill a man.”

Touka, who caught on quickly, snapped her fingers. “Apes & Dobers! I’ll call Kaya.”

“Great! Hide?”

Hide scrambled for his phone. “Kimi’s got a few rowdy volunteers; they’d break the law!”

“Hina?”

“I’ve, um… I could see if Mr. Banjou knows anyone!”

Calls were made, groups were assembled, and addresses were passed around— all in service of finding one artist who, apparently, could move mountains without even trying.

Then, just before she left, Sen glanced at Kuzen one last time. “Hey.”

Hesitating, he looked up at her.

“Thanks.”

She didn’t stay to see his reaction.

———

The next few days were spent in an odd cross between dread and comfort. Even in the face of his inevitable doom, Haise couldn’t complain about how he was being treated. The chains on his wrists weren’t going to come off anytime soon, but he was given limited space to roam until mealtime.

As for Saeki, he was a strange man. He didn’t talk much, but Haise sort of preferred it that way. He’d never been one to converse with strangers, especially if said strangers were working for lobbyists with a penchant for kidnapping and killing anyone who disagreed with them. Less talking usually meant less trouble, and it was paying off.

However, despite being fed regularly and never being touched, Haise knew it was only a matter of time before he was killed. Takatsuki wouldn’t come for him; he would have to try to escape himself. The problem was that he didn’t even know where to start. Besides some beams holding up the ceiling, he had nothing he could grab.

Then, one day, things changed.

Saeki came in at the expected time, but there was no meal in his hands. Instead, he made straight for the chain and yanked on it. Haise was forced against the wall, then secured when Saeki slotted a rusted nail into the chain.

When he stood over Haise, the neutral politeness he had exerted in both the taxi cab and over the past few days was gone. Haise swallowed.

“Y-Y-You knew,” Saeki seethed, teeth gritted, “didn’t you?”

“I-I’m sorry?” Haise was confused. He knew something? What did he supposedly—

Saeki’s foot suddenly plunged into his stomach, evacuating all of the air from his lungs.

“Y-YOU KNEW, D-DIDN’T YOU?!” Saeki repeated, much louder this time. “You sick fucking freak— you knew! YOU KNEW!!!”

There was a scene in The Metamorphosis that suddenly came to mind. Gregor, having been locked away for some time after his transformation, left his room and incidentally frightened his mother, causing her to faint. Because of that, Gregor’s father stood over him, much like how Saeki stood over Haise now. After a moment, Gregor’s father pelted Gregor with fruits, with one of them lodging permanently in Gregor’s backside and beginning his spiral into useless, wretched death.

When Saeki kicked Haise again, he felt his kinship with Gregor renewed.

Haise gasped for breath. “What… What are you…?”

“About ^%*’s scars!! You knew she had them!!” Saeki kicked him twice more, hitting the solar plexus with deadly precision. “M-M-Mr. Kaiko told me!! So why didn’t— why didn’t you tell me?! Why did you keep that away from me?!”

Takatsuki’s scars? How had Saeki found out about that? She was always so careful about concealing them; she’d only ever shown them to him, as far as he knew… Had she lied to him? Had she simply pitied him and shared an open secret? Just his luck, and just like him. Always ignorant to others, and only thinking of himself.

Still, in the face of that ugly truth, he fought for his life. “I… I didn’t know…”

“LIAR!!” Another kick, this one to his head. White flashed across his vision. He thought he heard something crack. “YOU’RE A MAN, AND SHE’S A WOMAN!!! WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO BUT LOVE HER?! WHY WOULDN’T SHE TELL YOU?!”

Another kick, then another. The face, the chest, the diaphragm, the legs, his face. It was a familiar feeling. Haise couldn’t even begin to decipher why this was happening, not with his head throbbing and breath straining as they were. As the assault continued with no end in sight, Haise shrank away, and Ken Kaneki, a small and pathetic child, rose back to the surface.

His ears rang. His jaw was sore. His head throbbed, pounding and deafening the room with pain.

Kaneki remembered begging for his mother, his aunt, and his uncle to stop, but they wouldn’t, and so he stopped begging. Stopped asking. Stopped being selfish. He patiently endured the slew of words thrown at him, existing to be hurt so that they could stop hurting. He was alone, and so he endured alone.

“I-I-I’ll teach you a f-fucking lesson!!!” Saeki yanked Kaneki up by his hair, making him yelp. “T-T-Teach you to— to KEEP ME FROM MY PRIZE!!”

He slammed Kaneki into the wall, forcing the nail in the chains loose. Kaneki’s world spun from the impact, but he definitely heard Saeki’s last claim.

Takatsuki was going to be his next victim, which meant this was—

“Shit, shit…” Torso muttered as the nail rolled uselessly on the floor. “S-S-Stupid thing, c-can’t even stay on right…”

Kaneki, slumped against the wall, looked up as Torso fiddled with the nail.

Tragedy was a thing born of inaction— The hero succumbing to their flaw instead of overcoming it; a poison being allowed to spread in a lake until it is wholly undrinkable; a small group of greedy people seizing power and then treating people like toys. Over and over, as a result of ignorance, arrogance, and bystanding, tragedy struck like a knife.

Torso pulled on the chain and tried to put the nail back in, but he dropped it and swore.

Kaneki’s thoughts turned to Takatsuki, as they so often did. Specifically, they turned to her stories. Though dense at first glance, he’d come to realize that not only were they deeply personal works, but they were also warnings. Warnings of inaction, warnings of standing by and doing nothing.

After this, whenever it was over and Kaneki was dead on the floor, Torso would leave and pursue her. She’d end up just like Nashiro, Mr. Yasuhisa, and Ryouko. Another notch on V’s belt, next to thousands upon millions of others. For each one, Kaneki had been helpless to stop, always at mercy of the great flow they forced upon others.

Torso secured the nail, tested it a few times, then cheered in triumph.

Ka— Haise wouldn’t allow it. He would protect Sen, no matter what. If he was going to die for her to win the fight against V, he would take any of her enemies down with him. It was the one thing he could do, the one thing he should do.

“N-Now,” Torso stood over him, raising his fist, “w-w-where was I…?”

Haise curled up against the wall like a cornered animal: wounded, afraid—

The nail snapped in two.

— and unpredictable.

The human jaw, supposedly, is able to exert up to 125 kilograms of force.

“FUCK!!!” Torso screeched, and stumbled backward with one hand clutched to his head.

More than enough to tear the human ear off.

“F-FUCK… FUCK!!! Y-Y-Y-YOU BIT ME?! WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!”

With all the strength he could muster, Haise grabbed whatever parts of Saeki he could. Cheeks, ears, throat— anything to cause pain, anything to cause death. Even as Haise’s wrists burned themselves on his wrist, he had to do this. He had to kill Torso because it was the last thing he could do. He would die, and Sen would be free. He would help her, he would—

However, it was a brief encounter. One moment, Haise was reaching for Saeki. The second, he saw a flash of silver from the corner of his vision. The last, he felt unbearable pain crossed from one of his temples to the next. His vision went dark, and he collapsed on his side.

“Bastard… BASTARD!!!”

What happened? Why did it suddenly go dark?!

Why couldn’t he see?!

“The last thing he saw was the door of his room being pulled open, his sister was screaming, his mother ran out in front of her in her blouse—”

Something wet tickled his cheek. A liquid. What kind of liquid? Something smelled metallic. Something sweet. Like honey. Was honey supposed to be like lava?

“W-Wait… Sh-Sh-Shit! Shit shit shit! Did I—?! Oh, no no nonono—” Saeki’s footsteps stumbled out of the room. There was rummaging in a distant room. “B-B-Bandages, bandages—! Can’t let the hostage die—!”

“Aah… Augh…!”

Stumbling again as Saeki returned. “C’mon, pick up pick up pick up—! PICK THE FUCK UP!!!”

“— stumbling over the skirts she pushed herself to his father, her arms around him, uniting herself with him totally—”

“H-H-Hello?! Mr. Kaiko?!?! Hello, hi!!! I-I-I need bandages sent, r-r-right now!”

“— now Gregor lost his ability to see anything—”

“Treatment, medicine, a-a-anything! I-I-I’ve made a mistake; I’ve damaged him! B-By accident!!! BY ACCIDENT PLEASE!!!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—”

“H-H-H-He bit my ear off, okay?! I-I-I panicked!!! Shit— Please, please, I just—”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—”

“WOULD YOU SHUT UP! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!!! I’M TRYING TO HELP YOU!!!”

He couldn’t see oh no he couldn’t see he couldn’t see he couldn’t draw he’d never see Sen again and

he was as good as useless she was going to leave he was going to be alone it was his fault

“— her hands behind his father’s head—”

how could he—

A crashing sound. Familiar, light footsteps, like a storm breaking through the windows and doors. Saeki’s voice.

“WH-WH-WHO—?!”

“— begging him to spare Gregor’s life.”

#blank canvas #writing #hehe font playing

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gabrielokun · 10 months

Text

Dorama/Lakorn/Live-action

Thai

2 Moons

2 Moons 2

2gether

7 Project

609 Bedtime Story

A Tale of Thousand Stars

Big Dragon

Coffee Melody

Cutie Pie

Cutie Pie 2 You

Dark Blue Kiss

Deal lover

Don't Say No

Enchanté

Fish upon the sky

Friend Forever

Future

Gen Y

Gen Y 2

Ghost Host Ghost House

Golden Blood

I Will Knock You

Ingredients

KinnPorsche

Kiss Me Again

La Cuisine

Love by chance

Love in the Air

Love Lie Hide Fake

Love With Benefits

Lovely Writer

Manner of Death

Meow Ears Up

My Engineer

My Gear and Your Gown

My Keychain

My Mate Match

My Only 12%

My Pistachio

My Ride

My School President

My Secret Love

My Sweet Dear

Never Let Me Go

Not Me

On Cloud Nine

Our Winter

Oxygen

Remember Me

Saneha Staries 4: Saneha Kap Cheewit

Secret Crush On You

Sky in Your Heart

Star in My Mind

SOTUS

SOTUS S

That's My Candy

The Eclipse

The Love Of Winter

The Miracle of Teddy Bear

Tin Tem Jai

Top Secret Together

Triage

Until We Meet Again

Unforgotten Night

Vice Versa

What Zabb Man!

