Hi hi~! I know I said I would upload the next chapter BEFORE I went back to school, but I just never got around to it... Well, I didn't do too bad seeing as today was the first day back so.. Here it is! A very pitiful attempt at "the talk" for ghouls! (Obviously not the sex talk, that comes later..) Another time skip, the twins are about 6 or so.
UPDATE(1): Holy hiphuggers Batman, I forgot about the coffee. I am such a failure, years of academy training WASTED. Thank you thank you thank you DANKE SCHÖN xxxDreamingflowersxxx for pointing that out, you are a lifesaver. *grovels on floor, kissing your feet and worshipping* I will love you forever and idkaboutyoubutithinkofyouasafriendsoyeah.
UPDATE(2): Okay so, the first week of school is over and so far, things are good. I haven't been drowned in homework yet, so I should be able to update on the weekends, Friday-Sunday. And if all goes well, I will have something up every weekend. We'll see. Make a sacrifice to all my professors so they won't assign a butt load of homework.
[Stay tuned for A/N]
Enjoy! c:
Miyu held her father's hand as they left the bookstore and walked towards home. Smelling something horrid, she looked around for the source of them scent. They were passing by a bakery, its display case housing many colorful cakes and baked sweets. Miyu squeezed her father's hand and stopped in front of the bakery, forcing Kaneki to stop as well. Without looking up at him, Miyu asked about the cakes.
"Papa, why do those smell bad but look so good?" Her voice soft, barely above a whisper.
Kaneki glanced down at his daughter before fixing his sights on the case in front of her. Staring at the bakery for a moment, he wrinkled his nose at the disgusting smell and tugged Miyu away.
"I don't know why they smell so bad Miyu, I suppose they just do," he answered slowly, choosing his words carefully.
Miyu looked up at her father with a disappointed face, her bottom lip pushed out in a pout.
"Is that why we never eat them?" she wondered.
Kaneki looked at his daughter for a few seconds before lifting his head and scanning the area around them. 'We can't talk about this here…' he thought, his eyes lingering on a briefcase in the distance. I also have a feeling I'll need Touka's help with this…
"In part, yes. But there is another reason why we don't eat them," he told her. Miyu tugged on his hand, eyes curious. "But we'll talk about it when we get home, Mama and Minoru need to hear it too."
"Okay…" she pouted, allowing Kaneki to pull her along faster.
Opening the door to their home, Kaneki told Miyu to sit in the living room. Walking towards his bedroom, he stopped at the twins' door and spoke to his son.
"Minoru, will you go sit with your sister? Your mama and I need to talk to both of you," he said.
Minoru nodded and left the room, leaving to sit on the couch with his older sister. Kaneki continued down the hall, opening the door to his and Touka's bedroom quietly.
Touka was laying on the bed, curled up on her side, asleep. 'She hates being interrupted during a nap, but…' Kaneki took a deep breath and padded into the room silently. Reaching her side of the bed, he kneeled in front of her and gently shook her shoulder to wake her up. Touka groaned and curled into herself even more, unconsciously grabbing Kaneki's hand and squeezing it.
Kaneki chuckled and let her cling to his hand, watching her sleep for another minute. Sighing softly, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead, shaking her shoulder again. He felt her stretch slightly and leaned back to make sure she was waking up. Watching as she slowly opened her eyes and blinked the sleep from them, he smiled.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," he whispered. "I'd let you sleep longer, but we have some parenting to do right now."
Touka rubbed her eyes and sat up, glaring at her husband for disturbing her rest.
"The hell are you talking about, Ken? And stop calling me those stupid nicknames from your books," she yawned.
"Miyu asked about cake on our way home today, I think it's time we explain everything to them," he said solemnly.
Touka stopped rubbing her eyes, snapping her head up to meet his eyes. He nodded seriously. She sighed and pushed up away slightly so she could get up from the bed.
"Alright, fine. But you're doing most of the talking, you can explain things better than I can," she warned him, fixing her bedhead.
Kaneki nodded again and the two parents left their room, stepping into the living room to stand in front of their children. Miyu and Minoru sat next to each other on the couch while Touka settled on the coffee table in front of them and Kaneki stood beside her. Taking a deep breath, Touka looked at her children.
"Your father and I need to talk to you about something," she began in a serious tone. "But if you repeat anything we say outside this house, you will be in more trouble than your father when I'm mad at him. So don't tell anyone, promise?"
