Chapter 1: Clouds

When Ken Kaneki and Touka Kirishima's friends found out that they were getting a divorce, it came as a surprise to them all. Hide had been heartbroken about it (maybe more than Kaneki seemed to be). Hinami and Ayato had been saddened but, neither had said anything beyond condolences. Nishiki had been mostly annoyed by the situation, "After everything?" he had asked. Kimi had been sad as well and had worried about Ken; she had tried to call him after hearing the news to ask him if he needed any help. Banjo and his gang wanted to comfort Kaneki somehow, but Ken had declined, stating that, truthfully, he was alright. Tsukiyama had given his condolences but had otherwise not seemed too surprised or saddened. Saiko had looked like she was on the verge of tears, Urie had hardly reacted, and Tooru had been unsure how to react appropriately, so she bowed and had offered condolences. Yomo had said nothing concerning their relationship, instead his inquiry was about how Ichika was handling it. As for her, Ichika didn't really understand at first but, when Touka and Kaneki sat down and explained it, she had fallen silent, stared at the floor, and tears had begun to roll down her cheeks – Touka and Kaneki held her tightly as she let it out. She, at least, had not asked any questions of whether or not it was because of her, or if they still loved her, that had reassured them that they had given her enough. She had asked to stay with her uncle Yomo for a while though and he was all too happy to oblige (though, of course, he didn't show it).

Ken had been the most shaken by it though. It seemed to come out of the blue, right when he felt everything was going right for him… He'd found a new family – one that he'd loved. Now, he discovered his wife, the woman who'd taken his virginity, hadn't loved him. At least, not in the way he loved her. And, whenever someone had asked him if he was okay he would lie, taking careful care not to display his telltale sign when he did... It wasn't like he was fooling anyone though, but no one would press further.

In the end, he discovered, he wasn't surprised. He had suspected at the start that Touka may not actually love him, at least not romantically. He had known, deep down, that she had done what she had done to save him, to keep him from running off again and getting himself killed. She'd gotten pregnant to keep him near her because she knew that he wasn't the type of man to abandon someone like that. When Ken had confronted her with this she was reluctant at first but, eventually, she admitted to it and she started to cry, apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry," she told him after she'd hugged him and buried her face into his neck – which had confused Ken because she only ever did this during their most intimate moments. "I'm awful," she said, muffled by his neck. "I just couldn't get over it… You ended up the way you are because I couldn't keep you safe. If I had stayed by you, if I'd left school, maybe you wouldn't have turned out so…" she didn't want to say it but, Ken could finish for her. So screwed up.

Ken also wanted to cry at that moment. He had already known, deep down but, a part of him had shut it out, wanting to believe he was being unreasonable, and he eventually came to believe it. He didn't cry though, he just held Touka and looked solemnly down at the floor. Maybe it was because he didn't want to make it harder for her… Or maybe it was because of some bitter feelings that he undoubtedly had, but he didn't want her to see him cry.

They had had sex that night and it was a confusing for Ken. The way Touka reacted to Ken's slightest touch and the way she moaned in pleasure; it was the same as it ever was. It was strange – almost as if they didn't love each other (or at least Touka didn't love Ken) but their bodies still did. And when they had finished, Touka had showered his neck, face and lips in kisses and then stopped with a surprised look on her face. Her eyes held an apology. Ken had wanted to embrace her and fall asleep with her that night, but he couldn't bring himself to. He would have felt as if he was imposing on her and it would have made it so much harder to come to terms with this. Instead he slept in Ichika's room.

A few days after Ichika had left, Ken also had. He couldn't stand the cloud that had come over the house hold – rumbling and heavy, waiting to burst and pour down at any moment. When Touka asked him where he was going, he told her that he didn't know himself but not to worry – though looking at it in hindsight, he suspected that would have made her worry even more. She told him that she didn't want to leave but, in an uncharacteristic display of malice, Ken replied with "I don't care what you want." Which had caused Touka to fall silent and had surprised Ken and made him regret it the moment he said it. He couldn't take it back though, because he had already said it and he knew that if he did it would make all this so much harder.

So, Ken left, with a large hiking backpack, some books, and his phone, he went out wandering and, he found, he had made a good decision. Despite the looming cloud he felt constantly following him through the streets, through the nature trails, and into restaurants (that served Ghoul edible food), there was also a sense of… right, for lack of a better term. It was like a warm, cloudy day. He wished the sun would shine but, that would take some time. Eventually, he thought trekking through a dense nature trail, the sun will come out. Eventually.

I

Ken found himself, a few days later, in Edogawa, the 23rd ward, the complete other side of Tokyo, which surprised him. He honestly could hardly recall what had happened between leaving Touka and arriving in the 23rd, he had simply been walking. The day had been cloudy, much like his mood, but now, the clouds were breaking apart and a clear blue sky was shining through, bathing the gray tinted buildings a hint a brighter, more lively color. Almost like it was waking him up, Ken began to look about him, taking in where he was. He saw people, Humans and Ghouls, openly displaying their Kakugan in some instances, walking and talking together, laughing and eating. The scene had shifted some of Kens own clouds as well and, for the first time in the last few days, had brought a genuine smile to his face. Whether or not he was in a good place at the moment, the world was undoubtedly in a better place.

And, suddenly, he felt the fatigue of all his walking in the past few days and began to search for a hotel. It took Ken a while (though admittedly he was being picky) to find one, but Ken eventually settled for a small hotel with no more than ten rooms ran by an elderly woman and her husband – Ken wanted someplace quiet, he didn't feel like being in a large building with many people.

