Looking back, it was beyond lucky that Kaneki had gotten the talk about heats when he did. He and Hide had spent that night working out the kinks in the plan, as well as the very real kink of using a muzzle. His boyfriend was advised against taking notes lest he leave a paper trail for the CCG to follow, but had a good memory when it came to what they agreed on. The conversation went as smoothly as a talk about a biologically induced fuckfest could, and it helped soothe both of their fears about it. He was lucky that he got that talk when he did, especially because it was barely eight days later when he awoke in the morning sweating through his sheets.
The moment Ken opened his eyes, he felt something was wrong. The boxers and t-shirt he wore to bed were damp, and he was far too warm. The half-ghoul swallowed, his throat dry and breath too heavy, like something was sitting on his chest. He tossed his covers off, arm shaking slightly, and sat up, head swimming and vision blurring for a few seconds at the motion. Swallowing at the faintest hint of nausea, he holds on to the bed frame as he slowly gets to his feet. With every second, he feels panic rising as his body shakes and head swims. Is he sick? Is this heat? So soon? Maybe he's dying. Can ghouls get health care? He whimpers at a sharp pain in his abdomen. Ah yes, mysterious organ stabbing, this is it, this is the end.
A few steps from the door, his knees buckle. With a little yelp, he falls to the floor, palms stinging when they hit the hardwood but otherwise unhurt. Ken remained there, hunched as he tried to collect himself to stand again, but realized he probably wouldn't be able to. The shakiness has gotten worse since his attempt to leave the room, and the weight on his chest seemed to get heavier. The brunette gasped as another stab of pain shot through his belly, and he tensed, frozen in place for several seconds until it passed. His head was swimming as he tried to calm down and piece together what was happening to him. It took a minute of him trying to focus past his pants for air and dizziness before he could go over his symptoms. Yoshimura said it could help with panic attacks, and often it did, so he went through the questions.
What is he feeling physically? Shaking, unsteady, really hot, aches, dizziness, a feeling like his lungs are too small, he can smell absolutely everything in the building as well as some overpowering rosy smell and it's making him nauseous and… sort of horny. What is he feeling emotionally? Freaking out a bit, might be dying, nervous about his body failing, even more nervous about this being that. Is he in danger? Maybe? Is there anything he can do to help the symptoms? Well he can't go anywhere, so his options are limited, but he could call someone.
He looked to his left, the phone on his bed stand seemed miles away. It took the poor idiot some time to devise a plan to get it, and ended up grabbing blindly at the wall it was pressed against until he caught the charger wire, then yanked it down bringing the phone with it. All he could manage to celebrate his relative triumph was a small smile between panting breaths, Einstein who?
Trembling fingers lifted the device, and the violent shaking made it impossible to send a text to Yoshimura or hideyoshi. With a defeated sigh, he opted to call his emergency contact, which unfortunately for everyone involved, is Touka. The problem isn't that he doesn't like her, he loves her, she's his friend and helped him through a lot, no. The problem is that he's becoming more and more aware of the tent in his boxers. The phone rang, and he attempted to pull his shirt down over his erection in case she came in. Her voice came through with her regular annoyance.
"What do you want?"
"I…" , he inhales, just talking is making him feel out of breath.
"I think my heat started."
Kaneki had barely finished speaking when she hung up, the beeping from the ended call make his head hurt until he could manage to press the end call button. He could hear a door slamming, then fast footsteps getting closer until they stopped right outside his door.
"Shit," touka's voice came from the other side.
"Okay, fuck, do you have clothes on?"
"Yeah, i-"
Before he can finish his sentence, his door is flung open, and he can see her staring down at him. Already flushed red, he pulls his shirt down further in embarrassment at the sudden intrusion. The woman looks concerned as she stares him over, and sighs defeatedly.
"Yeah you're in heat. I could smell you from the fucking living room, how long ago did it start?"
"I don't know, I just woke up, and… I don't smell it. Isn't it like lavender?"
She scoffs.
"Yes, for girls. You smell some rosy shit don't you?"
The brunette nods weakly.