Why R U?

Work From Heart

Y-Destiny

You're My Sky

Taiwan

49 Days with a Merman

About Youth

Be Loved in House: I Do

Craving You

DNA Says Love You

Fragrance of The First Flower

Love to Our Youth: He Falls in Love with Him

HIStory1: My Hero

HIStory1: Obsessed

HIStory2: Crossing the Line

HIStory2: Right or Wrong

HIStory3: Make Our Days Count

HIStory3: Trapped

HIStory4: Close to You

HIStory5: Love in the Future

Innocent

Love Is Science?

My Tooth Your Love

Plus & Minus

Papa and Daddy

Stay by My Side

Korea

A First Love Story

At a distance spring is green

Boy Meets Boy

Cherry Blossoms After Winter

Choco Milk Shake

Color Rush

Ghost Doctor

Happy Merry Ending

His, Ice Cream

Hold Me

Hotel del Luna

Individual circumstance

Kissable Lips

Light On Me

Love Class

Move to Heaven

Mr. Heart

My Sweet Dear

Numbers

Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding

Ocean Likes Me

Oh! Boarding House

Oh! My Assistant

Our Dating Sim

Please Tell Me So

Roommates of Poongduck 304

She Makes My Heart Flutter

The Director Who Buys Me Dinner

The Lover

The Tasty Florida

To My Star

To My Star Season 2: Our Untold Stories

TREASURE

Two Cops

Unintentional Love Story

Wish You: Your Melody From My Heart

Wuju's Bakery

You Make Me Dance

China

A River Runs Through It

Ancient Detective

Anti-Fraud League

Be Reborn

Guardian

Killer And Healer

Men with Sword

My Girlfriend's Boyfriend

Legend of Long Yang

Nirvana in Fire

The Untamed

Winter Begonia

Youths in the Breeze

Japan

Boku Dake ga Inai Machi

Cherry Magic

Criminologist Himura and Mystery Writer Arisugawa

Fallen Angel

Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai!

Gannibal

His the Movie

His The series

Junkyouju Takatsuki Akira no Suisatsu

Kabe Sa Doujin Sakka no Neko Yashiki-kun wa Shouninyokkyuu wo Kojiraseteiru

Kids

Kieta Hatsukoi

Minato Shouji Coin Laundry

Minato Shouji Coin Laundry 2

Restart After Coming Back Home

Sumika Sumire

Suki Suki Wan Wan!

Tabikurage Detective Diary

Takara-kun to Amagi-kun

The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window

The Reason Why he Fell in Love with Me 2

Udagawachou de Matteteyo

Utsukushi Kare

Utsukushii Kare 2

Vietnam

Hey! First Love

MR CINDERELLA

Stupid Boys Stupid Love

The Star Always Follow You

Stormy honeymoon

Want to see you

YOU ARE MY STUPID BOY

Philippines

Ben X Jim

My Day

#mine edit

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aranarumei · 3 months

Text

the anomalous agate, commentary

hello! I said I could talk about the anomalous agate forever, so here is me, talking about it. this is a post covering just like, overall notes I had when writing… maybe I’ll post about specific scenes or chapters sometimes, but I was really compelled to at least talk about overall things because unlike individual chapters, I think it’s something that’s less likely to be picked apart? so, all of that’s under the cut.

okay, first up! the biggest challenge in writing this fic was essentially, how do I make this fic feel like it’s a case from The Case Files of Jeweler Richard?

Based on the first two volumes alone, there’s a couple of things I think the series really exemplifies. First, it can examine things that are fairly mundane, and place value and importance on even small details. Second, Richard has a wide variety of knowledge, and I always read The Case Files of Jeweler Richard and come away with a new sense of the world. There’s something I, or Seigi, hadn’t really considered before, that I’m now considering. Finally, Seigi’s got all of his quirks—I didn’t try to match his exact style of narration, but I aimed to blend my own style and his in terms of vibe, and did my best to, at the very least, express his feelings accurately. So whether the wording of how he says things are exactly how he’d express it, the base emotions are correct.

To address the second point, this means that I have to talk about a wide variety of things! A lot of what the anomalous agate references is stuff I already knew of—champagne’s brand protection, Johannes Vermeer and ultramarine, The Little Prince, the commonality of dyed agate… but there’s some stuff I knew absolutely nothing about, the biggest of them being makeup and coffee. For coffee, I ended up watching quite a few bits of stuff from James Hoffman’s YouTube channel, and for makeup I watched a couple of video tutorials and read quite a few blog posts. Then I referenced Wikipedia to doublecheck any information I thought I knew. For the gems, I trawled quite a few websites, the main ones being the websites of GIA, International Gem Society, and American Gem Society. And I tried to avoid as many crystal healing websites as I could. Any inaccuracies present are my own fault.

As for why I picked coffee, a drink I don’t particularly like (though I’m a huge fan of coffee ice cream), and a subject that isn’t of necessary relevance to the rest of the story, unlike makeup, it was because I’d had a really good tiramisu crepe cake a few months ago, and thought it was such a neat form of tiramisu. It ended up being a nice choice, considering that Hanzawa and Seigi met up at a café twice!

And speaking of references! As a fun challenge, I made sure to add a reference to every single case mentioned in the first two volumes. It helped ground the fact that this was, indeed, part of The Case Files of Jeweler Richard for me, and I felt like it ended up strengthening some bits, too, but I mostly did it just because I wanted to see if I could. Some cases are mentioned multiple times, but I’ll list what I think is the first instance for every case below:

case 1-1: Coffee at a café was meant to be pleasant; I had no desire to remind myself of what it felt like to work night shift after night shift as a security guard. [ch 1] case 1-2: “When you put it that way… there’s definitely times I don’t want to say everything about myself,” I conceded, remembering how I’d felt when confronted by Mami-san’s deep, uncomfortable sense of shame. [ch 2] case 1-3: Come to think of it, he’d called himself thoughtless for selling that amethyst to Takatsuki-san, who’d been moved by the powers it was said to possess. [ch 3] case 1-4: “Department stores existed before you began working here, but only once you took an interest in diamonds did you notice the kinds of jewels they sold.” [ch 1] bonus (to wish upon a rose quartz): Remembering it now, it was hard to explain why I hadn’t had one in such a long time, but I hadn’t developed the habit of searching out cafés, bakeries, and sweet shops until I started working at Jewelry Étranger, either. [ch 1] bonus (cleopatra’s pearls): Since he’d just mentioned her, my mind flashed to Cleopatra—she was certainly an image that was out of sorts with Hanzawa. [ch 3] bonus (daily life at étranger ~ professor kunz and morgan): I hadn’t heard of moganite until now—unless I was mishearing morganite, but Richard had such wonderful pronunciation I thought that was impossible. [ch 1] case 2-1: “Well, Hajime-kun was much younger, but his circumstances were different…” [ch 1] case 2-2: Just like Yamamoto-san trying to buy herself a garnet. [ch 1] case 2-3: It was obvious in the way I’d found out about Tanimoto-san’s love for rocks and minerals, as well as her friend Shinkai-san’s dance company, or, in a more negative light, Hase-san visiting at the exact time I happened to be in the back of the shop, but when I told Richard this, he simply brushed it off. [ch 1] (technically the above is the first instance for case 2-4, too, but I’ll point out another instance) case 2-4: Though I doubted this surprise encounter would go as badly as the last one had, the sharp sense of déjà vu kept me wary. [ch 2] bonus (the serendipity of euclase): I’d only recently put my foot in my mouth by comparing us to a married couple, so I refrained from trying to make comparisons. [ch 5 / epilogue]

second! I wanted to talk a bit about some of the themes in the anomalous agate… this will probably be a bit more unstructured, but it contains some stuff I wanted to express, so I’ll to my best.

The title of this fic is the anomalous agate, and it is the stone that Hanzawa Masato ends up purchasing, but it’s not entirely what this fic is about, right? Lapis lazuli occupies a pretty big part of the chapter, and it’s an important part, too. So… why? Why have two stones, why have a title that doesn’t reflect the stone that Richard talks about, etc.?

The answer for this comes in the form of how I approached this story and how I feel about Hanzawa Masato—fundamentally, he’s a kind of tricky guy. He’s an inherently mysterious type of person, with a lot of layers and facets to him. And while I’m in love with these universes crossing over, I felt like it would be disrespectful to throw Hanzawa into the universe of The Case Files of Jeweler Richard and have him be laid completely bare. So, from the beginning, I wanted to work under the limitations that whatever change Hanzawa went through, and whatever we learned, it wouldn’t be something dramatic. And because Hanzawa’s so many things, I had another idea: as much as I could, when I introduced an idea into a fic, I’d try to make it two, instead of one. It’s an easy way to create a Hanzawa that feels properly multilayered, because making everything two things means he can’t be simple, and Hanzawa Masato is never simple. It's also an easy way to have Seigi misunderstand him in a way that shows that Hanzawa’s kind of a tough nut to crack.

...So, maybe you’re beginning to see why there’s two gems. The first chapter actually begins with a talk about authenticity, and it’s only in chapter two that Hanzawa brings up the concept of being anomalous. Both authenticity and being anomalous are topics that influence the kinds of things Hanzawa thinks about, and so do lapis lazuli and blue lace agate. Seigi realizes Hanzawa’s “something like a birthday gift” is a gift for himself, but he never once learns that Hanzawa’s birthday is in April, so it’s not for a special event at all that he’s buying this. Though I hadn’t intended it, considering that the guidebook says Hanzawa’s only got a younger sister, Seigi realizes that his older sister may not have been who taught him how to use makeup, but he doesn’t realize that Hanzawa might not even have an older sister. (This one was truly unintentional… I guess Hanzawa gets one over me, here!) Cafés are soothing, but coffee can stimulate one into sleeplessness. Seigi parallels Tashiro, and Hanzawa parallels Richard, but at the end, Seigi feels that it’s he and Hanzawa who are the similar ones. Seigi discusses the merits of concealment versus enhancement, and Hanzawa says that they’re the same thing, for him. Two things and one thing, again. Fox or prince, both are tamed. Two and one.

