Mother died today.
Kaneki scoffed. Was his life a Camus novel? He neatly crossed out the sentence and began anew.
Kaneki Yumiko has passed on-
"...she now rests in a better, peaceful place. She will forever be remembered as a gentle soul and an upstanding citizen." The six years old boy finished saying his piece.
Kaneki neatly folded the piece of paper he had used to write the speech for his mother's funeral.
He ignored the flabbergasted looks directed his way, either stemming from his young age and the extensive vocabulary he had nonchalantly used, or his impassive face.
Hushed whispers broke out as he left the premises, pushing through the crowd of faceless men and women.
He had nary a memory of his father, while his mother was the only rock which held him steadfast. It was thanks to her and the kind old man Yoshimura's charity that he was still alive, after all. Were it not for the food he had provided her with in his early years he would have starved.
He had promised he would never cry. After all, monsters don't cry he told himself. Then why did it hurt so much?
A lone tear trailed down his cheek.
A few weeks later
The inability of the human mind to grasp simple concepts never ceased to amaze - and amuse - him. Perhaps it was wrong of him to relate a ghoul to a human and mayhap had he been too hasty in his assessment that ghouls were not inferior to humans academically.
"It is quite simple; you are my prey." He explained like he would a two years old.
Washed out amber eyes widened in surprise before the rough, bearded face twisted into an ugly snarl. A primal, profound rage was expressed in his prey's rigid posture (ready to pounce) and narrowed eyes.
"Your prey?" he derided. The scowl was replaced by a look of genuine amusement. The ghoul looked entertained by this new turn of events.
"So what are you, boy? A predator? Don't make me laugh; you look like a mere touch would shatter you. I was planning on letting you go but why would I let a free meal escape? And you smell simply amazing."
The predatory organ swaying behind the ghoul twitched with anticipation, a look of unbridled excitement and hunger clearly visible on his prey's face.
His lips twitched, and the ghost of a smile flittered across his face. A powerful gust washed over him, lifting his hair out of his eyes, revealing a pulsating red and black eye.
"What a coincidence, I was also planning on making a meal out of you."
The look of pure, unadulterated terror painting his prey's face as he tore out his intestines with his Kagune should have sent a spike of guilt rattle his core. All he felt was a contented satisfaction as he dragged the unmoving body to a hidden nook of the alley.
The world is wrong.
He was only rectifying the current state of the world, corpse by corpse.
"Where have you been?" his aunt asked, her voice calm and almost bored. She had her back turned on him.
"Taking out the trash," came his usual reply.
She didn't even deign to answer the boy's quip with a disparaging choice of words or the dry sarcasm she was capable of (and more than happy to dish out, especially to the child). She only watched the news channel. The journalist reported a ghoul attack in the surrounding ward. His aunt made a noncommittal noise. She did not pay any attention to the child.
If she had, she might have noticed the streak of blood across his brow.
Kaneki walked up the stairs leading to the bathroom. Before closing the door, he said, "Oh and I've already eaten."
Once again, no answer came.
He closed the door and heard the front door of the house open and shut, his aunt no doubt having left to fetch his cousin.
"How distasteful," he said eyeing the blood sullying his forehead reflected in the mirror.
Kaneki's gut was churning. He likened the feeling to that time he had tried to digest the bones of one of his prey. Something was wrong, his gut was screaming at him.
His acute senses detected faint whisperings coming from the living room. He barely heard what his aunt and the other visitors exchanged, but it still sent an electric shock through his spine.
The words "Nephew" and "Ghoul" in the same sentence were enough to trigger his fight or flight instinct.
The door to his room flew off its hinges scant seconds after his spectacular jump from the second story of the house.
He ignored the shards of glass embedded in his flesh as he put all his strength and not inconsiderable stamina into escaping from the clutches of bloodthirsty CCG investigators.
He was not going to make it. By the gods of all monotheistic and polytheistic religions, was he going to die here?
His legs were straining, his wild eyes frantically looking for any shadow in his peripheral vision. His black hair stuck to his forehead by sweat, and his ghostly white face was most certainly a sight to behold. His heart pumped starkly, beating erratically against his ribcage. The chill of the night did nothing to appease the stifling heat flooding his body.
A slender arm wrapped around his shoulders and someone pulled Kaneki into a side alley. Mind-numbing terror froze his train of thoughts as he faced his attacker... who looked to be around twelve.
The girl put her forefinger to his lips to prevent any query or terrified scream from leaving his throat. She took his hand in her own, bigger one and led him down winding back alleys. She stopped in front of a nondescript door and knocked thrice, paused, then knocked twice.
The door was opened soon after that and a dark haired man ruggedly handsome in an ordinary, random Joe kind of way - if that made any sense - was revealed.
He wordlessly stepped aside, letting the two children in, and closed the door soundlessly.
The trio heard hurried footsteps coming down the street while shouts and curses came muffled by the distance and walls standing between the ghouls and the investigators.
Silence reigned supreme in the small living room as they waited for the noise outside to die down. Meanwhile, Kaneki detailed the two ghouls standing across from him. For he had no doubts the pair were ghouls. They felt dangerous and had the peculiar smell characteristic of the human-eating species.
No, that wasn't exact. Only one of the pair smelt that way. The girl, on the other hand, had the most delicious scent he had ever inhaled. It was mortifying but his mouth watered, and he had to wipe the drool leaking down the corner of his lips with the back of his hand. A blush colored his cheeks eliciting a giggle from the girl and a knowing smirk from the tall man.
The girl held out her hand as she introduced herself. "My name is Eto. What's yours, my half-ghoul friend?"
Her question struck Kaneki momentarily. His heartbeat which had only recently reverted to a tolerable rhythm quickened again.
He did his best to calm down this irrational fear. They were also ghouls or part ghoul in Eto's case, so he had nothing to be afraid of. A creeping doubt slithered down his being as he wondered if they knew his nasty habit.
After a moment of hesitation, he reached out and shook her hand a little stiffly. The scene might look ridiculous from an outside observer's perspective however a lot happened in this brief handshake. It was a show of trust on Kaneki's part. He was putting his life in their hands and whatever happened next was left to fate.
"Kaneki Ken."
Serendipity: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
A.N: The next chapter, which is about 3k5 words long is 95% done. And there is going to be some Kirishima action, and boy ain't that a handful? If you liked, reviews are really appreciated. If you hated too, how could I improve otherwise?
Thank you and have a wonderful day / life!