"Well you're plan is to go to the hotel right?" The ghoul continued.
"Right, Yoshimura said it was better."
"Then let's get you moving."
"I can't get up."
"Well I'm helping you up dumbass." She started to reach for his arm, but he pulled back a bit.
"No! I, uh…" Kaneki wasn't exactly sure what to do here, he couldn't refuse her help, he agreed to this plan beforehand, but he also didn't want her to see his obvious erection. What polite way is there to tell a female friend 'hey, I recognize and appreciate your help but at the moment I'm harder than the fitnessgram pacer test and this is the most appropriate way I can think to say that'? Unfortunately for him, he didn't need to tell her as she noticed that he was holding his shirt down with his remaining strength.
"Look, I know. You're in heat, it's normal. No one's gonna judge you."
If the half ghoul could get any more flushed than he already was, he would've. He stared at her, looking somewhere between embarrassed and surprised, while she maintained her uncomfortable annoyance.
"At least you're a guy so you won't be soaking through the seats that shit took so long to clean."
By now Kaneki was just dismayed at how casually she was talking about these things, and she took advantage of his surprise to pull his arm over her shoulders and grab his waist. He made a pathetic, strained sound as she hoisted him to his feet, leaving him mortifyingly exposed.
"I'm gonna put you on the couch, just wait there and I'll get Irimi to get her car."
"Okay," he conceded. There was nothing he could do to alleviate his embarrassment, nor fight back against Touka as she brought him to the living room, his stumbling steps doing little work. When they arrived at the couch, the woman practically drops him onto it, then tosses a blanket over him before rushing down to the cafe. Ken was completely covered by the blanket, and was glad to have that semblance of privacy until he'd have to leave it. He squirmed as a dull pain throbbed in his abdomen, then gasped when his back brushed against the back of the couch.
His kakuhou was even more sensitive than usual, and against his will, his body pressed against the backing again for more stimulation. Kaneki made choked sounds at the sensations of his kakuhou against the fabric and those ghoul instincts got loud. Keep going feel more feel good this is right. With a fuzzy mind and empty thoughts, he started to reach for his cock, but forced himself to snap out of his trance, immediately overcome with shame. What was he doing? Was he really going to jerk off in the living room? Why is he this horny for nothing? He is not going to fuck the couch!
It's fortunate that he snapped out of horny idiot mode when he did, because he could hear the door opening and hurried footsteps
"Oh my god," mutters Yoshimura.
"What the hell?" Asks Irimi.
"I know, it's bad," Touka confirms.
Something's bad? And they can tell just by coming in the room? Someone carefully pulls the blanket off, he sees it's Yoshimura, who blanches at him.
"Oh dear… Kaneki, are you lucid?"
"Yes… what's wrong?"
"You are… well, you're producing an unusually strong pheromone." The older man informs. He notices the half-ghoul's fear, and quickly assured him.
"It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you! It's just rare outside of kakuja, especially for your first one. And it's good that you're staying at the hotel, this would attract other ghouls easily."
"We're gonna have to febreeze the shit out of this place once he's gone," Irimi mentions to Touka. Yoshimura takes one of Ken's hands and feels his pulse, quick but not dangerously high, and gently pulls his left eyelid down to examine the sclera. As expected, a hint of black was beginning around the edges.
"How do you spell your last name?"
"What?"
"This is just how we test how aware you are, you're going to be asked this several times. Can you answer for me?"
"K-a-n-e-k-i"
"Alright, you're all here. In a little while you're going to be less lucid so before then, what do you want to bring with you?"
"Uh…" his head still felt fuzzy, if this was the baseline for lucidity, then he could only guess how out of it he's gonna get.
"My phone, there's a book on my bedstand, some clothes… I need to call Hide."
"We'll call him once you're in the car," the old man ensured.
"Touka, get his stuff and his eyepatch, Irimi, get the car ready."
The women went off in their separate directions to carry out their tasks while he stayed with the boy.
"So, at some point you're going to feel the need to release your kagune, this is normal but obviously we can't let anyone see it. You can probably last until we make it but just in case, we've got to wrap you up. Just stay still."
