Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul or any of its characters. I am simply writing this for enjoyment
It was like any other day really. I woke up to the sound of my alarm ringing and to the sunlight leaking into my dark and disheveled apartment building. Groaning to myself, I sat up straight on my bed and looked over at my calendar.
….
"Man…is today really Saturday?" I questioned myself, "Guess I gotta get prepared for work today."
Getting ready for the day wasn't too much of a hassle, considering all I did was work part-time as a waiter. I quickly got out of my bed and changed out of my night clothes so I could put on my Anteiku work uniform.
'Well, I guess I look decent', I thought silently as I looked over myself in the mirror. 'I wonder what Touka thinks about me when I'm wearing my uni-'
My train of thought screeched to a halt as I finally realized what I just asked myself. Was I seriously thinking what Touka thinks of me in my work clothes?
…
Probably not…It was definitely just my imagination. Nervously chuckling at my reflection, I tried to stop my face from reddening by thinking of something else to focus on. Like…breakfast! Hurrying off to my counter, I prepared a simple bowl of cereal.
'Besides, even if Touka likes me, which is very unlikely, I'm still emotionally scarred from the last encounter I had with a girl that "liked" me'
The first person I've ever had the fortune -or misfortune- of dating tried to kill me so they could eat my body.
So you can kinda see why I'm not really eager to get myself a girlfriend any time soon.
'Not like I can actually talk to girls though…' I thought as I carelessly plunged a spoonful of cereal into my mouth.
Big mistake.
The moment that spoon entered my mouth, I tasted something slimy and foul. Comically dropping my bowl, I ran towards the sink and spewed out the contents of my mouth.
'Damn it…I forgot again didn't I?'
You're probably wondering why I just threw up a bowl of perfectly good cereal. No, the milk wasn't expired, and yes, the cereal was in perfect condition. The reason why it tasted so bad was because I wasn't human.
…
Well, I was human just a few months ago, but now? I'm not so sure anymore.
Remember what I said about how my first 'girlfriend' tried to kill and eat me? Well…she almost succeeded. I don't remember much from the incident, but I do remember that she was a Ghoul. Ghouls were creatures that lived off of the flesh of humans, and seemingly slaughtered us just to satisfy their selfish needs. I myself saw Ghouls through this prejudice viewpoint before I became one myself. How I became a Ghoul? Well, both my would-be executioner and I had been put in critical conditions as a result of our small fight, and both of us were in need of organs to stay alive. The doctors transplanted the girl's organs into my body, since they thought I was the only one that could be saved at that point. I don't know what happened to the other person, but when I woke up, I remembered feeling strange, like my body wasn't mine. Originally, when I tried to eat food, it would taste disgusting, like the bowl of cereal I just ate. Soon, I was faced with dying of starvation. Not knowing what to do, I ran through the streets in hope of some assistance to my condition as a half-ghoul.
No one helped. No one came to my assistance. No one even cared.
I soon smelled what smelled like the hamburgers my late mother used to make me. Desperate, I ran towards the heavenly scent like a rat running towards a mouse trap.
And there it was. A person eating a dead human.
"You're a ghoul aren't you?" The person asked me, "Do you want some of my food?"
I was disgusted at the sight…yet…..
The desire to eat the meat burned through my body.
I reached out to grab the dangling arm in his hand, when suddenly his head flew off of his body.
A man with orange hair stood towered over me with a cruel expression. He stuck his arm out and smashed me against the opposite wall. Before I could even scream for help, he closed his hand around my windpipe. I couldn't breath at all.
"Someone…help me…" I cried out in desperation.
As soon as I yelled that, I felt air rush into my lungs. Hacking and coughing, I fell to the ground.
"Hey you…are you okay?" I heard a cold feminine voice.
Instead of the orange hair murderer that I had been expecting, there stood a short haired blunette in his place.
I'll admit, I was stunned. Who knew such a beau- I mean person could appear in a place like this.
I opened my mouth in an attempt to at least form phrases, but my mind still wasn't operating correctly.
"You hungry kid?"
I nodded with a dumbfounded expression on my face.
"Then come with me…I'll take you to Anteiku"
She reached her hand out to me. As I reached out towards the outstretched hand, I felt light headed. The warmth of her hand soon enveloped mine.
"I know you might have questions, but please don't ask me any," She said with a annoyed expression, "otherwise I might end up killing you myself."
And on that note, she sprinted full speed with me clinging on to her arm for dear life.
Now I know that it might've not been the most brightest idea, going with a person I met in an alleyway to a cafe I've only been twice, but at that point, I pretty much lost all logical reasoning.
I remember the first time I had to eat human flesh. I still had trouble accepting my ghoul side, so I refused to even go near it. Luckily for me, Touka was on the scene! You know how she solved it? She took the meat and shoved it down my throat!
…
Sure, I still feel bitter about the entire situation, but she ended up saving my life for the second time.
Man… I wonder how much I owe her now…
Maybe if I can make her my girlfriend…she'll forget all the debts I have to pay her back…
Great idea Ken! It's totally not like you can't talk to girls without freaking out!
