A Reminiscing Promise

Spring season was almost ending, meaning that summer would come soon and thus summer vacation. Though, Touka was glad that she could take a break from her classes, she would have to throw herself in her books to prepare for the entrance exams. Kamii had a reputation for a reason and she wanted to attend that university no matter what.

The ukaku ghoul stored away her books when the teacher declared the end of class. She was too engrossed that she didn't notice someone tapping her shoulder repeatedly, until a voice spoke out.

"Touka-chan, are you free at the moment?"

The said girl looked behind her shoulder to see her friend; Kosaka Yoriko. "Ah, well... I have to work later, but I guess I have some minutes to spare. Is it important?"

"I need your help with getting a present for my cousin's wedding."

"Your cousin is getting married? Congratulations."

"Thanks. The thing is, we don't meet very often, only during some family gatherings or birthdays. But we get along well. So, I really have no clue what to give her. I need you for a second opinion."

Honestly, Touka wouldn't call herself the best person to give advice on such matters, but since it was Yoriko, she couldn't refuse. "Sure, I'll see what I can do."

The blonde smiled. "Thank you! You're such a good friend. Let's go. The sooner we're done, the sooner you' can go to your work!"

The ukaku ghoul got dragged by her friend to the mall. Truth to be told, she had no idea about appropriate wedding gifts, nor what you'd give a person on their wedding. She didn't even know that you're supposed to give presents on weddings at all. So, she just stood there awkwardly, looking around and just nodding, shaking or give an I'm not sure as a reply, was her routine for the moment.

"So, how long have they been together?" Touka asked.

Yoriko looked up from the two vases she was inspecting. "Oh, for about a few years. But you know, they were childhood friends. It is such a cute story. The two met when they were about five. My cousin recently moved into his neighborhood and they got along very well. They were inseparable, like siblings, they made this super cute promise that they would marry when they grew up so that they wouldn't grow apart and a few years later they really did fall in love with each other, neither forgot the promise they made back then!"

"A childhood promise?"

Yoriko nodded excitedly. "Isn't it adorable and romantic?"

Touka was quiet and stared at the ground, as if something nostalgic was emerging from her mind. She glanced at the vases Yoriko was looking at. "I guess you're right."

The human teen noticed the sudden mood change and gave her friend an odd look. She decided not to pry. "Hey, how about we'll get something to eat! It'll be my treat."

The mention of food made the ghoul flinch unconsciously, but she didn't show any sign of it. "If you want to. I'm not very hungry, though."

"Don't worry, you'll just sit there at the square and I'll take care of the rest."

The girl blinked, confused, but complied with her friend's wishes.

The weather was nice and Touka couldn't remember when she was able to enjoy a sunny day like this without any worries or dark thoughts. It had been a long time. She looked around, observing the humans and their behaviour. She saw a group of middle school girls returning home. Elderly enjoying a day with their grandchildren and children. A boy and a girl, holding hands and looking ever so lovingly at each other. The blue-haired girl felt her chest sting a bit. She let out a sigh as she decided to rest her head on the back of the bench, she was sitting on, allowing her face to bathe in the warmth of the sunlight and relaxing her body completely. She had no idea why she never did this before. A small hand tugging on her skirt, jolted her awake. Instinctively she jumped from her position behind the bench, but quickly relaxed when she saw the startled face of a little black-haired boy. "Ah, can I do something for you?" Touka asked gently.

The boy was very shy and stuttered alot before he had the courage to form the words. "My friend's balloon got stuck in the tree. Could you get it, onee-chan?" He pointed to a tree which stood a few centimetres away from them. A girl about the same age as the boy and dark hair was standing next to it, watching the boy and Touka with patience.

A smile formed on the female ghoul's lips as she nodded. "Ah sure, just give me a minute."

The boy smiled widely. "Thank you very much!"

Touka walked over to the tree and glanced at the girl. She looked at her friend who had ran towards her, telling her all so excited that everything would be alright. The teen looked upwards and spotted the balloon easily, it wouldn't take her much effort to reach it, even without using her abilities as a ghoul. Climbing is something she did a lot in her younger days. She lifted herself with one jump on the trunk, to one of the branches and climbed towards her destination with ease. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed the two children staring at her amazed. A smirk formed on her lips as she quickly reached the balloon and climbed down the tree with one jump. Handing over the balloon to the still mesmerised children.

"That was amazing, onee-chan!" The boy exclaimed.

"Thank you for getting my balloon." The girl said politely as Touka gave her the object.

"You're welcome. Make sure not to lose it again."

The two children nodded as they continued to play together. Touka just watched them in content as she returned to her seat, nostalgia washed over her as she recalled a distant memory.

The face was blurry and she barely remembered the soft voice the boy had, but she did remember his warmth, shy demander and his short black hair. 'You can have this as proof of our promise! Now you don't have to feel lonely even if we won't be able to see each other.'