Kaneki has several questions. Why did we evolve this way? This is terrible. How will I know when I'm about to release the kagune? Can they do things without me making them? Are they allowed to do that? Wrap me up? Is that why Hinami was in that blanket? She's still at the hotel. Oh no is she going to see me like this? He asked none of them, thinking it better to save his breath. With strength one would not expect of the old man is one thought he was human, Yoshimura picked him up and wrapped him with the blanket with practiced ease, then holds him out like an unruly cat as he walks with him. In all, the half-ghoul makes a little "meep," but can't really do anything but accept whatever fate was in store for him.
The brunette was carried down the stairs, and set down on a chair, slumping like a ragdoll. His manager went behind the counter and squatted down to retrieve something from one of the compartments, then returned to Ken with a wine bottle. He looked up at his manager.
"Wine?" He questioned.
"Bloodshine," the white haired man corrected.
"What's bloodshine?"
"Alcohol. Humans distill grapes and potatoes, we distill human blood. We haven't told you because you're too young to drink"
"Why did you bring it to me? Does it cure heat symptoms?"
Yoshimura just smiles, uncorks it, and pours a little bit into his hair. Kaneki flinches at the liquid hitting his scalp but doesn't move. Only after the small amount is done being poured on his head does he stare open mouthed at the man.
"Why?"
"If any humans see us leading you in and out of the car, it'll be good if they can smell alcohol on you."
"That… makes sense. But still."
The old man chuckles.
"You can wash it out when you get there, a cold bath is good for heats anyway."
As the half-ghoul attempts to wipe away a drip of the bloodshine flowing down his face, his manager puts the bottle back and returns to lift him up as one would support a drunk person. Touka descends the stairs with Kaneki's things, lovingly tossed into a garbage bag. She seems uneasy, just like with Hinami, but relaxed a bit when she saw him, even smiling.
"Did Mr. Yoshimura pour bloodshine on you?"
"Yes."
"It's not fun. For you. For me it's hilarious."
"Are you two ready?" Their manager nods towards the front window where they can see the car ready and passenger door open.
"Let's just get this over with," the brunette muttered. He already felt like he was dying and, if his unfortunate incident on the couch was any indication, he didn't want to risk spending any more time with his manager's arm so close to his kakuhou. He can not be getting more turned on in the presence of almost all of his coworkers. Touka holds the door open for them, and they start out with a quick pace, the half-ghoul struggling to keep up with the man supporting him. When they made it to the car the half-ghoul was placed gently in the back seat so he could say down, and his garbage bag of stuff was dropped off on the floor in front of him.
"Ken, how do you spell your last name?"
"I… K-a-n...e-k.." he tried as hard as he could to remember what letters were called, but his brain refused to work with him. Why is the alphabet in order? Why are letters the way they are? Why was he spelling his name when the car seat felt so good against his back. No. He can't do that in the car. He looks back up to Yoshimura, who's talking brusquely to Touka as she gets in the front seat.
"He's starting to fade out, I'll call his human, can one of you stay there until he can come to him?"
"I can, I have no school today," the purple haired woman volunteers.
"Alright, thank you both, good luck." He digs into the garbage bag until he finds the eyepatch, which he puts over Ken's now full kakugan, then pats him gently on the head before closing the door and heading inside.
"Ken? Buddy?" Irimi tries to get his attention as she turns the car on and begins pulling out onto the street.
"Huh?" That's all he can manage, he's too hot, his clothes and the blanket are too tight, he feels like he needs to bite something.
"This is your first one right? That's gotta suck." She teases, not particularly maliciously, but being an asshole comes naturally to her. She goes on without a response, rolling down the windows.
"No one would be able to tell from the smell of you, your pheromones are strong. Let me give you a tip, when you get to your room, get in cold water. That always makes me feel better. I said the same thing to Hinami when we brought- Ah! She's still there, I'm going to visit her."
