We've finally reached the 40th Chapter; this is the longest fanfic I've ever written, and I am dedicated to making sure that it gets finished.

A special thank you to those who review, message me, and otherwise motivate me to continue to write and proof-read these chapters in a timely manner! You guys are the real MVP, lol.

The author's notes will be at the bottom, like usual.

Thank you again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!


It was a beautiful starry winter's night, the ivory moon's light above was being cascaded down onto the city of Urayasu; a bustling-touristy metropolitan area that was located only twenty minutes East from where the heart of Tokyo was. After having awkwardly awakening up to one another in the same bed, naked and covered in each other's fluids, Eto, Haise, and Touka's discussion of the events that took place in that bedroom earlier was interesting to say the least.

Without the effects of marijuana or lust to cloud their judgments, the three were reluctant to stand by their words of wanting to stay in a relationship after all for the time being. Eto, although she still admitted to loving Haise, told him that the memories of her past still weighed heavily on her mind, and that she still needed time to think things over and come to peace with herself before being in a committed relationship with the one-eyed ghoul.

Touka, on the other hand, told Haise that while she would be completely opened to having occasional sex and romance between him and Eto, she made her intentions of wanting a family clear, and wanted to keep things casual between them until the world around them was safe enough for her to bring children into.

What that meant to Haise was that although he had access to two women who were committed to him, neither of them were ready to go steady with him just yet; leaving him feeling like he got dumped twice before either woman even agreed to first being his girlfriend. While showering with Eto and Touka, Haise at least took solace that it was clear that they still loved him, and that he'd eventually be with both of them; he was just going to have to respect their wishes for the time being.


On the way to the Disneyland Resort Hotel, Haise sat in the passenger's seat while Touka drove their white sedan down the freeway leading to their destination. Although the area they needed to go to was only twenty minutes away by car, the four of them, minus Mutsuki, eventually were stuck behind rows-and-rows that were composed of hundreds of cars that were backed up for kilometers. Being caught in a traffic jam during the holiday season wasn't anything too out of the ordinary, especially since they were driving past the freeway exit that led to Tokyo's international airport.

The copious amounts of cars on the freeway wasn't what was the most concerning for the occupants in the car; what was concerning was the fact that there were abandoned cars parked on the sides of the freeway's shoulder lanes. Power walking in groups with their luggage trailing behind them or tucked secured on their persons, hundreds of Japanese families, both humans and ghouls alike, were marching down the sides of the freeway and towards the exit ramp that led towards the over congested airport entrance.

With her foot pressed fastly against the brake pedal, Touka tapped her fingers against the heated steering wheel cover, as she eyed a family that consisted of two parents and their two children, shivering in their parkas with their roller-luggage kicking up rocks behind them, as they joined the crowds of other future-refugees who were trying to flee the country.

Seeing how that particular family that Touka had been staring at reminded her so much of her own, back when she and Ayato were children themselves, she couldn't help but relate to how the children felt, seeing how she herself had uprooted her life several times over, even before her mother had passed away. Letting out a sigh, Touka turned up the volume on the radio, doing her best to drown out the seasonal depression and tragedy surrounding her with classic Christmas songs of a bygone era.


The check-in process once they finally arrived at Disneyland's resort hotel two hours later went by smoothly. Due to the recent events ranging from six-months ago when the Luna Eclipse building was raided, all the way to the most recent battle between Urie and Shirazu that struck fear into those who had witnessed it, the Disneyland hotel was practically a ghost town; meaning that a fraction of those who were fleeing the area must have been tourists who figured Tokyo to be too unsafe for their children to stay for the remainder of their trip.

Having spent the past four days living in a cramped area with one-another, Eto had booked five separate rooms for all of them to have their own space for the night. Due to Mutsuki having excused herself from attending the party, after she had made the excuse that she wanted to spend the holidays with her 'family', Eto was stuck with a spare room that she couldn't get a refund on.

While Eto and Touka were getting ready in their respective rooms, as to not spoil the surprise for Haise for when they reveal their evening formal wear upon arrival to the party that Saiko was helping set up, the one-eyed ghoul was locked inside his hotel room by himself, where he could be alone with his thoughts.

Letting out a sigh, Haise pulled his arms out of the sleeves of his white-trench coat before tossing it on the queen-bed that was in the center of the Disney-themed hotel room; finding it somewhat humorous that he was stuck feeling sick to his stomach and feeling useless while a picture of Mickey Mouse was smiling at him from above the bed's 'Mickey Ears' shaped headboard. Kicking off his dress shoes while undoing his white tie, Haise began to undress himself while walking past the Mickey Mouse-themed bed to get over to where the Fantasia-themed curtains were.

Unveiling the majestic blue curtains that had white-stairs and moons weaved into his heavy fabric, Haise stared through the glass window from the seventh-floor to peer down at the illuminated Christmas tree that was erected in the center of the hotel's circular courtyard garden. Gazing past the warm-yellow stringed lights, and the electronic lanterns built over the exterior of the hotel walls, Haise found himself feeling cathartic after realizing that there were no families outside to enjoy the basking lights of the decorated evergreen, and nor were there any staff members to run the vacant event booths and shows, that would have been active had circumstances been normal.