"Promise!" Miyu sang while Minoru nodded silently.
"Good," she sighed. Touka looked up at her husband, signaling him to start. Kaneki nodded and turned to face his children
"Miyu, you asked why those cakes smelled bad and why we don't eat them." Miyu nodded. "Well, that's because our bodies can't have human food. We're ghouls."
Miyu and Minoru looked up at him, confused.
"What's a ghoul, Papa?" they asked simultaneously. Kaneki remained quiet for a minute.
"Ghouls are a different species than humans," he explained. "We look like humans, and try to act like them, but we aren't human."
Miyu bounced in her seat, excited for a new story. Minoru stared, looking vaguely interested.
"Ghouls are very strong and have special abilities, called kagune," he continued. "We have one more organ than humans, that produces a different type of cell; RC cells. These kagune are made of RC cells and come out of your back in a certain place."
"What do ours look like, Papa?" Miyu asked excitedly.
"Well, we don't know yet, but they'll look like wings, arms, or both. Since you inherit them from your parents," he answered.
Miyu's face lit up and she threw herself into Touka's lap. Settling herself comfortable, she asked:
"What does yours look like Mama?"
"Mine looks like wings," she responded, adjusting Miyu's clothes. "Your father's looks like long arms."
"Ooohhhh! I bet they look pretty!" Miyu clapped her hands, giggling. Minoru's eyes lit up with curiosity as he gestured his father to continue.
"Whenever you get really hungry, or you can't control it, your eyes will change. The white will turn black and your iris will become red," he said, pointing to his left eye.
Miyu and Minoru watched as Kaneki's eyes changed from its soft white and grey to intimidating black and red, the veins around it swollen and red. Minoru stood on the couch cushions, hand reaching for his father's face. When Kaneki bent over slightly, Minoru touched the veins with his fingertips, his own eyes widening in awe.
Miyu stared at her father's ghoul eye, unsure if she liked it. Turning her face to her mother, she gasped in surprise when she saw both of Touka's eyes transformed like their father's one. Swallowing, she slowly extended her fingers towards her mother's eyes. Touka let her fingers roam over her eyes as Miyu familiarized herself with change. Deciding she wasn't scared, Miyu grinned at her mother, lightly poking the area around her eye.
Minoru nodded and dropped himself back into his original position on the couch, looking at his mother. Miyu faced forward once more and lifted her face to gaze at her father.
"But, Papa, why does that mean we can't eat human food?" Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. "What do we eat then?"
"And why do you only have one ghoul eye when Mama has two?" Minoru added.
"I'm only half ghoul, but your mother is full," he explained quickly. Minoru tilted his head, ready to ask another question. "Grandpa Yoshimura told you a story once, remember?"
Minoru squinted, trying to remember the first time he met Appa.
"Oh yeah! Appa told us about the boy who was turned into a half ghoul and did awesome stuff!" Minoru cried.
"That's right, to an extent. I'll tell you that story later on." Kaneki turned to Miyu. "To answer your questions Miyu, we can't eat human food because we can only eat humans."
The twins fell silent as their father's words sank in. Minoru stared at his father before turning to stare at his mother. Touka met his eyes and nodded solemnly. Miyu froze, not moving except to breathe. She jumped off Touka's lap and faced her mother head-on. Gripping handfuls of Touka's shirt, Miyu looked at her mother with wide eyes.
"Bu-but… That means we eat people like Aunt Yori and Uncle Hide?" Miyu cried, tears gathering in her grey eyes.
Touka lifted her eyes from her daughter to meet the exact same eyes of her husband. She shared a look with Kaneki, raising an eyebrow as if to say "Did you have an answer for this particular question?" Kaneki scratched his head, looking away from his wife to kneel in front of his children.
Minoru, unable to cling to his mother, barreled into his father's arms. Kaneki wrapped the boy in his arms as Minoru buried his head in his father's chest and clutched handfuls of his shirt. Kaneki patted the boy's back for a few moments, assuring him everything was going to be alright.
Clearing his throat, Kaneki detached Minoru's arm from around his neck and placed a hand on Miyu's shoulder. Turning Miyu facing him, Kaneki leaned back to look his children in the eye. Touka shuffled behind them, wrapping an arm around their shoulders.