As her rambling continues, Kaneki stops paying attention. He doesn't want to be rude, but his head simply won't absorb any of her words, they're just sounds to him. What he can do however, is squirm against the seat. He's just aware enough to feel shame as his instincts get louder and take control. Rub back yes good. He was powerless, feeling his weak body move without him telling it too, feeling the pressure on his back that gave him some relief. It occurs to him that he's still hard, still so turned on that he wishes more than anything to get to the hotel fast so he can be alone in his room. When is Hide getting there? He would make him feel better, he would fuck him, he would give him pressure and pleasure and make him-
It took all his willpower to keep his hands on the seat. He can't jerk off in the car, what the fuck. The brunette curses his ghoul biology, his instincts, his own body, then feels his mind go blank. All he's aware of is how hot he is, how his shirt feels like it's strangling him, how his body is shaking and how his kakuhou feels so good being pressed against something. Some small, lurid gasps came from him as he continued squirming, his purely impulsive mind unsure whether to rut his back against backrest or his cock against the seat. He wanted more, he needed more. One of his hands starts traveling down towards his crotch, not aware enough to either remember that he was wearing the blanket or remember how to unravel himself from it, but goes to palm himself through it anyway.
Ken's wrist pushed down before he can touch himself, he looks down at it, and see's one of Irimi's kagune pinning it to the seat.
"I'm gonna have to stop ya there chief. I know you're in horny idiot mode and can't help it, but a week ago we had another person in heat here and spent a day cleaning wap out of the polyester, and I'm not doing that again. It won't kill you to wait till the hotel to come." She states.
"Oh my god don't call it wap," Touka hisses.
"That's the only thing I'm going to call it forever now."
The half ghoul whines in frustration, too out of it to understand why she's stopping him from relieving himself. He pulls his arm helplessly to try to escape her very gentle pin, but his heat has made him weak. For several minutes he stews, wriggling every so often as his thoughts start to come back to him. As he starts regaining lucidity, his eyes go wide with realization.
"Oh god I'm so sorry!" He apologizes.
The two women up front chuckle a bit, it's rare to catch Touka smiling, but she seemed amused by his suffering.
"It's alright," Kaya said. "We've all done it. Heat makes people stupid."
He wants to believe her, he doesn't doubt that they've all done it, but there's no way it's alright. How could he ever live this down? He did that in a car with his coworkers! Is this sexual harassment? He doesn't want to make people uncomfortable! Oh god his clothes are so tight and he's so hot and he can smell asphalt outside and he feels sick. He can feel everything so much and hates it.
"You doing okay?" Touka checks in. It's strange, she's much more patient with him today.
"Y-yeah. I just feel… a lot."
"I get that. We're in the sixth ward, so we'll be there soon."
"Okay," he breathes. Just to be sure he's not drifting away, he silently mouths the spelling to his name again, satisfied when he gets through it right. The rest of the drive is quiet, no one speaking and Ken forcing himself to keep from rubbing against anything. He remains still until the car stops, he looks up through a window to see a tall building, but thanks to blurry vision is unable to read the illuminated sign.
"We're here. Touka, grab his shit," kaya requests. The two exit the car, then open one of the back doors. The younger woman grabs the garbage bag, and the older one hoists Kaneki up, once again supporting him like a drunk person. He lets her carry him out and towards the building. Inside, a woman at the front desk takes notice, and hurried to open the door for them.
"Thank you," Irimi acknowledges.
"No problem," responds the worker. She sniffs the air and shudders, the pheromones overpowering the room already. Touka and Kaya bring him to the desk, the worker scurrying behind it to get to the computer. In the cloud of Kaneki's scent, the anteiku ghouls have no way of knowing if the few people sitting in chairs waiting for bags to be taken up or to meet people staying in a room are human or not, so Touka plays it safe.
"We need a room for our friend, he's drunk."
"No need for us to talk around it miss," the employee informed. "We're all ghouls here."
The three looked over at the people in chairs, by now Ken's pheromones had reached them, and they were looking over at him. No humans. It's safe.
"Well you know what's happening with him then." The purple haired girl admits.
"Yes, there's a room open on the sixth floor. Does he have a visit list ready?"