The ugly truth of what was going on around him was staring Haise in the face: despite the fact that people were terrified at the violent acts around them, he was still trying to pretend that everything was okay, in spite of the fact that the overwhelming evidence surrounding them stated otherwise.

Haise felt loathsome of himself for having allowed himself to stop actively searching for Hinami, all because he was told something that sparked his dwindling hope by two strangers who supported GOAT, not necessarily him. The act of trying to pretend that everything was fine was one that Haise hated himself for continuously doing, and was something that he himself didn't like to dwell on too much on while he was with others.

Seeing how he was alone and in a safe environment, Haise decided to allow himself to feel the emotions he needed to go through; the same negative emotions that had become a burden for him to hold on to while putting on a fake smile for those around him.

Staring at his own reflection on the glass panel of the window, Haise watched his hair unnaturally transform into how it had been back at Eto's apartment; back when he thought he had finally absolved himself of guilt and was beginning to truly feel like himself, and not the person who fit the hero role that he was expected to fill.

'Who… Who the fuck even am I anymore?!' Haise thought angrily to himself, as he felt himself physically and mentally transform into his alternate personality; the one that he quickly identified as 'Ken Kaneki'.

With his black-pigment returning to his now straightened hair, Kaneki let out another sigh before reaching outward to close the curtains, that was until he took one last glance down at the courtyard. Feeling as though the air was being sucked from his lungs, Kaneki let out a gasp and felt his eyes widening upon catching the glimpse of a person staring back at him through his window.

From what he could tell from that distance, there appeared to be a mysterious person who happened to be wearing a familiar beige trench-coat with white-fur around the lining of its hood. Believing himself to be once again experiencing the effects of his psychological trauma, Kaneki instinctively pushed the glass panel with enough force to pop it out of the window-frame; making sure to poke his head out into the cold winter air to watch as the glass panel fell down the seven floors, before smashing into a million pieces against the brick-pavement below.

Bracing himself for whatever would meet his gaze, Kaneki looked up from the shards of glass below to see if the figure was still; his heart sinking as he realized that the figure hadn't moved an inch from where he last saw him moments ago. 'No, that's… That's not possible; there's no way that's him! I… I need to know," Kaneki thought to himself, all while trying not to get his own hopes up of who he thought he saw looming below in the basking lights of the Christmas tree.

Immediately putting his black dress shirt and white tie back on, Kaneki slid his legs back into the pant legs of his striped trousers before sitting down on the edge of the freshly-made bed to tie on his shoes. Looking over his shoulder to stare back at the white-trench coat that had been returned to him by Tsukiyama, even after trying to dispose of it back at Corniculum, Kaneki considered wearing it before deciding against it.

Favoring the black-trench coat that had been his early Christmas present from Touka before leaving the apartment, Kaneki figured that since he was going to wear it to Uta's party anyway, he might as well put it on. Dressed from head-to-toe in black, with the exception of his white tie and the stripes along his slacks, Kaneki made sure to put on a pair of red-gloves to keep his hands warm, before power walking down the hallway to make his way to the elevator area of the corridor.

Doing his best to remain calm and collective, especially since he himself wasn't sure if what he saw was even real, Kaneki was lost in his thoughts as he anxiously waited for the elevator to reach the seventh floor, before either Eto or Touka would notice that he was gone.

Feeling his heart racing in his chest, Kaneki muttered a swear under his breath as he reached into his black trench-coat's pocket to pull out his orange bottle of heart medication. Popping a tablet underneath his tongue, Kaneki moved from his spot to press his back against a nearby wall; closing his eyelids shut and concentrating on calming thoughts, while he waited for the medication to do its thing.

Upon finally opening his eyelids, after he could feel the tightening in his chest finally beginning to subside, Kaneki was met by the sight of Uta's black and red eyes, who had been silently staring at him sometime after he first closed his eyelids to calm himself. Grimacing back at how unsettled he was, Kaneki let out another sigh before recomposing himself so he could engage in a conversation with Uta that he hoped would be a short one.

"Evening, Uta," Kaneki said in a somewhat irritated voice; finding himself unable to hide the fact that the tattooed ghoul was inconveniencing him by his mere presence alone. "Shouldn't you be hosting your own party? You know, the one you paid for?"

"You'd think I would be, wouldn't you?" Uta replied back in his usual carefree demeanor, as he continued to stare directly in Kaneki's grey eyes. "While I am the one who paid to rent the upstairs room for our little shindig, I myself find the idea of me hovering over everyone's actions to be obnoxious… Besides, I already have plans to try to sneak into the park tonight."

"... Didn't the park close already?" Kaneki asked with a perplexed look in his eyes, as he heard the elevator door open.

"The gates closed about an hour ago, actually," Uta said with a straight face, as he and Kaneki both made their way over to the elevator door to step foot into the compartment. "I guess I could wait until the morning to just sneak in through some employee entrance or some other conniving way, but sneaking into the park at night seems more like a challenge; especially since I won't be able to blend in there, considering that there's no other park attendees there right now for me to go incognito with."

"... So you're sneaking into the park, because you want to challenge yourself?" Kaneki asked with an intrigued look in his eyes, as he began to think of a way to prevent Uta from seeing him and the mysterious stranger waiting for him outside. After all, Kaneki suspected that Uta being there would only complicate matters, seeing how he himself didn't trust the ghoul to begin with.

