He gasped out breaths trying to get oxygen in but it was no use.
His body was pulled down while he screamed and pleaded for a miracle to happen, for someone to come save him but as fate seemed to have it, no one came.
The tears rushed down his face at the thought of not getting back to Touka. (Didn't he make a promise to her about something? He couldn't remember, his brain was foggy and he couldn't seem to recall no matter how hard he tried.)
He was falling deeper and deeper into a dark stillness and when he suddenl;y stopped, hands came up to his face and tilted his chin up softly
"You just can't ever stay out of trouble can you?"
One hand came off of his chin and moved back as the woman tucked a strand of purple hair back behind her ear.
"After everything that's happened I truly can't believe this is how a great high ranked ghoul like you will go out."
His eyes widened as the realization hit him like a bolt of lightning, this really was it huh? He couldn't move, his body feeling like it had suddenly been weighed down.
"It's been a nice run, and hey who the hell knows, maybe we'll meet again huh?"
She smirked before giving him a light push and walking behind him, but when Kaneki turned around she was gone, leaving no trace that she was ever there to begin with.
He wandered around the vast emptiness before curling up in a ball on the floor, thinking about his life, even the harder and more vicious parts.
In retrospect it seemed never ending, like nothing could get in the way as long as he could be strong enough to protect everyone but in the end, it was his downfall.
He blinked back a couple of tears as he took in his last conscious moments, but the burning sensation behind his eyes wouldn't stop as the drops of water fell, splashing on the floor on impact.
It was really all over, if even Rize was gone now, he thought to himself as he attempted to clear his vision of the blurry mess of tears, taking in a deep breath as well.
He wondered what Touka would name their child now that he wouldn't be there to help. The thought made him let out a watery laugh that turned into more sobs.
He wanted to apologize to his child who would never get to meet him, to tell them that their papa loved them, that he was sorry they had to go without him because he was capable of protecting others but not himself. Life really wasn't fair in that way huh? You couldn't win no matter how strong you were.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the other people who had gathered around him, looking at him, smiling sadly.
One with black hair and an eyepatch, one with white hair that had black at the roots, and a small child with white hair.
Before he could get a word out he felt their warm arms wrap around him, causing more tears to fall. Sobs wracked his body as he clung to them.
"It can't be over, it can't, it just can't!"
The black haired one only whispered a sorrowful apology.
The warmth began to fade as did the people, but he grew frantic, trying to cling to them,
"Please don't go, I don't want to be alone anymore," His pleading however, did nothing to stop the inevitable.
"Why does everyone leave me," He wailed loudly.
"What's wrong?"
"...Mommy?"
It was like he was ten years old again, waiting for his mom to come home.
She came closer and brushed the tears off of his face, before standing back and offering out a hand,
"Let's go home," A warm smile blossomed on her face as he reached up and took her hand, getting to his feet.
His mom was right, why was he crying? It was alright if he couldn't remember now, it would come back to him later.
As they walked hand and hand she led him out of the darkness.
he took one final look back,
His life was a tragedy but it didn't have to be anymore.
Because Ken Kaneki was no more.