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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.

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Omake 12: Responsibility

When Matsumae was first put before this dilemma, she had been taking a lengthy amount of time to silently contemplate which choice she was meant to take. She knew that they would have wanted her to take the boy, for her to nurture Kaizo as part of the family. To give him hope beyond being left in an orphanage. But could she just put him in danger for the sake of that? While Mirumo was a caring individual that considered her highly, would he allow her to just keep the child with her?

The answer proved to be… yes.

If doubts had persisted within the female Ghoul for a time, this very hesitation faltered and vanished when she arrived at the scene, and when she was presented with the very being that was making her question so much about her chances of doing things right or easy, both choices difficult to determine with how complicated both were. A look, he was awake and looking genuinely frightened. His crying was what had caught her attention, but it was the fact he stopped as she approached to look at her that surprised her. He gazed at her with recognition and, despite the tears still rolling off his puffy cheeks, he was smiling and reaching out for her.

Of the many things Matsumae had to deal with in her existence, this was the most difficult… and yet the simplest possible. She decided to ignore the danger, to take on that burden and to… bring her little brother back home. She wasn't sure at the time if this was going to work for her as much as she wanted, but after four years since that decision, she couldn't help, but feel satisfied. Especially when Mirumo took an incredible liking for the child.

To be fair, the one that caused this to happen was the president's son, Shuu. Despite being two years older than Kaizo, the Tsukiyama heir quickly became affectionate with the other young boy in his household. He was his playmate, someone he could talk and have pleasant conversations without being overly-polite to make up for his important role within the company. It severely boosted Shuu's attention in homework, and it made him incredibly jovial and lively from the very beginning. Something that Mirumo considered a boon since he doubted his son would have been this open without some friends of his age. Things even went better when Karren was taken in by the Tsukiyama family.

With the Rosenwald family suppressed, the young girl was quickly given a place in the group, but this also pushed her to behave 'properly and befitting of her status'. Her first attempt to appear like a boy and go through the hardships of working as part of the staff found a quick obstacle and an ensuing closure to that approach when she met Kaizo himself. While Shuu proved to be unable to realize that 'Kanae' was a girl, the human did. And it led to quite the most amusing clash between the two. Karren was so invested into being a 'loyal subordinate' of the Tsukiyama family, that she took Kaizo's efforts to make her stand out without 'hiding her real self away' with anger and contempt. Something that only fueled Kaizo's own interest in getting her to understand that this wasn't the best way possible.

One year, that's all it took for Karren to throw the towel and admit defeat before the human's stubbornness. Either that or Shuu himself got involved when he finally asked why the two were known to bicker with each other. Despite how much she tried, Karren's own emotions on the matter were severely mixed due to the fact that, beyond the dislike she developed for Kaizo for being a 'know-it-all human' that just felt keen to 'humiliate her', the boy just seemed more interested in her general wellbeing- and adding this to her initial emotions for Shuu just created a very messy understanding of love for Karren.

They were young, the entire staff and Mirumo thought at the time, but it would eventually become problematic when the trio started to… grow up. Shuu's flamboyant take on friendship would gain quite the neutral response from Kaizo, unconsciously giving the heir an interest in 'seeing where the limit was, even for just a moment'. Karren's own insecurities created the issues that would make all those days so… 'memorable'. A modest word to not add 'chaotic, insane, and outright wrong' in most of the circumstances.

It added a contrast between the simplicity presented by Kaizo's human nature and the generally 'moody' prospects exerted by both Karren and Shuu, creating the worst situations possible for the three of them. And the moment Chie Hori entered the big picture just added an extra layer of madness to the entire matter.

After almost two decades of dealing with this kind of matters, Matsumae couldn't help but wonder if back then she made a good choice. If it had been within her rights to take Kaizo, to bring him here and give him this kind of messy life. Sure, he was an intelligent youth that easily proved his worth through advanced academics. All for the sake of making someone he cared a lot proud. Someone he felt 'indebted' and happy to be around most of the time when she wasn't working on a job or if he wasn't studying.

"Neechan? Are you thinking of something important?" The young man in question spoke up, breaking the little spell that had fallen upon the female ghoul as she realized she had lost herself in her thoughts while they were busy with lunch. The meal that was prepared for Kaizo had been one that she had put herself into making- the result of years of attempts to get the chance to prepare human dishes on her own. It was tough when she couldn't test it herself… but some of her old contacts were more than happy of 'sacrificing' themselves for the sake of good cuisine. Some died for mysterious reasons, but in recent times many had taken a liking to her masterful cooking.

Kaizo in particular was the one that liked it the most from a very early part of his existence. He praised her effort, but he wasn't shy from pointing out any mistake that could be ironed out in the next effort. He was… such a caring little brother.

"I'm sorry, otouto. I was… thinking of the fact you have yet to show me a girlfriend of yours."

The young man, built with a slim but athletic form through his excellent attention to mixing academics with physical training, was keen to scowl and pout at that cheeky remark from her. If there was any awkward element that Kaizo felt prepared to exploit against her in a mirthful way, Matsume would just bring up this matter.

It was comedy gold, it was the pure kryptonite needed to defeat any attempt from Kaizo to try and poke fun at her. But, much to her surprise, the pout faltered to reveal a smug grin.

"Actually," He started to say with an amused look. "There is something that I think I need to tell you."

In the span of a few minutes, Matsumae's brain focused on a name- a name she had to find all information available through normal and private channels, identify her intentions, check for any malicious interest and… make sure she was the right one for her little brother.

The female ghoul still had a detail to start from. The name was Rize Kamishiro and… she couldn't help, but know that while her little brother trying his luck with a ghoul for love seemed hopelessly romantic by outward implications- but set up for a cynical murder if she wasn't completely sure of the woman's intentions.

It didn't help that a degree of protectiveness made her think for the worst, even though she realized she had met the girl herself. Ten or so years ago. Rize was… the little plum-haired girl Kaizo met when they visited one of the parks in Tokyo. Little, cute and incredibly attached to Kaizo.

…

She clearly was thinking horrible thoughts. And that, Matsumae-neechan wasn't going to let go until justice was done!

AN

Reason why these updates came so 'late': I've been feeling a little burned out when it comes to writing chapters for this story. It's not tied to plot or anything tied to the story in particular, it's more tied to my capacity to handle the fast-paced updating for too long. I had to take a minor decision to lay off from it for at least two weeks to get my brain reorganized and my interest lifted up, else the chapters would have been duller than usual. Next main-plot update will be released in two days.