"Precisely. I've been doing this every Christmas since I was a rowdy teenager; I've always found ways to make it harder for myself each year, that way it doesn't become a redundant tradition," Uta explained; unknowingly giving Kaneki the perfect idea that would help him prevent the strange ghoul from seeing him in the courtyard.

"Well, sneaking into the park at night is rather tame, wouldn't you say?" Kaneki mused with a thoughtful look on his face, while trying to bait Uta into inquiring what he meant.

"Is it now?" Uta asked with slightly wide-open eyes, as he turned his head over his shoulder to stare inquisitively at Kaneki.

"I'd say so. Any ghoul can just climb over the walls surrounding Disneyland, and sneaking around wouldn't be hard for someone as experienced as you are at subterfuge, right?" Kaneki explained, before finally suggesting something that he knew would be too tempting for Uta to back down from.

"… If you truly wanted to challenge yourself, Uta, then I'd recommend trying to sneak into Disneyland and avoid security… While blindfolded."

"Blindfolded?"

"Yes, blindfolded," Kaneki repeated back to Uta, while silently praying that the idea wasn't too far fetched for even someone like him to take into consideration.

"My, my, that certainly would be a challenging obstacle to overcome, wouldn't it?" Uta mused, while making sure to lift his chin while staring at the ceiling, to show Kaneki that he was pondering the challenge over in his head; an expression of emotion that would otherwise be difficult for Uta to convey, due to his usual bored-demeanor. "… If I were to accept such a challenge, when do you think would be an appropriate time to blindfold myself?"

"I'd say right now would be the ideal time," Kaneki said with a smile on his face, as he quickly undid his tie before stepping behind Uta to begin wrapping the article of clothing around the the ghoul's head; making sure to tighten the knot to ensure a snug fit over the man's ink-filled eyes.

"I like the way you think, Kaneki; and here I thought you were going to be boring, like usual," Uta said without any spitefulness in his voice. "By the way, before I forget to say this: I just wanted to let you know that I'm quite the fan of the look you're going for; I think the black attire suits you."

"Thank you for the compliment, Uta, and I wish you the best of luck with your holiday-themed trespassing endeavors," Kaneki said with slight sarcasm in his voice, before the elevator doors finally opened to the ground floor of the hotel's Christmas-decorated lobby.

While Uta was blindly wandering around the lobby floor with his arms outstretched as he tried to feel his way toward the hotel's main entrance, Kaneki considered himself lucky that the few working staff members were preoccupied with the strange man wearing a white tie as a blindfold. Knowing that everyone Uta would blindly be around would be too preoccupied in wondering what the ghoul was doing to take notice of him, Kaneki went undetected by everyone in the lobby, as he slipped through the hotel lobby's main entrance.

After all, Kaneki wasn't sure how well telling everyone about how he thought he saw Shirazu standing outside would fly with them; especially if what Kaneki saw outside his window ended up being a hallucination. The last thing Kaneki wanted was to have Eto or Touka worry about his mental health more than they already did.

Underneath the gentle-yellow glow of the outdoor lights, Kaneki walked across the path of pale red-bricks that led him the courtyard garden, which had become barren with the exception of the festive decorations and smaller evergreen trees that created a circular barrier around the four-story tall Christmas tree that loomed over him in basking lights.

Walking around the corner of a cement garden bed with decorations planted in the soil, in place of the flowerful flowers that had wilted in winter's cold air, Kaneki made his way to the circular courtyard that was laid with grey-bricks that were illuminated by the multicolor lights strung around the massive Christmas tree in its center; its heavy distinguishable scent in the air blocked out the scents of whoever was awaiting for him to come meet him.

Without the ability to recognize the scent of the man who he saw earlier, Kaneki had no choice but to press on and throw caution into the wind, as he made his way into the center courtyard. There, awaiting for him underneath the decorated branches of the massive evergreen tree, was Shirazu wearing nothing but his beige fur trench-coat; with the exception that his hair had turned silver, and most of his body was made up of technologically advanced muscle-fibers and armor plating.

"Merry Christmas Eve… Sassan," Shirazu spoke out in a slightly-robotic voice that still was similar to his original voice, as he stared back at the flabbergasted and horrified expression on Kaneki's face. "… Aren't you going to talk, or… Or are you just going to keep staring at me like that?"

Completely appalled at the sight of seeing what had become of his former squadmate, Kaneki slowly made his way toward the cybernetically-reconstructed version of who essentially was his son; saddened at what the once carefree man had been reduced to. "S-Shirazu… W-What happened to you?" Kaneki asked in a hushed tone, not even knowing that Shirazu was staring at him while his hair was transforming into being fluffy and white once more, due to his demeanor and personality reverting back to Haise's after seeing the state that his son was in.

"Could ask the same of you, Sassan; last I remembered, your hair used to not change within the span of a few seconds," Shirazu pointed out with a curious look in his uncovered glowing-red eye, as he watched Haise approaching him while appearing to be entranced by his cybernetic body.

"Y-Yes, that's… That's new for me too; trust me, I'm still trying to figure that out…" Haise muttered under his breath, as he couldn't help but begin walking in a circle around Shirazu, staring at him up-and-down until finally coming full-circle; which resulted with Haise ending up standing in front of the augmented quinx once again. "When… I mean… How… How did this happen? Who… W-Who did this to you?"

