Thank you for the reviews! Just to clarify, the other fanfic I'll be working on is just a side-project that probably won't be released anytime soon. As of now, this fanfic is my main focus.

I don't have a lot of time for author's notes, but just know that I love reading your suggestions and will definitely begin using them in the near future!

Thank you, and please enjoy this chapter!


Just as Roma promised the night prior to his groggy morning that had plagued him with the munchies, the leader of the Clowns had 'given a ride' to Haise in the form of lending him her motorcycle. Given her whimsical clown-themed motorcycle helmet to protect his head while providing him an adequate disguise, the only help Haise received in terms of learning how to operate a motorcycle was from whatever information he could find off the internet.

Given only the address to Eto's apartment complex that was saved onto his phone's GPS, Haise brought what few possessions he could carry on his person before riding out of Moonlight pier's maingate, so he could begin his drive down through the streets of the 8th Ward.

Wanting to get out of the streets of Tokyo before the clock could reach one in the afternoon, the pressure Haise felt in his mission to race against time was also amplified by the stress he was already feeling from his struggles of trying to ride a motorcycle down the highway for the very first time.

After about ten minutes of nearly crashing Roma's 'Hello Kitty' themed vehicle into several concrete barriers and various cars that he had to share the road with, Haise eventually began to feel more comfortable with riding his newly acquired motorcycle. With the aforementioned stress inducers limited down to just trying to make the most of his time before the protest and potential riots could start, Haise did his best to appreciate the morning for it was.

Although Haise was maintaining a visual on the road ahead of him as he rode down the highway, he was able to steal a few glances over his shoulder at the skyscrapers in the nearby distance. Having been so distracted with committing acts of treason and suffering at the hands of those he once considered to be his friends, it soon dawned on Haise that he hadn't had time to truly appreciate the seasonal spirit that came only once a year.

Quick glances at the large Christmas wreaths that were hung on the sides of skyscrapers, along with the silhouettes of largely decorated evergreen trees in the distance, made Haise think back to the day he first awoke from his six-month coma. The memories he had of that morning he spent sharing coffee with Eto while talking about Christmas, and how they could spend it together, made Haise yearn for the simpler pleasures of life that eluded him.

Having not forgotten about the mall-date that Eto and Touka had both somewhat promised him, Haise couldn't help but to feel saddened at the fact that the life he wanted to live seemed so distant and unobtainable to him. That's when Haise thought back to the night that changed his life; the night that he considered willingly betraying CCG to escape from their grasp on his life.

The more he thought about it, the more Haise couldn't help but to think that nothing really changed in his life. Instead of being forced to live his life assisting those who committed atrocities for a supposedly higher purpose, Haise was willingly continuing to carry out such acts on his own accord. Whether it was for the United Front or for his own agenda, Haise's only goal in life was to rescue Hinami, and that mission of his was the only thing separating him from true happiness.

Getting a hold of himself before he could further dig himself deeper into the pit of seasonal depression, Haise drew his attention away from the decorated skyscrapers to focus more on the road ahead of him. Looking forward while riding the motorcycle he barely knew how to ride, it was then that Haise made the unfortunate discovery that not only did Roma fail to show him how to properly operate the vehicle she lent out to him…

… But she also failed to mention to him that it was low on gasoline.


Due to the fact that all four women in Eto's apartment, including herself, had only recently rediscovered their love for the holiday after it was made clear to them that Haise was alive and well, the morning of Christmas Eve in the Yoshimura residence didn't quite reflect the spirit of the holiday the way she had expected it to.

Aside from having decorated her apartment with strung lights and Christmas-themed knick knacks, no one aside from Eto seemed to truly be excited for the holiday. While having Mutsuki taking up the role as her sous chef just like how she used to at :re was helpful, especially since Eto couldn't read the online recipes, the fact that Eto had to be the one to push her sudo-daughter into helping her prepare the night's feast for Uta's Disneyland party was a little bothersome for the half-ghoul.

While she couldn't blame Saiko for not wanting to be anywhere near an active stovelight, Eto would have been lying if she would have told anyone that she didn't find Saiko being face-deep in her videogames to be annoying. While Mutsuki and her were busting their asses slaving away behind a stove and several instapots, Eto still couldn't bring herself to be upset at Saiko for sitting down on her papasan while playing on her PSP instead of helping them.

After all, if anyone was to blame for Saiko's lazy tendencies, it was Haise for having encouraged her behavior back when they were in CCG.