Essentially, I forced myself to make sure that any idea I introduced had a certain level or complexity and/or depth. I couldn’t just make a statement and then move on from it without exploring or developing it. Uniqueness, for example, is a term that gets used in quite a few ways in this story. I don’t think any of this really comes across as being intentionally a sort of “doubling,” but I think having this in mind while I wrote really forced me to be thoughtful about what I was writing.

third! I thought I’d talk in a few more specifics about when exactly this fic is set.

This happens mainly in the October of Seigi’s second year of college, which, now that I’ve read Volume 3, seems placed pretty perfectly? In case 3-1, he mentions Jewelry Étranger opened in April, and he’d been working there for six months, placing the first case around October as well… my fic ends when it’s November, but I’m still pleased by how close the time is. The reason it’s set here, of course, is because that’s when the cultural festival will be happening in Miyano’s third year. I’ve talked at length about what I see Hanzawa and Tashiro being up to around this time, particularly surrounding Tashiro crossdressing for the cultural festival, and the exploration of their relationship along with their own personal issues, and this was the perfect backdrop to set against this case. This is because I wanted Hanzawa’s changing to not be solely motivated by Seigi, so I needed sufficient events to be happening in the background that would prompt him to actually make that purchase of blue lace agate. And that’s why there’s a three-week gap between Seigi and Hanzawa meeting in that café and when he actually purchases that blue lace agate. The exact details of what happens there are vague, but the bonus scene I wrote shows at least some of it.

I’d planned to have Tashiro barely cameo in the background at first, but while I was outlining, I realized that Hanzawa was the kind of stubborn guy who needed a lot of prompting, and that Seigi wouldn’t understand half of what was going on if he’d never met Tashiro. Thus, Tashiro made an appearance, to which I’m very glad for! I think he acted as a really disarming presence for Hanzawa, and allowed Seigi, and thus, the audience, to see a lot of Hanzawa that we hadn’t been privy to before.

Here's the timeline of main events in the anomalous agate:

October 6th, 2018 — SATURDAY: Hanzawa Masato visits Jewelry Etranger for the first time. October 8th, 2018 — MONDAY: Nakata Seigi and Tanimoto Shouko have mandatory English class. October 11th, 2018 — THURSDAY: Nakata Seigi and Hanzawa Masato meet for the second time. October 12th, 2018 — FRIDAY: Kaede and Nakata Seigi wave to each other on campus. October 12th, 2018 — LATE FRIDAY: Kaede informs both Nakata Seigi and Hanzawa Masato that the senior harassing her has been expelled from the university. October 14th, 2018 — SUNDAY: Hanzawa Masato visits Jewelry Etranger for the second time. October 20th, 2018 — SATURDAY: Hanzawa Masato, Tashiro Gonzaburou, and Nakata Seigi run into each other at a cafe. November 3rd, 2018 — SATURDAY: Tashiro Gonzaburou’s last cultural festival occurs. November 10th, 2018 — SATURDAY: Hanzawa Masato visits Jewelry Etranger for the third time.

finally! some random notes I didn’t know how to categorize:

If you’re wondering who Kaede is, during the volume 5 extras, Hirano mentions this girl named Kaede that Hanzawa hangs out with often, and then asks if they’re dating. They’re not—but in ch 27, we spot him at the movies with a friend of his who’s a girl, and I’d decided that this is the Kaede Hirano mentions. That’s why she’s into movies—because that’s the only thing I could think of that’s even somewhat related to her appearance. The rest is kind of invented whole cloth… it ended up being helpful to get a kind of outside perspective on Hanzawa, so I was happy with how it turned out, and I hope it didn’t feel like she was just a boring plot device.

Also, when Hanzawa reminds Seigi that they’ve got each other’s numbers at the end, to me it’s the sort of thing like where in the early MCU movies, they’d end with getting contacted about the Avengers Initiative, or whatever… I haven’t watched them properly. But it’s a sign that like oh, stuff is going to cross over! So, for me, that’s a way of telling myself that if I ever feel like it, when I’m writing Hanzawa, he can call up Seigi, and I’ll have +20k of justification for that choice. Also, even though I said I didn’t want Seigi to be like most important life-changing person in Hanzawa’s life, I still did want them to have some of an effect on each other. And this is kind of proof of that.

edit: FUCK I FORGOT TO MENTION TEMPERATURE. hanzawa's associated with the cold and tashiro's associated with warmth. thats whys seigis always shivering or feeling gusts of wind when hanzawa shows up. and why he meets tashiro on a super warm day. richard gets some description mentions aligned with cold, specifically when he's asking seigi about his bruise, and that kind of mirrors hanzawa making tashiro sit still while he pulls out the eyelash curler. only there his hands are warm because like. hanzashiro's weird.

and for anyone who read the whole thing: some images for you! first, here's a sketch page that I messed around with while writing, so I could get some visual feelings:

and here's a screenshot of what editing / writing for ch 4 looked like when I discovered the magic of track changes:

#kiri.txt #commentary #the anomalous agate #in this essay i will #dunno if this'll be interesting to anyone...?

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shewhoeatssand · 5 months

Note

☠, ▼ and ☯for Kaneki, pls^^

☠️ - angry/violent headcanon!

Oughhh I love Kaneki being angry and violent 🥰🥰 I think sometimes when Shironeki is very emotional, he’ll seek out groups instead of singular ghouls to eat but also to lash out on and toy with a bit. He repeats a lot of the trauma that was inflicted onto him but usually pushes it out of his mind by the next day and can’t recall it. If he finds one guy separate to the rest of the group, he’d break their limbs to keep them from getting away, then go find the rest of the group to kill in front of them if they didn’t answer whatever questions he wanted. Since his mind isn’t there altogether the questions can be about things he doesn’t really need information on, since they’re more to justify the ordeal to himself as an interrogation. Also, whoever he decides to be most pissed at would end up with some serious head damage (sometimes half of it is even missing!!!). At the end he’ll eat everyone’s kakuhous before leaving. Very often I like to imagine him popping into a public bathroom to get changed after this sort of thing, then pop into McDonalds and order a coffee to sip while people watching and having mild thoughts on eating even more :3 he’s so cute sitting there aww I wish he could eat soggy fries too

▼ - childhood headcanon!

Kaneki wrote a lot of stories as a wee lad. When he was living with his mother he’d write a lot of fantasy inspired things about different worlds with dragons and elves. They were very descriptive, and he had a huge imagination! Many were set in the same world which he’d use as a form of escapism. The main character was usually a boy just a bit older than him, who’d kill monsters with spells he learned from books, and receive lots of praise from his family and friends. As he got a little older he gave the boy a lot of his own hardships and had a lot of his friends turn on him for things that were out of his control, then had him forced to kill his own mother. He later felt EXTREMELY guilty about this and tossed out the entire book.

When he moved in with his aunt he wrote memos about the nice things he used to do with his mother and some vent pieces that would get scrunched up or burnt. He took a lot of inspiration from Takatsuki too, and wrote some fanfiction with the characters in another book he guarded with his life. Sometimes he’d even do drawings to match the story and Takatsuki’s real works :) he became a pretty good artist and used his new skill for lots of good things (drawing his and Hide’s “ideal girlfriend” every 2 weeks)

☯️ - Likes/Dislikes headcanon!

OH THIS ONE IS SO FUN

Likes 🥰:

stray cats

tall buildings

home cooking

this one milf librarian he was always too shy to talk to (literally ran away from her before)

sleeping

muted colours

wool

board games

his room

petrichor

his warm sweaters

his blankets

the Takatsuki Fan Forum (his only online activity)

riding his bike

mashed potato

chocolate

this one really old teddy his mama gave him that he pretends he doesn’t need anymore because he knows his mama sucked ass, but still clings to when he’s lonely (Haise was given something similar by Arima when he lost his belongings)

cucumbers

stars

water streams

Dislikes 😔:

bonito flakes (killed his great grandfather)

his cousin Youichi

his grandparents :((((

cramped spaces, or being in a corner

being touched too much

big, loud dogs (got chased once while he was walking home at age 5)

when the murder victims cry out to be saved

warheads

too many pigeons

crowds

big spiders

team sports

his first name

manga (thinks they are for uncultured people who don’t really want to read) (but the horrors are cool sometimes)

social media (can’t understand it well)

natto

committees

a lot of sun

#tokyo ghoul #kaneki ken #ken kaneki #thank you for the ask!#forgot to add tags first time around woops

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harleyquilts-fanfic · 1 year

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Bloodied Lips (TouKen/KaneTou fanfic)

Summary: A TouKen Vampire Au for @toukenweek, where Kaneki is saved by a mysterious stranger after being attacked by a vampiric being one night.

Words: 4203~

Notes: I'm a lil late for the Vampire Au, but I hope this contribution still counts! This was an au I had a strange amount of fun with, though I guess it's because it's so similar to TG itself. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy!

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Kaneki was never religious, nor did he believe in any kind of God or Devil. In the past, he would offer a prayer or two at a shrine during New Years, though these ‘prayers’ were nothing more than brief moments of reflection and hope for the future. Prayer was nothing more than a traditional obligation, though he would not go as far as to say such things aloud. It was easy, then, to see the supernatural as nothing more than a fantasy conjured up in the minds of humanity’s superstitious ancestors.