"Dr. Shiba and his crew, over at CCG's Weapons Lab and Research Center," Shirazu briefly explained in an uncomfortable tone, "I didn't have much of a say in what they did to my corpse, but… That's alright, I'm just glad that I was still seen as useful enough to keep around, I guess…"

"I'm sorry, I… I... I-It's good to see you, Shirazu," Haise said quietly with an astonished and unnerved expression on his face; still trying to process exactly what he was looking at, while forgetting that Shirazu could tell that he was horrified at his new body.

" You're looking at me like I'm Frankenstein's monster," Shirazu said in a low and hurt voice, as he looked away from the look of shock on Haise's face, to instead focus on the hotel's exterior lights.

"What…?! N-No, Shirazu; it's not like-"

"-It's fine, Sassan; you and I don't have to pretend otherwise. No point in ignoring the pink elephant in the room, right?" Shirazu asked with a humorless chuckle, while staring back at Haise, who was at a loss for words. "… I didn't come here looking for your pity or sympathy, I came here to talk to you."

"O... O-Of course," Haise said in a quiet voice, while momentarily cursing at himself for forgetting his own manners. "Did… Did you want to come inside to talk about it? It's warm inside, and everyone else except Mutsuki is there attending a little Christmas get-together. We're all up on the top floor, I know that Saiko would love to see you, and so would Et-"

"-I appreciate the offer, Sassan… But I don't think it would be a good idea for me to mingle with anyone while looking like, well… This," Shirazu said in an uneasy voice, before gesturing with his sharp-tipped hand at his mechanical body that resided underneath the beige trench-coat he wore loosely. "Besides, it wouldn't work out anyways... I have important things to do, and I can't afford to waste any more time than what I've allotted for mysel-."

"-Now just hold on there a minute, Shirazu; you can't push away your loved ones, all for the sake of trying to accomplish something that shouldn't be handled alone." Haise argued with a concerned look in his eyes; finding himself unable to stay silent while Shirazu spoke of isolating himself. "We're family… You told me that, remember?"

"Yeah… I do remember telling you that; but this is different, Sassan," Shirazu argued with slight irritation in his voice, "I'm not chasing after a girl, nor am I trying to make up for what I did to you at Corniculum. This is about the Black Reaper and the fate of Tokyo: if I don't stop Urie, then I'm jeopardizing the lives of everyone in Tokyo; including my sister's life, and yours as well."

Opening his eyelids open, Haise took a small step back and stared down to the concrete bricks; recoiling from what he had just heard of his son. "... 'Stop Urie', 'the fate of Tokyo'? Shirazu, what… What are you trying to-"

"-I'm going to kill Urie, and I won't rest until he's dead," Shirazu interrupted with a great amount of conviction and hatred in his voice; just mentioning Urie's name was enough to make his coolant boil. "I'm the only one who's capable of killing him; I almost did it earlier today, but I made the mistake of underestimating those dragon-cells of his... The next time him and I meet, I won't be making that mistake again."

"... Shirazu, you don't have to-"

"-But I do, Sassan; because I know for a fact that you won't kill him." Shirazu pointed out with an empathetic tone in his voice; showing no contempt for Haise for supposedly being incapable of bringing himself to kill Urie. "I was watching when you and Urie were fighting… You were holding back the entire time, Sassan. I know it can't be helped; you still see him as one of us. The unconditional love you have for us is admirable, but… It's also what almost got you killed…"

Opening his mouth to argue, Haise felt a shiver running down his spine and his stomach tying itself into a knot, and soon he found himself unable to utter a single word to rebuttal against the accusations that Shirazu had laid down at his feet. Feeling himself shrinking underneath the glaring crimson-eye that emoted a sense of sorrow, Haise slowly closed his mouth before staring back down to the ground; ashamed that Shirazu had been right about him.

Sensing the just how insignificant Haise was feeling, Shirazu raised his arm up to clamp his clawed-tip hand down on the man's shoulder. Unable to smile, due to his metal jaw leaving him with only his upper-lip to convey a permanent neutral expression, Shirazu gazed silently at Haise before finally speaking some words of comfort to him.

"... When I first started to work under your command, Sassan, back when we were investigators, I...I was led to believe that you were just using us as tools to promote yourself; it's why I used to be disrespectful towards you. Looking back on it now, I can't help but to feel regretful for my actions; can't be helped, I guess. What's done is done."

"... But that changed for the better. After the day you risked your life to save us, I started to respect you enough to learn more about you, rather than just believing the lies I was told of you. I've learned the truth about who you were, and the struggles you faced constantly on a daily-basis, and who 'Ken Kaneki' was."

"... I've always thought of your behavior as childish. The way you pretend to be someone you're not reminds me of how children try to pretend to be brave and act tough in the face of opposition… I think you're soft, too kind, and constantly struggle to accept the person that you truly are. All in all, you should have never been put into a leadership position."

