Kanae
Kanae von Rosewald sat in the dark parlor of the Tsukiyama mansion. Like many days in the past two years Master Shuu laid in bed, with not even the will to get up. The master of the house used to be so lively, Kanae did not understand how one uncouth ruffian could break down such a strong, beautiful, and powerful man to something so fragile. He was afraid Tsukiyama would break upon moving. His master finally showed signs of comprehension and slight recovery. And now he was back? That horrid guinea pig came with the god-awful undergarments in her hand and now he was even worse off than he had been last week. His fist balled up as he felt his body tense. The purple haired man wanted so badly to unleash his anger, but he knew that a true gentleman would never punch a wall as he felt compelled to. Letting out a sigh, he sunk back into his chair, feeling defeated.
"If it wasn't for Kaneki, such a hideous name too," he muttered, "I would still be loved." The butler's heart dropped into his chest. He knew that some of his hatred was fueled by pure jealousy, as that man had stolen all of the attention his master had ever given to him. In fact, every single morning, when Kanae had helped pick out his outfits, prior to Kaneki, Master Shuu would dote on him. He would tell him how fashionable and refined he was. The man even taught the butler the best way to cook the food they had to eat. Kanae did his best to please him with these extravagant meals and was always quick to bring him his dinner in the library so he could eat surrounded by his books. But as his master became more obsessed with the half-ghoul, the more he would talk about the commoner. Kanae thought his obsession would pass, but it only grew stronger. In fact, the master began to not return home. The butler would sit there, an intricate dinner on the table, waiting for a master who would hardly ever come home. Kanae strive for perfection in every way, just to please Master Shuu. So why was he the left in the dark?
The more he thought about it, the more rage rose inside of Kanae as he thought of the boor who had been 'reborn' into a CCG member. As if there was anything more disgusting in Tokyo. As he pondered over this he knew he had found the answer to his problems. If 'Haise' were to disappear, then perhaps his master would become his again. They would once again share times in this very parlor gossiping about others and joke with each other over a hot oven as they cooked up the latest dish, and he could once again see the smile on his face when he accomplished a task right. Yes, that CCG dog had to go.
Haise
The CCG member took a deep breath as he reminded himself, "I'm in my room. Everything is okay. Nothing is wrong." Lately, Haise had been awoken nearly every night with disturbing dreams that broke him into a cold sweat. Several times he had been roused due to tears streaming down his face, but as soon as he was aware of surroundings he felt no emotion other than pure confusion to why he wept. Often times he did not remember his dreams or their content, but every once and while he had a warm comforting dream. Those dreams were different; he always slept calmly through the night and rose beaming. All of the dreams that made him feel this way had one commonality: a purple haired gentleman. In the dreams he felt protected, safe. A part of him just wished he would appear in the night terrors to shelter him as well.
Haise glanced at the clock, the red light beamed back at him: 5 am. Despite the clock declaring such an early time, he had no intensions of going back to sleep for fear of more bad dreams. Instead, he did what he always did when he could no longer force himself to sleep. He read the Hanged Man Macguffin. Realistically speaking, he knew such a book shouldn't comfort him. Nothing outwardly seemed calming about such a story, but oddly enough even the weight of the book felt soothing and nostalgic to him. With ease he faded into the story written by one of his favorite authors.
It only felt like mere seconds later when he heard the typical commotion from his teammates outside the room. He grinned sheepishly as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He had fallen asleep with the book propped up on his lap. This was not uncommon for him. Smiling he put a small clover bookmark into the open page and threw his feet over the side of the bed. Stumbling a little to regain his balance, he quickly dressed, only briefly glancing in the mirror to try to tame his naturally unruly hair. With that, he opened the door to start his day.
"Good morning," Haise directed to the three situated around the room.
As per usual, the three were sitting in a very precise way. Mutsuki was sitting alone on the couch closest to the kitchen. Upon his greeting he cheerfully replied, "Good morning, Sasaki-san!" On the other side of the room sat Urie and close to his side was Ginshi.
"Yo." Ginshi's typical morning remark was followed by the Urie traditional response, silence and complete apathy.
"What the agenda today, Sasaki-san?" the lone, talkative member asked. At this point, Urie finally glanced over, only long enough to meet Haise's own grey eyes.