Touka let out a sigh as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to sink into the memory.

It was about ten or eleven years ago. Her mother was recently killed, so Touka and Ayato were very distraught. They hadn't left their home since their mother's passing. Their father was doing his best in comforting them, but he also knew that they couldn't stay cooped up in the house forever. So, he did what every parent would do. Take them out to a playground. It was further away than their usual outings, but Arata assured them that it would do them good. The place wasn't very crowded, a few children playing or passing by with their parents. Touka and Ayato just sat against a tree, they hadn't moved an inch. They just sat there huddled together too suspicious and scared to do anything, until Ayato suddenly stood up.

"I'm going to ask father to take us home." He announced.

Touka didn't answer and just stared, hugging the rabbit doll, her mother had given her for her last birthday, while her brother, timidly went to look for their father. The girl began to panic slightly as she looked around the playground frantically. She watched how mothers were hugging their children, telling them how proud they were and showering their children with love and affection. The girl hugged her doll tighter and felt tears forming in her eyes. She hadn't forgotten, how she promised not to cry in front of Ayato. He had suffered enough, he wouldn't be able to cope with seeing his strong elder sister being sad and weak because of the loss of their mother. She tried to wipe her tears away forcefully, but thanks to her ghoul senses it was too hard to block everything out. Having to bear hearing the other kids saying how much they love their mothers, she found herself sobbing quietly.

"Are you alright?"

The girl ignored the voice until she felt something on her shoulder. She flinched and quickly crouched away from the touch. Rubbing her eyes forcefully and trying to muster all the courage she had. "I just had something in my eyes!" She tried to sound as strong as possible, but the lump in her throat made it hard. She tilted her head, showing off her pride and stared at a boy near her, he looked slightly older than she was.

"Ah, alright." The boy answered timidly. "I just thought that you were crying so..."

"I'm fine." She growled slightly, hoping to find a way to get away quickly. She knew for certain; being around humans was still difficult for her, especially without her mother. The girl bit her lips in order to hold back the tears that were threatening to emerge again. "I'm just waiting for my brother and father to come, so you don't have to worry."

"O-okay," The boy answered. He started to fidget uncomfortably with his fingers. "Uh, since you're waiting, would you mind if I wait with you?" He asked awkwardly.

The girl raised an eyebrow at the strange human boy. "Why?"

"Nothing really." The child scratched his chin. "I just thought you were feeling a little uncomfortable."

Touka sighed in defeat. He probably wouldn't go away even if she told him to and to be honest, she didn't want to be left alone. "Fine."

The girl slumped against the tree, while the boy, with a big awkward smile on his face, sat next to her. The two sat in awkward silence.

Touka glanced awkwardly at the strange boy. She didn't have much contact with kids her age, aside from Ayato and even less with human children. The boy seemed slightly nervous and it made the girl wonder if he was as socially awkward as she was.

"What's that?"

"Eh?" The boy stared at Touka, who was pointing at an object which the boy appeared to be holding. The human child glanced at the item in his hands and showed it to Touka. It appeared to be a book. "You mean this? It's my favorite book, it belonged to my father."

The ukaku ghoul frowned. "You can read adult books?"

"Not very well, my mother helps me when I have trouble with the words."

The girl quickly lost interest and slumped back against the tree. "How can books like those be any fun?"

"I guess most children wouldn't be interested. But to me, it's my biggest treasure."

The boy blushed slightly as he continued to talk about his treasured books. Touka just listened at him, flabbergasted at his enthusiasm. Before she knew it, she began to talk casually to the boy. They'd meet once in a while, whenever his mother had time to bring him or when Arata was sure it was safe for his children to play. At first the father was surprised when Touka admitted that she wanted to go back to the playground again, but he was that the girl wanted to go out and would gladly bring her. It was her first and only human friend. Ayato, being the shy one was mostly hiding behind some bushes or his sister, but he also warmed up slowly to the boy. They didn't meet often, but when they did, Touka could forget all her worries and fears as a ghoul and sometimes even release the tears she was always holding, while the boy would only watch, no judgement, no comment about her behaviour, nothing. It was the comfort she needed. A moment to let her emotions out and a chance to mourn for her mother, who she will never see again.

"What's that story about?" The ukaku ghoul asked curiously, one day when they were playing at the playground.

The boy looked up from his book and stared at the two siblings. The younger one, was hiding behind his sister, but he was also looking curiously at the book.

"Tsuru no Ongaeshi. It's about an old couple, who rescue a crane from a hunter's trap. A few days later a strange woman arrives on their doorstep and asks for a place to stay. After a while they adopt her as their daughter and she starts weaving cloths for them, which they sell for a high price. The old couple promised not to go into her room, but after a while they became curious and decided to look while she was weaving the cloths. They find the same crane they had saved, weaving cloths from its feathers. The crane confesses that it wanted to return the favour, but now that they know it's true nature, it can't stay with them anymore. The couple never saw the crane again after that night."