Even so, whenever he came across a ghost or ghoul in one of his many novels, he found himself unnerved and discomforted by their presence. He was not afraid, per se, but there was something unsettling about these monsters as they hunted their prey in human forms. And when these victims are cornered and forced to face their devourers, their humanity would shed away and their monstrous bodies would emerge. Large fangs that protruded from their hanging jaws, sunken eyes that emitted a reddish glow, and their elongated limbs that stretched into gnarled claws. They’d lean in close and feed on the human’s fear as they confront the unavoidable finality of their painful deaths. It was a fear Kaneki never wanted to experience, even if he knew such monsters were nothing more than fiction.

Kaneki shut his book as he finished another chapter from Takatsuki’s most recent work. He nodded approvingly and took a sip from his coffee, his eyes glancing towards the time. He was supposed to meet Hide, but it would seem that he was running late. Kaneki shrugged and checked his phone, seeing a message from Hide telling him that he has another delivery to make before he can finish his shift. Placing his phone aside, he took another sip and opened his book again, eager to continue onto the next chapter.

“Oh my,” Kaneki hears a woman say, followed by a lighthearted giggle. “Is that Takatsuki’s new novel?”

Looking up, Kaneki’s eyes meet a stranger standing by his table - a woman with long, silky hair, pale skin, plump lips, and eyes with long, thick eyelashes and a deep, violet colour. She was also dressed in a long-sleeved dress that hugged her hourglass figure, a cardigan draped over her shoulders. With her glasses, posture, and the soft humour in her expression, along with the smoothness of her voice, there was an erotic sophistication to her that immediately left Kaneki breathless. He gulped and felt his cheeks become warm at the sight of this stranger, and he nodded shakily, showing her the cover.

“Oh, I love Takatsuki!” She clapped her hands together and grinned. “And this new novel - what do you think?”

“W-Well–” Kaneki, flustered, scratches the back of his head as he struggles to decide where to look. “Like a-all of t-their works, it surprises m-me how unique their s-stories are.” He cringes as he continues to stutter over his words and he offers an uneven smile, his ears hot. “I am always i-impressed by their d-dark imagination.”

“I know! I feel the same way.” The stranger then flinches and playfully knocks on her head with an apologetic smile. “Ah, how rude of me. I should introduce myself first.” She offers him a small bow, her hair falling forward. Kaneki gulps again as he smells the woman’s sweet aroma. “My name is Rize Kamishiro.”

Rize. Rize Kamishiro. Her name, spoken with the soothing caress of her voice, lingers in his mind while he clears his throat. “My name is Ken Kaneki.” His heart flutters wildly against his chest. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh, no no.” She giggles, like a musical chime. “The pleasure is all mine.”

From behind the counter, Touka glares as she catches Rize watching and smirking at her from the corner of her eye.

He’s mine.

. . .

Kaneki gasps and writhes on the ground, gripping his neck. Blood drips over his scuffed knuckles and down his arm. Red stains begin to spread down his white, torn sleeves, with droplets dripping down onto the ground below. He gasps again and crawls forward, an intense burning sensation coursing through his veins. Rize watches him from a small distance away, blood streaks across her cheeks and dripping from her reddened lips. She slowly licks her lips, lapping up the blood, and grins, with fangs protruding from her upper lip. Kaneki continues to crawl at a slow pace and from behind, he can hear Rize’s footsteps as she quickly closes in on him.

“My, Kaneki, what a pathetic sight you are.” She giggles, pressing a finger against her chin and tilting her head to one side. “Keep crawling. Cry out in pain. Give me more to feed on.”

She then leans forward and grabs his scalp with her sharpened nails, pulling him up so that he can see the red shimmer in her eyes and the narrowing of her pupils. Kaneki winces and struggles vainly against her grip, his legs too weak to carry his weight. She throws her head back and laughs, slamming him onto the ground and straddling his back. There is a ringing in his ears as his body falls limp against her weight.

“Humans are so laughably weak.” She continues, her lips brushing against his ear. He can hear the dangerous sharpness in her voice. “So naive, so clumsy. It was almost too easy to catch you on my web.” She leans back for a moment, her hand still holding onto his head. “You’d make an excellent thrall. Perhaps I’ll make you my slave.” She laughs again and Kaneki wheezes against the cold ground. She shakes her head, smiling. “It’s tempting, but my appetite would never allow it. No worries, sweetie, you should be proud you even made it this far.”

She twists his head to one side and exposes his bloodied neck. Revealing her enlarged fangs once again, she leans forward for one final bite. Kaneki shuts his tired eyes, his ears flooded with the sound of his racing heart.

It was then that he felt Rize's grip loosen, the weight on his back lifted. Cracking one eye open, he hears Rize’s muffled screams behind him, along with the scuffle of footsteps and the collision of bodies. And then there was a sudden silence. Kaneki shut his eyes again and heard someone walk towards him, and he silently hoped that it was his mysterious saviour. Or perhaps it’s another monster, Kaneki thought to himself, wanting to laugh at his misfortune.

A hand is pressed against his cheek and then below his nose before being drawn back again. His body, now weak and frail, is turned onto his back, and he winces as the streetlight above shines over him. He opens his heavy eyelids and squints, the person standing over him a dark shadow against the light.

“What–” A wheezy cough escapes him as he tries to speak, the taste of iron coating his mouth. “Who are you?” He murmurs.

“The venom is already taking effect, I don’t know if I can suck it back out in time.” The stranger, who sounded like a woman, knelt down to his side and turned his neck so that Rize’s bite was facing him. “This will hurt for a moment. Just…rest for a while.”

And with that, she leans down and sinks her teeth over the bite wound. Kaneki flinches and weakly raises an arm to push her off, but she places a hand onto his chest and pushes him back onto the ground. He feels the blood being sucked away from his body and a warmth begins to spread from the wound until it starts to become a burning heat. And as he groaned against the pain, his body grew limp once again and his thoughts faded into a blank nothingness of unconsciousness.

The woman, Touka, opens her mouth and pulls away, a line of blood falling away between her lips and his skin. Wiping her mouth, she checks his pulse. A slow, steady heartbeat. She sighs and presses her palm against his forehead, which was still slick with a cold sweat. His temperature seemed relatively cold, though it was difficult to make any judgments after being attacked in the middle of the street at night. It would be best to take him somewhere safe, she decided and she stood back up, licking the blood off her hand.

A small distance away, Rize’s body convulsed as the blood continued to trickle away from the slice across her neck. Such a wound wouldn’t kill her - Touka knew this - but it would be a while before she fully healed from so much blood loss. Touka hoped that she would use that time to rethink her future hunts before playing with her food.

“Right,” she looked back down at the young man she had seen earlier and she nudged him with her foot. “What should I do now…”

. . .

Kaneki was haunted by a stream of nightmarish dreams of being chased down alleyway after alleyway, with some being deadends, and others to narrower alleys that Kaneki forced himself to squeeze through. All the while, he heard Rize’s wicked laughter following him from behind, taunting him with words that seemed to cut into his skin and slow him down. Still, he desperately pushed onwards, even if he knew there was no escape from her predacious gaze.

And then, finally, he awoke with a gasp. He blinked through the tears in his eyes and they rolled down his cheeks, which were already damp with sweat. He rubbed his eyes and tried to sit up, only to find that his body was much too heavy and his energy very much depleted. He tried again, pushing himself up with his elbows, and he whimpered as his body protested with sudden shocks of twisting pain. His arms trembled while he looked around, Kaneki breathing heavily. He was in a dark room he did not recognise, though it seemed like a basement of sorts. His bed, which seemed to be a camping cot, was pushed to the corner of the room, a desk with an old computer in front of his bed, a sofa against the back wall, and a stack of different boxes to its side. The walls and floors were grey concrete slabs and there was only one light hanging above.

Leaning back, he then notices an I.V drip to his side and lifting his hand, he sees the needle taped on. Gasping, he then reaches for his neck, which was covered with a gauze and medical tape pressed tightly around. There must have been some kind of painkiller in the I.V, since he couldn’t feel any sort of pain when pressing the wound. But then why does my body ache so much, he wonders and he leans to his side with a grimace. What happened that night, he continues to think to himself, was all of that real? Rize, a vampiric beast, and a good samaritan who intervened. What happened afterwards - Kaneki is less certain of. There’s so much to consider, so many questions that needed answers, but even so, Kaneki could only think of the exhaustion that was washing over his body and threatening to drag him back into the realm of sleep.

When he opened his eyes once again, the room was lit up with a dim light and a blurred figure stood a small distance away with their back facing him. He winced and reached up to rub the sleep from his eyes, and hearing him, the stranger looked over their shoulder and turned to him. He wanted to sit up and ask them a plethora of unanswered questions, but fatigue weighed heavily against his body and he found himself fighting to keep his eyes open.

“Are you awake?” The stranger asked, their voice muffled in his ears. He gave them a weary nod. “I want to make sure you have something to eat before you fall back to sleep again.” They knelt beside his cot and held up a plastic bottle with a straw and held it to his lips. He couldn’t see what was inside the drink, but the pain of hunger urged him to take a sip before he could muster the strength to ask. “Drink. It’ll give you your strength back.”

Taking a sip, his mouth was coated with a thick, sweet-tasting liquid that washed away the dryness in his throat. The more he drank, the warmer he felt, and he wondered if he was drinking some kind of soup. It was a nice thought, and an even nicer gesture, he pondered as he continued to drink, remembering the days his mother would feed him freshly made miso soup or porridge whenever he was sick.

Finishing the drink, he leaned back and looked up to the ceiling, his vision now clear and his hearing sharp. He licked his lips, savouring the sweet taste of the beverage the stranger offered, before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He held it up and noticed a streak of red against his pale skin. He frowned and turned his head towards the stranger, who continued to kneel beside him.

