Solitude

AU In which Uta, a lonely ghoul living in the midst of an endless forest, finds himself at a loss when a young boy, seemingly abandoned, stumbles to his doorstep. And somehow, the ghoul and the lost child become a family, against all odds.

a/n: i just wanted to write some fluff. this is very au, as you will definitely see. nothing of what happens is a coincidence, and Kaneki ending up at Uta's doorstep isn't just blind luck. While this will mostly be fluff/family-centered, some angsty bits may appear every now and then. anyway, i hope you enjoy it.

warnings: possibly slight ooc-Uta? Ghouls are not widely known to the public. I dunno. that's it, i guess.

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It feels like a dream, at first.

There is the sweet smell of human flesh, coupled with tears. It is as if an entire meal had been placed at his doorstep. It is the sound of soft breaths and mumbles of the child that break through his haze of hunger. Jarred, the tattooed ghoul finds himself unable to move, unable to breathe as a boy no older than eight stumbles into his home. And it is at the sight of the child that all thoughts of eating him disappear, regardless of how long it had been since he had a decent meal.

He is covered in dirt, pale skin marred by layers of soil. His bare feet leave tracks against the wooden floors before the boy stops abruptly in front of him, a hand flying to his lips. Oh. Right. Out in the idyllic seclusion of the forest, Uta had never bothered to hide his kakugan, the only telltale sign of a ghoul.

"S-sorry!" The child stutters out, flinching away from the ghoul even though he hadn't moved an inch. Still resting against his chair, Uta cranes his neck sideways, gesturing for the boy to come closer.

"Hello there. I'm Uta. Who are you?"

The dark-haired boy sniffles, wiping the tears away with the back of his hands. He is still skittish, looking more akin to a wounded doe than an eight year old child, but he pads over to the man anyway. A great sign of courage, Uta notes, lips tilting upwards.

"My name is Kaneki Ken. A-are you a… monster?"

Unfazed, the man shakes his head. "No. I don't think I am. My eyes are like this because I'm a ghoul."

This caught the boy's interest. "A ghoul? What's that?"

Uta lurches forward, raising his arms and curling his fingers like claws. "Boo."

Unsurprisingly, the child gives a short cry of fear, flinching away.

"Oh. Sorry. Ghouls are scary. But we're not monsters. Some may act like it, as I just did. Yet we are still very much like humans." Uta explains, reaching out a hand to help the child up.

Kaneki gives a look of apprehension, but accepts the help, fumbling to his feet. Uta sniffs the air around the child, finding that it made his stomach rumble with hunger.

"D-do ghouls sniff people too?"

Uta shakes his head, responding apathetically, "No. We eat them."

A flash of genuine fear slithers onto the boy's face for a brief moment, and the tattooed ghoul wishes he hadn't been so blunt.

"When was the last time you ate someone?" Kaneki finally questions, once the initial fear wears off.

Uta pauses, ruffling the boy's hair. "A long time ago… don't worry, I won't hurt you."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

It is over a cup of coffee (and for Uta, the realization he'd need to stock up on human foodstuff) that Kaneki tells his story, voice soft and melancholy.

"You were… abandoned by your aunt?"

He nods slowly, the coffee in his small hands warming the chill between his fingers. He takes a sip, wincing at the heady bitterness. "I don't remember my dad very well; I read some of the books he left me, though. Even if I can't see his face anymore, I can pretend he's reading the stories."

"And your mom?"

"I…" The child looks down. "Auntie hurt her. She made her work too hard. Now I'm all alone."

The relatively young ghoul absorbs the information, mulling it about in his head. Did he really want to raise a child? A human one at that? There was always the chance he'd lose control, the hunger of the ghoul inside overtaking any fragments of his withering sanity.

He had been living in this godforsaken forest for a reason; he had chose to live secluded, to live on the scraps of dead bodies he'd find from suicide victims or the occasional grave he came across. It was because he felt no longer tied to the bright, shimmering world of the humans.

Not after what happened in the 20th ward…

So absorbed in his thoughts, the man did not notice that the child had looked up from his coffee, eyebrows furrowed. "Are you alone too?"

How observant...

Uta does not respond. Instead, he stands up abruptly, walking over to the door. Opening it, he rummages for a few spare blankets and a pillow.

"You can sleep on the sofa. Tomorrow, we'll go into town and get you some food."

The child's face brightens immediately, slipping off the wooden chair and towards the man. "I-I can stay?"

Uta nods, setting the pillow and violet quilt onto the couch. "Of course; children should never be left alone."

And really, I don't want to be alone anymore. Thank you, Kaneki. Even if this is a dream… I'll cherish it.

a/n: i know this is short, but i start college on the 20th so i just wanted to get this chap/idea out before i forgot it ^^' i apologize for any weird formatting/errors as i had to copy and paste this chapter *sighs forever* as usual, thoughts and comments are much appreciated. and whoo, celebration for the tokyo ghoul fandom is in order. have you guys seen how many fics have been added since the anime began airing? It makes me really happy that others enjoy the manga/anime to write about it :3 ramblings aside, next chap should be longer. thanks for being patient everyone, and i'll see ya next chapter~

Review?

-isis