So that really is a thing. Irimi looked to him.
"Anyone from anteiku is fine. And hide. Especially Hide," he answered. He wants Hide to get here as soon as possible.
"Sir, do you trust one of these women to write your list down for you?" The desk worker asks.
"Either."
The woman takes a paper from a drawer and hands it to Kaya with a pen.
"Please fill out the visit list and put whatever for the name, as long as his visitors can recognize it. All our clients information is disposed of immediately. Miss, feel free to take him to his room," the woman hands Touka a room key, which she accepts.
"Room 669."
"Nice," she smirks.
Another, quieter "nice" comes from one of the seated people.
"Thanks ma'am," she nods, then starts guiding Ken to the elevator. Once inside, she presses the 6 and waits patiently as the door closes and they start to rise.
"...this place is, really nice," the brunette comments. He isn't wrong, something everyone had failed to mention, is that this place was very nice. Red walls, ornate light fixtures, he doubted he'd ever been somewhere this fancy.
"How much is this costing."
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Human clients are so rich that it pays for itself, I heard the owner doesn't care about money, just wants to keep this place free for ghouls who need it."
"That's… unexpected. Nice though. Who's the owner?"
The door opens, and she supports him out into the hall. He forgot that he wasn't wearing shoes until now, he liked how the carpet felt.
"You won't believe it."
"Why not?"
"Because it's Shuu's dad."
"What?"
"Their family is rich as hell, his dad has a lot of businesses that hire ghouls, this is just one of the ones that's sort of a charity."
"Huh…" It's weird to learn that the French fuck that tried to eat him has a very kind family, but of all the things he's learned over the last few months, this is probably the least concerning. Kaneki yelps and freezes when pain shoots through his belly, his friend cringes.
"Cramps huh?"
"Yeah," he squeaks.
"Those suck. It'll suck less after you, ya know, have Hide over."
He nods meekly.
"And when you get in you need water. These will dehydrate you."
"Okay."
"You good to keep going?"
"I am," the half-ghoul pushes through the pain to keep walking, he could see his room wasn't far, the walk was just slow due to him needing help walking and still being hard despite everything happening being very unsexy.
"They'll have cups but I'm just going to dump you in the bath because you need to cool down, so just drink the bathwater."
"Why would I drink my bathwater?"
"Why wouldn't you? There's nothing wrong with it, it's just you-flavored broth."
"What is it with you people and bathwater broth?!
"Koma has good points sometimes," she grumbles. They arrive at his room and Touka changes her hold on him so she could have a hand free for the key, opting to hold him up by the collar of his shirt. She placed the garbage bag down, unlocked the door, then dragged both the bag and the boy into the room.
Kaneki could only describe the room as luxurious. A giant couch, a white rug, a massive tv over a working gas fireplace, and a little kitchenette that gordon Ramsey himself couldn't find more than 8 things to complain about. And this is just the main room! This looks like a place where a Russian dictator would get murdered! He wished he wasn't in heat so he could appreciate it more.
"You're glad you chose to come here aren't you?"
"I am, this place is so much nicer than anywhere I've ever been. I feel like I'm committed a crime by being here, they'll probably be able to smell my poor when they come to clean it."
"Oh don't be dramatic, being a ghoul is a fucking nightmare, heats make that nightmare even worse, this is just one luxury we get."
Touka let's go of the bag and the boy, who flops down on the floor with an 'oof'. She crouches beside him and grabs the edge of the blanket where it's wrapped around his chest, then yanks it off.
"Hey!" The half-ghoul rushes to cover his erection, but his friend disregards him self-consciousness.
"I do not care that your dick is up, just come on." The woman grabs the back of his shirt again and drags him across the floor like a doll, she opens the bathroom door and pulls him inside. Even the bathroom was extravagant, marble counters with calla lilies in a vase, a mirror surrounded with led lights, and most notably of all, an absolutely huge bath built into the smooth stone floor. Without a moment to take it in, the ghoul lifts him up and puts him in the tub.
"What are you doing? My clothes are still on."