"... But even so, there's not a man who I respect more than you. I love you the same way that I loved my own father. I care about you Sassan; you've always fought hard to protect the people you love, and… And I'm sorry that I wasn't able to truly understand that until now." Shirazu said with a thoughtful look in his eye, as he watched Haise slowly lift his chin up to stare back at him rather than the floor. "Like I said: I didn't come here to ask for your pity, nor am I going to ask you to help me deal with Urie, Sassan. I came here to tell you this fight, this uphill battle against the tides of the world, is no longer yours to bear as your own."

Confused as to what Shirazu was implying, Haise shook his head in silence while staring at the glowing-eye of the quinx, before uttering a quiet, "W-What...?"

"I'm telling you that you don't have to be a prisoner to fate any longer... Forget about Urie, forget about Arima, and me and everyone else who's brought you grief… Forget about CCG, the Aogiri Tree, the United Front, GOAT, and those who've taken advantage of you and taken from you. You have your freedom now; live your life the way you want to, and not the way you were told to," Shirazu said reassuringly in a gentle voice, while giving Haise's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "I come here today to beg, Sassan; I'm begging you to start over, and leave this all behind."

"... But I also know that you're not going to do that; you'll continue to try to save Urie, and eventually you and I will be fighting together to save Tokyo and to unite humanity and ghouls. But, when everything is all said and done, then well… I hope one day that you'll be able to have the peace of mind that you deserve, Sassan; I don't think there's anyone in Tokyo who deserves that more than you do."

"... Whatever you decide to do with your life, just know that it's my turn to protect you, Sassan."

Smiling weakly at Shirazu, Haise let out a quiet chuckle before letting out an elongated sigh. "... That's a lot to take in, Shirazu… I don't know what to say, other than just… 'Thank you', but even then, I don't think that would do your heartfelt words any justice…" Haise said in a quiet voice, before raising a hand up to use his thumb to wipe away the tears that had been welling up in his eyes.

"... You don't have to say anything, Sassan; not to me, at least," Shrazu said with a voice that seemed to be cathartic and hopeful, which prompted Haise to stare at the quinx with a curious look in his grey eyes. "... I think you're better off saving your breath for 'her', rather than coming up with some sappy-shit to say to me."

"... 'Her'?" Haise asked in a hollow voice, while watching Shirazu moving a few steps to the side, before pulling his hand away from Haise's shoulder to point over toward the large trunk of the evergreen.

"Yeah, 'her'," Shirazu said with a bit of sass in his slightly-robotic voice, before finally saying, "... You can come out now, Fueguchi; I've said what I wanted to say." Shirazu called out, while watching alongside the stunned one-eyed ghoul, as Hinami stepped foot out from behind the tree to reveal herself to Haise.

Smiling shyly at Haise, the multicolored lights strung around the green-branches of the Christmas tree above her head illuminated the outfit that Hinami had on. Unlike most of Uta's guests who were wearing formal-attire, Hinami had on what most would consider to be a traditional 'ugly Christmas sweater' that was paired well with her green necklace of Christmas lights strung around her slender neck. Wearing a pair of red-and-green festive leggings and a pair of comfortable brown Uggs-boots, Hinami couldn't help but to feel embarrassed after realizing just how well dressed Haise was in comparison to her casual and cozy outfit.

It didn't help Hinami's confidence either that she was wearing a santa-hat that had LED-lights around the white-fuzzy brim spelling 'Merry Christmas' in English letters. Having spent more than six-months apart from the man she had loved more than anyone else, Hinami's first words spoken to him were very anti-climatic, and weren't nearly as sentimental or meaningful as she had hoped for them to be.

"Oh my, I… I think I might have been under the impression that this was going to be a… Much different kind of Christmas party…" Hinami said shyly with an endearing smile, while feeling her heart racing in her chest as the world around her seemed to fade away. Taking in a deep breath, Hinami began to make her way underneath the branches of the evergreen tree towering above her, and toward the completely shocked young man who had been searching for her ever since the day he awoke from his coma.

"H-Hinami…? Is… Is that really you!?" Haise asked in a choked up voice, as everything around him began to feel unreal to him; as if everything happening in that very moment was nothing more than a sweet dream that was he was on the verge of waking up from any moment.

After having gotten used to seeing the demented version of Hinami from his halluincaitons, seeing the real one before his very eyes felt surreal to the one-eyed ghoul. With his knees

quaking, and his throat becoming dry as he stared into Hinami's beautiful brown eyes gazing back into his, Haise remained frozen to the spot with Shirazu by his side as the young woman finally made her way to him, before immediately wrapping his arms around him.

Embracing him, Hinami nestled her cheek against his chest to listen to his heartbeat, quietly shedding tears from the corners of her eyes as she finally was reunited with her 'onii-chan'. "I… I-I've missed miss so much, Onii-Chan…!" Hinami managed to whisper out in a choked-up voice, before beginning to sob quietly into Haise's chest.

Silently weeping himself, once Haise's mind was able to process that what he was experiencing was real and not just a figment of his fragile mind, he wasted no time wrapping his arms around Hinami's small frame before resting his lips against her forehead.

If he was capable of smiling, Shirazu would have been grinning at the sight of Haise and Hinami finally being able to hold one another; especially since he knew how much Hinami meant to Haise. Deciding that it was time for him to leave Haise and Hinami alone with one another, seeing how they needed time to themselves to catch up and spend time healing together, Shirazu turned his back to the two, and started to walk away.