Giving the team a half-smile, he ruffled his hair at the back of his neck. "Well, actually we finally have a day off." They had a long assignment on a particular ghoul that had been terrorizing the seventh ward lately, thankfully it had finally been cleared up. By the end of it, it seemed like they all needed a break. Even Haise, who was normally a pretty motivated individual, was beginning to tire ever so slightly. "You are all welcome to do as you wish. I am going to the bookstore. I have been planning on collecting books by this author called Takatsuki Sen. I currently only have one of her books, but her writing is phenomenal. It is so vague, but it has this delicacy to it. I'm unsure how I have lived this long without coming across her first." Realizing he had been rambling about his books again, he found himself blushing as he remarked, "Then after that, I am planning on café hopping." Giving an earnest smile, he offered his plans out to the others.
"Actually, I think I am going to stay inside and rest. " Mutsuki politely declined. Ginshi merely shook his head, Urie remained silent.
Nodding, he turned towards the door, waving his hand to signal a good bye as he called over his shoulder, "Tell Saiko I said goodbye!" Haise heard Urie mutter as he closed the door, "as if she'd leave her room."
The cool autumn air sooth any feelings he had about this morning, as he made his way to the local book store.
Kanae
Peeking into the dark room Kanae called over to person who felt like less of a man and more akin to a phantom with each passing day. "Master Shuu, I am going out to run some errands." No response came. "Would you like me to get you anything? I could go to the bookstore, or perhaps that boutique you always went to? I know your style and sizes." Kanae awaited eyes closed, only a small mumbled 'no, thank you Kanae' came from the dark abyss of the room. Despite the gloom his response casted over him, Kanae kept up his normal gentlemanly tone replying, "Well, if I see anything I'll pick it up. After all, you'll need something for your reappearance." Without another word he bid Tsukiyama his adieu and closed the door.
With the door closed he allowed himself to feel dismay. Closing his eyes he leaned against the door, letting out a huge sigh. "I'll bring you back from the dead, Master Shuu," he whispered to himself.
His quest was to find that dreadful pet. She frequented cafés taking pictures of random strangers. The thought of that woman doing that without permission made him shudder a bit. Kanae never knew where a person of her lowly stature could be slinking around and would pop up next. But he was positive if he spent a long enough time in one of the local cafés she would pop her nose in, like the little mouse she was.
The day was the rainy sort that started out nice, but eventually poured. The rain drenched all the surroundings, and mimicked his feelings as he finally found the perfect café, pleasantly named the Caged Bird, to spend his afternoon enjoying his coffee while waiting for the human. The place looked cozy and relatively high class: a man like him would not appear out of place. The interior was made of a dark mahogany, dimmed lights, and plush seating. An entire wall was taken up by bookcases, filled with books of many shapes, sizes and ages. It seemed like a place Master Shuu would frequent.
Kanae settled himself in a corner chair void of windows, with only enough light flowing from the rainy day so that he could read the book he brought with him, "Sorrows of a Young Werther". A comely waitress with an astoundingly less than average smell came over to take his order. Her uniform was dirty and her hair was completely unkempt. It looked to the purple haired man as if she did not even look in the mirror that morning. Living in the Tsukiyama household he quickly learned nothing was viler than a disheveled human like her.
Giving her his best smile, despite his building disgust, he kindly replied, "Black coffee, please. And may I add, sie sehen heute schön aus." The girl looked back at him confused with her big squirrely eyes. How repulsive. Despite the loathing he felt for this disgrace of a lady (if she could even be called that) he had to maintain the good name of the Tsukiyama household. "It means, you look beautiful today, miss."
"Oh," the girl said blushing trying to cover her face with the café menu. "Thank you, sir." With that, she scurried off to gossip with her co-workers. Kanae could hear them laughing, giggling and teasing the plain girl in the back as he settled into his book. Several minutes later, he saw from the corner of his eye, the same girl be shoved out the door by an over eager co-worker. Kanae secretly eyed her as she stumbled over to the corner, the porcelain coffee cup shaking in her hands as if she were walking through an earthquake.
As she set the cup down on the table, the hot contents slashed up. A few dots stained the old book he brought from the Tsukiyama library. How dare this ignorant girl ruin something owned by the household for generations? This sent the girl into a whirlwind of apologizes and her towel whipping up the mess she had made.
