Gotta edit this soon, gonna watch a movie.
Author's notes at the bottom. Please enjoy. I'll fix stuff later.
When it came time for the crew of Anteiku to lock up for the day, the orange hues of light peeking through the closed blinds of the coffee shop indicated to Kaneki that dusk was in its way. Due to how overwhelmed Kaya had gotten after Touka had suddenly quit midway through the day, Enji and Kaneki took it upon themselves to clean up the dining area and kitchen area, while their new manager sat down in a booth to take a much deserved nap.
When Kaneki had finished mopping the dining area, Enji had already completed the other tasks himself, and took it upon himself to bring the One-Eyed King his black trench coat. "Here Your Majesty, I bringith to you ye royal garbs~!" Enji said jokingly with a relaxed smile on his chubby face, as he presented Kaneki with his older brother's hand-me-down.
"Oh. Thank you, Koma— you didn't have to bring it to me. I could have gotten it myself," Kaneki said with a humble smile on his face, as he quickly undid his apron before hanging it on top of the backrest of a nearby chair. "I'm not any better than anyone— I'm just me, a regular person like everyone else here."
"Got style, AND he's got grace…~!" Enji continued to tease the younger man, as he handed Kaneki the black leather trench coat. "You're one of a kind, kid! Most dipsticks your age would have let that power and admiration go to their heads— like me, when I was the Devil Ape!" Enji said with a nostalgic tone to his voice, as he took a moment to remember the good old days of when he would get humans addicted to his poison, and when he would have territory wars with Kaya's 'Black Dobermans'.
"So you've said, heha…" Kaneki laughed quietly, as he slid his arms through the sleeves of his trench coat. "Speaking of which… You've said that you used to have property by Mt. Fuji, and possible supplies left over…" Kaneki brought up with an intrigued look in his red and grey eyes, as he began sliding his red gloves over his hands. "Please enlighten me, Koma… Do you think that your old estate would make for a good settlement or outpost?"
Almost choking on his own tongue, Enji's beady eyes widened and a gasp fled from his dropped jaw upon hearing Kaneki's interest in his old lakeside estate. "Oh, dude! YES!!! J-Just YES!!!" Enji shouted with excitement, as he danced up and down with joy. "Kaneki, my old place used to basically be its own upscale village! There's a big wall around it, like fifteen big houses including mine… And there should be some valuables left over— I know that the armory I have in the basement should still be locked…" Enji muttered to himself, before suddenly standing still with a disappointed expression replacing his excited one.
"Uh… I mean, you could pick its carcass if that's what you're looking for… But other than that, there's a reason why I never went back, Kaneki," Enji said with a saddened smile on his face, as he tucked his chubby hands into the pockets of his slacks. "The area around the base of Mount Fuji is covered in fallout, like, a thick red cloud. I think there's a lot of dragons nearby because of the lake… That fallout is too potent— it'll eat through your mask's filter like how a fat kid eats through a packet of oreos."
Frowning at the news, Kaneki let out a sigh before saying, "That sounds… Problematic."
"Heh…! You're telling me, buddy," Enji chuckled humorlessly, while agreeing wholeheartedly with Kaneki's statement. "But hey, you might be able to go there one day. Maybe some power armor or some other crazy contraption could work… From what I've heard, these immigrants from Hokkaido were able to live out there without worrying about fallout much. Maybe you outta ask one of them sometime— like that ramen place! I think the owners are from there, if I'm not mistaken…"
"Are they? Wish I would have known that earlier…" Kaneki muttered beneath his breath, as he put his glasses on before securing his Pipboy over his left forearm. "Do you think they're still open? I might actually head there with Haise to ask them about it sometime— it could be pretty helpful, actually. I'm looking to expand outward West. There's another vault that looks like it's livable in Chiba, just on the other side of Tokyo bay, but I'm going to set up outposts in between in order to best secure it," Kaneki explained openly to Enji, just as the bell attached to top of the front door rang as it opened.