He saw, then, that the stranger was a young woman with black, bob-length hair, her long fringe partially hiding her face, and blue, round eyes that watched him steadily. Her skin seemed all the more pale against her dark hair and dim lighting, as if she were a porcelain doll. It reminded him of Rize, in a way. Right…Rize. He wanted to tell himself that Rize, whatever she may be, was nothing more than a nightmare - a shadow that could do him no harm in the real world. And yet, that fact that he was here, wherever this place may be, was proof enough that something had happened. What exactly that was, he was not confident to say with certainty. For all he knew, the vampirisin he became victim to was nothing more than his mind trying to make sense of whatever had happened that night. Needless to say, he felt that his memories were left in a tangled mess, and the more he tried to make sense of it all, the harder it was to distinguish reality from fiction.

“Who are you?” He decided to ask first, lowering his hand. The stranger stood up and placed the nearly empty bottle aside, frowning. “Where are we? Why…” He paused, then, taken aback by a sudden realisation. “Why am I not in the hospital? Why take me here?”

“Hold on. I’ll answer your questions.” She grimaced and rubbed the back of her head, muttering to herself. “Let me just…” Her eyes wander as her voice trails off. “Let me change your I.V bag first. Wait here.”

Kaneki was about to protest with increased urgency, before remembering that he was in the home of this stranger. A basement, even, from what he could see. This stranger may have saved him, if his memories were anything to go on, but he could not say for sure that he was any safer in the hands of this stranger than he was with Rize. Perhaps that was too harsh, he thought for a moment, as the girl gently examined the needle in his hand and unhooked the nearly empty bag of fluids. Still, it was his lack of caution that caused this whole situation in the first place - he could not afford to be careless a second time. And so, as he watched the stranger climb back up the basement stairs, he slowly climbed out from his cot and followed behind.

His body was not exactly cooperative with his first attempt to move. His knees buckled beneath him and he held onto the desk beside him to hold him up. However, he found that some of his strength gradually returned with each small step he took, and with a deep breath, he forced himself forward. His limbs continued to shake and shudder at first and Kaneki bit his lip to hold back his small cries of pain. He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed heavily through his nose, silently telling himself to make less noise.

Reaching the stairs, he let out another breath as he leaned against the steps and felt the sweat roll down the back of his neck. There was a voice at the back of his head urging him to return to the bed before he was found out, and still, in his panicked state, he kept pushing himself to go further in hopes that, this time, he would succeed in his attempt to escape.

The door on top of the stairs had been partially shut, but not locked, and he stared intently through the gap in the doorway. The thudding of his heart filled his ears as he watched and waited with some distress for the girl to return. But when he reached the top of the stairs, he was quick to slip through the gap and take in his surroundings; it was a regular, plain hallway, with the stairs to the upper floors to his right, and opposite that, a shut door to another room; to his left was what he could only assume was the front door between two archways facing each other. He gulped and crept towards the door, cringing at each slight creak in the floorboards. But he managed to make his way to the door without being caught, and grabbing the door handle, he turned it slowly and prayed that it was somehow unlocked. And as if God had answered his prayers, the door clicked open and Kaneki found himself smiling with great relief as he swung the door open.

And just as his body was flooded with the warm glow of the evening sun, he found himself struck with a burning sensation that painfully prickled his skin like a spray of acid that trickled over the entirety of his body. He threw his arms up to shield his face and he stumbled back, crying out in pain. Squeezing his eyes shut, he heard the door close and felt immediate relief with the sudden darkness, like a cool breeze had drifted over his blistering wounds. He fell onto his knees, panting, as he let this sensation wash over him.

“I told you to wait.” Hearing her voice, Kaneki froze, his heart skipping a beat. He slowly looked back and saw the girl standing behind him, holding an I.V bag in her hand. She looked down at him with eyes that now glimmered with a deep red colour. His mouth felt dry as he stuttered out a weak excuse, glancing between her and her hand which was now squeezing the bag.

“I-I’m sorry.” He stammered with a weak voice. “I was– I panicked.”

She shuts her eyes and heaves out a heavy sigh before placing the bag to one side. She steps forward and Kaneki flinches, pushing himself back against the wall behind him, and he hears the girl click her tongue. Kneeling down, she reaches forward and gently places her hands onto his cheeks, much to his surprise. He tenses up as she brushes her fingers over his skin, carefully moving his head to one side and then to the other as she examines him carefully with her eyes. His eyes widen when he notices that they have now returned to their previously blue colour. He feels his cheeks become warm as she moves even closer to him, suddenly enveloped with her surprisingly floral fragrance. With a slight frown, she leans back and then squeezes his cheeks between her finger and thumb, her eyes narrowed.

“Um…” Kaneki's voice was muffled as he tried to squeeze out a question. “What are you–”

“Quiet.” She lets go with a small push and brushes back her fringe, rubbing the back of her neck. Standing, she sighs again. “Well, I guess there’s no denying it, but…” She shakes her head and holds out her hand for Kaneki to take, which he does with some hesitance. “I did tell you to wait.”

“I’m sorry, I…” He frowns, then, and looks down at his hands, rubbing his skin with sudden urgency. “What happened? Just a minute ago, it felt like my skin was burning. But looking at it now…” His voice trails away as he examines his arms and touches his neck and face, looking between himself and the door. His eyes then meet the girl’s watchful gaze, and he silently pleads for some answers. Her expression remains unreadable while she watches him slowly piece things together. “Does this have anything to do with Rize? Was what happened that night real?”

“Yes.” She nods. “I tried my best to take the venom out, but it seems it still had some effect on you.”

“Venom? What venom? Am I sick?”

“In a sense.” She tilts her chin up, crossing her arms. “Vampirism. Have you heard of it before?”

He stares at her blankly, and then incredulously. “Are you calling me a vampire? No, that’s–” He paces away from her, his hands clenched together. Images of Rize, the vivid memory of Rize biting into his neck, and the stranger leaning in to do the same - they all flood through his mind at once and he shakes his throbbing head. “Vampire…That’s…no, that can’t be. I…I need to go. I need to find Hide.”

“I can’t allow that. Not yet. It’s too dangerous and–”

“Are you…sick, too?”

His voice was small, but cold, a quivering fear laced between his words. She presses her lips together and nods, and she watches his shoulders drop as he stares deep into her eyes, trying to fathom her entire being within a single, brief moment. She seemed normal enough, he thought, and yet…and yet…

“Why did you bring me here?” He finally asked and the girl looked away for a moment.

“It would have been inconvenient for me if anyone else found you and Rize. That’s all.”

Kaneki lowered his head, not entirely sure what he expected. She had saved his life - he knew that much already. A part of him wanted to show her his gratitude, but his gratitude was overshadowed by the frightening revelation that now consumed his thoughts, like a parasite ready to burst in his skull. He wanted to tear it away, to be rid of all this, and yet, with each passing second, he realised that this was his new reality, whether he liked it or not.

“How long will I have to stay here?” He asked in a murmur.

“I don’t know. That will depend on you. I’ll be sure to help you through the new changes the best I can. To be completely honest, I don’t even know just how much of a vampire you really are, though maybe you’re still changing in your physiology. It might be taking longer because only a small amount of venom was ingested into your bloodstream.” Her voice trails off for a moment as she mulls over her thoughts. “We’ll see. But first, I need to make something very clear to you.”

She steps forward then, and Kaneki freezes as she grabs his shoulder with a firm grip, her eyes locked onto his. With his focus on her, his heart begins to quicken while she continues to speak.

“Like I said before, vampirism is a sickness that must be kept hidden from the public at all costs. I can explain the details later. Just understand that, from now on, the person you were before - a college student, a childhood friend, a loving son - that person no longer exists. They are dead to the world now. Do you understand?”

“Dead?”

She nods, her grip tightening. “Yes. Dead. It is imperative that you know that. That you understand what that means. I’m not just saying this for mine, or even for your sake. If you cherish the people you love, you will keep those ties cut and exist as a nobody while you learn to adjust to the venom. If you cannot do that, or if you refuse to heed my advice,” Her eyes narrow then, her next words spoken with a fearsome finality. “I will not hesitate to kill you.”

A growing dread begins to rise up from Kaneki’s stomach, his legs suddenly weak once again. Still, his eyes remain on hers, and with tears threatening to fall from his eyes, he nods.

“I understand.”

“Good.” She loosens her hold on him and lowers her eyes, but keeps her hand on his shoulder for a moment longer before pulling away with a strained silence. “Good.” She repeats, her voice wavering. “Let’s go back down. You need more rest.”

Kaneki wipes his eyes with the back of his hand, sniffling as he follows the girl back down the stairs to the basement. She pauses for a moment before taking the last step, and without turning back to him, she quickly mutters something.

“My name is Touka, by the way. Touka Kirishima.”

She continues to walk into the room and Kaneki wipes his sore eyes again with a wry smile. “My name’s Ken Kaneki.”

#toukenweek2022 #touken #kanetou #kaneki ken #touka kirishima #rize kamishiro #vampire au #kaneki x touka #fanfic #my writing

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mitsuken1130 · 2 years

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おはようございます。

金曜日です。

週末ですね。お天気も大丈夫そうです。たぶん……

今日も無理せず頑張っていきましょう。

お店をやっていて色んな方々と繋がるのは、嬉しいですね〜〜(^^)

本日も高槻サンライズカフェオープンです。

よろしくお願いします。

モーニング、ランチやってます。

高槻サンライズカフェ

住所:高槻市城北町2-6-20 ペンタゴンビル1F

電話番号:072-672-5758(出れない事がほとんどなので、DMでよろしくお願いします。)

#高槻サンライズカフェ #高槻市

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mitsuken-sunrise · 6 months

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おはようございます！⁡⁡⁡

火曜日です。⁡

⁡今日で10月が終わりますね。⁡⁡

⁡世の中は、ハロウィンですが、サンライズは、ハロウィン感ゼロです～

⁡

⁡本日も⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡高槻サンライズカフェオープンです。

よろしくお願いします。

モーニング、ランチやってます(⌒▽⌒)

⁡

高槻サンライズカフェ

住所:高槻市城北町2-6-20 ペンタゴンビル1F

電話番号:072-672-5758(出れない事がほとんどなので、DMでよろしくお願いします。)

#高槻サンライズカフェ #高槻市

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lokahjarta · 2 years

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so I’m gonna get red string and corkboard here

but all this doesn’t even begin to touch on the narrative and thematic details between Twin Peaks and Tokyo Ghoul; all this below just to name the narrative and visual devices that are used to impart uncannily similar stories told in VERY FUCKING DIFFERENT MEDIUMS but with One or Two (where there’s one there’s two) common denominators between them

As Dale Cooper says;

“When two separate events occur simultaneously pertaining to the same object of inquiry, we must always pay strict attention.”

