Chapter 8: Moving

Kaneki's Pov

I caught up to (Name). We were at her house standing outside. She held her hands over her mouth and fell to her knees. The fire department just finished and Nishiki came over scratching his head, "Sorry about your house, (L/N)-san…"

(Name) wiped her face, "What started the fire?" I turned my attention towards her house and there were firemen going in.

"They're trying to find out now. It took them awhile to put out the fire. Your house was fully engulfed in flames when I got here. I told Kimi to go home as I handled things." He squatted down and put a hand on her head. Nishio glanced at me and I swear…..for a moment I thought I saw him smile.

She looked up at him, "Thank you Nishio-senpai…...But why are you covered in ashes?" He gave her a bag. (Name) opened it and widened her eyes, "T-This is-" The atmosphere changed when she smiled.

"When the firemen broke down the door to douse the flames, I ran in to collect anything that looked important." (Name) pulled out two metal containers that had her parent's names engraved in them.

"Is that your-"

"Yes, this is what's left of my parents. Instead of burying them, I had them cremated." It was weird. I didn't see the containers when I visited their shrine. (Name) later told me that she didn't put them in plain sight. They were behind the pictures of her parents.

We went to Anteiku afterwards and I explained the situation to Mr. Yoshimura, "Ah….I see. I'm sorry Kaneki-kun, but I cannot provide a room for her to stay in. She's a liability and my last two rooms were taken yesterday." I scratched the back of my head.

(Name) was sitting down at one of the tables. She had the bag filled with the things that were saved in the fire. I sighed. (Name) told me that if she can't find another place to stay in Tokyo, she'd have to move to Akihabara to live with her aunt and uncle. The only reason she didn't do that in the first place is because she wanted to attend Kamii University, "She can share a room with me…."

I looked towards the opened door. There was a girl with short, light brown hair. Kirishima-san shook her head, "No, I disagree with letting that girl stay here at all, Hinami." The girl frowned and then we made eye contact. I smiled, but then she looked away.

"Oh Touka-chan, I think it would be fine. She doesn't look like the type to tell." An older lady came into the room.

Kirishima-san crossed her arms, "I know she wouldn't tell, Fueguchi-san." (Name) looked at Touka, "But she could easily lead the Doves here without meaning to."

"You're right," Everyone turned their attention towards (Name), "I'll just move to Akihabara. The last thing I want is to put all of you in danger."

"But!" I quickly silenced myself as the spotlight shined on me," Ah...I mean," I looked down nervously, "What about Kamii? You studied hard to get in…."

(Name) smiled, "It's fine. My house burned down for a reason. And maybe that reason was that Kamii isn-"

Kirishima-san rolled her eyes, "Just shut up," She turned towards me with an annoyed expression, "Why can't she just live with you genius?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out. A faint blush appeared on my face, "That could work, but then I would be troubling Kaneki."

Touka pointed at me, "That kid isn't even a full ghoul. He's not suspected at all." Hinami pulled at her sweater to calm her down.

"It's not just that. He'd be suffering from hunger if I was there and I didn't receive that much money from insurance. I can't pay half the rent."

Mr. Yoshimura spoke up, "I can teach him how to control his hunger," My eyes widened. I turned to look at him, "If he agrees to work here."

"Ah- I," I was speechless, "Um…...I guess it's okay for (Name) to live with me. I'll take the job to work here too…" Scratching my cheek, I looked down with a nervous expression.

Touka rolled her eyes. Mr. Yoshimura smiled, "Excellent, you'll start on Monday after your classes. Now, you two should head back home. It's getting late." (Name) sighed and picked up her bag. She walked over to me.

"Sorry Kaneki….I swear I'll find a way to make it up to you…" I smiled at her.

I really didn't mind the fact that she was going to stay with me, "It's alright. You don't need to. It's not a bother."

I closed and locked the door behind me. We arrived safely at my house. This whole time I've been contemplating…..Where is she going to settle down? I panicked. There's only one room in my house. I don't have another bed. Well...there's the couch, but I don't want her to sleep there. Then I guess she could put her parents and her stuff in the living room….or she could just take my room, "Hey Kaneki?" I snapped back to reality and looked at (Name), "Thanks again."

"It's not a big deal. Here, follow me." I opened the door to my room, "You can stay in here."

She flipped the lights on and walked in, "Um...Isn't this your room?"

I opened my closet and pushed aside some hangers, "Yeah, but you could stay in here." I was about to take down some of my clothes, but her hand stopped mine.

"I don't know what to say about this. You've been so kind...I really appreciate it." (Name) hesitated, but then she smiled and kissed my cheek.

My hand touched the cheek she kissed and I stood there wide-eyed, "I'll l-leave you to get comfortable then!" Taking my pajamas, I dashed out of the room.

Later on, all the lights were off. I laid on the couch facing the ceiling. (Name) living here might not be that bad. It's been lonely since mom died. She'll brighten up the whole house. I just need to control my hunger. I think I'll be alright for now though. She wasn't that tempting on the way home.

I thought about the events that passed. There's no way a fire could just start in her house….Nishio also happened to be there when it started. I have a feeling that it was no coincidence. I did beat him up, but he didn't have to take it out on her…

I heard a scream come from the room. Startled, I got up. That was definitely (Name). I ran towards my room and opened the door.

She was sitting up startled with a frightened expression. There were tears in her eyes. I walked over to the bed and sat down on the side of her. (Name) spoke up, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. I had a nightmare…"

"I wasn't asleep. Do you want to talk about it?"

(Name) wiped her face and sighed, "Not really. I can't really talk about it right now."

I stared at her and then smiled, "Well alright, if you need anything I'll be in the living room." As I started to walk out the door I felt a tug on my shirt. Surprised, I looked back.

"Um…...Kaneki? Can you lay with me until I fall asleep?" She looked at me with frightened eyes.

"Sure." I walked her back to the bed and we both went under the covers.

My heart was beating so fast. I couldn't face her or else she'd see me blushing. Who could say no to that? She was scared and she needed me. I couldn't refuse in any way.

It was completely silent. There was at least 15 minutes that passed. I glanced back and (Name) was lying with her eyes closed. I couldn't tell if she was asleep or not, but I shifted around to face her. This was weird. I watched her as she was sleeping. There was a hair that fell, so I brushed it out of her face. Her eyes opened. Startled, I twitched and hid under the blanket, "Hey Kaneki, thank you again, for everything."

I peeked my head out to see her smiling, "It's no problem…"

"I really appreciate it though. If you weren't here, I would probably be lonely, maybe move back to my aunt's house not being able to go to college." I didn't really know what to say in response to that, so I just nodded and closed my eyes. She laid her hand on my open palm and I squeezed it gently. Then eventually we fell into a slumber…

OMG sorry it took a long time to update guys! I'll try to make more time, but it's been so hard! Gwahhhhhh~!