"Huh… Speak of the Devil…" Enji muttered sarcastically to Kaneki, as they both turned their attention to Haise walking through the front door and toward them. "Howdy there, Sasaki! Can't believe you're back after Kirishima told you off! You're a braver man than most!"
Chuckling at Enji's sense of humor, Haise smirked as he walked toward the two with his hands tucked away in his trench coat's warm pockets. "What can I say? I go where I'm especially not wanted— it's kind of my thing," Haise said with a playfully malicious look on his mismatched eyes, as he made his way to Kaneki's side before wrapping his arm over his younger brother's shoulder. "Speaking of which, is your manager around? She's the one who told me to come back here at five…"
Pursing his lips upon being asked about the whereabouts of Touka, Kaneki laughed uneasily as he rubbed the back of his head. "Kirishima? Ahhh… S-She left five hours ago, after she claimed that she was quitting her job… Why? Did she say anything particular to you?" Kaneki asked curiously to his older brother, to which Haise stared back at him with a confident smile before shrugging.
"No, not really— she just wanted me to come back at five when you guys closed. Who knows? Maybe she felt bad for yelling at me," Haise suggested out loud, which caused Enji to snicker at.
"No way, dude— Kirishima LOVES to chew people out," Enji argued playfully, as crossed his arms over his chest. "She, her brother, and mother are all like that. Even her uncle, Yomo Renji, is a bit of an asshole when he wants to be… J-Just don't tell any of them I said that though, okay guys?" Enji asked nervously with a sudden change of tone in his voice, before subtly looking over his shoulder to make sure none of them were behind him.
Waking up from her nap, Kaya let out a loud yawn and stretched her arms, before announcing to the three men, "Oh don't worry, I'm definitely telling Yomo and Hikari that you were talking shit behind their backs, Koma! *Yawn*… I'm sure they'll find it funny— I sure as Hell will~…!" Kaya said with a tired smirk on her face, as she stared back at the look of horror on Enji's face.
"Y-You wouldn't…!" Enji gasped back in a weak voice, to which made the exhausted new manager laugh abrasively at her old rival's fear.
"Watch me, 'Devil Ape'— your days of calling out sick are over! The 'Black Dog' will reign victorious again, and again!" Kaya laughed maniacally in a playful voice, before suddenly raising her hand up to cover her mouth as she let out a long yawn. "E-Excuse me…!" Kaya said in the middle of her yawn, before dropping her shoulders as she sat contently in her seat.
"You…! Y-You heartless bitch…!" Enji replied back dramatically, and pretended to faint before bursting out laughing. "Ah… But no, seriously, don't say anything," Enji said with a more serious look on his naturally goofy face, before suddenly looking like he shit himself the moment all of them turned around to stare at the hallway. "O-Oh shit, bros…!" Enji squeaked out with genuine fear in his voice, as he smiled anxiously to see who had heard them from the bottom of the staircase.
There, poking her head from the corner of the wall was a nervous looking fourteen year old girl, who had in her hand a stack of envelopes in her trembling hands. Upon seeing that it was just Hinami, Enji immediately collapsed onto the floor with a sigh of relief. "O-Oh thank you, God…!" Enji laughed out dryly with his heart still racing in his chest, as he stared up toward the ceiling.
Shaking her head at Enji, Kaya snickered to herself as she got up from her seat to walk over to where he was laying. "Get up you big baby, Hinami has something important to say." Kaya said with a snide look on her face, as she gave a swift kick to Enji's balls.
"—AHHHHH— y-you freakin' bit-NGHHH- j-jerk, guhhh…!" Enji choked out through tears of pain, as he curled into himself while trying to nurse his sore crotch with his chubby hands. Not wanting to swear in front of Hinami, or make her worry about him, Enji took deep breaths as he slowly got up while forcing a smile on his face. "… H-Hey Hinami…! W-What's up, girl…?!" Enji squeaked out in a high pitched voice, while a single tear trailed down from the corner of his twitching left eye.