While still holding Hinami tightly in his loving embrace, Haise took immediate notice of Shirazu beginning to walk off in the direction of the road, and paused cuddling with the young woman in order to speak out to grab the quinx's attention. "Shirazu! Where are you going?!" Haise called out in a loud voice for the young augmented man to hear.

Having managed to walk several meters away from Haise before coming to a complete halt, Shirazu continued to look ahead at the road he needed to take instead of looking over his shoulder to immediately address the one-eyed ghoul. "... Don't worry about it, Sassan; just enjoy your night with Fueguchi… Oh, and send Yoshiura my regards; I was told that she was the one who paid for Haru's treatment. Let her know that I'm grateful for what she did… I'm grateful for all of you."

Even though he didn't want Shirazu to go so soon, the young cybernetic man had already made it clear to Haise that he had his own battle to fight; one that he needed to be alone for. "I… I'll let her know; I promise..." Haise said in a worried voice, which Hinami picked on, so she started to rub the one-eyed ghoul's upper back as a way to reassure him. "Shirazu, will… Will I ever see you again?" Haise asked with a bit of fear in his voice, as if though he was already anticipating to hear an answer that would warrant him to believe otherwise.

Letting out a quiet chuckle, Shirazu thought about how he would answer Haise's question. Truth be told, there wasn't an answer that Shirazu could give that would be as simple as 'yes' or 'no'; anything outside of those two definitive answers would risk him making an empty promise to the man he had so much respect for.

Wanting to give Haise enough hope to allow him to enjoy the rest of the night with Hinami, without giving him reason to worry about what the future held for him, Shirazu finally turned his head over shoulder to stare reassuringly at Hinami, before looking back up at Haise to stare into his enchanting grey-orbs that motivated the young quinx to go on.

"... The best is yet to come," Shirazu said in a bittersweet tone, as if to subtly let Haise know he himself wasn't sure of the fate that awaited him. Turning his head to face away from Haise and Hinami, so that he could focus back at the road ahead of him, Shirazu let out another breath of air, before preparing himself to leave his father figure on a night most would consider to be 'holy' and 'happy'.

"... Sayonara, Sassan."

"G-G… Goodbye, S-Shirazu…" Haise called back with a lump in his throat, as he stood with Hinami, who turned her body around to press her back against his chest, as the two of them watched underneath the basking warmth of the Christmas tree as Shirazu began to march forward into the bleak darkness of the winter night.

Lowering her arm down to grab a hold of Haise's hand for comfort, Hinami and the one-eyed ghoul remained silent until any and all traces of Shirazu had faded into the night. Letting out a sigh, Hinami smiled weakly at Haise, who she knew was fragile on the inside, after having to see Shirazu leave sooner than he wanted him to.

Quietly clearing her voice, Hinami allowed herself to relax in Haise's embrace before beginning to sing out to him. "I'm waking from this dream; returning to reality is so bittersweet… But I open my eyes and the illusion is fading, slipping away… It was just within reach, yet so far I lay here all alone once more."

Caught off guard by Hinami's surprisingly harmonic voice, and the way she sang aloud to him made him believe that she had practiced beforehand, Haise opened his mouth to ask why the young ghoul was serenading him, but was unable to bring himself to interrupt her, and instead chose to remain silent while she continued to sing.

"I dreamed you were beside me…! You were there once again, as if you had never left and I remember wanting to say, asking you not to go, but I know that was impossible then… You say, "I can't stay here" as my damp eyes open…" Hinami sang sorrowfully, which struck a chord in Haise's heartstrings.

Haise knew what she was referring to one she sang that verse to him; he knew that she was referring to the time he spent speaking to her behind a wall of tempered glass, back when he was interrogating her when she was in Cochlea. The memories he had of their interactions were nothing short of heartbreaking, and being reminded of the pain and heartache Hinami suffered without him made him instantly begin to tear up once again.

"The sunshine's on the bleak horizon; It's just another day. I look out at dimly lit buildings and I think of you; Am I imagining you here, right next to me?" Hinami sang beautifully, before gently turning around to wrap her arms around the back of Haise's neck; gazing into his watery eyes lovingly before continuing to pour out her song to him. "Your eyes catch my own, I look back fleetingly, before I realize you're really there…"

"I dreamed you'd be beside me, that we would meet again! Your eyes glisten, your tears are falling; I know you have not forgotten the last time we shared, as I quietly watch you wipe your tears away," Hinami sang with sweetness and love in her voice, as she pulled one arm away from the back of his neck, before gently raising it up to gently caress the side of Haise's tear-drenched cheek.

"Although I've found you, I know this meeting will not last… I have to let go, continue finding a way. Though I will miss you, it's time to wake from this dream…" Hinami sang with a change in the pitch of voice that conveyed the sorrow she felt; making it clear to the one-eyed ghoul that they weren't reunited as he had hoped.

Although he felt blessed to able to hold and be within the presence of a very-healthy looking Hinami, the moment Haise realized that she was only going to be there temporarily with him, presumably only until Christmas morning, was what finally broke the emotional barrier that Haise had built for himself ever since Arima had molded him into the man he had to be.