However, what did annoy Eto the most about Saiko was the fact that she had her headset on, and was effectively blocking out the Christmas music that the half-ghoul had playing on the radio, all while also completely ignoring the Charlie Brown Christmas special that she had playing on her large flat-screen television.

"Saiko, sweetheart?! Did you want to put the game down for a few minutes, and check up on Kirishima?!" Eto asked in a passively aggressive voice that only a mother could have for her children. With Eto being too busy with stuffing her sticky-rice with sweet-barbacoa and vegetables to make her own style of rice balls, all that the half-ghoul could do was watch from afar as Saiko didn't so much as glance over at her direction.

Sensing that Eto was about to march over to Saiko to lecture her about the importance of spending time with family rather than focusing solely on video games, Mutsuki stepped over to the kitchen sink to scrub her hands clean before drying them on a hand towel. "Don't worry, Yoshimura; I'll go check on Kirishima."

Thankful that Mutsuki was willing to help her so much, Eto flashed her other sudo-daughter a quick smile before turning her head back towards Saiko's direction. "I appreciate you doing that for me, honey, but that still doesn't excuse what she's doing! If you don't mind, can you take her little game away, and tell her to put her headphones away? I'm not going to have her be a wallflower when Sasaki comes home…"

Unable to help herself, Mutsuki cracked a smile at Eto while nodding obediently like a well-disciplined daughter. "Of course, I'll get on that…!" Mutsuki said reassuringly to Eto, who in turn couldn't help but find the quinx's sudden smile to be confusing.

"What's with the smile, all of a sudden? You weren't doing that while we were cooking…!" Eto inquired with a slightly hurt expression on her face, all while still rubbing her sticky-rice into round balls.

"Oh, sorry about that…" Mutsuki said with an apologetic look on her face, before suddenly finding her smile spreading itself across her lips. "It's just, well… Everything about right now takes me back to when I used to live with Haise at the Chateau… Usually when Urie or Shirazu were at each other's throats, or if Saiko was being difficult and Sensei couldn't take care of it for whatever reason, I was usually the intermediator of the household," Mutsuki explained with a nostalgic look in her green eyes, that once again stirred up something inside of Eto that she could only describe as 'motherly pride'.

"O-Oh? Is that so…?" Eto asked with a sudden shaking voice, as she slightly lowered her gaze down while her cheeks began to become flustered. "S-So… In a way, would you say that… You feel like you're at home here…!?"

Taking a moment to really think about whether or not Eto's cramped apartment really gave her the sense of being at home, Mutsuki thought about it while the half-ghoul anxiously waited for a response. "... I think that you, Haise, Saiko, and Kirishima are what makes this place feel like home. But, if I'm being honest here… Your apartment wasn't meant to house more than two people, and it definitely feels that way," Mutsuki said with an uneasy smile.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah; I'm working on relocating us…!" Eto said with a playfully-offended tone, while waving her rice-covered hand out towards Mutsuki's smiling face. Chuckling softly, Eto lowered her arm back down so she could genuinely express the joy she had in heart from hearing her daughter's answer. "... Thank you, Tooru; I… I really needed to hear that," Eto said in a grateful tone, before shuffling back over to her rice ball-prepping station.

Feeling content with herself for being able to make her sudo mother happy, Mutsuki raised a hand and affectionately patted Eto on the back before walking around the kitchen counter to make her way over to where Saiko was sitting.

Having already caught a glance of Mutsuki approaching her from the top of her peripheral vision, Saiko immediately recoiled before retreating further into the papasan cushion. "No, no, no…! Stay back, you 'Grinch'! Get away from Saiko's property!" Saiko demanded, while hissing at Mutsuki while she casually walked around the cluttered living room to make her way over to the papasan.

"Come on Saiko, you know the drill," Mutsuki said with a mildly annoyed look on her face, as she swiped away the other woman's electronic devices from her grubby little hands. "You can have these back later…" Mutsuki muttered, while reaching up on her tippy-toes to place the headphones and portable gaming system up on a shelf that was out of Saiko's reach.

Knowing fully well that her short arms and legs wouldn't allow her to sneak behind Mutsuki and Eto's backs, Saiko sunk deeper into the papasan cushion in defeat. "... You're so mean, Mutsuki," Saiko said bitterly to the other woman, while crossing her arms over her plump chest as she eyed Mutsuki.