"… H-Hello everyone," Hinami greeted with a shy frown on her face, as she stared down at the wooden floorboards beneath her feet to avoid having to look at any of them in the eye. "I hope… I-I hope all you are doing good today…"
"Peachy," Haise replied back with a friendly smile on his face, while pretending that his life was better than it actually was. Looking down at his slightly shorter brother, Haise shook Kaneki's shoulders a bit playfully before asking, "What about you, Ken? Would you like to share with the rest of the class about how your day was, hmmm~?"
Recoiling from the smell of alcohol and ramen in Haise's breath, Kaneki quietly whispered, "Haise, are you… Are you inherited…?"
Becoming deadpanned with his eyes narrowed, Haise quickly gauged his own intoxication on a scale from 1-to-10 that he made up on the fly, before finally shaking his flat hand back-and-forth while replying back quietly, "Meh… Kind of…" Haise said with a sassy and mischievous look on his face, while Kaneki shot a disapproving glare at him.
"It's only five o'clock… Isn't this the time that most people just start drinking, not when they're already-"
"-Hey…! Answer the kid's question, Mother Teresa— it's rude to keep a girl waiting…!" Haise snapped back defensively as a way to redirect the attention away from his own alcoholic tendencies.
"Oh, right," Kaneki whispered back quietly, before looking away from Haise to smile warmly at the still nervous ghoul standing across the room from him and his buzzed brother. "My day's been really informative today, Fueguchi— thank you for asking," Kaneki said with a happy look on his face, while trying his best to leave out the part of the day where he had to make the 'walk of shame' to the Yoshimura's restroom to clean himself up.
Sighing, Kaya crossed her arms over her chest while closing her eyelids. "Not gonna lie to you, Hinami. Today's been sort of rough for us, but rewarding nonetheless— isn't that right, Koma?" Kaya asked sinisterly with a sadistic grin on her face, as she watched Enji nod his head.
"Y-Yep…! T-That's one word f-for it, nghhh…!" Enji replied back with his knees bent inward, as he started to worry over the possibility that what he was feeling running down the inside of his pant leg wasn't sweat.
With their responses being mostly positive, Hinami felt a little more secure about wanting to bring up what she wanted to talk about. "Well that's very good to hear… I-I wanted to, uh… T-To invite you all to a, uhh… A Halloween party that, uh… T-That Ayato wanted to host, b-but he was a little shy about handing out invites, soooo…" Hinami explained quietly, before lightly walking over to the group of adults to hand them each an invitation card with her handwriting on each envelope.
Being the first to open up the envelope, Kaya quickly read Hinami's neat handwriting within the invitation letter before letting out a cathartic sigh. "Halloween… I used to remember when all we had was Obon in August. Back then, Halloween was pretty new, and no one did the whole 'trick-or-treat' thing— instead, us old timers just put on some costumes, got drunk, and partied," Kaya reminisced, while Hinami tilted her head upon hearing the strange holiday that sounded foreign.
"… Obon? What's that?" Hinami asked curiously, which instantly made both Kaya and Enji stare back at each other with horror— as though the two finally realized just how old they were.
"Kid! It's the, it-it's the Buddhist festival holiday! You know, all the spirit stuff! It's when all those horror movies and shows come on television!" Enji stuttered out with an exasperated look on his face, all while trying not to think about the pain he was still feeling radiating from his bruised balls. "Or, uh… A-At least it used to."
Furrowing her eyebrows, Hinami tried to rifle through her memories about whether or not she actually heard about Obon, but to no avail. "I'm sorry, Mr. Koma, I have never heard of that. It sounds nice, but… Halloween means trick-or-treating, dressing up, having fun with friends and family, and watching the 'Nightmare Before Christmas'!" Hinami said excitedly, as she couldn't help but think about all the ghoul-friendly sweets that were available for her, over at the more wealthier wards that her mother always took her to trick-or-treat.