I could easily do a Part 2 on this if anyone else seems interested.

“The Owls Are Not What They Seem”

Owls are used over and over again in both stories to communicate a character that is actually something else.

Something sinister, unknown, and existing between worlds.

In Twin Peaks, these are spirits from The Black Lodge, existing between their world and our own in the form of owls. They are ever watching, living on the outskirts, but never far away.

In Tokyo Ghoul, these are the One-Eyed Ghouls, specifically Eto and Seidou. They’re animalistic, insane, and belong neither to the world of the ghouls nor the world of humans. They fight with berserker like frenzy and strength, battle hungry and blood thirsty.

Eto, as Sen Takatsuki, observes the world of both humans and ghoul and becomes a worldwide best-selling author, while likewise she is Eto of the Aogiri Tree, while she is also The One Eyed Owl, and the daughter of Yoshimura - truly, Not What She Seems.

Seidou’s rebirth as a One-Eye parallels Eto’s story. A former CCG agent turned medical experiment, he exists in the extremes of the stories’ factions, the righteous and lawful good Commission of Counter Ghouls and the clandestine, terrorist organization, Aogiri Tree. In the end, neither Seidou nor Eto choose a side or pick a team. They inhabit the In Between both physically, morally, and metaphorically.

A Damn Fine Cup of Coffee

The central hub and the narrative heart of both shows is in the kitchen; specifically, the coffee shop.

In Twin Peaks, the Double R Diner serves every type of person who comes through the door. Cops and robbers, vagrants and regulars. It hosts the clandestine meetings of the Bookhouse Boys and hires criminals who use the cheery front to disguise their true identities and nefarious dealings.

Anteiku serves hot mugs of damn fine coffee to both ghouls and humans. The one “food” that ghouls can enjoy that isn’t human flesh, coffee is a bridge of common ground between those who would seem as natural enemies. Anteiku also operates as a sort of ghoul foodbank, handing out human parts to the most vulnerable in their communities; ghouls who can’t hunt on their own. The Double R operates Twin Peaks’ Meals on Wheels program, delivering and serving food to those who need it.

Over and over we return to Anteiku, return to the Double R, return to what feels like warmth and like home, the one safe place in the world.

Dream State

And then there’s this little stretch of the imagination. It’s more than just a high contrast floor pattern, it’s a pattern that repeats itself in various forms through both mediums, but no where else is the shared territory more clear than in the similarities between Twin Peaks’ Red Room and Jason’s Torture Chamber. In the Red Room, where Dale is trapped for 25 years, he is enthroned where he sits, a chair that will become his prison. He is visited, or perhaps plagued, by visions of Laura Palmer. Or at least, who we think is Laura Palmer. Likewise, Kaneki is enthroned, chained, and tortured. All the while visited and tormented by visions of Rize - but she isn’t really there. Rize’s dead - right?

The pattern comes back to haunt us whenever Kaneki faces extreme distress and crises of identity. He is brought back to the crux of his tragedy, falling through checkered floors in dizzying cacophony, attempting to find a way out of his own mind only to be lost in chess-tiled labyrinths.

Likewise Dale Cooper, trapped in the Red Room for 25 years and looking for a way out, turns down endless corridors, throws open curtain after curtain, and is drawn further into the Red Room’s tesseract. He is blown from room to room by a malignant wind and when he finally returns to us after all this time, he does Not Come Back The Same.

Hair and Nails

And no one can come back the same. This is shown visually in opposite and drastic hair and nail color changes. After Kaneki is tortured, his hair turns completely white and his nails turn black. In Re:, after his defeat by the stark haired Arima, and the after the subsequent loss of all his memories, he becomes Haise Sasaki. His black hair begins to grow again over the white, only to have this reversed and reverted back and forth several more times as Kaneki undergoes extreme mental duress and becomes different versions of himself, before settling as white at the end of the series when he is able to accept himself and unite human and ghoul.

Kaneki isn’t the only one to go through this change. The Owl, Seidou, is victim to the same anomaly following his torture and transformation at the hands of Dr. Kano.

Finally there is also Kuro and Shiro, twin sisters with black and white hair (and whose names mean black and white), respectively. Inseparable to a fault, the two willingly undergo Dr. Kano’s procedure and become one eyed ghouls. When Shiro is killed, Kuro attempts to absorb her body into her own.

In Twin Peaks, the first and most obvious example of this narrative device is that of Leland Palmer. As he spirals into grief and madness following the death of his daughter, Leland’s hair turns white after he kills Laura’s “doppleganger” and cousin, Maddie, in an encore and near exact replay of Laura’s murder.

Diane, in Twin Peaks: The Return, also undergoes a drastic hair color change following the White-Haired Diane’s unmasking as a tulpa and her triumphant return after the defeat of BOB.

Finally, there is Laura and Maddie, themselves. “She’s my cousin,” says The Arm in the Red Room. “But doesn’t she look almost exactly like Laura Palmer?” Played by the same actress, Maddie lives out Laura’s life and final moments in Twin Peaks when she comes to visit after hearing the news of Laura’s murder. The only thing that differentiates the two is their hair color. Fair haired Laura, and dark haired Maddie.

She Who Started It All

And then there’s she whose death begins the story.

It’s Rize’s murder that begins our journey in Tokyo Ghoul. Revealed only at the very end of Tokyo Ghoul: Re, Rize’s death was not accident, as we are lead to believe, but an intentional homicide at the hands of her sexual abuser.

Likewise, Laura’s murder is what brings us into the world of Twin Peaks, and she too was murdered by the man who sexually assaulted, raped, and abused her; her father Leland.

Neither are truly gone, however, as it’s later revealed Rize has been kept alive. She is tortured, dissected, and experimented on in order to create new life, both One Eyed Ghouls for Dr. Kano and “dragons” for Furuta.

In fact, we learn this was her purpose from birth, and she is used as a weapon and a prize, with no more agency than an incubator.

Even after her death, Laura, too, remains a sought after object of desire. Her introduction into the world we learn is a direct response to the dissemination of BOB’s darkness. Laura is unleashed as an idea, a concept to combat BOB, destined to die before she is even born.

She, like Rize, lives on throughout the entirety of her story even when we believe her to be completely deceased and incapable of return. Her presence is felt in ripples that touch each and every character and create shockwaves that change the entire narrative. She haunts dream territory and mindscapes before returning flesh and blood, only for us to remember that Death is Catharsis and No One Comes Back The Same.

#narrative comparison #media analysis #this could go in three or four parts #this is like scratch the surface shit #twin peaks #tokyo ghoul #narrative parallels #media parallels #literary analysis

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vainillasaalt · 2 months

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1, 12, 21, 41 for the ask game <3

Hi! Thanks for the ask <3

who is/are your comfort character(s)?

I'm gonna be a bit of a weeb and also ramble a little...sorry. Also to me comfort character is not like your favourite character, more like the one that brings you joy and like the one you would think of for those "Naruto would be so proud of me for doing the laundry" kind of post. Javert is my favourite character from les mis but he has never brought me any kind of joy.

Takatsuki Yayoi from idolmaster. She's one of my favourite characters from all time, and I have loved her since I was her age more or less, she's sweet and upbeat and always does her best for everyone around her, maybe a bit flat as a character? But I love her a lot.

Kim Kitsuragi from disco elysium. I have been a bit inactive here because of exams and because I have been playing a lot of disco elysium and I'm absolutely smitten, I feel like a duckling imprinting on some dude which I think was the point but. You know.

Turns out I can only think of two god I need to get into something more cheerful everyone is so depressing. Maybe bishop Myriel too, I like him and he would be proud I did the dishes. ALSO i forgot while I was making the list but Kenzou Tenma from Monster too.

12. what kind of day is it?

I've been home all day so I'm not sure, but the time I went out it was warm. To me it was a more or less nice day, I played some games and read a bit and the coffee I made earlier was pretty good <3.

21. something you’ve kept since childhood?

A lot of things! I'm a bit of a hoarder and get attached to stuff easily, the most precious to me are my favourite picture book and a wooden teddy bear. I'm still upset I lost my favourite teddy bear though.

41. how do you take your coffee?

Cold, with milk and no sugar.

#ask #philomelodie #long post #because i can't shut up

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aru172 · 2 years

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Fandom art; part 1

First one is of Ken kenaki, I painted him with water colors. And it was the first use of my brush pens, so it is an older piece, it took up most of the page; size is medium - large

Second is Arima Yusa from my Au. Tokyo ghoul is the fandom again. I decided that he would like lose clothing and where masks around. He still doesn’t feel comfortable with the new changes going on in the world. In my Au there are major changes(Will be explained at one point), so he lives with Take Hirako. Full page size: Large

Third is also from my Au of Tokyo ghoul, this is also Arima Yusa. Like I said before a lot of changes. Too much too explain In this post. He is in a coffee shop. Either Re: or Anteiku, still don’t know Yusa’s age (which will change the story, comment if you know,) this was my favorite painting and it took a long time. Full page, size: Large

Now the Fourth……. Honestly I will just say the characters 4 OCs, 1 Kakashi, 1 Arima, 1 Kenaki, 1 kijima(don’t remember his name properly), 1 Eto/Takatsuki Sen, 1 Uta, and 1 Kate Kane (Have fun finding them)

Fifth is Tim Drake, this is a Lazarus Tim Fanart. Just for the concept itself not for a specific thing. I also decided to draw circles at the bottom, which I turned in to rocks. I did this for practice with line confidence, plus the challenge of monochromatic

Last, but not least, a close up of Tim. I actually use a piece of golden take for the choker in this.