"You'll survive, I believe in you," Mutsuki said sarcastically while rolling her eyes, as she carefully stepped over the spare mattress laying out in front of the living room couch, to make her way over to the master bedroom.

Upon reaching the bedroom door, Mutsuki tried knocking first to make her presence known to the room's ghoul-occupant. Hearing only the sounds of the Touka's loud and deep grunts over the clanking of iron weights grinding against the barbell the ghoul was using to work out, Mutsuki knew that she'd have to do more than just knock in order to get Touka's attention.

"Kirishima! I'm going to come in to check up on you, okay?!" Mutsuki shouted with her lips pressed up against the small space separating the door from the frame along the wall. Knowing fully well that Touka had been preferring to do her intense workout regime with the bare minimum amount of clothing on, Mutsuki stood outside the door until the bedroom door was opened from the other side of where she was standing.

Wearing a black sports bra that was just as soaked with sweat as her matching booty shorts were, Touka's skin was slicked with preparation and her hair was matted against her forehead as she greeted the intimidated young woman standing less than a meter away from her. "Yeah... ?! Hah, hah… What is it?" Touka asked in between intervals of catching her breath, while extending her buffed arm up on the doorframe to lean on.

Doing her best to keep a straight face as Touka's musty scent from her workout infiltrated her nostrils, Mutsuki smiled nervously back at the ghoul who had somehow been able to rapidly bulk up in the short span of four days. "I-I just…?! Y-Yoshimura wanted to make sure that you were doing fin-"

"- Well I'm not actually doing 'fine', Mutsuki!" Touka snapped back in retaliation to Mutsuki's explanation, while gripping tighter at the small paper-back book in her hand. Seeing Mutsuki flinching in response to her sudden outburst, Touka knew in spite of how pissed off she was that the qunix didn't deserve to be treated so rudely, and quickly lowered her arm down before apologizing. "Look… I'm sorry. I… I need to go talk to Yoshimura about something real quick…"

"It's… It's fine," Mutsuki said with a confused tone, as she couldn't help but to feel more curious than offended after catching a glimpse at what was in Touka's hand as she moved past her.

However, feeling as though that there was about to be an exchange of unpleasantries between the two matriarchs in the near future, Mutsuki instinctively made her way over to Saiko in order to begin silently relocating the sensitive woman away from any arguing.


Standing in the kitchen while watching with the corners of her eyes as Mutsuki grabbed the headphones and video game console from the shelf before escorting Saiko into the bedroom, Eto made sure to wait until the door was closed behind her two children before finally addressing the woman standing across the kitchen counter from her. "... I take it you're upset about something?"

"Damn right I am," Touka replied back fearlessly with an angered look in her eyes, as she raised her hand up to showcase the aged journal she had found while working out. "Forgive me for prying, but I found THIS laying across the floor… And I think I'm owed an explanation."

Keeping her inner disgust at the fact that the journal in question was coated in a thin layer of sweat, Eto reluctantly took it from Touka's hand before bringing the cover up to her eye level. "... What? Did you slip on this, or something, Kirishima?" Eto asked curiously with slight sarcasm behind her voice.

Unable to believe what she was hearing, Touka swiped the journal away from Eto's hands before practically shoving it in her face. "It's a journal, Yoshimura! More specifically…It's YOURmother's journal! Look, 'Ukina Yoshimura', it says it right on the cover!" Touka said with a frustrated tone, while she frantically tapped her finger against the top of the book where the name had been written in pen.

Furrowing her brow at Touka, Eto glared bitterly with an unamused expression on her face, before finally saying, "... Kirishima? I know that it's been a hard few weeks for you and I, but… Are you aware that I'm STILL dsylexic?!" Eto asked rhetorically with a grandiose amount of sass in her voice, which only made Touka even more ticked off. "Besides… What gave you the idea that I wanted you to go snooping through my belongings anyways?"

Although she was still extremely upset and under a great deal of distress, Touka was still woman enough to know that Eto had a point about her going through her possessions. "I… I'm sorry. I-I really shouldn't have read it without your permission, it's just…" Touka stammered, before needing a moment to collect her rampant thoughts.

Watching from across the counter as Touka pulled up a bar-stool before seating herself on top of it, Eto couldn't help but to begin formulating her own assumptions on what could have upset the ghoul so much from what was inside her mother's journal.