Scoffing, Kaya let out a defeated sigh as she shook her head. "Damn Western countries… The bombs weren't enough, were they? Had to kill our traditions too, didn't they…?!" Kaya cursed beneath her breath, as she thought about all the teachers and other non-native citizens of Tokyo who brought with them their own holidays and beliefs that she and others her age saw replacing the ones she grew up with herself. "Oh well… Can't be helped I guess. I guess I should just be grateful that Tokyo still gets the luxury to celebrate holidays."
Being older than Hinami, but also younger than Kaya and Enji, Kaneki was in between. "If it makes you feel better, Irimi, I know what Obon is— I just never celebrated it either," Kaneki said, before suddenly becoming curious as to what Haise celebrated. "What about you, what did you do when you were a kid?"
"Me? I never celebrated holidays, Ken— I was too busy cleaning up the streets of Tokyo— started when I was fourteen, remember?" Haise replied, while avoiding openly admitting in front of Hinami that he used to find criminal gangs within Tokyo, just so he could brutally destroy them and have TSC reap the spoils.
Sheltered from what the world outside of Tokyo actually was, Hinami was completely oblivious to how Tokyo used to be ridden with criminal activity from both ghouls and humans alike, and thus didn't understand what Haise meant. "Mr. Sasaki… Were you a garbage man when you were my age?"
Hearing Kaya and even Enji snickering at what Hinami asked, Haise couldn't help but find her nativity cute and amusing. "Something like that," Haise chuckled back with a wide smirk across his face, before suddenly frowning the moment he saw Hinami looking back at him with pity.
"You… You never got celebrate holidays, Mr. Sasaki? N-Not even Christmas?" Hinami asked with a horrified look in her innocent brown eyes, which only made Haise chuckle uneasily as he caught both Kaya and Enji joining on on the fourteen year old ghoul's shock.
"Uhh… N-No, I haven't, sorry. Those sorts of things were, uh… Well, they were just never in 'the cards' for me, growing up." Haise replied back with a dry chuckle, as he removed his arm from Kaneki's back to rub the back of his head. "It's not that bad guys, really, it isn't… My life growing up was uh… G-Great! It was good, and still is in fact, so uh… Yeah, y-you guys don't gotta make it awkward, you know…"
Although he knew that Haise's mind never really had normal lives growing up in Sunlit Gardens, Kaneki wasn't aware that Haise's life had been just as depreyeved of joy even after he had been 'rescued' by the Aogiri Tree. "Wow, I even got to celebrate Christmas… That's unfortunate to hear, Haise."
"Yeah, whatever— holidays are pretty overrated in my book anyway," Haise muttered back defenseless with an annoyed look in his eyes, before quickly shaking his head as he turned to face Hinami with an anxious smile. "T-That doesn't mean I'm still not going to come to your friend's little shindig, Fueguchi! I mean, hey, who knows? It might actually make me like Halloween!"
Trying to help Haise make himself feel less insecure about being the only one out of the group of ghouls to have never celebrated a holiday in his life, Hinami smiled gently at the half-ghoul before handing Haise the remaining stack of invitations. "Mr. Sasaki, I want this Halloween to be special for you too… Why don't you give some invitations to some of your friends? That way you can feel more comfortable at the party?" Hinami offered politely in a sweet voice, as she somewhat forced the task onto Haise, before hugging his leg. "Goodbye Mr. Sasaki, I have to go do my homework now…"
And with that, Haise was left with a stack of white envelopes in his hand, while he and the other three adults watched as Hinami slowly made her way through the dining area and back up the stairs to her apartment. Once she was out of ear shot, Enji snickered with a shit-eating grin on his face, as he turned to face Haise.
"B-Bro, she totally just played you!" Enji shouted, as he started to howl with laughter while finally reaching down to apply pressure on his balls.