Touka frowned as she glanced over at the book. "Why would they want to see how someone makes cloths?"

"I don't know."

"And why did she leave them when they found out about her identity?"

"I think, the crane was scared about their reactions and also hurt that they didn't keep their promise."

Touka didn't answer, she just stared at the boy. He gave her an innocent smile, unaware what the simple sentence did to the girl and her brother. Ayato glanced at his sister, squeezing the cloth of her dress he was holding. Both of them could relate to the crane.

"But... It's sad." The human boy suddenly spoke, snapping the two ghouls out of their thoughts. "Because I think the old couple would have accepted the woman. Even if she was a crane, she is still the daughter they had come to accept and she probably feels very lonely."

The ukaku ghoul continued to ponder over the boy's words and tried to imagine how the crane and the old couple would have felt. "It's stupid." She earned a glance from both boys. "Leaving like that. If she was like a daughter to them, then they should accept her, right? What if her departure had hurt them? It's selfish of them, of all of them. They should pretend like nothing happened... And... And still continue to be the family, they wanted to be." The child felt a lump growing in her throat while she said that, it reminded her of her mother. She hid her eyes behind her bangs, feeling the hot tears close to falling from her face. She quickly forced the lump and her tears down. "It's not fair." She finally stated.

The boy gave her a soft smile of understanding. "I think, I would have accepted the crane. Human or not, it wanted to help them out and pay them back for their kindness. Like humans, it has feelings. If you were to turn out to be a crane. I wouldn't mind."

Touka was flabbergasted, speechless. To hear a human say such a thing, she would have never guessed. Slowly she felt her face heat up and a strange feeling forming in my stomach. "You do?"

The child smiled. "Of course."

After that Arata and Ayato would find out that Touka was slowly starting to become happy again. She smiled more, she'd tell her father all the things she had done, what she had learned from the boy and Arata would answer her with a smile and a compliment on the girl's enthusiasm. Sure, she and Ayato were still careful and cautious and didn't dare to go to crowded places without their father, but they would play at remoted places, hiding in bushes, exploring. But it was mostly Touka, with her little brother following behind nervously and whenever Arata would bring her to the playground, she'd try to look for the boy. But during the last couple of weeks, there was no sight of the human boy.

Weeks had passed, and one day, the young ghoul was at the playground again, sitting against the tree, hugging her rabbit doll. She didn't pay much attention to her surroundings, she wasn't in the mood to. It had been a hard week for her. Their neighbours had stopped by to give them their condolences for her mother's dead and she didn't like it one bit. Of course Arata hadn't informed them of the real cause of Hikari's dead, but it still hurt the small girl. She didn't know how to cope with loss, she couldn't go to anyone. Her father and brother were also mourning, so instead she sat there, crying, crying for her powerless state, for being the powerless child that she was, for the uselessness that she felt, the anger she felt for the doves who cold-heartedly killed and ripped apart families who only wanted to live in peace and most of all, the empty space her mother left her in her heart, the loneliness, the evenings when her mother would tuck her and her brother in bed and sing to them. Everything was gone. Touka missed her mother and she wished she would return to those happy times.

"You're crying again..."

The blue-haired girl looked up and saw the human boy staring at her, worry written on his face. She didn't care about her image anymore, she didn't care that the human saw her cry, she just wanted the horrible feeling to go away. "I want my mother!" She sobbed. "I miss her, I want to see her again!" Her tears continued to fall down her cheeks. Everything seemed blurry, but she didn't care, she was just a child, a child who had to survive in this harsh world without her mother.

She felt some shuffle and the weight of the boy next to her. After some hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry."

No words were exchanged between them, he just allowed her to pour out her feelings, until she had finally calmed down, which she did after what seemed hours.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't come out to play the last couple of weeks. My mother was sick and my dad passed away a few years back."

Touka glanced at the boy. She noticed his face looked slightly sad and worried. "It's alright, it's not like it was your fault."

"When we met, you were crying as well, was it because of your mother?"

The ghoul nodded. She glanced at the boy, he was looking at the ground.

"Is your mother feeling better?"

"A little. She always works hard because she wants to help my aunt."

"That's stupid. She should take care of you first. You're still a child, her son. You are her priority, adults can take care of themselves, children can't. She shouldn't abandon you."

A sad smile appeared on his face. "Thank you..."

While looking at the boy's face, a strange thought popped in her mind. She grabbed the human boy's hand and placed them in hers. Her tears had dried and a look of determination was on her face. "I'll tell you what! Let's stick together! No matter what happens in the future, even when we're apart for a long time! Even when we grow up! We will be each other's comfort and support. I'm also in charge of Ayato when my dad isn't home, so I can handle it. I'll be your pillar of support... Or whatever adults call it. I'll make sure you'll never be alone, ever!"