'It's not like she ever knew who my mother was, so I doubt she's upset about her being deceased… Maybe it's about V? Although, considering that CCG has been going further up shit's creek as of lately, I highly doubt they're around anymore… Perhaps it was about my father? Was it when he… Oh.' That's when it dawned on Eto as to why Touka had gotten so worked up after reading through Ukina's journal, so of course, Eto felt obligated to inquire more about Touka's knowledge of her father.

"... Back when you used to be a waitress for my father's coffee shop, did he… Did he ever tell you about what he did? About him… Killing my mother?" Eto asked with an empathetic and saddened tone in her voice, as she watched Touka visibly tense up after hearing those words said aloud by Kuzen's very own daughter.

"No… No, he fucking didn't…!" Touka muttered in a low tone, as she curled her hands into fists on top of the table counter. "H-He seemed like such a good guy, ya know? I… I looked up to him growing up, back when I had to raise Ayato after my father passed away…! It's… It's…! It's fucked up that the ONE person who I looked up to like a father was just a scumbag-murderer, who was too much of a damn coward to protect his own loved one, it's...! It's-"

"-Hey… Hey now, Kirishima, it's okay, alright? It's okay..." Eto said reassuringly with a warm and gentle smile on her face, as she reached over the counter to gently squeeze Touka's muscular shoulder. Smacking her lips while processing the aired-out-grievances she had heard from the distraught ghoul, Eto pursed her lips together while softly nodding her head before musing aloud, "We all make mistakes that we're ashamed of… Lord knows that I've committed my fair share of acts that I've come to regret… It's just part of living, Kirishima."

"That's… That's not the same though, Yoshimura," Touka argued, as she reached up with one of her sweaty arms to grab a hold of Eto's hand that was on her shoulder. "You don't just accidentaly murder someone that close to you like that… I mean, bless your mother's heart, but… I don't understand how she was okay with being killed by your father like that; especially when she was anticipating and expecting it…! That… That just doesn't sound like the merciful old man who I was practically raised by."

Without letting Touka's words of defamation against her father's character get the best of her, Eto continued to smile gently at the other woman before taking a moment to clear her throat. "Ahem… 'As of writing this, my last entry, the date is April twenty-eight, nineteen-ninity-three. I fear that my days of journaling the atrocities of the shadowy group 'V' are coming to a close. As I write this, the somber call of the reaper beckons me as I've arrived at a dead end while trying to evade the men of 'V'. In my last hour, I know that they'll have my lover, Kuzen Yoshimura, be the one that ends my life…'"

"'... I cannot bear to lie in my final hour; the idea of being cut down by the very man who I dreamed of marrying is heart wrenching, yet I cannot blame him for this transgression. I knew the risks of what it would cost going down this rabbit hole, and now that they've come to collect that debt, I have no one to blame but myself. Even so, I take solace in knowing that by my life coming to an end, it'll prove Kuzen's loyalty to 'V', and his life will go on; my agony will be my triumph…'"

"'... Goodbye Kuzen, and goodbye to my special little miracle,'" Eto said, after having finished reciting the last entry of her mother's journal that she knew by heart. Staring back at Touka, who appeared flabbergasted beyond words, Eto and her shared a tender moment of complete understanding for one another; an understanding that had evaded her and the other ghoul for so long, all while slowly retracting her hands away from Touka's shoulder to wash away the rice and sweat off of her palms.

"... I understand what you're feeling Kirishima; I really do," Eto said with a warm and welcoming voice, as she made sure to scrub extra hard with dish soap, in order to prevent cross-contamination with Touka's sweat mixing in with her rice balls. "I've read my mother's journal countless times in my youth, and back when I was younger, I used to despise everything about my father… But look at where that got me: it made me become a person who gave up on happiness, and in turn, I grew to hate myself more than I hated my own father..."

"... But, look at me now~!" Eto said half-jokingly, while attempting to lighten up the mood of the room by picking up one of her completed rice balls to show off to Touka. "I have two daughters, a boyfriend who's totally husband-material, and I have you as my goddaughter! Plus, I'm making some pretty scrumptious food for Uta's Christmas Party at Disneyland! Freaking Disneyland, Kirishima! Why, back when I was a kid, the closest thing I got to seeing Mickey Mouse was when I woke up to rats trying to steal my food~!"

While what she had read of Ukina's journal weighed heavily on her mind still, Touka still couldn't help but smile at Eto's infectious optimism, as well as her Mickey Mouse joke that wasn't too far from the truth. "Heh… Well, well, well; I never knew that there was a special someone in your life, Yoshimura~!" Touka said playfully, as she rested her sweaty elbow down on the once-clean table counter.