Walking into the hotel, he was momentarily surprised when he shut the door behind him, noticing that he could hear almost nothing from outside. Not the bustling of foot traffic, their conversations, or their laughter. He could hear only the faintest inkling of the outside world through the wall, even pressing his ear against it.

At the receptionist counter, the old woman, hunched over with snow-white hair tied into a knot at the back of her skull spoke up. "I hope your ears are clean," she said, gaining Ken's attention. "Don't get your earwax on my walls," her eye's opened slightly revealing black sclera and red iris's. "Or else, I'll eat you."

Ken paused for a moment and for a second, he thought he was going to have to subdue this old woman. Then she closed her eyes, her Kakugan receding and a friendly smile returning to her face. "I'm kidding, child. I'm just taking advantage of this newfound freedom we have… You're too skinny for my tastes anyways."

A light smile touched Ken's face and he moved towards the receptionist counter. "It's strange seeing so many Ghouls display their Kakugan around here… Even with this newfound peace so many are uncomfortable with it, especially in wards like the first."

"It's different here," the receptionist said. "The Ghouls here… many come from the reform center. Many are passed that violent time in their lives," she paused. "I've never seen so many young Ghouls so peaceful, so… unaggressive. It will save them so much heartache and pain… I'm jealous."

"The reform center?" Ken asked, opening his wallet and placing more than necessary on the counter.

The old woman looked at him with surprise at first before scrutiny appeared on her wrinkled face. "Are you some kind of detective?" she asked. "Slipping me this money for more information huh? Who're you after? I'll never tell!" she accused, pointing at him with a sharp nail.

Ken backed up, smiling at the old woman's… fiery personality. "No one… I'm not after anyone. I can just afford to give more."

The old woman smiled. "No. You're a kind one I can tell; I was just kidding. Anyways, we just call it the reform center to disassociate it with bad memories. It's Cochlea, the prison. They turned it into a reform center."

They did? Ken thought. I never heard about any of that… But, that's not really my department. "I see… That makes sense. Probably for the best… instead of shutting it down, they could just repurpose it… save the country some money."

"I think so too!" the old woman said. "Though, I still don't want to go anywhere near it… For too long, it's been a bad place to me. I'm too old to see it any other way."

Ken nodded.

"Anyway," she said, shuffling from behind the reception center. "Let me take you to your room. You can stay as long as you like, if you keep paying of course."

The old woman led Ken down the hallways of her hotel, which were a beige white with various pictures hung about the walls of landscape paintings and older illustrations, the kind drawn on worn looking paper in an older, more traditional art style. The doors to the rooms were stark white with brass knobs and peep holes, and had numbers placed above them on small brass plaques. The woman led him to the back of the first floor, then to the second floor of the hotel, the steps to which she had some trouble climbing up. They continued walking all the way to the front of the second floor, where Ken was given a room with a window that overlooked the small street in front of the shop, with a view of the pedestrians and cyclists going about their day. The room was also a beige color, including the carpet. It came with a double bed, a red rug with a design Ken saw everywhere, but had no clue what the name was, a medium sized wicker chair in the corner, and a small nightstand in the corner across between the wall closest to the bed and the bed itself.

"This is your room," she stated the obvious as Ken walked in and set his pack on the wicker chair.

Ken turned to her and gave her a quick bow, "Thank you for the hospitality," he said.

"Thank you for the money," she told him quickly, with a mischievous smile and quickly closed the door, leaving Ken alone in the deafeningly silent room.

Ken looked about the room for a bit, somewhat unsure what to do with himself until he decided to have a seat on the wicker chair. Moving his pack from it, he rolled up the blinds and opened up the window, letting the outside air and the noise of the city in. He inhaled it deeply and took a seat, staring out at the people going about on the street below. It was funny, Ken had never been so interested in couples just walking down the street, hand in hand or arms interlocked. But now, it was like it was all he could notice, like the easiest page in a Where's Waldo book he'd ever seen.

Speaking of books, he thought looking away from the window and opening his pack. Ken didn't really know what to read at the moment so, he dug his hands through the mess of books until he felt a familiar thickness. Ken paused, intrigued. He'd never really realized he could recognize a book without even seeing it, but somehow, he had a feeling he knew exactly what book it was. Is that…? I wonder…

Ken pulled the book out and fell further into the chair in surprise, looking at the book in his hands. "Monochrome Rainbow," ken murmured. How long had it been since he'd read Takatsuki… or should he say Eto? He hadn't read her since… since he found out about her – what she really was. Not that he made any vow to swear off her works, it was more that he had stopped reading her books subconsciously. Just like how he had subconsciously picked up Monochrome when he left his house.

His thoughts, for the first time in years, moved to Takatsuki, who he had last seen in the halls of Cochlea, missing her arms and legs. Reports he'd read, of the final battle with V had said she'd been captured by them and turned into a puppet – that they'd taken her head and replaced it with something to control her. They also said that she grew it back an aided the combined forces of GOAT and the CCG to take down Kaiko. She'd survived, that was the last thing he'd heard about her but, he didn't know what happened to her. I doubt they would have let her go, Ken surmised… I wouldn't.

Ken looked off, into the direction of Cochlea. A reform center… he thought. I wonder. He looked back to his book and began to flip through the pages to find a short story that would catch his fancy. I wonder if that's possible.