In a swift motion, he grabbed the girls' hand to halt the frantic cleaning. He heard the girls peeking around the door squeal at the sight of his gentle tough. "Please be calm, dear. Stains are not permanent, nor should that worried look on your face be." He had learned a lot from Master Shuu, and time to time he put it to work. In this case, it kept him from exploding in anger. The girl blushed at him and looked in awe for several seconds, as if he had saved her from inevitable death. It was the most repulsive thing he had witnessed since the underwear of another man showed up his house in the hands of Chie.
The waitress bowed her head, stammering like a lying child, "Th-Thank you, sir. I- I- I am grateful for your forgiveness." With that she fled off to gossip with her fellow girls once more.
"How unlike you, Kanae." A voice from behind him called. He quickly identified the voice, Chie. The butler knew that the little mouse would crawl in. She moved into his vision and took the seat across from him. How audacious.
"I don't know what you are talking about, a man of the Tsukiyama house is always a gentleman in public." He retorted with a cold gaze leering over his book.
She studied him for several long moments before stating, "You just work there."
He bookmarked his book and set it down on the table with a mildly loud thump. Glaring at her he remarked, "You're testing my patience, mouse. I just came here, on Master Shuu's behalf, to make sure you completely understood how unneeded the presence of anything owned by or any information about this Heisse creature. Do you comprehend my words? If you show up at all, I am not afraid to make you disappear, even at the displeasure of my master."
She blinked at Kanae several times before opening her mouth once again. "I don't understand why you feel the need to repeat yourself." Chie looked up as if she was thinking very hard about something, "It feels a little bit like a waste of time doesn't it?"
What a nuisance. "I was just making sure I was clear."
"You were as clear as day the first time." She said cheerfully. Raising his eyebrow, the man commented, "Does that mean you have agreed not to do it again?"
"Oh, it does not mean anything like the sort. I just did not want to hear your speech again." There was no getting through to this girl, Kanae decided. He would have to somehow take care of the situation himself. Letting out a sigh, he cast one more glare at the mouse before him. "Just stay away from Master Shuu." With the last look, he swallowed up the rest of his coffee, placed his book in his bag, and left the money for the coffee as well as a small tip on the table. Kanae turned away from the girl without a goodbye and proceeded to the door.
The purple haired man readied his umbrella as he reached for the door. However, just as his hand reached the brass nob, the door flew open, and a young boy scampered in to escape the rain. As the man turned into the café, a stack full of books shot out of his hands and fell with a bang on the floor, one of them hitting Kanae's shoes. Slightly annoyed by the day as a whole, he picked it up the book with disdain. He was kneeling on the ground looking up at the repentant boy when he realized he knew that scent. This was the smell of the bane of his existence, "Haise Sasaki", also known as Kaneki. The boy was smaller than he thought he would be, rather tiny for a man of his age. His white and black disheveled hair was drenched from the rain. Overall, the boy looked like a complete mess.
It was at this moment he realized, if he played his cards right his plan could come together. "It seems you forgot your umbrella. Please, take mine." And with that the man walked out the door before the other man could say no. He walked back to the Tsukiyama household with a smirk on his face.
Haise
The boy did not realize how much time he had spent in the bookshop until the clerk apologized that they would be closing soon. By the time he reached the cashier, his stack of books was at least six books high, almost high enough to block his vision.
"It's refreshing to see a young man who still loves all types of literature," the old man remarked as he slowly scanned all the chosen books. Haise smiled back at the man as he received his treasure for the day and opened the door to the outside world. To his dismay, the rain was pouring down. Panicked that his books would be ruined, he fled to the first open place that would allow him to enter, a café called the Caged Bird. Upon entering he tripped scattering his books across the room, causing a loud commotion. Even worse, they landed on a man's feet. The man was kind enough to pick up the book near him and what seemed like out of nowhere for Haise, the man offered his umbrella and continued on his way.
"Sir, you will need this yourself." But by the time all the words had come out the man had shut the door behind him. It was not until he turned to attempt to give the umbrella back he actually got a minor glimpse of the man. Instantly, the purple hair took him by shock. He stood motionless there for what felt like forever. Why had this random man had been so kind? Why had he given him the umbrella? Was he the man in his dreams? But, was that imaginary man even real?