…
Well, I've already spent a hour reminiscing over the good old days, I should probably be get to work now. No knowing what Yoshimura would do if I was late again.
Dropping my bowl of cereal into the sink, I grabbed my jacket and ran out the door. In just a matter of minutes, I was at the door step of Anteiku.
Yes! Just in time!
I stepped into the cafe and saw Enji Koma, my superior both in work and being a ghoul, setting up a few tables for eating.
"Morning Kaneki, you sleep well for today?" Enji asked me playfully.
"Yeah…let me just check our schedule for today." I responded
"Okay then, the schedule is behind the counter as always."
I maneuvered my way across to the back of the counter. Seeing the schedule book for today, I flipped through the pages for my name
"Let's see… Kaneki Ken…Kan- here it is!"
Looking at my schedule for today, I noticed that I only had a break for this afternoon. Curious too see how many breaks the others had, I scanned over their work shifts.
"Kaya Irimi… no breaks…. Enji… has two breaks… Touka….wow, she has a break at the same time as me…maybe I could use this chance to-"
"What was that about me?"
Upon hearing that voice, my entire body froze.
"Oi, you listening? Why were you looking at my schedule?"
Shit Shit Shit Shit SHIT!
This is bad, really really bad… What do I do?
I quickly look out of the corner of my eye to make sure it's Touka. Sure enough, I see the all to familiar blunette staring at me with a suspicious stare. Great, now she thinks I'm trying to stalk her. Clearing my throat, I began to make up a excuse to get me out of this mess.
"I w-was just checking if I was the only one who had a break in the afternoon"
Okay, maybe I subconsciously had a ulterior motive. But for now, that was the complete truth.
"Is that right…" she muttered as she peered over my shoulder to see what she had to do today,
"Well anyways, we better start setting up the place, otherwise Yoshimura might get pissed at us again…"
Shuddering at the thought of seeing that kind man angry, I hurried with her to get all of the tables set for our customers.
"Ready to start the day?" Enji asked me
In unison, both Touka and I nodded our heads.
Without a doubt, this was going to be a long day,for two completely different reasons. The first being the immense workload I had today, and the second relating to a certain co-worker with blue hair.
After working tirelessly for what felt like days, I dragged my feet towards the break room.
'Man, I thought that was going to last forever…' I mulled over my thoughts.
But…
'Was Touka looking at me during work?'
While I was serving a few customers, I stole a few glances at Touka.
Yeah, I know, totally not creepy at all. As I took a few more glances at Touka, I realized that she was looking at me too. It got to the point where we both were staring at each other. For what seemed like hours, we just stood there like complete idiots. Eventually though, we were both jarred back to reality once Enji and Kaya gave told what tables needed to be served. I still wonder whose face was redder, mine or hers.
Anyways, I better enjoy my break. I shouldn't even be thinking about a co-worker like this. I mean, she doesn't even like me!
"Who doesn't like you?" I hear a familiar voice
"…"
Shit…did I just yell that out?
Okay…please don't let it be Touka, please!
I turned around in fear. Speak of the Devil, it was Touka, the one person in the world I didn't want to be here.
"Who doesn't like you?" She asked again
"Um…"
"You did say co-worker…so are you talking about Kaya?"
"Well…"
"Come on, answer me idiot."
What do I do? Jesus Christ, this almost never happens in the books I read. The Hero usually sweeps the Heroine up from her feet in the books. But in reality? The Hero at the moment is sweating bullets and is acting like a total moron in front of the person he likes.
Wait...did I just say I like her?
…
No, it can't be that…um…can it?
Dammit, think brain! Now's not the time to-
"Anyways, I should probably get going, Yoshimura might need me for something." She said with acid in her voice.
...Did I just make her mad? Trying to fix my mess, I attempted to at least say something
Before I could respond however, she left as fast as she had come.
Real smooth Kaneki…she probably hates me even more now.
Sighing, I slid down to the floor. This definitely was going to be a long day.
Author's Note: Hello fine people of fanfiction, it is I, the famous, Iceflames5!
...
*Crickets start chirping*
...
Anyways, my name is Iceflames5, and this is my first ever story!
No, I'm not going to say
"Please don't give meh bad reviews since this is meh first tim"
Instead, I encourage you to give me constructive criticism. Why? So I can improve on my writing and provide you guys with a better experience!
Anyways, with that little bit out of the way, I thank you for reading Chapter 1 of 'Just a Normal Day?' a Kaneki and Touka Shipping story. I plan to make this 5-10 chapters, and I'll try to come up with a chapter every 1-2 weeks. Hopefully the wait won't be long. Anyways, happy reading!
~iceflames5
PS. I originally wrote this for a friend as a thank you/late birthday/christmas present.
(For my friend) Thank you for making my dream come true by becoming the illustrator of my light novel and helping my dream of making an anime grow. I'm sorry for not being able to give this to you for your birthday. but even so, Thanks Jaida!