A/N: Something made me write this weird drabble of sorts. Really need more interaction between Tatara and Eto, really...
(Looking forward to Kanepede in future TG Root A episode too! :D)
Disclaimer: Don't own Tokyo Ghoul and its affiliates.
3. Time and again (Tatara/Eto)
The little girl, nor old, nor young.
Danced in a field of flowers.
Laughing, she spread joy
and happiness to the world.
She was blessed with
Eternal Youth.
And time stood still for her.
She wished that things will never change
Never, ever change.
But, atlas,
This world is
Cruel.
This little girl mocked the reality of sanity.
She needed to die.
No.
That was not enough.
She had to suffer the most excruciating...
Death.
And oh, I made sure of it.
"Tatara-saaan~" Pirouetting on one foot, Eto was a dizzy whirlwind of purple and white, a stark contrast with the drab walls.
The sole reason was of annoying him, but as usual, he did not ask.
"Ah, Eto." Walking past her nonchalantly, Tatara entered the meeting room. Eto finally stopped, blinked and hurried after him. Due to their...sickeningly long history, he supposed that he had developed some immunity against her foolery.
Regardless, this was not a time he would even allow any disturbances to the plans. Eyes sliding to meet Eto's, he glared at her briefly. Eto blinked owlishly and gave him a thumbs-up. Realising that that was the best he could get from her, Tatara ceased his attempt and went to claim his seat. The impromptu meeting was about to start after all.
"The CCG has been observing our actions more vigilantly after the raid of the 20th ward. As such, precautionary measure will be taken to ensure that our tracks are sufficiently covered. We will be…Eto, are you listening?"
"Oh...Mm-hmm. Please continue, Tatara-san." Eto's sleepy voice drifted from his side. The normally blank-faced ghoul suppressed a deadly eyebrow twitch. From the corner of his eye, Ayato smirked before turning to Kaneki, one hand cupped over his mouth, voice far too loud to be considered discrete. In response, his audience stared at him, mouthing an exaggerated "Are you serious?" back.
Tatara roughly knew what they were talking about, thank you very much.
(More importantly, when did they get so...close anyway? Tatara pushed that thought to a corner of his mind, set aside and milled over on a later date.)
At his side, Eto yawned, mouth formed a large depression in her bandage mask. Figuring that there was no way he could maintain her attention for long anyway, Tatara picked up the pace of the meeting, moving on to reveal some of the objectives their future missions will fulfill. As he was somewhere along the lines of the wards they should expand their operations too, he paused. The sound of soft snoring was the only warning he got before Eto flopped onto his side.
The silence that followed was unnerving. Tatara remained in his position for a while, silently wishing that the dead weight on his right arm could just magically straighten. He opened his mouth to continue, and promptly closed it shut when he felt a drop of wetness touch his cloak.
"Eto."
There was no response. Tatara was hard-pressed to shove her off. The last time he did that, however, he suffered the full force of thousands of shards impaled in his forearm, courtesy of Eto's kagune. Not that he would die from that, but it was a pain to pluck them out one by one - he gave up and sliced his arm off in the end.
"Eto." He said a bit louder, nudging her slightly. She mumbled something along the lines of "Mmm…?" in her sleep, face buried in his cloak. In the distance, Ayato snorted. Tatara's darkening face, coupled by Eto's apparent oblivion, proved to be a strangely amusing scene.
Mentally throwing his hands up, Tatara cast one last glance at Eto's serene sleeping form. It was rare for her to show such a...vulnerable side. Swallowing, he pried his eyes away and continued his previous point, resolutely ignoring the duo sputtering while trying to contain their reactions.
(Noro gave a suspicious nod of approval. He gave up thinking about sanity anymore.)
The little girl, far too old for her namesake,
Danced on a field of flesh and bone.
Scattering ashes with each tread of soft feet,
She brought sadistic joy to herself.
She was cursed with
Hatred.
Rage.
As time stood still for her,
She hungered for change.
She devoured.
She evolved.
She killed.
This world was
Cruel.
And the little girl rewrote the fairy tale
Into a night of petrified bloody glory.
Beware,
Eto.