Frowning, Haise crossed his arms over his chest and smirked with an annoyed look on his face. "You're mistaken. Clearly she wanted to make me feel better about never being allowed to participate in these sorts of festivities."
Shaking her head while joining in on the laughter, Kaya busted a gut and slapped Enji's on the back as she hunched over. "PFFFTTT….!!! A-Are you serious, Sasaki?! Hinami's hella shy, she didn't want to give out the rest of those invitations, so she got your gullible ass to do her bitch work!" Kaya pointed out while still cackling, as she and Enji countiuned to bask in Haise's misfortune.
Turning his head over to Kaneki to seek out validation, Haise asked in a worried voice, "You thought it was sweet of her to let me pick out people to invite to her friend's party, right? I mean, she hugged me! There's no way that was all for show, right Ken?!"
Getting real quiet after Haise desperately asked him to agree with him, Kaneki smiled uneasily at his older brother before quietly replying, "You, uh… You know, if she really did want you to bring some of your friends, she probably would have only given you four or so invitations to hand out."
Frowning with his eyebrows furrowed, Haise took a deep breath in through his nostrils as he stared down at the large stack of white envelopes in his hand. "Ughh… Y-Yeah, I know," Haise muttered begrudgingly, before placing all the invitations neatly into the inside pocket of his white trench coat. "Whatever… Hey, uh… Kamishiro has my car right now, so… If you want to do anything, we could either walk or we could take your car."
Glaring at his older brother, Kaneki reached down to hold his keys he had attached to the belt loop of his slacks. "I'll drive," Kaneki stated firmly, before turning around to look over his shoulder at the older two ghouls. "If there's nothing else that you need me for, I'll be taking my leave with my brother."
"Oh no, you're good Kaneki! Go out, enjoy your time off with your dumbass brother! Maybe he'll get screwed over by another girl!" Kaya snorted while trying to regain her composure— a task that almost seemed impossible to her, due to how infectious Enji's laugh was.
Chuckling at Kaya's playful gab, Kaneki looked back forward to see Haise's eyes glaring back at them while his hand was tucked into his trench coat. "Haise, are you okay? They're just playing— nothing too serious, unless you want me to say something to them..." Kaneki whispered, while offering to stand up for Haise if the two ghouls really did hurt his feelings.
Weighing his options and deciding whether or not it would be worth it to shoot Enji and Kaya, Haise took in a calming breath and sighed— releasing his grip from the handle of his concealed firearm, while also metaphorically releasing his grip from his frustration. "No, it's cool— I can take a joke," Haise said more so to himself than to Kaneki, before once again shoving both his hands into the pockets. "Want to go to an arcade? Earn some prizes and all fun stuff?"
"Yes, of course— that sounds really fun," Kaneki said with a pleased look on his face, before frowning apologetically to Haise as he suddenly remembered something else that he wanted to do. "Before we go out for the night, do you mind coming with me to Ramen Ichiraku? I'd like to ask the owner about where his people were from, and what they did to stay safe— I think they might be able to give us some ideas for GOAT's expansion campaign."
Chuckling sarcastically, Haise smirked sassily as he shook his head at Kaneki. "Not sure why'd you want to ask for fortification advice from someone who serves noodles, but hey, sure? Why not! I've got personal business with them already, and uh…" Haise trailed off with a wavering smile, as he gestured with his hand toward the invitations in his pocket. "Might as well ask if they do catering, you know?"
Impressed to see that his older brother wasn't trying to shy away from Hinami's expectations, Kaneki smiled while nodding his head at him. "If you're going to do a job, you might as well do it right, huh?"
Nodding with an approving look in his eye, Haise replied, "My thoughts exactly." And as Kaneki stepped forward to begin leading Haise out of the shop so Kaya could lock it behind them, the half-ghoul made it a point to flip both of Anteiku's ghouls off while staring ahead at the front door.
