Title: Ignis et Glacies

Author: Serpent at Sunset

Rating: T

Fandom: Tokyo Ghoul

Characters: Kaneki Ken, Yamori

Words: 471

Genre: Angst/Drama

Summary: Like fire and ice, one was destined to destroy the world of the other. Takes place in episode 1x12.

Disclaimer: I do not own any component of Tokyo Ghoul or any poetry from Robert Frost.

Kaneki never knew if it was a relief or not to her him speak. Still, any time when Jason wasn't cutting into him was time to treasure.

"You know, I never stood a chance. This world...and how it shaped me."

Jason-Yamori-drew his arms wide to his captive audience. Yamori liked to make speeches, and it wasn't as if Kaneki couldn't object.

The half-ghoul winced as the chains of the cuffs bit into his skin. Any and all wounds regenerated, but the pain itself remained. This torture was about all about sensation as opposed to damage. And his traitorous body regenerated the damage every time.

At the moment, Kaneki had a very small window to relax although there was always a risk that Yamori's own words would embolden him, and he would hurt him more than before. Sometimes, Yamori just...exploded. Kaneki's skin was proof of that. His psyche.

It had surprised him a bit that Yamori actually thought when he spoke. So, he wasn't just a brute. The sadism that fueled his private pleasures seized his hands as well as his vocal chords. He definitely had a plan in mind, and Kaneki was intimately entwined with it. However, it would only lead to his end.

Indeed, a cold intense intelligence of subterranean depth gleamed in Yamori's icy eyes. The cruelty and blood lust also glittered there like snow. Kaneki too was reflected in Yamori's gaze if he dared to look deeper.

And, Kaneki had seen. He knew that the big ghoul was frozen down to his heart. In a way, Kaneki could relate. However, he isolated himself and kept his wounds to himself rather than inflict it on others. However, Yamori did the exact opposite.

Nonchalantly, Yamori glanced at him out of the corners of his eyes as one would check a garbage can to make sure the trash had went inside. Kaneki wondered if regarded him as a person any more. His gaze was critical and inhumane.

It was almost as if Kankei could see and hear what he was thinking.

You're nothing.

Which was true. Kaneki couldn't even feed by himself. He couldn't defend himself once during his time with Jason.

An experiment. A toy. That's what Kaneki had been reduced to. He couldn't even weep for himself any more, but he knew that Yamori would only be too pleased to make him cry harder.

The kagune steel pliers were in Yamori's tight grip again. Kaneki tensed as Yamori clicked them experimentally and smirked at his helpless quivering.

"Neither will you," Yamori promised. His voice was hollow and cold. "I'm going to shape you until there is nothing left."

Kaneki would bet that the masterman never could have predicted that he would be dead wrong. Not even Kaneki could have guessed it.

That he was destined to become the fire.

A/N: The title is Latin and means "Fire and Ice" as in the poem from Robert Frost. This fic was actually inspired from a dream where Yamori was in front of our open trash can and said, "You know, I never stood a chance." It was a little weird. Also, happy birthday Kaneki. \0/