Kirishima Touka looks at herself in the mirror. While not a particularly vain person, (in the society she lives in, survival takes precedence over ridiculously normal human girl things that they take for granted such as mascara and lipstick. Honestly, she cannot believe that while she fights for her life every day, there are those who waste their time in frivolous activities.)
She wouldn't begrudge her human friend Kosaka Yoriko such pursuits though.
While she gazes at her reflection, something else reverberates in her head: the words that that Kimi girl or whatever her name was said.
"Pretty." The girl had said. Even though she knew what ghouls were, even though she knew that they fed on human flesh, even though she was about to freaking kill her, the girl had called her pretty.
(She supposed in some macabre way, with her kagune poised for the slaughter, her eyes ravenous and bloodthirsty, she did look pretty. In a twisted sort of way.)
The purple-haired girl didn't hear much after that. Taken aback by the question, she fled. She wasn't far though as she sat on the top of the church. She had hugged her knees up to her chest as one thought ran through her mind: "how am I, a ghoul, pretty in any sense of the word?"
Turning the faucet on, she splashes her face with cold water. As she continues to regard herself in the mirror, Touka thinks that the girl must've been experiencing a sort of lapse in judgement brought on by her current situation.
But still, the question burned in her mind. And as she dries her face of the droplets with a nearby white towel, she knows of the one person she can ask to answer her question and neither patronize her, mock her, or fuss over her.
Discarding the towel, Touka opens the door to the bathroom before walking through the hallways and down the halls until she is in the main room at Anteiku. Her eyes scan the room. It isn't long before she spots the person she is looking for. The one-eyed ghoul is currently talking to his best friend.
Crossing the room in quick, easy strides, she stands in front of their table.
"Kaneki!" Touka shouts, interrupting their conversation as the two boys turn to look at her. Noticing the startled look in her fellow employee's eyes, she coughs.
"What is it Kirishima-san?" The black-haired half-ghoul inquires.
Touka resists the temptation, however prominent, to curl her lips up in disdain.
Always polite, aren't you? She thinks.
"I need to talk to you." Touka opts for instead. She shoots a pointed glare at Kaneki's friend. "Alone."
Nagachika Hideyoshi stares at the girl with narrowed eyes before he shakes his head. Smiling at his best friend, Hide stands up before clamping a hand on his shoulder. "See you later Kaneki!" And no sooner had the words left his mouth had he stormed through the door, leaving them in his dust.
"Hide." Kaneki murmurs with a shake of his head before diverting his attention to the girl in front of him. "What did you want to talk about?"
Touka opens her mouth to speak, notices the other people in the room, and shuts it with a shake of her head. She has an inkling that out in the open with prying eyes and ears about isn't the best place for her to pose her inquiry. "In private." She says.
Kaneki stands up from his seat as Touka briskly walks away.
The two of them walk through the halls before stopping outside Touka's room. Kaneki enters it first, Touka not far behind him. They make themselves comfortable on the floor.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Kaneki repeats, a note of insistency in his voice.
Touka contemplates for a moment, wondering if she should ask him before shaking her head resolutely as she makes a decision. "How am I pretty?" She asks, her voice uncharacteristically unsure. She gestures to herself absently.
He looks at her with wide eyes. He wonders if he had heard her right. In the short time that they have known each other, Touka doesn't strike him as the type to care about looks. He strikes her as the type of person that would rather bash your head in or slit your throat than one who would apply eye shadow or lip gloss. He looks at her as the edges of his eyes crinkle with the smile on his face.
"Well…" He pauses as he closes his mouth. He opens it as words tumble out. "I'm not entirely sure how to answer that." He gazes up at the ceiling. "Hm, what does it mean to be pretty?" He turns his gaze back to her.
After he does, he notices how the sun shining in through the window as given her a type of ethereal outline. The ultraviolet rays add a certain sheen to her hair as the light catches the eye not blocked by her bangs, making it pop.
And as it does, Kaneki thinks he has never seen anyone more beautiful. His breath catches in his throat at the realization.
"Kirishima-san," Kaneki begins. "you're not pretty."