!NOTE!

I am going to post a part two with more fanart because while posting this I drew more, and I didn’t want this post to get too long. Will post by next week

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ipsen · 7 months

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Blank Canvas 14

Read on AO3. Summary: The world continues to turn. Word Count: 3789 Chapter 13 Chapter 15 Master Post

It was November now, with December looming on the horizon.

Some things didn’t change all that much. Haise still woke up early, still cooked breakfast for himself and Hide (when he wasn’t away). He still caught the train to the 1st ward when he was done, still failed to obtain a wave from Ami at the secretary’s desk, and still trotted down the 6th floor hall to the glorified broom closet with his and Sen’s name on it.

After work, he still went to Anteiku. Still got a black coffee and partook in Yoriko’s pastries. He still helped at Apes & Dobers, organizing both food and furniture in his spare time. He still went back to his apartment at the end of the day, still filled a sketchbook with images of Sen or draft ideas. The same steady routine.

However, there were aspects of it that were different.

Obviously, there was Sen. Unlike Takatsuki, she frequently asked Haise how she looked in her outfit for the day. He would always smile and tell her the same thing: she looked beautiful. And unlike Takatsuki, Sen would believe him and light up.

(And every now and then, she would teach him how to take them apart.)

The story was also progressing nicely. Sen introduced a new character for Fushimi to interact with: a companion named Miharu, an independent detective with a vested interest in— and a mysterious connection to— the Hierophants.

Haise remembered looking at Miharu’s profile and smiling. “A bit on the nose, don’t you think?”

“Art imitates life,” was all Sen had to say.

And then Anteiku. Mr. Yoshimura’s infrequent shifts now required more attention and care. Touka and Yoriko, gained a second job with Kaya and Enji making sure he was alright as he moved about. However, as the latter two became busier with Apes & Dobers, it became clear something had to change.

And then, one day…

“Manager?!” Haise repeated with his jaw hung open. “That’s— That’s incredible, Touka!”

“Hold your horses, Coffee Kid; I haven’t accepted,” Touka said, hands up. “Mr. Yoshimura only told me today.”

She’d been trying out new nicknames in light of his new name, ‘Coffee Kid’ being the latest of the bunch. ‘Little Helper’ was the one before, and it didn’t stick as well as ‘Coffee Kid’ apparently was.

“Still, wow!” He chuckled in disbelief, running a hand through his hair. “I’m so happy for you!”

Touka nodded listlessly. “Mhm.”

She did one of her impromptu crashes at his and Hide’s apartment, showing up with little to no warning. Once he let her in, she found one of Hide’s secret wine bottles, opened it without asking, and took the opportunity to spill the news.

Haise frowned. “You… don’t sound too happy about it. Is there something wrong?”

She took a swig of the bottle and sighed. Wordlessly, she slid a slip of paper across the counter.

He scanned over the miniscule text. “An acceptance letter into—?” He stared at the name— “Chigyou School of Medicine?! Touka, you—?”

“I got in.” She smiled tiredly. “For the spring semester.”

“But then, you’d be in Kyoto, so you wouldn’t— Oh.” He felt so stupid. “Touka…”

“And there you go.” She took another swig of wine. “My dream, or the legacy of the one who let me chase it?”

Haise sat back down in his seat, unsure of what to say.

“And it’s not like I can pawn Anteiku off to someone else; Yoriko’s a total scatterbrain, and it’s not like Uta and Itori are gonna give Yomo back anytime soon. Plus, he’s also a scatterbrain.”

He twiddled his thumbs.

“What?” Touka drank again. “You look like you wanna say something.”

“N-No, not really.” He shook his head. “I don’t know if I could choose between them, is all.”

“Must be nice. Getting your dream job dropped in your lap, plus a girlfriend?” She groaned. “I’m so jealous.”

“S-Sorry…”

“Oh, shaddup.” That alcohol worked pretty fast, it seemed. “Not like you can take Mr. Yoshimura’s place for me.”

“Still, there’s gotta be some way I can help.”

She closed her eyes, thinking for a moment. “I’ve got it.”

“Of course!” Haise sounded a little too enthusiastic, but he hated seeing her like this. “What is it?”

“Turn on the TV.”

He blinked, then chuckled. “Alright.”

They watched a few late night cartoons, laughing and relaxing the night away. Before long, Touka was fast asleep, with the wine bottle completely drained. She had a high tolerance, so he wasn’t particularly worried.

He pulled the bottle gently out of her hands, then threw a spare blanket over her. He found a pillow for her to keep her neck from getting sore, and turned off the TV. Once he was sure she would be comfy, he brushed his teeth and changed into pajamas.

Before heading into his room, he glanced at Touka one last time, and frowned. She shouldn’t have such a choice placed on her shoulders. He understood why she was the best choice for manager after Mr. Yoshimura, but it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right.

And yet…

He sighed, and went to bed.

—

That night, his brain must have been feeling nostalgic, because he dreamt of the day he met Touka. It was the summer after he graduated high school. He’d managed to get into Kamii University’s waitlist, and until a verdict was met, his aunt demanded that he ‘finally make himself useful’, which was just code for ‘become scarce until your dorm is ready, or you’re out of here’. Not that he wasn’t already scarce; he hadn’t had a real conversation with her, his uncle, or Yuichi in years. But he didn’t need her to tell him that the threat was real this time.

That was how he came across Anteiku. He’d gotten unreasonably lucky for someone like him; Mr. Yoshimura seemed to pick his miserable form out of every customer, and took the other seat at the table. Even though Haise had been a little young to fully enjoy coffee, they chatted over a cup, and Mr. Yoshimura decided to hire him as a server.

(His aunt had been less than pleased. But money was money.)

Touka was heading into her final year of high school, and Mr. Yoshimura figured Haise would benefit from having someone of a similar age teaching him instead of Enji or Kaya.

At first, he was wrong. Touka was a terrible teacher. Haise’s demeanor apparently forced him to travel a minefield around her. Not only that, but his insistence on calling her by her surname instead of by her first name (like she asked) was grating on her. In some sort of petty (if deserved) retaliation, she called him by all sorts of nicknames.

And for someone who apparently struggled with kanji, she was pretty creative about them.

“Hey, Weekdays! Get over here.”

“Moneybags, need a refill for table eight!”

“Oi, Tree Hugger. You’re doing it wrong. Again.”

“Listen here, Gold Digger—!”

Until— ironically, in hindsight— he caved. He called her Touka— and they were arguing about Rize. Touka’s hotheaded nature— or maybe Rize’s aggressively cruel one— had rubbed off on him more than either of them realized, and in the heat of the moment, he said Touka’s name.

It had surprised both of them, and she walked away immediately after. Haise didn’t even remember what exactly he’d said to her, and ultimately, it didn’t matter. Rize left, and he realized that being discarded was far worse than being ignored.

Despite their argument, he dragged himself through Anteiku’s staff doors after closing time and made himself a lonely cup of coffee. Then, Touka appeared.

“Yo,” she said.

“Hey…” he said back.

“You’re… not with her.”

“Heheh… So I’m not.”

A beat. “Did she dump you?”

“She…” He sighed. “I don’t know.”

“The fuck you mean, you don’t know? She did or she didn’t, right?”

“I don’t know, okay!” Kaneki set the cup down harder than he wanted to. “She— She blocked my number, and her apartment is empty, and I just don’t— I can’t—!”

Touka raised a brow, unaffected. “Sounds like you got dumped.”

His hand curled into a fist, and he hung his head. “Alright. I… I got dumped.”

Another beat as she shuffled in her spot. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“I… No, I don’t.” What was there to talk about? It wasn’t like Touka liked Rize, anyway. She’d probably just say ‘I told you so’ in a thousand different ways, which wouldn’t help anyone, least of all him.

But she didn’t push the subject like he expected her to. Instead, she looked at his coffee cup, then smelled the air around it. “You used the pre-ground beans, didn’t you?”

He gave her a confused look. “I did…”

She suddenly snatched the cup. “Wait here. Don’t move.”

He obeyed. Rather, he didn’t feel like doing anything else, but he stayed where he was regardless of the reason. After a few minutes, she returned with a fresh cup and set it in front of him.

“Go on.”

He took a cautious sip. “It’s… really good…”

“Hand-ground ones are the best,” she explained. “The flavor comes out stronger when it’s fresh.”

“Oh… I see.” He took another sip. Then another, and another. “Thank you… That’s… This is really nice of you.”

She smirked. “Don’t get used to it.”

He chuckled, then shuddered, then ruined the perfect cup with salty tears. “I-I’m sorry… I’m so, so sorry…”

And Touka dropped everything to embrace him as he sobbed into her shirt. He cried and cried and cried. He couldn’t say he was sad over Rize, but he also couldn’t say ‘good riddance’ and move on. Rize had brought normalcy to his life, telling him that even someone like him could be understood. But now that understanding was gone, and he was alone again. He was a—

“It’s not that good, Kaneki.”

Touka tried to joke, and Kaneki, in the blur of his tears and haziness of his headache, somehow laughed. For the briefest of moments, he was able to come up for air.

And then a realization. “You said my name.”

She scoffed. “Oh, please; I’ve always said your name.”

And then there was more laughter. “What kind of person is named ‘Gold Digger’?”

“The stupid kind,” she retorted, but she was smiling.

They’d been best friends ever since. To help Haise bounce back, she took him to her judo classes, getting him in shape while releasing all that pent-up energy. He learned that there was more to violence than just hurting someone; it could also be used to protect what mattered.

He also learned that Touka had a mean right hand.

———

“Between a job I’m good at and the chance to realize my dream, huh?”

