I recognise that this work was produced on the traditional lands of the Kaurna and Ngadjuri peoples.

[][][][][][]

"It's a pity we don't have binoculars."

"It is. Still – this elevation is better than nothing."

Ken and Touka were perched atop a tall office complex, hidden from CCG and government surveillance in the shadow of its antennas. While they seemed relaxed, muscles lose and postures almost slouched, their expressions remained focused on the streets bellow.

The primary recipient of their attention was a small house, one of four situated between a squat apartment multiplex and a convenience store. It seemed bland – a perfectly ordinary home but for the white and red caution tape over the door and windows.

Despite the alert mood, Ichika seemed delighted, wrapped as she was in her father's kagune. Her parents rarely let her play with their Kagune, so to be gathered up and held so high in the air? She'd been smiling for almost twenty minutes as she poked and prodded the red fleshy tentacle.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that we should expose Ichika to our Kagune more often. She's about the right age and it is an important milestone for a ghoul's development. Being able to scent your parents from their RC cells is important."

"Makes today feel a little special, doesn't it?"

Touka smiled, before continuing: "Ayato and I can't be more than two wards away. We tried to stay close to the 9th for the first four months: tried to stay close to the house." She sighed. "Then they tore it down. Honestly don't know how we weren't caught."

"Do you think the CCG linked the house to your farther?"

Touka squinted, trying to recall anything she'd read in the files she'd had access to that were about her family. She'd only received them after the CCG's reform. "I can't remember." She sighed, "But they must have – it should have been too obvious to miss."

Ken took a deep breath in. "And if they knew that you and Ayato existed then they were probably waiting for you two to return for shelter or a comforting environment." He nodded to himself: "they'll have surveillance nearby – probably two class three investigators in a stuffy car."

"Rookie stakeout? How long were you a class three investigators again?"

Ken blushed. "Two months."

Touka snickered: "You were such a goodie-two-shous weren't you? All by the book?"

"I wanted to do things right." He defended.

Touka smiled. "Alright, I'm thinking that you head back to the den, and I'll smash and grab."

Ken checked on Ichika. "Alright. What are you looking to grab?"

"Something with their scent." Her smile became soft. "And I think some toys or books."

"Well, sounds good. What's the fall back?"

Ah… "Run back to you?"

"Touka."

Her turn to be bashful. "I'll retreat to Yomo's if I can pull back – He doesn't know who we are, but the gangs of the 4th ward won't turn down a fight against doves. If I can't pull back I'll surrender. We know the CCG's prisons inside and out; it's about the worst-case scenario but you could get me out."

Ken nodded and shifted pulling in his Rinkaku and putting Ichika on his hip. "Alright, So, I'll see you in four hours?"

Touka hummed, her attention returned to the unassuming house. "Make that five hours. If I'm not back by tomorrow look in the 4th. If you can't find me break me out." She felt a kiss on her cheek, and she laughed, making to squish Ichika against the two of them by hugging Ken.

"See you soon, angel."

Ichika gave a wobbly smile: "Bye mum."

Touka waved and let the wind tug her from the rooftop into free fall.

Ken needn't have worried; his wife had returned before even the three-hour mark, clothes and other belongings stuffed into a child sized backpack.

[][][][][][]

The third day of their now extended camping escapade found the Kanaki's spread through one of the 8th wards larger public parks – one positioned between five different apartment buildings.

Although considering the 8th wards proximity to the harbours 'larger park' was something of a misdemeanour. It had enough space for a small playground at one end, a lush and gentle knoll at its centre, and a small corps of cherry trees filling the right side.

There were a series of benches surrounding the park, facing inwards, and two at the height of the knoll's incline.

Their first hour Ken and Touka had chassed Ichika through the trees, scaling up the soft pale bark to let her see the whole park. Touka wanted her to practice her climbing.

They had settled on the swings watching Ichika move between the plastic and fibre obstacles. It was perhaps a little odd that they had the park to themselves, yet this late into the day, and with the earlier excitement, the Kaneki's were enjoying the space.

"I don't know If I should laugh or greave."

"Can't do both?"

Ken scrubbed his face, feeling the collective skin cells begin to scrub lose as he pressed and rubbed them into black lines of dirt and dust. Seven day without a shower took its toll. "Maybe."

He sat back into the rubber, the one peace rather small for his size, chains pressing hard into his thighs. "I meant what I said last night; I'm unsure of so much now."

Touka looked back, expression unapologetic. "That's what today's for, dork, putting shit together and figuring it all out."

"…"

Touka's gaze was fixed to his own.

"Well," Ken began, "do we not carry the burden of immense foreknowledge?"

Touka rolled her eyes. "We do. Are we going to be dramatic this entire conversation?"

Ken smiled. "You knew what you were getting into when you married me – with that foreknowledge do we not have a duty to make the world a better place?"

"No."

"No?"

"No. The foreknowledge has nothing to do with 'our duty' to change the world – not in the way I think you mean."

Ken took a moment to parse that. "'Nothing to do with our duty to change the world'… So, the foreknowledge is tied to a duty to changing the world but not to our duty to change the world?"

"Yeah. We already did it, Ken. If – and fuck I mean IF – we ever had a duty to change the world, we fulfilled that duty."

"And now that the world is unchanged?"