He came to a halt near the scene of carnage, dark eyes scanning the area, only to spot a single figure in the distance peering back. The stench of blood, human blood, was strong. He was pretty sure his contractor said that there was no ghouls in this area, yet…
A strange voice, haunting like a siren and static in nature, hummed in the air. Tatara, startled, looked up. A dark figure descended upon him, and he instinctively brought his arms up to defend his face. With a soft flick of an ankle, the ghoul (that smelled different) bounded off him, crouched into a roll and landed on the ground near him. Tatara spun around, pivoting on one foot and sent the other crashing into the ghoul's side. The impact sent his foe flying several feet into the air, tumbling to a stop in a distance. His boots clicking with rapid urgency, Tatara walked towards the ghoul, right fist tightening to deliver a finishing blow.
To his surprise, the ghoul used her hands to push herself off the ground and onto wobbly feet. The cloak that once shrouded her head had been pushed back during their confrontation, revealing a youthful face half-hidden by a mop of dark green hair, and a single kakugan replacing her right eye. Evidently, she had been worn out from her previous battles. A large gash on her was healing as he observed her.
The ghoul in front of him burst into a fit of giggles, a move so unexpected in this tense moment.
His formed fist uncurled. Tatara blinked.
"Ah."
She laughed even harder, in that deviant, alien manner of hers, and Tatara was mildly fascinated.
"I apologise, I didn't mean to disturb your…...feeding." Tatara began, only to be interrupted by a snort. The ghoul in front of him shook her head, sticking her tongue out childishly before replying. "Nah, it's okay. I'm done here, want some?"
His eyes followed her finger to the indiscernible pool of bloody pulp on the floor, oozing and raw.
"...I'm fine, thank you." Tatara uttered. The scent of said potential meal on the floor tickled into his nose, but he had little time to stop and feed. Realising that he should properly be on his way, Tatara turned to leave.
"Going already?" The strange little ghoul skipped to a position right in front of him. Tatara had this hunch that he was not going to get rid of her that soon.
"...Yes. What's your name, half-ghoul?" He intoned.
"Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah, tell me your name first, Stranger-san. That's courtesy."
He was damned, Tatara morosely thought. Now, he was stuck with a ditzy, bratty female half-ghoul for an indefinite amount of time. He just knew it.
"...Tatara."
"Ooh, tatar sauce!"
Tatara's left eye twitched minutely. This, (Why on earth did she associate him with a sauce) was bad for his mental health.
"Eto - that's my name. Please remember that, Tatara-san!" Her hands flailing, Eto did a mock bow of sorts, giggling ever so quietly. Tatara glared at her, but found his glare losing its normal weight. Was he going soft on a random ghoul? Sighing, he quickly walked forward with intent, schooling his face back into blankness. He would need to find a new mask quick, he noted, before he carried out any killings. There was no time to waste.
The soft pattering of feet behind him made him scowl. Some part of his sanity told him to get used to it.
"Eh, Tatara-san, how many comrades did we lose this time?" Swinging her feet casually, Eto asked her long-term companion.
"Around two hundred." The stoic white-haired ghoul standing next to her estimated. Hm...That was quite a sizable amount, but lives were to be lost and gambled along the way. That was not an issue.
"Then, for the two hundred we lost, we have to share our share of killings okay?" Eto simply said, looking up to face him. Tatara, hardened to the core and progressively quieter, had undergone many changes in the past ten years. So had she. But inside, he had not shifted that much, really.
"...Yeah."
Eto bit her lips. Still so silent, eh?
"Let's go, Tatara-san, Noro."
"...Mm-hmm."
Leaping off the bridge, she landed smoothly on hard ground, knowing that wherever she went, Tatara would always follow.
It was their twisted, battered fate, but they were made for that, anyway.
He closed his hands around
A little girl's throat.
Squeezing out every last
breathe until she
Gasped and
Choked and
Gaped for air.
Far in the background,
The little girl, drenched in reddish black,
Laughed.
(I had a lot of fun with this piece)
A big thank you to EmpurataCon, Niln, Ootsutsuki-Chan, SomeRandomChick77, Three-Steps-Behind and VardaKatsu for new follows, and EmpurataCon and Ootsutsuki-Chan for new faves. To existing supporters, an even louder "Arigatou!" to ya. :)
Leelhiette: Tyvm! :D I was unsure initially whether I should input elements of romance into these one-shots, but I wanted to try something different and not aim for more popularity with romance-lovers. Not that romance is bad, but at least half of the fanfictions here have some form of love-based relationships. And yup, I will keep up and do even better works. ^^
Guest: Ikr XD Ty for the review!