As he gathered up the rest of his dropped books the thoughts flooded his head. He mindlessly chose a table in a small corner to think about the chance meeting. Even if it was not the man he had often dreamed about (which, in Haise's opinion, was a very embarrassing and nearly impossible likelihood) he still had to give the umbrella back.
"Do you know him?" A chipper voice broke him out of his thoughts. He turned to face a short girl with a youthful face and short brown hair.
"I..uh.." he paused to contemplate his answer. "No, I suppose not. I just feel…like I know a man with purple hair and kind of gaudy fashion. It sounds weird and rather non-descriptive, I suppose." He instantaneously felt ashamed for telling a random girl in the coffee shop his problems.
"I'm Hori Chie! I'm a photographer. I've seen everyone all this area! If there is a man with purple hair and silly clothing, I can surely find him! Why not let me help you?"
The cheerfulness and the willingness to help took him back. "Well, I don't know if he is real…" Haise tried to comment. But before he could say much else, the girl rose from her seat. "Give me a two months," she stated, sticking out two fingers to emphasize. "If this purple haired man is real, I will find him." With that the girl bounced out into the rain, appearing happy as can be. Haise stared at her in pure confusion.
Kanae
The cold, dripping wet clothing and hair did not even bother Kanae as he rushed through the house to his master. His new plan rejuvenated him in ways many other things could not. If he could get this Haise to think he was his master, he could make him disappear. He could bring his master back to normal. Back to the man he used to be before Kaneki. Back to the man who showed him love. But to do all this he had to know more about this Kaneki. "Tsukiyama has to cooperate in order for me to save him," he muttered.
As he reached his master's door his calmed himself. The purple haired man could not look ecstatic. In his head, he thought of the word he heard Master Shuu mutter more than once, 'calmato'. Now in a docile state, he proceeded to open the door.
The dull light crawled in and shone on the lonely man curled up in the same position he had been hours ago. He silently questioned if this was the right thing to do, but quickly casted the thought away. This had to be done.
"Master Shuu," he said, as he walked towards the depressed man. He kneeled next to his bed before continuing, "I'm back. What would you want for dinner? I can prepare your favorites. I the perfect ingredients stocked."
"I don't wish to eat, Kanae." This was his normal response these days. The purple haired butler looked at his master in dismay.
"I will just have to prepare one of your favorites." Kanae paused a moment. His nerves were getting to him, but he had no other choice. "Master Shuu, please forgive me in saying so, but it's been quite sometimes since he has left….would you please talk to me about him? I just want to make you feel better." Kanae was afraid his name, in fear it would only bring more unhappiness, he avoided it as much as he could.
His master just stared at him with empty eyes. The guilt began to sink in. 'Should I be doing this?' "I don't want to talk about him."
"Master Shuu, please. Just this once. We can take it slow. You can't keep everything to yourself. It will only make things worse."
"No, Kanae." His voice sounded as if he was in physical pain. 'Please Master, I am trying to help you. I beg of you just let me help!'
There was no way he could describe himself other than feeling completely helpless. His words now were borderline frantic. "How about this? We can start at the beginning and go to the hurtful memories later?"
This time Tsukiyama's face changed before answering. The last question had thrown his master over the edge. Kanae had not seen his face so fierce or eyes so fiery with anger in at least a year and a half. "You are only a butler. You are over stepping your boundaries." His anger faded quickly, as if he only had enough energy to sustain it for a brief moment. Even so his eyes remained resentful. "Kaneki…. It feels so empty without him."
"Master, I want to make you whole again. That emptiness will fade if only you let me in."
By this point Tsukiyama could not even keep emotion in his eyes. They again faded to pools of nothingness and what appeared to be an abyss of endless sorrow. "Kanae, I don't know if you will ever be able to."
The words took him by shock, as if someone just tore his heart completely out of his chest. No, that wasn't right. The pain was more than that. Even so, he would not let his emotions not show.
"I will try. Even when no one else is here for you, I shall always be by your side, serving you. Please remember that." He slowly rose from the floor, feeling completely numbed. "I apologize for over stepping any boundaries, I shall make the arrangements for your dinner." With that he took his leave.
As the door shut he heard muffled sobbing, just as the tears poured down his own cheeks. He put his back to the door and slowly slid down to the floor. His head in hands, he whispered to himself "Perhaps one day he will see me as more than a servant."