Unlike Haise, Kaneki's car was more sensible in the sense that it was a family-sized SUV that was purchased from a car mechanic who had salvaged it from an old factory out in Kyoto. Sitting in the passenger seat while Kaneki was behind the wheel, Haise made sure to link his phone to the car's audio system via Bluetooth.
Not wanting to admit that he secretly had a lot of stress going on in his personal life, Haise put on music that he could relate to without making it too obvious to his little brother that he actually was sad on the inside. Selecting his playlist that played artists such as 'blackbear' and 'UVERworld', Haise rested his eyes and laid his head back against the head cushion, while Kaneki drove up to the start of the line for the drive thru of Starbucks— one of the last of its kind, and somewhere that Haise had asked to go to, before they made their way to Ramen Ichiraku.
With the music low enough to speak over, Kaneki pursed his lips together while building up the courage to bring up something that he wanted advice from his older brother about. "Uh… Haise, can… Can I ask you something?"
'That's never a good way to start a conversation…' Haise thought sarcastically to himself, before slowly opening his eyes to shift his gaze over to his younger brother. "Sure, go ahead… What can I do for you, Ken?"
"Well… Not to sound assumptious, but you're good with women, right? You, uh… You understand how they work, isn't that correct?" Kaneki asked with an embarrassed tone in his voice, as he looked in his side view mirror to see another car pulling up from behind them.
Smirking humorlessly at the assumption, Haise let out a soft chuckle before sighing. "Heh… I guess you could say that. Why, what's up?" Haise asked, curious as to what was going on in his little brother's head.
"Well, I, uh… I-I don't really know how to… How to approach this one girl, in particular that I, uh… T-That I think I might have feelings for…" Kaneki admitted nervously, as he thought about Eto laying on the couch earlier and blushed slightly.
Raising an eyebrow at his younger brother, Haise scoffed quietly. "You're asking me about how to ask a girl out? What about the twins you're dating? I figured you'd have that sort of thing in the basket by now, Ken…" Haise chuckled, as he watched Kaneki pull up into the empty spot in line ahead of them.
Frowning, Kaneki shook his head at Haise's own assumption of him and let out an uncomfortable sigh. "I don't think they're interested in me like that, Haise… They said that all they want to do is have me provide for them, so they can give birth to my children… Which is weird, but I guess it's normal for women to do that where they're from?"
Shrugging, Haise had been out in the wasteland enough to understand the stark difference in culture from within Tokyo, and outside of its walls. "Well yeah, weren't they slaves already when you rescued them? Most women outside of any major faction or Tokyo don't have much going on for them… It's sort of expected of them to find the strongest mate that'll protect and provide for them, and in exchange they provide sexual services and children."
Nearly taking his foot off the break the moment Haise brought up that the Yasuhisa twins were more than likely slaves, Kaneki's eyes widen in horror at the revelation. "You… You think they were really slaves? As in… Sex slaves?" Kaneki asked with a sickening feeling developing in the pit of his stomach, as all of a sudden he felt awful for having been blind to the truth of their situation.
"I mean… Y-Yeah, I thought it was kind of obvious, Ken. A lot of those women you rescued had that look about them, you know? The kind that shows how little they actually love themselves, and how cold and broken they are in the- This isn't helping you, is it?" Haise suddenly asked aloud, after realizing how visibly upset Kaneki was getting at himself.
"It's… It's eye-opening, that's for sure," Kaneki said with a cathartic look in his eyes, as he leaned forward to rest his forehead against the top of his wheel. "How…? How could I have been so blind…?"
Wanting to comfort his little brother without lying to his face, Haise thought about something to say before an idea popped in his head. "To be fair, you've never been out in the wasteland before, so you couldn't have possibly recognized the signs of deep-rooted abuse like that," Haise reasoned, while raising his hands up to speak with them while trying to reassure Kaneki. "I mean, practically most people in Tokyo have been living a sheltered life for a while now— they probably wouldn't see it either, unless they were trained to notice the signs."