At Shoeisha, Sen— hair in a half-done French twist— scarfed down Haise’s breakfast that he’d prepared for her: a simple omelet with black pepper, green onions, and shreds of bacon. She always made a habit of skipping breakfast, but with a ‘master chef for a boyfriend’, in her words, she had quickly changed her tune.

In the meantime, he figured he’d ask an unbiased party about Touka.

“This coffee shop’s quite precious to her, then?” Sen scooped up some bacon. “Oh, that’s some good bacon.”

“Haha… I’m glad you like it.” He smiled. “But yes. It’s precious to both of us; the manager helped us get off our feet when no one else would look our way.”

“I see…” She thumbed away some flecks of egg on her cheek, then licked them off her finger, making him swallow. “So she feels like she has some sort of duty to the place.”

“Yeah…” Haise pursed his lips. “The manager’s getting old, and he’s gotten much worse this year, so… it probably won’t be very long before the position is vacant.”

It hurt to say it out loud, but the truth was right in front of him: Mr. Yoshimura wasn’t long for the world. Who knew if he’d even make it to next summer.

“Oh…” She frowned.

“I-It’s okay.” He shook off the onset of sadness. “What would you choose?”

Sen was happy to get back on track. “I’d choose my dream, without hesitation. All that hard work, just to not take the next step? Sounds like a waste to me. I can’t just throw away everything I’ve worked for like that, even if it is for stability. If I haven’t seen the end, then I’ll keep running.”

Haise smiled. It was just like her to say that. “Even if the job has a lot of good memories?”

Sen wiped her hands with a napkin. “Especially because it has a lot of good memories. Besides, a building’s just a building. It has no soul, not like people do. Once the people leave, it’s just an empty space with nothing to offer.”

It was a solid point. “But the memories are attached to the building, aren’t they? We can’t just abandon them like that.”

She raised a brow. “Sure we can. Are memories in the building? If it’s destroyed, do the memories go with it?”

“No, but—”

“Then there’s no problem. You can always restart, rebuild, and regain.” Sen wiped her hands on a napkin. “Memories will always be memories. If you let them hold you back, then you’ll never get anywhere.”

She was always so certain of herself, and it was part of why he loved her. That sort of boldness, with little reason to turn back, was something he couldn’t look away from.

“You’re supposed to learn from them, not try to replicate them.” She snapped the tupperware shut. “You’re only hurting yourself if you don’t.”

However, much like how sutures stung when they stitched together a wound, that boldness and certainty was borne of vulnerability, of hurt. Haise made his way over to her, and offered his hand. After staring at it for a moment, she took it, making a surprised gasp as he suddenly pulled her into an embrace.

There was a pause, and then she said, “Thanks.”

“Mhm.” He carded her hair with his fingers, stopping whenever he reached a tangle.

“The omelet was delicious, by the way.”

“Oh…” He looked away. “Um, thank you.”

“I mean it, Haise.” She seized his jaw and forced him to look at her. “You worked hard to get where you are. Be proud of yourself.”

Haise remembered the journey well: he wanted to make himself useful while Hide earned all the money, and so he turned to cooking. Cooking meant learning, and learning meant books. Lots of books, followed by videos followed by shows followed by more books.

He and Hide had been the subject of many failed meals— there were many times where the two of them had to share the toilet after sampling his latest creation.

And when he thought of those days— days of overcooked meats and exploding eggs— and the fruit they bore now, he couldn’t bear to throw them away. Not until it was completely useless, or he lost his passion.

“I did,” he said, her assertion bolstering his confidence. “I did…”

She smiled, got onto her tippy toes, and pecked him on the lips. He smiled back and returned the favor.

It wasn’t enough. They kissed again, harder. One of his hands pulled her in by the waist of her dark skirt, while the other cradled the base of her skull, letting her lean against it for support.

She sighed when he massaged her scalp, and he chased that noise down her throat while she bunched up the fabric of his shirt.

She smelled a little different today. New shampoo? Like ripe fruit, specifically peaches. The fuzzy fruit crossed his mind as he licked the minute hairs on her chin, then found her mouth again. She tasted much sweeter, he thought.

Or maybe those were the hormones.

She nipped at his lower lip, and he felt her smile at the low noise that escaped him. She pursued her own sound from him now, carding his hair and tugging on his lip, and it felt so, so good.

Like some horny teenager, his hand hiked up her skirt, eager to access his favorite part of her, but then she seized it with a smirk. “Easy there, painter boy. We’re still on the clock.”

Haise immediately stopped, trying not to make a face. “Er…”

She saw right through him, and sucked a breath through her teeth, turning pink. “Too much?”

“N-No— Rather, it’s not that.” He cleared his throat. This would be fun to explain. “My, um, my friend calls me that sometimes, so if you say it, then—”

“Then it feels like you’re kissing them,” she finished.

He rubbed his neck. “Sorta, yeah, and not— You know.”

She grinned, sensing an opportunity. “I’m afraid I don’t. Not what?”

He huffed out a laugh. “Sen…”

“Tell me. It feels like you’re kissing your friend and not what?” She was enjoying this too much as she hung onto him.

He squirmed under her scrutinizing gaze, then screwed his eyes shut. “Promise not to laugh?”

“I can’t promise something I know nothing about.” It was a bit of an inside joke between them at this point.

He sighed and mumbled, “The woman of my dreams.”

She blinked, then made her own face, which was worse even if it was warranted.

“Too much, right?” he guessed.

“An understatement, but yes. Corny, cliché, whatever you wanna call it.” She patted his cheek, chuckling. “But I’m flattered.”

A consolation prize, if anything. He stepped back to let her go to her desk, and they got back to work.

———

“I couldn’t imagine being in her position,” Hide said, watching TV on the couch. “Manager or medicine? I mean, c’mon…”

It was a rare occasion when Hide was home tonight. He had been busier than ever lately, and his trips were becoming much more frequent. Chie had also become unreachable, likely having to relocate and kill her number. But for now, it seemed things had finally cooled down.

And that was when Haise brought up Touka.

“Sure, chasing the dream seems like the most sensible choice; she’s only ever worked toward that goal,” Hide continued, “but if she chooses it, what about everyone who’d lose out on Anteiku? We’re not the only ones who’ve attached ourselves to it— There’s Yoriko, Kaya, Enji, everyone at Apes & Dobers… What happens to them when it’s taken away from them?”

Haise frowned from the kitchen as he cleaned a plate. “Would you rather she give up on her dream?”

“I didn’t say that.” Hide scratched his head, and adjusted himself on the couch. “I’m just saying that either way, a lot more people beyond her are gonna be affected, regardless of her choice.”

“Mm…” Haise put the plate down and dried his hands. “To choose… is to sacrifice…”

“Woah, that something your girlfriend said?” Hide laughed.

He turned pink. “Sh-She has a name, Hide!”

More laughter. “I was kidding! Kidding!” It died down quickly. “But seriously: at the end of the day, she’s gotta pick one, and we’ll be there when she does.”

He picked up another plate. “Yeah. We will.”

That was when it happened. The news came on, and the world came knocking.

“Tragic news today, as one of the two remaining members of the Yasuhisa family, Nashiro Yasuhisa, has been discovered dead in the 13th ward.”

The first thing Haise did was drop the plate in his hands. It clattered loudly against the sink. What?

“Officer Ui, of the Washuu Crime Task Force, is attributing the crime to the crazed murderer known as the ‘Torso’, due to Ms. Yasuhisa’s torso missing from the site…”

Had… Had he heard that correctly? The Torso had been active lately, but he hadn’t paid much attention to it. It was always something in the background, always white noise— albeit unique— to an otherwise ordinary day.

“We will have to have everyone in the area to stay indoors,” Officer Ui said in an interview.

This time was different. Unlike the faceless victims the Torso had targeted up to this point, he recognized Nashiro’s name. They weren’t exactly friends, and he didn’t have a habit of talking to Kurona every day of the week, but dead? Nashiro? Just like that?

Her smiling face was on the news, with bleached platinum hair and gray eyes; a cropped photo from one of Taiwa Act’s group staff photos. Haise recognized it because he had taken it.

Hide broke the silence, staring at the screen. “What the fuck…?”

“We don’t know if or when the Torso will strike again, so we will be conducting a ward-wide survey,” Officer Ui continued. “There will be a temporary curfew in the 13th while we search the homes of any possible suspects.”

“Can they do that?” Haise asked, brow furrowing as he took a seat on the couch.

“They can with the right motive,” Hide mumbled. “This is the first time they’ve really cracked down on the Torso, though. And so dramatically, too. Something’s different.”

Now that Haise got a good look at Hide, he noticed Hide was glaring. Something was different, alright.

“A lobbyist organization with a lot of government influence has been using serial killers to get rid of inconvenient opponents.”

As he thought back to that premise, proposed so long ago now, another thought occurred. “Hide, do you still have Donato’s case file?”

“The Priest? Uh…” Hide scratched his head. “Yeah, I think so…”

Haise prayed that he was wrong about this, if only because fiction became far more terrifying when it skirted close to the line that separated it from reality.

“Vengeance.”

He still hadn’t figured out that line from Donato yet. It had been at the back of his mind, simmering— until now. He had been so focused on Sen at the time that he had missed the finer details.

“Everything you need is in my case file.”

Hide came back, and the two of them went through the autopsies again. Two hundred victims later, Hide’s eyes widened.

“None of these people worked in the Washuu Task Force,” he whispered. “This is—”

“Hide…” Haise carried a warning in his voice. They shouldn’t be looking into this.

“Sauce—” ‘Sauce’? Really?— “we literally have an illegal government file sitting between us, and you’ve literally broken into Cochlea. I think we’re past the point of no return.”

Haise squeezed his eyes shut and didn’t reply. Just then, his phone buzzed:

From: Sen got our inmate! we’ll meet him next week :D

He stared at the message.

Yeah.

Way past the point of no return.

#blank canvas #writing

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