"I know we said we eat humans, but there is something you have to understand," he stated. "The humans that we eat are already dead."
"… Dead?" Minoru repeated softly.
"Yes. We do not kill the people we eat, they are dead when we find them," he assured them.
Miyu, unsure she should ask, began to fidget and chew on her bottom lip.
"So… We don't eat people like Aunt Yori and Uncle Hide?" she blurted.
Kaneki's eyes softened and he put a hand on her head, ruffling her hair.
"In a way, no. But this is all you need to know for now." He kissed her forehead. "Everything will make more sense as you get older, I promise."
Miyu nodded and shook off her mother's arm to cuddle into her father. Kaneki held his daughter to his chest tightly, rubbing circles into her back as she sniffled into his shirt. Lifting his head, Kaneki saw Minoru clinging to his mother's hands, attempting to stifle the tears threatening to fall. Touka met his eyes and nodded, softly pushing Minoru closer until Kaneki wrapped him in his arms like his sister. Crawling forward on her knees, Touka wrapped her arms around her family, giving the twins a kiss and leaning her face in the crook of Kaneki's neck.
Minoru peeked up and looked at his parents, confused but curious.
"But, if we can only eat humans, how come Mama and Papa drink coffee?" he wondered aloud. Touka laughed.
"Coffee is the only thing we can have, that we know of," she explained. "Your father just forgot to mention that." She shot a look at her husband, eyebrow raised. 'How did you seriously forget that?' she mouthed at him.
"Eh-heh, yeah I guess I did forget that… My bad," he laughed nervously.
"So is that why Appa had a coffee shop?" Miyu asked, raising her head. "And why you and Mama have one now?"
"Yep, that's right!" Kaneki nodded, grinning at his children.
"Ohhhhhh…" Miyu and Minoru breathed out, returning to hug their parents.
A little while later, Kaneki and Touka steered their children into their bedroom. Changing them into their pajamas, they laid the twins down for a nap. Tucking them in, the young parents kissed their children, wishing them sweet dreams. As they fell asleep, Touka left the room, turning down the hallway and walking to her own. Kaneki gave one last look to Miyu and Minoru before switching off the light and closing the door, following his wife.
Touka was changing into one of his old shirts when Kaneki stepped into the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Pulling her hair from under the collar, Touka sighed.
"I know I've been hurt many times, that was one of the most painful things I have ever had to do," she admitted, wrapping her arms around herself.
Moving closer, Kaneki slipped his arms around his wife, snaking them under her own and settling them across her stomach. He sighed and rested his chin on her shoulder.
"Everything will be fine, they're still young," he sighed.
"Hmm…" Touka groaned and let her head fall against Kaneki's, crossing her arms on top of his. "Whatever you say, stupid Kaneki."
"Look at it this way," he offered. "They still have twelve years to figure it out and ask us questions!"
Touka snorted and pinched his arm forcefully. Kaneki laughed and pecked her cheek before running off into the bathroom to take a shower.
Yeah… Everything will be fine… Touka mused. Sighing, she pushed the clouded thoughts from her mind and followed her husband, picking up the trail of dirty clothes he left in his wake.
Ahahahaha aHAQHAHAHAHAHA, I hate this. What do y'all think? I tried to keep all my facts straight but... Tbh, it was the first day of class and I'm already freaking out about finals. How sad is that? *buries myself under a mile of dirt* Anyway, tell me if I got anything wrong or if there's anything that needs to be added or elaborated on and I'll gladly fix it!
I know I said the twins' eyes would be mentioned in this chapter, but I just kind of forgot to put it in... Maybe I'll do a super small chapter about the first time they see their eyes and kagune? Idk, you tell me if that's a good idea.
Uuuuummmmm... I don't know how often I'll be able to write this semester, I signed up for the maximum amount of hours you can take and so Idk what that's gonna be like yet... But! I am planning a continuation of Roadside Assistance, since there is always a need for more Ayahina in the world! So watch out for that. c:
As always, a big sloppy thank you for reading and putting up with me in general! Feel free to leave a review, PM, or Tumblr message talking about what you liked or disliked! I like to hear anything you guys think about anything. Also, I am in dire need of prompts/suggestions/requests! So put one in any of the aforementioned methods and I'll write it up! :3
With love,
Lau ( ˘ ³˘)