"I… I suppose you're right, Haise," Kaneki muttered with a heavy heart, as he leered up past his steering wheel before moving up a space in the slow-moving line. "But… C-Can I share something, uh… Kind of personal? About what happened with the twins and I back at Vault 079?"
"I mean… I think I pretty much already know what you three did back then, but hey— yeah, sure— you can tell me anyway," Haise said as casually as possible, so that Kaneki wouldn't feel self conscious while talking about a subject that he knew was sensitive.
"Thank you… I appreciate you willing to hear what I have to say," Kaneki said gratefully with a sorrowful glimmer in his grey and red eyes, as he thought back to the night he conceived his future children with the two young women who he thought loved him. "We… We had sex that sex, all three of us with one another. They, uh… T-They bled out of their vaginas when I went inside of them… Sorry if that's gross."
Shaking his head slowly, Haise smiled warmly at Kaneki before patting him on the shoulder. "There's nothing gross about sex, Ken. The sooner you learn that, the less taboo it'll seem to you," Haise advised, before addressing the twins' broken hymens. "About them bleeding… Ghouls are able to regenerate lost limbs, have accelerated blood restoration, and their bodies can repair injuries in a way that wouldn't be possible for humans… That includes broken hymens."
Suddenly feeling the weight of his actions coming down on him, especially since he thought that the night they all had a threesome meant something special for all of them, Kaneki couldn't help but feel like dirt the moment everything made sense to him. "… Oh my God… W-What have I done…?!"
"Well, let's see, what did Ken Kaneki do?" Haise asked aloud playfully, despite the fact that Kaneki wasn't quite pleased to hear his older brother trying to make light of his circumstances. "First off, you rescued two women who've probably lived awful fucking lives before they met you. You had sex with those two ex-slaves, and you're going to be father in about, what, six months— so you got that on your plate… Oh, and you've gone three months under the assumption that they're probably content with being your concubines. Other than? You've not done a single thing wrong, little brother."
"Ugh… D-Don't be like that, Haise— that wasn't funny," Kaneki muttered bitterly with a hurt voice, as he moved the car up the line.
Realizing his mistake, Haise nodded his head and sighed remorsefully as he clamped his hand down on his little brother's shoulder. "You're right… I shouldn't have joked around like that. I'm sorry Ken— what you're going through, I think any other man would have ran away from… That makes you a braver and better man than most in my eyes, despite what you might be thinking otherwise right now."
Smiling softly with his eyebrows furrowed upward while looking over at Haise's apologetic face, Kaneki swallowed back the lump in his throat before letting out a sigh. "I-I forgive you, Haise… Thank you for saying that, and uh… Thank you for the apology."
"And thank you for calling me out for that, Ken— the last thing I want to do is push you away… Not when we're just starting to get close to one another, you know?" Haise said with an uneasy smile on his face, before swallowing in his lips as he thought about what to say. "… Can I give you some advice, Ken?"
Nodding eagerly as his gentle demeanor would allow him to, Kaneki's face lit up as he straightened his back against the back cushion of his seat. "That would be very much appreciated, Haise… I could use some guidance right about now."
"Alright, okay…" Haise replied in a calm voice— nodding slowly while thinking more about what he could say. "So right off the bat, I'm not a psychologist or anything like— so take what I say with a grain of salt. But what I can say is that I've rescued quite a bit of women who were once in the same boat as both Kurona and Nashiro… You gotta move up, little brother— there's a line behind us," Haise suddenly said with a patient smile, as he nodded toward the empty space ahead of them.
Smiling softly with a bashful look on his face, Kaneki chuckled quietly as he drove ahead, "Of course… Please, as you were?"