He was staring at her, shocked, surprised, flabbergasted. His expression changed into a warm and sincere smile, in Touka's opinion, it was one of the most beautiful smiles ever. So honest, so warm, no trace of sadness present. "Alright, let's promise! And as proof of this promise..." He took his book and handed it over to the girl. "Here you can have this." It was the book about the crane.

"But it's your book." The ukaku ghoul protested.

"It was my father's, but I want you to have it. Alright? As a token of our promise."

"But..." The girl looked at the boy. It didn't sit well with her, but if he was that determined. Then, the least she could do was give him something of equal value. She fumbled with the back of her neck, until she took off a necklace and handed it over to him. "Here, this was my mother's necklace, my dad gave it to her when they were going out. If you give me something very valuable, then you should receive something of equal value."

"Alright, I'll take good care of it."

The two shared a goofy grin. It was something they would surely keep close to their hearts. That was the last time she saw the boy. Her father was caught by the CCG and she and Ayato had to run away. Touka did not know what had happened to the boy afterwards. She hoped he was fine. His last words suddenly appeared in her mind, it felt so familiar... Nostalgic...

"Thank you, Touka-ch..."

"Touka-chan!"

The teen quickly snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at her friend who was watching her. "You were spacing out the whole time. Were you daydreaming or something?"

"Ah, I... Was just... Thinking about something. Were you able to find a present?"

"Yes, thanks for coming with me. Let me buy you some ice cream!"

"Sure." She answered, while hiding her grimace.

The sound of the toilet's flushing calmed her down. The moment she got home, Touka quickly ran towards the toilet. It was the first time she had ice cream and it will be the last. It was a good thing that she didn't need to chew, but the taste was burning in her tongue, cold, delicate, disgusting; like expired milk she guessed. She closed the door and headed to the back of her apartment.

The ghoul opened a small storage closet. She took a few boxes out and after a few minutes she came out with a small, old looking box, after taking out a few stuff she finally found what she was looking for; the book she had gotten from the boy. Nostalgia filled her and she opened the book. Scanning the pages carefully, like it was a delicate crystal. Halfway she noticed a small piece of paper between pages. Touka frowned, she had never seen it before, then again, she wasn't the type to read books thoroughly, unlike a certain person.

A smile appeared on the teen's lips as she grabbed the piece of paper with the book and left her apartment.

It was as if nothing had changed. The trees were just the same, the bushes were just the same, the layout, the sound of children, the bench where her dad used to sit and watch over her and her brother, the same one she was sitting on now. But still, Touka felt the difference. The wood of the bench had aged, the atmosphere, the children, the playground. The many years that passed were obviously visible. You could see it with just one glance. Touka was older, not the same child, but part of the sadness from back then was still present in her expression. Just like her father did, she was now watching the children play, with the book in her lap and the note folded open, in her hands. It had a drawing, drawn by the boy. With all of them in the playground: Ayato, Touka and the boy. Underneath the words; 'never again' were written.

'How stupid.' She thought. Her attention switched to the book on her lap, she opened it and scanned it silently. "Tsuru no ongaeshi."

"A story about an old couple who take in a woman after they rescued a crane from a hunter's trap. She made cloths for the old couple to sell, but made them promise not to look when she was making them. The couple broke the promise, finding out that the woman, they regarded as their daughter, was the crane they saved. The short-lived happiness of the makeshift family disappeared, the crane left and never appeared again. You still have it."

Her breath got caught in her throat. Her body froze completely on the spot. She could feel him standing behind her. His heartbeat, his warmth, his voice. She turned around, staring at the familiar eye-patch and the deep pools of olive in his only uncovered eye. His white hair that used to be black in a different lifetime, his black nails and in his hands her mother's necklace which she had given away years ago. He smiled at her. It was a small smile, but it was a warm one.

"Even when we're apart for a long time, we will be each other's support pillar, wasn't it?"

"Idiot!" She yelled. It was a soft yell, no malice, or anger present in her tone. Only, relief and desperation. She was crying again, like on that first day in the playground, like on the day they made their promise. She cried and she didn't try to hide it, she was just happy that he was there in the flesh.

Kaneki in return, hugged her like he did in the past and allowed her to let out her emotions, because that's how she coped with it and when she calmed down. They could finally talk.

"I guess we both are idiots." He murmured. "I'm sorry, for not keeping my promise, for forgetting and leaving you."

"You better be!" She choked out between her tears.

They stayed silent for a while, Touka continued crying, while Kaneki kept comforting her. None of them paid attention to their surroundings and the possible attention they could attract. It was like they were back in time, in their own mind, their own world; them and the playground and this time they knew they would not be separated from each other again.