"Well, that's not our fault. We did our 'duty' and then metaphysics – or I guess just regular physics – came viciously all over the wall."

Ken nodded. "I guess. What do you mean by 'our duty' then?"

"'Burden of immense foreknowledge' right? Morally, we should tell someone. The world as it is–"

"–is wrong. Someone needs to do something, just not necessarily us."

"Right."

"So, with the 'burden of immense foreknowledge' comes the duty to start the change."

Touka's eyes tracked Ichika playing. "I think so."

Ken hummed. "We've lost so much. I'm… I mean; who could we tell that would believe us and try to change the world?" He sighed, before he laughed: "The only people I can think of now are the wrong sought of people – mad scientists, terrorists, and mass murders."

"…Or they're children…"

"Right. I think it must be us."

Touka sighed hard. Shaking her head 'no'. "Ichika is a child. She's not going to know the hardships I knew: I'll not allow that Ken."

"Nore will I."

She looked up to the skyline – beyond the tall dull buildings – "Then how do you plan to ensure she has a peaceful life? If you and I are changing the CCG, hunting down V, dismantling the hold the Washuu clan has in society and getting the public to vote to change counter ghoul laws; who's making sure she's living well!?"

Ken eyebrow rose; "Well… One thing at a time – peaceful life? We're but lowly mortals, Touka. A normal life. Isn't that what we wanted for her while we were still rebels hiding in the 24th? Normalcy." He scoffed. "Rather: the right for a ghoul to have normalcy."

"She can eat the same food as humans. She could have normalcy."

"We couldn't"

"We're adults – we'll manage."

"And Tou-Tou and Ayato?"

She pulled a face "Tou-Tou?"

Ken shrugged.

"Is that what you're calling mini-me?"

He rolled his eyes, "we can't call her that – and we can't change her name, either. It wouldn't be right."

"So, Tou-Tou?"

They locked eyes. "…"

"Tou-Tou?"

"–what do you–"

"Its fine!"

Ken slumped with a groan, swing slightly. "My point still stands; you and I and the Karishima's wouldn't be living a normal life and that's not fair. The only way to ensure they have normal lives is to use our foreknowledge to do it all again!"

She returned to watching the skyline. "We have our daughter. And when we find them, we'll have mini-me and Ayato. Responsibility is to our family Ken. Duty is to our kin, darling." She nudged against him "Someone else can change the world."

"Our duty is to our children – it is."

She knew the 'but' was coming.

"But if the world is wrong it's our duty to our children to fix it, love."

She sighed: "What duty have we to the world?"

What obligation do we have to change the world? What did the world do for us?

Well…

"Our actions here now provide those who were our closest friends and allies an opportunity to exist in peace. That's something we only ever thought we could do for the future generation – but now? Now we make the future for the ones we love. The ones we bled for and killed for. Those who we suffered beside."

His voice became subdued. "Those who we live for now they have passed."

If I could kill another to save myself suffering…

If I could suffer in the place of ones I love…

"We are obligated to change this grotesque world, Touka."

Touka frowned and turned her head back to watch their daughter play…

"Shit." Her quiet response. "I don't think I was ready to stop being a rebel and start being a peacekeeper anyway. But… We need to agree Ichika comes first."

Ken stood. "Always."

"Even If it means destroying everything."

"Agreed."

They heard Ichika yell for their attention.

Ken shouted back "We're watching muffin!"

Touka gave a finger wave.

The sky was flashed orange, the sun setting and fragmenting its rays through the low clouds.

"SO… You know that the first thing we'd need to do is start gather allies, right?"

Ken moved to stand next to her. "We need to lay a history as well; build a background and make the kids' lives comfy."

Touka nodded, leaning into him. "I wonder what Yoshimura will pull through with? We're going nowhere fast without government ID."

Ken hummed in agreement. "So, between the CCG, V, the Washuu clan, and the law, which should we face first?"

"Like, immediately? The law. That'll give us results last. It requires too much of a shift in public perception to be rushed so we start encouraging that change as soon as possible."

"I suppose, however, we'd need the CCG onboard to succeed in that goal."

Touka nodded. "And to get the 'commission of counter ghoul' on side we'd need to destabilise the authority of the Washuu clan."

"Preferably without them bringing V down on our heads."

"So, we need disguises." She nodded: "Disguises first."

They both sighed.

"Is Uta even making masks yet?"

[][][][][][]

Ayato felt empty again.

Hungry and bord and empty.

His eyes itched. His arms itched. He stank. His legs had stopped hurting yesterday at least.

He held his rabbit close to his chest, pressed against the breast pocket of his sister's olive jacket.

Onee-chan was next to him. Holding up the umbrella and shading.

It happened so fast.

"Ayato Run!"

His splashing steps echoing, arms swinging and small body almost writhing with his desperate haste.

But it wasn't enough.

The scarred white-haired man had him. He began to cry, taking great shuddering breaths. His eyes closed so hard he could see red lights.

"It's ok, it's ok."

Ayato cried harder at the strange man's strange lies.

"Oh." he heard his sister say.

Clearly she was in agony. His cries became shrill as a warm hand began rubbing his back. His fisted his hands in the man's collar.

"It's all right. I'll take you to your aunt." More hushing. He took a deep breath in, stuttering thrice, as he was handed to a strange woman.

"Hello Ayato: I'm your mothers' sister."

He despaired with much volume.

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