"Right. So, Kurona and Nashiro are from a different world that you're familiar with— I've already said, but it's important that you have that in mind. They see themselves as being only fit for being used for relief and breeding, because that's all they know. Life is bleak out there for women, and for some men too, don't get me wrong— the wasteland is one cruel bitch if you aren't gifted to deal with, like you and I…"
"… Kurona and Nashiro didn't have the connections you did, they didn't stumble upon a group of prisoners who were all willing to come together for a better purpose. They didn't have a vault, nor did they have anyone on their side who could fight dragons and an army of slavers. They had each other, and they probably could only love one another, and not themselves… Because, quite frankly, how could they?"
"… They chose you because you could provide protection, and could get them out of the hell hole that they called home. You aren't the bad guy here Ken— far be it— but you have to recognize that they seek validation and purpose from you, because without that, they're just two lost girls who eventually are going to realize that they're in a loveless relationship," Haise said as a matter-of-factly, to which Kaneki shook his head while pulling up closer to the drive thru order box.
"B-But I don't want them to think that… I-I really do want there to be something between us. I… I love them," Kaneki protested more to the truth than to Haise, who felt proud of his little brother for wanting to fight for his relationship.
"Then prove it to them. Show them that you love them, communicate with them how you feel, and what you want you… Show them that they're worth loving, and that they're worth more than how they see themselves…!" Haise said passionately with a serious and motivated look in his grey and red eyes. "If you're going to be in a polygamous relationship Ken, then open communication is something that you're going to have to practice. First and foremost, before you even THINK about trying to ask someone else to date you, you need to make sure that those two girls are taken care of first off, okay? Don't sleep around or go looking for love elsewhere— not when you need to work on what relationships you already do have, alright? ALRIGHT!?!"
Caught off guard by Haise suddenly screaming at him to see if he understood him, Kaneki jumped in his seat and put his hands up defensively to gesture for his older brother to chill out. "J-Jesus Christ— Ahh, y-yeah! I get it, alright?! Y-You don't have to yell, Haise— I'm literally sitting right next to you…" Kaneki said with a stressed out voice, as he and Haise slowly started to calm down from their heated moment.
"S-Sorry, I… I get passionate about these sorts of things, alright? Especially if it's something that involves you," Haise said after a long-drawn out sigh, before looking past Kaneki's head as they finally pulled up to the luminsicent outdoor menu and the silver speaker box that they were to order into. "Tell them I want a venti cookie-crumble frappe, with extra whip cream and chocolate drizzle. Please and thank you," Haise relayed over to Kaneki, while leaning forward in his seat to pull out his wallet from his pocket.
"Of course, but… I'm not a half-ghoul like you, Haise— what am I even supposed to order here; a cup of water?" Kaneki asked with an annoyed tone, after it became apparent to him that the Starbucks they were at didn't serve ghoul-friendly options.
Realizing the error of choosing his favorite junk coffee place, Haise leaned forward and over Kaneki's lap to get a better look at the menu. Scowling while reading the options, Haise shrugged before leaning back into his seat. "Just some tea without any sugar or syrup in it."
Frowning, Kaneki raised an eyebrow at Haise before asking, "Can… Can ghouls even drink tea? I thought it was just black coffee, water, and that 'Nuka-Cola' crap that has radiation in it, or something…"
"Well, I mean… Tea has a lot less stuff in it then black coffee, right? It's pretty much the same thing, if not closer to water," Haise reasoned with a somewhat confident voice that was enough to convince Kaneki to take the leap of faith, and led him to order himself a cup of green tea.
Once they had paid for and received their respective beverages, Kaneki found himself pleasantly surprised by the fact that Haise's hypothesis had been correct. That joy of discovering a new option was quickly diminished though, the moment Kaneki looked over his shoulder while driving to Ramen Ichiraku, to see Haise slurping down on a sugary drink that looked far more aesthetically pleasing and exciting than his boring cup of plain green tea.
Don't have time for author's notes, I read your reviews and love them! I look forward to them, the next chapter will be Naruto's introduction.
Kk bye.