Appearing bashful, Eto smiled goofily with her cheeks becoming red while rolling up a ball of sticky rice in her hand. "It makes me feel all giddy inside just talking about it…~!" Eto said cutely, as she stuffed the ball full of sweet-barbacoa, before adding it to her pile of finished rice balls she had set out on the side. "... But yes, you're looking at someone who's planning on getting 'lucky' tonight; if ya' know what I'm sayin'~!"

Gasping at what she had just heard coming out of Eto's mouth, Touka chuckled with a sense of amusement as she watched the half-ghoul playfully arch her eyebrow up-and-down at her. "No kidding?! Is he coming to the Christmas Party too...?!" Touka asked in a gossipy tone, which only made Eto feel that much younger than she actually was.

"He sure is~! But don't worry, you've already met him; so there won't be any awkward introductions, I can tell you that much~!" Eto replied happily in a playful tone, all while still believing that Touka was only pretending to not know who she was actually talking about.

After hearing Eto blatantly telling her that she already knew the identity of the mysterious man in question, Touka couldn't help but feel uneasy by the cryptic hint. "... Oh? Is that so?" Touka asked in a slightly-less playful voice, as she leaned in a little closer to stare intently into Eto's eyes. "... Mind telling me his name? Or is that a surprise?"

Feeling tension between her and Touka, Eto's playful expression soon became nothing more than an uneasy smile, as she stared uncomfortably back at the intimating look in her goddaughter's eyes. "Haha, ha, ahhhh… A-Are you being serious right now, or…?"

"... Sorta, yeah; I guess I am being serious right now," Touka snapped back with enough sass in her voice to make Eto's smile disappear completely. Staring intensely at the other woman who was locking eyes with her, eventually Touka let out a low chuckle before pulling away from the table counter to sit straight up in her barstool. "Relax, Yoshimura; it was only a question… Besides, the only reason why I'm asking you for his name is because I'm planning on getting some dick tonight myself."

Caught off guard by Touka's vulgarity, Eto grimaced before suddenly feeling herself become even more uneasy and agitated. "O-Oh?! Is that so?!" Eto asked awkwardly, while her hands idly began to rip apart the rice ball that she had been forming in her hand.

"Yeah, that is so," Touka said with a challenging smirk on her face, as she watched Eto's uneasy expression quickly transition into a look of worry and anger. "... I'm going to take Kaneki to that party. How about you?"

Involuntarily twitching her eye while accidentally tearing off an edge-piece of the marble-counter, Eto rice-covered fingers began to tap repeatedly against her damaged kitchen counter, as she looked Touka dead in the eye. "That's troublesome… Because I was taking Sasaki to the party as my date. And, well… I believe you'll soon discover that I'm not planning on losing a chance of courting the only man I've ever loved in the 'happiest place on Earth'."

"And YOU'RE going to learn that I'm not about to be cucked by someone who can't even spell their own last name!" Touka shouted back in relation, all while smiling at the expression of shock on Eto's face.

Although the two women had only recently developed an understanding and respect for one another still loved each other like family, that still didn't change the fact that the two were beginning to throw petty insults at one another, all while comparing themselves as better candidates for Haise to choose from.


With Saiko being completely oblivious to what was happening, now that she was reunited with her headphones and PSP, it was Mutsuki who was the one eavesdropping at the two bickering women who were fighting for the right to take Haise as their date to the party. Laying with her back pressed up against the door, all while Eto was insulting Touka for her body odor, Mutsuki couldn't help but think to herself about how she could best intermediate the situation.

'Yoshimura must have forgotten about that time Sensei and I had sex… I probably should just keep that to myself,' Mutsuki thought uneasily to herself, due to her imagining that it wouldn't end well for her if she reminded both Eto and Touka that she was technically the one to show Haise a good time that neither of them could really remember.

'... What if I get them all to agree to being in a poly relationship? That could potentially end any future feuds and heartbreak, while also giving myself a chance to have a relationship with Sensei again... Hell, I bet I can even get Saiko to stop bitching and moaning if I get Haise to make her forget about Urie… I mean, what's the worst that can happen?' Mutsuki thought uneasily to herself, before suddenly being startled by the sound of cooking utensils and chairs slamming against the carpet and kitchen title.


I don't have a lot of time to review the reviews, but just know that I read them religiously and do my best to satisfy your requests! Thank you, and I'll be looking forward to feedback and ideas!

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