With that sentence, - those few words - her face twists into a sneer. She sits up from her seat to glare at him. "What was that?" She hisses. As she does, she ignores the way the comment stabs at her.
Instead, she focuses on the various ways she can break Kaneki's face.
Said male holds his hands up to placate her. "Wait Kirishima-san, you didn't let me finish."
She glares at him a moment before sitting back down. Taking that as a sign to speak, Kaneki sighs before resuming. "What I meant to say is that you're not pretty; you're beautiful."
Beautiful. The word rings in her ears; reminding her of a time long passed when she didn't yet know of the horrors committed by the Commission of Counter Ghoul. When she was younger and had her brother and father.
A faint crimson blush decorates her face despite herself. "What?"
"Pretty would be a bouquet of flowers or how the land looks after the first snowfall of winter." Kaneki elaborates. "Or a puppy or kitten, but you Kirishima-san," He pauses, giving her a considering look. "you're beautiful."
"How so?" She questions skeptically with narrowed eyes.
"Hm?" Kaneki mumbles. "Well, I'll start with your 's a nice color that looks quite soft."
"My hair?" Touka wonders, sliding a strand of purple between his thumb and forefinger.
He nods his head. "And while your eyes look cold, that increases their appeal instead of detracting from it."
"Huh." Touka mutters noncommittally as she wonders if the male in front of her is making it up on the spot.
"In fact, I think everything about you is beautiful." Kaneki finishes without a trace of doubt.
"I'm a ghoul." She spits bitterly, the word like poison on her lips.
The chuckle that resonates in the air surprises her.
"You're not the only one." Kaneki says, gesturing to the eye covered by his eyepatch.
"Technically, you're a half-ghoul, half-human." Touka says dryly, a smirk painting her features.
Kaneki chuckles again before sighing wistfully. "Yeah." He shakes his head. "Anyway, even though you're a ghoul, that doesn't affect your beauty nor how I see you in the slightest."
Touka scoffs. "Like I care how you see me."
Kaneki rebuffs the scathing comment, his expression unchanging.
She sighs before giving him the barest of smiles. "Thanks Kaneki."
"You're welcome Kirishima-san." He replies with an airy wave of his hand. He stands up as she does the same.
I'm glad we had this talk. Touka thinks before she exits the room with the one-eyed ghoul close behind.
"Why did you run off earlier?" Kaneki asks over the cellphone. The half-ghoul is curious why his best friend stormed off like that.
"Think Touka-chan was going to keep you busy," Hide answers and Kaneki pretends that he doesn't hear the suggestive undertone of his friend's voice. "Besides, it was time for me to leave anyway."
"Well, you're right about that." The black-haired male thinks back to the conversation he had with the purple-haired female. "Kirishima-san wanted to talk about something...strange."
"Ooh." The male on the other end croons, interested. 'What did she want to talk about?"
Kaneki contemplates for a moment. Should I really tell him? Hesitating a moment longer, he decides to answer honestly. "She asked me how was she pretty."
"She did?" Hide asks, his tone disbelieving. "And what did you say."
"I said that she wasn't pretty." Kaneki replies. "And that she's beautiful."
"You said what?" Hide whistles lowly. "I figured that something was happening between you two."
"Hide!" Kaneki exclaims, an embarrassed blush spreading across his cheeks. "It isn't like that!"
A laugh reverberates on the other end. "Relax Kaneki, I was only joking."
Kaneki sighs, thinking that the blond will be the death of him. Regardlessly, a smile forms on his face. "Right. See you tomorrow Hide."
"Yeah, see you later!" The male on the other end chirps before hanging up.
The black-haired male returns his phone to his pocket.
Author's Note: The ideas that can take root when watching something. Sometimes the imagination can run wild. I suppose that there might be some out-of-character-ness in this, but eh, no story's perfect. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this and remember to review and all that fun stuff.
Also, you can choose to look at the interactions between Kaneki and Touka as platonic as romantic. Kind of left it open for a reader's own interpretation.
Originally Added: February 29th, 2016