Collapsing onto his knees, Haise felt Hinami taking a step back to give him some space as he landed on his shins and hands. Curling inward while resting his weight on his legs, Haise began to bawl uncontrollably; more so than he ever had done in his life. Tucking his arms around his own chest, Haise shamelessly cried in emotional agony, and allowed all of his bottled-up grievances and heartache to pour out of his soul out into the cold-unforgiving night sky.

Even if Hinami knew she couldn't stay with her beloved just yet, due to her needing to help GOAT create a world where she and Haise could live freely and raise their family in safety and prosperity, that didn't mean she couldn't comfort the anguished young man while she was there by his side.

Kneeling down beside him Hinami wrapped his arms around his body while burying his face into the base of his neck.

It wasn't long until her emotional barriers came tumbling down as well, and before she knew it, Hinami was crying just as loudly and passionately as Haise, as they took comfort in each other's company while they still had time to.


A sad note to end on, but at least the ending to this chapter is bittersweet, considering that Haise was planning on seeing Hinami on Christmas night; regardless if she ended up seeing him on Christmas Eve or not.

Shirazu, more empathetic than ever before of Haise, wants him to enjoy his life. This comes from Shirazu's usual behavior of wanting to take the burden away from those he cares about, and that he himself thinks that Haise/Kaneki has suffered enough already. Shirazu only wants Haise/Kaneki to have peace; hence why he said 'It's my turn to protect you.'

Can't really blame Shirazu for thinking that way though, considering that in actuality, he's far more suited and better equipped to defeat Urie than Haise. Shirazu is physically stronger now than Haise, has better reflexes than him, doesn't feel pain naturally, and has advanced-technologies within his body that allows him to combat Urie's dragon-cells.

Shirazu only lost to Urie the first round because he wasn't used to his new body yet, and wasn't under the impression that Urie could survive getting decapitated and recovering from that and other injuries that would have been considered fatal to even an SSS rated ghoul.

Not only is Shirazu physically more capable of defeating Urie than Haise, but unlike Haise, Shirazu has no qualms about killing Urie.

The way I see it, Haise/Kaneki will not be the most powerful or overpowered character in this story. After all, having an OP main protagonist isn't very interesting to read about, considering that none of these fights would be interesting to read if it was made clear from the beginning of the chapter of who the victor would be.

Anyways, let's get to the reviews, or at least the ones that I can delve into without just repeating what the person wrote. Again, not that I mind this, but I really don't know what to say to some of your guys' single-sentenced statements that aren't really questions, or go into any detail about the story.

Thank you for reviewing Carla! I'm glad you enjoyed the Christmas gift idea I had for Haise to give to Eto, although to be fair, I'm still thinking of who should give what gift to who.

This is a call out sentence: Anyone out there, please leave a message or a review about who should give what gift to who. This can be anything, really. Either something materialistic, poetic, or even just a sexual favor. I want a bunch of ideas guys, no matter how silly or sexual they are.

Anyways Carla, yes, in this fanfiction Arima and Eto are related, due to Eto being a descendant of the Underground King, who was originally a family member of the Washuu-Clan. And although Tokyo will suffer, the world that Eto's children will be born into will be far better than the one she was born into. Tokyo by then will have been rebuilt, and proper actions would have been taken to protect its citizens, no matter if they're human or ghoul.

And no worries about needing to review twice to clarify yourself; I knew what you meant about Shirazu killing those investigators, lol.

Thank you for reviewing, Guest! Ihei was raised with the mentality that ghouls are scum, due to her upbringing at Sunlit Gardens. She only became a one-eyed ghoul because Arima told her that she needed to, in order to recover from her wounds faster and to better protect Yusa. And who's Guru lol? I think Haise will be able to show Ihei how to love herself, now that she herself questions her love for Arima.

Ihei will either have to look up to herself, or probably to Haise.

PresidentHaise is my old account on Wattpad; my current one goes by the name 'Garfield the Cat' At SlapChopSasaki. I probably won't be updating this fanfic on Wattpad, just because for some reason it's practically impossible to find on there. I will be updating the one on A03 though.

Also as a side note, how do we feel about Juuzou being a girl? Thoughts on that along with the Christmas gifts, please.

I might go with Dragon Tales then; makes more sense tbh. Thank you for the feedback!

Is Yusa noticing how handsy Mayuzumi is with him? I would say somewhat, just because Yusa is too smart to NOT notice her advantages; it's just that he's awkward like Pre-Aogiri Kaneki, and probably is too shy to acknowledge Mayuzumi's 'dedication' to him. He's more charismatic than Kaneki, in the sense that he's a better leader and speaker, but he still is socially awkward, due to him being raised at Sunlit Gardens.

Thank you for reviewing, L! Ihei going shopping for clothes would be fun, and I lol'd at the Mr. Krabs comment you made!

Thank you for reviewing, Guest! If Mutsuki does try to make advantages on Yusa, that would be extremely unwanted. Yusa wouldn't find Mutsuki attractive, and the fact that she's the one who attacked Ihei would be something that Yusa wouldn't forgive her over. Plus, Yusa is usually guarded by either Ihei or Mayuzumi, and Mayuzumi, just like Touka, isn't one for sharing.

Club Penguin Doujinshi being a waste of cash? Nonsense, it was a Vietnam War themed doujinshi; I got my money's worth out of seeing them napalm the igloos of innocent penguins.