"I'm not taking them off, you can do that when I leave."
"That makes sen-" He whimpers and curls up at another cramp.
"Drink. The. Bathwater." She reaches over him to the faucet and turns on the cold water. Kaneki gasps when it hits him, it comes as a shock, but once the surprise passes, he leans into it. The coolness is a relief, the mind melting hot dissipating in the water. He doesn't mind that the faucet it over his kakuhou either, that feels good. He sighs in pleasure and relief, relaxing into the water pooling around him. His friend opens the door and goes to leave, but turns back one last time.
"I'll be in the main room until your boyfriend gets here." She informs.
"Call me if you need something. This is shitty but you'll get through it."
He gives a weak thumbs up, and hears the door close behind her. The moment she's gone, he starts trying to shimmy out of his boxers. Now that his head was mostly clear, it was easier to manage to get his shaking hands into his waistband and push it down. Kaneki's cock was finally freed, reddened and aching, and he instinctively rutted forward. Once the underwear was off, he spent a minute shimmying out of his shirt, then took the two, wet articles of clothing as well as his eyepatch, and put them on the stone ledge.
Ken could feel his mind slipping again, now that he was naked, alone, and cooled down, there was nothing stopping him. Before he completely fell into his instincts, he took Touka's advice and drank a mouthful of bathwater. Not great. If this was Him-flavored broth then he didn't see why Shuu wanted to eat him so bad. 2/10 at best.
With a wave of dizziness, the boy's eyes closed and he pushed his back into the water flow again, willingly relinquishing lucidity for the sake of sensation. The instincts grew louder, you need this you need this you need this let go. What he did from there was all a haze of mindless action, with the hand not holding on to the end of the tub, he grasped his cock. Ken buried his arm into the crook of his elbow and moaned, the sound barely muffled, but he didn't care. The faucet over his kakuhou and the hand jerking himself off made his body hum with pleasure. Pretty soon, he could feel his orgasm approaching, and he came into the water much faster than usual. The brunette had expected that to relieve his arousal, but he was somehow still hard.
Frustrated and out of it, he continued touching himself, thrusting his hips into his hand and shaking every few seconds. He wished Hideyoshi was here, he always felt so satisfied after getting fucked. You want that, his instincts hissed inside of him. You want to get fucked. You want him to fuck you. You need him inside you you need him holding you down you need him to bite you you need to bite him. The boy whimpered, imagining his boyfriend kneeling behind him, he would whisper to him softly as he fingered him open, he would call him beautiful when he slid his cock inside him. His hand quickened, as did his panting.
As his pleasure started pooling in his belly once again, he could feel an odd sensation in his back. He looks back at himself to the sensitive skin over his kakuhou, still being stimulated by the faucet, and saw that it was flushed, the bright red rc pathways clear as if his kagune were being summoned. He was just present enough, just aware enough, to feel disturbed by it. That thing was built for killing, built for ending human lives, but right now they demanded to be set free amid fantasies of sex with his boyfriend. He gasped and pushed his face back into his arm. Faster faster feel more let go bite. Kaneki's thighs shook violently under the water, and he bit his own forearm as he pushed himself to the brink. As he came, his kakuhou opened, and the four red tentacles of his kagune came rushing out, reacting with him to the pleasure by curling in the air.
The half-ghoul breathed heavily as he relaxed into the post orgasmic bliss, this time it seemed to actually relieve his arousal. He took his arm out of his mouth, tasting blood and seeing that the skin was broken, but not badly. He turned off the faucet, bath full and kakuhou overstimulation, and put his other arm on the ledge as well, leaning on it and relaxing into the cool water. Slowly, he looked back, his kagune had relaxed as well, submerged and no longer wriggling. Ken realized that he's never seen his own kagune relaxed before, it felt nice, having them out just to soak up coolness. It was all he wanted to do, after today, now that he was safe and mostly comfortable, he could let himself be mindless. His head rested on the ledge with his arms, and he blinked slowly before closing his eyes. The last thought before exhaustion overcame him, was how glad he was that Hide would be here soon