Thank you for reviewing, Saitama! And while what you said is true, and funny, I think you're right about Haise needing to publish a book. He'll probably become an author by the end of the story, just like how Eto used to be. Might even take up her old pen name.

The oggai kids who were traumatized were the small security group led by Mayuzumi, who as we saw is like Touka; meaning that she cares about others, even if she can be a bitch sometimes.

Hajime, however, was the one in charge of those who gunned down the United Front's soldiers. He's like Ayato, meaning that he's more hateful and sadistic than his sister, and expects those who serve underneath him to be so as well. He's also the one sibling out of him and Mayuzumi to idolize Urie over everyone else at GOAT, just because of how powerful he is, and how Hajime wants to be like Urie and one day get dragon-cells implanted into his body as well.

There's way more Oggai who are in the 24th Ward, which is technically their base camp away from the foothills of Mt. Fuji. Think of it this way, Mayuzumi was in charge of the Oggai who served as double agents for CCG, Haime is in charge of the actual army that's ready to overthrow whoever GOAT wants them (or whoever Urie wants to).

You know what guys? You're right. Expect there to be a future YUSA X MAYUZUMI lemon in the future. Probably during the Christmas Night hotel event arc, which will have loads of sex in it too.

The Disneyland Hotel Arc, as dumb as that sounds, will probably have lots of sex too. I'm talking about Haise x Saiko, Haise x Hinami, Haise x Itori, Haise x Eto (again). If you guys can think of a ghoul who would fit the bill of being there at the party who would be a great candidate for Haise to fuck, please share your suggestions too.

I hope to see plenty of reviews for this chapter, or messages lol.

Anyways, back to the reviews.

Will Eto be the dragon? Yes, and no. She won't be grotquese like the one in canon, but she won't be the antagonist 'Perfect Dragon'. She, more than likely, will have her kakuja take the form of a 'Perfect Dragon', which of course won't be able to overpower the main antagonist, but her transformation will be vital in the final battle.

CCG currently is without a leader, meaning that it's in complete disarray. However, expect Yusa to be given control of CCG as its new chairman, while Ihei becomes the Bureau Director of their new organization. Hint, hint, Yusa will turn the CCG into the TSC (Tokyo Security Committee).

Guest-Kun, expect the Saiko chapter to be around… Chapter 42 or 43. Lots of sex at the Disney Hotel to write about guys, lmao.

Thank you for reviewing, Root A! And Shirazu probably shouldn't have announced the location of where the Oggai were going. Thankfully, he didn't need to do any convincing to stop the CCG from pursuing them, because he ended up killing everyone in the lobby anyways. No witnesses.

Tsukiyama definitely is sus, isn't he? He does have the money, motivation, and resources to relocate the dragon and use it for his own gain, huh?

It is hard to believe that a giant kakuja the size of a small town could be moved without anyone noticing. But what wouldn't be hard to believe is that it was moved during a significant enough event that would warrant the attention of every major group enough to allow someone to use heavy mining equipment to extract the Underground King's body from the dragon; meaning that without him, the stone dragon falls apart, and crumbles into dust.

Thank you for saying that I'm good at writing fights; I appreciate it.

I wouldn't say that Arima should be paralyzed, but I think I'll have him live anyways. Maybe I can have Haise come just in time to stop Urie from being able to land a hit on Arima, after he gets disarmed by him. Who knows? Kimi and Kanou's revolutionary research and findings at Rushima, now that they used dragon-cells to experiment with rather than just oggai, might mean that they've discovered a way to… Reverse the cell-degradation on Arima; meaning that he can have the body of a 30-year old in his prime.

After all, as seen with Urie, dragon-cells are capable of morphing DNA and RNA at a molecular level, even being able to transform memories from people to people.

I'll say this about Yusa's kagune. He was probably only supposed to have his injuries healed with the dragon-cells, but ended up getting more than just that. He has a kagune that's sleek and more durable than Rize's, since dragon-cell kagunes tend to be more sturdy than organic kagunes. That, and Yusa's kagune retracts and expands out of him, rather than just disappearing into a cloud of RC-cells.

Yusa remembering Urie almost killing him along with plenty of other of his friends would definitely give him a panic attack, and Mayuzumi would for sure comfort him. And then probably fuck him, idk.

And last but not least, thank you to the Lemon Drafting Guest for giving me a draft of the future scene between Haise and Karren. I cherished it, got into it, and I'm proud to say that I will definitely be using it to write that future lemon!

The Ghost of Christmas past chapter will happen at the end of Haise's sex escpades at Disneyland's Hotel. Eto will fall asleep, and be visited by her mother who will comfort her, and show her a life that she could have had, if she seeked out Kaneki rather than just giving up on their relationship.

And thank you for adoring the lore I wrote of Eto being royal. And I think Haise will be one to tell her, since he'll be briefed about it during GOAT's hotel event.

Thank you again for writing that draft of Haise x Karren! I adore it, and look forward to any future drafts you have, once you feel ready to go at it again with maybe Haise x Ihei! Thank you friend, you make it easy for me to write chapters where Haise/Kaneki get laid.

Thank you all for reading this, and I look forward to releasing the next chapter in the near future.

Thank you again, and have a wonderful day/night!